9-10

I have DADA today! Finally! The Ravenclaws and us Hufflepuffs were supposed to have had it ages ago, but the professor had to go somewhere. I've been hearing rumors about who the teacher is, but I haven't had time to go see if they're true. I hope they are. I want to see her so bad... tell her I'm keeping up with my training... Gotta go, DADA time! Hope it's her! I won't say who I'm talking about, in case I'm wrong. Jemi

"Hey, Jemi, long time no see!"

"Hi, Leila," Jemi said, letting Leila grab her hand and shake it madly. "Come on, I wanna get to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I wanna see if it's really her!"

"Who?" asked Leila, following Jemi to the Dark Arts room.

"Oh, no one," murmured Jemi. "Only the person who would be the most awesome teacher ever. If it is her, you'll agree."

"Well, here we are, to see," said Leila.

"Oh, wait!" exclaimed Jemi. "I want to see if it's her first!" She stuck her head into the classroom, and grinned widely. "It is her! I can't believe it!"

"Who?" asked Leila again, but Jemi had already rushed into the classroom, and banged her stuff on the front desk. Leila stuck her head in the classroom, too. The Professor was a lady who was in her mid twenties. She had sandy-colored hair, and was writing something on the board. She stopped after only writing "Profess" when Jemi walked up to her.

"Hi, remember me?" aksed Jemi to the lady.

The woman turned arouned, grinning. "Of course I remember you, Jemi. How could I not?"

"Well, I'm sure you've met a lot of people, with your... job."

Leila raised an eyebrow. Why had Jemi said "job" like that? How did she know the Professor, anyway?

The woman turned back to the board, and continued what she was writing. "Professor D. A. Fang," it said when she was done.

Jemi turned. Leila had walked in and placed her stuff on the desk next to Jemi's. She looked back at Professor Fang and asked, "So, how many have you killed since last time I saw you?"

"Too many to count, for sure," said the professor. "And now, to you: Have you been keeping up with that training I taught you?" She opened her robe so that it the two sides of it were apart. She seemed to be showing Professor Fang something in some secret pocket or another inside her too- small robe. "See? I use it on a dummy sandbag every so often. It only explodes when I hit the right spot. It's been exploding every single time since halfway through fourth year."

"Good job," praised the woman. "Well, it seems like everyone's here. Go t9o your seat, Jemi."

"Ok."

Class started as soon as Jemi sat down. "I have asked you for three books. Do all have them?"

"Yes," came the answer from a few students who didn't have anything better to do.

Professor Fang smiled, dimpling. "Well, that wasn't much of an answer. I don't suppose I'll get a good one, so I have a different one. Does anyone not have the books?"

The room was silent.

"Good," said the professor. "Please open 'Dark Creatures' to page 239 and 'Defense Practice' to page 973. The third book will not be used."

Jemi knew what was on the pages before she opened the books. Stuff on vampires. Vamps, as Jemi liked to say. She'd already memorized those pages. In fact, they were the only books she'd read at all. (She'd also read the werewolf, zombie, and other demon pages, but that wasn't the point.)

"Jemi," muttered Leila, "open the books."

"But I memorized them!"

Leila stared at her friend. She was the smartest girl of the year, though she'd heard that Hermione Granger was really smart too, and even she hadn't memorized the books word for word (though she had remembered all the data). Of course the way Leila saw it, if Hermione was in Gryffindor, how could she be as smart as the Ravenclaws?

Fang walked over to Jemi's desk. "You memorize 'em?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I figured I shoud," Jemi whispered back.

"Good. You read outloud."

"Aw, come on. Let Leila read. I don't like reading out loud. I'll be the one who correctly answers all the questions at the end. Neither entries say anything about how to slay them."

"Leila?' asked Fang.

"Yeah. The girl next to me. My best friend—or, rather, my best human friend."

"Ok. You want to read?" the professor asked Leila.

"Sure," said Leila. She cleared her throat and began to read. "Vampires are creatures of the night. They come and..."

Jemi stopped listening. There was no point, seeing as she'd memorized the vamp parts.

About ten minutes later, Leila looked up. "I'm done with both," she said, "what now?"

"Now," said Professor Fang, "I'm going to ask some questions. Because it's unsafe, neither entry said anything about how to slay a vampire. I want you to know how. Does anyone know how to do it?"

Jemi was the only one to raise her hand. Leila knew the answer, too, but knew Jemi would be called on. "Yes?" said Fang, "Jemi?"

"Vamps- er, vampires- are actually considered 'dead' by some people as soon as they are turned into vampires, and the phrase 'slay' is then used for when the vampire is actually gone. The truth is, vampires are not living but cannot be classified as 'dead,' so they are also called the 'undead.' One way, and the most well-known way, to slay a vampire is to drive something wooden through its heart, usually a stake. However, sticks and arrows can also be used. Another way to slay a vampire is to use a cross. Vampires are warded away by crosses. Less-used ways are to bring a vampire out under the sun, where it will burn, or to use holy water on it. You can also behead it, though many people don't know that. And, though it sounds easy, slaying a vampire is hard because vampires are a lot- slippery- then they seem. They are also very strong, much stronger than a normal human. There are a very few humans that are chosen to actually hunt down and slay vampires, but, if you train hard enough, you can learn all the methods that these Vampire Hunters use."

"Very good," praised Fang, "10 points to Hufflepuff." The bell rang. "I'll see you on your next lesson. Good-bye."

"Bye, Diana!"

"Shhh," Fang warned Jemi, "they shouldn't know my name. Go on now. Visit me later."

In the hallway, Leila looked at Jemi. "Who is she, Jemi? How do you know her?"

"Well... I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell you that, actually..." Jemi trailed off. "I'll be right back. Hold these." Jemi dropped her bag into Leila's arms, and ran back to the classroom. She ran back out a bit later. "She said I can tell you." She took her bag back.

"Tell me what?"

"Dia—uh, Professor Fang—is a Hunter."

"A what?" asked Leila.

"A Hunter. A Vampire Hunter!"

"I know that. I was saying it in shock. Anyway, how do you know?" said Leila.

"I was... threatened by a vamp once. Diana, luckily, was around. She saved me, and then gave me a wooden stake, as well as a bow and arrow set. She trained me in slaying vamps."

"What's the 'A' for?"

"Artemis, but that's not the point. Let's get to our next class. I'll explain it all later." Jemi rushed down the hall, Leila running to keep up. There was a lot on both of their minds.

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Chickabiddy Baby: See? Jemi's nice to Diana Artemis Fang, too!!