A/N: Thanks for the review, Depthcharge and mrs muffin man! Mrs muffin man, we understand what you mean. Kya will get worse before she gets better, but we're not stupid (although it may seem hard to believe ). She has fatal flaws. Please don't stop reading. We love Neville too by the way.
Disclaimer: J. K Rowling owns everything but Kya, and the other OC who will finally appear in this chapter.
FFF
3. – Defence Against the Dark Arts
The group found it hard to think of something to talk about over lunch. Harry was sitting next to Ginny, relating to her the events of the morning. After that topic had been exhausted, Hermione settled for bullying Ron about timetable-related things. As Kya seemed to be focusing on her food, Harry and Ginny began to talk about Quidditch.
"I hear the tryouts are next week," said Ginny. "I'm going to try out for Chaser, since Angelina has left."
"Who's the new captain?" Harry asked.
"Katie Bell," said Ginny. "She's in her last year, and since Alicia has also left, there'll be an opening for a second Chaser as well."
"Then I can try out too," said Kya.
Harry and Ginny both started. They hadn't known she was listening.
"Do you play Quidditch?" asked Harry.
"Sure," Kya replied. "I've had a broomstick since I was four, and I can play all the positions."
"What, all of them?" said Ron, surprised.
"Yes, but the Chaser's my favourite."
Ron frowned. He looked as if he didn't believe her. Harry regarded her thoughtfully.
"Who taught you?" he wondered.
"Oh, my tutor is a retired Quidditch player," said Kya. "I used to play with kids from my neighbourhood as well."
"What is your tutor like, anyway? What's his name?" said Hermione, joining in the conversation.
"Vladimir Clavisto," said Kya, with a perfectly straight face. "He is wonderful, really."
"Er… Clavisto, the famous vampire?" said Hermione, astonished. The others looked confused, not having heard of the supposedly famous vampire before.
"Oh, no," said Kya, and she laughed. "This is his grandson actually, Vladimir Clavisto II. It's not a hereditary thing… anyway, he's taught me some very interesting stuff."
Still looking dubious, Ron glanced at Hermione's watch.
"Class is starting in five minutes," he told them. He stood up, checked his timetable and announced, "we have Defence Against the Dark Arts. I wonder what kind of a teacher we'll have this year."
"Yeah," said Ginny. "And I wonder why she wasn't at the start of term feast."
Rhona Jacobson was fast asleep at her desk. On this desk lay a jumbled heap of papers, a small flask and a battered looking Quidditch trophy with her name on it. She woke with a start when Hermione knocked on the door for the third time. The lesson was supposed to have started fifteen minutes earlier.
Rhona jumped up, muttered something incoherent, and ran to the door. She fumbled with the lock for a moment, before wrenching the door open and yelling,
"Good afternoon, Gryffindors!"
The Gryffindors stared at her, befuddled.
"Get in, get in, so that we can get on with it," said professor Jacobson.
When they were seated, they all began scrutinizing the new Defence teacher. She was short and plump, with scraggly blondish hair sticking out from underneath her pointed hat. Her nose was red and her eyes were swollen and puffy, as if she had a cold. Indeed, she seemed to snivel a bit, every now and then.
"Well, class," she said. "I'm sorry about that. As you see, I am your new Defence teacher this year. I would have been at the feast, but unfortunately, other matters came up."
She pointed at the name she had written on the black board; Professor Jacobson. The class had of course already been informed of her name at the feast. Now they were apprehensive about her, for justifiable reasons. They were anxious to know exactly how sane she was. Though she wasn't showing a lot of promise, the class had given up being picky about their teachers.
"Since I live in Hogsmeade, I won't be in the school after classes. If you want to contact me outside of class, I will be attending the weekly staff meetings on Tuesdays, between three and five o'clock. Now, lets just check if everyone's here…"
She began to call out the names of the students. When she got to Harry she stopped and peered up at him from under her fringe, and gave him a knowing look.
Finally the lesson began. Professor Jacobson folded her arms and told them they were to learn about hexes, counter curses and protective spells this year.
As they set to work, practicing the foot-in-mouth spell, which relocated the opponent's limbs, professor Jacobson sat down at her desk and poured herself a generous drink from her flask. She subsequently fell into a light dose, steam rising from her nostrils. Ten minutes before the lesson was over, Lavender tapped her shoulder, wanting to know if there was a counter curse available.
"Well, that was interesting," said Hermione, after the lesson was over.
"It could have been worse," said Harry.
"Wish she wouldn't drink in class though." Hermione mused.
Dean Thomas walked past the group, wincing with every step.
"What do you think of Hogwarts now, then?" Ron asked Kya, but she wasn't listening. She was watching Dean, looking concerned.
"Are you alright?" she wondered.
"My legs hurt a bit," Dean confessed. "It must be an after-effect of the curse. I think I'll go see Madam Pomfrey…"
"I know a good healing charm," said Kya. Before anyone had had time to react, she had pulled out her wand, and yelled, "Dolor Discedo!"
Bright pink and aqua sparks shot out of her wand. They spun around Dean's legs in an intricate pattern, before vanishing with a poof, leaving a faint odour of kerosene in the corridor.
Looking a bit dazed, Dean shifted his weight from one leg to the other and rotated his ankles, before declaring in surprise that he felt much better. Kya smiled brightly, and offered to help anyone who might be suffering from the same ailment. Soon, Gryffindor students were lining up to get their legs and arms properly fixed. Kya appeared to be embarrassed, but happy.
