Chapter Three – The Gryffindors and the Slytherin
Darren awoke on the second day of school eager to get to the class he was most looking forward to. Defense Against the Dark Arts began today for the Slytherins. They had class this year with the Ravenclaws, and he was excited to try and learn the Patronus Charm. His father had told him about it three years ago. It had been during Christmas holiday in his third year, the year the Dementors had stood guard over Hogwarts.
"The Patronus Charm only works on Dementors and Lethifolds," his father had told him.
Darren knew what a Dementor was, but the Lethifold was a new creature to him. "What is a Lethifold?" he had asked his father.
"A Lethifold is possibly worse than the Dementor as it doesn't leave a body behind because it eats its victims. They creep up on their victims in the night and smother them in their sleep. It then devours them and slips out unnoticed."
Darren had felt a cold chill run down his spine at the thought of a Lethifold coming for him in the night and he swore to himself that he would learn the Patronus Charm at the first opportunity.
Today was the day, the day he would finally learn the one charm he had wanted to learn above all others. He knew a lot of spells, even some that had not been taught to him at school, taught to him instead by his benefactors. He was a powerful wizard, but had always kept any intimation of his abilities to himself. Better to let an opponent think he was weak rather than give his strengths away before he had to use them and therefore give any enemy an advantage. He smiled to himself; thinking of that prat Draco Malfoy trying to jinx him yesterday and his ability to put Draco on the floor with a simple muggle self-defense move. His father had insisted that he not only learn to use magic to defend himself, but also muggle means as well.
'Oh well, Draco won't try it again, will he," he thought to himself as he walked down the corridor that led to the common room. He saw Blaise heading to the entrance door way and hurried to catch up with him. Together they walked to breakfast, talking excitedly about the coming Defense classes.
"Did you know, Potter got extra credit for being able to perform the Patronus Charm last year in the O.W.L. exams?" he asked Darren.
"He did?"
"Yeah, Pansy told me. He got an extra point for doing it. It took the form of a stag and pranced around the Great Hall like it was actually alive. Umbridge almost went apoplectic after Potter had finished his practical exam and she threw quite a fit at the fact that he got everything right."
"Well, a lot of the other students in our year got Os in Defense. I wonder why they scored so much higher than the Slytherins did?" Darren asked.
"Who knows," Blaise answered. Then he leaned towards Darren, his voice almost a whisper. "But since Lupin is back, our scores should be pretty good by the end of the year, at least on our exams that is. Lupin was the best teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts we have had."
"Yeah he was," Darren confirmed.
They had reached the Great Hall and took places opposite each other at the Slytherin table. Darren had porridge and Blaise muffins and each took large goblets of orange juice, that being Darren's particular favorite. Draco and his cronies were talking loudly at their end of the table, as usual, and Draco was telling everyone what his Patronus would look like.
"I expect mine would look like a dragon, since that is what my name means in Latin," he said jauntily.
"Ohh, Draco, it probably would!" Pansy squealed, her passion for kissing up to Draco making Darren sick to his stomach.
Draco continued his monologue. "Yes, it would, since I am the most powerful wizarding student at Hogwarts, it only makes sense that I would have the most powerful animal protect me from harm. Besides, my name means 'dragon' in Latin as well."
This proclamation made Darren spit his orange juice across the table onto Blaise's robes.
"Hey, watch it Darren," he said.
"Sorry Blaise, but did you hear what Malfoy just said?" he asked incredulously.
"Yeah, he is an idiot all right," Blaise answered, while using the Scourgify Charm to clean the juice off his robes. "Come on Darren, we need to get to class so we can get a good seat. Lupin's class starts soon."
They left the Hall, hearing Draco still drone on and on about his wondrous abilities as a wizard and how he would use the Patronus to catch Granger cheating, of all things. Darren just shook his head, wondering how Malfoy planned to catch someone cheating that was not cheating at all. And on top of it, how would a Patronus do that for him anyway? She was just a better student than the rest of the sixth years, but Draco could not let it go. There was a crowd outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom when they arrived, the Ravenclaws waiting in a group at the door. Darren saw Padma Patil, Cho Chang's friend, and suppressed a desire to ask her how Cho was doing. Being so blatantly obvious would not go over to well, he told himself as he watched Padma enter the classroom.
He and Blaise took seats in the third row from the front, in the middle section of the class. They each opened their textbooks to the chapter on Dementors and waited eagerly for Professor Lupin to start. The last of the class came in, led as always by Draco and Pansy. Their little group of worshippers was following behind them like dogs. They took seats at the back.
'Easier to talk and make snide remarks about Professor Lupin from back there,' Darren realized.
Finally Professor Lupin came in, and the class, except for the students in the back, quieted down.
"Good morning class."
"God morning Professor Lupin," came the reply from the Ravenclaws.
Darren mouthed the greeting under his breath, not eager for another confrontation this morning.
Professor Lupin smiled at the class; his thin face was gaunt and drawn looking. It was known by every student in school that he was a werewolf, but also a very capable teacher. He had been immensely popular three years ago when he had been here the first time, and Darren saw no reason he should not be again this year.
"Please open your textbooks to page two hundred and fifty six," he told them.
There was very little movement, as almost every student had their book open by now to the correct chapter. Darren saw that even Draco had his book open already.
"Good. Today we will begin working on the Patronus Charm, which is a complex spell that is very hard to perform. Even some of the most powerful witches and wizards alive have problems with this spell. But, it has been determined by the new Minister of Magic that every student should taught the spell, due to the fact that the Dementors have left Azkaban and joined the side of Lord Voldemort."
There were a lot of gasps and muffled cries at the mention of Voldemort's name, but Professor Lupin just ignored it and kept talking.
"Does anyone know what other creature the Patronus Charm works on?" he asked.
No one made an effort to answer until Darren raised his hand.
"Yes, Mr. Clarkson?"
"The Patronus works only on Dementors and Lethifolds," he answered.
"Correct and very good. Five points to Slytherin house," Professor Lupin announced.
Darren overheard Draco murmuring in the back of the classroom, saying something about a Mr. Granger just loud enough to be heard by Darren.
"And does anyone know what a Lethifold does?"
Professor Lupin pointed once again to Darren, who had had raised his hand again. "Yes Darren, go ahead."
"The Lethifold attacks in the night, mostly. It looks like a dark blanket that glides along the floor or ground, and when it attacks, it smothers its victim and devours and digests them at the place of attack, which in the case of people is their own beds."
"Very good Darren, five more points to Slytherin. Darren is correct, the Lethifold usually attacks victims that are asleep, so it is almost impossible to repel. It is also usually found solely in tropical climates, but it has been reported that some have been responsible for attacks in England this summer. Two wizards and one witch have disappeared after retiring to their beds, and were never seen again. It is possible that they were kidnapped or left of their own free will, but the fact that their wands and other personal effects were still there led some to suggest that a Lethifold or two may have been responsible. If that is the truth, it would be a dangerous creature that could aid Voldemort in his renewed attempt to gain power.
The Dementor and Lethifold are two distinctly different creatures as well. The Dementor feeds on a human's happiness, sucking it out of him or her over time, and leaving them mentally incapacitated. It can also perform what is called the Dementor's Kiss, which is how it removes a person's soul, leaving them a useless, thoughtless vegetable. The Dementors can be felt by wizards and muggles due to the feelings that they cause before you even see them. Muggles cannot see them, but wizards can, obviously. It is because we can sense a Dementor before it attacks that we can fight it off. However, a Lethifold attacks when our defenses are the weakest, at night, when we would usually be asleep. That is why it is so difficult to ward a Lethifold off."
He paused to let this news sink in with the class, and then he continued."Now, as I have already said, one charm repels Dementors and Lethifolds, only one. The Patronus Charm, and we are going to learn to cast it in this class this year. The proper incantation is Expecto Patronum. Repeat after me, without wands please. Expecto Patronum!"
"Expecto Patronum!" they all said in unison.
"Very good, once more please."
"Expecto Patronum!" they chanted again.
"Now, the spell is much more complicated than just saying the incantation. The caster must concentrate on a happy thought, a very happy thought; a thought that can resist the effects of a Dementor that is sucking every happy thought out of you. You must keep this thought in your head the entire time you are casting the spell. If it is done correctly, a Patronus will come out of the end of our wand, and put itself in between you and the creature you conjured it to protect you from. It is the personification of hope, happiness and good feelings, and it cannot be harmed. Also, a corporeal Patronus, one that has taken an actual shape, will be unique to the witch or wizard that casts the spell. No two Patronus' are the same, at least that we know of as of this time."
Pansy Parkinson raised her hand.
"Yes Miss Parkinson?" Lupin said to her.
"Sir, if the Patronus is unique, doesn't that mean that it takes the shape of something? Doesn't it have an animal from, or something?"
"Excellent question Miss Parkinson. And to answer it, yes, the Patronus takes the shape of an animal, and it will actually attack a Dementor or Lethifold. It can even be used to protect someone that is important to you as well."
"Do you mean that it will protect anyone, as long as the wizard that cast the spell is in danger?" Darren blurted out.
"What I mean Darren is that a Patronus will protect anyone we love, as long as it is in its corporeal form," was Professor Lupin's response.
Darren was thinking of what memory he would think of when it came time for him to attempt the spell, but he did not think that any would be strong enough to repel a Dementor or Lethifold, let alone a group of them. He looked around the classroom, seeing the other students with their eyes closed and apparently trying to think of something happy from their past. Darren raised his hand, a question having just entered his mind.
"Yes Darren, you have another question?" Professor Lupin asked him.
"Yes sir. Will we be required to use a memory, or would anything that would make us happy be good enough?"
"You mean, perhaps, something you would want for Christmas or your birthday?"
'Not exactly,' Darren thought. But he did not say that. Instead he replied with, "I was thinking of, well, any thought, maybe even a wish, that might make us happy, like Voldemort being defeated finally, or something like that?"
"Well Darren, it does not really matter if it is a memory or desire, as long as it brings out enough of the good feelings required to make the spell work. Does that answer your question?"
"Yes sir, that is fine," Darren replied.
Professor Lupin continued to lecture them on the use of the Patronus, and a few historical incidents when it had been used to save the life of a witch or wizard. Darren's attention was not in the class though; he was focused on things outside of Hogwarts.
'Lethifolds, possibly, in England?' he thought. 'How would you fight off something that you don't see coming?'
His wandering thoughts were interrupted by the bell signaling the end of the class. Professor Lupin was telling them the homework assignment, nine inches of parchment on the use of the Patronus Charm in a defense situation. Darren rose to leave when he was stopped and asked to stay behind by Professor Lupin.
"Darren, I was wondering how you know so much about Lethifolds?" he asked.
Darren thought for a second as to whether he should tell Lupin a lie or just tell him the truth. He decided on the truth, for what harm could that do to him?
"Well, sir, my father told me about them three years ago, after the Dementors were guarding the school. I was curious about the Dementors and how to fight them, and he tried to show me the Patronus Charm, but I was a little too young to perform it correctly. However, I got really interested in the creatures and did some reading about them. Why do you ask, sir?"
Lupin just nodded at this information, looking like he was shocked that a student would be interested in such creatures.
"Okay, Darren, I was just curious. See you next class," he said, and Darren left to go to Herbology, followed by Care of Magical Creatures.
"Yes sir, see you next class then," he said as he exited the classroom.
Herbology had been boring as usual. Darren had been bored for five years in Herbology, and did not see it grabbing his attention any time soon. It had gotten interesting about half way through the class when Crabbe had touched a piece of Devil's Snare and it had attacked him viciously. Darren had to literally bite his tongue to keep from laughing at Crabbe's plight. When class was over, he and Blaise had laughed all the way to Hagrid's cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest.
The Gryffindors were already there, and their presence reminded him of the detention he had to serve with four of them that very night. He and Blaise took their place at the back, as usual in Professor Hagrid's classes. Ever since the Blast-Ended Skrewts two years ago, Darren and Blaise had made every effort possible to keep as far away from any creature Hagrid had as possible. Then Darren saw Professor Grubbly-Plank walk from around the back of Hagrid's cabin, and he was immediately curious as to where Hagrid might be. He was more concerned that Hagrid, wherever he was, might return with a Manticore or some other dangerous creature. Professor-Grubbly Plank asked the class to follow her to the rear of Hagrid's hut, and as they rounded the corner, Darren saw a very weird looking winged creature. At first he thought that is was a Hippogriff, but the rear of the body told him it was not. Whatever it was, it was absolutely huge. He recognized what it was just as Professor Grubbly-Plank asked if anyone knew what kind of creature it was.
As expected, Hermione's hand beat his into the air and she was called upon.
"It is a Griffin," she said.
"Excellent, five points to Gryffindor, and does anyone know what two creatures make up the Griffin?"
Hermione beat him again. "It is a mating of a lion and a giant eagle, and it has the ability to fly as well," she added unnecessarily, as the wings told them all that it could fly. Also, when a male Griffin mates with a horse, it produces a Hippogriff."
"Very good Miss Granger, five more points to Gryffindor. Now, the Griffin is originally form Greece, but has spread across the Mediterranean to Asia and India. It is a carnivore, and prefers raw meat, and it is a natural enemy to snakes and Basilisks. This one is named Brogan, which is Gaelic for strong and sturdy."
Darren saw Ron Weasley make a gesture to Harry at the bit of information regarding snakes and basilisks.
"Griffins are notoriously loyal, protective and brave, and usually only take to one or two people in their whole lifetime. It is also sometimes used to guard treasure, and wizards or witches can befriend them, but it is not a creature that is trustworthy of most humans. However, once you gain its trust, you will have it forever. Approaching a Griffin is dangerous in itself, and extreme caution must be maintained. Look it in the eyes, or it will see you as untrustworthy if you look away. Now, who would like to attempt to feed this one?"
Nobody came forward or raised their hands.
"Very well, I will just have to pick someone then. How about Mr. Potter, since he was so successful with a Hippogriff?"
Harry looked slightly uneasy as he walked to the front of the group and picked up a large piece of meat from a tub Professor Grubbly-Plank had next to the pen the Griffin was in. The Griffin just looked at him, its head cocked to one side, sizing up the boy that was offering it food. Draco was almost to the point of giddiness at the thought of Harry being slashed, or worse, by the animal.
'God, you are pathetic,' Darren said to himself, referring to Draco in his thoughts.
Then he heard Professor Grubbly-Plank helping Hermione approach the Griffin.
"Hermione, continue to look him in the eye, and do not look away, no matter what you do."
Suddenly Darren heard Draco's voice make a shrill noise, and he realized he was attempting to make Harry look away, apparently so he would be attacked.
'BASTARD!' was all Darren could think at the moment.
But he did not look away, in fact he kept her eyes locked on the Griffin's, and was able to get it to come to him and take the meat he had offered it. It gulped the treat down with one great gulp, and looked at him as if it was asking for more. It nudged Harry with its
"Very good Harry, another five points to Gryffindor for approaching the Griffin correctly. Now, the Griffin has many uses other than what we have already discussed. Its claws can be used as cups, and the ribs make powerful bows. Full grown Griffins are strong enough to carry off full grown elephants, so be wary of their strength. This one is a youngster, but he should still be treated with great respect." She clapped her hands together loudly. "So, who would anybody else like to try?" she asked.
Darren raised his hand, hoping to just get a chance to get close to suck a magnificent creature.
Professor Grubbly-Plank had him come forward and made him take a large piece of meat from the same tub as Harry. He walked forward slowly, keeping his eyes locked in the Griffin's eyesight, and expecting Draco to do something to try to distract him as well. He did not have to wait long, as he felt a rock hit him in the middle of his back. He flinched, breaking the eye contact and the Griffin reared up and flapped its wings and made an aggressive shriek that froze Darren in his tracks.
"Darren, move backwards slowly, and do not look it in the eyes now. It does not trust you, and if you look into his eyes, you will make it think you are being aggressive towards him. Just back away, and keep looking at the ground as you go."
He did as he was told, but what choice did he have really? The Griffin was huge and looked not only vicious but extremely strong as well. The class was muttering about what Draco had done, and Ron was cursing him vehemently in front of the teacher. She had to threaten him with a detention to shut him up, and since he had one that night already, he decided to let the Professor handle the situation. She gave Draco a detention, to be served with her that night, and Darren had to smile at himself, feeling a little better that Draco had not gotten away with his trick this time. Draco made a few comments under his breath that were very rude, but Professor Grubbly-Plank either didn't hear him or was just ignoring him. Either way, she dismissed the class soon after that, and Darren headed off to the library to look up information on Wolfsbane. He had to get some work done, go to dinner, and then to detention in Snape's dungeon.He ate quickly, gulping down his dinner in great bites, and then rushed off to the dungeons, where Ron, Harry, Hermione and Neville were waiting for Professor Snape. He stopped a few feet short of them, not wanting to get to close to them, as he was unsure how they would react to him. Neville looked terrified, and Darren could not really blame him at all. Snape had terrorized him for five years, and it did not look like he was going to ease up this year. Not on Neville or Harry or his friends for that matter. He could hear Ron talking to Harry in an almost whisper. Apparently Ron was unaware of the fact that Darren had exceptional hearing.
"I wonder why Snape would actually give a Slytherin a detention? We've never seen him do that before."
"Well, they aren't all Malfoy, you know," he heard Harry say in reply.
That made Darren smile and laugh lightly under his breath. Then he looked up at the sound of footsteps coming down the corridor. It was Snape, his face set in a rather ugly look. He stopped in front of Harry and Ron.
"Well, if it isn't the famous Harry potter and his sidekick, here again. Inside the classroom, all of you" he ordered.
Darren could see the enmity for Snape on Harry's face, and when Harry looked at him, Darren just shrugged as of to say he understood. The five of them were told to sit down at the front table and Hermione was ordered to put her quill away.
"There will be no lines in my detentions Miss Granger. Five points from Gryffindor for telling me what to do in my own classroom."
None of the Gryffindors even seemed to think about responding to his baiting tactic. They had seen it all before, as had Darren, and they were not going to let him get to them that night.
"The five of you," Snape continued, "will be required to clean the table tops in this classroom and to have it done by midnight. And there will be NO magic used, or it will be a week's worth of detentions to the ones that do. The soap and brushes are on the table in front of you, and you have four hours to complete your task."
And with that he strode out of the room, leaving them gaping at each other as to how they were supposed to clean fifteen huge worktables that appeared to be covered with at least two inches of grime and muck in just four hours. Ron was cursing Snape and calling him names that made Hermione react with shock while Harry had already taken a brush and started on the first table.
"Come on Ron, it isn't as hard as it looks. My uncle Vernon makes me do this kind of thing all the time."
Ron just kept cursing as he took up a brush and started to rub it on the wood top of the same desk that Harry was working on.
"Look at this!" Ron exclaimed. "I bet he had a bunch of Slytherins come in here and throw entrails and potions ingredients on the tables just to make it harder."
"Oh Ron, why do you always have to assume the worst about people?" Hermione asked him.
"Because he is an evil, foul and vile teacher that gets his kicks from antagonizing anyone not in his house, that's why Hermione."
"Well, in case you haven't noticed Ron, Darren is serving detention with us, and he is a Slytherin, so your theory does not hold up, does it?" she said in response to his accusations.
"Snape has always hated me, but I don't know why," he announced to his fellow students.
The others just looked at him, Neville especially seeming shocked to hear that Professor Snape had deep enmity for a student that was not a Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. Darren just stared back at them as an awkward silence filled the room. Obviously the Gryffindors were not used to a Slytherin student being so truthful and honest about their head of house.
"He's hated me since the day I got here, but I am not sure why he does. Whatever, I say. I figure he will be dead long before I am, so he can just bugger off," Darren said. Besides, once I leave Hogwarts, I won't be coming back, and he will still be the same unhappy and greasy git he is now. Oh, and Ron, the seventh year Slytherins had class last today, so I would not put it past Snape to have them make it extra messy just for us."
Harry, Ron and Neville laughed, but Hermione just pursed her lips and seemed to be thinking hard about what Darren had just said.
"Well Darren, do you have any idea why he hates you?" she asked him.
Darren shrugged. "Not really, and I honestly don't care either. Just like with Malfoy. I could not care less what they think of me, to tell the truth."
"Then why are you in Slytherin then, since it seems you don't really fit in with them anyway?" It was Harry who asked him this.
Darren thought for a moment, trying to decide just how much of his past to divulge to them.
"Probably because my entire family has been in Slytherin. My Grandfather was always telling me about pure-bloods and how they are the best wizards and a lot of other muck about ambition and power, and when I had come here, my head was full of it, so I think the Sorting Hat took those thoughts as the reason to put me in Slytherin, instead of one of the other houses.
Ron looked at him and asked, "What house do you think you should have been in Darren?"
"Ravenclaw was the one I expected to be in because I had always done well in school."
They all just nodded their heads at this, as they all also knew that he was usually second, sometimes a close second, but second nonetheless to Hermione when grades were posted. Darren just put his head back down to his work, which at the time was a particularly crusty piece of scum that oddly resembled a toad's liver. Neville came over to his table asking if he could work with him for a while.
"Sure Neville, no problem at all," He told him. Darren was a bit glad to have somebody to keep him company, as scrubbing years of Potions spills off the tables was boring and tedious.
"I'm scared to death of Professor Snape," Neville told Darren.
"Yeah, I had noticed Neville."
"I wish I could get through one class without him making me mess up my work." Neville was looking around as he talked, seemingly looking for Snape to come out of a hiding place in a corner.
"Just look at it this way Neville. Snape is never going to be happy no matter what you do, so just do your best and when Hermione helps you in class, try a bit harder to hide it."
"Well, I don't think he will ever get away from taunting me, because he knows that I am afraid of him." Neville had said more to Darren in the last few minutes than he had in five years at school together. Of course, they had never really had the chance to speak before, so Darren had no idea how much Neville had opened up to him.
"Just do your best to ignore him Neville. He knows you are afraid of him, so that is why he keeps it up. If you don't let him get to you, and he stops having that effect on you that he has always had, eh will eventually get bored with it and stop."
"Well, I don't think I can do that Darren. I get too nervous around him."
Darren was getting more than a little exasperated at Neville's whiny attitude, but he had to admit that Neville seemed a decent sort of fellow, and so did the other three, no matter what he had always heard about them before.
"Well Neville, my dad taught me how to handle a bully. You just give him one good whacking, and the problem sorts itself out. Take Malfoy for example. One day somebody is going to get him, and I hope they do it right in front of the whole school and make him look like the fool he really is."
"Maybe you could do it Darren?" Neville told him.
"Nah, how would it look for a Slytherin to get into a fight with another Slytherin? I don't think that would go over too well."
Ron spoke up just then. "We think it would be great Darren."
Darren had to force himself to not smile at the thought, but he had to admit, it would feel good to give Malfoy a dose of his own medicine.
The rest of the night continued in relative quiet. Darren worked with Neville on one side of the class, and Ron and Harry worked together on the other. Hermione would help whomever had the worst table to clean at the time, and the tables came clean eventually. Harry and Ron had finished their last one wit ten minutes left until midnight. Darren, Neville and Hermione were still working furiously on their last half of a table. Ron and Harry came over to help them and they got through with less than a minute to go. Shape stormed in, apparently expecting to see that some of the tables were still dirty. His face fell as he saw that he had no reason to give them another detention and dismissed them gruffly.
The five of them left together, walking quietly, their arms sore from the scrubbing. When they reached the ground floor, Darren bid them good night.
"Good night Hermione, Harry, Ron, Neville," he had told them.
They each told him good night as well, and turned to head up the stairwell.
He heard Hermione talking to Ron in a hushed tone. "You see Ron, all the Slytherins aren't bad."
Darren just smiled to himself and headed to his own common room.