Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter Two - Defense against the Dark Arts

The new teacher was immediately popular with almost all the students. He didn't seem to have been educated at Hogwarts himself, so no house could claim him as their own. And he seemed to be fairly reasonable with the points he awarded or took.

The next Defense lesson the Gryffindors entered the classroom only to find a note that they were expected in one of the dungeon classrooms. They rushed there, uncertain as to what their teacher was up to.

He awaited them in a seemingly empty classroom. "Class," he said, "today, you have a practical assignment. You will enter the room on my left. Once I close the door behind you, you will be locked in. You have to find a way to get out. If one of you should get in serious trouble, make the sound of a ringing bell with your wand. I will then release you. Otherwise, you are on your own. Good luck."

The students looked at each other, unable to believe their ears. Reluctantly, they entered the room.

It seemed to be a very normal room. There was a four poster bed in it, a mirror at the wall, a small dresser under it, a large cupboard, an old carpet on the floor and nothing much else. The light was coming from a chandelier at the ceiling and a lot of candles. There was no window and no other door.

They looked at each other, puzzled. "Do you think he's nuts?" Seamus uncertainly asked.

Harry remembered the face of their teacher. "I don't think so at all," he said, remembering the man's smiling eyes. "I think he wants to see what we're up to when confronted with an unexpected situation. We should try to get out of here, like he said."

With that he touched the door handle. He immediately released it and fell back with a cry, for it sparkled and glowed with heat.

"Well," he dryly said. "I think we can safely presume that it is cursed. We will have to find another way. But which one?"

With that, creativity kicked in and they spent some hilarious time devising the most ridiculous solutions.

They could wrap the handle with the carpet. (Neville, first practical solution, unfortunately unsuccessful, the handle burnt its way right through the carpet)

They could transfigure the mirror in a spade and dig their way out. (Seamus, he seemed to have too much energy since his latest love affair, and anyway, the floor was of solid rocks)

They could cause a fire and burn the door (Dean, never thinking of anything else that might burn)

They could use the mirror as a fire glass and burn a hole in the door (Seamus again, leftover from his boy scout boyhood)

They could sleep until Caldus came to get them out (Ron, still tired and content to be lazy)

Hermione searched the drawers of the dresser and found a small, rather mouldy looking book that seemed to be on Defense. If she deciphered de title correctly. But she wasn't sure; it was more of a lucky guess. Anyway, she sat down on the bed and buried herself in the book.

Harry looked around, thinking. He didn't know his teacher very well, yet. There was no knowing what kind of a person he was. Nonetheless, Harry had the feeling that the solution would be elegant and simple, with no need to destroy something in order to succeed. No, how could that be arranged? He frowned, remembering the potions lesson and the uses of the clarification potion.

He looked into the mirror, half expecting to see something apart from his own face. But no, it seemed to be a very common mirror. Nothing wrong with it.

He frowned again, looking at the door handle. It had to be cursed in some way. What kind of curse could that be? And how could it be undone?

He frowned again, dimly remembering something they had learned in charms, last year. Something about reversal…

"Hermione," he called out. "What was that again that Flitwick said about reversibility of charms? Does that mean curses as well?"

Hermione looked blankly for a moment. Then she brightened. "Wait, yes. It can be undone if you chant the incantation the other way round and mirror the wand movement."

"Well, that's of no use to us here," Ron remarked, as we don't know what curse was placed on the handle. Hermione thought for a moment. Didn't Flitwick also say something about the reversal of the result? That's it! We need to reverse the sparkling door handle. How do we do that?"

"Uhm," Neville piped, "perhaps we could charm the mirror so that it reverses the effect?"

"Brilliant," Dean almost immediately said. "Wait a second."

And with a wave of his wand he cast the reversal charm on the mirror. Harry carefully neared the door handle again. With the same unfortunate result as the first time.

They looked at each other, sighing. "Somebody a better idea?"

Ron looked around him. "I don't know why it didn't work. It made sense. You reverse a curse by doubling the effect. That was it."

"That's it," Hermione happily said. "Ron, you're a genius. We need to more mirrors. One on each wall of this room. Then the effect is truly doubled."

The others looked at her a bit dumb, but willing to try it. Hermione quickly transfigured the carpet into a mirror and told Neville to hold it up. She did the same with the book.

Dean cast the charm again. This time they all knew that he had been successful, even before Harry tried the door handle.

Their teacher awaited them outside, arms crossed before his chest, smiling faintly. "Full points," he only said.

That evening Harry wrote an excited letter Sirius. After the war, Sirius stayed at Grimmauld Place, but it had become a much more cheerful place to live in.

"We got a new DADA teacher. Twiddledee somehow got lost in Devil's Snare. The new teacher, his name is Caldus, Serenus Caldus, by the way, do you know him? He is real cool. He gave us a practical lesson today."

(Here he described the lesson at great length)

"Next weekend we will have a Hogsmeade weekend. Why don't you come over? It will be great fun! We could all go to the Three Broomsticks. Please let me hear if you can come!

Harry

Having sealed it and sent it away, he turned to Ron for a game of chess.