AN: No internet plus boredom= more writing time! May the Fourth be with you dear readers.

I have actually found the perfect person for Lien. Out of all my dream-casts she's probably the best. Morgan Lily? She just looks exactly how I imagined Lien.

Dream-cast for Jayna Ivonne Blackwood?

Chapter Eight
Of First Lessons and Muggle Designs

The first lesson back after any holiday was usually miserable to all participants. Not so much after the long summer holidays though, and definitely not to our eight.

Sam's first lesson started with utter hilarity on her part. Over the summer she'd been thinking… And well, what muggles would now call out-dated wizards still hadn't seen. She'd been digging through the attic during one of her fouler moods, and had come across a pair of her old shoes. She had to wait until she got to Hogwarts to perform the spells; she was a rule-breaker but you only got one warning on magic practiced outside magical settlements when you still had the Trace, and Sam was intent on saving her's for something useful.

Now she glided down the halls of the third floor (she was determined to find out how to get them to work down stairs but was so far unsuccessful), still in her black converse, but the shoes had been adapted to what her mother called 'heelys'. The student population watched in awe as she flew along to Defence Against the Dark Arts without any use of magic. James was running after her, not caring how stupid he looked, calling encouragement and questions as to 'how in Merlin's awful name are you doing that'?

Lydjah cracked up laughing when she saw the confusion in everyone's gazes as Sam glided to a stop outside their classroom, but she didn't give up the secret. Jayna's begrudging admiration was particularly sweet. James was breathless but grinning, his eyes wide.

Pippa Gage, a passing seventh year Gryffindor stopped by her. "How did you manage that? Is it some secret in your family?"

"My family?"

"Your sister was unbelievable this morning; she made a ball vanish into nothing; right in front of me! She's a two day old first-year; how did she manage vanishing charms?!" The poor seventh-year seemed very stressed by the prospect; vanishing charms weren't taught until fifth year. Sam wondered whether to reveal that her sister had been practicing sleight of hand 'magic' all summer, or whether to let the school think her Muggleborn sister was a genius.

It wasn't a hard choice.

"She is very good at them isn't she?" Pippa groaned.

"How did you manage to glide along the floor? I thought that it was some variant of Glacius to start with but there's no ice." Sam merely smiled and winked. "Ugh!" Pippa stormed off, grumbling about injustice, and Sam's smile only grew wider.

"Your sister can do vanishing charms?" Asked Jayna, looking slightly faint.

"Says you Miss non-verbal." Jayna winced. "What?"

"Lydjah and I may have been pranking you and James last year when we said I could do that."

"What?!" They both cried together.

"I can do stupid little spells non-verbally, like the colourful bubble-making charm and I'm trying to teach myself how to do our first year's syllabus but I've only managed the knockback jinx so far."

"You sneaky little geeks." James said, narrowing his eyes. Lydjah and Jayna both smiled at this, mostly because his facial expression was so funny.

"Well since you've admitted that… Do you want my secret or my sister's?"

"Can't I have both?" Jayna whined.

"A secret for a secret Blackwood. Don't you know anything?" James joked. Jayna paled slightly, swaying on her feet.

"Jay-Jay? Is it another memory?" Lydjah asked worriedly, touching her gently on the shoulder. Jayna blinked a few times and shook her head slowly.

"Just a flash of one. Sorry. Continue with what you were saying."

"I can't remember-"

"Secret for a secret was it? Ok… So I need to give you another secret of mine?"

"Sounds about right." Sam grinned.

"Hmm… Did the thing in the Hospital Wing not count?" Sam sighed, knowing she was beat, and gestured for them all to move in closer so that she could whisper to them.

"Fair dos Jayna. Hayden's been practicing sleight of hand muggle 'magic'. It's where you move things, like plastic balls, in a certain way so that to the viewer they appear to have vanished, but all they've done is hidden it up their sleeve or in their other hand. And as for me…" Sam lifted up her shoe and showed Jayna and James the bottom of her foot, where two wheels were inserted into the soles.

"Cool." James said, grinning. Jayna's eyes went to saucers.

"WOW! They're like mini car wheels! But how do they work? There's no… Engine?"

"Something to do with weight and forces. I was never good at science." Sam shrugged.

"So powered by you then? I agree with Potter for once; so cool." Lydjah feigned a gasp of shock at this proclamation. It was then that Professor Avisana called them into her classroom.

"Welcome back students! Come in, come in." The four of them didn't notice the strange looks they got for sitting together at the back of the classroom. "Alright. Has anyone not got a copy of The Essential Defence Against the Dark Arts? I have a few spare copies."

Galvin Key, a Ravenclaw, raised a shaky hand from where he sat at the front of the classroom. Every year Galvin had to 'borrow' another book for at least one subject because, well, his family simply couldn't afford it. Jayna frowned a little; having had money her whole life, the implication that Galvin was poor just hadn't occurred to her. He looked a bit shabby, sure, but so did a lot of boys who'd had sudden growth spurts. Sam remembered a conversation she'd had with Molly while she was staying at the Potters' and her part of the Weasley family had come to visit who was appalled at the knowledge that there wasn't any help for families who couldn't afford to send their child to school.

Professor Avisana summoned a book from the cupboard and onto his desk without asking why to his relief but also his shame because it was so obvious. Jayna's frown increased.

"Ok class, register. Sam?"

"Yes miss."

"Quill?"

"Good morning Professor."

"Morning. Jayna?"

"Yes miss."

"Sally?"

"Yes miss." It continued. Once the register had been completed Professor Avisana stood up from her desk.

"I'd just like a quick show of hands to start with. How many of you keep your wands in your hands at all times?" Only a few people in the class raised their hands, Jayna and James among them. "Jayna, why do you do that?" It was only after she said the question that the Professor realised that perhaps Jayna wasn't the person to ask.

"So that I'll always be ready to protect myself and others." Jayna shrugged, as if to lessen her words a little.

"Perfect." Professor Avisana smiled, shooting Jayna a look that she interpreted as an apology. "So can anyone else tell me why they don't always have their wands in their hands?" Sally raised her arm. "Sally, yes?"

"Well it's a bit inconvenient. I mean, the likelihood we're going to get attacked in school is a lot less than the likelihood of us breaking our wands by tripping over and landing on them, or getting them caught in things. But if I was in some place I didn't know, I'd probably keep my wand out." There were murmurs of agreement around the class. James' hand shot up.

"Yes James?"

"If someone were to attack you though, aren't they most likely to do it where you're comfortable? I know this castle is near impregnable without inside help, no offence to Professor Sinistra intended," the class laughed and he paused. Even Professor Avisana offered him a wry smile, though there was a hint of a warning in her eyes, "but if you get into that way of thinking then you won't be prepared for when you live outside this castle, when you're more open to attack."

"If you get into that way of thinking though," Lydjah argued, without waiting to be called upon, though the Professor didn't stop her, "you'll constantly be paranoid that something's going to jump out at you. I know you're probably not the best case to look at but the likelihood of anyone getting attacked ever, especially in these times, is too minimal to bother constantly being on the defence."

"It's not paranoia that keeps the wand in my hand though;" James shot back, enjoying the debate, "I'm not constantly looking around for danger. I just know it'll be there if I need it."

"If you're not constantly on the alert though, you could be attacked just as easily as someone without a wand." Olivia backed Lydjah's argument.

"Ah but if I was going to attack someone, I'd definitely pick someone who didn't have a wand on them over someone who did." Jayna pointed out.

"So you wielding a wand is just going to divert someone's attack away from you and onto someone else?" Josie said, with a disgusted tone. Jayna rolled her eyes.

"No I think what she meant was that if everyone carried their wands, less attacks would happen, because the image of someone carrying a wand, whether they are consciously looking for danger or not, is enough to put people off." James backed up. Jayna nodded, with a half-surprised smile on her face.

"People don't usually attack others at random though. Sometimes they just pick a certain location and they don't care who is inside, yeah, but if it was an attack on a building it probably won't matter if you had your wand out to start with or not; you'll be just as dead if they decided to bomb it or fiendfyre the place. If someone was out to attack you personally, and you weren't constantly paranoid and looking for danger, there's no point in having your wand out." Sam said. James narrowed his eyes at her giving her a mock-betrayed look.

"I disagree." Rory managed to say before Lydjah turned to look curiously at him and he promptly clamped up.

"So do I Jordan." Jayna came to his rescue, still feeling bad about laughing at him last year. "Having my wand in my hand gives me a sense of purpose. I'm not constantly looking for danger, so I'm not paranoid, but I'm always aware that I have my wand on me. It reminds me that in the end it's yourself that you have to trust the most and because, unlike others," she said, with a significant glance at Sam, "I don't have any other way to defend myself, whether that's from an attack or just me tripping and knocking myself down the stairs, it's my magic that's going to keep me safe."

There was a slight pause after her words, where no-one was quite sure what to say. It wasn't that they were very profound, but she delivered them in such a way that everyone knew she'd just divulged something personal, and no-one wanted to be the first person to shoot it down.

"That was an excellent debate, class; exactly what I was hoping would happen. Fifteen points to each house. You have proven to each other that while I will teach you all the same spells and how to protect yourself against dark creatures, I cannot make them be your instinctual behaviour. For some of you, this class will be something you drop in three years' time, because you're not interested in learning how to be scared in order to be brave. That's ok. That doesn't mean you can't be brave anyway, but that you don't desire to be brave as a job. For others, you plan to take this class all the way to becoming something in the law enforcement, where you can fight the darkness every day. A life of danger, never knowing if you'll make it back this time, but becoming better with every fight you partake in. And for still others of you, you will not realise at this point that you need this class. If you want to go into Healing for example; most people think learning how to fight should be the last thing on their minds. But understanding a fight in order to treat a wound is a crucial part of the Healing profession. I would suggest that no matter which of these three groups you fall into, or partially into, you should try and make your spells instinctive. In the end, the grade you get in this class will not help you if you can't multi-task spells and strategy in a fight, and you never know when you might need that skill."

The class shared looks with each other, some sceptical but most nodding in agreement. Professor Avisana smiled. "With that said; today's lesson will start on the disarming charm. Can someone tell me the incantation? Yes Jason?"

"Expelliarmus." Jason answered. A barely audible sigh came from most of the girls in the class. Jason North was a particularly gorgeous specimen and, unlike James, he appeared to be adorably unaware of it.

"Correct, five points to Ravenclaw. And what does it look like? Yes Olivia?"

"A bright scarlet jet of light."

"Again correct, five points to Gryffindor. Looks like you've all done your reading over the summer guys. Ok; wands out please." Jayna and James shared a smirk as all they had to do was pick up their wands from their desks. "The hand movement is a long line diagonally right and then a quick curved flick to the left, like so." She demonstrated with her wand, and the rest of the class copied her. "Looking good. If you could get in a line from the door to about a metre away from me."

The class scrambled to do what she asked, sharing grins with each other as they envisioned where the lesson was going. "Perfect. Now you're all going to take it in turns to try and disarm me. I will not attempt to block the spell until everyone has managed it. Anyone who catches my wand will receive ten points for their house. Got it? Ok, Isla; begin."

Isla stepped forwards with a determined grin, and aimed at Professor Avisana's hand. "Expelliarmus!" The jet of light was rose pink but it did make Professor Avisana's wand jerk out of her grip, but only to the floor by her feet.

"Great! You just need to flick your wand further to the left, while saying the incantation." She picked her wand up. "Next!"

Violet was next and, true to her name, her spell was slightly more on the purple side of things. Her spell was more forceful, but instead of disarming the teacher it made her have to take a step back. "Try not to mumble when you speak." Was Professor Avisana's only point.

By the time Malcolm, Riley, Ned, Paige, Owen and Max had gone, James had won a collective total of 55 points for Gryffindor (he was awarded an extra five for catching the wand on Paige's turn with his eyes closed, and Riley's attempt hadn't made the wand leave the Professor's hand), and every aspiring Chaser in the class was royally pissed off at him. Lee was the first person to cast the spell entirely successfully, and James got sent out for calling her a 'badass motherfucking awesome eagle' though he was awarded another ten points for his sixth catch. Jayna, Sam and Lydjah all managed the spell as well; though to be fair they had had longer to practice it.

The class ended shortly after with Professor Avisana's cries of 'read Chapter Two by Thursday' ringing behind them. James ran off quickly with Sam, hoping his head of house would forget to give him a detention (she didn't forget she just didn't want to give out a detention on the first day) leaving Jayna and Lydjah to pack up their things.

Jayna always took bloody ages to pack her bag, for reasons unbeknownst to Lydjah. She didn't carry around more stuff than everybody else, or at least not that she got out, but it took her ages anyway. Rory was speaking with the Professor about the lesson; it's not as if he had anywhere to be or anything.

"So what's your prescription?"

"Still not as large as yours." Jayna japed. "Seriously; how are you allergic to so much stuff?"

"How are you so bad at deflecting questions?" Lydjah shot back. Jayna rolled her eyes.

"More dreamless sleep potion, a check-up every two weeks, a stress ball and this bleeper thingy."

"She gave you a stress ball?!" Lydjah burst out laughing, knocking her shoulder against Jayna's. "What bleeper thingy?" Jayna reached into her pocket and held it out, just far enough away that Lydjah knew not to try and touch it. There was a small round box in her palm, with a red light on the outside.

"If I push down the top of the box it will stun me."

"Electricity doesn't work in Hogwarts."

"This isn't electricity," Jayna said the word slowly, pleased when she got it right, "it's a medical device Healer Clearwater invented." Jayna practically glowed.

"Healer who?"

"Healer Clearwater? The youngest ever and current head of St Mungos?"

"No?"

"How can you not… Anyway, she invented this box. It can hold a spell using protective enchantments… Well I've read about it but I can't really claim that I understand it yet but yeah most spells within reason. It won't hold a curse which I think is pretty neat. I mean I know there are dangerous charms but that would require more work than it's worth to use it for nefarious purposes."

"So you press the button and you get knocked out? How is that in anyway helpful?"

"It's in case I get a flashback when I'm in a crowd full of people who could get hurt by me thrashing about. I requested one."

"And she just gave it to you?"

"It has a stunning spell in it so really what harm could it do?"

"True." Finally Jayna finished packing her stuff and slung her bag onto her shoulder and they made for the door. Leaning against the wall on the outside of the classroom was Fred Weasley.

Jayna smiled politely at him, knowing he was there for her friend (weren't all attractive boys).

"Hey Lydjah."

"Hey Fred." Jayna was expecting they'd have a flirty conversation that she would have to awkwardly third-wheel through the entire way to Charms. They might even hold hands like sickening lovebirds. Thank Merlin Sam and Lee weren't disgustingly cute (it is interesting to note, dear Reader, that Jayna would one day be in one such sickeningly cute pairing and would love every second of it). She was just about to wonder if perhaps she could walk with Rory instead (had her pride really sunk that low) or if she could awkwardly run/walk to the other people in her house (that was a decided no), when Fred leaned down and began snogging the living daylights out of her friend.

Jayna was thirteen. In her opinion, thirteen-year-old relationships were relationships that existed mainly because people wanted to show off that they had a date to Hogsmeade, or just that they had a boyfriend or girlfriend. Sam and Lee were perhaps her only exception, because she thought that in their own strange way they fit well together, but even they didn't snog like they'd suddenly developed gills. No-one her age did. There was that time that Sam and Lee snogged in front of everyone at breakfast but Jayna had a sneaking suspicion that was more about trying to prove a point to James as he'd gone very red after it. Not that she'd been staring at him or anything. Just you know, glancing.

Glancing was quickly becoming Jayna's favourite word.

Fred and Lydjah's snogging though… Jayna felt a little sick. She took several steps backwards, completely unsure of what to do as Fred pressed Lydjah a little into the wall. It wasn't the heated snogging where hands start to get a little risky that she'd seen in films over the summer or anything but it was a lot more than she was used to seeing on her typical Monday morning.

The next thing she knew Fred was reeling backwards into her, Lydjah was blinking confused with her hair disarrayed and Rory was stood protectively in front of her, glaring and cradling his bloodied fist.

"What the shit?!" Fred yelled as his nose streamed scarlet liquid. At a guess, Jayna would say it was broken. Professor Avisana stuck her head out of the door of her classroom. Rory met her gaze defiantly. Let it be noted that this was probably the only time that Rory had ever been defiant in his life, which is the only reason Jayna gave him a surprised but impressed look. Later, Rory would interpret the reason behind this differently, as he was stood outside a dress shop deciding on what colour tie he should buy (he decided on green, which was rather unfortunate in the end).

"What happened?" She asked, turning her gaze to Jayna. Jayna shot Rory a confused look.

"I think Rory punched Fred? As far as I could see Fred didn't do anything…"

"Rory, do you deny it?"

"No." Professor Avisana looked up at the castle roof, questioning why she had to deal with this on the first day of school. With a quick flick of her wand she summoned a piece of parchment and a quill and scribbled a quick late note for Fred.

"Fred go to the Hospital Wing, five points off Gryffindor for foul language; Rory come inside please; twenty points off Ravenclaw for breaking Fred's nose and you'll be serving detention with me after dinner. Girls, get to your class or you'll be late."

"Yes miss." They all replied. Lydjah gave Fred a concerned look as he glared daggers at Rory. Rory looked suitably cowed.

Jayna just stared off into the distance, unbelievably done with everything.