Chapter VIII

Blinding Light

Kelsey awoke to the faint sound of birds chirping outside. She had no idea what time it was but from the sound of faint breathing from the girls around her it was still rather early. She yawned widely and stretched, and lay there in her bed, deep in thought. She recounted the events of the previous night in her head. Ravenclaw. She still was unsure of how she felt about being sorted into this house, although having Pepper with her meant she would not be totally alone. She played with her hair, pulling knots out of it as she lay there. A distant but deep chime signaled the time - seven o'clock. With the chime of the clock she decided to get out of bed and get ready for breakfast. She opened her trunk and gathered her robes, uniform and toiletries, and headed for the shower.

As the hot water poured over her body Kelsey remained in deep thought. Was all of this real? Was she really a witch? Was Hogwarts real? Despite the heat coursing through her from the hot shower, she remained somewhat unconsciously unconvinced that she was experiencing all of this. Her mind traveled back to the attack in Little Whinging. Maybe she was dead after all and this was some outlandish fantasy her dying brain cooked up. The sounds of the other girls waking up and opening their trunks interrupted her thoughts, and she lathered her long hair in shampoo and rinsed, then dried off and changed into her clothes. She went over to the sink to brush her teeth and fix her hair. Pepper joined her.

"Morning, Pepper," she said. Pepper yawned in response and elicited a slight giggle from Kelsey. Kelsey finished up, tying her auburn hair into a ponytail and went down to the common room. She decided to wait for Pepper so that she was not alone trying to find her way back into the great hall. Several students milled about in the common room, whispering and socializing, a few reading books or checking over their syllabi. Kelsey walked over to the notice board, which already had several notes pinned to it. In the middle was the schedule for first year students, all of whom were required to attend the same classes. First on the list was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Kelsey's heart skipped a beat. That meant she would see Mister - no, Professor now - Potter! Just then Pepper came bounding the stairs and they went to breakfast.

Kelsey sat at her desk surrounded by thirty nine other students. It was their first class of the school year and it was just her luck that it was a double with Slytherin. She took out her syllabus and saw that they were learning Lumos Solem today. She felt something hit her in the head and looked down, seeing a crumpled piece of paper drop to the floor. She looked around to find who threw it at her and saw Mica Codde and several Slytherin students sniggering at her.

"I would very much appreciate it if you didn't do that again, thank you," she said politely. Mica scowled at her.

"And what if I say no?" he sneered.

"Then I will simply get the professor involved," Kelsey replied, turning back to her syllabus. Mica guffawed at this.

"Look everyone, the little mudblood is a tattletale!" he shouted. This caused the rest of the Slytherins to roar in laughter while the Ravenclaws gasped in horror.

Kelsey was confused and looked around the room, wondering why the Ravenclaws reacted in such disgust. Mudblood?

"A what?" she asked. Mica jumped up and closed the distance between their desks in four great strides, and slammed his hands on Kelsey's desk. She started and gazed up at his silver eyes, which gleamed with what she could only describe as pure hatred towards her. Mica leaned in slowly, causing Kelsey to shrink back into her chair. Her heartbeat sped up. She could feel her pulse in her ears. Mica leaned in so close their noses were mere centimeters away from touching.

"I said, you're a filthy, stinking, mudblood," he hissed. He leaned in closer and whispered into her ear, his lips just barely brushing against her skin. "You never should have been born."

He whipped around and returned to his desk just as Professor Potter entered the classroom, his robes billowing behind him. Kelsey's heart rate thundered in her chest. Mica's words echoed in her ears. She felt something akin to a stabbing in her heart. She didn't even know what it meant but his words were laced with such malice and venom. He really hated her and he didn't even know her.

"Good morning, everyone!" Professor Potter said jovially. He scanned the classroom as everyone returned his greeting. His smile faded when he noticed the now downtrodden Kelsey, but instantly reappeared.

"Can anyone tell me what we will be learning in class today?" he asked. A multitude of hands shot up into the air. He called on a Ravenclaw boy.

"Lumos Solem?" he said.

"Yes! Five points to Ravenclaw," Harry replied. "Lumos Solem, the blinding spell. Can anyone tell me why it's called that?"

A Slytherin girl's hand shot up and Harry pointed at her.

"Because it produces a light as bright as the sun."

Harry nodded and awarded five points to Slytherin. He took out his wand and flicked it, causing a piece of chalk to levitate and write the name of the spell and a circle on the board.

"This is the incantation and wand movement for the charm. As you can see, it is quite simple to perform but caution must used as this spell not only blinds your opponent but can potentially blind the caster as well. Which is why..."

He conjured a box onto the table next to him.

"...We will be using sunglasses!"

The students giggled at him when he put a pair on and clicked his tongue.

"Right then, if you could all form a single line down the centre aisle, please."

The students did so and Harry waved his wand once more, and the desks all stacked themselves neatly on the far wall at the back of the classroom. Kelsey stood in line staring at the floor. She felt a tug on her sleeve and looked up to see Pepper smiling gently at her.

"Don't let that sod get to you. He's just a bully," she said. She hugged Kelsey, who felt considerably better afterwards. She was able to focus much more clearly now. Kelsey took her sunglasses and joined her fellow Ravenclaws at their designated area. The professor made sure all students had their sunglasses and stood before them.

"Now, who can tell me something that this spell works particularly well against?"

Pepper's hand was the only one that rose. Harry nodded towards her.

"Devil's Snare!"

"Excellent! And why is it so effective against Devil's Snare?"

"Devil's Snare despises sunlight and heat, so it retreats into the darkness," Pepper rattled off. She started going off on the properties of the plant but was cut off by a laughing Professor Potter.

"Yes, yes, excellent, Miss Griffin. Take ten points to Ravenclaw."

Pepper beamed and smiled widely at Kelsey who returned her grin.

"You will, of course, learn more about this plant in herbology, but for now we will be practicing against a small potted snare. I will call each of you up to the center of the room and you will face this wardrobe that holds the plant. On my command you will recite the incantation and use the charm to force the Devil's Snare back into the wardrobe."

Professor Potter waved his wand and all the shutters closed, casting the room into darkness. There was just enough light filtering through that it wasn't completely black inside.

"Mister Codde, if you would please step forward!"

At his beckoning Mica sauntered forward arrogantly, and stood before Professor Potter. He motioned for Mica to face the wardrobe and ready his wand.

"On my command Mister Codde," he said, and waved his wand, flinging the wardrobe doors open.

"Now!"

A long tendril shot out of the wardrobe towards Mica, who frantically twirled his wand.

"Lumos Solem!"

Nothing happened. The tendril grabbed Mica by his feet and flung him high into the air.

"Lumos Solem!"

Still no light appeared. At this point multiple students were laughing at the panicking Slytherin.

"Any day now, Mister Codde!" called out Professor Potter, clearly restraining himself. Kelsey was fighting to hold back her own laughter at the sight of the tall boy screaming in terror, being flung to and fro by the Devil's Snare. The boy repeated the incantation multiple times to no avail and the snare slammed him onto the ground with a great thud. Dazed, Mica stood to his feet and readied his wand once more.

"Lumos... Lumos Solem..."

Yet nothing happened, and the tendril wagged in front of him, as if taunting Mica. He wiped his mouth and raised his wand, only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder. Professor Potter motioned for him to return to his designated area and he did so, embarrassed and angry. Harry called Susanna Ancrum to the center of the classroom next and she stood in front of the wagging tendril. Harry gave the go-ahead and the girl twirled her wand, reciting the incantation. Instantly a blinding flash of light erupted from her wand and the snare shrieked, retreating into the wardrobe. The crowd of students and Professor Potter all clapped, congratulating Susanna on her victory.

"Well done, well done, indeed! Ten points to Ravenclaw!"

Susanna returned to her group of friends, grinning and bouncing in excitement. Harry called several more students, alternating between the houses, and all of them successfully produced a blinding flash. Mica stood in his corner, scowling in fury. He had been made a fool of. Finally, it was Kelsey's turn. She slowly walked up to the center of the classroom and stood next to Professor Potter. She looked up at him, unsure. It seemed easy enough, but what if... No, she could do it. She readied her wand, and steeled herself.

"Now!"

The wardrobe burst open and the snare exploded outward, shooting towards Kelsey. She twirled the wand above her head and screamed the incantation.

"Lumos Solem!"

A dazzling blinding light exploded from the tip of her wand, illuminating the entire room. Every student in the room cried out and gasped, and Professor Potter stumbled backwards with a cry of surprise. The snare shrieked. The heat was intense and Kelsey felt the warmth travel up her arm into her body. The light disappeared as quickly as it appeared. She stood there gasping for breath, clutching her chest and heaving. There was a smell of smoke and Harry charmed the shutters open. The tentacle had disintegrated and all that remained was a smoking pile of ash leading to the wardrobe. Harry looked at Kelsey in shock. Kelsey looked over at the silent crowd, who stared at her.

"Uh, well, it appears our snare has been disintegrated. Well done. I expect that will be all today."

The students murmured amongst themselves and gathered their things. Kelsey felt very embarrassed and slowly packed her books into her bag, and felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Professor Potter.

"Don't feel bad, Kelsey. That was extraordinary what you did. That was the strongest blinding spell I have ever seen. You did well," he said, smiling. Kelsey felt her face turning red and looked away.

"I... Everyone looked at me like I was some kind of freak..." she mumbled.

"Kelsey when I was in school I was regularly treated that way. It doesn't matter what everyone else thinks."

He sat on the desk next to her and stuffed his hands in his pants pockets.

"What matters is how you see yourself. Don't focus too much on everyone else, okay?" he said. Kelsey nodded and he stood up and walked to his desk. He stopped and turned around.

"By the way," he said, "twenty points to Ravenclaw."

Kelsey grinned and ran out of the classroom.