4th Bell – Nothing is as Seen
-Remus' POV-
"Quit struggling, Hun," Sirius said, as we dragged the reluctant Seiki down the halls on the third floor. "Oh you're being childish." For some reason or another, the girl had refused to leave her bed and Lily being a good friend, made sure she was going to be at their Defence Against the Dark Arts class to make my life tutoring her easier.
"It's not going to be bad," I told her. "Why are you so against this? Are you like this with every new teacher? We'll be sure the fan girls stay away."
She managed to shake us off near the entrance to room 3C. She crossed her arms and her face set in a strict frown. "You're not planning to skip my class, are you?" a deep voice said smoothly, coming from directly behind Seiki who was between Sirius and I, the others were walking in front. The girl glanced up behind her at the new professor who was the same height as James. "Na. Ru…Sei…." Seiki scoffed, storming into the room as the school bell chimed. "Well? Are the rest of you going to sit down? Class is in session." He impatiently tapped his right shoulder with the Daily Prophet he rested on there in his hand. One look from that deep amethyst eye, we all scurried of for seats.
"Did you hear him approach?" James hissed back to Peter and I. We all shook our heads.
"He appeared out of nowhere," Sirius added next to him, and we all nodded.
"It seemed like he came from the shadows," Peter corrected.
"I don't think that's possible," I muttered.
"It could be the Dark Arts."
"Yeah, that mask has to be something to do with it," James inserted quickly.
"No wonder Seiki wanted to run. This is creepy," Sirius shivered. "It's not saf…." We all clammed up when he, the professor, came to a brief stop by our rows. His eye drifted in our direction and we all ducked our heads. It's like he could hear from far away or he was reading our minds. It was only a second's pause before he continued on to the front of the room through the aisles to his neat desk: quill standing at the ink well at the top right corner of his writing mat that was centered on the surface; a neatly piled parchments placed in between lined up textbooks and a stack of envelopes, all of which were opened with a knife, a sharp on at that; and an onyx paper weight of some creature I didn't recognize was standing on an open letter.
I think it's agreed upon that we all expected to be in some room in the basement that was a mix of dungeons and torture chambers with half dying creatures everywhere. The air would be difficult to breath and we would barely be able to see what was on our desk. But that prediction was completely off. It couldn't be more off. (We previously had a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher like that some years ago.)
The room was lit naturally from the windows, which the curtains were up and out of the way. It wasn't sunny today, so there was no blaring reflection in our eyes. The windows were even opened. We were breathing in very fresh air, and we could hear the birds singing. I don't even see glass in the holes of the wall. The room was rather plain compared to the other professors, actually he looked our age, if not only a couple years older. It was strange how the room was so…open feeling.
A clunk of glass on wood announced to us that the professor has reached his deck and placed down his mug filled with whatever he was drinking from lunch. A thunk came with him slapping the newspaper on the writing mat. "For those who weren't listening three nights ago or had forgotten, I'm Professor Riventzel, your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," he stated before looking up to glance over his students.
'Could he see with his right eye…?' I wondered and his eye landed on me. I stiffed pondering if he could really read my thoughts or not, and the eye moved on.
"This is a N.E.W.T. Level course and I expect you to behave. If you can't do such a simple task, I strongly suggest you step out of the room and waste someone else's time. If you're not capable of shutting your mouth when I speak or whoever is suppose to be talking at that moment, then you'll be kicked out of my classroom until I see fit to let you back in. It's not only disrespectful to me but to your fellow peers…" His eye kept flickering back to us. 'Does he know we were behind the bug fiasco?' I thought as he went on about a bit of the things we'll be covering after other rules of common sense in a manner that had us all afraid to breath even. "Any questions?" he ended the monologue.
He nodded for Kyra Atterberry, a Hufflepuff Beater, to speak. "How old are you?" I gave her a quite glance before staring dead ahead. 'Was she not terrified…?' Or perhaps he just zeroed us out. "You look familiar." She was after all one of the more out spoken and confident girls in our year. Her confidence was more than Sirius I would guess.
Professor Riventzel raised the one visible eyebrow at her. He closed his eye as he leaned back onto the neat desk. "You would have at least seen me once in your first year here, Atterberry." That meant he was in his early twenties. 'How did he get the teaching position?' That was young for a professor.
"What house were you in?"
The young man sighed heavily, his arms crossing over his chest. "Slytherin." Seems obvious. "No more questions about myself. Are there questions relating to the course?" He opened his eye to look over the students before he continued on. "Today will ne an introductory of non-verbal spells. We'll be working on them throughout the year. It requires plenty of practice to accomplish." He straightened up. "Would anyone like to give it a shot before we move on? I need a demonstration."
For some reason James volunteered himself. 'Wait…Lily…of course….' He stood at the front of the class. He swung his arm as if to cast something, but nothing happened.
"Clear your mind, Potter." He can read minds! James tried again. "Concentrate." Again, nothing. James grinned nervously, running his hand through his hair. "Five points to Gryffindor. Sit down, Potter." James did looked surprised, we all were. He gave points for attempting the spell…. Professor Riventzel walked part way down the aisle, following him. "Anyone else willing to try? No? Then how about someone who knows the technique come up and demonstrate?" He was staring at Seiki, who was ignoring him. "How about you, Narusei?" She still ignored him.
"That Mudblood can't do anything right. You'll send one of us to the infirmary, and Merlin forbid it be me."
"Mudblood?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow at Seiki. He grabbed her by the back of her collar and lifted her out of her seat, walking to the front of the classroom. 'Oh Merlin, what was he going to do with Seiki!' The girl thrashed out for a moment for dangling from there limply. "Five points from Gryffindor. There will be no name calling in my class, Cross." His deep amethyst eye shot a glare over his shoulder. Alexia's mouth clammed shut as her cheeks turned red.
He dropped the young girl on her feet and she whirled around. "You could at least tell m – " The Celestine eyes glared harder at the professor. He had silenced her wandlessly. She drew her wand and said something to him not that she was able to voice it.
"A simple levitation charm should suffice." Seiki rolled her eyes, and did the swish and flick motion on the paper weight. She floated it up to the ceiling. "Good work. Ten points for Gryffindor." He patted the girl on the shoulder, breaking her spell. The paper weight fell towards his table before she caught it with another levitation spell. Hurriedly, she set it down, as the professor waved at her.
"Hmph," she huffed, going to sit down next to Zeva. 'She's not afraid of him…?' I should be asking instead: how does she know how to do nonverbal spells and how did he know that?
"This should be a repeat of your first year Charms lesson, but with silence," he said and feathers appeared on our desks with a simple mutter of a word covered by a clap of his hands. "Narusei, a word." With that, the two stepped out of the room and into the hall.
"Why did you volunteer?" Sirius demanded, facing James who grinned cheekily. "You're bonkers, Prongs."
"It wasn't that scary, actually. He even gave points for trying."
"He's scary! Terrifying!"
"He'll hear you," Peter hushed Sirius' loud voice.
"Did you see how he just plucked Seiki from her seat? And then he silenced her with a point of the finger."
"Wait a second….Riventzel, Sirius, doesn't that name sound familiar to you?"
"They're that Pureblood extremist family," the Black answered. "I think they're a little older than my family, but they've been wiped out. All killed, with that Muggle family. This bloke can't be from that family."
"I heard about that too," I noted. It was everywhere in the news. One of the mot prominent Pureblood families, the Riventzel, and the entire family was slaughtered along side a Muggle family. There was an up roar about the whole thing and no one could find the killer or killers. Some suspected Voldemort, but…the Riventzel family supported him whole heartedly.
-Seiki's POV-
"Just leave me alone, Riv."
"Do you know who that girl is, Seiki? She dangerous for you."
"I can take care of myself."
"Stay away from her. This matter is bigger than just you."
"She's not innocent as she makes herself to be. She wouldn't dare lash out completely against me. And, she has no idea just who I am, Riv."
"You're trying to erase yourself, Seiki. We saved you once. We might not be so lucky next time. She's not just some classmate of yours. You have no clue as to who she is."
"She has something to do with someone I've had a not so nice encounter with and has the initials, A.E.? Or that her father has a similar position as the previous woman?"
"…How did you know that…?"
"I can save my own arse, and there won't be a next time. I'm not that helpless 5 year old girl you first met."
"You weren't helpless, you refused help, and you still are."
I glared at him and then directed at the innocent door. "I was 5!" I flung open the door and went straight to setting fire to my feather, well the one he's lending me. Peter managed to explode his a couple of moments later, and I found myself laughing my head off. I kept ignoring Riv as he walked to his desk, and drenched me, because of the feather on fire, with an Agumenti Charm, but that didn't stop my laughing. I think I've gone over the edge of sanity before my best friend, Remus.
"Hun!" Sirius hissed, shaking my shoulder. I looked up at him and he placed a finger to his lips. "We're supposed to be quiet." That, for some odd reason or another, made me laugh more. "Seiki, shhh, you'll die."
"Professor Riventzel isn't one to kill his students," I chuckled out, shaking my head. I could feel Riv's glare on the back of my head. "Loosen up, Sirius."
"…" He glanced at the professor then back at me. I was still dripping wet but I didn't feel like doing much about it, and it wasn't long before Riv sent Hot-Air Charm my way so I wouldn't get sick. "…You sure…?"
I nodded, getting up from the floor. "Clear your head and concentrate, just as he side," I grinned. Ahh, Peter, he seemed to be the one to snap me out of my foul mood, put there by Lily drenching me, this has happened a couple of times today and I just woke up (missed lunch to sleep), to get me out of bed. Didn't help that I had a bumpy ice slide down to the Common Room and was whisked to a class that I rather not be in. "See, James' seems to be improving by leaps and bounds."
"Shh, you're talking too loud."
"I don't mind talking if you're helping each other, Black," Riv cut in, taking a seat at his desk and smoothly opening an envelope.
"Oh…." His expression, Sirius' blank and bewildered look, had me laughing again, and Riv glaring…again. I get that he was just as annoyed with me as I was with him, maybe even more. I wasn't being very appreciative of his help, the reason I figured he was here in the first place. I nudged Sirius to his seat with my hand. "…Are you sure he's not evil or something?"
"Pfft. Go ask him for help then, Mister Black, and see for yourself." I took his seat and flicked my wand at his feather, sending it into his hand. "He doesn't bite like me. Or would you rather I make this into a dare, love?"
His cheeks flushed red in anger. "I'm no coward." At that, he stormed off to Riv and paused in front of him, trying to figure out what to do. He's not one to ask for help, from professors no less. 'Oh this is priceless!' I chuckled. "I never knew you were this evil, Seiki," James commented, stopping his feather twitching. "Though I knew you bite." I snapped my jaw at him and he backed away. "What did he give you out in the hall?"
"A shot of fire whiskey," I joked, flicking my wand and sticking the feather to James forehead. My odd behaviour was due to me over covering my irritation that Riv was going to interfere with my school life a lot more than I thought he would. "Hey, lay off Lily for awhile, would you?"
"Why?" he whined.
"She lost her voice. Let it heal before she attempts telling you off again. You wouldn't want dear Lily to be a mute, would you?" He shook his head and I smiled at him. "Good boy," I joked, patting his arm. "I'll try extra hard tomorrow." My job since this whole James chasing Lily thing happened was to put a wedge in between them as requested by my old tutor. I've chased him around with a broom on a few occasions but I do ignore half the attempts. I could see James really likes the redhead. Who am I to stop him? I looked over to Riv and laughed. "Sirius is still just standing there…."
"You put him there."
"Fine, I'll bail him out. Oh, and imaging the result. He seemed to have forgotten that tip," I said, walking up to Sirius. "Professor Riventzel, could you give me some pointers for nonverbal spells? My levitation charm doesn't seem to be working like usual."
"You wand motions are completely off," Riv said nonchalantly, drawing his wand. He wasn't off about that either, I forgot what I was suppose to do for the motion besides the words 'Swish and flick, swish and flick, swish and flick,' repeating in my head in Flitwick's voice. Riv demonstrated with his wand, levitating a charms book into my hands. 'Gee thanks. You know I can barely read properly.' The letters are read very slowly and carefully to make sure that I don't end of with a different meaning to a sentence with the same words. The book opened to the page that I should be looking over. "That should help. If you're still having trouble, you can come back, and Black, are you going to stand there the entire lesson?"
"Uhh…." I grabbed the young Blacks sleeve as I walked back to our area of desks. I left him to stand or do whatever he wanted as I sat on his desk to stare blankly at the textbook. 'He knows I can barely read. Why give this to me…?' I rubbed my hands together concentrating on a spell the people of Evelyn Estate made, before covering my eyes with them. I looked at the page again.
5 AM. Thanatos. Be there.
Well there's no way in hell I could miss read that into some sentence that makes sense to me. I shot him a glare. I hate waking up before noon, and 5 in the morning was ridiculous. I have tryouts to get to. He glanced over at me and that pretty much told him that I knew what was on the page. I'm going to sleep early tonight… which doesn't agree with me. I'm a night owl that is why I love to sleep in. 'Oh bloody hell, I'm not going to sleep,' I decided.
"Earth to Seiki," I heard someone say loudly by my ear. I jerked away, covering my ringing ear. "Oh, you're back, Hun," Sirius grinned as I shoved his face away. "I called you half a dozen times."
My head was throbbing in pain. I did not break that spell properly and everything to do with my eyes hurt. "I'm concentrating here."
"Must be to be ignoring me."
"Just go chase some bird, Sirius. I'm not feeling all to well at the moment….."
-Remus' POV-
"Whoa, Hun?" Sirius called, miscatching the girl. She crashed against a desk and laid on the ground, passed out.
Professor Riventzel got up from his seat, hurriedly making his way to us. He shook his head when got to her. "Quit shaking her like that. She's not going to wake."
"What happened?" Sirius demanded.
"Exhaustion. Just leave her to sleep for a bit." He swung his arm and Seiki was sent flying out of the room.
"…What did you do to her…?"
"…She's with Madam Pomfrey…. Where else would I send her to…?" We look at each other in silence as he went back to his desk with his textbook.
"What is up with your girlfriend today? It's like she's gone bonkers," Peter commented.
Sirius shrugged. "Woke up on the wrong side of the bed again? At least she's not tearing heads off of every thing in her path."
"I've noticed that she's missed a lot of class during the year. More than Moony." I tensed at the implications. "There's no pattern to her disappearances." James leg flew backwards, kicking him in the shin. "It's more than Snivellus suspecting," he muttered. 'Who? Who else could it be…?'
"Evans, maybe," James offered, looking over to the redhead and it was Sirius' turn to do the kicking. "Ow…." That turned into a heavy sigh, eyes still on the young lady. "What the bloody….Uhh…. Sorry professor…." He was stuck trying to remove the feather the new professor suck to his nose, which just caused him to keep sneezing. He was a unique teacher, something I didn't expect from him.
"Fifteen points to Gryffindor and Hufflepuff," he suddenly said without looking up from his letter.
There was a squeal from behind me, Kyra. "I got it to float for a moment!"
That broke my concentration and my feather drifted to the floor. "No wonder Moony was so quiet," Sirius chuckled, slapping my shoulder in good nature. 'Professor Riventzel might not be so bad after all,' I thought with a smile.
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AN: Review please ^^. I'd like to know how you find the story thus far.