Ch. 5: Defence against the Dark Arts
Waiting for the first class that they were supposed to have with regular Hogwarts' students, Oz had to admit that he was worried. Would they manage the class? Would they not betray any secrets? How were the Slytherin students?
The last question was answered soon enough, when the Slytherin fifth year students joined Oz, Alice, Leo and Elliot in front of the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom. The students hushed when they saw them and then a white haired boy stepped forward, getting all the attention.
'So you are the elusive exchange students from the Four Great Dukedoms,' the blond said, eyeing them up. Oz called up a friendly smile automatically. He wanted to play the role of a bit silly person that is easily disregarded, happy to have Elliot or Leo get the most attention whenever possible.
'My name is Oz Vessalius, it's a pleasure to meet you,' he said, in reality not really caring about the aloof blond that reminded him of Elliot on his worst days.
'I'm Draco Malfoy,' the boy replied and introduced the two boys that were on his either side, to which Oz replied by introducing the other three.
'Are you really future dukes?' a girl asked, earning a scowl from Draco, who was very obviously accustomed to play the leading role. Oz smiled at the girl brilliantly and told her that they all hoped the current Dukes lived long and peaceful lives. Next to him, Elliot straightened a bit and Oz smiled at him as well.
'We heard that you're cupped up with the Gryffindors,' Draco drawled. 'I have no idea why Dumbledore put such important guests in such a hopeless House,' he added. Somebody in the back said that it could have been Hufflepuff, to which Draco nodded, albeit with a scowl. Oz had a feeling that he was not going to like Draco.
'They sure can be annoying,' Elliot agreed stiffly, drawing Draco's attention to himself. After all, they have been told to try and approach other students as well, to get as comprehensive picture of the situation as possible. Or at least Oz assumed that was why Elliot was acknowledging the words of the prideful Slytherin.
'I was wondering if you three can talk,' Draco laughed mockingly.
'If we deem the ones in front of us worthy of our words,' Elliot replied without missing a beat, his voice nearly hostile. His tone and expression made it clear that he hasn't made up his mind about the Slytherin in front of him yet. Draco glared but Oz could see a glint of appreciation in his eyes.
'I suppose you don't get to talk much in with the Gryffindors then,' Draco said finally, probably in his own way acknowledging the comment as worthwhile. 'If you're looking for a more refined company-'
'They will surely not come knocking on your door, Malfoy,' Ron's voice interjected and Oz turned to see the Gryffindor students arrive. He didn't miss the glint in Elliot's eyes that said the Nightray might just consider Draco more refined than Ron. Draco's gaze hardened into a cold glare as he turned to the newcomers as well.
'Surely they will not come to you, Weasley, with your rags of robes and rude mouth,' Draco countered with such intense passion that Oz was surprised. There was obviously a history of enmity between those two that exceeded the apparent competition between the Gryffindor and Slytherin houses.
'If your value is only in money-' Ron started.
'He did say "rude mouth" as well,' Elliot pointed out in a cold and calm tone, cutting Ron's rant before it had the chance to begin. Oz noted the shocked expressions on Harry's and Hermione's faces that soon morphed into worry and suspicion. They should definitely get more information about the Slytherin House, before Elliot attempted to approach them. Were the Slytherins really evil wizards? But in that case, they needed to get closer to them and find out where Gil and Break should go to neutralise the Chains. Could they risk being grouped with "evil wizards" when their magic was already thought to be dark?
Before Oz could delve too much into the problem and anybody could say anything else, the door to the classroom opened. With a dignified huff, Draco strode inside, the Slytherins in tow.
'You really don't want to associate with Malfoy,' Harry muttered to Oz before the Gryffindors followed suit, leaving only the four exchange students in the corridor.
'This should be interesting,' Leo commented with a slight smile, stepping into the classroom. Oz, Elliot and Alice followed him.
'As you might have realised, this class will be joined by our esteemed exchange students from now on,' Professor Kruspe was saying as they joined the wide circle of students. 'I hope you will all behave accordingly. As I have promised, we are going to start learning how to duel with magical creatures today.'
'This is going to be so cool,' Ron muttered somewhere close to Oz, while the teacher explained that he will name a person from the class and then release a random magical creature at them. They would see how the person managed the creature and discuss what could be done better or worse. The following week, they would all get their chance with one of the creatures and the week after with another.
Oz had to admit that it was a useful idea and he watched with interest until the teacher turned in their direction and called out Alice, saying that he was really looking to see how a foreigner would manage. A foreboding feeling nearly overwhelmed him as Alice stepped into the middle of the circle, looking ready to kill.
'Would you like to borrow a wand?' Hermione asked helpfully, extending the piece of wood towards the girl, surprised when Alice nearly jumped away from her.
Unwillingly, Oz remembered their visit at the wandmaker Ollivander's shop, some days before the beginning of the school year. The man seemed overjoyed to have so many customers, if rather puzzled when Gil and Break said they, and Reim, would also be requiring new wands. The man's delight, however, disappeared as soon as Gil grabbed the first wand and collapsed with a pained scream while black feathers fluttered through the air in the shop.
What happened afterwards was a bit of a blur, but it surely contained Break somehow kicking the piece of wood out of Gilbert's hand and asking Oz if he would like to try and pick the thing up. Oz tried, but as soon as he was about to grab it, something pushed him against the furthest wall of the shop and it took all his willpower to not draw the B-rabbit's scythe and hack away at the invasive feeling.
Ollivander took the wand away, muttering about how he has never seen a reaction quite as strong as this and that he was going to find a different wand for Gilbert to try, even as Break was helping the dark-haired man up. They thanked the wandmaker as politely as they could and all but ran out of the shop.
Chains did not mix well with wands. Probably. Although it seemed to be alright to be in proximity of wands as long as they didn't intend to actually hold them or use them.
'I'll try without,' Alice said, bringing Oz back to reality, where their Defence against the Dark Arts teacher was looking at the girl strangely. They got a lot of weird looks from people when they said they didn't use wands, but this was slightly different. Could the man know something more than the other wizards? A chill ran down Oz's spine at the very thought.
'Are you ready then?' their teacher asked, pushing a large box in front of him. Alice laughed and told him to bring it on in a tone that made Oz remember the girl he had brought out from the Abyss.
'I hope she doesn't do anything stupid,' Leo muttered.
Professor Kruspe opened the box and a spidery looking thing jumped out. Next to Oz, Ron whimpered, but the creature was completely focused on Alice. As it charged, Alice ran towards it as well, ignoring the shouts of shock. Oz held his breath but, in the last moment, the girl dived, kicking the spidery thing in its legs, making it loose balance.
Hermione squealed, covering her mouth with her hands, as the creature wailed and rolled while Alice regained her battle stance. The creature looked at the students and turned, before spotting Alice and charging with another wail. This time, Alice jumped and kicked it between its eyes.
Propelled back by the force of collision, she still managed to land on the ground somewhat gracefully, facing the collapsed creature, ready to pounce again. However, it became immediately obvious that the beast would not attack again, as it was curling up, emitting small, pained noises. Nobody dared to as much as twitch, waiting for what would happen next.
'That certainly was not conventional,' Professor Kruspe commented in the dead silence of the classroom. He waved his wand and the creature got sucked back up into the box that seemed to be too small to fit it. In the meantime, Alice got up, dusting her uniform and turning to him, arms on her hips.
'I don't know any offensive spells, so what did you expect me to do?' she asked bluntly and, even though Oz couldn't see her expression, he was sure that she was glaring at the teacher. The latter smiled slightly and, yet again, Oz wondered about the man. Did he have an ulterior motive in making an inexperienced student fight with a creature? What did he expect? That a Chain would spring out from thin air and eat the beast?
Whatever were the answers to those questions, he realised that he didn't really like the teacher and his attitude. He would have to make sure to warn Gil and Break about Cain Kruspe tonight, before they go out on their first escapade outside of the castle.
'I was wondering,' the teacher said smoothly. 'What would you do if it was a wizard who would send curses at you?' he asked, looking perhaps a bit too closely at the girl. Oz felt his fists clench as the protective instinct washed over him.
'I would dodge,' Alice replied without hesitation, self-confidence radiating from her stance and tone. A moment of surprise registered on the teacher's face before he smiled again.
'You wouldn't have thought of defensive spells?' he asked. Alice crossed her arms, probably pouting. 'Protego would surely come handy in case of curses flung at you,' he added, before glancing at the class. 'Any ideas what Lady Rainsworth could have done otherwise with the creature? Protego would, naturally, not do much good against a physical attack.'
Somewhat unwillingly, Hermione raised her hand and, at the prompt from the teacher, explained how this kind of creature was afraid of water and a water summoning charm would repel it easily.
'What do I do when my water summoning charm finishes?' Alice asked the teacher, challenge clearly audible in her voice. 'How is it useful to spend my strength on repelling the creature when it will attack me once I ran out of strength?'
'Would you rather kill it?' the teacher asked back and even Oz could hear the trap in his voice. Alice probably wouldn't, since she took everything at face value.
'It all depends in what we value more,' Leo interjected smoothly. Everybody, including Alice, turned to look at him, surprised that he spoke up. 'In the classroom, the beast is clearly not a danger, but isn't this class supposed to prepare us for the situations we might encounter in real life?'
'Point taken, Lord Barma,' the teacher replied with a hint of humour in his voice. 'The textbook answer is of course to use the water summoning charm to repel the beast, however, if you ever encounter a bunch of those in the deep forest, don't hesitate to kill.'
'Is this really what a teacher should be saying?' Hermione muttered. Oz wished he could have seen her face when Elliot pointed out that they were at war. In the meantime, the teacher asked them for an essay on the magical creatures encountered in the class and preparation for the next lesson when each of them would face the ghoulish thing that Pansy Parkinson has been battling in the beginning of that day's class.