"One of the most important skills is to protect yourself when confronted with a more powerful enemy. You are to get into groups of four, one member of each house, and you will take turns, three of you trying to hit the fourth with a full body-bind curse. Use of any other spells will result in points taken from your house. Perform the countercurse and shit members when the target is hit. If any of the others of the group of three are hit, they may perform the counter-curse on each other. At the end of the period, whichever house has the most single students currently unhexed will earn twenty points. If everyone is in their groups, then... GO!"
Neville shudderend, looking around himself.
Crabbe, Neville's own personal walking nightmare.
Ernie MacMillan, a nice enough guy from Hufflepuff.
And Padma Patil, a particularly smart Ravenclaw.
Hm.
"Longbottom go first." Crabbe grunted. But before Padma could even complain about his grammar, Neville was running in tacit agreement.
He ducked past as Hermione easily jinxed Susan Bones, rolled behind a chair alongside Lee Jordan who was hiding from Draco Malfoy.
He jumped over Ron's head, surprising himself with his own agility, and the Weasley took MacMillan's hex to the face.
Neville rolled under legs, knocked over chairs, nearly bounced as he rounded corners.
Suddenly it stopped.
"Ten points from Slytherin." Lily Potter's voice was firm; not a shout, but loud enough to silence the entire fourth year.
"Reducto is not only not allowed, it is dangerous, Mister Crabbe. Also we'll see about detention." Neville turned slowly to the smoking crater just behind him, and felt sweat trickle down the back of his neck.
Close.
"As for this round... ten points to Hufflepuff for Miss Bones, who recruited her friends from Hufflepuff to protect her. Ten points each to Gryffindor and Slytherin, or Miss Granger and Mister Malfoy, who managed to hex all three of their assailants! The twenty points go to Hufflepuff, on account of Miss Bone's alliance. But another twenty points to Gryffindor for Mister Longbottom, the only student never to get hit by a curse. Even Hermione and Draco took a couple of tries to separate their teams in the melee. How did you manage to stay in for so long?"
Neville felt drool begin to trickle out of his dropped jaw, ad slammed it shut, glancing nervously at Hannah Abbott, though he wasn't sure why he did that.
"I guess I've just had a lot of practice running away?" There was some laughter.
"Well then. The four of you see me after class. I'm appointing you this year's deputies. And as for you Ravenclaws, you'll have a chance to make up the points today. Everyone is to write up as many creative ways to avoid being hexed as possible, due tomorrow!"
Groans came from everywhere.