(A/N) I'm SOOOOO sorry this took so long! =P I have a super-bad case of writer's block, and to add to my misery, I've also been making them a schedule based on a sample one I found on a role-play site. I now feel immensely bad for anyone who has to do this as part of their job. It's bad enough when you do it willingly. Also, I got caught with an idea for a new story. It's called Photographs, but I won't be posting it until it's finished. (That way I can give you regular updates) It's a Harry Abuse fic starring one Remus Lupin. =D This has been edited slightly.
Monday came too fast. As excited as I was for my classes, spending time with my mates was much, much better.
We ate breakfast quickly, anxious to get to our first class- Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Boot. I was most excited for Transfiguration, that was true, but I was excited for DADA as well.
"Defence Against the Dark Arts, here we come!" Kagan said excitedly as we left the Great Hall. I rolled my eyes at him good-naturedly. We walked with the other Gryffindors; we didn't want to use our passages that obviously. We wanted them to stay secret. Arriving at the Defence classroom, we tried to no avail to get seats together. We had Defence with the Ravenclaws, plus there were approximately 10 (give or take a few) kids in both Houses for our year, so there were a lot of kids. Finding seven seats together wasn't possible. I sat with Sam, Fred, and Lew, while Marco, Kagan and Fie sat with John across the room. We chatted with the people around us for a good ten minutes before class started.
"Wands out, please," was the first thing the teacher said when he walked into the room. He was tall, muscular, and, when he got to the front of the class, turned to look at us with an amused expression written on his young face. "Are you all deaf?" he asked with a chuckle. "Wands out, please."
We stared at him. Finally, a Ravenclaw boy spoke up. "Sir, we don't do magic on the first day."
"Well, Mr. Marcs, that may be true for other teachers. However, I am sure that in every other class today, you will be taking notes and learning theory. Not my idea of a fun class. So I said to myself, 'Terry, why not branch out? Let the kids have some fun on their first day of classes?' So I thought we'd try out a practical lesson. If it doesn't work out, then hey, at least we tried. Now, wands out please."
This time there was a flurry of movement as we all pulled out our wands. "There we go!" Professor Boot said approvingly. "Now, everyone find a partner, and follow me. We're going to need a bigger room." Lew claimed me, grabbing my arm, before Fred could even try. Fred stuck his tongue out, and we laughed. We followed Professor Boot through the corridors until we were across from a tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy, who was apparently trying to teach trolls to dance. Definitely barmy if you ask me.
"I got this idea from a very competent Defence teacher in my time," the Professor told us. "He used to bring us here."
Is he talking about Dad? I asked myself as the man walked back and forth in front of the wall three times. A door suddenly appeared, and I leaned closer to Lew.
"The Room of Requirement," I whispered to him. He nodded.
"Everyone in!" the Professor said happily. We walked in, and I looked around. It was a rather large room, with little other than cushions.
"This is the Room of Requirement," Professor Boot said. "It gives you whatever you need. We'll be working on a simple disarming spell today, so the cushions should catch anyone who gets knocked over."
We all looked at each other warily, but I figured none of us would be able to do much anyway.
"Stand in two lines, about ten feet apart, and face your partner," Professor Boot said. We did. "Good. Now, we'll practise the word first. Say it with me. "Expelliarmus!"
"Expelliarmus!" we repeated.
The Professor smiled. "Very good. Let's say it a few more times until we've got the hang of it. Our pronunciation must be perfect if we want the spell to work."
We had to say the incantation a few more times before he was satisfied.
"Alright," he said, still grinning. "Now let's move on to the wand motion. Without speaking first, please. We don't want any mishaps. I don't need angry parents after my hide." he grinned at his joke. "Now, the motion is rather simple. Watch closely." Professor Boot moved his wand in a tight spiral around his hand. (1) We mimicked this, and he took a good fifteen minutes to walk around correcting our technique. I quickly got bored with waiting, so I decided to try it myself.
"Expelliarmus!" I shouted, spinning my wand and pointing it at Lew. His wand flew out of his hand and hit the wall before clattering to the floor. Everyone turned to stare at me. Professor Boot was looking at me amusedly.
"Did I not say we were practicing without the incantation first?" he asked.
"Yes sir," I said meekly.
"However," he said with a grin, "I have never seen a person get it right the first time. Excellent job, Mr. Potter. Twenty points to Gryffindor. Carry on!"
Boot walked over to me. "That was very impressive, James. I honestly have never seen anyone accomplish a spell the first time they tried it."
"Thank you, Sir," I said, smiling.
"Keep practicing," he said, and he walked to the centre of the room. "Alright, everyone, I think we're ready to try it for real!"
I left the class in high spirits. I had been the only one to accomplish the spell. Lew, however, had somehow managed to make my shirt fly off, and I was very glad he hadn't been aiming a bit lower.
"I can't believe you actually did it, James!" Sam said excitedly. "That's really impressive! I couldn't figure it out at all!"
"I bet Uncle Harry'll be real proud of you, mate," Fred said with a grin.
"I still can't believe I did it," I admitted to them. "I was honestly worried I'd be rubbish."
"With who your dad is?" Lew asked incredulously.
"Just because my dad is brilliant doesn't mean I'm going to be," I reminded him. "Besides, him being famous just makes it worse. I feel like I've got so much to live up to."
Marco shook his head. "Your dad wouldn't expect you to," he reassured me. "I mean, people say he's as powerful as Merlin. Stuff like that happens only once in a thousand years."
"And anyway," Lew went on, "we're living in a time of peace. Even if you are as good as your dad, there might never be a reason for you to show it. We'll never know." He grinned at me. "I think you're going to be wicked powerful, mate."
I grinned at them. "Thanks," I said as we reached the Charms classroom. "That means a lot."
We had Charms with the Hufflepuffs. It turned out that the class was nothing more than notes on theory. In fact, Professor Boot's prediction came true, and all of our other classes were like that, even Potions. It was rather boring, but also somehow tiring. We returned to the Common Room exhausted that evening, but we didn't stop to rest. We merely grabbed our notebooks and went to the library.
We had a prank to plan.
(1) This is the motion the HP wiki says is most often used in the movies. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
(A/N) Sorry this was so short! Again, that just felt like a really good place to end it. I have two things for all my readers tonight. First, what country are you from? I am from America, which is alright, I guess. I'd say I'd rather live in Britain somewhere, but I don't know what life there is like, and I'd rather not wish for something if I'm not sure it's what I want, ya know?
Second, I'd love if you would send me a list (as many as you'd like) of ways to beat writer's block, because I've been struggling with it for the past few chapters. I'd love tried-and-true ideas, or just stuff you find. Anything's good.
Thank you for reading!
Mamsmelk: Thank you! =D I'm glad you like it! By the way, even I simple "I like the story" is good for a review. Then at least we know you read it! =D