Chapter 9

Today was a good day. Or Jude hoped it would be. It was going to be a bit hard to make it a decent day since Emma had stopped hanging out with them and instead spent most of her time with Leon, and James was seething so much he even snapped at Jude when he was simply asking about the homework.

What happened to them?

Jude sighed heavily as he stood by a few of his classmates in DADA. In front of them was a dueling stage. Professor Wilson had told them a few weeks before that he wanted to see how well they were in combative spells.

He knew how well he was; he had to be if he was going against a dark wizard.

Professor Wilson stood on the stage, smiling widely as he clasped his hands, "Today, students, we will be seeing how well your fellow classmates are in dueling. Now I know you should've been doing this years before I came, but I'm sure no one really thought that a dark wizard would be coming from the wood works."

He placed his hands behind his back, his face now a bit solemn, "So, let's see who here would like to show their skills. Mr. Potter..." James snapped his head up, pushing his glasses up as he stared questioningly. "Would you and Mr. Adams come give us a demonstration?"

Leon smirked, giving Emma a kiss on her cheek before he made his way to the stage with James. Jude cringed; he knew where this was going to go.

The two boys stood in front of each other, their wands held vertically to their face. Wilson grinned in anticipation, "Alright boys, let's start this. One spell at a time, understand?"

The boys nodded and took their respective sides. When Wilson clapped his hands, James stepped up first, shouting, "Colloshoo!" A small spark flew from his wand and hit Leon, but it seemed to have no outward affect.

Leon rolled his eyes and moved to step forward, only to find himself falling face first onto the stage as his shoes stayed in place. He grunted, closing his eyes tightly as his nose began to bleed profusely. Jude snickered with the rest of the class, but silenced when he saw the worried expression Emma wore.

Wanting to stop the giggling, Leon shot up onto his knees, exclaiming, "Flipendo!"

James gave a small shout as he was pushed backwards. Luckily, he was able to find his footing before he fell off the stage and quickly replied with, "Expelliarmus!" He smirked when he caught Leon's wand.

Wilson stepped onto the stage, clapping with a wide smile, "Now that, students, is how to end the match. Disarm your opponent, and the power shifts in your favor." He gave James a thumbs up, "Good job, Mr. Potter. You're on your way to be a great duelist."

James nodded his thanks and threw Leon's wand back to the other boy before he walked off the stage. Leon sneered, grasping his wand and wiping the blood off his face as he walked off the stage as well.

The professor cleared his throat, scanning the crowd of students for the next duel, "Let's see who can show those two up." He then gave a small smile, "Mr. Porter, how about you?"

Jude blinked in shock, pointing at himself, "Me?"

"You are the only Porter I see in here," Wilson joked causing some of the students to chuckle. "Come now. Surely you know how to duel."

The blue eyed boy swallowed, giving a nod as he walked to the stage. The professor patted his shoulder reassuringly as he spoke to the class, "Who here would like to go against Mr. Porter?"

Carlos' hand shot up in the air before anyone else's. Wilson chuckled at the enthusiasm and gestured for the boy to approach, "Okay, Mr. Curry, if you feel up to it, you can have your shot at it."

The tanned boy's grin was so wide, Jude was afraid his face might stay like that. He waved at Jude and the glasses wearing boy could only reply with a weak wave back. They put their wands to their face vertically before taking their places at the ends of the stage.

When the professor gave the starting mark, Jude stepped forward on instinct and shouted, "Tarantallegra!"

"Whoa!" Carlos exclaimed when his legs started dancing around uncontrollably. With a shaky hand, he shouted back, "Obscuro!"

Jude gritted his teeth as a blindfold wrapped around his head, over his glasses. He ripped it off and yelled, "Locomotor Wibbly!"

The once dancing legs gave out, sending poor Carlos to the floor. He groaned at the impact and waved his wand, shouting, "Fumos!"

Smoke clouded Jude's vision, blocking his sight from everything around him. His eyes gazed around frantically, trying to find an opening. There was no way Carlos had made something so big he couldn't get out of it.

Jude.

He flinched, turning around in hopes to find the voice. He found nothing but more smoke. What the hell was going on?

Jude!

He turned around quickly, his eyes steady.

I'll get you, Porter! Lazarus' burnt face came out of the smoke as he screamed hoarsely.

Jude's eyes widened as he stumbled backwards. He shut his eyes tightly and brought his arms around himself in hopes to keep himself safe.

The falling sensation in his stomach caused him to open his eyes. He gripped his head when it smacked harshly against the floor. He gazed up at his classmates only to find them far away from and gazing in fright.

He glanced down at himself to find flames licking across his arms and chest. His body shook in fear as he tried to pat it out to no avail. He was startled by the wave of water that suddenly landed on him, dousing the flame and drenching him from head to toe.

He moved his eyes up to find Professor Wilson staring at him with wide eyes. He swallowed, standing slowly. His heart constricted painfully when he saw his fellow classmates step back to get away from him.

Jude shook his head, ignoring the tears streaming down his wet face and ran out of the classroom.