Only a short thing today because I FAIL. This scene is going to stretch out for at least one more chapter.

The second year Gryffindors bunched together nervously. Well, most of them anyway. Kai was hanging back as usual.

They were in their Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, but not for that lesson. The usual chairs and desks had been pushed to the outside, and in the otherwise empty middle was an unfamiliar face. He was clad in a voluminous cloak which made him look shapeless. Instead of a pointed hat, he had a deep hood which partially hid his eyes.

"Come on, now, don't be shy!" Professor Balcov's smile was the only bit of his face Hilary could see, and she thought that it had far too many teeth. Something about him made a chill start trickling slowly down her back. Actually, on second thoughts;

"Mariah, do we even call him 'Professor'?" she asked in a whisper, gathering her cloak a bit more tightly around her. Mariah gave her what was probably supposed to be a cool sarcastic look, but too much of the whites of her eyes were showing for that façade to work.

"Why should I know?" Mariah asked. Her voice shot up on "I" and both of them froze and checked that Balcov was still occupied talking to their head of House before relaxing slightly.

"Well, you were the one who heard those seventh-years saying how he was coming back to do Dickenson a favour."

"Ssh!," Mathilda hissed, patting both the girls' shoulders frantically. They snapped their attention back to the front of the room, where Boris had just turned to face them.

"Come forwards, come forwards!" He beckoned them in with wide, expansive sweeps of his arms. Unsuprisingly, Tyson and Julia took the first hesitant steps, leading the rest of them inside the circle. "Good morning students. My name is Professor Balcov - "

There's one question answered, Hilary thought.

" - and I'm here to run the duelling club. For the first time, your Headmaster has decided to let second and third years participate as well, an honour previously gifted only to fourth years and above."

Hilary heard Ray and Mariah scoff and mutter "honour..." at exactly the same time in exactly the same tone of voice. She could tell without looking that Tyson had just rolled his eyes and shuffled his feet. Usually their misbehaviour in class really annoyed her – didn't they know that everything they learnt was important? - but this time even she had to admit that the teacher was laying it on a bit thick.

"Is this a compulsory class?" Kai asked. Everyone jumped slightly and stared at him; it was so rare for him to voluntarily ask a vaguely sensible sounding question in class. And it was a good question, Hilary thought: they were here instead of their second hour of Herbology, so was this a permanent timetable change? Where would they shift the second period of Herbology?

Balcov stared at Kai for several seconds. There was no expression on his face and the stare didn't look different from the usual nonplussed look teachers gave Kai, but instead of ignoring the stare like he usually did, Kai raised his head and returned it in silence. That went on for just long enough to make everyone start feeling uncomfortable, before Boris smiled an even faker smile than before and said:

"Not at all. After this introductory ses - "

"Right, then." Kai turned on his heel and started walking towards the classroom door. Hilary sighed. Typical Kai. She heard Ray badly stifle a snicker, and heard a sound that she would almost have bet on being Tyson and Max quietly high-fiveing. She heard Mariah mutter, "Oh, really..." And watched Julia's shoulders rise and floor in a "his loss" shrug and Mathilda's eyes widen. She never did expect Kai to be quite as careless of rules as he was.

And then all of their reactions ground to a halt as Boris raised his voice so that Kai couldn't pretend not to hear it and said calmly,

"That's a pity, Kai. I think you'd find it instructive."

Kai turned around. His eyes were narrowed, and he radiated suspicion in a way that Hilary hadn't seen on him since the first half of last year where everyone thought he was a Slytherin spy who had somehow tricked the Hat. And no wonder. How had Balcov known Kai's name?

All opinions welcome!

xIlbx