James woke up at the break of dawn the next morning. He usually went for a morning fly on his broomstick. Of course with his broom at home, he'd have to use one of the school's brooms this morning. He quickly dressed and rushed out to the broomstick shed situated near the Quidditch pitch. He picked the best broom he could find and pushed off from the ground. He quickly sped through the grounds; over the lake and past the owlery. It was heaven being back on a broom. Harry watched his father through a window in Gryffindor tower.
When James had finished, he quickly made his way back to Gryffindor tower. The other boys were still fast asleep so James rushed into the bathroom to shower and get ready for his first proper day at Hogwarts. Half an hour later most of the other boys had woken up – except Sirius. Lupin was in the bathroom whilst Longbottom was getting dressed into his school robes. James was already dressed, he was packing his school bag with the different books he might need for the day. Peter was sat reading a book, waiting to use the bathroom.
When Remus returned from the bathroom, Sirius quickly jumped up and ran to the bathroom, shutting the door in Pettigrew's face. James laughed gently from where he packed his bag. Soon they were all ready and making their way down to breakfast.
The Gryffindor boys all sat together at breakfast. They piled their plates high and barely spoke until they had finished. McGonagall walked down the table handing out timetables. "Potter, Black, Lupin, Pettigrew and Longbottom, here is your timetables. You better hurry up or you will be late for Potions."
"Yes Professor." The boys chimed, barely looking at their timetables. They exited the great hall and walked towards the potions dungeons. The girls followed just behind them.
The Gryffindor boys sat at the back of the dark dungeon classroom. The girls sat on the very front row. Kate Stone; a blonde haired Gryffindor whispered to Lily, "this room is a little creepy isn't it."
The Gryffindors waited quietly for their other classmates to arrive – they had this class with the Slytherins. When the Slytherins entered, Avery and Macnair wandered over to the Gryffindor boys' table, "well if it isn't Black. You know your mum's singed your name from the black family tree tapestry." Avery cackled.
"Good." Sirius replied, "I don't want to be associated with pure-blood lunes like you."
Avery went to draw his wand, only James was quicker. "I'd think twice if I were you!" James threatened. The whole classroom was silently watching the boys at the back of the class. Luckily at that moment Professor Slughorn walked into the classroom, humming obliviously to himself.
"Right, everyone sit down. Sit down my dears." Slughorn called as he walked over to his desk and plonked himself down into his chair.
Avery leaned down to Potter and whispered, "You'll regret that!"
"Who have we got Defence with?" Sirius asked as they made their way towards their next class, "I hope it's not Slytherin!"
There was a gentle "tsk" from behind them. James turned around to face Lily, "You know Evans, since you're muggle-born, I'm surprised by your love for all things Slytherin or is it just all things Snivellus?"
Sirius burst out laughing, the other boys merely looked confused. Lily gave James her most powerful glare before storming into the classroom. James, Sirius, Remus and Peter sat on at the very back of the room. Alice sat with Frank at the very front, with a ravenclaw girl called Emmeline Vance. Lily sat with the rest of the Gryffindor girls on a table near the middle of the room.
"It's so funny when Evans gets annoyed," James began to Sirius, "I might make it my personal mission this year to annoy her."
Professor Kilmont entered the classroom. She was a gentle-faced, young woman with dark, bottle green robes on. She leaned against her desk at the front of the classroom. The room fell silent as the boys jaws dropped. "Good morning class. I am right in thinking that you are my new first year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students?"
"Yes professor," replied the girls.
"Good. Well, as you are aware, I am new to Hogwarts. My name is Holly Kilmont but you will call me Professor Kilmont. I was a Hogwarts student not so long ago myself, since then I have trained as an auror. We will be covering a wide spectrum of matters in this classroom and I expect you to keep up with your homework."
Potter and Black groaned on the back table. "Boys, what are your names?"
"James Potter."
"Sirius Black."
"I see. You will both be glad to know that I am not adverse to giving out homework on the first day." She said sweetly before flicking her wand at the board behind her desk. "We will begin with simple blocking spells, but as you progress you will learn how to recognise and defeat dark creatures, how to duel successfully and if you stay with me until NEWT level I may even teach you how to perform non-verbal spells – an essential skill for anyone trying to defend themselves against a dark wizard."
The class sat in silence as their teacher continued, "today we will focus on blocking and disarming. Please take out your quills and parchment and make notes on what I tell you. Firstly, a very important defensive spell is 'Expelliarmus.' Can anyone tell me what it does?" Professor Kilmont looked at her students expectantly.
Potter raised his hand with very little enthusiasm, "it disarms your opponent."
"Very good, Potter. The disarming spell causes whatever is in your opponent's hand, potentially their wand, to fly out of his or her hand. There is often a jet of red light and the victim is often pushed backwards by the spell. If the incantation is spoken incorrectly it can prove to be very dangerous. You must say the incantation correctly as you point your wand at your opponent with a slight circular twist of the wrist. Now let us practice the incantation without wands. Repeat after me; Ex-PELL-ee-are-mus."
"Expelliamus," repeated the class together.
"Make sure you pronounce the 'are' sound. Expell-ee-are-mus."
The continued to repeat the incantation aloud for a few more moments before Professor Kilmont drew the class' attention back to herself, "Very good. Very good. Next we need to know how to block harmful spells. This is moderately difficult and so I do not expect you to achieve it on your first attempt." The boys quickly picked up their wands excitedly, "not that you will be attempting it today." She said gently.
"There are a variety of shield charms. The easiest is 'protego'. Protego can protect the caster from both physical objects and offensive spells. Although you need to be aware that it does depend on the strength of the offensive spell. Now when a spell is blocked it sometimes rebounds off the shield towards the person who cast the offensive spell. However, it could also dissipate or ricochet off in other directions. Therefore, if you ever find yourself in a multi-person duel be very aware of ricocheting spells. Other shield charms include; protego duo, protego horribilis, protego totalum, and protego maxima. You will learn the theory for these spells but will not be expected to perform them this year. Of course by the time you leave Hogwarts, I hope you will be able to perform them non-verbally."
The classroom was silent except for Professor Kilmont's clear instructions on how to perform the simplest shield charm; protego. "The incantation is 'Pro-TAY-goh' and you simply wave your hand at your opponent. It causes a light blue, almost transparent light. Let's practice the incantation without wands, please."
The students began to speak the spell aloud as professor Kilmont went around listening to them and correcting them. When she reached the front of the classroom once more, she called the class to attention, "well done! You have done a fantastic job. Now for homework," she smiled at her pupils, "I know you will dislike me for this but I want an essay on the different shield charms and their uses. Two rolls of parchment should suffice. Next week, we will have a practical lesson so just bring your wands. See you next week."