Chapter 6: "Dancing Between the Lights."
September 3rd, 1991
Rose slipped her sock-clad feet into her slippers and stood up, trying to move as stealthily as she could. She didn't want to bother her sleeping roommates so early in the morning.
It seems that a day was all it took for her internal clock to return to normal and wake her up before six, as she used to do to help Aunt Petunia with breakfast.
Looking around the dark room, she could see with relief that the other three lumps in the other beds had not woken up yet.
She left the room, looking a little regretfully at the warm bed she was leaving behind.
I already skipped my morning routine the last few days, I shouldn't keep doing it. It wasn't much, just some stretches to keep herself limber, but she knew that if she kept skipping it, she'd regret it later.
There was no one in the Common Room just yet, it seemed that everyone decided to sleep in a little before heading to breakfast.
It served Rose well, though. It would have been a little embarrassing to do her exercises in front of others.
She'd see about finding a more private place later, where she could add some callisthenics and even do dance routines, but for now she settled for a corner of the Common Room.
After removing her dressing gown, she was left dressed in a loose pair of flannel pants and an oversized t-shirt she had nicked from Dudley a long time ago. Luckily the Common Room was warm, and she knew that any more layers of clothes would be a little too much for her exercises.
Standing straight, she breathed deeply, in and out, and then raised her arms over her head, then extended them to the side of her body. She repeated the movements a few times, then she stretched one arm across her chest for a few moments, and then the other, feeling the pull of the muscles of her arms and shoulders.
Like that, she went through the list of warming up exercises her instructor had given her back in July.
Her legs followed after, going through some standing quad stretches, some lunges and then splits, feeling her leg muscles loosen with each movement. She did some variations of the stretches, trying to get as much as possible of the activity in the limiting room she had.
It felt harder than it normally was, the stiffness that had settled after the couple of days she had spent lazily adding some discomfort to the usually easy to do movements.
She ended her little routine doing some plies, using the back of a couch as a bar. She wanted to do the full barre routine she always did at the studio, but she knew that she was cutting it a little close with the time.
It felt a little insufficient, but Rose knew that she didn't have much time until her housemates woke up.
I'll maybe start doing this in the afternoon after classes… I just have to find an empty room to do it privately. I'll just ask Hannah and Susan to explore the castle with me during the weekend.
It proved to be enough, however, at waking her up. Any sluggishness she'd felt had already faded, the vitality she usually felt after a workout settling in, short as the routine had been.
She went up the stairs with a spring to her step and headed to the showers in the dorms. Rose grimaced a little at seeing her reflection in the mirrors of the bathroom, her hair was its usual mess after waking up. Suddenly she felt even more relieved that her housemates hadn't seen her during her exercises.
After a warm shower, Rose walked back into her dorm, her brush in hand. In her hurry to clean herself she had forgotten to take her uniform to the bathroom. Luckily her friends were still asleep, so she could change somewhat privately.
Hannah woke up a few minutes later, when Rose was trying to straighten out her hair.
"Hmm…? Rose? Whatcha doing up already?" She mumbled, rubbing the sleep off her eyes.
"Oh, I always wake up early at home to help my aunt with chores." Rose answered, letting out a small grunt when she caught a knot with her brush. "I don't have to do that here, obviously, but I used the time to do some stretches and take a shower."
Hannah sat up and patted her bed a few times. "C'mere, you really look like you need help." She said with an amused smile, her hand reaching out towards Rose.
Rose pouted a little. "You don't have to say it like I'm pants at this." Still, she followed her friend's orders, and put the brush on Hannah's stretched hand.
The next few minutes were spent in silence, only the light grunts whenever Hannah found another knot breaking it.
"So…stretches?" Hannah asked after a while.
"Yeah, for my dancing." Rose answered, a little self-conscious. "I'm not going to the studio anymore, but I love it so I want to keep doing it, even if on my own."
"That's really cool! I want to see you dance someday… You make it sound so fun." Rose felt a warm smile coming to her face, feeling giddy at showing her friend her best -and only- skill.
I really need to find a room to practise… Maybe a spell that makes music too? It has to be perfect so I can impress her.
"I'm done here, want me to braid it for you again?" Hannah asked after putting down her brush.
"...Yes, please."
Rose once again lost herself trying to follow Hannah's movements to get some semblance of a clue in how to do the hairdo herself.
"Hm..? Wha..? What are you two doing so early in the morning?" A groggy voice sounded from the side. It seemed Susan had woken up, and was watching them from her bed, a small sleepy frown on her face.
"Hey, Sue, good morning!" Hannah said with a bright smile, her hands not stopping for even a second. "I'm just helping Rose here with her hair again. She was begging for a hand and I was magnina- magnanima- magnanimous! Magnanimous enough to save her!
"Hm… I wonder about that. Rose, if she is bothering you, you should tell her, this dummy won't understand it otherwise. I know how she is…"
"Hey! She said it was okay!" The short girl exclaimed with a pout. "Why are you so grumpy in the morning?"
Rose herself felt a little heat gathering in her cheeks. She didn't feel like Hannah was bothering her… but maybe Rose was being a bother to her? Should she apologise?
"It's not a problem, Susan…" Rose said, a little awkward smile on her face. "If anything, I should thank her, I'd look awful without her hands."
"Aww, you don't need to! I'm always happy to help!" Hannah gushed, and Rose had to keep herself from stiffening up when her friend hugged her from the back. She really is touchy-feely. She relaxed after a moment, though her cheeks went warmer at the contact. "After I teach you how to do it, you can braid my hair back!"
"Hmm, if you say so…" Susan said, but she was still looking at them with disapproving eyes. "You should have been a little quieter though, Megan is still sleeping." She sighed, and stood up. "I'm going to take a shower. Hannah, you should too or we'll be late for breakfast..." And with that, the red haired girl left the room, her clothes gathered in her arms.
"Yes, ma'am!" Hannah whispered, seeming a little chagrined. "I'm finished here, Rose. Gonna hurry to the showers before Sue gets even more angry at me. Wait for us in the Common Room?" Rose could only nod, still feeling a little out of sorts, while her friend gathered her clothes from her trunk.
She sighed when the blonde girl left the room, and played with her braid a little, a small smile coming to her face.
After a few moments of sitting in the silent bedroom, Rose shook her head and decided to go down to the Common Room.
Megan Jones was still sleeping and she didn't want to bother her.
She wondered if she could befriend her too. Unfortunately she hadn't exchanged anything more than introductions with her, as the girl had spent all day yesterday with another group of their yearmates. Friends she already had, maybe?
She shrugged, she had all the time in the world to make more friends. She'd try to talk to her later, but for now she'll focus on the friends she had already made.
Potions was… disappointing.
"Rose Potter… Our new celebrity…"
Rose snorted behind her hand and Susan let out a little giggle at hearing Hannah's mocking voice. The girl was sneering imperiously, puffing up her chest, and making her voice deeper, holding her fork like it was a wand.
"I mean, I heard Snape was awful, but he seemed to have something against Rose." Hannah said, slumping into her seat, her imitation of Professor Severus Snape over. "Was anything he asked even in the textbook?"
"Some of it, yeah…" Susan admitted after she finished chewing on her food. "But for him to expect her to remember everything from One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi? It was too much. And the stuff about powdered root of asphodel and wormwood wasn't in there, I checked."
Rose sighed, not knowing what to think about the teacher. She didn't want to assume it was something personal against her. She hadn't seen the man before in her life, and she hadn't done anything against any student of Slytherin, the house he was the Head of.
It made her think of Missus Cawthorne and how she always put her in the spot in class.
Maybe Professor Snape is in Aunt Petunia's book club too? She snorted into her goblet, imagining the dour man having tea and biscuits with housewives, talking about their romance novels.
"It's a shame, though. I love cooking, and potions seemed like a fun time." She said, a frown on her face. "Ugh! Do I have to read the whole book now to prepare for his class?" she whined.
"Well, it wasn't like he took points or anything, he just wanted to… mock you, it seems." Hannah said, putting down her cutlery and patting her back in sympathy.
"Yes, aside from those questions in the beginning, he didn't say anything to you later, right?"
"Nope, he just loomed over us a few times. He even gave u- well gave Zacharias- tips on how to dice the horned slugs." Well, if "Foolish boy! You have to dice the slugs thinly, that way they dissolve in time to add the porcupine quills!" could be considered tips.
"Right, I swear I can still hear him breathing in my ear. " Hannah shivered in mock disgust "…so, did you at least get along with Zacharias? Is he nice?" Rose grimaced a little while taking a bite of an apple. They had to be paired to brew the potions and she didn't want to separate the two other girls, so she paired with Zacharias Smith. It was an experience.
She shrugged, "He spent the whole time talking about his family, and how they were descendants of Helga Hufflepuff. I didn't get to say anything, he seemed to like the sound of his voice too much to let me talk." Hannah and Susan smiled commiseratingly, though Hannah seemed more amused than anything.
"Thank you for your sacrifice, then." The short girl said, trying to sound heartbroken, but the glint of her eyes gave her away. Rose pouted. "Oh, don't make that face! We'll take turns! Next time you pair up with Sue and I'll look for another partner!"
"Oh! That's a good idea, Hannah!" Susan said, making Hannah preen, but then the redhead's expression fell a little. "Though I don't want to pair with a boy when it's my turn…Maybe we can talk to another girl later?"
Rose nodded. To be honest, she still felt kind of an outsider in their friendship. It wasn't something she blamed the girls for, Hannah and Susan had been friends since they were babies, so it wasn't exactly a wonder that they were close with one another. Maybe adding another girl would help.
"Uh, we should get going soon, girls." said Susan, looking at her wristwatch. "Defence is on the other side of the castle and we don't want to be late."
Hannah let out a little whine, and proceeded to almost choke herself on the remains of her lunch.
Really, that girl loves to eat. Rose thought, a grin on her face at seeing her friend trying to put as much food as she could in her mouth.
Taking the last bite of her apple, Rose stood up with Susan and started to leave the Great Hall, Hannah's yells of "Wait, don't leave me! I don't know where the Defence classroom is!" following them on the way out. The two girls looked at each other and giggled.
Hannah is too easy to tease.
Rose shivered a little, closing the door of the owlery behind her. Once again she was wondering if she was treating Hedwig badly, sending her home on such a cold evening.
She had told her owl that she could wait until the morning to bring her letter to her aunt, but Hedwig wasn't having it. As soon as she tied the letter to her claw, Hedwig shot out her hand, and soon enough she was just a speck in the night sky of Scotland.
She hadn't written much, just a short message telling her that she had arrived safely at school and that she had made some friends already. She also added a little apology for her aunt to give to Missus Cawthorne as she hadn't had the chance to tell her that she would not be joining the studio again after the break.
She didn't expect a letter back, so she told Hedwig to just come back if her aunt didn't want to answer.
"Oh, that was a big shiver, Miss Potter. Does the cold not agree with you?" An amused voice said to her when she went down the stairs and into the seventh floor hallway.
She looked to the source and found the fifth year prefect that had helped her in the station, Miss Penny, looking at her with a bright grin on her face.
"Miss Penny! Ugh, yes, I hate winter… I thought I had some time before it was this cold, but Scotland is ridiculous! It's not even autumn yet!" Rose complained, making the older girl chuckle.
"Yeah, I thought the same when I first came here. Let me see if I can fix that for you." Miss Penny took her wand out her sleeve and muttered an incantation.
Warmth enveloped Rose, making her feel like she was standing near a fireplace or like she was submerged in warm water. It felt so good that even the headache she had had since Defence class got a little better.
She looked at the older girl with wonder in her eyes. "What was that? It felt so cosy!"
Miss Penny's grin got wider, showing the dimples on her cheeks. "A warming charm, a Hogwarts student's best friend. Some even learn it on their own in their second year, that's how cold it gets here."
Rose knew that she would be one of those. She would endeavour to look for that spell in her books. Her life would be miserable in December if it was this cold now.
"You still look a little peaky, though. Are you okay, Rose?" Miss Penny said, looking at her with a worried frown.
"Ah, my head's been aching the whole afternoon…" Rose grimaced. "Maybe it was all the garlic in defence class, or all the stuttering."
Miss Penny shared her grimace. "Ugh, don't remind me about Quirrell, please. I don't know what happened to him, my friends told me he wasn't as bad when he was the Muggle Studies teacher."
Yes, classes during their second day had been a disappointment after her amazing first day. Professor Quirrel wasn't as bad as Professor Snape, but the smell in that classroom was awful.
Supposedly he had been attacked by a vampire in Albania and he was afraid that he would be pursued.
It was so bad that she ended up with a splitting headache after a few minutes. The teacher's constant stuttering when explaining the contents of the class didn't help either.
"Maybe you are just tired… if you still feel bad tomorrow go to Madam Pomfrey, ok?
Rose nodded, "Yeah, I hope I get better soon, I couldn't even concentrate on what Professor Quirrell tried to say..."
Miss Penny sighed, and looked around almost shiftily. "Look, don't rely so much on Defence teachers, we got one different pretty much every year. You will be better off studying the Ministry assigned syllabus on your own."
Rose's eyes widened. "What? Why?"
"No one really knows, there is a rumour that there is a curse on the position that makes it impossible for someone to keep it for more than a year." The prefect shrugged, "If there is, it hasn't failed yet. Some left due to accidents, others had another job offer that they accepted." Miss Penny bit her lip, and looked side to side. "Some say that the teacher I had in second year actually died… We haven't been told what happened to her." She whispered.
"And no one tried to lift the curse?" Miss Penny shrugged again, "So… Professor Quirrell…?" Rose began.
"Most likely won't be your defence teacher next year." The girl said, almost uncaringly. And to be honest, Rose didn't blame her, if it happened every year it would be hard to grow attached to a teacher.
Miss Penny tilted her head, and looked at Rose consideringly.
"Hmm. I'll send you a copy of the syllabus later and a list of books you can use to study on your own." The girl said. "It's what most of Ravenclaw has been using to prepare for our exams since a while ago. So try to not spread it around, ok? It's kinda our secret."
Rose nodded, feeling grateful to the girl that had done nothing but help her since they met.
"Are you sure, Miss Penny? Won't you get in trouble with your housemates?"
Miss Penny snorted. "No, it's not actually that big of a deal. I know that some of the firsties spread it around their friends from other houses, we just pretend to not know about it." Then the smile on her face turned playful. "And I consider you an honorary Raven, little nerd. I heard about your performance in class from the rumour mill." Rose felt a little heat gather in her cheeks at the affectionate tone in Miss Penny's voice
I wonder if this is what being teased by an older sister feels like…
Rose smiled self-deprecatingly. "You haven't heard about my potions class then. I made a fool of myself there." She admitted.
"Oh, Professor Snape doesn't count. No one's ready for his class before they meet him." Miss Penny said. "As long as you don't mess around in his class too much, he will learn to ignore you."
Rose nodded, a little doubtful that the advice would work with her. The man's attitude seemed personal.
"So, aside from that, have you enjoyed your first couple of days here?" Rose beamed, and started to recount what she had experienced so far in the school. It wasn't much, considering the prefect had seen her two days ago, but Miss Penny listened about her days with a warm expression on her face
It was a while later that the prefect stopped her after checking her wristwatch. "Oh, is it that time already?" She asked, surprised. "Well, you should get going. Curfew is starting soon, and I'll be forced to take points from you if you decide to stay here lollygagging." She declared, putting her hands on her waist imperiously.
Rose saluted the older girl. "Yes, Ma'am!"
Miss Penny snorted, and patted her head. "C'mon, get going, little nerd."
After enjoying the ministrations for a second, Rose decided to follow the prefect's orders. "Bye, Miss Penny! Thanks for the charm! And the tips!" She exclaimed, waving at the girl while walking in the direction of her Common Room.
The older girl waved back, smiling fondly at her.
September 6th, 1991
The rest of the week passed uneventfully.
Both the classes she had for Transfiguration and Charms - her favourite subjects, she decided after experiencing what the others were like- had been short theory ones, discussing the spells they had learnt the previous class.
Professor McGonagall had also shown them an equation to calculate how much effort a spell would take, considering the mass, shape, and material of the original object and the result one wanted to achieve after casting.
It wasn't exactly easy, but Rose felt that she had a slight advantage over some of her wizard-raised classmates because of the maths classes she had taken in school before coming to Hogwarts.
She would make sure to thank Aunt Petunia for sending her to primary school when she came back home. Especially since Professor McGonagall had remarked that if one wanted to create new spells, it was essential to know the arithmancy- as she called the equations- behind it.
Charms had been a little more easy to follow, as Mr Flitwick had only given some more details on the creation of the Wand Lighting Charm, and the controversy it had, as two different people from two different countries had claimed to have invented it.
Rose was excited about today's class, though, as Mr Flitwick had said that they would learn their first target-type charm, the Light Arrow charm, and he would have them take part in a little competition.
Aside from that, Herbology class had been fun. It reminded her of the gardening she used to do with her aunt, and Mrs Sprout was really kind, so she enjoyed it.
The less she said about the other classes, though, the better. Professors Binns, Snape and Quirrell had kind of soured her experience on their respective classes.
Rose was torn out of her thoughts by the sound of someone coming down to the Common Room. She stood up from the floor where she had been doing some splits and looked to the source.
"I didn't expect someone to be up already! Wotcher, firstie!"
Rose was between grimacing, due to being caught doing her exercises by another student, or staring at the pretty purple haired girl that had entered the room. Or rather at the broom the girl was shouldering
"Watcha doing here on your own?" She asked, purple eyes watching her curiously.
"Ah… doing some exercise?" Rose answered/asked while trying to comb her unruly hair with her fingers. Ugh, this happened because I got carried away since it's friday. I should have stopped the same time I did the last two days! She whined a little in her mind, embarrassed of the state the older girl had caught her in.
"Oh, that's nice, no one really appreciates a good workout here." The girl approached Rose with a wide smile on her face. "Nice to meetcha, I'm Tonks, vice-captain of Hufflepuff's Quidditch team."
Rose shook the hand that Tonks had offered, and smiled, her mood raised by the girl's cheery mood.
"Hey there, I'm Rose." She said, not wanting to bring attention to herself by saying her full name. If the girl didn't know her by sight, she wanted to keep it that way. "Pleased to meet you, Miss Tonks."
Of course, there were not a lot of Roses in Hufflepuff, so Miss Tonks recognized her instantly, if the widening of her eyes were any indication. Rose tried to keep the sour expression off her face, but she didn't quite succeed. That reaction was getting a little old.
She was a little surprised, though, when the older girl's eyes softened in some kind of understanding. "Right, just Rose, then." She said while winking. "Well, Rosie, like I was saying, there's not a lot of people that like to exercise here. Most of us Hufflepuffs are a lazy bunch, let me tell you. Never seen anyone waking up before half past six." Miss Tonks snickered.
Rose had thought that it was a little weird that no one ever caught her doing her stretches, but she just figured that it was due to it being a little early in the school year.
"Really? I struggled a little the first couple of days, but then I was back to the routine I had back home." she said, scratching her cheek. "Wouldn't it be early for you to wake up then?"
"Ugh, don't remind me. Oh, my bed, how I miss you!" Miss Tonks exclaimed dramatically, making Rose giggle a little.. "But I kinda figured that since I ended up as the vice captain I had to up my game, you know? So, I started doing some drills before tryouts."
Then Miss Tonks froze for a second and looked at her again, this time a little more critically and Rose had to keep herself from letting her jaw hang down in amazement when the vice-captain's hair started to cycle through different colours. The purple darkened almost to a midnight blue, then suddenly went to hot pink, then back to purple again.
"So, Rosie…" Miss Tonks began, "Ever played Quidditch?"
"Uh, no? I don't even have a broom…" Rose had been planning to buy one next year and try out for the team, but she felt it would be quite silly to say that to the vice-captain of the team of all people when she didn't even know if she would be good on a broom. "I want to learn, though."
Miss Tonks thought for a moment and then nodded decisively. "Flying and Quidditch you can learn whenever, but I think that someone who can wake up at this Merlin awful time in the morning to work out would be nice for my team next year when I'm made captain." The girl winked. "I'll keep an eye on your flying class dates and then we'll talk, alrighty?" Rose could only nod. "Brill. Now, though, I have to go or I won't have time for breakfast later. Toodles!"
And with that, the girl turned around and left the common room, giving her a jaunty wave. Rose stood alone in the Common Room for a moment after, still somewhat reeling at the sudden encounter, but then shrugged.
Knowing the girl who was going to be the Quidditch team captain could only be a good thing if she wanted to play the sport.
Now, however? She better rush back upstairs before anyone else caught her in her pyjamas.
Rose waved her wand, following the same cursive e motion that the Wand-Lighting Charm used but adding a flick to the end of the movement.
"Luxtelum!"
A white ball of light shot from her holly wand, advancing quickly through the air until it struck the blackboard. The ball of light remained in place for a couple of seconds before it disappeared.
"Good work, Miss Potter!" Mr Flitwick clapped in delight. "I'm particularly pleased by your wand movements. I see you've been practising how to properly manipulate your wand." He praised.
Rose smiled a little shyly, feeling glad that she had prepared for the class. "Yes sir, I got curious about the spell, so I practised the motions last night before bed." She admitted.
"That's good, that's good. It's with that kind of dedication that one excels in Charms. Make sure to keep it up!"
Rose nodded and sat back down next to her friends, who had already been tested on their casting.
"That was great, Rose! Good job!" Hannah said while giving her a thumbs up, Susan agreeing with her little mm-hmm.
Rose played a little with one of the two braids that Hannah had put her hair in this morning, her smile turning excited. "Thanks! I was a little worried that I would be the only one of us to mess up the spell."
"You worry too much, silly!" Susan smiled exasperatedly. "You haven't failed a single spell since we got here, be more confident."
"Pft, like you are one to talk, Sue. You spent as much time as her practising last night!" Hannah snickered.
Susan pouted, her face pinking a little, but was prevented from retorting by Mr Flitwick returning to his desk and clearing his throat.
"Now that I know we are on the same page, how about we do something a little more exciting next? Let's see how you handle yourselves in a little duel!" The words send the students into excited chatter.
Rose was excited too, magical duelling seemed like a lot of fun. As far as she knew, it was a professional sport, with world championships and everything!
She had always been an active girl, so the thought of using her magic to fight like a wizard from her fairytale stories was right down her alley.
The teacher bid them to stand up and with a wave of his wand, the desks floated to the side and piled themselves against a wall, then he made them stand against the other wall, leaving the centre of the classroom bare.
Mr Flitwick stood in front of them, the class roster in his hands.
"Now! Who should I choose first…?" He trailed his finger down the list and then perked up. "Let's do the first of the list against the last. Miss Abbott, Mister Zabini, if you don't mind?"
Hannah stiffened up next to her, and let out a surprised gasp. It seemed like the curse of starting first for everything because of her name struck again. The short girl went to the centre of the room with hurried steps.
Blaise Zabini, on the contrary, left the line of students smoothly, looking as calm as ever.
The tall, dark skinned boy approached Hannah and stuck out his hand, a small smile on his face. Hannah's smile became more natural and shook his hand excitedly.
"May the best wizard win, Abbott." He said.
"You meant witch, Zabini." Hannah replied, her smile turning sharp. Blaise Zabini snorted and put some distance between them.
"Good, good! A little sportsmanship and banter is the bread and butter of duelling." Mr Flitwick said, "Now, before we begin let me explain the rules. You may only use the Light Arrow charm to target the other. The one that hits the other first gains a point, the first to gain three points wins. Was that clear?" The teacher asked both of the students, who nodded in agreement.
"As you haven't learned a Shield Charm yet, the only option you have is either to attack first or dodge. Think about how you just practised the charm, which option is better for you? Can you cast faster than your opponent? Can you focus on casting while dodging? Let's find out."
A small idea started to form in Rose's mind, her eyes flitting between the space made in the centre of the classroom and the distance between the duellists. A way to use what she had learned before coming to Hogwarts to win when it came to her turn to duel. Would it be allowed? She'd have to check.
Her thoughts were interrupted when the teacher called "Begin!"
Hannah went through her movements almost in a hurry, and Rose was worried that her friend was going to drop her wand in her haste.
"Luxtelum!" The white light shot from her wand, heading straight to the centre of Zabini's chest.
Rose was about to cheer, Zabini hadn't even casted! Hannah got this on the bag!
The Slytherin, however, calmly stepped aside, letting the spell pass by him. The calm smile still on his face, Zabini's wand finished the flick of the spell and called "Luxtelum."
This time it was Hannah who had to dodge the spell, almost stumbling out of the way. Rose grimaced when she noticed her friend mess up the spell motions she was doing to cast her second arrow.
And before she could recover, Zabini casted again and hit her square on the chest with his spell.
"Point to Zabini!" The Slytherin students cheered for their housemate, and Zabini winked at them, appreciating the gesture. Rose and her housemates tried to do the same for Hannah.
"Come on, Hannah! You can do it!" "Just like we practised at home with Auntie Amelia, Hannah! Don't panic!" "Get him, Abbott!"
Hannah smiled brightly at their encouragement, visibly more relaxed with their support. She then breathed deeply and squared up, eyes focusing on Zabini.
Unfortunately, Zabini was too good and their little bout ended with Zabini winning 3-1 against Hannah.
Rose realised that it wasn't that he was much more skilled than Hannah, as she probably could match him in their casting speed, but his ability to keep calm and focused while dodging gave him an edge over Rose's first friend, who panicked whenever she was attacked.
Hannah came back to them, her head down and the biggest pout Rose had seen in her life.
Rose grabbed one of Hannah's hands between her two. "Don't be sad, Hannah, you were really cool back there! You almost got him a few times." She said, trying to lift her spirits up.
"You think so, Rose? I practised a lot before coming to Hogwarts, and I could only get one point. I think I just suck at this…" Hannah responded morosely.
"Oh Hannah, don't say that!" Susan said from her other side. "Blaise is a pureblood too, and I heard that his sister is a professional duellist, so he must have gotten a lot more duel practice than us. You did really well!"
Hannah sighed, and shook her head, sending her pigtails flying every way around her. When she looked back up, Rose could see that she was back to her normal bubbly self.
"Right! It would've been great to win, but it's not the end of the world! I'll just have to beat Zabini next time." She declared, hands clenched tightly in fists.
Rose snorted. "Are you going to duel him or just punch him?"
"Both, maybe! He pissed me off!" Hannah giggled with her, and Susan joined them a second later.
"Please, just use your magic. You'll get expelled." Susan pleaded, an exasperated smile on her face.
The class continued when Mr Flitwick called the next pair of students, and then the next, and so on.
The duels weren't particularly interesting, but Rose supposed that it was a good way for the sport to be introduced. One only had to make a choice between attacking or evading, so there wasn't much strategy to consider.
Rose had the suspicion that Mr Flitwick was also using the chance to teach them about casting under pressure.
One of the most interesting ones to watch was the one between Draco Malfoy and Zacharias Smith. Braggarts as the two blond-haired wizards might be, they seemed experienced in duelling, and their dodges were as smooth as their casting. It was only a stumble that let Zacharias win against his opponent, with three points to his two.
When it was Susan's turn, she turned to Rose and whispered.
"I promised to give you some duelling tips, right? Just focus on how I stand and try to copy me when it gets to your turn. I'll teach you what I learned from my auntie afterwards, Rose." The red haired girl patted her shoulder with a soft smile on her face, and Rose could only nod back.
She was a little surprised at how confident the usual demure Susan seemed, but Rose supposed that being taught by the head of the DMLE gave Susan a big advantage over the other first-years.
"Just watch Sue, Rose. She's awesome at this." Hannah said, almost hopping in place with a giddy smile on her face.
And she was. Pansy Parkinson didn't stand a chance, Susan's casting was too fast, her wand moving confidently through the motions without losing accuracy. Parkinson couldn't even get a spell out before she was losing two to zero, and, when she finally could fire a spell after dodging Susan's third light arrow, the redhead proved that she was as good at dodging as Zabini had been.
When Susan returned not even two minutes later to their side, Rose looked at her slightly red face with a deadpan stare.
"How on earth did you expect me to learn anything if you beat Parkinson in two seconds?"
"I'm sorry! I didn't expect it to be that short! My auntie never lets me win that easily!" She said guiltily.
Rose and Hannah giggled. "Wow, you are mean, Sue. Pansy did her best and you just called her easy."
"That's not what I meant!" Susan whined.
"Hannah, remind me not to get on her bad side, please. That was ruthless." Rose said between laughs.
"Rose! Not you too!"
Their moment of merriment was interrupted by Mr Flitwick finally calling her name.
"Now, we have Miss Greengrass and Miss Potter! It's your turn ladies."
Rose breathed deeply, trying to stop the shaking of her hands.
"It's gonna be okay! Just don't panic and you'll do great, Rose." Hannah said, Susan adding her mm-hmm for good measure.
"Right, just don't panic. Easy." Rose muttered as she joined Daphne Greengrass in the centre of the room.
She approached the blonde girl and offered her hand for her to shake, only to receive a frosty glare in return. Greengrass looked almost disgusted to share the same space as her. What's her problem? She looks at me like I just kicked her dog. With the same disgusted frown the girl held the hem of her skirt with a light grip and gave a light curtsy.
"That's how you greet a pureblood, Potter." Greengrass sneered. "Do you even know how to curtsy?"
Rose shrugged, and with the same poise she had whenever she was mocked by the girls in her ballet class, she ignored the comment and just smirked at the Slytherin in front of her.
Greengrass' cheeks pinked a little, mad that she hadn't gotten a reaction out of her and, with a disdainful huff, she turned around and went to her side of the 'ring'.
Rose maturely stuck her tongue out at her back, and then went to her side.
"Same rules as before, girls. Are you ready?" Mr Flitwick said, and Rose tried to go into the same position that Susan had used. Body slightly to the side, one foot in front of the other, her wand held pointed to her opponent.
She felt a little stiff in the position, but Rose supposed that Susan knew better. It was just a matter of her getting used to it.
Greengrass did the same in front of her, looking entirely more comfortable in the pose than
Rose felt.
She took a deep breath.
"Begin!"
Rose's wand flowed through the practised movements, her mind conjuring the image of a bright ball of light.
Her eyes widened behind her glasses when she heard Greengrass utter the last syllable of the spell before she could even start to say her own.
"-lum!" The light arrow shot from Greengrass' wand and covered the space between them in a moment. Fast! How on earth..? Rose took a clumsy step to the side, her own movements impeded by the unfamiliar stance she was using and evaded the spell. Ugh, if I were in the studio, Missus Cawthorne would have torn my hide for that step.
Luckily she had enough focus to finish her spell. "Luxtelum!"
Greengrass gracefully stepped aside, letting her bright light arrow shoot past her.
Rose clicked her tongue and tried to return to her initial position. Unfortunately, Greengrass had used the opportunity to finish casting her second spell and Rose wasn't standing firm enough to dodge the white arrow.
"Point to Greengrass!"
Rose tried to ignore the jeers and cheers of the Slytherin students but the smug expression on Daphne Greengrass' face was impossible to miss.
It was humiliating. She knew that she was nimble enough to dodge the light arrows. Even if Greengrass' spells had been faster than any other she had seen, Rose could still follow them with her eyes. It was the stupid stance that ruined her balance.
"Back to your positions! Miss Potter? Are you ready?" Mr Flitwick asked, and Rose closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Don't panic. It's just a silly duel.
She opened her green eyes again, meeting Daphne Greengrass' stare with a glare of her own.
"Don't let those purebloods bring you down."
"Just a second, Mr Flitwick!" Rose rushed back to Hannah and Susan, who were watching her with a concerned expression.
She kneeled in front of them, and untied the laces of her trainers. A moment later, she gave both of them to Hannah.
"Hold them for me until I'm done, please?"
Hannah just nodded, bright hazel eyes now curious of what she was about to do.
Rose winked. "You wanted to see me dance, right? I'll give you a show."
She left Hannah's side, smiling at her friend's excited squee.
Rose had thought about doing this since she saw the open space in the classroom. It was an errant thought, the idea of combining her love of dancing with her passion for magic.
She would put it to the test.
"Everything OK, Miss Potter?" Mr Flitwick asked, looking curiously at her socks clad feet.
"Yes, sir. Sorry, I just want to try something out." She said, but her mind was elsewhere already.
Rose looked at the girl standing in front of her, Greengrass' blue eyes looking at her disdainfully. She ignored her, of course, it wasn't anything she wasn't used to.
The girls from ballet class looked at her like that. Or at least, they used to, until Rose showed them how wrong they were for underestimating her.
She would show Greengrass too.
Her body flowed into familiar movements. Rose stood with her back straight, arms poised in front of her in a circle, her feet in a straight line, heels almost touching.
Yes, this was better. She felt… free. Free to move and dodge in any direction.
The world around her disappeared, leaving only her and Daphne Greengrass.
She was ready. She nodded.
From a place far away she heard Mr Flitwick. "Begin!"
Music started to play, music that only she could hear. She had done this countless times, when she practised at home.
Her legs lowered into a plie, and back up again. Then, her left foot glided to the back of her right one, making her body turn slightly. A light arrow shot past her.
Rose then let her body complete the spin, right leg rising to a passe, foot posed just beneath her left knee.
She spun once again, bleeding the momentum, and then lowered back her right leg, placing one foot in front of the other. Her left arm lifted over her head.
Rose then lowered into a low plie, dodging the light arrow aimed straight at her head, and, when she went back up, her wand raised with her.
A cursive e was drawn in the air, followed with a sharp flick. She pictured a bright shooting star in her mind. "Luxtelum."
The arrow that shot out of her wand was magnitudes faster than the ones she had casted before. Maybe it's the image I used to cast?
Whatever the reason was, her light arrow tore the distance in a moment and hit Greengrass right on the chest.
"Point to Potter!"
She went back to her initial position and waited.
This time, when Mr Flitwick called for the duel to begin, Rose went on the offensive.
Her wand shot out, rushing through the movements in a moment, and in her mind instead of picturing a ball of light, she thought of a bright flash like the one from a camera. She closed her eyes, "Luxtelum!"
Rose twirled to the side just in case, but by the squeak that Greengrass let out, her little idea had paid off. If she could make her spell faster, then making it shine brighter shouldn't be a problem.
She opened her eyes, and saw that Greengrass was covering her eyes with her hand, casting forgotten. It seemed like the bright light of her spell had blinded her for a moment.
"Luxtelum." Her light arrow struck her once again in the chest.
When Mr Flitwick called her point again, Rose went back to her initial position.
It took Greengrass a little more to be ready for the next round, and, even when she said she was ready, she seemed to be squinting. I hope it's nothing permanent.
The last round was anticlimactic, to be honest.
Rose's opponent couldn't even aim properly, and the spell she shot went wide, so she didn't even need to dodge.
"Luxtelum." Rose casted her light arrow, and was a little surprised that Greengrass was able to dodge it. However, in a mirror to their first round, before the girl recovered her balance "Luxtelum." Rose hit her with her second spell.
"And that's it! Victory to Miss Potter!" Rose's world returned to normal, her extreme focus faded and she tried to not grimace when she felt the burning in her legs. That was embarrassing, it used to take a lot more to truly tire her, but now she was short on breath after such a short routine.
She turned around and met Hannah and Susan's eyes. The latter was looking at her with a shocked expression, like she could not compute what Rose had just done. Hannah, however, was watching her with a bright smile on her face, eyes shining in amazement.
Rose felt her face get a little warm at the awe in her friend's face, but she smiled, glad that she had given her friend a nice showing.
Ah! How silly. I forgot the most important part.
Rose stood straight once again, then she crossed one foot in front of the other. Using the tips of her fingers to hold the sides of her skirt, she bent her knees and gave a deep curtsy to her audience.
That's how you end a show.
And it wasn't something to brag about, but Rose thought that her curtsy was much more graceful than Greengrass' had been.
Here you have chapter six!
As always thanks for the follows and favourites!