After Defense Against the Dark Arts let out, Hugo, Devon, Samantha, Stephanie, Ainsley, and Lily headed off to Charms.
Charms was still taught by Professor Flitwick, who got started with class the nanosecond the bell rang.
"You have heard that Charms will be an accelerated course this year," began Professor Flitwick, "The magnitude of acceleration will not reach that of Defense Against the Dark Arts, but it will allow for you to learn more in your seven years of Charms than your parents did in theirs."
Sitting on Professor Flitwick's desk were seven purple blocks.
He handed out one purple block each to Hugo, Devon, Ainsley, Samantha, Stephanie and Lily while the seventh remained on his desk.
"Today we're going to be doing Basic Color Change Charms, "explained Professor Flitwick.
"Basic?" asked Samantha.
"The difference between Basic Color Change Charms and Complex Color Change Charms," said Professor Flitwick clearly, "Is that Basic Color Change Charms only consist of changing an object of a single color from one color to one other color. If there is more than one color to be changed from and/or into then a Complex Color Change Charm is required. Complex Color Change Charms are much more difficult than Basic Color Change Charms. Even in our accelerated mode you're still a few years away from learning Complex Color Change Charms. Now Color Change Charms are used more for fun and entertainment than anything else but Basic Color Change Charms are nevertheless a good starting point for beginners in Charms."
"I am guessing we will be changing the color of the blocks you passed out," piped up Lily.
"Correct, Miss Potter," said Professor Flitwick.
"What color will we be changing them into?" asked Devon.
"Orange," said Professor Flitwick. "To achieve a Basic Change Charm, you must point your wand at the object whose color you wish to change. The incantation is the name of the color you wish to turn the object into plus the suffix ify. You must also have an image in your mind of the object in the desired color. "
Professor Flitwick pointed his wand at the purple block still sitting on his desk and said "Orangeify."
Sure enough, the block on the desk turned completely orange.
"Your turn," said Professor Flitwick.
Hugo, Devon, Ainsley, Samantha, Stephanie, and Lily all pointed their wands at the purple blocks in front of them and cried "Orangeify."
Lily and Stephanie both turned their blocks completely orange. Ainsley and Samantha turned half their blocks orange. Devon's and Hugo's blocks were still stubbornly 100% purple.
"You all said the incantation correctly," Professor Flitwick informed them. "But the real key to a Basic Color Change Charm is the image in your mind. Miss Potter and Miss Baylac obviously were concentrating well on this image. Miss Cochlain and Miss Saver had the right idea but weren't locked in enough. Mr. Dursley and Mr. Weasley must have only said the incantation without the necessary mental image."
They continued to practice and to everyone's delight by the end of class all six of them had turned their blocks 100% orange.
"You are all capable of being O students in this subject and as all of you eventually succeeded at turning your blocks 100% orange you will receive a grade of O for this lesson. There will be no homework assigned today."
Their first Charms lesson could hardly have gone better, and they whole-heartedly agreed with Professor Flitwick that they could all be O students in Charms.
Hugo, Devon, Ainsley, Stephanie, Samantha, and Lily went down to lunch together feeling bolstered. They found James sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall and he greeted them eagerly.
"How did your first day go, big sis?" James asked Lily excitedly.
Not wanting to discuss tense or emotional subjects in the Great Hall, Lily opted to focus her answer to this question on Charms.
"We've just come out of Charms class," said Lily happily, "And by the end of class all six of us successfully performed complete Basic Change Charms."
"Good for you," smiled James, "It's nice to hear you guys are off to a good start. Flitwick is a fantastic teacher too. There's no reason all six can't be O students in first year Charms."
"That's what Flitwick himself told us," Lily informed James.
Lunch played out in typical fashion. Devon chowed down sixty spicy white chicken breasts, eight pounds of mashed potatoes, four pounds of corn, nine biscuits, five whole apple pies, and washing it down with fifteen large cups of Coca Cola Classic.
James, Hugo, Ainsley, Samantha, and Lily ate two spicy white chicken breasts, one cup of mashed potatoes, one cup of corn, and one biscuit, washing it down with a bottle of Coca Cola classic each. Stephanie ate mostly the same portions as James, Hugo, Ainsley, Samantha, and Lily but ate a pound of mashed potatoes.
As lunch was about to end, Professor McGonagall asked Devon to come to her office for a talk. When they returned, Lily was stunned to see tears streaming down Devon's face.
"Devon?" asked Lily gently, "What's wrong?"
Devon shook his head and then pointed them towards Gryffindor Tower and ultimately led James, Hugo, Ainsley, Samantha, Stephanie. and Lily into his room.
Devon closed the door to his room and locked it.
"What is it Devon?" asked Lily again in a concerned voice.
"I-I I've l-lost a loved one, "sobbed Devon. "This morning m-my paternal grandmother, Petunia Dursley died after sustaining severe injuries falling down the stairs on her way to breakfast."
Lily didn't know what to say. She put her right arm around Devon's back and Devon rested his face on her right arm and sobbed into her shoulder for the next five minutes.
"Lily, please let go," Devon eventually requested.
Lily let go of Devon and they both composed themselves.
"Devon, "said Lily respectfully, "I know I can't know how you are feeling as no one of any even remote importance to me has ever died while I've been alive. I'm a very lucky girl in that sense. But I know that you are heartbroken and devastated by your sudden loss. If I can do anything to help you through this difficult time, please let me know."
"There are a few things you can all do for me," said Devon in a slow and clear voice, "First, you can give me my space. In the coming weeks I may need a lot of alone time. I may spend long periods of time shut up in my room. I request that you don't come into my room unless absolutely necessary for the rest of September. You can be sensitive to my feelings by not bringing up the subject of my loss unless I bring it up first. Lily, you can do what you just did right now, that is provide me a shoulder to cry on should I need one. I've never lost a family member before so I don't how I will grieve. It may mean a lot of crying in the next few weeks, it may mean needing a lot of alone time, it may mean venting, it may be some combination. Lily, you can help me by being that shoulder to cry if I need that. And you can all help me just by respecting my space."
At this, Devon burst into tears again and once again started crying into Lily's shoulder.
James, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie and Lily all had a few tears in their eyes as well.
To see a friend go through such a sudden, unexpected, and devastating loss at such a young age was heartbreaking. Samantha, however, seemed numb to it all as she had not a single reaction since Devon broke his news.
After a few more minutes and a few more nanoseconds of silence, Samantha said firmly, "Devon, your feelings of grief and sadness that you are feeling right now are your own fault for being too attached to Petunia in the first place. My advice to you is to learn not to become emotionally attached to people. Emotional attachment is the root of all misery. The truth is that you never would've felt the sadness you felt about leaving Todd, Gary, and Miles behind nor would you be feeling the grief you feel about Petunia right now if you'd never been attached to them in the first place. So, admit that this grief is your own fault and-
WHACK
James had just punched Samantha hard on her left shoulder with his right hand.
Samantha looked at James with a stunned expression on her face.
"You just hit a girl!" said Samantha indignantly.
"Yes, I did, and I'm not sorry about it," said James fiercely, "You don't deserve any breaks or special treatment on the account of being a girl and I'm not going to give you any. You deserved to receive that punch after the insensitivity you displayed toward Devon and be grateful I didn't do your nose."
Samantha looked stunned and fell silent while Devon gave James a thumbs up as his tears started to subside again.
"No one wants to admit reality-" began Samantha.
"Samantha, if you're not going to support Devon, then leave and go to your room," said Lily sharply.
Samantha, seemingly glad for an excuse to leave the group at this moment, galloped away like a horse and went to her room.
"Sorry about that, Devon," said Lily quietly, "I can't believe what my ears just heard."
"If Samantha believes that people shouldn't become emotionally attached to other people, I can respect that as her opinion even if I don't agree with it," said Devon fairly, "I can accept her giving me the advice of not becoming attached to other people in the future even if it's advice I'll never follow. But her remarks about my grief being my own fault were out of line and really hit home, especially when she said it a second time."
"That's why I hit her," confirmed James, "I suspected she was going to repeat that several more times."
"That's also why I told her to leave, "squealed Lily uncomfortably, "Even as it is, hearing that two times was two times too many. That had to be a stab to Devon's heart on top of what he's already enduring with the loss of Grandma Petunia."
"Exactly," admitted Devon weakly, "The hurt was real, especially coming from a friend."
The six remaining in the room all exchanged glances and then another few nanoseconds of silence followed.
Suddenly, Stephanie walked up to Devon and engulfed him in a tight hug.
"Devon?" asked Stephanie quietly and respectfully, "Would you prefer us to stay with you or would you like to be left alone?"
"Please stay," requested Devon quietly, "For now, I would like the company. But then let me have my own space after dinner."
"Fair enough," chorused James, Hugo, Ainsley, Stephanie and Lily.
Stephanie looked into Devon's eyes and saw the sadness within them.
"No eleven year old should have to go through this," lamented Stephanie, "Devon, just know that you're not alone. We're in in this together and we're with you through and through."
Devon gently stroked Stephanie's hair, comforted by her words of support.
Stephanie let go and Ainsley stepped up to where Devon was standing and hugged him too.
"It is cruel that you got to spend so little time with Grandma Petunia," Ainsley told Devon in a heartbroken voice, "A brutal end to what should have been a long and happy relationship."
Devon nodded.
"It's hard," explained Devon, getting out the words with difficulty, "To know that Grandma Petunia will never bake another birthday cake for me and that she will never read to me in bed ever again. It's hard just to know I'll never hear her voice again."
"Life is really unfair sometimes," said Ainsley slowly, "The worst things always seem to happen to the nicest people."
"You know what though," piped up Devon, "When my grieving period passes, I'll look back fondly on my memories of Grandma Petunia and I'll be glad we were able to share some really special times together."
Devon gave Ainsley a soft pat on the back, feeling a little bit better still.
Ainsley let go and Hugo came forward and took his turn hugging Devon.
"Look," said Hugo sincerely, "Sometimes it can seem like the whole world has come crashing down on you, especially during times like this. But know this; the ones that live us never really leave us and you can always find them within your heart."
Devon was agonistic but realized the truth and wisdom in Hugo's words.
"Death cannot break Grandma Petunia's spirit or her love for me," declared Devon fiercely.
Devon put his right hand over his heart and proclaimed, "Grandma Petunia, I love you and I know you'll stay with me till the end."
Devon gave Hugo a rub on the cheek and Hugo let go.
James went over to Devon and now he embraced Devon as well.
"May I have your permission to give you some advice?" James asked Devon in a super cautious voice.
"Of course," answered Devon instantly, "I know you have my best interests at heart."
"Face whatever emotions come to you in the coming days and weeks and do NOT try to suppress them. If you need to cry, then cry. If you need to vent and spew, then vent and spew. If need alone time, then take it. If you try to suppress your emotions, these emotions will become bottled up inside you and will become progressively worse until they make you a wreck. By the same token, make sure that you continue to take care of yourself."
Devon nodded without uttering a syllable.
"Devon, you're a great wizard and a great person and I know you're going to live a life that Grandma Petunia would be proud of," said James fiercely.
Devon smiled up at James and patted James's left hand very lightly with his right hand.
James let go and Lily came up and hugged Devon far tighter than any of the others had.
"Devon, I love you and I'm behind you 100%. I'm here to help you in any way you want or need," said Lily fiercely.
"You've already proven that," said Devon warmly, "If I could be pick one person to be in a foxhole with me, it would be Lily Luna Potter, the greatest friend to have ever walked the face of the earth."
"This tragedy," said Lily matter of factly, "Is another reminder to savor every day as it comes because you never know if it'll be your last."
"I've still got loads to live for and Petunia herself would say that," said Devon emotionally, "Today has been one of the worst days of my life but I've had FAR more good times in my life than bad times."
"We're with you whatever happens," vouched Lily.
Devon playfully rubbed Lily's belly button seven times.
As Lily let go, Devon felt a different kind of tears forming in his eyes.
These were not the tears of grief that the loss of Grandma Petunia had brought him. Nor were they tears of happiness. Instead they were they tears of pure emotion as Devon took in how much support he was getting from James, Hugo, Stephanie, Ainsley, and especially Lily.
"I-I can't express in words how much your love and support means to me," choked up Devon, "I've been dealt a cruel blow with the sudden and unexpected loss of a very close loved one. But I am very lucky to have friends like you lot. There will be a grieving process I'll have to go through. But with all this love and support around me, I know I'll get through it. Especially thanks to you, Lily, you are my greatest source of comfort."
"Friends support friends through hard times," said Lily clearly. "That is what true friendship is about."
Lily was feeling sad to see one of her closest friends going through such a tough time. But she also knew she needed to be there for Devon as he needed her.
Lily would always be there for her friends when they needed her, ESPECIALLY during their worst times. Friends supported friends through their worst days and worst moments.
Helping friends through the tough times was what true friendship was all about.