Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all related things are the property of JKR.
A Big THANKS! To LordLexx for his work as an editor, I'd be lost without you.
For those interested, the next chapter of this fic is already available on my discord, so hop on for an early read and earlier updates of all my fanfictions. The link is on my profile.
Entering the Defence against the Dark Arts classroom with the other Slytherins, Harry did a careful examination of the various objects all around them. Skeletons and charts depicting many creatures, Pictures of spells impacting a person or an animal and the effects shown in short clips were all over the wall. The absolutely huge skeleton of what was unmistakably a Dragon caught everyone's eye as it hung from the ceiling, the stark white bones gleaming in the sunlight streaming in through the windows.
Excited chattering once again commenced as students found places to sit with their gazes glued to the various articles. His own eyes were drawn to a lifesize figure of a werewolf, the snarling beast floating in the air and rotating slowly so that a viewer could see it from all angles. Its maw was open with spittle frozen in the air along with its paws and long limbs, the creature frozen in mid-lunge towards a prey. Grey-black fur and slightly bent back with poisonous yellow eyes, the werewolf looked every bit the dangerous beast it was rumored to be even in the muggle tales.
His attention then turned towards the wizard who came down from the stairs behind the teacher's desk. Wearing a purple cloak with a violet turban, Professor Quirinus Quirrell smiled at them as he finally touched down the floor. Bowing slightly he clasped his hands behind him the professor began. "My name is Quirinus Quirrell and welcome to Defence against the Dark Arts, the most extensively used magical branch along with Charms."
Walking towards the array of different paintings and statues the Professor continued, "Our world is a wondrous one, with every new day bringing newer bits of fascinating magic, artifacts recovered from centuries-old tombs and unknown creatures being discovered on a regular basis." Stroking a small skull with jagged edges, the professor continued, his voice captivating their attention and catching their interest.
"However, not everything is harmless or not capable of posing danger to you and your lives. Not every spell is just for making flowers bloom and make books fly and neither is every creature as gentle as a puffskein. Hence, it becomes necessary to know the precautions, the ways to stay safe and if need be, fight back against what is threatening you." His tone was serious and as somber as it could possibly get, stressing the importance of the words he was speaking to all of them and Harry shuddered inadvertently as Quirrell's maroon eyes passed over him and his sister.
"While the subject is named Defence Against the Dark Arts, it is a much more comprehensive and ever-evolving field. With new spells and creatures coming around constantly, new counterspells and defensive magics are also created every so often and new tactics to try and fight, drive off or corral any manner of magical beasts. For this year, you will learn the simplest and most basic of defensive spells and by the year's end, all those who can perform the spells taught perfectly will earn an Outstanding in their practicals." Quirrell waved his wand and moved various displays and his own desk backwards, clearing a circular space in the middle of the classroom before he spoke.
"Today, you will be learning the easiest shield charm there is, the Clypeus shield. It's incantation is Latin in origin and its direct translation to modern English means 'shield'. This spell was created to emulate the concept of ancient arm vambraces which were overlapped by a metallic disc, creating a shield that was fixed to the user's arm and would be non-removable by cutting the straps of the usual leather straps. Now, come forward and stand at an arm's length from each other."
Within seconds each of them were standing according to the Professor's command and waited as he wrote something on the blackboard. Turning around and facing them, he tapped the blackboard which showed the spell's name written in bold along with a diagram of a hand and the movements supposed to be made while performing the Clypeus charm—the hand moving much like the portraits in the castle—with a short description below it.
"Practice the incantation and the wrist movements according to the animation on the board. I will be making rounds and correcting those who are unable to grasp it correctly. After you feel you have perfected the pronunciation and the way you would have to wave your wand, then you may proceed to performing the shield." Quirrell said before he himself strolled forwards to stand so that everyone could see him.
"Clypeus," he intoned and immediately a shimmering circular shape formed at the tip of his wand, its radius barely more than a foot if he was reading its edge's position right. "As you can see, this shield is nearly translucent, its edges and shape visible when its surface is distubed. This shield will stop both physical and magical attacks, but it isn't useful for more than minor jinxes or objects which will barely bruise you. How much power the shield has is determined by the number of strikes it can suffer through and if it is wavering or shimmering too much. A weak shield will have a more translucent appearance and it will waver too much instead of taking a firm circular shape like mine has," he continued gesturing to the shield at his wand's end.
"Now, take up your places and practice according to my instructions. Those who can perform this shield up to my satisfaction by the end of this lesson will be exempted from a five-inch homework essay on the history, usage, and the characteristics of the Clypeus shield."
Voices immediately filled the classroom, everyone trying to make the incantation and wrist movement exactly as shown on the board. Having practiced this more than a dozen times, Harry and Persephone both took out their wands. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed they weren't the only ones to do so, the boy-who-lived having taken out his own with Professor Quirrell standing besides him.
Amidst the cacophony of 'clypeus' being spoken and shouted across the class, Harry's own whisper was lost in the sound, but the shield which sprang up from his wand was soon seen by Zabini and Davis, the latter of whom audibly gasped. Beside him, Persephone too had a shield at her wand's end and was grinning broadly at the slightly wavering circular shape. They weren't the only ones to succeed, Neville Longbottom also having formed it and currently being the object of admiration from the Gryffindors.
"An applaudable shield Mr. Longbottom." Quirrell's voice rang out causing everyone to turn towards the pair, the boy smiling proudly while Quirrell prodded at his shield with the tip of his finger. "It seems like having a wand earlier than most has served you well, now if only you had given more thought to this shield instead of impressing your classmates and me," at the end of his statement, Quirrell poked just a bit harder than he had been doing at the shield, causing it to sputter out into nothingness, with Neville's ears going a little red as he looked at where his shield was supposed to be.
"Professor?"
Quirrell turned towards Davis, his eyebrow raised in question before she pointed towards both of them, a hush falling over the children as everyone noticed. The successful shields at the wand-tips of students who were as good as muggleborn in their magical upbringing and moreover had just shown up the boy-who-lived.
"My, my, it seems you both are quite prodigious students." Quirrell spoke with an eyebrow raised, "Transfiguring such remarkable needles and now creating the Clypeus on your first day? Have you been practicing beforehand?"
"No Professor," Harry shook his head, causing Quirrell to look at them and their shields before he came close and prodded and poked it much the same way as he had done to Neville's. After a few seconds during which he had checked Persephone's shield too, Quirrell hummed slightly and then whipped out his wand before something shot from its tip. The pinprick of light striking his shield and causing it to wink out of existence immediately.
Persephone's shield also suffered the same treatment, the barrier shattering like glass when the light struck it.
"Practice more Mr. and Miss Potter, your shields were certainly well made for a first attempt. I will come back to you once I have checked everyone's progress."
Feeling something akin to pride mixed with annoyance bubble up within her, Persephone looked towards her twin with a question on her lips only for her to find him with his eyes closed and a frown on his face. Biting her lip and leaving her brother to his thoughts she once again moved her wand in an oval and twisted her wrist halfway clockwise at the end while speaking the incantation.
Much like earlier the shield formed at her wand's tip, its waver much less pronounced than last time, but still not completely transparent as the Professor's demonstration. As she watched the periodically shimmering surface of her shield, her mind returned to the times she and her brother practiced or tried new magic before they learned about Hogwarts and a secret society. And suddenly, she realised what she and her brother were missing in their attempts to create a perfect 'Clypeus'.
Focussing her intent to be safe and prevent any harm to fall on her body, Persephone once again waved her wand and spoke the incantation. The shield which was formed now was visibly better than her last attempt, its waver and shimmers much less pronounced but still discernable. A small smile growing quickly on her lips, Persephone started performing the shield again and again while subtly eyeing her brother's attempts out of the corner of her eyes. Much like her, Harry's shield was also improving slowly, its transparency increasing with each try.
Professor Quirrell was going around the room, pointing out mistakes and errors to various students. He corrected their wrist movements, taught them the enunciation of the spell. Minutes later he was standing in front of her once again with a small smile on his face as he looked at the shield she had created.
"Admirable improvement Miss Potter." Quirrell said with a nod at her wand, "This is certainly much better than the first attempt by you and your brother both."
"Thank you, Professor." Both of them responded as they stopped focusing on the shield and let their arms drop to their sides. Giving a nod once again, Quirrell took a step back and jabbed his wand forwards suddenly towards her, shooting out two jets of white light towards both of them.
"Clypeus!" Both of their voices rang, a transparent and unwavering shield forming immediately at their command, halting the light bolts at contact not shattering or dissolving like earlier. Both of them looked with wonder at their sudden and unfathomably improved work with Harry's mouth even gaping for a moment before he got control of himself. Around them everyone was watching with awe or scorn on their faces—not that they were aware of the others.
"You were certainly improving very fast for being first years… but over the years I have found that practical and realistic situations show the best results in someone learning anything." Walking back towards his desk Quirrell turned towards all of them and continued, "That intent to protect yourself, it must be real and as good as desperation itself. Over time with practice, you will not need to focus so much but remember always. Magic of all kinds is based on willpower, intent and power. Too much or too little of any of the three will fail you in the quest for perfection."
Dipping her head in silent gratitude, Persephone started creating the shield once again, memories of Dudley and Vernon hitting her fuelling her desire to be safe and prevent harm upon her person. For the next ten minutes, she created the Clypeus and not once did it waver or lose its transparency at all. By the time the lesson came to an end, she and Harry were both able to create shields without focusing too much on the memories. Besides them, Longbottom had also managed to successfully cast the spell moments after them, with Daphne and Granger following soon after. When the bell rang signaling the end of their first DADA lesson, Quirrell bid them goodbye after awarding five points each to those who cast the Clypeus successfully. Slowing down slightly, Persephone grabbed Harry's arm and whispered something in his ear before both of them moved in the opposite direction to where everyone was going towards the Great Hall.
"What do you think of our housemates Daphne?"
Pausing her quill for a moment, Daphne looked up at Tracey Davis' curious face, her brown eyes wide as if some great secret was about to be revealed. Knowing that she would have to answer her friend otherwise, there wouldn't be a moment of peace in her day, Daphne thought about her last twenty-four hours and spoke.
"Malfoy, as always, is a spoiled brat with a modicum of talent for Potions and Transfiguration. Nott and Zabini are silent and observant of others, Pansy is good at Herbology but her droning about silky golden hair is very draining on my mind. Others are inconsequential or stupid to the extreme."
Bobbing her head at the words, Tracey looked towards the bed next to hers and asked
"And what do you make of the Potters?"
"They are talented, very talented but without any weight of their father's lineage or the gold of their forefathers they don't have any meaning or power.", she said after a few moments of contemplation.
"I disagree with you," Tracey said, causing Daphne's eyes to widen for a moment. "They don't have the financial or the political power, but they don't need it exactly when they are magically more powerful than any of us."
"Successful transfiguration and casting Clypeus back to back doesn't make one magically powerful!" Daphne shot back only for Tracey to smile and speak.
"But burning every newspaper in the Great Hall certainly does so, especially when they walk out of the hall the next second without any stagger."
"For all we know it was one of the teachers that did it to prevent further...actions like Malfoy took."
Tracey scoffed and stood up and moved over to her before sitting back down beside her and spoke.
"No teacher would be foolish enough to make even a minute ember when students are reading or about to read the newspapers. They would have just vanished them like Dumbledore did."
Her mind replaying the entire scenario from this morning, Daphne conceded the point with a nod and spoke.
"So you want me to strike a friendship with two national pariahs because they may be magically more powerful than everyone and may be on the way to be amongst the likes of Dumbledore and the Dark Lord?"
"Well no," Tracey spoke as she stood up and walked towards her own seat and picked up her quill as she looked behind Daphne towards where the subject of their discussion sat in the Library. "But not behaving towards them as if they were dirt on your boots and just avoiding everything Malfoy and others are sure to do will suffice. If you go making friends for just friendship's sake, people will take notice, which means they and your father will also take notice."
Before Daphne could express her outrage on even being possibly like Draco, Tracey continued, "And don't forget Lord Black came out in public for the first time after the trials years ago and outright blasted the Dowager Lady Longbottom off her feet while at the same time warning her off in the harshest manner he could."
Thinking on the scene which had played out in front of them, Daphne let out a snort which was hastily disguised as a cough—though Tracey's grin showed that she wasn't as successful as she would have wanted. Lord Black had insulted Augusta and her late husband both and the fact that he was the one who had killed the said person was just the cherry on the cake.
"I suppose the Hat wasn't remiss in sorting you within green and silver," Daphne drawled as she looked at her friend, who huffed and then shot her a quick smile. Soon the sound of quills scratching upon the parchments filled the air as they completed the Herbology homework, all the while thinking of the waves the Potter's had already made in the single day they had been in Hogwarts.
"So what do you think of our teachers?"
Persephone looked up from her Herbology book towards Harry, his emerald eyes looking more neon shaded from the light ball just above their heads as he wrote on parchment about the five plants Professor Sprout had shown them on his words for a few moments, Persephone spoke, "Professor McGonagall is strict and a no-nonsense woman and at the same time she isn't a heartless bitch like Petunia. Professor Flitwick is very cheery and tries to bring fun into our lessons by his smiles and over-the-top voices when he is explaining something."
"And behind all that he is a six-time world dueling champion." Harry interrupted as he snorted. Her eyes growing wide, she tried to match the image of someone who was a six-time world champion in magical dueling with the short and smiling man who had taught them today.
"Ho-where did you come to know about it?" Persephone asked.
"I overheard one of the Gryffindors talking about it when we were coming out of the class," Harry explained and went back to his writing. Shaking her head to clear the images of herself being handed a big trophy, she looked down at her parchment and wondered what more she could write on the Red Pearl, a flower shown to them today.
Its petals were too numerous to count and about the size of a thumbnail and were a vivid pink in color. The flower derived its name from the secretion it produced once every year, which hardened into a spherical shape about half an inch in diameter over the course of a moon's turn. Used in making Jewelry and medicinal potions, the plant had a short shelf life of two weeks after maturation and thus needed to be made use of in that duration itself, otherwise, it turned into ash within moments after a fortnight was over.
Writing down slowly as she thought over the words, footsteps from behind Harry caused her to raise her head and meet the eyes of the librarian, Irma Prince. A stern-faced and short woman, she had given them both a stink eye on their entrance and straightforwards told them that if they harmed any of the books then they would be out of Hogwarts before they would even realize it.
"Library is going to be closed within a few minutes, get back to your common rooms before dinner starts in the Great Hall." Having finished her command, the librarian turned back instantly and moved towards the next table. Collecting all of their parchment and quills inside her bag, she and Harry exited the library and moved towards the Slytherin common room. Soon they crossed the Great Hall, which was already teeming with students as the noise from their chatter echoed through the first two floors. Turning and moving according to the tiny snake carvings and motifs sprinkled throughout the dungeons, they were a scant few feet from their common room when a voice from behind them called out.
"Heiress Potter, Heir Potter!"
Turning around, she saw Daphne Greengrass along with Tracey Davis standing behind her. Sharing a look with Harry both of them stepped a little forwards towards the duo before them.
"Miss Greengrass, Miss Davis, to what do we both owe this pleasure?" She said, her eyes fixed upon the blond pureblood. She felt Harry stiffen at her side, no doubt at the barely present hostile note in her voice while Daphne's right eyebrow arched slightly.
"Nothing else but a question," Daphne replied, her expression not wavering at all.
"And what is your question, Miss Greengrass?"
"How did you transfigure the needle and perform the shield charm so well, despite not doing magic at all prior to today? And if you are agreeable to it, I would like some pointers on the same." She said, dipping her head towards Harry, a small smile forming on her lips. Before she could say anything Daphne continued, "In return, I am willing to help both of you get better at Potions and teach you about the intricacies and rules of our world."
"All for some tutoring in Transfiguration and DADA?" Harry asked, causing Daphne to shake her head in response.
"What I want is simple help in Transfiguration and DADA along with a partnership of mutual interests and alignments."
"She means a friendship," Tracey finally spoke up, rolling her eyes at her companion's words before she bounced forwards and stuck out her hand towards Persephone first. "Tracey Davis, first-year Slytherin and a half-blood."
A smile growing on her own face at the bubbly voice and the wide grin on her face, Persephone shook hands with the girl and spoke, "Persephone Potter, first-year Slytherin and a half-blood."
Tracey shook her brother's hand next before Daphne came forwards and spoke, "Daphne Greengrass, first-year Slytherin and Heiress to the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Greengrass, a pleasure to make your acquaintance Heiress and Heir Potter."
"What do you mean by Heir and Heiress?" Harry asked as he shook the girl's hands, causing Daphne and Tracey to look at each other before Daphne responded.
"We will talk about that later, for now, tell me how you make that shield charm successfully."
Follow, Favourite and Review…