On Thursday, September 7th, 1995, at 11 P.M. Hogwarts, the first meeting of the newly formed Defense Against the Dark Arts club took place in Classroom Eleven.

Harry, Susan, Luna, and Hannah stood at the front of the room as the four leaders of the club.

Scattered about throughout the room were Fred, George, Lee, Ernie, Terence, Neville, Dean, Colin, Dennis, Richie, Jimmy, Terry, Anthony, Justin, Ginny, Daphne, Astoria, Tracey, Lily, Sally Anne, Megan, Eloise, Heidi, Padma, Lisa, Mandy, Alicia, Katie, Leanne, Demelza, Parvati, and Lavender.

It was Harry who spoke up first.

"So," piped up Harry, "As you all know, Luna, Susan, Hannah, and I have all recruited you to join our Defense Against Dark Arts club owing to the very real possibility that we will not be receiving formal Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons for the foreseeable future. We carefully selected who we invited based on factors such as trust, work ethic, motivation, and lack of Quidditch obsession. I'll turn it over to my co leaders to go over some important points."

"First," said Hannah in a very serious voice, "This is a very serious club, and we expect our members' behavior and attitudes during meetings to reflect that. Any member of this club that we find to be goofing off or messing around WILL be expelled from the club."

Hannah threw her gaze between Fred, George, and Lee.

"We will be starting with some basic skills all witches and wizards should have," added Susan, "It's best to start with the basics and progress to the difficult.'

"Reptation will be a major part of our exercises," chimed in Luna.

"So, "continued Harry, "Everyone should take out his or her wand and hold it at the ready."

Next nanosecond, everyone in the room dug his or her right hand into his or her right hand pocket and retrieved his or her wand. They all proceeded to hold their wands in the ready position.

"Everyone find a partner to practice with," instructed Harry, "We're going to practice stunning. Take turns trying to stun each other ten times each."

Harry, Luna, Susan, and Hannah watched intently as everyone attempted to stun his or her partner.

To their surprise and delight, Fred and George were surprisingly successful, having stunned each other eight times each.

"Wow," cooed Luna when the stunning practice was over, "I'm surprised Fred and George were as good as they were."

"That's because-" began Fred.

"You're not used to-" continued George.

"The idea of-" continued Fred.

"Us being serious," finished George.

"You two have proven we were right to include you," said Susan in a satisfied voice.

"Well," reasoned Terry Boot, "You have to be pretty skilled at magic to be a good magical prankster."

"We just have to use our magic more seriously in the club," reasoned Fred, "It's very important to be prepared for the serious situations life and war may throw your way."

"They seem both committed and understand too," nodded Hannah approvingly.

"I'm most surprised by Sally Anne Perks," admitted Ginny, " She got Eloise every time! Ten out of ten is certainly impressive."

"Sally is the second best Defense Against the Dark Arts student in our year behind Harry," piped up Neville, "No one outside of teachers knows too much about her because she is shy, introverted, and a loner."

"Eloise didn't do too bad herself," smiled Hannah, "Seven out of ten is a reasonable success rate."

""I'm hot garbage," rued Neville, "I only stunned Dean once and that was when he looked away from me for a second and a nanosecond."

"You need more practice," Harry told Neville reassuringly, "That's what this club is all about."

"Why don't I observe more closely to see if I can pick up on the mistakes he's making," offered Hannah in a supportive voice.

"Great idea, Hannah, " said Harry approvingly.

"Neville?" asked Hannah as she walked up to him and Dean, "I wish to observe you up close to assess why you are struggling. Please do another round of ten attempts."

Neville once again only stunned Dean once out of ten attempts.

Hannah saw up close why he was not more successful.

"Neville," said Hannah gently, "I think you would be more successful if you were gentler with your wand. You are making overly aggressive wand movements that are causing your aim to go too far left. "

""Dean has had enough for the night," declared Ernie, who had stunned Megan ten out of ten times, "Neville may practice on me for his next round."

"Thank you, Ernie," said Dean gratefully.

Ernie patiently switched places with Dean.

Hannah watched Neville intently and saw Neville making a good effort to take it a little easier with wand movements.

Neville was now able to stun Ernie six times. This was in line with the group, most of whom had stunned their partners between five and seven times.

"Very good, Neville," said Hannah encouragingly, "You had far better wand control that round."

"I'm feeling a little more confident now," said Neville happily.

"We are hoping being a part of this club can help you improve your magical abilities and your self-confidence," Luna told Neville.

"The support of the group will benefit me," observed Neville, "Gentle tips and corrections without harsh criticism."

"So," Harry told them, "On Tuesday night, we'll do a little more stunning and get into disarming. You all may go now."

Harry, Luna, Susan, and Hannah then spent some time practicing on each other.

Harry always went ten out of ten.

Susan and Hannah tended towards eight out of ten, which was better than the group average.

Luna, however, couldn't seem to get more than two out of ten.

"I'll tell you what's wrong," Harry told Luna, "I noticed your eyes drifting towards the floor, ceiling, and wall far too often. Defense situations aren't a time to be Miss Dreamy Girl. You need to improve your focus and concentration to have more success at stunning. Why don't you do a round of ten go for Susan and Hannah five times each? I'll watch to see if you improve."

This time, Luna stunned her target on four out of ten attempts, having stunned Susan and Hannah two out of five times each.

"Luna, that's better," observed Harry, "But your eyes and mind were still too wandery. Concentrate, Luna, focus."

Without being told, Luna did another round of five attempts each on Susan and Hannah. This time, she got them three times each for a total of six stuns.

"That's more like it," said Harry encouragingly, "I eventually want everyone to get to a point where eight or nine of ten is the norm. Five to seven out of ten is reasonable for starters. I say we call it a night."

"Agree," said Luna, Susan, and Hannah.

All in all, Harry. Luna, Susan, and Hannah were pleased with how things went.

It was a simple and successful start and those who had struggled initially were able to improve with help.

This Defense Against the Dark Arts Club was going to be a wonderful opportunity for its members.

It was also a wonderful opportunity for Harry, Luna, Susan, and Hannah themselves.

Things were looking up.

A shout out to the following members who have added Bonded Over Losses to their favorites and/or follows lists since the last update:

cureheart1023

GameWhino

hierro1250

joelyn

Magnus1989

Malicia88

raquelcosta3105

Ravennerd86

reader4everrrrr

Rebatewoman

rharper909

Wdean2023

wolffire6865

yudosummo

As this will be the last update to Bonded Over Losses in 2024, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a Very Merry Christmas 🎄 and Happy New Year. Be safe everyone!

To the readers, favorers, and followers of Bonded Over Losses, I'll see you all in 2025!

Much love from Arizona for all the support. Love you all-Michael. :) ❤️