𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙒𝙚 𝙆𝙚𝙚𝙥 - 𝘚𝘦𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸

I arrived late to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. I stopped to admire a particularly interesting set of bones on my way and was held up by a ravenclaw named Samantha Dale. When I arrived two students were in the middle of a duel. A red head who wore a similar cloak to the one Natty wore. And another boy. The boy whose amber eyes I caught in charms class. His freckled cheeks perked up due to his smiling. He was laughing while dueling. So hard you could see the small wrinkles tugging at the corners of his eyes.

“Ha! You call this a duel Prewett?”

His voice boomed through the room now filling with other students. The two made no mind of the other students and continued to cast spells towards one another. Bright flashes of magic reflected in the brunette boy's eyes that I studied earlier in the day. He was quite good, or maybe the other boy was quite bad. I could not tell but still stood and watched. Enchanted by the wisps of magic. Things escalated quickly as a spell was deflected and shot up towards the skull of a beast's skeleton that hung from the ceiling. Just as it was about to hit the floor and surely smash into smithereens, A professor walked out of her office and cast a spell to catch it.

“I have new students every year but only one Hebridean Black skull.”

Her comment tugged at my lips turning them up into a smile. She hobbled down the stairs. She looked quite frail to be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Her hair as white as snow, back hunched over as she took the last step down. I quite enjoyed her voice, though old in tone it had a lightness to it that made me feel safe. She used her magic to raise the beast's skull back up to the rest of the bones where it took its rightful home back.

“To the wise, age means very little.”

She continued to speak. All of the students' attention was now glued to her. Even the two boys who were dueling just moments ago. She continued on, informing us of a spell we were to learn. A spell to use in defense against dark wizards should we ever face one. I was sure the goblins from Gringotts were only the start of the dark magic I would encounter. The kind of dark magic I had only seen once before as a child. Fig and I both knew there was more to learn about these goblins and the dark magic I could see them wielding. Professor Hecate, she introduced herself to the class, was interrupted by the ginger boy who was partly responsible for nearly shattering the Hebridean Black skull, mocked the spell. The professor then used the spell on him. A few of the other students chuckled to themselves. I looked over to the other boy who had been dueling. His tufted hair falling just over his eyes. Weight shifted to one side, arms slung over his chest and that smile. The same toothy grin he had during charms class. The smile revealed just how much he was enjoying watching our classmate being taunted by Hecate.

“One thing I’ve learned as an unspeakable is the value of simplicity.”

One word stuck with me. Hanging from the roof of my mouth as I knew it well. My father was an unspeakable before he died. Before he became the man I feared rather than loved.

“To the front of the class. Wands at the ready. ”

Her instructions were clear and we all obliged. I stood next to the smiling boy. Our elbows were within a few inches of each other.

“The best way to learn the spell is to use it in a duel. Sebastian. Leander?”

She extended her arm as if to lead the way for them. The redhead stayed back shaking his head. Clearly he wanted nothing to do with the spell that had just held him up in the air.

“Alright, Sebastian. Pick a partner.”

He stood in front of the rest of the students. His wand tapped against his chin as he glossed over us all, his gaze finally setting one me.

“New girl, let's see what you’ve got.”

My vision flashed from him to the Professor who nodded in agreement with his decision. I took a deep breath and stepped forward. The ground shook beneath my feet as the floor rose, ensuring we were the full attention of the class. A beautiful carpet unraveled itself atop the raising floor. I stepped over it steadily as it rolled out beneath my feet.

“Only levitation charms and basic casts, you hear me Sebastian?”

He smirked again, nodding, flashing a wink over in my direction. My only reaction was to roll my eyes to keep myself from smiling.

“I hear ya.”

The duel began and I deflected his first two attempts to use the spell on me.

“𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙤!”

“𝙇𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙨𝙤!”

And like that he started floating up ever so gently. Like a feather flowing through the air after an owl dropped off a package. I flashed him a similar smile to the one he gave me and added in a wink of my own as if to mock his before blasting two basic casts at him sending him back off the raised floor and to the ground beneath. Professor clapped proudly, clasping her hands together just after finishing her last clap.

“Wonderful work! Especially against a competitor like Sebastian.”

I nodded, smiling, clasping the borrowed wand in my hand. I was grateful for my time with Professor Fig before the start of the semester. I wasn’t sure if I would be nearly as ready for a duel if it hadn’t been for him. Specifically not the kind of dueling we had encountered the day before. Knights made of stone enchanted to fight. We barely made it out alive.

“Class dismissed.”

I could barely hear Professor Hecate's voice as the day replayed in my head. The sound of my heartbeat ringing in my ears as I could still smell the dirt and grime from the knights as they crumbled. I was quickly drawn out of my memories and brought back to the moment when Leander walked past me. His shoulder nudged mine as he passed me knocking my wand out of my hand and exited the room. Inhaling a sigh I knelt down to pick it up when another hand reached out beating me to it. I glanced up to find the familiar face. Freckles peaked around his cheeks and that bloody smile again.

“Are you sure this is your first year at a Wizarding school?”

My head bobbed as if to answer yes. His posture realigned and he held the wand out for me to take. Our hands brushed one another during the transfer.

“What’s your secret then?”

“Fast learner I suppose.”

My eyebrows scrunched together. My eyes locked onto his looking back and forth between them searching for some sort of clue as to why he stopped to help me. Pleasantries were not something I was used to.

“I wasn’t expecting a new student to be so deft with a wand, or perhaps it was not your first duel?”

“I’ve had some practice.”

There it was again, the heat building up in my cheeks prickling away at my skin.

“If you’re looking for more practice I think you’d be a perfect fit for an exclusive unsanctioned dueling organization.”

“I’ll consider it.”

“I didn’t catch your name?”

His eyes were even more mesmerizing up close.

“Alora.”

I had to pull my gaze away from him to get the stinging in my cheeks to subside.

“Well, Alora.”

He enunciated the syllables of my name.

“If you want to get the most out of Hogwarts you’re going to need to break the rules every now and again.”

“Why do I get the feeling that’s a regular thing for you?”

He shrugged a grin pulling at his lips.

“You’ll have to find that out for yourself.”

“I’ll have to consider that too.”

His eyes lingered over me taking in my full appearance. I shifted my weight looking directly back at him, head cocked to the side, eyebrows raised as I watched his gaze study me. He took a few steps with his back towards the door he was heading for.

“I’ll be seeing you around.”

He shot me another wink before turning on his heels to exit the room. The rest of my classes for the day were not so eventful. However, word did spread about my duel with Sebastian. For such a big school the gossip of the day spread like a wildfire. Catching onto everything it could reach. I met back up with Violet, one of the girls who I shared a dormitory with and we headed into the great hall for supper. I soaked up the entirety of the room. Ghosts dancing in one far corner. Candles floating in the air under the ceiling which resembled the night sky. And as many dinner assortments as one could ask for. Chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables. It all smelled so good making my stomach grumble in hunger.

We took our seats next to the other two girls from our room. Nerdia and Priscilla, who were jumping at the chance to talk about my duel against Sebastian. I had not experienced people being genuinely happy to see me or ask me about my day. It was quite refreshing. Back home people referred to me and my mother as odd or peculiar. Most speculation revolved around the mysterious way my father died and we were unable to explain it ourselves. After dinner the girls led the way back to our room. We talked until nearly midnight and before I knew it my head was against my pillow and I fell asleep feeling as if for the first time I was in a place where I truly belonged.