Term 6: Lesson 1: Year 1-2

Zinnia walked to charms class feeling like she couldn't even stand she was so tired that she could hardly keep her eyes open, she stumbled a few times before sitting in her seat and wait for the teacher to give her lesson.

Leila couldn't believe she overslept, her cousin Zinnia couldn't sleep so she decided to wake her up instead, by the time she woke up it was already 7:30, but luckily she is very quick, and soon found herself in the charms class sitting next to her cousin waiting for the teacher to start.

Finally, Hunter had made it to a class without getting lost! That might not seem like much of an accomplishment to most people, but to Hunter, it felt like a miracle. The castle was huge, and the staircases always got him confused. He was grinning when he stepped into the charms classroom. The professor was a thin woman with dark hair. She looked friendly enough! His eyes scanned the classroom, and he noticed that there were only two other students there so far. Wait, I'm actually early? That was even more of a miracle.

The girls that were already there, if he remembered right from the sorting, were both in Slytherin. One was blonde, and the other dark-haired, and they were sitting together. Deciding not to interrupt them, he made his way toward the front of the classroom and chose a chair in the row behind him. He set his schoolbooks on his desk and pulled out his wand. He watched in amazement as the professor made words form on the board with a flick of her wand. He had seen other professors do it as well, but as a muggleborn it never ceased to amaze him.

YESSS SHE WASN'T LATE.

Maybe it was because she'd run the whole way. But that was good. So Aoife wouldn't lose any points for her house. If she did, that would ruin her plans to be the BEST GRYFFINDOR EVER. As she walked (much slower than her journey to the classroom), she beamed at the woman. "Hi, Professor!"

Aoife saw Hunter sitting towards the front of the classroom behind some unfamiliar girls so went and took the seat next to him, whispering a, "Hi!" to him.

WOW MAGIC THE PROFESSOR MADE WRITING ON THE BOARD ALL MAGICKY. That was SO cool! And they were going to learn TWO spells!

Once the class had started, Aoife sat up straighter. She wanted to make a good impression so she didn't get another a detention or lose points, however nice or mean this Ppofessor was. And she genuinely was excited for the class, since making things do magicky things would always be cool!

When she asked a question, Aoife bit her lip. She KNEW this one. Definitely. She gasped as she remembered (from that magic book she was reading a few days ago) and put her hand up quickly. "It's the locking spell, Professor!" Enthusiasm was always good.

Leila frowned when the girl answered the question before her, she new that answer, but soon the professor asked another question and Leila raised her hand and said,"Professor, counter-spell to the Locking Spell is The Unlocking Charm, also known as the Thief's Friend and the incantation is Alohomora."

Hunter smiled at Aoife as she joined him. "Hi Aoife!" he responded. Then, he turned his attention to the professor as she began class. She asked a question about the charm colloportus. Hunter raised his eyes to the ceiling, thinking. He was sure that he'd seen that word before when he was skimming his charms text, but couldn't recall what it meant. Apparently, Aoife knew, and she responded quickly with the answer. Of course, the locking spell. I knew that. Although, he wouldn't have remembered it on his own.

The professor awarded points to Aoife, and asked another question. Well, at least Gryffindor still gets points. Professor Fenech continued, asking about the counter-charm to the locking spell. He knew this one for sure! Alohamora! He was about to raise his hand and answer, but one of the girls sitting in front of him, Leila, answered first. She got it right. Oh well, there would be plenty more chances to earn points for his house.

Aoife scrunched up her nose when that Slytherin girl answered before her or Hunter could. Not that she knew the answer, but it looked like her friend did. Never mind, she could always earn more points later. Like, right now! A question! She wasn't sure of the answer, but it didn't look too hard to take a shot at.

"It's because thieves often use it to open places they want to steal from, Professor and they're like best friends because they help each other out!" Aoife sounded a lot more confident than she felt, so that was good. It was quite a unique way of phrasing her answer but hopefully still right.

Hunter knew the answer to this question, too! Aoife responded quickly to it, and he nodded in agreement. Of course, she was right. But Hunter now had a question. "But Professor," he said, looking at the woman. "What's the point of locking your door at all, even with colloportus, if anyone who wants to can just alohamora it open?" He looked at her questioningly. It was a good question, in his mind. Why bother locking something that anyone can open?

"Wizards must have come up with a better spell than colloportus, or at least a way to stop someone else from using alohamora," he continued, his tone curious. "Otherwise, anyone could just break into your house in the middle of the night." Hunter frowned, thinking of his own door at home. It wasn't locked with any spell. It unnerved him to know that any wizard could just come into his house at any moment, if they wanted to, just by using an unlocking spell.

Willow rushed into the classroom. This was her first class ever at Hogwarts and she was late! How could she have been so stupid as to get lost?! Those blasted moving stairs had moved twice while she was on them, twice. She shook her head frustratedly as she entered the classroom carrying her textbook, a book of parchment and her wand while her quills and ink remained in her backpack. She took the closest seat available near the back of the classroom, she didn't want to disturb the rest of the class. She looked at the board and nodded, she had come in at the tail end of one of the Gryffindors asking a question so she already could guess what this lesson was about.

Quickly she set up her notebook, quill and ink and hurriedly wrote what was written on the board while paying close attention to the professor for the answer to the question so that she could be on exactly the right page, so to speak, with the rest of the class.

Wow that was cool. How there was really no point in using the Alohomora spell since any clever wizard would have locked their door with a special charm. But that was sort of confusing. Alohomora, which was a counter-spell, had its own counter-spell. Maybe not that confusing, actually. Hunter was SO clever. And he was a muggle-born too and didn't know any more than her when they came.

Aoife fast walked to the door and was the first to get there. That meant it wouldn't be as embarrassing if she couldn't do it since she had nobody's standards to beat. Pulling her wand from her pocket, she stood in a good position. "Colloportus!" she said, but not too enthusiastic like that other lesson when she burnt the table. And it worked, she found out when she tried to open the door with her hand. It actually worked!

Time for the second spell. "Alohomora!" She frowned when nothing happened, deciding to quickly try again a lot more calmly. "Alohomora!" Aoife repeated and this time it worked. She could open the door manually! Yay!

Willow blushed a little as the professor called her out on being late for the class. "S-sorry Professor... I got lost..." she said meekly staring at her desk. She quickly returned to taking notes and getting caught up. It didn't take her long, she was a very fast writer.

The first year then quickly joined the other students at the door. She was actually second, right behind Aoife! She smiled as Aoife did the charms quite well and was a little excited for her turn though rather nervous too since now there were a few more students in line watching. It would be horrible if she messed it up, especially since she'd been practicing some of the basic charms on her own time.

All right Willow, relax, you've actually done these charms before and you know how to do them! She thought to herself as she pulled her wand out of her robe pocket. She took a deep breath and moved her wand accordingly. "Colloportus!" she declared and instantly the door locked itself with a click. She nodded to herself allowing a small smile. Just as Aoife had done she moved over to the door and tried the handle, it was definitely locked.

Taking a step back she cleared her throat and moved her wand accordingly for the next spell while saying "Alohomora." She was sure to enunciate the charm. Just as easily as the door had locked it clicked open again. She smiled to herself as she tried the door and it opened easily. Quickly, she returned to her desk to make a few notes, she smiled at Aoife as she did. Who said muggle-borns couldn't be as good as any other witch or wizard!?

Hunter grinned back at the professor when she awarded him points for his question. He certainly hadn't expected that, and it felt good to earn a few points for his house! She then asked the class to take turns locking and unlocking the door. He rose and took his place in line behind Aoife and the Hufflepuff that arrived late, Willow. He watched on as Aoife and Willow both succeeded in performing the charms.

It was his turn next. Hunter hesitated as Willow stepped out of the way. So far, he hadn't proven to be a very good wizard. He couldn't turn a matchstick into a needle. He'd gotten placed in the beginner group in Defense Against the Dark Arts. So far, the only thing he'd been good at was flying, and he doubted that would help him much in the future. Realizing that he couldn't put it off, he took a breath and stepped forward slowly until he was near the door.

Just focus. Hunter raised his wand and steadied his hand before attempting the first charm. "Colloportus," he said, his voice shaking slightly. His face fell slightly when the charm was unsuccessful. Relax. Try again. Taking another breath, he raised his wand again and repeated the charm, his voice steadier this time. "Colloportus!" A grin spread across his face as he realized that it had worked. He'd locked the door! The next part came easily - his confidence was already high from completing the locking charm. "Alohamora!" he commanded, aiming his wand again at the door. It unlocked! He grinned and turned, returning to his seat next to Aoife.