◣ 𝗦𝗢𝗙𝗧 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧 ◥

𝗙𝗜𝗥𝗦𝗧 𝗗𝗘𝗙𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗘 𝗖𝗟𝗔𝗦𝗦 𝗪𝗜𝗧𝗛 𝗦𝗡𝗔𝗣𝗘

FIRST DEFENSE CLASS WITH SNAPE
"𝗉𝖺𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗍𝗂𝖼, 𝖶𝖾𝖺𝗌𝗅𝖾𝗒."

—ALEXANDRIA SIGHED, LAYING DOWN ON HER BED IN HER DORM. After years of being roommates with her friends, she had decided that it was best to go back to the dorm Salazar had created for his descendants— more specifically, her first and actual dorm, which she was supposed to be in for the past few years as she had gotten it ever since she was sorted into Slytherin.

She closed her eyes, but knowing that she won't be able to fall asleep, she opened them and stood up, grabbing the nearest book— which just so happened to be her potions book.

Might as well have a head start on the year, thought Alexandria as she started reading it.

♡

"You seem tired," said Draco the next morning as he sat down in front of Alexandria in the great hall.

"So do you," shrugged the girl, pointing to the bags under his eyes. "Couldn't fall asleep?"

"No. You?"

"Nope."

Draco sighed, drinking juice from his goblet. "What class do we have first?"

She took a bite from her breakfast, then looked at the schedule on the table. "Defense class," she answered, then stood up. "I'll see you there. I've got something to do."

Draco merely nodded, watching as the girl walked out of the great hall.

♡

"The Dark Arts," said Snape, "are many, varied, ever-changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible."

Alexandria quietly sat down next to Draco, who gave her a half-smile and went back to listening to Snape.

"Your defences," said Snape, a little louder, "must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the Arts you seek to undo. These pictures," he indicated a few of them as he swept past, "give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse—" he waved a hand towards a witch who was clearly shrieking in agony "—feel the Dementor's Kiss'—" a wizard lying huddled and blank-eyed slumped against a wall "—or provoke the aggression of the Inferius—" a bloody mass upon the ground.

"Has an Inferius been seen, then?" asked Parvati Patil in a high-pitched voice. "Is it definite, is he using them?"

Alexandria rolled her eyes at the girl and leaned back on her chair.

"The Dark Lord has used Inferi in the past," said Snape, "which means you would be well-advised to assume he might use them again. Now.." He set off again around the other side of the classroom towards his desk, and again, the class watched him as he walked, his dark robes billowing behind him.

"..you are, I believe, complete novices in the use of non-verbal spells. What is the advantage of a non-verbal spell?"

Hermione Granger's hand shot into the air.

Snape took his time looking around at everybody else, making sure he had no choice, before saying curtly, "Very well – Miss Granger?"

"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform," replied Granger smugly, "which gives you a split-second advantage."

"An answer copied almost word for word from The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6," said Snape dismissively.

Draco sniggered, while Alexandria turned her mocking laugh into a cough just in time.

"but correct in essentials. Yes, those who progress to using magic without shouting incantations gain an element of surprise in their spell-casting. Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some," his gaze lingered maliciously upon Harry, "lack."

Harry rolled his eyes. He refused to drop his gaze, glowering at Snape until Snape looked away.

"You will now divide," Snape went on, "into pairs. One partner will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence. Carry on."

A reasonable amount of cheating ensued; many people were merely whispering the incantation instead of saying it aloud.

Typically, ten minutes into the lesson Alexandria managed to repel Draco's muttered Jelly-Legs Jinx without uttering a single word, which earned her 10 points to Slytherin.

Snape swept between them as they practised, looking just as much like an overgrown bat as ever, lingering to watch Harry and Ron Weasley struggling with the task.

Ron, who was supposed to be jinxing Harry, was purple in the face, his lips tightly compressed to save himself from the temptation of muttering the incantation.

Harry had his wand raised, waiting on tenterhooks to repel a jinx that seemed unlikely ever to come.

"Pathetic, Weasley," said Snape, after a while. "Here– let me show you–"

He turned his wand on Harry so fast that Harry reacted instinctively; all thought of non-verbal spells forgotten he yelled, "Protego!"

His Shield Charm was so strong Snape was knocked off-balance and hit a desk.

The whole class had looked round and now watched as Snape righted himself, scowling.

"Do you remember me telling you we are practising non-verbal spells, Potter?"

"Yes," said Harry stiffly.

"Yes, sir."

"There's no need to call me "sir", Professor."

The words had escaped him before he knew what he was saying. Several people gasped. Behind Snape, however, Alexandria looked extremely proud.

"Detention, Saturday night, my office," said Snape. "I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter... not even the Chosen One."