DPASW: The Foundation of Power

Double Double, Troll and Trouble

It was Halloween. Hermione shivered. She really needed to learn the warming charm.

"Okay, class!" called out Madam Hooch, sitting atop her Cleansweep Seven. "Three laps of the pitch! In pairs! Keep nice even space between each other and don't go too fast!"

Hermione sidled over to the Hufflepuffs. "Good Morning, Kevin."

The larger Muggleborn gave her a wide grin. "Mornin'. You wanting ta group up?"

She smiled back. "Sure."

The other puffs gave them the thumbs up and the two waited for the teacher's whistle. It blew and they started a careful, slow lap.

Hermione adjusted her grip. "So, how're classes going?"

Kevin kept his eyes forward. "Kay, I guess."

"You guess?"

Kevin shrugged, causing him to dip briefly before he brought himself back to her level. "Getting the spells down is hard. Everyone else always gets them first."

"Ah."

They continued flying for a few more moments.

"You're lucky you're so smart."

Hermione glanced at the boy. "You mean because I learn spells quickly?"

"Yeah! You're always first. Every time."

She shrugged, causing her own little dip. "I have a lot of advantages."

"Oh, yeah? Like?"

"I learnt all the theory when I was younger. So I get more time to practise spells."

"That's unfair!"

Hermione nodded. "Yes."

"I mean... they're all saying that it don't matter that me Mum an' Dad ain't magic, but that's not true then."

She shook her head.

"That sucks."

"It's actually a lot worse then that."

Kevin shot her a look. "Wha'dja mean?"

"I'm a muggleborn too so I understand what you're going through, but I was lucky. I had my best friend to guide me. You remember when we talked about legilimency?"

Kevin looked thoughtful. "Yeah. I think so. That mind reading stuff right?"

"Yes. Well, there's this thing called Occlumency that some people who grew up in the magical world learn, which protects against that. But it also helps you learn faster, gives you a near perfect memory, and helps you control your emotions."

Kevin's jaw dropped. "That's awesome! I want to learn that!"

"—And it takes years to learn and isn't taught at Hogwarts."

Kevin's face fell. "Whaa? Why? That not fair!"

Hermione shifted on her broom as they made a slow and shaky curve at the edge of the pitch.

"You know this Occ-lu-mency then?" Kevin asked.

She nodded.

"And everyone else?"

She shook her head. "No, not everyone." She nodded to where Susan and Daphne had paired up for the laps. "Susan will know it. So will Hannah and Zach. Ernie and Wayne might know it, but I'm not sure.

"Well that right sucks."

"You're doing better than many muggleborns, you know."

Kevin looked puzzled. "How? I'm always last."