Fragmented

Theadora the TEACHER

 For this chapter, imagine that Dumbledore's Army had never happened :)

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Walking into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, I told Blaise, Theo and Pansy, "Get him away from me before I kill him." 

Draco came in, trailing behind me, "You speak beautifully! Your choice of words is perfect in conveying exactly what you mean." Having spent the last hour and a half in muggle studies with him was hell. 

After our conversation at the quidditch try outs, he had been like this non-stop. It had been days, and was no longer any fun for me.

Theo turned to Draco, "Mate, it's like you're under a love spell, but you're not, and you're doing it willingly." He made a disgusted face.

Draco shrugged, "How can I say anything else when in the presence of such a breathtaking witch?" 

At that moment, Professor McGonagall walked in. We stood in the corner of the room, all chairs and tables having been pushed to the side, creating a large open space in the middle. This class was big, having students from every house in it meant that around 30 people were here.

"Students, unfortunately Professor Snape has fallen ill and therefore will not be able to lead today's class. Instead of cancelling, we thought some peer mentoring may be beneficial to your learning. Please raise your hand if you can produce a Patronus Charm."

Leaning on the wall behind me, I raised my arm. It was something I had learnt to do a few years ago, you never knew when something like that would come in handy. 

Looking around, I noticed the only other person to raise their hand was Scarface. "Then it's sorted." Professor McGonagall said. "Potter, Rowle, you'll lead today's lesson." Without another word, the Professor left.

Harry walked into the middle of the room. "You were lying, right? Just wanted to seem like the best for the teacher again?" He taunted me.

Draco began to walk forward, "Don't say that to the wonderful, smart, talented-" Theo pulled him away, trying to stop him from embarrassing himself. From the looks he was getting from the rest of the class, it was too late.

 Now that I was 16, I had completed a large range of various spells and enchantments over the years. I had found it especially easy to learn them once I started to look into people's memory, for some reason teacher's never fully explained what they wanted us to do aloud. But in their heads? That was where the real learning began for me.

It had been the natural path for my magic to take, and after some practice, I could produce nearly all common spells without opening my mouth or touching my wand.  I could even handle some more complex ones, like the Patronus Charm.

Shrugging off the hand that tried to hold me back, I pushed off of the wall, rising to Harry's challenge. Wandlessly, and wordlessly, I cast the spell. 

I lifted my hand so the class could see the tips of my fingers glow softly. From them, wisps of white air began to pour out, quickly taking the form of a Sabre-Tooth Tiger. It padded across the room, stopping at Harry's feet.

For a moment it was silent, before letting out a massive roar that blew the Chosen One's hair back. It walked back over to me, sitting down at my side, guarding me. "So Harry, I think we'll be alright without you here, thanks."

"Oh yeah? Like you actually care that anyone here learns anything." He huffed.

I looked around the room at the faces filled with awe. "Who here would like to learn how to produce a Patronus with a wand from Harry?" A few Gryffindor hands went up.

"And who here would like to learn how to quickly produced a Patronus in a way that a teacher would never explain, then move onto wordless and eventually wandless magic?" The majority of the class' hands shot up.

"Anyone who denies this exquisite woman from speaking are fools whose word should not be trusted! Her inspiring ideas shall never be shot down!" Draco unhelpfully piped up from behind me. 

Feeling confident that most of the class believed in me, I began trying to teach them. Moving to where the front of the class would be, I lifted myself onto the teacher's desk. Standing up, I loomed high above the rest of the class.

"Right, let's fill the space." I waved my hands, indicating how everyone should move around. 

"First, we'll learn the wand movement." I began, drawing my own wand from my pocket. "I know it's basics but I want to start from the very beginning to give everyone the best hope of producing a corporeal animal. 

Bring your arm out in front of you, but slightly bend your elbow," I demonstrated for them all to follow, "Make sure the tip of your wand is angled slightly upwards, and your thumb is facing the sky. Do this for any spell, and it will already be ten times more powerful.

For this spell, you want to start on a fixed point. To do this, point your wand at any specific thing in the classroom. From there, move it in an anti-clockwise circle, making sure you end up further left, and higher from your original point. In your mind, imagine saying the incantation at a steady speed. Ex-pec-to pa-tro-nam." I spoke slowly.

"Now, try to match the two, making your movements slow and careful. Don't speak the words aloud yet though." Around the room, wisps of light began to fly from certain Ravenclaws and a few Gryffindors. "That's your natural ability to perform wordless magic." I smiled at them.

"Okay, now that everyone has practiced that, let's put our wands away and practice saying the words. The key for this specific spell is to focus on the ending vowel of the first word, and the first vowel of the second word. Pronounce it like this, Expecto Patronum." For a few moments, they copied me. 

When I was happy with them, I said, "Now, pair the movement with the pronunciation."

For a few people the white light shone from the tips of their wands. "For the last part, and the most important, you need to think of your happiest memory when producing a Patronus. Alternatively, if you have lived a sad life, choose the memory where you have felt the strongest emotion. Take a moment to think about it now, then have a go when you feel ready." 

Hopping off the desk, I began to weave in and out of the group, offering help to anyone who might need it. The best part was, I could help everyone with their specific needs because I knew which memory they were using.

Slowly, around the room, Patronus' formed. 

"...Ernie, think happier, stronger..."

"...Pansy, lift your wand slightly more..."

"...try waving your wand with more emphasis, Parvati."

I made an entire loop of the classroom, ending up back at the front. I climbed back onto the desk, looking at all my classmates. "Unfortunately, thats the end of the lesson. Sorry we didn't get onto the more fun stuff, maybe next time." I smiled at them.

"I only have one final question, who here can produce a Patronus?" I asked the simple question. Way over half the class raised their hands. 

Happily, I made my way over to where my friends were waiting for me. "Dora, that was amazing!" Theo said. "You're a natural born teacher."

Draco pouted, "Hey, I was going to say that! But I totally agree, Thea. Your wisdom has left us all forever changed." He sighed dramatically. I noticed when teaching that he couldn't quite produce the spell yet though.