𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐎𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍

𝟐.𝟓 - 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤

 The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was alive with conversation. You and Pansy were seated side by side at your shared desk in the back corner. In the row next to you sat Harry and Ron. Hermione was seated the furthest to the front that she could manage, no surprise there. From what you could see sitting down, she was already taking notes. On what exactly, you had no idea. But something told you that you would be needing them later on.

You had slept in too late to catch breakfast, but you weren't too upset about it. In fact, you were actually relieved that you had gotten a good night's sleep before daily classes began. Besides, if you ever needed a quick snack, you shared most of your classes with Ron and he always had something to eat in his satchel.

Someone on the other side of the room had charmed an origami bird and it flew up over your heads, spinning around in the air as it circled the room. You giggled, propping your head up with your hand so you could crane your neck to observe it. Both Gryffindor and Slytherin boys stood up and took turns trying to whack it with small pebbles or wads of parchment.

A pair of eyes burned holes into your side and you didn't have to move an inch to see that Harry has his head leaning up against his stack of books, staring right at you. You nearly blushed under his gaze when out of nowhere, the paper bird swooped down in front of your nose. You jumped back and Pansy snorted.

 Draco was seated next to Blaise on the opposite side of the room. They spoke in hished tones and every so often Blaise would nod his head, twirling a long feathery quill between his fingers. It sometimes scared you how easily Draco could switch his behavior from rude and snotty to desperate and sympathetic. Even so, you understood exactly why he did.  

 Everyone's laughter halted as the paper bird circling above you suddenly burst into flames and spun into a nosedive toward your desk. You watched in shock as the red embers consumed the delicate object. 

 You barely had time to pull your hands away before grey ashes dusted the top of your desk. Looking up in front of you, you saw Professor Umbridge pointing her dark, warped wooden wand directly at the spot where the bird once was. You gulped nervously and she grinned.

"Good morning, children," she greeted, turning abruptly back to the front of the room. With the flick of her wand, a piece of chalk flew over to the chalkboard and began making wide swooping marks onto the surface. "Ordinary Wizarding Level Examinations. O-W-L's. More commonly known as OWLs."

Umbridge's voice was sickeningly sweet and you could feel a pit growing in your stomach as if you could sense something dreadful on the horizon. "Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so and the consequences may be severe."

The harsh words contrasted with her gentle appearance. She waved her wand once again and a tall stack of books levitated off of her desk and floated down the rows of students. Lost in thought, you almost zoned out when a thick hardcover textbook slammed itself against your desk, knocking you back into reality.

Looking down at the book, you inspected the cover and furrowed your brows. It looked more like a children's storybook than a DADA textbook. In the front of the room, Hermione raised her hand and to no surprise, was called on immediately.

"There's nothing in here about defensive spells," she stated, though it sounded more like a question.

Umbridge clutched her wand close to her chest. She was wearing an outfit similar to the one she had on at the welcoming feast, only a much brighter shade of pink. It almost hurt your tired eyes to look at her directly. "Using spells?" She chortled. "Well I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom."

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron asked. The confusion in his voice reflected on that of the class. Even Pansy was flipping through the first few pages of her textbook in confusion. Umbridge's smile fell for a moment before bouncing back onto her face tenfold. "You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way," she countered.