HEATHENS - Harry Potter ✔

CHAPTER TWO

Seated in the middle row, Kiera took out her wand, a quill, some fresh parchment, and her copy of Defensive Magical Theory, by Wilbert Slinkhard. This was the only textbook she owned that was not second hand but not because she for some reason valued it more than the rest; it was because there were no used copies in Flourish and Blotts. Kiera doubted that anyone had ever bought the book before it was assigned to them.

She couldn't say she was surprised. Kiera liked to be well prepared and since she didn't have much to do during summers, she tended to read through her new textbooks. Not this one though, because it had really been too boring, even for someone with no friends and no hobbies.

Their new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, Dolores Umbridge was sitting at her desk. She was wearing yet another pink-on-pink outfit, her brown hair in unrealistic curls around her head that made it look like she was wearing a wig. She had yet to say a single word. Instead, she observed the bored students, a sickly-sweet smile tugged on her lips and squinting eyes that gave her the look of a toad.

Kiera, who had been lazily fiddling with her necklace, glanced at the clock just when Umbridge finally stood up. "Well, good afternoon," she said.

Some of them mumbled a response.

"Tut, tut," Professor Umbridge scolded. "That won't do, now, will it? I should like you, please, to reply 'Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge'. One more time, please. Good afternoon, class!"

"Good afternoon, Professor Umbridge," the class chanted back at her.

She smiled wider. "There, now. That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

Many students exchanged gloomy looks; they had never had a lesson they enjoyed without wands. Kiera was having traumatising flashbacks to Lockhart and his endless droning about all the things he had done (or hadn't done, as they later discovered). He had spent entire lessons doing nothing more than reading his books to them.

Professor Umbridge tapped the blackboard with her own wand. Onto it, text appeared. Defence Against the Dark Arts: A Return to the Basic Principles.

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted, hasn't it?" Professor Umbridge asked, though it obviously wasn't a question.

Kiera was sure that by this time next week, she would have heard the words 'well' and 'now' more than the average person did in an entire lifetime.

"The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your O.W.L. year," Umbridge continued. "You will be pleased to know that these problems are now to rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year." She stressed every word so that it went far beyond dramatic build-up and only managed to be annoying. "Copy down the following, please."

She tapped the blackboard again, new words appearing on it.

Course Aims:

1. Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.

2. Learning to recognise situations in which defensive magic can legally be used.

3. Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.

Kiera's eyebrows knitted in confusion. 'Understanding', 'recognising situations' and 'placing in context for practical use' said nothing about the defensive magic they would actually learn. Maybe she should ask about it. But nobody else seemed to mind...