Year 5 Chapter 15

There was something incredible in the way the next morning went without a hitch in my humble opinion, and yet seemed to make my life expectancy decrease by an incredible amount.

Still, as the Yrrah Rettop's tale was coming to an end, and the magical plant McMuffingus was just at the fingertip of the duo of Professors of Doom, I dimly realized that March was coming up on the calendar. After March there would be April, then May, and finally June and the dreaded OWLs. My eyes nearly crossed from the effort of scribbling down on the blackboard as much of the theoretical aspects of the Defense Against the Dark Arts spells that were bound to come up.

I would have done the practical, but Sirius Black, as much as he had calmed down considerably, was utterly unable to recall half the theories tied to the spells. And while I had little to no desire to do so, apparently one needed not just to know that the Shield Charm's name was the Protego, but also in which cases it was amenable to forget about it and instead use a good old Apparition to get the hell out of there.

Ironically enough, 'The Death Curse' was a perfectly viable option, just as 'The Inquisition' and 'Muggles with Cameras'.

"All right," I said as I finished. "Draco? There's one case in recorded history when the Wingardium Leviosa charm was used to cause unforeseen complications. When was it?"

The Slytherin boy perked up at being called, swallowed his nervousness or perhaps dread, and then answered, "Urg the Unclean being dunked in the pond by wizards, during the eighteenth century."

"Excellent," I said with a nod. "Harry, why can Wizards not fly with the use of Charms?"

Harry blinked at being called up next, "Because the Wingardium Leviosa levitates objects, but doesn't give one control, and the hovering charm doesn't push you higher than a few inches."

I gave a nod, "Good, now, a bit harder. Hiccups and coughs can be charmed away. What is the one sickness that, while falling into such things, cannot be counter-charmed?" There was a brief moment of silence. "Sneezing," I said in the end. "No wizard felt it worth their time to deal with sneezing counter-charms; and if one sneezes due to an allergy, then it's the Bubblehead charm for them."

There were nods, a few took notes.

"The Riddikulus charm works against Boggarts, why can other charms not be used?"

A few hands rose, and I picked one that came from the Slytherin side. "Because since it's a non-being, it cannot be directly harmed into a state of non-existence," the girl which I unfortunately knew was now Daphne Greengrass answered, and I dreaded any potential future meetings.

"What other creatures fall under the classification of non-being?" I asked, pointing at Ron Weasley.

He blinked, and then hesitated. "Things that aren't beings?" he hazarded. And some students chuckled, while others shook their heads in disbelief.

"Dementors and Poltergeists," I said. "Though the jury is still open on Dementors, since their way of creation is shrouded in mystery, so too is their method of destruction. At the present, only one spell works, the Expecto Patronum," I continued. I scribbled on the blackboard the wand movement, and then exhaled. "This is one spell that will make, or break, a wizard's existence."

I chuckled. "This spell is achieved by combining your best, happiest moments of your life into one big bundle of positive energy. They will take the form of an animal of sorts. However," I stressed that, "This spell can be cast, if not by the absolute pure of heart, at the very least by those who truly believe in a cause they are heralding as it being good. It is ironic, I suspect, to hear this. However, no matter how blunt or harrowing, the truth must be told. Even an evil wizard or witch may cast such a powerful spell of the light, provided they truly believe that what they are doing is, without a shred of doubt, an act of good. However, do not make the mistake of believing this easy. There is always doubt in the hearts of people; so too must the one casting this spell be free of it."

I hummed as I crossed my arms behind my back. "Thus, when faced with a Dementor or a Lethifold, you should apparate away if possible, even at the risk of splinching yourself. Better to lose a limb and have it regrown than to be eaten alive, be it your soul or your body."

A hand rose, and I glanced at the raised hand of Hermione. "Why did you say it might break a wizard's existence, Shade?" she asked, lowering her hand.

"Because a competent wizard of the Dark, though he may have the ability to cast such a spell, will find it produce nothing but the maggots that infest the rotten remains of his tattered soul, eager to devour their flesh," I answered in turn. "Thus, they would die. Take heed, though, that unless any of you used an Unforgivable recently and murdered someone, chances are high that won't happen."

Ron muttered something, to which Harry snickered.

"Share with the class, Ron Weasley," I said with a curt snap, my eyes turning towards him.

"N-No, nothing," he hastily said.

"Share with the class," I stressed out, once more.

Ron, for all of his problems, was quite the courageous git when challenged. "I said that considering some of the people in here, we might end up needing a bug exterminator."

I hummed as he said that, "That will be twenty-five points from Gryffindor," I said in turn, with the calmest of voices and the most serene of smiles.

Not a cricket dared to chirp. "Now, Mister Weasley, I will also tell you why," I continued with my left hand raised, to silence any would-be rebellious exclamations. "Your words hurt deeper than you realize. This offhand comment of yours is, unfortunately, a result of the horrible way Hogwarts has treated some of its students as if they were expected to turn bad at a second notice, in the blink of an eye, and that is just plainly put wrong. We are all the captains of our ships, the ones who decide our destiny. It isn't the house that makes the witch, or the wizard, good or evil. It's what the student does. However the severity of the punishment is because you also, with your callous words, wished for the death of your fellow students."

I shook my head. "How much of a dark soul do you harbor, young man, that you wish to see others your age dead through bugs eating them alive?" I sighed, and then chuckled. "I know," I added as he was about to speak up. "You didn't really mean it. You didn't intend to make it as something more than an off-hand remark. You just said a joke, something trite and obvious; Slytherins are bad, so clearly they'll turn bad and become maggot-food. You want to know something interesting? People don't normally turn evil overnight. They don't wake up in the morning with a Bad-Wizard stamp printed on their foreheads. There are extremely rare circumstances where that may happen, but normally? Normally it just so happens that when a group of students decide to pick on another, resentment grows. That resentment grows into spite. That spite grows into anger. That anger? It becomes hatred and then bad things happen, bad things that the other party believes to be justice, even when it's not."

I shook my head one last time. "And if you wish to say that it's just the first time you said it, then know that I am not punishing you because I wish to single you out. I am punishing you so that you may grow from the mistake you just made."

I grabbed hold of the chalk, and scribbled down a few more words, "Resuming our talk, there have been conjectures about the Lethifold and the Dementors being connected in some form, though that has never been discovered. Their similarities, and their differences..."

By the time the classroom ended, I had a couple of students with their notebooks nearing me for some extra questions.

"How do you do that?" Draco actually asked, his voice incredulous. "I couldn't get the Weasley cowed in years."

"I didn't cow him," I replied in turn. "He'd make for a terrible cow," I continued. "I spoke to him. I tried to understand why he was saying what he was saying, and then I did my best to see that he saw the errors of his way. He might not get it," I said with a chuckle, "He might think it's unfair, but the words will remain with him for a few more minutes, I would hope, and maybe some of it will stick."

I then pointed a finger in Draco's direction, "Though do remember to practice what I preach yourself. Treat others properly, and they will in turn do the same with you. Arrogance and pride are meaningless when compared to honesty and goodwill. The former will always crumble when strength comes less, the latter will always make you shine to those around you."

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Draco rolled his eyes, but mumbled the words as if unsure himself of why he'd say them.

"Hey Shade," a Gryffindor girl asked, sensing the lull in the conversation. "What's your Patronus?"

I blinked. "What makes you think I have one? My soul's so dark, it would probably be a giant maggot swarm."

She giggled and shook her head. "Well, I heard that if you can cast a Patronus, you're pretty much guaranteed to become an Auror. We could practice that together, if you wanted," she added, sounding hopeful.

I rubbed my chin, "I could make it a class event," I said, totally ignoring the crestfallen look on the girl in question. Sorry, random Gryffindor Girl who I think is Fay Dunbar, but I can't be arsed to remember all of your names. "It should be worth extra credits in the practical portion."

I did wonder what would come out of my wand, if anything at all.

And if my soul was actually pitch-black darkness...

...a wandless incendio would get rid of the maggots before they ate my body, hopefully.