In Harry Potter as Neville Longbottom - Chapter 71: House Points
Neville managed to reach the DADA’s classroom minutes before the time. He quickly found an empty seat with Hermione and hurriedly sat down.
The classroom was decorated in a black and red colour scheme with new curtains, floating candles and new pictures up on the wall where kids could see some of the famous and dangerous creatures like werewolves and Yeti.
It was a lot different and better than the previous year where students felt puking over the horrendous smell of Garlic and other spices that filled the classroom and the unusual darkness that made it like their hated potion class.
“Everyone here!”
Professor Weasley came inside the classroom and Gryffindor boys were already clapping for him. Why not? This was one of their own seniors, the eldest Weasley who came back as the professor. He was surely famous in whole Gryffindor now with his past stories being told as legends and myths.
“Okay…. Okay…Silence please!” Bill moved his wand like a chief conductor in an opera.
All the candles flew a little higher and the curtains rolled up bringing enough light into the dim classroom.
“Now, as your new professor in defence against the dark arts, I hope to train and teach all of you to the best of my abilities. For starters, let us learn some theories and let me share some real-life stories that can help you understand today’s topic better.
Please, everyone, open your book to page no. 36 and look carefully. These creatures, that are famous for their pranks and not their danger is often found in parts of Britain and …….”
Professor Bill started the class with a dull and boring nature that never suited the appetite of the Gryffindor before it was almost half of the class time and Professor Bill finished speaking.
“Now, everyone put down your books.
Till now, I told you about these small grey pranksters and now, let me share a story. Also, take out your wands, please.
Once I was called as a curse breaker in our famous Gringotts because a lot of their vaults started going under security breach. Duplicate charms that almost threatened the safety of Gringotts or mischievous tricks that often baffled the Goblins.
Now, you might think this is just a funny thing but as your professor, I will tell you one thing.
The fact that these guys can throw anything or everything which is 10 times their body weight like a feather is very dangerous if you encounter them while you are in a group.
Now, yes…I forgot something…. yes, there is one…loose and hiding in the class.
So, in the rest of the class, try your best to capture it.”
Professor Bill chuckled before leaving all the kids in the class along with the famous prankster ‘imp’. A six-inch grey coloured creature with yellow coloured eyes suddenly started throwing books and quills in the class and jumping and hiding among the robes of the wizards to escape the capture.
“AHHHH!” Cried a Gryffindor girl when the Imp tripped her down and she fell face-first on the hard floor.
Hermione tried to hit the creature with a sleeping charm or something but before she could even point her wand, the creature would suddenly run and hide among the students’ robes and would disappear.
The next half of the class was filled with screams of fear and excitement as the lions wanted to catch this Imp and the Imp loved tormenting the wizarding kids.
“Flipendo” Ron Weasley used a Knockback Jinx on the grey bald monster but his broken wand made it a silly and painful lesson for him.
Ron got attacked by his own charm and he was thrown back and hit the chairs in the classroom before crying in pain.
“Merlin Tits! It Hurts!”
The crying Weasley made our famous saviour angry, and he hit the Imp with all his power with another knockback Jinx but because he failed to aim properly, he ended up hitting another student.
This resulted in our saviour apologizing and helping the fallen Gryffindor girl, Kellah before she kicked him on the foot and the Imp tripped the famous Harry Potter over another girl.
The chaos was maddening, and the laughter and the cries of pain made it the best fun for the Gryffindor students. They tried their level best to hit this crafty little prick but the Imp was anything if not fast and clever.
“How long are we going to wait this out?” Dean asked Neville who was watching the scene like a child watching a favourite cartoon.
“C’mon. You can’t be serious. This is the best fun I think I ever had in any class in Hogwarts.” Seamus also looked at the funny scene before the trio had to close their eyes after a sudden flash.
Hermione used a lightning charm to blind the Imp with a sudden glare and catch him by levitating in the air. The Imp has no wings and hence it became impossible for it to escape.
Neville saw the scene and a smile came to his face.
Hermione successfully captured the Imp, and she was about to call Professor back when suddenly, Ron Wesley woke up and he tried to get up by grabbing her robe.
This made Hermione lose her balance and she fell down while the Imp found the magic weakening around it and it jumped directly on her face.
“Ahhh!” Hermione let out a loud cry fearing the Imp will attack her face with his long dirty nails and closed her eyes in fear.
However, the Imp never attacked her and when she opened her eyes, she found the Imp was used as a ball by Neville, Dean and Seamus.
They were throwing and catching him in the air like it was the most natural thing to do; annoying the Imp and making it squeak in a painful and annoying tone.
“Bravo!” Bill Weasley finally came back into the class and cheered for the three boys.
He had been watching the scene inside the class from a one-way mirror and he had seen all the students and their performances.
The performance of his youngest brother was good, and it might have been the best if not for the broken wand. Harry Potter was brave and loyal to his friend. However, the famous Potter need more training and practice in duels.
The Granger girl was fast, methodological, and surpassingly good with her charms. Most of all, her ability to think on her feet was amazing. Finally, it was the performance of the three boys that truly caught his eye.
The ease with which they used their charms, their control and the ability to judge their own power is the best in the class or maybe the best below the fifth graders.
They are playing with the Imp but not harming it. They made the whole thing look too easy for kids in their second years.
If Neville Longbottom was not a part of this trio, he would have asked them the secrets of their training but being friends with a pure-blood wizard like Longbottom did gave them an advantage over many others.
“Now, this was an amazing display of the control over your charms by Dean, Seamus, and Neville. I award you all 5 points. Oh, I always wanted to say that you know…” Professor Bill managed to make the whole class laugh with his silly behaviour before finishing the class in the most fun way.
“Hermione, I got 15 points. You?” In the evening before dinner time, Hermione met her Slytherin friend, Pansy and they both calculated their points.
“Awww! The smartest girl, Hermione lost to a Slytherin girl. How sad?!” Pansy teased her muggle friend and Hermione had her cheeks puffed up.
It is one thing to not get the most marks on the first day, but it is another when her friend is the one who managed to get more marks than her.
“Fine…. but Hogwarts just started Pansy and I will get the most points in the end. Hmph!” The Gryffindor cute cat left her friend in annoyance before she heard Pansy laughing behind her.
Hermione decided as the best student of Hogwarts (by her own standard and by her own judgement) she must get the highest points in coming lessons this week.