Black Fortunes

Chapter 18

September 26th

Sirius walked towards Defense with his friends, musing on the changes to the class. He had been right in thinking that his soon-to-be stepfather would rustle a few things, but the degree to which he would do so was both shocking and amusing. According to his cousin Bella, Slytherins were absolutely outraged as a majority about the changes in the class, many had written their parents, expecting things to go back to the way they had been. She admitted it had been highly amusing to see their stunned and put-out reactions when they had received their replies.

As Professor Peverell had told them, the entire thing was sanctioned by the Board of Governors and more importantly (he had not mentioned this) the Wizengamot. There would be no changes made as long as students were not harmed by his teaching methods. As the only thing that had happened so far was a few ruffled feathers and lost points so far, Sirius didn't see it changing anytime soon. He was an interesting teacher and made the Defense class far more challenging than it had been for the past six years.

Their first two sessions after the ruffling introduction had been debates on what spells were actually Light and Dark and which had just been classified by the Ministry as that way due to what had become their common usage. Evans had just about thrown a fit in that class, demanding to know how a 'Light' spell could be used in a bad manner. Harrigan's reply had been chilling, to say the least.

"Miss Evans, I think it is time you open your eyes. The magical world is a dangerous place outside of these protected walls and it certainly has no place for your narrow-minded way of thinking. How can a 'Light' spell be used for 'Dark' purposes, you ask? I can think of several ways off the top of my head. The Levitation spell for example. You scoff at me, but a spell that can levitate a feather could certainly lift a chunk of stone over someone's head and be released, couldn't it? For that matter, you could use it to levitate your opponent themselves out of an open window from a few floors up and kill them that way."

"Defodio is used for plants, but what's to stop someone from using a milder cutting spell the same way more severe ones are used, to slice open an opponents' throat? The Tickling Charm could be used as a lighter form of the Cruciatus, causing severe nerve damage from overexposure or even causing important blood vessels to break. I've seen people use Scourgify as a prank to fill someone's mouth with bubbles, that could very well cause them to choke, couldn't it?"

"You need to stop thinking about spells as Dark and Light and start seeing them the way they are, Miss Evans. Every single one of you is given a weapon at the age of eleven, you are given the means to kill someone at the age of eleven with the wrongful usage of even a single spell. If you want to make it in this world, Miss Evans, you need to set aside the naivety that there is only good and evil. There is far more to Magic than that."

"You only say that because you're a Pagan," she accused him.

He turned and looked her straight in the eyes with an almost glacial stare. "You will find, Miss Evans, that most witches and wizards are what you call Pagan. Considering the fact that the Christian religion demands the death of all those that practice witchcraft, you could very well be considered a hypocrite. My religious beliefs have nothing to do with what I am teaching you here in this school and that insolent accusation has gained you a loss of 25 house points and a detention with Argus Filch. I expected more from a Head Girl whose Head of House praises her so highly."

Lily Evans had unknowingly insulted quite a few people that day. After word had spread about what she had said to a teacher younger students came to her less and less, afraid of accusations based on their beliefs. Older students had lost their respect for her as well and several teachers had come up to her and expressed their disappointment in her behavior and conduct.