Defense Against The Dark Arts

I Find Out I can Mind Read

30th November 2022

 I have never used a sword in my life so if you're reading this thinking 'This is not how this works', that's why. Furthermore, hell yeah this chapter passes the 50 page mark on google docs which I think calls for some celebration as this being the longest thing I have ever written. (This is very vague and can't really be trusted, but I'm thinking the end word count will be around 70,000 words(!!!), but that's if I follow my plan)

Halloween comes and goes, with some fairly shockingly realistic decorations, and an extreme pumpkin theme. Due to the fact that there are already ghosts whizzing around the castle, I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of enchanting sheets with eyes on to fly about was, but I'm sure the students appreciate it.

I had honestly almost forgotten about the offer we had made to Selene for joining us in training , having gotten lost in our own training, teaching, AUDA still going strong and what little free time we have left, but she brings it up one day after class.

"I thought about the offer you made," She says, tapping her foot in no obvious pattern, "And I've decided I think I will come to the sword fighting practices, if you are still up for teaching me. I haven't had much homework lately, so I'm free most days, as long as it doesn't collide with Charms Club, which is on a Tuesday."

Percy and I seem to remember our conversation from weeks ago right at the same time, as we both say, almost in unison, "We were thinking during the second half of AUDA sessions-"

We break off as we realise we were speaking at the same time and laugh. Selene just seems to be mostly creeped out by our apparent mind-reading powers.

"Uh, yeah, we were thinking that during the second half of the AUDA sessions, if you know the spell, one of us could help you with it. Obviously one of us will have to stay and supervise AUDA, but if we alternate weeks, you can learn different techniques from us too," Percy carries on explaining.

"Yeah, that would work," Selene agrees.

We all agree that in the next AUDA session, Percy will be with her first, and then the next week me, and we would alternate like that. Selene leaves for her next class, with a quickly scribbled note - that's just about legible (Thanks, dyslexia) - from Percy letting her next teacher know she was with

"She said she knows some stuff. We can just recap the basics, and go from there. Gauge her actual skill, I suppose," I say to Percy, as we both wait for our next class to come.

In the next AUDA session, the students were learning the Reductor curse, creating a gigantic mess that would definitely have been a problem, had they not all had magic to clean it up. Around halfway through, Percy and Selene disappear, off to do sword training, and thankfully, no one questions their disappearance. The rest of the session is spent for me in a corner, watching everyone else explode cushions. It was not particularly fun, though more interesting than when they were doing the Impediment jinx.

"How was it?" I ask Percy, when we are both back in our bedroom, laying in bed on our backs, having already got our pyjamas on.

"She's pretty good, actually. She has good reflexes, but seems too scared to actually act on them. I think we need to work on her strength too, if she's going to get good - we were using wooden training swords because that way she can actually keep going for a long enough time to learn anything."

"So, strength, stamina, and she needs to be bolder?" I sum up. "Not bad. How was her technique?"

"Odd, but not necessarily bad. I think she's too used to using a wand, so she's jabbing her sword too much, rather than moving it more fluidly," Percy explains. He suddenly grins as he thinks of something, "If she could somehow attach her wand to her sword, and fire off spells at the same time as fighting, she would be formidable."