Monday arrived far too soon for Diana's liking. She'd spent the weekend slacking off, enjoying the last of the good weather with her friends outdoors before winter well and truly set in, and the momentary respite had caught up to her dearly when she arrived at Charms Monday morning with Henrietta, Jackie, and Gemma.
She bypassed Regulus Black where he sat with another Slytherin, Augustus Nott, on her way to the desk she shared with Gemma. They didn't acknowledge each other, but his gaze was cool, unlike the burning disgust he had bestowed upon her only a month prior.
It was progress, she decided as she took her seat, but it wasn't anything life-altering. Just seeing him sitting with Nott—a rather cruel boy who delighted in taunting those of lower blood status, as she'd seen firsthand over the years—reminded her that despite their truce, she and Regulus still saw the world quite differently from the other.
The thought put a bitter taste in her mouth. What did it make her, she wondered, if she willingly got on with someone who thought of her as lesser because of her blood?
Gemma nudged Diana in the side after they had finished getting out their supplies. "Shit. We might be in trouble today."
Diana followed her friend's gaze to the blackboard perched behind Professor Flitwick. In big, loopy cursive was written: Today's lesson will be over the practical usage of the Gouging Spell. As you will have learned over the weekend's reading—
Diana stopped reading after the second sentence, her heart dropping to her stomach. "Mother—"
She ripped through the pages of her copy of The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 6 while Gemma frantically did the same beside her. A practical lesson, of all things, and of course she hadn't prepared at all for it. She began to regret her lax weekend more and more as her eyes flew over the chapter on Gouging Spells.
"The Gouging Spell enables a witch or wizard to carve through materials with ease, such as earth or stone. From budding Herbologists digging for Snargaluff seedlings to treasure-hunting Curse-Breakers uncovering ancient wizard tombs, the Gouging Spell makes all manner of heavy labor a matter of pointing a wand..."
"Books away, please!" Professor Flitwick called as the bell rang. "That means you, too, Miss Sutton, Miss Fairchild."
Diana and Gemma reluctantly put their books away as the tiny professor peered out at the class.
"Good morning!" he squeaked. "I trust you all had a good weekend? Enjoyed some sunshine?" He smiled beneath his dark mustache when the class mumbled their replies. "Good, good... Well, as you've seen, today's lesson is a practical one, going over the proper way in which to cast a Gouging Spell. Your homework over the weekend was to familiarize yourself with the chapter in your Book of Spells and the correct wand motions used for the spell." He gave a pointed look in Diana's direction, and both she and Gemma grimaced. "For today's lesson, I've decided to put you together in groups of four, picked randomly by me. You and your seatmate will be joining another table to work together on producing a successful Gouging Spell by the end of class. Each group will receive a slab of stone, roughly six inches thick, and the first table to penetrate the stone all the way through using the Gouging Spell will be awarded twenty-five points apiece for their House. Now, here are the groups..."
He flicked his wand and more writing appeared on the blackboard. Diana craned her neck and cursed silently when she realized that she and Gemma were to be paired with Regulus and Nott. Of course. Because Fate could never get enough out of torturing her already.
YOU ARE READING
The Darkest Hearts || REGULUS BLACK
Fanfiction"Fate had flipped her hourglass, and Diana Fairchild and Regulus Black were now running on borrowed time." A Hufflepuff through and through, Diana still did not want to tutor the likes of Regulus Black, a cold Slytherin pure-blood destined for thing...
