Love The Heartless

Chapter Twenty-Two

September 3rd, 1971

"Good morning, first years. I hope you all had a restful summer." Aurora called cheerfully, as she made her way through the defense classroom.

Aurora turned, sitting against her desk, facing the classroom.
"Welcome to your first lesson of Defense Against the Dark Arts. I will be your professor for this course until the Headmaster can find a replacement and hope that I will be able to help prepare you to face the world beyond these castle walls - a world full of Dark creatures and Dark witches and wizards. My name is Professor Aurora Nott. I graduated from Hogwarts two years ago and received top marks in my classes. Our Headmaster offered me a position here, and I happily accepted so here we are." Aurora paused, waiting for any student who had any questions.

"Since this is your first exposure to the Dark Arts, we will not be going too in-depth this term. We will cover some basic creatures and how to defend against them, if they need to be defended against, as well as a few simple spells that will begin to build the foundation for your spell work in future years. Any questions so far?"

Lily Evan's hand shot up in the air.

"Yes, Miss Evans?"
"Is it true that you received the highest scores in your N.E.W.Ts that Hogwarts has ever seen?" She asked excitedly.
Aurora chuckled, "Yes, Miss Evans. I don't like to brag, but I am quite proud of the scores I received, along with the fact that I am currently the only student who has graduated early. Now," Aurora waved her wand, sending the term's syllabus to her students. "Remember that all essays are extra credit for your first year. This means that they will have no impact on your grade, and you are not required to complete them to progress through the course. All they do is give you extra house points. However, I highly recommend that you complete these assignments as they allow you to strengthen your understanding of the content discussed in class. Now, put away your textbooks. We will be attempting protego today."

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"That concludes our lesson for today. Five points to everyone for successfully casting protego. Next time, we will work on expelliarmus, a spell known as the disarming spell. I look forward to seeing you all in the next lesson. Class dismissed."

Aurora began looking for her outline for tomorrows lesson as her first years filed out. They really were a brilliant class. Although, Sirius Black and James Potter were quite the distraction. 

"Hello, love."

Aurora jumped and let out a small squeal.

"Bloody hell, Carina! You scared me." Aurora chuckled as she hugged her girlfriend tightly.
"Sorry, love. I just missed you and I couldn't wait any longer. I had to see you."

"Professor Nott! Professor!" Lily Evans came rushing into the classroom breathlessly.
"Miss Evans? What's wrong?" Aurora broke away from Carina, rushing to the first year.
"James Potter and Sirius Black are being cruel to Severus! They're hexing him!"

Aurora rushed out of the class, Evans following closely behind. She turned the corner to see the three boys throwing stunners at each other.
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" Aurora bellowed as she cast protego, blocking the stunners from going any further.

"Professor! Sniv- I mean Snape cast the first hex!" James pointed at the greasy-haired boy accusingly.
"He did not!" Lily's face was as red as her hair.

"Quiet. All of you." Aurora snapped. "Everyone else, go on wherever you're supposed to be. Snape, Potter, Black, follow me. Now."

Aurora turned on her heel, leading the three boys back to her classroom.
"Carina, please excuse me for a moment as I deal with these three," Aurora muttered as she led the three up to her office.

"Sit down," Aurora grumbled, pointing to the chairs opposite her desk.

"Please, Professor-" James started.
"I don't care to hear any excuses. This is the first week of school, and you lot are already dueling in the hallway. You know magic is prohibited outside of the classroom. Seeing as none of you are gravely injured, I will let you off with a warning."
The three boys deflated graciously at that.
"But, if I see or hear of any of you hexing each other or any other student, I will personally see to your detentions. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Professor." The three boys mumbled.

"Now, off you pop." She waved the boys out, following them down the stairs.

"Wotcher, Mum!" Andromeda waved happily from her seat at Aurora's desk.
"A-Andromeda?" Sirius stopped in his tracks. 

"Potter. Snape. Out." Aurora waved them out of the classroom, wanting to give the cousins a chance to reunite. 

"Siri? You're a Gryffindor?" Andromeda's mouth fell open.
"And you're pregnant?"

"You both are quite observant," Aurora smirked, moving to stand next to Carina.
"Bloody hell, I bet Auntie Walburga loves the fact that the heir to 'The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black' is a Gryffindor." Andromeda sneered.
"If the howler I received yesterday is anything to go by, she's quite pissed," Sirius smirked.
"Sirius, we were about to have the elves send up some supper. Would you like to join us? Or would you rather join your friends in the Great Hall?" Aurora offered.

"Can I join? I'd love to catch up with my favorite cousin."

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"Bloody hell, Rory. You terrified those boys earlier." Carina chuckled from her spot on the bed.
"Yes, well. They shouldn't have pissed me off. I mean, it's the first week of class, and they're already acting like bloody fools." Aurora grabbed her robe, covering herself up, moving to grab a glass of water.

"Come back, it's bloody cold in this castle," Carina whined.
"You'll live. I figured you'd be quite warm after the workout I just gave you." Aurora chuckled.

"Oh, hush you arse." Carina threw a pillow, which Aurora blocked with a wave of her hand.