Delyth Snape

The Red Cap

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The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom felt heavier that day. As I sat down, my thoughts were still tangled with everything that had happened recently.

"Today, we'll be working on practical defense spells," Lupin announced, his kind eyes surveying the room. "We'll start with some simple deflection spells and then move onto something a bit more advanced."

I settled into the lesson, partnering with Hannah as usual. The warmth of her familiar presence calmed me a little, even though I could feel the weight of the book on Animagi resting at the bottom of my bag. 

"Now, pair up and take turns," Lupin's voice broke through my thoughts, pulling me back to the moment. We were practicing the Protego charm, a basic shield spell that would deflect an opponent's attack. 

Hannah and I exchanged spells, our wands moving smoothly.

"Alright," Lupin called out, his voice warm but firm. "Let's try something a bit more challenging. We'll be using a creature called a Red Cap."

He gestured to a cage at the front of the room. Inside, a small, goblin-like creature scowled at us, its sharp teeth bared. Red Caps were nasty little things that lived in old battlefields, thriving off of violence and bloodshed. They weren't particularly powerful, but they were fast—and vicious."I'll release one Red Cap for each pair," Lupin explained. "Your task is to work together to stun it and contain it."

I glanced nervously at Hannah, who swallowed hard. 

Lupin walked down the rows, releasing the creatures one by one. When he reached Hannah and me, the latch on the cage clicked open, and the Red Cap darted out like a flash of lightning, its tiny claws scraping against the floor as it charged us.

"Stupefy!" Hannah cried, but her spell missed, and the Red Cap dodged behind her. Before I could react, it leapt toward me, claws extended.

I raised my wand, heart pounding. "Protego!"

The shield shimmered in front of me just in time, deflecting the Red Cap's attack. But as I spun to track it, the spell faltered. My focus slipped for just a moment—just long enough for the Red Cap to dart around the shield and swipe at my leg.

Pain shot through me, sharp and biting. I gasped, stumbling backward, and the Red Cap circled, preparing to strike again. My pulse raced, and panic surged. I raised my wand, but my hand was trembling.

Before I could move, a powerful voice cut through the chaos. "Stupefy!"

A jet of red light hit the Red Cap square in the chest, and it collapsed instantly, stunned. I looked up, breathless, to see Professor Lupin standing a few feet away, his wand still raised. His face was calm, but his eyes were filled with concern as he approached me.

"Delyth," he said softly, kneeling beside me. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, even though my leg still throbbed with pain. "I—I'm fine."

Hannah rushed over, her face pale. "I'm sorry! I missed—I didn't mean—"

"It's alright," Lupin assured her, glancing at my leg. "It's not too bad. A quick healing charm should do the trick." He raised his wand, murmured a soft incantation, and the pain in my leg began to ease.
Lupin stood, offering me a hand. I took it and pulled myself up, my head still spinning from the incident.
As the last of my classmates trickled out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, I lingered by my desk, rubbing my leg absentmindedly. The pain was gone, but the strange weight of the morning's events hadn't lifted. Professor Lupin was clearing away the cages that held the Red Caps, his movements calm and efficient, though I noticed he glanced at me a couple of times.