Consequences Of The Heart.

Chapter 11: Swish and Flick.

I walked towards the small arch into the Charms classroom. It was aired out and the sunlight streamed in through the drawn curtains. Professor Flitwick was one of the only teachers who opened windows and actually let the outside in. When we entered, Professor was conveniently found perched at the top of a few stacked bookcases in the middle of the room; his total height amounted to about eight feet. He wore a long, grainy and brown tailcoat that stretched out for at least a metre behind him. In addition, he wore rather long and pointed formal shoes that were polished to perfection and were pitch black to match his -I don't mean to offend anyone- italian-styled moustache that seemed like it was combed by a tiny little brush that he carried in a small, jute pouch. The students began to file into the class, it was only the Gryffindors for Charms as usual. Maybe one odd year we were paired with the Ravenclaws but that was it. 

I was about to walk in, but right opposite me, there stood Sirius who looked like he had just seen a dementor or multiple. It was only when I turned around to see what he was staring at, when I realised it was way worse. It turns out it wasn't a dementor, it was the evil death spawn -as he described it occasionally- of a dementor and a ghoul: Regulus Black. Just to be clear, Walburga was the dementor. Regulus was the taller one in the family, not as tall as me but taller than Sirius. The contrast between the two brothers was astounding. Not just the clash of scarlet and green, but their antonymous styles:  ruffled and messy suited Sirius but Regulus looked deliberately conformed and neat. It was quite hilarious looking at them together in fact. 

Their encounter was minimal, must like their relationship and I definitely felt bad for waiting back and awkwardly staring at them but guilt was easily brushed away. But Regulus didn't say a word. He stopped, and stared for a few but that was it. He walked past without a word. Sirius was weirdly unaffected by the meeting. He walked up to the door, and stopped right in front of me. 'What are you waiting for?' He spat it out, grit escaping along with it. I had strong urges to lunge forward and engulf him into a bone-crushing hug and tell him everything was going to be okay but all I could get out was 'nothing.'

We walked into the classroom, thankfully we were still on time even with the overly pleasant meet-and-greet and sat ourselves down next to the rest of the gang. Lily shot me a glance, I couldn't figure out what she was trying to tell me though for once in my life. Professor Flitwick's eyes followed us from the second we stepped into the class rather upset that we had prevented him from beginning early but when we didn't notice his gaze, he started his lesson. 

"Our first topic of the year is learning how to cast non-verbal spells. Which is why we are going back to our First Year curriculum." Of course. Non-verbal spells were the hardest section of the curriculum in Sixth Year, they required the most undivided concentration and I hate to admit it, but it was a trade I had not yet mastered. "To cast non-verbal spells, you can't just perform the incantation, you have to feel it inside you; feel the magic course through your veins and focus all of your energy on the spell you are trying to cast." His voice rose to a high pitched screech at the end of every sentence. But what he was doing was basically dictating the text by memory and I had tried it, I still couldn't do it. "We'll start with the Levitation Charm. No pressure to get it today. Let's begin."

I grabbed my wand in my right hand. A single, white feather was placed on the desk in front of me, not a speck of dirt present on it. A swish and a flick. It was the simplest of wand movements. My breath hitched at the base of my throat in an anxious strain. I took as deep a breath as I could and performed the amateurish version of a swish and flick. It was the most pathetic thing I had ever seen. I turned to my right where Lily was sat, her eyes in small balls and drawn in on the feather like a predator about to attack its next prey. Her hand was raised, executing a perfect swish and flick movement and through the silence -except the displaced air- the feather was lifted off the wooden surface. I swayed back and forth a few inches in the air before unintentionally falling out of the air. 

"Well done, Miss Evans. I assume you've been practicing. Good job." Lily smiled in disguised pride that wasn't hidden very well and began practicing once more. Then, I turned to my left. Sirius was invested in a very intriguing conversation with Peter on the other side about ideas for pranks. Then I turned behind me, James had just about began to get it; it just darted around his desk but it showed some sort of result unlike mine.

I stared at the feather again, this time, I had cleared my mind. 

Swish and flick.

But to no avail.

Word Count:- 921

Love, Kale.