Evergreen | D.M.

03

The first day of classes came sooner than the students would have liked. After a few days of settling into their new routines, it was time to get back to business.

"Harry, you're in this class?" Elara questions as she stands next to where he's seated. The room looked different than how it had in the previous years. The aura of the DADA classroom has changed from one of anticipation to one of dread.

"Ellie!" he exclaims as he looks up at her, an instant smile appearing across his lips.

"Mind if I sit here?" She asks, looking around Harry to Ron who has yet to acknowledge her presence.

"Of course not," Harry assures her, " just be sure to save a seat for Hermione!"

Ellie nods in understanding as she takes her seat in front of Harry. She kicks up her leg and rests it on top of the empty seat next to hers in order to reserve it for her friend. Her housemates sit on the opposite side of the room. They all give her a kind wave as she looks at them, and she returns the gesture with a kind smile. There is no bad blood between them because she chose to sit with her Gryffindor friends. They understand that they get to see her in every class, but Elara only gets to sit with Harry, Ron, and Hermione for two or three periods at most.

"Hermione!" Ellie exasperates as her brown-eyed friend stands in front of the seat she is saving for her. She kicks her leg down and pats the open spot as an invitation for her to sit down. Hermione smiles as she sinks into the chair, reaching out to envelope Elara in a quick embrace.

The girls watch a charmed paper bird fly around the classroom, giggling to themselves as someone towards the back of the room hits it with a random object. Soon their giggles turn into gasps as the bird goes up in flames, falling to the ground in a pile of ashes.

"Goodmorning, children," a voice calls from the back of the room. All heads turn to face the interruption. Of course it's Umbridge. Ellie keeps her eyes trained on the woman as she walks down the aisle, speaking about the O.W.L. exams and the plan for the course.

"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells," Hermione speaks after Umbridge calls on her. Elara looks over to her friend, thumbing through the pages of her textbook.

"Why, I can't imagine why you would need to used spells in my classroom,"

"We're not going to use magic?" Ron questions, leaning over Harry.

"You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk free way,"

"What use is that?" Harry adds, looking over to Elara who now shifts her full attention between Harry and Umbridge, "if we're going to be attacked it's not going to be risk free."

"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my classroom," the professor spits, turning away from Harry. Elara narrows her eyes at the woman, exhaling sharply.

"It is the view of the ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all is what school is all about,"

Elara can practically hear her heart beating in her chest. She looks over to Harry who appears ready to explode at any minute.

"And how's theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" He inquires, the level of his annoyance growing exponentially with each passing moment.

"There is nothing out there dear," she responds, her voice sickeningly sweet. "Who do you imagine is out there that would want to attack children like yourself?"

"Oh, I don't know... maybe lord Voldemort?" Harry adds, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Elara lets out an unconscious gasp at the mention of his name. She ignores Umbridge as the woman begins spouting lies about Voldemort not returning. Harry told Elara that Voldemort was the one to kill Cedric, and she trusts Harry with her life.