stardust ⋮ george weasley

sixteen :

S I X T E E N

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Charms class on the first of April seemed much more chaotic than usual when Adeline stepped in. At first, she just chalked it up to students being stressed over the upcoming O.W.L.s exams. It took her a few seconds to realize that not only was it April Fools Day, it was the Weasley twins' birthdays.

Adeline sat next to Estelle, the pair of them reviewing notes and spells with Ophelia across the row of desks, as Professor Flitwick tried shouting over the class in an attempt to quiet them down and bring them to attention. Both the class and Professor Flitwick, however, were distracted by the small colorful sparks that Fred and George had conjured up and were now shooting at random across the classroom.

Professor Flitwick had decided the class was going to practice the Disillusionment Charm today after studying the theory behind it the class period before in order to prepare for the O.W.L.S. exams which were coming up in a month or so. The charm was supposed to make the caster effectively invisible, which made the spell incredibly difficult to pull off.

Around the classroom, students attempted the spell the best they could, sometimes making parts of their body transparent but not their entire body. Next to her, Estelle was trying her best to make her head disappear along with the rest of her body and Ophelia was attempting to make more of her body besides her torso become invisible.

After a few attempts, Adeline managed to successfully perform the Disillusionment Charm, shocking both herself and many others in the class.

"Ms. Reyes, that is a brilliant Disillusionment Charm!" Professor Flitwick squeaked out, beaming when he realized that Adeline had blended herself into the surrounding classroom. "Very rarely does a student do it so well on the first lesson. Five points to Ravenclaw!"

Adeline heard someone scoff near the back of the classroom. "He's just looking for a reason to give his house points," Riley O'Niell, one of the Gryffindor boys, commented to his friend as he rolled his eyes. "Anyone can do that spell."

"I'd like to see you do it as well as she did," Estelle snapped back, shooting the boy a glare.

With a cocky smirk, Riley waved his wand over himself as he loudly said the incantation for the charm. Adeline decided to keep quiet about the fact that he emphasized the wrong syllables in the spell and did the incorrect wand movement. When only his feet became transparent, the class burst into loud laughter over Riley's reddening cheeks.

"You would think O'Niell would learn how to keep his mouth shut by now," Lee called out, causing the room to roar with laughter. Out of the corner of her eye, Adeline even caught Professor Flitwick fighting back a smile.

"Nice try, Mr. O'Niell," Professor Flitwick said after composing himself. "But the correct pronunciation and wand movement will go a long way, and also not insulting my teaching and your fellow students."

If anyone in the class wasn't laughing at this point, they certainly were now. Riley muttered an apology to both Adeline and Professor Flitwick, his face now as red as Fred and George's hair.

A few minutes had passed, all the students practicing the incantation and succeeding at a variety of levels. While some people like Adeline had managed to master the charm and were now messing with their friends while invisible, some had yet to manage even making part of their body invisible.

Adeline had just finished helping Estelle fully master the charm when she felt someone appear behind her. She felt a tap on her shoulder, and when she turned her head, she saw George smiling sheepishly down at her. "Can the Charms master spare some time to help a lowly peasant like me?"