Lyra— as he had decided to name her— sat perched on the edge of the desk, her feathers fluffed against the late-afternoon chill settling over the common room.
On the rug below, Bella, Rosalind's cat, lay on her side, lazily batting at the owl's dangling tail feathers with a single, curved claw.
Every time the claw touched a feather, Lyra's head snapped down, her beak issuing a sharp, indignant click. Bella didn't even open both eyes; she simply waited two seconds, then swiped again with frustrating precision.
Aegeus watched the exchange from over the top of his notebook.
"She's going to eat your owl!" Rosalind said, worried.
"She is certainly trying," Aegeus said plainly.
As if testing this theory, Bella slowly extended one paw toward the edge of the perching block.
Lyra dropped her head low, her eyes fixed wide on the incoming paw. The moment the cat's pads touched the wood, the owl gave a sudden, sharp snap of her beak and took flight, missing Bella's pads by less than a quarter of an inch.
Paying little mind to the feud between owl and cat, Aegeus watched the animals spar a moment longer before gathering his belongings and heading down the corridor toward Defence Against the Dark Arts, with Rosalind in tow.
~~~
Standing at the front of the room was Professor Thaddeus Vance.
"Don't open your books! There is no need for books today," said Vance, sweeping a glance across the classroom.
The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs shuffled along the stone perimeter. Aegeus took a position near the front left, his sharp eyes immediately checking the room: no chalkboards, but three large, iron-reinforced wooden dummies lined up at the far end of the floor.
"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts," Vance said, stepping into the center of the ring. He paused, letting his sharp grey eyes track across the assembled Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs until the last of the nervous whispering died down completely.
He unbuttoned the cuffs of his robes and slowly rolled them back to his elbows, revealing forearms full of old scars.
"Before we learn curses, hexes, or defensive charms," Vance said, his voice carrying a quiet, heavy authority that commanded immediate attention, "we must learn the single most important element in any hostile encounter."
"It's mentality," Vance said plainly. "Your wand is useless if your mind freezes and your feet are glued to the floor when faced with real danger. There is no room for hesitation, a dark wizard would not give you time to remember a counter spell from a textbook. Only your awareness, your reflexes, and your ability to maintain your composure could save you."
He folded his arms, his gaze settling on the front row— specifically stopping on Aegeus.
"Mr. Granger," Vance said, a faint, unreadable glint in his eye. "Tell me, when an enemy casts a curse at you, what's your first priority?"
The class turned to look at Aegeus.
His answer was flat.
"Dodge," Aegeus said plainly.
Vance's mouth twitched— a faint half-smile barely registered.
"And if you can't dodge?"
"Block."
"And if you can't block?"
"Attack."
"Why?" asked Vance, interested.
"If harm is inevitable, I prefer it to be mutual"
Seriously, what kind of eleven-year-old is that? Vance thought.
He then continued his lecture.
"We won't use wands just yet," Vance said, taking three steps back to set a clear line of engagement. "We will begin with testing how fast you can respond." He scooped a wooden ball from his pocket. "I will throw something at you. And you have three options: Dodge, block, or retaliate."
"One at a time."
He waved forward a thin-looking Hufflepuff boy near the front. The wooden ball snapped out of Vance's hand before the boy had fully raised his arms. It caught him square in the shoulder and sent him stumbling back a step, blinking, more startled than hurt.
The next, a Hufflepuff girl, saw it coming and threw herself sideways— a dodge, though she nearly took the desk behind her down with her.
The third boy put his arms up in time. The ball cracked off his forearm instead of his chest. He grimaced and shook out his hand.
"Granger. Your turn."
Aegeus stepped forward without hesitation, crossing the stone floor until he stood a good distance away from Vance. He left his hands loose at his sides. He didn't drop into a stance, he simply stood there, relaxed.
"Ready?"
Aegeus nodded.
Vance's arm whipped forward without hesitation— no shoulder dip, no backswing, just a lethal snap of the wrist. The wooden ball cut through the air directly toward Aegeus's sternum.
Aegeus didn't flinch. Calculating the ball's release angle, speed, and trajectory in a fraction of a second, he didn't waste energy on a full step back or a dramatic dive. He simply shifted his weight onto his right heel and tilted his left shoulder back by precisely two inches— just enough to let the ball pass by harmlessly.
Crack.
The ball struck the stone floor behind him, ricocheting harmlessly into the wall. Aegeus's center of gravity hadn't shifted enough to displace a single thread of his robes.
Vance's eyebrow twitched upward, and he thought, 'Seriously, what kind of eleven-year-old is that?'
A few Hufflepuffs exchanged astonished glances. Marcus, standing against the left wall, simply stared at Aegeus numbly.
Vance cleared his throat, the sound sharp enough to crack the stunned silence settling over the stone chamber. He looked at Aegeus for a moment longer, his eyes narrowing slightly.
Vance took a step back, widening the angle of engagement.
"Let's see what you would do when it's more than one"
Vance reached into his other sleeve and pulled out two more wooden balls, holding one in each hand along with the first he had already retrieved from the floor. Three balls now.
"Same rules," Vance said. "Dodge, block, or retaliate. Your choice."
Aegeus rolled his shoulders once, loosening them, and said nothing. He kept his hands open at his sides and his knees soft.
Vance didn't announce the throw this time.
His right arm snapped first, sending a ball toward Aegeus's ribs. A half-second later, his left arm followed, aiming high at his shoulder. The third came almost within the same second, thrown low at his stomach.
Aegeus's eyes flicked between all three threats in an instant. There wasn't enough time to dodge every one— not without leaving himself entirely exposed to a follow-up attack. So, he chose.
He twisted his hips, letting the one going for his hand graze past his side with barely an inch to spare. His left hand shot up and caught the ball aimed at his shoulder, fingers closing around the wood with a dull smack. The third— aimed square at his gut— he absorbed directly, refusing to yield an inch.
His breathing didn't shift. Glancing down at the ball locked in his left hand, he weighed it in his palm for half a second, then snapped his wrist to send it flying back.
The wooden ball flew back across the room in a flat line straight for Vance.
Vance didn't flinch. His hand shot out, snatching the ball out of the air mid-flight. The heavy wood slammed into his bare palm with a sharp, stinging crack that rang through the room. Vance's fingers twitched around the ball, a spike of sharp pain shooting through his hand, but his expression stayed rigid.
_________________________________________________________________________
TO BE CONTINUED
~~~
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