Dumbledore was in a bind. He had intended to follow on behind the castle's guests in order to discover what was going on, but with the crowd of students exiting the hall to make their way to their classes he had lost track of them. Now he was roaming the castle looking for them.
He had finally put two and two together and had not liked what he had come up with. The majority of the students taken in for questioning had been in the same potions class as Mr Potter the previous day when he and Severus had their little disagreement. Of the others, Astoria Greengrass had been involved in the situation on the train, as had Padma Patil. Miss Patil had also been present the previous evening when Dumbledore had informed Harry that he would be serving detentions with Severus for the rest of the month.
Filius had been brought in over the issue on the train as well. Minerva had been involved in one way or another with most of the things that had happened regarding Harry over the past few days, and Poppy had been the member of staff who had looked over Harry's potion and had given it her approval.
To Dumbledore it was obvious that Harry had decided to complain about Severus's behaviour and had done so to anyone who would listen. Now Dumbledore needed to find them so that he could calm everyone down and smooth the situation over before they did something stupid like kick Severus out of the castle.
Such an end was unthinkable!
Harry looked around the Great Hall feeling a little out of his depth. He had been put in charge of more than sixty students, tasked with supervising them all during an impromptu study period.
The problem was, they weren't studying. Sure, most of them had their books out, but they were paying them little mind, choosing instead to talk loudly amongst themselves. Some were taking the opportunity to catch up with friends in other houses whom they had not had a chance to talk to since returning to the castle two days ago, while others were discussing why so many of their fellow students had been taken away for questioning by the Board of Governors and representatives from both the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and the Wizarding Examinations Authority.
Hannah came up to him and asked "Well?"
Harry shook his head and replied "There aren't enough of us to force them to sit quiet and read from their textbooks. Nor can we actively engage them in three different subjects."
"Well the, pick something to teach all of them," said Hannah.
Harry thought for a moment before nodding his head and calling out across the Hall "Alright guys, gather around! I want to show you something."
The students exchanged looks but got up out of their seats and gathered in front of Harry where he stood with Hannah and Ernie at the front of the hall.
"So, seeing as it will be very difficult for myself, Hannah and Ernie alone to ensure that you are all studying your individual subjects, or answer any questions you may all have, we're going to try teaching you something different. How many of you here know of the shield charm?"
A fair number of students raised their hands, including all of the fifth year Hufflepuffs.
"And who here knows how to cast a shield charm?"
Most of the hands that were in the air were lowered. Only Susan, Megan and Oliver Rivers from Harry's year kept their hands up.
"Alright," said Harry "In that case, today we will be learning the shield charm together. These three have just volunteered their services. Come on."
The three fifth year Hufflepuffs stepped forwards and lined up with Hannah and Ernie.
"I'm gonna get you for this," Susan whispered to him, and he grinned innocently at her before turning to the rest of the group.
"So, first thing's first, the shield charm, like any spell, has an incantation. In this case the incantation is "Protego." Try it now."
"Protego." the group echoed.
"Once more," said Harry.
"Protego," they echoed again.
"Very good," Harry complimented "Now for the wand movement. The textbooks like to insist that you need to draw an upwards line in the air with your wand for the best results. This is the spell in its most basic form and is how most learn it. Ernie, if you could demonstrate this for us now?"
Ernie took out his wand and moved upwards as though drawing a line in the air. "Protego!"
They saw a shimmer of light and what looked like a semi-transparent barrier flickered into existence in front of Ernie before fading away.
"Thank you Ernie," said Harry before turning to the watching students "As I said, that is the standard method of using the charm. However, magic is very much about intent and you will find that those with proficiency in the shield charm can cast it no matter which direction they move their wand, so long as it's a straight line. Susan, think fast!"
He pulled his wand out at cast a stinging hex at her. Susan gave a tiny yelp of surprise, but still managed to draw her wand and draw it diagonally across her body, getting a shield up just in time for Harry's spell to strike that rather than her. The semi-transparent surface of the barrier rippled on impact, much like the surface of a puddle when a drop of rain lands in it.
Harry fired twice more and Susan blocked both shots, each time drawing a line in the air at a different angle.
"As you can see," said Harry "being able to cast the spell by moving the wand in different directions is much more convenient that always drawing an upwards line right in front of you. Susan was able go from her starting move from her right hip to her left shoulder, right into a move from her left shoulder to her right and then from her right shoulder to her left hip, producing an effective shield each time. For now though, we will focus on learning the standard wand movement. Everyone take out your wands."
They did so.
"Now hold them out in front of you, pointing forwards and draw a line upwards. Keep repeating until I tell you to stop."
They each repeated the wand movement several times before Harry told them to stop.
"You all did fine," he said "Now I want you to include the incantation, but remember, it is not enough to just say the incantation and do the wand movement. You have to want the shield to appear as well."
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