Thursday 16th of February
17:00 (5PM)
DADA Class Room
End of Fourth Year final lesson

Slowly she started packing up, which typically was unusual of her. She didn't dislike Defense Against the Dark Arts, it was an interesting subject. Infact she was pretty sure it was most peoples favourite subject, practical learning or learning about dangerous creatures, getting to learn spells that can help you later in life and that are safe to use in duels. How would any kid not like it? Even if you didn't like it you would be attentive regardless, either due to Professor Storm, or due to simply the fact that its a core subject and therefore is needed for almost any job.

If anything, Lucinda loved the subject, and she had more motivation to study it, she wanted to become an Auror, admittedly it was probably one of the jobs that most students want, it was basically magical super detective. How could most students resist it from the start? But her reasoning was more if she can become good in combat magic, if she can fight, and she learns how to investigate well, what is stopping her from finding the one who turned her and getting revenge?

Lucinda was packing slowly as she wanted to stay behind, and not make it too obvious that she was planning on staying behind, considering she was usually first out however she judged it was obvious, especially to the professor. There is no way she reckoned someone who has taught as long as him would not notice. So she got up gently and moved to the professor.

"Professor? Could you perhaps help me with something?" She bit her lip in annoyance, quickly swallowing as she tried to suppress her annoyance of relying on an adult for help. "Could you help me learn a spell?"

The fourth years had taken notes with well-oiled obedience that afternoon. It was not their teacher’s preference to lecture, but once in a while the theory for their OWL required it. That afternoon had been a focus on spirits, from Burdock Muldoon’s definition of Beings and Elfrida Clagg’s revision, to a key example of a gytrash which the teenagers could regurgitate in their examinations to illustrate their knowledge. He lacked suitable support to drag the fourth years into the forbidden forest one night to sit in utter darkness and try and spot one in the wild.

Temple was reassembling her notes and textbooks at a slower pace than was habit. The majority of her classmates hurried from the classroom through the door at the back, keen to maximise the minutes before dinner and the impending stint of supervised study which lay ahead. Quiet conversation grew to corridor volume a few steps from the doorway, earning a cool stare at the back of the departing heads.

The chalk-duster lifted of its own accord and scrubbed the listed homework from the blackboard, a Ravenclaw scraped their chair back into place, and the tall sand-timer, which had turned at the hour, began to gently trickle golden sand through the tight waist of glass. Everything was ordinary for the end of Thursday lessons, apart from Temple’s tardy tidying.

“Professor?” He snapped shut the fourth year textbook in his grasp and fixed his pale gaze on Temple instead. She’d approached him, between the front row of desks and his own, a space students might stand enthralled in company but fear occupying alone. Temple occupied it alone, but she occupied it of her own will, rather than by stern request.

“… Could you help me learn a spell?”

He gave a near imperceivable indication to encourage her to continue. Spells were his area. He had rather been fearing Temple would ask him something of a more pastoral notion, but it would appear Professor Singh was still adequately meeting those needs in Gryffindor, thank Merlin.

“Homework or your own study?” He asked, looking her up and down. They were not near the full moon, so Temple looked no more dishevelled than the average teenager, which was an improvement on her personal average.

“Homework or your own study?”

The thought lingered in her head a little longer then it should have, technically speaking it could come up in later years so is sort of homework, just a few years earlier. But the thought quickly left her as she started thinking properly again.

"My own study..." She said with a slight hesitance for the next part. "And for my own personal defense." She thought she sounded dumb for adding it on but, it was kind of true? And the Headmaster had wanted to know about her skill in it so it seemed like it may be important to learn more.

"I can't manage to cast the Patronus spell thingy." The admittance was certainly a stab at her pride, although she most certainly was not expected to know how to cast the spell yet, it still hurt her to admit she was failing with it, in any regard, she didn't expect to be able to summon a full bodied patronus and find out what type of animal she was. She had a fair few guesses as to what it may be. But she was getting more and more frustrated when all she managed was a dull light that couldn't even illuminate a mote of dust in the air.

Not to mention fears from stories of Dark Wizards casting the spell and maggots pouring forth to consume them, that scared her quite a bit about it. Maggots were disgusting in all regard.

Gently Lucinda shifted her balance and her weight to lean on her right foot as she looked towards the ground, again she didn't reckon that the Professor would scold her for not being proficient with a high level spell, but being turned down outright or told its not for her to learn yet would be worse then if he burst out laughing that she couldn't master spells like Peeves would do.

If Peeves ever stopped calling her Moany Moody Lucy Trucy.

“… for my own personal defence.”

She had his attention now. A relevant spell meant the possibility of Temple wasting his time with this conversation was reducing swiftly. However, Temple wasn’t the most agreeable of peers. He wouldn’t be surprised if other students had taken a dislike to her and threatened hexes after lessons.

“I can’t manage to cast the Patronus spell thingy.”

Thingy… eloquent.

“Hardly surprising,” the Professor replied. “I do not begin to teach it until the sixth year.” He turned away from her, replacing the fourth year’s textbook in the stack on his desk behind them. He glanced back, realising she was rather more serious about this. Strange time for Temple to become motivated to learn magic beyond her year. A good set of curses and a decent Protego would suffice most needs in corridor scuffles.

He turned back, folding his arms across his chest, studying her with more care than before.

“What motivates your interest, Temple? Are you regularly plagued by dementors, or have you unwisely committed yourself to a duel?”

He was questioning further, she supposed she should of expected it, there was always a reason with magic, and with the staff. But surely the Professor would always get people asking if he would teach them some spell out of their year range, and the Patronus was one she expected alot of people to ask. If nothing else so they can see a pretty bunny rabbit, if they expected their patronus to be a bunny rabbit that was.

Duels in the corridors wasn't a problem, firstly most she thinks were scared of her, so wouldn't want to duel. Otherwise she is fairly certain she can knock their lights out before they get to their wand. It was a good solution and alot more gratifying then hanging someone upside down.

Dementors were a slight issue she guessed, they tend to get attracted to moody or unhappy people right?

"There have been Dementor attacks recently..But more that the Headmaster asked if I could cast one.." She trailed off a little at the end, her right hand gently going to smooth her hair. "With the attack last month at the safehouse...wouldn't hurt to be able to cast a messenger would it? I wouldn't have a chance against someone who can take on several people, but atleast..." She mumbled off again, it wasn't that she felt too awkward asking, but it still annoyed her to admit that she maybe won't last in a fight and need help.

“… the Headmaster asked if I could cast one…”

Had Greyfriar taken leave of his senses, or was this a fib? Temple continued with her justification, citing the werewolf safe house incident. “… wouldn’t hurt to be able to cast a messenger would it?”

“Red sparks,” Professor Storm informed her flatly. “A more immediate and reliable way to summon help, if you still have your wand.” Something he taught them in some of their earliest lessons to summon help from authority, or attract attention from nearby wixes.

Despite Temple’s misguided notion that she could learn how to cast a corporeal patronus capable of carrying a message and cast it in mortal peril, at her age, without being the ‘chosen one’ or the legendary Hermione Granger, she did confess valid doubts about her safety. Defence work was about improving confidence, even if Professor Storm did not always instil it in his students. (That was part of the plan.)

“If you had read into the patronus charm,” the Professor continued, “you would know it is not an easy spell, and presents in different ways according to the caster’s mastery.” He unfolded his arms, his ebony wand in his right hand from seemingly nowhere. “The best the majority of adults ever achieve is the incorporeal, the mere essence of it, with minimal protective capabilities, expecto patronus.”

Without real conviction or summoning of his patronus memory, he circled his wand tip above the empty desks. A thin wisp of silver escaped the wand, and it hung in the air, hovering like a mist.

“Unless one is about to be imminently attacked a safe house by dementors, this will be of little use to you.” He lowered his wand, looked back to Temple as the mist gently faded. “Question your motivations,” he suggested, “and consider your most likely foe.”

With that, he turned away from her, stepping up onto the slightly raised platform his classroom desk and the board stood upon, attention moving on, wisdom imparted, expecting her to depart to start her own evening, and his homework.

"And what if help doesn't come?" Lucinda said quite a bit louder then she meant to.

She didn't mean to shout, but just how suddenly he was shooting her down got to her, it was annoying, she was asking for help, with a difficult spell, to try to get it to the point where she could defend herself, so what if it was incredibly difficult to get a corporeal, she knew it was unlikely she would ever get to it, or it could take years to ever achieve a corporeal. Wasn't it better to start learning now if it might take years so she has those years to learn?

She lowered her head and looked down, giving an agitated sigh.

"I'm sorry. I..." She stepped back and sat up on one of the front row desks, not a comfy seat and she knew he'd likely get annoyed with her for sitting on a desk. However they weren't in a class and she needed something to rest upon.

"I know I may not be able to get it to full strength. But it must be better to try learning now, and give me the rest of the years at Hogwarts to try to get the whole animal thingy. Over learning at the end and continuing to study in the real world in the hopes." She rubbed her face. "And same with casting in danger, if I learn now...I will have a better chance right?"
The sparks she thought was obvious, yes she knew how to cast them, he made sure everyone could, however they weren't ideal were they? Just shoot a firework into the sky, what if there is no sky? What if you aren't in the open, what if no one is prepared to come, if you're under attack someone will see it won't they?

Question her motivations? What did that even mean? She wanted to defend herself! She already has some dueling spells, she won't last in a fight against someone but she could hold off for a bit she figured. Dementors you couldn't duel, but she didn't want the spell to fight them, she more wanted to try getting a spectral messenger. Her most likely foe however, that made her think as to what...

With another sigh she leaned forwards. "I guess...most likely foe...either the person who attacked the safehouse, or the one who attacked me...I can't fight either of them. If I throw up sparks they'd apparate.."

The louder retort saw a sharp stare from the old wizard. The apology was noted.

“I know I may not be able to get it to full strength, but it must be better to try learning now…” Her continued protest lacked any real interest to him.

“… I can’t fight either of them. If I throw up sparks they’d apparate.”

“Fighting is not always the best course of action when you are against a much stronger opponent,” the Professor reminded her from his seat behind his desk. “I am here to teach Defence Against, which comes in more forms than offence.” There were seven branches of shield spells for instance, though he declined to compose a verbal essay to Temple at the end of a long day.

“The Patronus Charm relies on being able to summon and grasp strong, happy memories,” he relented, sitting back in the chair. The wood gently creaked beneath him, and his pale eyes fixed on her face. “There may be one that springs to mind, or this may be more difficult. But it needs to be both an immersive, truly happy memory which can be brought to the front of the mind in the most difficult of situations. Without it, your spell will be nothing more than as I demonstrated.”

He delivered his instructions with the same formality of his lessons, but with the added intensity of them being alone at close quarters. “Decide on your memory and immerse in it regularly this week. Paint it brightly in your mind’s eye, indulge in the emotions, remember scent, taste, touch, temperature…” He blinked at long last. “Then return to me one week hence.”

Professor Storm lifted his long white quill, tapped it against the sizeable inkwell and grasped the first piece of homework on the pile. He glanced up to Temple with an expression that suggested surprise she hadn’t immediately left with his command.

Of course he'd say fighting isn't the best course, but fighting might be her only options, if she was to get attacked by Dementors and she threw up sparks, what if no one responds for several minutes? Or if someone was to attack her, she can't apparate herself yet, so being able to fight would be a good option and rely on sparks as the saviour. Of course half the time she figured herself getting attacked she can't even see herself there, its not likely that she'd be allowed by herself again, either its watched by staff or her parents.

The next part caused her to look up and jump out of her thoughts, he was telling her what to do. She wasn't sure if she would ever be able to do so purely because of the memory. She wondered how many struggled and failed with the spell simply because they don't have a strong enough memory, what would even count? Most of her memories either don't feel very happy, she can't remember fully, or might remember but she also cringes at stuff she did in them.

Would her family holiday to 'the happiest place on earth' count? She was happy but was it strong enough? Was it hearing she was going home again? Was it one of the nights she and her 'friends' spent chatting and eating sweets? Was it simply the first time she was allowed outside in a month, feeling the breeze and smelling grass after being holed up and refused to go anywhere for so, so long?

But he was helping her, and he was expecting her to have it done next week. This was good, really good, wait was this him going to give her personal tutoring or just him expecting results? She wasn't sure if she wanted to ask, he seemed to be expecting her to leave and understand, so she went with her first guess, it was the nicer idea.

She hopped off of the table gently and took a shaky, small bow, not entirely sure what the best way to go was. "Thank you, I'll do my best." She said softly and started her journey to the door. "I'll make sure not to get into a fight in the mean time." She tried to add with a little smile as she headed out the classroom finally.