Somewhere Safe - Chapter 13

Harry took a seat beside Rose as they waited for Charms to start. Flitwick was already up at the front of the room. He happily greeted the students as they entered. To his credit, he only gave Harry a couple of seconds of extra study before moving on. Flitwick looked pretty much the same. He had the same tidy mustache and center-parted black hair. The only thing different about him was the shape of his glasses, circles instead of squares. Now that he thought about it, he hadn't spent much time giving the staff a closer look.

The cursory glance around the room told him two things. One, they were sharing the class with Hufflepuff, and, two, there was easily double the amount of students present for each house. The room was bigger, each row was on its own level to allow the one behind a clear view, and Flitwick had an actual podium rather than a stack of books.

"Welcome, welcome." Flitwick called once everyone had settled. "You had better be ready, I'm not taking it easy on you just because it's the first day back."

Judging by the smiles from the other students, the statement didn't sound dire.

"Let's do a quick bit of review to see where everyone stands." Flitwick continued.

Harry was relieved to find that he was able to keep up. In fact, he noticed that his casting was smoother than usual. He was able to recall the motions and words easily. The class moved through the review at a steady clip.

Once that was done the students proceeded to get out notebooks and pens. Harry scowled at the quill and parchment in front of him. Rose chuckled. She offered him a smaller notebook along with one of her spare fountain pens.

"Wonderful." Flitwick beamed at the students. "Now let's press on! We are going to cover a collection of spells over the next few lessons. Summoning, Banishing, Conjuration, and Transference. These all touch on the same mechanic of will and intent directed toward movement." He let the class catch up on notes. "Now, can someone tell me the difference between Conjuration and Transference to Transfiguration?"

Hermione had her hand in the air almost instantly. There were a few others as well, Hannah Abbot being the only one he recognized. The others were students he had never seen before.

"Yes, Miss Granger?" Flitwick said with a wave of his hand.

"Conjuration and Transference is taking a specific target from one location to another. Transfiguration is the practice of changing an existing item into something else." She replied with confidence.

"Five points to Gryffindor." Flitwick said with a happy nod. "Exactly. Now, what is the difference between Summoning and Conjuration?"

Hermione squirmed in her seat but didn't raise her hand. Harry sent a questioning look to Rose.

"The professors don't call on the same student in a row." Rose whispered.

Harry gave her a quick smile before turning his attention back to class.

"Miss Abbot?" Flitwick prompted.

"Summoning is a localized focus intended for one target." Hannah answered quickly. "Conjuration is takes a specific target from elsewhere and brings it to the caster."

"Five points to Hufflepuff." Flitwick said with another nod. "Now, as Miss Abbot said, both of these spells are for certain items, but Conjuration is specialized." He pointed his wand at his podium. "Accio Book." The book leapt over to his waiting hand. "Summoning." He flicked his wand up in a sharp movement. "Ex Libris Vas." A different book appeared in his hand. "Conjuration."

The students quickly took notes.

"Further differences between the two." Flitwick continued. "This book is my own, from the podium, as you saw. The other." He set it in the air before him where it floated. "Is a random book. The spell takes a book from somewhere and brings it to me. Each conjuring spell has its own incantation and wand movement." He repeated the wand movement, flicking it up before bringing it back down just as sharply. "Vas Ex Libris."

The book disappeared.

"Can anyone tell me the difference between what I just did and Banishing?" Flitwick asked. "Mister Hitchcock."

"You put the book back." One of the Gryffindor students that Harry had never seen answered. "Other way would've just tossed it against the wall."

"Five points to Gryffindor." Flitwick chuckled.

The lesson continued on. Flitwick smoothly mingled theory in with practical application. To keep things safe he gave everyone a handful of marshmallows for practice. They started out with a wider approach before progressing until they could target a single one amid a pile.

"Now." Flitwick clapped his hands. "Let's play a game."

A swish of his wand turned the Gryffindor marshmallows red and the Hufflepuff ones yellow. His podium floated out of the way. A row of targets slid up to replace it. They ranged in size and distance. There were even some that were moving. Each one had three different rings with a score on it. There were two chalkboards above the targets. One for each house. A shelf floated in the air about ten feet across from the targets.

Another flick of his wand pulled all of the marshmallows into one big pile in the middle of the room.

"Two at a time." Flitwick said. "One from each house at a time. Summon twenty marshmallows of your house color and banish them at the targets. The winning house doesn't have to write an essay."

The students formed lines. Harry found himself behind Rose with Lavender at his back. Working with Hufflepuff reduced the amount of shoving and insults that would have happened with Slytherin. The trash talk was of the friendly variety. Even though they moved quickly there were five people in front of Rose.

Harry tried to pay attention to what the students before him were doing. He wanted to make sure he didn't make the same mistakes.

"Oops." She accidentally bumped against his back.

"No problem." Harry said with a small smile.

When she did it again, he realized it wasn't an accident. Lavender was trying her best to keep his thoughts elsewhere. She started to rub her chest against his back, pressing herself close. Harry wasn't about to complain. Truth be told, he had a crush on Lavender. She was cute and flirty. The fact that she was one of the bustier girls in the year may have helped as well.

Harry tried not to react and draw attention to what was going on. He was just focused enough to move with the line. Lavender was more than happy to follow. She used the motion to get her hands into the mix. Harry jumped when she squeezed his butt.

The movement pushed him forward, pressing against Rose. She looked back at him with wide eyes. It was then that he realized the raging erection that Lavender had inspired. The one that he had just jammed against Rose's firm ass.

"Sorry." Harry said quickly.

Rose turned back to face forward. He could see her blushing and knew for a fact that he was as well. Harry was just about to relax when she took a step back, pressing her bum against desperate member. All hope of paying attention was lost with Lavender groping him from behind and Rose subtly grinding against his front.

Thankfully, it stopped once Rose stepped up to the firing line. Harry was able to focus enough on what she and the Hufflepuff girl were doing to get his thoughts back on task. Lavender gave his butt one last squeeze before he stepped up to take his turn.

"Accio Marshmallow." Harry focused on the color red.

One red marshmallow zipped over to rest on the shelf in front of him. He looked at it, then at the targets. The Hufflepuff beside him had already summoned and sent a few downrange.

"Depulso." Harry lifted his wand and moved it in a tight sweep.

The marshmallow zipped toward one of the stationary targets. It hit the center, adding some points to the board. Harry summoned two this time, then banished them, aiming at the same target. They stacked behind the first, tripling his score.

He pulled another two from the stack. This time he sent each one at a different target. They all hit the center of the big stationary targets. Another two, this time he aimed for the smaller targets that didn't move. They hit. He pulled one and sent it toward one of the moving targets without waiting for it to reach the shelf in front of him.

Harry didn't have to look at it to know it hit just where he wanted. By his count he had twelve marshmallows left. He summoned all of them. They lifted up from the pile, flying over to him. Harry sliced his wand in a tight sweep, barely a twitch of his wrist. The dozen marshmallows spread out, hitting the moving targets in the center. Some of them stacked together instead of going to the stationary ones.

His magic hadn't been like this before. Sure, he had some power, but It had lacked form. Now it was precise, focused on his intent. It flowed smoothly and easily.

Harry was drawn from his thoughts when he realized everyone had gone quiet. He gave a shy smile and moved out of the way to let Lavender step up to take her turn.

"What was that?" Rose asked in a hurried whisper.

"I have no idea." Harry replied, shaking his head.

"Mister Potter." Professor Flitwick called, waving him over. "A word."

Harry hurried over to where Flitwick waited. The professor stood on his podium to be able to look his students in the eye.

"Have you had experience with these charms before?" The professor asked.

"No, sir." Harry shook his head.

"Are you sure?" Flitwick studied him for a long moment.

"Yes, sir." Harry replied. "I knew the spells in the review, but these were new to me."

"That amount of control when cast silently is impressive." Flitwick said.

"Silently?" Harry asked.

"You weren't aware?" Flitwick answered with his own question.

Harry shook his head.

"Interesting." Flitwick commented. "Professor Riddle said there was something special about you. I do believe he was right."

Harry tensed.

"My apologies." Flitwick said, placing a hand on his shoulder to calm him. "We often discuss students with potential in dueling. It was nothing untoward."

Harry took a breath. He nodded after a moment.

"It would be quiet a boon for your house if you decided to join the dueling team." Flitwick continued. "I dare say that by the end of the year you would be fit for ranked competition."

Harry blinked at the thought.

"Are you the dueling instructor?" Harry asked.

"No." Flitwick said with a chuckle. "Similar to Quidditch, a team captain is assigned. They work on training, study, and preparation for the inter-house competition." He dropped his voice low so only the two of them could hear. "If you decided to try for the ranked competition I would be glad to be your trainer. I have a feeling you would go far."

"Thank you, sir." Harry said.