Another pleasant thing was that the

Another pleasant thing was that the Dueling Club was finally started. Since Snape was the one in charge most of the Slytherins attended, while the rest of the students either came because Flitwick would be there so surely Snape wouldn't be too bad, or didn't come at all. Harry & co were among the first to arrive at the huge room to the side of the Great Hall that was used to hold the meeting. Everyone was astounded at the amount of knowledge Snape possessed and the way he spoke about the various curses and jinxes allowed Harry and everyone else to realize that Severus Snape was actually a very good teacher, he simply needed to teach about something that he had true passion for and while he was an excellent Potions Master, DADA & Dark Arts were what the man really loved. Unfortunately in a school controlled by Dumbledore he had no way to get what he wanted, thus he made best of this unexpected chance that was presented to him.

"Now then," – spoke Snape as finally the theoretical part seemed to be over – "You will divide yourselves into groups of five people each and practice. The spells we're going today are: 'Rapidus Caecitas'[4], 'Tego'[5] and 'Vincio'[6]. The first one is an offensive hex that will blind your opponent for at least 10 minutes depending on the magical strength of the caster. The counter is 'Dono Adspectus'[7]. The next one is a protective ward. Unlike the 'Protego' spell that you all should already be familiar with, 'Tego' will be active until you cancel the spell yourself, but it is a constant drain on your magical core, so it can't be maintained for long. I'd actually recommend to only use it in emergencies, as it can even stop physical attack, not just magical ones. The last spell is the 'Vincio' jinx and it is quite similar in effect to spells like 'Mobilicorpus' & 'Petrificus Totalus', however it does not require as much power and concentration as the other two. The 'Rapidus Caecitas' and its' counter will be practiced on rats, since an incorrectly cast hex can completely and permanently blind an opponent. Now in a real fight that might not be a big problem, but since we're here for learning purposes only, both Professor Flitwick and I feel it better if you do not attempt to cast this on your fellow classmates. The other two spells can be safely practiced on humans, so get to it, we don't have all day!"

And so the session began. Practising on rats didn't feel all that nice, but Harry thought the hex was quite useful, so made sure to try very hard and was thus rewarded with rather quick results. He also noted that the hex had a very distinct color, both purple and ink at the same time. Thus Harry voiced his interest to Flitwick who was passing by their group that consisted of Harry, Neville, Draco and Pansy:

"Professor Flitwick, sir, I'd like to ask a question if I may."

"By all means, Mr. Potter, go ahead." – replied the miniature professor.

"Is there any way to cast without the flash? Because the color of this hex is rather distinctive…"

The tiny man chuckled:

"Why, Mister Potter, of course it can be done, but I'm afraid you're quite a bit too young for that."

"Oh…" – muttered Harry, feeling slightly put out, but of course, his logical sight insisted, he was just twelve years old and it was just his second year at Hogwarts. None the less Harry was sure he'd get there eventually, no matter how long it took.


[1] from Latin: 'congelo' – freeze & 'praensus' – catch;
[2] from Latin: 'abigo' - repel & 'incantatoris' - wizards;
[3] from Latin: 'invisibilis' - invisible & 'spacium' - room;
[4] from Latin: 'rapidus' - swift & 'caecitas' - blindness;
[5] from Latin: 'tego' - protect;
[6] from Latin: 'vincio' - bind;
[7] from Latin: 'dono' - grant & 'adspectus' - sight;

Author's Note: Well, I've introduced Dobby into the story. I don't know if he'll play a big part in the story or not, but having him around sure is funny. The spells used in the chapter are ones I came up with on my own with the help of an English-Latin dictionary and are pretty self explanatory.