The Leaky Cauldron Irregulars (Harry Potter and Merlin fanfiction): Chapter 3

Chapters: 1 2 3 4 5

The doors swung open and the professor walked in. "Hello, class. I am Professor Emrys, and I will be your Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher." The class stared at him. "Well go on, say hello!" The professor surveyed the class. "Ah, too early in the morning, I see." Emrys muttered something, pointing his wand at the students. His eyes flashed gold, and they sat upright, awake and eager. "Much better. Now then, why don't you introduce yourselves? I've got to start memorizing your names right away."
"Professor?" a young girl's hand shot up.
"Yes, miss..."
"Rose Weasley."
"What was your question, Rose?" Emrys asked, deciding to be on a first-name basis with his students.
"Couldn't you just use a spell to memorize our names?"
"Now why didn't I think of that?" Emrys said, smiling. "You're Hermione Granger's daughter, aren't you?" Rose nodded. "Brilliant. Now, I know Rose's name, but I don't know the rest of you."
"I'm Arthur Pratt," a student with blond hair and blue eyes said. Emrys tried his best not to laugh. The student was the spitting image of Arthur Pendragon, whom Emrys had often called a prat. Emrys shook himself away from that thought and focused on the other students who were speaking.

After all the students had introduced themselves, the lesson began. "Now, I'll need a volunteer. Don't worry, you won't get hurt." Albus Severus raised his hand. "Excellent. Step up here in front of the class." Albus did so. "Now, we're going to act like we're going to duel. Do any of you know how to duel?" About half the class (mostly the male half) raised their hands. "Good. Shall we begin?"

They did so. Anticipation rose as the two wizards counted their paces. Albus opened his mouth to cast a spell, but Emrys beat him to it. "Expelliarmus!" Albus' wand went flying. "Now what will you do?" Emrys asked.
"Beg for mercy?" Albus suggested.
"You don't really have another option," Emrys agreed. "And I think that is unacceptable. Should any of you be attacked, I don't want you to be helpless without your wands. And that is what we shall be working on," he explained. "Allow me to demonstrate." Emrys and Albus got set up for the duel again. This time, Emrys allowed Albus to disarm him. "Stupefy!" Emrys shouted, throwing Albus backwards with considerable force. Just before Albus slammed into the wall, Emrys slowed time and let Albus reach the floor without injury. The students stared at Emrys in awe.

"Now Albus has had his turn," Emrys said, breaking the silence, "who'd like to be the first to learn how to do a spell without a wand?" Arthur stepped forward. "Great! Set your wand down, and I'll show you how it's done. What spell should we start with?"
"Expelliarmus!" Arthur said enthusiastically.
"Good choice. Being able to disarm your enemy without a wand is a significant advantage." Arthur nodded, looking incredibly smug. "Now, think about what expelliarmus does." Rose raised her hand. "Rose, while I'm sure it would be exceptional, your explanation is not required." Rose sighed, lowering her hand. Emrys turned to Arthur. "Have you been thinking about the spell? Picture what will happen when you cast it. Think about the wand leaving my hand. Think about me flying backwards. Think about how you will cast the spell. Think about how to pronounce it. Focus." Arthur nodded. "Now, when you're ready, cast the spell."
A few moments later, Arthur yelled "Expelliarmus!" Emrys' wand dropped to the floor, and he was knocked back a negligible amount. Arthur's face fell.
"Don't worry, Arthur, wandless magic is difficult. It's not surprising that the spell wasn't that powerful. Wands help channel your magic, but so do minds. The spell is only as strong as your concentration. Now focus, really focus, and try again," Emrys said, picking up his wand.
"EXPELLIARMUS!" Arthur bellowed, full of confidence and authority. This time, the wand flew out of Emrys' hand and Emrys was knocked back a few feet.
"Much better. I should note, yelling your spell is not necessary. It was just Arthur's way of focusing. Whispered spells can be equally potent," Emrys informed the class. To prove his point, he whispered "Incendio," and the candles in the room lit up. "Thank you, Arthur. Who's next? I want you to all be able to cast this spell without a wand by the end of the class."

"By the way," Emrys said as the class was drawing to the close, "I'm told nobody has managed to hold this position for more than a year and thus some consider it to be 'cursed'. I would like to inform you that should I leave this school at the end of the year, it will because of my own choice and not because I was forced to do so by unfortunate circumstances." The students seemed somewhat skeptical, but none of them said anything. "And if you need any help for your other classes, or even for something not school-related, feel free to ask me. I'm a wealth of information." The students nodded. "And that concludes this class. Oh, I almost forgot: your homework is to practice wandless magic with your friends, enemies, or anyone else you want to use magic on. Stick to expelliarmus for now. I look forward to seeing you all again next class."