Third Defence Lesson

[Jason Cruz]

As soon as he settled into his seat, Jason sighed and stood back up, nodding resignedly at the expected loss of points. He hated that he had to find a partner. It reminded him of Leilani and the way she had just been snatched up by her parents and moved away. He wondered if that would happen to others if he grew close to them.

Now you're just being paranoid.

Jason didn't bother to argue with himself. He knew his thought had been correct. Looking about the room he saw only a few students he knew. At first he took a step toward Alessandro, thinking that it would be less awkward than partnering with Wysteria or Caity. Then he thought that perhaps he would make Wysteria think he were avoiding her if he immediately chose someone else. Then he thought how presumptuous it was for him to think his actions would have any profound effect on Wysteria's emotions.

Then he felt ridiculous for standing there by his desk debating something so trivial with himself. Walking up to the seat where the Hufflepuff prefect still sat, Jason smiled weakly and shrugged as if he were apologizing for approaching her.

"Hi Wyst. Wanna partner?"

He clamped his mouth shut after that, resisting the urge to add on a disclaimer that it was ok if she didn't. He was making a concerted effort to not make assumptions about other people's desires anymore.

[Wysteria Edwin]

Wysteria greatly disliked having to partner up in class. Her grade would depend on someone else, and on top of that she would be vulnerable to a student who for all she knew could be a masochist. She rolled her eyes a bit before scanning the room for someone appropriate. Harmless, but not stupid. She looked at Zane for a moment, a bit of mischief coming into her green eyes. How awakward...or delightfully intruiging...would it be for them to partner up. She opened her mouth briefly before she heard a voice behind her say her name.

She turned on the spot to see Jason standing in front of her, his body language clearly showing apprehension and worry. Her mouth slowly went into a warm smile, feeling some sympathy at the boy who had obviously plucked up a great deal of courage to ask her. Their last meeting hadn't exactly been pleasant, but he was a nice boy and..well...although he lacked some common sense she could tell he wasn't an idiot by any means. She looked back at Zee and shrugged as if to say "he asked me first...next time?" She was a bit disappointed that she wouldn't be partners with Zane, but Wyst got the impression that if she turned Jason down he just might blow over like a broken reed.

"Sure, that'll be great," Wyst said, hoping her enthusiasm would neutralize the unsureness in his manner.

[Susan Matthews]

Susan looked up from her notes as she heard Professor Archer acknowledge a knew student. At first glance, she didn’t recognize him. Although she didn't show anything on the outside, when Professor Archer took five points from Gryffindor Susan made a point to remember him. She didn't mind as much that he was late, it was the part that he acted as if he didn't care. She watched as the boy took his seat at the back. Sighing inwardly, Susan wished she were a little smarter. If only she knew the answers to all the teacher's questions, then maybe she could earn Gryffindor some points.

She'd become so preoccupied with Gryffindor's loss of points that Susan had forgotten about pairing up to practice the spells. As Susan considered Professor Archer's choice of words, she realized that a pair generally meant two. Susan glanced at the two friends she was sitting by. She causually looked around the room for another friend she might be able to work with. Jacques and Caitlin were likely to pair up, Susan's thoughts dwelt on her arrival to the masquerade. She didn't want to be a third-wheel. Unsure of what to do, or who to choose, Susan carefully organized her notes and pretended to be absorbed in noting down the exact height and weight of an acromantula.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

((Pullin' a Wyst here, I'm gonna make the preposterous claim that Zee's been hiding in the corner the whole time. Thanks abunch Dyl.))

Zee thought it quite amusing that they were to study the acromantula since he and Wyst had discussed giant spiders (albeit briefly) during one of their nighttime excursions to the Astronomy tower. And now he would have the opportunity to toss some minor curses (Zee considered most anything less than an unforgivable curse to be "minor") the girl's way. True he didn't enjoy the thought nearly as much as he would have were this lesson on his first day at the school, but it could be entertaining for both of them. The Conjunctivitis Curse was familiar to him, but the Arachnid Revulsion Jinx was not. He had never bothered with spells that weren't designed for use against humanoids. No matter though, he would master it quickly enough, he believed.

Turning his attention toward Wysteria, he caught her eye and read her intent and grinned broadly, only to blink in surprise when the young Gryffindor asked her to partner with him. In response to Wysteria's apologetic look back at him Zee merely smirked. From her clear desire to partner with him over the Gryffindor and the awkward manner of the boy, Zee didn't feel he had much cause for jealousy. It did however leave him with the predicament of finding a different partner.

Looking about he noted the presence of all four of his partners in crime from several nights back. He had followed Caity and Jacques into the Forbidden Forest and a short while later Alessandro had followed suit. Keaira had shown up later in perhaps the most dramatic fashion he'd ever witnessed. Perhaps she would prove an interesting . . . but no. Zee had no proof that there was anything between her and Alessandro, and didn't overly suspect as much, though the Gryffindor who had stolen his Hufflepuff seemed to think so, based on his reaction earlier in their potions class. Just because his ideal partner had been swiped was no cause for him to inflict the same on another, much as he would love to thusly irritate Alessandro.

Ms. Philosophy. Her ideal partner was not present and Zee knew quite intimately why. He of course had no cause to have found out about it and would have to feign ignorance. It would be difficult for him to partner with the Ravenclaw Prefect; she always evoked the most powerful of his pains of regret. And of course there was the fear that her sharp mind would discover him. However Zee had grown somewhat close to the girl and it would seem odd indeed if he sought to avoid her now. Had the incident with Dylan not occurred, Zee had no doubt he would have approached D'rorah to partner with once Wyst was unavailable. So now he would have to do so despite the risk.

Leaving his effects at his seat, Zee strode over to the Ravenclaw and grinned in his typically cocky way.

"Ms Philosophy, I see who I assume would be your typical partner is not present. Does the boy put no stock in defense? Regardless, I offer myself as an amusing alternative for you to fling curses at. I only ask that you be careful. We wouldn't want any permanent damage to my stunning eyes now would we?"

He winked at his apparent overblown opinion of himself and looked about once more.

"I have not spoken with you since our dance. Forgive my many assumptions but I take it the small patronus that whisked you away was the property of your Mr. Cooper. What romantic solitude was he luring you off to hmm?"

Zee's grin never wavered and took on the slightest hint of lewdness.

(Just fyi, he wasn't literally hiding in the corner. That was me trying to be funny. Heh . . . heh heh. Yeah . . .))

[Jason Cruz]

Jason, for all his awkward ignorance, caught the glance Wysteria threw Zane and looked that way himself. The boy was definitely bigger than him and older, and a Slytherin to boot. He seemed friendly though in a somewhat condescending fashion. He was the one who had asked Wyst to the Masque, and in a manner that Jason could never manage to get out. Perhaps he could write such elegant language, but he could never actually recite it to a girl.

Though really, neither did Zane. After all, he only spoke the words to his patronus. How hard could that be?

Jason shrugged, thinking perhaps he should have pulled the same stunt a bit earlier. As it stood he hadn't even gone to the Ball for lack of a date. And now it seemed Wyst was taken, or very nearly so. Shrugging once more as he thought that it didn't really matter as she didn't seem to have any desire to be more than friends with him anyway, Jason smiled more convincingly and took a small step back to give Wyst room to stand.

Looking up and down the aisle they were standing in, Jason was unsure whether they should clear some space or head to a corner or just practice right there. Once again Jason found he didn't really care, and while his instinct was to ask the professor, he didn't seem to have the motivation to actually call out to the man. Instead he took a few steps up the aisle and turned to face his partner, holding his arms out to his sides and smiling in a shyly mischievous way.

"Give me your best shot."

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah looked up as Zane approached her, rising from her seat. "Thank you, Mister Bishop. Yes, I am in need of a practice partner." She smirked and shook her head at his comment about his own stunning eyes. His next question was a bit more troublesome. She wasn't sure whether Dylan would want others to know about his attack... but there was the possibility that someone else might have seen or heard something helpful. Not only that, but people would see the evidence of the attack soon enough. Even if Dylan modified his typical style of dress to cover his new scars, people were bound to question the sudden change... yes, it would soon enough be fodder for the Hogwarts rumor mill.

"Yes, the patronus was Mister Cooper's." She shook her head slightly. "There was no romantic interlude to be had... he summoned me to the infirmary. He was attacked the previous night." She frowned slightly, upset with herself for thinking he would have simply not shown for the dance he had been so insistent about attending. "He wanted to be certain that I did not wait for him all night at the dance... and wanted me to know what had happened, of course."

Her eyes momentarily held a flash of darkness in response to her own anger. When the darkness lifted, there was the vaguest trace of sadness there. Yes, Dylan had certainly been much more than a friend and research partner and the turmoil caused by his attack was difficult, even for her.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

The mirthful expression on Zee's face seemed to evanesce as D'rorah explained about Dylan's attack. For a brief moment Zee looked merely confused, as if he was sure he had misheard her. Then his features grew concerned, though he retained the confusion in his tone.

"I'm sorry, attacked? Where? By what? He was not wandering about the forest was he? I had not taken him to be the reckless type. I trust he is not severely injured as he was able to conjure a patronus."

Zee seemed to consider this news for a moment, tapping his index finger against his lips. Then he cocked an eyebrow as he gazed at his partner, the left corner of his mouth twitching up slightly. He had caught the change in her eyes once more and was glad of the confirmation that he had not imagined the phenomenon earlier.

"Ms. Philosophy, I do apologize for not having a mirror handy, though I'm not sure my reflexes would have been up to the task of showing you the intriguing metamorphosis that again just came over your eyes. It does make me wonder."

Slanting his head to one side, Zee searched D'rorah's eyes inquisitively but they had returned to their usual appearance. Shrugging as if it did not matter, Zee glanced over his shoulder to see what Wysteria and her young companion were accomplishing.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

"On point of fact, Mister Bishop, the injuries were quite severe and were sustained while within the confines of this very castle. He was just outside the room of Requirement when he was attacked by an unidentified male... one apparently capable of wielding some rather advanced dark magic." She continued on quietly waiting for final instructions as Zee considered what had been said, tapping his finger against his lips.

She arched her eyebrows at his query about her eyes. "As captivating as my eyes may be, and as enthralled as you may be by whatever trick of light seems to continually catch your notice, I do believe we should be practicing our spells. I have never noticed it before, so I can still say quite certainly that I do not know what you are talking about."

Seeing his gaze move to Wysteria and her partner, D'rorah assumed the subject had been dropped and decided to move on herself. She didn't have any deep desire to continue down whatever path they might have been on with the comment about her eyes. Thinking back, she realized that he had asked both times when she had been holding back her own anger... it made her wonder as well.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

Zee's head and attention snapped back around to face D'rorah once more. The confused/concerned look reemerged, the concern overwhelmingly more pronounced than the confusion.

"In the castle, and by a wizard? How could . . .? This is very disturbing indeed. Perhaps more disturbing, why has nothing been done by way of investigation? Should not the headmistress have made an announcement and begun an inquiry? How long ago . . . ah, yes. The night before the Masque. Hmm, not much time. He sustained severe injuries and yet managed to get down the five flights of stairs to the hospital wing? Mr. Cooper must be made of sturdy stuff. Between this and what I know of you, perhaps Ravenclaws should have a reputation for resiliency as well as brilliance."

Zee looked up toward the ceiling as he considered the revelations. He believed himself to be doing a fine job of acting as if he wasn't intimately familiar with every detail of the incident. Who would in fact suspect that the attacker had been the one to deliver Dylan into the arms of his caregivers? Or that the attack had been halted by the antagonist rather than through any retaliatory action by the victim?

"And how could he have escaped? Did he drive off the aggressor with his own magic? I am attempting to make sense of this information Ms. Philosophy and I fear I am lacking a sufficient supply of it to do so."

The more Zee publicly discovered, the less risk there was that he would slip up and show himself to know something he shouldn't if he had not been involved. Besides, while he had had little interaction with Dylan, he knew how much the boy meant to D'rorah and supposed that knowledge, combined with the amiable relationship he'd developed with her, would lead him to a desire to help in any way he could. And there was a glimmer of genuine compassion for the girl who had witnessed such pain in the one she loved. Again Zee's mind conjured an image of Wysteria in similar pain and he grimaced just slightly.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

"To be quite honest, Mister Bishop, I have precious little information to go upon myself in this matter," replied D'rorah with a slight shake of her head. She had expected Zee's nonchalant attitude towards the problem, picking it apart logically as she herself had done. So far the only other person she had spoken to regarding Dylan's attack was Susan. Quite naturally, her reaction had been more emotional than cerebral. The lack of information and details bothered her to no end in this matter. As very few things could do, the whole situation was frustrating her. It was simply too... perfectly carried out. The attacker, as far as she could tell, had betrayed little other than his gender and the fact that he was obviously an extraordinarily talented wizard.

"Well then, I believe you are supposed to attempt to curse me," she spoke finally, deciding to push away thoughts of Dylan's attack for now. She held her wand aloft, carefully balanced in her hand as she prepared to defend against Zane's spell. "And please, do give it your best effort. I would be loathe to come across the notion that you might spare me from an attack merely due to my gender and the fact that a close friend was recently attacked." She smirked slightly at this last, attempting to regain something more of the normal rhythm she and Zane had found through working together.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

The frown on Zee's face was quite the antithesis of his true feelings as D'rorah admitted her own general ignorance of the situation. Unexpectedly remorseful as he may have been, Zee saw no good outcome of his identity as the perpetrator of Dylan's vicious attack being discovered. He had briefly considered speaking candidly with D'rorah, explaining himself and apologizing, but had quickly dismissed the laughably idealistic notion. All his charm and persuasive ability would prove inadequate in trying to convince any that forgiving him and abandoning any hunt for justice was the best course, especially someone who had been so personally affected. No, Zee could tell no one. He would have to simply learn to live with the guilt. That was the best he could hope for.

The trademark crooked grin appeared on Zee's face at his partner's final words and tone. Not only was he glad to be off the subject of Dylan's attack, but Dee's lighthearted attitude showed that she was not so caught up in her desire for knowledge of the attacks origin that she would be consumed by it. Not only did Zee not wish Dee to find herself in such a sad state of mind, he also was not altogether certain she wouldn't be able to discover the truth, regardless of how brilliantly executed his attack had been. Taking a step back, Zee drew his wand from the makeshift wrist sheathe he'd put it in. The bands and bracelets that constantly adorned Zee's wrists made for a convenient place to store his wand, leaving it pressed securely to his forearm.

"As you wish Ms. Philosophy. I will try my very best to suppress my natural chivalry and play the cold-hearted Slytherin. Just be careful. As you no doubt already know, I'm pretty amazing."

With an unnecessary flourish, Zee jabbed his wand toward D'rorah and uttered one of the curses.

"Defendo Duodeviginti Cruros."

[D'rorah Philosophy]

Zane's unnecessary flourish gave D'rorah all the advance warning she might have needed and she neatly blocked the curse he had directed at her. Her own wand flourished slightly and emitted a slight flash of blue light flecked with faint shimmers of interspersed silver as she cast her defensive charm. She regarded the effect curiously, quite certain that the spell had previously always resulted in a pure blue light. With a slight shake of her head, she returned her attention to Zane. "So then Mister Bishop, given the relative ease with which you have attacked me, I assume you think me too weak to withstand a bit of emotional turmoil?" She arched her eyebrow before reciprocating with the same curse he had just cast. "Defendo Duodeviginti Cruros."

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

Zee was not terribly surprised at D'rorah's efficient counter to his spell. He was however caught off guard when she returned the curse. He had just opened his mouth to reply to her evidently rhetorical question when she launched the spell, and so he was not prepared with his own defense. Swishing his wand franticly before him, Zee gasped out the defensive charm somewhat clumsily. Thus only the brunt of the force was prevented and Zee found himself sliding rapidly backward. Throwing his weight forward to counter the movement in an attempt to remain on his feet, Zee overbalanced as the force resided and ended up falling forward.

Letting his wand fall free, Zee thrust out both hands to catch himself and thus managed to avoid any actual injury. Still, he felt he likely looked the fool and his ears were tinged ever so slightly with pink when he pushed himself back up to his feet. That did not stop him wearing his typical grin as he scooped up his wand and dipped into a shallow bow to D'rorah.

"Why Miss Philosophy, I had thought your opinion of my own mental prowess to be sufficient that you would never think me foolish enough to consider you weak. Forgive me if my feeble attack was disappointing. Perhaps I am merely too virtuous to be capable of putting any force behind a curse aimed at a friend."

With a shrug and an innocent grin, Zee closed the distance between himself and his partner somewhat. Standing close to five feet away, he held his wand out in front of him.

"Now I believe it is your turn to fire first with the next curse. Again I implore you to be gentle. I must beg you to remember I am a year behind you and thus cannot match your power or skill."

While his tone was sincere and contained a hint of fear, Zee's indomitable grin and the sly wink he gave his partner showed clearly that he didn't believe a word he'd just said. Whether it was true or not, Zee's pride wouldn't allow him to actually believe it.

[D'rorah Philosophy]

D'rorah's eyebrow arched sharply at Zane's profession of virtue. "Mister Bishop, like myself, the only virtues you possess are academic in nature," she replied somewhat sharply. "And at present, I hold no belief in the virtue of being gentle." Alright, so this was anger. Perhaps it wasn't really fair to direct it toward Zee, she wasn't entirely convinced in the virtues of fairness at the moment either. What she wanted, more than anything, was to rip something to pieces with her bare hands. She had been fine until having been forced to defend herself, even though it was for class. Something in that moment of defense, in expressing through her actions the very sentiment of holding her own survival as precious had opened a leak of emotion in a mind that was always calm and collected. Her mental energies, usually so carefully controlled, were being allowed a bit of license.

Her grip on her wand, usually light and delicately balanced, tightened. Her knuckles whitened slightly with the increased pressure and her eyes narrowed slightly. Suddenly it didn't matter to her who had harmed Dylan, who had caused the pains she had experienced in her own life. Her eyes steadily darkened, a swirling blackness slowly clouding over first her irises and tinting her corneas as she cast blame with the world... a world which she had never been foolish enough to picture as safe, but had previously thought she had begun to understand in at least some small way.

Her hand trembled slightly as images raced through her mind... of violence, of returning to the world the evils she had witnessed herself... of unleashing into the world the evils she had studied, the dark arts which she had so carefully cultivated with the intention of turning them to light, of creating new and improved methods of defense. The taint of the Shadows which had attacked her, of the darkness that still lingered in her veins and completed her as a Shadow Warrior caught that anger and twisted it, pulling it to the surface of her mind as it was brought to light. After several seconds, her hand trembling slightly and her eyes almost completely black, she lowered her wand with a great amount of effort and took a deep breath. She could almost feel the Mage laughing at her now, laughing at the Shadow Warrior who would slowly be consumed by darkness given the distance and detachment of her Elemental Master. Yes, with time the Mage would finally achieve what her initial attack had attempted to carry out--the complete corruption of a Shadow Warrior so that she would finally serve the Mage. She took yet another deep breath and closed her eyes. "Suddenly, I do not feel very well. Perhaps I should cease practicing for the moment," she said quietly as she fought to contain the dark, seething malice which had suddenly taken hold of her emotions.

[Zane Lucifer Bishop]

The surprise on Zee's face was quite genuine at his partner's biting retort. The words themselves were not altogether unexpected given the witty warfare he and D'rorah had come to constantly wage, but the manner of her stance and tone held none of the sarcastic teasing that they typically did when she made such comments before. No, those words were meant to hurt, and Zee's newly developed sensibilities were indeed stung by the truth they bore.

Eyes widening, Zee held his wand securely as a change came over D'rorah. Something was wrong. Her eyes were going dark again, and in a much more pronounced way than before. It may have been Zee's imagination but it seemed almost as if the air immediately around Dee darkened as well, as if the sunlight pouring through the windows was powerless to illuminate that area. Zee hazarded a glance away from the spectacle to see if anyone else had noticed but the professor and all the students seemed oblivious to what was happening.

What is wrong with her? Is she merely on edge from Dylan's attack? No, it's more than that. What could it . . . She knows! She's grown tired of the facade she must have been using. She knows and she's going to kill you! Strike first!

Spinning his head back to face D'rorah, Zee was again surprised to find her arm lowered and her eyes returning to normal. Perhaps he had merely imagined the more outward effect as there was no trace of it now. Deciding that he had been jumping to conclusions, Zee slipped his own wand back into his wristbands and stepped toward D'rorah at her final words. He slid a chair to her and offered it. His face showed only confused compassion, not pity. That he knew would not be well received.

"I won't pretend to understand what it is you're going through Miss Philosophy, but I am always available if you need a friend, an accomplice, or evidently a target."

A slight grin cracked at his poor joke.

"Perhaps you should return to your common room to rest."

Zee had not known how unstable D'rorah was. He still did not know the extent. All he could assume was that his attack on Dylan had caused far more damage than he had thought possible. The perpetual knot in his stomach tightened.