Lesson One - The Wand Lighting Charm

Ambrosius was sitting at his desk in classroom 3C, expecting his students to arrive at any moment. Despite being quite young, his pale skin, the dark shadows under his eyes and his rather emaciated face and gaunt appearance made him often seem tired and filled with concern. It was as if he had already experienced too much hardship in his life, and that it had left a profound mark on him.

He stood up and glanced around him, examining the room. Despite the sets of large windows on each side, it was quite dark on this cloudy September afternoon. On the walls, he had positioned paintings representing various dark creatures: on one of them, you could see a man convulsing in pain while he was transforming into a wolf, on another, there was a group of dementors sucking the soul out of their unfortunate victim, on a third a few mountain trolls fighting with a giant. Furthermore, hanging from the ceiling, right next to an iron chandelier, there was a huge dragon skeleton. He had decorated the room that way to give his students an insight on what dangers were lurking in the world and to show them how crucial it was that they learn to defend themselves.

He finally heard the door open and a flow of students started coming in. He waited for them to sit down, and then started quietly walking around the classroom, examining every one of them as they were anxiously awaiting the start of their first lesson. After a few minutes of silence, he finally said, with a calm but authoritative voice: “Welcome, first-years, to Defence Against the Dark Arts. I am professor Umbranox, and I will be your teacher during this year.”

After a brief pause, he continued, glancing at random students. They seemed to be carefully listening and eager to find out more. “I believe this class to be exceptionally important for all of you, as I will teach you how to defend yourselves from a wide variety of threats and dangers that you will certainly encounter one day or another in your life. So I will demand your full attention as what I’m trying to teach you may very well save your life in the future. You will be learning how to block unfriendly spells, fight anyone who wishes to harm you, and defeat numerous dark magical creatures. However, for your first year, we will stick to relatively basic but often quite useful defensive spells such as the Curse of the Bogies or the Knockback Jinx."

He had performed a full circle around the room and stopped just behind his desk. “Apart from your books, The Standard Book of Spells and The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection, which I sincerely hope you have bought, all you will be needing for this class is your wand. I want you to be as active as possible during classes: that means that whenever you have a question, or you haven’t understood something, even if it had been already explained, you mustn’t hesitate to ask. I will then do my best to explain in another way. I’m here for that. You are the ones discovering the lessons; I am only here to guide you.” he stressed, profoundly looking at every student to make sure that it was clear to them.

“That is all I have to say. However, as we will be spending a lot of time together, I wish to know a little more about all of you. Therefore, everyone please tell me your names, whether you have already encountered any sort of Dark Force in your life or performed or attempted to cast, intentionally or not, any defensive spell until now. You can start” he said, looking at the girl on the left extremity of the first row. He then quietly pulled his chair and sat down, ready to listen to what his students had to say.

Opening the door, Aurora looked up to see that the slightly scary-looking Professor Umbranox was already there. "Hello," she said softly as she passed him. As more students filed in, the professor began a speech, saying that he hoped they had brought their books and finishing by telling them to introduce themselves. He then looked pointedly at her.

"I'm Aurora Finnigan, sir," Aurora told her Head of House. "Um, I don't remember ever using defense magic, but my dad told me a bit about it. He survived the Second War, you see. He told me about the Unforgivable Curses, and Patronuses, but I've never cast anything before." She stopped, out of words to say. She sincerely hoped it would be enough; she didn't want to seem like a dunce. Probably no one else had used such magic before, but one could never be sure.

"Hello. I'm Isabella Lestrange. I'm not sure how much dark forces I personally have encountered, but my grandparents were Death Eaters so I know a lot about dark forces. My parents told me about stunning, disarming, and the Unforgivable Curses. I have never tried to use any before though, because I was afraid that I might do something wrong and hurt somebody."

Keith waited quietly as the Professor made his way around the room to talk to the students. Eventually, it was his turn to answer. "Hello, sir. I'm Keith Parker. I don't recall ever using any magic for defence. I've used simple spells I learned from my father, and I've practiced them on objects, but never a single person or even defence, for that matter." He explained to Professor Umbranox.

James headed towards classroom 3C, excited to discover yet another magical subject. Upon entering the room, he decided to sit in the last row. He then glanced around, examining the room. There was something frightening about it, probably the lack of light and the very realistic moving paintings representing creatures that James had never seen in his life.

"Welcome, first-years, to Defence Against the Dark Arts. I am professor Umbranox, and I will be your teacher during this year.”, the professor announced in a calm yet authoritative voice. After listening to the rest of what he had to say, James thought that this teacher, despite being a bit scary due to his physical appearance, really seemed to know what he was talking about.

Then, Professor Umbranox asked them to introduce themselves and to state if they had any experience related to the subject. Being a muggle-born, James had never heard anything about the Dark Arts before coming to Hogwarts. He was therefore quite anxious about the fact that the others probably already knew a lot more than him, a concern that was confirmed when they started enumerating spells that they had heard of or even practiced. He thought of maybe just repeating the same ones she mentioned, in order not to appear ignorant, but then decided to tell the truth after all. "My name is James Riddle and, as my parents are Muggles, I have had no experience with Defence Against the Dark Arts until now.".

Having to be the first day of classes, introducing oneself is not a surprise for Kim anymore. As the other students started, she noticed that one of them is also a muggle-born like her.

"My name is Kim Frey, sir, and like him, I am also a muggle-born. I have never seen or used any Dark Magic and, I think, I have never known that there is a Dark Magic until now."

Ambrosius was carefully listening to his students. However, after hearing the name of the boy who was sitting in the last row, he couldn't help frowning. Riddle. He hadn't heard that name for a very long time. What is just a coincidence? It is not a very common name, he thought. Despite his curiosity, he decided to think about it later, and re-concentrated on the lesson. "I am glad to see that some of you have already heard of a few spells related to Defence Against the Dark Arts, or even attempted to cast some of them. However, the others should have no worries, as we will learn everything from the beginning. And believe me, from my experience, the best students are the ones who try the hardest and practice the most, and not the ones who know the most at the start.".

After a brief pause, he pursued: "Now that we know each other, we can start with the lesson. As you may have noticed from your stories, some of you have already performed magic. At your age, in most cases, it is an unintentional response to a specific situation. For example, I am certain that at least some of you have witnessed inexplicable events occurring around you when you were scared or threatened. Strong feelings such as fear or anger can be powerful magical catalysts, but I have to warn you that they will not be enough to save you when facing a threat. That is why I will try to teach you to, through deep concentration and much hard work, master a set of spells that will make you able to defend yourselves."

"The first spell we are going to learn is not really a defensive spell. However, even if it is one of the simplest charms, it is also one of the most useful ones. As a very wise man once said: "Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light". Well, that is literally what we are going to do today." Approaching the blackboard, he took a piece of chalk and wrote: "The Wand Lighting Spell". He then turned towards the class, took out his wand, and pronounced very clearly: "Lumos". A very powerful bright blue light burst out of the extremity of his wand, illuminating the whole room. After a few moments, he uttered: "Nox" and the light instantly went out. "As you can see, the Lighting Spell produces a light that allows the caster to illuminate dark areas like with a lantern. The incantation is Lumos and the counter-spell Nox. There is no precise hand movement for this charm, it is sufficient to just point at the area that you wish to illuminate. As you may perhaps already know, when casting a spell, three factors are essential: the incantation (it has to be pronounced clearly), the hand movement (it has to be executed precisely), and the intent: you have to imagine the outcome in your head and be confident that you will succeed".

With an encouraging voice, he announced: "I now want you all to try to cast the Wand Lighting Spell. Don't worry if you don't succeed at once, just keep trying. We will proceed with the lesson once each of your wands has emitted a glow, even if it is not very powerful.". He then started walking between the tables, observing the students in their attempts to cast the charm, ready to help them if needed.

Keith watched as the Professor explained what they would be doing today, he then watched as he illuminated his wand, a bright light bursting from the tip of it. Keith smiled, and turned to his own wand. He pointed it out in front of him. "Lumos!" He said. No luck, not even a bit of light. Keith tried again. "Lumos!" He said, clearer. Once again, nothing. Maybe he wasn't being confident enough? Or perhaps it was the way he was saying the incantation or holding his wand? Keith sighed. "Lumos!" He said, more confidently. At once, a bright, blue light burst out of the tip of his wand, illuminating the area in front of him. Keith smiled as he moved the wand around, illuminating various parts of the room. "Nox!" Keith said, although the light did not vanish. "Nox!" He repeated, focusing more on how it would turn out. The bright light disappeared from the tip of his wand and went back to its original state.

Kim felt relieved hearing that even the ones who doesn't have any idea about the subject can still cope up with the lesson. As hard as she thinks how will it happen, she tried to put her attention to the spell that they are going to learn.

"The Wand Lighting Spell". The words that Professor wrote on the board. 'I never thought that the wand can be used as a source of light', she told to herself.

After explaining the spell to the class, Professor Umbranox instructed them to try it on their own. Confused on what exactly it is that they are going to do, Kim watched the other student who basically is already casting the spell. She decided to try it with the aid of her book. 'Incantation, wand movement and focus.' She held a grip on her wand and chanted: "Lumos!" Suddenly a very tiny light came into the tip of her wand. But after only two seconds, it disappeared completely. Feeling happy, Kim looked around to see what the others are doing. Though she knows that the thing that she made wasn't not enough, she is contented that she had done something great at the moment.

She turned her full attention again on her wand and casted, "Lumos!" Another light appeared in front of her, seemingly a little bigger than the first one. As Kim counted silently the seconds of its appearance, she concluded that from the two seconds she had before, it grew more into five seconds. 'The more I practice, the more light I will get and the longer it will be,' Kim thought to herself, letting her feelings in the neutral phase.

Aurora heard Professor Umbranox say, "I now want you all to try to cast the Wand Lighting Spell. Don't worry if you don't succeed at once, just keep trying. We will proceed with the lesson once each of your wands has emitted a glow, even if it is not very powerful."

Eagerly, Aurora dug her wand out from her bag underneath the table. She held it so that its tip was directly in front of her eyes. 'How can light come from a solid piece of wood like this?' she wondered to herself. But she had seen her father use this spell on many occasions, and the professor had just done it, so obviously it was just a matter of strange wandlore. "Lumos!" she tried. Some bright white sparks emitted from her wand and fell to the ground, but no sustained light appeared. Aurora frowned. "Lumos!" she directed her wand, which didn't like that, and this time produced nothing at all. Seeing that a Gryffindor boy had already done it, and Kim had made light for a short time, she became slightly discouraged. But she soon rallied her mind into a more concentrated effort. "Lumos, Lumos, Lumos!". On the third attempt of this, a feeble light sparked, but soon grew stronger. Not as strong as Professor Umbranox's, but quite strong.

Feeling ridiculously proud of herself, Aurora beamed at the professor as he walked down her aisle.

After seeing the fascinating demonstration Professor Umbranox had just performed, James started getting ready to try the spell himself. Repeating in his head the three essentials factors when casting any piece of magic (incantation, hand movement and intent), he took his wand out of his pocket and tried to concentrate. Pointing it right in front of him, he distinctively imagined its tip glowing and pronounced very clearly: "Lumos". However, nothing happened.

Trying not to let his insecurity grow, he decided to try again. "Lumos". This time, the tip of his wand briefly shone but the light then disappeared in the blink of an eye. Encouraged by that, he envisioned the outcome of the charm even harder and pronounced the incantation for the third time. A weak ray of light suddenly came out of his wand's extremity. Although it wasn't nearly as powerful as the one Professor Umbranox had produced, James was amazed, as this was the first time he had performed magic.

Lucy had never been late to class in the Muggle world, however, she had lost track of time as she stood in the hallway looking at the many moving portraits of other wizards and witches, and as she finally reached the classroom for Defense Against the Dark Arts, she felt a little ashamed. Slowly, she opened the wooden door and found the man she had noticed first during the Opening Feast. Despite his looks, she was not afraid of him, but she was a little afraid to leave a bad impression. She found a seat at the very last row and hoped that the Professor would not notice her.

Isabella watched as Professor Umbranox demonstrated the Lumos spell. When he told them that they could try it on their own, Isabella picked up her wand and decided to try it. She waved it and said in a loud clear voice, "Lumos!" A thin wavering light appeared at the end of her end. She tried it again.
"Lumos!" She said. A bright light popped up at the end of her wand. "Nox," she said to diminish the light.

Lucy watched as other students performed the assignment. She payed close attention, given that she had been late and therefore had not seen the Professor's demonstration. Preparing her wand, she observed the others. Once she was ready, she exclaimed "Lumos!" and a bright light appeared at the end of her wand. Her eyes glistened with pride. This was the first time she had done it and it had been performed excellently.
Father will be very proud of me, she thought.
Turning around to look at her classmates, she realized she didn't know how to turn the light off, until she heard Isabella exclaim "Nox" and watched the light turn off.
Lucy did the same.

Ambrosius was very pleased to see that after some time, all of his students had succeeded in casting the Wand Lighting Spell, even if many of them still had some minor difficulties. “Great work! I award 10 points to each of you. I did not expect that you would master the spell in such short notice, but you are apparently quite talented for this subject.” he said, the right corner of his lips stretching in what could be interpreted as a smile. “However, do not let this fool you. This is one of the simplest charms we are going to learn, so do not relax thinking that you are very skilled in Defence Against the Dark Arts just because you have cast it once, and keep working hard and practicing.” he added, immediately becoming serious again.

After a short pause, he continued, while walking around the classroom: "As you have noticed, Defence Against the Dark Arts lessons will often involve practicing a specific spell, most of the time a defensive one. Therefore, I believe that working in groups is the most efficient way to proceed in this subject. More precisely, you will all be sorted into pairs. The first phase of our lessons will involve learning how to cast a specific spell, as we did today with the Wand Lighting Charm, along with discussing useful information about it. You will try to perform the spell, while your partner observes you, and corrects any error you are making. You see, I have found that it is not always easy for people to notice their own mistakes, and an exterior point of view can often prove very helpful. Then, once one member of a group has successfully cast the spell, he or she will exchange roles with his or her partner. The second phase will consist of putting what you have just learned to the test, most of the time through some sort of practical task. You will see what I mean during our next lesson."

He stopped at his desk and faced the students. "If you have any questions about Defence Against the Dark Arts in general or the way these lessons are going to function, now would be the time to ask. If not, we will proceed." He glanced around the room, waiting to see if any of his students were going to raise their hand.

Lucy quickly raised her hand, and without waiting for Professor Umbranox to call on her, she spoke, "Professor Umbranox? With all due respect, I have done some research about the talented teachers at Hogwarts, and I found out that you used to travel a lot and therefore gained experience battling creatures and Dark Magic. Would you mind sharing a story?"
After she was done talking, she felt bad for not waiting for him to call on her. Her mother always told her it was a sign of disrespect, however, out of all her professors, she respected Professor Umbranox the most. Shamefully, she took her seat again.

Ambrosius noticed a Slytherin girl raise her hand, but before he could call on her, she asked: "Professor Umbranox? With all due respect, I have done some research about the talented teachers at Hogwarts, and I found out that you used to travel a lot and therefore gained experience battling creatures and Dark Magic. Would you mind sharing a story?". ”Miss Malfoy, I presume?" Ambrosius replied from behind his desk, looking at the blonde girl. "I do not see the point in raising your hand if you are going to speak without waiting for my permission." His voice remaining perfectly calm, he pursued, now glancing successively at diverse students. "I know that these rules may seem futile to most of you, but believe me, they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of the lesson. So please make sure to respect at least the most basic ones and I promise not to attach excessive importance to such formalities."

He stopped for a moment, then continued, his gaze falling on Lucy Malfoy. "However, there is one thing I will not tolerate, and it is late arrivals. Today is an exception since it is our first lesson and since it is not always easy to find the path to a specific classroom for those not familiar with the Castle. But from now on, try to be on time. This applies to all of you." he added, glancing around the room. "Now, concerning your question. I have always believed that studying magical theory has a limited use unless it is applicable in real situations. Therefore, once I had learned everything I could about Defence Against the Dark Arts, I decided to travel across the world in order to see with my own eyes the creatures that I had studied and to verify if what I already knew was enough to make me ready for what was out there. Although my knowledge did save me on numerous occasions, believe me when I say that nothing can fully prepare you for such dangerous encounters. You can have an extensive arsenal of defensive spells at your disposition, but sometimes even that cannot help when you are in a situation in which a single wrong move can cost you your life. This is especially true in these troubled times, with dark wizards still roaming freely, who would not hesitate to murder you if it helps advancing their plans. This is why I stand before you today, attempting to pass at least some of my experience to you."

He made a brief pause, then pursued a bit more lightly. "That is all you need to know for now. Are there any other questions, this time about the subject or the lesson if possible?"

Kim watched the interaction between her professor and Lucy, the girl she met in the common room. Kim noticed that the professor seem to be uneasy discussing his personal life, though, he is very welcome on sharing his knowledge to everyone, especially his students. This might be the reason behind why he is a professor at that present time.

"That is all you need to know for now. Are there any other questions, this time about the subject or the lesson if possible?" he asked. Kim, trying to overcome her fear in reciting during classes, raised her hand, waiting for her to be called since talking without permission is not an option in his class.

Ambrosius was scanning the room when another Slytherin girl raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Frey?" he said, satisfied that at least some of his students were following the rules.

I really need to start applying myself.....Lucy thought,
Follow the rules, follow the rules.
Lucy planned on apologizing to Professor Umbranox after class.

Aurora watched the interaction between Professor Umbranox and the Skytheron girl with interest. She saw that he did not deduct points from her, which must have made her happy, as she had already lost points in History of Magic.

After, Kim raised her hand. "Yes, Miss Frey?" asked the professor. Aurora hoped the question was good, as she wanted to learn more about this fascinating subject.

As Professor Umbranox called on her, she spoke clearly as possible. "Professor, are you going to be the one to choose our partners?" she asked, afraid that she might be sorted to someone that she isn't comfortable with.

"No, I will let you determine who you want to team up with." Ambrosius replied. "And you will be able to choose a new partner every lesson if you desire, so that you get to know as many other students as possible. Of course, he or she does not have to be from your own House. And if someone is left alone once the groups have been formed, he or she will have the pleasure to practice with me." After finishing his explanation, he waited for a couple of seconds, looking around to see if anyone else had a question, but apparently everything was clear.

Ambrosius glanced at his watch. There were only a few minutes remaining until the end of the lesson. Defence Against the Dark Arts classes usually lasted two hours, but since this was an introductory lesson, he had agreed to make it shorter. Switching his attention back to his students, he announced: “As you may have noticed, the end of the lesson is approaching. Now that you know how to perform the Wand Lighting Charm, next time we will discuss some more about the spell, particularly its use in defending against Dark Forces. “

Suddenly, the bell rang, announcing the end of the class. “Therefore, I am asking all of you to read the chapter about the Wand Lighting Charm in the Standard Book of Spells (Grades 1 and 2) for next time, as well as to practice casting it. You have to be able to perform it almost perfectly and on the first attempt during our next lesson. I also want you to write 4 inches of parchment about the spell, indicating its use in defence against dark creatures, as well as the different variations on this Charm and their effects. Please do this homework seriously as it will help you prepare for what we are going to do on our next lesson, and will also allow you to earn points for your House.”
He started packing his things in his bag and added: “Well done for your performances today. Do not forget to practice the spell. You are free to go now. I will see you next week.”

Once professor Umbranox announced the end of the lecture, James started packing his things n his school bag as he didn't want to be late for his next class. He was satisfied since he had succeeded in casting his first spell, even though it was one of the simplest charms they would learn. Still thinking about what the teacher said, he promised himself that he would find a partner with whom he could team up during their next lesson, since he wasn't enthusiastic about potentially having to practice with professor Umbranox. Unfortunately, he still didn't really know any one of his classmates. However, their first weekend at the Castle was approaching, which may give him the opportunity to make some new friends. Putting his wand away into the pocket of his school robes, he headed towards the door, and then followed the others to get to their next class.

As Lucy saw students leave the classroom, she quickly wrote a note on a small piece of parchment.
It read,


With her book bag on her shoulder, she walked over to his desk. She really did feel bad for disrespecting him and his authority. Without looking back to make sure he had gotten the note, Lucy walked toward the door, ready to find her next class.