The Boy Who Kept Dying

Chapter 12 (Death teaches a class)

A/N: Not my story! Original avalible on ao3

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The next DADA class was even more gossipworthy than the first of the semester. The sixth-year Gryffindors and Slytherins sat down for a lecture class with a serious-looking professor at the chalkboard. "Welcome class. Today I want to talk with you about classifications in our world of creatures and magic. Can anyone tell me what classifies magic as Dark or Light?"

Hermione, of course, raised her hand. "Yes, Ms. Granger?"

"Light magic pulls on nature or the elements but dark magic deals with ritual, blood, soul, or mind magics."

"Very good! 5 points to Gryffindor!" Professor Osiris smiled kindly, which didn't cause Hermione to beam as she normally would. "Now that we know the classifications, I would like to start talking about a very powerful dark creature. This dark creature deals in soul magics, similar to the magic that dementors draw on though they use it differently. Would anyone like to guess which creature I'm talking about?"

Blaize Zabini raised his hand. "A boggart, sir?"

"Wonderful guess, Mr. Zabini. You are right, boggarts do use soul magic, though many believe them to use mind magic and are mistaken in that, 5 points to Slytherin. However, that is not the creature we are discussing. This creature is much more powerful than a boggart. This is the creature..."

Death waved his hand over the chalkboard and a cartoon-style image of Hedwig appeared. "Um, sir, that's an owl," Hermione tentatively said as several others snickered behind their hands throughout the room.

"That's correct, Ms. Granger," Death smiled at her. "Owls use soul magic to identify and track those they deliver letters to. How do you think an owl can find someone when we constantly are moving and traveling? Let's look at a light creature next to help you see my point..."

Death waved his hand once more and another cartoon-style image of a basilisk appeared on the chalkboard beside the owl. "Magical snakes solely use the light magic of nature to interact with the world around them. The basilisk uses magic from the earth and the air almost exclusively."

Harry raised his hand. "So, you're saying the classifications are crap?" He asked his friend with an amused smile, already having had this lecture before many times over the years.

"That's exactly what I'm saying, Harry," Death returned the smile. "Classifications change and are based on many arbitrary rules. Mostly, it seems that creatures are labeled dark if the person doing the labeling is scared of them and light if that person thinks they are cute. Where creatures are concerned, I would like us all to face our misconceptions this year and learn the abilities and traits of the creatures we study instead of their classifications. Knowing that a creature uses light magic, will not save you if the basilisk is staring you in the eyes."

"Spells are different though, right?" Ron spoke up, actually interested in a class lesson, surprisingly. "Dark spells are dark for a reason."

"Thank you for the transition, Mr. Weasley," Death laughed. "Our next subject is definitely spells. Can anyone tell me a dark spell that could kill someone?"

Hermione's hand shot up again. "The killing curse!" She stated.

"Of course, Ms. Granger," Death agreed. "The Avada Kedavra is a dark spell that can kill a person. Can someone tell me a light spell that could kill someone?"

The class was quiet for several seconds before Harry raised a hand, remembering a story Death had told him once that was definitely not appropriate as a kid's bedtime story. "Yes, Harry?"