Bagsy Beetlehorn and the Thorned Gauntlet (The Bagsy Chronicles 1)

Defence Against the Dark Arts

Bagsy was about to open her mouth and protest that was the stupidest excuse she'd ever heard when, all of a sudden, she decided it made perfect sense. 'Oh. Of course. That makes perfect sense,' she said, no hint of sarcasm in her voice. Her whole body felt suddenly rigid, as if a small pulse of electricity was flowing through it, or her brain was a sieve, and a few very specific things were falling through its holes.

'Yes, it does. Shall we walk back to school? I believe we have Astronomy together on Wednesday mornings,' Tod said as he walked past Bagsy and out of the Owlery. Like an obedient solider Bagsy followed, feeling as though she were walking through thick syrup. 'I must admit, I'm far more partial to Astronomy classes during the day. We have it again at midnight, didn't you know?'

'No, I didn't,' Bagsy responded blandly. 'I was confused by my timetable. I was going to ask a teacher about it.'

'Well, I'm glad to have...' Tod paused and looked Bagsy in the eyes in an odd way, 'cleared that confusion for you.' Bagsy experienced a sudden stop – like she'd been flying a broom that had braked too quickly – and the strange tiredness she'd been feeling left. She blinked a few times, as if she'd just awoken.

'Oh, hi Tod,' she murmured, then glanced behind her in mild confusion as her mind caught up. She'd walked here from the Owlery, where Tod had been acting very normally, and not aroused her suspicion at all. 'Astronomy?' She asked pleasantly.

Tod nodded. 'Astronomy.'

Astronomy was taught by Professor Jones who, to Bagsy's great surprise, was the school nurse's twin. At least, he was in appearance. He shared the small stature of the nurse, who Bagsy had been informed was called Nurse Jones, but lacked any of the jittering, mumbling energy. Professor Jones was calm and moved with precise elegance, and he refused to repeat himself.

Bagsy found the first lesson of Astronomy easy enough. Anything that didn't involve direct spellcasting she could deal with, and she was feeling fairly normal when she walked out of the lesson. Mezrielda might have been in the same class but Bagsy had paid her little attention. She and Tod had spent most of the lesson discussing the different possible symbolisms of the constellation Auriga, the charioteer, and its significance in magical history. Tod had been far better at discussing this, of course, but Bagsy was happy enough to listen and contribute when she could.

After Astronomy was Defence Against the Dark Arts, the subject Bagsy had been looking forward to the least. Her sister's ominous words had stayed with her, and her stomach was working itself into knots. Tod didn't help either – he kept talking about all the different spells he knew that could stave off beasts of different kinds, and how confident he was feeling.

'I bet I can impress Professor Fitzsimmons with a perfectly cast protego charm,' he theorized.

'Professor Fitzsimmons is the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?' Bagsy checked, to a nod from Tod. She wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse but either way Bagsy's spirits were so low that by the time they'd climbed the many stairs that led to the classroom she decided it was better to miss the lesson all together. 'I'm not feeling so good... I'm going to the bathroom.' She spun on her heels and hurried down the stairs, desperately pushing past the Hufflepuffs and Slytherins in her way. Tod didn't seem to mind and let her leave, turning to speak to one of his fellow Slytherins instead.

Bagsy was past the last student, her legs picking up speed, when the moving staircase gave a jolt and her robe caught on her foot, and she let out a yelp as she began to tip forward. A hand grabbed the back of her robes, there was a second yelp, and then Bagsy and her attempted saviour were lying in a heap at the base of the stairs.

'How clumsy can one person be!' Mezrielda growled from above Bagsy as she got off of her.

Bagsy let out a few panicked breaths and sat up. 'Sorry!' The other students were looking down at the pair, some with contempt, some with pity, and some with barely suppressed amusement. Bagsy looked up to see Mezrielda, already on her feet, was holding her hand out. Bagsy looked at it lamely.