What the Heart Wants (Sirius Black Love Story)

Chapter 41

Professor Averett had quickly become one of the most popular professors at Hogwarts and not just among the lovestruck girls. He had an amiable nature that quickly put his students at ease and was quick to laugh and joke around with them. He had also proven to be an excellent teacher, and between his teaching and continued help from James and Sirius, Sadie found that she was grasping things much more quickly than she ever had in the past. The professor seemed to have taken a special liking to her as well, for which Sirius, of course, teased her endlessly. She would just laugh and roll her eyes, simply excited to finally be doing well enough in her hardest class to have warranted any sort of attention from her teacher.

His classes were generally quite lighthearted, and they had thus far only practiced hands on magic rather than any sort of theory work, so it was with a bit of disappointment that they entered his classroom a few weeks into the term to find that the desks were set up for the first time that year. Sadie and Lily sat together at one of the desks and chatted quietly as they waited for class to start. James and Sirius strolled casually into the classroom with only a few seconds to spare, and Sirius pouted when he saw the girls seated together.

"Evans! You've stolen my girlfriend!"

Lily glanced back him and smirked. "You snooze, you lose, Black."

He stuck his tongue out at her but grinned and sent Sadie a wink before sliding into the seat next to James. Sadie laughed and blew him a kiss before turning to face the front, where Professor Averett had just started to speak.

"Good afternoon, class." He smiled slightly as he took in their resigned faces. "I know that we're used to solely doing hands-on work in this class, but today's subject matter isn't something we can exactly practice in a classroom. Normally, this is a topic that we wouldn't go over until a bit later in the year, but due to recent events, Professor Dumbledore and myself have decided that it would be best to adjust the year's schedule." His face sobered slightly. "Now, I'll warn you that this isn't a pleasant or fun subject, but it is very much necessary. Who can tell me what an inferius is?"

A sudden chill seemed to sweep over the room as the students glanced shiftily at each other. They knew immediately why they were discussing this earlier than usual; just days before, the Prophet had announced that an army of several dozen inferi had attacked a small muggle town near Kingston. No pictures had been included in the article, and Alice, whose father held a very high position in the auror department, told them it was because the scene was too gruesome. The muggle authorities were under the impression that it had been a group of some kind of animal, and the ministry was having a nightmare of a time modifying memories to support that theory.

There were several moments of silence before Remus raised his hand hesitantly. Professor Averett gave him an approving nod. "Yes, Mister Lupin?"

"An inferius is a corpse that has been reanimated by dark magic," Remus answered quietly. "It has no will of its own but exists to do the bidding of the wizard who enchanted it."

"Excellently put. Ten points for Gryffindor." Professor Averett sighed and leaned back against his desk as he surveyed them. "As most of you are probably aware, recent evidence has come to light suggesting that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has been building an army of inferi. Because of this, it seems prudent that you all learn how to recognize and protect yourselves from these beings. Does anyone know the best way to fight off an inferius?"

Lily raised her hand, and Professor Averett nodded at her. "Fire," she provided promptly. "They fear light and warmth, and fire is one of the only forces that can truly damage them. They don't feel pain, and they don't bleed, so most spells and curses won't deter them at all. You need to damage their corpses beyond function, and fire will do that better than most anything else."