Defence and Mayhem

Dark Arts Session

It wasn't long before the students entered the large room, and sat down although they did exchange questioning looks, probably because of the state of the classroom.

When he believed that they were all present he spoke.

"Firstly I would like for you to take out the permission slips from your guardians so you can actively participate in these sessions, those who didn't bring theirs need to hand them to me before the next session as it will be a practical one."

After the slips were handed to him by the students, magically, of course, he started the lesson.

"This lesson will be divided into two parts. The first will be an open discussion with myself as the facilitator, and in the second I will teach you a few mild dark spells to practice until the next lesson."

When he looked at the students he saw quite a lot of different reactions. Some seemed excited, some slightly apprehensive, and some(Fleamont's group) were glaring daggers at the Slytherins, and Harrison guessed that they only looked forward to catching Tom red-handed and not to any part of the actual lesson. Well, if they didn't put an effort to do the classwork, he would stop their attendance to these sessions, since it wasn't mandatory and he wouldn't teach those who didn't want to be taught.

Walking closer to the board and turning to see the students, he said "This open discussion is going to be about Dark Magic. The first question that you'll discuss will be 'what exactly is dark magic and how is it different from other branches of magic'. Anyone can answer, just make sure you let others speak as well, and don't interrupt each other while someone else is speaking. Anything I can confirm is true, I will write on the board. You may begin."

And they did.

"Dark magic is known to be dangerous and addictive.", Said one boy.

"Only when the caster's core is too weak or when handled incorrectly.", Replied another.

Harrison, in the meanwhile, wrote down 'Dark Magic can be dangerous, and even addictive when handled incorrectly'. They were both right in a way...

"Dark Magic is magic that requires an obvious intent to work, if one simply says the incantation without any meaning behind it the spell either won't work or will consume a much larger amount of magic than it normally would, without the user's knowledge, making it dangerous."

"Excellent explanation Mr. Malfoy," Harrison said, copying the teen's words to the board. "Can anyone explain what exactly is the danger and how is this different from other magic?"

"I think the danger will be in the depletion of the magical core...?"

And Harrison wrote that down.

Twenty minutes later, on the board was a rather accurate description of what Dark Magic was.

'Dark Magic is magic that requires an obvious intent from the user while spellcasting, or else it will consume large sums of magic from the user, or even malfunction. Dark magic is very versatile, therefore the intention used when spellcasting may cause varying results. 

For example, the spell Protego Diabolica, which protects allies and burns enemies, can be used as a more defensive or offensive spell depending on the intent used. Its flames can even be non-harmful and just used to scare enemies if the user wishes so.

When used in large quantities by a wizard with a core not used to it, it may become unstable, and sometimes even addictive, as the magical core becomes overly receptive to it to get used to it faster, bringing the unwanted side effects.'

Next, he raised the question 'why are dark creatures called dark?' but first he explained this; "while many dark creatures are, in fact, deserving of the name, there are many creatures that were wrongly categorized as such just for their aggressive behaviour or the danger they pose, even though they are in the grey area."

A while later, this question too had an answer.

'Dark creatures are magical creatures whose magical source contains an instinctive intent that triggers it.

A few examples would be Werewolves- their magic comes from their wolf's intention to be free when they see the full moon, which triggers the transformation, Dementors have the intent to feed in mind when they suck souls... Most Dark creatures' magic has to do with their need for sustenance, but there are other factors.'

After answering a few questions about dark magic's awful reputation, and why were so many people that used it for vile means(its bad reputation was usually used to scare the victims, although other magic types had the same potential to be dangerous, and there still were a few sick people who created torture curses, although such curses existed in all magics, just not named as such), he moved on to the next part of the session.

You might not be aware of such, but all of you were taught a few dark spells in Hogwarts. Flipendo, for one, is a dark spell. It is very mild, so there isn't much risk of addiction, but I will warn you, it's better to have the intent to throw back your target next time you use it instead of just using it on instinct, or you'll waste more magic than you need to... the same goes for the Petrificus Totalus spell, although with both spells it's not too hard to think of the wanted result before using them..."

He paused to let that sink in, and he sure did see some surprised faces.

"I will only teach you mild dark spells and non-harmful ones since I am not teaching you so you can hurt someone, I'm teaching you mainly to have the knowledge and so that those of you who have a dark core can safely practice spells that will prevent possible weakening of their magical cores."

He looked at Fleamont's group to see if they understood that this class wasn't as evil as they must've believed it was and saw that they still seemed wary, even if not outright tense with worry.

Deciding to put that aside, he continued.

"I will teach you two spells today, both excellent for duels against anyone who isn't fluent in wordless magic. But heed my warning, if I hear that one of you used any of the spells I will teach you with malicious intent, you will be banned from these sessions and will serve detention with me for a month, and that's if I'm generous. I might just have you cleaning Hippogriff feces for a month if I feel like it," he warned before continuing on a lighter note.

"The first spell would be the Babbling Curse, which makes the target incoherently babble, making vocal casting impossible. The second is the Oscausi spell, which seals the target's mouth shut, making it look like there wasn't a mouth on the target to begin with. This too is s useful spell for duels. Do note that they both can be ended with a Finite Incantatem, and can be blocked with a Protego."

After he taught them the castings of the spells, he ended the session, telling them to master the spell by the next one.

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Today was a tiring, but productive day, Harrison thought before going to bed, and before he knew it, he fell into a very needed, dreamless sleep.

Updated on Tuesday, 25th of October, 2022