It was the next day. And the boys and I were currently sitting at our table in Defense Against the Dark Arts with Professor Kilgore. He was alright. A good teacher. I liked his classes. On our first day, he said that the Year was going to be split up into two parts. The first part of the Year. From September to December. We were going to be learning about Dark Creatures. Because apparently, we were all behind on them. And the second part of the Year. January to June. We were going to be learning about spells. Mostly Non-Verbal spells. Yeah. This year we learn about Non-Verbal spells. We even use them in Charms and Transfiguration. Also, technically, we should learn Non-Verbal spells in Defense for the first part of the Year. But. According to Kilgore. We were too far behind in Dark Creatures. That we should really learn about those first.
"Ok class, settle down, settle down." Once everyone had stopped talking, he continued. "Thank you. Now, Friday we finished our lessons on Acromantulas." I shivered at the thought of Acromantulas. Considering I was almost eaten my hundreds of them in my Second Year. "I have read all your essays over the weekend, and I am proud to day that you all did wonderful." He looked at me. "I especially liked how Miss Wolfe described them. You got them down exactly, even down to the little feelers on their pincers. Excellent job."
"Thank you, Professor Kilgore." I said.
"You are most welcome, Miss Wolfe." He then turned his attention to the rest of the class. "For these upcoming lessons, we will be learning about Vampires. You were supposed to learn about them in Third Year, but you somehow missed that lesson. Yes, Mister Potter?" He pointed to James.
"Thank you, sir. The reason we didn't learn about Vampires is because our Professor then left the school before we could learn about them."
"Thank you, Mister Potter for that information. Now, back to today's lesson. Can anybody tell me what is a Vampire?" I raised my hand. "Miss Wolfe?"
"A Vampire is a dark magical humanoid being that is famed for biting people on the neck and sucking their blood. They are part of the family of beings known as the Living Dead, along with Zombies. They are usually pale and gaunt with sharp fangs for puncturing the throats of their victims. Though now. If they are Witches or Wizards. They can change their appearance. So that they can't be identified as a Vampire. Vampires seem to be able to live much longer than Muggles. Carmilla Sanguina died aged 196, and Amarillo Lestoat died aged 201. Vampires have a very strong aversion to garlic and can be kept at bay by its presence. They drink blood, though they are apparently also able to eat other foods such as pasties."
"Very good. Take 25 points to Gryffindor. I couldn't have put it better myself. Now, I bet you can tell me who the Vampires known 'enemies' are."
I smirked. "Werewolves."
"Correct. Another 5 points. Can you tell me why Werewolves and Vampires don't get along?"
"Certainly. Though there are different theories.
"It could simply be a competition of sorts, a sense of pride of who you are. Take the rivalry between sports teams or countries for example – they go against each other because they think they are the best. They dislike one another because they think that they are far superior, and because of that, a challenge is born and each side rises to the occasion, ready to prove to the other that they are the greatest. Vampires and Werewolves are the same, each side thinks that they are the superior race, and they feel the need to go against each other to prove it.
"Another thing is that they are very different from one another, and as history has shown us countless times, people often seek to destroy what is different. Vampires are often portrayed as aristocratic and noble beings with an insatiable lust for blood. Whereas Werewolves are usually shown as a bit more laid back, a little rough around the edges with the need to destroy everything in their path once a month. Two very different, yet equally destructive, Creatures. Werewolves hate that Vampires drink blood, Vampires hate that Werewolves have a wild dangerous beast inside them. Werewolves think Vampires are filthy leeches, Vampires think Werewolves are lowly dogs."
"Excellent. 15 more points. Now, who would win in a fight, Vampire or Werewolf?"
"It depends, sir. In human form. It would depend on how the other fights. In Vampire and Werewolf form. It would also depend. Both are known to be very strong. A bite from either can weaken the other. Some say that if a Werewolf bites a Vampire. It can be fatal to the Vampire. A Vampire's death by a Werewolf bite is very slow and painful, which is why many who are bitten are ultimately 'mercy-killed' before they reach that point. Werewolf bites cannot kill a Vampire. But a Werewolf can still kill said Vampire if they tear their throat out. If a Vampire bites a Werewolf. It might be fatal. Or the Werewolf can shake it off and be none the wiser. Though some countries believe that if they bite each other. Then they will become a hybrid. But it has not been proved. Also. If you were to take a new Werewolf and an older Vampire. Or the other way around. The older one might have a bigger advantage at winning. There are many things to consider to see who would win. It's really how you look at things between a Werewolf and a Vampire. Have there been fights between the two species? Yes. Have both of them won? Yes. It really depends on your opinion."
Kilgore looked at me. For a couple seconds. He looked like he was reading my face. Before speaking. "Nice choice of words. You phrased that nicely. 10 points." I nodded. He looked at his board. "And that, my students, is a Vampire. For our next lessons, we will learn about the Vampires History, how to kill them and much more. After we finish Vampires, we will, naturally, move on to learn about Werewolves..." He then went into more depth of the Vampire. All in all. It was a nice lesson.
"Homework. You will summarize what a Vampire is. Class dismissed. See you all tomorrow." Professor Kilgore called out. Everybody started packing up and getting ready to leave. I could feel a pair of eyes on me. Turning a little bit to the side. With my hair in front of me. So that the other person didn't know I was looking. I looked and saw that Professor Kilgore was looking at me. Studying me. It felt creepy. I didn't like it. It bothered me a bit. But. I shook my head. And went back to packing up my things.
Once out of the classroom. I let out a breath. I couldn't feel his eyes on me no more.
"That was interesting lesson." Remus said.
"I agree." I answered.
"Yeah, you knew everything about Vampires. That was a little creepy." Sirius said.
I rolled my eyes. "It's called reading. You should try it sometimes."
"Rude!" Sirius exclaimed.
"Hey, I thought it was interesting. I can't wait to see what he says about Werewolves." James said. Ruffling mine and Remus's hair.
"Me too. That will be a fun class. Won't it Remus?" I smirked.
"I must have to agree. It will be interesting how he views Werewolves." Remus replied.
"I think that will be the deciding factor to seeing whether I like him or not." I added. Then. I thought of something. "Hey, J? Why did your Third Year Defense teacher leave before the Year finished?"
"Oh. That." James smirked. "Well, we might have drove her out." He said. Pointing to him, Sirius, Remus, and Peter.
I sighed. Rolling my eyes. "What did you four do?"
"Well, we might have been disruptive in her class." James answered.
"Might? And what do you mean by all four of us. It was mostly you and Sirius who drove her crazy." Remus said.
"Hey! We weren't that bad." Sirius tried to defend himself.
I raised an eyebrow at him. He then got a guilty look on his face.
"Ok, so maybe we were bad in that class. All the time." He admitted.
"What did you guys do?" I asked.
James smiled. "We might have talked the whole time and then, when the teacher told us to separate, we sorta of just yelled at each other from across the room. We also pulled pranks on her all the time."
I sighed. "You're crazy."
"I know, but you love us for that." James smiled. Putting an arm over my shoulders. So did Sirius. Who then put his other arm over Remus.
"Unfortunately I do." I mumbled. Low enough. That they didn't hear. I did however. Roll my eyes.
"Who do you think would win in a fight? Vampire or Werewolf? I say Werewolf." Peter asked.
"Werewolf. Obviously." Sirius replied. Hitting his hip against Remus's. Remus rolled his eyes. But there was a ghost of a smile there. I grinned. Looking at James. Who also grinned.
"I also say Werewolf. You could both take down a Vampire, especially you, Aspen." James added. Looking at me.
I shrugged. "Probably. I still think it depends on the aspects on the Vampire and Werewolf."
"What about you, Moony?" Sirius asked.
Remus shrugged. "I don't know. I might have to agree with Aspen though. I think it would depend on who the Vampire and Werewolf were. I also agree with James. I think Aspen could definitely take down a Vampire if she had to."
"Let's hope I never have to. I don't want to get into a fight with a Vampire." I said.
"Imagine if their was a Vampire in this castle." Sirius said.
"I wouldn't like that." Peter squeaked.
"I think it would be cool." Sirius grinned. I rolled my eyes.
Though. When they mention Vampires. I always remember what Dean Thomas said in our Third Year. When we found out that Remus had quit. And when the rest of the school found out he was a Werewolf. Seamus Finnigan asked what kind of teacher would we get next Year. And Dean answered with maybe a Vampire. We did not get a Vampire the next Year. We got a Death Eater in disguise. I would've taken the Vampire.