lumos / phan

two

one year later

Dan runs down the corridor, the sound of his footsteps bouncing around the hallway after him, almost chasing him to class. He's on the verge on running late - nothing remotely new.

After asking politely first (he learnt to the hard way), he pushes the heavy, wooden door open and pauses momentarily to catch his breath. The whole class turns to stare at him, including Professor Flitwick - looks like he is late after all. Charms class, where they learn theory and how to cast simple charms with their wands, is also one of Dan's favourite subjects as he's quite good at it. In fact, he seems to be quite good at a lot without particularly trying.

Dan frowns slightly as he sees it's all full of Gryffindors and Slytherins - no Phil then. Slytherins and Gryffindors are supposed to have this great rivalry between them - they're the two of the four houses known for it especially. While everyone was sorted into a house depending on their traits and values that seemed to suit them, Dan isn't exactly sure how he ended up in Slytherin house, he isn't exactly cunning or determined or... basically any of the house traits. He's clever, but that's where it ends. He feels like the sorting hat just threw him in that house because of his family - which is a pretty shitty thing of that stupid hat to do.

Dan shuffles forward and takes the last empty seat, beside a Gryffindor with brown, bushy hair and immaculate books - Hermione Granger. No surprises that seat is free with her seemingly only friends Harry and Ron seated together already. Dan feels slightly self conscious pulling out his own already slightly damaged books, crumpled even though it's only the second day of school. He grimaces as he sees Hermione shift slightly away from him, likely because he's a Slytherin. He sighs deeply and rests his head on the desk. And they say Slytherin have prejudice.

"Okay class! Today we are going to revise what we learnt last year to refresh memory!" Professor Flitwick says from on top of a pile of books - he's quite small so he uses the books for a height boost, "please start with wingardium leviosa, a small object has been placed on your desk!"

Dan sighs as Captain Keen beside him pulls out her wand and immediately begins to precisely flick her wand and recite the spell as she levitates the feather into the air. She glances at him with a smug satisfaction, daring him to outdo her.

Wingardium leviosa, Dan thinks half-heartedly as he stares at his own feather, not bothering to move his head up from his desk as he's way to tired at the present time. His brain just wants to shut itself down into a nice, peaceful sleep. He's used to home, where he could sleep til midday.

"Dan! Watch where you're floating your feather!" Professor Flitwick yells to him over all the commotion.

Dan sits up, frowning in confusion until he sees his own feather flying around in the air above him, knocking about the other floating feathers out of the air - Hermione Granger is staring in disbelief, much like Dan himself.

"Dan stop staring at it and get it down!" Professor Flitwick repeats.

"I'm not doing it professor!" Dan says, raising his hands in the air, "I don't have my wand in my hand!"

"Then who's doing it? Everyone put down your wands!" Professor Flitwick yells, but even after the wands are a down and the other feathers fallen, Dan's is still flying about, "I don't believe it."

Dan frowns, thinking back to when he thought the spell - but that's not possible is it? Magic is done through a wand, it's a fact, everyone knows that. It's one of the few set things in this world that actually make sense and is constant. It can be done without, but that is way beyond a second year like himself.