Lockhart's teaching methods failed to improve the following week, as he continued having scenes from his books role-played. Consequently, everyone in the club eagerly anticipated Thursday afternoon, when their first meeting would take place. On Thursday morning, during double Transfiguration, even the usually patient Ravenclaws found themselves fidgeting with impatience for the lesson to end—a rare occurrence indeed. Professor McGonagall noticed this unrest but chose to overlook it for reasons known only to her.
Despite the meeting not scheduled until three in the afternoon, many students hastily ate their lunches, driven by excitement. Harry couldn't fathom the urgency, as they had an hour and a half—ample time to eat leisurely and still have plenty to spare. He attributed their restlessness to the hope of receiving some solid instruction in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
The 'Golden Trio' arrived at the Hogwarts library's reading room with just five minutes to spare, but they were the last to join. The rest of the group was already there, gathered in clusters by house or family, like the Patil twins. Harry, Hermione, and Neville opted for one of the remaining tables and joined the others.
"Now that everyone's here, let's get started," Draconica announced. "Potter, it's your turn." Harry was slightly taken aback that his Slytherin friend had handed the reins over to him but quickly regained his composure.
"Um… Welcome to the Self-Defense Club, everyone. We're here because we believe the standard instruction in DADA is insufficient, so we've decided to take matters into our own hands," Harry began, trying not to sound too critical of Hogwarts. "The format will be collaborative—if you have knowledge to share, please line up to take a turn teaching. But first, we need to come up with a name for our club. Any suggestions?"
Brainstorming ensued, with Kevin Entwhistle proposing the name 'Self-Defense Association of Students' (SAS). This sparked laughter among those with non-magical backgrounds. A variety of ideas filled the air, and after an hour of spirited discussion, they settled on the name 'Defense Study Group'—or DS for short.
"Alright, let's get started," Harry said once the name received majority approval. "If no one has any objections, I'll go first…" With no dissent, he began, "What I'm about to teach may not be strictly related to DADA, but I think it's something everyone should know…" Just then, Madam Pince entered, having finally decided to investigate the commotion in the reading room.
"What are you lot doing here?" she inquired, her eyebrows raised at the sight of students from all four houses sitting together without bickering.
"We have a study group here," several students answered in unison. The librarian regarded them with skepticism, but as long as they weren't violating any library rules—their discussions about the club name were muffled—she had no grounds to intervene.
"I see," she said curtly. "Just follow the library rules, or I'll have to ask you to leave." With that, Madam Pince returned to her nearby table. Harry let out a relieved sigh; it seemed they wouldn't have to find a new location for their meetings.
"Alright, where was I? Oh, yes, I want to share some first aid techniques with you, both magical and Muggle." A murmur circulated through the group, as some students recognized the importance of this knowledge while others wished for something more directly related to combat.
"I understand magical first aid, Potter, but why bother with Muggle methods? What could they possibly offer?" Theodore Nott interjected. Harry had anticipated such a question, even if he hoped it wouldn't arise.
"To address your first concern, what happens if your wand breaks? You recall what happened to Ron Weasley's wand, right? I'd be wary of using a wand that isn't reliable for medical treatment. Plus, there are poisons and spells that prevent blood clotting—you could bleed to death if you don't know the counter-spell or lack an antidote. While Muggle methods might not completely stop the bleeding, they can slow it down, giving you more time to seek proper treatment," Harry explained. Nott nodded slowly, digesting this information. "As for your second question, while Muggle and magical realms differ greatly, Muggles possess extensive knowledge of the human body, and there are diseases that the magical world can't cure that Muggles can at least partially address. Muggle astronomy is also far more advanced than magical astronomy… but let's stick to today's topic." Harry continued, "If any of this doesn't interest you, feel free to leave. No one will hold it against you." Surprisingly, no one took the opportunity to leave.
"Then let's begin," he said, launching into his teaching. The session lasted nearly two hours, covering only the basics of bleeding control, splinting broken bones, and dealing with poisoning. Although this material wasn't strictly part of DADA, everyone, including Nott, soon grasped why Harry deemed it essential.
"Let's wrap this up here; dinner will be served soon, and we need to get ready for tonight's astronomy lesson," Harry announced, stepping out of his instructor role. While others contributed, especially regarding magical first aid, Harry remained the main speaker. As students began leaving the library and heading back to their respective common rooms, Harry started to pack up the books he had used in his demonstration.
"That was very informative, Potter," Draconica commented as she headed toward the exit. "But next time, please share something that's more directly applicable to DADA." Although her words seemed critical, her tone indicated that she wasn't displeased with his choice of topic. Harry shrugged; he hadn't yet decided what he would teach next.
"I'll do my best," he replied, but Draconica was already by the door. She paused momentarily, acknowledging him before continuing on her way to the Slytherin dungeons.
~/ *** \~
At the next Defense Study Group meeting, held again on Thursday afternoon, Hermione, Padma, and surprisingly, Daphne, co-led the session. The girls taught their classmates the basic magical shield, *Protego*, along with several offensive spells, including *Expelliarmus*. Since they were in the library, practicing magic wasn't an option, but the theoretical knowledge shared by the three witches was sufficient; everyone could practice later in their common rooms or elsewhere.
A week later, a shy Ravenclaw girl named Su Li, encouraged by her housemate Padma, demonstrated a few relatively harmless but rather annoying hexes. While easy to counter, if executed successfully, these hexes were effective enough to disrupt an opponent's focus.
~/ *** \~
On the first weekend of October, the first Quidditch match took place, traditionally featuring Gryffindor versus Slytherin. The match was notably prolonged, lasting over four hours, culminating in Harry catching the Snitch and leading Gryffindor to a victory with a final score of 530 to 110.
An unexpected incident occurred during the match when the Bludgers inexplicably targeted Harry. Madam Hooch intervened to pause the game, and professors examined the rogue Bludgers. Since the magic causing the anomaly hadn't originated from Hogwarts, it was eventually dispelled—albeit not easily, even for the headmaster—allowing the match to resume.
Draconica managed to score once and assisted with six goals, leaving her quite pleased with her contribution. Interestingly, the match seemed to awaken a competitive side in her, albeit she would never become an ardent fan of the sport like many of her peers.
~/ *** \~
On the following Monday, Lockhart determined that his students were ready for a quiz, naturally centering it around himself. Thankfully, the questions didn't delve into the trivialities of his favorite color or dreams; instead, they focused on his supposed achievements as detailed in his books.
With the role-play exercises featuring Lockhart's overly embellished tales, the students answered questions about encounters with mythical creatures such as the Himalaya Yeti with ease. However, the student body was far from enthusiastic about this quiz. Lockhart had only a small support base among Hogwarts students; those capable of critical thought had long since recognized his shortcomings. Worst of all, no one enjoyed being quizzed.
This quiz served as a clear indication that they had squandered a month of DADA classes without acquiring any real skills. Regrettably, those who realized this were either already members of the Defense Study Group or were reluctant to join due to their biases against members from other houses.
Three days later, at the next DS meeting, "Professor Susan Bones" took the floor to explain strategies for avoiding opponent spells. It became clear that the niece of the current head of the DMLE was well-versed in defensive techniques, although her knowledge of offensive spells was somewhat limited.
"Magical shields are effective—they're quick to conjure and can protect against most magical attacks. However, some spells can pierce specific types of shields, and at least three curses exist that cannot be blocked by any known magical shields," Susan instructed. "Another tactic is to levitate or conjure an object into the path of an incoming spell. While conjuration is beyond our current capabilities, levitation is within reach. However, this method has its downsides, as it takes time to position the object, and certain curses can cause solid objects to explode. So if you're unsure of the curse being cast, this defensive tactic isn't always the best option." The aim of Susan's lecture was to compare various defensive strategies and highlight their effectiveness based on different circumstances.
As Susan's lecture concluded just an hour before dinner, it was decided to adjourn for the day. After thanking Susan for her insightful discussion, the 'golden trio' made their way back to the Gryffindor tower.
"Kill… Rip… I want to kill them…" Harry suddenly heard a muffled hissing whisper. Stopping abruptly, he glanced around, hoping that it was merely a figment of his imagination. Unfortunately, he recognized it as that same voice, now weaker and coming from a different direction.
"Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked, her concern evident as she noticed his unusual behavior. Neville nodded along with her, as both found it strange that Harry was standing in an empty corridor, scanning the area as if he were being hunted.
"Did you hear that?" Harry asked, his voice low. "There was a voice… it wanted to kill someone."
"Harry, mate, I think you're imagining things," Neville replied, shaking his head.
"Honestly, Harry, you might be overstressed from all your extra studying. You should take it easy," Hermione suggested, though her suggestion came off as insincere—she herself spent far more time buried in books than he did. "I'll have a word with Wood so you can skip Quidditch practice this Saturday."
"No, no, I'm fine!" Harry protested quickly; he didn't want anyone else knowing that he was hearing strange things. Additionally, he was aware that arguing with Hermione often led nowhere… "I promise I'll rest more, Hermione." She shrugged, aware that dragging him to the hospital wing for a check-up would require a significant amount of magic, considering how much he disliked it.
In the days that followed, Harry tried to locate the source of the mysterious voice without wandering too far. He attentively listened for any peculiar sounds, but luck eluded him, and the voice didn't reappear. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that what he had heard was indeed nothing more than a hallucination.