Falling Into Black

“So what did Professor Humphrey do to you?” Natalie asked as Katie sat next to her in the common room that evening.

“Nothing” Katie answered with a shrug.

“Did you do it?” Natalie asked jokingly.

“No!” Katie cried, swatting the brunette’s arm.

“Did who do it?” James asked as he, Sirius, and Peter came down the stair.

“Katie and Professor Humphrey had mad, hot, dirty sex on his desk” Natalie said, looking pointedly at Sirius. Their mouths dropped.

“No! No I didn’t!” Katie said quickly, whacking Natalie with her book as the latter laughed hysterically.

“Did so” Natalie argued, still laughing so hard she had tears running down her cheeks.

“Shut up!” Katie growled, pushing her friend off the couch. “Where are you guys going?” Katie asked the boys.

“Prank” they answered simultaneously.

“Well, as long as its not on me, I’m good” Katie shrugged. “I have to go to Astronomy anyway. See you guys later.”

“Did they seriously...” Sirius trailed off, watching Katie leave. He was virtually unable to repeat what Natalie had said. Natalie shook her head, grinning.

“Well, Padfoot, if your done being concerned about Katie’s virginity, or lack there of, we have to go” James said.

“Oh, she definitely still a virgin” Natalie grinned.

“Can we stop talking about this?” Peter squeaked, covering his ears. They laughed. As the boys left the common room, Natalie went up to the dorm, where she found Lily Evans sitting in her bed, reading.

“Hey, Lily” Natalie said, smiling at the redhead.

“Hey, Natalie” Lily replied, not taking her eyes off her book.

“What are you reading?” Natalie asked. In answer, Lily lifted the book so Natalie could read the cover.

“Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them? How many times have you read that book, Lily?” Natalie asked, smiling.

“4” the girl answered. Natalie chuckled as she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed.

- - - - - - - -

“Okay, Katie. This is how we’re going to do this” Professor Humphrey said as he walked around Katie. “I have a list of various spells, hexes, jinxes, charms, and curses on this piece of parchment.” He held up the list in question, and handed it to her. Looking over it, she realized that they were all the spells she had already learned and more.

“But, Professor. I’ve already learned half of these” Katie said.

“I’m aware of that” he said. “But I’d like to review you.” He stopped in front of her and nodded to the list. “If you’ve noticed, I’ve listed them in alphabetical order. Now, if you come back once a week, we’ll be through ‘B’ by Christmas break. Maybe ‘C’ depending on how quickly you can master the spells.” Katie nodded. “So, before we get started, I’d like to ask to see your wand.”

“My wand?” Katie asked. He nodded. Katie shrugged and handed over her wand. Professor Humphrey studied it curiously.

“Extraordinary craftsmanship” he murmured. “Who made this?”

“Natalie’s mom” Katie answered. He nodded.

“This wand is perfect for charms. What kind of core is it?” he asked.

“Uh, I think unicorn tail and chimera scale” Katie answered slowly. His eyebrows raised.

“Chimera scale? That’s an extremely rare core. Extremely powerful. I’m surprised that you were able to acquire this wand.” He handed the wand back to her. “Did you get your wand when you were 11?” Katie nodded. “Even more surprising. A powerful wand such as that wouldn’t be the first choice for a beginner.”

Professor Humphrey shrugged. “No matter. First, I want you to perform the Summoning Charm on that cup on my desk.” Katie nodded, and pointed her wand at the cup.

“Accio.”

Katie caught the cup as it came flying toward her. “Very good. Now, I want you to perform it non-verbally.”

“Non-verbally?” Katie asked. “I’ve never been very good at non-verbal spells.” Professor Humphrey smiled as he took the cup and put it back on his desk.

“Just look right at the cup, and think very clearly” he explained.

Katie nodded, and focused on the little black cup. Pointing her wand, she thought, Accio. The cup came flying toward her, but stopped two feet in front of her and dropped to the ground. Katie winced as a chip of the cup broke off.

“That was good” he smiled, bending to pick up the cup. “You just lost focus. That’s what caused the cup to drop. You got excited because you performed a non-verbal spell.” Katie looked at her feet. “Try again, and don’t lose focus. You can get excited when you have the cup in your hands.” Katie smiled and nodded.

- - - - - - - - - -

Katie didn’t get back to the common room until well after 3 in the morning. She and Professor Humphrey had gotten through only three spells, both verbally and non-verbally. The reason they only got through three was because Katie had had a difficult time with the Age Line. In her opinion, it was a useless spell, but Professor Humphrey had insisted on it.

Katie felt like she was going to pass out as she was pulling on her pajamas. She was so tired, having not gotten a lot of sleep the night before. As she tried to pull on her pants, she ended up losing her balance and hitting the ground hard.

Natalie, who was sleeping in the bed beside hers, sat up straight, startled. “Whose there?” she whispered into the darkness.

“It’s me” Katie whispered back, standing. “I just fell.”

“Where have you been?” Natalie asked.

“Out and about” Katie answered. She put her wand under her pillow and crawled into the warm bed. “Just go back to sleep.” Natalie yawned.

“Fine. G’night.”

“Night.”