Harry did notice that Ravenclaws tended to be very vicious when it came to the end of the year exams. Apparently, there was some kind of prize for the top Ravenclaw student every year. At least, according to Tracy, that is. It had to be something big. It would explain why they kept constantly trying to sabotage each other, and curse their housemates in the back, and so forth. It was pretty toxic, but the Ravenclaws seemed to like it for some reason.
Daphne mumbled, "Ravenclaws are weird." Yeah, he wasn't going to refute that.
With a quick 'tempus', Harry was able to see the time. His practical Defense Against the Dark Arts was in a few minutes, and he didn't want to be late. He excused himself and started walking towards the classroom.
On his way, he thought about his trauma from the forest incident. After his duel with Flitwick, Harry decided to focus on his Occlumency which had a calming effect on him. Over time, he stopped hyperventilating anytime he saw a green spell, and he didn't get lost in his duelling sessions anymore, but every time saw Quirrell, he couldn't help but panic.
The Potter scion found that just spending time with his friends and practising magic in peace was a good way for him to relax. He had developed a routine of a sort. Every day, he would wake up and practice his Occlumency, and then join his friend at breakfast. They would go to class together, and then study in the library for a few hours, before going to an empty classroom to practice their spells. At night, Harry would sneak up to either the restricted section of the library or the Room of Requirements for his self-study. There was something comforting to the monotony of it. There was nothing unexpected, like unicorn attacks, or baby dragons, and he loved it. Yeah, it might be a bit cowardly to just stay away from the whole mess, but Harry wasn't a Gryffindor. It wasn't his job to protect the castle, it was Dumbledore's.
Still, it was an improvement to how he felt before. He had decided to just not involve himself with anything to do with Longbottom and prayed that Dumbledore and the Dark Lord left him alone. He knew it was a desperate hope, but it had worked for months. Now, the possessed asshole just needed to get exorcised by Longbottom's super blood protection and Harry would be perfectly happy.
With every step towards the Defense classroom, Harry's feeling of dread grew. Quirrell had singled him out and he didn't like it. He couldn't exactly say that he refused to attend an exam without any valid justification. For fifteen minutes, Harry and a possessed Quirrell were going to be alone in an empty classroom.
He felt like he was walking toward the maws of the beast, which was going to swallow him whole. Harry waited until the very last second before knocking on the door. He wanted to delay this as much as possible. It was a vain hope that the man would forget about it or something.
For a few seconds, Harry hoped the man wouldn't be there, but he heard the quivering voice of his defence professor, "Come in, Mr Potter."
Harry gulped and opened the door. The Room didn't look any different, but he still wanted to run away as far as possible from this place. The man let out a slight smile and asked, "Good, you're ready. Put your bag to the side and take out your wand. We'll get started when you're ready."
Harry did what he was instructed, and slowly but surely put his bag to the side and instinctively took a duelling stance. The professor must have noticed, "I see you're taking your duelling sessions seriously. I have to say that the other professors and I were very shocked when Flitwick allowed you entry into the club. Although, with Longbottom joining the Quidditch team, a precedent was made in breaking the age restriction to extracurricular activities."
"Yes," Harry nodded, "I am very grateful for him giving me an opportunity like this."
The man gave him a slight smile and clapped his hand, "Well, this is not the time for these types of talks. This is supposed to be an exam. Now, it's a fairly simple exam. I will give you a list of five spells that we have covered in class. You will cast these spells on the dummy at the end of the room. You will be graded on how effective your spells will be. Do you understand the assignment?"
Harry nodded and the professor gave him a list of spells. It wasn't really anything impressive, just the basic cast, a knockback jinx, a tripping jinx, a petrifying curse, and a jelly-legs jinx.
In a single minute, Harry had cast these spells in succession. They were fairly simple spells that he had mastered a month after being in Hogwarts in the first place. Perhaps, with this done, he would have been allowed to leave the classroom. Quirrell hadn't killed him yet, so that was a good sign.
Of course, that hope was dashed when he turned around to see the glowing red eyes the man had. Before he could react, Harry could feel a spell coming his way with his Arcane Hearing. He dodged it immediately and sent a stunning charm by reflex. The man deflected it easily enough. The Potter scion decided to take away his opponent's sight. He could make do with his Arcane Hearing, to cast, but Quirrell who was far more experienced and skilful didn't have that luxury. With that done, Harry tried to send a lightning piercing hex at his head. It was one of the deadliest spells he had known and had a relatively small magical cost. It was like a small drill made of lightning that could actually easily kill someone. It was designed to pierce, nothing more.
He had aimed it at where he sensed Quirrell was. For a second, he felt like it worked, that he had taken the man by surprise. Unfortunately, in a fraction of a second, chains came out of the wall behind him and bound Harry. A disarming charm hit his hand, sending his wand away, and the smoke faded very quickly.
A smirking red eyed Quirrell slowly made his way to him, twirling his wand, "That was far more entertaining than I thought it would be. I believe that we have many things to discuss, Mr. Potter."
.....
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