Sleeping with the pigs

"Now that that I have covered the arena, it is time to go over the curriculum for the year. We will be studying the disarming charm, more commonly known as Expelliarmus. this will be taught for the first two weeks before the test. The test will consist of a student going up against a magical dummy holding a wand.

Don't get overconfident since the dummy can also cast the same spell. The passing condition is that you must be able to disarm your opponent within 2 seconds or fail. While studying this charm, we will be going over trolls, what makes them so dangerous and ways to counter them if you ever come across one. Later we will move on to defence charms such as protego. That is a very brief explanation. We will be going over the specifics in detail at a later date.

But most of the heavy-duty stuff will be imparted to you guys after new years since the main competition between the two schools will take up a hefty amount of time during the first half.

Any questions?" he asked with a smile.

Some students put their hands up and asked some questions I didn't pay attention to as I saw Percival lean back towards my desk.

"What floor of the tower are you going to challenge?" he asked curiously. I saw Abby perk up as she overheard.

I shrugged, "no idea man, the professor does have a point though, I suspect that the first half of the arena will be a breeze for me. But since I plan to challenge it, I'll take my time clearing it floor by floor maximising the points I earn along the way. After all, I can't afford to waste them." I said before realising how much of a hypocrite I had become.

There I was, lecturing Hermione last year on how points didn't matter and now I'm doing everything I can to earn them. I cheered myself up quickly though. There was a fundamental difference between the two scenarios that raised the importance of points. I couldn't compare the two. But still, Hermione would probably give me an earful out of spite.

I couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the thought.

"What about you man, what floor will you start off at?" I asked back.

"I'll do the same, you have a point, might as well maximise the number of points we can get in the tower. I'll see how far I can go before I plateau off. You'll do the same right, Abby?" he asked as he looked at the girl who was listening intently. She jumped and turned around to see us both smiling at her. She turned slightly red out of embarrassment at being caught.

"Ahem! Yes, I'll follow in your footsteps. It's the most optimal approach." She nodded. I then turned to Fred who was also listening in even thought he had his head down on the desk.

"Wanna join us too Fred?"

The latter raised his head and looked at me for a moment before nodding quietly and dropping his head back down on the desk. I simply shook my head. A man of few words. Not a bad trait. Much better than the chattering animal behind me.

"I'll be joining you as well. Although you all lack common etiquette, and act like a bunch of savages, I cannot deny you have some talent when it comes to combat." John said while combing his hair as he looked into a handheld mirror.

"Please, your excellency, you mustn't push yourself, it is beneath you to hang around us common folk. Maybe our filthiness will rub off on you," Percival said in an overly dramatic and mocking tone. But John seemed to be oblivious as he nodded seriously.

"Maybe your right, but what can I do except lower myself to your level. At least you know your place-"

"THAT'S IT! I'M KILLING HIM!" Percival shot out of his chair and towards John. I raised my arm slightly and close lined Percival as he spun around my arm. I grabbed him so as to stop him from falling and used telekinesis to get him back to his feet.

Percival had a green face as he clutched his stomach in pain. He looked at me with a questioning gaze. I simply nodded towards the approaching teacher. Percival looked over before nodding at me.

"Thanks."

I waved it off, "You did the same for me."

Walter came over, walked past us and slapped John on the back of the head before grabbing him by the ear and chucking him out the window. He then leaned out the window, "your place is along with the pigs. Learn you lesson or I'll have you sleeping with the dragons!" he yelled angrily before shutting the window door. As soon as he turned around, a radiant smile appeared on his face.

"Well done for stopping Mr James, Mr Knight. Or I would have had to punish him as well." He said with a smile as he walked past us and back to the front before clapping. Instantly, John appeared in his seat with mud all over his body. he smelt like shit and his hair was all over the place.

'Did he really hang around with the pigs?' I asked myself as I supressed my laughter. I didn't really care for the smell. Although it was bad, it wasn't something to make a fuss about. But to someone like John, it was the ultimate punishment. I was sure that if I gave him the option between death and this, he would choose the former every day of the week. Which only made it that much more satisfying.

"Anyway, we have spent enough time in the classroom, let's head to the arena so that you can challenge it right away." Walter said with a smile and opened the door before holding it open.

"From left to right please. Nice and orderly if you don't wish to end up like Mr Perkins here." Walter said with a devil's smile. I finally realised that the professor wasn't as nice as I had thought. John had black lines all over his face. He was pale and shaking. I really struggled to keep in my laugh.