Nora swept into her classroom in a foul mood. The events that had occurred during the Christmas period were displeasing to say the least. She found herself in the predicament of the fact that she was missing a professor. She slammed her book down on to her desk and sat down moodily. She waited with impatience for the students to arrive.

Once they did, she pointed her wand at the board and the word 'Stupefy' scribbled itself on there. She stood up and moved around the the front of her desk, wehre she leant against it. "Today, we will be learning the spell 'Stupefy'," she said. "Can anyone tell me what this spell does?" She asked.

After the question was answered, she pointed her wand at the dummies. A spell was muttered, and they sprung to life. They took a position at the wall in a space of the room that had been cleared previously. "Practice on the dummy."

Alexis entered her duelling classroom and saw the moody expression on Professor Smith's face. She walked over to the back of the classroom and sat down, keeping to herself. She hoped that the scary headmistress wouldn't release her wrath on the students. She pulled out her textbook and neatly placed it on the desk.

She then looked up and waited for instructions. At the question, she put her hand up in the air and smiled warily at the professor. "Stupefy stuns your opponent if cast correctly. However, with amateur's, it often just sends the opponent flying backwards." Alexis explained.

She stood up and walked over to one of the dummies, her wand out and ready. She focused her attention on the task at hand. "Stupefy!" She exclaimed. The dummy jolted backwards into the wall, then moved back into position. "Stupefy!" She cried once more, and this time the dummy stiffened and fell over backwards. "That was easy." She commented.

Humphrey came in when only one other person was in the room. She answered the professor's question, and performed the spell like it was nothing. It had taken him hours of practice to learn how to do the stunning spell properly. Yet this Slytherin girl had made it seem like a piece of cake.

"Hello Professor Smith, should I go ahead and perform the spell as well? I learned it over the summer, after I got my course books." he explained. Putting his right hand into his pocket, he reached for his wand. These jeans were getting a bit small on him, he was growing a bit at the moment. Yet he couldn't afford new clothes, and his aunt and uncle were busy. He'd send them an owl about it, they were very generous usually. Even though he wasn't their son, just a nephew, they had taken him in after his parents' deaths.

Nora smiled at Alexis for the briefest of moments for the correct answer to her question. "Correct. 10 points to Slytherin." She said and turned her gaze to Humphrey. She rolled her eyes at the idiocy of his question. "Of course you are meant to practice on the dummy that's what I TOLD you to do, isn't it?" She snapped. "Don't ask stupid questions."

Nora sighed as it was the end of the lesson. She walked over to the dummies and inspected them carefully. She turned to Humphrey and Alexis. "Good. I hope you both have nice holidays. Stay safe." She nodded her head for them to take their leave.