Arithmancy was a breeze as always, but he loved the class all the same. There was something so fascinating about learning how a spell came together. Of course, most of it was the intent and magic power but there was a bit of intricate work tight at the core of any decent spell. They had worked on the disarming spell, expelliarmus recently and it had been enlightening. Just tweaking the spell a bit could result in completely different effects. Expelliarmus was designed to disarm the opponent i.e., knock their weapons out of their hands but a slightly different application would consider their hands or feet to be a weapon and affect them instead. Of course, it would not knock your arm of but broken bones were a very real possibility. And this was something a third year could learn to do, given some talent in the subject and just a bit of imagination.

To Darius’ surprise, there was a very easy way to get a very good grade in the Arithmancy exam. He just had to create a spell model for a new spell, one which wasn’t a variant of previous ones and had actual applications. Fortis Memoriae was an excellent spell he already had at hand but there was no way he was letting that one out. It was already generous of him to hand it to Mione and he had had her take an oath not to reveal it to anyone without his say so. He would need to come up with a different one over the next year, one which he wouldn’t mind being public knowledge.

Study of ancient runes was much the same way. He had been working on a single project since he made the runic recorder but he still wasn’t close to success. It was an ambitious project to be sure but it would turn the wizarding world on its head. He had had some headway recently when he came across a book on Japanese magic. One of the topics there caught his interest and combining it with some of the Celtic ward magic he read about, he might just be able to pull it off. It was still a work in progress though and it would take quite some time to make it happen. He couldn’t wait to see it completed. Though no way was he going to expose it to the public. This was a gold mine and he intended to be in control of it. Maybe he could sell it through the twins’ shop?

Darius got by History of Magic and Astronomy solely on the basis of his Fortis Memoriae spell. There was no way he could stay up through Binn’s droning after all and astronomy classes were held at night, when he was sleepy anyway. If only Binns taught some of the more interesting material, History of Magic may have been one of the truly interesting classes. He often chose to borrow a book from the library on different eras of the past instead of paying attention to Binns’ soporific speech. There were the settlement years before Hogwarts, the founding years of Hogwarts, the magical development stage, the renaissance, the forming of ministries, the withdrawal from muggle communities, building up of the modern magical community, the two recent Blood wars and so on. All peppered with plots, rebellions, wars and so much more. And what does Binns do? He drones on and on about the goblin rebellions.

Hagrid’s CoMC class was actually pretty decent. We didn’t have any arses like Malfoy in our year, that must have helped. But anyways, he brought in Thestrals for the very first class. Must have wanted to make an impression. And make one he did. They were rather mystical and Hagrid was known to have the only tamed herd in the country. The magnificent draconic creatures may have looked fearsome but were relatively gentle beasts and the speeds at which they could fly was unbelievable. Darius had taken the step forward when Hagrid asked for volunteers and had got to be the first to pet one and thereafter fly it. It was a bit uncomfortable at first but a minor cushioning charm made the ride far more comfortable. It was a good class overall and he enjoyed it. Hagrid may not have had the education he deserved but he had more than made up for it over the years, at least as far as magical creatures were concerned.

It had been an interesting first few days back and Darius had already got used to the school atmosphere again. He had started up his duelling practice about 2-3 times a week in the RoR again. The Grimoires were very useful for learning more about the subtle nuances of using spells during duelling. He may have the power to put any wizard on his arse but that doesn’t mean he could do it. Magical power, prowess, knowledge and control all play an integral role in one’s fighting ability. For instance, Voldemort is actually higher on the power scale than Dumbledore and knowledge as far as dark arts go but Dumbledore is ahead in terms of magical control and can therefore fight him on even ground. But Darius lacking in aspects when compared to these magical monsters. The only thing he could try to do was build up his knowledge and control, the power would come with time. Contrary to muggles, magicals actually get stronger as they age. He could glean knowledge from the Hogwarts library, the RoR books and the grimoire but control was something he could only keep practising.

Magic actually didn’t possess any colour, the colours exhibited by spells was because of imperfections in it and its interactions with the atmosphere. If someone was perfect at a spell, maybe after practising it for several years or a spell itself required perfect control, it would be invisible to the naked eyes. That is the ultimate goal for any magician. The only spell Darius could think of which was innately colourless. Must be due to the delicate control the spell required, after all it was designed to completely control another being. He was nowhere near that level of mastery, in any of his spells and it could take decades before he would be but it would be a nice goal to work towards.

Finally, the weekend arrived and it was time for the open DA lesson. He headed to the usual abandoned hall on the first floor but when he got there it was a shocking sight. The entire hall was full other than the duelling platform in the centre. And there were yet more students filing in. Darius knew the dementors gave everyone the willies and expected a fair few students to show up but certainly not this. Bu his estimate the hall could take 100-150 students easily and there were even more than that present here. Looks like he will need to make alternate arrangements. Maybe the great hall? There was a lot of space there but he would have to be quick, there was a lot of space there but that was after all the tables had been moved away. And he would need to get permission first.

Darius rushed to McGonagall’s office and caught her just leaving the office.

“Well, good morning, Mr Icarus, why would you be here at this moment. I was under the impression that you would be hosting your first open session in less than 10 minutes. In fact, I was on the way there, after all you will need somebody to maintain some semblance of control there. I believe that is why you invited me to the session.”

“Yes, professor and I thank you for finding the time to come for it. But I have a different problem now. It seems a lot more people are keen to learn how to fight off dementors than I thought. The hall I had acquisitioned for the DA is filled to the brim and I need your permission to use the great hall.”

“That should not be a problem. I am pleased more students are taking an interest in learning to defend themselves. I can give you the permission to do so on my own authority and don’t need to go the Headmaster. Tilly!!”

As she called out, a small house-elf, wearing a tea-towel emblazoned with the Hogwarts crest as a toga popped up and gave a bow to the professor.

“What may tilly be doing for you, perfessor?”

“Tilly, I want you and a few more elves to clear the Great hall for me please. I need the four house tables moved away as well.”

“Yes, perfessor. Tilly will do that. Will there be anything else the perfessor needs?”

“No thanks, Tilly. You can go ahead with the task.”

And said elf popped away after another bow.

“The elves will have the great hall spruced up in no time, Mr Icarus. Meanwhile, you should let the rest of the students know about the change in venue.”

“Thank you for your help, professor. I shall do just that. I will be seeing you shortly.”

Darius returned to the DA hall and saw it was even more crowded than before. There were already a few students milling about outside as the hall was jam-packed. There was no-way he could enter through that crowd so he took the easy way out.

Pointing his wand at his throat he muttered, “Sonorus!”

“ATTENTION ALL STUDENTS, THE DA OPEN LESSON WILL NOT BE TAKING PLACE IN THIS HALL AS THERE IS LACK OF SUFFICIENT SPACE HERE TO HOLD A LESSON. I HAVE BEEN GIVEN PERMISSION TO USE THE GREAT HALL FOR IT AND REQUEST ALL STUDENTS TO HEAD THERE. PLEASE MOVE CALMLY WITHOUT ANY RUSH OR PEOPLE MAY GET INJURED. THANK YOU.”

The students slowly started filing out but Darius took the closest shortcut and made it to the great hall early. The hall was already prepared for the lesson and he just had to add the final touch. He had nearly forgotten until about a second ago. He pulled off a bit of heavy magic and conjured a duelling platform in the centre of the hall. It wasn’t very difficult but it was a relatively plain duelling stand. He bet if McGonagall had done it, it would be a much grander affair. Whatever, he was a fifth year who had just conjured a 20-metre-long platform and he was pleased with it, the achievement was nothing to be scoffed at.

He stood on the platform waiting for the students to file in. First were the DA members who took their places together on one side of the platform. The rest of the hall filed up soon enough and the hall finally had close to 200 students in it. That’s about half the school population. It was an impressive sight. The professors who turned up were McGonagall, Flitwick and Lupin.

He stood at the centre of the stage and the volume slowly died down. Time to teach these students how to kick some dementor ass!