Twelve year old Anthony was practically jumping from his seat in anticipation for the upcoming lesson. They were going to finally start learning how to disarm an opponent. Expelliarmus was something that Andy had been wanting to learn for a full year now, but no one would teach him. His sister laughed at him and said that the she wanted to cherish the years left that he didn't know the spell, so she couldn't be used as a human guinea pig and his parents felt the same, though they expressed it far more eloquently.
Andy was now, however on the midst of learning the spell that caught his fascination at age nine when he was flicking through a Defense textbook of his sisters. A spell powerful enough to not only disarm, but to send your opponent flying backwards. How awesome.
Being paired up by Professor Brennan, Andy faced James with a sheer determination, something that James was mirroring back. The two of them wouldn't relent in the slightest. Best friends, though they were, James and Andy were fierce rivals as well, something that Andy often had the upper hand at.
He listened carefully to the instructions given to them from Professor Brennan. It sounded like a complicated spell but he was determined not let it get the better of him.
Half an hour sped by in which Andy and James practiced the spell on each other, neither of them having much success at all. Andy was getting more and more frustrated, at himself, and at James, who seemed to find watching some students pat down a fire that was created more pressing than learning the spell.
By the end of the lesson none of the Ravenclaw or Gryffindor students had successfully mastered the spell, but Professor Brennan didn’t seem overtly upset by the news. She had said it was a difficult spell to begin with. She also told them to practice the spell for next lesson. Andy knew he definitely be doing that.
Andy sulked for the rest of the morning, wanting so badly to successfully disarm an opponent just once. He had his head resting on his hand through History of Magic, willing lunch to happen so that he could skip the meal and find somewhere to practice. James thought he was mental, wanting to skip lunch, but Andy shrugged.
Lunch soon came and Andy found himself in an empty classroom, going over the notes that he took from class and from the textbook for Defense. He looked around the empty classroom, realizing that what he really needed was someone to practice on.
As if by some miracle, James pushed the classroom door open, holding a sandwich in each hand.
“Thought you might be hungry from all the hard work,” he said. “Don’t expect me to do this all the time, you know.”
Andy's smile could have split his face in two and James' expression clearly suggested that he had misread Andy’s glee.
“It’s only a sandwich. Sheesh,” James remarked, looking at Andy as though he had lost his marbles.
“Forget the sandwich. I need you to practice on.”
James raised his eyebrows. “That sounds worrying.”
Andy, not concerned by James' concern, dragged his friend over to stand a couple of metres away and then took his wand and pointed at James, who still had the two sandwiches in his hand.
“Unless you want to disarm my lunch, can I eat these first?” James asked, taking a bite anyway. Andy let the Gryffindor eat, using the time to go over his textbook and notes once more. The spell, in theory sounded fairly easy, but having spent an hour previously trying, Andy knew first hand that it was anything but.
James had finished the sandwiches, Andy’s included, and the scratched his head. “What am I doing again?” he asked.
Andy sighed. “Just stand there with your wand, preferably with your mouth closed.” James rolled his eyes but did as his friend asked.
Andy mumbled the incantation under his breath a few times to get it right. He had seen the Gryffindor girl light her opponents sleeve on fire with a mispronunciation, and though James could be a pain in the arse, Andy didn’t want to light the boy on fire.
Okay, Andy thought. He focused his mind with nothing but the spell desperately wanting to get this spell right at least once today. He would feel a sense of satisfaction if that happened.
"Expelliarmus!" Andy cried, brandishing his wand towards James' right hand. Nothing. Andy screwed up his face.
"Expelliarmus, Expelliarmus, Expelliarmus!" Andy yelled, getting frustrated. James still stood there with his wand, looking as though he would like nothing more than to burst out laughing.
Andy took a deep breathe. He needed to remain calm if he wanted this spell to work. He tried again, this time, centering himself and his mind on the task.
"Expelliarmus!" Andy said, and watched as a burst of red light flashed from his wand followed by a clunking sound of wand hitting the ground. It wasn't as strong as Professor Brennan's example, and as Andy looked over at James he still had his wand, though he did have to pick it up form the ground as it had fallen from his grip. James shrugged and Andy sighed. It wasn't a perfect Expelliarmus, but it was a start.
Again and again, Andy practiced, and nothing much happen beyond the feeble red spark and James losing a grip on his wand. On Andy's fifth attempt, however, he finally managed to get James' wand to fly from his grasp and into Andy's.
It may have been a fluke, but Andy was too pleased to let it bother him. He only managed to successfully cast the spell once, and though James didn't get flown backwards, he certainly wasn't on fire, so for Andy, it was a day of accomplishment. He left the classroom, with some time to quickly grab a sandwich before the afternoon classes began.
