Rebel, Rebel

You never could tell what the professorial powers of Hogwarts would decide was worth forcing on people, and what they would simply announce, as if it was an option like any other option, Herman reflected. Self defense class for those willing to give up an evening, as if the time commitment were the only issue any student might consider.

Of course, the word around the Slytherin dorms was that self defense for dummies wasn't something any self respecting Slytherin student would consider attending, but Herman had an answer for that. How else to properly make fun of evaluate the quality of the class, but by attending?

The excuse seemed to pass muster, though the mood around Slytherin since the students returned from Christmas hols was so sullen it was hard to really tell what anyone was thinking. And so Herman found himself at the back of the room, arms crossed and a skeptical expression on his face as he listened to how to identify an emergency situation. The actions advised seemed to be the coward's way out; distract and run, did they think they were talking to incompetents? This was the sixth and seventh year session, couldn't they come up with--

Herman was distracted from his thoughts by a sudden change in method. "Find a partner and practice faking them out," the professor said. "All you need is a moment, anything surprising will do..."

If he'd known it was going to come to that, Herman would have payed more attention to who he was sitting next to. As it was, he turned to his neighbor and raised an eyebrow. "Well?" he asked.