"Well, yeah, but like- if England has fewer wizards, total, what happens? Nothing? Does Hogwarts have to close? Or Diagon Alley?"

"Well, not yet, obviously, but - I don't know, I guess they seem to be filling in the faculty with Americans. Things seem to be running okay. There were still a lot of closed storefronts in Diagon Alley and our apartment building is half-empty but - it could bounce back, I guess."

"Huh. I thought the faculty thing was just, um, that curse thing on Defense class? Not finding teachers for it?" Emma says. "But I guess there isn't a curse on Transfiguration too."

"If the curse was still working after all this time I'd think they should change the class around enough that it wouldn't be cursed anymore. Maybe add a section of Charms and have it cover more defensive things and add a dueling elective, maybe. The Patronus Charm is a Charm. We could learn it in Charms."

"Everyone said... uh... it was supposed to be, um, You Know Who. Who did the curse. So, maybe it's gone? Since he is?"

"Maybe. I guess we'll see if Professor Reed sticks around for more than one year."

"I'd like a dueling elective. I don't know if I'd take it, but I like watching duels, there's a ring for it near my house and sometimes my mum lets me watch the ones with more rules about what hexes they can use. Not the no-holds-barred ones though."

"The Prophet said they used to have one. Not an elective, I think, but a club? Um, I think Harry Potter started it, actually. Maybe it was just him."

"Duels? Real actual duels?" Jenny asks in fascination. "Like the olden days but with wands?"

"Yeah! They can get really exciting."

"Harry Potter's not in school anymore, anyway, I think one of his friends came back to do her seventh year after taking the year off on account of the war but if there's still a dueling club I haven't heard of it."

"I hope the club's still around, now I want to see!"

"If I catch a dueling club existing I will tell you," promises Karen.

"You're the beeeeest!" Jenny beams.

"We could pick up some harmless hexes and jinxes - and their counters - and try dueling each other. If it's not against the rules? It might be against the rules even just to do it for fun."

"I'm pretty sure that's against the rules. Join the club or start it up again if there isn't one," advises Miranda.

"It's against the rules," Emma confirms. She's read them.

"Blast," Jenny sighs. "That sounds like fun. Karen, if there is not a dueling club, do you wanna start one with me?" She grins. "You will beat me so badly but it sounds like fun!"

"What makes you think I'd win?"

"You've been watching it forever? You know tricks and stuff I don't? It's not like either of us knows lots of spells," she laughs, "it's what, our first week?"

"I don't think we're going to learn dueling-friendly hexes in first year, anyway, that's the sort of thing we're supposed to pick up from students a couple years ahead of us, not formally in class."

"The Knockback Jinx might work?" Emma offers. "I mean, as long as you're both first years."

"I guess, but if we only know one jinx each that's boring."

"But we could still learn more... more... baby-duel spells!" Jenny says eagerly. "I mean, if we're learning one already, right? So maybe we don't have to wait till, like, fourth year."

"Maybe there are books of them in here. Or the second- and third-years will teach us."