So your average spell would have no effect on the kelpies. Good to know. Naya hoped that she would never actually be in the presence of a kelpie, but at Hogwarts......you never know. All the more reason to pay close attention in Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Suddenly, the room was filled with wooden horses.

Oh this was going to be interesting. They had to place a bridle on the wooden horses who looked slightly less than friendly. Well at least they had back up. Things shouldn’t get too out of hand, right? They weren’t real kelpies.......yet. Following the Headmaster’s instructions, Naya went and got herself a bridle. Now to choose a horse. Choosing the one she hoped was the least irritated, she was poised to begin. Usually Naya would take a moment to practice the incantation and wand movement, but there seemed to be little time for that today.

Naya knew she had to focus and get the spell right. She had no intention of being trampled by a wooden horse or suffering whatever damage a wooden horse could cause. Wand at the ready, the Gryffindor took a deep breath. With one eye on her horse, she performed the wand movement and said, “Fixate”. With much concentration she tried to guide the bridle toward the horse. Just as the bridle got close, the horse darted off in a different direction. It was as if he was saying, “You didn’t think it would be that easy, did you?”. Horse-1, Naya-0. Time to reload for round 2.