Renesmee Cullen and the Locket of Michael
Chapter 2: The Journey to Hogwarts
Renesmee woke up early when she heard the taxicab pull up in front of the house and heard her grandfather's boots on the front steps. "Grandpa Charlie's here!" she whispered excitedly to herself, then ran to her closet to throw on her favorite outfit which was a blue T-shirt under a dark sweatshirt. She pulled her copper-colored hair into a half ponytail, swept a stray strand out of her face with a red hairclip and ran down the stairs in a blur.
Charlie Swan was just walking in the door when she launched off the bottom step and into his arms. "Whoa! There's my girl!" Charlie said laughing as she kissed his cheek. "Did you have a good sleep?"
"I sure did, Grandpa," she said smiling. "It's great to see you." Charlie set her down and hugged Bella. "Mom, should I show Grandpa my wand?" Bella laughed as her father raised an eyebrow and stared at her as if she were crazy. "I mean the tool I'm using at school, Grandpa."
"Oh," he said sheepishly, "I knew that." Renesmee undid the clasp on her bag and withdrew her wand and let him see it. "This is cool. Proves that you're a real witch." She grinned and nodded. "So...how are we getting to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters? I never heard of it."
"Only wizards and witches know about it, Charlie," Edward explained. "I've been meaning to ask...is there anyone on Renee's side of the family who's been to Hogwarts in the past?"
"I think her great-great-grandfather was at Hogwarts back in the 1800s, but I can't remember. Renee told me a few times that her family was part of the Wizarding world, but I didn't believe her." Edward nodded and grinned at Renesmee. "All right, then. It's ten-thirty, so we need to be off. You guys got a big enough car for me to fit into 'cause all I've seen so far are those Mini cars and the last person who asked me to try and get in one almost got decked." Renesmee laughed and led him to a silver Ford Focus out front. When Charlie saw the car, he shook his head and looked at Edward incredulously. "Always go for the silver cars, don't you?"
"Yeah," Edward said with a chuckle. "It's my favorite color." Charlie scoffed and climbed in the back seat with Renesmee as Edward and Bella sat up front. "Got everything, Renesmee?" Renesmee nodded. "Good because we've got a half hour to get to the train." Bella looked around for any cars coming then, after making sure there weren't any, nodded for Edward to go.
King's Cross Station was packed with people at quarter till eleven in the morning and Edward nearly had to push past a lot of people to get there. Charlie scowled as one couple bumped his shoulder accidentally and was about to shout something until Jasper sent him a glance and he felt much more calm. "Jasper, can we not use our powers?" Edward whispered. Jasper smiled and led them to the barrier between platforms Nine and Ten where a family of five were standing. "Must be more people going to the Hogwarts Express, then." he whispered again. Suddenly, he heard the father of the three kids speak up.
"James, you go first." the man said smiling and his eldest son ran through the brick wall along with his wife and daughter leaving him and the middle child to talk. "What's wrong, Albus?"
"Dad, what if I'm in Slytherin?" the boy asked. The man stopped and knelt down to look his son full in the face.
"Albus Severus Potter, it doesn't matter what House you're in at Hogwarts." he said. The boy asked the question again, this time with fear. "Then Slytherin House will gain a brilliant wizard. You are named after two of the best headmasters Hogwarts has ever had and one of them was in Slytherin." When his son didn't look too sure, the man sighed and said, "If it really bothers you, then you should know that you can choose the House you want to be in. The Sorting Hat takes everyone's opinions and thoughts into consideration." The boy smiled and hugged his father. "Well, let's get through the barrier before the train - oh, hello." He paused as the Cullen family appeared behind him. "Can I help you?"
"Yes," Bella said with a kind smile. "We're wondering how to get onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters." The man nodded and explained how it was done. "Okay, thanks. By the way, I'm Bella, this is my husband Edward and my daughter Renesmee." Renesmee waved at the man.
"It's nice to meet you all. I'm Harry Potter." Edward's smile faltered and he turned away. "Sorry, is there something wrong, Mr. Cullen?" Harry asked suddenly defensive.
"No, nothing's wrong," Edward said quietly. "Your name just sounds very familiar, that's all." Harry glared at him, but didn't say anything. "Thanks for your help."
"No problem," Harry said scathingly. Bella walked away with Renesmee, her ears perked so she could listen to the conversation they were having and waiting for the right moment to step in. "Look, Mr. Cullen, whatever your problem is with me, I'd suggest you keep it to yourself."
"Same with your wand, Potter," Edward said softly, his voice calm. "I can hear your thoughts. Your spells, especially the Killing Curse, won't work on me." Harry's eyes widened for a second, then they narrowed, his hand closing over the handle of his wand in his pocket. "And don't think of trying a Binding Spell, either. I'm stronger than you think." With that, he walked away leaving Harry and his son to ponder what just happened.
"Dad," Albus said looking up at his father, "What just happened?" Harry shrugged and led his son through the barrier and watched him go. Before they could do anything else, Charlie brushed past them accidentally and went through the barrier after Edward.
"I have no clue," Harry said, "but whatever his problem is...it's not a good one." He and Albus made their way through the barrier and watched as everyone boarded the Hogwarts Express, and watched Edward help his daughter carry her trunk and owl cage and place them on the luggage rack above the seats. "Go on, then," he whispered to Albus. "Remember what I said about the Sorting Hat taking your thoughts into account, too!" Albus waved as he took a seat next to the copper-haired girl and they started chatting. Ginny placed her warm hand on his shoulder and he grinned. "Just think," he whispered to her. "Only two more years and Lily will be on her way to Hogwarts."
"Yes," Ginny whispered back, "and I'm very excited for her." She inhaled deeply and shouted at their oldest son, "James Sirius Potter, do not get into any trouble!" Harry closed his ears with his fingers at his wife's loud voice. "If we get one letter from Professor McGonagall, you will see a Howler!" James grimaced and waved half-heartedly at them as the train gathered speed. Off to the side, Ginny spotted Edward and his wife waving at their daughter and frowned. "Harry, is something really off about them, or is it just me?"
"It's not just you, Ginny," Ron said grimly. "I just talked with them about where their kid will be Sorted and they said they didn't care." Harry rolled his eyes, but Ron wasn't finished. "That wasn't the weird thing, though. What really got me was the color of their eyes. Edward's are the color of honey while his wife's are almost a deep red. What's that about?" Harry shrugged at this, but his Auror instincts told him that it couldn't be anything good. Ron also noticed that his brother-in-law had that 'I've got an idea' look in his eye and grinned. "You have an idea, don't you?"
"Yes, and it's a bloody good one," Harry said quietly. He turned to Ginny, Ron and Hermione and said in the business-like tone he used as an Auror, "How about we invite them over for Christmas this year and get to know them? We can keep an eye on them while they're with us and if anything odd comes up, we'll know what we're up against."
"Sounds good to me, mate," Ron agreed. "Let's just hope they're not werewolves or anything of the like. We've got enough problems as it is in other Wizarding villages. Remember the vampire attack in Ottery St. Catchpole last week? They looked very weird, didn't they?" Harry nodded and walked away with Ginny, Hermione and Ron in tow.
Renesmee took a seat in her compartment and started reading one of her textbooks, The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One by Miranda Goshawk. The spells in this book were very interesting and she was itching to try a few. A Hogwarts prefect was walking by as she read and she stood up. "Excuse me!" she called and the prefect stopped. "I know this is an odd question to ask, but are we allowed to practice spells on the train? I'm trying to learn them so I can really understand how they work."
The prefect thought about it for a moment and smiled. "A lot of students do it when they're not supposed to because they're curious," with a wink, "so the headmistress decided all students, first years included, are allowed to practice minor spells from their textbooks. So, yes, you can practice them." Renesmee thanked him, then asked him to wait a moment. "What is it?" he said with an air of annoyance. "I have a lot of patrolling to do, and I can't afford to waste any time."
"I'm sorry," Renesmee said, "but I wanted to know about the Houses at Hogwarts. Nobody really explained them to me." The prefect launched into explanation about the four Houses at Hogwarts, their attributes and who they were named after. "Thanks. I'm very sorry to disturb you." The prefect gave a nod and walked away leaving her to practice the spells in the book. The first one she tried was the Levitation Charm, Wingardium Leviosa.
"The Levitation Charm is most common when cleaning a room because it can be used to lift objects so the user can clean under them." the book said. "The correct way to cast the spell is to use the swish-and-flick wand movement and recite the incantation."
"All right," Renesmee said while taking a deep breath. She set the book down in front of her, moved her wand in the 'swish-and-flick' movement, then muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa!" At once, the book lifted into the air and floated around the room at her careful instruction. She pointed her wand at the table and the book landed safely on it. "That was cool. Now for the next one..." Before she could even cast the next spell, the same boy she saw on the platform knocked on her door and entered. "Hi. I'm Renesmee Cullen." she said. "What's your name?"
"A-Albus P-Potter," he said nervously. "I-Is there any way I could sit with you? Everywhere else is full." Renesmee nodded and he sat down. "Blimey, wasn't your father the one who was looking angry at my dad for some reason?" She nodded, her brown eyes narrowing slightly with frustration at her father's reaction. "I see you're not happy with his reaction, either. My dad is the head Auror at the Ministry of Magic and I'm quite surprised he didn't curse your dad good and proper."
"Curses wouldn't work on my parents," Renesmee told him quietly. At Albus's curious look, she sighed and said, "Let's just say that their skin is really tough and they can't be hurt much." He shrugged and watched as her skin sparkled slightly as thin beams of sunlight flashed over her. His eyes widened slightly. "What?" she asked looking around her.
"Your skin..." he whispered, "it sparkles!" Renesmee laughed and nodded. "Interesting. I've never seen a person whose skin could sparkle in sunlight." He opened his mouth to say more but was cut off by an elderly witch pushing a trolley of sweets down the corridor.
"Anything from the trolley?" she called. "Anything from the trolley?" When Renesmee stood up, she stopped. "Can I get you anything? I have Chocolate Frogs, Licorice Wands, Jelly Skulls, boxes of Bertie Botts' Every-Flavor Beans...and, my absolute favorites, ice-cold pumpkin juice fresh out of the bottle."
"I'll take one of everything," Renesmee said holding out a handful of golden Galleons. The woman pushing the trolley handed her one of everything and Renesmee sat down in her seat and handed Albus a few sweets while she rummaged through her bag and extracted a carton and a straw. The first thing she opened was the box of Every-Flavor Beans, which Albus warned her about before she took one.
"Be careful of those," he warned her. "When the box says 'every flavor' it means it." He remembered all of the flavors they had and smiled. "You get your normal flavors like chocolate, coffee, spinach and potatoes, but then you get the odd flavors like vomit, earwax, grass, bogeys and other weird flavors like that." Renesmee wrinkled her nose at the mention of vomit and earwax flavored beans and gingerly took out a green one. "That one's okay...I think." She bit into the bean and her face distorted with disgust. "What's wrong with it? That bean is a spinach-flavored one."
"Sorry, but most normal foods taste like dirt to me." she admitted. "I'm more into what my mom and dad drink than this." Renesmee held up the carton of elk blood, inserted a blue straw into the top and took a long sip. The warm blood tasted wonderful as it slid down her throat. She wiped her lips to make sure there were no signs of the blood on her mouth and smacked her lips. "Ah," she sighed, "that's better." Albus watched as she took out the straw, closed the carton and slipped it back into her bag. "I'm a bit different, that's all."
"What were you drinking?" asked Albus curiously, his eyes fixed on the leather bag she had. "That looked interesting." Renesmee didn't answer him because she noticed that the sun was setting and the train was slowing down. "Oh, we're nearly there!" he said excitedly and stood up. "We better change into our school robes, by the way. I don't think you want to get caught wearing Muggle clothing in Hogwarts." Renesmee shook her head as he walked away and changed into her robes.
Rubeus Hagrid was waiting for the first years as they all exited the train and crowded around him. "Firs' years, follow me!" he called. "We'll be takin' the boats ter the castle." Renesmee climbed into a boat with Albus and Hagrid and sat down. "All righ', then. The firs' thing yeh should know about the Black Lake is that there are quite a few creatures livin' there. There's a giant squid, merpeople, and a whole school of Grindylows down there. Any questions?"
"Yeah!" someone shouted from another boat. This boy was blonde, pale and had a pointed face. "How long is this boat ride?" Hagrid recognized the sound of the voice and his beady eyes narrowed slightly ashe saw the boy.
"Yeh would be Draco Malfoy's son, wouldn't yeh?" he asked, his voice careful not to show any sign of anger. The boy nodded. "Jus' wonderful. Another Malfoy. Well, this boat ride usually lasts no more than a half-hour. Jus' calm yerself and enjoy it." The boy quieted down and gasped along with the other students in the boats as a huge castle came into view. "That, everyone, is Hogwarts. We'll be headin' toward the boathouse, so make sure yeh have all of yer belongings." Renesmee grabbed her school trunk, owl and her bag as the boats docked at the boathouse and the whole group of first year students crossed a long stone bridge and stopped in front of a pair of heavy wooden doors.
The doors opened and a man with short hair stopped in front of them. "Welcome to Hogwarts," he said in a thick Irish accent. "I am Professor Finnigan, the Deputy Headmaster, and Head of Gryffindor House." He looked at all of the first years with a smile and explained about the four Houses. "There are four Houses in Hogwarts and they are named after the four founders: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." He said the last House name with bitterness. "Now, I'm goin' to lead you to the Great Hall where you will be sorted into your House. Once the Sorting Hat calls the House you will be in, you will go to that table. Do I make myself clear?" There were murmurs of agreement and he grinned again. "Good. Follow me."
Renesmee gasped as Professor Finnigan opened a pair of heavy bronze doors and a loud chatter was heard. Four long tables were filled with students waiting for the first years to get Sorted and the Deputy Headmaster stood in front of an old stool and held an old hat. The first few students' names he read off were Sorted into Ravenclaw, Slytherin and Hufflepuff, but when it came to Renesmee's turn, she slowly walked up and sat down on the stool. Once the Hat was on her head, she heard a deep voice talking in her ear. "Well, this is interesting," the Hat said in her ear. "A human-vampire hybrid. Lots of power, intelligence, bravery and...ooh, do I detect a hint of cunning? Oh, yes. Let me see...GRYFFINDOR!" Renesmee squealed with delight, handed the hat back to Professor Finnigan and ran toward the Gryffindor table at break-neck speed. When everyone was sorted, Professor McGonagall stood up behind a golden podium with an owl spreading its wings and spoke in a loud voice.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" she shouted. "To our first years, I welcome you to a year full of magical learning and safety. There is nowhere safer than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Renesmee heard snorts of derisive laughter and scoffs from the same blonde boy that spoke up during the boat ride. His name was Scorpius Malfoy, according to Professor Finningan when he called the boy up to the stool, and was Sorted into Slytherin House. "Now, as usual, I would like to announce a few new staff appointments for this year. First off, our previous History of Magic teacher, Professor Cuthbert Binns, has been sacked recently because of a student complaining that he never listened to students, and he has been replaced by Ernest Macmillan, a fellow Hufflepuff and one of the students that fought in the Battle of Hogwarts in 1998." There was a loud eruption of cheers and applause as the teacher in question stood up and waved. "Also, I would like to introduce Professor Jasper Whitlock, who will be teaching a new class in this historic school: Mythology, and his very able wife, Alice, who will be taking half of the Divination classes.
"Also, as usual, our caretaker, Argus Filch, has reminded me that no magic is allowed in the corridors and detentions will be given if he finds anyone even attempting to cast spells." McGonagall said in a stern tone. "As is customary for our welcoming feast, let the feast begin!" Renesmee gasped again as food appeared out of nowhere on the many golden plates and pumpkin juice and coffee filled goblets.
"Absolutely incredible!" she whispered as Albus took a few bits of food and started eating, but she refused to touch anything because of her usual habit of drinking blood. Sure, she liked human food, but the thirst for blood always gave her a burning in her throat that felt like someone shoved a burning cattle prod down her mouth. When Albus asked if she was hungry, she shook her head and withdrew the carton of blood she drank out of on the train. "I'm all set, thanks." she said and, instead of using the straw, opened the carton and gulped some of the dark liquid. When she had her fill of blood, she smacked her lips and wiped away the excess blood with a napkin.
"I dunno what you're drinking," Albus whispered, "but you seem to like it better than the food on the table." Renesmee nodded. "Can you tell me-?
"No, I can't," she said firmly. "Not until I'm ready to tell you, okay?" He nodded and took a sip of pumpkin juice from his goblet. She took another sip from her carton and put it away. "Now...when do we get our class schedules?
"That would be tomorrow," James Potter said smiling. "I've got something to show you tomorrow if you want." Renesmee nodded and stood up as soon as the prefects headed toward the main doors and called the first years to them. "Well, see you tomorrow, then."
Renesmee and Alice gazed in awe at the moving staircases and talking portraits along the stone walls as the climbed the ancient stairs with the prefect leading them to the common room. The prefect stopped in front of a large portrait of a very fat woman wearing a pink dress. "This is the portrait guarding the Gryffindor common room, the Fat Lady. All you need to do is recite the password and it is 'Caput Draconis'." Once he said it, the Fat Lady's portrait swung inward and the new students walked inside a beautiful room. "This is the Gryffindor common room. It's mainly used to chat with other students during breaks, do homework, or just read a book by the fireplace." He pointed to a wooden door on his left. "The boys' dormitories are through that door on my left, and the same goes for the girls on the right. You'll notice your trunks are in the dormitories right now."
"This place is wonderful," said Rose Weasley, a girl in Renesmee's year. "Dad told me that Gryffindor Tower is one of the largest towers at Hogwarts besides the Astronomy Tower, the North Tower and Ravenclaw." Renesmee nodded and looked out the window nearest a table. "Do you even own a copy of Hogwarts, A History?"
"No, but I think I'll have to buy one next year," Renesmee said. She suddenly remembered why the brown-haired girl looked familiar. "Are you related to Albus and James Potter by chance?"
"Cousins," Rose admitted. "Uncle Harry married Aunt Ginny, who is Dad's sister by blood, and my mum married Dad not long after. Al and I are the same age." She and Renesmee watched as James and Albus burst into laughter. "Though there are times when James acts younger than us."
"Yeah," Renesmee agreed. "My dad's the same way. Whenever he's around me, he always acts younger than he is." She giggled as she remembered something that happened a year ago then sighed. "Although, when my mom gets angry, it's like she's older and more mature than she looks."
"Your mum does look young," Rose admitted. "I saw her on the platform seeing you off. She's very pretty, too." Renesmee smiled at the compliment and nodded. "I don't want to sound mean or anything, but who named you when you were born?"
"Mom did. My name is actually a combination of both of her mothers' names, Renee and Esme. My middle name, Carlie, is a combination of Carlisle and Charlie, both my grandfathers' names." Rose had to admit that was good. As Rose thought about this, Renesmee felt a burning in her throat and drank the rest of her elk blood. "Anyway, I think we should get ready for bed. We've got classes in the morning, and I'd rather be up and ready to go when they come up. What's first?"
"We'll have to look at our schedules." Albus said shrugging as he slid out of his robes and retreated into the boys' dormitory. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night." Renesmee bade him good night and went into the girls' dormitory to bed.
Renesmee grinned the next morning as she looked out the window in the dormitory. The sky was full of dark clouds threatening to rain, so she didn't have to worry about blowing her secret. After dressing in her robes and sliding a red-and-gold headband in her curly copper hair which she put in a loose ponytail, she ran down the stairs with her school bag slung over her shoulder and stopped in front of the portrait hole leading to the staircase. She followed her fellow Gryffindors to their first class, which was Potions and sat down once the teacher entered the room.
Professor Draco Malfoy walked in, his robes sweeping across the floor and stopped to look at the class. "There will be no foolish wand-waving in this class," he said. "Now, most of you wouldn't be novices in the art of potion-making, but there are some in this class that lack the attribute." Renesmee gulped as he enclosed his arms in his robes and looked menacing. "I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even put a stopper in death." He stopped for a second and smiled slightly as he noticed Renesmee writing down what he was saying. "There are some of you who know what I'm talking about...then again, there are those few who choose to not...pay...attention!"
"Renesmee," Albus whispered. When she looked at him, he pointed at the teacher. "Oh, blimey, here he comes now." Renesmee gulped again as Professor Malfoy took a chair and sat down in front of her.
"Miss Cullen," he whispered, "may I ask where you would find a bezoar?"
"In the stomach of a goat, sir," she said firmly.
"Good. Now what would I get if I were to mix asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" he asked.
"You'd get aconite, sir, which is a cure for most poisons." Malfoy nodded and stood up again, but glared at her as he walked away. She grinned in spite of herself and settled down in her seat leaving the blonde teacher to watch her closely.
"Gryffindor House take note," he sneered, "that I will be deducting five House points for classmate's cheek." He hid a smirk as Renesmee let loose a throaty growl and her brown eyes flashed with anger. He wrote this down and watched the class leave, the Slytherins snickering...all except for Scorpius, his son. Mental note, he thought, watch out for my son. With that, he got ready for his second year class.
The first years headed toward the Transfiguration Courtyard for their first lesson in Transfiguration with Professor Finnigan, who seemed much nicer than Malfoy did. The Irish teacher watched his class settle in their desks and take out their books. "Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Transfiguration." He tapped the blackboard with the tip of his wand and writing appeared on it. "Starting today and ending somewhere in November, we will be learning the Transfiguration formula, which is that the intended transformation is directly influenced by five variables. From now until November, you will be learning these variables and their importance to the transformations you will be performing after we learn this."
Rose Weasley raised her hand, which Professor Finnigan showed approval and pointed at her. "Sir, what else will we be learning?" she asked.
"After the formula, you will be learning how to turn a desk into a pig, a match into a needle, mice into snuffboxes and, by the end of the year, you'll know how to perform the Switching Spell." he explained. "For now, let's get working on the first variable, bodyweight." He droned on about the importance and significance of bodyweight and how it pertained to the intended transformation, on which Renesmee took notes. "That means whatever you're Transfiguring must have the same bodyweight as the thing you're transforming." He tapped the blackboard again and the writing said the word 'viciousness' in a slanted writing. "Viciousness is another variable that has been questioned on many occasions. What exactly is this variable telling us? Miss Cullen?"
Renesmee stood up and said in a loud, and clear voice so everyone in the classroom could understand her -it helped that the classroom's walls made her voice echo through the room- "The variable is telling us that, in order for us to transform something into another object, we must have a purpose and concentration, or in this case, viciousness, depending on the spell we're using to transform it." Professor Finnigan awarded Gryffindor ten points and agreed with her deduction.
"Correct," he said nodding. "That's exactly what this variable is telling us. Now, you've already explained another variable, concentration, to us so we can skip that one. The next one is 'wand power', which means that the transformation you intend to perform depends on how much power you use. For example..." He brought out a raven and pointed showed the class. "In order for me to transform this raven into a water goblet, I need a certain amount of concentration, viciousness and wand power, which I have and I will now transform it like so." He flicked his wand three times and said, "Vera Verto!" and the raven instantly was turned into a simple water goblet. "There you go. Did you see what I did there? I used the main variables in the transformation."
"Yes, sir," said Scorpius Malfoy from the back of the room. "I believe the one variable you used mostly was concentration." Professor Finnigan nodded againd and awarded Slytherin House ten points as well. "Thank you, sir."
Ignoring Scorpius's thanks, Professor Finnigan turned to the class again and said, "Mr. Malfoy is right; I did use more concentration than the variables I mentioned." The bell rang signalling the students to go their next class and they started packing their bags and stood up. "All right! For homework, I need an essay on the first variable and how bodyweight actually pertains to all forms of Transfiguration due Monday morning at the beginning of class!" The students noted this and exited the room.
Renesmee followed her fellow Gryffindor first years and Hufflepuffs out into the Training Grounds where Madam Hooch, the aged Flying instructor and referee for all Quidditch matches stood waiting for them. "Welcome to your first flying lesson!" she called to the class, where each student stood beside a school-issued broomstick. "We are going to learn how to fly on broomsticks, the methods of how to best control your broomsticks, and then how to speed up and slow down." She looked at the class with eagle-eyes and smiled. "All right, then. I want everyone to raise their right arms above their broomstick and say the word 'up'. Do it now." There were several shouts of 'up' and broomsticks jumped into teh students' hands. "Good! Now, I want you all to mount your broomsticks and kick off the ground hard. You'll rise a few feet off the ground, hover for a moment, then touch back down. Yes, Mr. Potter?"
"Have there been any serious injuries recently regarding this class?" Albus asked nervously.
"Not since 1991." Madam Hooch said. "Your Herbology teacher, Professor Longbottom, had a little trouble with staying on the ground in his first year. He ended up crashing into the castle wall and falling to the ground ending with a broken wrist. At that time, Mr. Potter, your father showed his true flying nature and became Seeker at the age of eleven. I daresay he was, and still is, the youngest seeker ever in Hogwarts." Albus looked absolutely proud of her words and felt a lot safer. "Now, why don't we start? Everyone mounted? Kick off on my whistle. One..two...three!" Twelve students kicked off hard, hovered for a few moments, then landed safely on the ground. "Perfect! Now, we'll try some methods of controlling your broomstick while in the air and flying around the castle. Keep your speed slow, otherwise your broomstick will be overwhelmed and you may just crash."
"We don't want that, do we?" Renesmee muttered as she mounted her broomstick again and kicked off the ground. She felt at home in the air, having jumped to catch a falling snowflake at home the year before in Forks, Washington, and gripped the handle gently as Madam Hooch also rose into the air beside her. The teacher explained a few methods of controlling the broom while flying and then asked them to fly around the castle at a decent speed. Renesmee leaned forward once the whistle blew and she shot through the air like a rocket, Albus slowly catching up to her. "Nice day for flying, isn't it?" she called to him as the two of them turned when the clock tower was nearby.
"Yeah!" Albus called back. "Having fun, then?" Renesmee nodded, let out a whoop of joy and took off. "Hey, get back here!" Albus laughed and shot off after her. It wasn't too long after when Rose and Scorpius caught up. When they finally landed, the four of them were laughing and joking around as they headed toward the Great Hall for lunch. "That was amazing, Ness," Albus said clapping her gently on the back. "You're a natural."
"Yeah," Scorpius agreed. "You would make a great Seeker or Chaser, that's for sure." Renesmee's pale cheeks turned pink, which she hid with her hair. "Oh, don't be like that, Renesmee. Potter's right. You are a natural at flying. Well, we better head for lunch. I'm starving." The four of them entered the Great Hall and sat down for lunch at their tables.
"We've got Charms next," Renesmee said taking out her schedule and glancing at Rose and Albus. "I wonder what we'll learn in Flitwick's class?"
"James told me that the first lesson is the Levitation Charm," Albus said, "which you've already mastered on the train. The next spell we learn is the Wand-Lighting spell called Lumos. According to my dad, there are a few different forms of the spell: Lumos Maxima, which can conjure a ball of light to ensure safety from creatures who like the dark and quite a few other forms. It's fairly simple, if you ask me." Renesmee nodded but couldn't wait to use Lumos when she needed it if she had to hunt at night in the forest, or to see herself out of the forest after hunting. Also, she just couldn't wait to learn other spells in that class.
