"Can anyone tell me what the key ingredient to the Wiggenweld Potion is?"
Ten hands shot into air. I looked around the room and heaved a sigh. Of course they were almost all in Ravenclaw. When the sorting hat had said that Ravenclaw treasured the wisest, it wasn't kidding. Since I'd been there I've noticed that the Ravenclaws were by far the most unique students at Hogwarts. We had riddles to get into our common room everyday, our common room was always bustling with students working on some creative pasttime, experimenting with charms, or otherwise catching up on some reading.
At first I was happy, finally I'm with people like me. Who understand what I'm talking about when I rant about how unjust Emeric the Evil's acts were or how fascinating the magical properties of dragons are. However, Ravenclaw wasn't all it was cracked up to be. I looked back down at my textbook, hidden beneath was a roll of parchment on which I hurriedly wrote out the Herbology assignment for my next class. Just as I was almost done, I heard Professor Slughorn say.
"How about you Ms. Weasley?" I looked up with a start, and tried to act casual. I heard Sarah whisper "fail" and elbowed her in her side.
"Erm..Flobberworm mucus, sir." I said.
"Well done . Ten points to Ravenclaw. Now let's all turn to page 12 in our textbooks."
The Hufflepuffs groaned, and one girl in particular, Elaine Boot glared at me, muttering under her breath that I'd forgotten to add that it also thickened the contents of the potion, an essential property in the Wiggenweld Potion. I rolled my eyes, ignoring my fellow Ravenclaw. I glanced at Sarah, who gave me a thumbs up, and smiled turning the page of the book I simultaneously completed the last inch of parchment.
I hadn't known how competitive Ravenclaws were with each other until I got sorted,and it seriously bugged me. Even Slytherins didn't have the level of ferocity that Ravenclaws had when it came to getting to the top grades in class. I remember reading about something similar in a muggle book back home. In muggle schools they called it the Gifted Program. That was what Ravenclaw was like. Not all of the students were like that, especially not most of the older students, but it seemed the younger kids were all concerned about trying to prove who was the cleverest. It wasn't all bad, but I cared more about learning than getting straight Os in all my classes, though mum would kill me if I didn't.
When class finished, I packed up my things and headed towards Herbology with Sarah in tow. I was looking forward to it, since it was one of the only classes that Ravenclaws had with the Slytherins and I got to see Al. Sarah was absolutely overjoyed, turning her hair green with her wand for the occasion.
Sarah Bishop was not an ordinary eleven year old girl. She was a small and wispy with long straight hair that fell to behind her knees tied in a plait, brown sandals and a badge on her robes that said "House Elf Rights". Her hair, naturally a light brown, is regularly changed after her discovery of the color-change charm, her favorite being blue. We'd met in the dormitory, becoming fast friends after she told me that my mum was her hero, and that she was addicted to cauldron cakes. Many students thought she was weird, even some Ravenclaws, but I thought she was alright. Her changing hair reminded me of Teddy.
"Honestly, hear me out, Boot might be a mandrake."
"Knock it off, how would that even be possible?" I said, admittedly thinking about researching if mandrakes left their soil upon reaching adulthood.
"Dunno, we could ask Long-ahhh!"
Sarah tripped falling hard on the floor of the Entrance Hall. I ran beside her, checking to make sure she was okay. A leg-locker curse. It'd be easy enough counter. I looked up and saw Andrew McLaggen, Eric Thompson, and Elaine Boot laughing and pointing at us.
"Have a nice trip Bishop?" Andrew asked, barely able to hold his wand in his laughter.
I glared at them, and approached them then stopped, freezing my eyes looking from Sarah's stiffened body to the Gryffindors. I didn't want to start a fight, I really didn't. I looked back at Sarah, and frowning drew my wand, my hand shaking. I couldn't meet the Gryffindors' eyes, but I met Elaine's eyes, I wasn't scared of her.
"Boot, didn't know you were friends with these lot. Couldn't hex us yourself?"
That struck a nerve. Boot scowled at me turning red. McLaggen and Thompson were both Gryffindors and friends with that toad Callum Cattermole, whom Al had hated from the moment they'd met. I thought they were bullies, and didn't like how they treated my cousin, and so I pretty much loathed them. Boot, as horrible as she was, probably wasn't really friends with those two and had actually asked them to help with her stupid prank. Elaine Boot was mediocre at best in all matters of jinxes and hexes, it was part of the reason why she hated me so much, I'd shown her up in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"Least she's not as big a nerd as you are Weasley. Is it true that you snog Hogwarts: A History every night before you go to bed?"
Thompson asked, Boot and McLaggen roaring with laughter. I looked down, turning away from them and set to undoing the full body bind curse. When Sarah was revived I asked,
"You okay?"
"Of course not, I counted 49 steps, and now you've made me lose count!"
I grinned, helping her up. At least Sarah was alright. I tried to hide the fact that I was hurt by Thompson's comment. It wasn't just his lot that would call me stuff like that, as a Ravenclaw those comments were second nature. It seemed like we were prime targets for ridicule, well, second only to the Hufflepuffs. Why was it bad to like to read and know about things? We both turned away from them and started walking.
"Running away, Weasley? I thought you were going to teach us a lesson." Elaine called out, but I ignored her. Suddenly, I heard some screams and flashes of light, and Sarah and I spun around to see the three of them dancing out of control with James pointing his wand at them.
"Not so tough are you. I see you messing with my cousin again, and I'll do worse than this."
James lifted the spell and the three of them ran off. The Gryffindors running up the stairs and Boot running out the doors and onto the grounds. Sarah wasgrinning at James, while I looked down in embarrassment.
"Thanks James." I said, a little quietly.
"You showed them James. You were absolutely brilliant!" I couldn't help, but snort a bit in laughter. Ever since I had introduced Sarah to James a couple days ago, she fancied him.
"Are you guys alright? Why didn't you fight back Rosie?"
I met his eye for a moment, and looked away. I didn't want him to know that I was scared to. There was a reason that, with all my similarities to my mum that I was sorted into Ravenclaw. I just wasn't brave enough.
"It wasn't the clever thing to do."
James grinned at us and then walked off towards his class. Sarah knew me well enough to know that something was wrong, frowning at me, but I shrugged and looking at my watch my eyes widened.
"Merlin's Beard! We're late for Herbology!"
Grabbing her arm, I tugged her along with me, running as fast as I could through the double doors and onto the grounds. Elaine laughed running along with me shouting as we came out:
"Glad to see you've got your priorities straight!"