Magic Shortage

"Swish and flick," Professor Flitwick instructed the students.

Avotica could swish and flick all she liked, but she wasn't going to be able to make the feather go any higher. She might as well blow on it. At least it would leave the table, instead of sitting there aimlessly.

Some of the Hufflepuff's were able to move their feathers slightly, whereas most of the Slitherin's had lifted theirs off the desk. But Avotica was proving to be an embarrassing addition to the Slitherin house. The bell rang, and Avotica couldn't be more relieved.

"Okay everyone. Practice! Just keep practicing. I'll see you all next lesson," Professor Flitwick said, climbing down from the stool he was using to give himself more authority.

Avotica walked quickly out of the classroom, walking swiftly to the History class, on the fifth floor. Unfortunately, she was walking much to fast and she bumped right into what she thought to be a teacher. She fell over backwards, and the teacher flew into a wall. She scrambled up to help him.

"I'm so sorry, Professor…?" The teacher grunted.

"I ain't a Professor," he said, sounding annoyed. "I'm the caretaker!" He seemed like a grumpy old man, but Avotica was still sorry for bumping into him.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking, and-"

"Well, you shoulda been lookin'," the caretaker shouted. "Be off with ya now." The caretaker limped away. Avotica stared after him with curiosity, but had no time to ponder upon the grumpy caretaker, or she would be late for history.

She soon discovered that it wouldn't matter whether she was there at all, for the history teacher, Professor Binns, was the most inattentive teacher she had met. She thought that it might be because of his age, or the fact that he was a ghost. Avotica actually began to wonder whether he actually knew that he was dead as the lesson dragged on.

She tried her best to stay alert and take down notes, but she found herself fazing out again and again, and she hardly got anything at all out of the lesson. The bell finally rang for lunch, and Avotica felt like she had just left the longest class she had ever been in.

She rushed off to the great hall to eat lunch. The great hall was crowded with people getting food, as well as many people in the corridors. It seemed as though the school had doubled in size since yesterday.

She ate lunch quickly, not wanting to be in a crowded room for very long. She then walked down to the dungeons, to the Slitherin room. She panicked when she realized that she hadn't been told the password. Luckily, some other Slitherin students were wandering towards the door.

"Pureblood," One said clearly. The door swung open. She walked into the common room after the older students. Pureblood? She thought. How stuck up can these Slitherin's get?

Dropping off her books in her dorm quickly, she left the room, Jinx trailing behind her. She turned to him just as she was about to leave the common room.

"I'm sorry, Jinx, but you can't come with me. I promise to bring back some fish, though." This seemed to satisfy Jinx, who went to curl up in front of the fire. Avotica had no idea how she was going to get some fish, but she would think of that later.

She went back up to the first floor and walked back into the out of order toilet, humming to herself. Myrtle was sobbing quietly, so she hummed a little louder. She went into a toilet, pretending to go to the toilet. She went to the sink to wash her hands, still humming. She went to the first tap, but it didn't work, so she tried the second one. It worked perfectly. She washed her hands, making sure to take a long time. Myrtle came out of her cubical, annoyed.

"Will you go away and let me be miserable in peace?"

"Oh, hello Myrtle. Fancy seeing you here," Avotica said, playing dumb.

"You knew I was here. Will you leave, please?" Myrtle seemed to almost be begging.

"Actually, I was hoping to run into you. I was hoping you could answer a question for me."

"Will you leave if I answer? Well, hurry and ask!"

"Can non-magical people see ghosts too?"

"You mean, Muggles?" Avotica nodded. "Well, I don't know. Why do you ask?"

"Well, you see, I have only seen you and Professor Binns as ghosts. I find that rather strange, as I got lost last night, and must have been wandering around the castle for a few hours. I didn't see any other ghosts, and I still haven't."

"But you're a witch, aren't you? They must be hiding or avoiding you for some reason." Myrtle floated towards her, so she was quiet close. "Okay, there's you're answer. Now will you leave?"

"Thank you Myrtle. Goodbye." Avotica turned to leave, hearing a loud splash, a signal that Myrtle was lost somewhere in the plumbing. She turned back towards the bathroom, still having something to investigate.

She walked up to the tap that wasn't working. She turned it hard one way, and then the other. Still nothing. Not even the slightest drip. She gave up, turning to leave. There was something suspicious about that bathroom.

She went back to her dormitory, grabbing her books just as the bell went. Jinx walked around her, meowing. Avotica fished out some chicken she had saved from lunch, but Jinx wouldn't take it. He walked away, uninterested.

"Sorry, couldn't get the fish," Avotica said, but Jinx's problems weren't on her top priority list. First, she had to get to potions.

Professor Snape, the potions master, seemed to be a very dark fellow. He always had the same, ominous voice that chilled her bones to the very core. But, considering her was the head of Slitherin, and she was in Slitherin, she was likely to be let off easily in this class. She had studied her potion books, and the recipes looked quiet simple, compared to the stuff that she had cooked up at home. Of course, she almost always stuffed it up, but still, she might have a chance…

Snape gave his usual start of the year speech, mortifying the Gryffindor's, exciting the Slitherin's. Avotica was actually more worried about her Transfiguration class tomorrow, and hardly heard a word Professor Snape said. Not that any of it mattered, as most of the first lesson was just theory. They then got paired up to make a simple potion, which didn't seem so simple to the students.

Avotica got paired with Ginny, the young Weasley girl. She was a bright, happy girl with quite a bubbly attitude. She simply would not stop talking. But Avotica was use to this sort of thing, and just smiled and nodded, making appropriate sounds here and there, not really listening. She measured the ingredients carefully correcting Ginny occasionally, and stirring the pot as she had always been taught. Seven stirs clockwise, seven stirs counter-clockwise.

And although Avotica wasn't really listening, she kept hearing the name "Harry Potter" come up. She wondered if it was the Potty guy the blonde Slitherin was talking about. So, still concentrating on stirring, she asked Ginny:

"So, who's Harry Potter?"

Ginny looked at her as if she had gone mad. Avotica gave her a sideways glance.

"What?" She asked, starting to feel foolish for asking.

"You don't know who Harry Potter is?" She asked, astounded.

"Well, obviously. I wouldn't have asked if I did."

"He's only the most famous person in this school! He defeated You-Know-Who when he was a baby, and then again last year at Hogwarts. I can't believe you don't know about him!"

"Well, you see, I was never included in conversations often were I lived, and our library was ancient. All the books in it were made decades before this 'Harry' person was born. My governess wouldn't even let me read a newspaper."

"So you don't know anything about modern history?"

"No, but I know an awful lot about ancient history. I expect I'll do well in the history exams," Avotica said, stirring the now thickening liquid inside the caldron.

"But you do know about, well, about You-Know-Who, right?"

"Oh, yeah. I mean, I did hear a lot. Professional eavesdropper, I am." Avotica extinguished the heat from under the caldron, as the potion was finished. "Hmm, that's strange…"

"What's strange?" Ginny asked, not knowing that Avotica was talking about the potion.

"The potion should be a lighter green than this. How much knotgrass did you put in?"

"I… I don't know. Don't remember." Ginny seemed slightly dazed at the quick change in subjects.

"Well, the book says to use two ladles full. I think you used three. Maybe more. You must always pay attention to your potions. If you add the wrong amount or the wrong ingredient, it could be disastrous."

"Too true," said a chilling voice from behind them. They turned around to see Professor Snape standing behind them. "It might do you some good, Miss Weasley, to spend less time talking about boys and more time studying."

Snape studied their potion, which was now seaweed green, whereas it should have turned out a more florescent green. "Satisfactory, for a first try. Be sure to add the correct amount, next time." He left them, but those last words stayed with Avotica for quite a while. She didn't mind potions. In fact, it was probably the only thing she was good at, except history maybe. But the way the teacher teaches the subject affects the way the students learn the subject.

Avotica was glad when Snape dismissed them. She wasn't enjoying her first day at school, but at least she now had one goal; Moaning Myrtle. Avotica sensed she was hiding something. She had discovered quickly that ghostly thoughts cannot be read, but she could still sense that Myrtle had something to tell, some secret that she had been keeping, and maybe she had no knowledge that she was keeping it a secret. But it was something that Avotica was willing to work with.

Avotica went quickly to her dorm, gave Jinx a can of tuna that had 'mysteriously' appeared in her pocket, and then grabbed her diary, a quill, and a bottle of ink. She sat the bottle on the shared dresser next to her bed, and then began to write.

She began to write Bio's of everyone. Everyone she had met since she had boarded the train to Hogwarts. Although she had photographic memory, she had always seen things clearer on paper. She started from the beginning, with Fred and George, then the blonde Slitherin boy, who was still nameless. She wrote one on the two boys she had passed in the corridor on her first night, being able to identify one as Ron, but the other was still unnamed, and she wrote about Ginny. She wrote what she knew and what she had gathered of Dumbledore, Flitwick, Binns, Snape, and caretaker, and Myrtle. By the time she had finished, it was time to go down for dinner.

Once again, it seemed that dinner was one of those times that the school all gathered in the great hall and ate. Avotica made a mental note to eat more at lunch and keep some spare for dinner, as she really did not like the bother of large crowds.

She sat at the table next to a curly black haired kid from her year. He started giving her a curious look, but she tried to ignore him. It was actually quite awkward to eat, with someone watching you. She kept giving the boy sideways glances.

"You look familiar," he said finally.

"Well, we do have classes together. There aren't that many faces to familiarize yourself with."

"No, not from school. I've seen you somewhere else."

"I doubt that's possible," Avotica said bluntly. "I rarely leave my prison of a house."

"No, I swear I've seen you. In a photo, or a painting." Suddenly, the boy seemed to have a brainwave. Without another word, he jumped up and raced off. Avotica stared after him, confused and slightly dumbfounded, but relieved he was gone all the same.

But this relief was short lived. At that very moment, the blonde hair Slitherin sat down next to her, giving her a start. She kept her head down. It didn't take a mind reader to read his thoughts, for he made sure that they were all known.

"I believe I haven't been fully acquainted with you," he said, turning to Avotica. "Draco Malfoy."

At this name, Avotica gave a start. Malfoy. She had heard that name many times before, as her parents and governess talked a lot about the noble Malfoy family, and how they were standing for what was true in the wizarding world.

"I don't believe I will have much use in knowing your name," he continued smugly.

"You won't last the year, once they discover that you're a squib."

Avotica chewed her food very slowly, trying to ignore Draco's voice that was repeating itself in her head.

Draco suddenly lost interest in Avotica, and started talking to his friends. At least, Avotica believed them to be his friends. She couldn't be sure that he had friends. She quickly took two sardines from the plate in front of herself, and she stood and left.

She went straight to the Slitherin Dungeons, and then to her dorm. She gave the meowing Jinx the sardines, and told him she was sorry for ignoring him.

She was dreading tomorrow. First Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, then Flying class with Madam Hooch. At least she had Herbology with Professor Sprout to look forward to, but Defence Against the Dark Arts didn't look inviting at all. How was she supposed to block spells if she couldn't even cast them?

She opened her diary once more, pencilling in Draco's name. She closed the book gently, and then shoved it under her pillow. She was the only one in the dormitory, so she changed, and then went to bed. Jinx snuggled up beside her, purring. She thought about tomorrow, and about how long it would be before she was expelled.