Chapter 3: Speeches, Spells, and M.A.W.W.?
Albus glanced up, just as Professor Longbottom cleared his throat.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. Now that we are all fed, I need to go over a few things with you all. To all students: The forest on the school grounds is off limits to ALL STUDENTS."
Several older kids snickered to themselves, and Scorpius nudged Albus jokingly. Professor Longbottom coughed.
"Ms. Hass, our caretaker, has asked me to remind you all that all items from the store Weasley's Wizard Wheezes are banned. Also, no magic is to be used in-between classes, or in any corridors."
Longbottom gestured to a middle-aged witch with a stern smile, her long wand poking out of her sleeve. Albus knew she was not to be crossed. Longbottom continued his speech.
"Any second-years or above that are interested in playing for their House's Quidditch teams should contact their Heads of Houses, their House Quidditch Captain, or Madam Chase. First-years are reminded that they are not permitted to play- please do not attend the tryouts."
Lots of students shot James and Albus looks, and Albus sat there, confused. Do they expect me to tryout? Why?
Scorpius looked away, obviously trying to look inconspicuous. Albus ignored him for the moment.
"I feel compelled to let you know this," Neville began slowly. "A rather…sinister force has been detected in this school, one that has lingered for several years, since I graduated from this school. I assure you we will do all in power to rid this fine institution of it, and to keep you all safe. This is not meant to alarm you, just as a precautionary."
Albus stared at Neville, shocked.
"…for several years, since I graduated from this school."
Voldemort couldn't have survived, could he? Albus questioned himself, assured that the dark sorcerer was gone. I mean, how could he have survived? All his…what were they called? Horcyses? Horcruxes? Yes, all his Horcruxes were destroyed! But what is a Horcrux…
Albus was lost in thought and missed half of Neville's speech, but came back to reality for the conclusion.
"A reminder to all students that the Restricted section of the library is obviously off limits. Also, the fourth floor passageway is still under repair, so keep away. We have wizards from the Ministry working powerful repairing magic, and they don't have time to be bothered by you students, who have much more important things to do. Before we go to bed, I wish to announce the staff members for this school year."
Albus looked across the Great Hall, and saw his friend Lexi glance eagerly up at the Head Table.
"I, the current headmaster of Hogwarts, will be teaching Herbology, taking on a double teaching status, something that is usually unheard of in my office."
"Professor Lovegood will be teaching Charms, and also the Head of Ravenclaw House."
Professor Lovegood stood up, smiling to everyone. Students from all four Houses applauded her loudly; obviously she was a favorite. She waved her wand, and all the food on all the tables vanished, leaving the long tables spotless. She sat back down looking pleased.
"Teaching Transfiguration will be Professor Tycra, new to this school. Please give her a warm welcome"
A young witch stood up, twirling her wand in a fluid motion. The floating lamps flickered, and then transformed into large banner, saying, Thank You. The banner fell down, and then exploded into sweets, sending pastries and chocolates zooming across the room. Students cheered, and Tycra sat down, the slightest smirk across her lips.
"Please put your hands together for our Potions master, Professor Luma, who is also the Head of Slytherin House."
A tall, middle-aged wizard stood up, raising his hands in gratitude. The hall erupted into roars of approval, and Albus raised his eyebrows. He had heard the stories of his parent's Potions teacher, the man whom he was named after. Luma pulled out a dark-shaded wand, flicked his wrists, and everyone's goblets filled with brown liquid. Rosie squealed, but James gulped the glass down immediately. The entire hall waited with baited breath, and then,
"OH MY GOSH! IT'S CHOCOLATE!"
Everyone yelled and started drinking as much as they could, filling their already stuffed bellies with warm, liquid chocolate. Albus finished his in one gulp, and then set his goblet down, only to find it refilled. Albus grinned and thought, I think I'm going to like this teacher!
Luma chuckled to himself, not telling the students about the Sleeping Draft he had mixed in. He sat down, and Neville continued.
"This year, I am proud to introduce a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Rouge. Professor Rogue is also the Head of Gryffindor House."
A man next to Luna stood up, flicking his dark hair to the side, revealing his tanned face, where a scar covered his right side. When he looked straight, the scar was covered, so he obviously grew his hair out like that on purpose. Rouge pulled out a wand that looked similar to Albus's, and waved it in a spiral motion. Long, dark tendrils flew out, sending the Great Hall into darkness. Several first-years whimpered, and Rosie scooted a bit closer to Albus, who had his wand out.
Suddenly, the lights started flickering, causing everyone to jump. Albus noticed shapes moving quickly across the room, swooping low across the four tables. Albus stood up when he noticed a wand fly by his face, and without noticing; he raised his hand, shouting,
"FINITE INCANTATEM!"
The lights returned to normal, and everyone stared at Albus with wide eyes. Scorpius tugged on his robes, and Albus sat down, shaking. Rouge's eyes were wide, and he sat down quickly, seeming a bit disappointed about his unfinished demonstration. Rosie began to clap, and all the other students began to join her, however half-heartedly.
Neville looked weary, but continued. He announced that Professor Boarin, a chubby, blonde wizard, would be teaching History of Magic, and the Head of Hufflepuff House. Albus ignored the rest of the teacher announcements, and was still breathing heavily.
I just stopped my teacher's magic! He's like…twenty-five years older than me! His magic should be much more powerful!
Albus glanced at Professor Rogue once more, but the Head of Gryffindor House was refusing to meet his eyes. Scorpius looked sympathetic, and Rosie was eyeing him oddly. Even Lexi was giving him a weird look. Albus was grateful when Neville shouted,
"Thank you all. I hope you all will enjoy your year at Hogwarts! Off to bed now!"
Albus rushed out of the Great Hall, only stopping to ask a tall fifth-year named Alison for the common-room password, and a map of the school. Once he had those, he rushed out of the Great Hall, and up the moving staircases. He had begged his parents to give him the exact location of the common room, and they had obliged after excessive whining. Albus ran up to the portrait of the Fat Lady and shouted in a hoarse voice,
"Dittany!"
The Fat Lady eyed him without a word, and swung open. Albus entered the common room, and sat on a squishy, scarlet armchair in the corner, waiting for Scorpius and Rosie to join him.
Five minutes later, Gryffindors began pouring into the common room, most going straight to bed. Several people gave Albus almost fearful looks, and then hurried up to the dormitory. Albus tried to ignore most of this, but his gut twisted every time. He spotted Rosie and Scorpius towards the end of the long line of Gryffindors, and gestured to them. They hurried over, claiming the last two armchairs before they were taken.
"What was that!?" Rosie whispered.
Albus blushed.
"I'm not sure. The lights just…gave me a really bad feeling. I remembered the spell you had used on the train…I don't even remember getting up…"
Scorpius narrowed his eyes.
"You performed a spell perfectly without ever using it before? That's almost unheard of!"
Albus looked at Rosie, and saw her face covered with worry.
"Al, he was only demonstrating! Now he and everyone else is gonna think you're some freak!"
Albus shrugged.
"They were bound to think that eventually."
Rosie punched him softly, but still looked a bit shaken.
"Well…whatever. By the way, did either of you catch what Nev-I mean, Professor Longbottom said about the "dark energy"?"
Albus forgot all about the scene with Professor Rogue, and listened to Scorpius reply.
"Yeah. Longbottom sounded worried…"
Albus cut in.
"And he said it was energy that had lingered since the time he graduated from Hogwarts! Do you think it might've had something to do with…you know…Voldemort?"
Scorpius gave Rosie a dark look.
"I dunno'. Maybe…do you think it was connected to the fourth floor corridor situation?"
Rosie coughed loudly.
"Guys, keep it down! And yes, I do. I don't see how it has taken powerful wizards from the Ministry nineteen years to repair a section of the school. I mean, obviously there is still some Dark Magic here…But what? Voldemort is dead, and most of the Death Eaters are gone."
Albus glanced quickly at Scorpius, and then away. Scorpius caught the look and spoke softly.
"I know. I've heard the rumors about the remaining Death Eaters. I swear, my dad isn't one of them. I wouldn't lie about that. I know some Death Eaters are still trying to follow in Voldemort's footsteps…but I don't see how they could've placed Dark Magic in the school."
Rosie nodded.
"It just doesn't make sense. Anyways…I'm looking forward to classes tomorrow, aren't you?"
Scorpius nodded eagerly, and Albus moved his head in an uninterested manner. To be truthful, Albus was looking forward to classes more than anything. But there was one word in his mind, one word that pushed his excitement back. Horcruxes. Albus debated whether to tell Rosie and Scorpius about what he had read, but he decided against it. He and Scorpius got up, saying goodnight to Rosie, and walked up the spiral stairs to the first-year dormitories.
Albus climbed into bed, stopping only to reread the final chapter in The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1. He had double Charms with Ravenclaw tomorrow, first period, and he planned on showing Professor Lovegood just how adept he was at learning. His eyes closed moments later, the "H-word" not even in his mind.
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Albus woke up to Scorpius getting changed into his school uniform. Albus shot out of bed, changing and grooming completely before Scorpius was even beginning to brush his teeth. They grabbed their schoolbooks, quills, parchment, and extra books, putting them into their bags. Albus had received a visit from his Aunt Hermione a few weeks before school. She had placed a charm on his bag so that it could hold unlimited amounts of anything and not break. What would we do without her, Albus thought.
He and Scorpius were waiting on a moving staircase when Albus heard his brother's voice call,
"Look! It's Death Eater and Daddy's Boy!"
Albus spun around, waving a rude hand gesture in the air.
"Wow, that's so mature, James."
Scorpius laughed at the irony, and pulled Albus down into the Great Hall. Rosie was already done her breakfast, stacks of schoolbooks piled in front of her. She was flipping through pages of Magical Theory when she noticed them, blushing furiously.
"Well, I just wanted to be prepared."
Scorpius laughed, ripping into a juicy sausage. Albus stacked his plate high with food, saying,
"Honestly Rosie, we're only first-years. They aren't gonna give us loads of homework and have us doing complex spells."
Albus was about to be proved wrong. Very wrong.
Albus, Rosie, and Scorpius headed to Charms, smiling as they saw that they were the first students there. Professor Lovegood nodded at them, waiting for the rest of the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws to enter. When they had, Lovegood cleared her throat.
"Welcome to first-year Charms. Before we begin, I have an announcement. Four years ago, Hogwarts introduced a new program called M.A.W.W."
Lexi raised her hand, and Lovegood nodded.
"Excuse me," Lexi began. "What is M.A.W.W.? I haven't read about it anywhere, not even in the updated copy of Hogwarts, A History."
Lovegood looked a bit too cheery.
"Well, I was just about to explain. M.A.W.W., or Magically Advanced Wizards and Witches, is a program for students that are, well, advanced. I don't mean exceptionally smart students. I'm talking about students that clearly show the abilities of a much older student. Last year, we had several first-years join the program, studying with third-years."
Albus shared an excited grin with Scorpius, and then returned his attention to Lovegood, who continued.
"The Ministry is having each teacher select three students from each House in each grade for each class."
Scorpius whispered,
"That's a lot of "each's"."
"Today," Lovegood said. "I will pick one fairly challenging charm from your textbooks, and I will make my decision from there."
Albus's heart raced. He had gone through every spell in the book; although there were many he had not tried. To his benefit, almost every spell he had attempted worked. Lovegood flipped through pages of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1, until she let out an "oohh"
She waved her wand, and everyone's book opened up to page 216. Albus's eyes raked the page, until he found the incantation. Lovegood spoke it aloud for everyone.
"Your challenge is…the Severing Charm."
She waved her wand, shouting, "Diffindo!" The book on her desk suddenly ripped in half, and some students flinched. Lovegood laughed, muttering, "Reparo" The book mended itself, and then Lovegood looked at us expectantly. There was a loud commotion, and then loud shouts of "DIFFINDO!" filled the room.
Albus wished Scorpius and Rosie good luck and then pulled out some parchment. It wasn't that he doubted himself; he just didn't want to take the chance of ruining his textbook. Albus pulled out his wand, silently whispering the incantation first. One of the first tips in Magical Theory was not to go rushing into speaking, but understanding the rhythm of the wand and your voice. Albus then began working on his "swish and flick", a basic technique that worked for most spells.
About a half-hour later, Albus realized he had spent most of the class thinking, not doing anything. Scorpius was eyeing him nervously, while Rosie looked completely confident. Albus began to flick his wand for the actual incantation when Lovegood interrupted.
"Alright, class. Time is up. Wands down until it's your turn."
Albus set his wand down dejectedly, fearing the time when Lovegood would stop in front of his table, and nothing would happen. She moved fairly quickly, spotting easily that most of the students were only making slight creases into their textbooks. Albus pulled out his textbook, nervous that Lovegood might scold him for using parchment. When it was Lexi's turn, she breathed deeply, and then shouted,
"Diffindo!"
There was a loud, tearing noise, and everyone clapped at the sight of a slight tear in the seam. Lovegood jotted something down on a notepad, and then moved on, slowly getting closer to his table. No one else made any difference to their books, so Lovegood reached Albus's table in a few moments. She stopped at Rosie first, and jotted something down after Rosie made the same impression that Lexi had. Rosie looked happy, and watched as Scorpius made a slightly smaller rip, but a rip nonetheless. Lovegood looked very impressed, and moved on to Albus with seemingly high expectations.
She looked at him, nodding, and Albus picked up his wand, breathing heavily, remembering the harmony of the flick and voice. He flicked his wand at the book, feeling warmth from the wand as he spoke clearly,
"Diffindo."
The book shuddered, and then ripped itself in two, the seam completely severed. Everyone gasped, Rosie looking a bit jealous, and Lovegood clapped loudly. She scribbled something down, and smiled at him, walking back up to the front. She waved her wand, and everyone's textbooks returned to their proper state. Scorpius nudged Albus, asking,
"How did you do that? I didn't see you practicing it at all!"
Albus shrugged, his face burning. Secretly, Albus felt pure happiness, glad that he had shined in his moment of truth. He turned to Lovegood, who set the notepad down.
"Alright, class. Good job. I have made my selections for Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, and will make my decisions for Slytherin and Hufflepuff next period. Unfortunately, I did not select six students. I chose three for Gryffindor, and one from Ravenclaw. Please, no whining or jealousy if you are not chosen."
Scorpius glanced around.
"I hope she picks us three."
"I have decided." Lovegood spoke in a final voice. "The student from Ravenclaw will be Alexis Lynn."
Lexi beamed, and nodded in thanks. Lovegood smiled, and turned to the Gryffindors.
"As for Gryffindor, I have chosen Rosaline Weasley, Scorpius Malfoy, and Albus Potter."
Rosie, Scorpius, and Albus all sighed in relief, smiling across the room. Several Gryffindors gave them nasty looks, as if they thought the three had been chosen because their parents were friends with the teacher. Lovegood seemed to notice, because she said reassuringly,
"Now class, I trust you all took this fairly. My decisions were not biased, and in no way does this mean anyone who wasn't chosen is unintelligent. Believe you me, anyone in this class will still be challenged, regardless of advanced placement or not."
As she ended her speech, the bell rang, and everyone left. Albus gave one last, "Thanks, Professor!", and then glanced down at his schedule.
"Oh no…Potions!"
Scorpius gulped, but Rosie looked a bit excited. Albus prayed that his Potions class would be nothing like his parent's, and then asked a question.
"Guys, are we doing this M.A.W.W. thing in every class?"
Rosie and Scorpius both nodded, so Albus decided to add,
"Let's all try to get into the M.A.W.W. together, in every class."
Scorpius widened his eyes.
"Every class!? We aren't superheroes, Albus. We can't have everything go perfect!"
Rosie winked at Albus.
"But we sure can try!"
They laughed together as they headed toward the dungeons.
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1. Thanks for reading!
2. Please Review.
3. Sorry it took so long to post- school has me very busy.
4. Sorry the plot is relatively slow at the moment. Please pay attention to Professor Longbottom's speech, because the "Dark Energy" is very important. Also, try to look for something that keeps popping up through Chapter 2-early Chapter 3. It may be a clue…
5. PLEASE REVIEW!