"Lily! Wake up! We're gonna be late!"
I groaned and peeked my eyes open. Nicole stood behind my bed, her hair wild and uncombed.
"What time?" I groggily asked.
"It's already seven and we can't be tardy to our first day of classes! Hurry up!" Nicole urged. I rolled my eyes.
"Okay, fine, whatever. Aaaargh. I'm up."
It took a long time to climb out of the lavish bed, but I finally managed to pull myself out of the warm sheets and my blissful slumber.
Nicole went into the bathroom, and I dressed. After I brushed my teeth, I met Roxanne and Nicole standing at the door.
"You ready?" Roxanne asked me. I nodded, and we entered the large group of first years going to breakfast.
"Oh, my gosh. I'm so hungry," I exclaimed as I took in the inviting aroma of bacon and eggs. Nicole just smiled, and began carefully placing pancakes on the plate before her.
I followed her lead, and soon I was stuffed. Suddenly, a huge swarm of owls began circling over our heads and swooping down to deliver packages.
"They're just mail owls," I heard Roxanne explain to Nicole. I saw a small, gray owl headed my way with an envelope in its beak. The owl dropped it in front of me, and I barely caught it.
I carefully opened the vanilla-colored envelope, and read the short note inside.
Dear Lily,
Congrats! You made it to Hogwarts! So, you're a Hufflepuff. Of course, we are extremely proud to have you in this noble House. We're sure you'll fit in really well and make many loyal and hard-working friends. We're so happy for you, and I know you'll do amazing things in this House. You can definitely make it on the Hufflepuff Quidditch team and help improve it! Hufflepuff's chances for the Quidditch Cup have gone up dramatically with you in it! Remember, pay attention in classes, and don't get too many detentions like your brothers did. But, nevertheless, have fun at Hogwarts!
Love always,
Mom and Dad
I sighed. Just what I thought. Mom and Dad were pretending to be proud of me, but they really were disappointed in me for being a Hufflepuff. Of course they wouldn't write anything like that in a letter, but I knew them better than that.
If I ever wanted them to be proud of me, I would have to really impress them, and show them that I was special.
A few seconds later, though, I was distracted by Aunt Hermione, who was approaching me. She stopped in front of Nicole, Roxanne and me, and handed us our schedules.
"You will have Transfiguration, first, with me. Then, you will have Herbology, and finally Defense Against the Dark Arts. Any questions?" Aunt Hermione informed us. We shook our heads "no", and she left to hand out other schedules.
"She seems quite strict, doesn't she?" Nicole inquired. I snorted.
"That's my aunt, Nicole. And she does like to seem, uh, 'quite strict'," I informed her, grinning.
"Yeah, I bet she's going to make us do, like, fifth year stuff this year," Roxanne added.
"Well, let's go and find out, huh?" Nicole led us toward the rest of the first year Hufflepuffs, who were nervously filing out the Great Hall.
We followed them for a while, before we arrived in a spacious room. Aunt Hermione came in right behind us, and briskly headed toward the front of the room.
"Hello, everyone. I hope that you are having a good time at Hogwarts, and welcome to Transfiguration. My name is Professor Weasley, and I expect you all to refer to me as 'professor' or some other appropriate form of addressing. In this class, we will be learning about the fine and precise art of transforming objects into something completely different. This is not easy, and is much more than just saying a few random words and flicking your wrist. This class will require your utmost attention, and I hope that you will remember to always listen to my instructions, and follow them. Any questions?"
No one moved an inch. We all sat quietly, as if mesmerized by her introduction.
"Good. Now, please put your wands away, and take out your parchment and quill."
For the rest of the class, we took notes on her lecture about the theory of Transfiguration. The whole class was pretty much uneventful until Aunt Hermione, or Professor Weasley, mentioned something that triggered a funny memory.
"Human transfiguration is extremely complex. It is typically taught at the NEWT level, because it is known to be very dangerous to immature and unpracticed students," Professor Weasley informed us.
"Hey, I've heard of that! A long time ago, Dad tried to transform himself into a desk, but he kind of failed," I whispered to Nicole. "He looked all wooden, but he still had his feet attached. Oh yeah, and he couldn't turn himself back until Mom came back home."
I chuckled at the memory. I had been deciding whether to freak out or laugh, because how often do you see your dad as a table?
Suddenly, I realized that the room had gone eerily silent. Professor Weasley was staring hard at me.
"Miss Potter. Do you have something you would like to share with the class?" she inquired.
"Uh, not really," I stammered.
"Hm, well it seemed like you were really into that conversation you were having with Miss Steiner," she persisted.
"Well, um, it was only really meant for her," I said hesitantly.
"Are you going to address me properly, or should I repeat my instructions from the beginning of class?" Professor Weasley asked.
"What?" I was so nervous that I couldn't comprehend her words. I mean, Aunt Hermione was strict enough as an aunt, but she was even scarier as a professor.
"I mentioned, at the beginning of the class, that you were to refer to me properly. Are you planning on following my classroom rules?"
My hands were shaking, and I internally groaned at being picked on in the first class. My heartbeat sounded loudly in my ear. I felt dizzy and lightheaded, and couldn't focus on anything except not passing out from the embarrassment.
"Please answer me, Miss Potter, or I will have to deduct House points."
Oh, no, what was she asking, again? I looked to Nicole for help, but she looked even more nervous than me.
Not knowing what to do, I just shook my head "no", and stared down at my damp hands.
"Oh, so you disagree with my classroom procedures and my direct instructions?" an eyebrow shot up into her hair. Her challenging tone echoed in my ear.
"Uh, no, not-" I tried to communicate to her that she had misunderstood me, but my mouth wasn't working well.
"But it so appeared that you were contradicting my rules. How about I clarify them with you later today in detention," she ended her sentence with the tone of finality, and I did not dare say anymore.
The rest of Transfiguration for me was horrible. People kept stealing glances over at me, and I could almost hear them scoffing at me.
Ha ha, Harry Potter's Hufflepuff daughter has already gotten herself into trouble, I could sense everyone chanting in their minds.
When, finally, the class was over, I dumped my stuff into my bag, and turned to finally leave the oppressive classroom. But, apparently I couldn't, because I heard a stern voice say,
"Stay here, Miss Potter, so we can arrange your detention."
I sighed, and remained in the room. Once everyone had left, Aunt Hermione turned my way.
"Okay, before you say anything, let me just say that I'm sorry I had to be so harsh with you." she explained carefully as she scrutinized me. "But you honestly should know better than to talk in my class."
"No one else gets detention for talking a little, though!" I said.
"I know, Lily. But I had to make an example to the class or else they'd be fooling around all year," she told me. "Just think of it as you helping me teach."
"Okay, whatever," I replied.
"Well, it would be unfair to take away your detention when I've already assigned it. Meet me at my office at seven o'clock, alright?"
"What?" I exclaimed loudly in protest. "But I didn't do anything!"
"We don't want anybody thinking that I let you off easy because we're related," she warned me. I rolled my eyes and dragged my feet to the door. I had just reached the doorknob when I heard her amusedly say, "But don't worry, I won't have you do anything too horrible."
Professor Longbottom, one of my father's friends, taught Herbology. He was really a nice guy, and really tried to help you if you weren't doing too well. Also, according to my brothers, his lectures weren't too bad.
We spent an hour learning some basic magical plants, and then the rest of the time trying to correctly identify six pots of plants. By the time we were done, we were discussing many of the more dangerous plants, and were all excited at the prospect of being able to work with them in a year or so.
We ate lunch quickly, then headed our next class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. I was particularly excited about this class (which we were sharing with the Gryffindors), because Teddy taught it, and he was about the coolest kid anyone could know. Also, everyone was infatuated with him, since he was such a young professor. In fact, I had heard some 4th years discussing his "hot abs" during lunch. He also used to be the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.
But, one of the most interesting things about him was that he was a half-werewolf. Apparently, his dad was a werewolf, but was still a great guy. Teddy changed every full moon, like his father, but only became a harmless wolf. He just curled up in his office and waited until he changed back into human form. But, he sometimes actually did act like a wolf, like when he was really angry around the full moon, he'd snap at us and become really impatient. Teddy didn't take his condition seriously, and sometimes joked that he was lucky that he sometimes got a break from teaching. A few sixth and seventh years found out about Teddy's unexplained absenses, but no more than a dozen people in Hogwarts (including me) knew. My dad had seen to that, because if more people knew, students or parents might have started feeling that Teddy was unsafe or something else completely stupid.
Teddy's awesomeness made up for his wolfishness though. He was also a metamorphmagus, and could easily alter his facial features, and basically his whole body. His natural hair color was blond, but he usually changed it to a medium brown color, because he claimed that it brought out his eyes more. He told me that he was planning on shocking all of us first years by revealing his strange ability a few weeks into the year. But, he didn't give details.
Now, he was using his metamorphmagus skills to work on becoming an Auror, like Dad. He really wanted to honor his parents who both died in the second wizarding war. But, since he was not quite yet an Auror, he had some time to come over to Hogwarts and teach Defense. I heard that he was extraordinary at it.
As Nicole, Roxanne, and I walked into the roomy classroom, we noticed Teddy standing behind a desk at the front, practicing some sort of weird incantation and complicated wand movement. Sometimes he had to practice new Auror-training stuff here, because he had barely any other time to do it.
"Hey, Teddy," I walked over to him, and observed the bright, magenta light streaming from his wand.
"Hi, squirt," he replied as he playfully punched my shoulder.
"Whatcha doing?"
He sighed. "I'm attempting to make a magnetic-like connection between my wand and myself, so it can fly back to me if I'm disarmed but have cast this spell."
I nodded. "Weird. But cool."
"So, I've been cautiously eavesdropping, and from some discussions I have heard that you already have a detention. Already been messing around with Aunt Hermione? On the first day of class?" Teddy grinned. I scowled. He should not have the right to ask this question, because he had gotten so many detentions when he was at Hogwarts. Apparently, that got girls chasing after him, but, at the end, he decided to stick with Victoire, one of my many cousins.
"No, it was just… a little misunderstanding. But, I still have to go to detention just because Aunt Hermione says so," I groaned.
"Don't worry. I got a detention on the first day of third year," Teddy sympathized. "But, now, just get into your seat so I can start class."
I walked back to sit next to Nicole, and Teddy stood up.
"Welcome, dear little firsties, to your first lesson of the humble art of Defense," Teddy began his spiel seemingly sincerely.
I barely held in a loud laugh, and I saw Roxanne and Hugo cover their mouths and turn away with silent laughter. Some classmates eyed us strangely. Teddy glanced in my direction, and I was certain that he winked.
"In this class, you will learn the basics of protecting yourself from Dark wizards, which you will find extremely useful in the future. Although, more than twenty years ago, my godfather defeated the evil Lord Voldemort, many people still use Dark Magic because they believe that they are above the rest of us law-abiding citizens," Teddy paused for an instant, and he grinned slyly. "And yes, you did hear that my godfather is the Harry Potter. Since I am a very nice person, I will now allow everyone a minute to discuss my relation to the hero of the wizarding world. Go ahead."
Teddy was the one who always joked about his fame, never being too self-conscious to try to shy away from newspaper reporters. He found the fact that everyone related to Harry Potter was well-known hilarious, and always poked fun at it.
But, I wasn't like that. I hated how almost everyone in the class turned my way when my dad was mentioned. I hated getting compared to my dad, because, well, I was myself, not the "Savior of the Wizarding World".
But, even though Teddy was joking and being his usual, sarcastic self when he told us that we could spend one minute obsessing over Harry Potter, I did hear excited whispering throughout the entire classroom.
"My gosh, was he raised by 'The Chosen One'? Or are his parents still alive?"
"That's why he knows Lily!"
"But Lily is Harry Potter daughter, so she's probably more famous."
I rolled my eyes, then caught Teddy laughing at my expression. I threw him my best death glare, then turned to Nicole.
"Can you believe these idiots?" I gestured around the room.
"Is our dad really that famous?" Nicole questioned in return.
"Ugh, Nicole. Don't be like the rest of them," I pretended to shudder in disgust. "I mean, who calls my dad 'The Chosen One'? That's just stupid!"
"Okay, everybody. Wrap up your intriguing discussions about Harry Potter, and let's talk about Defense. Who has ever shot a spell at anybody at all?"
I slowly raised my hand, as did Roxanne. Hugo, from across the room, did as well.
"Excellent. And what are your names?"
Wow. Was he really going to pretend that he didn't know us? Or was he just trying to confuse or embarrass us? The latter was probably true. Teddy always teased and mocked us, because he was just so funny and crazy.
"Hugo Weasley," I saw Hugo's ears turn a bit red. Just like his father, I thought wearily.
"Roxanne Weasley," Roxanne muttered as she rolled her eyes.
"Lily Luna Potter," I sighed.
"That's fabulous! Everybody, feel free to go to these three experts for help if you need it," Teddy informed. He swished his wand, and suddenly, the desks were all pushed to the side, and everyone nearly plopped down on the ground.
"Oh, I love using magic," Teddy mused, and looked into the distance dreamily. "But, enough of this chitchat. Today, I will be teaching you a very basic skill of Defense: disarming. So, could I get one brave volunteer to help me demonstrate this skill?"
Teddy looked around wistfully, but no one moved a muscle. We all eyed one another, willing someone to put their hand in the air. Finally, Hugo laughed, and said,
"Fine, you bunch of pussies, I'll do it."
Teddy grinned. "Great! I see we have a true Gryffindor here!"
That comment was supposed to be harmless, but it gave me a sinking feeling inside. Of course, if I had raised my hand, Teddy wouldn't have called me a "true Gryffindor". Maybe just a "true Hufflepuff", and what did that mean? Nothing special.
"Okay, Mister Weasley," Teddy started. "Do you know how to disarm?"
"Uh, duh," Hugo replied. "You've seen me do that billions of times!"
"No need to be mouthy with me. I'm a teacher, for Merlin's sake!" Teddy cried in mock offense.
"Just get on with it, Professor," Hugo sarcastically said.
"Okay, okay. So, the word is 'Expelliarmus'. Everyone repeat after me. Expelliarmus!" Teddy instructed. We all obediently repeated the word. "Great. Now, remember, try to imagine the other person's wand flying out of their hand, while you say it."
He turned back to Hugo. "Ready to give it a try?"
"Expelliarmus!" Hugo called, and Teddy's wand came cleanly out of his hands in a perfect demonstration of the spell.
"That was great! Now, watch this," Teddy held his hand out, and his wand came flying back to him. "There is a very complex spell that lets your wand come back to you after you've been disarmed, which I performed earlier. If you guys ever decide to become Aurors, you'll learn this. Okay, now, everyone pair up with a partner, and try to disarm them."
I paired up with Nicole, while Roxanne paired up with Hugo.
"Do you wanna try first?" I asked Nicole. I was pretty sure that she had not done any spell, curse, or hex with her wand yet.
"Sure," she replied hesitantly. "Expelliarmus!"
I had purposely not gripped my wand very tightly, and it easily slipped out of my relaxed hold.
"Wow, that's amazing for your first time!" I complimented her, as she blushed. I went to retrieve my ten inch, willow and dragon heartstring wand, which I had used since I was seven. Dad had taught me loads of spells with this wand, because he was just a bit paranoid about a "next Voldemort". I guess being Head Auror and the one to fight Voldemort does that to you.
"Expelliarmus!" I said, and Nicole's wand gracefully flew out of her grip. Just then, Teddy came around to us.
"So, how's it going?" he asked.
"Nicole's really good!" I exclaimed. "She disarmed me on her first try!"
"Great! I'm pleased to hear it. And you, Lily?"
"You mean 'Miss Potter'?" I corrected with a grin.
"Whatever. I'll just call you that when it's necessary. So, Lily, I've seen you do this about three years ago," Teddy said. "So, why don't you challenge yourself? I know you were working on nonverbal spells a few days ago, so try disarming without saying anything."
"Uh, sure," I replied. I had just started working on nonverbal spells with Dad a week ago, and I had almost gotten the hang of it.
Nicole disarmed me again, and then I tried to nonverbally disarm her. Expelliarmus! I thought forcefully. Her wand sped out of her grasp. Nicole gawked at me.
"Wow! How did you do that? Without saying anything?"
"Well, my dad showed me how pretty recently, because my oldest brother was learning this in his Defense class, and we basically just all learn together," I answered.
"But, that must be super advanced!" Nicole seemed astounded.
"It's not really that hard. I mean, I had lots of time to practice at home when my brothers were at Hogwarts, and my dad would just teach me in his free time. I think I'm pretty much up to NEWT level stuff in Defense. But, I've only done a really tiny bit of stuff in Charms and Transfiguration, and basically none in everything else," I informed her. "I've been interested in Defense for a long time, and that's probably the only thing I'm really good at. Oh, but I also love quidditch."
"But, you must be, like, amazing at this! Why don't you move to a higher Defense class?"
I thought for a bit.
"I don't really want to be with the older kids, because, you know, it would be awkward. But I don't know, maybe Teddy will tell me to. I would be pretty bored here," Nicole's suggestion sounded more tempting by the moment. I reminded myself to ask Teddy for his thoughts after class. "Come on, do the spell again."
Nicole and I disarmed each other several times, before Teddy called the class to an end.
"Good job, everyone. I'll see you soon, and don't forget to keep practicing!"
Everyone began filing out of the classroom, but I hung back to talk with Teddy.
"So, you want to move to a different Defense class?" he asked me.
He had read my mind. I swear.
"Wow, are you a Seer? You should get you Inner Eye checked, maybe you have extraordinary skill at Divination!" I suggested. Teddy chuckled. "But yeah, that was what I was wondering about."
"I think you should. You're not going to learn anything here. How good are you? Have you mastered nonverbal spells yet?" Teddy inquired.
"I think I'm getting there," I bit my lip. "That's sixth-year stuff, right?"
"Well, they've just started those. You know, Lily, I think you are better than both your brothers right now. You got your wand at the same time as Albus did, and you have even more practice than James because you spent most of your time at home learning Defense. You have got loads of magic and talent, and you work harder than your siblings combined," Teddy evaluated. "I think you're ready to go to sixth- or seventh-year Defense."
"Well, wouldn't it be weird to have a random first-year in their class?" I was particularly concerned about this. "I mean, won't everyone think I'm weird? Will they hate me because, you know, I'm a Potter and I'm in a Defense class way above first-year?"
"Of course it would be a bit uncomfortable, but it's not like this beginning class would benefit you in any way," Teddy reasoned. "You have the potential to become a great Auror, Lily. Don't waste years learning things that you're already proficient at. So, what do you think?"
"I guess switching classes would be the best choice. I mean, I'm already bored, and it's only been the first day." I said hesitantly. "Well, I don't think I'm quite up to seventh-year stuff. Could I just go with the sixth-years?"
"Great! You'll be one of the best there, I'm sure. I'll owl your parents, and I'm sure they'll agree. Just let me work some things out with your Head of House, Professor Daniels," Teddy said enthusiastically. "Actually, I can just quickly write to your parents write now. You go on to dinner now."
"Thanks, Teddy," I quickly hugged him and scampered off into the corridor.
I turned a corner, but then realized that I wasn't in a recognizable hallway. It was approaching darkness, and I suddenly felt a creepy feeling overcome me.
"Ugh, stupid, confusing castle," I muttered. Don't be such a scaredy-cat, Lily. This is what put you into Hufflepuff, I thought disgustedly.
Just as I turned around, I heard echoing footsteps behind me. "Teddy?"
This could not be Teddy. He was in his classroom, writing a letter. But, who else would be wandering around at dinnertime?
I raised my wand, and considered shouting for Teddy. But, before I could decide what to do, I heard another pair of footsteps. I froze in place, overwhelmed by terror.
"Silencio!" a low voice rasped. I felt my throat constrict from the spell.
Even though I knew that running would be the most practical thing to do, my body could not oblige. This is not good, I thought frantically.
"It is her, you're sure?" the same voice questioned.
"It is," a woman's voice confirmed. They swiftly moved forward, and I saw their figures. The woman had dark brown hair and arched eyebrows. She seemed a bit arrogant, and seemed to stand over the man. The man had black hair, pale skin, and a big nose. Who are these people? I thought.
I stared, wide-eyed at the wizard and witch. I knew that I could not speak, but I tried.
"Stupefy!" I attempted to say. But, not a single sound came out.
"Watch out! The helpless little girl is trying to curse us!" the woman laughed humorlessly. This remark angered me, and I found that my feet had regained motion. I spun around, and started to sprint towards the other corridor.
"Avada Kedavra!"
A jet of bright green light came rushing toward me, and I narrowly dodged it. I stopped and whirled around in surprise. They weren't just playing around if they were using the Killing Curse.
"What are you doing? The girl needs to be alive!" the woman shrieked.
"Fine! Petrificus Totalus!"
Protego! I thought with all my energy, and knew that my wordless spell had been successful. I heard a loud crash, and a high-pitched scream.
"Imperio!" the woman cried.
I felt a blissful feeling overcome me, and a commanding voice resonated in my head.
Walk with me. Come, follow me out of Hogwarts.
I felt so confused. I knew, deep inside, that this command was not to be followed. But, then again, it couldn't be bad because I felt completely safe.
But, before I could think anymore, I heard loud cracks and shouting, and I was hurtled into unconsciousness.