Hermione woke me up in the morning to make sure I had enough time to get ready. The girls were all very nice to me and asked me questions about the United States. I followed Hermione to breakfast, which consisted of more tasty food, and then on to my first class of the day. Normally I'd join the rest of my housemates in Transfiguration, but as I have no magical ability, I would stand out quite a bit. So I did as Dumbledore said and reported to his office first thing in the morning.
"Good morning, Amanda."
"Good morning Professor."
"Did you sleep well?"
"Not really."
"Did you have any bad dreams?" I shook my head. "That's good. Most days I won't have you come here for class, but rather spend time in the library working on homework for other classes. As you know, this class was an invention to keep you out of Transfiguration. I've already spoken with Professor McGonagall about it, in case anyone asks questions concerning your absence. Today, though, I thought I might let you begin by asking any questions you might have." He sat back in his chair and smiled at me, waiting for me to speak.
Many questions began flying through my brain, each as important as the next to me. Of course I wanted to know all I could about why I'd been taken from my home, why my family hadn't been protected, why in the middle of the night, and so many other whys. I didn't know which to ask first or how to word it. After several minutes of deliberation, I decided on one.
"Why is Voldemort after me?"
"Ah, the very question I first asked myself. I'm afraid I still don't know the answer to that. I don't know what he wants from you, or how he even became aware of you. I promise I will do my best to discover the answer to that question."
"How did you find out that he wanted me?"
"I cannot tell you that. That kind of information is dangerous, and I won't burden you with unnecessary secrets."
"Why didn't you get me yourself? Why send Fred and George?"
"I was afraid Lord Voldemort would notice if I suddenly disappeared, for I have reason to believe he remains aware of my comings and goings. I thought Fred and George would be less noticeable, especially with them so eager to use their new freedom to disapparate at will. Unfortunately, Lord Voldemort had already decided to take you and arrived at your house as you were leaving with Fred and George."
"If you knew he was interested in me, why didn't you do more to protect me? Why didn't you protect my family?" I shouted the last question at him. He sighed, but didn't answer right away. I waited, hoping for something that would ease my pain.
"That was a grave mistake on my part," he said slowly, staring at his hands rather than me. "I underestimated his response to losing you. He's always felt Muggles to be inferior, so he had no qualms about taking his anger at losing you out on your family. He may have hoped to instigate a response from us by killing them, or for you to do something reckless, such as seek him out." Tears threatened to spill down my cheeks, so I quickly turned my pain into anger towards Voldemort to force them back.
"Are you searching for him?"
"Things aren't quite that simple. Lord Voldemort is difficult to find, and we aren't prepared to attack him yet."
"What are you waiting for?" I stood up and glared at him, wanting him to give me a reason to hurt him.
"I think that's enough questions for today."
I recognized the dismissal. Grabbing my backpack, I left Dumbledore's office and headed towards my next class using the map Hermione had given me earlier in the day. My next class was Muggle Studies rather than Charms, another clever escape from a magic class, though it didn't start for another half hour. So instead I sat outside and tried to calm down.
I wasn't with any of my friends in that class, so I sat near the back and took notes. I enjoyed it for the most part except the few times the Professor made incorrect assumptions about Muggles, but I couldn't correct them without announcing my Muggle status, which was not an option, so I wrote down the information presented in class to memorize it later for tests.
My last class before lunch was Defense Against the Dark Arts. I sat next to Hermione in this class, across the aisle from Ron and Harry. They told me that so far every year they'd had a new professor. This year we had Professor Howley, a grumpy old man from the Ministry of Magic. He had us open to the first chapter of our book and read the entire class period, telling us we'd read the material and discuss it extensively before using our wands to practice any spells. This suited me just fine as I had no wand but could not get out of the class without causing too much speculation.
After lunch we all went to Herbology, in which Neville took me under his wing and told me he'd help me catch up to the rest of the class. He was very knowledgeable about plants, so I accepted his offer with much gratitude. After that class ended we headed to Potions with Professor Snape. I remembered him from the first night after the feast. The man scared me and I wasn't looking forward to his class, especially after hearing some of the stories from Ron and Harry.
"Good afternoon class," Professor Snape said as he walked into the classroom. Some of the Slytherins said hello, among them Malfoy I noticed.
After a brief explanation he had us start brewing a potion. With Harry's help I found the ingredients I needed and followed the instructions in my book. Everything went just like the book said it would, and Harry commented on my exceptional potion making skills.
"You might even give Hermione a run for her money," he whispered. Right then Professor Snape came over to check on my potion.
"Good job, Miss Williams," he drawled. I knew this was a big compliment from talking with Harry.
"Thank you Professor."
"Perhaps you could help Malfoy improve his potion making skills." Professor Snape led me over to Malfoy, who gave me a sneer after Professor Snape turned his back. I wasn't sure what Professor Snape was doing, since Malfoy was associated with Voldemort and the professors were supposed to be keeping me away from Voldemort. I pushed the questions from my mind and focused on Malfoy.
"I don't need your help," he said to me.
"Professor Snape asked me to help you." He rolled his eyes and shoved his book in my face. I asked him about a few steps and discovered his problem. He'd skipped adding an ingredient early on which had thrown off the rest of the recipe.
"Well aren't you little miss know-it-all? For someone who's never been to a real school you certainly catch on fast."
"I'm a quick leaner," I mumbled, staring at the floor.
"If you're so quick how come you have to have a special class with Dumbledore rather than take Transfiguration with the rest of us?"
"Dumbledore wanted to make sure I was caught up so I wouldn't fail the class." I began heading towards me seat, hoping I was done helping him.
"There's something strange about you, Williams, and I'm going to find out what."
I made no reply and sank back into my seat next to Harry. The class ended soon after and we headed to History of Magic. I nearly screamed when I found out the professor was a ghost. I'd always been terrified of ghosts. I'd seen a few around the castle, but I didn't expect to come so close to one. I noticed though that only Hermione and I stayed awake for the entire class; everyone else fell asleep within fifteen minutes. I found the subject fascinating, as I've always enjoyed history and this was new history with magic thrown in.
I woke up Harry at the end of class and together we headed to Divination. Ron and Hermione had opted to take Care of Magical Creatures instead. Harry and I found a table near the front of the room, where I got a good look at Professor Trelawney. She began speaking about the mysteries of divination, and calmed my fears by saying no one ever got it quite right except for the rare few who possessed the gift. I figured she wouldn't expect too much of me.
Our first task was to keep a journal of our dreams and write down what we thought they meant. She then had everyone write down one dream of theirs that came true. I could hear most people quietly complaining about not having had any dreams come true. I had the opposite problem. I decided to go with the dream about my brother and leave Harry out of the spotlight. Just as class ended and the students were filing out, I heard her call my name and ask me to stay a minute.
"Go on ahead to dinner Harry; I'll catch up with you." He nodded and continued with everyone else. I turned around and stood in front of Professor Trelawney.
"You wrote about a dream involving your brother?" I nodded. "How long ago was this dream? Have you had any other dreams come true?"
"Uh, that dream was last year. I've had two other dreams that came true." At her insistence I told her about my other two dreams, and of course she got excited when she heard one was about Harry.
"Oh, this is exciting! Finally a student with real potential." She continued talking to herself, so I said goodbye, though she didn't hear me, and headed to dinner. I dropped my bag off in the dormitory first, but then couldn't find my way to dinner because I left Hermione's map in my bag. I made turn after turn hoping to find the great hall, but instead found myself inextricably lost.
I decided to try and retrace my steps, but after a few turns I was lost again. I finally gave up and just wandered around, hoping to find someone or something familiar to set me straight. After another several minutes of making turns that led nowhere, I ran into George Weasley. I was sure it was George and not Fred because I'd finally learned to tell them apart.
"Where've you been?" he asked. Rather than waiting for an answer, he continued speaking. "We've been looking all over the castle for you. Harry told us Trelawney kept you after class, but even she finally showed up for dinner to talk to Dumbledore. How'd you end up here?"
"I don't know. I left my map in my room and got lost. I've been wandering around ever since."
"Well now you're found. Let's get back to the others so we can all finish eating; I'm sure your starving by now."
I followed George through the castle, trying unsuccessfully to remember the turns. All the while he talked about his and Fred's ideas for a joke shop. He told me about all the ideas they already had for products they could sell, and for some they even had working products. We ran into the others and went back into the great hall.
I ate my dinner quickly so we could go back to the dormitory with the others. We managed to get a little work done before heading off to Astronomy. I enjoyed that class, especially with Harry, Ron, and Hermione to help me catch up to where they were in the class. When that class ended, I left the group downstairs and went to sleep. I was tired from all the running around between classes and fell asleep instantly.
