A/N: This will be the last daily chapter, as I've got stuff to actually do this week. However, like usual you guys are great. This is now on more Story alerts than any of my other stories, and with only four chapters now.
Now, on with the chapter!
Your ambition is not for yourself, Mr. Potter, so you would not fit in well with the current Slytherins. The Sorting Hat's voice said as Harry pulled the hat from his head. Standing, he looked around for a moment as he was stared at, before the clapping began.
Shimmering into view once more, Shiva looked around as well. "I notice the Slytherin group does not clap for you."
Which just makes the Sorting Hat's comments correct. Harry replied, walking over to the Ravenclaw table. As he sat down next to Hermione, the fringe of his robes took on a blue tone and the blank crest on his robes shifted as well.
"Welcome to Ravenclaw, Harry." An older student across the table nodded to him. Murmurs of the same echoed from the nearby students.
"I had actually figured you for Gryffindor, Harry." Hermione said, smiling. "But I'm most certainly happy you're here."
"Already got a girlfriend, Harry?" One of the older boys said with a smile himself. "I'm Roger, by the way."
Harry blushed. "No. I just met Hermione on the train. We're friends." Hermione nodded quickly, her own blush showing.
Watch your words, Harry. You did not check them first. Shiva reminded him.
"Methinks he dost protest too much." One of the other first years said. Harry thought he was Anthony something.
Harry just shook his head and clapped when he saw "Turpin, Lisa" joined their table. There were only a few more people and Harry watched without really listening as they were sorted, "Zabini, Blaise" being the last to go to Slytherin.
As the last was seated, Dumbledore stood. "I have a few announcements to make, but those shall wait until after the meal. For the moment, I will just say a few words. Nitwit, Oddment, Blubber, Tweak." With that, Dumbledore waved an empty hand and the tables filled with food.
Harry, however, noticed several of his housemates were writing down what the Headmaster had said. At his curious look, one girl explained. "Every year, Professor Dumbledore says something like that. We're trying to figure out if there's a purpose behind it." A cough came from Roger. "Besides just driving some of us nutty figuring it out."
Harry looked at the Headmaster again, thinking over what he'd said and then ran the thought by Shiva. "Anyone figure it out before?"
"Once, about fifteen years ago." Roger told him.
"Huh." Harry nodded, before filling his plate with food. He was pretty hungry, after all. After getting his plate, he looked up at the teacher's table. Professor McGonagall wasn't paying any attention to the student tables and instead was talking with another female teacher. Another with professor, this guy with long black hair was giving him a confused glare as Harry met his eyes. He was pulled away though by Professor Quirrell. Harry winced as his forehead seemed to burn for a moment.
"You ok, Harry?" Hermione noticed the action.
Harry nodded slowly, the pain fading. "Yeah." He said slowly.
Ifrit's fire? Shiva's voice asked.
Huh?
Nothing, do not worry about it.
The Ravenclaw table was fairly quiet after that, people chatting amongst themselves, some of them trying to work out the possible code the Headmaster had said. Harry just smiled, happy that he wasn't being overwhelmed with 'Boy-Who-Lived' stuff like what had happened at the Leaky Cauldron.
Sadly, it wasn't meant to last. Hermione poked him in the side, showing him a notebook she'd pulled from her robes, showing him the words. "So? What do you think they mean?"
Harry tried to raise an eyebrow at her like he'd seen on the telly. Hermione giggled at the effect before Harry stopped and looked at it, thinking on the words for a moment. "Nitwit is an idiot. Oddment is a scrap of something. Blubber can be fat, or to cry. Tweak is twisting something. I don't see anything that connects them."
"Well, it wouldn't be that easy, Harry. Not if it's only been figured out once." Hermione argued, trying to draw him into it.
"Then I wouldn't expect to figure it out tonight either. Especially since we don't know anything about the whole picture."
Hermione paused, looking at him. "Huh?"
Harry sighed. Long explanations were going to suck, having to check the sentences for whatever Command magics was first. "I've only ever gotten to do one puzzle ever, and it was one of those big thousand piece ones. I couldn't do anything with at all, because I had to sneak the bag of pieces from my cousin." Harry explained, trying not to go into detail as to why he had to sneak it away. "But I didn't get the box or anything with the picture of what it was. So the best I could do was the edge parts because I could at least line them up that way. But the inside part?" Harry shook his head. "I didn't know what it was supposed to look like. I spent hours and hours trying to piece every part together."
Hermione nodded, and a couple of the other first years did as well. "So if you don't know what you're looking at, you can't really put it together. I see where you're coming from." She paused. "Doesn't mean you have to give up on it though. You can just keep trying until something fits."
"True." Harry said. Only you have to when you're caught with the puzzle and Uncle Vernon punishes you for stealing Dudley's toys.
Yes… Shiva's voice was not amused as Harry's mind flashed back to that particular punishment.
As the meal finished up, including the desserts, Dumbledore stood once more. "And now, I have a few announcements to make. As you all should know, the Forbidden Forest is named such for a reason, and no students are to be caught in its borders." The Headmaster shot a look over to the Gryffindor table. "Additionally, there is to be no magic in the halls between classes. The banned list of objects has increased by eight, the full list may be seen attached to Mr. Filch's door." Dumbledore nodded to a sour looking man that was standing at one of the entrances to the hall. "And finally, the third floor has been sealed off to those of you not looking for a quick, painful death."
Now that is interesting. Shiva sounded curious. You weren't told that while you were here earlier.
Not interested in dying though. Harry added.
A snort inside your head by someone else was a unique experience. At worst, you summon me. If we get bored enough, we can go poking around.
I'm not wasting your magic on boredom, Shiva. Harry protested. He received a mental smile for that comment.
The older students stood up after Dumbledore finished his speech, and the short Professor walked up to the students as well. Harry quickly scrambled to his feet as well, having been sidetracked by his conversation with Shiva.
The small Professor nodded to the group of First Years. "I am Professor Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw. I am also the Charms professor. Now, there is a Ravenclaw tradition that the First Years must adhere to, so follow me please."
Harry walked along with his new housemates, followed by the older students. Professor Flitwick led them westwards until they got to a winding staircase that only two people could walk up at once. Flitwick easily walked up it, a large gaggle of students following. Once he reached the top, his wand came out and seemed to push the walls to the side, creating a much wider place for the First Years to stop at, with the older housemates behind them.
"Welcome to Ravenclaw tower. To enter, you must solve the doorman's riddle." Flitwick said, before pointing to the bronze eagle knocker. It's beak opened up and questioned.
"Wear me in any kind of weather
Shine the Sun on me
And I'm gone forever.
Salt me and I disappear."
That's easy. Shiva laughed. Can you guess before your housemates, Harry?
Harry thought for a moment. Easy? Sun and salt get rid of it… Oh. "Ice." Harry felt his gem lose a bit of color, but nothing happened. Good, no emotive context in that, so the Command level of the magic did not release. That, and calling for Ice is in my domain, which I can dampen somewhat since I am here.
"Ice!" Hermione called at the same time.
"Welcome to the tower." The knocker said, before the door it was attached to opened. Flitwick smiled at the both of them. "Very good. He'll have a different riddle for you, every time you enter the tower."
As the students entered the common room, Harry was impressed with the different feel of it. Blue and bronze silk hangings were on the wall, touching the edges of the domed ceiling. Both ceiling and floor were decorated with stars and the room itself was open.
"I can just feel the air play through this room, Harry. Ravens indeed." Shiva had a smile on her face as she appeared once more, near a bookcase away from the group.
Flitwick turned and pointed to a marble statue on the other side of the room next to a door. "That is Lady Rowena Ravenclaw, the Founder of our House." He rubbed his hands together and then produced a lightly glowing blue ball from somewhere. "Now, tradition time." He tossed the ball to Hermione who looked at it oddly. "When you have the ball, I want you to say your name and tell us something about your life that the rest of us do not know. Remember the number on the ball. Once you have done so, toss the ball to someone else. The last person is to give me the ball back."
Hermione shrugged and looked at her number, a one. "Hermione Granger, and both of my parents have Doctorates in Dentistry." She then tossed the ball to one of the boys.
"Terry Boot. I'm Muggleborn." Looking around, Terry smiled and tossed it to Harry.
"Harry Potter." He paused. There was plenty of things he could say here, but a lot of it wasn't all that good. "I spent the last three and a half weeks staying in Gryffindor Tower." Noting his number, a two, Harry looked at the First Years, tossing it a darker skinned girl.
"Padma Patil. My family and I follow the Hindu religion." She looked down as well, tossing the ball to another student.
Finally, all the students had said something about themselves and the ball was back in Flitwick's hands. "Now, each of you pair up based on the number you have. There are two of each number."
There was some quick shuffling before people quickly figured out the pattern. Hermione and Terry stood next to each other, and Harry had paired off with Padma.
"Now, you have one week to research the comment made by your partner. This time next week, I want you to be able to spend five minutes telling me about your partner, with regards to their comment. You may do the research however you want, except asking your partner."
Flitwick smiled as his First Years looked a little daunted. Some people had given very odd information that would be hard to look into.
Harry held in a groan. "Sorry." He whispered to Padma.
"Easy is not fun." She answered him back.
Flitwick continued. "Now, as I realize that this is not classwork you cannot actually be graded on this. I will, however, help you with a single Charm for you room if you manage." There were confused looks. "And that is the last part of the Ravenclaw tradition. If you'll follow me to the dorms."
The diminutive professor quickly walked through the door beside the statue of Rowena, leading the First Years up. "The Seventh Year students last year were on the fourth floor, now that they have graduated, those shall be your rooms. Your rooms will not change between years."
Reaching the fourth floor of the dorms, Flitwick walked down the hall with doors on either side. "Now, while both males and females will be in the same hallway, the doors themselves are charmed to not allow a member of the opposite sex into the room. Additionally, there are charms for full blurring that keep anyone from being able to see through an open door in either direction."
Flitwick waved to the doors. "Go ahead and look at your rooms."
Harry quickly found the door with his name on it and opened it. Opulent didn't even begin to describe what he saw beyond there. Stepping in, he was shocked to find the room actually looked more like three or four rooms each furnished with rich, heavy tapestries and paintings. A huge desk was set up in one corner, and a window opened up onto the same view that the common room had. A king sized bed was set up with dozens of pillows on it. It was too big though, Harry thought, it went further than the doors to either side of his room.
From the low whistles and startled exclamations, the other rooms were apparently the same.
"Now, if you'll step back out here for a moment." Flitwick called, and Harry stepped out of the room. The others did so as well, and most looked reluctant to leave. Once everyone had stepped out, Flitwick spun his wand and the doors slammed shut. "Now, if you'll look at them once more."
Harry opened the door again, only to find a single room with no furnishings and no window. A full sized bed in Ravenclaw colors was there. A small desk with a chair was the only other furniture.
"Hey, what happened?" Harry heard several people ask.
"Tradition." Flitwick answered. "The dorm rooms are changeable. Anything you learn and research can be applied to your room. Expansion charms to create additional room, semi-permanent conjurations and transfigurations to create things. NEWT level runes to tie into the windows of the common room to give yourself a window. These are your rooms for the next seven years, make them your own."
Twelve pairs of eyes turned to look at their rooms, as even Harry felt the draw of designing and building a room all of his own.
Flitwick smiled at the ideas that were likely going through his new students' heads. "If you're done plotting?" He asked, and the First Years turned back to him. "I will pass out your class schedules in the morning before breakfast. Please don't leave the tower without your schedule.
Harry nodded, entering his room. He saw the trunk that he'd gotten with Professor McGonagall sitting against the bed and opened it up. Pulling out a sheet of parchment and quill, Harry set it on the small desk.
With a number of splotches, Harry wrote out on the top "Hindu religion."
"Now you are a seeker of knowledge, with a prize on the line." Shiva said to him. "But while you think on that, I am going to go over the different Command words for magic with you, as I know it. Once you have them memorized, you can avoid them and not check with me on every word you wish to say. I'm still not certain if you are filtering through my Materia for the ability though, and I do not wish to have you test the higher levels of it to see if you mimic my affinity."
Affinity?
"Yes, as the Empress of Ice and Snow, I can do just about anything I wish with Ice and other freezing magics. Fire is anathema to me however, and I can barely Command the first levels of that magic and it costs me more than the strongest of the Ice I know."
The next morning found Harry awake early and in the bathroom, trying to scrub off all the ink on his fingers and face.
Michael Corner was there as well, laughing. "What'd you do, fall asleep in your inkpot?"
Harry scowled, tossing a handful of inky water at him which Michael didn't quite dodge.
"Fine, I see how it is." Michael laughed again. "I'm right." He wrung out his robe. "You'll learn quick enough to keep the inkpot further away. I do it occasionally."
Harry just grumbled, finally getting the last of the ink out.
Down in the common room, Harry grinned at the view out the windows to the mountains, before looking around the rest of the room.
Hermione was sitting in a chair, paper out and an inkpot balancing on one chair arm. She seemed to be worrying the end of a quill over something. Since it was their first day, Harry had to guess it was over their assignment.
Looking further, he noticed that it was mainly just the First Years, as the older students weren't waiting for their Head of House for their schedules.
Padma was at a table, and upon noticing Harry watching her, she smiled slightly back to him.
There were a few older students though, and one of them was actually sitting on a table talking to a couple of his yearmates. Harry walked over to hear her as well. "Giving you your schedule is something Professor Flitwick likes to do, but I'm a fourth year and the first year schedules haven't changed since I started. I know a couple of shortcuts that'll help you out getting from here to the first classes of the day."
Before she could continue though, the door to the common room opened and Professor Flitwick walked in, a thundercloud seemingly formed over him as he looked angry. He looked at the fourth year. "Miss Clearwater. I understand you'd volunteered to guide the First Years, but it appears we've had a schedule change." A flick of his wand and the papers in his other hand flew out, going to each of the First Years.
He offered the additional sheet to the girl. "Can you show them to their first classroom from here before taking them to breakfast?"
She looked the sheet over, frowning. "This looks like the Gryffindor schedule, except where there would be combined Ravenclaw/Gryffindor class it's still there."
"Doesn't it, though?" Flitwick asked, calming down a bit and then sighing. "Do you think you can handle it?"
She nodded. "It's not horrible I guess." She looked up at the First Years in the room, who looked at their own schedules for a moment. "Double Potions for your first class is a bit hectic though, with the Slytherins." She grimaced at the thought. "On other hand, it might be a bit tricky. I suggest everyone go grab their Potions text and finish the first three chapters, if you haven't already."
The room mostly emptied for a moment as First Years scrambled back to their rooms for the appropriate books.
"Alright, let me show you the way there, and then we'll get breakfast. Double Potions is three hours after breakfast, so at least you won't be losing it due to fumes." Their guide laughed a bit.
Harry quick claimed a seat next to Hermione as they got set up for the Potions class. His textbook was out and he'd finished reading through the first chapters just a bit ago.
When Professor Snape swept into the room, what little chatter had been going on stopped. He seemed to glide up to the front of the room and looked over the students, his eyes picking them apart.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potionmaking," he began. His words forced the students to pay attention, as he spoke in hardly more than a whisper. Any talking would have made them unable to hear him.
"As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even put a stopper in death."
He then glared at the students. "If, you aren't the dunderheads I normally have to deal with."
His eyes landed on Harry. "Ah, Mr. Potter. Our newest… celebrity."
It was only for the fact that Harry knew it would be worse that he didn't groan and hide his face in his hands.
"Mr. Potter. What do you get if you added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" The question was almost a shot, and Harry's mind went blank for a moment as three-quarters of the Ravenclaws in the room raised their hand.
You just read this, Harry.
It clicked. "The Draught of Living Death, sir." Harry answered quietly.
"And where would I find a bezoar?" Snape challenged once more. The Ravenclaws put their hands down, watching their housemate.
Sidebar in the second chapter, Harry.
"The stomach of a goat."
Snape nodded. "And the difference between wolfsbane and monkshood?"
I know this one. Harry thought, before Shiva could remind him. "They are the same plant, Professor."
"Almost adequate, Potter. It is also known as aconite. For a Ravenclaw, you do not seem to know all of your facts." Snape's eyes seemed to laugh at Harry, who just ducked his head.
"Why aren't you all taking notes?" Snape scowled at the Ravenclaws, ignoring the Slytherins. He then waved a hand to the chalkboard, which spun around revealing writing. "Now, follow the directions. We're making a simple enough potion that even dunderheads such as yourselves shouldn't fail."
Looking at the directions, Harry went over to the potions cabinet and started grabbing the required items.
As he and Hermione began working, Professor Snape began walking around, watching everyone closely, not saying anything. As he walked towards where Harry and Hermione were working, he stopped. "Come, come, Mr. Potter. I expected you to be nearly done by now."
He looked at the potion. "And such an off color as well. I do believe that Miss Granger here is barely keeping your work from being nothing more than goop. It does not speak well for your own skills."
Harry tried to tune him out as they continued working. Finally though, the potion was completed with a few minutes before the end of class.
"Bottle a sample and bring it up here." Snape called, motioning to a rack of tube holders.
"I'll do it." Hermione said, stopping Harry from collecting it as she scooped a portion of the potion up. She brought it up and Harry noticed a slight frown on Professor Snape's face as Hermione turned in the potion.
"He does not approve of you." Shiva said from where she had been watching him as well.
Yeah. Glad Penelope gave us warning to read the book. Harry replied.
The Ice Empress shook her head. No, if you will recall, she suggested to finish reading the first few chapters. Ergo, she assumed you would have already begun. You will have to stay ahead of your reading.
Harry nodded as Hermione returned. And that project for Professor Flitwick. I think I'd better go to the library and get started. Besides, I want a window in my room.
Shiva laughed.
So, we come again to the end. Read and review, please.