The first couple weeks at Hogwarts are tough. I'm behind in every class and don't understand the purpose of magic since my transfiguration professor told me it couldn't be used to create money. This doesn't really matter because I'm terrible at magic anyway. My useless wand makes me do all the work.
My professors keep me for most of my free time, trying to improve my wizarding skills. It's a lost cause really, and takes me away from the wonderful world of . I try not to leave my dorm unless I have somewhere to go or Lily is there, mainly because the castle still confuses me. I have yet to take Céline up on her offer of giving me a tour because frankly, I'm a bit scared of Céline. She puts maple syrup on carrots and rice and hardly wears anything other than plaid on weekends. Wandering through dimly lit corridors alone with such a mysterious person is not high up on my list of desires.
The only class I'm decent at is potions. I just throw stuff into my cauldron and most of the time it works out. I find I'm more motivated to do well in potions than any of my other classes which is definitely the fault of my potions professor. His hair breaks the 1 to Hagrid's hair scale, it's so smooth and brown and he is very nice to look at.
At meal times I try to put as many Slytherin boys between Lily and I as possible. I avoid her in our classes too, all of which we share. I'm usually aware of where she is though, and I've figured out a few things from watching her. She has a core group of first year Slytherin boys who she can always get to follow her around and laugh at her jokes. This is especially true for one scrawny, scowling blond boy who treats her like a queen. She trades that group whenever she can though, for a group of older students from a variety of houses.
This is one area where Céline's helpfulness is actually helpful. She eagerly informed me that two of the members in the group are Lily's brothers, James, a Gryffindor in his fourth year, and Albus, a Gryffindor in his third year, and another two, Rose, a Ravenclaw in her third year, and Hugo, a Gryffindor in his first year, are her cousins. The five of them are always parading through the hallway with a dozen or so other students.
Once I asked Céline why they were so popular and she sent me to the library to read about some war and a trio with the names of 'Harry, Hermione, and Ron'. I took a nap instead and ended up missing my first flying lesson, another thing I would prove to be terrible at.
On the topic of flying, Lily and her relatives, who I took to calling 'the family compact', spend a great deal of their time out in the field wizing around on their broomsticks. Sometimes I would watch them, with Pickles seated comfortably on my shoulder, from the ground level window above my bed. The pack would zip across the field, bumping into each other playfully and showing off their daring moves. The two elder boys, James and Albus, were especially fearless and often got cocky, flying dangerously close to the stone of the castle or dropping right out of the sky, catching themselves on their broomsticks mere inches from the ground.
I write a letter home to my parents twice a week, leaving out such things as flying because I know it would only worry and confuse them. I write a second letter to my brother in which I have no problem describing such things as flying in great detail. I'm sure his dull little Yale dentistry life could use some of the colour from my wizarding world. We'll see who has the brighter future, won't we Vernon.
To help my mother understand more about wizards I sent her a package containing three of my Pygmy Puffs, the white, pink, and yellow ones. The owl who took off with them seemed to struggle a bit with the jumpy package, but I trust it got there, as a few days later I receive a letter back from my mother thanking me for the three abominable snow man babies. They were delectable, she wrote, but she had no idea what to feed them and no idea where to put them once they reached full adult abominable snowman size. I decide to let her live her fantasy and don't reply.
More and more I begin to miss the friends and therapist I left behind in the real world. During my free time I often roam the castle searching for Hagrid, who I know has a pair of ears that are always ready to listen under all of his exotic hair. If I do find Hagrid, before I get lost, I follow him around as he finishes his different jobs, unloading my disappointment with magic and frustration with Lily. Hagrid throws in an offhanded comment every now and then, but mostly continues his work as if I'm not even there. The only time I can get a real conversation out of him is when I bluntly insult Lily.
"Come on now, I won't have you making fun of any Potters," he scolds me while trying to mend a planter situated in the middle of the greenhouse. I grumble and watch him for a moment. "Here help me with this," Hagrid gets me to hold the corner of the wooden box while he hammers a nail through one of the boards. "Now let's see, you said you only spoke to Lily twice and the rest of the time the two of you just avoid each other?" I nod at his plain summary of my complaints. "Well then how can you say all those things about her? You barely know her!"
"I know her well enough to know I don't want to get to know her," I inform Hagrid.
"Nonsense," he tells me,"The two of you will be friends in no time, you'll see. Just remember to keep an open mind," Hagrid sets down his hammer, finished with his job. "Anyway, don't you have some classes to attend?" He asks suspiciously. I shake my head as innocently as possible. "Well that's great because I'm going to fix some toilets next and I sure could use some help." he peers at me mischievously.
"Fine, I'll go to class. I've got charms or something," I dart for the entrance to the greenhouse, "We shall continue this session next time," I tell Hagrid before leaving.
"I'm not your therapist, or one or your giggly girl friends. Now scram. Get out of here, go to class," he commands and I leave the greenhouse to make my way to Charms class.