Chapter 7, The First Day
She was on a flying carpet, high above the ground, the wind whistling through her ears. She hit a bump? In the sky? Was that even possible? She was falling… falling…falling. Faster and faster. She was getting closer to the ground. Suddenly she woke up. No wait... She was still dreaming, but now she wasn't in the sky she was sitting inside on the floor of a small kitchen. Through the open door she could see a blue sky, and the dark blue sea there were seagulls cawing in the sky and the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs the cottage sat on. People clad in black robes ran into view they started shooting pretty coloured lights from the sticks in their hands. And now she could see others, shooting the colours back at them. Then there was one big flash of green and everyone stopped. She couldn't understand it. Did the game stop? The people dressed in black disappeared into thin air and she could hear a man crying.
With a start Hannah really did wake up this time. She sat up and looked around her. Outside was still dark, as was the room but there was enough light from the moon that she could see the dark shapes of her dorm mates, moving slightly up and down as they breathed. She tried to remember the dream it had been strange. Scary then peaceful then she was miserable. But all she could remember was a flash of green light and a man crying. She had no clue what that meant.
Absent mindedley she went and sat down on the window sill, Midnight following. She sat there a while looking out across the forest and the lake and the mountains, scratching Midnight's ear. She suddenly felt very glad that she had come to Hogwarts, she felt as if she belonged there.
Slowly the sun started to emerge from behind the trees of the forbidden forest and slowly the light crept across the lawns, making its slow way up to the castle. Behind her Hannah heard the rustling of bed sheets as Sammy attempted to untangle herself from the bedding. She emerged from her curtains. "Shall we go down to breakfast?" she asked.
"Isn't it a bit early?"
"No, just let's not wake the others they might not appreciate it."
So they left their dormitory, flew down the spiral stair case, through the common room and out the portrait hole before stopping. Neither of them could remember the way down to the Great Hall. "All I remember is that the Great Hall is on ground level, so I suppose we could just keep going down until we find it." This seemed like as good a plan as any so they set off. When they thought of this, they hadn't reckoned on moving stair cases. So half an hour later found them still wondering around the castle lost, until a couple of older Ravenclaw students showed them the way down to the entrance hall.
When the two girls finally made it to the Gryffindor table, it was to find there were only three other students sat there. Them and a pompous ghost dressed in something out of a Shakespeare play and wearing a particularly large ruff around his neck. Once they had sat down this formidable looking ghost floated over to them and introduced himself as "Sir Nicholas DeMimsey Porpington." In a proud voice that matched his pompous exterior. "I do hope you will help us win the house cup this year only I don't think I could stand the Baron's gloating again." Neither Hannah nor Sammy had any answer for the ghost, but they were spared from saying anything by the arrival of a tall, fierce looking witch.
She introduced herself as "Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House. Miss Green if I might have a private word with you outside before more students start turning up." And without waiting for a reply she marched towards the double doors that led to the entrance hall. Confused Hannah scurried after her leaving an equally confused Sammy sitting with no one but the ghost to keep her company.
"I'm afraid I cannot tell you everything, partly because I don't know the whole story and partly because Professor Dumbledore has asked me not to tell you though I don't know why you shouldn't know. However I shall say this much; due to certain… peculiarities... You might have inherited from your parents should anything happen even if you just feel ill, Madam Pompfry and myself are always available if you should need us."
"Nothing weird has ever happened to me before… well except from uncontrolled magic."
"Yes well you may find that things will be different at Hogwarts now that you are constantly around magic." With that Professor McGonagall marched back into the Great Hall.
By the time Hannah re-joined Sammy at the Gryffindor table the other first years had joined her already, and she had to squeeze in between Olly and red haired fifth year boy who was deep in convosation with his twin. This put about five people in between Hannah and Sammy, Hannah thought this was a good thing because the look on Sammy's face said loud and clear that she wanted to know what that was about and Hannah didn't feel like discussing it with so any people to listen in. When everyone had finished eating professor McGonagall came down the table handing out timetables to each student. She flashed Hannah a quick reassuring smile and then moved on again straight faced. Hannah thought this was strange behaviour for the professor and apparently the fifth year boy agreed. "What was that about, I don't think I've ever seen her smile?"
"I have no idea." She lied.
"So what did McGonagall want with you earlier?" they were climbing up the marble stair case to their first lesson; Charms, Sammy had lost no time in quizzing Hannah about the interview. "I don't really know, she just said that she and the nurse are always available for a chat or something." Of course she had mentioned her parents but she didn't want to tell anyone that bit. What could she have inherited from them? Why would no one tell her who they were? Where they dangerous? She had a good mind to go ask Professor McGonagall all these things now, but Sammy broke her trail of thought. "Really that was all?" she asked incredulously "she looked so serious but maybe she always does, I thought it would be something huge. She hasn't said the same to anyone else has she?"
"Not that I know of."
"Well maybe she'll get round to it." Somehow Hannah didn't think she would.
As the two friends turned the corner they were met with a gaggle of other first years, half were dressed in Gryffindor robes, and half were dressed in Ravenclaw robes. "Hannah!" Charlie cried as she ran over to them, Holly in tow. Holly stood there looking apologetically at Hannah as Charlie gushed forth everything that was on her mind. "How are you? Do you like your common room? What's it like? Ours is amazing it's in a tower, the celling looks like the night sky and it's so…" they never found out what it was though because at that moment the door the classroom opened, in the doorway stood the tiny professor who had greeted them the night before. "Come in then, and let's get started shall we?" They followed the professor into the classroom and took their seats.
Hannah noticed, as Holly and Charlie went to go join them, that all the Ravenclaw were fighting for seats at the front of the room, while the Gryffindors were perfectly happy to take the seats at the back of the room. "I am Professor Flitwick and I will be teaching you charms for at least the next five years. In charms I will teach you magic that you will need for the rest of your lives. So you would do well to listen." At that he started the register, when he got to Hannah's name he paused, looked at her and then carried on. Hannah thought this too, peculiar behaviour for a teacher but she soon found that all of her teachers that day did it most with curious or pitying looks on their faces that Hannah couldn't understand. All except Professor Snape.
Professor Snape looked at her with so much loathing as she walked into the classroom in their first lesson, but in about five minutes it became apparent that he hated everyone except his precious Slytherins, still he seemed to dislike her more than the others. "What did you do to him?" asked Sammy as they were leaving the dungeons for dinner at the end of the day. Since their little soiree that morning Hannah and Sammy had become firm friends and had sat together in every lesson. "Have you ever met him before?"
"No, I would remember him, wouldn't you?"
"What about the other teachers you haven't met any of them have you? They seemed to recognise you."
"No, I've never met any of them before, maybe they recognised my mum, that professor on the train did."
"Possibly." But Sammy sounded apprehensive.
After dinner they went back to the common room with a second year called Colin, he had a camera slung across his shoulder and said he would help them find their way around the castle. On the way up to the common room he told Hannah the story of a boy a few years older than them called Harry Potter. Colin appeared to hero worship the boy; he even had a picture of him and a man in blue robes. The boy seemed to be trying to pull away from the man and get out of the picture but Colin was still enthralled with it. Sammy who seemed to already know the story busied herself with trying to remember the way.
Apparently Harry's parents had been killed by this really evil wizard, but neither Colin nor Sammy would say his name instead calling him 'you-know-who' or 'he-who-must-not-be-named', this seemed silly to Hannah, it was just a name, she would try and find his name later. Anyway this man had killed his parents and he was sent to live with muggles. Hannah thought briefly how similar their stories were, but Colin was off again. According to Colin in his first year Harry had saved the philosopher's stone, whatever that was, from you-know-who and then in his second year he found the chamber of secrets, again Hannah had no clue what Colin was talking about, and he killed a basilisk that had been terrorising the school and that he himself had been petrified by the monster. Hannah remembered reading somewhere that in old mythology a basilisk was a snake that hatched from a roosters egg if it was sat on by a toad, well at least she knew that much.
By the time Colin finished his story they had reached the portrait hole and after a chorus of "Fortuna Major." They entered the common room. All the first years could talk about that evening was their first day of lesson and what the next ones would bring. And Hannah went to bed that evening so tiered that if she dreamed something she didn't remember any of it the next morning.