Disclaimers: See Chapter 1 for more info.
Let's see how far I go with the story today.
Frodo woke up to the sound of birds chirping. It was nearly dawn. How long had he been asleep? Where was he? Hogwarts, of course! Now he remembered. He was at Hogwarts for his sixth year and his roommates… there weren't any other hobbits, but himself, in the boys' dormitory. Just him and that was sad. He'd really been looking forward to having another hobbit to talk to. There was still Aria and Sam who he could discuss certain things in their lives.
He got dressed into his school uniform and headed downstairs. To his surprise, no one else was up yet. Oh, what could he do? What to do with himself? There was another newspaper, depicting Hogwarts and an article below the picture.
Calamity at Hogwarts:
New Defenses Up at the School
By: Rita Skeeter
Yes, the rumors are true! Hogwarts has tightened
security, due to rising tensions that You-Know-Who's
return. Two Dark Lords are on the rise and only
now can our Chosen Ones defeat them.
This comes with the shocking news of the many
disappearances that threaten the Wizardry
community. The Death Eaters are on the rise,
with many more troublesome affairs to come.
The Author's Campus and Chambers, as the
Chambers are still buried deep into Hogwarts'
many secrets, are still closed, pending an
ongoing investigation.
Hobbits may still attend Hogwarts in their first
through fifth years. Sixth and seventh year
Hobbits will be given a choice to attend classes,
thereby retaining their memories of all the
years they'd been to the school.
No surprise there.
The twist: authors and authoresses also have that
very same privilege. So, in case anyone sees an older
Hobbit, Author and Authoress, you can thank the
Headmaster of Hogwarts for these rules.
Happy New Term everyone! Here's hoping
everything turns out better this year than last year.
Frodo shook his head. "Well, at least she's honest, more honest now than she's been." He sat the paper down and reclined on the blue sofa. It was comforting. He could sleep there for hours… or until the sunrise protruded the sky, giving students ample time to move in and out of the common room. He woke up to gentle taps on his shoulder. His gaze met that of Aria's, who smiled down at him with caring eyes.
"Still trying to sleep?" Aria asked, playfully.
"No," he lied. Oh, he couldn't lie to her. Even as he stood up, the truth came out. "I mean, I wasn't trying to sleep. The couch is so soft." He grinned at her, sheepishly. "How are you this morning?"
"I feel like I got a fitful night's rest." She announced softly.
"Good." He said, nodding in agreement. He wanted to say more. He wanted to say so much more, but the wondering of what his classes would be like stopped him from speaking any further, at least until the moment he squeaked. "Let's go down to the Great Hall."
"Are you okay?" She asked, quizzically.
"I'm fine." He said, guiltily.
"You're acting funny," Aria said, noticing.
"Come on, Aria. When's the last time I've acted funny?" He bumped into Romilda Vane on the stairs, just outside the common room.
"Watch it!" Romilda shrieked, stumbling down a few steps. Before Frodo could apologize, Romilda ran down the stairs. He quietly let the thought go and met with Aria in the Great Hall.
.
The cheeriness of the Great Hall brought warmth to Frodo's heart and stomach. Already, students were coming and going, but many stayed for breakfast and to chat. The gentle-hobbit quietly took his seat at the Ravenclaw table, next to Aria. It seemed they were the only ones sitting next to each other. Every so often, Frodo caught a glimpse of Sam chatting with Rosie.
So far, so good.
He looked up, the moment he finished eating, to see Professor Flitwick handing him his schedule and telling him which classes he was cleared to take for this year. He just didn't expect the one class he thought he wouldn't be allowed to take: Potions. It turned out Professor Slughorn was fine with N.E.W.T. students who passed Potions with 'Exceeds Expectations' in their O.W.L. year.
"Sir, I don't have any books for Potions class." Frodo admitted, beside himself with concern.
"Not to worry. We'll get that sorted out." Flitwick changed the subject. "Now, you are to continue lessons with me on Saturdays. They will be before your afternoon lessons with Aria. All writers must have the ability to write down notes and stories. You're in good hands." He walked away without another word.
Frodo looked at Aria for support. She simply told him, "I'm not much of a teacher."
"You'll do fine." Frodo said, rubbing her back a little.
"Thank you." Aria said, lowering her head a little. "I was just wondering if we could spend half the independent class learning about writing, and the other half where you teach me some hand magic. It's not that much to ask, I hope." She added. "Professor Flitwick and the other teachers won't let me do any hand magic, unless I'm with you. It's school policy."
"So, hobbits and authors work hand in hand with each other. Correct?" He asked, curious.
She shrugged. "I guess. I mean, I wouldn't want to spoil anything."
"Then don't." He answered, resting his head against her forehead for a few seconds. The moment was tender. Why did he want her so much? He stopped, realizing what he had done. He retreated to the Ravenclaw Tower minutes later, saying little to Aria who already guessed he was behaving oddly, as she had when they were in the common room.
.
An hour later, Frodo left the common room. Along the way, he couldn't help spotting Peeves the Poltergeist up to his usual tricks, which included smashing pumpkins at the nearest knight's armor he could find. Frodo chose to take another detour to the third floor, making it at last to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. It was dark in the classroom, with all the shutters closed and the candlelight as his only guiding light.
Frankly, he would have chosen the dungeon over this class. That all stopped the moment Professor Snape, with his oily hair and dark robes, entered the classroom, ready to teach the class before the students had the chance to say anything. Frodo turned his attention to Harry, who looked prepared to jinx someone.
"Today, we're going to learn about the Inferi," Snape started the lesson. "The Inferi are creatures that the Dark Lord himself uses as a means to guard a passage or a hallway. You must use the best spells you can to jinx them." He explained further. "Now, I want you to practice your spells. Pair up and let's see what you make of things. Don't create a mess or you'll be doing double Defense Against the Dark Arts homework."
Frodo found himself paired up with Sam. Surely, he could wait to jinx him later.
"Baggins! Pay attention." Snape told him, sharply.
Frodo was paying attention. He just didn't want to jinx his best friend. That was the last straw. Snape took over in place of Sam. Was he serious? Did he really expect the blue-eyed hobbit to jinx him? At this rate, nothing would get done.
"Focus Baggins." Snape said, readying his wand. "Now jinx me!"
Snape didn't wait on him. He shot a spell right towards him. Frodo repelled the spell with hand magic. He nearly said Expelliarmus, but automatically thought of the spell's name. Snape ducked out of the way, but the damage was done.
"You and Potter certainly have a lot more to learn." Snape told him, infuriated. "Use your wand next time, Baggins. We don't allow hand magic in this classroom."
"I prefer to use hand magic." Frodo said, stating his opinion. 'It's what I'm best at."
"I'll let you use it this once. If you're lucky, I'll let you use it again. You may just be my pigeon for showing us a few different ways to use spells." Snape said, quite impressed.
"I'm not a pigeon, sir!" The hobbit spoke, tensely.
"It's a warning this time, Baggins." Snape said, serious. He turned to the class, returning Sam over to his dueling partner. "Let's continue with the lesson…."
….Frodo was glad when class was over. Harry got detention with Snape, just for mouthing off! Now the hobbit could see why Snape was one not to be trifled with. Still, putting him out like that in front of the class was not what he had in mind. He was nearly jinxed by his professor's wand! What a way to make things worse!
Fortunately, an owl delivered a note. It was from Dumbledore. He liked… acid pops?
"Maybe it's the new password," Sam said, admitting freely.
"I'm sure it is." Frodo said, stuffing the letter into his satchel.
The next class was Potions. After he had lunch, Frodo wondered what Slughorn was like. He hardly got a glimpse of him on the train. Maybe he wasn't so bad, but then what did he know? For all he knew, he was taking Potions with a new teacher. That had to count for something.
He arrived at the Potions classroom on time. Much to his surprise, Professor Slughorn allowed him to grab one of the books in the cabinet. Sam and Ron had the best books, while Harry's and Frodo's looked like rubbish. Frodo's Potions' book was worse, looking as if a lawnmower had beaten it up several times. The cover was half charred, but magically the book stayed together. Just who had this Potions book last was beyond him. All he knew was when he opened the book, when the lesson began, there were notes scribbled on the pages, including new potions he hadn't heard of before.
Frodo peered at Harry a little for help. It was obvious he wasn't getting through this lesson with so many scribbled notes in his book. "Psst! Harry?" That got Harry's attention. "Do you want to trade books with me?"
"No!" Harry whispered back. "Just try to follow the instructions."
"What?" Frodo whispered, confused. How could he work in a book that had nearly impossible instructions? Then again, why did Harry decide to trust his book? Harry did eventually whisper a few things to him and Hermione, though, something that Frodo, this time, chose to ignore.
Okay, what was he supposed to do next? Crush beans to release the juice. Got that. Stir until mixture turns black. Use hand magic for better results! Was it possible he could use hand magic in this classroom? It was another avenue he could try. He continued stirring the liquid in his cauldron. As he calmed down, a tinkling sensation grew from his hand into the cauldron. The potion turned black, but was it the Draught of Living Death he had made? He waited until Slughorn approached and checked out his potion, before saying anything proper.
"Same result as Potter's potion." Slughorn said, ecstatic. "Delightful! Absolutely delightful! I don't know which potion is better." He asked, curiosity welling up inside him, "You used hand magic. Did you not, Baggins?"
"Maybe a pinch." Frodo said with a light shrug.
"I'm going to have to give this to Potter. Wand magic is the most common use for potion making. Of course, hand magic is also essential when you want to speed things up." Slughorn explained, choosing his words carefully.
Frodo waited until Slughorn walked away, before checking the front and back of the Potions' book. There was no name on the back cover, just as bunch of scribbles for spells and potions. It was on the front cover that he discovered a name:
This book is the property of the Sorcerer.
Thanks for reading. :)
