That afternoon, they were late for tea, and the best cakes were already gone when they reached the Great Hall. On top of that, they did not have much time left to have fun, because the boys still had their charms homework to complete for the next morning – their first actual homework, as Albus reminded Rose several times.
It was strange, doing homework in the Slytherin common room, exposed to all the students there. Scorpius actually suggested working in their dorm when he noticed how uncomfortable Albus looked. But the black-haired boy was made of firmer stuff. He decided to stay. He and his House-mates had to get used to each other's presence eventually, and the earlier that happened, the better. Homework, at least, gave them a legitimate reason to sit there without drawing too much attention.
It went reasonably well. Flint turned up with a bunch of older students a while later and they settled down close to the two first-years. They seemed to be in a good mood, acting and talking rowdily, and none too quietly. When the two boys looked up to see what was going on, Flint caught their stare, and growled at them, "what are you looking at?" The boys quickly looked away, and that was that. No one bothered them.
Later that evening, Flavia and Bryony came over and sat down next to them.
"Do you mind if we do our homework here as well?" asked Bryony.
"Er, no, go ahead," Albus felt compelled to answer. He heard Scorpius sigh softly next to him.
But apparently sitting there was not enough for the girls. They were soon looking through the almost finished homework, and asking questions about where the information had come from. Flavia, at least left after she had had a good look, but Bryony hung back, and started going on and on about not understanding this and being puzzled by that, and would not stop until the boys had at least partially answered all her questions. Then she flitted off to join her cousin without so much as a thank-you.
"Why did you let them sit with us? If you couldn't think of an excuse, why didn't you let me answer?" asked Scorpius as soon as she was gone.
"Er..." Albus grimaced as he felt the colour rise in his cheeks.
"You didn't know that's what they were up to, did you?"
The look on Albus' face must have been answer enough.
"However did you make it into Slytherin?" Scorpius' expression was half disbelief, half pity, but he was fighting a laugh.
Albus hung his head in shame.
Tuesday began with double charms. Professor Flitwick also began by taking the register, and then told them they would not be using their wands for a few weeks at least, not until they had learned some basic theory, before proceeding to charm the chalk to write some complicated-looking formulas on the blackboard. Albus was disappointed, as was probably everyone else, but Flitwick had no problems keeping the students' interest. His enthusiasm for the subject was infectious, even when teaching theory.
After lunch, they had defence against the dark arts, the class Albus had been looking forward to the most. The reason for that was simple: it was taught by Remus Lupin, and everyone in the Potter family agreed that he was without a doubt the best teacher of all. This opinion, they were all aware, was not entirely objective, but they would have defended it against anyone, with or without logical arguments. Harry Potter had a long list of reasons for believing that, but for his children, it was enough that Remus Lupin happened to be Teddy's dad.
Remus, or Professor Lupin, as he would now be known to Albus, was one of the married staff at Hogwarts, and as such, he did not live in the castle. He flooed in on school days, and then flooed back home after his classes for the day were over.
It was because of that, because he was not as freely available as the other professors, that he had requested defence against the dark arts classes to be given to two Houses at once as well, like the other classes. Before, the class had been deemed too volatile for that, but Headmistress McGonagall, who had once been married herself and understood the challenges that came with it – and also happened to be quite fond of Remus – had allowed him to combine his classes.
Remus had gone a step further, and had combined Gryffindor with Slytherin – universally believed to be the worst combination of Houses. The reasons he had named had sounded sensible: it had made developing timetables easier, and had balanced out the House combinations. There were persistent rumours, though, that he had done it on a dare from Snape, who himself had ignored good advice at the beginning of his teaching career, and had combined those two Houses for his class as well.
Rose had already chosen a seat when Albus arrived with the other Slytherins. She was at the very front of the classroom, and looked quite excited. The two boys sat down at the desks next to her, more towards the Slytherin side.
"Our first class with Uncle Remus. I can't wait! What do you think he's going to teach us?" asked Rose, all in one breath.
Albus himself was wondering the same thing. They would not be learning any magic until they had started using their wands in charms class, so that left dark creatures. But in first year, all they covered were minor pests. Professor Lupin's classes were known in school for being imaginative and quite hands-on, but Albus could not think of a way that could be the case for them yet.
Remus arrived carrying a couple of books, and walked briskly to his desk. Instead of taking the register, he looked at a sheet of parchment, reading whatever was written on it. After a moment, he looked up.
"Great. Everyone's here, so let's get started."
Albus wondered if that handy piece of parchment used the same magic as the Marauders' Map to display the names of those present.
"Good morning, everyone," Remus said while leaning casually against his desk. "I'm Remus Lupin, and as you might have guessed, I'll be teaching you defence against the dark arts from now on. I'm also Head of Gryffindor House, as some of you already know." His gaze met those of several students from his House. "But that doesn't mean anything in this class. I'm going to treat you all as individual students, and I hope that in return, you'll all act as individual students, trying to – hopefully – increase your knowledge and understanding of the subject."
There was a very clear 'or else' at the end of his speech, and Albus had to wonder what that involved, if after almost two decades Remus still managed to teach the rivalling Houses together.
"So," Remus switched his tone from serious to upbeat. "Now that that's out of the way, can anyone name a magical creature?"
A lot of raised hands followed. Albus' as well. So he had guessed correctly what they would be learning, he thought with some resignation. Several creatures were named, and the students seemed to think the more obscure, the better. Those less well acquainted with them, were properly impressed too. Fay, Rose's muggleborn friend, was whispering 'dragon' under her breath. She looked so awed, Albus thought this was probably the first time she had heard that dragons were indeed real.
A little while later, Remus moved on. "That's a nice amount of creatures you've heard of. But how many of them do you actually know? If I now asked you to name magical creatures you've met-"
"Werewolf," came a quiet reply from the back of the room, but everyone still heard it. The room fell silent.
Before it could become noticeable, though, Remus went on. "Werewolf, all right, anything else?"
The class went on. But Albus could tell the muggleborns had noticed something was off, had looked puzzled by the odd response of the rest of the class, and were now asking their neighbours about it. He sighed, and wondered how Remus could look so unperturbed when he clearly must have noticed what was happening.
Somewhat more common creatures followed after that. Someone named gnomes.
"Gnomes, yes. Excellent," said Remus, clearly happy with the answer.
Albus frowned. After years spent degnoming the garden, the creatures held no mystery for him whatsoever. In fact, he could not think of anything more boring to study. Surely gnomes were not considered dark creatures?
"Now, can anyone tell me what creatures are considered dark? And why? How do we classify them?" asked Remus.
Thankfully, no one mentioned werewolves this time. Remus' lack of response must have discouraged them. After hearing some responses, and then letting them have a look at the first chapter in their books to read up on the actual definition, Remus announced their first topic of study. Doxies. They would be learning all about them that lesson, and in their homework for the next day, as well as the next lesson. And then, on Thursday, Remus had something special planned for them.
"Now, you haven't learned any charms yet, much less jinxes and curses," Remus began conspiratorially. "But there are other ways to deal with creatures and beings. There's the mundane ways: weapons, natural forces like fire, brute force, mundane potions – Some of those are very volatile, modern muggle chemicals – that's what they call mundane potions – can be very effective. And there's of course magical potions. Now, you've all had the – opportunity – to get acquainted with those already, I believe-"
A few nervous giggles answered that, and Snape's name was whispered here and there.
"Yes, well," Remus went on, and Albus could swear he was fighting a smile. "You probably haven't brewed the potion I'm thinking of yet, but maybe some of you have already heard of it. It's – as you might have guessed – used to fight doxies-"
Albus tried to hide his laugh by turning it into a snort, while loud calls of 'doxycide' followed from the other students. Remus winked at him. Albus pulled his hand up and placed it strategically in front of his face, so it would not be noticeable that he could not stop grinning. He now had a pretty good idea where this was going.
"Yes, very good, doxycide. We'll learn all about it tomorrow, and then, on Thursday, you'll get to use it." He said it like it was something to look forward to, and surprisingly, most students looked rather excited. Well, most Gryffindors, anyway. "Quite recently, we discovered a doxy infestation in one of the halls in the dungeons. It's well under ground, and all of those old draperies..."
Remus went on to explain the details. The Gryffindors and Slytherins would be the first to tackle the hall, but Remus made them promise to leave some for the other two Houses. Most students looked quite excited by that, and were looking forward to their Thursday defence class by the time the lesson ended, especially the muggleborns who had never seen a doxy before.
Fay was asking Rose questions enthusiastically as they left the classroom.
"Muggleborns," muttered Scorpius.
"Excuse me?" Albus asked sharply.
"Well, I didn't mean-" Scorpius backtracked, realising his mistake. "But, you see, we're being forced to clean the castle. We are being used as cheap labour. And she's happy about it!"
"Yeah, well, Uncle Remus – er, Professor Lupin, I mean – likes his jokes."
Scorpius groaned.
They had history after that, which once again offered no challenges. Then they were free until after tea, when they had their final class for the day, which was theory of magic. Together with flying, it was the only class that was compulsory for first-years only, and would not be examined. An it was the only class that was taught to all Houses together, because it was all theory, and the classes were mostly structured like lectures, with students giving answers to questions once in a while.
Well over hundred students filed into one of the largest classrooms in the castle, and sat down, all of them facing the front. The professor did not leave them waiting for long. With measured pace, a dark-haired, very stern-looking witch walked to the front of the room and looked down her nose at them.
"Good afternoon, class. My name is Honoria Green." Her robes matched her last name, and her voice was sharp and cold.
"Someone you know?" asked Albus and nodded imperceptibly towards her. The boys exchanged a meaningful look.
"Oh, yes," Scorpius confirmed Albus' suspicion.
But he need not have bothered. Green made no secret of the fact that she herself was, and in general favoured, purebloods. Every time she mentioned how difficult her subject must be for muggleborns, and the natural advantage that the other students had, Rose's expression darkened some more.
The thing was, that while the theory itself was different from anything they had learned in primary school, the methods they used to solve their problems were quite similar to maths. And for all of Green's comments, that was something muggleborns were better at. Scorpius, who had been instructed in all subjects by his parents, did all right, but even Albus was quicker at solving their problems, not to mention Rose, who had always been excellent at maths.
Professor Green, though, tried to disprove that at every step, picking more purebloods to answer the questions, agreeing with their answers more easily, and guiding them to the correct answer, if necessary, rather than contesting and asking trick questions like she did with the muggleborns. And she would not even hear of any mathematical terms they might accidentally drop when they got nervous. Slowly less and less of them seemed willing to raise their hands.
Finally, Rose had had enough, and when she was the only student who raised her hand to answer a particularly difficult question, she did it by insisting on referring back on her primary school lessons. And then, to up the ante, she added, "this is actually quite easy for everyone who's been to primary school. That's why my parents sent me there. They always say, most wizards can't understand the most basic logic."
Many of the muggleborns seemed relieved at hearing her comment, and grew braver in their participation. But the look Green sent Rose made Albus glad that they only had theory of magic once a week.
In the morning, Wednesday had all the promise to be an easy, calm, relaxing day. They had herbology first thing in the morning and then they did not have any more classes until lunch.
As it was a nice, warm day, they went outside to sit by the lake. Albus had a set of exploding snap cards with him, and they played and talked to pass the time. Rose joined them after the end of her charms class, and ended up playing against Scorpius. They also ended up talking about their classes, which turned out to be a rather volatile combination. Rose's competitive nature asserted itself, and the more aggressive she became, the more impressive the explosions got. And as it often happens, the more she wanted to win, the more she kept losing. After a particularly spectacular bang, Rose looked like a coiled spring, and Scorpius looked ready to dodge a different sort of explosion. Seeing the faces they were making, Albus burst out laughing. The other two first coloured in embarrassment, and then hesitantly joined in.
After lunch, James walked up to Albus before he could leave the Great Hall. "You have transfiguration now, don't you?" he asked a little too casually.
Albus had all but forgotten James' idea to introduce himself to their new transfiguration professor, as he called it. When nothing had happened all Tuesday, he had started to believe that James had seen sense and had reconsidered.
"Yes, we do," answered Scorpius, while Albus was still struggling for words.
"You might want to stay in the background for now," James told the younger boys conspiratorially.
"James, what did you do?" Albus tried to sound stern, but even he could hear the panic in his voice.
"Nothing too bad yet, little brother. I won't let anyone say I didn't give her every chance. I waited until I had my first lesson with her, before I decided to do anything at all. And I haven't done... much... yet. Who knows, maybe this'll do. If not..." With that, he sauntered off, to rejoin Fred, who was waiting for him by the staircase.
"James! James, wait," Albus tried to call him back without raising his voice and attracting attention, but his brother pretended not to hear. Fred noticed, though, and winked at him, then grinned cheekily.
"What are they up to?" asked Scorpius.
"No idea. But, er, I think we'd better..."
"Stay in the background?"
"Stay in the background. Yes."
As James had promised, it was not all that bad. Though the 'yet' he had added worried Albus.
Just like the day before, Professor Webb levitated a box of transfiguration aids as she came in. That went well. But then, as she tried to levitate each of them to individual students, they started turning into whoopee cushions. At first, everyone was confused, but slowly the muggleborn students, and some of the halfbloods as well, started to laugh as they recognised what was happening. Webb, first surprised then angry, tried to transfigure them back, but it was not working.
It was difficult to transfigure a magical object without it losing all of its magical powers, and far beyond Fred and James' current level of skill. All Webb was achieving was objects that looked about the same they originally had, but were falling apart at once.
Then, disastrously – for her – she hit one of the cushions in anger with her fist. The laughter that followed was deafening. Not even the purest of purebloods needed to be told what the whoopee cushions were any more.
Webb lost it at that point. The smiles disappeared from her face, as well as the cheerful demeanour. And the students got to hear a lot of new, as of yet unknown words that unsurprisingly did not need any further explanation. She was dishevelled and red in the face by the time she managed to vanish all of the now useless remains of the transfiguration aids.
For the rest of the class, the students had to read their textbooks. In silence. Albus doubted anyone could consider that an improvement.
The Gryffindors and Ravenlaws were waiting outside of the classroom when they were leaving. Albus walked past Rose as subtly as he could, and told her quietly to keep her head down. At her puzzled look, all he said was, "courtesy of James."
Albus really wanted to see his brother at that point, but he still had two more classes. At least in history of magic, they could get away with almost anything, and so he and Scorpius kept up a quiet discussion between taking turns with taking notes.
The day could have ended on that happy note, but there was one more surprise waiting for Albus that night. An hour before midnight, when the Slytherins and Ravenclaws went to the Astronomy Tower for their first lesson, Albus discovered that the same Professor Green who was teaching theory of magic, also taught astronomy.
