Ch 10: Day of Days
"Ms. Granger, found you at last. Here is your schedule, and may I say, it is nice to see some of the unwritten rules being bro- er, bent." Hermione looked up to see the shortest 'professor' that could be imagined. As the professor, Flitwick as she recalled, walk away towards the staff table, she heard another remark from the twins which made her blush.
"yeah, he's always that short"
"he just pads his seat at the table with books from the library"
"to make him-"
"seem a little bit-"
"a lot of bit-"
"taller" the twins finished toghether.
Hermione didnt think it was proper to talk about a teacher like that, but that didnt stop her from a slight snicker.
"aye, he's half-goblin, me da' told me about him. He was a champion dueller too, and he is said to prove height means nothing on the dueller's stage." Hermione looked to her left and saw who she remembered as Seamus.
"well, he must be really good then; I'm sure his class will be quite informative." Hermione turned to ron and harry, asking "what do your schedules look like?"
"we have Herbology after this, then transfiguration and charms after lunch" Harry supplied.
"then we'll get to see what his class is like and tell you all about it."
"not needed, I'll be there with you. I only have History of Magic after lunch; I do hope that class isn't as boring as everyone told me it was."
"I was told to do work in that class, or sleep" said a new voice behind harry.
"ah, the slytherin appears! I was wondering if you'd come over."
"Slytherin isn't as bad as i thought. I have to deal with that prat Malfoy, but i can handle him. he's kind of a wimp" grinned Piers. "plus, i have it with the ravenclaws, it seems."
Neville, after watching the obvious display of friendship, finally felt brave enough to say something. "it's almost 9, we should head to class. I hope it's not too far."
"where's dudley at, anyways"
"We saw him-"
"sneaking off to Herbology-"
"taking the long way it seems-"
"judging by his following of a certain slytherin"
"ooh, dudley already has a crush?" Harry asked.
"not by her face-"
"right upset she was"
"heard her say something-"
"that sounded like-"
"'I'll HEX you-"
"just before she stomped away." Harry and company didnt know how the twins finished eachother's sentances, but judging by ron's face, it was something that they'll have to get used to.
After gathering all their stuff, harry, ron, and neville started heading towards the main entrance, hoping to see where the others go so they didnt get lost (like harry had done constantly growing up). After a few minutes standing around like idiots, Harry spotted some familiar faces heading towards what looked like a greenhouse that grew rampant for a few decades, so he headed that way, with the rest following him. Hopefully his gut was correct, and they werent heading for a simple stroll on the grounds before being late to their first class. After entering the greenhouse, the reason for the appearance of the greenhouse became all too clear; there were plants and (what looked like) hybrid plant-animals growing everywhere. Looking for a teacher of some sort, Neville saw the tables and guided them towards tables of four. Dudley was already sitting in an otherwise vacant table, so harry ron and neville sat next to him, inwardly laughing at his slumped stance and the downtrodden facial expression, along with the pink outline of a handprint to accompany the expression.
"didnt say yes? thats a first" harry snickered.
"shut it, she just doesnt know me well enough yet; she'll come around" Dudley replied.
"all right class, this is herbology, and i expect you all to listen carefully to what is said in this class. Wand waving and spell casting will only get you so far if you dont know what youre dealing with. I dont put up with nonsense in my class and that includes pointless rivalries."
Harry could already tell that this is one of those classes that if you didnt pay attention, there would be no hope of passing, no matter how much of a green thumb you have. The class started with identifying some of the different plants from their first few chapters, and couldnt wait to do more than just look at plants. Looking around, he could already tell those that were genuinely interested in this class, and those that would pass it off as unimportant. To him, all classes had to have their individual importance, and some of the more science fiction-type horror and thriller movies helped with this realization.
After the class was dismissed, ron reminded him that lunch was already being made, which made three of their stomaches growl in anticipation. although, harry didnt know if hermione, after spending some time with her classmates, would be sitting with them at their table.
A short walk into the hall and spotting bushy hair confirmed that she was at her own house's table, but that didnt stop him from seeing that there was no one even close to her.
"Lets sit with hermione, there are enough seats around her."
"and thats the only reason?" joked dudley.
"duh, but would you want to sit with us, or a certain slytherin?" harry retorted.
"no, she has- wait, no, malfoy is trying to talk to her, and i dont want to get into a fight on the first day."
Neville chuckled and said "we did that already didnt we? on the train?"
"oh yeah...well, not a second; i dont want to come off as a bully."
Walking the short distance to the Ravenclaw table seemed like a world-class act, going by the shocked faces of everyone in the crowd of stares. after sitting down with hermione, everyone started their whispers again, but glances and pointing was now included. A short lunch later, and hermione was off to her class, History of magic, while everyone else went to their classes. glancing at his watch, harry could already tell they were going to be late for transfiguration.
"Tardy already, Missers potter, weasley and longbottom? I expect you can find your way from now on?"
"Yes, professor mcgonagall" three voices chorused.
"verywell." Turning her attention to the class as a whole, she started with "In this class, i expect every one of you to not spend the time allotted by gazing at irrelevant objects, and i expect full effort and attention to be on this class. Transfiguration is a precise branch of magic which, if not under control, can lead to dire consequences. I expect all of you had pre-read the chapter on the basics, and to become more familiar with the attention needed. With that said, I hope to see these matches turned into needles. I will assist any that would value my advice. you may begin."
Harry took his match and glanced at ron and neville. it seemed like ron was trying to imagine a needle intensely because his eyes were shut and he was repeating "thin, metal, pointy" over and over again. Neville to the right of him was pointing his wand at the match and repeating "come on, work, change." Harry didnt think that it would be all that difficult until his first attempt, which did nothing at all. on his second, third and fourth try, all the match did was roll over and then finall ignite.
"Try imagining the needle more steady, instead of imagining the changing process."
Harry practically jumped at the voice next to him, and saw an unfamiliar face looking at him pointedly. on his next attempt, the match changed into a longer-than-necessary form, but with no point and no thread-hole.
"better, but more concentration on the finer details, and you'll get it eventually."
"thanks..um..."
"lily, lily moon"
"thanks lily." Harry said. and after another few tries, he noticed that she had a stack of ten needles, in perfect form, already sitting in front of her. "So, this is like your kind of thing, then?"
"sort of, my mom helped me with a lot of practice growing up, but i like charms better."
"Ah, youre wizard-raised?"
"not really, I have a squib mother, and a great grandfather that was a charms master. went to school with Headmaster dumbledore. After that, it wasnt much to get used to."
"Squib?" asked harry.
"She means someone that was born from a witch and/or wizard, but didnt have any sort of magical core." Ron spoke up.
Neville added "Its sort of the opposite of muggle-born. Nothing wrong with it, even if others think so."
"Thanks guys, ill let my mom know that she wasnt wrong."
"Why would someone say she was wrong?" harry asked further.
"Because she told me that some of the 'right sort of people' wouldnt say anything mean about squibs. Dad thought i shouldnt ever bring it up, with all that pure-blood nonsense that everyone harps on." lily explained.
"as intriguing as this conversation may be, i only see one set of needles. Perhaps you could benefit with more practice, and less conversation?"
"Yes, professor." three voices (again) chorused.
After the bell rang for the end of class, Lily earned Gryffindor 10 points, and neville, surprisingly to him, earned 5, for getting three out of ten needles to fully transfigure, while the rest were 90% complete. lily agreed to show them the way to the charms classroom, as it was quite a distance from the transfiguration classroom. on the way, they saw, as harry remembers, that really shy ginger who practically ran to a seat after the hat placed him in ravenclaw. it seemed he was lost, as he had already passed them three times on different sets of stairs. After getting to the classroom, they all spotted professor flitwick standing on a stack of books behind his poduim.
A short rocall later, harry remembered his name as John Bachman, and told himself to try and make friends, or at least get hermione to make friends, with him. Hermione herself was sitting in a row of seats in between harry and ron, with neville on her right. Professor flitwick's introduction was entertaining as well as informative, and he confirmed the fact that he was a duelling champion years and years ago.
Although, the first class was all theory and less of a practical side, professor flitwick left them with the promise of more practical applications than most of the other classes, only transfiguration competing for the class with the most practical applications of study.
"Finally, DINNER!"
"Ron, you astound me. I dont know how you can be so skinny with the appetite you so aptly absorb."
"but hermione, its... its food! how can you not like food?!"
"ron, no one likes food as much as you do."
"you just dont understand harry, food is like...the best thing for anyone. specially my mom's food. nothing against hogwarts food, but mom's food is on a whole new level."
"I have to agree" neville added. "Mrs. weasley has a gift with foods of all kinds. I always go to their house with my gran when i can."
"Glad to have ya neville"
"Aye, well said!"
"we'll be sure to-"
"let mum know what you said-"
"about her savory foodstuffs." the twins seemed to find themselves entering the great hall once again with the group of friendly first-years, and it seemed like they could tell when the time was theirs for a grand entrance, to wherever they are; at least to harry, it seemed that way. Ron was probably used to it, he reasoned.
Spotting dudley already at the hufflepuff table, the group migrated towards the empty seats near him, only to find their path blocked by a certain blonde-haired ponce.
"Why am i not surprised. Harry potter thinks himself higher than the rest of us. I was told you were the one sticking up for the Mudbl-"
"Thats ENOUGH Mr. Malfoy. five points from slytherin, and be glad you didnt finish that sentance. Now get back to your table, unless you'd prefer to sit with my Gryffindors?"
"No, professor mcgonagall, i wouldnt want to, uh, intrude."
"Then off you go" She replied evenly. She then turned to the group and gave them an affirmative nod. "I am glad to see that some have taken it upon themselves to associate with others from the different houses. Five points for Gryffindor, and Five points to Ravenclaw. I can only hope that others feel comfortable to be as diverse."
"What was that all about?" Asked dudley after they took their seats.
"That git of a malfoy again" answered ron. "Seems he still has a stick up his ar-"
"Ron! language!" hermine chided.
"He is though" added harry. "I think i want to hex him, soon as i learn how, anyways."
"Thats not nice, no matter how mean he is" Hermione said, reminding them of their manners.
"Talking about malfoy?" Asked an older student with grey eyes and short-cropped hair.
"Yes, how did you know?" dudley asked.
"he just walked away from you guys, and i know how the malfoys are; my dad has to work with them. And let me say, they give me the creeps, i dont know how they can even have friends, and Im in hufflepuff!" they said.
"Guys, this is cedric diggery; he helped me find my way to my last class, defense. he's a fourth year" dudley explained.
"Ah, nice to meet you, Im harry."
"Neville"
"Hermione"
"Ron, but you probably heard about me from my brothers, either percy, the twins, or maybe even charlie, if you remember him. He played seeker."
"I know all of them." he smiled. "Cant say i get along with percy though."
"And im piers."
"Glad to see you make an appearance" Dduley said. "Where'd that other kid go, that redhead?"
"He's sitting at the ravenclaw table again" hermione answered. "I dont know why he always sits alone though, he hasnt even tried to talk to anyone. I think he didnt grow up with a lot of friends."
"Or maybe he's just shy. I like shy" said an older girl from next to cedric. "Im Cho chang, by the way. A third year."
After another round of introductions, and a few farewells after the dinner feast, the groups headed up to their common room entrances, with promises to meet at the slytherin table early in the morning. While ron didnt like the idea, they all agreed to split their table-sharing evenly, even if 25% of it would be at the slytherin table. From the look on dudley's face, everyone could tell he didnt mind at all, not one bit. Hermione was promising harry to talk to, or try to anyways, the irish kid that didnt talk much.
Alltogether, it seemed like hogwarts was going to be an invaluable experience, no matter what classes they took or what houses they were in. The only hope was that people like malfoy didnt make this less of a fun time, and just stayed out of their way, as they were going to try and avoid him and his company as much as they could. only time would tell, Harry thought to himself as he settled in his bunk at the end of their first night.
"Too bad dudley has astronomy on the first day" harry heard ron say.
"Yeah, a bugger of a schedule if there ever was one" neville added.
"I think they did that so that no house has astronomy on a friday night. that would be the real complication; i dont think i could enjoy my saturday if i knew i had to be up until midnight on a friday, no matter what year i was in." harry knew he was right, even if there was no proof, and just as he felt himself falling asleep from the days' exhaustion, he heard a mumbled "yeah" from both ron and neville, and a response from who he thought was either dean or seamus of "you're probably right harry."