"I insist that you at least take them off if you want to stay anonymous!"
"I'll take them off but at least tell me why I should take only my glasses off! Shouldn't we be doing something..." The voice paused. "more?"
"Trust me, without your glasses, nobody will recognise you. Plus, all of them will be staring at me. You wanted to stay out of the spotlight. I'm helping you. It'll at least give you a chance to see how everybody would be looking at you. Eventually, the stares should die down so you'll be safe to wear your glasses outside of classes then. You shouldn't worry about any of the first years clamouring over you because they'll become used to you quickly. Others, not so much. They only get to see you outside of lessons, that's why they stare and not our peers."
Harry sighed. "I guess. How am I going to see where I'm walking?"
Corvus rolled his eyes. "Didn't we buy those contacts for you when we bought you new glasses?"
Harry's eyes widened. "You're right. But do I really have to?"
"There would've been no point in buying the contacts in the first place if you don't wear them."
"Fine, fine. Just wait here for a moment while I put them in." Harry retrieved a bottle from his bedside drawer and ran into the toilet. Nobody else was awake in their room as they had woken up early so they could prepare for the day.
Harry came out of the toilet ten minutes later. "Let's go down to the Great Hall now." The two left their room quietly, not wanting to disturb the other occupants who were still softly snoring.
-Line Break-
"There, look."
"Where?"
"Next to the short kid with the messy hair."
"Wearing the glasses?"
"Did you see his face?"
"Did you see his scar?"
Whispers followed Harry and Corvus from the moment he left the dormitory. People lined up outside classrooms stood up on tiptoes to get a look at Corvus, or doubled back to pass him in the corridors again, staring. Harry wished they would just stop because he was trying to concentrate on finding his way to classes. He was unsure how Corvus managed to deal with all their attention, watching his every move. Harry couldn't cope with the stares, and he hadn't even been the person who it was directed it to, though it was just as bad because Corvus had taken on his appearance.
He was glad that nobody ever disturbed them during meals in the Great Hall, besides Fred and George. The twins helped Corvus and Harry greatly when it came to navigating the school.
Harry felt guilty about throwing Corvus in the spotlight. Corvus seemed to handle the attention really well by ignoring the majority of the students. Corvus only spoke to those which didn't treat him like he was some sort of zoo animal.
Corvus's ability to ignore the whispers had a limit. He hit that threshold where he snapped.
"Have neither of you seen another human being? I don't see why you're ogling me like some kind of rare specimen because as far as I can see, I'm the same as you." He pointed at a girl. "and you." He then pointed to a boy. "Stop staring at me and treat me like a normal person. Do you want to know what a person's like? Don't trust books, interviews, or any kind of rumours or news that came from others. Get to know that person yourself. Become their friend or an acquaintance. Form your own opinions. Don't act like stalkers because someone will retaliate, just like I have. Good day." He waved goodbye to the crowd which had formed at the entrance of the Great Hall.
"I'm sorry I said something like that when I'm still in your appearance. Not sure what's going to happen but I might have caused problems for you," he whispered, apologising to Harry.
Harry shook his head, as they headed for some open seats at the Gryffindor table. "It's fine, something like this was bound to happen. You were sure to retaliate and I bet some pranks are in order for you to relieve stress?"
"Nah, pranks can come later. Let's just get settled into the castle first before we begin pranking others. I want to know the school's layout too. It's doubtful we've explored the entire castle in the few days we've been here, even with Fred and George's help."
Harry nodded. "Sure."
Harry was surprised to find out how many of their peers had trouble when ti came to magic. Nobody really had an advantage over each other, besides himself and Corvus. It was exactly how Corvus had said it would be. 'I really needn't have worried. Guess all that month of practice with Cor didn't actually need to happen. Good that we had the extra month though, Corvus and I can focus on other studies first.'
They studied the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. Harry found the class interesting especially when he asked Professor Sinistra how Astronomy was related to Potions-a note in one of the Ingredients textbooks he bought had mentioned how Astronomy had an effect on different plants when it concerned their harvesting dates-Professor Sinistra explained that Professor Snape and Professor Sprout would be the better teachers to ask when it concerned such things.
Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch named Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. Harry, Corvus and Neville stayed behind after her classes. Harry to ask her about the links between the subjects, Neville to continue taking care of the plants, and Corvus stayed behind to wait for his friend. Corvus took the opportunity to converse with Neville. Neville was much, much calmer when Corvus spoke to him whenever he was tending to the plants.
It was during this time that Corvus attempted to convince Neville to join his little group.
They attended the most boring class in the entire castle; History of Magic. Corvus hadn't been too surprised about how boring the lesson was and instead focused on studying other subjects whilst their ghost professor, Professor Binns. The ghost droned on and on about goblin wars. Neville and Harry were convinced by Corvus to sit close together so they could discuss and study other subjects.
They made the most out of the lesson.
Harry hadn't been too pleased with the History of Magic. He had been enthralled by the History of the wizarding world, it was such a let-down for Harry.
Next, they had Professor Flitwick, a charms teacher. A diminutive little wizard who stood on a pile of books to see over his desk. The professor's stature did not diminish his charisma when it came to teaching the subject. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Harry's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled off his pile of book and out of sight.
Charms had simply been practising wand movements because Harry and Corvus were much further ahead than their peers, they helped Neville with the practice because they knew his nerves would affect his performance badly. They corrected his wand movements and gently encouraged him. It was what the boy needed. Corvus knew Neville was a brave person inside but unless certain events occurred to force that bravery out of him, there were few other ways to coax the boy's courage and bravery out. Corvus knew that this would be the best method to do so.
Transfiguration was again different. Harry had been quite right to think Professor McGonagall was a teacher you didn't want to cross. Corvus laughed at Harry's description of the Transfigurations professor. He personally thought she was strict and scary.
They were given a talking-to the moment they sat down in her first class. Corvus could understand why she would do such a thing. Transfigurations was a dangerous subject and unintentionally fooling around could cause fatal accidents. It was similar to Potions where students should listen to their professors lest they are injured by their foolishness.
"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." The woman glanced around the room, meeting all of the students' eyes.
She demonstrated a tiny piece of transfiguration for the students. She changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realised they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. Well, besides Corvus who was quite advanced in transfiguration for his young age.
After taking a lot of complicated notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only four people made a difference to their match. Hermione and Neville turned the match slightly silver and pointy. Harry and Corvus managed to turn their match into a needle completely. Professor McGonagall showed the class Harry's match how she wanted it to look like. She gave Harry a rare smile that seemed slightly sad. Professor McGonagall gave Harry and Corvus twenty house points. She looked at Corvus contemplatively when she noticed just how detailed his transformed match was. He had added an extra feature to his.
Corvus believed the professor had her suspicions concerning him. He had a feeling the professor knew he was using his metamorphmagus abilities to trick the entire school. Corvus was glad the professor nothing besides giving him a knowing look at the end of the first lesson.
Defense Against the Dark Arts was the class everybody had been looking forward to, even Harry. Corvus didn't have much of an opinion concerning the class besides telling Harry and Neville just how much of a joke the professor for the class was. Fred and George helped confirmed how terribly bad the lessons would be for them. They hadn't been joking when they said how much of a joke the lessons would be.
Professor Quirrell smelled strongly of garlic. The stench permeated throughout the room. The Weasley twins insisted that the turban Professor Quirrell wore was stuffed full of garlic so that he would be protected wherever he went. In the lesson, Professor Quirrell stuttered so often that the class quickly became unbearable. Corvus convinced Harry and Neville to use their time creatively, the same way they used their time during History of Magic lessons.
Neville was relieved to find out that he wasn't miles behind everyone else. Harry, himself, had panicked about being worse than everyone else but after the first few lessons and with Corvus's assurances, he knew that he and Corvus were in fact ahead of everybody else. But even then, their advantages didn't help them too much. There was so much to learn that even those that had been surrounded by magic their entire life didn't have much of a head start. Harry and Corvus simply had more knowledge in their favourite subjects because they had focused the majority of their time going through those subjects.
-Line Break-
Friday was an important day. They were having their first Potions class, and it was with the Slytherins. Harry noticed the tension between the two houses but never thought much about it.
The three were sitting in the Great Hall for breakfast when the mail arrived. Hundreds of owls streamed into the Great Hall, circling the tables until they saw their owners, dropping letters and packages onto their laps.
Hedwig hadn't brought Harry or Corvus anything so far. Hedwig was fond of Corvus. Harry had allowed Corvus to send letters to his family with her. Sometimes Hedwig flew into the Great Hall to nibble both their ears and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the other school owls. Corvus usually brought Thor with him to the Great Hall during the weekends. Hedwig and Thor had formed a strange bond with each other and played together whenever they had a chance.
This morning, however, she fluttered down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and dropped a note onto Corvus's bed of hair.
"Sometimes, I feel like Hedwig favours me more than he does you," said Corvus, smearing apple jam over his toast.
Harry tore the letter open. "I feel the same way." Harry read the letter which was written in a very untidy scrawl:
Dear Harry, I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three?
Bring Corvus along and any other friends that you've made, I want to hear all about your first week. Send me an answer back with Hedwig.
Hagrid
Harry borrowed Neville's quill, scribbling 'Yes, please, we'll see you later.' on the back of the note, sending Hedwig off to Hagrid.
Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder in the dungeons than up in the main castle. The dungeon had a creepy atmosphere, especially with the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.
Harry had been looking forward to Potions, no matter how much Professor Snape disliked him.
Snape started the class by taking the roll call. Like Flitwick, he paused at Harry's name.
"Ah... Yes," he said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new celebrity."
Harry resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow at the tone the professor said his surname in.
Corvus watched Draco Malfoy and his friends, Crabbe and Goyle snigger behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were onyx black, similar to Hagrid's, but they held none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty, reminiscent of dark tunnels. Corvus shivered whenever his eyes accidentally met Professor Snape's eyes. He was glad the professor had no reason to use legilimency on him.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word. Like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect any of you to really understand the beauty of a softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death." Professor Snape glanced at the students. "But only if you aren't a bunch of dunderheads like the ones I usually have to teach."
Silence followed his little speech. Harry and Corvus had been enraptured by the man's speech. The professor managed to make Potions class even more interesting than it already was. Harry was on the edge of his seat, desperate to start barraging the professor with questions relating to the subject. Corvus held him back, shaking his head.
Corvus mouthed, 'No, wait until the end of the lesson before you ask him anything.' Harry nodded his head.
"Potter!" said Professor Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Harry cleared his throat after feeling like a cat had got his tongue. Without looking at Corvus, who he knew was definitely trying to encourage him, answered the question. "You would get a sleeping potion, Sir."
The professor had a furious expression on his face. "And what's the name of the sleeping potion?"
"I don't know... I'm not that advanced in my reading on Potions yet."
Professor Snape glared at Harry, his lips curling into a sneer. "Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion known as the Draught of Living Death. This potion can stopper death."
"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without leaving her seat.
"You would find a bezoar in the stomach of a goat."
"Last question. What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
Harry raced through the memory palace he had built for potion ingredients. He knew the answer to the question but he couldn't quite remember the answer. He finally remembered a page in the ingredients book he was reading.
"There's no difference between the two. They're the same plant and is also known as Aconite," said Harry quickly, looking at Draco and his friends who had stopped laughing after he answered.
Snape was silent for a moment. "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?" He glanced around the dungeon, seeing that nobody was taking any notes. "Three points to Gryffindor for correctly answering my questions," said Snape. He didn't look at Harry.
After the affair, Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticising almost everyone except Malfoy, Harry and Corvus. Harry was working together with Neville, and without Snape breathing down his neck, Neville was able to do most of the work himself with Harry instructing him on the side. Corvus was partnered with Hermione, who seemed to know what she was doing. They assigned each other roles and finished the potion without any issue.
Nothing else happened in the Potions class. Harry didn't seem to mind Professor Snape's attitude since the man avoided him like the plague after he finished questioning him.
Corvus paid much more attention to Professor Snape than Harry did. He watched the Professor look at Harry with sorrowful eyes. He could guess what the man was thinking about. 'He must be thinking about his mother.'
The more talent Harry showed when it came to Potions, the more he would resemble his mother. It was one of the reasons why Snape kept sneaking glances at Harry's eyes. The Potions Professor didn't look anywhere else. Why would he? Why would he want to be reminded of his past tormentor?
Potions finished and Snape dismissed the entire class.
Harry was dragging Neville and Corvus out of the castle, making their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. Corvus had Harry stop at their dorm so he could take Thor along to Hagrid's. He knew Hagrid had a dog. Corvus felt that Thor would need another playmate.
When Harry knocked they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks. Then Hagrid's voice rang out, saying, "Back, Fang, back." Hagrid's big hairy face appeared in the crack as he pulled the door open. "Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang." He let them in, struggling to keep a hold on the collar of an enormous black boarhound.
"It's all right Hagrid, I think he just wants to play," said Corvus. Thor barked excitedly. "See, I think Thor here wants to play as well."
They walked into the hut. There was only one room inside. Hams and pheasants were hanging from a ceiling, a copper kettle was boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stood a massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it.
"Make yerselves at home," said Hagrid, letting go of Fang, who bounded straight at Corvus. Fang licked Corvus and Thor. Like Hagrid, Fang was clearly not as fierce as he looked. Once Corvus had enough of his face being licked, he let go of Thor. Thor bounded up to Fang and they ran out of the hut. "They'll come back."
"This is Neville," Harry told Hagrid, who was pouring boiling water into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate.
"Longbottom?" asked Hagrid, glancing at the boy. "I'm really sorry about what happened to yer parents." Neville looked down at his lap.
"Yeah... how do you know about my parents?" Neville asked in a soft tone.
"I'm a good friend of yer parents. Terrible. Very terrible what happened to them." Hagrid shook his head.
Harry's curiosity was acting up again, but this time he managed to restrain himself from asking. He knew that he shouldn't push when it came to other people's pasts. He figured that Neville would eventually tell them of his own accord.
Neville winced as he bit into the rock cake. The rock cakes were shapeless lumps with raisins that almost broke their teeth. They pretended to enjoy the cakes as they told Hagrid all about their first lessons.
After staying at Hagrid's for two hours, the trio left the hut and went back to their common room. There were going to review what they had learnt. It was something they did after each day.