Part 2: The First Week

Chapter 16: Breakfast and Potions

2 September 1940

Hermione's evigilar charm buzzed at six-thirty, awakening her from a dream of watching Harry and Ron play Quidditch, of all things. She felt a pang of loss, which she quickly stifled. It was no good, she told herself sternly, crying oneself to sleep and moping about something she could never get back. She moved through her morning routine on autopilot, still trying to convince herself that she should stop thinking about the past and focus on the day ahead of her.

She reached the Great Hall just before seven and stole the schedule Tom had tucked under the edge of his plate. None of the other fourth-year Slytherins had arrived yet.

"Morning, Tom. Sleep well?"

"No," he mumbled. "I think I'm sick."

"Oh?"

"I'm sure it's nothing. I took some pepper-up already." He sounded tired, regardless.

Hermione let him eat his eggs in peace for a moment while she examined their schedule. "Tom?"

"Yes, Hermione?"

"Aren't we scheduled to take runes and divination?"

"Yes. Why?"

"How does this schedule work, then? They're at the same time."

"The two of us, and the five others in our year who are signed up for both classes, have to meet with Shylock and McKinnon to discuss which class we'll be going to on which days. They do the same thing for Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures."

"So we miss half the class periods?" Hermione asked, somewhat angrily.

"They usually schedule it so that we do practicals in each class every other day. Last year Divination practicals were on Tuesdays, and Runework on Thursdays. We have to do the reading and keep up with the theory on our own time."

Hermione didn't respond. Tom finally looked up from his breakfast. Hermione looked somewhat stunned.

"Come on, Hermione. You aren't honestly going to tell me that you like sitting through theory lectures and listening to idiots ask stupid questions."

"Well, no… but…"

"But what?"

Hermione pushed her plate aside and let her head fall to the table. "Why do they always think that the best way to solve their problems is with magic?" she mumbled.

Tom said nothing.

After a minute, Hermione sat up again. "I'll tell you later."

He nodded, correctly interpreting this as code for "something about the future that is relatively harmless and I'd like to complain about, but can't because there are people around."

Hermione returned to the schedule. "Is it just me, or do we seem to have an awful lot of hours scheduled?"

"Each of the professors teaches seven hours per week per house third year and up, between lab sections and lectures and whatnot. Remember I said our class is really small?" Hermione nodded. "The profs have combined all houses for our year, so we have four hours each for potions, charms, transfiguration, herbology, history, astronomy, divination or runes, arithmancy or creatures, and… what am I forgetting?" he had been ticking classes off on his fingers. "I know there's one more…"

"Defense?"

"Ah, yes, of course. Defense makes nine. 36 hours total. 40, technically, if you do two electives simultaneously, though the last four hours are classified as independent study. Normally it's less than that, because they split the practical sessions if they get bigger than twenty-five students. Professors can only keep an eye on so much, after all."

"I see." Hermione did not think it was fair at all, that they should get more class hours than the other years, but she wasn't about to complain. "So we've mostly two hour blocks, then. Potions, history, then electives after lunch?"

Tom nodded. "And a lunch meeting with the elective professors to get that sorted. It's a standing thing. And Astronomy Practical from nine to eleven tonight. But we're done at three on Friday, and we get the first slot on Tuesday and Thursday free, since we have the late Monday."

Hermione groaned. Ten-hour Mondays were pushing it, even for her, plus she truly needed to put real wards on her room, before the other Slytherins got serious about testing her makeshift defenses. At least she would have a bit of time on Tuesday and Thursday to sort out her extra-curriculars.

Slytherin students had been trickling to the table over the course of their conversation, but no one had yet attempted to talk to either one of them. The post arrived, drawing Hermione's attention to the time: 7:45, and there were no more than a dozen Slytherins present.

"Where is everyone?"

"Black, Malfoy, and Lestrange gave up on breakfast in the middle of last year. They go straight to class, now. Most of the House does. The first-years have a pre-class meeting with the fifth-year prefects, so Bellatrix would be with them." He paused. "The only people who should be here and aren't are Avery and Nott."

"Where are Avery and Nott?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

"I imagine they're still in their bathroom," said Tom, straight-faced.

"Why would they be in the bathroom?"

"Ah, well… they're together, right?" Tom smirked. "And they're still only third-years, so they can't get any time alone together anywhere else. So they make a habit of meeting up in their bathroom at night, when they think everyone else is asleep."

"How would you know?" Hermione had a sudden vision of Tom lurking near the underclassmen's bathrooms.

"Trent was complaining about it all last term. Anyway, I felt like crap and couldn't sleep, and then I realized that the third-years have Transfiguration first. So I arranged to delay them just long enough to interrupt Dumbledore's 'inspiring' back-to-school speech. Just a little something to ruin his Monday. Speaking of class, we should head to the potions lab."

Hermione shook her head as they stood and left the Hall. "So you're just using Avery and Nott to get back at Dumbledore?"

"Well, it will also funny if they try to explain why they were both trapped in the bathroom. But yes."

"Why?"

"Do you not recall yesterday morning? He's a bigger asshole than I am. Do you have the Potions Manual?"

"Yes, of course, but I need to grab my kit and cauldron. Did you bring the Compendium Historica?"

"No, but it doesn't matter. Binns never lectures on the first day, and the text is only for homework."

They ducked quickly back into the Slytherin dorms for Hermione's cauldron and reached the Potions Lab just before Slughorn.

…

As Tom had feared, there were seven stations set up for three students each, rendering his plan to work alone moot. Even worse luck, Alethea Malfoy was working with the other Ravenclaws, and they were stuck with Augusta "call me Aggie" Bones, who was a Gryffindor. As Aggie explained, Melina Sparks had set her cap at Ravenclaw Terrence, and had invited him to work with the other Gryffindors, upsetting their numbers and leaving her out in the cold with the two latecomers.

Slughorn informed the class that they would be working on several long-term projects over the course of the semester. They would start on Polyjuice, and once it was underway, move on to the Draught of Tennyson, Felix Felicis, Tincture of Mockwood, and the Mandrake Restorative, which needed to ferment over Break. Next term they would focus on Veritasserum, Chanticleer's Reversall, and the Nightmares of Lethe.

Hermione was pleased to be starting with something she was already familiar with, and that they would also be making a Mandrake Restorative, just in case. Tom and Aggie were both disappointed, because, they immediately realized, they would have to work with the same lab partners all year.

Slughorn finished outlining the course of the semester, and dismissed them to research their first project, to be started on Wednesday. He bustled out of the classroom himself immediately. Hermione thought this was ridiculous, as they still had an hour and a half during which they could get started today, which, she suspected, would put them in a much better place timing-wise for the remainder of the semester. She began preparing the first set of ingredients as the other students filtered out.