Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? We're just going to jump right into it so strap yourselves in for a not so wild ride? Idk man, I'm running on fumes and anxiety at this point so I hope you enjoy the chapter.

Like always, I enjoy any comments, except for those that are just full of negativity and not constructive at all. Just give me something to work with instead of just "It's bad." I also appreciate any positive constructive criticism since I'm always looking to improve my writing and storytelling capabilities.

Thanks for reading this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.

Disclaimer: I still do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books or movies, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books or movies.

Warning: No beta, we die like Stingbulbs.

Chapter 4: The Hell that is School that even Magic Can't Fix

XXXXXX

It's a beautiful day.

The sun is shining.

The birds are chirping.

The air is crisp and fresh, free of any smog of the cities.

Breakfast is delicious and made many wonder how they were going to stay in shape if they were wolfing down five star meals three times a day.

Magic was in the air.

But not even all the magic in the world could make attending school any easier. In fact, it may have made it even harder.

Sure there were no math, science, language arts, social studies, or gym classes.

But there was transfiguration, potions, history of magic, charms, astronomy, defense against the dark arts, herbology, and flying classes.

While some of them, Seth greatly looked forward to, others...not so much.

But there was the silver lining that classes don't even start until nine am! He couldn't remember the last time he was in school, barring college, where he was able to get up after six in the morning.

Another silver lining was the knowledge he'd gained from a combination of his adventures and duties in the preserves and having already lived through the hell that was the American education system.

So the first few weeks of magical boarding school actually weren't too bad barring a few...hiccups.

XXXXXX

"Oh! Where do you think they are?" Hermione whispers to Seth, as she glances around for any sign of Harry and Ron. Worry for their well-being and frustration over their tardiness for their first class were warring across her face.

The two boys were the only Gryffindors who weren't present at their first Transfiguration class and also their first class in general. Everyone else was sitting patiently and waiting for the professor. Some were also wondering where their wayward housemates were. Others were unnerved by the tabby cat sitting on the professor's desk and staring them all down with bright green eyes.

Finally, the doors to the classroom burst open and the aforementioned boys stumble into the room.

"Oh thank god, McGonagall isn't in yet," Ron pants out in relief, "See Harry! I told you we'd be fine."

"I would've liked to be more than fine though, Ron," Harry pants out in annoyance, "Like on time so we wouldn't have had to run."

"It's not my fault that the castle is so huge," Ron protests, "Besides, you're the one who wanted us to take that staircase before the bowl of fruit."

"I thought it was a shortcut because of how many floors it passed," Harry objects.

"Whatever," Ron lightly scoffs, "Let's just find a seat McGonagall arrives and gives us detention."

"That's Professor McGonagall to you, Mr. Weasley," a woman's voice calls out.

Ron and Harry stiffen as the other Gryffindors look around for where the voice may have come from. The only place they could think of was from the cat but there's no way the cat could talk, right?

The cat crouches on its hind legs and jumps off the desk. Then, like something out of a movie, the cat shifts into the human form of the severe looking woman from last night's sorting.

Professor McGonagall stands in her green robes and black witches hat with a disapproving frown on her face.

Everyone whispers to each other in excitement.

"She's an animagus!" Hermione excitedly whispers to Seth, "That's completely brilliant!"

"Hell yeah, it is. I can't wait to pull that off myself," Seth whispers back to her, equally excited, "Just think of all the things I could do, everything I could get away with!"

"Seth!" Hermione quietly cries out, scandalized.

He laughs at her expression before returning his attention back to the two boys being scolded by the professor.

"That was bloody brilliant," Ron gasps out in awe. Harry stands gaping next to him, completely dumbfounded by the advanced show of magic.

"Thank you for your assessment, Mr. Weasly," McGonagall says with a small sarcastic smile, "Perhaps it would be more useful for me to transfigure you or Mr. Potter into a pocket watch so then at least one of you would be on time."

"Sorry, Professor," Harry apologizes, looking down chastised, "We got lost on our way here."

McGonagall sighs, feeling sympathetic towards the kicked puppy and his red haired companion.

"I will let you off for today since it's only your first offense but do be sure to take ample time in arriving to each of your classes," she warns, "It would not do for Gryffindor House to lose points for something so trivial."

Harry and Ron nod at her, completely dumbfounded and also very intimidated by her words.

"Now unless you want me to transfigure you into a map, you can go and find your seats," she orders before walking to the large chalkboard by her desk.

Ron and Harry rush to follow her orders as McGonagall waves her wand over the chalkboard. Writing slowly appears on the board, revealing a lesson titled "Match to Needle."

"Welcome to your first transfiguration class. Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. I expect complete concentration and absolute attention to detail," McGonagall says as she claps her hands together with a small smile, "Now, let us begin."

XXXXXX

"Repeat after me," Professor Flitwick instructs as he stands on top a tall stack of books with more stacks trailing beside it like a cascading staircase. "Swish and flick."

He moves his wrist up in a swishing movement followed by a sharp flick down.

The entire class follows his movements with varying degrees of engagement.

Hermione narrows her eyes as if trying to completely replicate Flitwick's movements from the way his arm moved down to the precise placement of each finger around his wand.

Ron and Harry are horsing around with Ron playfully moving his wand in such a way that sends Harry into a fit of giggles.

Seth...is bored. So very bored. He lazily replicates the movements and daydreams about fighting off dragons with his sword for that sweet, sweet loot.

"Good!" Flitwick compliments, "Now repeat another twenty times."

Seth groans and let's his head fall down to the table with a thud.

XXXXXX

"Seth! Psst! Seth!" Hermione quietly hisses at him as he continues to snooze the hour away.

While everyone who'd suffered through the non magical education had psyched themselves up and prepared as best as they could, none of them expected History of Magic to be this...boring.

The class was taught by a ghost, Professor Binns, who'd died while sleeping in front of the teacher's room fire. Then he got up like nothing happened and went about his routine as usual. Seth thought that it would at least be exciting to have a ghost as a teacher but no.

The Gryffindors entered the class, ready to learn, and were met with Binns sending Seth a suspicious glare and then proceeding to ramble on about the Goblin Wars until everyone was doing anything but listening.

Except for Hermione who had to have some sort of super power because she's still wide awake and attentively taking notes even though her attention does waver whenever Binns repeats himself which happens quite frequently.

Everyone else has either nodded off or decided to do their own reading. Some were even getting started on homework for other classes. Only a small handful were trying to stay engaged like Hermione though they soon admitted defeat. One of them, Seamus Finnigan, actually left the classroom before he was escorted back by an unamused McGonagall.

Seth, who proudly wears the badge of master procrastinator with an impressive track record of A's and B's despite doing the assignment the night before, decided that it was high time for a nap. He can do homework later.

Hermione alternated between taking notes, listening to Binns drone, and trying to wake Seth up which is probably the only reason why she's still awake.

"Seth!" she hisses again, now tickling his nose with her quill.

Seth furrows his brow, eyes staying stubbornly closed. He bats the quill away. Hermione huffs and leaves him alone. But she's secretly formulating plans on how to keep him awake for future history classes. Maybe some itching powder or sugary caffeinated drink?

XXXXXX

Seth sits with his back hunched, shoulders up to his ears, jaw clenched, and entire body tense.

Hermione occasionally glances at him in worry but is usually too focused on trying to make sense of Professor Quirrell's soft mumbling lecture about something that may or may not have sounded like vampires.

The entire classroom was dark with only the bare minimum of lighting provided by candles lit all around and in danger of setting fire to one of the many curtains closed around the various windows. The entire room smelled like garlic with some musty undertone that made it harder for everyone to focus on Quirrell's mumblings.

There were also many dark arts related artifacts strewn about, presumably already purified or with multiple safety charms layered upon it.

But still, there was this persisting dark presence that made Seth twitchy. His senses were going nuts trying to pinpoint where it was coming from. He's also got a sick feeling growing in his stomach from how the dark presence feels.

Normally, due to his Shadow Charmer nature, the darkness was a comforting presence, like a cool shower on a hot day. Sometimes if the darkness was more ill intentioned or evil inclined, the coolness would turn into a chilly feeling that would range from a nip to the nose to full blown frostbite.

But this darkness felt so wrong. It was like something was decaying while wrapped in a fake shell to mask the smell of rotting.

Hermione glances over to him again and he tries to give her a reassuring smile but it comes out as a grimace.

The end of this class can't come soon enough. God, he was already dreading taking this class for the rest of the year. He wonders if the Weasley twins know anything that could help him skip this class. If not, then now's the perfect time to invent something.

XXXXXX

"I wish my sister could see this," Seth idly comments as he stares up at the clear night sky littered with stars. "She'd be so jealous."

A feeling of homesickness overcomes him as he thinks about all the nights that he, Kendra, and their friends and family would chill on the roof of the house on especially calm nights. They would eat all kinds of sweets while pointing out all the stars and constellations before giving them their own ridiculous nicknames.

His favorite was the Taurus constellation renamed to "I've fallen and can't get up," by Grandma Sorenson who ribbed Grandpa Sorenson about needing a life alert earlier when he'd fallen in one of the stables and had to call out for help cause he kinked his hip.

"Your sister's name is Kendra right?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, god, she's such a nerd and a really annoying older sister too," Seth responds, the homesickness coming through in his voice.

Hermione smiles at him sympathetically, "And yet you named your owl after her and always make sure to write a letter home at the end of each day."

He smiles wryly at her. "Gotta fill up my letter quota early or else I'll never hear the end of it from my family. Man, I wish cell phones could work here. I don't think I've written this much since kindergarten."

"Yes, it would certainly make communicating with my family much easier," she agrees while writing in another constellation on her star chart, "My dad is apparently still rather startled whenever an owl appears and my mum's trying to make her handwriting more legible again."

"Your parents are both dentists right?" he asks, peeking through the telescope to find another constellation.

Hermione voices her agreement. "What do your parents do?"

"Eh, just normal boring stuff like work in an office and doing accounting," Seth shrugs, "Nothing too exciting."

"So then how are you affiliated with the preserves?" she asks, unable to keep her curiosity at bay.

Seth smiles secretively at her. "That's for me to know and you to drive yourself insane over figuring out."

Hermione pouts as he laughs and the two return to their astronomy assignment, basking in a friend's presence under the beautiful night sky.

XXXXXX

"Oh come on, Neville," Seth whines, "There's nothing to be scared about. They're just pod flowers, nothing dangerous here."

"As long as you don't agitate it and inhale the spores. They'll make you very dizzy," Hermione chimes in.

Neville flinches at the mention.

"But not so dizzy that you'll end up in the infirmary," she quickly backtracks, also trying to calm the nervously shaking boy.

"Just give it a poke," Seth encourages, "Come on. I know you're afraid but that's okay!"

Neville looks at Seth skeptically. "That's not what grandmother says," he mumbles out miserably.

"Well your grandma's an old coot who wouldn't know self-preservation skills if it slapped her on the ass," Seth retorts.

Neville stares wide eyed at him in shock while Hermione cries out indignantly, "Seth!"

But Seth ignores her and continues plowing on, taking Neville by the shoulders and staring him down. "It's okay to be afraid," he reiterates as firmly as he can, "But do it anyway."

He lets Neville go and steps back. Neville looks at him, wide eyed and shaking, before he swallows down his fear and his eyes harden with determination. He's still shaking as he lifts a finger out to the puffapod.

Seth and Hermione watch, enraptured, as Neville's finger slowly gets closer and closer and closer to the closed pink pod. Finally, the finger makes contact and the pod springs open, blooming into a beautiful pink flower with purple highlights.

Neville's shoulders slump in relief when for once, he's not gotten the short end of the stick as none of the defensive spores of the pod were released. He turns to his two partners and smiles giddily at them. Hermione nods in approval while Seth holds two thumbs up.

XXXXXX

"So what do you think Snape's gonna be like as a teacher?" Seth asks. He's leaning forward over his worktable to speak with Ron and Harry who sit at the worktable in front of him.

Neville glances around nervously, keeping an unasked look out for the sudden appearance of the rather terrifying potions professor. Hermione looks across the room at them in disapproval with a disinterested Lavender Brown idly examining her nails seated beside her.

"I dunno but given everything I've heard about him I guess he would be a miserable greasy git," Ron responds with a glum frown.

"Well he can't be that bad, right?" Harry hesitantly asks.

Ron gives Harry a look. "Harry, he literally stared you down during the welcome feast like you were a bug on the bottom of his shoe."

"Yeah, I'm still curious as to what's up with that?" Seth wonders, "Like did your parents bully him when they were in school or did he like your mom and there was this whole love triangle situation going on?"

Harry shrugs helplessly. "I dunno. I never knew my parents because of the whole," he waves a hand up at his scar. The others nod in understanding. "The only things I know are my parents' names, James and Lily, they were amazing wizards, and that I look like my father but have my mother's green eyes."

Seth hums in thought.

Suddenly, the doors of the classroom burst open with a slam that startles all the students, both Gryffindor and Slytherin alike. Professor Snape sweeps in, his black robes billowing behind him like he's a tragic Shakespearean protagonist.

He makes his way to the front before turning around to face the students with a deep frown. Snape scans the students, letting his eyes trail over his unwanted audience before stopping dead center on Harry. He narrows his eyes at Harry, who flinches at the sudden attention, before returning his gaze back out to the group of students in red and green.

"There will be no silly wand waving or incantations in this class," he declares while looking down on them all with disdain, "That said, I don't believe any of you will appreciate the subtle science that is the exact art of potion making."

"However, for the few of you who may possess the...disposition," he walks down the main aisle between workbenches, staring each student down as if able to see into their very souls, "I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even how to stopper death."

"But then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not want to bother with this class," Snape sneers, stopping his sweeping walk to stand right in front of Harry.

Harry sinks down in his seat, hoping that his hair is sufficiently covering his scar. Ron tries to shrink and become unnoticed behind him. Neville flinches from how close the professor is to him. Hermione and Seth both frown from Snape's subtly rude attitude while the other students whisper to each other - the Gryffindors in worry and the Slytherins with smugness.

"Mr. Potter," Snape dismissively remarks, "Our new...celebrity."

Harry tries to sink further down in his chair but only succeeds in looking like a sad sack since there wasn't much chair left for him to sink down on.

"What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry frowns at the question and can only shake his head in response.

Snape raises an unimpressed eyebrow. "You don't know? Well then, let's try again. Where, Mr. Potter, would you look if I asked you to find a bezoar?"

Hermione's hand shoots up in the air. Her eyes narrowing at Snape as if trying to mentally drag his attention over to her. Harry shoots her a grateful look as he shakes his head and hopes that's the end of it.

"I don't know, sir," he answers.

Snape continues, undeterred, "What is the difference between monkshood and wolfs bane?" His attention still zeroed in on Harry and deliberately ignoring Hermione who's now waving her hand wildly back and forth.

"I don't know, sir," Harry answers, quiet and subdued by all the insecurity issues his terrible childhood piled onto his too young shoulders.

"Pity," Snape says as he looks to Harry with a plethora of unidentifiable emotions that go straight over everyone's heads except for Seth's. Seth narrows his eyes when he sees a hint of disappointment and was that grief? But why?

"Clearly fame isn't everything. Is it, Mr. Potter?" Snape says, getting one last dig in before sweeping back to the front of the classroom.

"There is no difference between monkshood and wolfsbane because they are both names for the same plant also known as aconite. A bezoar is a stone like mass found in the stomach of a goat that acts as an antidote to most poisons," Snape lectures, pace and emotions ratcheting up the more he speaks, "And if I combined powdered root of asphodel with an infusion of wormwood, I would brew a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the draught of living death."

Snape pauses dramatically though his eyes shine from some memory rising up to the forefront of his mind. There's a brief silence as everyone holds their breath, waiting to see what he'll do next.

The shine immediately disappears as quickly as it appeared and he slams a hand down onto his desk with a resounding smack. The sound jars the students back into reality as Snape demands, "Well? Why aren't you all writing this down?"

Students frantically scramble for their quills, dipping them in ink before quickly scribbling out notes. Snape whirls around to wave his wand at the nearby chalkboard. The recipe and brewing process for a "Cure for Boils" reveals itself.

As Seth calmly writes down his notes as legibly as he can, he frowns to himself as he mulls over the reason behind why Professor Snape was so hostile to Harry. There's something niggling in the back of his mind, something to do with the meaning of flowers or some shit like that, but he can't quite grasp what it is. Eventually, he shrugs to himself and decides to make a mental reminder to ask Kendra about it in his letter later.

XXXXXX

The Gryffindor and Slytherin first years stand separated into two rows on the field of the courtyard. Two rows of broomsticks are placed beside them as they all chatter excitedly or nervously about their first flying class.

"Come on, Neville. You'll be fine!" Seth exclaims, doing his best to be reassuring to the extremely nervous boy.

Neville tries to protest, stuttering nervously, "B-but-"

"But nothing," Seth cuts him off, pointing at the stern woman with short cropped white hair marching over, "Look the teacher's already here so just suck in your gut and do your best. If it all works out, great! If it doesn't, you can have exclusive "I told you so" rights."

That does little to nothing in reassuring Neville but he still appreciates the gesture anyway.

"Good afternoon, class. I am your flying instructor Madam Hooch," Hooch says as she briskly walks down the lane between the two rows of students.

"Good afternoon, Madam Hooch," the students all say like the good little kids they're supposed to be.

She whirls around to face them all, staring down with yellow hawk like eyes. "Welcome to your first flying class," she says as she waves a hand over at the brooms on the grass. "Well, what are you waiting for? An invitation? Step up to the left side of your broomsticks. Come on now, hurry up."

Each student takes a hasty step forward to comply with her orders.

"Now hold your right hand out over your broom and firmly say "up"!"

Each student holds their right hand out and say "up" with varying results.

Harry's broom immediately shoots up into his hand much to the boy's surprised delight. Draco's leisurely raises into his awaiting hand. Hermione's rolls around on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum and Ron's hits him smack in the face. Everyone else's brooms go up and down like a yo-yo as they repeatedly order their broom up.

Seth doesn't even bother as years of dealing with magic have taught him that magical objects always carry some degree of sentience. Thus like an animal, they can sense your intent without you having to say anything. So he gives his broom a look, releases a bit of his power through his hand, and without even having to say a word, the broom shoots up into his hand.

He holds his broom and acts like nothing out of the ordinary happened, unknowing of the narrow eyed gaze Hermione was giving him at his little display.

Once everyone has their broom in hand, Hooch nods satisfactorily.

"Now that you've got a hold of your broom, I want you to mount it," she orders.

Everyone throws a leg over the broom.

"And make sure to grip it tight," she warns, "You don't want to be sliding off the end."

"When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off of the ground, hard," Hooch says as looks each student in the eyes, "Keep your broom steady, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly to touch back down. Now on my whistle. Three, two..."

She blows into her whistle and like a chain reaction, Neville's broom suddenly lifts into the air without his permission.

He whimpers in fear as the broom slowly rises up. Seth lets go of his broom to quickly jump up and grab hold of Neville's broom, hoping the extra weight will bring it back down.

"Mr. Longbottom! Mr. Sorenson!" Hooch cries out as if yelling at the two would stop what was happening from happening.

But the broom keeps rising and eventually, Seth has to let go or else he'll be dragged along with Neville on whatever journey his broom felt like taking.

"Mr. Longbottom! Come back down this instance!" Hooch demands as Neville's broom zooms off and jerks him around like a bucking bronco.

Seth gives Hooch a disbelieving look that he shares with Hermione and a bunch of other muggleborns and half bloods with muggle education.

"Does it look like he has any sort of control over that thing?" Seth asks her, incredulous that the teacher wasn't trying to find another way to help beyond demanding Neville to get a hold of the situation himself.

Hooch looks to him in surprise before realizing how incompetent she's being as an instructor. She quickly pulls her wand out as Neville's broom whips the poor boy around, no doubt giving him a concussion or whiplash at the very least, and zooms back down towards the group.

Before she can cast a spell to stop him, his broom picks up speed leading everyone to dive out of the way in order to not get run over. Everyone gasps as the broom travels up in a loop before passing by a statue with a long spear that catches the end of Neville's cloak, yanking him off.

The cloak isn't strong enough to hold him though and quickly rips. Seth grabs his broom and jumps on, taking off before anyone can react. Neville falls from the statue but his cloak is thankfully caught by a torch stand sticking out halfway underneath. Seth leans forward to pick up speed just as Neville falls out of his cloak. He quickly catches him and slowly brings them back down to the ground.

"Mr. Longbottom! Mr. Sorenson!" Hooch exclaims as she makes her way over to the two boys. "Are you both alright?"

"I'm fine," Seth responds, "But I think Neville might have a concussion or whiplash."

Hooch helps Neville get off the broom though the poor boy's swaying back and forth a bit on his feet and his eyes are slightly glazed over.

"I think you're right, Mr. Sorenson," Hooch says, "Would you help take him to the infirmary? I'll help direct you both in the right direction."

Seth nods and grabs Neville's arm to sling over his shoulder to support him.

"And I would normally give detention to students who disobey orders and pull reckless stunts but given the circumstances, I shall reward Gryffindor 15 points for your quick thinking and reaction in saving your classmate's life," Hooch states, making the other Gryffindor's whisper to each other excitedly.

"Thank you, Madam Hooch," Seth says with a beaming grin.

"Alright! Everyone is to keep their feet firmly on the ground while I direct Mr. Longbottom and Mr. Sorenson to the hospital wing. Understand?" Hooch declares as she ushers the two boys out of the courtyard. "If I find a single broom in the air, the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts faster than they can say Quidditch."

Hooch guides the two boys through the winding halls and staircases of the castle until they reach a large hallway with a single door at the end.

"The door at the end is the infirmary. You are dismissed from the rest of the lesson to make sure Mr. Longbottom is alright before you head to your next class," Hooch tells Seth as she points to the infirmary doors, "If doing so will take longer than necessary, make sure Madam Pomfrey gives you a pass."

Seth nods as he tightens his supporting arm around Neville who's starting to look a bit green in the face.

Hooch nods. "Good. Now off you go. I need to make sure your classmates actually heed my warning."

With that, Hooch sweeps away as Seth slowly guides Neville to the infirmary. Madam Promfrey ushers the two towards a bed and helps Seth lay Neville down as gently as possible.

"Thanks for helping me, Seth," Neville whimpers out as the potion he'd just taken works its magic.

Seth gently pats Neville on the shoulder. "No problem. That's what friends are for!"

The smile Neville gives him at being called a friend makes Seth want to wrap the boy up in a blanket and feed him all the chocolate he wants.

He then mentally slaps himself for that thought cause damn. He's been hanging around Kendra for way too long cause now he's become the one thing he never wanted to be in a million years.

The Mom Friend.

And scene! Can I just say that the professors at Hogwarts, while individually great or unique, are actually the worst when it comes to being teachers?

Like in the movie Hooch just yells at Neville like that's actually going to do anything or in both movies and books where there's a revolving door for the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class or the blatant favoritism towards Gryffindor and prejudice against Slytherins by EVERYONE except the Slytherins or how Snape bullies kids but is still allowed to teach anyways cause he's the best at potions?

Like do they not have programs to teach people how to be teachers or something? Or do they just think that as long as they're good at the subject and aren't evil maniacs then it's totally fine? Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you all next time!