Welcome to Hogwarts
The door swung open to reveal a stern woman in green robes.
"Hello Professor McGonagall. Got the firs' years here." Hagrid announced cheerfully. So this was Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration professor and head of Gryffindor. The Marauders must have been awfully brave to annoy her, Harry thought.
"Thank you Hagrid. I will take them from here." Both of the adults standing aside, they allowed the students into the Entrance Hall. One side was mostly open to the Grand Staircase, actually an entire network leading all the way from the Dungeons to the top of the school. On the other side were a couple of small, closed doors and a set of giant hourglasses mounted high on the wall. Each one was currently empty, but was backed by a house flag. That must be where the house points were counted. Straight ahead was another set of double doors, although slightly less impressive that the ones they had just come in through. Despite their weight, Harry could still hear the muffled sound of shouting and laughter from beyond them. The entire school would be there, waiting for them to come in, Harry realised with no little apprehension. His musing was interrupted by a series of screams from around him. Turning he was shocked to see a group of pale, translucent figures coming out of a wall. He may have grown up in the magical world, but he still hadn't seen a ghost before, and by the sound of it he wasn't the only one surprised. Suddenly noticing their audience, the ghosts stopped to look at them for a moment, a couple of the more friendly smiling and waving.
"Oh look, it is the new first years!"
"... and so the actress said to the bishop- ahem I'll tell you later. Sorry Professor"
"Good luck in your sorting! Hufflepuff will welcome you warmly!"
"Ignore him, Gryffindor is where the party is!"
Before drifting on their ways.
Walking around them and then turning with her back to the Great Hall, Professor McGonagall addressed the group.
"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, your new home for many years to come. We are about to enter the Great Hall, where you will be sorted into your houses before the start-of-term feast shall begin. There are four Hogwarts Houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." She said, as she drew out the house symbols in the air with her wand. This is also the order of the tables in the Great Hall from left to right. For the next seven years you will sleep in your house dormitories, go to classes with your housemates and relax in your house common rooms. Your houses will be your families for the duration of your schooling and your Head of House will be responsible for looking after you, so the sorting ceremony is very important. Your teachers will reward excellence with house points, and deduct them for poor behaviour. At the end of the year the house with the most points will win the House Cup, a great honour. I hope you do your best to make your house proud by helping to earn it. I will just go and make sure everything is set up for the sorting. When I get back I will lead you into the hall, and then call you up in alphabetical order."
She turned and entered the hall, while the first years, suddenly very aware that everyone would be looking at them, were desperately trying to smarten up.
"As you don't know how to curse it flat yet, don't bother Harry." Neville smirked at Harry hurriedly attempting to neaten up his hair. Professor McGonagall returned and beckoned them forward. "Good luck."
Almost as one the first years stared up at the ceiling as they entered the hall. His mother and Remus were right, it was a perfect replica of the sky outside, now dramatically streaked with the oranges of sunset. There were four long tables the length of the hall, each with house banners floating above it amongst the constellation of candles. While there were still a few groups carrying on their own conversations quietly, most of the hundreds of students lining the benches had turned to watch them expectantly, and Harry knew at least some of them were looking especially for him.
At the front of the hall extended the staff table, raised upon a dais. Unlike the students in their uniforms, the staff were a study in contrasts. In the centre, on his throne sat an old man with a long white beard and bright purple flowing robes covered in silver shooting stars. From his chocolate frog card and occasional photographs in the Prophet, Harry knew that to be Albus Dumbledore. The small man bouncing up and down on his seat must be Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher. There was also a pale man with a hooked nose and greasy black hair sitting next to a very nervous looking gentleman in a ridiculous purple turban. Harry quickly looked away from the pair as a sharp pain shot through his scar. There was also a wispy woman staring into space through giant, thick lensed glasses, and a man who seemed to have lost a fight with a feral stoat, with a couple of chunks missing from his face, one ear, a large burn down his neck and a wooden arm, which seemed to be working fine.
Harry's perusal of the staff was cut short by Professor McGonagall stopping next to a small stool in the middle of the hall. Upon it sat a very battered leather wizard's hat. To Harry's amazement a tear in the brim opened up and it began to sing. Or at least chant.
A frankly bewildering song later, and the first new student was called up to try it on.
"Abbot, Hannah." A blonde girl with pigtails started forward after a moment of shock. The hat was far too big for her and seemed to cover her entire face. After a moment the hat announced "HUFFLEPUFF!". The table under the yellow badger clapped enthusiastically as she scurried over to them, obviously uncomfortable with the attention. Next up was "Bones, Susan". Harry gave his friend a smile and a small wave as she sat down. "HUFFLEPUFF!"
When Neville's turn came he was almost vibrating with apprehension. Harry gave him a light punch in the shoulder as he stepped forward. "GRYFFINDOR!" Neville was so caught up in the moment that he started to walk towards his new table before he suddenly stopped and turned back to replace the hat.
Finally Harry knew his turn was coming up.
"Perks, Sally-Anne" "GRYFFINDOR"
"Potter, Harry."
As his name was called the entire hall seemed to break out in loudly whispered conversations. "Harry Potter?" "Is that him?" "He doesn't look like much." "Where is the scar then?"
He had been told that everyone would be interested in him, but he had never imagined it would be quite like this, on display and everyone judging him without even a chance to get to know them. When he reached the hat he lifted it up and sat down, then placed it upon his head.
Ah, Mr Potter
He started slightly as a voice appeared in his head, then blushed furiously as he realised everyone must have seen that.
Don't worry, everyone is nervous under me. Albus even tripped on the way to his house table, which I never let him forget. Right, where shall we put you Mr Potter? Plenty of bravery, lots of loyalty...
"Not Slytherin, not Slytherin" Harry chanted under his breath.
You don't have to say it out loud, I can hear you perfectly well in here. Anyway no need to worry, that is the one house you comfortably don't fit. Maybe if things had gone differently. No matter. I think that you are truly your mother's son, and given the drive for innovation you have grown up amongst, I can only put you in "RAVENCLAW!"
After a beat of dead silence, as Harry removed the hat, a redheaded boy stood up at the Gryffindor table and shouted "We don't get Potter?" That seemed to open the floodgates for a roar of shouting and cheering, excepting from the Slytherin table, which was notably silent and, Harry noticed with a shiver, mostly scowling at him. Hurrying to the first year's section of his new house, he sat down between Sue Li and a dark haired boy who introduced himself as Antony Goldstein.
A few of the older years leaned down the table to offer their congratulations, and then Harry turned back to watch the rest of the sorting. As he was near the end it didn't take long, with a redheaded freckled boy called Ron Weasley being put into Gryffindor to finish, being greeted by enthusiastic hugs from the protestor from earlier and somebody who could have been his twin brother. Presumably they were all one family. On the subject of already knowing people, Harry made sure to catch Neville and Susan's eye for a smile and a nod, before turning to get to know his new housemates. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the hook-nosed teacher staring at him with an expression that he would later describe as 'confused apoplexy'.
The hall fell silent one last time as the Headmaster stood up. "Welcome! Welcome one and all to a new year at Hogwarts. I hope you haven't forgotten too much over the holidays, and are now ready for your minds to be pumped full of new knowledge. Before we begin the feast I have a few words to say: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Tuck in!"
With that he sat back down and clapped his hands, the golden platters all along the tables suddenly becoming filled with food. Seeing the expressions of complete befuddlement on the faces of the first years, one of the older Ravenclaws leaned over and assured them that "He is always like that. Best wizard in the world, but a bit mad. The gravy is to die for." And with that everyone loaded up their plates and began to stuff themselves.
After consuming a truly staggering amount of food, the desserts finally disappeared, leaving all of the plates as pristine as they had been when he had walked in. Dumbledore rose to his feet again.
"Now you have all eaten and drunk your fill, I have a few start of term notices to give out before you head to your beds. Firstly the Forbidden Forests is out of bounds for all pupils. The caretaker, Mr Filch" He gestured at a miserable looking man in a grimy coat sitting at the end of the table. "Has asked me to remind you that no magic is allowed in the corridors between classes. In addition, the list of prohibited items is pinned to the door of his office on the second floor, if any of you wish to refresh your memories." Harry swore he looked directly at the ginger twins at the Gryffindor table as he said this.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the first week of term. Any questions should be directed to your team captain or Madam Hooch. Finally I need to warn you that this year the third floor corridor above the Charms classroom is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." Even many of the returning students looked taken aback by this statement. "With that, I bid you goodnight. May you sleep well and be raring to learn in the morning."
As everyone began to stand up and drift away, a pair of older students approached the first year Ravenclaws.
"Hello everyone! I am Penelope Clearwater, and this is Arthur Branridge. We are the fifth year Ravenclaw prefects. That means we are responsible for looking out for the members of our house, especially you younger ones. If you follow us we are going to the Ravenclaw dormitory."
As soon as they left the hall, the crowds quickly dispersed, everyone seemingly choosing their own route. The first years were led up the centre of the Grand Staircase.
"Don't worry, we are not going the wrong way. Hogwarts is riddled with moving staircases and secret passages, so there are multiple ways of getting anywhere, which may depend which direction you are going and what time of which day it is. Don't be afraid to ask other students, portraits or the ghosts for directions regularly. We have been here for years and still only know a fraction of this castle. We are going on a slightly scenic route to let the rush die down a bit. This is the Grand Staircase. This is the safest way to make sure you get where you want to go as it is possible to reach all floors on all wings, at least the ones that are used for classes, from here. You can see that many of the stairs move, changing which landings they connect. You can tell when they are about to change by a sharp shake, see there."
She leaned over the bannister and pointed at a landing a floor below them. "After that you have about thirty seconds before it disconnects, so be careful and hold on to the bannisters. There are stories of people occasionally falling off a moving stair, but I have never seen it. People do occasionally drop things though, if they are not paying attention, and then have to go all the way to the bottom to pick them up again. There are two types of portraits in the school. Most are just mounted on the walls like some of you may have at home. The occupants have a basic reproduction of their original personality, enough to exchange a few words, but not have a full conversation. The other type you can see dotted on some of these landings, these are larger and touch the ground. They usually, but not always, protect an entrance to a secret passage or room. They normally require a password to open, but those which have someone on the other side, such as some of the teachers' offices, can ask the occupant if they want to allow you in."
"Here we are." Arthur now took over, as lecturing while climbing the stairs had left Penelope quite short of breath. "The entrance to the Ravenclaw Common Room is on the fifth floor of the South Wing. Like Gryffindor we inhabit one of the towers." He approached a plain wooden door with a large bronze eagle knocker. "This is the guardian of Ravenclaw Tower. To enter you have to prove your worth and answer a riddle. Don't worry, they are usually easier for younger years and if you are really having trouble there will normally be enough people going in and out that someone will let you in quickly."
To the first year's surprise as he stood in front of the door, the eagle opened its beak and spoke. "Paws on the sand can tear you, but the webs woven with my tongue are my greatest weapon. What am I?"
Turning to his charges the prefect asked "Any ideas?" At the blank looks he chuckled and turned back. "A sphinx." The door swung open, revealing a tight spiral staircase beyond. "You get used to them with practice, and deep as its repertoire is, they do end up getting repeated occasionally if you pay attention. Be careful of these stairs, while there is room for people to go both ways, there is not much leeway. When going up, stick close to the middle, coming down use the outside. Stay in single file if possible and pay attention, running into somebody and falling isn't pretty. Yes?" Antony had tentatively raised his hand.
"If it is just a riddle, then can't someone from another house get it?"
"Yeah, but we are not Gryffindor or Slytherin, who need to be able to keep the other out to prevent a full on war. Hufflepuff just has a pattern of four knocks which I don't think ever changes. If anyone causes trouble there are always people sitting around the common room and the portraits can fetch a teacher if something is very wrong. As long as it is not too large a group or too disruptive feel free to invite your friends from other houses here. Just don't take them to your dorm room." He wiggled his eyebrows and Penelope slapped him lightly on the shoulder.
At the top, the stairs opened up into a large circular space. There was a large fireplace with an array of sofas and armchairs arranged facing it. All the upholstery, wallpaper and carpeting was in rich blue, with abstract 'wind' patterns picked out in bronze. Flanking it were a pair of staircases wrapping along the inside of the wall leading up to a series of mezzanines overlooking them, extending several stories. Through the railing could be seen snatches of tables and a few bookcases. In the centre of the floor stood a white marble statue of a witch wearing what looked to be an actual silver jewelled circlet. Turning around Harry saw seven floor-length portraits and a large notice board, currently mostly empty. The ground floor was full of people, who started cheering as they entered, obviously waiting to welcome their new housemates. Once it had subsided, Penelope took up the introduction.
"As you can see this is the common room. The ground floor and the first level are the casual area. This is where you are encouraged to relax, chat to people, play chess and so forth. Further up are study spaces, so you have room to do homework or personal research alone or in small groups. There are charms to muffle noise coming from lower down, but still try not to be too loud here, and treat the study areas as a library. There are bookcases containing copies of the textbook and other common references, such as Hogwarts: a History, so you don't have to fight for them in the main library. Please look after them, don't rumple the pages or spill ink on them, and put them back once you have finished your study session. If you want to take a book with you, withdraw it from the library. You can't see from here, but some of the windows upstairs, and in your dormitories, open up onto small balconies. These can provide some nice extra space, especially leading up to exams, but note they will be closed in bad weather or snow, so don't leave anything out there. One this wall are the portraits leading to the dormitories. Yours is the one on the far left behind Eliza the Seer."
The portrait in question, a young woman in flowing blue robes and long blonde hair, waved.
"Your password for this year is 'Pinion'. All Ravenclaw prefects and teachers can enter your dormitories if they feel it is necessary, and you may tell the password to friends from other years if it would be useful. Do not abuse the ability to enter other years' dorms and please keep the passwords in house. If you need a prefect or a teacher for anything, then ask any of the portraits and they will find someone. The noticeboard is where house information is posted, such as quidditch training times and details of the weekly house quiz on Saturday evenings."
Arthur walked over to the first year dorms portrait and opened it with the password, and they followed him into a smaller circular room with a couple of sofas and a low table. A pile of trunks sat in the middle. "While it may look as if that corridor should lead out of the side of the tower, we are in fact standing right above the Common Room. Welcome to Hogwarts and just be glad you didn't have to climb all the way. Here as you can see there is a small space dedicated for your year only. While you are away from the rest of the house, we still can get in here and the portrait" He pointed to a small balding man on the wall. "will report if you abuse the privilege. This stair leads to the boys room, while that one goes to the girls. Do not try to climb the wrong one, however funny it may seem. You will be ejected and set off an alarm."
He led the boys up their staircase while Penelope took the girls. The room had 5 four poster beds with curtains, each with a wardrobe, dresser and nightstand next to it. "Please choose a bed each, and I will set the nameplates. Lights out are at ten for first years, so you should all be in bed by then. They come back on again at six thirty. When it is light enough, you will notice that the windows black themselves out at the same time. If you wish to sleep at different times, such as sleeping in on the weekend, just make sure you pull the curtains shut. The bathroom is through that door. There are two toilets and two shower cubicles, so you will have to arrange timings between yourselves. While the house elves will clean up, try not to make too much of a mess or you will get into trouble. There are alarm clocks next to each bed, so you have no excuse to miss breakfast.
He chuckled. "They are charmed to only sound for that bed, so you don't have to wake everybody up. You set them by twisting this dial here and then holding it down. Put dirty laundry in the bottom draw of your dresser, and it will be cleaned and returned once a week. The patches on your bed are to be placed on the chest of your robe like mine. They will fuse on and colour the trim blue. When you purchase replacements, you will need to ask for Ravenclaw robes. Any questions? Good. If you do think of anything, don't hesitate to ask anyone, or look for me, Penny or any other prefect with this badge on." He displayed the bronze P pinned to his robe. "I will see you in the morning. Make sure you are at breakfast by eight to receive your timetable. If you are unsure about getting there, just follow someone, I will be heading down at about half seven and will take anyone who wants." With that he left the first years to settle in by themselves.
Through the conversations over dinner and while getting ready for bed, Harry had begun to get a feel for his housemates for the next seven years. For the boys there was Antony Goldstein, a dark haired boy who apparently had grown up as part of the magical Jewish community, which raised many questions for Harry. Terry Boot was brimming with enthusiasm over all the magic he would learn. Michael Corner was from a minor branch of an old pureblood family, and was proud of his heritage. Oliver Rivers was a quiet muggleborn, seemingly overwhelmed by the extravagant displays of magic all around.
There were also five girls. Sue Li, a muggleborn who described herself as 'chinese scouser', which really confused all of the wizard raised, including Harry. Amanda 'Mandy' Brocklehurst was a small, heavily freckled girl who was the eldest daughter of House Brocklehurst. Despite her name, Morag MacDougal's family actually lived in Cornwall and she spoke in 'standard wizarding English', especially disappointing to her year mates having just listened to Professor McGonagall's Scottish brogue. Lisa Turpin was a half-blood, but had been raised in the mundane world, so along with Harry was the best at providing a 'bridge' between the two cultures. Finally there was Padma Patil, who had grandparents who had come to Britain from India when they were young along with their non-magical relatives. She had a twin sister, Parvati, who had been sorted into Gryffindor.
He was thankful for the three muggle raised, who had not been raised on stories of the 'Boy-Who-Lived'. They were confused by the awe the other children, even from older years, had upon seeing him and the constant clamours to see 'the scar'. The questions about the war and Voldemort had made everyone uncomfortable enough that Harry had finally managed to change the subject. At least nobody had had quills and ink on them to ask for autographs. Fortunately eleven year olds have short attention spans, so even by the end of the meal most had calmed down and started talking to him like a normal person. Probably the most interesting part of that whole debacle from Harry's perspective was everyone's reaction to the name 'Lord Voldemort'. Despite obviously none but the oldest students having any memories of the war, all of the wizarding raised had picked up the taboo from their parents to the extent that some even visibly recoiled when the muggle raised insisted they be told it.
Harry made sure he got up nice and early the next morning. Partly he was too excited to stay in bed, and partly they had agreed the night before to a first come first serve policy for the showers. He was not the only one, and the entire Ravenclaw first year was eagerly waiting when the fifth year prefects stepped into the common room to take them down to breakfast. Before they left, they were introduced to perhaps the most important item already on the noticeboard. It was a map of the castle, with helpful labels for the important parts, such as classrooms, and the most useful secret passageways. Harry didn't think it was as good as the Marauders' Map that Remus had described to him, but it would still be useful until he got used to the castle. As they walked through the castle on the way to the Great Hall, the prefects also pointed out the various features, paintings, tapestries, statues and so forth that could be used as way markers if they were lost or needed to follow directions.
The more they talked, the more daunted the first years became at the prospect of finding their own way around. Not only were the halls of Hogwarts a maze in their own right, distances did not always match up even without secret passages that seemed to teleport you around the school. Even worse, apparently many of these would change frequently. For example there was a false wall that led to a tiny staircase going down a floor, except on Tuesdays when it was a real wall, or Saturdays at 4:15-4:43 pm, when the staircase still went downwards, but dropped you through a ceiling outside the Headmaster's office, in an entirely different wing of the school. That was one of the easier ones, as the rules had been worked out. There was a reason her alumni described Hogwarts more like a living thing than a mere building.
Entering the Great Hall was very different to the night before. Rather than everyone already sitting and staring at them, it was half empty, people trickling in all the time. While people would have to return to their tables to receive their timetables, until then they were taking the opportunity to catch up with their friends from other houses and years, leading to knots of people drifting around the areas between the tables. Even though it was the first day there were already post owls delivering their burdens. Those owls waiting for a recipient yet to arrive gathered on the rafters, so they seemed to appear in the cloudless sky as they dropped through the enchantment. Looking around, Harry caught sight of Susan, and gave her a wave, but Neville did not seem to have arrived yet.
Glancing around he saw a few discarded Daily Prophets already lying on the table, but just knew the main story would be about him, so he couldn't bring himself to check it. As their entire year had arrived together, it wasn't long before their Head of House, Professor Flitwick, came down from the staff table to introduce himself. It was only up close that Harry realised quite how tiny the Charms master was, he was the only adult he had met that was smaller than him, and he was only eleven! To easier speak to them in the noisy hall, the professor flicked his wand, and an empty bench sagged to the ground, allowing him to step on it, then lifted him so he could walk onto the table in the middle of them.
"Greetings my new Ravenclaws. I hope you have all had a good night's sleep and are to start learning and do yourselves and the house proud. I am your Head of House, Professor Flitwick. I will also be teaching you all Charms for at least the next five years, so we will be seeing a lot of each other. As members of my house I have high expectations of you. You will be polite and treat others with respect. You shall not bully, antagonise or harass. If you feel that someone is deliberately provoking or threatening you, stay calm and inform myself, another teacher or a prefect. You are under our care and we will do our best to look after you. My office is behind the portrait of Rubeus Bellwether next to my classroom. You can recognise him by the multiple sets of spectacles he wears. Under no circumstances should you use magic on, or even point your wand at, another student outside of a supervised classroom environment. Even if you think you know what you are doing, magic can be unpredictable at the best of times and you are still learning. While the school nurse, Madam Pomphrey can fix up almost anything, a trip to the hospital wing is never nice, and that is still 'almost'." The small teacher took a moment to look at all of the students in the eye to make sure the message sank in.
"I am sure you are aware of the house points system and the house cup. Points are awarded for notable performances in class, such as volunteering the correct answers for questions, being the first to grasp a spell, or helping out a classmate. Points are deducted for poor behaviour, such as breaking rules, disrupting the class or handing in homework late. Make a habit of losing the house points and your colleagues will not be happy with you. In addition to points losses, professors may assign detentions. These typically take place in the evening and will consist of helping out a staff member with duties such a cleaning up after classes. Too many detentions, and I will be contacting your parents to discuss your behaviour. For particularly egregious offenses, the Headmaster reserves the right to suspend you for a period or even expel you from the school entirely."
Flitwick then startled the now quite frightened first years by suddenly clapping his hands and chuckling in his squeaky voice. "Now that is out of the way let us move onto more fun topics. House Ravenclaw is dedicated to nurturing inquisitiveness and academic excellence among our students. I am sure you have already seen how our common room is arranged to allow for ease of study by yourself or in small groups. Feel free to invite friends from other houses to join you if you wish, as long as they behave themselves. If you are having trouble with a piece of magic, schoolwork or even private research, then remember people are often a better resource than just books. Your first port of call should be your classmates."
He gestured to those sitting around him. "They will be doing the same work you are, and often explaining it will help them understand better. If you are still struggling then ask someone in an upper year, or post a request for help on the notice board. While this likely won't be relevant for this year, please check this regularly as you go up the school and donate some time to help others. Finally if you are completely stumped, then ask me or the relevant subject teacher. We are here to assist in your learning, and we can't do that if you just sit on a problem until the exams come around. In order to stimulate the thirst for knowledge, we run a weekly quiz as a house, normally after dinner on a Saturday. Some, if not all the questions will be relevant for each year so you won't be left out. The rules and team compositions, if any, will change every time for variety. Attendance is highly encouraged, but not compulsory as we understand you may have other designs on your time. I think that is everything important for the moment, unless our prefects have anything more to add? Well, here are your timetables for the year. Good luck, have fun and I will see you this afternoon in Charms."
With that he hopped off the table, and with a wave of his wand the timetables zoomed down from his place at the high table and settled in front of each of the first years. Harry grabbed his as soon as it stopped moving, eager to see what his schedule would be for the next ten months. The day was divided into five periods, each an hour long and with fifteen minutes to get from one classroom to the next, and an hour and a half for lunch in the middle. The first years had two classes a week for each subject, with an additional one for History of Magic. One of the Potions lessons was double length, and marked as the brewing session and Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts each had practical workshops once a week starting later in the term. His mum had explained to him that in these, students who stayed on for an extra year as assistants would oversee extra time for them to practice the magic they were learning in class.
Once the first years had had a good look at their timetables, the two prefects came over again.
"Right what have you got first? Transfiguration? Throwing you in the deep end I see." Penelope smirked. "Professor McGonagall is an excellent teacher, but make sure you behave yourselves, she doesn't suffer fools gladly. Haha, your faces. She can be quite strict, but as long as you behave yourself you will be fine. You are going to try and get back to the tower by yourselves now. We will be with you in case you go very wrong, but manage this and you will graduate to walk around without minders. In case you were wondering, especially if you want to come down later, or get something done before class starts, many people will bring their stuff down to breakfast and only return to the tower after classes."
Fortunately they had been paying sufficient attention that by working together and only a couple of wrong turns they made it to the common room. As a parting gift, the prefects tapped their wands to the map on the board and created a copy for each of the first years. Although they were warned that they would only last a couple of weeks, so to get memorising. With that they left to get started on their own day. Desperate to make a good first impression, Harry and his classmates hurried to pack their bags and managed to reach the Transfiguration classroom in good time. A couple of minutes before the bell (situated in the clocktower, but charmed to be heard clearly throughout the school) rang their partners for the lesson arrived: the Slytherins. Fortunately, other than a sneer from Draco Malfoy, both groups were too busy worrying and talking amongst themselves to interact. Then, as the bell tolled in a new day of learning, the door swung open and Harry's magical education truly began.