XXVIII

Kakashi didn't hurry. He still had ten minutes before the first period would end which gave him all the time in the world to find McGonagall's Transfiguration classroom before the start of the second period. Kakashi didn't linger around though. He felt like somebody was following him, but as he turned around there was nobody. It was probably just the wards making him feel uncomfortable, he thought, but couldn't shake the feeling.

He tried retracing his steps all the way back to where he had smelled the scent of a cat on the ground floor. Just as he stepped on the staircase down to the first floor, something shifted under his feet. Shocked he grabbed for the barrister, when—

The stairs moved.

"Ah, there it is," a crackling voice announced from behind him. "I was wondering why the castle was being so boring lately. Normally, it loves playing around with the new students."

Shocked, Kakashi whirled around. He hadn't known there was somebody so close to him.

It wasn't a student. Instead, a little man with slanted orange eyes and dressed in outlandish clothes with a bell-covered head hovered above the stairs behind him. Kakashi stared at him, as the ghost-like creature waggled its head. The bells rang shrilly.

"Ah-ah!" the man laughed showing a row of yellowish teeth. "There you are! I was about to get insulted. Nobody ignores me for that long."

It was a ghost, Kakashi thought. It had to be. He had never seen one, but there was no other explanation. However, something was odd about it. He seemed almost tangible, not quite ghostly enough...

"You look like you saw a ghost!" the ghost cackled. "What a major surprise, huh?" Then he laughed about his own joke. "Let me welcome you to Hogwarts."

The ghost snapped with his fingers, and suddenly a creamy cake appeared above Kakashi's head. Kakashi reacted quick enough to catch it, but without the plate, the soft cake and cream crumbled and fell apart in his hands, pouring all over his hair and shoulders.

"AAAHAHA!" the ghost laughed, bells ringing, then it turned invisible and reappeared hovering next to the stairs pointing with his outstretched index finger at Kakashi. "WHAHAHA!" He clapped, curling in from laughter.

Now, Kakashi realized, that the stairs and the walls around him were all visible. Not just the ghost, that now began dancing over the banisters. There were paintings on the walls. The inhabitants were alive the way the ones in the pictures in the Daily Prophet were…Maybe even more so…

Just opposite Kakashi, a fat man in an oval picture frame shook his head. "Peeves!" His voice boomed across the staircase disapprovingly. "Take your games elsewhere. Some people have to work. My inspiration—"

"What would you be working on?" A haggard witch interrupted from a rectangular painting next to the fat man. "You haven't published a book since you died! And you still owe me five Galleons."

"You'll get it, you greedy hag!" The fat man shouted back at her, waving a fist.

"How dare you!" The witch exclaimed, and then she disappeared from her frame and in a matter of seconds reappeared in the oval frame which was much too small for the two of them, where she hit the fat man with his own walking stick.

Meanwhile, the ghost – Peeves – was still dancing in front of Kakashi.

"You're a ghost?" Kakashi said fascinated. Yes, he had read about them, but seeing them as a different matter entirely.

The ghost stared at him queerly, as if Kakashi had asked something utterly absurd. "Nah, don't lump me in with those boring dead people."

"PEEVES!" a different ghost appeared at the bottom of the stairs, staring up at Kakashi and Peeves. This one was much more ghostly, pale, and translucent.

"Oops!" Peeves shrieked.

The newcomer hat chains around ankles and wrists. The skin was pearly white. There were silvery stains on his old-fashioned robes, which might be blood.

There was something haunting about this one, Kakashi thought.

"Peeves!" the ghost repeated in a hoarse whisper.

"Toodeloo!" And with that, Peeves slipped through the bottom of the stairs as if he just fell through the ground, disappearing out of Kakashi's sight. The other ghost stared at the spot where Peeves had disappeared from, then, just as children's chatter reached them, the second ghost disappeared as well.

"What happened to you, mate?" Ronald Weasley came around the corner. He looked at Kakashi with narrowed eyes. "Did you have a run-in with Peeves?"

Kakashi nodded, frustrated that he hadn't stopped the attack. Granted, there were worse things than whipped cream and cake in his hair, but even that was embarrassing enough.

"Sorry, man."

"He's a ghost?" Kakashi asked, curious and a bit excited. "I never saw ghosts before."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked with raised eyebrows. "They were at the feast yesterday." Kakashi shrugged, which prompted Ron to snort. "Man, you really need to pay more attention to things. Anyway, Peeves is a poltergeist…I don't actually know the difference."

He half-turned to the kids that came up behind him. "Hey, Hermione? What's the difference between—" He stopped short then. "Where's Hermione?"

Harry who had arrived after Ron looked back and through the crowd of kids standing at the top of the stairs waiting for Ron to move on. "She was just behind me a minute ago." Harry turned back and his green eyes settled on Kakashi. Then he pulled out his wand. "Let me help you." With a quick wave of his wand and a whispered "Scourgify," he cleaned the cake from Kakashi's hair and shoulders.

"Thanks."

"Yeah, you're welcome. Did you see Hermione?"

"What's the hold-up?" Somebody asked from behind, prompting Ron and Harry to continue their way. Kakashi joined them on the way to the Transfiguration class. It was much easier now that he saw his way.

And then in the Transfiguration classroom, Hermione was already waiting for them.

"How did you get here?" Ron asked as he sat next to her, while Kakashi took the seat between Neville and Ernie.

The first day back in school and already there was a prophecy predicting his death. Harry liked to think that Hermione's insistence that the prophecy wasn't real and nothing to take seriously was justified…but with his track record it might as well be true. The grim…Professor Trelawney had almost thrown the cup away from fright when she saw it in his tea leaves. Harry hadn't seen it…Well, with some fantasy, he guessed there could've been a dog…or a howling wolf…or maybe a lion or some other animal with a snout and fur…Not like there was a shortage of those. It could've been everything…

And yet, Professor Trelawney had been so sure, and surely, she knew what she was talking about. She was the expert after all, and he had only had his first Divination class.

Harry tried to shove it in the back of his mind. Transfiguration was about to start…but Professor McGonagall had still not arrived. This tardiness was highly uncommon for her. He looked to the front desk. There was a cat there sitting on the tabletop, watching the students with sharp eyes. It had rings around its eyes that seemed vaguely familiar to Harry.

"Where's Professor McGonagall?" Ron whispered to Harry's left. "Don't tell me she's late."

"I'm sure she'll be on time!" Hermione declared from Ron's other side, but her eyes were nervously watching the door.

"Anyway, what do you think that was about?" Ron leaned toward Harry. "The grim."

"I have no idea," Harry replied. "I never saw a big dog like that…"

"Honestly, it might have just been a crab."

"How was it a crab, Weasley?" Lavender Brown said from behind them, glaring at the back of Ron's head.

"You didn't see it," Ron insisted turning in his chair. "How would you know?"

"Of course, I saw it!" Lavender crossed her arms, pouting.

Harry put his arms over his desk and rested his head in the crook of his elbow. He wished Trelawney had read somebody else's tea leaves.

At that moment, up front, the cat stretched and jumped from the desk. Just as it landed on soft paws, it turned in front of their eyes. And there she was: Professor McGonagall.

Harry stared at her. He hadn't seen that coming. But it seemed nobody aside from Hermione and maybe Charlie had taken note of the teacher's show. Now, Harry also knew why those rings around the cat's eyes had seemed so familiar. They had looked just like her spectacles.

Professor McGonagall looked around the assembled students, then she turned back into the tabby cat.

"What's got into you all today?" she asked when she was human again. "Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation's not got applause from a class."

"Please Professor," Hermione said, "we had our first Divination class, and we were reading tea leaves, and—"

Professor McGonagall sighed with a frown. "Of course. I understand, Miss Granger. Now, which of you will be dying this year?" She rolled her eyes.

Even those whose attention she didn't get with her transformation now stared at her.

"Me," Harry said.

The Hufflepuff's who hadn't been with them in Divinations looked at Harry curiously. Soon the whole school would know, Harry feared. Draco would surely find a way to tease Harry with it as soon as his Dementor-mockery got old.

"I see." Professor McGonagall fixed Harry with her eyes, "You should know, that Sibyll Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues—" She stopped herself. Her nostrils flared. "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney…"

Her eyes roamed the entire class before settling back on Harry. "You look in excellent health, Mr. Potter. So, excuse me, if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

A few kids laughed and Harry felt a bit better. He trusted Professor McGonagall more than Professor Trelawney and her wet tea leaves. Back behind him, he could hear Lavender disapprovingly whisper to Parvati, but he didn't listen. Instead, he opened his textbook when Professor McGonagall stepped to the chalkboard.

"Now, let's move on. This is Transfiguration, after all, and not Divination. This first term of the year will focus on human-animal transfiguration. This is a highly advanced form of magic. I should say up front, that it is not expected for third years to be able to turn themselves or other people into animals, but you should still learn the theory behind it. I'm sure, you will all find it rather boring, but I fear there will be a lot of theory in these next few weeks."

Harry and Ron groaned. That meant reading long chapters and writing even longer essays. Magic was fun but writing essays about it…Ugh!

"Now, does anybody already know how we call a person who is able to turn into an animal without their wand the way I demonstrated earlier?" She addressed the whole class, but her eyes obviously sought out Hermione. Indeed, Hermione did immediately raise her hand. However, she wasn't the only one.

Even McGonagall looked surprised as she looked from Hermione to somebody behind Harry. "Yes, Mr. Major?"

Harry turned in his chair to look at his new friend. He was probably more confused than anybody else, how Charlie could know something the rest of them didn't. Neville was staring at him too, Harry saw.

"An Animagus," Charlie said in a clear voice as if he was dead certain. Harry remembered the word immediately. Charlie had mentioned it before.

"Very good, Mr. Major. I see you read ahead in the textbook?" Charlie neither confirmed nor denied the question. "Five points to Hufflepuff."

As Ernie clapped Charlie on the back, Harry turned back to Professor McGonagall. Tentatively, he sniffed the air. The day before, Charlie had smelled something and guessed that Professor McGonagall was an Animagus. Apparently, he had been correct. But Harry had never smelled anything cat-like in Professor McGonagall's office or classroom. Even now, as he was searching for it, he couldn't smell anything. Harry knew the way cats smelled. Before he went to Hogwarts the Dursleys had sometimes left him with an elderly neighbor called Ms. Figg who had several cats. Her flat always stank of the animals.

While Professor McGonagall started writing down the basic theory of human-animal transfiguration Harry snuck a glance at Charlie. He thought he was inconspicuous, but immediately, Charlie's eyes turned to him. The boy smiled at Harry as their eyes met, then he focused back on what Professor McGonagall was teaching with an expression as if this was the most interesting thing he would ever learn.

Harry remembered his first days in Hogwarts. Well, it probably was the most interesting thing, Charlie had ever learned, even if it was a boring theoretical lesson.

Now, this was lucky timing, Kakashi thought, as he left the Transfiguration classroom with Neville. He had feared that he'd need to look up all the information about Animagi himself, but instead it was the first thing he'd learn about in his Transfiguration classes. After initially talking about what an Animagus was, the class had focused much more on different and much more basic forms of transfigurations. Kakashi assumed it would still be a few weeks until they would learn anything useful about Animagi, but it was still a great relief to know that he didn't have to do all the research alone. This way, he'd even have an excuse to ask Professor McGonagall directly about it later on.

"So, what do you'd be if you were an Animagus?" Neville asked. He sounded nervous and unsure of himself, but he clearly tried to keep the conversation going. "I mean it's interesting, right? If it reflects your personality." He wrung his hands. "Mine would be…I mean, I think…" Then he blushed, his ears turned a bright red and he pressed his lip tightly together. Kakashi guessed, he remembered the day before when Draco Malfoy compared him to a toad.

"A dog," Kakashi said, feeling very certain about the assessment. "I'd be a dog."

"Oh, that's cool," Neville piped up with a bright smile. "You like dogs?"

Together they walked to the Great Hall for their lunch break. Kakashi pulled out his schedule on the way. "So, I have a double Potions after lunch," he announced. "Where exactly is the classroom?" He guessed it had to be somewhere in the dungeons, but he didn't even know the way there.

Neville leaned over to peer at his schedule. "A double Potions?" he asked looking rather unhappy. "I'm sorry." He pulled out his own schedule then. "I have double Potions tomorrow morning," he sighed. "Anyway, the classrooms are just…" He did a half-turn in front of the doors to the Great Hall. "Down that way," he pointed at the big staircase leading into the dungeons. "then it's right at the end of the stairs."

"Don't act as if you actually know the way, Longbottom," Draco Malfoy sneered as he and his friends came up behind them. "Our new classmate might get lost in the dungeons. We wouldn't want that, would we? What would your Muggle parents do if you couldn't find your way back, Major?"

"Leave him be," Harry exclaimed glaring at Malfoy.

"You're a right bastard, Malfoy," Ron muttered, shoving the boy to the side to make his way to the Great Hall. Then he put a hand on both Kakashi's and Neville's shoulders and pushed them through the door away from where the Malfoy now imitated Harry's fainting in the Hogwarts Express. "Just ignore the bugger."

Kakashi stopped short as he entered the Great Hall. There were candles flying above his head and above that…The ceiling portrayed the noon sky. The sun stood high above their heads shining brightly, almost blinding Kakashi as he looked up at it.

"He's an idiot!" Kakashi almost missed what Hermione said.

"Will you be eating with us?" Neville asked, but just at that moment, Cedric waved Kakashi over from the Hufflepuff table.

Ah, right, Kakashi had forgotten all about that, so he excused himself from Ron and Hermione and left for his house table.

"Hey Charlie," Cedric called when Kakashi got within earshot. "Do you still want to talk to Dumbledore?"

"No," Kakashi answered as he arrived at the table. "Professor Sprout already took me there. But thanks."

"No problem, mate. Whatever you need. Enjoy the meal," Cedric waved and turned back to his conversation with the other fifth years.

Kakashi sat between Justin Finch-Fletchley and Zacharias Smith, and opposite Hannah Abbott. He hadn't had the chance to get to know Zacharias yet.

"So," Zacharias said as soon as Kakashi sat next to him. "Few things you should know before your first Potions class." He pulled a plate of roast beef closer and served himself a generous helping that any Akimichi would be envious of. "Snape is a git. Don't try to anger him, or talk back, or do anything at all unless you're asked to. Just keep your head down and do what he says or follow the instructions in the book." He cut his roast up and started eating in a tempo that even Kakashi would have trouble keeping up with.

Kakashi used the chance to take some of the remaining roast beef now that the plate was already so close. He served himself a few spoons of mashed potatoes as well. "I already heard about him from Harry and Neville," he replied.

"I'm sure you did," Zacharias said between bites. "But don't listen to them. They have no clue how to handle Snape. If you keep your head down, it's not that bad. They just don't know that."

"Because they don't keep their heads down?" Kakashi asked dubiously.

Zacharias shrugged. "Never had Potion classes with them, but from what I heard…And I know Granger and Potter well enough. They never keep their heads down. Granger is a know-it-all. Of course, Snape doesn't like that. And Potter puts his nose everywhere."

"What about Neville?" Kakashi asked because although he could see Harry and Hermione provoking Snape with their attitude, it didn't sound like Neville.

Zacharias shrugged. "He's horrible at Potions from what I hear."

"You're unfair," Hannah said looking up from her plate. "From what I hear, Snape is horrible to Harry and Neville. Everybody knows."

Zacharias huffed. "He's horrible to all of us. But if you keep your head down and don't provoke him, he gets no reason to pull any house points."

"It's not just about house points," Hannah disagreed.

"Well, in any case…if you keep your head low, he might not even remember your name. That's honestly the best that can happen. That's how I can cruise by in Potions."

"But you're good in Potions," Justin said over his glass of pumpkin juice. "And you're a pureblood. He likes purebloods."

Zacharias made a face. "He likes Slytherin purebloods. That's not the same."

"You still have it easier," Justin argued. "He leaves you be. You and Ernie both, because you're purebloods even though he doesn't like you."

"It's not like that," Zacharias insisted. "I keep my head down." He pointed at Susan a bit further down the table. "He leaves Susan alone too, and she's a half-blood. And Longbottom's a pureblood too."

Justin grunted. "You know, that's because of her aunt. She's in the Wizengamot. I'm not saying, he's a racist git who just bullies purebloods, but he's picking easy targets. And you all have big families that will complain if you get mistreated in Hogwarts."

"So what?" Zacharias scoffed. "You think he shouldn't keep his head low. That's stupid."

"Nah," Justin hummed. "It's probably best if you keep your head low." He looked at Kakashi.

Kakashi shook his head emptying his cup of pumpkin juice. It tasted odd and he decided to just drink water the next time. "It's too late for that anyway. He already doesn't like me."

Zacharias groaned at that. "Please, don't cost us too many points."

"Zack!" Hannah exclaimed. "It's not just about that."

Kakashi took that as his cue to leave. He stood up from the table and was about to leave the Great Hall when Justin called after him. "Hey, didn't you want to talk—Wait! You're already done eating?" He stared at Kakashi's empty plate that was just moments before filled with mashed potatoes and roast beef. The curly-haired boy quickly put his glass down, grabbed his bag, and ran after Kakashi.

"Mr. Major?"

Kakashi had just been about to open his textbook when Professor Snape called his name.

"Can you tell me what ingredients Mr. Corner has missed?" Down here, in the dungeons, Snape's nasally voice had an almost haunting quality to it.

Corner was a Ravenclaw sitting in the first row who had answered the question that Snape had asked before. Snape had started his class with a short recap quiz about the subjects of the last year.

"I don't know." Kakashi shook his head.

"Have you listened to what Mr. Corner said, at all?" Snape asked through his nose.

Kakashi nodded.

Beady black eyes fixed on Kakashi. "So?" Snape demanded when Kakashi didn't speak of his own accord. "What did he say?" One of his eyebrows was raised expectantly, but from the malice in his voice, he didn't believe Kakashi could answer the question.

"It was about the effects, and ingredients for a Wiggenweld Potion," Kakashi said in an even voice. "It is a healing potion that can cure both injuries and the effects of a Sleeping Draught. The ingredients Corner mentioned are Wiggentree bark, Moly, Dittany, Sloth brain Mucus, drops of Moondrew, a slewed Mandrake, Honeywater, Horklump juice, Unicorn horn, and ten Lionfish spines" Kakashi recounted what Corner had said, though he didn't know half of the words. What was a Moondrew? What was Dittany, or Mucus, or a Mandrake?

Snape looked crossly when Kakashi was able to answer. "And what was he missing?" he asked again.

"I don't know," Kakashi said once more.

"Mr. Major, I don't know how it's done where you come from, but I think starting a new school, especially in your situation, the bare minimum of preparation should be expected, don't you think?" He continued his stride through the rows of pupils with their kettles. "Five points from Hufflepuff. Please stay for a moment after class. As you seem unwilling to do the necessary work yourself, I fear we'll have to come up with a curriculum for you."

Ernie and Susan who sat to Kakashi's right and left stared angrily at Snape, but Kakashi waved at them not to get involved. Whatever extra work Snape had planned for him, Kakashi didn't really mind it that much. After all, now that he could see the castle clearly, he could afford to lose a bit of chakra to create a clone and do some extra reading.

After that, they were asked to brew a Shrinking Potion according to the instructions in Kakashi's book. Following the instructions was easy by itself, however, what was difficult was figuring out what the different words for the ingredients meant. What was the spleen of a rat, or a caterpillar? Ultimately, he just looked at what Ernie was doing and picked the same ingredients, hoping the boy knew what he did.

Kakashi had no problems following the instructions, and it even looked the way it should. Snape was watching him closely he knew, and the man was silently seething at his success. And then he arrived at the last instruction.

14. Cast the Shrinking Charm

Kakashi read the instruction four times before he finally relented that he wouldn't be able to do that. He stirred his potion waiting for Ernie to arrive at the same step. Kakashi had worked a bit too fast and reached this late stage among the first in the class.

"Mr. Major," Snape called for him after Kakashi hadn't done anything for a few minutes. "You will soon overcook your potion. Cast your Shrinking Charm now, or you can throw your potion away."

Kakashi stared at him. "I don't know how to do the Shrinking Charm," he admitted.

"I can—" Hannah Abbott made to offer but was promptly interrupted.

"That's a shame indeed. I advised against your being in this class," he sighed. Then he nodded toward Hannah. "Very well, Ms. Abbott, if you'd be so kind?"

Red in the face from relief that Snape had agreed Hannah stepped up to Kakashi's kettle and quickly cast the Shrinking Charm.

"How did you do step nine?" Hannah whispered at him when Snape turned away from them to look at one of the Ravenclaw's potions.

"I've stirred in an even circle," Kakashi whispered back. Most of his classmates he had noticed, had trouble with the stirring instructions. Stir slowly, stir vigorously, stir with caution, stir at a certain temperature… None of this was overly precise, and from what he could see from the other students, most messed up at least one of the stirring instructions, as they were too fast or too slow or not vigorous enough. "And without splashing."

"I've tried that," Hannah said. "But the color—"

"Ten points from Hufflepuff," Snape declared without further warning. "Ms. Abbott, Mr. Major, no whispering. Why don't you share your concerns with the class?"

Hannah blushed. She opened her mouth, but her lips trembled and then she pressed her jaw tightly shut. It was clear that she didn't want to say something that could anger Snape and cause his wrath to land on her.

"Well?" Snape sneered. "We don't have all day."

Helplessly, Hannah looked at Kakashi.

"We were discussing what the instruction 'stir cautiously' entails exactly," Kakashi explained moving his fingers through the air in a small stirring motion.

"Is that so, Mr. Major?" Snape asked focusing on Kakashi since he had spoken. "Surely, you speak the language well enough, to know the meaning of the word 'cautiously'?" Without giving Kakashi a chance to reply, he turned to Hannah. "Ms. Abbott, maybe you can help your classmate again?"

"Cautiously means Carefully," Hannah said at once in a squeaky voice.

"Very well, and what might this mean in regard to stirring?"

Looking at Kakashi apologetically, Hannah answered: "To stir evenly and without splashing."

"Now, was that so hard, Mr. Major?"

Kakashi shook his head.

Ten minutes after the class, Snape handed him a personal curriculum, asking him to read four chapters of the first- and second-year textbooks every week so he could quickly catch up to his classmates. Snape didn't explicitly say, that he would test Kakashi's progress, but he certainly implied it. At the very least, he expected a short written summary of the contents.

Outside the classroom, Hannah Abbott was still hovering uncertainly in the corridor when he left the classroom a few minutes after everybody else.

"Charlie!" she exclaimed when he left the classroom. "What did he want?"

She and Susan were the only two kids left in the dungeons. Potions was their last lesson of the day.

Kakashi waved with the parchment, Snape had handed him with his list of chapters to read for the next class. "He wants me to read the old textbooks to catch up on the subject matter."

"Ugh," Susan made a sound as if she was about to vomit. "Really nice of Snape," he muttered. "I feel really bad for you."

"It's not that bad," Kakashi assured. "Really. I should've expected it. I need to catch up after all."

Susan made a face as if she ate something disgusting. "Well, he could be nicer about it."

Kakashi nodded in agreement. Snape could be nicer.

"I'm sorry," Hannah blurted out as they climbed the stairs together. "You told me how to do the cautious stirring and then I just acted as if it was my idea."

Kakashi shrugged. "I'll survive."

"It wasn't fair. He took it and acted as if you were the idiot. I shouldn't have done that."

"No harm's done." Kakashi insisted a little embarrassed with the bumbling apology.

"No, it wasn't right…"

"But Snape, the git," Susan grumbled, "he saw that you were almost done with your potion. So clearly, you did the cautious stirring right."

Kakashi agreed. Clearly, Snape had seen it too. The man wasn't an idiot, after all. Quite the opposite. In any case, if Snape aired his grievances about being unable to prove Kakashi a liar by taking a few house points and asking Kakashi pointless questions to humiliate him in front of the class…That wasn't as bad as Kakashi had feared. It wasn't like he had come here to strike up a friendship with the Potions master. So, what did he care if Snape didn't like him and showed that in class? He didn't even plan to stay long enough to write the final exam and couldn't care less about a passing grade.