Year 1: A New Generation
Chapter 2: October 2011
The first Monday of the second week of October was quite an exciting week for the first years. They would be brewing their very first potions. It was just a simple forgetfulness potion, but Victoire was quite excited about it. Professor Abbott-Longbottom had been preparing them since the start of term, so Victoire felt very ready to test out her brand-new cauldron.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Brianna exclaimed.
"I hope mine doesn't explode," Kara muttered.
"It won't, don't worry," Victoire assured her. "If anything, it'll just turn to sludge. My Uncle George says that the worst that can happen to a forgetfulness potion. He would know, he's made every mistake in the book. It's how he managed to develop all his products."
"Alright everyone, settle down," Professor Abbott-Longbottom called out as they all filed in and took their seats. "Now remember how I told you that you were going to be brewing your potions in pairs?" Victoire did remember. In fact, it was the one thing that had been worrying her about this lesson. Was she supposed to work with Kara or Brianna? And if they chose to work together, then who was Victoire supposed to work with? "Well I've decided that the pairs are going to be drawn randomly from this hat." Victoire let out a sigh of relief. At least she didn't have to worry about it. She would be assigned a partner and that would be that. She hoped it was either Kara or Brianna, but really it didn't matter too much who she was paired with. It wasn't like she had made any mortal enemies yet.
"Aww man," Victoire heard Kara mutter under her breath. "Just watch me get stuck with some Slytherin loser."
Victoire rolled her eyes at her friend and then focused her attention on their Professor, who was picking the first pair of names.
"Damian Roper and… Kara Jensen," Professor Abbott-Longbottom announced.
Kara grimaced. "I knew this was going to happen," she muttered, letting her head fall into her hands.
"Joe Sanders and… May Enlow," the next pair was announced.
Victoire waited nervously as pair after pair was called. Caitlin got paired with Cameron Philbrick. Brianna got paired with a girl in Ravenclaw named Amelia Townsend. Ellie Sawbridge got paired with a Hufflepuff by the name William Shimpling. When Victoire's name was called, there were very few people left who hadn't been called and Victoire hoped to Merlin she got paired with someone good.
"Victoire Weasley and… Raina Hudson," the Professor announced.
Kara started chuckling as Victoire dropped her head to the potions table. "Guess I didn't get the worst partner after all," she smirked. "Good luck with the plant-whisperer over there."
Victoire rolled her eyes at her friend as the last few pairs were called and then reluctantly made some room for Raina as the girl began to come over to join her at her bench.
"Pretty lucky that we got paired up, huh?" Raina said, spreading her things out. Almost immediately, Victoire wished her nose plugs weren't back up in the dorm, because she could smell the fertilizer on Raina, as though it had become part of her natural scent.
"Yeah, really lucky," Victoire agreed sarcastically. Thankfully, Raina didn't pick up on the sarcasm and instead started setting up their station. "I'll go get the ingredients," Victoire volunteered, willing do anything to get a few seconds away from the smell.
She hurried into the storeroom and started looking around for the things she would need. Lethe river water for sure… valerian root… some lavender sprigs…
"Hey," Brianna's voice whispered as her friend joined her to pick out ingredients. "How're you doing?"
"She reeks!" Victoire exclaimed, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "It's like she's got some on her robes or something. Has she always smelled this bad, or am I just crazy?"
"I dunno," Brianna shrugged. "I mean, we've been around her in classes and stuff and it's never been a problem. Maybe she forgot to shower this morning or something."
"Yeah, maybe," Victoire agreed, grabbing the last ingredient she needed. "Well, I guess I'd better get back. At least it only takes an hour to brew the potion."
"Good luck," Brianna said as Victoire returned to the classroom with ingredients in hand.
"Alright, here's everything we need," Victoire said, spreading the stuff out on their bench.
"Alright, I'll get started chopping up the valerian. Why don't you crush up the lavender?" Raina suggested.
Victoire agreed and set to work. After about forty-five minutes of work, their potion was looking very nice.
"Alright," Raina muttered, consulting her textbook. "Now we add two more drops of the lethe river water and then we just need to add the mistletoe berries and let it simmer for a bit."
"Oh shoot!" Victoire exclaimed in frustration. "I forgot the mistletoe berries! Hang on, I'll be right back."
Victoire hurried into the storeroom and began scanning the shelves for the last ingredient. It was only her first day in here, so she didn't know where everything was kept yet and had to scan the labels slowly. If only Professor Abbott-Longbottom had alphabetized things in here. According to her father, Professor Snape had always kept his storeroom alphabetized for simplicity.
"There it is!" Victoire exclaimed, seeing it on the second shelf. She reached for it and was about to grab four when suddenly, a loud explosion sounded from the classroom. Hurrying to the door, Victoire peeked out, curious as to what had happened.
"Raina!" she cried out in surprise when she was that it was their cauldron that had exploded. "What happened?" Forgetfulness potions weren't supposed to explode – that's one of the reasons it was always the first one the first years were taught; less danger on their first time brewing.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that was going to happen!" Raina apologized. "I just thought it couldn't hurt. It works so well for my plants, and I was curious if it would work for potions too."
"Curious about what?" Professor Abbott-Longbottom asked, coming down from the front to peer into the remains of what had been Victoire's brand-new cauldron.
"My special fertilizer," Raina explained. "I just thought I'd add a little bit and see what would happen. I figured the worst would be the potion just wouldn't work."
"Oh my God, seriously?" Victoire cried out angrily. "You added your dumb fertilizer to our potion? You could have blown up half the school for all you know!"
"Victoire's right," the Professor said. "It's extremely dangerous to add ingredients that aren't in the recipe to potions. Especially when you don't fully understand the effects that different ingredients can have on each other. I'm going to have to give you a detention."
"What?" Raina cried. "Can't you just dock points or something?"
"Seriously?" Kara called from across the room. "You want to be known as the first year that lost Gryffindor a bunch of points for throwing fertilizer into her cauldron."
"I'm sorry," Professor Abbott-Longbottom said, "but I think a detention is the best punishment here. You can help me clean up this mess." Raina hung her head. "And if I ever catch you with fertilizer in this room again, you'll be getting more than an evening's detention," the Professor warned, returning to the front of the class.
"Um, Professor?" Victoire asked, raising her hand timidly. "What about my grade? The potion's basically ruined now and there's not enough time in the lesson to brew another one."
Professor Abbott-Longbottom sighed. "I suppose the two of you could write papers about the steps you took, how you would have finished, and what went wrong.
Victoire nodded and then glared at Raina in frustration. Not only had she ruined their potion, but now Victoire had an extra essay to write on top of all her other homework.
"Hey, listen, I'm really sorry. If you want, we could work on the assignment togeth – "
"You owe me a new cauldron," Victoire cut the girl off. "Mine was pewter, standard size two, collapsible, and it came with a self-stirring rod."
Raina nodded. "I'll owl my parents tonight and have them deliver it straight to you. I'm sure you'll have it before we brew our next potion next month."
"Good," Victoire said shortly, grabbing her things and stalking off to an empty bench at the back where she could get started on her essay away from all the mess.
VvVvVvVvVvV
"I can't believe her!" Victoire exclaimed later in the common room as she attempted to finish her essay for Professor Abbott-Longbottom. "I could be doing something fun right now and instead I'm stuck in here writing about how fertilizer and partially-brewed forgetfulness potion don't mix."
"Really?" Kara asked, looking up from her Herbology essay. "What exactly would you be doing right now, besides your other homework?"
Victoire shrugged. "I could be reading this month's Teen Witch," she pointed out.
"Ooh, I have it upstairs, do you want me to get it?" Brianna asked.
"No!" Kara said, scolding her. "Victoire needs to write her potions essay so that she can get back on schedule with us and get her Herbology assignment out of the way."
"Right," Brianna agreed. "Hey, does anyone know what the properties of bouncing bulbs are?"
Victoire shrugged. "I'm still stuck on potions," she mumbled grumpily.
"And that is why you need to finish and get to work on Herbology. We can't help each other if we're working on different things," Kara said.
"Can I just write that Raina ruined our potion and leave it at that?" Victoire whined. "Why do I have to understand what went wrong? It's not like I would ever throw fertilizer in a potion. Raina's the one who doesn't understand."
"I don't know if that was necessarily the point of the assignment," Brianna said hesitantly.
Victoire sighed and was about to open her potions book up again when Teddy and Billy came through the portrait hole.
"Hey! Teddy!" Victoire called out, waving him over. "Teddy, I have a question."
"What's up?" he asked, coming over and pulling up a chair while Billy continued up to their dorm.
"So I got paired with Raina for our first potions project – "
"Oh yeah, that was today huh?" Teddy said with a smile. "So how was it, did you have fun?"
Victoire rolled her eyes. "Well it would have been fine, except she threw her weird homemade fertilizer in the cauldron and it exploded and now I have to write an essay about what went wrong. How am I supposed to write about what went wrong when I don't even know what's in the fertilizer?"
Teddy frowned. "She managed to make a forgetfulness potion explode?" he asked.
"Yeah," Victoire nodded.
"Well then there must have been fluxweed in the fertilizer," Teddy declared.
"How do you know that?" Victoire asked in awe.
"Fluxweed and lethe river water are two ingredients you do not want to put together. Alone they're harmless, but together, they can be destructive. You're lucky she threw the fertilizer in before the second dose of the lethe river water or else you may have destroyed the whole classroom," Teddy said.
"She was just about to put two more drops in when I left," Victoire gasped. "Imagine if she'd done that first!"
"That would have been a disaster!" Kara exclaimed.
"So what are you girls up to?" Teddy asked, peering at Kara and Brianna's parchment.
"Just writing a Herbology essay," Brianna informed him.
"What about you?" Victoire asked.
"Me and Billy and working on our Halloween costumes," Teddy announced.
"Halloween costumes?" Victoire gasped in surprise. "But I didn't know we were supposed to wear costumes! My father never mentioned that in all his stories about Hogwarts."
"Well that's because it's a relatively new tradition. Started only a few years before I got here," Teddy explained. "But don't worry, you have plenty of time before Halloween to come up with something good."
As soon as Teddy had left to work on his costume with Billy, the girls started panicking.
"What are we going to do?" Brianna cried. "Halloween is only two weeks away! We'll never come up with a good costume in time!"
"What are we even supposed to use to make the costumes?" Kara asked. "It's not like there's a Halloween supply store downstairs, and we can't go to Hogsmeade this weekend with the older students because we're only first years."
"I'm going to write my mum," Victoire decided. "She's a genius about these sorts of things. She'll figure something out."
"Do you think she would help us out too?" Brianna wondered.
"I'll ask her," Victoire promised, pulling up a fresh piece of parchment and dipping her quill into her ink.
Chère maman,
Teddy has just informed me that we are meant to wear Halloween costumes, and I find myself at a loss for what to do. All I have are my robes and a few Muggle clothes, none of which would be appropriate as a costume. My friends, Kara and Brianna, are also panicking as we only have two weeks to figure something out. Can you think of anything we can do? I would hate to be the only three in the whole school not dressed up for Halloween!
Victoire
"There," Victoire announced, folding the letter up. "Now we just have to wait a few days to see what she says."
"I hope she comes up with something good," Kara said worriedly.
"Oh, don't worry, she will," Victoire assured her.
As it turned out, they didn't have to wait long for a reply. At dinner the following evening, the school owl Victoire had borrowed flew into the great hall with a letter from her mother tied to it's leg.
"What does it say? What does it say?" Kara exclaimed eagerly.
Victoire unrolled the letter and read it aloud.
Ma chère Victoire,
I am so excited to hear about this new Hogwarts tradition of dressing up. I would love to make costumes for you and your friends, thank you so much for asking! I will not tell you what they are going to be, let us keep that as a secret. I will try to have them to you no later than the 28th in case you need to send them back for adjustments.
Je t'aime,
Maman
"Oh my gosh, this is going to be so great!" Victoire exclaimed upon finishing the letter. "Maman makes the best clothes and she has the best taste. We are going to look fabulous!"
"She's really going to make costumes for all of us?" Kara gasped in surprise. "That's so nice of her."
"That's maman," Victoire smiled, folding up the letter and shoving it into her bag. "I wonder what the costumes will be…"
VvVvVvVvVvV
The next week was like torture for the three girls, wondering what Fleur was going to come up with and hoping it would come in time for Halloween. When finally, on the 28th, the large package arrived, they could hardly contain their excitement.
"Your mother is a genius!" Brianna exclaimed, trying on her costume to discover that it fit perfectly. "I can't believe she made all these in a week."
"Where did she find time to do all this?" Kara wondered.
"She probably sent Dominique and Louis off to play with the cousins some days so that she could focus. Aunt Audrey loves having us around and Molly is right in between Dominique and Louis' ages, so it's perfect," Victoire said.
Soon Halloween day arrived. The three girls rose early so get started with their hair and makeup; Victoire's mother had sent them supplies for that as well. When Caitlin and Raina finally woke up and came into the bathroom, they stopped short, sending the girls questioning looks.
"What are you doing?" Caitlin asked disdainfully.
"Getting ourselves ready for Halloween of course," Brianna informed her.
"I don't think you're supposed to dress up for classes," Raina said hesitantly.
"What do you know?" Victoire shot at the girl. "You still haven't even replaced my cauldron. Besides, my friend Teddy told me all about Halloween and how everyone dresses up all day. He's a third year, so he knows."
"Alright fine, do what you want," Raina held her hands up in surrender, clearly not wanting to fight this soon after waking up. "And I told you yesterday, the cauldron is ordered, so it should be here really soon, I promise."
"Come on Victoire, give Raina a break," Caitlin insisted. "She's apologized a thousand times and you're just being mean about it."
"Well if she weren't such a Flob, maybe she wouldn't have destroyed my cauldron in the first place," Victoire retorted.
"What's a Flob?" Raina asked.
"Only a Flob would have to ask that," Victoire sneered. She didn't know why she was being so mean to Raina, but it felt good being superior to the smelly girl.
"Okay, whatever," Caitlin shook her head. "Come on Raina, we can get dressed in the dorm."
"Hey Vic?" Kara ventured once the other girls were gone. "What is a Flob?"
"It's short for Flobberworm," Victoire explained. "Because Raina is just like a Flobberworm; useless and gross."
"Nice one," Brianna smirked.
"Here, let me help you with the sparkles," Victoire offered reaching her hand over to wipe the large clump off her friend's face.
When the three girls entered the Great Hall, they knew immediately that something had gone wrong. Everyone except for them was eating breakfast in their robes.
"And what are you supposed to be?" a second year from the Slytherin table called out mockingly to them.
"For your information, we are mermaids," Victoire countered, trying to sound tough while she scanned the room for Teddy. What was going on? Why wasn't everyone dressed up?
"That's not what merpeople look like," the Slytherin called back. "Merpeople are supposed to be all ugly and scaly."
"Oh my gosh! Vic?"
Victoire spun around and dragged Teddy out into the Entrance Hall where there would be less eyes watching them.
"What is wrong with you?" she demanded, punching him in the arm.
"Whoa, whoa! What did I do?" Teddy cried in alarm.
"You told us we were supposed to dress up for Halloween!" Victoire exclaimed.
"Yeah, for the Halloween Inter-House party tonight, not for morning classes!" Teddy said, hiding a smile.
"Well you didn't mention that!" Victoire yelled, punching him in the arm again. "Now we look like complete and utter fools!"
"No you don't," Teddy said. "I actually think your costumes are great actually. Let me guess; your mother made them?"
"You guessed right," Victoire said, leaning back on her heels and crossing her arms to show that she was still upset.
"Well you look fantastic," he said. "All three of you," he added, looking behind Victoire at Kara and Brianna. "Did you color your hair?" he asked.
"Nah, they're just detachable extensions," Victoire said, pulling one out to demonstrate. "Maman sent them over with the costumes."
"So now what are we supposed to do?" Kara grumbled. "Take them off and then put them back on all over again tonight before the party?"
"No time," Teddy said, pointing to his watch. "Your first class is in ten minutes."
"Oh no!" Victoire exclaimed. "Teddy, you are going to pay for this!" she cried as she began to run. They had Transfiguration first thing and it was all the way across the castle.
"But I didn't do anything!" Teddy called out after them.
The rest of the day was a nightmare. The minute they walked into Transfiguration, everyone started laughing at them. Raina was looking extremely smug, which annoyed Victoire to no end, and all three of them got docked points for coming to class out of uniform.
When they finally got out of their last class, none of them was very much in the mood for a party.
"I say we just stay up in the common room," Victoire muttered. "I'm not hungry anyway."
"I'm with Vic," Kara agreed.
"Yeah," Brianna nodded. "I'm tired of being made fun of."
"I'm so mad at Teddy," Victoire seethed. "These were such great costumes and we ruined them by putting them on too early."
"Come on then, let's take them off. That alone could take over an hour with all the sparkles everywhere," Brianna sighed.
Two hours later, the girls were cleaned up and sitting around the fireplace in the common room in their pyjamas playing exploding snap. It was nice actually, having the entire common room to themselves. There were a couple fourth years at the back studying, but apart from them, they were alone. It was so rare for first years to get prime spots in the common room, and they were having so much fun, that Victoire had almost forgiven Teddy for what he'd done – almost.
"What do you think?" Kara asked. "One more round before we turn in?"
"You're on!" Victoire agreed, shuffling the deck and dealing out the cards.
Just then, the portrait hole opened and Teddy crawled through, his arms laden with sweets.
"Teddy, what are you doing back? The party's not over for another half-hour," Victoire said.
"I noticed you weren't down there, so I figured you were holed up in the common room. I thought you might be hungry," he laid the sweets out on the side table and gestured towards them, indicating that the girls should partake.
"You thought we might be hungry so you brought us candy and pastries?" Victoire challenged. "Not a very hearty dinner, now is it?"
"Hey, I did my best," Teddy said defensively. "But it would've been pretty hard to carry a pot of stew all the way up here."
"Alright fine," Victoire said. "You're forgiven."
"For bringing sweets or for being unclear about the costumes?" Teddy wondered.
"Both, I guess," Victoire shrugged, grabbing a pastry and shoving it into her mouth. "Yup, definitely both," she added once she'd swallowed.
"Great!" Teddy said with a smile. "So do you guys think you might want to come down for the last bit of the party then?"
"Nah, we're actually having a lot of fun up here," Victoire said. "Plus, we're kind of in our pyjamas. Not the best costumes really. You should go back though. Enjoy your life."
"You sure?" he asked, already getting up and backing away. "I wouldn't want to leave if you were still upset or anything."
Victoire rolled her eyes. Clearly he wanted to go. "Get out of here," she cried. "We're totally fine."
"Thanks," Teddy smiled, backing out of the common room and shutting the portrait hole behind him.
"Gosh, this was really nice of Teddy," Kara said through a mouthful of chocolate. "I wonder why he went to all this trouble."
"I think he's taking the whole 'watch out for Victoire' thing a little too seriously," Victoire chuckled, grabbing another pastry from the table. "My father asked Uncle Harry to ask him to make sure my first year went smoothly and everything."
"Well I, for one, am definitely grateful," Brianna announced between bites of a cauldron cake. "Because I was starting to get hungry and this food is delicious."
They didn't end up eating all of the food, deciding to just leave it in the common room for whoever might want some. The girls made sure to get upstairs before everyone started returning and climbed into bed before either Caitlin or Raina could come in and make fun of them any more. Victoire was sure she would have nightmares that night of being laughed at and mocked, but instead, she had good dreams of being with her friends and having a good time.