Let's Do It Right This Time, Chapter 16: Starting Classes
The rest of the day was somewhat soured by the meeting with the headmaster. Aurelius's first class, Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs, was rather frustrating.
After Mcgonagall had done her traditional feline greeting, startling most of the students half to death when she transformed, she gave a short speech where she outlined the first-year schedule (and transfigured her desk into a pig and back). Then she set them all to turning matches into needles. Aurelius, of course, got the spell first, receiving three points. It wasn't until Hermione got five for the same thing that Aurelius realized that even Mcgonagall could be unfair.
Fresh from this injustice, the first-year Slytherins had DADA, and by lunch time, Aurelius was quite ready to scream. Quirrell stuttered and stammered through a very long (and thoroughly boring, at least for Aurelius) course outline, and then he had them read the first chapter of the textbook aloud, having all of them take turns. That, in itself, Aurelius could have tolerated, if not for the fact that Quirrell spent the entire time he was not lecturing trying to break into his mind.
After class, Aurelius ran down to the Slytherin dorms to get a headache potion from his trunk, then belatedly realized he still didn't know the password, and called Majestic, flashing into the dorm proper. Then he spent half an hour rummaging in his trunk, until he remembered that he hadn't actually stocked up on headache draught. It was an incredibly irritated Gaunt who went down late to lunch, his head still pounding, and his mood didn't much improve from there, as they had History of Magic in the afternoon.
Aurelius actually wondered if Dumbledore kept that class as boring and narrowly-focused as he could so that Wizarding children would not be able to predict his moves or recognize him as what he was. Or perhaps he just didn't want to pay a History teacher? Heaven knows Binns didn't even know if there was anyone in his class, much less whether or not he got paid. Not that he could do anything with any salary he might get. Honestly, even the Bloody Baron would be a better history teacher!
That evening, during study hall, Aurelius began writing down a list of notes on a bit of spare parchment, having to do with a possible history club. He wouldn't have to make it as cloak and dagger as the DA (which, by the way, he was not calling Dumbledore's Army this time around) but it would still be secret. After all, if the Ravenclaws could get away with selling complete sets of color-coded History notes so detailed they would make Hermione jealous, for all seven years, someone would have to stage an intervention. Besides, Aurelius could definitely use such a history club to teach wizards to think for themselves, and muggleborns to respect tradition. As long as Dumbledore didn't interfere...
At dinner, Aurelius began sounding out the other firsties discretely, and before long had gotten several positive responses. Aurelius's momentary smirk would have sent shivers down Dumbledore's spine, had the old man been watching. In his own way, Aurelius was recruiting not servants but comrades, and even this simple action was to lay the foundation for many things to come. Aurelius Gaunt would be remembered forever.
The next morning Aurelius again woke early. As it was a Saturday, he at once left the Slytherin dorms for a run, first going and making one of the more helpful-looking second years tell him the password, just in case. After he was adequately warmed up, he showered and left the Common Room, allegedly for breakfast.
As soon as he was out of sight of the Great Hall, however, he took a detour and climbed up many flights of constantly shifting stairs to the Rooms of Requirement, glad to see them untouched by the fiendfyre that had scorched the Room of Hidden Things to its foundations, and searched until at last he found the diadem of Ravenclaw, which he packed in acromantula silk and placed in a warded box, summoning Tippy to take it to the goblins.
He was halfway back to the door when he suddenly realized what a treasure trove he had in this old room of contraband, and he set to work casting 'reparo' at anything he thought might be useful, sending his house elves to Haven with load after load of the stuff. He found fanged frisbees, biting tea cups, a patchy demiguise invisibility cloak (definitely more shoddily made and charmed than his, but it would definitely clean up well enough to get by with) a working ! time turner, some jewels and rare potions ingredients, a broom that actually flew rather well (although it had nothing on his Nimbus) and various charmed contraptions that he knew both Arthur Weasley and the twins would love to fiddle with. He even found a few of the founders' journals!
He also found the Vanishing Cabinet. One fury-filled incendio, and the cabinet was a nice little pile of charcoal; he couldn't risk anyone using it to infiltrate Hogwarts, even if he would have liked to buy the other one at Borgin and Burke's and keep them to use. After all, he didn't actually need a Vanishing Cabinet. He had Majestic.
Aurelius was late for lunch that day, but he didn't care in the slightest. He ate quickly and then went to the library for a little study, then returned to the common room to fraternise with his housemates; it would not be well to be unaccounted for the entire day. Evening saw him back in the RoR, and by Monday (with a great deal of help from the house elves, both Hogwarts and personal) the entire place was cleaned out. Aurelius was entirely back into his usual cheerful mood by Monday, ready to start the rest of his classes. Well, relatively cheerful. The Daily Prophet had come out with a special edition about the missing Boy-Who-Lived, and it really got on his nerves to hear himself discussed every time he turned around. But then, that was what the RoR was for.
The rest of his classes were a mix of fun and horrible.
Herbology was much more fun than he remembered, especially considering that he'd forgotten most of the first-year material, as he'd never actually cared for that class and consequently hadn't paid much attention before, and he made a point to partner with Neville after Sprout had given them the introductory lecture and tour, and despite the boy's nervousness at having to partner with a Slytherin, it went quite well.
Charms was good, particularly as Flitwick was scrupulously fair and his demonstrations even if first-year charms were fun and entertaining. Besides, while the diminutive teacher didn't have Snape's death glare or Mcgonagall's severity, he certainly could (and did) hex disobedient or rowdy students into silence.
Astronomy was not memorable, except that Professor Sinistra was prejudiced against Slytherin nearly as much as Snape was against Gryffindor, although she wasn't so obvious about it. She actually took ten points from Slytherin when Aurelius cast a protego to block a stinging hex from Seamus, turning a blind eye to the Gryffindor's actions. Aurelius added a point to his perpetual list of foibles with the headmaster. He'd never actually noticed the blatant prejudice of the Hogwarts teachers against Slytherin, as he had had not been a Slytherin, and he was getting more and more sympathy for Snape, at least regarding his unfair point deductions. The Potions Master had evidently only been trying to make up for the constant unfairness towards his own house. Not that Aurelius wished that he wouldn't stop.
Flying was where the first truly interesting happening occurred. Neville still fell off his broom and broke his wrist. Draco was still a git. But this time when Aurelius had caught the milky little ball that was the rememberall, he only got a hundred points from Slytherin, not a place on the team. Although with the glint in Flint's eye made him hope that he would at least be allowed to try out for seeker. Aurelius was truly a master in the air.
The other Slytherins, needless to say, were rather angry with Aurelius for the point loss. So, fortunately for Aurelius's plans, (although the Slytherins couldn't know that) when Aurelius arrived in Double Potions, none of the Slytherins would let him sit with them. He glanced over at the Gryffindor side. He was not sitting with a girl, as his nineteen year old mind was thinking rather inappropriate things. Ron was giving him a poisonous glare- oh, how he wanted to be accepted by the hot-headed Gryffindor. Then, however, he had a sudden burst of inspiration.
He could help Neville keep from blowing up his cauldron.