The Amazing Thing About: Friendship. Chapter four.
What Eliza had been told so far about Professor Snape had not been exaggerated. He was in a foul mood when class began but then again maybe he always looked like that. She couldn't imagine he'd smiled in decades and his teaching method left much to be desired. If she didn't have a passion for potions he would have killed all hope in her within the first half-hour.
Snape did not spare time either. There were very few words of introduction before he had them opening their books to study and make a first attempt at a draught of peace. With nerves playing a big factor while he moved about the classroom Eliza had to pay extra attention to what she was doing. She'd memorized the recipe and instructions over the summer but she didn't want to slip so she kept her book close to her as she worked.
She could hear the Professor make snide comments to students as he went about looking over their work. When he passed her cauldron she stopped breathing afraid he was about to insult her attempt but all she received was a 'Hmm' before he moved off.
It wasn't until he was at least five feet away that she exhaled and pulled herself together. She could do this. This was where she thrived. No need to be nervous.
Once her concoction was finished he even gave her an acknowledging nod but offered no words of praise. That would just have to be good enough for her because she couldn't imagine the man was in the habit of doing so. In their class there were only five of them that brewed it correctly and she felt relief surge through her when she was announced as one of the five. That small burst of pride she got from it carried her through the rest of the class. At least one thing had gone right during her lessons so far.
She had a study block after that and she made full use of it all the way up to dinnertime where she was joined by her housemates Hannah and Kelly. "You were amazing in potions!" Hannah gushed to the right of her. Eliza felt her face warm as she thanked her for the compliment. "I thought Snape was planning to dump my cauldron on my head." She continued and Kelly laughed. "Right. I swore he called me an idiot under his breath." She chimed in.
"That's pretty much how I felt in Mcgonagall's class." Eliza admitted.
"I'm sure you were just nervous." Kelly said but Eliza shook her head.
"No. I'm pretty much garbage at spells." She chuckled.
"Don't say that! You just need to practice!" Hannah encouraged. They chatted about homework while they ate and Eliza offered to help them in potions if they would help with transfiguration. Kelly agreed but Hannah told her she'd be pretty useless as a tutor unless it was for charms.
Eliza jumped all over her for that. "Please. My wand is basically useless in my hands. Any help I can get with actually casting spells would be a blessing."
They settled on a nighttime study session twice a week in the common room as they walked back to Ravenclaw tower together. It felt like she was starting to ease into her environment and she even had study buddies now. Maybe even full-fledged friendship was on the horizon. As they were walking, Eliza could swear she saw two matching heads of red hair dashing down a hallway, laughter echoing in their wake. She stopped to take a look but they were gone. Suspicious.
Oh well. She figured it was wise to keep her nose out of whatever they were up to.
In the common room, she propped open a book and got to studying while Rikki entertained himself by adventuring around. It was well passed the time for bed when she'd finally had enough and the words were starting to blur together. Finally, she dragged herself upstairs to bed hoping she'd absorbed at least some of what she'd gone over.
The next day her morning was pretty open which was wonderful compared to the chaos of the first day. She didn't have her first class, herbology until 10:45 so she spent some extra time in bed before heading down to breakfast. Rikki was not patient that morning and was at least four feet ahead of her the whole way. The cute fuzzball had memorized the way to food.
He dashed between students causing a few to jump and she apologized to them as she followed, their friends laughing at them for being startled. One person got downright offended and snapped at her to 'keep her rat in its cage' but she ignored it. It wasn't like he was running around attacking people.
She had a light breakfast and hung around in the great hall even after the meal was over. She practiced her transfiguration on one of her quills trying to make the thing disappear but all she managed to do after a few tries was singe it. She kept it up until she had to clear out and head to class. She was able to take her time and enjoy the walk through the grounds observing students and staff. A group of younger students was horsing around and she paused to watch them for a bit before moving on. The second day of classes and everyone was already in the swing of things.
In Herbology Eliza felt completely at home. The professor was warm and bubbly and as she went on about the importance of the class she asked students to identify different species. Eliza actually felt confident in raising her hand and answering which was something she had yet to do in any of her classes. Professor Sprout was quick to praise her students which made this class her favorite so far. Plus there was just something about working with plants that put her at ease. She'd even had a garden back home that had been her pride and joy. Too bad she'd have to start all over now but she tried to look at it as a possibility to grow something new.
Sprout gave them an assignment to each pick out the plant they found most fascinating. Eliza chose the venomous tentacula which, when the professor asked her why she'd chosen it, she responded that she had a few of them she grew back home. That made the woman's eyebrows shoot up towards her hairline. "Really?" She asked.
Eliza nodded excitedly and drew the woman a diagram of the large enclosure she'd made for them. "I had three. Buzz, Pootie, and ThinFang." She was eager to share the news with her professor. They then began to chat about their feeding schedules. Eliza told her a funny story about how ThinFang got his name when he was still a tiny baby and how he was late to growing in his teeth.
When the professor asked her where she was keeping them while at school Eliza sighed. "Unfortunately I had to find them a suitable home since we couldn't bring them with us when we moved."
The woman tutted and patted her on the shoulder. "I'm sure they miss you." It was nice to hear someone else talk about them the way she did. Usually, most people thought she was nuts for treating them like pets. Heck, Alicia had refused to venture anywhere near their backyard once she'd gotten them. "I just hope they're happy." Eliza smiled.
She didn't want to leave the class at all. Since she had her schedule free she asked if she could stay behind and help out. Professor Sprout accepted her offer and while the woman taught her next class Eliza was checking out the vast collection in the greenhouses. It felt like paradise as she wandered keeping Rikki close, checking the soil in different pots, and watering a few here and there. She spent her entire break watching some of the tentacula and missing her own until Sprout came to fetch her and let her know it was almost time for lunch. Eliza thanked the woman who insisted she was welcome at any time.
Eliza was walking on sunshine when she made it to lunch and saw Tasha talking to Cas. She waved at them with a broad smile before seeing the twins who were talking to a few younger students. One of them looked very similar to them, a boy, and the other boy had black hair and glasses. With them sat a girl with curly hair and she had a book open in front of her. At least Eliza knew she wasn't the only one who took her studies seriously.
"Hey!" One of the twins got up as she passed and pulled her back by the elbow. "Come sit. We've got class together next anyways." He said and steered her towards the table. The other twin scooted over and she sat down awkwardly.
"Harassing the locals?" The younger redhead asked as Rikki made himself known and stretched up to sniff at one of the twin's plates. He chuckled and started offering him bits of food. He held each item up and she would nod or shake her head if it was okay for him to eat it.
She stared at the one feeding Rikki trying to determine which one he was. She would have to remind herself to take a thorough look at the two and figure out the subtle differences. "George right?" She attempted. He shook his head with a laugh. "Wrong." She sighed and turned to the other who was smirking. "Something tells me you enjoy that more than you should." She said.
"She's not local." Fred said and George reached over to scoop Rikki up to have a go at feeding him. "Quite the opposite actually."
Eliza felt uncomfortable being spoken about as if she wasn't there. "I'm Eliza. Transfer from Ilvermorny." She introduced herself before smacking a doughnut out of George's hand as he extended it to her ferret.
"That's in America isn't it?" The girl put her book down suddenly interested. "What's it like there?" She asked. Eliza thought about the answer not sure if she wanted to go into detail. Just thinking about it was enough to make her homesick.
"Pretty much the same but I definitely prefer my old Potions master." She said as she picked up a sandwich and took a bite.
"Snape is a nightmare." The redhead chimed in and the boy with black hair nodded.
Finally, she had to ask. "Are you all related?" She motioned to the three redheads.
George had Rikki on his back and was rubbing his belly while the ferret squirmed. "He's our darling little brother." He said.
The boy rolled his eyes. "I'm Ron." The girl then introduced herself as Hermione and the boy with the dark hair chimed in last with a smile. "Harry."
Eliza's eyebrows shot up. "As in Harry Potter?" She asked. He seemed to be used to the reaction and nodded. "That's me."
"Wow. Nice to meet you." She said trying not to stare. She'd heard so many stories about him but she didn't know which were rumors and what was real so she kept her mouth shut. The last thing she wanted to do was be rude. She could swear he was avoiding her gaze as if he felt an onslaught of questions coming but when they didn't he looked relieved. It had to be incredibly weird for everyone to know who he was. She'd probably die from the pressure because he had to feel like everyone expected him to be some amazing wizard when he was just a teenager.
Eliza noticed the book the girl was studying. It was a potions textbook. "Oh, you guys are in your third year?" She asked pointing to the book to change the topic.
Hermione nodded. "Snape has us starting with shrinking solutions." She informed her. Eliza recalled the first time she'd attempted it hadn't turned out quite right but it had fueled her to work harder and it was in her third year that she really got into her stride in potions. "Gotta be careful with that one. It's poisonous if done wrong." She said but then thought about that statement. "Then again that's way too common in potions.."
Hermione nodded. "It's ironic that antidotes to common poisons are in the lesson plan for this year."
"More like a safety net." Eliza chuckled. "He probably should have started there unless he's actively trying to kill his students."
Fred snickered. "I wouldn't put it past him."
"So why'd you transfer?" Ron asked and Harry nudged him with his elbow. Eliza tried not to show that she was uncomfortable and recited the lie she'd been practicing all summer. "My parents were offered new positions within the ministry here." Not technically a lie. Just bending the truth and omitting some details.
"Our dad works for the ministry too. What department?" Ron followed up with another question and she wasn't usually forthcoming with what her parents did for a living. It was dangerous and it gave people assumptions about her that she didn't like being subjected to. They usually expected her to be inclined to follow in their footsteps. The toughest part was when people idolized their job and pestered her for stories.
"Um.." She could come up with a lie but she was already making a habit of doing that. "Easy with the third degree, Ron." Harry said and she was so grateful. The twins hopped on board and said they were probably boring paper-pushers if they were to guess from the way she always had her nose in a book.
Once she finished eating she got up from the table. It wasn't that she felt unwelcome sitting with them but she didn't like intruding and she was generally awkward when meeting new people. Especially when one of them was famous. Something she had to work on. "I'm gonna head to class." She said and attempted to pick up her ferret but Rikki slid off the bench and rolled on the floor at her feet playfully. "We'll come with you." George stood and she protested. "You don't have to. I just want to get there a bit early."
"Nah. Easier to get three seats that way." Fred spoke with a mouthful of food and she grimaced at him. "Great." She then bid goodbye to the three friends. Harry and Ron were discussing quidditch but Ron stopped and said "Good luck with those two." She held up both hands with fingers crossed and a smile.
Rikki darted around the halls as they walked. Fred and George took their time while she kept her pace steady. Not that it mattered considering they had longer legs. They were talking back and forth about a 'project' in one of the boy's bathrooms and Eliza kept her nose out of it. Was that where they'd been running off to the night before? What were they planning to do? 'Nope. Not my business.' She told herself.
They arrived with ten minutes to spare and Rikki was chasing George around in circles while she watched and Fred encouraged the ferret. "Get him! Take one of his toes off!"
The fun came to a stop when McGonagall opened the classroom door and Eliza was quick to pick Rikki up. The woman raised her eyebrows as she looked between the three of them. "What a momentous occasion. To have the two of you arrive early to class? Are you feeling ill?" She asked.
One of the twins cleared their throat. "Actually now that you mention it I've got a tickle in my throat. I should go to the nurse right away." He turned to leave but his brother yanked him back by his robe. "We were just walking Eliza to class. She gets lost easily."
Eliza shot him a glare at his lie. What was so wrong with getting to class early? "How very uncharacteristic of you." McGonagall responded looking at them over her glasses.
"It's a new year! Turning over new leaves and all that ya know?" He grinned as he passed her and entered the classroom. His brother was right behind him. "Absolutely. Leaf turning."
McGonagall watched them go before leveling her gaze onto Eliza who had no idea what to say other than "Good afternoon." Before heading inside. The two had taken seats near the back. They were snickering to each other well before she took the seat next to George who was fiddling with something under the desk. She glanced over to see him passing whatever it was to his brother who grinned and tucked it away. "Yeah. Right after classes are over just before dinner." Fred whispered. "In and out." George said back.
"What are you doing?" She asked, curiosity getting the best of her. George played innocent. "Top secret." Fred smirked. "Unless you want in." Whatever that was supposed to mean. Something in her gut told her it was likely to get them into trouble. "You know what? I don't wanna know."
She had to admit it was nice having people to sit with in class. She did receive a few looks from her fellow Ravenclaws as they took their seats but no one said anything. She'd already told the twins she'd still be their friend even if they were in different houses. It would be crappy of her to back out of that. Though sitting next to them was a bit distracting.
As they practiced with hedgehogs again George kept nudging her elbow to the side every time she made an attempt until she snapped. "Quit it!" She hissed. He held his hands up in surrender before then turning around and giving her pointers. Fred had no issues with it and busied himself with turning the cushion every color of the rainbow. It looked so easy the way he did it. "Hope you're better at charms than transfiguration." He said as he watched her cushion run around on her desk. Once again it still had legs. Great.
"Hardly." She sighed but got excited when she finally did it correctly. "Yes!"
"Now turn it back." George snorted a laugh. "No problem." She said with false confidence but maybe a bit of prodding was all she really needed because she managed to get her hedgehog back to normal in one try. "See? I'm a natural."
Fred nodded. "Oh, yeah. Finally mastering something from last year. Very impressive." He said with thick sarcasm. "Don't be an ass." She stuck her tongue out at him. He played at being shocked by her words but McGonagall seemed to appear out of nowhere. This made Eliza jump as the woman set a hand on her desk and gave them a stern look. All fun and games were over for the remainder of the lesson.
