"James, you know you're such an idiot.", Dominique said, unbelievingly shaking her head.
"Indeed you are! You could've taken us with you!", Alice added.
Dominique looked at her.
"What? With me they wouldn't have get caught!"
"True. Besides James' head being pretty big, there's nothing in it."
Dominique received a blow on her head, which she returned immediately.
They only stopped hitting each other back when they got to their Charms classroom, and got in to sit down.
James, Lucas, Leo, Alice and Dominique were the first ones to be there for the first time, so they could choose their seats next each other as far in the back as possible (the boys request).
They had only been able to be there this early, because they had calculated about half an hour just to find the class room, which they found surprisingly fast.
Slowly, the other students rolled in, they had their Charms lessons with the Slytherins, to their disgust.
The tiny Charms Professor Flitwick had to stand on a book pile to look over his desk as he read the names out loud.
When he came to "Potter, James!", he actually fell off.
James grinned knowingly, and told Leo sincerely: "I get that a lot, they're all so flattened when they get to meet a real Potter."
Instead, Professor Flitwick murmured to himself while getting up: "Not another Potter, I think I have to resign now!"
Lucas and Leo snorted out with laughter, nevertheless James thought it a rather honoring thing that the professor fell off when reading his name.
When he came to "Weasley, Dominique!", he swayed again, but gripped the desk just in time.
Their first task this lesson was to make a feather fly, and with a 'swish and flick'-like movement and the incantation 'Wingardium Leviosa', they were to accomplish that.
By the end of the lesson, only James, Dominique, Benjamin and another Slytherin girl had been able to let their feather hover over them.
The professor wasn't looking surprised by the small amount of students who had succeeded, and told them to look up the charm, and practice.
--
In the afternoon, they had Defence against the Dark Arts lesson, which consisted only of theory, so, in James opinion just really boring.
After that, one hour Herbology with Neville was too follow.
Of course, James and Dominique weren't to call him Neville, but Professor Longbottom, what James thought rather weird, seeing as they knew him personally.
The lesson with him was pretty Neville-like, for he stood in front of them and excitedly lectured them about the basics of gardening magical plants.
But, also pretty boring in James opinion.
They stepped out of the greenhouse, and only Dominique seemed to have taken something of the lesson with her, for she always had had a liking for plants, especially magical ones.
James, Leo, Lucas, Alice and Dominique decided to stay outside until dinner, which was in about an hour.
They went to the shore of the Great Lake, where they sat down and enjoyed the last bits of the september sun.
"You already know Professor Longbottom, don't you?", Leo asked James and Dominique.
Before leaving, they had had a few words with the professor, sending greetings, and changing a few words.
James nodded: "Yeah our parents are good friends with him."
"Isn't he the one who cut off the snakes head?", Lucas chimed in.
"Mhm", Dominique said, and Lucas looked back at to the greenhouse, where Professor Longbottom had just shut off the doors and now made his way over the grounds, towards the gate that led to Hogsmeade.
"And what's so special about that?", Leo asked curiously.
"It was one of the final steps required to take down Voldemort, and it took a lot of courage for Neville to do so.", James explained, "remember, we told you about the final battle of Hogwarts in the train."
"Why do you keep saying the name?", Lucas asked, who obviously had too much respect to do so, even though he never got to live the time of Voldemorts reign, "My parents would never dare to, even though it's been so long. When they told me about everything back then, they would always speak of him as 'He Who Must Not Be Named'."
"Well, mine didn't", James shrugged, "They always called him by his name, for apparently fear of the name increases the fear of the person himself, or something, what isn't a good thing."
"It isn't that much of a thing.", Alice said frowning, "Everyone could do it and just say the name."
"-Voldemort." she added with only a moment of hesitating.
"Of course.", admitted Dominique hurriedly, and shot James a warning glance, for she saw the stubborn look on his face that indicated he wanted to argue about that.
He frowned at Alice for a moment, who looked back just as stubborn, but when Lucas pulled out the last bag with cookies that were left from the train drive, and suggested to try and lure the giant quid to come up to the water surface, he participated enthusiastically.
The giant squid didn't seem to have any interest in merging out of the water, even for cookies, so they just ate them themselves as they made their way up to the castle for dinner.
Once they arrived in the Great Hall, they quickly seated themselves at the Gryffindor table, they were one of the last to be there, and since McGonagall stood next to the lectern, waiting for the last students to sit down and get quiet, everyone looked at them which especially Dominique found extremely uncomfortable.
She then spoke up, indicating to a middle-aged sour looking woman, standing next to Mr Filch: "We've found it the right time, to get Mr Filch a help, since he himself isn't the youngest anymore, and could use some help with all those troublemakers around, like he says himself. I want you to welcome Ms Sorenell, who you will all treat her with the same respect you do with Filch"
"None", James whispered to Lucas, and the both broke into silence laughter.
That apparently didn't go unnoticed by Ms Sorenell, who suddenly shot a piercing look right into James' eyes.
She held that calculating look for some seconds, and then continued to watch Professor McGonagall.
"Oops", Lucas said to James, and they continued laughing, what earned them a disapproving glance from Benjamin.
"Oops", said Lucas again, not even trying to stop laughing.
"..I hope that Ms Sorenell will be a good addition to the Hogwarts staff, and I'm sure you will give her no trouble. Now, a big round of applause, please."
The students started applauding, but it didn't last that long, since the food now appeared in front of them, and everyone started to dug in.
"I don't like her.", Alice started.
"You hardly like anyone, do you?", James asked.
"Do I have to?"
"Well no but-"
"Then I don't.", she ended the discussion.
"Hm, to be honest, I think she seems rather disagreeable, too, but it could also be the reason that she's here to watch over us besides the caretaking thing.", Lucas said.
"We will see, right? Maybe she's just shy.", Dominique tried to reason.
James burst into laughter: "You don't really think so Mini."
"Yeah, right I don't.", she smiled defeated, "But why go in with a negative mindset?"
"I completely agree.", Lucas nodded animated, grinning towards Dominique, what she quitted with a frown.
"You don't.", Leo snorted.
"Of course! Dominique's right, we should give her a chance."
"You just said she was rather disagreeable mate.", James threw in, laughing.
"Whatever. Anyways, what about tonight?"
"What about it?", Dominique asked suspiciously.
"We still don't know the castle.", James caught up.
"What's that to do with tonight?", Dominique asked, "Oh no, you don't. You've already got detention!"
"We've got to be more careful then Mini, besides, you don't have to join us.", James said.
"Well I'm in.", Alice pointed out, "They won't be caught this time, since I'll be there to prevent this."
"Alright, actually I think it could be exciting right?"
-Alright it took me a long time to continue oops- well I'll be trying. for those five people who've read the story so far.. if they'll be continuing. but it's also fun, the writing.-
published: 26.09.22