CHAPTER 5 - CLASSES
The Great Hall was nosier than usual. The Gryffindor table sat in two groups. One, (the larger one) speculating about the new boy who had just joined them in the fifth year and hadn't yet joined them at the breakfast table and another, (a handful) discussing in hushed tones, Dumbledore's absence at the Welcome Feast. The latter group however, was alert to the discussion of the former group.
There were many supporting Ron's idea (of the boy being McGonagall's nephew). Soon odds were being laid with Fred and George appointing themselves as bookies.
They were also wondering about the boy's name. Parvati Patil had said that 'Sher' meant tiger in Urdu (an Indian language). Perhaps his father had been enamoured of the Royal Indian tiger.
A sudden hush descended on the Great Hall as the object of their discussion walked in. Harry realised that students had been discussing about nothing else in all four tables.
Sher occupied the empty chair next to Hermione and started on his breakfast, apparently oblivious to the stir he was causing.
"I didn't catch your name yesterday," began Fred politely.
"Sher Bertlemon."
"Why don't you try one of these?" George offered him a Sherbet lemon.
"No!" cried Dean Thomas, eyeing with suspicion the twins' innocent faces.
Sher looked from Dean to the twins. "Thanks," he said accepting but not eating the candy. Something warned him to be wary of them.
"Gryffindors, meet me in five minutes at the Common room," announced McGonagall as the table was clearing.
As they all walked back to the Common room, Fred and George were noticeably the happiest. It was Potions for them and they were only too glad to be late.
As McGonagall entered, a silence descended on the room. They were all agog with curiosity to know why they had been called.
"Mr.Bertlemon will be joining you in the fifth year. His parents have just moved here and as a special case we have admitted him. I expect all of you to make him feel welcome. Until he gets better acquainted with this school, kindly do not at least give him a cause for alarm." The last was directed at the twins. "Now you may proceed to your classes." She dismissed them.
~*~*~*~*~
The object of discussion among the Gryffindors, on their way to Divination was once again Sher Bertlemon, who was on his way to Arithmancy with Hermione.
Ron, who was giving his own ideas as to what the special circumstances which McGonagall mentioned were, when he suddenly found himself under the rope ladder which lead to the Divination classroom.
About halfway up he paused, for he heard words.
"At Hogwarts.A Sher Bertlemon.Yes,-"
But he couldn't hear more, for people were beginning to get impatient down below. He was forced to open the trapdoor and the voices abruptly stopped.
Each took their seats. Professor Trelawney, wrapped in black robes made of some silky material, walked forward and said in her misty voice.
"Welcome, my dears."
She peered around, searching for someone who wasn't there.
"Ah, the new boy, Sher Bertlemon, hasn't taken Divination I see."
She then settled herself on a stool. Lavender and Parvati pulled their chairs closer to her and leaned forward eagerly.
Professor Trelawney looked hard at Harry.
She said in an impressive voice, "From the moment you stepped into my class, I have known that you are a boy surrounded by danger. But now, I see far greater danger than that which surrounds you, now looms over the new boy who has joined you this year."
Lavender and Parvati shuddered, while the others rolled their eyes. Harry, however stared straight back at her.
She sighed, turned to the rest of the class and started with astrological predictions.
~*~*~*~*~
Just outside the Transfiguration classroom, Harry and Ron met Sher Bertlemon and Hermione, who was in a foul mood. They wondered why, and were about to ask her, when McGonagall bade them to enter.
The reason was apparent in the Transfiguration class. The first half an hour went off as usual with Hermione answering most of the questions. The second half, however, came as a near shock to the Gryffindors.
They had been asked to transfigure a table into a turtle and back. And who should do it first, but Sher, who finished a full five minutes before Hermione. The class suspended its activities to gape at him.
McGonagall, however did not seem to share the class' surprise. She awarded lesser points to him, than she would have done, if it had been Hermione.
Much to the amusement of the class, Hermione spent the remaining time trying to transfigure faster than Sher. The whole class was united in thinking that the coming of Sher had done Hermione good.
~*~*~*~*~
The class headed for lunch and then to the Dungeons for Potions.
Snape asked them to brew an engorgement potion and kept walking around the class, inspecting the cauldrons.
"Its way to thin, Mr.Bertlemon," he said, looking at Sher's watery concoction.
"I believe I've added an extra leech, sir. I shall add a drop of dragon blood to set it right," the class heard Sher reply.
"God!" whispered Seamus Finnigan to Dean Thomas, as the class waited for points to be taken off Gryffindor. "We didn't warn him about Snape."
As the class waited with bated breath, Ron, who was walking opposite to Sher, saw Snape's lips curl.
He merely said, "No more such carelessness in my class," and moved on.
The Gryffindors coming out of the class could talk of nothing else but Snape's strange behaviour.
~*~*~*~*~
At dinner Fred and George decided to obey McGonagall.
"How was you first day?" asked George.
"Hope you didn't take Divination," said Fred.
Sher shook his head. "Why?"
"She usually greets the class predicting the death of a student and considering you're the new student, she'd have surely predicted yours."
"There is no need for him to take Divination to get his death predicted," said Harry. "She has already declared that you face more danger than I, and she has already predicted my death many times," he informed Bertlemon.
Everybody laughed, including Sher Bertlemon.
Harry wanted to ask him if he was previously acquainted with Snape, when he was interrupted by Ron asking Lee Jordan how the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher was.
"Interesting enough," Lee replied. "But I have reasons to believe that he is not a vampire."
"Yeah, he doesn't even seem to have an aversion to garlic," said George mournfully. "We tried it."
~*~*~*~*~
The third day saw McGonagall and Snape discussing Bertlemon.
Snape had found it unbearable not to take points off Gryffindors for Bertlemon's mistakes. McGonagall, on the other hand, was at her wit's ends on how to continue giving lesser points to Bertlemon on account of his being the headmaster (past or future).
Deciding to treat him as any other student, they went on to other matters - Communications from Sirius Black, Madame Maxime, Arthur Weasley and many others.
The Great Hall was nosier than usual. The Gryffindor table sat in two groups. One, (the larger one) speculating about the new boy who had just joined them in the fifth year and hadn't yet joined them at the breakfast table and another, (a handful) discussing in hushed tones, Dumbledore's absence at the Welcome Feast. The latter group however, was alert to the discussion of the former group.
There were many supporting Ron's idea (of the boy being McGonagall's nephew). Soon odds were being laid with Fred and George appointing themselves as bookies.
They were also wondering about the boy's name. Parvati Patil had said that 'Sher' meant tiger in Urdu (an Indian language). Perhaps his father had been enamoured of the Royal Indian tiger.
A sudden hush descended on the Great Hall as the object of their discussion walked in. Harry realised that students had been discussing about nothing else in all four tables.
Sher occupied the empty chair next to Hermione and started on his breakfast, apparently oblivious to the stir he was causing.
"I didn't catch your name yesterday," began Fred politely.
"Sher Bertlemon."
"Why don't you try one of these?" George offered him a Sherbet lemon.
"No!" cried Dean Thomas, eyeing with suspicion the twins' innocent faces.
Sher looked from Dean to the twins. "Thanks," he said accepting but not eating the candy. Something warned him to be wary of them.
"Gryffindors, meet me in five minutes at the Common room," announced McGonagall as the table was clearing.
As they all walked back to the Common room, Fred and George were noticeably the happiest. It was Potions for them and they were only too glad to be late.
As McGonagall entered, a silence descended on the room. They were all agog with curiosity to know why they had been called.
"Mr.Bertlemon will be joining you in the fifth year. His parents have just moved here and as a special case we have admitted him. I expect all of you to make him feel welcome. Until he gets better acquainted with this school, kindly do not at least give him a cause for alarm." The last was directed at the twins. "Now you may proceed to your classes." She dismissed them.
~*~*~*~*~
The object of discussion among the Gryffindors, on their way to Divination was once again Sher Bertlemon, who was on his way to Arithmancy with Hermione.
Ron, who was giving his own ideas as to what the special circumstances which McGonagall mentioned were, when he suddenly found himself under the rope ladder which lead to the Divination classroom.
About halfway up he paused, for he heard words.
"At Hogwarts.A Sher Bertlemon.Yes,-"
But he couldn't hear more, for people were beginning to get impatient down below. He was forced to open the trapdoor and the voices abruptly stopped.
Each took their seats. Professor Trelawney, wrapped in black robes made of some silky material, walked forward and said in her misty voice.
"Welcome, my dears."
She peered around, searching for someone who wasn't there.
"Ah, the new boy, Sher Bertlemon, hasn't taken Divination I see."
She then settled herself on a stool. Lavender and Parvati pulled their chairs closer to her and leaned forward eagerly.
Professor Trelawney looked hard at Harry.
She said in an impressive voice, "From the moment you stepped into my class, I have known that you are a boy surrounded by danger. But now, I see far greater danger than that which surrounds you, now looms over the new boy who has joined you this year."
Lavender and Parvati shuddered, while the others rolled their eyes. Harry, however stared straight back at her.
She sighed, turned to the rest of the class and started with astrological predictions.
~*~*~*~*~
Just outside the Transfiguration classroom, Harry and Ron met Sher Bertlemon and Hermione, who was in a foul mood. They wondered why, and were about to ask her, when McGonagall bade them to enter.
The reason was apparent in the Transfiguration class. The first half an hour went off as usual with Hermione answering most of the questions. The second half, however, came as a near shock to the Gryffindors.
They had been asked to transfigure a table into a turtle and back. And who should do it first, but Sher, who finished a full five minutes before Hermione. The class suspended its activities to gape at him.
McGonagall, however did not seem to share the class' surprise. She awarded lesser points to him, than she would have done, if it had been Hermione.
Much to the amusement of the class, Hermione spent the remaining time trying to transfigure faster than Sher. The whole class was united in thinking that the coming of Sher had done Hermione good.
~*~*~*~*~
The class headed for lunch and then to the Dungeons for Potions.
Snape asked them to brew an engorgement potion and kept walking around the class, inspecting the cauldrons.
"Its way to thin, Mr.Bertlemon," he said, looking at Sher's watery concoction.
"I believe I've added an extra leech, sir. I shall add a drop of dragon blood to set it right," the class heard Sher reply.
"God!" whispered Seamus Finnigan to Dean Thomas, as the class waited for points to be taken off Gryffindor. "We didn't warn him about Snape."
As the class waited with bated breath, Ron, who was walking opposite to Sher, saw Snape's lips curl.
He merely said, "No more such carelessness in my class," and moved on.
The Gryffindors coming out of the class could talk of nothing else but Snape's strange behaviour.
~*~*~*~*~
At dinner Fred and George decided to obey McGonagall.
"How was you first day?" asked George.
"Hope you didn't take Divination," said Fred.
Sher shook his head. "Why?"
"She usually greets the class predicting the death of a student and considering you're the new student, she'd have surely predicted yours."
"There is no need for him to take Divination to get his death predicted," said Harry. "She has already declared that you face more danger than I, and she has already predicted my death many times," he informed Bertlemon.
Everybody laughed, including Sher Bertlemon.
Harry wanted to ask him if he was previously acquainted with Snape, when he was interrupted by Ron asking Lee Jordan how the new Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher was.
"Interesting enough," Lee replied. "But I have reasons to believe that he is not a vampire."
"Yeah, he doesn't even seem to have an aversion to garlic," said George mournfully. "We tried it."
~*~*~*~*~
The third day saw McGonagall and Snape discussing Bertlemon.
Snape had found it unbearable not to take points off Gryffindors for Bertlemon's mistakes. McGonagall, on the other hand, was at her wit's ends on how to continue giving lesser points to Bertlemon on account of his being the headmaster (past or future).
Deciding to treat him as any other student, they went on to other matters - Communications from Sirius Black, Madame Maxime, Arthur Weasley and many others.