TWO
Gryffindor and Slytherin
***
The next day, I was very excited about my classes. But I came down to breakfast, and the rumors going around distracted me from these thoughts. Harry Potter, whom I had read about in the modern history section of my book, and, yes, Ron Weasley, had flown a car to school. That's why they weren't at the feast. They were being disciplined. During that meal, I also learned, rather violently, what a Howler is. We all heard Weasley's mum yell at him, and confirm the rumors totally. It was a very dangerous and foolhardy thing to do, but the Gryffindors were all bragging about it. Personally, I wouldn't want to be in a house where you have to do that kind of thing to get attention. I decided that I didn't think I liked this Potter. Especially later in the day, when I saw Professor Sprout covered in bandages from doctoring a tree that had been damaged in their "grand entrance."
But in Herbology the next day, I sat next to Ginny. She wasn't so excited about it. In fact she was rather grumpy. We all knew from that Howler that her father was in trouble at work for it, and she was upset about how people were reacting. "I'm tired of just being around Gryffindors who think the whole thing is a colossal joke," she said. "The only one of the lot of them (except my brother Percy, of course), who isn't all puffed up about it is Harry. I don't think he meant to cause so much trouble." I thought, Woah, she's falling for him. But I shall still have to rethink my opinion of this Potter.
Potions class, we had with the Ravenclaws. I sat next to Moira. She'd warned me that everybody said Snape was the worst teacher in the whole school. "Worse than Professor Binns?" I asked, thinking about my history of magic class.
"Well, not as boring, but yes, worse. At least that's what my brother says." So we sat down, determined not to let him get to us. He came in and glared at us for a while, then gave us a lecture on what hopeless students we were destined to be. We took some notes, then we started our first potion. I was, basically, hopeless. It isn't like chemistry, it's about magical properties and their combinations. I just didn't have the instinct for it. It's not about living plants themselves, or living animals. It's about taking the magic of those things and bending it to your own will. No wonder Slytherins always get the best grades.
Throughout the lesson, Professor Snape took several points from Hufflepuff for my mistakes. Moira helped me through, and she told me not to worry. "They're just points, after all," she said. "They don't really mean anything."
I especially enjoyed Transfiguration classes, and did very well in them. It's the one thing I've learned, in science, cannot be done; A person, made of so much matter, turning into a cat, made of less, then back into a person. There's no conservation of energy involved in any magic. It fascinates me. I may go into magical theory when I graduate from Hogwarts. But while sitting in Transfiguration one day, I realized that I wanted to be an Animagus. To transform myself into something with a completely different set of abilities. That would be amazing!
I realized I would have to think carefully about what kind of animal I wanted to become. I already knew that I loved flying; flying lessons I loved too. I could be some kind of bird. But birds can't do much besides flying. Maybe a bat? Yes, that's perfect! Wings and hands, extraordinary hearing, and certainly it will be easier because it's a mammal! And I had studied bats; my attic room on Baker Street had bats, and I had gotten used to them.
I was the first person in my class to perform a successful transfiguration. But I knew that it would take a lot of time and work before I would be qualified to become an Animagus. After I went through my O. W. L. in Transfiguration, I would be able to apply. But I figured I might as well start learning. I got out books on advanced transfiguration and Animagi from the library.
I was sitting in the common room reading my library books, when Justin Finch-Fletchley, a boy in the class above me, came up to me and said, "Oi, Serena! Don't you do anything but read?"
"Sometimes," I said. "But this is really fascinating. Did you know that there was once a man who turned himself into a tree?"
"That is sort of cool," Justin said. "But, hey, do you want to play Exploding Snap or something?"
"I don't know," I said. "I've never played before, and everyone else seems to be so good at it."
"That's all right," he said. "I only learned to play last year. My parents are muggles too."
"Really?" I asked. "Isn't it strange to read all this stuff about how magic's been going on around us all this time and we've never noticed?"
"Yeah, but isn't it even stranger to see it? I mean, books are just words on a page. Look! Exploding Snap! It explodes!"
"Yeah. All right, then, let's play," I agreed.
Defense Against the Dark Arts scared me when I first saw it on the list of courses. I didn't want to have to defend myself against anything dark and scary! But I had to resign myself to the fact that if there was such a wonderful and useful thing as magic, people were going to take advantage of it for evil purposes. After all, think what Muggles have done with their media of communication. So I was ready to learn how to defend myself against those people. But when we started having class with Gilderoy Lockhart, all he did was read to us from his books about the daring things he had apparently done. I don't want to disbelieve a Hogwarts teacher, but I wonder just how much he's exaggerating. Anyway, I decided that the course was not going to be much use, and that when I had the chance, I'd do some research on my own.
At Halloween, a rather annoying cat that had belonged to Mr. Filch was found petrified. A message was written on the wall, something about the chamber having been opened. I wasn't really worried; I was sure the teachers could take care of it. But Ginny was upset, especially because Potter and her brother had found the cat, and the rumors were that Potter was the Heir of Slytherin, and responsible for the trouble. From what she'd told me about this Potter, I was more afraid that he'd try to take matters into his own hands, to try and prove he wasn't the Heir, and get himself in even deeper trouble. Last year nobody except Ron and that Granger girl knew what he was up to until it was all over and he'd nearly killed himself trying to stop Voldemort by himself. I told Ginny this, and I said, "Gryffindors can be so stubborn. They won't ask for help; they want to do everything for themselves. If they are going to be expelled, it's because they're Gryffindors, not because everyone thinks they're Slytherins."
The first Quidditch match of the season was between Gryffindor and Slytherin. I was excited to come, because I'd never seen a real Quidditch match. The most flying I'd watched was in first-year flying lessons, and nobody in my class could control their brooms the first lesson. A couple of the Ravenclaws got all huffy about it, and kept saying that flying wasn't at all how the books describe it. I like flying, but it's hard to find someone it comes naturally to. I'd heard that Potter was one of those few, and that he'd been on the team his first year, which is very uncommon. I was eager to watch him.
Ginny, Susan and I walked toward the pitch. Ginny was very excited about seeing Harry play, and of course she said it was because he was on her house team, but she was blushing when she said it. Susan told me that she didn't know very much about Quidditch, but she could tell that Harry was really good. I wasn't sure who to cheer for. I didn't know either of the teams very well. I had heard things about Slytherins, and how all the most evil wizards came from that house. But people were also saying that Potter was Slytherin's heir and he's a Gryffindor, so one of the rumors was messed up. I decided to wait and see them play, and cheer on the better players.
I wasn't sure what a Quidditch match was supposed to look like, but as soon as the game got going, I knew it wasn't this. One of the big black balls, the Bludgers, was chasing Potter all over the pitch. I knew I couldn't have avoided it that long. He was really good - and fast. I never imagined brooms could go that fast. But it was frightening to watch, and Ginny's knuckles were white from holding on to the bench. "Don't worry," I said. "Look, they're calling time out. They're going to fix it."
The Gryffindor team stood in a huddle and discussed what to do. Then they broke apart and mounted their brooms again. "What are they doing?" I cried. "They can't have fixed it just standing there!"
Ron Weasley, who was sitting on the other side of Ginny, said, "They'd have to call off the match to do that. Wood wouldn't call it off just because his seeker's in danger of being beheaded. He prob'ly told Harry to get the Snitch or die trying."
I rolled my eyes. "Gryffindors! Why can't you at least risk your life for something that's worth it?"
We watched the gut-wrenching dance of an animated cannonball and a small boy on a broom. The boy paused for a moment - the snitch! Practically on Malfoy's head! But the moment was too long. Crunch! Swish! Thud! Harry had the Snitch, but he was down. His arm was at a funny angle. There was some commotion, and Gilderoy Lockhart went to try to help him. We found out later that he'd accidentally removed all the bones from Harry's arm!
There was no question as to who was the better player. The odds were vastly in Malfoy's favor at every turn, and Potter still got the Snitch. But talent isn't everything. Potter was a foolish show-off. The question is, is it better to be a spineless coward than a boneless hero?
Malfoy's remarks during the game, however, did not strike me as being very sportsmanlike. Potter may take himself too seriously, but at least he doesn't take others lightly. I can see how Ginny could fall for him. Everybody likes to be taken seriously. Especially if they live with those clowns of older brothers.
Gryffindor and Slytherin
***
The next day, I was very excited about my classes. But I came down to breakfast, and the rumors going around distracted me from these thoughts. Harry Potter, whom I had read about in the modern history section of my book, and, yes, Ron Weasley, had flown a car to school. That's why they weren't at the feast. They were being disciplined. During that meal, I also learned, rather violently, what a Howler is. We all heard Weasley's mum yell at him, and confirm the rumors totally. It was a very dangerous and foolhardy thing to do, but the Gryffindors were all bragging about it. Personally, I wouldn't want to be in a house where you have to do that kind of thing to get attention. I decided that I didn't think I liked this Potter. Especially later in the day, when I saw Professor Sprout covered in bandages from doctoring a tree that had been damaged in their "grand entrance."
But in Herbology the next day, I sat next to Ginny. She wasn't so excited about it. In fact she was rather grumpy. We all knew from that Howler that her father was in trouble at work for it, and she was upset about how people were reacting. "I'm tired of just being around Gryffindors who think the whole thing is a colossal joke," she said. "The only one of the lot of them (except my brother Percy, of course), who isn't all puffed up about it is Harry. I don't think he meant to cause so much trouble." I thought, Woah, she's falling for him. But I shall still have to rethink my opinion of this Potter.
Potions class, we had with the Ravenclaws. I sat next to Moira. She'd warned me that everybody said Snape was the worst teacher in the whole school. "Worse than Professor Binns?" I asked, thinking about my history of magic class.
"Well, not as boring, but yes, worse. At least that's what my brother says." So we sat down, determined not to let him get to us. He came in and glared at us for a while, then gave us a lecture on what hopeless students we were destined to be. We took some notes, then we started our first potion. I was, basically, hopeless. It isn't like chemistry, it's about magical properties and their combinations. I just didn't have the instinct for it. It's not about living plants themselves, or living animals. It's about taking the magic of those things and bending it to your own will. No wonder Slytherins always get the best grades.
Throughout the lesson, Professor Snape took several points from Hufflepuff for my mistakes. Moira helped me through, and she told me not to worry. "They're just points, after all," she said. "They don't really mean anything."
I especially enjoyed Transfiguration classes, and did very well in them. It's the one thing I've learned, in science, cannot be done; A person, made of so much matter, turning into a cat, made of less, then back into a person. There's no conservation of energy involved in any magic. It fascinates me. I may go into magical theory when I graduate from Hogwarts. But while sitting in Transfiguration one day, I realized that I wanted to be an Animagus. To transform myself into something with a completely different set of abilities. That would be amazing!
I realized I would have to think carefully about what kind of animal I wanted to become. I already knew that I loved flying; flying lessons I loved too. I could be some kind of bird. But birds can't do much besides flying. Maybe a bat? Yes, that's perfect! Wings and hands, extraordinary hearing, and certainly it will be easier because it's a mammal! And I had studied bats; my attic room on Baker Street had bats, and I had gotten used to them.
I was the first person in my class to perform a successful transfiguration. But I knew that it would take a lot of time and work before I would be qualified to become an Animagus. After I went through my O. W. L. in Transfiguration, I would be able to apply. But I figured I might as well start learning. I got out books on advanced transfiguration and Animagi from the library.
I was sitting in the common room reading my library books, when Justin Finch-Fletchley, a boy in the class above me, came up to me and said, "Oi, Serena! Don't you do anything but read?"
"Sometimes," I said. "But this is really fascinating. Did you know that there was once a man who turned himself into a tree?"
"That is sort of cool," Justin said. "But, hey, do you want to play Exploding Snap or something?"
"I don't know," I said. "I've never played before, and everyone else seems to be so good at it."
"That's all right," he said. "I only learned to play last year. My parents are muggles too."
"Really?" I asked. "Isn't it strange to read all this stuff about how magic's been going on around us all this time and we've never noticed?"
"Yeah, but isn't it even stranger to see it? I mean, books are just words on a page. Look! Exploding Snap! It explodes!"
"Yeah. All right, then, let's play," I agreed.
Defense Against the Dark Arts scared me when I first saw it on the list of courses. I didn't want to have to defend myself against anything dark and scary! But I had to resign myself to the fact that if there was such a wonderful and useful thing as magic, people were going to take advantage of it for evil purposes. After all, think what Muggles have done with their media of communication. So I was ready to learn how to defend myself against those people. But when we started having class with Gilderoy Lockhart, all he did was read to us from his books about the daring things he had apparently done. I don't want to disbelieve a Hogwarts teacher, but I wonder just how much he's exaggerating. Anyway, I decided that the course was not going to be much use, and that when I had the chance, I'd do some research on my own.
At Halloween, a rather annoying cat that had belonged to Mr. Filch was found petrified. A message was written on the wall, something about the chamber having been opened. I wasn't really worried; I was sure the teachers could take care of it. But Ginny was upset, especially because Potter and her brother had found the cat, and the rumors were that Potter was the Heir of Slytherin, and responsible for the trouble. From what she'd told me about this Potter, I was more afraid that he'd try to take matters into his own hands, to try and prove he wasn't the Heir, and get himself in even deeper trouble. Last year nobody except Ron and that Granger girl knew what he was up to until it was all over and he'd nearly killed himself trying to stop Voldemort by himself. I told Ginny this, and I said, "Gryffindors can be so stubborn. They won't ask for help; they want to do everything for themselves. If they are going to be expelled, it's because they're Gryffindors, not because everyone thinks they're Slytherins."
The first Quidditch match of the season was between Gryffindor and Slytherin. I was excited to come, because I'd never seen a real Quidditch match. The most flying I'd watched was in first-year flying lessons, and nobody in my class could control their brooms the first lesson. A couple of the Ravenclaws got all huffy about it, and kept saying that flying wasn't at all how the books describe it. I like flying, but it's hard to find someone it comes naturally to. I'd heard that Potter was one of those few, and that he'd been on the team his first year, which is very uncommon. I was eager to watch him.
Ginny, Susan and I walked toward the pitch. Ginny was very excited about seeing Harry play, and of course she said it was because he was on her house team, but she was blushing when she said it. Susan told me that she didn't know very much about Quidditch, but she could tell that Harry was really good. I wasn't sure who to cheer for. I didn't know either of the teams very well. I had heard things about Slytherins, and how all the most evil wizards came from that house. But people were also saying that Potter was Slytherin's heir and he's a Gryffindor, so one of the rumors was messed up. I decided to wait and see them play, and cheer on the better players.
I wasn't sure what a Quidditch match was supposed to look like, but as soon as the game got going, I knew it wasn't this. One of the big black balls, the Bludgers, was chasing Potter all over the pitch. I knew I couldn't have avoided it that long. He was really good - and fast. I never imagined brooms could go that fast. But it was frightening to watch, and Ginny's knuckles were white from holding on to the bench. "Don't worry," I said. "Look, they're calling time out. They're going to fix it."
The Gryffindor team stood in a huddle and discussed what to do. Then they broke apart and mounted their brooms again. "What are they doing?" I cried. "They can't have fixed it just standing there!"
Ron Weasley, who was sitting on the other side of Ginny, said, "They'd have to call off the match to do that. Wood wouldn't call it off just because his seeker's in danger of being beheaded. He prob'ly told Harry to get the Snitch or die trying."
I rolled my eyes. "Gryffindors! Why can't you at least risk your life for something that's worth it?"
We watched the gut-wrenching dance of an animated cannonball and a small boy on a broom. The boy paused for a moment - the snitch! Practically on Malfoy's head! But the moment was too long. Crunch! Swish! Thud! Harry had the Snitch, but he was down. His arm was at a funny angle. There was some commotion, and Gilderoy Lockhart went to try to help him. We found out later that he'd accidentally removed all the bones from Harry's arm!
There was no question as to who was the better player. The odds were vastly in Malfoy's favor at every turn, and Potter still got the Snitch. But talent isn't everything. Potter was a foolish show-off. The question is, is it better to be a spineless coward than a boneless hero?
Malfoy's remarks during the game, however, did not strike me as being very sportsmanlike. Potter may take himself too seriously, but at least he doesn't take others lightly. I can see how Ginny could fall for him. Everybody likes to be taken seriously. Especially if they live with those clowns of older brothers.