"So, whoever is sending these messages is still making sure I know about
the one door. But now he or she wants me to choose my friends wisely. This
person is saying that appearance matters now. Appearance never mattered to
me before." Riley explained to her friends.
"I really don't get it." Leilani said.
"Neither do I and I really don't want to solve it either. But, something tells me I have to keep these messages in case something actually does happen.
It was 7:30 in the morning and all the girls were down at the Great Hall eating breakfast. It was a pretty good breakfast and they were all looking forward to having it everyday. Riley told them about the message once they were all together and now they all looked confused about the second one.
"Look. Professor McGongall is coming." Tara said as she bit on a piece of toast.
They all turned to see that Professor McGongall was indeed coming down the Gryffindor table passing out pieces of paper.
"Wonder what it is?" Becky asked unknowingly.
"Me too." Jhene continued.
"Hello Ms. Nyxinn. Ms. Aliemae. Ms. Martin. Ms. Cobswell. Ms. Salvador. I hope I won't be saying that too often." McGonagall hesitated with all of their names. "I am the head of Gryffindor house and also your Transfiguration teacher. Here are your class schedules. Classes start at 8:00. Lunch hour is 12:00-1:00 and the school day ends at 4:00."
"4:00!" Jhene complained aloud.
"Yes Ms. Cobswell." McGongall replied brow furrowed.
"Sorry."
"You will have 7 classes a day each with a different house of your own class." McGonagall explained. "That's it. Any questions?"
"No ma'am." Leilani replied.
"Please. Professor McGonagall. I can't stand being called ma'am." McGonagall pleaded.
"Sorry Professor."
"Common mistake. Don't worry." And she headed for the next group of kids to hand out schedules to.
"Cool classes." Riley said looking at her schedule.
|Class |Mon. |Tues. |Wed. |Thurs. |Fri. | |Transfiguratio| | | | | | |n (Ravenclaw) | | | | | | |DADA | | | | | | |(Slytherin) | | | | | | |Herbology | | | | | | |(Ravenclaw) | | | | | | |Care of | | | | | | |Magical | | | | | | |Creatures | | | | | | |(Hufflepuff) | | | | | | |History of | | | | | | |Magic | | | | | | |(Hufflepuff) | | | | | | |Charms | | | | | | |(Slytherin) | | | | | | |Potions | | | | | | |(Ravenclaw) | | | | | | |Flying Lessons| | | | | | |(Slytherin) | | | | | |
"Yeah. It's sort of hard to read, with all these checks. We have Transfiguration all week. Look here's another one. Oh, just a list of teachers." Riley said.
|Teacher |Class | |Transfiguration |McGonagall | |DADA |Minogue | |Herbology |Sprout | |Care of Magical Creatures |Sprout | |History o Magic |Binns | |Charms |Flitwick | |Potions |Snape | |Flying Lessons |Madam Hooch |
"Cool names." Tara said.
"Yeah. We get Ms. Minogue for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Riley replied.
"I know. How cool!" Jhene answered.
"But, don't we have to call her Professor Minogue?" Becky asked.
"Oh yeah. That sounds kind of weird." Tara replied.
"It's still Ms. Minogue. Well, Professor Minogue. That is weird." Riley said.
~~~***~~~
Since Riley and Leilani sat together and Tara and Jhene sat together Becky was left alone. But, a young man named Seamus Finnigan no sooner accompanied her. It was Transfiguration class with McGonagall and all the students were anxious for their first class.
Professor McGonagall walked in and approached her desk turning towards the students. Then she turned a nearby abandoned desk into a flying pig who flew around the room before turning back into a normal desk the class gave an assortment of "Oh"s and "Ah"s.
"When are we going to learn how to do that Professor?!" A Gryffindor named Seamus Finnigan asked amazed.
"Not soon Mr. Finnigan. This was only an example of what this class is really about. Transfiguration! Transforming an object into something or other. In this class you will tackle some of the spells that will be the hardest in your history of being a wizard or witch. There will be no fooling around in this class. You have been warned." McGonagall said sternly.
All the students looked both amazed and scared.
"Today we will be doing something simple. Turning a needle into a matchstick." McGonagall announced.
"Ah!" the whole class booed.
McGonagall looked up from her desk where she was trying to find the needles to the complaining students. They all sat quiet waiting for her after that.
When McGonagall found the needles she muttered a spell under her breath as she pointed her wand at the box. Suddenly 3 needles appeared on everyone's desk looking like they were unable to roll down the table.
"Now, open your books to page 4 and follow the instructions on how to transform these objects." McGonagall instructed. "Although books are useful in this class I find it easier to teach without them. But, today you will be reading from them." There was a groan from the front of the class from a girl with brown, bushy hair.
"Hermione." Ron said from behind Riley and Leilani. "Thinks books answer all your problems."
Riley and Leilani giggled.
"You are only allowed to talk to your partners." McGonagall told the class giving Ron the eye. He looked down nervously.
"Alright. It says here 'Infininte transcantre.'" Leilani read from her book.
"Okay. Let's try it." Riley said pulling out her wand from her robes. She pointed her wand to one of the needles and chanted, "Infininte transcantre."
A red spark came from out of her wand and traveled out of her wand to the eye of the needle to the tip. One it's way leaving behind the transformed matchstick.
"Awesome!" Riley said after the sparks disappeared.
Riley and Leilani were having good luck with the needles. They finished in about 2 minutes sometimes having to say the spell over again. They were about to raise their matchsticks up and tell McGonagall they were done but someone got there right before them.
"Done Professor!" a squeaky voice shouted from the front. It was Hermione.
Riley and Leilani turned around to find Ron and Harry smiling as well.
"Us too Proffesor." Riley said after Hermione.
"Hermione, Neville, Riley, and Leilani you may start on your homework." Proffesor replied.
Ron and Harry snickered. Leilani looked back as eyed them. They smiled while holding their hands up.
"1 foot essay on the main subject of this first chapter." McGonagall explained.
Hermione looked like the only one who was really happy about it. Neville looked petrified.
Riley and Leilani started on their essay of the chapter. There were small giggles heard from in back of them and they turned around but then started to get annoyed and stopped. So did the giggles. It was nearly time for class to get done and Riley and Leilani had finished their essays. Everyone had turned his or her needles into matchsticks except for a very unlucky Ravenclaw.
All the students emptied the room at 8:50 and started to head for their next class. Riley, Leilani, Ron and Harry waited outside for Tara, Jhene, and Becky. They were heading for Defense Against the Dark Arts next and all the girls were anxious for the class to begin. Ron and Harry had to deal with various squeals of excitement all the way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
They all walked into the classroom and sat down with their same partners. This time Riley sat with Seamus so that Becky could sit with Leilani. Defense Against the Dark Arts was with the Slytherins but so far they hadn't disturbed them.
"So, where do you come from?" Seamus asked Riley.
"New York. In the US." Riley answered.
"Oh. I'm from Surrey. England. What do you like to do in New York? Do you have any fancies?" Seamus asked.
"Well," Riley started. "There's a lot to do in New York. Ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Really, you could just sit at a corner café and there's a show for you. Oh shows! There are plays. My favorite is William-"
"Shakespeare!" Seamus yelled aloud causing the whole class to look towards them. "Sorry." He said to them. "Anyways, I love William Shakespeare. A lot of guys back home think I'm gay because I do. His plays are bloody wicked though."
"No way. I love him. He's a total genius." Riley said smiling. "So, does this mean you like to read?"
"Reading is the best. I really like the Series of Unfortunate Events and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy." Seamus replied.
"No way! I think those are awesome!" Riley said. "I also like books by Michael Connelly."
"Yeah! He's the one that writes all those mystery books!" Seamus said nodding his head.
"Yeah. I've read all his novels. Right now I'm on City Of Bones. It just came out. I have it upstairs in my dormitory." Riley said pointed towards to ceiling.
"Wicked! Can I read it?" Seamus asked.
"Sure. But, after I'm done. Shouldn't take too long. Just as long as these teachers don't pile us with homework." Riley replied.
"Brilliant!" Seamus answered.
At that moment Professor Minogue walked into the room with a large cage in her hand. It was a square cage that was covered in a red clothe. She immediately placed it on an empty desk in front of the class and pulled off its cover. It was an odd looking creature. It looked something like a parrot and a tiger. It had wings; extremely large wings with different colors but it's body was that of a tiger; orange and stripped. Although it wasn't as large as a tiger. It was the size of a kitten. An orange kitten with black striped and colorful wings.
"Wattablinke. It has the wings of a parrot and the body of a small tiger. Although this animal is small its force is power full. It's claws let out deadly venom if they ever scratch you or even touch your skin. Even though you could see its eyes, bright yellow eyes, this animal is born blind. Its sense of smell is stronger though. It's almost as if it can see. Its wings are very powerful and the blood of this creature can be used for a very powerful potions called the Pindlewald Potion." Professor Minogue said giving Riley and Leilani the effect of not seeing their performing arts teacher any time soon. "This creature is a very normal animal for dark sorcerers to keep. The dark Lord Grindlewald carried one of these around with him. It is hard for these creatures to find an owner. They are very decisive in whom they should trust. We will be testing this animal to try and see if it will trust any of you today."
Some of the students smiled and some of them frowned. The class continued with Professor Minogue asking everyone to move the desks aside. The Wattablinke would need as much space as it could get. Everyone would approach it and see if it blinked its eyes to you. This was a mark of it gaining your trust. Since it was blind the mark of the wattablinke blinking its eyes was a sign that it trusted you.
"I will call out a name. Randomly choosing one of you to approach this creature." Professor Minogue announced. "Riley-Mae Nyxinn will be our first victim." Professor Minogue looked at her. Riley looked back but she couldn't find her performing arts teacher anywhere.
"Oh no! Scary wattablinke!" a Slytherin girl chanted from behind Draco Malfoy.
"Try not to blink." Minogue warned.
"I really don't get it." Leilani said.
"Neither do I and I really don't want to solve it either. But, something tells me I have to keep these messages in case something actually does happen.
It was 7:30 in the morning and all the girls were down at the Great Hall eating breakfast. It was a pretty good breakfast and they were all looking forward to having it everyday. Riley told them about the message once they were all together and now they all looked confused about the second one.
"Look. Professor McGongall is coming." Tara said as she bit on a piece of toast.
They all turned to see that Professor McGongall was indeed coming down the Gryffindor table passing out pieces of paper.
"Wonder what it is?" Becky asked unknowingly.
"Me too." Jhene continued.
"Hello Ms. Nyxinn. Ms. Aliemae. Ms. Martin. Ms. Cobswell. Ms. Salvador. I hope I won't be saying that too often." McGonagall hesitated with all of their names. "I am the head of Gryffindor house and also your Transfiguration teacher. Here are your class schedules. Classes start at 8:00. Lunch hour is 12:00-1:00 and the school day ends at 4:00."
"4:00!" Jhene complained aloud.
"Yes Ms. Cobswell." McGongall replied brow furrowed.
"Sorry."
"You will have 7 classes a day each with a different house of your own class." McGonagall explained. "That's it. Any questions?"
"No ma'am." Leilani replied.
"Please. Professor McGonagall. I can't stand being called ma'am." McGonagall pleaded.
"Sorry Professor."
"Common mistake. Don't worry." And she headed for the next group of kids to hand out schedules to.
"Cool classes." Riley said looking at her schedule.
|Class |Mon. |Tues. |Wed. |Thurs. |Fri. | |Transfiguratio| | | | | | |n (Ravenclaw) | | | | | | |DADA | | | | | | |(Slytherin) | | | | | | |Herbology | | | | | | |(Ravenclaw) | | | | | | |Care of | | | | | | |Magical | | | | | | |Creatures | | | | | | |(Hufflepuff) | | | | | | |History of | | | | | | |Magic | | | | | | |(Hufflepuff) | | | | | | |Charms | | | | | | |(Slytherin) | | | | | | |Potions | | | | | | |(Ravenclaw) | | | | | | |Flying Lessons| | | | | | |(Slytherin) | | | | | |
"Yeah. It's sort of hard to read, with all these checks. We have Transfiguration all week. Look here's another one. Oh, just a list of teachers." Riley said.
|Teacher |Class | |Transfiguration |McGonagall | |DADA |Minogue | |Herbology |Sprout | |Care of Magical Creatures |Sprout | |History o Magic |Binns | |Charms |Flitwick | |Potions |Snape | |Flying Lessons |Madam Hooch |
"Cool names." Tara said.
"Yeah. We get Ms. Minogue for Defense Against the Dark Arts." Riley replied.
"I know. How cool!" Jhene answered.
"But, don't we have to call her Professor Minogue?" Becky asked.
"Oh yeah. That sounds kind of weird." Tara replied.
"It's still Ms. Minogue. Well, Professor Minogue. That is weird." Riley said.
~~~***~~~
Since Riley and Leilani sat together and Tara and Jhene sat together Becky was left alone. But, a young man named Seamus Finnigan no sooner accompanied her. It was Transfiguration class with McGonagall and all the students were anxious for their first class.
Professor McGonagall walked in and approached her desk turning towards the students. Then she turned a nearby abandoned desk into a flying pig who flew around the room before turning back into a normal desk the class gave an assortment of "Oh"s and "Ah"s.
"When are we going to learn how to do that Professor?!" A Gryffindor named Seamus Finnigan asked amazed.
"Not soon Mr. Finnigan. This was only an example of what this class is really about. Transfiguration! Transforming an object into something or other. In this class you will tackle some of the spells that will be the hardest in your history of being a wizard or witch. There will be no fooling around in this class. You have been warned." McGonagall said sternly.
All the students looked both amazed and scared.
"Today we will be doing something simple. Turning a needle into a matchstick." McGonagall announced.
"Ah!" the whole class booed.
McGonagall looked up from her desk where she was trying to find the needles to the complaining students. They all sat quiet waiting for her after that.
When McGonagall found the needles she muttered a spell under her breath as she pointed her wand at the box. Suddenly 3 needles appeared on everyone's desk looking like they were unable to roll down the table.
"Now, open your books to page 4 and follow the instructions on how to transform these objects." McGonagall instructed. "Although books are useful in this class I find it easier to teach without them. But, today you will be reading from them." There was a groan from the front of the class from a girl with brown, bushy hair.
"Hermione." Ron said from behind Riley and Leilani. "Thinks books answer all your problems."
Riley and Leilani giggled.
"You are only allowed to talk to your partners." McGonagall told the class giving Ron the eye. He looked down nervously.
"Alright. It says here 'Infininte transcantre.'" Leilani read from her book.
"Okay. Let's try it." Riley said pulling out her wand from her robes. She pointed her wand to one of the needles and chanted, "Infininte transcantre."
A red spark came from out of her wand and traveled out of her wand to the eye of the needle to the tip. One it's way leaving behind the transformed matchstick.
"Awesome!" Riley said after the sparks disappeared.
Riley and Leilani were having good luck with the needles. They finished in about 2 minutes sometimes having to say the spell over again. They were about to raise their matchsticks up and tell McGonagall they were done but someone got there right before them.
"Done Professor!" a squeaky voice shouted from the front. It was Hermione.
Riley and Leilani turned around to find Ron and Harry smiling as well.
"Us too Proffesor." Riley said after Hermione.
"Hermione, Neville, Riley, and Leilani you may start on your homework." Proffesor replied.
Ron and Harry snickered. Leilani looked back as eyed them. They smiled while holding their hands up.
"1 foot essay on the main subject of this first chapter." McGonagall explained.
Hermione looked like the only one who was really happy about it. Neville looked petrified.
Riley and Leilani started on their essay of the chapter. There were small giggles heard from in back of them and they turned around but then started to get annoyed and stopped. So did the giggles. It was nearly time for class to get done and Riley and Leilani had finished their essays. Everyone had turned his or her needles into matchsticks except for a very unlucky Ravenclaw.
All the students emptied the room at 8:50 and started to head for their next class. Riley, Leilani, Ron and Harry waited outside for Tara, Jhene, and Becky. They were heading for Defense Against the Dark Arts next and all the girls were anxious for the class to begin. Ron and Harry had to deal with various squeals of excitement all the way to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
They all walked into the classroom and sat down with their same partners. This time Riley sat with Seamus so that Becky could sit with Leilani. Defense Against the Dark Arts was with the Slytherins but so far they hadn't disturbed them.
"So, where do you come from?" Seamus asked Riley.
"New York. In the US." Riley answered.
"Oh. I'm from Surrey. England. What do you like to do in New York? Do you have any fancies?" Seamus asked.
"Well," Riley started. "There's a lot to do in New York. Ice skating at Rockefeller Center. Really, you could just sit at a corner café and there's a show for you. Oh shows! There are plays. My favorite is William-"
"Shakespeare!" Seamus yelled aloud causing the whole class to look towards them. "Sorry." He said to them. "Anyways, I love William Shakespeare. A lot of guys back home think I'm gay because I do. His plays are bloody wicked though."
"No way. I love him. He's a total genius." Riley said smiling. "So, does this mean you like to read?"
"Reading is the best. I really like the Series of Unfortunate Events and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy." Seamus replied.
"No way! I think those are awesome!" Riley said. "I also like books by Michael Connelly."
"Yeah! He's the one that writes all those mystery books!" Seamus said nodding his head.
"Yeah. I've read all his novels. Right now I'm on City Of Bones. It just came out. I have it upstairs in my dormitory." Riley said pointed towards to ceiling.
"Wicked! Can I read it?" Seamus asked.
"Sure. But, after I'm done. Shouldn't take too long. Just as long as these teachers don't pile us with homework." Riley replied.
"Brilliant!" Seamus answered.
At that moment Professor Minogue walked into the room with a large cage in her hand. It was a square cage that was covered in a red clothe. She immediately placed it on an empty desk in front of the class and pulled off its cover. It was an odd looking creature. It looked something like a parrot and a tiger. It had wings; extremely large wings with different colors but it's body was that of a tiger; orange and stripped. Although it wasn't as large as a tiger. It was the size of a kitten. An orange kitten with black striped and colorful wings.
"Wattablinke. It has the wings of a parrot and the body of a small tiger. Although this animal is small its force is power full. It's claws let out deadly venom if they ever scratch you or even touch your skin. Even though you could see its eyes, bright yellow eyes, this animal is born blind. Its sense of smell is stronger though. It's almost as if it can see. Its wings are very powerful and the blood of this creature can be used for a very powerful potions called the Pindlewald Potion." Professor Minogue said giving Riley and Leilani the effect of not seeing their performing arts teacher any time soon. "This creature is a very normal animal for dark sorcerers to keep. The dark Lord Grindlewald carried one of these around with him. It is hard for these creatures to find an owner. They are very decisive in whom they should trust. We will be testing this animal to try and see if it will trust any of you today."
Some of the students smiled and some of them frowned. The class continued with Professor Minogue asking everyone to move the desks aside. The Wattablinke would need as much space as it could get. Everyone would approach it and see if it blinked its eyes to you. This was a mark of it gaining your trust. Since it was blind the mark of the wattablinke blinking its eyes was a sign that it trusted you.
"I will call out a name. Randomly choosing one of you to approach this creature." Professor Minogue announced. "Riley-Mae Nyxinn will be our first victim." Professor Minogue looked at her. Riley looked back but she couldn't find her performing arts teacher anywhere.
"Oh no! Scary wattablinke!" a Slytherin girl chanted from behind Draco Malfoy.
"Try not to blink." Minogue warned.