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Deirdre and Sammy were very excited about their first potion making class. They really had NO idea who the teacher was, but they were very excited to find out.
As they entered the class, Deirdre noticed Zandra sitting down by herself.
"Deirdre! Sammy! Each table holds three people………so come and sit with me!"
Sammy smiled. "Ok," he said simply.
Deirdre wasn't thrilled about having to sit with Zandra. But she kept this to herself.
"So," Zandra said when they sat down, "great having you in the same house as me."
"Yeah," Deirdre said, "Fabulous."
"So, who's teaching this class?" Sammy asked Zandra.
"Oh, Mr. Banes. He's okay."
"Is he strict?"
"No, not at all. His class can be boring sometimes, but that doesn't usually occur."
Just then, the door opened and in came Mr. Banes. He was a tall, tall man with thinning black hair and dark blue eyes.
"Class will now come to order," he said. He had a nice soft voice.
"Welcome to your first potion class. Most of you already know about potion making, but some of you don't. if you come from a Muggle family, do not despair. You will learn quickly. I will teach you the great art of potion making, which is usually not cared about by some wizards. Well let me tell you…………………"
Mr. Banes continued his speech, which was quite long. It pretty much took the whole class hour. Finally it was time to go on to the next class, which was Divination.
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Deirdre was glad to see that Zandra was NOT in their Divination class. The Divination classroom was quite different than the potion making class. It was darker, plus it didn't smell funny.
Their teachers name was Ms. Sellers. She was a thin, young looking woman. Her blonde hair was cut short and she wore spectacles behind her brown eyes.
"Welcome," she began, "to your first Divination class. I am Ms. Sellers. This year we will start releasing your clairvoyant abilities.
We will learn about scrying, which is a very old form of divination.
You will also learn about palmistry, tea leaves, and pyromacy. Of course, we might not get to those hard things if this class shows no real improvement. Students from Hydra usually don't excel in Divination."
Deirdre thought that a mean thing to say. Sammy did too.
After that, the class spent the rest of the hour meditating, or as Ms. Sellers called it, 'feeling the clairvoyant vibrations in the room.'"
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Defense against the Dark arts was taught by Mr. Ether, the head of Aquila. He was a plump man with long brown hair and green eyes. He wore a blue robe that made him look like a blueberry, and spoke in a kind manner. When he saw Deirdre, he smiled broadly.
"Deirdre, you may not know it, but we met when you were a baby."
"Really?" Deirdre said. She had no real memories of her childhood. Everything was like a dream to her.
"Yes," Mr. Ether said, "But its okay if you don't remember."
After that, Mr. Ether began his welcoming speech.
"Defense against the dark arts will teach you how NOT to be vulnerable to evil forces. You never know what evil each day will bring……….so you best be prepared."
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Charms was taught by Mr. Lenard. He was a very short, stocky old man. His class proved to be the most boring to both Sammy and Deirdre.
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Demonology. The class Deirdre and Sammy had been longing to go to. It was taught by Mr. Seward, who was also the head of Hydra house. He was a tall man with long black hair and black eyes.
Zandra was in that class too.
"Demonology," Mr. Seward began, "Is sort of a follow up to Defense against the dark arts, even though I actually think there is nothing REALLY wrong about the dark arts. Here you will actually do extensive research on evil creatures; more than in your DADA class. I will teach you about vampires, banshees, and other creatures. This class will be very hard to pass, I assure you," he said looking straight at Zandra.
"He's right," she said loudly.
The classroom was filled with laughter.
Mr. Seward looked at Deirdre.
"Well, well, well. You must be Deirdre."
"Yes sir."
"You know, this is very strange…………but you remind me of a girl I knew a long time ago. Her name was Anne. Anne Schafer. She was a very mean girl. I never knew what ever happened to her."
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Transfiguration with ms. Riley was fun. She showed the class how she could turn herself into a crow. She told them it took years of lessons to actually be able to turn yourself into an animal. Deirdre listened with as much interest as she had in Demonology.
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After that, it was time for lunch. Deirdre, Sammy, and Zandra sat together.
"Crud," Zandra said.
"What?" Sammy asked.
"I am sooo not going to pass Demonology. That is the one class that has ruined my school career."
"Then why don't you just drop it?"
"Because, I have to know about demons. My mother was a whiz in Demonology. She expects me to know a lot as well."
Deirdre sighed. Just then, Edward came up to them. He was wearing a scarf even though it was a very hot day.
"Why on earth are you wearing that?" Sammy asked.
"Hickey," Edward said simply.
Zandra laughed flirtatiously, her eyes fixed on Edward.
"Oh, and who are you?"
"Edward Grey, Sammy's brother."
"I'm Zandra."
"Hi," Edward said. Then he spoke to Deirdre. "So, how was your day?"
'Pretty good. All our classes were cool. Well, charms was kind of boring, but that's it."
"Yeah," Sammy said, "Demonology was SUPER!"
Edward smiled. "I'm glad. Well……..my day was TIRING! Homework…….on the FIRST day of class! Totally insane."
Sammy snorted. "You know you love to do homework."
Edward rolled his eyes. "It's easy. That's why I like it. Now if you'll excuse me, Gillian and I have some macking to do."
Edward left.
"Did he say fucking?" Deirdre asked in bewilderment.
Sammy laughed hysterically. "Macking, not………..the other thing!"
Zandra said, "Sammy, your brother is the hottest, sexiest boy I have ever SEEN!"
Deirdre gave Zandra a disgusted look.
"Well he IS!" Zandra said.
"Shut up and eat," Deirdre said.
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After eating, Deirdre and Sammy had forty five minutes of free time before having to go to their first flying lesson. Sammy took that time to tell Deirdre all about Quidditch. Deirdre was very interested.
"Does Edward know how to play Quidditch?" Deirdre asked.
"Yes," Sammy said, "He's pretty good……….but studies always come before Quidditch to Edward."
"Couldn't he do both?"
"He probably could, but Edward isn't interested in that much. As soon as he graduates, he plans to travel the world looking for………………"
"For what?"
"I….can't say. I'm sorry Deirdre, but it's a secret."
"Oh, that's okay," Deirdre said, but she didn't really think so.
After that, they went to the Ranivans Quidditch field for their first flying lesson. Their teacher turned out to be Mr. Seward.
"Well," he said, "I see a FEW people from my house decided to show up."
He was right. There weren't many people from Hydra.
"Well, let us begin. Please come and pick up your broomstick."
Everyone did as they were told.
Then Mr. Seward said, "Put your broomstick on the floor. Now, step to the left side of your broomstick…….and say UP!"
"UP!"
Deirdre was one of the few people whose broom went up. Sammy's broom sort of hovered a bit, but then it fell limply on the floor.
After everyone got a hold of their brooms, Mr. Seward gave them instructions on how to hover. Then he told them to try to fly a short distance and come back down.
Deirdre fell in love with flying. She felt free, worriless, and happy when she was in the air. And she knew that was a feeling nobody could take away.
