So sorry for such a late update! School started on September 4th and the three weeks before that I had to do a Chemistry packet, a math packet, and summer reading! And then school finally started and, heavens to betsy! My first chemistry homework was a review of last year and it was a calculations notebook of over 100 problems!!! And I stayed afterschool a lot for first club meetings and then homework and then naps because of sleep deprivation since I have to wake up at 6:00 every morning since school starts so darned early! Then more homework more homework! GAAAHHHH!!!!! It's officially been more than a month since the last update and I am very very sorry that this is so late. I FINALLY have no homework and so I have time to finish this chapter. I had to reread my stories to remember what happened so this is Chapter 5 and it's late additions. Hope you enjoy and next time I'll probably won't post for a while until a free weekend or vacation.
Chapter 5: Soup and Charms
A few weeks have passed since the start of school and the season of Autumn is blooming all around. The days have already begun to grow shorter and the nights grew a bit longer. The deciduous trees in the Dark Forest have begun to shed dry, brown leaves, while some bright red and orange ones clung dearly as the breeze blew.
The students of Hogwarts School have now settled into school mode of classes and homework, and the first years are no longer mystified by the mass of owls at breakfasts, the talking portraits, the ghosts living as if they weren't dead, and magic around the corner. In the classroom, Percy Weasley had lived up to his image of a studious student, leaving many Ravenclaws wondering why he wasn't in their House.
"Do any of you remember from the assigned reading homework how the precise wand movements when transfiguring solids into liquids?" Professor McGonagal asked at the start of class. Percy, Virginia, and Patrick Portabello of Hufflepuff had their hands raised. Many of the other students quietly took out their textbooks and turned to the chapter about wand waving. "Anyone? Anyone at all?" Virginia waved her hand to try and get McGonagal to notice. Henrietta put up her own hand.
"Ah, yes. Miss Newbourne?"
"Virginia Mary has her hand up," Henrietta said.
"Yes, I can see that, Miss Newbourne," Professor McGonagal said. "I was just hoping to hear a different voice than hers for a change."
"Well then, Percy and Patrick know the answer too," Henrietta replied.
"Miss Newbourne, I do have eyes. Perhaps I wasn't clear," McGonagal said, looking stern. "I would like to know if anyone else besides the usual three had read last night's homework assignment. Since you have a keen eye, Miss Newbourne, I'd like you to tell me what you saw last night when you looked at your book." Henrietta grew red.
"Merton Graves," she mumbled. Most of the class started to laugh.
"Merton who? What does that have to do with Transfiguration?"
"Well you asked me what I saw in my book and I was reading about the Weird Sisters. Merton Graves plays cello, you know." Professor McGonagal sighed and rolled her eyes.
"As I can see, it seems you first years have not yet realized the seriousness of this class. It is either you all are too shy to speak, do not understand the reading, or did not do it at all. Judging from your behavior during meals, I can truly deny that you are all quiet. More hands should be up if you have any questions." She paused to see if the students would respond. No one did. "I see that we are still not mature enough to continue doing magic in this class. I am afraid I have to cease from permitting you to use your wands during Transfiguration anymore."
"But, professor!"
"You can't!"
"We've just started the good stuff!"
"I honestly did read it! It was just so boring and complex, I fell asleep!"
"Yeah, me too!"
"Me three!"
"Professor McGonagal, please! You mustn't!"
"I am sorry," McGonagal said with a sense of seriousness in her voice. "But you must earn your chance by doing your homework! I don't know how much I must impress upon you the dangers of mistakes in this class! You all must be properly disciplined, like your fellow classmates Mr. Weasley, Portabello, and Miss Lovegood. I will not spoon-feed you the information you should already know. Open your textbooks and read silently. This is the last time I'm letting us waste class time to do homework! I am taking away 10 points away from Hufflepuff and 5 points away from Gryffindor."
"That's not fair! Why do they get less?" Philip Wilkens asked.
"More of them followed directions, so I see they earn less punishment."
"But there's only 6 of them!" said Kat Candor.
"Quiet! No more talking!" All the students obediently opened their textbooks and read to themselves quietly. Percy and Patrick got out their textbooks to read the assignment over again. Virginia still had her hand up. After a few more minutes, Henrietta Newbourne got up from her desk and went over to Professor McGonagal.
"Yes, Miss Newbourne? Something you don't understand?" Professor McGonagal asked without looking up.
"Virginia has her hand up," Henrietta blurted. She then quickly sprinted back to her seat.
Trying very hard to look calm, Minerva McGonagal looked Virginia straight in the eye and said, "Miss Daiquiri-Lovegood, what is it now?"
"I was just thinking, Professor," Virginia started. She took a deep breath. "Why do you have to make most of my classmates read again an assignment that was indeed boring to them and cause them to fall asleep in the classroom. Why bother wasting time to let them sleep? I think it would be much more worthwhile if I just told them what the chapter was about, since they seemed to have missed the point and will miss it again if they do it on their own."
"Miss Lovegood, that is an entirely horrible idea," the professor replied. Virginia frowned. "It was your classmates' responsibility to do the work. It was their responsibility to ask questions. And, our textbook is not boring at all! It is one of the best manuscripts explaining-"
"I know Professor!" Virginia said. "But I really do want to help!"
"Miss Lovegood, I do not want you taking responsibility for your classmates' foolish actions. Now please keep quiet and get back to work." A good 15 minutes passed before Virginia was whispering to Patsy Owens, who was sitting next to her. Patsy picked her head up and looked around the room like a submarine checking for sunken treasure. She giggled when she saw that half the class was half-asleep. Patsy leaned over to tell Percy, who had just finished reading the proper technique of bending the wrist.
"Look around! Everyone's asleep!" Patsy whispered, giggling. Percy turned his head and looked in front of him and behind him. Almost everyone seemed to be drifting off. He turned to tell Oliver, who interrupted Percy with a loud snore. Patsy couldn't take it and burst out laughing.
"Miss Owens, what seems to be the problem?" Professor McGonagal asked, standing up from her seat. Patsy couldn't stop laughing and Virginia stood up.
"As you can see, Professor, many of us did fall into unconsciousness due to a boring chapter," said Virginia. "We've wasted a good fifteen…no wait…sixteen minutes and 3 seconds."
"Miss Lovegood, since you feel you know it so well, why don't you teach Transfiguration for the remainder of today's class time?" Professor McGonagal said, looking like this would shut Virginia up. Though she was quite wrong, for Virginia was beaming.
"You mean it? Oh this is going to be so exciting!" She took her wand out from her bag and rushed to the chalkboard. "Oh thank you, Professor! Thank you! This has truly made my day!" Professor McGonagal just looked at her in complete surprise. Everyone was awake now.
"You're not serious, are you?" Percy asked. "Professor, she's a student! She can't-"
"Okay, class! I want everyone to please take out your wand," Virginia said, ignoring Percy. All the students obeyed. "Did you say something, Percy? Are you volunteering? How very kind of you! Please come up here with a solid object. Oh, your wand will do." Percy looked at her like she lost her marbles. Virginia was serious. Percy looked at McGonagal and she nodded, saying she lost control now. Percy got up from his seat, went down the aisle, and stood next to Virginia. "Now Percy, I understand that you understand that you know how do this properly. Please, set a good example."
"Aren't you supposed to be teaching?"
"Oh right! Wait right there!" Virginia said. She grabbed the chalk off the ledge and wrote down instructions, muttering to herself. "Bend wrist…then you twist and….then you have to…right…voilá! Now Percy, demonstrate what I have just written on the board!"
"I never thought of it like that," Percy said after reading what Virginia wrote. Anxious whispers floated around the room as the students wondered what their substitute teacher wrote.
"Why, Miss Lovegood, how very clever!" McGonagal said, smiling. "Please, Mr. Weasley, proceed."
Percy gripped his wand firmly bent his wrist forward, waved his wand towards him in a C-motion, twisted his wrist around, and flicked it in the air.
"Well done, Percy! That's correct!" Virginia said. "Now I want you all to copy down the instructions! Remember, you can also use this technique for most charms and curses!"
"We can't see it. It's too small," Philip said. McGonagal used a nifty charm to resize the writing. Everyone copied it down.
"So that's what 'a curvature of the wrist' means," Oliver said, writing down the second line.
"Now let's all practice! Everyone, wands ready! I'll tell you what to do again out loud," Virginia said. She put her own wand up and stood as if she was about to conduct an orchestra. "One, two, three…Wand in the hand, bending the wrist. Swish a 'C' in the air, and flick with a twist!"
"Wand in the hand, bending the wrist. Swish a 'C' in the air, and flick with a twist!" the class repeated together, perfectly waving their wands.
"Let's practice a little more," Virginia said. "Make sure you do the C motion!" After a while, everyone had it right.
"Now let's see if that's exactly right," Virginia said. "Percy hand me your wand." Percy handed it to her and she laid it on McGonagal's desk. She swished and flicked and muttered, "Hydrogenite Wand!" A small puddle replaced Percy's wand. "I did it! It worked!"
"MY WAND!" Percy shouted. The rest of the class all clapped for Virginia.
"Solidify: Wand!" Virginia said, using the same wrist movement. The puddle of water straightened into a miniscule river then froze into a rod of ice and returned to its normal wooden state.
"My wand!" Percy said happily. The class, including Professor McGonagal, applauded again. Suddenly the bell rang.
"Oh my! Where did the time go?" McGonagal said.
"Now those spells are in the next chapter! Read ahead carefully and come prepared tomorrow!" Virginia said over the mad rush of packing bags and grabbing books.
"Well done, Miss Lovegood! You've certainly taken me by surprise! I award you five points!" Professor McGonagal said as Virginia erased the chalkboard. "If you ever would like to teach again for extra credit, please be my guest!"
"Thanks Professor, but I don't think I will," Virginia said.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if you hadn't assigned such a boring chapter reading, the girls in my dormitory wouldn't have fallen asleep. Then the dormitory wouldn't be so quiet and I wouldn't have been able to read ahead and think of nifty lesson plans!"
***
"That was fantastic, Virginia!" Oliver said as they walked to Defense Against the Dark Arts. "How did you think of such a brilliant lesson?"
"Soup and charms," Virginia answered.
"Soup and charms?" Percy said, looking at her again like she lost her marbles.
"Well I borrowed the rhyme from the saying of how to eat soup. Spoon in the hand, bend in the wrist, into the bowl, and out with a twist! That's what I was thinking while I was reading last night's homework. My mother makes the best tomato soup! Well anyway, Patsy and Lucy fell asleep and Henrietta was so absorbed in that book about the Weird Sisters, so they were all quiet and I could think and read better. That's when I figured out what the chapter was about and then I remembered the swish and flick from Charms. I said to myself, 'Hey, it's basically the same technique!' and then I was like, 'It's also kind of the way to eat soup!' so I put it together and prepared it to share with class in case anyone didn't understand. Then I wanted to read ahead to find out more! It was so quiet and I had nothing else to do anyway."
"Soup and charms…" Oliver said, shaking his head. "Who'd have thunk?"
"It's 'thought,' Oliver," Percy corrected.
"Yeah whatever," Oliver said. They reached Quirrel's classroom and took their seats. The three other Gryffindor girls had arrived as well and congratulated Virginia on a job well done.
"That was a totally awesome lesson!" said Patsy.
"You've given McGonagal a run for her money!" said Lucille.
"You have to teach us again!" said Henrietta.
"Virginia, you're such a riot!" said Patsy.
"Will you help me with tonight's homework?" asked Henrietta.
"We should do it ourselves! It's our responsibiliy!" said Lucille.
"Yeah, Henrietta! Virginia needs to prepare for next lesson!" said Patsy.
"Oh, don't worry, Henrietta! I'll be glad to help!" said Virginia. "Where help is needed, I'm there!"
"Good, then you can help me finish last night's homework," said Boris, as he approached the small crowd of Gryffindors. "Here. Just tell Percy the answers. He knows my handwriting better than I do." He shoved a sheet of parchment with a list of questions into Percy's arms.
"Boris, it was your responsibility to do the homework!" said Lucille. "You shouldn't rely on Virginia to do it for you!"
"Yeah! It was your responsibility!" said Oliver.
"Did I say you could speak, Wood?" said Boris.
"No," said Oliver weakly. He then retreated to his seat and pondered why he wasn't put in Hufflepuff.
"I'm not doing your homework, Boris," said Percy. "It's your problem, not mine."
"What if I make a new problem for you? I told Pomfrey to save you a bed at the Hospital Wing already," Boris said, pulling up his sleeves. His Slytherin friends snickered behind him. Percy was sick and tired of Boris's threats, which he has been experiencing since their first week at Hogwarts. What did Percy do to him anyway?
"Good thing then! Just tell her I'm not coming when I send you there!" said Percy, standing up from his feet. Everyone around Percy was surprised with his sudden bravery. So was Percy.
"Well…go ahead!" said Boris, a little less menacingly.
"What's the commotion? Settle down, please. We have much to do," said Professor Quirrell as he entered the classroom from his office.
"You better watch your back, Weasley. 'Cause next time you might not get so lucky," Boris muttered as he headed to the back of the room to his seat.
"Now I hope you all read Chapter 3: Proper Wand Movements for Defensive Spells," said Quirrell. "Who can demonstrate using the shielding spell?"
Here we go again, The Gryffindors thought when no one volunteered.
***
At lunch that day, the Slytherin First years looked scornfully at the Gryffindor table. Quirrell had awarded Virginia 25 points for her teaching in class that day. He took 5 points away from Slytherin because Kalvin Clein wouldn't obey the substitute teacher.
"So we were passing a herd of cows," said Lucille. "And my little brother started babbling about-"
"They're still staring at us," interrupted Patsy as she quickly glanced across the Great Hall.
"Oh, they'll get over it," said Virginia.
"Why don't they just quit staring? Are they trying to intimidate us?"
"I'm going to find out," said Percy, he got up from his seat and made way to walk to the Slytherin's.
"What do you think you're doing?!" said Oliver, grabbing Percy's arm to stop him. "Are you mad? You're willfully going to the speak with the Slytherins?!?"
"I can take care of myself," said Percy. Oliver, Virginia, Patsy, Henrietta, and Lucy all watched. The Slytherin table was so far from them that they couldn't hear what any of them were saying. Suddenly, they heard the Slytherins laugh as Percy, his face glowing its usual red, returned to the Gryffindor table.
"What happened? What'd they say? What are they up to?" Virginia asked, bombarding Percy with questions.
"They wouldn't tell me," Percy said as he took his seat.
"Why'd they all laugh?" asked Lucille.
"It's nothing. They're just being stupid," said Percy, taking a roast beef sandwich from the platter.
"So what was it about the bunch of cows?" Henrietta asked Lucille, returning to their original conversation..
"No, it's herd," said Percy.
"Heard what?" asked Henrietta.
"Herd of cows," said Percy.
"Of course I've heard of cows! Lucy was just talking about them."
"No, a cow herd."
"A cow heard what? What do I care about what a cow heard? I've got no secrets from a cow!"
[A/N: Joke courtesy of Archie Comics]
"No! No! No! You incorrectly said a "bunch of cows" and the term is a "herd of cows" like a "pride of lions" or a "streak of tigers"! A herd of cows! Herd of cows!"
"Goodness, you don't have to get so angry!" said Henrietta, shocked by Percy's outburst.
"I'm not angry! I'm perfectly content! I'm not angry!" said Percy.
"Mr. Weasley, are you all right?" asked Professor Quirrel, as he was passing by.
"Yes! I-am-fine! Why does everyone suddenly care about my well being? I'm not angry!!" said Percy.
"Er…all right. Ahem, you better eat some lunch…or, something," said Quirrel, scurrying back to the staff table.
"Percy, what did Boris say to you?" Virginia asked. "Obviously it ticked you off."
"It's nothing. I need to go to the library," said Percy, stuffing half of the roast beef sandwich in his mouth and leaving abruptly.
***
The problem with Percy is that he turned mole hills into mountains. He makes stress for himself by pondering too long on things. The library was always the one place he could find solace.
They're just being stupid. It's good that I'm brave. There's nothing funny about that. They're just being stupid, thought Percy as he walked down the corridor to the library. I am brave anyhow. It wasn't a pity sorting. I am brave. The sorting hat knows what's best for everyone. It's never wrong. Nope, never. I'm brave…I'm brave…I'm br-
"Ooooph!!" someone cried as Percy smacked into someone as he turned the corner. It was Portia Bolkin of Ravenclaw. "Are you alright?"
"Sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going," said Percy. He started to leave.
"Hey, aren't you Penny's boyfriend? I mean, you're her friend that's a boy," said Portia. Percy blushed at the thought of being Penny's boyfriend.
"Yes, you know her?"
"She's my best friend. She's my roommate too," said Portia. "She talks about you almost all the time."
"She does?" said Percy, leaning against the wall, waiting to hear more about Penelope.
"And she says how smart you are and everything. We both wonder why you're not in Ravenclaw," said Portia.
"Well, the Sorting Hat is never wrong," said Percy.
"It was nice meeting you," said Portia, shaking Percy's hand. "Well, bye."
"Bye," said Percy. He then continued down to the library and started thinking again. Maybe the Sorting Hat was wrong. Maybe it's been wrong before. Maybe it was a pity sorting and put me in Gryffindor because it knew there weren't many boys left. Maybe, maybe…I don't know…
"Good afternoon, Percy," greeted Madam Pince, the librarian. "What are we researching today? This book on the art of dragon manicures was just returned."
"Thank you, Madam Pince, but actually, I was thinking about reading about the Sorting Hat," said Percy, feeling he had to see if it has ever steered a student wrong.
"The Sorting Hat? Why would you want to read about that?" she asked.
"I was just…"
"…wondering if you'd been sorted in the right house? Well it has never steered a student wrongly. I know that. There have never been any students or parents or teachers or anyone who've complained about where they were sorted. First years always get the feeling anyhow. If you want a book still, you can find it in the section on Hogwarts books."
"Thank you," said Percy, heading to the section of shelves dedicated to books written about Hogwarts and books by past Hogwarts professors and headmasters and head mistresses. "Ahem…arrange by subject, please." The magic bookshelf suddenly shuddered and the books started flying to new spots on the shelf from the previous spots of arrangement by author. "The Sorting Hat…The Sorting Hat, Edition Two…The Sorting Hat, Edition Three…my goodness, there are a lot!" Percy skipped down the row of books all virtually the same color, but different sizes. The Sorting Hat, Edition Eight was much skinnier compared to The Sorting Hat, Edition Seventy-four, which was the biggest. The last book at the end of the row looked the newest. It was The Sorting Hat, Edition Ninety-nine. Percy took it off the shelf and browsed for more books. "The Origins of the Sorting Hat…The Hat of Sorting…Loyalists or Leftovers? A Guide for Distressed Hufflepuffs, by the Sorting Hat. I didn't know it could write books…Sorting Magical Cabbages…now why on earth would you do that? A Hogwarts Students' Guide to the Sorting Hat…that should be good." Percy carefully stacked the heavy books in his arms and staggered to a table. The Sorting Hat, Edition Ninety-nine was just a listing of the currently enrolled students at Hogwarts and a history of the houses and the sorting. The Origins of the Sorting Hat was just an extensive biography of the Sorting Hat. The Hat of Sorting was a voluminous analysis of the methods of the Sorting Hat. Percy was immersed in this book for the entire lunch period and only stopped reading it once the bell rang.
"Why go through the trouble of reading these when I just told you that the hat has never been wrong," said Madam Pince as she stamped the due date on the slips in the books. "They're due the 17th…Just don't let this extra research get the way of your homework."
***
"Are you all right Percy? You were awfully quiet during Flitwick's free period," said Oliver that night in the common room. "What's that you're reading?"
"A book," Percy replied, not looking up. His eyes raced from side to side as he read the pages.
"Well, of course it's a book! I meant what are you reading about?"
"The Sorting."
"Sorting of what?" Oliver asked. "Socks? Leeches?"
"Ewwww," said Patsy from behind him.
"Sorting of students of course," said Lucille, two chairs away. "It's obvious that Percy is afraid he was put in the wrong house."
"Percy, you are not in the wrong house. The Sorting Hat is never wrong," said Charlie.
"It's like weathermen," said Virginia, "…no wait, bad example…The hat is definitely not like weathermen. The hat's like…umm…something that's never wrong?"
"You're worrying over nothing, Percy," said Charlie. "You've always seemed to be like a true Gryffindor ever since you were little."
"And besides…if the Sorting Hat ever was wrong, you won't find any book here at Hogwarts that says so," said Lucille. With that said, Percy stopped reading. Lucille was right. Hogwarts wouldn't have anything that conflicts with the school's prinicples. They have no written records of the employment of House Elves. They wouldn't have records of the wrongs of the Sorting Hat.
"I don't think you were put in the wrong house, Percy," said Henrietta. "You're very brave to me."
"Yeah! You even confronted the Slytherins on your own," said Patsy.
"And you're not afraid of Boris…sometimes," said Oliver.
"You were fated to be a Gryffindor," said Virginia. "Had you been in any other house, the world would fall a part. And Oliver would be left here all alone."
***
Heheheh (nervous laughter)…as you can see, this story was not posted a month since the last update. Actually, (hehe) it's been umm…3 or 4 months. I'm very sorry, but I've been very busy with school. I hope you like this chapter and don't fret! This story has not been forgotten. I started this one right by outlining the story (well most of it) before hand so I wouldn't get enormous writer's blocks. Keep on waiting for updates and thank you for reading!