CHAPTER TWO:
FIRST DAYS AT HOGWARTS
Dedicated to FlamingArrow a.k.a.GinnyWeasly, my first reviewer! Thank you
so much! : D!
I woke at seven the next morning, as if an alarm had gone off inside my brain. I got out of bed and stretched, and got dressed, not bothering to have a shower. I packed up my bag, with all my books, quills, wand, and ink bottles. I walked out of the dormitory, and heard the boys coming from their side of the tower. "Juliet!" called Sirius, who was sliding down the banister of the stairs. "What woke you? Don't tell me all the girls heard Peter's screams?"
"What?" I asked, very confused.
"Peter," said Remus, intervening, "had a nightmare." Peter looked very shaken.
"What was it about, Peter?" I asked, thinking that maybe I knew the answer.
"T-there was a house, and i-it was all smashed and b-b-blown up," muttered Peter, stuttering. "There w-was a-a green snake over the house! And dead people inside. And there w-was this roaring noise... and then I woke up."
"Well," whispered Remus, "at least it wasn't real."
At breakfast, we received our timetables. Monday morning read:
Nine o'clock - eleven o'clock:
Double Potions with Slytherin house
Professor J. King
Break
Eleven thirty - twelve thirty:
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Professor L. Roberts
Lunch
"Not really bad," said Remus.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts is a pretty good subject," said James. He and Sirius didn't have globs of food smashed into his mouth, thank goodness.
"Defense against anything dark is pretty good," muttered Sirius, as he stood up. Bellatrix Black was walking towards us.
"SIRIUS BLACK!" she yelled, "You have betrayed your family! You are in a house with Mudbloods, blood traitors, and stinking half-breeds!" James, Remus, and I stood up. Peter followed quickly. Bellatrix took no notice. She had acquired a group of Slytherins from nowhere. I could see Narcissa, her sister and Sirius's cousin stand beside her, with a boy who could be none other than Lucius Malfoy. Severus Snape and Theodore Nott, new Slytherins, behind them. "You have disgraced our family by coming to this house," she said. "It's bad enough that my idiot sister is in Ravenclaw, but that's not as bad as stinking Griffindor. I've written to your mother, and she is terribly upset. She always knew you'd be bad!"
"Shut up, about him!" I said, angry from being insulted, and hearing my friends insulted.
"You be quiet, you filthy Mudblood!" said Bellatrix, her eyes flashing towards me.
"Bellatrix, leave them alone," said a dark haired girl walking from the Ravenclaw table with a tall boy. "It was the Hat's decision, not Sirius's."
"You're no better than him, hanging out with Mudbloods," sneered Bellatrix, clearly trying to get Andromeda mad. The boy looked very angry, though, and began to shout at Bellatrix. The other Slytherins moved in front of Bellatrix, who was clearly their leader, their wands raised. Andromeda stepped to Sirius, trying to prevent him from doing anything stupid.
"What's this?" said a voice. Professor McGonagall was looking at us all sternly. Everyone started to offer explanations at once. She put up a hand. "Five points will be taken from each of your houses. Each." Sirius opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "One more word, Mr. Black, and ten more points will be docked from Griffindor. Now, behave yourselves!" McGonagall walked away. Bellatrix looked from her sister to her cousin, then to her fellow Slytherins, and they stalked off.
We grabbed our bags, and walked off towards the potions dungeon. Remus stood at the doors, waiting for me, but Lily was calling me over. I let him know he could go on. I walked over to Lily and her group of friends. Lily took no time in getting to her point. "Girls shouldn't be best friends with boys."
I was quite taken aback. "So?" I asked. "I just sat with them on the train and got to know them. That's it."
Lily took no notice. "This is Hestia, and this is Emmeline," she said, introducing the other Griffindor girls.
"That's brilliant, Lily. I need to-"
"Walk to class with us."
I shrugged.
The girls continued talking and giggling, as if I wasn't there. At least the boys talk about interesting things, I thought as we walked down the steps to the dungeons. I saw the boys grouped together, and Sirius beckoning for me to come up, and sit in the seat next to him. Lily grabbed my arm as I made towards him. "No," muttered Lily. "Sit with us!"
"Leave me alone, Evans!" I said, and walked over to Sirius.
"What was that about?" he whispered, as Professor King walked into the room.
"She was acting crazy- going on about how 'girls shouldn't be friends with boys' or something."
"Welcome, class," said Professor King cheerfully, "to your first year of potions!" he turned and tapped the blackboard with his wand. "These are the ingredients to a potion to cure boils- very simple, I assure you! Get into pairs, there'll be one trio, and start!"
I was with Sirius and James, who spent the entire lesson goofing off (well, okay, I did too). Once we finished the potion, we started dipping random things in it, and James seized my glasses and dipped one half of them in. The potion cracked the lens, which a very annoyed Remus quickly repaired. Peter found that he was very bad at potions, and Remus was valiantly trying to keep him two feet away from the cauldron at all times. While Remus was pointing out that we didn't stir the potion correctly, there was a loud "BANG!" from Peter's cauldron. Peter had somehow managed to drop his wand into the mix, causing it to issue a steady stream of sparks from the bottom, and turning the potion a violent shade of green. Professor King walked over to them. "Problems, over here?"
"Peter dropped his wand in the cauldron, sir," said Remus.
King tapped the side of the cauldron with his wand, making the potion disappear, and revealing Peter's wand at the bottom. "Class dismissed!" he said, and we all scrambled for the door.
Snape was walking with his Slytherin posse again. "The only bad thing about that lesson," whispered Sirius, "is the fact that Snivellus is better at potions than us."
We walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and I instantly fell in love with it. I could tell Remus did, too, and I was glad, because I knew about his future as a teacher. "Take your seats, please!" said Professor Roberts, walking into the room. She was a tiny woman, today with her dark hair in a long plait down her back. Her hands were very small, and her robes looked as if they could have fitted any first year in the room. "Good morning class!" she said. Everyone murmured back, but Roberts took no notice. "Today... well, I really don't have much planned today. Er...."
The class went by very slowly, with Professor Roberts going on about her Auror training, and how she had been 'advised' to take a year off (for experience). James whispered to me, "No, just to get her our of their hair." By the end of class, we had put bets on how long she would last. I put five Galleons on 'not past winter break'. I seriously hoped I was right; if all out lessons were like that one, I would have gone crazy. The only good thing about the class was that she assigned no homework, just like Professor King. "Finaly," said Peter dashing towards the door as the bell rang. "Lunch!" Sirius and James ran after him.
"Do you think," I asked Remus, once we had exited the room, "that the Defense Against the Dark Arts job is cursed?"
He looked at me quizzically. "What gives you that idea?"
Nuts! I yelled to myself, you let yourself slip again! "I heard a fifth year talking about it. And remember how Dumbledore said that two years was a record for Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers."
"Hm..." we entered the Great Hall, "I suppose it's possible..."
Transfiguration was next. McGonagall was as stern and rigorus as described in the books. She lectured us all for half the lesson on the difficulty of Transiguration, and then tapped a chair with her wand, changing it into a stork and back again. She passed out matches, and instructed us to turn them into needles, which is much harder than it sounds. By the end of class, mine was a needle-shaped match, which could still light at one end. Peter's was still a match, which had a small eyehole at one end. Sirius's was a metal match, Remus's was a little silvery, and very pointy, but James... his needle was a real needle. "Execlent, Mr. Potter! Ten points to Griffindor!" said Professor McGonagall. James beamed.
Our last class of the day was Charms. Professor Vernes was stern and very grim faced. He was also the Slytherin head of house, and whenever someone spoke out of turn, he took a point of from Griffindor. He was the only one who gave us homework for the night (practice the Levitation Charm and write a paragraph on it's uses). "I didn't like him much," said James, as we walked out of class.
"That's only because he's head of Slytherin," I said back to him, but I had to tell him. "I didn't like him much either.
The next day passed without event, until the evening. "My mother is ill," announced Remus while we were doing our homework. "I need to go for the night."
We wished him goodnight as he left the common room with McGonagall. James, Sirius, and Peter didn't pay much attention, but I did. I went over to the nearest window and looked out. Sure enough, the moon was full, and the Whomping Willow was still frozen. I saw it shake itself out, as an earsplitting howl came from the Shrieking Shack. Peter squeaked and pretended that he was very tired and had to go to bed. James and Sirius followed soon after. I stayed up for a minuet, taking a spare bit of parchment and writing down: September 3: Full moon, Remus "visiting ill mother". I tucked my quill, ink, and parchment and sticking it in my bag, and retiring for the night.
I woke at seven the next morning, as if an alarm had gone off inside my brain. I got out of bed and stretched, and got dressed, not bothering to have a shower. I packed up my bag, with all my books, quills, wand, and ink bottles. I walked out of the dormitory, and heard the boys coming from their side of the tower. "Juliet!" called Sirius, who was sliding down the banister of the stairs. "What woke you? Don't tell me all the girls heard Peter's screams?"
"What?" I asked, very confused.
"Peter," said Remus, intervening, "had a nightmare." Peter looked very shaken.
"What was it about, Peter?" I asked, thinking that maybe I knew the answer.
"T-there was a house, and i-it was all smashed and b-b-blown up," muttered Peter, stuttering. "There w-was a-a green snake over the house! And dead people inside. And there w-was this roaring noise... and then I woke up."
"Well," whispered Remus, "at least it wasn't real."
At breakfast, we received our timetables. Monday morning read:
Nine o'clock - eleven o'clock:
Double Potions with Slytherin house
Professor J. King
Break
Eleven thirty - twelve thirty:
Defense Against the Dark Arts
Professor L. Roberts
Lunch
"Not really bad," said Remus.
"Defense Against the Dark Arts is a pretty good subject," said James. He and Sirius didn't have globs of food smashed into his mouth, thank goodness.
"Defense against anything dark is pretty good," muttered Sirius, as he stood up. Bellatrix Black was walking towards us.
"SIRIUS BLACK!" she yelled, "You have betrayed your family! You are in a house with Mudbloods, blood traitors, and stinking half-breeds!" James, Remus, and I stood up. Peter followed quickly. Bellatrix took no notice. She had acquired a group of Slytherins from nowhere. I could see Narcissa, her sister and Sirius's cousin stand beside her, with a boy who could be none other than Lucius Malfoy. Severus Snape and Theodore Nott, new Slytherins, behind them. "You have disgraced our family by coming to this house," she said. "It's bad enough that my idiot sister is in Ravenclaw, but that's not as bad as stinking Griffindor. I've written to your mother, and she is terribly upset. She always knew you'd be bad!"
"Shut up, about him!" I said, angry from being insulted, and hearing my friends insulted.
"You be quiet, you filthy Mudblood!" said Bellatrix, her eyes flashing towards me.
"Bellatrix, leave them alone," said a dark haired girl walking from the Ravenclaw table with a tall boy. "It was the Hat's decision, not Sirius's."
"You're no better than him, hanging out with Mudbloods," sneered Bellatrix, clearly trying to get Andromeda mad. The boy looked very angry, though, and began to shout at Bellatrix. The other Slytherins moved in front of Bellatrix, who was clearly their leader, their wands raised. Andromeda stepped to Sirius, trying to prevent him from doing anything stupid.
"What's this?" said a voice. Professor McGonagall was looking at us all sternly. Everyone started to offer explanations at once. She put up a hand. "Five points will be taken from each of your houses. Each." Sirius opened his mouth, but she cut him off. "One more word, Mr. Black, and ten more points will be docked from Griffindor. Now, behave yourselves!" McGonagall walked away. Bellatrix looked from her sister to her cousin, then to her fellow Slytherins, and they stalked off.
We grabbed our bags, and walked off towards the potions dungeon. Remus stood at the doors, waiting for me, but Lily was calling me over. I let him know he could go on. I walked over to Lily and her group of friends. Lily took no time in getting to her point. "Girls shouldn't be best friends with boys."
I was quite taken aback. "So?" I asked. "I just sat with them on the train and got to know them. That's it."
Lily took no notice. "This is Hestia, and this is Emmeline," she said, introducing the other Griffindor girls.
"That's brilliant, Lily. I need to-"
"Walk to class with us."
I shrugged.
The girls continued talking and giggling, as if I wasn't there. At least the boys talk about interesting things, I thought as we walked down the steps to the dungeons. I saw the boys grouped together, and Sirius beckoning for me to come up, and sit in the seat next to him. Lily grabbed my arm as I made towards him. "No," muttered Lily. "Sit with us!"
"Leave me alone, Evans!" I said, and walked over to Sirius.
"What was that about?" he whispered, as Professor King walked into the room.
"She was acting crazy- going on about how 'girls shouldn't be friends with boys' or something."
"Welcome, class," said Professor King cheerfully, "to your first year of potions!" he turned and tapped the blackboard with his wand. "These are the ingredients to a potion to cure boils- very simple, I assure you! Get into pairs, there'll be one trio, and start!"
I was with Sirius and James, who spent the entire lesson goofing off (well, okay, I did too). Once we finished the potion, we started dipping random things in it, and James seized my glasses and dipped one half of them in. The potion cracked the lens, which a very annoyed Remus quickly repaired. Peter found that he was very bad at potions, and Remus was valiantly trying to keep him two feet away from the cauldron at all times. While Remus was pointing out that we didn't stir the potion correctly, there was a loud "BANG!" from Peter's cauldron. Peter had somehow managed to drop his wand into the mix, causing it to issue a steady stream of sparks from the bottom, and turning the potion a violent shade of green. Professor King walked over to them. "Problems, over here?"
"Peter dropped his wand in the cauldron, sir," said Remus.
King tapped the side of the cauldron with his wand, making the potion disappear, and revealing Peter's wand at the bottom. "Class dismissed!" he said, and we all scrambled for the door.
Snape was walking with his Slytherin posse again. "The only bad thing about that lesson," whispered Sirius, "is the fact that Snivellus is better at potions than us."
We walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and I instantly fell in love with it. I could tell Remus did, too, and I was glad, because I knew about his future as a teacher. "Take your seats, please!" said Professor Roberts, walking into the room. She was a tiny woman, today with her dark hair in a long plait down her back. Her hands were very small, and her robes looked as if they could have fitted any first year in the room. "Good morning class!" she said. Everyone murmured back, but Roberts took no notice. "Today... well, I really don't have much planned today. Er...."
The class went by very slowly, with Professor Roberts going on about her Auror training, and how she had been 'advised' to take a year off (for experience). James whispered to me, "No, just to get her our of their hair." By the end of class, we had put bets on how long she would last. I put five Galleons on 'not past winter break'. I seriously hoped I was right; if all out lessons were like that one, I would have gone crazy. The only good thing about the class was that she assigned no homework, just like Professor King. "Finaly," said Peter dashing towards the door as the bell rang. "Lunch!" Sirius and James ran after him.
"Do you think," I asked Remus, once we had exited the room, "that the Defense Against the Dark Arts job is cursed?"
He looked at me quizzically. "What gives you that idea?"
Nuts! I yelled to myself, you let yourself slip again! "I heard a fifth year talking about it. And remember how Dumbledore said that two years was a record for Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers."
"Hm..." we entered the Great Hall, "I suppose it's possible..."
Transfiguration was next. McGonagall was as stern and rigorus as described in the books. She lectured us all for half the lesson on the difficulty of Transiguration, and then tapped a chair with her wand, changing it into a stork and back again. She passed out matches, and instructed us to turn them into needles, which is much harder than it sounds. By the end of class, mine was a needle-shaped match, which could still light at one end. Peter's was still a match, which had a small eyehole at one end. Sirius's was a metal match, Remus's was a little silvery, and very pointy, but James... his needle was a real needle. "Execlent, Mr. Potter! Ten points to Griffindor!" said Professor McGonagall. James beamed.
Our last class of the day was Charms. Professor Vernes was stern and very grim faced. He was also the Slytherin head of house, and whenever someone spoke out of turn, he took a point of from Griffindor. He was the only one who gave us homework for the night (practice the Levitation Charm and write a paragraph on it's uses). "I didn't like him much," said James, as we walked out of class.
"That's only because he's head of Slytherin," I said back to him, but I had to tell him. "I didn't like him much either.
The next day passed without event, until the evening. "My mother is ill," announced Remus while we were doing our homework. "I need to go for the night."
We wished him goodnight as he left the common room with McGonagall. James, Sirius, and Peter didn't pay much attention, but I did. I went over to the nearest window and looked out. Sure enough, the moon was full, and the Whomping Willow was still frozen. I saw it shake itself out, as an earsplitting howl came from the Shrieking Shack. Peter squeaked and pretended that he was very tired and had to go to bed. James and Sirius followed soon after. I stayed up for a minuet, taking a spare bit of parchment and writing down: September 3: Full moon, Remus "visiting ill mother". I tucked my quill, ink, and parchment and sticking it in my bag, and retiring for the night.