Chapter 8: The Tough Day

James woke up the next morning feeling as happy as he had the night before. He felt like exploring the Durmstrang grounds on his day off. When James walked into the Dining Hall, he found that half the school seemed to still be asleep. James sat down at the Tigron table and helped himself to eggs, ham, bacon and toast that were being past around. As he was eating, James noticed John sit in front of him. When he looked up, James saw a discoloration in John's skin. When James asked what had happened, John didn't seem to give him a truthful answer.
"I was messing with some strength serums this morning to get bigger for Quidditch, but it seems to have
backfired," he said.
"Isn't that illegal, though?" James asked.
"I'm not entirely sure," John answered.
John was determined not to talk anymore as he got some eggs and toast. After breakfast, James walked out into the sunlit grounds to explore his new school. As he walked across the grounds, James saw an owl fly into a tower of Durmstrang and thought; I should send a letter to mom and dad and let them know that I got here safely. So James walked back to his dormitory, got a quill and parchment, and went back outside and sat down underneath a tree. Here, he wrote this letter to his mom and dad:

Dear Mom and Dad,
How are you guys doing? I made it to Durmstrang safely and so far, it doesn't seem like that bad of a school. I'm thinking of writing to Sirius soon.
Listen, Dad. On the train, I found a mirror that I used to talk to a man named Sirius Black. He said he was your godfather and that he is living with grandma and grandpa. Can you tell me about that?
Anyway, I start classes tomorrow and I feel like going to bed early tonight. Write back soon.-James

James pocketed his letter and walked back into the castle. It was here that James realized he didn't know where the owlery was. James walked back up to the Tigron Dorm, but when he arrived there, it was empty. After waiting for twenty minutes with no one entering the Dorm, James got up and decided to look for the owlery himself. At the entrance, James ran into a very pretty girl. All James could do was gawk at her.
"Can I help you with something?" the girl asked.
"Ca-ca-ca," James said.
"Yes?" the girl urged.
"Canshowmeowlry?" James stammered.
"Excuse me?" the girl asked, looking highly irritated.
This is stupid, James thought. She's just a girl, you can do this. Can you show me to the owlery?" James asked finally.
"Oh. Sure. Follow me," the girl said, happy that James said something that was coherent. "I'm Mia by the way," she said. "Mia Koda."
"J-James Potter," James said, blushing.
"Are you Harry Potter's son?" Mia asked.
"Yeah, how did you know?" James asked curiously.
"Everyone knows who Harry Potter is, and Potter's not exactly a common name, is it?" Mia asked.
"I s'pose not," James said conversationally.
"So who are you sending a letter to, anyway?" Mia asked.
"My mom and dad," James said. "Let them know I got here safely, ya know?"
"I guess," Mia said awkwardly.
They walked inn silence the rest of the way to the owlery, and when they arrived, Mia said by and departed. James quickly found an owl and sent off his letter. James made his way back to the Dorm where, on first glance of the notice board, saw the schedule for the Tigron first years. Everyone had three double-classes a day; one after breakfast, one after lunch and one after dinner. James schedule looked like this:

Mondays and Wednesdays:
Transfiguration with Bart Strife 9:30-11:30
Defense Against the Dark Arts with Bertha Bloede 1:30-3:30
Herbology with Ralph Quagmire 6:30-8:30

Tuesdays and Thursdays:
Potions with Zane Jugar 9:00-11:00
Charms with Zeo Thannigan 2:45-4:45
Flying with Albert Ortuna 7:00-9:00

Fridays:
Defense Against the Dark Arts with Bertha Bloede 8:00-10:00
Herbology with Ralph Quagmire 12:00-2:00
Potions with Zane Jugar 6:00-8:00

Underneath his schedule, James saw a little note:

Classes and times will be changed each quarter.

James decided he should look for his classes, since he didn't really feel like getting detention on his first day of school. It took James two hours to locate all of his classes, and by that time, it was dinner. James quickly finished his dinner and went to bed early. When James woke up the next day, he noticed there was nobody in his dorm room. The same appeared true in the common room. When James walked into the Dining Hall, he noticed the whole school was eating breakfast. James was relieved and sat down to eat breakfast. After breakfast, James walked to his Transfiguration Class. It was here that he ran into Mia again.

"How you doing, Mia?" James asked.
"I'm fine, how about you?" Mia asked.
"Pretty good," James said. "You feel ready for classes?"
"I could feel worse," Mia answered.
"Why's that?"
"My grandmother died this morning in her sleep. I don't think I'll be able to concentrate in class today."
"Don't worry. I'll help you out."
"Really?"
"Yeah."

At that moment, Mia jumped at James and gave him a hug.

"Thank you, James," Mia said, tears streaming down her face.
"Um, no problem," James said awkwardly, patting Mia on the head.

Five minutes later, Bart Strife appeared and opened the door to his classroom and everyone entered. James and Mia took seats near the front, where they were joined by John. As John made to sit down, he looked and James and Mia, and without so much as a hello, said, "You guys going out?"
James looked dumbstruck at this question and just stared at John, but Mia spoke up.
"So what if we are," Mia said, hatred etched all over her face. "I don't see it being any of your business."
James looked even more awestruck at this statement, but John had no time to retaliate as Professor Strife called the class to order. He went through the roll call and then addressed the class about the day's lesson plan.
"We shall begin today with a simple switching spell. You will be attempting to switch a needle into a match. If my matchbox is full by the end of class, with each of you contributing just one match, there will be no need for homework. If you turn to page 10 of your Beginners Guide to Transfiguration, you will see the beginning of the chapter on Switching Spells. You are to read the first three pages, attempt the spell, then finish the next four pages and perform the spell again. You will make observations about the differences between your two matches and a half-page summary on Switching Spells, to be turned in with your best match. You may begin."

All in all, James felt his first class went rather well. Aside from the constant nagging of Mia's comment earlier, James was able to successfully switch his needle into a match, finish his half-page summary, and help Mia with her work with ten minutes to spare. John was the only one who didn't turn his work in before the class ended, but he still turned in a pretty decent match so the class was given no homework for the class. After a quick lunch, James and Mia spent their free time walking across the Durmstrang Grounds, discussing their families and their plans after school. James and Mia then walked to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class. After another spectacular class in which they learned the simple curse and counter curse for the Jelly Legs, Mia and James ate dinner then waited in the Tigron Common Room for their Herbology Class. Mia was looking thoroughly pleased about this class as they made their way to the greenhouses. Plant-life was Mia's favorite subject. After this lesson, in which Mia got the Tigrons ten Dorm Crystals for accurately naming the properties of the Venomous Tentacula, James and Mia headed back to the Tigron Dorm to complete their Defense Against the Dark Arts and Herbology homework. At around 10:00, James and Mia said goodnight to each other and agreed to meet in the Common Room in the morning. With this happy feeling in his mind, James fell soundlessly to sleep.