For copyright and disclaimers, please see chapter 1
8 - Classes, Week Four, First Year
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Sunday, September 20, 1998:
Hogwarts, Slytherin First year girl's dorm
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
I snapped awake, and lunged through the bed-hangings toward Sprink's bed. She was just drawing breath again when I said, "WHAT?"
She waved her hand, and said, "We're underwater!"
I blinked, and noticed that bubbles were lazily floating up when I breathed, the light was blue and flickering, and there was slight resistance to motion. "How?" I wondered.
"Some sort of spell or charm," Sprink guessed. "Let's see who else is affected."
Everyone in the Slytherin dorms was affected. Drying charms did not work on our wet clothing (although we remained comfortable and warm), empty rooms seemed to fill with water when even one person entered them, and walking outside seemed to fill the air to about a thirty foot depth. 'Finite incantatum' did not work on this, although it did on other spells.
Ian said, "It's a good prank, I'll admit, and a clever bit of spellwork. We should get breakfast, nae matter how embarassin' it may be, then work out how to counter it, and THEN we can plan our revenge."
"All together to the Great Hall, then," Terry said. "We have to remain united in this."
As I squelched toward the Great Hall with the others, someone asked, "What about the Weasley Twins?"
Frank shook his head, "If they know, they won't tell. They won't violate a client's trust that way. Anyone got a good relationship with them? They might have some suggestions."
"A portable swamp sounds like fun," Ian commented. "You remember the present they left for Umbridge just before they left?"
"Ah, second year," Karen said. "Of course, the faculty got rid of them pretty quick once she was gone."
"Maybe they've improved it," Ian suggested.
Professor Harry came down the stairs, yawned, and said, "Excuse me. Good morning, everyone. You do know you're all somewhat ... wet?"
"We were pranked, Professor," Emma said.
"I assume you'd like to be un-pranked? Mind if I give it a go?" Professor Harry waved his wand, and called, "Finite Incantatum!" With a gurgle, the 'water' disappeared. "Nice spellwork," the Professor commented. He yawned again, and asked, "Sorry. You pick a good team yesterday?"
"We think we'll do well," Karen said. "Thanks for your help, Professor."
"You're welcome. Have a good day." He waved, and headed toward the Great Hall for breakfast.
As the fitting witch in Quality Quidditch adjusted my Seeker's gloves, she said, "You might want to look across the street at Parv & Lav's shop, luv. They've got a discount on Quidditch robes for school teams. With the 'orrible weather some games are in, you'll thank me."
"Thanks, I will. What do I owe you?"
"Let's just tot it up, luv. It'll be three and fifteen, dearie." I pulled the coins out, and waved as I left, bag in hand.
The bell over #12's door tinkled, and a dark haired witch said, "G'day! I'm Parvati." She nodded at my bag, and asked, "Quidditch robes?"
"Yes, the people over there said you had a sale?"
"We do! Let me get some measurements. Robes off, and up on the stand, please." She released a tape that crawled all over me, and called into the back room, "Oi, you two! Customers!" She asked, "What position and House?"
"Seeker for Slytherin. My housemates will probably be in shortly. What's so special about your robes?" I raised my arms at her gesture, as Professor Vector and some of my housemates came in. I waved, and two other girls came out of the back room, one with blonde pigtails.
Karen said, "Hello, Hannah, Lav. I didn't know you had opened a shop. Can you alter my existing robes?"
"Certainly!" the blonde answered. "Let me get some measurements. On the stand, please."
Parvati answered my question, "Our robes have built-in, self renewing heating, cleansing, and waterproofing charms, all Ministry-approved for Quidditch."
"Great!" Karen said. "I'll owl you my robes when I get back. If you can come up to the school sometime later this week, you can drop them off, and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are having their tryouts next weekend." The Dorney twins came in with Sprink, who took Karen's place.
Professor Vector called after Karen, "Remember, we're meeting at the Cauldron for lunch!"
The bell over the door rang, and a black fellow with dreadlocks said, "Hello. I'm Lee, and welcome to the Wheeze. Can I offer you something to eat or drink?"
I grinned, "No, thanks. Is Fred or George in?"
"Sorry, no. Fred's picking up an order at Zabini's, and George went to Gringott's. Can I help?"
I shook my head. "They were doing some work for me, a private deal. Do you keep your client's purchases confidential?"
"Of course! Wouldn't be good for business if we didn't. What do you have in mind?"
"Pranking. I've heard about your portable swamps, and I wondered if you had a sample."
"Of course. We've a miniature sample set up over there, with variable size up to an acre."
"Nice and stinky, too. What's to prevent a professor from simply banishing it?"
"There's a charmed fob that the banisher has to be holding to successfully get rid of it. We tested it over the holidays, and it just gets stinkier and messier if you don't have the fob."
"Cool." I put a few things on the counter, and added, "Can you tell Gred and Forge that Mattie Wayne came by?"
I entered the clock shop, and Jessie said, "'Lo, Miss Wayne. What can I do for you?"
"I'm doing a bit of early Christmas shopping," I replied. I saw some very nice family clocks in oak, and asked, "Can I get eight of these in a desk version? They're for my parents and my brother and his wife, and my godparents. I'd also like to get some wristwatches with the family hands."
"Certainly. Muggle, magical, or a combination?"
"They know about magic, but they're in a muggle environment. Can you adjust the charm so only they can see the family hands?"
"No problem. Regular time as well?"
"Yes, for the East Coast of the US, please. Oh, and a wristwatch and bedside clock with multiple alarms for me."
"No worries. It will be twenty galleons each for the desk clocks, and ten for the wristwatches. I'll gift-wrap and owl them to you at Hogwarts." She pushed a bit of parchment to me, and said, "Let me have the names and locations for each person." I nodded, and Jessie cast the charm on one of each hand to verify identities.
As she was writing out my receipt, I pulled out my fountain pen, and asked, "Jessie, I'd like to get some of these as gifts for my housemates. Do you know where I can?"
"Scribbilus stationer's is three doors down on the left. That's where I got me muggle pen!" She proudly pulled out a cheap Bic, and I smiled weakly.
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Thursday, September 24, 1998:
Hogwarts, Headmaster's office
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"Good morning, Professor! Good morning, Mr. Hat!" I said as I strolled into the Headmaster's office.
The Hat replied, "Good morning, Miss Wayne."
The Headmaster twinkled at me, and said, "A good morning to you also, Miss Wayne. How do you feel?"
"Not bad, thank you, sir." I took my seat next to the fire.
"Good, good," the Headmaster nodded. "I appreciate your passing on the information from your sister-in-law. I distributed copies of her questionnaire at the staff meeting yesterday, and will have the answers back next week."
"I'm sure that will be fine," I said. "She mentioned that she would be coming for the Quidditch match on November seventh, and asked if it would be possible to come a few days early for her examination." I smiled, and added, "She'd like to watch the game."
"I see no problem with that. How will they arrive?"
I shrugged, and admitted, "I don't know for certain, but presumably flying the Lear into Inverness, and renting a van there to drive."
"Well, they must be met. I'll ask Harry if he would mind joining you. I believe he and Professor Croft are the only ones who know how to 'drive' a vehicle." He smiled, and then asked, "Ready? Onward then! 'Legilmens!'"
I rappelled down the inside of Gryffindor Tower's ventilation shaft, and peered through the grate into the Common Room. I saw Ginny with Shadow, and had a twinge of regret, but the prank was non-toxic, just annoying. This was the last of the other three House common rooms I had to 'treat'. I grinned, and checked my protective Bubblehead charm, giving me a clean supply of air, and set the powdered potion to silently disburse. It had taken three days for Ian to brew. I heard a sneeze, and Shadow looked around, then at the grate I hid behind. I scampered back, then hit the rewind to get back up to the roof, and my broom.
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Friday, September 25, 1998:
Hogwarts, Great Hall, Slytherin table
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I was beginning to wonder if the powder was working, when I heard a loud BRAAAAPPPP! The student in question, a blonde in Ravenclaw looked horrified. Another loud noise came from Hufflepuff, and soon a symphony of flatulence was rising over the Great Hall. We quickly cast the Bubblehead charm on ourselves, and left for our classes.
"Good morning, everyone!" Professor Harry said. He tossed his robe over a chair, delicately sat on the edge of a table, and looked at Sprink and I. He added, "That was a most amusing prank that Slytherin pulled this morning." Sprink and I tried to look innocent, and he snorted in amusement. "Please pass up your homework while I call the roll. Mr. Adams?"
"... and Miss Wayne. Now then, we got a little sidetracked last week. That's my fault, and if any of you were upset, I apologize. Now then, Miss Leeds asked about what spells I used against Voldemort." He smiled, and said, "I'd really rather not go into specifics about the spell. It's a dark one from Egypt that my friend Bill Weasley found in the archives of Ramses the Great. It's a complete paralysis spell, similar to stupefy. I then used the spell on a Chinese dagger to confine his soul, since he'd reincarnated before. To be sure, I then decapitated him, and removed his heart. His body, and all of these things are in a very secure location."
"The Ministry?" someone asked.
He shook his head, and with a grin, said, "No, Gringotts. I trust the goblins. Now then, on to your homework!" People groaned, and he said, "Come now, people. I was very pleased with what you had. By the by, I only had one person try for the extra two hundred point bonus, and one person tried to justify an Unforgivable. Let's start with that, shall we?"
He shifted, then said, "Miss Tonks. You had a nicely reasoned argument with historical references for using Cruciatus for interrogation. While it's true that during Voldemort's first rise, Aurors were authorized by the Ministry to use Cruciatus for interrogation, the problem with it is that it doesn't work." He held up his hand, and added, "I'm not saying the spells didn't work, but when you're interrogating someone, the objective is to get information, reliable information, and not simply to torture the poor sod. That was a problem with the Inquisition, among others."
He jumped down from the table and started to pace. "For those of you who aren't familiar with the Spanish Inquisition, starting in the mid 1500's the Catholic Church used torture to ... convince ... people to confess to witchcraft, consorting with the devil, and so forth. This is one reason that wizarding society went underground, and in 1692 passed the Protective Acts, forbidding information about wizarding society to be passed to muggles." He grinned, and said, "Now, those of you who have muggle rellies will know that it's difficult to hide your magic. That's why the Underage Magic act was passed. Until you gain your majority at seventeen, you can't use magic outside of school." People groaned, and he raised a finger. "However, there is an exception: if you, another wizard, or a muggle is in mortal danger, you can use magic. Each case is examined by the ministry, though." He leaned against a table, and said, "Let me give you an example. The summer before my fifth year, I was walking with my muggle cousin in the park, when Dementors attacked us. I used the Patronus spell to drive them off, and had to answer at an inquiry."
"To get back to the usage of Unforgivables, though, what are the conditions that will get you sent to Azkaban? Mr. Morton?"
"Using them at all, sir?" Professor Harry made a 'come on' motion, but Arthur paused a bit, then shook his head.
"There's a qualifier to their use. Anyone?" He eyed the class, then said, "It's illegal to use them on a human. However, if I were to use an Unforgivable on a chair, that would be perfectly legal. Now, this is a bit beyond first year, but in a fight, you can use animus to get an inanimate object, like a chair, to move, and imperio to direct it." He summoned a chair, transfiguring it on the fly into a wooden shield, then directing it to fly around the room. He transfigured the chair back, and added, "I should mention the distinction between 'being' and 'beast'. In 1811 it was decided that a 'being' was any creature that has sufficient intelligence to understand magical law, and to bear a part in enforcing it. Therefore, a goblin is considered a 'being', while a troll is considered a beast." He held up a hand, and added, "Just because a being is not human does not mean you can use an Unforgivable on it. Goblins, ghosts, elves, centaurs and others all have their own magic, which they will use in self-defense. Are we all sorted on that?"
"Moving on," Harry said. "Interrogation is usually done with Veritaserum. This is a clear, odorless potion you will get to in fifth year. It is a very powerful truth potion, and is also under Ministry control. Professor Snape, as one of half a dozen or so Potion Masters in Britain, is licensed to keep and brew it. I'll give twenty points to Miss Tonks for a valiant try, and on to the extra credit assignment, which was to name a spell I hadn't heard of."
"The only one who gave it a go was Mr. Morton." Harry gestured, and added, "Mr. Morton, if you would demonstrate, please?"
Arthur swallowed nervously, and stepped up to the front of the class. "My spell is to shift the colors of a rainbow. First, I create a rainbow with 'arcus', and then I change it with 'Arcus rechromis'." The colors shifted, and reversed, and I applauded with everyone else.
"Very nice, Mr. Morton. Two hundred points to you for Hufflepuff." Professor Harry smiled as Arthur scampered back to his seat. "I hadn't heard of 'arcus', and the colour shift was a nice touch. Now, some might ask, what use is it in a fight? Mr. Morton?"
"Um. If you cast it in someone's eyes, you can blind them for a few seconds?" Arthur suggested.
"Hmm. Good point," Professor Harry mused. "The old 'sand in the face' tactic. Most wizards depend on their vision to focus and cast spells in a fight, and it would take a few seconds to cast 'finite incantatum' to cancel the spell. Very good, Mr. Morton, I'll add another fifty points for Hufflepuff. Would you like to demonstrate this at the DA meeting?" Arthur shook his head, and Professor Harry frowned, before adding, "If you don't mind, then I will, with full credit to you. People, this is a spell you might wish to add to your own personal grimore."
Charlie held up his hand, and asked, "Sir, what's a grimore?"
"Think of it as a personal magical notebook, Mr. Adams. Some people use it for potions and spells, others separate potions into a formulary. I thought they had them on the booklists." People shook their heads, and Professor Harry shook his head. "I'll have to suggest it to Professor McGonagall for next term. She compiles the booklists for students. In any case, let me show you mine." He turned toward his office, and called, "Accio grimore." A book that was a good foot thick flew out of his office, into his hand. He tapped it with his wand, and muttered something, then held it up. "This is my grimore. I've separated my potions into a formulary, although I'm not the potion-brewer that someone like Professor Snape is. His formulary would be much more extensive than mine is."
He flipped it open, and added, "A starter grimore would have two sections, the first for potions, the second for spells. When you first get a grimore, you put a drop of your blood on the frontispiece, which binds your magic to the book. You can then put additional wards and defensive charms on it, but only you can modify it. Does anyone here have one?" He looked around, then said, "I'll bring this up with your Heads. I think you should start to compile one when you start your magical education. In any case, to use it, you would open your grimore to a blank page. I'm going to place Mr. Morton's spell under defensive spells for now. You can categorize and change as necessary. Some people like to write the spells, I just dictate." He paged through to a blank page, then told the book, "Spell entry. 'Arcus': creates a rainbow-coloured band of light. Associated spell: 'arcus rechromis' rearranges the light's pattern. Usage: Temporary blinding of an opponent. Source: Arthur Morton. Date entered: now." He handed the book to Charlie, and I leaned over to see. It was neatly printed in a semi-ornate font, with the date and time at the bottom of the page.
He grinned as Charlie handed it back to him, "I confess, my handwriting is not the neatest, which is why I dictate." He closed the book, and added, "Let's move on with the defensive spells. Roshawn, you had an interesting variant on protegro. Why don't you and your sister demonstrate for us?"
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Saturday, September 26, 1998:
Hogwarts, Slytherin Common Room
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"Ah, Mr. Pritchard," I said as I sat down. "May I have a moment of your time?"
"What do you want?" he sneered, then saw the Gringott's letterhead. A worried look flashed across his face.
"Two things. First, I've been horrible to you since I met you. Admittedly, that was after you insulted me, but that's no excuse for me, and I'd like to apologize." He blinked in surprise, then managed a stiff nod.
"Secondly, I've the repair and replacement figures for my computer. Gringott's was kind enough to convert them to galleons for me." I passed him the pages, and he swallowed. I drew my wand, and muttered, 'obscurus', then waited for him to look up at me.
"Mr. Pritchard, I don't believe it's fair for you to pay repair prices on two-year old equipment." I took the repair quote for 600 galleons and turned it upside down on the table. He looked nervously at the Gringott's letter converting the sales receipt to 446 galleons. "Good bit of money, isn't it?" I asked. He nodded, and I said, "First of all, because you're a housemate, I'm willing to accept payments, so you've got until the end of term in June to pay it. Acceptable?" He nodded, and I added, "There's a muggle concept called 'depreciation'. Know what it is?" He shook his head, and I said, "The current fair market value of a bit of equipment. For instance, the price of a Firebolt now, versus two years ago." He nodded, and I said, "I've gotten a newer, better bit of equipment, but an insurance company would only pay part of that price, so that's what I'm asking from you, 200 galleons by the end of term in June. Do we have an agreement?" I held out my hand.
"What... what will you tell people?" he asked.
"I'll say that we have a private agreement, and that's all anyone needs to know, including Professor Snape. All I need is your word, Mr. Pritchard."
"You have it," he said as I shook his hand. He glanced at it, then said, "I'm still conscious!"
I laughed, and wrote down my Gringott's number for him. "It's a matter of pressure points," I told him. "When I patted you on the back, I used the pressure points in your shoulder to knock you out."
"Without magic..." he breathed.
"Muggles aren't too stupid," I looked at his eyes, and warned him, "I've spent the last five or six years studying the martial arts. It takes a lot of discipline and work to master them."
"Like Transfiguration?" he asked, and I groaned. He banished the privacy shield, and asked, "Need some help?"
