Chapter Six
Students Charmed and Pickled
Aurelius had a very hard time convincing himself to get out of the bath the first morning. He barely had enough time to slick back his hair as he left the Prefect's bathroom, working his best silver cufflinks around his tailored cuffs as he cut through the secret passages to Transfiguration class. All of the other boys, it seemed, had taken extra pains to look their best as well, giving him sideways glances as he took his place by Stock.
"Good timing, Prefect. For a moment there I thought you were going to let us down already," Stock whispered to him, half scolding half teasing.
"I'm sorry, but if you saw the size of that tub, you'd understand," he whispered back.
"Spoiled already, are you?" Stock grinned.
"Getting there," Aurelius admitted. His thoughts drifted back to the conversation he and Jocelyn had had with his father the night before.
"And Aurelius, the next time I ask you if a fellow Slytherin did something wrong, you say, 'No,'" Snape said with a forced smile.
Aurelius laughed softly to himself.
"Just don't let it go to your head," Stock said, giving him a nudge.
"Good advice," Aurelius mused softly. "Stock, I hereby order you to tell me whenever you think I am letting it go to my head."
"Oh, don't worry, I will, Prefect," Stock said, "And so will half a dozen other Slytherin who are just dying to see you make a mistake." He glanced up several rows to where Hephaestus Grey sat and Aurelius nodded. Just then the door to the side office opened and Fleur came out, beaming beatifically at all of them as she walked in, books cradled under one gracefully poised arm while the other rested gently upon her wand.
"Good morning, everyone! I am Professor Delacour, your new Transfiguration instructor. I am so happy to be here, and I hope you are too! As fifth years, you are going to be allowed to start all sorts of new and interesting ways of Transfiguring things and creatures and fingertips and…well, I shall not tease you more, but I promise you it's going to be a very exciting year."
"She can say that again. We haven't even begun yet and I'm already excited," Stock murmured, giving Aurelius the opportunity to nudge him for a change.
"Now, I have all of the records of your marks, of course, but I am of the opinion that that does not take the place of actually seeing what you can do. So, I have here a chapeau…now where is it…" she said, going to the desk and pulling out a turtle and sitting it on her papers, and then a flapping hawk which she sat on her ink bottle, and then a baby koala, sitting it on the side of her desk (several of the girls reacted with 'awww' at that).
"Oh, here it is!" she said at last, pulling out a cat, she placed it on her head, then with a tap of her wand, the cat became a striped hat, the hawk a quill, the turtle a paperweight and the koala a candy dish full of creams. Even the girls were impressed with that trick, clapping politely while Aurelius and Stock couldn't help to notice the dimpled rosy cheeks that bloomed under the admiration of her magic skill. She took her hat off her head then and put a hand in it, shuffling some papers within. "In here are some white envelopes. On the outside of the envelope is the name of an item that is on the back shelf of this room. Once everyone has picked one, I shall give you all permission to go back and fetch your item and bring it back to your desk. You may then open the envelope to see what you are to Transfigure it to. Then, you will have half an hour using the book in front of you and others in the room if you need them to figure out how to change it. You can talk if you like since each one of you has something different, but remember you only have a half an hour. Once that time is up, you will return to your seats, put down all of your books, and we will go around the classroom and see how well everyone has done. Very well! Pick your envelopes! Don't get up until everyone has one!"
Aurelius made a face at his, and then shrugged as they went to get them, for as he picked up the broken brass scales, Stock ended up with a rusted old cup with a hole in the bottom. Every item was a piece of damaged equipment taken out of storage, and Aurelius at first wondered if they just weren't going to have use transfiguration to fix them. But finally they were allowed to open their envelopes, and Aurelius read his; Turn this broken scale into an item useful to find the reflective nature of a man. Aurelius thought about it only a moment before flipping a moment through his book. In less than five minute, he had turned to Stock who was still staring at his.
"All right, I figured out what I'm going to do, it was an easy one."
"Must have been," Stock said in annoyance. "But just what am I supposed to do with this?"
"Well, what does it say?" Aurelius asked curiously.
"Turn this cup into a liquid that doesn't spill, and make it useful for holding water. How is a liquid supposed to hold water?" Stock said.
"Stock, think about our transfiguration materials list," Aurelius sighed at him. "Glass is a liquid, but it never spills. It breaks." Stock looked at him a moment then grinned.
"You're right, I forgot about that!" Stock said, and then grabbed his book. "In that case, mine's fairly easy too." It was a bit interesting to watch when Delacour began to call the students, each one with a broken item which they turned into something useful, including cauldrons, lamps, ink bottles… all sorts of things helpful either in the classroom or at home. At last she got to Aurelius and Stock, and Aurelius calmly cast his spell to turn the brass scales into a brass framed mirror, and Stock's into a hazy brown glass water pitcher. Granted, he was trying for a clearer color, but the teacher seemed pleased nonetheless, and it was worth it to see her beaming smile at him.
"Well done! Oh, well done indeed!" She said happily. "Tomorrow, for the second half of the test, you will all be given items that your fellow classmates will make in my other fifth year class. It'll be your job to figure out what the original components were that it was transfigured from by sheer observation, no spell casting," she said, shaking her dainty finger quickly at them. "And then, next week, you will have your own items back and we will learn a permanency spell for your items. You may want to start reading the chapter on Recycling in your book for it will be due before we start on those. See you tomorrow!"
The class left chattering excitedly to each other about this new teacher, and even all of the girls seemed very impressed.
"She's so much more dramatic than Singh was," Kristine from Hufflepuff declared. "And she's got to be one of the nicest teachers we've ever had, and she does seem to know what she's doing. I think this is going to turn out to be my favorite class this year."
Halbert couldn't have agreed more when he and Andrew had the class later on that afternoon, for Delacour had definitely taken special notice of him.
"Bonjour, Halbert! You are Madame Maxime's son, are you not? Oh, I heard you looked so much like your father, but I do see some of your mother in you too!" she said brightly. Andrew noticed that several of the Slytherin were sniggering for some reason, although he wasn't sure why. "I am very happy to have you in my class this year."
"Erk," said Halbert.
"As I am glad to have you all in my class!" she added brightly as she sauntered back up to the front. "This is the year that we start to branch away from just familiar transfigurations and into substances with much different properties! I'm sure you'll all find it very exciting, for after you learn the rules to complex mass and liquid properties, you will have much more room for creativity in your transfiguring spells! To demonstrate this, I would like you to put your familiars away, no animals today! We are going to start out by experimenting with ice!"
"I think the ice is going to melt before it hits some of the tables in here," Andrew heard Phil Rich say in front of them.
"Erk," Halbert agreed.
"Psst…Owlbear…did she really just call you an owlbear?" Meyers asked from the Slytherin side of the room.
"What? That is how they pronounce my name where I am from," Halbert said puzzledly, not understanding the distinction, but Andrew frowned at them when they laughed again.
"Now, do settle down, this is not as easy as you may think," Professor Delacour warned them as she tapped her wand and a large chunk of ice appeared in front of each of them. "Now! You may choose anything you like to transfigure it into…but no animals please! I'll explain why later, but any other sort of object you'd like! Go ahead!" Immediately the ice began to shatter around the room, surprising many of the students casting at it , making quite a few of them duck the pieces broken off of it. The only ones who seemed to have any luck at all were the ones that picked glass projects, and even those had its problems. Halbert was quite proud when he was able to construct a butterbeer mug, but his face fell when the glass began to sag as if melted. "Good try, good try! Don't be discouraged! I warned you it wouldn't be as easy as it looked. It only goes to show what it is you have to learn this year," the Professor said, walking around the classroom trying to cheer up the students who managed to do nothing but make a large puddle on their desk. But then she paused, clapping her hands together once and beaming with surprise, the rest of the class turning with a frown to see what she was looking at. "Why, Andrew! It seems you are a natural!" she said with delight, for his ice block had been carefully tamed into a frosted crystal miniature of the castle and the lake in the winter, with tiny crystal ice skaters gliding upon the lake.
Andrew's class had been one of the last classes before lunch, and like all of the classes who had had her before, most of the students were chatting enthusiastically about their new teacher and the subject ahead. Andrew, however, was still having trouble-getting Halbert to talk, for his large friend seemed to be more than a bit enamored with Professor Delacour.
"Honestly! The way these boys are behaving today! What total fools!" Ginger Davidson said where she and her best friend June stood outside the Great Hall.
"Maybe you'll feel differently when you've had her class. She's really quite good," Andrew said. Halbert however looked a bit embarrassed. He had had a crush on Ginger since school began, and decided it would be in his best interests to stay out of it.
"Well, our classes have been good today too," Ginger said primly, June nodding in support. "Professor Snape taught us all about Veela and how dangerous they can be when angry. And Professor Craw taught us how to make potions to protect ourselves from them. Sounds to me like all of you should have taken those classes first."
"Sure you're not just a little jealous?" Andrew said.
"Jealous? What would I have to be jealous about?"
"Well, everyone knows you fancy yourself the most popular girl in our class. What's wrong, don't like being out of the spotlight?" Andrew said.
"Don't listen to him, Ginger, he can't help being insensitive. He's male!" June said hotly as Ginger's face went red.
"Fine, you go behave like drooling idiots, then! See if I care!" Ginger sputtered out. "But don't come crying to us when you wake up and realize there are other fish in the sea, because we won't be there!" she said, grabbing June and stomping into the Great Hall.
"Ginger sure is mad at us," Halbert said nervously. "Do you think she heard? About Professor Delacour singling me out, I mean?"
"It'll pass, don't worry about it," Andrew reassured him, even though he was slightly disturbed that the anger seemed more directed at him than at Halbert. "Once they have class with her, they'll warm up to her too."
As they walked in to the Great Hall, a small group at the Slytherin table burst out laughing, and Garret Meyers turned around and grinned at them. Across from him sat Eigil Hauk who sat looking easily over the heads of those sitting next to him, sneering at them.
"Hello, Owlbear," Meyers said. "I never realized until last class just how appropriate your name was. You sure look like one!"
"Meyers, was that ice on your table today or was that just drool? Really, such lack of control," Andrew said.
"Keep out of it, Andrew, I wasn't talking to you," Meyers warned him. "Don't think you can say anything you like just because of who your family is."
"I don't hide behind my family, Garret," Andrew said evenly.
"Does that mean you're prepared to back up your words?" Meyer asked. Andrew glanced at him then at Eigil, who seemed to be waiting expectantly.
"Never on an empty stomach," Andrew decided, and turned Halbert around with and arm, ignoring the sniggering behind him as they went to the Gryffindor table.
"I don't get it, what is all the fuss about?" Halbert asked.
"They're talking about the animal, Halbert. With an 'O'."
"Oh!" Halbert said, and then suddenly chuckled. "You know, that's very funny. I never noticed it before! It's all right, Andrew. It doesn't bother me."
"Oh! All right," Andrew grinned.
"You know how I am about creatures. Although I admit there is one that Meyer reminds me of too," he said thoughtfully.
"What's that?"
"A Blast-ended Skrewt," Halbert said, and Andrew laughed at that as they sat down, looking around.
"I wonder where the twins are?"
"No real mystery there," Shelly said glumly from where she sat a few seats down. "I heard they were sent to Professor Weasley's Office after busting up Professor Sprout's class."
"Well, that didn't take long," Halbert said, and Andrew sighed, hoping a full stomach would help him keep from worrying about it.
"I don't care what my father said! I demand they be sent for at once!" Zoë shouted.
Zacchius Black had his arms folded, too angry to really want to speak. It had been a very long morning. Bad enough during their first class, History, that Zoë was contradicting every thing that Professor Scribe said, but Double Herbology ended up being nothing but a double disaster. Zoë had very little intentions of getting her hands dirty, but when Professor Sprout finally put her foot down, Zoë attempted to talk Zack into helping her feed one of the Potted Prickly Pickled Petals to Morfinn, who had just got done claiming to the class that he was allergic. When Zack refused to help, Zack found himself being the new chosen victim, and Alicia, who had been the unfortunate student who had tried to pull them apart, and was fed a bunch of leaves before Sprout had had a chance to tell them the consequences of attempting to eat one improperly cooked. Green as a cucumber and breaking out in hives, Alicia was sent to the hospital wing (along with Morfinn, who swore he had inhaled too much of the pollen) and Zoë and Zack had found themselves quickly whisked to Hermione's office, the first time of many, Zack was quite sure.
"I'm sorry, Zoë, but I have strict orders from Dumbledore as to what to do when either of you get in trouble," Hermione said. "Your uncle has been made your legal guardian while you are here at school, and under your father's own instructions he's the one who will decide when they will be Owled and for what reason."
"Why was he allowed to take over as our guardian? Are our parents out of the country?" Zoë asked.
"I'm sorry, I'm not at liberty to discuss it," Hermione said firmly. "Would you like a biscuit or something? I have a feeling Professor Snape will be stopping at the hospital wing first so chances are you won't be getting lunch."
"We're not hungry!" Zoë said, but immediately got contradicted when Zack reached over and grabbed a couple, muttering a "thank you". She glared at him then, shaking her head at him in disbelief, but before she could say what was on her mind there was a soft knock and Severus came in, neither looking happy nor surprised to be there.
"That didn't take long did it?" he said acidly.
"How's Alicia?" Hermione asked.
"Fairly well, except for the coloring and itchiness. Morfinn is doing enough whining and moaning for both of them, I was half tempted to administer a dose of Pickled Petal myself," Snape said.
"Exactly what I was doing…"
"Quiet," Snape warned Zoë with a snarl. "I told your father it wouldn't be long before you start losing privileges, and it seems that as usual I was right," he said. Zoë snorted defiantly. "For every incident I am called up here for, one of you or both as the case may be will be losing some of your privileges, such as access to your brooms, Hogsmeade, clubs, and so on, the only exception being Ghost Adoption which Dumbledore is inclined that Zacchius keep for some strange reason." Hermione's lip twitched slightly. "What is their school punishment for this incident, Professor?"
"Twenty points and detentions with Professor Sprout," Hermione said. Snape made a face at the low number of points. "I thought I could give them a slight benefit of the doubt considering it is the first day of the year."
"Yes, well, I will not be so lenient," Severus said. "No Quidditch tryouts."
"What?" Zacchius said. "But this wasn't my fault, and they actually have openings…"
"I don't think Gryffindor house would be much inclined to two such as yourselves to be on the team in any case, considering your reputations to not take school responsibly, although of course Professor Weasley may think contrary…"
"No, Professor, in this we're in agreement," Hermione offered with a serious expression.
"I can't believe it! I was trying to talk her out of doing what she planned and now I'm getting in trouble for…"
"For acting on impulse to take care of the matter yourself instead of using your head to speak up to Professor Sprout when you saw things were going to get out of hand."
"I can't rat on my sister, no matter how stupid she's acting," Zack said, Zoë staring at him with a frown.
"Then at least refuse to get involved," Snape suggested. "Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Black?"
"Yes, sir. Several problems with it, actually," Zack said firmly.
"Then you can see me in my office after dinner so we can discuss them," Snape said dangerously. "As far as I am concerned, you both had equal parts in what turned out to injure one-and-a-half students and you will not be joining the Quidditch team this year. Furthermore, if you continue on the path you're already lining up for yourselves, you will be losing Sparring Club privileges next, then Hogsmeade, then going to any other events such as games, outings and dances, and…if all else fails and nothing gets through to the two of you, one of you will be Sorted into another House."
"You can't do that! That's impossible!" Zack said with alarm. "Once it's done, it can't be changed." Hermione sighed.
"You haven't read Hogwarts, A History either, have you?" she said.
"Professor, please, I'm on guardian time here," Severus squinted.
"Sorry," Hermione said. "I only meant to say that it has been done on rare occasions where the Headmaster has deemed it for the best of the students and the school to do so."
"Thank you, Professor, but hopefully we won't get to that point. I for one would not like to have to explain that to your father any more than I'm sure either of you would," Severus said, and then turned to the door, pausing to look back at Zacchius one last time. "Office, after dinner," he reminded him, his eyes shifting one last time to Hermione before exiting.
"Well, off to class you two," Hermione sighed softly. "And please, try to keep it civil?"
Reluctantly the two left, Zack glancing at his schedule to find out what their next class was while Zoë just kept going down the hallway.
"Wait a minute! We have Magical Creatures next!" Zack said, and sighing, she turned to head the other way.
"I hate this school. I hate everyone in this school. And what's more, I hate that all the sudden you seem to enjoy it!" Zoë snapped.
"I've always liked it here," Zack pointed out.
"Nothing we learn here is going to help us in the real world, you know," Zoë said. Herbology, Potions, undeniably biased Magic History…it's all rubbish! If you ever got away from here, you'd see it for what it really is." Zack sighed, following his sister down the stairs.
"Mom said something about you not doing well in school in California either. Is that all rubbish too?"
"No, I just had more important things to do," Zoë said. "I had a life there, a boyfriend and friends who'd stand by me when stuff like this happened, and now what have I got?" Zacchius decided to that it wouldn't be in his own best interests to answer that question.
