Chapter 7: The First Day of School
Author's Note: I'm trying to turn these out quicker but lucky for me I've had a lot of work to do lately. I should get at least a few chapters done over the holidays. I want to make these chapters longer and show things from more then one character's point of view. I'll see how that goes, so the chapters my take longer to post, but it'll be like reading three or four at once.
Author's Note II: Due to strange occurrences with Fan Fiction.net it appears some of the chapters I uploaded have gone missing. I'd apologize, but it isn't my fault.
Maria rubbed her eyes as she woke up to the gentle ringing of an alarm clock by the bed. As usual Samuel had waked up before her, leaving an empty spot in the bed. She walked into the living room of their quarters and found her husband sitting, fully dressed, at a small table eating a muffin and writing in a ledger book. Samuel caught her out of the corner of his eye and stood up.
"Good morning," he said, kissing her.
"Morning," she said sleepily, "What's all this?" she asked, gesturing at the food on the table.
"Our two house elves brought it in earlier," he replied, as she sat down, "They seem to think we're royalty or something.
"Our house elves?" she asked.
"Apparently two house elves have been bonded to our family," Samuel said, "I find it a bit disturbing myself."
"These are good muffins," Maria said, "So what's in the book?"
"Class schedules," Samuel replied, "It looks like have a full morning three days a week, and then counseling on Thursday and Friday. They did a lot of preparation for me already."
"So what do you do today?" she asked.
"The younger students will get their classes assigned, and the older ones will pick them. Once that's done, the orientation classes begin and it's pretty much that way all week until everyone gets settled. Muggle Studies isn't exactly a required course for everyone. I think third year students are required to take it one semester though."
"How many do you expect?" Maria asked.
"Quite a few have told me they'd be taking it," he said, "I figure I'll have a good three classes a day at least."
"When do I get my list?"
"I think, let me check," Samuel said, flipping through a small handbook, "Since you teach an elective, that will be delivered to you after everyone signs up today."
"So I have all day to wander the castle?"
"Of course not, you'll be taking some basic wizard classes in the morning, and learning to fly with the little Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw first years," Samuel said with a grin.
"Fly on what?" she asked.
"The elves delivered your broom and school gear as well," he said pointing to a small stack of boxes on a sofa. "Elanus is bringing your broom, lizard and a few helpful books with Dad this afternoon."
Maria nodded and finished her muffin before reluctantly going through her school supplies. She found her schedule and then dressed herself. Samuel poked his head in the bedroom door and informed her he was leaving to help students get their classes. His wife kissed him goodbye and he started down the halls of the castle. Several students had already finished their breakfast and many grudgingly went about signing up for their classes.
"Samuel!" Professor McGonagall called from a long table with several lines of students in front of it. He acknowledged her and came around behind the table. "I need some help," she said, indicating the students, "They need help with their schedules."
"Well I can try, but I may not be the best suited for that," Samuel said, sitting down at the table. "Nonsense," McGonagall said, "They're first and second years, just hand them a card, then they'll sign up for extra classes. This sheet right here will tell you if there is any room. The list of extra classes they can sign up for is on the card," she said, indicating a stack of cards and a scroll lying on the table with a list of classes and how many currently in the class printed on it.
Samuel nodded and picked up a card and grinned at the next student in the line in front of him. "Here you go," he said, handing the student his card. "What can I sign you up for?"
"What can I sign up for?" the boy asked nervously. Samuel looked at his card, which had filled itself out already and noted a list at the top of the card.
"It looks like, fencing, metal working, and it looks like we have a dueling club here too," Samuel said, "Is this right Minerva? Dueling club for a first year?"
"Yes, they start after the Christmas Holidays," McGonagall replied.
"Do I have to sign up for either?" asked the boy.
"Doesn't look like it; I'd recommend taking the metal working class though," Samuel said, "My father is an excellent teacher."
"Is that going to be making stuff with metal?"
"Yes," Samuel replied.
"I'll do that," the boy said, handing his card to Samuel. Samuel picked up a quill and wrote the class down on the card. The number on the scroll by "Basic Metal Working" went down by one. Samuel handed the card back to the boy and said "Next".
A bit over half an hour passed before the last student was taken care of. The tables were put away and the professors made their way to their respective classes. Samuel made his way down the winding corridors, passing several students along his way until he arrived at his familiar classroom. He'd managed to make it before any students arrived. Soon they began filing in. Most were older students, a few who'd taken his course the year prior. It was one of the few classes that allowed for different year students in the same class at the same time. Once all the students had arrived Samuel stood up to make his first of class announcements.
"Good morning," Samuel said, "I'm Professor Samuel Green. You may call me Professor Samuel or Professor Green, whichever you prefer. This is Muggle Studies, so if any of you are in the wrong place, now is the time to say so, and we'll get you to the right class. More specifically this is what I like to call Advanced Muggle studies. If you didn't take my class last year, don't worry it's not that advanced. Is anyone not supposed to be here?"
Many of the students double checked their schedules and none left. "Good, has everyone got a copy of Muggle Studies the Muggle Way? If you don't, they're all sold out at Flourish and Blotts but I do have copies of the compiled notes we used last year. They aren't wizard books, but they will work. They're two sickles each if you want one, come talk to me about loaning you one if you don't have the money," he said.
"Alright, let's get started. I'm going to go over a few class rules and review a few basics for those who were not here last year. First and foremost there will be little to no magic used in this class. Enchanted items and such are allowed for note taking and other similar purposes. If you have self writing quills or a magic abacus you may use them here. If you have muggle devices they will function properly in this room, even if they do not in the rest of the castle," he said.
"The basic premise for this class is that muggles and wizards are only different in one key area. Wizards can use magic and muggles can not. For those of you new to this class, we'll be studying various forms of muggle technology and comparing them to magic. For example, let's talk about communication. How would a wizard here communicate with a wizard in London?" Samuel asked.
"He'd send an owl, sir," one student said.
"Right, now how long would it take the owl or similar bird to fly from here to London?" Samuel asked.
"An hour, maybe two," came a reply.
"Not bad for a written letter, how about if he wanted to send a letter to New York?" Samuel asked.
"It would take days, or weeks," another student replied.
"Alright, now how would a muggle do it?" Samuel asked.
"Send a letter or communicate?" asked a student in the front.
"Start with letters," Samuel replied.
"Well there's sending it by post," another student replied.
"How long would it take to send a letter to London from here?"
"A day or so," the student replied.
"Right, now how about to New York?"
"Depends on how much you want to pay," came a reply.
"How fast is the fastest?" asked Samuel.
"Over night generally," the student said, "Or instantly if you used e-mail."
"Good, does anyone know how that is accomplished?" Samuel asked.
"Airplanes," a student said.
"Right, now what about e-mail, how many wizard-born in here have heard of it?" asked Samuel.
The students looked at each other and shrugged. Samuel waited patiently for someone in the class to respond. When no one did, Samuel sat down on the edge of his desk and smiled. "E-mail, is a form of electronic communication handled by computers," Samuel said, "You can send messages, pictures and even voice to other people more or less instantly with it. We'll be constructing a sort of magical e-mail system for the school this year. My cousin Elanus will be helping us," Samuel said.
"I thought you said that we wouldn't be using magic in here?" one of the students asked.
"I said very little," Samuel replied, "You will be learning some new sorts of charms in this class."
"How are we supposed to learn if you can't use magic?" asked another student.
"Good point," Samuel said, "Professor Flitwick has generously given us a few simple charms to work with. A few transfiguration spells are included as well. They're all in your book and he has assured me they are all well below the second year level. If you are a first year, you'll likely have some minor difficulties. Most twelve and thirteen year old muggles possess the skills necessary to do practically everything we're going to be doing in this class without magic, however. Anyway, I think that's all that we need to go over today, please read the first several chapters of the book as quickly as you can."
The students packed their things up and slowly exited the class. Samuel sat back in his chair and looked over the roster for his next class. Two more classes entered and exited his classroom over the next few hours. After the final class had departed for lunch Samuel placed his books in the wizard bag that the Weasley's had given him. He was just about to leave his classroom as a few students walked nervously into his classroom.
"Can I help you?" Samuel asked.
"Yes, we need the notes," one of the students said.
"Alright," Samuel said, producing four small paper bound books from his desk, "Two sickles each."
"I need a loaner," one of the students said.
"That's fine, what's your name and year?" Samuel asked.
"Joseph Nelson," the boy said, "Third year."
Samuel wrote the name down on a small list in his desk drawer along with a number from inside one of the book's cover and handed the book to the boy. "Anyone else need a loaned book?" The other three shook their heads and handed Samuel two sickles each. "Take these books to Professor Flitwick the very next chance you get and he'll give you the list of spells you'll need to know," Samuel said "I'll need that book back, or two sickles by the end of the year, Mr. Nelson." The students thanked him and left.
Samuel sat back in his chair and looked out the window. He had a pretty decent view of the school ground from this classroom. There were several students outside with Hagrid, who was teaching them how to care for magical animals. The half-giant had a strange way of showing the children how to care for magical beasts. He was apt to bring in dangerous if not downright lethal animals to show the children. Many of the students and almost as many of their parents disapproved, but Hagrid was excellent at showing them how to care for animals properly. If nothing else, they learned how to deal with dangerous animals if they should ever encounter one. To his benefit though, he had softened his method a bit in the last year or two, and had been showing them how to care for animals that carried a bit less risk with their presence.
It had been a long time since Samuel had owned a pet. His last pet, a large orange tom cat, had run out of the house and hadn't come back. He'd been too busy training with the Slayers and finishing his schooling in London to bother with a new one. Perhaps he'd ask Hagrid about a good pet some time during the next few days.
~*~
Far on the other side of the castle and down on the Quiditch grounds Madam Hooch was about to begin the year's first flying lessons for the first years. Maria looked around nervously as she stood amidst the eleven year olds as they chattered anxiously among themselves. Several school broomsticks were stacked neatly on a rack sitting in the middle of the field. Madam Hooch, a hawk-eyed woman with short gray hair, walked out on the field and blew her whistle.
"Alright, everyone get a broom, line up in two parallel lines, and lay it down beside you!" she ordered, all the students and Maria scrambled to get a broom. Maria picked one with the neatest looking bristles and a stick that felt most like the handle of her rapiers. They all lined up in two lines facing each other and placed their brooms carefully beside themselves. Madam Hooch walked down the middle of them and prodded a few students instructing them to place their brooms on the other side. When she got to Maria she snorted and passed by her with little more then a glance.
"Place your hand over your broom and say UP!" the professor barked.
The students did as they were instructed; two or three brooms flew into the hands of the students immediately. After four or five tries, Maria managed to get her broom to lurch up no more then half a foot. Maria muttered a few unintelligible curses at the broom and shook her head.
"Up!" she said forcefully, though nothing happened. She looked around to see most of the students had their brooms in hand, but not all. Taking some small relief in the fact that she wasn't the only one having trouble she commanded to broom again. This time it flew into her hand hard, nearly knocking her over. She looked around and saw one small boy still having a bit of difficulty with his broom. "You can do it!" she called to the boy. The boy looked startled, then blushed and cried "UP!" The broom flew into his hands immediately. He grinned proudly, holding on to the straining broom in his hand so tight his knuckles turned white.
Maria smiled at him, and then returned her attention to Madam Hooch, who narrowed her eyes at Maria and shook her head. "Alright, mount your brooms, push off from the ground a bit, hover a moment then touch back down," Hooch barked. The students did as they were told, a few actually having flown before. Maria swung her right leg over the broom and pushed off slightly with her left foot. The broom responded remarkably well and she found herself hovering several inches off the ground. There was the problem of getting back down. If there was one thing she learned living in the Evans household it was how to learn by watching other people.
There is always someone, somewhere that knows how to do what you're trying to do. You don't always have to ask, if you've got a keen eye. So she turned her head and watched the other students. An auburn haired girl at the end of the line leaned forward on her broom and pushed the nose slightly to the ground. The broom lowered and the girl touched down. Maria followed her example and leaned forward then pushed down on her broom. The tip of the broom didn't lower so she pushed down harder. She looked around again to see if she'd missed something. All the other students did basically the same thing and managed to lower themselves down. Maria tried again and pushed down as hard as she could. Suddenly all Maria could see was a vast expanse of blue and a dirt clod had somehow attached itself to the end of her broomstick. Once the disorienting feeling wore off, she realized she'd somehow flipped completely over. She could just hear Madam Hooch muttering. Fortunately for her Madam Hooch was distracted with a scared girl who'd panicked and was clinging to her broom for dear life.
Maria decided to take the graceful course of action and let go of the broom with her legs, easily swinging to the ground. As soon as she let go of the broom it started to fall to the ground. She caught it quickly before it hit the ground and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. A few of the more successful students were giggling at her rather obviously. Undaunted, Maria swung her leg over the broom and pushed off the ground in on fluid motion. She then pushed down slightly on the tip of the broom and visualized herself gently touching down on the ground.
As if on command the broom lowered her to the ground. She stepped off quickly and smiled to herself. Madam Hooch indicated to the students that they should repeat the exercise until she told them to stop. Maria repeated the routine several times until she was confident she could handle the broom. The trick was to visualize what you wanted to do and point the broom where you wanted it to go.
The class went on for at least an hour and when it was over Madam Hooch talked to the students about what they could do better. Some she told were very good, a few were naturals and many had obviously been on a broom before. When she came to Maria, she looked her over and merely said, "Adequate".
When class was over Maria stowed her broomstick and went to go find her husband. She hoped her father in-law had arrived with Elanus. As she approached Samuel's office she was confronted with a short line of students waiting outside his door.
"What's going on?" she asked one of the students.
"We're here to set up appointments," a girl with dark brown hair said.
"I take it he's busy then," Maria said, staring at the door.
"We've been here for quite some time," a boy several places down the line said.
Just then Samuel escorted an older girl from his office and looked the line over. "Alright, the class period is about to start and I'm sure you all have class. I'll be setting up appointments this evening in my quarters, just stop on by after class," he said loudly, and attached a note to his office door. The students grudgingly dispersed and went to their classes.
"Hi," Maria said.
"Well hello, how were your flying lessons?" Samuel asked.
"Madam Hooch hates me, but otherwise fine," Maria replied, hugging her husband.
"She can be a harsh woman," Samuel said, "Have you seen dad and Elanus?"
"No, are they not here yet?" Maria asked.
"Nope," Samuel answered in a slightly concerned tone.
"Think everything is alright?" asked Maria.
"What? Oh, yeah, dad probably just forgot something. I'm sure their fine," Samuel said, smiling. Maria looked at him suspiciously then shook her head slightly, "Well I guess I'll see them when they get here. I have a transfiguration class to attend," she said. Samuel kissed his wife and watched her walk down the hall.
Truth be told, Samuel was concerned. It was not like Elanus or his father either one to be late whether they had everything or not. He knew deep down something was wrong but couldn't do much about it now; he had a class to teach.
