Chapter Two – Classes and Conflict

Darren awoke to a common room full of students. Malfoy was there, holding court as usual. He looked at Darren and said, "Why did you sleep here Clarkson? Is your bed not good enough for you or something? Maybe the Gryffindors that are your new friends will give you a bed there?"

The students around Draco laughed. Pansy Parkinson shrieked like she always did when Draco insulted someone.

"Yeah Darren, maybe that mudblood Granger could give you hers, or maybe that idiot Longbottom," she taunted.

He just kept it all to himself as he headed back upstairs to get ready for breakfast and the classes that followed. He dressed quickly; magically arranging his hair out of the mess it was in from spending the night on the couch and ran out of the common room in order to not be late for breakfast. At the entrance to the Great Hall he ran headlong into Neville Longbottom. They both tumbled over each other into a heap on the floor. Draco and his gang of Slytherin cronies laughed out loud at the predicament he and Neville found themselves in.

Darren got to his feet first and helped Neville up.

"Are you okay Neville?" he asked.

Neville glanced nervously at the gathering crowd of Slytherins and ran into the Great Hall without saying anything. Darren just watched him go, shaking his head at him.

"Well Clarkson, I guess you have found a friend in Gryffindor after all," Draco said, causing Pansy and her gang of girls to regale Darren with more laughter. Darren just brushed himself off and headed into breakfast.

The Great Hall was abuzz with conversation. Students at all the tables talking animatedly to their friends about their summer holiday, and what the new school year might hold in store for them.

"I heard that the Patronus Charm is really hard. I hope I can do it," he heard a Hufflepuff third year saying.

"â€my mom got me a new dress robe this year for the" he heard as he walked quickly past.

He took a seat next to Blaise at the Slytherin table.

"Hey Darren."

"Hey Blaise," he responded.

"How was your summer Darren?" Blaise asked him.

"Okay," Darren lied. "Yours?"

"Good, we went to Central America to see some artifacts that had been discovered there not too long ago. It was really interesting to see what the ancient Mayans had done with magic in their day."

Darren knew that Blaise Zabini studied Ancient Runes and was very fascinated with the history of ancient magical cultures. "Hmm," Darren muttered around his toast. He and Blaise talked between bites of sausages and eggs, but neither said anything of any importance. Snape came down the table half way through breakfast, and handed out class schedules for the term. Darren saw that the Slytherins had Care of Magical Creatures and Potions with the Gryffindors again, as usual. He had Transfiguration first today, along with the other Slytherin N.E.W.T. level students. Potions was the second class today, and then Divination. He had no earthly idea why he had ever taken Divination, as he had not learned anything of any value in that class, ever. He had just sat there for three years, making things up with Blaise Zabini, and he was pretty sure he was not the only student in school to do so. It was almost time for Transfiguration, and he and Blaise left so as not to be late to Professor McGonagall's first class of the year. When they arrived, he saw the board covered with a complicated looking text, and a picture of a human in various stages of transformation. This caught his attention immediately and he sat at his desk, copying what was on the board before class started. Blaise was laughing under his breath at him because he had not even waited for class to start.

"If I try to take notes while she is talking, I might miss something," Darren replied meekly, a smile breaking out on his face as he told his own weak lie.

The truth was he wanted to know as much as possible about the subject in the hope that it would help him in the future. Blaise just rolled his eyes at him while the other students came into class. Draco smirked at him in passing and Goyle bumped him on purpose, messing up his notes. Darren just sat still for a minute, letting his anger subside. Blaise just told him to let it go, no sense in getting in trouble before class even started this year. Darren just nodded, but was staring at the back of Draco's head, imagining what it would be like to thump him just one time. He hated Draco Malfoy more than any other student at school, and he was at his wits end with having to deal with him. Besides, he knew more about Draco than Draco knew, and he could use it to his advantage when the time came, as he was sure it would.

Professor McGonagall walked in and called for their attention.

"Can I have everyone's attention up here please? Miss Parkinson, I am sure that your summer was exhilarating, but it is time for school now," she said sternly, making Blaise and Darren laugh quietly to themselves.

"This term we will be studying human transfiguration. We will be transfiguring each other into a different object. You will be able to take the shape of different animals, objects, and possibly each other as well, depending on how skilled you are at the spell. This particular spell is very hard, and requires an enormous amount of energy and magical ability. Every student should be able to do this spell, but your spell will be directly affected by the amount of energy that is directed at the person to be transfigured. I will need a volunteer to demonstrate the spell. Who wants to go first?" she asked.

Not surprisingly, no students raised their hand and Professor McGonagall looked more than a little put out.

"Mr. Goyle, please join me at the front of the class."

He shuffled to the front of the class unwillingly, but obviously more scared of Professor McGonagall that what was about to happen. She explained to them the spell's incantation, and what effects it would produce on Goyle. Darren sat eagerly watching; hoping she would turn him into a rat or maybe something even more appropriate. She turned to Goyle and told the class she would be transfiguring him into a rat. Darren stifled a laugh, but he still drew a stern look from McGonagall.

"Humanoverto Rat!" she chanted, and her wand tip flared with a purplish hue. Goyle recoiled from her wand, but he had no chance to dodge the spell. It hit him squarely in the chest, and he immediately turned into a fat black rat. He started to scurry along the floor, squeaking and running in all directions. Darren was about to kick him one good time when McGonagall aimed her wand at Goyle again.

"Subsisto Mutatio," she said, and Goyle reappeared again. Darren was more than a little disappointed at this, as he was hoping to set a cat on him at the first chance he got. Goyle looked to be in shock and he just stood there shaking in his shoes. Draco and the rest of this gang were laughing hysterically at Goyle.

'Nice friends,' Darren thought to himself.

The rest of the class covered the various stages of the transfiguration and its effects on the body.

"If someone is transfigured incorrectly, they could end up that way for good, so it is imperative that you perform the spell correctly. This is not a spell that can be practiced in class without first knowing how to stop it, so we will be concentrating on the spell to stop the transfiguration itself first. She took them carefully through the Subsisto Mutatio incantation, explaining that it meant "stop the transfiguration." The class eagerly practiced the spell, as they were eager to not end up as a rat, or worse, at some point in the future.

Darren and Blaise had it down before any of the other students, and were allowed to take turns stopping the spell that McGonagall was casting on each student in turn. Pansy turned from a dog back to her normal self, and Darren found it particularly entertaining that McGonagall had chosen a white ferret as the animal she turned Draco into. The thought of old Professor Moody bouncing Draco in the hallway making him mess up the incantation and causing Draco to squeal loudly in protest. He purposely messed up the incantation twice, and only did it correctly when Professor McGonagall threatened him with detention if he did it incorrectly again. Draco returned to his usual form with a pop, and he fell to the floor, looking very mad indeed. Darren could not help it. He laughed loudly, along with a couple of other Slytherins that had never been very welcomed by Draco in the past. McGonagall called for quiet, and when they all had settled down, she dismissed them, but not before assigning twelve inches of parchment for the next class on the reversing spell.

He and Blaise packed their bags and headed to Potions together. The Gryffindors were there already, standing in a group together. Apparently none wanted to be the first to enter Snape's first class of the year. He nodded to Harry, Ron and Hermione and Harry nodded back a greeting.

"I suppose you think you are pretty funny Clarkson, don't you!" It was Malfoy, striding up to Darren from behind and looking angry with Darren for taking his time in stopping the transfiguration spell in class a few moments ago.

"Get over it Malfoy," he said, almost hoping for a fight. They were outside of Professor Snape's classroom, but Darren did not really care. He was ready to take Malfoy on, and he had no intention of losing a confrontation with him.

"How about if I give you something to get over Clarkson?" And with that Malfoy pulled his wand out, but Darren grabbed his wrist and twisted it so that Draco had to fall to his knees. Draco was on the ground when Snape came into the hallway. Crabbe and Goyle looked like they were about to jump on Darren, but backed down at Snape's appearance, correctly assuming that he would take Malfoy's side, as usual.

"Clarkson, release Mr. Malfoy immediately," he snarled. "What is going on here Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco sheered at Darren while rubbing his wrist to make the pain go away.

"I was showing the rest of the class my new wand, and Clarkson just attacked me sir," Draco lied.

He no more had a new wand than Darren had wings. But Darren had seen this enough times to know that he was the one in trouble, no matter what Draco may have done.

"You will serve detention for your physical attack on Mr. Malfoy Mr. Clarkson. You will do it tomorrow night, in my dungeon," he declared, making Darren wish that he had just gone ahead and hit Malfoy in the first place.

"Fine," Darren answered. He picked up his bag and went into the classroom, taking a seat at the back so he could be as far away from Snape and Draco as possible. The other students entered as well, Harry, Ron and Hermione talking in whispers at what they had just seen Darren do in the hallway. When Harry sat down, he looked at Darren and smiled at him, having obviously enjoyed what he had just seen happen to Draco. Darren just looked away, not wanting to give Snape any further reason to give him another detention.

Snape came to the front of the room and made a ridiculous announcement. "I will be deducting one point each from each Gryffindor that was in the hallway during that incident. You stood there and let Mr. Malfoy be attacked and did nothing to stop it. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were those closest to the incident, and therefore share more blame than the others, so they will serve detention tomorrow night as well."

The class erupted on the Gryffindor side, but to no avail. Darren just shook his head and saw that Harry and Ron just sat there, not saying anything in their own defense. Darren caught Ron's eye and shook his head sympathetically. Ron just turned his head away, apparently not at all interested in Darren's apologies. Snape had to threaten every Gryffindor in class with detention to get them to quiet down, and then he started his class.

"Today we will be studying the Restorative Draught, a potion that when taken restores any energy that has been expended by the person that takes it. If you take it after any physical exertion, it will restore you to your pre-exertion state. The ingredients and instructions are on the board. Begin."

Darren looked at the blackboard. He then took out his ingredient kit, but had to go to the cupboard to get the Ashwinder eggs he needed to make the potion. HE returned to his cauldron, making every effort to get the potion correct. He did not need Snape on his back anymore today, and he was deep in thought when he heard a loud bang. He looked up suddenly, seeing Neville covered in his own potion. It had exploded out of the cauldron and was covering Neville from head to foot.

"Longbottom!" Snape roared. "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing, sir," Neville replied meekly, too afraid to look at Snape directly.

"Longbottom, you are the most incompetent student in this class. How you got into N.E.W.T. level Potions is beyond me. You must have somehow performed a miracle in your O.W.L.s in order to pass that exam. Now, tell me what you did, as if I do not already know anyway."

Darren could see Draco and his little gang laughing hysterically at Neville, taking great joy in the fact that he was breaking out in a rash that was slowly covering his face, arms and any other part of his body that was not covered by is robes. Darren just lowered his head back to his work, shaking it in shame at the fact that he had to share the same house with those students.

"Longbottom, come here, now," Snape ordered.

Neville sheepishly got up from his seat and went to the head of the class. All the students were watching with rapt attention at the developing situation. The Slytherins were hoping for the worst for Neville, and the Gryffindors were all scared to death for him. Snape reached in his desk and removed a flask full of a purple fluid.

"You added your shrivelfig skin too soon, Longbottom. What does it say on the board?"

"Add Ashwinder eggs and stir two minutes counter-clockwise, then add shrivelfig skin and stir five minutes clockwise," he squeaked to Snape.

Darren could see that Snape was enjoying the embarrassment he was causing Neville, and he had to have seen that the rash on his face was getting redder and more uncomfortable looking as well. Neville was scratching himself vigorously, and that brought more laughter from the Slytherins. Snape made him read the instructions completely three times before he gave Neville the antidote he had been holding in his hands for almost ten minutes. It was a relief to see Neville take the antidote and for his skin to return to its normal pinkish hue. Snape's face broke out in a small smile as Neville returned to his seat. It made Darren sick to his stomach to see the head of his house, the teacher that was supposed to be his guide during his years at Hogwarts act like such a bullying git to one of the students just because he saw him as weak. But, it was not really his problem, so he went back to his work, ignoring the talk at the table in front of him as Hermione was once again coaching Neville through making the potion.

Snape was walking around the classroom, peering over each student's shoulder, looking for something to criticize. He stood behind Darren, obviously trying to make him nervous, but Darren just did his best to ignore him. Snape finally walked away, heading to Neville's table next. He heard Hermione and erupted again.

"Miss Granger, how many points must Gryffindor lose before you stop helping Longbottom?" he roared.

Hermione jumped in shock, her face wide in fear at his outburst. She shrank in her seat, trying to avoid his rage.

"Ten points from Gryffindor Miss Granger. And a detention for you and Mr. Longbottom as well. I think that tomorrow night the two of you will meet Mr.'s Weasley, Potter and Clarkson here at eight o'clock to serve your punishment."

Then the bell rang, ending the class. Darren scooped some of his potion into a flask, labeled it, and set it on Snape's desk. He hurried to leave but was held back by the throng of students.

"Too bad Clarkson, detention on your first day back." It was, as expected, Malfoy. "And serving detention with four Gryffindors, what could be worse?" he continued.

"Well, he could actually be a Gryffindor. That would be the only thing I can think of that would be worse." It was Pansy Parkinson, putting in her unneeded opinion as usual. Her little group of Slytherin girls just laughed along with Crabbe and Goyle.

Darren just kept his mouth shut, sure that one day he would get Malfoy alone, not that he was afraid of his cronies either, but three on one was not good odds, even if the opponents had one brain between them.

"Stuff it Malfoy!" he replied.

"Oooh, watch out, Clarkson is angry, he might trip over you or something," Draco teased.

Darren just fumed, but he walked away with his head down looking at the floor instead of at the students that were watching him. He saw Harry and Ron watching him out of the side of his eye, their faces covered in shock at his treatment at the hands of Snape.

'What do they look so shocked for,' he thought. 'Do they think he actually hates only Gryffindors or something?'

He just kept walking, not looking at anyone else. He just wanted to get to lunch and then get Divination out of the way and be done with today. The day had started out bad and gotten gradually worse as it went on. He sat at the Slytherin table, away from everyone else so as not to be bothered. He could see Malfoy and Parkinson holding court at the far end. He was fuming quietly when Blaise sat down next to him.

"Don't let that idiot get to you Darren, he is just a spoiled little rich kid that thinks he is better than everybody else because of who his father is," told him.

Darren just nodded, but did not respond. He really wanted to tell Blaise how unhappy he was in Slytherin right now, but he thought that even the person that was his closest friend at school might not appreciate that bit of information.

"Whatever Blaise, I just wish he would grow up," he replied.

"Yeah. He does need to grow up, the twitchy little ferret." Darren laughed at Blaise's description of Draco, which could not be more accurate. Blaise just punched lightly him on the shoulder, making him feel a bit better.

When they had finished lunch, they headed to the North Tower to Professor Trelawney's classroom. Oven was more like it. It was September and she had a fire raging going and incense burning, giving the air a smell Darren had never cared for. He and Blaise sat at a table together. Thankfully Draco was not in this class, as he had taken Arithmancy instead. Darren was fiddling with the crystal ball when Professor Trelawney came out form behind the partition that was at the back of the class. She was dressed as she usually was. She wore glasses that were too large for her head, about a dozen necklaces and bangled earrings that were down to her shoulders. She gave Darren a funny feeling whenever he was in her presence the last two years, and it did not change this term. He actually did not hate her as the rest of the Slytherins seemed to, but he was certain that she was no more than a fraud, using smoke and mirrors and vague exclamations to make herself look as if she actually knew things about the students.

"Settle down class," Professor Trelawney told them, and the class gradually quieted down. "This term we will be studying Belomancy, the study of the flight of arrows, Dactylomancy, which is the study of a swinging ring, and Libranomancy, which we use to study the smoke from incense. Darren raised his eyebrow at the last one.

'Well, we won't have to go far to find incense smoke,' he thought to himself.

Blaise looked at him with a smile on his face and obviously trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the subject mater for the first term. Darren just rolled his eyes in response.

Professor Trelawney continued. "Open your books to chapter one and"

A muffled gasp at the trap door that was used as an entrance told the class that Crabbe and Goyle had arrived. They were five minutes late, as usual, to class.

'Nice,' Darren thought, 'these two idiot have taken Divination for three years, and they still get lost trying to find the classroom.'

Professor Trelawney addressed the tardy pair. "Ah yes, just as I have seen. You two are late again."

'Right, like nobody else in this class had any idea that the two idiots there would be late as usual,' Darren thought.

Neither Crabbe nor Goyle responded to her, instead they just looked at their feet, which made Darren laugh, because they did that every time they did something moronic, which was most of the time they attempted something. Darren figured they could draw their shoes perfectly from memory by now.

"Pease have a seat and open your books to Chapter One, Introduction to Belomancy and please read the chapter up to page twenty."

"Read?' We never read in this class," Darren said to Blaise.

But Blaise was not paying attention to him; he was watching Crabbe and Goyle as they were looking for a seat. Only two seats were available, one with Pansy Parkinson and one of her gang, who reluctantly let Goyle sit with them, and the one that Crabbe sat down in at Darren and Blaise's table. They reluctantly moved their books to give him room, and looked at each other as if to say this could be fun.

Blaise let Crabbe read for a few minutes, his mouthing of the words under his breath driving them both insane. When Crabbe reached to turn a page, Blaise reached out and took his wrist, as if in shock at something he had just seen. Crabbe recoiled from him, but Blaise was able to get him to let him look at what Blaise told him was his "intelligence line" on his palm. He looked at it for a while, and Darren had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Blaise then let out a low whistle, and sat back with a scared look on his face.

Crabbe looked at him, worry on his face. "What is it?" he asked.

"It is too bad to even speak it Crabbe, sorry pal," Blaise told him.

"Sorry for what?" Crabbe's stupid face looked to be on the verge of panic at this point.

Blaise looked at him with sorrow in his eyes. He had Darren about to split from trying to not laugh at this point.

"Well Crabbe, it says here that your brain died last Tuesday."

Darren exploded, unable to hold it in any longer. Professor Trelawney came to their table, demanding to know what as so funny. Crabbe told her what Blaise had said, and incredulously she took Crabbe's hand and pronounced his non-existent intelligence line to be fine and for him to not worry.

Darren and Blaise just looked at each other in wonder, amazed at her ability to turn anything to her advantage in order to keep some of the students that she was not a fraud after all.

Class passed agonizingly slowly, the time just dragging by. Darren finally heard the bell that ended the day's schedule and headed off to the common room, his thoughts on tomorrow. Defense Against the Dark Arts started tomorrow, and then his spirits fell. He also had his detention to serve for Snape as well.