For copyright and disclaimers, please see chapter 1
4 - Classes, Week Two, Second Year
Sunday, September 5, 1999:
Hogwarts, Staff quarters, Potter apartment: 07:40
"Mr. Potter, what can be wrong?" the red haired witch asked teasingly. "Obsessed about your students?"
"One student, Mrs. Potter," he replied. "The firstie on the train, I can't remember where I've smelled her before." He shook his head to clear it, asking, "How's the owl order business doing?"
"It's coming along," she replied, putting her arms across his shoulders. He grinned, and wrapped his arms around her slender waist….
Monday, September 6, 1999:
Hogwarts, Potions classroom: 09:00
The door slammed and locked on the tick of nine, the class instantly falling silent. Professor Snape said, "Welcome to second-year potions. As some of you are aware, we start this year on personal potions. As such, part of your study will be the conversion between three different scales of weights and measures." He paced the front of the room, adding, "The three you will be using will include stone, pounds and kilograms, and their fluid and dry measure. The dosages of some potions are measured by body weight."
Continuing his pacing, he said, "Monday mornings you will learn the theory, Wednesday mornings you will brew. On Wednesdays, look on that board (he pointed) to determine your partner. A few of you skived off last year, allowing your partner to carry the burden. I will not allow such slacking; now the pair of you will have a shared grade. Therefore, if your partner skives off, you will also fail the potion." A few people groaned, and he stood over a student. "Is that clear, Miss Hansen?" She swallowed and nodded, he replied, "Good."
"One other thing," he added as he moved about the classroom. "Certain… relatives have made me aware that I am not conforming to the Ministry syllabus. If I cared, I would answer that first year would have been spent reading and memorizing a dry-as-dust book on theory, only to brew your first potions this year. I however, believe in learning by doing, and I am borne out by student OWL and NEWT scores. That is, IF I cared, Miss Hansen." He leaned over the girl, his face inches from hers, stating, "I care not that your father is deputy Minister of Education, Miss Hansen, or that he is one of Fudge's bootlicking arsewipes. My responsibility is to instruct you in potions. If your feeble mind is incapable of that, or you feel that I am discriminating based upon your parents, I would suggest you bring it up with your head of house. I would, however, mention to you that of the eight Potion Masters currently residing in Great Britain, of which I am one, I have had the honour of training two. The latest of which is an annoying Gryffindor, who graduated Hogwarts two years ago, and is the youngest Potion Mistress in four hundred years." He stood, adding, "I will keep my own counsel regarding curriculum in potions, Fudge can keep his toady in London, or in his privy, I do not care which."
"Oooh! He's so… so… mean!" Felicia Hansen said outside the potions classroom. "I skived off on one class, ONE! He thinks he's so… and what he said about my father, and sweet Uncle Cornelius! Oooh!"
Mattie stopped in the corridor, only moving when someone complained. "'Uncle Cornelius'? The same one that had me arrested on false charges, imprisoned and tortured?"
"The same one that conspired with Malfoy to torture us?" one twin asked rhetorically. The other added, "The one who was planning to have us killed? We're just a bit ticked with him."
"The same one who lied, in public, when he presented a false corpse to Professor Snape, claiming it was Mattie, and then called me a liar," Sprink said.
"The same one that killed a muggle girl to impersonate Mattie, and stole her money and possessions?" Charlie asked. Arthur looked at him, and he added, "I was in the Infirmary when they did the autopsy. I heard everything. The girl wasn't even Mattie's blood type."
"But those were all lies, by Uncle Cornelius' political opponents! He said so himself, and the Prophet printed it, every word! Even that horrid new paper printed it, but they confused people with more lies! Uncle Cornelius would never do anything that horrible!"
"Would you like to see independent medical evidence, since you don't believe the people involved? The people standing in front of you?" Mattie asked. "The doctor on the oil platform has photos and test results that she gave to Madame Pomfrey."
"Muggle evidence?" Felicia sniffed, "Totally unreliable, unlike a Ministry healer. You're a mudblood; I don't expect you to understand."
Sprink growled, Charlie and Arthur holding her back. "You're saying Wayne's a mudblood? In Slytherin? Are you daft?" Amanda demanded.
"She's as pureblooded as I am, you twit!" Sprink snarled, "I'm a Black, would you dare call ME a mudblood?"
Felicia sniffed; Charlie and Arthur traded a look. "Oops." Sprink had Felicia by the throat, and was happily bouncing her head off the flagstones.
"What is going on here?" Professor Snape inquired.
"Er, Professor, it's like this…" Andrew started.
Severus cocked an eyebrow, and waited for him to finish. After a minute of silence, Sprink piped up, "Quidditch argument, sir. Felicia was impugning the Magpie's chasers, and, well, I couldn't let that pass."
"I see," Professor Snape said as he reached down, hauling both girls to their feet. He checked Felicia's head, not finding any blood, released her. "Take such arguments to the pitch, where they belong. Miss Hansen, are you well?"
She nodded, and the Professor dismissed them with an 'Off to lunch with you all, and Mr. Kirke?" They paused, and the Professor added, "Learn to lie."
Tuesday, September 7, 1999:
Hogwarts, Headmaster's office: 08:58
"Sweet tart" The statue guarding the Headmaster's office rolled aside and Mattie rode the circular staircase up. The door opened at her approach, and Professor Dumbledore looked up from his desk.
"Professor? How'd you get up here? When I left the Great Hall you were still…" Mattie asked.
"Ah, Miss Wayne, this old castle holds many secrets," the Headmaster chuckled. "I see you've been practicing your Occlumancy, good, good."
"Yes, sir, I felt you brush my mind." She grinned, asking, "Did you get the new image?"
"Running in a park, in the middle of a great city? Why, yes, where is it? It looked so real."
"It's New York's Central Park. I spent some time there over the summer; my family wanted me to see a wizarding shrink, sorry, a counselor. I was going with the Cortez twins." She grinned, adding, "It's a wonderful city, and much safer than Gotham. You ought to visit."
"I shall, it has been many years. Now, let us turn to our studies of Legilmancy. Have you any questions?"
"If it's possible, I'd like to study Alchemy with you. I've been struggling through some texts, but…"
"Ah. Possible. Let me consult with Professor Snape, and get back to you." She nodded, and he resumed, ushering her to their chairs by the fire. "Legilmancy, as you know, is reading another's thoughts and experiences from their mind. I would like to go over the ethics of this first. One should not force oneself into another's mind, except in certain rare circumstances, such as when it is necessary to save a life. Another case is when…"
Wednesday, September 8, 1999:
Hogwarts, Staff room: 07:43
Harry passed out sheets of parchment to the faculty, explaining, "This is a little thing I came up with over the summer hols, after trying to identify differences between the Cortez twins in class. Place this on your lectern, and give it the command 'scholastica pertracto', it will rearrange itself as students move about the room. If you want to hide it, use 'abstergeo', it will look like any other sheet of blank parchment."
"This would have been useful with the Weasley twins," Filius commented.
"They're who I got the idea from, and Shaundra and Roshawn seem to have gotten some ideas from Fred and George." Harry grinned. "My loyalties have changed, let's say."
Albus chuckled, adding, "One final note, we were scheduled to get an adjunct instructor for physical defense this year. Unfortunately, the fellow the Royal Marines was planning to send is unavailable." the Headmaster said. "The Special Boat Service will be sending someone else, who will not, unfortunately, have Sgt. Wilcox depth of expertise."
"Who will they be sending?" Harry asked.
The Headmaster shrugged, "A leftenant is all I know." He tapped his parchment into line, adding, "Miss Wayne asked me yesterday if she could continue her martial arts class on Sunday. I have no objections; indeed, I'm quite looking forward to resuming them."
"They're not too strenuous?" Kelly asked, closing her laptop.
"Not at all," Albus smiled. "Tai-chi is most invigorating, like a dance."
"It has done wonders for your heart, Albus," Madame Pomfrey added. "How long have I been on you to exercise?"
"Far too long. Miss Wayne also requested tutoring in Alchemy. I will discuss this more extensively with Severus, but did anyone else have comments?"
"If you plan to instruct her in Alchemy, her spellwork needs to improve," Filius Flitwick said, and Minerva nodded. "I can consult with the two of you regarding a course of study, and tutor her for an hour or so on Friday afternoons."
"That would be acceptable to me," Severus said, and the Headmaster nodded, "If there is nothing else?"
"I have something regarding Mr. Morton I need to discuss with Pomona," Severus said.
"I do hope there is nothing wrong," she glanced around the table.
"Two of my students, Miss Tonks and Miss Wayne, are brewing a variant on the oculis potion to fix his eyesight. I feel that he could apply himself more to his studies, I therefore informed him that I expected to see an improvement from 'Acceptable' in his Potion and Herbology scores by the midterm examinations."
Pomona nodded. "I will do what I can to help him, Severus. However, the poor lad seems to have been born with a brown thumb." She settled herself a bit, adding, "I would appreciate your not linking Mr. Morton's Potion score to this potion. It should be entirely voluntary on his part, and I have enough problems getting him to socialize."
The Potion Master inclined his head fractionally, "I will agree to that, Pomona. Thank you."
Thursday, September 9, 1999:
Hogwarts, Great Hall, Slytherin table: 08:45
"Y'know, this is your fault," Arthur said as he leaned over the table to address Mattie and Sprink. Lee elbowed him, and he muttered, "Sorry."
"What's our fault?" Sprink asked.
"Professor Sprout is going to tutor me in Herbology."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Lee asked.
"When it's your head of house? Dunno."
Mattie took a final gulp of coffee, then said, "Well, let's get to class, then."
Arthur approached Professor Sprout as she tidied up after class, asking, "You wanted to see me, ma'am?"
"Yes, Mr. Morton." She glanced over at Mattie and Sprink, hovering just out of earshot, and motioned to them, adding, "This concerns you two, also." They moved closer as she continued to bustle about, adding, "The staff meeting yesterday ran a bit over, as we discussed various students. Mr. Morton, you'll be meeting with me Friday afternoons for remedial coaching on Herbology, while Miss Wayne will be taking remedial spellcasting with Professor Flitwick then."
"Yes, ma'am," Arthur said. "What about the potion Mattie and Sprink are doing for me?"
"You'll need to discuss that with Professor Snape," Sprout said. "However, I do agree with him that you need to pull your marks up, hence the tutoring. We discussed that potion briefly, and while I am not nearly the potioner Severus is, it does sound like a useful advance. If you don't mind my personal opinion, I wish it had been available when I was a young girl." She patted her hair, and found her reading glasses, settling them around her neck.
"Did… I come up at all?" Sprink asked hesitantly.
Professor Sprout smiled, "Only in conjunction with other werewolves, dear. Severus has a new ingredient that he is experimenting with regarding your wolfsbane potion." She tutted at Sprink's expression, and gave the young girl a hug, adding with a smile, "You're doing fine, dear. Now, off to lunch with you three! Go on, shoo!"
Saturday, September 11, 1999:
Hogwarts, Slytherin dorms: 07:58
Lee knocked cautiously on the second-year girl's dorm. Sprink opened the door, clad in a towel, barefoot, with a toothbrush sticking out of her mouth. Motioning for silence, she waved Lee after her into the loo. A board stretched across two sinks, holding a coffeepot and teakettle, which gurgled. Spitting her toothpaste out, she closed the door, saying quietly, "Mattie sleeps in on weekends, and she's cranky when she gets up. Don' try talkin' to her until she's had coffee. What'ya need?"
"Well, just… someone to talk to. I'm the only firstie girl in Slytherin, and, well… "
"There's only two of us," Sprink said, before gargling. She spat out her mouthwash; then took a sip of tea from her mug, adding, "Dorms were designed for up to ten in a year. If P'fessor Snape says it's good, wanna move in? He'd have to get th' house elves to move your trunk an' the furniture."
"That would be great! Think he would?"
"Only way to know is to ask, but I'd say it's a safe bet." Sprink picked up her wand and started to dry her hair, adding, "We can ask him at breakfast."