"Fillet of fenny snake in a cauldron boil and bake. Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and pollywog..."

Morticia Addams


Chapter 7: The Potions Master

Erica had been excited for classes when she went to bed, but when she woke the next morning, her stomach was turning with nerves.

Not that she still wasn't excited. She was. She totally was. But right now, her nerves were overriding almost everything else. All the professors knew about her and her condition. None of the students were supposed to know, but what if she accidentally let something slip?

What if someone figured it out?

What if she hurt someone?

Erica spent so much time working herself into a tizzy over all the things that could go wrong that Hermione began to worry about her. In the end, Hermione managed to get Erica out of bed at a reasonable time, leaving them enough time to grab toast and make their respective curly manes look somewhat tame.

Erica was grateful to Hermione Granger. The girl was a bit of an ear sore with all her tangents and ramblings about the things she knew about magic and Hogwarts, but she had seemed truly worried about Erica that morning. Without her, Erica probably would've been left scrambling her things together at the last minute before running to class.

Erica imagined they could become friends.

Lavender and Parvati, for all their interest in her last night, had apparently decided that morning that neither she or Hermione were worth their time.

As the day passed, Erica found questions and curiosities popping into her head. She couldn't wait to write Remus with them all.

One of the first things Erica noticed that first morning was the difference in uniforms. She'd thought about it earlier when she'd been fitted for them, but here at Hogwarts, everyone wore robes of black. At Ilvermorny, everyone had robes of cranberry or blue. She liked seeing colors every day, so it was strange to see everyone looking the same.

The next thing she really noticed was the inner workings of the castle. She'd noted it last night, but Hogwarts had way more staircases than Ilvermorny did. And the castle was more complicated, maze-like. Older.

There were one hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump.

Then there were the doors. Some of the doors at Hogwarts wouldn't open unless you asked politely, or tickled them in exactly the right place. And there were some doors that weren't really doors at all, just walls pretending to be doors.

Ilvermorny had been easier to navigate, more straightforward. Hogwarts, on the other hand, was a maze of stone corridors and wooden doors and endless twists and turns.

However, some things were the same between the two schools. People in portraits kept moving around to visit each other, and the suits of armor seemed to be able to move. At Ilvermorny, Erica had sworn the statues were actually alive.

But regardless, the portraits and statues were no help with navigation.

The ghosts didn't help either. It was always a nasty shock when one of them glided suddenly through a door you were trying to open. Erica, thankfully, knew to dodge them, since she'd gotten used to ghosts at Ilvermorny. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, and he was quite helpful to Erica and Hermione, but Peeves the Poltergeist was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you met him when you were late for class. He would drop wastepaper baskets on your head, pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with bits of chalk, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

Erica quickly decided he was more annoying than funny.

But even worse than Peeves, if that was possible, was the caretaker, Argus Filch, and his horrible cat, Mrs. Norris. Erica had heard that Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were already on Filch's bad side because they'd accidentally tried to force their way through a door that was in the out-of-bounds zone of the school.

Mr. Filch just seemed to hate the students and school overall. And Mrs. Norris was no better. She was a scrawny, dust-colored creature with bulging, lamp-like eyes just like Filch's. She patrolled the corridors alone. Break a rule in front of her, put just one toe out of line, and she'd whisk off for Filch, who'd appear, wheezing, two seconds later. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone (except perhaps the Weasley twins) and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts.

The students all hated him, just like he hated all the students. And it was the dearest ambition of many to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.

Erica couldn't help but feel the same way. While Mrs. Norris didn't like anyone besides Filch, she loathed Erica.

Of course, Erica knew why. It was likely because Mrs. Norris could sense the wolf in Erica and hated it, but wow, she was one mean cat.

But still, navigating the castle and avoiding Peeves and Filch were the easy parts. Then there were the classes themselves. Erica was a bit rusty, sure, but she'd had a full year of schooling. She remembered how much she'd struggled at first, and tried to ignore the looks from her classmates as she succeeded with some simple spells.

Everyone was quickly discovering that magic was far more than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.

Astronomy class was easily one of Erica's least favorites. Every Wednesday, at midnight, the Gryffindor first-years climbed the Astronomy Tower and studied the stars and planets through their telescopes. Erica was a grump for their first lesson. Nevermind that she was losing precious sleep (something she valued more than nearly anything) but she also now had mixed feelings about the night sky.

The night sky meant the moon was visible. And the moon, well… For obvious reasons, Erica was no longer a fan of the moon.

Herbology with Professor Sprout was three times a week, and Erica actually really liked it, despite always coming back from the greenhouses smelling sweaty and covered in earth. In that class, they learned how to take care of all kinds of strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for.

History of Magic was by far the most boring class. Erica had found the class terribly boring at Ilvermorny, but at Hogwarts, it was even worse. The class was taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old when he had fallen asleep in front of the staffroom fire and got up the next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.

The class quickly learned just how easy it was to fall asleep in Binns' class.

Erica found she still really loved Charms class. It was taught by a tiny little wizard named Flitwick. He was head of Ravenclaw House. Erica loved his excited voice and supportive nature. He was incredibly knowledgeable, and he made class really fun.

Professor McGonagall, Erica's new Head of House, taught Transfiguration. Again, one of Erica's favorite subjects. But from what Erica knew of Professor McGonagall, the class was not going to be easy. The first session confirmed this. Professor McGonagall was strict and clever. She took no excuses and expected the best from every single one of them.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she lectured them. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Seamus and Erica sat together, sparing each other a glance, but not much else, not wanting to get on the woman's bad side.

Then, Professor McGonagall changed her desk into a pig and back again. The entire class was very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of long, complicated notes, each first-year was given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione and Erica had managed it. McGonagall had proudly showed the class their silvery and pointy needles before giving both girls rare smiles.

Erica flushed with both pride and embarrassment. Seamus nudged her with a teasing grin.

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts. The class had been one of the most popular at Ilvermorny, so Erica, and everyone, had been more than a little disappointed when the lessons turned out to be one big joke. Unfortunately, poor Professor Quirrell was practically afraid of his own shadow. The classroom reeked of garlic. Everyone joked it was to ward off the vampire he'd met in Romania. Professor Quirrell also never took off his turban, which he told them had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie. No one was quite sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus eagerly asked to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had all noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban. Erica overheard the Weasley twins telling Harry Potter that they reckoned it was stuffed with garlic as well. Erica had to sniff. With her wolf-nose, she knew it wasn't garlic.

Before Erica had even realized it, Friday had rolled around. And she still hadn't written letters to Remus or her mom! So that morning at breakfast, she pulled out some parchment and began to write over her porridge.

Dear Mom,

Well, another school year has begun. Hogwarts is very different from Ilvermorny. But the professors seem really nice. Professor McGonagall is really strict, but I like her class a lot. She's actually my Head of House. Remember how Ilvermorny had a Sorting Ceremony? Hogwarts had one too. I'm in Gryffindor House, the House for the bold and brave. I'm not really sure I truly fit in here, but the Sorting Hat (yes, a hat) said it was the only option. Strange, but who am I to question a sentient hat?

The castle is really big! Not quite as big as Ilvermorny, but twice as confusing. It's near a lake and a forest, though the forest is actually forbidden to students. Lots of magical creatures dwell there. There's also an all-wizarding town nearby, Hogsmeade. Students get to visit on some weekends, but only if they're third years and up. The whole place is gorgeous, Mom. I wish you could see it. Maybe I'll sneak in a disposable camera and take some pictures for you next term.

My dormitory is in one of the tallest towers in the castle, Gryffindor Tower. I have three roommates. Hermione, Lavender, and Parvati. They all seem really nice, but I have yet to truly talk to them. We were all pretty tired that first night after dinner and the Sorting.

Classes are going well so far. I have mostly the same subjects. Only, "Muggle Studies" is an elective at Hogwarts, instead of a core subject like at Ilvermorny. But all the rest are the same. Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, and History of Magic. That last one is even more boring at Hogwarts than it was at Ilvermorny, can you believe? I didn't think that was possible.

How is everything at home? Is it still really hot? How is the bakery doing? Can you send me some cookies soon? Pretty please?

I really miss you, Mom. Please write back soon!

Love,

Erica

PS: The food at Hogwarts is really good, but yours is better!

"What have we got today?" Erica heard Harry Potter ask Ron Weasley a couple seats down the table.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," Ron replied. "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them — we'll be able to see if it's true."

"Wish McGonagall favored us," Harry grumbled. Professor McGonagall definitely didn't play favorites. She assigned massive amounts of homework no matter what House you were in.

Erica shook her head with amusement and turned to write her letter to Remus.

Dear Remus,

Well, my first week at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has almost come and gone. I can't believe I've been here a week already. It sure doesn't feel like it. Is it strange that, despite the foreignness of everything, and all the new people and adjustments, I feel so at home here? Like… Like Hogwarts was the place I was always meant to be. I thought Ilvermorny had felt that way. But it's nothing like how Hogwarts feels. Is that strange?

Which House were you in at Hogwarts? I was sorted into Gryffindor. Don't know why. I'm not exactly bold and daring. But I'm glad Professor McGonagall is my Head of House. She was one of your professors too, right?

I have three roommates. Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione. Parvati actually has a twin sister in Ravenclaw, but she's already really good friends with Lavender. They seem nice, but not really interested in making friends with anyone but each other. Hermione's nice too. I think we could be friends.

I've gotten to know two boys a little bit, Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan. They're pretty cool, but my brain has to work double-time to translate Seamus' Irish accent. He's already tried to mimic my accent three separate times.

Did you know, Harry Potter is in my year. He's also in Gryffindor House. For someone so famous, he seems really shy and awkward, but nice. He's friends with Ron Weasley. Ron has lots of siblings at Hogwarts, too, and they're also in Gryffindor.

What were your favorite subjects? Which were easiest and which were hardest? And don't leave anything out! Do you have any tips for navigating the castle? I thought getting around Ilvermorny was hard, but it's nothing compared to Hogwarts. Do you have any tips for avoiding the caretaker, Filch? Do you have any tips in general?

I'm sorry for all the questions. I'm just so curious about everything.

I have double Potions today with the Slytherins, with the Head of Slytherin House. I hear Professor Snape favors Slytherin and hates Gryffindor. Do you know Professor Snape? Is this true? I hope not. It's hard to do well in a class where the teacher has a pre-set bias against you.

Again, sorry for all the questions.

I know our "furry little problem" won't come around for another few weeks, but… No one has told me anything. I don't know when or where to get my potion, only that Professor Snape will be providing it. I don't know where I'm supposed to go for the transformations. I don't know anything. Will they put me in the Forbidden Forest? I know with the potion I remember who I am, but I'm still a monster who needs to be kept away from the students.

I'm scared, Remus. I'm really scared. I'm afraid someone's going to discover my secret. I'm scared that because of it, I'll be too afraid to get close to anyone. And more than anything, I'm scared that I'll hurt someone.

I'm sorry to end this letter on a low note. I hope you're doing well.

Write back soon!

From,

Erica

Right when Erica began rolling the letters and addressing them, countless owls flew into the Great Hall. Mail time. This happened every morning at breakfast. This was another difference between Ilvermorny and Hogwarts. At Hogwarts, the mail came during breakfast. At Ilvermorny, the owls were trained to drop letters off with students either right when they arrived, or took them up to the dormitories. The windows were usually left open so owls could fly in and leave letters and packages on students' desks or beds.

Unsurprisingly, Donna came swooping into the Great Hall side-by-side with a beautiful snowy owl. They seemed to have made friends with each other. Erica knew the snowy owl was Harry Potter's, as she had seen the owl visiting him every morning, nibbling on his toast.

This morning, to Erica's surprise, Donna had a letter strung courteously around her neck.

"Thank you, Donna," Erica said, untying the letter from the string. Donna hooted affectionately and gobbled down a sausage Erica passed her way. Erica glanced down at the letter. She instantly recognized Professor Dumbledore's looped script. She tucked the letter into her bag for later.

The snowy owl appeared in Erica's peripheral.

"And what's your name, beautiful?" Erica asked, gently holding out a finger for the owl to inspect.

"Hedwig." Erica started a bit and looked over at Harry Potter, who had answered her.

"Hmm, that's pretty. Just like you," Erica complimented, turning back to Hedwig. The owl must've decided that she liked Erica because she allowed Erica to stroke her feathers. "I see you've made friends with Donna." The aforementioned owl perked up at her name. "Let me give her my letters and then you can fly off together."

Donna hopped forward.

"This letter's for Remus. The other one is for Mom," Erica explained. "Are you up for the journey?" Donna hooted and ruffled her feathers a bit indignantly. Erica laughed gently.

"Okay, okay, I get it." Erica strung both letters onto Donna's string and with a little nibble on her finger, Donna took off with Hedwig.

"Who's Remus?" Ron Weasley asked. Harry subtly elbowed him for his nosiness, but Erica simply smiled.

"He's a friend of mine. You're Ron and Harry, right?"

"Yeah," they answered together.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Erica. Do you want to head to Potions together? Only if you're done eating, of course."

"Yeah, that sounds great," Harry accepted. They both smiled. Ron smiled a bit too and stuffed one last piece of toast in his mouth before the three of them stood and made their way down to the dungeons.

Harry's own first week at Hogwarts had gone interestingly. For the most part, everything had gone well. But at the start-of-term banquet, Harry had gotten the idea that Professor Snape disliked him. By the end of the first Potions lesson, he knew he'd been wrong. Professor Snape didn't dislike Harry — he hated him.

Harry, Ron, and Erica made their way down to the dungeons, growing uncomfortable the deeper they dove. It was colder in the bowels of the castle, and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls.

Erica stared at the jars with a grimace of disgust, but still seemed fascinated.

Like Professor Flitwick had, Snape started the class by taking the roll call. He started with Erica. He called her name, glanced at her briefly, an unreadable expression in his eyes, and then continued. Also like Flitwick, Snape paused at Harry's name. But unlike Flitwick, he didn't squeak and fall off his stack of books. Instead, he began speaking.

"Ah, yes," he said softly. "Harry Potter. Our new — celebrity."

Erica's eyes narrowed at Snape's tone. She understood why he had paused and stared at her — of course he had. She was actually surprised that more of the professors hadn't reacted the same way. But Harry… She didn't understand why Snape seemed to already hate him.

Some of the Slytherins, Draco Malfoy and his goons Crabbe and Goyle were sniggering behind their hands. Snape finished calling names and settled back to speak to the class.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he said. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word — like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses… I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Erica felt uncomfortable. Potions had been her best subject back at Ilvermorny, and she had really, really enjoyed it. However, if Snape hated Gryffindors as much as he apparently did, would he really give her a fair chance? Or would he write off everything she did in his class as unsatisfactory?

Around the classroom, students were shifting and exchanging nervous looks. Except the Slytherins. They were looking smug, because they knew Snape favored them. And Hermione was sitting on the edge of her seat listening with rapt attention, and looking desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" Snape said suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Harry looked clueless. To be honest, most of the students had no idea what those ingredients were. Harry looked to Ron for help, but he looked equally as stumped. Then Harry looked at Erica, but the girl was dutifully keeping her head down. Hermione's hand shot into the air.

"I don't know, sir," Harry said.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer. Erica's cheeks burned with anger. He was purposefully picking on Harry.

"Tut, tut — fame clearly isn't everything."

He ignored Hermione's hand.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Harry didn't have the faintest idea what a bezoar was. He tried not to look at Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle, who were shaking with laughter.

Erica had no reservations about glaring at them. And they shut up as the heat of her glare scorched them.

"I don't know, sir."

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?"

Harry forced himself to keep looking straight into those cold eyes. He had looked through his books at the Dursleys', but did Snape expect him to remember everything in One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?

Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand.

"What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Erica jolted. No one noticed.

Hermione jumped out of her seat, stretching to her full height with her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling. Erica lightly rolled her eyes. He hadn't called on her so far, and at this point, did she really expect him to?

"I don't know," Harry said. "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

A few people laughed. Harry caught Seamus' eye, and Seamus winked. Snape, however, was not pleased.

"Sit down," he snapped at Hermione. Erica blinked at his rudeness, and began to feel bad for the girl as she quickly sank in her chair, cheeks burning.

"Let's see… Is there anyone here who can answer my questions?" Hermione didn't raise her hand. "What about you, Addams?"

Erica's eyes widened. Snape came to stand over her, staring at her down the length of his hooked nose.

"Um," she gulped. "Well… um —" Erica took a deep breath. "Asphodel and wormwood are ingredients in the sleeping potion Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone found in the stomach of a goat and it acts as a cure for most poisons. And monkshood and w-wolfsbane are the same thing. There's no difference. And it's also called aconite."

Erica forced herself to remain calm and Snape simply continued to stare at her, not acknowledging her correct answers.

"Well, well, well," he whispered. "It seems you remember something from your year at Ilvermorny." Snape glared at the rest of the class. "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

There was a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken off from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."

Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. Well, everyone was in pairs except Erica. Her housemates shot her sympathetic looks as she was forced to be the odd one out, sitting right up front near Snape's desk, brewing the potion all on her own.

For the majority of the lesson, Snape swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. Snape was harsh in his criticisms, and his mood didn't improve as he swept past Hermione's potion. It was spot-on, to his clear displeasure. He merely scowled and moved on. Erica was sure he was going to find something wrong with her potion, but he had much the same reaction. Stare, say nothing, scowl, and move on.

Erica released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding when he moved on.

Snape was in the middle of praising the way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when a hissing noise and clouds of acid green smoke began to fill the air. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus' cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes into people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" Snape snarled. With a wave of his wand, Snape cleared away the potion. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. The boy immediately gathered up Neville and they left the dungeons as Snape rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville.

"You — Potter — why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

Erica's jaw dropped. What a horrible man! How was that fair? How had he gotten away with behavior like that? There was no reason to be so cruel to Harry!

The boy seemed to think the same thing, because he opened his mouth to argue. Thankfully, it wasn't just Erica who knew that was a bad idea because Ron kicked Harry under their desk and the boy closed his mouth. Ron hissed something to Harry and he seemed to drop it completely.

Almost one hour later, Erica was exiting the dungeons. Harry and Ron were walking in front of her, and Erica found herself wanting to say something.

"Hey, Harry?" He turned to her, Ron following. Erica suddenly found herself feeling shy and averted her gaze from his startling green eyes. "I'm sorry Snape was so mean to you. You didn't deserve to lose those points."

Harry was shocked, but touched that she didn't blame him.

"Thank you, Erica."

The girl managed to make eye contact with him and smiled.

"I just wish I knew why Snape hates me so much," Harry muttered.

Erica frowned. "Maybe he just chooses a specific Gryffindor to hate more than others," she reasoned. "I mean, he hates Gryffindors anyway, and anyone who plays favorites has least favorites. Unfortunately, it seems he picked you and Neville. Don't worry about it, Harry."

"Yeah, cheer up," Ron said. "Snape's always taking points off Fred and George. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?"

"Hagrid?" Erica asked. "The gamekeeper? You know him, Harry?"

He nodded. "He was the one who came and told me about Hogwarts. I grew up with Muggles, so I didn't know. He took me to Diagon Alley."

Erica smiled, noticing that Harry really seemed to like Hagrid. That made her happy. Ever since her transformation, Erica was far more aware of those with… less than human blood and traits: half-breeds and magical beings. There was no doubt in Erica's mind that Hagrid had some Giant blood in him. While Erica was sure Harry was ignorant of that fact, it warmed her heart to know that Harry was accepting towards people who were… different.

"Do you want to come meet him?" Harry suddenly asked. Erica's eyes widened.

"Me?"

"Sure."

Erica was stunned. But she wasn't about to say no. Remus had told her what made school and the transformations worth it was his friends. Maybe, just maybe… Erica could find her own friends.

"Yeah," she accepted. "Yeah, I'd like that."

"We're headed down right before three. Meet in the common room?" Ron asked. Erica smiled and nodded.

The first-year Gryffindors had the afternoon off. Erica spent the majority of it doing homework. She decided to finish McGonagall's homework first, since she was really dreading Snape's. When she reached into her bag to grab her Transfiguration book, Erica frowned. There was a letter there.

Erica's eyes widened. Her letter! Dumbledore's letter from breakfast. She'd completely forgotten!

Dear Erica,

How would you like to come have tea with me this Saturday afternoon, at 3 o'clock? I'm very curious to hear about your first week with us here at Hogwarts. I know this must be a big adjustment for you. We'll also be discussing our strategy for the coming months.

I look forward to receiving your letter.

Professor Dumbledore

PS: My office is located behind the large gargoyle statue. And I rather like lemon drops.

Erica's brows furrowed at the last line, but for the most part, she was relieved. She had been worried about her lack of knowledge concerning her transformations. This was the sort of summons she had been waiting for. But she was also touched at Dumbledore's genuine concern with how she was adjusting to life at Hogwarts.

Erica smiled. Remus had told her that Dumbledore was an incredible man. It was nice to see it in person.

A sudden hoot sounded from outside the window in her dormitory. Erica had the bed closest to the door, but with her enhanced hearing, she was able to hear the hoot. Maybe it was Lavender or Parvati's owl?

"Hedwig?" Erica breathed as the snowy owl glided into the room. Hedwig tucked in her wings and landed on the trunk at the foot of Erica's bed. Erica glanced between Hedwig and her response to Dumbledore (an acceptance to tea, of course).

"You're one smart girl," Erica muttered, stroking Hedwig's feathers. She seemed to ruffle her feathers with pride. "Do you think Harry will mind if you deliver this letter for me?" Hedwig's eyes seemed to take on a sassy gleam, as if she was saying she didn't care if Harry minded. Erica grinned and tied the letter to Hedwig's offered leg. Then, the snowy owl gobbled down the treat Erica offered her and flew out the window.

At five to three, Erica met up with Harry and Ron. The three of them left the castle and trudged their way across the grounds. Hagrid lived in a small wooden hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes were outside the front door.

When Harry knocked on the door, they heard a frantic scrabbling from inside and several booming barks.

"Back, Fang — back."

Erica grew nervous. Hagrid had a dog. Dogs were always hit or miss with her. A lot of animals were. Luckily, most owls in the wizarding world didn't mind Erica and even seemed to like her. Dogs either loved her or hated her. Sometimes they sensed the wolf in her and felt threatened. Other times they sensed her kindred nature and flocked to her. She sincerely hoped that Fang didn't feel threatened by her.

Erica couldn't think about it anymore because Hagrid's hairy face appeared in the open doorway.

"Hang on," he said. "Back, Fang."

Hagrid let them into his home, holding tight to Fang's collar. Erica noted that Fang was an impossibly large black boarhound.

The hut was only one room. Hagrid kept hams and pheasants hanging from the ceiling. A copper kettle with water was boiling over the fire. Hagrid's bed sat in the corner, it was enormous, with a patchwork quilt laying over it.

"Make yerselves at home," Hagrid told them, finally letting go of Fang. The dog immediately bounded over to Erica. She panicked for a moment and almost threw her hands over her face. She needn't have worried. Fang merely began to lick and slobber all over her and Erica beamed as she realized that Fang liked her. Erica happily rubbed his ears and he sat down on her feet, nearly knocking her over.

"This is Ron and Erica," Harry introduced while Hagrid began pouring out tea. He also began putting rock cakes onto a plate for all of them to share.

"Another Weasley, eh?" Hagrid remarked towards Ron. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."

I can believe that, Erica thought with a small smile. She patted Fang's head once more and went to sit down.

"You must be Erica Addams," Hagrid said to her. Erica suddenly felt shy, unsure how Hagrid would feel about her, but her worries were dashed when she noticed that Hagrid's eyes were twinkling kindly. "Welcome to Hogwarts."

"Thank you," Erica said genuinely. Erica had explained to Harry and Ron on the way down to Hagrid's that she had transferred from Ilvermorny in America. Ron had shrugged it off, remarking that he already knew because his mom had told him, but Harry had seemed interested in the American magical community. She promised to tell him more about it later.

Hagrid served good tea, but his rock cakes were truly horrible. They were shapeless lumps with raisins. Erica was sure she was going to break her teeth, but she, Harry, and Ron pretended to enjoy them for Hagrid's sake. The three of them told Hagrid all about their first classes. Fang's head was laying on Erica's lap and she noted with amusement that he was drooling all over her robes.

All three of them were positively delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch "that old git."

"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her — Filch puts her up to it."

Harry told Hagrid about Snape's lesson. Hagrid, like Ron and Erica, told Harry not to worry about it, that Snape liked hardly any of the students.

"But he seemed to really hate me," Harry insisted.

"Rubbish! Why should he?"

Erica noticed that Hagrid was avoiding eye contact and her eyes narrowed. Was there an actual reason behind Snape's hatred for Harry?

"How's yer brother, Charlie?" Hagrid asked Ron, changing the subject. "I liked him a lot — great with animals."

Harry and Erica exchanged looks that let the other know that they thought Hagrid changed the subject on purpose. Ron went on all about one of his older brother's (Erica had somehow managed to keep them all straight and knew Charlie was the second oldest) work with dragons. Erica listened intently. She thought working with dragons sounded amazing.

"Hagrid!" Harry suddenly exclaimed. He was holding a Daily Prophet article in his hands. "That Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday! It might've been happening while we were there!"

Erica gasped.

"Someone tried to rob Gringotts?" she asked. Anyone who had visited the place even once knew that was a truly dumb idea.

There was no doubt about it, Hagrid definitely didn't meet Harry's eyes this time. He grunted and offered him another rock cake.

As Harry, Ron, and Erica walked back to the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with rock cakes they'd been too polite to refuse, their minds all turned with the events of their first week at Hogwarts, and the various things they had learned and discovered.

Erica knew two things for certain: Hagrid knew why Snape hated Harry, and Hagrid knew more about the Gringotts break-in than he was letting on.


Hey there! Here's the newest chapter! Let me know what you think!

Reviews

yochan123: I'm so glad you like the story! And it is cross-posted on AO3 as well under the same username. :)

Sammiemoosam