Chapter 14
Classes
Classes began the next day. Christine was quite excited about this, for she couldn't wait to start learning. She kept bragging about how much she had read over the summer. "I, like, read, like, exactly sixty-four books, like, about magic!" and other comments like this were quite common.
Three times a week, Herbology took place with a witch named Professor Spore. They learned about many different plants and fungi there. It wasn't the most interesting class Raoul had ever been to, but certainly not the worst. That space was filled by History of Magic, taught by Professor Trashbin, who was actually a ghost. Proffesor Nit-Pick was extraordinarily tall, but not nearly as tall as Shagrid. He taught Charms. In that class, you would have to be very careful not to let your mind wander or doze off because he could easily see. Professor McGonagall taught transfiguration and was very strict.
"Transfiguration is very dangerous, and if I see anyone messing around, I'll turn them into a pig for the rest of the school year!" She then taught them how to change a pin into a match, which no one accomplished except Christine.
Most people were looking forward to Defense Against the Dark Arts, but it wasn't what everyone expected, probably because of Professor Squirrel. He stammered constantly, and his classroom smelt terrible. He didn't give the greatest lesson either.
Many days passed of these lessons, and by the end of the week, everyone had plenty of homework hanging over their heads. The mail being delivered at lunch made Raoul a bit happier, though. Not yet had he received any mail from Bedwig, but today he got a letter from Shagrid:
Dear Harry,
I know you get Saturdays off, so why don't you come by at two for a cup of tea? I want to hear all about your opinion of Hogwarts.
He was happy to have this to look forward to, because Potions with Professor Ape, head of Slytherin House, was terrible. Unfortunately, Gryffindor had the lesson with Slytherin, whom Ape liked much more. This also meany Buquet would be there as well.
"Well, isn't it Raoul," Ape said the moment Raoul began to a take a seat in the back. "The new celebrity. Fame isn't everything, though, like some people think it is. For example, could you tell me what I would get if I mixed chopped root of asphodel and an infusion of wormwood?"
Raoul hesitated, then finally replied, "I cannot, sir."
"Where would you look if I told you to find a Blast-Ended Skrewt?"
"I don't know." Christine had her hand raised high in the air to answer as Buquet chuckled.
"Christine, sit down," Ape told her, and she immediately did so. "This is what I meant by that statement earlier. Fame isn't everything. Five points from Gryffindor."
Things didn't get any better for Gryffindor that day. Although no points were subtracted from Slytherin, Gryffindor lost twenty, bringing them to negative ten. All were subtracted because of small mistakes.
On Saturday, Gilles and Raoul headed off to Shagrid's small hut for tea. They had a good, long talk about Hogwarts. Shagrid agreed that Ape didn't much like any other house besides Slytherin, and that History of Magic was a very boring subject, but he encouraged them to still pay attention. "When exams come, and you don't take good notes, you'll find yourself regretting that," he had told them as Raoul noticed a small newspaper clipping on the table. It was from the Daily Profit, and explained about a break-in at Dingdong's Bank. It interested him, especially because it happened on his birthday. Also, it mentioned the vault the thieves were trying to break into had been emptied that day. This was the vault that Shagrid had emptied that day. For the rest of the day, Raoul pondered this article, and also pondering how he would get all his homework done.
