DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter is not mine, he is JKR's…and Ginny's.
A/N: Hellooo! Thanks to all those who reviewed, followed, favorited, and took the time to read this story! I can't believe how much this story has been liked; over 900 views in just two weeks! You guys are amazing!
I realize that the first-years' schedules are a little iffy. I know that, realistically, the students at Hogwarts should have more than just two classes a day (three on Wednesdays if you count Astronomy). However, the scheduling doesn't really affect the plot, and I will keep the classes consistent, so I don't think it will be a problem.
There were some problems with my last chapter. I wanted to edit it, but I accidently reuploaded it somehow? I'm not exactly sure what happened, but I apologize for any inconvenience. I'll blame it on the fact that this is my first story and I'm relatively new to FFN.
Enough of my rambling, please enjoy!
OoOoO
Cass followed the bushy-haired girl and the red-haired boy from the train, who were something called prefects. Hermione and Ronald, she recalled their names. Brooke walked beside her, her strawberry-blond hair bouncing in its ponytail. Brooke was the only Gryffindor girl Cass knew (unless you count the two giggling girls from Madam Malkin's, which Cass didn't). Rose and Bellerophon had been Sorted into Hufflepuff, and Sarah (as well as Princess Sasha) had been Sorted into Slytherin. The two boys from the boat ride, Euan and Nick, had also been Sorted into Gryffindor.
Cass pondered the new teacher, Professor Umbridge, and her sudden speech during the Welcome Feast. Of course, Cass knew that there was a Ministry of Magic, but why were they sending their employees to Hogwarts? It seemed strange to Cass, but she just shrugged it off.
"Keep up, first-years," Hermione said with an air of authority. "Ron, get over here and help lead!" The red-haired boy had trailed behind the first-years and was talking to a raven-haired boy that Cass recognized as Harry Potter. Oh, that's right. Harry is in Gryffindor.
"Merlin, Hermione, I was just talking to Harry." All around Cass, first-years started to whisper excitedly at the mention of the Boy-Who-Lived. Ronald continued, "Honestly, you act as if I've done something wrong…"
Cass and Brooke exchanged amused smiles at the prefect's bickering. Then, Cass turned to the first-year in red box-braids behind her, the only other Gryffindor girl. "Hey, I'm Cassandra McGarther, but call me Cass. I guess we're roommates," she introduced herself.
"I'm Pauline Ross," she girl replied, not even returning Cass's smile.
"And I'm Brooke Miller. Nice to meet you, Pauline."
Pauline just grunted and walked towards the outskirts of the group. Ok, then…
"How rude! I said, 'nice to meet you' and everything!" Brooke scoffed, affronted.
"It's okay, maybe she is just nervous or something…Hey, look, I think we're here!" Cass exclaimed. Hermione and Ronald (really just Hermione) had led the first-year Gryffindors to a…painting? Huh, ok. The painting was of a rather large lady in pink.
Brooke gave Cass a look that said, 'you think this is here?' Cass just nodded towards Hermione, for the young witch had started talking.
"Okay, this is the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. This painting—"
"—known as the Fat Lady," Ronald cut in, causing the painting to look affronted. For a second, Cass was shocked that the picture had moved, but then she remembered the newspapers in Diagon Alley.
Hermione glared at Ronald crossly, but continued, "Anyway, in order to get into the tower, you must say the password, and the door will open up. The password is Quiritus Mimbletonia." At her words, the Fat Lady swung open, and Hermione and Ronald led the first-years into the Gryffindor Tower.
The room was furnished with fluffy armchairs and decked out in red and gold. A fire burned in its hearth, filling the Gryffindor common room with warmth and light. Cass immediately felt at home in the tower.
"Okay, so the girl's dormitories are to the right, the boys, to the left," Hermione said, gesturing with her hands. "Your luggage has already been moved to your rooms. The loos are connected to the dormitories. Any questions?"
Cass and the new Gryffindors shook their heads. She yawned; the Welcoming Feast had been delicious and rich, and it had given Cass a sleepy, lulling feeling. She, Brooke, and Pauline headed up the spiral staircase to their dormitories.
The girl's dormitories were simple, but nice. The four-poster beds were hung with thick, velvet, and red curtains. Each bed had a small nightstand and a chair next to it. On the chairs were Cass's, Brooke's, and Pauline's trunks.
Cass took the swirling galaxy bag that held her toiletries from her trunk and walked to the bathroom connected to the dormitory. A few seconds later, Brooke and Pauline joined her, and the three Gryffindor girls prepared for bed in silence, too tired to talk.
That night, even though Cass was exhausted from her long day, she couldn't fall asleep. Thoughts of magic, spells, and potions kept her awake. Finally, sleep embraced her, and Cass dreamt dreams of wonder.
OoOoO
Cass blinked her eyes groggily and tried to dispel any remaining sleepiness. Sunlight streamed through the windows of the dormitory, just peeking through Cass's drawn curtains. She sat up and stretched her arms and all notions of sleep vanished as she thought, Today I learn magic!
Cass opened her curtains and her trunk, then pulled out black robes. She skipped to the loo, excited for her first day. Cass showered and dressed before pulling her curly hair into a loose, but not messy, ponytail. She smoothed her collar, brushed her teeth, and was out of the bathroom just as Brooke crawled out of bed.
"Hey, Cass! Calm down a bit, 'kay?" said Brooke sleepily.
"I'm just so excited!" Cass squealed. However, she calmed herself, not wanting to be too zealous. "Do you want to head down together?" Cass asked, making sure to include Pauline in her question.
"Yes."
"No."
Cass just nodded to Pauline and sat on her bed to wait for Brooke. While Brooke got ready, Cass took out her school bag—a beige backpack with brown straps—and placed ink, quills, and parchment in it. I'll come back and put the books for today in it when Professor McGonagall gives us our schedules.
When Brooke was ready, the two friends left, leaving Pauline still in her bed. Cass thought about offering to wait again but decided against it. Pauline was certainly capable of walking down by herself.
In the common room, Cass could see a few other Gryffindors mulling about, either waiting for someone or blinking sleep from their eyes. From a corner, the two girls Cass had met in Madam Malkin's—Parvati and Lavender—waved at her. Cass smiled and waved back, causing Brooke to furrow her eyebrows in confusion.
"I met them in Diagon Alley, when Professor McGonagall took me to get my supplies," Cass explained.
"Oh." Brooke opened the door and the two girls exited Gryffindor Tower. They trudged all the way down to the Great Hall, where Rose, Bello, and some other girl with chin-length brown hair and green eyes greeted them.
"Good morning, guys. This is Janelle Cubrusi, she is in Hufflepuff," said Rose. Today, she sported bright blue eyes and spiky, black hair.
"Nice to meet you, Janelle. I'm Cass. And, Rose, I love the look," Cass grinned. Rose beamed.
Brooke introduced herself to Janelle, who seemed very sweet and caring to Cass. The girl gave a lot of compliments to everyone and her smile never faltered. Cass felt that she had met some good people already, and she was grateful that she didn't have a hard time fitting in. Janelle, it turns out, was also Muggle-raised, being a Muggle-born. Her and Cass talked for a bit about non-magic stuff, before the first-years all moved to their respective House tables.
As they sat down at the already-crowded Gryffindor table, Cass noticed Sarah across the hall, at the Slytherin table. She waved to Sarah, who brightened and waved back, causing a couple of other students to raise their eyebrows questioningly. Stupid Gryffindor-Slytherin prejudice, Cass thought.
Brooke noticed Cass waving at Sarah and quickly turned away, though she didn't say anything. Cass decided not to comment on it, not wanting to have a row with her new friend. Instead, she piled eggs, sausage, and bacon onto her plate and dug in.
Three boys came swaggering up to Cass and Brooke. With a start, Cass recognized the two boys that had ridden with her and Bello on the rowboat: Euan and Nick. The other boy was new and had black hair and blue eyes.
What was interesting, though, was that all three boys had slicked their hair back with way too much hair gel. Each boy wore an identical expression of contempt and arrogance. What happened to the small boy that tripped on his way up to Sorted? Cass wondered.
"Hello, ladies. Sleep well?" The new boy said, smirking at them. Cass narrowed her eyes at him. Who did this boy think he was? The boy, either oblivious to Cass's glare or choosing to ignore it, continued, "Name's Smith. Jackson Smith."
Cass and Brooke exchanged glances that said, 'is he serious?' Cass smirked back at him and said, "Who are you? James Bond? Who else introduces themselves like that?" Jackson looked affronted and shocked, as if he expected that to go better. Git. "And what did you do to your hair?" Cass added as an afterthought, thinking it would do the most damage to the boy's pride.
"It's a very distinguished look! All the best wizards wear their hair like this!" Nick cut in angrily. Brooke quirked an eyebrow and Cass shot a pointed at Headmaster Dumbledore sitting at the teacher's table, whose long, gleaming silver hair and beard fell onto his bright robes.
Nick and Jackson ignored Cass's look, and Euan said, "Well, have a good morning, ladies. Come, guys. We must maintain our fearsome bods." Cass and Brooke watched with barely contained laughter as the three Gryffindor boys walked to where a couple of older, cool-looking Gryffindors were sitting. One of the older boys shooed them off, causing Nick, Euan, and Jackson to sulk. What pompous idiots.
Finally, Brooke couldn't take it any longer and she burst out laughing, her eyes steaming. Cass joined her until they saw Professor McGonagall walking around and handing out schedules. Cass grew excited, yearning to see her classes.
"Miss Miller, Miss McGarther, here are your schedules. Please be on time to every class and ask the prefects if you need any help," said the witch briskly, before striding away to more students.
Cass looked over her schedule, immediately trying to memorize it so she wouldn't have to walk around with a piece of parchment in front of her face all day. On Mondays, she had Charms in the morning and Herbology in the afternoons, with breaks in between the classes and lunch. On Tuesdays, it was Transfiguration then Defense Against the Dark Arts. Wednesdays were the same as Mondays, except all first-years had Astronomy at night. Thursdays followed the same schedules as Tuesdays, and Fridays were Potions in the morning and History of Magic in the afternoon.
Today it was Tuesday, so Gryffindors shared Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs. Cass finished her breakfast and ran up to the dormitory with Brooke to get their bags and appropriate books. Cass noted with disapproval that Pauline was still in bed, reading a novel written by some author Cass didn't know. Cass gently reminded Pauline that class was going to start soon, hoping that the girl didn't get upset with her. Cass's hope was in vain; Pauline had groaned and dragged herself out of bed before heading to the bathroom, all the while shooting Cass murderous looks.
Brooke had started to follow Pauline angrily, but Cass—who had known what was coming—grabbed the cuff of her sleeve and pulled her back, murmuring, "Don't, it's fine. I don't what her problem is, but whatever you're going to do will just make it worse." Cass didn't mention how she had half the thought to go confront Pauline herself, to explain that she was only trying to help.
Brooke just scowled and rolled her eyes at Cass, saying, "Whatever." Cass sighed and slung her backpack onto her shoulder. She headed downstairs with Brooke at her heels.
In the common room, Cass spotted the thick hair of Hermione Granger, the prefect. She moved over to her and asked, "Hermione, right?"
Hermione, who had been telling off two redhead boys about some flyer, turned to Cass and replied, "Yes, I am. Do you guys need any help?"
The two boys were gesturing at the flyer and to Cass behind Hermione's back, grinning and pointing. Cass ignored them. "Yes, we were just wondering if you could tell us where the Transfiguration classroom is. I don't want to get lost on my first day, you see."
"Sure, here…" Hermione gave them very elaborate directions, even going as far as to pull out a map and highlight their route. Okay….
On their way to Transfiguration, Brooke said, "Maybe we should ask someone else next time."
Cass giggled, "Yeah, probably. But Hermione is nice."
They continued the rest of the way in a debate on what they would be doing in class. Brooke believed that Professor McGonagall would teach them how to change animals into objects. Cass, however, took a more practical approach; Seeing the future. While Brooke was rambling about this or that, Cass closed her eyes. She didn't really know what to do, but she tried chanting Transfiguration, Transfiguration, Transfiguration in her head. When she nearly ran into a suit of armor, Cass opened her eyes and stumbled back.
Oops! "Ha! What happened?" Brooke barked, giggling.
"Uh…I'm clumsy sometimes." Cass glowered at Brooke; she did not like being laughed at. Eventually, though, Cass started laughing along with Brooke. When Brooke started rambling again (wow, this girl liked to talk), Cass tried again.
This time, Cass stretched her mind away from her, seeking for something. Her eyes watered beneath her lids, but she pushed and…
A witch clad in emerald robes swished her wand, and a desk morphed into a pig, and then back to a desk once again.
Rows of black-robed students, including a curly-haired girl and a girl with strawberry blonde hair, began to attempt to turn matchsticks into needles, with very little success.
Cass was pulled back to the present with a flash of pain behind her eyes. Brooke was just finishing the sentence she had been saying before Cass's vision.
"You know what I think we'll be doing? Something simple, like turning wood into metal," said Cass confidently.
Brooke looked like she was about to say something, but then they arrived at the Transfiguration classroom. The doors were already open, so the two Gryffindors just walked in. Professor McGonagall sat behind her desk and nodded to Cass and Brooke as her way of greeting the first-years. They took their seats right in the front of the class and Cass checked her watch; they had six minutes until class started.
There were only three other people in the classroom, and they were all Hufflepuffs. Cass didn't recognize them. Cass got out her textbook and some parchment, ink, and a quill. To her left, Brooke was doing the same.
About five minutes after Cass and Brooke had arrived at the classroom, Rose and Janelle walked in, laughing. Upon seeing Cass and Brooke, the two Hufflepuff girls sat down next to them.
"Hey, guys!" greeted Janelle cheerfully, even though they had last seen her maybe ten minutes ago. Two Gryffindor boys Cass didn't know walked in and took their seats.
"Hey, again," Cass replied, smiling. Bello walked in after, his face red, and said, "Guys! I told you to wait, you know I can't walk very fast and—"
"—Mr. Glaucuson do take your seat," said Professor McGonagall curtly, giving Bello a hard look.
"Er, yes sir—ma'am!"
Cass choked back her laughter as a very embarrassed Bello took his seat next to Cass. He shot her a begging look that said, 'please don't laugh at me!' Cass controlled herself, albeit with difficulty.
"Is everyone here? Good, let's begin." Professor McGonagall stood from her desk and walked around it. "Transfiguration is one of the most dangerous and difficult branches of magic. It involves precise wand movements and clear pronunciations," Professor McGonagall looked around the room sternly. "I warn you: anyone fooling around in my class will be escorted out and will not be permitted to return. I will accept no funny business in this area of your learning, am I understood?"
"Yes, ma'am," Cass said, and the rest of the class followed suit. Pleased, Professor McGonagall took her wand out from her robes.
Cass thought she knew what came next because of her vision, but 'ooohed' and 'ahhed' along with the rest of the first-years when Professor McGonagall turned a desk into a pig then back into a desk. Cass was very impressed with the whole display. Bello had even started to clap, but he stopped abruptly when no one else followed. Cass watched in amusement as his face turned a bright, tomato-ish red. Behind his back, Rose changed her face to an identical shade of red, making Brooke snort.
"Now, we will not be transforming objects into animals for a long time," Professor McGonagall explained. Cass shot Brooke a triumphant look that said, 'I told you so!' Brooke stuck her tongue out in reply, taking care to not let the professor see. "Today, after taking some notes on basic Transfiguration principles, we will be turning matches into needles."
Cass looked at Brooke smugly, having been right about what they were going to do in class today. I did cheat…oh well. Brooke looked astonished that Cass had guessed correctly, but she managed to glare at her.
The class then proceeded to take very complicated notes on the processes of Transfiguration. After developing a rather uncomfortable hand cramp, Cass was told that they could finally take out their wands and begin working on turning their matches into needles.
When Cass pulled out her elegant, silver wand, Janelle exclaimed, "Oh, Cass! Your wand is beautiful!" Brooke had immediately burst into a fit of giggles at the compliment, earning a hard glare from Professor McGonagall.
"Oh, get your head out of the gutter, Brooke. And thank you, Janelle. It's Silver Lime wood," Cass replied, elbowing Brooke in the ribs. The group of friends didn't talk for a while, for they were concentrating on the task at hand.
After many tries (much too many in Cass's opinion), her match turned silver and had a pointy end. Rose's looked almost as needle-like as Cass's, but Bello's had somehow started to look more like a twisted hunk of wood than the match it had been originally.
"Very well, Miss McGarther and Miss Zeller," commended Professor McGonagall. She raised an eyebrow at Bello. "Mr. Glaucuson, what have you done?" As Bello tried to explain what he had been doing, Brooke suddenly let out an exclamation of fear.
"Eek! It caught fire!" Brooke stamped out the match onto the desk, making a large, black mark appear on the smooth wood. Professor McGonagall pressed her lips into a thin line and flicked her wand at Brooke's desk. The black smudge of ash disappeared, leaving behind only a blushing Brooke.
"Class, you will begin packing up your things," said Professor McGonagall crossly. Cass obeyed, exchanging a glance with Brooke. Cass displayed her almost-needle proudly (and jokingly) making Brooke perform a throttling gesture. Rose just giggled, while Janelle said, "It's okay, you'll get it next time, Brooke."
After Transfiguration, Cass tried to find Sarah to ask her how her morning had gone. She finally tracked her down in lunch and went to the Slytherin table, ignoring the looks of confusion sent her way. Sarah was sitting at the far end of the table, next to other Slytherin first-years.
Cass tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Hey, Sarah. How are you?"
Sarah turned her head around and smiled at Cass. "Good, how are you?"
"I'm great! I thought Transfiguration was amazing!" Cass replied. She noticed a couple of older Slytherins glaring at her, but, again, she ignored it. "Has the Princess been bothering you?"
All around Sarah, the Slytherins rolled their eyes as one. After doing that herself, Sarah said, "Ohhh, yes! She was livid that you got the attention of the hall with that Hatstall thing. Pouted the whole way down to the Slytherin common rooms. Then, to top it off, she put two and two together and realized that she would be sharing a room and pitched a tantrum."
"Of course, her being a rich pureblood, everyone just fawned over her," a black-haired boy to Sarah's right said.
"Aren't all of you guys rich purebloods?" Cass smirked, causing the boy to narrow his eyes, but the rest of the small group laughed.
"You know it!" Sarah said, smirking right back at Cass. "But Sasha's family is older than the Malfoys—they're a very prominent wizarding family—and almost as rich. That puts her in line for our year's throne." Sarah had spat that last word out, showing just a little she cared for it.
"Wow, I didn't realize school was so complex for wizards. Here I was thinking that we came to learn," Cass deadpanned.
The black-haired boy laughed again. "Eh, for most of us that is why. For people like Princess—"
"—Hey, firstie, what are you doing here?" came the bossy voice of an older Slytherin boy. "Are you—are you a Gryffindor?"
Cass turned her head towards the direction of the voice. She panicked for a second—what should she do? People were starting to stare… Cass resolved herself and sent back, "Yep, and proud of it! I'm talking to my friend."
Sarah whispered, "Maybe you should go, Cass. I think we have Defense Against the Dark Arts together, so I'll see you then."
Cass nodded, "Yeah. 'Bye." She walked back across the hall to Brooke, who just sat with her mouth open in shock. "What?" Cass asked, confused.
"That was so wicked! You were like 'yep, and proud of it!' Completely mental, but I love the attitude!" Brooke said in one breath.
"How was it 'completely mental?' And how did you hear it? I was across the hall!"
Brooke rolled her eyes. "The whole hall got quiet; it isn't often a Gryffindor is friends with a Slytherin. As for you being mental, telling off an older Slytherin? Seriously?"
"Hey, none of that prejudice stuff. Just 'cause they're in Slytherin, that does not mean that they're bad. Sarah is great and she's in Slytherin."
Brooke just raised her eyebrows and shoveled pasta into her mouth. Whatever, Cass thought.
"Hey, Brooke, what is a Hatstall, anyway? Sarah mentioned it," Cass asked.
Brooke replied, "Well, it is when the Sorting Hat takes a really long time to Sort someone. It means that the student has a lot of the qualities of all the Houses. I don't really know much else, except that it is supposed to be rare."
Cass frowned. Rare? "Ok, thanks." She finished her lunch in silence, wondering why she had caused a Hatstall.
OoOoO
In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Cass sat in the second row with Sarah on one side and Brooke on the other side. She had her wand out and was eager to start class. However, all her eagerness went out the window when the pink-robed, toad-faced Professor Umbridge announced that they were going to be reading the whole class.
Reading? I didn't come to a magic school to read! Cass thought, but nevertheless, she put away her wand and dug out the required book from her backpack.
Brooke, however, asked, "Ma'am, will we be learning any spells? Or casting any spells?"
Professor Umbridge smiled sweetly—too sweetly—at Brooke, and replied, "Why would you need to, child?"
At this, Cass raised her eyebrows and exchanged a disbelieving look with Sarah, who said, "You mean, we won't be performing any magic?"
Professor Umbridge turned her toad-head to face Sarah. "I thought I said that." She was still smiling that poisonous smile.
"But this is a magic school!" Cass exclaimed.
Professor Umbridge looked at Cass through narrow eyes. While most might have shrunk back under her beady-eyed gaze, Cass only lifted her chin a bit, not enough to be defiant, but definitely not compliant. "I will not tolerate children speaking out of turn! Please read your assigned pages!" Professor Umbridge said through gritted teeth.
Cass kept her head up for a good five seconds longer before lowering it to read. Ignoring the writing on the page, she fumed. Cass remembered her conversation with Professor McGonagall on the Knight Bus, the one about Harry Potter and Voldemort. What if Voldemort was back? What if we can't defend ourselves? Although Cass had heard many people denying that Voldemort was back (at the same time they were saying how Harry Potter was an attention-seeking brat), she found that she didn't believe them. On the other hand, Cass wasn't sure she believed that Voldemort was back. I guess I just don't know what to believe…but, in any case, we should still learn to defend ourselves.
Cass felt a familiar stinging behind her eyes, and suddenly, she wasn't in a classroom anymore.
It was twilight, and the setting sun cast long shadows on the graveyard. A large cauldron sat on the grass, and boy was chained to a headstone. The boy was clad in red, his hair black, and his eyes green. Scratches and sweat covered his body, which shook—either in fear or exhaustion, the Seer didn't know.
A balding, rat-like man stood before the cauldron, pouring ingredients in it. The man took a knife from his robes and slashed a cut in the boy's forearm, making him scream in pain.
The man flicked the knife towards the mouth of the cauldron, causing the potion inside in to change color and bubble wildly. The Seer could only watch in horror as a pale figure emerged from the cauldron, and red eyes filled her vision.
Cass jerked back to the present, feeling distinctly sick to her stomach. Sarah was looking at her worriedly, a question on her face. Cass shook her head and forced a smile, mouthing, "I'm fine, just an upset stomach."
Umbridge—mentally, Cass had stopped adding the respectful 'Professor' before her name—squinted at Cass, probably wondering why she hadn't turned her page in a while. Cass quickly flipped it, her head whirring with what she had Seen. She was plenty confused by all of it but knew one thing; any doubts she had about Voldemort being back were gone, only to be replaced with fear.
OoOoO
