Chapter 8: First Day of Classes

A/N: First-years schedule: spreadsheets/d/1ionrMWUn6wTZ5_j3v8eXQaa6vnNQZrn0KshcC0cboLM/edit?usp=sharing

Myles woke early the next morning to the sound of Kory's snoring, rising out of his unfamiliarly comfortable bed. The window by his bed showed the sun rising over the lake, a view Myles had trouble believing was in his room, and the clock on the wall was at six o'clock even.

He showered in and changed into his Malkins' robes and his other set of underwear, both of which were gifts from Mrs. Lenore and considerably more comfortable than what he'd worn yesterday.

There was a small desk next to each bed, and each of the four desks that the Ravenclaw boys had claimed held a small collection of blue and bronze items: a scarf, three badges, and a number of buttons along with a class schedule that told him when and where his classes would be. Myles was suspicious of whoever snuck into the room, he'd have to ask about that later, but he'd seen all of the senior Ravenclaw students wearing these items with their school robes along with other House themed items including hair pins, socks, and jewelry.

He set about changing out the buttons on his robes and trying to figure out how to attach the Ravenclaw badge to his robes, which he ended doing by accident when he pressed it against his robes, where it stuck like it was sewn into the robes' fabric. Thankfully, it came off and he was able to reposition the badge correctly. His roommates, waking, began to prepare for the morning as well.

"Good morning, Myles," Kory said when he exited the shower. "Charms! Followed by Transfiguration. I can't wait!"

"Eh," Dexter, who preferred to be called Dex, said. "Professor Abbott won't teach anything new, just Lumos or the Chime Charm." He paused, looking at Kory and remembering. "Oh, you're Muggleborn. Well… you'll catch up."

"I haven't learned either of those yet either," Myles told Kory. He didn't think Dex had meant to be rude, but Kory looked worried. "Only a couple healing spells and scourgify."

"Healing spells?" Dex asked, shaking his head. "Who learns healing spells before Lumos?"

"Neat," Rowan said. "I reckon I'll be behind. My parents are squibs so the only magic I've learned has been from my cousins, mostly hexes and a couple of charms. Healing spells sound right useful though."

The four of them walked down to the Great Hall together, proudly wearing their new Ravenclaw badges. Despite asking the portraits for directions at every turn, they nearly lost their way after one of the portraits recommended an obscure shortcut that somehow took them down two floors without descending any stairs.

They ate breakfast with the other Ravenclaw first years before Myles was summoned to Professor Flitwick's office by a prefect delivered note. The Ravenclaw Head of House supplied him with the required first-year textbooks, albeit secondhand ones, and informed him he could borrow the Potions and Astronomy equipment while in class.

Myles had some trouble carrying the seven textbooks around, though thankfully he'd been supplied a book bag as well. He wanted to take the books he wouldn't need for the day back to his dorm but didn't have enough time before Charms started, so he went straight to the classroom.

Myles was one of the first students to arrive at Charms. He took an empty seat towards the back of the class and set his heavy load of books down. A few minutes Ravenclaws and Slytherins began to fill up the seats and Cecilia partnered with Myles.

"You were at the Ministry when those attacks happened, right?" Cecilia asked him as she sat down. "Did you hear anything about the manor raids?"

Myles shook his head. "I didn't hear anything about who or why, only that there weren't ten raids like the newspaper was saying. A couple red paper airplanes said there were a total of twenty seven, and that was when it started, so there might've been more."

Cecilia looked interested but didn't have a chance to ask any more questions because Charms was starting.

First year Charms was taught by Professor Abbott, whose primary position was the Muggle Studies professor. She was a cheerful witch that was nervous about her first year of teaching at Hogwarts, she'd only taught at primary and day schools before.

She demonstrated and taught the basic Light Charm Lumos, which most of the class scoffed at, having already learned it at home. Myles managed it on his first try, though he nearly blinded himself by overpowering it and staring directly at the tip of his wand.

A few of the first-years, however, struggled with the charm and Professor Abbott spent most of her time with them. Myles noticed that Kory was one of the struggling students, and he suspected that most of the others unable to perform the spell were Muggleborn though he saw Albus Potter was struggling as well.

Professor Abbott, realizing that most of the students were bored after lighting and extinguishing their wands for a few minutes, refocused their attention by challenging them to control how the light came off of their wand. She showed that you could focus the light into a beam and even, it was a bit tricky, into multiple separate beams of light.

The new challenge kept most of the students occupied, but had the side effect that most of the struggling students' partners focused their attention on playing around with the charm rather than helping their neighbors. Rose Weasley was one of the exceptions. Partnered with Kory, she determinedly gave advice on how to channeling magic and corrected his pronunciation (Lumos didn't require any wand movements) until her efforts were rewarded by a soft glow from his wand a brighter smile from Kory, who, having done his first intentional spell, looked at his wand with amazement.

Cecilia and Myles managed three separate beams of light within a few minutes and Cecilia challenged him to a game of 'light tag', which Myles was pretty sure she had made up on the spot. "Light tag" involved aiming their beams of light up to form spots of light on the roof and, without moving their wands, one of them sent their three spots of light to capture the others' three by tagging them. It was fun and surprisingly difficult to maintain the beams and control the direction of all three spots at once.

Not every student used the spell for harmless fun though. One of the Slytherin boys focused his newly learned Lumos beam into Alexa's eyes, causing the muggleborn Ravenclaw girl, who'd been struggling with the spell, to cry out in pain.

Professor Abbott, who hadn't seen who had done it but was incensed by the act of bullying, spent the last few minutes of class admonishing their behavior and informing them that Professor Sewell, the teacher of their next class and the Head of Slytherin House, wouldn't tolerate this behavior.

They left for Transfiguration when Professor Abbott let them go. According to the schedule today's Transfiguration lesson was a lecture class, which meant first-years from all four Houses would attend.

The lecture hall was much bigger than the Charms classroom had been, with tiered seating and a podium for the Professor to teach from. The class fell to a complete silence even before the lecture began. Unlike Professor Abbott, Professor Sewell didn't need to admonish or distract his students, he only needed to be in the room.

"You may, in some of your other classes here at Hogwarts, feel that you are allowed to slack off, or goof around. When you are in my class, however, or any other Transfiguration class, you will behave," Professor Sewell said in the dead silence of the classroom, staring at each of the students in their eyes, going row by row.

"In your other classes you are capable of little damage. First-year Charms, Potions, and Defence Against the Dark Arts gone horribly wrong will result in nothing more than a night with Madam Pomfrey. Transfiguration is a different story."

Professor Sewell stepped behind the desk at the front of the podium, revealing two glass cages, each with a mouse and a block of wood inside.

"Even without Life to Life or Life to Material Transfigurations, magic which you will not be performing this year, improper Transfiguration is deadly to the unwary. Watch closely."

He Transfigured the wooden block inside one of the cages into food for the mouse in that cage, which began to cautiously eat it. Professor Sewell moved onto the next cage in the meantime, Transfiguring the wooden block into a much smaller morsel of food.

The mouse moved to the food, sniffing at its newly appeared snack before taking it in its mouth. The Transfiguration released then, brutally splitting the mouse's jaw and breaking its neck with a small crack audible throughout the lecture hall. Gasps ran through the students at the sudden burst of violence from the innocuous mouse and Transfigured piece of food.

Professor Sewell pretended, or deigned, not to notice and moved onto the first mouse, who had eaten much of the Transfigured food in its cage.

"The previous example was obvious, but this is more subtle. What happens when a Transfigured object is ingested? For a healthy witch or wizard, very little. Transfigured objects in our bodies use our magic to maintain their transmuted state, a minor and temporary strain on our magic stores."

"Untill, after a long day of Transfiguration, Charms, and Defence Against the Dark Arts, you become magically exhausted…"

Nothing visibly happened inside the cage; the mouse simply stopped moving, remaining stationary for a second before it fell dead onto the ground.

Professor Sewell let silence claim the lecture hall, letting the seriousness register for the gathered students. A Hufflepuff girl raised her hand. Myles couldn't believe she hadn't been Sorted into Gryffindor, raising her hand in the dead silence of the room.

"Yes, Mrs. Revels?"

"Why'd you have to kill the mice, Professor?" the girl asked, to the shock of the room.

"There will undoubtedly be a number of mice casualties as you fail your supervised Transfiguration experiments. Better mice than men," Professor Sewell replied, walking towards the Hufflepuff girl, moving out in front of the cages and then back again as he finished his response. "But what mice are you referring to?"

The cage where the mouse's head had been torn apart now only held a block of wood and a massacred pin cushion, while the other cage held only a pin cushion with a bulge of wood embedded inside it.

Professor Sewell, his display done, made them copy down the do-nots of Transfiguration and sign their parchment, swearing they wouldn't break those rules. Myles thought signing his name might be magically binding but Rose told him it was only to hold the students accountable.

Professor Calding joined them for the second half of the double-period class, it was too much for one professor to oversee the practical magic of almost a hundred children, where they attempted to transfigure matches into needles.

Despite the seemingly trivial nature of turning a match into a needle very few of the first-years managed it that class. Myles got his match to turn silver and take the needle's shape but it wouldn't turn into metal. His limited progress, however, was still farther than most other students. Only Rose, Cecilia, and the Malfoys finished before class ended, earning their House five points each, and Myles suspected they'd studied or practiced Transfiguration before. Lunch followed Transfiguration, and the crowd of first-years made their way to the nearby Great Hall.

"We've got flying next!" Myles heard Lyla exclaim on their way to lunch. "I'm going to try out for the Quidditch team!"

"I thought you were going to join the Dueling Club," Alissa said dryly.

"I am; I'll do both," Lyla replied adamantly.

"Like you'd make the Quidditch team, or anything but a fool out of yourself dueling for that matter," the Slytherin boy who'd pointed his Lumos beam into Alexa's eyes in Charms class said contemptuously.

Lyla's eyes widened, not with hurt, but with excitement. "And you are?"

"Tor. Tor Yaxley," he said confidently, his shoulders relaxed and his hands in his pockets. "You can put your wand away; I'm not going to duel you in the hallways."

The Gryffindors around Lyla looked relieved at that, they didn't want her getting into trouble and losing House points on the first day and while some of them looked ready to back Lyla, the 1st floor hallways were not the most inconspicuous place for casting hexes. Lyla, for her part, just looked disappointed. "You scared, snake?"

"I am afflicted with a condition unfortunately rare for you… lions; a brain," Tor replied, smiling thinly at Lyla. "I'd rather not get detention on my first day."

Some of the Gryffindors bristled but Lyla just shrugged; her obvious attempt to bait Tor had failed. "I'll be at Dueling Club next week, come if you want."

Tor rolled his eyes, realizing that Lyla wasn't affected by his insults, and said that he might. The confrontation was forgotten as they arrived at the Great Hall and Myles stopped before the entrance to look at the bulletin board, which was covered in club posters.

The posters were wildly decorated in a variety of colors and magic. The Broom Sports Club had enchanted a couple of miniature wizards on brooms and a set of golden rings that the miniature wizards alternated between playing Quidditch with and racing through. "No riding experience required. Come have fun!"

The Arts Club poster depicted a witch smoothly playing the piano, which was audible in the hall, and watching a wizard paint a moving portrait of him painting a moving portrait. The DA was represented by a wizard with his back to the painting, facing a great cowled Dementor that towered above him, held back only by a beautiful prancing winged horse made of the bright light trickling from the wizard's wand. Chess Club portrayed a tiny pawn besting the imposing queen: "Every chess master was once a beginner."

Newspaper Club had a compilation of articles and moving pictures on the past six DADA professors, which included the headlines: "Professor Winswroth arrested for pedaphilia?!", "DADA Professor lost in the Hogwarts upper floors, searching for the Cursed Vaults?!", "DADA Professor a vampire?! What's next: Giant, Troll, or Hag?"

And lastly the Dueling Club poster was a rectangular parchment portraying a maroon podium upon which a refined witch and a wizard faced off. Their movements were swift and concise as they traded spell and counterspell until finally the witch toppled the wizard, after which they returned to their original positions and began again, this time with the wizard getting the better of the witch.

"What are you going to join?" Kory asked Myles.

"I think," Myles said, remembering Mrs. Lenore dueling the two wizards and him lying helplessly on the ground. "I think maybe Dueling Club."

"Dueling Club looks really cool but... I don't think I'd be any good," Kory responded. "I'm going to join Rose in Chess Club; I play with my dad all the time."

"I asked a few of the older years about the different clubs and all of them are friendly but they say the DA is something special. But I really want to do Broom Sports too," Rowan said, looking indecisively between the posters.

They joined the other Ravenclaw students in the Great Hall, discussing the different clubs and their upcoming flying lessons. Myles noted Cecilia sitting with Sabrina and her friends, intently listening to their gossip with an expression only he knew wasn't genuine.

Flying lessons had sounded exciting, but Professor Hawes barely let them do more than command the broom "UP!" (which it obeyed, hard enough that it slammed painfully into Myles's palm) and float gently in the air with severe threats of detention and trouble if they took off. It didn't stop Lyla, and surprisingly Alissa, from performing flips and generally goofing off when Professor Hawes wasn't looking.

Potions, taught by the Astronomy Professor Galloway, was likewise uneventful. They were lectured on the importance and danger of Potions and then made a boil curing potion, which required nothing more than following the textbook directions and using the provided ingredients.

Myles spent the rest of the day in the Ravenclaw common room, learning how to play chess from Kory and Rose and listening to stories about Rose's large, and rambunctious, family and the Muggle world. He read through the beginning of his DADA, Charms, and Transfiguration textbooks after dinner, trying to catch up with the other first-years and when he went to bed that night he felt more at home than he ever had at the Orphanage.

Cecilia curled up on her new bed, reading a book with a new cover and old pages. The makeup and light glamours that covered her face in daytime were gone, revealing bags under her eyes and an even paler complexion. The drapes around her bed hid her focused Lumos charm and her roommates thought she was fast asleep.

Ambrose Malfoy lay in his bed in the Slytherin Dungeon, knowing he was surrounded by friends and he was in the House he belonged in but feeling lonely nonetheless. Only a few beds down Albus Potter was staring at a letter from his father congratulating him on his Sorting. It made him feel better about his rough start to the year, but only just.

On the other side of the castle Ambrosia had fallen asleep moments ago; she hadn't expected Hufflepuff, no one had expected her to be Sorted there, but maybe… maybe it was where she belonged.

In Gryffindor Tower Lyla snuggled happily with Scruffy in her bed after a wild game of Gryffindor House rules Exploding snap. She'd already become fast friends with Elias and Alissa, not to mention the friends she'd made in other Houses. Hogwarts was as great as everyone had said, even if some of the classes (History of Magic!) were boring.

"A Practical Guide to Defense, Spells and How to Use Them" by Motre Dune, p.g. 65.

Spell Classifications

Most defensive and offensive spells can be defined under one of three categories: direct, shot, or root translation spells. A shot spell, sometimes called a projectile spell, is a spell that sends a bolt of magical energy that triggers an effect, or translates into its purpose, on contact with a person or object (see the Stunning Charm, p.g. 275, or the Stinging Hex, p.g. 180).

A direct spell, sometimes called instantaneous spells, translates as soon as the spell has been cast and on the area, creature, or wizard it was aimed at (see the Disarming Charm, p.g. 268, or the Tripping Jinx, p.g. 200). When defending yourself from a magical creature or wizard this can be a huge advantage over a shot spell but there are disadvantages. A sufficiently talented wizard or magically resistant creature can reduce and sometimes completely stop the translation of the spell. Additionally, direct spells cannot overpower or circumvent any but the least powerful magical shields.

A root translation spell, sometimes referred to as an effect spell, is a spell that translates immediately on casting but stems from the caster's wand (see the Fire-Making Charm, p.g. 220, or the Water-Making Charm, p.g. 222). These are situational spells that send non-magical obstacles and attacks at your opponent, most useful for taking on multiple and/or magically resistant enemies.

This chapter focuses on how this categorization of spells can be more than relevant theory, but practical in choosing what spell(s) to use when in danger.

A/N: "Every chess master was once a beginner." – Irving Chernev