Both Hermione and Kellen took meticulous notes during their Transfiguration class. Hermione discreetly took a peek at Kellen's notes. She snickered softly and whispered into his ear. "I would have thought that you would have used American spellings in your notes."
Kellen shrugged. "It's something my mum always ingrained in me, I reckon," he replied softly. "I honestly never thought anything of it. My Muggle teachers never corrected me."
Hermione wrinkled her nose, and a silly grin crept on her face. "Oh, by the way. You misspelt 'preparation', Kellen. Did you know?" she whispered with a hint of bossiness.
Kellen arched an eyebrow. "I never claimed to be perfect, Hermione."
Hermione gave Kellen a gentle side-hug. "I know, I just had to give you a bit of a hard time. I know it's not every day I'll get a chance to one-up you." She smiled sweetly at him.
Kellen returned the smile. "That's just part of your charm, Hermione."
Hermione giggled. "Prat," she murmured, mock-swatting him on the elbow.
At the end of the lesson, Kellen asked Hermione to say behind for a moment. He smirked at her, almost as if he was hiding something.
Kellen waved his crooked elderberry wand, then confidently said "Orchideous!" A beautiful bouquet of purple flowers appeared from the tip of his wand, which he immediately grabbed and presented to Hermione.
"For me?" she squeaked.
"Of course, silly," Kellen chuckled. "Who else would they be for?"
"And I love purple, for the record," Hermione replied. "They're truly beautiful. Thank you." She warmly embraced her friend.
The friends then heard the familiar gentle Scottish burr of Professor McGonagall. "Did you learn that spell by yourself, Mister Grimseth?"
"I did, Professor," Kellen replied.
Professor McGonagall chuckled. "That's something a fourth-year student learns. I don't think I've ever seen a first year student attempt such an advanced spell, much less succeed." She smiled at Kellen. "I think you and I should have a little chat this week, young man. Perhaps Wednesday in my office, during your free period? I've already asked Miss Granger, I'll have some tea and biscuits."
Kellen grinned from ear to ear. "I'd be honored," he replied.
"Norwegian spruce tea, right?" trilled the professor.
"That would be lovely," Kellen answered. "It's my favorite kind, actually."
"Wonderful. I'll see the both of you then," said Professor McGonagall.
The two children then trotted off to their next class, History of Magic, taught by the spectral Professor Binns.
"Morgana's tits," Kellen muttered under his breath halfway during the lecture. "This is some dry-ass material."
"You know it's bad when I'm tempted to nod off," Hermione whispered back.
"Maybe I can talk to the professor after class. Maybe help him… I don't know… spice things up a bit? I have a few ideas to keep the kids focused a bit more easily," Kellen replied softly.
Hermione's face brightened. "What do you have in mind?"
Kellen grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Lots of things. Relevant anecdotes, enchanted snacks, using mnemonic devices like rhymes or acronyms – basically things that will make kids remember things more easily, singing goofy songs… I'm sure he can do SOMETHING to make this class more interesting."
"Those aren't bad ideas," replied Hermione. "Oh, it looks like Seamus and Dean really dove headfirst into their texts… almost literally." The two boys next to them were fast asleep, their chins resting in their opened textbooks. The gentle snoring sound behind them came from Neville Longbottom.
"Screw it," Kellen said. "I've got to help that poor old ghost." He raised his hand. Professor Binns ignored him for a solid two minutes. Kellen then held both hands up, waving them.
"Forget it, Kellen, he's in his own little world," Hermione sighed.
Finally, Professor Binns called on Kellen. "Ahh, yes, do you have a question, Mister…?"
"Grimseth," Kellen said. "And yes, I do have a question. Well, really more of a concern."
"What can I do for you, Mister Grimsby?" replied the translucent spectre.
Kellen looked at the ghostly professor sincerely. "Well sir, it looks like you've lost most of your class… I think I can help you get your audience back."
"Oh dear," replied Professor Binns. "I guess I had gotten so lost in my notes that I hadn't even paid attention to my students. What do you have in mind, Mister Grimes?"
"Today might be a lost cause as it's getting close to lunch, but I have a few ideas that you might want to try next time," Kellen said.
"Go on," replied Professor Binns.
"Well, I was thinking that you could maybe try bringing snacks to class on occasion. With memory charms that will help students keep their focus. Or you could maybe tell some funny stories that are relevant to the topic at hand. And maybe use mnemonic devices, like a rhyme or an acronym, because I know some of your students might have a hard time matching up people and dates. Are those things that you might be able to try?"
"Hmm," replied the spectral professor. "I really had no idea that my pupils struggled to pay attention like this. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Mister Garfield. I suppose I can apply some of those suggestions in a future lecture and we'll see what happens."
"Great," replied Kellen. "I know that History of Magic isn't as… well, exciting as Transfiguration for example, but it doesn't mean that the information in the class is not important. I just want to make sure that the information you teach sticks."
"I agree wholeheartedly, Mister Grimsrud," said Professor Binns. "Again, I thank you for your honesty and your efforts to improve the classroom experience for all my pupils." He paused for a brief moment. "Now, where was I… oh, yes, Theodoric the Necromancer." He resumed his usual monotonous drone, and the handful of awake students groaned.
A few minutes later, the students were dismissed for lunch. Kellen and Hermione walked to the Great Hall together.
"I hope he takes your suggestions to heart, Kellen," said Hermione.
"I'm not counting on it," chuckled Kellen. "I think he seems to be pretty set in his ways."
"He may surprise you," Hermione countered. "He sounded pretty shocked that not many students were able to pay attention."
"I guess we'll see what happens next time," Kellen replied.
"And he didn't get your name right one time," giggled Hermione. "Grimsrud was close, but the others were way off."
"Meh, that didn't bother me too much," Kellen said with a shrug. "I think he meant well."
The two friends took their seat at the Gryffindor table. They munched away on chicken salad sandwiches and carrot sticks.
In the middle of their lunch, they heard a hearty "Hiya, cuz!"
Kellen jumped a bit, and turned around and saw his cousin Desiree, grinning at them. "Oh, hiya 'Ree!" Kellen said. Desiree gave Kellen and Hermione each a friendly hug, then asked sit between them at the table.
Kellen grinned. "I didn't know if you were coming over now, or for dinner, but I'm glad to see you." His eyes narrowed. "You should have warned me about History of Magic. Yeegads, that was a bore. I'm glad I went through the text with a fine-tooth comb this summer."
Desiree giggled. "Oh, I couldn't possibly spoil that one for you."
"Kellen actually had a few suggestions to liven up the atmosphere," Hermione said.
"Oh did he?" asked Desiree. "Like what?"
Kellen shrugged. "Things like, enchanted snacks, amusing anecdotes, using mnemonic devices to help students remember names and dates more easily. I doubt he'd implement any of those."
"Enchanted snacks would be great," said Desiree. "Not that he's likely to actually bring them…"
"Oh, look what Kellen gave me after our Transfiguration class," Hermione said. She opened up her bag and produced the lovely bouquet of purple flowers.
"Wait… he did that himself?" Desiree asked in shock. "I never even tried that spell… that's some really impressive stuff there, cuz."
"Aren't they lovely?" Hermione said, as she took a small whiff of the orchids. "Professor McGonagall was impressed. She saw him do it."
"They're beautiful, Hermione," Desiree replied. "He must really like you to cast such an advanced Transfiguration spell. I don't think that's something we go over until our fourth year…"
"That's what Professor McGonagall said," replied Hermione. "I think she has some plans for Kellen… she wanted to talk to him tomorrow during our free period."
"So she's going to have him skip a couple of years?" giggled Desiree. "Merlin's beard, he could probably take his OWLs tomorrow and ace them."
Kellen's cheeks turned a bright vermilion. "Please, you two…"
Desiree pinched Kellen's cheek and wiggled it in her fingers. "Aww, my widdle cuzzy wuzzy doesn't wike it when others talk about his massive bwain," she giggled. Kellen rolled his eyes at his cousin.
"It really bothers him, doesn't it?" Hermione asked Desiree in a quiet voice. "It's not the first time I've seen him get embarrassed when people tell him how smart he is."
Desiree nodded. "He's always been like that… from what his mum says, he read Asimov when his classmates were reading Dr. Seuss. He was learning calculus when his classmates were still doing long division. I think a lot of kids were honestly intimidated by him because he's so bloody brilliant… but he's really a very modest and hard-working boy. He really doesn't think he's better than anyone else. He's truly the 'helpful smart' type – like, he has a knack at explaining complex things in a way that ordinary people can understand."
"I'm very, very jealous of him," admitted Hermione. "I was the resident 'know-it-all' or 'teacher's pet' in primary school, but if I was 'helpful smart', as you so eloquently put it, I might have had more friends. I try not to be bossy or too much of a know it all, but those traits can still rear their ugly head at times… I really don't mean to be that way."
"It's okay to be a little jealous," squeaked Desiree. "Cor, we've known each other all our lives and I'm still jealous." She giggled softly. "I've seen how he looks at you, Hermione. He really thinks highly of you."
"And I think the world of him, Desiree," Hermione said. "I know you were half-joking when you were said that he could scare me off, but truth be told, I was afraid that I'd scare him off." She smiled sweetly. "It took less than a day, but he's already the best friend I've ever had." She took Kellen's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
"You're the best friend I've ever had," Kellen replied. He leaned over and gave Hermione a quick side-hug. At that moment, several students got up from the table and started grabbing their things to go to class.
"I suppose it's time for us to head to Potions," Hermione sighed. "Ready, Kellen?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," Kellen replied.
"You'll wish you were back in History of Magic, you two," Desiree said. "It's bad enough for Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, but you two have targets on your backs as you're Gryffindors. Snape is definitely not a fan of Gryffindors. My advice – just sit and keep your mouths shut unless called upon. Don't volunteer for ANYTHING. You'll immediately regret it."
"Wonderful," huffed Kellen. "Thanks for the heads-up."
A sly grin crept on Desiree's face. "Have fun in potions."