Chapter Nine

The Slimy & The Incomparable

Men of lofty genius when they are doing the least work are the most active

~Leonardo Da Vinci

James and Sirius walked into their first ever magical class, wide smiles spread across their faces. Peter quietly followed behind the pair. Their great, grand adventure was finally beginning. James had stared, wide-eyed with amazement, as his parents performed even the simplest household spells. Despite being surrounded by magic on a daily basis, not actually being allowed to perform any spells kept a certain glow about it all. Now, with their walk into the classroom, the barrier of performance would finally be removed.

They could now practice magic!

Other first years, Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, were seated throughout the classroom. A steady hum of conversation filled the room as the others excitedly talked about what was in store for them. They all looked just as excited as James felt. All except one lone, hunched figure sitting in the corner. He was well apart from everyone and staring at the table in front of him.

As soon as James spotted him, he quickly moved in his direction. James had grown up essentially alone; he had come to Hogwarts with every intention of making as many friends as possible. Sirius and Peter had been relatively easy to befriend; the third Gryffindor first year seemed to be putting up more of a fight.

Almost from the start, Remus had been distancing himself. He hadn't said a word at dinner and barely participated in James' get-to-know-you chat. Now, just like at breakfast, he was sitting almost as far from everyone else as he could. James saw it as a challenge, one he was most certainly going to meet.

"Mind if we sit here?" James asked Remus. The other boy slowly raised his head and took in James, Sirius, and Peter. He paused, looking reluctant, but eventually nodded. James readily took the seat right next to Remus, and Peter and Sirius followed suit.

"So, which class are you looking forward to the most?" James asked, smiling warmly at Remus. The other boy just continued looking at his hands. James smiled wider. "You can ignore me all you want, but I'm not going to stop. I think we could be great friends, and I'm not going to stop asking you questions and talking to you. You might as well get used to it and answer my questions."

Remus continued to stare at his hands, but a smile began to spread across his face. James could feel he was getting somewhere and was about to continue to push Remus, when a short man wandered into the classroom. He stopped at the front of the room and glanced around.

"Welcome, first years," he spoke, "This is Charms and I am Professor Flitwick." James sighed, upset that the progress he'd made had been halted. He shot Remus a look that made it clear that he would not be giving up, then focused on the professor.

Professor Flitwick, as he'd introduced himself, was quite on the short side. Standing in front of his desk, as he was now, made it clear that he was barely taller than it. He had very white hair, much like Dumbledore, but his beard was significantly shorter. He had on periwinkle robes that James had a sneaking suspicion were actually made for a child.

"Charms is a vital magical practice. Throughout the rest of your life, you will rely on the skills and knowledge you gain from this class more than any other. Many of my colleagues will disagree with me on that point, but I assure you it is the truth. Just think of your parents around the house; which form of magic do they use the most?" Professor Flitwick paused in his speech to let his 'revelation' sink in. James had already figured that Charms would be his most practical class; that didn't mean it would be his favourite or the one he found the most interesting.

"Now, to see where you all are," Professor Flitwick pulled out his wand and waved it around. Glasses of water with ice in them appeared before each student. "You will attempt to perform a simple cooling charm. In order to do so, focus on the water and repeat the incantation.

Professor Flitwick produced a glass before himself as well.

"Frigus!" he spoke clearly. Almost instantly, the water in his glass froze solid. "Now, I'm not expecting your charm to be that strong. I will be quite satisfied, and you should too, if you are able to keep your ice cubes from melting for five minutes. We'll have a few minutes of practice and then I will go around and see how each of you are doing. Begin!"

James eagerly grabbed his wand and focused. He pictured his glass frozen just like Professor Flitwick's, and then spoke the incantation with the same confidence as the short professor.

"Frigus!"

Glee and pride filled James' being as the glass before him began to frost over slightly. It wasn't the solid ice of Flitwick's, but it was definitely colder than it had been only seconds before. Triumphant, he looked around to see how the others were doing. Sirius had achieved an almost identical result to James, with his glass just a little less frosty than the messy haired boy. Remus' glass was not visibly colder, but after watching the other boy's glass for several seconds, deemed the light brown haired boy successful. Peter, on the other hand, seemed to have not managed anything as his ice quickly melted.

"I think I'm quite charming, don't you?" Sirius asked, a sly smile on his face at his stupid joke. James laughed at his friend's joke before leaning back in his chair and observing the other students in the class. He, too, thought he was quite good at magic and was, also, quite charming.

By the end of class, James, Sirius, and Remus, and a smattering of Hufflepuffs had all managed to keep the ice in their glass solid. Peter, after about twenty attempts, had managed to set his glass on fire. James and Sirius had found it hilarious, especially when Professor Flitwick put it out from across the room by making a stream of water shoot from his wand. Remus, much to James' pleasure had also cracked a smile.

There was definitely potential there.

Professor Flitwick dismissed them after explaining they would continue on next day and setting practice of the charm for homework. James and Sirius left with Peter, playfully ribbing him still about his flaming glass of water. Peter was turning very red but seemed to be taking the playful antagonism fairly well.

The class quickly split in two, with the Hufflepuffs heading down one hallway and the Gryffindors down another. Now in the smaller group, James broke off from poking fun at Peter and lagged to the back of the group. Sirius and Peter followed suit. Quickly the female contingent of Gryffindor was leading the group with the four males at the back. Remus had exited the class last and had been hanging around the back before James slowed down to meet him.

"So, what do you think of Professor Flitwick and Charms?" James asked conversationally. He looked right at Remus when he spoke, indicating he was asking the thin, sandy haired boy the question. Remus ignored both the question and the look and continued walking through the hallway; his head was down, focused on the floor, and he clutched his Charms book tightly to his chest.

"I think he's probably got some amazing skills and he'll dazzle us with them at various points throughout the year. Leave us in awe or something." Sirius piped up when it became obvious that Remus wasn't going to offer his opinion.

"Oh," said James, pivoting his head to look at Sirius who was walking on his other side, "what makes you say that? I mean, he obviously needs to know what he's talking about in order to teach us and his frozen glass was pretty cool," James and Sirius both chuckled at the pun, "but why do you think he's like a savant or something?"

Sirius smiled mischievously and his face, which had been handsome before, only increased in attractiveness.

"Someone his height would need to have some mad skills in order to be taken seriously." It was a backhanded comment, praising his supposed skill while ridiculing his stature, and James enjoyed it all. He snorted in surprise at the comment and then heartily laughed at the humour. Peter laughed after James, having waited to see how the taller boy would respond. Out of the corner of his eye, James caught Remus' reaction. The thin boy looked as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. James decided to pounce.

"Yes, Remus," he spun quickly to his other side and caught the aforementioned boy off guard, "did you have something to say. You should not feel the need to keep things to yourself. Friends won't judge."

Remus was momentarily stunned, probably by James' use of the word 'friends' to describe their relationship. Remus had barely spoken a word to the three of them and yet James, unilaterally, had decided and proudly declared that they were friends.

Before Remus could respond, the quartet, along with the rest of the Gryffindors arrived at their next class. James confidently strode in and sat at an empty table in the middle of the room. Sirius and Peter readily followed him and, much to James' pleasure, Remus took the empty seat to James' right.

Their class after Charms was Transfiguration. James' quickly found the idea of changing the appearance of objects, and even people, very fascinating. The only downside to the class was the professor. The same witch who had handed out their schedules that morning was also responsible for teaching them Transfiguration. She was a middle-aged witch named McGonagall, with her hair pulled into a tight bun and an almost omnipresent stern expression. She wore square glasses in front of her beady eyes. Professor McGonagall radiated strictness and gave James the impression that goofing around would not be tolerated in her class. For a boy who enjoyed a good joke or prank, he was sure that he would occasionally come into conflict with her.

Most of their first Transfiguration class consisted of her explaining her magical subject, carefully detailing the differences between Transfiguration and Charms, and then detailing the rules and procedures of her classroom. She also gave the first paper of the school year, a foot of parchment discussing , in-depth and with examples, the intricacies of Transfiguration and how to determine if a spell was classified as a charm or a transfiguration spell.

The class after Transfiguration was not any better in James' opinion. He already wasn't looking forward to it, based solely on the title. History of Magic had very little appeal. It would not, James accurately surmised, involve practical magic. There would be no spells to cast during the class; it was just lecture after lecture about the past. And, while some found the past endlessly fascinating, James was not one of those people. His least favourite part of family get-togethers was when his older relatives and his parents' friends began reminiscing about the past. It always put James right to sleep.

When he and Sirius walked into the class, his mood went up a little. Standing at the front of the room, behind a decaying lectern was a ghost. A class taught by a ghost could be mildly interesting. Then the ghost, Professor Binns, began to talk and James' mood soured. The ghost spoke with a monotone, meaning that even the interesting parts of the past, where there were wars and bloodshed, would be drained of their excitement level. Nothing was exciting when relayed by a person with an emotionless voice.

The one upside of the class was that, once the professor began lecturing, he didn't notice a lot of what went on in the classroom. There was definite goofing off potential and would make the prospect of listening to hours of droning lecturing a little more bearable.

Finally, James found himself sitting in his final class of the day. Of all the classes offered besides maybe flying lessons, Defense Against the Dark Arts definitely had the most potential. It offered the opportunity to actually perform magic, to discuss potentially dangerous objects, animals, and curses, and to come face to face with the darkest magic imaginable and learn how to defeat it. All of it sounded amazing to James. He couldn't wait for the class to begin. Even if it was with the hated Slytherin house.

The professor arrived only seconds after the last students had settled in, almost as if he'd been watching them. He strode into the room, his head held high; James sensed a high level of arrogance in the man. He wore dark, almost black, midnight blue robes. They looked expensive, like something his father wore when entertaining friends on special occasions. This man had money, a lot of it, and wanted them all to know. Most professors did not make enough to afford one of those expensive sets of robes and, if they did happen to own one, they wouldn't wear it day-to-day. Yet, this professor was.

Sirius lightly elbowed him in the ribs and gave James a look that said he couldn't believe the guy. James returned the look in kind.

"Hello, first year," the professor spoke once he'd reached the front of the classroom. His tone was haughty and condescending. Out of the corner of his eye, James noticed Sirius clench his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"My name is Albert Strinkley. You will refer to me as Professor Strinkley. I have taught the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts for ten years. I can assure you that I am the most qualified person for this job as I have extensive experience with all of the Dark Arts."

A shiver ran up James' spine. Professor Strinkley spoke of himself with such arrogance that James instantly disliked him. But what really put James on edge was the way Strinkley had spoken of the Dark Arts. Alone, his words could be interpreted as someone who had experienced them and fought against them or researched them in order to better combat them. However, when combined with the reverence and adoration that had filled Professor Strinkley's voice, James was left with a very different impression. It seemed that the professor might have practiced the Dark Arts and not found them as distasteful as they truly were.

"This class will not be simple. Defending against the power of dark magic is not easy. Not to mention that the Dark Arts are many and varied. They are quite the complicated subject. Some of you," Professor Strinkley paused and looked meaningfully at the Gryffindor half of the class, "will not be able to cut it, I'm afraid. I will try to instruct you as best I can, but a … natural talent is often required to be truly successful. Only the right kind of wizard can truly match the Dark Arts." With each statement, James felt his dislike form into hatred for the man. He turned to look at Sirius and saw that the boy's fists were clenched so tight that his fingernails were digging into his fleshy palm and his teeth and jaw were so rigid that the longhaired boy looked like a statue. Whatever James felt about the slimy Professor Strinkley, Sirius experienced it tenfold.

"Are you okay, mate?" James whispered to the longhaired boy, concern filling his face. Sirius was quite for several seconds, clenching even tighter. James was worried he might explode, but then he spoke.

"He's an arrogant, egomaniacal, pureblood fanatic and I can't believe he has a teaching post here. I mean his talk about 'the right kinds of wizard'? It's absolutely terrible!"

"I agree, mate," James spoke, placing a comforting hand on Sirius' arm. The other boy remained tense throughout the whole lesson, a long lecture on the dark arts that seemed more like praise than condemnation.

James was flying through his classes for the first few days. What was being taught, except for maybe History of Magic, was at the minimum mildly interesting. He could get away with goofing off in class. He could easily master the magic and put in enough effort in homework that he achieved decent grades on it.

All of his professors liked him, with the exception of Strinkley. Despite his pureblood status, Strinkley's distaste of Gryffindor counted very strongly against him. Nothing James could do would make up for the house he was sorted into.

On the opposite side of spectrum of Professor Strinkley was the Deputy Headmaster and Herbology professor. Professor Greensleigh adored James. He sang his praises loudly and near-constantly. James could get away with almost anything in Herbology. It was quickly becoming his favourite subject.

Another of his favourites was Transfiguration. It was, by far, the subject he excelled at the most. Both the theory and the practice came almost naturally to him. It all made sense and he could perform most of the spells with only minimal practice. Even Professor McGonagall was growing on James. He wasn't able to goof off in her class as obviously. Instead of talking, James and Sirius were forced to pass notes. They actually practiced the skills and couldn't get away with jinxing each other, like they did elsewhere. But instead of resenting the forced rule following, James found he could deal with it. And, though he wouldn't admit it, he excelled even more when forced to actually focus on the magic.

By Wednesday of the first week, the Gryffindors had experienced all their subjects and met all their professors. James' confidence had grown with each subject and he was feeling pretty good about how his first year would unfold. The last subject for the Gryffindors was during the last period on Wednesday. Potions with Professor Slughorn.

James had been looking forward to Potions. Much of his family's wealth had been based on potions, so he was fairly confident that he would continue his streak and excel at this class as well. Plus, he'd heard that Professor Slughorn could recognize talent and boisterously acknowledged it. Rumour had it that he liked to 'collect' extraordinary people and James desperately wanted to be collected.

"Oh great," Sirius muttered under his breath as they entered the potions classroom, "Slytherins." James looked up and took in the sight of the Slytherin first years. The Gryffindors had been lucky in James' estimation, and only had one other class with the Slytherins, Defense Against the Dark Arts. He hoped that wasn't a sign.

The quartet found an unoccupied table near the middle left side of the classroom. They then began unpacking and preparing for the class. James decided that, in order to get on Professor Slughorn's good side, for at least the first few classes he would put in the effort. He would put his best student self on display, truly show what he could accomplish.

"Good afternoon!" a voice bellowed, grasping the attention of the students in the class. He stood behind a long table at the front of the class. Sitting on the table were three large cauldrons. From the smells and different coloured smoke that emanated from them, James deduced that each held a different potion.

"I am Professor Slughorn, potions master. I like to start my first classes off with a little challenge. So, gather round the table and take a good look at each of the three cauldrons. Each contains a different potion. Two are simple and will be ones you will learn this year. The third is much more complicated; it will not be something you learn until fifth year and is your prize for the competition."

Professor Slughorn tapped the board next to him and three names appeared on the board. James assumed they were connected to the cauldrons.

Forgetfulness Potion

Pepper Up Potion

Invisibility Draught

"The first part of the challenge is to correctly identify each of the three potions before you. Take a moment, study each potion, and be prepared with your answer." Professor Slughorn then opened his arms and invited the students forward.

A smile crossed James' face. His ancestor had invented the Pepper Up Potion. It was such a point of pride for the Potter family that every member was taught what it looked like, what it did, and how to brew it from a young age. James was positive he could identify that potion. He'd either have to go with instinct or guess on the other two.

The students quickly got to work. James examined the three potions and easily determined that the center cauldron contained the Pepper Up Potion. Unfortunately, the other two potions were a complete mystery. He had no idea what the characteristics of Forgetfulness Potion or Invisibility Draught were. Any identification he was to make would be a guess at best.

Instead of giving up right then, James chose to continue to examine the potions and hope for some sign to provide him with the answer.

"Professor," a soft voice spoke. All the heads of the students sprung up at the word and searched for the person who had spoken. It was none other than Severus Snape. James quickly began glaring daggers at the boy, angry that he may have identified the potions before him.

"Go on, Mr. –" Professor Slughorn paused.

"Snape, sir. The Forgetfulness potion is on the right. The Pepper Up Potion is in the middle. The Invisibility Draught is on the left." Snape spoke quietly; James found it hard to hear him at points. Professor Slughorn broke into a wide smile.

"Excellent! Absolutely correct! Well done my boy!" He patted Snape on the back a few times. He then pulled out his wand and made the cauldrons vanish, except for a small vial of the Invisibility Draught, the reward for the challenge. On the blackboard, taking the place of the three potions was a set of instructions.

"These are the steps for brewing the Forgetfulness Potion. This is your task for the rest of the class. The student who brews the best potion will be awarded with this vial of Invisibility Draught. You have the rest of class; all the ingredients you need can be found in the storeroom. Good luck!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the students scrambled to get ready and begin brewing. They had about an hour left and, according to the instructions, it would take 45 minutes. That was if they were absolutely perfect and, seeing as they were first years brewing their first potion, they would most likely be nowhere near perfect. They would need all the time they could get.

About halfway through, James quickly assessed his potion in relation to the instructions and descriptions on the board. He was sorely disappointed. According to the description, at this point his potion should be changing from white to clear with each stir. James' potion was definitely not becoming clear. It was, in fact, slightly off white, almost grey really.

Definitely not good.

James was busy studying the board, trying to figure out where he'd gone wrong when Slughorn's voice boomed out over the crowd.

"Well, well, well! What have we here?" He was standing over Snape's shoulder, peering into his cauldron, a look of pride on his face. He stuck his wand in the cauldron, obviously testing it. When he pulled his wand out, a wide smile crossed his face.

"Absolutely perfect, Mr. Snape! I dare say one of the best I've seen in years! Congratulations! We have a winner for our little competition."

James watched as Slughorn produced the vial of Invisibility Draught and handed it over to Snape. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach. Not only had he been bested by the slimy, greasy boy who'd chosen Slytherin, but he hadn't even come close with his potion. He'd messed up several steps and even missed one entirely.

As James left the class, stunned and dejected, he focused on the two lessons he'd learned within it. Firstly, potions was not his class, not his class at all. Secondly, and more importantly, Severus Snape could beat him. That second fact, James vowed would never be allowed to occur again. Not if James had anything to say about it.