Its been a long time. I know I have taken too long but I had a severe case of writer's block after I uploaded "11 Years and Broken Branches". I should tell you that I really appreciated the response and I would just like to tell you guys that I am not going to make it a proper story. It is a going to remain a one-shot. Plus the plot holes were purposely added. Things will get cleared up as we move along. This story takes place in 2022 while "11 Years and Broken Branches" takes place in 2035 same timeline.
Once again, all kinds of reviews are appreciated. Read and enjoy. Please just review. It means a lot when you do.
I don't own Harry Potter related anything. I don't even own my OCS. Everything is JK ROWLING'S. if not for her I would not be writing this so technically this is hers as well.
Till we meet again.
Chapter -5
First Lessons
James got up the next day around five thirty. He brushed his teeth and took a shower. He took a lot of time getting ready. He read some of his books to take his mind of things. He made his way down to the common room and saw Dom already waiting for him.
"You couldn't have gotten down early", she asked.
"Why would I?"
"Just like that. I am hungry and I had to wait for you."
"Sorry. Did you get you routine?"
"Yes, I did. Professor Grunt is right over there."
She was pointing to a tall, kind looking man. He had long, black hair tied in a ponytail. James walked up to him and greeted him.
"Hello sir."
"Hello. You must be ."
"Yes sir."
"Well this is your routine", he said handing over a piece of parchment.
"Thank you sir."
"I have also been told that you have taken advanced arts."
"Yes sir, I have."
"Well, you will see after your classes today and he will take you to Kamar Taj. After today you will go by yourself. Is that understood."
"Yes sir."
"Now I have been informed that you and Miss Weasley here are good quidditch players."
"We are above average sir."
"Good cause I don't want my house to come last again. Quidditch draws less attention here than it does in England but still coming last is not nice. So I have decided that I will appoint Miss Weasley the captain of the team."
"Why me sir? I don't even know anyone."
"I believe that is the best reason for you to be made captain. You won't let me down, will you?"
"I don't know sir. I will try my best", she said. She looked a bit shocked.
"Now since that has been dealt with, I would like you two to know that I don't care much about misbehaviour. You can be mischievous all you want. But if some other teacher catches you then I cannot do anything to help you. You must understand what I am saying."
"We do sir", Dom replied earnestly.
"Good. Also try to stay away from Miss Skienfield. She is a mean woman."
"Ok sir."
"I hope you enjoy your first day here. Now you can leave for breakfast."
"Thank you, sir."
They were walking towards the dining hall when Jonathan caught up with them.
"Hey guys what are you doing."
"We are going for breakfast."
"Well, right now you are going for the hospital wing not dining hall."
"We are lost."
"Yeah."
"Dom, you said you knew where we were going."
"I thought so too", said trying to defend herself.
"Anyway, what are you doing here Jonathan", James asked him.
"I was visiting Madame Wilson in the hospital wing."
"Why?"
"No reason, just to say hi. Last year in an accident in Alchemy lab I got seriously injured. I was in the hospital wing for almost two weeks. She took great care of me. Anyway we should get to breakfast."
They got to the dining hall and met Louis.
"Hi brother, how are you doing?"
"Doing good. Made some friends. Going to class now. Bye James."
"Bye Louis."
They quickly ate breakfast and all three of them headed to charms. Ashley Grunt taught charms and he was a pretty amazing teacher. He could keep a class engaged. They did not even realise how his two periods passed b He could make them laugh. He did not even give them much homework. James found the lesson to be boring. It was easy. He found studies easy. It annoyed some of his friends but he just found it easy and he could not do anything about it.
At the end of the class he noticed a girl get up. She was the beautiful. She had blonde hair, blue eyes, lips that seemed perfect to him. He could not stop staring at her. He nudged Dom slowly. She followed his gaze.
"Wow. I mean she is pretty."
"Can you recognize Veelas, cause I can't take my eyes of her."
"First thing, I can't recognize Veelas and second, why are you not going to talk to her."
"you think I should?"
"Yeah go talk to her."
"Alright I will go talk to her."
He walked up to the girl.
"Hi I am James Potter."
"Hi", she said kind of awkwardly.
Her awkward response kind of threw him off course.
"I am new here", was all he could muster.
"I am not interested."
He was taken aback. That was plain savage he thought. He had never been turned down by a girl. Well honestly, there had been three so far and since he had been with Alice for almost three years, he was rusty at this part.
"That was savage."
"What you have never been turned down bye girl before?"
"No."
"Some reputation you must have then among your friends."
"Not much left after this."
"That is so not true."
"You are Pukwudgie right."
"Olivia Lance", she struck her hand out.
"James Sirius Potter", he said taking her hand.
"I know."
"Where you from?"
"If you told you Wisconsin would you know where that is."
"No, but I would know where to send my owl."
She smiled at that. He still had it.
"You play quidditch?"
"Yes. Chaser. You?"
"No."
They had reached an awkward moment.
"I should get going", she said.
"Yeah me too. Which class?"
"Herbology."
"Me too."
"So lets go."
"Yeah."
He had good luck. But nothing happened. They walked quietly. Herbology turned out to be as boring as Professor Binns class plus a double period did not help either. The teacher Emily Waltham did not care about anything it seemed. She just kept on explaining them how to do the work. After which she let them do it by themselves. She walked around noting everyone's progress. She did not care about who was talking either. At the end of class she gave them homework and asked them to leave. Trying to avoid another horribly awkward conversation James hurried to his transfiguration class. He almost got lost. He had to ask directions from people twice. Dom and Jonathan were just returning from their arithmancy class.
"How could he make you Captain? You don't even know anyone."
"That is what I told him but he said, that was the best thing."
"That's…"
"Ridiculous."
They noticed James standing beside them.
"Hey James."
"How was your class?"
"Good."
"How did it go with the girl?"
"Not good."
He told them everything that happened and they both were laughing by the end of it.
"Some girl", Dom said patting him on the back.
"Yeah, some girl."
Even though she had turned him down bluntly he could not help looking at her. She was beautiful. There was not a speck of doubt there. He liked her. There was not a speck of doubt there. The transfiguration teacher Walter Mayers was strict teacher. The lesson was a little boring again for James. After that they went to the dining hall for lunch. Food here was just as delicious as Hogwarts. After lunch James had Defence which turned out to be rather interesting lesson. The teacher Trevor Slattery was an enthusiastic man. He was very young to be a teacher. He taught them how to conjure a patronus. James was at the top of his class. He sat with Jonathan during Alchemy. After his classes were over he headed to Stanley's office for Advanced Arts lesson.
"I have been waiting for you James."
"Really. Lets go."
They were walking through the castle.
"Stan tell me something about the subject."
"Well no one has taken the subject since 1946. The last student who took the subject was Picquery Anderson. She was the deputy president of MACUSA when she died. The subject was not present in any school but Hogwarts and Durmstrang had some of its books. The Durmstrang books were used by a student to do terrible things. But luckily he had a counterpart from Hogwarts who studied the same way, who was just as good as him."
"Who are you talking about?"
"Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald."
"What?"
"Yes. We cut ties with Durmstrang after that. Sometime later another person used this vast knowledge to do evil. This person however had been educated under Albus Dumbledore. Can you tell me his name?"
"Voldemort."
"Yes. But as luck would have it, he was killed by your father. But we decided that the risk was too big to take so we brought all the books back."
"Lucky for me, I am here not at Hogwarts."
"I don't think you are going to feel the same way when get to reading."
"We will see about that."
"I guess we will. We have arrived. Appartions can take place only from this room. Once you get to De Claris Island I will take to Kamar Taj. I will also show you Lucus Centrum. Students from fifth year are allowed to go by floo or by apparating."
"What if the other students need to buy something?"
"They can always write to the store, don't you think."
"Yeah."
"Lets get going then."
"Take my hand and hold on."
James took his hand and then James turned. He felt like he was being squeezed through a rubber tube. Each part of his body was gasping for air. And just when he thought he would pass out he could see his hands again. He could feel that the air was saltish.
"Are you ok James? If you are, I think we should get going."
"Yeah let's go", he said still clutching his stomach.
They walked on a straight path before taking a few turns. The place was filled with people. Lucus Centrum specifically was buzzing. They walked for some more time when they reached an old house. It was a strange looking house. The kind which someone drew when they were five to six years old. It had two windows and a chimney. They walked inside and James again felt stupid for thinking that the house could be so small. It was a library not a huge one but a big one nonetheless. A dark skinned bald man with a goatee was sitting at a desk.
"Libber I have brought him."
The man looked up and looked at James intently as if trying to read his mind.
"James Sirius Potter, I am Libber Abbas and I am the librarian at Kamar Taj. I can take it from here. Thank you, Stanley."
"Well best of luck James."
"Yeah thanks."
Stanley quickly left the library.
"Mr Potter, I must tell you that no knowledge in Kamar Taj is forbidden but I get to decide the order in which you get to read the books. You must work hard if you want to get to next year. The topics will be very difficult. It is going to take a lot out of you."
He walked over to one of the shelfs and took out three books from it. He handed the books to James.
"After you have thoroughly read the books and practiced whatever you need to, you will return the books to me and I will give you the next set."
"Ok sir."
"You can either read here or go back to your dorm."
Realising that there was no scope of reading the books silently in the school before night he decided to stay there. He took a seat and began reading. It was interesting. He could understand topics easily. He did not like to brag about it but he could. But this was beyond anything that he had read. It was complex and difficult. After three hours of rigorous reading he put the books in his bag thanked Libber and left.
He reached the common room and sat next to Dom.
"So?"
"So what?"
"How was 'advanced arts'?"
"You don't have to mock me you know."
"I am not. Seriously how was it."
"It was interesting and difficult."
"WHAT? James Potter felt that a subject was difficult. How is that even possible? I thought studies came to you naturally." She made lots of hand gestures and faces while saying this.
"No, it was really interesting. What are you doing?"
"Not much. Arithmancy homework. That Amanda woman is one bitch. She gave us loads of homework. She kept on saying that the students who will not take the subject seriously would be forced to take another subject and some shit and she kept looking at me the entire time."
James was smiling a little too broadly.
"That is not funny."
"Sorry. Well I will be upstairs doing homework."
"Not here."
"Naah. Maybe after dinner."
"Alright."
He went upstairs freshened up and sat to do his homework but he soon got bored, so he took out the books from Kamar Taj and started where he had left off. It was amazing. The more he read the more he liked it. He was enjoying it. He was so absorbed that he did not realise that almost one and a half hour had passed. Then Jonathan asked him if he wanted to go to dinner so he quickly put on his cloak and left.
In the dining hall Dom, Jonathan and James were talking when James saw that Olivia Lance was sitting alone eating with some kind of device on her ears slowly humming. He could look at her all day and still be fine with it.
"James", someone was shaking his arm. It was Jonathan.
"Did you hear what she said?"
"No, I am sorry what?"
"I am thinking that I will hold quidditch trials this Sunday. Are you ok with that", she asked him.
"Yeah", he answered still looking lost.
"I will be back in a minute."
"Where are you going?"
"To talk to Olivia."
"Oh my god seriously."
"Yeah seriously."
"Fine, your funeral."
Giving her the finger he took his plate and walked over to Olivia seat.
"Is this seat taken", he asked pointing to the seat to her right.
She did not say anything. She did not even look at him.
"Is this seat taken", he asked again.
He was starting to lose his cool. He was not that bad to be ignored like that. But then he saw her humming and realised that maybe she could not hear him. He tapped her on the shoulder. She turned to look at him. She took of the device from her ears.
"Is this seat taken?"
"No."
He sat there. To avoid another awkward moment he started talking quickly.
"How was your day?"
"It was good, uneventful. Yours?"
"Just the same. What is that thing?" he asked pointing to the strange device.
"Oh that. That is my Walkman. My father gave it to me. I listen to songs from it. You see they are No-Maj."
"Mugg- No Maj devices are allowed in the school", he asked surprised.
"Yeah, as long as they are not communication devices."
"That is amazing."
"I am still not interested in going out with you."
"Yeah. What did you even say to show that? I had no idea."
She laughed a little. She looked beautiful when she smiled.
Trying to steer the conversation to a different point, James nervously said.
"So you like music."
"Yes. People think I am a weirdo for listening to music but believe me muggle music is so much better than the music our folk make."
"I have listened to a few songs. My mom made me listen to some songs of a band. She told me that all the singers of the band were good looking and stuff. I don't know ", he said trying to think as hard as he could "something One Way or One Path, something like that."
She was laughing.
"One Direction?" she asked him.
"Yes", he said too loudly.
"They were really good but they went on a hiatus long time ago."
They talked for sometime when someone from behind hit James on the head a little hard.
"Ouch, who the hell?"
He turned around to see Dom standing there.
"You done or we should leave without you."
"Dom this is Olivia Lance."
They shook hands.
"Well goodnight Olivia."
"Goodnight James."
The three walked to the common room. Dom and Jonathan were discussing Quidditch and arithmancy. James walked silently behind them thinking about his conversation with Olivia.
"You have homework left", Jonathan asked him.
"Yeah. You?"
"Yes, not much though."
They walked upstairs, changed to more comfortable clothes and got down. They chose a comfortable spot and started working. They worked silently for one hour when Jonathan announced that he was done. He left to go to bed. He sat there working for another one hour. When he was done he went up to his room and lay down on his bed. Gale had not returned yet. It had only been one day. First days could be tiring and with thoughts like this he fell asleep.
