Chapter 5- classes and study groups

Hogwarts , Unplottable location, Scotland, Great Britain.

Monday the 2nd of September 1991

6:00 AM

Aurora woke up the first day of school with time to spare. She washed up and got dressed in her school's uniform. After she had plaited her hair she looked around her room. It just wouldn't do. After three years of living life in luxury in the Manor she had gotten a bit spoiled. This was a job that needed Mopsey's expertise. She may have practiced some but she wasn't advanced enough for what she needed. The thing that most didn't know was that her being the heiress of two of the founders gave her some special privileges. One of these was her ability to call her personal house elf inside the castle.

'Mopsey!'

'What can Mopsey do for Missus?' the hyperactive elf asked with an excited smile.

'Can you paint the walls a light gray with silver swirls? Put an extension charm in the room and put a gray couch and a coffee table there? Put an emerald rug on the floor and a fireplace there. Also, put a library on that wall and change the desk chair in a more comfortable one'.

'Mopsey will get to work'.

'Thank you Mopsey', she said with a smile. She put her school books on her bag. Thank Morgana for the feather-light and extension charms; otherwise her back would have broken as she was carrying all her books with her. She picked up her bag and went down to the common room.

She was the first to arrive so she sat on a comfy armchair and took out her mother's diary and started reading. Ten minutes later Gemma Farley and Caleb Jugson appeared. Her year mates soon followed and together they went into the great hall. She fell into step with Blaise and Theo on the back of the line.

'Good morning' she said 'How did you sleep?'

Blaise who looked on the verge of falling asleep while walking barely grunted while Theo said in a low voice 'fine'.

She couldn't help feeling a bit amused her acquaintances? Friends? Anyway, whatever they were clearly weren't morning people. She was looking forward into waking them up in the most horrendous ways, she thought with an evil smirk.

They got into the great hall. They seemed to be some of the first. The Gryffindor table seemed mostly empty except for some Newt level students and that annoying Granger girl. Half of the Hufflepuffs were already there as well as half of the Ravens. As for the snakes most of them were already there.

Aurora sat between Blaise and Theodore and started eating some porridge and a glass of orange juice. After they finished Gemma gave them their schedules and they followed her around as she showed them their classes. Aurora was in awe of the castle. It was enormous and the staircases moved! She was feeling very thankful to her father that moment. He had kept his copy of the Marauders map and updated some things for her. So, her getting lost would be very difficult.

Aurora was drawn out of her thoughts when they stopped in front of the transfiguration classroom.

Gemma looked at all the first years with a severe look on her face and explained: 'The Slytherin House rules are three. Firstly, we stand united outside of the common room. I don't care who doesn't like who. It is important for our house to stand united as all the others think that we are all evil incarnated. That means that all inner house fights stay in the common room. Secondly, you should always move around in groups of at least two people at least until your third year. This is for the same reason I mentioned before, it is not safe. They attack us because we are all 'evil' as they say. Thirdly, you try not to get caught in whatever rule breaking you are doing as much as you can. Cover your tracks. Even the teachers are a bit biased and they always take more points from us than the other houses.' She clapped her hands 'Okay kids these are the rules and don't forget them. In ten minutes your lesson starts so do our house proud'. And with that she left.

Aurora walked into the class and saw that a cat was sitting on the teacher's desk. She had a feeling that it wasn't really a cat but she let it go for now. She sat in the middle of the class between Theodore and Blaise. They seemed to have decided that they'd stick with her. Which she was fine with as she quite liked these boys. With the exception of Daphne Greengrass, who was still a mystery and as cold as ever, she didn't really see herself befriending anyone else from her year. As for the rest of her house half of it seemed suspicious of her and hated her and the other was neutral and was watching her closely. As for the rest of the school…The Gryffindors felt they were cheated and that she was the next Dark Lady. The Hufflepuffs were wary and the Ravens were looking at her like she was a puzzle they should solve.

The Gryffindors started coming in five minutes before the bell rang. A minute later the cat jumped from the table and transformed into Professor McGonagall to the excitement of the class. She started lecturing immediately.

"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

Then she changed her desk into a pig and back again. They were all very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized they weren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of notes, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle.

Aurora already knew most of this and she had already practiced it so it wasn't really a surprise to her that she transformed it first in class to the dismay of one Hermione Granger, who with an almost constipated look on her face tried even harder to succeed in her task. Professor McGonagall looked at her needle with an almost impressed look on her face (it was hard to tell) and a bittersweet half smile.

'Excellent work Miss Potter. Ten points to Slytherin. It seems you have your father's talent for the subject. Let's see can you change it back?

Aurora never one to give up on a challenge did. It was all about the visualization after all. Professor McGonagall gave her another five points and told her to help her class mates. Aurora helped Blaise and Theodore, who were very impressed with her work. After giving them some tips, they managed it. By the end of the class they were they only one's that had completed the whole transformation and Granger had only managed to change the shape of the match much to her displeasure, which was evident if you saw her face.

Her week continued like that. They had to study the night skies through their telescopes every Wednesday at midnight and learn the names of different stars and the movements of the planets. It was easy for her as she was taught all the stars due to her Black heritage. Three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, where they learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi, and found out what they were used for. Easily the most boring class was History of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff room fire and got up next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns droned on and on while they scribbled down names and dates, and got Emetic the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up. She was really disappointed by the class. She really liked history and the bloody ghost was ruining it. She decided to self-study and do other things in the class. She wasn't the only one most of her class did the same as her. Binn's class was unofficial sleep time for everyone except Granger who somehow stayed awake and took notes.

The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story. For one thing, when Seamus Finnigan asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, they had noticed that a funny smell hung around the turban. The class especially annoyed Aurora as she had taken a liking to dueling but she was taught nothing in this class never mind the fact that she always had a headache when she was in this class. Theodore thought it was the horrid smells affecting her. Needless to say, she decided to self-study this lesson too. It was really sad that two of the seven lessons they took sucked.

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he took the roll call, and when he reached Aurora's name he gave an excited squeak and toppled out of sight. He amused Aurora a lot though she was sad they would be focusing on theory mostly at first.

Friday was the first time they had potions with their head of house. She was heading to the class with Theodore and Blaise by her side, who had realised that she somehow knew how to navigate the labyrinth that was Hogwarts. Therefore, they followed her when they were heading to class.

They got in the class and sat down Blaise with Aurora and Theodore with Greengrass.

Snape, like Flitwick, started the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he paused at Aurora's name and looked like he wanted to say something but didn't. She was pretty sure he didn't like her because of his relationships with her parents. As for herself she wasn't impressed with him either. His eyes were black and they lacked any warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

More silence followed this little speech. Aurora and Blaise exchanged looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione Granger was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead.

"Potter!" said Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

Hermione's hand had shot into the air. That was quite a simple question. 'It makes a really powerful sleeping potion known as the Draught of Living Death.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer. He seemed disappointed she didn't make a mistake. Well sucks for him she didn't suffer under the tutelage of great aunt's Rosa for nothing.

'Lucky guess'. He sneered. 'Where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat, but Aurora ignored her.

'A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons', she explained with a smug grin.

He narrowed his eyes at her and then turned around and focused his ire on the Gryffindors.

Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape set them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Even though Blaise's and hers potion was much better than his. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"

Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose.

"Take him up to the hospital wing," Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Weasley, who had been working next to Neville.

"You - Weasley- why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor."

Weasley tried to protest 'That's bloody unfair'

'Another five points for your cheek.'

Weasley tried to protest again but Granger hit him and shut him up.

By the end of the class the Lions had lost thirty points on one go and Granger looked close to tears. Aurora had reached the conclusion that Snape was an unfair bastard that was out to get her even though he tried not to show it as he had to support his house.


Hogwarts , Unplottable location, Scotland, Great Britain.

Saturday the 7th of September 1991

11:00 AM

On Saturday morning after they have finished eating their breakfast, Aurora addressed her two companions with a smile

'Guys we are going on an adventure', she exclaimed.

'Are we?' asked Blaise with his usual amused smirk on.

'Yes, we are. We are going exploring. And we need to find a room to self-study.' Aurora could have shown them the room of requirement but she didn't really trust them yet. So, a random room it was.

With exasperated looks they followed after her. After a week with her they knew better than to argue with her. As they left the great hall Aurora could feel a lot of eyes on her. Her unexpected sorting was still the main gossip of the school. Even though she had charmed the whole teaching stuff excluding Snape the students still didn't like her very much and were very suspicious of her.

Aurora and her companions walked all around the school. During this time every time Aurora would see a portrait she would introduce herself to it and make chit chat much to the boys' exasperation. After the fifteenth time she did that Theo had had enough.

'Okay what's wrong with you? Why are you talking to every portrait you see? You even talked to a horse Aurora, a bloody horse!' he exclaimed.

Aurora smiled and said 'Portraits are great spies. A bit of kindness and you have a whole spy network'. She smiled smugly at their dumbstruck looks and continued walking ahead.

Blaise really didn't know what to think about Aurora Potter. She intrigued him. The moment he stepped in her compartment on the train and saw the little red head he knew she would make a big change to the plans he had for his schooling years. He was usually a loner and preferred it that way. That was mostly his way of coping with his mother's many affairs and his telepathic abilities. Why should he talk to people when their thoughts tormented him all the time? Yes, he had mostly gotten the hang of his ability finally but he was used of the solitude, which he used to avoid the stray thoughts.

The point was he ended up socializing in spite of his plans in order to solve the puzzle that was Aurora Potter. At first with her short structure she looked weak. But with one look in her eyes he knew she had an inner strength that would burn everything on its way to achieve her goals. She was sorted into Slytherin a fact that not many expected but that was obvious to him with only one conversation with her. She could somehow be both fire and ice. She could be a cunning and ruthless heiress in one moment and the next as excited and compassionate as a Labrador. She didn't care what anyone thought about her and she seemed unaffected by the mostly hostile environment of the snake pit. But despite all of that what made him stand by her was the overwhelming loneliness he could see in her eyes and the broken look she sometimes got when she was lost in her mind. He knew that feeling, hell he felt it all the time and finally hoped he'd find a friend in her and in Theodore. Though he had a feeling she would be troublesome.

He was drawn out of his thoughts when they stopped on the sixth floor in front of a door that seemed to have almost the same colour as the wall. They got in and they found an abandoned class room with lots of space.

Aurora turned around and smiled 'This is it. This is where we will study dueling and defense and rare spells. This is the perfect room for our study group.'

Her excitement was contagious and the boys agreed.


Finally I updated. I am not very happy about this one but it doesn't want to change so...

anyway please review

Edited: 17/6/18

xoxo