Chapter Seven
Asmius and Longbottom
"I can't be certain of this, but I have a gut feeling that this is a wall," Amber said with the perfect amount of sarcasm.
"Yes, it's a wall," said an exasperated Sun. "But this is where the classroom is supposed to be!"
"Maybe we made a wrong turn?" Des suggested with a gulp. He remembered all the passages, particularly the ones that moved…
"Where's Lucas and Genale when we need them?" Polaris demanded.
"Is this where the Transfiguration classroom is?" Courtney asked a painting.
"Why, yes," the figure said. "Or at least, it has been as long as I have been here. In fact, I know I saw Professor Asmius come by here this morning."
As the portrait spoke, the wall started to move. Dark stones grew lighter and took on a brown color. They shifted into a door, completely open, with a witch inside.
"You've arrived," said Professor Asmius. "What you have just witnessed is a taste of what you will learn here in Transfiguration."
Professor Asmius was mostly unremarkable in appearance. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, with short blonde hair and fairly kept dark robes. But, drawing all attention was the thin vertical scar that crossed through her left eye.
"Now, you may all have preconceived notions about the uselessness of Transfiguration," she continued. "Indeed, many of my predecessors have taught entire lessons on turning animals into goblets. I spoke with the previous Professor of Transfiguration, in fact, and when she mentioned that lesson I must say that I was stunned. 'When', I asked her, 'would that ever be necessary? Do you expect all of your students to one day be trapped in a rat-infested cellar with company coming?'"
A few of the students chuckled at that notion.
"That is why, for my Transfiguration course, I will be teaching you all practical Transfiguration. The door that I turned into a wall, and then back? By turning a door into a wall, you lock it in a way that no Charm will unlock, so that it can only be opened by another Transfiguration. You see why this sort of thing would be useful to learn?"
Yasmine raised her hand. "To trap someone in a room by Transfiguring all of the doors away. Or getting out if someone else already Transfigured the doors away."
"Precisely. Five points for Hufflepuff." Professor Asmius sighed. "Now for the part you won't enjoy: You will be tested every two to three weeks, either on theory or on actual ability. Know that both will be necessary for Transfiguration in the real world."
Okay, that didn't seem too bad. Transfiguration might very well be a class that Courtney could do well in.
"Herbology," Marco said with a grin. "Heard a lot about Professor Longbottom."
"I know, right?" Ryssa added. "My sister - she just finished last year - used to have a crush on him."
"I hear he was this big hero during the last war back in the nineties," Marco added. "The last living descendant of Godric Gryffindor himself."
"I heard his Patronus is a dragon that breathes actual fire."
The class kept spouting off the rumors they'd heard all the way to the Greenhouse. Courtney had never met Professor Longbottom, but it was clear that the whole class - possibly the whole school - revered him.
"Hello and welcome to your first year here," Professor Longbottom said. "This is Greenhouse One, where we'll be working throughout this year. The other greenhouses are reserved for the later years.
"Herbology is the study of plants and fungi," he continued. "Nearly all plants in the world have magical properties. They might be deadly living plants like the Devil's Snare, or have incredibly potent effects on people like Gillyweed, or store magical energy itself like lilies. Out in the world, no matter where you are, there will always be some sort of plant life, which is why it's important to know what each kind of plant does.
"Now, Professor Carroway and I have decided to work together on our curriculums. So when you start Potions, the potions you learn there will often use the ingredients that you learn here. That way, you learn exactly why each ingredient is useful to the potion it makes, which properties the herb has that is applied to a finished product. So, any questions yet? Don't ever be afraid to ask."
Ryssa started to raise her hand, then stopped halfway and lowered it again. She repeated this process about three times before just deciding against it.
"Right," Longbottom realized upon seeing Ryssa's hand. "You're Lana's sister, right? Ryssa Ackerman? I've already been asked just about every question there is about my past with the last war and Voldemort and the Boy Who Lived. If your question involves something like that, you can ask the older students and they will have all of the answers. They were thorough in their questioning."
By the time the weekend was over, Courtney sat in the common room with a quill in her hand.
Dear Mum and Da, she wrote.
It's been a nice week so far. I'm in Hufflepuff House, which is actually not as bad as it sounds. The professors are all really different, and have totally different teaching styles, but none of them are evil like when you went here, Mum.
I've made plenty of new friends. There are thirty-five other Hufflepuff first-years who go to all the same classes. There's also a Ravenclaw girl named Lynne who's really nice. Plus, you remember that Light Magic Movement that passed out fliers when we were in Diagon Alley? My friend Elijah is part of them. It turns out they want to let Muggles know about magic.
Other than that, everything's been pretty normal. How are things back at home?
Love you
Courtney
Courtney put down the quill.
"Can you get this to Mum and Da?" she asked Athena. The little owl nodded once, took the note, and flew out the nearest open window,
Author's Note: Since nothing of any real significance happens during the first class of Potions, Astronomy, History of Magic, or Flying, these scenes were omitted. I'm doing my best to keep the exciting and important parts front and center while keeping the boring, unnecessary parts to a minimum.