I would like to think my editor for protecting me from the dreaded 'lounged chairs' that would otherwise threaten to dominate my writing... Seriously though my editor is awesome.

Chapter 2:

Legendary Spells and Curses

Harry and Hermione walked down the corridor towards their first class. Harry carried a slip of paper in his hand and Hermione carried a map scrawled upon yellow cloth like parchment. Together they looked completely bewildered as they found themselves being pushed aside and interrupted by gaggles of students rushing towards their own first class of the year at full speed.

Harry couldn't help but let loose a huge yawn as Hermione finally pushed her way towards him through the crowd. His short hair was slightly ruffled as he tried to force himself into an awakened state. Harry had been extremely disappointed when he'd woken up that morning to find that Ron hadn't signed up for Legendary Spells and Curses as he had instead opted for History of Wizard Athletics. Harry looked over at Hermione who, except for the light circles under her eyes, looked as though she'd been up preparing for her first class for hours. Her bushy brown hair was brushed almost straight except for a light curling at the end, and whether she smelled like some sort of flower or something else, Harry couldn't be sure. She appeared to be taking the whole first day ordeal very seriously.

"So according to this," Hermione said as she examined the map for what must have been the hundredth time, "the classroom should be right here." Harry and Hermione looked around the corridor and saw no sign of the classroom shown on the map. "I don't know how we could have gotten lost, it was pretty much a straight shot ever since we made that right at the ogre statue. Or was it a left?" She seemed to be trying to turn the map to make it fit her sense of direction. At the moment it was upside down. Harry almost fell over as he saw a student pass through the wall immediately to his right. "Maybe it was a left..." Hermione began.

"Um Hermione." Harry began.

"Hold on a minute Harry, I'm trying to figure this out." She said ignoring him.

Harry pushed the map down and pointed at the wall beside a painting of some old wizard Harry was unfamiliar with. Hermione followed his finger just in time to see a student pass through the wall.

"I think we're here." Harry said looking at her with an exhausted gaze.

Hermione's eyes widened as she saw a few more students head through the door.

"Yeah..." She said, seemingly disappointed that she hadn't been the first one to notice. "I suppose we are."

Harry and Hermione began to walk forward, passing through the wall as they'd seen other students do before them. It was a similar sensation to traveling through platform nine and three quarters, and Harry couldn't help suffer more nostalgia as he entered into the large classroom on the other side.

Once Harry had regained his bearings, he looked around at the Legendary Spells and Curses classroom. It was surprisingly large for a classroom, reminding Harry more of an auditorium than the smaller, more personal classrooms at Hogwarts. There were several levels spaced three feet apart leading down to a large stage. Black topped tables with average sized brown metal chairs were scattered about on each of these levels all the way down to the bottom, where an ornately decorated wooden desk sat covered with papers. Harry stared at the desk for a moment, its legs appeared to be centaurs standing upright with their front and hind legs joined together to make them appear taller and yet extremely thin.

Sitting in a comfortable looking lounge chair behind the desk was a wizard that Harry suspected was in his mid to late forties. He had graying hair that was cut short and spiked up in the front. On his face he wore tiny rectangular rimmed spectacles that rested on the end of his nose. However, this wizard wasn't dressed in the usual wizards robes Harry noticed. He wore no hat and carried no extravagant jewelry or markings. He sported only a white tunic and brown khaki pants. Harry suspected he could have passed for a muggle going to a job interview, except for the condition of his clothes. The professor's tunic was ruffled and the pants seemed to be slightly wrinkled, as though he had slept in them. He had a mug of some sort on the table in front of him and beside that, his wand. The professor's wand appeared to be little more than a piece of wood gnarled at the end and bearing etched markings on the sides.

Everywhere else in the room people were beginning to take their seats. Harry recognized one of them as Neville Longbottom.

Neville Longbottom was a wizard that Harry and Hermione had attended Hogwarts with as fellow Gryffindors. They'd met when they were still first years and had become good friends. Neville had always been considered a screw up by most classmates due to his inability to cast many spells and charms, but the secret of Neville's misfortune had been his wand, which had belonged to his father and therefore hadn't worked properly. "In their seventh year, Neville had been the one to take charge in their final showdown against Voldemort, even facing down the dark lord himself for a while. Harry noticed that Neville's physique had changed somewhat drastically over the course of the past few months, and although he was still shorter than Harry, he seemed to have grown a bit. He also had grown larger, yet this time with muscle instead of fat.

Harry also couldn't help but notice that Neville didn't appear to be outwardly nervous as he did in the past. Harry watched as Neville and an attractive blonde witch were having a conversation, seemingly about Neville's exploits due to the fervor in which Neville was swishing his wand hand. The witch gazed adoringly at Neville, and after a moment reluctantly took her gaze from Neville to take her seat.

"Hey Neville." Harry shouted as he and Hermione took the closest seats they could find to the door, at a square table in the second row from the back.

Neville turned and his face lit up as he laid eyes and Harry and Hermione. He lifted his hand and began to wave at them, and started to get up but was interrupted when the professor moved behind his desk and everyone turned to face the center of the room. The professor moved forward around the desk and promptly sat right on top of it. He was staring at a golden pocket watch that he held loosely in his right hand. In his left, there was a brown clipboard. After a moment passed he threw the pocket watch into the chair behind him like it was a piece of junk and glanced down at the brown clipboard.

"Allistair Ackley?" The professor looked up. began looking up. Harry noticed that he didn't use his spectacles as he scanned the room for an answer, he looked above them.

From the middle of the room a tall dark haired wizard answered.

"Spencer Brundage?" The professor began next.

"Present." The answer appeared bored. Harry turned to see yet another black haired wizard in the back corner of the room, his head was turned away from the center of the room. He was of average size and build and had medium length hair that was combed down. His hands were pale and Harry couldn't see his face.

"Alright. Kelsey... Diamco, Damico da... Kelsey?" The professor said and scanned the room once again. "Kelsey?" He asked again.

"It's D'Amico. She's, um, not here." Someone answered matter of factly. The reply came from just behind Harry, and he turned around to discover its source. Behind Harry sat an older boy who appeared a little older than Hermione. He had curly blonde hair which was cut medium length so that only the sides of his hair and his bangs displayed the curl. The wizard was close enough that Harry took notice of his eyes. They were Hazel and reminded Harry of his own. He was a little pale, and seemed, Harry thought, as though he didn't get quite enough sunlight. Harry noticed that the boy's face was curved inwards just slightly at an almost eerily perfect angle.

"Well where is she?" The professor asked, somewhat annoyed.

"She's, uh, sick. She's at Madame Peacock's, I think." The student answered as though he were trying to remember exactly what had happened.

"What is she sick with?" The professor asked, catching onto the student's act.

"Mono?" The boy shrugged, putting his hands out in a way that suggested that he had no idea.

"Hey Ryan, didn't you have mono last week?" Ackley asked turning around in his seat. The room laughed. The wizard behind Harry slouched back in his seat smirking slightly as he did.

"Oh well. Guess we'll just have to move on without her," The professor stated, showing no corcern. "Gordo Eaker? Did I say that right?" he asked.

"Yep." A skinny brown haired wizard sitting in front of Neville answered.

"Ryan Flowers." The professor asked next.

"Flowers..." Gordo snickered.

"Right here." The blonde wizard sitting behind Harry answered not seeming to take any notice of Gordo.

"Flowers..." The professor began. "Would that be the same Flowers that Rosa de la Fleur took as her maiden name when she moved to the Americas?"

"Yep." The wizard named Ryan still leaning back in his chair.

"Which would mean you are part Veela?"

"Sixteenth." Ryan said shrugging.

"And that would also mean you are related to Jace Deleran?"

Hermione leaned over and whispered to Harry excitedly. "Jace Deleran was one of the best Legilimens and Occlumens of all time. Some people even say he was better than Voldemort!"

"Great grandfather." Ryan answered, looking down at the table as he balanced himself in his chair by pushing against it with his foot.

"So did you inherit his gift for Occlumency or Legilimency?"

"Not really. I'm too emotional, can't you tell?" Ryan said leaning forward and smiling slightly as he did so.

"That's interesting... So your friend really is sick with mono, that isn't a fabricated memory?" The professor asked, hinting at his guilt.

Ryan shrugged. "Nope, I'm not really controlled enough to come up with something like that. Not too much going on up here." He pointed at his head as he finally fell over in his chair backwards.

This caused the class to laugh, and, Harry couldn't help but join in. Ryan got up slowly, the smile never leaving his face as he turned the chair around and sat in it backwards. The professor stared curiously at Ryan for a moment before finally shaking his head, a smile playing at his lips.

"Alright well, we'll continue then." The professor said, looking again at his clipboard.

"Ah! Here's a student I wanted to meet. Hermione Granger?" The professor asked, looking around curiously for the owner of the name.

"Here." Hermione said raising her hand and blushing slightly.

"So you are!" The professor nodded. "It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Granger." The professor said bowing to her. Hermione's cheeks turned crimson.

"Alright, Neville Longbottom?" The professor asked. Several students snickered as Neville raised his hand.

"Right here sir."

"Almost as funny as Flowers." Gordo said aloud, snickering as he did.

Ryan leaned forward in his chair. "Yeah you're right, those would the be the second and third funniest names I've heard all day. The first one, get this, 'Guido the Taker'." Ryan's eyes narrowed on Gordo. "(Really) apparently some poor kid was called that at his old school.

Gordo stood up in his chair, a slight look of fear on his face. "How do you? How did you? I haven't told anyone..."

Ryan nodded at him as if he had expected just this. "You didn't what?" He asked.

Gordo glared at him and then sat down in his seat.

"Its okay Gui... I mean Gordo, I won't tell anyone, I promise." Ryan said in kind voice. Then he stopped leaning forward and turned back towards the professor. At this point the professor had a look of partial astonishment and excitement.

The professor continued to call out names for the next few minutes and students would reply with a simple "here" or "present", Gordo however didn't speak again. Finally, the professor came to the end of the list.

"Ah. You know Dasher and Dancer, and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen", the professor sang. "But do you recall... the most famous wizard of all?" He chuckled at his own song. "Harry Potter?" He called, looking down at the only student yet to answer.

Harry looked back at the professor slightly embarrassed by the song. "Here, sir." Harry replied.

Whispers broke out in the class as people began to chatter amongst themselves in amazement. Harry looked around the classroom trying not to blush.

"Such a celebrity at such a young age." The professor said looking at Harry. "And an accomplished wizard at that." He turned his head slightly as he said this.

Harry heard a loud bang from behind him and he turned around to see where the noise had come from. Ryan's chair was resting safely on the ground as the boy leaned forward in it elevated slightly by his hands. A look of shock, ecstasy and hunger was apparent on his face as he gazed at Harry. Harry looked for a moment at the boy and then turned slowly around... He couldn't help but dislike that look.

"Well. My name is Sedis Rickman. You may all call me Professor Rickman, or the Rick or anything that others might misconstrue as cool, I will accept nothing else." He said tossing the clipboard aside. "The class you are in now is Legendary Spells and Curse. It is a year long class centered around the rarest and most powerful spells to date, but then again you lot signed up for it so you don't need a professor sipping Irish Cream to tell you that." The professor spoke nonchalantly as he took a drink from the coffee mug. "Since most of the spells that we will be studying in this class are extremely dangerous or explicitly forbidden, we will not be using our wands very much as we will not actually be learning to perform them. However, since we will be learning to identify them, which can sometimes require a spell, you should always bring your wands to class, just in case. For the most part, we will not be using class time to practice magic."

The professor paused for a moment and looked around his desk. Grabbing a piece of parchment, he read over it before speaking again.

"Anyways, your first assignment in this class will be to write a four page paper on the spell that was used to conceal the entrance to this classroom." The professor tossed aside the parchment and clapped his hands together.

"And with that you're all dismissed." The professor said.

Students began to gather up their things and head for the exit. Hermione's face filled with disappointment. "But professor we've still got twenty more minutes." She said disappointely.

"And? You're dismissed. Go, get out of my sight! Go to a party, smooch your boyfriend. Smooch Potter, just shoo." The professor said waving his hands at her. Hermione stared in astonishment for a moment before gathering her things. Harry's own gaze was filled with a slight amazement. He couldn't help but like Professor Rickman. There was something about him… something familiar yet at the same time he was unlike any teacher that Harry had ever met. Professor Rickman was... cool.

Harry gathered his things and raised himself from the desk in front of him. He headed towards the exit but stopped as he saw Ryan blocking his exit.

"Harry Potter?" He asked holding out his hand. Harry looked down at it and although he didn't really want to, he took it as not to be rude.

"Ryan Flowers." The boy said. "Though you already knew that."

Harry nodded, wondering what was on the boy's mind.

"So listen..." Ryan began. "There's this dueling club that meets after school today in the Dragon Courtyard, well actually it meets Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, but anyways the first meeting is today. You should come, I'm sure everyone would like to see the wizard who defeated Voldemort."

Harry was taken aback. Most wizards even now didn't dare speak Voldemort's name... but this guy, Ryan had spoken it without hesitation, and there was something else in the way he'd said, something that Harry thought was respect, either that or maybe... admiration? Harry looked at Ryan curiously for a moment. Standing up now, Harry suddenly realized that Ryan was almost half a foot shorter than he was. Harry who was considered tall, hadn't noticed the boy's height when they'd been in class. He'd seemed taller, scarier, but he was only about average height.

"Uh yeah, sure sounds good." Harry answered. After that Ryan looked at Hermione. "And you, you should come to, I've heard a few things about you as well. Even if you don't duel its always helpful to have such a beautiful face in the crowd." He said smirking slightly as he did so.

Hermione blushed slightly. "I have a boyfriend." She confessed, embarrassed.

"So?" Ryan said shrugging. He started backing up towards the wall behind him. "Boyfriends don't make you unattractive." He said as he passed through the wall and vanished from sight.

Harry turned to Hermione.

"Boyfriends don't make you unattractive," he mimicked, teasing her as she tried to hide her blushing.

"Oh shut up." She said pushing him aside. "Seriously. Is it the American accent?" Harry asked.

"I'm not talking to you." She said as she walked past him towards the exit wall.

"Hermione we could always use a beautiful face in the crowd!" He called after her just as she passed through the wall.

Harry shook his head in amusement as he also passed through the invisible entryway a moment later. When he arrived on the other side he found Hermione to already be a good distance ahead of him.

"Oh come on Hermione I was just kidding!" He called after her, but she didn't show any sign of having heard him. Harry glanced down at his schedule and then he remembered that Hermione still had the map. He started hurrying down the hallway to catch up. "Hey Hermione wait up! Seriously!" He shouted somewhat frantically as he ran after her.