Chapter 4: The Poltergeist and The Cat
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its characters do not belong to me
Harry was left wondering who came up with the song's words, and how drunk they'd been at the time. And then, since the song obviously wasn't bad enough, the headmaster created a headache-inducing mess. And, what a mess! Everyone, it seemed, chose a different song, in a different key and rhythm. And pace.
Finally, once the last singers had fallen quiet, they were dismissed with twinkling eyes. Percy seemed to puff up at this, quickly gathering up the now-red-bearing first-years and ushering them out of the Hall and up the Marble Staircase.
Still disoriented from the disjointed singing, Harry struggled to keep track of where they were; or memorise the way back. Percy's speed also didn't help. They were finally stopped by a bunch of floating walking sticks.
Bemused, Harry watched as Percy once again puffed up, and took a step towards the floating objects. Only for the sticks to start flying towards him.
"Peeves," Percy whispered. "He's a poltergeist. PEEVES! Show yourself!" he called out.
The only response was a loud raspberry.
"Do I need to go get the Bloody Baron?" Percy demanded.
With a loud 'pop', a small man appeared, floating cross-legged and clutching the remaining sticks.
"Oh! Lookie at the ickle firsties!" he cackled evilly, before swooping down at them, causing a few shrieks.
"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this – I mean it!" Percy snapped angrily.
Peeves simply stuck out his tongue, before his eyes widened, and he vanished, dropping the remaining sticks on Neville's head.
Percy sighed.
"You'll want to watch out for Peeves. The Bloody Baron, Slytherin's ghost, is the only one who can control him. He won't even listen to us Prefects." he grumbled. "Here we are."
'Here' turned out to be a large portrait of a rather...plump? lady in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" she asked once they were standing in front of her.
"Caput Draconis." Percy replied promptly, causing the portrait to swing away from the wall, revealing a circular hole. Percy then proceeded to lead them inside. "Right, gather round, please." Percy called, before continuing. "Welcome to the Gryffindor common room. Now, the girl's dormitory is on the right, boys on the left. You will find your year number marked on the door, and your luggage by your bed. If you have any problems, come and get a Prefect. Each dorm from 5th year up will have one. Goodnight." Percy nodded, before heading back out.
Hidden behind the door was a spiral staircase carved out of grey stone. As they made their way up, it quickly became clear they were in one of the Castle's towers. Along the wall were set oak doors with golden numbers. Upon opening the door with a golden '1', they were greeted by a circular room containing five four-poster beds with deep-red velvet curtains.
Too tired to talk, Harry simply collapsed onto his bed, not bothering to change into his pyjamas, and fell straight asleep. That night, his dreams were of Master buying an old castle full of ghosts and Poltergeists, and informing him to keep it clean, or be punished...
The next morning, Harry woke, as usual, at 5am. This meant he could take full advantage of an empty bathroom.
By the time his dorm mates started stirring, Harry was ready to go, and perched on his bed, reading his copy of Hogwarts, A History.
"Morning," Longbottom yawned, before shuffling off for a shower, closely followed by Thomas and Finnigan.
At 6.30, Percy poked his head round the door and ordered everyone to follow him down to breakfast. Apparently they would be receiving their class schedules this morning, along with classes beginning, seeing as it was Monday.
The journey back to the Great Hall was filled with Miss Hermione's questions, now she was awake. Percy didn't seem to mind, however. In fact, he appeared to puff up a bit with each question. It was interesting to note that breakfast began at 6, although Harry didn't think many of his year-mates would be getting up quite that early, judging by the assembled yawns and blank looks.
As it turned out, there wasn't much option for breakfast. Just toast and the various components of a Full English. Percy gave him a strange look when Harry asked about cereal. Apparently, the Wizarding world didn't eat cereal... The drink options left much to be desired, too. Milk or pumpkin juice. Although hot drinks such as tea and coffee were available for older students.
Soon, Professor McGonagall made her way down to the first-years with their schedules. Miss Hermione practically squealed, before racing back to the Tower.
"Mental." Weasley muttered, before returning to his food with vigour.
Harry blinked, before setting off after her.
Their first ever class was Transfiguration, with the Ravenclaws. Fortunately, Hogwarts, a History contained a rather handy map of the Castle. And, if you managed to get lost, the various moving portraits were happy to help, Harry found.
The classroom door was open when he arrived. Curious, Harry ventured in, before spotting a tabby sitting on the desk at the front.
"Oh, hello. You're a pretty kitty, aren't you?" he murmured, holding a hand out for the tabby to scent. "I wish I had a pretty kitty like you." he smiled sadly. Master would never allow him to have a pet. The tabby blinked up at him.
Further conversation was halted by more students arriving, and Harry reluctantly left the tabby, to sit next to Miss Hermione. Just as the bell rang, signalling the start of class, the tabby leapt off of the desk, and turned into Professor McGonagall, much to the delight of the students.
Professor McGonagall waited for the class to calm down, before taking roll. She was not impressed to find Weasley missing.
"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. As such, anyone caught messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned." she stated sternly, before drawing her wand and changing her desk into a pig and back again.
Miss Hermione was practically bouncing in her seat by this point. The Professor then turned to the blackboard and, with another wave of her wand, a set of rules appeared.
"Copy these down. From now on, I expect these to be followed." she then turned back into tabby-form and returned to sitting on her desk.
Harry hurried to retrieve his ink, quill and parchment, before beginning, ignoring Miss Hermione's disappointment at not jumping straight to spells. Besides, the Professor's rules made a lot of sense.
No magic is to be cast without the Professor's approval.
Wands should not be pointed at anyone when casting
Wand movements will be practiced correctly. First with just the hand, then with the wand after the Professor has confirmed correct movements.
All spells will first be cleared on pronunciation before attempting.
If the Professor calls 'Halt', all spell-work will stop, and wands are to be placed down on the desk.
Spells will be thoroughly researched before attempting.
About halfway through, the door burst open, admitting a red-haired missile. Startled, Harry's arm jerked, spotting his parchment. From the groans and grumbles, he wasn't the only one. Weasley stumbled his way to an empty desk, his eyes darting round the classroom, before a stupid grin appeared.
"Whew, made it. Old McGonagall's not here..." he began, only to freeze as the tabby once again transformed.
"Mr. Weasley. Perhaps it would be of use if I were to transfigure your rat into a watch? Then, you might actually get to class on time?" she looked down at him sternly.
Weasley gulped.
"I-I got lost..." he trailed off.
McGonagall huffed.
"Then, perhaps a map? I trust you don't need one to find your seat?"
Weasley turned red, before slipping into his chair, doing his best to hide. Harry frowned, already restarting his notes on a fresh sheet of parchment. Beside him, Miss Hermione was muttering rather viciously under her breath.
