Okay, the usual. I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does... I think I'll just go cry in a corner now...

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Chapter Six- Of First Days and Angry Potions Masters

"Oh, my God! Do you see her?"

"Where? I can't see her!"

"She's the skinny one in Gryffindor robes with the black hair standing next to the tall redhead!"

"Oh, my Goodness! It is her! Do you think she does autographs?"

Whispers such as these followed Hollis through the hallways as soon as she left the girl's dormitories. People in the common room, including her own dorm mates who were now quite awake, lined up to see her and until Percy Weasley barked at everyone to keep moving. Hollis wished with every fiber of her being that they wouldn't do that.

Finding classes for the first week had proven difficult, but she and Ron had learned a lot since then. When it came to finding the right doors or the right staircases, you just had to be really lucky. The staircases couldn't be persuaded to move, but they did, however, have trick stairs that made your feet sink if you forgot to jump the aforementioned trick stair. The doors, though, were different stories. Some only opened when you asked politely, some only opened when you tickled them in the right spot. Others weren't even doors at all.

The ghosts weren't much of a help when it came to finding classrooms. Nearly Headless Nick, the resident Gryffindor Tower ghost whose head was hanging on a 'hinge' of muscle tissue, was always happy to point the Gryffindors in the right direction but Peeves was almost unbearable if you were late. Most of the time, he would sneak up behind you, grab your nose and screech, "GOT YOUR CONK!"

If there was anything worse than Peeves, it was the Caretaker, Mr. Argus Filch. He hated all children and he blatantly made this known. Hollis and Ron had managed to get on Filch's wrong side on the first day. They had been trying to force the door on the forbidden third floor corridor- though they hadn't known it was the forbidden one- and Filch thought they were trying to break into the corridor. Hollis and Ron tried to explain that they thought it was the Transfiguration classroom but Filch hadn't cared. He started going on about torture and hanging people by their thumbs in the dungeons until Hollis and Ron were rescued by Professor Quirrell.

Filch had an assistant and his assistant came in the form of his cat, Mrs. Norris. Mrs. Norris was a dusty colored, skinny, creature with huge, lamp like eyes that resembled Filch's own eyes. If you broke a rule in front of her, she'd whisk off in an instant and two seconds later, Filch would appear, winded and wheezing, but raving mad. Filch knew the secret corridors of Hogwarts better than anyone save perhaps the Weasley twins and could almost pop up out of nowhere. All the students hated him and it was everyone's deepest desire to give Mrs. Norris a good kick.

Then there were the classes themselves, when you managed to find them. Hollis found out very soon that there was more to magic than waving a wand and saying a few weird words.

As it turned out, many of the spells turned had actually been derived from an ancient or dead language, such as Latin. Each spell had its own use and meaning and separate wrist movement.

However, some classes didn't even require the use of a wand.

History of Magic was one of these classes and it was easily the most boring class. It was taught by a ghost, Professor Binns, who had fallen asleep in the staff room, got up for class the next day and forgot his body. He was the only ghost that taught a class and everyone was thankful for that. He may have been determined to teach, even in his afterlife, but he was about as exciting as watching paint dry. He droned on and on about things such as the Goblin Rebellions and he often got names mixed up.

Astronomy, though interesting, was tedious and required a lot of observation. It took place every Wednesday at midnight and despite the fact that Hollis was fairly interested in the stars and planets, she was slightly dubious about passing it, given the class hours.

Transfiguration was easily the most difficult class, but Hollis found it exceedingly interesting. Professor McGonagall, true to her appearance, was very strict. She had given them a talk the very first day.

"Transfiguration is a difficult course and sometimes very dangerous. I do not tolerate foolishness in my class. If I catch you being careless in my classroom, you will walk out this door and never come back in," she had said sternly.

She had given them a couple of demonstrations and then set an assignment. Just as Hollis predicted, McGonagall had tasked them with turning a match into a needle.

It was actually not that difficult for Hollis. She wasn't sure if it was her Elemental status that was boosting her magic level or if she just had a natural aptitude for the subject. Whatever it was, it helped her win a rare smile from McGonagall for she had made her match go pointy and silver by her third try. Hermione glowered at her but she needn't have glared. By the end of the class only she had Hermione had made any headway. They weren't perfect needles but McGonagall said that she had high hopes for the both of them.

Charms was a fairly interesting class but it was fairly difficult. It was taught by a very small man with a shock of white hair named Flitwick. He seemed to be full of energy despite his old age. He seemed particularly pleased with the fact that he was teaching the famous Hollis Potter for he toppled off his stack of pillows every time he did roll call. Hermione Granger was in her element in this class and often excelled in particular charms.

Defense Against the Dark Arts turned out to be a bit of a joke. Quirrell, who seemed to be afraid of his profession as well as his students, was very nervous in the classroom and often jumped whenever someone dropped a book. It reeked of garlic half the time and the Weasley twins often said that Quirrell packed his room garlic to ward off a vampire he had met in his travels. He often jumped from subject to subject and could not stay on a particular subject for too long, especially when it came to his turban and his travels. However, when it came to spells, Hollis was in her element. She had managed to master the Knock- Back Jinx- Flipendo- in the first class.

Hollis was relieved and surprised at the same time when she learned that she wasn't miles behind everyone else. She learned that lots of people in Hogwarts came from Muggle families and had no idea that witches and wizards existed let alone knew that they were one. And Hollis needn't have worried anyway. There was so much to learn about magic that even people from pureblood families like Ron had much of a head start.

Friday was an extremely important day for Hollis and Ron. They had managed to find Great Hall without getting lost once. Hollis, personally, felt like doing a happy dance.

"That's a relief. I thought I was going to get lost every single time I tried to find this place," Ron said with a laugh. Hollis laughed too as they sat down to eat their breakfast. Hollis helped herself to some porridge- a rarity in the Dursley household seeing how Dudley could eat all of it in one go- and poured some sugar on top of it.

"What do we have first?" Hollis asked while pouring some pumpkin juice into her goblet.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," Ron said with a grimace. Hollis shivered.

"Snape's head of Slytherin house, isn't he?" Hollis asked.

"Yeah, and I hear he favors the Slytherins. We'll see if it's true," Ron said darkly. He spooned himself some eggs and speared a fat sausage, possibly trying to imagine Snape's head there.

"I wish McGonagall favored us," Hollis stated blandly, swallowing a spoonful of hot porridge. Ron nodded vigorously in agreement. Professor McGonagall was head of Gryffindor house but that didn't stop her from giving them a load of homework the day earlier.

Just then, the owls swooped in to deliver the mail. Hollis had been used to owl post, but not on this magnitude. She was used to the Hogwarts setting by now but she had received the shock of a lifetime on the first day.

She hadn't received any mail so far but Hedwig sometimes flew by to nibble on her ear and a piece of toast before flying off to the owlery. This morning was different. She swooped down in between the marmalade and bowl of apples and dropped a letter onto Hollis's plate.

Hollis, eager for her first letter at Hogwarts, opened it at once. It was from Hagrid.

Hollis,

I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and visit me for a cup of tea at around three? I want to hear about your first week. Send a reply back with Hedwig.

Hagrid

Hollis smiled as she scribbled a note to Hagrid (Yes please, see you later) on the back of the letter. She gave Hedwig a piece of toast and her letter and sent her to Hagrid.

It was fortunate that Hollis had something to look forward to for Potions class had not been fun in the least.

Potions class took place down in the Dungeons, and it was as creepy as it was cold. Its creepiness was magnified tenfold with the jars of pickled animals lying around where you'd least expect it. Ron and Hollis sat next to each other, as usual and Snape strode in a moment later, his robes billowing behind him.

He began the class with roll call, like many of the teachers did and just like many of the teachers, he paused when he came to Hollis's name.

"Hollis Potter… our new celebrity," he sneered, his lips curling. Hollis felt a shiver go up her back. She had gotten the sense that Snape disliked her when their eyes had met at the Welcome Feast. She knew now that he didn't dislike her. He hated her.

Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle sniggered behind their hands. Snape took no notice of this and finished roll call. He stood before them, reminding Hollis of some sort of overgrown bat. His eyes were dark, much like Hagrid's, but they gave off the feeling of dark tunnels.

"You are in this room to learn the subtle science that is potion making. There are no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class and as such, many of you will have a hard time believing that this is magic," Snape began, his voice no higher than a whisper. He had an innate talent, much like McGonagall, of keeping a class quiet so there was no need for him to speak higher than a whisper.

"I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, or even put a stopper in death- if you aren't the bunch of dunderheads that I have to teach," Snape said, a slight whine in his voice. Ron and Hollis looked at each other. They looked over at Hermione, who was sitting on the edge of her seat, looking eager to prove that she wasn't stupid.

"Potter! What would I get if I added powdered root of an asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Snape asked abruptly, his voice suddenly loud.

Hermione's hand shot into the air but there was no need for Hermione to have raised her hand. Hollis knew the answer. She had, after all, read the course books.

"You would get a sleeping potion so strong that it is called the Draught of Living Death, sir," Hollis answered quietly, trying desperately not to make eye contact with Snape. His lip curled unpleasantly yet again. Hollis could see out of the corner of her eye Malfoy's mouth drop open.

"And where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" Snape asked again, his voice almost defensive. Hermione's hand rose yet again but everyone, including Snape, ignored her. The entire class waited with baited breath to see if Hollis could answer.

"It's a stone, found in a goat's stomach, sir. It's a common cure for most poisons," Hollis said, still not looking into Snape's tunnel like eyes.

The expression on Snape's sallow face twisted into something farther than distaste. "And what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?" he asked quietly. Hermione had finally given up on being called on.

"There is none. They are the same thing and they also go by the name of aconite, sir," Hollis answered in the same tone, her eyes glued to her notebook. Snape breathed very deeply but didn't ask anything more.

"Why aren't you copying that down? Oh, and one point from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potter. I didn't ask you to memorize the course book," Snape sneered. Hollis didn't retort but she must have given him a very surprised and hurt look for he smirked at her.

After the little twenty questions game between Hollis and Snape was over, Snape tasked them to mixing a simple potion that cured boils. Thankfully, Hollis was working with Ron and together they managed to work through most of the difficult stuff and create a pretty good rendition of what Snape was asking for.

However, Snape still found fault with their potion as he did with everyone else's, save Malfoy's potion. He seemed to have taken a liking to Malfoy and complemented on the 'perfect' way he stewed his horned slugs and how the green smoke that billowed from was the exact color he had described.

Poor Neville was working with Seamus and had managed to melt his cauldron, spilling the solution all over. When it started burning holes into people's shoes, that's when everyone stood on their stools. Neville, who had been drenched in his and Seamus's potion, whimpered as angry red boils appeared on his skin. Hollis winced in sympathy.

"Idiot boy! I suppose you added the porcupine quills before you took the cauldron off the fire!" Snape growled while cleaning up the solution with a wave of his wand.

"You, take him up to the Hospital Wing," Snape said while pointing a hand at Seamus who led Neville out of the room rather quickly. Snape then suddenly rounded on Hollis and Ron.

"Potter, why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Surely you must have known that would happen. Did you think it would make you look good by him getting it wrong did you? Another point from Gryffindor," Snape said before gliding away.

Hollis opened her mouth to retort but a swift kick from Ron silenced her. In fact, she had told Neville not to add the quills. He just wasn't listening or he forgot. The latter seemed highly likely.

"Don't push it with Snape. I heard he can turn nasty," Ron whispered as he brought over some dried nettles. Hollis nodded though she was trying to figure out what she did to make Snape dislike her so much.

One painful hour later, Hollis exited the frigid Dungeons, her spirits rather low. She had managed to lose two points in her first week!

"Hey, don't be upset. Fred and George get points off from Snape all the time. Can I come and meet Hagrid with you?" Ron asked.

Hollis nodded, slightly cheered by the fact that she wasn't the only person that was disliked by Snape. But then again, many teachers disliked the Weasley twins.

They ate a delicious lunch and did a bit of their homework before visiting Hagrid. At five of three, Hollis and Ron left the castle and ventured outside onto the grounds. Hagrid lived on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest in a wooden hut. When they drew closer, Hollis could see a pair of huge golashes and a crossbow.

When they knocked on the door, there was a frantic scrabbling at the door and several booming barks came from inside the house.

"Back, Fang, back," said Hagrid over the barking. The door opened a crack and Hollis and Ron saw what the problem was. Hagrid was attempting to restrain an eager looking black boarhound.

"Hold on. Back Fang!" Hagrid said. Once he had a good grip on the clearly excited dog, Hagrid let them inside. As soon as the door was shut, Fang the boarhound bounded over and began to lick Hollis and Ron around the ears. He, like Hagrid, was less fierce than his countenance belayed.

"This is Ron," Hollis introduced. Ron smiled as Hagrid laughed.

"Another Weasley, eh? I spent half me life chasing your twin brothers away from the Forest," Hagrid said with hearty laugh.

They all sat down at Hagrid's huge table and helped themselves to tea and Hagrid's rock cakes. These rock cakes were actually just lumps of dough with raisins in them that were, like their name suggested, hard as a rock. Ron and Hollis pretended to enjoy these cakes while telling Hagrid about their lessons over the week. Fang had come to rest his head on Hollis's lap, his drool flecking her skirt and robes.

"Filch is an old git alright," Hagrid growled as Ron and Hollis finished the story about Filch catching them trying to 'break into' the forbidden corridor.

Hollis and Ron couldn't help but show their delight.

"As for Mrs. Norris… well, let's just say I'd like to introduce her to Fang sometime. You know, whenever I'm in the castle, she follows me everywhere! I can't seem to get rid of her. I'd bet me house that Filch puts her up to it," Hagrid said.

"I wouldn't put it past him. But I think Snape is worse than Filch. I mean, he took two points off today for stuff I didn't even do! He asked me a load of questions that I got right and he takes a point of for memorizing the material. Then he accused me of not telling Neville not to put porcupine quills in the potion before taking the cauldron off the fire and took off a point," Hollis said heatedly.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much. Snape doesn't like many people," Hagrid said easily.

"The only problem is, Snape just doesn't dislike me. He hates me," Hollis said.

"Nonsense! Why shouldn't he?" Hagrid said quickly. Hollis narrowed her eyes. That answer came way too quickly for it to be the truth. Hagrid averted his gaze from Hollis and turned it to Ron.

"So how's your brother, Charlie? I liked Charlie a lot… really good with animals," Hagrid asked. Hollis didn't listen to Ron's explanation having already heard it once. She picked up a cutting from underneath a tea cozy. It was a cutting from the Daily Prophet.

GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST

Investigations continue into the break in at Gringotts Bank on July 31st. It is believed that break-in was devised by dark witches or wizards unknown. The goblins insist that nothing had been taken and the vault in question, 713, had been emptied the very same day.

Hollis stopped reading. She had remembered Ron telling her about this at breakfast on Wednesday. He hadn't mentioned a date.

"Hey, Hagrid! That break-in happened on my birthday! It could have happened while we were there!" Hollis exclaimed.

Hagrid's eyes definitely didn't meet hers. He just offered her another rock cake rather loudly.

Hollis accepted the rock cake but kept her gaze on Hagrid. There was definitely something fishy going on. She and Hagrid had emptied vault number 713, if you considered taking a three inch package out of the vault emptying, and the culprit had tried to rob the same vault. What were they looking for? Were they really looking for the grubby package?

After another hour of amicable talking, Ron and Hollis made their way back to the castle, their pockets weighed down by rock cakes that they had been too polite to refuse.

Hollis had learned a lot in her first week.

But she learned more in Hagrid's cabin.

What did Hagrid not want Hollis to know about Snape and his unreasonable hatred? Why did he avoid her gaze when she asked him about the break-in?

Hollis was determined to find out.