Chapter 8
Morgan woke when someone pulled open the blinds to the window. Sunlight streamed in and Morgan hissed as the light hit her straight in the face.
She sat up and glared at the window. Oh how I hate thee, morning sun, she thought with venom in her heart. She took her time getting out of bed. The others had left for breakfast when she finally stepped out of the shower to dress. By the time she got to the common room, it was 8:10.
"Oh shoot." Morgan hurried out of the portrait hole and rushed down the corridor but skidded to a stop when she realized she had absolutely no idea how to get back to the Great Hall.
"Damn it, I knew I should have been paying attention to where I was going last night."
She took off in a general direction thinking that as long as she headed down she was sure to end up in the Entrance Hall. A half hour later, she was cursing as she marched down another unfamiliar corridor. She cursed her stupid luck, the stupid school, and everything else that got in her way, like stupid doors that wouldn't open. Finally she found the grand staircase and saw she had a lot of climbing down to do.
If it wasn't for this damn skirt I'd jump down to save time.
Morgan ran as fast as she could – trying hard not to miss a step or she'd fall and crack her head open. It didn't help that the staircases moved and changed landings right after she got off them. She was two staircases from reaching the ground floor when she crashed into someone on the landing.
"Wah!!" Morgan stumbled back and fell on her butt. "What the -?"
She looked up to see a floating man with an equality confused look on his face; that is, before it turned into a mischievous grin. He wore a strange hat with bells on it, an orange bow-tie, green vest with white shirt underneath, and weird stripped brown pants with pointed shoes. He resembled a picture of an elf Morgan had seen in a children's picture book.
"Ooh who do we have here? Icky firstie maybe?" he crackled. "Going to be late for breakfast if you don't hurry, firstie. Don't worry, Old Peeves will help you."
Something about the way he said that gave Morgan a distinct impression that his 'help' was something she could do without.
"No thanks, I can manage on me own."
"Aw but then old Peeves won't have his fun." A bundle of sticks appeared around him. "Run run run firstie, or old Peeves will give you a good clubbing."
Morgan dodged the first wave as the sticks swung at her. She took off down the stairs as fast as she could, but not fast enough. Peeves continued to pelt her with sticks as she reached the Entrance Hall.
"Hey! What is your problem? Leave me alone!" Morgan grabbed one of the sticks that were hitting her over the head and swung back at Peeves. He dodged it easily, flipped upside down, and blew a raspberry at her.
"Try and catch old Peeves if you can, firstie," he crackled. He vanished and reappeared behind her, snatched her bag out of her hand and dangling it above her head. "Jump, little firstie, if you want it back."
"That's it!" Morgan growled. She leaped into the air, using a bit of sorcery to increase her height and caught Peeves off guard as she brought the stick down on his head. Unfortunately, Peeves didn't let go of her bag as he yowled in pain and zoomed off into the Great Hall.
"Come back here!" she shouted. She kept swinging the stick, trying to stop him, as she gave chase. She burst into the Great Hall and found a thousand pairs of eyes staring at her. It was then that she realized she must look like a lunatic. Her robe was hanging off on one shoulder and she had a two foot long stick raised in one hand like she was about to club someone.
Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment as she hid the stick behind her. Suddenly her bag landed on her head, making her see stars. Peeves crackled from above as he zoomed out of the hall.
Cursing under her breath, she straightened her robes and marched to the Gryffindor table, determined to ignore all the curious eyes as she took her seat at the very end. She had just sat down to eat when a fluttering of wings caught her attention. Morgan looked up to see a cloud of owls fly in from… the sky?
Morgan blinked in surprised. For a second there, she thought the Great Hall had no roof, but when she looked closely she realized there was an illusion spell on the roof that made it appear like the sky outside. The weather seemed to have quickly turned cloudy compared to the bright sunlight from an hour ago. There was no sunlight, only ominous gray clouds.
The owls descended and swooped up and down the four long tables, dropping letters and packages to their respective owners. Among the cloud of white, brown, and black feathers, she spotted a small yellow bird flying around in circles.
"Leita!"
"Morgan!" Leita chirped as she landed rather clumsily on the table. There was a package tied to her leg that was twice as big as her.
"Hey, Leita! How have you been?"
"Good. I never delivered a package before but Laris put a spell on it to make it lighter. The owls were really nice too. They showed me how to get here and everything," she chirped excitedly.
"Well, that's good to hear. What did you bring me?" asked Morgan, untying the parcel from Leita's leg.
"The package is from Matt and there's a letter inside from Laris."
Morgan offered her some toast as she ripped open the paper wrappings. A white envelope fell out and inside was a small box that was slightly larger than her hand. She decided to open the letter first.
Dear Morgan,
Hope your first day goes well. Good luck and write back soon. We miss you!
~Laris
Morgan smiled and made a mental note to write an extra long letter for her tomorrow. She tucked the letter into the pocket of her robe and picked up the box from Matthew. There was a small note scribbled on the cover of the box.
You left this back in the Forest. I thought you'd like to have it back but I hope you don't have to use it for anything other than cutting Potion ingredients. Keep your eyes open and good luck!
~ Matthew
"What is he –?" She opened the box and saw a familiar handle poking out of a bundle of leather. "My dagger! Is he crazy? Of all the things to send me via mail –"
"But he was worried about you," said Leita.
Morgan sighed. "Well he should stop worrying. It's only the first day." Morgan offered Leita a sip of some juice as she ate her breakfast. She was halfway through her plate when she spotted Professor McGonagall walking down the Gryffindor table passing out papers that Morgan guessed were their class schedules.
"Are you heading back now?" asked Morgan quietly.
Leita shrugged her little feathered shoulders. "I can stay if you want or I'll just come back tomorrow for your letter."
Morgan contemplated if she should take out a roll of parchment and scribble down what happened yesterday. She had already reported everything to Dumbledore last night, and she was feeling exhausted from yesterday's excursions. She supposed she should keep the Sorcery updated as well.
"Alright, sit tight. I'll write a short note to Laris and Matt." Morgan pulled out parchment and quill and quickly scribbled:
Hey guys,
There was trouble on the train but nothing I can't handle. The kid's a real hot head and so are his friends. Class is about to start but let's just say from my experience so far, Dumbledore better send me a map or I'll start blasting my way through walls to get to my class. There's just way too many corridors and staircases here. Hogwarts makes the School seem like a box. I miss you guys already and thanks, Matt, for the gift. I promise to write a longer letter tomorrow.
~ Morgan
Morgan had just finished signing the letter when Professor McGonagall spoke from behind her. "Oh good, I see you made it back to the Great Hall. I trust you settled in nicely?"
Morgan nodded.
"Here is your schedule. Weasley and Granger will show you the way to all your classes. Class will be starting soon so I suggest you finish your breakfast and head on up to History of Magic."
"Thank you, Professor." Morgan quickly tied the letter to Leita's leg and watched her fly off as she repacked her bag. She had her last piece of toast dangling out of her mouth as she rushed out of the Great Hall. She looked around but couldn't find Hermione or Ron anywhere. They probably already left, she thought.
She checked her schedule to see where the History of Magic classroom was located and was dismayed to find that there was no map attached to her schedule. "Now what am I going to do?"
"Looks like your silly bird is still alive," sneered someone from behind her. Morgan turned to see Draco standing in the Great hall's door way with his two lackeys behind him. "Where's your friend? Too scared to come to Hogwarts?"
"That's none of your business." This guy had the worst timing. It was bad enough Morgan had no idea where her first class was. She did not need this right now.
"I bet she was so scared she ran home to mommy." His friends snickered dumbly next to him. "What a stupid Mudblood girl."
Morgan frowned. She may not know what a Mudblood was but it didn't take a genius to figure out that he was calling Laris something vile.
"What? Nothing to say, little girl?" he sneered.
"I have nothing to say to a spoiled brat like you," said Morgan coldly. She would like nothing better than to pound his face into a bloody pulp but she had been taught better. Instead she turned her back to him and marched off, towards the marble staircase, where the general population of students were headed. Maybe one of them could tell her where the History of Magic class was located.
Suddenly, her path was blocked by a group of Slytherin girls. The leader was a mean looking girl with a scrunch up nose and dark brown eyes. Her hair was short and black and she held herself as if she was better than everyone else. She had her arms crossed and was looking down at Morgan like she was an insect.
"No one talks to a Pure blood like that, you filthy Muggle-born," she sneered.
Morgan gave an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. Not another one. "Look, I'm not looking for a fight so could you please move so I can get to class?"
"Apologize on your knees to Draco and then we'll move."
Morgan snorted. "Not likely unless he returns the favor."
"Me? Apologize to you?" Malfoy laughed. "I don't care what Dumbledore says, you're a filthy Mudblood and you know it."
Morgan glanced down at her watch. She was going to be late if she couldn't resolve this mess. She silently cursed the stupid assignment that was restricting her from giving these snot-nosed kids a good beating.
Man, all those hours training with Matt were a waste if I get beat up by the likes of them.
"Mudblood, Pure blood… Whatever. Now excuse me because I really need to get to class." Morgan tried to move past the girls but they formed a wall, blocking her path to the stairs. "Okay, now I'm getting really annoyed with this."
"So what are you going to do, Mudblood? Start a fight? You're outnumbered and there's no one to come rescue you," sneered the girl. "Plus, Draco and I are prefects. That means you have to listen to us."
"Don't you guys have class to get to?" asked Morgan.
"My point exactly," came Professor McGonagall from behind them.
Everyone turned to see her with her arms crossed and her wand in one hand. Her black hair was in a tight bun and she was dressed in emerald green robes. She was glaring at them through her square glasses and the look on her face said woe to those who cross her this morning – namely them.
"Mr. Malfoy, you have class in five minutes. I suggest you hurry along before I report all of you to Professor Snape," she barked.
"Feh." Malfoy and the other Slytherins reluctantly moved past Morgan and up the marble staircase, muttering to themselves.
"And as for you, I thought I told you to follow Ms. Granger or Mr. Weasley to your class. Why are you still here?"
"Sorry, Professor, I must have missed them."
Professor McGonagall sighed. "Very well, I shall escort you then. Come along."
Morgan found that she was hard pressed with keeping up with McGonagall's brisk walk. The woman led her up a flight of stairs and down a corridor whose many doors were apparently classrooms.
"Professor Binn's classroom is at the end of this hall and the second to last door on your left. This had better be the last time you are late to a class," she warned. She then turned and headed back down the hall to her classroom.
Morgan sighed, thinking the day couldn't have started out any worse. First she got lost going to breakfast, then she gets attacked by Peeves, followed by being harassed by Malfoy and crew, and now this.
I just need to keep myself from straying into the spot light. Half the school probably thinks I'm a lunatic. I just hope the other half won't notice me.
She approached the History of Magic classroom and took a deep breath. Stay out of the spot light and do your job, Morgan.
Morgan opened the door and stepped in. At first, she thought she was in the wrong classroom. Everyone either had their heads down sleeping or gazing off aimlessly as the teacher droned on.
Did someone cast a sleep spell or something?
Morgan spotted an empty seat in the back and tried to quietly make her way there. Unfortunately, the entire class decided that she was more interesting than what the teacher was saying because they watched her curiously the whole way there. A murmur of voices spread as Morgan sat down next to Neville.
At least the teacher hasn't noticed, thought Morgan, pulling out parchment and quill to start taking notes. She looked up and gaped to find that the teacher was a ghost – a transparent, pearly white ghost.
"Hey, Morgan," whispered Neville. "Why were you late?"
His question brought Morgan out of her stupor. She quickly shook her head and dipped her quill in the ink well. "I got lost," she whispered back as she began taking notes.
Ten minutes later, Morgan started feeling the effects of Binn's monotonous voice.
So this is the elusive sleep spell that's making everyone fall asleep…
Morgan could feel her eyes dropping as she tried her best to pay attention to the ghost's lecture. She looked down on her parchment and realized that her quill had made a giant blotch of ink from resting on the same spot for the past ten minutes. Next to her, she could hear Neville snoring but it wasn't loud enough to drone out Professor Binn's voice. Looking around, Morgan noticed people were doodling on their papers. She could see Ron and Harry scribbling on Ron's parchment, but Hermione was surprisingly taking notes.
Morgan glanced down at her own notes again and sighed softly. It was completely illegible.
At least I know that the subject is giant wars. I guess I'll have to research everything since I can't pay attention in this class.
Morgan groaned with the rest of the Gryffindors at the end of class when Binns assigned them a 12 inch essay on the first giant war of the 1400s. She packed her bag and hung back as she followed the Gryffindors out of the classroom. She checked her schedule and was depressed to find that they had an hour break before heading for double Potions.
Morgan wondered what she was supposed to do for the next hour. She considered going to the library to start on the essay that had just been assigned, but that would require her to first research the giant war since her notes were useless. That in itself would take more than an hour. And there was also the fact that she was supposed to be Harry's body guard while at Hogwarts.
Even if I go to the library, I'll probably get lost on the way to class. I should just tail Harry for the next hour. He's probably headed for the Gryffindor common room anyways…
Morgan glanced up to find that she had somehow wandered in the wrong direction and lost sight of her classmates. There wasn't a single Gryffindor in sight as Morgan waded through the sea of black robes. Morgan was once again lost and had no idea which way was the Gryffindor common room or her next class. She managed to make her way to the marble staircase without getting trampled by the students rushing to their next class and she paused to catch her breath. She then made her way back to Gryffindor common room in under ten minutes, but a quick look around told her Harry wasn't there.
"Damn it. Where did that boy go off to?" she muttered. "I don't have time to comb the entire castle for him."
She quickly returned to the marble staircase and made sure she was alone before summoning her scry stone. Closing her eyes and emptying her mind, she concentrated on Harry. An image of Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared in Morgan's mind. They were hanging around outside in the courtyard chatting. As Morgan watched, a Ravenclaw girl approached the trio, greeting Harry.
Morgan quickly vanished her scry stone and headed back downstairs. She only hoped they weren't going to go anywhere by the time she got to the ground floor. She was halfway down her second staircase when suddenly the staircase shook and moved to a different landing. Morgan staggered and gripped the railing as the stone shifted.
"Of all the things to happen…" She descended onto the new landing and realized that there were no connecting staircases that led down to the next floor. Cursing her luck, she decided to try that floor and look for another staircase that could take her to the Entrance Hall.
As it turned out, she only got more lost. Morgan checked her watch and realized she only had five minutes left before the hour break was over. Morgan glanced out the window to see a lake and a forest. Looking down, she guessed she was somewhere on the fourth floor.
"Ok, I think I've reached the end of my patience with this castle."
Morgan pushed open the window and leaned out to make sure no one was around. She did a quick check of the corridor she was on and was relieved to see it was still deserted. She pushed herself through the window ledge and stepped out on air – well, more like floated on air.
I know I should feel guilty over using so much sorcery in one day, but honestly, whoever said patience is a virtue should try their precious patience in this castle.
Morgan descended down the side of the castle wall, avoiding windows where students were packing their bags as class ended. She reached the ground just as the bell rang.
Crap! I have no idea where Potions is!
Morgan rushed back inside and checked her schedule. It said that Potions was held in the dungeons.
Dungeons? Dungeons is underground right? How do I get down there?
She caught a flash of red among the mass of students and rushed towards it, thinking it was Ron. She run up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, Ron, I'm so glad I – " Morgan broke off as she realized the redhead wasn't Ron. He looked like he could be Ron's brother though. They had the same flaming red hair, freckled complexion, and blue eyes but Ron was gangly while this boy was stocky. "Opps, wrong person. Sorry."
"Are you looking for my brother?" he asked.
"Er, I'm looking for Ron Weasley. We have Potions next and he's supposed to show me the way."
"You don't know where Potions is?" Morgan almost had a heart attack when an exact replica of the boy popped up on her left. They were giving her curious, identical looks. "Are you a first year?"
"No, I'm a transfer student."
"Never knew we had any. Name's Fred," said the first boy. "This is my twin brother, George. We're Ron's older brothers. You're a fifth year, right?"
Morgan nodded. "Would you guys happen to know where Ron is?"
"Nope. But we can tell you where Potions is," said George.
"Take the stairs down that hall over there," pointed Fred.
"Follow the corridor and make a right," continued George.
"And you'll come to a hall where the dungeons are."
"Snape's door in the first one on your right."
"Better hurry."
"Or you'll be late."
"Er, thanks Fred, George." Morgan headed off feeling slightly dizzy. She had barely set foot on the staircase when the bell rang, signaling the start of class.
"Crap!"
Morgan practically leaped off the staircase and ran as fast as she could down the dark corridor. She skidded as she rounded the corner and made a leap for the handle of the door. She yanked it opened and rushed inside.
"Sorry I'm late Professor. I –"
"There is no excuse for tardiness, Miss Risika," said a familiar cold voice. Morgan flinched instinctively as the sound of her last name. She looked up and realized the speaker was the same man that was in Dumbledore's office last night when she had been giving her report. "Five points from Gryffindor. Now take your seat."
Points?
Morgan scanned the room and realized there was only one seat left and it was at the front of the classroom. And what's worse, it looked like Gryffindor was having Potions with Slytherin and the Slytherins where all occupying the front half of the classroom. She was vaguely aware that Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting at the back of the classroom with the other Gryffindors as she took her seat at the empty table right in front of Snape's desk. Around her, the Slytherins were snickering at her.
"As I was saying before I was interrupted," said Snape, casting a glare at Morgan. "This year is your O.W.L.s. You will be sitting your exams next June and I am expecting an 'Acceptable' from every one of you. After this year, many of you will no longer be continuing in this subject as I only accept the very best in my N.E.W.T. Potions class. But whether you are attempting to enter my N.E.W.T. Potions class or not, all of you should concentrate on maintaining my high-pass expectation.
"Today you will be brewing a potion that often comes up on the O.W.L. – the Draught of Peace. Ingredients are already on the board and everything you need will be in the store cupboard. You have an hour and a half to complete it. Begin."
Morgan sighed and was about to get up when Snape stepped in front of her.
"Despite the fact that you are a transfer student, I expect you to be capable of arriving to class on time. The next time you are late I will put you in detention. Is that clear, Miss Risika," he said quietly.
Morgan flinched again. "Yes, sir," she grumbled and got up to get her ingredients.
An hour later, Morgan was sweating from the heat of the flames. This potion was incredibly complicated. Everything had to be precisely done at precisely the right time. Morgan kept one eye on her watch and the other eye on her potion. For the moment, things seemed to look fine. She threw in the last ingredients and stirred the potion counter clockwise for a minute. The gray liquid in her cauldron lightened until it was a cool gray with silver vapor starting to emit from it.
Just then Snape came up behind her to inspect her potion, making her jump.
"It seems you've miraculously produced the Draught of Peace despite your apparent lack of ability to keep time, Miss Risika," he sneered. Without another word he moved away to inspect the other student's potion.
"I wish he'd stop calling me that," she muttered.
"What's wrong, Risika? Don't like your muggle-born surname?" sneered Malfoy. The other Slytherins laughed.
Morgan glanced to see that Snape was in the back, inspecting Harry's potion and probably couldn't hear anything that was going on up in the front of the classroom.
"I heard you're a transfer student," said the Slytherin girl that had blocked her way earlier. "Did your school expel you because they found out what a worthless Mudblood you are?"
"It's really none of your business, so would you kindly please stop harassing me," said Morgan as diplomatically as she could. She filled a flagon with her Draught of Peace and got up to place it on Snape's desk.
"Homework is a twelve inch parchment on moonstone and its uses in potion-making. You'll hand it in to me first thing on Thursday," said Snape as he headed towards his desk.
Morgan noticed that Harry was clearing away his things while everyone else was filling their flagons with their potion. Even from across the room, Morgan picked up Harry's anger seething along the surface of his mind.
Wondering what could have angered him this time, Morgan began to clean up her desk. Suddenly, something splashed onto her desk, quickly melting the wood and the few ingredients that were still on it. Morgan looked up to see the annoying Slytherin girl giggling girlishly. "Opps, how clumsy of me."
Morgan sighed irritably as she pulled her bag away from the mess only to realize the concoction had landed on the edge of her bag. Now she had a hole the size of her fist at the bottom, rendering the bag useless. Morgan groaned and glared at the girl who was innocently handing in her second flagon of her Draught of Peace.
"Bitch," Morgan muttered. She vanished all the contents of her bag and placed an illusion on the hole, making her bag seem whole again. This day was steadily getting worse and she had only made it till lunch.