I'm really proud of how this chapter came out, especially Austria's character. I don't know if he's in character or not, but I enjoyed writing him.

Professor Umbridge and her idea of defense.

Gilbert was completely, utterly, without a doubt bored. He and Elizabeta had the same class schedule as Harry, which meant that their first class was History of Magic. England taught them a lot on the subject, so he was expecting an easy history class like the ones in normal human schools. There was one major problem with that, though.

Normal human schools didn't hire ghosts to teach history.

At first Gilbert thought it was a joke. Yeah, hahaha, a ghost who was probably alive in the 1700's or whatever is teaching history. But no one else seemed to think it was funny, in fact, they all sat down and looked bored. Some even put their heads down on the desk. He realized why after the ghost, Mr. Binns, started to speak.

He had the most dull, monotonous voice Gilbert had ever heard. It was the kind of voice you would listen to before bed to help go to sleep. Now, Gilbert sat at his desk, swinging his legs, using a paper to write notes to Eliza with.

'How did you sleep' He pushed the paper to her.

'Alright, you?' She pushed it back.

'Same. Didn't Arthur tell us about these wars?'

'Yeah. What are Harry and them like?'

'They're cool. Harry isn't really anything special from what I can see. Hermione is pretty smart, but I don't know much else about them.'

'Arthur wants us to keep an eye on them.'

'Yeah yeah, I know.'

That was the end of the notes, because Binns had started assigning homework. Gilbert groaned, and followed Hermione to their next class.

"Next is double potions, which means we have it for an hour and a half instead just forty five minutes. We also have it with the Slytherins, so prepare yourself for that." She told them.

"That means we'll be with Basch!" replied Elizabeta.

"It also means we're with Malfoy." Ron grumbled.

The Slytherins were already in the potions room when they got there. Basch was at a station alone, so Gilbert joined him as Eliza joined Neville. Their teacher walked into the room a few minutes later, and told them that they were to follow the instructions on the board.

Potion making didn't require much effort or concentration, so he decided to ask Basch about this Malfoy kid that Ron seemed to hate.

"'You know that kid you said was a weasel this morning?'" he said in German, that way they wouldn't have to worry about being overheard.

"'Yes...what about him?'"

"'The read head over there, Ron, apparently hates him. I was wondering if you would know why.'"

"'Maybe it's because he's a terrible person. Or maybe it's because he won't shut up about his family and purebloods and those sort of things. It could be anything.'"

"'Kesese, you're right.'"

They continued on talking about nothing in particular until Snape came over to their station and told them their potion was near perfection. He watched as the liquid turned light blue when the final ingredient was put in, and gave them a vial to bottle up the concoction. Snape seemed impressed if nothing else. Gilbert walked with Basch to the Great Hall for lunch, and Elizabeta joined in as well, complaining about how Snape had treated Neville during class.

-Linebreak-

Harry didn't know what to make of Gilbert. He seemed almost egotistical at first, but he wasn't. At least, Harry didn't think he was. He was just... a paradox. Gilbert was responsible, he did all his work on time and did it well, but he was also mischievous and like to mess with people. He was so unlike everyone else Harry had met.

At least Elizabeta was simple. She was kind but bold, and made quick friends with pretty much everyone in Gryffindor. The first years found her motherly, and Neville thought she was extremely nice.

As for the rest of the transfer students, he only really ever saw Basch. Probably because the Gryffindors and Slytherins had some classes together. He was strange too. A Slytherin that didn't like Malfoy? It was unheard of.

But enough about them, Hermione was telling him that he had Divination next, which Harry was definitely not looking forward to. Most likely it would be another hour of listening to Professor Trelawney predict his horrific death, just as it had been last year. And to no one's surprise, that's exactly what it was.

-Linebreak-

Dolores Umbridge was having a fantastic first day of classes. Her students had been wonderful, no one had acted up, and she hadn't given out any detentions yet. She thought nothing could ruin this day.

That was of course, until she had to teach the fifth year Gryffindors. In with them came 'Harry Potter'. The Minister had not spoken highly of the Boy Who Lived, he said the boy had a tendency to start rumours and spread lies. When asked about these rumours, the Minister angrily proclaimed that Harry told other kids that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had returned, and that he sided with Dumbledore against the Ministry. Dolores being a Ministry witch herself (High Secretary, in fact. It was a job she was quite proud of) did not start off liking Harry.

This was the only class she had trouble teaching. Sure, other individuals thought her methods were insufficient for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but not one of them had outwardly opposed her like this boy and his friends had. He was definitely a bad influence to other students, as the minute he started spewing accusations and falsities, many others joined in as well.

First, Granger had questioned the Ministry's way of teaching the class, as though she could do any better. Then, Potter had said that they, the class, needed to be prepared to fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. As though anyone would attack students in the middle of class! Of course, the only thing that could stop the chaos that ensued was to give Potter a detention. It did not solve all of the problems, however, as Beilschmidt seemed to find tormenting Dolores enjoyable.

Beilschmidt stood up, raised his hand, and loudly said, "If you aren't going to teach us any actual Defense Against the Dark Arts then what's the point if taking this class?"

"Excuse me, Mr...?"

"Beilschmidt, Professor. I mean, the point of this class is to learn 'defense' against the dark arts, and all you've done is told us to read."

Dolores gave a lifeless laugh. "You will gain all the necessary information through reading the theory, Mr. Bilesmit. You do not need to know practical defense."

"Would you prefer 'protect oneself against' instead of defense? Or maybe 'learning how to avoid'? You know, since you don't like the word 'defense'? How can we learn to cast spells in the real world if we only every read about them?"

"If you read thoroughly enough, you should be able to pass your exams. Nothing is going to harm you in this class."

"But we won't always be in class." He stomped his foot, which Dolores thought made him look like a child throwing a tantrum.

"Detention, Mr. Bilesmit."

And with that, he finally sat down. The nerve of that boy. No doubt he was fooled by Potter's lies. Not wanting to disturb the good children who were actually doing their work, she let the class continue with their reading and planned the week ahead.

-Linebreak-

Basch liked Potions.

It was probably the only class he had today that he enjoyed. And it wasn't because Snape was the teacher and Snape was also the head of Slytherin house. No, it was meticulous work.

And Basch liked meticulous work.

Everything mattered in Potions. If you got one small thing wrong, didn't stir it long enough or didn't cut the root the right way, the whole potion ended up a disaster. If one thing went wrong, everything was ruined. It required complete attention, which kept his mind off other less desirable things (although Gilbert didn't seem to want to pay complete attention).

Yes, it was his favourite class, and he hadn't even been to some of them yet. Plus, Snape did look impressed as he passed Basch's cauldron, which was a bonus.

One major downside, though it was for every class, was that he had to be in the same room as Malfoy. He hadn't let off Basch yet, but he had tried new approaches. Among these were "You're really more fit for the pushover muggles in Hufflepuff, I don't know what the sorting hat was thinking." and "Can't you go stink up someone else's common room, mudblood?". Malfoy was convinced that he could find something, anything to get Basch riled up. This downside was countered by the fact that Charlotte was in all of his classes. She was growing on him, and he didn't usually make friends.

All in all, the school year started out well, even if one member of his house was an absolute git.

-Linebreak-

Lilli loved Care for Magical Creatures. She loved learning about new animals, and that love was doubled when she found out that said animals had magical abilities. Many of them were beautiful or strong or majestic or just plain amazing. She couldn't 'imagine' a better class.

Ludwig didn't share her sentiments, that was clear. He was almost apprehensive around the creatures brought in, as though they would reach out and scratch him. She was curious though...

"What was your favourite class today, Ludwig?"

"I liked charms. It was rather fascinating."

"It was, wasn't it. It makes me wonder if wizards use magic for everything."

"I imagine adults do. I don't see a reason not to."

She hummed and turned to the fire. They were in the Hufflepuff common room, which had a perpetual golden glow and a fire that was always burning. It was very comfortable and inviting, as though it wanted you to stop and spend time there. It was just another thing Lilli loved about this castle, about this school. She definitely felt like she made the right decision to come here, and the girl hoped her fellow nations felt the same.

Then, two of her housemates entered the common room, muttering under their breath.

"Never gunna learn anything... pass O. ...she's a nutter, that Umbridge..."

None of this made sense to Lilli, but she knew Umbridge was the name of the DADA teacher. Lilli heard many students talking about her all day, saying similar things of displeasure, especially the Gryffindors. Apparently, Umbridge wasn't well liked. Lilli didn't have her class until Wednesday, so she would have to wait and see what the teacher was like for herself.

"What about you?" Ludwig asked suddenly. He's face was illuminated by the firelight, making him look strangely disfigured. The question caught her off guard.

"Hmm?"

"What was your favourite class?"

"Oh! I really enjoyed Care for Magical Creatures! The pixies were so beautiful!"

Ludwig smiled, "Yes, they were."

-Linebreak-

Out of all of his classes, Roderich couldn't deny he liked Potions the best. It wasn't that it was enjoyable, but it reminded him of playing the piano. Follow the instructions and make the art. If anything goes wrong, it ruins the song, you would have to start over. Thinking about it only made him miss making music. It made him miss his home, his piano.

Most of all, Roderich missed his piano.

This castle inspired him to create new songs. It was so grand, so majestic, so unusual. There were secret passageways everywhere, and the statues jumped out at passerbys. Sometimes, he would walk by an empty portrait that he was sure had a person in it before. And the stairways moved on their own, occasionally halting your journey to class.

It would make such a beautiful song.

He was just thinking of this when he passed a painting on the seventh floor for the third time (he had to double back a few times, this was why he needed someone else to do the navigating) when a door just... appeared. Curious, he peeked inside.

There was a piano...there was a piano!

Roderich jumped into motion, sitting on the stool and placing his fingers gingerly on the keys...

He was going to compose a piece so like this castle. Unusual, beautiful, grand. It was going to be perfect.