Sorry for not updating sooner. Well hopefully things start getting a bit interesting now. It will probably be a chapter or two before the action happens, but I feel I should fully introduce the story first. Remember, you want me to change something, review!!!!
"Why can't they just replace Professor Bins already?! I mean, someone has to have complained about him before right?" Raksha grumbled. The boring class had finally ended and lunch had started. Raksha was sitting out in the giant courtyard with her sister and their group of friends. There was Helen from Gryffindor, Lei and Sarai from Hufflepuff, Drake from Raksha's house of Slytherin and Connor from Ravenclaw. Despite being in different houses, everyone got along reasonably well. Some may think that the rivalry between the houses would tear this group apart early, but it had yet to happen.
"Why should they replace him though? He knows what he's talking about as he's probably seen the events himself." Malaika said. She tucked her shoulder length blond hair behind her ear. Despite the African origins of her name, she had sea green eyes and pale skin that refused to tan. She truly did look like an angel with a small smile on her slender face.
"Come on Mal. I agree with Raksha. He is so boring! If someone like Harry Potter or Hermione Granger came and taught…well, history would definitely become my best subject." Lei shot back.
"Fat chance that would happen. It's more likely that Professor Trelawny would actually have a class without a death prediction than one of them showing up to teach." Sarai said snarkily. It was true. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had not shown the slightest interest in teaching at their old school. During the thirteen years after the Harry had slain Voldemort, Harry had become one of the best Aurors in history. Hermione was content to experiment with spells, while Ron had teamed up with his brother George to help him with running the joke shop. They had all adamantly refused the cushy Ministry jobs offered to them.
"Oh well. It's fun to hope though." sighed Lei. Lei was the lone Asian of the group. She had transferred from the Japanese school in second year, and had to pick up English quickly. Sarai had spent some time in Japan thankfully and was able to act as translator for Lei when she had trouble with English. The two of them were joined at the hip.
"Well it doesn't really matter anyways does it? We're all dropping it next year, so what's the point of getting worked up over a dull ghost?" Drake put in. Drake was the eye candy and the guardian of the group. With dark brown hair and dragon eyes, it didn't take much for him to mesmerize people. His stunning eyes actually changed colour depending on his mood. Right now they were his calm green. He also had the lean muscled build of a martial artist.
"Thank goodness for that!" Raksha burst out. She was the rebel of the group. She had the same fair skin and blond hair as her sister, but all resemblance ended there. She had cropped her hair short except at the front, where two locks framed her face perfectly. One of the locks had a metallic streak, dyed using a potion she had created. It would change colour depending on her mood, much like Drake's eyes. Right now it was purple with excitement. Her eyes were also quite different. They were the lightest grey imaginable, giving her a penetrating gaze. When feeling intense or angry, her friends had told her that her eyes had glinted like the metal silver.
"Well, never mind about lessons! What's everyone doing at Hogsmeade tomorrow?" Helen piped up. The lone Gryffindor was notorious for goofing off during the lessons, but then miraculously getting the highest scores during the exams. The teachers and other students were still mystified about this. Only Raksha's group knew about her photographic memory and natural gift with spells. Her one weakness was Herbology. The written exam was a piece of cake, but the practical portion of going near the plants was an ordeal. Ever since watching her sister get strangled by a rogue piece of Devil's snare when she was 8, she had despised and feared all magical plants. Malaika had spoken to the Herbology professor before the exam last year and explained Helen's phobia. She was exempted from that part of the exam. Helen had stuck with Malaika ever since. She was a tall girl who could throw a vicious left hook. Her waist length hair was red and wavy and the envy of many girls in her house. She had dark brown eyes that sparkled with laughter easily.
"I was thinking we could go to the Shrieking Shack. Just imagine…Harry Potter spied on Voldemort and Snape there…So awesome!!!" Connor exclaimed. He was the die-hard Harry Potter fan. While everyone in the courtyard admire and were grateful to Harry Potter, they sometimes got tired of Connor's hero worship. He was a slightly shrimpy kid with thick glasses which screamed nerd. Some outside the group did not know why he was a part of this cool group. They didn't know about his talent with duelling and strategy. The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had picked him for a demonstration of a duel. Instead of the kid being humiliated in front of his class, he had humiliated the professor with some well-placed disarming, shield and stunning spells. He had sworn the class, which included Malaika, Sarai, Lei and Helen, to secrecy, but not before Raksha had heard about it and brought him into the fold.
Everyone in Raksha's and Malaika's group had a few things in common. They were the most talented in their year, and didn't brag about it. Lei was a genius on a broom and was the seeker of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Sarai had a gift for Divination. Not the fake divination that Professor Trelawny taught, but true visions and predictions. Sarai had managed to save a girl in her house from an explosion in her Potions class. She had seen it a couple of minutes before and pulled the girl out of the way. They were also not afraid of getting in trouble. Even angelic Malaika and nerdy Connor.
Raksha and Malaika looked at each other and rolled their eyes. No way am I going to the Shrieking Shack again…Raksha groaned internally. I am so with you there sis…Malaika thought agreeably. Their group still didn't know about their telepathy, and the twins preferred to keep it that way. While being an oracle or being able to speak to snakes were abilities that were known about and accepted, true telepathy between two people had not been discovered. The last thing they wanted was to be regarded as freaks. So they just kept it a secret.
"No Connor" the entire group chorused. Connor sighed and put on his best disappointed face. If he ever lost the glasses and put on a little muscle, he would be adorable.
"How about we get some….uhhhh….Butterbeer!" Lei said triumphantly. She often could not remember the name of the drink and was always happy when she could.
"I'm cool with that." Drake said. The others murmured agreement.
"Plus, we can go restore our candy stash after!" Malaika said brightly. This was met with instant grins on everyone's faces. Every time they went to Hogsmeade, Raksha and Malaika bought as much candy and chocolate as they could. Everyone got an equal share and tried to make it last until the next Hogsmeade visit. Nothing brings a group of teens together like a continuous sugar rush.
The clock chimed, signalling the end of lunch. Helen and Raksha groaned, Connor grinned, Malaika and Drake rolled their eyes and Lei and Sarai cursed in Japanese.
"Well, I'm off to Charms. See ya!" Raksha rushed off. Today they were learning cheering charms. For once Raksha didn't dread the class. While she was able to pick the charms up quickly, it sapped a lot of energy from her for some reason. She always left the class tired and grumpy. However, cheering charms would certainly cheer her up. Plus, her sister wouldn't be able to scold her when she played tricks on the teacher. Charms was the only class she didn't have with Malaika.
As she skipped into the classroom, a bunch of Slytherin girls waved. While Raksha didn't hang out with most of them, she was friendly with the girls of her house so she went to sit by them to chat.
"I love your hair Raksha! Can you teach me how to make that potion?"
"Do you remember how to do that spell from last week's Transfiguration class? I can't seem to get it quite right."
"What are you doing at Hogsmeade?"
As Raksha answered each of their questions, she wondered why they admired her so much. For they did. Everytime she spoke, they hung on to her every word. Everytime she made a joke, they laughed. It wasn't as if she was pretty, or knew someone famous. She never tried to be popular, but she was anyways. I guess that's one of the mysteries of life, she thought to herself.
"Silencio!" A voice bellowed over the racket. The room went silent. The source of the spell was the charms teacher, Professor Cherub. Like his predecessor Professor Flitwick, he was also a diminutive man, but had a titan sized voice to make up for his size. He was also very impatient, so he never waited for the class to quiet down. Instead he made it quiet. Raksha noticed with amusement a Hufflepuff boy struggling to make a sound. Not going to happen. Professor Cherub's silencing spells were famous for their strength. Unless the professor wanted them to, no one was going to talk until the spell had been lifted. Raksha just waited for the professor to start the lesson.