Chapter Four
I was the first one to wake up, and I credited that to the fact that I was the first one asleep, so I went through my normal stretches before taking a shower and getting dressed in my uniform. The dormitory was exactly as I had always imagine, with the five beds spread evenly throughout the room with a small table for each occupant in between them. There was a bathroom connected to the circular room which had two toilet stalls, a shower, and two mirrors inside of it. I wondered, briefly, why there were only two sets of toilets and mirrors before guessing it was because it was unlikely that we would all be using them at the same time. I took a pretty quick shower and went to the mirror to brush my teeth after I was clean. I wiped the steam off the mirror and looked at my reflection seriously; my dark blue eyes, my wet blonde hair that almost looked brown in its current state, and the still slightly unfamiliar bone structure of my face. I made a habit to look in the mirror every morning to reassure myself that this was real, this was me now, and ingrain my own appearance into my head. Sometimes it was easy to think of myself as the dark haired man with burn scars on my face I had been in my past life.
By the time I was exiting the bathroom, my other roommates were beginning to wake up. Well, at least Remus was up and brushed against my shoulder with a quiet good morning as he entered the bathroom and James was blearily reaching into his trunk to grab his school uniform. Peter's curtain was still drawn around his bed and Sirius was sprawled out still asleep across his own mattress, bare chested and with his pajama pants slung low on his hips. I averted my eyes from him quickly as I felt a flush warm my cheeks; He was obviously confident in his body and had a good reason to be. Pale skin, defined chest and abdominal muscles, with a thin patch of hair that started at his belly button and disappeared into his pants. I left the room pretty quickly after grabbing my bag with the books I needed for my classes, hoping no one had noticed my lapse in judgement, and made my way down the spiral staircase made of stone to the common room. I set my bag down on the floor and cracked open our Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook, reading the chapter on counter-curses, and not long after I had sat down I felt someone sit next to me. I finished the paragraph I was on and looked up, expecting to see on of the boys I now shared the dorm with, but was surprised when I saw a red haired girl with bright green eyes looking at me instead.
"Hi, I'm Lily. Lily Evans." She introduced herself, holding out her hand for me to take, which I did and shook firmly.
"Jasper Tatham, it's a pleasure." I replied, smiling hesitantly at her. Lily must have seen the unsure expression on my face, which reminded me that I needed to get better at hiding my emotions instead of being an open book, because she explained her presence.
"I'm a Gryffindor prefect and I figured you didn't know the way to the Great Hall yet, so I thought I could show you the way there so we could eat breakfast before classes. I'm an early riser as well." Lily explained, a comforting smile on her face that set me at ease.
"That would be perfect, thanks." I agreed, putting my book back into its proper place in my bag and standing up. "I thought I was going to have to wait and follow one of my new dorm mates."
"I'm happy to help." Lily said, waving my thanks away. "How do you like them so far? Are they treating you alright?"
"I suppose, they are a little distant. I can't blame them though, they've lived with each other for five years and now a 'stranger' is intruding on 'their territory'." I said as we walked out of the portrait hole and into the seventh floor corridor.
"They are really close." Lily said, nodding her head. "Remus is absolutely the most polite out of the lot of them, Peter is pretty shy, Black is cocky, and Potter can be insufferable but that is your room just as much as it is theirs, so don't be intimidated."
I raised an eyebrow at the thorough description of my roommates, I had been wondering if Lily had started to get along with them yet because I couldn't remember exactly when she had stopped hating James. I know this was after she and Severus were no longer friends, but she had stopped hating him when he became Head Boy, I think?
"I'm not so easily intimidated." I reassured her, smiling pleasantly as we made our way down the moving staircases. I tried to map out where we were going as we walked, but Hogwarts was huge, and I knew it would take a couple of weeks before I really got the hang of it. I told Lily as much and she laughed, telling me that it had taken her a month as a first year before she quit getting lost, but said she would help when she could. The two of us sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, accepting our schedules from McGonagall on the way, and after reading our own, I silently held out my copy for her to take and chuckled when I saw her doing the same already. We were going to get along just fine, I think.
"Oh, we have Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, and Defense together. You have Care of Magical Creatures when I have Arithmancy, and then Herbology when I have Introduction to Healing." Lily commented, seeming satisfied.
"You want to be a Healer, then?" I asked, curious because the books had never dived into what Harry's parents careers were or would have been.
"Yes, I'm muggleborn and it blew my mind the first time I found out a broken bone could heal in minutes when it took weeks in the muggle world. I've wanted to be a Healer ever since." Lily explained, her eyes lighting up at the choice of topic. "What about you?"
"Auror." I replied nonchalantly, and tilted my head in curiosity when I saw the flash of surprise on her face. "Is that surprising?"
"I suppose not, it's an honorable career choice." Lily said, an unsure look on her face.
"You can be honest, I won't take offense." I told her reassuringly, smiling placatingly at her.
"Well, it's just.. You're rather small?" Lily said questioningly, before looking like she wanted to take it back as soon as the words left her mouth. "I mean, compared to most of the other boys who want to become Aurors, you know? Not that size really matters, but it's just they usually have a certain rough and tumble way about them that you don't have. Not that it's a bad thing, but a lot of them are kind of over confident or full of bluster. You don't seem..like that. I'm just going to quit talking now."
I laughed, causing Lily's face to match her hair, and patted her on the back reassuringly. "It's okay, I think I know what you mean and I'll take it as the compliment it was intended as."
"Oh, good." Lily said, looking relieved and hesitantly smiling at me as she filled her plate. "So what's your favorite subject?"
"Defense." I replied, returning her smile with one of my own. "Yours?"
"I guess that was a no brainer considering your career choice, wasn't it?" Lily said wryly "Mine is probably a tie between Potions and Charms."
Remembering that Lily was allegedly brilliant at Potions, I internally did a cheer because it was the subject I had struggled the most with during my self study over the last few months. "I'm rubbish at Potions, so at least now I have a study partner!"
"Absolutely." Lily replied, laughing and smiling warmly at me. "So, what school did you transfer from?"
"I was homeschooled." I told her, carefully taking any emotion off of my face. I did not want to have the awkward my parents are dead conversation over breakfast, when I had just met someone no less. "After my O.W.L.s, it was more pragmatic for me to come to Hogwarts for my last two years because of unforeseen circumstances."
"Homeschooled?" Lily asked, surprise in her voice "That is interesting. Are both of your parents magic, then?"
"Yes." I replied shortly before moving to change the subject. "So who is your favorite teacher?"
"Professor Flitwick, I think." Lily said, thinking the question over and not commenting on my rather obvious subject change. "Slughorn is a brilliant teacher, he is who teaches potions, but he shows a lot of.. Favoritism that makes me uncomfortable sometimes."
"Flitwick teaches charms, I presume?" I asked, eating some of the eggs on my plate. The table was quickly filling up with more and more students as we spoke, so I knew it must be getting close to time for classes to begin.
"Oh, yes!" Lily said, brightening at the mention of the teacher. "He's brilliant. Most of the teachers at Hogwarts are, really. McGonagall is strict but fair and more than competent, Sprout is kind but can be stern when she needs to be, and Slughorn is friendly, but shows a lot of favoritism, like I said."
"Dumbledore lets him get away with that?" I asked curiously, I had always wondered how Dumbledore reacted to the obvious favoritism Slughorn showed but then again, he had never done anything against Snape for doing the same thing, so I guess he ignored it unless it was serious.
"Well, he really just goes above and beyond for some students while he treats the rest like any other teacher would." Lily explained, taking a sip of what must have been pumpkin juice. "He had a lot of connections, like old student's of his, so it doesn't hurt for him to introduce you to people. Especially when some of the people with two magical parents have an advantage of knowing people in the ministry or in other fields, you know?"
"That makes sense." I said slowly, thinking it over. It honestly did kind of make sense, he wasn't doing anything wrong per se, but I had always hated how the man exploited talent. That must have been the Slytherin in him though. "What about the Defense teacher, do you know them?"
"We get a new one every year." Lily said, lowering her voice a little bit. "Some people say the job is cursed, because no one has held the position for more than a year before."
"Maybe it is." I mused, wondering if their were any curses that could work like that. Magic in this world seemed far too straightforward for that, but I had barely scraped the top of magic, so who was I to judge?
"Either way, they weren't here last night and Dumbledore didn't introduce one, so I'm not sure what they'll do for lessons. Maybe they just don't like crowds. It's a bit of a mystery." Lily said, shrugging before letting out a groan. "Aw, not now."
"Hey Evans!" I heard James shout as he, along with my three other roommates, walked down the aisle to where we were sitting and clapped me on the shoulder. "I see you met our new dorm buddy, Jasper."
"Yes, we were having a nice breakfast until I saw you and lost my appetite, Potter." Lily said coldly, barely acknowledging him.
"Are you still mad about yesterday, Evans?" James asked, looking a little put out at the dismissal.
Lily ignored him, and seeing the annoyed expression on his face, I could tell it bothered him. The four boys all took up seats around us and I glanced up from my plate to see Remus looking at me with a smile on his face.
"Hello, I'm Remus. Sorry I didn't really get a chance to introduce myself last night, I was feeling a bit under the weather." Remus said, reaching over the table to shake my hand. I returned the gesture, flashing my teeth at him.
"Are you feeling better?" I asked him, mentally going over the last few nights in my head. I think the Full Moon was two days ago, so no wonder he wasn't feeling all that great, but he looked better than he had last night. I could see pale scars on his face, barely noticeable unless the light hit them just right, and there were small bags under his eyes. His hair was a tawny color and he had very warm, amber eyes; If i hadn't already known, I would never expect the polite, kind man in front of me to be a werewolf. That just goes to show how incorrect stereotypes really are.
"Much, thank you." Remus said, not quite meeting my gaze as he put some food on his plate. "It happens often enough, weak immune system."
That was clever of him; Already laying the groundwork for how he was going to have to explain his disappearances and how he looks around the time of the full moon. It must really suck to have to constantly be thinking of excuses, reasons, and thinking how to redirect people's attention away from him. It also made sense that two of his friends were so loud; they drew the attention off of him, and I'm not sure if that was planned or a lucky coincidence but it was a good tactic nonetheless.
"I'm sorry, I hate being sick." I said, grimacing as I played along. I would figure out how to let him know I couldn't give a damn what he or his friends did during the full moon as long as they didn't come near me later. For now, I'd just play along.
"You should eat more, Remus." Sirius said, putting a few strips of bacon on his plate more than he had already. Remus shot him an annoyed look, which Sirius just shrugged off, but I could see that under the annoyance was a fond exasperation. This was most likely a common occurrence.
"So, how did you two meet?" Remus asked, gesturing to Lily, who was still pointedly ignoring James and sending me somewhat pleading looks. I honestly didn't know what to say to make him stop, so I kind of just shrugged helplessly.
"She showed me the way to the Great Hall this morning and we just got to talking." I said, shrugging nonchalantly. I saw James narrow his eyes a little at me but I pretended like I didn't see it.
Remus looked like he was about to say something, but Lily got up and started to walk away down the aisle, saying that she would see me in class. I looked down at her half-finished food, then at her receding back, before sighing and grabbing four muffins, putting them in napkins, and telling the other people sitting around me I would see them in class as well. I hurried to catch up to Lily, unwilling to get lost in the castle on a hunt for her, and saw her turning the corner just as I exited the Great Hall. I rushed down the corridor and when I turned the corner, I shouted her name, making her freeze. She turned to look at me, surprise and confusion on her face as I caught up to her.
"Jeez, I thought you were going to show me my first class." I said jokingly, handing her two of the muffins and continuing to walk at a much more sedate pace than the one she had set as she stormed away.
"Sorry." Lily said automatically, dumbstruck as she took the muffins. "It's just.. Potter. I can't stand the twat."
"Sorry." I said, being honest
"I'm surprised you came after me." Lily admitted, breaking off a piece of the muffin. "We just met and I know they're your roommates, they could have shown you to class."
"Yeah, well, fives a crowd." I said dismissively, ignoring the water in the corner of her eyes. "Besides, the way that girl a couple seats down was eating? It was about to make me lose my appetite."
"Thanks.. For the muffins." Lily said, smiling at me, and if it was a little watery.. Well, I wasn't going to say anything about it. We walked in amicable silence and she unconsciously navigated us through Hogwarts corridors towards our Charms class. We were the first ones there so we talked about different charms that we knew, which mostly meant I pestered her about what they learned last year to make sure I was caught up, but she seemed happy enough to answer all of my questions.
Soon, the rest of the class filtered into the room, usually in pairs or groups, and Flitwick climbed onto the stack of books that was behind his podium in order to address the incoming class of sixth years. The class was made up of Hufflepuff and Gryffindor students, and the Marauders were one of the last groups of people to enter the room. I waved in acknowledgement when I saw Remus do the same, but James gave me a dirty look and whispered something to Remus. Peter was shuffling behind the other three so I couldn't really see him and Sirius wasn't looking in my direction at all; I'm sure my face must have shown my confusion because Remus just kind of shrugged helplessly and followed his friends to a table a few away from Lily and mine.
"Welcome, Sixth Years!" Flitwick's almost squeaky voice said, easily carrying his words around the room. I decided to worry about James' one hundred and eighty degree personality change later and faced forward to pay attention to the lesson. "Now, as I'm sure you all will be told in all of your classes, this year we will be moving on to non-verbal spells. Now, does anyone know the advantages of non-verbal spells?"
Lily's hand rose instantly, as well as a couple of the other students in the class, so I put my own up as well. I had known non-verbal spells were coming up this year thanks to the books, so right from the beginning of my studying after I was released from the hospital, I was determined to do all of my magic without uttering a sound. It had been frustrating, most likely took twice as long to learn the spells, but I had gotten the hang of it eventually and could do so with ease now. Some magic would always be stronger if you cast it verbally, but a lot of that depended on the wizard or with casting the magic in the first place.
"Ah, Mr. Tatham. Always good to see a new face in my class. Would you care to tell us what the advantage of non-verbal magic is?" Professor Flitwick asked, pointing towards me with an expectant look on his face.
I cleared my throat quietly, I had always hated speaking in front of a group of people even if I did know the correct answer, and said the answer clearly. "Your adversary has no warning what kind of magic you are about to perform, so you have a split-second advantage, Professor."
"Corect! And are there any disadvantages?" Professor Flitwick asked me
"Some magic may be less effective or less powerful if cast non-verbally." I answered, thinking for a moment before adding the last part. "Although, that depends a lot on the wizard or witch who is doing the casting. In contrast, there are some spells where it is more effective and easier to cast if done non-verbally. There are even some spells that aren't effective at all if cast out loud."
"Excellent, Mr. Tatham! Ten points to Gryffindor." Professor Flitwick said, beaming at me. "Mr. Tatham is entirely correct. So, to prepare you all, from now on all of the spells you cast in my classroom will be non-verbal unless I say otherwise. Now, there is a great deal of concentration required.."
I tuned Flitwick out as he explained how to cast non-verbal magic, casting my eyes around the room to see if there was anyone I recognized. Considering I only knew a few of the people who would even be alive in this time period, I should not have been as disappointed as I was, but I felt in nonetheless. There was one Hufflepuff boy who I sort of recognized and it took a moment for it to click, but he looked a bit like Cedric Diggory had been described. I supposed it could have been his father - was it Anos? Aman? I knew it was something like that but neither of those quite clicked. I decided to pursue it later and snapped my attention back to Professor Flitwick, who told us to first do the Tickling Charm non-verbally and if we succeeded, to move on to the summoning charm. Lily paired off with me and I allowed her to attempt first, gesturing for her to go ahead. Lily narrowed her eyes and did the proper wand motion, and besides a strange fluttery feeling in my stomach, I didn't feel anything. She was looking at me hopefully and I shook my head.
"I felt something but I don't think it was strong enough." I told her, causing her expression to fall for a moment before a determined one came over her face. She tried three more times, each time causing me to feel a fluttering (I would compare to having butterflies in your stomach, at the risk of sounding cliche) in my stomach.
"Alright, you go ahead." Lily said, lowering her wand in order to give me a chance and to take a break. I lifted my wand and concentrated, flourishing my wand in the correct movement.
'Rictusempra' I thought, aiming at Lily directly. Almost instantly she busted out in giggles, clutching her side and gaining the attention of Professor Flitwick, who shot me an approving look. I cast the counter quickly, ending her giggling fit, and she beamed at me.
"Your first try!" Lily congratulated me, leaning forward as I mumbled something. "What was that?"
"I've been practicing nonverbal spell work for awhile." I said, pointedly not looking at her. I was hoping she wouldn't be one of those people who are extraordinarily competitive because I knew Charms was one of her best subjects and my success was only because of how much I had practiced and the fact that the 'old Jasper' had the basics down very well.
"Thats brilliant! You can help me then!" Lily said, beaming a little, and I smiled back mostly in relief. She didn't seem mad or jealous, merely happy that I had succeeded. I had nothing to be worried about at all where she was concerned.
We spent the rest of the class working on the non-verbal spellwork. I gave tips that had helped me a lot when I was first starting to use them, such as envisioning the words and the reaction I wanted in my mind as I cast the spell as well as saying them in my head, and by the end of the course we had both moved on to the summoning charm. I had a little trouble at first, only getting Lily's quill to wiggle on her desk, but I had gotten it to successfully come to me by the end of the lesson and Lily had managed as well. As the bell rang to signal our next class, I packed my books up and stood up from my desk. As Lily and I headed out the doors, Remus approached us and asked Lily about something to do with Prefect duties. The three of us walked down the hall, but I was grabbed on my shoulder a little roughly and dragged back a little ways from the two as they continued to walk down the hall with one another.
I followed the hand on my shoulder up to the body it was attached too, seeing a smiling Sirius Black on the end of it. I looked to my other side and saw James, with his hazel eyes narrowed behind his glasses, staring me down. Glancing at where Lily hadn't noticed my absence yet, I had to give them credit for sending Remus in as a distraction; They had obviously wanted to talk to me alone and using Lily's responsibilities as a distraction was easy enough when another prefect approached her.
"May I help you?" I asked politely, lifting Sirius's hand off of my shoulder as I raised a questioning eyebrow at the two boys in front of me.
"What's with you being all buddy buddy with Lily all of a sudden?" James asked, sounding rather aggressive for- oh. I was officially an idiot. I was walking around with the girl that James was obsessed with, going after her when she was upset and pairing up with her during Charms. I looked like a right prat most likely, the new guy trying to woo the pretty girl he had been chasing for years.
"She seemed nice enough and offered to show me around to my classes." I said slowly, wondering how I was going to get through this conversation without blowing my secret or ending up on his bad side. "Is something wrong with her?"
"No!" James exclaimed vehemently, shaking his head to empathize his point. "It's just.. I just.. You can't.. What I mean is that, you are.."
"Look, mate. James has a thing for Evans; everyone knows it. He doesn't want you around her and as our new roommate, you should respect that, okay?" Sirius butted in, interrupting James rambling.
"Okay.." I said, looking between them. "I mean, I'm not interested in Lily like that; I have a very specific type and she isn't it. I'm pretty sure she just wants to be friends, and wouldn't that be good for you?"
"What do you mean?" James asked suspiciously, eyes still narrowed at me but seeming to consider my words at least.
"Well, if I'm friends with Lily, I can talk you up. Tell her all the good stuff about you she either doesn't get to see or blatantly ignores, right?" I said, still glancing between the two as we walked to Transfiguration. "I promise I wouldn't dream of dating her or anything."
"Well, what's wrong with Lily that you don't want to date her?" James asked, sounding honest to god offended, and I shared a weird look with Sirius for a moment. Wow, he really was head over heels for her.
"Nothing, she's just not my type." I replied, looking at him confidently. "Look, this way you get insider information. Plus imagine how bad it would look if during last class I was speaking with her and on my way to being friends, and only friends, with her and then the three of us arrive at Transfiguration together and suddenly I'm giving her the cold shoulder. What would she think?"
"That I told you not to be friends with her." James said, sounding defeated and groaning while he ruffled his hair. "Oh, man."
"Look, I won't mention it." I promised, smiling at him reassuringly. "I'll even try to talk you up, say that I dropped my books and you helped me or something. You have my word I will not do anything to neither prompt nor encourage her to have feelings for anyone other than you."
"Why?" Sirius asked, suspicion laced in his tone. "You don't know either of them. Why would you promise something like that?"
"I-" I started, pausing for a moment as I saw their expectant faces. I couldn't very well say because I know the future and I know you guys end up together, so I don't mind helping that along, could I? So I went for the next best thing. "I can tell you genuinely like her, not because of her looks, but because of her. So I'll help, but if for some reason I turn out to be wrong and it wasn't meant to be, I just won't get involved in her love life at all. I'm not going to spy on her for you and I'm not going to try and trick her or lie to her in order for you to get a shot. I'll be a friend to both of you and if she asks my opinion, I'll say I think you would be good together. Is that enough?"
"Yeah, I guess so." James said, clearly thinking it over. "So, if not Lily, what is your type?"
"Ah, don't worry about it." I said evasively, feeling my face heat up. I did notice the look exchanged between James and Sirius, so I doubt that would be the end of it, but luckily we had just arrived to Transfiguration. Internally, I groaned because we were two minutes late and that was not the best way to get on not only who was sure to be one of my most strict professors, but also my Head of House.
"Potter, Black, Tatham. You're late." McGonagall said, eyeing us sternly from behind her desk at the front of the classroom.
"That was my fault, Professor." I chimed in before either of the two other boys could, making sure I put on my most repentant face. "My books split at the end of Charms, and then I got lost, but luckily these two found me wandering the hallway and had the same class I did."
McGonagall eyed the three of us, and I panicked for a moment because it looked like she had a knowing look in her eyes, but she waved us to sit down. "Very well, Mr. Tatham. I will be lenient because it is your first day, but I do not accept tardiness to my class. You will do well to remember that."
"Yes, Professor McGonagall." I said, relieved, and took the open seat next to Lily. This class was a mix of Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. McGonagall gave us a speech that was pretty similar in structure to what Professor Flitwick had said, at least about Non-verbal spells, and then proceeded to inform us that the next two years would be filled with some of the most challenging work we had ever faced, especially in Transfiguration.
We worked independently, attempting to conjure birds with our wands without saying the spell out loud. Transfiguration was a tricky subject for me and I'm not sure why, which was extraordinarily frustrating because it was arguably one of the coolest branches of magic. I knew some of my classmates around me were cheating, whispering the spell under their breath, but I refused to do so on principle. The ones who had not either succeeded or cheated, had looks of intense concentration on their face; some of them were making faces as though they were holding their breath under water or had to go to the bathroom extremely bad. While I didn't show outward signs like that, besides my eyes narrowing in concentration, I left the class unable to cast the spell wordlessly. Lily had managed to do it in the last five minutes and we were comparing results on the way to the Great Hall for Lunch.
"So did Potter and Black actually help you find the classroom?" Lily asked suddenly as we descended the stairs that led to the Great Hall. "I'm sorry I left, I was talking with Remus about patrols and I just got distracted I guess."
"It's fine, James and Sirius were very helpful." I said, looking at her out of the corner of my eye. "Why don't you like James, anyway?"
"He's so arrogant, always doing whatever he pleases and picking on people weaker than him." Lily said, her tone turning venomous at the mention of James Potter. "He and Black roam around the castle thinking they are better than everyone else. It's just infuriating, and Potter has been asking me to go on a date with him for two years in the most embarrassing ways."
"Well, maybe he likes you." I suggested casually
"He might have, once, but now I think it's just a habit he has to annoy me and because I'm one of the only girls who don't fawn all over the two of them" Lily said "I wouldn't ever go on a date with that toe rag. Especially not after last year."
"What happened last year?" I asked, although I knew she must have been talking about the memory her future son would see in Snape's pensieve.
"I honestly don't want to talk about it." Lily said, tucking some of her red hair behind her ear. "I just want to move forward and focus on my career."
"I can understand that." I agreed, resigning to bring up the discussion again another time. I still was not sure if I should effect the time line now or if I should let things unfold as they should until Harry starts his time at Hogwarts. After meeting them though, and obviously agreeing to be both of their friends as impulsive as it had been, could I just let Lily and James die and leave Harry an orphan when I could have done something about it? I wasn't sure. I would absolutely have to be careful and weigh the options and risks of possible outcomes from meddling in the plot. Lunch was a quiet affair, James didn't come over and bother Lily, whom I was sitting with, so she ate in peace. We discussed our next class, Double Potions, and she deflated a little bit when she saw that we were going to have it with the Slytherins.
"Does Slughorn favor his own house that blatantly?" I asked, raising my eyebrow at the defeated expression on her face.
"No, it's not that." Lily said, looking behind my shoulder at the Slytherin table. I think I had a pretty good idea of who she was looking for, and trying to avoid, but I wanted her to tell me on her own. "I'm just trying to avoid someone."
"Oh." I replied, not forcing the topic. Lily was a little more reserved throughout the rest of lunch, admirably trying to cover the dread she felt at confronting her childhood friend but overall failing. I didn't say anything, mostly because it wouldn't have done any good to have, and so after we finished eating we headed down to the dungeons together.
The dungeons were definitely not someplace I would prefer to have my dormitories in. I knew that the Slytherin dorms were under the black lake, which would've been kind of cool, but it was darker her than anywhere else in the castle. There were the same amount of torches lighting the path, so it wasn't as though you couldn't see, but without the windows and natural light it just felt smaller and significantly less cheerful. No wonder the Slytherins were a surly bunch.
Lily and I got to class a little ahead of schedule, even before Slughorn had arrived, so we sat outside of the door to his classroom. I took my wand out and tried doing the Avis spell from Transfiguration. Lily was reading some book, and I had just tried the spell for the fifth time in a row, when a shadow fell over us and someone cleared their throat.
"You should try flicking the wand a little harder to the left." a boy's voice said, and before I even looked to see who it was, I attempted the spell again with his advice. To my surprise, it worked, which made my face light up when I saw two conjured birds flying around just above my head. I looked up to thank my mysterious source of information and froze at the look on Lily's face. She looked shocked, angry, sad, and upset all in the same breath. There was only one person I didn't already know who could probably make my new friend look like that, and turning my head a little confirmed my suspicions.
Severus Snape was lanky, pale, and had stick straight hair that was admittedly a little greasy. His nose was just a little bit too big for his face and his eyes were like two black stones, hard and unreadable. Besides the hair and his nose, he was honestly kind of attractive in a nerdy way. He wasn't my type, I didn't like my guys so skinny or pale, but I knew quite a few people from my old world who would've appreciated the almost gothic look he had going on.
"Sev, I told you I don't want to talk to you anymore." Lily said, her voice conflicted but not wavering in the slightest.
"Lily, please-" Snape started to say, pleading
"I heard enough last year, Snape." Lily spat, making Snape's face look as though she had just slapped him. I saw his eyes widen before they narrowed, his nostrils flaring in anger.
"So, who is this?" Snape asked snidely, gesturing to me. "You ditched me, found a new best friend? Or are you fucking him?"
Lily gasped, looking at Snape as though she couldn't believe what he had just said. Honestly, it looked like Snape couldn't believe that he had just said what he did. I kept my expression carefully neutral, not sure whether or not Lily would appreciate me stepping in or not, but my hand did clench a little tighter around my wand as I heard him insult my new friend. Lily slammed her book shut, face turning fire engine red and was about to open her mouth to respond, when a fat man who resembled a walrus with a bushy mustache came bustling down the corridor and called out to them both.
"Ah, Lily, Severus; good to see my two most promising potion students. Had good summers, I expect?" Professor Horace Slughorn said, coming between the two of them in order to reach the door and unlock it, completely oblivious to the tension in the corridor.
"Yes, Professor." They both mumbled, under their breath as first Snape and Lily followed the man into his classroom. I let out a breathe I hadn't realized I had been holding and followed suit, pulling the chair out next to Lily so I could take a seat.
"Oh, and who is this?" Professor Slughorn asked after he set some paperwork on his desk and turned to face me with a curious look on his face. "I don't believe I've seen you before."
"My name is Jasper Tatham, sir, I'm a transfer this year." I introduced myself
"Ah, yes, of course. Excellent O.W.L. scores you had, Mr. Tatham." Slughorn beamed, looking me over carefully with an interested gleam in his eyes. " Tatham, ey? Any relation to Marie Ann Tatham?"
"Not that I know of, sir." I replied, resisting the urge to roll my eyes.
"Ah, well nevermind then. Brilliant witch, she was." Slughorn commented, looking back over the few potions he had on his desk. "Still, with your grades, I expect we will see great things from you yet!"
"Thank you, Professor." I responded stoically, stopped from having to make further small talk by the entrance of my fellow students. Sirius, James, and Remus were all three in this class and the fact that Snape was as well was probably not good. Hopefully, things wouldn't get to bad, but I could tell from the expression on Snape's face, like he had just sucked on a lemon for an hour, that he expected it to go the same way I did. Once everyone was in their proper seats, Slughorn began the lesson much the same way that Flitwick and McGonagall had - talking about the expectations and hard work that accompanied NEWT level course work.
"Now, can anyone tell me what this potion is?" Slughorn asked, pointing to a cauldron filled to the brim. Quite a few people's hands went up, mine included, and the Slytherin Slughorn chose told him correctly after walking up to examine it that it was the Draught of Living Death.
"Very good! Two points to Slytherin. Now, what about this potion?" Slughorn asked, pointing at a fuschia colored potion set in a cauldron. Once again, pretty much the same hands went up, but Slughorn called on me this time to answer. I walked to the front of the class and looked into the cauldron, taking a whiff happily as some of my favorite things sent a jolt of pleasure into my brain.
"It is Amortentia." I told him confidently
"Correct, Mr. Tatham! Now, for five points to Gryffindor, what does it do and what does it smell like to you?" Slughorn asked
"It is the strongest love potion currently in existence; It is easy to distinguish it from other love potions because when you smell it, the things you find most attractive are what what you smell." I answered, hesitating to reveal what I found most attractive but deciding overall I would prefer the points and it wasn't like anyone could guess my sexuality from a few smells. I did flush red as I listed off the smells though. "I smell peppermint, leather, and grass."
"Very good! Five points to Gryffindor!" Slughorn said cheerily, explaining more about the potion. "Now, it doesn't actually create love, but such a strong obsession and infatuation that I would dare say it is the most dangerous potions in this room right now."
After a few more people identified the remaining potions, we were told that our partner and I (who we were sitting with) had to make any potion we would like that was a review from last year. Lily and I decided on making the Calming Draught, which was fairly complex but with two of us it ended up being pretty easy. Lily was amazing at Potions, and I wasn't as bad as she had apparently expected, but the girl didn't need the timer we had to know when to turn the flame down or how to stir. It was instinctive and gave me a deepening respect for my new friends skills. After potions, which went on without a hitch, we had the rest of the day to ourselves. Every class had assigned homework that we started on in the library as soon as we left class. Most of it was reading, and then we had to answer a few questions about what we read. Once again, the subject I struggled the most with was Transfiguration; It was complex, requiring subtle wand movements and precise timing as well as an understanding of the subject that I just lacked. Still, I finished the questions and reading within a couple of hours, and by then it was finally time for dinner. I had roast and vegetables, which was insanely good, and I was honestly glad that I didn't have to live off my own cooking or take out anymore.
The food at Hogwarts was simply amazing. I needed to make sure I went to the kitchens sometime, to not only see the infamous place but also to thank the house elves who worked there so diligently. There was a wide variety of food that fit every category and the chocolate pudding I had for dessert was the perfect consistency. The only thing I couldn't get used to was the pumpkin juice, which almost everyone drank, but I just stuck with water. The juice was sticky, honestly did taste like sweet pumpkins, and had a strange after taste that I didn't find pleasant at all.
After dinner, Lily was kind enough to walk me back up to the common room before she had to begin her patrol for that night of first and second floor of the castle. I waved her goodbye, promising to meet her in the morning and wishing her a goodnight, before heading up to my dormitory to change into my pajamas and study a little more. It was still fairly early so I had a few hours to kill before I could think about falling asleep, but I had checked out a book on Transfiguration theory in the library that I thought might help. I had just gotten through the first chapter of the book when my roommates came into the dorm, joking around and shoving one another while they talked pretty loudly. I was hard to distract though so the noise didn't bother me, not even causing me to look up from my book, but when they fell silent I got curious. All four of them were looking at me with expressions varying from surprise to confusion when I saw them.
"Uh, hi. Don't mind me." I said, waving a little and smiling hesitantly before continuing to read.
"So, uh, have you heard anything about us from anyone?" James asked sheepishly, coming a little closer to my bed as he spoke, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Not really, should I have?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, we like to play the occasional-" James started to say
"Brilliant!" Sirius interjected cheerfully
"-joke on some of our fellow students, mostly Slytherins. So, I guess what I'm wondering is, since you live with us, if we plan here like we usually do, are you going to rat us out?" James asked, sounding desperate for me not to ruin his fun.
I snorted, shaking my head, before shrugging my shoulders. "I don't care what you do. Let me know if you need help, but I won't unless it's just harmless fun."
"Yes! You're awesome!" James exclaimed, clapping me on the shoulder.
"Now that you've brought that up though, there is something I want to say to you all really quick." I said, temporarily closing my book and putting on a serious expression.
"What is it, Jasper?" Remus asked, the other boys looking almost nervous except for Sirius who seemed to not have a care in the world.
"I know you didn't ask for me to move in here and you guys aren't used to someone else intruding on your space, but for what it's worth, I hope we can be friends if not at least acquaintances." I said, looking at them as they went from puzzled or nervous to understanding. "I'm not here to tread on any toes, so anything you guys say or do in this room stays in this room. Even if I'm upset or angry, I'll hold to that, but I respect the same courtesy in response. Can we all manage that?"
The four of them agreed fairly quickly, some of the tension I hadn't realized they were carrying at all falling from their shoulders. They grouped together on the floor and quickly began to plan a welcome back prank for our house rival's and I was honestly impressed with how in detail they went. It was going to be a good two years if all of my days were like this, I decided, before my eyes shut of their own accord later that night.