"How were things in the Girl's Dorm?"

Genny narrowed her eyes at Virgil, suspiciously, "Why do you want to know? You know, I thought it'd be a few years before you asked me something completely stupid like that."

Virgil stared at her, "...Sorry, What?"

She rolled her eyes, "Oh, nevermind. They were all asleep by the time I got there. They made me sleep on the ruddy bottom bunk! I suppose I shouldn't have expected much more, considering my 'esteemed lineage' is completely rubbish anywhere but Slytherin." she scowled, "Not that it means anything there anymore, either. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled." she drew the hand away from her mouth so she could use her fingers to widen her eyes, returning it once her point had been made, "I'm sure we haven't heard the last of Eldred and Warty."

Virgil shuddered. He'd had similar thoughts, but had been scared to vocalize them. He was thankful, at least, that he and Genny had a few classes together. The other Ravenclaw seemed nice enough, but he was worried about not having his best friend around.

Best friend?

He hid a smile. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to have one of those, nor was he sure what to do with one. He'd never really thought about having a 'friend' before, let alone a 'best' one.

Maybe 'only' friend would be more accurate.

The Potions classroom was located in a dark, dank corridor that Landon escorted them to. Though the boy kept his distance, clearly gauging whether or not he could trust the two of them even remotely. Virgil hoped he could earn that much. He was pretty sure he liked Landon and didn't want to disappoint him anymore than he already had.

"Professor Weasley should be waiting for you." Landon said as they arrived at the door to the classroom. Virgil gave him a quick thanks, feeling a little embarrassed at being the only First Year who needed to be escorted to class. It made him feel like a criminal or something.

He and Genny entered, the green-toothed witch instantly grabbing him and dragging him to the back of the class. A pair of stools sat just at the edge, open as if just for the two of them. Still, Virgil couldn't quite understand the haste with which she moved.

At least not until he saw a pair of Slytherin giving them the stink-eye from across the class. It wasn't Warty or Eldred, just a pair of other mean-looking boys that Virgil decided he was desperate to avoid. The Professor - a tall, somewhat strapping man with lovely ginger hair - stood to his feet from behind a large desk.

"Well, let's give this a go, shall we?" he beamed at them as he circled around to the front of the desk and leaned against it, "Professor Weasley, Potion Extraordinaire, at your service. Not literally, of course. In fact, I think you will find that you all are very much at my service. I don't care who your family is, I still get to boss all of you around as much as I like." he grinned, "The beauty of being a Professor!"

"He sure talks a lot." Genny mumbled.

"You're not covering your mouth!" Virgil noticed.

"Nobody's looking at me except you, you-!" she cut herself off and pushed against his cheek so that he had to face forward again, "Quit it!"

"Now, I likely know what you're all thinking:" Professor Weasley continued, "'Potions? What good are potions? I want to learn spells!' or 'Potions? I want to learn how to fight a dragon!'. Who here was thinking they want to learn how to fight a dragon?" he took a quick count of the many hands raised, one of which was Genny's, "Right. Excellent. Terrible idea. Don't ever try to fight a dragon, it's a dragon. Now where was I? Right!" he crossed to a whiteboard and started taking notes, "You lot can consider yourselves lucky, because you haven't had to deal with the greatest malady to ever afflict Wizardkind yet. Any guesses as to what that is?" he searched across a sea of hands, his twinkling eyes meeting Virgil's, "Ah! Mr. Banham! What do you think is the greatest evil our kind has ever had to face?"

Virgil's mind went blank. He certainly knew what he'd normally have said, but that was the stupidest possible answer he could give, most likely. Instead, he just blurted out something that had very much been on his mind lately:

"Time!"

There was a pause as the Professor drank this in.

"That..." his eyes narrowed, "Is quite a bit more existential of an answer than I was expecting from a First Year, but you know what? I like it! It is, however, wrong! The answer? That's right: acne!" the Professor wrote the word up on the board, "You might not appreciate it now, but you will. Lads? When there's a girl you fancy and you're thinking of asking her to the ball and just that day you wake up with a big..." he leaned his head against the chalkboard, momentarily overcome with angst, "Anyway!" he sprang back, "Today we're learning how to make the Cure for Boils! Something I wish I'd known sooner! Also works on acne, blackheads, whiteheads, zits and zoots."

The ingredients were written down, the Professor quickly going over how to prepare each of them in what quantity to mix them together and how quickly to stir. Virgil tried to drink it all in, busily scribbling down notes as Genny tried desperately to follow along.

After covering the process rather extensively, Professor Weasley crossed back to his desk and leaned against it, giving him a nice, sweeping view of all his students.

"Now, it's your turn to brew it!" he clapped his hands together, "Of course, I'll be here to lend a hand, but I'd also like to supply all of you with a sense of..." he thought for a moment, "Urgency."

A hand was raised.

"Professor? What does that-?"

"Furnunculus Maxima!"

There was a flash of red light and suddenly Virgil felt his face start to itch. He reached up, just about to scratch when Genny caught his wrist. He turned to look at her, finding her face had broken out with a flurry of little, white bumps. Each was rimmed with bright red to help them stand out, her cheeks and lips and forehead positively covered with them.

Instantly, there was madness.

"Now, now." Professor Weasley called over the din, "I think you'll find that that lovely potion I just taught you how to make is... quite frankly, the only cure." he crossed his arms, "So I would suggest you make it, and be very careful with the proportions."

"Don't bloody look at me!" Genny hissed, keeping her head bowed, "Oh, this is just brilliant! As if my teeth weren't ugly enough, now I've got this to deal with?!" she poured over her hastily scrawled notes, "Please tell me you know what you're doing!"

Virgil was already hard at work grinding Shrake Spines with a mortar and pestle, his brain switching to 'work' mode. He muttered instructions to Genny as quickly and concisely as he could while focusing on his own work as well, gathering everything together before putting them into the cauldron.

That was the part that scared him.

"Was it 1 teaspoon of Flobberworm Mucus or 1 tablespoon?"

"Teaspoon, you nonce!"

Virgil tugged at his collar as he felt himself heating up. If they screwed this part up it'd come back to bite them later. And it'd likely be too late. Time in class had slipped away alarmingly quickly, meaning they'd have to stay late to try again.

"But what if-?"

"Virgil, you've got it right!" Genny grabbed the measuring spoon from him and began brewing, using his notes to tell her how much to stir and in what direction. Virgil fell back, allowing her to take control as he tried not to itch at his face. He hated the feeling, dreading the thought of having to spend the entire day in such a state. It just felt dirty and gross.

And ugly.

The potion turned a bubbling blue, Genny's eyes widening at the sight. She poured through the notes again before swallowing and grabbing a ladle. She poured them both a small goblet of the stuff before handing one off to Virgil.

"Sorry if this doesn't work." Virgil mumbled. Genny was already drinking it, still managing to jab a finger forward into her friend's stomach even without looking. Virgil backed away before taking a drink of the blue liquid, himself. It was pungent and medicinal, instantly making him glad he'd not overeaten at breakfast. He couldn't imagine how bad it would feel to have to choke down a load of herbaceous medicine on a full stomach. He managed to drain the goblet before setting it back down, his eyes drifting slowly towards Genny.

"Oh, thank god!" she sank her head onto her arms on the desk, allowing a laugh to spill out, "I think you got it, Virgil!" she looked up at her friend, allowing herself to show off an emerald-green smile.

Not a single pimple in sight.

Virgil felt his own cheeks.

He sighed.

Clean.

The classroom around them was still in a state of disarray as other students didn't prove to be so lucky, some having - apparently - only made their zits worse. Virgil felt a pang of guilt at the looks of panic, turning back to the cauldron. It still had quite a bit left; more than enough to cure a few of the less fortunate of their malady.

"Do you think we should...?"

"I wonder if we could charge them for it." Genny stroked her chin, eyeing her classmates a bit wickedly, "What do you think?"

"Aren't you rich?" Virgil stared at her, eyes wide.

"'Rich' is a matter of perspective!" Genny crossed her arms, "I could always have more candy, you know! I'm not saying I'd just demand a load of Galleons from them or..." she trailed off as Virgil continued to stare at her, "Or maybe a second serving of..." she trailed off again, "Oh, fine!" she sat back in a huff, "Do whatever you want with it."

This decision - the decision of what 'whatever he wanted' - was was quite a bit more difficult than Virgil first thought. He watched as students drank their various concoctions, some getting cured completely, some getting mostly cured and some only managing to make their cases worse. There likely wasn't enough of his particular cure to go around, which meant not all of the afflicted could be saved.

"Do you suppose the Professor would get mad if I helped the others?" Virgil whispered to Genny.

The girl stared at him, "You're quite strange, aren't you?"

"They're our classmates! We shouldn't just leave them like this!" Virgil stammered, before pushing the cauldron towards her, "Could you prepare some goblets? I'm going to go help them as best I can!"

He rushed off, leaving his very confused friend to pour more potions out. Virgil was surprised at his own ability to help people, since approaching them and offering guidance in and of itself seemed quite presumptuous. Especially considering how much he doubted his own abilities sometimes.

"Is that the Shrike Spine?" he blurted out as he approached a pair of extremely anxious looking students, one Hufflepuff, one Gryffindor. They stared up at him as if he'd just pulled a knife on them.

"Y-yes?" the Hufflepuff girl asked.

"That's too much! You don't want a rounded scoop!" Virgil murmured, "And you want to grind it finer than that. It should be like sand, not..." he neglected to say anything more. They'd ground it to the consistency of fine gravel, which certainly wouldn't do.

"Oh." the Gryffindor nodded at him, "Cheers."

He left them to their (still rather nervous) work, before hopping to another table to help. Time was running out, the remaining pimply students working at a fevered pace. It was clear nobody wanted to leave class that day with a face full of acne, and Virgil couldn't help but feel their fears as tangibly as if they were his.

"Are you-" Virgil stopped, staring at the two students before him: a Gryffindor and a... Lumenlock. Their faces were both as clear and blemish-free as fresh-cut marble, the Lumenlock student simply sitting there, toying with a lock of black hair.

Morgan Bainbridge.

The only Lumenlock First Year.

Virgil felt his hands begin to quiver as he stared at the boy, who exuded such an aura of casual confidence that he felt like running away. There was something unnatural about it. Strange. As if he'd never felt nervous before in his entire life.

"Sorry!" Virgil stammered, "I was-! I'll leave you two alone!"

He hurried away, Morgan barely paying attention to him at all. The Gryffindor seemed to be trying to be social but interaction with the Lumenlock seemed like trying to chat up an iceberg. Virgil turned and made his way to another table, stumbling to a halt as he found it was the Slytherin boys from earlier. Their faces were getting... a bit out of sorts. They'd turned to simply bickering with each other over ingredients, not paying Virgil the slightest bit of attention.

The Ravenclaw swallowed hard.

"Excuse me." he murmured, managing to catch their attention. They turned to him, scornful looks undercut by faces of ridiculous acne. Still, they scared the backwards-pants off the poor boy, who nearly lost his nerve completely and ran away.

"What do you want, Banham?"

Just the way they said his name told him they knew exactly who he was. Not just who his family was, who he was. And what he'd done to Eldred and Warty.

"Do you need any help?"

They looked confused.

"What?" one of them - short red-brown hair - stared at him as if he were speaking French.

"Are you having a laugh?" the other began to stand up, Virgil taking a step back as he did, "What, you think we can't do it ourselves, Banham? You making fun of us? Huh?" he stuck a finger in Virgil's chest, "You mighta gotten the better of our boys, but you won't get so lucky a second time, you know?"

Virgil trembled from head to toe.

He was really, really not good in confrontations.

"I just wanted to know if you wanted help making your potion." he murmured, eyes wide, "Class is almost over and... you've still got acne."

The redhead stared at him, "He might have a point, Titus."

"Think he does, Edgar?"

"Think a truce might be in order, Titus."

"Just for now, Edgar?"

"Truce, Titus. For now."

The redhead - Edgar, apparently - stuck out a hand. Virgil hesitantly took it, receiving a much firmer and more ferocious shake than he would've expected. Thankfully, the larger boy didn't dislocate his shoulder completely, stepping aside to give the Ravenclaw space to join them.

"Work your magic, smarty." Edgar nudged him with an elbow, "Help us get rid a' these boils and I might even see if I can get Eldred to back off from ya."

"Is he looking for me?" Virgil asked, working as quickly as he could.

"No." the blonde - Titus - spoke quickly, like he was stabbing a knife into him with words, "Doesn't need to. He knows you. Knows where you live. Where you sleep. He could find you like that."

He snapped his fingers, causing Virgil to flinch.

"We all know where he lives, Titus." Edgar corrected his friend.

"We all do." Titus leaned in, face contorted into a snarl.

"Ravenclaw Dormitories, innit?" Edgar asked.

Virgil gulped before stammering out, "That... is... correct."

"Knew it." Titus pulled away, "Don't forget it, mate."

Virgil neglected to bring up the fact that in that sense every student at Hogwarts technically knew where every other student lived and slept. Better not to get snooty with them, as they seemed high-strung enough. The three of them managed to get the potion done in record time, Virgil trying not to let the Slytherin's intimidation tactics get to him.

"See this?" Titus pointed to the Shrike Spine, "This is you."

He began grinding it up into a fine powder.

"Point made, Titus."

"Point well made, Edgar." Titus nodded.

"Can you believe that Lumenlock prick, Titus?" Edgar shot a side glance at Morgan, "Finished before we began."

"Prick."

"Twat."

"What... sorry, what do you mean he'd 'finished before we began'?" Virgil looked up at the two larger boys, confused. It was true that Morgan didn't even seem remotely out of breath, but perhaps he'd just never felt a sense of urgency like the others.

"Had the potion ready before the Professor finished explaining how to make it." Edgar scowled, "Already knew how to make it, you think? Sounds Lumenlock."

"Prick."

"Twat."

"Prat."

Virgil let out a sigh as soon as the potion turned blue, turning to leave hurriedly before he was caught and pulled into a headlock by Edgar. The redhead squeezed him a little as he grabbed a goblet of the blue potion.

"Not so fast, Banham-Boy. Gotta make sure it works first, dontcha?"

"That he does, Edgar."

"That he does, Titus."

Edgar and Titus drank the potion in a few glugs, their faces souring as the medicinal bitterness filled their mouths. It was only once they exchanged looks and smiles with each other that Virgil was released.

"Not bad, Banham-Boy, not bad." Edgar gave Virgil a hard slap on the back, "Cheers."

Virgil was still trying to pull himself together when class ended, Professor Weasley catching his eye and gesturing him over with a beckoning finger. Virgil felt his stomach sink as he started to imagine the punishment he was likely in for. Maybe he really wasn't supposed to help the others, but how was he supposed to know?!

The Ravenclaw looked across the classroom, finding Genny surreptitiously slipping pimple-ridden students goblets of the stuff while pretending to show them how to make it. Whether she was actually managing to get one over on the Professor, Virgil had no idea. But he'd try to help. He quickly hurried over to the tall ginger man, who beamed down at him as the rest of the class filed out.

"Well, aren't you quite the overachiever?" the Professor crossed his arms, Virgil not quite able to interpret his words just yet, "Not just finishing your own potion in almost-record time, but also helping others." he nodded, primly, "Points to Ravenclaw for that, I'd say."

Virgil couldn't help but smile, though he still felt embarrassed about it. He was mostly just glad he wasn't in trouble. Not to mention, getting points would help to make up for the ones Headmaster Black had taken. Or had he? Had that even happened in this timeline? He still had to report to Professor Black for detention, so it stood to reason, didn't it?

The Ravenclaw's head began to hurt.

"Also, please tell Ms. Greenteeth to be a bit more careful with how she hands out her potions." the Professor rolled his eyes, "I admire her craftiness, but she's still being woefully obvious."

Virgil turned red, shooting a look back at Genny who clearly thought she was being quite sneaky. Still, they needed to get to their next class and she was obviously running out of the medicine, herself. She threw Virgil a 'hurry up' look, gathering her things together while handing off one more potion.

"Hope you keep that one in your back pocket, Mr. Banham." the Professor said, a bit wistfully, "Could save you quite a bit of headache in the future."

"Of course, Professor." Virgil nodded, hurriedly, "Thank you, Professor!"

He hurried over to Genny, who was throwing his things together for him. All he had to do was scoop them up before she was dragging him away out the door. A hand flew in front of her mouth again as they reentered the hallway, wading through throngs of students, most of whom were taller than the two.

"Were you really getting friendly with Titus and Edgar?" Genny stared at him, "Are you mad? Wait, were they bullying you?" a protective glint appeared in her eyes, "I know a jinx that can-"

"No, no, no!" Virgil said, hurriedly, "They were actually..."

'Nice' was definitely too strong a word, but they weren't nearly as mean as Eldred and Warty, that was for sure. They had actually been decent to him at least, if a bit rough. He wasn't exactly leaping at the opportunity to ever talk to them again, but if they weren't terrible to him that was... something.

"And what's this here?" Genny pulled out a sheet of parchment, on which was printed their curriculum and class schedule, "It says our second hour is... 'The Dark Arts'." she eyed him, "Is that just 'Defense Against the Dark Arts'?"

Virgil pulled out his own schedule, his eyes scanning it.

Next hour: The Dark Arts.

Last hour: Defense Against the Dark Arts.

His heart stopped.

He froze.

The Dark Arts, taught by Professor Black. he read, Located in the Duelist's Wing.