Chapter 11

Magic perhaps

Helltanz's notes: I feel obligated that I should say something, that being there are no such things as the Deathly Hallows in this fic. In point of fact we'll see what all from Rowling's later books gets chunked out the window while the devil takes the whiskey, but before anyone asks a lot of this chapter is foreshadowing

Disclaimer: come on you should know the drill by now

-Chapter begin -

Harry finished drying off. He couldn't deny that thirty minute shower had been an amazing, hopefully there was still food though. Rushing down the stairs and into the great hall however did prove there was still foodstuffs to consume. After a couple of minutes of eating the food vanished, and Harry realized one thing.

That being if he didn't hurry up he'd be late for class... and there were three fucking slytherins in his way. "Well well is the ickle firstling lost? Or just trespassing?"

"Dick thats Potter." Interjected one of the teen's friends.

"Oh yeah it is," The first, Richard, said again, "What you poke around looking for our dorms eh Potter? The slytherin stepped in front of the wall. "Not like you'll find it, or anything."

"Well if this is the way to your dorms then where the hell is the potions classroom?" Harry grumbled, knowing he was going to end up late, which from all he'd heard was not a good thing.

The third guy blinked, "Wait somebody gave you the directions," He shook his head, "right if your off to Snape's its down the hall. You'll know it when you see it."

'As I'm completely fucking lost they'd better not be lying.' Harry thought heading down the hallway a few minutes later, actually given the snakes had disappeared it didn't matter. If they were lying he was going to be late, and from all evidence Snape was a tosser to any non Slytherin student If they were telling the truth he might still be late.

The potions classroom was, that was to say in Harry's opinion really what was he doing down hear... really brewing potions... in a cauldron, this was nearly as bad as the flying on brooms everyone had been prattling on about... quiditch or whatever. He tightened his coat, damn she'd been right it was colder down here. The place looked like one of his storerooms for ingredients, or the apothecary he'd visited in Diagon Alley except with more empty space.

From his own place of watching Snape had other opinions. Potter was bad news, wizards who favored fire magic never seemed to take well to potions, after all he'd been the dark lord's potion master for a reason. Severus did have a valid concern potions tended to be volatile around magical fields when, and for some even after the, brewing stage. This class had the potential to be even more of a headache than his usual first year classes. Snape flicked his parchment out, and started the annoying task of checking to see who all was here, it took a few minutes to finally reach the name, "Potter, how nice of our new celebrity to grace us this day with his presence," There was a smattering of snickering. Harry didn't care, his mind was off on another tangent, Snape's eyes were black, oddly like Hagrid's, that was curious, that certainly couldn't be common. "You are here to learn the subtle science, and the exact are of potion making," He began in a quiet voice, it was no trouble to hear him no body was talking. "Some of you will no doubt have a negative opinion of this form of magic, as their little silly wand waving, but I assure you this is magic. I do not expect you children to understand the complexity that is potions making, which has the power to ensnare the senses, and bewitch the mind. I can teach you to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

… right stopper death he'd have to look into that...

"Potter!" thundered Snape, "Since you seem so attentive what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood."

… gee how the devil should I know, Harry looked up from his potion book's index, "Does it stopper death?"

"Your attempt at wit fails to be amusing," A certain bushy haired girl still had her hand up in the air, to which Snape ignored, "Lets try again where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar."
Harry reached, "I have one in my backpack..." He got a few odd looks... what they were a general antidote it seemed like a good idea to buy a few at the Apothecary.

"Of course you do," Snape hissed, "Perhaps you can give a straight answer to this then what is the difference monkshood, and wolfsbane."

Oh that one was easy, "They're both aconite, but may be different colors."

"A fancy herbology Potter, P otter is correct though Aconite is another name for wolfsbane, and monkshood. If I were to add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood it creates the draught of living death a powerful sleeping potion most often by healers to stabilize those who have been nearly mortally injured. While a bezoar maybe found in the belly of a goat. Well? Why aren't you writing this down?" He roared at the class, who made quick to grab their quills, and parchment, "and Potter a point from Gryfindor for your cheek regarding the draught of living death."

… so it stoppers death, will have to remember that, "uh huh," He muttered softly Look up Draught of living death powdered root of asphodel added to an infusion of wormwood, he wrote on his paper.

Snape snorted irritably, well at least Potter probably wouldn't blow anyone up, that Longbottom fool on the other hand, "Divide into pairs," He shouted, "Your assignment is to brew a simple potion to cure boils, I'm sure you lot can handle something so plain."

Harry again reassessed his opinion of the glass back to the original why am I here again. Curing boilsg did not fit into his interests in the slightest. "Potter. Potter." The voice called again, finally he looked up, uh name...

"Daphne,"

"We're working together," She announced setting her bag on the desk next to his. They hadn't really said much throughout the week, as speaking during dinner was impractical given the separation of houses, so most of what little had been done had been when Harry, along with Katie, and the Chinese Ravenclaw had been practicing with magic. "And you still haven't told me what fire is," She added.

He sniffed irritated, "I shouldn't have to." The wizard looked at the instructions that had been written up on the old black board. "Go ahead and talk to Katie, she too fails to comprehend the basics,"

"and she's got more than a spark." Harry laughed, as he lit the fire under their cauldrons, "Perhaps you'd give me a hint."

He stood up, "Fire is an element of growth in life, it is heat, and consumption, and so much more." It was apart of the first page of every journal he'd written exclusively on fire, as part of an entire page describing fire. He flicked a page on his book, "Don't burn yourself." He added morosely, not that he really expected her to succeed he'd burned himself countless times with fire magic, and lightning tended to hurt worse, electrical burns were as bad as flames, and shocks were downright unpleasant put them together and... Humph,

He was pulling his own potions ingredients out as Snape made his way down the aisle of desks nearest the wall. "Potter in the future you may consider purchasing your potions supplies at Parkinson's apothecary," The potion's master groused sullenly, picking up a bezoar and examining it. "you will find despite slightly more expensive prices they provide better quality, though you seem to have gotten the best of Jigger's usually sub par stock." He remarked setting the bezoar down, perusing Daphne's ingredients, "you should have went shopping with your mother miss Greengrass." He commented picking up a handful dried nettles, scowling as he rubbed them between his fingers. "Use Potter's supplies, I shall see to it a order book is left in the common room for your use." He remarked before moving on, carefully examining Pansy's own potion supplies and deeming them of suitable quality for her family's business, before moving on to comment on her partner's.

Harry reached for his silver inlaid scale, and set it between them, "I want to see that catalog," He grumbled, pushing his own nettles over to her, and reaching for the snake fangs, and a pestle, as Daphne produced a knife to cut ingredients with.

The potion itself appeared more to be about preparation of ingredients, and following steps than anything else. He poured a handful of snake fangs into a mortar, as Daphne moved to weigh the dried nettles. Class continued relatively uneventfully, if you were to discount Snape's roving through the aisles of students working. In fact Harry had just taken his own cauldron off the fire when the explosion rippled across the room, his gloved hand ripped through the air and a blaze of angry golden white fire surged into life in a semi dome around him. Whatever the concoction was had impacted his shield leaving traces of melted, now molten pewter trailing down to

"Potter put the magical fire out!" Snape shouted, gesturing to the small fires of burning potions "and you idiot boy what were you thinking?" The professor demanded making his way through the mess as people picked themselves off the ground. Harry frowned and dropped the shield inhaling and snuffing the other flames in the room focusing on all but the candles that illuminated the class room. "I suppose it was too much to hope for that you weren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to deal with," Snape had begun after Neville and Seamus had both been sent off with burns to the hospital wing, "Potions like all magic has its inherent dangers," He remarked, "Potter in the future while it may be your preferred defense do not use fire around volatile ingredients."

"Yes sir." Harry responded nodding, as Snape flicked his wand and began to clean up the shattered table that Neville and Seamus had been using for their potion.

"This would not have been such a severe problem if Mister Longbottom and his partner had not been in such a rush, instead they would have merely ended up with a melted cauldron as opposed to one exploding on them. You cannot rush the brewing of even the simplest of potions." He barked to the students crowded around in a circle. "We're that I not had two students in the hospital wing you would all owe me an explanation of proper etiquette for potion brewing, now get out of here. All of you."

No one, not even the Slytherins, needed to be told twice. People immediately began to pack up their supplies, placing the remaining ingredients from the day's potion back in their kits, "And remember to clean your cauldrons!" Snape shouted at all of them as they left.

Harry reminded himself to do that, potions exploded violently, which could be useful.
"Man poor Seamus but at least we're out of there." One of the Gryfindor first years remarked as they all walked up the stairs.

Snape sighed and leaned against his dungeon's wall, and that class had been going so well up until the explosion, still... he flicked his wand and sent the tables and desks sliding against the wall. He had students who were serving detention already who could clean up the mess tonight.

"Potter," Malfoy proclaimed as he marched up the stairs, unfortunately the down side to being a Slytherin shouting into the crowd of Gryfindors were rather obvious in hindsight.

-Scene Break-

What had followed had distastefully been the first real pissing match, but not the last, between the Gryfindor and Slytherin First Year boys. For people who had magic they'd quickly abandoned their wands to get in a shoving match in the middle of the hallway. It had not been a good idea, and not just because it got the first year girls in the crossfire. The only positive thing to come of it was that Snape, by some miracle had not caught them, nor had the caretaker, who from all discussions with Katie as just as bad. Percy Weasley however had heard about the debacle and he made sure to let the entire house know that he knew. Though his recounting of it made it sound quite a bit worse than it actually had been.

Harry examined the bandages and flexed his hand, as Katie and the other two studied. The older Gryfindor looked up from the ashes, "Hey aren't you supposed to be working on that essay for McGonnagal?" He was, as a matter of fact. His current progress was... less than what he wanted right now, still he had time especially considering most the other first year gryfindors hadn't started their essay yet. They were supposed to be writing on the application, and understanding transfiguration.

"So how is the hand doings? We could go to the hospital wing?" Katie remarked.

He growled, "It doesn't heal, I've tried," and he had, but every once and a while it started bleeding again, but it didn't interfere with his spellcasting, or his movements it just hurt from time to time. He lit the old bandages on fire, and watched them burn. "Fire is second nature to me of course. Its emotional component, and the understanding of it is necessary to creating it." He remarked. "Its much simpler than earth, or metal creation, in fact fire is one of the simplest things to make." Nearly everything can be made to burn after all.

"So if I can reliably make fire you'll teach me how to..."

Harry flicked his hand and blasted the shore line with a barrage of fire darts. "Yes, I'm sure when you eventually get it I'll teach you something that actually can be used in fighting." That was about the time Daphne set her sleeve on fire, Katie rushed forward to tackle her in an attempt to douse the fire, while Harry reached towards the lake and sent a large spray of lake water at her. This of course ended up soaking the both of them. He went back to working on his notebook, "Oh and obviously fire can be used to dry off." Katie glared at him, "She's getting there though."

"Wait can't you create water?"
Harry looked up, she'd been reading his notebooks again, "Yes, but if you'd kept reading creating an element raw wastes energy compared to using a source, or even pulling it out of the air."

"But we're creating fire."
"And fire is easy to make." He responded as he flicked a finger, "Fire is easy, and normally you don't have a choice, the same with lightning." And obviously with acid as well, this was just the way things were. Still they were all making headway, admittedly Li was doing a bit better than these two, but then she could have just been one of those closet pyromaniacs he was always Vernon rant about hearing in the muggle news... oh wait Vernon was normally talking about him, that was actually kind of concerning. "Why don't you two go grab Li." He suggested, even though it wasn't really a suggestion. He wasn't concerned but a fire in a castle seemed a really bad idea, in his opinion. After all Harry had yet to get to the usefulness of the flame freezing charm in his supplementary charms book that he'd purchased a month earlier. He looked down at his notebook, Harry really should have been working on his transfiguration essay. "AND DON"T BRING ANYONE ELSE!" He shouted as they were walking off. With that he glanced at his notes again, right water pressure, fun. Power slipped out and drew the water into a floating cone shape, apply the speed to the water and forcing it into a tight spread was a bit more tricky. It was much simpler just to throw lots of water around, but that wasn't as useful. He'd never had much interest in water, but it did have its uses. At high enough pressure water could sheer through steel, and that was impressive, it also hurt.

He took the time to add a few more notes, before they announced, "We're back,"
"What part of don't bring anyone else didn't you hear?" That had been the advantage, Daphne's friend Tracey had no interest in learning this stuff, or at least hadn't expressed any interest. Su Li didn't seem to be the sharing type.

"Relax oh burning wrathful one," The twins intoned together. George stepped forward, "we come bringing lunch," he paused letting his brother step up beside him, "And drinks." Fred added, "from the ever merry Hogwarts Kitchen." They finished together.

Harry realized as a matter of fact yes he was actually hungry. "I suppose you can stay." The food was good.
"Sorry chappie, Brother Percy is going on and on about the scuffle between the firsties again." Fred remarked with some annoyance, to which Harry could understand.

Percy's ranting on was annoying, Katie agreed with him on that, and well neither Daphne or Su Li were Gryfindors so they couldn't weigh in on just how annoying Percy Weasley was. Ron was the other Weasley who becoming insufferable, but more because he and Malfoy were constantly picking fights with each other. Percy had jumped down his younger brother's throat for the interhouse fighting. Percy wasn't helping especially with prefect status, especially the way he lorded it, or tried to at least, over the gryfinndors.

"Speaking of Firsties you have the upcoming flying lessons." At Harry's blank look Fred clapped him on the shoulder, "Oh come on man don't tell me you aren't looking forward to that, it's like the greatest thing you first years have on the schedule before quiditch season."

Katie perked up, "When are the trials?"
Thats right Katie had said she wanted to try out for the team, something about chasing, or chaser for the team, Harry hadn't been paying attention. Quiditch was just a magical sport played on a broom. Harry didn't get this whole flying on the broom, that and the brewing potions in cauldrons...

"Well Hennet is done this year," Fred grunted annoyed, "so we'll definitely need not two chasers, and a seeker this year. Its next week if you're interested,"

Harry looked up, "Why is Hennet done?"

"Ah well... He's picking up his ancient runes studies, he's a sixth year and all. Got his big nasty exams coming up next year." George remarked, "Team's down three players since Charlie graduated last year too. He was playing seeker, and captain too. Wilson, our other chaser was, Alicia, who was subbing last year is a good choice though."

Runes... well that was interesting. He'd been meaning to look into that, which was why he'd asked around about introduction to runes in the bookstores in the alley. He hadn't made much progress he had way too much stuff to do most the time. Harry bit into a scone, this was actually pretty good. It took a minute for him to find his fire notebook.

"Don't suppose the beating Slytherin gave us last year didn't help, it was Charlie's last year and Slytherin crushed us."
"Thats why we've got to win this year, brother mine." George stated, before helping himself to the food. "besides Slytherin's going to need even more new players than we are."

"So any guesses why the third floor corridor is off limits, George and I were going to eh do a little bit of looking around, you know for good fun."

"Perfect change from trying to sneak into and having a look around the Forbidden Forrest."
Katie laughed, "Doesn't the groundskeeper keep running you two away from there?" Harry flicked a page, and traced a finger and flicked another page. He turned the book towards the three, this convincing them to figure things out wasn't working, and Daphne had just set her robes on fire. "Whats this,"
"Analysis from three years ago,"
She looked up, "This isn't your handwriting," Su remarked.

"No its Sam's," Harry was the slightest bit annoyed sounding. He'd been burned at the time from working on another project, the fire that had did the burning had retarded his healing enough to prevent him from fixing his hands for several weeks. He'd spent most that summer unable to fucking write.

-scene break-

Bank robberies happened damn it... If Harry heard one more thing about Gringotts getting broken into he was going to blast someone, not something, someone. What was so impressive about breaking into a bank, big deal. Geez he could understand Gringotts sending out that letter weeks ago, but everyone was still prattling on about it. The girls had gotten the hang of starting fires, and didn't look like they'd immolate themselves anytime soon, which meant he finally had some peace and quiet.

Still if the talk wasn't about Gringotts it was about the fighting between certain Slytherins, and Gryffindors. The only benefit to that was the first years only had potion classes with their Slytherin counterparts, the class was two days from now on monday morning. Or rather that was supposed to be the norm the exception would be this Thursday when the Flying lessons, the ones Fred and George had brought up, were to be held. Malfoy loved to go on and on about how great a flyer he was, dealing with that would be unbearable come the lesson.

He reached over for his pen, ah well he was safe up on Gryffindor tower well and away from the idiots going on about flying around on brooms. He certain didn't seem like he was going to learn anything about the Dark Arts in Quirrel's class, and his text. On the one hand his books didn't even mention dark elves, on the other they did confirm the existence of vampires, even if all he got was a tiny little paragraph on them, and some reference to a treaty. The entry on werewolves though was much more fulfilling a read. So still he now had a little more information on werewolves, though still pretty in the dark on vampires.

"Oy there you are." The red head yawned and stretched, "well Fred owes me for winning the bet," As George was quick to explain this early saturday morning, he and his brother were pranksters. More to the point the twins were in the process of planning their first major prank. Not that Harry had any part in planning that. No the reason George was bringing this up was because... "Well Ron has been going on and on about that Malfoy prick, and well dear old mum sent a letter, seeing as Percy sent a letter to her yesterday after the fight, and well Fred and I got her letter," To put a long story short the Weasleys' mother was furious about Ron's misbehavior, and for some reason was blaming it, or seemed to be, on the twins. The problem was Ron was a first year, and the twins weren't, and Percy couldn't be hovering over Ron twenty four seven. This left George and Fred with a choice how best to keep ronnikins in line, or rather out of trouble so they could plan their pranks in peace.

Harry gave him a plank look, "Are you serious?"

"Well I know Ron might be a bit of an annoyance we just need you to keep him and Malfoy from starting a riot between the first years, or you know just blast Malfoy into a wall, that'd work too. Just don't let Percy catch you. Its only for the week when you've got classes, just till Friday morning when the prank is for, promise"

Normally Harry would decline, but there was one other piece to this. Keeping Ron from causing a mess would keep their annoying prefect brother from carrying on about inter house fighting, and the shame of it all, which would be worth it. "Its just until Friday Morning."
"Yeah you can stop, say after Transfiguration class on Thursday, if Ron wants to cause a scene in Flying let him we'll have our prank ready by then. We'll all get a good laugh come Friday morning, eh?" George remarked. "You eaten yet?"

"I was going to ask you to show me where the kitchens were," Harry remarked.

"I can do that now if you want,"

It wasn't like Harry had anything better to. To be honest that was the one of the few things he missed from being in the muggle world the Great Hall didn't furnish coffee, and Harry was used to Coffee in the mornings, the caffeine really helped getting by with only a few hours of sleep.

-scene break-

The Kitchen didn't have coffee as it turned out, which was unpleasant. By the time monday morning rolled around Harry was going through caffeine withdrawal. The dark haired boy wizard slumped into his chair, tea was helping but he was still jittery. Harry flicked through the appendix as he waited for the class to start. Snape seemed to be lurking in his office before class.

"Don't start shit," Harry had told the red head, "we don't need Snape jumping down our throats." Which strictly speaking was completely true, Percy had already gone on about threatening to go straight to McGonnagal if 'they stepped a toe out of line again'. Personally Harry thought he was full of shit, but McGonnagal's policy, from asking around, or rather listening in, was one of no nonsense. She had said as much during the first transfiguration class, and it was the first week of full classes. Still it'd be Friday that really showed how classes were going to play out, there schedules made that much clear.

Snape in what seemed to be his usual fashion came billowing out of his office like a bat out of hell, "Hmm I see you all seem to have made it," He commented tersely, "We will not have a repeat of Friday, am I clear?" The potions master growled, "I expect that should any of you have the sense to notice your classmates endangering themselves, and by extension everyone else you are to intercede immediately." Snape then took the time to present an impromptu lecture on the importance of following instructions in order that they were presented. "With what should be obvious out of the way," He pressed on, "We move on to today's potion lesson, "

Today's lesson as it turned out to be as equally mundane application as Fridays, in this case a basic potion for soothing stomach aches. Apparently it tasted positively foul, or so his book commented in any case. Given half the shit that was required the foul taste actually made sense, Harry considered taking time to cut up the root called for in the ingredients.

Snape was already yelling at people... apparently Neville wasn't the only one of Gryfinndor having problems with potions, right now Snape was berating Lavender, and Parvati for some mistake or another, Harry couldn't really tell.

Daphne slid the plate of prepared ingredients over, "Weasley is working with Longbottom."
"I saw," Harry commented.

She nudged him, "Shouldn't you watch them?" He nudged his bag that was sitting in his chair. "What?"
"Kinetic Shield enchanted bag in the event they blow something up when I'm not watching," which wasn't actually what it had originally been intended to... he'd originally empowered the bag for Dudley to use for a punching bad before he considered the other practical benefits of it. The fact remained the heavy leather bag had its uses. "And I am checking on them." Harry checked the instructions, "Lower the heat just a bit," Harry cast a look over his shoulder,

Ron didn't seem to have any aptitude in potions, but he wasn't horrible at it either, so for the moment both he and Neville were doing alright. Harry liked explosions, but only when they were far away from him.

-scene break-

As it turned out Neville, and Ron made a decent pair for potions, meaning they didn't blow anything up, which didn't actually stop Snape from breathing down their necks but it did mean that the class hadn't been a repeat of Friday. Monday's defense against the Dark Arts class after lunch had been more boring than anything. There was no fighting in Quirell's class, just the teacher stuttering, and a lot of dry reading.

Tuesday's Charms class had a bit more of a practical component, which was more than he could say for Thursday's Charms, and Transfiguration classes, not that anyone had been up for practical spellwork after Astronomy had run late throwing everyone off their game. Which presented them to their current situation. McGonnagal had been kind enough to collect their essays, and then let them leave, with a generous helping of homework for the weekend of course.

Technically his agreement with George was now finished, but it still probably wasn't thee best idea to let Malfoy and Ron carry on like they were as everyone waited for Flying lessons to start. "are they really having this argument?"

"So it seems," Harry remarked,

"You're parents were wizards though," One of Gryffindor's muggleborns remarked, "I got the impression all wizard kids rode brooms." He commented,
"I don't care about flying," he responded, I'm keeping my feet on the ground when I can avoid it certainly flying on a broom counts as avoidable.

Their professor for the flying lessons had amazing timing as it turned out. Madame Hooch showed up just before the majority of Slytherin and Gryffindor boys decided to start forming up in order to come to blows. Hooch was not pleased at all, and ordered both houses to separate and knock off such shenanigans before she called both their heads of houses, which would have been unpleasant to say the least. "Now class today will cover the basics of broom flight." She announced before marching the lot of them over to the two lines of brooms arrayed on the ground... wait they were facing each other... that really didn't seem like the best idea. There was also the fact the brooms were old and some of them looked kind of frail, all of them had certainly seen better days.

Madame Hooch as it turned out, was rather impatient as a teacher, and quickly ordered them to tell the brooms 'up.' The first try got some results from the class, enough to merit a good. Its still took a few tries for everyone to be able to get their brooms to rise to the occasion. After that the hawkish woman took a few minutes to show, and make sure, everyone was riding the broom properly, and how to grip. Things rapidly went down hill from there when she'd started trying to prep them on actual flying.

Draco started things, which was presumably why things escalated as they did, "Did you see that fat idiot," He cackled after Hooch had taken Neville away to the Hospital Wing.
"Shut up!" Ron snapped stepping forward, starting a repeat of the pre class standoff.

"Will you two stop posturing and fight."
"What?"
"You're embarrassing the House," Harry didn't really have a reason to give a damn about the house but some people did."Ronald, beat Malfoy or shut up." Harry growled looking up from his pages, "And you Malfoy either blast Ron or pipe down you're making Slythering look bad." Personally he didn't care they were idiots, and since they were both 'purebloods' they probably knew somekind of magic.

For a minute Harry actually thought Malfoy was about to pull his wand, and apparently so did half the class. It was a mad scramble as people shuffled for their own wands, then the first spell went off. The clash was mostly sparks, and shrieking.

Harry had to block once, raising the opaque kinetic shield against a minor fire curse that had flown wide from the scuffle. It'd lasted a good ten minutes before the brawl had settled down.

"I thought you would have gotten involved." Blaise remarked.

He shrugged from his own place amongst the people who hadn't actually gotten in the fight, people from both sides. It'd been funny to watch, and besides if he was truthful it'd have happened sooner or later.

When Hooch got back she'd been furious at the apparent fight, she knew it'd happened, just not the specifics and no body was willing to step foward. They'd gotten their flying lessons rescheduled for early next week, and a loud lecture, plus the loss of some house points, but in the end well it'd been funny to watch. While Harry didn't really look forward to Friday classes but at least it'd be a mostly free weekend. So far the first full week of classes was going well.

-scene break-

-Chapter conclusion—

Helltanz's notes: Yay for world building, and this handles flying lessons too. The world building, and foreshadowing is necessary for later parts of the story, anyway book 1 has about 9 chapters left in it, or if you prefer words (according to my outlining) about another 50k. I kind of hope to have this finished by next year. Book 2, the Chamber of Secrets analogue, will mark the breakaway from canon more indepth.