Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I also do not own the definition of the advantage of nonverbal incantations. Both belong to the wonderful JKR.
A/N: Professor Mansfield is a shoutout to Wisconsin, where my sister/cowriter and I are from. :D
Chapter 7: The First Morning
There's no sense in telling me
The wisdom of a fool won't set you free
But that's the way that it goes
And it's what nobody knows
While every day my confusion grows
- Bizarre Love Triangle, Frente
"Look! First years!" Maia exclaimed as the young students filed into the great hall. "They're so little and cute!"
"We were that little as first years," Kate said with a laugh.
"I was never that little," Maia countered.
"Only because you were an abnormally tall eleven year old," Allie teased.
"And you only say that because you were abnormally short!" Maia teased back, "And not much has changed on that front." The four girls laughed. True, five years ago, Allie had been one of the puniest first years. Now, standing at just above five feet, she was the shortest Gryffindor sixth year.
"I've taken the title as abnormally tall," Kate added, "I think I'm the only girl in the world as tall as me!"
"Really, Kate?" Lily asked, "You're sure no other girls in the world are 5'9"?"
"None," Kate answered curtly, "I am the tallest girl in history!"
"Like an Amazon warrior!" Maia exclaimed. The other girls just looked at her in silence, which was all very well, since Professor McGonagall had placed the sorting hat on its stool at the front of the hall. Silence ensued immediately as all eyes turned to the tattered hat, awaiting its song.
It started many years ago
Before this castle stood
Four founders shared a common dream
As four geniuses would.
They sought to make the finest school
The world had ever seen
Four houses, for each founder
Yellow, red, blue and green
Yellow for the badgers,
Helga Hufflepuff's friends
Hardworking, true and loyal
And tolerant to the end
Red belonged to the lion
Godric Gryffindor, brave and true
Who valued chivalry and nerve
As many others do
Blue for the eagles
Which Rowena Ravenclaw chose
Intelligence, wit and wisdom
Are what Ravenclaws know
And green belonged to the serpents
Which Salazar Slytherin claimed
Cunning and ambition
Were Slytherin's calls to fame
But the founders have all gone
And left it up to me
To sort you into houses
And see what you will be
So put me on, don't be afraid
I have not yet been wrong
No matter who you are
I'll know where you belong
The hall erupted in applause as the first years quaked with nerves. Professor McGonagall went back up to the front of the hall and called out the first name. Several minutes later, Carrie Zandler was sorted into Slytherin and the ceremony ended.
"That took long enough!" James huffed, digging into his meat pie, "I thought some of those kids would never be sorted, they sat up there for so long!"
"But it's really exciting for them," Peter countered, helping himself to roasted potatoes, "Don't you remember the anticipation?"
"Not really," James answered, his mouth full of food, "I always knew I'd be in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave of heart!"
"You should write the songs, the way you talk, Prongs," Sirius decided aloud, "But just Sorting Hat songs. 'Where dwell the brave of heart'? Honestly."
"What can I say," James asked with a shrug, "I'm a poet!"
"Oh yes, how could we forget after that love poem you wrote Lily?" Peter smirked.
"Shut up, Wormtail!" James shouted, "That was in fourth year! Besides, I've decided I have to move on."
"I thought you were resolved to have her love you," Sirius teased, "that's what you said over the summer."
"Oh, yes, I am completely resolved to have her love me. But the way to the heart of Lily Evans is not, as I've realized, through endless pining. I have decided that, while I get to know Lily as a friend, I ought to be free to date other girls. This way, when I finally win Lily's love, then I will not make a complete fool of myself."
"You prat," Remus laughed, "You're going to use other girls as practice for Lily?"
"Well," James answered, "Only if I actually like them. And who knows? I may lose interest in Lily completely if the right girl comes along."
"Really?" Peter asked, a shocked expression on his face. Sirius and Remus exchanged a doubtful glance.
"Well, no. Probably not. That was mostly hypothetical. But, it all adds up to the same effect. I will win her heart."
"You keep saying it," Sirius said, turning back to his plate, "But, I have yet to see it."
The four boys ceased their conversation in order to give the upmost attention to their food. Remus' attention, however, kept drifting away from his plate, towards the figure sitting across the table from him. Almost unconsciously, Remus' foot wandered forward to nudge Sirius'. Sirius responded to the touch instantly and looked up from his plate. Remus could see confusion in Sirius' eyes, the same confusion that he was sure Sirius could see in his. He had a girlfriend, after all. A cute, funny, smart girlfriend. And he was straight. And Sirius was his best friend. And he had been drunk. Whatever had happened at Peter's party could only be due to the influence of excessive amounts of alcohol. Then, why, were these feelings persisting, despite his being completely sober?
***
The next morning, the marauders made their way down out of their dormitory for breakfast early, thanks to Remus, who was very anxious to receive his new timetable. The boys had gotten ready for the day fairly quickly, their belongings not having had much time to spread out around the room. Just as they reached the portrait hole, a voice behind them caused them to stop.
"Remus!" Allie's voice sounded from across the common room, "Wait up!" The short brunette was followed by her three roommates, none of whom looked happy to be up so early. Remus turned around to look at his girlfriend, forcing a smile onto his face, "Where'd you go after dinner last night? I didn't get to see you, and you were so quiet during dinner. Is something wrong?"
"No, not at all," Remus lied, "I was just very tired. But I'm glad to see you now." She smiled up at him and he kissed her forehead.
"What are you four doing up at this God awful hour?" Sirius asked the other girls, not bothering to suppress a yawn.
"Allie made us all get up so we could get our timetables early," Kate grumbled, screwing up her face against the bright light streaming in through the windows, "Though you're one to talk. Why are you four up?"
"Remus," James said simply, jerking his head towards his friend. Kate and Maia giggled. As talkative as James usually was, it was always amusing to see him when he had recently woken up, for it was the only time that he didn't chatter away in eloquently phrased sentences.
"God, those two are just too perfect for each other," Maia sighed, "If they grow up and get married, I pity their children." Sirius made a face at those words, but nobody noticed, and the large group continued to trudge down to the Great Hall. Allie was chattering away in an early morning rush that was starting to really get to Sirius. He'd liked the girl before she started dated his best werewolf friend.
Allie would've been a great girlfriend for anyone if only it wasn't Remus. She was very pretty and dedicated, incredibly loyal and good. She got great grades and was a loving friend. Many times she had helped Sirius out of trouble and gone out of her way to be nice to him since he was so important to Remus. Despite her efforts, however, Sirius was finding that he could barely stand her.
The six of them were nearly to the Great Hall when Sirius couldn't take it any longer.
"Remus," he whispered so that nobody else could hear. Sirius grabbed his friend's hand and pulled him to the side of the walking group. "I think we should talk." Remus' teeth clenched in panic in spite of the knowledge that none of the others could hear the whispered conversation. He pulled his hand out of Sirius' warm grip and forced his voice to be calm and confident.
"Not now, Padfoot. I want to get our timetables. Later, okay?" Remus then went to lace his fingers through Allie's smaller ones. She smiled brightly up at him and he felt the familiar fondness for her nearly overshadowed with guilt at the fact that he wished he was still holding Sirius' hand instead.
The Gryffindor sixth years reached the Great Hall and took their spots at the long table. Everyone started eating toast and eggs and bacon except Allie. She craned her neck, looking for McGonagall and waiting, nearly bouncing in anticipation, for her to come over with their time tables.
"You already know what classes you're taking, why are you so anxious?" Lily asked her friend, amused.
"But I don't know where I'm going today. Oh good! She's coming over now!"
McGonagall was indeed coming over to them with a small pile of papers. She smiled at them and said each of their names in turn as she handed out their class schedules.
"Good luck with your NEWT level classes!" Minerva McGonagall said briskly before turning to the younger students. The sixth years all thanked the professor quickly before turning to peruse their sheets of paper.
"Wow! I only have the first two hours today! Just DADA, and that's my favorite class. Mondays are gonna be so groovy!" Maia exclaimed.
"I don't have afternoon classes while some of you guys have Potions. We'll have so much fun, Maia!" Kate grinned, high fiving Maia.
"I'm not taking Arithmancy or Muggle Studies, so we'll hang out before lunch, kay?" Sirius said, his grin mildly forced.
"Happy dance!" Maia announced as she proceeded to do a little jig in her seat.
"Not to bubble-burst, you guys, but you'll have to use those hours to study," Lily reminded them.
"Bubble officially bursted! God, you studious types!" Kate groaned. Maia promptly stopped dancing and folded her arms in a pout. Lily shrugged guiltily.
"Mr. Potter?" McGonagall appeared behind them once more. James looked up at her praying that he hadn't already gotten a detention for who knows what.
"Yes, Professor?"
"He didn't do it!" Peter squeaked. This was Peter's natural reaction whenever approached by the Gryffindor head of house. McGonagall looked down at him suspiciously but decided to ignore the comment.
"Dumbledore and I have been talking. The 7th year Gryffindor we originally gave the Quidditch Captainship to politely declined the position and suggested that you have the title. Dumbledore and I decided that you were indeed the next best for the job. We sincerely hope that you step up to the responsibility and give us a great team. I don't fancy losing the cup this year. If I am not satisfied with your work we might give this honor to somebody else. Do you understand?"
"Yes, certainly. I'll do my very best to uphold the honor and pride of our fine Quidditch team. You can count on me, Professor," James promised, practically glowing with confidence and excitement.
"I do hope so, Potter, I do hope so." With that McGonagall gave him the pin the proclaimed him captain and walked off.
"Congrats, Prongs!" Sirius and Peter chimed together.
"Thanks," James smiled, pinning the badge to his robes.
"That's great, Potter. I hope you know what a responsibility you've been given," Lily said doubtful that James could be focused enough for the job.
"Yes, I understand. Thank you, Lily," James said, slightly annoyed with her expression, but forcing himself to remain polite.
Soon after finishing breakfast, they all headed off for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, wondering who the new teacher would be. Sitting down in class they saw a tall, thin man wearing dark brown robes and a short triangular tweed hat.
"Good morning class! I'm Professor Mansfield, donchya know?" the professor said in a strange accent none of the students had ever heard before, "I will be your Defense professor for the year, 'n so?"
"Where are you from, sir?" Sirius blurted out, unable to help himself. The class laughed.
"Ah, I'm from da north of 'Scansin, in the United States, hey? I'm taking some time off to travel 'round Europe and study da European teaching methods, donchya know?"
"No, I didn't know. What's 'Scansin'?" Sirius said under his breath to James, who laughed and shrugged feebly.
"Well, as I were saying here, I'm gonna teach yer proper Defense to help yer prepare for yer NEWT examinations. In dis class we'll be studying counter curses, shield charms and minor hexes and jinxes, all bound to come up in yer examinations. And, donchya know, we'll be working on yer nonverbals too, for dat der is necessary for receiving good marks on those examinations. Now, who der can tell me what da advantages to nonverbals is? Ah, you der, Mr…?"
"Lupin," Remus offered his name to the professor, "Remus Lupin."
"Well, Mr. Lupin, advantages of dem nonverbals please?"
"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you are about to perform, which gives you a split second advantage," Remus answered, reciting the definition from the textbook.
"Good, good, ten points to Gryffindor, der," Professor Mansfield praised Remus. "Hows about another question? Hows about, what is an example of a spell that only works in da nonverbal? Ah, Miss…?"
"Maia Regarne. An example is 'levicorpus," Maia answered with a smile, remembering how often that jinx had been used the previous year.
"Levicorpus?" Professor Mansfield asked, a slightly confused expression on his face, "I've not heard of dat one, donchya know. What does it do?" Maia smiled again, but did not answer. Instead, she jerked her wand slightly in the professor's direction and he was hoisted into the air by his ankle. The entire class, including the professor, erupted into laughter. The entire class, that is, except for Severus Snape who looked at Maia through narrowed eyes.
"Oofta! Levicorpus, eh?" the professor chuckled as he hung, upside down, in the air, "Very good. Now, ten points more to, Gryffindor is it, if you let me down, donchya know?!" Maia smiled again, thought liberacorpus and flicked her wand once again in the professor's direction, who then fell to the ground.
"Now," Professor Mansfield said as he stood up and smoothed out his robes, "Today I think we will practice familiar spells in da nonverbal. I'm thinking, disarming mostly, just so yous can practice. Please find a partner and begin!"
Maia looked up at her best friend Allie to be her partner, but the short girl was already smiling up at her boyfriend and Maia figured they wouldn't be partners today. She shrugged and turned to see Lily and Kate already looking constipated and pointing their wands at each other. Apparently they wouldn't be partnering with her either.
"Sirius?" Maia asked turning around. Sirius was fun and the next best at Defense after herself and Remus. "Wanna partner?"
"Sorry, babe, I'm with Prongs. Wormtail here still needs a partner, though." Maia suppressed a groan. As much as she thought Peter was fun and all, he was probably the weakest in Defense. Maia wasn't particularly patient but she smiled at Peter anyways.
"Hey there, Peter. Why don't you try to disarm me first?" She asked as Peter walked over to her. Peter nodded and started to stare at her intensely.
"So, you and that 5th year? She's cute," Maia started, already bored as she waited for Peter to disarm her.
Peter grunted and screwed up his face apparently trying to disarm his adversary. Maia held in a sigh. Peter on the other hand let a big puff of air out.
"I can't do it, right now. You want to try?" He suggested. Maia grinned and nodded. Expelliarmus, she thought. Nothing happened. She bit her lip and imagined Peter's wand flying out of his slack grip. She focused completely on the task and visualized it clearly before thinking Expelliarmus again. This time Peter's wand jerked out of his hand and flew into Maia's outstretched one. In that same second, Remus managed to disarm Allie. About five seconds after that James wand twisted out of his tight grip and Sirius caught it before it could hit Kate in the back of her head. Determined not to be outdone his best friends, James doubled his efforts and managed to disarm Sirius wordlessly. By the end of class, the only other students who had managed to complete the jinx nonverbally were four of the Ravenclaws and Severus Snape. Neither Caleb Hannings or his best friend Joe Johnson, the only two Hufflepuffs in NEWT level Defense, had managed it.
"Well, donchya know, some of you managed dis!" Professor Mansfield said cheerfully, "Five points to each of you who managed it. So dat would be twenty to Gryffindor and Ravenclaw and five points to Slytherin, eh? For Thursday I would like you all to read da chapter on nonverbal spell casting and turn in a summary." With that, Professor Mansfield waved and stepped through the door to his office.
Everybody began packing their belongings into their book bags and looking at their timetables to double check which classes they had next. Caleb, Peter and Kate, all looking slightly disgruntled at not having achieved the task set to them in class, headed to the Muggle Studies classroom. Sirius, James and Maia, all who had a free period before lunch, turned to head towards the Gryffindor tower.
"Are you three going to start the assignment?" Remus asked as they headed out of the classroom.
"Nah," James replied in an offhand tone, "It's not due until Thursday. We'll have plenty of time. There's no need to waste a perfectly fine morning with homework."
"You may not have 'plenty of time,'" Lily countered, "We're going to have lots of homework and revising to do this year."
"We'll be fine, don't worry about it Lils," Maia said with a smirk, "Now hurry or you'll be late for whatever smart people class you have now."
"Yeah, run along now," Sirius laughed, "We wouldn't want our prefects and healer-to-be late for class the very first week! The world may end!"
"Very funny," Remus said in a disapproving tone, though he longed to laugh. Trying to push Sirius out of his mind, he grabbed Allie's hand, "c'mon you guys. Sarcastic as Black is being, he's right. We don't want to be late." Sirius, James and Maia turned left at the end of the hall, leaving their three friends to head towards the Ancient Runes classroom.
"I'm rubbish at nonverbals," Allie sighed as the three of them walked quickly down the corridors.
"That's not true," Lily argued, "I couldn't do it either and neither could most of the class."
"It's only the first day, Allie," Remus agreed, "I'm sure you'll get them in no time and, as soon as you do it once, you'll be able to do it flawlessly from then on."
"I hope so," Allie said slowly, "I just don't want to be behind. These tests are so important!"
"Yeah," Lily agreed, "But do have two years to master nonverbals. And, like Remus says, as soon as you get it you'll be amazing at them. You're the smartest of all the Gryffindor 6th years! Do I have to remind you how many Outstanding OWLs you got?"
"Please, no," Allie blushed as they entered the classroom, "I wasn't fishing for compliments. You guys know that."
"But you caught one anyways," Lily said with a smile, "And it's true. Don't get discouraged." Allie smiled her thanks as the three of them sat down in the middle of the class. This class was much smaller than their Defense Against the Dark Arts class; aside from the three Gryffindors, only two Hufflepuffs, one Slytherin and four Ravenclaws had progressed to NEWT level.
"As I'm sure you all know," Professor McStroi, a short witch with long black hair, started once the class had settled into their seats, "This year and next year are immensely important to your futures. The coursework will, undoubtedly, be harder than you've ever experienced and I expect you all to keep up. Now that you have all proven to have sufficient knowledge in the translation of Ancient Runes, we will progress to reading ancient works of wizarding literature in their original form. We will also be practicing writing in Ancient Runes. By the time you take your NEWTs you will be expected to both be able to read complicated stories fluently as well as write as though you never learned another alphabet or language.
"Now, as sure as I am that all of you spent your summers reviewing vocabulary and form recognition, I would like to have you review in class today. Please, select a partner. One of you will come up to the front and get a stack of cards. Quiz each other. Each correct answer will be worth one point and each incorrect answer minus two points. I expect each of you to have 50 points by the end of this class if you wish to pass today's lesson. The person with the most points will receive 10 points for his or her house. Let's get started."
"Allie? Will you be my partner?" Lily asked hopefully. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had already paired off and she desperately did not want to be partners with Avery.
"Well…" Allie looked over at Remus who smiled and shrugged. "Okay! I'd love to be your partner. I think Remus would be better at dealing with Avery anyways. Plus, I can see Remus whenever. Best friends over boyfriends, right?"
"You sound like James when you use trite phrases like that Allie," Lily said, her expression somewhere between amusement and a scowl. Allie laughed inwardly at her friend's reference to James. She thought there was something more than annoyance recently when Lily looked at or spoke of James, but she couldn't figure out quite what it was. And, at any rate, it was too soon to say anything. Lily remained adamant as ever that she disliked James Potter.
"Heaven forbid!" Allie teased, "Then you wouldn't have anything to do with me."
"Oh shush," Lily scolded, "Let's get to work. I hope you reviewed over summer, or we'll be in trouble!" Allie smiled brightly at her friend and went up to the front of the class to retrieve the vocabulary and form cards. As she walked past Remus, who was trying desperately to ignore Avery's taunts of being a 'mudblood lover,' and smiled at him shyly. He smiled back, but Allie thought she saw something out of place in his smile. But, as with her best friend, she couldn't figure out quite what it was.
A/N: Review please? Sirius wants you to!