"Welcome to Transfiguration," he said casually after counting heads. "I am Professor Everard. Just to err on the side of caution, you lot are first-year Gryffindors and Slytherins, right?" Ten heads nodded in sync. "Good," he said, nodding curtly. "I myself was a Slytherin" (the smile vanished from Winnie's face) "so I am very aware that this group should yield an... interesting dynamic, to say the least." He paused and looked at the crowd, which had already separated itself into Gryffindor- and Slytherin-based groups. His voice took on a different quality as he continued. "Be warned now that I am a fair man on principle, but I do not want to see any malicious intent toward any member of the opposing house, either within this classroom or outside it. First strike, I take fifty points from your house. Second, I assign you double detention. Three strikes and I send you to the Headmistress with a recommendation of suspension. And no, I do not bend the rules for my old house," he added, glancing at the whispering Slytherins, "so don't think you lot can get away with things the Gryffindors can't."
Despite his sombre warning, Everard turned out to be a rather fun teacher. Teddy walked out of the classroom an hour and a bit later with eight pages of complicated notes in hand, but Teddy had found the class very engaging and was actually sort of looking forward to doing his homework. He seemed to be the only one who felt that way, however.
"Oh my God," Oliver breathed exasperatedly after leaving the room, though he was sporting a slight smile. A good night's sleep seemed to have treated him well; he seemed much happier about where he was, and now greeted bewilderment as a challenge. "That was only the first class? The only thing I've ever done with a wand is make sparks come out the end, and that was by complete accident when I was buying it. How am I expected to know how to make a mothball into a marble by Wednesday?"
"He might be a looker, but he rides a bit heavy on the homework, doesn't he?" Winnie said with an uncharacteristic contemplative expression. "An entire roll of parchment on the importance of concentration when transfiguring by Wednesday. He does understand we have other classes, right?"The trio walked into History of Magic and found the room already rather populated. Teddy scanned the room and noticed first years from every house. Professor Binns floated just off the ground at the front of the classroom, writing slowly on the board. Oliver regarded him with rather intense interest before Winnie dragged him away.
"Is he our teacher?" Oliver asked, fascinated.
"I assume so, he just wrote his name on the board," Winnie said, somewhat amused. The two of them turned and ran directly into Teddy, who had stopped dead in his tracks. Once they had regained their composure, Oliver and Winnie searched for what was had interested Teddy so much.Julia was seated somewhat hunched over in a desk near the back. She was reading her History of Magic book with a sort of sad contemplation, as though she was resigned to do nothing else and may as well make the best of it. Teddy grinned at the sight of her and sat in the desk in front of her. "I don't know how you can read that with such concentration. I get about two pages in before I find myself to be very sleepy and flop over in my chair."
Julia looked up with an expression of disbelief on her face. As soon as Teddy finished talking, she leaned forward over her desk and threw her arms around his neck. He grinned and hugged her back, patting her back somewhat awkwardly. "I'm so glad to see you!" she whispered happily as she sat back down.
"You too," Teddy said seriously, looking at her with concern. "How are you?"
She gave a grim smile and shrugged. "No one will talk to me," she said, still whispering and glancing occasionally at the nearby group of Hufflepuffs. "I mean, I haven't tried to talk to them or anything, but... you know, I didn't have a lot of confidence before I was the freak without a brain."
"Julia," Teddy started."Not my phrase," she whispered, looking at her desk. She shook her head and smiled bravely. "I share a room with six other girls, I heard them talking when I came in last night. Anyway, Professor McGonagall said it might be temporary if they can find... you know... something else to sort me."
Teddy watched her, furrowing his brow. Her wavy blonde hair was hanging limply, looking more than a little dishevelled in places. "Julia, did anyone ask you what house you wanted to be in?" he asked in a low voice.
She shook her head. "No one gets a choice," she said definitively. "After I came in, my dormmates changed the subject pretty quick and... I guess a couple of the girls wanted to be in a different house, but... Hufflepuff's the default house. Hufflepuff was the one who took everyone in, no matter if they were brave, pure-blood, smart... no one's ever gotten a choice. Why should I be any different?""The Hat didn't see you, did it? Obviously you're already different." Teddy put on a lopsided smile which Julia hesitantly returned. "Well, if it doesn't change, we know the four of us have at least one class together," he said, looking around at Oliver and Winnie, who nodded. "And besides, you and I got to be friends in the space of fifteen minutes. Even if you do have to stay in Hufflepuff, it'll be all right. You'll make friends." Teddy grinned. Julia smiled shyly, and Teddy knew that she was still unsure. He didn't know what else to say on the subject, however; the four friends talked amongst themselves for a few minutes before they noticed Professor Binns coughing at the front of the room for attention.
"History of Magic is a magical course," Binns said monotonously once he finally achieved silence. "Learning about magic and where it came from is essential to any wizard or witch. It provides knowledge in a field that is not touched upon in many of the practical magicks... Transfiguration... Charms... Defence Against the Dark Arts..." Winnie widened her eyes and looked at Teddy as though to say, "is this guy actually this boring?" and propped her head up with her hand on the desk.
"This year, however, there has been a reform in the first-year curriculum," Binns droned on. "Whereas students before you have learned about Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball, you shall learn about the History of Hogwarts in its entirety." Binns laid on this last word a bit thick, as though he didn't quite believe in some of the things he was being asked to teach. "If you would please take out your volume of Hogwarts: a History and turn to page four, we will begin with..."
By the time the class ended, Winnie was fast asleep. Oliver shook her awake amusedly as the other students filed out of the room. "Remember when I was cranky about Transfiguration? I take that back. I'd take Transfiguration over this class any day of the sodding week," she grumbled quietly as she shoved her book back in her bag.Teddy chuckled and turned behind him. "What are you doing over lunch?" But what he saw was an empty desk; Julia wasn't there. Teddy frowned and checked under the desk just to be sure. "Odd. I didn't see her leave."
"She's sneaky, that Julia," Oliver said with a half-smile on his face.
"Did she sneak away on purpose?" Teddy asked Oliver, still somewhat concerned for his friend.
"Not sure," he said, shrugging. "I didn't see her go either. But she's the quiet type, she probably just slipped away before we could notice."
Teddy frowned but didn't pursue the matter. He, Oliver and Winnie left the room and traveled down towards the Great Hall for lunch. Oliver listened amusedly while Winnie went on groggily about how annoying the courses were turning out to be; Teddy smiled and gave the occasional "mm" or "uh-huh" at appropriate intervals, but found he wasn't especially listening. He was formulating plans to try and get Julia out of Hufflepuff.
Maybe if things went well in Charms, he'd be able to figure out how to make it seem as though the Hat really did acknowledge her and set her in Hufflepuff. Or, that one day he'd had to go to work with Harry while his gran was in hospital... Teddy had seen Harry use a memory charm from his place under the Invisibility Cloak. If he could learn to do that, maybe he could arrange it so that--
But Harry's words from that same day echoed in his head. "Never, not ever, do you use magic for your own personal means. It is not a manipulation tool. As soon as you compromise the integrity of someone else for your own gain, you become just as bad as any Death Eater."
So no to the memory charm, then.
Besides, Teddy thought to himself, he still hadn't done a single thing with his wand. It probably wasn't likely he'd know how to do a memory charm after his first day.
"So George Weasley sent me a marriage invitation by owl last night," Winnie was saying.
"Uh-huh," Teddy said distantly.
"I've accepted. We're getting married over Christmas."
"I'm very happy for you both," Teddy said in response, a slow grin spreading across his face. He glanced over at the pair beside him; Oliver was grinning broadly while trying not to laugh, and Winnie had an annoyed smile on her face.
"Decided to listen, have you?"
"I was listening the whole time," Teddy lied sheepishly.
"I asked you if you kept penguins at your house, and you said, 'yeah, sometimes'."
Teddy forced his hair to stay black as the blood rushed to his face, though he continued to grin. "I spend half my time at my godfather's house, is it a crime if he happens to own penguins?"
Winnie raised her eyebrows. "You spend half your time at your godfather's?"
But Teddy had stopped listening again. He narrowed his eyes and peered forward. A large crowd had formed in the entrance to the Great Hall; angry voices from students and annoyed voices from teachers trying to enforce peace echoed through the Entrance Hall. Suddenly, McGonagall swept forward from behind Teddy and went to calm the masses.
"Please," she said loudly, holding up a hand. The babble decreased in volume almost immediately. McGonagall looked rather distressed. "I understand that this is a most unfortunate occurrence, especially so early in the school year, but I assure you all that I am working with--with the authorities to bring this to an end as quickly as possible."
"Their lot don't have authorities," a particularly angry-looking boy near the front proclaimed. "Just put an end to it. Treat them like they ought to be treated. They're made to obey, just--"
"We do not treat any species as inferior at Hogwarts," McGonagall interrupted sternly. "If they feel that their working conditions are not ideal, then certainly we shall listen to their complaints and work toward an arrangement that everyone can agree with.""My stomach isn't going to agree to anything," grumbled a seventh-year boy from the middle of the mob, "until it's been presented a plate piled high with pork chops." A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd.
"We aren't going to starve you, Freeman," McGonagall said, voice rising in anger. "We have already contacted Madam Rosmerta in Hogsmeade, she is preparing enough food for lunch and dinner for today at the least. It will not arrive for an hour; naturally, afternoon lessons have been pushed back to allow for this sudden change in schedule. Students now have an hour of free time, and I highly recommend you stop wasting it here. If you wish to have your regular meal plan return sooner rather than later, showing indignance will almost certainly hinder more than it will help."
"But--" A flurry of protests met McGonagall as soon as she finished speaking."Now really, that will suffice!" Sparks flew out of McGonagall's eyes, and voices fell silent once again. "I am perfectly aware that this is a serious matter. I have a representative from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement coming in this afternoon to ensure not only that the house-elves have their rights in tact, but also to ensure that the three hundred pupils in this school will have the same quality of food back on their plates as soon as possible. Until then, you may have to suffer with Madam Rosmerta's cuisine, which is certainly more than passable and a fair bit pricier than usual as well." McGonagall paused; when she continued, her voice took a somewhat gentler tone. "This is just as much beyond our control as it is yours. It is my recommendation that you step back and allow us to handle it, or risk having the house-elves make good on their promise and permanently evacuate the premises.
"You may check back here in an hour, at which time the plates will indeed be filled to the brim with food, though the assortment of such may be somewhat more limited than you are accustomed to. Enjoy your afternoon," she finished coolly, turning toward the barred doors of the Great Hall. They burst open at the flick of her wand, and barred again behind her as she strode between the empty tables.Teddy, Oliver and Winnie all exchanged significant looks. "What is going on in this school?" Teddy wondered aloud. "First the Sorting Hat, then the harsh warning about Gryffindor/Slytherin rivalry, and now the house-elves have gone on strike? It's like the whole school is going mental."
"You mean it's not usually like this?" Oliver asked, surprised."Not quite, no," Winnie said, frowning after McGonagall. Eventually the trio moved out of the Entrance Hall and into the Gryffindor common room, wondering what the afternoon would hold.