Chapter 2: A first for everything
I wake up in a new bed, in a whole new place. I change into my pants, grey Gryffindor sweater and my robes. I tuck my wand in my pants pocket and brush my hair and teeth before heading down the stairs to the common room to see Aurora and Jacob talking. Of course she'd like Jacob and not me. I sigh and walk over to them slowly, trying to hear what they are saying. Unfortunately, Aurora notices me and beams brightly at me, standing up and rushing over to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Albus!" She squeals and releases. "How'd you sleep." I widen my eyes taken aback.
"Good… how did you guys sleep?" I ask, tucking my hands in my pockets.
"Pretty good." She comments, twirling a strand of brown hair in her hands. I noticed she had a nervous habit of doing things with her hands and fiddling with her hair was one of many.
"I slept like a bear." Jacob replies and gets up as well.
"Ready to eat?" Aurora says and walks bouncily out of the room. I follow her along with Jacob who is smiling at her. He looks at me and then back at her and smiles even more.
"You like her…" He whispers, teasing me. I look at him as we walk down the staircases, pulling my hands out of my pockets.
"No way." I glance at the floor, my hair covering my eyes again. He laughs and we walk into the Great Hall, bunches of kids already sitting at their tables. We join my brother and Teddy and Aurora places herself between me and Jacob. I load up on pastries and cereal and then zillions of owls come flooding in like a tsunami, dropping mail. Fred comes in and drops a big package and a letter on my lap and then flies out of the Hall. I open the latter first and read through it.
'Dearest Albus. Your mother and I already miss you dearly. Lily has been so lonely since your departure. I'm so proud of you for getting into Gryffindor. I knew you would do fine! So how has school been? Tell me all about the kids you've met, especially that Aurora. She seems like a keeper. Try to be friendly to Professor Neville and his daughter Audrey. And don't forget to use that map and try out the blanket I handed to you. Also, stay away from the brown broth stew. I know it looks good but it's really just liver juice and witch's hair. Stay focused in class and behave yourself!
-Dad'
I smile and fold the letter up and shove it into my pockets before opening the box. Inside was a care package of candy and jokes from Diagon Alley along with a box of mice for Fred. I wrap the box and place it by my feet. Aurora stares at me, watching as I read the letter and look at the contents of the package.
''Who's it from?" She asks politely, tilting her head to the side, her caramel hair falling off her shoulder and to her waist. I looks up at her and sip some of my orange juice before answering.
"My dad. Did you get any mail?"
"No. My dad is always too busy with Quidditch to send me stuff.. so is my mom." She shrugs and bites her toast. The bell rings and everyone begins to get up for class. Jacob, Aurora, and I all walk through the halls to Charms, where the short little Professor Flitwick is standing on his large pile of books. We take our seats at the long joined desks and he begins to talk in an extremely annoying, high-pitched voice. He shows us the proper way to wave the wand, in a flick of the wrist. Then he gives us the spell. We practice a few times, but none seem to manage the correct way to bewitch the feather. The class is dismissed and we all file out, Flitwick looking particularly unhappy.
"Boy, I hope I do better next time we do charms. Flitwick looked like he was going to have an aneurism." Aurora sighs and pulls her long hair into a bun. We walk out of the castle and towards the front entrance where Ms. Hooch is standing with her brooms all lined up. We each stand along-side of one until all the first year students have arrived. I look over at Jacob, to my left, who is licking his lips anxiously. Then I look over at Aurora who seems to know what she's doing since both her parents are in professional Quidditch.
"Now, I want you to take this slow and study. Raise your right left hand over the broom and say,' Up.' " She blows her whistle and I hear a few 'ups.' But nobody's broom has popped up, not even Aurora's.
"Up." My broom shoots up fast, straight into my hand. I widen my eyes and Aurora looks at me, annoyed.
"Up!" She shouts demandingly at her broom and it jolts up. She smiles, pleased with herself. Jacob's broom is still flat on the ground, struggling to pop up. His voice has a hint of annoyance and I chuckle while watching him.
"Up! Up, up!" He starts to raise his voice and heads begin to turn. I stare at the broom on the ground, still struggling to join Jacob's hand. Madame Hooch is watching intently, her green cat-like eyes glowing and her red lips pursed. Finally, the broom jolts up with such speed, when it reaches Jacob's hand, it knocks him backwards. Everyone starts to laugh, including me but I help him back up.
"Now, I want you to mount your brooms, and on the count of three, I want you to kick off the ground, just for a moment. And then land back safely. Understand?" We all nod and mount our brooms. "One… two… three." We all kick off from the ground, hovering. Then I lean forward and touch the ground first, looking like a natural although I have no clue how to do this. Madame Hooch is watching me, an eyebrow raised.
"Albus? I want you to stay here after everyone leaves for lunch." I glance at the floor and Scorpio and his friends laugh. Once all the first years leave and head off to lunch, Madame Hooch picks up a broom.
"Do all that I instructed you to do earlier." I nod.
"Up." It shoots up on the first try. I mount the broom and kick off from the ground, hovering.
"Now, I want you to try flying. Catch this." She takes out a small glass ball from her robe pocket and throws it far up into the air, making it seem invisible. I lean back on my broom and it soars up into the sky, my hair whipping back. I look around and notice it at the far end, nearest the castle. I aim my broom at it and I reach out one arm, grabbing it and flipping over, maintaining my balance. I lean forwards on my broom and it shoots straight downwards at the ground, I jerk the broom up at the last minute and it stops just before I could hit. Madame Hooch comes running towards me, a big smile on her face.
"How would you like to be the new Gryffindor seeker?" I widen my eyes and nod my head, gripping the ball tightly.
"You are excused. The Gryffindor keeper is Ryan Grey, he'll tell you everything." I hop off the broom and she takes it from me. I can't wait to tell dad. He'll be so proud! I run towards the castle entrance, up the huge marble steps and inside the Great Hall. I stop right in front of Aurora who's sitting next to James… and they're talking.
"Hey little brother! So, how'd Flying lessons go?" I shrug and sit down next to Jacob, biting my lip. Of course James would do everything to take her from me. Aurora looks up at me, her green eyes sad.
"Oh come on. Madame Hooch made you stay." James persisted and Aurora glances at him, nudging him to stop.
"She told me I was going to be the next Gryffindor seeker, that's all." I say quietly, prodding my food with my fork.
"What?! Wow brother. Dad will love that!" James said excitedly and lightly punched me on the arm. I nod and excuse myself from the table.
"I have to go get something from my room. I'll meet up with you guys for herbology." Jacob nods absently, stuffing his face with bread. Aurora nods sadly. I walk through the Great Hall and up the changing staircases where Filch is mumbling to himself again. I avoid him and continue walking until I reach the seventh floor corridor. I find the Fat Lady and say the password. I walk through the door slowly and examine the common room. A few kids were sitting on the couches, they must be older. Sixth and seventh years get a bunch of periods off. I walk up the staircases to the boys bedrooms and open my trunk. I was going to write a short letter to dad and write in my new notebook from mom.
Dear Dad.
School has been fine so far. I met Professor Flitwick and Madame Hooch. And now guess what? I'm the Gryffindor seeker! And about that Aurora? I don't think she likes me… James has been talking to her a lot lately so I'm just going to lay low with her. My friend Jacob Finnigan is kind of like Uncle Ron. He eats a lot and is really bad with brooms. I'm going to try out the map and blanket tomorrow when we have the whole day off. And dad? Could you possibly send me some tips on how to use my wand and stuff for Quidditch?
-Albus
I give the letter to Fred and I send him off on his way before pulling out my notebook and unlocking it with my key.
I begin to write on the first page.
I've made a few friends. Aurora and Jacob. Jacob really reminds me of Uncle Ron and Aurora reminds me of mum. I like Aurora but I doubt she'd like me. I was told I was going to be the next Gryffindor seeker. I think dad will be really excited once he finds out. I miss everyone at home. Draco's kid Scorpio is going to be mean, I can already tell. He and his two stupid friends, Aero Goyle and Gordon Crabbe. Of course their names are unique too. I have to go now, I have herbology with Professor Longbottom.
-Albus
I shut the red leather bound notebook and lock it before placing both the key and book in my trunk. I walk back down the stairs and out of the common room, feeling a bit less sad. I run into Aurora outside who happened to be looking for me.
"Oh sorry." I say when I run into her.
"Are you okay? You looked sad at lunch?" I nod and we walk down the steps together, the sound of our footsteps echoing.
"Yea, just didn't feel too good that's all." I lie to her, while watching my feet move down the stairs.
"Okay. Your brother James is…" She pauses. Cool? Funny? Awesome?
"Weird." She finished, looking at me with a cute grin. I smile and look up again to see Teddy and Rose making out at the bottom of the steps. Aurora smiles, her eyes wide. We stop walking for a moment to watch them. Teddy and Rose aren't related by blood but are still cousins. Lily and I have a continuous bet going on about them. I bet that they like each other but Lily disagrees. Now, she owes me three galleons. I brush my brown mop off my eyes and Aurora and I continue walking, my sneakers making soft squeaks on the marble floor. We walk out of the castle and to the green houses where all the first years are lining up, talking amongst themselves. I wait patiently until Professor Longbottom opens the glass doors and the kids file in.
"Who here has heard of Apollygon Weeds?" He asks, looking around to see any hands. Audrey's hand is raised proud and tall, her fingers waggling impatiently.
"Yes Audrey?" He asks politely, although you can tell he's annoyed. His daughter obviously knows all this information because he teaches it to her. She opens her mouth and you can see her two top teeth are missing.
"Well, Apollygon weeds are weeds that can cure sicknesses. Just a small vile of juice from one and you are instantly healed from any illness." She says proudly and seriously but it's hard to take her seriously when all her s's are slurred because her top teeth are missing. The whole class laughs and the Professor is trying hard to refrain from laughing as well.
''Thank you Audrey." He grabs a pot with the Apollygon weeds and shows it around to all the class before talking again. "Apollygon weeds can cure any illness from a standard cold to….. A terrible case of blistering athlete's foot." The class erupts into a fit of ewww's. I look around the class and notice Scorpio messing around with Aero and Gordon. Aero turns his meaty, bald head in my direction and nudges Scorpio who stares at me. He sneers when I turn away and they go back to fooling around with a weed. I roll my eyes and listen to Neville ramble on about Gillyweed.
"Ahem. Mr. Malfoy? Would you like to share anything about Gillyweed?" Neville calls out Scorpio and his blonde, slicked back head turns to face Professor Longbottom.
"Gillyweed is something you swallow so you can breathe underwater?" Lucky guess.
"Not the best answer but yes, that is the short way to put it. Next time, Mr. Malfoy, pay attention. 10 points from Slytherin." All of Slytherin sighs and glares at Scorpio, who seems to shrink in his seat. Class ends and we all walk over to Hagrid's hut where he is standing outside, his big fluffy hair looking like singed wood. It sticks out in random places and looks burnt.
"Alright. Settle down. We are goin to be doin some studies of magical creatures. Pull out yer books now." We all pull out our Magical Creatures Studies books and open it up to page one: Boggarts. Dad told me about these. He said they showed you your worst fear and then you changed it into something ridiculous.
"Now. I want all you to get in a line. Pull out yer wands." He said gruffly. We got in a line which appeared more like a blob. Everyone pulled out their wands and raised them like Professor Flitwick taught us this morning; in the hand we write with.
"Now practice saying this. Riddikulus." He waved his pretend wand like an idiot.
"Riddikulus." I say quietly to myself and wave my wand with a flick of my wrist. Then Hagrid drags out a huge cabinet, which has something shaking inside. The rattling progresses to get louder and louder until we're all forced to cover our ears.
"Now, I'm going to release the boggart. And you are going to have to say what I just taught you." He opens the bureau and the first person in the line steps up, wand ready. The boggart appears and is in the form of a snake; obviously the person's fear is of snake.
"Riddikulus!" The snake turns into a bobble head, bouncing up and down. Jacob steps up next and it shifts into a shark.
"Riddikulus" His words fumble for a moment but he's able to say it eventually. The shark turns into a wind-up toy shark you put in the water when you go swimming. All the students laugh while Aurora steps up, her hand shaking. The shark transforms into a scene of her falling off her broomstick in flight.
'' Riddikulus!" She yells loudly, obviously infuriated with her fear. The scene of her falling shifts into a puppet girls riding on a witches broom. The students laugh. I step up, extremely nervous. It shifts into the one thing I'm afraid of: Slytherin house. All the Slytherins laugh and point at me.
"Riddikulus." I whisper and the house fades away. Hagrid shuts the door of the bureau before I could see the transformation.
"That's enough for today. Head back to your dorms. I want yer to read pages 1-4 by next lesson." He says and wheels the bureau inside his hut and slams the door shut. Everyone disperses, some going up to the castle and others walking around the campus. Aurora grabs my arm and pulls me up the hill, leaving Jacob.
"Wait, what abou-" I begin to ask.
"No time!" She pulls me up the hill and inside the castle. My heart is racing, it feels like it's going to fall out of my chest. My breathing gets heavier and heavier and she tugs me up the seven flights of stairs and past the entrance to the Gryffindor common room. She finally spots a tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy attempting to train trolls for the ballet. Just opposite of it is a wall. She stands in front of it, her eyes closed but her eyelids still fluttering. Her pink lips pursed tightly as she concentrates. The wall starts to rumble and a big iron door begins to form out of thin air. Once it has finished forming, she pulls the door open slowly, the hinges creaking. I wince at the sound and she pulls me inside before slamming the door shut. I can hear it disappear on the other side. Inside the room is a large window, stretching from the ground, to the ceiling. The glass has handles on both sides and opens up to a balcony. I glance at her. Her eyes are fixated on the door handles. She approaches it cautiously and stretches out her hands, pulling the doors open. She turns back towards me and nods her head, indicating that she wants me to follow her. I walk slowly out of the room and onto the balcony, facing the Black Lake.
"I discovered this place earlier after lunch, just before I ran into you. I wanted to show you." She grasps the balcony bars and looks out at the sea, her long hair being blown in the wind. I do the same and lean on the railing, in awe at the beauty of this school. Dad has always said it was unlike anything he'd ever seen. The lake, the grounds, the castle. I guess you just don't know how beautiful it is until it hits you. I feel something warm and soft touch my hands and I look down to see Aurora's hand touching mine. I look sharply back up at the lake, embarrassed. I've never actually talked or hung out with a girl. This was a first. I guess today, there's a first for everything.