CHAPTER 3:
In the morning, Sarah and her roommates made their way to the great hall. Sarah saw the boys and instantly smiled.
"I'll catch you girls later then" Sarah said with a final wave as the four other girls sat at the front of the table.
"I sure hope we get classes together" said a worried James, as Sarah took her seat besides him.
"From what I've heard, most Gryffindors are in the same classes, not to worry James" she smiled and began to fill her plate with, without a doubt, the most delicious food she's ever seen.
"Attention students!" Mcgonagall was standing in the front of the hall, "in front of you you'll find your timetables for the duration of the school year. If any changes are needed, please see me at once. At the sound of the bell you may hurry on to your classes", and with that, she was back at her seat, watching the students like a grandmother with dozens of grandchildren. No wonder she had grey hairs and stress wrinkles.
Sarah grabbed her schedule and read it aloud, "My first class is transfiguration with Mcgonagall, then potions with Slughorn, Defense Against the Dark Arts with Rockwood, Herbology with Sprout, Astronomy with Hedge, Charms with Lovell, and History of Magic with Gloud."
James, Sirius, and Remus had all the same classes as her, except Peter who had Herbology when they had Defense. The bell rang, and suddenly it was a frenzy. Barley reaching five foot, Sarah had to keep a firm grip on the back of James' robes. None of the first years had any idea as to where they were going and it was frighting. In a castle with seven large floors, a frankie little first year like Sarah will most likely get lost.
Transfiguration was found to be in classroom 1B by the middle courtyard. The class was surrounded by high windows, four rows of three desks, and still had enough room for several cages and bookshelves, two chalkboards, and a desk for Mcgonagall.
Sarah took the furthest seat to the right in the middle row beside Lily who was in the middle, and Mary sat to the left. Sirius, James, and Remus where seated in the table directly next to Sarah.
On the desk centered in the front of the classroom that Sarah assumed to be Mcgonagall's, sat a rather large grey and black tabby cat.
In the corner of her eye, Sarah saw James pointing a rubber band at the cat's direction.
Remus was attempting to smother his laughter and keep his nose buried in his book, while Sirius edged James further. Sarah just shooked her head and smirked.
Before James could release the band, the cat leaped off the table and transformed into a very angry Mcgonagall.
"Mr. Potter I highly advise you not release the band If you'd like to not find yourself with a week's worth of detention." James' mouth gapped in a rather fish-like manner.
With a flick of her wand, Mcgonagall shut the doors, "Now, Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."
Lily was hanging onto her every word, while James was absent mindingly drawing patterns on the desk, Remus was flipping through his book, and Sirius' eyes were already dropping in boredom. Sarah wasn't to far behind him herself.
The remainder of the class consisted of a simple rundown of what they will be learning.
Lily already had five pages worth of notes, and rose her hand at a minimum of ten times.
Potions were held in the dungeons, in a very dark, cold room. The room gave Sarah a rather eerie feeling that made her want to flee. She sat in a round table with the boys, slinking down in her seat and keeping a distant eye on the Slytherins.
At the front of the room stood Professor Slughorn. He was a round, white haired man, that seemed to already know everything about everyone.
Using his wand, he passed around his assigned book. It was blue, with a cauldron on the front, and had boring written all over it.
"A Beginner's Guide to Potions" read Remus.
Sirius flipped through the pages, and the poor boy nearly had heart failure.
"If we have to complete every single potion in this blasted book, I am surely going to throw my self off the Astronomy tower" he said.
Slughorn proved to be the most drab teacher in the whole school. He raved about the exhilaration of completed potions, the rush of the time consumed to conjure them, and the satisfaction when used.
Quite frankly Sarah thought it was rubbish. Instead of listing to Slughorn's lecture about the Augmentum potion, she opted out into drawing little nothings on her piece of parchment. Sarah leaned her chair on it's back legs, and to no surprise she found Lily's paper scribbled with notes.
Yes, Sarah was a muggle born and magic was still a whole new exciting thing, but she didn't want to waste her time listing to the magical proprieties of a potion that can grow hair.
She wanted to be where the action was. Where you learned how to defend yourself, or what evil waited for her. Sarah wanted desperately to be in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
She found it rather interesting how her new world so easily fought back to the mad men that terrorized their world with nothing but bravery and a wand in the shape of a stick.
Then came the words Sarah dreaded, even loathed, "Now class, I want to remind you of your assignment for tonight" Slughorn said, "On page two of your books, you'll find the potion Augmentum, and it's steps as to how to make it. I would like you to write a simple guideline as to how you would make it, and how you would use it. That is all"
When the bell rang, Sarah bolted for the door, wanting to get out, and get out quickly.
James smirked at her, "In a hurry now are we?"
"I just wanted to get out of there. Slughorn is as entertaining as a brick"
"Now now little Sarah" Sirius draped his arm around her shoulders, "We mustn't be hurtful now" he said with a wink.
"I have to go the green houses, sorry guys" said Peter.
They all waved and said goodbye, wishing their friend luck.
The DADA room was dark, large, and covered in tables, bookshelves, plants, practice dummies, and one intimidating teacher.
"My name is Professor Richford Rockwood. I am from Huffelpuff house, and I will teach you everything a first year needs to know about Defense Against the Dark Arts, which quite honestly, is not a lot."
Professor Rockwood was bald with brown eyes, and a deep scar curving from his right eyebrow down to his chin.
"Wonder how he got that scar of his" whispered Sirius to James.
Rockwood looked down to his roster, "Ah yes, Mr. Black is it?"
Sirius hardly even straightend up in his seat, if even an inch, "Yes Sir"
"You see, In some societies it is considered rude to question the deformities of a man, especially if he can hear you, but since I am a man not of hate for the youth and their ever growing curiosity, I am a supporter." By the looks of it, Rockwood was slowly starting to catch Sirius' attention. "You see, I got completly hammered on night at the Three Broomsticks, and decided to take a midnight dip in the black late. Well," he said with a chuckle, "lets just say the giant squid and I are not on good terms." The class laughed.
"During your first year here at Hogwarts, you'll be learning about what to spells you'll come across, and situations you might fins yourself in. You'll learn about devil's snare, gilly weed, and such, but not that there's any fun in that. I want to teach you that you, the new generation are in fact powerful. You have the power to become great witch's and wizard's. What is so spectacular about you that us elder's have lost is the power of imagination, and a ever growing spark of hope. Through out your seven years here at Hogwarts, to me that will be the most important lesson I can ever teach you. I want to teach you this in hopes that one day, you'll come to understand that you are powerful beyond measure."
Rockwood's speech had no doubt, just earned the respect of every student in his classroom.
He looked at each and every student, remembering the excitement in their eyes, the anxiousness in their bodies to want to jump into action, and also the gullibility that they held in their minds. Rockwood had no doubt in his mind that the class of 1978 will be exhilarating to teach.
He turned to the board and with his back towards the class and asked, "Who can tell me what the word 'first' means?" he wrote first in big letters on the board and faced the class. His eyes roamed the class, not a single hand in the air.
"A single word can have a completely different meaning to everyone. Take 'water' for instance. To Ms. Evans, water can be but a bland drink, whereas to children in third world countries it can mean life, and the rewards of hard work and something for their family to drink, and survive. So, by the end of this week, I want a full report about what the word 'First' means to you."
Sarah saw the kid with the greasy hair from the train raise his hand, "Sir, what does this assignment have anything to with Defense?" he asked, his voice hard and sneering.
Rockwood smirked at the Slytherin boy, noting his ignorance to keep an open mind, just like every other Slytherin, "Mr. Snape is it? You see, I am not a man tolerant of ignorance, but open to the idea of learning. I want you to learn that an open mind is not weakness, but power because when your time here at Hogwarts is over and done, I want you to remember the lessons you have learned in this class."
"Sir, I still don't understand the task at hand"
Sirius leaned over and whispered into Sarah's ear, "Can he be anymore stupid?"
She smirked and whispered back, "Or ignorant?" Sirius chuckled.
"Perhaps one day you will." Rockwood said as the bell rang, signaling the end of the class.
"You know," Sirius said as the four friends made their way to the great hall, "I really don't like that Snape guy."
Indeed he didn't, and never will Sirius ever warm up to the idea that Severus Snape had the potential to be even remotely close to a good person.