Chapter 5: Classes
Classes were another exciting part of school. Everyone seemed to know Albus, or at least recognize him by his father. Albus' first class was Double Herbology with the Ravenclaws.
The Gryffindor and Ravenclaw first years walked through the grounds and into Greenhouse One. Professor Longbottom was awaiting them in there, and when he saw Albus he beamed.
"Albus!" he said. "I knew I'd see you at school this year! I expect I'll be seeing a lot of you in classes!"
Albus remembered something his parents had said yesterday.
"Professor?" he started awkwardly. "Mom and Dad wanted—er—to say hello." Albus was told to send Neville their love, but Albus supposed that this was the same thing.
"Oh, thanks for telling me!" Professor Longbottom said. "Hannah and I will be visiting you on Christmas. All right! Everyone here, gather round, four to a table, each table consisting of students from the same House, no inter-Housing, and face forward!"
Albus and Rose went and stood beside a circular table. Colin and Daniel joined them.
"Okay! This year, we won't be studying dangerous plants, but anyone getting injured by a plant can shout out for dittany or any other kind of antidote, and I'll help them. Today we'll be learning about Devil's Snare. Devil's Snare is a plant that will attempt to strangle its victim. Now, who knows how we defend ourselves against one if we have are unlucky enough to come across one?"
Rose and Lysander's right hands went straight into the air.
"Tell us, Rose, if you please," said Professor Longbottom, nodding towards Rose.
"Devil's Snare," began Rose, after a deep breath, "cannot stand light or heat. Therefore, to defend yourself aganst one, the simplest way is to use fire against it, preferrably bluebell flames."
"Well done, Rose," said Professor Longbottom. "A point to Gryffindor. Now, I want each of you to take two pots, one with the Devil's Snare in, one without, and take it to your table. Then, you try to repot it. Repotting these are easy, as they are only a week old. The reason I don't allow mixed Houses at a table is because we do competitions once a week. Two points to the House who repots it correctly and before everyone else."
Albus Rose, Colin, and Daniel got to work, after Colin brought the pots, one containing Devil's Snare. Daniel was almost caught by one of its tentacles, but luckily Colin pointed his wand at the tentacle and shouted, "Incendio!" The plant immediately calmed down. With their table containing Rose, who was best at knowing what to do, and Albus, who was best at doing what Rose told him to do, their table finished repotting fastest and most correct. Colin's hand raised excitedly into the air.
"Yes, Colin?" Professor Longbottom said, nodding toward him.
"Professor—we're finished," said Colin.
"Oh, excellent, well done! Neatest repotting I've ever seen! Two points for Gryffindor! Now for homework, write a six-inch-long essay about Devil's Snare's uses during the Battle of Hogwarts."
The class ended, and it was time for Charms. The class contained less people than Herbology did, as this wasn't a double class. Professor Flitwick was standing up on his chair, with three heavy books below him so that he could see above his desk.
"Settle down, settle down, boys and girls!" he squeaked. "Hello, Albus! Just like your father, you are! I'm going to teach you Charms class. Charms is easier than Transfiguration, many students say this, but you still must work hard. Now we won't be trying anything dangerous, but some charms can turn out disastrous if wrongly perfromed. Remember Barrufio, who ended up with a buffalo on his chest after saying 'f' instead of 's'! We'll start with one of the easiest and my favorite, the Hover Charm. You take out your wand, come on, with me!" Albus took out his twelve inch, hazel and phoenix feather wand. "Now you point your wand at the object you want to hover, in your case, your white peakock feather. Now, you swish and flick—this way—good, and you say, Wingardium Leviosa! Say the 'gar' nice and long! Start!"
The first time, only Rose got it right, but after a few tries, half of the feathers went up in the air, though a few dropped down after a few seconds. As Professor Flitwick had warned, Daniel put his robe on fire.
"Oh dear!" squeaked Flitwick. "Aguamenti! A point from Gryffindor! Never forget the 'i' in 'Wingarium', Daniel! Excellent job, everyone else! Now, for homework, practice levitating other objects. Try your socks!"
Albus' next class was Double Potions with the Hufflepuffs. The dungeons, cold and dark, were unwelcome enough without oozing animals and plants in jars hanging from the walls. Professor Slughorn, with his fat outline and walruslike moustache, was looking at everyone.
"All right," he said. "Potions is a very interesting subject. Today, we are going to learn about a few general potions, before brewing a nice Hiccuping Solution. Now, who can tell me, what is the most powerful potion in the world?"
Automatically, Rose's hand went straight through the air, along with Katie Dexter's.
"Okay, Miss Dexter," said Professor Slughorn.
"Amortentia, Professor!" said Katie excitedly, her brown eyes wide open.
"Correct! Love is the most powerful feeling in the world!" A few boys sniggered; Slughorn pretended not to hear them. "While true love cannot be produced, the love potions only make a powerful infatuation, as Hector Dagworth-Granger says. Now, for our next question. Which potion looks clear as water and forces the drinker to tell the truth?"
This time, Albus and Rose's hands went in the air.
"You, Mr. Potter," said Slughorn.
"Well, Dad told me about—er—Veritaserum?" Albus told Slughorn timidly.
"Nicely phrased, Albus!" said Slughorn. "Only three drops will force the drinker to tell the truth. Now for our last question. Who can identify this potion?" he asked, pointing to a cauldron full of a muddy brown liquid that bubbled violently. Albus couldn't resist to answer.
"Yes, Mr. Potter?" said Slughorn.
"Professor, that's Polyjuice Potion. It makes the drinker look like a person he wants. It consists of boomslang skin, lacewing flies, knotgrass, and a piece of the person one wants to turn into, like a hair or a toenail. Its color and taste is unique for each person." Albus' Aunt Hermione had told him all about it, as she had used it in her second year.
"Fully correct! Add five points for Gryffindor! Goodness, we've only got an hour left! Not to worry, though, a Hiccuping Solution is easy. I'll have your instructions on the board, and you can start—now!"
Everyone got to work. Albus found it hard to keep track of the steps and how many ingredients he had put in. Halfway through, Albus' potion was a dark green, but according to the instructions, it was supposed to be acid green. Close enough, Albus thought, but how wrong he was. In the end, it was supposed to be scarlet, but his was a murky shade of brown. Albus was comforted to see that Rose's was medium red.
"Time's—up! Oh, dear! No one's got it right!" Slughorn said, examining the potions. "Oh, excellent Dexter! Fabulous! Five points for Hufflepuff! Miss Dexter's got it right! I'll see you tomorrow, and for homework, write a nine-inch-long essay about the Hiccuping Solution's side effects if gone wrong."
After Potions and break, it was time for History of Magic. Albus had heard that Professor Binns was the only ghost teacher, not to mention the most boring professor Hogwarts had ever had. On this lesson, Albus sleepily doodled on a piece of parchment, like most of the class, except for Rose. Rose was paying rapt attention to Binns' drones about Lachlan the Lanky, writing notes at full speed. I'll just copy from her, Albus thought, before he started playing hangman with John.
After History of Magic, there was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Roberts, who had graying hair and wore purple robes, square spectacles, and a kind smile, started speaking at his desk after all the students were seated.
"All right boys and girls, please settle down!" said Professor Roberts. "Now, Defense Against the Dark Arts is very essential for you. You won't need your copy of A Beginner's Guide to Magical Creatures today, as we will be doing a practical lesson today—quiet down, please, no overexcitement—about the best way to tackle a Cornish Pixie and put it back where it belongs, in our case, a cage. But before we do that, I will ask you a few questions about pixies. Who knows, what is their Ministry of Magic classification? Yes, Mr. Finnigan?"
"Triple X," said John coolly.
"Excellent! Now, what color are they, Mr. Corner?"
William, who had recovered from the events of his Howler, said, "Electric blue, Professor."
"Very good! Last of all, what is the best way to tackle them? No one knows? No wonder, there are very few ways, but my favorite and the easiest one is to put a Stunning Spell on it. This is precisely what we'll do for our practical lesson today; Stun them and put them back in their cages. You will do this in pairs, two to a pixie. You will be awarded one point per pixie, but you will lose three points if the Stunning Spell misses and hits a person. Get to work, boys and girls! Oh, and the incantation is—Stupefy!"
The Gryffindor first years got to work after Professor Roberts released the pixies, which were electric blue and less than seven inches tall. It was very hard to Stun a pixie when they were trying to hold you up by the ears, break your wand, or smash desks at you, while at the same time moving around faster than ever. Albus finally ended up caging up two pixies, but that was after he missed and Stunned Rose, his partner, twice.
"Oh dear!" said Roberts, ten minutes before lunch. "You can now stop practicing and caging your pixies. "Next week, we will move on to pixies! No homework!"
After lunch, it was time for Double Transfiguration with (Albus groaned) the Slytherins. The class was filled with animals, both magical and mundane, and standing at her desk was the headmistress Professor McGonagall.
"Sit down, everyone! Quiet down!" she said in her strict voice. "First of all, before teaching anything, I feel that I must warn you about the subject in general. Transfiguration is not like any other subject, because it is much harder, and one silly mistake will make you lose a body part or even your lives. No smirking, Mr. Malfoy! I have warned you enough, but let us start with theories instead of the practical thing. We will be learning about Animagi for this first week, then move on to simple Transfigurations like turning feathers to needles or ants to termites. Now, who knows what an Animagus is?"
Rose's right hand went up in the air. Malfoy immitated her, but Rose pretended to not notice, though her cheeks were growing red. A few other Slytherins sniggered. Professor McGonagall looked furious at Malfoy when she saw what was happening.
"Mr. Malfoy," she said, gritting her teeth.
"Yes, Professor?" Malfoy said, standing up.
"Judging by your right hand, which was raised in the air a moment ago, I believe you have an answer to my question?" Albus felt pride for McGonagall teasing Malfoy.
"Well—er—" Malfoy mumbled slowly.
"Five points from Slytherin! Now, I hope Miss Weasley has the answer to our question?"
"Yes, Professor," Rose said, smiling. "An Animagus is a witch or wizard who has the ability to turn into the animal he or she most resembles at will. The Ministry of Magic allows seven registered Animagi every century. Professor, you're an Animagus, aren't you?" she added, blushing again.
"Good explanation," said McGonagall, smiling back at Rose. "A point for Gryffindor. Well, I am an Animagus, as I can turn into a tabby cat with markings around my eyes that match that of my spectacles. Watch this," she said, as she turned into an orange tabby cat and back. Loud applause erupted from the Gryffindors, and even the Slytherins, though they didn't applaud her, looked amused. "Now, a few more questions. If your Patronus is a specific animal, will your Animagus form be that animal, too?"
Rose and Albus raised their hands.
"Mr. Potter," said McGonagall.
"Yes, it will," said Albus.
"Good. Now, what is the difference between a werewolf an an Animagus?"
This time it was the Slytherins' turn to raise their hands. Three boys raised their hands, though Malfoy was not amongst them.
"Yes, Mr. Parkinson," McGonagall, said, nodding toward the smallest boy, who had dark eyes and blonde hair and an unpleasant-looking face.
"An Animagus elects to turn into an animal, while a werewolf has no choice," Parkinson said in his soft voice.
"Good. One point to Slytherin. Now, the lesson is almost over, and I want from you a list of the seven registered Animagi of the twenty-first century, with their animal forms and markings."
As Albus walked to the Great Hall for lunch, he felt glad that Astronomy was not until Friday.