Again, thanks to Matisse Gacioppo for sticking around and correcting the grammar errors. :D
I woke up to the sound of shrill sirens and red lights outside our window. The watch Hugo gave me at the end of seventh year read five o'clock, and I groaned. My roommates were stirring as well.
"It's September Second! Rise and shine, maggots, party's over," a deep male voice thundered above the din. "You have five minutes to get ready for breakfast. First level Initiates, Instructor Tuttle will join you for the first class. Now get to it!"
We slogged through getting ready, and ambled down to the mess hall. Agnes was surreptitiously trying to scratch her armpits, and Deirdre's face was scrunched up, like she wanted to do nothing more than just fall back into bed. Only Gina seemed awake enough. Even I felt like I was robbed of sleep.
The mess hall certainly lived up to its name. Students of all levels were bustling around, grabbing plates and bowls, walking to and from a table groaning with food. There seemed to be no restrictions to where people could sit, so we chose a small table near the door. I made my way to our table, overhearing snippets of conversation from those I passed.
"—thinking of taking up Experimental Charms, I need a new elective—"
"—shifted majors again! Don't know what is with that guy—"
"—try to get noticed by one of the Societies—"
"—Celestina Warbeck, and she doesn't look older than thirty—"
I sat down and was just starting to dig into my mashed potatoes when a bell sounded, making several of us first years jump, but the others seemed used to it. With smooth efficiency, the upperclassmen filed out of the room, leaving us first years. Instructor Tuttle was already leading some of us to the doors, and I crammed what I can into my mouth as I ran after them, my roommates doing the same.
Mental note: breakfast during training days, not a leisurely affair. I hope weekends are different.
Tuttle led our happily chattering group to an indoor field with a round, raised platform at the middle. Behind the platform was a wall that spanned the length of the field. She climbed the stage, touched her wand to her throat, and bellowed; "Attention!" everyone fell silent. She adjusted her glasses and spoke.
"Good morning all. Your first session, as you have hopefully read in your schedules, is with me. I will be your first Auror Resocialization instructor. We have two other classes like this throughout the day; one at noon, and another after dinner. These will help change your way of thinking from civilian to law enforcer. Before we can proceed with other, more dangerous tasks, we must accomplish this."
She flicked her wand, and a phoenix feather quill, some parchment, and a stool appeared on the stage beside her. "Meet Flintlock," she said, gesturing at the furiously scribbling quill. "It is bewitched to take note of your abilities and generate a training partner who can keep up with you. Tomorrow, or next week, or next month, you may notice that you have been paired with another person. For today, though, please meet up with your defaults and fall in line."
I could not look Scorpius in the eye as he slipped in the empty space between me and Connor Wood.
"Morning, fire tree," he drawled, eyes full of malicious glee. So this is how it'll be. Ugh.
"What's so good about a morning with a Malfoy," I shot back. "Make my day, will you?"
"I don't want to give you a hard time, the owls in your hair might cry."
Embarrassment flushed my cheeks warm as Connor stared at us strangely. I shook my head, trying my best to keep my expression neutral. "Don't mind him. Got dropped in the toilet as an infant." I stared firmly ahead, trying to concentrate on what Tuttle was saying. I'll get Scorpius later.
"…is physical fitness. You might be able to cast spells, but if you're gasping for breath and unable to lift your hands due to fatigue, we have a problem," Tuttle said. She proceeded to make us do a series of exercises, which were okay. Some people even resumed their chattering. After the last set of pushups, I looked over at Agnes and Lorcan. They seemed to be laughing about something Lorcan said, and I felt a stab of jealousy.
"Alright, that's quite enough." Tuttle flicked her wand and the wall behind her disappeared, revealing the rest of the field, which had an imposing obstacle course. There were areas to climb, areas to swing across, and others where it appears like I must run from something. I gulped.
Something intense flickered across Tuttle's face, and I was greatly reminded of my mum. "You must pass the course as a pair. If you don't, it's kitchen duty for two weeks. First up, Weasley and Malfoy. Go!"
A loud bang issued from Tuttle's wand and I ran. Scorpius was right beside me, keeping up with relative ease. We both grasped a braid of rope on a wall and started to climb it. I had no idea how to do this, and mercifully, he didn't either. He tried blasting a hole through the wall but it would just repair itself. I tried going around it to get to the other side, but I just bounced off some sort of invisible barrier.
"Are you trying to make me laugh? Quit fooling around! Scale that wall!" our instructor screamed. They were meters away but I swear I saw her neck veins in high relief. I grabbed the rope, planting one foot on the wall and pushing the ground with the other. Once both feet were stable, I started climbing.
"One leg at a time, Scorpius!" I shouted at him. He hoisted himself up, and I turned back to my own problem. We inched to the top and scrambled down the other side, where we had to extricate ourselves from quicksand. After that, we crawled under a canopy of fire, which (to my delight) was tricky for Scorpius. We vaulted, kicked, rolled, hexed, and ran our way through an eternity of other hurdles before emerging at the other side of the course.
"So much for the best years of your life," I grumbled as we made our way back to the big group.
"Well done, you two," the instructor said crisply. "Your time: five minutes."
Scorpius nodded and, without a word to me, went to the back of the crowd. The second pair went up, and they ran when Tuttle gave the signal. On and on this went, until everyone in the group had a go at the course. Some people were faster than us, some were slower, but no one did less than three or more than five minutes. Finally, we had to do another set of exercises before the bell rang.
It was going to be a long day.
After Auror Resocialization, there were three lecture classes. Seminar in Magical Politics was taught by Gabriel Branstone, a sour, unsmiling man who loved quoting the book he wrote on the subject. Fundamentals of Magical Criminal Law and Auror Strategies and Tactics were less tedious; the first was taught by Aurelius Urquhart, who brought our lecture hall of one hundred students to tears of laughter, and the other was by Regina Coulson, an older witch with striking features and a booming voice.
"And remember, Initiates," Instructor Coulson said as the bell rang, "You must not, under any circumstance, compromise the International Statute of Secrecy while in pursuit of a suspect. That's it for today. Class dismissed." People slowly filed out of the classroom, nattering on about lunch. I was walking along the hallway when someone tapped my shoulder lightly.
I turned to see quite possibly the most handsome man I have ever met. He was tall, had hair darker than sin, and piercing blue eyes. His broken nose only added to his charm, and he had an easy grin, which revealed perfect little rows of white teeth. He was holding out one of my books—Advanced Defensive Spellcasting by Demetria Lane.
"This tumbled out of your bag, Rose," he said.
"How'd you know my name?" I squawked out. Was he a secret admirer? Did he memorize my schedule and wait for the opportune moment to talk to me? Wait till Victoire hears this!
He gave me a puzzled look. "Your name is on the cover, in sparkly purple glitter."
Oh. Right. "What's your name?" I managed to choke out. He extended his hand and I almost fainted.
"Ricky Lyons," he said, holding my hand in a vice grip of a handshake. He released his clutch, and I was unable to move several fingers for a few seconds. No matter, he's still pretty to look at.
"You should come by our Society's place, maybe you could try out. We could use a couple of new members. Bring a friend along," he said.
"What's a Society?" I asked. "I overhead a couple of second level students talking about them."
"A club of sorts. There are different ones in school. Ours is about improving your dueling skills. Why don't you try out this weekend—our headquarters is at the following address."
He wrote it down, winked at me and said goodbye, walking into the room our class just vacated. I was staring at the address, smiling to myself, when I heard an (unfortunately) familiar voice.
"Wow, he's flaky," Scorpius said. He snatched the parchment out of my hand. "What's this?"
"Give that back!" Seriously, why does he have to be everywhere? I swiped the paper from him and stuffed it in my pocket before he could read the contents. "Don't you have somewhere to go?"
"I wanted to feed the owls in your hair. Are they comfortable?"
"Yes, they're fine, thank you very much. They don't need your help." I left him there and started marching down the stairs and to the mess hall. Good thing we have hour long lunches; I've had so many interruptions to my free period so far. I grabbed a plate of roast beef and beans and plunked down beside Agnes, who waved at me when I entered the hall.
"How're your morning classes?" she said between bites of wild mushroom and rice.
"S'good. Two okay instructors and an awful one."
"Eh. I had a bland teacher for my Introduction to Magical Diplomacy class. And I was looking forward to that one too! Anyway, the second Resoc class ought to be good, right? It's for magic."
"I suppose it will," I said, distracted by Scorpius walking in to the hall. I stared at him as he ladled some pasta on his plate and bowed his head as he weaved through the lunchtime chaos. He found an empty corner and sat there, back to the crowd. He kept his head down constantly, only turning or looking up if someone says hello to him. After a few minutes, he picked up his empty plate and left swiftly.
"I suppose it will." I murmured again.
Thank you for reading. Reviews are appreciated~