Primrose had seated herself at the Ravenclaw table next to the dirty-blonde Luna Lovegood and Romulus Lupin. One of the Ravenclaw prefect had introduced herself to the first years (her name was Penelope "but please, call me Penny" Clearwater and she had long, curly hair). After Professor Dumbledore's odd speech, food began to appear on the table. By their table, a serene ghostly lady in old fashion gowns gilded around, watching over the Ravenclaws. "That's the Grey Lady," Penny had informed them, as the ghost gracefully inclined her head in their direction. "She'll help you if any of you are in lost or in trouble."
Despite Rosie being aware of Harry's feeling of anxiety which had not yet died down, and her own mind swirling with racing thoughts, she still had her appetite. Unlike Harry, she rarely ever lost her appetite, and almost never skipped meals. Looking at the selection before her, she piled her plate with roast chicken, lamb chops, peas, carrots, and a warm dinner roll. As she started to eat, she peeked at speculatively at Romulus. She hadn't realized that he had any relation to Remus Lupin, though perhaps there were other Lupins out there that she did not know about. She did know that Remus used to be close friends with Sirius and her mum and dad. After her parents died, Sirius told her and Harry that Remus just sort of disappeared, and he never heard from him again.
Growing up, she had felt a lot of curiosity about Remus Lupin. Harry had vague memories of him, and Harry remembered Remus being very nice. She knew that Sirius and her father had become animagi to support Remus. It made her wonder whether Remus had found someone else to support him. Perhaps so, if he had a son. Sirius had mentioned that Remus had been fairly bookish. Sirius himself certainly wasn't. It left Rosie wondering if she would have gotten along well with Remus. She rather thought she would have liked him.
Romulus was eating his food silently, not engaging in the conversation around him. The boy next to him seemed to have given up trying to draw Romulus in conversation. Romulus's plate consisted of mostly meat: roast beef, lamb chops, sausages, and a smattering of peas. Since Romulus seemed very intently focused on his food, Rosie turned to the girl next to her, Luna.
"I'm glad we got sorted into the same house, Luna" Rosie said. "Did the hat say anything to you?"
"Hmm - something about original ideas, and how I had a lot of my mother in me. I think the hat also knows about the nargles," Luna replied serenely. "What about you?"
"It was trying to decide whether to put me here, in Hufflepuff or in Gryffindor. Apparently I have a very loyal heart. My brother is in Gryffindor."
"Harry Potter?" Luna replied.
"Do you know him?" Rosie asked, before realize it was a rather pointless question. Everyone in the wizarding world knew The Boy Who Lived.
"Daddy wrote a few articles about him," Luna murmured, as she sedately ate some potatoes. Rosie considered her words. She hadn't recalled ever seeing an article about Harry in The Quibbler - perhaps it was written in the older magazines, before she had subscribed.
"Are those - Dirigible-plums?" Rosie asked, which she noticed Luna's earrings. Luna lit up.
"Oh yes! Daddy says they enhance the wisdom of the wearer." Luna looked particularly proud of her earrings.
"I had dirigible-plum ice cream once. It was delicious!" Rosie replied.
"Ice-cream? I haven't tried them like that."
"I had it at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour at Diagon Alley. You know how once a month, they have new and unusual one-time magical flavours? That's when I tried it." Rosie loved the magical-flavour specials, but admittedly, sometimes they had less than pleasant after-effects. One time, she had tried a flavour that had left her weeping for nine hour straight. It had tasted wonderful, but she didn't think she would ever want to eat it again.
"My mother used to always take me out for ice cream," Luna said wistfully. "But daddy says that brain-freezes attract knurly-tailed-gelumrudimps."
"If you eat ice cream slowly, you're less likely to get brain freezes. We should go there sometime." Luna seemed pleased by Rosie's suggested, and smiled warmly.
Across the table, Rosie could hear the other first-years talking about the upcoming lessons. Many of the Ravenclaws had already read their textbooks, and they were exchanging their thoughts on what they had read ("I already know the mending charm. Mother often let us practice with her wand." "I wish I could skip ahead in History of Magic. I know all of the first year curriculum already!" "I was reading about bowtruckles for DADA. You know, I saw one once in the forest near my home.")
Rosie peeked a glance back at Romulus, but he still remained unengaged from everyone around him. The plates of food had disappeared, and in their place were all kinds of dessert. Delighted by the selection, Rosie took some rice pudding and some trifle. Romulus did not seem particularly interested in the dessert.
"Have you decided what you're here for yet?" she asked him suddenly, referencing their first conversation. He looked at her, his blue eye inscrutable. He shrugged.
"It's still too early to say," he replied. He didn't seem inclined to continue the conversation, but she found herself curious about him - especially whether or not he had a link to Remus.
Unable to help herself, she blurted out: "Are you related to Remus Lupin?"
He tilted his head, as though contemplating whether or not to answer.
"He's my adopted father. Do you know him?"
"Not exactly. He was friends with my dad and my godfather. But they haven't spoken to him in ages. What's he like?" Rosie couldn't help being curious.
"Remus? Um. Remus is - Remus. He likes to read." Romulus didn't seem to have anything more to add, and Rosie didn't push him. She had finished her plate of food, and she was looking towards the Gryffindor table for Harry. Harry was seated between Hermione and Neville, and he appeared to be in conversation with Hermione. Though he appeared relaxed on the outside, she knew that his appearance did not reflect his feelings. She casted a glance at the other tables and then looked up at the Head Table. Professor Snape did not look her way, for which she was relieved.
She recognized Gilderoy Lockhart because his picture had been on the back of all of Harry's textbooks. He had wavy blond hair, and his teeth were almost blindingly white (he seemed to like to flash them often.) His robes were a brilliant royal purple, and looked to be exquisitely tailored. He did not look like he would be particularly proficient in defense, but she knew that looks could be deceiving.
Harry had told her Professor McGonagall taught Transfigurations. From Harry's descriptions, she guessed at the identity of the diminutive Professor Flitwick. Before long, the desserts vanished as well, and Professor Dumbledore stood up to make another announcement.
"Now that we are all fed and watered, I'd like to have your attention while I give out a few start-of-term notices," he said. He informed them that the Forest was out of bounds to students, and a list of things that Mr Filch declared was against the rules. Professor Dumbledore also mentioned Quidditch trials, but Rosie generally had little interest in Quidditch. She would go to the games to support her brother, who was Gryffindor's seeker, but aside from that, she had other things she would have preferred to do with her time. Even if Quidditch didn't interest her, she was very proud of her brother being the youngest Seeker. He had told her in great detail (in a letter) about the incident with Neville's Remembrall - a gift from his grandmother. Neville wasn't particularly close to his grandmother, but he still had valued the gift. Apparently, some bratty Slytherin had taken it tried tossing it as far as he could throw.
"We have had a change in staffing this year," Dumbledore continued. "We are pleased to welcome Professor Lockhart, who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts." There was a polite applause after his speech, and Professor Lockhart stood up from his seat, and bowed gracefully.
"Thank you, thank you!" Professor Lockhart was saying as he waved at the crowd, but no one really seemed to be paying any attention to him. Finally, Professor Dumbledore announced that it was bedtime, and the students stood up to leave.
Penny Clearwater indicated for the first years to follow her, and they exited the Great Hall. She explained a bit about Hogwarts as she led the group of first years through the castle.
"Keep an eye out for Peeves," she warned. "He's the poltergeist. But you're Eagles now. You should be able to outwit him. Don't hesitate to ask any of the prefects, or even the ghosts and portraits if you lose your way. We're here to help you." They went up a staircase, past several hallways from which chattering portraits hung, through several and turns, and even behind a tapestry until they reached the spiral staircase that led to the Ravenclaw tower on the west side of Hogwarts. The door to the Ravenclaw common room had no door knob that Rosie could see, and all the first years looked at it curiously. There was a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.
"To enter the common room, you'll have to answer a riddle asked by the door knocker" Penny informed them. "If you answer incorrectly, you'll have to wait until someone else comes by who gets it right."
Penny turned towards the door and lifted the knocker, knocking it once. The bronze eagle spoke:
I have four wings, but cannot fly,
I never laugh and never cry;
On the same spot I'm always found,
toiling away with little sound.
What am I?
After giving it a moment's thought, Penny said: "A Windmill" and the door opened into the common room.
The first years spilled into the Ravenclaw common room, and gasped with delight at the sight that met their eyes. The room was large, round and airy. The plush carpet beneath their feet was a deep midnight blue. Above their heads, the ceiling was a round dome painted with stars. It did not have the same effect as the Great Hall, but it had its own sort of beauty. There were arched windows placed at even intervals all around the common room, which were draped with bronze and blue silks. There were bookcases, tables and chairs throughout the common room for students to use and to study. A white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw stood next to the doors leading up to the dormitories. The expression on the statue's face was serene and wise.
"Many of us refer to Ravenclaw tower as our Nest. But this is just between us. This leads to the girls' dormitory," Penny indicated, "and this one leads to the boys. I can see that you're all about to fall asleep on your feet so off you go. Good night, little Eaglets! Your trunks have already been brought up to your rooms'" The tired students made their way up to their rooms.
Rosie looked at the dormitory room with interest. There were four four-poster beds draped with rich, blue velvet hangings. Their trunks sat on the floor at the end of each of the beds. The two other girls that Rosie and Luna shared their room with were Edine Harwich and Sakiko Kajiwara. All of the girls were too tired to speak. Changing into their pyjamas, they crawled tiredly into bed. Rosie's last thought before she fell asleep was: 'I miss you, Snuffles.'
Primrose woke up with a jolt, feelings of anguish and fear soaking into her skin. Harry, she thought. He was having nightmares again. She should go into his room, and wake him up. As she sat up in her bed, she realized that she wasn't at home in Grimmauld Place. The fabric on her covers felt completely different, and her own four-poster-bed did not have hangings like this one had. She was in Ravenclaw tower, and Harry was in Gryffindor. Even if she knew where Gryffindor tower was, she doubt that she would be able to get into their common rooms.
She wondered what dream he was having this night. All of his nightmares were dreadful - worse because all of them were based on reality. She breathed deeply, and emptied her mind, but this only settled her own feelings, and did nothing to alleviate what she felt from Harry. It was unlikely that she'd be able to fall asleep again feeling like this. She felt emotionally tired - she missed Sirius, and she missed Harry. True, Harry was in the same school as her, but he felt like he was a world away.
She pushed the bed hangings aside, and climbed out of bed. It was fortunate that the dormitory floors were covered with beautiful, intricately patterned blue and bronze rugs. If she had to walk barefoot on stone floors, it would have been intolerably cold. There wasn't a hint of paleness in the sky outside the window. She wasn't sure what time it was - past midnight surely, but not yet 4 or 5am. She could hear the soft breathing of her dorm mates. They seemed to be sleeping peacefully. Tiptoeing quietly (though the carpet muffled her steps anyway), she climbed down the spiraling stairs into the common room.
The common room was empty, but she expected it to be at this time of night. It was dimly lit by a solitary torch. She sat in a seat next to one of the windows that overlooked the forests beyond. It all looked like shades of black or blackish blue outside the window. There was nothing that could really be seen. She kept her mind blank, like a shield of sorts, around Harry's tumultuous emotions.
Sometimes, when she sat, and simply felt what Harry was feeling, it was as though she could isolate it within herself. The feelings were usually in the back of her head, or in her throat, but if they were particularly intense, she could sometimes feel them in her chest and arms. It always had an amorphous quality to it, like it lacked any border or edges. Yet, paradoxically, she was also always able to separate Harry's emotions from her own. It had the quality of being like a double image, where one picture was overlaid with another. Eventually Rosie drifted off to sleep in the chair without realizing she had done so.
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Romulus woke up during the night and was unable to fall asleep again. This was normal for him. He often kept odd hours, taking naps throughout the day and night, rather than fully sleeping the night through. The erratic schedule suited him better than a normal schedule, but it also meant that he spent more hours awake than most people. He sat up in his four-poster bed, listening to the soft snores of his two roommates, and feeling distracted by the smells of unfamiliar bodies.
As a werewolf, his sense of smell was extremely sharp, but being around so many people was rather overwhelming. He preferred the scents of the forest. He did not mind the earthy scent of humans and animals, but people tended to carry other odd scents, from the potions they drank, the clothes they wore or the products they used. It made it easier to identify people, but it was also unpleasant. But at least wizards smelled better than muggles. Whatever strange chemicals it was that muggle put on themselves, it was awful.
His mind turned towards the day that had just passed, and he considered the girl, Primrose. It had been a shock to him that she knew Remus. Remus did not tend to talk very much about his "old life" (which essentially meant the time before he adopted Romulus). It was strange to think about Remus's mysterious past, when he had actual friends. Aside from Romulus, Remus rarely interacted with anyone else, except for work. Work in this case consisted of a string of part-time jobs that Remus was constantly fired from, due to his lycanthropy.
Romulus had been nearly eaten by a werewolf when he was only two. Remus had saved him, but since he was already bitten, he was cursed to become a werewolf himself. Remus had said that the only reason he had been able to save Romulus was because he had taken an experimental potion that left his human mind in control. If not that for that, the wolf within him surely would have either left Romulus to die, or would have eaten him. It was also fortunate that Remus had silver powder and dittany as well to seal Romulus's wounds. Though in a moment of darkness, Remus had once confessed to him that he contemplated letting Romulus die, rather than suffer a life of lycanthropy.
It was difficult to remember those early days, but he knew that even then, Remus always had an air of tiredness about him. Yet, Remus was gentle, kind and understanding as well. Having been bitten as a child, it had been easier for Romulus to accept the wolf within himself. If he had been adopted by a pack, he likely would have been living in the woods right now, rather than being here in Hogwarts.
There were times when Romulus wondered whether or not he would have been better off with a werewolf pack. He knew the life of a werewolf was extremely harsh. However, Remus was like a father to him. Romulus didn't mind having to live as more of a human than as a wolf. The human world had books at least. Remus's love of learning had certainly rubbed off on Romulus.
One of Romulus's favourite topics was potions. In part, this was because Remus had often lamented his lack of talent in the area. Romulus was also fascinated by the Wolfsbane Potion as well, and not just because he was a werewolf. Afterall, unlike Remus, Romulus had a greater acceptance of his inner wolf. Wolfsbane potion was an extremely complex and difficult potion to brew. He had never tried brewing it himself, but he had read the recipe time and time again, and almost knew it by heart. However, Romulus did have practical knowledge in potions. Though Remus's income was rather scant, he always had money for books, or anything related to gaining knowledge. It was Remus who purchased Romulus's first potions kit when he was little more than a cub, and encouraged him to explore his interests.
Romulus already knew how to brew all the potions in the first year, second year, and third year curriculum, and more than half of the potions in the fourth year curriculum. He wondered if the potions professor would let him skip ahead in class, but based on the rumours he had heard, the potion master was rather harsh, so it was unlikely.
Knowing that he would not be falling back asleep, Romulus silently got out of bed. Taking one of his books, he went down to the common room. He felt like reading, but he wasn't able to do so in the dark. He knew that there was a charm for light, but he hadn't learned it yet, and he figured that the common room would probably have some sort of lighting. He was not expecting to see anyone, so it was a surprise when he noticed the girl sitting by the window. Based on her smell, it was Primrose. She had a rather pleasant smell, that reminded him of rain but sometimes, he wished she would just leave him alone, like everyone else did.
He did not feel like socializing, and almost snuck back up into his bed, but he noticed that she was motionless, and her breathing was deep. Apparently she had fallen asleep at the chair. Satisfied that he wouldn't be interrupted, Romulus took the chair that was nearest to the torch, and sat down, opening his book. His particular choice this night was Hunting Werewolves. Morbid yes, but he thought it was useful to know how the enemy worked. It meant that he could be aware of his weaknesses and deal with them before they became a serious problem.
Annoyingly, he was barely able to concentrate on his book. At first, he thought it was the flickering light of the torch, but admittedly, it barely flickered at all. Then he thought perhaps it was the sound of the wind outside the tower, or the excessive cushiness of the chairs. He kept reading a paragraph, putting the book down, trying to get comfortable in the plush blue chair, picking the book back up, reading another paragraph and then realizing that he had not even absorbed the words at all. Dammit! It was probably the girl's fault. He glared at Primrose, but she was in the same position, still sleeping. It looked incredibly uncomfortable. Scowling, he looked back down at the page, forcing himself to read, only to realize that he had already read that page. He huffed with irritation. Over an hour had passed. An hour of maddening distractedness. He looked up at Primrose again, and saw that she was shivering slightly. 'Serves her right!' he thought. 'That'll teach her not to sleep in the common room."'
After another half an hour, it became unbearable. The words on the page were practically incomprehensible squiggles. And that dratted girl would not stop shivering! With an irritated growl, he tromped up to the dormitory rooms, grabbed a blanket, tromped back down, and laid the blanket over the girl. His hand brushed against her arm, and the contact seemed to startle her awake. She looked up at him, through sleepy eyes.
"Rom?" She sat up in her chair. "Oh! Ow…" she winced, obviously sore from lying in such an uncomfortable position.
"I didn't mean to wake you," Romulus said, with a frown. He was silently cursing himself for his clumsiness. Now he had to interact, when he really didn't want to.
"Oh, it's alright," she replied. She noticed the blanket, which had not been there before. "Thank you. I don't think I can sleep anymore though." She looked out the tower windows. The sky had the faintest tint of lightness.
With a shrug (since he did not know what else to say), Romulus took the blanket back up to his bed. He changed out of his pyjamas and went back down to the common room, where Rosie was still sitting in the same chair, staring distantly out the window. She looked over at him as he came down.
"Are you going somewhere?" she asked, noticing his clothes.
"I'm going to explore the castle for a bit," he replied, walking across the blue carpet towards the common room exiit.
"Can I come with you?" Rosie asked. He paused in his step, and looked over at her. Despite the question, she did not seem like she was pleading with him. She looked vaguely troubled, but aside from that, he couldn't read her expression.
"Hm. Alright," he replied, and then thought he was probably going to regret it. She would probably talk his ear off the whole time.
"I'm going to change, and then I'll be right back." Rosie got up and dashed up the stairs. She came back down soon after, her robes looking rather haphazard, and Romulus's lip quirked upwards when he noticed that she hadn't even bothered to fix her hair. It was sticking up slightly on one side where she had slept on it. She smiled at him, and gestured with her head that he was to lead the way.
They descended the spiral staircase of the Ravenclaw tower, and at the bottom, Romulus glanced along the hall, trying to decide which direction to go. He did not consult Rosie. He simple sniffed the air and chose the route that did not smell as strongly of people. Many of the portraits were still dozing peacefully, their soft snores echoing through the hall. They turned a corner, and then turned another. They climbed up a staircase and came to wide open corridor lined with regal coats of armour, each of them bearing spears or halberds. The helmets of the coats of armour turned their heads as the pair walked past. From there, they turned another corner, and then climbed down a wide staircase. The staircase had a trick step that caused Rosie to fall, but Romulus quickly caught her, and she thanked him. The came to a door, and had to ask it politely if it would open before they could pass through. That led to yet another hallway.
Along one of the corridors, they came across the Grey Lady. Rosie gave her a polite greeting ("hello, Grey Lady, it's a pleasure to see you") and she curtseyed. The Grey Lady inclined her head gracefully, and smiled. Romulus wondered where she had learned her manners from. Perhaps her home life was very formal, but that didn't explain why she would decide to dress sloppily this morning. Aside from that, Romulus was rather pleased that Rosie hadn't said a word to him the entire time. He knew she was following because he could hear her footsteps, but aside from that, she was a silent as a ghost - well, perhaps not a ghost, since the ghosts here spoke. He did not realize that Rosie was distracted by her thoughts and feelings of homesickness.
Thanks to Romulus's nose, they did not end up encountering any people for most of their wanderings, but eventually, the other students were starting to wake, and come down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Romulus led Rosie to the Great Hall and when Rosie spotted Harry and his friends, she waved to him, and called out "Hi, Harry!" Rosie and Remus walked over to the Ravenclaw table. Luna was already there, so Rosie sat down next to her, with Romulus on her other side. Romulus was happy to see that there was an abundance of sausages and bacon for breakfast. The long walk (and Rosie's silence) had put him in a good mood.
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As Rosie followed Romulus through the castle, she could feel the moment that Harry woke up. The sense of horror and despair that was concentrated at the back of her head and neck seemed to melt away into Harry's normal, anxious state. When she and Romulus entered the Great Hall, she saw Harry with his friends and waved to him. Hopefully, they would have a chance to speak to each other soon, but she did not know her school schedule yet.
Primrose sat down at the Ravenclaw table next to Luna. The morning walk had made her hungry, and she eyed the selection of food with appreciation. Edine and Sakiko, her dorm mates sat across from her, eyeing her and Romulus speculatively.
"Where were you this morning?" Sakiko asked. "We didn't see you anywhere." Edine looked at her curiously as well, but Luna seemed as placid as a calm lake, as though it were perfectly normal for people to just vanish for no reason.
"I couldn't really sleep," Rosie explained. "I went down to the common room for a bit. Then Romulus and I decided to explore the castle." Edine and Sakiko looked at each other and smirked, but they did not say anything else about the pair. Something about Romulus's cold gaze stopped them from further teasing.
"Your hair is sticking up on one side," Edine said, before biting down on her piece of toast. Using her hands, Rosie attempted to smooth out her hair.
"Professor Flitwick came up to our common rooms this morning. He told he was our head of house, and to go to him if we needed anything," Sakiko told Rosie and Romulus, as she sliced a piece of sausage with her fork and knife.
"Oh, I didn't realize he would be coming by to speak to us. Thank you for letting me know," Rosie replied, grabbing a croissant.
"He just told us a few rules," Edine added. "Obvious things, like how we needed to respect one another, and how we weren't supposed to be wandering around the halls at night. Oh, and curfew is at 10 o'clock p.m. He said that the teachers and prefects would take away house points if you're caught out at night."
"Try not to get caught," Sakiko interjected, and she and Edine giggled. As the Ravenclaws were eating their breakfast, Professor Flitwick came by and handed them their timetables.
"I didn't see you two this morning," Professor Flitwick said to Rosie and Romulus.
"I'm sorry professor," Rosie replied. "Edine and Sakiko told us the rules." The Professor's eyes twinkled merrily.
"As long as you use that Ravenclaw intelligence and don't get yourself into trouble, then you should be fine," he said with amusement in his voice. "Enjoy your breakfast!" He wandered off, handing out timetables to the rest of the Ravenclaws.
The first years looked over their schedules. It was a Wednesday today, which meant Transfiguration with the Gryffindors, followed by Herbology with the Slytherins and then Astronomy in the evening, also with the Slytherins. The first years exclaimed excitedly over their schedules. Most of them were looking forward to Transfiguration. After all, everyone knew that Transfiguration was considered one of the more difficult topics, and most of the Ravenclaws craved the intellectual challenge.
Rosie was interested in Transfigurations, but she was also curious about the classes with the Slytherins. After all she had heard about Slytherins from Harry and Sirius, she was expecting that the two classes could potentially be rather unpleasant.
"What class are you looking forward to the most?" Rosie asked Luna, who was pouring strawberry syrup into her glass of pumpkin juice.
"Hm. Defense, I think. It would be nice to be able to protect myself if I came across an exploding snabberwitch. They can be rather temperamental."
"I've never heard of exploding snabberwitches before," Edine interjected. "What are they?"
"They're more of a threat to merfolk than to people, but I'm quite certain they can be found in the lake. They tend to like to remain hidden," Luna explained serenely.
"Um. Are you sure they're real?" Edine asked skeptically. She looked over at Sakiko, who also had a doubtful expression.
"As sure as I am about blibbering humdingers."
"Oookay," replied Edine, her voice laden with doubt. She shrugged, and decided to talk to Sakiko instead, ignoring Rosie and Luna.
After breakfast, the first years all traveled together to Transfigurations, which was on the ground floor. The classroom was immense, surrounded by high windows with intricate traceries. There was a desk at the front of the classroom, as well as two chalkboards. Professor McGonagall was nowhere in sight, but at the desk, there sat a silver tabby. The Ravenclaws settled themselves at the desks, followed by the Gryffindors. There seemed to be some empty seats in the room. Most of the Ravenclaws pulled open their textbooks, and took out their quills and parchment. Many of the Gryffindors were chatting with each other. Rosie wondered if the Professor would ever turn up. Would she really be late for her first class?
Suddenly, a pair of Gryffindor girls entered, looking around the classroom with embarrassment. They sat down with their peers, and seemed to sigh with relief that they had not been caught. To their dismay, the silver cat leapt off the desk and transformed into Professor McGonagall.
"Miss Spinnet, Miss Carter. How nice of you to finally show up," Professor McGonagall said with an expression of disapproval.
"We're sorry!" the girls chirped. "We got lost."
Professor McGonagall took roll call before jumping into her lecture.
"Transfiguration is more scientific than many of the other branches of magic. It is both complex as well as dangerous." The Ravenclaws and even the Gryffindors seemed to perk up at her words. Professor McGonagall continued by giving them a warning that they were not to fool around or else they would be ejected from class. The Ravenclaws nodded in understanding. The Gryffindors looked nervous.
As a demonstration, she changed one of the chalkboards into a tortoise, and then back again, filling the students with awe. Rosie was as impressed as the rest of the students, but she knew that object-to-animal Transfigurations were more complex, and it would likely be a while before the students could attempt those.
The Professor started writing out complex notes, formulas and diagrams on the chalkboards, and the students scribbled rapidly to copy out the notes.
"You'll start by transfiguring a match into a needle today," she informed them. By the end of class, many of the Ravenclaws (including Rosie, Romulus and Luna) had gotten partial transfigurations. However, none of the Gryffindors had managed to do so. The Professor gave five points to each of the Ravenclaws who had partially succeeded, and they all beamed happily.
The next class was Herbology with the Slytherins which was in 'greenhouse one' at the back of the castle. Professor Sprout was brisk and friendly. She had all the students line up before the tables so that they could view the specimens in front of them. Some of the plants seemed to be wiggling, and others bounced. Rosie peered over at the Slytherin's curiously. They looked pretty ordinary to her. They were slightly standoffish, but then again, so were the Ravenclaws. Only one Slytherin, a girl with pale ash blonde hair named Astrid, seemed unpleasant. The girl was looking around the greenhouse with an expression of disdain, as though she could not bear being surrounded by dirt. The girl next to her, who had a rather plain face, seemed to mimic the blonde girl, though not to the same degree of success.
"Can anybody identify any of the plants or fungi on the table?" Professor Sprout was asking, after taking roll call. Rosie looked over at the specimens, and recognized one.
She pointed at the pink pod shaped plant. "That one's a Puffapod."
"Just so! Ten points to Ravenclaw," said Professor Sprout. Thanks Neville, Rosie thought to herself. The Professor explained the rest of the specimens, and had each of them handling the plants with care. However, one of the plants, a young Bouncing Bulb slipped from one of Ravenclaw's hands and started bouncing across the greenhouse.
"Oh dear, they can be aggressive if they feel threatened," Professor Sprout was saying. "Gently now, let's try and catch it before it causes too much mischief." The act of dashing around the greenhouse, trying to catch a stray Bouncing Bulb seemed to have broken the ice between the Ravenclaws and Slytherins and when one of the Slytherins, a dark-skinned, black-haired boy named Harper Harris finally caught it, they Ravenclaws and Slytherins were grinning at each other.
"Good catch, Harris," one of his friends was saying, patting his back.
After Herbology was lunch in the Great Hall. Harry was at the Gryffindor table with his friends, and when he saw her, he waved her over. He made a space for her next to him and Neville, inviting her to sit.
"Hi Neville, Hi Hermione," she said, smiling at them. She looked over at her brother. His anxiety seemed to be at a stable, though high level. He was nowhere near as relaxed as he would be at home with her and Sirius, but he wasn't as intensely anxious as he had been yesterday.
"I brought the cloak for you," he said, handing her the invisibility cloak.
"Oh, thanks, Harry. I can't imagine what I would do with it though."
"I'm sure you'll think of something," he replied, with an amused smile, though his smile had a slight brittle quality. "How is your first day of classes so far? Are you liking Ravenclaw?"
Before Rosie could respond, one of Harry's housemates interrupted. "Oi, Potter!" a sandy haired boy up the table called out with a smirk, causing Harry to flinch. "Are ye such a coward that ye need girls to protect ye, then?" The red-headed boy and dark-skinned boy next to him snickered.
"He's so twitchy, he could probably change places with the snitch, and no one would notice," the red-headed boy added.
"Shut up, Ron!" Hermione called out in irritation. "You're just jealous that he's the seeker and you're not."
"Ignore them, Harry," Neville was saying to Harry. "They're just mad because Snape hates you and took away so many points. It's not your fault Snape is such a git"
"He single-handedly caused us to be in last place in the house cup!" Ron, the redhead exclaimed indignantly.
"He doesn't deserve to be in this house." the dark-skin boy said. "He doesn't have an ounce of bravery."
"He's practically afraid of his own shadow," the sandy haired boy added with a smirk. Harry was flushed with embarrassment, and his anxiety level increased. The other boys seemed satisfied to have humiliated him, and went back to their own conversation.
"Are they always like this?" Rosie asked Harry softly, after glaring angrily at the other boys. She had never wanted to hex someone so badly in her life, but all the hexes she knew were from the Black family library, and they were closer to curses than hexes. Some of them were even potentially fatal. Plus, the teachers were watching from the Head Table, and it wouldn't do to get detention on the first day of class.
"They're not so bad," Harry was saying, but Neville cut him off by interjecting, "They're awful. They're always stealing Harry's stuff, and leaping out of dark corners, yelling at him to try make him jump."
Suddenly she could see how Harry wouldn't be able to relax, even when he was in Gryffindor Tower. She was shocked that the Gryffindors could be such bullies.
"They weren't so bad at the beginning of the year last year," Neville continued to explain. "But then in Potions, Snape started singling Harry out more and more. It's gotten to the point where Snape barely takes any points off the other Gryffindors, and only takes points off Harry. He practically singlehandedly turned half the Gryffindors against Harry. The other half like him because he's a good Seeker though." Rosie frowned. That was a very cynical assessment of Gryffindor house.
"One time when, Seamus, Ron and Dean found out what happened to - well, your parents - they started making fun of Harry for being - erm, these are not my words, but they said Harry was crazy like them," Neville continued, and Rosie paled. "Harry started hexing them, and a fight broke out in the halls. Snape came along and blamed Harry for starting the fight. He took thirty points off Harry, and only five for the rest of them." Neville scowled, and Rosie was almost trembling with rage.
"Can't you do anything about Snape?" Rosie asked angrily. "Speak to the headmaster, or something?"
"We tried once, but Professor Dumbledore just said something vague about how Snape is on our side, and that we needed to be understanding," Hermione said.
"Which is complete rubbish," Neville added.
"Forget about it," Harry said, clenching his jaw. "It doesn't matter. How was your first day of classes, Rosie?" Harry seemed determine to change the topic.
"I just had Herbology with the Slytherins," she told him in a subdued voice because mood had been spoiled. Harry scrunched up his face.
"They didn't seem so bad," she said. "Well, maybe one of them. I think her name was Astrid or something, but she mostly just acts like a snob."
"What about your housemates? And Ravenclaw?"
"Ravenclaw is good so far. It is a little sad that we aren't in the same house though." Harry nodded sympathetically as he listened to Rosie. "Though if other Gryffindors are like those guys, maybe it's a good thing." Harry's expression darkened.
"They're not all bad," he said, his voice soft and not entirely convinced.
"And as for my housemates, well, there's one girl, Luna, who seems really nice." Rosie looked over at the Ravenclaw table. "That blonde girl, over there." Rosie waved at Luna, who smiled back serenely. "Oh, and Romulus."
"Romulus Lupin?" Harry asked. "Is he related to Remus?" This topic seemed to have completely distracted Harry from the earlier incident.
"Yeah, Remus adopted him." Harry looked over at the Ravenclaw table curiously.
"Did he tell you anything about Remus?" Harry asked.
"Not very much. Except that Remus likes to read."
"Maybe we should write him. I have Hedwig after all. D'you think he'd write back?"
"I don't know. I think we should try. I'll try and think of something to write him tonight." Harry and Rosie then exchanged their timetables, and determined that each of them had Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays free in the late afternoon.
"Why don't we meet up tomorrow afternoon here in the Great Hall. I'll bring the mirror and we can talk to Sirius."
"Okay," Rosie cheerfully agreed, before heading back to the Ravenclaw table.
Since the Ravenclaws had a break in the afternoon, most of them went back to the Ravenclaw Nest. Rosie stashed the invisibility cloak away with her other belongings when they were back in their dorm rooms.
It was only Luna and Rosie - Edine and Sakiko were in the common room.
"What's that?" Luna asked, curiously, noticing that Rosie was tucking the shining cloth amongst her belongings.
"An invisibility cloak," Rosie replied. "I got it from Harry."
"Can I see?" Rosie nodded, and took the cloak back out, handing it to Luna. Luna took the cloak, examining it with care. It's silvery quality made it look almost liquid in Luna's hands.
"A Hallow," she said, before handing the cloak back.
"Excuse me?"
"Daddy is always talking about them. The three Hallows." Luna smiled dreamily. "He'll be ever so excited when I write him about this."
"As if in, Tales of Beedle the Bard?" Thinking of those stories made her feel nostalgic. Sirius used to read those stories to her and Harry when they were kids. Harry and Rosie had begged to hear the stories so frequently that even now, if either Harry or Rosie mentioned Beedle the Bard to Sirius, he would turn slightly green. Rosie looked at the cloak speculatively, and her mind raced with ideas. Think of all the research she could do on the cloak if indeed it was a Hallow! What an excellent opportunity. Sirius had said the stories were a myth, but she never wanted to believe him. This could be her chance to prove him wrong. She knew she shouldn't get her hopes up though. Whether or not it was a Hallow, invisibility cloaks were still rare, and a potentially useful gift to have. If only she could think of what to use it for.
A/N: I'm not anti-Ron, and I don't really plan on Ron bashing. It's just that in this world, Harry isn't the same Harry, and I think that it'd be harder for someone like Ron to understand him. Plus, they didn't meet at Platform 9 and three quarters. At this point, I don't plan to make the Hallows a big deal. Luna only brings it up because of her dad's fascination (and even I don't know if Luna seriously believes its a Hallow or if she's just jumping to conclusions - Luna's rather mysterious that way), and to Rosie, it's only an intellectual challenge (but she'll be facing a lot of other challenges). Please Review!
A/N: If you notice any phrasing or expressions out of place, please let me know! I'm Canadian, which makes writing the dialogue a challenge.
