A/N: So, here's Chapter Five; it's part two of Hermione's first few lessons. Transfiguration, Defence, Potions and History of Magic, which I completely forgot about in the earlier few chapters. Oh, and Astronomy.

Hope you enjoy it.

Please R&R.


Chapter Five: Lessons – Part 2

The following morning saw Hermione sitting at breakfast. She was paying more attention to her breakfast of scrambled eggs, than to that of Parvati, who was sitting next to her, talking about how great her mother's cheering charms were. Or to the Weasley twins, who were a bit of a way across, and were talking very loudly about the possibility that Marcus Flint, who was the captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team, was half-troll and half-lizard. This particular conversation had found a rather large audience, in the form of half-amused Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws looking over at the twins.

Hermione, however, was pondering what she was going to do today. She knew she had double Transfiguration and double Defence Against the Dark Arts. She had already heard rumours that Quirrell, who taught Defence, was a bit useless. That wasn't what worried her; useless teachers were nothing new to her, she could just learn the material from books. What truly worried Hermione was Transfiguration. She knew that it was a complicated piece of magic and that the majority of wizards, though proficient in other areas, were not very good at Transfiguration. She was slightly reassured by the fact that a few of the older students had reassured her that it was nothing.

Hermione was also slightly apprehensive about the teacher. She knew McGonagall, of course. It was hard to forget the woman who introduced you to a brand new world. She did not worry about the strictness or the rules of McGonagall's lessons. No. What truly worried her was what the professor would think of Hermione. Hermione, after all, simply wanted to impress. She knew how, of course. She was very good and well accustomed to it.

Hermione was also slightly absorbed by the letter she had sent her parents yesterday. She didn't know how long owl post took. It could be days or a few weeks. But she hoped it was quick. Thus she was very surprised when an owl (which had just flown in with the hundreds of other owls) landed in front of her. It was the same owl she had sent to her parents yesterday.

The owl held out her leg, and Hermione picked up the scroll of paper. It was strangely reassuring to feel the paper. She had not even been gone two days, but she already felt so far away from the real world. The wizarding world had suddenly sucked her in, like a black hole. The small piece of paper reassured her, reminding her of that world. Hermione unrolled the scroll and read:

Dear Hermione,

Congratulations! We are so proud of you! Hogwarts sounds amazing! You'll have to tell us all about it when you get back home for Christmas. We're going to go see your Grandmother for a few days; the entire family will be there. Yes, Billy as well.

Hermione groaned at this news. Billy was a terrible ten-year old boy, her cousin, Hermione thought with disgust. He was an absolute nightmare. She could not stand him. He was one of those children who was, quite simply an idiot. Whenever Hermione saw him, he would try to prank her and trip her up. His parents refused to pay attention. This was what made Aunt Sally, Hermione's father's sister, and her husband Matthew Hermione's most hated relatives. They were absolutely naïve and had a blind eye, even though Billy done a great deal of terrible things to them as well. Hermione's parent had, thankfully, had not invited the Locker's in since seven years ago, when, Hermione's fifth birthday party was ruined with Billy (who, even back then, was nasty) tripping up Hermione in the middle of the princess dance. Hermione had run back into the house, after falling face first into mud. She had cried for hours, and had refused to see Billy for three years. This incident was what had started the slow collapse of the relationship between Mr. Granger and Aunt Sally.

Thankfully, however, this Christmas celebration would also include Hermione's other set of parental siblings. Hermione's mother's two brothers were fun people. Uncle Blake was older than Hermione's mum by three years. He was married (to Elizabeth), and had two children: Alice, six and Theo, four. Hermione loved her cousins dearly (she didn't consider Billy a cousin; as far as she was concerned, he had been disowned by her). Uncle Blake and his wife Mary were amazing people and had always given Hermione a small book, when visiting.

Hermione's other uncle was called John and Hermione loved him even more than Uncle Blake; but just a bit. Uncle John was what her mother called a 'bachelor still in his twenties.' He was actually thirty-one, but unmarried. He had once told Hermione that he didn't want a family, he had enough nieces and nephews to spoil. He had then sworn her to secrecy. She had been six. The reason that she loved Uncle John a bit more was that when she had been young, Uncle John had stayed for a while with them. During that time he had read almost every night for an hour, sometimes more, to Hermione. He had gotten her hooked on reading.

Hermione continued with the letter:

We hope you enjoy the rest of your classes. We really want to see you do well, honey. Uncle John was here the other day, saying how he missed you. He really does seem to suit being a bachelor well.

Me and your father plan on going to London later this week and will probably drop by and see if we can get into Diagon Alley. The house animal is a lion, isn't it? And the color is scarlet, right?

I'm happy to see that you're eating desserts in moderation, and your father is pleased to hear that no boys have risked their lives, yet. Though I told him that he would probably be powerless to do anything against a wizard.

We hope you are doing well and enjoying school. Please write to us at least once a week, Hermione. At least to say how things are going.

Love,
Mum

Hermione finished the letter and looked at her watch; it was ten-to-nine. She got up and left the Great Hall, pausing to admire the beauty of the vast chamber in the morning glow.

When she got to the classroom, she was almost late. Taking a seat in the front of the class, she pulled out her books and wand. When the bell rang, Professor McGonagall walked into the classroom.

'Good Morning students and welcome to Transfiguration. My name is Professor McGonagall and I am the Transfiguration professor. Transfiguration is a complex branch of magic. It is widely used in a variety of careers. By the time you finish Hogwarts, you should all be able to transfigure a large variety of things into other things,' started Professor McGonagall.

'In fifth year, you will take your O. W. L.s. Those examinations are very important. They will determine whether you can continue on to N. E. W. T. level. I warn you know that I only accept those students who receive at least Exceeds Expectations in their results,' she said.

Seamus Finnigan put his hand in the air.

'Yes, Mr. Finnigan?' asked Professor McGonagall.

'What are the marking grades for O. W. L.s?' he enquired.

'Both O. W. L.s and N. E. W. T.s are marked on the same grade basis. Failure grades are Troll, which is the worst, Dreadful, which is almost as bad, and Poor, which means you didn't quite reach it. The passing grades are Acceptable, Exceeds Expectations and Outstanding. Note that most subjects only take on students who receive at least Exceeds Expectations,' she added in reply.

'Now then, I should warn you. 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,' she continued. Then, in front of everyone, she tapped her wand on her desk and it disappeared. In its place stood a rather ugly pink pig.

They then continued with Professor McGonagall going over safety and rules in her class. After that was done, Professor McGonagall said: 'Now then, as it is a double lesson, we will take advantage. Today, we will begin with attempting to transfigure a match into a needle. You must first copy the notes on the board. Mr. Thomas, please hand out these matches.'

The class began to take down notes, while Dean was passing the matches around. A sudden yelp startled the class, and they all turned around, and laughed as Dean Thomas tried to put out the small flame that had sprung up on his robe. The class continued when Professor McGonagall gave a stern look in Dean's direction.

When she was finished with the notes, Hermione began to attempt ot change the match. She decided to follow the notes and visualized the image of a needle. After fifteen failed attempts using that method, she decided to try a different one. She thought about what she actually wanted to change in the match. She wanted it to become metal, instead of wood. She wanted the match to sharpen into a fine point. She wanted the colour to change to a silvery colour. After seven long attempts, she succeeded at changing the physical properties of her match. Professor McGonagall soon came along.

'Well, Miss Granger, how are you going?' she asked.

In reply, Hermione picked up her changed match and showed it to Professor McGonagall. The teacher's eyes became bright.

'Well done, Miss Granger!' she cried. 'Ten points to Gryffindor!'

'Thank you, Professor,' said Hermione, a bit shyly. She squirmed a bit in her seat.

At the end of the lesson, Professor McGonagall showed the rest of the class Hermione's needle. She explained how the class needed to think what they wanted to change and to visualize it. Professor McGonagall awarded Hermione an extra five points and gave her a rare smile. The bell rang.

Hermione made her way out of class, and followed the mass of students headed towards the Great Hall for lunch. Hermione realised that she was very hungry. That magic had taken quite a bit out of her, and three hours in a class was a rather long time.

After lunch, she practically ran to Defence Against the Dark Arts. She was almost, very nearly, late. She raced to a stop outside the classroom. The entire class was filing in. She followed and made her way to the front row, where she sat down.

Professor Quirrel entered, and stood at the front.

'W-W-Welcome, class, t-to D-D-Defence Against the D-D-Dark A-A-Arts,' stuttered Professor Quirell, appearing scared of his own subject.

'This year, we will be studying various m-magical and D-D-Dark creatures,' he continued on, attempting to fight his own stutter.

He seemed not to notice that half the class was crying. This half was trying hard to fight their own battle. Their laughter was putting up a good fight, but the class was trying to suppress it. Finally, Lavender Brown gave a shriek of laughter, and this shattered the resolve of the class, who burst out laughing. Professor Quirell blinked a bit, before continuing on with his lecture.

After three hours, Hermione felt light-headed. She felt as if Quirell's monologue was a ridiculous combination of nerves and a curriculum that Hermione knew would not teach them anything. In reality, the entire thing seemed like a bit of a joke.

She decided to go down to dinner. She then went to the library and picked out an assortment of books, and done some of her homework.

After finishing her homework, and having nothing else to do, Hermione decided to go to bed early, knowing that she had Astronomy tomorrow night.


The following morning saw Hermione up relatively early. She went down to breakfast, where she tore her way through some scrambled eggs, before going to her first lesson of the day; Charms, though she diverted to the library, as Charms was still an hour away.

When she got there, and when the class began, Professor Flitwick instructed them on proper wand use and care.

'Never use your wand for anything other than cleaning, you will end up significantly damaging it. Never attempt to do powerful magic that is beyond you, you may break your wand and you may kill yourself,' he said in a cherry voice.

After a lunch of pea soup, Hermione went to Transfiguration, where Professor McGonagall made the rest of the class carry on with the match-to-needle spell, while setting Hermione the next activity; a pencil to a quill. Hermione found this more difficult, and had still not managed to finish, by the time the class finished. At least she remained the only one who had properly Transfigured her match. Some of her class had changed their matches to either silver matches or made them sharp, but not a proper needle.

After Transfiguration, Hermione set off towards her next class: History of Magic. She was perhaps most interested by this subject, though she had been warned that it was the most boring and monotonous class at Hogwarts.

Hermione knew that the class was taught by a ghost; Professor Binns. Professor Binns had one day fallen asleep in front of the staffroom fire, before waking up the following morning as a ghost and going off to teach.

At one-thirty, the classroom door opened and a monotonous voice called for the class to enter. Hermione went up to the front of the class, where she got out her materials and books.

Professor Binns began the class: 'Hello, and welcome to History of Magic. This year we will begin with goblin rebellions, which we shall continue with for the next few years. I am Professor Binns, and yes, I am a ghost.'

Then he began his lecture. Hermione took notes, but she noticed that she was the only one to do so. Within ten minutes, the entire class had fallen into a state of drowsiness. Some people had actually fallen asleep, while other had began to discreetly play games. Professor Binns, however, didn't seem to notice. He rambled on and on, and Hermione continued to be the only one who took notes.

When the bell finally rang, the class woke up from its state of drowsiness. They shuffled out of the door, and went down to dinner. After dinner, most of the class, including Hermione shuffled off to a very early bedtime. They had Astronomy at eleven. Astronomy went on for three hours, which meant that Hermione had to get up at ten-thirty, and would only go back to bed at about two-thirty.

At ten-thirty, Hermione woke up and got ready for Astronomy, before making her way, along with the rest of her class, to the highest tower at school. They finally reached the Astronomy Tower, some ten minutes later. All of them puffing and holding stitches at their side.

Professor Sinistra let them all in. They went in, and found themselves in a large, circular room. The room was filled with telescopes, all of which pointed up, towards a large hole in the ceiling, through which students could stargaze.

They all clustered into the middle, and Professor Sinistra went to the front of the room, and stood in front of a large telescope, which seemed to stretch for at twenty feet.

'Astronomy is not necessarily magic, in its own right. It is, however, the study of the stars, the constellations, and the space in general. Astronomy is generally considered to be an easy subject. And for many, you will not find it difficult. At the same time, I expect few of you will continue on with Astronomy past your O. W. L. year. I do, however, hope that you will put in the time and effort into studying the stars, for they are beautiful, and themselves, bring a kind of knowledge that you will not find anywhere else,' said Professor Sinistra.

'Now then, my name is Professor Sinistra. This year, we will be focusing on the basics of astronomy; the equipments, our own solar system, and the more well-know constellations. Now, first question, who can name all of the planets in our solar system? Yes, Miss-' said Professor Sinistra, indicating Hermione, who had put her hand up, to no body's surprise.

'-Granger, ma'am. The nine planets of our solar system are, in order; Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Earth is the only planet that lies in the "habitable zone", which is the zone of space, which is just the right distance from the sun, that it is possible for life to exist; not too hot, and too cold' Hermione said.


Author's Interruption (AI): In 1991, Pluto was still considered to be a planet, at least by muggles.


'Excellent, Miss Granger. Take twenty points. However, you are muggle-born, I presume?' said Professor Sinistra.

'Yes, ma'am,' replied Hermione.

'Yes, in the muggle world, Pluto is still considered to be a planet; I expect that will change in the next few decades. However, the wizarding community believes that Pluto is not an actual planet, just a dwarf planet, and so therefore we classify the solar system as having just eight planets, not nine,' Professor Sinistra explained.

Hermione was shocked. For the first time in a long time, she was wrong about something. She had thought she had known this. But apparently, she was not so lucky. The one book I didn't read!, she thought, the one damn book! Of course the wizarding community has some differences from muggles! And Pluto seems like the best candidate to become a dwarf planet. In fact, I completely agree with her!

The rest of the class passed smoothly; they were told what equipment they would use, and how to take care of it, and how to use it. By the end of the class, Hermione felt much better, after having won Gryffindor an additional fifty points.

The following morning, it was a tired bunch of Gryffindors that entered History of Magic. But Hermione had the distinct impression that the school knew just how boring History of Magic was, and so scheduled it first thing following Astronomy, so that students could sleep in the class. In fact, Hermione was only one of about six students who weren't sleeping, and the only one actually paying attention. The other five were either chatting, or in the case of Ron and Harry, playing wizards chess.

The class, including Hermione, was bored out of their wits in the following class, as well; Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Quirell droned on about meeting a vampire in Romania. By the end of the class, Hermione felt that Defence was a hopeless class, and sincerely wished that the curse on the post was still active.

After lunch, Hermione and the other Gryffindors joined the Hufflepuffs and went to the greenhouses for Herbology. Hermione enjoyed Professor Sprout's lecture about Shrieking Petunia's. Though the whole class wondered why Harry Potter let out a snort of laughter when Professor Sprout told them what they were called. Even Ron seemed to not understand. But the rest of the class passed with Harry having a twinkle in his eye.

The final, and easily most satisfying lesson of the day, was Charms. Professor Flitwick hobbled around the class, monitoring the class's progress with Lumos, the light charm. At the end of the class, Professor Flitwick said: 'I would like a two foot essay on the benefits and dangers of Lumos. The essay is to be handed in on Monday!' The class was not, to say the least, pleased.

'Homework! But it's the first week!' exclaimed Ron Weasley.

'Maybe so, Mr. Weasley, but you still cannot master the spell, which is why you, and the others who have not mastered it, will have to master it. As well as that, whether the first week, or the tenth, we have begun to learn, and a part of that learning is homework. Five points from Gryffindor,' Professor Flitwick said, calmly. Ron Weasley looked furious.

At dinner, the class seemed to be divided on its opinion of the homework. All of the girls and Harry didn't mind the homework, while the rest of the boys were furious that they already had homework.

'Ron, you should probably guess that tomorrow we will get quite a bit of homework, from Potions, History and Herbology,' Hermione pointed out to a furious Ron. Ron seemed to get angrier at this.

'What would you know about it, you know-it-all,' he replied in a venomous voice. Hermione rolled her eyes; she had been called much worse.

The following morning, the Gryffindor first-years were rather subdued at breakfast. The first class of the day was Potions, double Potions. As the class filed into the dungeon that served as the Potions lab, Professor Severus Snape entered, and the first thing he did was take the roll. Like Flitwick in their first Charms lesson, Snape paused at Harry's name. But Snape didn't fall to the floor, instead Snape seemed to smirk:

'Ah, yes,' he said softly, 'Harry Potter. Our new – celebrity.'

In the corner, Draco Malfoy and his cronies sniggered behind their hands. Snape payed them no heed, and continued calling the roll. Once finished, he stood up and began pacing the room.

'You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making,' he began. He spoke at almost a whisper, but the class caught every word. It seemed that Snape, like McGonagall could keep a class silent without even trying. 'As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses … I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death – if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach.'

Hermione was on edge. She wasn't a dunderhead. She wanted to prove herself. But Snape seemed to have other plans.

'Potter!' said Snape suddenly. 'What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?'

Hermione raised her hand, desperate to prove herself. But Snape ignored her. Harry seemed to be his target.

'I don't know, sir,' said Harry.

'Tut, tut – fame clearly isn't everything,' Snape's lip curled. 'Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?'

Hermione stretched her hand higher into the air. Harry still didn't seem to know.

'I don't know, sir.'

'Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?' Snape replied venomously. 'What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?'

At this, Hermione stood up, stretching her hand up towards the ceiling.

'I don't know,' said Harry quietly. 'I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?'

A few people laughed, but were quickly silenced by Snape's glare. He turned towards Hermione. Hermione was about to answer when:

'Sit down,' Snape snapped at Hermione. 'For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well, why aren't you all copying that down?'

Hermione was doing just that, and seemed to be the only one. The rest of the class snatched their quills and begun writing what Snape had said. Over the noise, Snape said: 'And a point will be taken from Gryffindor house for your cheek, Potter.'

The rest of the class didn't improve much for the Gryffindors. Halfway through making the potion (a boil curing potion), and while Snape was praising Draco Malfoy, a loud hissing noise accompanied the release of green acid smoke. Neville Longbottom had somehow managed to melt Seamus Finnigan's cauldron. The potion was now seeping across the room, burning holes in people's shoes. Hermione clambered onto her stool, as did nearly everyone else. Neville stood beside the remains of the cauldron, moaning as angry red boils appeared on his body. Snape went over.

'Idiot boy!' he snarled at Neville, as he cleared the potion away with a wave of his wand. 'I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?'

Neville whimpered slightly. The boils continued to appear on his body. Hermione felt sorry for him.

'Take him to the Hospital Wing' Snape spat at Seamus. Then he rounded on Harry and Ron, who had been working next to Neville and Seamus.

'You – Potter – why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he'd make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor.'

Harry appeared furious at this. Hermione could understand why. It was ridiculously unfair. Harry opened his mouth to argue, but Ron whispered something to him, and Harry closed his mouth.

The end of class came quickly, with Snape setting homework for the weekend. Once class was finished, Hermione and the rest of the class travelled to the Great Hall. Lunch was quick, and then it was time for Herbology, where they continued with the shrieking petunias, which bought another smile from Harry. Professor Sprout also set an essay, which prompted a groan from Ron.

Following Herbology, the class travelled to History of Magic, where Binns droned on and on about rebellions. At the end of the period, he, too, set a three-foot essay on what they had learnt so far. At the prospect of more homework, Ron exclaimed: 'Bloody Hell! We already have so much!'

After History of Magic, the first-years returned to their dormitories to change and then went to dinner. Dinner on Fridays seemed to be a rather grand affair for everyone involved. As the end of the week was here, the students of Hogwarts talked loudly about the fun they would have over the weekend.

After dinner, Hermione decided to start on her homework, but only after writing and sending a letter to her parents:

Dear Mum and Dad,

Hogwarts is amazing! The classes are great and I have so far enjoyed. Yes, my house colour is scarlet and gold and the animal is a lion.

The classes are great, though the teachers are a different story. Professor McGonagall (the Deputy Headmistress, my head of House and the Transfiguration teacher) is strict but fair. She's praised me on my quick work. Professor Flitwick (the Head of Ravenclaw House and Charms teacher) is also relatively fair. Professor Sprout (the Head of Hufflepuff and the Herbology teacher) is also fair and quite kind. Professor Sinistra (Astronomy) seems to be quite cunning, even in the middle of the night. Professor Binns (the History of Magic teacher and a ghost) is quite monotonous. All he does is lecture on and on. I'm the only one who pays attention. The rest of the class seems unable to do so. Most of them fall asleep in History. Professor Snape, however, seems to be quite unfair. He's the Potions master and the Head of Slytherin. He seems to favour his own students and picks on others.

The school itself is pretty awesome. Some of the suits of armour can move by themselves. The staircases also seem to like to move quite a bit. The portraits just walk around and chat with each other. I hope that I'll get used to the sheer vastness of this place soon.

I hope you're all doing well. I'll be home for Christmas, but can we please do something to Billy? I mean, I'm sure I can find some spell to use on him! Say hi to Uncle John as well as Uncle Blake, Aunt Elizabeth, and Alice and Theo for me.

Love,
Hermione

Hermione read the letter again and then went down to the owlery, quickly sent the letter and then went back to her dormitory, making it before curfew. She decided to ignore Lavenders and Parvati's gossip about boys.

She showered and then crashed into her bed, quickly falling asleep, as she thought about the following day.


Another chapter done! Yay! The next chapter will be much quicker. It will be about the midnight duel, the flying lesson, and the flying lesson is the same day as Hermione's birthday! Thursday, September 19th, 1991. Ha!

Anyway, this chapter took quite a bit longer than expected. What did you think of mentioning Hermione's extended family. I'm afraid that I'll have to spoil it for you. If I get to the seventh book, then one of those relatives will die, probably not the Locker's. Sorry.

Anyway, Christmas should be fun to write about soon!

A bit of personal trivia: I despise it when in post-Deathly Hallows fanfiction, the house tables are disbanded. I mean, really? Get rid of the common rooms while you're at! No.

There, my short rave is over. I would really appreciate any reviews from you beautiful people!

Thanks,
SeekerGranger