Chapter 3- First day of classes

Alec sat with the golden trio in the Great Hall as they examined their course schedules, and a few seats away, Fred and George Weasley were making plans on how to make it past the age limit for the Triwizard Tournament.

He looked through his schedule. Herbology with the Hufflepuffs, that should be interesting. Care of magical creatures with the Slytherins. Never had that class at my old school, that should be a surprise. And double Divination in the afternoon. He wondered if Dumbledore had employed an actual seer to teach that class.

Once he had finished looking over his schedule he noticed a flock of owls swoop down to the tables. He looked around, hoping he wasn't the only one not to receive any mail. Harry seemed to be thinking the same thing when he looked around himself. He caught Harry's eye and winked at him, Harry gave him a small smile back.

Alec followed the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff's to a vegetable patch that seemed like it had seen better days. He wrinkled his nose when he saw what plant they would be dealing with today. Bubotubers. Definitely not the most appealing of the bunch. But, it did have some interesting properties, they did do well with healing acne, not that he had ever needed it before. But it had been the most important ingredient for his antidotes for some of his unseemly pranks.

Grimacing, he squeezed the pus out of the plant, and hoped he wouldn't have do this again in the near future. This was always the most disgusting part of the procedure. He looked around at the rest of his classmates and was glad to know they seemed to be having as miserable of a time as he was.

A loud, booming bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson. Alec handed the pus over to the teacher and hightailed it out of there. The Professor gave him an indignant look, but he was so happy to be out of there, he didn't give himself a second to think if he was being rude or not.

Harry and Ron met him outside of the greenhouse and gave him cheeky grins. "Where's the fire?" asked Harry. Alec just gave them a sheepish smile, while Ron was asking what Harry meant by a fire.

Alec laughed. "Its a muggle expression people use when someone is in a hurry." Ron nodded to himself, and Alec and Harry shared grins.

"All right you two, which one of you is going to show me where these magical creatures reside?"

Hermione met up with them, and the three of them led Alec to Hagrid, where their Care For Magical Creatures class was.

Alec looked around. Hagrid was standing outside a hut, one hand on the collar of an enormous black hound. He smiled, he loved dogs. This was turning out to be a good day. A teacher who owned a dog at school and brought him to class, it was wicked.

"Mornin'!" Hagrid said, grinning at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He did a double take when he saw Alec standing beside them. "And who might you be?"

Alec smile and tried to straighten himself up and appear taller, which was hard at his small height. "Name's Alec. I'm the transfer student."

Hagrid nodded to himself, as if reminding himself he should have remembered that. "Course you are."

Hagrid turned his attention back to the rest of the student body, they were still missing the Slytherins. "Be'er wait fer the Slytherins, they won' want ter miss this- Blast Ended Skrewts!"

All right, now the teacher had peaked his interest. He had never met a Blast Ended Skrewt in person, and judging by the crates this was the day. This was awesome everything he had read in the texts he would be able to see in person, what an experience.

Alec stepped toward a crate that housed some Blast Ended Skrewts, a bunch of his classmates were looking at him as if he had lost it, mainly Draco Malfoy. But as he smiled to himself he realized Draco was curious. He was a mystery to him, and as Draco's mouth twitched in annoyance, his mouth curled into a smirk. He liked this kid. One day they might be friends. He didn't care how everyone felt about the interhouse relations, he was going to have friends in every house. They'd see.

Studying the Blast Ended Skrewts he was trying to figure out what to feed them. He was leaning towards the ant eggs. Then his forehead started burning, so he nixed the ant eggs idea. But he didn't think they liked frog liver or grass snakes either. So, he'd try something different, something unexpected. He reached into his pockets and pulled out a jelly bean which he tossed to one of the Blast Ended Skrewt's.

He smiled and stepped back. Everyone was looking at him with wide eyes. The Blast Ended Skrewt that he had fed a jelly bean to had crawled out of his crate and was staring at him. Well, the little bugger had a sweet tooth. "I think I'll call him Blaster."

The whole class roared with laughter, well almost the whole class. Draco wasn't laughing but he could tell he was amused. And right now, that was good enough. He'd get him soon, one day him and Draco would be good friends.

Hagrid was peering closely at Alec, interested. "What is it that you fed him."

Alec smiled mischievously. "A jelly bean." His classmates roared with laughter a second time, and this time the corner of Draco's mouth upturned into a half smile. This was progress.

The bell rang, signaling the end of morning lessons and the start of lunch. Everyone dispersed, still in humor from his little stunt. Alec started to head off with the golden trio when Hagrid slapped him on the back which jolted him forward. If he wasn't used to this kind of abuse on his small body he would've been in for a painful surprise. He smiled back at Hagrid and left with the golden trio.

The trio sat themselves down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. He went a different direction. He conjured himself a cup of coffee and a slice of New York's best pizza. He nibbled on the pizza, not very hungry. He poured some milk into his cup of coffee and added a couple packets of sugar, the perfect amount.

Hermione hurried eating her lunch, then hurried off to the library. He barely looked up from his drink and waved her off. After taking a few bites from his pizza he stopped. He never did have a big appetite. He turned his attention back to drinking his coffee which he daintily sipped until there was none left. He conjured a napkin out of thin air where he daintily dabbed the napkin to the corners of his mouth, until he was finished.

He looked up to find Ron looking at him with wide eyes. "Is that all you're eating?" He nodded his consent, and Ron looked at him as if he had totally lost it. Looking down at his practically untouched pizza he offered it to Ron who looked at it weirdly before taking a bite out of it, before he practically swallowed it whole when he realized how much he liked it.

Alec made a disgusted face after watching Ron eat it that fast. "I take it your parents never sent you to finishing school." Harry hid a laugh, and Ron looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't because his mouth was stuffed full of cheese pizza.

Alec stood up from the table, Harry and Ron following after. "Off to Divination, then." The three of them walked out of the Great Hall and off to the North tower where the Divination classroom was.

Professor Trelawney was a curious one. She had just finished talking to Harry about himself, who was fighting on not rolling his eyes. Ron had not succeeded in that department. But, the professor had finally finished and Ron and Harry had taken their seats, he was behind them when Professor Trelawney noticed him for the first time and stopped him.

She smiled sadly at him. "You..."

"Me?" Harry and Ron snorted, and if he could he would have turned around and glared at him.

"You have had a troubling past, and I fear it is only going to get far worse."

He smiled at her, clearly shaken. "Thanks, I'll be sure to remember that."

He walked over to his table and sat down by Ron and Harry, glaring at them. Their lips twitched, fighting hard not to laugh. He started muttering about what good friends they were. And he sulked for the rest of the class.

The bell finally rang, signaling the end of classes for the day, and Alec sighed in relief not sure he could survive another lesson, after hearing what Trelawney had said to him had really shaken him up, and he had to get a hold of himself.

They left the North tower, and met up with Hermione at the Great Hall. They were all standing in line for dinner when Draco approached him with a newspaper in hand. He saw a glint in his eye, a glint he recognized and knew this wasn't going to end up well and tried to lead them in another direction. But they didn't seem to see what he was seeing until it was too late.

He just endured this whole confrontation, knowing there was nothing he could do to prevent it. Not now, anyways. He just waited for this whole thing to end until Draco fired a spell at Harry when his back was turned, he couldn't let that happen. That would just make it worse for everyone involved. So, instead of letting it hit Harry full on, he absorbed the brunt of the blast in his hand, and the rest of it just barely grazed Harry's face, leaving him unharmed.

He thought that was the end of it when he heard another loud bang and then a loud roar echoed through the hall. "Oh, no you don't, laddie!" He looked around and felt Harry spin around and found that Professor Moody was limping down the staircase. He was pointing his wand at a ferret that lay in the exact spot that Draco had been standing a moment before. He gulped when he realized what Moody had done to Draco. He had used transfiguration on a student. You could get in trouble for that, it was unheard of.

Luckily Professor McGonagall came to poor Draco's rescue, turning him back into himself. After she was done scolding Moody on the proper punishments given to students he whisked Draco out of there. He blinked, not believing what had transpired.

Professor McGonagall swept her books back into her arms with her wand and turned to leave when she turned sharply around and focused her gaze on him and Harry, he couldn't tell which. "Did he hit you?" He winced when he realized she was definitely looking at him.

Harry started sputtering how he was only grazed, and he wasn't really hit at all. But stopped when McGonagall stepped forward and took my bright red hand in her hand and I winced tears welling up in my eyes. Everyone gasped when they saw that I had been hit with Draco's spell.

Hermione crinkled her eyebrows in confusion. "But he was aiming for Harry." Harry nodded along, not being able to understand how I had been hit with so much of the blast.

Professor McGonagall spent no more time here, she grabbed me by the upper arm and dragged me out of the hall.

It seemed like we had been walking forever when we finally stopped outside of an office. McGonagall knocked twice before letting herself in. Inside the office was Snape, Draco, and Moody. They all looked surprised to find McGonagall and I in Snape's office.

Snape recovered quickly. "Can I help you with something?" McGonagall eyed Moody as if she was uncomfortable, which regarding the situation was understandable. Snape nodded at Moody who looked frustrated but took his leave anyways.

After Moody had left McGonagall pulled me by the arm and we stepped forward together. Snape raised an eyebrow. "I assume Professor Moody told you of Mr. Malfoy's confrontation with Mr. Potter," Snape nodded his head, and McGonagall continued on. "And although it would seem he missed Mr. Potter, he did not miss Mr. Bennett."

McGonagall revealed by very red hand. Snape looked surprised, and Draco gaped, not believing what he was saying. Snape stood up from his desk, walked over to me, and clasped my hand in his. I hissed, tears welling up in my eyes again. It still hurt like hell. I bit my lip, not letting any tears fall.

Snape took out his wand and did a diagnosis spell on my injury. He frowned when he was finished. McGonagall was impatiently waiting. "Well?"

I smirked. Were all Gryffindor's this impatient? I saw that Snape seemed to be amused, Draco had a smirk on his face, and McGonagall was glaring at him. Oh, no, did he say that out loud?

Snape finally spoke up. "Mr. Bennett recently has not been hit with any spells."

McGonagall frowned. "How is that possible?"

Snape shrugged. He realized they were all looking at him, expecting him to give them an answer, even Draco was leaning forward, he had peaked his interest. He sighed. "I never said Draco here hit me with a spell, did I?"

Snape smirked, understanding in his eyes on how I had got the burn. McGonagall looked baffled, not quite catching on to how he had gotten injured. Draco was studying him, not being able to figure him out, but deciding the answer was worth the wait.

He looked expectantly up at McGonagall. "Are we done here? I have homework to do." Snape smirked and dismissed them from his office. Once they were outside of Snape's office McGonagall had maintained her composure and decided it was time to take him down to the medical wing.

Madam Pompfrey was a wonderful woman, if a tad overbearing. She tried several spells to heal him but when none worked she applied a soothing cream to his skin, and then wrapped his hand in an ace bandage. After she was done she gave him a tube of the cream that she told him was to be applied daily, and to apply a clean bandage every day for a week, and when the week was up to come visit her so she could assess how his hand was healing. He nodded his thanks to her and then left the med wing bumping into Dumbledore on his way out.

Dumbledore had inquired about his injury asking him how he was feeling and telling him he had heard about his little accident and was hoping he'd feel better. He plastered a fake smile on his face and told him that it only hurt a little and he would surely recover in no time. Alec wished him goodbye and left the headmaster at the entrance of the med wing.

He was hurrying off to the Gryffindor common room, cursing whichever birdie had whispered in Dumbledore's ear, it was probably McGonagall, she had left right after dropping him off with Madam Pompfrey. He was annoyed about that.

He entered the common room, still annoyed. He fully intended to just run up to his dorm and go right to sleep, but saw that wasn't part of the plan when he saw the golden trio waiting for him.

Hermione enveloped him in a hug when she saw him. She saw his bandaged hand and looked ready to check him over for other injuries, but he stopped her before she had the chance. She still looked worried. "Are you alright?"

He gave her a small smile. "I'll live."

Ron spoke up, all red in the face. "I can't believe Malfoy hit you." Then Ron started going on about how he was going to kill that git.

Alec stopped him before he could go on any further, trying to calm him down as best as he could. "Draco didn't hit me."

Harry looked on in disbelief. "Then how did that happen to your hand?" Ron nodded his head in agreement.

Alec sighed. He looked at them sternly. "I'm going to tell you something, but you can't tell anyone, you hear?!" They all nodded in consent, wanting to hear what he had to say. "Draco was aiming for Harry, would have hit him right in the face, which would have hurt like hell let me tell you, my hand hurts enough as it is, imagine if it was your face." They all shivered. "Well, I knew if it had hit Harry it would end up badly for all involved so with my magic I absorbed the blast, took the brunt of it, so Harry here wouldn't get hurt."

Hermione nodded, saying it was a good idea, even if she scolded him a bit for doing it. Ron looked puzzled. "I didn't see you pull your wand out."

I bit my lip, not sure how I should go about this. "I didn't. I used wandless magic."

Hermione gasped. "But that's really hard to do."

I nodded. "At my old school that's how we were trained. We never used wands, so I'm much better at wandless. But, I can do both."

Ron shook his head. "Blimey."

Harry and Hermione nodded their heads in agreement. Then, Harry thanked him and then told him not do something as stupid as that again. He nodded his head and promised. Hermione gave him a stern look, as if she didn't believe him. He raised his hands in a surrender gesture. "What, I promised didn't I?!"

They all laughed, and then retreated to their dorm rooms. Alec fell asleep in his bed the moment his head hit the pillow.