Huntress Mage Chronicles
Chapter 3
Disclaimer: I own nothing
The following week proved interesting for the inhabitants of Hogwarts. On the morning of the first day, Emerald leads Justice House to the Grand Staircase and nearly gives the turbaned professor a heart attack when she dives to the ground floor from the top. Many first years learned to seek her if they need directions thanks to her spacial awareness. The classes are interesting enough, but Emerald rarely uses a wand thanks to how her magic works.
Wednesday night is spent studying the stars and the movement of the planets from the perspective of earth witches and wizards. Three times a week, Justice House studies Herbology in the greenhouses taught by Professor Sprout.
The most boring class is History of Magic, which is the only traditional class taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staffroom fire and got up the next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him. Binns drones on and on while they scribble down names and dates, and get Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball mixed up.
The Head of Justice House, Professor Myrtle, teaches Ghost History and Culture with the help of the other House ghosts. Half the class is wasted on the professor moaning about Peeves earning her the name Moaning Myrtle.
Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, has to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. At the start of their first class he takes the roll call, and when he realizes most of Justice House skipped getting dressed he gives an embarrassed squeak and topples out of sight.
Professor McGonagall is again different. Emerald is quite right to think she isn't a teacher to be crossed lightly. Strict and clever, she gives them a talking-to the moment they sit down in her first class.
"Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she says. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."
Then she changes her desk into a pig and back again. They are all very impressed and can't wait to get started, but soon realize they aren't going to be changing the furniture into animals for a long time. After taking a lot of complicated notes, they are each given a match and start trying to turn it into a needle. By the end of the lesson, only Hermione Granger and Emerald have made any difference to their matches; Professor McGonagall shows the class how Hermione's has gone all silver and pointy and gives her a rare smile before noticing Emerald has turned her match into a needle zoo with needle weapons seemingly without using a wand.
The class everyone had really been looking forward to is Defense Against the Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turn out to be a bit of a joke. His classroom smells strongly of garlic, which everyone says is to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and is afraid will be coming back to get him one of these days. His turban, he tells them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they aren't sure they believe this story. For one thing, when asked eagerly to hear how Quirrell had fought off the zombie, Quirrell went pink and started talking about the weather; for another, Emerald notices a scent of decay hanging around the turban, and the Weasley twins insist that it is stuffed full of garlic as well, so that Quirrell is protected wherever he goes.
Far better for the Justices, Emerald leads them to her combat class taught by Master Tempered Claw. To the shock of her House mates, Emerald launches into an attack while singing Taylor Swift's 'Shake it off'. After combat class, Emerald casually mentions her first meeting with Professors McGonagall and Flitwick.
Friday is an important day since the greasy haired Potions professor is recovered enough to teach.
"What do you know about the Potions professor?" Emerald asks Ron as she pours sugar on her porridge.
"Snape is Head of Slytherin House," says Ron. "They say he always favors them - we'll be able to see if it's true."
"At least Myrtle favors us," says Emerald.
Just then, the mail arrives. It was a bit surprising on the first morning when about a hundred owls had suddenly streamed into the Great Hall during breakfast, circling the tables until they saw their owners, and dropping letters and packages onto their laps.
Moon Hunter hasn't brought Emerald anything so far. She sometimes flew in to nibble her ear and have a bit of toast before going off to sleep in the owlery with the school owls. This morning, however, she flutters down between the marmalade and the sugar bowl and drops a note onto Emerald's plate. Emerald tears it open at once. It says in a very untidy scrawl:
Dear Emerald,
I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear all about your first week. Send us an answer back with Moon Hunter.
Hagrid
Emerald borrows Ron's quill, scribbles Yes, please, see you later on the back of the note, and sends Moon Hunter off again.
Potions lessons take place down in one of the dungeons. It is colder here than up in the main castle, and would have been creepy if Justice House wasn't used to trophy skulls hanging on walls.
Snape, like Flitwick, starts the class by taking the roll call, and like Flitwick, he pauses at Emerald's name.
"Ah, yes," he says softly, "Emerald Death-Potter. Our new – celebrity."
Draco Malfoy and his friends Crabbe and Goyle snigger behind their hands. Snape finishes calling the names and looks up at the class. His eyes are black like Hagrid's, but they have none of Hagrid's warmth. They are cold and empty and make you think of dark tunnels.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he begins. He speaks in barely more than a whisper, but they catch every word – like Professor McGonagall, Snape has the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "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."
More silence follows this little speech. Emerald pulls her battle aid kit out and starts mixing a dose each of pain blocker and anti disease while setting up the wizarding equipment she bought from Diagon Alley. Hermione Granger is on the edge of her seat and looks desperate to start proving that she isn't a dunderhead.
"Death-Potter!" says Snape suddenly. "What are the key ingredients of a Draught of Living Death?"
"I can't be certain, but I believe the local names are powdered root of asphodel and infusion of wormwood," says Emerald while noting Hermione's hand in the air.
Snape raises an eyebrow.
"Where would a human wizard look for a bezoar?"
Hermione stretches her hand as high into the air as it will go without her leaving her seat, but Emerald ignores her.
"A goat's stomach is the preferred location, though the ingredients cupboard or the nearest apothecary might be faster, sir"
"What is the difference, Death-Potter , between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
At this, Hermione stands up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling.
"I believe the only difference, if any, is regional naming or perhaps maturity," says Emerald quietly. "Hermione would probably know better since she grew up human at least, why don't you try her."
A few people laugh; Emerald catches Dean's eye, and Dean winks. Snape, however, is not pleased.
"Sit down," he snaps at Hermione. "For your information, Death-Potter, your first two answers are correct. The third answer is the moon phase, it is sometimes also referred to as aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"
There is a sudden rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape says, "And why are you not wearing anything while brewing whatever is in those small dishes?"
I've never been injured by far more dangerous liquids than partially brewed pain blocker or anti disease. Anyone in this class could tell you about the acid blood from the Kainda Amedha that attacked the express."
Things don't really improve for the Justices as the Potions lesson continues. Snape puts them into pairs and sets them to mixing up a simple potion to cure boils. He sweeps around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seems to like. He is just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy has stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing fill the dungeon. Neville has somehow managed to melt Dean's cauldron into a twisted blob but, before their potion can start burning holes in people's shoes, Emerald conjures a containment field around the mess with a wave of her hand even as she continues to brew her own potions.
"Idiot boy!" snarls Snape, clearing the spilled potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?"
An hour later, Snape collects samples of everyone's boil cure potion as well as all of the Yautja potions Emerald has brewed in class.
At five to three, Emerald invites the Patil twins and Susan Bones as well as Ron and Neville to meet Hagrid with her. Hagrid lives in a small wooden house on the edge of the forbidden forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes are outside the front door.
When Emerald knocks they hear a frantic scrabbling from inside and a surprisingly deep whimper. Then Hagrid's voice rings out, saying, "What's wrong with yeh Fang?"
Hagrid's big, hairy face appears in the crack as he pulls the door open. As he lets them in, they notice an enormous black boarhound trying to hide under the bed.
There is only one room inside. Hams and pheasants are hanging from the ceiling, a copper kettle is boiling on the open fire, and in the corner stands the massive bed with a patchwork quilt over it that Fang is trying to hide under.
"Make yourselves at home," says Hagrid as he finishes preparing tea and rock cakes.
"These are some of my House mates, from right to left we have; Ron, Neville, Susan, Padma and Parvati," Emerald tells Hagrid as everyone finds a seat.
"Another Weasley, eh?" says Hagrid, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest."
The rock cakes are shapeless lumps with raisins that almost break several teeth, but everyone pretends to be enjoying them as they tell Hagrid all about their first lessons.
Everyone is delighted to hear Hagrid call Filch, the grumpy caretaker, "that old git."
"An' as fer that cat, Mrs. Norris, I'd like ter introduce her to Fang sometime. D'yeh know, every time I go up ter the school, she follows me everywhere? Can't get rid of her – Filch puts her up to it."
"I happened to find a three headed dog while exploring the castle on Tuesday… you wouldn't know anything about that would you?" Emerald asks as she soaks a rock cake in her cup of tea.
"Yeh stay clear of Fluffy. No one is supposed to enter that part of the castle." Hagrid says before trying to change the subject. "How's yer brother Charlie?" Hagrid asks Ron. "I liked him a lot – great with animals."
The rest of the visit is spent with Ron telling Hagrid all about Charlie's work with dragons.
AN: Thanks for reading and please review
