Author's note. It says on wiki that there's around 144 first years on average starting Hogwarts which I think makes sense as this is a school catering to the whole of Wizarding Britain. Obviously, Harry's year doesn't quite make this number unless there's a lot of Gryffindor boys and girls we never hear about or there are a disproportionate number of students in other Houses. While I do think that Gryffindor might have had the smallest House in Harry's year, I think overall Harry's year was quite a small one due to the First wizard War but other years above and below were closer to the average 144 students. I know a lot of people portray each year as barely having forty students but I've always felt having a total of 270 students was way too small. I mean, that's the number my High school had and it was a really remote one. So close to a thousand makes more sense in my book, especially as the Third book makes mention of Slytherin having around 200 students. I'm sure some people will disagree, but there it is.
I've used a rather basic timetable for Harry's first year taken from wiki, I don't know how accurate it is but I'm just going to go with it to make things easier. Here's a basic example of what might be a typical day, I hope it makes sense.
Class 130 minutes with ten minutes between classes to reach next ones.
Breakfast-6:30-(until 8:50)-9-potions-11:20-herbology-1:40-lunch-2:50-defence-5-dinner
A Cookie for lindsey-and-marie-enterprises for correcting guessing that Ron's quote came from 'How Lord of the Rings should have ended' Check it out on YouTube, it's really good and also look up How Harry Potter should have ended, I promise you'll love that. ;)
Enjoy and please review.
The first week back at Hogwarts could be described as...interesting to say the least. Really, the trio didn't know what else to call it; so many things happened that they barely knew what to focus on. Their first morning they woke up early as had become their custom over the past year and met up in the Common Room before heading straight down to breakfast. Unlike most of the other First years, they were among the first students to sit down to an early breakfast and remind themselves what classes they had.
According to the timetables lining the tables, they would normally have Potions first thing on a Monday but as this was their very first day at Hogwarts, they had this period off to explore the castle and find out where all their classes where. So they had about two hours before they needed to head for their very first class, which happened to be Defence Against the Dark Arts. Ron had explained his plan for getting rid of Quirrel and they had to admit it was a good one and would mean they wouldn't need to worry about him or Voldemort this year if things went to plan.
They had decided they wouldn't act just yet; they would give it a few days before they dared to do anything. After all, they'd thought they'd need the whole year to take him out; a week or two wouldn't hurt. At least they had Herbology in the afternoon, which was usually interesting.
"We could head to the library for the first period," Hermione suggested. "Get a head start on our research."
"Probably a good idea," Harry had to admit. "Everyone else will be busy with their classes, we can get out any books we need before their taken."
Ron sighed heavily but they really didn't have anything better to do. At least with Herbology, that would mean they got outside in the still good weather. He glanced down at the timetable before asking.
"Can you remember what we were learning in this class?"
"Not much," Hermione admitted. "The main things we're supposed to learn include the Flipendo spell, the jinx to give people runny noses and how to treat werewolf bites although we all know how useless that last one is."
"You're telling me," Ron grumbled. "That after fighting Death Eaters and bloody Voldemort...we're learning how to give people runny noses?"
"Yeah," Harry said grimly, he wasn't happy about it either. "All in favour of studying proper defence spells?"
"Aye," they responded grimly, learning the theory of how to cast runny noses was not how they wanted to spend their time.
Tucking into their breakfast, they were greeted by Percy who had just come to the Gryffindor table.
"Ah, up bright and early I see," he said with a smile as he saw the timetables close to them. "It's a good habit to get into, have you studied your timetables?"
"Yeah," Ron said, shoving some thick hot porridge into his mouth. "Don't have anything for two hours."
"Ah well, give you time to find your classes," Percy chuckled as he started helping himself to toast and jam. "But make sure you've got your books and supplies."
"We will," Ron replied in a long suffering voice as Hermione thanked him for his advice.
Half an hour later they were trooping towards the library in still quiet corridors. Harry was glad they'd gotten up so early, the Great Hall wasn't full but it was filling up and everyone was staring at him. Most of those people staring whispered out loud muttering about Harry's scar, his skinniness and wondering how powerful he was. Harry just strode at a fast pace until they left them all behind but even then, his pace didn't really decrease.
Ron and Hermione flanked him, unconsciously protecting him from harm. If anyone had spotted them, they might have thoughts these three were on some incredibly important mission, not just three ordinary students heading to the library. Their arrival was greeted with a lot of suspicion from Madam Pince but that's how she always regarded the students visiting her precious library. They quickly disappeared into the book shelves, searching for the relevant volumes on Occlumency and defence.
Hermione was the one who found a couple of heavy looking books on the complicated subject of Occlumency and quickly decided that she would read through it and if necessary, translate it for the boys. They had no objections over this; it looked exactly the kind of book that could bore them to tears. Instead, they concentrated on finding useful texts on defence of different levels as they'd learned the mildest of jinxes could be used to the greatest affect.
"This looks like a good one," Ron called, using his height to grab a fairly new looking book. "Jeffers Jinxes and Heston's Hexes; a comprehensive guide to defending thyself against thy enemies."
Ron stared at it before questioning.
"What's with the thy?"
"The authors probably wanted it to look more distinguished," Hermione answered casually, deep within her on book. "Some wizards prefer old, classical volumes so a title like that is a bit more...ah...elderly wizard friendly."
Ron wrinkled his nose, not really seeing the point as he flicked through the book, his favourite method of deciding whether it was a good one. After a moment, he shrugged and sat down with it, the book had passed the test. Harry smiled before continuing his own search; so far nothing had grabbed his attention. He finally found one he remembered reading before in preparation for the Tournament; it had contained a lot of useful spells. Many he already knew about and could use but there might be a few he overlooked.
"This is really interesting," Hermione stated after twenty minutes of study. "Do you think I could risk checking this book out, I'd really like to read it in depth?"
"I don't think Pince cares what you check out as long as you bring it back in mint condition," Ron stated as Harry added.
"I don't think she ever told anyone about the Polyjuice book so we should be safe. I'm going to take this one out."
They didn't linger too long in the library, after picking a few more books, they checked them all out and were heading outside to enjoy the September sunshine when Harry remembered something.
"I wouldn't mind getting hold of the Prince's book," he murmured quietly as they passed a few fellow First year who appeared to be trying to work out where everything was. Naturally, they gawked at Harry's scar as they passed.
"It had some good pointers and spells in it," Harry continued as Hermione looked a little concerned.
"What about Snape Harry?"
"I don't think he cares about it that much or it wouldn't have been with those other textbooks," Harry said quickly. "He might even have forgotten it's there, I think I can risk it."
"You know what we could do with," Ron interjected before Hermione could raise any more concerns. "The map and the cloak, it would make things a lot easier."
"Dumbledore's not going to give Harry the cloak until Christmas," Hermione pointed out. "And as for the twins, they only gave Harry the map so he could get to Hogsmede."
"Then lets nick it," Ron said as though it was obvious. "All they use it for is sneaking around and stealing food from the kitchens or going into Hogsmede illegally. We clearly need it more than they do."
Hermione sighed before saying.
"If you think you can safely get that from them, you're welcome to try Ron but I imagine they guard it well."
"What's the difficulty?" Ron demanded. "All I have to do is summon it and that's it."
"Yes but I don't want them bullying you if they catch you with it," Hermione explained slightly exasperated. "You know what their like."
"Yeah but I can handle them now," Ron stated with self assured confidence.
Harry smiled to himself, no matter how old they got, Ron and Hermione would always argue. He continued reading, not paying them any mind even as he wondered about their first Defence class. He wasn't sure but something told him he was a Horcrux again, after all, his body had acted as a vessel to Voldemort's soul piece. He may have gotten rid of it in the future but now he was back in his eleven year old body, he was sure it was a part of him again.
While rather unpleasant to think of, it would provide several advantages, not least being able to speak Parseltongue. Also, if he learned Occlumency, he'd be able to shield his mind against the Dark wizard while still being able to catch glimpses of Voldemort's plans. Besides, at least he now knew it was possible to rid himself of that soul while still keeping his own.
An hour later, he and his friends were sitting in the Defence classes; tiredly listen to Quirrel stutter his way through an introduction. While the others were nervous facing their first teacher and a little bemused by his stutter and trembling. The room stank of garlic and Harry couldn't help but remember the smell that had hit his nostrils when Quirrel had taken that turban off. The rotting, rank smell of death, he would have thrown up if not for the fact he had been frozen by the sight of Voldemort's face.
"Y-y-you will enc-counter many d-dark creatures out in the w-world," Quirrel stammered, pacing slightly in front of his blackboard. "Hags...w-werewolves...t-t-trolls and m-maybe even a zombie."
"Have you ever met a zombie, sir?" Dean couldn't resist asking.
"Y-yes," Quirrel replied, looking terrified at the very thought. "In f-fact I managed to g-get r-rid of a r-rather troublesome zombie for a Afr-rican village...t-this prince was so g-grateful, he actually g-gave me this t-turban."
"How did you do that, sir?" Seamus asked eagerly but Quirrel just turned pink and mumbled.
"The weather's r-rather war-rm for this time of year, isn't i-it?"
As Seamus's face fell in disappointment, Harry caught Ron's eye and rolled his own. What a piece of work Quirrel was, all this over the top playacting. Just who was he trying to fool, Dumbledore and Snape had easily seen through it. Thankfully, their other classes were considerably more fun even if Herbology left them with a lot of dirt on their robes. However, a sneaky cleaning charm soon took care of that.
Transfiguration was the class they'd been looking forward to as they could finally put one of their plans into operation. After her speech on how difficult Transfiguration was, she changed her desk into a pig, making everyone cheer. This was when Hermione remembered that Professor McGonagall didn't demonstrate her Animagus form until Third year. Thinking quickly, she shot her arm into the air and asked.
"Ooh, Professor, can people turn into animals too?"
"Naturally," Professor McGonagall replied with a nod. "But that is extremely advanced magic and very few wizards even attempt it. It is also highly regulated by the Ministry who record whoever succeeds in becoming Animagi."
"Are any of the teachers Animagi?" Hermione couldn't help but eagerly asked.
"Well," Professor McGonagall said, her lips twitching slightly. "There is one..."
And without further ado, she changed into a tabby cat, complete with markings around her eyes. Everyone gasped before applauding in delight, even those who'd grown up in the magical world had never seen an Animagus before, because they were just so rare. The tabby cat looked rather smug before transforming back into her normal, human self. Smoothing her robes down, she said.
"Becoming an Animagus is considered by some to be the epitome of Transfiguration but even if you never attempt it, you can still achieve great things with Transfiguration. For instance, those who achieve a Newt level will be able to accomplish many different levels of human transformation."
Harry had a fleeting image of Krum and his shark's head, and had to hide a grin.
"Now," McGonagall said briskly as everyone murmured excitedly over her words. "Today, you will attempt to transfigure a matchstick into a needle."
Turning to the board, she indicated a diagram of the wand movements and incantation and began explaining how it worked. Imagination was actually a big part of it, you needed to picture what you wanted to turn your object into. When you first started, transfiguration took a lot of work and power; you could literally spend a whole hour slowly turning your match into a needle. However, as classes progressed, you would find that simple transfiguration became easier and easier until you could do it in a flash.
That is when you'd progress to the next level and learn how to wield your power in a more efficient way. Of course, it really took a lot of work to become a master at transfiguration but Harry felt he had at least become competent at it. Hermione was the one who was talented at it but he and Ron were by no means rubbish. And since they knew so much, Harry thought they'd probably enjoy it a lot.
"Now, take out your wands and concentrate on your matchstick."
"How long until Hermione transfigures hers?" Ron whispered to Harry with a grin.
"Not long," Harry chuckled as Hermione eagerly waved her wand all along the matchstick which glowed before transforming into a perfect sliver needle.
"You've done it," Lavender squeaked in astonishment, staring at Hermione's needle.
As almost everyone else stood up to gape, McGonagall came striding over. She stared at the needle before offering Hermione a genuine wide smile.
"Well done Miss Granger, this looks like an excellent needle."
"Thank you Professor," Hermione said with a beam, she always enjoyed getting praise teachers but McGonagall most of all. Not just because she was their Head of House but because she was the teacher she admired the most.
"Since you've managed it so quickly, perhaps you can help anyone who is having difficulty?" McGonagall now suggested and Hermione nodded.
"Neville, do you need any help?" Hermione asked the nervous boy kindly as he looked rather overwhelmed by the task they'd been set.
He blushed furiously but slowly nodded, he was already feeling that he wouldn't be able to do this. As Hermione got up to go closer to him, McGonagall said loudly.
"Come along now; let's see who else can transfigure their matchstick."
The students obediently started again although none of them had the same instant success. Harry and Ron stared at their own matchstick, a little unsure how to proceed. It would look a little strange if they instantly transformed their matchsticks into needles but didn't want to spend the whole lesson pretending to fail, it would get boring.
"Just try to change one part," hissed Harry as a suggestion and Ron nodded.
After ten or so minutes, Harry had managed to make his as sharp as a needle while Ron had simply changed the colour of his matchstick. Glancing over at Hermione, she seemed to be making a little progress with Neville who had actually caused his matchstick to look different although not quite like a needle. Still, it was progress over the first time round.
"Mr Weasley," Professor McGonagall said sternly from behind Ron who jumped so badly, he accidently cast the spell, turning his matchstick into an incredibly sharp looking needle.
"There, you see," she stated, after a brief moment of surprise as Ron stared at his needle. "A little less daydreaming and a bit more concentration and you have transfiguration."
Ron flushed as now he was stared at by the whole class although Harry was the only one grinning. The others, particularly Hermione just looked very impressed. But before Harry could say anything to Ron, McGonagall turned and asked him to perform the spell.
"A bit more effort, Mr Potter," she commanded as Harry tried feebly to do the spell without actually doing the spell.
Knowing she'd know if he wasn't putting the effort in, he sighed and jabbed with his wand, creating a needle that was very sharp but not quite as silver as Ron's. Now he was the one being stared at which was a novel experience because he'd never performed so well in a Transfiguration class before.
Thankfully, the bell rang soon afterwards and they were able to pack up, the other Gryffindors still gaping at the trio. Hermione said goodbye to Neville who stumbled off and walked beside her two friends.
"That went better than I thought," she stated. "Did you see how well Neville did?"
"Yep, he was great," Ron said with a nod. "But you'll have to be careful Hermione, not to perform so quickly every time."
"I know," she sighed heavily. "I just...I know how to do it and it's so hard pretending I don't, I just don't underperform."
"We know," Harry said with a small smile. "This is obviously going to be harder than we thought but all we can is keep trying. We'll work something out."
"Just wait until Fred and George hear about this," Ron muttered. "They'll take the mickey out of me."
"How will they hear?" Hermione questioned.
"McGonagall's bound to tell Percy and then he'll tell them," Ron replied knowingly.
"Well they shouldn't get on at you for doing well," Hermione said indignantly. "There's nothing wrong with that at all and you shouldn't listen to them."
Ron just shrugged.
Nothing particularly exciting happened in their other classes, Charms was just the theory and Astronomy was the same as ever. They were mixing quite as well with their classmates this time around although since everything was so new, none of said classmates actually noticed. They hadn't had a good chance to talk to Neville yet, they were too busy trying to learn all they could about Occlumency as fast as possible.
It wasn't going too badly but it was a difficult subject and they had no teacher to rely on.
Speaking of Occlumency, it was actually Thursday by the time Harry ran into Snape and it was quite by accident. He'd dropped some quills in a corridor as he and his friends had been heading for dinner and had rushed back to grab them. Just as he was picking them up, he saw Snape emerge around a corner and stop dead at the sight of them.
"Professor Snape?" Harry blurted out; his Potion's teacher had almost literally appeared out of nowhere.
Taking barely a second to get over his own surprise, Snape's eyes narrowed and he said curtly.
"Potter, what are you doing?"
"Dropped my quills, sir," Harry replied, standing up and dearly wishing he was his Seventh year height rather than his current titchy First year height.
Snape eyed him as though he didn't believe a word of Harry's story but since he wasn't immediately saying anything, Harry decided to grab this opportunity.
"Professor...I um...I've been wanting to talk to you."
"Really?" Snape said, his voice dripping with distain as he managed to narrow his black eyes even more. "And what would a golden celebrity such as yourself want to talk with me about?"
Harry couldn't help but frown at the insult; he was meant to be an innocent eleven year old but pressed on.
"Well, when Hagrid was telling me about my parents, he said that my mum was really good at Potions."
Snape's sneer froze before slowly sliding off his face. Harry rushed on before Snape could do anything.
"Hagrid said that you and my mum used to have friendly competitions doing Potions, were you her friend, sir?"
"She was a fellow classmate," Snape said curtly. "I do not recall her being an unpleasant Gryffindor, unlike most of your House."
"You recall," Harry couldn't help but think sardonically. "I think it was a bit more than recall, Professor."
"But weren't you friends sir?"
"No," Snape said shortly before turning and striding away.
"Oh no, you don't," Harry thought as he rushed after him. "Sir...sir please, can't you tell me anything about her?"
"No, I can't," Snape snapped, increasing his walk. "Get yourself to dinner before I take points."
Harry stopped, knowing he had one last chance.
"Please sir...at least tell me what she looked like."
Snape stopped dead. Harry waited breathlessly as the greasy haired man turned with an expression of absolute disbelief.
"What are you talking about Potter," he spat, glaring at Harry as though he were playing a joke.
Harry swallowed heavily, glancing at his shoes as he said.
"I can't remember her sir," he said quietly, conjuring how he used to feel long before Hogwarts in case Snape probed his mind. The dull ache of not even knowing what his parents looked like which had only been shattered when he found that mirror.
"And my aunt's never shown me any photos," he continued, half glancing up at Snape. "I don't know what she looks like at all, all Hagrid said was that I've got her eyes."
He shrugged helplessly before questioning.
"Was she blond like my Aunt Petunia?"
"Blond?" Snape exclaimed in outrage as though Harry had just suggested Lily was a hag. "Don't be ridiculous Potter; she had dark red hair, not that floozy colour of Petunia's."
"You knew my aunt?" Harry said in surprise, instantly pouching on this little slip.
Snape blinked before his expression changed to one of mentally cursing. Harry scuttled a little closer to his teacher, still trying to hold a woebegone expression.
"Aunt Petunia called my mum a freak...she wasn't a freak, was she sir?"
His glasses had conveniently slipped down his nose meaning Snape got the full blast of his bright, earnest green eyes. He poured as much emotion into them as he could; remembering all the daydreams he used to have about his absent parents, about how great things would have been if they'd lived. His Occlumency was still extremely basic but as long as he projected what he was meant to, Snape should go any deeper.
"Of course she wasn't," Snape said brusquely. "She was a witch, there is nothing freakish about that, boy and if I hear you repeating such a thing ever, it will be detention. If you desire to know more, then ask your Head of House or Professor Flickwit. No doubt they posses enough photographs and stories to satisfy even a Potter."
He bestowed a sneer on Harry who smiled back.
"They'll really be able to do that sir?"
"Yes Potter, as I just said or did you go temporarily deaf?" Snape snapped.
"No sir, I heard," Harry replied before lunging forward and wrapping his arms around the dour man. As Snape made a very unSnape like squawk of shock, Harry said earnestly.
"Thank you sir, you're a very kind man."
Letting go of the stiff man who appeared to have turned to stone, he offered him another smile before saying.
"I'll see you in Potions tomorrow sir."
And without further ado, he took off back down the corridor before Snape could recover. It was moments like this that it was really handy he was a scrawny little git.
Author's note. I think Snape would have been offended that Harry didn't even know what the beautiful angel who gave up her life for his worthless hide looked like. I hope he's not too OOC, I did my best with him. Anyway, next chapter will contain a POV that is not the trio but who is it? Also, Ron's plan is revealed, until next time.