The Academy of Magical Excellence
AN: Finally I have a new chapter for you all, I really appreciate all of you who have favourited, followed or even just read the story so far. The delays with the story have been many from my laptop blowing up and leaving me with only my hand-written notes (I now have a new laptop and I'm back to having chapters written ahead now) to an accident that resulted in me dislocating with my shoulder which put me out of most kinds of action for a full month. I hope to re-start my regular fortnightly update schedule and I promise you now this story is not dead, as I'm already planning the sequels. Thanks again, thanks for letting me waffle and enjoy the next chapter, Super Samurai out.
Disclaimer: I own no elements of Harry Potter, just borrowing them for this non-profit fiction.
Chapter Five: First Lessons
Harry woke the next morning to a harsh buzzing near his ear and it took a moment for him to realise that it was his alarm. Allowing his eyes to adjust to the light pouring in through a window he hadn't noticed the previous night he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Stretching he felt the now familiar tingly excitement building and he swiftly washed in the little bathroom attached to his room. He dressed in the standard black robes and made his way into the common room. Seeing Shawn he went over to his new friend and they began chatting earnestly about the day they might have. The common room filled with the rest of the first year students slowly, in various stages of uncertainty and nerves. The last to arrive were Draco Malfoy and Hermione, the latter of whom Harry waved over and introduced to Shawn. Harry happened to glance at his watch and jumped up.
"We're going to be late!" he half-shouted, before speeding out of the common room with the rest of his year following. It was a panting group of school children that arrived at the large doors to the assembly hall and they just had enough time to catch their breath before the doors opened on their own. The hall was full of other students, almost all of them older except Shing Chang who had apparently gotten up before anyone else and made it down with plenty of time to spare. They filed in and joined the taciturn student at the table that was clearly intended for them. The staff filed in just as Lance sat down. Harry got a chance to see all his professors for the first time, though he sought out Professor Garrick in particular, seated on the left of Professor Sawyer. The staff sat leaving a short, stocky man with a neatly trimmed brown beard and hair (swept back elegantly to rest on his shoulders) standing. Harry guessed that this was the headmaster.
"Good morning, students" he spoke "Welcome back to our returning students and a very warm welcome to those newly arrived. For those of you who do not know, I am Headmaster Alastor Anderson"
The man's voice was warm and melodious and he had an aura of power and confidence you couldn't help respecting. The upper class-men, particularly those that looked like they were in the final year of school were paying rapt attention. Glancing around, he saw Draco Malfoy muttering to his apparent friend, Blaise Zabini and he felt a sudden rush of dislike for the boy. However the headmaster was speaking and he immediately switched his attention to the front of the hall.
"There are a couple of notices to cover before we officially begin the new school year, firstly you would all do well to remember that magic in the corridors is expressly forbidden. Due to the incident last year this has now been expanded to preclude unsupervised research" Headmaster Anderson paused briefly "Secondly, this coming year we will be implementing a new mentoring system, for which we asked for volunteers last year. You should all receive the names of the students you are to guide through their first year of school by the end of the day, it is then up to you to seek out and assist the new students"
Harry remembered reading about this in the information they had sent along with their invitation to attend and was quite happy to have a mentor. Things were confusing enough with magic but magical schooling? Harry was quite certain he'd need all the help he could get and he knew that Shawn felt the same. Hermione however was nearly vibrating with excitement and from their short talk earlier Harry knew she was very intelligent and driven as far as studying went. Taking another look at the blond haired boy, he noted that Draco looked a lot less impressed and Harry got the feeling this boy clearly felt above the rest of them. He couldn't work out why but having been subjected to the Dursley's attitudes of superiority he was adept at recognising it.
"Lastly, the Year Leaders are as follows: First Year, Professor Garrick, Second Year, Professor Rothchild, Third Year, Professor Mort, Fourth Year, Professor Fairspring, Fifth Year, Professor Kane, Sixth Year, Professor Harte, Seventh Year, Professor Bespoke" announced Headmaster Anderson. "First Years, after breakfast in the dining hall please return here for a meeting with myself, Professor Sawyer and Professor Garrick. That is all, dismissed"
The staff stood and filed out, as the students followed to suit. Harry, Shawn and Hermione banded together as they tailed the crowd out of the assembly hall to the right through some impressive double doors and into the dining hall. There were banners hanging from the ceiling above eight large round tables, each denoting which table was for which year. The tables themselves were laden with a wide variety of breakfast foods, from classics like bacon and eggs to cereal, and even some pastries like croissants. Harry sat down at a seat that where he could conveniently reach all the food he wanted and set to. During breakfast he got chatting with Shawn, who was becoming a firm friend and Hermione who was rapidly listing all the things she hoped they would be taught. Harry also struck up a conversation with Lance Knight.
"So what are you interested in learning?" Harry asked, buttering some toast.
"I'm most interested in magical theory" answered Lance, who was a broad shouldered boy with reddish brown hair. "The why and how of magic is fascinating"
"I know what you mean" said Shawn "The text book was brilliant, though I didn't understand a lot of it" finished with a smile
"Absolutely" Harry agreed amiably "I'm looking forward to the defence lessons, did you know they teach it as 'Defence Against the Dark Arts' at Hogwarts?"
"That doesn't sound right" said Hermione, breaking off from bewildering Dirk Duke and the Patil twins with all the things she could remember from the textbooks. "It's sounds quite limited to teach you how to defend only against one type of magic"
"It's all in Hogwarts: A History" replied Harry "I owl ordered it for extra reading, since they don't really give any information on the school with the letter"
Hermione frowned and Harry quickly finished off his toast. Then a shadow fell across his plate and he turned around to see a pair of gingers twins, with identical evil grins.
"Well another year, another class of newbies, eh Fred?" said one.
"That's right, George, and I think pranking season has just started" answered the other.
"Beware firsties, we always get one of you in the first week" they finished, before departing leaving a table full of suddenly nervous first years.
"Well, they must be the Weasley's twins" said Malfoy "Their mother was so proud when they made it in to the Academy, the first in the family. I didn't think they let riff-raff like that in here"
"That's not very nice you know" said Hermione, glaring at the blond.
"I don't listen to advice from walking textbooks, thanks" Malfoy snapped "Especially m-"
He was thankfully interrupted by the ringing of a loud bell, and the remaining students in the hall filed out to attend their lessons. Harry stood as well directing a glare at the blond, his two friends with him, before leading the way back into the assembly hall. As he entered he saw the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress, along with Professor Garrick seated in comfortable looking armchairs, facing a group of similar, if smaller chairs. Professor Anderson stood and invited the students to sit.
"Again welcome to the Academy" he began "The reason for this meeting is for us to explain the general school rules, get you your timetables and answer some questions you may have. If you are wondering why I'm here, don't worry no-one is in trouble just yet. I just prefer to head these meetings and get a feel for the newest members of the Academy."
The meeting progressed smoothly from that point, with a small presentation of the rules they would be expected to adhere to followed by an explanation of all the clubs and extra-curricular activities the school had on offer. Professor Garrick introduced, or in some students cases, re-introduced himself and outlined his responsibilities as Year Leader for them. He was the authority for their year and as such it was down to him to ensure they stayed within the rules, deal with any punishments that may be necessary and likewise, any rewards. Professor Sawyer handed out their timetables, and Harry was glad to see they only had two lessons for today: Magical Theory and Wizarding Customs (Hermione seemed disappointed). The meeting ended with the ringing of the lunch bell, leading Headmaster Anderson to usher them through into the dining hall once again. Lunch was much more sparsely attended Harry noticed, seeing a drastically smaller group of students. He spent a happy half hour eating and talking with his ever growing circle of friends. His efforts to include Shing Chang were politely deflected, and he made no attempt to include Malfoy or Zabini in his conversations. Harry pulled out the map of the school from his bag (charmed to be larger on the inside & feather-light to reduce the weight of any books) and scanned it to locate his first ever lesson in magic. Seeing that it was on the ground floor in the East Wing he decided to spend the last half hour brushing up on the first few chapters of Theory of Magic (Hermione had been reading throughout the lunch hour) and all too soon the bell rang for the end of lunch. The students dutifully filed out of the hall, passing the upper years on their way in, and separated to their differing classes. Harry found himself leading the first years to their classroom (he seemed to be the only one who could read a map) and they arrived just as their professor opened the door.
"In you come, in you come" He was saying excitedly, gesturing them into the classroom.
The first years dutifully filed into the classroom, filling up the seats from the back. Harry was dragged to the front by an eager Hermione and, determined not to suffer alone he pulled a laughing Shawn after him. Shawn's expression settled into a mock glower that had Harry chuckling quietly to himself. The only other person who was sat upfront was the ever solemn Shing Chang, who already had his parchment, quill and ink laid out on his desk. Harry set out his own materials as the professor swept to the front of the class.
"Excellent" He beamed, a broad gleaming smile on his round cheeked face. "I am Professor Hadrian Harte, and this is Magical Theory"
His blue eyes darted round the class as he called roll, as if cataloguing each students face and name. Harry was doing the same to the blond professor. Professor Harte had short golden blonde hair, was clean shaven and dressed well. He favoured brighter colours than the other teachers Harry had met so far, and his jovial nature was engaging. Harry also noticed that the professor was inclining his head to certain students as he reached their names on the register, including Malfoy and later, himself. Harry found this curious and a quick glance around told him he wasn't the only one who had noticed. Malfoy looked like he had sucked a lemon though which was even more interesting to Harry. The professor rapped his knuckles on the desk to call their attention.
"Magical theory, the study of magic itself. The discipline devoted not to learning spells, or mixing potions or flying a broomstick but to understanding the principles and rules behind everything we can do with magic. The study of magic itself gave us wands, potioneering and even alchemy." the professor said, the paragraph writing itself on the blackboard behind him. "So, given the nature of magic how can we comprehensively build our knowledge of it? We cannot and to this day wizards around the globe continue to delve into the mysteries of magic"
The class was listening intently to Professor Harte, his voice intense and mesmerising. Harry had never had a teacher quite like this and was grateful for it.
"So, how do we introduce you to the subject?" the professor continued "Let's start with the categorisation of magic, shall we?"
The class went on from there, with the professor describing the classifications of magic and which spells were light, dark or neutral in nature. Harry studiously took notes, though he was outpaced by Hermione who seemed to be writing down every single word. All too soon the bell signalling the end of class rang through the halls leading Professor Harte to dismiss them to their next lesson jovially.
"If anyone needs some extra help with the subject, they can find me in my office most days after dinner" he said as he herded them to the door. Harry checked the very helpful map before setting off further down the corridor. He chatted lightly with his friends as they went, though there wasn't all that much time to reach the next class. They found the door open as they approached and evidently the professor inside had heard their approach.
"Enter, and be quick about it now" snapped a thin, reedy sort of voice. The impatient tone had the first years scurrying into the classroom hastily, taking seats where they were available. Harry looked around at the richly decorated room he now found himself in, his eyes settling on the man stood at the front of the classroom. The man lazily flicked his wand at the blackboard causing his name to write itself out.
"As you can see, I am Professor Gramont and I will be guiding you through the intricate social rules that govern life in the wizarding world" He said. "Now some of you will already have a good grounding in these matters, like young Mr Malfoy, Mr Zabini and Mr Potter there. The rest will just have to-"
Professor Gramont paused as he noticed Harry's hand was in the air, and it was clear that he was unaccustomed to students having anything to say.
"Yes, Mr Potter?" He drawled, his impatience evident in his tone.
"I was mundane raised sir" Harry answered.
"Were you indeed? Well no matter, by the time you finish this course you should be able to conduct yourself as a proper Last Scion" was the Professors disinterested reply. "So to business. There are different styles of families in the wizarding world, each with it's own traditions, allegiances and responsibilities. For example, the Potter family is a Most Noble and Ancient house which is one of the highest in our social standing. Mr Malfoy's House is a Most Noble house which is lower down. Any first generation male wizards?" He paused here. "Well, you are going to be the heads of newly established Houses in our society, so pay attention"
Harry again studiously took notes as he understood the need to know how to act in this new world. His mind was spinning through the revelation of his families importance however and a prickle of unease ran down his spine. He was the last Potter, and according to the information he was receiving he had a responsibility to uphold his family's reputation. The thought of such a duty had him shuddering and he was glad to hear the bell signalling the end of classes. He was especially glad to be away from Professor Gramont to whom he had grown a certain level of dislike during the lesson due to the dismissive attitude he had used dealing with students, particularly the girls. Hermione herself was flushed and Harry guessed it was anger. He touched her on the arm lightly to get her attention.
"Anything wrong, Hermione?" he asked quietly
"Lots and lots" she answered fervently "The whole wizarding world seems so backwards"
"I know" Harry muttered "Who dumps all that responsibility on an eleven-year old? Even if I don't have to deal with it all til I'm seventeen"
"And the way they use women as, as commodities" said Hermione, flushing redder in indignation.
By this point they had crossed into the dining hall where dinner was already laid out for them, stopping that conversation for now. As they took their seats Harry noticed a group of older teens in a variety of casual robes sitting at a table of their own, though some Seventh years were with them. Harry nudged Shawn on his left and pointed.
"I wonder who they are" Shawn wondered.
"They would be the Eighth years" answered Dirk who was facing the same way. "My brother is one, you can see him there" He pointed to a tall, handsome teen with bright red hair, swept up into spikes that added half a foot to his height.
"Devlin keeps telling me loads of the stuff he's learning" Dirk said around a mouthful of mashed potatoes "It sounds really cool"
Harry was intrigued but filed away the information for later as he had dinner to eat. The meal was over soon enough and the first years departed in their small groups to the common room. Harry was of course walking with Hermione and Shawn discussing whether the homework set by Professor Harte was worth doing sooner rather than later. Hermione, as they found out was of the get it done mindset and she nagged them into doing it as well. They sat around a table away from the entrance to the first year common room and were the first to see the group of third year students enter the room. The group split up and were heading to various individuals, and a group of three approached their table. Two girls and boy soon stood before them.
"So I'm Alicia Dugan" said the blonde on the left "I'm to be mentoring Harry Potter. This is Jamie Glover who's here for Shawn Bolton and this is Nadia Dresdin for Hermione Granger"
They waited for a couple of minutes while the first years just stared a little.
"Oh, budge up!" said Alicia, rolling her eyes and forcing herself between Shawn and Harry. "Right well, we were told to let you ask the questions" she explained as her fellow third years sat down.
Homework was soon forgotten as the mentors dutifully answered questions and told some stories. A lot of them featured the antics of the Weasley twins and those had the two boys holding their sides with laughter, and Hermione caught somewhere between disapproval and amusement. Their mentors excused themselves after an hour when the curfew bell rang, promising to check in again in a couple of weeks. Harry was unwilling to return to his homework and decided to head to bed. The schedule for the following day was quite full, and he wanted an early night.
He set his alarm slightly earlier this time and settled back in his comfortable bed. He soon drifted off to sleep.
He was stood outside of a nondescript looking door, with a heavy weight on his head. His thoughts were jumbled and blurred aside from a cold, sibilant voice in the depths of his mind. He raised an unfamiliar wand and cast a spell he didn't recognise. The lock clicked open and he pushed open the door carefully. The sound of heavy breathing met his ears and the stench of wet dog assaulted his nostrils. A jolt of fear ran through him as he laid eyes on a massive creature. He soon saw it was a three-headed dog that seemed huge in the small corridor. He eyes swept over the room and he noticed a trapdoor in the floor but the dog was waking up. Growls replaced the heavy breaths and again came that voice directing him to bypass the dog. He cast a spell that appeared as a flash of red light but it had no effect. He tried ducking around the creature but there was always a head in his way and it was only a matter of time until he was caught. The dog butted him in the chest propelling him out of the door which slammed shut as he landed in the corridor beyond. The sibilant voice howled in rage and disappointed.
Many miles away Harry Potter woke to a sharp, piercing pain in his scar. Rubbing at it sleepily he turned over in bed and soon fell back asleep. When he woke the next morning he barely remembered the dream at all.
AN: Please review, I love to hear your thoughts on the story. SYOC is still open for Second - Seventh year students.