School at Hogwarts quickly fell into a bit of a routine, the rest of their classes were very interesting… for the most part. Tuesday saw the Ravenclaws and Gryffindors in History of Magic together. Their teacher was Professor Binns. As a wizard, he had fallen asleep in front of a fireplace one night and passed away, then gotten up the next morning to teach as a ghost. He was… boring. His monotonous drone was almost designed to put students to sleep, he constantly mixed up names and dates (for those who actually paid enough attention to notice). Many of the Gryffindors spent the lesson scribbling down the various names and dates that he mentioned ad nauseum, or fell asleep; while the Ravenclaws just listened with a view to reading up when they got back to their common room.
Potions they had in the dungeons, taught by Professor Snape. The first years had heard from the older students that Professor Snape was unfairly biased towards Slytherin house (of whom he was the head) and against Gryffindor house while he seemed to treat Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff with some sort of neutrality (even if he did seem to prefer Ravenclaw students). This proved to be lucky for them, because they shared the class with Hufflepuff. It was colder down in the dungeons than the rest of the castle, but the potions room was warmed by the activities therein. The room itself would be creepy to a muggleborn with jars of pickled animals and animal parts around the walls, but to a wizarding child with experience around potions laboratories it was pretty much par for the course. While some of the muggleborn or halfblood Ravenclaws were looking around in apprehension, Harriet noted that Hermione was wide-eyed in rapt fascination. Snape took the roll at the start of the class and paused briefly between Harriet's names. He stared at her when she answered, "Here, sir"; and his gaze seemed to bore straight through her. She couldn't think why he would be so interested in her, she wasn't anyone special. Harry Potter was, but not her. His eyebrows furrowed and he seemed reluctant to move on, until Wayne Hopkins coughed and he continued his roll call.
Professor Snape seemed to have a theatrical bent, as, once he had finished taking roll, he drew himself up with black robes billowing about him and whispered in a way that everybody could hear, "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making. 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."
It was an obviously well practiced speech and almost perfectly designed to spur Ravenclaw students into action to prove that they weren't 'dunderheads'. Hermione, in fact, was on the edge of her seat eager to get brewing.
Professor Snape told them to split into pairs, with Harriet eagerly joining Hermione, in spite of her lack of surety that she would do so. He had written the instructions for a simple potion to cure boils on the board, something that Harriet and Daphne had long since done in their tutoring. Harriet was torn between the recipe Professor Snape had written and the changes that she remembered would brew a more effective potion. She put the question to Hermione, who looked almost shocked at the idea of not following the instructions and so Harriet's decision was easily made. Professor Snape strode around the room watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs. He criticized everyone with Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs alike saying "Thank you sir" and correcting their actions. Harriet and Hermione were the last to take their potions up to be graded, with every potion before them having something negative said about them.
"It's too dark," he spat.
Hermione turned to leave, like every other student had after his pronouncement of their work, but Harriet remained standing in front of his desk.
"Sir?" Harriet said quietly and Professor Snape looked up darkly.
"Would it have been lighter had I paused between the fourth and fifth clockwise stir?" She asked.
Professor Snape looked a bit shocked and his lip twisted as if it wanted to turn into a smile before his general dourness dampened it.
"The first and second and the fourth and fifth," he answered dryly before gruffly announcing, "class dismissed."
They were happy, as nobody had lost any house points, even if nobody had gained any. Gryffindor potions classes were an entirely different matter, apparently.
As they were walking back to their dorms Morag MacDougal teased her, "maybe you should have been placed in Gryffindor instead, I don't think I've seen anyone as brave before in my life!"
Harriet blushed, "I'd know where I went wrong to fix any of my mistakes, than not know and keep making them."
In the next potions lesson, thanks to Harriet's "Gryffindor bravery", the first year Ravenclaws all asked Professor Snape where they went wrong. In lessons following that, so did the Hufflepuffs. Professor Snape, in fact, later began to offer them a simple word of advice to fix their potions before they could even ask. He was still critical of their work as he walked around the potions room but the small extra bits of advice at the end of each lesson seemed to limit future opportunities through them.
Breakfasts were setting into a sort of routine. Slytherines were always prim and proper at their table, sometimes making witty sniping comments about Gryffindors (quite often the red-headed Ron Weasley would then loudly and brashly retaliate. All over the heads of the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs who were seated between them. Harriet was often able to converse a little with Daphne, Tracey and some of the other 'pureborn elite' at the Slytherin table, but had to limit her discussions to those that were acceptable. Always sitting next to her, Hermione often looked almost out of place after these brief discussions and Harriet had to explain to her a little of how pureblood etiquette worked. The professors all sat to eat breakfast at the head table, except for one exception who seemed to be missing every day. Professor Snape often seemed to meet her eye when she looked up at the table, it was so unnerving that she often only snuck surreptitious quick glances instead.
On Wednesday afternoon the Ravenclaws had their first class with Slytherin; Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. On the first day, Harriet and Hermione were the first to arrive (if you did not count the cat sitting on the desk). Daphne and Tracey arrived first of all the Slytherins. Prior to them sitting, she introduced Hermione to her sister.
"Pleased to meet you," Daphne greeted her, "you're muggleborn, yes?"
At Hermione's rather timid nod, Daphne continued in a whisper (so as not to let her fellow Slytherin hear), "have you seen Terminator 2 yet? I do hope that it's still screening in the Christmas Hols so that we can convince our sister to take us."
Hermione opened her mouth, then closed it before a queer look crossed her face. Tracey on Daphne's other side let out a bark of laughter, which caused Daphne to spin around to look at her.
"Did I say something wrong?" Daphne asked in shock, but getting no answer from Tracey, turned back to Hermione.
"Perhaps you might like to come with us?" She offered, "if you haven't already seen it and if it's still on, of course."
With no words coming from Hermione, Harriet leaned over and whispered, "I'm sure she'd love to come and I'll remind her and extend the invitation again once we are closer."
Other Slytherins came in then and their friendly, sisterly conversation had to end. Once the class was full, the cat on the desk suddenly transformed into Professor McGonagall.
She was a very strict and stern teacher and began her lesson with the warning, "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 then transfigured her desk into a pig and back again as an example and began to instruct them on the long history of transfiguration, including the famous witch Circe (who lived on the Greek island of Aeaea and was famous for turning lost sailors into pigs.)
After further instruction on what would be their first foray into transfiguration, turning a match into a needle, they were all given the match required. The lesson was very challenging and interesting. Hermione showed a talent in transfiguration, turning her match to metal and making it very pointy. Daphne and Harriet both managed to make their matches stronger but could not manage any other changes. Professor McGonagall displayed all three as good progress in the spell and even flashed Hermione a rare smile.
"That was very well done Hermione," Daphne congratulated the muggleborn as they paused outside the classroom once everyone else had gone.
"I'll say," Tracey added, "you'll probably have it perfected by next lesson."
Hermione blushed at the praise, "I just followed the professor's instructions."
"Don't sell yourself short!" Harriet reassured her as she gave Hermione a side hug, "you did fantastically."
Daphne gave them a smile, "perhaps we could catch up after classes one day and you could run us through how you managed it? Maybe we could practice a little?"
Harriet beamed, "that's a fantastic idea! Ravenclaw have their own study groups, but I'd love to be able to spend some time with you both outside of just transfiguration class."
"Maybe," Hermione spoke up, "maybe we could organise that later, we've got double potions now Harriet and only a few minutes to get down to the dungeons."
"Oh!" Daphne explained, "you should have said something. Come with us, we'll show you the short-cut as we head back to our common room."
The two Ravenclaws eagerly took the Slytherins up on their offer and made it down to the potions room even before some of the other Ravenclaws. They even managed to compare timetables and organise a day to meet up in one of the empty classrooms that they passed on the way.
They saw that night a notice pinned up in the Ravenclaw common room telling them that flying lessons would be starting on Thursday with Hufflepuff. Hermione exhibited a great deal of anxiety about the prospect of flying and Harriet tried her best to reassure the other girl and together they found a book in the Ravenclaw common room named 'Quidditch Through the Ages" that contained some flying tips.
Hermione relayed the tips to the rest of the Ravenclaws at breakfast on Thursday, which prompted some of the older Ravenclaws to offer their own advice, turning breakfast into an impromptu flying theory study group. The older students informed them of some of the quirks that the older brooms possessed and things to watch out for in case they got a dud one. Not very reassuring for Hermione's nerves, but information that she took in eagerly. It was interrupted only briefly by some sort of altercation between Draco Malfoy, Ron Weasley and Neville Longbottom over at the Gryffindor table, which the Ravenclaws watched in interest. It seemed to be over a remembrall that had been owled to him by his grandmother. At one forty five on Thursday, after a quick lunch, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs headed out down the front steps for their flying lesson.
Broomsticks were lying in a row on the flat lawn on the opposite side of the grounds to the forbidden forest. Madam Hooch was there in her flying robes, goggles perched on her short gray hair.
"Come on, come on," she barked, "everybody come stand by a broomstick!"
Once they were all sorted next to their old shooting stars, she instructed, "stick out your right hand over your broom and say 'Up!'"
Everybody shouted "Up!", to varying degrees of success. Most of the children who grew up in magical society got it one the first try, for the muggle children it was their first time with a broom.
Hermione's broom simply rolled over on the ground and Harriet leaned over to tell her, "it has to know that you are talking to it. Think about it coming up into your hand as you command it."
Hermione paused for a moment and on her next command the broom shot into her hand perfectly.
Madam Hooch showed them how to mount their brooms without sliding off the end and walked up and down the row correcting their grips.
"When I blow my whistle," Madam Hooch instructed, "kick off from the ground hard, keep them steady, rise from the ground only a few feet then lean forward slightly to come back down to the ground."
She blew her whistle and most of the class lifted off the ground a few feet. One Hufflepuff, Justin Finch-Fletchley rose about ten feet and Madam Hooch had to shout at him to come back down. He received a stern talking to about following instructions, but was allowed to continue the rest of his lesson.
Harriet loved flying, although Madam Dallywatkins had instructed her and Daphne to ride side-saddle; so the experience of riding 'like a man' made her feel a bit odd, like an oppressive weight was sitting on her shoulders. It helped, however, that Madam Hooch herself rode like that and that riding side-saddle appeared to be slightly archaic even amongst purebloods.
Madam Hooch had them rise up and down a few more times before instructing them to fly around in a great big circle, following the person in front of them. Finally, for those confident in their skills, she let them go off as fast as they could only as far as the bounds of the Forbidden Forest before turning around and coming back. Harriet enjoyed this, pushing her broom as fast as it could go. She rose up into the sky, wind whipping her hair behind her, before diving down towards the ground as fast as she could get there. Then she pulled back on her broom as hard as she could, it's bristles kissing the ground as she rose once more into the sky. It was freeing. Her instruction with Madam Dallywatkins only allowed her to leisurely fly, in straight lines and graceful curves only. She swung in a wide arc when she reached the forest, knocking a few leaves off trees as she sped around others who were taking it a bit easier, or making sharper turns. A rising cork-screw turned into an upside down dive into a loop that left her back on track to make a three point landing back on the green.
"That was amazing!" Hermione gushed as Harriet hopped off her broom, breathing heavily and limbs burning. Other Ravenclaws who had stayed behind ran up to her as well, some asking Harriet if she could teach them to fly like that as well. Even Madam Hooch was looking at her appraisingly and although she didn't say anything she had a small smile on her, to thus far, stern face.
On Friday Harriet received an owl back from Hew and Cossima, congratulating her on her house placement and expressing their relief that she was fitting in well and able to still be close to Daphne. They also told Harriet to feel free to invite Hermione around to visit during the holidays.
They had their first herbology class on the Friday, in the greenhouses overseen by Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff. It was a class that they shared with Slytherin with Harriet and Hermione managing to pair up next to Daphne and Tracey. Professor Sprout was very fair and quite generous with house points, handing out small numbers of points quite liberally for good answers and care with looking after her plants.
Herbology was followed by charms and then they had a lot of free time until their final class of the day, Astronomy with Professor Sinestra. This class was held at ten past midnight, which resulted in many tired first year Ravenclaws and Slytherins. It was an interesting class, however Harriet couldn't quite figure out how it related to the practice of wizardry.
They were all very tired the next day and all had a very late breakfast.
When Robert Hilliard introduced Rob Parks, the quidditch captain for Ravenclaw, the ears of most Ravenclaws picked up.
"Attention everyone! Try-outs for spots on the house quidditch team will be held on the quidditch pitch at two forty-five this afternoon. For our first years, this is the usual time for our quidditch matches when they start and although you cannot bring your own broom to school, you are still welcome to come and try out."
Morag, Padma and Stephen all immediately leant towards Harriet with simultaneous "you should try out!", "you'd be fantastic at that!" and "you should definitely try out for the team."
Harriet tried to wave them off, she didn't think that she was good enough to be a quidditch player, but her impromptu fan club was soon joined by the rest of the Ravenclaw first-years.
Stephen Cornfoot came around to her and said, "I tell you what… I was thinking about trying out, even if I'm not good enough yet, it'll be a fun thing to do. Come and join me, we can both not be good enough together?"
Harriet glanced over her shoulder at her sister, who gave a slight nod and small smile in return.
"Okay, I'll do it." she resolved.
And that's how she found herself on the Hogwarts Quidditch Pitch at two forty-five on the first Saturday of her first year.
AUTHORS NOTES:
Thank you to the following story favourite/follows: cluhanath, Galadry, machmsps, AILNL, Mr-Catbug, Mia Makihara, evancollanbine2, maricarolabe, Askyby, ZilarArness and Strawberry Charlotte !
Serapha: Thank you so much! I love getting reviews!
He-Who-Shall-Live: Who posted "uhg transgender wokeness. Hope you sleep well at night knowing you support children committing suicide." I find these comments both ignorant and contradictory. Having trans representation in media is only supportive for trans children and youths, many of whom commit suicide due to attitudes like yours. The issue of trans youth suicide is something that is extremely important and increased mental health funding from governments across the world only go part of the way to fixing the issue. The rest of that is up to society itself to accept and support them.
machmsps: Thanks again for pointing out my brain fart!