Disclaimer: I don't own HP, I only own Evan and Iris Potter.

Also, I didn't INTEND to be influenced by Hagrid's First Lesson by White Angel of Auralon, I honestly don't remember when I last read it, but it certainly looks like I was, so credit to them too I guess.

I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays! I took the month off from practically everything except breathing, but I'm back now, with two chapters and an upcoming EJ update for you, so I hope that makes up for the wait!

Read, enjoy and review!

Chapter Five

First Day Back

The next day, Aludra and Susan woke up early and tiptoed around the room getting ready, trying not to disturb their four fellow third year Gryffindor girls, who were all still asleep. Once they were finished showering and getting dressed, they made their way downstairs where Neville was already waiting for them. Iris was there too, speaking with Maisy Reynolds, though there was no sign of Romilda Vane or any of the other first year girls.

"Any sign of Evan and Ron waking up soon?" Aludra asked.

"Nope," Neville shook his head. "Dead to the world, both of them."

"Well, it's only seven-thirty, and classes don't start until nine," Susan reasoned. "We can let them sleep a while longer."

"Meanwhile, Iris, Maisy, would you like us to show you to the Great Hall?" Aludra offered the quiet younger girls. Iris gave her a grateful look.

"Yes please," she agreed eagerly.

"Do you want to wait for Romilda?" Neville asked.

Maisy frowned and Iris scowled.

"No," the youngest Potter huffed, crossing her arms. "Definitely not."

The third years glanced at each other with raised eyebrows even as they shepherded the two first years from the common room.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Aludra asked gently as she led them down the staircase.

"All she wanted to do was talk about Evan," Iris explained in a frustrated voice. "What's Evan Potter's favourite food? What's Evan Potter's favourite colour? Is he really the youngest ever Hogwarts Quidditch player? Is he single? All that sort of thing."

"I'm sorry, Iris," Aludra sighed. "Unfortunately, that sort of thing is the price you pay for Evan's fame."

"I know," Iris sighed. "But I still don't like it."

"Can I ask, what's the big deal?" Maisy asked tentatively. "I get that Evan is famous for defeating the Magic Hitler as a baby, but isn't it more likely that the adults stopped him and died in the attempt? I just-it's really hard to believe a baby could defeat anyone, especially someone who was apparently the strongest Dark Wix in the modern era."

"Oh, I like you," Aludra smiled at the girl. "Muggleborn, I guess?"

"Uhm, yeah," Maisy said a bit uneasily. "Is that a problem?"

"Not for me," Aludra assured her. "It's just that magic-raised wix don't really question things. But in answer to your question, no, Auror examinations of the scene make it clear that though Lord Charlus and Lady Dorea didn't go down without a fight, it was definitely Evan who defeated Voldemort. And it's famous because it's completely unique in history."

"There was a pretty heavy price, though," Iris muttered sadly, glancing at the ground. Iris, who had only been two when her sister died, didn't remember her at all, Aludra knew.

She'd grown up haunted by Amaryllis' memory anyway.

Aludra squeezed her young friend's wrist in gentle comfort, then switched the topic to telling the two girls about the castle, giving tips on getting around.

The boys arrived at only in time to gobble down some toast and tea before they had to run off to the other side of the castle for their first class.

"Have fun at Divination!" Aludra called after Ron and Evan, the only two Gryffindors in their year to take the subject after Aludra's warnings the previous year, as they raced away towards the North Tower. "I hear Professor Trelawney likes to start the year off with a bang!"

Two identical laughs echoed through the hall as the Weasley twins approached. Aludra forced herself not to blush, instead plastering on a smile and trying not to wonder if George's soft, though amused, gaze really was lingering on her.

"Hello, boys," she greeted.

"That was cruel," Fred chuckled. "I didn't know you had it in you!"

"We're very impressed," George added with a grin.

"Why was it cruel?" Iris asked curiously.

"Like I said," Aludra said slyly. "Professor Trelawney likes to start things up with a bang. Now, you two have Charms first, right? Why don't we show you the way?"

"Are you sure it's not a bother?" Iris asked shyly.

"Of course not," Susan said dismissively. "Besides, Ancient Runes is just a floor away."

"Good luck on your first day, girls," Neville added, still finishing his breakfast. He had first period free on Thursdays. "Ally, Sue, I'll see you in Transfiguration."

"Thank you, Neville," the first years said in unison, as Susan and Aludra waved at their friend.

"See you there," they agreed. They said goodbye to the cheerful twins, then hurried away.

Aludra waited outside the Ancient Runes classroom, chatting with Susan, Daphne Greengrass, Tracey Davis and Padma Patil, until the door opened and Professor Babbling let them in. She was a middle-aged witch with greying brown hair pulled into a tight plait that lied down the centre of her back and grey eyes, with a plain but pleasant face.

"Welcome, everyone," she chirruped. "Please, come inside."

The classroom was large and rectangular, with rows of four seats in the middle. The outside-facing wall had been transfigured clear, meaning light shone in, and the others were covered with sketches of different runes. An alphabet of some sort ran around the top of the room.

They shuffled inside and took their seats at the rows of desks. Hermione Granger sat at the front, like usual, while Aludra and Susan sat in the third with the Slytherin girls on Susan's far side.

"They moved the room," Aludra whispered to Susan. "It used to be on the first floor, and much smaller, because only about ten students a year took it. This year, it was twenty-five."

"That's because of you, you know," her best friend whispered back.

"How so?" Aludra raised an eyebrow.

"Most people probably would've taken Divination, you know, the 'easy O' subject, until you warned them off it. So they turned to anything else that looked interesting."

"Maybe," Aludra shrugged, before falling silent and turning to Professor Babbling, who was standing before the blackboard.

"First of all, please all sign your names on this attendance sheet," she instructed, sending it around the room with a flick of her wand. "10% of your mark for this year is attendance. If you miss a day, I will expect a valid excuse and for you to make it up with extra homework. Skipping classes is unacceptable. We'll be covering a lot, and I won't have time to go back over it if you miss something.

For this semester, we will begin with Ancient Egyptian runes. After Yule, we will switch to Greek. However, this week I will begin with explaining what Runes are, how they work and their value in this society. Runes are the first type of magic, used for millions of years, since the First Wix learned how to harness the gift bestowed on them by Lady Magic..."

Aludra was still full of enthusiasm about her new subject when she and Susan met the boys at the Transfiguration classroom. She was deep in discussion with Dean, Fay and Kellah about the first class, and barely noticed how pale Evan and Ron were. Before she and the others finished their discussion, her grandmother brought them into the Transfiguration classroom where they all sat down to begin learning about Animagi.

Aludra had to bite the inside of her cheek a few times to keep from giggling as she listened to her grandmother lecture, but despite knowing everything already, it was still an interesting class. Almost everyone clapped enthusiastically when Professor McGonagall turned into a cat and back again.

Almost everyone.

"Well," Grandma sniffed, looking a bit offended. "What on earth has gotten into you today? Not that it matters, but that's the first time my transformation hasn't gotten applause from the entire class." Grandma would never admit it, but she had a vain streak about her Transfiguration talents.

That was when Aludra finally spotted the way Evan had his head buried in his hands, and Ron looked milky white, his freckles standing out sharply against the paleness of his skin. She realized what had happened instantly and huffed in annoyance. Really, why wouldn't her grandfather fire that dratted woman? All she did was terrorize innocent students. Aludra could only assume it was because Trelawney would be out on the streets without Hogwarts. Sometimes, Granddad was too kind for his own good.

Lavender, one of the few who'd ignored Aludra's warnings and chosen Divination for her elective, put her hand in the air. "Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and—"

"Ah, of course," said Professor McGonagall, suddenly frowning, though most of the class, those who hadn't been in Divination and didn't know what Trelawney was like, were still confused. "There is no need to say any more, Miss Brown. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?"

The class, save Aludra, stared at her in surprise.

"Me," said Evan, finally. Aludra forced herself not to ground her teeth. Evan had enough to worry about without Trelawney terrorising him.

She'd have to try and convince him to switch classes. It was only the first day, and third year students could change subjects for the next two weeks, after all.

"I see," said Grandma, breaking Aludra from her thoughts. "Then you should know, Potter, that Sibyll Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favourite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues—"

Except to Granddad when trying to convince him to fire them, Aludra added silently, biting the inside of her cheek to keep from smirking. It was how she'd found out about Trelawney in the first place.

Grandma broke off, and they saw that her nostrils had gone white, in a way Aludra had inherited. She went on, more calmly, "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney—"

She stopped again, and then said, in a very matter-of-fact tone, "You look in excellent health to me, Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

The class laughed, and the air of doom disappeared. McGonagall nodded sharply and turned the subject back to Animagi.

Ron, however, continued to worry.

They were eating lunch after Transfiguration when he asked Evan, "You haven't seen a big, black dog anywhere, have you Evan?"

"Actually, I have," Evan replied casually, his worry clearly gone. "At Ally's house, over the summer. His name is 'Sirius'."

"This is serious, Evan," Ron huffed. "My Uncle Bilius, he saw a grim and twenty-four hours later he was dead!"

"I'm not saying grims aren't real, just that Trelawney's a complete fraud," Aludra cut in. "She's been here since 1979, has predicted the death of dozens of students, but not one of them has so much as fallen off their broom. Evan will be fine, Ron. He's got us to look after him."

"I can't believe she had the nerve to bring up Aimee, though," Evan added bitterly.

Aludra frowned. "What did she say?" She asked.

"She said," he cleared his throat, hazel eyes bright with emotion. "That Aimee was haunting my footsteps, and I would see her soon."

Aludra pursed her lips in an uncanny impersonation of her grandmother. The audacity of that woman! She had gone way too far in using Aimee Potter to support her so-called 'predictions'. "I'll complain to Granddad when I see him for tea on Sunday," she promised. "He'll deal with her. But I don't think you should stick it out, Evan. You'll spend the next three years dealing with her terrorizing you. You should switch while you have the chance."

"Can we swap?" Evan asked doubtingly.

Aludra nodded. "Yes, for the next fortnight," she confirmed. "Most of Trelawney's 'targets' tend to swap. You could look through our textbooks, see if you're interested in anything. Ancient Runes would be helpful. It's how you create wards. That could be useful for you in the future."

Evan chewed on his bottom lip. "I'll think about it," he agreed hesitantly, glancing discreetly at Ron, who was scowling broodingly at his lunch.

"Alright, but you should hurry and decide," Susan said. "The longer you wait, the harder it'll be to manage, especially if you wanted to swap to Runes."

Before Evan could answer Hagrid came down, grinning broadly. "Ready fer class, you lot?" He asked eagerly. "Yer in me firs' ever lesson, at two. Can ya believe it? Me, a teacher! Great man, Dumbledore. Came straigh' down ter me hut after Kettleburn said 'e'd 'ad enough."

"It's going to be great, Hagrid," Aludra assured him with a smile. It would be too. She knew for a fact that Hagrid had been in contact with Newt Scamander about what to teach them and when. Having a mentor was part of the Board's conditions to agree for Hagrid to be the next COMC teacher, despite not having completed his schooling (getting an OWL and NEWT in COMC as quickly as possible was another one). Granddad had suggested Scamander, who Hagrid was already in contact with.

He beamed at them and hurried off, saying he had to finish getting everything ready.

"What do you think he's going to show us?" Evan asked warily.

"It's alright," Aludra assured the others. "For him to be hired despite not getting his OWLs or NEWTs, plus, though he doesn't know this, his less-than stellar judgement about dangerous creatures, he had to be assigned a mentor who would approve his lesson plans and give him advice. Everything will be totally safe."

"Phew," Evan sighed. "I could just see him bringing a hippogriff or something to the first class and then it attacking someone who bothered it. I wouldn't want Hagrid to get into trouble."

"Hence why Daddy insisted on the clause in his employment contract," Aludra replied. "He needs his lessons approved for three years, and by then he'll have a grip on how to do things."

"Shall we get going?" Neville suggested. "We don't want to be late."

They agreed, gathering up their things and heading for Hagrid's hut.

The first COMC class went very well, with Hagrid showing them different types of creatures (all confined behind fences and restraining charms) that they would be meeting during the year, from kneazles to nifflers to hippogriffs, which would be covered near the end of the year. Malfoy spent the class ignoring Hagrid and complaining about how 'his father would hear about such an oaf being hired' and Hagrid assigned him a detention, much to the delight of everyone except for Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle.

Even the Slytherins hated Malfoy.

"Well, you can't say it wasn't an interesting first day back," Ron offered as they made their way back to the castle for dinner.

The rest of the group shot him disbelieving looks.

"What?" He protested.