(Daphne Greengrass - PoV)
In.
Out.
In.
Out.
Keep it steady, Daphne.
Almost done.
...
In.
Out.
...
Merlin, how many stairs does this castle have!?
In.
Out.
One more.
One more flight and I am asking Coeus to redecorate.
Do you hear me Hogwarts?! If the bloody train can understand me I am sure you can!
One more! I am warning you!
"And here we are. Again," the bitchfect announces as we approach the classroom.
Once more she stops and turns to look at us.
"Those of you who were paying attention and possess a good sense of direction may have started trying to build a mental map. I wish you luck. You will need it. For everyone else, find somewhere familiar and remember directions. We have covered at least a few of the most common routes."
A few my ass!
She claps her hands.
"And thus concludes today's tour! Have fun and put on a good show today, ok?" she chirps, her personality doing a complete shift as she suddenly begins acting friendly and cheerful rather than half bored and dismissive.
"Slytherin Pride!" she cheers, pumping her fist.
A hallway full of confused and exhausted (not that I let either show. In. Out.) First-Years stare at her.
"Well? What is everyone waiting for?" she asks, tilting her head 'innocently'. "Class is right here!" she declares, gesturing exaggeratedly.
...
Ri-
"Oh!" she interrupts before anyone can move. "Don't forget! We have another tour tonight as well, for tomorrow's classes!"
Nooo...My legs...
"Don't be late, ok? And don't worry if you embarrass Slytherin! It's your first day, after all. And I still need volunteers to practice my human transfiguration!" she says with a giggle, cutely waving her wand next to her face.
"I really need the practice too. I am not very good at it," she mock whispers, cupping her hands to her mouth.
...
With a smile and a wave, she takes her leave.
...
And I thought I had at least made some distance from their demands...
...
The teacher's desk is the first thing to draw the eye as I enter the classroom. The massive, elaborately carved hunk of wood takes the place of honor at the front of the room, accompanied by various boards and diagrams (and the Professor, sitting on top, of course). Rows of far simpler, two-seater desks fill the middle, as if awaiting their elder's attention. And great cages containing various animals line the sides of the room, each with its own unique design. I assume the cages are enspelled somehow, given the lack of noise.
More importantly, Iris, Phoebe, and Coeus are already here.
Them beating us here isn't really a surprise considering the extra exploring we did. We only have a few minutes until class starts, in fact. But...
In.
Out.
Resisting the urge to collapse into one of the chairs, I walk closer instead (still carefully stopping short of the usual 'collateral zone').
The girls have taken seats. Coeus, on the other hand, is poking at the animals in the cages.
"Do you like getting beat up or something?" I ask.
"Huh?" Coeus replies, turning towards me.
I gesture toward the cages.
"Why do you try to pick a fight with everything you encounter?" I ask.
"I'm not trying to pick a fight," he objects, frowning. "I was just seeing what's up with the animals. They are all acting weird. I'm betting on potions."
"Sure. We will see how long that lasts," I scoff.
"And potions?"
He nods.
"Look at the cages," he says, pointing to various spots. "No runework. No tool marks I can see either, and with these designs? I bet they are conjured. So they probably aren't the source. Besides, these animals are for the upper years to practice on, right? What's the point of making them all," he wiggles a hand at the nearest cage, "If they go nuts as soon as you take them out?"
Looking at the spots he pointed to, I see...nothing in particular.
Why those locations? He pointed to some of the most elaborately decorated spots and the plainest.
Frustrating.
I assumed he was being an idiot as usual, when instead he wa-
Reaching into the cage, he casually pokes the currently*passive inhabitant.
"Plus you don't want to risk spells interfering, right? I don't think a charm like that would cause problems, but better to be safe than sorry, right? So, potions!"
He pokes it again.
"Long lasting, can be made in batches..." he hesitates. "Maybe easy to administer?"
He cocks his head.
"Huh. I dunno. Most potions taste and smell awful...It might actually be hard to get an animal to take them. Compulsion charm, maybe? I don't think you could sneak them into their food."
He snaps his fingers.
"Unless a Potions Master can modify it! Someone like Professor Snape," he says, nodding.
...
I don't think he is even talking to me anymore.
More importantly?
Slowly, carefully, I step closer.
*Smack*
And smack his hand.
"Ow!" he jerks back. "What was that for?!"
"You, are an idiot," I inform him.
"You say that a lot..."
I point at the cage.
"You do realize what is in that cage, right?"
Tilting his head, he peers past me.
"Uhh...A badger?"
...
"Yes. A badger."
...
"So?"
...
"So? So? What if the potion, or spell, or whatever wore off! Or just was not quite as effective?"
"...Ok? S-. It's a badger, right? What's the big deal?"
...
"Coeus...What do you know about badgers?"
He shrugs.
"I dunno, they like to dig or something? They are the House animal for Hufflepuff, right?" he scoffs. "What's it going to do, throw a plant at me? If half a dozen Puffs aren't a threat I doubt their mascot is any better."
The far side of the room becomes decidedly more hostile as I resist the urge to pinch my nose.
"Brother!" Phoebe snaps out. "Sit."
He deflates immediately.
At least one of them has sense.
"Don't see the big deal," he mutters, taking his seat. "I could take it."
She shoves him.
"Even a Hufflepuff can be a threat if you let them draw their wand and start throwing spells at you point blank. Well, sort of. They could hur- They might manage something at least."
She frowns.
"Nevermind, this was a terrible analogy. Forget Hufflepuff. Plenty of animals can actually hurt you. Stop antagonizing them," she demands, glaring at Coeus.
...
Shaking my head, I (finally!) take a seat.
I mean, it's not like I don't get where they are coming from? It's the Puffs. They can glare all they want, but what are they going to actually do? Especially to those two.
But you just don't say things like that. Not where they can hear at least.
In.
Out.
Sweet Merlin, it's all I can do not to just melt in my chair right now. Ooooh, my legs...
And it is the first period.
This is going to be a looong day...
(Iris Potter - PoV)
My wand rolls through my fingers as I fidget.
I should ask Dora how she does her wand tricks. I am pretty sure I would just drop mine if I tried.
...
Despite my best efforts, I can't suppress all the little twitches. Or stop the constant glances.
...
This is new territory for me.
Half the room is glaring.
But...NOT at me.
I...don't know how to handle this?
I thought I would be relieved...Well, maybe. If it was something I wouldn't end up getting blamed for anyway...
...
Never mind.
Anyhow, I had hoped to not be the target for so long, I expected to be happy to be in this situation! Except...
Except it's Coeus everyone is glaring at.
And...
I...
Don't like that.
I don't like that at all.
...
I mean...Ok. I get why they are glaring. They do kind of have a reason...
But...
The smooth wood slides through my fingers as my wand spins faster.
...
The moment they try anything...The moment...
"~~~~"
Him. The blonde. He's the most likely to st-
Someone pokes me in the side.
"Iri-"
My wand is pointed between their eyes and a spell is on my lips in an instant.
...
"Daphne?"
She looks...surprised.
"...Iris. Could you...?"
Oh.
Oh! Right.
Blinking, I lower my wand.
"Sorry. Sorry, I thought..."
...
Shrugging, I look away.
...
"...Right. It's...fine," she replies.
...
The awkward silence is thankfully interrupted when McGonagall starts speaking.
No idea what she is speaking about, unfortunately. I am still trying to process how close I came to cursing Daphne!
I am a terrible (maybe?) friend...
Needles. Great...
I hate needles...
Daphne looks over at me and I force myself to give her a smile.
She really doesn't seem to hold it against me?
My notes are...non-existant. I couldn't focus at all while McGonagall was lecturing. I have never been good at taking notes at the best of times and today is not the best of times.
Daphne definitely noticed, given the way she slid hers over to the middle of the table as the Professor started passing out matches.
McGonagall gives me a look as she passes by our table but doesn't say anything.
Ok.
Taking a breath, I focus on the matchstick.
No.
No, not it's not a matchstick. It's a needle.
...
Narrowing my eyes and gripping my wand, I focus.
Needle.
The shape.
Thin.
Silver.
Knitting.
Metal.
Sharp.
So sharp.
(Coeus Black - PoV)
*Ding!*
The sound comes from an hourglass on McGonagall's desk as the sand runs out.
"Wands down! That's it for today," she says. "Let's see how everyone did."
I suspect she already has a good idea? It's not like she sat at her desk the entire time.
Shrugging, I put away my wand and pick up my...n...needle?
Poker.
I pick up my poker.
"What do you think, Phoebe?"
"Task failed successfully," she replies without even looking.
"What? Failed? You didn't even look!" I complain.
Reaching over, she plucks my poker from my fingers.
"He-OW!"
I yelp as she stabs me with her silver mat-fine. With her needle.
Rubbing my arm, I glare at her.
"What wa-Ow!"
Turning around, I see Daphne on my other side.
Smiling at me, she holds up her matchstick.
"I wanted to show you my work!" she claims.
Narrowing my eyes, I turn and reach behind me, swiping Draco's matchstick off his desk (and ignoring his objections).
*Poke*
...
Daphne raises an eyebrow.
Frowning, I examine the matchstick in my hand.
The perfectly plain, blunt matchstick.
Slowly turning in my seat, I face Draco.
"You have failed me."
"And the three of you are disappointing me. One point Slytherin for each of you for the horseplay."
McGonagall has finally reached our side of the room.
"Return everyone's matchsticks to their owners."
Passing Draco his stick, I find my poker in front of me when I turn around.
"Good. Now, Ms. Potter..."
The Professor examines Iris's work closely, picking it up off the desk.
"I am impressed! The color changed, even if it is not exactly what we wanted. The tip is," she touches it lightly, jerking her finger away, " exceptionally, sharp. The shape is not quite right, but close. The texture is there, it certainly feels metallic."
She gives Iris a small smile.
"Excellent work! Ten points to Slytherin!"
Iris ducks her head.
"Thank you, Professor," she mutters, so quietly I can barely hear her, even two seats away.
"Tell me, do you have any practice sewing?" she asks Iris. "Familiarity with what you are transfiguring tends to make it much easier and more successful," she addresses the room as a whole.
...
"Some. K-Kind of."
...
"I see." With another nod, McGonagall moves on the Daphne.
"Mmm. Interesting."
Picking it up, she looks it over.
"No change to color or texture, still clearly wood, but you managed to reshape it significantly."
A touch.
"Reasonably sharp."
She gives her a nod.
"One of the better attempts I have had on the first day. Good work, Miss Greengrass. Two points to Slytherin."
"Thank you, Ma'am."
My turn.
"Mr. Black," she nods to me.
I give her a wave.
I don't think would appreciate me replying.
Mainly because I don't think I could stop myself from calling her Professor Kitty if I did.
Ugh.
I mean, she literally spends half the first day of classes sitting on her desk as a cat.
But I just know I would somehow be in the wrong.
Stupid.
"Mr. Black."
McGonagall is staring at me, holding my Poker.
"Yeah?"
"You do remember the objective of this lesson, yes?"
"...Yes?"
"Restate it, please."
"Turn the matchstick into a needle."
"Yes. A needle."
"...Ok?"
"So why did you turn your matchstick into a very small knife?"
...
"I mean..."
"It's kinda..."
...
I shrug.
"I don't really know anything about needles other than thin and pokey? But I know knives? So I guess I just accidentally...?"
It's not like I was trying to!
I think?
She continues to stare at me for several seconds before nodding.
"This is perhaps another example of what I was talking about," she says, looking around the room. "A potential strength, and a potential danger. The better you know something, the easier it is to transfigure. But you should take care not to accidentally transfigure the wrong thing, out of sheer habit or familiarity."
Looking over the room once more, she gives me a long look before nodding once and returning her attention to my...knife?
"Color, texture, sharpness, shape...It is an impressive transfiguration overall, Mr. Black, in that you managed to change everything, even if you hit entirely the wrong goal. Five points for Slytherin."
Huh. Cool.
I nod and she moves on to Phoebe.
"Miss Black," she says as she picks up Phoebe's needle.
And blinks.
Humming, she fiddles with it, seeming a bit more thoroughly than with everyone else's before looking at Phoebe.
"Interesting. The shape is right, and you have proven the sharpness already," she says with a slight frown. "But the appearance, the color...You transfigured the cosmetic properties but not the other physical ones. It may look like a needle, but it is still a matchstick, even with the transfiguration."
Phoebe shrugs.
"I have an easier time seeing things than feeling them."
McGonagall nods.
"Understandable. Something to work on, in the future," she says, placing the matchstick(?) on the desk.
"Still, as with your friends, this was excellent work for your first day. Five points to Slytherin."
Phoebe nods as Mcgonagall moves on.
No one else in Slytherin gets points. And no one in Hufflepuff period got points.
Which, seriously?
They can't even make their matchsticks sharp?
...Wait.
That was what Phoebe meant this morning!
The bell rings, interrupting me as everyone starts grabbing their things.
Well, never mind then. It's off to...Crap.
I should probably look at our schedule at some point.
Turning towards Phoebe, I-
"Mr. Black, Miss Potter. If you could remain, just a moment," McGonagall...asks?
Does it still count as asks if it is not really a request?
Phoebe ignores me when I look at her.
...
Iris is looking at me when I look her way.
Right.
Giving her a shrug, I grab my bag, poke Phoebe (With my finger. We had to turn in all the sticks), and march towards the Kitty's sitting post.
I wonder how many detentions I would get if I got caught labeling it that?
McGonagall waits for the three of us to gather up in front of her desk before speaking.
"You made some interesting observations before class, Mr. Black. A point to Slytherin for them."
Cool!
"Your conclusion was wrong, however. The animals are charmed, not potioned. Charmwork is substantially less likely to interfere with Transfiguration than Potions unless the Charm affects physical properties, in which case it varies."
...Right. That makes sense.
"Regardless, Miss Greengrass is correct. You really should not mess about with wild creatures unnecessarily. Spells and potions can fail, and there is no need for pointless risk, however minor. There is a reason I keep them in cages despite the charms."
Grimacing, I look away.
Birds. Badgers.
Bleh.
They act like I am sticking my hand in a dragon's cage.
...
Or crawling after an unknown monster in a death trolley...
"Finally, minus one point to Slytherin for the comments about Hufflepuff."
What?
Blinking, I look back at her.
But I barely said anything?
She is already looking at Iris, however.
"Miss Potter..." she starts, hesitating a moment before she continues.
"Your performance today was excellent. Your father was a natural at Transfiguration, one of the best students I ever had..." she trails off before muttering, "in some ways, at least," under her breath.
"Regardless, your attempt today was actually better even than his first try."
...
Iris perked up at first, when her dad was mentioned, but then...
"Is that...good?" she asks hesitantly, almost...shying away?
McGonagall blinks.
"Of course! He would be proud! Why wouldn..." she trails off once more.
...
It's about them isn't it? I have no bloody idea how, but it always is when she gets like this...
"I'm sorry," The Professor starts again. "I assure you, both of your parents would be thrilled to see you succeed."
She pauses again for a long moment. Her mouth opens and closes several times before she speaks again.
"I understand adjusting may be...difficult. Your Head of House, Professor Snape, should be helping you as much as possible. He has...experience, in these matters. In the meantime...please, try not to hurt your classmates."
Iris flinches for some reason at the 'not really a request,' and I have to resist glaring at McGonagall.
I think she is trying to help.
Mostly?
Iris nods at the Professor, and I wrap an arm around her and pull her out of the room.
No worries Iris, off we go.
On to...Err...
Not here, anyway.
We'll figure it out.