Harry potter and the Time of retirement
Everything related to Harry Potter belongs to JKR
Chapter 5
Charms and Herbology were quite similar to what Harry expected out of their first lesson: a quick introduction by each professor on the basis of their discipline followed by a first taste of magic with Lumos, arguably the easiest spell to cast, and a trip through the greenhouses lead by professor Sprout.
The matronly witch introduced herself as the head of house for Hufflepuff and therefore a "reference point" for her new first year students. It was Flitwick's opening speech though that arose Harry's interest. While appropriately simplified for complete beginners, there were enough hints into it about questions Harry had mused over his whole professional life. Hints about the focus needed to make a spell work or the importance of precise wand movements and pronunciation: pieces of advice that would satisfy a kid in their simplicity but not him, not anymore.
What was the relation about "magic", whatever it really was, and the caster of a spell? While not all spells were so dependent on intent as the emotion-based ones, as his old attempts in using Crucio and Patronus showed with their different results, it was common knowledge that all of them were more effective when the caster strongly wished them to succeed, or was confident in his ability to cast them.
And yet, intent was obviously not enough by itself as many spells required a wand to be cast, and all acts of magic were easier to create with it anyway. Arguably, or at least that was the explanation carried on by the few (and they were really few) scholars of theoretical magic, wands were necessary only when the complexity of the act was superior to the finesse of the caster – which was a possible explanation for why wandless magic mostly regarded simple concepts, like pushing or vanishing. A reasoning that was supported by how many wand gestures replicated in a way the spell outcomes, something easier to note in spells creating movement like Accio or Wingardium Leviosa; something to be expected, if the only role of the wand was to transmit "magic" and shape the results.
Still, there were so many holes, so many points of it that were not fully understood... from the origin of it, to its persistence in time like with enchanted items or wards, to the influence the incantation actually had over success or failure of a cast attempt. And what about the effectiveness of his own spells, much weaker now than when he had been older: did that mean the body was involved too, in some way? Sometimes Harry wondered if all wizards were just fumbling into the dark, mostly repeating what seemed to work without ever understanding why. All these questions were obviously over his ability to solve them, anyway, he thought bitterly.
His distraction showed during class as the girl on his right, Hannah Abbot, asked if he felt sick. With a grim smile, Harry shook his head and tried to switch his focus back on the lesson. Performing Lumos was hardly a test for him, so after a dozen minutes trying to fake his unsuccess in performing it (and quickly promising himself that he would rather abandon the castle than doing something so boring for months or years) he tried to spice it up by adding mistakes in the incantation and sudden movements of the wand while keeping himself focused on creating a light.
The results were less than encouraging as nothing shined even when some of the other students started to succeed in performing the spell; he felt a difference right before giving up out of stress and was already wondering what to do next, but when he refocused he again felt nothing. Maybe the problem was in paying too much attention to the wrong incantation and movement? Focusing only on creating a light, he cast until the tiniest of sparks shined on the tip of his wand and then, clearly pronouncing "Humos" but without moving his eyes away from the tip, he wished his magic to work. The light appeared, as strong as with a normal incantation.
"Harry, don't take this the wrong way, but your pronunciation is terrible. No wonder you took so much" said Hannah.
"Yeah, well, we are all here to learn, aren't we?" answered Harry, suddenly in a good mood. What he managed might have no practical use, and yet he felt oddly satisfied. The feats he saw wizards as Dumbledore or Riddle perform in his youth were well beyond what he or anyone else he knew ever managed, and he doubted it was just because they knew secret spells learnt who knows where.
He had always been suspicious they just had, either through natural talent or extreme dedication to practice, a deeper connection to their "magic"; so much that their intent overcome all other factors, from the need of incantations to the usual effects of a spell. While he had no pressing desire to improve his skills, not at his age, magical theory and advanced casting were some of the few activities that both interested him and that he could still enjoy – until he started to go out and drink some firewhiskey again, of course. Plus he had to fill his time somehow and, if he failed to get appreciable results, no big deal; he had no one to answer to. How appropriate he was starting this little experiment of his with Lumos, the most basic of spells, he thought amused while the bell signaling the end of the lesson rung.
Joining the rest of his housemates, he exchanged small chatter about their very first class at Hogwarts and, more importantly, where the greenhouses for the next class actually could be placed. Before leaving the floor he noticed how Malfoy was looking at him, in the distance: that was obviously a talk that had been postponed, not canceled, but he decided to pay it no mind for the moment. Giving random additions to the chats around him, he kept walking onward.
"I am glad to see that Professor Sprout is nice, but she is not exactly important is she? I mean... the other houses do have some more prestigious Heads, unlike us" said Zacharias to Ernie.
"I can understand for McGonagall, but you can't tell me having Snape would be better. And Flitwick, I am taller than he is." answered Ernie, while taking his seat at the house table.
The two had been talking about professors since the end of Herbology, while the other just listened: unsurprisingly, as Justin was a muggleborn with no idea of who was who in Hogwarts and Wayne was... actually, Harry had no idea of Wayne's background. He did not seem to be fazed by magic as Justin was, but maybe he was just unenthusiastic.
"Potter, don't you agree that Sprout is embarrassing? Come on" said Zacharias.
"...she might look a little weird. Who cares?"
"I do! Hufflepuff already has a bad reputation, and having such a lame head of the house doesn't help!" pressed on Zacharias.
"Relax, Zach. She is not that bad" said Ernie, filling his plate.
"Beside, Herbology IS important. The class we have now, Potion... I heard that if you are good with herbs, it's much easier" added Hopkins, who was already eating.
"It just shows that by itself it is a useless subject" snorted Zacharias, mouth half full.
"I did not expect something like Herbology to be taught at all, to be honest. Isn't there a spell to make herbs grows instantly, anyway?" said Justin.
"Not if they have magical properties, no" said Harry.
"What are you all talking about?" asked Susan Bones, sitting down on the other side of the table together with the other Hufflepuff first year girls. None of the boys answered her.
"The best head of house. If professor Sprout is good or not" said Harry after a couple seconds of awkward staring.
"I like her. She was easy to understand, and she seemed nice" said Sally-Anne Perks.
"Yeah, me too. Flitwick this morning wasn't bad either, but he is just... weird" added Megan Jones, while Hannah nodded alongside her.
"Wow. Why is anyone here so hostile to the guy? He is short, big deal" said Justin, smiling at his own joke. He was the only one, as everyone but Sally-Anne and Harry looked at him.
"Justin... I think he is a good teacher. My parents spoke well of him. But they also said he is so short because there is goblin blood in his family. And that is disgusting" said Ernie, looking around himself. No one seemed to disagree.
"Goblins? Like the one in that Gringott bank? It is weird, but not that bad, come on." answered Justin.
"You are muggleborn, you don't understand. Unsurprisingly" said Zacharias, uncaring.
"What's wrong with being muggleborn? Or part goblin?" asked Justin, now watching around himself. Everyone suddenly seemed to find the content of their plates really interesting – except Zacharias who had an amused expression, and Ernie that showed none instead. Also, Sally-Anne seemed interested in the answers too. A bit worried, Justin turned to Harry.
"Harry, I heard someone say you are half-blood. So, either your mom or dad are a muggle, right?"
"No, they were both magicians. But my mom was a muggleborn. Purebloods think that is negative already" said Harry.
"Well, you killed he-who-must-not-be-named. That counts for something" said Wayne.
"Plus it's full of half bloods like you around, and you Susan, right?" said Ernie.
"Yes, and Hannah too, I think. My aunt says there are almost no more purebloods left, and those few won't last long."
"Please, she wish. We are the best of the wizards, and we are not going anywhere" said Zacharias.
"You don't seem that much better than me, Zacharias. No, wait, you don't seem better at all" said Justin.
"Ok, ok, calm down. I am sure you will be great, Justin. But being pureblood is different. I have nine generations of wizards and witches only behind me and, no offense to your family, that is better" said Ernie, politely but with an hard tone. Almost everyone else, all the girls included, were now silent.
"That is not true" started Justin, but stopped when Harry grabbed his arm and squeezed. Hard.
"Let it go, Justin. It's a good advice, trust me. For now, eat" he said, staring at him straight into his eyes. For a couple seconds he seemed willing to continue, but then narrowed his eyes and went back to his lunch. An uncomfortable silence fell on their section of the table and, with a sigh, Harry tried to restart the conversation.
"Next class is Potions, with Snape. Has anyone read the textbook in advance? I heard he is very demanding."
"Yeah, I heard that too. Auntie had a weird face when she talked about him." said Susan.
"He is the head of Slytherin. You can't go much worse than that" said Wayne.
"I don't think all Slytherins are bad... but my mom was clear that Snape himself is not to be trusted. And mean. She seemed really angry, I wonder why" said Megan.
"Maybe they were in school together and were a couple once?" said Hannah with a giggle.
"Eeeeww, I hope not. Have you seen his hair, yesterday night?" answered Megan, with a mix of amusement and disgust on her face.
"Is this Snape a pureblood, too?" asked Sally-Anne, uncertain. Before anyone else could answer, Harry spoke with an hard tone.
"No. He is an half-blood."
"Oh. That's... good, I guess?" insisted Sally-Anne.
"Again, no. But you'll see for yourself" said Harry.
After that, the conversation lingered on until they all stood up and left for the dungeons arriving at the class in advance, slightly before Ravenclaw's. Along the way, though, Justin – that had remained silent until then – stopped in front of Harry that as his usual was remaining behind the others and said "They are not better than me."
"I don't think they are."
"Yeah, right. You agree with them, don't you? The Boy Who Lived. Too good for mug... for those that don't have magical parents" said Justin with hostility. Apparently, trying to stop him made Harry only the focus of his anger. Why did he had to try and help? They would have made peace eventually, this was still Hufflepuff. Kids, kids, no sense appealing to logic, thought Harry.
"I love my mom, and everyone says she was proud of being the first witch in her family. I swear I have nothing against muggles, Justin. Are you angry with me now?" said Harry, trying to keep any trace of hardness from his voice.
"Then why did you stop me! They will all think I am less than them!" Justin said, his voice raising. A couple of older students passing by turned their heads to watch.
"They don't think that, they were just repeating what their families said. Like you would. They didn't want to offend you."
"Well, they did" said Justin sulkily.
"But they didn't want to. Just let this go. They all want to be your friends here, even that jerk Zacharias. All right?" said Harry, giving a tap with his fist to Justin's arm.
"...bah" he answered, while walking onward without waiting for Harry. Rolling his eyes, Harry followed him up to the entrance of Potion class.
Once inside, after taking seats, they waited for the arrival of the professor – while looking around nervously at all the jars filled with dead animals, or part of them.
At the roll call, when his name was called, Harry set his eyes on Snape before answering. He kept his face expressionless, but inside he was almost daring the man to go on and be as lame as he remembered. Any lingering hope he had of avoiding more childish confrontations was soon squashed, unfortunately.
"Ah, yes" said Snape softly. "Harry Potter. Our new... celebrity."
At this, Harry almost imperceptibly shook his head, disappointed. 'Figures', he thought. This was not going to be a pleasant lesson.