Lisa looked up, then scooted over as Morgaine slipped into class and took the seat next to her. After the small break outside, before they wandered off to History of Magic, she mentioned that she needed to drop off paperwork and get her schedule to continue her apprenticeship.
"So, you're all set?" Lisa asked, opening her book.
"Every Saturday, right before breakfast, through sick call till lunchtime," Morgaine replied.
"Still can't imagine giving up my sleep, especially when I don't need to get up," Mandy grumbled, reaching into her bag and pulling out a small, embroidered pillow.
Morgaine shook her head, noticing that her classmates were not paying attention to the professor. Most of them were just talking to one another, while some were reading something other than history or, like Mandy behind her, napping. A small group of boys were even tossing a small ball back and forth across the room.
Padma and a couple of Hufflepuffs just looked annoyed as the professor started his lecture in the middle of a paragraph of some random chapter. According to Penny, the ghost mostly read the book aloud, so there wasn't a real reason to listen. Class notes for every year were available in the Ravenclaw's common room.
After listening for about ten minutes, Morgaine couldn't hide her annoyance. Over the summer, she read several history books, including this one, and found them lacking. No small part was due to how it covered the period of King Arthur and what it said about Merlin and Morgan LeFey. Obviously, whoever wrote those books leaned heavily on her political enemies' narrative. She couldn't imagine sitting here for the next few years listening to so-called Goblin rebellions.
"Excuse me, professor," Morgaine called out, and when he didn't answer, she did it again.
A Hufflepuff across from her said, "He won't listen to students."
Morgaine sat up straight and projected her voice, lacing it with her magic and authority. "Professor."
The classroom became quiet. The students napping were now awake, and the rest stared at her in shock.
Professor Cuthbert Binns shook his head, blinked, and then turned toward Morgaine. With wide eyes, he stammered, "Yes."
"Professor, If you're not aware, we have just started Hogwarts," Morgaine sat back, sounding more like a Queen than a student. "Wouldn't it be better to start at the beginning of the book? You must admit there is more to our magical history than the Goblin wars."
"The beginning, the beginning," the professor nodded, looking confused, then looked down at his book. "Oh my, you are correct; I am not sure why I started here, err."
"Morgaine Rheged," she insisted.
"Miss Rheged, of course. I do apologize. Let us see; perhaps I will start over, yes?"
With a nod from the former Queen, he continued. "Excellent, class, my name is Professor Binns. I will be teaching the History of Magic and how it has shaped our world. We will start with its earliest usage, go through the rise of the great empires and their fall, and discuss famous and infamous practitioners during that time. At the end of your time at Hogwarts, you will have a good understanding of how we came to be. Now, if you all open your books to the preface, let us discuss the author's notes, and then we will start on the first chapter, discussing early forms of magic."
Julian Sanders, fifth-year Hufflepuff prefect, leaned on the wall as the firsties suddenly burst out of the classroom, all talking at once. He knew from experience that this wasn't normal. In fact, he half expected that he would need to go into the classroom to wake a few of them up.
"Ravenclaws," he called out before they wandered off. "Come with me; I'll escort you to the Great Hall."
He only took half a dozen steps to ask, "What's gotten all of you so excited? It can't be about Goblin wars.
"Oh, no," Hannah explained. "We started with that, then the Professor started the class over and taught how the first witches and wizards saw magic and how it was used in their daily lives."
"I'm surprised by how many rituals they did," Michael Corner added.
Julian came to a sudden halt. "Wait, he talked about rituals? What else."
"Shamanism and the first Animagus, but we didn't really get all that far," Susan answered. "I think we're going to discuss the Sumerians and the great Wizard Marduk until the holidays."
"Should be interesting," Padma smiled.
The Ravenclaw perfected made a face. "I'm confused; Sumerians, who are they, not Goblin rebellions?"
"Oh, no, Morgaine asked him why he started in the middle of the book," Sally Ann joined the discussion and then grinned at the former Queen. "Although, she can be a bit scary. He immediately agreed to start over when she pointed it out."
"And he listened to you," Miles turned around.
Morgaine shrugged. "A sensible question, don't you think?"
"Right," Julian agreed, still very much confused.
Lunchtime once again brought the whole school together at the Great Hall. Morgaine noted that the food wasn't too different from what she remembered eating at primary school. Various types of sandwich breads, sausages, onions, ham, and pickles were in abundance. The only thing missing were the crisps. Instead, they had thick hand-cut chips but little to no veggies or fresh fruit. At least Sunflower supplied her with a nice cup of tea instead of pumpkin juice.
Chewing on a spicey pickily, Lisa pulled out her schedule. "We have double potions next."
"With the Hufflepuffs," Su nodded.
"Oh, you have Snape next? You might want to pair everyone up with those who have brewed before," a second-year girl advised them.
"Why?" Su Li asked.
The second year shrugged. "Because he won't teach you anything. He just stands there, speaks about the wonders of potions, asks a bunch of questions, and then points to the board. Somehow, without ever working with a cauldron, you're supposed to know how to brew the Boil-Cure Potion."
"Really, the Boil-Cure Potion," Morgaine replied unimpressed. "For our first brew."
"Yeah, be careful about not overheating the nettles unless you want a face full of potion," another girl pointed out.
Morgaine thanked them, then stood up. "Why don't you ladies sort us out? I'll go speak with Susan and Hannah."
Professor Severus Snape threw his potions room door open with a bang; already in a foul mood at the thought of having to teach Potter's spawn, he became even more irritated when the girl didn't appear. Oh, he had mixed feelings about the disappearance of Lily's daughter, but it only added to his frustration. Now, he had to teach a bunch of first-year dunderheads.
"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making," he began to pontificate, then stopped momentarily.
The students had already paired off, but not in the usual way of only their house members. Even odder, all of the potion stations were set up and ready to brew.
After finishing his speech, he began to ask questions, pointing to a Ravenclaw, "What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
"They are the same plant, sir," she answered correctly.
The second question was given to a Hufflepuff, who, after a few minutes, replied with only half an answer, for which he took point off. He then turned toward the girl Poppy mentioned as an apprentice healer.
"Miss Rheged, where can I find a bezoar?"
"In the stomach of a goat, although most magical families keep one in their home, and of course, healers have a small bag in their kit as it's effective in countering most poisons."
With a nod, Professor Snape turned to the board. "You have until the end of class to complete the Boil-Cure Potion. Begin."
The former Queen was less than pleased. It was as the older girls said; after a little speech and a smattering of questions, they were expected to start brewing. Although it had been centuries since Morgaine first learned potion brewing from her mother, the dangers themselves had not changed. The current potion, although its ingredients had changed since she first learned how to make it, was always tricky and in no way should be their first.
"Go ahead and write it down, Lisa. Even if you know a potion by heart, having a copy handy is better. I'll go get the ingredients."
Moments later, she, along with the help of Susan and Morag, who had also brewed before, passed out the ingredients to everyone before returning to their desks.
"Mandy, the snake-fang needs to be a paste," Morgaine coached.
Several of her classmates, who were also at the step, looked down, noticing that theirs was also wrong.
"Justin, the pungous onions need to be sliced thinner." Morgaine nodded approvingly as she heard Morag also help those around her.
Throughout the lesson, the three gave out little bits of advice. However, the majority came from Morgaine, who was more or less teaching those around her how to safely work around a cauldron. To no one surprise, Professor Snape stood in front of Morgaine, watching her brew.
"Pull the cauldron off the flame before you add the nettles, Terry," she called out before doing the same herself.
"You have experience with this potion?" Snape asked.
Morgaine nodded without looking up. "Yes, sir. Healer Eloise and I often made a batch when we worked in Diagon Alley."
"I see," Snape then started to walk away. "Then I expect a perfect potion from you."
"Of course, sir," she answered, returning to brewing.
The rest of the class continued much the same, except that Snape began to stroll through the classroom, sniping at anyone's mistakes. Although not everyone got it perfectly, everyone was pleased with their potions but glad the class was over.
After dinner, it is tradition for the first year's Ravenclaws to sit in the common room to do their homework. However, there was very little to do, only a foot on the potion they had brewed in class. With everyone but Morag, who wanted to re-write it, done, the group sat around whispering among themselves. Morgaine, though, had her healer's book open, taking notes as she wasn't done with her other homework.
"Can't believe he made Sally cry," Padma huffed. "It's not like her potion looked bad."
"And she was chuffed to bits that she and Roger hadn't blown themselves up," Terry groused.
"Looked alright to me," Mandy said. "Better than mine; I didn't even get the right color since I forgot to stir it correctly at the end."
"We're just lucky we didn't cut off our fingers with all that yelling," Lisa frowned. "That knife was sharp. Still, no need to yell."
"The man just hated that we all had finished potions. I heard from my brother that he uses his first lesson to humiliate us firsties or some such nonsense," Morag grumbled.
"Man's a right twit," Lisa agreed.
"I assume by your dower faces that you're talking about our favorite potion professor?" an older student approached with a grin. "I'm Alan, by the way, fourth year and trust me, Snape doesn't get any better. In fact, he's pretty horrid in later years to those who don't do well in potions. No wonder most students don't bother to continue on with their NEWTS."
"Joy," Padma sighed.
"Well, we just need Morgaine to teach us," Lisa grinned. "The professor seemed irked that our potion ended up being perfect."
"Oh, I know that name. According to rumors, she's the one who got Binn's to teach properly, right?" Alan asked excitedly. "I know the rest of the school won't thank her, but I will. I love history, and it's been frustrating that our professor didn't cover more than Goblin rebellions."
Lisa nudged her friend's foot. "See, I told you that someone else would be happy."
"I wasn't concerned," Morgaine laughed.
"Oh, you're her. Well, thanks, and good luck with Snape, everyone."
Before he could walk away, Professor Flitwick exited the hallway from his office. "Mr. Smythe, can you please get the rest of your fourth years together in about an hour. We will go over the changes in the History of Magic. Apparently, Professor Binn isn't happy with the current book Hogwarts is using, as it's a century out of date."
The young man made a face.
"Yes, I am aware that not everyone can afford to buy a new edition, so it's one of the things we will discuss. Miss Rheged, can I also speak to you for a moment?"
"Of course, professor." Morgaine smiled, closing her books and placing them in a neat pile.
"You're not in trouble," Lisa whispered.
"Doubtful," the former Queen assured her friend. "I'll be back."
The location of the Head of Ravenclaw office was down a small corridor by the stairs. It looked comfortable and friendly, with several tasteful pieces of furniture, portraits of former heads of House adorning the walls, including a beautiful one of Rowena Ravenclaw and a desk, currently full of papers of goblin make.
With the door closed, Professor Flitwick bowed at the waist as privacy wards went up, "It's a pleasure to meet Your Majesty."
"I see you have been speaking with your cousins," Morgaine sighed. "And please, professor, I am only a simple student."
Professor Flitwick grinned and sat behind his desk. "Well, hardly a simple student, Miss Rheged. As I am sure you heard, our history professor had determined the current history book will need to be replaced."
"Well, it's rather horrid."
"Oh, no disagreement from me. However, the problem for the school is that although Cuthbert has acknowledged a student before, he never changed what he was teaching."
"I see, until now."
"Correct, so don't be surprised if the headmaster, once he returns, has some questions. Although perhaps you can lean on your lineage?"
Morgaine looked up at her many great-grandchild's portrait. "That would probably be for the best, although that too, I imagine, is not without some complications. Still, no need to cause families financial hardship, Professor. I will let my financial advisor know that I will be paying for all of the new books. If someone in the school can work with whomever he assigns."
Professor Flitwick pulled out a piece of parchment and began writing a few things down. "Thank you, Your Majesty. If the headmaster asks who is paying for it?"
"Well, the donation can be given anonymously, although if pressed, just explain that the Rheged family is donating the new history books to the school. I do feel somewhat responsible. I have also been told that the current collection of brooms is unsafe,"
"Well, they aren't to the point of being unusable, but you are correct. Even so, I am sure Rolanda would be happy if they were all replaced. I know she's been begging the headmaster for years."
The former Queen frowned. "Students safety should come first. Is the school having money problems?"
Professor Flitwick shook his head. "Not that I am aware."
"Well, I have no desire to try and mount a broom whose enchantments are worn, so it's not a bother. In addition, I have other concerns about Hogwarts students' safety. First of all, this, although you might have already been told."
Morgaine reached into her bag and passed him a letter. "Clan Chief Ragnok mentioned that my return had them upgrade the security of all of the vaults and change some of the wards. Our Defense instructor was trying to break into one of them with fatal results."
Professor Flitwick read the letter, his eyes wide, then frowned. "Foolish man, it seems Quintus won't be returning to school. I will make sure the headmaster knows."
"Thank you, and my second concern is the safety of the students in potion class."
The Charm professor looked up from the letter and sighed. "Your Majesty was in Severus' class this afternoon. Unfortunately, little can be done; the headmaster won't hire anyone else, even with the many complaints from parents and students."
"I see, even if it's a safety issue. Professor Snape, so I have been told, is a Potions Master of high regard, but frankly, he shouldn't be anywhere near children, much less teaching a potion class. In addition, I have been told after taking their OWLs that most students cannot proceed with their potion education due to his disagreeable nature."
Professor Flitwick nodded. "He only accepts those who earn an Outstanding."
"Which would be fine if he actually taught everyone to that level," Morgaine noted with a frown. "Healer Eloise spoke to me over the summer and said the only reason new healers don't require remedial potions is because of Madam Pomfrey."
The two sat there silently for a moment before Morgaine sighed. "I have no right to interfere with the teachings of this school. However, as a Healer, I cannot just stand and do nothing."