Chapter SIX

The Gryffindor Challenge

Classes commenced the very next day and Rick was actually looking forward to them, he wanted to start learning magic straight away. Their first challenge, however, was navigating the big castle where the staircases moved constantly, walls pretended to be doors and where you could always run into Peeves, the poltergeist who loved nothing more than pestering students until they were late for class. When they finally did manage to find the correct classroom, Rick found magic classes to be a bit of a disappointment. He had been looking forward and expecting to learn spells and curses straight away but the professors had different ideas.

Rick had never expected a class titled 'Magical Theory' to be exciting but he also hadn't expected it to be that boring. Professor Tuft, an old wizard with a very monotonous voice, droned on and on about all kinds of magical principles in a long, tedious lecture. Rick barely understood anything he told them and he wished he'd stayed in bed a bit longer that morning. It felt like hours before the bell rung and they could escape professor Tuft's clutches to have lunch. This wasn't what Rick had had in mind when he'd heard the words 'School of Magic'.

"What do we have this afternoon?" He asked Rigel as he scooped up generous amounts on his plate for lunch. He hoped it would be a little more exciting than the theoretical mumbo jumbo they'd had to endure or he couldn't promise he'd be awake by the end of the class.

"Charms." Rigel said, consulting his schedule. "Should be all right, Griffiths's teaching."

"You think he'll be better than Tuft?" He asked.

"Positive," mumbled Rigel around the muffin in his mouth. He swallowed before explaining himself. "My brother doesn't like him. He says Griffiths is irresponsible and lax in his teaching duties and never gives sufficient amounts of homework. Any teacher that makes my brother complain like that is a fun teacher in my book. Plus, he's head of Gryffindor house so he'll go extra easy on us." Rick nodded.

"Sounds like an ok guy." He said. "Now if he'd let us do some actual magic, I could really start liking him."

"Come on, we'd better get going if we want to get there on time. The Charms classroom should be somewhere on the third floor but I have no idea where exactly." Rigel said, snatching another muffin from the bowl on the table. "These are really good."

They had been right to leave on time because by the time they finally located the correct classroom, they were only just in time for class to begin. In appearance alone, Griffiths was not your typical teacher. Compared to most of their professors, who were dressed in fine robes, Griffiths looked like a bum. His long light brown hair was tied messily in a ponytail and he looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days. His robes too, had dirt marks on them and more than one patch and that wasn't the only difference. As soon as class started, Rick noticed that Griffiths's teaching methods were also quite different from professor Tuft's. While professor Tuft was very boring and uninteresting, Griffiths was more fun and laid back. He impressed his students by letting their books and quills race around the classroom under loud cheering from his pupils. Rick was very eager to copy the trick and judging from the excited babble of his peers, they were too. The excitement soon vanished, however, when they discovered they were to spend the rest of the class going over the theory of the fire-making spell. One highlight of the class was that professor Griffiths didn't task them with any homework.

Their second day of classes were not much of an improvement. They had Defence Against the Dark Arts, a class Rick had hoped would at least bring some action but his hopes were dashed as soon as he saw professor Lloyd taught the class. The ancient professor started the class off with a lengthy lecture on the dangers of misuse of magic and the precautions you had to take when dealing with dark creatures and spells. He asked a few questions about the classification of dark magic - the answers to which Rick could only guess at, not having had time to read all his books. Luckily though, Cedric and Lewis were seemingly holding a competition on who could answer the questions the fastest so Rick was never called upon to answer.

After the break, the Gryffindors made their way to the greenhouse for their first ever class of Herbology. Rick didn't expect much from this class. He had no desire to become a gardener after all. Professor Harewell looked a little different from the night of the feast. She wore more tattered robes now and a leather apron. The look was topped off with an old yellow pointed hat that had seen better days as well. The outfit did nothing to rid her of that look of youthful innocence and naiveté about her and she started her class by reading aloud the names to see who was who. She paused when she got to Rigel.

"Are you related to Orion Bailey?" She asked in her usual cheery manner. When Rigel rather reluctantly replied that Orion was his brother, she said, "I had him in my class just last year. A brilliant student, Head Boy as well. It is a delight to have his brother in my class now." Rigel did not appear to be delighted at all with her praising his brother but luckily for him, she dropped the matter and continued her list. She smiled kindly at Rick when she read his name but he pretended not to notice. When she finished, Harewell started her lecture on Moly, a black-stemmed plant with white flowers that protects against dark magic and Rick was appalled when they were each given a plant and tasked to collect the flowers. If he had wanted to collect flowers, he could have stayed home and plucked them from the overgrown garden at the Clayton house. How was this magic? When would they learn to use their wand and try their hand at some spells? This was just a boring pastime, he thought angrily.

"Gently, O'Connell." Harewell kindly reminded him when she saw him yanking the flowers from his moly plant. Rick ignored her. At the end of class, the Gryffindors marched back to the castle, tired and dirty.

"Merlin, am I glad of a reprieve." Rigel sighed happily as soon as he sank down at the lunch table. "Who'd have thought classes were going to be this boring. Honestly, I'm starting to wonder why my father insisted on me studying so much before coming here when I'm learning the exact same thing here." Rick nodded. "My brother always made it sound great." Rigel continued. "I should have known better than to believe him. He's almost as boring as the classes himself. He probably thought Magical Theory was as exciting as a game of quidditch."

"What do we have this afternoon?" Rick asked.

"Uhm… " Rigel uttered as he tried to remember their schedule.

"Potions." Cedric piped up, dropping down on the seat next to them. "Should be fun, don't you think?" Rick stared at him dumbfounded. They hadn't talked to Cedric since their first night here and Rick would have liked to keep it that way. The little know-it-all irked him.

"Potions, eh? My sympathies." Ed Anderson said, sounding a little irritated as he plopped down across from them and began to scoop food on his plate.

"What do you mean?" Rick asked, ignoring Cedric.

"Good luck pleasing professor Selwyn." Anderson said. "I don't even know why Aldebourne keeps him around."

"My brother never said anything." Rigel said.

"Well Orion Bailey would never complain about any professor now, would he?" Anderson replied, a little annoyed.

"You're right, he thinks they're all geniuses." Rigel rolled his eyes for emphasis.

"But professor Selwyn is a genius." Cedric piped up again. "He is quite famous for his potion brewing talents. He wrote a few books too and they were all described as brilliant. Our potions handbook was even written by him." Anderson rolled his eyes and huffed.

"Of course it is," Colin's brother said exasperated. "Selwyn wouldn't select a book from another author as course material now, would he? He's too self-centred for that." Cedric looked about to protest but Ed cut him off. "No, I won't deny he's a brilliant academic, he simply can't teach. He hasn't got the patience to deal with students who are not as gifted as he is and who know nothing about the best way to make a Draught of Peace." Colin's brother finished angrily, emphasizing each word with a vicious stab at his sausages. Rick and Rigel shared a look.

"Thanks for the heads up." Rigel muttered and he and Rick made themselves scarce, heading up to the common room to collect their books and cauldrons, leaving Anderson and Cedric behind.

Potions class took place in the dungeons. Rick and Rigel joined the other Gryffindors outside dungeon one as they waited for professor Selwyn to arrive. Just before the bell rung he saw Mordaunt and his friends approach, laughing about something and he realized they apparently had the class with the Slytherins, a fact that didn't improve his mood. What was more, Mordaunt seemed to have fully recovered from their fight and did not even sport a black eye anymore.

Mordaunt spotted him and Rick got at least some satisfaction from the scowl the Slytherin sent his way. There was no time for another altercation, however, as professor Selwyn walked up at that moment. He opened the dungeon and without a word, the students filed in. Rick and Rigel set up their cauldrons near the back to the dungeon while Mordaunt took a seat near the front of the class, perfectly unaware of Rick shooting daggers at him. Just as the bell rung, Rick saw Cedric rush in, looking ruffled and carrying his books and cauldron in his arms, dragging his torn bag behind him. He spotted Rick and Rigel and took a seat at the table next to theirs.

"My bag tore." He offered and Rick thought he looked rather shaken. Over Cedric's shoulder, he saw Mordaunt sniggering at them. Somehow, he got the impression Cedric's bag didn't tear of its own accord.

Professor Selwyn cleared his throat and the class fell silent immediately. Professor Selwyn had a rather frightening appearance with his long black hair, pale complexion, thick black eyebrows and under them black, hollow eyes set deep inside their sockets, making it seem like he was permanently glaring at you. He gave his pupils a penetrating look, making everyone feel uncomfortable and when he spoke, his voice sounded hoarse and sibilant, reminding Rick of the hissing of a snake.

"I am professor Selwyn and I'll be your potions master this year." He began his speech. No one dared make a sound and a shiver ran up Rick's spine at the sound of that voice.

"In this class I will teach you the basics of the subtle art that is potion making, or at least I will try." He said maliciously. "Many of you will not be able to appreciate what I will try to teach you. Nevertheless, I will expect the utmost concentration and dedication to this class." Selwyn looked the students in the eye one by one, almost daring them try and do otherwise.

"This-" he picked up Mordaunt's copy of The Art of Potion Making, "is now your most prized possession. From now on, you will read this, study it, eat with it and sleep with it. By the end of your time here, you should know how to brew every potion in here by heart. I expect you to read up before class on the potions we will be brewing. You should know I do not tolerate ignorance or incompetence. However, by the looks of you, I will be made to suffer a lot of both this year." Rigel threw Rick an incredulous look and he wasn't the only one. A lot of students were exchanging frightened looks, except, Rick noticed, Mordaunt, who looked rather pleased. The professor did not bother to read the list of names like professors Harewell and Lloyd had done. Instead, he quickly set them all to work.

"I hope you all bothered to read the first chapter because today, you will be brewing a Boil Cure potion for me. Set up your cauldrons and get started." As the students all scrambled to set up their cauldrons and get the necessary ingredients, the professor calmly sat down at his desk and began reviewing a piece of parchment. Rick looked at the first line of his instructions.

Deposit the snake fangs into the mortar and grind to a fine residue.

He looked around him and saw his classmates were already working on grinding their snake fangs.

"Seriously? We're in cooking class now?" He whispered to Rigel, who was already busy working his pestle.

"Shh." His friend silenced him. "You don't want to piss off Selwyn. Just read the instructions and follow them." Rick rolled his eyes at Rigel's compliance but reluctantly got to work crushing his snake fangs. The next instructions read to add four measures to his cauldron. Wondering how much a measure was, Rick glanced at Rigel, who was busy meticulously measuring off his snake fangs. Rick shrugged and dumped the entire contents of his mortar into his cauldron.

They continued to work in silence, the only sounds being the soft bubbling of their potions and the occasional splash of ingredients being tossed in the cauldrons. Professor Selwyn did not really seem to care how they were getting along and did not look up from his parchment once as his students worked. Only when the class was almost over, did he rise and make his way through the rows of students, checking their potions. He had little to say about their creations other than "bad", "worse", "abysmal" and Rick disliked him even more when he looked at his potion and said "wouldn't want to test that for a thousand galleons". When he got to McCallum's cauldron, however, he completely lost it.

"What in Merlin's name is this supposed to be?" He demanded. Frank made a little noise in fright.

"A...a... Boil Cure potion, sir." Frank stammered. The whole class turned to watch the scene unfold. Professor Selwyn looked disgusted.

"You call that a Boil Cure potion?" He sneered. "That is the most pathetic and terrible attempt at a potion I have ever seen." Frank whimpered and looked like he was about to wet himself.

"How stupid are you that you can so severely mess up a simple Boil Cure potion? Are you a squib?" Some of the Slytherins sniggered.

"I… I don't know what a squib is, sir." Frank stammered frightfully. Selwyn narrowed his eyes.

"What is your name?"

"McCallum, sir." Frank stuttered.

"McCallum?" He repeated with clear disgust on his face. "You're muggleborn?" It was more a statement than a question but Frank nodded nevertheless. Selwyn sighed heavily.

"I will never understand why professor Aldebourne keeps insisting I try and teach you when it's clear you have about as much affinity with magic as a flobberworm has to being interesting."

"Maybe that's not our fault but the teacher's." Rick blurted out. The whole class gasped as Selwyn slowly turned to face Rick, eyes wide in outrage.

"What?!" Rick had not meant to blurt that out but he found Selwyn's remark on muggleborns so offending, he defiantly met Selwyn's glare and barged on without thinking.

"If you'd been watching us and helping us, we might actually not suck." Selwyn's look turned downright murderous but Rick stared right back into those cold eyes, determined to not look away. The dungeon was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"What is your name?" Selwyn hissed, looking like he was struggling to compose himself again.

"O'Connell." Rick replied defiantly.

"I don't suppose you were ever thought manners, either, O'Connell?" Selwyn sneered. "Here you will address me as 'sir'. That will be a detention for you and twenty points from Gryffindor for your impudence." Selwyn turned around and went back to his inspection round. Rick opened his mouth to protest but a hard shove in his shoulder prevented him from replying. Angry and rubbing his sore shoulder, he looked around him for the source and found the red haired girl – Samantha Lewis – glaring at him.

"Shut up!" She mouthed angrily and Rick stubbornly turned his back to her. Where did she get off telling him what to do?

A few minutes later, the class ended and Rick was glad he could get out of there. Still angry, he stuffed his things in his bag and turned around to leave when Selwyn spoke up.

"O'Connell!" With a deep breath to calm himself, Rick turned around and walked back to Selwyn's desk. "You'll be at this door at five this evening for your detention." Fuming, Rick turned around and left the dungeon without acknowledging the professor's instructions. Rigel was waiting for him in the corridor.

"Miserable, cowardly, unfit –" Rick trailed off, searching for the right insult.

"Git." Rigel provided and Rick nodded his thanks. "I know." Rigel agreed. "And that's supposed to be a teacher! What complete lunatic decided Selwyn would be a good teacher?!"

"I have no idea but in the meantime, I get to spend my evening in detention. Lovely." They rounded the corner heading back upstairs when they ran into Cedric.

"Hi guys. Is it ok if I walk with you guys to History of Magic?" He asked. Rick was about to turn the nerdy boy away when Rigel replied.

"Sure."

Cedric entertained them with a detailed summary of the first chapter of A History of Magic all the way to the first floor but if Rick thought that was boring, the class itself was on a whole new level. Professor Creedon was a feeble old man only a couple of years away from retirement, or death so it seemed judging by the way he limped to his desk and sat down with a heavy sigh. As he began his lecture, it did not take Rick long to understand that professor Creedon was washed out and absent-mined as he droned on and on about the origins of magic and the first important wizards, often repeating what he had just said and forgetting student's names. Rick heard just enough to know that it could not interest him even if it had been taught by someone else so he begun doodling on a piece of parchment. Why should they learn about long dead wizards anyway? He wanted to learn magic. By the end of the class, Rick's mind was utterly numb but instead of chilling in the common room like he'd wanted to do, he hurried to the Great Hall to get some supper before he had to report to the dungeons for his detention. Selwyn had a particularly nasty job picked out for him pickling rat brains and when Rick got back to the dormitory hours later, he got straight into bed, happy that tomorrow was Friday and the weekend was upon them.

Morning came all too soon for Rick's liking but luckily, there were only two classes on the schedule that day, another lecture of Magical Theory and their first class of Transfiguration right after the break. Rick was quite looking forward to Transfiguration. Back in Diagon Alley, Mr. Ollivander had said his wand was good for transfiguration and Rick was eager to test that. When he got down to breakfast, however, his good mood and patience were tested when he saw Rigel chatting with Cedric.

"Morning Rick." Cedric greeted him cheerfully as he joined them. "How was detention? I hope it wasn't too bad?" Rick shrugged in reply, not eager to engage Cedric.

"What did you have to do?" Rigel asked.

"Pickle rat brains." Rick replied looking at the scrambled eggs with a grimace. Maybe not today. Rigel pulled up his nose.

"Rather you than me." He muttered.

"Professor Selwyn is some piece of work, isn't he?" Cedric tried to engage in conversation but Rick ignored him.

"We should get going or we'll be late for class." He reminded Rigel. In reality, they still had enough time to make it before the bell rung but he was eager to get away from Cedric.

"I'll walk with you." Cedric announced eagerly with a nervous glance to the other side of the Hall where the Slytherins were just preparing to leave. Rick rolled his eyes in annoyance but before he could turn the nerdy boy down, Rigel replied.

"Sure." Cedric accompanied them all the way to the classroom, jabbering on about some book he'd read on Magical Theory and proceeding to explain in detail how it related to what professor Tuft had talked about in their previous class. Rigel politely nodded now and then but Rick just got more and more annoyed.

"Give it a rest, Carmichael." He snapped. "We already have to endure an hour of Tuft's mind-numbing chats, we don't need a preview." Cedric fell silent at that but continued to accompany them to the classroom, annoyingly even choosing the seat next to them when they reached it.

Magical theory was as boring as the first time around and Rick had the hardest time trying not to fall asleep. After class, they finally managed to ditch Cedric (the nerdy boy had been so immersed in conversation with Samantha Lewis that he'd never seen them leave) and Rick convinced Rigel to head outside to enjoy the sunshine on the grassy lawn. The warm and pleasant sunshine made them doze off and forget about boring classes and professors, so much so that they realized too late that they needed to be heading to Transfiguration.

They sprinted through corridor after corridor but they had no idea where the transfiguration classroom was and it was just cheer luck they ran into Nearly Headless Nick, who happily showed them the way. They had to run the whole way there but made it, out of breath and dishevelled and only ten minutes late. The professor looked up when they came barging in and Rick's heart sank when he saw it was the same teacher who had deducted points from Gryffindor for his fight with Mordaunt the night of the welcoming feast. She did not look amused at the rude interruption and stared at them over the rim of her glasses in annoyance.

"Boys," She said curtly. "Got a bit of a late start, did we?" Rick and Rigel looked at each other and replied simultaneously.

"We got lost."

"Take your seats." The professor said disinterested. "That will be five points from Gryffindor each for tardiness. Do try to be punctual next time." She warned them. Rick and Rigel hastily took the last two seats on the first row of the class next to Regina Caerns, who looked disapprovingly at her cousin. The professor consulted her parchment.

"So we have Mr. O'Connell and Mr. ..."

"Bailey, professor." Rigel offered.

"I would advise you boys to be in my classroom five minutes before time in the future or else I will be forced to subtract more points from Gryffindor." She paused to let that sink in. "Now, where was I? Oh, yes... Jeffrey Sanders?

"Present." Sanders replied from a couple of rows behind Rick and Rigel. The professor continued to read off names until she had made sure that everyone was present. When she got started with her class, Rick was frustrated to learn the class was like every other one so far. They had to endure another long and boring speech about how transfiguration was one of the most intricate and difficult branches of magic and that it was very hard to master. After fifteen minutes, Rick was starting to wish they had never showed up at all for this class.

"There are different forms of transfiguration. Can anyone tell me what they are?" Professor Rowlett, as they learned her name was, asked. Next to Rick, Regina's hand flew up in the air so fast she almost knocked him off his seat. "Yes?"

"You have switching spells, vanishing spells and conjuring spells." She answered proudly.

"Very good, five points for Ravenclaw." Rowlett said impassively, giving Rick the impression this woman was not easily impressed. "Vanishing spells, as the name suggests, make objects disappear while conjuring spells do the opposite. These spells are quite beyond the ability of first years so this year and the next few years as well, we will be primarily concerned with switching spells."

"I wish she would switch herself off." Rigel whispered and Rick couldn't help but snort.

"Problem, Mr. O'Connell?" Rowlett asked, fixing him with a steely stare.

"No, professor." Rick replied innocently but Rowlett did not look convinced.

"There are different kinds of switching spells, Mr. O'Connell, a distinction made according to the object one is transfiguring and the difficulty of it. Can you tell me which distinctions are made?" Rick did not have a clue what Rowlett was talking about and, looking around, he got the impression that he wasn't the only one. Only a couple of students had their hands tentatively in the air, among them of course Cedric, Regina and Samantha Lewis.

"No, professor." Rick replied. Rowlett looked at him scathingly.

"You might consider reading up before classes, Mr O'Connell." She said disapprovingly and Rick had the distinct impression professor Rowlett did not like him very much. Luckily, she directed her attention somewhere else.

"Yes, Mr. Carmichael, is it?" She pointed at Cedric.

"One can transfigure objects to objects, objects to animals, animals to objects, human to animal, and so on." He rattled off.

"Correct, Mr. Carmichael, five points for Gryffindor." Cedric smiled and Rick felt a new surge of annoyance for the nerdy, know-it-all boy. Professor Rowlett continued.

"This year we will preoccupy ourselves with object-to-object switching spells, meaning changing an object's appearance into that of another." Rowlett proceeded to draw and explain complex diagrams and expand on difficult theories devised by long dead wizards. Only at the very end of the class when everyone felt like their brains had been squeezed, were they tasked to try and transform a match into a needle. Pleased they were finally allowed to do something, Rick set to work and to his own amazement managed to properly transfigure his match into a needle after only a few tries, even though he had understood very little of Rowlett's intricate explanation. Even that achievement, however, did not seem to impress Rowlett, although she did award him five points, albeit somewhat reluctantly. When the bell rung to signal the end of class, she gave them their homework assignments and sent them off. Rick and Rigel planned to drop their bags off in the common room before dinner and had just reached the stairs when Cedric caught up with them.

"Hey guys." He panted. "Where are we going?" Rick was in no mood to put up with the annoying boy. His head still ached after Rowlett's intricate diagrams and difficult formulas and he did not need Cedric's endless chatter and ever cheerful appearance to intensify it.

"I don't know where you're going, but we're going to the common room to drop off our things." He said a little irritated.

"Great, I'll come with you." Cedric answered cluelessly. Rick threw Rigel an exasperated look but his friend didn't say anything. "Good thing I knew the answer to professor Rowlett's question, wasn't it? Earned Gryffindor five points. I hope we win the House Cup at the end of the year, don't you?" Cedric rambled.

"I don't think five points will make the difference." Rick replied dryly. "Fortitudo leonis." He said and the Fat Lady granted them entrance to the common room.

"I know, but it's a start." Cedric answered unperturbed. "What were you guys planning on doing after dinner? I thought perhaps we could go to the library together and get started on that transfiguration homework?" That really made Rick revolt. Homework on a Friday evening? And since when did Cedric decide what they did anyway?

"Look, Carmichael," Rick snapped. "I don't want to be rude or anything but you're not getting it so here's a news flash. We don't want to study with you or be your friend so please stop following us around."

"Oh." Cedric's face fell. "Ok, I understand." He said, sounding rather upset and he retreated to a secluded corner of the common room looking quite sullen.

"Ouch, talk about being direct." Rigel said somewhat accusingly as he and Rick made their way back to the portrait hole to head for supper.

"Oh, come on, you've noticed it as well, haven't you? He's constantly following us around." Rick replied, annoyed that Rigel seemed to disapprove of his outburst.

"I did notice, maybe he really wants to be friends, I don't think he has many." Said Rigel, looking like he felt sorry for their nerdy housemate.

"He's not looking for friendship." Rick said wisely. "He's looking for protection. He's scared he'll run into a Slytherin all by himself and I for one do not want to be his babysitter." Rigel didn't reply.

It was a relief to be able to sleep in the next morning and not having to stuff his head with knowledge. Rick slept in and then spent the day relaxing and learning some magical games from Rigel. His friend introduced him to magical chess where every single piece was alive and instead of moving the pieces manually, you had to give them instructions so they could strike their opponents. Rigel was very good at it and kept beating him but they had a great time playing. That evening, while they were engaged in yet another game and Rigel had just taken Rick's second rook, they were approached by their chubby dormmate Frank McCallum.

"Hey guys? Some of the older boys are asking us to join them." He told them, motioning to the seats by the fire. Rick looked up and saw two older boys, one of them Crusher, looking expectantly at them. Colin, Jeffrey and Cedric were already waiting in front of them on the carpet. Rick had half a mind to decline just to spite Crusher for lecturing him after his fight with Mordaunt but curiosity got the better of him.

"We're in the middle of a game." Rigel complained.

"We can finish this later." Rick replied, eager to find out what the older boys wanted with a couple of first years. "Let's see what they have to say."

"You just can't stand losing again." Rigel complained as they made their way over to the fireplace. Rick grinned. His friend was right but he was not about to admit it.

"Lovely. Now that the group's complete we can get started." Crusher said when Rick and Rigel joined them. "Let us first introduce ourselves. I'm Bill Crusher and this is Sam Doolan." The boy next to him winked. "And we've received the task of testing our new Gryffindors's courage." He paused to let his words sink in. Rick saw several of his classmates frowning and he was happy to know he wasn't the only one who didn't know about any test of courage.

"Tonight you will be given a task that will test your courage and prove if you truly belong in Gryffindor or not. Pass it and you will be welcomed into our house. Fail it and you will find life quite uncomfortable." Crusher continued ominously and the first years looked at each other uncomfortably.

"My brother never said anything about a test." Colin complained. Doolan regarded him shrewdly.

"You're Anderson's little brother, aren't you?" Colin nodded proudly. "Well, little Anderson, your brother didn't say anything because the Gryffindor Challenge is an initiation and you're not supposed to know about it, smart ass." Colin looked down, feeling sufficiently admonished and Crusher clapped his hands.

"Enough dallying. Follow us please."

Crusher and Doolan led the somewhat unsure first years out of the common room along several different corridors and down several flights of stairs. On the first floor, they were met by another older Gryffindor student.

"Mike, what's the word?" Crusher hailed him. Mike, a short, broad shouldered fifth year and obviously a friend of Crushers, answered with a grin.

"In the dungeons as usual, creeping around dungeon three."

"To the dungeons then." Doolan said grinning and the three friends led the nervous first years down the stairs. Rick wondered what this was about and who or what was creeping around dungeon three. Were they meeting up with Selwyn tonight? They walked the damp and dark corridors of the dungeons until Crusher motioned for them stop at a corner. Rick, who was right behind him, could just peer down the next corridor and saw that it was deserted but for one presence, a ghost halfway down the corridor hovering towards them. When all the boys had assembled, Crusher explained.

"That there is the Bloody Baron, the ghost of Slytherin house. He's the ghost you do not want to come across late at night and all alone. All the other ghosts fear him, even Peeves the Poltergeist." The first year stared in awe as the Bloody Baron rounded the corner and floated past them with dull eyes staring straight ahead, ignoring the group of Gryffindors completely. He did look quite scary, with a menacing look on his face and silvery spots on his silver robes that Rick suspected had once been blood. The hairs at the back of his neck rose and a chill went through his spine as the baron's presence made it feel even colder in the dungeon corridor.

"He's your task for this evening." Doolan continued once the Baron was out of earshot. "The Baron has silvery blood stains on his robes, no one knows where they came from. It's your job to find out and come tell us." He finished amusedly.

"Good luck." Crusher smirked seeing the terrified faces of the first years. None of them dared to move. Rick had to admit, he wasn't particularly keen on approaching the Bloody Baron either. The ghost gave him the creeps. The three fifth years began to get impatient.

"Little Anderson." Doolan called and Colin jumped at his name, his face as white as a sheet. "You up for it?" Colin, who was always bragging about being a true Gryffindor, stared at the Bloody Baron slowly floating away from them with fearful eyes. So much for being a true Gryffindor, Rick thought.

"McCallum?" Crusher called. "Want to prove you're a Gryffindor?" Frank shook his head and took a step backwards. "Come on, people. Where's that Gryffindor spirit?" Crusher smiled and Rick got the distinct impression that he was enjoying this and Rick suddenly realized this wasn't about any test of courage but about Crusher, Doolan and Hurst having a laugh at their expense. They didn't expect anyone to actually try it, they just wanted to make them look like fools. Well, he didn't want to look like a fool and he would wipe that smug smile off Crusher's face.

"Rick, what are you ...?" Rigel started but Rick ignored him and walked straight at the Bloody Baron.

"Excuse me!" The Baron did not respond immediately so Rick broke out in a jog to cut him off. "Sorry. You're the Bloody Baron, right?" Again the Baron did not reply. He simply stared at Rick, surprised to be addressed it seemed. "I was just wondering where you got that name?" Rick continued. "I mean, how did you get those blood stains on you?" The ghost looked Rick up and down with such a cold look that it sent shivers up Rick's spine, making him want to run away. It took all his willpower to hold the ghost's hollow stare. For a moment, he was convinced this was a terrible idea so he was surprised when the ghost hovered lower so as to come nose to nose with him and spoke:

"Are you sure you want to know? You might regret asking." Rick swallowed but did not budge, determined not to give in to his unease. "I killed the woman I loved so imagine what I could do to you." The Baron trailed off menacingly and with that dramatic answer, proceeded to hover along. Rick released the breath he had not realised he was holding and stared at the Baron's retreating back before a low whistle brought his attention back to his fellow Gryffindors.

"Impressive." Doolan said as he came to stand next to him. From the look on his face, Rick judged that he had been right in thinking they had not expected this.

"O'Donnell, wasn't it?" Crusher asked.

"O'Connell." Rick corrected. "He said he killed someone."

"Oh, we suspected as much but that wasn't really the point." Hurst answered with a wink.

"So the test..." Frank started, looking confused.

"Was fake." Doolan supplied. "Just us having a bit of fun."

"No hard feelings." Crusher added with a wink.

"Right, I trust you can find your own way back to the common room." Doolan said cheerfully and with that, the three friends abandoned the first years in the dungeon corridor, joking and laughing amongst themselves.

"Tossers." Anderson was the first to comment and the other boys agreed. "Who do they think they are? Just because they're older, they think they can bully us?"

"You're just mad because they embarrassed you." Rick said, rather enjoying Anderson's embarrassment.

"Excuse me?" Colin asked indignantly. "You think that was funny?" The other four boys watched the exchange rather awkwardly.

"Yeah, the look on your face was pretty funny." Rick chuckled. "For all your talk about being a Gryffindor, you didn't show much courage there, did you?" Colin blushed.

"Shut your mouth, O'Connell." He replied. "That was a pointless test and doesn't prove anything, except perhaps how stupid you are." And with that, he walked away. Cedric, Frank and Jeffrey Sanders followed, leaving only Rigel behind.

"You know, I'm starting to think making friends isn't your strong suit." Rigel said off-handly.

"Who wants to be friends with them?" Rick scoffed. "McCallum's totally useless, Anderson's a big windbag and Sanders... I don't like his face."

"He reminds me of a chicken trying to do simple math." Rigel joked and Rick laughed as his friend did a very good impression of Sanders looking confused. "You do know he's right, don't you?" Rigel spoke up as they too started to make their way back to the common room.

"What?" Rick replied dumfounded.

"Don't get me wrong, it was pretty brave what you did but pretty stupid too." Rigel explained.

"What do you mean?" Rick asked, still not understanding what Rigel was on about.

"The Baron doesn't take kindly to being made fun of. I'll bet you my Cleansweep he'll make you pay for this." Rick stared at his friend in disbelief.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" He demanded.

"I thought you knew." Rigel answered with a shrug. "Everyone knows not to mess with the Baron or you'll regret it." Rick pondered Rigel's words as they ascended the stairs in silence. Was Rigel right? What would the Bloody Baron do to him? Rick was so engrossed in his thoughts that when they rounded the corner on the fifth floor corridor and ran into Nearly Headless Nick, he jumped in surprise.

"You two should hurry up." Nick advised them. "It's nearly nine and students shouldn't be out in the corridors that late."

"We're on our way to the common room." Rigel replied. "Thanks for the warning." They quickly continued their way and Rick scolded himself for being so easily spooked. Really, what could a ghost do to him? He banned all thoughts of the Baron's revenge from his mind and went to bed still feeling rather good about himself.