The First Day of School
On the morning of September the second, Liam was in the Hufflepuff common room before anyone else. He wore a starched white shirt with a striped black and yellow tie and black slacks, over which he wore his cloak. Adorning the cloak was both his prefect and his Quidditch captain pin. After a few minutes’ delay, Philip, Michael and Fortney followed.
It was still a shock to see that Philip was now taller than he was. Philip was dressed the same as Liam, except that his tie was all yellow. Michael and Fortney’s ties weren’t straight, nor were their shirts starched. They would have forgone the ties altogether, except that Liam and Philip were so diligent in wearing theirs.
Lara, Stacy, Stephanie and Monique came into the room, dressed in black jumpers, plaid skirts and tights. Liam promptly greeted them. “Good morning, girls.”
“Shall we go up for breakfast?” asked Stacy, “or should we wait for the others?”
“Let’s wait,” said Liam. “We’ll go up as a group.” He saw Benedict enter from the boy’s side and said, “Took! Go check on Trav. See how he’s coming along with those First Year boys.” With a nod, Benedict turned and headed back to the First Year dorm room.
Destiny brought out the seven First Year girls, Aylie Covenshire in the lead. Stacy said to Liam, “Look at little Aylie! If you focus on her blond hair, you don’t notice it, but if you look right in her face ….”
“Oh! Your right.” said Liam. “She looks just like Tess.” At the sound of her sister’s name, Aylie turned in their direction. “Little Tess,” said Liam. She grinned and blushed brightly.
Down the hallway, Travis Night was struggling to get the First Year boys through their morning routine. Benedict stuck his head in the door. “Oi Trav! Liam asked me to check on you.”
“Coming along alright,” said Travis. “Six of eight are ready to go. I’ve got two sleepyheads here that need shaping up.”
Benedict turned to the six boys standing off to the side. “Come on now,” he cajoled them. “Tuck your shirts in. That’s it, and straighten your ties. It’s the first day of school. You need to make a good impression.”
The Second Year boys made it to the common room. The night before, Chris and Evan had teased Goonah for introducing himself to Aylie Covenshire. In the common room, they picked it right up again. “There’s your girlfriend, Goon,” said Chris.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” said Goonah. “They’re like little sisters to us,” he said primly, mimicking something Liam had told them.
“She’s your little sister now,” said Evan, “’cause she’s only eleven. You’re counting the days until you can take her to the Winter Ball.”
“I only offered her assistance, like a proper gentleman.”
“What assistance could you possibly give her?” said Chris. “If she did need help, she’d go to any girl before she came to you.”
The teasing was in good nature. In truth, they admired Richie’s courage to approach Aylie in her first few minutes as a Hufflepuff. In a house of shy wallflowers and quiet workers, cheerful, outgoing Aylie Covenshire was a star.
The Seventh Years came into the common room, first the girls and then the boys. Liam said good morning to them and got nods and quiet good mornings in return. One of the boys said, “Good morning, Captain,” back to Liam.
“Are we waiting for everyone,” asked one of the Seventh Year girls, “or are we just going up for breakfast?”
“Let’s give the First Year boys another minute,” said Liam, “and then we’ll go up together.”
The Seventh Years looked skeptically at one another, but no one rose to challenge Liam’s authority.
Benedict appeared back in the common room. Between him and Travis were the eight First Year boys: hair combed, shirts tucked in and ties straight.
“Alright,” said Liam. “We’re all here. Let’s go to breakfast.” He indicated to the Seventh Years, “After you.”
A few of them smirked at him and said, “Yes, Captain.” The Seventh Years exited the common room. Liam sent the First Years out next, girls and then the boys. The rest of the group filed out in an orderly fashion. Liam was the last to leave.
As they climbed the stairs, Philip said quietly to Stacy, “There’s still a schism between us and them,” meaning the Sixth and Seventh Years. Bad blood remained from when Liam wrested the captaincy of the Quidditch team from Marty Remington.
“They call Liam ‘Captain’ to his face,” said Stacy. “I hear that, behind his back, they call him the border collie.”
“Why? Because he actually leads us?” asked Philip, indignantly.
“It’s sad, really, for them.” said Stacy. “This is Liam’s House, now. These are Liam’s years. Their time has already passed.”
Waiting for them at the table were bowls of hot oatmeal, to which they could add pecans, raisins, cinnamon, and brown sugar. There were pitchers of milk, juice and water to drink, as well as silver carafes of hot chocolate.
Despite the tension between them, the Sixth and Seventh Years ate at the same end of the table. The rest of the Hufflepuffs sat down, ordered by age, with the Fourth and Fifth Years next to Liam and his friends. The First Years taking up nearly half the table at the far end. Among the younger students, there was excitement about the coming term. Bell and her friends talked animatedly about their favourite classes, while the First and Second Years listened avidly.
Professor Meadows came along and handed out schedules. Liam checked his and then called out down the table, “It’s Thursday today, people. Don’t show up at your Monday class just because it’s the first day of school.”
Liam checked in with his Second Year boys to make sure they all had their schedules. “You know where to go?” he asked them. “You won’t get lost on your way?”
“Oh, we’re old hands now, Liam,” said Goonah.
“Yeah,” said Chris. “We promise not to take any wrong turns going down to the dungeon for Potions.”
“You better not,” said Liam. “You might run afoul of the Slytherins. They’re down there somewhere.” Liam checked the clock on the wall. “You better get going. That Potions class starts early.” The Second Years, boys and girls, stood and headed out the door.
To the First Years, Liam said, “I’ll see you all around 10 this morning. I’ll be helping with your first Potions lab.” This earned him a beaming smile from Aylie.
After breakfast, Liam met up with Gillian in the Entrance Hall. She greeted him with a long kiss. The held hands and communicated telepathically with one another.
Liam: I happen to have a free period.
Gillian: Funny thing. So do I.
Liam: What shall we do with our time? No projects to work on yet.
Gillian: We should go up to the library and look for that book again. Sadie said she checked the Restricted Section, but we could always look again.
Liam: Restricted section? Nobody else would be going up there this early in the term. It ought to be real quiet up there at this time of the morning.
Gillian raised her eyebrows. Yes, we will have to be very quiet.
They shared another long, slow kiss and then headed up the stairs, holding hands.
A few yards away, Benedict had met up with the Little Coven. They went through a round of hugs.
Meriko, gazing at Liam and Gillian, remarked, “Wren and Roycester are happy to see one another.”
“I guess that’s what you get when you save a girl’s life,” said Alyssa with a laugh. To Benedict, she added, “You should try it sometime and see what happens.”
“I’ve got quite enough girls on my plate right now, thanks,” said Benedict. The girls laughed. “What do we have on our schedule this morning?”
“You have Arithmancy with Freya,” said Meriko.
“We have Firenze,” added Alyssa. “I always did love horses,” she added, giggling. Benedict gave another round of hugs to Alyssa and Meriko. The two girls headed downstairs to Divination.
Benedict and Freya went up the Grand Staircase to Arithmancy. As they walked, he took Freya’s hand. She gave a little gasp of surprise. “Is this okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, flushed. “It’s fine.”
They arrived at their classroom. A group of Ravenclaws were already waiting. The girls looked questioningly at Freya and Benedict and noted they were holding hands. Benedict led Freya farther down the hallway, away from the others.
“Wren and Roycester,” he said. “When did that happen?”
“When did what happen?” asked Freya.
“When did they become a couple?”
“I don’t know. They’ve known each other forever.”
“Yes, but I thought Liam was dating Vanessa Ables.”
“Wren and Ables broke up ages ago!”
“And then Wren hooked up with Roycester?”
“Sometime after that, yes. Why is this important?” asked Freya, impatiently.
“Was it before the attack or after?”
Freya closed her eyes for a moment. “They were hanging out before. I don’t think they were kissing until after. Why is that important?”
“The Prophecy!” said Benedict. “The Doom that Lara laid on Dennison. She said, ‘Love is the stronger power still, and she shall undo all that you attempt.’ Dennison tried to hurt Gillian. Not only did he fail, but now Gillian is in love with Liam.”
“You sound like Aiden Thompson. He says stuff like this, too.”
“He should know,” said Benedict. “He was there.”
“Well, don’t talk too much about the prophecies of Lara Guishar around Meriko. She’s likely to get a little testy.”
“Duly noted,” said Benedict.
Dennison’s troop came into view, minus Carter and Jones, who were taking Divination. Both Reginald and Aiden glared in the direction of Benedict and Freya. Benedict looked away, but Freya glared right back at them.
Aylie’s first class was History. Tess had always said Professor Binns’ lectures were boring. In that way, he did not disappoint. She forgot to warn her friends, however, that their first class was taught by a ghost. When Binns floated through the wall, he was greeted by some gasps of surprise. Amelia ducked under her desk.
“Come on out,” said Aylie. “It’s all right. That’s our teacher.”
“You didn’t tell me our teacher was a ghost!” whimpered Amelia.
“I’m sorry. I forgot that this is all new to you. Come on. He’s about to start his lecture.” Aylie got Amelia back into her seat and set out a fresh sheet of parchment for her. “If it helps,” Aylie added, “don’t look at him. Just listen.” When Binns started teaching, Aylie began taking notes. Amelia followed suit.
Their second class was Potions, which they shared with the Gryffindors. Aylie gave Vicky a hug, and the two girls introduced their new friends to each other. Though the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were on good terms with one another, they still separated by House, with the Hufflepuffs on one side of the hall and the Gryffindors on the other.
Amelia was much calmer for Professor DeVere, and she took diligent notes on everything he said. At the end of the lecture, DeVere announced, “Let me introduce my teaching assistant, the senior prefect from Hufflepuff, Liam Wren.” Liam entered from the wings and gave a wave to the crowd of students.
Their first assignment was to boil water in their cauldron. Aylie paired up with Amelia and said, “I’ll show you how to do it, and then you can try it in your cauldron.” Aylie had helped her mother in the kitchen for years. She got water into her cauldron without difficulties. Starting a fire was a little more of a challenge, for her mother had always done that task. On her second try, however, she got her fire started. Soon, little bubbles were rising up from the water.
“Now, it’s your turn.”
“I don’t know how,” said Amelia. “I’ll never do it as good as you can.”
“Sure you will!” said Aylie, cheerfully. “Just try. The incantations are on the board.”
“We don’t boil water like this at my house,” said Amelia. “We have a sink and a stove.”
“This is just practice,” said Aylie. “Come on. Try.”
Amelia said the incantation, but instead of water flowing smoothly out of her wand into the cauldron, it blasted out of the end of Amelia’s wand like a cannon. It rolled out of the cauldron like an ocean wave and spattered all over the desk. Amelia let out a shriek and let go of the wand, which clattered over the desktop and dropped to the floor.
Liam was quickly beside them. With a sweep of his wand, the water vanished from the desktop. He bent down, retrieved the wand, and handed it to Amelia.
“Hullo,” he said. “Are you right-handed?” he asked, as Amelia took the wand back. She nodded. “You’ve got a lot of magic in that arm. So much that you’re ready to burst. Let’s try it again, shall we? This time, put the wand in your left hand.”
“What difference will that make?” asked Amelia.
“Trust me,” said Liam.
She tried it, and it worked. The flow of water was much more controlled. “Now, try to light the fire,” said Liam.
Amelia couldn’t get the fire started with her left hand. “Try both hands, now,” suggested Liam. As soon as her right hand touched the wand, there was a bright flash. A little fire was now burning merrily under Amelia’s cauldron.
“There you go,” said Liam. “You good at cooking, Little Tess?”
Aylie blushed and grinned. “Yes.”
“So are you, I bet,” he said to Amelia. She nodded. “You’ll love Potions,” he told them. “Potions is just like cooking.”
Among the Gryffindors, one of the boys had caught his stack of parchment on fire. Liam hurried over to put out the flames. “Why does he call you Little Tess?” asked Amelia.
“That’s my sister’s name. He thinks I look like my big sister, even though she’s a brunette and I’m a blonde.”
As Liam was heading down to the dungeon to assist the First Year Potions class, Philip climbed the stairs to the third floor. His first NEWT class of the term was Wizarding Government. This class replaced NEWT History, which no one had signed up for since Robert Kaufmann’s day, six years prior.
The replacement class was an introduction to the structure and functions of the Ministry of Magic. As prerequisite, students were expected to earn an Exceeding Expectations on their History O.W.L. Students scoring an Acceptable were admitted with a letter of recommendation from their Head of House. Philip’s score was on the high end of Acceptable, and Professor Meadows was only too happy to write him a letter of recommendation. The letter in Philip’s case was perhaps a formality, since the instructor was one of Philip’s uncles.
When Philip arrived in class, his uncle Glyn was standing at the front of the room. When he saw Philip, his face brightened, and he said warmly, “Hello, Philip! Are you as excited about this class as I am?”
“Hello, Uncle Glyn. Yes, absolutely,” said Philip.
“Why don’t you introduce me to your friends.”
There was only one other Hufflepuff taking Government, so Philip started with her. “This is my old friend Stacy Hind, from Godric’s Hollow.”
“How do you do, my dear? I think I’ve seen you around the house a few times.”
“Yes sir,” said Stacy, smiling warmly. “I’m sure you have.”
Glyn had been in Ravenclaw, so that was the next House Philip introduced. “Here’s your Senior Prefect from Ravenclaw, Ronald Reuel. John Dawes, Calliope Addlessen, Desdemona Pitchfork, Trillian Dent and Sally Poysenberry. From Gryffindor, Senior Prefect Alma Krauss. From Slytherin, both of the Senior Prefects, Umberto Calais and Morwena Felwich.”
“I know both of your fathers,” said Glyn.
“And last, but certainly not least, Pauline Langlet of Slytherin.”
“Charmed. Very good. Thank you, Philip. Let’s get started, shall we?” Philip took his seat next to Pauline, and his uncle began the lecture. “This is the NEWT class on Wizarding Government. Over the course of the term, we will learn about each of the main departments at the Ministry of Magic, what their functions are, and how they work together to serve the wizarding public. Later this year, we will be taking a trip to London to visit Ministry and meet some of the department heads. As Seventh Years, you will apply for and complete an internship at one of these departments.”
For the rest of the period, Glyn quizzed the class members about what they knew about Ministry, and what departments they were interested in interning for. Philip was anxious for Pauline. He worried that, if his uncle questioned her, she would not know anything about the Ministry or its departments. Pauline, however, was ready for when Glyn turned to her.
“Pauline Langlet, yes? What department do you see yourself working in?”
She answered with a bright smile. “I would like to work in Muggle Relations.”
Glyn nodded and said, “We would be happy to have you.” Though he hadn’t said so, Philip knew that Muggle Relations was Glyn’s department. I wonder if Morwena didn’t prep her for that question before class.
After class, Philip shook Umberto’s hand and then smiled shyly at Pauline. Whenever he gazed into her sparkling green eyes, his tongue felt like it was glued to the roof of his mouth. She said to him, “So, are you coming to the library tonight?”
“Yes, I am,” he answered.
“Me, too!” She reached out and pulled him into an embrace. He inhaled her intoxicating perfume and reveled at the brush of her hair against his cheek. Then, she was gone, off to the next class.