Chapter Four
Monday, September 2nd, 1991
At breakfast on the first day of classes, Hermione buttered toast with peanut butter on top, had a glass of orange juice and filled her water bottle from the jug on the table, all whilst re-reading the first chapter of her History of Magic textbook. Gemma had handed out their timetables that morning: up first they had double History of Magic with Ravenclaw, then a single lesson of Transfiguration, and finally a double of Study Hall. Hermione didn’t know what they’d learn in their first History of Magic lesson, but she wanted to refresh her memory of what she’d read over the summer.
“I don’t understand why we can’t have broomsticks or join the house teams till next year!” Draco was complaining loudly to Daphne and Theodore, both who rolled their eyes over their breakfast. “I mean, my father taught me when I was five—I could fly with my eyes closed!”
Most of the Purebloods already knew how to fly, Hermione had realised and wished she knew how to as well so that she wouldn’t risk embarrassing herself in front of everybody on Friday afternoon when they had their first flying lesson.
“Well, you’re not allowed to join if your grades are below an A. I’m guessing it’s so they can make sure you put your grades first,” Daphne said. Draco didn’t seem to like this fact of hers, as he rolled his eyes to the back of his head and pointedly turned his back on her to turn his complaining onto Terrence Higgs, who was on the Slytherin Quidditch Team as a Chaser. Daphne looked rather relieved to be free of Draco’s complaining, and she and Theodore continued to chat with one another, this time about classes.
“Have you both read your textbooks yet?” Alana Runcorn asked as she made two bacon and egg sandwiches. “My parents work in the Ministry; they don’t get a lot of time off—even during the summer—so I didn’t get to go to Diagon Alley to get my school things until August. I barely slept some nights because I was so worried about not knowing the material.”
“I went in August, too,” Hermione said, “I knew practically nothing about magic and I wanted to know everything before I came to Hogwarts so that I didn’t look like that one student who came unprepared—can you imagine coming unprepared after Professor Snape’s speech about laziness? He’d have my head!”
“My aunt would’ve had my head if I thought I could come unprepared,” Adeline laughed. “She may not be like the rest of my family, but prioritising learning is the one thing she drilled into my and my cousin’s heads growing up. I’ve been having lessons for as long as I can remember, and the books are usually the same each year, so I started reading my cousin’s first-year books last year.”
“What lessons do purebloods usually have before Hogwarts? Is it like muggle primary school?” Hermione asked.
“What do you learn in muggle primary school?” Alana questioned, “I mean, I’m a halfblood but my father’s a pureblood so he wanted me homeschooled—that’s the way it is in pureblood families.”
“Well, I went to a private primary school, so it might be a little different than a public school,” Hermione explained, “But I took English, Mathematics, Computing, Science, Geography, History, Music, Physical Education and I also took French.”
“What’s Science and Computing?” Alana asked with a frown.
“Uhm . . . Computing is learning to use computers.” Judging by Alana’s look of confusion, she didn’t know what a computer was. “A computer is sort of like a typewriter, but it can be used to access something similar to a library but can be sent to other people.” It was clear by Alana’s continued look of confusion that Hermione wasn’t doing a good job of explaining it. “Science is: biology, which is all life; chemistry, is sort of difficult to explain, but essentially it’s the properties, compositions and substances that make up something—for example, water and oxygen, are examples of substances that might be in an object; and physics, is sort of, how something behaves—the force of gravity, the speed of sound, or even how we walk.”
“My brain hurts,” Alana admitted.
“Me too,” Adeline laughed. “Well, purebloods don’t learn all that. Some of it, yes, but it also depends on who they’re raised by. We’re all taught English and often other languages as well. For example, I know French, because a branch of the Black’s moved over to France and our motto is French. Purebloods often know Latin, too, because spells are in Latin. We also learn some maths, but mostly to count and to prepare us for Arithmancy if we want to take it. The rest of it is up to the family. I was homeschooled by Andy, and later a tutor, and I learnt Geography, Etiquette, Magical Government and Law, Economics and Finance, and History.
“It’s not all the same for other Purebloods, though—I probably had it a lot easier than others because Uncle Ted is muggleborn, and Andy didn’t want us being raised the way she was. On top of what I learnt, kids like Draco, probably get lessons in horse riding and fencing, and his finance lessons would’ve included stuff about the house for when he takes over from his father one day. He probably got taught about Philosophy and Literature, too.”
“Horse riding? Fencing?” Hermione couldn’t help but snort. “That’s . . . ridiculous. And why etiquette? What’s the purpose of that?”
“Well, we attend lots of balls and parties and whatnot. It’s expected of us to know how to dress, act and interact with other purebloods,” Adeline shrugged, “I think it’s a load of tosh, personally, but some of Andy’s habits die hard.”
“Sounds exhausting,” Hermione said empathetically, “Even my private school wasn’t all that over the top.”
“I’m only a half-blood and even we have to deal with some of that stuff if one of our parents is fairly popular or wealthy—or if our father is pureblooded, as they tend to be the more conservative ones who follow the old ways,” Alana said, “It’s why so many of us know each other already—we often have the same tutors, even sit in the same classes and we attend the same events.”
“Well, hopefully, I won’t be too behind,” Hermione said, feeling a little worried that she’d know a significantly less amount about their classes than those who were purebloods or half-bloods.
“Don’t worry about that,” Adeline assured, “We learn stuff to help us when we get to Hogwarts, but magic is so unpredictable before first year that parents usually avoid teaching us magic because our magical cores haven’t settled properly until about now. It’s like the magical version of puberty, except it happens constantly up until we’re eleven—it’s why Hogwarts starts now.”
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“Did you know that the old History of Magic teacher, Professor Binns, was fired last year?” Adeline said quietly to Hermione, Daphne and Alana while they were lined up outside, waiting to go in for their first History of Magic lesson.
“Really?” Hermione asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. “What for?”
“Well, he’s a ghost—” Daphne laughed at Hermione’s look of incredulation, “Had been teaching for years before he fell asleep in the staff room and died in his sleep. Afterwards, he just kept teaching and nobody had the heart to get rid of him. But because he died so long ago, he doesn’t really retain a lot of recent history or events, which meant he was constantly repeating old information. Nobody really did anything about it, but the Ministry has been stepping into Hogwarts business more and more since the war, and last year, the entire year of first years failed their exams and they finally ordered Dumbledore to sack him.”
“Well, thank God for that,” Hermione said, feeling rather glad that she wasn’t at risk of failing one of her classes—the thought of it was abhorrent.
Two minutes before the bell, the door slid open and they were let in. The History of Magic classroom was located in Classroom 4B—not to be mistaken with 4F, Professor Binns’ old classroom which he had been allowed to retain continue teaching in though not to any students—and was a bright, airy classroom on the first floor, overlooking one of the courtyards. The tables were long rows staggered higher in the air as they went further back, allowing them all to have a good view of their teacher's lectures. Hermione, Adeline, Alana and Daphne all sat in the first row and got out their school supplies.
When the bell rang, their Professor exited from a wooden door near the front of the classroom which seemingly led to her office. She was a woman in perhaps her fifties—though it was hard to tell with wizards and witches who aged at a much slower rate than muggles—with the beginnings of wrinkles lining the sides of her mouth. She had honey-blonde hair that tapered off to copper at the ends, which was big and wild from humidity, and was dressed not in robes, but something Hermione thought to be a cross between a treasure hunter and a medieval man’s tunic and trousers.
“Good morning, first years,” she said in a thick, Welsh accent, “My name is Professor Magdalena Aldous, and I’m to take over from Professor Binns. I am a historian and archaeologist and have a Mastery in curse-breaking, magical history and preservation. Previously, I worked alongside the Ministry of Magic’s Department of Archives and Records, particularly in the restoration and preservation department. I have also completed numerous archaeology expeditions in England, Egypt, Australia, Greece and China, to name a few, and I am the world’s foremost historian of British Magical History.”
Hermione found her rather impressive, to say the least.
“I am not used to teaching young students, as I only have worked with students undertaking a mastery, so please forgive me if I move quickly—you need only ask and I will assist you,” she explained, “Now, History of Magic notoriously has only taken an intermediary look into British Magical History, with particular focus on goblins, giants, ancient times and modern magical conflicts. However, I endeavour to give you all a thorough look into not only our history, including the species and creatures we live alongside but also the history of communities worldwide. This year, we will focus on three distinct topics: the history of Hogwarts, including its creation, the founders, any renovations undertaken through the years, headmasters, and the surrounding lands; Medieval times, including the reign of King Arthur and Merlin, the Hogwarts founders lives before they created Hogwarts, and the formation and dissolution of the Wizard’s Court; and finally, major historical events and discoveries on the British Isles, which will act as an introductory course for your later years studies.
“Now, I understand that many of you will have come to Hogwarts with varying degrees of knowledge about our world. However, you will all learn the same subjects and topics and I expect you to assist one another where possible. At the end of terms one and three, you will complete a case study applicable to what you’ve learnt. At the end of terms two and four, you will complete a research study based on an aspect of your learning. Your term four research study can be submitted for extra credit as part of your exams, so I expect you all to apply yourselves well in my class. My office hours are from seven to eight o’clock at night, Monday to Friday. Additionally, feel free to seek out the Hogwarts Explorers Club or Wizards History Society, as both will cover information relevant to your studies.
“As for today, we will begin by learning about the original founding of Hogwarts, before delving into its design. Please get out your supplies and take notes where you feel necessary.” She dimmed the candles, closed the blinds and turned on the projector to begin their lesson. “Hogwarts was founded sometime around 990 A.D by four highly talented witches and wizards, who were seeking to form a safe harbour for magical students to gain an education where they might not have been able to otherwise—particularly poor, or at-risk children, many of whom were cast out by their villages for their abilities. Of course, the four founders are Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin.
“Now, it’s been rumoured, though never confirmed, that the four were childhood friends of nobles and therefore had the funds and the education to start a school, but did not have the support of the people around them. Instead, they searched the UK far and wide for somewhere safe, private and full of potential, and thus they discovered a magical forest in Scotland, and a large mountain surrounded by a lake, that seemed the perfect place to build their school. Pooling their resources together, they constructed—quite possibly over many years, and even more possible, by their own hands—the first section of Hogwarts: the Great Hall, the first floor and the common rooms . . .”
Hermione left the class feeling invigorated. It was clear Professor Aldous was a dedicated historian and her joy for the art had done well to excite Hermione’s longtime interest in history.
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Since Hermione shared Transfiguration with the Gryffindors, Hermione walked with Ron and Harry to class.
At Hogwarts, there were a hundred and forty-two staircases: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different depending on the day of the week; some with a vanishing step halfway up that you had to remember to jump. Then there were the doors that didn’t open unless asked politely or tickled them in the right place, and doors that weren’t doors at all, but solid walls. It was hard to remember where anything was, even with the Prefects leading them to classes for the week and the portraits occasionally offering help if they felt like it. This meant the first years had to do their best to remember where their classes were for next week when they were on their own—and this meant that Harry was unaware of all the whispers surrounding him, but Hermione noticed.
“There, look!”
“Where?"
“Right there, next to the tall kid with the red hair and the bushy-haired girl.”
“Wearing the glasses?”
“Did you see his face?”
“Did you see his scar?”
It was an effort for Hermione not to turn around and snap at them all for being invasive and rude. They were treating him like a zoo animal—like an exhibit in a museum—-and it angered Hermione to no end. Harry, though, was none the wiser about the attention surrounding him as he, Ron and Hermione headed for the Transfiguration classroom.
“So, it’s true about the old History Professor?” Harry asked.
“Oh yeah, he was dreadful, apparently. Professor Aldous is brilliant, though,” Hermione gushed. “She really knows her stuff. I can’t wait for the next lesson—she said we’ll get to learn about what classes were like at Hogwarts back then. Did you know they didn’t even use wands?!”
Harry was just as excited and stunned by this prospect, as wands seemed so crucial to their studies now, but Ron seemed to know this. “I knew. My Dad loves history and loves boring us all with it—gets kind of annoying really. But I knew about the wands because of that. Also knew that it’s difficult for most witches and wizards to do wandless or nonverbal magic now because wands are what we use, when back then, it was the opposite. We only learn about wandless and nonverbal spells once we get to our O.W.L years. But when the founders taught, it was all they used.”
“History is so fascinating—how could you ever find it boring?” Hermione couldn’t help but exclaim, dumbstruck by Ron’s words. “Learning that so many myths and folklore stories are real . . . I mean, unicorns, dragons, the Lochness Monster, for crying out loud! It’s like we’re on an episode of Doctor Who or something!”
“Who’s Doctor Who? What an odd name,” Ron asked, puzzled, as they entered the Transfiguration classroom, the door already open.
This year, Transfiguration was located in Classroom 3F. Inside, desks were filling already with Gryffindor and Slytherin students, who seemed to stick to a clear divide of Gryffindors on one side, and Slytherins on the other. At the front of the room, an enormous chalkboard lay waiting, in front of which was Professor McGonagall’s desk, sitting on top of which was—Hermione was startled when she realised it was a real cat, sitting on its haunches and watching them all with its brown eyes.
“It’s a muggle science fiction television show,” Harry explained as they took their seats, pointedly ignoring the divide in seating arrangements. Ron frowned harder, clearly having no idea what Harry was saying. “My cousin, Dudley, watches it at his friend’s houses because my aunt and uncle hate anything with magic. He tried to sneakily watch it at home once and my uncle almost destroyed the television!”
Hermione frowned, rather concerned that Harry’s uncle had gotten angry enough over a television show that he’d almost destroyed it. She didn’t know much about his family—barely anything, actually, as he didn’t speak about them, except in cases like this where they sounded . . . unpleasant to say the least—but Hermione was getting the feeling that there was something not right there.
The bell rang and the class settled down quietly as they waited for the class to begin. At the front of the room, the cat leapt from the desk and, before their eyes, transformed from the grey and black striped feline to the stern, hat and glass-wearing Professor McGonagall.
“Wicked!” Ron guffawed in surprise.
“Thank you for that assessment, Mr Weasley,” Professor McGonagall said with a raised eyebrow. “Welcome, to your first Transfiguration lesson. I expect you all to arrive on time, like today, to all of your classes—prepared, with all of your supplies, and ready to learn. On Mondays, we will have theoretical lessons, where we will discuss the magic, and the power needed, and go over the curriculum before you begin to attempt Transfiguration in our Wednesday afternoon lessons. However, this week we will discuss Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic’s guidelines for students learning Transfiguration, the safety and dedication I expect of you all, and begin to go over the three facets of Transfiguration that you will need to understand to be successful in this class: the laws, alphabet and formula of Transfiguration.” It was apparent rather quickly that Professor McGonagall was equally as stern and expectant of her students as Professor Snape was.
“Today, I will talk you through copying down the laws, alphabet and formula, and at the end of the lesson, we’ll do a short test to see how much of that you retained. Don’t fret, I don’t expect you all to understand it immediately, but this will allow me a clear understanding of what level you are all beginning at so that I can ensure assistance where needed.”
Hermione’s head hurt by the time they got to the end of the lesson. Her notes seemed to reflect that, as they were a jumbled mix of notes, with Hermione writing them down in the shortest of forms possible, adding in a few of her notes here and then:
Transfiguration Laws:
- Food cannot be conjured from nothing. The magical world is bound by the law that sustenance must exist in some form already. Conjured food lacks the nutritional value of real food, making it unsuitable as a long-term substitute. Existing food can be duplicated, multiplied, transported, or preserved using magic. Food that already exists can be modified, enlarged, or replicated to feed larger groups temporarily.
- True life, consciousness, and sentient thought cannot be created or transfigured. While certain spells or enchantments can animate objects, they do not produce genuine, self-aware beings.
- Pure elements, such as water, cannot be conjured infinitely or produced in abundance without a source. Essential resources like air, earth, and metals also fall under strict regulation.
- Valuable items like gold, silver, gemstones, and currency cannot be created through Transfiguration to prevent market manipulation and economic disruption.
- Healing magic, while advanced, cannot restore life or permanently undo the most severe injuries or age-related decay. Death is beyond magical reversal, and attempts to transgress this boundary (such as through the creation of Inferi) are dark and ethically forbidden.
*Are these laws in the sense that they’re certainities or Ministry-imposed laws??? Is it possible to do any of these things??? If they’re certainities, surely some of them had to of been attempted to become laws? The same for if they’re Ministry imposed.
TRANSFIGURATION FORMULA
T = w × (c/v) × a × (f+d)
T = Transformation Success/the desired outcome of Transfigurations
W = The magical power and compatibility of one’s wand will affect the potency and control of the spell. Stronger wands or wands better suited to the caster, increase the likelihood of a successful transformation.
c = Concentration: The caster’s focus and mental effort are crucial. A high degree of concentration is needed to visualize the intended outcome, especially for complex transfigurations.
V = viciousness
A = accuracy
F = familiarity with the object
D = degree of difficulty
TRANSFIGURATION ALPHABET
Material Symbols: Represent the substance or material of the original and target objects.
- Common symbols: E (Elemental), O (Organic), M (Metal), G (Glass), W (Wood), F (Fabric), etc.
Transformation Type Symbols: Indicate the type of transformation—whether a complete change, partial change, or enhancement.
- Common symbols: C (Complete transformation), P (Partial transformation), E (Enhancement of existing properties), R (Reduction or simplification).
State and Form Symbols: Describe the physical state or form of the target object.
- Common symbols: S (Solid), L (Liquid), G (Gas), P (Powder), I (Inanimate), A (Animate).
Size and Scale Symbols: Indicate any changes in size or proportions.
- Common symbols: X (Expansion), R (Reduction), S (Shrink), L (Large), SM (Small).
Time Symbols: Define the duration of the transformation. Some transfigurations are temporary or require a fixed duration.
- Common symbols: T1 (Short term), T2 (Medium term), T3 (Long term), PT (Permanent).
Intent and Purpose Symbols: Reflect the caster’s intent, as certain transfigurations are only successful when aligned with the right purpose.
- Common symbols: U (Utility), A (Aesthetic), P (Protection), C (Combat), M (Medical), D (Defense).
E.G. a wooden chair into a metal chair:
Original: W (Wood) S (Solid) SM (Small) T3 (Long term)
Target: M (Metal) S (Solid) SM (Small) T3 (Long term)
For the last little while of the lesson, Professor McGonagall passed around little quizzes she’d created of the lesson information and had them go around answering each.
Hermione left her first Transfiguration lesson both brain-worked—after all, she’d always loved learning, no matter what it was—and exhausted. Luckily, they didn’t have another lesson; just Study Hall after lunch, where they were required to sit either in the Great Hall or the library. Eager to eat something after her brain had been so worked, Hermione headed for the Great Hall, depositing herself onto the Slytherin table with a thump.
“I have never felt dumber and hungrier in my life. My brain feels like it was melted,” Daphne sighed across from her, adding beef slice and horseradish sandwiches, hot chips and salad to her plate, with a side plate of pumpkin, sage and cheese pasties. “Does anyone else have no idea what any of that meant?”
“I have no idea either,” Alana said through a mouthful of a chocolate frog brownie, humming delightfully at the taste. “I’m going to have to re-read the Transfiguration textbook next to get at least some idea of what we’re supposed to be learning before the next class. I can’t even imagine how horrible I did on that quiz.”
Hermione had been filling her own plate with lunch: she selected a chicken and avocado salad wrap, with a side of devilled, paprika eggs, and stuffed bell peppers. She downed two glasses of berry-infused water before she’d even eaten, a headache already forming. “Every time I started to understand, I got confused again . . . I didn’t realise magic had that much to it. I mean, how difficult can it be?!”
“Magic itself isn’t difficult, it’s controlling it and having it do what you want it to do that’s difficult,” Adeline said over her vegetable lasagna. “Transfiguration, even more so. Though I hope the rest of our classes aren’t as painful or I’ll be in the Hospital Wing every day for a headache-relieving potion.”
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After lunch, they headed to the library for Study Hall to get some other books to assist them with their lessons and study somewhere quietly.
The Hogwarts Library was located on the first floor and was so large that it took up an entire wing of the floor. Inside, it was dark, cool and quiet. It felt like home to Hermione, who’d always found peace in libraries, and it was somehow even larger inside. Three stories high, with domed ceilings, stone archways and stained windows decorated with images of magical events and history, the library was a work of art. Behind a large, carved mahogany desk was the Hogwarts librarian, Madam Pince. She was dressed in robes that emulated her authority: they were long, black, high-necked, not frilly, overdramatic or full of flair like many witches robes were, and were clasped closed at the wrists, neck and waist with silver buckles, and around her neck was a silver, old key. Madam Pince herself was a thin, austere witch, with dark hair drawn out of her face in a bun that emphasised her angular face and sharp eyes.
Madam Pince gave the girls their library cards, which were simple rectangular cards with their names, year and house on them, as well as theirs and the librarian’s signature on the bottom, before talking them through the library’s rules.
- The card must be presented to Madam Pince everytime they wished to borrow a book—ten of which they were allowed to borrow at one time before they needed express permission from Madam Pince to borrow anymore. Books were also never to be removed from the castle grounds without permission from a Head of House or Professor Dumbledore.
- Food was banned from the library, as were drinks other than water, which must be charmed not to be spillable—a charm Madam Pince would perform for them until they could do so themselves.
- Students would be kicked out of the library if they were loud, disruptive or careless with the materials and not allowed to return until Madam Pince allowed them.
- Magic was also banned within the library unless it was being used to levitate a book to or from its position on a shelf, though they were encouraged to make use of the numerous ladders.
- The restricted section, at the very back of the room, was banned to students below sixth year without signed permission from Madam Pince or a teacher—who had to provide reasoning for their allowed access.
Madam Pince also encouraged them to donate any old or unused textbooks to the library for students who couldn’t afford their own, and also advised them to let her know if they would like a book ordered in. She couldn’t promise they could be allowed to order it in, as there was a strict criteria for ordering books, but she could try.
After giving them this lecture, during which they all remained very quiet, they were allowed free reign of the library.
The scent of old parchment and the touch of centuries of magic greeted them like an old friend as they stepped into the library’s depths alone. Long rows of mahogany bookshelves extended as far as the eye could see, brass ladders attached to railing to allow students to reach the higher shelves. They’d been grouped almost into little hallways, along which desks and chairs had been placed to allow students privacy whilst studying, and on the desks sat little lanterns and candles for darker shadows of the library where the light from large chandeliers hung from iron chains didn’t reach.
“How many books do you think there are?” Hermione asked in utter awe. The books seemed to go on forever, Hermione had never seen so many books in her lifetime—imagined that she never would.
“I’d say hundreds of thousands, probably more,” Adeline said in similar awe.
They patrolled the bottom floor first. Down here were books for the core subjects: Transfiguration, Charms, History of Magic, Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Each subject was then categorised alphabetically by the last name of the author. The spiral staircases had a sign in front with the following written: Level Two - Elective Classes; Level Three - Hogwarts Archives and Classrooms. They headed for the Transfiguration section to get some books to assist them with what they’d learnt today. Hermione found a couple of interest: A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration, Transfiguration Through the Ages, An Introduction to the Laws, Alphabet and Formula of Transfiguration, The Little Book of Transfiguration Troubleshooting and Transfiguration Techniques: From Theory to Practice. Once they’d all gotten some books, they headed upstairs. Surrounding the landing were little gatherings of chairs and tables, and the group of them sat at one, stacking their books on the table and dropping their bags to the ground.
“Where do we start?” Adeline sighed tiredly.
“The beginning, I guess,” Alana attempted to laugh, rubbing at her eyebrows.
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At the end of the day, they checked out their books and headed back to the dormitories until dinnertime. There, Hermione organised her borrowed books onto a section of her desk bookshelf where they wouldn’t get mixed up with her personal books. She unpacked her school bag of the day’s notes and packed her bag for tomorrow’s classes before retrieving her journal to write to her Mum.
She sat in front of the little window in the dorm and watched as something floated past the glass, inspiring thoughts about what else lived in the Black Lake other than the giant squid before she returned to her journal.
When she opened it, her Mum had written to her already, which was rather comforting to read after such a confusing, exciting but exhausting day.
My dearest Hermione,
Waking up this morning without you in the house was something I wasn’t prepared for, so I thought I’d write you something for your first day whilst I get ready for work.
I miss you achingly already. The house is so quiet without you, but I hope you know how proud I am of you—of your cleverness, your talent, heart, bravery and determination. I don’t know if I could’ve been as brave as you if I was in your shoes. I thank my lucky stars for the gift of being your mother; that I have the honour of watching you grow into a fierce, beautiful witch, and a formidable and headstrong woman. I know you’ll do incredible things—with or without magic—and I know that your father would be equally as proud of you as I am.
I hope your first day and night in the castle was better than you’d imagined it would be. I wish I could be there. I’m there in spirit, instead.
Looking forward to hearing from you, and looking even more forward to seeing you come Christmastime.
I love you,
Mum x
The letter from her Mum meant more to Hermione than she could’ve imagined. Until this very moment, she hadn’t realised just how much she’d needed to hear those words—to feel her Mum’s support for her even now.
She took out her pen and wrote her response:
Hi Mum,
I just finished my classes and saw your letter. Thank you! II’ll read it whenever I miss you.
I was sorted into Slytherin. Some students aren’t happy about it because supposedly a lot of them are, well, sort of racist (for lack of a nicer word) toward Muggleborns and Muggles. Besides that, I love Slytherin so far—our common room is under the lake and we can see into it. I’m sitting by it now and just saw the honest-to-God giant squid float past. Not to mention, we have our own library in the common room. I haven’t gotten a chance to read any of it yet, but I’m eager to.
Today, I had History of Magic. We’ll spend a lot of the year learning about the castle, its history and its surroundings. Then we had Transfiguration. It hurt my head a little and seems like it’ll be a challenging subject, but I’m excited for when we finally get to learn some Transfiguration spells. We didn’t have a third class today—we had something called Study Hall. I spent it in the library with some girls from my year. The library was even better than I could’ve imagined. You’d of been in heaven just as much as I was! Tomorrow, I have Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts and Potions. I’m so excited for all of them. Particularly Potions, though.
Also, you won’t believe it, but I met two of my cousins. One of them, Adeline Lestrange, is the daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange, who was Dad’s cousin. Adeline is in my year and house, so we share a dorm, and she seems very knowledgeable about this world. She’s very nice, too, but doesn’t seem very interested in socialising with many of the people in our house. Additionally, Draco Malfoy—whose Mum is Narcissa Malfoy—is very popular and seems to know everyone in our house already. He’s kind of mean, but I think it might be for show. I’m not sure what I think of him yet, though.
I also had a few conversations with Alana Runcorn and Daphne Greengrass, who I dorm with, and they both seem very nice so far. Alternatively, I haven’t spoken much to Pansy Parkinson, Tracey Davis or Millicent Bulstrode—they’re kind of intimidating. I also haven’t gotten to speak to Lily, who I met in Diagon Alley and sat with on the train, or Neville Longbottom, who I helped search the train for his lost toad, but I hope I’ll get to soon.
The castle is gigantic and so much cooler than I thought possible. I’m going to take some photos on the weekend so that I can show you over Christmas.
I miss you already and I wish you were here.
I hope work was well. Tell everyone I said hello!
I love you,
Hermione x
☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
At dinner, the girls were still discussing their lessons of the day—particularly History of Magic, which they discussed with excitement.
“Do you think the Founders really left behind secrets like Professor Aldous said?” asked Hermione.
Professor Aldous had told them all that the founders had been rumoured to of left behind secrets within the castle, though they’d never been found. One possible idea was that their offices were one of them. All headmasters and mistresses had had their own offices and artefacts were stored in the Headmasters Chamber (somewhat of a shrine to old heads of the school), but nothing had been found belonging to the founders. Historians had searched frequently in the years since their reign for these rooms, but to no avail, not a shred of evidence had been found owing to secrets of any kind left behind by the portraits—at least, nothing other than the founder's portraits in their common rooms, as well as the ones in the small chamber off of the Entrance Hall that were known to give guidance and talk with students (though Slytherin’s supposedly was the only one to never have spoken).
“It’s certainly possible, but the castle has been around for a thousand years. It seems impossible that no one’s found them in that time,” Daphne theorised.
“Historians constantly debate what they could be,” Alana responded, “Just imagine: there could be lost relics, artefacts or secrets about the castle that have gone entirely unknown. A find like that would be revolutionary for modern magical history!”
“I bet that’s why Aldous took the job,” Adeline said suddenly. “Dumbledore’s very strict about non-students or teachers being in the castle. I doubt she could’ve gotten in to look otherwise. Taking a job is perfect for her to finally get a chance.”
“And a find like that would be massive for her career,” Hermione said, suddenly understanding. Something like that would cement anyone as one of the greats of modern history. Hermione could understand the need to do what one must for their career, even if it was a little . . . misleading and slightly manipulative. But Hermione had also always loved history, so maybe she could understand a little better than most, who might just think it silly to still be looking for something that was essentially a myth. “I wish I could find something like that.”
“Why couldn’t you?” Alana said this honestly as if she really didn’t understand why Hermione couldn’t.
Hermione laughed. “If historians, who trained for years, couldn’t find them, I doubt an eleven-year-old could.”
Daphne huffed over her dinner. “Well, now I have a thirst to prove that wrong. We girls can do anything we put our minds to!”
“I agree,” Adeline said and held her hand out to Daphne for a fist bump—the girl clearly had never done a fist bump before, as she just looked at it like she’d never seen a hand before until Adeline showed her how to fist bump. “Personally, I think the Chamber of Secrets is something Slytherin left behind. It fits the criteria: one’s ever found it, and from legend, it’s said he left something behind in it. And with what happened years ago with it, it makes sense when you think about everything that’s said about Slytherin.”
“Yeah, but no one ever found the Chamber and everything stopped,” Daphne pointed out, Alana nodding along.
It was clear that Hermione was the only one who had no idea what they were talking about. Sure, the name sounded like something she’d heard or read before, but she had no idea what it meant or where she’d heard or read it. “Can someone enlighten me?” she asked eventually.
All three girls gaped at her slightly.
“How are you a Slytherin and you haven’t heard about the Chamber of Secrets?” Alana said, voice filled with genuine confusion and slight horror. “It’s our house's biggest legend!”
They spent the rest of dinner explaining the Chamber of Secrets’ lore to Hermione, who left dinner both unsure if she was glad she knew another secret that others did too or horrified that she was in the house of the man who’d left behind some kind of monster to terrorise muggleborn students—a Chamber that had been opened nearly fifty years ago, eventually killing a student before closing without a trace. Hermione had the sudden urge to look over her shoulder wherever she went now, unsure if that monster would be there waiting. After all, no one had ever found the Chamber or the monster. It could be anywhere, waiting to attack at any time. It was deeply unnerving.