The First Day
Harry
The storm had blown itself out by the following morning, though the ceiling in the Great Hall was still gloomy; heavy clouds of pewter gray swirled overhead as Harry sat at the Gryffindor table, waiting for Professor McGonagall to reach his end of the table as she fixed the students' timetables. Near him, Fred, George, and Lee Jordan were discussing magical methods of aging themselves and bluffing their way into the Triwizard Tournament.
Harry had to hide a snigger as he remembered the faces of the three boys in his dorm the previous night as they realized that he would be of age at the start of October, hence able to participate in the race of the selection of Champions.
Out of the Prowlers, only he and Cedric were lucky enough for this honor, though. Adrian had taken this the worst, though, constantly singing in Harry's and Cedric's heads at night so that they couldn't sleep properly. It had gone on till very late, till Adrian had himself dozed off. Now, all three of them were sporting matching headaches and were glowering at each other across the hall.
That's when he got the letter he'd been anticipating.
Dear Harry,
I know you'll be of age at time, and would be eligible to give your name in. I also know I can't really stop you, and that you're very capable... But, son, please be careful. Make your decision wisely. There have been deaths in this tournament, and I won't be able to bear it if you're a casualty.
So, just be careful. Your father and I will support whatever you decide, and so would your uncles and aunts.
We love you,
Mum (and Dad)
"Mr. Potter," Professor McGonagall reached him and raised an eyebrow. "According to your results, there are no subjects you would not be able to take this year, apart from Astronomy, I suspect."
Harry grinned at her. "Ah, but modesty is a fine trait, I believe, Professor. I'll be taking Defence, Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, Runes, Dueling, and Warding."
McGonagall furrowed her brow. "Not Care of Magical Creatures? And Spell-Craft?"
"No, ma'am."
Professor McGonagall nodded and gave him his timetable. "Fine. Good luck for the year, Mr. Potter."
What did you guys take? Sera asked.
Harry repeated his list, which was similar to Jéricho's. Adrian had, instead of Warding, taken Arithmancy. Cedric had Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology on his list, instead of Dueling. Sera had Healing and Herbology added to her list, and she'd left Spell-Craft and Dueling.
Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs have first class together. Jéricho commented. Transfiguration.
Charles
"Today’s not bad... outside all morning,” said Ron, who was running his finger down the Monday column of his schedule. "Herbology with the Hufflepuffs and Care of Magical Creatures... damn it, we’re still with the Slytherins... Double Divination this afternoon," Ron groaned.
“You should have given it up like me, shouldn’t you?” said Hermione briskly, buttering herself some toast. “Then you’d be doing something sensible."
“You’re eating again, I notice,” said Ron, watching Hermione adding liberal amounts of jam to her toast too.
“I’ve decided there are better ways of making a stand about elf rights,” said Hermione haughtily.
“Yeah... and you were hungry,” said Ron, grinning.
Charles quickly stood up and ran to the staff table, ignoring the questions from Ron and Hermione. He stopped right in front of Professor McGonagall and cleared his throat, prompting a raised eyebrow from her. Summoning his courage, Charles said, "Ma'am, I wish to drop Divination, if it's still possible. And I'd like to opt for the Extracurricular activity of Art."
Professor McGonagall didn't even attempt to hide her surprise. Extracurricular activities were rarely taken by anyone, and not many people knew of Charles' deep interest in magical art. Only his family and uncles did, in fact, and maybe Ron and Hermione, too, though they didn't know he liked it that much.
McGonagall gave a sharp, crisp nod. "Alright, Potter. I'll add your name to the Arts section." Then she snatched his time-table and vanished the Divination lessons. "There. Would you like to replace it with something else?"
"No, ma'am. Thank you."
Ginny
"What subjects did you take?" Draco questioned.
Ginny frowned a bit, but controlled herself. She'd been a bit aloof with him, but not completely indifferent.
"Arithmancy and Care," Amy and Ginny said together.
"Arithmancy, Ancient Studies, and Runes," Josephine said.
Lyra nodded, humming. "Fine choices. What's your first class?"
"Arithmancy," they replied together.
Draco's lips twitched at their synch. "Nice."
Of course, Ginny's luck didn't take her side. Arithmancy proved to be extremely difficult for her, while it came naturally to Amy. Josephine seemed troubled, as well, but not as badly as Ginny, who was already dreading how she was going to pass it. It was interesting, yes, but in a nightmarish way.
Care of Magical Creatures was nice. They viewed Unicorns, that were adorable.
Josephine told Amy and Ginny that her Ancient Studies lesson had been fun and interesting, and they mimed gagging in response.
Charles
As Charles sat back down on his seat, there was a sudden rustling noise above them, and a hundred owls came soaring through the open windows carrying the morning mail. The owls circled the tables, looking for the people to whom their letters and packages were addressed. A large tawny owl soared down to Neville Longbottom and deposited a parcel into his lap - Neville almost always forgot to pack something. Their family owl dropped a letter to Harry, who read it with interest. On the other side of the Hall, Malfoy’s eagle owl had landed on his shoulder, carrying what looked like his usual supply of sweets and cakes from home.
Professor Sprout showed the class the ugliest plants Charles had ever seen. Indeed, they looked less like plants than thick, black, giant slugs, protruding vertically out of the soil. Each was squirming slightly and had a number of large, shiny swellings upon it, which appeared to be full of liquid.
"Bubotubers," Professor Sprout told them briskly. “They need squeezing. You will collect the pus-"
“The what?” said Seamus Finnigan, sounding revolted.
“Pus, Finnigan, pus,” said Professor Sprout, “and it’s extremely valuable, so don’t waste it. You will collect the pus, I say, in these bottles. Wear your dragon-hide gloves; it can do funny things to the skin when undiluted, bubotuber pus.”
Squeezing the bubotubers was disgusting, but oddly satisfying. As each swelling was popped, a large amount of thick yellowish-green liquid burst forth, which smelled strongly of petrol. They caught it in the bottles as Professor Sprout had indicated, and by the end of the lesson had collected several pints.
“This’ll keep Madam Pomfrey happy,” said Professor Sprout, stoppering the last bottle with a cork. “An excellent remedy for the more stubborn forms of acne, bubotuber pus. Should stop students resorting to desperate measures to rid themselves of pimples.”
“Like poor Eloise Midgen,” said Hannah Abbott, a Hufflepuff, in a hushed voice. “She tried to curse hers off.”
“Silly girl,” said Professor Sprout, shaking her head. “But Madam Pomfrey fixed her nose back on in the end.”
Lyra
As the Slytherins headed down the sloping lawn toward the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they saw Professor Grubby-Plank was standing there already, waiting.
It was a bit of a boring lesson, to be honest. Tame. And a bit too proper.
Nothing special.
So, as the class ended, Daphne let out an over-dramatic sigh. "Professor Grubby-Plank is..."
"Not at all fun," Lyra supplied helpfully.
"Let's go talk to the new girl, d'you think?" Blaise asked.
They looked over to where Bianca Joule was walking alone, behind the Gryffindors, just tailing them. She didn't seem too interested in trying to go and talk to them unless they approached her themselves. Her hair was done in a plait on one shoulder, and she had a bag slug over her other one.
Lyra walked over to her, followed by Blaise and Daphne. "Hi."
Joule turned and smiled politely. "Hello."
"You're the new student, right? Bianca Joule?" Blaise drawled. "I'm Blaise Zabini, and these are my friends Lyra Black and Daphne Greengrass."
Bianca's eyes widened a little. "Oh! The Greengrass family's American branch is an alley of the Joule's, from what I know."
Daphne frowned. "I've met them, yes. I didn't see you, though."
"That's because I'm not close to them." Bianca shrugged. "My mum is a squib Joule. Dad's a muggle."
Lyra's eyes narrowed. "And yet you use your mother's maiden name?"
"Yeah," Bianca sighed. "My dad's name is Thomas Winston, but I don't use that last name. My siblings do, though. Nico and Arizona Winston."
"Oh," Lyra said. "Well... why aren't you talking to anyone?"
"Didn't feel like it," Bianca shrugged. "I mean... the people I sat with yesterday - Potter, Weasley, and Granger - are clearly very good friends, and I don't wanna be intruding. And I don't really know the others..."
Lyra snorted. "Yeah, well... Charles, Hermione, and Ron are often called the 'Golden Trio'. They're never separate."
"You know them?" Bianca raised her eyebrows.
"I'm Charles' cousin," Lyra nodded. "Grew up with him; our dads can't stay apart even a whole day."
"That's nice."
"Well," Daphne said. "We should be heading off to our class. We'll see you later, Bianca."
Bianca nodded, surprised at the use of her first name. "Sure."
Charles
They sat down at the Gryffindor table and helped themselves to lamb chops and potatoes. Hermione began to eat so fast that Charles and Ron stared at her.
“Er, is this the new stand on elf rights?” said Ron. “You’re going to make yourself puke instead?”
“No,” said Hermione, with as much dignity as she could muster with her mouth bulging with sprouts. “I just want to get to the library.”
“What?” said Ron in disbelief. “Hermione, it’s the first day back! We haven’t even got homework yet!”
Hermione shrugged and continued to shovel down her food as though she had not eaten for days. Then she leaped to her feet, said, “See you at dinner!” and departed at high speed.
When the bell rang to signal the start of afternoon lessons, Ron stood up and looked expectantly at Charles, who winced guiltily, realizing he'd not told Ron yet...
"Uh, I've quit Divination," he mumbled.
Ron's eyes bulged. "What?!"
Charles shrugged uncomfortably. "During breakfast. I left it; I couldn't carry on. Sorry, Ron."
Ron looked so hurt that Charles felt even more guilty. Then abruptly Ron grabbed his bag and marched out of the hall.
Not having anything to do at the moment, Charles spotted Bianca alone at the table and walked over to sit next to her. "Mind if I join you?"
Startled, Bianca nodded. "Sure."
"What subjects have you taken?" Charles asked. "I have Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures. I had Divination last year, but I left it this morning."
"Um, same as you, I suppose."
Charles smirked. "Huh. Cool coincidence, huh?"
Bianca nodded, smiling. "Yeah, well... Did you have a row with your friend just now."
Charles stiffened in surprise that she'd been listening, but misinterpreting, Bianca's eyes widened. "I don't mean to intrude! You don't have to tell me anything. I-"
"No, no, it's fine," Charles quickly said. "Sorry, I was just surprised... yeah, I sorta left him alone there. Without telling him. He just got mad... Nothing I can do, though. I'll just wait till he cools off."
"Oh," Bianca said. "So... do you have any siblings?" she asked, changing the subject.
Charles nodded. "Yeah! Harry's in Gryffindor, his sixth year, and Effie's in second, Hufflepuff. Monty, the youngest, will start next year. Nico will start then too, yeah?"
Bianca nodded happily, surprised that he'd remembered. "Yeah."
"And your sister?"
"Arizona. She's a muggle, turned eighteen two months ago. She's a Journalist. She's, uh... bitter, a bit, I think, that she didn't get to be a witch... since I got my letter, she hasn't talked properly to me once. Been avoiding me, mostly. And Nico as well. When she talks, she's short. Left home to buy her own apartment, even."
Charles winced in sympathy. It sounded a bit like his mum and Aunt Petunia... only, here Arizona seemed nicer. "I'm sorry."
Bianca looked embarrassed. "I don't know why I told you all that... look-"
"I won't tell," Charles promised. "It's okay... it sounds a bit like how my mum's and her sister Petunia's relationship got. Aunt Petunia was bitter with Mum being a witch, and they drifted apart on... bad terms. We meet her once in a while, but it's all stressful. Also, her husband and son are wizard-haters, so..."
"That sounds worse than my case." Bianca sighed.
"What about your parents? What do they do?"
"Mum's a housewife. Dad's a Travel Agent. Nothing exciting in our life, really. What 'bout you?"
"My dad's an Auror," Charles said. "A senior one. Mum's a freelance potioneer. Her partner's Aunt Marlene, my godmother."
"Who else lives with you?" Bianca asked curiously. Almost as if she were leading to something...
"Well," Charles shrugged. "Sirius and his children stay with us almost all the bloody time. And Remus, my godfather, too. They've been Dad's best friends since their school times, and Sirius and Dad are almost like brothers. Literally. They were all in Gryffindor together. Oh, and Sirius' children are Lyra - Slytherin, our year - and Jéricho - Harry's best friend, Ravenclaw."
Bianca nodded as if she already suspected that. "Sirius... you mean Professor Black, right?"
Charles grinned. "Yeah. He used to be an Auror in the first war with Dad, but he quit to become a Curse-Breaker after, uh, Aunt Mela's death. Then just last year, he quit that and moved to teach. In fact, Remus taught DADA last year too, but he resigned."
Bianca frowned. "Why's that?"
Charles hesitated. "He was exposed an a werewolf."
He watched her reaction closely. To her credit, Bianca's eyes widened barely as she hummed and nodded. "Oh... that makes sense. I've never really understood the discrimination against werewolves... it's not something they can control, so perhaps that does make them dangerous, but only once a month. They're human the rest of the time, right?"
Charles smiled broadly. "You know what, Bianca... I like you."