chapter four
The first day passed fast and without much issue, the classes were -for now- only introductions and theoretical stuff. How to handle your wand right, how to prepare potion ingredients right etc. etc.
The only class that did start exactly as it would continue for the rest of his time at Hogwarts was History of Magic, which was just as mind bogglingly uninteresting as described in the books. In that class, Ron spent his time reading up on other school textbooks, practicing spellcasting and so on and so forth. Spellcasting came easy to him thanks to that high potential he wished for. By the end of History of magic, he could cast the color changing charm, the wand lighting and extinguishing charm, the levitation charm and the softening charm.
After History of magic, the day was officially over and Ron made his way to the owlery, where he used one of the school owls to deliver the letter to his mom and another to deliver the letter to Dumbledore.
Dinner came and he could see Dumbledore reading his letter at the table. The headmaster had his eyebrows furrowed and he looked up at the ravenclaw table, where Ron pretended to be looking out of one of the windows, which lined the walls. After a few seconds of staring, Dumbledore looked down at his letter again and then muttered something to Flitwick, who was sitting only a few chairs away from Dumbledore. The tiny little professor nodded and Dumbledore went back to his chair.
That evening, just as he was about to go to bed, Flitwick appeared in his dorm room, asking for Scabbers.
“What- why would you need my rat?”, Ron asked, playing oblivious.
“No reason to worry, Professor Dumbledore just has to check something, he will give it back to you soon”
“Um- Okay? Be careful with him, he’s very old for a rat”
“Really? How old?”
“Well, he’s been in our family for ten years and he was already an adult when we found him, so maybe 11 or 12 years old, I guess”
“Well, not to worry, we will assure you that nothing bad will happen to it while it is in our care”
“Okay then”, Ron grabbed scabbers and put him into his cage, handing the metal contraption over to Flitwick.
After that, Ron went to sleep, happy, knowing that Sirius would soon be free and that Harry would no longer have to live with the Dursleys. All according to plan.
The next week continued at the same pace, classes were slow going and he studied ahead for all of them, even potions, which became his least favorite class after a few lessons with Snape. Snape was in no way fit to teach students anything. It wasn’t all too bad for the Ravenclaws but he really despised the Gryffindors and the Hufflepuffs, antagonizing them at every opportunity.
It just wasn’t any fun with Snape breathing down their necks the entire lesson, just waiting for one of them to make a mistake so that he could chastise them.
Charms on the other hand was by far Ron’s favorite class, not only due to his quick pick up speed of the spells, but that certainly helped. Flitwick was a nice, relaxed teacher who encouraged both those who excelled and those who struggled in his class. Transfiguration and Defence against the dark arts were good, though not the best. And all his other classes were just lala. Nothing all too bad, nothing really good either.
In his free time, Ron either studied or hung out with Harry in one of the many courtyards of Hogwarts- They did their homework together, they played wizarding chess and they gossiped about the teachers. Snape was a topic that came up more than once. Especially with how much he seemed to hate Harry. He encouraged him by saying that he was just like that, though Ron knew in truth that it was because of his Parents that Snape hated him, more specifically his father.
Ron also became a study buddy with Hermione Granger, who was often in the library, just like himself. It wasn’t a friendship but they got along well. They bonded over their shared interest in studying. They made it into a little competition to see who would learn the most spells within a week and then get together and show off the spells we’d learned. Hermione won the first week, because she had practiced at home before Hogwarts quite a bit but Ron managed to get on top the next week. Ron won the week after that, only to be beaten the next week.
This trend continued for the following months, Ron always winning twice, before Hermione won the third week and it repeated.
As time marched on, the lessons became more practical and Ron was getting better and better at it.
Practical magic was where he excelled, even potions wasn’t so bad as long as it was practical. Thanks to his potential, he got all spells and most potions right away. What was hard was writing the long texts for his classes. Rolls of parchment about theoretical charms usage, brewing different potions and so on.
Flying was… terrifying. Being so high up in the air, with nothing to support you but a broomstick- thinking about it made him shiver. Yeah, he wouldn’t try out for the quidditch team, not now, not ever. Harry on the other hand was a natural and just like in the story, he got into the Quidditch team after his little stunt during the first flying lesson together with the Slytherins. There was no news about Scabbers nor Sirius but he wasn’t all too worried. Ron was sure Sirius would be freed before the next summer holidays.
Soon, Halloween rolled around and the feast was magnificent. Giant jack o'lanterns floating where the candles used to be, all kinds of foods and sweets lined the long tables. Everything was going great… until Quirrel came running in, screaming about trolls in the dungeons and promptly collapsing onto the floor. It was truly a performance worthy of hollywood. He was good at that, at least, performing.
Everyone began screaming and running around. It took many fireworks from Dumbledore for them to focus on something other than screaming. In a loud and calm voice, Dumbledore told everyone to go to their dorms and for the teachers to follow him in leading the search for the troll and taking care of it.