Insufferable

“Ok after Grade Three Charms with Flitwick I have…Intermediate Transfiguration with McGonagall, then study of ancient runes with Professor Babbling. They couldn’t put them back to back for me? Three flights of stairs an hour apart it is; after that I go all the way to the dungeons with Snape for Year Three Magical Drafts and Potions, and people wonder why we’re all skin and bones!” Lirum ranted to themselves as they tried to figure out how they could make it to all of their classes on time when the staircases move with a mind of their own.

“Ms. Ollivander, would you like to explain why you are still in the Corridor instead of my classroom?” Spoken by the stern older woman

“O-oh professor McGonagall i'm so sorry i was try-“ they were cut off by a commotion coming from outside of the window.

“Ahhhhhh! Give it back Malfoy!” Lirum watched as Professor McGonagall turned away and saw two first years flying around on brooms yelling at each other.

“Come and get it, Potter,” the blond boy sneered. When Harry got close to catching the other boy, “Malfoy” threw what he was holding, causing Harry to dive for it. Miraculously catching it before it hit the ground.
“Wow, did he just make that? It was honestly impressive,” Lirum said as they turned to see professor McGonagall almost running down the hall. “If you do not wish to get detention, go to my classroom and tell everyone I will be back in no more than 5 minutes!” She called, as she had already disappeared. “That doesn’t even-…where are you…I’m not looking a gift horse in the mouth.” They spoke as they headed to class.

“Professor McGonagall will be back momentarily. Please everyone open your textbooks and umm…start reading to prepare for this year’s…eh, Transfiguration?” Lirum announced upon entry. t
They found their new assigned seat for the year, the desk between the Weasley twins. The two looked at Lirum then back at each other.

“Please don’t tell me she’s assigned me here to make you my problem!” Fred started in a mockingly high pitched voice.

“Don’t you know teachers love to do that to the poor quiet children,” George answered.

“I don’t talk like that,” annoyance already evident in Lirum’s voice.

“Yes, you do,” they respond in tandem. “You can hate it,” “-and us,” “but you're stuck with us!” “Your favorite teacher sacrificed you for the greater good.” They spoke in turns, finishing each other's sentences

“She’s not my favorite teacher, and I’m not a sacrifice.” They gave a look that said they didn’t believe a word Lirum said, but honestly they both knew better.

“Don’t be silly, who else would it be?” “Snape? Quarrel? Filch?” the pair pester.

“Filch isn’t a teacher,” Lirum argued.

“Would that matter? You obviously have a type-” “you like grouchy old people?” They added like a matter of fact.

“I do not!” Lirum snapped.

“Who’s your favorite then?” The pair teased.

“Professor Flitwick, he's the head of my house, and teaches charms and choir, two things I actually enjoy!”

The twins looked at each other for a second then back to Lirum with sly glints. “Why did you lie?”

“What? I’m not li-” getting cut off by the Gryffindors.

“You always looked uncomfortable doing choir before you quit, or talking to Flitwick in general.” Said the twins, speaking complete nonsense.

“No I don’t, you’re just making things up to tease me, and I’m done with it.” Lirum stood back up ready to take detention to end the conversation.

“Your hair changes.” This stopped Lirum in their tracks.

“…what?”

“It slowly turns brown when you’re uncomfortable, or don’t want to be noticed.”

“How could you even know that-what are you stalking me now?” Lirum said, glaring at them skeptically.

“Three years this year we’ve been in the same classes. Your hair changing is pretty obvious.” Putting the last of their things back in their bag, they responded.

“No one else seems to think so, and you don’t even know my name; let alone how I feel.”

“Of course we do, you’re the bright green Ravenclaw. It’s kinda hard to miss,” “-other than the hair, your basically the perfect Ravenclaw-” breaking their chain of finishing sentences and starting to speak together, “perfect grades calm, shy little bookworm; top of our class since first year, what else is there to know about the quintessential Ravenclaw?”

“You have only proven my point; that you don’t know me at all,” Lirum felt dizzy. Whether it was all the new information at once, or hearing the twins talk in stereo around them. The words themselves sounded kind of like they had taken notice of, and cared for, what bothered them; but It felt mocking. The idea that Lirum didn’t even know themselves, or was so absorbed in their efforts to be a good student they wouldn’t notice such important information about how their feelings might affect how they appear to others. They stepped back from the two boys not knowing what to say, they simply turned heel and ran.

Barely hearing “where are you going!?” followed by a faint “did we take that too far?” behind them from the boys they left still in their desk. Lirum ran to the first safe place they could think of, the library. They took a few minutes to breathe and regain their composure before deciding it was best to go ahead and find the book Flitwick mentioned the first night in the great hall, before going to his class. Giving them an excuse to have left McGonagall’s classroom before the end of the lesson.

“A Rune Dictionary…right here perfect.” Now calm and set on a mission to read as much as they could before the end of the hour; silently begging McGonagall won’t notice they disappeared if she makes it back to the classroom on time. After skimming through the ‘A Rune Dictionary,’ and comparing it to the information found in ‘Runes Made Easy’ the realization quickly hit that it was in-fact, a dictionary; not so much a textbook, that minimally expanded on the definitions found in the base textbook. Having made it most of the way through the original book, they started looking for the next piece of course material. ‘Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms,’ They questioned for a second if they should be reading the next year’s textbooks so early, but began to read through nonetheless. In mock preparation for any questions that might come up In their next class. Looking up at the clock Lirum saw it was almost time for the next class to begin. Leaving the library to head towards their runes classroom, they hear McGonagall explaining the Gryffindor house's history with quidditch to the young boy now known to Lirum as Harry Potter.

“Is this what she skipped class for? To recruit a first year into their quidditch team? Really?” Lirum quickly realized they would have to pass them in the hallway to get to runes and focused on just blending in. Their hair turned back to a muted woody brown and they appeared slightly shorter than their normal stature. Trying to ignore them and not be noticed on their way to their next class.

Once they found their seat it was uneventful. Lirum sat halfheartedly listening to the lecture they had already read on their train ride to Hogwarts. The same as most of their classes, doing the work in class but being far ahead of it, rarely needing help, or even a teacher. That was until they reached divination.

Pulling out their book ‘Unfogging The Future,' the first lesson with Professor Trelawney being tea leaves, this was out of Lirum’s comfort zone. This class was almost all active projects, not about principals or study. They sat trying to understand how this was coming naturally to everyone else. The professor told everyone to dump out their tea, and leave the cup upside down; then hand it to their table partner. Lirum looked up to their table partner. A boy with brown hair in Hufflepuff robes. They looked back at the cup and said, “um I don’t know, it's kind of weird…like a cloud maybe…or a clover with no stem.” Professor Trelawney appeared behind Lirum in that instant, taking the cup from their hand.

“Ah yes; a clover, you’ll have a terrible rash tomorrow dear!” Spoken cheerily to the Hufflepuff across the table. “Now, read Lirum’s for us!”

“Well it’s a bit confusing, it looks like a cross and the sun.” Trelawney circled the table and took the cup from the boy. “Yes, indeed it is. Can you find the cross in your textbook?”

“Yes ma’am, it means trials coming your way.”

“And it leads to the sun, can you find that Mr.Diggory?”

“Well yes that means…uhh happiness, so those don’t really make sense together..” The boy looked at the professor just as confused as everyone else in the room.

“Sometimes, one thing must happen for another to occur. In this case; this young student will be facing some sort of struggle that will lead them to great happiness. But do try not to worry too hard, this could be something small like a test, you seem the worrisome sort." Soon class ended and they left for dinner in the great hall.

Lirum sat down at their normal table having come to two possible conclusions; this year is either going to be horrendous, or that teacher is a total crackpot. They were ultimately unable to come to one decision or the other over dinner as they got distracted by the young blond Malfoy, with two Slytherins in tow, storming across the hall to the Gryffindor table, all the while loudly arguing with Harry and the younger Weasley before heading back to their own table. The commotion only caused the students all around to question:

“What's going on with those two?”

They finished their meal before heading to the Ravenclaw common room to study. Before they even knew it it was after lights out and they have gotten nowhere near understanding divination. They need to take a trip to the library but, seeing as it was after hours, they decide to lay down and try to get some rest.

It didn’t take long for everyone else around them to have fallen asleep, but they couldn’t stand not having the answers to the questions nagging at them. Deciding to sneak out after hours was never something that Lirum thought they would do, even if it was just to go to the library. But, questions needed answers; and they couldn’t sleep until they had them. As quietly as possible, they snuck out of Ravenclaw tower and towards the library.

“Lumos,” Lirum whispered the light charm, and quickly made their way down the corridor until they heard footsteps. In a panic, they tried to make themselves look like the first person that came to mind when they thought “who would sneak out” and of course it would be ‘that’ one that came to mind. “Fred, what are you doing over here? You were supposed to be setting the trap above professor Quarrels door. There’s no way you’ve finished already!” George spoke, grabbing Lirum’s arm.

This was not good. Possibly the worst person they could have run into suddenly before they had a second to think of a way out. More footsteps were heard, as Fred ran in their direction. “Fred?! But you’re-“

“No time, Percy’s coming!” He ran with a paper in his hand, grabbing George and, by extension, Lirum, ducking into the next doorway. All three stopped and looked at each other, confusion clear in all of their faces.

“Wait…you're not me...” Fred looked at Lirum as George turned to them as well. “Looks like we don’t know you after all, trouble maker! Acting out now to prove us wrong!”

“No, I was going to the library! This has nothing to do with either of you!”

“You might want to tell that to your face, as right now it looks like you were trying to get us in trouble.” Fred started.

“I must say, revenge is very Slytherin of you, perfect little Ravenclaw!” George finished.

“Stop acting like you know me!” Snapped Lirum as the door to the classroom swung open to reveal the tall curly haired Ginger prefect

“All of you are out after curfew and making a ruckus! Fred! George! How many times must we have this conversation and you Fre-wait why are there two Fred’s? If this is use of a polyjuice potion that is grounds for expulsion!” With that panic set in.

“No…no I swear!”