Chapter 5
The next morning I’m woken up by Daphne.
“Hey.” I say as I rub my eyes.
“Morning, you ready for breakfast?” I nod and grab my robes from my trunk. I get dressed as quick as I can, trying to beat the chill of the air.
“It’s so early.” I mumble as slide on some socks and I lace my shoes up.
“All you need is a nice warm breakfast to start the day.” I smile at her.
“You’re chipper.”
“I love the morning time.” She says and spins around. I shiver and I rub my arms. Uncle was right about it getting cold here. After a quick stop to the underwater windows to see if we could spot a squid and then to the common room board, we were off to the great hall in need of some food. Many other students were eating, and it didn’t look like there was assigned seating like dinner was the night before. I pass Hermione on the way in, books under her arm.
“See you in transfiguration Hermione.” I say and she nods as she quickly passes by. Maybe she was in a hurry.
“Someone you know?” Pansy asks as Daphne and I sit down.
“I met her on the train.” Is all I say before grabbing some food. I didn’t think I should tell them anything yet. I mean I didn’t even know if Hermione was my friend. She said we would make good friends but that could’ve changed since my house placement. We sit down at the same table as Draco, Greg and Vincent.
“Pansy said you all met Tracey.” Draco says and I sigh.
“Yeah, I’m not sure about her yet. She seems-“
“Stuck up.” Pansy says. I didn’t know if that was the right term for her but maybe it was just first day jitters. Maybe Tracey was really nice.
“I don’t know, all she wanted to talk about was Harry Potter.” Daphne says in between bites of her toast.
“What a nob.” Greg says and I cover up a giggle with a cough.
“He’s not all that.” Draco scowls.
“I agree, he’s just a kid. He didn’t even know about any of this until recently.” I say.
“What do you mean, like Hogwarts?” Pansy asks. I nod.
“He lives with muggles because well you know.” I say.
“What a nightmare.” Vincent says. Draco is silent for this part of the conversation. I wonder if he was thinking what it would be like to lose his parents.
“That’s terrible. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t live around magic.” Daphne says and I nod in agreement. We continue to eat, and I glance at my watch. I still had quite a bit of time before my first lesson of the day which was herbology. Professor Sprout looked nice so I figured it would be a fun class and Remus had dozens of muggle plants at the café so it would be cool to learn about some magical ones.
“So, we all have transfiguration together second period, right?” Greg asks.
“Yep, with the Gryffindors.” Pansy says.
“Unfortunately.” Draco mutters. Most of our classes were with them, I hope he isn’t too disappointed.
“Come on, it can’t be that bad,” I say. “Dumbledore used to teach it you know.” I say as we all get up from the table and head for the main corridor.
“You’re so smart, how’d you know all this stuff?” asks Greg.
“Oh, well I like to read. I remember stuff pretty well.” I say sheepishly. They boys grin to each other.
“Looks like we found our study partner.” Draco says.
“No, Malfoy find your own, Emery is ours.” Daphne says as she and Pansy each throw an arm around my shoulders. I laugh at them as we walk down the hall.
.......
Daphne groaned into her book.
“Okay, it’s really not that bad.” I whisper over to her. Transfiguration was hard but the concepts seemed quite fun. What I thought would be an easy class turned serious as soon as Professor McGonagall said and I quote,‘ Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned.’
After that I gave a worried glance to Draco and Daphne who were sat beside me. They didn’t look like they were having the time of their lives either. I figured this class would take up a lot of my study time than I would like but getting good marks would be worth it. We started off with Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration which was all factual; it basically told you what you could transfigure and what you couldn’t. It was easy to grasp. Then she showed us a few basic wand movements she said we would have to master precisely if we wanted to transfigure anything correctly. I wrote down as many notes as I could because I didn’t want to miss anything. Since it was a double period, we spent the latter half of the class reading the first chapter of our books. It seemed as if Professor McGonagall was there for a moment and then disappeared from sight. On her desk sat a cat, did she have one in here before?
“Did you see that?” Daphne asks me.
“Huh?” I ask as I copy down some interesting findings from the chapter.
“McGonagall, she just transformed into a cat!” my eyes widened. She was an Animagus? I had heard and even read about them, but I had never actually met an animagi before.
“That’s wicked.” I say and smile at Daphne’s shocked face.
“Do you think we’ll learn that?” Draco asks.
“I hope so, that would be so fun.” I say to them and peer at our professor. I couldn’t even tell it was her. It really was brilliant. As I’m finishing up my notes the back door opens. I glance back to see Ron and Harry rush in.
“Whew, could you imagine the look on old McGonagall’s face if we were late?” Ron asks. The professor jumps back into her human form and makes her way across the room.
“That was bloody brilliant.”
“Thank you for that assessment Mr. Weasley. Maybe if I were to transfigure Mr. Potter or yourself into a pocket watch maybe one of you would be on time.”
“We got lost.” Is all Harry says. It would make sense, they hadn’t told us exactly where our classrooms were, we had to ask a prefect on the way here if we were going in the correct direction.
“I trust you don’t need to find your seats.” she says and gestures to the desk behind ours. She heads back to the front of the room and when her back is turned, I toss Ron my notebook. He smiles and starts copying down what they missed.
…….
After transfiguration we made our way to potions. I was a bit nervous. It wasn’t due to the difficulty of the class, I had read the book over the summer and thought it would be an enjoyable class. Potion making and learning which ingredients could kill or save someone was quite intriguing to me. I was nervous because Ron mentioned that the twins didn’t like Professor Snape and yes, they were jokesters and loved pranks but really were good judges of character and it worried me. When we walked in ten minutes early, he wasn’t there, and I almost let out a sigh of relief. Pansy and Daphne decided to sit together for this class, so I was stuck with Draco. I guess stuck was a bit of a stretch, he wasn’t bad at all given his introduction the night before.
“Do we have to sit in the front?” I ask him as the others fill in.
“It’s either here or beside the Gryffindors.” He says and points to Harry and Hermione on the other side of the room, half-way back. I sigh and sit down. That would be nice actually, Hermione would be a great desk partner as we had a lot in common. Kids were chattering around us as I was wringing my hands together.
“What’s the matter?”
“Huh?” I ask Draco.
“You okay?” He asks and gestures to my hands.
“Oh, yeah. I’m just nervous because, uh, well-“
“Professor Snape?” He asked with a knowing smile.
“How’d you guess?” I ask with a sigh.
“I know he looks mean but isn’t. He is my godfather after all.” Draco says and my mouth drops open.
“He is?” I whisper. That was, I didn’t even know what to think. Draco nods.
“Just stick with me, he’s been telling me all sorts of potions stuff since I was little.” Draco says with a satisfied smirk. The door slammed open and I didn’t have to turn around to know our professor was there. He walks towards the window to his podium.
“There will be no foolish wand waving or silly incantations in this class. As such I don’t expect many of you to enjoy the subtle science and exact art that is potion making. However, for those select few,” He looks to Draco and I. “who possess the predisposition, I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death,” Draco and I look at each other, he raises his eyebrows at me, and my eyes widen. His words sounded like something out of a muggle science fiction novel Remus would read to me when I was younger.
He looked passed us to the middle of the room. ”Then again, maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not…pay…attention.” He draws out and I glimpse behind me. Harry was writing on his parchment. Hermione nudged him and he looked up.
“Mr. Potter. Our, new…celebrity. Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Hermione’s hand shot into the air but Harry shrugs.
“Draught of the living dead.” I whisper to Draco
“You don’t know? Well, let’s try again. Where, Mr. Potter, would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?”
“That’s the one from the goat, right?” Draco asks and I nod as Hermione hand shot up again.
“I don’t know sir.” Harry says
“What about the difference between Monkshood and Wolfsbane?” Hmm, I didn’t know that one, I look to Draco, but he shrugs.
“I don’t know. I think Hermione does, why don’t you try asking her.” Harry says and the class snickers.
“Pity. Clearly fame isn’t everything, is it Mr. Potter?” I cringe at his words. Everyone knew the truth, there was no way anyone didn’t. Professor Snape’s words were a low blow.
“Didn’t you say he didn’t really know anything about magic?” Draco asks me. I nod and send Harry a look of sympathy. If our own teacher wouldn’t help him then I certainly would. The next thing that happens shocks me. Snape walks down one of the rows towards Harry’s desk.
“For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of Aconite,” He looks around the classroom. “Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?” He says and makes for his podium and everyone jumps for their parchments.
In actual class we went over many ingredients, what they were comprised of and what they were used for. He even let us mix a potion up. It was a cure for boils but wasn't used for just boils. The potions book detailed out that hives, pimples and other skin infections of the like. I had to admit that it was quite thrilling being arund the ingredients and being able to follow the directions to make something. It was like a cake recipe, not too much of one ingredient or it would be ruined. I checked in with Pansy and Daphne a few times to see how they were doing, as well as Greg and Vincent who needed a lot of help. The professor seemed to be favoring our table so it was hard to help the boys but Draco was nice enough to talk them through the steps when our professor wasn't looking. Draco and I worked surprisingly well together, making sure we each read through each stage in the book and meticulously counting and weighing all of our ingredients and rechecking to make sure everything would be perfect. Draco himself seemed in his element crushing snake fangs and stirring the cauldron impressively. Draco and I were leaning over our cauldron waiting for pink smoke to make its way from within when we heard screams behind us. I jumped around to see Professor Snape standing in front of us, blocking the view.
“What’s-?” I start
“Idiot boy. Take him to the hospital wing.” He yells and I peer around him. A cauldron had melted. How had they done that? I see Seamus helping Neville leave the room. Oh no.
“You, Potter-“ Snape starts in on Harry again.
“Professor, will he be alright?” I ask worried for Neville and well Harry. He had already been made an example of prior to the lesson. He turns to me and pauses.
“He’ll be fine,” He looks around the room at all the kids talking. “Everyone back to their potions.” He says as he taps away the explosive mess on the back table.