First Day
Anne woke up very early the next morning and went for a shower before she dressed into her school robes and tied her hair into two long neat plaits. Anne noticed that her robes now had a blue trim and her tie which had been black was now blue and bronze.
Anne came back into the dormitory and found the others still fast asleep. She checked her watch and it was still only five-thirty, she grabbed her book wanting to try and finish it before breakfast. She walked down to the common room which was empty and settled herself into an armchair to read her book.
An hour and a half later, Irwin came down from his dormitory also wearing his new tie. “Hi Anne, I thought I’d come down early, I didn’t want to be late for breakfast and this place is like a maze!”
Anne nodded and Irwin read over her shoulder as she finished the last chapter which was on a famous wizard called Everad Smythe who had been a headmaster at Hogwarts and had later been influential in the Ministry of Magic and even been Minister for Magic in the eighteenth century.
Anne and Irwin started to make their way down to the great hall but got lost several times before eventually finding their way down to breakfast. Irwin helped himself to some bacon and eggs whilst Anne had a bowl of fresh fruit and even a small piece of toast. After a while, the other first years began to arrive.
“Anne!” called Harry waving as he came into the great hall. “I see you found your way down easily if it wasn’t for the map I and Ron would have got lost at least ten times!” Harry laughed. “How was your first night? Do you like your dorm?”
“It's fine,” Anne replied. Harry smiled and wandered off to the Gryffindor table with Ron and Neville.
Once everyone had eaten their breakfast then a small professor with a squeaky voice started handing out schedules to the Ravenclaw students. “Good Morning!” he called to the first years “my name is Professor Flitwick, I am the head of Ravenclaw house, I also teach charms.” Professor Flitwick moved along to talk to the second years.
Irwin checked their schedules as they had already finished their breakfast. “Looks like we’ve got History of Magic and Herbology and then we have double Potions this afternoon.” That didn’t sound too bad thought Anne as they got up from the table, Rolf had warned them how the Potions teacher wasn’t very friendly to everyone, but she was looking forward to History and Herbology.
Irwin and Anne went to fetch their books, they still had forty minutes till nine o’clock, but she didn’t want to be late and it was so difficult to find her way around. Suddenly she spotted the Grey Lady she nudged Irwin and they walked over to her.
“Excuse me Helena” she called, “could you please help us find our way to the common room, I don’t want to be late for class on the first day?” Anne asked cautiously.
“But of course, Anne! And who is your friend?” Helena said warmly as they started their way to the common room.
“My name is Irwin Scamander.”
“Ah, yes,” Helena said reminiscently “I believe I knew your father Landon. How is he?”
“He’s fine thank you! He’s an academic and he writes papers on transfiguration.”
Irwin and Helena chatted away and after a few shortcuts, they soon reached the common room. The Grey Lady waited for them whilst they fetched their books. “What is your first class?” she asked as they returned with their books.
“History of Magic,” they replied.
Helena led them towards the classroom whilst telling them about her friend Professor Binns who was the teacher and had been a Ravenclaw in his day. They arrived at the classroom twenty minutes early and chose a desk together at the front of the room and got out their things.
The rest of the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins arrived out of breath a few minutes before the lesson started. “How!” asked Terry breathlessly “did you two get here so early?” as Terry and Anthony settled into the other desk in the front row.
“We had help from a ghost,” said Irwin.
“Fair enough!” replied Anthony.
Soon after this Professor Binns came gliding into the classroom through the blackboard shocking half the students. “Good Morning” he droned, before beginning his lecture. He told the students that in the first term they would be doing an overview by discussing the origins of magic in the ancient world.
Anne and Irwin started taking avid notes about the curriculum and what they would be covering over the course of their Hogwarts education. Irwin and Anne, however, appeared to be the only people in the classroom who were actually paying attention.
The Slytherins had given up after a few seconds but the Ravenclaws had lasted at least a few minutes before being bored to death and stopped paying attention. Anne and Irwin though were fascinated, Professor Binns did have a slightly monotonous tone but this didn’t faze them because the subject he was discussing was so interesting.
The rest of the class spent an hour playing noughts and crosses or doodling on scrap parchment whilst the two students at the front made detailed notes.
After History of Magic, the Slytherins and the Ravenclaws had Herbology together. As the class left the classroom, they were wondering how they were going to find the greenhouses.
They need not have worried however because The Grey Lady was waiting for them all outside the classroom. Helena had clearly decided that she liked Anne and Irwin and curtsied deeply to the rest of the Ravenclaws and the Slytherins before leading the way towards the greenhouses.
“Thank you!” called Irwin.
“It was my pleasure!” she called as she glided back to the castle.
“Pretty handy!” Anthony chuckled “being friends with a ghost!” Irwin chuckled in agreement.
Herbology went very well, Professor Sprout like Professor Binns went over the curriculum for their first year followed by a general overview of what was available over the next seven years. Anne even got five points to Ravenclaw by being able to answer Professor Sprout's question.
Then they had lunch, they came in from the greenhouses and back to the Great Hall. There was an assortment of different flavors of sandwiches and crisps as well as fresh fruit and cold pumpkin juice. Anne took a ham sandwich an apple and a handful of crisps and she started to eat her lunch.
“Remind me what’s this afternoon?” asked Irwin in-between mouthfuls of a cheese sandwich.
“Double potions,” Anne told him as Irwin placed salt and vinegar crisps into his second cheese sandwich.
“Hiya guys!” greeted Rolf as he sat down opposite them. “How was your first morning then?”
“Excellent, Sprout gave Anne five points!” said Irwin.
“Professor Binns is fascinating,” Anne said.
“Once you get used to his monotonous voice!” Irwin added.
“Well, I’m glad you two are enjoying yourselves. You’ve got Snape this afternoon, right?” Anne and Irwin nodded nervously. “You two will be fine, you know what you’re doing, besides it’s only the Gryffindors that he really hates!”
“You sure?” asked Irwin a slight tremor in his voice. He had heard a lot about Snape from Rolf and the other students and none of it was good!
“Certain, just behave yourselves and answer a question if he asks you,” Rolf reassured his younger brother.
Helena approached the table as they finished their conversation with Rolf. “Anne, Irwin would you like me to show you to the potions classroom in the dungeons?”
“Yeah sure!” said Irwin grabbing his bag. “Come on Anne!”
Irwin and Anne followed Rowena down to the dungeons. They were followed closely by Terry, Anthony, and Michael who knew that this way that they wouldn’t be late for class or get lost.
The five young Ravenclaws waited patiently outside the classroom whilst they waited for the rest of the students to arrive. The Ravenclaws were having Potions with the Hufflepuffs. When the class started the students filed in and Anne and Irwin chose another desk at the front of the classroom so that they could work together.
Professor Snape came gliding into the classroom. He had black robes that billowed out behind him as he walked Anne heard Padma and Lisa whispering about how Professor Snape looked more like a bat than a professor.
Anne made desperate notes about the ‘subtle art of potion-making’ during his opening speech. Professor Snape scared Anne more than a little bit and he made her even more nervous than normal.
“Potter!” snapped Snape as he reached the end of his speech. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?”
Anne had been so shocked at Snape suddenly called on her like that, that Anne was stunned into silence.
Snape took her silence for a lack of an answer. “I think this goes to show” laughed Snape with a hint of cruelty “that even Ravenclaws don’t know everything!”
“Let's try again. Where Miss Potter would you find a bezoar?”
With every word and cruel jibe that Snape said to her the more nervous and upset she got. Snape asked Anne another question not even waiting for an answer to the second one. “What Potter is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?” sneering at the fact that Anne couldn’t answer a single one of his questions. The Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were staring at Snape confused, they had heard that Snape was cruel but why was he picking on Anne.
Anne quickly scribbled something down on a piece of parchment which she passed to Irwin, before proceeding to have a panic attack under the desk.
Irwin looked confused but then raised his hand. Snape looked at him with his eyebrows raised “yes Mr. Scamander?”
“Anne left a note for you, sir,” Irwin explained.
“Well read it then!” Snape said impatiently.
“Professor Snape, I’m sorry I could not answer the questions when you asked me,” Irwin read. “You made me nervous when you called on me when I wasn’t expecting it. In answer to your questions, asphodel and wormwood make a powerful sleeping potion called The Draught of Living Death, a Bezoar is found in the stomach of a goat and will work as an antidote to most poisons, it is however extremely rare, monkshoods and wolfsbane are the same plants which is also is also known as aconite.”
Professor Snape stared at Irwin. “That is correct,” he admitted slowly “five points to Ravenclaw.” Snape could not believe what he had just done, points to a house other than Slytherin! Well, at least it wasn’t Gryffindor!
Professor Snape pointed towards the blackboard and a recipe appeared for a potion to cure boils. The class started to work on the potion in pairs. “Mr. Scamander, would you please take Miss Potter to the hospital wing for a calming draught?”
At this point, Anne had started to appear out from under the desk. “I’m alright now,” said Anne quietly as she pulled herself off the floor. “I’d much rather stay; I don’t want to miss anything important!”
“Are you quite sure?” asked Snape. Anne shook her head resolutely.
Anne and Irwin started to work on their potion, and at the end of the lesson, they got top marks and had made the best potion in the class. They even earned another point each for Ravenclaw!
At the end of the lesson, everyone started to pack their equipment to leave. “Miss Potter, can you stay behind for a moment please?” asked Snape
Irwin looked over at Anne nervously, Anne looked terrified. “Mr. Scamander can stay if you wish” Snape added. Anne looked slightly less nervous at this thought.
Once everyone else had left Snape started. “I owe you a” Snape was clearly struggling with whatever he had to say “apology. I misjudged you at the beginning of the lesson, and I am sorry, I am also sorry that I upset you.”
“Um that’s alright” replied Anne in barely a whisper, shocked that she was actually getting an apology from Snape.
“Your potion was very good for first-time brewers,” Snape said looking towards Anne and Irwin. “I look forward to seeing what you produce next week!”
As Anne and Irwin left the classroom Snape sat down behind his desk. He was surprised that such a shy, nervous but talented witch could be the daughter of that proud arrogant swine James Potter. But then he had to remember her mother was Lily, but Lily had never been shy or nervous either.
Anne didn’t seem to be like either of her parents James or Lily. Snape had to remind himself to try not to misjudge Harry as he had Anne, he had been wrong about Anne and Harry might also be nothing like his father. He would have to wait and find out.