Classes and Clashes
James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were extremely thrilled to find that they were going to be in the same room. It was a happy coincidence after all – they were four friends, they were in the same house, each room housed four people and what more joy than to find that all these odds were in their favor! Lily found herself paired with some kind and amiable girls to share a dorm with – what she didn’t know was that they were to strike a lifelong friendship. Alice Fortesque, Mary McDonald, Dorcas Meadows and Lily Evans became the roommates that everyone else was jealous of. Similarly, though he found friends in older boys at first, Snape thought he had been done well in being paired with Avery, Mulciber and Evan Rosier. Though they had some scuffles at first, the Slytherin in them barring its fangs, they came to an understanding that all their intentions and ideas were one and the same and that they needed those scuffles to identify that. After this epiphany, they became friends and later in the future, fellow Death-Eaters.
Breakfast next morning was a noisy affair – what with all the first years scrambling around on their First Instruction Day, and the rest of the students groaning in annoyance at the same, it was a sight of pure chaos. Students who were from Wizarding families came with some knowledge of how to get around in Hogwarts – but not all were successful in implementing their knowledge and got confused and lost in the huge castle. It so happened that James, Sirius, Remus and Peter were among the many students who got lost and who should help them but Lily! James was thoroughly embarrassed at this and regretted bragging about his Hogwarts knowledge at breakfast today. Lily hadn’t said anything back then but had seemed to be mildly amused.
Now that he was following her with his mates snickering behind him, he realized she knew much more than he did! “How’d you- I mean, you seem to know your way around pretty well even though you haven’t heard about Hogwarts until you turned eleven. How’s that?” he quipped. Lily smiled as she replied, “Well, when I went to get all my books and other things, I picked up some extra books for more information as I wanted to know as much as it was possible to know about the Wizarding world. And I’ve read Hogwarts: A History quite a few times before coming here.” Remus was impressed and said, “That’s impressive Lily! I wouldn’t be surprised if you weren’t the best student in our year!” “Only next to Remus of course!” Sirius cheered from behind Remus and Peter whooped in enthusiasm. Now it was Remus’s turn to be embarrassed. “Why are you shy Remus? It’s a good thing! Don’t worry about it. We’ll outsmart the rest of them together!” chuckled Lily and that put an end to their current conversation. And as if on cue, they had reached their Transfiguration classroom too.
Soon as they entered the classroom, they realized that there was no professor there, but only a cat that was standing on the professor’s desk. They collectively ignored the cat, shuffled into their seats and started chattering. Suddenly, the cat jumped down from the desk. But as soon as it landed, it wasn’t a cat! It was Professor McGonagall! One of the girls shrieked in horror and Professor McGonagall looked at her pointedly through her oval spectacles and remarked, “It was just a bit of magic, which by the way you’re here to learn.” She cleared her throat and continued, “I’ll be teaching you Transfiguration, which by now you should have figured. The art of Transfiguration is one of the most highly complex and intricate branches of magic you will be taught at Hogwarts. You will be moving from very basic things like turning matchsticks into needles to vanishing objects and to finally conjuring objects out of thin air.”
At this point, James’ hand shot up and McGonagall nodded at him to proceed. “Won’t we be learning how to become Animagi like you?” McGonagall’s eyebrows shot up at the question, but she collected herself quickly enough and asked, “What is your name young man?” “James Potter, professor!” answered James. “Well Mr. Potter, the art of becoming Animagi is not something that is taught at Hogwarts. It is a long process and even requires Ministry approval.” Now turning to address the class collectively, she said, “So if anyone of you ever want to become Animagi remember that it can be done only after passing out of Hogwarts and that it should be done legally.” James heaved a quiet sigh and Sirius nudged him, “You really wanted to learn that huh?” James sighed again and it conveyed all Sirius needed to know.
McGonagall continued with the rest of the class and they got to know a lot of interesting things about Transfiguration right from the history of it till its application in real-life situations in the Wizarding world, thanks to Emeric Switch’s A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration. After the bell went off, the Gryffindors hurried through the corridors of the castle to get to the grounds at it was time for their Flying lessons. But their happiness wavered a bit once they saw the Slytherins approaching the ground from the opposite direction. “Oh no! Do we have to learn Flying with the Slytherins?” groaned a boy from the back. “Come on, they can’t be that bad!” reasoned Lily. “No Lily, you don’t understand – the Gryffindors and Slytherins are longtime enemies and there’s no changing that fact.” James interjected. “Okay, okay fine, but let’s not harbor hatred without them doing anything at all!” said Lily, resigned.
Snape was walking to the grounds along with his friends when all of them noticed the Gryffindors. Snape almost groaned with the crowd before his eyes landed on Lily, his best friend! He rushed forward with the rest of his classmates, not only excited for flying, but also for meeting Lily.