Chapter 25 - The Changing Times

Stats as of last chapter:

Aubrey Hawthorne

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Level 20

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Age - 12

Race - Human

Sex - Female

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SP - 6,435

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Str - 32

Agi - 55

Dex - 43

Con - 39

Int - 48

Wis - 44

Luc - 38 (66)

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Skill Points - 20

Stat Points - 70
Perk Points - 2

Chapter 25 - The Changing Times

I wake extra early, since it’s a new room, and though it’s comfortable and similar to my room last year, I can’t help but think all night of Sarah and what happened with Liv. I’m concerned enough that I get up and ready for the day the moment I wake.

I have a single bed in this room just like my last, as well as a chest of drawers, large desk with a chair, rug, a window, bedside table and hooks next to the door already. The bed is tall enough I can fit my trunk underneath and the large window is above the desk so I can watch the Weeping Willow and part of the grounds from my room. It’s nice and I don’t really want to leave it, but… I can’t leave Sarah by herself either if she’s having issues with her roommate.

With that though, I go all the way down to see if I can find Sarah.

I catch her in the stairwell between the girls and boys halves of the dormitories looking tired.

I cast spells that do her hair, clear the oil from her skin and tucks her shirt in. She jumps.

“Aubrey! Give me some warning, Christ!” She grouches, throwing her arms around me. “I missed you.”

“I know, me too. Come on, let’s talk in the Common Room.”

We go up and take one of the tables in the centre of the room that's free of the handful of students doing their summer homework - it’s not often Ravenclaw’s have to do their homework last minute, but it happens!

“So why’d you hit her?” I ask.

“I didn’t really hit her, I just slapped her,” she says miserably, sinking low in the chair. “I’m sorry, she was being so horrid about you and saying all these lies and I couldn’t take it! I told her to stop three times!”

“What was she saying?”

“That you’re a liar and she said that you’re not actually smart but get Rivers to write your homework. I got so mad, and told her to stop, and she said Allsbook only liked you because you did - that you - well, she said you kissed him and did stuff and I got so mad I hit her.”

I can’t help it - I burst into laughter! “Good! I’m glad! I mean, I’m not glad you’re in trouble, but I appreciate you defending me. I bet Liv doesn’t even understand what she said.”

“To be honest, I didn’t entirely either, but it was really gross,” she admits. “Professor Allsbrook was nice, even if he was a bit quiet sometimes. And you only got into his extra classes because you’re seriously smart, not because you’re a cheater.”

I hum. “So what did Professor Flitwick say about it?”

“He said he’d talk with us at lunch today… I think he’s going to expel me.”

I tut. “If you’re getting expelled, so’s Liv for her comments, because they were utterly disgusting. Also, McLaggen says gross things like that all the time and he’s not been expelled.”

My logic stops the tears from falling, but barely. “I know, I just feel bad. I know she was being a bitch but I’ve never hit anyone before.”

I give her a smile. “It’s alright. You obviously didn’t hurt her that bad since I saw her right after and she was fine. Don’t worry about it.”

She nods shakily. “I guess, I was just - that’s her now.”

I glance and see Liv with Sandra and Lauren coming out of the stairwell and through the Common Room, only for our eyes to meet. She instantly scowls at me and taps her friends.

I turn back to Sarah. “I wonder why she suddenly hates me, she was nice all last year?”

Sarah shrugs as the three girls pass our table.

One of them shoves my chair so hard I’m nearly knocked from it. “Hey! Careful.”

Liv turns, hair flipping wildly, and sneers at me. “You should be more careful, now you don’t have Allsbrook to suck up too.”

“Why are you being mean, Liv? I’ve always been nice to you, and I’ve helped you with homework and spells before when you’ve asked? What did I do?”

“You’re a bitch,” is her only answer, before storming off with the other two on her heels.

We watch them leave before I slowly reach down and pick up my bag. “Well, that could have gone better. Let’s get breakfast. Hey, did you get a haircut?”

"Did you get a haircut before school?" I ask, and she seems surprised, but responds.

She blinks at me, grabbing her bag. “Yeah, I did, a trim. Did you get one?”

I run my hands through my hair - it's just past the crease to my thighs. "Not since I was four," I tell her.

That successfully distracts her. "Why?"

I point at the small braid I have behind my ear, kept meticulously clean. It’s not a dread, but I’ve always been careful to preserve the area, as started by Mum before I came to this world. "One knot for every year. When I turn seventeen, I'll cut it. It’s meant to be like a memento of my childhood. Each knot can remind me of some adventure I had…" I run a hand through my hair. "Well, that's the idea anyways. I do trim it sometimes when the ends get rough, and with hair this long sometimes it's hard not to need to trim. I don’t think it’ll naturally grow much longer.”

Down in the Hall, we’re confronted by the male half of our year who wants to know the drama from Sarah’s point of view. Some of them just find the whole thing funny and don’t take a side, which I appreciate, while a few others give me glances that show they clearly think the same as Liv. Eddie, among a few others, offer their support to Sarah.

“Flitwick’s fair,” Eddie says as one of the Prefects hands out our schedules. “He’d never expel you over this! She baited you.”

I take mine with a thanks and look it over carefully. I have the same situation of Fridays being a series of single classes one after the other, and lunch and dinner is at the same time. Curfew is also the same as with First Year, as with lights out. My Mondays and Wednesdays start with single Magical Theory with the Gryffindors followed by double Potions, then lunch, doubt Defence Against the Dark Arts with Gryffindors again and finishing with double Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. Then, my Tuesdays and Thursdays begin with Flying followed by double Transfiguration all with the Hufflepuffs, then lunch, before I have double History with Slytherin and then Charms with Gryffindor. Astronomy has been moved to Thursdays now, as that rotates through the years as for what years is going to the Tower for that lesson each night.

As for professors, I no longer have Professor McGonagall for Transfiguration, instead my class is being taken by the deputy of department Professor Alvis. I know his teaching style already as Cedric and Adrian had him for their First and Second Years. Unlike Professor McGonagall who teaches with a lot of theory and expects her students to learn spells they don’t complete in class in their own time, Professor Alvis uses mostly practical work and his homework is all on mastering the spell from the last class. He’s the opposite of Professor McGonagall in that way, and I’m not sure yet if his way is going to be better or worse than last year for my learning. Certainly I think it’ll give me a lot more free time to not have any theoretical assignments, I just worry about my friends' progress.

My timetable is a lot like last year, as to be expected. I’m glad I’ll get to see Muirin in Potions this morning, and perhaps talk to her after class, as I haven’t seen her yet with all the people blocking my view of the Slytherin table.

I sense the time ticking away and encourage the ‘Sarah Supporters’ to Magical Theory, where we continue our conversations. The Gryffindors chime in on the situation also, though I don’t find them much help. They’re just as split as the Ravenclaws.

Our first class is taken by Professor Babbling, and it focuses on runes, which I find interesting. I suppose this is where they plan to introduce our elective options, as we do have to choose in a few months from now.

After Magic Theory, we go directly to the dungeons, meeting up with most of the Slytherins on the way. I take my seat by Heather only for Professor Snape to snear down on us all.

“Up! Choose new partners for the year. Now.”

Heather makes a bee-line for Matt, the nearest Ravenclaw near us, and I wait for Muirin to slip in next to me, which she does. We wait in silence for the class to begin.

“After last year's performance, I know some of you are at least halfway proficient at potion making-” that’s a high complement in my eyes “-the rest of you will have surely made sure to prepare yourself better than you did last year. Such as by reading the materials ahead of time.” He looks around the room with hard eyes. “You will be taking a test. Begin.”

At once, papers fly from his desk to our tables. It feels like he took inspiration from Professor Allsbrook!

The first page is a much shorter version of our end of year test from First Year, so I’m able to answer everything on that page very quickly before moving on. The second page focuses on our listed book for the class, which I’ve already studied so I can answer those as well. The next three pages are also things I’m familiar with, and in fact it isn’t until the last three questions of the entire test that the expected difficult questions come up - I have to stop entirely as I’ve never studied any of the three topics.

“What are the first three steps in brewing Felix Felicis?”, “What is the primary ingredient in the Wolfsbane Potion?” and “Why is Adam Peregrine's mixing method revolutionary?”

Sighing under my breath I apply what little I do know.

For the first: “Step one in making any potion is ensuring the ingredients are of good quality. Secondly, proper preparation of ingredients, guaranteeing keeping everything clean of cross contamination. Thirdly, adequately preparing the cauldron. In the case of Felix Felicis, I recommend a Silver Cauldron.”

The second I write: “Aconite, or Monkswood, also called Wolfsbane.” This is a guess, based on the plant and potion names.

Then, the very final: “I have never heard of Adam Peregrine, or his mixing method. This will soon be rectified.” There’s no other answer I can give for this. I don’t think it’ll win me points, just some leniency.

After reading over my work, I glance at Muirin’s to see how she’s getting on, seeing that she’s nearly done.

After the test, Professor Snape has us practice preparing delicate ingredients we’ll be handling this year, and it’s only then I notice something strange.

Unlike the rest of my friends, Murin’s name isn’t above her anymore.

She raises an eyebrow at me. “Nothing,” I shake my head, Observing her.

Myron Mathuana

Titles - Little Red, Durmstrang Student (i)

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Level 7

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Age - 12

Race - Human

Sex - Female

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MP - 481

HP - 1,185

SP - 677

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RL - 1

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Str - 18

Agi - 15

Dex - 15

Con - 14

Int - 20

Wis - 21

Luc - 25

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Perks -

Actress (i)

Dark Reputation (i)

Networking (i)

Rising Winds (i)

Spy (i)

Twin Mind (i)

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Disadvantages -

Abusive Home

Half of the Whole

Tiny Stature

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Myron Mathuana is the daughter of Ingvild and Torvar Mathuana. They’re both scions of the oldest houses of Norway and have been sending their children to Hogwarts for generations. Ingvild and Torvar, however, were separated ten years ago when it came to light Torvar was one of the lead commanders for Voldemort's international forces. He’s been on the run ever since

Incidentally, his wife’s new husband, another rich Pureblood and fellow practitioner of the Dark Arts, does not approve of Myron nor her twin, and as a result belittles and demeans them. Meanwhile, her mother will accept nothing short of the best from either twin

They have decided to swap places every year, as they are identical and, when in physical contact, can share memories and Skills with each other. What one knows, the other will, too. Eventually

I nearly drop the knife I’m holding. That’s not Muirin.

It’s her twin sister!

I force myself to act normally, unsure of what I should do. I can’t blame the sisters, their lives outside of Hogwarts aren't kind. The fact Muirin wanted to switch with Myron to give her twin time here is admirable at the least. I can relate, even. They must have spent hours preparing for this, if not years.

Durmstrang Student

A true student of Durmstrang, you have +50% to learning combat-based magics, and +100% to learning the dark-arts

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Networking

Sometimes it can be difficult to get people to do what you want, but you could squeeze metaphorical water out of a stone. You have a gift for knowing all the right words to pull all the right strings. This doesn’t just work on people either - given enough time, you could trick a phoenix into thinking you're Light (i) even if you're Dark (i) as sin. The more powerful or extraordinary the being, the harder it is to fool, but for you anything is possible

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Dark Reputation

You have an air about you that allows you to get away with things. Most people will have trouble reporting you for minor crimes you commit, and will ignore infractions on social norms. If you're caught listening in, people will quickly forget or fail to figure out what you may do with the information

People with 50+ Levels above you will be able to ignore this effect

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Rising Winds

You are a naturally gifted Wind Elemental, one of the fundamental Elements of Nature (i). Wind Elementals have a sixth sense of the air around them and an unusually great talent for flying, among others. The quantity of the element you can manipulate is truly massive, to the extent that a Wind Elemental starts out able to create major gusts and gales, and with a lot of practice and experience, could control a hurricane

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Actress

+30 to all Social Skills

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Spy

+30 to Stealth, Eavesdropping, Investigation, Persuasion and Deception

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Twin Mind

You have an identical twin. So identical that your souls resonate with each other - on such a level that when in physical contact with your twin, you’re as strong as each half combined. This can only work in times of relative peace - due to the effects of the soul-pair you have, using this in a combat situation is likely to have you wind up dead, and as a result cannot be activated in such a situation

Gods. She’s strong, I have to give her that. I’ll look at ‘Light’ and ‘Dark’ later, but for now… Twin Mind is incredibly impressive, and Actress is a great asset. Elements of Nature sounds interesting, and I’ll have to look it up later also. What am I meant to do, tell the Headmaster and reveal the deception? I don’t think that’s the correct option. The question really is, should I reveal to Myron that I know she’s not Muirin?

The end of class comes before I can find some way I could perhaps get Myron to admit the deception, so I leave my thoughts as is for now. As soon as we’re out of the door, my fellow Ravenclaws are stressing about how unfair and stupid the test was, and that Professor Snape is just trying to make their grades look back.

I stay silent. I rather like how pushy he is.

I grab a quick lunch before making my way to Defence Against the Dark Arts early. I read outside of class before everyone else arrives and we’re brought in.

The very first thing I notice is the smell. It’s like garlic, of all things.

Professor Quirrel, standing at the front of the room in deep purple robes, smiles at us nervously as we take out seats. We’re allowed to sit anywhere, so I take the same seat I had last year out of familiarity. From under the desk, I flick my wand into my hand and silently cast some air cleaning spells to get rid of what I can only hope is the remnants of his lunch and not tonnes of garlic cloves hidden around the room.

Breathing easier, I can now admire his choice in classroom decor. There are large posters along the walls with the anatomy of dangerous creatures, artefacts hovering in place, and jars of magic. His choice in books also, on the walls and our booklist, is impeccable. I Observe many of them and read what they are while we wait.

Professor Quirrel actually waits until everyone has arrived, past when lunch has finished.

“Welcome to D-Defence Agains-s-st the D-Dark Arts, s-s-students,” he pushes out, eyes flicking. Now, he stops holding his hands together in front of him and I see he’s shaking. This is not the same man I saw around the castle last year, quirky but confident. “P-Please turn you b-books t-t-to p-page eight. Today we-e’ll be c-c-covering S-Sneeze Jinxes.”

It’s with a sudden realisation that this is how he talks. When he holds his hands in front of his body or behind his back, he doesn’t shake, and when he isn’t attempting to smile he seems normal. Is it that he’s always been like this and I just never noticed as we’ve never interacted?

Gods, I can’t stand it.

When the class ends, I’m out in a flash, utterly disgusted by the garlic smell that slowly crept back over time. Not only that, but his damn speech. While I appreciate he has some sort of tick or speak impediment, it’s one of the most irritating thing’s I’ve ever had to sit through in my present life. Probably in the top one hundred in the hundreds of years of my last life.

Herbology is simple and goes well with the Hufflepuffs, at the end of which we’re finished for the day. Sarah, who has calmed down, is now in a complete tizzy.

“I just know it, Aubrey!” She sniffles. “My mums gonna kill me too! And Dad’ll shout at me for hitting someone!”

“By the time you're home for Yule they’ll have forgotten about it,” I reassure her, “and there’s no way you’ll be expelled. I mean, look at the Slytherin Quidditch team. They’re getting into fights and breaking rules all the time, and they’re still here.”

Ultimately nothing can make her feel better, so we go as a group up to the Common Room and wait outside Professor Flitwick’s office for him to arrive. Seeing how distraught Sarah is and how angry Liv is that Sarah has so many supporters despite her being the one that was attacked, he allows the two girls to bring in one friend each, and for Sarah that’s me.

“Okay, girls, take a seat,” he squeaks, clicking his fingers to draw a chair over for himself. “Last night was not a good start to the year, correct? I expect a lot better of my Ravenclaws and what you two did last night was in bad taste. You represent this House, and you represent Hogwarts, and more than anything, you represent yourself. When you do things like this, you make yourselves look bad. That goes for the two of you.”

“Sir, I didn’t do anything,” Liv whispers softly. “I promise, I didn’t.”

“You swear to me that Miss Owens is lying?” He asks seriously. “Be careful before you agree, because if it turns out you are lying to me, your punishment will be worse than the one Sarah will get if she attacked you without provocation.”

There’s a hesitation on Liv’s end, which speaks for her.

“I had a feeling. In my judgement, Miss Jameson has acted in a disrespectful way to talk down on one of her own classmates, and I do believe it was done to purposefully get a rise out of Miss Owens. That said, I believe Miss Owens has acted in a very unladylike and downright disgusting manner. As such, the both of you will be attending detention with myself for the next two nights. Understood?”

The both girls nod.

“Good. Now, onto the topic of your bedrooms. I think it’s clear it would be a mistake to board you together after this, so we need a new solution.”

I stick my hand up to make a suggestion. He allows me to speak. “If I may, sir, I’d like to offer to share my private room. While I really do appreciate having space to myself, I didn’t enjoy being alone last night, and I think it would benefit everyone for me and Sarah to be roommates again this year.”

All three girls gape at me.

“Are you sure, Miss Hawthorne? If you decide to go through with this, you’ll have to share for the rest of the year.”

“I understand, professor,” I nod. “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have a room alone when I got to Hogwarts either, so I knew there was a chance from the start.”

He nods understandingly. “A part of the charm of Hogwarts is being together, I’ve always thought. Well, I’ll make arrangements for you, Miss Jameson, on where you’ll be tonight. You’re all dismissed.”

The three hurry out, finished with being reprimanded, but I stay behind. “Sir, I’m sorry to stay, but I actually have something I need to discuss with you other than my living situation.”

“As long as you can keep it quick, as it’s almost dinner time.”

“Of course. I had Defence Against the Dark Arts today, and I’m concerned about Professor Quirrell's teaching ability. I realise it may be disrespectful to speak badly of his speech, but I can’t understand a word he’s saying. I wasn’t able to make any notes, and he kept backtracking as he was getting lost on his own explanations. I was wondering if I could swap to the Slytherin-Hufflepuff class.”

His eyebrows raise higher as I speak until they’re in the centre of his forehead. “I’m sorry to hear his teaching wasn’t useful to you, Miss Hawthorne, but it is a bit early in the year to make suggestions like that.”

I swear in my head. “I understand, sir, but I would never have brought it up if I didn’t think it was a real issue. Since the other class is just next door to Professor Quirrels, I didn’t think it’d be a problem.”

He mulls it over. “Try for the rest of the week, but if you’re absolutely sure it’s not going to work out by House Homework time this Saturday, we’ll talk again, okay?”

“Thank you sir! That’s all.”

“Very good!” He squeaks, jumping off the chair. “I’ll tell the House-elves about the change in room, so everything will be moved by the end of dinner!”

I grin. “Thank you!”

As I have time and the other Ravenclaw’s have dispersed by the time I leave, I go up to my bedroom and change into shorts, trainers and a top to go on a run after dinner. By the time I’m ready it’s time to go down to dinner, during which Sarah is significantly happier and thanks me about a hundred times, even though I only opened my room for her.

In truth, I think it’s far more interesting to share with her, at least for now.

I don’t want to run directly after eating, so I make my way to the seventh floor. On the Third Floor I move onto the moving staircases, where Peeves comes flying through one room and goes into another.

“My gods,” I mutter.

“Aubrey?” I hear.

I look around, not seeing anyone, before looking up. There, I see Daphne looking down at me with an annoyed expression. “Daphne, what’re you doing?”

“I got lost,” she growls. “Come get me!”

I snicker and take the fastest route I can up to her. When I get to her, she has a mean scowl. “There’s always someone that gets lost,” I reassure her. “Come on, I’ll take you down to the Great Hall.”

She huffs. “Thanks,” she says. “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”

“Of course not! Actually, this is a good time to give you this.” I pull my First Year Charms notes from my Inventory. It’s not my most valuable set of notes, as I think History is one of the most time consuming subjects so those notes are most important, but it’s also a very useful subject and interesting. “Here. It’s my Charms notes from last year.”

“Oh, thank you.”

“You seem surprised. Did you think I’d forget?”

She tucks the notes into her bookbag. “I wouldn’t have been surprised.”

I tut. “I’m sorry you’ve had such poor examples of friends before. I don’t intend to be the same.”

She turns her nose, apparently unwilling to get into that subject. “So what happens to our agreement if I find your notes are horrid?”

“I know they’re good. But you can read them yourself. If you think they’re good, we can start working on your end of the deal on Sunday morning. Meet me on the seventh floor in front of the portrait of Barnabas the Barmy teaching trolls to dance. The door there only shows up on Sundays if you know it’s there.”

She doesn’t catch my half-lie, which was exactly my hope. “What time?”

“Eight. So you know, the room changes what it looks like sometimes, so we’ll probably not get the same room for too many sessions.”

She smiles and nods, coming to a stop close to where we can both hear the bustle of the Hall. “Thanks for the warning. I’ll look at these and we’ll see if I find them any good on Saturday morning I suppose.”

Daphne disappears, leaving me to go back to my original job of finding books on my potions questions, and my run.

.*****.

The next day, our first Flying class of the year goes without a hitch though the Hufflepuffs are obsessing over Harry after their First Years reported on him last night. After that is Transfiguration in which I enjoy Professor Alves, and I’m happy that he presents me with advanced homework off the bat at the end of the lesson. History is after lunch, which I spend sitting next to Myron and thinking over her situation.

Really, I can kind of understand. The twins are trying to get as much as they can out of both of their situations. Clearly Myron is better with people while Muirin is better with magic. They’re trying to corner the market, as it were, on talented people. Skills and knowledge. It’s suspiciously advanced thinking for people so young, but I’ve seen stupider kids do way more advanced things.

Still, if they’re more than they seem - helped by an outsider perhaps - I’ll need to watch them and see where their true loyalties lay. Perhaps I can get their genuine trust and loyalty in time, but I’ll need to be careful for the situation to not go only one way.

If they aren’t truly loyal to me, I can’t give them much rope, or I’ll end up in the hangman's noose, or on a leash, being dragged into whatever they please.

I spend the period lightly probing Myron, and seeing how guarded she is. The answer is a very apparent ‘extremely’ and only my subtlety keeps her from getting too suspicious. Still, It’s a good test.

The sisters don’t trust me, not really. They clearly view me as either a resource or a person who they don’t want to be their enemy. Still, I need to be careful to integrate them into my sway slowly, over time.

The year apart from each hurts, because it is extremely hard to sway people you don’t see for long periods. You need to make stronger impressions which will last longer.

So, I’d best get to work. I need to really impress these two, and I have no choice but to begin immediately. Stronger, faster learning of magic will work, along with extremely high level social manipulation.

They need to see me as an equal or better to whomever they serve - even if it is just themselves.

With this in mind, I depart from Myron, to my next class, Charms. I’m looking forward to it.

I’m pulled out of my thoughts by a clap, I look up to see Professor Flitwick on his pile of books. The door slams shut, where John Malbourne was about to come in, locking him out. People should know by now that they should be early or they’ll get detention!

“Welcome to Second Year Charms!” He announces, waving his wand and banishing papers to us. It’s a one page exam. “We’re going to see what you all remember, first, then go through some spells you should all know well by now. If any of you can produce a Second Year spell, you won’t have homework this week!”

The test is very fast and more fair than Professor Snape’s. The practical part of the lesson is much like Professor Allsbrook’s test for advanced students, so I really like it. Of those that fail horribly, well… There are a few but none are my friends. McLaggen is in this class with me, of course, and we’re usually on opposite sides of the room to each other, but this time I find it amusing to watch his face fall as he’s told he, and everyone, needs to work on all the spells they weren’t able to produce.

I don’t think Professor Flitwick means it, but I find it funny. I really enjoy that only a few of us were able to do all the spells, and it proves that I’m actually able to do it and not just some teacher's pet.

A lot of students are able to do at least one spell from Second Year, so only people who didn’t revise or read our books ahead of time are suffering.