"Verdimillious!"
Green sparks fired out of my wand.
"Vermillious!"
Now red came forth instead.
I woke up early as usual and decided to get some spell practice in. Ideally I want to have learned every spell before we have the lesson that introduces them. Being able to use these two charms was my goal, and I was able to get the hang of them after I got past some initial problems.
The green and red sparks charms seemed like beginner spells, and they are, but they still managed to give me trouble.. Not because they were difficult, but actually because they were too easy. Or rather, they required so little magic that I accidentally burned part of the carpet of my room.
Fortunately, I was able to put out the fire quickly using water from the sink. If the fire had spread faster, or if it was magical in nature, I'd have to go grab help, and that would be very embarrassing.
The book I'm reading mentions more powerful variations of the two spells, but I think I'll hold off on those for now. The damage I caused with the initial spell has warned me off of using them indoors.
+ 1 INT
+1 WIS
I'm not sure if those stats came from my practice, or my precautions to avoid burning down my room. Whatever the case, I'll take them.
After getting ready for the day, I head out to the common room and find Sue and Lisa waiting for go to the Great Hall and finish breakfast quickly, not wanting to be late for the first class with our Head of House.
Professor Flitwick is a bit odd but not unkind. He's very energetic and enthusiastic towards our performance in class, encouraging each person whenever he notices them making progress. Unlike the rest of our classes, we got to actually try a spell almost immediately. Flitwick explained that the spells we will learn in class will be very broad in scope, with the only similarity being that they are all charms. After that brief explanation, he got right into telling us the incantation for the wand-lighting charm, 'Lumos'.
Most of my classmates were able to get a faint light on the first try, with a sizable portion actually casting it perfectly the way that I do. I had already learnt it of course, and I suspected they did as well.
Flitwick walked around class to each student that got the spell on the first try, and asked them to perform the wand-extinguishing charm. Eventually he comes to me, and requests the same.
"Nox." I say clearly and confidently, and my wand-light promptly vanishes.
At my success he cheered, "Bravo Mr. Potter, just like your mother in charms! 5 points to Ravenclaw!"
I feel a bit embarrassed by the praise, but thank him and continue reading the charms book. About a third of the Ravenclaws were able to cast 'Lumos' on the first try, but only I could perform the counter-charm. On the Slytherin side, there were just 4 that could cast 'Lumos' perfectly on the first try, but those 4 could also use 'Nox' without issue as well.
The rest of the class is made up of eager Ravenclaws and Slytherins that don't want to fall behind, and everyone redoubles their efforts. By the end of class, everyone is able to use both 'Lumos' and 'Nox' without issue.
Before leaving, Flitwick addresses the class in a serious tone.
"It makes my day to see so many of you reading ahead in your courses, but please be advised to never practice a dangerous spell alone. Every year we have students that have an accident due to being too eager to learn and not following precautions."
Looking around the class, some of the Ravenclaws are nodding their heads, but none of the Slytherins seem to take his warning seriously. I doubt that I will either, I will certainly be careful when practicing, but having someone with you whenever you want to practice something dangerous seems like too much of a hassle.
The next class we have is History of Magic, and then Double Potions in the afternoon. Lisa wants to take the scenic route and explore some more of the castle on our way there, and naturally Sue and I are dragged along.
We end up near the forbidden corridor on the third floor, and thankfully none of us are inclined to investigate.
After a few minutes of walking, Sue and I are relaxing while Lisa argues with a portrait of a knight, making grand gestures and talking about something I'm too lazy to follow. Leaning on the wall, I stumble and slip as it starts rotating, and unfortunately I find myself on the floor. Lisa starts pointing at me and laughing, and the portrait mimics her and does the same. I grumble and act annoyed, but honestly I'm just embarrassed.
As Lisa is enjoying my shame, she notices that the wall has turned halfway and rushes over, managing to make it before the wall has done its complete 180 degree turn. There seems to be a hidden hallway here, with another wall at the other end, as well as a room in between it and us.
We venture into the classroom and remark that it looks like it hasn't been used in years. There isn't anything out of the ordinary in the room itself, but what catches our attention is a door at the back which seems to be decrepit and old. That may not sound very interesting, but the rest of the room being relatively clean makes it stand out significantly in contrast.
The three of us go towards it, and I feel a chill up my spine. As we come right to the front of it, I feel like something is watching us. Almost in a trance, Lisa starts reaching her hand out to grab the handle, but Sue suddenly grabs her and pulls her back.
"Whatever is behind this door…I don't think we are meant to be there." Sue says in a soft but firm voice.
Lisa glances at her hand, and then back at the door. She seems to snap out of her thought, and immediately turns around.
"Well this has been a wonderful expedition, but I think that marks the end of this journey." She says resolutely while marching out of the class. "Come on minions, History awaits us!" She orders us in a poor attempt at a deep commanding voice.
Sue and I follow, but as we leave I observe the door.
[Adamantine Door - Uncommon Item
It's a door. A very tough door. Getting through it will require something…]
Well that's ominous. Maybe I should find out more about Adamantine, and see if that will provide a clue on how to get to the other side.
_______________
Having had enough excitement, the three of us decide to go to History of Magic early, as some time to calm down is just what we need.
The door is wide open, but we decide to wait outside regardless, just to avoid talking to the Professor for now. We're all a bit shaken up from the creepy door, none of us are in the mood for talking.
After some time, we decided to enter and take our seats. A tall old man is standing at the front of the classroom with a warm expression on his face. When it looks like everyone has arrived, he begins.
"Hello students, I am Professor McKinnon! History of Magic is the name of this course, and I assure you that you will either find this class dreadfully boring or utterly fascinating. We will be learning about the creation of the Ministry of Magic, the founding of Hogwarts, and even about Merlin! I urge you to at least give this class a chance, it may not be as fun as learning how to actually use magic, but these are the stepping stones of how and why our world came to be."
He grabbed a piece of chalk and strided towards the blackboard.
"Now I would like each of you to tell me something in history which you are interested in learning about, and I will make sure to discuss each of them with the class at some point during the year. All I ask in return is for you to earnestly try in this class."
My interest in History of Magic is going up, and I try to think of what I could possibly ask to learn about. I decided to ask about people with unknown or unexplainable magic, as I'm curious to know if something like my Gamer System has ever appeared before. People might not have known about it, but I might be able to recognize similarities between them and myself if I learned about magicals with odd powers.
I have no idea what most of my classmates ask about, but some of the topics that stood out to me are Merlin, Mordred, Salazar Slytherin, Atlantis, and The Vanishing Island.
As class wraps up, Professor McKinnon asks me to stay behind for a moment. We have lunch next, so I tell Sue and Lisa that I'll see them there. I wait at the back of class while the Professor has a conversation with a blonde slytherin girl who seems to be speaking excitedly. I can't hear them due to some sort of charm the professor cast; I'll have to research that when I get the chance.
"Hello, Potter." Two voices spoke in harmony, startling me out of my thoughts.
Casting a quick observe to tell them apart, I greet Flora and Hestia, suppressing a grin when they look surprised by my confidence in knowing which twin was which.
"Curious about how you defeated The Dark Lord?" Flora questions.
I don't understand the context of her question, and look at her with a puzzled expression.
"Er, I suppose I am in general, yes?" I respond in a confused voice.
"She is referring to the topic you requested of Professor McKinnon." Hestia clarifies.
Looking back, I can see where the misunderstanding formed. Of course the survivor of the killing curse would be interested in unexplainable magic.
"Ah, actually I was just curious in general, though that is part of it." I half-lie.
The Carrow twins and I talked for a bit longer, it turns out they both picked unique magic between twins, for a fairly obvious reason. One by one, the professor calls each student that stayed behind - though the Carrow twins go together - and eventually it's my turn.
The professor begins in a kind voice, "Now then, unfortunately what happened with you reflecting the killing curse has never before been seen occurring in our history. However, there are numerous cases of similarly extraordinary magical events occurring, and my plan is to go over those if you are agreeable to it."
He then looks to me for confirmation, and I nod my head.
"Yes Professor, honestly I'm interested in any sort of bizarre magical occurrence or abilities displayed by people." I responded.
"Ha! Well there's certainly no shortage of those. I think you'll be surprised by just how many things we can't explain. Now then, you're free to go, Potter."
With that being done, I reunite with my friends and before we know it we are lined up in the dungeons, awaiting our potions professor.
The heavy door slowly swings open, seemingly of its own accord. Inside, a smooth voice invites us, "Enter."
A dark dingy room awaited us, and we quickly took our seats. "Wands away, books out, and prepare to focus. You will address me as Professor Snape, and I will not tolerate any disrespect in this classroom. When you think of magic, most of you think about flashy wand-waving instead of the subtle art of potion-making. I will tell you now, there is no charm that can make your day perfect and no curse that can give your enemy true misery. Potions can do all the aforementioned feats and more…if you are capable of brewing them."
After he wrote the instructions for the Boil-Cure potion on the board, he told us to begin and began pacing around the class. He took a very hands-off approach, but would intervene whenever it seemed someone would make a catastrophic mistake, often berating them in the process. As he neared my desk, he gave me an odd look that I couldn't decipher, nodded at my progress and continued on. Hopefully that means I did better than he expected.
Soon enough we were dismissed, and once we were a suitable distance away from the classroom, Lisa let out a huge sigh.
"Ugh, potions is the worst class so far! Snape didn't teach us anything and the whole atmosphere is just creepy." She complained.
"I didn't think it was so bad." Sue chimed in.
"Lucky for us, most of the students he scolded were hufflepuffs, so I think he was quite pleased with us ravenclaws." I added.
"If it were just one period it would be fine, but a double lesson is just way too long." Lisa grumbled.
We decide to finish our homework and studying as soon as possible, especially since we're all averse to exploring after our encounter with the odd door. The plan is to meet up in the library and work until curfew, and afterwards continue in the common room if needed. On the way there, we are interrupted by the Carrow twins, who ask to join us.
After two hours of work, we manage to finish all the reasonable amount of prepwork for our classes. Working together with the others is helpful, as even though sometimes I get stalled by explaining something to one of the girls, they also help me in turn and we get through our work faster than we would have alone. I've never been able to do work together with others, and now it's something I'm looking forward to.
+ 1 INT
+1 WIS
"Well I thought you ravenclaws were half mad to finish your homework the day you get it, but not needing to worry about it for the rest of the week is certainly freeing." Flora says in a teasing voice.
"Aw, you two are too cute! Don't worry my slithery friends, you're free to join us anytime you want." Lisa gushes in a disgustingly sweet voice, all while patting both the twins' heads.
Both Sue and I let out a laugh as Flora inches away, yet Hestia leans closer in.
Our group relaxes and jokes around for almost another hour, until we finally pack up and prepare to go to our common room. As we leave our corner, we pass by a brown haired gryffindor with an ambitious amount of books by her side.
"Oh hi Granger! We just finished our study session but you should join us if you see us next time! Not that you have to or anything, I'm just giving you the offer if you're interested." Lisa immediately prattles on, somehow knowing the name of the girl we can't have had more than one class with. It's impressive how talented Lisa is at socializing.
Granger seems overwhelmed, and Lisa senses this so she waves goodbye and we continue out of the library. Flora and Hestia seem to find it amusing, though they don't make any comments.
Our common rooms aren't together and thus the Carrow twins leave us outside of the library. We return to the dorms and make plans to meet the next day.
The days go by at a calm pace, and soon enough I find that it's been almost two months at Hogwarts. My lessons with Alexandra have continued, and she says that I'm about halfway through the first-year of runes, though my arithmancy is lagging behind. She mentioned that due to my faster than expected progress in runes, she wasn't expecting needing to teach me this far so quickly. Next lesson will be entirely focused on arithmancy to try and put me in a better position for self study in the future.
I continued to gain stat points and even some levels, but growth in all stats except wisdom and intelligence have been limited due to the nature of our studies and their lack of physical work.
We've continued our little study group and have even begun to spend time hanging out during free time. Hermione has only joined us 3 times now, all during library study sessions. After pushing herself to finally work with us after a month, she has been far less skittish.
Sue and I have finished breakfast, so we're just waiting for Lisa before we head off to class. As she finishes up, Sue and I are casually chatting.
Deep in thought, Sue states, "It's nice that things have finally calmed down at Hogwarts. I feel like we've finally got a handle on all the new classes and environment."
Suddenly, the doors slam open and Hagrid bursts inside.
Covered in some kind of mix of black and red blood, the giant of a man bellows, "Attack from the forest!"
Most of the students are frozen in shock, save for some of the older ones which immediately draw their wand. The Headmaster doesn't always join for a meal, and unfortunately he isn't here right now. Professor McGonagall is the one to act, and she mutters a spell and some sort of silver ethereal cat manifests in front of her. She says "The grounds are under attack." and with a wave of her wand it leaps away, much faster than I ever would have expected.
At the same time, some of the other Professors that are present have stood up and look ready for battle. Professor Rosemary asks Hagrid what's outside while waving her wand in long and intricate patterns in front of herself.
"At least two dozen trolls and a banshee. But I only saw what was near my hut." Hagrid replies in a serious tone.
Professor Rosemary has finished her strange spell and is glowing with a slight blue light. In a sharp tone, she orders: "Right. I'll be the vanguard before some of you follow, we need people protecting the students and someone to check for more attackers. As long as we are careful we can stall for the Headmaster to arrive if needed."
She then sprints down the hall at a ridiculous speed, far faster than what should be possible. One second passes, and she's already gone. The rest of the staff are startled, however Professor Snape is nonplussed and mutters something to McGonagall before also departing.
McGonagall turns to the rest of the staff and they exchange quick words, a bit too quiet for me to pick up. Flitwick and McKinnon also leave, and McGonagall turns to address the room.
"All students remain in the Great Hall! Prefects gather a list of all the students in their house which are missing from the room. Students stay seated during this. I assure you all, no creature will get through our defenses."
I turn to Sue and ask, "What was that you were saying about things calming down?"