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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 17: First Class
Harry woke up to the sound of voices.
For a moment, he did not know where he was. The ceiling above him was of rough stone, lit by a soft green glow that seeped into the bed's curtains.
Then he remembered. He was at Hogwarts. The castle's dungeonrs...Slytherin.
He sat up slowly, rubbing his eyes. He could already hear the other boys talking.
"Harry, wake up," Said Draco. "Breakfast is in half an hour, we can't be late." He mumbled while checking the mechanical watch on his bedside table. "Our first class is going to be a double session of Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall."
Harry's stomach tightened when hearing the name. "The Chief Inquisitor is going to be our professor?" For some reason, he had assumed that this version of McGonagall would have better things to do than teaching children.
"Yep, the same," Blaise said, swinging his long legs out of bed. "Best to be on time. She doesnt tolerate lateness. And you definitely don't want to get detention with her."
Harry didn't need to be told twice...he almost jumped out of the bed. They dressed quickly, pulling on their school robes and checking that their wands were securely in place.
Harry ran his fingers over his holly wand, feeling the familiar warmth. Today, he will finally have a chance to use it for the first time.
He had read the books in advance and practiced the wand movements, but never dared actually to try a real spell.
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The common room was already busy when they emerged. Older students sat in the leather armchairs, drinking tea and murmuring among themselves.
The green glow of the lake filtered through the windows, casting everything in an underwater light.
Harry grabbed a quick breakfast in the Great Hall. Toast and eggs, along with a goblet of pumpkin juice that he could not finish, thanks to his nerves.
Then, he followed Draco, Pansy, and Crabbe through the winding corridors of the castle, towards the Transfiguration classroom.
This place was a labyrinth. Stone staircases creaked and shifted under their feet. Portraits muttered as they passed, and he even spotted a few ghosts drifting through the walls, paying them no attention.
Thankfully, he was not alone, and his new roommates seemed to know where to go.
"Third floor," Draco said, consulting a partchment map he had tucked into his robes. "Left at the armoury, then right at the tapestry of the wizard wrestling a troll."
"How can you know where everything is already?" Harry asked.
"My father gave me a map last week. Every first-year from an old family gets one." Draco glanced at Harry, as if he remembered something. "I can make you a copy if you like."
"I'd appreciate that."
They found the classroom without incidents. A large high-ceiling room with rows of wooden desks facing a raised platform at the front.
The windows were tall and narrow, letting in the morning light. On the walls hung portraits of witches and wizards, some of whom were sleeping while others watched the students arrive with keen interest.
At the front of the room, a massive oak desk stood empty. A single cat sat on the desk, watching them with narrow eyes.
Harry tried to avoid staring at the cat, as he already knew who this was.
He chose a seat near the middle, not too close to the professor, but not too far away either. He intended to learn as much as he could while avoiding gaining the attention of the Chief Inquisitor.
Pansy was sitting at one side, while Draco sat on the other side. Crabbe was behind them, and Blaise took a desk by the window.
The room filled quickly. Gryffindor students filed in on the opposite side; their red-gold ties looked bright against the dark stone walls.
Harry recognized a few of them. There was Lavender Brown, Seamus Finnigan, and... at the front of the Gryffindor section was Ron Weasley, flanked by his two companions, Oliver Rivers and Stephen Runcorn.
Neville Longbottom sat near the back, his serene smile firmly in place.
Harry only glanced at the boy for a single second before looking away. There was something about Neville's expression that made him uncomfortable. It looked fake...like a mask he was wearing over his skin.
When he turned his head, he met eyes with Ron, and this one gave him a cruel smirk.
Harry looked away.
The cat on the desk leaped down and, in mid-air, transformed into Professor McGonagall, landing on her feet.
"Good morning," she said, her voice reaching every corner of the room.
"It looks like everyone was able to find the classroom in time. Let's keep it that way from now on. I do not tolerate tardiness. As you can imagine, my time is very valuable."
She walked to the front of the platform and folded her hands behind her back.
"As you should know already, I am Professor Minerva McGonagall. I am the Head of Gryffindor House, the professor of Transfiguration, and the Chief Inquisitor of Hogwarts. In this classroom, you will learn the art of transforming objects and even living beings into something different. A difficult and dangerous branch of magic that requires absolute precision. Those who do not take it seriously will be removed...permanently."
No one dared to say a word or raise their hands.
"Before we begin, there are a few things I want to say," McGonagall continued. "I trust that all of you have at least read the book of Hogwarts rules before coming here. It must have been given to you when you bought your school books."
Harry recalled that book. It was thin and more of a pamphlet than a book. He had only given it a quick glance while he was at home, preferring to focus his time on the school books.
Something that he had come to regret later, during the incident at the station.
'I should really study that thing after classes.' He reminded himself.
McGonagall continued. "Those are the rules you must follow during your stay at Hogwarts. They are not sugetion, they are decrees, issued by the Headmaster and enforced by me."
She raised her wand, and a set of glowing letters appeared in the air above her head. The ones you see right now are the most important rules. The breach of any of these rules will carry the additional punishment of a minimum of one credit loss :
RULES OF HOGWARTS
The third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to any student.
The Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Any student found within the forest will be suspended and handed over to the Ministry for re-education.
All students must be in their common rooms by eight o'clock in the evening.
The use of magic in the corridors between classes is prohibited.
Disrespect toward any professor or member of the Hogwarts staff will result in immediate detention.
The letters glowed faintly.
"As the Headmaster explained last night, you have all been assigned three credit points upon your arrival," McGonagall said. "These points are your lifeline. Each serious infraction of the rules will cost you one or more points, depending on the severity. Lose all three, and you will be sent to re-education."
A trembling hand went up from the Gryffindor side.
'Seamus Finnigan.' Harry thought.
"Yes?" McGonagall pointed at the boy.
"Professor...what exactly is...re-education?"
Harry was glad to see that he was not the only one in the dark about this. He had been wondering about it as well, but didn't have the chance to ask.
McGonagall's thin lips pressed together. "Re-education is a course designed by the Ministry of Magic to correct behavioural deficiencies. It is not a pleasant experience, and there is no guarantee that you will successfully pass it. I strongly advise you to avoid it at all costs. "
Another hand went up, this time a Slytherin girl with brown hair.
Milicent Bulstrode.
"And what happens if someone loses the bonus points given after re-education?" she asked.
The room went very quiet.
McGonagall regarded her for a long moment. Then she said, her voice flat and cold, "If you are foolish enough to lose the three additional points granted upon successful completion of re-education, then you will be permanently stripped of your wand and your ability to perform magic. If you do not belong to an established wizarding family, you will also be banished from our world...your memory will be wiped, your existence erased, your future destroyed."
Silence.
"Any other questions about this topic?. Ask now, because I will not speak of it again," the professor said.
Harry could hear his own heartbeat. Beside him, Pansy had gone pale. Draco was staring at the desk, his jaw tight.
No one raised their hands again.
McGongall smiled, looking satisfied. "But I am sure none of you will be so foolish. Now, open your textbooks to page one. We have much to cover."
The double period stretched on like an eternity.
McGonagall lectured them on the fundamental principles of Transfiguration. The difference between transformation and conjuration, the importance of precise wand movements, and the dangers of incomplete transformations (which could leave the object, or living being, permanently stuck in between forms).
Harry took notes furiously, his quill scratching across the parchment. He understood the theory, mostly. But without practical experience, it was difficult to grasp.
At the end of the class, McGonagall assigned six inches of parchment on the history of Transfiguration, due Monday.
"You are dismissed," she said.
The students began to pack their belongings, chattering quietly among themselves. Harry was about to stand when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Mr. Potter. A word."
He turned his head and found McGonagall standing over him, her expression was unreadable. "The Headmaster wishes to speak with you...in private."
Harry's blood turned cold. "Now?"
"Now." She glanced at Draco and Pansy. "Your friends may proceed to your next class. You will be escorted to the Headmaster's office."
Harry stood, his legs feeling unsteady. "What is this about? Have I done something wrong?"
McGonagall's eyes narrowed. "The interview with the Headmaster was indicated in the letter you received, Mr. Potter. Did you not read the enclosed materials?"
Harry recalled the line at the bottom of the letter, the one that had given him a terrible feeling. All first-year students are required to attend a preliminary interview with the Headmaster before the start of the term.
"I… I read it," he said. "But I thought that..."
"Well, there you have it," McGonagall said. She firmly took his arm and guided him towards the door. "Come. The Headmaster does not appreciate being kept waiting."
Harry looked back at Draco, who shrugged helplessly. Pansy mouthed something, "be careful". And then the classroom door closed behind them.
They walked through the corridors in silence.
McGonagall's heels clicked on the stone floor. Students stepped aside to let them pass, eyeing Harry with curiosity and fear. The portraits whispered as they went by.
Harry's heart pounded. He tried to think of reasons why Dumbledore would want to see him. The interview was supposedly required for all first-years, but McGonagall had not answered when he asked if every student had to do this. He suspected the answer was no.
'He wants to see me alone,' Harry thought.
They climbed a moving staircase, passed a tapestry of a dancing troll, and stopped before a stone gargoyle.
"The password," McGonagall said, "is Sherbet Lemon."
A hidden door materialised in the stone, and a spiral staircase appeared behind it.
"Go up," McGonagall said. "The Headmaster is waiting."
Harry stared at the stairs. They wound upward into darkness, illuminated only by the occasional candle.
And at the top...Albus Dumbledore was waiting for him.
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