Chapter 9: First Day Jitters, First Day Quitters

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We were still at the Burrow. The twins and I came in from the yard through the kitchen, carrying our brooms and laughing about the game we had just played. Mr. Weasley followed us in, just getting home from work. He greeted me like one of his own before moving to greet his wife.

Harry, Ron, and Percy were already inside, stuffing their faces with the bacon sandwiches Mrs. Weasley had made for our lunch. The eight of us sat at the table to eat, and I looked around at the smiling faces of everyone around me. My eyes passed an empty chair, and I frowned.

“Where’s Ginny?” I asked, and the talking stopped, everyone’s eyes falling on me. Something was wrong.

“You tell us, Rosie,” Harry said dully, standing and beginning to back away slowly.

“What?” I was confused, “What do you mean?”

“What happened to our sister?” Fred and George asked together, though for once it actually sounded creepy to my ears. I stood up, and they all seemed to move even quicker, surrounding me on all sides as the Weasley’s kitchen faded in the background.

“You were supposed to protect our family…” Mrs. Weasley’s words were cold, holding none of its usual emotion while her face didn’t change from its blank expression.

“I’m trying!” I called to her, feeling almost hysteric now, “But what am I supposed to do?!”

“Why didn’t you save her?!” They all began shouting accusations at me, their voices echoing and swirling around me in a confusing mess. I covered my ears as I dropped to my knees, begging and praying for them to stop.

“You didn’t save me.” The shouting stopped, and I looked up to see Ginny standing above me. But she wasn’t the same. Her skin was deathly pale, and her Weasley-red hair had lost its luster - instead dull, russet waves fell just below her shoulders. Her brown eyes were flat, lacking any warmth or emotion as they stared down through to the depths of my soul. In her right hand, she was holding a black diary. I remembered.

“I will,” I said, shaking my head at her, “I will save you!” She tilted her head a little, her gaze seeming unfocused.

“Too late…” With that, she dropped to the floor, and Tom Riddle stood smirking behind her. I stumbled backwards, falling back to ground in my haste to get away. I heard a hiss, and stared up to see a large, scaly figure hovering over me.

It’s big, yellow eyes stared at me, freezing me in place, and went in for the kill.

---

My eyes shot open, my heart pounding in my chest as I tried to shake off the dream. Sweat stuck my pink bangs to my forehead, and my chest heaved as I tried to even my breathing. All I could hear were the sounds of my heart pounding, and Frodo’s purring in my ear - he, at some point, had curled up right on the top of my head to sleep - though neither sound was comforting to hear at that moment.

No more distractions, I thought, I have to help Ginny. Sitting up, I moved the curtains around my bed aside and looked around the dorm room. The curtains, I figured, must have had some sort of silencing charm on them, as the moment they were moved, I could suddenly hear my dorm mates bustling about as they got ready for the first day.

“Ah, finally up now, are we?” I turned my head to see a tall, broad-shouldered girl, already in uniform, standing beside my bed, sitting into her hip with her long, muscled arms crossed over her chest. Her hair fell in wild crimson waves to her shoulders, and her grey eyes glinted almost dangerously as she smiled down at me. “We were beginning to wonder when Miss America was going to wake up.”

“Oh Max, leave her alone.” To my left, a black girl walked barefoot out of the bathroom, already mostly dressed in her uniform, pulling her hair into two afro puffs on the top of her head. She shot a slight glare at the red-head - Max - but the other girl didn’t seem to notice or care.

“What time is it?” I asked them, stretching my arms above my head. Just behind Max, I could see Willow was still curled up in bed - not snoring, like the night before, but clearly not ready to get up for school.

“Almost 7,” Max replied, earning a groan from Willow’s bed, “Breakfast starts in half an hour - you might want to get ready.” With that, she turned on her heel and quickly left the room. I stared after her, bewildered.

What’s her problem?

“Don’t mind Maxine too much,” the other said, standing as she finished tying her shoes, “She’s really not all that bad, once you get to know her.” She walked over to me, a small smile on her face as she held out her hand, “I’m Tamsin, by the way, but my friends call me Tammy.” I shook her hand.

“Rosie,” I replied, “Nice to meet you.” Tammy moved away again, grabbing a green canvas bag and slinging it over her shoulder.

“You might want to hop in the shower now,” she stated, heading out the door, “Willow can be a bit of a mess in the mornings.” I nodded, though she didn’t hear, and shifted until my feet touched the stone floor. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as cold as I had thought it might be - must be enchanted. I grabbed one of my uniforms from my trunk - now with a yellow and black striped tie, yellow trimmed robes, and emblazoned with the Hufflepuff house crest - as well as my brush, some shampoo and conditioner, and my toothbrush and toothpaste. Leaving the robe, sweater, tie, and socks and shoes on my bed, I grabbed the rest and headed into the bathroom.

The bathroom wasn’t necessarily huge, but it was definitely bigger than the one I shared with my sister back home, and especially bigger than the one shared between all of us at the Burrow. There was a large, white stone shower with a frosted glass door in one corner, and an even larger bathtub next to it. Each had a number of different taps and knobs - likely for both water and various types of soaps. Along the other wall was a large vanity counter, with two sinks on either end, and four mirrors spaced evenly along the length of the counter. Near the back of the room, separated from the bath and shower by another wall, were four individual bathroom stalls.

“Now this is a bathroom I could share…” I whispered, and quickly headed over to the shower, placing my clothes on the bench behind the wall before turning on the water and stepping inside.

As I began to shampoo my hair, I thought back on the dream - or rather, nightmare -  I had had the previous night. I flinched as the basilisk’s eyes flashed in my mind again.

I have to do something, I frowned, spreading conditioner through my pink curls, I had to have been brought here for a reason. I can protect Ginny - I can protect all of them! I thought back on the notes I had begun taking on the train, and wondered how many of them I could change without changing the story entirely. I turned the knob off, standing in the shower dripping in silent thought.

No more distractions, I vowed, I will fix this story. With that, I grabbed a bright yellow towel and walked back out into the bathroom. The towels must have been enchanted too, I realized, for as soon as they touched my skin, I was completely dry; I decided to brush my hair out before attempting to towel dry it, just to make sure it didn’t completely mat against my head. Turns out, I needn’t have bothered - to my surprise, as I lifted the towel from my head, my hair fell to the middle of my back in perfect, ringlet curls, and somehow an even brighter shade of pink than before. I changed quickly into my shirt and skirt, and walked back out to see Willow still clinging desperately to the blankets, refusing to get up. I looked over at the clock beside Tammy’s bed - 7:14.

“You know,” I drawled, slipping on a pair on over-the-knee black socks, “Breakfast starts in just a few minutes. It’d be a shame if you slept in and missed it.” Willow just groaned, not even moving.

“But I don’t wanna!” she whined, “And I’ve got time - breakfast goes until 9 anyway! Why should I have to get up now?” I shook my head, smiling at my roommate’s antics.

“Because it’s the first day,” I spoke slower, as if to a small child, “And unlike some people, I need someone who can show me around to my classes.” I pulled my sweater over my head, adjusting the sleeves until the ends of my white shirt-sleeves were folded over those of the sweater, and rolled up to just below my elbows.

“Ugh, fiiiine,” Willow finally huffed and sat up, her brown hair sticking up in all directions. She moved sluggishly over to the bathroom, grumbling under her breath and dragging her uniform behind her as she closed the door. I laughed for a moment, then returned to pulling on my shoes from the night before and moving around to my trunk.

I unpacked my books from the bag I had brought with me into this world, each with my name carefully written inside the front covers, and placed them on the little honey-colored wooden shelf next to my bed. On the shelf above it, I placed my scales and telescope set, along with all of my phials and a few pots of ink. In the drawer at the top of the shelving unit, I placed my parchment and quills just inside, leaving only one sheet and one quill out on the top of my bedside table.

I should really practice writing with a quill before class… I thought, grabbing a pot of ink from the shelf and opening it, placing it down beside the parchment paper. Dipping the quill in a few times, until it was almost dripping ink, I leaned over and attempted to write-

“Mraow,” Frodo, now suddenly awake, decided to jump up and onto my paper, knocking the quill out of my hand onto the floor, and nearly tipping the ink over as well.

“Frodo!” I scolded, but he didn’t seem to care; he licked the back of his paw and rubbed it against his face, not even looking at my irritated expression. I rolled my eyes.

“Fine,” I said, reaching over for my notebook, “I’ll just write in pen during class. But if I get in trouble, I’m blaming you.” Frodo stayed seated on the parchment, his baby blue eyes glinting in an almost mischievous way. I shook my head, opening my notebook to the page I had started on the train, and thought about what to add.

Well, I know that Dobby’s still got a lot to do this year, I thought, branching off from that point on my list and writing down about the sock Harry gives him to set him free - and he… has the bludger, right - and added that, too.

“What am I missing?” I whispered to myself. I chewed on the end of my pen, thinking hard about everything I had been thinking about on the train.

Oh, right! I realized, The howler! Mrs. Weasley’s gonna send Ron a howler!

“That’s today!” I stood suddenly, dropping the notebook onto the ground.

“What’s today?” I jumped at Willow’s voice, turning to see her walking out of the bathroom fully-dressed, tying her hair back into a simple ponytail. I stopped.

I can’t say too much, she’ll figure it out!

“The first day of classes,” I said quickly, picking up my notebook and stuffing it back into my bag with my two other notebooks and my pens, “I had forgotten that we actually have classes today, and not just, ya know, settling in.” Willow laughed, throwing an arm over my shoulder and pulling me into a side hug.

“Of course we have classes today!” she said as she pulled away, grabbing my tie off the bed and tying it into a bow around my neck, “If we didn’t have classes, I wouldn’t have bothered getting up!” I untied the tie from my neck, and set it under my collar, leaving it untied for now.

“Then let’s hurry up and go, so we can get our schedules!” With that, I grabbed my bag, gave Frodo a quick scratch behind the ears, and then dragged Willow out into the common room.

Seeing it in the daylight made it easier to notice some of the details; pretty much all of the furniture was made of a honey-coloured wood - including the frame of the couch - and most of the plants I had seen the previous night, I now saw, were sunflowers. Above the fireplace rested a large portrait of Helga Hufflepuff herself (she looked just like the Chocolate Frog card I had gotten from Universal Studios last summer); she smiled down at us while tending a strange-looking plant on the table beside her, it’s vines snapping when people came too close. The frame surrounding the portrait was gold, with little badgers running around the edges.

“C’mon, Rosie, let’s go!” Willow grabbed hold of my arm, and dragged me back towards the entrance. She let go and hopped through, sliding back up the tunnel to the basements. I slid my bag on my arm under my robe and followed her, surprisingly landing on my feet this time and we walked together quickly to make it upstairs.

---

We sat down with Tammy and Max, and had been at breakfast for quite a while before Professor Sprout began handing out our schedules. As she passed them down along the table, she stopped and pulled me aside to talk with me before giving me mine.

“Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall have told me about your situation,” she whispered, just low enough for me to hear, “If you have any troubles, or if anything comes up that you need, you just come on down to my office and I’ll do what I can, alright?” I nodded, smiling at her as she handed me my schedule and continued down the line.

“What did she want?” Tammy asked, cutting her eggs with her fork. I shrugged.

“Nothing major,” I replied, “Just making sure I knew to go to her if I have any problems. Typical exchange-student stuff, I’d imagine.” With that, I grabbed some bacon and toast and piled them on my plate, spreading strawberry jam on both before taking a bite of the little sandwich I made. The others stared at me for a moment, disgusted, but then quickly turned to look at their timetables.

“Ugh, we’ve got Transfiguration with the Slytherins again?” Max whined, tossing her spoon back into her porridge, “That’s the third year in a row!”

“Well, at least we’ve got Potions with Gryffindor this year,” Willow said with a shrug, “Maybe we’ll actually earn some points this time around. What’re your classes, Rosie?” I swallowed my bite of breakfast and reached for my schedule.

McIntosh, Rosaline C.: Third Year

Monday: Transfiguration, Divination, and Double Charms

Tuesday: History of Magic, Study of Ancient Runes, and Double Herbology

Wednesday: Double Potions, Astronomy (lecture - practical starts at 8:30pm), and Defense Against the Dark Arts

Thursday: History of Magic, Charms, and Double Transfiguration

Friday: Double Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and Herbology

“Um, I’ve got… Ancient Runes and Divination,” I said, passing Willow my schedule for her to see. She tsked.

“Drat, I’ve only got Divination.” She handed back the paper, “Looks like you’re on your own for Runes.” I looked at the three of them.

“Wait, so none of you took Ancient Runes?” They all shook their heads.

“I took Arithmancy,” Tammy shrugged, “but I think Divination is a load of tosh, so…”

“We’ve all got Care of Magical Creatures,” Max added, nodding up to the staff table, “Grubbly-Plank’s in charge of that; I’m really only interested in seeing if he loses another limb.” My eyes widened at that. Another limb?!

“Look, the post is here!” I couldn’t tell who said it, but the voice was right; hundreds of owls suddenly flew in, circling the hall and dropping letters onto students’ plates and laps. Over by the Gryffindor table, I saw one owl crash-land into a jug of milk by Hermione - Errol; in his beak was a slightly-damp red envelope.

“Uh oh,” Willow whispered, “Weasley’s got a howler!” I smirked.

“Probably because of that flying car we saw,” Tammy said, and I nodded.

“Get ready to cover your ears, guys,” I said as Ron reached to open the letter, “Mrs. Weasley’s loud at the best of times.” The wax seal was lifted off the letter, and our hands slammed down over our ears as Mrs. Weasley’s voice echoed through the Great Hall, shaking dust from the ceiling and sounding about 10 times louder than usual.

“一STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN’T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY’D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT TILL I GET A HOLD OF YOU, I DON’T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE一” Every eye was on the Gryffindor table at this point, the only sound coming from the angry red letter thoroughly scolding the youngest Weasley boy for the incident with the car. I looked over at Ron and winced - he looked terrified.

“一LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN’T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU AND HARRY COULD BOTH HAVE DIED一” I wasn’t surprised at all with her reaction to that; even if I hadn’t known about the series before coming here, a blind man could’ve seen how much that woman cared for Harry, like her own son. There wasn’t a force in the universe that could’ve made her blame him for any of the things he and Ron got in trouble for.

“一AND DON’T GET ME STARTED WITH ROSIE, DID YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT WHAT YOUR ACTIONS WOULD DO, IF THE MINISTRY DECIDED OUR FAMILY WASN’T RESPONSIBLE ENOUGH THEY’D SEND THAT POOR GIRL BACK HOME AND IT’D BE BECAUSE OF YOU一” I shrunk in my seat a little at that, multiple sets of eyes turning to look at me. I hadn’t even thought about how their actions could’ve affected me; I suppose it’d make sense if the Ministry were to have a say in my staying in the country, but that didn’t make this situation any less awkward.

“一ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED一 YOUR FATHER’S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT’S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE’LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME!” A ringing silence fell as the letter finally stopped shouting, turning to face Ginny further along their table.

“Oh, and Ginny, dear, congratulations on making Gryffindor. Your father and I are so proud.” Everyone looked to the youngest Weasley, her face hidden behind a curtain of red hair. Finally, the letter turned back to Ron and blew a raspberry at him as it burst into flames and curled into ashes. I held back a snort.

Well that was unexpected… A few people laughed - after a bit of hesitation - and soon the hall was filled with the ambient sound of chatter again. Not long after that, two people slid onto the bench on either side of me, wrapping their arms around my shoulders. I just continued eating, ignoring the twins.

“I don’t think I’ve heard Mum so mad before, have you Fred?”

“Not at us, George, that’s for sure.” The three girls just stared at us, not doing anything. Fred reached over and took my schedule, looking over it before passing it to George.

“Look at that, Rosie,” George said, pushing the paper in my face as I tried to take another bite of my food, “We’ve got the same break this afternoon!”

“And the same breaks on Thursdays and Fridays, as well,” Fred drawled, snatching some bacon off my plate and stuffing it in his mouth. I stared at him, unimpressed.

“So I get to be graced with your presence not once, but four times each week?” I asked in a monotone. They just smiled. I shook my head, throwing their arms off my shoulders and downing the rest of my juice in one gulp.

“Let’s go down and get our books,” Tammy suggested finally, “We’ve only got about twenty minutes until class starts.” The three of us nodded and stood to leave.

“Love to stay and chat, boys,” I threw over my shoulder, “but some of us actually want to go to class.”

---

We all ran into the classroom just before class started - having taken too long to help Willow find her books - to see almost everyone already seated, and a gray tabby cat perched on the desk, with dark, square markings around its eyes.

“Why is there a cat?” I asked the others, taking a seat next to Tammy near the front; Willow and Max chose to sit further back. Tammy gasped, looking suddenly excited.

“It must be Professor McGonagall!” she whispered, “We must be starting the Animagus lesson today!” I perked up at her words, feeling just as excited as she looked.

How cool would it be to be an animagus?! I thought to myself, imagining myself transforming into a number of different animals, I wonder which one I would be… Soon after I had that thought, the cat suddenly moved, leaping off the desk. If I had blinked, I would have missed it - the cat transformed in mid-air, with Professor McGonagall landing a few feet from the desk, smiling slightly at all of our impressed looks. Everyone applauded.

“Whoa…” I whispered as I clapped, seeing Tammy nod from the corner of my eye.

“How did you do that?!” One of the Slytherin students asked as the clapping died down, standing and pointing one of his grubby fingers at Professor McGonagall. She stared hard at him, one brow raised.

“That, Mr. Lofthouse, is the subject of today’s lesson,” she replied, not blinking as he sat back down slowly in his seat. She turned back to all of us, moving towards the front of the room.

“This year, you all are going to start by studying Animagi.” She waved her wand, and the chalk near the board floated up and begin writing notes on the board, “Now to start who can tell me exactly what an animagus is?” My hand shot up immediately as I remembered the passages I had read over the summer. “Miss McIntosh?”

“An animagus is a witch or wizard who elects to turn into an animal,” I answered, earning a nod.

“Excellent, ten points to Hufflepuff,” she said, and my heart swelled with pride. I just earned my first house points! Some of the Slytherins scowled at me, but I ignored them as Tammy patted my shoulder with a smile. “Now class, take out your quills and begin your notes.” Instead of taking out a quill, however, I grabbed one of my notebooks and a pen from my bag and began copying from the board.

“Where’s your quill?” Tammy whispered to me.

“Yes, where is your quill, Miss McIntosh?” I looked up to Professor McGonagall, who was staring disapprovingly at the pen in my hand. I gulped. Busted.

“Well…” I started, fiddling with my pen a bit, “I never really had to use a quill much back home, so I’m not very good with them yet. Until I can get some practice in, I figured it might be better to at least have readable notes.” I sat there, shifting awkwardly under McGonagall’s gaze. She hesitated a moment, then nodded slightly.

“I expect you to be using a quill in my class before the month is out, Miss McIntosh,” she said simply before turning back to the board and continuing the lesson.

---

“I can’t believe she assigned us a whole 12 inches of homework on the first day!” Willow whined. The two of us, having separated from Tammy and Max after Transfiguration ended, had taken almost our entire morning break trying to find the North Tower for Divination class. We had finally found the classroom entrance a few minutes ago, and were waiting with the rest of our class for the trapdoor above our heads to open. I covered a snicker at her words with my hand. 12 inches… Oh, the places I could go with that joke…

“It shouldn’t be that hard,” I assured her, “We’re just supposed to discuss the differences between Animagi and Human Transfiguration. It’s all in the book.”

“But I didn’t read the book!” I laughed as she began banging her copy of Unfogging the Future on her forehead. That moment, the trapdoor opened, and we began climbing the unfolded steps up into the classroom. The moment I stepped inside, I was assaulted by the mixed scent of tea, incense, and mothballs. I coughed a bit to clear my head, and looked around.

The room was doused in a light smoke - likely from whatever incense was burning - but through it, everything looked like a strange combination of an antique shop and some little girl’s tea party. All the furniture seemed very old, and was covered from top to bottom in frilly, lacy pillows, doilies, and tablecloths. Along the rounded wall by the small fireplace were shelves of various tea cups, crystal balls, and other trinkets likely used for the class. Standing by one of the many small tables in the room was a tall, thin woman with untamed brown curls, large, thick glasses on her face, and draped in numerous scarves and shawls, reminding me of some of the homeless people I’d see wandering around Atlanta sometimes.

“So…” she whispered, gazing around at us with magnified eyes, “you may have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all magical arts. I must warn you at the outset that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I will be able to teach you. Books can take you only so far in this field…” We stared in silence at her, many of us with skeptical looks on our faces, including my own. This is Professor Trelawney? She seems just as looney as she did in the books… We all slowly began making our way to our seats, each sitting two or three to a table.

“To start us off, you will all be reading tea leaves with a partner,” she said, waving her wand to send tea pots to each of the tables, “One person from each table grab a cup for you and your partner - oh, Mr. Belby, do avoid the pink ones, please, they are my favorite.” I stood to grab cups for me and Willow, watching as Marcus Belby, a Ravenclaw boy, dropped an orange and green cup and it shattered on the ground. I grabbed a blue cup and a white cup, and placed them in the middle of the table to let Willow decide - she chose the white one.

Following Professor Trelawney’s instructions, we each poured some water into our cups of loose tea leaves and let the seep, before drinking most of it. I grimaced at the bitterness of the drink - this is why Southerners drink it sweet - but swallowed it anyway, swirling the last dregs of the tea before draining it over the plate. Willow and I then traded cups to read each other’s fortunes, glancing at the book for interpretations.

“What do you see in mine?” Willow asked me as she flipped through the book. I looked down at the cup in my hands. Very clearly, I could see what looked like a door on one side, with a corkscrew not far from it, and on the opposite side was what appeared to be a pair of handcuffs.

“Well,” I said, looking quickly at the book’s interpretations, “you’ve got a door, a corkscrew, and handcuffs.”

“What’s that mean?”

“A door, I think, means a strange occurrence,” I replied, looking up from the page, “and a corkscrew is curiosity leading to trouble, and and handcuffs symbolise trouble ahead. So, something strange is going to happen, and you’re going to be curious about it, and that curiosity will lead you to danger.” She nodded as I placed the cup back on the plate, though she didn’t seem all that convinced. “What do you see in my cup?”

“Um, I guess…” she flipped through the book again, “a loop? The number 5, and… an iceberg, maybe?” I felt a shiver run down my spine; something about that didn’t seem good.

“And what does that mean?” I asked, but Professor Trelawney came over before she could answer.

“How are the predictions going for you girls?” she asked, and Willow sighed.

“I’m not getting any of this,” she said, handing my cup to the professor, “I don’t think I’m reading this right at all.” Trelawney held the cup in her hands, gazing carefully at the leaves inside.

“Oh dear,” she whispered, “You’ve got some bad luck indeed, my dear…” Suddenly, it seemed the whole class had stopped to hear my fortune.

“What does it say, Professor?” I asked, dreading her answer. She looked at me, her dark green eyes magnified behind her round glasses as they stared beyond my face and into my very soul.

“My dear, there is much danger ahead in your future,” she whispered, “In five days time, I believe your impulsive actions could lead to much trouble. Should you fail, I see a stoney fate in your future…”