Vanishing Spell

The rest of the week for Rowan is an exhausting blur as she moved from one thing to another. Thankfully the first years were on their own by Wednesday and the colored map had gone a long way in saving her from future troubles. Not to mention inadvertently caused the 1st year Slytherins for the first time in Hogwarts history to become the most popular friends to have.

Strangely enough, countless barriers were broken and many outside house friendships had been forged. Even more peculiar is that the highest outside house friendships that occurred were between that of Slytherin and Gryffindor. That may have had to do with the influx of transfer students that had been sorted into Slytherin, with the second-largest number in Gryffindor, then followed by Ravenclaw, and lastly, Hufflepuff having the least number of said sorted children.

Logically speaking, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tended to get along with Slytherin in their own fashion. While friendships between Gryffindor and Slytherin did not tend to survive the interhouse rivalry between the two houses. But none of the older years would impede said friendships as they once would have done thanks mostly in part to the actions of Rowan and Severus ever since their first year at Hogwarts.

That and with the announcement of the Prince and Snape lineage, the Prince twins by right of blood belonged to three houses of Hogwarts as true living descendants. And the Slytherins would not force the hand of the twins to act against their own house nor that of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. The Slytherins refused to have the past repeat itself once again and lose the viable descendants of Slytherin. Nor would even the staunchest pureblood supporters in Hufflepuff or Gryffindor force the hand of the Snape lineage and bring shame and dishonor to their houses living descendants.

After all, at present, the Prince twins represented the best of the founders possessing multiple bloodlines. Even the Ravenclaw's considered them one of their own and were privately convinced if not for the combination of their Salazar Slytherin and Merlin lineage, the Prince twins would have surely been in their house given their superior intelligence. As such for perhaps for the first time since Hogwarts founding, inter-house rivalries were at an all-time low even more since the previous year upon learning that their existed two heirs out of the three houses. That and it was a unanimous, unspoken agreement between the purebloods of all three houses to keep the peace as best as they could. And which they had and would continue to keep.

Despite that being a rather happy turn, the sheer amount of homework that Rowan received in the week was back-breaking. If Charms and the rest of their courses had been bad, Transfiguration was twice as worse. Much like Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall started their first lesson much with a stern lecture.

"You cannot pass your O.W.L.'s," said Professor McGonagall grimly, "without serious application, practice, and study. I see no reason why everybody in this class should not achieve an O.W.L. in transfiguration as long as they put in the work." And proceeded to assign them to triple the amount of homework that Professor Flitwick had assigned them in Charms.

Rowan visibly winced at the statement as Transfiguration was one of her second-worst subjects to speak other than Potions. It was not that she was not smart at it, but something about the very act disturbed her and rubbed her wrong. At least it was not as bad in her first year, but it had steadily been getting worse every year. And she had the inkling that the best grade she would ever be able to achieve in Transfiguration would an Exceed Expectations.

Professor McGonagall noticed the flinch and paused to say, "Miss Prince, I am more than amply aware that you achieved an Exceed Expectations on your C.S.A.E. I see no reason why you should not be able to achieve an Outstanding mark on your O.W.L.'s this year with a bit of effort on your part."

Rowan shivered with dread as Professor McGonagall swept past her, while Severus smugly stared at his twin. He had gotten an Outstanding, and he knew it. That and he knew that he had a natural talent for it that his twin sister did not in fact possess.

"Today, we are starting with Vanishing Spells. There are easier than Conjuring Spells, which you would not usually attempt until N.E.W.T. level, but they are still among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your O.W.L," Professor McGonagall said.

Rowan made a wry face at the remark. She did not have a problem vanishing a snail or insect or even dead things or non-living things. However, she was not certain that she could so easily erase a creature that could in fact stare her in the eye. It was going to be a problem. Why couldn't it have been conjuring? She could do that much more with ease as nothing was never really conjured out of nothing rather it was magic that forced atoms already into existence to form that which the spell forced into existence much like a mathematical formula.

While everyone else in the classroom was working on vanishing snails, Rowan and Severus had been given the task of vanishing kittens. Rowan could not even point her wand at the purring fuzzball on her desk. Rather there was an utterly horrified expression on her face that suggested that she might do something rather Gryffindorish like commit open mutiny against Professor McGonagall.

Not that Severus had a problem with it as he easily vanished the kitten away, before returning it back. With a smug smirk, he patiently waited for Professor McGonagall to come back to test them both. Severus easily performed the spell when Professor McGonagall came back, but Rowan under extreme duress performed the spell in front of Professor McGonagall, and only to have it fail.

Professor McGonagall frowns and says, "Well, this is most unexpected, and will certainly be on the exam, Miss Prince. I would suggest that you work on the subject." And proceeded to double the amount of homework that they had already been assigned with.

Turning towards Severus, Professor McGonagall says, "Ten points to Slytherin!" Before an angry cry causes them all to look back towards the source, it was Tiffany.

Felton Graham, a curly auburn-haired boy with blue eyes flashes Professor McGonagall a sheepish smile that innocently says it all, "whoops."

(Tragically, he was Terry and Severus's other roommate. But worst of all he was a known pervert. He had lost Slytherin more points than any other Slytherin and that was among both the older and younger years. Still, he was not a rapist nor liable to become one.... which was not saying much in his defense.)