5 Chapter 5 Project-Friend.

We were not woken up early the next morning. Yesterday was Friday, so there were no classes today, which gave freshmen and others a chance to sleep it off. Others are undergraduates who had a party yesterday for the start of the school year. They needed more sleep than we did.

Yesterday I almost missed the opening speech of the faculty elders and a word from the dean. What's there to listen to? Our faculty is the smartest, we are the best, even if not in everything. We don't pay attention to the points, but we'll bite if we lose them because of you. You can count on help, but if you are not able to interest, then the maximum for advice. They didn't say it that way, but that was the point. Only Davies heard my sleepy comments, which made him giggle, so he almost got hit by the prefect-Jacob McKinley, a guy with a beautiful face and sad blue eyes.

"Davis, be serious —" he said to Roger, " your brother was the head of the faculty, and you're expected to do just as well.

— We're just happy to be in the smart-ass department, " I said, covering for my friend. — But we're listening carefully, don't doubt it, " I yawned.

Well, well, — did not continue this topic McKinley.

There were some more boilerplate explanations and instructions, but I ignored all this. Why would I listen to all this? All this, one way or another, I knew from the memory of my ancestors who studied at Slytherin and Gryffindor. And on the Blairs ' side, my grandfather is from Ravenclaw, and my grandmother is from Hufflepuff. What new things can I hear?

But all these memories were about the day before, when I was tired and wanted to go to bed as soon as possible. I only noted that the distribution of faculties was fairly uniform, only a few more students went to Gryffindor. The Weasley twins, as expected, were assigned to the braves department. Lee Jordan and Angelina Johnson went to the same faculty, as already mentioned. Kenneth Towler, Connie Cooper, Desmond Mason, Daniel Hume, Radcliffe Hall, Annie May, Alicia Spinet also changed their ties to red and gold. A total of eleven people went to Gryffindor. Only seven people were assigned to Hufflepuff, and eight freshmen were assigned to Ravenclaw and Slytherin equally.

Just looking at the faculty tables then, I noticed that Gryffindor's advantage was not the first year. There were twenty or thirty percent more red-gold students than there were students in other departments.

Roger Davis, Jason Samuels, Denis Aldermaston, Bruce Attwood, Jema Brooks, Abby Myers, Diane Ward were assigned to Ravenclaw with me.

What struck me was the sheer preponderance of the male sex. In all departments except Hufflepuff, more boys than girls were enrolled this year.

The system of distribution by bedrooms was similar to Gryffindor: all five of us were placed in one bedroom with a free choice of seats, that is, we had to determine who would take what place ourselves, it seems. But our chests were already standing in certain places and no one moved anything-moved and somehow tried to move to another place did not. And why go somewhere? The tower is round, the principle of the round table worked here, the only difference in places is to get closer to the exit or closer to the windows. In general, I suspect that the whole castle is actively used charms expansion of space. The room is engaged once and remains assigned to the students until the end of training. Gradually, the room will grow with us and is quite spacious for first-year students, it will not become cramped by the fifth year.

I didn't really know many of the Hogwarts students, foreknowledge only concerned Potter and those who hung around him, that is, those who were hooked by the canon. In the books and movies, more than three-quarters of the Hogwarts students who were studying at the same time as Potter were not mentioned in any way, were a sort of gray mass in the background, not even the background.

In my mind, I'd be better off being one of those three-quarters. But the trouble is, I can't live like this. My old life, according to my newly awakened memory, was exactly like this. He sat quietly, did not climb anywhere, had no special abilities, was the most average of all average, a kind of wise minnow in his burrow. I had no desire to live my old life in a new way, especially now I knew for sure that there were many worlds and reincarnation was real. I didn't want to live a mediocre life many times.

Yes, I'm still just a schoolboy, an orphan, a bastard, a nobleman, a muggleblood, but I have a couple of trumps on my hands. The main thing is not to play against the director on his territory. Now, on the one hand, I need to gain authority, show myself, show myself, and on the other-it will be better not to stand out. Here is such a particle-wave duality of position.

At Breakfast, Davis stared in the direction of the Slytherin table. Pureblood, where to go...

It might have been better for him to go to Slytherin, but the purebloods ' choice of faculty is something of a tradition. However, once he was with the Ravens, Roger showed an interest in the pureblood faculty, evaluating it.

"Miles Bletchley," I said, following Davis's gaze, " is a mean man. He will curry favor with everyone whom he considers superior, but at the same time he will demand to curry favor with everyone whom he considers inferior. He has everything and everyone placed in a single rating system, and those who are not there, for him, as it were, do not exist at all.

Davis chuckled at my comment, then turned his gaze to Lucian Boal.

"Lucian Boal," I began to make my observations immediately — " is a normal guy, with no particular concerns about pureblood, but nominally supports all the values declared by purebloods. Unnecessarily, he will not stand out in any company, prefers to be on the sidelines or, in general, remain in the shadows, non-confrontational.

For some reason, it was easy for me to catch the main traits of people's character. Even in the orphanage, I was able to choose the right behavior that suited my interlocutor. The overlap happened only once, and then it was an exceptional case when a peaceful solution was impossible. There, the character was initially set up to completely dominate everyone, he was not satisfied with his own company, in which he was the leader, and a bunch of tributaries who were constantly subjected to unencumbered pressure. The Warrens were at heart the emperors of the universe, eager to expand their power and power, mother and son alike. Any insubordination is for them a future victory or a past stage, a crushed person. It would not have been possible to avoid a conflict.

"Peregrine Derrek," I said to the next person involved, " none. Most likely, no one will notice it even in their own faculty. Most likely, he will become a friend and comrade of Bowle. But if you shit on him somewhere, never turn your back on him. If the opportunity presented itself, he would stab her in the back with all the will to kill.

"Constance Burke," I said, " is a quarrelsome girl, but if you get along with her, you can be a good ally in almost anything. But if you somehow disappoint or offend her, then you will have a hard time, and a lot of things can disappoint her, depending on what her plans are and what place you occupy in the rating. Yes, yes, she also has a sort of rating system, like Bletchley. Because of this similarity, the two of them will either become friends or enemies, the middle option is unlikely.

"Antiope Rowley," I continued, " is cold — blooded, cruel, domineering. He hides his imperiousness behind indifference and a desire for order. Don't see that she looks like she wants to sleep all the time, she sees everything and notices everything. If he finds out what your secret is, he will not give it away, as, for example, the same Bletchley would do, but will begin to push, trying to understand how important this secret is for you, so that at the right moment he will have power over you.

"Adrian Pusey," was the next one in my description, " this one is happy to curry favor, as long as he has someone to look up to. Over time, he is able to understand who it is not worth doing it in front of, but for now he can hand you over to anyone in any business, even without any benefit, just for the love of art.

"And this one," I began to say of the next, " Cassius Warrington, is ambitious and ambitious. I think he'll be an informal leader on his course, but he won't be able to take Miles Bletchley under him, and Pusey will probably fight back to Bletchley. And last in the order of voice acting — "I continued," Diora Travers, she won't be a problem. She is not angry and prefers to avoid conflicts. I think she'll stick with the Warrington boys there, or find patrons in her senior year while remaining a loner in her year. She wouldn't get along with Burke and Rowley.

"How do you remember them all, Blair?" Davis asked me. — I remember only half of the names and that, because I already knew them a little before entering, somewhere I heard the name, in another place in which book the mention of the genus was.

Davis was clearly surprised by my abilities.

"I have a good memory," Rogers said, " I almost always remember everything the first time. Well, as for the brief characteristics, then I don't even know what to answer. I just see it in them. I want to tease someone, put myself in a false position, so that later these people will make a fool of themselves. Such as Bletchley and Pusey. Rowley I have a fear, like sleeping, well, let him sleep, on the principle: do not wake a sleeping dog. Warrington inspires a kind of irrational respect. Maybe it's some kind of magical ability?

"Maybe," Davis didn't argue or dig into the subject. "Many mages can sense when they're being told a lie. This ability of yours is somewhat similar to such a common effect.

On the first day of class, Davis asked me about all the first-year students-not only from the Slytherin table, but also from other departments, getting a brief description of the character traits of each. He really liked my peculiarity, although it did not bring practical benefits yet, but it gave a pleasant feeling of sophistication in various kinds of intrigues.

The first lessons were nothing outstanding. Flitwick had basic stick movements and special exercises for developing motor skills.

In herbology, there was a safety technique and theoretical material with minimal practice. Pomona Sprout talked about pots of different sizes, beds, furrows, manure, watering, additional lighting and dimming, and other nonsense. Then about pests and diseases and so several lessons in a row.

There was a canonical match or needle on the transfiguration. In the sense that it was necessary to transfigure a match into a needle. In the first lesson, few people managed to turn a match into a needle. I was able to defeat the match in the first lesson with a lot of effort, but it turned into a needle under my magic power, and I earned 10 points for Ravenclaw from McGonagall.

Potions was one of the most interesting lessons. Snape appeared in all his intimidating form, radiating dark pathos in all directions, read the opening speech, which apparently sounds the same for all first-year students, no matter what year they enter, and moved on to roll call.

"Blair Arrakis —" the professor called my name without any particular emotion.

But when I stood up and Snape finally looked at me, I knew: I knew. His face somehow subtly changed, kind of stiffened, but somehow he did not distinguish me at that time. It would sound silly: Blair, our new celebrity. I'm not Potter or even Black.

However, the canonical survey at the very beginning of the lesson hit me.

"Blair —" the Professor called, " what's the difference between a monk's hood and wolfsbane?"

"Nothing, Professor," I said, standing up, " these are different names for the same plant, which is also called aconite.

I got an easy question. Even if I didn't have the ability to look into the memory of my ancestors, I would know the answer from the canon, and Snape's questions weren't always the same. He had about a dozen different questions for the first class of the first year, which I later found out by simply making a list, interviewing all the courses.

Snape did not tyrannize over me, although I did not raise his spirits with my appearance. Most likely, he has a grudge against Potter more, and not Black after all.

Brewed a potion for acne. Snape, without quibbling, gave me a potion higher than expected, and everyone was satisfied with that. Our classes were mostly combined with Hufflepuff, including potions, so probably the lessons were quite calm. No one blew up the cauldron, no one threw ingredients, there were no fights or verbal duels either.

Our faculty accepts great individualists into its ranks. Everyone communicates with each other, but not enough. Even to call each other friends, rather, just acquaintances. On our course, it's close enough to the name "buddy", only Davies and I got together, and then it happened thanks to me. I gave Davis information that wasn't particularly valuable, but it was brief and accurate, not trying to get anything in return, leaving him to decide for himself what to do with it. This move of mine bribed Roger, gave him the basis for a friendly relationship. Gradually, the others began to catch up to our tandem. I knew Hogwarts better than the other first-year students, so I often worked as a guide. Yes, the first week we were led by the prefects, but in fact this is not enough to remember everything. Thus, I had the authority of a connoisseur, experienced. Davis had developed a reputation as a thoroughbred expert, although Davis himself knew that this authority was based fifty percent on my comments.

A couple of weeks later, when the prefects let us go on a "free float," I approached Professor Flitwick with a question.

"Professor Flitwick," I said to the dean, " may I ask you a question?"

"Yes, of course," said the professor. "Blair?" You seem to be doing very well. It seems to me that you are trained at the level of pure-blooded students. What is your question?

"Professor," I said, " I've already read all the textbooks in my first year and I've come to the conclusion that there's nothing complicated about them. Most purebloods will probably find the first-year program as boring as I do. Is there a special program at Hogwarts for students like me?

"A special program?" The professor was surprised. "The prefects should have told you. We have different circles and clubs of interest. There is a circle of enchantments that I lead, but entry is only at my invitation. I'm not sure I can invite you to it yet. The first spells we will begin to master only for Halloween, then it will become clear whether you have the ability. Professor Snape teaches additional potions classes for senior students and especially outstanding students. Professor McGonagall also provides additional lessons for a more in-depth study of transfiguration for selected students. Pomona Sprout has its own classes on the same principle. In the third year, you will have the opportunity to study runes and some related disciplines. In addition, there are other circles that are not even related to magic. But in any case, it is still too early to talk about a special program, now there are introductory classes to prepare for the subjects themselves.

"I understand, Professor —" I didn't argue with Flitwick, " but I've already got a rough idea of what the school is focused on, what level it gives without fail, and what it can give at all. What I will get without fail is too little to be considered a smart and powerful wizard.

"The school provides the necessary minimum in all the major subjects," said Filius Flitwick — " your knowledge will be sufficient to obtain a simple magical profession, general ideas about magic and the society of magicians are attached. With good grades, you can get a low-level position in the Ministry of Magic or get an invitation from the Department of Mysteries. You can do your own business, offer some inexpensive, but in constant demand products, for example, grow plants for potion makers. Magic nettle, wormwood or mint are better suited for potions than their usual counterparts, are inexpensive, but also grown simply, do not require special conditions. If it turns out well, then you can grow something more complicated, such as lovage or Abyssinian fig tree. Some wizards are engaged in farming and they are quite capable enough to provide themselves with everything they need and still sell some surplus, although now many prefer to buy everything they need from Muggles, so it's cheaper.

"Um, Professor," I said, " I haven't looked that far into the future yet. Thank you, of course, for the advice, but I'm still more interested in the possibility of learning. But at the same time, I want my knowledge not to be a dead weight, but to be useful to me right now.

"Well, well, young man," said Flitwick, smiling, " do you already have an idea and you wanted my advice on it?"

"Yes, Professor," I said, " I would like to do some special project that would combine different areas of magic.

— What could it be?" Flitwick asked with mock amusement.

"Perhaps it could be a special greenhouse," I began — " with an expansion of space inside. Preparation of fertilizers refers to potions. The production of the greenhouse itself, its physical part, refers to transfiguration and a little to enchantment. Expanded space refers to charms and runes, and growing the plants themselves is pure herbology.

"Oh," Flitwick said, " it's certainly an interesting project.

"Why shouldn't it be interesting, I honestly plagiarized it from fanfiction," I thought.

"But," the professor looked at me sternly, " such a project is not even a TOAD at the end of the Hogwarts program. In the section of charms and runes, this will draw you to work for the title of apprentice. Tell you what — " the professor stopped me when I was about to persuade him and even opened my mouth, — I will be very interested in such a project myself. But it is still too early to talk about agreeing to help you. Come to me on Saturday afternoon, if I'm not too busy, I'll show you a couple of spells to test your abilities and give you a little rune task. If you do well, I'll talk to the other teachers, I'm not sure about Professor Snape and Minerva, but I think Professor Sprout will be happy to help. Snape will only need to agree to provide potions, and I can replace Professor McGonagall as a last resort and help with transfiguration. But in any case, "Flitwick looked at me less sternly," it's too early to talk about it. Usually, students with Ravenclaw are engaged in similar projects in the third or fourth year, but even then they choose a slightly simpler task. Usually this is the cultivation of magical plants with the preparation of special top dressing or the manufacture of reducing boxes with various kinds of protection from influence from the outside or from the inside. What you have proposed is not very new, something similar exists in the economy of almost every wizard-farmer. But for a first-year student, it will be an outstanding job, even with the active help of teachers. Now, Mr. Blair, you can go — "said our dean," I'll see you on Saturday."

— What did you talk to the dean about?" Davis caught me in the hallway.

"I want to do my own project," I told my friend. — I am too bored at Hogwarts, the school curriculum is too simple, there is nothing to do for interest and benefit.

— What kind of project?" Davis asked.

"A greenhouse with an expanded space inside —" I said, not making a secret of it.

We walked together in silence for a while, until we reached the library. All the time that Davis was thinking hard about something, I was the host.

"Hey, Blair —" my friend said, " isn't this a very difficult project for a freshman?"

"Actually, yes, but the professor liked it," I said. "On Saturday, he called me to his office to test my abilities in his subject. If I did well, he promised to talk to other teachers and help me with my work.

"Are you sure you can handle it alone?" Davis made an unexpected pass.

I knew immediately where my friend was going.

"Actually, nothing's been decided yet —" I said, smiling at Roger — In addition, other teachers may also require me to pass some kind of test or work out help. The same Snape always makes everyone clean dirty cauldrons from burnt sludge. But what did you want? I asked.

- Actually, I thought the project was too big for one freshman — - Roger said, breaking down a little.

"You think we should split it between us?" I asked. - In principle, I agree. — I didn't see any point in putting pressure on Roger, so I agreed immediately, but I didn't want to completely pull him on myself, so I immediately voiced the condition. "Only we will prepare the preliminary calculations and diagrams separately," I said. "Professor Flitwick will advise you on literature. We will consult with each other, but we will fully compare our projects at the very end, and we will go to the professor's test together, " I said to Davis.

"Um, okay, that's what I was going to suggest," Davis blushed. — And we will also make greenhouses separately? "What is it?" he asked.

— I don't think the professors will give us two identical separate projects, " I voiced my doubts and grimaced. "Transfiguration spells require a lot of effort for a first-year student, and we probably won't even be able to make them together." But the professor promised to help if McGonagall refused to help.

The following Saturday, at the appointed time, Davis and I called on the dean.

"Oh, oh," Flitwick said with mock amusement, " there are two of you already.

"Yes, Professor," I said, " Roger Davis, a friend of mine, also wanted to take part in the project, if you don't mind, we will work on the greenhouse together.

"Well, I don't mind," said the professor, " if Mr. Davis passes the test, then let him study.

— We decided that at the design stage we will deal with this matter separately, and then we will combine our projects into one, taking the best from each — - I expressed the idea.

"That's a very good approach," Flitwick said. — Now let's test your abilities.

The dean began with lumos and leviosa. Roger and I performed these spells without difficulty. Then the professor showed an extended version of leviosa-wingardium leviosa. With the extended version, we also managed without difficulty. Next, Flitwick told about the spell "colorum", and demonstrated it. I got it right away, but Davis stumbled a little, but after a few attempts changed the color of the handkerchief. The next spell to test your abilities was the Eternal Bonding Spell. I must say that these are quite complex and expensive charms, but in the manufacture of the greenhouse design, they will be almost the main ones. Under pressure, I coped with the first time. Davis puffed for about five minutes, then began to get better.

"Hmm —" the half — goblin chuckled, " either you're a genius wizard, Mr. Blair, or you already knew how to perform these spells. "Mr. Davis has a very good talent for charms," said the professor; " he must have had a little practice already, for he is a thoroughbred. However, it took him about five minutes to master the eternal gluing spell at the initial level. With the last words, the professor picked up two pieces of wood that Roger had glued together with his spell joint to joint, and with some effort, broke them at the place of gluing. After examining the broken site, the professor shook his head. "Yes, at the elementary level," the professor confirmed his own assumption. - Look, the bonding occurs due to the interpenetration of the materials of the surfaces to be bonded. Here the bonding did not occur over the entire contact surface, there are large areas that were not subjected to the spell. In fact, you barely picked up those details. But don't worry, "Flitwick encouraged Davies," this is a very good result for a first — year student who uses this spell for the first time. As for you, Mr. Blair, "the professor looked at me," I am puzzled. Your gluing is close to perfect and it is done precisely at the expense of skill, and not on the strength, which, by the way, your friend will have more.

"Ah, Professor, can you tell us how much effort we've put in?" I asked.

"Not directly," said the professor — " but indirectly, yes. You have spent less effort, but you have achieved a better result and faster than your friend, " said the professor. Have you tried this spell before?

"No, Professor," I said, " I did it for the first time today, in front of you. "I'll be careful not to lie to magicians. In a previous life, I did not know how to lie, but here, when every second person is able to feel a lie, outright lies can have a bad effect on reputation and health. — But when I do a spell, I feel like I know how to do it,"I added.

"Ancestral gift?" Perhaps, " the professor muttered. "You're officially a Muggle-born," the professor began, " but you look a lot like a wizard who studied at Hogwarts.

"Mr. Ollivander, when I bought my first wand, also noted my resemblance to a wizard," I said.

"You look a lot like Sirius Black," Flitwick said. — I don't think we should keep this a secret from you. Many of the professors must have noticed your resemblance by now, and others who knew Sirius must have noticed it too.

"Black?" Davis asked.

The professor looked at Roger as if for the first time.

"You mustn't talk about it, Mr. Davis," the professor warned him. "Bastards are treated differently in all pureblood families, but no one believes that conversations on this topic should be brought up for general discussion. Judging by the name that your friend has, he is not recognized as a native. Therefore, by talking about this topic, you can put him in an uncomfortable position or, if it turns out that he has nothing to do with the Black family, put yourself in an uncomfortable position.

"Yes, yes, I understand," Davis said, " our family is quite neutral about bastards.

"I have a half — sister," Davies said, revealing a little of his lineage, " who is recognized as a lineage. She's going to Hogwarts.

"But I'm pretty sure," the professor said to me, " that you're Black in your father's blood, and there's a very strong resemblance.

"I'm an orphanage boy, sir," I bleated, just as I'd bleated to Ollivander.

"In any case," the professor said, " I agree to help you with the project. I will provide you with a list of references, talk to the professors, and provide you with materials. You can even get some profit from the plants grown in this greenhouse. Let's say ten percent.

I felt a strange excitement in the professor's words. However, the goblin blood is running high, this Jew of the magical world wants to bargain.

— But why so little?" I asked playfully. — We've generated an idea and will invest physically and magically, fifty percent.

"Where does fifty percent come from?" - Flitwick was surprised — - I will provide all the materials, manure and recipes will be given by Professor Sprout, potions will be provided by the school and Professor Snape, you still do not have enough strength for transfiguration to do everything yourself, twelve percent.

But Professor, you don't have to use dragon dung, you can use regular horse dung, or even cow dung, which you can buy cheap or even find for free, and I'll make the dung myself. Materials: wood can be taken from Hagrid, and broken glass for transfiguration forms can be collected from Muggles for free. The service from Professor Snape will most likely have to be worked out by cleaning the boilers, and the transfiguration of materials will be broken down in time, not necessarily the entire construction of the greenhouse will be done at once, forty percent.

- Dragon manure gives the best result, for many plants it is recommended especially. If I don't talk to Hagrid, I don't know what he'll give you, or if he'll give you anything at all. There is no broken glass at Hogwarts and you are not allowed to leave the grounds without permission. Without my request, Professor Snape will not even listen to you, and you will be transfiguring the necessary materials for the greenhouse without the help of an adult wizard until the end of the year. Twelve percent!

— But we're going to grow something simple to start with, we don't need dragon dung at all. Hagrid is ready to provide a service to everyone, if it is not a Slytherin, and if you treat him to some drink, then he will give the best that is, and even tell some interesting story. It won't be easy for me to negotiate with Professor Snape myself, but I've heard that the Weasley twins have found a place for some of their potions experiments, they didn't need Professor Snape's permission to do that, and you can get undergraduates, thirty percent, to transfigure the right materials.

"I can ask my parents for a drink for Hagrid and broken glass," Davis said.

"Alcohol is officially banned at Hogwarts, and although professors turn a blind eye to certain violations in their senior years, it will be a serious violation for the first year," Flitwick persisted.

"We can arrange for the owl to deliver the alcohol to Hagrid right away," Davis said.

"Let's say," the professor smiled, " but you have to pay for the services of undergraduates in transfiguration with money or services, it may be too expensive. What the Weasley twins are allowed to do can be a serious violation of school rules for you. Fifteen percent.

"But Professor," I protested, " fifteen isn't exactly divisible by two, and there are two of us. Twenty percent.

"Ha, ha, ha," said Professor Flitwick, laughing. All right, let's make it twenty percent. All the same, the greenhouse will actually belong to the school and you will only be able to use it while you are studying at Hogwarts. You will not earn much, but the material interest will support you a little on the way to mastering the necessary knowledge and skills. And yes — "Flitwick looked at me sternly," there is no need to arrange a potion shop in a class that is not adapted specifically for this purpose, I will arrange with Professor Snape. Boilers, most likely, will have to be cleaned, but it is even useful. I will help you with transfiguration, asking for help from undergraduates, you will only get into debt. With Hagrid, you can arrange it yourself. I want to see how you do it. Broken glass could also be collected by yourself, but while you are at Hogwarts, you are severely restricted in your movements, so I will take care of it myself.

I exuded contentment as I left Professor Flitwick's office. In opposition to my mood, Davis was not happy.

"What's wrong with you, Roger?" I asked him.

"I think I shouldn't have entered into the conversation," Davis replied, " all this haggling was just for fun, the professor immediately gave you a profit of ten percent. When he saw that there were two of us, he immediately allowed an increase in the percentage to financially stimulate the desire for knowledge, as he himself put it.

"Well, yes," I agreed, " it probably is.

"Now I have to write a letter to my father," Davis said sadly, " so that he can send our forester a bottle of whiskey on my behalf.

"Ah, that's what you mean —" I realized his difficulty, " if you want, I can help with the letter.

"No," Davis said, " I don't need to. But we'll go to the forester together.

Davis wrote the promised letter.

What and how he explained to his father, I do not know, but just telling the truth in this case, you can get both the approval and pride of a parent, and a fatherly slap on the head (albeit morally). I did not know the character of Father Davis, so in fact the best solution was for him to write the letter himself, without help, and bear the consequences accordingly.

A bottle was delivered to Hagrid, even two.

At lunch on Friday, a week after his conversation with Professor Flitwick, Davies received a letter from our forester. In the evening we went to the forester's hut at the appointed time.

At a knock on the door, Hagrid let us in.

'Come on in, I've got a bit of a mess here,' said Hagrid defensively.

At our appearance, a small puppy jumped out from somewhere and started to lick Davis.

"It's a Fang," said Hagrid, " I bought it from a passing merchant. That trader, that's the one, said it was a boar-hunting breed, here. It should grow quite large.

Hagrid took the dog in his arms so that Davies could feel more comfortable.

Hagrid's cabin matched the one he'd assumed. It is built of logs, all massive, strong and simple. The furniture and interior decoration matched the owner.

"I'm Roger Davis," my friend said, " and this is Arrakis Blair, our first year at Hogwarts.

"To Ravenclaw?" Rubeus asked. "And I'm the keeper of the Hogwarts keys, and I keep an eye on the forest," Hagrid added, not waiting for an answer to the question.

"Yes, Ravenclaw and I," Davis said.

"You sit down," said Hagrid, leading us to the table.

We sat on huge stools, waiting for Hagrid to work on the kettle over the fire.

"Your father sent me a present and asked me to help with a small request," Hagrid began to explain the nature of his invitation. "I don't usually do anything like that. If you were from Slytherin, I'd say no. But on Ravenclaw like normal guys, only smart too, here is. So I thought I'd find out what your request is first." And your friend, in general, looks like a guy from Gryffindor, " Rubeus added.

"A friend and I are working on a greenhouse project," Davis explained. For construction, we need materials, primarily wood.

"A greenhouse?" Hagrid asked. Is such a thing as a from Pomona?

"Yes, about that, but ours will be a little different," Davis said.

— I don't understand why they're needed." Everything you need can be found in the forest and you do not need to pick at the ground and build all this nonsense.

"We need the greenhouse more for our studies," Davis explained, " and we'll learn a lot as we build it.

— Do the professors know about this project of yours? Hagrid asked, " Because if Headmaster Dumbledore is against it, I can't help it."

"Professor Flitwick knows," Davis said. — He promised to make arrangements with other professors to help us. As for the director, why would he mind? Every year, two or three students complete similar projects, which is considered useful for learning and for the school.

"All right, then," said Hagrid. — How many trees do you need?"

"Two big trees will do," Davis said.

"Two?" Hagrid asked. — Won't it be enough?"

"We'll use magic," Roger explained, " and one tree will probably be enough, with a second one in reserve."

"All right, you'll have a tree," the half-giant promised.

"Wait, Hagrid," I said, " you could chop a tree into small chunks. We're small, and we can't move a big tree. Since we will use magic, the size of the logs is not important for us, the main thing is the total number.

"That'll do," said the forester, " I'll make you some wood." But you're still going to carry them.

— You're right about that, Hagrid, "I agreed," but we'll ask our dean for a bag with extra space and weight relief, and we'll move everything in a couple of weeks.

"Ah, well, that's all right," the forester agreed. — The father, say Hello for me, î said Hagrid, turning to Davis. — I don't know him very well myself, but I think he's a good man, only very clever.

It was even easier to negotiate with the forester than I thought. A gift from Roger's father played its part in endearing the woodsman to us. There was nothing left: start and finish.

For the first two months, the dean kept an eye on us, monitoring our academic performance and discipline. Davis and I behaved roughly both academically and behaviorally.

On Halloween, Flitwick gave us the news that the project had been approved. Pomona Sprout fully supported our initiative and promised to help. Minerva McGonagall, citing a lot of work, refused to help the first-year students, but promised to offer to go to her for additional classes from the second year, if the project is successfully completed. Snape also refused to help, but promised to let Davies and me into the potion shop beyond the required program, at a certain time, without even harnessing us to clean the cauldrons. Septima Vector and Bedside Babbling promised to help with checking the calculations and faithfulness of runes, if our Dean will be too busy.

Before the beginning of December, Flitwick wanted to see the preliminary projects from us, after which he himself will select the best of the two projects for further implementation. He divided the design process into several sections.

The first section: the frame and structure of the greenhouse. At this stage, it was necessary to calculate the best shape for the greenhouse, determine the size and location.

I did not try to be clever, choosing for my greenhouse an arched structure standing on pillars. Where it was possible to apply the technology of building Muggles. Both the pillars and arches were hollow with many elements inside forming triangles. The rule is simple: the more triangles, the stronger the structure. The only thing is to make the columns themselves hollow, you can only strengthen the corners by sewing them.

I must say that Flitwick rejected both Davis's design and mine. My design was considered excessively strong and heavy, and Davis's project was too flimsy. After combining our two projects, he drew something in between our solutions in ten minutes, telling us to finalize the details and arrange everything beautifully.

The next step was to enchant and determine the inner magic of the greenhouse.

Davies again went the easy way, with the standard enchantments of strengthening and expanding space with a minimum of rune use. His greenhouse turned out to have two departments for different climatic zones and with manual care of plants.

My version was again redundant. There were four divisions according to climatic zones, watering, lowering or increasing the temperature, and airing took place at the operator's command. There were many runes for strength and expansion of space. Lamps also needed to be enchanted separately and fasten their own control loop with a timer to them.

Our dean greatly reduced the number of runes for strength and expansion of space, considering such a pile too difficult and even dangerous. He decided to partially increase the strength by preparing a special solution for wood processing. This solution is better to sit down charms, durability increases significantly. Instead of extra runes and charms to expand the space, he added runes for general lighting, which were supposed to accumulate natural light and give at the command of the operator in the dark. At the same time, the lighting system was integrated into the overall design. But additional lamps were still considered necessary, and were still added in small quantities.

During this time, more than a dozen specialized books were read, which the dean supplied us with. And it was Davis who studied in contrast to me. Sometimes it was enough for me to start reading and the memories themselves appeared in my head sometimes I dreamed about the right topic.

"Oh, Blair, I'm already sorry I got involved in all this with you," Davis complained to me, " right now I'd be quietly reading interesting literature and doing simple essay writing tasks.

— What's the problem?" — I was surprised. — No one has released us from the essay. The dean constantly supplies us with interesting literature. Why do you suddenly feel left out? Take a walk around Hogwarts at night. You'll get a job with Snape or Filch, and life will sparkle with fresh colors.

"Haha, very funny," Davis said sarcastically. — I'm just tired of this constant study.

"I don't see any problems," I said, " rest for a couple of days if you're tired."

— What about you?" My friend asked me uncertainly.

"If you come up with some interesting entertainment, then I'll also be a little distracted," agreed to rest.

- Can we play chess? Roger suggested.

I looked at him as a doctor might look at a terminally ill man.

"I have a better suggestion," I said. "Come on!"