Chapter 10. Start

My appearance in our rented classroom caused quite a stir.

— Kyle, you're back! — I was greeted by a joyful Seamus.

"We were worried about you," Hermione said in her usual manner.

Freshmen came up to me, shook hands and clapped me on the shoulder. It was awkward and at the same time very pleasant to realize that I had people who were not indifferent to my fate.

— Yes, I thought you were finished! He beat you up like that... Oh, I'm sorry," Ron was embarrassed by his own words.

"Haha, Ron, you're right. He gave me a good beating. Well, what happened in my absence? How many points did you have to spend on breakfast for me? And how did Lupin behave in today's classes?

The children began vying to share news and impressions, shouting over each other.

— Hey, hey, let's take it in order, not all at once.

— I spent a tenner for food in your room. We thought you'd need to eat well to recover, so we agreed with Madam Pomfrey," Seamus boasted.

—We tried to stop the professor when he bumped into you," said Harry, "I don't know what got into him, but we had to pull you away from Lupin, otherwise he would have beaten you to death." You should have seen his condition... He didn't react to anything, even I got hit once when I got too close.

— Yes, the dark arts now look almost scarier than other lessons, — Dean shared, — for the rest of us, at least they punish us for the case, well, except for a couple of exceptions... And then the professor just snapped and almost sent you to the next world for nothing.

"And Lupin wasn't in today's double classes," Ron answered one of my questions, "and do you have any idea who was replacing him?" Professor Wess! A senior lecturer in necromancy and ritualism!

I saw this dark-haired woman who loved bright flashy clothes, thereby standing out from the rest of the teachers. She was beautiful, and she was also very dangerous. It was worth looking at at least her facial expression, and it immediately became clear that this was a dangerous, domineering sorceress, with whom jokes could be bad up to a fatal outcome.

— Come on! — I looked at the faces of the freshmen with interest, which confirmed what Ron had said, — and how did it go? Has anyone been hurt?

—No,— Hermione took the floor now, "the teacher seemed very knowledgeable and friendly to me. She told the material in an informative way, and shared examples from her experience. For example, did you know that two or three zombies appear in London every week, which are hunted down by wizards!? It's amazing! And after all, no one has heard anything about it from Muggles!

— Yes, she's just gorgeous, — Seamus smiled, uncivilely interrupting the monologue of impressions named Hermione Granger, — she came in her purple dress, all so confident. We were afraid of her at first, but the lessons were really cool. Professor Wess said that during Lupine's absences she would replace him, but this would be infrequent, once every two or three months. It is unclear only for what reason he is absent, and whether this is related to that breakdown.

"I have a theory," I replied, and the freshmen listened. I often shared my thoughts about various events in the castle, and quite often I turned out to be completely, or at least partially, right — it is possible that our teacher of the dark arts is a werewolf.

The freshmen's eyes widened.

"A werewolf?" I've heard of them, but I didn't think they could be at Hogwarts. They're cursed! Hermione exclaimed excitedly, "and the day before yesterday there was just a full moon... And his rage in class would explain it...

"That's right, so you, Hermione," he turned to the girl, "look in the library for everything you can about werewolves. Any details will be useful to us.

—I'll do it,— she nodded.

Within half an hour, I was pulling up the material I had passed in my absence, with which other Gryffindors helped me. The recipe for the potion passed without me, notes on the history of magic and the dark arts, the charms of "Alohomora"... There were a lot of lessons, but I was not well-sewn, so I joined the learning process at a rapid pace without serious problems.

Life at Hogwarts continued.

October 31st

— Wingardium of Levios. Vigardium of Levios!

Ron puffed, waved his wand, and even blushed from his own exertion.

"You're pronouncing the spell wrong, so you can't do it. It is correct to speak with the emphasis of Levios, not Levios. Kyle! What did I say that was so funny? Do you think I'm wrong!? Hermione frowned, crossed her arms over her chest and began to look at me with offended eyes.

—No, no, Hermione, you're right," I exhaled, finishing laughing, "it's just that your speech reminded me of something, so I couldn't help myself. I'm sorry.

It was quite funny to see such recognizable Easter eggs. And even though a lot of things were different here, but such phrases reminded me over and over again that the children here are the same ones about whom I know so much. They were just in different circumstances.

— That's it, I'm ready, Kyle, — Harry meanwhile got up from the dusty floor, dusted himself off and stood up in a stand, — now it's my turn.

—Go ahead," I replied to the boy, after which I leaned forward and put my feet in the most stable position next to the wall of the office.

— Depulso! — the wand sparkled with white energy, but no ray followed it.

— Come on again, try to make the swing sharper and faster.

— Depulso! Harry repeated, and the spell whistled past my shoulder.

— Fine, but I need to make sure that the wand looks exactly at me.

Harry was delighted with the resulting enchantment, but then he concentrated and conjured again:

— Depulso!

Now the white beam hit me right in the chest. Due to my stable position, my body resisted the power of the spell, but the repulsive ability was much stronger than an eleven-year-old body. My legs slid back, and I leaned against the wall, after which the pressing force disappeared.

In general, this kind of repulsion spell practice was safe. You just had to put your feet in the right position and tilt your body, and also be ready to strain your neck muscles so as not to hit your head on the masonry behind. It was problematic to use the spell in another way: desks and chairs were repelled more strongly due to the smaller mass, and broke quite often.

We haven't studied the spell for restoring broken items yet.

— Great, Harry! — I praised the boy, - now I'm not the only one who can use this spell. Well," I said to the classmates who were going about their business, "who else wants to learn it?

— Kyle, it's too complicated for us, — Dean said with a sour expression, — Professor Flitwick said that this spell is not passed in the first year, he just gave recommendations for self-study.

—That's right," I held up my finger, "and when a teacher, especially Flitwick, recommends something, you need to listen to his words. What if we have to push something away from ourselves in the next lesson? And besides, these are the first normal protective charms that have been shown to us. If you meet danger in front of you, and what, will you defend yourself with a Snotty Curse?

— Yes, from whom should we defend ourselves? — Ron joined in the dialogue, — not from the teachers. And so, I'd rather learn Levio-o-osu normally," the boy mimicked Hermione.

— If there have not been such cases yet, this does not mean that you do not need to be prepared for them, — I said gloomily, — if you do not want to, do not teach. Seamus, how are you? Will you try it?

— Come on, I've already done the transfiguration anyway, — he got up from his desk, stretched and stood next to Harry.

I understood why not all freshmen were eager to learn complex charms. The workload at school was already serious, and we had not yet experienced the need for self-defense.

However, today was the thirty-first of October. Halloween. And it was unclear whether that troll would take over the feast, whether there would be something else, given the constancy of all sorts of events during this holiday in the canon, or whether nothing dangerous would happen. And even if "Depulso" was not some kind of weighty argument for possible problems, I decided to cling to Flitwick's advice and learned the charms with all diligence. Just in case.

I got them, albeit with difficulty, yesterday, and today Harry was able to master them.

As always, we were studying in an abandoned classroom after school. Seamus was practicing a repulsion spell, Ron and several other students were fixing levitation spells, someone was taking notes or reading a given material. The first hour after class was spent on a full rest with the usual children's chatter, so now everyone was busy, as soon we had to go to a festive dinner.

There was a knock on the door of our office, which caused the children to be distracted from their studies.

 I said rather loudly.

—Guys, it's us,— a girly voice answered from outside the door.

I raised my eyes to the ceiling, expressing all the universal sadness:

— Who are we, why don't we use a conditional knock?

—Oh, Kyle, we forgot," I recognized Lavender Brown's squeaky intonation in her voice.

"Knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock. Knock."

— That's better, — I took a key out of the breast pocket of my shirt and opened the door with it, — and in the future, do not forget to use it, please.

It might seem silly to many - well, who would need us in an abandoned classroom that we rent ourselves? But in this way I brought up responsibility and caution in children. Although, I was no longer sure that my technique was working. But it was still a cool idea of a common secret for eleven-year-olds.

The key existed in a single copy and, since I had invested the most points in the office and was the unspoken leader of the freshman cubs, I kept it on a permanent basis.

"Did you patch up at Madam Pomfrey's?" I asked Lavender and Parvati, who came in, examining their appearance, "and what the hell happened there?"

— Oh, we didn't understand what happened ourselves, — Lavender crackled in her manner, — our toothy geranium just went berserk! I didn't think that this stupid plant could be so frisky and biting...

— Well, yes, well, yes, — I grinned, — anyway, they twisted their girly noses from digging in the ground, and the professor noticed. Or somehow they managed to annoy the plant itself - maybe the Sprout is right that they are reasonable and understand a lot.

The girls blushed, thus confirming one of my theories.

— Have you checked the tags?

— Yes, it's the same - I have two, Parvati has one, — Lavender reported.

— I see... I wonder which of us will collect them first," I voiced the rhetorical question out loud.

— Yes, it will be Neville, I bet, — said Ron peremptorily, — he already has three of them, and this is not the limit.

Neville, when talking about him, became embarrassed and shifted in his chair, but said nothing.

Lavender and Parvati joined us, after which the tasks with the practice of spells continued. Seamus was able to memorize the correct swing and pronunciation in an hour, and even hit them right on target a couple of times, that is, at me.

And the purpose of the spell was absolutely necessary. For example, none of us managed to apply directional charms to an ordinary wall. It just didn't work out and that's it! The students, including me, could not count a large stone barrier as an object for those charms that could not do anything with it. But at the same time, even if the wand was pointed to the side, the spell worked when we let them into an object or another person.

It was important to think and really plan to use them for the ultimate goal, otherwise it wouldn't work. The spell could only miss by chance or the wizard's poor accuracy, and only then did it have a chance to hit the wall.

I don't think that's how magic works-rather, our brain must concentrate on some understandable starting point for the spell to succeed. Some kind of mental paradox turned out, which is why we had to train "Depulso" on each other.

—Dean, look at how much time it is," I said, out of breath from constantly focusing on the spell and constantly waving my wand.

As it turned out, time-telling charms simply did not exist. Wizards have not yet invented a spell that would show the correct result. This was due, as Miss Charity explained to us once, to the difficulty of marking time zones in the spell structure.

There were some charms that showed the location of the sun even in deep dungeons, but it was impossible to find out the exact time from them. Basically, wizards used enchanted pocket watches with various magical additions, but they were also created on the basis of the most ordinary Muggle dials. And it is our happiness that Dean Thomas took one of the devices of the simpletons with him to school, because except for the ringing of the bell between classes and before lights out, the time could only be found in the living room of the faculty.

— OK, — the boy showed a similar sign and reached into his bag with textbooks, — six twenty.

— Hmm, we still have forty minutes. Let's wrap it up slowly," I told the guys, "until we get to the living room and pack our bags, until we get to the Great Hall... Moreover, McGonagall said that everyone should attend the feast without exception, so let's not keep ourselves waiting, and even more so be late.

— Do you think there will be some important announcement, since everyone is being gathered? Hermione asked me.

"I hope so,— I replied gloomily, "if today is a simple announcement, then it will be just fine."

— Well, what else can happen? Seamus asked carelessly, "it's a holiday, Hello—I-in, uh-uh," he wiggled his exposed fingers, thereby pretending to be either a ghost or an idiot.

— That's your "uh-uh" and it can happen, whatever it means. All right, let's go out, people. Finish your homework after dinner.

After closing our office, we all went together up the moving stairs to the living room.

During these two months spent at school, our team has already got into various scrapes and ladder traps several times. Fortunately, none of the students had died yet, but each time a new trick forced us to move around the floors in constant tension. And most importantly, none of the students, taking into account the senior courses, understood according to what scheme and schedule these traps appear, and how many types of them exist at all.

Otherwise, only we would get into them, and older students would behave differently on the stairs - more carefree and calm.

Once we experienced a natural earthquake, or rather a staircase earthquake. The span then suddenly began to vibrate and wobble from side to side, and it was extremely difficult to stand on your feet in such a situation. The shaking stopped after a couple of minutes, a couple of classmates vomited during this time, and Neville's bag fell down due to vibrations. That was the end of all the consequences, so we, in fact, got off lightly then.

But a week ago, a really terrible event happened. So we were moving down the stairs, in a hurry to catch lunch after another charm lesson. And then, suddenly, two ladders flew up to one platform on the third floor at the same time! We were on one, and the undergraduates of the fourth year were on the other.

And they started fighting! Flights! Between ourselves!

Two stone levitating machines began to knock and ram each other, and these mastodons were deeply indifferent to the fact that small people were unwittingly involved in their showdown. Pieces of the railing broke off, stone chips flew in all directions, whole cobblestones fell down, and the collisions of the stairs were so strong that they threw the students from side to side. Riona O'Neal couldn't resist and fell down, landing on the second floor flight and breaking both her legs. And the girl was lucky, because the height of the fall was not so high. She had to spend three whole days in the hospital wing, splicing bones, and getting her first mark as a healer.

As a result, the ladder with the seniors lost. Their entire span was covered with cracks, and a good third of the mass fell down in this battle.

The structure began to collapse, the spell of levitation weakened, and the senior students rushed to jump on the winning ladder as fast as they could, and only this saved them from falling down with a noisy pile of stones. From below, the students managed to get out of the open places, so because of such a large-scale battle of stairs, only Riona's Gryffindor was seriously injured.

Our flight, with all the pathos and brutality of the winner, slowly moored at the platform recaptured from a competitor, and we finally broke out onto a stable surface, taking a deep breath and moving away from the battle we had experienced.

After that, the expression "stairs to hell" became quite different. We used to walk on these every day, actually.

There were other "jokes" of enchanted stairs. One day, the steps, like an escalator, began to move towards the abyss, which made it necessary to climb them hurriedly for some time, while staying in one place. Right the next day after that, the steps on another flight of stairs folded up altogether, forming a smooth slope down, which for some reason became covered with oil and became terribly slippery. We had to get there exclusively with the help of railings, but we successfully coped with this - no one wanted to experience the joy of flying down.

So it was quite scary to walk up the stairs in motion, but there was simply no other way out - even using a broom was forbidden in the castle, as well as walking on the walls with the help of charms or other strays. And, to be fair, any danger on them could be survived if you didn't be stupid and trust your own instincts. That coup at the very beginning of the school year has so far been considered by us the most dangerous of all the traps encountered.

Today's trips along the spans turned out to be surprisingly calm. We never even noticed any incidents with them on other floors, although before that we had witnessed or even participated in various traps almost every day. Maybe, in honor of the holiday, they decided to give us a break?

When I got to the living room, but before I reached my bedrooms, I was suddenly called out:

— Golden, wait, wait.

I turned around in confusion, and saw our headman, Olivia Riley, who was beaten on the day of arrival. It was so strange to hear a senior talking to you that I even hung up for a while.

— A... Are you allowed to talk to us? I asked, perplexed, when the girl got close enough to me.

"Not at all, but in this case I have special 'privileges,'" she grimaced at the last word, clearly meaning something else by it.

— Em... Okay. And what do you want to tell me?

"The feast will begin in half an hour, as you know. So, for any unusual events, I repeat, for ANY, the first thing you do is look for me and head in the direction where I am. Am I making myself clear? She looked at me like I was a stupid little kid. Oh, yeah...

— And what is so unusual that should happen at the feast? — I decided to try my luck, since they were talking to me.

"If I had known.".. That's it, don't bother me with questions. Just tell me you understand me.

— I heard you and I will try to follow your recommendations, — I smiled and blinked my eyes, deciding to fool around.

— Oh, these freshmen... Olivia whispered to herself as she left the living room.

I wasn't the only one who was approached by someone from senior years. The older guys turned to one freshman, then another, and said about the same thing that Olivia told me. Something was clearly planned, but the older students either did not know what exactly, or were not going to tell us.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Seamus asked, "stick with me and everything will be okay," he mimicked his senior when we visited the bedrooms, restrooms, and went to the feast, "but what reason do I have to look for this senior in the crowd, if I see him for the first time.

— The main thing is that now we know for sure that something will happen at the feast, - I replied, addressing everyone, - be ready, and in case of anything we try to stay together. I don't trust senior courses, unlike you.

The guys all agreed with me.

— And check the availability of your wands, as well as remember at least some spells that you can use in case of danger.

"Why didn't anyone come up to me?" — Ron was indignant, — am I some kind of extreme?

— Maybe they will come in the Great Hall already? — I made a suggestion.

And so it happened, and right in front of the entrance he was caught by Percy Weasley's brother, who quoted almost word for word the phrases of other students of the Faculty of lions.

— He didn't say anything more specific, and I even put pressure on brotherly feelings! — Ron showed with his whole appearance how much he was offended by his older brother.

— So the fact that none of the brothers talked to you all these two months didn't bother you, and here you suddenly felt offended? Hermione asked, and as for me, it turned out to be too rude.

— Fuck off, huh, — he frowned and turned away from the girl, — no one asked you at all.

— Well, you quarrel with me here, — I put in my weighty word, — we have something incomprehensible going on here, and at such a moment you decided to make a split? Then discuss all your rejections, and today we are a team - remember this.

Sometimes interacting with children for a long time was surprisingly simple, and sometimes unbearably difficult.

Meanwhile, the large hall was filled with students. It was well decorated with bats flying near the enchanted ceiling, glowing faces carved from pumpkins, which today replaced magic candles, and a huge chain of interconnected cobwebs that hung from every wall and column. On the tables, there were human-shaped skulls that spun around, examining the students with their empty eye sockets and frighteningly snapping their jaws when some student was nearby.

I don't even want to think about whether it's a prop, or the remnants of wizards who didn't live to see their own graduation.

Along with the gloomy festive atmosphere, there was also something else. The upperclassmen behaved differently. They talked less, sat scared or ready for something, very focused or worried.

— Do you see how the senior courses behave? Something's coming, guys. Since they're worried, we should be," I told my classmates, who, like me, were restless.

The teachers, on the other hand, did not seem to experience anything like this. As usual, they looked at the students with curious polite glances, communicated with each other about something and behaved as casually as possible. Amazing changes, actually, considering the way they behave in class.

—Uh-huh," Dumbledore drew attention to himself when the tables were filled to capacity with students, "the Halloween feast is declared open! He waved his hands with a smile, and the tables were filled with all kinds of dishes.

The variety and sophistication of the dishes did not differ from the feast two months ago, and most importantly, almost nothing among them consisted of pumpkin! For some reason, I thought that on the eve of All Saints' Day there would be dishes exclusively from this orange fruit. It's good that I was wrong - I don't like pumpkins, they're too nasty and not a bit tasty.

— Well, finally! Ron was delighted, and grabbed a spoon, helping himself to the nearest side dishes.

— Stop! I said to the boy, which made him stare at me uncomprehendingly and even a little offended, "look at the other students.

The senior courses did not eat. That is, they picked at the dishes with their utensils, some pretended to put something on themselves, but none of them touched the food. They just looked at each other and were nervous. We were very nervous.

— Why don't you celebrate? Dumbledore asked, still smiling, sitting on his throne, "the food is very tasty," he cut himself a piece of some meat, and began to chew it with pleasure.

"The dishes are all right," Snape suddenly got up from the table and addressed the whole hall, "eat," he looked around at the students, then sat back down.

Acting cautiously, the students, one by one, began timidly to try the treats on the tables. Every moment there were more and more tasters, and soon almost all the students were eating a variety of food.

And what was that all about? Did they think the food was poisoned? Why?

—Well, whatever you want, I'll join the others, too," said an impatient Ron, and began to eat fried potatoes.

— Probably a false alarm? — I made a guess, — well, if they eat, then we can, — I shrugged my shoulders, and joined in eating dinner.

The holiday was quite calm. Even though we were on guard, we did not shy away from chatting at the table and sharing our guesses about what had happened and what was happening. Sometimes, some particularly fantasizing children were carried into such gloomy distances that even I nervously swallowed a lump in my throat.

Well, how did quiet Faye manage to assume that all the food is actually transfigured? How did this fantasy even get into her eleven-year-old head?

After her words, I imagined how the food in my stomach takes on its true form, becoming some kind of piece of wood or a pebble, and I immediately felt sick. Children can sometimes be quite creepy in their spontaneity.

Time passed. The meals were running out, the students were gorging themselves. Some kind of climax was about to happen, I could feel it all over my body.

"Dessert time is coming soon," Dumbledore informed the students, becoming serious, further fueling my paranoia. It's not good.

— Damn, everything is delicious... Maybe we should take some of the food with us? — Ron asked my opinion, — but tomorrow there will be something to eat before classes.

— Susan told me that one of the badgers at the feast decided at the beginning of the training and took a pie with him, but when he came into the living room he was no longer there, — I replied to our glutton, — so I don't see the point in this - the food will disappear anyway, like the bread that we then they took it from lunch.

"But when we have our feast for points, the food doesn't disappear,— Harry chimed in.

"Because it's ours,— Hermione said, "and the food we bought for points belongs to us, which means it's not going anywhere." Here, we are, in fact, treated by the director, well, or the school...

I was pleased to see how our conversations among ourselves increasingly became meaningful discussions, rather than useless chatter. My ego was pleasantly basking in the rays of the assumption that I was the one who influenced the guys so much, which is why they were getting smarter and maturing at a rapid pace.

"Then I'll eat more now," Ron decided for himself, voicing his verdict to the others and stuffing another chicken leg into himself.

Okay, some people grow up and get smarter. Someone has a developed immune system from such processes.

We continued to develop this topic, but the desserts still did not appear.

— Guys, where did the teachers go? Seamus asked us worriedly, after which we all stared at the empty desks for teachers.

There was unrest in the hall - we were not the only ones who noticed the absence of professors and the director.

Bam! Suddenly there was a bang on the double-leaf door of the Great Hall, which made us jump at once, since we were very close to it.

— Ahhh! What was that!? Lavender Brown shouted, terrified. Ron choked on his food and coughed at the harsh sound.

Bam! A few seconds later, the blow was repeated, two of the wooden doors became visible... Horns?

— Chopsticks at the ready! Someone shouted from the Slytherin table.

Bam! The locked door lock finally broke, after which a large head with horns poked out into the open doorway.

A huge buffalo looked around the hall with its red eyes and snorted loudly with its huge nostrils.

Your mother...