ch 45 Building a Reputation

September 3, 1991 Tuesday, Transfiguration Class 9:20 am.

"Well done, Mr. Witcherly. 10 pts for Hufflepuff!" Professor McGonagall gave me 10 pts for being the first one to turn a match into a needle.

I didn't find the task difficult. I was taught by Nicholas Flamel the basics of transfiguration, transmutation and alchemy. If I messed this up, Nick would probably laugh at me. 

Done with my task, I helped my friends. Ernie and Susan can actually turn their match into metal. They're just missing the hole and the pointy tip of the needle.

The rest of my group need more practice. They're having problems visualizing the match morphing into a needle. Kevin even accidentally lit his match.

Before the class ends, Daphne was able to transform her match into a needle, earning Slytherin 5 pts. She gave me a look, but I couldn't make out what she was thinking with her facial paralysis. I could ask Siri, but I'm too lazy to care.

There was still tension between our groups and seeing each other so soon in our first class this morning didn't help. I just didn't pay them any attention.

Regardless, I'm still hopeful that I can have friends within the snakes.

Good thing no repeat of yesterday's incident happened. And we were able to go down toward the dungeon for our first Potion class with the Ravenclaws.

I allowed my pets to go to the roof during Potion class. At least up there, no one will bother them. And I'm not hopeful that Snape will be friendly towards them. I remember reading that he used Neville's toad as a potion tester in the book.

The Ravenclaws were already seated on the right side of the class. Looking at the work table and stool arrangement, only two students are supposed to share a table. I share a table with Adeline.

10:45 am. Snape barges in the room and starts speaking, "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through the human veins, bewitching the minds, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even stopper death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

He kept looking at our eyes and, at one point, I heard the sound of windchimes. He paused while looking at me, but he didn't force his way to read further into my mind.

He then began asking questions and calling out students. Especially the ones who obviously avoiding eye contact with him. He particularly targeted us badgers, namely the meek Kevin and shy Naomi.

Good thing he stops or else I'll probably lose it and multiply his weight. 

The rest of the class, we practice how to set up our cauldron, a few basic safety rules and what we must do in case of fire or an explosion. He kept giving snarky remarks that if we ever make a mistake, even with his reminders, then we are either stupid or ignorant.

I'm not really sure how to judge Snape's character. There was a big difference between the movie and the book regarding this guy, so I'll just see how he interacts with students first, especially mine and Harry's group, before making a judgment.

Before ending the class, he didn't forget to give us homework regarding the changes that happen when brewing a cure for boils.

We quickly ran out of the dungeon and toward the greenhouse where we met the Gryffindor first years.

-11:35 am- 

When Ron saw me, he immediately asked, "Marshall, do you have any food, mate?"

"Oh? Yeah, wait a sec...." I was actually getting hungry as well, so I took out a tupperware from my pouch. I opened it and there were more than 2 dozen doughnuts inside. I offer them to the lions and my fellow badgers, which they happily accepted.

Justin asked while grabbing a doughnut, "Where did you get the doughnut, Marshall?"

Ron was the one who answered, "This guy always has food and drinks. Did you guys see the suitcase he has?"

"The one with the expansion space?" Wayne said.

Ron swallowed and nodded, "That suitcase contains lots and lots of food."

Harry laughed and added, "Yeah, I even saw him buying a truck load of rice when I stayed at his house last summer."

Ernie raised an eyebrow hearing that. He asked Harry, "You stayed in his house for the summer?"

Harry didn't mind Ernie's tone and just said, "Things happened where I was staying before and Marshall here offer me a place to stay before Hogwarts. That's how I was able to meet Ron here and his family."

There was an awkward silence after that. Good thing Ron was slow and asked if I had a can of Coke. I reached in my pouch and grabbed one, not forgetting to freeze it before it was in view of the others.

"Ah! You have Coke!? Can I have one please?!" The shy Naomi instantly became lively. I chuckled and gave everyone a can of coke. Hermoine however, asked if I had a bottle of water which I actually had.

The greenhouse door opened, and Professor Sprout was surprised to see us eating and drinking. We became silent and froze.

I just took a gamble and walked up to the professor , smiled and offered her a doughnut, "Professor, would you like a doughnut?"

She looked at the doughnuts and smiled, "Oh my, great timing Mr. Witcherly! I always have a hard time doing class around noon because of hunger." She picked a doughnut and started munching.

"Quickly finish your food, kids. We have a few plants to discuss today." She motions us to hurry up inside.

We quickly finished our food and I collected the trash. We quickly followed our professor in the greenhouse. I was surprised to see her pouring a cup of tea to water down the doughnut.

Our lesson revolves around harvesting nettles, Punguos Onion and ginger. I realize that this lesson is related to Snape's assignment, as the three plants are ingredients for cure for boils.

I was able to snag 5 pts for our house for citing the uses of ginger. The class laugh when they realize that most of my answers were uses of ginger in different cuisines.

Herbology ended at 1:00 pm. Professor Sprout went with us to the Great Hall for lunch. Almost all the students and faculty were already eating lunch when we arrived.

We only had an hour for lunch, so we quickly ate our meal.

Before the food disappeared, I was able to set aside food for Naji and the other two.

Our next class is Astronomy at 3:00 in the afternoon. I left the group to feed my pets and just take a rest on the viaduct bridge.

-Viaduct bridge-

"Did you guys have fun on the roof?" I asked my pets as they munched on their lunch. I'm actually allowing them to travel around the castle, but they kept insisting on staying close to me.

🔔"Ting!Ting!Ting!"🔔 Tania said that the view up there was spectacular but can't compare to my Beast Space.

I nodded. I do check up on Grace and the others from time to time. I'm not sure why, but they like staying in the Beast Space more than outside. I think it is related to their connection to it when they awaken their bloodlines.

My elf, Jolly actually stays there and manages the fisheries, vegetable farms and orchards we created around the different areas. He also cooks me my snacks, like the doughnuts earlier.

My elf still looks like a house elf, but I can see he's more healthy looking and, like his name, more jolly.

I sensed someone approaching in my direction and saw  a dust-colored cat with yellow eyes. I immediately recognized her as Mrs. Norris, Filch's Cat.

"Hello Mrs. Norris. I'm just feeding my pets." I politely talked to the cat. 

While looking at her, I ask Siri what is magical about her. I'm not surprised to know that she's half kneazles and is in a life bond with Filch.

A few moments later, I hear heavy steps and sounds of clanking keys. Filch appears behind Mrs. Norris gave a menacing look. He saw my pets and said in a grouchy voice, "Keep an eye on your pets, boy!"

I smiled. I expect nothing less from him. I politely replied, "Of course Sir! They're my babies." He snorted a laugh when he heard my words.

He was about to turn around and leave when I said, "Wait! I have something here...." I rummage through my pouch and pulled out a multi-level cat tree and some pots of catnips.

Immediately, Mrs. Norris lunged  at the catnips. Filch was surprised and said, "What's all this, kid?"

"Oh, some people  gifted me a cat once, but my Nana was allergic. I was able to find a home for the cat but the stuff they gave me was too much and ended up in my storage unused. If you like, you can have them." I didn't lie. That has actually happened twice in the past.

Filch was speechless and just nodded. He dragged the cat tree and the pots. Mrs. Norris followed behind with her tail swaying up in the air.

I'm glad I was able to get rid of that cat tree. It was taking up space in my pouch. More room for snacks!

2:45 pm, I made my way to the Astronomy room. This is where we will be having our lessons. The practical application where we look up to the night sky with our telescope is scheduled on Wednesday evening and is done at the highest level of the Astronomy Tower. However, I heard from older students that it can change depending on the weather and the heavenly body available for viewing.

I enter the Astronomy room and saw charts draping the walls and gleaming spheres of spun glass orbiting one another in midair and planetary models and armillary spheres filled the room.

I see that only a few of the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors are in the room. I asked Susan, "Where are the others?"

She said, "We went to the library after lunch. I'm not sure where Ernie and the rest spent their free time."

I tried to sense where they were and found myself looking up. I realize what had happened and quickly exited the room and climbed the tower and found Harry, Ron, Justin and the rest of the class up on the highest part of the tower. I called them down and clarified the situation.

I was able to complete both Hufflepuff and Gryffindors in time for class.  

"Oh, good you are all here. Some stupid kid always goes up to the top of the tower when the instructions say Astronomy room." said Professor Sinistra.

"Remember! My Tower, my rules. Rule number one: No sleeping during class!....." she began to lay down the rules during class, especially the ones held at night. She said that after her class we should DIRECTLY make our way to our common rooms. 

If Filch catches us wandering around, we can't say that we just came from her class. I thought, 'That's tough for us. We have to travel all the way down to the kitchen area.'

She uses the planetary model in the room to explain how the earth moves and the rest of the planets revolve around the sun. She reminded us to memorize the constellations and stars. She appeared to be fond of the moon as she kept mentioning it occasionally.

She ended the lesson with a reminder of our first midnight lesson tomorrow night with the rest of the first years. She also said to bring our telescope and anything that helps us stay awake in her class.

"I'm going to the library guys. See you later." I know most of them already went there earlier.

I passed through the Transfiguration courtyard and found the large library. I saw a witch in an all-black robe with feathers on her hat. I recognize her as the librarian, Madam Pinch.

She gave me a stern look as I enter the library. There was a strong smell of old paper and parchment in the air. I browsed the sections related to plants and potions for my assignment. 

With the books, I sat near the window for better lighting and started reading. It was not really hard to predict the changes that happen to the ingredients during potion making. I even have my own notes for my brew of cure for boils. I just want to cross-check what I learned from Penny and Nick against the textbook here at Hogwarts.

I started writing a draft of my assignment with normal paper and a pencil. I still find quills frustrating. I'll use the self-writing quill for when I write on parchments later.

-change POV to Daphne Greengrass-

"Are you still angry about Transfiguration class?" Tracy asked me while tugging my arm.

I sighed and gave a nod. I can't get over coming second to that obnoxious red head. 

I remember seeing that Witcherly back on the train accompanied by a group of red heads. At first, I thought he was one of the infamous Weasleys.

I quickly realize he was not related to them seeing his expensive clothes and a suitcase that I recognized had expansion space from a known artisan in Germany.

He is a bit eccentric by making a scene on the train and feeding the giant squid in the lake. 

I silently mocked him when he was sorted as a meek badger by the hat. Being a badger gave me an impression that he is not smart and won't stand out in school.

I was proven wrong the very next day when the guy appeared with three magical creatures: a large owl, a unique fairy and a floating toad! He immediately became the talk of the school.

When Witcherly said hello to me and Tracy, I thought, 'Ugh! He's sucking up to my Greengrass family.'. But he just looked at my hair and laugh at himself when he learn his 'beast boy' nickname.

He embarrassed himself when his pets hover around the tabby cat in class who we later found out is actually our Professor's animagus form.

He got mad at Theodore Nott when my fellow Slytherin tried to swat his fairy. He didn't do or say anything. He just glared at Nott but the next thing we knew, Nott couldn't move his feet.

We were pressed for time for the next class, so we left Nott behind. During Charms class, Nott came late, losing 10 pts for our house.

Even if we don't have proof, we all agree that Witcherly did something to Nott.

And then there was the Transfiguration class earlier. He instantly transformed the match into a needle on his first try. I really underestimated that red head. That is why I'm going to do some advanced reading in the library for our Charms class tomorrow.

Tracy stops walking and points at a table near the window and whispers, "Look Daph', it's Marshall! Let's say hi!" He dragged me instantly, not waiting for my opinion.

"Hi beast boy! Where are your pets? I hope your fairy is OK..." Tracy greeted the guy without any reservation.

The red head looked at us, smiled and pointed at the window and said, "Thanks for asking. She's fine, just startled. They're by the window."

Tracy and I look up to see the silhouette of the owl, fairy and toad on the other side of the window. They really stick close to Witcherly.

I got curious and asked, "Didn't anyone reprimand you for bringing 3 pets?"

Witcherly looked at me and nonchalantly said, "The headmaster gave me permission to bring them before the school started. I also have a license to keep them, so it's all good."

I'm puzzled and thoughts run through my mind, 'Dumbledore bent the rule for this guy? Even the Sacred 28 families can't ask a favor from that man! What is Witcherly's background?'

I made up my mind to later send an owl to my father to gather information about this guy.

~end chapter ~

Happy New Year Guys.