Chapter 8: The First Day Part 2

Thousands, no, tens of thousands of books, tomes and grimoires filled the shelves. I knew that Hogwarts boasted the largest collection of books in Britain, but seeing and believing are two different things. After eleven years of self study, scrounging for any knowledge I could, seeing so much in one place almost brought a tear to my eye. It held an uncountable number of subjects, an unfathomable amount of knowledge built up over the centuries. With all that knowledge at my fingertips, with my perfect memory, I could become the greatest mage the world had ever seen. Greater than Dumbledore, Voldemort, Grindelwald or even Merlin. Orion Wright would be the next name to go down into history.

That is, of course, if I could read them all before the end of my education. Even if I had endless freetime, seven years was hardly enough time to read tens of thousands of books, some thicker than I was. That's not to mention the restricted section which I haven't even seen. My visions of grandeur would have to wait. For now, I have to get to reading. Asking the librarian, Madam Pince, where the books for first years were gave no help. Apparently wizards didn't have the foresight to organize their books by year. That, or there were simply so many it was an insurmountable task.

To start with, I walked towards the Charms section. The books were at least organized by subject, or else students would spend more time locating their book rather than actually doing their homework. As Charms was my first class of the day I decided to freshen up my knowledge. I was already at a second year level at least, but it's good to stay on your toes. I quickly found a book that seemed to be geared towards second years. It was titled "A Slightly Less Elementary Introduction to Charms" By Bobbin Boppit.

After reading the first few pages, it really did seem to be for second years. There were plenty of topics covered in this book that weren't covered in the first year, such as Poppies Principle for Energy Conservation and Edwin's Enigma. Contrary to popular belief, magic wasn't all simply waving your wand and saying magic words. Even though they helped greatly, the magic still fell onto the wizard to cast it. Wizards had to be able to move their magic in a certain way, visualize their outcome, impose their will onto their magic and the world, and take into account many rules and laws of magic. If any one of these things were incorrect, best case scenario your spell would fail, worst case you accidently create an improved version of Fiendfyre.

Alright, it wasn't that bad. To have such a disastrous result you would have to have the power, knowledge and visualization down. No one 'accidentally' messes up a spell that much because, if even one of the aforementioned boxes aren't ticked, the spell will simply fail to cast. If you do end up ticking all the boxes but change one somehow, that's when you end up casting the wrong spell. Luckily, it was much easier to simply mess up a spell rather than produce the wrong one.

As I was nearing the middle of the book, the bell rang for first period to end. I quickly checked out the book and set off. Realizing I didn't know where exactly the Charms classroom was held, I had to ask an upperclassmen on the way. As soon as I entered the classroom the bell rang, letting me know I was just in time. The room itself was well lit from a multitude of windows, with various knick knacks decorating the walls. There were tables and desks in a semi-circle layout, with most of them filled. Golden pillars of light illuminated the light layer of dust that suffused the room, and the smell of books was rampant. The walls were filled with enough trophies and books to fill a museum. I quickly sought out my friends. It seemed that Tony had saved a seat for me, with a certain famous person to my left.

Harry Potter was an interesting person to say the least. Skinny, short, and the furthest from confident one could get. He was softly talking with Ron with a soft smile on his face, but no energy. His large glasses were topped by a faint lightning scar, partially covered by his semi-long hair. Every now and then his hand would wander towards his wand on the desk, as if to assure himself that it was real. Harry Potter certainly wasn't anything like the wizarding world imagined. Beaten, broken and loaded with so much pressure it was burying him. He was just a small kid wrapped up in a world bigger than he was ready for.

After seeing him here, next to me, it shook my plans for the future. My original plan was to let the golden trio form and not interact with him at all, at least unless the troll proved more difficult than in the books. If Ron and Harry didn't defeat the troll there was a chance that the group would never form, but it wasn't worth their deaths. Not only was there the butterfly effect to look out for, but this world was more realistic than that of the books. That means no plot armor, holes or deus ex machinas. If these kids went up against a fully grown troll with nothing but a levitation spell in their arsenal, chances were they would die. It was easy to take that risk when he was just words on a page, but Harry Potter was a kid. A real, flesh and blood person with his own thoughts and free will.

On the other hand, Harry turned out to be a good man and a semi-powerful wizard by following his predestined path. If he survived his tribulations, he would become stronger for it. Whether the prophecy is true or not, Voldemort would come after him, and he would have to be ready. I could train him, or get Dumbledore to do it somehow, but training and practical experience are two different things. What if, by not facing his hurdles as he did in the story, he becomes weaker for it and dooms the whole wizarding world?

Well, in that case, I guess I'd have to step up. With a sigh, I realized I couldn't very well send them to their possible deaths. If that means messing up the golden trio, so be it. Plus, as any self respecting fan would see, Ron held Harry back. Who knows what he could achieve if he put his mind towards it. I fully believed Harry Potter was a hidden genius. With how easily he mastered the Patronus, a spell reserved for post-Hogwarts level wizards, it was amazing he didn't do better. I was excited to see what he could accomplish with the proper motivation.

As I came to that conclusion, Flitwick cleared his throat, breaking me out of my reverie. He was standing on a large stack of books so high it was a wonder he didn't fall over. It seemed the lesson was about to begin. The class quieted down and Flitwick began to speak.

"Hello there, little Eagles and Griffs. Welcome to Hogwarts! My name is Filius Flitwick, but you may address me as Professor Flitwick. I will be your Charms teacher for the next seven years. I have my OWL, NEWT, and Mastery in Charms, and I am a two time Dueling world champion. Charms are one of the most versatile and used forms of magic in the world. Any wandwork that casts a spell without changing an object or permanently affecting it falls under the subject of Charms, such as Hexes, Charms, and Jinxes. When someone thinks of magic, they generally think of Charms, and for good reason. Whether you become an Auror, Curse Breaker, Ministry Official or housewife, charms will take up most of your day."

"This of course means it is one of the most important subjects you can take here at Hogwarts. I have been told I am a nice teacher, but I don't accept slacking or goofing off. While Charms may not be as dangerous as Potions generally, messing up a spell can still have nasty consequences. I expect each and every one of you to try your hardest in this class and become the best wizards you can be." He squeaked.

Every student in the class was staring at Flitwick with admiration. Especially after hearing he was a Dueling Champion which was many kids dream, the children knew to pay attention. After his speech, he began to go over the first few pages in the book. As the kids began to take notes I let my mind wander. The class was interesting and Flitwick a good teacher, but since this was the first day he was pretty much reading verbatim from the book. As the lesson progressed and I started getting bored, I cracked open my book.

Suddenly, Flitwick stopped his lesson and spoke up.

"Ahem, Mister Wright. Are you listening?"

Embarrassed, my cheeks deepened to a low shade of red. No matter how bored I was, it wasn't an excuse to disrespect Flitwick like that. Not only was he my head of house, he was one of the best and most powerful teachers in the whole school. With nothing else to do I tried to fake my way out of it.

"Yes, Professor. I was simply looking a bit ahead in the curriculum."

"That's quite far ahead indeed my boy, I recognise that book as one for a second year. If you truly understand the subject as well as you say you wouldn't mind answering a few questions, would you?"

Once Flitwick mentioned the book was one for second years, many students looked over shocked. Most looked slightly spiteful and disbelieving. To be fair, most students simply wouldn't be able to move onto the next year's material by the first day in class. When I realized Flitwicks goal was to make an example out of me to prevent further distractions in class, I should have played along and messed up his questions. Sadly for him, I wasn't that type of person.

"No sir I would not." I replied confidently, sitting up straight.

"Alright then. Hmm… What happens when you use the sol prefix with a half crescent left facing wand movement?"

"A Sunshine Spell, so long as you follow the 'sol' with 'clara' to complete the incantation. If you don't, it'll produce a small amount of yellow light at best." I answered with no hesitation. A good memory and a deep love for magic truly has its advantages.

"That's right, five points to Ravenclaw." The excited professor said. Instead of putting me down like Snape would have, Flitwick seemed excited at how far ahead I was.

"Now, what would happen if you incorrectly pronounce the tickling charm by elongating the pronunciation of the 'u'?"

"Nothing," I responded, "The spell simply wouldn't be cast unless you had mastered it to the point of not needing the incantation."

"Excellent, just excellent. I can tell you are truly interested in Charms!" He squeaked excitedly. "Alright, one more thing. This time it'll be beyond the first year curriculum so don't worry if you get it wrong. What happens when you cast a Statue Charm and a Levitation Charm at the same time, on the same object?" He asked.

I thought for a second. This was truly beyond what I had studied. I hadn't learned the Statue Charm yet as it wasn't in the standard books so I had no idea how the different spells would react. All I knew about it was that it made the object or person impossible to move. The object couldn't be changed, nor moved from its location. The only downside was that a simple Finite Incantatem was enough to unravel the spell, making it unusable in the real world outside of simple parlor tricks.

"I haven't studied the Statue Charm yet, but I would hazard a guess that they would cancel out." I said. I truly didn't know this one. No matter how in tune with my magic I was or how powerful I was, I was still lacking in knowledge.

"Aha, and that, dear students, is why books can only take you so far. Excellent deduction by Orion here, so take ten points to Ravenclaw. Sadly, you aren't exactly right. Levitation doesn't interact with the spell placed on the object, it conjures a field of force under the object to move it. That way the Statue Charm can't interfere with the Levitation Charm nor stop it."

"Either way, let's give a round of applause to Mr. Wright here." He waited for the claps to stop before continuing. "And Mister Wright, I'd like to see you after class."