Chapter 4: A Guide to Field Guide

I sat on the Ravenclaw dormitory's plush bed, peering down at the carpet below. The sun had just risen outside, and light rays entered the room through the window, making the white of the room stand out even more. I had already unpacked everything from the suitcase and the pouch inside the drawer that had been provided to us the night before, and I am now dressed in the school robe and uniform. For the time being, it's just me waiting for McGonagall.

"Cheer up, mate," one of my roommates exclaimed abruptly. It was Marcus Belby; there was only me, him, and another student in this room, which made it quite spacious. "I'm sure you'll do well on the first day of class."

"Thanks," I said halfheartedly.

"I must admit, if I were in your position, I'm not sure if I could do it," he added gently. "I mean, learning five years' worth of schoolwork in a single year? You also have to complete your OWLs at the end of the year? That is simply suicide."

Well, so much for encouragement.

"Don't discourage him, Marcus." Eddie Carmichael, the other student in the room, spoke out. "But hey, if you ever felt troubled, I could give you some things to ease your burden."

My brow furrowed at him. "What things?"

"I'm glad you asked." His smile reminded me of a nasty salesman. He retrieved something from his drawer; it was a bottle of some sort of elixir. "This is Baruffio's Brain Elixir; it's said to boost your brain power and make it easier to learn new things; it's only fifteen knu—"

"No, thank you." I let out a sigh. I'm in a room with a bloody con artist.

"If you want, I could give you a sample—"

"I have no money." And instantly, the boy didn't say anything again. I looked out the window; the sun was clearly getting brighter. I suppose I should go to the common room to wait for the professor now.

So I got out of bed and strolled towards the dormitory entrance before taking the stairs to the common room. Unlike the previous night, the common room was now filled with more students talking to one another. I could overhear their conversation from miles away, as they weren't being too subtle about it; they were talking about me and what sort of circumstances I had that made me enter Hogwarts in fifth year.

Of course, I decided to ignore it all. Instead, I went up to the common room's library and looked through the books on the shelf. To say the least, it was intriguing. Most of them were textbooks that Flitwick had given me, and there were a lot of story books, such as The Tales of the Beedle Bard; there's even a muggle book here, named "A Confederacy of Dunces".

Quite misplaced, if you ask me.

I was still gazing around the shelves when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and noticed an Asian girl, who is a head shorter than me, looking at me.

"Can I help you?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah." When she looked at my face, she seemed surprised. "Professor McGonagall is outside waiting for you."

"Alright, thank you." I nodded and continued through the common room, down the stairs, where I could see two living armours protecting the door saluting me as I left the common room.

I could see the Deputy Headmistress, stern as ever, waiting for me near the steps to the floor below.

"Oh, there you are," she remarked as she hurriedly approached me. "Good morning. I trust you're ready for your lessons?"

"Indeed professor. I must say, however, that the bed at Hogwarts is far more comfortable than the bed at Three Broomsticks."

"Well, I'm glad you've enjoyed your stay so far." The professor smiled reservedly. "But, as this is a school, Mr. Ashworth, you are not here only to sleep and eat; you are also to learn the basics of being a wizard. Now, as for your situation, the professors in this school have decided to approach you with a more… hands-on experience."

"Hands-on experience, professor?"

"Here," she continued. She took out her wand and waved it right in front of me. Suddenly, a flash of bright light appeared just above my hands before a thick book almost as big as my head suddenly dropped into my palms. It was so heavy that I almost dropped it to the ground.

"What is this, professor?" This looks... familiar.

"It's a field guide," she answered. "Please, if you could open it."

As I opened the book, it suddenly floated from my hands, and it emitted yet another bright light that made the pages of the book flutter around erratically. Suddenly, those pages scattered around the halls and corridors of the school, separating themselves from the book.

When the book dropped again, I was only left with a couple of pages that contained a charmed map of the castle and a dynamic to-do list that contained my schedule for the term.

"It… becomes empty…" I murmured.

"That's the whole point, Mr. Ashworth." She nodded. "This is what the 'hands-on experience' is all about. For you to explore Hogwarts' grounds and halls and learn about the theoretical things here directly. For example, if you manage to find a statue of some sort, the guide will reveal to you what the history of that statue is. That way, as you went along with your normal classes, you could also catch up with your peers of the same year. Be it herbology ingredients or magical creatures, you will find all of that in that field guide."

"What about spells and potions, professor?"

"For that, you have to take extra assignments from the professors of each course," she answered. "Today, you will need to go to Charms and Defense against the dark arts. After class, make sure to ask the professors for your assignments. As for my class, transfiguration, you can come to me after your classes for today have ended; I will give you your assignments at that time."

Wow, this is quite a lot.

"Thank you." I nodded.

"Good luck, Mr. Ashworth," said McGonagall. "Remember, use the field guide as often as possible, as I will track your progress. Oh, I almost forgot. Because of your special circumstances, you are allowed to use magic in the hallways, as without it, you cannot possibly fill in those blank pages."

"Meaning, professor?" I raised my brow.

She then turned to a portrait beside her, near the stairs. "I'm sure professor Flitwick has taught you the Revelio charm?"

"Yes."

"Then use it here," she continued.

Oh, this is basically collecting those pages again... great…

I took out my wand and waved it in the air, speaking its incantation.

"Revelio."

As a wave of energy expanded around me, I could see what was hidden around the place. I could see an invisible page that was floating in front of the portrait. So I grabbed the paper, and it floated right back to the book, revealing one of the pages.

"Good, it seems Professor Flitwick has taught you well." she nodded. "You must read those pages, as hands-on experience has been relatively more effective at teaching students quickly than giving them stacks of schoolwork to do. But that doesn't mean you can use magic recklessly around the school; I've already informed the house prefects; if they believe you're using magic irresponsibly, you'll be punished just like the others, understood?"

"Understood, professor."

"With this, you should be up to speed with others in no time." she continued. " You should go to your first class, you can use the enchanted map that we've given you in that book to traverse the castle; after a few months, I'm sure you could find your way around the grounds without using the map. Now, off you go."

======

Of course, on my way to Charms class, I began searching for the pages that had been dispersed over the school, since some of them were fluttering around like birds in the halls and corridors. I could see that the students were puzzled by the sudden appearance of those pages, and some even attempted to take them, however they were clearly enchanted so that only I could touch them.

The journey to Charms' lesson was an experience. The sight of moving and talking pictures was always disconcerting to me; anytime I went by the living armour, they would salute me, and ghosts would pass through the walls on occasion, scaring off the new students who were also starting their first sessions.

When I got to class, it appeared that quite a few students had already arrived, and I was one of the latecomers due to my conversation with McGonagall. The room was packed with students, mostly Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, who were nervous because it was the first day of school.

I looked around and noticed an empty seat next to my roommate, Marcus Belby. So, I sat next to him, as I didn't really have a choice.

Professor Flitwick came down the steps of his office with a bright smile not even a minute later. Because of his small stature, he needed to step atop the stack of books so that the students would pay more attention to him.

"Welcome to year 5 of Charms class," he beams. "This will be your most difficult and significant year yet, as we have a lot to learn, not to mention the OWLs at the end of the term."

Flitwick then nodded and turned to face me. "Well, let's get to the point, shall we? For the time being, we'll merely go over and revise the charms you've studied in prior years, notably the banishing charm."

The professor then proceeded down the book stacks, past the classroom, holding his wand playfully. "Could somebody tell me what the banishing charm's incantation is?"

I noticed an Asian girl earlier raising her hand.

"Miss Chang?"

"It's "Depulso," professor."

"Excellent, five points for Ravenclaw," he remarked, waving his hand and calling a seemingly innocuous dummy to the centre of the room. "Let's get straight to practise; anyone want to volunteer to show your classmates how to do it?"

Nobody responded to him. The professor waited a few more seconds, but no one volunteered.

"No one? Really?" Flitwick let out a sigh. "Very well, why doesn't the new student here come in front of the class, Mr. Ashworth?"

Great, of course it's me...

I rose from my seat and approached the professor, who simply smiled and nodded.

"Pay attention," he said, waving his wand at the dummy. He made a precise move with his wand and spoke the incantation.

"Depulso."

A flare of blinding white light shot through the air as it collided with the dummy, knocking it back a few feet. The dummy bounces back and forth until resettling and returning to its original location.

"Do you see that? Now, why don't you try it?"

I quickly nodded at his command and pointed my wand at the dummy. I followed Flitwick's wand movement, which is to draw a slightly curved line in the air, before speaking the incantation.

"Depulso!"

Again, a flash of white, bright light launched through the air from my wand as it hit the dummy. The light scatters around as it touches the surface of it, knocking it down quite far so that it almost hits the wall.

"A swift learner as always, Mr. Ashworth." Flitwick smiled. "10 points for Ravenclaw."

The students then gave me a half-hearted applause before I returned to my seat. As he returned to his stacks of books, the professor continued to explain some revisions to the previous year's theory concerning the charm.

"Is that your first time casting that charm?" Marcus, the boy next to me, whispered quietly to me.

"I suppose so." I made a hum.

"Blimey, first time? You're quite something."

The lesson then resumed as usual, with no interruptions. It continued on for a couple of hours, and when the time was up, Flitwick dismissed the class, reminding us to bring the items we had brought to class.

I walked to Flitwick while the other students dispersed.

"Oh, I assumed this was about your assignment, correct?" he inquired excitedly as he approached his desk slowly.

"Yes, professor. Do you have something for me?"

"Follow me," he said, climbing up the stairs to his office. As I entered the room, I could see boards that were filled with theories about charms and objects that I didn't even know the names of. The professor then approached a book that I had previously seen, which is encased in dragonhide.

"Here," he said, giving the book to me. "It's a book of spells. You are to learn the charms from Section 2 to Section 4; extra points are awarded if you can finish the whole book. You will need to show me what you've learned at the end of the semester."

"Semester, professor? Not the end of the term?"

"Yes, Mr. Ashworth. I'm sure you could do it; I've seen your ability to learn." Flitwick said as he patted the side of my knee. "Now, off you go; don't you have another class for today?"

I could only sigh. I wonder what other extra assignments I have to do. "Alright professor, thank you. I'll do my best."

======

My next class on the schedule is clearly Defense Against the Dark Arts. I caught a few pages of the field guide to add to my collection along the way, utilising the Revelio charm to find them.

As I entered the classroom, I noticed the dragon bones above the benches, which appeared pretty threatening. This class's objects are not to be trifled with; I could see spiders in jars, strange creatures' portraits displayed on the wall, and shiny things I wasn't sure what they were.

Unlike before, I was quite early this time, so I could choose where I wanted to sit. Naturally, I picked the back seats, especially seeing that the professor that we have for this class isn't exactly normal.

The class was quite loud, to be honest. Crouch played his part well, as he was practically acting like a paranoid maniac the whole time. He showed us the three unforgivable curses and was confident that the students inside the room couldn't even use them, as it requires immense hatred and disregard for life to be able to cast them.

It ended quite quickly, and by that time, a lot of students in my class were traumatised because they saw Moody torture a poor spider in front of the whole classroom using the Cruciatus spell. As the class ended, I approached the professor.

"You're the new student," he grumbled, limping to his desk. "Professor McGonagall told me to give you extra assignments so you can catch up with your classmates. An unskilled wizard is a dead wizard; coupled with carelessness, you will definitely not survive in the real world, boy."

"Sir?" I just want my assignments…

"I will be honest, I do not know how to approach your situation," he said. "Therefore, I will rid you of assignments."

What? This guy doesn't want to give me my assignments?

"But—" he continued. "You are to find me after your classes have ended, starting next week. We will have one session per week where I will teach you all about the dark arts. Understood?"

"A private session, sir?" Hm, does he have other motives?

"I do not like to repeat myself, Ashworth," he grumbled. "Remember, next week, after your classes, come find me in this classroom."

I just sighed at his words and nodded. "Very well, professor. I'm sure you'll teach me a lot of things, as you are an ex-auror after all."

"So you did your research," he gruffed. "But flattery will get you nowhere. Dismissed."

After he said that, I left the classroom, following the map to the transfiguration classroom.