First Week of Classes

The First Years were run ragged during their first week.

Hogwarts did not have many first-year classes, and the workload for new students was fairly light. Most of their time was spent familiarizing themselves with Hogwarts's layout, especially its bizarre Staircase, whose patterns changed at different times of day.

Loren had noted that after turning right in the morning, he was supposed to turn left. When he applied that rule at noon, he ended up trapped on another unpredictable staircase for nearly fifteen minutes.

Young wizards could often be seen going in circles on the staircases. Neville suffered especially badly, though he had already written home to have a Memory Charm sent over.

The First Years asked the older students for help, only to be told that this was a Hogwarts tradition. New students were supposed to explore on their own.

The Weasley family's Twins told everyone that there were many Secret Passages in the Castle. They had previously spent time mapping out several shortcuts, which proved tremendously useful whether for getting to class or sneaking out at night.

As for Secret Passages, Loren remembered one near the Hufflepuff common room, where scratching a portrait would lead directly to the Kitchen. There was also the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor, though he had not had the chance to try either yet.

Herbology Class was held three times a week, each time with a different House, and there was another lesson that morning. In the Greenhouse behind the Castle, the First Years transplanted a kind of fungus that gave off a sour, rotten stench under Professor Sprout's guidance.

Loren was paired with Hermione. She had already memorized the textbook and paid close attention in class. Loren rode her coattails, and the two quickly finished their task, working together pleasantly.

Few people were willing to follow Hermione's instructions, so she felt especially content during this lesson and could not help lecturing Loren. "If you get rid of that awful habit of yours—always playing tricks on people—we could become good friends."

"I'll try!"

Loren declared it forcefully, but his voice quickly weakened. "But sometimes I really can't control myself."

"So you knew that cat was Professor McGonagall all along, and you deliberately egged me on to... to..." Hermione trailed off.

Loren stared at his nose, then at his heart, looking utterly uninvolved. "It wasn't me, I didn't do it, don't make things up."

Unable to contain herself, Hermione viciously pinched Loren's face with her mud-stained hand. Children had plenty of collagen, and his cheeks felt rather nice.

"Hey, don't go overboard!" Loren was in the wrong, so he did not dare retaliate.

Hermione remembered Professor McGonagall calling Loren to her office. "Did Professor McGonagall lecture you last night?"

"No. We talked about some things. I can't tell you yet, but you'll find out later." Loren did not make up anything else. Hermione was curious, but she was smart too, and did not press further.

That was the end of the matter.

At lunch, Loren saw Professor McGonagall call over the three older Weasley children—Percy and the Twins.

A Senior Student said the Twins had probably gotten into trouble again. Ron grinned in undisguised delight. What a truly loving brother.

Charms Class was in the afternoon. Professor Filius Flitwick was Ravenclaw's Head of House. He was so short that he had to stand atop a stack of books just to reach the desk.

During roll call before class, Professor Flitwick became so excited upon calling Harry's name that he fell to the floor. "Harry Potter! Oh, the famous Harry Potter!"

Professor Flitwick had lived through Voldemort's dark years. He trusted Dumbledore deeply, felt gratitude toward Harry for ending the turmoil, and held Harry's parents in the highest regard.

Harry was rather embarrassed by this.

After making such a spectacle of himself, Professor Flitwick was somewhat looked down upon by the other students as well, despite being a Dueling Master.

But once Professor Flitwick began teaching, none of the students dared underestimate the short professor again. He could always clearly answer any question about spells, and he knew the origins of every kind of magic like the back of his hand.

Their first lesson began with Lumos. Only a few students managed to produce faint threads of light from the tips of their wands.

Hermione's light was the brightest, earning another five points for Gryffindor. Although she was a Gryffindor, she still became Professor Flitwick's favorite student.

Loren blended in and slacked off. Classes had only just begun, so he did not dare stand out too much. As he slacked off, he chatted with the people around him and got along quite well with the few he already knew.

Harry only half understood the theoretical parts, but after a few lessons, he realized that everyone else was about the same as him. He relaxed and stopped feeling so nervous.

He could not imagine how he would face his aunt and uncle's ridicule if he were truly expelled.

Ron's spellcasting did not go very smoothly because of his broken wand, whose Unicorn Hair core was sticking out. This actually showed that Ron possessed a talent even he himself had failed to notice. With a damaged wand, he could still barely cast some magic and keep up with the class.

Neville barely managed to keep up with the Main Force. Herbology Class was his favorite. Tending Herbs required no particular talent and no thinking—only patience, and Neville was not lacking in that department.

Seamus truly was a genius of explosions. Even Lumos could leave his desk blackened by a blast.

Hermione was always instructing the people around her on how to wave their wands and how to recite spells.

That behavior made the others uncomfortable. Apart from Loren, Hermione had not made any friends.

Loren was not about to quibble over something so minor. He understood that Hermione meant no harm.

He humored Hermione's instructions with, "Mm-hm, mm-hm, that makes sense," then turned around and went right back to slacking off. Watching the little girl get worked up was rather entertaining too.

On Wednesday night, they used Telescopes to observe the Starry Sky, learning the names of different stars and the paths of Planetary Orbits. Still, everyone treated it as a form of entertainment.

The most eagerly anticipated class was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Everyone was curious about strange magical creatures and eerie Dark Arts. It would be even better if they could learn a few useful spells.

But Professor Quirrell's first lesson turned into a joke. Garlic Smell filled the entire classroom, and Professor Quirrell was mocked so badly that he could barely maintain order...

Potions class was on Friday.

That morning at breakfast in the dining hall, Loren sat beside Harry.

"Harry, did you preview One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?" Loren's eagerness to watch a show was practically written all over his face.

"I flipped through it before school started, but I didn't read it carefully." Harry looked confused by Loren's expression. "Why do you ask? Is there going to be a test before Potions class?"

"I don't know whether there'll be a test, but I can see that you're looking rather unlucky today. Things probably won't go very smoothly." Loren's tone turned mysteriously profound.

Hermione cut in from the side. "What kind of magic is that? How come I've never seen it before?"

Loren had just been about to make something up when the mail arrived.

During meals at Hogwarts, Owls flew in through the skylights, found their respective owners, and dropped letters or packages in front of them.

Snow-white Hedwig flew over and landed in front of Harry, placing a note on his breakfast plate.

Seizing the moment, Loren reached out, picked Hedwig up, and began petting her.

"Hoot!" Hedwig flapped her wings as she struggled, but after being fed jam bread and sweets, she gradually became docile. Hermione watched enviously and took the chance to stroke her a few times too.

Harry finished reading the note. It was a letter from Hagrid.

"Dear Harry:

I know you don't have class on Friday afternoon. Could you come have tea with me around three o'clock? I'd really like to hear how your first week has been. Please send Hedwig back with a reply.

Hagrid"

"Ron, Loren, how about coming with me to see a friend on Friday?"

Harry put away the note and invited Ron and Loren. "Hagrid is our school's Keeper of Keys. He lives in the Forbidden Forest, and he's a kind giant."

"We can visit the Forbidden Forest!" Ron opened his mouth in delighted surprise.

Loren also wanted to see the Forbidden Forest. It would make for a convenient place to practice magic in the future.

Both of them agreed. Harry wrote his reply and had Hedwig carry it back to Hagrid.

The Potions classroom was underground, colder and gloomier than the Castle's main building. Glass jars lined the walls, containing preserved animal specimens.

Loren's feelings toward Professor Snape were rather complicated. There was no question that he was a good person, but as the saying went: what was the saddest thing in the world? Meeting someone, making a mistake, wanting to make up for it and repay it, only to discover in the end that there was nothing you could do. The sins you committed could never be redeemed. We could never repay what we had done...

Still, he needed to maintain a good relationship with Professor Snape. Grandpa Bates's Wolfsbane Potion depended on him, and it would be best if Loren could learn how to brew it himself.

If not, he could buy it from Snape instead. He just did not know what the price would be.

Those Half-Blood Prince's Notes seemed to be somewhere behind this classroom. Loren planned to look for them later, but with school having just started, he had better not cause too much trouble.