Ravenclaw's Welcome

Lunchtime came quickly.

Perhaps because of the scare tactics the older students had used the night before, a far higher proportion of Ravenclaw's new students reached the dining hall on time than those from the other houses.

Andrew finally found the students who shared his dormitory and introduced himself. What they were like, though, would only become clear once they got to know each other.

"I hope none of them like snooping. Otherwise, delivering my manuscripts is going to be a serious problem..."

Andrew was even tempted to turn to magic for help. Unfortunately, he was a first-year student; he couldn't just learn any spell he pleased.

While he was chatting with his four roommates, an older boy came over. "Taylor, after your first class this afternoon, meet your group in the fifth classroom beside the leftmost spiral staircase on the third floor."

Two of Andrew's roommates received notices from other groups at the same time. No one came for the other two before lunch ended.

Were they rejected by the groups, or had they decided not to take sides?

He wasn't about to spoil the mood by asking. After lunch, he said a quick goodbye and got ready for his afternoon classes.

By the time afternoon lessons began, the seating had changed noticeably. That morning, everyone had simply grabbed a seat and waited for class. Now most sat with the groups they had joined, while the rest had roughly sorted themselves by dormitory...

That's a bit too divided...

Their first afternoon class was Transfiguration. Professor McGonagall was every bit as impressive as Professor Flitwick, and her display of animal Transfiguration made Andrew forget all about his concerns over the divisions within the house.

Probably because he had prepared so thoroughly, he earned Ravenclaw five points. Beyond that, though, he gained almost nothing from the lesson.

Professor McGonagall broke down virtually every point as she taught. It was an exhausting way to teach, but it ensured that most students could follow along. For Andrew, who had already studied so much on his own, it was all rather basic.

I'll have to be a little shameless. Study far enough ahead, then try asking the professor my questions after class...

He put on an attentive expression and added Transfiguration to his self-study plans.

Sure enough, once class ended, he grabbed his bag and shamelessly hurried after Professor McGonagall, asking her one by one the questions he had accumulated while studying over the holidays.

Just as he had expected, Professor McGonagall answered them without hesitation. The warning he had expected, however, never came.

"You've clearly given this some thought of your own, Mr. Taylor."

Once Professor McGonagall had confirmed he had no more questions, she nodded slightly. "Go to the library and borrow these two books."

A quill flew out on its own and wrote the titles on a blank sheet of paper. "Read the first two chapters of this one and the first chapter of the other. Then submit a thesis on each to me as soon as you can."

"Yes, Professor."

Andrew smiled.

He put the paper away and immediately raced to the third floor, reaching the empty classroom in time.

About ten minutes later, an older student entered the classroom.

"New students. Good. Follow me."

He looked over the gathered students, nodded, then turned and led the way.

Andrew and the others exchanged glances before following him.

Soon they stopped outside a larger classroom. Inside, two older students were already sitting beside a box.

"What were you expecting?"

Once all the new students had crowded in, the older student on the right side of the box looked at them with contempt. "You didn't think last night was the end of the selection process, and now you'd get to sit around with older students dreaming about life at the Ministry of Magic, did you?"

"Do you have any idea what sort of selection we went through?"

"The Ministry of Magic only hires so many people each year. Did you expect to sit around grinning like fools until a job offer arrived?"

"Don't be ridiculous. People who get into the Ministry may look out for members of their own club, but use those not-entirely-useless brains of yours. Why would they choose you? Plenty of pure-bloods have their eyes on those jobs!"

"Mike, you're saying too much."

As Mike berated them, the student on the right cut in, sounding displeased.

"We have nothing to do with the Ministry of Magic, or with any club. We're here only to sell you a few things that can help you get by at school."

"It's a fair trade. Every item is worth its price."

As he spoke, he opened the box.

There wasn't much inside: three or four notebooks, a thick stack of documents, a large bottle of potion, and a box of Exploding Snap cards. Andrew couldn't identify every item exactly, but he could make out roughly what they were.

"The prices are all there. That... No, these are simply magical items that can help you. The prices are clear, and anyone who wants one can pay the Galleons and take it away."

He folded his hands on the desk. "So, which of you would like to buy something?"

What the hell?

Andrew surveyed the room without changing his expression. They're running a scam on new students?

So that was why they were in such a rush yesterday? They were getting ready to fleece us?

No, that's far too much effort... And they even went out of their way to make it look reasonably fair. All that work just for this?

Thanks to everything he had seen online, Andrew was familiar with scams at least thirty years ahead of these. The little trick before him was hopelessly crude.

Whatever they're after, I can't confront them. Even if they're scammers, they're older students with wands. I might manage to ambush one and knock his wand away, but against this many? Forget it.

"Sorry," Andrew said. "If I'm willing to pay more Galleons, can I gain more friendship?"

"There's no friendship involved, sir. This is just an ordinary transaction."

"And if I take a particular liking to one of the items and offer a high price for it?"

"Well, naturally..."

"I need to get my money from the common room. It's in my trunk," Andrew added quickly.

"Of course."

Idiots...

He cursed them silently, then headed out the door toward the common room. "I'll be right back!"

As soon as he had crossed the corridor, he turned toward the staircase instead. He planned to circle back to the classroom where he had been told to meet his group, then report the matter to a professor.

Sure enough, when he found the classroom, the person in charge was still angry.

"You're Ravenclaws, and you're still getting lost after an entire day here?"