James Potter and the Sword in the Stone

James, Bella, and Lysander did not talk about the Forbidden Forest or Professor Rothwell for the rest of the night. After dinner Bella hung out with Molly, Jane, and Abigail in the common room, and Lysander went somewhere that he could spend time with his brother. They would no doubt be discussing how their classes went today. James, however, found a seat in the corner of the common room by the fire, got out a piece of parchment, quill, and ink, and began to write.

Dear Mum and Dad,

In case you haven't heard by now, I've been put in Gryffindor! Hogwarts is great, and I've made new friends already. Lysander Scamander is in Gryffindor with me, but Lorcan got put in Hufflepuff. I've made enemies, too. This bloke named Alec Dolohov and I have gotten into it, but I haven't gotten into trouble with a teacher. I'm really good at Potions, apparently. That's the only class I've had, so I'm not sure about the others. I can't wait for Professor Rothwell's class, though. He says he knows you, Dad. His leg has been hurt, and he has a bandage on it. I was wondering if you knew what happened, since you worked with him. Well, I better give this to Hermes before it gets too late.

Love,

James

James went up to the dormitories, where Hermes was waiting for him to attach the letter to his leg. He stuck his leg out dutifully and took off out of the open window when James was finished. He watched as Hermes disappeared into the growing darkness. Then, he laid down in his bed and went to sleep.

Monday morning was the first Herbology class of the year, and James was not sure that he would be particularly brilliant with plants. But as he looked at Professor Longbottom from the Gryffindor table at breakfast, he doubted he would have a significant problem. And he did not have to worry about getting lost on the way down to Greenhouse One, for Professor Longbottom escorted the first year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs-who they shared the class with-to Herbology. James hesitated slightly when he saw what was waiting for the students on the large tables.

There were pots of different colors sitting there for every student. But inside of them was what looked like a mass of soft looking vines. They were not very long, but they looked as if they were starting to grow spiky thorns on them in places. As the other students piled in, they too looked at the plants questioningly.

"Don't be shy! It's only Devil's Snare!" Professor Longbottom said, motioning for them to have a seat at the stools in front of the plants.

"Only Devil's Snare? That's one of the most dangerous plants there is, Professor!" Victor said incredulously.

"Yes, but we are going to learn how to keep it at bay. We-," Professor Longbottom started, but just then Professor McGonagall walked inside the greenhouse, her can rapping gently against the ground.

"May I have a word, Professor?" she asked Professor Longbottom.

"Of course, Headmaster," Professor Longbottom said.

James pulled Bella and Lysander toward the front of the table quickly so that they could hear what they were talking about. James watched as Lysander poked his Devil's Snare with his wand curiously, all the while listening hard to the teachers.

"You are teaching the students about Devil's Snare, correct?" Professor McGonagall whispered.

"Yes, Headmaster. I'll be teaching them how to keep them at bay using Incendio and bluebell flames. Is there a problem?" Professor Longbottom asked quietly, his voice shaking slightly.

"I'm afraid that I must ask you to care for the Devil's Snare until it grows bigger. We need them to be quite large, Professor."

James frowned as he watched the Devil's Snare's tentacles writhe angrily at Lysander's poking.

"Grow them larger? But . . . surely you know that this could be dangerous for first years. I'm not entirely sure they could handle it. I mean, if I made sure they could properly cast the Incendio spell every time-," Professor Longbottom rambled.

"Then I suggest that you do just that, Professor. It may be dangerous, but I remember how good you were with plants even in your time here at Hogwarts. I trust that you can grow them?"

"Of course. May I ask what they will be used for?" Professor Longbottom said.

Professor McGonagall pulled Professor Longbottom closer and said, "They will be taken into the Forbidden Forest to help stand guard."

She said this so quietly that James almost didn't hear what she said. But when he did, his eyes opened wide, and he looked at Bella and Lysander to see if they had heard as well. By the look on their faces, and the way that the Devil's Snare in Lysander's pot had wrapped around his wand, he knew that they had. Professor McGonagall left, the sound of her cane receding as she got further away from the greenhouse.

Professor Longbottom faced the class, his face slightly scared looking.

"Now, class, as I was saying, these are the Devil's Snare. They are only in their first stages of life, so they are not as dangerous as full grown ones can be. We will be spending a few weeks, probably until Halloween, taking care of these plants. We will learn how to use incendio and bluebell flames to keep them from throttling us with their vines. Devil's Snare do not like sunlight, so those two spells will act as our sunlight," Professor Longbottom said, walking around the students.

Lysander's wand was still wrapped in his Devil's Snare, so Professor Longbottom took out his wand and a small jet of what looked like blue fire shot from his wand at the Devil's Snare. It let go of Lysander's wand quickly and tried to bury itself further down into its pot.

"That was a bluebell flame. First, though, we'll try the incendio spell. Incendio in many languages literally means fire, or to set fire to. This spell conjures fire, while the bluebell flame does not set fire to anything. The bluebell flames can even be picked up with your hands! However, incendio must be used cautiously. Let's try it, shall we?"

The students pointed their wands at their Devil's Snare and said, "Incendio!"

No one got it on the first try. James tried over and over again, but he couldn't get it quite right. A small fire seemed to start at the tip of his wand, but it went out almost immediately. Bella, beside him, managed to hold a steady flame after her fifth try. One of the tentacles on James' Devil's Snare was inching toward him, so he pointed his wand at it and said, "Incendio!"

A bright, orange flame shot from his wand and hit the plant, causing it to retreat from him in a hurry. Lorcan, sitting across the table, cast the spell, but it went out of control and singed Lysander's eyebrows. Everyone laughed at him until Lorcan's plant grabbed his arm quickly and pulled him. Professor Longbottom cast the bluebell flames again, and it let go. Even though the Devil's Snare was relatively small yet, it seemed to be able to stretch its vines a ways.

Bella had mastered the spell by the end of the class, but Victor had set fire to his own robes and suffered a burn on his arm. Professor Longbottom had doused him with water, so he was wet, as well. That was the end of the class, and Professor Longbottom dismissed them so he could escort Victor to the Hospital wing.

"What d'you reckon about the Devil's Snare?" Lysander asked as they walked back up to the castle, where their next class, History of Magic, was held.

"Professor McGonagall said it was going to be used to guard something. Something in the Forbidden Forest," James said.

"I wonder what it could be," Bella said.

They walked in silence the rest of the way, pondering what could be so dangerous that it needed to be guarded by a plant that was capable of killing people.

"Wait, remember how Professor McGonagall looked at your cousin at the Welcoming Feast? What's his name?" Bella asked.

"Fred? What about him?" James asked.

"When she said the Forbidden Forest was out of bounds, she looked at him. Has he been in there before?" Bella said.

"Probably, knowing Fred. Why?"

"So maybe he knows what they might be guarding in there!" Bella said.

"It couldn't hurt, could it? Although, I really doubt he knows anything. But maybe he knows some kind of path we can use to find out ourselves."

"You're not thinking about going into the Forbidden Forest, are you? That would be suicide! Those centaurs don't seem like they're too friendly," Lysander said.

James didn't answer as they had neared closer to Professor Binns classroom. Suddenly, Bella grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. "James, you can't go into the Forest. Please, don't do anything stupid," she pleaded.

"Fine. I just . . . feel like I have to know for some reason. But you're right. I won't do anything stupid," James reassured her.

Bella looked visibly relieved, and let go of his arm. James didn't want to alienate his friends, but he had to find out what was inside the Forbidden Forest.