The Eagle and the Badger

Chapter Three: First Impressions

Giggles, rustles, and whispered conversation - punctuated by insistent meows from Calypso - greeted Lucia when she awoke the next morning. She could see the first rays of sun slanting through the large windows, which was odd, since she distinctly remember closing the curtains around her bed before going to sleep.

She jumped out of bed and looked around. Across the room, a girl dressed in school robes was sitting on her bed, reading. Two others were in various stages of getting dressed. No one seemed to notice Lucia, except -

"Ah, there you are, sleepyhead." A voice, from behind her burbled with throaty laughter.

Lucia whirled around to see a lanky girl with an abundance of honey-colored hair sitting cross-legged on the bed next to hers, grinning at her. She, too, was dressed and was rapidly weaving her hair into a thick plait without bothering to consult a mirror.

"Miss Dooley over there and I were first up, and we've bet on who'd be last. I win," she confided, waving an airy hand at a girl even smaller than Lucia who responded with an abashed smile.

. "Name's Camilla Carmichael, by the way," said the girl, holding out a shapely hand. "I prefer 'Mike,' if it's all the same to you. Camilla's just too, too West End, don't you think?"

Lucia had no idea what the girl was talking about, but she introduced herself and then, to her own surprise blurted out, "What did you win?"

Calypso was butting at her leg and Lucia patted her absentmindedly while waiting for the answer.

Mike shrugged. "Haven't decided yet. It's not important. That feast was great fun, wasn't it?" Mike tied a red ribbon onto the end of her plait, formed it into a neat bow, and tossed her plait over her shoulder.

"I was dying to meet you last night, you looked tres distingue, but I couldn't get your attention. You seemed positively gobsmacked after your Sorting - how come?"

"Er - it's a long story. It's nearly time for breakfast, isn't it?"

To avoid having to explain the reason for her discomfiture the night before, Lucia rummaged through her trunk for her school robes. Her new roommate seemed a little - precocious for an eleven-year-old, she thought, but that was all right. She was different, and that made her interesting.

Her toilette complete, Mike watched Lucia with eyes the grey-green of a stormy sea and slanted like a cat's.

"I'm twelve, you know," she volunteered. "Birthday's September second, so I just missed being here a whole year ago. Isn't that a hoot?"

Lucia stared at her, wondering if the girl could read minds. The thought was unnerving.

"Er, yes. I suppose that makes you the oldest in our class, then."

Mike shrugged. "I suppose. But we'd best hurry; don't want to miss breakfast, especially if it's as good as dinner was. I'm utterly famished."

Lucia hurriedly laced up her boots and ran a comb through her hair, while Mike's cheerful chatter rolled over her.

"Are you the only witch in your family? I am. Mummy and Daddy are both actors, you know, quite well known. Mummy - Cassandra Watts is her stage name, though she goes by Carmichael socially - played a witch in the Scottish play as a student, but that's as close as she's ever come to being magical. You can imagine their shock when a gentleman in a most peculiar windowpane check suit and straw boater showed up on our doorstep to tell them their only child was a witch. Of course, they've had a whole year to get used to the idea and now they're quite proud. The dramatic possibilities, don't you know."

Lucia didn't know, and she had no idea what the Scottish play might be, but she merely answered her roommates question as she stood up and smoothed her robes.

"No, my family's always been magical, as far back as anyone can remember. My brother Scorpius is in his third year."

"Ah, an older brother, how interesting," Mike's already cheerful face brightened further. "Is he a Ravenclaw, too? I'm sure I would have noticed him, if your coloring's the same . . ."

Lucia shook her head and glanced at the little silver watch her mother had given her as a going-away present. It was getting rather late.

"No, Scorpius is in Slytherin. I'm the only one in my family to be in a different house."

"Re-al-ly." Mike drew the word out to inordinate lengths. "How fascinating. But I mustn't monopolize you, much as I'd like to. Come."

Mike tugged at Lucia's sleeve, dragging her over to where the other girls were standing, apparently too riveted by their roommate's narrative to leave the dormitory.

"This is Lucia Malfoy," Mike announced, as though she'd just discovered a new species of magical beast.

"Lucia, this Is Claudia Vecotor. She looks very clever, don't you think? Claudia, this is Lucia Malfoy."

The thin girl, whose mouse-colored hair was scraped back into a tight ponytail, blinked at Lucia owlishly through very thick octagonal glasses

"Lucia Malfoy," she said in a voice like dry leaves underfoot. Then she turned abruptly and walked out the door. Calypso hissed softly at her mistress' feet.

Mike grinned. "Seems your cat doesn't care for rude people."

A shorter, stockier version of their female prefect stepped forward.

"Malfoy, eh? I'm Amanda Davies. i know your brother - by reputation, anyway."

Lucia didn't know what she meant by that and was afraid to ask, but the two girls shook hands politely. Amanda then followed Claudia out of the dormitory.

Mike stared after her. "Well, she must be hungry. Wait, don't be shy."

This last remark was directed at the small girl whom Mike had called Miss Dooley. She was apparently attempting to sneak out of the room without being noticed. She stopped and stared down at her shoes.

"Hello," said Lucia, holding out her hand. "I'm Lucia. And you are . . .?"

"Ruth," the girl whispered, without looking up.

Mike looked confused. "I thought I heard a different name, when you were Sorted."

The girl's blush deepened. "You did. My real name's Julie, but I hate it when people call me that."

It was Lucia's turn to be confused. "That's a lovely name. Why - ?"

"Because my last name's Dooley, that's why!" For the first time, the girl looked Lucia in the eye.

"I got picked on all the time in school," she confessed. "Kids called me a midget and a freak, too, after things began to, well, happen around me. You can imagine what they did with my name. It was like a chant: 'Julie Dooley, Julie Drooly'." Her voice dripped with disgust.

Lucia could. It must have been awful, being a witch in a Muggle school. She realized how sheltered she'd been, having tutors all her life. How many of her classmates, she wondered, had had experiences similar to Ruth's?

"Ruth it is, then," she said firmly.

Shepherded by Mike, the two girls headed for the corridor and entered the common room, joining a stream of other Ravenclaws as they made their way down to the Great Hall. Calypso padded after then, turning down a fifth-floor corridor and disappearing, perhaps in search of her own breakfast. Scorpius had assured his sister that the house-elves fed and provided litter pans for feline familiars, though how he knew this, she wasn't sure, since he'd chosen an owl instead.

Ruth and Mike compared notes on their Muggle schools as Lucia walked along beside them, lost in thought.

The whole discussion of names made her reflect on her own. She'd always liked it just fine, even though it was most likely a feminine version of Lucius, her grandfather's name. He was still alive, but relations between him and Lucia's mother were somewhat strained, and she'd seen him only a few times that she could recall.

He was supposed to have done some really, really bad things, though her mother refused to speak about them. When asked, she simply said, "That was a long time ago," and changed the subject in a way that discouraged further questions. It was her Aunt Andromeda who'd filled in some of the details, after which she was never again invited to Villa Malfoy, though she occasionally wrote to her niece and nephew.

Being named after a Death Eater seemed a lot worse than having a name that just sounded silly or affected. Then again, her old tutor had told her that Lucia meant "light'" in Latin, which had made her feel much better about it.

This train of thought led her straight back to the letter she was going to have to write today, and she lost count of how many flights of stairs she'd gone down to get to the Great Hall.

ooOoo

Hands grabbed Hugo as he passed the Gryffindor table on his way to his own. He had no choice but to stop; it was that or tear his brand-new school robes. He found himself confronted by a posse of cousins and his sister Rose.

"Are you just going to ignore us now?" she demanded. She was trying hard to look severe, but Hugo detected a twinkle deep within her blue eyes. Rosie could be fierce when riled, but she was too fair-minded to blame him for something that wasn't his fault.

"Of course not, silly," he said, wresting free of her grasp. "Hullo, you lot." He forced himself to look his cousins in the eye, though it was difficult. From the smirks on some of their faces, he had a feeling he was in for a lifetime of ragging.

"One favor," he said directly to Rose, but loud enough for all his relatives to hear. "Don't say anything to Dad and Mum, okay? I'm going to write as soon as I get a minute, I promise."

"Far be it from me to deprive you of the pleasure," said Rose with a wicked grin.. "Good luck with that - and with your classes, too," she added in a softer tone. "You'll do great."

The reassurance warmed him, though he wished he shared his sister's confidence. She had a right to be confident, being tops in nearly every subject.

Breakfast at the Hufflepuff table was a noisy affair. Even the older students showed some excitement as they awaited their schedules. When the buzz of conversation hit a momentary lull, Hugo looked across at the Ravenclaw table. His eyes fell upon a girl with silvery hair. It was the girl from the boat, something Malfoy. It suddenly struck him that she was in the "wrong"house, too, and must be feeling as disoriented as he was.

Professor Witherspoon appeared to hand out class schedules. The Hufflepuff head of house was a portly, rather red-faced fellow with a tonsure of curly grey hair. His eyes twinkled merrily behind wire-rimmed glasses.

"Here you are, young man," he said, beaming at Hugo as he placed the piece of parchment in his hand. "Now, don't be late on your first day."

He chuckled and moved down the table.

Hugo looked at the schedule, which he knew would be the same as his housemates'. Double Potions first. That could be good or bad, depending on who the teacher was.

As the Hufflepuffs began to drift away from their table, he caught the eye of the Malfoy girl and found himself smiling. After a moment's hesitation she smiled back, just the least little bit., but it was enough to light up her face.

Lucia, that was it.

Lucia knew that all first years' subjects were all the same, as they weren't allowed electives. Lucia had been disappointed to learn that, as she was eager to explore Runes or Arithmancy or even Muggle Studies, which sounded interesting, though she wouldn't have dared say so to her brother.

Scorpius had told her she'd have quite enough on her plate and would probably have to work herself to the bone just to survive. She might have been worried, if his own marks were more impressive.

The Ravenclaws' first class was double Potions, and Lucia glanced up at the head table to try to guess which of the imposing black-robed figures sitting there might be the Potions master. She wished she'd paid more attention when the teachers were introduced last night at the feast.

The only name she remembered was the gamekeeper's, Daniel Figg. Professor Figg taught Care of Magical Creatures in addition to tending for the animals, kitchen gardens, and grounds. It was appropriate for him to be named after a tree, she mused, though she didn't think fig trees grew this far north.

Just as she was finishing the last of her toast and pumpkin juice, Lucia looked up and caught the eye of the boy from the boat. She wondered how he was adjusting to the shock of last night's Sorting. He smiled pleasantly, and after a moment, she smiled back. In a way, the two of them were still in the same boat, weren't they?

ooOoo

Uncle George loved to talk about the dungeons, describing in great detail the size of the rats and the venomousness of the spiders that dwelt therein.

Hugo's Mum scolded his jokester uncle whenever she caught him at it, but as it turned out, the dungeon classroom was definitely gloomy enough to come straight out of a horror tale, and Hugo caught himself peering nervously into the shadowy corners as he filed in after Trevor and Robbie.

He'd heard so much about the old Potions master, Snape, that he half-expected to see a dark, dour, sallow-faced fellow scowling at them from the front of the classroom.

. To his relief, Professor Kindle did not fit this description in any way. He was blond and lean, in a fit sort of way, and his complexion suggested that he spent more time outdoors than in the depths of a dungeon. And he actually smiled at the first years as they came in.

"Sit anywhere you like," he said with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about keeping to your own house; we're all friends here."

Well, that could be true. Hufflepuff had Potions with Ravenclaw, and there wasn't any bad blood between the two houses that Hugo knew of.

Despite the invitation to mingle, the three boys chose a table together near the back. Hugo spotted Lucia sitting in front with a tall, lanky girl and one who looked far too young to be at Hogwarts, and scared as a mouse in a roomful of Kneazles.

As the last few students arranged themselves, the Potions master touched the blackboard with his wand, causing a neatly written list to appear. He then sat down casually on t he edge of his desk.

"We'll start our first potion next hour," he told the class. "Meanwhile, there's some basic technique and theory you need to learn before you're let loose on a cauldron. Wouldn't do to have you blowing it up on your first day, would it?"

A few nervous titters greeted this, apparently from students who were worried about doing exactly that.

"Now, class," Professor Kindle began, "Who can tell me what a poison is?"

The question came out of the blue, and it brought the class to immediate attention.

A couple of hands shot up. One belonged to the lanky girl with high cheekbones who was sitting next to Lucia Malfoy.

"Yes, Miss - ?"

"Carmichael, sir. Doesn't it partly depend on how much of a substance one uses? I mean, lots of so-called harmless things, like salt and aspirin, can make us sick or even kill us if we consume too much of them."

Professor Kindle looked at her with keen grey eyes, a smile just touching the corners of his mouth.

"You make quite a good point, though I suspect most wizards and witches won't know what aspirin is. Its chief ingredient can be found in willow bark, which is used in potions to provide relief from pain. And yes, too much of it can poison the body. Five point to Ravenclaw."

The girl grinned, obviously pleased with herself.

The professor got to his feet and approached the board. "Many useful potions contain ingredients that could be considered poisonous in some contexts but are essential to their efficacy. Therefore, it is essential to learn the rules for proper handling of all ingredients, both magical and mundane. Hogwarts wasn't built in a day, and Potions is a highly complex subject that takes years to master. Nevertheless, we must start somewhere."

He flourished his wand at the blackboard. "While many of these rules can be found in the first chapter of your textbook, I have added several more, and you will be expected to know all of them by next class."

Everyone took the hint, and soon the dungeon was filled with the sound of scratching quills.

Hugo found himself enjoying Professor Kindle's style of teaching, and for him the lesson was over far too soon. His first attempt at the Wart-Removing Solution produced a decent result, though Professor Kindle shook his head a little at the color, which was deeper than it should have been.

"I'm afraid this might remove a little skin along with the wart, Mr. Weasley, but not bad at all for a first try."

It was too late for another go, so Hugo handed in his vial and copied their first assignment, which was simply to learn the rulese, in preparation for a quiz the next class. There were an awful lot of them, and Hugo wondered how he was ever going to memorize them all. Couldn't they just learn them as they went along?

All in all, , however, he thought he was going to enjoy Potions.

. Lucia's own potion hadn't turned out all that well, since she'd lost track of how many times to stir clockwise before reversing. She'd been imagining herself as an old hag, cackling to herself as she brewed a poison to give her lovely stepdaughter - to put inside an apple . . .

Then she realized she'd heard this story somewhere. So much for imagination.

"Watch out!" a voice hissed in her ear. It was Mike, whose own potion was a lovely clear blue. "Too many rotations."

Lucia peered into her cauldron with a frown. Indeed, the Wart-Removing Solution had clouded badly.

Clearly, she had better learn to keep her mind on her work.

ooOoo

After lunch, Hugo followed the rest of his Hufflepuff classmates across the lawn to Greenhouse One. Except for the pesky gnomes, Hugo enjoyed mucking about in his grandmother's gardens at the Burrow, so he thought Herbology might be interesting. From what he'd heard, he'd be working with some pretty nasty species of magical plant. He was pretty sure Professor Longbottom wouldn't begin with those, though.

"Wait up!" a very familiar voice called from behind him. It was Lily, her dark red hair flying as she ran to catch up.

"Hi, Lil," he said with a smile. "I guess we have Herbology together."

"Yeah." She fell in beside him. "This is so weird, you being a Hufflepuff. I always just assumed we'd be in the same house."

Hugo sighed. "I know. It is weird, but honestly, it's not that bad. I mean, everybody's been really nice, and I've made friends already. I just don't know what I'm going to say to Mum and Dad."

She nodded in understanding, but they had no more time to talk, as they had reached the greenhouse, where Professor Longbottom was waiting for them.

The Herbology professor was a good friend of both the Weasleys and the Potters, and Lily and Hugo knew him well. As Lily sat down beside him, Hugo whispered, "I just know I'm going to call him Uncle Neville at some point."

Lily giggled. "If you do, he'll probably give you detention."

"Ahem - Miss Potter, Mr. Weasley, please save your conversation for after the lesson. Now, kindly take out parchment and quills and pay careful attention."

Hugo sighed. Perhaps Herbology wasn't going to be as much fun as he'd hoped.

For the next hour, Professor Longbottom lectured the new class about how to identify some of the commoner magical plants, including how to distinguish between harmless and dangerous varieties.

Hugo tried his hardest to pay attention. It was hard to keep his mind on the lecture, though, when he kept thinking of the letter he was going to write to his parents. Mentally, he wrote and rewrote it several times before Professor Longbottom announced that the lesson was over.

"For homework, you are to read the first two chapters of the textbook and write an essay on the magical properties of five common magical plants, including their use in potions. Eighteen inches should be enough."

Hugo groaned inwardly. The assignment sounded as though it would take all night. Professor Longbottom, Herbology teacher, was a lot tougher than Uncle Neville.

"Gabe's going to teach us how to throw a Frisbee," Sandy said as the Hufflepuffs left the greenhouse. "Want to come?"

Hugo was tempted, but he shook his head. "Another time. I need to write to my parents about last night."

"Last night . . . Oh." LIght dawned, and Sandy gave him a rueful smile. "The Sorting. How do you think they'll take the news?"

Hugo shrugged. "Well, they won't disown me or anything. It'll be a shock, though."

"Good luck. Be sure to tell them how brilliant your classmates are." Sandy giggled and raced off after the others, leaving Hugo to trudge back to the castle alone.

He reached the entrance to the common room, gave the password, and entered. Merlin, the place was yellow!

Half an hour later, Hugo reread what he hoped would be the final draft of his letter.

Dear Mum and Dad,

Well, it's been quite an exciting first night and day at Hogwarts. I arrived with my brain stuffed full of advice from Rose and Albus, among others. The ride was still fun, though. The tea trolley is amazing! Don't worry, Mum, I ate the sandwiches you packed before buying any sweets.

So far, classes are going all right. I've had double Potions and Herbology. There's homework already - lots of homework. And yes, Mum, I promise I won't put it off.

I do have a big surprise for you, though, so you'd probably better sit down. You see, I got Sorted into Hufflepuff. [Hugo winced as he reread this sentence.] I didn't even have time to say anything to the Hat, it just yelled out 'Hufflepuff' and that was that.

But everybody's been great about it and I'm okay with it, really I am. I can take a little teasing, I'm used to it. I just hope that when we play Quidditch at the Burrow, I can get someone on my side. I don't fancy playing against all the Weasleys and Potters and whatnots at once.

The Hufflepuff common room is really comfortable, though I wish it wasn't quite so much like the inside of a lemon.

Well, I have to go find the Owlery and get this sent. Rose told me how to get there.

Your loving son,

Hugo