Year One: The Mauraders and the Forbidden Forest

Chapter 3: Classes

Remus stepped into a dark, cold, damp dungeon and shivered. What a way to start a new morning. Students were already filing in, eyes browsing about with anxiety and intrigue. Slowly, the young boy moved to find himself a suitable table, before anyone else can push him into one he didn't want. He seated himself in the corner, where the shadows would cover him from view.

Rapid whispers were hushed when a tall figure swooped into the dungeon and headed to the front. The creature, apparently the professor of the class, turned his eyes to the group, watching them carefully. After the silence went on until who knew when, the professor surprised a couple of students by screaming out the obvious commands, "Take your seats! Come now, hurry! I will not have time wasted in this class."

Students, it seemed, were already seated comfortably, clustered in the tables. Some giggled and whispered to each other. Already many had made friends. Remus found that his partner in the corner was a raven haired student with bright blue eyes. He seemed to recognize her, but he couldn't put his finger on why it was so. When she had given Remus a small smile, he was reassured that not everybody will be unfriendly to him, no matter how small or how helpless he was. This caused him to smile back.

The professor waited again until the dungeon pervaded into silence, the smallest drop of water in the back dungeons heard echoing into the room. He finally cleared his throat. "I'm to take it that this is Gryffindor house? This is pretty pathetic, considering that none of you were quick enough to have your books out without my saying so. Where did your learning go? Come, come! I want quills and books out!"

Rummaging was heard throughout the room, as each student plucked from their bags a copy of A Beginner's Guide to Concoctions, written by Esmerelda Ensalada. At this point, Remus was getting used to the momentary interruptions towards the eerie silence. To him, he'd rather hear something else than the water drops. His wish was granted when the professor spoke before everyone else can get back to silence.

"This is not a class to be taken lightly! I will have you work hard at it, and your outcomes will be tested and graded as large projects. For you familiar with the Muggle world, this class would be similar to Muggle chemistry, an experimental science. Don't worry, the theory behind potions and such are quite different and easier for you 10 and 11-year-olds to understand. You will learn ingredients, know how to combine them, and concoct potions potent or helpful."

The professor's eyes wavered from one person to another, making the students squirm and turn away uncomfortably. A young boy stifled his yawn, almost awarding himself a detention at the beginning of his first year.

"You may call me Professor Dunbar. If you are in absolute need to search me out, I am Head of Slytherin. Learn my name and remember it well. Woe to those who choose to call me other than the name I give to you."

A small giggle escaped from the side, where some girls had whispered to each other. The black haired girl next to Remus also grinned softly at the professor's last comment. Professor Dunbar frowned and went to his desk. "Enough giggling there, girls. Everyone, I want you to turn to page..."

And the class finally started...

Remus came out of the dungeons, getting color back in his pale face. It almost seemed that he had spent a whole day down at the bottom of Hogwarts castle, by how his complexion looked. He felt a small tap at his shoulder, and he turned.

"Hello," the dark haired girl said to him, smiling. It was the same girl who sat at his table. "I don't think you enjoyed much of Professor Dunbar's lecture today."

"The dungeons are pretty depressing," he answered back, "It's not really the class, just the area."

"I know what you mean," she replied, holding up her hand, "Melanie Belle."

"I'm--"

He was interrupted, when a boy with glasses rushed over and almost catapulted into Melanie. "Excuse me! Hi, I'm James Potter. Nice to meet you. I believe you're in my dorm room? You see, we roomies should stick together, don't you think? That was something my Mum told me to do before she dropped me off at the station."

Another boy walked up, scowling, "Yeah, this is the only reason as to why I am standing here. This is definitely not my choice to get dragged around. What kind of social freedom is this anyway?"

The young girl that had been pushed aside slinked out of the conversation, apparently left out. Though she felt no insult, it seemed odd that she should be pushed out of the way like that. Well, chivalry was completely out the window, it seems. Without further ado, the girl politely told them that she needed to head on up to the next class.

"Honestly, Sirius," James said to him, frowning. "You make me look like a warden, keeping you prisoner. Lighten up, will you?"

Sirius gave him another menacing glare before looking back at Remus. "I'm guessing you met 'Miss Rich Girl.' What's her name?"

"Melanie Belle," a voice told them from behind. It was that pudgy boy from before. "Her dad is head of the Aurors in France. That's where she gets all her money from."

Remus looked curiously at the boy. "You know a lot about her, don't you?"

The boy nodded. "That's because I've kept in close touch with the wizarding world. By the way, the name's Peter."

"Nice to meet you."

They headed on to their next class, anticipating something exciting, since it would be held outside. Their next professor seemed pretty...interesting. They found her bustling about, carrying fertilizer, whistling happily. After a few moments, the witch realized her students were gazing at her curiously, as she was cheerfully pouring fertilizer and chatting among her precious plants.

A little figure walked about at her side, brown in color, with a pointed nose and an elven hat. Timid, it kept its head down and circled around the students to get to his mistress. When it reached the middle, though, it looked up, and stared at Lily. The girl smiled at it, but the creature looked back down and hurriedly walked straight. It bumped into the professor, and she shook her head. "Go on, Starbucks, I can handle everything from here."

The brown creature dropped everything it was holding and ran out into its burrow. James looked at his teacher with skepticism. What an odd creature! The professor noticed his stare and she smiled. "That's my brownie, what some Muggles would call a 'smurf.' But that's not why you're here, isn't it? I think you're here to learn about plants! But first...get over there and help me by carrying those pots towards the table, and then we can start! After all, what is class without work, eh?"

By the time lunch arrived, Sirius had slumped onto the Gryffindor table. "Two classes, and I'm already exhausted! Tell me that's it for today..."

"Relax, we only have three more classes left," Peter said from behind, "Besides, you're only tired because our whole Herbology lesson consisted of helping Professor Shroommush with rearranging her greenhouse."

Sirius cringed at the small remembrance of the large pots he handled. Sarah, who had also joined the table, giggled. "Really, we didn't get too much homework for the first day. I don't know what you're complaining about."

"Why do I have the curse of being in Gryffindor? Why can't we all switch classes so I don't have to be stuck with Potter, Evans, or Belle?" the boy whined.

"Hey, watch what you're saying about me," James said, grinning, "Am I THAT annoying?"

"You think this is a joke, do you?"

James scratched his head, pretending to be ignorant, "Do I think what is a joke?"

"Aw...forget it..." Sirius snapped, his head still placed on top of the table. "I have no will to argue at the moment."

Sarah was looking further down the table, trying to see if she could spot her cousin. She did see Lily, who was seated with two other students that didn't seem familiar to her. Smiling, the blonde suggested that they go sit with Lily and the others. Another complaint came from Sirius. "Oh, no...James here is bad enough as is, and now you want to add 'Red and Rich'? Count me out."

The boy grumbled and complained as three students pulled and pushed him over to 'Red and Rich'. Sarah smiled at the seated Gryffindors. "Do you mind?"

"Erm...I think Sirius would prefer not sitting here, don't you think?" Lily asked politely, amused at the reluctant black-haired boy. "Look how he squirms!"

Peter glared at Sirius, while James patted him on the back, feigning a look of pity. "Ah...poor Sirius, he has had such a tough time today...what with 9 rolls of parchment to complete, and our rough handling of him as we walked towards this blessed table..."

"Hey! I'm not that wimpy! And we did not have to do 9 rolls of parchment!" Sirius turned to one of Lily's friends, who he knew as Remus, unsure, "Did we?"

Remus shook with laughter at the skeptical face that was given him. "No, no, we only have 12 for Herbology."

"WHAT?!"

The whole table doubled up in laughter. Sirius was flustered. "Oy! Stop bloody kidding me!"

Lily shook her head, "If you really want to know, the homework asked for half a role of parchment. If you listened, maybe you wouldn't have been so gullible."

"Look, it's not my fault I dozed off!" Sirius retorted. "Class was so incredibly exciting with the eccentric teacher demanding that we run around with plants all period!"

Nobody heeded him as the bell rang, signaling that lunch was over. Lily excused herself and ran out of the hall, followed by Melanie, who also hurried. Remus shook his head with disbelief. "First day here, and they're dashing off to do homework at their break. Can you believe that?"

Lily was amazed at how large the library was. Students from first year to seventh year were walking around, some absorbed in books, and others just trying to find a place to get away from nosy professors. The librarian, a wizard who demanded silence, was not too keen on keeping his rules himself. He was humming at his desk, unawares that some students were staring at him with strange looks. Somewhere at a table was Melanie, conversing with an older blue-robed student. They seemed absorbed in their conversation, so she decided that leaving them be was the best thing at the moment.

Instead, she browsed around. She had, after all, only an hour until the next class. The young girl decided that she'd spend all her breaks in the library. So many books to read...she didn't know where to start...

"Looking for something?" a voice asked her. Lily turned around and saw the librarian. "Maybe something interesting to read, perhaps?"

"Erm..." she blushed. She wasn't used to getting asked for assistance. "No, I think I'll find a book by myself, thanks."

The man shrugged. But then, a few seconds after she was walking to another shelf, the librarian whizzed back with a few books in his arms. "Maybe some books on the fantastic creatures of the world, perhaps? Or how about the history of Hogwarts? What about Quidditch? One can never be too interested in that wonderful sport. Or maybe...something on the dark places of the wizarding world?"

The last thing interested her. "What about the dark places?"

A smile spread across the librarian's face. He bustled past her and took a book from one of the dusty shelves. "Every little witch and wizard is curious about the Forbidden Forest, or Azkaban, even."

"If they were so curious, then why didn't they take that book out for a while?" Lily asked, a bit suspicious of the fidgety wizard who was eager to have someone take books out.

She watched him laugh in a pleasant way. "That's because most of them decide to go see it for themselves. Now, if you ask me, I'd rather take a book out and read about it first before encountering anything...drastic, would you?"

The Gryffindor did see some wisdom in that. So, she accepted the book from his outstretched hand. Unfortunately, before Lily could produce an iota of an opinion of the book, the bell signaling their break was over. She sighed. Later, then. The Evans girl ran towards her next class, her newly borrowed book at her side. Left in the library, the man hummed to himself. "Well, there's an interested child. Days like these, I can't get too many people to take interesting books out..."

The old Transfiguration classroom was cleaned up of its usual mess of books, parchment, and ink all over the place. Professor Lobiesk made sure the area was cleanly enough for her oncoming Charms students. Her colleague Transfiguration teacher had seen no use for the room, as she found one suitable to her tastes elsewhere, and so the room became a Charms classroom.

James entered the room and was pushed onto a seat. The professor looked up from her book and frowned. "Already here? My, my, what an early bird. Well, then, since you're here now, why don't you flip your book to the chapter about the Sonorus Charm? Very useful, especially when you're interested in being the Quidditch play-by-play announcer. You do like Quidditch, right?"

"Yes, but I'd rather not be an announcer," he replied bluntly.

"Oh?" the Charms professor put her book down and smiled, interested in her student's answer, "Why not?"

"I'd rather play than stay there watching."

She chuckled. "What an answer! And you do know there are only seven Quidditch positions in each house, right? And there are definitely many of you who want that kind of ambition."

James shrugged. "You can't really tell, now can you? I'm just a first year."

"Right, then," his professor nodded, "But we shan't be discouraged, now shall we?"

The Gryffindor student shrugged and didn't answer. Instead, he got up and roamed the room, looking at the portraits on the wall. He supposed all the portraits were those of the past Transfiguration teachers. The current Headmaster's portrait was on the far right. James pointed at it and turned to his professor. "Is that Professor Dumbledore?"

"Hmm?" she looked up again. "Oh, yes, that is. Excellent man, Albus Dumbledore. Had him as my Transfiguration teacher when I was in school, two years ago. Very inspiring wizard. Too bad he couldn't quench the thirst of all ambitious wizards when he taught here..."

"Do you mean Voldemort?" the young man asked, now more interested than ever.

His teacher was hushed into silence. After a few minutes' hesitation, she answered him with, "He is definitely an example of one wizard gone bad, but I can't tell you more. After all, he came here before my time."

"But...professor," James was now in full attention, "There have been rumors that he's gaining followers to preach his cause. What on earth do you think it is?"

At this, his teacher paled slightly, but quickly regained senses. She smiled at him. "That's better left unsaid to unsuspecting students. You shouldn't be concerned with him at the moment. Hogwarts is a school for witchcraft and wizardry, not for worrying the young with something they can't even take care of as they are presently."

To the professor's relief, she heard footsteps and laughter in the hall. "Well, bless my soul! I hear voices already! How time flies when you've got something interesting to do and say!"

The professor stood up, ready to welcome her students, brushing her past conversation with the young boy away. "Hello, please take your seats. We will begin the lesson immediately."

James glimpsed red hair bob up and down. It seemed Lily was eager to start her next class. The professor seemed nice, and she wasn't very strict either. When Peter and Sarah came in late (after spending some time getting to know a few more students in the Great Hall), the professor gave a slight frown, but didn't deduct any points. Instead, she pointed her wand at two chairs in front of the classroom and told them to sit there. "I would hate to find out you will be late again the next time."

In the middle of discussing a voice-changing charm, the professor nodded towards Melanie's raised hand, and her eyes widened. "Miss Melanie Belle, is it? How interesting...you don't happen to be related to the Belle Brothers, are you?"

"Um..." the girl blushed. "I'm their sister, Professor Lobiesk."

"Splendid!" her eyes twinkled. "Another of your line!"

Sirius scoffed from the back, apparently bored. He wasn't used to having someone become a favorite of any professor. That was probably why he liked his Potions class the most, so far anyway. He wondered when the class would be over. When Professor Lobiesk continued on with the lesson and told them of the chapters they were required to read that night, Sirius groaned. First day in school, and already the teachers were being merciless.

That evening, Sarah gazed with wonder at Sirius' eagerness in gulping down all his food. "How could you eat so much?"

"Don't interrupt him," James told her, informatively, "Food for him is a means of reflection. Interruption may cause damage to his thinking process."

Sarah rolled her eyes at her friend. "Honestly, James. You have something to say for everything, don't you?"

"I'm disappointed you don't know that by now," her friend answered, acting hurt, "And we've been friends for how long?"

"Boy, will my Mum be disappointed that I didn't make it in Ravenclaw," someone said near them. When Sarah turned, he saw Melanie talking to Remus and Lily.

Lily tilted her head, her usual way of asking important questions. "But, why would they care so much? Is it bad to be put in a different house like Gryffindor?"

"No," Remus responded. "I, for one, am relieved that I made it into Gryffindor rather than Hufflepuff or Slytherin. I guess it's preference in the family's side, considering the fact that all of them but Melanie managed to be in Ravenclaw. For you, Lily, you didn't seem to care, and the Sorting Hat must have placed you wherever you best belonged in."

Melanie nodded. She sighed a bit sadly, "It does get lonely if your brothers aren't in the common room with you...but I guess I can cope..."

"Maybe it was for the best," Sarah piped up, always the optimistic type. "Perhaps fate wanted you in this house instead?"

The half-French witch gazed at the blonde. After a few seconds, she smiled warmly. "Perhaps you're right."

Sirius finally slurped his food down and whispered grudgingly to James. "She should have been placed in Ravenclaw. At least we wouldn't be seeing her everyday in every class..."

"Hush, Sirius," James told him, "That wasn't very nice. Besides, what's your attitude against rich people anyway?"

"Nothing..." he answered, grunting, "Most of them just haven't left a good impression on me, that's all."

Peter shook his head, "And that's where you're going to make enemies, Sirius. Pride and prejudice never brings out the good in people. "

"Better enemies than infatuated stalkers, right?" Sirius grinned, then began to gulp down some more food. It was no use persuading him. He'd have to see for himself what those rich snobs can do. After all, his mother did teach him not to judge a book by its cover, unless of course the cover was inlaid with gold. That is certainly the time to be suspicious of things, was what Sirius' mother had said to him.