Semper Fidelis

Chapter 10.1

reneo (verb)
untangle

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Chapter 10

James watched as the second hand on his mechanical watch ticked towards the 12. At precisely 8:30am, Professor McGonagall strode inside the classroom. The class of Hogwarts first year students from all four Houses were silent as they watched her walk down the centre aisle and towards the front of the room. Desks holding three students each lined the aisle and James could feel Nate tense from next him as the stern woman passed beside. James had wanted to sit at the very front of the classroom, but at Nate's insistence he, Nate, and Teddy sat at a desk at the middle of the room instead. James also noticed that the students seemed to have sat themselves according to their Houses. The Gryffindors and Ravenclaws sat at the front half of the classroom with the aisle in between, while the Slytherins and Hufflepuffs mirrored their arrangement at the back. James hoped it wouldn't stay this way for the whole school year - he wanted to make friends outside of his House too. He looked across the aisle and caught the glance of a blonde haired Ravenclaw witch sitting with her friends. He gave her a smile and after a second of holding his eyes, she smiled back.

Professor McGonagall took a moment to survey her new class of bright and eager students. She could see that most were alert and perhaps a little scared. There was a handful of students who looked like they were ready to go back to bed. She could count in one hand how many students looked at ease in her classroom.

"Welcome to Transfiguration." She said in a clear voice. All backs were straightened and the first years gave her their full attention. "Can anyone tell me what Transfiguration is?"

No one in class raised their hands. James bit his lip as his hand trembled to raise upwards.

McGonagall gave a wry smile. "Surely at least one of you know what you are doing here."

At her remark students started raising their hand, amongst them James, Teddy, and the Ravenclaw girl from across the aisle.

"Go on, Ms. Green."

The Ravenclaw girl, Eleanor Green, bit her lip as she raised from her seat. In a soft, slightly shaky voice, she answered. "Transfiguration is a type of magic that changes the form or appearance of an object or a person."

McGonagall smiled. "There is no need to be nervous, Ms. Green, for you are exactly correct. Five points to Ravenclaw." 

Eleanor just about beamed as she sat down on her desk. Her seatmates gave her encouraging smiles and she looked across the aisle to see James giving her a wide grin.

"Like Ms. Green said, Transfiguration magic can change the form or appearance of anything. It is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will ever learn here at Hogwarts and so it demands your full attention. Anyone, and I mean anyone, messing around in my class will not be coming back. Do I make myself clear?" Everyone in the room nodded. "Good. Now take out your textbooks and turn to chapter one. Before you learn any Transfiguration or Untransfiguration spells, it is important to know when an object or person has been transfigured. Revelio is a revealing spell that does just this..."

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James emerged from the Charms classroom in the east wing three hours later with his bag heavy with notes and his right hand stained with ink. Professor Flitwick had given them a very thorough lesson on what Charms was. "Charms is different from Transfiguration," he said. "A charm will add properties to a person or an object, while Transfiguration will change it to something completely different." He promised that in the next lesson there will be more wand-waving and less note-taking and James could hardly wait.

The three boys made their way to the Great Hall for lunch while chatting about their afternoon lessons.

"Hey Weasel, Chameleon," a deep voice called from the side.

A boy of fourteen years old was leaning against the stone wall with his arms crossed at his front. He had auburn hair and bright blue eyes and a sly grin on his face. His uniform bore the Slytherin logo and he sported a Prefect's badge.

Teddy and Nate returned the boy's smile and led James in his direction.

"Hey Drew, how's it going?" Teddy asked.

"Oh you know, just trying to keep you first years out of trouble. Hope I won't have to take any points from you guys this year." Drew replied with a wink.

"Ha! You wish. Gryffindor will win the House cup, you can bet on that!" Nate replied haughtily.

Drew snickered. "Who's your friend there?" He asked, finally settling his icy blue eyes on James.

James held his gaze and extended his right hand. "Daniel James Watson, though everyone calls me James. Pleasure to meet you."

Drew nodded his head and gripped his hand tight for a shake. "Andrew Christopher Wood, but I go by Drew."

"He's my cousin," Nate said.

Drew snorted. "Fake cousin, Weasel. I shudder to think what would happen if we're actually related."

Nate rolled his eyes. "Fine, he's my fake cousin. His dad is good friends with my family." He explained and James nodded. Drew, being taller than Nate, gripped him in a headlock under his arm and ruffled his hair. Nate tried to squirm away. "Ugh, cut it out Drew!"

"You talk so much Weasel. Don't you ever get tired of your voice? I know I do." Drew replied, finally letting go of Nate who rushed away from his side. Teddy and James watched the display with mirth in their eyes and tried to keep their laughter at bay.

"So, did any one of you know Uncle Harry was gonna be the new DADA professor?" Drew asked. He ushered the group further down the hall and away from the traffic by the door.

Teddy shook his head in the negative. "Nope, dad or mum didn't say anything. We spoke to Uncle Harry last night after dinner and he said this was all last minute."

"Damn - I didn't get a chance to talk to him yet because of Prefect's duties and I haven't had his class yet."

"We haven't either; Defence is after lunch," Nate said.

Drew rubbed his chin and gazed into the distance thoughtfully. "Mmm.. I wonder why he did this. It's so strange. Dad was just saying that he hadn't seen Uncle Harry in games in a while because he's so busy with work."

"Whatever his reasons are I'm glad he's here! Can you imagine what he could teach us?!" Nate said enthusiastically.

"It's not like you'll be learning any complicated spells or anything. You're still a first year." Drew said bluntly. "But the fourth year DADA class on the other hand... now I can imagine that being fun!"

Nate sent him a glare. "Whatever. I'm sure his class would be great even if we don't learn anything too complex."

"I saw him cast a really complicated looking spell today." James said. All six eyes turned to his direction and he went on. "I was walking through the grounds this morning and I saw him flying. He was so fast and so high up in the air and then he suddenly fell." All six eyes bugged. "So I ran towards him but then he summoned his broom and created this huge fireball that lit up the sky right where he just was and the next thing I know he was on his broom again and touching back down." James finished in one breath.

Drew let out a whistle. "I wish I could've seen that."

"It was frightening and bloody brilliant at the same time." James said with wide eyes.

Teddy furrowed his brows. "That sounds like an Auror maneuver to me. Dad would talk about it - it's part of their training and it's really difficult and dangerous."

"Just because he's a professor now doesn't mean he can slack off," Nate said thoughtfully. "Uncle Harry's still an Auror through and through."

The boys nodded in agreement and walked towards the Great Hall for lunch.

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