Chapter 5: Of Teachers And Teacups

When the morning sun was about to rise I woke up from a deep sleep with a bewildered look on my face. Whas yesterday just another pleasant dream? Or was it reality? I sighed when I discovered I was in a four-poster bed decorated with red and gold.

So it wasn't a dream. YAY! None of the other girls were awake, so I grabbed my uniform, wand, towel, etc. and tip-toed to the bathroom. I took a quick shower, dressed, and pondered over what to do with my short hair.

Up (as much as it will go), down, teased, straight... I settled for it being in its natural, semi-wavy state, hanging in many layers (the longest reaching just below my chin). No makeup today, I had exploring to do, and I didn't wan't to waste time on something that I don't really care for.

I crept back into the room, careful not to wake any of the girls, grabbed my bookbag and trainers, and headed out the door to explore all the nooks and crannies of the castle. I was enjoying my adventure of walking the halls, when I came across a tabby-ish cat with yellow lamp-like eyes that was surveying the hall as if looking for something or someone.

To be frank, it creeped me out to the point where I ran past the cat, full speed, down the corridor and the stairs; I didn't stop until I found myself utterly lost in the giant maze called a school.

I turned around and tried to retrace my steps, only to find out the stairs had changed. Deciding it would be best to continue on my lost path, I went down a set of stairs and greatfully sighed when I saw the doors of the Great Hall. I checked the time on the giant clock and saw that it was fifteen minutes until eight, perfect time to eat and wait for everyone to congregate in the Great Hall.

"You sure were up early this morning, Dylan. Where did you go?" Angelina's voice called as she walked towards where I was sitting.

"I explored the castle; I didn't know I woke anyone up when I was leaving. Sorry if I woke you." I said apologetically.

"You didn't wake me. I was getting up when you were closing the door. I usually get up really early." She replied.

I noticed then that every part of Angelina's outfit was perfect. It looked as if she had spent a lot of time making sure everything was exact. I, on the other hand, had haphazardly thrown on my uniform/robes and hadn't even tied my tie.

The rest of the school waking up was more noticeable now that there were about 40 students eating breakfast. Teachers were also slowly appearing to welcome a nice hot meal to start the day. I took a long look at each of the teachers that were present and decided they were decent.

Well, all except the one with dark greasy hair and a gigantic hook nose. He looked postively discriminatory! His scowl that seemed to be branded on his face gave him the appearance of a royal family member who looked down on everyone. His face, although almost as revolting as Marcus Flint's, looked as if he held a vast number of secrets.

Another teacher sat down next to him, and he sparked my interest even further. His face became more hateful towards the world as this newcomer said something to him. I turned my attention to the newcomer and gasped as realization hit me like a bludger.

"Remus Lupin?!" I whispered, still in shock.

"Yes Dylan, that's Professor Lupin, and I'm Fred Weasley and this is my brother George," Fred said carefully, his voice came from somewhere over my shoulder.

"I know who you are Fred. I don't have amnesia, if that's what you were thinking."

"Oh... I'll be quiet now."

"Hah! That's impossible for you!" Katie exclaimed.

I slowly abandoned my fish-out-of-water face as I remembered Dumbledore's speech from last night. I noticed Professor McGonagall passing out schedules and sincerely hoped I had Defense Against the Dark Arts today, so that I could have a chance to speak with him. Angelina then assured me that they had the same classes everyday.

I wasn't worried about any of my classes not being the ones I chose because I had received almost all O's on my OWLs. Glancing at my schedule and comparing to those around me I discovered that I had:

9 o'clock: Transfiguration (with Oliver, Alicia and Lee)

10 o'clock: Defense Against the Dark Arts (with everyone)

11 o'clock: Charms (with Angelina, Alicia, Fred and George)

12 o'clock: Lunch

1 o'clock: Magical Architecture and Origami Map Folding (with no one)

2 o'clock: Potions (with everyone but Lee and Katie)

3 o'clock: Study Hall (with Oliver and Katie)

4 o'clock: Divination (with Angelina, Fred, George, and Alicia)

9 o'clock: Astronomy (with everyone)

"Dylan, how come you're not taking Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures? You said earlier you received E's in both of those classes." Alicia curiously questioned.

"Oh, um... Let's see how to put this... Okay. My former teacher, Mrs. Pentstemmon, had some nasty little nymphs that were to help her with her daily tasks. They formed a grudge against me when I tried to help Mrs. Pentstemmon deal with her mandrakes. From then on I seemed to have horrible luck with creatures and plants, so this year I decided to leave them behind." I replied.

"Smart. I wish I could do that, but I need to know about magical creatures in order to be accepted into any part of the ministry." Alicia said.

"Well, class is about to start. We better get going." Katie stated and stood up. The group followed suit and we made our way to our different classes.

The transfiguration classroom was larger than I expected, but I guess I didn't take into account the room needed to store the supplies all seven years would be needing the entire year. Professor McGonagall was sitting at a giant desk at the front of the room and on the board were the words, "Please sit in alphabetical order, A at the front and Z at the back."

I hung towards the back with Oliver while Lee and Alicia headed towards the middle. The classroom filled quickly with chaos as everyone tried to find who they sat between. It was during this chaotic ritual of the first day of school (I assumed this happened every year) that I discovered my last name was the last out of everyone else's.

Sitting down next to Oliver, I studied the faces of my classmates. Some were talking, catching up on what happened over the summer, and some were glaring holes in each other. I assumed this behaviour was because of the rift in the houses.

"Settle down please." McGonagall's stern voice pierced the massive cloud of noise and everyone became silent as mice.

"Today we will be turning rats into teacups for a review of last year. Does everyone remember the spell? In case you forgot, which you probably did, it's Artemias Chinea." (A/N: I made that up so don't get mad)

It took me two tries to make my teacup without whiskers, but poor Oliver Wood couldn't manage to make a perfect teacup. His final product was a furry cup with little pink feet that scrambled all over the desk. McGonagall told him to study and practice for homework and to be ready to show his skills in class tomorrow.

After that conversation Oliver turned to me and pleaded to get me to help him. I finally agreed because I wanted to improve my chances of becoming chaser at the upcoming tryouts, even though transfiguration and quidditch are two completely different things.

McGonagall then assigned our homework, which was to read the first chapter of our transfiguration book and be ready to practice any of the spells in the chapter.

(A/N: I was wondering if anyone would write a review because none of my friends will give me feedback on whether this story is even worth writing... Thanks for reading!)