Riptides (Fred Weasley Fan Fiction)

Chapter 5

Hugh Jackman - From Now On

The years went by very quickly and Lyssie has learnt a lot about magic, potions, magical creatures and much more. What she enjoyed most were the potions, though. She loved how she could use various ingredients to create something amazing and how tiny mistakes had a huge impact on the finished product. By the time she was fourteen, she was able to create Amortentia for love, a Rat Tonic to help pets, Veritaserum for liars, and many more. Preparing potions made her feel powerful. She felt that she could do anything with just a couple of items. She could make someone fall in love with her, heal various illnesses and wounds, and, if she wanted of course, even kill someone. Surely, she enjoyed the power the knowledge of potions gave her.

Lyssie liked Transfiguration as well, but mostly because she didn't consider it too challenging. She got the gist quickly and didn't have many problems changing the household items into whatever she wanted. One time she even turned one of the kitchen chairs into a big cat. The animal started running around the room with her dad on its back and Lyssie couldn't stop laughing. Catching it and turning it back to a chair was more of a challenge, however. Luckily, she had managed to do so with the help of her dad, who then soon forgot about the incident.

What she found problematic, on the other hand, was Herbology. She has never been great at biology and now there were so many new plants she had to study. What is more, they seemed way more complicated than the muggle trees and bushes. She had to know everything about their build and uses, which varied according to the season. Learning from books was a nightmare due to the multitude of tiny details she had to memorize, but she quite enjoyed the practical part. Her father would take her on a long walk to see the plants, identify them and sometimes collect some samples. However, the only motivation she had to learn it all was the fact that a lot of them were used for potions.

Lyssie also leant a lot about Hogwarts; however, at the beginning her dad was hesitant to share anything about this mysterious place. It took her over a year to get him to sit down and tell her about the school. They were having a Potions lesson and she threated that she was going to give Amortentia to their old neighbor Mrs. Cheshire so that she falls in love with her dad if he doesn't tell her something more about Hogwarts.

"Hogwarts is a school for wizards and witches," he explained. "But I think you know that already."

Indeed, she learnt that when they went shopping to the Diagon Alley for the first time. Later, she also saw this word a couple of times in the book on History of Magic, but Anthony kept avoiding telling her about the details. However, it seemed that this time she was about to learn something new. He understood that he couldn't pretend that Hogwarts didn't exist forever.

"You go there for seven years, you know," he continued. "But first, you have to be sorted into your house."

"My house?" she asked curiously.

Anthony tried to remember Professor McGonagall's words and after a brief moment, he explained:

"There are four houses: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Each house has an outstanding history and great witches and wizards belonged to each of them. They're called houses, because your house is like your home when you're at Hogwarts. You study together, eat together, you sleep in the same dormitory. They're kind of like your class you had at school."

"Well, I'd prefer them to be nothing like my class at school," she commented.

"They're kind of like your class, but way bigger and parents can't choose which house will you go to," he added ignoring her comment. "The Sorting Hat does."

"The Sorting Hat?"

"Yes. There is a ceremony during which all the students from the first year and sorted into their houses," he explained. "You sit on a stool, the hat is placed on your head and after a moment, it tells you what house you're in. It's pretty simple but some people were stressed. Not me, of course."