The Hedgehog Dilemma

September 5th 1980: Defense Against the Dark Arts

September 5th 1890:

The morning had followed the same strict pattern Ominis had set out in his first week in the castle. He woke at 6, shaved his face in the small wash basin to the right of his bed; pulled on his freshly pressed suit; did up the buttons of his blazer from bottom to top taking extra care that both sides were perfectly lined up; fixed his hair with the expensive creams and oils that he had pilfered from his stay with his family; and exited the small communal bedroom he shared with his fellow classmates, all before the other boys began to stir from their slumber.

By 7, Ominis had taken his usual spot by the tall glass windows that looked out into the black lake. He had always loved the peace of the common room in the early morning, before the rest of his house had awoken. Only a small few woke this early, most of which taking the extra time to catch-up on outstanding homework or to make use of the peace and quiet and read a few chapters of their book. All were hushed, any conversation was relaxed and friendly. It was at this time Ominis didn't hate his house so much. Slytherin's had a reputation as being shroud and closed off. He wished the stereotypes were true, but most of his housemates were quite the opposite, talkative, social creatures that thrived off companionship. It was no wonder that they were so notoriously friendly with hufflepuffs, loyalty seemed to do wonders to win over the snakes.

To Ominis, Slytherin seemed a halfway house between Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Gryffindors were loud and ballsy, you could always rely on one to cause a seen. Take Garreth Weasley for example, the boy seemed to have an effinity for blowing things up, much to the dislike of Proffesor Sharp. But Ominis didn't mind him, he'd rather listen to Garreth's Concotions fizzing and  bubbling then to the Proffesor berating him for his inability to brew even a basic Wiggenweld Potion. What he didn't enjoy was their love for loud, spontaneous celebration. Last year, upon winning the house cup, a pair of 7th years had taken it upon themselves to surprise the Great hall with an impromptu firework display. Ominis, who hadn't the faintest clue what was truely happening, had panicked believing the castle to be under attack resulting in a rather embarrassing display from the boy as he cowered in fear ducking under the table.

Ravenclaw's seemed quite the opposite end of the spectrum. Cocky know-it-alls, who wouldn't sleep until a paper was submitted. It was entirely ridiculous the lengths they would go. Amit Thakkar, a ravenclaw boy in his year, was infamous for sneaking to the observation deck at late hour in the night to stargaze. Now the issue here was not the boy sneaking around at night, that was a common practice for students of any house, but instead that the boy refused to break a singular other rule. It baffled Ominis, how the boy who was usually so cowardly around teachers was breaking this rule so obviously. All in the pursuit of knowledge.

Slytherin sat neatly between the two. Prideful, of course, and not afraid to show their house spirit. But also incredibly academically focused. Perhaps it was their competitive nature, perhaps it was pure ambition. But every Slytherin he knew was good at something, be it flying like Imelda or Dueling like Sebastian. Matteo Zabini, who also shared a room with Ominis,  was marvelous at transfiguration, he had been known to transfigure the pumpkin juice in his goblet into white wine on many occasions. Nerida Roberts expertise lied in wizarding relations and politics. And Ominis himself, well he wasn't quite sure. He was no expert at anything.

After a short while, people started flooding into the large room. Mostly excited first years, a majority of which rushing to join him by the windows. The large glass windows at the end of the common room had always been an alluring sight for the baby wizards and witches. Every year the same gaggle of 11 year-olds crowded around them, chattering awestruck nonsense.
"If you look closely you may spot some of the merfolk." It was completely untrue. The merfolk would never be seen this close to the castle. But the excitement of the first years was entirely to humouring. It was a prank he and Anne had started by their second year, an odd housewarming ritual to ring in the new year. He couldn't bring himself not too, for the sake of tradition.