The Boy Who Wanted to Live

First Class

 Harry walked into the Transfiguration classroom ten minutes early and sat down at a random desk with disregard. He pulled out his wand and tapped in restlessly on the table for a few seconds before grabbing his book and opening it to the first chapter. 

The art of Transfiguration comes from the latin practice of....

Harry was lost in the words and couldn't tear himself from the pages. The techniques were so simple and the phrases were just basic Latin. Harry realised quickly that he could recognize what a spell was based off of the latin suffixes they used. He smiled contently certain that he could ace this class without any effort at all. It was about the science of the object he was transforming, recognizing how he would need to turn the cells and about the english-or Latin- words to use to make a conduct to mold the magic in him to change the cellular makeup of whatever he was changing! Harry could do that easily! 

Slowly students around him filled the classroom. They giggled and chattered with friends but Harry was practicing the wand movements with his nose scrunched in concentration. He couldn't get the wand to feel right in his hand and sighed. The movements were too jerky and he was too concentrated on the wand to focus on the math of it. Of course this would be easier with something to practise on. Harry took a pencil out of his bag, why he had a pencil in a Wizarding school Harry didn't know, and placed it on his desk. He looked through the first chapter of the book and frowned. He didn't want to turn it into a matchstick because what if it caught fire? And a mouse was out as he didn't want to hurt a living creature.... Harry frowned and looked at the pencil. Well a pencil was wood and had graphite in it right? So the easiest thing to do would be to transform it to either some type of rock or something made of wood. He frowned and pulled out his wand again and closed his eyes. He felt his magic within him. Felt the aura of the pencil and thought hard about what it was made of. His hand easily made the movements he had been practising earlier.

"Verto Petra" Harry said clearly, swishing his wand over the pencil. 

Harry opened his eyes and looked down at his desk. Where a pencil once sat there was a perfectly cut diamond sitting in its place. Harry frowned and picked it up. That wasn't what he wanted. He groaned in irritation and looked around for his teacher. There was only a simple Tabby cat watching him curiously from on top of her desk. Harry shoved the small diamond in his pocket, unaware of it's worth and huffed aggravated. The other students slowly sat down in their chairs and started to read the first chapter in the book as the instructions on the board said. Harry closed his book as he had already read the chapter several times and shoved it in his bag. 

Several minutes passed before Ron Weasley ran threw the classroom doors and slammed into the seat next to Harry. Harry looked at his friend with annoyance.

"I got lost in this castle for nearly an hour this morning!" Ron whispered, pulling his book from his bag.

The cat nearby twitched it's tail with annoyance. Harry frowned at the strange behaviour. He turned to his friend and helped Ron find the chapter they were supposed to be reading silently. 

"Next time just ask the portraits. They'll show you the way, Ron." Harry said softly. "I already read the chapter and from the look of it so has Hermione, so I am going to ask the teacher if we can study together in the hallway when she gets back."

As if on cue the cat nearby transformed into an old woman who frowned at Ron in disapproval. Harry swallowed hard and tried to hold back his surprise unlike his friend. 

"Harry Potter, why you are in my class right now when there are no other Hufflepuffs nearby is beyond me. However, I have been watching you since you entered and your discipline and helpfulness has earned Hufflepuff five house points." She said sharply "I assume there must be something wrong with your class schedule so I will excuse you this time. Go to Headmaster Dumbledore's office and he will help you sort this out."