Echo | Harry Potter - George Weasley

Chapter 4: So Much to Remember, So Much to Forget

When Shaye woke up the morning of her first full day at Hogwarts, the first thing she did was wander over to the window that overlooked the rest of the castle and the school grounds. With the darkness of the night and all of the excitement, Shaye hadn't really been able to take in everything the evening before. Now, however, with the morning sun shining bright, she could see the courtyard, the lake, the Quidditch pitch, and the forest. It was spectacular.

For a while, Shaye just admired the view from her tower dormitory. When the other girls began to stir and get ready for classes, she did the same. 

"Good morning." Hermione smiled sleepily, rolling out of bed and gathering her books. "Do you have Transfiguration first?"

Shaye nodded as she pulled her red Gryffindor robes on, struggling with the red and gold tie for a few moments before finally securing a decent knot. "Yup, with McGonagall."

"Perfect! We can walk together."

"Sounds good. I'll meet you in the common room."

Loading her book bag full of the books and various supplies she would be needing for the day, Shaye checked and double-checked that she had everything before packing away the rest of her things in the trunk at the foot of her bed. As she lifted the old, worn wooden lid, Shaye felt a groove on the underside with her fingers.

Curious, Shaye bent down to take a look. Beside the metal latch on the underside of the lid, the letters HC had been engraved crudely, obviously by hand and not by magic. Unsure of what the initials stood for, Shaye shrugged it off and stuffed her belongings inside the trunk quickly so she could meet Hermione and head to her first class of the day.

The inside of the Transfiguration classroom was bright and beautiful; completely unlike any normal classroom that Shaye had ever been in before. There were three lines of desks, each desk seating two people. Excitedly, Hermione grabbed Shaye's wrist and dragged her up toward one of the desks closest to the chalkboard, which displayed words and symbols unknown to Shaye.

Once the class had taken their seats and the large double doors had shut, a grey and black cat slinked down the aisle and jumped up onto the desk, where it sat and watched the room. Unsure of what to do, Shaye and Hermione pulled out their Transfiguration books and waited for the class to begin.

"Where are Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked, noticing their absence. 

Before Shaye could say anything, the large doors burst open and the two boys ran through, clearly late and out of breath from running. Hermione shook her head in disapproval and Shaye chuckled.

"Made it!" Ron exhaled, peering around the room but seeing no teacher. "Can you imagine the look on McGonagall's face if we were late?"

It was then that the cat leapt off of the desk and in mid-air transformed into McGonagall herself. McGonagall, with her glasses perched on the brim of her nose and green robes flowing behind her, approached the two latecomers. The looks on Harry's and Ron's faces were priceless.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron exclaimed.

"Thank you for that assessment, Mr. Weasley." McGonagall looked down at the boys disapprovingly. "Perhaps it would be more useful if I were to transfigure Mr. Potter and yourself into a pocket-watch. That way, one of you might be on time."

Harry swallowed hard. "We got lost."

"Then perhaps a map?" McGonagall suggested. "I trust you don't need one to find your seats."

Without saying another word, the boys sat down in the last empty desk at the front of the room and McGonagall began the first Transfiguration lesson of the school year, which was more or less just a simple introduction to the subject since the children were first-years, after all.