𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒓𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅, george weasley

chapter 4 - first lessons

It took Ileana a while to get used to the flow of Hogwarts.

   There were a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts: wide, sweeping ones; narrow, rickety ones; some that led somewhere different on a Friday. Then there were doors that wouldn't open unless you asked politely or tickled them in exactly in the right place, and doors that weren't really doors at all, only solid walls just pretending.

   The ghosts weren't of much help. Nearly Headless Nick was always happy to point new Gryffindors in the right direction, but it was pointless asking Peeves the Poltergeist. He was worth two locked doors and a trick staircase if you ever come about him. He would pull rugs from under your feet, pelt you with anything he could find, or sneak up behind you, invisible, grab your nose, and scream, "Got your conk!"

   The caretaker, Argus Filch, was just as worse as Peeves. Ileana tried to avoid him at all times. Filch knew the secret passageways of the school better than anyone and could pop up as suddenly as any of the ghosts. All the students hated him, along with his cat, Mrs. Norris.

   The lessons took some getting used to as well. Ileana knew there was more to magic than waving a wand or snapping your fingers, but never would she have expected to be studying the movement of planets with telescopes. This would be every Wednesday at midnight. Then three times a week they went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology with Professor Sprout, who was a dumpy little witch. They learned how to take care of all the strange plants and fungi and found out what they were used for. I see what Mum was talking about now, Ileana thought.

   History of Magic was a strange lesson, as it is the only class taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old indeed when he had fallen asleep in front of the staff-room fire and got up the next morning to teach, leaving his body behind him.

   Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, was a tiny little wizard who had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk. Professor McGonagall was again different. Strict and clever, she gave them a talking-to the moment they had sat down in her first class.

   "Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts," she said. "Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned."

   Then she changed her desk to a pig and back. Ileana was very impressed and couldn't wait to get started, but soon realized that they weren't going to be changing furniture into animals for a long time. After a long time of complicated note-taking, they were each given a match and started trying to turn it into a needle. Only Hermione had made any difference to her match by the end of the lesson.

   The class everyone had really been looking forward to was Defence Against the Dark Arts, but Professor Quirrell's lessons turned out to be quite a bit of a joke. His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he'd met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days. The turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a zombie, but Ileana wasn't sure she believed his story.

Friday came, and Ileana dressed quickly to get down to breakfast early. Upon leaving, a short 'ahem' caught her attention.

   "You wouldn't mind waiting for me, would you?" said Hermione. She had slipped out of bed, her bushy hair stuck out in several directions.

   "Sure." she said airily. Ileana waited for her until she was fully dressed and grabbed her book bag. Her hair was still bushy, but better controlled. Together, the two of them walked down to the Great Hall.

   Ileana didn't know Hermione that well. Sometimes they would sit next to each other in class, but she would be set in a learning mode. They are roommates, however, most nights she would isolate herself from the others, focused on finishing her homework or cracking open a book. Ileana did become good friends with Harry and Ron. Whenever Professor Sprout assigned a group activity in Herbology, they wouldn't hesitate to be one together.