When she entered the Great Hall on the first day of school for breakfast, Emaline was probably the most uniquely dressed student of them all. She wore her red, curly hair in a ponytail, wearing the standard Hogwarts uniform: a robe with the Ravenclaw crest and the color blue on the collar, a blue and silver tie, a v-neck jumper, a white shirt, a black skirt, and socks. But she had her own unique style, adding a pair of black fingerless gloves, long pants, a pair of red reading glasses, a pair of flat black shoes and her special Gordian Knot necklace from Ilvermorny, wore a holster for her wand and an unusual watch on her right arm.
"Good morning, Ms. Goode," said a voice. She looked around and saw no one.
"Down here," the voice said irritably.
She looked down and saw a tiny little wizard who was carrying a pile of books in his hands. He put them down on the ground and climbed on top of them, as you would a ladder.
"Oh! Good morning," said Emaline surprisingly.
"I'm Professor Filius Flitwick, Head of Ravenclaw House and I will be your Charms professor. I have your schedule for you. Just sign right there." He handed Emaline a piece of paper which read:
Student Name: Emaline Patricia Goode
Ravenclaw, 6th year (Transfer student)
Should the student have any queries, they should contact their house head.
Monday:
P1: Potions
P2: Charms
P3: Free Time
Lunch
P4: Transfiguration
P5: Defense Against The Dark Arts
P6: History Of Magic
Tuesday:
P1: Free
P2: Free
P3: Transfiguration
Lunch
P4: Potions
P5: Charms
P6: Herbology
Wednesday:
P1: Herbology
P2: Care Of Magical Creatures
P3: History Of Magic
Lunch
P4: Divination
P5: Arithmancy
P6: Study Of Ancient Runes
Thursday:
P1: Defense Against The Dark Arts
P2: Charms
P3: Transfiguration
Lunch
P4: Potions
P5: Free
P6: Free
Friday:
P1: Free
P2: Arithmancy
P3: Herbology
Lunch
P4: Transfiguration
P5: Potions
P6: Free
Other: The student is required to attend Astronomy every Monday and Thursday evening.
Head of House signature: Filius Flitwick
Signature: Emaline Goode
"Is there a problem, Ms. Goode?" said Professor Flitwick. She was going over her new schedule.
"Not at all, sir," said Emaline. "I'm only surprised that I'm taking Astronomy twice."
"Excellent. Professor Fontaine has told me Astronomy is your most favorite subject in the world. I hope to see you in class later today. If you have any questions, just let me know." He got down from his pile of books and picked them back up again and then walked away. "And," he added as he turned around. "Welcome to Ravenclaw!"
"Are you sure you don't need any help with those books, Professor?"
"No, thank you, Emaline. I should be going back to my classroom."
After her encounter with Flitwick, Emaline found her new friends talking at the Ravenclaw table. "So what did Professor Flitwick want, Emaline?" said Tulip, "Oh, he gave me my schedule and he introduced himself." She made herself a cup of coffee. Her friends took Emaline's schedule and looked at it. "So what are the teachers like at Hogwarts, guys?"
"You already met Professor Flitwick. He's one of the nicest professors in the school. But wait 'til you meet Snape, Em." said Badeea. "He's probably the meanest teacher in the entire school. He's always grumpy and he pretty much hates everyone and everyone pretty much hates him, except Slytherin. It's best to avoid him at all costs and...try not to get on his bad side, Emaline."
"Yeah, if you want him to like you, just stay away from him," said a much older Ravenclaw. "Though it's doubtful he would."
The subjects at Ilvermorny were the same at Hogwarts but the only difference was the teachers. They all seemed to like her. A lot. So far, her favorite subject was Astronomy, a science that she was all too familiar with, ever since she was a little girl, and was very good at helping others, pointing out the stars and planets to her fellow students who weren't too well-versed in Astronomy. Her professor, Aurora Sinistra, was absolutely delighted with her student's vast knowledge, saying that she had the potential to become a great astronomer.
The worst class at Hogwarts for her was definitely History Of Magic, which was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor Binns had been very old. Emaline constantly fell asleep in class. Professor McGonagall was again different. She had been quite right to think she wasn't a teacher to cross. Strict and clever but fair, as she was well-respected by almost all of her students. Three times a week, she went out to the greenhouses behind the castle to study Herbology, with a dumpy little witch called Professor Sprout, the head of Hufflepuff house, where they learned how to take care of Venomous Tentacula leaves and Snargaluff plants, saying that she was good friends with her Herbology professor at Ilvermorny, Timerius Kilpatrick.
For Divination, another one of Emaline's favorite subjects at Ilvermorny, she had Professor Trelawney, a very thin, very quirky woman with large glasses that magnified her eyes to several times their natural size, and she was draped in a gauzy, spangled shawl. Innumerable chains and beads hung around her spindly neck, and her arms and hands were encrusted with bangles and rings.
But the class that everyone in the school was looking for was Defense Against The Dark Arts, but Quirrell's lessons turned out to be 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. His turban, he told them, had been given to him by an African prince as a thank-you for getting rid of a troublesome zombie, but they weren't sure they believed this story.
Potions lessons took place down in one of the dungeons. It was colder here than up in the main castle and would have been quite creepy enough without the pickled animals floating in glass jars all around the walls, where she sat with her friend, a prefect from Slytherin named Gemma Farley, a very pretty 16-year-old girl, sporting a green and silver Prefect badge and had brown hair, waiting patiently for Professor Snape. "So, how are your classes so far, Emaline?" said Robert. She instantly remembered the advice that her new friends gave her at breakfast.
"Great. I'm enjoying them a lot," said Emaline excitedly
"Emaline Goode?" said Gemma, who held out her hand, "I'm Gemma Farley. Slytherin Prefect. Nice to meet you. I've read about you playing Quidditch at Ilvermorny in the Daily Prophet. You're really good."
"Thank you," Emaline said politely.
"So...are you gonna play Quidditch for Ravenclaw?"
"I hope to. You'll find that I'm very aggressive when it comes to Quidditch. To be honest, I think Thunderbird might win the Ilvermorny Quidditch Cup again. I just hope they can do it without their captain. Me."
As they waited for Snape to come, Gemma tore off a piece of paper from a notebook and made a paper crane that began flying into the air up until it burst into flames and ashes descended onto the table. "Quiet," a monotone voice said. Emaline and her classmates spun around and there he was a thin man with sallow skin, a hooked nose, and greasy, shoulder-length black hair. This man was Professor Severus Snape, who was holding out his wand, grimacing at them. "Ms. Goode," said Snape in a manner most drearily to Emaline, "Welcome to my class and Ms. Farley, keep your puppy love notes to yourself."
"Yes, sir," said Gemma.
"Ms. Goode," said Snape, looking at Emaline. "I believe you know Professor Angus Mordecai from Ilvermorny?"
"Yes, sir." she said, "Of course I do. He's my Potions teacher."
"Then answer me this question: what is the main ingredient in Thunderbird's Folly?"
She had a big smile on her face. He could tell that she knew the answer. "Thunderbird tail feather," said Emaline. "It has to be taken from an older, much larger Thunderbird, otherwise the potion wouldn't work. When it's added to the potion, it glows yellow. Only the most advanced potion masters go after these feathers as they are highly valuable in wand making and in potions. It gives one the ability to sense when danger."
"Impressive. Professor Fontaine spoke highly of you while he was here. Turns out he wasn't wrong. Ten points to Ravenclaw." said Snape, who had a look of approval on his face and then walked away. "Good job!" Robert whispered, who gave her thumbs up with approval. Everyone got up and followed Professor Snape up to the table, where he had a group of several different black cauldrons, which contained a different kind of potion. "Now, I have prepared some concoctions this morning. Who here can tell me what the names of these potions might be?" No one said a word. Emaline shot her hand straight up.
"Ms. Goode?" he said. "Would you care to elaborate for us? Since none of these dunderheads would?"
"Yes, sir," she stepped forward and started pointing at each cauldron. "This is Veritaserum. It's a truth-telling potion. This next one is Polyjuice Potion, it's extremely hard to make, and this last one is Amortentia." she pointed at a cauldron containing a liquid that had a mother-of-pearl sheen. "It's the most powerful love potion in the world."
"Indeed," said Snape. "Continue."
"Uh...yes, sir. It has a different aroma for everyone who smells it, reminding each person of the things that they find most attractive, even if the person doesn't acknowledge or is unaware of their fondness for the object of their affection themselves." The steam began changing colors as she took a quick whiff. "For instance, I smell melted chocolate, freshly brewed coffee, and freshly cut flowers."
"Correct," said Snape in a dreary monotone voice. "Of course, Amortentia does not create actual love, it is absolutely impossible. It creates powerful infatuation or obsession, making this the dangerous potion in this room." He took the lid to the cauldron and closed it, in which the steam quickly disappeared. "Excellent work, Ms. Goode. I believe you just earned Ravenclaw ten more points. Now, let's get to work. We have about an hour left, which should give you all enough time to make an acceptable and decent Draught Of Living Death, for which the recipe can be found on page ten of your books. Whoever has the best one will earn his or her house a grand total of twenty House Points. Begin." Snape returned to his desk and took a seat.
There was a scraping sound as everyone returned to their tables and drew their cauldrons towards them and some loud clunks as people began adding weights to their scales. Emaline hurried off to the store cupboard to find what she needed, while Gemma was cutting her valerian roots. As everyone kept glancing around at what the rest of the class was doing, which is both an advantage and a disadvantage in Potions. It was hard to keep the work that you do privately. The entire room was full of bluish steam within just ten minutes. Emaline put on her reading glasses, grabbed her silver knife, and began cutting her valerian roots and pouring water into her cauldron, constantly studying the recipe for the potion. The Sopophorous bean was proving to be extremely difficult to cut up, as it constantly kept on bouncing off the table from being punctured by the knife. One flew so far and so fast, that it hit a Slytherin boy in the face. Another one broke a vial. At full speed. Snape did not look happy at all.
"Ms. Goode?" said Snape, who came over to her table, "Why do you wear glasses?"
"Well, my eyesight wasn't very good when I was a kid. I was born with an eye condition called amblyopia, so I have to wear glasses when I read and when I'm working."
"Fair enough," he said. Snape then walked away and returned to his desk and picked up a newspaper.
"Can I ask you a question, Gemma?" said Emaline, as she was cutting up her Sopophorus beans.
"Sure."
"Is it true that all Slytherins are evil?"
Gemma let out a snicker. "Rubbish! Where did you hear that rumor?"
"I don't know. I heard it from some of my classmates at Ilvermorny before I got transferred to Hogwarts."
"Well, you're misinformed, Emaline. Not all Slytherins are bad people. There are some Slytherins who are actually good people and there are some that are bad. Honestly, we sometimes get tired of people who call us 'the bad house'. We're usually driven by ambition and determination and a hunger for success," said Gemma. "That part is true."
"Look, I know there are some Slytherins who can be very cruel, nasty, and mean-hearted people but we're not like that. A lot of us are actually very nice people," said another Slytherin girl, "But above all, we NEVER insult or disrespect the other houses. Every house is unique in their own way but we are all alike in so many ways. We can be brave like Gryffindor, loyal like Hufflepuff and intelligent and creative like Ravenclaw. We have friends who are in other houses too but we never disrespect them either. Everyone is equal in our eyes."
"That's right. I think Slytherin shares so many things in common with Ravenclaw, Emaline," Gemma continued, "We could actually use someone like you. I mean, you are technically a Thunderbird. And we are natural-born leaders. Though each one in a different way, they all are very good leaders that know how to lead. That, I believe, is what being a Slytherin is all about, Emaline!"
"Well," said Emaline, "Thank you, everyone. This really helped a lot. I learned so much about Slytherin. I love how passionate you are for your house."
"You're welcome," said Gemma.
All across the classroom, everyone else was faring no better than Emaline Goode and Gemma Farley. Within just fifteen minutes, the liquid inside of their cauldrons had already turned that shade of lilac that had been described in the book. One Ravenclaw boy had his potion blow up in his face. A Slytherin girl's exploded and she was knocked out cold and was sent to the Hospital Wing. With just a few minutes left to spare, Emaline put the finishing touches and ingredients on her potion.
"Time's up!" said Snape as he looked at his pocket watch. He got up from his desk and inspected everyone's Draught of Living Death to see which one was the best one worthy of the grand prize of twenty House Points. So far, it wasn't looking good. Everyone else's potions looked absolutely terrible. Then he came to Gemma. He saw that it was already the shade of lilac, as it was described in the book. "Well done, Ms. Farley. Twenty points to Slytherin." said Snape, "Ms. Goode, you're next."
He walked over to Emaline's cauldron and took a small leaf and threw it into the cauldron. It immediately disintegrated. Snape gave her a smile of approval. "Ms. Goode," said Snape. "You have greatly impressed me today. This potion is perfect, unlike the others who have failed so miserably. Twenty points to Ravenclaw." Emaline let out a sigh of relief and all of her Ravenclaw classmates came up to her and started patting her on the back and shaking her hand. "I will inform Professor Flitwick of what you have done today. You are all dismissed. I have some first-years to take care of."
Walking out of the Potions classroom with her new friends Robert and Gemma, Emaline was elated with her performance in her first Potions class at Hogwarts. She has already earned Ravenclaw forty House Points.