September 2nd, 1991, Hogwarts, 9:30 AM.
'Ugh, this is not good...' A certain hoody boy with a prominent lightning-shape scar was fighting the urge to rest his eyes on this beautiful morning.
The gentle sunlight shone through the stained glass, illuminating the old-aged classroom 4F on the first floor. The only sound echoing throughout such a serene ambiance was that of the ghost of Professor Cuthbert Binns, the everlasting History of Magic professor at Hogwarts.
It was a shame that Professor Binns's lessons were regarded as some of the most boring at Hogwarts, mainly due to his monotonous voice and the cold, hard, strictly factual contents, coupled with the occasional breezes and bird's chirping.
One could hardly resist the slumber.
The same went for Harry's excitement for the first lesson in this school, which had faded halfway through the professor's lesson.
'I miss Dad's teachings.' Harry sighed.
Now, only with the determination to study well like Ethan told him to, Harry fights the urge to not close his eyes lids, using every little trick he could think of, such as pinching himself or even using Cogitation to refresh his mind, getting rid of the drowsiness somehow mysteriously enticed by the professor's voice.
'Is Professor Binns's voice enchanted with sleep inducement spell?' Harry blinked several times as he strained his ears to absorb the professor's lecture, though all he said was already in the book.
On the contrary, Ron was sound asleep seconds after the lesson began; the same was true for Seamus next to him. Gazing at his drooling friends, Harry couldn't help but send a disapproving look. The same went for a lot of the Hufflepuffs sitting across them.
While Dean was the same as Harry, though a little bit worse as his eyelids were on the verge of collapsing any minute now,
Much to Harry's surprise, Hermione, sitting on his left, was the only one in the entire class who was sitting upright, wide awake. Her two brown orbs were staring at the professor attentively, and a quill was at the ready to note down anything that wasn't in the book.
Still, Harry could catch one or two moment when her eye twitched displeasingly.
Luckily, the boy survived the first lesson, not falling asleep, even though Professor Binns didn't really care about those who slept anyway.
Plus, Hermione gracefully earned the house ten points for answering the professor's question regarding the Goblin Rebellion before class's dismissal.
Next on the schedule was Charms, for which Harry once again felt the excitement resurface.
"Argh, finally, we got to learn how to cast a spell, officially. Exciting, isn't it?" Harry nodded vigorously to the thrilled, bushy-haired girl.
*Yawn*
"As long as it is more 'exciting' than that ghost professor." Ron chimed in on the side; his eye was still red as he had just woken up.
Soon, the first-years got to meet the ingenious Charms Professor, Professor Filius Flitwick. He had a shock of white hair and seemed to have a gentle spirit etched on his face.
As peculiar as the ghost professor, Professor Flitwick was particularly short and frequently described as "tiny little Professor Flitwick." As Ron said, all of this was due to his goblin blood.
"Come, children, take your seat, and let us begin the wonders of magic." Professor Flitwick said briskly, his voice emitted with undeniable joy and enthusiasm.
Standing on a pile of books to see over his desk, the Professor face lit up as he notice Harry's curious gaze, which returned with a gentle smile.
Causing the boy to be slightly embarrassed, still, he could felt the sincerity and somewhat of an expectation coming from the tiny professor.
'Ehem! Children, today we will start off with two of the most simple yet very practical spells for all beginners." An elegant wand protruded out of the professor's sleeve and into his hands.
"The Wand-Lighting Charm, Lumos." Professor Flitwick drew a small arc in the air with his wand as he chanted the incantation. With that, at the end of the tip of this wand, a small, bright dot of light lit up under the sparkling eyes of the children—well, except for a few, including Harry, whom the professor keenly noticed.
The Professor continued. "And it's counterpart, the Wand-Extinguishing Charm, Nox." With another sway of his wand, the dot of light diminished.
"Now, the Wand-Lighting Charm is simple but requires concentration. Take care not to accidentally set your wand alight, as damage of this kind can be permanent."
The professor's warning sent a chill down the children's spines; even Ron gulped instinctively as he caressed his wand.
Then Professor Flitwick went into detail about the wand's movement and the incantation's pronunciation.
"Last but not least, for every spell to work, one must have the desire and will..."
Harry's ears perched up at those last words; it was just like what his Dad's said albeit somewhat different.
"Now, off you go."
For the next twenty minutes, the first-years were casting Lumos and Nox continuously under the professor's watchful gaze; the two incantations echoed throughout the classroom.
During this process, some succeeded, some didn't, but luckily, no mishaps happened.
It was also during these moments that Ron first got a taste of Hermione's bossy side, as the girl would strictly correct his mistakes, though in the end, Ron did succeed in casting both the charms.
Harry, on the other hand, was showing reluctancy as the boy waited for quite some time. Only when nearly all the students could perform the charm did the boy pull out his phoenix feather core wand and swiftly cast the spell in one try.
"Well done, children, now..." Suddenly, Harry felt the professor gaze at him.
Professor Flitwick's mouth curled up "What you had just learnt was only the foundation, the basics. It was just like going from point A to point B." The professor demonstrated the Lumos spell once again, but this time he did it nonverbally.
From the tip of his wand, a dot of brilliance flouted out into the air before brusting into a small firework of white light under the amazement of all the first-years.
"This is the wonder of magic. With knowledge as the fuel, imagination can get you everywhere..."
Those words rang in Harry's ears, overlapping with the memory of Ethan first teaching him the basic spells.
"Am I right, Mr. Potter?" Snapping back to the present, Harry was in a daze as all eyes were on him.
"Y-Yes, p-professor..." Gathering his thoughts, Harry managed to utter.
"Relax, Mr Potter. Listen to my words." Professor Flitwick calmly remind the stammering Harry. "I believe you can show us what you have learnt. Please." He extended his hand out.
"P-professor?" Harry began to sweat profoundly at the request.
Under the professor's patience, Harry began to steady his breathing, as he gathered his might.
'Right, this is the opportunity to earn points and show them what I learn from Dad!' Harry encouraged himself.
*Phew* 'Here we go..."
"Lumos..." Harry whispered as he once again relived the feeling of pulling the threads of his magical coil, reaching out to connect to the magical threads outside. Through the incantation, those threads would perform what he wanted.
Soon, from the tips of his wand, the dot of light glowed up and expanded into a small orb, floating out into the air, casting blueish-white light.
"Nox..." As soon as the boy uttered the word, the ball of light also burst into small white light firework
There was a moment of silence before the whole class burst into a row of awe.
"Bloody Hell! That was amazing, Harry!" Ron exclaimed as he shook the boy.
"Holy... how did you do that?" Hermione exclaimed with utter surprise, her sparkling eyes drilling into Harry as if pleading for him to teach her.
Whereas Harry was scratching his head and blushing, as he was not used to getting praised like this, the boy never thought he would get this much praise just by doing this.
"Merlin! that the Boy-Who-Lived for yer..."
"No wonder..."
On the other side, Professor Flitwick smiled contently. "Fifty points to Gryffindor."
The entire Gryffindor's jaws dropped while the entire Ravenclaw was in a daze. Sure enough, after this lesson, Harry would have quite an exciting week, though the boy would not be quite fond of it.