Safe With Me ~ Fred Weasley

Confusion

I settled into a row near the front of the class next to Maddie and Bri, noting by the few students lining the front rows on the left side of the classroom wearing their tell-tale green and black that we were stuck with Slytherin. It was bound to happen eventually, and if it was going to, at least it was just Charms. I prayed not to have Potions with them as well, since whichever house was partnered with Slytherin with Professor Snape lost dozens of points a week for simply existing.

The door shut on it's own as the last of the students bustled in, and I noticed Professor Flitwick set his wand back on the desk before him. Hannah and a few last students had snuck in behind us and settled in the last few spots away from the Slytherins.

Professor Flitwick began his start of the term speech which most of us were used to by now. Charms can be difficult, some people will get them faster than others, practice makes perfect. I had never disliked Charms, as they came to me fairly easy, but I had Tommy to thank for that. Charms were his favorite subject, and he was always reading ahead in the books and teaching himself new tricks. He would teach me whatever they were working on that week in class in the common room if he wasn't too busy. Before I had even gotten my letter, Tommy was telling me how he knew I would be good in Charms, just like him.

Flitwick made our first day an easy one, allowing us to re-visit and review a few major charms from last year. Maddie, Bri and I took turns conjuring up dancing blue-bell flames and using immobulus to freeze them in place. Every September that I returned to school I was more relieved to see how easily I fell back into magic.

Care of Magical Creatures was not nearly as entertaining as we had all hoped. Of course the Gryffindor's and Slytherin had been the first to attend Hagrid's third year lessons and Draco Malfoy had to go and ruin the lesson for everyone else. They had gotten to pet and meet and study a real Hippogriff, and news had spread almost immediately that the frightening animal had let Harry ride him across the grounds before being practically dared to strike Draco down. If only he would have hit him just a bit harder.

We listened to Hagrid nervously list off details about the Hippogriffs and jotted down notes and tips for if we ever encountered one ourselves, which I had to admit outside of this class seemed next to impossible.

"Alright, off ye go. I figure I oughta give you a bit of time to get back up to the castles and all. Can't be late for your classes the first week." Hagrid said giving the class a wave as we all pushed books and quills into our bags, shouting thank you's and goodbyes to Hagrid as we headed up the hill back to the school.

The Hufflepuffs were in no hurry, of course, knowing our destination. Still, potions was held deep into the dungeons, which left little time to dawdle. We had barely made it ten steps down the staircase into the dark halls when I had to pull my robes back up. There was no point to them outside in the sun with Hagrid, but the chill was already seeping into my bones, and I was sure Professor Snape would be on the look out for a reason to deduct points from the class for wardrobe errors.

We finally reached the open doors leading into Snape's usual classroom. The cauldrons were set two to a desk, aligned with two chairs each and small fires giving off little to no warmth already lit underneath them. I looked between my two friends, remembering immediately how Snape broke us into pairs, not trios. Bri and Maddie returned my look, both glancing at the tables set for two awkwardly, trying to decide which of us was going to be dislodged from our group before Hermione rushed up to us.

"Cassidy, yes! We were so worried we would have potions with Slytherin like last year." She rambled quickly and I smiled at her, grateful as well to not have been paired with the Slytherin's. "Anyways, do you have a partner? Obviously Ron and Harry..."