White Heather for Protection

The School Bell Rings

The first week of school flew by in a blink.

Charms was taught by the diminutive Head of Ravenclaw. Professor Flitwick was a cheery teacher who was happy to demonstrate a few spells when asked. Heather had even gotten house points for a question on Charms theory. Apparently, what she had initially described as her magic not 'sticking' for long to objects was because charms weren't permanent, unlike transfigurations.

Transfiguration classes were slightly more lecture-based since the students needed a strong grasp of theory before attempting any spells. Professor McGonagall really amazed Heather with her animagus transformation though. Heather immediately went to the library to find books on Animagic.

Defence Against the Dark Arts, or DADA for short, was taught by a fairly odd Professor. Professor Wilson was pretty competent in tutoring defence theory, but his spells always seemed to go wrong. Thankfully, his mistakes were mostly harmless. He had a rather bizarre fascination with selkies though. Heather decided that self-study would be the best course of action for this class.

Herbology was one of the classes that Heather shared with the Gryffindors, and thus the Weasley twins. She had to keep them from provoking the Devil's Snare before they got hurt, but otherwise classes were enjoyable. Heather was enthralled by the magical plant species like the Sopophorous Plant or Gillyweed. Professor Sprout had been more than willing to provide a few cuttings of shade-loving plants for Heather to cultivate in her room.

History of Magic was...different. Professor Binns was an actual ghost and his lessons were as dead as he was. Heather had been severely disappointed, having anticipated the class. She began blatantly reading her own history materials after the first lesson. At least she wasn't sleeping like the others in class.

Astronomy was another class with plenty of sleepy students. Not only because it was wholly theoretical, but also that it was held at midnight. Heather found it intriguing though. The positions of the planets and moon heavily affected the efficacy of certain spells and rituals, not to mention potion ingredients.

One of Heather's favourite classes was Flying. It had seemed scary at first, to be dependent solely on a piece of wood to remain airborne. She took quickly to it, though. Madam Hooch had called her a natural. Racing with Fred and George was particularly enjoyable. They said she was a whiz on a broom. She just thought that her small size was more aerodynamic, which she then had to explain to the two.

That just left Potions. Heather supposed the lessons could have been worse. Honestly, with how abhorrent the Professor seemed to find her, she had expected him to be an ogre in classes. Apparently, he took the 'Slytherin Unity' thing very seriously. He never outrightly targeted a Slytherin, choosing instead to devote his ire to the Gryffindors. That didn't mean he treated her well, oh no. The snubs were simply subtler.

Though Heather's potions were arguably one of the best in class, he ignored all her efforts and deliberately praised the Slytherins sitting near her. Even if their potions were substandard. Especially if their potions were substandard. She still didn't know why Professor Snape seemed to suddenly detest her very existence. At least with the Dursleys she knew why.

Besides all the classes and essays and readings, Heather also had her check-up on Tuesday. She did her best to heal some of her more incriminating scars. She didn't think the long scars running down her back could be considered innocuous in any circumstance. Fortunately, her injuries had mostly mended without scarring once she had learnt how to heal using magic. Her scrawny state couldn't really be helped though. Her appetite was still smaller than it should be.

Thankfully, her efforts paid off and she passed muster without triggering any warning bells. Though she was quite a fair bit underweight, she wasn't dangerously so. Madam Pomfrey asked her to return every month for a weight check. Heather was so relieved to be cleared that she agreed readily.