Lucky

Soaring

Morgana and Emma hurried down several flights of stairs to their very first lesson - Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. They walked into the classroom just before Professor McGonagall (thanks to Emma's punctuality). The two sat down beside each other at a desk near the back of the room. They had Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs.

Professor McGonagall swept to the front of the room and took a seat behind her desk, before addressing her students. "Good morning. Now, as the more observant among you may have noticed, I am not only headteacher but will also be your Transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts." The woman allowed herself a small smile. "I couldn't bring myself to give up teaching, if I'm honest." She stood up and began to weave in and out between the desks. "Transfiguration is a precise branch of magic which deals with transforming one thing into another. You will notice on your desktop, a pebble. By the time this lesson has ended I will have taught each of you how to successfully turn this pebble into a button." McGonagall dropped her voice to mutter grimly, "Well, that's the plan, anyway."

The next half an hour was - exciting? Chaotic? Interesting was the only way to put it. Pebbles were flying everywhere. Some pebbles now had holes in them, or had become a perfect circle, but that was as far as anyone had got. Morgana tried one last time and, to her surprise, managed to transform the pebble into a round, shiny red button.

McGonagall practically wet herself when she noticed the button on Morgana's desk. "Miss Black has done it! Look, everyone! Note the way the button should look! Excellent!" The Professor cried, awarding ten points to Gryffindor. Morgana could hardly believe her luck. She stood there, stunned. Morgana Black had just earned Gryffindor house points? Not lost them? Wow. Morgana was suddenly snapped out of her reverie by Emma calling to her. "Hey, Miss Excellent Work, you couldn't give me a hand?"

Morgana laughed and ran over to help. Emma was looking at her stone hopefully. "It's starting to feel a bit smoother?" She suggested. "I think." Emma looked at Morgana, eyebrows raised. "Trust you to be good at Transfiguration. Animagus and all." Morgana suddenly understood. "Yeah! I suppose animgi count as Transfiguration, cause you're turning from one thing into another. Cool!" She exclaimed in a whisper.

Their next class was Potions. And this class proved to be time for role reversal. About ten minutes after Professor Slughorn had introduced them to Potions and showed them how to make a boil antidote, Emma was finished. And awarded ten points. Meanwhile Morgana was torn between staring around the freezing Potions dungeon, and trying to find her pestle and mortar.

They had an hour break for lunch in the middle of the day, followed by History of Magic. Everyone was shocked to discover that the teacher, Professor Binns, was a ghost - a ghost with the most boring, droning voice Morgana had ever listened to. But she pulled through History of Magic thinking about Herbology the next period.

They left the school building and hurried down to the greenhouses, where they had Herbology with - urgh, the Slytherins. The first-years lined up in two rows, Gryffindor and Slytherin, outside the greenhouse. The door was suddenly flung open and Neville burst out, a friendly smile on his face.

They all entered the greenhouse and took their place at a bench. Neville stood before them all. "Good afternoon, everyone!" He called, bringing the class to order. "My name is Professor Longbottom, and I will be your Herbology teacher. In your Herbology lessons we will be investigating and planting all sorts of magical plants and herbs, which can be used in Potions, Healing and many other types of magic. So, I'm sure you'll agree that Herbology is a very useful subject."

He walked around the room, checking that everyone had the correct text books. "Now, this term we will be studying Aconite. It is perhaps more commonly known as Monkshood or Wolfsbane. Does anyone know a use of it in Potions?" Morgana and Emma laughed as Johnny's hand shot into the air immediately. "It is the key ingredient in Wolfsbane Potion, an innovative and complex potion which relieves, but does not cure, the effects of lycanthropy. Aconite is highly poisonous, so the potion is incredibly dangerous if concocted wrongly." Their Herbology teacher looked taken aback at his textbook answer. "Very good, take ten points for Gryffindor." Morgana mentally high-fived Johnny.

At the end of the lesson, as the class was leaving the greenhouse, Neville called Morgana back. Emma hung back to wait for her friend, but Morgana gave her a reassuring wink, and she left for the next lesson. Morgana approached the desk at the front of the room. "Yes, Professor?" He laughed. "It's alright, Morgana. Just call me Neville when we aren't in class. I just wanted to ask how your first day is going. Are you enjoying it?" Morgana nodded enthusiastically. "It's been amazing, Neville, I've loved it! I have my first Flying lesson now, I'm really excited!" Neville chuckled at her awed expression. "Well, you run on to it. Enjoy yourself!"

Morgana sprinted towards the quidditch pitches, where Emma was waiting for her behind a bush. They ran onto the pitch, where most of the Gryffindors and Slytherins were lined up. Morgana groaned. Two classes in a row with the Slytherins? Ugh!

Morgana took her place beside an ancient-looking broom. As soon as Madam Hooch, their Flying teacher, gave the order, she yelled, "UP!" And the broom snapped straight into her hand. Emma's did the same, but a lot of students were struggling. Then they mounted their brooms, and were allowed to hover for a moment. "How can you fly that well if you were raised by muggles?" Emma asked Morgana in a whisper as they hovered side by side. "Ginny taught me," she replied. "And I just, sort of picked it up."

"How are you that good at flying?" She questioned her friend. Emma shrugged. "I love flying. I've been flying since I was very young." Madam Hooch was suddenly beneath them, clearing her throat. The two girls snapped out of their bored small talk to look down at her obediently, but the teacher was very relaxed. "Well done, girls. Don't worry, we'll fly properly in a minute."

        And sure enough, towards the end of the lesson, Madam Hooch set them loose. "If you feel comfortable enough, you can - carefully and safely - have a go at flying on your own. In a flash the two girls were rising up into the air, soaring over the quidditch pitch, zooming back and forth and nose diving. It was an incredible sensation. Although she had loved Transfiguration and Herbology, Morgana had to admit that Flying had been her favourite lesson so far.

        When classes were over for the day, Morgana took her letter to the owlery and gave it to Fawn to deliver. The sleek tawny owl grabbed the letter in her beak and soared elegantly out of the open window. Then Morgana and Emma went down to the common room, where they did the homework they had been given for Potions and History of Magic.

        Dinner was amazing yet again, steaming pasta with rich creamy sauce, followed by chocolate cake. Then the girls went up to the common room again, where Emma borrowed John's chess set and taught Morgana how to play Wizard Chess. It was massively entertaining, the same concept as normal chess, except that the pieces could move of their own accord, as well as destroy the other pieces. Emma thrashed her, of course, but Morgana still enjoyed it.

         They went up to the dorm at half past ten, as the common room was starting to clear out. The girls laughed and chattered as they clambered into their four poster beds. Five first year Gryffindor girls shared the room. There was Morgana, Emma, and three other girls. Scarlett Cross inhabited the bed across from Morgana's. She was a skinny girl with long, light brown hair and honey-coloured eyes. She had chatted away with the rest of them, and Morgana liked her enough. Then there was Grace Macmillan, a kind-faced girl with ginger hair and deep blue eyes. She was very funny, and had amused them all with several jokes at the dinner table. And then there was Michelle Montgomery.

          Michelle was a tall girl with shiny blonde hair and icy blue, almond shaped eyes. She had a rather long nose that she seemed to look down an awful lot. And it seemed that she really didn't appreciate her roommates. In fact, when Morgana and Emma walked into the room that evening, she sniffed and began pretending to read a book without saying hello to them. Morgana tumbled onto her bed and let her hair down, loose and wild around her face. After a long day, it was time for beauty sleep. After raising her eyebrows in Michelle's direction and sniggering along with Em, Morgana pulled the curtains around her four poster and lay down to sleep.