The Confectionary Chronicles || HP/SPN

Sweets and Studies- CH7

CHAPTER SEVEN:

Despite the excitement of the morning, Hermione's second day of classes passed without any further drama. She had Double Charms in the morning with the delightful Professor Flitwick who, despite his genial, harmless appearance– all fluffy white hair and tiny stature and squeaky voice– had a lurking undercurrent to his magic of something fierce, something dangerous; like the pounding of steel against shields, and spilled blood on a battlefield.

Charms was a fascinating subject, and far more alike to the magic she'd already been learning then Transfiguration. It was less mathematical, less scientific, and more focused on visualisation, pronunciation and memorising the wand-movements neccesary to guide the shaping and release of magic. It was incredibly versatile and Hermione had no problem at all with making her marble roll in circles around her desk, even if it had taken more effort to be able to perform the spell using her wand as a channel for her magic, rather than just with a flick of her hand. As if it had sensed her annoyance with having to use it, her wand had pinched her fingers in retaliation, before sulking when she stashed it back in her sleeve.

Professor Flitwick had been thrilled by her success, awarding her five points to Slytherin for being the first in the class to successfully cast the charm, and then another ten points when she talked Millicent through successfully casting the charm too. She couldn't help but feel smug about the twenty points she'd already earned for Slytherin, and it wasn't even the lunchtime of their second day of classes. It was certainly more than Malfoy had earned, despite his oh-so pure blood.

Having already read Miranda Goshawk's 'The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One' and Adalbert Waffling's 'Magical Theory' from their booklist (as well as all the other course books they'd been assigned), Hermione made a point of asking Professor Flitwick if there were any other books he'd recommend to supplement their learning, which earned her another point for Slytherin for her 'forward thinking' and his advice to borrow 'Flicks, Swishes, and Jabs: The Wand Movement Guide' from the school library. Hermione left class with a bounce to her step that was half the result of a truly good lesson and half because of the expression of loathing on Malfoy's face.

Lunch was a bit heavy– Hermione appreciated the effort of the traditional English cooking, but hot lunches every day seemed a bit excessive and she stuck to a sandwich and a piece of fruit. As a bonus, her quick lunch meant she had time to borrow 'Flicks, Swishes and Jabs' from the library before she and Millicent headed to Herbology, where they were lectured on the properties of three different types of magical fertiliser, taught how to identify each, and assigned an essay where they'd have to research which type of fertiliser an aglaophotis would grow best in, and why.

After Herbology, they had Study Hall– a bit unfortunate, considering the smell of manure clinging to them all after Herbology. Still, much to Hermione's delight as she and Millicent walked in to the Study Hall Dean, who was already sitting down, waved them over, despite the odd looks it earned him from those around him wearing red-and-gold ties.

"Hi Dean, hi Neville," she happily greeted the two Gryffindor first years she actually knew.

"Hey Hermione," Dean greeted her just as happily, a bright grin on his face, while Neville just smiled shyly. "This is Seamus Finnegan, by the way," he introduced the other boy sitting with him. "And you know Ron and Harry already."

Harry smiled at them but Ron frowned, again, and Hermione only just managed to hold back her eye-roll. Honestly, the prejudice inside Hogwarts was appalling and Sylvianne, Gerda and Greta would all be horrified to learn of the separation between Slytherins and Gryffindors. Still, being confrontational wouldn't do anything to fix the divide that Cuthbert had warned her about– the four pillars needed to hold strong or Hogwarts would crumble from within, so she'd just have to do what she could to break down the House barriers.