Hogwarts Mystery Year 7

Muggle Studies

There were only a few minutes left of breakfast by the time Sarah had slunk down to the Great Hall the next morning. She'd been up all night, partly to catch up on homework, and partly to study more on wandless magic. She'd begun practicing the levitation charm, supposedly one of the simplest to learn, but so far all she'd managed to do was make the owl feather she'd used for practice wiggle on the desk rather than float.

"Morning," said Charlie, scooching over on the bench to make room for her. "You look...well rested."

"Shut up," she muttered, taking a spoonful of porridge from the bowl Charlie passed her.

She'd hardly sat down before Barnaby drifted over, holding a piece of parchment.

"Did you lot read the whole letter from Dumbledore?" asked Barnaby. "We've got to do loads of work to do for this field trip thingy!"

"What did you think, mate? We'd just get a free pass to skip school and not do any work?" asked Charlie.

"Um, yeah."

Sarah took a drink of pumpkin juice. "It shouldn't be too bad. We've just got weekly summaries for the most part, and it sounds like we can work together on the final project."

Barnaby scratched his head, mumbling, "I just wanted to pet all the magical creatures."

The bell rang and all the students rose to head to their first class of the day. Sarah held Barnaby's arm after they exited the Great Hall. He'd started to walk down the corridor, rather than mount the grand staircase.

"Muggle Studies is this way," she said.

"Oh, I'm...not actually taking Muggle Studies," he said, his eyes searching the floor.

"What? But we signed up for it last year."

"Well, Gran wasn't too happy about that."

"So? You're seventeen. You don't have to do everything she says anymore."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I kind of do, though. If she finds out I'm taking a class about muggles, she'll pull me out of school."

Sarah fumed. She hadn't realized the consequences of his Gran still having control of the Lee fortune. Barnaby had been so excited when they'd signed up for the class last year, eager to learn more about his muggleborn friends.

"So, what are you taking, then?"

"...Ancient Runes."

Sarah scowled. Ancient Runes was more of a theoretical subject, rather than practical. Barnaby usually fared better when he could practice skills instead of study in books. His Gran seemed to be setting him up for failure. Still, it was better than Arithmancy, at least.

"We better hurry." Sarah jumped, not realizing Corey was still at her side. "We'll be late."

"See you later," said Barnaby. He tried to give her a brave smile, but it came out more like a grimace.

Sarah had never stepped foot inside the Muggle Studies classroom before. Situated at the end of a little used corridor on the fifth floor, it was as out of the way as possible. She and Corey rushed inside moments before the bell rang, then were stopped in their tracks at the sight.

The room looked like an enormous storage closet. Each wall was crammed with shelves full of different objects, most of which Sarah didn't recognize. Strange contraptions, old and battered, hung from the ceiling. The class was set with four long tables, each with strange, folding chairs. Sarah and Corey took the seats Charlie had saved in the front row.

"Where's Barnaby?" he asked, as Corey took the other seat instead of his friend.

"Ancient Runes." She explained the situation, causing Charlie to roll his eyes.