Wizardry - (a Harry Potter Phanfiction)

Chapter 4 - Class time

"Mmm... that smells like heaven," Jacob sighed, sticking his nose in the air and inhaling a huge breath.

"Hurry up, c'mon, I'm starving!" Andy said, grabbing Jacob and I by the arms and hauling us down the corridor, breaking into an occasional Naruto-style sprint.

We merged with the Slytherin crowd at the end of the corridor. Andy dropped our arms and slowed to a walk as we wove between green-tied students. I spotted a familiar head through the crowd.

"Hi Dan!" I chirped, ducking past a Slytherin fifth year to tap him on the shoulder.

"Oh! Hi Phil," he squeaked, his shoulders twitching in surprise as he whipped around to face me.

I grabbed his arm and pulled him back next to me, "Andy, Jacob, this is my friend Dan."

"Hi Dan! I'm Andy, that one's Jacob."

"Yo! Howzit going, Dan?" Jacob asked cheerily, leaning past Andy to wave in greeting.

"I'm fine, thanks," Dan mumbled shyly.

"Your tie is all twisted" I exclaimed, tapping the green and silver knot around Dan's neck. "Here, let me fix that."

"Uh, thanks," Dan muttered, as I unknotted the green fabric and tied it properly.

Chatter grew ever louder as we crossed the entrance hall, growing into an echoing din as we entered the dining hall.

"What's your dorm like?" I asked curiously. "Our's is really cosy and there's so many pot plants, it's like a jungle

"Oh, it's alright," Dan shrugged. "Its all green and stuff: windows looking into the bottom of the lake, skulls and candles on the walls. Pretty cool."

"You're under the lake?" Jacob asked in surprise. Dan nodded.

"Sounds awesome," Andy remarked, grinning.

"Ace! Okay, see ya soon!" I said, waving as Dan re-merged with the Slytherins and sat down at the Slytherin table. I slid onto a bench between Andy and Jacob at the Hufflepuff table. This time, I didn't hesitate when food appeared, I loaded my plate and dug in.

"Hello boys," said a cheery voice behind me. "I'm Professor Sprout, head of Hufflepuff house. Welcome to the family!"

A dumpy old woman with flyaway grey hair and a patched strolled up behind us, eyes twinkling and smiling broadly. She held her wand before her, levitating a teetering stack of parchment.

"Your timetables," she said, flicking her wand and floating three papers towards us from the top of the stack, one landing in front of each of us.

"Thank you Professor."

"Thank you."

"Thanks Professor Sprout."

"Your welcome, boys. Now, the castle can be quite confusing to navigate so be sure stick together. If you need directions, just ask any of the older students and they'll be happy to guide you. Have a great first day!" She moved along.

"What's our first subject?" Jacob asked, snatching up his timetable and scanning it. "Charms, awesome! My Dad loves charms."

"Defense Against the Dark Arts second," Andy noted. "Can't wait to start that one. My parents want me to learn how to defend myself, they're kinda paranoid."

"That's a double class with the Slytherins," I added, looking closer at the timetable. "Hey Dan!" I twisted in my seat, waving at Dan to get his attention from further down the Slytherin table. He glanced up from the plate his was picking at. "We've got Defence Against the Dark Arts together! Second subject!" I called, waving the timetable at him. He flashed a grin and gave a quick thumbs-up before hunching back over his food.