Rosie couldn't remember the last time she was running late while getting ready for a day of classes.
She knew that the first day was the worst day to do such a thing. With a new year beginning, she didn't want to start things off so badly. Once she hurriedly got dressed, Rosie quickly gathered her things and dashed down the stairs and out through the portrait, making her way to the Great Hall. She moved past the students, feeling her stomach grumble. She needed to get some food into her system before she passed out in the middle of the corridor.
Luckily, she made it all the way down to the ground floor just in time. Taking a seat, she filled her plate with fruit and toast. Professor McGonagall came around with her timetable.
"Thank you, Professor," she said, watching her walk along the Gryffindor table to the other students.
Rosie looked down at her schedule and saw that Charms was her first class of the day. She was hoping that Defense Against the Dark Arts would be her first class, already intrigued to find out what the new professor's teaching methods were going to be like this year. Really, she would be either very good or very terrible, based on the track record of the last four professors for the class.
Breakfast went by faster for Rosie, knowing that running behind made her time to relax before the busy first day had to be cut short. Once the food from her plate was gone, beginning to settle in her stomach, she stood up with her bag and headed out of the Great Hall. She was about to go down the corridor when a voice stopped her.
"In a rush, Rosie?" Gavin called out.
She spun around on her heel and chuckled a little. "Yeah, I was a little bit late this morning. I had to practically devour my breakfast, so hopefully I won't vomit all over the place before I get to class."
Gavin nodded, chuckling a little. "Yeah, please don't do that."
It wasn't long after that Adam and Greer came strolling out of the Great Hall, their hands intertwined. "Morning, Rosie," Greer greeted her, followed by a smile.
"Morning, Greer," she replied, smiling back, then looking at Adam. "Morning, Adam."
"Morning, Rosebud," he said, a warm expression coming over his face. "Nervous about the first day?"
She shook her head. "Not really. Just as long as I'm not late anymore or vomit..." After realizing what she said, she shot him an awkward smile, for which he returned the favor. She paused, clearing her throat. "But this is your last year. How do you feel about that?"
Adam shrugged in response. "I mean, everything's normal like usual. Nothing special, really."
Greer rolled her eyes. "Don't let him fool you. He knows it's a bittersweet day for him today."
Rosie chuckled, nodding her head. "Yeah, it really is, Adam."
He sighed. "Okay, it sort of is, I'll admit, but I try not to think about it too much."
"Understandable," Rosie replied.
That was when it got silent for a moment. Greer then opened her mouth to speak. "Well, we better get to class. Come on." She led the group down the corridor, pulling Adam along with her.
The four headed to the Charms class first, in which Adam gave Greer a kiss goodbye before he left the three. There weren't many seats left, but the three managed to find seats so that they could sit near each other. The chaos of the classroom that was talking and laughing filled the room, going all the way up to the ceiling. She eyed the students giving them odd looks, as if the idea that Gryffindors and Slytherins couldn't sit together was crazy.
"Just ignore them," Greer whispered.
Rosie nodded as she began to fish for her textbook inside her bag. After rummaging through it countless times, panic began to settle in when she realized that her Charms textbook wasn't there. "Oh, no, no, no, no..."
"What is it?" Greer asked.
"My Charms book isn't in here," she replied. "I think I left it back in my dorm." She huffed a sigh in frustration. "I'll be right back."
"No, Rosie, you won't have time to get it. Just use mine for the time being."
"It won't take long," Rosie assured her as she stood up from her seat. "I'll run really fast."
With that, she raced out of the classroom and up the stairs to the seventh floor, dodging students along the way. When she finally reached the Gryffindor Tower, she spat out the password to the Fat Lady and hurried inside the common room, pulling out her wand. "Accio Charms book!" When the textbook came flying down the stairs, she swiftly caught it and rushed to get back to class.
The corridors were quiet, meaning that classes began, and Rosie was late, just like when she got up this morning. She groaned at the thought of it, already starting her sixth year off on the wrong foot, something she wanted to avoid. She was about to pick up the pace when the voice of the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was not too far from her. Rosie slowed down as she reached the classroom, curious to know what her first lesson would be, which made her not care that she was going to hear it from Flitwick about her tardiness anymore.
"Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven. But you'll be pleased to know that from now on you will be following a carefully structured, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic."
"There's nothing in here about using defensive spells?" Hermione Granger asked.
"Using spells? Ha-ha! I can't imagine why you would need to use spells in my classroom," Professor Umbridge replied.
"We're not going to use magic?" Ron Weasley spoke up.
"You'll be learning about defensive spells in a secure and risk-free way," she explained.
Harry Potter scoffed. "What use is that? If we're attacked, it won't be risk-free."
"Students will raise their hands when they speak in my class," Umbridge snapped. "It is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which, after all, is what school is all about."
"And how is theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry asked.
Umbridge shook her head. "There is nothing out there, dear. Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourself?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe...Lord Voldemort."
Rosie let out a small gasp, hearing his name being said out loud was all that occupied her mind. Then, goosebumps covered her arms, feeling lucky the sleeves on her robes were able to hide them.
"Now let me make this quite plain. You have been told that a certain Dark wizard is at large once again." There was a small pause. "This is a lie."
"It's not a lie! I saw him, I fought him!"
"Detention, Mr. Potter!"
"So according to you, Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?" he asked.
"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident," she explained.
"No, it was murder! Voldemort killed him! You must know this--"
"Enough!" Umbridge yelled, causing some students, like Rosie, to flinch. When the professor calmed down, she spoke up once again. "Enough. See me later, Mr. Potter. My office." She let out an annoyed sigh. "Now, let's begin, shall we?"
As she began to head back to the classroom, Rosie wondered how the rest of the year would go, considering that lesson was not off to a great start, especially for Harry. She then remembered the conversation last night between him and Ron and Hermione, after Umbridge gave her welcome speech.
It means that the Ministry's interfering at Hogwarts.
She didn't know if what Hermione said was true, but all Rosie could do was wait and see if she was right once again, and as far as Rosie knew, there hadn't been a time where Hermione Granger was wrong.
A/N: Oooh, and here's chapter five!
Sorry it's kind of boring, but I gotta get past that in order to get to the actual plot of this story.
Anyway, comment, vote, more soon!
-A