FicWad

"So we have to practise the levitation charm, write a foot long essay on the different aspects needed for healthy plant growth, and a summarisation essay about the difference between hexes, jinxes and curses. I suggest we start on the defence essay first, as that will probably be the quickest and easiest. If we reread the text book and jot down the key points for the defence essay first, before dinner, so it will be out of the way, and we can concentrate on the other two after the house meeting." Hermione said.

The other two nodded and making their way to an empty table by the fire they settled down and started to work. Soon joined by the other first years, the common room became silent except for the occasional soft spoken request or query.

At 1745 Harry looked at his watch and after getting the attention of the others at the table, informed them it was time for dinner. Mingling together, the first year Ravenclaws made their way down the staircases to the Great Hall arriving just as the food appeared on the tables. Sitting together near the middle of the table they greeted a group of second years that were already seated.

Helping himself to some shepherd's pie and a large portion of assorted vegetables – he still hadn't gotten over how he could have as much or as little of each food as he wanted. Terry and Anthony had started up a conversation on Quidditch, quickly joined by the second years seated next to them. Harry listened in, trying to learn as much as he could. There was only so much he could learn from books. The sport of Quidditch was very popular in the magical world, on par with the muggle fascination with football.

The mechanics of the game were easy to learn, but the current conversation was focusing on the putting together of the new Ravenclaw team. Over half the players had graduated the last term and it seemed as if it was the opinion of most of the house that Jeremy Stretton, the remaining chaser and now captain, had a lot of work to do if this year wasn't just going to be a makeup year.

Thinking it through, and applying what little he knew of football Harry asked why the reserves couldn't take the positions. A quiet descended on the conversation and everyone looked to him. Some of the older students down the table even seemed to stop eating, curious at the sudden silence.

"What? Are you not allowed a reserve team like the professional teams? Or have they all graduated too?"

"Why would you have a reserve team? There aren't that many good players in the upper years to make up another team and they would very rarely get to play, injuries are rarely serious enough to stop someone from playing."

"Well, what about the younger students who have some talent? You could train them, just in case a player can't play and they can take part in the majority of the practises so you have someone for the main team to play against. That way they are already trained and have some experience when the main player graduates."

"Where did you think of that?" A voice behind him said.

Terry who was sitting next to Harry moved up a little to allow the newcomer to have a seat.

"Jeremy Stretton. I'm the Quidditch Captain." He held out his hand for Harry to shake, which he did.

"Harry Potter. I just thought it was a good idea, the football clubs have reserve players for each position and they play when the main player is injured or tired. Most of the time they are the less experienced players, who get time on the field." At the blank look on Jeremy's face Harry decided to elaborate. "It's a muggle sport. One ball and two goals, one at either end of the pitch. It doesn't really matter about the details but I thought you could use the organisational setup for the team. And it helps if you aren't too sure about who to pick for a position during tryouts."

Everybody was listening now and Harry felt a little nervous. He didn't want to seem as if he was telling them how to do things, he was the newcomer after all. Taking a sip of a drink he looked around. More students had joined them but they seemed to be mostly interested, especially about the last point.

"Well in Quidditch you have three chasers but what happens when in tryout there are four who are really good? How do you choose? Well you pick three, say they most experience or those that work best together, and the fourth is put on the reserve team. Performance during the practises and such, means that you can interchange them, especially if you know you need a particular combination for whichever team strategies you are going to use. That and you can involve more students and not just seven from the entire house."

Jeremy was nodding. "I'll have to ask Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick. But I don't see why not." This sparked ripples of conversation down the tables, everyone discussing if they would try out, and what they thought of the idea. From what he could hear they liked the idea. Conversation over, everyone returned to eating.

o0O0o

"And how are your new Lions doing Minerva?"

"Well, thank you Filius. A few late students who got lost, but nothing major. And your Ravens?"

"Very well so far. I had my first class with them today and they didn't disappoint. I think we have a good bunch. All were well prepared and were able to levitate the feather. Some more successful than others. I have my meeting with them after dinner."

"Any that I should look out for?"

"Well Miss Granger is very bright. Further ahead than most, which is surprising since she is muggle born. And then there is Mr Potter."

No need to be subtle. He and Minerva were good friends and never really cared about the houses when it came to the students, but he knew she had been disappointed when the hat had announced Ravenclaw. It was friendly one-upmanship. What he didn't expect was the response from the rest of the table, who had been obviously listening in.

"Really Filius?" Headmaster Dumbledore inquired. "How so?"

"Well like Miss Granger he seemed more prepared than the rest of the class, which rather struck me as, though he not down as muggle born he might as well be. He knew nothing about the magical world when I took him to Diagon Alley. He was very inquisitive and asked lots of questions. I was looking forward to teaching him, but even so, he still surprised me."

He paused and slowly took a bite to eat form his dinner making them wait. "He levitated his text book."

The expressions of shock that rippled down the table were very gratifying. The power needed to levitate something as heavy and cumbersome as a book was easily third year level. It didn't make logical sense, but he took pride in his students' accomplishments, even if it wasn't due to his direct influence. Or any influence at all in this case. Before anyone could interrupt he dropped the next bombshell.

"But that wasn't what was shocking. He had two very powerful parents, and after what happened when he was a baby, I expected him to be powerful, but he also has control that I have never seen. You see… he did it without saying the incantation... and he was able to repeat it."

Silence settled on the table as they turned to see the young boy eating dinner. After many years Filius Flitwick had learned a sense of timing. He had been watching his students as they had entered the Hall. Surprisingly all together, mixing with each other and not separated into groups as the first years usually did. He had observed as they introduced themselves to the students around them and joined in the conversation with ease.

It seemed that this years new Ravenclaws were settling in faster than usual, and it didn't escape his notice how they seemed to gravitate around the messy dark haired boy. His revelation was timed exactly, for when the other members of the faculty had turned to observe him, Harry was at that point talking to a mixed crowd of students. His eyes glowing with energy, he seemed to be offering his opinion to those around him, gesticulating to make a point. That in itself was not unusual, though for a first year rather rare. What was unusual were the reactions of the other students around him. Nodding in agreement and asking his opinion, they all seemed to be charmed by the small boy.

Filius had taught James Potter and it seemed as if his son had inherited the charisma and aura of the father, though it took Potter senior years to achieve the performance his son was showing. He was glad that Potter Junior seemed to have missed inheriting the slight arrogance that his father sometimes displayed.

o0O0o

Once everyone had had their fill, the first years made their way back to the common room. Accompanied by Penny they found seats in the comfortable lounge chairs arranged around the largest fire. Professor Flitwick had arrived just after them and was levitating a box which contents he asked Penny to hand out.

"You should all have a small booklet and a quill." The professor settled himself in the remaining chair and waited until everyone had said items.

The booklet was a bound collection of parchments entitled Ravenclaws guide to Hogwarts and decorated with the house shield and blue and silver ink whirls. The quill was a small luxurious peacock tail feather with gold nib. Mainly blue green along the stem it branched out into the iridescent eye. Engraved on the base of the nib was the Ravenclaw crest.

"The Ravenclaw booklet has many of the rules with which Ravenclaw students are expected to abide by. I'm assuming you have all read the Hogwarts rule book, if you haven't I expect you to do so by tomorrow. The booklet has a pull out map which details the main parts of the castle to help you find your way to your classes. Keep it safe, as in future years you'll need it, as the rooms used can change. You can all read the rules later and if you have any questions you can ask one of the prefects or come and see me. I just want to go over a few of the main ones."

"A side room properly warded is available for practising the practical side of magic. This is to be used with supervision of fourth years or over when in your first and second years. This is for quicker and safer learning. If anything goes wrong they could correct it or get help. They can also give help and assistance to the younger students. This should not be considered a duty that the older students must do, as it helps them revise the spells and theory from the early years and helps the OWL and NEWT level students by reviewing such material. There is a rota of available students on the notice board so that it is spread out among the students. Most will just sit and do work while you practise unless you need or ask for help."

"Next is the issue of grades. Ravenclaw is known for their academic prowess. This doesn't mean I expect you to be at the top of each class and get straight Os. I know that some of you will struggle with some subjects. The Ravenclaw mentality is to work and keep on studying. If you try your best and work on a subject and still get an A than I could not ask for anything more. I do have some expectations. One of which is that you will not fail any subject. That means that you should not get less than an A in any marked piece of works. Any piece of work that is marked as less than an A will be redone and submitted within a week. If this happens more than three times in a term for a single subject, or more than five times in a term overall, we will have a talk and see if we can figure out a problem and if you need extra help or mandatory study sessions etc. If you are having difficulty keeping up, or understanding the subject we will try and help in any way that is possible."

"Your expected grade average is to be an E for your first two years. Then it will be O/E for your third and fourth year. For your fifth year your OWL year you should have an average O grade and keep that until you graduate."

"To help with your studying Ravenclaw has a policy of giving each new student a helping hand. This includes the quill that you have all been given. There are a few spells that will aid you in your studying. These include copying, dictation and protection charms. Also in the booklets you have been given it lays out the expected layout for all essays and assignments. It includes how to properly reference your materials and avoid plagiarism and collusion. Helping each other out by checking for factual errors and spelling mistakes is allowed and encouraged as it will help you all learn faster and avoid silly mistakes. What is not allowed is people doing the work for you or using other people's ideas. Each individual teacher has their own mark scheme which is individual to them. I suggest you look over it as it will help you achieve better marks."

After answering some of the students questions Flitwick ended the formal part of the meeting and with the help of the prefects, started teaching the first years the charms they needed to know. The copying charm worked by highlighting the area you wished to copy with your wand tip. This illuminated the area with a blue shimmering light. The incantation of effingo copied the material onto the blank parchment. The copied information could be seen if you waved your wand over the text, the borders of the copied material fluoresced and the reference appeared superimposed on the material.

A quick referencing charm, for when copying was not done but a source used, was also explained.

Protection charms were explained as a must in case another student tried to copy from a piece of work. It also offered physical protection against damage and alterations. The spell can only be altered by the student who cast the spell. Teachers could mark on the work but not alter it.

The final spell discussed was the dictating spell. A complex piece of magic that most fourth years would be unable to manage due to the intent and control needed to maintain the spell and copy what was wanted. Flitwick explained that this was why the first years have been giving the quills. They would record a complete transcript of the teacher's words during class. The ability to dictate long essays was also a beneficial application.

"When using the quill the parchment, or paper (with a nod to harry), should be laid flat on a stable surface, and then think about what you want it to copy. In class you can concentrate on the teacher. The quill has a lot of innate magic and will even copy any questions and answers from students that you think is applicable. This means that you still need to pay attention in class, but allow you to focus on what is being said rather than having to try and write down everything and ultimately miss something. To do this we will have to bond you to your quill. This makes it unique to each one of you. As such your work is still recognisable as yours."

"Any questions?"

Harry asked about the laundry and how his trunk protection was avoided. The answer was pleasing, house elves and their special brand of magic.

"Any laundry is to be placed in the laundry bag next to your dormitory door. All laundry will be returned within twenty four hours and will be left on your bed. House elves also clean the rooms and tidy up, but all students must keep their own space and personal things tidy."

After a few more questions and answers, and once everyone had been successfully bonded to their quill Flitwick left them to work on their assignments. Harry along with Hermione and Neville approached Penny and asked her to observe while they practised the levitation spell in the practise room. After seeing the interest on the other first year's faces they invited everyone along.

Following Penny through the door that they hadn't yet noticed they found themselves in a large round chamber. The walls, floor and ceiling were made from the same bare stone. Understandable as they were decorated with black scorch marks here and there. Spell damage Harry thought. A fire place heated the room, providing additional light to that provided by the sconces on the wall. To one side was two comfortable chairs arranged around a small table angled so that the whole room could be seen.

Penny headed towards the chairs, placing some of her books on the table she turned and asked whether they needed any assistance. On receiving the answer that they were just practising what they had been taught in class she pointed to one of the trunks situated against the wall where the feathers and pillows were kept and settled herself back in her chair. A long potions essay awaited her and she was rather hopping the firsties wouldn't be that much of a bother tonight.

o0O0o

When they had all retrieved a feather and a pillow they spread themselves out and began to practise. All of the students had successfully levitated a feather, some more controlled than others. Those who had completed it started on the pillow as a slightly heavier and more cumbersome object to manipulate. Harry and Hermione went to one side and sat down on their pillows with their feathers in front of them. Hermione had been badgering Harry since lunch about how he had performed the incantation without speaking and in order to get some peace he had agreed to practise with her that night.

"I didn't mean to do it. I was practising the movement and visualising the result. You've read the chapters about non verbal casting in The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 6) and Magical Theory (Grade 6)." A rather frantic nod answered him.

"The first thing you need to do is calm yourself, trying to force it won't help." Hermione settled down a bit and he continued.

"First cast the spell normally and focus on the way it moves. I was remembering what the feather looked like when Professor Flitwick demonstrated the spell when I did it, which was why the book was floating sideways back and forth, I was imagining a feather floating in the breeze."

Hermione did so and then following the advice they had found in the sixth year books, slowly reduced the volume of the incantation until she was performing the spell with a barely heard whisper. There however she became stuck. In the interim others had joined them much to the interest of Penny. A few of them had been able to reduce their voice level when casting and had decided to continue the practise when learning new spells. After an hour they said their thanks to Penny and moved back to the common room to continue the Herbology essay and allow others to use the room. The first years settled down at the same table they had been at before under the watchful gaze of the prefect.

o0O0o

AN: Below is the answer to the riddle from chapter 8. The map idea is something I would expect the houses to do and is probably a precursor to the Marauders map. The Ravenclaw booklet and quill seemed a sensible idea to add. With regards to levitating and controlling a book as something special when Ron levitated a troll club, I see that as an adrenaline fuelled act that was lifting it slightly and then letting it go. The magic and control to negate gravity for something as heavy and cumbersome as a text book would be remarkable. The copying and other charms are things that I wish very much that I had access to with my work in uni and as anything is possible with magic I decided to live vicariously.

"One is to three as three is to five and five is to four and four is the magic number. What is the pattern?"

One has three letters in the word, three has five letters in it, five has four letters and four has four letters in it (if you try more numbers they will always come back to the number four: so four is the magic number)