Our decisions shape the way we will see our lives at the end of the road, have you left a positive mark in the world, or is your name forever remembered as curse, the name of a sinner. Have you gave inspired those around you for the better or are you just another trauma in their life, a life that they want to forget.

  Death isn’t the end, for our material bodies maybe, but for the world we only die when there’s no one to remember you, but do you want to be remembered in a positive or a negative light.

  No one chooses the circumstances regarding their coming into this world, some may curse the day they were born, blaming their families, the stars, never doing anything meaningful with the opportunity they were given. But we can’t live in perpetual denial, we can’t say for eternity that we were born under a bad sign.

  Not every day do you meet someone like Professor Dumbledore, I can’t say that I didn’t enjoy our little chat, but I didn’t really understand most of what he wanted to say. I don’t blame the school for giving me detention, I truly misbehaved. But Prof. Dumbledore insisted it wasn’t detention, and honestly speaking it wasn’t. But I couldn’t call it private tutoring either or at least I shouldn’t. There are many talented wizards wanting to be in my place, and I haven’t done anything to deserve such attention from them.

  I could get this out of my head. I was so distracted that I didn’t really notice when I had returned to Hufflepuff’s common lounge.

  “J, right here!” I heard Justin calling me, I walked in his direction, and I saw he was sitting with Ernie, Wayne and two girls from Hufflepuff.

  “Good evening, Susan, Hannah.” I didn’t greet Wayne and Ernie, we typically didn’t do that, we spent most of the day together, there was no point in greeting each other, we had this tacit understanding.

  “Evening James” Hannah talked in a soft and gentle manner, in my long two days at Hogwarts this was the first time we had talked since the start-of-term feast, in hindsight it is a little rude of me, we take all courses together, it’s not like Hermione and Neville that were assigned to a different house.

  “Evening Solé” Susan’s manner of speech contrasted Hannah’s, it wasn’t that her tone was rude or something along those lines, but she carried a certain confidence and determination in her speech that set her apart, she sounded more like an older sister, whereas Hannah had a more girl next door kind of vibe.

  “Justin told us you were called to the headmaster’s office, is everything alright James?”

  “Uhm… yeah everything is alright.”

  “But? But what Solé?”

  “It’s nothing Susan, it’s just that starting next week I must spend a little more time with the professors. A kind of tutoring”

  “That, that sounds like detention…” Wayne was right but not completely.

  “Kind of, Professor Dumbledore said that it isn’t detention, but tutoring. But to be honest, I can’t tell the difference.”

  “That’s awful mate, detention”

  “Merlin’s beard, why can’t it be me?”

  Justin and Ernie had very contrasting reactions.

  “You don’t understand Justin, Prof. Snape is one of the youngest Potion Masters in the world, Prof. McGonagall on of the few registered Animagus in the United Kingdom magic world, and she has contributed multiple paper to The Transfiguration Today.”

  “Woah, that’s awesome, I didn’t know we had that kind of teachers” Justin was gobsmacked, but Ernie wasn’t done with the poor bloke.

  “Yeah, and Professor Flitwick had one of the longest winning streaks in the history of Wizarding Duels, being one of the longest seated Champions of the last three centuries, and don’t forget our Dean Prof. Sprout, my father told me that she is one of, if not the best magic herbologist in wizarding world. The only one that can rival her is the current headmaster of Castelobruxo.”

  “Even if you praise me like that I won’t give you any extra points Mr. Macmillan”

  “Good night Professor Sprout” we all stood up and greeted our dean.

  “Don’t mind me kids, I just came to make sure everyone is their dormitories, as for you first years, you just have to wait for Professor Sinistra to come pick you up, have a good night kids”

  The jolly woman just said a few words and continued her inspection, she was in a particular good mood.

  “Woah, that’s an all-stars line up, I can’t believe they teach us, not even Eton can have this kind of teachers, and J, you can have them all for yourself!” Justin was clearly impressed by the qualifications of our teachers.

  “I you put it like that, yeah, it’s incredible, it isn’t detention.”

  “Hmm… my brother told me that most of Gryffindor get detention with Mr. Filch”

  “Oh, I don’t think it’s that bad, sure the man looks grumpy and all, but anyone would be the same if not worst I they had to take care of so many students and not being able to use magic to lessen their workload.”

  “You’re right Solé, but he has it better than most Squibs, some of the can never ever see the magic world after they turn eleven, most of them are sent to some muggle school to live a simple life among them, but I heard that some are just abandoned and left to fend for themselves.”

  “Woah, I didn’t know that, my grandfather never told me anything about the treatment of squibs.” Ernie must know his stuff.

  “We shouldn’t give Mr. Filch more work if possible, but we should change the topic, we can’t do anything to help the squibs outside of Hogwarts, at least not until we graduate.”

  “Sorry Susan, you’re right. Theres still sometime till Prof. Sinistra comes to pick us up, how about some music?”

  “Yeah put on some Bowie J”

  “How about the Beatle’s my mom likes them”

  “Fleetwood mac was good Solé”

  “Well, we have enough time to hear a little bit of everything, and maybe something new, Susan and Hannah haven’t heard anything till now.”

  So, I took the Rad-ants and tuned the J-Max, and we started listening to some muggle music, I pushed all my worries out of my head and just enjoyed my time with my friends.

  The next day, I was completely knackered, Astronomy ended at one in the morning but walking back to our beds took us too long, Prof. Sinistra didn’t let us jump from the tower.

  We could’ve stayed a little more time in bed, but I didn’t want to be late to my first class with Prof. McGonagall, I had caused her enough worries already, being late to her course wasn’t in my plans.

  So, I begrudgingly woke up, turned the Rad-ants to the maximum and put some Hendricks to wake everyone up. Today’s morning routine took me nearly double the amount of time it usually takes.

  My roommates weren’t fairing any better. But we pushed through the ordeal and started devoured the breakfast, even Justin ate two servings of breakfast.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Having filled our tanks, we made our way to the Transfiguration classroom.

  We got there early and selected some good seats, not in the front neither in the back, a perfect distance to have a good view of class, making sure to blend in the crowd.

  At least that was the idea, but Professor McGonagall dragged us to the front, after that she gave us a stern look, and transformed into a Tabby Cat, climbed the podium and sat still waiting for our classmates.

  We remained silent, and didn’t dare to look at her, not too much at least. So, this was Animagus, Ernie had mentioned this yesterday, we all talked about what animal we would be if we learned this. We talked for long about this matter, but no one had a clear idea about what animal they could embody.

  Introspection is one of the hardest things to do, turning into an animal, could reflect our personality, our traits and quirks, things that we tend to ignore. No one wants to be told that the animal that best suits you is a Skunk, worse if that someone was yourself.”

  After everyone got to the class, Professor McGonagall Transformed back, giving everyone a big “surprise”, we tried, but our reactions weren’t that genuine, one of the perks of being at the forefront was that no one except the professor could see our expressions. But she didn’t mind, she had a good enough reaction from us when she transformed for the first time.

  There aren’t many things to point out of her class, she gave us a stern warning before class, gave another demonstration of what advanced Transfiguration could accomplish by turning her podium into a pig that did some laps around the classroom. This time our reactions were genuine.

  Transfiguration seemed like one of the most interesting subjects in the first year, maybe only charms could rival it, but the spells that we were going to learn weren’t that impressive, but Transfiguration was a different matter. We were shown from the start what we could accomplish with this subject.

  At least I was filled with a particular thirst for this knowledge, don’t get me wrong, charms is good and all, potions is an essential, let’s not talk about herbology, but Transfiguration, was almost the power of imagination, the only limit that I can see, is my own imagination and my own ability.

  Charms was great, but I haven’t contacted more advanced spells, neither I have any knowledge about the creation of spells, the only thing I know is that the intention was the most crucial part in magic, and what better way to train my intention in magic, than transforming the world as I see fit.

  The first class was amazing, but it also somewhat damped my wildest dreams, Gamp’s Law of Elemental Transfiguration, certainly put a stop to some of those wildest aspirations, but Transfiguration still beckoned to me.

  Professor McGonagall put a little test for us, the transfiguration of a match into a needle. I can’t say that I did it in my first try, but at the very least, my match was turned into a metal pin, the eye of the needle? That’s another story. But Prof. McGonagall still praised my progress.

  Hermione one the other hand, she turned hers into a needle, a very blunt needle, but a needle, nonetheless.

  I need to talk to her and Neville at lunch, we had Herbology together yesterday, but I didn’t have an opportunity to talk to them, now that I think about it, I didn’t even went to the great hall for dinner, that should explain my terrible condition this morning, I went to bed with and empty belly.

  Before going our separate ways, I made an appointment with Neville, unfortunately the periods after lunch didn’t line up, so I asked to meet them in front of the library before supper.

  This was going to be a good day, my chat with Professor Dumbledore yesterday wasn’t any special, or something, he told me to try new things, to never judge things by their appearance and nothing else, apart from my tutoring.

  He isn’t a counsellor after all, Hogwarts needs so many things, when we compare it to some muggle boarding schools, but then again, there is no other boarding school like Hogwarts, at least in the United Kingdom.

  But I heard from Susan that one of her roommates didn’t bring enough parchment, I seriously couldn’t believe it. But that was the truth, at least she brought some notebooks, that would help her take notes, but she won’t have enough for homework, homework is made in parchment paper.

  But what can I say, I gave some parchment to Susan, I bought enough for a year, but if my roommates or other acquaintances run out of parchment, there won’t be enough for everyone.

  Everything went well, professor Quirrell gave an acceptable class, well we mostly read the book, but at least we didn’t fell asleep.

  I can’t imagine what happened to him that transformed someone like him into what he is today, Justin heard that last year, Prof. Quirrell, taught Muggle Studies, he was a beloved professor, and many seniors, will miss his lessons, he was a perfect Ravenclaw, he did some investigative work to prepare for his lessons, did some corrections to the books that are currently being used, and was blast in the classroom.

  A clear contrast with his current appearance, the confident man wombles around beneath that headscarf of his, maybe he just went bald, and started his middle age crisis, the father of one of my classmates went through one after his divorce.

  I would also wear a headscarf, if I lost all my hair in an instant. I just hope he overcomes this hurdle in his life. So, we are very patient with his lessons, maybe someday we will go through something similar. I don’t know nothing about my father, but I don’t want to be bald.

  The class was certainly boring, I didn’t even notice when the period had ended, if not for Wayne tapping my shoulder I would have remained in the classroom all by myself. He may be timid, but he’s a good chum.

  I collected my stuff and prepared to leg it to the Great Hall and enjoy a scrummy lunch but.

  “Hmm… M-Mr. Black, could you p-please stay for a moment, I, I need to talk w-with you.”

  “How may I help you professor, please call me James or something else.”

  “S-sorry kid, b-but I couldn’t hep b-but notice that you w-were distracted in class”

  “Oh, I’m sorry professor, I will make sure this would never happen again.”

  “D-don’t worry, but i-if you want to talk, maybe I can h-help you.”

  There was the good professor that Justin heard about, he wasn’t angry about me being distracted during the lesson, he was just concerned about me.

  “It was nothing professor, thank you for asking.”

  “Is i-it about your father? W-we can talk about it.”

  “Did you have problems with your father professor?”

  “Tell me about it James, I have wished for so long to not have anything to do with him.”

  When Prof. Quirrell started talking about his father he could speak normally, but his manner of speech didn’t convey his emotions, maybe he hadn’t got over whatever happened within him and his father.

  “But don’t worry kid, when you’re strong enough, nothing about that stuff will bother you. When you reach a certain level, everyone will just claim your name, the name that you want to be known, not the name of a disgraceful father.”

  “Maybe you are right professor, but I’m still young, I still have time to prove myself, to be recognized by who I am, not by who my father is.”

  “Yes, but waiting can be tiring don’t you think so?”

  “Yeah, you’re right professor, but we can’t achieve those feats without time.”

  His demeanour was suddenly filled with absolute confidence, if not for the headscarf, you may not recognize this professor Quirrell with his stuttering twin.

  “But that’s for mediocre wizards, James, tell me what do you think about my course?”

  “It gives very practical advice professor”

  “Yes, but the school, and the whole magic world doesn’t understand one thing James, I hope you can remember what am about to say”

  “I’m all ears professor.”

  “Attack is the best defence. What use would you have for these whimsy tips, if you can overpower your opponent in the first exchange.”

  “But we can’t go around provoking fights professor.”

  “Yes James, but what if they provoke us, do we have to way for them and cede them the first turn?”

  “I don’t know professor”

  “Attack is the best defence, remember that James.”

  “Thank you professor, I should get going professor, I’ll be late for lunch.”

  “Go, James. Remember you can always talk to me.”

  I ran out of the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, I don’t know what professor Quirrell went trough but, it can’t be nice, he seems to be two different people.

  Lunch was certainly amazing, there wasn’t much variety, but it was very filling, and it was unlimited.

  The delicious lunch pushed my conversation with professor Quirrell out of my head. So, I enjoyed every single bite, it was an all you can eat experience. The only drawback would be that when lunch finished there were no more refills.

  I had a free period before charms class, and I wasn’t going to waste it. I was a little bored, but I decided to do some reviews before charms class, my questions about the development of new charms can wait till next week, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t need to learn.

  So, I went to the Hufflepuff common lounge and sat with my classmates, and we reviewed together.

  There may be some misconceptions about Hufflepuff, it is not that we didn’t excelled in our academics, the best example would be Cedric, he was the first of his year since his very first year.

  He may be a genius, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t worked hard, the very first time that I met him, he just gobbled up his breakfast, and ran away with many books in his hands. He is one of the very first to wake up, and the last to fell asleep.

  And that is Hufflepuff, the majority may not excel at something, but they do put all their effort in what we do. So, when I told Ernie, Susan and the others that we should review, they didn’t say anything and accompanied me to study.

  Time sure flies when you’re concentrated. We ran to the charms classroom and were almost late to class, professor Flitwick class was amazing, but a little boring, we just repassed the lesson about the wrist movements and incantation, and practiced the Wand-Lighting Charm. The correct pronunciation wasn’t that hard, but not everyone could successfully perform the charm in their first try, I had practiced before, but my light still wasn’t that bright.

  But that’s nothing that a little practice can’t solve. We took charms with Slytherin, but our houses didn’t communicate that much, that’s something considering that our house has the largest proportion of muggle born wizards.

  As my mom used to say, Hate isn’t born, it is learned.