The Next Generation

[Petronella_Pettigrew]

Piers lay awake on his first night. Not even the view from Ravenclaw tower could make him feel any better - he knew nobody in his house. Nobody.
He knew that his mother had been a Ravenclaw, but being a Weasley, he'd just expected to follow in his father's footsteps. All he'd heard about Hogwarts had been centred around Gryfinndor house, gryffindor quiddich team...
What if he didn't make head boy? What if... and he shuddered... what if he never even made it to be a prefect?

Piers wished, not for the first time, that he was just a little braver.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

Arthur wasn't quite sure how the year was going to go. He hoped that the school hadn't simply made a mistake - both his parents were non-magical - what if he couldn't do any spells?

[DucksRMagical]

Galena made her way through the halls to her office. She went inside and started looking over her lesson plans. Her first class was the first year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws. As she glanced at her class list, her eyes rested upon Arthur Dursley's name. For some reason that name sounded so familiar to her, but she couldn't figure out why. She wracked her brain, trying to remember everyone she went to school with, but she couldn't remember any Dursleys at Hogwarts when she was.

After a few hours of finalizing her lesson plans, Galena got into bed. She lay awake for quite a while, still wondering where she knew the name 'Dursley' from. She was also a bit nervous about the next day's lessons. Despite the fact that she'd been teaching at Hogwarts for years, the first day of classes always made her nervous. Especially the first years. Eventually, she drifted off into a restless sleep.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

Arthur felt as though he would be awake all night. He got out of bed and stood at the window, more nervous than he had ever been before.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Geneve climbed into bed after a nice hot shower. She layed back and closed her eyes. She was a little confused, but she decided not to say anything. It had taken a moment to realise they were calling her by her grandmothers name, and not her true name. She had been sorted into Slytherin as Geneve Rouselle. She smiled. She knew that the Riddle name had something to do with her wizarding past, but her mother had not been specific. She only told her that it would be difficult to go by that name. So, her mother must have changed it on the register. So many questions. She looked forward to classes starting the next day. And she wondered who else knew her little secret. Surely, the Headmaster must know. She drifted off to sleep.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

Art woke early the next morning, wanting to make sure that everything was in order for his first day. When he got out of bed, he tripped over his shoes and hit the floor with a thump. It was not a good start.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

"So, it seems the Slytherin's are gaining fewer and fewer first years lately. Plus, I've never heard of your family. Rouselle is it? Is that French?" A short haired girl with dark eyes stood behind Geneve in the girls toilets with her arms folded. Geneve sighed, leaned forward and looked into the mirror. She fixed her hair, then turned to face the girl.
"Now you see, that's not fair." she said cooly. "You haven't told me your name yet."
The girl figited. "It's Malfoy, actually. Melissa Malfoy. I'm a pureblood." she scoffed. Her black hair fell into her face and she pushed it back. She was pretty, and the same height as Geneve.
"Pureblood? Well, good for you." Geneve turned her back and continued fixing her hair.
"Hey!" the girl hissed. "What's the matter? Too embarassed to talk about your family??"
"You have no idea." Geneve breathed under her breath. She layed her hands on the taps and felt herself go suddenly faint. Her head started to ache, and she closed her eyes.
'What's the matter? What's wrong?" She could hear the Malfoy girl's voice, but it was far away. Geneve recovered and turned around again, slowly. Melissa Malfoy had fallen to her knees, she was clutching at her throat and her face was turning blue.
"What happened??" Geneve shrieked. She ran behind Melissa and started applying sharp blows to her back. The poor girl wasn't breathing, and she started to collapse.
"Help!" Geneve cried. "Help us!!" Suddenly Melissa spat something out, and then collapsed in a heap. Geneve was breathing heavily, and it echoed in the empty room. She looked at Melissa - she was unconcious, but alive. Geneve rolled her over, and then stood up to see what it was Melissa had choked on. In the corner next to the sinks, Geneve picked up a gold ring with a snake symbol on it. It was exactly like the Slytherin house symbol.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

It was the first breakfast of the new year at Hogwarts, and Arthur sat down so very full from the previous evening's feast that he had to force the food down his throat. Whilst eating, he discussed the timetable for the Gryffindor first years. In their very first lesson as students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, they would have Transfiguration with the Ravenclaws.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Geneve put the ring in her pocket and knelt down beside the girl. She stared at her for a long moment. Then she pushed the girls hair out of her face, and said, very calmly, "Wake up."
The girl woke up and sat up quickly. "Whoa take it easy, you fainted!" Geneve supported her.
"Did I? Wow.. I must be hungry. Oww.. I think I hit my head." Melissa felt the back of her head and checked her hand for blood.
'Do you want to go get that checked?"
"I guess I'd better, will you help me?" Melissa looked into Geneve's face. Geneve smiled broadly.
"Sure I'll help you." Geneve stood up and helped Melissa to stand up. Together the girls left the girls bathroom. It would seem no one had heard the commotion. Everyone must be at breakfast, and classes would be starting soon.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

Art struggled to find the Transfiguration class until he eventually joined a group of fellow Gryffindor students heading up to the class. They arrived a few minutes late, but were not harshly reprimanded.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Geneve had just dropped off Melissa to the hosptial wing. The nurse there said she should rest a bit and they would give her breakfast there. Geneve realised when she looked at her watch that classes were just about to start. She eyed off a few students who were entering a classroom already. They were wearing gold and scarlet ties. She reached to her neck and pulled her tie up. Green and grey. Ok, so that's not my class. She checked the parchment that had her class timetable on it.

[Phoenix in the Ashes]

Arthur sat captivated as the professor took seemingly little effort transforming one of the empty class chairs into a giant toadstool. This is really cool, he thought.

[DucksRMagical]

Galena looked out at the group of scared-looking first years sitting her class. She reached for her attendance sheet and started to take attendance.

"Sorry, Professor!" a panting boy walked in and found a seat.

"Quite all right, it's the first day," Galena smiled at him. She continued taking attendance and found out that the boy who was late was Arthur Dursley. She still hadn't figured out where she knew the name.

"Welcome to Transfiguration. In this class, we will be learning to transfigure objects into other objects. We'll start out small. Your first task will be to transfigure matches into needles, but we won't be starting today. Today I will lecture you about the subject itself. Please take out your books, a quill, and parchment," Galena instructed. She turned to one of the empty chairs and smiled as she turned it into a toadstool.

A few of the first years gasped and they all stared in awe at the toadstool. "It will be quite a few years before you can do that," she told them and transfigured the toadstool back into a chair.

The class went by fast. The first years paid close attention as Galena spoke to them about the proper wand movements and incantations of transfiguring matches into toothpicks.

"That's all for today, I'll see you next lesson," Galena said once the class was over. The first years all put away their books and left the room. Galena thought the class went well. She was eager for when the first years would start transfiguring their matches. She always enjoyed the first practical lesson the first years had. But that would not be for a few days. Right now she had to concentrate on getting ready for her next lesson, the seventh years.

[Ms. Elsewhere]

Geneve had completely missed her class. She found herself right back where she had started; outside the Transfiguration classroom. She put her back to the wall as the students filed passed. Each person looked at her curiously. Then, finally, one person stopped.
"Are you ok? You're in Slytherin house. Aren't they in the dungeons this morning?" he said.
"Oh are they?" Geneve said breathlessly. "I'm afraid I got lost. I've completely missed my first class!"
"I'll walk with you. I've been checking where to go for my classes, and eventually, I'll have some down there too. It's really scary, first day of school."
"Yes. Very scary." Geneve agreed, and started to walk beside the boy. "I'm Geneve., what's your name?"
"I'm Authur. Nice to meet you." The boy reached over across his books to take Geneve's hand.

[FawkesthePhoenix]

Valencia watched the Hufflepuffs file out of her classroom. A good bunch, with a lot of talent and listening skills. Every one of them had been able to answer the questions she gave them after her lecture with at least some accuracy. The day had gotten off to a good start. Valencia walked into her office to get some papers to hand out to her next class. There was a mysterious ticking noise coming from one of her quills. But this was nothing new. She often bewitched things into timers so she wouldn't forget something she had to do. But Valencia didn't remember making a quill timer. She reached for her wand. But it wasn't in her pocket! Where was her wand! Ahh, 'twas there, on top of her trunk. it must've fallen out of her pocket. Valencia reached over for it, in the time it took for 1,2 ticks. She grasped it at the precise time her elbrow brushed the quill, just as the quill ticked 3. Valencia felt a jerk behind her navel. She tried to dislodge her elbow from the quill, but it was to late. She was going, going, gone.......