Alternative Charms and Transfiguration
This segment requires a pre-segment to fully explain the last few paragraphs. So just go with the flow of the transplanted piece from the full thing which will be posted else-where as part of a different project.
Harry rummaged through his trunk for the concealer he'd found that didn't itch and was just the right shade to cover the scar. He was carefully stacking items around him as he pulled them from the expanded space within the luggage, and had just liberated a wig of shoulder-length Weasley-red hair from within that caught his eye.
He discovered over the years at the dursleys that no matter what he did to his hair, it remained the same length and refused to lay flat. And after the trip to Diagon, where he noticed the books with his current description in the bookstore; he decided to step up his game on being inconspicuous, and considering the surfeit of Weasley children running around, if last night was anything to go by, yet another red head would be par for the course. He grinned at the wig, and resumed his search.
A moment later he emerged from the first year dorm bathroom bearing only the slightest resemblance to his appearance the night before.
His entrance to the common room was met with the occasional curious glance, but that was more curiosity aimed at the Weasley red hair, and questioning the idea that there was one more weasley male at school than previously thought. The few that recognized him for who he was remembered his hair color the previous night and took the hint for what it was, and returned to what they were doing without saying anything.
Harry felt the desire to smirk at the students rubbernecking as the Gryffindor first years walked past, craning to get a look at Harry Potter and turning away disappointed when their eyes went right over him.
Charms, was, in a word, thrilling. Professor Flitwick, the teacher, was a relatively short wizard, with a balding head and a wispy mustache. His entrance to the class involved flying into the room on some sort of levitating boots only to crash into a bookshelf, and end up on top of a pile of books.
Harry was one of the few students near the front of the room and pulled Neville with him when he rushed over to help the professor up.
"Are you alright, Professor?" Neville said.
"I'm okay, I'm okay," Professor Flitwick repeated as he assisted the boys with pulling him off the stack and then brushed himself off. He gave a short chuckle and waved his wand repairing any potential damage to the books from his little flying accident and then reshelving themselves.
"Ah, Gryffindors, wonderful save there, have three points each for jumping to the assistance of a downed professor," Flitwick said with a wink.
Transfiguration was a more, wooly subject than charms. Harry recalled her from the sorting night, Professor McGonagall made him think of the witch Morwen from the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. In fact, hanging front and center above the chalkboard was a sign that read, "None of this nonsense, please."
"Magic is a complex and dangerous thing, and, I feel safe in saying, that there is no subject at Hogwarts, that is more dangerous than the subject of Transfiguration," she said. "In this class we deal with twisting the nature of reality more so than any other," with a wave of her wand, her desk and everything on it twisted morphing into a sleeping boar, and back again. "You will respect the dangers inherent in transfiguration in my class, or you will leave, and find yourself without my tuition. You have been warned."
With a wave of her wand, the chalk dust swirled up from the tray at the bottom of the board and affixed itself into several bullet points describing a complex equation and observations. "Copy this equation down, now, in fact inscribe it onto the very front of your note binder, you should see this every day you attend my class."
"Now," she said, "repeat this next sentence after me. There is no such thing as a temporary transfiguration." She paused while the statement sunk in on the class. "When you change the nature of an object via transfiguration, it becomes in all senses that object, though we do have spells that can determine the original object, and even revert a transfigured object to a prior state."
Harry's hand was cramping by the end of the lecture with all the pieces of information that had been presented as absolutely vital to understanding the process of transfiguration, that he almost sighed with relief when McGonagall announced that she believed they had time to attempt their first bit of magic in her class.
By the end of the lesson, he'd managed to ignite a portion of the desk which was quickly doused by the professor, turn portions of the matchstick into what looked like green plastic, and sharpen one end into a pointy stake. Only Hermione had any greater luck than he, and the professor used hers as an example, while frowning at his own, this was of course followed by a quirked eyebrow at his weasley red hair.
"Mister Potter, please stay a moment," said the professor as the rest of the class filed out.
"Yes, professor," said Harry continuing to pack his things but remaining seated. Once the room had emptied she gave his wig a pointed look and said.
"Explain."
Harry reached up and lifted the wig to reveal his naturally messy black hair underneath.
The professor raised an eyebrow, but seemed to be relieved. "For a moment, Harry, I had worried that you had attempted some form of self transfiguration. As you did not appear to be in distress, I assumed it wasn't life-threatening. Though I would still like to know why you decided on this particular method of concealment."
Harry shrugged. "What's one more Weasley in the crowd, professor. I'm a person not a hunk of meat, I'd prefer to not be stared at for something I don't even remember, and I like to think the background is better than the spotlight."
"You, are nothing like your father," Professor McGonagall snorted in amusement.
The statement hit Harry like a ton of bricks for a moment, He'd never known his father, and to be told this made him feel, like a failure. But still the words felt like a release from a burden he didn't know he'd carried.
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said.
"You're welcome, Mister Potter, and if you ever want to talk, call for Blocky, and ask him to see if i'm available for a meeting," said the transfiguration professor.
Return to: Alternative HogwartsPosted: 2018-01-27 12:13:44 -6 gmt
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This actually made its way into another story I'm writing.