Atlas left the Room of Requirement with a heavy heart, the frustration he had been holding in his chest for weeks weighing down on him. He couldn't help but feel like he was lagging behind. Despite the room's incredible power to create a training environment tailored to his needs, he knew he needed to improve faster.
As he trudged through the Hogwarts corridors, Atlas wondered when he would be able to regularly use the Room of Requirement without drawing any suspicion. He knew that he needed to practice more, but he didn't want anyone to find out about his secret training sessions and the room's power. Maybe waking up early every day may work. But he needed to be careful.
Eventually, Atlas made it back to the Gryffindor common room, and he immediately headed for the bathroom to freshen up. He quickly changed into his robes and headed back to his dorm room, where he found his roommates still sound asleep.
Just as he was about to shake them awake, Harry's alarm clock went off, ringing loudly throughout the room; Atlas seized the opportunity and used Harry's groans and fumbling hands to wake his roommates up.
"Come on, guys," he said, smiling in spite of himself. "We can't afford to miss breakfast again."
Half-asleep and grumbling, Atlas's roommates dragged themselves out of bed and headed for the door. Together, they made their way down to the Great Hall, following Percy's lead as they navigated the ever-changing staircases.
As they walked, Atlas couldn't help felling grateful for the company of his friends. Despite his worries about his training, there was something reassuring about being surrounded by familiar faces and the comforting chatter of his fellow Gryffindors.
As they reached the Great Hall, the aroma of freshly baked bread and sizzling bacon filled their nostrils., and they eagerly took their seats at the Gryffindor table. The morning at Hogwarts was in full swing as students hurriedly ate their breakfast before rushing off to their first class. As Atlas and his friends made their way towards their charm class, they were greeted by a flurry of owls delivering letters and newspapers.
Suddenly, Hermione appeared out of nowhere and jogged towards them, her hair slightly disheveled. She was carrying a stack of books and looked like she had been up all-night studying. Atlas and Harry welcomed her with open arms. Ron, on the other hand, scowled in her direction.
As they walked, Hermione asked Atlas if he would be free after their History of Magic class to compare their potions homework. Atlas happily agreed, which made Hermione smile.
When they arrived at the Charms classroom, they were met by a small, elderly man perched precariously on top of a stack of books. He was peering intently at his attendance list, muttering under his breath. Suddenly, he spotted Harry's name and toppled over in excitement.
"Harry Potter!" he exclaimed, clambering back onto his stack of books. "It's an honor to have you in my class!"
Atlas couldn't help but chuckle at the professor's enthusiasm. Professor Flitwick bounced up and down on his stack of books as he welcomed the students to their very first charms class. He was excited to teach them the levitation charm, the first spell on their journey to becoming accomplished witches and wizards.
The diminutive Professor Flitwick began the class with the basics of wand movements, emphasizing the importance of the switch and flick motion. The students then practiced the movement repeatedly, much to the boredom of Atlas, who had studied extensively before coming to Hogwarts. He wondered whether to hold back and not reveal his ability or to show off his skills. Watching the others around him swing their wands like crazy, he couldn't help but chuckle at how ridiculous it must look to someone who was not familiar with magic.
As the class progressed, Atlas had an idea. He decided to use this time to master non-verbal casting for the levitation charm. With his general practice in casting spells, he felt confident that he could master non-verbal casting in the time it took the others to learn the spell the traditional way.
Non-verbal spells may be weaker than incantations, but the speed and unpredictability they offer would be invaluable, especially if he couldn't confront a more powerful adversary directly. Every tool he had at his disposal could be the deciding factor in his mission. Atlas knew he needed to prepare for any situation that might arise, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. He just needed to be careful to cast the spell on something that wasn't the center of attention for everyone.
Atlas pulled out a piece of parchment from his bag and held his wand out, ready to try his hand at non-verbal casting for the first time. As he glanced around, he saw the other students still brandishing their wands in endless repetition.
He closed his eyes and imagined the paper lifting off the table and into the air. But as he flicked his wand and tried to perform the levitation charm without incantation, nothing happened. He tried again and again, but the paper remained stubbornly glued to the desk.
Atlas felt a pang of frustration. He had been a quick learner since entering this world, and it was frustrating to be stumped by something that seemed so simple. As the lesson wore on, Atlas grew increasingly bored. The repetition of the exercise was mind-numbing, and he couldn't help but wonder why they were being forced to spend an entire class period practicing something that seemed so basic. He had it comparatively better, because he actually tried to cast a spell but the others were simply waving their wands for a half an hour, while professor flitwick went around and corrected the movements of some students.
Finally, in the second half of the lesson, Flitwick, introduced the incantation for the spell. He shared a funny story about a wizard named Baruffio who had mistakenly summoned a buffalo by mispronouncing the spell. The excersise that followed made Atlas practice impossible, as they weren´t allowed to use their wand and needed to simply practice prounouncing the spell.
As the Charmlesson drew to a close, Atlas felt a twinge of disappointment. He had anticipated that every class would be filled with exhilarating, hands-on spellcasting. Instead, he was subjected to hours of tedious wand-waving and basic spell-practice. He hoped that Flitwick was just overly careful because this was the first spell they were supposed to learn. He wasn't the only one who felt that the class was a tad boring. Ron seemed to share his opinion on the topic, pointing out that the lesson was finally over.
Atlas thought it was a bit funny as he remembered that Ron wasn´t able to cast the spell until Halloween and didn´t even learn the prounounciation of the spell correctly.
Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
The group made their way out of their previous class and rushed towards their next subject: History of Magic. Ron, eager to share some insider knowledge, piped up, "Did you know that the professor is a ghost? My brothers Fred and George told me that he used to be a teacher here when he was alive, but one day he woke up and realized he had left his body behind and had become a ghost."
Ron couldn't help but chuckle as he continued, "They also told me that Professor Bin's lessons are so dull that even he falls asleep during his own lectures!"
The group was curious to see if Ron's brothers were telling the truth as they made their way to the classroom. Upon entering, they couldn't help but stifle a laugh - there was Professor Bins, floating aimlessly in front of the chalkboard, sound asleep.
Some students were still slumped over their desks, apparently snoozing through the end of the lecture without even realizing it. The class erupted in whispers and giggles as they took their seats, excited for what promised to be a less-than-thrilling lecture on the history of magic from a ghostly professor.
The older students were jolted awake by the arrival of the first-year students, who bustled in with excitement. The older students quickly gathered their belongings and dashed out of the classroom.
Harry turned to his friends and asked, "Should we wake up Professor Bins too?" Ron shook his head, suggesting they take a breather instead. Neville, Seamus, and Dean all agreed with Ron, nodding their heads in unison.
Just as they settled in to relax, Hermione caught their attention as she boldly marched up to Professor Bins, intending to wake him up. The group watched in horror as she called out to the sleeping professor, startling him awake.
Hermione informed him that the previous class had already ended and introduced themselves as the new first-year students. The professor took a moment to gather his bearings before introducing himself in a monotone voice that seemed to suck the energy out of the room.
As he launched into a lecture on a Gargoylestrike from 1911, the group was pleasantly surprised to find that the topic was not as boring as they had initially thought. Atlas hadn´t studied his History of magic book as he didn´t see it helping in defeating the hero, so he was surprised that the lecture was actually interesting and a bit different than the original story claimed they were. However, Professor Bins soon veered off course, delving into a tangent about the shoelaces of the Ministry spokesman.
The sudden change of topic sent the whole class into a deep drowsiness, struggling to keep their eyes open. They wondered how they would survive the rest of the lesson with such and monotone, boring and dry lecturer. The lectures were exactly as they were described in the books.
Atlas found himself growing increasingly drowsy during Professor Bins' droning lecture. As he saw the people mindlessly staring at the ceiling, he remembered something he had read in a book about occlumency, which suggested that this might be the perfect time to practice. According to the book, he needed to clear his mind before he could build a strong defence against intruders.
As he attempted to clear his mind of all thoughts and emotions, Atlas became more aware of his body and the sensations he was feeling at that moment. He felt the soreness from his training in the Room of Requirement, the blood pulsing through his veins, and the feel of his clothes on his skin. Surprisingly, focusing on the pulsing of his blood helped him clear his mind more effectively than trying to actively think of nothing.
After about twenty minutes of deep concentration, Atlas felt like he had achieved the first step of occlumency: suppressing his memories. Although he wasn't able to go much further, he successfully pushed several memories deeper into his mind, making them harder to detect.
Now that he had successfully suppressed a few of his memories, he wanted to try the second step: adding a repelling effect. The repelling effect, combined with the suppressed memories, would function as a wall, protecting him from any would-be intruders. He didn´t know if he succeeded because he couldn´t feel any repelling effect and could not simply ask someone to probe him.
As Atlas poured his heart and soul into building the perfect mind wall, he was abruptly jolted out of his training by the sound of rustling bags and shuffling feet. He looked up, confused, and realized that everyone around him was packing up their things. His progress crumbled before his eyes as his focus shifted, but he couldn't deny the feeling of satisfaction that swelled within him. He had achieved a level of success he didn´t expect so soon.
Determined to continue his progress, Atlas made a decision: he would focus on training his occlumency in history of magic and simply ask Hermione for her notes at the end of the year, just like Ron and Harry did in the original story. As the lesson ended and Hermione approached him to suggest they hit the library to look over their potion homework, Atlas couldn't help but notice the glares from the rest of their group. It seemed they hadn't yet forgiven her for waking up Professor Bins and subjecting them all to the torture of a lesson.
Atlas bid farewell to his friends, promising to meet them for lunch later, and trailed behind Hermione as they made their way to the library. As they walked, Hermione chatted excitedly about how fascinating it was that a ghost was teaching history and how much more he could offer than just books.
Atlas couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at her enthusiasm. "Did you actually listen to Professor Bins' lecture?" he asked, genuinely surprised.
Hermione's face lit up. "I thought it was fascinating! A ghost teaching history? He was alive during those times, or, well, existed at least. He could tell us so much more than any book ever could. So, of course I did. Some parts weren't as interesting, but overall, I found it quite informative."
"Generations of students who slept through those classes would disagree with you," Atlas said with a smirk.
Hermione giggled, but then grew solemn. "Do you think I'm weird for enjoying this stuff so much? Am I the only one?" she asked him.
Atlas paused, taken aback by her sudden vulnerability. He thought about his own motivations for studying and whether he truly enjoyed it or only did it to further his mission. After a few moments, he came to the conclusion that he did indeed like studying, but not every subject. When he looked at Hermione to answer her, he saw that she looked like she was about to cry. He realised that he had taken a long time to respond. She probably thought he was going to confirm her fears that she was weird for liking to study. But when he finally spoke, she visibly breathed a sigh of relief. "You're not weird at all," he reassured her. "I like studying too, but I'm not as passionate about every subject as you are."
"I enjoy studying magic because it allows us to cast more spells and have a more diverse skillset," he explained. "It lets us make miracles happen that muggles could never dream of. But history of magic doesn't hold much value for me personally."
Hermione's eyes lit up at his words. "Yes, exactly! I don't understand why the others apparently haven't even looked in their books before coming to Hogwarts."
Hermione hummed with excitement in her voice. "So, is Potions your favourite class?" she asked. "I was quite surprised that you could answer all of Snape's questions. You seemed to have studied the book at least as well as I have, if not better."
"I was passionate about potions even before I could cast magic," Atlas replied. "My mother taught me at home, and I really enjoyed it. But her teaching methods were quite different from Snape's, and I don't think I'll really enjoy his lessons much."
"Don't let Snape's attitude ruin your passion for potions," Hermione said, shaking her head. "It's a really interesting topic and maybe the one where studying pays off the most. But I have to say, I'm a bit envious that you had a mother who taught you before coming here. You probably know so much more about Potions than I do. It was really the right choice to ask you to compare notes."
Atlas nodded in amusement. "That's true. But my mother wasn't really that eager to teach me at first. It took me years to get her to teach me. But what about you? Is Potions your favourite class?" he asked.
Hermione hesitated before answering. "I don't know yet; we haven't had all the classes. But you're right, Snape does make it quite difficult to really enjoy the subject, so it will probably be a different subject. I'm really excited about Transfiguration, and maybe Charms class after we advance past the basics."
Atlas listened intently, curious about her thoughts. "What do you hope those classes will be like?"
Before Hermione could answer, they arrived at the library.