Teen Wolf at Hogwarts

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***

- Scott, get up! Scott! - Stiles, grabbing the boy firmly by the shoulders, shook his best friend as hard as he could, but so far it was all in vain. - Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott, Scott!

The boys' neighbours, Matt and Isaac, who were watching, chuckled softly, but did not interrupt their own breakfast preparations. Both of them were already wearing their new robes with the Gryffindor emblem.

- McCall, come on, come on, we've got a letter to write. Scott! - the boy clapped his friend on the back, and he fell off the bed, not expecting this turn of events since morning.

- Stiles, what the hell happened?! Unless it's a threat to someone's life, I suggest you run as far away from here as you can,' Scott hissed, rubbing his bruised elbow and glaring angrily at his friend as he rose.

- The letter, Scotty, the letter! - Stiles, ignoring the dropped 'threat', waved a pristine scroll of parchment in front of his best friend's face.

- You guys are great, thinking about your parents and all, but... we have breakfast in five minutes,' Matt reminded him, his tone guilty, as if he was sorry to interrupt his two old friends. He pointed to the clock hanging beside his bed to prove his point.

For a moment there was silence in the bedroom, interrupted by the quiet chuckles of Isaac, at this moment already tightening the red-and-gold tie round his neck. Glancing over and as if having a mute dialogue, Scott and Stiles rushed simultaneously to the bathroom door. Perhaps the race would have even been fair and equal, but Stilinski, crashing into the nightstand with a loud cry, fell behind, and McCall flew into the room, locking the door behind him.

- Hey, that's not fair, I'm always crashing into something! Scott, I demand a rematch! - drumming on the door, Stiles yelled.

- Yeah, sure, bro, we'll do it first thing tomorrow morning,' McCall's muffled laughter came from behind the door, followed by the sound of the water running.

Isaac and Matt were laughing at the same time.

- To hell with the shower. I'll do it without you! - Stiles muttered under his breath and started to get dressed.

Ten minutes later all four of them were sitting in the Great Hall eating their breakfasts.

- Good morning, boys,' came a few minutes later. The boys turned round and saw three girls sitting nearby. Their fellow students, who had obviously arrived much earlier than the boys, had obviously finished their breakfast, and that was the only reason they had noticed the foursome.

- We didn't get to know each other properly yesterday,' said the girl with the long blond hair. - I'm Malia Tate,' she introduced herself and smiled, giving each boy a hand in turn and nodding at the return introduction.

- Hi,' Stiles stretched out when it was his turn. - You're right, I haven't met you yet. I'm Stiles, this is Scott, Matt and Isaac,' the boy answered for everyone as usual, even though the boys had already managed to introduce themselves without his interference. - You're a muggleborn, aren't you? - He smiled, making the girl frown slightly.

The girl nodded cautiously. Malia, having learnt that there were four pure-blooded wizards on the course with her (not counting the other faculties), was seriously excited.

- That's great! - Stiles suddenly exclaimed, causing Tate to look up in surprise. - Honestly! What do you think of our world? I've always wondered what it was like not to know magic existed.

- If you'll excuse us, we have to go,' Lydia said abruptly. Stiles shifted his gaze to her, and again felt something strange, a tickling sensation in his gut that had been there yesterday. He frowned, feeling slightly uncomfortable about it, but didn't look away. - I don't know about you, but I don't want to be late on the first day,' she said, standing up from the table. The girls, apparently mentally agreeing with the redhead's argument, began to rise, pulling on their skirts and robes. - By the way, our first lesson is Potions, so I wouldn't advise you to be late either,' Martin said, looking straight into Stiles' eyes. The boys looked at each other for a few seconds, as if assessing each other and having a silent conversation at the same time. And then she turned round, flicked her hair, and hurried away. Stiles exhaled noisily and realised that he hadn't seemed to be breathing until Martin broke eye contact. What on earth was that?

Allison and Malia followed her.

- Wow. Pride,' Isaac whistled, catching Matt's mocking look. - What?' Leahy didn't understand.

- She's right, Snape shouldn't be late. It's life-threatening,' Scott chuckled and, putting away the cutlery, dragged a protesting Stiles towards the exit of the hall.

- First you won't let me shower, and now I can't even have a proper breakfast! This is unforgivable bullying! - Stilinski was outraged all the way to the potions room.

***

The footsteps echoed, causing him to turn around and stare at the empty space, making him shiver. Their eyes didn't want to get used to the semi-darkness, and so the Gryffindors had to squint endlessly to avoid bumping into a column or even a wall. The coldness of the dungeons was bone-chilling, coming from everywhere-from the icy stone walls, the glare of the torches hanging around the corridor, and even, it seemed, from beneath the ground, as if to remind them how far the Gryffindors had travelled from their home high tower-and the boys thanked Fate and the Hat several times that they weren't Slytherins. Isaac, Matt, Scott and Stiles sat down together.

- Merlin, we have a class together! I completely forgot! - Slapped himself on the forehead as the green and silver ties began to pull up into the classroom.

Stepping into the classroom and noticing the boys, Theo nodded a greeting and twitched the corners of his lips in a slight smile. Jackson preferred to pretend as if there was no one in the corner the Gryffindors had chosen, a completely empty desk.

- Here we go,' Isaac said, glancing at Erica, who looked away defiantly.

- Hurry up and sit down,' Snape said, appearing out of nowhere, causing everyone to flinch. His heels tapping on the stone floor, he strode to the centre of the room and froze, giving the students an icy, bone-chilling stare. - I'll start with my standard question, and without any preamble,' his tone, which was not an inch warmer than his gaze, caused Stiles and Scott to glance at each other nervously. - What is the Bezoar Stone and how do you get it? - The professor said with a steady, chiselled tone of voice.

Lydia's hand flew up, and Stiles looked at the redhead perplexed. Did she have time to read all the textbooks over the summer? With a shrug and a faint snicker, Stilinski turned around and instantly froze, meeting the angry stare of dark eyes.

- I suppose, since you've allowed yourself to ignore me so calmly, you'll have no trouble answering my question, Mr. Stilinski? - Severus spoke. His speech was, indeed, like the hissing of a snake. He spoke softly, ingratiatingly, but the words rang in the air, overpowering all other sounds.

- You are mistaken, sir,' Stiles replied calmly. His heart was pounding fast, but he wasn't going to show his nervousness. After all, he hadn't done anything wrong yet.

- Sad, very sad. Minus ten points to Gryffindor.

Stiles almost choked on his indignation. The air whooshed out of his lungs through clenched teeth. The boy clenched his fists a little, but he decided to keep his temper in check. He didn't need any more trouble.

- Miss Martin, please save your faculty,' Snape waved his hand in Lydia's direction.

- Bezoar stone is extracted from the stomach of a goat and serves as an antidote to most poisons,' the girl said.

- Not bad,' Snape pursed his lips. - What's the difference between wolf poison and monk's club? - He seemed to be trying to drill a hole in Martin, but she maintained a completely unwavering expression, only allowing herself to arch her eyebrows a little to show her excitement.

- Not at all. It's the same plant, also called wolf's aconite, or simply aconite,' she said with a settled expression. The whole class was looking at her now. Only the Gryffindors were looking at her with admiration and pride, and the Slytherins with undisguised envy and respect, as if annoyed with themselves.

- Not bad, sit down, Miss Martin. Five points to Gryffindor,' Snape said with obvious displeasure and turned away with a jerk.

- But you took ten! - Isaac said indignantly.

- I know how many I took, Mr Lahey. One more word from you and I'll take as many more,' glared the professor. - Page fifteen. Take notes on everything it says. At the end of the lesson, hand me your scrolls, and I'll check who can work in my class and who can't,' Snape looked at the boys.

Isaac nearly tore a page out of his textbook in anger.

Not another Gryffindor said another word for the rest of the lesson.

***

- This is bullying! - Stiles wailed on the way to Peter's office. - Lydia had answered everything he'd asked! That's not the basic knowledge that students can come to school with. And still we're at a disadvantage! - Stiles exclaimed hotly, and, apparently feeling dissatisfied, folded his arms across his chest. - The goat,' he pointed out.

- He's just picking on Gryffindor. It's perfectly normal,' Scott waved his hand, having heard of Snape's attitude to lions. - We'll get even in DADA.

- I hope so,' Stiles sighed.

- Potions is my least favourite subject from now on,' he said. Turning around, the boys saw Malia and Allison. The former looked almost as angry as Stilinski.

- Don't say that, it's only the first day,' Allison shook her head.

- Exactly! And I already hate him! - Malia exclaimed. Stiles was about to say something, but then it sounded:

- 'Hello, dear students,' Peter Hale came strolling down the stairs at the back of the classroom.

There were whispers around the classroom, but under the professor's glancing gaze, the room fell silent. He was handsome. Really stunning aristocratic facial features, a burning gaze, most often turned as if 'through'. He was dressed in an expensive suit, and over it, on his broad shoulders, rested a carelessly thrown grey robe.

Hale in all his glory.

- Please get out your textbooks and stuff. We're going to be doing a lot of writing today,' he said, stopping at his desk and leaning lightly on the oak surface.

As Stiles searched his bag for a quill, he happened to come across a scrap of parchment on which was written in uneven handwriting, 'Excellent, Stilinski. Good start. Keep it up and we'll easily take the cup for ourselves. Thank you for that, Styles.

Erica.'

Out of anger, Stiles blushed and clenched his fists. At Scott's questioning look, the boy only waved his head. He'd deal with that one on his own.

- Well, let's start simple. Give me the DADA transcript and another formulation of my subject,' Peter leaned his hands on the table and looked around the classroom.

Stilinski's hand shot upwards.

- Yes, Styles? - Peter's eyebrows flew upwards.

- Defence Against the Dark Arts or ZOTS, that is, Defence Against Dark Forces.

- Right, sit down. Name three unforgivable spells.

Stiles and Lydia's hands went up at the same instant.

- Wow, what zeal. Please, Mr Stilinski,' Peter said with a slight chuckle in his voice. Lydia blinked perplexedly.

- Imperio, Cruciatus, and Avada Kedavra,' the boy replied.

- Very good, thank you, Mr Stilinski. Miss Martin, tell us their properties. - asked Professor Hale.

- Imperio subjugates a person to the will of the caster. Cruciatus is used as a torture spell because it causes unbearable pain and can even drive you insane. Avada Kedavra is the only spell that causes immediate death,' Martin said without a single hesitation.

- Amazing,' said the professor. - Incredible knowledge for a freshman. Twenty points to Gryffindor. Uncle Peter's being kind today,' Hale grinned.

Stiles turned his head sideways, stretched his lips in a wide grin and winked cheerfully at Lydia. She limited herself to a slight chuckle and a short, soft nod of her head.

They returned Snape's selected points.

***

- Oh, my God,' Scott said over lunch. - Twenty points from Peter! That's unbelievable!

- Yes, Scotty, thank you. I already know I'm a natural talent,' Stiles said, embarrassed.

Just then someone's hand came down on the boy's shoulder, and there was a whisper in his ear:

- They say you and Martin were able to answer a couple of questions for Peter? You only got twenty points because of your status, Stiles, believe me. It won't happen again.

Stiles turned round sharply, but all he could see was Derek Hale's broad, receding back.

- Are you all right? - Scott asked worriedly, raising his eyebrows.

- Yeah. I'm fine,' Stiles replied with a shake of his head.

- Shit, Stiles, the letter! - McCall slapped himself on the forehead.

Stiles, aghast, immediately pulled out parchment and a quill. Lunch wasn't endless, and they didn't want to waste the evening on this, so in a few minutes the boy held up the finished letter, which read:

Dear Mum, Dad and Melissa,

we have some rather important news, which is that

WE GOT INTO GRYFFINDOR!!!!

CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?

Um, so far we're doing really well, honestly.

Except I've grown to hate Snape to bits, but other than that, we're fine. We live with Isaac and Matt. They're really cool. Yesterday was great! I'm sorry we couldn't write to you right away - we fell asleep and it was almost impossible to wake Scott up this morning. There's a girl in our class called Lydia Martin. Mum, I think you know her mum Natalie. Well, I do. She's just incredibly smart. And a little bit cocky. There's two other girls studying with us. You know the Argents, right? Allison's here now. We've also got a Muggle-born girl called Malia Tate. To be honest, I'd like to talk to her about her world later. It's just so interesting! Also, Peter Hale gave me and Lydia 20 points in DADA today. So far, we're ahead of all the departments. By the way, we're

Dear Mum, Claudia and John.

I don't really have much more to say. Hogwarts is really amazing. We have flying lesson soon, and that's where we're going to really be the best. But that's all for now. Write to us.

Love, your Scott and Stiles.

P.S.Dear Melissa, if your son doesn't let me use the bathroom one more time in the morning, I'm afraid he'll come home in pieces. But don't worry, in that case, I'll drive him home.

P.P.S. Dear John and Claudia, if your son ever wakes me up like he did today, I'm afraid it will be his fate, not mine. And I'm not taking him home.

We love you.

Your boys.

- Not bad, in principle. - Scott reread the letter, scratching his chin with the tip of his wand.

- We should send it. But how? We're booked up until tonight,' Stiles rested his head on his hands.

- Stiles! - a girl's voice shouted the boy's name to practically the entire Great Hall.

Turning around, Stilinski got all lit up and shrieked loudly:

- Heather!

The next moment Stiles was already hugging his old friend.

- I didn't have time to come up to you yesterday! Gryffindor, I can't believe it! - Heather laughed.

- I didn't even notice you! I thought you'd transferred to France after all! Gosh, I'm so glad! - Stiles was still smiling.

- Scott, this is Heather. Remember her? You saw her at one of the receptions the other day. She's a year older than us. Remember, we also ran away afterwards and had a flying speed contest.

- Oh, yeah, I remember! Hi,' Scott smiled warmly.

- I have an empty class right now, so why don't we sit together? - The sophomore suggested, tilting her head to the side.

- We have flights, sorry,' Stiles shook his head.

- Oh, that's okay! See you guys tonight, then! - The girl waved her hand and turned round.

For a while the boys just stared after the girl, and then McCall exhaled loudly and lifted his head as if he'd suddenly had an amazing idea.

- Heather! - Scott called out to her.

- Yes?' the girl turned round.

- I hate to ask you, but since you're free now, could you post our letter? - The boy pointed to the parchment with a nod of his head.

- Oh, of course! - Heather smiled. - I'll see you tonight,' she kissed Stiles on the cheek and left.

- What?' Stilinski asked, looking at the widened eyes of Matt and Lehi. They exchanged mocking glances and shook their heads negatively.

***

The boys were jumping up and down in the stadium.

- I'm gonna beat you, Scotty! - Stiles exclaimed every ten seconds.

- I wonder who's going to fly first, the Gryffindor or the house elf. - Jackson asked, and was answered by laughter from the Slytherins. Theo alone, raising his eyebrows in response to this childish joke, shrugged.

- Oh, you know, I think the better question to ask is, who's going to take off first, the Slytherin or the brainless stone gargoyle? Although, you know, I think I know the answer to that myself. - Stiles wasn't out of favour. Now it was the Gryffindors' turn to laugh.

- Oh yes, but, you know, Stiles, even that gargoyle would have answered Bezoar's properties. It's a prep course question! Even a mudblood could probably do it. Let's ask her, though. You could do it, couldn't you, Tate? - Erica exclaimed. The snake faculty members backed her up with a hoot. The hooting was much more tangible, and all the red-golds tensed, as if they were going to cover Malia, to hide her from attack, to protect her. They really hadn't been sent to Gryffindor by mistake after all.

- Honey, look, first of all, it's a second year question,' Lydia said, standing forward and lifting her chin. - Secondly, as the daughter of a famous Potions Master, I'm sure you didn't know the answer to it yourself. And thirdly, if I were you, I'd be careful with my words and choose my opponents better. - The redhead replied in a luscious voice.

Suddenly, the Gryffindors burst into unbelievable laughter. Looking at Erica, Stiles laughed along with everyone else. The girl's recently perfectly styled hair now resembled a pasta factory explosion. And in the next moment, the broom intended for Erica flew up and began to literally chase the girl off the field. Or rather, every other second Miss Reyes' fifth point had to withstand the onslaught of that very broom. The Slytherins' eyes widened, and the Gryffindors literally gasped with laughter.

Stiles glanced at Lydia and gasped in surprise. She was holding the wand behind her back, which she had probably used to cast the spell a few seconds ago. At Stiles' stare, the girl just smiled innocently and shrugged her shoulders.

Stiles realised that there was more to this girl than that. And it was definitely better not to have her on his enemies list.

- Dear freshmen, I'm going to ask you to stand by your brooms. - Madame Trick said suddenly. Everyone flinched.

- What is this habit of the teachers here to appear like this? - Malia hissed.

- Is everyone ready? Brett, please put the broom back, I haven't said anything yet. Thank you. Okay, now extend your right arm over the broom,' Madame Trick commanded, standing in front of the class. - And now say, 'Up!'

A tremendous uproar and clamour went up. Several dozen voices travelled over the field, brooms bouncing on the ground, rustling the grass. Stiles and Scott's brooms immediately jumped into their hands. The same thing happened for Theo, Jackson, and the twins. On about the second try, Allison and Malia did the same. Lydia was still unable to move her vehicle.

- Are you scared? - Stiles asked quietly, so as not to attract the attention of the others.

- Not at all! - Martin replied in a slightly trembling voice, arching her eyebrows. The girl sighed at the unexpectedly serious look in Stiles's eyes, and then said a little more quietly, 'A little.

- Wait,' Stilinski put down his broom and headed towards her classmate. Since a lot of people were still not getting results, no one was even indignant about it. - See, it's almost like with horses here. When they're afraid of them, they'll never approach a person, let alone ride them. All you have to do is concentrate. Try again.

Lydia looked at her fellow student with the expression of a great martyr and, closing her eyes, whispered:

- I'm afraid.

Her whole expression screamed at how hard this confession was for the redhead. She opened her eyes, and her eyes were wide with displeasure, but she looked not at her companion but at her broom, as if it were to blame for the girl's troubles.

Stiles looked at Martin for a few moments, frowning slightly. Apparently this girl hated and didn't accept defeat at all. It reminded him of himself in some distant way, just a little bit. And that was probably why the Gryffindor took a few more steps, pressing his lips together for a moment, and stopped right next to Lydia, looking at her directly.

- Focus. Imagine something that makes you happy. It always works for me.

Taking a deep breath and opening her eyes, the girl exclaimed:

- Up! - The broomstick slid across the grass and even lifted a few centimetres, but did not fly into the air. Lydia frowned so hard that a surprisingly deep wrinkle cut through the white skin of her forehead.

- Come again,' Stiles said in a quiet, ingratiating voice. Lydia looked at him in surprise, as if she didn't understand why she deserved such diligent help, but she took a deep breath and nodded, either to herself or to the boy. She closed her eyes for a moment, frowning again. Her face, Stiles thought, might be the definition of concentration. And in the same instant, the broom leapt into her hand. Lydia opened her eyes and laughed lightly. Turning to the boy, she smiled.

- Merlin, thank you!

- Stiles,' the boy, also pleased with the success of the operation, winked at Lydia and returned to his seat, following her with a grateful and still slightly surprised look.

- So, I see that everyone has done well now,' the professor looked round at the row of students standing in front of her.

Then Madam Trick began to explain how to sit on a broomstick, and smirked when she saw that Scott, Stiles, Theo and Jackson had already done it and were now burning each other with glares.

Looking back at the girls, Stiles noticed with satisfaction that Lydia was absolutely correct in her assignment. Glancing at Malia, the boy rounded his eyes - the girl sat so freely on her broom that it seemed as if she was a pure-blooded wizard and had been flying on a broom almost since birth. Now Stiles was looking at Tate with even more interest and respect.

- Okay, almost everyone's done. Now, on the whistle, you must push yourselves off the ground with all your might,' Madame Trick said. - Hold the broom firmly, try not to tilt it to one side or the other. You can only go higher than two metres with my permission. To get down, you have to lean forward a little. So, on the whistle, three, two, one!

Nine people soared into the air, the rest just couldn't get off the ground. Once they were within the allowable two metres, Stiles looked up and noticed Isaac and Matt beside him and Scott. With a wink, he looked to his left and smiled happily as Lydia, though tentative, got a metre off the ground, looking at the receding grass with a look of genuine horror in her eyes. Level with the boys, two metres above the ground, Allison was hovering and laughing merrily. Looking at the ground with the same horror as Lydia, Malia, too, rose into the air. The girl felt more and more confident with each second. Soon she was already laughing along with Argent.

But despite all of this, Stiles was still a little saddened. The twins and Jackson were really good on their brooms, as was Theo.

- Lydia and Malia, come on down. Boys and Miss Argent, you can fly a bit. But no higher than four metres above the ground! - said Madame Trick.

Lydia sat down on the ground with relief and threw the broom away from her as if it were the most horrible and frightening thing in the whole universe. Next, she and Malia watched the boys in the air while Madame Trick went to help those who couldn't take off.

Stiles and Scott looked incredible on broomsticks, no one could argue with that. It wasn't surprising, though; the boys had received their first brooms, albeit toy brooms, ten years ago. Their mothers had watched with great fear as the two boys were flying through the air at a height of about seventy centimetres above the ground. The only thing that had changed was that the brooms were real brooms and the flying was dangerous, but no less breathtaking.

- Hey, Scotty, catch up! - shouted Stilinski and sped forward. McCall, with a sly grin, rushed after him.

Allison and Theo had just climbed to a tolerable height and were flying quietly.

The twins and Jackson talked about something for a few moments, and then rushed after the boys.

- Hey, McCall, Stilinski! Let's have a contest! - shouted Ethan. - A little race. Three laps over the field. One on one. If you win, we won't say a word to you for the next week. If we win, you stop being so cocky and arrogant. All right?

- You know, it's in my nature to act cocky and arrogant, but we're in agreement,' Stiles nodded. A mischievous light flickered in his eyes. - Who's chasing who?

- Just you and me,' replied Whittemore, grinning cheekily.

- It's coming! - Stiles exclaimed and flew to the improvised start.

Raken and Argent moved down a little, so as not to disturb the competitors.

- Could anything happen to them? - Tate asked Lydia with a touch of worry in her voice.

- Easily,' Martin replied, shoving her hands into her pockets and clenching them into fists.

- On three! - Ethan shouted as Whittemore and Stilinski got ready. - One, two, three! - shouted the boy, and the boys burst into action.

The wind whistled in their ears and their hands froze from the incredibly strong airflow. The boys' hair began to flutter in the wind, but their eyes shone and smiles played on their lips. As if through a layer of cotton wool, Stiles heard Malia shout:

- Go, Stiles!

As the first lap flew by, Stiles decided to use a little trick he'd picked up when he was a kid racing with Scott, and slowed down a little. As he expected, Whittemore turned around and consequently slowed down as well. Stiles grinned contentedly. The plan was working.

- What, you can't take it anymore, Stilinski? - The Slytherin shouted in a mocking tone. Stiles only frowned and put on an expression of incredible concentration and excitement on his face. And he immediately thought that at this rate, he might as well get an award for acting.

Whittemore flew round the second lap, looking round all the time. And here Stiles rushed so that almost flew nose down, but kept his balance. That's four metres to the finish line. Jackson is still a little bit ahead. Three metres. Two. One last push and Stiles is ahead of Jackson.

McCall immediately jumped on his friend with a hug, as if he'd won the Quidditch cup rather than a simple week-long silence from the Slytherins.

The entire lion faculty shouted and clapped their hands. Even Lydia, forgetting her restraint and coldness, laughed and applauded. The Slytherins looked as if they had eaten a kilo of ground aconite each.

- Well, Mr Stilinski, when I said you could fly, I didn't mean it,' Madam Trick said, and Stiles turned around slowly, expecting punishment. However. - Still, ten points to Gryffindor for a rather odd but, as I see it, effective move involving braking and sudden overtaking. And another five to each of you for amazing technique.

Stiles's eyes were glowing with happiness, and his lips still didn't want to go from a smile to the standard position.

- Class is over! Dismissed,' Madam Trick announced and hurried away, lifting the hem of her robe to the ground.

- You're just lucky! - exclaimed Tracy.

- Ah, dearie,' Lydia shook her head, stepping forward. - You've been out of our hair for a week. Absolutely. And tell that to your elders. It applies to everyone,' Lydia slammed her eyes shut and gave Stiles another restrained smile as she took Allison under her arm and walked away.

- Stiles, that was amazing! - Scott exclaimed.

- They'll know what it means to mess with Gryffindor.

***

The next and last lesson the boys had was Transfiguration. Everyone knew in absentia that it was one of the most difficult subjects. And Professor McGonagall's words only reinforced their belief in it.

- 'Transfiguration is practically the most difficult section of magic,' the professor began. - So I urge you to be as focused and attentive as possible in my lesson. We're going to go through the basics now, but that doesn't mean it's going to be easy,' she said firmly.

- I'm sure it will be. - Stiles whispered. He really liked his dean, but he was seriously afraid he was going to have trouble with this subject. Stiles Stilinski and concentration are completely incompatible.

- Since I see that there are many bright students in Gryffindor this year,' Minerva glanced at the boys and Lydia in turn, 'we will have practice today.

Whispers went around the classroom, and Stiles' heart beat several times faster. What other news was there. He was going crazy with worry as it was, and now this... This?

- Today's assignment will help me determine if the Gryffindor faculty has any bright students this year,' McGonagall waved her wand and matches appeared on the table. - Your task is to turn these matches into needles. This is a next year's assignment, but it is used to determine the students' aptitude for Transfiguration. I don't expect much success, but if you pay attention, you may succeed.

- Professor,' Stiles called out in a slightly shaky voice, just wanting to stall for time as long as the Dean would let him. - Were there any students who succeeded in this assignment in their first year? - He raised his eyebrows, squirming in his seat. McGonagall gave him a slightly odd look and nodded, pressing her lips together. Stiles sighed loudly. - And who is? - he squeaked, praying to both Meryl and Godric that he had succeeded.

- 'Me, Mr Stilinski,' the professor replied and pressed her lips together again as whispers drifted through the office. No, everyone knew Minerva was a powerful wizard, but not this powerful. And the professor, as if sensing Stiles's uncertainty, decided to add for some reason. - And your mother, Mr Stilinski. So I think you have a good chance of replicating her long-standing success. You'll find the spell on page ten. You may begin.

Stilinski blinked dazedly. His mother was indeed a master of transfiguration, but he hadn't expected to hear about it now. His dean thought he had a chance. Minerva McGonagall believes in him. Does he stand a chance of failing?

Opening the textbook to the correct page, Stiles took a deep breath. He'd always had trouble paying attention. Claudia had even once thought he had ADHD*, which a wizard couldn't have. But he knew someone who did just fine.

- Hey, Scott, come on. I know you can do it,' the boy leaned over to his friend.

- Yeah, Stiles, you do too,' Scott nodded and held up his hand, signalling for silence.

Closing his eyes, Stiles sighed a few times and took his wand in his hand. In the next moment, the moment when Lydia, who had been afraid to even approach the broomstick, had climbed several metres on it, came into view. He remembered the euphoric feeling when he had beaten Whittemore, and Scott's glowing eyes at that very moment. The boy gripped his wand tighter and whispered an incantation. A wave of heat travelled through his body and his fingertips stabbed. Stiles frowned, thinking it was the sensation of a spell gone wrong, but suddenly....

- Amazing! Mr McCall, Mr Stilinski! Just unbelievable! - exclaimed the professor, and Stiles opened one eye and saw a needle lying in front of him.

The next moment Allison's merry laugh was heard, and the boys, glancing at her desk, saw that there was a needle lying in front of Lydia in the same way.

- Simply amazing! - repeated the professor. - McCall, Martin, Stilinski, twenty points each! I've got some amazingly capable wizards in my department this year,' she said quietly, not even trying to hide the surprise and even a touch of pride in her voice.

***

Alice Still, the head of the school, came over to the boys at dinner.

- Guys, you're amazing! That's a lot of points on the first day. Even I didn't have that many,' she grinned. - I hope that this year we will get the cup. And now with your help! If you need anything - contact me, I'll help you in any way I can, - Alice winked at the dazed guys and went to Lydia. Judging by Martin's sincere smile, Alice said the same thing to her.

- You guys are stars now! - Matt exclaimed delightedly.

- Look around you. Everyone else is staring at you,' Isaac said, whistling.

Indeed, almost every student was staring at the boys from time to time. Lydia, of course, was getting just as much attention. Some even talked about Malia and how they had rubbed the Slytherins' noses in flying. Some were also talking about the amazing success of Danny, a Puffin, in herbalism and Brett in charms. McGonagall wasn't wrong, their entire course was indeed full of capable wizards. By the way, the snake faculty were sitting there with such sour faces that Stiles was almost bursting with glee.

- Oh, I'm afraid I could get used to this,' Stiles said with a wave of his hand and a theatrical sigh. The guys sitting next to them laughed.

- I think a letter to my parents tomorrow would be much more informative,' Scott whispered in his friend's ear.

Smiling from ear to ear, Stiles realised that he'd never dreamed of a better end to the day.

*ADHD - Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder