Tanya Degurechaff’s Hogwarts Adventure

Harry Potter

The first three weeks at Hogwarts had has seemingly flown by in a flash. Friends were made, classes were attended, and so much studying was done. Everyone got the homework done during the study sessions, though Ron could probably finish his quicker if he complained about it less.

About the only thing that was ruining Harry's time at Hogwarts was Malfoy who regularly attempted to bother Harry about one thing or another, bragging about how great he supposedly was or trying to insult Harry and his friends. It was particularly annoying that Malfoy seemed to wait till Tanya was gone now because her verbal barbs against Malfoy seemed to infuriate the boy so much.

And now Malfoy's presence was going to ruin the class Harry has been looking forward to the most. Flying lessons were announced to begin Thursday with the Slytherin House.

"Just what I wanted," Harry complained to Ron while Tanya was reading a book. It was difficult to read her emotions, but Harry felt he had a good grasp that she was feeling happy currently. "To make a fool of myself in front of Malfoy."

"You don't know that you'll make a fool of yourself," said Ron reasonably. "Anyway, I know Malfoy's always going on about how good he is at Quidditch, but I bet that's all talk."

Harry was not as sure about that as Ron was. While it was true Malfoy exaggerated his stories by talking about narrowly escaping muggle helicopters, all the kids from magical families talked about how they had flown and played pick up games of quidditch as kids. The only exception was Neville who's grams refused to let him on a broom. Considering the accidents Neville has had with both feet on the ground, Harry thought it was a sensible decision.

Where almost all the kids from magical households were confident, the ones from non magical ones were more nervous. Harry was excited, but there was a nervous fluttering feeling in his gut about his feet being off the ground for the first time. Hermione was attempting the impossible and trying to learn to fly from books. Even Dean seemed a bit unsure of himself. The only one who was relaxed about flying for the first time was Tanya.

Harry didn't know too much about his friend, Tanya seeming to be a rather private individual, but he did manage to find out she grew up in a non magical orphanage. It took work to get her to open that much with him, but Harry just wanted to talk to someone else about being without parents. None of the other first years really understood. Neville seemed the closest, having only ever mentioned his grams, but even she was more of a parent than the Dursley's ever were to Harry. Tanya, however, could understand. She had no real family, even a hated one like Harry did, and that was something Harry wanted to talk about. To see if some of his childhood wishes to not even have the Dursley's would have been better.

Harry was not sure of what the answer was yet, but he knew Tanya and he agreed that it was better being at Hogwarts where the food was plentiful and they had people who liked them nearby. Even if it sometimes seemed like he was the only one that did like her.

—-

Tanya Degurechaff

In my previous life, flying was one of my greatest joys. Even with bullets flying by, shrapnel pelting my shield, and enemies seeking to end my life in a bloody manner, flying itself never lost its charm. The wind in my face, the weightlessness of hovering hundreds or thousands of meters in the air, and the sight of the ground so far below me, knowing that I was in control of when it got closer. It was exhilarating and was one of the few things I mourn about leaving that life behind.

This life has methods of flight as well with the use of broomsticks. I could likely adapt the flight spell to this life, casting with my wand, but the tried and tested broomstick in use here would be far safer than me attempting an experimental spell that I was not entirely sure would work how I wanted. Perhaps something to work on in the future once I had a better understanding of the spell craft we were being taught.

Ms. Granger was a nervous wreck at the thought of flying and was pushing that nervous energy into telling all the Gryffindor First Years about tips she read in some quidditch book as if this was one of our study sessions and she was helping Lily understand the lesson. The only one really paying attention to the babbling was the one that was nearly as nervous as her, Mr. Longbottom.

Thankfully the torrent of random information was ended by the arrival of the mail swarm. Carrier pigeons were a time honored and reliable method of message sending from history. To see it modified to use a larger bird with a bit of magic to give the owls the ability to find whoever it was they were sent to deliver a message to was a fascinating cultural artifact of the magical world. I vaguely recall some talk about the use of flying robots in my first life as a possible future method of package delivery, and here were wizards using such an idea for hundreds of years already by using birds magically bred and trained for such operations.

As orphans, neither Harry nor myself got much in the way of mail, though his gorgeous snowy owl would stop by occasionally just to show off and get attention. Hedwig, as Harry had named her, was picky about who she allowed to stroke her feathers, but a piece of bacon and a few compliments at how pretty she was managed to get me on her good side. Her feathers were surprisingly soft and she would occasionally purr at the petting.

While I was paying attention to the white bird near myself, Neville received a package containing a marble looking thing that turned red in his hand. Apparently that occurred when the one holding it has forgotten something.

"Did you bring your robes in your bag, or were you planning on going to class like that?" I asked him, seeing that he was the only one not wearing his school robes.

The red receded as Neville looked himself over. "Oh. Thank you Tanya."

I waved the thanks off as I went back to my breakfast. It was only right that I prevent my house from losing unnecessary points because someone was not dressed appropriately for class.

As Neville was about to get up to get his robe, Malfoy and his pets arrived for whatever power play he was attempting. I know that dividing up people into groups would foster competition between the groups, but Malfoy was taking it too far. The House Cup competition should be entirely based upon our scholastic achievements and how well we mold ourselves to fit within the school society we found ourselves in. Openly antagonizing others was at best a waste of time and effort and at worst was sabotaging his own house's chances to win.

"Mr. Malfoy, I fail to see how stealing from Mr. Longbottom is suppose to help you woo me," I said, falling back onto the line of insult that so far appeared to work on him the best. "Unless you have realized I am too much for you and you would rather admit to your secret desires of being with Mr. Longbottom."

The flustered expression on Malfoy's face and the laughter from my fellow house mates told me I was successful in defending Gryffindor Pride verbally.

"That is not what this is about," Malfoy said. His voice was raised. My hand fell to my side. He was unarmed currently and I was confident I could draw my wand faster than he could. If it came to a physical confrontation, I was in a better position to cause him significant pain than he was to do to me, the male weak spot within easy reach. His pet muscles would be slow enough that I could be on them, bringing them to the ground before they could respond.

"What's going on?" Professor McGonagall asked, having arrived before anything occurred. I relaxed my hand.

"Malfoy's got my Remembrall, Professor."

Scowling, Malfoy quickly dropped the marble onto the table. "Just looking," he said, before slinking off with his pets.

—-

After Transfiguration in the morning where Professor McGonagall had us focus on increasing our speed at transfiguring a match stick into a needle and back repeatedly, we gathered together to quickly work on her homework assignment. The study session was cut short because everyone was anticipating our first flying lesson. Really the only reason we were even having this one was to keep the schedule consistent until we were sure it needed to be modified to fit around the flying lessons and so everyone was together to head down to the grounds of Hogwarts for the lesson.

Heading down a few minutes early, we saw that the Slytherins were already there along with two rows of brooms on the ground. Not seeing the teacher yet, I went to stand by one of the brooms and awaited further instructions. Everyone seemed to follow my lead in standing next to a broom, some scattered conversations going on between those standing next to each other.

Madam Hooch, our instructor, arrived shortly and gave us a nod in approval. "Good, you are all in position. Now stick your hand out and say 'Up!'"

We did as instructed, my broom coming to rest in my hand with ease. There was mixed success as far as who managed to get their broom into hand and I wondered how much saying the word had to do with it and how much was just confidence and the will for the broom to obey. I suspected the latter had more to do with it as the two having the most issues were Neville and Hermione, the two showing the most signs of being nervous outwardly.

Once we all had the broom in hand, we were instructed on how to mount the broom in a manner that would prevent us sliding off while in the air. I was satisfied when she informed me that I had followed her instructions on how to grip the handle correctly and moved onto correcting Malfoy's grip.

Once she was satisfied everyone was situated correctly, Madam Hooch went to stand where she could see all of us with ease.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground, hard. Keep your brooms steady, rise a few feet, and then come straight back down by leaning forward slightly. On my whistle. Three … Two …!"

Neville jumped the gun and was in the air. Madam Hooch was telling him to get back on the ground.

He was losing control. I could see his grip slipping. He was going to call and he had no shield to lessen the impact. I will not lose another!

I was in the air, moving towards where he would begin to fall. He was off the broom. I put mine into a tail spin to give me a better jumping off point.

I got him! Now to twist my body and get us the roll the momentum away. I was on my feet in a flash and hurrying to check my downed comrade. My CO was coming along as I was checking for wounds. No holes found. Check for concussion. Eyes are dilating correctly. CO is here.

No. Not CO. Teacher. My breathing is heavy. I need to slow my breathing. Deep breaths. Calm down and stand at attention. I just broke her instruction and needed to take responsibility for my actions.

"Nothing seems broken," Madam Hooch said as she checked Neville over. "Let's get you to Pomfrey just to be sure."

Standing up, she looked me over. "You should come along as well." I just gave a nod in agreement. Private punishment was less embarrassing, though often harsher. If that was what she wanted, I would accept her decision.

Turning to the rest of the class who were staring at us, Madam Hooch said, "None of you is to move while I take this boy to the hospital wing! You leave those brooms where they are or you'll be out of Hogwarts before you can say 'Quidditch.' Come on, dears."

Following quietly, we began winding our way through the castle.

"Tell me, was that your first time flying a broom?" I was asked.

"Yes ma'am," I answered promptly, though I was not sure I could call what I did flying. Yes I got in the air, but it was towards a specific target before aborting the action. It was closer to a launch than a flight.

"Well, then we will have to see your Head of House then."

I did not know how punishments worked or with instructors could give out what punishments, so perhaps Madam Hooch needed permission to give me the punishment she wanted to give me.

We spent a brief moment dropping Neville off at the Hospital Wing before Madam Hooch began leading me elsewhere in the castle. Eventually we came across Professor McGonagall, Harry, and an older Gryffindor boy.

"Professor McGonagall," Madam Hooch began with a smile. "I think I may have found you an excellent choice for the quidditch team."

Professor McGonagall looked at me with a smile. "I was actually just about to introduce Wood to who I thought was going to be our newest seeker."

Madam Hooch gave Harry a critical look. "Oh? And how did Mr Potter come to your attention for the role?"

"I saw him make a fifty foot dive and catch Mr. Longbottom's remembrall. What did Ms. Degurechaff do?"

"She caught Mr Longbottom out of a fifty foot drop." Madam Hooch looked towards Harry with a stern expression. "Why were you catching something out of a drop? I thought I told you to stay on the ground."

"I'm sorry," Harry began. "Malfoy had taken Neville's remembrall and was threatening to toss it into a tree, so I was trying to get it back for him."

"And how did Mr. Malfoy plan on getting this remembrall into a tree?"

"He started flying one of the brooms and was moving towards the trees," Harry said, his eyes away from Madam Hooch, not wanting to take responsibility for his actions.

"I will be needing to speak with Mr. Malfoy it seems," Madam Hooch said. "I will leave it to you to figure out your quidditch team then."

With that, I was left with Professor McGonagall. And it seemed Harry and my punishments for the rule breaking we did was forceful conscription into the sports team.

"Guess we will have to test to see which of you gets seeker and which gets the bench," Wood said with a grin.

—-

Dinner was interrupted by Malfoy again. I was not up to dealing with him this time as I tried to figure out how the training for quidditch was going to affect my studying and free time. Currently there was no set training schedule, the problem with leaving children in charge of creating a schedule was a lack luster approach and no respect for proper order of things.

I was brought out of my contemplation as I registered Ron doing something stupid on Harry's behalf. Accepting a duel with no prep time? And after curfew when it is clear that this was not going to be a properly sanctioned and refereed duel. I was about to voice my complaints when Hermione began voicing hers instead.

I just stared at Ron and Harry as they dismissed Hermione's concerns.

"She is right. Gryffindor First. Gryffindor Forever. Which means that the pride and points of Gryffindor should be your concern. If you get caught, you will tarnish both. Besides, you need a referee for a duel."

"Oh? You're on Granger's side now?" Ron asked with a roll of his eyes.

"I am on Gryffindor's side. Which means we let a teacher know Malfoy challenged Harry to a duel and that we are willing to accept if an appropriate time and place can be arranged."

I stood up and turned towards the head table where I could see Professor McGonagall talking to Professor Snape. A perfect situation as the two Heads of Houses would likely need to be informed regardless. I ignored Ron's insistence I stop and walked up to the table.

"Professor McGonagall. Professor Snape. A moment of your time, please."

"And how can we be of service to you, Ms Degurechaff?" Professor Snape asked, continuing to play up his dramatic mannerisms.

"Mr. Malfoy has challenged Mr. Potter to a wizard duel. Mr. Weasley accepted on his behalf as a second. I have come so that an appropriate time and place could be arranged for the match and to ask for a neutral referee to be chosen."

Professor Snape's eyes narrowed as I described the events that had just taken place.

"Thank you-" Professor McGonagall began.

"I will ensure this little match is setup," Professor Snape cut off Professor McGonagall, who gave him a harsh look. "Thank you for informing me. Now if you don't mind, I have a foolish child to find."

Professor Snape got up and left, his robes blowing in a manner I suspected involved magic to add to his dramatic methods. I might need to look out for his drama class in a few years if I decided to get into theater.

Returning to the table, I informed Ron and Harry that Professor Snape would be arranging the duel. I could not understand their worries about that as it promised to be a good show in spite of the barely trained contestants.