Our next class was with Ravenclaw.  Unfortunately, many Ravenclaws and Slytherins had already occupied the back few rows, so I was forced to sit at the very front  of the class. Luckily, I still sat on the very edge away from other people. Only a small Asian Ravenclaw girl sat next to me on my right. She seemed overly excited for the class; I was not too exstatic, as I wasn't very good at this subject. Maybe the girl was good at it.

I pulled out my Intermediate Transfirguration book and sat until the class started. Once in a while, I would glance around at people in the class, or might get a strange foreign urge to start reading in our books, but I would (for the most part) sit and stare and the cover on my desk. Eventually, a small, light tapping was heard at the front of the class. We all looked to see a middle-aged woman standing at the front, tapping her light brown wand on a podium. When everyone's attention was gained, she spoke.

"You need not know my first name, as you will call me Proffessor Heatherpool," she began, but not unkindly. "To begin, I will quote a former Transfiguration teacher who is now presently the headmaster. Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts. Anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned.' On that light note, let's begin, shall we?" None of us were very miffed because Proffessor Heatherpool quoted the headmaster on a daily basis, this quote yearly, so it did not have as much as an effect as it had our first year. Only the Ravenclaw girl beside me and a few others seemed very excited.

"Prior to my own presence here, both Proffessors McGonagle and Dumbledore held this possision, which provides evidence that this class is highly superior and requires a great deal of talent, power and experties," Heatherpool continued. "I expect those in this class to try their best but it is understandable some may not live up to expecation. Therefore, please use the utmost caution in this class as it can become dangerous," she said, smiling. I didn't hate her but I didn't like her either. She seemed too nice.

As she gave out the instructions for the first activity of the year, I turned and opened the first page of the book in time to hear "This is a partner project."

I believe those words elicit the same fear in the hearts of muggles in muggle school as it does to wizards in wizarding school.

The Ravenclaw girl turned to me expectantly. I looked away and picked at my book with my nails.

"So," she said. "My name's Im Miriam. What's your's? Are you Korean too? Naw, you look mixed. Are you?" she started asking questions. I held up a hand.

"Woah. One at a time. Okay. So, name's Wang Izara, I'm not Korean, and I am mixed," I said. I hadn't expected to be required to talk very much today, given my lack of friends. She grinned and grabbed her book out of her black bag.

"Okay, so, what are you a mix of?" she asked. I was not prepared to talk very much, and I really didn't want to.

"Well, I'm half Chinese. I dunno what the other half is," I muttered darkly, thinking about how I wanted to strangle my dad for not telling me. Miriam just nodded understandibly continued. She was reading the Transfiguration book. I didn't know how she could keep a conversation while reading, but she did.

"I'm full Korean. My older brother is in Gryffindor. Do you have any other siblings?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said. Miriam had finally sparked my interest. "I do, actually. I have another brother in Gryffindor too, he's a fifth year." Miriam looked up from her book.

"Really? Mine's a sixth year!" she was excited, that much was obvious.

"You're a fourth year, right? Then you and your brother are really close in age. I'm a third year so me and my brother are way farther apart," Miriam said, looking like she was thinking.

"Wait, you're a third year?" I asked, surprised. This was a hard fourth-year class. I had never seen other grades in my classes before.

"Yeah," she said, and I could tell she had gotten this before. 

"You must be really good then!" I said, fully facing Miriam now instead of the book.

"Yep!" Miriam grinned, but I could tell it was worn-out and a little unenthusiastic. She had clearly been asked this before.

"I know you've probably gotten that question before, sorry," I said, but she just waved it off as muttered "no, it's fine".

Our conversation was stopped abruptedly as a hand fell on our desks and we heard Proffessor Heatherpool say "Alright, girls, time to work." I looked up and could tell the Proffessor was at her wit's end so I abliged and turned my book the the correct page written on the board. Miriam did the same.

"So," I started, now more comfortable with talking. "How did you get into this class?" Miriam brightened a little.

"That's a secret," she said mysticaly, grinning. I shrugged and turned to the book.

"So, we have to turn this pincusion into a hedgehog..." I muttered. The proffessor had handed out pincusions earlier without me noticing. I grabbed the pincusion and was about to do it when Miriam offered to do it instead.

"I can do it. If you want to do it, I can just turn it back into a pincusion," she said, and I gave it to her. She pulled out her ebony wand and said the incantation perfectly, swishing her wand. I watched as the pincushion morphed into a small, prickly-looking animal.

"Wow," I murmered, entranced. "You're good. It always takes me forever to do this."

"I know," she said, happy to hear words of praise. I didn't feel very inclined to do the assignment again so I chatted with Miriam a bit more. Apparently, she liked a lot of things I liked, including Kpop, which was a rare commodity in England. Korean music seemed scarce, and I had only heard my brother playing it off Hogwarts campus during the summer. I loved it too. I danced to it and knew all of the lyrics of most of the songs. Apparently, Miriam and I shared favorite groups. 

We talked about Kpop for a while, sharing biases and etc. until the teacher called for attention.

"We have a record breaker here. Ms. Im Miriam and Ms. Wang Izara have seemed to beat the rest of you in turning your pincushion into a hedgehog." Proffessor Heatherpool smiled at us graciously. "Second place goes to Mr. Hanson and his partner, Ms. Leavitt. Now, I understand a few of you have not yet succeeded-" she paused and I looked around the class. The only teams that had succeeded where mine, Hanson's and two others. "-but now is the time to revert to a new project. Wands away, please," Proffessor Heatherpool continued, then proceeded to give us paperwork and homework.

Lunch came by in a blur. I think Miriam and me became friends that day. I remember Miriam asking me if I would sit with her at lunch, so I joined her outside with her friends. Her friends were okay, so I didn't really find any problems sitting with them.

So far, I didn't like my day, but I didn't hate it either.