First Day

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After the feast, Each house's students started following their respective prefects making their way to the common rooms, And the way Liam started marveling at the size and scale of the grand staircase, There were a hundred and forty-two staircases in the Hogwarts castle and the spectacle of seeing them in action from the bottom up was a very unique experience which made Liam rethink his mental map of the castle, He knew there were seven floors but he just didn't factor in the sheer size of each floor, He took a delayed position while following as trailed behind keeping an eye on everyone as they walked and talked and absorbed the portraits.

'Portraits that are also an untapped asset with the right mixture of interest, Curiosity, And flattery of course'

About ten minutes later they had reached the portrait of the fat lady, The keeper of the Gryffindor common room's door and as she asked for the password, Percy Weasley quickly supplied it by saying

"Caput Draconis"

And the painting revolved around its golden hinges clearing the entryway for the students and then everything went as expected Percy led them inside explained their living situation to them and the next thing Liam knew he was laying in his bed too anxious/excited to go to sleep as he thought

'I can't believe I am really here '

And then he thought back on his first life and when he read the books with his brother and he thought

'Harry would have loved to have been able to come here, Boy I sure do miss him and mom, I wonder if they are here, I wonder if I am about to be born in a couple of months somehow and most of all I wonder what I am really here for '

But after all the excitement and the traveling and events of the day finally caught up to him and he sank into the void and enjoyed a dreamless sleep, The same kind of sleep that graces him every night, Not that he noticed, After all in his first life he rarely remember his dreams, So why would he notice them missing in the second, Maybe if someone called his attention to it like with a pointed question like 'when was the last time you had a dream he would notice the discrepancy but alas for no it was bound to be an unexplained secret that no one knew that lay waiting in the back of his mind waiting to be called upon.

Liam was awakened by an excited Seamus Finnigan that was sort of shaking him while talking to Dean Thomas, Both his Gryffindor roommates, And then Seamus said come on mate it's breakfast time you don't want to be late on your first day do you.

Liam got up and got dressed in his robes quickly and asked Seamus while pointing at a sleeping Harry and Ron and said

"Why didn't you wake them up ?"

"I tried, Man they sleep like the dead, And Ron there almost slapped me I did my best the rest is on them"

"Let me remind you that if they get to class late then the whole house will lose points not just them come on you try with Harry and I'll take Ron ok"

"Fine," said Seamus defeatedly

Five minutes and a couple of slaps later they were both finally awake and they will all on their way to the grand hall when Liam took his potions book and marked a few things out and then walked next to Harry and said

"So Harry one of the older students told me something I think you should know about"

"What ??"

"You see our second class today is in potions and the teacher there is Snape"

"Yeah I saw him last night"

"Creepy looking guy if you ask me " added Ron

"Well Snape really hates Gryffindor for some reason and every year he picks one of the first years and berates them by asking questions that they can't possibly answer and they he takes away some house points for good measure"

"WHAT, That's so unfair, I knew when I saw him that he was an annoying git" Ron persisted

"Well that aside Ron I think it's safe to say who he is going to pick this year, No offense Harry but you are kind of infamous you know, So I read ahead and marked some stuff that he might ask about if you want to take a look at it between classes"

"Come on mate it's still the first day and you already want us to start studying" Ron kept dropping golden nuggets

"It's so we don't lose house points Ron or do you want us to end up losing to Slytherin because of you, Also I was talking to Harry I don't remember asking you to do anything"

"Hay you don't have to be rude ok !"

"Sorry, Sorry, Anyway what do you say Harry"

"Ok sure, It couldn't hurt, Thanks for the help Liam"

"No problem Harry, Oh and the most important thing try to be modest while answering, I heard he hates arrogant people even more than Gryffindor, Oh and Ron I seem to remember about a bet that we made "

"Oh no, Come on mate it's still the bloody first day, Well spit it out what's your dare"

"Last night I was talking with some of the ghosts in the main hall and they told me about this ghost that's called Moaning Myrtle that haunts the second-floor girls' bathroom I dare you to go there and try to have a polite conversation with her between the two classes"

"I don't like how that sounds what's the catch"

"Well let's just say I heard she is a bit temperamental and might splash whoever annoys her with water, Haha"

"So you want me to go to potions covered in water is that it ?"

Liam chuckled and said

"No Ron, Look the ghost told me that the students who go there normally make fun of her and throw things but if you have a polite conversation she shouldn't splash you, Or are you willing to go back on a dare"

"Hay I didn't say anything about going back on it now did I, I said I'll take a dare if I lost the bet and I am going to stick to my word"

"Are you sure Ron," Harry asked concerned

"Yes Harry I am Gryffindor aren't I, I ain't afraid of no ghost"

"Now that's the spirit Ron, You know what I am moved by your enthusiasm so I'll do you one better if you manage to actually make friends with her I'll own you a dare how about that"

Ron said without needing a second thought and with ideas of dares for Liam already forming in his head.

"Deal"

'Good now things should start moving ahead on two of my sub-goals it's a long journey but I'll get there I am sure '

Of course, Liam couldn't care less about the house points but he was curious if he could start Harry and Snape on the right foot if he tried to make Harry remind him of his mother and not his father, That could surely lead to less misunderstanding about who was stealing the philosopher stone, And it could also help those two in their relationship forward, Liam was almost positive that Snape was working for Dumbledore and that he killed him on his command to be some type of double against but on the off chance he was wrong he wanted to try and create some emotional attachment between Harry and Snape to hold the latter back in the future if it came down to it, And also those two started on the wrong foot and then kept walking on that foot for a mile in opposite direction and he just wanted to see if there was a chance to remedy that.

And as to sending Ron to see myrtle that was the start of his plan to make Ron feel more courageous and feel a sense of achievement and also gives the trio a clue into the chamber of secrets but that was down the line and he didn't have a concrete plan for that yet.

They finally reached the great hall and sat down to eat, Breakfast went uneventfully, And then it was time for McGonagall's class Liam sat at the back of the class to give the trio some space he wanted to be able to face back from that friend group without making a fuss so he decided to keep some distance at the start and show up when it's advantageous to him, While also keeping in mind that he should keep a distance from Finnigan at classes since he tended to blow things up.

He looked up at the teacher's table noticing McGonagall in her cat form and waited until the class was full and she decided it was time to reveal herself, The dynamic duo was late once again apparently it was because they were lost and not that they overslept, Liam just sighed and calmed himself by telling himself that it didn't really matter all that much and class started with McGonagall dramatic transformation and her scorn of the two late students and then the first task of the first class started with her telling them they need to turn a match into a needle.

And with that Liam shut everything off and started engorging himself

'Ok buddy this is your first spell come on we can do this, I just need a strong intent and I should probably imagine the various states in-between like how it would morph from one form to the other, Ok let's give it a sho.....'

"Booooooom"

Liam took a look at an exploded Finnigan and praised himself on remembering to set as far as he could then he gathered his lost focus once more and tapped the match with his wand and it took a couple of seconds for something to happen and then it started to shake then voila a sparkling silver needle appeared were the match once was and Liam raised his hands in the air in triumph and shouted out

"YES, I can do magic"

McGonagall walked to his bench and said

"Well I have to conacre Mr murphy, And on your first try as well, Very good ten points to Gryffindor"

Liam felt embarrassed by his sudden proclamation but he was truly relieved that things were looking up for him and his prospects while still dangerous wasn't as dim anymore.

He spent the rest of the class he practiced to try to make the transition faster and more smooth and when the class ended he walked out following Harry and Ron just in time to listen to Ron telling Harry

"You will come with me Harry won't you, To make sure that ghost doesn't kill me right"

"Now, Now Ron the deal was you go on your own and Harry has to study for potions class, Now go on, You are Gryffindor aren't you"

"FINE," he said while stomping away

"Did you have to make him that angry"

"Oh he isn't that angry Harry plus he'll thank me later when he gets a nice story about his adventure with the ghost hunting the second-floor girls' bathroom for the last fifty years"

"Well I guess I should study the book you gave me do you want to help me"

"I would love to Harry but I have something to do, But you know should ask hemione for help I heard that she is very smart"

"Oh that's ok I don't want to bother her"

"Oh I don't think she'll mind Harry and also I think she is having a bit of a hard time making friends, I am sure she'd appreciate the company"

"Oh... really, Well if that is the case I'll go ask her maybe we can go study in the library"

"That sounds like a novel idea Harry"

And then they parted ways with Liam smiling a wild smile while saying to himself

"Who says you need stupid trolls to make friends"