Slytherin first-years were scheduled to attend Astronomy class at the Astronomy Tower on Tuesday night, and the professor was a Black woman from the African school of Wizardry, Wagadu, named Aurora Sinistra.
It was said that Wagadu was very skilled in Astronomy, and that was likely the reason Dumbledore had hired a Black professor.
Since this Astronomy lesson was to take place at midnight, it meant that after class, there would be no time for Ivy to serve detention, so he could stay in his bed for a while, instead of facing Snape's face, which was never a pleasant sight.
Although if you included the detention from the first day of school, Ivy had only been confined for two days, dealing with potion ingredients all day long wasn't exactly fun. After all, he couldn't use the "Avada Kedavra" curse to threaten the ingredients into preparing themselves, so he had to do it manually.
Therefore, being away from Snape's chilly potion classroom was a welcome relief for Ivy.
The Astronomy class was simple: after a necessary explanation, the students were to use their telescopes to observe the sky.
If the planets of the solar system were in the right positions, they'd observe planets, and if they were unlucky, they'd observe other stars in the night sky instead.
Though it was still September, the temperature in the Scottish Highlands at midnight was already quite low, and the young wizards who hadn't changed into their winter clothes were shivering, silently promising themselves to wear warmer clothing next time.
Thanks to the temperature-regulating magic on Ivy's Slytherin relic robes, he stood out amongst the other shivering students, not to mention that he was always the first to spot the star they were supposed to observe. This earned him five points for Slytherin from Professor Sinistra, who was quite pleased with him.
"This is well-deserved," Professor Sinistra patted Ivy's shoulder with her dark hand, then turned to check on the others' telescopes.
"How did you do that?"
Ivy turned his head to find Cassandra, the strikingly beautiful Slytherin first-year, seriously looking at him. Ivy was sure this girl didn't exist in the original Harry Potter books—otherwise, no one could resist describing her appearance.
But that was normal, given that ancient magic wasn't mentioned in the books either.
"Oh, it's simple," Ivy replied softly. "Just set the telescope in the right position, focus it, and align the stars. If you don't mind, I can teach you step by step."
"I'm not talking about Astronomy," Cassandra seemed unsatisfied with Ivy's simple Astronomy tip, continuing her questioning.
"But we're in Astronomy class right now!" Ivy widened his eyes, not expecting a classmate to ignore the subject and talk to him about something unrelated, especially when he, as a model student, was focused on the task at hand.
A slight flush appeared on Cassandra's fair face. She took a deep breath, trying not to show too much anger. "Let's be frank. I must say, your magic is stronger than I expected…"
"Just a little?" Ivy understood she didn't want to admit defeat, but still mischievously asked.
Her bright green eyes stayed on Ivy for a long while before Cassandra continued, "…It's much stronger than I imagined. I need to know why."
"Oh—I get it now, you're asking me for advice?" Ivy pretended to understand, though he had already realized this girl had been watching him closely. He just didn't expect Cassandra to confront him so soon. He thought she might track him further, then claim she'd figured out some of his secrets.
"You can say that." Cassandra's words were quick and light, and Ivy almost didn't catch them.
"So… Is this how a noble Slytherin asks for help?" Ivy continued teasing her.
"Please! Tell me how you did it." When Cassandra said this, Ivy could almost hear her teeth grinding in frustration.
"Because I'm a genius!" Ivy said smugly. "And for a genius, it's no big deal!"
Cassandra turned on her heel and walked away, not saying another word to Ivy.
————
In addition to being a good student by attending classes on time and completing his homework, Ivy had many other things to do.
For example, exploring how the castle had changed in the hundred-plus years since he had last been there.
From the few hidden rooms he knew of, there didn't seem to be much difference except for a bit more dust. It appeared that while many things had changed in the past century, there were still plenty that remained the same.
At least Slytherin's study and the secret room built by the Gaunt family hadn't changed.
As for the Room of Requirement, changes were inevitable. Ivy knew for certain that Voldemort had entered the room during his school years and had even hidden the Ravenclaw crown, which he used as a Horcrux, there when he returned to Hogwarts later.
But, due to time and distance constraints, Ivy hadn't yet made his way there. Especially with someone—Cassandra, it seemed—always tailing him.
Yes, Cassandra didn't seem to have given up. Instead, she had chosen to secretly investigate Ivy's secrets.
Thanks to the "magical exchange" in the Slytherin common room on the first day of school, Ivy assumed that both Dumbledore and Snape would increase their surveillance of him. So, he decided to occupy his time with something else to divert attention.
Some might wonder: how could Ivy manage to do all of this while also dealing with Snape's detentions and classes?
Well, the answer lies in the first-year students' timetable.
As new members of the Hogwarts family, first-year students had relatively few classes.
There were three Herbology lessons, two Transfiguration and Charms classes, one History of Magic, one Defense Against the Dark Arts, and one Astronomy class each week. There were also two double-length Potions classes on Friday mornings, where Slytherin and Gryffindor attended together. Then, there was the flying class, which was held twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons. However, it didn't start until next week.
Adding it all up, the first year only had 14 class periods a week. If you account for the five days of school, that's 35 periods total!
This meant first-year students had plenty of time to explore the castle, familiarize themselves with the class routes, and finish their homework, living a rather carefree life!
Therefore, even with detention in the evenings, Ivy had lots of time to do other things. Recently, his focus had been on continuing his study of the Grimoire of Destruction.