73 Which electives to take?

-Why wasn't I notified of the new defensive measure on the Hogwarts Express?!

By now, the auror in charge of inspecting the carriages was fuming out of his ears. His only job was to make sure the dementors didn't go too far overboard during their search with the students, and suddenly, he has to deal with the dementors coming to him aggrieved and accusing him of leading them into a trap.

-Sir, the measures were only implemented this month and were not expected to be activated so soon," explained a subordinate who had to endure the wrath of his superior without protesting, "They were only supposed to be activated in case of an attack to ensure the safety of passengers and staff. Perhaps if we had informed the passengers of the search in advance, they would not have activated the defenses when they panicked?

-Someone is going to have to take responsibility for what happened and it won't be me! -cried the auror.

-It's never you," thought the subordinate as he rolled his eyes inwardly.

How else did someone so incompetent manage to climb so high in the Ministry?

The carriages picked up all the students at the station without exception, including the first years who would not be able to make the traditional route because of the storm and the disturbed Dementors in the surrounding area.

They were still talking about the attack and how they managed to defend themselves with great success, feeling very curious about what kind of creatures were protecting them.

In the Great Dining Hall, the Sorting ceremony took place and Soisen heard some familiar names like Romilda Vane and Astoria Greengras. His house received a few more students and at the end of dinner, he should lead them as in other years.

It was announced that Hagrid would be taking over Care of Magical Creatures this year, which he was already expecting when he saw that he had to get a copy of the Monstrous Book of Monsters. It was entertaining to watch Silvia run around the store as she ran away from the book when they went to get it, while he held another copy and stroked her spine to make her behave meekly.

Coincidentally, they ran into Neville who also came looking for the same book, resulting in the end in both Neville and the bookseller crying.

Should he have told the salesman how to calm the book?

...

Nah, I'm sure it would be fine. Some exercise is always healthy.

-...and remember not to give the dementors any reason to attack you. It is not in their nature to forgive," Dumbledore finished his speech as Soisen rambled on.

What lessons did he have this year?

According to the letter he received they would be: Potions, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transformations, History of Magic, Astronomy, Charms, and he was to choose two or more electives.

The possibilities were: Divination, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies.

Divination was ruled out at the first second, if Professor Trelawney used her gift on him, who knows what would happen... to her.

Arithmancy could prove very useful for her research, so no doubt she was the first to be selected.

Ancient Runes was ruled out, she already proved long ago that she is not very talented in that field and it would divide her attention too much.

Care of Magical Creatures might be okay and was somewhat practical outdoors, but she should approach Hagrid to get an idea of what creatures he would use for his lessons other than Buckbeak, the hippogriff.

And perhaps persuade him to remove some from the list.

Muggle Studies was a waste of time for anyone who wasn't a pureblood, not to mention how seriously out of date his information was.

It looks like he'll have to stick with Arithmancy and Care of Magical Creatures.

In two years she'll have to take the TIMO's and in seventh year it'll be the EXTASIS's, she'd better make sure she's up to date with everything she needs to.

Wait, wasn't this the year Hermione would be getting her time-turner?

Hmm, she should check to see if either of the two electives she's interested in overlap with the regular lessons. If so, she'll also apply for a time-turner. Or perhaps you could share Hermione's, which knowing her, she will undoubtedly take as much as she can.

He recalled that she was attending Hagrid's class during the hippogriff attack on Malfoy, so he just needed to additionally confirm whether she would be taking Arithmancy.

He already had experience handling a time-turner, so it shouldn't be inconvenient.

After finishing dinner and guiding the newcomers to the common room, explaining the rules and the characteristics of his House, Soisen soon went to bed alone. This year, considering the presence of the Dementors and Sirius, he didn't risk bringing Rada with him to keep him company.

The next morning, he went to find Hermione during lunch and after whispering the reason to her, they went to find Professor McGonagall in her office.

How did you learn of the existence of the time-turner, Mr. Galegold? -McGonagall asked after listening to them.

-Because I used one during my time at Beauxbatons," there was little point in making excuses, so Soisen told the truth, "I just want permission to use it with Hermione to attend my electives, since coincidentally, she will also be attending them and it won't be necessary to ask for an additional time-turner.

-In fact, I believe we were informed of something like that," McGonagall suddenly remembered that they were indeed notified of Soisen's responsible use of such a device, "Fine, I'll allow it. But you know the rules!

-No one will know for me, teacher," Soisen nodded.

Hermione also did a good job of keeping the secret that he remembered, Ron's reactions to her sudden appearance were hilarious during the movie and now he could be a part of that.

He did a schedule check and aside from Arithmancy, he really didn't need to use the time-turner for anything else. Thanks to taking lessons with Gryffindor since first year, finding a time to sneak off with Hermione would be very easy.

Not only that, he gave Hermione some tips on how to avoid some of the drawbacks of using a time-turner, which he discovered from experience during his time at the French school.

This included especially nutritious meals to compensate for the overexertion of the body and setting limits for adequate sleep, without affecting studies.

Although Hermione was somewhat reluctant to such limits, she decided to listen to the voice of experience and trust her best friend to optimize her study time as much as possible.

Especially when she heard that her grades might be affected.

And so, the first week at Hogwarts passed without incident despite the decadent presence of the dark creatures roaming the castle grounds. It was only after the teachers' meeting, during the phase when they were discussing observations about the students, that Professor Sinistra caught the attention of the other teachers.

-We have a problem with Mr. Galegold.