AN: This chapter is brought to you by...ME!
However, as a disclaimer the charaters in this story are the rightful property of J.K. Rowling
If I owned them i'd be rolling in dough right now and not struggling to get threw college.
However the OC's belong to me.

Chapter 1

Scarlet poised herself onto a rock near the great lake. She looked over her shoulder towards the tall looming castle behind her, she sighed slightly and then smiling turned herself back towards the lake. She had been here for seven years, eight if you counted the war last year. However, here she was starting her seventh year. She shivered slightly, upon doing so a sweater came over her shoulder. She looked up into the eyes of Neville Longbottom. She smiled sweetly, "Hello Neville." She whispered quietly into the wind.

Neville smiled "Hello, Scarlet. How are you this morning?" he said back to the brown-haired girl.
"Couldn't sleep, the usual have been bothering me lately."
"Scar, do you want to talk about it now?" he asked.
She pointed to the rock next to her. "Not really, though it would be nice to have some company." She wrapped the sweater he gave her around her arms. Wearing a short sleeve shirt wasn't her brightest idea today. She just needed some thinking time.
'It's the Anniversary isn't it?" Neville asked sitting down.

Scarlet nodded, and blindly wiped the tear the fell from her eye. "Yeah, it is". Truth was it had been over 12 years since her mother had been killed. However, Neville was the only one that knew that she still cried over it sometimes. She pulled her legs toward her body and sighed deeply. They didn't talk, but Scarlet knew that Neville was there for her if she needed the shoulder to cry on. She wanted to kick herself mentally. There are things most people besides her mother didn't understood about her, like the fact that she was in Slytherin, yet she hung out with only Gryffindors. The fact that she sat at her table alone was because everyone thought she was weird for not liking other Slytherin.

She looked back over at Neville and smiled. "It'll be okay though, classes will distract me today." However, she felt nothing would stop the depressing thoughts passing before her mind right now. She watched as Neville stood up and pulled on her hand. He pulled her into a close hug and Scarlet felt warmed and happy suddenly. Neville always made her feel that way. She laid her head on his shoulder. She was lucky that she had such a great guy for a friend. That's right Neville was only, her closest guy friend. "Nev. It's almost time for breakfast." She said looking down at her watch. "We should head up there." She pulled out of the hug, grabbed Neville's hand, and pulled it into the sweater she had put on. It was long and big on her, she didn't mind though, it made her happy that he was caring enough that he thought about her.

They walked hand and hand to the doors of the great hall. Standing there was Hermione, Harry and Ron. She smiled and waved, making it off into a run she skidded to a stop in front of them. She had to put on a cheery face for them. They however, wouldn't say anything to her today about her mother. It was a silent agreement between them. Every year, Scarlet would leave during the middle of the day and walk to Hogsmeade and lay flowers on her mother's grave. It was what she did. However, she had no other family now, not even an aunt or uncle. She remembered her first year, telling Harry how lucky he was even though his aunt and uncle treated him bad, at least he had someone.

Scarlet hugged her other friends and then as they sat she took off towards the Slytherin table and sat quietly at the end of the table by herself. She watched as McGonagall stood and gave the announcements for the New Year, the first years were sorted the day before. She grabbed a piece of French toast and some potatoes from the trays that appeared in front of her. She ate slowly and took in the surrounding, not very many people came back for their seventh year. So far, she had counted about 13 Gryffindors, 5 Ravenclaws, 3 Hufflepuffs, and then there was of course Draco Malfoy and his two friends, Blaise Zambini and Pansy Parkinson. She noticed the group a bit the way down from where she was sitting.

When Scarlet first was put into Slytherin, she use to think it was because she had more of a darker side to her. She was after all a pureblood. She hung out with Pansy, followed her around and let her boss her around, and then in third year something snapped. She liked to think it was because of Harry. She remembered that day briefly, it was cold and snowing; they had walked down to Hogsmeade, not together of course, but her with Pansy and the rest of the Slytherin posse. They however, left her in the Shrieking Shack and laughed as they held the door closed on her. She remembered hearing a voice, two voices actually, she recognized Harry's right away. She then heard Malfoy let out a yell then heard the door being unlocked. She looked up at the person who held out a hand, it was Hermione. Hermione was so nice to her, she had cleaned up the bruises that night, she received from Pansy for being so stupid she was locked in the Shack.

Scarlet looked up from her food as she felt a presence next to her, She looked up into the eyes of a stunning boy. She had never seen him before today. 'Must be a 1st year." She thought glancing back down towards her plate. She was going to pay him no mind until he spoke. "Are you Scarlet Clarke?" he asked his pale grey eyes looking into hers.
Scarlet smiled; at least the boy seemed nice. "Yes, and who are you."
The little boy smiled "I'm Franco; this is my first year here."

Scarlet couldn't help but giggle, yet noticed that this boy looked extremely like someone she knew. "Well, Franco, you're more than welcome to join me for lunch but I have to be going to my class. We can talk then if you like."
Franco then grabbed her hand. "I'd be happy too." Scarlet couldn't help but blush at the younger boy as she scooped up her books and met up with the Gryffindors at the great hall doors so her and Hermione could head to N.E.W.T.'s Potions while the others went to Advance Transfiguration.

When she and Hermione arrived to class, she looked to see that there was exactly four, seventh year students that were actually eighth year students. In all the class included Hermione, Neville, her, and then Draco Malfoy. Was she upset when Neville wanted to partner up with Hermione, a bit, but she understood, which only left one other person in the room that she knew, that wasn't a six or seventh year. She slowly walked up to Malfoy, putting her arms behind her back, and smiled. "Say, Malfoy. Want to be partners?" she asked.

Draco looked up at her lazily. "Are you any good in this class?" he asked back.
Scarlet grew nervous; she never liked to be alone with Draco for every long due to his influence on girls younger than her. "I got all O's on my O.W.L.'s" she said sitting in the chair next to him and shoving his feet off their table.
"Well then I guess we better get started on this potion." He pushed his hair back and Scarlet couldn't help but stare, yeah Draco had this sort of beauty about his that caught all sort of different girls attentions. "Who knew on the first day we'd be brewing a love potion." He said casually as he flipped to the page Professor Osborne wrote on the board.

Scarlet quickly looked at the book and sighed surely enough they were brewing Amortentia. She watched as Draco's finger skimmed over the book and then her looked at her. She noticed his eyes something she never noticed about him before, they were pale grey, then she thought a minute, 'Weren't Franco's eyes pale grey too?' she then shook the thought from her head.

Draco looked up at her and smiled. "We need Frozen Ashwinder Eggs and a rose to start with and were supposed to boil it with frog mucus."
Scarlet made a disgusted face as she grabbed the frog mucus "How can people drink this knowing that is in it."
"I don't know just pour it in." Draco said holding his nose at her.

By the time class was over her and Draco had boiled a pot and set it over in the corner to let it sit until tomorrow, then Professor Osborne would test each. Sighing heavily she walked down to the dungeons of the castle and went to her room to get the flowers from her drawer. Bundling up she headed towards the great hall in order to catch Franco before he went inside. For a first year, Scarlet could already tell they were going to be great friends.

AN: Well everyone, what did you think. I know this chapter starts off really sad, but while trying to plot my next move for my other story, and stressing over college. I got this wonderful idea and started writing the first paragragh during the middle of one of my class while the teacher was lecturing (haha!) I hope you guys enjoy this very much i worked really hard on it to make it great for everyone...Make sure to leave reviews. :)