As soon as Alice Black stepped foot on the train, she was asked to join Harry and his friend. His friend, Ron, had a sister who was also starting Hogwarts that year. They entered the compartment and sat down.
"Ron, Ginny, this is Alice," Harry said. "She's starting Hogwarts this year."
Alice noted that Ginny seemed to be incredibly taken with Harry. Her brown eyes were locked on his thin frame, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
It was understandable, Alice thought. Harry was somewhat famous.
The story goes that Harry and his parents were being hunted by Lord Voldemort, an incredibly Dark wizard. They placed their trust in their friend Peter, who died protecting them. This act of love broke Voldemort's power, and the wizarding world was free from the war.
Alice had been incredibly jealous when Harry had gone to Hogwarts the year before her. All year she had received owls from him about the castle, the lessons, the teachers, his adventures with his friends, Ron and Hermione. She was certain that she knew more about his life at Hogwarts than his parents did.
A girl with bushy brown hair joined them in the compartment. Alice took this to be Hermione.
"Hello," the girl smiled. She seemed friendly. "You must be Alice."
Ginny seemed more at ease with Hermione there. The three girls began talking as the boys loudly discussed Quidditch.
Alice mused to herself about the first train journey she had ever taken to Hogwarts. She thought about how nervous she'd been before the sorting, afraid that she wouldn't end up in Gryffindor like both her parents. Thankfully, she had, although she didn't think they would have minded Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw too much.
That journey had been five years ago now. Harry had just sat and passed most of his OWLs, and had been made Quidditch captain. Ron and Hermione had been made prefects the year before, and Hermione was a strong contender for Head Girl for the following year. Two years ago had seen the Triwizard Tournament held at Hogwarts, and Cedric Diggory had earned them a victory. Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons contestant, was now going out with Ginny's older brother Bill. Viktor Krum had become attached to Hermione, making Ron extremely jealous, but they were now just friends.
For now, it was just Harry, Alice and Luna Lovegood in the compartment. Ron and Hermione were at the prefects meeting, and Ginny had gone to find her boyfriend Dean Thomas. Luna was recounting her summer holiday to them, and Alice forced herself to return to the present.
"…So you see, we did actually find and prove the existence of Nargles," Luna was saying happily.
"I thought Nargles lived in mistletoe?" Harry asked, thoroughly confused.
"They do!" Luna explained, "But mistletoe grows on trees all around the year."
"Hi Neville!" Alice exclaimed, as none other than Neville Longbottom walked through the door.
"Hi guys," Neville said, sitting down next to Luna. "Where's Ginny?"
"Off snogging Dean somewhere," Alice shrugged.
The door opened again, to admit one disgruntled looked Seamus Finnegan.
"D'you mind if I sit here?" he asked in his Irish lilt. "Only Ginny and Dean are getting a bit tongue happy."
Harry nodded, and Seamus sat beside him, opposite Alice, Luna and Neville.
"I haven't seen the fucker all summer, you think he'd spare a bit of time for his best mate," Seamus grumbled to the train compartment.
"It's disgusting," Alice grinned at him. "Ginny and I were supposed to get our school supplies together in Diagon Alley, then Dean turns up and I ended up shopping on my own because they were busy swapping saliva."
"Oh honestly, Ronald," Hermione's voice carried to them from outside the door. "They're just kissing!"
"It's my sister!" Ron raged as the pair of them returned from the prefect meeting, making the compartment uncomfortably full.
"You can't give them detention just for kissing," Hermione told him. "During school hours or lessons, yes, but not here and now."
Alice, closest to the window, flung it open and lit a cigarette.
Hermione turned to her, her best Mrs Weasley expression on her face. "Do you mind?"
"Not at all," Alice replied, blowing smoke into the room and grinning cheekily.
"You sound like my mum when Sirius and Marlene start smoking," Harry told her.
Hermione's brown eyes glared at him. "She's practically your sister, Harry, aren't you going to make her stop?"
Harry shrugged. "I couldn't stop her even if I wanted to."
"Oh look, it's the blood traitors and the mudblood," a sneering voice sounded, and the entire compartment turned to stare at Draco Malfoy, who was stood at the door flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Piss off, Malfoy," Alice said, flicking her finished cigarette out the window.
"Why so touchy, Black? Is it because Weasel and Potty have their eyes on other girls instead of you?"
Alice's grey eyes met his, an almost identical Black family trait, except his were amused and hers were brewing a storm.
"I said," Alice stood up and squared up to him. "Piss off."
"I wouldn't talk to a prefect like that if I were you, Black," Malfoy smirked.
"What are you going to do, put me in detention?" Alice raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to see you try."
"Is that a challenge, Black?"
"Go away, Malfoy," Hermione snapped testily. "You can't put her in detention, because we'll just tell Professor McGonagall that you provoked her."
Malfoy seemed to realise that this fight was lost, and retreated.
"Wanker," Alice muttered, lighting another cigarette.
"Really? Chain smoking, Alice?" Hermione told her off yet again.
"Hi guys!" Ginny exclaimed as she entered, hand in hand with Dean. "Wow, it's crowded in here, isn't it?"
"No, it's really comfortable," Ron replied sarcastically.
"Boys out!" Hermione shrieked. "Yes Ronald, that does mean you. Out!"
The five sixth year boys sloped out of the compartment. Ron was glaring at the back of Dean's head as he kissed Ginny goodbye.
"Much better," Hermione sighed, taking Alice's cigarette and throwing it out the window. Alice simply rolled her eyes in response, used to Hermione.
"Anything interesting happening this year?" Ginny asked Hermione.
"Not really," Hermione replied. "Professor Dumbledore's trying to promote house unity within Hogwarts but I'm not sure it'll work."
"Of course it will," Alice said. "Just kick all the Slytherins out."
"Besides, we already have friends in other houses," Ginny added.
The afternoon sped by, and at Hermione's insistence, Alice stepped outside for her next cigarette. She leaned out of the window of the door and was soon joined by Harry.
"Hermione said you'd be here," he explained, not that he needed to. "I had to leave too. Ron punched Dean in the face because he wouldn't shut up about Ginny. Seamus won ten galleons off Neville for it."
"And I thought this year would be boring without Fred and George," Alice grinned.
"What, with Malfoy as Slytherin Quidditch captain and prefect? No chance."
"Oh yeah, and our inter house unity project that Hermione keeps banging on about."
The two of them bantered for a while about things. Neither of them really had many friends outside their circle, and while Ron was Harry's best friend, Alice had known him the longest.
"D'you ever think we're boring compared to the Marauders?" Alice asked suddenly, thinking about their parents and Remus.
"God yes," Harry grinned. "I think Mum's relieved we're so normal, to be honest. She loves Hermione."
The whistle blew, announcing that the train would shortly be arriving at Hogsmeade station. They bade each other farewell, returning to their separate compartments to change.
"Welcome to Hogwarts!" The elderly bearded headmaster beamed at the Great Hall. "And to our older students, welcome back! This year the school will be promoting house unity, and so with the addition of your usual classes, one hour a week will be dedicated to getting to know your fellow classmates. Now, for the feast!"
There was the usual gasp from the first years as the food just appeared in front of them, and the entire school tucked in.
"Thank God! I'm starving!" Ron dived straight into everything he could reach.
Harry shook his head at his best mate and piled food onto his plate like a normal person.
"You're not on one of those stupid diets again, are you?" Ginny asked, eyeing Alice's mostly empty plate.
"No," she replied. "I'm just not very hungry."
"That's because you've chain smoked all day," Hermione said briskly. "Eat some pasta. Fifth, sixth and seventh years have all been put together for the house unity thing and it's first thing tomorrow morning."
"Merlin, a whole hour of Malfoy being obnoxious," Ginny pulled a face. "I don't know how we'll cope."
"Easy," Alice said, doing as Hermione had instructed and eating some pasta. "We'll hex him."
"That's stooping to his level," Hermione scolded them.
Further down the table, the sixth year boys were arguing about the Quidditch tryouts.
"You want to hold them on a Saturday," Dean was saying. "That way everyone trying out is playing to the best of their ability."
"No, you want to hold them on a school night," Ron argued back. "That way, you won't get stupid first years trying out because they'll be too knackered to find their way to the pitch!"
"Actually, I agree with Dean," Ginny chipped in. "Besides, you wouldn't get on the team if you were playing when you were tired."
Ron's mouth opened and closed, resembling a goldfish.
"What are you talking about?" Someone else had joined the conversation, Lavender Brown. "Ron's an excellent keeper."
"Yeah, when he's not tired or cranky!" Ginny retorted. "He'd be both after a full day of lessons!"
Ron turned his gaze to Harry, who shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Well?"
"She has a point," Harry admitted. "You play at your best with a clear head."
Dinner ended eventfully. Ron stormed off in a huff, leaving Hermione on her own to deal with the first years. Ginny wandered off with Dean for a walk before curfew, and Harry, Neville and Seamus had decided to head up to bed, leaving Alice to amble along at her own pace.
When she'd finally entered the dormitory fifteen minutes later, Charlotte and Evie, the other two girls she and Ginny shared a dorm with, were in the middle of their unpacking. They were both muggle born girls, and had immediately bonded upon their Sorting in first year. Charlotte was the fifth year Gryffindor prefect, tall and glamorous, with long dark hair and piercing blue eyes, and Evie was short and curvy, with a huge smile, blonde hair in ringlets and pale green eyes. Ginny and Evie were around the same height, whereas Alice was a couple of inches taller than them both. Predictably, Ginny still wasn't back from her romantic walk with Dean, and Charlotte and Evie were gossiping.
Alice plopped down onto her bed and unpacked with a simple wave of her wand. This hadn't occurred to the other girls after a summer of living as muggles, and they imitated her.
"So, what's going on then?" Alice asked them, pulling off her tie.
"Well we just spotted Ron Weasley and Lavender Brown in sixth year getting a bit cozy in the common room," Evie jumped in before Charlotte could. "Char heard Lavender tell Parvati Patil that she fancies him, but I can't see the appeal."
Alice shrugged. "I know him too well to find him attractive to be honest."
"Cedric Diggory proposed to Cho Chang this morning on the platform," Charlotte moved the topic swiftly on. "Does Harry still fancy her or has that ship sailed?"
"I think he gave up on her once he realised they weren't going to split up."
"That's a shame, I think they'd go quite well together," Evie mused. "They're both seekers, they both have dark hair…"
"She's really popular and he's kind of quiet," Charlotte grinned.
"He's quite good looking, don't you think?"
"He's practically my brother!" Alice moaned, covering her ears with her hands. "Please don't say that again."
Evie grinned. "Sorry babe. Besides, I think he's reserved for Hermione Granger."
"What? No way," Alice shook her head. "If Harry fancied Hermione, I think I'd know, and Ron would go mental about that."
"Ron fancies Hermione?" Charlotte's blue eyes widened.
"Of course he does!" Alice said impatiently. "Even if he doesn't realise it yet."
"Hi!" Ginny breezed in, back from her date with Dean.
"Ginny!" Evie jumped on her, hugging her tightly and then releasing her. "Does Ron fancy Hermione?"
"He has done for years, he just doesn't know it," Ginny rolled her brown eyes.
"Told you!" Alice grinned triumphantly.
"Lights out!" Hermione, ever the stickler for rules, called down the stairs. The four girls groaned, got changed and climbed into bed.
In the morning, Alice was the last up as usual. Ginny always liked to get up at around 6, and begin her morning with yoga. Evie joined her, and Charlotte took the first shower. Alice left it as long as humanly possible before she dragged herself out of bed. As usual, she was the last in the shower and rushed down to breakfast, grabbing a slice of toast from under Ron's nose.
"Hey! I was going to eat that!"
"You eat plenty," she told him as Charlotte passed over her timetable. "Oh God, we've got that house unity thing in ten minutes."
"Yeah, have some coffee or you won't be alive," Charlotte dumped the jug of coffee and milk in front of her and Evie, who was frantically applying make up.
"I really hope I'm put in a group with Draco Malfoy," she said dreamily, brushing shadow over her eyes.
"Why?" Alice wrinkled her nose. "He's a wanker."
"He's gorgeous…"
Ron choked over his breakfast and Harry thumped him on the back.
After breakfast, the fifth, sixth and seventh years remained in the Great Hall for the House Unity project. Each of the heads of house divided them into pairs, one boy and one girl from each year from each house would go into each group. Alice groaned internally when McGonagall paired her with Colin Creevey. He was a nice guy, just incredibly annoying.
"Hi Alice!" he announced, bright and chirpy. "McGonagall says we have to go with Neville and Parvati and Katie and Cormac."
"Oh God, I hate McClaggen," Alice groaned out loud this time. "Shoot me now."
They crossed the room to the others, McClaggen shaking hands with Neville and winking at Parvati.
"Black," he greeted her when she joined them, completely disregarding Colin.
Alice gazed around the room. Harry had been paired with a girl from Hermione's dormitory, Fay. Ron had been paired with Lavender, and Hermione with Seamus. Harry was standing in uncomfortable silence around Fay, Hermione was talking to Seamus and Lavender was giggling at something Ron had said.
"Attention everybody!" McGonagall called, and silence fell upon the Great Hall. "You will spend the next fifteen minutes getting to know everybody in your group, and then we will combine houses."
McClaggen spent ten of those fifteen minutes talking about himself, before Alice silently sent a jinx his way to glue his tongue to his mouth. He sat there, red faced and fuming, while everyone else introduced themselves quickly.
After the twenty minutes were up, the groups were combined so that there were at least six people from each house. Luna drifted over to sit by Alice, while McClaggen forced his way onto her other side, Michael Corner and Cho Chang following her, among others that Alice didn't know. A very short and skinny Slytherin sixth year joined them too, the others following him, looking as though they didn't want to be there.
Evie seemed to have gotten her dearest wish, as she was paying rapt attention to whatever Draco Malfoy was saying, and getting jealous looks from Pansy Parkinson across the room. McGonagall instructed each person to introduce themselves, and then say a fact about the person before them.
Alice gave a wicked grin before it was her turn. She knew exactly what she was going to say.
McClaggen finished speaking and then turned expectantly to her.
"I'm Alice Black, I have no idea what I want to do with my life. This is Cormac McClaggen and he's an arse licker and a wanker."
"Black! Ten points from Gryffindor!" McGonagall screeched across the room.
Alice smirked. Those ten points had been worth it. Even the Slytherins nodded approvingly.
After an hour, everyone was dismissed.
"Black, a word," McGonagall called to Alice before she could leave. She sighed. She was going to pay for that comment about McClaggen.
"Unpleasant as McClaggen may be, one cannot simply insult someone for no reason."
"But he is a wanker, Professor. He hits on every girl he sees. It's quite disgusting how he views women," Alice said earnestly. "I was only telling the truth."
The corner of McGonagall's mouth twitched. "Very well. I shall try to avoid putting you in a group with him in future."