This story isn't going to be as long as my other multi-chapter stories and will only span a couple of months at Hogwarts (maybe an entire year if I stretch it out a bit). It is set somewhere between the Battle of Hogwarts and the when the Potter children first come to Hogwarts. My main aim in this story is to play around with stereotypes and produce some interesting characters which aren't recycled clichés.
Please note: this chapter is intended to give skewed first impressions.
The Sorting Ceremony had only just finished and the first years had been sent to their dormitories. At this hour, the castle should be quiet, so it was a great annoyance to the Slytherin Prefects to hear screaming coming from the girls' dormitory. Hurriedly locating the origin of the noise, the fifth, sixth and seventh year female prefects, pulled open the door to the first-years' dormitory. They held their wands aloft, searching for the danger that could cause the younger students to yell like that.
"How dare you!" The fifth year prefect winced, as a blonde first year raised her wand, only to slap the other girl she was facing.
A red mark appeared on the dark haired Slytherin's face and one of the older prefects quickly established her of being from a wealthy pureblood family, one with definite Death Eater leanings in the last war. The prefects quickly separated the two girls and upon interrogation, they learnt that the dark haired girl was Rose Yaxley.
The blonde was called Aria Rey. Technically, she was the most powerful person in the room. She came from a wealthy family, who were rich enough to dwarf the combined earnings of most of Slytherin House and were also soaked in politics. Despite first years not being allowed to be on the Quidditch teams (without special permission, that is) Aria had nagged her mother until she was in possession of the fastest broom on the market.
With a family history such as hers, it wasn't really surprising that she had gotten into a fight. What surprised the prefects however, was how quickly their argument had been brought to blows.
"My father will hear about this!" She exclaimed, as the prefects lead Rose to the hospital wing, while other members of Slytherin went to fetch their head of house.
Meanwhile, the Gryffindor prefects were also having a difficult time with the first years. In its extensive history, the house of lions was proud to call a variety of Hogwarts' best pranksters their own. Examples such as the Marauders and the Weasley twins testify that fact. However, tonight a record had truly been broken, for immediately after the Start of Term Feast the common room dissolved into chaos.
A couple of people screamed, for as soon as they moved past the Fat Lady's portrait, someone set off some peruvian instant darkness powder. Bodies pushed and shoved, as the inside of common room was turned pitch black. By the time the darkness had cleared, the Gryffindors stared in fascinated horror at the new decorations adorning the walls of their inner sanctum.
The Prefects ordered everyone to bed and once they had ascertained that the redecorations couldn't be removed, they contacted the headmistress. It took the house elves weeks to remove the markings from the Gryffindor hangings.
Upstairs, a young mousey haired boy grinned as he made his way to the first year dormitory. Next time, he would have to come up with a better design, but it was definitely a good prank to get the year started. He listened with glee, as the prefects complained about not being able to remove the smile-y faces and love-hearts which had been drawn over each of the faces of the Gryffindor lions. From the sound of the angry roars coming from the hangings, the house mascots weren't too pleased about it either.
The first year Gryffindor fell asleep, smiling to himself.
Down by the kitchens, the second year Hufflepuffs were distressed once more.
"Why do we still have to share a dormitory with her?" Usually, the house of badgers are a pretty tolerant bunch. Unfortunately, the second year girls had long since reached the end of that tolerance.
"Didn't we suffer enough last year?" They all groaned in unison at the terrible memories of their first year at Hogwarts.
The subject of their ire merely smiled awkwardly, as if she hadn't just been hurt by their insults (although she undoubtedly was). Her expression was that of acceptance and understanding, for she could knew why they felt that way. She didn't want to make the other second year girls upset; she knew how awful it had been for them the previous term.
Phobia Darkewood quickly changed into her nightdress and grabbed a blanket from one of the four poster beds. She chose an armchair by the fire and settled down there, under the watchful gaze of Helga Hufflepuff's portrait. The second year gathered her blanket closer around her. It wasn't fair for her to keep the other girls up all night whenever she had a nightmare.
Feeling lonely by herself, Phobia fell into a dark and twisted dream.