Chapter 2
I love the Hufflepuff common room. It's snug and warm, and comforting. As I cross it with Laura, content after the feast, I finally feel completely at home. Especially when I reach my dormitory, which is virtually the same as always. It is home to six girls.
Peyton Davies is part-Chinese, and has silky black hair. She could quite easily be classed as a cry-baby. She is hard to talk to, since she could explode at every moment. She is quite clever, but not outstandingly so, and definitely not in Rose Weasley's level.
Clarisse Smith is a tomboy. She's loud, and abrasive, and you really don't want to get on her bad side. For some completely unforeseeable reason, she is best friends with Peyton Davies, which makes no sense whatsoever.
Pippa Creevey is an airhead with an obsession with taking photographs. She's ridiculously chirpy in the morning and quite annoying to be around, but happy in her own way. Her best friend is my fourth roommate- Jesminda Patil.
Jesminda is the only daughter of single mother Parvati Patil. Jess is nice in her own way, calm and gentle. However, when she's around Pippa she can be slightly annoying. However, out of all my roommates, apart from Laura I like Jesminda best. She's Indian, and the outcast of her family, as her Mother was disowned for becoming pregnant then not marrying the boy who had gotten her in such a state. Apparently, the only person who will talk to her is Parvati's twin sister, Padma!
I crossed the room so that I could collapse onto my four-poster bed. I looked up at the ceiling, happy to be hope. I could see the twinkling lights I had charmed onto the ceiling above my bed overhead, they looked like a million stars. Rolling out of my bed, I struggle into my Pyjamas, which comprise of my Dad's old Chemistry Camp T-Shirt (At school he was a complete science geek) and some checked pyjama trousers. Next to me, Laura is ready for bed, her hair neatly braided away from her face, her Pyjamas completely straight. She joins me as we head to the bathroom, brushing our teeth furiously. From the dorm, we can already hear the sound of Peyton wailing as Pippa tries to take photos of her. Predictably, we hear the tell-tale crunch of Pippa's camera as Clarisse stands on it heavily.
'What's the betting that Jesminda will try and convince Clarisse that was a bad idea now?' I whispered. Laura smiled.
'No need to bet on that. It'll definitely happen' she murmured back. As if on cue, the low, steady voice of Jess can be heard as she attempts to reason with Clarisse, before sighing and repairing the camera with a quick Reparo.
'Some things never change' sighed Laura, as we made our way back into the dormitory. The lines were clearly drawn in our room, the six of us split into neat pairs. Clarisse and Peyton to the left, Jesminda and Pippa to the right, Laura and I in the middle.
Already, piles of clothes were spilling from Pippa's trunk, spilling into Jess' area, not that she would complain. As much as I hate to say this, she can be just as bad as Pippa at times. Completely different, therefore, from Clarisse, who is the first Hufflepuff female Beater in the history of Hogwarts. But what else would you expect from a girl who was made up of pure muscle?
I flung myself back onto my bed, reaching down to my trunk to pull out my latest trunk. To my left, Laura was mirroring my actions.
'What are you reading?' she asked in a soft tone.
'Little Women' I replied in an equally quiet tone. Laura tutted.
'You read those books too much' she complained. 'Try something else.' I didn't answer, just as she knew I wouldn't. Ever since I first came to Hogwart's, I have always read the Little Women books almost obsessively, my favourite being the third book, Little Men. There is something about them that I absolutely adore. I am in love with Laurie and Nat, and felt so sorry for Beth with her frailty.
I settle myself into my covers, wrapping myself into a cocoon and beginning to read…
I am alone. As I wander into Potions, I regret the fact that I took it, even though I knew Laura wasn't. Even Jess, who could have provided some comfort, has neglected to take the course. I hover uncertainly in the doorway, unsure as to where to sit. Fortunately, my newly acquired Gryffindor friends are at hand.
'Bree!' signals Alice, looking at me from her seat next to Rose. I smile as she waves me across, before placing myself in the seat next to Rose, with an empty seat to my right.
'Hello Alice, Rose' I greet. They beam at me, and I notice the missing member of their group. 'Where's Jane?'
'Oh, she has a free period' says Rose. 'I believe my cousin shares it.' She rolls her eyes as Alice giggles and I realise that she is talking about James, not one of Rose's multitude of other cousins.
'I wonder what she'll get up to?' I ponder, jumping as a male voice greets me, instead of the soprano voices of Alice or Rose.
'I don't think anyone has to wonder about that.' I spin around, recognising the voice instantly even though he has never spoken one word to me before. I stare at him unashamedly, before realising what I am doing, blushing bright red and ducking my head. Albus clears his throat.
'Oh sorry' apologises Rose. 'Al, this is our new friend Bree Chase, and Bree, this is my cousin Albus' Albus Potter holds his hand out to me. I take it as he says kindly,
'It's nice to meet you' to which I, as the entire idiot I am, blush even more, mumble something incoherent and turn to face the front. Albus looks slightly worried, but as he is quite shy in his own right, doesn't press the conversations, choosing instead to slide into the seat next to me, and look at the board.
'Aren't Emmett, Andre or Scorpius in this class?' asks Alice curiously. Emmett Thomas, Andre Bellour and Scorpius Malfoy are Albus' best friends, and I think all of us knew he would rather be sitting with them if he could.
Emmett Thomas is really smart. He's quite quiet, and keeps his head down generally. He's the only son of Dean Thomas and Demelza Robins, and tends to stick to his friends only. He has a twin sister, Poppy. He's a Ravenclaw.
Andre Bellour is French, and transferred from Beauxbaton's Academy three years ago. He speaks good English, only reverting back to French some of the time, and has a very small accent. He is captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch Team.
Scorpius Malfoy is a Slytherin rebel, as in he hates prejudice of any sort. He fights to be different from his parents and as such is a bit of an outcast. He's desperately in love with Rose Weasley, asks her out 10 times a day, and is rejected as much. He thinks Rose is a wonder. She thinks he's an Idiotic Slytherin Serpent. However, he hasn't let that put him off. Instead, he chooses to brush it all off, putting on a courageous front.
You may have noticed that all the three boys I've already mentioned are in different houses? Well, as Albus is in Gryffindor, all four of the boys are in different houses and I have no idea how they bonded together. Yet they did, and the unlikely quartet was formed. I don't know where the others are.
'None of them wanted to do Potions. Well, except for Emmett, but he promised Poppy he'd sit with her and her friends due to something she discovered about him' explains Albus. Rose and Alice nod, as Professor Haze walks into the room.
'Right, let's get down to business' she greets. 'Firstly, well done to all of you for doing so well in your OWL Potions exam. You would not be in this class if you had failed to live up to my expectations. Now, today you will be brewing the Draught of Living Death. Please begin.' Professor Haze is always abrupt.
I turn to my cauldron, heating it up gently before walking to the cupboard to get my ingredients. I quickly select them from the shelves and begin chopping. Next to me, Rose and Alice chat quietly, on the other side Albus works diligently but silently. It should be awkward, but for some reason it isn't. Maybe because Albus appreciates silence as much as I do.
The rest of the lesson passes quickly in silence. My Potions looks almost perfect, a silver mist covering it's surface. So does Albus'. However Rose's looks even better. It is completely perfect and we can all see that Professor Haze is impressed.
'Oh, Well Done, Miss Weasley. 10 points to Gryffindor' she announces, clapping her hands together, impressed. Rose shrugs modestly, before turning to her cousin and I as we pack up our stuff and Professor Haze moves on.
'Hey, Bree, what lesson have you got next? And you Al' she asks. I fish inside my bag for my timetable.
'I have Charms' I tell her. Alice squeals. Yes, she squeals.
'I have that too!' she cries out. 'So does Jane and Rose. Does Laura?'
'Yes' I tell her, and she beams wider, if that were possible. It seems incredible that they seem to have accepted Laura and I so quickly. If we were Gryffindor's, would everything have been different?
'Al? What about you?' asks Rose, diverting the attention from me, just as I'm becoming uncomfortable. I smile at her thankfully, but she doesn't look at me.
'I have Charms too' he admits. 'So does Emmett and Andre. And…Scorpius'. He adds Scorpius' name at the end as though we would not want to hear it. And I understand why as Rose's eyes flash.
'I don't care what subjects Malfoy is doing' she spits. 'Okay, Al?' Something flashes in Albus' eyes too and he sighs heavily.
'Look, Rose, you're my favourite cousin and all, but Scorpius is my best friend. He's a great bloke, can't you give him a chance? I'm sure it will work out' he says. I think that's the most Albus Potter has said in a go. He's not the most articulate person. But that's part of the reason I love him. Rose just snorts imperiously, swinging her bag onto her shoulder as she makes her ways out of the classroom. Alice, shaking her head follows, as do I, bringing up the rear with Albus.
'So, how come I haven't seen you around before?' he asks. I blush, stupidly.
'I've only just made friends with Rose, Alice and Jane. They sat with my friend Laura and I on the train. We're Hufflepuffs' I say as a way of explanation. He nods.
'Often overlooked then' he comments.
'Exactly.' We carry on walking, but inside I am in a turmoil. Who would have thought that I would be having a conversation with Albus Potter? However, my joy soon evaporates as we are joined by Albus' little sister, Lily Luna Potter. Lily is a fourth year, and could rule the world.
She has red hair in piglets, is desired by most of the school, will do any dare, and is smart to boot. She is incredibly mature, has a sarcastic response to everything, is witty, and despairs of girls who could be branded as 'airheads'.
'Hey Lils' says Albus, grinning at the sight of his sister. She narrows her eyes dangerously at him, and I feel like running away. Despite being quiet petite, Lily, like Alice, is incredibly threatening.
'What did I do?' Albus asks, looking slightly afraid. Lily snarls.
'What did you do? What did you do? You told Andre to leave me alone, and that he had no chance in hell with me!' she spits. That is interesting. It appears that little Lily has a crush on her older brother's best friend, who is sixteen, compared to her fourteen years of age. And that Albus has tried to ruin the match. Nobody else would have dared question the word of Lily.
'Lily, you're two years younger than him!' protests Albus. Lily doesn't look happy.
'Yes, but I really like him! And he likes me too, Al. Why did you have to ruin it?' she whines. Albus sighs.
'You're my little sister, Lils. That's what I do' he explains.
'Well, don't, alright?' orders Lily, turning on her heel to flounce away. Albus turns to me with a slightly sheepish expression.
'Sorry' he says. Sorry. He says it so simply, unlike most who choose to fabricate it with false words. It's refreshing.
'That's alright' I reply, and we're back to silence.
Eventually, we reach the Charms room, and I am horrified to realise that due to our encounter with Lily, we are late. I've never been late before. Hesitantly, I enter the classroom, and find Professor Chang glaring at me, obviously looking for a reason as to why Albus and I are late. Her daughter, Peyton, is looking at me with narrowed eyes. Everyone knows that she likes Albus, but I couldn't see why she was so worried. It wasn't like he was going to like me or something.
'Why are you late?' Professor Chang asks acidly. Albus looks sheepish.
'I ran into Lily. I'm sorry I'm late' he apologises sincerely. Professor Chang waves him to his seat. Everyone knows that she has a soft spot on Albus. However, none of us know whether that's because her daughter likes him or for some other reason. She turns her glare on me, and I know I'm done for. Suddenly, I remember number 6 on my list.
Give a Teacher an interesting reason for being late to class. I straighten my shoulders. I might as well get it over and done with.
'The Goblins kidnapped me, and sent me to work in the Cheese Factories in Narnia. I only just escaped!' I tell her, my eyes opened wide and innocent. Everyone gasps. No-one expects me to say that. Most of them don't even know I exist. Rose, Jane and Alice look suitably impressed, but Laura is nowhere to be seen. I frown, but forget about it instantly as Professor Chang snaps.
'Detention, tonight, Miss Chase' she barks. 'Now, get to your seat.' Slumping slightly, I make my way to the seat the girls have saved to me, ignoring Pippa and Jesminda beckoning me over. As Professor Chang turns to the board, the girls lean over to talk to me.
'Bree!' gasps Jane. 'Why did you do it?' I shrug.
'I wrote myself a list of what I hoped to achieve this year, and giving a silly excuse was one of them' I explain. I've never told anyone about my lists before, not even my family. Only Laura.
'Can we see?' asks Alice eagerly. I ponder her question. On the one hand, I really want to. However, on the other I mention Albus and that could be catastrophic.
'I don't have it with me' I lie, and she pouts, but I ignore her. Professor Chang is talking.
'Now, today we are going to recap the Summoning Charm that you learnt a while back. Please, remember the incantation is Accio. You may begin' she tells us. We pair up, me with Rose, and Alice and Jane together. Predictably, Rose perfectly Accio's a cushion on her first go. She smiles with satisfaction, before banishing it back across the room before Professor Chang reaches us.
'Miss Weasley, Well Done! You're just like your Mother!' praises Professor Chang. Rose's smile drops and her eyes flash.
'You were mistaken, Professor. That was Bree' she tells her. My mouth drops open at the obvious lie but I ignore it, choosing instead to go along with the lie. Professor Chang looks suspicious.
'Show me please' she orders. Gritting my teeth, I wave my wand, saying 'Accio'. Thankfully, the cushion zooms across into my hand and Professor Chang moved onwards, appeased slightly. I turned to Rose.
'Why did you tell Professor Chang it was me?' I asked curiously. Rose looked furious.
'She said I was just like my Mother. I am not my Mother. And one day, people will realise that I am my own person. I am Rose Weasley, not Hermione Weasley' she says, her glare stony. I suddenly realise that there is a lot more to Rose Weasley than everyone thinks, and that I would never want to get on her bad side.
A/N What d'you think? Please Read and Review! x