Chapter 2

Of Teachers and Outbursts

For the first time in their lives, Envy and Compassion Merriweather, were separated. Alone. Single. It was weird, they'd always been together - they never even went to the bathroom without the other. And now Hogwarts's thick stone walls kept them apart. Suddenly they were in a situation where they weren't 'The Merriweather Twins' any more, but individuals. Now they'd have to be Envy and Compassion - two completely different people. But they weren't going to go down without a fight; they weren't going to let themselves be separated this easily. They had survived the first night without each other, and breakfast was coming up.

Compassion walked into the Great Hall and just stood still as people started filing in around her. As if there was some sort of mental connection, her sister looked up from the Ravenclaw table and their dark green eyes met. She knew of the unspoken rule, you could feel it in the way the students split up to go sit at their tables. You didn't sit at a table that wasn't that of your House. It was just the way things were. But rules are there to be broken, right? Compassion walked over to her sister and sat down next to her. The Ravenclaw table slowly went silent, all eyes on her. "Good morning." she smiled sweetly up at the Ravenclaws, who hastily went back to their breakfast...still sneaking suspicious glances at the twins now and then.

"Missed you." Envy smiled at her sister. "Look, they have your favourite: strawberry jam. You want some?" she handed Compassion the jam and a bread roll.

Compassion took it and chuckled, "Look, they have your favourite: strawberry jam. You want some?" Envy pulled a face. "Ew, you know I can't stand that stuff. You just go ahead and eat it yourself."

First Class, Charms…

"White and Merriweather. Team up please." The short charms Professor called from the scroll. They were supposed to pair up for their first class of the term. Envy stood next to a desk, her books clutched firmly to her chest. Which one was White again? She had no idea.

"Hey, um, you're…Envy right?" a tall, willowy girl tapped her hesitantly on the shoulder. Envy nodded, this girl was her room-mate. "I'm Samantha White, I'm in your dorm. But you can call me Sam. We're supposed to team up, that's what the professor just said anyway. What's his name again? Oh, I have no idea what I'm even talking about." she smiled nervously.

"Professor Flitwick. He's our Head of House." Envy replied, relaxing a little. At least she knew some things for sure.

"Oh, yeah, right." Sam pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "He's rather short, don't you think?" she whispered.

Envy glanced at her professor. "Yes, he is. Did you know he's part goblin?" she inquired.

Samantha shook her head. "I'm new to all of this magic stuff. It was so weird finding out about it, I mean, I never thought I was anything special. I'm just Sam."

"Well, that's nice." Envy smiled, turning back to the professor who was trying to climb onto a tall stack of books.

Once the class had settled down, Flitwick securely on his tower and the pairs had found their places, Envy raised her hand. "Sir, to what percentage exactly are you a goblin?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

Same time, different Location. Herbology...

It had taken the Slytherins and the Gryffindors some time to assemble themselves around the single long table in the Herbology classroom, and quiet down enough for Professor Longbottom to call the roll.

"Farah Butler?" the tall teacher read off a piece of parchment, quill in hand.

"THAT'S ME!" a short Slytherin girl practically screamed from halfway down the table, jumping up and down and flailing her arms around excitedly. Everyone turned to stare, most trying suppress a snigger.

"Oh, no, sorry..." she grinned, waving cheerily at a weedy, doe-eyed Gryffindor two feet down the line from her who had confusedly raised her hand.

Professor Longbottom shook his head amusedly, ticking off the name before calling out the next: "Gemma Campbell?"

"OOOH! OOOHH! THAT'S ME! THAT'S ME!" the same, short Slytherin girl screeched, bouncing up and down and waving at the Professor who just raised his eye brow questioningly.

"Really, Sir! That's me!"she nodded her head violently, her shoulder length brown hair flying in her face.

Roughly ten minutes later Professor Longbottom had moved on to explaining the properties of Devil's Snare in a rather serious tone, occasionally indicating to a detailed graph drawn up on the black board that floated after him as he paced up and down. However, as Compassion, Lysander and the rest of the class were hastily trying to jot down messy notes, they kept getting distracted by occasional loud snippets of a conversation that that Gemma girl was having with seemingly no one in particular.

Compassion nearly knocked over her ink well when a startlingly loud exclamation of "- like, I'M PREGNANT!" rang down the table before drifting back down in volume.

After a moments shocked silence a collective giggle ran through the students, before Professor Longbottom spoke up and addressed the girl: "Miss Campbell, I've warned you five times already to please refrain from talking while I'm explaining something. I cannot fathom what you would have to say that cannot wait till after class. As it's the first day, I will not dock points from Slytherin, however I must ask you to step outside until this class is over. You can copy your required notes from one of your House mates in your free time."

The students continued to giggle quietly as Gemma collected her things and their Professor resumed his explaining.

Compassion, who was sitting next to Lysander, looked up as Gemma stopped next to her on her way out. Gemma was her roommate, but since the welcoming feast they'd barely exchanged a word, so she was rather baffled as to why the girl was now standing there – grinning. "Hey!" she said quietly after a moment, her eyes lighting up enthusiastically.

Odd, Compassion thought. Very odd. "Um. Hi...?" she whispered back, frowning slightly in confusion.

Gemma leaned forward to Lysander, who - Compassion could tell - was trying very hard to ignore the way-too-happy girl behind him.

"Hey," she basically grinned in his face, "did you know that the girls' dorms have strip-poles in them?"

The boy gave a small splutter and a variation of the giggle-snort. Compassion nearly died suppressing a laugh herself, "It's true." She confirmed with a dead-pan expression.

There was a short pause in which Lysander just looked suspiciously from one girl to another, "You're shitting me, right?"

"Yep." The two girls answered simultaneously before bursting out laughing at his facial expression.

However their little moment glee was interrupted by their Professor's shout of: "Merriweather, back to work! And Campbell, I don't want to have to ask you to leave this class room again! Out! Shoo!"

AN: Alrighty, so I really wasn't planning on getting this chapter finished anytime soon – but there you have it.

I've been lying in bed practically dying all week, which was, I must admit, the most boring thing on earth. Really, where is Pomfrey when you need her? I somehow managed to watch my way through ALL of my DVDs, even the reaaaaaalllllyyy bad ones.

But I digress.

I have no idea when the next chapter will be up, as I haven't the slightest idea what to even put in it. Oh goshy, I really must start planning these things out beforehand...

Anyhoo, Toodles for now – alicerosemalfoy (DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW!...you might get a cookie of you do :])