Chapter Seven
Potters, Weasley's and Malfoys, Oh boy!
Grace was half listening to Steve as she watched the group across the aisle. The nervous knot in her stomach was beginning to ease somewhat as she was beginning to think that she might actually pull off this illusion. Steve certainly did not seem to think that she was anything other than the boy whose face she wore. She smiled to herself as the group argued amongst themselves. Though she had never been part of such a family she had often imagined what it would be like to have brothers and sisters and cousins to play with. She imagined how different life could have been if her parents had not been the only children born to their respective families and if her grandmother had not been the only relative that she had left after the accident. She had even imagined what it might have been like if she had been adopted into a family. She had never imagined that family that had adopted her would be like the Malfoys. She loved the family fiercely, right down to old Lucius who rarely seemed to smile or talk at all. Even he had pulled her into a tight hug before they had left for the train station. She had sworn there were tears glistening in his steely eyes when he kissed her on top of the head and wished her luck. The Malfoys were quite honestly better than anything she ever could have imagined for herself.
A raised voice from the adjacent car brought her out of her thoughts.
"Albus there's no room." A tall dark haired boy was saying to a shorter boy who Grace guessed to be his brother. "Find another compartment."
"Come on, Al." A bushy haired girl who looked about the same age as Grace replied. "I think I'd like some time away from your big-headed brother."
The girl flipped around and led the way out of the compartment with the small black haired boy following close behind her. The boy was biting his lip and looked close to tears. The tall dark haired boy imitated her haughty posture as the other people in the compartment laughed. The girl stamped purposely forward into the doorway. She peered down at Grace and narrowed her eyes. She turned sharply and made her way down the aisle before turning into a compartment that contained two fair-haired girls that Grace had seen on the platform earlier.
"What house do you think you will be in?" Asked Steve snapping Grace's attention back to the car and her new friend. She looked blankly at him aware that he had spoken but not entirely sure what he had asked her.
"I'm hoping for Ravenclaw." Steve offered as he looked directly at Grace.
"I'm going to be a Slytherin I think." Grace answered as her voice quavered more that she would have liked.
"Really? You want to be a Slytherin?"
"Why not?"
"My cousin told me all the dark wizards came from Slytherin. He said You-Know-Who came from Slytherin."
"Who?"
"Wait," Steve stammered clearly shocked, "You don't know about You-Know-Who?"
Grace simply looked confused.
"He was a dark wizard that tried to take over the world. You haven't heard about the war? Your parents didn't tell you about it?"
Grace bit her lip. She had thought that she was doing well with this whole making friends thing but it seemed that the whole thing was imploding around her. Fortunately the door to the compartment banged open and two pale girls with long black hair stepped inside.
"I'm Posy," the taller of the girls offered. "And this is Peony."
She dropped gracefully onto the seat next to Charlie's cage while her sister took the seat next to Steve.
"Our parents were friends at school." She continued as she fixed her eyes on Grace's.
Grace nodded, unable to think of something to say. The girl did not seem to notice.
"My Dad was you Dad's best friend. And my mom said she they used to date."
Grace had a hard time envisioning Draco with anyone but Astoria. They seemed perfectly matched to her.
"Who is this?" Posy asked, her tone was tinged with contempt as she gestured toward Steve.
"Oh, um, I'm Steve."
"And who are your parents?"
"Umm, Ernie and Deborah Macmillan. My mum was in Ravenclaw when she went to Hogwarts. My Dad was in Hufflepuff but I don't want to be in there. I suppose I could end up anywhere though. You never can tell where the sorting hat will put you. My Aunt Hannah said she thinks the hat has been a bit off since the war. But she's not really my Aunt. She was friends with my Dad in school. Her husband is a professor there now. He's head of Gryffindor. So I guess I wouldn't mind being placed in there either."
Grace could tell he was rambling because of Posy and sensed that he desperately wanted the other two to like him. Unfortunately she had no idea how to reassure him since she had very little practice making friends. She sat silently willing the taller boy to stop babbling. It was Peony who came to his rescue.
"I'm worried I might be in Ravenclaw." She looked positively terrified as she said it. Steve gave her a small smile.
"That's absurd Peony," Posy quipped dismissively. "No way a Parkinson or Goyle would ever end up in that house."
"What house are you in?" Grace asked timidly.
"Slytherin, of course." Posy said her lip curling slightly, "I'm a pure-blood."
"What's that got to do with it?" asked Steve.
"Everyone knows Slytherin only teaches purebloods."
She tossed her sleek black hair over her shoulder.
Grace silently prayed that Steve would not say anything.
"Are you a pureblood?" Posy asked, her eyes sparkling with malice.
"I think so. My Dad is. My mum's parents are both wizards. And all my aunts and uncles."
Grace watched as Posy seemed to consider this. The older girls mouth curled into a slightly scary approximation of a smile. She extended he hand towards Steve. Grace noted the blood red nails set with a small sparkling diamond.
"Pleased to meet you Steve."
The way she said it made Grace slightly queasy.
Albus had followed Rose from the car without arguing mostly because he knew that she was as stubborn and hotheaded as his brother when she was riled up. Rose was a pain but she stuck by him when his brother picked on him. Maybe it was because they were the same age or maybe it was because she and James got on like a bag full of cats but he liked having her around. His other cousins mostly ignored him and stuck with his brother who was older and more confident than Albus.
He and Rose settled into a compartment with a couple of second year Ravenclaw girls. They inclined their heads as the two cousins walked in but immediately returned to their books as soon as Albus sat down. Rose immediately followed their lead and pulled out a book of her own. Despite what his cousin had said about his Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron being in Gryffindor on the platform he had always assumed that Rose would be sorted into Ravenclaw like the two girls sitting across from them. She was rarely seen without a book in her hand and was easily smarter than all the rest of the cousins.
Albus gazed wistfully out of the window of the train as it wound its way through the countryside. His stomach twisted on itself as he nervously envisioned what it would be like if he was sorted into Slytherin and had to face James and the rest of the family in his green, snake ordained robes. He swallowed loudly and glanced around the compartment. No one had so much as looked up from their books as he sat there in the midst of a breakdown. Quietly he curled himself up on the bench and wrapped his cloak around himself. In his head he imagined his mother singing to him as she tucked him in. He imagined the smell of her and the soft hand stroking his hair. With these images in his head his breathing gradually deepened as he fell into a fitful sleep filled with images of James laughing at him as he joined the Slytherin table. The train puffed onward carrying the myriad of excited, nervous, and terrified children toward the forest and the castle beyond.
Chapter Seven
Sorting In and Sorting Out
Posy disappeared from the car right around the time that the aged witch with the snack trolley passed leaving Peony behind with Steve and Grace.
"Sorry, she's not usually that mean." Peony apologized for her sister; "I think she's mad because my parents said she had to sit with instead of her friends."
The uneasy atmosphere in the car disappeared with the older girl. Peony seemed quieter and more soft-spoken. She kept stealing shy glances at Steve from underneath her fringe of smooth black bangs. She pulled a Gobstones set from the small bag that she had set on the seat beside her and asked quietly if they would like to play Grace found herself rather liking the shy girl as they wound their way toward Scotland.
Grace looked up from their game of Gobstones as the train started to slow. Steve leapt to his feet and scattered the board in his rush to peer out the window. The town of Hogsmeade slid by as the train passed. Steve swore and grabbed for his trunk.
"I forgot to put my robes on," he moaned. Quickly pulling wadded rolls of clothing from the trunk.
The train lurched and the sound of steam being released filled the air as Steve pulled his robes over his head. He toppled over and upset Charlie's cage, which burst open as it hit the floor. The owl shook himself free of the wreckage and snapped his beak menacingly at the boy who was still struggling to right the robes that were entangling him. Charlie hopped up onto the bench next to Grace and glared as the boy finally managed to achieve some semblance of order. Peony collapsed onto the opposite bitch laughing hysterically. Grace could not help herself from joining in and the tension she had felt since the morning seemed to ease slightly. The cage, however, could not be righted as easily. The fall had somehow caused it to separate into several small pieces which none of them could make fit together into a whole. As children started filing past the windows of the compartment dragging their trunks Grace, Peony, and Steve opted to shove the pieces into Grace's trunk in the hope that an older student might be able to repair it after they were sorted.
As it was Steve, Peony and Grace were the last students to exit the train. Steve led the way dragging his trunk along behind him followed closely by the unencumbered Peony. Grace followed them out hauling the heavy trunk with its hidden passenger carefully, trying not to jostle it too much in the process. Charlie hopped along behind Grace with his odd sideways shuffle. The owl did not go unnoticed as they made their way across the platform toward the little group of first year students that were gathering around the largest man that Grace had ever seen. The other students laughed and pointed as Steve and Grace added their trunks to the pile. Grace felt the blood rushing into her cheeks. She took a breath and held it willing herself to stay calm. Charlie continued to follow her as they joined the waiting first year students.
The immensely large and hairy man smiled as they arrived and ushered them down the shore where there were several boats waiting along the edge of the water.
"No more than four to a boat." He called to them.
Grace watched as the bushy-haired girl that had glared at her in the train clambered into a boat with the small dark haired boy and headed toward the boat furthest from them with the owl, Peony, and Steve trailing behind her. The boat contained a girl with stringy brown hair who was biting her nails as she looked at the water. Grace climbed into the boat next to the brown haired girl and felt Charlie flutter onto the seat next to her. Steve carefully climbed into the boat as the owl continued to glare at him. Peony laughed at the expression. Clearly the owl was not ready to forgive him for the tumble he had taken.
As soon as the boats were full of apprehensive looking first years they began to glide across the dark surface. The castle transfixed Grace as it came into view across the lake. The enormity of it seemed to magnify Grace's feeling that this whole day and her time with the Malfoys had been a dream and any minute she might wake up and find herself in her locked room back at the orphanage. Charlie seemed to sense her unease as he rubbed up against her and pulled at the sleeve of her robes with his beak. She smiled down at his heart shaped face and stroked the silky feathers on his head. The deep black of his eyes reflected the castle and seemed to make the immensity of it all smaller and more manageable. Peony cleared her throat nervously as the boats passed into a dark cavern with a slimy stone ceiling. The darkness temporarily blinded Grace as her eyes struggled to adjust. Someone let out a soft whimper. Grace thought it had come from Peony and noted as her eyes became used to the dimmer light of the lanterns that Steve had draped his arm around the smaller girls shoulders.
The boats scraped to a halt and Grace was nearly unseated. The stringy haired girls scrambled quickly from the boat, casting one more terrified glance at the dark water.
"I don't like water." She said as she noticed Grace watching her.
Grace nodded and smiled as warmly as she could muster as her stomach bubbled and gurgled inside her. She pulled the flask from her pocket and took another swig as the watch chimed again.
Steve sidled up to her with Peony trailing behind.
"You don't have any more of that. Do you?"
"No that was the last of it. Sorry" Grace lied.
Steve smiled sheepishly and shrugged as the large double doors in front of them burst open and the first year students found themselves suddenly bathed in golden light. A kindly looking man in slacks and a checkered cardigan smiled down at them. He nodded toward the bushy haired girl and the dark haired boy blushed a deep scarlet color.
"Hi Uncle Neville," he said quietly when the man squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.
Steve waved enthusiastically and the man nodded to him too.
"Are you related to them then?" Grace asked pointed to the pair.
"No." Steve answered her; "My parents were friends with theirs and with Professor Longbottom when they were in school. He's not really my uncle."
Grace nodded as Professor Longbottom, as the man in the cardigan was called, ushered them into the hall. Grace's eyes drifted toward the large staircase that loomed over the hallway and the brightly colored hourglasses just inside the doors. The chorus of giggles from the girls behind her caused her to take pause. Grace hated being laughed at. It had happened often at the orphanage and the stark reminder made her blood suddenly boil. She rounded on them and her eyes fell on Charlie. She had all but forgotten that he had followed her from the train. The girls smiled at Grace.
"He's so cute." They giggled and blushed.
Grace took a deep breath and swallowed it as the fit of temper seeped out of her again. Professor Longbottom paused and eyed Charlie.
"Is that your owl?" He asked Grace.
She nodded and fixed her eyes on the stone floor.
"Hagrid," Professor Longbottom called to the large man from the boats, "Can you take Mr. Malfoys owl to the Owlery?"
Hagrid stumped forward and lowered his hand to owl. Charlie glanced up at Grace who nodded at him before he stepped gently onto the ham-sized hand. Hagrid swept through the hall and up the marble staircase with Charlie staring intently into the hairy face. Professor Longbottom led the students into a small chamber off the hall.
"I want to welcome you to Hogwarts." He said kindly as the students glanced nervously at one another. "I will be leading you to the start of year feast in a moment. Those of you with older brothers and sisters probably already know what is to follow but for new students I will explain what it briefly. Before the feast is served you will all be sorted into the houses that you will be part of for the next seven years that you spend at Hogwarts."
"There are four houses at Hogwarts. Each with its own advantages and values. While you attend classes at Hogwarts you will earn and lose house points according to your performance and your ability to follow the school rules. At the end of the year the house with the highest number of house points will win the house cup and bragging rights for the next year. Last year Slytherin won. For those of you sorted in my house, Gryffindor, I expect you to work hard to make sure that doesn't happen again."
A few students chuckled at his words. A few moments later Professor Longbottom once again ushered the students into the hall through another set of double doors to the right of the hall. The Great Hall was set with four long tables that were already packed with students who were chatting excitedly. All the heads in the hall turned toward the door and the voices died away as the first years entered. Grace felt her face coloring and ducked her head. The trembling first years followed the tall professor as he led the way toward a smaller table where a myriad of older wizards sat at the head of the hall.
A tall witch in glittering emerald robes stood up at the center of table. She pointed a swirled black and white wand at her throat and her voice boomed across the hall.
"Welcome to the start of the new year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. My name as many of you know is Professor Gloria Angus and I am the headmistress of this school. Since the Sorting Hat can no longer sing it's welcome song I will leave it up to you to tell our new students about our illustrious houses."
She paced out from behind the long table and paused in front of a table with blue hangings graced with a large eagle. She passed the patched hat that was sitting on a three-legged stool in front of the table. Grace eyed the burnt-looking hat. It was covered in patches of different colors that seemed to match that of the houses below it. The patches had come from the teachers after the war had ended and the hat had been found among the rubble. They had agreed to fix the hat before they started on ruins of Hogwarts. Each teacher had sacrificed a piece of their own robes to fix the hat and while it could still sort students it was unable to create songs like it used to.
"Ravenclaw, what is the greatest treasure?" She called to the students seated at the table.
"Wit beyond measure!" The students chorused as one.
The attractive blonde headmistress smiled as she moved forward to a table hung with scarlet and roaring lions.
"Who dwells in Gryffindor?"
"The brave of heart!" The students chorused back.
"Hufflepuffs, who are you?" She called to the table with yellow decorations.
"The loyal and true!" The table called back to her.
"And who resides in Slytherin?" She asked the table where Posy was seated.
"The driven and the cunning!" Yelled Posy and her cohorts.
The headmistress swept back to the head table as the hall broke into loud applause. Grace spotted the tall boy who had expelled his brother from the cabin on the train seated among the Gryffindors. He was surrounded by the other people from the cabin and Grace surmised that the entire family must have been sorted into Gryffindor.
Professor Longbottom stepped forward.
"First years, step forward as I read off your name."
Grace gazed out over the hall as the students stepped forward to be sorted one by one. Her imagination whirled and she wished that she had Velvet with her. She felt alone and wondered what would happen if the hat announced that she was a fraud to the entire hall. Would she be sent home again? Would the Malfoys keep her if she could not help Scorpius attend Hogwarts? Steve stepped from her side as his name was called. He stumbled over his large feet as he made his way to the stool. His face was pale and his freckles stood out more than ever as he picked up the hat with trembling fingers.
He pulled the hat onto his head as he sat down on the stool. Grace counted to three as the hat shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"
She let out a relieved breath as her new friend headed toward the cheering table that she was hoping to join. He sat down next to Peony who had already been sorted. Peony beamed at him and he blushed beneath his freckles. She jumped as Professor Longbottom called Scorpius' name. Someone behind her pushed her gently forward when she could not seem able to convince her feet to move forward. She could feel panic growing inside of her as she walked toward the hat. She fumbled with the edge of hat as her body shook. She lifted the hat onto her head as her breathing quickened. She thought she might hyperventilate and faint right there in front of the whole hall.
"Hello," said a small voice in her ear, "you are a curious one. I sense intelligence, and fierce loyalty. And something else. A secret perhaps?"
Grace gulped and tried to slow her pounding heart as she turned her head in the darkness of the hat to face where she knew the Slytherin table lay.
"Yes," the voice continued with an amused chuckle, "Slytherin does like to keep their secrets don't they? Is that where you wish to go then?"
Grace nodded under that hat.
"Very well then my secretive little friend," the hat mused.
"SLYTHERIN!"
Grace heard the word ringing through the hall as she pulled the hat from her head. As she turned and set it back onto the stool it smiled and winked at her. She smiled her thanks and walked quickly toward the cheering table at the side of the hall. For it's part the hat was happy. It had learned long ago that it did more harm than good when it sorted students against their own will. It was very often the passion of the child themselves that made them successful and not the house that they were put into.
Hands clapped her on the back and mussed her hair as she sat down next to Steve. Peony reached around Steve and patted her arm. Posy shot her a smugly satisfied smile before turning her attention to "Potter, Albus" as he crossed the stage.
Albus dragged his feet forward as he tried to put on a brave smile. In truth he did not feel brave at all. He was certain that the hat would sense his fear and sort him accordingly. He would be a disgrace. His entire family was in Gryffindor and he would be left out on his own. Sweat seemed to cause his robes to stick to him as he sat on the stool and pulled the hat over his eyes.
"Ah," the hat said into his ear. "Another Potter."
Albus held his breath as he felt the gentle presence that appeared to rifling through his mind.
"I sense a ready mind and curiosity. And a desire to prove yourself, much like your father at this age. And I sense a fierce strength and enormous talent like your mother."
Silently Albus hoped that the hat would put him into Gryffindor.
"Gryffindor, is it?" The hat responded to the thought. "I fear you would find yourself overshadowed in Gryffindor. If you want to stand out I think you would do well in Slytherin."
No! Albus thought as fear flooded him.
"Well," the hat said, "don't say I didn't warn you."
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Albus headed toward his family at the Gryffindor table. He had expected them to be cheering for him but instead they appeared to be laughing at something James had said and barely seemed to notice when he joined them. He glanced at the Slytherin table. Would things have been different if he had allowed the hat to sort him into Slytherin? Would it be easier to step out of James' shadow if he was not following in his footsteps? He turned his attention back to the sorting hat as Rose was sorted.
"RAVENCLAW!" Shouted the hat and James felt his heart sink. Rose was his ally and he felt strangely alone as he watched her walking toward the Ravenclaw table. She caught his eye over the heads of the other students and he gave her a small smile. For her part she looked pleased as she sat down with the cheering and clapping Ravenclaws. He glanced back at the Slytherin table again as the final student was sorted into Hufflepuff house.
The headmistress stood up again and pointed the swirled wand at her throat again.
"Let the feast begin."
At her words the plates in front of Albus filled with food and his stomach growled. He heaped food onto his plate. At home Kreacher did most of the cooking. He was an excellent cook but there was nowhere near the variety of foods that covered the table. Albus spooned green beans with bacon pieces onto his plate and a mound of mashed potatoes which he smothered in thick brown gravy. He grabbed a piece of roast chicken and a slice of roast beef.
He ate in silence. His brother and his cousins mostly ignored him even at home so he was not sure why he had expected Hogwarts to be any different. He found himself missing Lilly and his mother as he chewed his roast beef. At the thought his throat constricted and he had to swallow the mouthful several times before it actually went down. He felt the mouthful all the way down to his stomach. The pain of it erased the tears that he had felt coming. As he cleared his throat Albus looked around the hall everywhere he looked students were laughing and chatting with one another. It occurred to him that he might be the only homesick person in the bunch. As he gazed around he spotted Scorpius sneaking out of the hall. The blonde boy paused as he slid out the door and Albus caught his eye. Albus fought an impulse to follow after him. His mother had always told him that his curiosity was going to get him into trouble one day.
Grace had slipped out the hall after convincing the prefect to give her the password for the common room. Draco had told her how to find to common room so she knew exactly where she was going. She hurried along the passage to the dungeons and stopped in front of the smooth wall that disguised the entrance to the common room.
"Polyjuice." She said and the stone wall slid apart to reveal a room beyond it. Torches lit the room though Draco had said during the day the windows opened to reveal the depths of the lake they had crossed to get here. He had told her and Scorpius stories about merpeople and an enormous squid that liked to peer in at the students as they studied in the common room. Grace trotted toward the boys' dormitory. Draco had also told her that there was a spell that kept boys from entering the girls' dormitory but not to keep her out of the boys' dormitories. He had laughed and told her that girls were more trustworthy than boys. Grace opened the heavy wooden door to the first year dormitory and glanced around the room. She spotted her trunk at the foot of one of the bed. The beds were adorned with heavy emerald colored curtains and she thought they looked rather nice. She pulled a chain from under her robes and fitted the small golden key into the hidden lock. Scorpius popped out of the trunk nearly as soon as the she had managed to pull the lid open.
He was already dressed in Slytherin robes as he climbed out of the trunk. He dropped Puddles to the floor and looked at Grace.
"What did I miss?"
Grace gave him a quick run-down on the last couple hours as the Polyjuice potion wore of.
"Steve, Peony, and Posy. Got it."
He hurried from the room without saying goodbye and Grace climbed into the trunk. The one-eared cat slipped through the heavy curtains and settled himself on the bed to wait for Scorpius to return. Grace climbed down into her room pulling the trunk closed as she descended the ladder. When she reached the bottom of the ladder she looked around and was surprised to find that she felt lonely. She picked up Velvet from the floor on the far side of the bed and straightened the covers that had been mussed by Scorpius during the journey to Hogwarts. She wondered what Scorpius was doing in the Great Hall and worried the Peony and Steve might have noticed that their friend had changed. Grace hummed to herself in the quiet room and pulled a book at random from the shelf before settling herself on the bed to read. She tried to ignore the tears that slid from her eyes as she wished she had thought to bring Charlie with her.
Chapter 8
Deception and Dark Arts
The morning following the sorting dawned bright and clear and Albus found himself startled to wake up in the four-poster bed rather than his own bed with the Chudley Cannons coverlet that his Uncle Ron had bought for him. The four other boys that had been sorted into Gryffindor were stirring as he pulled back the hanging and swung his feet onto the cold stone floor. The cold shocked him into wakefulness. The boy from the bed next his smiled at him as he rubbed his eyes. His dark skin contrasted sharply with his brilliant blue eyes.
"Hi," he said and stretched out his hand toward Albus, "I'm Addo."
"Albus," he said as he shook the offered hand.
He could not place the accent, which sounded like a mixture of British and something more exotic.
"I met your brother." Addo stated.
Albus frowned.
"He's a bit of a tool."
Albus broke into a wide smile.
"He is isn't he?"
They chatted and laughed all the way to the Great Hall. Addo was raised mostly in Ghana by his muggle mother. His father had been British and a muggleborn wizard that had fled to Ghana during the war to avoid the conflict. While there he had met and married Addo's mother who had refused to return with him to Britain after he had returned to England. His mother had unfortunately fallen ill when he was eight and at the age of nine he had found himself on his first plane ride (Albus pretended he knew what a plane was and made a mental note to ask Rose) to England to the home of the father that he could not remember.
"It's not all bad." He said as he and Albus sat down at the Gryffindor table. "My Dad tried to hide what he was for awhile after I got here but I saw him cleaning the bathroom one day. Apparently the idea of actually scrubbing a toilet was too much for him."
Albus laughed at this. It felt good to connect to someone. He scooped scrambled eggs onto his plate and speared some toast as they talked. He liked Addo. Addo felt like an outsider due to his mixed race status and Albus felt like he was second best to James.
"Good morning boys," the warm voice of Professor Longbottom greeted them.
He handed them each a piece of parchment with a class schedule on it and made his way down the table. It was a bit weird for Albus to see his Uncle Neville in his black professors robes. He and Addo finished their breakfast quickly and made their way back up the stairs to Charms. From his cousins he already had an idea where most of the classrooms were which made navigating the immense castle a bit less daunting. They were nearly there when Albus all but tripped over a large mangy looking cat, which hissed at them and swiped at the edge of Albus' robes.
"Be careful," a voice behind them called, "that's Filch's cat."
Albus turned around to see his cousin Fred and James coming out from behind a tapestry behind them. James swaggered toward them clearly pleased with himself.
"You wouldn't want to draw old Filch's attention this early in the school year."
James and Fred slid around Albus and Addo and up a staircase laughing as they went. The cat disappeared down the hallways they had just come from.
"Let's get out of here." Addo said as they heard the faint echoing of a cane tapping its way toward them. The ancient caretaker may not be a spry as his Uncle George had described him anymore but he still knew the hidden passages that laced through the school well enough to pop up anywhere he sensed there might be trouble. It did not help any that his scraggly cat were always patrolling the hallways looking for students out of bounds or out after curfew.
Albus pulled his bag higher on his shoulder and hurried toward the Charms classroom. Most of the class was already in their seats when Addo and Albus arrived and only the seats closest to the front of the classroom were still empty. Albus felt himself blushing as the faces of everyone in the room turned to watch them as walked.
"Welcome to Charms class. I am Professor Padma Patil."
The chalk behind her wrote her name on the board in looping letters as she talked. The Ravenclaw students smiled broadly as she talked. Albus saw Rose whispering to a girl with wavy brown hair. He caught her eye and smiled.
"She's the Ravenclaw Head of House." Addo mumbled to Albus who nodded.
"Today we are going to learn the Lumos charm. This is a useful spell for creating light from the end of your wand."
The class passed quickly and Albus was able to produce a feeble light the third time he tried the spell. Addo did well with the spell and had a produced a strong beam of light before they had packed up their bags and left for their next class. Professor Patil was pleased with the class and their only homework was to practice the spell before their next class on Wednesday.
Rose and her friend met up with Albus and Addo outside the classroom and they walked together down the staircase toward the dungeon for potions class.
"I thought for sure that I was going to be in Gryffindor with you Al. I was surprised as you were when I got put into Ravenclaw. But I think it will be good for me. I didn't want to be in the same house as James and Fred anyway."
Albus nodded. Behind them Addo was chatting with Rose's pretty new friend who Rose had introduced as Genevieve Clearwater.
"Please, call me Jenny," she had said.
"Did you know you have to answer a riddle to get into the Ravenclaw common room? One third year girl couldn't answer it last night and she spent the night in the hallway."
"I don't think I would like that." Al said honestly.
Rose just shrugged and smiled. As they reached the passage to the dungeons a tall black-haired Slytherin slammed into Rose had enough the spin her around.
"Out of my way, Weasley!" she sneered as she passed laughing with her fellow Slytherins. Al balled his fists and started to open his mouth but Rose elbowed him sharply in the ribs.
"No!" she hissed at him. "Do you want to get detention on your first day?"
She grabbed his sleeve and pulled him with her down the staircase into the damp dungeons.
"Who was that?" he asked her.
"That is Posy Goyle. She's a third year."
"What's her deal?" Addo asked from behind them.
"Her parents hate your parents." Jenny answered. "They were on opposite sides of the war."
"Her parents were Death Eaters?" Al asked surprised. "Why aren't they in Azkaban?"
"Not exactly." Jenny explained. "They were too young but they supported You-Know-Who."
"Oh." Al said.
"Posy and her posse are all about blood status." Jenny continued.
"How do you know all that?" Al asked her.
"My older sister is in her year."
They had reached the door to dungeon where potions was taught and grabbed a table together. The potions Professor was a frizzy haired older-witch with spectacles balanced low on a rather long nose who introduced herself as Professor Child. She had a decidedly French accent and a tendency to mumble which made her hard to understand. Al found he had a difficult time deciphering the instructions that she was giving him. By the end of class Rose and Addo had both managed to brew a passable shrinking solution. The rats that Professor Child tested the potion on shrank down to the size of a field mouse and they received full marks and ten house points apiece. Jenny's potion reduced the size of her rat by a fraction and was given a passing mark. Al's potion unfortunately had no effect on his rat other than to cause it to belch loudly and he was assigned eight inches of parchment on shrinking solutions. Addo promised to help him with it after dinner. The all headed to the Great Hall for lunch and despite his poor performance in potions Al was happy.
Scorpius let Grace out of the trunk during breakfast while the dormitory was deserted having returned to common room on the pretense that he had forgotten his Transfiguration textbook.
"Hurry up!" he hissed as she climbed. "I'm missing breakfast!"
Grace climbed out of the trunk and carefully wrapped herself up in the cloak.
"Am I good?" She asked the impatient Scorpius.
"Yeah let's go."
Grace followed Scorpius to the Great Hall and sat down on a bench at the Hufflepuff table several feet from him. He was eating with a group of older Slytherin students that included Posy Goyle. Grace glanced around for Steve and Peony and spotted them further up the table. They were examining their class schedules and talking quietly to each other. Occasionally Steve would glance toward Scorpius where he sat with the older students. Grace turned her back on Scorpius and after carefully checking to make sure no one was paying attention started sneaking food under the cloak. She chewed slowly so as to make the least amount of noise possible. The food was delicious and Grace was hungry. The salty bacon made her thirsty and she glanced around for some juice. Pitchers of juice in every flavor imaginable dotted the tables but Grace was unsure how to pour it into a glass without drawing attention to herself. She puzzled over it as she glanced around the Great Hall. Scorpius was talking animatedly with the older students and Grace realized he was mocking a Gryffindor from an encounter he had had the previous evening. Grace listened appalled as he mimicked the girl crying. Posy and her cohorts laughed heartily at the impression. She watched him as he filled his glass with pumpkin juice and took a hearty swig.
The clock on the wall chimed loudly and Scorpius rose from the table hoisting his bag onto his shoulder. He walked out of the hall without so much as a glance toward Grace. She stole a glance at Peony and Steve who had also risen from the table and were making their way to class. Grace cleared her throat. She glanced at the glass of juice that Scorpius had just poured and darted forward. In the flurry of motion no one noticed when the glass disappeared.
Grace followed Scorpius and the group of Slytherins out of the classroom.
"Nice one Marco," Posy purred as a large boy tripped a passing Hufflepuff student. Marco Flint was built like some of the wrestlers that Grace had seen on the television at the orphanage. His strong jaw and wide shoulder reminded Grace of a bull. It was clear to Grace that Posy fancied him.
The older students turned and left the castle on the way to the herbology greenhouses. Scorpius waved goodbye and trotted forward to catch up with Steve and Peony.
"Hey." He greeted them.
"Hey," Steve replied in a slightly cool tone.
Scorpius did not seem to notice Steve's tone as he chatted to them about the group of older students. He recited the jokes and laughed again as he related the story of the crying Gryffindor. Neither Steve nor Peony said anything as they climbed the stairs to the Transfiguration classroom.
Scorpius opted for the table in the very back of the classroom as they had decided that it would be easier for Grace to stand behind him and cast spells in the back. Steve and Peony glanced at each other before sitting down next to him. Grace had the distinct impression that they were not happy with Scorpius. Grace sat down on a stack of books in the corner as the rest of the students poured into the classroom. Scorpius continued to talk about Posy and his posse while the classroom filled up. Grace drank the stolen juice and munched on a piece of toast while she watched the students finding their seats. The Hufflepuff students looked to be laid back and happy while the Slytherin students looked calculating and serious. Grace washed the toast down with another mouthful of juice.
The doors to the classroom opened and a tall young man walked into the room. He was wearing black pants and a white button up shirt with a black sweater vest over it. His sleeved were rolled back to reveal muscular, tanned, forearms. When he reached the front of the classroom he pulled a wand from his back pocket and flicked it toward the black board where words began to appear. He turned to face the classroom and Grace was immediately struck by how attractive he was. He had laughing brown eyes and a chiseled look to him. He was easily as beautiful as the actors in the movies that Grace had watched at the orphanage.
She leaned forward as he started to speak. She noticed that every girl in room mirrored the movement.
"My name is Professor Jonathan McGonagall and I will be teaching your Transfiguration class this year. I'd like to start by telling you a little about myself. For the last four years I have been playing Quidditch for the Kenmare Kestrels. But I decided to return to England and pursue a career in teaching. This is my first year teaching but I am not he first McGonagall to teach at Hogwarts. My Aunt taught Transfiguration here for many years and served as Headmistress for five years until she retired. I can only hope to aspire to her example."
"Now," he said clapping his hands together, "let's start the lesson."
He waved his wand at a pile of match sticks on his desk and the sticks flew through the air to land in front of each of the students.
"We are going to be turning these match sticks into needles. The instructions for doing so are on the board. Please make sure you follow the directions. I will walking among you offer assistance where ever I can."
The air was filled with the sound of scratching quills as the students scribbled down the notes from the board. They were all determined to impress this cool new teacher. The girls in front of Scorpius whispered among themselves and Grace caught words like 'gorgeous' and 'babe'. Scorpius and Steve were whispering about his performance in Quidditch in awed tones. From what they were saying Grace gathered that Professor McGonagall had been a rather impressive keeper despite his relatively light build.
"Did you see him at last years finals?" Steve whispered to Scorpius all tension forgotten.
"Yeah he shut Wimbourne out. I don't think I ever seen the Wasps that angry."
Grace glanced back at the board where the instructions for the assignment were written. She studied them closely until she was sure that she understood exactly what they were telling her to do.
Peony elbowed Steve and pointed to the instructions on the board.
"We need to know this," she hissed at the boys.
Steve gave Peony a sheepish grin and rolled his eyes at Scorpius. They put their heads down and copied out the instructions carefully. Peony finished first and pointed her wand at the match in front of her. She muttered the incantation and prodded the match with her wand. Nothing happened. She pulled her mouth sideways and turned back to her notes glancing at the board occasionally in order to make sure her notes matched those on the board. Grace saw Scorpius reach for his fake wand and stood up. Quietly she set the empty juice cup behind the stack of books and pulled her wand out of her pocket. She stepped forward to the edge of the table and mirrored Scorpius' motions. He flourished his wand rather more wildly that the instructions called for and uttered the incantation loudly. Grace whispered the incantation almost inaudibly at the same time. The match trembled and the end of it tapered into a bluntly pointed shape. Scorpius cleared his throat and tried again with the same overdone flourish. Grace waved her wand precisely and muttered the incantation along with him. The match trembled again and the end tapered further.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see Professor McGonagall talking to each student in turn. She shook he head and focused all of her attention of the match. She whispered the incantation again and smiled as the match took on a silver sheen. Scorpius smiled as Steve whistled. His own match was unchanged by his efforts. Peony looked frustrated as she prodded her match with her wand again. A voice next to her caused Grace to jump. She stepped back from the table quickly as Professor McGonagall finished his instructions to the girl in front of Scorpius and headed toward her. She barely cleared his swinging arm before he swept up to the table and clapped Scorpius on the shoulder. He held up Scorpius' match and called out to the class.
"Mr. Malfoy has managed to sharpen his match and turn it to metal. Very nicely done Mr. Malfoy. Twenty points to Slytherin."
Scorpius beamed as McGonagall went on to give Steve some pointers. Grace crept forward again. Scorpius waved his wand again and uttered the incantation loudly. Professor McGonagall eyed him oddly as the match shuddered again and a hole formed at the bulbous end. His warm brown eyes narrowed curiously and Grace groaned inwardly. The Professor had clearly noted the odd flourish that Scorpius had added to the form. Thankfully the bell that signaled the end of the lesson rang out before he could say anything.
Steve and Scorpius were fast friends again following the lesson but Grace could not help but feel a little lonely. I was nice to listen to the animated conversation but she would have liked to be able to add her own opinion like Peony did. While she walked Grace fingered the needle that she had made. She had slipped it off the table before Professor McGonagall had rounded back through to collect it. It was the first bit of magic that she had actually managed on her own and she was proud of it.
She had discovered that it was a bit difficult to move easily through the corridors under the cloak when the hallways were crowded with students. She found herself dodging elbows and feet and more than once had to grab the cloak to prevent it from being pulled off of her when another student stepped on it. Scorpius was as oblivious to her difficulties as he had been of Professor McGonagall's suspicious glance at the close of class. She was relieved when they stepped out the front doors of the castle and into the sunlight on their way to herbology and she could move more easily.
She recognized Professor Longbottom from the boats on the first night at Hogwarts. Because magic was not required in this particular class she found she could wander away from Scorpius and the others and explore on her own. The green houses contained a remarkable amount of plant life that Grace had never seen before and she found it fascinating. She listened to the lecture that Professor Longbottom was giving as she wandered and was pleased to note that his that she could follow the subject quite easily. She had worried that she would have trouble picking up on things in the magical world because of her lack of background. As she wandered she found a small desk tucked behind a row of pots containing what looked like stumps. She steered clear of these as she walked up to the desk. The desk was heaped in parchment that was covered in cramped and messy handwriting. She scanned the pile of paper and discovered that it was entitled "The Final Fall of Voldemort and the Second Wizarding War" by Neville Longbottom. She eased herself into the metal chair began to read the pages as the deep voice of Professor Longbottom drawled on.
She nearly out a small scream when the bell chimed indicating the end of the period. She had lost track of what was happening in the class as she read through the manuscript. Hastily she restacked the papers and tiptoed back to where the other students were packing their supplies into their bags. Grace's stomach rumbled as she followed Scorpius and the others into back to the castle. She had not eaten enough that morning. She had to remember to talk to Scorpius about getting her out of the trunk earlier so she could sneak more food. She also made a mental note to talk to him about the difficulty she had in procuring something to drink.
The smell of food assailed her as Steve pulled the doors to the castle open and Grace trailed the three of them into the Great Hall. Scorpius led the way to the Slytherin table as Grace glanced around for a less crowded place to sit. She ended up at the end of the Gryffindor table next to two boys and two Ravenclaw girls who were carrying on a spirited conversation about whether they'd rather be an animagus or metamorphmagus like someone named Teddy. She was not sure what either of those were but gathered that an animagus could change into an animal at will and a metamorphmagus could change their features. While she listened she snuck the food closest to her off the table and under the cloak.
The boy she remembered as Albus Potter was arguing that being an animagus was much more useful that being able to change you appearance.
"There's still things people won't say in front of other people but they wouldn't care if there was a cat in the room."
"In terms of spying on people I could see that." The bushy red-head named Rose answered him, "but as far as blending in and hiding among a crowd it is better to be able to change what you look like."
As the conversation progressed Grace found herself agreeing with Albus though it could have been biased by the fact that Rose had glared at her on the train. When she was full Grace wandered back toward Scorpius and the others snagging half full pitcher of juice as she passed. While she was gone Posy and a group of older Slytherins had joined them. Steve and Peony looked less than thrilled with this development but they bore it well as they talked about their next class. Scorpius divided his time between the conversations and looked to be making more of an effort to include Steve and Peony into the group.
Rather than hover behind them Grace opted to proceed to their next class and wait there correctly guessing that it would be easier to navigate the passages while most of the school was eating. She found the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom with relative ease and sat down on one of the desks to drink the juice that she had snagged. A sound behind her attracted her attention and she saw Charlie's heart shaped face peering through the open door at the place where she was sitting. He hooted a soft greeting and fluttered up onto the desk beside her. She stroked his feathers with her free hand while she drank the juice, murmuring softly to him between gulps.
As Albus walked into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom he could have sworn he saw an arm and hand stroking an owl that was sitting on one of the desks. As it was he instead saw a pitcher of pumpkin juice tumbling off the table and striking the flagstone floor with a loud crack. The juice inside erupted onto the floor like a geyser as the owl fixed its eyes on the students in the doorway.
Behind him he heard a voice swear and stumbled forward as a shoulder collided with his. A pale, blonde boy that he recognized as Scorpius swept past him toward the owl who hissed and raised its wings.
"Charlie go back to the Owlery." Scorpius cried as the owl continued to bob its head and menace the boy in front of him.
Albus had never seen an owl act in such a manner before. Owls were usually quite tame and even affectionate to most wizards. Though now that he thought about it they were often hostile toward muggles as a general rule. He had assumed it had something to do with the statute of secrecy and vaguely remembered a young muggle who had attempted to approach Uncle Ron's owl as it had sat on the back of a bench in the square. The owl had hissed and flown away and the muggle child had lost interest. James had once told him that owls acted the same way around squibs but he was not sure that was true especially since James had also told him if he ate two chocolate frogs at one time they would spawn in his stomach and chocolate tadpoles would come out his nose. It had taken all of his mothers' considerable skills at comforting her children in order to get Albus to stop crying and let go of his nose after that one. James had been made to help Kreacher with the washing and dishes for a week after that incident, well once his father had stopped laughing long enough to punish him. A loud screech from the owl brought Albus back from his thoughts. It had risen into the air and appeared to be attempting to scalp the Malfoy boy now when his flailing arms caught in and knocked it to the ground.
Fearing that the furious boy might hurt the owl, Albus stepped forward and called the owl to him. The owl paused and hopped sideways toward Albus.
"Come on, Charlie," Albus called quietly to the owl, "Let's go find your friends."
The owl advanced toward him and hopped easily on Albus' arm fixing Scorpius with one last glare before Albus reversed and left the classroom. Obviously this particular detour was going to make him late for class but his concern for the owl overrode his fear of detention. Scorpius pursued him out of the classroom. His pale face had taken on a red hue that resembled a radish.
"Oy," he called to Albus, "That is my owl."
"I'm taking him to the Owlery." Albus spat as he turned back toward the boy panting after him.
"He's mine." Scorpius snarled. "I'll take him."
He extended his arm toward the owl who snapped at him and tightened his talons on Albus' skin. Albus felt his skin parting beneath the razor sharp claws.
"He obviously doesn't like you, Malfoy." Albus snarled as the pain in his forearm began to reach a peak.
"How dare you!" Malfoy started but was cut off when Professor McGonagall rounded the corner to see Albus and Scorpius nose to nose with an owl screeching between them.
"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" He bellowed at the two boys.
Scorpius scowled and looked at the floor but Albus was simply mutinous.
"His owl hates him!" Albus growled. "I'm taking him to the Owlery and away from you!"
Albus fixed Scorpius with a scathing glare, which was returned in kind. Albus noted that the boy before him looked frazzled. His normally slick hair was sticking up giving him a slightly mad look.
"Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said calmly, "What is going on?"
"My owl. He's gone mental. He attacked me."
The professor raised his eyebrow as he looked first at the flushed, angry Malfoy boy, then at the dark and determined Potter. The owl shuffled up Potter's arm and across his shoulders without taking his eyes off of the raging blonde boy.
"And why do you suppose he did that?"
Malfoy crossed his arms and refused to answer the question. He turned his pointed chin, pointedly, away from the professor.
"And why, Mr. Potter, are you so interested in Mr. Malfoy's owl?" Professor McGonagall asked in his deep, cool voice.
Albus cast around for an answer but none immediately occurred to him so he shrugged.
"I see then." The professor answered the shrug.
"I assume you are both supposed to be in class?"
Both boys nodded as they studied the carpet.
"Then I think you both have earned yourselves a detention."
Albus felt his mouth twisting into a scowl before he could control it.
"Report to Madam Pince at 7:45 tonight. I trust both of you know where to find the library?" he continued as they both nodded, "Good. Mr. Potter I will take the owl. Get back to class."
Charlie hopped onto the Professors arm easily but not before he had given Albus had rubbed his head affectionately against Albus' jaw. Malfoy scowled at the exchange and stormed back toward the classroom.
"Mr. Potter," McGonagall started, "I trust I will find you skipping class again?"
"No Professor," Albus answered stiffly.
"Very well, Mr. Potter."
The professor turned on heel and took the owl with him. Albus seethed as he stalked back to the classroom. He could not help but think he was being punished for doing the right thing. By the time he arrived at the classroom he had missed most of the explanation of the lesson and had to rely on Addo to catch him up. Not for the first time today Albus found himself grateful that he had made at least one friend at Hogwarts.