Sofia:
First morning of classes. Shouldn't be too bad, I was only taking the classes I liked: Potions, charms, herbology, ancient runes, arithmancy, transfiguration. I wanted to be a healer, and Professor McGonagall told me in my fifth year I was on the right track, and that with this war going on, it shouldn't be difficult to get a job healing at all. At breakfast in the Great Hall, McGonagall handed out our timetables. All four of the marauders, Lily, and Alice, wanted to be aurors, so they were taking potions, charms, and transfiguration with me. Char wanted to be a curse breaker, she had arithmancy and ancient runes with me, so I was really only alone in herbology. I was quite happy with my schedule.
"So, Sofi, what do you want to do after this year?" Sirius asked me, sitting down, late, next to me. It was odd enough talking to him last night, but he'd just addressed me directly in a group of other people he could've asked. I hated being singled out. But as usual, I didn't show it; I opened my mouth to answer, but Alice did it for me.
"She wants to be a healer, don't you think she'd be great? She already knows a lot of the basics." Sirius looked satisfied with the answer, but at the same time disappointed. Remus was looking from Sirius to me. "Did you learn things like that in herbology or...?" Sirius gave Remus a look like he was thanking him. Just exactly what was going on?! I looked at Remus suspiciously, before looking down at my plate, and answering.
"Madame Andale retired last year, and she taught a lot of stuff to her apprentice, Madame Pomfrey, young woman, very kind. She taught me a lot of basics, and I also sat in on some of her lessons with Madame Andale." I said, then filled my mouth with eggs as an excuse not to talk any further. I like the marauders, but I don't know them well enough to talk to them. Now, the four of them were staring at me like I had grown a second head. Admittedly, that was probably more than they had ever heard me speak at once. Remus was kind enough to smoothly transition into another subject.
"Well that's very interesting. I didn't know Andale retired, though, she's been a lot of help to me over the years." I had my suspicions of Remus' condition, but as long as he was okay, I didn't care to pry.
The rest of breakfast passed smoothly, no more singling Sofia out, thank goodness! I suppose I should be more social, but I just can't bring myself to.
Later, I walked with Lily and Alice to potions, the marauders trailing behind us. When we got to the dungeons, I could smell something brewing, and I hoped that we wouldn't be doing anything messy on our first day. Slughorn ambled into the room in that airy manor of his. He was the most prejudiced teacher I had, choosing favorites from the moment they get sorted. I was not one of them, but he didn't dislike me, so that was good.
"Now, I know, normally, I let you chose you partners now, and have you keep them till the end of term. However, to take the sorting hat's advice, I'm going to assign you partners from the other house. This class seems to be Ravenclaw and Gryffindor, we shouldn't have too many problems... at least until Quidditch starts..." Slughorn flicked his wand, and last names appeared above the desks. EROSA hovered above a seat in the back corner, next to BLACK. That's odd, I thought, Sirius and I are in the same house. I pointed this out to Slughorn, who looked confused for a second then said: "No matter! I'm sure only a Gryffindor is brave enough to work with this young man, anyway." And with that, I took my seat next under the slowly disappearing EROSA and next to Sirius and BLACK.
"What's the matter, Erosa, you don't think you can handle me?" Sirius had a grin plastered on his face. He was very attractive, I couldn't help but smile back, but I didn't say anything.
The day's lesson was about the Draught of Living Death, something I had read about thoroughly in a healing book in the library. I visited the medicinal section of the library often; not only did it have my favorite reads, but it was in the back corner, where not many people knew, sat an armchair next to a small fireplace that rarely had more than embers in it. Already knowing the theory, I brewed the potion easily; Sirius had a hard time keeping up. "Wait-- so if you just added the Essence of Murlap, shouldn't the potion be..." Sirius looked back at the text book. "'A bright pink emitting a billowy red smoke'?"
"No, Black, I just added the gurdy roots. Now when I add the Murlap, and stir ten times counter clockwise..." I explained, the potion turned the described pink, then after the stirring, turned the described blood red. "Finished." We still had fifteen minutes before Slughorn made rounds, I could feel him readying to talk, to ask me more things. I braced myself. He first asked me why I didn't talk, then about where I'm from, why I went to school in England, why my accent is gone, a lot of things. I was squirming in my seat at first, uncomfortable at giving so much information at once, but Sirius was good to talk to. He listened, and wasn't too rude. I even got in a good couple of questions. I asked him about his family, he told me that they were all a bunch of dark wizards, I found it interesting, but I wasn't going to ask him any more, especially after he had questioned me to no end. I still don't know why he's so interested in me all of the sudden.
Sirius:
The next day, I woke up early, and went down to Slughorn's office. The map showed he was in the great hall for breakfast--not that I needed the map to tell me that-- and that Filch was patrolling along the fifth floor, with Mrs. Norris. I had gotten my timetables early, before breakfast, so I knew I had Potions first, and could guess that Sofi did too. The seating chart on Slughorn's desk showed that she did. I had over heard Slughorn talking to another professor about his plan of assigned seating to help house unity after the sorting in the great hall, but I had different plans. My slipping grades, and curiosity of Sofi were motive enough to sneak into Slughorn's office and change the seating chart-- easy.
Getting to the Great Hall for the end of breakfast, I squeezed in next to Sofi, and asked her of her career plans. She looked like she was about to say something, but Alice answered. "She wants to be a healer. Don't you think she'd be great? She already knows a lot of the basics." I was glad my suspicions were confirmed, but I found myself feeling deprived of a chance to hear Sofi's voice more. Then Remus inquired further towards her, and I shot him a grateful look. She then spoke about learning to heal with Madame Andale and her replacement. I found it surprising she spoke so much, and so did James and Peter, from the looks on their faces. Remus, though, I knew only heard that Madame Andale had retired, a compromising factor to our monthly escapades. She had known of Remus' furry little problem, and had even figured out about James Peter and me being animagi. A new healer meant new problems.
Walking to Potions, we were behind Sofi, Alice, and Lily. I thought more about Sofi. I felt an obsession growing. The fact of the matter, was, though, Sofi was a challenge to me. I loved challenges.
My seating chart editing worked, and Sofi noticed, I could tell. Please, don't point it out, don't point it out! "Excuse me, Professor Sulghorn? Black and I are in the same house...?" All right, Slughorn, don't change it, please don't change it! He didn't, and I sighed in relief. Remus, from across the room, cast me a pointed look. I smiled mischeiviously in return.
I was going to use the opportunity that day, to get to know Sofi, but I soon found myself caught up in the work. We were brewing the Draught of Living Death, and every last move, ingredient, stir, was exact and precise. Should one tiny detail go wrong the potion would be fatal. Sofi, of course, knew exactly what she was doing, but try as she might to explain it to me, I couldn't understand it. Though, I did hear her speak in that one class, more than I'd ever heard her speak in all six previous years at Hogwarts. Her voice wasn't abnormally high, or low, but it had a ringing to it, a certain tone that almost made me expect it to echo after every syllable. Her tone was always sweet, patient, never getting fed up with my inadequacy. We finished early, and then I took my shots.
"You don't talk much do you?" I asked, and cocked my head at her. She sighed, looking defeated. Maybe I shouldn't have asked...? Should've just kept my mouth shut...? But she answered in the same patient tone.
"Never been much of a talker, I guess." There it was. The short answer gave no room for questioning, and if I questioned anyway, I would sound pushy, rude even. So, what to do? I said nothing, turned away from her to face the front of the classroom, and sighed heavily. That should do the trick.
Sofi sighed and--was that an eye roll? "English isn't my first language, you know. When I got here first year, I made a point of not talking much, because I was afraid I would mess up and someone would make fun of me. Also, I was very embarrassed by my accent. I guess the no talking thing just kind of stuck," She said, sounding defeated, as if she were determined not to talk, and I had broken her.
"Well, I've heard you speak more today than I have in any of our other six years combined."
Sofi laughed. "Yeah, it wouldn't be like that if I had a choice in the matter."
"Oh, so I forced you to talk to me?" I asked skeptically, knowing full well that she wouldn't have said a word if I weren't behind any of it.
Sofi turned to the front of the classroom, and let out an exaggerated sigh in an imitation of me before, than looked back at me through the corner of her eye, a smile at the corner of her lips. "Okay, okay, but you didn't have to talk," I laughed.
"What was I supposed to do, watch you pout the rest of class?"
"Well. While I have you talking, I have a few other questions."
"Of course you do." I ignored her and continued.
"I know you're Spanish, right?" She nodded. "What part of Spain?"
"I'm from Barcelona. My mother and I love there in the summer, and when I go to school, she stays with a relative. She's very excited to return permanently, but I don't know. I mean, I love it there, and I miss it very much, but I know so many people here, in the wizarding world, where as I know none there. How am I supposed to transition?"
I made a mental note of Remus' correct assumption she was from Barcelona, he said northern Spain.
"I wouldn't know. If you lived in Spain before, why did you come to school here? I mean, it's a pretty long commute." She smiled softly at my joke, and I felt something weird in my stomach.
"My... umm... my father-- he passed away when I was ten, he--he moved to England with his family when he was a little boy, and he went here. Used to say it was the best school in Europe, that I deserved nothing less than the best." She looked down, a sad look on her face. I wanted to console her, but I had no idea what to say.
"I'm so sorry" She nodded in response. "But I, errr, I noticed that your accent is gone this year?"
"Yeah, I worked on it over the summer. It's like having a load lifted." She looked slightly better at the change of subject, I knew I had made the right choice.
"Well, I didn't really mind it," I said, truthfully. I never took any notice of it. Or her.
"Yeah, sure. But what about you? I mean, I know you live with James over the summer, but, I mean, don't you have a family?" She asked me a question. I immediately felt bad for questioning her, I didn't want to talk to her about me. Though, I guess she's as curious as I am, or she's trying to turn the subject away from herself.
"Me? A family? Naaaaah." I said, she laughed, but she looked at me questioningly, like she wanted to know more. "They... umm... They sort of disowned me. Or I ran away, I don't know which came first. It was mutual. I guess I'm just not what they expected me to be, and they're a whole lot of dark wizards and Voldemort followers, so I'm not making any effort to be anything they want me to be."
"That stinks."
"To no end." I was about to turn the topic back to her when Slughorn got to our table. He practically had his nose in the thick, bubbling liquid before he came up and spoke. "Excellent work Sirius, and Sofia, my dear, as usual!" Then moved on to the next table. We were dismissed soon, and Sofi and I, it seemed, were done talking. I wasn't satisfied, though. There was something so intriguing about her. I just couldn't put my finger on why.