Heres chapter 2. i'm not as proud of this chapter as I was with the first chapter but anyways... let me know what you think.

Disclaimer: i dont own Harry Potter but i do own Grace.

Chapter 2 – Welcome to Gryffindor (only the stupid and insane need apply)

It was about a week after the sorting and Draco had still not spoken a single word to Grace. His parents, on the other hand, had sent a very long, very strongly worded letter telling her how disappointed they were and how they sincerely hoped she would try harder. She didn't really care what Lucius and Narcissa thought, but Draco was different. She kind of felt that in many ways, the two of them were in the same boat and it would make life so much easier at the Malfoys' if he was still on her side.

So Grace tried to talk to him like a reasonable person (this wasn't her fault after all) but he refused to be in same room as her for a very long time unless he had to. So instead she tried to send him a letter (maybe he needed help understanding that this wasn't her fault) only to watch him rip the letter into pieces as soon as he realised it was from her. So she resorted to trying to corner him before lessons, during lessons and after lessons (persistence was key, he had to listen to her eventually) but that didn't work either. Finally she had had enough.

One morning at breakfast, she marched over to the Slytherin table, plonked herself down next to Draco and helped herself to some toast. Most of the surrounding students stared at her but despite the fact that Draco had not spoken to her and Snape (head of Slytherin house) had not missed the opportunity to give her a detention on the first day, the Slytherins maintained a healthy respect for Grace. Whether it was because she had been adopted by the Malfoys or maybe because she had a very high blood status even without them; nobody contested her seating choice. Nobody except Draco of course.

"Erm, Grace? I think you got the wrong table. Muggle-lovers sit over there," Draco said gesturing to the table furthest from them.

"Draco, does it really matter to you that much which house I was put into? It wasn't exactly like I had any choice in the matter, was it? And even if I had it would still have absolutely nothing to do with you so do you think that you could stop acting like a two year old and get yourself out of this immature, childish tantrum so that we can be friends again?"

After that, a strange kind of truce appeared between the first year Gryffindors and Slytherins. Draco and his friends did not torment Harry and his friends while Grace was around (or they at least kept it to a minimum) while the Gryffindors tried not to speak badly of her Slytherin friends whenever Grace could hear.

Despite some very shaky starts, Grace had become fast friends with the Gryffindors, especially Harry, Ron and Hermione. She had been there in the bathroom trying to consol Hermione right before they got attacked by a troll and she was also there sneaking Norbert the dragon out of the country. Grace cared about her new friends very much and it was for this reason that she found herself in the forbidden third floor corridor late one night trying desperately to save the Philosopher's Stone.

"If you want to go back, I won't blame you," Harry said. "You can take the cloak, I won't need it now."

"Don't be stupid."

"We're coming."

Grace pushed open the door and the three giant heads turned in their direction.

"What's that by its' feet?" whispered Hermione.

"It's a harp. It must wake up as soon as the music stops playing," Grace said.

"Snape probably left it," said Ron.

"Well, here goes…" said Harry pulling the flute out of his pocket and starting to play.

"Keep playing," warned Ron as they crept as quietly as they could toward the trapdoor by its feet. "We should be able to pull it open. Wanna go first Grace?"

"Are you joking?"

"Hermione?"

"No I don't!"

Harry pointed to himself.

"You want to go first?" asked Ron.

"There doesn't seem to be any way to climb down, you'll just have to drop," said Grace eyeing the hole doubtfully.

"Okay," said Ron. "Give the flute to Grace so she can keep playing."

Harry handed the flute over to Grace who quickly started up a tune from one of her songs, while Harry lowered himself into the hole warning Ron not to follow if anything happened to him. He dropped and Grace had to force herself to keep playing.

"It's okay!" Harry's voice called up. Grace sighed inwardly in relief and nodded to Ron as he jumped in after Harry. She could just about hear their muffled voices as she gestured to Hermione to go and then quickly jumped in herself.

"We must be miles under the school," she heard Hermione say.

"Lucky this plant things here really," said Ron.

"Lucky!" shrieked Hermione. The boys stared at her in confusion but Grace had just seen what had scared Hermione. "Oh crap," she muttered.

"Look at both of you!" Grace grabbed Hermione's hand and struggled with her towards the wall. Both the boys had already been caught tightly around the legs by the plant that had broken their fall.

"Stop moving! I know what this is- it's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," said Ron sarcastically, struggling more than ever.

"Shut up! I'm trying to remember how to kill it."

"Hurry up!" gasped Harry.

Grace looked at Hermione. She remembered the lesson that they had studied Devil's Snare but she had been much more interested in the notes that her and Ron had been passing back and forth about the upcoming Quidditch match than anything Sprout had said.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare," Hermione was muttering to herself. "What did Professor Sprout say...it likes the dark and damp…"

"Great! So let's light a fire!" said Grace.

"But there's no wood…"

"HAVE YOU GONE MAD?" Ron bellowed. "ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?"

"Here-" Grace moved forward slightly and muttered the spell to send blue flames at the plant which slipped off the boys and retreated away from the light.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology Hermione," said Grace, once the boys were free.

"Yeah and lucky Grace doesn't lose her head in a crisis. 'There's no wood,' honestly," said Ron.

"Come on, this way," said Harry leading them down the only passageway. They were all silent as they walked; the only sound being their footsteps and the dripping of water from the walls. Soon they reached a chamber full of small, shiny birds and, after establishing that they were not going tobe attacked by them, they tried and failed to open the door.

"Now what?" asked Ron, as they all looked around for some clue as to how to open the door.

"These birds can't just be here for decoration," said Hermione thoughtfully.

"They're not birds! They're keys, look! One of them must open the door," said Harry. They spotted the broomsticks.

"But there are hundreds of them," said Grace. "We don't exactly have time for a process of elimination."

Ron turned back to the door. "We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one – probably silver like the handle."

"I see it!" exclaimed Harry.

Grace turned incredulously to him. "Really?" Harry nodded not taking his eyes off the key. "Okay, then," Grace said, trying to keep the scepticism out of her voice and reaching out to grab one of the broomsticks. "Think you can catch it, Seeker-Boy?" She offered him the broom and he took it automatically.

"Be ready to catch it and get that door open," he said taking flight.

"Yes sir," muttered Grace before Ron shushed her.

They all watched with baited breath while Harry ducked between the keys, which had begun to dart around very fast as soon as Harry had begun his pursuit.

"GOT IT!" he yelled, throwing the key to them. Ron caught it and shoved it through the keyhole.

"Come on Ron, quickly," moaned Grace looking at Harry, who was being chased by the rest of the keys. Then they were through, shortly followed a few seconds later by Harry still on his broom, and together, they slammed the door shut behind them.

They looked at the room they had entered, saw the massive statues and the door half-hidden behind them. "Think they'll just let us through?" asked Grace hopefully. They walked forwards and the statues sprang to life, blocking their path. "Of course not," she sighed.

"It's chess!" said Ron, looking around the room.

"It's what?" said Grace; sure she must have misheard him.

"Chess. I bet we have to play our way across," explained Ron.

"What the hell kind of warped sense of humour has Dumbledore got?" grumbled Grace, but she took her place dutifully and followed Ron's orders. She had to admit, Ron played very well and soon he was muttering to himself.

"We're nearly there. Let me think."

The others were quiet while he thought for a minute and then he said:

"Yes, it's the only way. I have to be taken."

"NO!" shouted the other three.

"I have to. Then you can checkmate the king Harry."

"There has to be another way-"

"No Harry, there's not. You have got to stop Snape."

And off he went. Hermione screamed when the Queen knocked him off his perch on the horse. Grace flinched and looked away while Harry did what he had been told and ended the game. They ran over to Ron.

"He's okay," said Grace shakily. "Just knocked out, he'll probably have a nasty headache when he wakes up but I think that's all."

They felt awful for leaving him but there wasn't much they could do for him now and they continued onto the next task.

"Brilliant," said Hermione.

"I don't know about you," said Grace looking at Harry. "But 'brilliant' isn't the word I would use to-"

"No look. This isn't magic – its logic – a puzzle. A lot of the greatest wizards haven't got an ounce of logic, they'd be stuck in here forever."

"I'm still not seeing how the word 'brilliant' applies."

"Ssshh!" snapped Hermione.

Grace bit her lip to stop herself from saying anything else as Hermione talked her way through the riddle. They watched anxiously as Hermione figured it out until finally she could identify all the bottles. Grace threw a sideways glance at Harry.

"There's not enough in there for all three of us," she said pointing to the bottle that would take them on to the next room.

"Well I'll go. You two go back, get Ron and get a message to Dumbledore as fast as you can," said Harry but before he had even finished the girls had already started arguing.

"WHAT?"

"Harry, no-"

"Listen you need to go get Dumbledore. We need him. I'll do what I can to hold him off."

"Okay, Hermione you go do that while I go with Harry."

"Grace-"

"Harry, there is absolutely zero chance of me letting you go through that door alone. So suck it up alright?" She was staring at him so defiantly, the hint of a threat barely concealed in her voice, that Harry gave up.

"Fine," he sighed. "Hermione, you go first."

They watched her drink the potion and disappear back the way they had come.

"Well, here goes nothing," said Harry taking a mouthful of the potion.

"Bottoms up," Grace agreed before drinking the rest. Taking a deep breath each, they walked together through the door and into the next room.

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