A/N: Still don't own anything. Still want to be an extra in Potions. Still not making any money. Black Rose

Chapter 3- Starting Fresh

The two girls walked in relative silence on their trek to the dungeon rooms of Slytherin house. There was the occasional sound of water dripping or the scurrying whispers of mice, but neither girl said anything to the other.

"So, Mya, what brought you to Hogwarts." Kalasin broke the silence, her tone curious but without the nosiness of Lavender and Parvati.

Mya hesitated slightly at this, although she knew that it was bound to be brought up by more than one of her peers. "Well as I'm sure that everyone knows my whole family was thought to have been killed almost two decades ago. In actuality, I was the only survivor. I was raised by distant and unknown relatives in Germany, up until this past summer. My Urgroßmutter and Urgroßtante, they um, passed on this past June. Albus was the one to have brought me there, so of course he knew what had happened and brought me to Hogwarts. I've been here since then."

"I'm sorry for your losses." Kalasin felt bad that such recent sad memories had been brought up. "So are you fluent then in German?"

Mya gave a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. "I wouldn't say fluent, but enough to get by were I to ever go back." The brunette wasn't quite sure where this new language was coming from, but took it in stride. In truth Hermione had learned some German over the course of a couple of summers. After all she had to learn something during her summer holidays and it seemed that it had stayed with her through the concussion.

Although she didn't want to see nosy, Kalasin did want to get to know Mya a little better. She seemed vaguely familiar, but she couldn't think of from where. "On the chance of seeming nosy, tell me about yourself. What do you like, dislike, so on and such."

Mya had to wonder why people weren't this friendly in first year when she was trying so hard to fit in. She internally rolled her eyes and proceeded to answer the Headgirl.

"Well I 'd say that I'm a pretty decent student. I've never really been to a school like this, I was always homeschooled. I guess that Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts are my favorite subjects. I never held much faith in Divination, it seems like too much guess work to me. History of Magic is the most boring subject of all time and I don't really see the point in taking it. I'd like to become an Animagi someday. I find that Charms can be difficult at times and that I need to spend a lot more time practicing." Mya found these words rolling off her tongue and decided that she must have felt this way before the blow to her head.

"And what of things that aren't related to school?"

"Well, I have a terrible sweet tooth and I'd rather eat dessert than dinner and pastries instead of a healthy breakfast. My room is never clean, unless I'm held at wand point. This being said I'm very meticulous about my work, it's incredibly organized and I like to get it done early. When I get angry, I get really angry. I don't back down from a challenge. I hate flying but love to swim. I like cats and dogs, which isn't that common of a pet in the wizarding world. I like Muggle music better than Wizard. I've never really had a boyfriend and I don't really care that I haven't. I don't like girls that obsess over boys and clothes and makeup. However that doesn't mean I don't care about my own appearance. I don't believe in love at first sight. I like to cook and I'm a right bitch if I don't get enough sleep."

The blond Headgirl listened quietly, nodding her head now and then, soaking in all the information. At least the new girl seemed human. In the time that they had been talking, the two girls reached the entrance to the Slytherin dorms.

"Oh, and I hate pretty boys."

Kalasin had to laugh out loud at that. She knew who that was aimed at.

Clearing her throat she explain, "This is the entrance to our common room. Obviously I don't need to tell you that students from the other houses aren't allowed in here. The password is 'Carpe Diem' and either myself or one of the Slytherin prefects will let you know if it's ever changed."

The tapestry dissolved before their very eyes and an archway materialized. Stepping through, Mya looked back in time to see the entrance to the common room turn to plain castle stones. If you're not familiar with the place, once you're in your stuck, the brunette witch thought wryly to herself. Glancing around, she decided that anything worth further attention could be looked at tomorrow. Moving toward where the Headgirl was standing she nodded. Kalasin pointed to a portrait on the wall.

"This is the passage to the Head students' common room. Should you ever decide you'd like to escape the chaos here, the password is 'Ambrosius Aurelianus'. We have access to every common room from here, so that's how we normally enter." 'How very interesting, to use King Arthur's Given name and not the one the majority of the world knew him as' Mya thought to herself. "Thank you" Mya replied.

Kalasin next indicated a tapestry hanging just to the right of the staircases. "Through that tapestry are your rooms. Dumbledore saw fit to give you your own. The password at the moment is 'Bottled Fame', but you can change it any time you want to, just let me know what you change it to. That way we can get to you in case of emergency." On that note, the blonde seventh year witch climbed through the portrait hole to her own quarters, leaving Mya to do as she wished.

Turning to the hanging, she saw it was a scene of an island found only in legends- the isle of Fincayra. It was the legendary home of Emrys, or Merlin, as most people knew him. Shaking herself out of her revelry, she sighed and spoke the password in a bored voice. Once inside, Mya looked back to the opening and remarked, "Galator-that's the new password."

With that last thought, she turned to her rooms and found her bed without bothering to turn lights and have a look around her new rooms. Suddenly very tired, the brunette stayed awake just long enough to remove her boots and robes before she collapsed, asleep before her head hit the pillow.

Mya woke to a ray of sun streaming in through the open window next to her bed. A barely there breeze played across the room making the bed hangings flutter ever so slightly. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she sat up in bed and began to look around her new room. She lay on a queen size four-poster bed, the canopy above her head a dark midnight blue. There were two sets of hangings around the bed; one was the same midnight blue colour made of a heavy velvet material, the other white in colour and a light gauzy material. The outer heavier set, trimmed in silver, was pulled back by silver ties and the inner lighter set trimmed in gold hung freely. The sheets she lay on were made of the softest cotton fabric in white and powder blue.

Getting up to see the rest of her room, Mya felt soft carpet beneath her feet. The soft small bedside rug was white, nicely offsetting the powder blue walls. The floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows that ran parallel to her bed were actually three sets of French doors, framed by dark midnight blue curtains that were pulled back with silver ties. They opened up to the gently sloping grounds that were level to the dungeons. All the furniture in the room was made of cherry wood as was the floor. There were two doors in the room- one on the wall between her bed and the windows and another opposite the windows.

Exiting the second door she found herself in her own private common room, where Mya saw that the colour scheme continued there too. The rug in here was an ice blue. The fireplace was made of black marble, with a banked fire going. The furniture consisted of a couch and two armchairs in front of the fire. They were upholstered in a midnight blue material that felt like crushed velvet and had cream coloured pillows and two throws that were the same shade as the pillows, with gold trimming. In a corner was a mahogany table, perfect for doing homework on, with four mahogany chairs. In a tucked away alcove was a love seat, made of the same materials and colour as the couch and armchairs.

Venturing back into her bedroom, Mya went to the other door and opened it. It was her bathroom and it was exquisite. The floor and sink was made of black marble. The half sunken Jacuzzi tub was also made of black marble and it sat in the corner to her immediate left. The tile walls were bright white as were the cabinets. Directly across from where the young witch stood was the sink and counter. There was extra counter space next to the sink for makeup and hair accessories. In the corner diagonally left from her was a shower stall big enough for two with a seat in a corner. The whole thing was sunken in two inches. If she reached her arm out to the right she could touch the doors to what she presumed was the closet. Mya was right. Upon opening it, the brunette found towels and a hamper, and the rest of her miscellaneous girly bathroom stuff. The towels, she noticed, were powder blue and a dark smoky grey, almost black. The far wall to her left was a giant window. The pulled back drapes were a light powder blue, same as the towels.

With a slight smile, the brunette padded over to the tub and turned on the water, warm and comfortable but not hot. Touching her finger to the tap, she murmured, "strawberries" and immediately bubbles poured out and the scent of the fresh red fruit filled the air. Stripping off her clothes from the day before, the young witch slid in to the water. With a flick of her fingers, a Led Zeppelin, a Muggle band started to play.

After a two songs, Mya got out of the tub and walked to the shower. Turning the water to cool, she stood under the hard pounding spray so wake her self up. After a fashion, the seventh year girl shampooed and conditioned her hair, rinsed it all out and finished her morning routine. Turning off the stream, Mya stepped out and wrapped a towel round her. Squeezing the excess water from her hair, she left the bath and returned to her room.

With the towel still wrapped around her tightly, she wandered over to her wardrobe and opened it up. Pawing through it, she wondered what to wear. Feeling a piece of worn material, the lithe young woman pulled. It was the pair of guy pants she'd stolen from a male friend over the summer. The lithe woman had since altered them so that the tan cargo pants that hung low on her waist.

Tugging them out from the wardrobe, Mya laid them on her bed. Turning to her trunk, the brunette pulled out black lace bra and booty shorts, and a pair of socks. Digging deeper, she found a soft black T-shirt that said cheers in big white block letters and had a shamrock underneath. Throwing that next to the pants and under garments, the witch shut the trunk and got dressed. Looking back in the wardrobe, she found her white and green skate shoes and slid her feet into them.

Examining herself in the full-length mirror, she nodded. She looked good. Trooping back into the bathroom, she sat on the counter and applied her make up. This time it was smoky cat eyes done in her customary black. Adding a touch of peach color to her lips, Mya decided that the look was perfect. All she needed to add was her jewelry- her Irish love ring; the comfortable, worn in hemp choker and black leather cuff. Grabbing her black drawstring bag, she treaded her arms through the loops and settled in on her back. After a last look in the mirror, the girl headed down to the Great Hall for breakfast.