Chapter 3

Scarlett soon found out, the next day to be precise, that there were one hundred and forty two staircases at Hogwarts.
How did she find this out exactly?
She got lost.
A lot.
It was still only the first week, though – and so far she'd been to a few different lessons, and she'd already had a Herbology lesson twice this week, and only had one more to go. She wasn't exactly a massive fan of the subject, but she wasn't terrible at it...it just didn't interest her; though as much as Herbology didn't interest her, History of Magic was probably worse. It wasn't exactly that she hated the subject, in fact it seemed quite interesting...it was the teacher that bored her to tears. Professor Binns. He was the only teacher at Hogwarts who was a ghost; apparently one night he'd gone to sleep in front of the fire, then woken up the next day and gone to class – but left his body behind.
Scarlett's favourite subject so far had been Charms. She wasn't sure why, because she knew it was more of a Ravenclaw subject, if the teacher was anything to go by, that is – but for some reason all the different things available to do in Charms interested her. She didn't exactly mind the teacher either, Professor Flitwick, head of Ravenclaw house. He was a tiny wizard that had to stand on a pile of books to even see over his desk, and he had a long (for a tiny person) white beard. The only thing that went wrong in her first Charms lesson was Seamus setting something on fire. For the fifth time that week. She already liked that kid.
However, Scarlett's second favourite subject would probably have had to be Transfiguration; which was taught by her head of house, Professor McGonagall. She was very strict, but rather smart at the same time, and she'd given them a talking to almost the moment they had sat down at their desks;
'Transfiguration is some of the most complex and dangerous magic you will learn at Hogwarts, anyone messing around in my class will leave and not come back. You have been warned' after this, though, McGonagall transfigured her desk into a pig, then back again – although the class's excitement was quickly diminished when McGonagall said that they wouldn't be learning how to do that for a long time. After this, she gave them their lesson; in which they all had to make rather complex notes, before attempting to turn a matchstick into a needle. Scarlett almost got it, as the matchstick turned pointy, but by the end of the lesson the only person who'd managed to do it was Hermione, who McGonagall gave a rather rare smile to.
Then came the class that everyone had been looking forward too: Defence Against the Dark Arts...but Quirrell's lessons ended up being one massive joke, really. His classroom had smelt strongly of garlic, which most people said was to warn off the vampire that he had met in Romania, as he was afraid the vampire was going to come back.
The only thing that Scarlett was completely happy about was the fact that she wasn't the only one miles behind apart from her brother; it turned out a lot of the students there came from Muggle families and hadn't had any idea at all they were witches and wizards, a lot like her and Harry.
The most important day so far had seemed to be the Friday, though, as this was the first day Harry, Scarlett and Ron didn't get lost on their way down to the Great Hall
'What have we got today?' Harry asked, whilst pouring sugar onto his porridge
'Double Potions with Slytherins' Ron muttered 'Snape's head of Slytherin, everyone says he always favours them – guess we'll find out for ourselves, right?'
'Wish McGonagall favoured us' Scarlett muttered, just as the post arrived – Hedwig swooped down, dropping a letter on the table in front of Harry, then seconds later Scarlett's own owl mimicked the action, only dropping a letter in front of Scarlett, at a glance, the letters looked to be written in the same, large handwriting. Scarlett ripped open the letter and her eyes scanned over it

Dear Scarlett,
I know you and Harry get Friday afternoons off, so would you and Harry like to come and have a
cup of tea with me around three? I'd like to hear about your first week. And I sent this to both of you in case one didn't get it, if you were wondering. Send us an answer back with Romani or Hedwig.
Hagrid

Out of the corner of her eye, Scarlett saw Harry scribble a reply back, before attaching it to Hedwig's leg and sending her off again. Scarlett bent under the table to pick up her bag, frowning when it felt lighter than all the other days
'...I've forgotten my Potions book.' Scarlett spoke up 'Would you wait for me while I get it? I don't think I'll be able to find the way to Potions by myself'
'Yeah, alright' Ron said, though he was far more interested in the food
'Thanks' Scarlett smiled, before turning on her heel and running out of the Great Hall, then up the moving staircase, coming face to face with the Fat Lady 'Fortuna Major' she spoke up, causing the portrait to swing open. She crawled through the small entry and came out the other side, almost running into someone as she did, causing them to drop their books on the floor
'Sorry!' she said, helping the person pick up their books
'it's fine' a girls voice replied, giving a light laugh. Scarlett looked up at the girl, she had shoulder length hair that was almost black, dark skin, large brown eyes and full lips – standing next to her was an older boy, probably around 15 or 16, he was quite pale, with dark hair and dark eyes,
'Best watch where you're going, firstie' he smiled, speaking in a thick Scottish accent
'Sorry, I'm just late for Potions' she muttered
'With Snape?' the girl spoke up, causing Scarlett to nod 'In Oliver's first lesson he took 50 points of Gryffindor' she smirked, prodding the boy next to her
'Yeah, and in Angelina's first lessons she took 75!'
'I blame Fred and George' the girl muttered, a smile on her face, before she properly looked at Scarlett and frowned 'Are you...'
'Yeah, Scarlett Potter...apparently I'm famous' she joked, whilst Oliver's eyes widened
'Really?' he asked
'Yep. Really.'
'I'm Oliver, Oliver Wood – fifth year'
'Angelina Johnson – third year'
'So you're in classes with the Weasley twins?' Scarlett asked
'Yeah, how do you know them?'
'I'm friends with Ron, I met them on the train and spoke to them a bit since then...I feel sorry for you' she smiled,
'Yeah, they're not the best at serious lessons, it's a wonder Gryffindor ever have any points left at the end of they year'
'Anyway' Oliver spoke up 'I think it's time we let little Scarlett go, Snape hates first years and Gryffindors, so both combined...detention until you're 17' he joked, 'Nice to meet you, Scarlett'
'Nice to meet you two, too' Scarlett said, as they walked past her and out of the common room. She carried on her run towards the dorm, bursting through the door she searched through her trunk, until she found the book and quickly pulled it out, before retracing her steps and finding herself back ar the Great Hall again, to find out something rather irritating.
Harry and Ron had gone.
She sighed to herself, then turned around. Luckily she didn't have to be in her class for another few minutes, and it couldn't take that long for her to figure it out.
Or so she thought. As she had been wandering around in what felt like circles for about 5 minutes.
However, luckily for her, the fact that the twins had a knack for randomly appearing out of nowhere was suddenly working to her advantage; as she was going to get to her potions class on time – she doubted that it would be a good idea to be late to her first Potions class; especially since she had seen the Potions teacher, his dark lank hair hung like curtains around his pale face, he kinda reminded her of a vampire...maybe he was a vampire? She scolded herself for losing focus and continued to follow the twins,
'Why do I feel like you're not taking me the right way?' she questioned, as they went up another flight of stairs
'Probably 'cause you don't trust us' the twin on the right smirked
'You're probably right. The fact that I can't tell you two apart is not adding to that at all, by the way' she smiled
'Not our fault, right Georgie?' Fred smirked, whilst George sighed slightly
'Well, now I know that the shorter, grosser looking twin is Fred – I'll be able to tell the difference in future' she joked, whilst Fred clutched his chest in fake horror,
'I'm wounded' he smirked, before pouting slightly 'You're a mean 11 year old'
'and you're a stupid 13 year old.'
'I'm not stupid!' Fred argued, pouting even more
'You just gave away which twin you were, when I had said about literally 2 seconds prior that I didn't trust you because I couldn't tell you apart; you could have done any amount of stupid things to me, but now I know that you're the shorter twin; you can do nothing, Weasley' she grinned
'Evil' Fred stated, but had a smirk plastered on his face
'Anyway, take me to Potions! I've got...Snivellus, is it? And from the looks of him he's a bit of a prat, so could you please not get me a detention before I even have a lesson?' she said, crossing her arms across her chest
'Snivellus, that's brilliant' George smirked 'Think we may have a new nickname for Snape there, Freddie'
'What's his name? Snape?' Scarlett said, 'Well, that kinda sounds like Snivellus...kinda'
'Not at all.' Fred smiled, but continued 'But fine, we'll be nice considering it's your first potions lesson; but after this, we'll be our normal, chaotic selves.' he said, leading her down a different corridor
'I'm fine with that; because technically after today I never have to speak to you again' she smirked, as they made their way towards the dungeons
'Wounded!' Fred repeated, whilst George shook his head at Fred 'What?!'
'She's right about you being a bloody idiot' he smirked, then patted Scarlett on the head as they stopped outside of Snape's classroom door 'Congratulations, little firstie'
'What did I say about calling me that?' she glared, and George smirked
'I'm very doubtful a little girlie like you will turn my hair pink.'
'I wouldn't doubt it if I was you, George.' she said, a mischievous grin on her face
'...I'd be worried, if I was you, mate' she heard Fred say as she shoved open the large wooden door; finding that the class hadn't started yet – and that, in fact, the teacher was nowhere to be seen. She quickly made her way over to where she saw Ron and Harry standing, and plonked herself down at the same desk, in a spot next to Hermione.
'Why are you so late?' Ron spoke up
'Obviously I'm not late if the teachers not here' Scarlett smirked
'He's been and gone' Hermione spoke up, 'Hopefully he'll be back soon, though'
'Hopefully not!' Ron argued 'According to Fred and George he's a right foul git, hates all Gryffindors and favours Slytherins – he took 50 points of both of them the other week for doing nothi-'
'In Snivellus's defence-' Scarlett began 'Snape, sorry – Fred and George probably weren't doing nothing' she smirked 'They don't seem to be the type to sit back and do nothing'
'...probably right there' Ron smiled
'Anyway,' Harry started 'Why are you late, then?'
'Well, because my loving brother decided to not wait for me' she glared at Harry 'I had to find my own way to the classroom; and I ran across your-' she nodded towards Ron 'brothers, and they asked me if I was lost because they'd seen me walk past this corridor 100 times, so I said that I was and asked if they could take me to Potions; they said yes but, being them, apparently, they took me to the wrong place, but then I mentioned about Snivellus – Snape! God. Erm, yes, I mentioned I had Snape and they brought me here...though I think I'll be turning George's hair pink...'
'I won't object' Ron smirked, whilst Harry rolled his eyes at Scarlett
'Well, anyway' Hermione interjected 'At least you showed up, and luckily Professor Snape should be here soon...he's been gone for far too long'
'He's only been gone about 3 minutes, Hermione!' Ron said, just as the door slammed shut. Their heads whipped around and they found themselves to be looking at the face of Severus Snape.
'Nice of you to join us, Miss Potter' he sneered, gliding to the front of the classroom; his black robes billowing out from behind him.
'You're welcome' she smirked, causing Harry to kick her under the table. Snape simply raised his eyebrows, then turned to face her; stopping dead when he saw her, before carrying on
'As I was saying before I was called away-' he began, and Scarlett inwardly grinned, no detention today 'You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making, as there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with it's shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses...I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper to death...if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach' Harry, Scarlett and Ron shared a look, and Hermione was perched on the edge of her seat as if she was desperate to prove that she wasn't, in fact, a 'Dunderhead'
'Mr Potter!' he snapped 'What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?' he glanced towards Ron and Scarlett, who both had confused looks on their faces
'I don't know, sir' Harry said
'Hm – clearly fame isn't everything.' Snape said 'Miss Potter! Where would you look if I told you to find be a bezoar?' she remembered something about them. She could remember Hermione going on about them the other night in the dorm...before Scarlett threw a pillow at her head for keeping her awake, though. She kept thinking, and suddenly remember Hermione saying something about the stomach of...something, she couldn't remember what
'Err – the stomach of...a something' she said, and Snape raised one eyebrow at her
'The stomach of?' he droned
'...I'm not sure'
'Hm' he said, before turning back to Harry 'What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?'
'I don't know,' Harry muttered 'I think Hermione does, though – why don't you try asking her?' this made a few people laugh, whilst Snape glared at Harry
'Sit down' he snapped at Hermione 'For your information, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death' he swivelled to face Scarlett 'A bezoar can be found in the stomach of a goat and will save you from most poisons'
'SO, I was half right' she smirked, causing Snape to simply raise his eyebrow again and turn back to her brother 'As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name aconite. Well? Why aren't you copying that down?' there was a noise of rummaging all around the classroom from the everyone getting their parchments and quills out. 'And a point each will be taken from Gryffindor for your cheek, Potters.'
'Oooh a point, whatever will I do?' Scarlett muttered to Ron and Harry, who smirked in response. After that the lesson didn't exactly improve, the class were put in pairs in order to brew a simple potion that cured boils. Harry was with Ron, and Scarlet was with Hermione – who knew the procedure backwards, but Scarlett attempted to help the best she could. Snape took to wandering around, glancing at everyone's cauldrons and practically criticising everyone apart from Malfoy; although as much as he moaned at everyone else, it was nothing compared to Neville, who'd knocked his potion all over the floor – which had caused almost everyone's shoes to burn; at which point Snape had moaned at Neville for being an 'idiot' and sent him off to the hospital wing, before turning on Harry and Ron, claiming it was there fault that Neville had brewed it wrong because they didn't tell him otherwise. Snape took off another point for that.

Later on that day, the three of them (that being Scarlett, Harry and Ron), were making their way down towards Hagrid's hut, after Ron had asked the twins if he could come. They were making their way across the grounds when Hagrid's small hut came into view, smoke erupting from the chimney. The three wandered towards the door and Harry knocked, causing a sound of scrabbling inside and loud barks, presumably from a dog. 'Back, Fang, back!' presumably from a dog named Fang. The door inched open and Hagrid told them to hold on, before he grabbed onto Fang's collar and let them into the hut. There was only one room in it's entirety, there were things hanging from the ceiling, a kettle was placed over the fire and in the corner there was a massive bed with a patchwork quilt.
'Make yerselves at home' Hagrid said, crossing over to the fire and letting go of Fang – who immediately bounded over to Ron and Scarlett, jumping up at both of them and licking them, clearly he wasn't as scary as he sounded.
'This is Ron' Harry said, pointing towards the mentioned boy
'Another Weasley, eh?' Hagrid said, glancing at Ron's hair and freckles 'I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest' Scarlett smirked at that. Hagrid gave the three of them 'rock cakes' – these of which almost broke their teeth. After this the three of them basically spent the entire time talking about their first week, Hagrid claiming he thought Filch was an old git, which pleased the three of them. Eventually, though, Scarlett spotted something on the table. She reached across and picked the small scrap of paper up, seeing it was a clip from an article in the Daily Prophet.

GRINGOTTS BREAK-IN LATEST
Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of dark wizards or witches unknown.
Gringotts' goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day.
'But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you,' said a Gringotts spokesgoblin this afternoon.

'Hagrid, the Gringotts break-in happened on our birthday!' Scarlett spoke, handing Harry the paper to read over 'It might've be happening while we were there!', at this point Harry had read over it and was now looking up at Hagrid, much like Ron and Scarlett. There was no doubt about the fact that they could have been right, as Hagrid didn't meet any of their eyes.
Scarlett frowned before realising that Hagrid had, in fact, emptied a vault the day they were there. Vault seven hundred and thirteen. If emptying the vault was in fact taking whatever was in that grubby package. As the three of them were walking back towards the castle for dinner, their pockets weighed down with the rock cakes they felt rude to refuse, Scarlett found herself thinking far too much into what had happened at Hagrids. Had he collected the packet just in time? Where was it now? She chose to try and block out these thoughts in an attempt to not drive herself bonkers with curiosity, and instead settled on making conversation with the twins for most of the dinner; because Merlin knows those two didn't support anything that provided knowledge of a situation or person.


Okay, so I planned to have finished this around a week ago; however school is slowly draining me of life and therefore it has been uploaded (obviously) a week late.
But it's not like I could have uploaded it anyway, as I only finished it about 4 minutes ago.

ANYWAY. I'm glad for all the feedback I'm getting on this, even if the views aren't as high as my other stories, but I'm still glad someone's has read it :'3
Oh, and special thanks to all the reviewers but especially potterphilsosepher, cause she's amaaaaaaaazing and has practically reviewed all my Harry Potter stuff, and also she mentioned me in her new chapter so I couldn't exactly not mention her ;)

anyways, now I shall go and write as many chapters as possible as to not take forever to update.
Thanks for reading :3