AN: Hi! This is another long chapter, so I hope you guys enjoy. I'm going to start replying to reviews privately now and I think I responded to everyone for the last chapter (except you Henry's Wife..but I know you...so we'll be chatting on aim. :-D)
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Chapter Four
Standing no more than three feet away from me, and staring down at me with the blackest eyes I have ever seen, was Edward Cullen.
Edward was watching me with a fierce expression on his beautiful, pale face. Somewhere in my mind I wondered what I had done to offend him so much. But most of my mind was blank in confusion and fear. I couldn't look away from his eyes if I tried.
I opened my mouth, intending to say 'hi' or something trivial like that, but all that came out was a small squeak. I felt blood rush to my cheeks in embarrassment. What was going on?
Edward's eyes moved quickly. They flashed from my eyes, to my cheeks, to my neck in a matter of a second. He leaned forward and I could almost swear that I saw his knees bend slightly. Fear quickly exploded in my mind and I shrank back. My hand instinctually went to the wand in my pocket.
My saviors from whatever danger I was in were Jess and Katie Bell. I heard their voices entering the common room long before I saw them. Edward must have heard them too because he stepped back quickly – so quickly that I couldn't believe that he moved. As he moved away from me, recognition entered his eyes. Horror slowly crept into his face, replacing the fierce, almost predator-like look. The fear my body insisted on feeling slowly started to vanish.
Edward looked at me for a second more, mumbled something that sounded like 'sorry', and rushed out. For the second time that morning, I found myself staring, confused and mesmerized, after a Cullen.
What the heck was that about?
I slumped back into the couch, trying to calm my racing heart, and placed my book on the stand next to me. I didn't know what to feel. Scared? Confused? Hurt? Embarrassed?
I finally settled on some painful combination of the four and stared into the fire. What was his problem? Did someone dare him to mess with the new girl's head or something?
And, of course, there was the most confusing question of them all.
Why in the world had I, a witch fully capable of performing a good stunning spell, been scared out of my mind?
Jessica and Katie didn't prove to be excellent distractions from the questions that were haunting my mind. I followed them down to the Great Hall, only talking when they asked me a question. It didn't seem to bother them that much, and I started to feel like the third wheel. My first day at Hogwarts wasn't looking so great.
When we entered the Hall, my eyes immediately began to search for the Cullens. To my disappointment, the large room was void of their presence. Perhaps they would eat breakfast at a later time? Or maybe they were the kind of teenagers who liked to skip meals every once and awhile.
Professor McGonagall was standing at the end of the table, handing out schedules for the school year. Jessica retrieved ours as Katie and I sat down at the table. She was chatting about quittich, and I responded every once and awhile with a nod. I knew next to nothing about the sport despite the fact that my mom pretended to be an avid fan of the Arizona Phoenixes.
I was half way through my cereal when I decided to take a look at the schedule that Jess had placed in front of me. My eyes scanned the list, noting the many floors I would have to travel.
At least I'll be getting a work out.
"You're in advanced potions!" cried Jess, looking over my shoulder to see my schedule. Her eyes turned back to me to stare at me in awe. Apparently she wasn't in potions.
"Yeah. Why?" I asked, glancing down at the spot on the paper where it said Advanced Potions – Professor Snape – Dungeons – 2:00. It sounded like someone was trying to challenge me to a duel.
"Professor Snape is wicked tough," explained Jessica. "He doesn't accept anyone who got less than an O on the OWLS."
"Good thing I got an O then," I said, slipping my timesheet into my canvas bag. Back in Arizona, I was the star pupil in my potions class. I think it stemmed from having to cook for my mother for all those years – not to mention having to fix all the potions she messed up.
Jessica let out a low whistle and turned back to her eggs. "Good luck."
I had a nasty feeling I was going to need it.
At 9:00 I had Advanced Charms on the third floor. Jessica and Katie were both in it and happily escorted me to the classroom through the labyrinth that was Hogwarts. I put in a good, honest attempt to memorize the way, but by the third turn I was lost.
The Charms classroom was divided down the middle by a walkway that led up to the teacher's desk. On either side were bleaker-like seats that faced each other. Jessica, Katie, and I joined the side where the Gryffindors were gathering, opposite of the blue and silver Ravenclaws.
"The Houses are usually only separated for the first few days," explained Jess as we took a seat in the second row, near the professor's desk. "Then the friends start intermingling again."
"So there aren't really House distinctions?" I asked, pulling out a notebook from my bag and placing it in front of me.
"No, there are," said Jessica. "First and second years tend to stay with their Houses. But by third year, everyone starts to make friends between the Houses – except the Slytherins. Everyone stays away from them."
I wondered if that was because of age-old prejudice or because Slytherins were truly plain, old mean.
My eyes began to scan the classroom, taking in all the students who were now my fellow classmates. I waved to Eric when I saw him sitting directly across the room. He smiled widely – a little too widely – and waved back.
I really should have expected who I saw next. After all, they were students too and had the same right – if not more of a right – to be taking Advanced Charms at nine o'clock in the morning. Despite all my immense disapproval, my heart gave a familiar thug when I caught sight of Alice and Edward Cullen. They were sitting across the room, as close to the door – and as far away from me – as possible. Alice had her feet on the desktop in front of her, showing off a cute pair of blue and silver shoes for the world to see. Her robes were trimmed with blue – identifying her as a Ravenclaw – and they were opened to display a matching designer top. She stood out like a flower amongst black and grey weeds.
Edward was sitting next to his sister, moving his lips ever so slightly while looking in her direction. He was the only Gryffindor on that side of the classroom, but he didn't seem to care in the slightest. He had a worried expression on his face that Alice seemed to match after his lips stopped. She looked down into her lap with a blank expression on her face.
Despite his odd behavior toward me this morning, I couldn't bring myself to be frightened by Edward. If anything, I was curious. Far too curious for my own good.
Curiosity killed the cat. It was my mother's favorite saying – which was ironic because she was the most curious witch that I knew. I think she liked it so much because cats were traditionally a witch's familiars and that saying basically applied that 'curiosity killed the witch.'
Yeah, my mom was pretty unique.
The Professor – Flitwick, according to Jess – entered the room at exactly a minute to nine. He was a short, comical-looking wizard with a high voice. The first time he spoke, I wanted to burst out laughing. But the silence in the room kept my giggles in check.
"Now, welcome to Advanced Charms," Professor Flitwick commenced, standing on a box-like platform to give him some height. It didn't help him much, and I was reminded of the hobbits in 'Lord of the Rings'. "It is good to see most of you back. It's not every year I have two full advanced classes for a single year. So give yourselves a pat on the back."
The Professor flicked his wand and everyone started to pat themselves on the back – except the Cullens. They were staring around the room, amused, as everyone giggled over their hands.
"And it seems we have a new student in the class!" exclaimed Flitwick, excitedly. I inwardly groaned. Just don't make me stand up. I really hated attention.
"Ms. Isabella Swan could you tell us a couple things about yourself? You know, to let the class get to know you a bit better?"
Oh.
No.
I wondered how long an invisibility charm typically lasted.
"Um…" I started, my throat feeling dry and rough. I didn't like how my voice sounded in this silent, crowded room: it sounded lost, hesitant, unsure. I would have taken a Furnunculus instead of this.
"Well, I prefer to be called Bella." Fact one down. Hopefully, he would settle for one more. "And…" Think, Bella, think! "And I grew up in Arizona…You know, in the U.S."
Wow. So interesting.
It seemed to satisfy Flitwick though, because he left me alone after that. The students' eyes left me in peace – except for one pair toward the back of the room. Edward Cullen was staring at me again, his face an odd combination of confusion and anger.
Great.
The rest of Charms seemed to pass by relatively well – if you exclude the fact that Edward kept on sending me that icy stare throughout the whole hour. We reviewed old spells, and, except for a few tough ones, I knew them all by heart.
Herbology with the Hufflepuffs was next. Edward wasn't in that class – I wasn't sure if I was disappointed or relieved by that – but Mike was. Upon seeing me, he jumped up and nearly tackled me to the ground, all the while asking if I would be his partner for the class. I said 'yes', but regretted my decision by the end of the hour. He proved to be excellent in Herbology – I had never seen anyone trim a puffapod so quickly – but he wouldn't stop sending me glances that reminded me of puppy-dog eyes.
I was beginning to miss Edward's stares.
And there was no shortage of those during Arithmancy. That class was small and had a combination of all the Houses in it. Justine and an Asian girl from Ravenclaw named Cho-Chang sat next to me in the front row. He sat in the back row in the farthest corner from me. Despite that, I could feel his eyes glaring holes into the back of my robe throughout the whole class. A part of me wanted to confront him after class: ask him what kind of game he was playing. Another part – a much larger, dominant part – told me to stay put. I was far too cowardly for confrontation.
Edward and Mike traded off once again during Lunch. While Edward and his family were no where to be seen, Mike was constantly visiting the Gryffindor table to chat. Jessica kept him occupied for the most part, but he still managed to wiggle his way into a seat by me. I liked Mike, but this was too much too soon.
"I got to get to Potions, Mike," I said, interrupting his speech on Quittich: he was going to try out for the position of Hufflepuff seeker this year. It wasn't until after I left the Great Hall that I got the real gossip on the situation.
"I bet Mike didn't tell you who he is replacing," started Justine, in her low 'I got good dirt for you' voice.
I shook my head.
"Last year our school held the Triwizard Tournament," said Justine, leaning in toward me as if she didn't want anyone else to hear. The subject must be taboo. "And a boy named Cedric Diggory got picked to represent Hogwarts. You should have seen this guy, Bella. He was gorgeous, a prefect, and the Hufflepuff seeker." She paused for a moment for dramatic effect. I held back a snicker.
"What happened?" I asked, nonchalant.
Justine's face suddenly became very grim and sober.
"He died," she whispered. "At the end of the last event, he and Harry Potter – he was chosen too for some reason – appeared in front of the whole school with the Cup. Potter was crying – actually crying – and shouting something about You-Know-Who. And Cedric was lying on the ground, really still. It was so awful."
Her tone of voice made it sound a lot less awful than it really was. Despite her gossip-ly voice, a shiver ran down my spine. I couldn't imagine a fellow student lying on the cold ground – dead. That is the kind of stuff that happened in the movies, not in real life.
The Potions classroom was a rather forlorn place to go after hearing such a grim tale. The only light in the stone room came from the torches and the small windows toward the ceiling. The place was damp, cold, and spooky.
The Professor fit his classroom rather well. He was a tall, skinny man dressed in a sober black and had the greasiest hair and the foulest expression I had ever seen. He was glaring at us from the front of the classroom with his arms folded across his chest. I wasn't sure what look he was trying to pull off: grim reaper or vampire.
This was the one class Justine didn't lead me to the front in: we settled for a desk in the middle row. Slytherins and Ravenclaws seemed to dominate the classroom. Angela was the only Hufflepuff, and she was sitting with a Ravenclaw boy with a rather content look on her face. As for Gryffindors, there were only three of us.
Justine, me, and Edward Cullen.
"This is Advanced Potions," started Professor Snape, his eyes flying like darts around the classroom. I cringed when I heard his voice. It was slow and deep – like oil or molasses dripping down from a cauldron. "To make it into this class you needed an Outstanding on your OWLs. I'm not going to congratulate you on a job well done: I don't reward students for doing what they were supposed to do in the first place."
Snape stopped there to take out his wand. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he sent the books that had been piled up in the corner flying at the students. I barely caught mine.
"This class is grueling, brutal, and…unpleasant." He hissed the last word out slowly, as if to formally begin the torture that the class would bring. "I expect each student to do his or her work by themselves and do it perfectly." He leaned back against his desk and looked at me. I heard myself gulp down the knot that was forming in my throat.
"Some professors think that advanced students have earned the right to pick their own partner for the class." A smirk slid slowly to his face, but his next words came rather blunt. "I am not one of those professors. I'll be pairing you up and switching you around as the year drags by." He cast a glare at one of the Ravenclaw boys. "I don't want students of unequal talent working with each other. Then the weaker of the two students might try to cheat. Isn't that right, Mr. Simons?"
The Ravenclaw boy paled until he was the color of a white sheet. He nodded his head profusely.
"I thought so," said Snape, in his oily voice. He started to bark out directions to the students, pairing them up and pointing them to the table where they would work. Justine, who was paired up with a boy from Slytherin, sent me a tortured look as she walked to a table in the front of the room. Angela, on the other hand, was fortunate enough to stay with her chosen partner.
Snape was halfway through pairing up the Slytherins when he looked back at me.
"Miss Swan, it says on your transcript that you are an excellent potions student. Top of the class even. Fully capable of brewing a great number of complex potions."
His voice suggested that he was mocking me, as if he to say that no sixth year was capable of being anything other than foolish and stupid. It unnerved me.
Snape tapped his wand on the side of Justine's new desk, pretending – I was very sure he was pretending – to be thinking hard. His words came out in a slow, inquisitive voice. "If that is true… I do believe that you have succeeded in surpassing nearly everyone in the class." His voice grew in volume with each word, and his eyes snapped to the students. Everyone seemed to shrink in size under his glare.
With a sick sort of amusement written in his black, beady eyes, Snape turned back to me. His voice returned to normal. "You'll be working with the only other person in this class that hasn't proven to be a complete dunderhead."
His eyes flashed to the one student that was in the back of the classroom.
I froze.
"Cullen, Swan, last desk, four row," Snape snapped, pointing at the designated table.
It took me a moment to remember how to move my feet. When I succeeded in remembering, I began my slow, funeral march to the back of the classroom. Edward was already there, with a look on his face that suggested that he had just tasted something foul.
Edward didn't look at me for the duration of the class; in fact, he looked in the opposite direction with his hands curled tightly into fists. Halfway through the class I heard him mumble something under his breath: I was appalled when I caught a whiff of clean, scentless air coming from the tip of his wand.
He thought I smelled bad?!
I would have normally been embarrassed, but I was far too confused for that. Cautiously, I sniffed my hair. Normal, strawberry scented hair.
Sighing, I buried my face into my hands. What was up with this guy? Did he have some sort of vendetta against me?
When class ended, I shut my book with a loud, irritated 'bang'. I expected Edward to rush out of the room, like he did in every other class I had with him, but this time he stayed put. He caught me eyeing him and pointedly looked away. He gathered his books up with far more grace than I thought possible, and started to walk to the front of the classroom, toward Snape.
I stood there, dumbfounded. I couldn't believe that he would go as far as to ask to change seats!
He didn't even know me!
Feeling rather hurt and unworthily, I hurried out of the classroom, leaving detestable Potions and stupid Edward Cullen behind.
AN: I have a nasty feeling that I had alot more gramatical errors in this chapter. Please point them out so I can fix them!
Chapter Trivia!
Yes, the whole Snape is a vampire thing is an ironic little joke. There is more to that (no, Snape is not actually a vampire) so stay tuned.
Bella's schedule (They rotate by days): Day One: 9:00 Charms, 10:00 Herbology, 11:00 Artimancy, 2:00 Potions; Day Two: 10:00 Transfiguration, 11:00 Defense Against the Dark Arts, 1:00 Ancient Runes.
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