As the Slytherin prefect led the first-years to their dormitories, Sarah walked dazedly, not really paying much attention to her surroundings. She was amazed by the mesmerizing sights, she truly was, but she was too busy thinking about how she ended up in Slytherin. Most of them don't seem to like me, she thought. But why? Some people just automatically had others gravitate to them. Is it because they are rich? That could be it. That blond boy certainly seemed like he had a lot of money. Or maybe it's because I am new to the Wizarding world. She thought of the other kids who had stood with her in line. But there are others who have Muggle parents! She realized, though, that none of them had ended up in her House. That has to be a coincidence though, the fact that only Slytherins hate Muggle-borns, if that's why they hate me. The more I think about it though, the more it seems true. Or maybe they just knew each other from before. That could be why they were comfortable with each other already, and didn't need a new friend, she tried to convince herself. But she knew that it didn't explain some of the glares she had gotten. She'd heard someone hiss 'Mudblood' with a dirty look in her direction, but she had no idea what the word meant. I shouldn't generalize, but I just don't feel like I'm like them at all in personality. Why am I in this House? She recalled the Sorting Hat's words to her.
"Ah, I see we have an interesting mind here," it had said to her. "Intelligence is there, certainly. You seem bold and outgoing, and you treat people well. You are trustworthy and loyal. But I see that your experience with a new school two years ago made you cynical about people."
"Hey!" Sarah had interjected with her thoughts. "How do you know all of this about my past?" She found it a bit strange to be having a conversation with another being entirely within her head. The lack of spoken words felt weird.
"I'm the Sorting Hat, girl. I know everything about your personality, so did it not occur to you that I can see everything on your mind?" Sarah turned red at the thought that the Hat could read her mind, but the Hat continued, not giving her time to dwell. "You don't trust others because of this, and therefore you put yourself above others. You are definitely a mixture of many Houses. You want to use your intelligence to prove yourself and display your capabilities, and you want to grow up to become great. But yet, you aren't cunning, and you wear your heart on your sleeve, so you are more likely to be taken advantage of."
"Even you think so?" Sarah asked the Hat. "I wish I wasn't like that. I don't want to necessarily take advantage of people, but I'd prefer that to being taken advantage of."
"I see. That's the most important part. What you want, what things you value. Seeing that these are the traits that you value, and seeing as you already possess many of the qualities such as intelligence, ambition, determination, and resourcefulness, I think I know the right place for you."
"SLYTHERIN!" The Sorting Hat had yelled.
I guess I can only blame myself for being in Slytherin, Sarah thought with a shrug. Oh well. I'm used to not fitting in at school. It won't be worse here. At least I have magic. There's so much to study and learn about here that I don't need anyone to fight boredom here. Besides, I can talk to people from other Houses too.
"Hello, are you listening to a word I'm saying?" Catriona, the girl who had sat next to Sarah at dinner, asked. "I've been trying to get your attention for the last two minutes!" Sarah nearly smacked herself for her stupidity. How could she have forgotten about Catriona, the only person who had talked to her at dinner? I just don't think of her as one of the Slytherins. She's more like me. I'm sure she has Slytherin qualities, and maybe she is even cunning and hides it well, but when I think of the Slytherins, I picture the others. I don't loop myself or her in with them. I'm going to have to get used to the fact that I am a Slytherin too.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to ignore you. I was just thinking," Sarah replied.
"Is something wrong?" Catriona asked, her eyes softening with concern.
"No, I'm fine," Sarah said with a smile. "I was just thinking that it's surprising that we ended up in Slytherin."
"Yeah, I know. Oh well, what can we do? We can just enjoy ourselves and make the other Slytherins jealous that they're not as fun as us." Catriona grinned at her.
"Yeah!" Sarah said enthusiastically. She glimpsed, out of the corner of her eye, Tom Riddle walking quietly, not talking to anyone. She felt sympathy for him. He had gotten as unenthusiastic of a response as she had, and she at least had Catriona. He, though, had no one. Maybe he likes it better this way, she thought. After all, when I first met him, he came off as quiet, not sociable. But he did talk to me well enough for someone who's quiet, and I shouldn't assume that he prefers to be lonely. As she was thinking about this, they got to a stone wall.
"Ambitionis," the Prefect said. The wall parted, revealing a grand room that was ornately furnished. Green lamps cast an almost eerie glow about the room, but Sarah thought that the 'almost' part made the room's glow beautiful instead of creepy. A fireplace sat right across from where the students stood, and the warm, orange fire helped to somewhat neutralize the green-dominated room that would've otherwise looked dreary and gloomy with its green and black couches and dark wooden cupboards. "This will be the password until it changes," the Prefect continued, shaking Sarah out of her thoughts, "and I will inform you when the change occurs." She took in the Prefect's appearance. He was a dark-haired boy with icy-blue eyes and prominent cheekbones, and he had a lean, lithe frame. He's attractive, Sarah noted with a slight blush. I don't think any of the boys in my year look like him.
"Sarah, why are you staring at the Prefect?" Catriona whispered, noticing her gaze.
"He's hot," she replied sheepishly.
"What? Ew. He also happens to be my brother!" Catriona stated simply. Sarah looked at Catriona in surprise, and was shocked at the resemblance between the siblings that she hadn't noticed until now. Catriona had the same, silky brown hair, though it was a shade lighter than her brother's and hung down to a few inches past her shoulders. Her eyes were the same, stunning icy-blue, but they were framed with long, dark, thick lashes that made her eyes look bigger and wider than her brother's. Even their lips were shaped the the same. They both had thin lips, but Catriona's were more relaxed, at least around Sarah, as if she would smile at any minute. Her brother, on the other hand, looked as if he hadn't smiled in ages. They look so similar yet so different, Sarah thought in wonder at the oxymoron.
"Oh. Well, don't worry," Sarah finally replied to Catriona's statement. "He's too old for me anyway." Catriona's brother spoke again before the girls could say anything more.
"Girls' dormitories are down to the right, boys' are to the left," he pointed out. "Get a good night's sleep - you'll need it for tomorrow." With that, he turned and walked to his dormitory. Sarah turned to find Tom, and found him standing off to her right.
"Good night Tom," she said with a smile. "Sleep tight, and don't let the bedbugs bite. I can't help but feel that those are a real concern here, even though we have magic."
"Thanks," Tom smiled back slightly. "You too. See you tomorrow." Then, he turned and joined the other boys who were walking towards their dormitories, and she turned and walked to her dormitory with Catriona. The two girls grabbed adjacent beds, not caring about who else would be sleeping near them since they just wanted to be next to each other. Sarah fell asleep without another word, tired from the day's events but exceedingly happy at the day's events in her new world.
Sarah's eyes fluttered open the next morning. She turned over in her bed, preparing to wake up and get ready for the first day, but she froze as she heard a smushing sound beneath her. Her arms too, now that she thought of it, felt oddly crusted over with something strange. She looked down at her arms, which she was shocked to find were covered with a sticky green goop. The green goop covered her all over.
"EEeeewwwwwww!" she screamed, rolling out of bed and falling to the floor in an attempt to get up and rush to the bathroom to wash the gunk off. A few of the nearby girls stirred in their beds at the noise, including Catriona. Sarah got up with some difficulty and started to walk.
"Stop defiling our dormitory, Mudblood. You're getting that filth everywhere," a slender girl with long white-blond hair and silver eyes sneered, her face contorting with disgust at the sight of Sarah getting the slimy green goop all over the floor. The other girls sniggered at the girl's double meaning. Sarah felt her eyes prick with hot tears, but she fought them off. I can already tell that the Slytherin House is no place for tears, she told herself. The Sorting Hat deemed me fit for Slytherin, but he told me that I wore my heart on my sleeve, which was one of the things keeping me from Slytherin. I refuse to do that anymore. If they can be foul to me, at least I can anger them back by refusing to give them satisfaction. With this thought, Sarah turned once more towards the bathroom. But by this time, Catriona was fully awake, and her face was red, her eyes alight with anger. She glared at the blonde girl.
"You disgust me, Celia" she began. "You say she is the disgusting one, but in reality it's you who's the filth. You're filth because you can't treat Sarah like a human being. It's people like you who make Slytherin look bad, who give Slytherin the unfortunate reputation it has today. So please, improve our day by just keeping your mouth shut." She reached for her wand, and for a split second Sarah was worried that Catriona would hex Celia. But instead, Catriona pointed her wand at Sarah.
"Scourgify," she said clearly. All the gunk disappeared from Sarah's body. Catriona then turned her wand at the floor and cleaned it up.
"At least I actually act like a proper Slytherin," Celia finally hissed back. "You seem more Hufflepuff than anything. Useless, good-for-nothings they are, those Hufflepuffs. You disgrace the Slytherin House with your lack of etiquette and propriety. I'm surprised that you weren't placed in Hufflepuff along with all the other useless losers," she hissed. Sarah saw Catriona's eyes become marginally more watery, and she stopped breathing for a few seconds and gasped. However, Catriona, like Sarah, held her tears back and glared at the girl instead.
"Well, clearly I'm in Slytherin, so I belong here," she replied hotly. "I think the Sorting Hat, a magical object of the Founders, knows better than a bigoted idiot like you. So you better not mess with me and Sarah. Because I have a few hexes up my sleeve too." With that, Catriona turned and walked into the bathroom and slammed the door behind her, leaving a stunned Sarah in her wake. She was very surprised that Catriona had stood up for her against the girls like that, putting her own reputation on the line on the very first day. Wow, she really is brave and strong-willed, Sarah thought in admiration, not letting the girls get to her, and not letting them intimidate her. She antagonized them for me, even though she could've been perfectly friendly with them and survived socially because she's a pureblood. I don't think I could've done that if I were in her position. She went to take a shower, where the hot water helped her relax and calm down so that she could face the day ahead. It will be best if I go to classes with a clear head, she told herself. The classes are what are important right now. She found that there was lavender-scented soap, and she reveled in the beautiful floral scent that wafted from the air around her as the soap's fragrance diffused throughout. Once she managed to get out of the wonderfully warm water, she quickly put her uniform on and wrestled a comb through her poofy, thick, tangled black hair. The fact that her hair was only shoulder-length made her hair texture look more repulsive, in her opinion. I'll need to get hair product soon, Sarah thought. Or, better yet, learn how to use magic to tame it. There's gotta be some spells for that, right? After all, nearly everyone I've seen here, at least in my House, has perfect hair. The ones who don't, well, I don't want to look like them. I don't want to be lumped in with them. With this discouraging thought in mind, she straightened her silver-and-green striped tie and walked into the common room, where she found Catriona waiting for her.
"Took you long enough," Catriona remarked.
"Sorry, hair issues," Sarah mumbled. "C'mon, let's go." As they walked towards the Great Hall for breakfast, Sarah had the urge to ask Catriona a question. She wasn't sure if it would be right, and she didn't want to upset Catriona, but she was curious.
"Hey, Catriona, if you don't mind me asking, why were you so upset when Celia insulted Hufflepuffs?" Sarah saw the pained, haunted expression return behind Catriona's eyes, and instantly regretted asking. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have -"
"No, it's okay," Catriona replied, though her voice had lost its previous energy and was now no more than a whisper. She took a deep breath. "Celia's words bothered me because my dad was a Hufflepuff."
"Really? No wonder you were offended by her insults. Don't take them to heart though. Clearly she's wrong about Hufflepuffs, especially if your dad was one. I mean, she's never met him. She can't judge him." Sarah tried to cheer Catriona up, but instead tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Of course she hasn't met him. And she never can. My father's dead." Catriona voice broke as she spoke those words. Sarah didn't know what to say. I can't believe it. She's had such a tragedy in her life, and she still manages to be cheerful. And I thought I had issues. My problems at my old school, my loneliness there, were so petty.
"I'm - I'm sorry, Catriona," Sarah finally managed.
"It's okay," Catriona said back. They finally got to the Great Hall, and sat down at their House table. Breakfast was silent between the two girls though, and Sarah regretted killing their previously cheerful mood. There was a delectable variety of food for breakfast, but Sarah only managed to eat a slice of buttered toast. The post owls arrived, and two of them dropped a letter in front of Sarah and Catriona respectively. Sarah opened her letter.
Dear Sarah,
How are you? We hope you reached Hogwarts safely, though since this is all magic, I trust you did. We miss you terribly already - not sure how your mom and brother are going to get through the whole year. We hope that you managed to make new friends and are having a good time. We always knew you were special, and now you are able to go to this school of magic! Do focus on your studies, now more than ever, and other than that, stay safe, be good, and have fun.
From,
Dad, Mom, and Eddie
Sarah looked over at Catriona and saw a small smile on her face. She didn't ask what was in the letter though. I've intruded enough for today, she thought. She's my friend, and I can ask her about herself and all, but not today. Not after I've already made her remember such a tragic memory. They received their schedules, and the two girls compared them.
"Oh, we have all of our classes together!" Catriona exclaimed. "This is great!" They walked off to Transfiguration first, and they found that they had class with the Gryffindors. Most people, Slytherins and Gryffindors alike, looked disgruntled by the fact, but Sarah and Catriona were thrilled. The Gryffindors seemed very friendly and outgoing, like them, and they hoped that they could be the ones to break the House prejudices. Sarah looked around, surveying her classmates, and was happy when she saw Tom amongst them. He seemed to have settled down before everyone else, and was engrossed in reading the Transfiguration book for the class.
"C'mon, let's go sit next to Tom," Sarah told Catriona. "I talked to him on the train ride, and he's pretty cool, even though he's quiet."
"Alright, one person is just as good as another for me," Catriona said. They sat down next to Tom, and Sarah swore she saw an expression of irritation flit across his face, but it disappeared just as quickly.
"Hey," Sarah said.
"Hello," Tom replied.
"Looks like someone is getting a last-minute head start," Sarah remarked lightly. Tom shrugged in response.
"I was bored. So I figured I might as well reread."
"Well, that's good. Keep reading," Catriona put in. "I heard that teachers give House points to students who answer questions in class correctly. You'll be really helpful for us." Tom's face barely changed, but Sarah was sure she saw a little smugness in his face. She put on a mock-offended expression.
"Hey, what am I, some ditzy blonde? Sorry, no offense to blondes," Sarah said quickly, looking around to make sure no blond kid heard them. Thankfully, no one seemed to be paying attention to their conversation. "I did some reading over the summer too though. I love how you assume that Tom is the only one who can earn us House points in class." Catriona laughed in response.
"No need to be so jealous, Sarah. I never said that Tom was the only one who could, I just said that he certainly would help since he is reading so much." Tom cracked a smile, and Sarah felt immensely satisfied for some reason. Because she was sure that he wasn't a very social person, she was sure that he didn't smile much, and certainly not at others' words. Therefore, the fact that she got him to smile was satisfying. Before she could add anything, the teacher walked in, and everyone stopped talking. Sarah saw that the smile had slipped from Tom's face, and was replaced by a frown, but she didn't think much of it.
"Good morning, class. My name is Professor Dumbledore."
"Good morning Professor Dumbledore," the class said in unison.
"I hope that this will be a class that you will all enjoy. I enjoy teaching it because it's very hands-on. This class will be mostly about doing, not memorizing theory and facts." Sarah smiled. That was the kind of learning she liked best - learning in which she could eventually do something with it. She didn't actually mind learning theory, but either the theory really had to be interesting, or it had to be important for doing something practical.
"Unfortunately, we will first have to take notes." The class groaned, disappointed that they wouldn't be jumping right in to trying wand work. Professor Dumbledore explained the first spell that they'd be doing and the wand motion needed, and then continued.
"Today, we will attempt to transfigured a matchbox into a needle. Like this." He showed them, and then asked the class to give it a try. Sarah took out her wand and, concentrating furiously, moved it the way Professor Dumbledore showed them. The spell is harder than Professor Dumbledore made it out to be, Sarah thought to herself in frustration. After several tries, Sarah's matchbox looked like a cross between a matchbox and a needle. It was silver and pointy, but the other end was as wide as the matchbox had been. She looked over at Tom and saw him give another try. That try was the charm for him, because a needle now lay in front of him. He raised his hand.
"Good job Tom. Ten points to Slytherin since you were the first to transfigured it perfectly." Professor Dumbledore didn't seem as bright and happy as he had earlier. He was talking slower, and his smile looked smaller.
"Thank you sir," Tom replied a bit stiffly. His stiff tone didn't keep him from turning to smirk at Sarah, though. She simply scowled in return.
"Alright, class dismissed," Professor Dumbledore said.
"Ha, I beat you," Tom told Sarah smugly once he and the two girls had left class.
"Yeah yeah, I saw. My senses function, you know, so you don't have to tell me. It doesn't matter. I'm happy it wasn't some Gryffindor, that's all. At least it was our House that got the points. Anyway, what class do you have next, Tom? Catriona and I have Potions next," Sarah told him quickly before he could remark on her clear disappointment. She didn't miss the triumphant smirk on his face, however, and heat rushed into her face. I'll best him in something soon, she thought determinedly. He won't beat me in everything. I won't let him be that good.
"Sarah, just call me Cat," Catriona interjected. "You're my friend, so I don't mind the nickname from you." Sarah smiled at her words, her cheeks returning to their normal temperature as she forgot about Tom for the moment. Friends. She's claimed me as her friend. Perhaps our friendship might actually work out well after all.
"I have Potions too," Tom said, and though he tried to keep his tone neutral, Sarah could tell he was less than thrilled, and she grinned at this. If nothing else, she could annoy him so that he wouldn't act as superior around her, even if he did beat her. She knew that him beating her was a possibility since she wasn't the most studious person ever.
"Great!" Sarah said excitedly. "Then we can walk to our classes together, at least today. What classes do you have tomorrow?"
"Charms, then History of Magic," Tom replied.
"Awesome, same for both of us! And tell me that you have Herbology and Defense Against the Dark Arts the day after, along with Astronomy at night!" Tom nodded in assent.
"Brilliant! We have all our classes together! This'll be fun. We'll have tons of time to become great friends." Sarah thought she heard Tom mumble something like 'oh great'. They reached the Potions classroom and sat down. Since they had to sit in pairs, Sarah and Catriona ended up sitting together, while Tom was stuck with a Slytherin boy who had blond hair. I think that's Malfoy, Sarah thought. I'm pretty sure Malfoy is the only blond boy in Slytherin. She looked around the room, and her eyes fell on a short, chubby man with strawberry-blond hair and a gingery blond moustache. Once all the students had walked in and found places to sit, the teacher walked to the front of the room and turned to face the students.
"Good morning class, my name is Professor Slughorn. In this class we will learn to brew many concoctions, from healing potions to poisons and everything in between. Today, you will attempt to create Cure for Boils, using just your books and your partner for help. Do not worry if you are unable to get the potion right. I will demonstrate tomorrow in front of the class how to brew it, but I want to see what you can make of the potions instructions on your own, to get an idea of where you are ability-wise. There are ingredients in the cupboard if you don't have all the ones needed. You may now turn to the appropriate page in your books and begin." Sarah quickly flipped to the page and skimmed through the needed ingredients. She rushed out of her seat to get the ones that she needed.
"We should try to be the first ones to finish. It'll be good if we can earn some House points. Professor Slughorn is our Head of House too, so we will impress him if we do well," Sarah stated. Catriona nodded in agreement, and the girls got to work.
"We have to be careful to follow the instructions precisely," Catriona emphasized. "We can't be even a little careless about even the smallest details of the instructions, or else the potion could go horribly wrong."
"Messed up many potions in your day, have you?" Sarah teased.
"No," Catriona scoffed. "My brother has though. He's messed up so many that he's melted several cauldrons." Sarah tried to imagine him ruining the potions and being covered in melted metal, and the image of his perfect appearance being marred made her laugh. Wait, did I just think that he was perfect? Sarah asked herself. She admitted that he was quite good-looking. But he's Catriona's brother, she reprimanded herself. Besides, he's far too old. Still good to look at though. And there's no harm in looking. Her mind then registered what Catriona had said, and another thought came to her mind.
"I thought he couldn't do magic outside of school? That none of us can?"
"You think he'd listen? Besides, that rule is stricter for Muggleborns. Wizarding children can get away with it because our parents do magic, so the Trace is useless for us. Our parents have to enforce that rule, and I don't see why most parents would care or want to restrict their child from practicing magic."
"That's unfair," Sarah pouted, but then she went back to working on the potion. The girls finished before class was over, and Sarah looked around to see if anyone else was done. She was satisfied to see that Tom was still on the second-to-last step. She quickly raised her hand, and Professor Slughorn came over to inspect it.
"Excellent job, Miss Aylette and Miss Prince. Ten points to Slytherin."
"Your last name is Prince?" Sarah asked Catriona in surprise. She shrugged.
"Yeah. I know it's a strange last name, since a prince is a guy, but I'll get married and my last name will change eventually, so oh well." Sarah then turned and smirked victoriously at Tom. It's my turn to be smug now, Sarah thought with glee. Once class was over, Sarah walked over to Tom to gloat.
"Ha, who beat who now?"
"Well, you had a relatively competent partner," Tom began.
"I'm more than just relatively competent," Catriona interjected incredulously, but neither Tom nor Sarah noticed.
"While my partner barely did anything and expected me to do all the work, acting like he was a king or something, and that he was above doing all the hard work of making the potion," Tom finished as if she hadn't spoken.
"Excuses, excuses," Sarah teased. "Well, clearly we are all smart. If we work together, we can really boost our House score, and hopefully help us win the House cup."
"As long as we do relatively well in Quidditch," Catriona added.
"I prefer competition," Tom said.
"Competition?" Sarah rolled her eyes. "Tom, we are in the same House. All points go to the same place. So why compete?"
"That, if anything, is more reason to compete. If we try to outdo each other, other Houses won't stand a chance of earning points in class, if today was any indication of anything. We'll be sure to win." Tom reasoned. Well, his logic does make sense, Sarah thought. And besides, I do enjoy competing. It's fun when I beat other people in something. It feels good, feeling like I'm the best at whatever it is I beat them in. The feeling of being the best is satisfying. Very much so.
"All right. Bring on the competition. You'll regret it when I beat you."
"Ha. You wish. Okay, it's on." They shook hands, and then the three walked towards the Great Hall. Sarah felt happy and eagerly anticipated the next days's classes.
A.N. I had initially considered putting Sarah and Tom together in Potions, but I didn't want to separate her from Catriona, her new best friend. It seemed unrealistic, and I figured it would be more fun to pit her and Tom against each other in friendly competition! Reviews are appreciated, as always! I thrive off of them :) Happy reading!