Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or events you may recognize from the Harry Potter books and movies; they, to my utter distress, belong to the brilliant JK Rowling. The rest, however, is mine- mine all MINE! Mua ha ha… (evil laugh).

Chapter 10: An Unusual Beginning to the Year

The next morning, as we had predicted, was very entertaining. Lydia strutted up to Sirius, head high, and boldly asked him, "Is it true that you're dating that Evans creature?" It convinced me, once and for all, that she really was, to put it lightly, pretty much clueless. First of all, we had told her. Second of all, we were, in plain sight, sitting together and holding hands. You'd think she would get the point! I was kind of glad she didn't, though, because Sirius' answer was very sweet- and the look on her face when she heard it was worth any frustration her stupidity might have caused me. Sirius simply answered, "Why wouldn't I? How couldn't I?" and flashed me a smile. She stomped away in a huff, and decided to head toward the Slytherin table, where her boyfriend was.

I couldn't help laughing when she left. "We told her last night- I guess she just didn't want to believe it." Sirius nodded and turned back to his food. Soon the mail came, and a small, white owl brought me a rather large package. Poor thing, I thought as I took it from it and turned it around in my hands; it had only my name on it. I slowly unwrapped it and was delighted with its contents. It was a box filled with chocolate frogs, string mints, and three small, dark books. "Oh, Rose, look!"

Rose hesitantly took out one of the volumes, Romeo and Juliet, and flipped through it quickly. "What are these? I've never heard of them."

I stared open-mouthed at her. "Never hear-Rose, these are some of the greatest things ever written! You can't tell me you haven't heard tell of William Shakespeare!"

She sat for a moment, thoughtful, then nodded, putting the book back into the box. "Didn't he write something about a helmet?"

"Actually, I believe you're thinking of Hamlet. Very tragic." I went on excitedly about each of the books until Rose pointed out that we were nearly the only ones in the hall, and should probably go. With panic, I looked around to see that she was right; there were only thirty or so people on the surrounding tables. Without another word, we got up and practically ran to my dormitory to put my package away and fetch our schoolbooks. I was very nearly late to my first class: the study of Ancient Runes. Professor Gildes, a young, friendly witch, merely smiled at me and welcomed me to her class. The class was very interesting, and I was nearly bored to death in my next class: potions.

Professor Caudron scowled when Emma and I entered the dungeon together. "Is there a reason you're here, Miss Ebon and Miss Westley?"

"It's Evans," I answered with a smile, "and yes, we are going to be in this class for the rest of the year, sir." His scowl deepened and he roughly told us to sit down. We silently obeyed, but when he turned around, I made a face at his back, making Sirius (who had seated himself next to me without my noticing) snicker. I smiled at him and looked around. To my disappointment, I hardly knew anyone, though this was mostly because we were sharing the class with the Slytherins. I spotted the girls in my new dormitory, who waved to me, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy and his bodyguards-I wasn't sure of their names, but they made me more than a bit nervous- and Remus and James, who were sitting behind Sirius and me. Next to them was a short, rather plump boy with mousy hair that was plastered to his head. He seemed rather jumpy and kept making attempts to start conversation with the Marauders.

I elbowed Sirius. "Who is that boy?" I asked quietly.

He looked the direction I was indicating with my head. "Er… I think his name is Peter…I'm not sure. Why?"

I shrugged lightly. "Just curious," I replied. Just then the lesson began. Professor Caudron waved his wand and a recipe appeared on the board.

"Wands away, to those of you who were foolish enough to take them out. Yes, that would be you, Mister Pettigrew." The Slytherins laughed cruelly as the boy behind me sheepishly pocketed his wand, face burning. I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Professor Caudron smirked, pleased with his favorite students' reaction, and flicked his wand toward the blackboard at the front of the room. He continued, "Your assignment, students, is to figure out what this potion is called and what it is used for. The first one to find it" he looked to my left, where Severus Snape was sitting tall and alert "will earn five points for his house. Then you must make it. I will donate all the correctly made ones to St. Mungo's hospital, and if your potion is chosen, you will earn fifteen points." He looked around at the class with a smirk that told us that he didn't think he would be awarding many points. " You may begin."

I studied the ingredients and instructions. "Eye of newt, unicorn hair…" I mumbled, trying to remember what it was. The rest of the class, except Severus Snape and myself, was searching in Powerful Draughts and Potions and How to Make and Use Them. After a few moments my hand shot up. Professor Caudron watched me for a few moments before turning away. I was sure he had seen my hand, but he seemed determined to ignore me.

Soon another hand went up. "Yes, Mister Snape."

"The potion's name is Sleeper's Wake and is used to revive people in a coma or a charmed sleep. It can be deadly, however, and is rarely used unless there is an extreme case."

The professor nodded. "Excellent. Five points to Slytherin."

I frowned slightly. I clearly had had my hand up before Severus, and I had known the answer; in fact, I could have stated it better than he had. I slowly let my hand down and turned to my left, where Snape was sitting tall, looking pleased with himself. We'll see who's really the best in this class, I thought angrily and set to work making the potion.

At the end of class, Professor Caudron had to admit that mine was the only potion perfectly made and fit to send to the hospital. I turned to see Snape glaring at me; I guess he had put in a bit too much dandelion root. I smiled to myself. So there, Severus Snape. This year you've got competition.

Break went too quickly for me, though I was happy to go on to my two final classes for the day: Defense Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures. Defense Against the Dark Arts was taught by a tall, rather ruggedly handsome young wizard who looked like he himself had recently attended Hogwarts. Indeed, when one of my roommates, Kathryn, asked him if he had, he smiled, nodded, and said that he had only graduated two years earlier. To our further delight, he had been in Gryffindor. All us girls, Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs alike, couldn't help but stare at him during his welcome and instructions and sneak glances at him while practicing disarming each other as a warm up. Our previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professor was a wizened old witch who acted just like she looked: horrible and old. We could all agree that Professor Deftley was more than a bit of an improvement. By the end of the lesson, Sirius, who'd been my partner for the assignment, was very unhappy and glaring at Deftley.

Professor Senzo, who taught Care of Magical Creatures, was small and stern, but he knew what he was talking about. We didn't interact with any animals, but he thoroughly introduced us to the topic and invited us to come and see some animals he had captured for temporary display. There were nufflers, several species of snakes, and many other flying, crawling, and swimming things. I liked the pixies the best. I was shocked to find out they were not of a sweet temperament. I had put a finger through the bars of the cage against Remus' council and got a nasty bite, even if it was small. "In the future we will be working with creatures such as unicorn colts and different species of lizards," Senzo said at the end of the class, "you're assignment, due in a week, is to research the creature of your choice and write an essay about it. It must be at least two feet long. Class dismissed!"

After Sirius helped me gather my books, he walked me toward the common room. On our way we met an odd sight. Peter Pettigrew, as I had gathered his name to be, was hopping around with his legs bound together, having difficulty keeping his balance. A large crowd had formed around him, laughing and jeering when he finally tipped over in their midst. Among them were several people in my House. I could feel my temper rising. Is this how true Gryffindors acted? I was reminded of my first year, when James had tortured Severus Snape. No one had offered to help him either. I knew why now, of course, but I would have thought they would have had enough compassion not to laugh at the blood pouring down his robes.

Teeth clenched, I stepped forward and the crowd grew silent. I quickly preformed the counterjinx and helped Peter up. "You okay?"

He nodded, looking at the ground.

"Malfoy?" I asked knowingly.

Again, he nodded.

"He's horrible, isn't he?"

He nodded more vigorously than ever and I laughed merrily. "Just stand up to him. He loves when people cower in front of him. It gives him a sense of power."

"Yes, it does, Evans," came a cold voice behind me. I whirled around to look into the handsome, yet pale and pointed face of Lucius Malfoy. I glared at him.

"Go away. You've done enough damage for one day, Malfoy."

"I don't have to go away, Evans. I can pretty much do as I please. Like this." I didn't hear what spell he uttered, but the next moment was reeling in pain on the ground (A/N: no, it was not crucio- he's not powerful enough to use Unforgivables yet).

"Leave her alone!" I heard a male voice shout and soon there were loud voices and fast movements all around me. The pain began to leave, but I felt an unbearable chill filling my body. Soon I could not move at all, and the pain was back. Just like when I had fallen off the train, everything was blurring, spinning, and fading into darkness. The next thing I knew, I awoke in the hospital wing. I looked around me, and was pleased to see that Remus and James were in chairs next to my bed, heads in their hands, both looking very much like they were asleep.

"Am I really that boring to watch sleep?" I asked with amusement.

James jerked awake and shook Remus, who pushed him away at first, but finally opened his eyes and looked up. They both grinned. "About time you came around," said Remus, "we were starting to get worried."

"Yeah, you seem to have a knack for getting into tough situations," James said.

"Like I don't already know that," I said. I tried to sit up, but immediately lay back down. The sharp pain in my back, my neck, my head, basically all over, was unbearable. I groaned inwardly, not wanting my friends to know the agony I was in. "What in Merlin's name did he hit me with?"

They looked at each other. "Well…" Remus began, "we don't exactly…know. But it must've been really nasty, 'cause you've been cold as ice and this is the first time you've been conscious in ages."

I bit my lip. Ages? How much schoolwork had I missed? I looked to Remus. "Define 'ages'."

"Two days."

I let out a sigh of relief. Two days' worth I could handle. I only hoped they had kept it for me. "Where's Sirius? And Rose?"

In answer, the door opened and the two in question, along with Emma and Elizabeth, entered. They all looked relieved to see I was awake. Sirius and Elizabeth conjured a few more chairs and they all sat down. Sirius sat nearest me and took my hand, squeezing it. "It's good to see you," he said cheerfully.

"Thank you. It's good to see you, too," I replied with a smile, "So, what happened after I…went cold?"

That set everyone grinning, even the girls. "Well, it shouldn't be anything to be proud of," Remus said, earning snorts from Sirius and James, "but Malfoy got what he deserved."

"Well, I dunno about that, mate," Sirius said, "he deserves a lot more than the whole school would be able to give him. Him and Snape both."

"Very true, very true," James agreed heartily, "but we did our best, didn't we? Before Professor McGonagall came, at least."

I choked on a piece of chocolate frog, which I had taken from a table full of get-well cards and sweets. "McGonagall?"

"Yeah," Sirius said, and they all nodded. "Don't worry, she didn't take many points from Gryffindor when she saw what that slimball did to you. Oh, we gave him a few tails, some fur, and a really bad cough, put nothing life-threatening."

"Yeah, right," Rose retorted, "then why is he in the hospital wing?"

"Because he doesn't want to risk people seeing him-it'd ruin his reputation. Actually, it might redeem him from some Gryffindor scorn, they'd see it as a fitting penance, but he'd never live it up to his fellow Slytherins." He spat out the House name like it was worse than dirt.

"Malfoy's here?" I questioned, looking around. Spotting a bed with curtains around it in the very corner of the ward, I smirked. It did serve him right, whatever happened to him. I changed the subject a bit. "So… you'll have detentions, won't you?"

"Well, yeah," James said, "but we only have one, even it is in separate rooms. At least we won't have it with him." He jerked his thumb toward the corner. "Besides, he's got a whole week of them once the tails disappear."

We all laughed, which turned out to be a mistake. It alerted Madam Cuross, who briskly entered the room, shooing my friends away and insisting that I needed rest. She forced a vile potion down my throat and told me that I would be out of the hospital wing in three or four days, at the most, as long as I got enough sleep.

I soon had mixed feelings about taking that potion. I supposed it was to take away the pain, which it was doing, put with the aching went all other feeling in each and every part of my body. Therefore, I had no choice but to close my eyelids, which were becoming increasingly heavy, and surrender to sleep.

To my great happiness, I was out of the hospital wing by dinner the next day, and immediately began completing my pile of homework. Most teachers were sympathetic, and gave me simple assignments, a few essays, and instructions on how to perform spells that had been learned in my absence, which I was to practice. Professor Caudron, however, requested a three-foot long essay about the qualities of moonstones, which, Sirius informed me indignantly, hadn't even been covered in the classes I had missed. Determined not to give my least favorite teacher any excuse to give me more work, I researched moonstones thoroughly and completed nearly five feet in neat, small handwriting, and clear, to the point sentences. At my next potions session I knew I had accomplished my goal when he scowled at me and handed it back to me, a superb score written messily across the top. I grinned and cheerfully set about the task of completing Emma's and my Shrinking Solution, which, I might add, got full points. It was a good day, which ended with me staying up late (I didn't have classes in the morning, as it was almost the weekend) eating, with Sirius's help, the rest of the candy sent up to the hospital by friends and well-wishers. I picked up a card attached to a bag of Bertti Bott's Every Flavor Beans. With a smile, I found that it was from Professor Deftely.

"Dear Miss Evans,

I was most distressed to hear of your injury. Please accept my best wishes and hope for a speedy recovery. I'm missing my best student! Don't tell anyone, but I don't like that Malfoy person very much, never have (I was Head Boy when he was in his first year and he caused more than a bit of trouble for me) and it does not surprise me much that he would sink as low as to curse a lovely girl like yourself. All the more reason to come to my classes, right? If it ever happens again, you'll be ready. As you can tell, I still have Gryffindor spirit! By the way, do you play Quidditch? In case you haven't heard, Gryffindor's team captain last year was a chaser, and he and a few others graduated last year. I think you should try out for the position if you do fly. I love Quidditch; much better than any muggle sport, don't you think? Again, I hope you recover soon!

Sincerely yours, and best wishes,

Professor Ryan Deftley"

At the beginning of the note I thought he was trying to sound too professional, but as he went on I felt he was very likable, very likable indeed. I blushed when he called me lovely, and giggled a bit when I finished reading it, which made my boyfriend snatch it out of my hands. He read it threw quickly and tossed it aside, grumbling. "Aw…Siri?" I said teasingly, "Are you jealous?"

He looked at me. "I'm starting to think it was a mistake, asking you out, actually." My mouth fell open.

"Why?"

He grinned, glancing at the note from Deftley. "Oh, only because every other male student, not to mention professor, is chasing after you."

I blushed deeply and slapped him playfully. Picking up the card again, I said, "Well, I guess you're right. And I thought I had it bad, with you being supposedly handsome." I laughed as he chased me up to my dormitory, only to have the staircase turn into a slide. "Good night, Sirius!" I called as he gathered up my things and stomped off towards the boys' dormitories, stuffing my very last Pumpkin Patty in his mouth as he mounted the stairs.

End of Chapter