America's Witch 10- Study Time and Tea
"You know where the library is?"
"Not yet. Though it's on my list of places to go tomorrow."
"Or this afternoon? It's either the library or the common room." I shrug.
"Let's just go to the common room." The guys nod and we go to the Slytherin Common Room.
"Did you really memorize our books?"
"All of them."
"You're gonna ace this term, I can tell." I shrug and we get to the portrait at the door.
"Password?" The portrait is small…but he's got a voice that echoes all through the hallway.
"Crimshood." The door swings open and we go into the common room. Draco and I sit on a black couch while Crabbe and Goyle sit across the little coffee table on a dark green couch.
"So, what are you guys having trouble with on the homework?" Draco sighs and shrugs.
"Everything. I looked at it and it made a bit of sense, but those two are plain stupid." They don't deny it, but they don't seem very happy that Draco called them stupid. I sigh and pull out my homework and book. The guys follow suit and I proceed to help them with the assignment.
"Well, I'm expected in the Main hall in a few minutes. See you guys later." I run to my room and put my bag on my bed before hurrying out and up to the main hall. I spot Ron and Harry and wave.
"Hey Ambellina. What did the three goons want?" I laugh slightly.
"Help with homework." We leave the castle and head down the grounds to a small house at the edge of the forest. A crossbow and a pair of galoshes are outside the door and when Harry knocks on the door, a scratching sound is heard and then something barks loudly.
"Back, Fang—back." Hagrid, the grounds keeper that led us across the lake on the first night, appears in the cracked door as he opens it. "Hang on. Back, Fang." We go inside, as Hagrid struggles to keep hold of the collar of the enormous black boarhound. I look around the single room. Hams and pheasants hanging from the ceiling…a copper kettle over an open fire. And a massive bed in the corner with a patchwork quilt over it. "Make yerselves at home." Hagrid lets go of Fang and he bounds up to Ron, to start licking his ears. Not as fierce as he looks.
"This is Ron, and Ambellina." Hagrid is pouring water out of the kettle into a large teapot and putting rock cakes onto a plate. They don't look like rock cakes…but whatever.
"Another Weasley, eh?" Hagrid starts over, glancing at Ron's freckles. "I spent half me life chasin' yer twin brothers away from the forest." The rock cakes are really shapeless lumps with raisins. I plead the fact that most things like that give me indigestion and the three of us proceed to tell Hagrid about classes this week. I glance at my watch and then remember that Draco had wanted to talk by the lake at three-thirty. And it's three twenty-five. I stand up.
"I hate to seem rude, but one of my housemates needs help with homework. And I wasn't thinking when I told them that I'd be available at three-thirty."
"Oh, that's fine, Ambellina." I hurry out of the house and run to the lake. I spot Draco, by himself for once, under a big tree by the lake. I hurry over and sit down by him. "What did you want to talk about?" He smirks.
"Things. Like allegiances." I raise an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, are you going to be making trouble for Slytherin?" I frown.
"And you were appointed the official 'Loyalty Monitor' when?" He shrugs.
"I'm just asking. Because there aren't many people…like you in Slytherin." I stand up.
"So you think I'm going to what? Give everyone in Slytherin a hard time because I have interests different from everyone else? That is so absurd and stupid! This is worse than middle school cliques!" I run back to the school and hurry to Gryffindor Tower.
"Password?" I sigh and examine the portrait. It's a giant portrait of a fat lady in a pink Victorian gown.
"Oh, I don't know." She frowns slightly.
"Well, if you don't know the password, I can't let you through." I sigh and lean on the wall. "Were you looking for someone?" I shrug.
"Just Hermione."
"Granger? A charming girl." I nod once.
"Do you happen to know if she's in the dorm?" I look at the Fat Lady for a response and she simply smiles, shaking her head.
"No. I think she went off to the library." I sigh. I still haven't made my way to the library.
"Which way would that be?" The Fat Lady looks a bit shocked that I don't know where it is, but she smiles broadly after a moment.
"I'll put in a word with—"
"And who is this? A wayward first year on the hunt for a friend?" A ghost comes through a wall, cutting her off, and I recognize him as the Gryffindor Ghost.
"You're…Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington?" He smiles and nods, nearly making his head fall.
"Why yes. A girl with sense. Now, where are you going?" I smile back at him.
"To the library. I'm in search of a friend of mine and I think that that's where she is." Nick laughs and starts to float in a direction.
"Well then, follow me." I follow Nick to the library and he leaves at the door. I walk through and look for Hermione. I spot her hair first and hurry over. I sit at the table with her and she looks up from her book.
"You did amazing in Potions today." I smile slightly, a bit embarrassed by that.
"Thanks, so did you. I saw you having to help Patil with the potion." As much as I draw attention, I really don't like it.
"It was great how you stood up to Snape. Especially since he's your Head of House." I sigh. And it's back to me.
"It wasn't fair that he acted like that against Harry and not me." Hermione nods slightly.
"He did ask you an Advanced Potions question." I nod slightly and put my head on the table. "What's wrong?"
"Slytherins are such jerks." Hermione laughs slightly.
"You are a Slytherin." I shake my head.
"Maybe the hat got it wrong. I am not a selfish little prick. And I am not a stereotype. I don't make assumptions about people based on what their interests are."
"Ambellina…" I look at Hermione and sigh.
"I'm sorry." She shakes her head.
"What happened?" I sigh again.
"First, my roommates are jerks just because of the fact that I have a lot of…'Muggle things' and then today, stupid Draco decided that he needed to make sure I was 'loyal'." Hermione laughs slightly.
"That is so pathetic. You can still transfer to Gryffindor." I shake my head.
"Even if the hat got it wrong, I got put into Slytherin. And I'm not a quitter. So…I'll deal with it. I'm sorry to just run in here and act like this." She smiles and shakes her head.
"It's okay. That's what friends are for." I smile slightly.
"Thanks, Hermione." She nods.
"So. Do you feel at least a bit better now you've unloaded?" I nod.
"A little." She nods again.
"Good. Now. Who are your roommates?" I roll my eyes.
"Pansy Parkinson—GAG—Millicent Bullstrode—not so GAG—and two others, I forget their names. But they're pretty…GAG too." Hermione raises an eyebrow.
"GAG?" I raise an eyebrow.
"You know? Gross and Gruesome." She laughs at that.
"Gross and gruesome? That bad?" I nod.
"Pansy tried to keep me and Millicent up since the noise from the fifth and sixth years was keeping her up. And her two goons just egged it on. Millicent got so ticked last night about it that I had to hold her back from giving Pansy a bloody nose." Hermione laughs slightly.
"Wow…so you get along with Millicent?" I shrug.
"Better than the other three. She's actually trying to be nice I think. Out of all of them, she's the only one who hasn't messed with me about my books or my other stuff."
"Well, that's good." I nod and get up to grab a book. I sit back down with Hermione and start to read. We read until dinner and walk to the Great Hall together.