Well, first semester of sophomore year is over. Now I'm free to write!

In reply to the Guest reviewer who keeps saying he/she doesn't like this story, I can only offer one piece of advice: If you don't like, then, don't read. I do, however, try my hardest to write better and take into consideration my reviewers' comments. That being said, constructive criticism is preferable. But, if you really don't like what I write, it's better to ignore this story if it's not to your taste.

Now that we've got that done, on with the story!

NOTE: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!

Chapter 12: So Far So Good

The morning was a chilly one when Jemma woke up, groggy and feeling far from refreshed. Last night's Sorting had made her a nervous wreck and she could still feel the leaden weight in her stomach as she dressed. She did, however, look at herself in the mirror and found her black and green Slytherin robes to be quite fetching. The colors suited her skin tone and her hair was done up in an elegant braid.

I just need to blend in, thought Jemma as she put on her tie. Today won't be so bad. I mean, it's the first day of class. Nothing bad will happen.

Once she was dressed, Jemma joined Annie, Opal, and Tanya for breakfast at the Great Hall. It was a speedy meal because they had to head to their Transfiguration class with the Ravenclaws. A smile appeared on Jemma's face when she saw Lawrence take the seat next to hers. Lawrence grinned at her as Professor McGonagall entered the room.

After transforming her desk into a pony that galloped around the classroom before turning it back to normal, McGonagall began to discuss the several fine points of Transfiguration. Looking around, Jemma could see the Ravenclaws diligently copying every important thing she said. Edward Quentin muttered a curse under his breath when he accidentally spilled some ink onto his parchment while Gloria Knowlen scribbled so furiously that, from where she sat behind her, Jemma couldn't see her quill at all.

Lawrence was the only one among them not taking down notes. He sat there, his arms folded across his desk, with a blank expression on his face. Jemma wrote a few things down from McGonagall's discussion as well as the notes on the blackboard. Later, they were each given a pebble that they had to turn into a button. Jemma carefully tapped her wand against her pebble a few times, managing to make her pebble take the shape of a button before seeing Lawrence struggling with his pebble which, instead of a button, was now a grey beetle.

"How'd you do that?" Jemma asked amazed, helping her friend catch the beetle before it scuttled off. "I got a bit carried away. Plus, I wasn't really listening earlier to the instructions," Lawrence admitted, now prodding his beetle with his wand to turn it back into a pebble so he could start over.

By the end of the lesson, Davis Millard and Topaz Ritchart were the only ones successful in completely transfiguring their pebbles into buttons. McGonagall congratulated them and showed the class how perfectly shaped the buttons were with the right amount of holes to loop thread through.

Lawrence's pebble was still a beetle by the time they were let out and he had decided to keep it until the spell wore off. "Won't McGonagall notice?" Jemma asked as the beetle crawled up onto Lawrence's shoulder. "I doubt it. Besides, it's just one pebble," Lawrence shrugged before the Ravenclaws and Slytherins broke off to head to their separate classes.

"Whatcha' naming it, Lawrence?" Edward Quentin, a ginger haired boy with a gap between his two front teeth playfully jabbed the boy. "Buttons, maybe. Or Pebble. Something that sticks to his original state, I guess," was the last thing Jemma heard from Lawrence before she headed down another corridor to get to her next class.

At the end of the day, she was relieved to have not gotten into any trouble or drawn too much attention to herself. She saw Vincent, Wendy, and Lawrence during breaks and, to her happiness, the friendship they had formed at the train held and seemed to be getting stronger.

As the week passed, Jemma found herself unable to stay gloomy. The self-disappointment was still there, but her classes kept it at bay along with the fact that Lawrence and Wendy were her classmates for most of them. She had yet to have a class with Vincent, but they often passed by each other in the hallways and stopped to chat.

At Herbology, Jemma's station was directly across Wendy's and the two girls could easily compare notes while Professor Sprout showed them and all the others different kinds of plants and fungi.

"I've always loved Herbology. We had greenhouses like this back in Ilvermorny. Our professor was a member of a Native American tribe and he knew all about the magical properties of all kinds of plants living on his tribe's land," said Wendy that first Wednesday at Jemma's second period. "Cool. What kind of plants did you study?" Jemma asked, jumping back as a Spiky Bush shot its spikes at her. "Loads. But I think the plants here in Britain are far more interesting," Wendy replied before pointing her wand at her Spiky Bush with a fierce expression on her face.

"Incendio!"

The triplets Jerome, Joan, and Jason Hammonds watched in awe as Wendy's Spiky Bush not only incinerated hers but theirs as well.

Jemma gave Wendy an amazed look. She was a Hufflepuff, all right, but Wendy was fierce when she wanted to be.

During Charms, Jemma watched with great delight as Professor Flitwick took out a tin of cupcakes and made them dance across his desk. All the students who tried to snap one up for a snack found the cupcakes dancing out of their reach and onto their heads. "We get to be a little more creative here than Transfiguration. So, come on, pick an object you d like to see do the tango!" Professor Flitwick encouraged them.

With a little help from Topaz Ritchart, Jemma folded an origami figure of a dog and had it prance around the desk she shared with her. "Nice. How about this?" Topaz, a girl with rich, honey blonde curls, made an origami tiger and had it leap about and even roar! "I think yours beats mine," Jemma laughed, watching their origami animals chase each other.

Wednesday night, they studied the moon, stars, and planets under the guidance of Professor Sinistra. The next day, students caught up on sleep as Professor Binns droned on about goblin rebellions and mixed up names.

Why won't they replace this old prof? He's already dead now to begin with and he keeps putting us all to sleep! Jemma thought, trying very hard not to doze off, as she took down notes.

Then, Friday morning, Jemma awoke and entered the Slytherin common room only to find Annie and the rest of the First Years looking worriedly at each other. "We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions with the Gryffindors..." Annie mumbled, her face slightly pale. Jemma felt that sinking feeling she'd felt when she was first Sorted come back again. Two classes with Vincent, who was a great guy and, then, there was Cassie Devon, who clearly did not like her...

"Just ignore them when they start picking on you. And, above all, no cursing or hexing during your Defense lessons or we'll be losing more than just points," Lionus reminded them as they left for their first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson.

Harold Cadance grimaced as he left the common room with the other Slytherin First Years. "Like our dignity, I'll bet..." he muttered under his breath. It seemed that none of them were looking forward to class with Gryffindor. As for Jemma, she just felt lost.

The Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher was Professor Lucas Waldmunt. He was a stoic-faced man in his mid 30s with cropped brown hair and caramel coloured eyes that hid a warm glow. Seated at the front row, next to Vincent, Jemma eagerly listened as the professor told them of how he worked in various magical creature reserves in Greece before he decided to take a breather in England, where he discovered the desire to give teaching a try. This was his second year as Hogwarts Defense teacher, he stated, as he took the register and remarked that he was incredibly relieved he hadn't been sacked yet. "Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers here in Hogwarts have a reputation of not lasting an entire year," Professor Waldmunt chuckled. He, then, wrote down the names of some charms, spells, and enchantments on the blackboard:

Avada Kedavra

Colloportus

Crucio

Deprimo

Imperio

Incendio

Wingardium Leviosa

"Right, then, who can tell me which of these are bad?" Professor Waldmunt asked. A lot of hands shot up into the air, Jemma's included. "Miss Devon," the teacher called out, the Gryffindor smiling confidently.

"Sir, the bad ones are the three Unforgivable Curses - Avada Kedavra, Crucio, Imperio, Cassie answered.

Professor Waldmunt nodded, but said, "Good, Ms. Devon, but that answer isn't quite complete." Making Cassie blink in surprise and a few other students look at each other in confusion. "Anyone here want to give the names of the other bad spells in this list?" the professor asked.

Vincent raised his hand and, in a quiet voice, said, "Wingardium Leviosa?" looking slightly unsure.

"But that just makes objects levitate!" Timothy Moran protested.

"True, Mr. Moran, but if you were to levitate an object and drop it on somebody's head, what would happen?" asked Professor Waldmunt. Jemma briefly remembered a story Harry told her about Ron taking down a mountain troll with its own club using Wingardium Leviosa back in their First Year.

"They would get hurt..." Timothy mumbled. "Correct. Just a few more bad spells to identify. Anyone else?" Professor Waldmunt asked.

Jemma looked at the spells listed on the blackboard, thought about her answer for a few seconds, then raised her hand. "Ms. Dursley," Waldmunt called her.

"Sir, I... I think all of the spells listed on the board are bad," Jemma said, the classroom buzzing at her statement. "And why is that, Ms. Dursley?" Professor Waldmunt asked her, looking curious prompting Jemma to stand up. "Because each spell listed can be considered a bad spell... if the one who casts it has the intention to harm somebody else," Jemma answered readily.

For a moment, no one said anything. Cassie seemed to think Jemma's idea was ridiculous and smirked as the young girl's confidence began to crumble, while Vincent looked at Jemma worriedly. Just as Jemma was about to sink back into her seat and not utter another word for the rest of the day, Professor Waldmunt smiled. "Well done. Five points to Slytherin," he declared.

The Gryffindors were shocked while the Slytherins were amazed.

Seeing the students reactions, Professor Waldmunt chuckled and erased the written spells. "As your Defense teacher, it's my job to not only teach you how to defend yourselves, but to also make sure you do not abuse your magic. Out there, you all have a choice how to use spells, spells like the ones I wrote down earlier, according to your own intentions," he told them. The students nodded, getting what their teacher was saying.

Professor Waldmunt's face became grave as he, then, said, "A spell will only be considered part of the Dark Arts if it's used with a malicious intent. That's something I want each of you to never forget in this class."

The rest of the Defense lesson was spent on doing defensive spells and ended with the professor giving them homework in the form of an essay about, minus the three Unforgivable Curses, how the previously listed spells could be used both ways as beneficial and harmful magic.

On the way to the dungeons, Jemma received a few compliments from her fellow Slytherins. "I never thought of it that way, you know? Aguamenti and all those other spells could be used for the wrong purpose..." Harold said to her when they entered the Potions classroom. Jemma shrugged. "The three Unforgivables are obvious bad spells. But sometimes even the Levitation Charm can be harmful. If you wanted to kill someone, you just have to levitate them high enough then drop them," she said just as Cassie passed by.

"I suppose you'll be planning on doing that once you're out of here," muttered the Gryffindor, knocking Jemma's notebooks out of her arms.

Jemma picked up and gripped her notebooks more tightly, glaring daggers at Cassie's back."Don't listen to her. She just doesn't like Slytherins that much..." Vincent mumbled quietly to her as they took their seats.

"Cassie's parents are both Gryffindors. Her prejudice against the House of Slytherin runs in the family," Alexander Stuvar, an ash blond boy with a slight Swedish accent, said to them. Upon seeing Jemma's curious look, he added, "She told me during the feast. We talk a lot about family at the Gryffindor table."

"So do we at Slytherin," Jemma replied as Professor Slughorn called the class to attention.

"Now Potions may not involve much wand-waving, but it is a very important branch of learning in the magical arts. Much like Muggle doctors searching for new ways to produce medicine, those with experience in Potions making are vital to creating cures for any magical malady or common diseases. Therefore, in this class, we will have room to experiment. Of course, that is only to be done after we master the basics."

With these words, Professor Slughorn broke the class into pairs and tasked them all to create a cure for boils. At this point, an uninvited guest arrived in the classroom to make snippy remarks about the students' progress.

Slughorn wasn't amused. "Severus, you are no longer a teacher," he said bluntly.

"I am aware of that, Horace. However, perhaps, it would do your pupils good to have their progress monitored by one also adept in your subject."

Jemma looked up from tipping crushed snake fangs into her and Annie's cauldron to see Professor Slughorn arguing with Professor Snape. The ghost and former Potions Master saw her looking and drifted over to their cauldron to inspect it. A moment or two later, Snape nodded his approval and went to criticize the Gryffindors.

"For a second there, I thought he was going to say we did something wrong..." Jemma sighed with relief. Annie added the horned slugs to their cauldron, whispering, "They say he did favor his House more." Before hearing cries of alarm. Mia and Cassie's potion had exploded in their faces, covering them with painful boils.

"I told you to add the quills after we took the cauldron off!" Cassie yelled at Mia Pollins as boils sprouted on her face. Mia Pollins, a small, green-eyed girl with curly brown hair bowed her head in shame, her curls obscuring her boil-infested forehead. Snape sneered at Cassie who dragged Mia with her over to Slughorn's table to get the boils taken care of. The rest of the Gryffindors winced as Slughorn took care of Cassie and Mia's boils, scolding the former of the two for yelling at her partner.

Meanwhile, Opal and Harold's potion started bubbling all over their desk. Quickly, Jemma and Annie pulled them back before the potion splashed onto them. "Scourgify!" With a wave of her wand, Jemma cleaned their workspace.

"Whoops... I stirred counterclockwise..." Harold muttered, remembering, checking the recipe. Opal merely sighed and asked Professor Slughorn for more ingredients. Jemma and Annie went back to brewing their potion, which they managed to brew correctly at the end of the class. Slughorn was most impressed by theirs as well as Vincent and Alexander's.

Snape didn't say anything, but Jemma swore that, when she performed the Scouring Charm earlier on Opal and Harold's mess, he seemed quite impressed...

Dear Harry,

So far so good. My first week at Hogwarts has been well. I visited Hagrid with Ginny and Luna this Friday so we could catch up. Hagrid gave us bath buns and I swear some of them were as big as my fist! Seraphine was with us, too, and I fed most of them to her. She didn't like them that much. She stays in the Forbidden Forest most of the time, but she does go to the Owlery every now and then. Otulissa is doing fine as well. I talk with her and Seraphine at the Owlery sometimes during break.

My Phoenix Soul abilities have been calm. So far, I haven't set anything on fire, transformed into a phoenix by accident, or gotten into any trouble with Filch. I do, however, use the Marauders Map to find the quickest way to get to my classes and sneak into the kitchens for sweets (Please don't tell Mum).

I've made a lot of friends in school. I mostly hang out with Annie, Opal, and Tanya since we re in the same House, but I have classes with Wendy, Lawrence, and Vincent and we all have fun (And, no, Harry, Vincent - the boy we met at Ollivander's - is NOT my boyfriend!).

Lessons are going great (although I wish Professor Minerva would ease up on giving us homework) and the Defense teacher, Professor Waldmunt, is brilliant. I did pretty well in Potions, too. Even Snape seemed impressed during our first lesson. Yeah, he's still there but he's a ghost. But it doesn't stop him from gliding into the classroom to criticize us.

Well, I better go finish my homework. We'll be having flying lessons soon and I hope I'll do well enough so Madame Hooch would let me try out for the Quidditch team. Love you lots and, please, take care during your Auror training and stay safe! Oh, and say Hello! to Hermione and Ron for me!

Love,

Jemma

Reading his cousin's letter, Harry smiled. It made him happy to hear from Jemma that she was enjoying her time at Hogwarts. Then, his eyebrows furrowed as he looked over the reports sent to him by the Ministry's field Aurors. More attacks by rogue Death Eaters had been had happened in the countryside and were slowly moving into towns. In light of these events, the trainees were now called on to assist in the investigations.

Packing his Invisibility Cloak into his rucksack, Harry pocketed Jemma's letter inside his jacket pocket, making a mental note to write back to her when he came home.

And not once did it cross his mind that Jemma never even mentioned which House she'd been Sorted into...

Phew! Finished! I'm so sorry, again, that this took so long. Laziness is my number one enemy in writing.

Next chapter will focus on Flying Lessons with Madame Hooch, Cassie's growing dislike for Jemma, and more interactions between Slytherin and the other Houses. Read and review in the meantime! Love you!

-GuardianDragon98