Elizabeth had finally decided to take Care of Magical Creatures (which her 'sister' had already determined) and Study of Ancient Runes. For some reason it looked interesting to her. So, Liz sent an owl to Flourish & Blotts with a school owl, attaching a pouch with just enough money to purchase her books. Sure it wasn't safe, but who in their right mind would interrupt a Hogwarts owl? Surely enough, the next morning, while she was eating breakfast, a large pile of books fell onto the table, startling her fellow Slytherins. She read the attached note.

Thank you for your purchase, Miss Granger. We hope all the books arrived in mint condition.

Also, since you and your sister are such avid readers, you may get a discount for your next purchase at one of our many locations.

Yours truly,
Flourish & Blotts

Elizabeth tore open the large package and smiled at the five brand new copies of Advanced Rune Translation by Yuri Blishen, Ancient Runes Made Easy by Laurenzoo, Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms, The Rune Dictionary and Spellman's Syllabary by Spellman (Hermione had purchased The Monster Book of Monsters for both of them already). And here came out the only part that made her resemble Hermione; the love for books and knowledge. This was probably what the sorting hat thought could have blossomed into a decent Ravenclaw.

Ellie gobbled her waffles and avidly drained her cup of tea before rising, her five leather-bound books aching to fall out of her arms. She placed them on the bench and next to it, her bag in which she placed all her new textbooks. She mentally thanked her extension charm and walked out of the Hall, on her way to her dorm to grab the rest of her books for the day. Luckily her bag never got the slightest bit heavier with each four-inch-thick book she added. Unfortunately for Elizabeth, her extension charm didn't help the fact that she was lost. Classroom 6A shouldn't have been hard to find. But that is what Liz managed. As she walked through the halls of the sixth floor, the girl had her nose in Magical Hieroglyphs and Logograms which probably made it harder for her to see Class 6A, but eventually she did found it, and took the last spot available, not bothering to look up from her book.

"Miss Granger, you're late."

Elizabeth's eyes finally tore themselves from her book. Professor Bathsheda Babbling stood in front of her, a dissatisfied look on her face. She was a short woman, her frizzy grey hair pulled up in a tight bun.

"Sorry, Professor. I got lost."
"Don't let it happen again."
"I won't."

The woman continued with her class, but the young Slytherin found it hard to concentrate. She had a lot on her mind. Blaise's words rang through her head over and over again, like a cancer refusing to go into remission. Luckily she hadn't been scolded for what she had said to the boy the previous day; Dumbledore was probably the reason for that. The fact that the whole of the wizarding community in Britain knew she wasn't Hermione's sister was ringing in her head as well. A while ago, she thought about it. She thought she'd be okay not being Hermione's twin, but she wasn't. This meant she had no family. No mother. No father. Her name was now Elizabeth Rose, Granger now being a lie her 'parents' had told her.

"Stop frowning."

Liz snapped out of her trance, the disturbing thoughts immediately dissipated. She looked toward the voice, her eyes slightly widening when her eyes fell upon Amir Ferran. He's even more attractive up close, Elizabeth thought. He had that kind of look that would stop you in your tracks. His honeyed brown skin made the green in his hazel eyes pop. This close, Ella could see the flecks of gold in the simple brown. He was a fair few inches taller than her, which she could tell even as they sat. Amir was slim, slightly muscular, with an almost perfectly symmetrical face. He was definitely of Middle-Eastern heritage, his dark skin and tousled ebony hair gave that away. He had strong arched brows and eyelashes so thick, it could be illegal. He had almost indistinct cheekbones and an angular jaw, which made him look devilishly handsome. Devilishly handsome yes, but he seemed like a handful. That special glint in his eye gave him away. It was the same glint she would see when Cormac McLaggen got particularly feisty that day and tried to get Elizabeth to go on a date with her. She wouldn't, by the way, even if she thought she was old enough to date. Amir Ferran seemed, to the Slytherin witch, to be a true ladies' man.

"Sorry?"
"Stop frowning." he repeated. Liz noticed his accent "You will ruin that lovely face of yours."
"Please... Don't even try." Elizabeth scoffed "The number of times McLaggen has tried that on me and never gotten anywhere is amazing."
"Cormac McLaggen? The fourth year Gryffindor who could not seduce a toad even if he wished?"

Withholding laughter was not one of Ella's specialties. Her small smirk soon turned into a quiet chuckle. Her quiet chuckle then turned into small giggle. It didn't help either that Amir was continuing to give McLaggen ridiculous nicknames at the same time he mocked him. And so, both their laughter only got louder, until Professor Babbling told them to get out of the classroom. Amir and Elizabeth gathered their books and walked out of the classroom, both still grinning from ear to ear with the entire classroom staring at them in odd fascination. The boy then stopped walking, turned around and bowed, causing Elizabeth to laugh even more.

"Amir Hakim Ferran, at your service."
"Elizabeth Rose Gra-" the girl interrupted herself, then smiled sadly "Just Elizabeth."
"Well then, just Elizabeth- no. Rose, shall we go skip class near the Black Lake?"
"Yes, we may."

Amir grabbed Elizabeth's hand and ran off, the girl barely able to keep up with him. He noticed and stopped, grabbed her and swung Liz over his shoulder like a potato sack. With a protesting witch on his back, the new student ran off again but bumped into someone on the way.

"Watch it, kid!" a startled Draco Malfoy shouted, then realised "Ella, aren't you supposed to be in class!?"
"Got kicked out! See you later, Draco!" the girl called back, giggling "Amir slow down!"

The two students then rounded a corner and disappeared out of view. Draco looked on, daggers in his gaze. He could still hear the new kids', shoes clapping against the stone and Ella's, his Ella's, laughter ringing through the hall. It was in his nature to get possessive, but not over a girl. Not over who he thought to be a Mudblood. What Blaise said as he passed didn't help either.

"Looks like your girlfriend's ditched you, Malfoy."
"Shut up, Zabini."

Outside and underneath the beech tree, sat Amir and Elizabeth. As they spoke, their smiles never faltered. She listened as he spoke about living in Egypt, the mummies that walked around in his old school and the fact that Amir's nickname was Amun-Ra. Apparently the girls worshiped him at school, thereby giving him the title of an Egyptian God. Ellie laughed more than she had laughed in a while. It was odd for her to make a connection so fast, to give her trust so easily. There was something in the way he smiled, a warmth, a genuineness, a softness of spirit she just couldn't pass up. He wasn't the kind of Slytherin that Harry, Hermione or Ron would expect. Oh, no. In return, he listened like he was absorbing her words, not simply getting her "turn" over and done with so he could return to some other topic. The more time she spent with him the more her spirit lifted, he was the new friend she'd needed for so long. The person she needed to wash all her worries away.