Chapter 6: A Place In This World by Taylor Swift

Ashley was relieved when the weekend finally arrived. No matter how much she studied and memorized the material, utilizing said material was a frustrating task to her. The wand in her possession seemed to dislike her, as did the Ravenclaws in her year. They considered her a ditz, often saying the sorting hat was 'off his rocker.' A sigh escaped her lips. Maybe it would have been better if I was sorted into Hufflepuff.

As she had been doing for the last month, Ashley holed up in her room. Even though she had a roommate, she seldom saw her. They tried to avoid each other as much as possible, barely mumbling hello to one another when they did see each other. Quietly reading a book borrowed from the Ravenclaw library, she was amazed how different fiction was for the wizarding world. Every once in a while, a scene would be so vivid that the book itself would project the scene. Harmless sparks flew into the air as smoke radiated from the open pages of the book, wisps rising and falling as they shaped into dragons that danced around her. It was also incredibly strange to think that a battle against dragons was considered historical fiction here. Before she could finish the chapter, her rumbling stomach brought her out of the story. Right, I didn't eat today.

Normally waiting for the Ravenclaw common room to be empty before leaving her room, Ashley debated on leaving her room so early. Her stomach rumbled again, demanding to be fed. With a frustrated sigh, she sprung up from the bed, walking out of her dorm into the corridor. Preparing herself for the snooty stares, she lifted her chin up slightly as she walked through the Ravenclaw common room. The conversations came to a halt, but as she passed she heard whispers emerge.

"Terrible, really. She's a star student, until she picks up the wand. It's really a disaster." a student behind her said, chuckling. Wincing at the snide remark, she paused in her stride, tempted to turn around and go back to her room. She shook her head at herself; she was no coward. While courage was not her strongest suit, she did have some. Straightening her posture, she walked through the common room, pretending that the hurtful words had no effect on her. Her eyes were focused on the door that led out to the main hall, which seemed to be miles away. When she finally got to her destination, it took all that she had to not run through it. Instead, she calmly opened the door and walked through.

She sagged in relief as it closed behind her. The students' remarks echoed in her mind, no matter how hard she tried to ignore them. She never expected such verbal venom coming from her own house, and from eleven-year-olds at that. Now thinking about it, she did wonder why she was bothered by a bunch of eleven-year-olds' words. Maybe it was more about the fact that she was failing an academic task for the first time in her life. Shaking her head at herself, she focused on the task at hand: finding the kitchen. She bit her lip in thought, trying to visualize the maze that is Hogwarts in her mind. Knowing that she would be lost no matter how long she planned her trip, she decided to just choose a direction and go.

Climbing down the moving staircases proved to be tricky without a crowd to guide her, as she was clueless about how they worked. They seemed to move at random, and oftentimes Ashley found herself in corridors that she shouldn't be in. Keeping an eye out for professors or others who would be very unhappy that she was out of the common room at this hour, she attempted to head down towards the lower kitchen was somewhere down there.

Just as Ashely began to lose all hope, the sweet smell of baked goods assaulted her senses, making her stomach rumble that much more. Following the scent, she finally found the source. A door that she never noticed before was open, its door knob green. She'd thought that there were only paintings in the corridor but she shrugged off the thought. It wouldn't be the first time she was wrong. Pushing the door open, she hesitantly looked around the room. It was much bigger than she expected. Its walls were covered in pots, pans, and other kitchen gadgets. In fact, the cookware and stoves that lined the walls were the only details that stopped the kitchen from being an exact replica of the Great Hall. A plump older, yet oddly familiar, lady bustled about the kitchen, wielding her wand to create hundreds of pastries and other breakfast foods for in the morning, with the help of many house elves. It was someone Ashley didn't recognize.

"Um, excuse me." Ashley finally called out to the woman, her hunger outweighing her fear of getting into trouble. A few of the house elves froze. They looked at one another, then turned their attention to the woman with questioning eyes.

"Oh, I didn't see you there! Welcome, welcome!" The woman's voice boomed over the kitchen as she spun to face Ashley, causing the younger girl to instinctively step back in alarm. She wasn't expecting the woman to be so boisterous. However, she calmed down a bit when she realized that the woman was a friendly apparition. It was rare that students were reprimanded by the ghosts as the majority of them were fairly nice and helpful.

At the sight of the woman's friendliness, the house elves returned to work, skirting around Ashley in their hurry. The ghost's blue eyes sparkled. "Ah, don't be so shy! I'm Helga Hufflepuff, I am in charge of the kitchen. Would you like something to eat? A nightly snack, perhaps?"

Relieved that she didn't have to ask, Ashley nodded. "Yes, anything is fine. I just didn't come down to dinner today."

Helga pressed a hand to her chest. "Gracious, you need a little more than a light snack then. Here, take this." With a wave of her wand, she produced a lunch box. Taking it from the friendly woman, she peered in, finding an assortment of fruits, veggies, and sandwiches. Glancing up, she met Helga's eyes.

"Thank you. Really, you didn't have to go through so much trouble." Furrowing her brow, Ashley stared at the woman. Why does she look so familiar?

"No trouble at all, it's my pleasure. Now, if you don't mind, we have plenty of work to do." Helga's words were kind, but direct.

"Oh, of course. I'm sorry to take up your time." Ashley turned to scurry away but was stopped by Helga's voice.

"Oh, one more thing. I've heard about the trouble you've been having with your wand. Word of advice, a stubborn wand likes a passionate wielder. Find your fire, I know you have it." Glancing over her shoulder, Ashley gave a small nod and went in search of a staircase, hoping she didn't get lost again.

Lost in her thoughts, she wandered through the halls with no destination in mind. How did she know about the rumors or the wand problem? Why did she look so familiar? It wasn't because of her portrait or her being a founder… it was something else.

Absent-mindedly, she stepped on a staircase, grabbing the railing when the staircase pitched her forward with its movement. Looking down below, she could see shadows dance on the walls from the candlelight, which was the only form of light for the lower level. To Ashley's dismay, the top of the stairway did not connect to the higher level. Instead, it smoothly connected with the lower level. Flustered, Ashley tried to remember what was on the lowest level. With a heavy heart, it came to her. The dungeon, otherwise known as the Slytherin common room. Drat. If a Slytherin student found her roaming their halls, they would definitely snitch, if they didn't curse her first. Not to mention what type of trouble that would cause with her and the rest of Ravenclaw. Stepping down, she peered into the corridor in curiosity.

Ashley spun around when she heard a movement behind her. The staircase smoothly glided back up and away from the dungeon. She groaned, thinking that this was the last place she wanted to be stuck at. "Oh, wait! No! Come back, don't leave me here! What did I do to deserve this? How do you even freaking work?!"

With a huff, Ashley glared up at the staircase. "Maybe JK Rowling should write another book: The Reason Behind the Madness: Staircase Edition... or The Untold Stories of Horrible Hogwart Deaths Caused by the Moving Staircases."

With a resigned spirit, she leaned against the cold wall. Just like Alice falling through the rabbit hole, Ashley found herself landing in all sorts of trouble.

"Serena!"

Serena frowned at the familiar voice. She tagged the page she was on in her potions book before lowering it and looked up from the common room couch. "Theron." She nodded her head in acknowledgment.

The Malfoy gave her what he must have thought was a charming smile as he sat down beside her. Resisting the urge to scoot away from his overly friendly mannerism, Serena spotted his friends taking their places behind the couch on either side like guards. And what guards they were; standing at a bit over six feet and built like wrestlers, both boys could intimidate even some of the bravest. Serena held back a scoff at the thought; while they had the brawn, they truly lacked the brain, and it would have been easy for her, a freshman, to turn them into quivering messes.

Of course, Theron was much like a King of Slytherin, so the "guards" were not out of place; everyone followed his command. Plus he was on the Quidditch team, which probably helped in his popularity.

The pureblood male ran his hand through his blonde locks, a smile still on his face. "How are you? Do you like Hogwarts?" A pause followed, his eyes turning dark. "Are the other Slytherins treating you well? Any problems?"

"Everything is well. Why do you care?" her eyes narrowed suspiciously, studying Theron's face for any slip in the mask that she knew all purebloods wore, especially those in Slytherin.

"Why would I not care?" Theron picked up Serena's book in mild interest to flip through it. He smirked. "Are you liking potions class, love?"

Ignoring the pet name, Serena shrugged. "I find it interesting."

"Why?" He drew closer. Even though she wanted to back away from the Malfoy, she stubbornly held her ground.

"For my own reasons. Is there a reason you are here?" she asked with slight annoyance. Could she not just read in peace?

Theron pouted. "Am I not allowed to be in the common room?"

"I meant, why are you speaking with me?" She kept the growl out of her voice, waiting expectantly for the explanation.

The grin on the boy's face unnerved Serena. "I like speaking with my fiancée."

Serena's mind blanked for a moment. "Excuse me?"

This brought a frown to Theron's lips. "Did you not know yet? When were your parents going to tell you?" he shrugged. "No matter. You know now." At the snap of his fingers, his two goons came around the couch and offered two small, silver and green decorative boxes to her. "These are for you."

Serena frowned, her hands unmoving as she simply stared.

"Come now," Theron chuckled. "They don't bite. I'm sure you will lo-"

Serena stood, interrupting Theron and causing the other two boys to back away so as not to bump into her. Without explanation, she silently slipped away from him, retreating to the common room door. Glancing back, she saw the startled look on Theron's face. With a cold directness, she spoke a few parting words to him. "I do not take bribes from a man I barely know." The door shut behind her at her last words, letting them hang heavily in the room.

Serena glared ahead as she walked. How dare they! She wanted to scream. An arranged marriage! Mother and father must think I'm easily controlled. Her gaze turned deadly. She could feel her wand reacting to her inner turmoil. And how dare he! No wonder others were calling me the Slytherin Princess! Has he been spreading the news of our engagement? She greatly wanted to turn around and zap him into a frog, but she forced herself onward.

"How do you even freaking work?!"

Serena blinked as she stopped walking. A voice had come from around the corner, a few mumbles that Serena could not decipher following the exclamation. The voice sounded familiar and she realized why as she turned the corner. "Summerfield?"

The girl whirled around from where she had been leaning against a wall, her cheeks bright red in embarrassment.

"Uh, hi. I was just trying-" Ashley cut herself off, running her fingers through her long hair. Her eyes darted between the Slytherin and the staircase landing, her eyes narrowing when she glared up at the staircase.

"It would be easier to set it on fire if you used a spell," Serena supplied as she walked past her to the staircase landing. As Serena approached, the stairs obediently came to meet her as if beckoned.

"How did she do that?" Ashley whispered to herself before an idea hit her. "Oh, wait!"

Serena sighed and turned around to look back at the girl. "Yes?"

"Could you… show me the way back to the Ravenclaw common room? The stairs moved and I can't figure out where to go now…" The Ravenclaw ran her fingers through her hair again. It was an obvious nervous tic of hers.

Silence followed Ashley's request, making her sigh in defeat.

"Sorry, nevermind. I'll find it myself." She was about to leave when she heard a release of air. At first, she wasn't sure what she heard until the soft sound turned into full blown laughter.

"Pft… haha…" Serena really tried to hold it in. She really did… But who could blame her. This girl was an absolute nutcase! Yelling at a staircase and then asking a Slytherin of all people to help her? As her laughter exploded, she felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She had not laughed this well in a long time, if ever. It felt nice, melting away all her problems if only for that moment.

After a few seconds, and multiple failed attempts to contain her laughter, Serena cleared her throat and glanced at the red faced girl.

Ashley was torn between screaming profanities at the Slytherin girl or running away in humiliation for asking for help at all. Ashley wasn't sure what she hated more about the Slytherin, the girl's cold glances or the laughter at her expense. Sure, she fell on her from the sky, and sure, she was awful at casting magic, but she didn't deserve to be laughed at! It wasn't as if she had control over that… It's not as if she had control over anything so far.

No. She'd had enough. She didn't have to stand here and be mocked. Ashley turned around to leave only to be stopped again, only this time by a simple word she had not expected.

"Sure."