Chapter 3: The First Week

"Your brother's friend is a Malfoy? Yuck!" said Ron.

"I didn't know Malfoy had a brother!" exclaimed Hermione.

"Hope he's not in Gryffindor!" said Harry.

"What?" Lauren said, confused. She didn't know about the Malfoys' bad reputation.

"Draco Malfoy's in our year," said Ron. "He's a dirty old git!"

Luckily, the hat cried out, "SLYTHERIN!" and Scott went to join Draco Malfoy at the Slytherin table.

Then McGonagall called out, "Marshall, Joseph," and Lauren's brother tried on the hat. They all wondered what the hat was saying to him right now. Harry remembered that four years ago when he had done it, the hat had tried to put him in Slytherin. A few seconds later, he was clapping along with the rest of the Gryffindors, as Joey sat down across from Lauren.

Soon, the last name was called, and McGonagall took the stool and hat away.

When Dumbledore stood up, the whole Hall quieted. He was wearing dark blue robes with stars and moons embroidered all over, as well as a pointy hat that matched. He had very long silvery-white hair and beard, and a long, crooked nose. He was even wearing half-mooned spectacles. But unlike the other four years Harry had been at Hogwarts, he was not smiling, and his eyes had a cold look.

"Before we feast," he began, "I have a few words. Bloober, goober and wonk."

The golden goblets and plates in front of them filled with food. They began to talk about the summer's events.

The desserts had come and they were still talking, but they had changed the conversation. Now they were talking about Dumbledore.

"He always smiles, I just don't understand it!" said Harry.

"It's certainly not at all like him," agreed Hermione.

Soon they had eaten their full and the plates cleared back to spotless. Dumbledore got back up again.

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts," he started, "and let me welcome all the new students." As Dumbledore said this, Harry swore he was looking straight at Lauren, or was it her brother, sitting across from her, who he was staring at? Dumbledore turned his eyes away and continued, "This year, we remind all students that the Forbidden Forest is still forbidden to students." A few people laughed, including Fred and George Weasley, but they soon straightened up, noticing that Dumbledore, usually merry, was not even smiling. "Other than that, there is nothing of real importance to say. Now, Prefects, will you please show your houses up to their common rooms and tell them the password. Good night."

"I couldn't believe it when you told me you weren't going to be a prefect, Hermione," said Harry. "I thought for sure…"

"I changed my mind," Hermione snapped.

Ron looked amazed but shouted back with, "You're probably too busy doing homework for that type of thing!" Hermione moved away from him.

"Ron," sighed Hermione, "sometimes he can be a bit of a pain." Lauren giggled.

She followed Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny up to Gryffindor Tower. When they got there, they all gathered around a portrait of a fat lady wearing a pink dress. Lavender Brown, who was now a prefect, told them the password and they all clamored inside the portrait hole to the common room.

The common room was a large, circular room, filled with tables and fluffy chairs. There was a roaring fire in the fireplace at the back of the room, and two staircases coming off the room.

While everyone talked to their old friends, Harry saw Joey talking with Jake Cooper, a freckly boy with red hair. He almost looked like a Weasley. If he hadn't known any better, he would have thought it was Ron's younger brother.

"I'm surprised he didn't come over on the train ride," Ron was saying, as Harry turned back to the conversation.

"I hope he went to Durmstrang," said Hermione.

"Yeah, right. With our luck? Any ways, the only reason he would have gone there was because of Karkaroff, and he's gone," said Harry, figuring out who they were chatting about instantly.

"Who?" Lauren asked.

"Malfoy," Ron told her. "I thought he wanted to go because they teach Dark Arts."

"He wouldn't need a school for that!" said Harry. "His dad could teach him everything he needs to know. He probably learns plenty from Vol- I mean, You-Know-Who."

"Speaking of Dark Arts," said Hermione, "I wonder who our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher is going to be this year!"

"I hope it's Professor Lupin," said Harry, sadly.

"Well, we all wish it was, but that's not going to happen. People won't want a werewolf to teach their kids!" said Hermione.

"But he was the best teacher we ever had!" said Harry.

They talked and talked. Finally, Harry said, "Let's go to bed, Ron. See you girls in the morning." He and Ron climbed a staircase to their dormitories.

"Hermione, can I ask you something?" Lauren said hesitantly, as they began to walk up the other set of stairs, but Harry was out of earshot.

Harry and Ron came in to breakfast after Hermione and Lauren the next morning. "Morning!" said Ron cheerfully. "What's first on our schedule today?"

Harry took out a folded piece of parchment from his pocket and opened it. "Oh, no! Our first class of the year has to be Potions! And we're still with Slytherins!" Everyone groaned, even Lauren. Harry took this as kind of odd, but didn't say anything.

"Great, we get to see Malfoy," said Hermione sarcastically.

"What's next?" asked Ron, trying to change the topic.

"Well, I have Arithmancy. You probably have Divination!" Hermione said, looking at her own schedule. When she said "Divination" she said it in a shaky voice, like it was something horrible and scary.

"Which are you taking?" Harry asked Lauren.

"Er…Divination," she said.

Hermione gasped. "After all I told you?"

"Well, it's too late now," Lauren said. "I already chose."

"Well," said Ron, smiling, "she can always walk out of class in the middle of term."

Hermione scowled at him and went back to her scrambled eggs.

After breakfast, they collected their things for Potions, and walked down to the cold dungeons. "Sit next to me, and I'll help you," instructed Hermione to Lauren outside the door to Snape's classroom. All four of them sat down at the back of the room. Harry and Ron sat at a table next to Lauren and Hermione with Neville Longbottom, a very clumsy boy who was terrified of Snape.

Everyone could see why. Professor Snape was sitting behind his desk at the front of the room. He had greasy black hair and a very big nose. Of course, the scariest thing about him was his evil scowl, which seemed to grow worse when he looked at any of the Gryffindors in the room, particularly Harry.

Hermione whispered something to Lauren, which Harry couldn't hear.

Snape got up from his desk and stood in the front of the room. He didn't make any rude comments toward Harry or anyone else. Instead, he started right in on making Potions with boomslang skin.

Everyone in the class took notes quickly.

The Gyffindors and Slytherins paid close attention. After Snape had finished telling them how to make a Blinding Potion, which made drinkers temporarily blind, he sat down at his desk and got wrapped up in something else.

Snape was so preoccupied that even when Neville's cauldron exploded, he didn't even scold. He simply said, "Clean it up, Longbottom," and went back to his work.

"What's with Snape?" Harry asked Hermione as he switched tables to avoid the mess of potion.

"I don't know," Lauren said, answering for Hermione, who had gone to help Neville clean up. Harry looked at her strangely, then went back to his own potion.

Soon, Neville's potion was cleaned up and Hermione was helping Lauren with her potion and Neville with his.

"I'm done, Professor," Hermione called out.

"Good for you, Granger," said Snape, not looking up.

It wasn't long before everyone in the class was finished, even Neville, with help from Hermione. Malfoy and his two goons, Crabbe and Goyle, strolled back toward them.

"Well," said Malfoy, "if it isn't Potter and his fans, the Mudblood and the poor little mouse."

"Shut up, Malfoy," the four of them said in unison. Neville was too nervous to say anything.

"And who do we have here?" asked Malfoy, turning to Lauren. "Another one of Potter's fans?"

"At least he has fans," she said quietly.

"What was that?" asked Malfoy. "Listen girl, I don't know who you are, but I do know one thing…"

"That's all you know," said Ron angrily.

"Shut up, Weasley," sneered Malfoy. He turned back to Lauren. "You've already made a bad choice about your friends, but, you can still change your mind."

"No thanks," Lauren said so quickly that Malfoy's pale face flushed red with anger.

"Well, don't say I didn't warn you," he said, as he walked back to his seat.

When class was over, Snape didn't say anything, and they all decided to leave.

"Watch yourself," Malfoy said to Lauren as they left the dungeons.

"Don't worry," she called cheerfully, "I will!"

Lauren followed Harry and Ron up the stairs, and Hermione went around the corner.

"What was up with Snape today?" Harry asked again as they walked to Divination. "He seemed a little preoccupied."

"Yeah," agreed Ron, "he didn't even take points off Gryffindor when Neville spilled his potion."

"He's probably a little busy with…well…you know," said Harry cautiously eyeing Lauren.

"Right," said Ron.

"I can't believe we're still taking Divination," said Ron minutes later, as they stood below a long rope ladder.

Harry shrugged. "I dunno; it's kind of entertaining." He and Ron laughed.

They climbed up through the trap door and into a hot, stuffy room filled with the scent of perfume. The three of them sat down at a table near the back of the room.

"Welcome back!" said a soft, misty voice coming from the front of the room. Professor Trelawny sat down in her chair at the front of the room and scanned the faces with her eyes. "Ah, yes!" she said, looking at Lauren. "The oracles have told me we would be getting a new student this year. What is your name, dear?"

"Lauren Marshall."

"Well, of course I knew that already. Maybe you'd like to come sit up in the front of the room, so I can help you specially."

"No thanks," she said, as Harry and Ron laughed into their hands.

All through the lesson, Ron and Harry made comments on almost everything Professor Trelawny had to say. The two girls at the front of the room, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil, however, seemed to take it all very seriously.