Chapter Two: Snape vs. Whiting

It was Annie's first day, and she wanted to make an impression. She didn't care if it was good or bad, she just wanted to make one. So she got up early, making sure Hermione, in the bed across the room, was asleep. She slipped out of her black vampire motif pajamas and grabbed her uniform. White shirt, grey pleaded skirt, gold and red tie, grey sweater, grey socks, brown shoes, and grey socks. But last, she pulled out some fishnet stockings that Toni had given her just last summer. She dressed and looked at herself in the mirror approvingly. Her black ringlets over hair managed to look right. She grabbed her makeup bag and dolled out large amounts of it on her face. Pale white compact powder, grey eyeshadow, dark eyeliner, black lipstick, and black stars in the corner of each eye. With one last swipe of her black pencil she darkened her eyebrows to match.

"There!" Annie grabbed her coat, bookbag and her schedule and headed to find her first class.

She wasn't one for breakfast, or food in general. As Toni had continually reminded her, 'Do all dancers starve?' So instead of going to the great hall and having breakfast, she traveled through the empty corridors to find her first class. Which, just happened to be Potions.

*~*

"Oi, Ron, Harry isn't that the new girl." Seamus Finnigan pointed to the back of the classroom, where there sat indeed the new addition to the Gryffindor ranks, but she didn't look it. Ron couldn't help staring at her, like the rest did. Her outfit and makeup, did cry *Look at me* He tried to pin point, what she was exactly. What her attitude was. Then with a thought that almost startled him, he realized that despite, her red and gold, she shone silver and green beneath. The silver and green of a Slytherin.

Snape burst in, breaking up the chattering, looking as groggy and acrimonious as ever. He was always that way in the morning.

"Is that you Miss Whiting, all the way in the back? I would prefer as a Gryffindor, new to this class that you sit up front. Now!" Snape was in no mood to be civil. Many inward groans could be heard from the Gryffindors.

But they became relatively silent, waiting to see how she would react. They knew Snape was trying to make her life as miserable as possible. She was a Gryffindor, and thus to be a Gryffindor to be hated by Snape.

But it didn't seem to dampened the girl's spirits.

She smiled cockily and her voice resembled that of a green snake, "With pleasure, Professor."

She got to her feet out of her slouched position and walked to the front of the class. As she walked, she seemed to show herself off. As if she wanted everyone to see her.

"Look at her! You could be fined for looking like that."

Ron realized what Dean was talking about, she had made a new addition to her uniform. Fishnet stockings.

"Oh great, a Goth, should she belong in Slytherin?"

"Why is she in Gryffindor?"

"Wrong house, she must be in the wrong house?"

"Nice!"

"I could swear she's a Slytherin."

Whispers circulated around the classroom, but Snape silenced them as Annie took a seat in front.

"Now, who can tell me about Scintillating Solution?"

The class looked around, as normal none of them had done the reading except Hermione whose hand shot straight into the air.

Snape surveyed his class with and muttered something to the effect of, "oh gosh can't she just shut up for once."

"Miss Whiting, will you please inform us on this potion?"

All eyes turned to the new girl.

"Professor, It seems trivial to ask me, as Miss Granger has her hand raised and doubtly knows the answer."

"I didn't ask Miss Granger, I asked you. So do you or do you not know it?" Snape shot back, angrily.

The class just watched on.

"Scintillating Solution, well, not much is known about it, but the creator, Miranda Phosphor came across it while looking to create a potion to reduce the affects of the Living Death potion. They are still are trying to figure out what it does. The ingredients include dragon's heat, wormtails, and arrowroot, and some others. But as I said they are still researching it. Do you want anything else Professor?" She leaned back in her chair daring Snape to ask her another question.

"Well, that sufficient Miss Whiting." Snape spat through gritted teeth.

So he began the lesson on dealing with unknown potions, but Annie knew most of the material. So, Snape had given her an essay, saying something along the lines of 'get it done before class ends.'

Annie tuned everyone out, gave Snape a feigned worried look, and started her essay. By the time class had ended she had finished. With a flourish she put the essay on Snape's desk and walked out the door. Her next class was Divination and then she had lunch. She found her way up to the tower and into Professor Trelawney's class, it was boring and she remained half awake. But the time lunch came she was ready to just die of boredom. She was down in the great hall early, and grabbed some food and scurried up to the Common Room to read. She didn't want to be found, so she made it that harder for people to find her.

"Excuse me." There was a tap on her shoulder.

Annie looked up from her book, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to see Hermione's eyes staring back at her.

"What?"

"Care of Magical Creatures, I wouldn't want you to be late."

Annie gave her a feigned smile, clapped her book shut, and slowly got up. She knew Hermione was being nice, that was the problem, she hated people who thought they had to be nice to her. They made it down to Care of Magical Creatures, right on time. Hagrid, a big bumbling giant was setting up the lesson. More and more students seemed to flood down, in the greenhouse.

"Oh look, its the freak Whiting, Snape's pet!" A voice laughed in sadistic merriment from behind her.

She remembered that voice, he was in her potions class. Malfoy, that was it, he was Malfoy.

"Oh look, its the freak Malfoy, no fucking shit! Like I care." Annie said without even turning around.

That shut him up, at least until Hagrid had settled down to give the lesson. It was on Araies, little water pixies. Annie lazily took notes, but wasn't really paying attention, she was surveying her other students. Diagonally across from her was Hermione with two of her friends, Annie frequently saw her with. One with black, untidy hair, thin but muscular in his own right. The other was tall, freckled, red head. They were the perfect trio, she realized. The black haired boy was the hero, the redhead was his sidekick, and Hermione was the brains of the operations being the prefect that she was. Through that whole hour long class, Annie found herself envying them. They worked so well together, were such good friends. And when Hagrid asked for the black haired boy to come up to the front of the class, she saw through his untidy hair that there was a lightning bolt scar. He was trying to hide it Annie could tell, but there it was, a lightning bolt scar. It was a pretty cool scar, and she told herself to tell him that. But she soon turned back to wandering, taking in all the students one by one.

Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in Care of Magical Creatures as Hagrid babbled on about Araies. And as if it was the only thing, they could talk about the topic of coversation came around to Annie Whiting.

"Ugg...why do I have to be stuck with her, Malfoy is right, she is a freak!" Hermione whispered, more than a little tick. "She didn't even acknowledge me or say thank you."

"Herm, siding with Malfoy, isn't that a little bit far. She can't be that bad." Harry grumbled back.

"Oh yes she can." Hermione muttered back.

"Yeah, I have to agree, she is well...a freak. She really does belong in Slytherin." Ron said laughing to himself.

But before they could discuss the matter further, Hagrid dismissed everyone.

The trio began to gather up all there stuff before heading off, but just as Harry stood up, *the freak* Annie passed by their table.

Harry felt her gaze, as she looked him up and down. Then she smiled.

"Wicked scar."

She turned on a dime, and with a toss of her hair, she was off.