. + . Author . . . Aaden
. + . Date Written . . . August-September 2003
. + . Rating . . . PG (in later chapters, etc, rating may change)
. + . Note . . . Hurrah hurrah. Chapter two, part one. I haven't added to this in FOREVER. o_o! No inspiration. What a long project. If you like this, please tell me, that way I'll actually want to continue. ._. Thanks! 3 Also...I use some Japanese in here. I don't know if it's correct. I'm sorry. Also, if you're from Northern England...I'm sorry. u_u I'm using a really pathetic sort of Northern accent in here...what can I say, I'm just immitating how my uncle talks. Sorry. Pleeease don't be offended.
. + . Disclaimer . . . Sadly, Remus Lupin and that whole world don't belong to me...*sobs* and nor does Hogwarts...but it does belong to J.K. Rowling.
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. . . . . . . . . . . . Y e a r . O n e
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. . . . . . c h a p t e r . t w o
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. . . . . p a r t . o n e
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. . . . b e g i n
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The next morning Ambrosine awoke with a start. Someone had decided to throw a pillow at her and yell, 'WAKE UP!' at the top of her lungs. Well, Ambrosine thought, at least they had bothered to wake her up.
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Thankfully, the first year girls' dormitories were empty by the time that Ambrosine awoke. The night before she had just shoved off her new Hogwarts school uniform into her bedside drawer, which she hadn't even bothered to close. All she'd wanted last night was rest, and she'd gotten it. She was surprised to see that the tie that she had been given to wear the night before on the Hogwarts Express was no longer gray, but now a silk of intertwined green and silver, the Slytherin house colors. The V-neck of her dark gray blazer was now also adorned with the same very colors…just like magic.
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Ambrosine was delighted by this, and though she was not very proud of the house that she had forcibly placed herself in, the whole magical aura of the school enchanted her and caused her to be eager to stay, despite what she may have to endure.
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After slipping off her long black nightdress and clothing herself in her uniform, Ambrosine walked over to the bathrooms, thankful that the floor was clean (otherwise her bare feet would have gotten an uncomfortable prickle). She had gotten a good bed, despite being the last girl to arrive at the Slytherin first year girls' dorms—it was right beside the bathrooms, which meant that, if she was fast enough, she'd get first dibs more often than not. Since she'd forgotten her brush at home, Ambrosine was glad to find that various house elves had apparently left out a brand new brush for each inhabitant of the first year girls' dorms, not that she was aware of the fact that it was indeed house elves that were supplying these items.
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She ran the thick bristled brush through her hair, coming across many knots. Ambrosine Emerson's hair looked pretty straight at a distance, but when she fell asleep she usually awoke with an uncountable amount of entanglements and other kinks in her hair. Though it took nearly ten minutes to get each and every tangle out and coming close to killing her brush, Ambrosine's hair was finally pretty straight. No, it wasn't perfect…she'd a few loose strands of hair sticking up here and there, but it was acceptable.
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The lone girl picked up a green, presentably folded facecloth and raised it to her face after running the cleansing material through the warm water that gently flowed out of the sink's elaborately decorated tap. Ah, that woke her up… Ambrosine wrung the water out of the washrag with her hands and left it hanging over a towel rack to dry.
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"Pity. Looks like that mask of yours didn't come off." Came a venomous remark from the other side of the large girls' bathroom.
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"…I…" Ambrosine looked up and to the right of her, eyes following the voice.
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Narcissa Black.
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"…I'm sorry to bother you, Narcissa…" Ambrosine said softly. "I'll leave you alone."
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There was a snort from the other end of the bathroom as Narcissa raised her head arrogantly, her pointed yet seemingly perfectly shaped nose directed slightly at the ceiling.
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Ambrosine was glad to be out of the bathroom and away from Narcissa. As she put on and pulled up her gray knee socks, which were required of all girls who attended Hogwarts, she mentally queried why Narcissa had waited so long to go into the bathroom. Surely Narcissa could have left first with all of her friends? 'She probably stayed just to make fun of me…' Ambrosine thought, sighing.
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Upon walking into the great hall for breakfast, Ambrosine was nearly thrown off her feet thanks to the massive throng of people that were hanging about the entrance. She slid through a group of Hufflepuff girls, trying her best to not be noticed as she walked slowly over to the front of the Slytherin table, a small pile of books hugged tightly to her chest. She sat down at the end of the table that was closest to the staff table, alone. All of the other first years had seemed to have made a large group of friends overnight, since the remainder of them were all conversing happily with one another.
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Ambrosine stabbed a small sausage on her plate with one of the silver forks that was set gingerly next to her china plate. She eyed the cylindrical piece of meat boredly before nibbling on it. Mm, that was pretty tasty… 'Well, at least the food is good. Much better than at home.' Ambrosine thought happily, now taking a big bite of the sausage. At least there was one good thing about Hogwarts so far.
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While nibbling on her gourmet breakfast, Ambrosine slid her left hand into her skirt pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. Her cobalt eyes scanned it, a slight frown crossing her features.
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Slytherin First Year Schedule: School Year 1971-1972
Course Name Inhabitants Professor
1st Period: Breakfast All Houses Weiss
2nd Period: History of Magic Ravenclaw Binns
3rd Period: Charms Hufflepuff Flitwick
4th Period: Defense Against the Dark Arts Gryffindor Belle
5th Period: Lunch All Houses Weiss
6th Period: Transfiguration Gryffindor McGonagall
7th Period: Potions Gryffindor Weiss
8th Period: Herbology Hufflepuff Sprout
9th Period: Flying Lessons (only first day) Slytherin Hooch
9th Period: Free Period Ravenclaw N/A
10th Period: Dinner All Houses Weiss
Midnight (Wed): Astronomy All Houses Sinistra
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"That would be really handy if I knew where all of these classes were…" Ambrosine said to herself with a soft laugh. Well, she had made it to breakfast successfully, so that was a start. One period down…only nine left to go. Since it seemed like all Slytherin first years had the same schedule—Ambrosine had come to this conclusion by secretly glancing at the girl next to hers' schedule, doing so to confirm her suspicions—Ambrosine decided that she would simply follow everybody else. Surely one bolder than she would think to get directions and ask an older student where their classes were, and the whole group of Slytherin first years would all be in the same boat.
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Ambrosine noticed that within a few moments the remainder of students in the great hall had all stood and were beginning to walk out of the large room. She quickly wiped her hands with a nearby napkin and set it atop her plate. In one swift movement she scooped up her books and hugged them to her chest tightly, all the while thinking that she really should have bought a book bag or the like to carry all of her materials in.
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The direction in which the students began to walk in seemed to be sorted by height, which was rather convenient. Ambrosine figured that if she just kept up with the rest of the Slytherins that were her height, first years, she wouldn't get lost…or, she hoped she wouldn't get lost. Every now and then as she walked, she scanned the group ahead of her for that blond boy, that one who had helped her yesterday. Lucius, wasn't it? He seemed to know his way around even without making an effort.
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After walking along many stairways and up and down many hallways, the already somewhat tired Slytherin first years arrived at the end of a rather short hallway resulting in a single door. Despite the hall's narrow appearance, as Ambrosine walked into the classroom she found it to be rather large. There was a long blackboard on the wall, which seemed to be about three meters long, if not longer. It was a nice polished dark gray that looked as though it had been just polished to ready itself for the new school year's usage. The desks were paired in groups of two and one of the walls was covered in old newspaper clippings and posters, artifacts of the past. The other two shelves were large bookshelves full of thick and dilapidated history books. As her eyes met the literary works, Ambrosine wondered how one would be able to actually sift through one of those volumes without all of the pages tumbling to the floor or breaking apart as if they were comprised of the mica stone. The students all began to take their seats, and within mere minutes all of the desks were full. Now there was only one thing missing…the teacher.
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Growing bored with waiting for the teacher to show up, a loud chatter swept the room.
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"How awesome, we don't even have a teacher for first period…"
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"Yeah, maybe they forgot."
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"Ha, yeah, maybe they did! A free period on the first day of school!"
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Ambrosine's eyes just drifted around the room, her gaze shifting swiftly from the chalkboard to more closely examine some of the old clippings that had been stapled to the wall, until she saw something strange out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened and she gasped, leaning backwards in her chair.
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There was a semi-transparent gray arm sticking out of the chalkboard…and then there wasn't just an arm anymore. Starting with a small nose, the rest of the man's features became visible through the blackboard. He was a relatively short balding man, looking somewhat as though someone had dumped a bag of flour over his head and he'd just not bothered to wipe it off his crown, or off of the rest of his body, for that matter. He was a…a…ghost!
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"Now class, settle down!" he called, and there was an instant silence from the class as he set down a pile of papers on his desk, which he then walked right through. "Welcome to your first year at the finest institution of magic…Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor Binns. My subject is History of Magic. I deal with facts, not myths and legends." The teacher's voice was dry and raspy sounding, as though he hadn't had a drink in a few hundred years, which actually probably wasn't such an illogical of a thought, as he was an apparition.
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There was some more silence, as the class looked at him in an awestruck manner, not a sound emitted, other than the occasional sigh.
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"This year we will be primarily studying the very origin of magic – Ancient Egypt." Binns said, flicking his wand as thick sheets of parchment flew towards each student. "Each of you have been given a packet outlining the topics that we will be reading about—a basic syllabus. On the back page there is the grading criteria. I suggest you take a long look at it, students, if you want to succeed in my class."
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Ambrosine's eyes remained on the short ghost of a wizard, taking in and thoroughly analyzing every word to pass from his mouth. Once he had not said anything for a few moments, subtly suggesting that the students read over newly received packets, Ambrosine's eyes fell down to scan the parchment. The writing was in an old English hand—elaborate and somewhat difficult to read. After her eyes got used to looking at it and she decrypted the hand, she found that it would not be all that difficult to receive a 90-100% in this class—as long as she paid attention. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to do at least that…but judging by how his voice sounded, low and droning, it would require a lot of concentration.
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"Now…I suggest you begin to get to know your seatmates. There is the majority of an hour left of the period. This will be the only period in my class where you are not required to complete an assignment—enjoy it." Binns said, turning to move back to his desk.
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Until then, Ambrosine hadn't even noticed that anyone had taken a seat next to her. She became aware of it as she looked up, taken aback by whom her eyes met.
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She thought that she must have missed this girl while observing the sorting…maybe she was one of the latter first years to be sorted? Ambrosine had decided to just rest her head in her arms yesterday not long after she, being one of the first, was sorted. That must definitely be the case, she thought…since this girl had such a distinct look that Ambrosine doubted anyone would forget her upon setting their eyes on her.
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The girl that was sitting next to Ambrosine had slightly pale skin, very different from Ambrosine's peach-colored epidermis. Her hair was also a quite unusual color—a dark navy blue. She had her hair tied back in a sloppy bun; not one strand strayed the binding. Her eyes seemed to be a vivid emerald green—Ambrosine couldn't see very well since the girl was still examining the parchment that Flitwick had handed out. The colors on her tie and blazer were blue and bronze—Ravenclaw colors—and on her school crest was a proudly embroidered bird of prey. She struck Ambrosine as pretty…pretty and intimidating. Her overall manner suggested that she was very sure of herself, if not somewhat quiet…very poised and self-controlled.
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Just the Ravenclaw's demeanor made Ambrosine nervous, even more nervous than she was before she realized that there was someone seated next to her. Since the blue-haired girl was still looking at her parchment, Ambrosine decided that she could just read her own parchment over again to pass time…she didn't want to be the one to strike up the conversation. She just didn't want to bother anybody.
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A few moments passed and Ambrosine finished reading the parchment over from start to finish for the third time. The sound of paper being rolled up made her jump slightly, and she looked up to see the blue-haired girl looking at her. Only then did she notice how…blue…the girl's hair actually was, and it made her glad that another dared to be different in terms of looks.
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"Hello." The Ravenclaw said.
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"…H-Hi." Ambrosine said, trying to smile.
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She held out her hand.
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"Kallie Wells. It's nice to meet you, miss…?"
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Ambrosine shook it gently. She certainly hadn't expected the girl to do that, but she wanted to be polite.
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"Ambrosine Emerson. I…I-It's a pleasure."
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"The pleasure is mine." Kallie said, voice surprisingly friendly. She had heard the rumors about Slytherins being terribly horrible, but this one gave off a very distinct timid vibe, something that suggested that she wasn't the norm.
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A few minutes of increasingly uncomfortable silence passed. Ambrosine sighed, eyes drifting back down to her parchment before shooting back up.
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"…So. Do you like the school so far?"
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"Yeah, it's an amazing place…" She said, recalling what had happened yesterday when she'd just stopped in the great hall, mouth open in awe at the ceiling of bright stars and the dark night sky.
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"I agree. The architecture is gorgeous, especially from the outside. This castle was made thousands of years ago but it's still standing…that just goes to show, doesn't it?"
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Ambrosine wasn't sure what Kallie meant by going to show, but she nodded with a smile nonetheless. This girl certainly sounded like she knew what she was talking about, and Ambrosine didn't want to argue or provoke her in any way…not that she wanted to argue with or provoke anyone, for that matter.
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"I'm sorry…" Kallie sighed heavily. "I've talked too much already, haven't I? Mother says that I talk too much. I apologize." A hopeful smile crossed the girl's face as she looked at Ambrosine.
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"…Oh, uhm, no, of course not."
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"Okay, lovely." The Ravenclaw seemed happy to hear this; there was a hint of blissful bounciness detectable in her voice. "Please tell me if I do, will you?"
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With the forced smile still plastered on her face, Ambrosine nodded. She thought that it was rude of herself to think so, but…yes, she did admit to herself that Kallie talked a little bit more than was perhaps necessary. She admitted it mentally, anyway—Ambrosine would not have even dreamed of saying this out loud. More than anything else, Ambrosine was afraid of offending others, and that was part of the reason that she remained so quiet and timid the majority of the time. Other reasons were that she simply didn't wish to be a burden to anyone…she hated bothering people; she didn't want to give anyone more of a reason to continue or begin, depending on whom she was conversing with, to criticize her.
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"…So…where are you from?"
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"London." Ambrosine hoped there wasn't an opportunity for one to crack a joke at her birthplace; she was quite fond of London.
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"I'm from Bedford, but I hear London is superb. I've never been. Well, unless you want to count Diagon Alley a part of London. It's not really London, is it? Have you been to Tower Bridge? The view must be marvelous. I've only seen photographs."
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"I like it there. It's home." A soft smile tugged at Ambrosine's lips. Ah, the bittersweet memories of her home life.
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"Ah, I see…I guess that's how I feel about Bedford, but I'd have liked to travel somewhere once in my life. My parents are so boring—they don't like travel. They're a couple of misanthropes, if I've ever seen a few…"
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Ambrosine spent the remainder of the period listening to Kallie chatter on and on about her family and home life. Perhaps it was a matter of personal taste, but Ambrosine found Kallie's life and mindless ramblings to be quite interesting. Ambrosine liked to observe and listen to what people had to say rather than actually taking part in any such conversations. She learned that Kallie had an older brother who worked at a pub in Hogsmeade, the wizarding village that they would get to visit come their third year at school at Hogwarts; Ambrosine didn't really fancy the idea of going to a pub, but Kallie had assured her that there were non-alcoholic drinks available for students—her brother had brought her some flasks of a drink called butterbeer. Kallie said it was quite addictive despite it's lack of alcohol.
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Before she knew it…class was over. Professor Binns had circulated around the room to take attendance during the period, and he had just now finished. Ambrosine hoped that means of finding out who was present and who was not would not be continued tomorrow…too many people would be considered on time when they were late. She didn't think she'd have to worry about this, however…Binns seemed pretty strict.
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"Class dismissed." Binns had to raise his voice to be heard over all of the clatter of chairs against the floor, voices loud at the inkling that class had ended. Ambrosine saw that quite a few students looked quite tired…perhaps some had decided to take mid-morning naps without knowledge of the professor. At this she found herself smiling slightly…it would have just been a lot easier to go to sleep.
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"I'll see you 'round, okay?" Kallie said, rising from her chair and holding her books by her side.
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"Okay." Ambrosine said.
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"Cheerio!"
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And with that parting phrase, Kallie Wells disappeared into the throng of students that were moving to exit the classroom through the narrow door that lead to an equally narrow hallway. Ambrosine waited a bit and then followed, being sure to keep at a distance where she would not get pushed by her fellow housemates but was still able to see them.
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All of the Slytherins were walking up one of the steeper staircases that led up to the castle's highest level…the seventh floor. Before, Ambrosine hadn't noticed that they had come so close to the top of the castle. She harbored a fear of heights, so perhaps it was better that she hadn't noticed…but now she certainly had, and there was no changing the past. As butterflies filled her stomach, Ambrosine swallowed nervously, taking a tighter hold onto her books as she stepped up one smooth step at a time. Ambrosine was purposefully trying to stay in the middle of the staircase, for venturing too close to either of the sides may have led to her getting too nervous and simply toppling over. Though she knew this was very unlikely, she feared it nonetheless. Fears were indeed irrational.
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She tried to keep her eyes down on the steps, not letting them stray to the sides where she could see many of the staircases below her, instead looking at the feet of whomever was in front of her as to not lose the rest of the first year Slytherins and successfully end up at the next classroom. What was their next class, anyway?
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Ambrosine shifted her books to hold them in one arm against her right hip, rummaging into her skirt's front left pocket with her free hand, attempting to locate her schedule. Aha, there it was. She pulled out a nicely folded yet small piece of paper, the very same paper she'd consulted just over one hour ago.
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"Charms…with the Hufflepuffs." Ambrosine said to herself. She wondered what this would be like…the sorting hat had said that she would have done well in either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaws did seem nice enough…Kallie was nice to her, wasn't she? Perhaps she would be able to make friends with a Ravenclaw, or a Hufflepuff…but she would only have the chance to do so if the members of the other houses didn't judge her merely on her crest of green and silver.
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Before long, the group made their way up the stairs, finally reaching the top. For this, Ambrosine was relieved…though the thought that she had to go up those stairs every day for the next year didn't excite her, and roused slight fear and reluctancy despite her relieved manner. She raised her head and slid her schedule back into her pocket, following the rest of her house down a rather large hallway, only to end up walking down another incredibly steep flight of stairs. This one was, indeed, far steeper than the last flight had been, that was for sure, and Ambrosine began to wonder why they had went up a flight of stairs only to go down another. Hm, perhaps the leader of the group had realized he or she had made a wrong turn…But then, Ambrosine had read, and witnessed, that these staircases did fancy a move back and fourth every now and then, so perhaps the only way to get to one stairway was to go along another. Hm, curious. Ambrosine made a mental note, now jogging down the stairs skittishly in order to keep up with the rest of the Slytherins. A nervous feeling returned again to Ambrosine's stomach; the prospect of somehow falling over the side of the staircase's railings, down many, many floors, perhaps to her death, frightened her. As she jogged, however, Ambrosine's fears ebbed even if only just slightly at the mere idea that within a few minutes this wonderful trek down steep stairs would be completed…for today.
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And, in a few minutes, it was.
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Ambrosine sighed a heavy sigh of immense relief, raising a hand to gently push her bangs out of her eyes as she followed a few remaining Slytherins down a rather generous hallway lined with many paintings and into a small wooden door, entering what was a very large classroom. The students began piling into the room, groggy expressions on their faces.
They were the first to arrive…apparently the Hufflepuffs had to travel farther in order to get to this particular classroom, Ambrosine mused. She looked around the room curiously. A few shelves lined the walls, all filled with particularly large books and models of various sorts. There were not desks, but a pair of groups of long rectangular tables that made the room look somewhat like a movie theatre or a concert hall, as each table, as they got closer to the back wall, was set up higher than the last. Wooden chairs were placed equal amounts apart at each table, almost inviting students to sit down.
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Ambrosine took a chair on the left end of the classroom. A large desk, which she assumed belonged to the teacher of this class, sat in the middle of the groups of tables, almost as a conductor's podium would be in the middle of rows of aspiring musicians. Ambrosine furrowed her brow, however, as she saw that there appeared to be no teacher present. She queried mentally as to whether or not this would be the recurring theme at Hogwarts, as Binns had notably been absent for a short while at the beginning of first period. Sitting silently in her chair, hands in her lap, books on the oak wood in front of her, Ambrosine awaited the arrival of both the Hufflepuffs as well as the teacher. The students around her seemed to be laughing and joking with each other, and Ambrosine looked up to note whom seemed to be getting along with whom. It was no surprise when she'd seen Michelle and Narcissa giggling in a girlish way, the pair sitting a few rows behind her. She scanned the room for that boy that Madam Pomfrey had called Lucius, only to find him conversing energetically with a few boys…surprisingly, the quartet had decided to sit not far behind Narcissa and Michelle's group of girls.
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There was a loud tapping noise which caused Ambrosine to jump and spin around, looking for the origin of the rather sudden sound. Her eyes stopped at the teacher's desk. Unlike before, there was now somebody occupying it.
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He was a rather short man, and struck Ambrosine as resembling a dwarf or likewise. His cheeks were rosy, accompanied by a wide, friendly smile. Rectangular glasses rested on his ski-slope shaped nose, gray hair and a gray beard falling down to his shoulders. There were no traces of white in the man's hair, which suggested that he was just now beginning to lean towards old age. In his slightly bony hand was grasped a thick wand that was just slightly crooked.
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"Class, settle down please!" he said, again tapping his wand on his desk. The two looked to be made of the same cherry oak wood… Ambrosine thought it rather interesting—and rather clever, too…what a nice subtle touch—that this seemingly cheerful yet miniature wizard would coordinate the wood of his classroom with the wood of his wand.
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The majority of the students' eyes were now locked on their new teacher; many conversations were gradually paused. It seemed that the majority of the students had arrived now, only a few chairs standing empty. Most of the Hufflepuff students looked a little muddy…Ambrosine wondered what class they had had, and decided to be especially observant, listening for any hints as to which class it was.
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"Welcome to Hogwarts." The tiny man said. "I am Professor Flitwick, and I will be your Charms teacher for the remainder of your years here. It's good to see lots of young, eager faces."
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The class responded with silence.
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"I hope all of you have brought your own copy of Miranda Goshawk's The Standard Book of Spells, Year One. That's the textbook that we will be primarily using in this class, all other books that you will need can easily be found and checked out at the library."
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There was a soft murmur from the majority of the students. Ambrosine checked her pile of books…Standard Book of Spells…yes, it was there. She moved it silently to the top of her little mound of required text.
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"Today we will be working on a simple charm to gently separate two things. You will each be given a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Now, if you can separate the box from the candy, you can eat the candy. I'll be able to tell whether or not you've done the charm perfectly. If you have, the box will be perfectly flat and have no folds or rips or fingerprints whatsoever."
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Flitwick took out a small green box with a picture of a brown frog on the front, placing it on his desk and saying, "Wingardrium Leviosa." pointing his wand at the now floating sweet.
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"Now, this is what you're going to have to do." He said, raising his wand in the air. "One, two, flick your wand lightly, and… Appello Diluo!" With those last two words, the box began to slowly come apart, though the sides were as flat as ever. A pile of jellybeans floated away from the box, which still hung in the air. "I'm doing this high up so all of you can see, I don't expect any of you to levitate your boxes. Does everyone understand?"
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Everyone seemed to nod happily. They seemed to quite like their new teacher, but then, perhaps that was just the fact that they'd be getting some candy taking effect.
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Flitwick did another levitation spell and floated the boxes of Bertie Bott's around the classroom, one drifting down to each student. Ambrosine reached up to catch hers, then placed it gently on the wooden table in front of her, sliding her books to the side. She took her wand out of her pocket, the sprig a slightly shiny dark brown—apple wood.
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Ambrosine took a deep breath and concentrated on what she was doing, gazing at the item in front of her; the object of the charm was to gently open the box of jellybeans.
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"Appello Diluo." Ambrosine said, pointing her wand at the blue box and flicking it just slightly.
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Nothing happened.
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The blonde-haired girl sighed, somewhat frustrated. Hadn't she done it exactly like Flitwick had shown them? No matter…she should just try it again. Nobody was perfect, so nobody would get it on the first try, would they?
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"Appello Diluo." She said, waving her wand again over the box of candy, flicking it.
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Well, at least the box had moved just a little this time…one of the flaps that was tucked into the box to try and keep it from being opened unless one physically moved it had budged, even if only just a little bit. This inkling of success had supplied Ambrosine with a bout of self-confidence.
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"Appello Diluo!" Ambrosine said again, yet this time with more enthusiasm. Well, that had certainly worked…
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Ambrosine's box of Bertie Bott's sprang open, the multicolored jellybeans showering onto the desk, bouncing every which way. Quite a few rolled off of the wooden surface and onto the tile floor of the classroom, resulting in loud clicks and clacks, the result of the collision of two relatively hard surfaces. Ambrosine swallowed nervously, her face now flushed. The majority of the students' eyes rested on her now, their acute hearing picking up the sound of the jellybeans hitting the floor; most students who had been engaged in conversation ceased speaking.
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After the one last jellybean fell with a click, the room was absolutely and positively silent. The silence was broken at last by Professor Flitwick, whom, at the moment, Ambrosine was undyingly thankful for.
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"No problem, my dear." Came his weathered yet somehow still cheerful voice. He didn't seem mad at her, no, not at all. Instead, the kindness in his voice suggested that he would be willing to pick up each jellybean one by one and offer her a new box to replace the one that she had lost. "Here, I'll get those for you."
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"Colligo." Professor Flitwick said, pointing his wand at the general area of where Ambrosine was sitting, at all of the fallen jellybeans. The class watched silently as all of the beans were drawn to each other as if due to the forces of a magnet, resulting in one mass of jellybeans that was tightly huddled together.
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"T-thank you, Professor…" Ambrosine whispered, her face flushed with embarrassment and nervousness. At least Flitwick had saved her the trouble and further embarrassment of picking up each jellybean on her own one-by-one whilst the remainder of the students inhabiting the class watched her.
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"Don't worry about it." Flitwick grinned. "Here, take this, too." He held out a shiny new box of Bertie Bott's to her. Being so very short, however—Flitwick seemed to stand tall at about three feet, give or take a few inches—Ambrosine had to stand up and bend over the ancient wooden desk to accept it. She had to admit, she was quite shocked with this action of his…but it did brighten things up a bit. At least one of her teachers so far seemed kind and easygoing.
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"Thank you, Sir. Very much." Ambrosine's voice was soft and shaky; internally she had decided that she liked this teacher. Though elderly, he seemed to have a childish cheeriness to him, which she liked.
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Ambrosine spent the remainder of the charms period silently munching away on her jellybeans. She thought them quite tasty, and was grateful that Flitwick was kind enough to replace her fallen box of Bertie Bott's with a new one. Luckily she hadn't had the displeasure of coming across a sour or bad-tasting bean in the box that Flitwick had handed her. Briefly, Ambrosine wondered whether or not the Professor had done this on purpose, perhaps 'rigging' the box, in a sense, so there were simply no foul beans in it.
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Before long, the bell rang.
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"Class dismissed! Wonderful work today, everyone!" Flitwick raised his voice in order to be heard over the shuffling and conversing of students, which immediately followed the ringing of the bell. Students walked out of the classroom in a stampede. Ambrosine thought all of this intimidating and—she had to admit—somewhat frightening, so she simply remained in her seat until the majority of the students had all left. She gingerly placed one last jellybean into her mouth, the cinnamon flavor a welcoming one to her taste buds. Sweeping her books up into her arms, she jogged after the rest of the Slytherin students and into the hallway.
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When they'd just arrived at the Charms classroom, Ambrosine hadn't taken the time to notice what floor they were on, nor did she know what floor they were destined for, or even what class was next. Following behind the rest of the Slytherins seemed to work well so far, so, again, this was what she did. To her great relief, they didn't, this time, take a very narrow staircase, but instead one that looked to almost be flat…apparently the next classroom was only one floor down. Well, that was good, at least. Ambrosine walked down the stairs—though it seemed like she was simply walking upon a level plane—not at all as nervous as she had been this past hour; Ambrosine was quite pleased with herself for not being terribly scared.
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She arrived at the foot of the stairwell rather abruptly, colliding with a rather short girl, a girl whom only rose to just below Ambrosine's eyes.
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"I-I'm sorry…" Ambrosine stuttered. "Are you okay?"
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The girl turned, her smooth brown hair whipping around as she did. Uh oh. Ambrosine recognized this girl…Michelle. Michelle Adams. A glare rested snugly on the shorter girl's face, and even though Ambrosine was a bit taller than Michelle, she was frightened. If a look could kill, Ambrosine certainly felt as though Michelle's would. She wanted to sink into the ground, to shrink, to disappear, to escape…
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"You're sorry?" Michelle spat, voice venomous.
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"…I…I, uhm, yeah…I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you…" Ambrosine said weakly, her voice low, almost a whisper.
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"How dare you…"
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"I'm sorry…"
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"You do that again, Emerson…and I promise you that you will regret it. Watch where you're going."
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Ambrosine watched as Michelle walked away, quite relieved that she left. Ah, at least that was over with…but Ambrosine honestly didn't mean to walk into Michelle. Really, she didn't. It upset her that Michelle would just disregard her apology like that; it made her feel about three inches tall, if that. She really didn't know why people like Michelle and Narcissa intimidated her so, but…that was how things were, it seemed, and Ambrosine was too afraid, too feeble to fight it.
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Cautiously, almost unwillingly, Ambrosine again walked forward to follow her fellow Slytherins into the next classroom. After they turned a corner, she looked around for Penelope…hmm; it appeared that her and Narcissa had resumed their positions near the front of their little troupe of bothersome girls. Ambrosine emitted a relieved sigh; hopefully Narcissa and Penelope wouldn't decide to hang back just to speak to her again. 'Please…' She thought, 'Please just leave me alone…'
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And she got her wish. As they entered the huge classroom, Narcissa and Michelle led all of the Slytherin girls (excluding Ambrosine) to the far left side of the room, taking seats near the back. Just so they could get away with talking, no doubt. Ambrosine sighed and seated herself in one of the front chairs. She set down her books gratefully—they were quite a load to haul around all day, even though the day had seemingly just begun—and took a gander at the classroom. Yes, it was relatively large, and tastefully decorated with little golden bells and royal blue curtains of satin. Books lined the walls, and not a speck of dust seemed to be visible. Ambrosine honestly couldn't see a single thing out of place, be it a book, a paper, anything at all. Even the desks were lined up perfectly, as though the teacher had measured the whole thing himself or herself. Ambrosine looked about for the teacher. Was this going to be an ongoing thing at Hogwarts, or…ah, there she was. Finally, a female teacher, Ambrosine thought. A tall lanky woman stood at the door—Ambrosine mused as to why she had not seen her upon walking into the classroom; had she simply not been as observant as usual, or had the professor not been there all along? —Body adorned with robes of blue lined with gold. Locks of chestnut had been pulled back tightly with a rather large blue ribbon. Spherical spectacles rested on the tip of the middle-aged woman's pointed mouse-like nose as she chattered away with a girl whose tie shone red and gold.
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So that was who they'd be having this class with…Gryffindor.
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"That's perfectly acceptable, Miss…you'll just have to share a book with someone until you can get one. We'll not be doing any bookwork today, don't you worry! It is only the beginning of term; I don't expect everyone to be perfect on the first day! Just please have it when you can. You might want to try the library after suppertime, I'm sure they've got a copy."
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"Thank you so much, Ma'am. I'll have it tomorrow, promise."
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The professor did have a rather high-pitched voice, which Ambrosine supposed went along with her peculiar affinity for bells and objects of the sort. She was a funny looking woman, who seemed to have little to no figure, and instead stood erect straight as a board.
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Nodding with an appreciative grin, the red headed girl whom the professor had been conversing with began to walk down the aisle.
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Ambrosine remembered her…Lily? Lily Evans, she thought it was, though she wasn't one hundred percent positive. She seemed nice enough, maybe a potential friend?
Still after the majority of the class had piled in, the seat next to Ambrosine remained vacant. As Lily strode past, Ambrosine shot the girl a hopeful, friendly smile, the best she could muster. Lily, however, in response to this attempted kind gesture, glared at Ambrosine questioningly.
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Oh, right.
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Ambrosine sighed. She'd almost forgotten…Gryffindors weren't supposed to get along with Slytherins. Her parents had given her a fairly lengthy briefing on Hogwarts and the houses and the whole nine yards…dos and don'ts. Again, just as she had yesterday, Ambrosine heard her father's voice ringing clear as a bell in her ears. 'Get out of my head…' she mentally pleaded. No, she didn't want to hear those words again…just once had been sufficient. If only he could see her now, he'd be so proud of the fact that she'd gotten into Slytherin, but so ashamed of her actions…oh, god, get out of my head…
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"Class, I'd like your attention please…"
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Ambrosine's musings had been interrupted.
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"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts class, year one. I'm Professor Bell, this is my first year teaching here at Hogwarts, and so I'll be going through the same new feelings as you." The professor offered an illuminated smile. "I don't know my way around too well, so if you need help getting around I advise that you ask someone else, unless you fancy getting a little lost. This year we'll be covering the basics, but enough of that. In this class I want everyone to be friends, so I have a little game that we can play."
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She tapped her thin wand on her desk, which sat at the front of the room yet still allowed a little teaching space. The neat pile of parchment that had been resting upon her desk instantly floated upwards, a little cloud of smoke under it, making the pile appear to be floating upon a cloud.
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"I would like every student to take one of these sheets of paper as the pile comes around. After you have received your paper, please follow the directions. I would like the assignment completed, no excuses! This will be your first recorded mark, but don't worry. It'll be easy, I promise."
Before smiling once more, Professor Bell sat down at her desk. Ambrosine was quite thankful that she had stopped talking, as she found her squeaky voice mildly annoying. Ah well, she'd just have to tolerate it. Ambrosine had her mind set on getting good marks this year.
The little cloud had decided to fly around Ambrosine's aisle first. Nervously, Ambrosine extended a pale hand to gently pick up one of the thick sheets of parchment, eyes drifting over the plainly written words.
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Please find another student with each of these qualities and get them to sign on the line next to the attribute. Don't be afraid to get up and talk to people!
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Ambrosine swallowed nervously. Oh no…she didn't want to get up and talk to people. Actually, that was just the opposite of what she wished to do at the moment. She just wanted to sit down and lean back in her chair, taking notes or something similar. She was even willing to endure a lengthy explanation on some sort of defensive theory by Professor Bell, and that was saying something, given how much of a nuisance Ambrosine found the woman's voice.
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Reluctantly, Ambrosine looked over what she had been requested to find. She'd have to do this…the professor had said that it would count for a mark.
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Find someone who…
1. …is not in your house: __________
2. …is an only child: __________
3. …likes quidditch: __________
4. …likes to read: __________
5. …has a last name that starts with 'b': __________
6. …was born in another country: __________
7. ….has hair of a different color than yours: __________
8. …has hair that is the same color as yours: __________
9. …is taller than you: __________
10. …is shorter than you: __________
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Okay, Ambrosine thought, this wouldn't be all that difficult, would it? Just ten things, ten
people…that was a lot less than she had assumed that she would have to find. This wouldn't take long. She hoped.
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She looked around. There were a lot of people that weren't in her house, but who to ask? Probably not Lily, Ambrosine thought pessimistically. To be honest, Ambrosine doubted that any of the Gryffindors would talk to her. She was a Slytherin, after all…great luck, having to take a class with Gryffindors…it wasn't that Ambrosine thought that Gryffindors were bad people, it was simply that she knew most of the Gryffindors would misjudge her. (Or was she misjudging the Gryffindors by assuming this?) There went another opportunity.
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But she'd try anyway.
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After she saw that most of the other students had begun to rise, Ambrosine stood up slowly and glanced around. Everyone seemed to be in little groups. There were the Slytherin girls all in one little group to the left of the room, and the Gryffindor girls were gathered right behind her. There were two groups of both Slytherin and Gryffindor boys, and then a few others who seemingly fit into not one of the above groups sat at their desks in a bored fashion, not even bothering to stand up and make an effort.
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Ambrosine didn't know where to start. Everyone looked downright intimidating…while she wasn't about to go ask one of the Gryffindor girls to sign her paper after the look Lily had given her, she also wasn't about to walk up to a group of pompous boys, either.
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The volume of chatter in the classroom elevated, and Ambrosine felt even more alienated than she had as she'd received the assignment.
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Who to ask?
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Ambrosine glanced up at the clock on the wall. Fifty minutes. She had fifty minutes to get ten people to sign her paper, which meant all that she had to do was get one person to sign every five minutes. That should be easy…but Ambrosine couldn't help but feel reluctant. She didn't want to do the assignment…
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She stood beside her desk and watched the seconds tick away. Forty-nine minutes. Forty-eight minutes. Forty-seven. Forty-six. Forty-five.
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Ambrosine tapped her foot against the tiled floor nervously. Come on, why couldn't she do this? Just pick somebody and ask…
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Across from her, to the left, sat a lone Slytherin boy with raven black hair that fell to his chin. She couldn't see his eyes or his cheeks, simply a rather hook-like nose protruding from the curtains of hair. He didn't seem to be budging, either…just as she wasn't. Maybe she could go ask him? She didn't recognize him from the sorting…but he did have Slytherin robes on; she could see the green and silver emblem sewed onto his blazer.
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Swallowing nervously yet again, Ambrosine picked up her quill, stopped fiddling with the corner of parchment (this was a nervous habit) and slowly walked over to the desk where the lone boy sat.
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She stopped.
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Come on, Ambrosine, say something…
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"…H…hi."
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Ambrosine forced a slight smile.
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"I was wondering if you could, uhm, sign my paper, please."
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The boy turned his head, looking up at her. Just this small movement caused his silky black hair to sway back and fourth, not unlike the manner of a heavy curtain, which had been blown aside by the wind.
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He looked absolutely shocked. Someone was talking to him? This was a new thing, definitely, and a new thing that he was surely not used to. He wasn't quite sure of how to respond.
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"Hello…" The boy said, voice low. He managed a forced smile, trying to hide his surprise. Someone was speaking to him.
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Ambrosine smiled back. Well, he seemed nice so far.
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Silence.
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"…Oh, uh, right…the paper." He said, looking away, flustered.
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"It's all right." Ambrosine smiled softly, handing him her sheet of parchment.
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"…W-will you please sign mine, too? If it's not any trouble, I mean…"
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"I-Of course!"
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He handed her his parchment.
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Ambrosine's eyes scanned the paper. It seemed identical to hers…what could she sign? She was an only child…she supposed that she could sign that one. And she did like to read, too…and then there was the hair one. Which category would she fit into on that one? Her primary hair color was blonde, and that definitely contrasted from his ebon locks, but the tips of her hair were black…
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The boy slid Ambrosine back her parchment.
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Ambrosine glanced down at what he had signed his name under…number eight. …has hair that is the same color as yours: Severus
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Ambrosine grinned, quickly scrawling her name under that same category on his paper, handing it back to him.
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His brow furrowed.
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"…Am…bro…sign? …Is that how you say it?"
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"Not quite, but it was a really good try…Severus, right?"
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Severus nodded.
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"Yeah."
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"Nice to meet you, Severus…I'm Ambrosine. Kind of rhymes with magazine." Ambrosine smiled in a friendly manner and held out her hand for him to shake if he wished. She'd assumed that it would be a safe gesture, as he hadn't turned her away yet and appeared to be in the same boat as she.
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He shook her hand, and though hesitant at first, it was a firm shake, his fingers long, hand bony.
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"…N-nice to meet you, too, Ambrosine." He'd pronounced it correctly this time.
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For a few moments they stood in silence.
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"I, uhm, I think I'm going to try and get some more people to sign my paper. I guess I'll see you later…?" They were in the same house, after all. Ambrosine thought this would be a reasonable assumption.
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Severus nodded.
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"Yeah. See you."
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Ambrosine smiled to herself and at Severus before turning and walking away. That had gone well…he seemed really nice. Now she only had one problem…she had to get more signatures.
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She glanced down at her paper. Best just to start from the top, she supposed…find someone that's not in your house. That meant a Gryffindor. There were so many of them, though…who to pick?
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Ambrosine decided that she wasn't about to go up to the band of Gryffindor boys (who had now merged with the group of Gryffindor girls who appeared more popular), so the smaller group of Gryffindor girls would have to suffice…even if Lily was in it. Nervously, she walked up to them, smiling in what she hoped was a friendly, inviting manner.
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"…H-hi, I was wondering if maybe any of you could sign my paper?"
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"Yeah, like we'd sign your paper…"
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Ambrosine felt a wave of nausea coming on. That was exactly what she had expected them to say…
"Emilie, shush!" Lily hissed. "Of course we'll sign your paper…"
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Ambrosine hid the fact that she was surprised with a slight smile. Lily had shot her such a dirty look as class had started, and now she was acting nicely? Maybe Lily had suspected that Ambrosine was smiling at the fact that she had forgotten her textbook, or was mocking her earlier…whatever the reason, Lily sure didn't seem upset with her at the moment, and had even lightly chastised one of her dark-haired companions. Though Ambrosine was unable to figure out the reason as to why, she decided to spend her time musing on other things. If people were going to be nice to her, she wasn't going to complain.
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"May I see your paper, please?"
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"Oh, yeah, right…" Ambrosine handed Lily her sheet of parchment, who then scribbled her name down her name under category number seven.
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"Thanks so much, Lily." She smiled an appreciative smile.
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"Any time. Could you please sign mine?"
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Ambrosine nodded as Lily handed her her sheet of parchment. Ambrosine used her knee as a lapboard and wrote her name neatly under the second category, the one about being an only child.
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"Thanks. You're an only child? I wish I was, my sister is annoying…" Lily sighed heavily.
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"It must be really exciting to have a sibling…I'm always by myself. At least you have someone who's with you all of the time, someone you can always go to…?"
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Lily shrugged. "I guess the grass is always greener on the other side."
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"Hey, could you sign my paper? I still need the first one signed, and you aren't in my house." A girl whom appeared to be chewing some sort of bubblegum said, shoving her parchment into Ambrosine's face. She had shoulder-length dark brown hair in tight ringlets. She struck Ambrosine as pretty, but the way she spoke and chewed gum with her mouth open brought down the level of admiration of any sort that Ambrosine might have had for her.
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As the brown haired girl took Ambrosine's parchment from Lily, Ambrosine signed space number two on her parchment before handing it back to her.
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"Thanks." Ambrosine smiled.
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"Anata no kami onegaishimasu ka?"
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Ambrosine looked to the girl on Lily's right. She hadn't even noticed her at first, since she hadn't said anything until now. But what was she saying? Ambrosine blinked, brow furrowed in confusion.
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"Can I see you paper? I sign."
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"She just moved here from Japan." Lily said, smiling hopefully. "She can speak a bit of English, me and Em are trying to help her out and get used to things here."
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Nodding, Ambrosine handed her paper to the foreign girl. Whatever her name was, she didn't look as oriental as many other Asian girls whom she'd seen…though she was, no doubt, Asian. Ambrosine wondered how she was going to get on in school, hardly being able to speak English…but she supposed there was a spell for that, right? Surely Dumbledore would know?
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After jotting her name down, the Japanese girl handed Ambrosine back her parchment, looking rather proud of herself. She had indeed signed her name, even though it was in a bit shaky of a hand. Ambrosine had to admit, she'd thought the foreign girl, Akiko, had done a really good job with writing in Eigo…Ambrosine knew all too well that she couldn't write her own name in a foreign language if her life depended upon it.
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"Thank you very much." Ambrosine said to Akiko, bowing, as she assumed was customary in Japan. She didn't know for sure, however…it was just an assumption. To be honest, Ambrosine wouldn't have been surprised if the Japanese actually considered bowing rude and she was seriously offending this girl. It would have been just her luck.
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Akiko nodded enthusiastically, as though she understood.
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"Could you please sign this for her?" Lily asked, handing Ambrosine Akiko's paper.
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"Of course…"
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After Ambrosine had signed Akiko's paper as well as the other two girls in the little group's papers, they bade each other farewell, and Ambrosine now had to go try and find some more people to sign the rest of the empty spaces on her sheet of parchment. Though initially surprised at the Gryffindor girls' (mostly) positive reactions, Ambrosine had greatly appreciated it. She wasn't quite used to people treating her kindly, and though Lily's prior glare had baffled her, she had resolved to forget about it and be appreciative that Lily and her group had spoken with her and agreed to sign her parchment. They had helped a lot, and now Ambrosine only had to find five more people to sign it. She was almost half finished!
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As well as aiding her in completing the assignment, Ambrosine's encounter with Lily's group had boosted the Slytherin's self-confidence, even if just in slight. They had had a positive reaction, maybe others would, too? It seemed unlikely…
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But she had to finish this assignment. It was for a grade.
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Ambrosine glanced down at her sheet of parchment, reading it over. Number five…she had to find someone whose last name began with a 'b'. She frowned, musing over this. There were two students with the same last name, weren't there? She'd seen it during the sorting. One of them was Narcissa, she knew…how could she forget? And the other was…a boy. A handsome boy, too.
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She looked about the primary group of Gryffindor boys. Many of them seemed to be in the process of getting flogged by a steadily increasing amount of females, but Ambrosine supposed that it was all bound to happen in the end. Pretty boys would end up with pretty boys, and she would be left all alone. She looked from perfect face to perfect face…and there he was.
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Sirius. That was his name. Sirius Black. She couldn't go talk to him. No, she couldn't. She couldn't, she couldn't, she couldn't.
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Instead, she just stood there looking like a statue residing in a wax museum.
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"Hey, could you sign my paper?"
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Ambrosine blinked, glancing to her left. She'd just gotten tapped upon the shoulder, and she hadn't even noticed that she was being approached until now, whom exactly was approaching her also remaining unknown until she turned her head.
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It was the boy who had helped her yesterday. Lucius.
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She'd been wondering where he'd ran off to…and by the looks of it, him and the group of boys that was surrounding him had hung around near the rear of the classroom. Was that what they'd done every class? If so, that would explain why Ambrosine hadn't seen him…
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"Uhm, yeah, sure." Ambrosine was completely taken aback, as well as deeply intimidated by the fact that Lucius was surrounded by a crowd of mean looking boys. She handed him her parchment, and he handed her his.
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Not wanting Lucius' band to stick around very long for fear that they would squish her without warning, Ambrosine scrawled down her name under the first category. That wasn't a lie. She was an only child.
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A few seconds after Ambrosine handed Lucius back his piece of parchment, he handed her back hers. He'd signed on the first line…the same category she'd signed under. His hand was elaborate, and looked somewhat like calligraphy…Ambrosine would have had a difficult time reading it if she didn't already know what it said. …is an only child: Lucius
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"Thanks." Lucius said, grinning and offering her a bit of a wave before leading his band off to find another person to sign his parchment. As he left, some of the boys that were following him muttered unintelligible things and Ambrosine sighed with immense relief. Lucius seemed nice, he was nice to her yesterday. She couldn't help but wonder what brought on this sudden change in personality, however, or at least what she perceived as a sudden change in personality. Yesterday he'd seemed to be a bit of a loner such as herself, and today he had already assumed a gang of Slytherin boys. Oh well, she wouldn't think on it. It wouldn't really matter either way, right? Even though those other boys made her really nervous…
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After that, Ambrosine had momentarily forgotten why she'd walked over this way in the first place…to get Sirius to sign her paper. Their group didn't seem so far away now…and they were, in truth, standing only a yard or so away from where Ambrosine was standing.
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Alright, deep breaths. Take a few steps forward, and you'll be fine. In, out, in, out, one, two, three…
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And with that, Ambrosine took a step forward.
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"A Sly on Gryff territory?" Came the voice of a highly accented Northern boy who walked up to Ambrosine, handing her his parchment straight away. His brown hair seemed to generally stick to his head, though not completely.
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"Sign my paper, will ya? And I'll let y'stick 'round for a few more minutes."
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Ambrosine nodded and signed his parchment, handing it back to him. She knew he was only joking around good-naturedly with her, either that or he was simply mocking her…though the latter was more likely, she was hoping for the prior.
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"…W-would you sign my parchment, please?"
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"Wow, no need for all of the formalities, please, thank you, Miss Slytherin." He said, using his own knee as a hard surface to scrawl his name lightly onto her sheet of paper.
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"Thanks."
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"You're lucky I didn't poke a hole in it, I've done that with everyone else's this period, eh Sirius?"
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Ambrosine glanced at him briefly.
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"Yeah, you poked a hole in mine, Pat, you daft sod…" Sirius said, smirking, laughing to himself and shaking his head in the manner that he seemed to have about him. His attractively messy hair swayed as he did this, though just slightly, and his hair wasn't dreadfully long, either. His bangs, however, definitely were, and Ambrosine was scarcely able to see his chocolate-colored eyes behind them. This way that he had to him was not a scolding one… instead on the verge of joking, but in a very suave manner that gave off the vibe that no matter what Sirius did, he'd still be considered 'in', 'hip.'
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"Sign my paper, will you?" Sirius said absently, yawning and handing Ambrosine his sheet of parchment.
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Ambrosine nodded, swallowing nervously as she shakily wrote her name on the line for the first category.
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"…C-c-could…" She took a deep breath. "Couldyoupleasesignmine?"
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Sirius shrugged, snatched her parchment from her, scribbled his name upon it, and handed it back to her.
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"Oy, this class is so long…d'you know when this period ends, James?"
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"Before lunch." So answered a boy with circular glasses and dark brown hair, which, as he covertly glanced to the side, he fluffed up, making it appear messy. Ambrosine thought that maybe he should try using more hair conditioner, then his hair might have more body and not slowly drop down to looking almost as flat as Pat's hair did. Of course, it only took the boy known as James' hair a few seconds before returning to its usual flat self. He didn't appear to be giving up on this any time soon, though, since again he ruffled his hair so that it would gain more body. Did he want to look more 'rugged', Ambrosine wondered? She didn't know. He seemed to care more about his hair than she did about hers.
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"I know that much, James…" Sirius said, sighing and shaking his head.
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"There shouldn't be that much time left…I mean, the class is only half over, isn't it?" Patrick chimed in.
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"I don't know, that's why I was asking."
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"Well, maybe if we confirm what you do know before you ask to find out what you don't know to make it what you know, we'll actually find out what you don't know instead of repeating what you do know."
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James sighed, chuckling.
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"You know, Pat, I don't know what you just said."
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"Neither do I."
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"And neither do I, so we can all agree on something."
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Ambrosine glanced from boy to boy, and, figuring that this was as good of a time as any to but into their conversation and perhaps add a new signature to her meager collection, she spoke.
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"Excuse me, if it's not too much trouble…would you please sign my parchment?" The question was addressed to James.
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James shrugged and took her paper, scribbling his name onto it in much the same manner that Sirius had, before giving it back to her.
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"Thank you."
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Ambrosine looked over at James' paper to see if he needed anyone else to sign his, and he hadn't. His paper was full, and by the looks of it, it had been that way for quite a bit, given the way he was just sitting around leisurely.
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With that, the boys continued conversing about what they did know and what they didn't know, and Ambrosine took that as her cue to leave them to their own devices. Walking away from the group of Gryffindor boys (the girls had migrated by the time Ambrosine had arrived, thankfully) , Ambrosine glanced down at her parchment to see where it had been signed and where it had not. Wow…this was a much easier assignment than she had initially thought! All she needed was two more signatures. Only two more, and the class would be over in about forty minutes. Maybe then she could read some of her textbooks or write or scribble some bizarre drawing on a spare sheet of parchment.
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Who to ask, though? At the present time the group of Gryffindor boys whom she'd just consulted was deep in conversation with one another. The three whom she'd talked to for a few moments was only part of the group, the other half had been too busy with their own things to pay any attention to her. And she thought that she'd preferred it that way…the other boys intimidated her. With Sirius and James, at least she'd remembered their names from the sorting ceremony, and even 'Pat' seemed very familiar. The others must have been called later on, as not many of them stuck out in her mind as being memorable from the day before. She hadn't paid much attention during the latter half of the sorting, she had to admit. Lucius' group of Slytherin boys was now hanging around the door of the classroom. They'd seemingly also finished asking around for signatures, and were now waiting for the bell to ring so that they could stampede down the hallways for a tasty luncheon meal. Most of the boys in the group seemed a lot taller than Lucius, a lot more gruff and heavy. There was one or two exceptions, it seemed, but never mind. Narcissa's little quartet of Slytherin girls was lurking not too far from Lucius', and unless Ambrosine's eyes were playing tricks on her, Narcissa and her friends were certainly paying Lucius and his gang more attention than they would have liked to make obvious. It was, however, very obvious to Ambrosine, an observer from afar. Lily's little group was making avid conversation with Professor Bell, and Severus, not at all to Ambrosine's surprise, was still sitting on his own. The group of squealing Gryffindor girls that had until recently been hanging around with the boys of that same house had taken to sitting in a circle. There were only, to Ambrosine's delight, two others that were sitting on their own. Both of which, however…were Gryffindors.
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. . . . f i n
. + . Date Written . . . August-September 2003
. + . Rating . . . PG (in later chapters, etc, rating may change)
. + . Note . . . Hurrah hurrah. Chapter two, part one. I haven't added to this in FOREVER. o_o! No inspiration. What a long project. If you like this, please tell me, that way I'll actually want to continue. ._. Thanks! 3 Also...I use some Japanese in here. I don't know if it's correct. I'm sorry. Also, if you're from Northern England...I'm sorry. u_u I'm using a really pathetic sort of Northern accent in here...what can I say, I'm just immitating how my uncle talks. Sorry. Pleeease don't be offended.
. + . Disclaimer . . . Sadly, Remus Lupin and that whole world don't belong to me...*sobs* and nor does Hogwarts...but it does belong to J.K. Rowling.
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. . . . . . . . . . . . Y e a r . O n e
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. . . . b e g i n
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The next morning Ambrosine awoke with a start. Someone had decided to throw a pillow at her and yell, 'WAKE UP!' at the top of her lungs. Well, Ambrosine thought, at least they had bothered to wake her up.
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Thankfully, the first year girls' dormitories were empty by the time that Ambrosine awoke. The night before she had just shoved off her new Hogwarts school uniform into her bedside drawer, which she hadn't even bothered to close. All she'd wanted last night was rest, and she'd gotten it. She was surprised to see that the tie that she had been given to wear the night before on the Hogwarts Express was no longer gray, but now a silk of intertwined green and silver, the Slytherin house colors. The V-neck of her dark gray blazer was now also adorned with the same very colors…just like magic.
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Ambrosine was delighted by this, and though she was not very proud of the house that she had forcibly placed herself in, the whole magical aura of the school enchanted her and caused her to be eager to stay, despite what she may have to endure.
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After slipping off her long black nightdress and clothing herself in her uniform, Ambrosine walked over to the bathrooms, thankful that the floor was clean (otherwise her bare feet would have gotten an uncomfortable prickle). She had gotten a good bed, despite being the last girl to arrive at the Slytherin first year girls' dorms—it was right beside the bathrooms, which meant that, if she was fast enough, she'd get first dibs more often than not. Since she'd forgotten her brush at home, Ambrosine was glad to find that various house elves had apparently left out a brand new brush for each inhabitant of the first year girls' dorms, not that she was aware of the fact that it was indeed house elves that were supplying these items.
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She ran the thick bristled brush through her hair, coming across many knots. Ambrosine Emerson's hair looked pretty straight at a distance, but when she fell asleep she usually awoke with an uncountable amount of entanglements and other kinks in her hair. Though it took nearly ten minutes to get each and every tangle out and coming close to killing her brush, Ambrosine's hair was finally pretty straight. No, it wasn't perfect…she'd a few loose strands of hair sticking up here and there, but it was acceptable.
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The lone girl picked up a green, presentably folded facecloth and raised it to her face after running the cleansing material through the warm water that gently flowed out of the sink's elaborately decorated tap. Ah, that woke her up… Ambrosine wrung the water out of the washrag with her hands and left it hanging over a towel rack to dry.
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"Pity. Looks like that mask of yours didn't come off." Came a venomous remark from the other side of the large girls' bathroom.
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"…I…" Ambrosine looked up and to the right of her, eyes following the voice.
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Narcissa Black.
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"…I'm sorry to bother you, Narcissa…" Ambrosine said softly. "I'll leave you alone."
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There was a snort from the other end of the bathroom as Narcissa raised her head arrogantly, her pointed yet seemingly perfectly shaped nose directed slightly at the ceiling.
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Ambrosine was glad to be out of the bathroom and away from Narcissa. As she put on and pulled up her gray knee socks, which were required of all girls who attended Hogwarts, she mentally queried why Narcissa had waited so long to go into the bathroom. Surely Narcissa could have left first with all of her friends? 'She probably stayed just to make fun of me…' Ambrosine thought, sighing.
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Upon walking into the great hall for breakfast, Ambrosine was nearly thrown off her feet thanks to the massive throng of people that were hanging about the entrance. She slid through a group of Hufflepuff girls, trying her best to not be noticed as she walked slowly over to the front of the Slytherin table, a small pile of books hugged tightly to her chest. She sat down at the end of the table that was closest to the staff table, alone. All of the other first years had seemed to have made a large group of friends overnight, since the remainder of them were all conversing happily with one another.
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Ambrosine stabbed a small sausage on her plate with one of the silver forks that was set gingerly next to her china plate. She eyed the cylindrical piece of meat boredly before nibbling on it. Mm, that was pretty tasty… 'Well, at least the food is good. Much better than at home.' Ambrosine thought happily, now taking a big bite of the sausage. At least there was one good thing about Hogwarts so far.
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While nibbling on her gourmet breakfast, Ambrosine slid her left hand into her skirt pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. Her cobalt eyes scanned it, a slight frown crossing her features.
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Slytherin First Year Schedule: School Year 1971-1972
Course Name Inhabitants Professor
1st Period: Breakfast All Houses Weiss
2nd Period: History of Magic Ravenclaw Binns
3rd Period: Charms Hufflepuff Flitwick
4th Period: Defense Against the Dark Arts Gryffindor Belle
5th Period: Lunch All Houses Weiss
6th Period: Transfiguration Gryffindor McGonagall
7th Period: Potions Gryffindor Weiss
8th Period: Herbology Hufflepuff Sprout
9th Period: Flying Lessons (only first day) Slytherin Hooch
9th Period: Free Period Ravenclaw N/A
10th Period: Dinner All Houses Weiss
Midnight (Wed): Astronomy All Houses Sinistra
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"That would be really handy if I knew where all of these classes were…" Ambrosine said to herself with a soft laugh. Well, she had made it to breakfast successfully, so that was a start. One period down…only nine left to go. Since it seemed like all Slytherin first years had the same schedule—Ambrosine had come to this conclusion by secretly glancing at the girl next to hers' schedule, doing so to confirm her suspicions—Ambrosine decided that she would simply follow everybody else. Surely one bolder than she would think to get directions and ask an older student where their classes were, and the whole group of Slytherin first years would all be in the same boat.
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Ambrosine noticed that within a few moments the remainder of students in the great hall had all stood and were beginning to walk out of the large room. She quickly wiped her hands with a nearby napkin and set it atop her plate. In one swift movement she scooped up her books and hugged them to her chest tightly, all the while thinking that she really should have bought a book bag or the like to carry all of her materials in.
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The direction in which the students began to walk in seemed to be sorted by height, which was rather convenient. Ambrosine figured that if she just kept up with the rest of the Slytherins that were her height, first years, she wouldn't get lost…or, she hoped she wouldn't get lost. Every now and then as she walked, she scanned the group ahead of her for that blond boy, that one who had helped her yesterday. Lucius, wasn't it? He seemed to know his way around even without making an effort.
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After walking along many stairways and up and down many hallways, the already somewhat tired Slytherin first years arrived at the end of a rather short hallway resulting in a single door. Despite the hall's narrow appearance, as Ambrosine walked into the classroom she found it to be rather large. There was a long blackboard on the wall, which seemed to be about three meters long, if not longer. It was a nice polished dark gray that looked as though it had been just polished to ready itself for the new school year's usage. The desks were paired in groups of two and one of the walls was covered in old newspaper clippings and posters, artifacts of the past. The other two shelves were large bookshelves full of thick and dilapidated history books. As her eyes met the literary works, Ambrosine wondered how one would be able to actually sift through one of those volumes without all of the pages tumbling to the floor or breaking apart as if they were comprised of the mica stone. The students all began to take their seats, and within mere minutes all of the desks were full. Now there was only one thing missing…the teacher.
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Growing bored with waiting for the teacher to show up, a loud chatter swept the room.
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"How awesome, we don't even have a teacher for first period…"
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"Yeah, maybe they forgot."
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"Ha, yeah, maybe they did! A free period on the first day of school!"
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Ambrosine's eyes just drifted around the room, her gaze shifting swiftly from the chalkboard to more closely examine some of the old clippings that had been stapled to the wall, until she saw something strange out of the corner of her eye. Her eyes widened and she gasped, leaning backwards in her chair.
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There was a semi-transparent gray arm sticking out of the chalkboard…and then there wasn't just an arm anymore. Starting with a small nose, the rest of the man's features became visible through the blackboard. He was a relatively short balding man, looking somewhat as though someone had dumped a bag of flour over his head and he'd just not bothered to wipe it off his crown, or off of the rest of his body, for that matter. He was a…a…ghost!
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"Now class, settle down!" he called, and there was an instant silence from the class as he set down a pile of papers on his desk, which he then walked right through. "Welcome to your first year at the finest institution of magic…Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor Binns. My subject is History of Magic. I deal with facts, not myths and legends." The teacher's voice was dry and raspy sounding, as though he hadn't had a drink in a few hundred years, which actually probably wasn't such an illogical of a thought, as he was an apparition.
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There was some more silence, as the class looked at him in an awestruck manner, not a sound emitted, other than the occasional sigh.
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"This year we will be primarily studying the very origin of magic – Ancient Egypt." Binns said, flicking his wand as thick sheets of parchment flew towards each student. "Each of you have been given a packet outlining the topics that we will be reading about—a basic syllabus. On the back page there is the grading criteria. I suggest you take a long look at it, students, if you want to succeed in my class."
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Ambrosine's eyes remained on the short ghost of a wizard, taking in and thoroughly analyzing every word to pass from his mouth. Once he had not said anything for a few moments, subtly suggesting that the students read over newly received packets, Ambrosine's eyes fell down to scan the parchment. The writing was in an old English hand—elaborate and somewhat difficult to read. After her eyes got used to looking at it and she decrypted the hand, she found that it would not be all that difficult to receive a 90-100% in this class—as long as she paid attention. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to do at least that…but judging by how his voice sounded, low and droning, it would require a lot of concentration.
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"Now…I suggest you begin to get to know your seatmates. There is the majority of an hour left of the period. This will be the only period in my class where you are not required to complete an assignment—enjoy it." Binns said, turning to move back to his desk.
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Until then, Ambrosine hadn't even noticed that anyone had taken a seat next to her. She became aware of it as she looked up, taken aback by whom her eyes met.
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She thought that she must have missed this girl while observing the sorting…maybe she was one of the latter first years to be sorted? Ambrosine had decided to just rest her head in her arms yesterday not long after she, being one of the first, was sorted. That must definitely be the case, she thought…since this girl had such a distinct look that Ambrosine doubted anyone would forget her upon setting their eyes on her.
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The girl that was sitting next to Ambrosine had slightly pale skin, very different from Ambrosine's peach-colored epidermis. Her hair was also a quite unusual color—a dark navy blue. She had her hair tied back in a sloppy bun; not one strand strayed the binding. Her eyes seemed to be a vivid emerald green—Ambrosine couldn't see very well since the girl was still examining the parchment that Flitwick had handed out. The colors on her tie and blazer were blue and bronze—Ravenclaw colors—and on her school crest was a proudly embroidered bird of prey. She struck Ambrosine as pretty…pretty and intimidating. Her overall manner suggested that she was very sure of herself, if not somewhat quiet…very poised and self-controlled.
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Just the Ravenclaw's demeanor made Ambrosine nervous, even more nervous than she was before she realized that there was someone seated next to her. Since the blue-haired girl was still looking at her parchment, Ambrosine decided that she could just read her own parchment over again to pass time…she didn't want to be the one to strike up the conversation. She just didn't want to bother anybody.
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A few moments passed and Ambrosine finished reading the parchment over from start to finish for the third time. The sound of paper being rolled up made her jump slightly, and she looked up to see the blue-haired girl looking at her. Only then did she notice how…blue…the girl's hair actually was, and it made her glad that another dared to be different in terms of looks.
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"Hello." The Ravenclaw said.
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"…H-Hi." Ambrosine said, trying to smile.
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She held out her hand.
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"Kallie Wells. It's nice to meet you, miss…?"
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Ambrosine shook it gently. She certainly hadn't expected the girl to do that, but she wanted to be polite.
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"Ambrosine Emerson. I…I-It's a pleasure."
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"The pleasure is mine." Kallie said, voice surprisingly friendly. She had heard the rumors about Slytherins being terribly horrible, but this one gave off a very distinct timid vibe, something that suggested that she wasn't the norm.
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A few minutes of increasingly uncomfortable silence passed. Ambrosine sighed, eyes drifting back down to her parchment before shooting back up.
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"…So. Do you like the school so far?"
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"Yeah, it's an amazing place…" She said, recalling what had happened yesterday when she'd just stopped in the great hall, mouth open in awe at the ceiling of bright stars and the dark night sky.
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"I agree. The architecture is gorgeous, especially from the outside. This castle was made thousands of years ago but it's still standing…that just goes to show, doesn't it?"
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Ambrosine wasn't sure what Kallie meant by going to show, but she nodded with a smile nonetheless. This girl certainly sounded like she knew what she was talking about, and Ambrosine didn't want to argue or provoke her in any way…not that she wanted to argue with or provoke anyone, for that matter.
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"I'm sorry…" Kallie sighed heavily. "I've talked too much already, haven't I? Mother says that I talk too much. I apologize." A hopeful smile crossed the girl's face as she looked at Ambrosine.
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"…Oh, uhm, no, of course not."
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"Okay, lovely." The Ravenclaw seemed happy to hear this; there was a hint of blissful bounciness detectable in her voice. "Please tell me if I do, will you?"
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With the forced smile still plastered on her face, Ambrosine nodded. She thought that it was rude of herself to think so, but…yes, she did admit to herself that Kallie talked a little bit more than was perhaps necessary. She admitted it mentally, anyway—Ambrosine would not have even dreamed of saying this out loud. More than anything else, Ambrosine was afraid of offending others, and that was part of the reason that she remained so quiet and timid the majority of the time. Other reasons were that she simply didn't wish to be a burden to anyone…she hated bothering people; she didn't want to give anyone more of a reason to continue or begin, depending on whom she was conversing with, to criticize her.
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"…So…where are you from?"
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"London." Ambrosine hoped there wasn't an opportunity for one to crack a joke at her birthplace; she was quite fond of London.
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"I'm from Bedford, but I hear London is superb. I've never been. Well, unless you want to count Diagon Alley a part of London. It's not really London, is it? Have you been to Tower Bridge? The view must be marvelous. I've only seen photographs."
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"I like it there. It's home." A soft smile tugged at Ambrosine's lips. Ah, the bittersweet memories of her home life.
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"Ah, I see…I guess that's how I feel about Bedford, but I'd have liked to travel somewhere once in my life. My parents are so boring—they don't like travel. They're a couple of misanthropes, if I've ever seen a few…"
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Ambrosine spent the remainder of the period listening to Kallie chatter on and on about her family and home life. Perhaps it was a matter of personal taste, but Ambrosine found Kallie's life and mindless ramblings to be quite interesting. Ambrosine liked to observe and listen to what people had to say rather than actually taking part in any such conversations. She learned that Kallie had an older brother who worked at a pub in Hogsmeade, the wizarding village that they would get to visit come their third year at school at Hogwarts; Ambrosine didn't really fancy the idea of going to a pub, but Kallie had assured her that there were non-alcoholic drinks available for students—her brother had brought her some flasks of a drink called butterbeer. Kallie said it was quite addictive despite it's lack of alcohol.
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Before she knew it…class was over. Professor Binns had circulated around the room to take attendance during the period, and he had just now finished. Ambrosine hoped that means of finding out who was present and who was not would not be continued tomorrow…too many people would be considered on time when they were late. She didn't think she'd have to worry about this, however…Binns seemed pretty strict.
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"Class dismissed." Binns had to raise his voice to be heard over all of the clatter of chairs against the floor, voices loud at the inkling that class had ended. Ambrosine saw that quite a few students looked quite tired…perhaps some had decided to take mid-morning naps without knowledge of the professor. At this she found herself smiling slightly…it would have just been a lot easier to go to sleep.
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"I'll see you 'round, okay?" Kallie said, rising from her chair and holding her books by her side.
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"Okay." Ambrosine said.
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"Cheerio!"
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And with that parting phrase, Kallie Wells disappeared into the throng of students that were moving to exit the classroom through the narrow door that lead to an equally narrow hallway. Ambrosine waited a bit and then followed, being sure to keep at a distance where she would not get pushed by her fellow housemates but was still able to see them.
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All of the Slytherins were walking up one of the steeper staircases that led up to the castle's highest level…the seventh floor. Before, Ambrosine hadn't noticed that they had come so close to the top of the castle. She harbored a fear of heights, so perhaps it was better that she hadn't noticed…but now she certainly had, and there was no changing the past. As butterflies filled her stomach, Ambrosine swallowed nervously, taking a tighter hold onto her books as she stepped up one smooth step at a time. Ambrosine was purposefully trying to stay in the middle of the staircase, for venturing too close to either of the sides may have led to her getting too nervous and simply toppling over. Though she knew this was very unlikely, she feared it nonetheless. Fears were indeed irrational.
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She tried to keep her eyes down on the steps, not letting them stray to the sides where she could see many of the staircases below her, instead looking at the feet of whomever was in front of her as to not lose the rest of the first year Slytherins and successfully end up at the next classroom. What was their next class, anyway?
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Ambrosine shifted her books to hold them in one arm against her right hip, rummaging into her skirt's front left pocket with her free hand, attempting to locate her schedule. Aha, there it was. She pulled out a nicely folded yet small piece of paper, the very same paper she'd consulted just over one hour ago.
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"Charms…with the Hufflepuffs." Ambrosine said to herself. She wondered what this would be like…the sorting hat had said that she would have done well in either Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. The Ravenclaws did seem nice enough…Kallie was nice to her, wasn't she? Perhaps she would be able to make friends with a Ravenclaw, or a Hufflepuff…but she would only have the chance to do so if the members of the other houses didn't judge her merely on her crest of green and silver.
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Before long, the group made their way up the stairs, finally reaching the top. For this, Ambrosine was relieved…though the thought that she had to go up those stairs every day for the next year didn't excite her, and roused slight fear and reluctancy despite her relieved manner. She raised her head and slid her schedule back into her pocket, following the rest of her house down a rather large hallway, only to end up walking down another incredibly steep flight of stairs. This one was, indeed, far steeper than the last flight had been, that was for sure, and Ambrosine began to wonder why they had went up a flight of stairs only to go down another. Hm, perhaps the leader of the group had realized he or she had made a wrong turn…But then, Ambrosine had read, and witnessed, that these staircases did fancy a move back and fourth every now and then, so perhaps the only way to get to one stairway was to go along another. Hm, curious. Ambrosine made a mental note, now jogging down the stairs skittishly in order to keep up with the rest of the Slytherins. A nervous feeling returned again to Ambrosine's stomach; the prospect of somehow falling over the side of the staircase's railings, down many, many floors, perhaps to her death, frightened her. As she jogged, however, Ambrosine's fears ebbed even if only just slightly at the mere idea that within a few minutes this wonderful trek down steep stairs would be completed…for today.
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And, in a few minutes, it was.
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Ambrosine sighed a heavy sigh of immense relief, raising a hand to gently push her bangs out of her eyes as she followed a few remaining Slytherins down a rather generous hallway lined with many paintings and into a small wooden door, entering what was a very large classroom. The students began piling into the room, groggy expressions on their faces.
They were the first to arrive…apparently the Hufflepuffs had to travel farther in order to get to this particular classroom, Ambrosine mused. She looked around the room curiously. A few shelves lined the walls, all filled with particularly large books and models of various sorts. There were not desks, but a pair of groups of long rectangular tables that made the room look somewhat like a movie theatre or a concert hall, as each table, as they got closer to the back wall, was set up higher than the last. Wooden chairs were placed equal amounts apart at each table, almost inviting students to sit down.
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Ambrosine took a chair on the left end of the classroom. A large desk, which she assumed belonged to the teacher of this class, sat in the middle of the groups of tables, almost as a conductor's podium would be in the middle of rows of aspiring musicians. Ambrosine furrowed her brow, however, as she saw that there appeared to be no teacher present. She queried mentally as to whether or not this would be the recurring theme at Hogwarts, as Binns had notably been absent for a short while at the beginning of first period. Sitting silently in her chair, hands in her lap, books on the oak wood in front of her, Ambrosine awaited the arrival of both the Hufflepuffs as well as the teacher. The students around her seemed to be laughing and joking with each other, and Ambrosine looked up to note whom seemed to be getting along with whom. It was no surprise when she'd seen Michelle and Narcissa giggling in a girlish way, the pair sitting a few rows behind her. She scanned the room for that boy that Madam Pomfrey had called Lucius, only to find him conversing energetically with a few boys…surprisingly, the quartet had decided to sit not far behind Narcissa and Michelle's group of girls.
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There was a loud tapping noise which caused Ambrosine to jump and spin around, looking for the origin of the rather sudden sound. Her eyes stopped at the teacher's desk. Unlike before, there was now somebody occupying it.
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He was a rather short man, and struck Ambrosine as resembling a dwarf or likewise. His cheeks were rosy, accompanied by a wide, friendly smile. Rectangular glasses rested on his ski-slope shaped nose, gray hair and a gray beard falling down to his shoulders. There were no traces of white in the man's hair, which suggested that he was just now beginning to lean towards old age. In his slightly bony hand was grasped a thick wand that was just slightly crooked.
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"Class, settle down please!" he said, again tapping his wand on his desk. The two looked to be made of the same cherry oak wood… Ambrosine thought it rather interesting—and rather clever, too…what a nice subtle touch—that this seemingly cheerful yet miniature wizard would coordinate the wood of his classroom with the wood of his wand.
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The majority of the students' eyes were now locked on their new teacher; many conversations were gradually paused. It seemed that the majority of the students had arrived now, only a few chairs standing empty. Most of the Hufflepuff students looked a little muddy…Ambrosine wondered what class they had had, and decided to be especially observant, listening for any hints as to which class it was.
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"Welcome to Hogwarts." The tiny man said. "I am Professor Flitwick, and I will be your Charms teacher for the remainder of your years here. It's good to see lots of young, eager faces."
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The class responded with silence.
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"I hope all of you have brought your own copy of Miranda Goshawk's The Standard Book of Spells, Year One. That's the textbook that we will be primarily using in this class, all other books that you will need can easily be found and checked out at the library."
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There was a soft murmur from the majority of the students. Ambrosine checked her pile of books…Standard Book of Spells…yes, it was there. She moved it silently to the top of her little mound of required text.
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"Today we will be working on a simple charm to gently separate two things. You will each be given a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Now, if you can separate the box from the candy, you can eat the candy. I'll be able to tell whether or not you've done the charm perfectly. If you have, the box will be perfectly flat and have no folds or rips or fingerprints whatsoever."
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Flitwick took out a small green box with a picture of a brown frog on the front, placing it on his desk and saying, "Wingardrium Leviosa." pointing his wand at the now floating sweet.
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"Now, this is what you're going to have to do." He said, raising his wand in the air. "One, two, flick your wand lightly, and… Appello Diluo!" With those last two words, the box began to slowly come apart, though the sides were as flat as ever. A pile of jellybeans floated away from the box, which still hung in the air. "I'm doing this high up so all of you can see, I don't expect any of you to levitate your boxes. Does everyone understand?"
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Everyone seemed to nod happily. They seemed to quite like their new teacher, but then, perhaps that was just the fact that they'd be getting some candy taking effect.
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Flitwick did another levitation spell and floated the boxes of Bertie Bott's around the classroom, one drifting down to each student. Ambrosine reached up to catch hers, then placed it gently on the wooden table in front of her, sliding her books to the side. She took her wand out of her pocket, the sprig a slightly shiny dark brown—apple wood.
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Ambrosine took a deep breath and concentrated on what she was doing, gazing at the item in front of her; the object of the charm was to gently open the box of jellybeans.
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"Appello Diluo." Ambrosine said, pointing her wand at the blue box and flicking it just slightly.
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Nothing happened.
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The blonde-haired girl sighed, somewhat frustrated. Hadn't she done it exactly like Flitwick had shown them? No matter…she should just try it again. Nobody was perfect, so nobody would get it on the first try, would they?
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"Appello Diluo." She said, waving her wand again over the box of candy, flicking it.
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Well, at least the box had moved just a little this time…one of the flaps that was tucked into the box to try and keep it from being opened unless one physically moved it had budged, even if only just a little bit. This inkling of success had supplied Ambrosine with a bout of self-confidence.
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"Appello Diluo!" Ambrosine said again, yet this time with more enthusiasm. Well, that had certainly worked…
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Ambrosine's box of Bertie Bott's sprang open, the multicolored jellybeans showering onto the desk, bouncing every which way. Quite a few rolled off of the wooden surface and onto the tile floor of the classroom, resulting in loud clicks and clacks, the result of the collision of two relatively hard surfaces. Ambrosine swallowed nervously, her face now flushed. The majority of the students' eyes rested on her now, their acute hearing picking up the sound of the jellybeans hitting the floor; most students who had been engaged in conversation ceased speaking.
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After the one last jellybean fell with a click, the room was absolutely and positively silent. The silence was broken at last by Professor Flitwick, whom, at the moment, Ambrosine was undyingly thankful for.
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"No problem, my dear." Came his weathered yet somehow still cheerful voice. He didn't seem mad at her, no, not at all. Instead, the kindness in his voice suggested that he would be willing to pick up each jellybean one by one and offer her a new box to replace the one that she had lost. "Here, I'll get those for you."
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"Colligo." Professor Flitwick said, pointing his wand at the general area of where Ambrosine was sitting, at all of the fallen jellybeans. The class watched silently as all of the beans were drawn to each other as if due to the forces of a magnet, resulting in one mass of jellybeans that was tightly huddled together.
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"T-thank you, Professor…" Ambrosine whispered, her face flushed with embarrassment and nervousness. At least Flitwick had saved her the trouble and further embarrassment of picking up each jellybean on her own one-by-one whilst the remainder of the students inhabiting the class watched her.
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"Don't worry about it." Flitwick grinned. "Here, take this, too." He held out a shiny new box of Bertie Bott's to her. Being so very short, however—Flitwick seemed to stand tall at about three feet, give or take a few inches—Ambrosine had to stand up and bend over the ancient wooden desk to accept it. She had to admit, she was quite shocked with this action of his…but it did brighten things up a bit. At least one of her teachers so far seemed kind and easygoing.
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"Thank you, Sir. Very much." Ambrosine's voice was soft and shaky; internally she had decided that she liked this teacher. Though elderly, he seemed to have a childish cheeriness to him, which she liked.
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Ambrosine spent the remainder of the charms period silently munching away on her jellybeans. She thought them quite tasty, and was grateful that Flitwick was kind enough to replace her fallen box of Bertie Bott's with a new one. Luckily she hadn't had the displeasure of coming across a sour or bad-tasting bean in the box that Flitwick had handed her. Briefly, Ambrosine wondered whether or not the Professor had done this on purpose, perhaps 'rigging' the box, in a sense, so there were simply no foul beans in it.
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Before long, the bell rang.
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"Class dismissed! Wonderful work today, everyone!" Flitwick raised his voice in order to be heard over the shuffling and conversing of students, which immediately followed the ringing of the bell. Students walked out of the classroom in a stampede. Ambrosine thought all of this intimidating and—she had to admit—somewhat frightening, so she simply remained in her seat until the majority of the students had all left. She gingerly placed one last jellybean into her mouth, the cinnamon flavor a welcoming one to her taste buds. Sweeping her books up into her arms, she jogged after the rest of the Slytherin students and into the hallway.
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When they'd just arrived at the Charms classroom, Ambrosine hadn't taken the time to notice what floor they were on, nor did she know what floor they were destined for, or even what class was next. Following behind the rest of the Slytherins seemed to work well so far, so, again, this was what she did. To her great relief, they didn't, this time, take a very narrow staircase, but instead one that looked to almost be flat…apparently the next classroom was only one floor down. Well, that was good, at least. Ambrosine walked down the stairs—though it seemed like she was simply walking upon a level plane—not at all as nervous as she had been this past hour; Ambrosine was quite pleased with herself for not being terribly scared.
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She arrived at the foot of the stairwell rather abruptly, colliding with a rather short girl, a girl whom only rose to just below Ambrosine's eyes.
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"I-I'm sorry…" Ambrosine stuttered. "Are you okay?"
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The girl turned, her smooth brown hair whipping around as she did. Uh oh. Ambrosine recognized this girl…Michelle. Michelle Adams. A glare rested snugly on the shorter girl's face, and even though Ambrosine was a bit taller than Michelle, she was frightened. If a look could kill, Ambrosine certainly felt as though Michelle's would. She wanted to sink into the ground, to shrink, to disappear, to escape…
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"You're sorry?" Michelle spat, voice venomous.
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"…I…I, uhm, yeah…I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bump into you…" Ambrosine said weakly, her voice low, almost a whisper.
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"How dare you…"
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"I'm sorry…"
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"You do that again, Emerson…and I promise you that you will regret it. Watch where you're going."
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Ambrosine watched as Michelle walked away, quite relieved that she left. Ah, at least that was over with…but Ambrosine honestly didn't mean to walk into Michelle. Really, she didn't. It upset her that Michelle would just disregard her apology like that; it made her feel about three inches tall, if that. She really didn't know why people like Michelle and Narcissa intimidated her so, but…that was how things were, it seemed, and Ambrosine was too afraid, too feeble to fight it.
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Cautiously, almost unwillingly, Ambrosine again walked forward to follow her fellow Slytherins into the next classroom. After they turned a corner, she looked around for Penelope…hmm; it appeared that her and Narcissa had resumed their positions near the front of their little troupe of bothersome girls. Ambrosine emitted a relieved sigh; hopefully Narcissa and Penelope wouldn't decide to hang back just to speak to her again. 'Please…' She thought, 'Please just leave me alone…'
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And she got her wish. As they entered the huge classroom, Narcissa and Michelle led all of the Slytherin girls (excluding Ambrosine) to the far left side of the room, taking seats near the back. Just so they could get away with talking, no doubt. Ambrosine sighed and seated herself in one of the front chairs. She set down her books gratefully—they were quite a load to haul around all day, even though the day had seemingly just begun—and took a gander at the classroom. Yes, it was relatively large, and tastefully decorated with little golden bells and royal blue curtains of satin. Books lined the walls, and not a speck of dust seemed to be visible. Ambrosine honestly couldn't see a single thing out of place, be it a book, a paper, anything at all. Even the desks were lined up perfectly, as though the teacher had measured the whole thing himself or herself. Ambrosine looked about for the teacher. Was this going to be an ongoing thing at Hogwarts, or…ah, there she was. Finally, a female teacher, Ambrosine thought. A tall lanky woman stood at the door—Ambrosine mused as to why she had not seen her upon walking into the classroom; had she simply not been as observant as usual, or had the professor not been there all along? —Body adorned with robes of blue lined with gold. Locks of chestnut had been pulled back tightly with a rather large blue ribbon. Spherical spectacles rested on the tip of the middle-aged woman's pointed mouse-like nose as she chattered away with a girl whose tie shone red and gold.
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So that was who they'd be having this class with…Gryffindor.
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"That's perfectly acceptable, Miss…you'll just have to share a book with someone until you can get one. We'll not be doing any bookwork today, don't you worry! It is only the beginning of term; I don't expect everyone to be perfect on the first day! Just please have it when you can. You might want to try the library after suppertime, I'm sure they've got a copy."
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"Thank you so much, Ma'am. I'll have it tomorrow, promise."
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The professor did have a rather high-pitched voice, which Ambrosine supposed went along with her peculiar affinity for bells and objects of the sort. She was a funny looking woman, who seemed to have little to no figure, and instead stood erect straight as a board.
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Nodding with an appreciative grin, the red headed girl whom the professor had been conversing with began to walk down the aisle.
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Ambrosine remembered her…Lily? Lily Evans, she thought it was, though she wasn't one hundred percent positive. She seemed nice enough, maybe a potential friend?
Still after the majority of the class had piled in, the seat next to Ambrosine remained vacant. As Lily strode past, Ambrosine shot the girl a hopeful, friendly smile, the best she could muster. Lily, however, in response to this attempted kind gesture, glared at Ambrosine questioningly.
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Oh, right.
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Ambrosine sighed. She'd almost forgotten…Gryffindors weren't supposed to get along with Slytherins. Her parents had given her a fairly lengthy briefing on Hogwarts and the houses and the whole nine yards…dos and don'ts. Again, just as she had yesterday, Ambrosine heard her father's voice ringing clear as a bell in her ears. 'Get out of my head…' she mentally pleaded. No, she didn't want to hear those words again…just once had been sufficient. If only he could see her now, he'd be so proud of the fact that she'd gotten into Slytherin, but so ashamed of her actions…oh, god, get out of my head…
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"Class, I'd like your attention please…"
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Ambrosine's musings had been interrupted.
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"Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts class, year one. I'm Professor Bell, this is my first year teaching here at Hogwarts, and so I'll be going through the same new feelings as you." The professor offered an illuminated smile. "I don't know my way around too well, so if you need help getting around I advise that you ask someone else, unless you fancy getting a little lost. This year we'll be covering the basics, but enough of that. In this class I want everyone to be friends, so I have a little game that we can play."
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She tapped her thin wand on her desk, which sat at the front of the room yet still allowed a little teaching space. The neat pile of parchment that had been resting upon her desk instantly floated upwards, a little cloud of smoke under it, making the pile appear to be floating upon a cloud.
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"I would like every student to take one of these sheets of paper as the pile comes around. After you have received your paper, please follow the directions. I would like the assignment completed, no excuses! This will be your first recorded mark, but don't worry. It'll be easy, I promise."
Before smiling once more, Professor Bell sat down at her desk. Ambrosine was quite thankful that she had stopped talking, as she found her squeaky voice mildly annoying. Ah well, she'd just have to tolerate it. Ambrosine had her mind set on getting good marks this year.
The little cloud had decided to fly around Ambrosine's aisle first. Nervously, Ambrosine extended a pale hand to gently pick up one of the thick sheets of parchment, eyes drifting over the plainly written words.
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Please find another student with each of these qualities and get them to sign on the line next to the attribute. Don't be afraid to get up and talk to people!
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Ambrosine swallowed nervously. Oh no…she didn't want to get up and talk to people. Actually, that was just the opposite of what she wished to do at the moment. She just wanted to sit down and lean back in her chair, taking notes or something similar. She was even willing to endure a lengthy explanation on some sort of defensive theory by Professor Bell, and that was saying something, given how much of a nuisance Ambrosine found the woman's voice.
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Reluctantly, Ambrosine looked over what she had been requested to find. She'd have to do this…the professor had said that it would count for a mark.
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Find someone who…
1. …is not in your house: __________
2. …is an only child: __________
3. …likes quidditch: __________
4. …likes to read: __________
5. …has a last name that starts with 'b': __________
6. …was born in another country: __________
7. ….has hair of a different color than yours: __________
8. …has hair that is the same color as yours: __________
9. …is taller than you: __________
10. …is shorter than you: __________
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Okay, Ambrosine thought, this wouldn't be all that difficult, would it? Just ten things, ten
people…that was a lot less than she had assumed that she would have to find. This wouldn't take long. She hoped.
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She looked around. There were a lot of people that weren't in her house, but who to ask? Probably not Lily, Ambrosine thought pessimistically. To be honest, Ambrosine doubted that any of the Gryffindors would talk to her. She was a Slytherin, after all…great luck, having to take a class with Gryffindors…it wasn't that Ambrosine thought that Gryffindors were bad people, it was simply that she knew most of the Gryffindors would misjudge her. (Or was she misjudging the Gryffindors by assuming this?) There went another opportunity.
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But she'd try anyway.
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After she saw that most of the other students had begun to rise, Ambrosine stood up slowly and glanced around. Everyone seemed to be in little groups. There were the Slytherin girls all in one little group to the left of the room, and the Gryffindor girls were gathered right behind her. There were two groups of both Slytherin and Gryffindor boys, and then a few others who seemingly fit into not one of the above groups sat at their desks in a bored fashion, not even bothering to stand up and make an effort.
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Ambrosine didn't know where to start. Everyone looked downright intimidating…while she wasn't about to go ask one of the Gryffindor girls to sign her paper after the look Lily had given her, she also wasn't about to walk up to a group of pompous boys, either.
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The volume of chatter in the classroom elevated, and Ambrosine felt even more alienated than she had as she'd received the assignment.
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Who to ask?
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Ambrosine glanced up at the clock on the wall. Fifty minutes. She had fifty minutes to get ten people to sign her paper, which meant all that she had to do was get one person to sign every five minutes. That should be easy…but Ambrosine couldn't help but feel reluctant. She didn't want to do the assignment…
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She stood beside her desk and watched the seconds tick away. Forty-nine minutes. Forty-eight minutes. Forty-seven. Forty-six. Forty-five.
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Ambrosine tapped her foot against the tiled floor nervously. Come on, why couldn't she do this? Just pick somebody and ask…
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Across from her, to the left, sat a lone Slytherin boy with raven black hair that fell to his chin. She couldn't see his eyes or his cheeks, simply a rather hook-like nose protruding from the curtains of hair. He didn't seem to be budging, either…just as she wasn't. Maybe she could go ask him? She didn't recognize him from the sorting…but he did have Slytherin robes on; she could see the green and silver emblem sewed onto his blazer.
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Swallowing nervously yet again, Ambrosine picked up her quill, stopped fiddling with the corner of parchment (this was a nervous habit) and slowly walked over to the desk where the lone boy sat.
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She stopped.
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Come on, Ambrosine, say something…
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"…H…hi."
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Ambrosine forced a slight smile.
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"I was wondering if you could, uhm, sign my paper, please."
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The boy turned his head, looking up at her. Just this small movement caused his silky black hair to sway back and fourth, not unlike the manner of a heavy curtain, which had been blown aside by the wind.
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He looked absolutely shocked. Someone was talking to him? This was a new thing, definitely, and a new thing that he was surely not used to. He wasn't quite sure of how to respond.
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"Hello…" The boy said, voice low. He managed a forced smile, trying to hide his surprise. Someone was speaking to him.
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Ambrosine smiled back. Well, he seemed nice so far.
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Silence.
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"…Oh, uh, right…the paper." He said, looking away, flustered.
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"It's all right." Ambrosine smiled softly, handing him her sheet of parchment.
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"…W-will you please sign mine, too? If it's not any trouble, I mean…"
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"I-Of course!"
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He handed her his parchment.
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Ambrosine's eyes scanned the paper. It seemed identical to hers…what could she sign? She was an only child…she supposed that she could sign that one. And she did like to read, too…and then there was the hair one. Which category would she fit into on that one? Her primary hair color was blonde, and that definitely contrasted from his ebon locks, but the tips of her hair were black…
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The boy slid Ambrosine back her parchment.
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Ambrosine glanced down at what he had signed his name under…number eight. …has hair that is the same color as yours: Severus
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Ambrosine grinned, quickly scrawling her name under that same category on his paper, handing it back to him.
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His brow furrowed.
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"…Am…bro…sign? …Is that how you say it?"
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"Not quite, but it was a really good try…Severus, right?"
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Severus nodded.
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"Yeah."
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"Nice to meet you, Severus…I'm Ambrosine. Kind of rhymes with magazine." Ambrosine smiled in a friendly manner and held out her hand for him to shake if he wished. She'd assumed that it would be a safe gesture, as he hadn't turned her away yet and appeared to be in the same boat as she.
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He shook her hand, and though hesitant at first, it was a firm shake, his fingers long, hand bony.
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"…N-nice to meet you, too, Ambrosine." He'd pronounced it correctly this time.
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For a few moments they stood in silence.
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"I, uhm, I think I'm going to try and get some more people to sign my paper. I guess I'll see you later…?" They were in the same house, after all. Ambrosine thought this would be a reasonable assumption.
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Severus nodded.
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"Yeah. See you."
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Ambrosine smiled to herself and at Severus before turning and walking away. That had gone well…he seemed really nice. Now she only had one problem…she had to get more signatures.
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She glanced down at her paper. Best just to start from the top, she supposed…find someone that's not in your house. That meant a Gryffindor. There were so many of them, though…who to pick?
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Ambrosine decided that she wasn't about to go up to the band of Gryffindor boys (who had now merged with the group of Gryffindor girls who appeared more popular), so the smaller group of Gryffindor girls would have to suffice…even if Lily was in it. Nervously, she walked up to them, smiling in what she hoped was a friendly, inviting manner.
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"…H-hi, I was wondering if maybe any of you could sign my paper?"
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"Yeah, like we'd sign your paper…"
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Ambrosine felt a wave of nausea coming on. That was exactly what she had expected them to say…
"Emilie, shush!" Lily hissed. "Of course we'll sign your paper…"
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Ambrosine hid the fact that she was surprised with a slight smile. Lily had shot her such a dirty look as class had started, and now she was acting nicely? Maybe Lily had suspected that Ambrosine was smiling at the fact that she had forgotten her textbook, or was mocking her earlier…whatever the reason, Lily sure didn't seem upset with her at the moment, and had even lightly chastised one of her dark-haired companions. Though Ambrosine was unable to figure out the reason as to why, she decided to spend her time musing on other things. If people were going to be nice to her, she wasn't going to complain.
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"May I see your paper, please?"
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"Oh, yeah, right…" Ambrosine handed Lily her sheet of parchment, who then scribbled her name down her name under category number seven.
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"Thanks so much, Lily." She smiled an appreciative smile.
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"Any time. Could you please sign mine?"
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Ambrosine nodded as Lily handed her her sheet of parchment. Ambrosine used her knee as a lapboard and wrote her name neatly under the second category, the one about being an only child.
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"Thanks. You're an only child? I wish I was, my sister is annoying…" Lily sighed heavily.
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"It must be really exciting to have a sibling…I'm always by myself. At least you have someone who's with you all of the time, someone you can always go to…?"
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Lily shrugged. "I guess the grass is always greener on the other side."
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"Hey, could you sign my paper? I still need the first one signed, and you aren't in my house." A girl whom appeared to be chewing some sort of bubblegum said, shoving her parchment into Ambrosine's face. She had shoulder-length dark brown hair in tight ringlets. She struck Ambrosine as pretty, but the way she spoke and chewed gum with her mouth open brought down the level of admiration of any sort that Ambrosine might have had for her.
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As the brown haired girl took Ambrosine's parchment from Lily, Ambrosine signed space number two on her parchment before handing it back to her.
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"Thanks." Ambrosine smiled.
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"Anata no kami onegaishimasu ka?"
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Ambrosine looked to the girl on Lily's right. She hadn't even noticed her at first, since she hadn't said anything until now. But what was she saying? Ambrosine blinked, brow furrowed in confusion.
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"Can I see you paper? I sign."
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"She just moved here from Japan." Lily said, smiling hopefully. "She can speak a bit of English, me and Em are trying to help her out and get used to things here."
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Nodding, Ambrosine handed her paper to the foreign girl. Whatever her name was, she didn't look as oriental as many other Asian girls whom she'd seen…though she was, no doubt, Asian. Ambrosine wondered how she was going to get on in school, hardly being able to speak English…but she supposed there was a spell for that, right? Surely Dumbledore would know?
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After jotting her name down, the Japanese girl handed Ambrosine back her parchment, looking rather proud of herself. She had indeed signed her name, even though it was in a bit shaky of a hand. Ambrosine had to admit, she'd thought the foreign girl, Akiko, had done a really good job with writing in Eigo…Ambrosine knew all too well that she couldn't write her own name in a foreign language if her life depended upon it.
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"Thank you very much." Ambrosine said to Akiko, bowing, as she assumed was customary in Japan. She didn't know for sure, however…it was just an assumption. To be honest, Ambrosine wouldn't have been surprised if the Japanese actually considered bowing rude and she was seriously offending this girl. It would have been just her luck.
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Akiko nodded enthusiastically, as though she understood.
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"Could you please sign this for her?" Lily asked, handing Ambrosine Akiko's paper.
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"Of course…"
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After Ambrosine had signed Akiko's paper as well as the other two girls in the little group's papers, they bade each other farewell, and Ambrosine now had to go try and find some more people to sign the rest of the empty spaces on her sheet of parchment. Though initially surprised at the Gryffindor girls' (mostly) positive reactions, Ambrosine had greatly appreciated it. She wasn't quite used to people treating her kindly, and though Lily's prior glare had baffled her, she had resolved to forget about it and be appreciative that Lily and her group had spoken with her and agreed to sign her parchment. They had helped a lot, and now Ambrosine only had to find five more people to sign it. She was almost half finished!
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As well as aiding her in completing the assignment, Ambrosine's encounter with Lily's group had boosted the Slytherin's self-confidence, even if just in slight. They had had a positive reaction, maybe others would, too? It seemed unlikely…
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But she had to finish this assignment. It was for a grade.
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Ambrosine glanced down at her sheet of parchment, reading it over. Number five…she had to find someone whose last name began with a 'b'. She frowned, musing over this. There were two students with the same last name, weren't there? She'd seen it during the sorting. One of them was Narcissa, she knew…how could she forget? And the other was…a boy. A handsome boy, too.
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She looked about the primary group of Gryffindor boys. Many of them seemed to be in the process of getting flogged by a steadily increasing amount of females, but Ambrosine supposed that it was all bound to happen in the end. Pretty boys would end up with pretty boys, and she would be left all alone. She looked from perfect face to perfect face…and there he was.
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Sirius. That was his name. Sirius Black. She couldn't go talk to him. No, she couldn't. She couldn't, she couldn't, she couldn't.
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Instead, she just stood there looking like a statue residing in a wax museum.
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"Hey, could you sign my paper?"
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Ambrosine blinked, glancing to her left. She'd just gotten tapped upon the shoulder, and she hadn't even noticed that she was being approached until now, whom exactly was approaching her also remaining unknown until she turned her head.
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It was the boy who had helped her yesterday. Lucius.
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She'd been wondering where he'd ran off to…and by the looks of it, him and the group of boys that was surrounding him had hung around near the rear of the classroom. Was that what they'd done every class? If so, that would explain why Ambrosine hadn't seen him…
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"Uhm, yeah, sure." Ambrosine was completely taken aback, as well as deeply intimidated by the fact that Lucius was surrounded by a crowd of mean looking boys. She handed him her parchment, and he handed her his.
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Not wanting Lucius' band to stick around very long for fear that they would squish her without warning, Ambrosine scrawled down her name under the first category. That wasn't a lie. She was an only child.
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A few seconds after Ambrosine handed Lucius back his piece of parchment, he handed her back hers. He'd signed on the first line…the same category she'd signed under. His hand was elaborate, and looked somewhat like calligraphy…Ambrosine would have had a difficult time reading it if she didn't already know what it said. …is an only child: Lucius
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"Thanks." Lucius said, grinning and offering her a bit of a wave before leading his band off to find another person to sign his parchment. As he left, some of the boys that were following him muttered unintelligible things and Ambrosine sighed with immense relief. Lucius seemed nice, he was nice to her yesterday. She couldn't help but wonder what brought on this sudden change in personality, however, or at least what she perceived as a sudden change in personality. Yesterday he'd seemed to be a bit of a loner such as herself, and today he had already assumed a gang of Slytherin boys. Oh well, she wouldn't think on it. It wouldn't really matter either way, right? Even though those other boys made her really nervous…
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After that, Ambrosine had momentarily forgotten why she'd walked over this way in the first place…to get Sirius to sign her paper. Their group didn't seem so far away now…and they were, in truth, standing only a yard or so away from where Ambrosine was standing.
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Alright, deep breaths. Take a few steps forward, and you'll be fine. In, out, in, out, one, two, three…
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And with that, Ambrosine took a step forward.
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"A Sly on Gryff territory?" Came the voice of a highly accented Northern boy who walked up to Ambrosine, handing her his parchment straight away. His brown hair seemed to generally stick to his head, though not completely.
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"Sign my paper, will ya? And I'll let y'stick 'round for a few more minutes."
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Ambrosine nodded and signed his parchment, handing it back to him. She knew he was only joking around good-naturedly with her, either that or he was simply mocking her…though the latter was more likely, she was hoping for the prior.
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"…W-would you sign my parchment, please?"
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"Wow, no need for all of the formalities, please, thank you, Miss Slytherin." He said, using his own knee as a hard surface to scrawl his name lightly onto her sheet of paper.
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"Thanks."
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"You're lucky I didn't poke a hole in it, I've done that with everyone else's this period, eh Sirius?"
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Ambrosine glanced at him briefly.
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"Yeah, you poked a hole in mine, Pat, you daft sod…" Sirius said, smirking, laughing to himself and shaking his head in the manner that he seemed to have about him. His attractively messy hair swayed as he did this, though just slightly, and his hair wasn't dreadfully long, either. His bangs, however, definitely were, and Ambrosine was scarcely able to see his chocolate-colored eyes behind them. This way that he had to him was not a scolding one… instead on the verge of joking, but in a very suave manner that gave off the vibe that no matter what Sirius did, he'd still be considered 'in', 'hip.'
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"Sign my paper, will you?" Sirius said absently, yawning and handing Ambrosine his sheet of parchment.
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Ambrosine nodded, swallowing nervously as she shakily wrote her name on the line for the first category.
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"…C-c-could…" She took a deep breath. "Couldyoupleasesignmine?"
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Sirius shrugged, snatched her parchment from her, scribbled his name upon it, and handed it back to her.
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"Oy, this class is so long…d'you know when this period ends, James?"
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"Before lunch." So answered a boy with circular glasses and dark brown hair, which, as he covertly glanced to the side, he fluffed up, making it appear messy. Ambrosine thought that maybe he should try using more hair conditioner, then his hair might have more body and not slowly drop down to looking almost as flat as Pat's hair did. Of course, it only took the boy known as James' hair a few seconds before returning to its usual flat self. He didn't appear to be giving up on this any time soon, though, since again he ruffled his hair so that it would gain more body. Did he want to look more 'rugged', Ambrosine wondered? She didn't know. He seemed to care more about his hair than she did about hers.
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"I know that much, James…" Sirius said, sighing and shaking his head.
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"There shouldn't be that much time left…I mean, the class is only half over, isn't it?" Patrick chimed in.
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"I don't know, that's why I was asking."
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"Well, maybe if we confirm what you do know before you ask to find out what you don't know to make it what you know, we'll actually find out what you don't know instead of repeating what you do know."
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James sighed, chuckling.
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"You know, Pat, I don't know what you just said."
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"Neither do I."
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"And neither do I, so we can all agree on something."
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Ambrosine glanced from boy to boy, and, figuring that this was as good of a time as any to but into their conversation and perhaps add a new signature to her meager collection, she spoke.
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"Excuse me, if it's not too much trouble…would you please sign my parchment?" The question was addressed to James.
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James shrugged and took her paper, scribbling his name onto it in much the same manner that Sirius had, before giving it back to her.
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"Thank you."
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Ambrosine looked over at James' paper to see if he needed anyone else to sign his, and he hadn't. His paper was full, and by the looks of it, it had been that way for quite a bit, given the way he was just sitting around leisurely.
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With that, the boys continued conversing about what they did know and what they didn't know, and Ambrosine took that as her cue to leave them to their own devices. Walking away from the group of Gryffindor boys (the girls had migrated by the time Ambrosine had arrived, thankfully) , Ambrosine glanced down at her parchment to see where it had been signed and where it had not. Wow…this was a much easier assignment than she had initially thought! All she needed was two more signatures. Only two more, and the class would be over in about forty minutes. Maybe then she could read some of her textbooks or write or scribble some bizarre drawing on a spare sheet of parchment.
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Who to ask, though? At the present time the group of Gryffindor boys whom she'd just consulted was deep in conversation with one another. The three whom she'd talked to for a few moments was only part of the group, the other half had been too busy with their own things to pay any attention to her. And she thought that she'd preferred it that way…the other boys intimidated her. With Sirius and James, at least she'd remembered their names from the sorting ceremony, and even 'Pat' seemed very familiar. The others must have been called later on, as not many of them stuck out in her mind as being memorable from the day before. She hadn't paid much attention during the latter half of the sorting, she had to admit. Lucius' group of Slytherin boys was now hanging around the door of the classroom. They'd seemingly also finished asking around for signatures, and were now waiting for the bell to ring so that they could stampede down the hallways for a tasty luncheon meal. Most of the boys in the group seemed a lot taller than Lucius, a lot more gruff and heavy. There was one or two exceptions, it seemed, but never mind. Narcissa's little quartet of Slytherin girls was lurking not too far from Lucius', and unless Ambrosine's eyes were playing tricks on her, Narcissa and her friends were certainly paying Lucius and his gang more attention than they would have liked to make obvious. It was, however, very obvious to Ambrosine, an observer from afar. Lily's little group was making avid conversation with Professor Bell, and Severus, not at all to Ambrosine's surprise, was still sitting on his own. The group of squealing Gryffindor girls that had until recently been hanging around with the boys of that same house had taken to sitting in a circle. There were only, to Ambrosine's delight, two others that were sitting on their own. Both of which, however…were Gryffindors.
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. . . . f i n