Chapter 3: Looking Out
"Firs' years, firs' years over 'ere!" came a rumbling voice through the raining darkness as students disembarked from the Hogwarts Express. As Hagrid called out for the first years to follow him, Alanna slipped into the crowd that was forming on the platform. She had been waiting in the shadows on the platform for the last half-hour for the train to arrive. "Alrigh' there 'Arry?" Hagrid called over the crowd. Alanna's heart missed a beat. Harry? The Harry she was supposed to look out for? Unable to see him through the many students and steam from the train, she moved towards Hagrid's voice hoping to find him somewhere there. As she struggled through the crowd to get to Hagrid she accidentally bumped into a red headed, tall and lanky boy that didn't seem to have felt her. "Sorry." She mumbled looking past him to the boy standing next to him. A little shorter than the other boy, with black untidy hair, bright green eyes and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead, Alanna remembered him from her vision. Harry Potter. "er...." She said, not really thinking. Now what, she thought franticly. Harry had only looked at her for a split second, then his eyes went back to searching the crowd. Okay... well that's great, Alanna thought. Oh well, at least she had found him that's a good start. "Allo Alanna!" Hagrid interrupted. "Wha' 'r' you up to?" And he winked and smiled down at her. "Hey Hagrid. Umm... I was just...er, trying to get through to you. Where are we going?" Alanna said, changing the subject quickly all though she had the idea that Hagrid knew what she was up to. " Cross the lake. You lot gotta get sorted inter your houses." Hagrid said pointing to a fleet of small boats that lay on the bank. " On'y four to a boat!" He called out over the heads of the new students, climbing into a boat himself. Alanna herself was climbing into a boat and was soon joined by two other students. " Hallo!" said the boy who had a strong Irish accent, pale skin and few freckles. " Me names Seamus." And with a wide grin, he held out his hand to Alanna. Supprised by his openness, she took his hand and introduced herself. " Alanna." She said, then turned to the girl who had long blond hair that was in two plats and shook her hand too. " Hanna Abbot." Said the girl with a sweet smile. " Do any of you know what house your going to be in?" " No one really knows though do they? I mean, you only find out tonight." Said the boy called Seamus. When all the students were safely sitting in their boats, they started to move by them selves, as if there was an invisible person stirring them towards the castle that lay on the other side of the lake. As Hanna and Seamus continued the conversation Alanna sat and listened occasionally saying some thing like 'hmm...' and 'yeah', but not really joining in herself. She felt very different from them, as if they were in one whole separate world. Looking from one to the other, she noticed that they both looked rather nervous, though trying to hide it. As the castle loomed nearer and nearer, Alanna was also starting to feel shaky with nerves. It was true that she didn't really care what house she was put into, but what about all the other students. What would they think of her? She looked up at Hogwarts, with its dark windows and steep turrets thinking about how she was going to spend the next seven years there, learning advanced spells, studying things four times harder than the other students and keeping watch on a boy she doesn't even know. It's gotta be fun, she thought. " Hey Alanna, do you think the teachers are going to give us really hard work in first year?" Hanna asked. " Er... well, yeah, I guess they will. I mean they can't go to slack on us can they?" replied Alanna. And after nodding her head, Hanna turned back and continued her conversation with Seamus. Ten minutes later, all the first years were crowded into a highly decorated room off the side of the huge dinning room, waiting for Professor Magonigal to come back and tell them what to do. Everyone in the room was slightly quiet, to scared to talk. As Alanna weaved her way up to the front, she spotted the red headed boy talking to Harry and moved slowly towards them. Standing a couple of feet away from them she could just hear them talking: " I dunno, but Fred said some thing about restling a troll, but I think he was just saying that to scar me. He's a real joker you know." Said the boy. Harry, who looked like he was going to be sick, didn't say anything. Seeing them up close, she observed them. The boy that was talking was about a head taller than Alanna and his robes were about three centimetres to short and he had a smudge on his nose. Harry, on the other hand, was a bit shorter than the other boy, with very untidy black hair and a pair of circular shaped glasses resting on his nose. Alanna smiled to herself. They looked so comical! " We are ready to receive you now, follow me." Professor Magonigal said sternly, walking out into the candle lit Hall, followed by all of the nervous looking first years. As they entered the Great Hall they saw four long tables with students sitting around them and across the back wall, all the teachers sat, Professor Dumbledore in the very center. A three-legged stool was standing in front of the teachers. On top of it sat a limpy old wizard's hat. Alanna had seen this hat on one of Professor Dumbledores shelves, but she thought that it was just a hat that Dumbledore liked to keep for old time's sake. The noise in the Hall died down and every one was looking at the stool and the hat. Then all of a sudden a rip in the brim opened to form a mouth, and the hat began to sing a rhyming song. As it told about the four Hogwarts Houses, Griffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherine it also said what qualities are looked for within each house. Griffindor valued the brave and noble, while Hufflepuff took in the kind and caring, Ravenclaw preferred the quick minded and Slytherine took in the power hungry and powerful students. Next to Alanna, a boy whispered to his friend, " I'd hate to be in Slytherine. Every one says that in the time of You Know Who, there was no witch or wizard that was in Slytherine who didn't join him." The hat had finished it's song and Professor Magonigal was now unrolling a thick piece of parchment. " When I call your name, you will sit on the stool and be sorted into your houses.... Abbot, Hanna!" And the girl that was sitting in the boat with Alanna and Seamus stepped forward, looking very nervous, and sat on the stool. The students got one last look at her terrified face, then the hat felt down, covering her eyes. Almost immediately the hat screamed out Hufflepuff, and the table on the far left cheered as she went and joined them, looking very relieved. The list went on... "Finnegan, Seamus...(Griffindor)... Flinch-Fletchy, Justin...(Hufflepuff)...Malfoy, Draco...(Slytherine)" One by one they got sorted into their houses by the sorting hat. Then, " Monteago, Alanna!" Knowing that everyone was watching her, she walked to the stool, trying very hard not to trip as her legs seemed very stiff. She glanced at Dumbledore before she sat down and received a warm smile in return. As she sat down and put the old hat on, and took in one glance at the students all sitting quietly, looking at her. The hat then covered her eyes and all she could see for the next few minutes was complete darkness. A small voice came from the hat and seemed to be talking in her ear. " Ahh, you have power, lot's of power in fact!" said the voice, " though I see the same amount of bravery in you. Hmm...Where do I put you?" " Anywhere, but please just hurry up!" Alanna whispered getting very anxious. " Anywhere huh? You'd be a success in any house as you have many fine qualities. But some how.... well.... I better put you in Slytherine!" And the hat yelled out the last word to the crowed. The table on the far right, next to the entrance, was now cheering her as she walked towards them and took a seat in between two third years. She again looked up at Dumbledore, who was clapping her, though some of the other teachers looked a bit worried. She didn't know why at first, then remembered what she had overheard while standing in the line. Slytherine had turned out more dark witches and wizards than any other house... But seriously, she thought, they can't possibly think that she's bad! These people who had known her since she was a baby, people who had taken care of her! She looked at Professor Flitwick and noticed that he was avoiding her gaze. She would show them, Alanna thought. She wasn't bad or evil, she'll prove to them that not every one in Slytherine is in the dark side! " Potter, Harry!" Professor Magonigal called out, interrupting Alanna's thoughts. As Harry walked over to the stool, Alanna watched, trying hard not to laugh. He looked so scared! When the hat was on his head, Alanna observed him. He was fiddling with his robes and she could faintly hear him saying some thing even though they were very far apart. Listening intently his voice became louder in her head and she was pretty sure that no one else could hear him... only her. "Not Slytherine, please not Slytherine!" He whispered to the hat. Then a few moments later the hat said in a loud voice, "GRIFFINDOR!" and the second table from the left now cheered and Alanna could here some one calling out "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry took his seat next to the red headed boy who also had been sorted into Griffindor and looked quite relieved. The sorting went on... Only ten minutes later though, all the new students were sitting at a table, eating away at the food that had magically appeared before their very eyes. Being so hungry, Alanna helped herself to roast beef, mashed potatoes, fresh corn, gravy, peas, and a goblet full of pumpkin juice. After demolishing three plates of the main meal, she then started on dessert which consisted of pudding, mud cake, white cheese cake, peppermint humbugs, and every flavoured ice cream imaginable. When all the students had been fed and watered, Professor Dumbledore stood up to make a speech. " Just a few of start of term notices: All students, new and old, are to be reminded that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all. Also, the third floor corridor is forbidden to every student who does not wish to die a very painful death." At this, there was a short pause in which some people laughed, but Alanna looked worried. Dumbledore would not joke about anything to do with death... What was he hiding? She had no time to think about this however, as the students were being dismissed and the Slytherine prefects were calling to the first years to follow them. As they did so, they were led down, towards the dungeons, going through dark corridors and hall ways hidden behind large pictures or drapes, until at last they came to a statue of a evil looking warlock with a twisted lip. " The password is Porticello Monte!" said one of the prefects, and the warlock sprang aside, revealing a doorway that opened up to a large room with two crackling fireplaces and blood-red sofa's and chairs scattered around old wooden tables and desks. On the left side of the room were a set of stone stairs that leaded up to the boy's dormitories, while on the right, another set of stairs went up to the girls. It all looked rather dark, but that was probably only because it was night time. It's okay, Alanna thought. The room was actually quite attractive with the elegant drapes and the red carpet. Feeling very tired, she followed some girls up to the dormitory. On one of the doors there was a sign that said 'first years' and she walked through it finding herself in a smaller room with five four poster beds and deep emerald bed sheets neatly made on top. She saw her trunk at the end of a bed that was next to a window and walked sleepily over to it. After undressing and putting on her night things, she climbed into the welcoming looking sheets and fell asleep as soon as her pretty head layed on the pillow.
" But Pansy, don't you think we should wake her up? I mean, she might miss breakfast if we don't." " Well hurry up! Or we'll miss breakfast!" " Don't worry, I'm already up." Mumbled a sleepy Alanna in a croaky voice. "Thanks though." "Well, are you gonna come to breakfast? Because if you are then we better hurry." Said the girl called Pansy. Climbing out of bed, Alanna picked up her wand from inside her trunk and gave it a quick swish. The bed covers sprang alive and started to fold themselves neatly. She then pulled on her school robes and gave her waist length hair a brush before putting it in a plait. Shoving her wand into an inside pocket, she looked around at the other girls. She could have done all that will a flick of her hand, but Dumbledore had told her to be discreet in her magic and do most thing with her wand, except in emergencies. " Shall we go?" She asked, and without another word, the girls filed down into the common room and up to the Great Hall. As they walked into breakfast the talking of the student met their ears and they joined the Slytherine table, helping themselves to porridge and bacon and eggs. The new class timetable had come and apparently Alanna had Transfiguration first up with the Griffindores. Brilliant! She could start finding out about Harry. As Alanna sat and talked with Pansy and her friends, a tall pale, blond haired and handsome boy came walking towards them. " Hey Pansy, want to introduce me to your friend? Or will I have to do it myself?" He said, fixing Alanna with piercing grey-blue eyes that bored into her deep black ones. When Pansy looked up at the boy who was towering above them, than down at Alanna and didn't say anything, the boy said, " Draco Malfoy." Still fixing her with his gaze, he held out his hand. Alanna took it, but before she could reply her name, he had drew her near to him so that their faces were barely two centimetres apart. He whispered into her ear very quietly, "And I already know who you are." With that, he let her hand go, gave her one last look and walked away with a gang of Slytherine's all standing by the entrance. Alanna looked up at Pansy with a shocked stricken face to see if she had heard, though she doubted it. Pansy obviously hadn't heard anything that Draco had said because she was again busily chatting with her gang of friends and eating. Pushing her plate away, Alanna no longer felt hungry...she felt sick. What did Draco mean? He already knew who she was? Did he only know her name, or.....? She quickly glanced at the entrance were he was standing talking to his friends. As she observed him she noticed that he was very popular, having people around him all the time (lots of them girls). No, he didn't know, he was just a stupid lady's charmer, she thought. And even if he did, she wasn't going to give up her cover that easily. No way, no boy was going to get the better of her, especially this pretty boy. Realising that he was also looking at her through the corner of his eye, Alanna turned her back to him quickly. After shoving her time table into her bag, she left the Slytherine table after saying good bye and walked towards Draco to the entrance. She walked straight past him and towards the grey stone stairs that lead up to the Transfiguration rooms. With her back to him, she walked up the stairs slowly, but she could feel his steady gaze watching her every step............
"Ron! Ron, we're late for Transfiguration! Cummon, quick!!" Harry said racing up the stone steps, his robes flying, with a very disgruntled Ron Weasly behind him. " I'm going to kill Fred for that prank! That was just NOT funny!" Steamed Ron as he caught up with Harry along the corridor. " I mean, I can understand blood flavoured lolly pops, but acid pops? That's just plain mean." He said spraying spit every where, then opened his mouth and repaired a hole in his tongue. As they walked through into the classroom, the students went quiet and Professor Magonigal fixed them with a stern eye. " You are late, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasly...." " Er.... Yes, well you see Professor, we...." "I don't want to hear excuses. I shall let you go this time, please take your seats and get your quills out." She said, as Harry and Ron gratefully fell into a seat beside a dark haired girl in Slytherine. "As I was saying before Potter and Weasly interrupted, Transfiguration is one of the most complex areas of magic you will have to learn. You will start off with only the small things, like for instance turning a needle into a match, then you will gradually work your way up to larger objects. You will find Transfiguration very helpful in your later life when you leave Hogwarts, as it is needed in most high level jobs. But I must say, anyone who dares to mess around in my class room can leave now and not come back." Magonigal looked at Harry and Ron who sat sheepishly in their seat. This is not a lady to cross, Harry thought. She swished her wand once at the black bored and a set of notes appeared. "I want you to copy out these notes, then come and get a needle off me." She said, then sat down at her big oak desk. For five minutes all there was to hear was the scratching of quills against parchment, then a few students got their needles and started to practise the spell. " Transforgio!" echoed around the room as several students tried, but failed to turn the needle successfully into a match. Harry himself was having lots of trouble, he couldn't even seem to get his flick right. He had noticed, however, that the girl next to him had not done anything. She had not even copied down the notes. Instead she went straight up to Professor Magonigal and started to talk to her. Harry could not hear what they were saying, but he guessed that she probably already knew how to do the spell. Magonigal handed her a large book form inside one of her draws and gave it to the girl who walked back towards Harry and Ron. " Oh and Alanna," she said, " You also might want to try page 73." Nodding her head, Alanna sat down next to Harry who got a glimpse of the book. The title was ' Intermediate Transfiguration for Talented Youths'. Wow, Harry thought, this girl must be good. " Hey Harry, does your needle look anything like a match yet? Cause mine doesn't" Ron asked. " Er, no... don't worry though." He felt extremely stupid at not even being able to preform a simple spell infront of this girl, but she seemed not to have heard them because she did not look up. "Hey, why aren't you doing it?" Ron blurted out to the girl. Harry felt the colour rise in his cheeks as she looked up at them with her black eyes. " I already know how to." She replied nicely, observing Ron. "Brilliant, can you teach us? My names Ron, Ron Weasly and this is Harry. Yeah, you know Harry as in Harry Potter..."He said smiling as Harry also smiled weakly at the girl wishing Ron would stop making an idiot out of himself. " I'm Alanna. And sure I'll teach you. Try holding your wand like this." She showed them the correct way in holding their wands. Feeling relived that the Alanna hadn't blown them off, Harry decided that she was by far the nicest Slytherine around. As the lesson went on, Harry and Ron slowly improved and by the end they had successfully made their needle resemble a match. Ron and Alanna seemed to have formed a good friendship though and by the time the lesson had ended, they were all talking and laughing as they walked out of the classroom. At the Entrance Hall, they departed and went through separate corridors to their next lesson. Over the next week, Harry and Ron felt like their brains were going to explode from an information over load. They had learnt so much already and the homework they got was incredible! " You'd think they'd go easy on us 'cause we're new" Ron said one night while sitting in the Gryfindore common room finishing off an extremely complex potions theory about shrinking skulls. While Harry had made a lot of new friends, he was also aware that he had enemies too. It had become clear to him in the first week that a lot of Slytherines didn't seem to like him. There was one boy, Draco, which Harry detested. Draco Malfoy seemed to go out of his way to cause trouble for Harry, to make his life hell. But there was still that Slytherine girl, Alanna, that was always there when Harry and Malfoy would be close to having a duel in one of the corridors. She would always turn up, as if she knew what they were up to, to sort things out. " This is stupid you two. How many times must I run into you both trying to kill each other? Malfoy, leave Harry alone and for goodness sakes stop fighting both of you!" She had said exasperated after catching them for the second time in one week. Strangely enough, Malfoy would always listen to her and lower his wand and slouch away. Harry was getting quite annoyed with her always butting in though, he would personally have liked to have an excuse to put a hex on Malfoy. But as she was friends with Ron, he said nothing. Besides, he thought, it was probably better that he didn't do anything wrong in the first week. Both Harry and Ron had also made a friend in Griffindor, one called Hermione Granger. Being twice as smart as they were, she would help them with their load of homework every night. So by Friday, they were all tired and very relieved that the weekend had finally come. Although he had only been there a week, Harry felt like he had been at Hogwarts his whole life. He finally felt like he was at home in a place he belonged. Forgetting about his Aunt and Uncle and his miserable life before Hogwarts, he sat in his favourite chair by the fire reading a book he had gotten out of the library about Defence Against The Dark Arts.
"Firs' years, firs' years over 'ere!" came a rumbling voice through the raining darkness as students disembarked from the Hogwarts Express. As Hagrid called out for the first years to follow him, Alanna slipped into the crowd that was forming on the platform. She had been waiting in the shadows on the platform for the last half-hour for the train to arrive. "Alrigh' there 'Arry?" Hagrid called over the crowd. Alanna's heart missed a beat. Harry? The Harry she was supposed to look out for? Unable to see him through the many students and steam from the train, she moved towards Hagrid's voice hoping to find him somewhere there. As she struggled through the crowd to get to Hagrid she accidentally bumped into a red headed, tall and lanky boy that didn't seem to have felt her. "Sorry." She mumbled looking past him to the boy standing next to him. A little shorter than the other boy, with black untidy hair, bright green eyes and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead, Alanna remembered him from her vision. Harry Potter. "er...." She said, not really thinking. Now what, she thought franticly. Harry had only looked at her for a split second, then his eyes went back to searching the crowd. Okay... well that's great, Alanna thought. Oh well, at least she had found him that's a good start. "Allo Alanna!" Hagrid interrupted. "Wha' 'r' you up to?" And he winked and smiled down at her. "Hey Hagrid. Umm... I was just...er, trying to get through to you. Where are we going?" Alanna said, changing the subject quickly all though she had the idea that Hagrid knew what she was up to. " Cross the lake. You lot gotta get sorted inter your houses." Hagrid said pointing to a fleet of small boats that lay on the bank. " On'y four to a boat!" He called out over the heads of the new students, climbing into a boat himself. Alanna herself was climbing into a boat and was soon joined by two other students. " Hallo!" said the boy who had a strong Irish accent, pale skin and few freckles. " Me names Seamus." And with a wide grin, he held out his hand to Alanna. Supprised by his openness, she took his hand and introduced herself. " Alanna." She said, then turned to the girl who had long blond hair that was in two plats and shook her hand too. " Hanna Abbot." Said the girl with a sweet smile. " Do any of you know what house your going to be in?" " No one really knows though do they? I mean, you only find out tonight." Said the boy called Seamus. When all the students were safely sitting in their boats, they started to move by them selves, as if there was an invisible person stirring them towards the castle that lay on the other side of the lake. As Hanna and Seamus continued the conversation Alanna sat and listened occasionally saying some thing like 'hmm...' and 'yeah', but not really joining in herself. She felt very different from them, as if they were in one whole separate world. Looking from one to the other, she noticed that they both looked rather nervous, though trying to hide it. As the castle loomed nearer and nearer, Alanna was also starting to feel shaky with nerves. It was true that she didn't really care what house she was put into, but what about all the other students. What would they think of her? She looked up at Hogwarts, with its dark windows and steep turrets thinking about how she was going to spend the next seven years there, learning advanced spells, studying things four times harder than the other students and keeping watch on a boy she doesn't even know. It's gotta be fun, she thought. " Hey Alanna, do you think the teachers are going to give us really hard work in first year?" Hanna asked. " Er... well, yeah, I guess they will. I mean they can't go to slack on us can they?" replied Alanna. And after nodding her head, Hanna turned back and continued her conversation with Seamus. Ten minutes later, all the first years were crowded into a highly decorated room off the side of the huge dinning room, waiting for Professor Magonigal to come back and tell them what to do. Everyone in the room was slightly quiet, to scared to talk. As Alanna weaved her way up to the front, she spotted the red headed boy talking to Harry and moved slowly towards them. Standing a couple of feet away from them she could just hear them talking: " I dunno, but Fred said some thing about restling a troll, but I think he was just saying that to scar me. He's a real joker you know." Said the boy. Harry, who looked like he was going to be sick, didn't say anything. Seeing them up close, she observed them. The boy that was talking was about a head taller than Alanna and his robes were about three centimetres to short and he had a smudge on his nose. Harry, on the other hand, was a bit shorter than the other boy, with very untidy black hair and a pair of circular shaped glasses resting on his nose. Alanna smiled to herself. They looked so comical! " We are ready to receive you now, follow me." Professor Magonigal said sternly, walking out into the candle lit Hall, followed by all of the nervous looking first years. As they entered the Great Hall they saw four long tables with students sitting around them and across the back wall, all the teachers sat, Professor Dumbledore in the very center. A three-legged stool was standing in front of the teachers. On top of it sat a limpy old wizard's hat. Alanna had seen this hat on one of Professor Dumbledores shelves, but she thought that it was just a hat that Dumbledore liked to keep for old time's sake. The noise in the Hall died down and every one was looking at the stool and the hat. Then all of a sudden a rip in the brim opened to form a mouth, and the hat began to sing a rhyming song. As it told about the four Hogwarts Houses, Griffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherine it also said what qualities are looked for within each house. Griffindor valued the brave and noble, while Hufflepuff took in the kind and caring, Ravenclaw preferred the quick minded and Slytherine took in the power hungry and powerful students. Next to Alanna, a boy whispered to his friend, " I'd hate to be in Slytherine. Every one says that in the time of You Know Who, there was no witch or wizard that was in Slytherine who didn't join him." The hat had finished it's song and Professor Magonigal was now unrolling a thick piece of parchment. " When I call your name, you will sit on the stool and be sorted into your houses.... Abbot, Hanna!" And the girl that was sitting in the boat with Alanna and Seamus stepped forward, looking very nervous, and sat on the stool. The students got one last look at her terrified face, then the hat felt down, covering her eyes. Almost immediately the hat screamed out Hufflepuff, and the table on the far left cheered as she went and joined them, looking very relieved. The list went on... "Finnegan, Seamus...(Griffindor)... Flinch-Fletchy, Justin...(Hufflepuff)...Malfoy, Draco...(Slytherine)" One by one they got sorted into their houses by the sorting hat. Then, " Monteago, Alanna!" Knowing that everyone was watching her, she walked to the stool, trying very hard not to trip as her legs seemed very stiff. She glanced at Dumbledore before she sat down and received a warm smile in return. As she sat down and put the old hat on, and took in one glance at the students all sitting quietly, looking at her. The hat then covered her eyes and all she could see for the next few minutes was complete darkness. A small voice came from the hat and seemed to be talking in her ear. " Ahh, you have power, lot's of power in fact!" said the voice, " though I see the same amount of bravery in you. Hmm...Where do I put you?" " Anywhere, but please just hurry up!" Alanna whispered getting very anxious. " Anywhere huh? You'd be a success in any house as you have many fine qualities. But some how.... well.... I better put you in Slytherine!" And the hat yelled out the last word to the crowed. The table on the far right, next to the entrance, was now cheering her as she walked towards them and took a seat in between two third years. She again looked up at Dumbledore, who was clapping her, though some of the other teachers looked a bit worried. She didn't know why at first, then remembered what she had overheard while standing in the line. Slytherine had turned out more dark witches and wizards than any other house... But seriously, she thought, they can't possibly think that she's bad! These people who had known her since she was a baby, people who had taken care of her! She looked at Professor Flitwick and noticed that he was avoiding her gaze. She would show them, Alanna thought. She wasn't bad or evil, she'll prove to them that not every one in Slytherine is in the dark side! " Potter, Harry!" Professor Magonigal called out, interrupting Alanna's thoughts. As Harry walked over to the stool, Alanna watched, trying hard not to laugh. He looked so scared! When the hat was on his head, Alanna observed him. He was fiddling with his robes and she could faintly hear him saying some thing even though they were very far apart. Listening intently his voice became louder in her head and she was pretty sure that no one else could hear him... only her. "Not Slytherine, please not Slytherine!" He whispered to the hat. Then a few moments later the hat said in a loud voice, "GRIFFINDOR!" and the second table from the left now cheered and Alanna could here some one calling out "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Harry took his seat next to the red headed boy who also had been sorted into Griffindor and looked quite relieved. The sorting went on... Only ten minutes later though, all the new students were sitting at a table, eating away at the food that had magically appeared before their very eyes. Being so hungry, Alanna helped herself to roast beef, mashed potatoes, fresh corn, gravy, peas, and a goblet full of pumpkin juice. After demolishing three plates of the main meal, she then started on dessert which consisted of pudding, mud cake, white cheese cake, peppermint humbugs, and every flavoured ice cream imaginable. When all the students had been fed and watered, Professor Dumbledore stood up to make a speech. " Just a few of start of term notices: All students, new and old, are to be reminded that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all. Also, the third floor corridor is forbidden to every student who does not wish to die a very painful death." At this, there was a short pause in which some people laughed, but Alanna looked worried. Dumbledore would not joke about anything to do with death... What was he hiding? She had no time to think about this however, as the students were being dismissed and the Slytherine prefects were calling to the first years to follow them. As they did so, they were led down, towards the dungeons, going through dark corridors and hall ways hidden behind large pictures or drapes, until at last they came to a statue of a evil looking warlock with a twisted lip. " The password is Porticello Monte!" said one of the prefects, and the warlock sprang aside, revealing a doorway that opened up to a large room with two crackling fireplaces and blood-red sofa's and chairs scattered around old wooden tables and desks. On the left side of the room were a set of stone stairs that leaded up to the boy's dormitories, while on the right, another set of stairs went up to the girls. It all looked rather dark, but that was probably only because it was night time. It's okay, Alanna thought. The room was actually quite attractive with the elegant drapes and the red carpet. Feeling very tired, she followed some girls up to the dormitory. On one of the doors there was a sign that said 'first years' and she walked through it finding herself in a smaller room with five four poster beds and deep emerald bed sheets neatly made on top. She saw her trunk at the end of a bed that was next to a window and walked sleepily over to it. After undressing and putting on her night things, she climbed into the welcoming looking sheets and fell asleep as soon as her pretty head layed on the pillow.
" But Pansy, don't you think we should wake her up? I mean, she might miss breakfast if we don't." " Well hurry up! Or we'll miss breakfast!" " Don't worry, I'm already up." Mumbled a sleepy Alanna in a croaky voice. "Thanks though." "Well, are you gonna come to breakfast? Because if you are then we better hurry." Said the girl called Pansy. Climbing out of bed, Alanna picked up her wand from inside her trunk and gave it a quick swish. The bed covers sprang alive and started to fold themselves neatly. She then pulled on her school robes and gave her waist length hair a brush before putting it in a plait. Shoving her wand into an inside pocket, she looked around at the other girls. She could have done all that will a flick of her hand, but Dumbledore had told her to be discreet in her magic and do most thing with her wand, except in emergencies. " Shall we go?" She asked, and without another word, the girls filed down into the common room and up to the Great Hall. As they walked into breakfast the talking of the student met their ears and they joined the Slytherine table, helping themselves to porridge and bacon and eggs. The new class timetable had come and apparently Alanna had Transfiguration first up with the Griffindores. Brilliant! She could start finding out about Harry. As Alanna sat and talked with Pansy and her friends, a tall pale, blond haired and handsome boy came walking towards them. " Hey Pansy, want to introduce me to your friend? Or will I have to do it myself?" He said, fixing Alanna with piercing grey-blue eyes that bored into her deep black ones. When Pansy looked up at the boy who was towering above them, than down at Alanna and didn't say anything, the boy said, " Draco Malfoy." Still fixing her with his gaze, he held out his hand. Alanna took it, but before she could reply her name, he had drew her near to him so that their faces were barely two centimetres apart. He whispered into her ear very quietly, "And I already know who you are." With that, he let her hand go, gave her one last look and walked away with a gang of Slytherine's all standing by the entrance. Alanna looked up at Pansy with a shocked stricken face to see if she had heard, though she doubted it. Pansy obviously hadn't heard anything that Draco had said because she was again busily chatting with her gang of friends and eating. Pushing her plate away, Alanna no longer felt hungry...she felt sick. What did Draco mean? He already knew who she was? Did he only know her name, or.....? She quickly glanced at the entrance were he was standing talking to his friends. As she observed him she noticed that he was very popular, having people around him all the time (lots of them girls). No, he didn't know, he was just a stupid lady's charmer, she thought. And even if he did, she wasn't going to give up her cover that easily. No way, no boy was going to get the better of her, especially this pretty boy. Realising that he was also looking at her through the corner of his eye, Alanna turned her back to him quickly. After shoving her time table into her bag, she left the Slytherine table after saying good bye and walked towards Draco to the entrance. She walked straight past him and towards the grey stone stairs that lead up to the Transfiguration rooms. With her back to him, she walked up the stairs slowly, but she could feel his steady gaze watching her every step............
"Ron! Ron, we're late for Transfiguration! Cummon, quick!!" Harry said racing up the stone steps, his robes flying, with a very disgruntled Ron Weasly behind him. " I'm going to kill Fred for that prank! That was just NOT funny!" Steamed Ron as he caught up with Harry along the corridor. " I mean, I can understand blood flavoured lolly pops, but acid pops? That's just plain mean." He said spraying spit every where, then opened his mouth and repaired a hole in his tongue. As they walked through into the classroom, the students went quiet and Professor Magonigal fixed them with a stern eye. " You are late, Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasly...." " Er.... Yes, well you see Professor, we...." "I don't want to hear excuses. I shall let you go this time, please take your seats and get your quills out." She said, as Harry and Ron gratefully fell into a seat beside a dark haired girl in Slytherine. "As I was saying before Potter and Weasly interrupted, Transfiguration is one of the most complex areas of magic you will have to learn. You will start off with only the small things, like for instance turning a needle into a match, then you will gradually work your way up to larger objects. You will find Transfiguration very helpful in your later life when you leave Hogwarts, as it is needed in most high level jobs. But I must say, anyone who dares to mess around in my class room can leave now and not come back." Magonigal looked at Harry and Ron who sat sheepishly in their seat. This is not a lady to cross, Harry thought. She swished her wand once at the black bored and a set of notes appeared. "I want you to copy out these notes, then come and get a needle off me." She said, then sat down at her big oak desk. For five minutes all there was to hear was the scratching of quills against parchment, then a few students got their needles and started to practise the spell. " Transforgio!" echoed around the room as several students tried, but failed to turn the needle successfully into a match. Harry himself was having lots of trouble, he couldn't even seem to get his flick right. He had noticed, however, that the girl next to him had not done anything. She had not even copied down the notes. Instead she went straight up to Professor Magonigal and started to talk to her. Harry could not hear what they were saying, but he guessed that she probably already knew how to do the spell. Magonigal handed her a large book form inside one of her draws and gave it to the girl who walked back towards Harry and Ron. " Oh and Alanna," she said, " You also might want to try page 73." Nodding her head, Alanna sat down next to Harry who got a glimpse of the book. The title was ' Intermediate Transfiguration for Talented Youths'. Wow, Harry thought, this girl must be good. " Hey Harry, does your needle look anything like a match yet? Cause mine doesn't" Ron asked. " Er, no... don't worry though." He felt extremely stupid at not even being able to preform a simple spell infront of this girl, but she seemed not to have heard them because she did not look up. "Hey, why aren't you doing it?" Ron blurted out to the girl. Harry felt the colour rise in his cheeks as she looked up at them with her black eyes. " I already know how to." She replied nicely, observing Ron. "Brilliant, can you teach us? My names Ron, Ron Weasly and this is Harry. Yeah, you know Harry as in Harry Potter..."He said smiling as Harry also smiled weakly at the girl wishing Ron would stop making an idiot out of himself. " I'm Alanna. And sure I'll teach you. Try holding your wand like this." She showed them the correct way in holding their wands. Feeling relived that the Alanna hadn't blown them off, Harry decided that she was by far the nicest Slytherine around. As the lesson went on, Harry and Ron slowly improved and by the end they had successfully made their needle resemble a match. Ron and Alanna seemed to have formed a good friendship though and by the time the lesson had ended, they were all talking and laughing as they walked out of the classroom. At the Entrance Hall, they departed and went through separate corridors to their next lesson. Over the next week, Harry and Ron felt like their brains were going to explode from an information over load. They had learnt so much already and the homework they got was incredible! " You'd think they'd go easy on us 'cause we're new" Ron said one night while sitting in the Gryfindore common room finishing off an extremely complex potions theory about shrinking skulls. While Harry had made a lot of new friends, he was also aware that he had enemies too. It had become clear to him in the first week that a lot of Slytherines didn't seem to like him. There was one boy, Draco, which Harry detested. Draco Malfoy seemed to go out of his way to cause trouble for Harry, to make his life hell. But there was still that Slytherine girl, Alanna, that was always there when Harry and Malfoy would be close to having a duel in one of the corridors. She would always turn up, as if she knew what they were up to, to sort things out. " This is stupid you two. How many times must I run into you both trying to kill each other? Malfoy, leave Harry alone and for goodness sakes stop fighting both of you!" She had said exasperated after catching them for the second time in one week. Strangely enough, Malfoy would always listen to her and lower his wand and slouch away. Harry was getting quite annoyed with her always butting in though, he would personally have liked to have an excuse to put a hex on Malfoy. But as she was friends with Ron, he said nothing. Besides, he thought, it was probably better that he didn't do anything wrong in the first week. Both Harry and Ron had also made a friend in Griffindor, one called Hermione Granger. Being twice as smart as they were, she would help them with their load of homework every night. So by Friday, they were all tired and very relieved that the weekend had finally come. Although he had only been there a week, Harry felt like he had been at Hogwarts his whole life. He finally felt like he was at home in a place he belonged. Forgetting about his Aunt and Uncle and his miserable life before Hogwarts, he sat in his favourite chair by the fire reading a book he had gotten out of the library about Defence Against The Dark Arts.
