After Rebecca was dressed, she headed to the Great Hall for breakfast. When
all the students were in the hall and eating there breakfast, class
schedules were passed out. Rebecca looked at hers and found that fifth year
Gryffindors had Potions, one of Rebecca's favorite subject, first thing off
and it was with the fifth year Slytherins.
'Well at least I will get to see a really familiar face this morning,' Rebecca thought to herself. She was about the only one with a positive spin on the class schedule. All the other fifth years were groaning.
"How can they do this to us," whined Greg.
"Yeah, it's bad enough that Snape doesn't like us but putting us in his way first thing off is cruel and unusual punishment," piped in James.
"Actually, what is cruel and unusual is having potions with Slytherin," corrected Colin. Everyone agreed to what he said.
Charlie just smirked and said, "Just stay out of Snape's way and follow the directions carefully and you won't lose any points."
"Yeah this from the guy that can't get on Snape's good side," laughed Greg. Charlie and his friends all have a good laugh at this.
"Yeah, well if Colin would pull a few pranks in that class then some of the heat would be off of me." Charlie said giving Colin a pleading looking.
"Don't give me those puppy dog eyes. I have gotten in enough trouble with him without any pranks." Colin stated
"We had some good pranks that we could have done in that class if it wasn't for Snape," Cathrine added disgusted at the thought of the wasted pranks.
"Oh you guys will come up with more pranks that Snape can't spoil," said Sara, "Now come on its time to get to class."
Everyone starts heading to his or her class. Rebecca gets up and starts walking to class alone. She didn't really know which where she is headed and didn't know who to ask exactly. All of the sudden, Charlie comes walking up to her.
"Do you know where you are going?" he asked.
"Other than the room is called the potion's room. No." responded Rebecca.
"Well, what you do is go done these stairs, take a left at the bottom, and it is the third door on your right. Got that?"
"Yeah, thanks," said Rebecca and she headed to class. She got to the right room with out any problems and got herself settled in. Ryan came in with his friends and got settled in the row ahead of Rebecca. They exchanged smiles and talked a little as the class room filled up. Charlie and his friend got to class right before they the professor showed up.
Professor Snape came in and started calling names out without hesitation.
"Greg Bell."
"Here"
"Cassandra Burk"
"Present"
As he called roll, Snape paced back and forth in the front of the classroom in an intimidating manner.
"Rebecca Carter."
"Here"
He stopped when he called her name and looked right at her.
"Oh, yes, the new student," he said and continued roll call. The way that he said those words made Rebecca very nervous. When he finished, he gave the class a smile that scared the whole class. What he said next scared them all to death.
"Let's see how much you all remember." Soft groans filled the room. Rebecca had a feeling that if anyone had complained any louder and points would be taken off.
"Now where do we begin?" Snape started. "Oh, yes. Can anyone tell me what is in a forgetfulness potion?"
No one seemed willing to answer Snape's question. Rebecca looked around the room and saw no one was even looking at Snape. Then Rebecca did something she never thought she would do. She raised her hand, even though she was nervous that she may not be right.
"Yes, Ms. Carter. What is the answer?" Rebecca gave him the list of ingredients for the potion. When she finished, Snape was staring at her. Rebecca wanted to find a hole to crawl in.
'Why did I do that? If he would have asked me I at least wouldn't have looked as big of a loser as I do volunteering a wrong answer,' Rebecca said to herself.
"Ms. Carter that was impressive. Not only did you give the right ingredients but also gave them in the proper mixing order. Five points to Gryffindor for your answer. Now can you explain to the class why it is important to know in what order to mix things?"
Rebecca didn't know whether Snape was trying to challenge her or what, but everyone's eyes were on her.
"I believe you need to be aware of mixing order, because adding in a different order may produce the same results in a general sense, but the strength of the potion comes into question."
When Rebecca finished, everyone turned to see Snape's reaction.
He smiled and said, "Very good. Now can you tell me anything else that can compromise a potion's integrity? If you answer correctly I will give five more points to Gryffindor."
Everyone turned toward Rebecca waiting for her answer.
"Well," Rebecca timidly started, "there are two more that I can think of off the top of my head. One being how long you simmer the potion and the other being how much you stir the potion. Both can change the consistence of the potion which can alter the effectiveness of the potion."
As before, the class turned to Snape to see if she was correct.
"Once again I have to say very good Ms. Carter. Ten points to Gryffindor, since you did not hesitate to give both answers. I suggest the rest of you take notes," Snape said glaring at the rest of the class, but smiling at Rebecca.
Rebecca was relieved that she had remember everything so well and everyone smiled at her which made her feel more at ease. The rest of the period went pretty much the same. Rebecca answered questions and the other students took notes.
At the end of the period, all the students packed up to leave. Several students walked up to Rebecca as she was putting her school supplies away to tell her good job.
As Rebecca headed out of the room, Snape stopped her at the door.
"That was quite a performance today. I don't think I have ever had a fifth year student that was aware of potion potency and what can affect it. Keep up the good work."
"Thanks," said Rebecca with a partial smile as she side-stepped out of the room. In the hall, Ryan came up to Rebecca.
"Way to go in Potions. I didn't know you knew that much about potions," Ryan said as his group came up to join him.
Ryan's friends made her nervous, so Rebecca responded timidly, "Well, it was one of my favorite subjects at my old school. I was just glad I remembered what he was asking questions on."
"You and the whole class. I don't think Snape has very been in that good of a mood after a class with Gryffindor."
"Well, I got to get going and finding my next class. I'll see you all later," Rebecca said and then she turned to leave.
She had just passed Russel when Charlie came running up to her. "That was awesome what you did in potions. You probably saved Gryffindor from losing points today instead of winning them. I don't even think James and Jacquelyn were ready for that oral pop quiz. Anyways, I know that you don't know your way around the school so the gang and I whipped up this map for you."
"Wow. Thank you so much." Rebecca took the map and saw that it was enchanted.
"All you do is say where you want to go and it will show you the way. Watch. I want to go to Herbology."
All of the sudden the map had a "you are here" sign on it and an arrow to the direction Rebecca needed to go.
Rebecca looked at it and turned to
Charlie to say, "I really appreciate this."
"Well we appreciated you taking the questions in Potions. Anyways, I'll see you in Herbology. We are going to hang back to make sure the map doesn't lead you astray."
"Okay, I'll see you all in class." Rebecca turned and left to follow the map.
She made it to class in fine shape thanks to the map. Unfortunately it was probably one of her least favorite subject so she wasn't too excited to be in the class. She was glad to make it to through the class and that it was now time for lunch.
She took out the map that Charlie gave her and said "I want to go to lunch." The map became animated and she headed to the Great Hall. After lunch there were more classes and Rebecca found her way to each of them with help of the map. She could not believe that Charlie and his friends thought to do that for her.
By the end of the week she had the lay out of the castle down and she wasn't even confused when the stairs changed. Rebecca was barely using the map any more. In fact, Rebecca felt that she was only carrying it around for security.
One day during lunch, Rebecca sat next to a first year student, who was in distress.
"Are you okay?" Rebecca asked her.
The first year looked up at her and said, "I don't know anyone here and I keep getting lost."
The poor girl's big brown eyes were welling up with tears. Rebecca immediately thought of the map. She hadn't used it in several days, and she really didn't need it any more.
"You know I remember that feeling. I actually have this map that helped me learn my way around here." Rebecca took the map out of her pocket and looked at the light brown-haired girl and said, "Here you can have it so that you won't get it lost any more."
"Thank you so much," the girl said as she took the map. "My name is Lauren Kimmel, by the way."
"Well it is very nice to meet you Lauren. I'm Rebecca Carter." The girls exchanged smile and Rebecca continued, "Now to work the map all you have to do is say 'I want to go to.' and tell them the class or place you want to go and it will show you how to get there."
"That's great. You won't believe how nervous I was getting when someone would even mention going out of the common room."
"Well now you don't have to worry about it." Lauren and Rebecca went back to eating. Rebecca was happy because Lauren looked so much calmer than before and she was actually talking to other first years about things other than schoolwork, which she later confessed to Rebecca that she really hadn't done before. Rebecca headed off to Defense against the Dark Arts satisfied that she had done a good deed.
Rebecca enjoyed Defense against the Dark Arts. Professor Quirrell lectured most of the class. He did ask a few questions which Rebecca answered without any hesitation.
At the end of the period, Rebecca had some free time before dinner so she headed up to her room to figure out what she need to do that night for homework.
When she entered her room she saw a brown barn owl standing at the foot of her bed. Rebecca looked at it for a moment and then realized that the owl belonged to her best friend from Beauxbaton, Stacy. She smiled, put her books on the bed, and walked over to the owl.
After untying letter from the owl's leg, Rebecca sat on her bed to read it as the owl looked at her waiting so see if she would send a reply.
Dear Rebecca,
Hey Girl! How is everything going at Hogwarts? Everything is going well here. It is really different not having you around. I think I have gotten in more trouble this past week than I have the whole time we had been here together. Just goes to show that I need a grounding force so that I don't get carried away with my plans. Anyways, everyone misses you here. I read your last letter out to everyone and for the last couple of days everyone keeps talking about how you should really be here with us. Professor DuFont was asking about you the other day. He was quite disgusted that his prize student didn't return this year. In Defense against the Dark Arts class, we sat there as DuFont asked question that only you would understand. I guess I should stop telling you what is going on here so that you don't get schoolsick for this place. I have to get going to class. Write soon.
Later,
Stacy
P.S. Colleen, Gwen, Scott, and the rest of the gang send their love.
Rebecca smiled as she finished the letter and got up to write Stacy back.
Dear Stacy,
Hey kid! How everything is going? Life is better since the last time I wrote. . I have to say that I don't feel nearly as nervous as I was before I got here. I got here fine and I now know my way around the castle. I should probably give credit to Charlie Weasley for making my transition easier. He and his friends made a magic map that assisted in me learning my way around. Anyways, don't, and I repeat don't, stop telling me what is going on there. I really want to know and don't worry I won't get too "schoolsick."(Cute word for it). Tell everyone hi for me and I will write them all when something more interesting comes up. I miss you all!
Later Days,
Rebecca
After rolling up the letter, Rebecca walked over to Stacy's owl and tied it on. The owl took off a minute later. Rebecca watched as the owl flew away. She didn't leave the window until she couldn't see the owl anymore. Sara walked into the room as Rebecca turned from the window.
"Hey, what is up?" Sara asked as she flopped on to her own bed.
Rebecca walked over to her own bed as she said, "Not much. I got a letter from my friend, Stacy, and I just sent my reply back."
"That's cool. Do you miss everyone back at Beauxbaton?"
"Yeah."
"What were they like?"
Rebecca started telling Sara about here friends at her old school pactically not missing a detail about them. She told of Stacy with her jokes and constantly changing crushes. Then she talked of Colleen and how she knew everything. Rebecca continued through her friends there giving their little quirks that she missed.
When Rebecca finished, Sara knew that Rebecca needed to talk about something more than her old school so she asked, "Its hard coming to a new school isn't it.?"
"Yeah, there is a different rhythm around here. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be comfortable with it."
"Don't worry you'll settle in to it. Just wait and see." Sara smiled at Rebecca and Rebecca smiled back. "Come on let's go down for dinner." Sara got up and started to walk out the door.
"I'll be right behind you," Rebecca said slowly getting up thinking about what Sara said.
As Sara had said, Rebecca was finding herself settling into the rhythm of Hogwarts. There were classes like potions and defense against the dark arts that she excelled in giving her confidence with her schoolwork and eventually her place in the school.
Though she walked to classes by herself, Rebecca didn't have problems talking to anyone that she came into contact with. This made her quite popular not only with fifth years but also with all the other students of the school.
Students from Slytherin really were the only people Rebecca had trouble with. They seemed not to associate with too many people outside of Slytherin. Rebecca actually helped Colin and Cathrine set up a prank on Sam, Dan, and Hans when she purposely distracted them as she saw Colin and Cathrine switched their regular ink with disappearing ink, because she was tired of the guys following Ryan around like lost puppies.
She could talk to Ryan every once in a while, but conversations would be cut short, because Sam, or one of Ryan's other friends would show up and Rebecca felt the need to stop the conversation so Ryan could tell them what to do.
Russel was Ryan's only friend that seemed to make his own decisions. When he walked up to Ryan and Rebecca while they were talking, he would actually join in on the conversation. Other than Russel, Cassie was about the only other Slytherin that Rebecca could talk around. But eventually Cassie would say something that would make Ryan stop talking. Kirsta, who a sixth year Slytherin, had about the same affect as Cassie did. Rebecca had to admit it was a blessing in disguise not always talking to Ryan. It made her be more out going and meet new people and work with whoever she need to in class.
One day in late September, Rebecca found herself partnered with Charlie in Herbology lab. They were assigned to replanting different types of plants into different containers with the appropriate soil for each type of plant, identification, and proper care instructions for each. Rebecca gave out a sigh.
Charlie looked at her and asked, "What's the matter? Do you want a different partner?"
Rebecca turned towards him, put her hands on her hips and jokingly said, "No but you might want one before too long. I am not that good in Herbology. I always forget something."
They both laughed a little and Charlie said, "That's okay. I am not that good either. Well just have to take our time, double check everything, and do the best we can, okay?"
"Sounds good to me." Charlie and Rebecca worked diligently all period long and by the end they had did everything they were suppose to.
Professor Sprout came over at the end and checked everything. "Very good work you two. Everything is done as it is supposed to be," she said as she walked away.
Rebecca and Charlie looked at each other with smiles on their faces. "That was awesome," Charlie said.
"I have never gotten that assessment in this class before, not even in my old school," said Rebecca. They left the class for lunch happy and contented with the work they had did.
Rebecca was about to walk into the Great Hall, when she saw Lauren surrounded by group of Slytherin students. Lauren looked upset so Rebecca walked over to see what was going on.
As she got closer, she heard Lauren say, "Give it back to me, please."
'What did they take from her,' Rebecca thought as she got closer. Rebecca looked to see what it could be. Then she saw it. It was a piece of paper that a boy was holding over his head so that Lauren couldn't get it. 'It must be the map I gave her,' was the thought that raced through Rebecca's head.
She walked past a short brown haired, second year Gryffindor by the name of Aisha Cortes, who turned and whispered, "oh good Rebecca you got to help her." Rebecca nodded and took another step forward.
"Hey, what is going on?" Rebecca asked when she reached the group.
"Rebecca, it dropped out of my book and I was going to pick it up when he took it out of my grasp," Lauren said desperately.
Rebecca could see in Lauren's eyes that she was glad to see Rebecca, so she asked Lauren, "Is that what I think it is?" Lauren nodded.
"So they took my map from you," Rebecca said giving Lauren a look to let her know that everything would be okay. Lauren nodded again. Rebecca turned to look at the boy with the map and said, "Okay, give me back my map."
"And what if I don't," the boy said defiantly.
Rebecca was about to respond when Russel came up behind the boy and took the map out of his hands. Rebecca didn't know what to think about this. Would Russel give her the map without any problems or would she have to get it from him?
Everyone in the Hall was waiting to see what Russel was going to do. He turned to the boy and said, "I don't care what your reason for picking up this paper was or why you wouldn't return it to the owner when they asked. Your actions were disrespectful and since I have it now and it is going back to where it belongs." With that statement he handed it back to Rebecca. She gave a smile, told him thanks, walked over Lauren, and led her into the Great Hall for lunch.
When Rebecca turned around she saw Charlie and the rest of the guys on Gryffindor quidditch team had been behind her but had turn to go in for lunch.
"Rebecca, I am sorry. I don't use it to often anymore. I only keep it for emergency," Lauren said as they walked through the doors.
"That's okay. I am just glad that I saw it happening and could step in to sort of help. Here, take the map and just be careful who you drop it around that boy," said Rebecca trying to calm Lauren down.
Lauren nodded and took the map. She did feel a lot better now. The girls found two seats together. Aisha walked in and sat on the other side of Lauren and they started to talk.
Rebecca found herself sitting in front of Charlie. He looked up and asked, "Get everything settled out there?"
"Yeah, thanks for backing me up," Rebecca said.
"What?"
"I saw you walking away when Lauren and I were turning to come in. You weren't very far away from us."
"Yeah, well if you needed help we would have helped, but Russel jumped in and my motto is 'If someone has to cross a Slytherin and a Slytherin is willing to do it; then let them do it.'"
"I know that I haven't been here that long, but after what just happened outside I believe you have a good motto."
Charlie and Rebecca exchanged smiles again for the second time that day. For the rest of the day, the students buzzed about the commotion before lunch. A.J., being the nice guy he was, tried to get people to settle down, but Rebecca and Lauren still found themselves mobbed with questions about the incident.
Sara waited until later that night to sit down and talked to Rebecca about what was happened. As Rebecca wrote a letter to Stacy telling her the events of the day, Sara got Rebecca to open up more than anyone else had all day and to admit that she was relieved to see Charlie and the other guys when she turned towards the hall, but seeing Charlie was what really made her calm down about the what ifs that had been running through her mind.
By the end of the week, the questions had died down and Rebecca was thankful for it. The teachers were piling on the homework now and distractions were not welcomed in Rebecca's eyes. There were many times that Rebecca could be found in the library to get information on one of her subjects during a free period or after dinner.
One Thursday in early October free period, Rebecca walked into the library with a mission. Her goal was to get all of her research done so that she did not have to come into over the weekend. The first Quidditch game was going to be this weekend and Rebecca didn't want to be worried about research while watching the game.
She had a list of the books that she need and knew where most of them were except for one, Rare Magical Roots and Their Uses. After going to the Herbology section, where it was supposed to be in, Rebecca looked for it. She finally spotted the book on the top shelf. Rebecca didn't know whether she would be able to reach the book herself or not but she had to try. Getting up on her tip-toes, Rebecca stretched her right arm up to reach the book as far as she could and was only able to brush her fingers against the spine of the book.
She had just realized that she would not be able to get the book off shelf herself, when a hand came up over her right hand and took the book off the shelf.
"Was this the book that you wanted?" someone said as they handed the book to her.
"Yeah," said Rebecca as she turned around to see who got the book.
It was Charlie. Rebecca smiled at him and said, "Thanks so much."
"No problem. Maybe after your done you'll let me see it."
"Sure," Rebecca said as she and Charlie parted.
Rebecca had accomplished her mission after another trip to the library after dinner that day. She gathered up all her books and headed back to the common room.
Her load was very heavy and Rebecca was amazed that she had gotten herself and all the books up the portrait without dropping anything or tripping on a stair. As she was walking toward the fat lady, she heard footsteps behind her.
Before she could turn around to see who it was, Rebecca heard a voice say, "Hey, do you need help with those books?"
"That would be great," responded Rebecca as she turned around to see who she was talking to.
Once again it was Charlie. He was returning from quidditch practice. Rebecca couldn't help but smile as Charlie took some of the books from her. He was turning into her hero of the day.
"Thank you so much I didn't realize how heavy they all were," Rebecca told Charlie.
"Well, I am glad I can help. So what are all these books for?" asked Charlie looking at the titles of the books.
"They're research for the homework that was assigned for this weekend. I just wanted to get the research done before the match on Saturday."
"Sounds like a smart plan. Wish I would I thought of it. Are you excited about the match?"
"Yeah, it will be fun to see you, Greg, A.J., and everyone else play." After they gave the fat lady the password they walked in. Rebecca found an open table and put her books on it. Charlie put the books he was carrying on top of the other books.
As she settled in to her homework, Rebecca looked around to see all the students studying for different subjects. Lauren and a group of first years were studying for Charms, while Aisha and some second years were working on transfiguration homework. She continued to scan the room seeing what everone else was doing and finally turned to her own studies.
It was about 11:30 when Rebecca finished with everything that she wanted to do that night. She got all her homework done for the next day and a lot of the notes she need for the weekend done.
The only other people in the common room when Rebecca was getting up to leave were Charlie and Greg. They were doing homework and talking loud enough so that as Rebecca walked past them to get to her dorm room, she over heard part of their conversation.
"Dude, do you really need new arm pads?" Greg asked Charlie.
"Well, not right now. But my other ones are really getting beat up. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some new ones after Christmas when .," Charlie started to say, but stopped when he turned to see Rebecca walking past them rubbing her eyes.
"Tired, huh?" he asked her. Rebecca turned and nodded at him as she yawned. She was exhausted but she still noticed that Greg was staring at Charlie with a questioning look on his face.
Charlie did not seem to notice Greg's stare as he continued, "Did you get everything done that you wanted to?"
"Yeah, I got most of it done. I should have a pretty easy weekend, if the teachers don't add too much on top of it tomorrow."
"I think that is the hope of everyone." Rebecca shook her head in agreement.
"Before I forget, the book that you wanted to look at is on the top of that stack," she pointed at the books and Charlie nodded. "Well, good night guys," Rebecca said as she turned to the leave.
"Night, Rebecca," the guys said.
When she was out of sight and Greg thought she couldn't hear them, he turned to Charlie and asked, "So what do you think about Rebecca?"
There was a pause. Rebecca heard Greg's question and felt wide awake. She did not like to ease drop but she couldn't help herself this time, because she really wanted to know what people actually thought of her at Hogwarts, so she stopped where she was.
After a moment, Charlie finally answered, "She is a great girl. She's nice to everyone, she'll stand up to bullies, and she has no problem being herself. . What do you think of her?"
"Oh, I totally agree with you. I like her, too. It is really cool how she is so friendly to everyone. It is no wonder that she is so popular in such a short time. She helps any one that needs it and you forgot to say that she is really smart. I also find it fascinating that she doesn't seem to mind that she walks everywhere by herself. Could you imagine having that confidence that you don't need to be in a group all the time? . Oh wait I am talking to the guy that doesn't need a girlfriend when everyone else has one and has no problem taking off by himself when the group does date type stuff."
With that the guys started laughing and Charlie said something else, but Rebecca started heading up to her room and their voices had become more muffled.
She didn't care that she did not know what they were talking about now, because she knew that they thought she was great. Now she could alleviate her paranoid feeling that everyone was being nice to her because she was the "new kid." Rebecca made it up the stairs and to her bed.
'People actually like me around her,' was Rebecca last thought as she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.
'Well at least I will get to see a really familiar face this morning,' Rebecca thought to herself. She was about the only one with a positive spin on the class schedule. All the other fifth years were groaning.
"How can they do this to us," whined Greg.
"Yeah, it's bad enough that Snape doesn't like us but putting us in his way first thing off is cruel and unusual punishment," piped in James.
"Actually, what is cruel and unusual is having potions with Slytherin," corrected Colin. Everyone agreed to what he said.
Charlie just smirked and said, "Just stay out of Snape's way and follow the directions carefully and you won't lose any points."
"Yeah this from the guy that can't get on Snape's good side," laughed Greg. Charlie and his friends all have a good laugh at this.
"Yeah, well if Colin would pull a few pranks in that class then some of the heat would be off of me." Charlie said giving Colin a pleading looking.
"Don't give me those puppy dog eyes. I have gotten in enough trouble with him without any pranks." Colin stated
"We had some good pranks that we could have done in that class if it wasn't for Snape," Cathrine added disgusted at the thought of the wasted pranks.
"Oh you guys will come up with more pranks that Snape can't spoil," said Sara, "Now come on its time to get to class."
Everyone starts heading to his or her class. Rebecca gets up and starts walking to class alone. She didn't really know which where she is headed and didn't know who to ask exactly. All of the sudden, Charlie comes walking up to her.
"Do you know where you are going?" he asked.
"Other than the room is called the potion's room. No." responded Rebecca.
"Well, what you do is go done these stairs, take a left at the bottom, and it is the third door on your right. Got that?"
"Yeah, thanks," said Rebecca and she headed to class. She got to the right room with out any problems and got herself settled in. Ryan came in with his friends and got settled in the row ahead of Rebecca. They exchanged smiles and talked a little as the class room filled up. Charlie and his friend got to class right before they the professor showed up.
Professor Snape came in and started calling names out without hesitation.
"Greg Bell."
"Here"
"Cassandra Burk"
"Present"
As he called roll, Snape paced back and forth in the front of the classroom in an intimidating manner.
"Rebecca Carter."
"Here"
He stopped when he called her name and looked right at her.
"Oh, yes, the new student," he said and continued roll call. The way that he said those words made Rebecca very nervous. When he finished, he gave the class a smile that scared the whole class. What he said next scared them all to death.
"Let's see how much you all remember." Soft groans filled the room. Rebecca had a feeling that if anyone had complained any louder and points would be taken off.
"Now where do we begin?" Snape started. "Oh, yes. Can anyone tell me what is in a forgetfulness potion?"
No one seemed willing to answer Snape's question. Rebecca looked around the room and saw no one was even looking at Snape. Then Rebecca did something she never thought she would do. She raised her hand, even though she was nervous that she may not be right.
"Yes, Ms. Carter. What is the answer?" Rebecca gave him the list of ingredients for the potion. When she finished, Snape was staring at her. Rebecca wanted to find a hole to crawl in.
'Why did I do that? If he would have asked me I at least wouldn't have looked as big of a loser as I do volunteering a wrong answer,' Rebecca said to herself.
"Ms. Carter that was impressive. Not only did you give the right ingredients but also gave them in the proper mixing order. Five points to Gryffindor for your answer. Now can you explain to the class why it is important to know in what order to mix things?"
Rebecca didn't know whether Snape was trying to challenge her or what, but everyone's eyes were on her.
"I believe you need to be aware of mixing order, because adding in a different order may produce the same results in a general sense, but the strength of the potion comes into question."
When Rebecca finished, everyone turned to see Snape's reaction.
He smiled and said, "Very good. Now can you tell me anything else that can compromise a potion's integrity? If you answer correctly I will give five more points to Gryffindor."
Everyone turned toward Rebecca waiting for her answer.
"Well," Rebecca timidly started, "there are two more that I can think of off the top of my head. One being how long you simmer the potion and the other being how much you stir the potion. Both can change the consistence of the potion which can alter the effectiveness of the potion."
As before, the class turned to Snape to see if she was correct.
"Once again I have to say very good Ms. Carter. Ten points to Gryffindor, since you did not hesitate to give both answers. I suggest the rest of you take notes," Snape said glaring at the rest of the class, but smiling at Rebecca.
Rebecca was relieved that she had remember everything so well and everyone smiled at her which made her feel more at ease. The rest of the period went pretty much the same. Rebecca answered questions and the other students took notes.
At the end of the period, all the students packed up to leave. Several students walked up to Rebecca as she was putting her school supplies away to tell her good job.
As Rebecca headed out of the room, Snape stopped her at the door.
"That was quite a performance today. I don't think I have ever had a fifth year student that was aware of potion potency and what can affect it. Keep up the good work."
"Thanks," said Rebecca with a partial smile as she side-stepped out of the room. In the hall, Ryan came up to Rebecca.
"Way to go in Potions. I didn't know you knew that much about potions," Ryan said as his group came up to join him.
Ryan's friends made her nervous, so Rebecca responded timidly, "Well, it was one of my favorite subjects at my old school. I was just glad I remembered what he was asking questions on."
"You and the whole class. I don't think Snape has very been in that good of a mood after a class with Gryffindor."
"Well, I got to get going and finding my next class. I'll see you all later," Rebecca said and then she turned to leave.
She had just passed Russel when Charlie came running up to her. "That was awesome what you did in potions. You probably saved Gryffindor from losing points today instead of winning them. I don't even think James and Jacquelyn were ready for that oral pop quiz. Anyways, I know that you don't know your way around the school so the gang and I whipped up this map for you."
"Wow. Thank you so much." Rebecca took the map and saw that it was enchanted.
"All you do is say where you want to go and it will show you the way. Watch. I want to go to Herbology."
All of the sudden the map had a "you are here" sign on it and an arrow to the direction Rebecca needed to go.
Rebecca looked at it and turned to
Charlie to say, "I really appreciate this."
"Well we appreciated you taking the questions in Potions. Anyways, I'll see you in Herbology. We are going to hang back to make sure the map doesn't lead you astray."
"Okay, I'll see you all in class." Rebecca turned and left to follow the map.
She made it to class in fine shape thanks to the map. Unfortunately it was probably one of her least favorite subject so she wasn't too excited to be in the class. She was glad to make it to through the class and that it was now time for lunch.
She took out the map that Charlie gave her and said "I want to go to lunch." The map became animated and she headed to the Great Hall. After lunch there were more classes and Rebecca found her way to each of them with help of the map. She could not believe that Charlie and his friends thought to do that for her.
By the end of the week she had the lay out of the castle down and she wasn't even confused when the stairs changed. Rebecca was barely using the map any more. In fact, Rebecca felt that she was only carrying it around for security.
One day during lunch, Rebecca sat next to a first year student, who was in distress.
"Are you okay?" Rebecca asked her.
The first year looked up at her and said, "I don't know anyone here and I keep getting lost."
The poor girl's big brown eyes were welling up with tears. Rebecca immediately thought of the map. She hadn't used it in several days, and she really didn't need it any more.
"You know I remember that feeling. I actually have this map that helped me learn my way around here." Rebecca took the map out of her pocket and looked at the light brown-haired girl and said, "Here you can have it so that you won't get it lost any more."
"Thank you so much," the girl said as she took the map. "My name is Lauren Kimmel, by the way."
"Well it is very nice to meet you Lauren. I'm Rebecca Carter." The girls exchanged smile and Rebecca continued, "Now to work the map all you have to do is say 'I want to go to.' and tell them the class or place you want to go and it will show you how to get there."
"That's great. You won't believe how nervous I was getting when someone would even mention going out of the common room."
"Well now you don't have to worry about it." Lauren and Rebecca went back to eating. Rebecca was happy because Lauren looked so much calmer than before and she was actually talking to other first years about things other than schoolwork, which she later confessed to Rebecca that she really hadn't done before. Rebecca headed off to Defense against the Dark Arts satisfied that she had done a good deed.
Rebecca enjoyed Defense against the Dark Arts. Professor Quirrell lectured most of the class. He did ask a few questions which Rebecca answered without any hesitation.
At the end of the period, Rebecca had some free time before dinner so she headed up to her room to figure out what she need to do that night for homework.
When she entered her room she saw a brown barn owl standing at the foot of her bed. Rebecca looked at it for a moment and then realized that the owl belonged to her best friend from Beauxbaton, Stacy. She smiled, put her books on the bed, and walked over to the owl.
After untying letter from the owl's leg, Rebecca sat on her bed to read it as the owl looked at her waiting so see if she would send a reply.
Dear Rebecca,
Hey Girl! How is everything going at Hogwarts? Everything is going well here. It is really different not having you around. I think I have gotten in more trouble this past week than I have the whole time we had been here together. Just goes to show that I need a grounding force so that I don't get carried away with my plans. Anyways, everyone misses you here. I read your last letter out to everyone and for the last couple of days everyone keeps talking about how you should really be here with us. Professor DuFont was asking about you the other day. He was quite disgusted that his prize student didn't return this year. In Defense against the Dark Arts class, we sat there as DuFont asked question that only you would understand. I guess I should stop telling you what is going on here so that you don't get schoolsick for this place. I have to get going to class. Write soon.
Later,
Stacy
P.S. Colleen, Gwen, Scott, and the rest of the gang send their love.
Rebecca smiled as she finished the letter and got up to write Stacy back.
Dear Stacy,
Hey kid! How everything is going? Life is better since the last time I wrote. . I have to say that I don't feel nearly as nervous as I was before I got here. I got here fine and I now know my way around the castle. I should probably give credit to Charlie Weasley for making my transition easier. He and his friends made a magic map that assisted in me learning my way around. Anyways, don't, and I repeat don't, stop telling me what is going on there. I really want to know and don't worry I won't get too "schoolsick."(Cute word for it). Tell everyone hi for me and I will write them all when something more interesting comes up. I miss you all!
Later Days,
Rebecca
After rolling up the letter, Rebecca walked over to Stacy's owl and tied it on. The owl took off a minute later. Rebecca watched as the owl flew away. She didn't leave the window until she couldn't see the owl anymore. Sara walked into the room as Rebecca turned from the window.
"Hey, what is up?" Sara asked as she flopped on to her own bed.
Rebecca walked over to her own bed as she said, "Not much. I got a letter from my friend, Stacy, and I just sent my reply back."
"That's cool. Do you miss everyone back at Beauxbaton?"
"Yeah."
"What were they like?"
Rebecca started telling Sara about here friends at her old school pactically not missing a detail about them. She told of Stacy with her jokes and constantly changing crushes. Then she talked of Colleen and how she knew everything. Rebecca continued through her friends there giving their little quirks that she missed.
When Rebecca finished, Sara knew that Rebecca needed to talk about something more than her old school so she asked, "Its hard coming to a new school isn't it.?"
"Yeah, there is a different rhythm around here. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever be comfortable with it."
"Don't worry you'll settle in to it. Just wait and see." Sara smiled at Rebecca and Rebecca smiled back. "Come on let's go down for dinner." Sara got up and started to walk out the door.
"I'll be right behind you," Rebecca said slowly getting up thinking about what Sara said.
As Sara had said, Rebecca was finding herself settling into the rhythm of Hogwarts. There were classes like potions and defense against the dark arts that she excelled in giving her confidence with her schoolwork and eventually her place in the school.
Though she walked to classes by herself, Rebecca didn't have problems talking to anyone that she came into contact with. This made her quite popular not only with fifth years but also with all the other students of the school.
Students from Slytherin really were the only people Rebecca had trouble with. They seemed not to associate with too many people outside of Slytherin. Rebecca actually helped Colin and Cathrine set up a prank on Sam, Dan, and Hans when she purposely distracted them as she saw Colin and Cathrine switched their regular ink with disappearing ink, because she was tired of the guys following Ryan around like lost puppies.
She could talk to Ryan every once in a while, but conversations would be cut short, because Sam, or one of Ryan's other friends would show up and Rebecca felt the need to stop the conversation so Ryan could tell them what to do.
Russel was Ryan's only friend that seemed to make his own decisions. When he walked up to Ryan and Rebecca while they were talking, he would actually join in on the conversation. Other than Russel, Cassie was about the only other Slytherin that Rebecca could talk around. But eventually Cassie would say something that would make Ryan stop talking. Kirsta, who a sixth year Slytherin, had about the same affect as Cassie did. Rebecca had to admit it was a blessing in disguise not always talking to Ryan. It made her be more out going and meet new people and work with whoever she need to in class.
One day in late September, Rebecca found herself partnered with Charlie in Herbology lab. They were assigned to replanting different types of plants into different containers with the appropriate soil for each type of plant, identification, and proper care instructions for each. Rebecca gave out a sigh.
Charlie looked at her and asked, "What's the matter? Do you want a different partner?"
Rebecca turned towards him, put her hands on her hips and jokingly said, "No but you might want one before too long. I am not that good in Herbology. I always forget something."
They both laughed a little and Charlie said, "That's okay. I am not that good either. Well just have to take our time, double check everything, and do the best we can, okay?"
"Sounds good to me." Charlie and Rebecca worked diligently all period long and by the end they had did everything they were suppose to.
Professor Sprout came over at the end and checked everything. "Very good work you two. Everything is done as it is supposed to be," she said as she walked away.
Rebecca and Charlie looked at each other with smiles on their faces. "That was awesome," Charlie said.
"I have never gotten that assessment in this class before, not even in my old school," said Rebecca. They left the class for lunch happy and contented with the work they had did.
Rebecca was about to walk into the Great Hall, when she saw Lauren surrounded by group of Slytherin students. Lauren looked upset so Rebecca walked over to see what was going on.
As she got closer, she heard Lauren say, "Give it back to me, please."
'What did they take from her,' Rebecca thought as she got closer. Rebecca looked to see what it could be. Then she saw it. It was a piece of paper that a boy was holding over his head so that Lauren couldn't get it. 'It must be the map I gave her,' was the thought that raced through Rebecca's head.
She walked past a short brown haired, second year Gryffindor by the name of Aisha Cortes, who turned and whispered, "oh good Rebecca you got to help her." Rebecca nodded and took another step forward.
"Hey, what is going on?" Rebecca asked when she reached the group.
"Rebecca, it dropped out of my book and I was going to pick it up when he took it out of my grasp," Lauren said desperately.
Rebecca could see in Lauren's eyes that she was glad to see Rebecca, so she asked Lauren, "Is that what I think it is?" Lauren nodded.
"So they took my map from you," Rebecca said giving Lauren a look to let her know that everything would be okay. Lauren nodded again. Rebecca turned to look at the boy with the map and said, "Okay, give me back my map."
"And what if I don't," the boy said defiantly.
Rebecca was about to respond when Russel came up behind the boy and took the map out of his hands. Rebecca didn't know what to think about this. Would Russel give her the map without any problems or would she have to get it from him?
Everyone in the Hall was waiting to see what Russel was going to do. He turned to the boy and said, "I don't care what your reason for picking up this paper was or why you wouldn't return it to the owner when they asked. Your actions were disrespectful and since I have it now and it is going back to where it belongs." With that statement he handed it back to Rebecca. She gave a smile, told him thanks, walked over Lauren, and led her into the Great Hall for lunch.
When Rebecca turned around she saw Charlie and the rest of the guys on Gryffindor quidditch team had been behind her but had turn to go in for lunch.
"Rebecca, I am sorry. I don't use it to often anymore. I only keep it for emergency," Lauren said as they walked through the doors.
"That's okay. I am just glad that I saw it happening and could step in to sort of help. Here, take the map and just be careful who you drop it around that boy," said Rebecca trying to calm Lauren down.
Lauren nodded and took the map. She did feel a lot better now. The girls found two seats together. Aisha walked in and sat on the other side of Lauren and they started to talk.
Rebecca found herself sitting in front of Charlie. He looked up and asked, "Get everything settled out there?"
"Yeah, thanks for backing me up," Rebecca said.
"What?"
"I saw you walking away when Lauren and I were turning to come in. You weren't very far away from us."
"Yeah, well if you needed help we would have helped, but Russel jumped in and my motto is 'If someone has to cross a Slytherin and a Slytherin is willing to do it; then let them do it.'"
"I know that I haven't been here that long, but after what just happened outside I believe you have a good motto."
Charlie and Rebecca exchanged smiles again for the second time that day. For the rest of the day, the students buzzed about the commotion before lunch. A.J., being the nice guy he was, tried to get people to settle down, but Rebecca and Lauren still found themselves mobbed with questions about the incident.
Sara waited until later that night to sit down and talked to Rebecca about what was happened. As Rebecca wrote a letter to Stacy telling her the events of the day, Sara got Rebecca to open up more than anyone else had all day and to admit that she was relieved to see Charlie and the other guys when she turned towards the hall, but seeing Charlie was what really made her calm down about the what ifs that had been running through her mind.
By the end of the week, the questions had died down and Rebecca was thankful for it. The teachers were piling on the homework now and distractions were not welcomed in Rebecca's eyes. There were many times that Rebecca could be found in the library to get information on one of her subjects during a free period or after dinner.
One Thursday in early October free period, Rebecca walked into the library with a mission. Her goal was to get all of her research done so that she did not have to come into over the weekend. The first Quidditch game was going to be this weekend and Rebecca didn't want to be worried about research while watching the game.
She had a list of the books that she need and knew where most of them were except for one, Rare Magical Roots and Their Uses. After going to the Herbology section, where it was supposed to be in, Rebecca looked for it. She finally spotted the book on the top shelf. Rebecca didn't know whether she would be able to reach the book herself or not but she had to try. Getting up on her tip-toes, Rebecca stretched her right arm up to reach the book as far as she could and was only able to brush her fingers against the spine of the book.
She had just realized that she would not be able to get the book off shelf herself, when a hand came up over her right hand and took the book off the shelf.
"Was this the book that you wanted?" someone said as they handed the book to her.
"Yeah," said Rebecca as she turned around to see who got the book.
It was Charlie. Rebecca smiled at him and said, "Thanks so much."
"No problem. Maybe after your done you'll let me see it."
"Sure," Rebecca said as she and Charlie parted.
Rebecca had accomplished her mission after another trip to the library after dinner that day. She gathered up all her books and headed back to the common room.
Her load was very heavy and Rebecca was amazed that she had gotten herself and all the books up the portrait without dropping anything or tripping on a stair. As she was walking toward the fat lady, she heard footsteps behind her.
Before she could turn around to see who it was, Rebecca heard a voice say, "Hey, do you need help with those books?"
"That would be great," responded Rebecca as she turned around to see who she was talking to.
Once again it was Charlie. He was returning from quidditch practice. Rebecca couldn't help but smile as Charlie took some of the books from her. He was turning into her hero of the day.
"Thank you so much I didn't realize how heavy they all were," Rebecca told Charlie.
"Well, I am glad I can help. So what are all these books for?" asked Charlie looking at the titles of the books.
"They're research for the homework that was assigned for this weekend. I just wanted to get the research done before the match on Saturday."
"Sounds like a smart plan. Wish I would I thought of it. Are you excited about the match?"
"Yeah, it will be fun to see you, Greg, A.J., and everyone else play." After they gave the fat lady the password they walked in. Rebecca found an open table and put her books on it. Charlie put the books he was carrying on top of the other books.
As she settled in to her homework, Rebecca looked around to see all the students studying for different subjects. Lauren and a group of first years were studying for Charms, while Aisha and some second years were working on transfiguration homework. She continued to scan the room seeing what everone else was doing and finally turned to her own studies.
It was about 11:30 when Rebecca finished with everything that she wanted to do that night. She got all her homework done for the next day and a lot of the notes she need for the weekend done.
The only other people in the common room when Rebecca was getting up to leave were Charlie and Greg. They were doing homework and talking loud enough so that as Rebecca walked past them to get to her dorm room, she over heard part of their conversation.
"Dude, do you really need new arm pads?" Greg asked Charlie.
"Well, not right now. But my other ones are really getting beat up. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some new ones after Christmas when .," Charlie started to say, but stopped when he turned to see Rebecca walking past them rubbing her eyes.
"Tired, huh?" he asked her. Rebecca turned and nodded at him as she yawned. She was exhausted but she still noticed that Greg was staring at Charlie with a questioning look on his face.
Charlie did not seem to notice Greg's stare as he continued, "Did you get everything done that you wanted to?"
"Yeah, I got most of it done. I should have a pretty easy weekend, if the teachers don't add too much on top of it tomorrow."
"I think that is the hope of everyone." Rebecca shook her head in agreement.
"Before I forget, the book that you wanted to look at is on the top of that stack," she pointed at the books and Charlie nodded. "Well, good night guys," Rebecca said as she turned to the leave.
"Night, Rebecca," the guys said.
When she was out of sight and Greg thought she couldn't hear them, he turned to Charlie and asked, "So what do you think about Rebecca?"
There was a pause. Rebecca heard Greg's question and felt wide awake. She did not like to ease drop but she couldn't help herself this time, because she really wanted to know what people actually thought of her at Hogwarts, so she stopped where she was.
After a moment, Charlie finally answered, "She is a great girl. She's nice to everyone, she'll stand up to bullies, and she has no problem being herself. . What do you think of her?"
"Oh, I totally agree with you. I like her, too. It is really cool how she is so friendly to everyone. It is no wonder that she is so popular in such a short time. She helps any one that needs it and you forgot to say that she is really smart. I also find it fascinating that she doesn't seem to mind that she walks everywhere by herself. Could you imagine having that confidence that you don't need to be in a group all the time? . Oh wait I am talking to the guy that doesn't need a girlfriend when everyone else has one and has no problem taking off by himself when the group does date type stuff."
With that the guys started laughing and Charlie said something else, but Rebecca started heading up to her room and their voices had become more muffled.
She didn't care that she did not know what they were talking about now, because she knew that they thought she was great. Now she could alleviate her paranoid feeling that everyone was being nice to her because she was the "new kid." Rebecca made it up the stairs and to her bed.
'People actually like me around her,' was Rebecca last thought as she drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face.