Ivy's displeasure was evident on her face. It was ludicrous to expect a girl of her training to share a boat with these bumbling whelps. Furthermore, she never knew if she might be sharing a boat with one of those mudbloods. Her nose involuntarily wrinkled. Quickly, however, she gathered her composure. She looked straight ahead and her face softened to mild distain. She pulled her robes close around her to prevent anyone from soiling them with their possibly "tainted" hands. With a lurch, the boat started across the lake heading for Hogwarts.
Ivy gave an uncharacteristic sigh. Here in the boat filled with eleven year olds, she was unconcerned about her reputation. They could easily be scared into submission later. Her thoughts drifted to the train ride she had just taken. She felt disgusted as she remembered how she acted the entire trip.
Upon boarding the train, Ivy did what any good Durmstrang student would do. She scouted out the most powerful people on the train and sought to make an alliance. Much to her pleasure, this brought her into contact with Draco Malfoy again. She smiled as she remembered, her heart beating faster. Quickly, however, the smile faded as she then recalled the remainder of the trip. No one person had ever had the effect on her that Draco had. It was almost as if she forgot who she was. Where she used to be confident and collected, she felt insecure and frazzled. She was always saying the wrong thing and acting, well, stupid. The two goons he carted around with him were nothing. Ivy could control them like she held the strings and they were marionettes. All she had to do was bat her eyelashes and flip her hair and they were putty in her hands. But Draco, there was a different story. By the end of the ride, Ivy had spilled so many drinks, fumbled so many sentences, and said so many insulting things that she was sure Draco thought her eligible for the local asylum. If Ivy had been capable of crying, she might have at that moment.
Slowly, she became aware of a petite bond girl staring at her. At first, Ivy simply tried to ignore the girl's stone cold stare. Eventually, though, the task became impossible. She turned suddenly to the girl, her cheeks coloring with irritation. "Didn't your mother ever tell you that staring is a weak and unintelligent past time?" she asked, her voice harsh and quick.
The girl's eye's widened in fear. "I'm…I'm sorry," she stammered quickly. "It's just that you're much older than the rest of us, and…" her voice became weak. She looked down at her lap. "I'm sorry, and no, she never did."
Ivy snorted. "That's evident. Well, now you know, see that you remember it." She turned around quickly, her new black robes rustling.
***
Alona left the room that had been her quarters for the past two weeks. With a smile, she walked into the common room. She would be glad to be rid of Severus and his attentions. He was the most unbearable person she had ever known. Alona had discovered that he was the head of Slytherin House. From the information she had gathered from Hogwarts: A History, he should be just like those she left from Durmstrang. She supposed that was why Dumbledore had made him her guardian at Hogwarts. A little piece of home she scoffed. However, she found that he was annoyingly concerned about her. He hovered over her like an ominous cloud, asking her if she needed anything, or needed to talk, or if she felt strange at all. He'd never say what he meant by this, just if she felt "strange." On one such questioning session, she had lost control. "Strange!" she had yelled. "Strange? You want to know if I feel strange?! Well maybe I do! If your father kicked you out of his life for being a disappointment, banishing you from even writing him, maybe you'd feel strange. If you were forced to attend a school with mudbloods, you'd feel strange! If you were forced to stay with some overbearing, greasy-haired freak of a pure-blood, you'd feel strange! So, yes, there, I feel strange! Find the answer you were looking for?!" At this she had stormed off. The subject was never broached again. Alona was sure that he had more than a few screws loose. One too many potion disasters, she often thought.
She closed the door. After whispering a quick, "invisiarte," to hide the professor's door from anyone passing by she headed toward the great hall. He had told her to be there around 6 PM. It was 5:55. In the two weeks that she had been at the school, she had been allowed to roam where ever she pleased. She had made good use of this. She knew so many secret passages and tunnels that she had taken to writing them down in a notebook. Of course, the ink was only visible to her. What better way to secure her innocence should the book fall into the wrong hands? This time, however, she took the normal route to the great hall. There was no sense in drawing untoward attention to herself so soon. If she did it right, she would never get caught.
She walked down the grand staircase. The candlelight threw shadows on the walls. She smiled inwardly at the seemingly random dance. She slowed her pace as she walked up behind Professor McGonagall. No need to frighten the witch, she already was leery of Alona.
McGonagall was giving the traditional "First Year" speech. Alona had come near the end. "Finally, there are two of you who are not new students, just new to Hogwarts." Alona raised an eyebrow in surprise. "You two will wait until the first years have completed the sorting and then we will commence with yours. So, Ivy Belladonnavich, I see you're here." Alona's breath caught in her chest. She felt her fists tighten into a fist. The one good reason for leaving Durmstrang had followed her here. "and, oh where is she?" McGonagall looked around the group. "I told Severus to have her here at six!" she was talking to herself. Suddenly, Alona smiled. She knew that Ivy was here, but Ivy did not know she was. She could have the pleasure of watching Ivy squirm at the realization.
She stepped around McGonagall. "I am here, professor." As she said this, she looked directly at Ivy, a sneer spreading across her face. Ivy's face cracked. The steely expression she had managed to maintain throughout the day finally burst in one quick second. An emotion close to rage played across her features. Alona simply beamed.
"Oh, good, Miss Karkaroff, I was getting worried. You and Miss Belladonnavich are to wait until the first years have finished being sorted. Then you two will get your chance."
Alona turned her gaze from Ivy to the woman, "Thank you Professor." She walked toward Ivy smiling and linked elbows with the red head. "I am sure Ivy and I will have a lot to catch up on." Anyone who didn't know the manipulative ways of Durmstrang students would have thought that Alona and Ivy were best friends, reunited after a long parting, such was the seeming genuineness of her statement.
The group began filing into the great hall. Alona walked arm in arm with Ivy. "Hello, Ivy. It is so nice to see you," she said patronizingly.
"And you, Alona. You know, we had all thought you were sent away from school, shamed. I am glad to see you're doing so well for one who has let her father down so horribly." Her voice rolled like hot sugar.
Ivy had obviously recovered from her initial shock. "Oh, I have, Ivy dear. But you, how horrible it must be for you to have your parents send you here, and you did not even shame them. I can't imagine why they would make you attend this mudblood safe-house of a school. It's so beneath your status. " Alona batted her eyelashes in mock innocence.
The barb had its desired effect. If looks could kill, Alona would have died instantly. "Listen, you little…" but she was cut short. McGonagall called the first name.
Ivy and Alona sat it stony silence through the entire list of Hogwarts First Years. Murmurs ran through the hall as the students noticed that two older girls were standing where the rambunctious group of first years had been. Only one table sat in quiet indifference. The members of Slytherin already knew about Ivy Belladonnavich. They even knew how she set the cat on fire when she was three. That girl rambles on and on about nothing, Draco thought. He smacked his lips in annoyance. It was truly sad how these mudbloods all gawked at anything unexpected. He hadn't even bothered to give her a glance. He felt a jab in his ribs and wheeled on the source. "Listen, Goyle, I'd hate to start the year off as a toad. Do that again, and I'll see to it."
The boy stared down at the table. "but… Draco," he stammered, "there are two girls."
"What? I only knew of one on the train." Draco turned to look at the girls. There was the girl he had met this afternoon. She was promising enough. Her full hips and chest definitely excited the young Slytherin in certain ways. In other ways, she was a bit of a shame to the pure-blood line. He had been silently questioning his father's taste in families all day the way she bumbled her way through the train ride. Still, that figure…he would simply call on her when he needed to take care of that certain something.
Standing next to her, however, was another girl. If the redhead exuded lust, this girl was the embodiment of grace. She seemed to be touched by the moon itself. Her body was lithe, with slender curves gently accented by her black robes. Her pale skin shimmered in the candlelight of the hall. Her lips looked as if she were constantly pouting. They were naturally blood-red and full. Above her lips, a slender nose led to violet, almond-shaped eyes that looked innocent but wise at the same time. Her raven-black hair was long and sleek, and it framed her face with the softness of silk. A shock of silver hair extended from the right side of her bangs. It gracefully fell across her eyes. Draco inhaled sharply. Standing before him not a girl touched by the moon, but the moon itself. He was not the only student to take notice of the dark haired beauty, however. At the Gryffidor table, Harry Potter could not take his eyes off the new arrival.
Dumbledore stood up. "Now, now," he began, quieting the students. "This year, we have a unique situation. Two students have come to us from Durmstang. I hope you will make them feel welcome." Draco smiled. A student from Durmstrang was sure to end up in Slytherin.
McGonagall called the first girl, "Ivy Belladonnavich." Ivy walked confidently up to the stool. She laughed slightly to herself at the idea that a musty old hat could read her. At Durmstrang, they used crystals. That made sense. Every beginning witch learns about the magical properties of crystals. But a hat? Slowly, McGonagall set the hat down on her head.
"Ah, Miss Belladonnavich, I remember your mother. She did well in Slytherin, as you will," It spoke to Ivy.
Ivy sneered. Remember my mother? And just who is my mother? She couldn't believe that the hat could know her mother. After all, she had had a different name then.
"Yes, Miss O'Rourke. She was much like you are; fiery, powerful, intimidating. That being the case, it best be…Slytherin!" It yelled aloud. The Slytherin table erupted in cheers, although it was not a big surprise. When the cheers died down, McGonagall read the last name. Draco and Harry listened very attentively. "Alona Karkaroff." There was a collective gasp from the students. They could hardly believe that the name was mere coincidence. Furthermore, why would the daughter of Durmstrang's headmaster come to Hogwarts? But she was there, standing before them.
Alona picked her chin up and walked toward the stool ignoring the whispers. Draco grinned eagerly. He was quickly going over how he would introduce himself. In a matter of seconds, he had run five different scenarios in is head and decided which would be most impressive. After all, the headmaster's daughter had to be Slytherin material.
The hat settled on Alona's head. "Well, well…very interesting. Yes, we had thought you were dead." For the second time that evening, Alona raised an eyebrow in surprise. You must have me mixed up with someone else, she thought. I have never been 'thought' to be dead. "Actually," the hat mused, "I still thought you were dead until just now. Others may still doubt the truth, as you do, but I assure you, Miss Ravenclaw, you are very much alive."
Terror and disbelief seized Alona "No!" she screamed as she jumped up and tore the hat off her head. "You lie!" She was shaking uncontrollably as she looked up to see the entire school staring at her. Like clockwork, her training kicked in. Her face returned to its unreadable mask. Her movements became smooth and calculated. "Excuse me, Professor McGonagall. Your hat said some…questionable things." She effortlessly bent down and swept up the hat. Sitting back down, she set the hat back on her head.
"Ah…not ready I see, well, on to other things," the hat resumed. "You are very powerful…yes and wise. Your have a great amount of potential beyond what you already are capable of. You have a great need to prove yourself, definitely. This perhaps more than almost anything. I can see that you will be great. Slytherin will allow you an easier time of this. But…I see your challenge lies somewhere else…Yes, you would be bored by the simplistic methods of Slytherin. For you, it is best to follow your lineage to…Ravenclaw!" Alona gracefully stood up and made her way to the Ravenclaw table as the students clapped nervously. Her mind was racing with what the sorting hat had said to her. She didn't notice the two boys following her movements. She didn't notice the look of relief on the face of the boy with glasses. Nor did she notice the look of shocked disappointment on the silver Slytherin's face. But Draco's reaction did not go completely unnoticed. Ivy took note of his reaction from the other side of the table. Under the table, her nails had begun to draw blood from the palm of her hands. She was not going to let Alona ruin everything for her, particularily not with Draco Malfoy.