The four girls met up again just as the professor walked away from
Mel.
Dani asked, "Hey Mel, what was that about?"
Mel said, "I duno, Professor McGonagall wanted to speak to me. I don't know about what."
"Hey Shade, come on!" A group of Slytherin called. Shade looked over and asked her three friends if they wanted her to stay.
Kit said, "No, go with those guys, you need to find your dorm anyways."
Dani said, "Yeah but meet us at breakfast."
"Yeah, do that," said Mel, sidetracked by looking at the expecting teachers.
Kit said to Dani, "Y'know, it just dawned on me, we need to find someone from Gryffindor." They saw two seventh-year girls they had met over at the Gryffindor table, Hermione and Lavender, so they asked Mel if she wanted them to wait. She told them to go, so Dani and Kit hesitantly walked over to the two girls.
"Hermione, just ask Ron, you have been friends with him for a long time. Go to the next level, ask him-" Lavender was cut short when two of the exchange students walked over to them and asked them where their dorms were, so they set off, with the girls, to the tower.
A few stragglers were left in the Great Hall, but other than that, it was the teachers. Mel looked at the headmaster as he signaled for a door that looked like a tapestry. She followed him into a room that didn't look like much, but was well protected, probably used for testing magic. All the teachers started to file in. They sat on benches along the walls, but Professor Dumbledore stood in front of her with Professor McGonagall on his right and another man on his left. The man felt confused about Mel, which she sensed. He did not know if he should dislike me or not. Professor McGonagall seemed very interested in her, but Mel could not read Dumbledore. Many teachers also seemed interested in Mel, which made her nervous.
Dumbledore introduced Mel to all the teachers, telling their jobs also, and Mel remembered them all with ease. Lastly he said, "This is Professor Snape, our Potions teacher and as you have already met, Professor McGonagall, our Transfigurations teacher."
Mel bowed her head politely, saying, "I thank you for the introduction."
"Now to the important thing Melanie, you received my letter judging from your fast friendship with the Durmstrang students."
"Yes," Mel said, thinking back to the letter.
"Meaning you also read the part of the letter where I said I looked forward to teaching you separately. Did you understand what that meant?"
"Professor, I must say that part of the letter did confuse me. I have no idea what you meant by that." Mel was eyeing a shabby looking teacher introduced earlier as Lupin, he seemed important in some way.
"Well Melanie, Madame Maxime has watched you, she has seen some of your many skills. Do you not see auras around people presenting their moods?"
'Yes I do... that isn't that special, I can just tell someone's mood."
"Melanie, no other student can do that. You are special, you are an individual, and you will go far. You have many powers that still may be unlocked. We," motioning mostly towards Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and himself, "are here to help you to achieve that. Now Melanie, we would just like to know how far along your powers are. Please take out your wand."
"Professor, I do not have it. It is in my trunk." Mel said quietly.
"Call it to you," said Dumbledore with a glint of excitement in his eyes.
Mel had seen Madame Maxime do this before, so she would try. She said, "Willow of my wand, come to me. Unicorn hairs that sacrificed themselves for me, come to me, 14 inches of magic, come to me." There was a white light over Mel's out reached hand and her wand gracefully landed there. Mel said quietly, "I didn't know I could do that."
Dumbledore said, "Good my child, now please, if you could, turn this chair," motioning to a chair behind him, "into silver."
Mel grinned and said, "That's easy... Argentelusia." The chair flashed white then turned silver. Professor McGonagall went over to the chair and touched it. She said breathlessly, "It's real."
Why are all the teachers staring at me Mel thought nervously. And why were they excited to see silver... Mel felt a reason to justify herself, "Professors, I have been able to do that for the past three years. In Beauxbatons, it is not uncommon, being surrounded by silver."
"Yes Melanie," said Snape, "But these children make impure, unnatural silver-"
"And yours most definitely is." Cut in Dumbledore. "You have skills we will train to be more, because you can go far. Now, for the third and last test of tonight. Please, try to read Professor Snape's mind for us."
"Um, ok, but usually, I try not to..."
"You have his permission," said Professor McGonagall crisply.
"Ok..." Mel saw Snape's aura, and he was beginning to think about liking her. His mind was private and covered, so even though Mel found a crack in his minds defense, she backed off. "I... I can't." Mel lied.
Dumbledore said, "I see... I see," even happier than before, which confused Mel. "Now Mel, please, we will have much leniency towards you, you have passed your first three tests with flying colors. You did something well you have never done before, you do something perfect not many adults can do, and you know not to go too far with your magic," said Dumbledore, his eyes sparkling towards professor Snape. "Please, go around Hogwarts, get acquainted with the school. You may go if you don't have any questions... oh yes, and please meet Professor Snape in his office in three days. Ok Melanie?"
"Yes, thank you very much, everyone," said Mel, bowing her head again and leaving quickly.
Mel left the room and saw the gray/ blue aura boy and a red head trying to get a puffball of an owl down from the ceiling. They were trying to bait him with food, but the bird was too ecstatic. Mel smirked and said, "Cute Tweet Accio," as the bird flew, half voluntarily, half from the spell into Mel's hands. Mel held it, giggling and said something to it. The dumbfounded redhead seemed to be its owner, so Mel said, "Hey, what's its name?"
Ron turned beet red and said, "Pig, just call it Pig."
"Ok," Mel said laughing, "I think I will stick with tweet." She placed the bird back into his hands.
Harry nudged Ron in the ribs and said, "Ron, you should bring Pig back up to the Owerly."
Before Ron could protest, he saw Harry look almost hopeful for the first time, since Sirius died, so he said, "Sure." Ron walked away, restraining the wiggling bird. Harry said, "Melanie, right?"
Mel said, "Yeah, but please call me Mel though. And you are..."
Harry said, "You don't know who I am! Why were you staring at me then? You have to know-"
"Ok, new girl here, think you could be any more big headed? Are you like the Head Boy or something?" said Mel, walking away, raising her voice for the first time.
Harry caught up, saying, "Yeah I am Head Boy, but I am sorry... Lets keep walking, before we get in trouble"
"Whatever, that's ok," said Mel, "I just thought you were upset, I sort see people's moods, and you looked like really sad... I don't know who you are."
Harry said, "I am Harry Potter."
Mel stopped and looked at Harry's green eyes and messy black hair. She looked up to his forehead and he voluntarily pulled back his bangs to show the thin lightening scar lay across his forehead. She said, in no more than a whisper, "That explains it all."
Harry said, "What, everyone always assumes stuff, knows stuff about me, so what now?"
Mel said, "Calm down, I heard about your godfather from Madame Maxime, who heard about it from Hagrid. It explains why you looked so sad, I am sorry for bringing it up. That's all."
Harry looked at Mel, and could see she really didn't care about him being famous. He couldn't let her get away. He said, "Hey Mel, to make up on how I went out on you like that, well, 7th years are allowed to go to Hogsmead every weekend, so on Saturday, do you wanna go get a drink or something?"
That greatly surprised Mel, but she said, "Sure Harry, for you, anytime." They both grinned widely and started to walk down the halls of Hogwarts together. Mel looked over to Harry and saw a hint of gold shine through his gray aura. Mel smirked and knew for the first time that she would really like it here.
Shade was meeting up with Mel, Kit and Dani when someone called out her name. "Hey Shade, Come on!" It was a girl named Pansy Parkinson. Pansy was also a Slytherin. Shade looked at Dani as if pleading for there to be some reason for her not to go, but Kit opened her mouth first, "No, go with them, you have to find your dorm anyway." She glared at Kit but then followed her fellow Slytherins down the corridor.
"We are meeting up with some other people before we head to the common room," Pansy stated merrily. She seemed to be the head female of the bunch.
That's the first to change they walked up a flight of stairs that seemed to move whenever someone had to use it. She smiled at this. She wondered how many times these exact stairs would make her late for her classes. The group of students was waiting on the third floor. Shade recognized three of the kids, the other two she didn't know. Two of the three were Crabbe and Goyle. Then there was...Malfoy.
She automatically put on the 'reserve' that she always put up whenever she wanted to shield an emotion. Shade was disoriented. She had never felt this way before. OH MY GOSH!! She totally digged Malfoy!!
But what was there not to like? A voice in her head said. Another said, He is lovely. He is Hot, he is a little evil, blushes when I come by, and did I mention HOT!? Malfoy's sleek blonde hair was combed back, out of his face and his gray/blue eyes, well, they were to drown in.
And that is exactly what she did not do. Of all the things she could do, she glared at him.
"What is she doing here?!" Goyle blurted out. Then Shade redirected her glare to him. She muttered a sleeping hex under her breath and Goyle passed out.
"Lets go." Malfoy said, figuring it was Shades fault, the way her eyes dilated. Another student looked from Malfoy to Shade to the heap of Goyle and said, "We aren't just going to leave him here, are we?"
Then Malfoy glared at the obviously new student. He looked sharply at Pansy and demanded, "Who is she?" She said simply, "A first year." Then Malfoy looked at the first year and raised his eyebrows as if saying "What ever, you don't question me" then started to walk down the corridor.
Shade was amused, almost amazed by there way of top leaders. It took only one guess, even for the slowest person in the world, to guess who was the top male in Slytherin. Everyone coincidentally followed him. Shade laughed (more like choked) to herself. Malfoy glanced over his shoulder to see who was laughing and what was so funny, and then saw Shade. He raised his eyebrows again, but this time as if questioning an equal. All the while, Shade just glared at him, raising an eyebrow in response.
Both Shade and Malfoy walked in silent unison at the head of the group as Pansy and the rest of the Slytherins talked about magic and new hexes they had learned over the summer. Every once in a while, Pansy would ask Shade questions about Durmstrang, but other then that, her conversations revolved around her and Malfoy, which almost worried Shade. When Pansy did ask her about her old school, she either nodded or shook her head. She was busy at memorizing the passages and stairwells, not to mention she didn't feel like talking to the one who may have taken Malfoy. She was absolutely positive that alone she would be late for her class (es) tomorrow.
"Shade?" Pansy said questioningly. She had been zoning out again. Shade just looked at Pansy and said, "Huh?"
"I wanted to know if it was true that you had Ridgebacks tied to carriages for transportation to and from the town nearest your school."
"Oh, um... yeah it's true." Shade said shrugging.
"I think that's awesome!" Pansy said excitedly.
"Yeah, whatever," Shade said simply.
They walked a little longer until they reached the dungeons. "Here we are." Draco Malfoy stated. They stood in front of a picture with a man with pale skin, red snake eyes, black hair, and a snake around his neck. "Passss...word?" The man asked,
Malfoy said, "Mandrake tongue." At that, the portrait swung open with no hesitation. "Welcome to the Dorm of the Snakes. Come on, have a seat, I wont bite." Malfoy said with a bit of a laugh as he stretched out on a couch. Shade sat and stretched out on one of the other couches. "So what do you think?" said Malfoy sitting up, motioning to the rest of the room.
"S' ok, I adore the colors, and the couches are comfortable, but the walls need a little work." Shade stated blankly. Looking at the walls, there was only one picture of Snape there. As if on cue, the portrait frame opened, but this time, the head of the house walked in. "First year Syltherins MUST be in the common rooms by 8 PM. This year, the seventh year's curfew is at 10 PM." Some people started to clap and hiss while others did nothing. Shade was one of the others.
Shade had just thought of something important, perhaps the most important thing in her life out of school. Nikolas. Her most beloved creature. Her black cat. She liked to think of it as a mini black panther. Shade jumped up and walked up to Pansy, for she knew they would share a dorm. 'Where is the dorm?" She asked anxiously. "Upstairs, second to the right. Why?" Shade didn't answer. Malfoy looked a little concerned and if Snape noticed, he didn't care. She walked lightly, gracefully up the stairs. Shade could feel eyes on her back but she didn't care. One, two, on the right. She opened the door hastily. Automatically, she felt claws dig into her leg. Shade scooped him up and kissed his head. Shade sat on her bed with her cat. Shade could tell which bed was hers by looking at them. Two were in shadow, so she couldn't see them, but one bed had pansies (the flower) on it, obviously Pansy's. Shade's bed had her stuff on it, all black with black fuzzy pillows. Her kitten was busy rubbing and purring at the pillows. This robe is annoying Shade thought to herself. She would change and go back to the common room. Shade changed out of her robes and old clothes into tight black pants with a chain and a black tank top with a picture of a skull on it. A smiling skull. When people looked at her shirt, it was enchanted to wink at them. She took Nikolas in her hands and walked back down the stairs.
No one seemed to notice her 're-presence' except the one person that Shade wanted to. Malfoy. For the first time in front of him she smiled. Nikolas always made her happy and so did Draco. Malfoy seemed to be smiling too. For some reason beyond her reach she looked right at him and smiled. Just a half smile. She saw him skim over her body and she could tell her shirt winked at him. Her outfit was from America, but she enchanted her shirt. Shade thought it was cool. Malfoy had moved over and without thinking she sat down next to him. "You must be Shade Shardey?" Professor Snape looked at her almost smiling. "Yes sir," she answered politely. She planned on getting on his good side. Professor Snape seemed pleased and automatically started to brag about her. "This is Shade Shardey. She is the new exchange student from Durmstrang and will be staying here for the entire year. You," he said, motioning to Draco, "shall get her to her classes and the places she wishes to go without hesitation, since I saw to it that you had almost all the same classes." Draco nodded violently. "It is only 9: 00 PM so you have an hour to give her the ground tour. She is our guest and therefore should be treated as one." Snape had a glint in his eye as he looked at her and bid the rest goodnight. Shade was petting her kitten behind the ears when Malfoy said, "Shall we go then?" Shade responded, "Yeah sure, we've got to get this over with anyways." He shrugged his shoulders in agreement and then it was their turn to disappear through the 'hole'. Shade set Nikolas on the slippery corridor. As they were walking for what seemed to be 45 minutes, they noticed they had lost track of time. Only did it matter when they saw an old man with a cat walking the halls. The old man's cat growled at Nikolas and he growled back. "What are you doing out after hours?" The old man growled. "Who are you?" Shade hissed back. Draco nudged her, and when she looked at him, he shook his head. "I'm the caretaker of this place, my names Flitch. And who might you be?" Draco answered for Shade, bragging, "She is the new student from Durmstrang." What is with people bragging about me Shade thought suspiciously and curiously. Before she knew it, she was in a conversation with Flitch. Draco looked kind of surprised, but ended up joining in. The conversation had started when Shade put her cat on the ground again. Flitch was interested in its breed, so Shade told him it was a mini panther. Then the conversation steered over to his cat, Mrs. Norris. They even talked about how, in Draco's second year Flitch was devastated when he thought his cat was dead. Then eventually Flitch checked the time and stated, "Its 9:45, you should go back to your house." They said their goodbyes and left. Shade and Draco walked the opposite way down the corridor in silence. The only noise was of Nikolas's claws scraping the ground as they walked. The silence was broken when Draco asked, "How d'you do that?" Shade responded lightly, "Do what?"
"No one has ever talked to Flitch like that. How did you?" Draco asked bluntly.
"He is a nice old man, and for your question, it was Nikolas." Nodding towards the kitten trotting in front of them. Draco just smiled in response. It was silent until they reached the common room. Draco sat on one of the couches and Shade stretched out comfortably on the one facing Draco's.
"Man! This school gets weirder by the second," exclaimed Kit.
Dani looked at her and nodded. That Hermoine girl had taken the two to the stairwell. As soon as they stepped on the first set of stairs, they started moving.
It took a while to get to the 7th floor. As soon as they got there, they walked through a huge hall filled with statues and armors. All the moving pictures got the attention of the First Years, but it barely fazed Dani. She was too busy concentrating on how to get to the picture of the Fat Lady, where the group stopped.
Kit was rambling on with Hermione and this girl standing next to her. Lavender, I think. Don't know why her parents called her that though. Kinda stupid to me. I miss Shade a little. She'd at least laugh at how stupid that chicks name was. I could tell she really didn't want to leave us. But noooo... Kit had to say she needed to look for her dorm room... Bamma
Dani was very anxious to get out of her robes. She didn't understand how anyone could wear them. What she would give up for her old leather robes. A lot warmer also. At least the food was good. As these thoughts flooded Dani's mind, she found she had missed the password. Ah well. I'll ask Kit later
Dani walked behind the three girls silently, taking in her surroundings. The common room was big and warm, which she loved. Immediately, I asked where my room was.
"Up the stairs to the right. First door on the left wall," directed Hermione promptly. Nodding my head in thanks, I ran up my stairs and to where my room was.
I sighed when I closed the door, and then started thinking. Bad, this is bad! Badder than bad! I. Had. Roommates. I hate roommates; I was given a single room before because I couldn't handle roommates. It's not like I'm psycho or anything, it's just that I love my privacy. Then Dani figured out she was still talking to herself and stopped immediately.
Sighing, she walked to the third four-poster bed from the right that had her stuff on it. She rummaged through her clothes, and pulled out red leather pants and a white top that said, 'Bitch'. Her favorite tight outfit, otherwise, she would only wear baggy clothes. I'm like that
Leaving her itchy clothes on the floor by her bed, Dani walked out the door and back down the stairs. Dani spotted Kit and walked over to her. Kit looked at her and smiled, "So that's why you were in a hurry."
Dani grinned and plopped down onto the couch next to her. Dani knew she wasn't much of a talker, never was. She just closed her eyes and started to daydream...
"Attention, please!" Dani snapped her eyes open, pulling out of her reverie. Looking around, she noticed that the grouch, Professor McGonagall was in the center of the common room. Kit looked a little excited about something, but Dani couldn't tell what. Shrugging to herself, she turned her eyes to the Grouch, Dani's official name for her. "As you've already seen and heard, we have two new students, Danica Gregoria and Kitsune Maxwell," she looked at them both, giving Dani a strange look before continuing, "They are to be show around to their classes and their school. Any volunteers are welcome." Then turning to the prefects and us (Dani heard about them from Hermione, who was the Head Girl). "7th years are allowed out but must be in the common room by 10:00 PM. You may go back to what you were doing." With a wave of her hand, she dismissed everyone. Dani looked at the clock and groaned. It was 9 o'clock already. Damn Dani turned to ask Kit something but found her in deep conversation with Lavender about the classes. Kit looked really happy and Dani didn't want to ruin her fun. Yet. Bored as Hell, Dani muttered a few hexes under her breath and kept her cool so others wouldn't notice. Seconds later, a girl screams that there is a rat in her shirt. Some boys near the fireplace laughed, so they got all the blame. To Dani, it was hilarious. Dani got this smirk on her face and Kit was trying to be angry but ended up grinning instead. Dani grinned, knowing she wasn't that good. But then Dani felt a clutch in her gut and she knew she was about to See something. Dani closed her eyes and saw pictures flying through her head. Black and orange cats; Shade smiling at that Draco kid; Mel doing magic on a chair; and finally Mel sucker punching a really hot guy. Shaking her head, Dani opened her eyes and sighed. Nobody but Shade knew about Dani being a Seer. Kit did find out Dani was a telepath when I thought something to her. Dani liked her secrets and didn't trust people much, bad childhood. I don't know if I trust Mel, not that I even believe she likes me. Then again, not many people do. Dani looked at the clock and saw she had been out, zoning and talking to herself, for half-an-hour. Not many people were in the common room. Dani figured that was her cue to split. Grinning to herself, she nodded goodnight to Kit, who hardly noticed, and then Dani slipped away, undetected. Gotta love those stealth moves Ignoring the Fat Lady, who was giving her a lecture on sneaking out, Dani confidently walked down the corridor. A few minutes later, Dani heard someone talking to themselves angrily. Turning the corner, she saw Peeves floating around with a bag. She could tell there was something in it by the way it was wriggling. Frowning, Dani snuck under Peeves. Waiting for the suspense of it, Dani then grabbed his legs and pulled down. Hard. With a surprisingly stupid squeak, he landed on his butt in shock. While he sat there dazed, Dani grabbed the bag and opened it. "Hey! That's mine!" he whined. Rolling her eyes, Dani looked inside. To her surprise, she saw one of the cats, or kittens, from her vision. It was orange and black, and it was crying in fear. Dani's heart broke at the sound. Dani had a major soft spot for animals. Lifting it from the bag, it held onto her shirt. Dani heard movements from behind, so turned to face Peeves. He looked mad. "You stupid chit! Give me back my cat. Give it back or else!" "What'd you call me," Dani snarled, gripping the cat to her chest. "Watch who your calling a chit, ya' bastard!" Forming an egg in her hand, she threw it at him and smiled. Turning, Dani ran. She'd caught a glimpse of a bag of eggs appearing in the hand behind his back. Laughing, Dani ran and dodged those he threw, clutching the frightened kitten, her frighten kitten to her.
"What is all that noise, damn, now I have a headache..." Kit got out of bed and looked sleepily around to find Dani not in her bed. "That bitch must have snuck out already." Kit turned her head to the window, surprised to see her owl on the ledge. She walked quietly pass Hermione and Lavender and sat down next to the window on the ledge. She opened the window and started to stroke Shadows' black feathers. Shadow hooted in comfort. Kit unconsciously, took her hand away, watched Shadow fly to the Owlery, stood up, walked down the stairs to the common room and slipped out of the portrait. Kit ignored the Fat Lady, who seemed to be talking about late night outings and other things. She heard approaching footsteps coming from down the hall. Being curious, she kept walking towards the footsteps. Kit turns the corner to find Dani who seems to be holding an orange and black fur ball. Dani was breathing heavily, and before Kit could stop herself, she was yelling, "What the hell are you doing out here at this time of night with that fur ball!" Dani glared at Kit but she was used to getting death glares from people, so this wasn't anything new. I turned expressionless again, not used to strongly showing her emotions like that. "Come on," I said, not a trace of emotion sensed. They turned around and headed back to the Common Room. Kit stood behind Dani, waiting for her to open the portrait. A moment passed. Kit looked at Dani and looked back to the portrait. She started to get impatient, "Dani, do you know the password or are we just standing here to waste time." Kit didn't wait for an answer, she snapped, "Coach roach Clusters," as the portrait swung open. Kit walked in, sitting on a couch, staring at the dying flames of the fireplace blankly. Kit heard footsteps on the stairs signaling Dani finally was headed upstairs. Kit sighed, thinking about her day. This place, this day, I would probably remember ... close to forever. I made new friends and got disconnected from old ones. Mel's mind was on guard, she wouldn't let me talk to her, and we have barely and classes together, if any. I will have to check. This year is really going to be a change, a real chance to start anew. I guess that is good. Kit stood up and decided to head up to her dorm. I opened the door to find Hermione and Lavender still dead asleep. Dani was sitting on her bed in sweat pants and a t-shirt that looked extra large. She was cross-legged and all her blankets from her bed were piled up on top of her lap. In the middle of the mound was a dip Kit couldn't quite see into. "Hey what is that?" Kit asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Dani looked up, a little surprised. Then it was like a wall came up in her eyes and mind. "Nothin'," she replied, her voice emotionless. Kit felt somewhat bad, almost like she had invaded Dani's privacy. Kit simply shrugged, guessing Dani would tell when she was ready. Kit walked to her bed next to Dani's and lay down. Still thinking of the day, Kit slipped away to sleep.
Dani asked, "Hey Mel, what was that about?"
Mel said, "I duno, Professor McGonagall wanted to speak to me. I don't know about what."
"Hey Shade, come on!" A group of Slytherin called. Shade looked over and asked her three friends if they wanted her to stay.
Kit said, "No, go with those guys, you need to find your dorm anyways."
Dani said, "Yeah but meet us at breakfast."
"Yeah, do that," said Mel, sidetracked by looking at the expecting teachers.
Kit said to Dani, "Y'know, it just dawned on me, we need to find someone from Gryffindor." They saw two seventh-year girls they had met over at the Gryffindor table, Hermione and Lavender, so they asked Mel if she wanted them to wait. She told them to go, so Dani and Kit hesitantly walked over to the two girls.
"Hermione, just ask Ron, you have been friends with him for a long time. Go to the next level, ask him-" Lavender was cut short when two of the exchange students walked over to them and asked them where their dorms were, so they set off, with the girls, to the tower.
A few stragglers were left in the Great Hall, but other than that, it was the teachers. Mel looked at the headmaster as he signaled for a door that looked like a tapestry. She followed him into a room that didn't look like much, but was well protected, probably used for testing magic. All the teachers started to file in. They sat on benches along the walls, but Professor Dumbledore stood in front of her with Professor McGonagall on his right and another man on his left. The man felt confused about Mel, which she sensed. He did not know if he should dislike me or not. Professor McGonagall seemed very interested in her, but Mel could not read Dumbledore. Many teachers also seemed interested in Mel, which made her nervous.
Dumbledore introduced Mel to all the teachers, telling their jobs also, and Mel remembered them all with ease. Lastly he said, "This is Professor Snape, our Potions teacher and as you have already met, Professor McGonagall, our Transfigurations teacher."
Mel bowed her head politely, saying, "I thank you for the introduction."
"Now to the important thing Melanie, you received my letter judging from your fast friendship with the Durmstrang students."
"Yes," Mel said, thinking back to the letter.
"Meaning you also read the part of the letter where I said I looked forward to teaching you separately. Did you understand what that meant?"
"Professor, I must say that part of the letter did confuse me. I have no idea what you meant by that." Mel was eyeing a shabby looking teacher introduced earlier as Lupin, he seemed important in some way.
"Well Melanie, Madame Maxime has watched you, she has seen some of your many skills. Do you not see auras around people presenting their moods?"
'Yes I do... that isn't that special, I can just tell someone's mood."
"Melanie, no other student can do that. You are special, you are an individual, and you will go far. You have many powers that still may be unlocked. We," motioning mostly towards Professor McGonagall, Professor Snape and himself, "are here to help you to achieve that. Now Melanie, we would just like to know how far along your powers are. Please take out your wand."
"Professor, I do not have it. It is in my trunk." Mel said quietly.
"Call it to you," said Dumbledore with a glint of excitement in his eyes.
Mel had seen Madame Maxime do this before, so she would try. She said, "Willow of my wand, come to me. Unicorn hairs that sacrificed themselves for me, come to me, 14 inches of magic, come to me." There was a white light over Mel's out reached hand and her wand gracefully landed there. Mel said quietly, "I didn't know I could do that."
Dumbledore said, "Good my child, now please, if you could, turn this chair," motioning to a chair behind him, "into silver."
Mel grinned and said, "That's easy... Argentelusia." The chair flashed white then turned silver. Professor McGonagall went over to the chair and touched it. She said breathlessly, "It's real."
Why are all the teachers staring at me Mel thought nervously. And why were they excited to see silver... Mel felt a reason to justify herself, "Professors, I have been able to do that for the past three years. In Beauxbatons, it is not uncommon, being surrounded by silver."
"Yes Melanie," said Snape, "But these children make impure, unnatural silver-"
"And yours most definitely is." Cut in Dumbledore. "You have skills we will train to be more, because you can go far. Now, for the third and last test of tonight. Please, try to read Professor Snape's mind for us."
"Um, ok, but usually, I try not to..."
"You have his permission," said Professor McGonagall crisply.
"Ok..." Mel saw Snape's aura, and he was beginning to think about liking her. His mind was private and covered, so even though Mel found a crack in his minds defense, she backed off. "I... I can't." Mel lied.
Dumbledore said, "I see... I see," even happier than before, which confused Mel. "Now Mel, please, we will have much leniency towards you, you have passed your first three tests with flying colors. You did something well you have never done before, you do something perfect not many adults can do, and you know not to go too far with your magic," said Dumbledore, his eyes sparkling towards professor Snape. "Please, go around Hogwarts, get acquainted with the school. You may go if you don't have any questions... oh yes, and please meet Professor Snape in his office in three days. Ok Melanie?"
"Yes, thank you very much, everyone," said Mel, bowing her head again and leaving quickly.
Mel left the room and saw the gray/ blue aura boy and a red head trying to get a puffball of an owl down from the ceiling. They were trying to bait him with food, but the bird was too ecstatic. Mel smirked and said, "Cute Tweet Accio," as the bird flew, half voluntarily, half from the spell into Mel's hands. Mel held it, giggling and said something to it. The dumbfounded redhead seemed to be its owner, so Mel said, "Hey, what's its name?"
Ron turned beet red and said, "Pig, just call it Pig."
"Ok," Mel said laughing, "I think I will stick with tweet." She placed the bird back into his hands.
Harry nudged Ron in the ribs and said, "Ron, you should bring Pig back up to the Owerly."
Before Ron could protest, he saw Harry look almost hopeful for the first time, since Sirius died, so he said, "Sure." Ron walked away, restraining the wiggling bird. Harry said, "Melanie, right?"
Mel said, "Yeah, but please call me Mel though. And you are..."
Harry said, "You don't know who I am! Why were you staring at me then? You have to know-"
"Ok, new girl here, think you could be any more big headed? Are you like the Head Boy or something?" said Mel, walking away, raising her voice for the first time.
Harry caught up, saying, "Yeah I am Head Boy, but I am sorry... Lets keep walking, before we get in trouble"
"Whatever, that's ok," said Mel, "I just thought you were upset, I sort see people's moods, and you looked like really sad... I don't know who you are."
Harry said, "I am Harry Potter."
Mel stopped and looked at Harry's green eyes and messy black hair. She looked up to his forehead and he voluntarily pulled back his bangs to show the thin lightening scar lay across his forehead. She said, in no more than a whisper, "That explains it all."
Harry said, "What, everyone always assumes stuff, knows stuff about me, so what now?"
Mel said, "Calm down, I heard about your godfather from Madame Maxime, who heard about it from Hagrid. It explains why you looked so sad, I am sorry for bringing it up. That's all."
Harry looked at Mel, and could see she really didn't care about him being famous. He couldn't let her get away. He said, "Hey Mel, to make up on how I went out on you like that, well, 7th years are allowed to go to Hogsmead every weekend, so on Saturday, do you wanna go get a drink or something?"
That greatly surprised Mel, but she said, "Sure Harry, for you, anytime." They both grinned widely and started to walk down the halls of Hogwarts together. Mel looked over to Harry and saw a hint of gold shine through his gray aura. Mel smirked and knew for the first time that she would really like it here.
Shade was meeting up with Mel, Kit and Dani when someone called out her name. "Hey Shade, Come on!" It was a girl named Pansy Parkinson. Pansy was also a Slytherin. Shade looked at Dani as if pleading for there to be some reason for her not to go, but Kit opened her mouth first, "No, go with them, you have to find your dorm anyway." She glared at Kit but then followed her fellow Slytherins down the corridor.
"We are meeting up with some other people before we head to the common room," Pansy stated merrily. She seemed to be the head female of the bunch.
That's the first to change they walked up a flight of stairs that seemed to move whenever someone had to use it. She smiled at this. She wondered how many times these exact stairs would make her late for her classes. The group of students was waiting on the third floor. Shade recognized three of the kids, the other two she didn't know. Two of the three were Crabbe and Goyle. Then there was...Malfoy.
She automatically put on the 'reserve' that she always put up whenever she wanted to shield an emotion. Shade was disoriented. She had never felt this way before. OH MY GOSH!! She totally digged Malfoy!!
But what was there not to like? A voice in her head said. Another said, He is lovely. He is Hot, he is a little evil, blushes when I come by, and did I mention HOT!? Malfoy's sleek blonde hair was combed back, out of his face and his gray/blue eyes, well, they were to drown in.
And that is exactly what she did not do. Of all the things she could do, she glared at him.
"What is she doing here?!" Goyle blurted out. Then Shade redirected her glare to him. She muttered a sleeping hex under her breath and Goyle passed out.
"Lets go." Malfoy said, figuring it was Shades fault, the way her eyes dilated. Another student looked from Malfoy to Shade to the heap of Goyle and said, "We aren't just going to leave him here, are we?"
Then Malfoy glared at the obviously new student. He looked sharply at Pansy and demanded, "Who is she?" She said simply, "A first year." Then Malfoy looked at the first year and raised his eyebrows as if saying "What ever, you don't question me" then started to walk down the corridor.
Shade was amused, almost amazed by there way of top leaders. It took only one guess, even for the slowest person in the world, to guess who was the top male in Slytherin. Everyone coincidentally followed him. Shade laughed (more like choked) to herself. Malfoy glanced over his shoulder to see who was laughing and what was so funny, and then saw Shade. He raised his eyebrows again, but this time as if questioning an equal. All the while, Shade just glared at him, raising an eyebrow in response.
Both Shade and Malfoy walked in silent unison at the head of the group as Pansy and the rest of the Slytherins talked about magic and new hexes they had learned over the summer. Every once in a while, Pansy would ask Shade questions about Durmstrang, but other then that, her conversations revolved around her and Malfoy, which almost worried Shade. When Pansy did ask her about her old school, she either nodded or shook her head. She was busy at memorizing the passages and stairwells, not to mention she didn't feel like talking to the one who may have taken Malfoy. She was absolutely positive that alone she would be late for her class (es) tomorrow.
"Shade?" Pansy said questioningly. She had been zoning out again. Shade just looked at Pansy and said, "Huh?"
"I wanted to know if it was true that you had Ridgebacks tied to carriages for transportation to and from the town nearest your school."
"Oh, um... yeah it's true." Shade said shrugging.
"I think that's awesome!" Pansy said excitedly.
"Yeah, whatever," Shade said simply.
They walked a little longer until they reached the dungeons. "Here we are." Draco Malfoy stated. They stood in front of a picture with a man with pale skin, red snake eyes, black hair, and a snake around his neck. "Passss...word?" The man asked,
Malfoy said, "Mandrake tongue." At that, the portrait swung open with no hesitation. "Welcome to the Dorm of the Snakes. Come on, have a seat, I wont bite." Malfoy said with a bit of a laugh as he stretched out on a couch. Shade sat and stretched out on one of the other couches. "So what do you think?" said Malfoy sitting up, motioning to the rest of the room.
"S' ok, I adore the colors, and the couches are comfortable, but the walls need a little work." Shade stated blankly. Looking at the walls, there was only one picture of Snape there. As if on cue, the portrait frame opened, but this time, the head of the house walked in. "First year Syltherins MUST be in the common rooms by 8 PM. This year, the seventh year's curfew is at 10 PM." Some people started to clap and hiss while others did nothing. Shade was one of the others.
Shade had just thought of something important, perhaps the most important thing in her life out of school. Nikolas. Her most beloved creature. Her black cat. She liked to think of it as a mini black panther. Shade jumped up and walked up to Pansy, for she knew they would share a dorm. 'Where is the dorm?" She asked anxiously. "Upstairs, second to the right. Why?" Shade didn't answer. Malfoy looked a little concerned and if Snape noticed, he didn't care. She walked lightly, gracefully up the stairs. Shade could feel eyes on her back but she didn't care. One, two, on the right. She opened the door hastily. Automatically, she felt claws dig into her leg. Shade scooped him up and kissed his head. Shade sat on her bed with her cat. Shade could tell which bed was hers by looking at them. Two were in shadow, so she couldn't see them, but one bed had pansies (the flower) on it, obviously Pansy's. Shade's bed had her stuff on it, all black with black fuzzy pillows. Her kitten was busy rubbing and purring at the pillows. This robe is annoying Shade thought to herself. She would change and go back to the common room. Shade changed out of her robes and old clothes into tight black pants with a chain and a black tank top with a picture of a skull on it. A smiling skull. When people looked at her shirt, it was enchanted to wink at them. She took Nikolas in her hands and walked back down the stairs.
No one seemed to notice her 're-presence' except the one person that Shade wanted to. Malfoy. For the first time in front of him she smiled. Nikolas always made her happy and so did Draco. Malfoy seemed to be smiling too. For some reason beyond her reach she looked right at him and smiled. Just a half smile. She saw him skim over her body and she could tell her shirt winked at him. Her outfit was from America, but she enchanted her shirt. Shade thought it was cool. Malfoy had moved over and without thinking she sat down next to him. "You must be Shade Shardey?" Professor Snape looked at her almost smiling. "Yes sir," she answered politely. She planned on getting on his good side. Professor Snape seemed pleased and automatically started to brag about her. "This is Shade Shardey. She is the new exchange student from Durmstrang and will be staying here for the entire year. You," he said, motioning to Draco, "shall get her to her classes and the places she wishes to go without hesitation, since I saw to it that you had almost all the same classes." Draco nodded violently. "It is only 9: 00 PM so you have an hour to give her the ground tour. She is our guest and therefore should be treated as one." Snape had a glint in his eye as he looked at her and bid the rest goodnight. Shade was petting her kitten behind the ears when Malfoy said, "Shall we go then?" Shade responded, "Yeah sure, we've got to get this over with anyways." He shrugged his shoulders in agreement and then it was their turn to disappear through the 'hole'. Shade set Nikolas on the slippery corridor. As they were walking for what seemed to be 45 minutes, they noticed they had lost track of time. Only did it matter when they saw an old man with a cat walking the halls. The old man's cat growled at Nikolas and he growled back. "What are you doing out after hours?" The old man growled. "Who are you?" Shade hissed back. Draco nudged her, and when she looked at him, he shook his head. "I'm the caretaker of this place, my names Flitch. And who might you be?" Draco answered for Shade, bragging, "She is the new student from Durmstrang." What is with people bragging about me Shade thought suspiciously and curiously. Before she knew it, she was in a conversation with Flitch. Draco looked kind of surprised, but ended up joining in. The conversation had started when Shade put her cat on the ground again. Flitch was interested in its breed, so Shade told him it was a mini panther. Then the conversation steered over to his cat, Mrs. Norris. They even talked about how, in Draco's second year Flitch was devastated when he thought his cat was dead. Then eventually Flitch checked the time and stated, "Its 9:45, you should go back to your house." They said their goodbyes and left. Shade and Draco walked the opposite way down the corridor in silence. The only noise was of Nikolas's claws scraping the ground as they walked. The silence was broken when Draco asked, "How d'you do that?" Shade responded lightly, "Do what?"
"No one has ever talked to Flitch like that. How did you?" Draco asked bluntly.
"He is a nice old man, and for your question, it was Nikolas." Nodding towards the kitten trotting in front of them. Draco just smiled in response. It was silent until they reached the common room. Draco sat on one of the couches and Shade stretched out comfortably on the one facing Draco's.
"Man! This school gets weirder by the second," exclaimed Kit.
Dani looked at her and nodded. That Hermoine girl had taken the two to the stairwell. As soon as they stepped on the first set of stairs, they started moving.
It took a while to get to the 7th floor. As soon as they got there, they walked through a huge hall filled with statues and armors. All the moving pictures got the attention of the First Years, but it barely fazed Dani. She was too busy concentrating on how to get to the picture of the Fat Lady, where the group stopped.
Kit was rambling on with Hermione and this girl standing next to her. Lavender, I think. Don't know why her parents called her that though. Kinda stupid to me. I miss Shade a little. She'd at least laugh at how stupid that chicks name was. I could tell she really didn't want to leave us. But noooo... Kit had to say she needed to look for her dorm room... Bamma
Dani was very anxious to get out of her robes. She didn't understand how anyone could wear them. What she would give up for her old leather robes. A lot warmer also. At least the food was good. As these thoughts flooded Dani's mind, she found she had missed the password. Ah well. I'll ask Kit later
Dani walked behind the three girls silently, taking in her surroundings. The common room was big and warm, which she loved. Immediately, I asked where my room was.
"Up the stairs to the right. First door on the left wall," directed Hermione promptly. Nodding my head in thanks, I ran up my stairs and to where my room was.
I sighed when I closed the door, and then started thinking. Bad, this is bad! Badder than bad! I. Had. Roommates. I hate roommates; I was given a single room before because I couldn't handle roommates. It's not like I'm psycho or anything, it's just that I love my privacy. Then Dani figured out she was still talking to herself and stopped immediately.
Sighing, she walked to the third four-poster bed from the right that had her stuff on it. She rummaged through her clothes, and pulled out red leather pants and a white top that said, 'Bitch'. Her favorite tight outfit, otherwise, she would only wear baggy clothes. I'm like that
Leaving her itchy clothes on the floor by her bed, Dani walked out the door and back down the stairs. Dani spotted Kit and walked over to her. Kit looked at her and smiled, "So that's why you were in a hurry."
Dani grinned and plopped down onto the couch next to her. Dani knew she wasn't much of a talker, never was. She just closed her eyes and started to daydream...
"Attention, please!" Dani snapped her eyes open, pulling out of her reverie. Looking around, she noticed that the grouch, Professor McGonagall was in the center of the common room. Kit looked a little excited about something, but Dani couldn't tell what. Shrugging to herself, she turned her eyes to the Grouch, Dani's official name for her. "As you've already seen and heard, we have two new students, Danica Gregoria and Kitsune Maxwell," she looked at them both, giving Dani a strange look before continuing, "They are to be show around to their classes and their school. Any volunteers are welcome." Then turning to the prefects and us (Dani heard about them from Hermione, who was the Head Girl). "7th years are allowed out but must be in the common room by 10:00 PM. You may go back to what you were doing." With a wave of her hand, she dismissed everyone. Dani looked at the clock and groaned. It was 9 o'clock already. Damn Dani turned to ask Kit something but found her in deep conversation with Lavender about the classes. Kit looked really happy and Dani didn't want to ruin her fun. Yet. Bored as Hell, Dani muttered a few hexes under her breath and kept her cool so others wouldn't notice. Seconds later, a girl screams that there is a rat in her shirt. Some boys near the fireplace laughed, so they got all the blame. To Dani, it was hilarious. Dani got this smirk on her face and Kit was trying to be angry but ended up grinning instead. Dani grinned, knowing she wasn't that good. But then Dani felt a clutch in her gut and she knew she was about to See something. Dani closed her eyes and saw pictures flying through her head. Black and orange cats; Shade smiling at that Draco kid; Mel doing magic on a chair; and finally Mel sucker punching a really hot guy. Shaking her head, Dani opened her eyes and sighed. Nobody but Shade knew about Dani being a Seer. Kit did find out Dani was a telepath when I thought something to her. Dani liked her secrets and didn't trust people much, bad childhood. I don't know if I trust Mel, not that I even believe she likes me. Then again, not many people do. Dani looked at the clock and saw she had been out, zoning and talking to herself, for half-an-hour. Not many people were in the common room. Dani figured that was her cue to split. Grinning to herself, she nodded goodnight to Kit, who hardly noticed, and then Dani slipped away, undetected. Gotta love those stealth moves Ignoring the Fat Lady, who was giving her a lecture on sneaking out, Dani confidently walked down the corridor. A few minutes later, Dani heard someone talking to themselves angrily. Turning the corner, she saw Peeves floating around with a bag. She could tell there was something in it by the way it was wriggling. Frowning, Dani snuck under Peeves. Waiting for the suspense of it, Dani then grabbed his legs and pulled down. Hard. With a surprisingly stupid squeak, he landed on his butt in shock. While he sat there dazed, Dani grabbed the bag and opened it. "Hey! That's mine!" he whined. Rolling her eyes, Dani looked inside. To her surprise, she saw one of the cats, or kittens, from her vision. It was orange and black, and it was crying in fear. Dani's heart broke at the sound. Dani had a major soft spot for animals. Lifting it from the bag, it held onto her shirt. Dani heard movements from behind, so turned to face Peeves. He looked mad. "You stupid chit! Give me back my cat. Give it back or else!" "What'd you call me," Dani snarled, gripping the cat to her chest. "Watch who your calling a chit, ya' bastard!" Forming an egg in her hand, she threw it at him and smiled. Turning, Dani ran. She'd caught a glimpse of a bag of eggs appearing in the hand behind his back. Laughing, Dani ran and dodged those he threw, clutching the frightened kitten, her frighten kitten to her.
"What is all that noise, damn, now I have a headache..." Kit got out of bed and looked sleepily around to find Dani not in her bed. "That bitch must have snuck out already." Kit turned her head to the window, surprised to see her owl on the ledge. She walked quietly pass Hermione and Lavender and sat down next to the window on the ledge. She opened the window and started to stroke Shadows' black feathers. Shadow hooted in comfort. Kit unconsciously, took her hand away, watched Shadow fly to the Owlery, stood up, walked down the stairs to the common room and slipped out of the portrait. Kit ignored the Fat Lady, who seemed to be talking about late night outings and other things. She heard approaching footsteps coming from down the hall. Being curious, she kept walking towards the footsteps. Kit turns the corner to find Dani who seems to be holding an orange and black fur ball. Dani was breathing heavily, and before Kit could stop herself, she was yelling, "What the hell are you doing out here at this time of night with that fur ball!" Dani glared at Kit but she was used to getting death glares from people, so this wasn't anything new. I turned expressionless again, not used to strongly showing her emotions like that. "Come on," I said, not a trace of emotion sensed. They turned around and headed back to the Common Room. Kit stood behind Dani, waiting for her to open the portrait. A moment passed. Kit looked at Dani and looked back to the portrait. She started to get impatient, "Dani, do you know the password or are we just standing here to waste time." Kit didn't wait for an answer, she snapped, "Coach roach Clusters," as the portrait swung open. Kit walked in, sitting on a couch, staring at the dying flames of the fireplace blankly. Kit heard footsteps on the stairs signaling Dani finally was headed upstairs. Kit sighed, thinking about her day. This place, this day, I would probably remember ... close to forever. I made new friends and got disconnected from old ones. Mel's mind was on guard, she wouldn't let me talk to her, and we have barely and classes together, if any. I will have to check. This year is really going to be a change, a real chance to start anew. I guess that is good. Kit stood up and decided to head up to her dorm. I opened the door to find Hermione and Lavender still dead asleep. Dani was sitting on her bed in sweat pants and a t-shirt that looked extra large. She was cross-legged and all her blankets from her bed were piled up on top of her lap. In the middle of the mound was a dip Kit couldn't quite see into. "Hey what is that?" Kit asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. Dani looked up, a little surprised. Then it was like a wall came up in her eyes and mind. "Nothin'," she replied, her voice emotionless. Kit felt somewhat bad, almost like she had invaded Dani's privacy. Kit simply shrugged, guessing Dani would tell when she was ready. Kit walked to her bed next to Dani's and lay down. Still thinking of the day, Kit slipped away to sleep.