09/12/04
Disclaimer: The original characters are mine, and the Harry Potter concept is JK's.
A/N: Ok, so this is the eighth chapter. I don't really know what to do for chapter nine, and I'm trying to work on an as-of-yet untitled loooong chaptered fic like TAD, but not D/Hr. But I'm not abandoning this fic, just waiting until I have something worth writing in it. I don't know if I have the time to maintain this and other fics and school and fencing, and RL comes first, as always. But don't expect me to disappear. For a further status of my fics, please check my profile which I'll update today. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter, please review!!!!!!!!!
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Eight
The next morning, Alex sat up, immediately awake, and nervous.
"We've got classes today," he muttered. Climbing out of bed, he glanced at his watch. It was six forty-five. "Hm." He got dressed in the somber uniform, sniffing as he tied the bland shoes. "This has got to be the—"
Worst outfit you've ever worn? asked the teasing voice of his sister.
"Yes," he mumbled, picking up his bag with all the books in it. He crossed the room and opened the door. Walking down the stairs, he saw Mallory in the common room, also dressed for the day. "Hey." She looked up. "Morning."
"Morning," she said, half cheery, half nervous.
"Good morning, you two," Barnaby said, coming in from the Boy's Showers that were down a corridor that was off the common room. He was dressed in his uniform, and grinning broadly.
"D'you know what classes we have today?" Alex asked Barnaby.
"No." He shook his head. "The Head of Ravenclaw House—Professor Sylvia Sinistra—will hand out schedules at breakfast."
"Crap," Alex said, picking his bag up, heading down the exit passageway. "Well, I'm off to breakfast. Anyone feel like joining me?"
"Sure," Mallory said, walking next to him.
"Not me, mate," Barnaby replied. "I'm going to have a bit of a nap before school."
"See you then," they said, halfway through, their replies echoing back to him.
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They made it down to the Great Hall with little difficulty. After all, there weren't a lot of churning students talking and laughing, so they could see landmarks easier.
As the doors swung open in front of them, they saw lumpish figures at the Gryffindor table.
When you enter the Great Hall, the Gryffindor table is on your right. Ravenclaw's to the far right, and Hufflepuffs to your left, while Slytherin is to the far left.
Alex and Mallory set their bags at their table and went to the Gryffindor table, wanting to see who was up so early.
As the got nearer, Alex heard a crabby voice mumble something extremely rude to the person sitting next to her. "Honestly, this is bloody cruel and unusual," Abi said to Seb, who was cheerfully reading The Standard Book of Spells, Grade One aloud.
"AND SO," he said loudly, to cover up Abi's whining. "WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE SOMETHING FLOAT, THE BEST SPELL IS 'WINGARDIUM LEVIOSA'. Oh, hello Alex. Perhaps you can make your sister SHUT UP about it being BLOODY SIX FIFTY-SIX A.M.!"
"I can try," Alex said, sitting next to his sister, "but I can't promise you anything." HE noticed Mallory standing about, looking a little out of place. "Oh, this is Mallory Hopkins. Mallory, this is my sister Abi, and our friend Seb Snape."
Abi had sunk into a very sulky mode, and refused to speak. So, Alex lowered his head onto her forehead, and closed his eyes.
What, he asked, is your problem?
Well, she replied, rather snotty, for one, did you know Marie snores? Yeah, big honking snores, like Uncle Ron. And that I was rudely awakened by Elsin, who was carrying a letter from Seb.
Somehow, this struck Alex the wrong way. Normally with his sister, he was calm and collected, but every once in a while, he snapped. This was one of those times.
Bloody hell, Abi, he thought angrily, we're at school now. You've got to stop being such a spoiled brat! If you act like such a- such a- such a BITCH all the time, nobody's going to like you. Not me, not Seb, and certainly not the professors. Try and think about others for once, and stop being such a self-absorbed weenie. We aren't at home anymore. We're not the rulers of the Manor, and nobody's gonna call us 'Lord' or 'Lady'. You got that?
Abi's head lifted up, and she gave her brother an amused look. Fine, she replied, full of good humor. That was what I needed. Thanks, Lex.
"You're welcome," he said. He hugged her, and she hugged back. "Good morning, Abbs. We'd better get back to our seats, Mal, cause the others are coming down."
Mallory nodded, and they went over to the Ravenclaw table, chatting animatedly about what they hoped classes would be like.
As the entire student body filled the hall, the professors came in through their own door, yawning, and drinking their morning coffee. Four professors separated from the group and walked down the tables, handing out schedules.
Alex took his schedule from Professor Sinistra, the Head of Ravenclaw, and looked it over. It looked remarkably like this:
Transfiguration- 9:00-10:15
Charms- 11:00-Noon
Lunch- Noon-1:15
Potions- 1:15-2:15
Astronomy- Midnight to three every Wednesday
Alex studied the schedule, folded it up, and put it into his bag, tucked into an outer pocket. "They've really packed this schedule," he said to Mallory.
"I know," she said through a mouthful of toast. "Kippers?"
Alex wrinkled his nose. "Igh."
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After her conversation with Alex, Abi came up out of her sulk, and started talking about school with Seb. Professor McGonagall walked down the table, handing out schedules.
Abi studied her schedule and frowned. "Look at this," she said to Seb, who hadn't touched his schedule, shoving hers under his nose.
Double Potions with the Slytherins-9:15-10:15
Charms- 10:45-Noon
Lunch- Noon-1:15
Transfiguration- 1:20-2:15
"Hum," Seb said, cutting a piece of his pancake off, spearing it with his fork, and watching Abi.
"It's absolutely preposter—Emhph!" Abi said, cut off by a piece of pancake shoved in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed. "What was that for?"
"Eat," Seb said firmly. "Or else you'll faint from hunger in my dad's class."
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The rest of breakfast went well, and Abi ate until she could eat no more. She brushed a wisp of white-blonde hair out of her eyes, and glanced at Seb. His hair stuck up in seven different directions, and his eyes were bright and quick as a fox's.
She put some water on her hand, and tried to tame her friend's wild mane. Seb glared at her. "What," he said, glaring, "d'you think you're doing?"
"Trying to quiet your hair," she replied.
"Watch this." Seb reached into his pocket, pulled out a black elastic band, and pulled his hair back in it. "Voila!" He went back to eating his breakfast, polishing off bagel in record speed.
A loud bell rang, and the students gathered up their bags, leaving to go to their respective classes.
Seb calmly turned right leaving the Great Hall, and led his fellow first year Gryffindors down to the dungeons and their Potions class.
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Seb pushed the Potions classroom door open, gulping. His fellow Gryffindors went in before him, except for Abi, who linked her arm through his, and pulled him to a seat. She pushed him down, and sat next to him.
As all the students were seated—Gryffindors on one side, Slytherins on the other—a door swung open, and Professor Severus Snape came in, black robes billowing. Abi glanced at Seb, and he rolled his eyes.
Snape's eyes swept over each and every one of them, barely halting as they went over his son. "There will be no foolish wand waving in my class," he said, voice barely audible. The class held their breath collectively. "You are here to learn the subtle art of potions. I don't expect many of you to appreciate the beauty of a simmering cauldron, with it's shimmering fumes. Or the delicate power of liquids flowing through human veins, bewitching the mind and ensnaring the senses. I can teach you to brew fame, bottle glory, and put a stopper in death. If you aren't the same lot of dunderheads I usually teach." He glared at them, and fear, like a contagious virus, swept through the class.
Except for Seb, who snorted.
Snape swept over to him, robes billowing behind him, a fierce look on his face. But Abi could see the interest in his eyes. "Mr. Snape, is there something you would like to illustrate to the rest of your classmates?"
Seb's mouth twitched. He was the only person who would laugh at his father openly. "Nothing professor," he said, mouth twitching.
"Very well," Snape said, turning to go back to his desk, robes swishing.
Seb leaned to Abi's ear. "He enchants those robes," he whispered. "He thinks it's more impressive." Abi giggled silently.
"I will now call role," Snape said boredly, "and then we will start." He glanced at his paper. He called several people who were all from Slytherin, who neither Abi nor Seb knew. "Anystine, Gabrielle," Snape called.
"Here," said the snobby-looking girl. She was sitting in the middle, brushing her long, straight black hair.
"Revan, Mark."
"Here." Mark was the only Gryffindor boy who Abi didn't know.
"Potter, James." Snape's lip curled a bit.
"Here," James called, rolling his eyes at Abi, who suppressed another giggle.
"Longbottom, Frank."
"Here."
"McAlpin, Ian."
"Here."
"Snape, Sebastian," Snape said, looking at his son.
Seb raised his hand politely. Snape nodded at him. "Please, um, professor, could you say 'Seb' not 'Sebastian'? It's what I go by."
Snape nodded, and moved on down the list. "Dirkenson, Astyr."
"Here."
"Weasley, Marie." Snape sighed. More Weasleys.
"Here," Marie said, with a wicked grin.
"Thomas, Amelia."
"Here."
"Bones, Nathalie."
"Here."
"Lady Abigail Rose Malfoy," Snape said, raising his eyebrow at Abi.
"At your service," Abi said, grinning at her uncle. Snape was actually a very distant relative of her grandfather's first wife. Her grandfather and grandmother—Narcissa and Orion Malfoy—had gotten married shortly after her parents had, which was kind of weird, but still very cool.
"Well, Miss Malfoy," Snape said, walking over to her, his voice slightly dangerous, "expect no special treatment because you are in possession of a title."
"Actually," Abi said, knowing Severus Snape well enough to know she wasn't going that far, "I've got four. Mum and Dad have more, but Alex and I'll split those when they croak." She grinned cheerfully. "And I know for a fact that you've got a few, professor."
Snape sighed. He never should have taught her sarcasm. Or his view of humor. "Let's get started," he said, ignoring the cheerful Gryffindor sitting next to his eldest child. Whirling around, he pointed at Seb. "You. Mr. Snape. What do you get when you add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Seb looked at him blankly, clearly not impressed. "The Draught of Living Death, sir," he said, calmly, leaning back in his seat.
Snape sniffed. "Five points to Gryffindor," he gritted out.
Abi grinned and elbowed Seb happily. He poked her back, amazed.
Snape looked at Frank next. "Mr. Longbottom," he drawled, clearly remembering the effect he had on Frank's father. It didn't work with Frank. "What, exactly, is Veritaserum?"
Frank's calm remained in place. He was like his mother in that way, once calm and collected, there was almost nothing that could shake that. "Well," he started, "veritas means 'truth' in Latin. So that would tell us that it's a truth serum. But Veritaserum is a powerful truth serum that the Ministry closely monitors the use of, since it's so powerful." Neville Longbottom, War Auror Hero, had taught his son well.
"Yes." Snape looked slightly disappointed. "Five points to Gryffindor."
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The rest of the class was remarkably similar. It seemed that Seb's presence shamed Severus into being fair. When the class was dismissed, he seemed very relieved that he didn't have to be fair to his next batch.
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As they left the classroom, Gabrielle cornered Abi, sneering at her.
"You think you're all that, don't you?" she said cruelly. "Just 'cause your mum is Hermione Granger, the Mudblood."
Abi's face turned red at that word. "You know what?" she asked Gabrielle. "I don't give a rat's ass what you think. You're just jealous because my dad's Draco Malfoy, and your's is a nobody."
Gabrielle's face twisted. "You'll regret that," she said, launching herself at Abi.
While Gabrielle was in midair, Abi pulled her wand out. "Petrificus totallus!" she said, pointing her wand at the other girl. The spell hit Gabrielle, and she fell to the floor, in the full body-bind.
Abi smirked at her prone form as she and the other Gryffindors made their way to Charms.
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A/N: Ok, so that's chapter eight. I really hope you liked it, please review to tell me if you did. As I said, I'm not sure what to do for Alex's first day of school and I don't have a lot of time to dedicate to this fic. But I will come back to it, so don't give up hope!
Until then, I am, as always,
Manion Nix
