Chapter 6: Devil's Breakfast
Star awoke the next morning and was sad to find herself nuzzled deep in the warm, cozy plushness of her big bed. She's sort of hoped the whole thing with the wizard school would turn out to be one big nightmare. But the cloud-like feel of the feathers in the mattress and the deep forest green of her comforter and silk sheets and pillowcases made it plane and obvious that she was a Slytherin. Oh yay. She stared at the almost black-green of her velvet four-poster curtains and wished she didn't have to get up.
Reluctantly, she got up. She stretched a little, letting out a resounding POP crackle-crackle-crackle SNAP!!, which was what always happened when she help still too long - she popped her back, her knuckles, her neck and every other imaginable joint on her person. This in turn awoke the rest of her dorm room. The girls sat up and glared at her. Star glared back. It wasn't her fault she had rotten joints. Star heard a quiet giggle escape the still-closed curtains beside her. She ignored it and went to her trunk, removing her uniform.
When she was dressed, she looked into the mirror she kept in the lid of the trunk. Star didn't feel like herself AT ALL. Digging around once again inside her trunk, she found a small carved wooden box; her birthday gift from Tsu the past December. Inside it she found all her favorite jewelry. Slowly she made her selection; barbed-wire choker, several brightly colored Mardigra necklaces (bracelets), and numerous silver rings. She looked again in the mirror. She still felt off, but oh well. There wasn't much she could do.
She and the other girls in her dorm room headed down to the hall for breakfast. Finding a largely empty section of the Slytherin table, she settled into a seat. Food ladened the table and she sighed heavily. More English food. Star didn't mind the food so much; it just didn't really strike her fancy. She really missed her two favorite cooks—Tsu and her old best friend back in California. Oh well. Star's stomach rumbled loudly and she realized she hadn't eaten more than a few bites of food since before she'd left for the train station. But she didn't really feel like eating. Her stomach growled again and she decided she'd at least try to obey its call. So she put some eggs and toast on her plate and poked at it a little.
Just as she put the first bite into her mouth, there was a tap on her shoulder. Star looked behind her to find Silia and Luci grinning at her. "Why're you all alone?" They asked. Star swallowed and shrugged. "Mind if we sit with you?" Star shrugged again.
"Won't you get in trouble?" This time Luci and Silia shrugged.
"Who cares?" So the two girls flopped down on either side of her and loaded their plates with food.
"So where are you from?" Luci asked.
"London." Star answered.
"No, no, I mean where in America?"
Star stared. "Is it that obvious?" Luci and Silia grinned and nodded. "The land of the surfing movie stars."
"California?" Silia asked. Star nodded. "I've been there before—Draco's family took me to Disneyland."
Star's heart gave a small squeeze. Her family used to go to Disneyland a lot. Her younger brother was obsessed with it. Star stared at her food, now feeling even less like eating it. At the mention of his name, Draco Malfoy joined them, giving Silia a quick kiss on the cheek. WTF? What was with her? Before she met Tsu she never cared about people doing stuff like that around her. Star put down her fork and sighed. No point in trying to eat now.
Later on during breakfast a tall scary looking man wearing all black was handing out schedules. Silia and Luci explained that that was Professor Snape; the Slytherin Head of House.
"What's with this?" Star asked dejectedly. "Why am I a Slytherin if it's the evil house with the nasty head guy?"
"It's not all that bad," Draco said, "Lucretia and Sicilia just make us out to be a lot worse than we are. Prof. Snape's not all that bad." Star issued another sigh. Why me? Why why why why why? She looked down at the piece of paper handed to her.
- Charms (Gryffindor & Slytherin)
- Defense Against the Dark Arts (Slytherin & Ravenclaw)
- History of Magic (Gryffindor & Slytherin)
- LUNCH
- Transfiguration (Hufflepuff & Ravenclaw)
- Potions (Slytherin & Ravenclaw)
Well, she'd have Luci and Silia in a lot of her classes. Unless she was getting stuck with all the 1st years. But upon viewing her new friends' schedules, she found that, yes, hers and their classes were the same. Although the prospect of starting five years late made her very, very worried.
"Don't worry so much about it, Star!" Silia smiled, "I'll take care of you with Flitwick. Charms are relatively easy, and we can help you with the basics." Luci and Draco nodded emphatically. Star was beginning to feel a little reassured. These people seemed nice enough...although she was still blown away by how close they stuck to her. She didn't usually make crowds of friends very easily. Star resolved not to push them. If by the end of Charms, which she was sure would happen, Silia wanted to be on the opposite side of the room as her, she'd allow it without fuss.
While the three Hogwarts 5th years tried to console their new friend, two people were calling for Luci and Silia; one was that McGonagall lady and the other was a very small, very odd looking person. As it turned out, they were the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor Heads of House. Apparently Silia and Luci weren't supposed to be away from their tables...