Anti-Thesis of the Gryffindor Good Girl – by grahm-craker-gal

Chapter 1: My Grand Premiere

I'm not what most people picture when they think of third year Gryffindor girls. Most people image cute, spunky preteens sporting goldenrod and maroon striped scarves whose lives revolve around who Oliver Wood happened to look at while walking to Transformation class that morning. And to tell you the truth, that's a pretty accurate description of my roommates. They're all very nice. I'm sure they'll all go on to get very good jobs in the ministry and make their parents terribly proud. How nice.

I'm not… "nice." Not exactly the type of girl you'd take home to mom, if you catch my drift. I may have been in this world for merely thirteen years, but I've made sure to take advantage of every one of them. I smoke, (Fumos Lights are my favorite, but I'll settle for Incendo Slims if it's all I can get my hands on) I drink, (Ogden's Old Firewisky by the gallon practically) and I basically have a good time. What does that consist of? Usually sneaking off to Hogsmeade with Marcus Flint and his friends and getting totally shitfaced, slipping into clubs I'm about a decade to young to be in legally, and generally causing a chaos.

Yep, that's me. Kat Bell – anti-thesis of the Gryffindor good girl.

It wasn't always this way. I started off normally enough. Up until five minutes into my first train ride to Hogwarts I was fine. Looking back, that ride decided more than I would have ever imagined. It was my turning point. I was standing at a fork in the road waiting for something to push me down what was going to be my path. And that something turned out to Adrian Pucey.

There I was, in all my innocent eleven year old glory. I was wandering through the train, trying not to let on how thrilled I was to finally be here, searching for a compartment. The first one I stumbled upon was Ian's.

He sort of stared at me for a while as if I were something he was studying in Care of Magical Creatures. He was absolutely stunning. I reckoned he was about a third or fourth year, and a smashing one at that. (I later found out he was only one year above me, but that's beside the point…) He had this great chestnut hair that flipped out around his ears and at the nape of his neck and these calculating ice blue eyes that seemed to be assessing my value right then and there.

"Hullo, I'm Katie. If no one's sitting here, do you mind if I join you?" I asked him. There were two other boys in the compartment, but I directed my query solely at him.

"We don't waste our time on first years." So modest, eh? Well, that's Ian. But I shot him a look I'd learned from my older sister (I'd learned a lot from her, enough to set me apart from the other shy, giggling first years) and that rather settled the issue. I sat myself down across from him.

"Well, fine," he sighed. I could tell he wasn't all that disappointed, though. "But if you're going to sit with us, you may absolutely not be called Katie," he announced, spitting out the last word.

"Well, what's your name then?" I asked.

"Adrian," he answered.

"Mind if I call you Ian?"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, Ian," I stressed my newfound nickname for him, "I guess you can call me Kat."

"Like the animal?"

"No, like Kat Quorum." This obviously won me points. Kat Quorum was the lead singer of Lawrence Torrent, the most brilliant wizarding band ever. She was sort of the magical equivalent of Kurt Cobain.

I don't know what Ian's deal with the name thing was. Probably because he's rather obsessed with appearing manly and tough and all that junk. In any event, my moniker stuck, as did his. Only I'm the only one who he lets call him Ian…

"Wanna ciggy?" he asked me. It's funny. We were both so eager to seem mature. Imagine, the two of us smokers before we even hit our teenage years. Our poor little lungs.

"Yes please."

He pulled his wand out and used it to summon a pack of smokes and handed me one. Then he muttered "accendo" as I watched wide eyed with wonderment as a little flame appeared, hovering over the tip of his wand.

I stuck my cigarette in my mouth and leaned forward towards his wand, effortlessly connecting the tip of my smoke with the dancing flame. He did the same with his own little cancer stick and then muttered "exstinctum" and the flame vanished.

"So…" I said, luxuriously blowing out a wisp of smoke in a manner reminiscent of the old Hollywood starlets. "Pleasure to meet you Ian..."

He puffed out a cloud of smoke floated up above our heads and mixed with mine. "Oh no, the pleasure's all mine."

Such the gentleman.

By the end of the train ride, I was quite proud to say, I had acquired my first boyfriend of my career at Hogwarts. I was over the moon, in my own nonchalant way. By the time we'd reached Hogwarts everyone in first and second year seemed to know that Adrian Pucey, the most desirable second year by far, had been snagged by some mysterious first year. And that was the start of my reputation.

Ian was in Slytherin and I was determined to join him. During the sorting ceremony, I could feel him watching me as the hat sorted Ackart, Winona up to Barton, Grant and then Professor McGonagal called out "Bell, Katherine."

I was nervous. Yes, even Kat Bell can get nervous. I'm not a flipping robot or anything, though there has been speculation that kind. I'm just rather adept at hiding my emotions. Anyway, I walked up and sat on the stool regally. I was nervous has hell, but there was no way I was going to let it show.

"Hmmm… want to be in Slytherin quite a lot, don't we? But no, that won't fit you at all my dear. You think it does, but you'll thank me sooner or later. Better in GRYFFINDOR!"

I was beyond disappointed. Gryffindor, with all the pompous, sanctimonious goody-goodies. Abso-bloody-lutely fabulous. I cast longing glances over to the Slytherin table where Ian sat as I plodded over to the Gryffindor table and slumped into a chair.

Throughout the whole feast I was beyond antisocial, but I didn't really give a toss. The three other girls in my year, Angelina Johnson, Alicia Spinnet, and Patricia Stimpson tried to make conversation with me by inquiring weather I was really Adrian Pucey's girlfriend. Replied with an oh so eloquent and friendly "You lot can stuff it, you arselickers."

They looked rather insulted and scandalized. I was shocked they didn't cross themselves right then and there and start praying for my soul. But they eventually got passed their distress and started prattling about how fit some third year was.

In retrospect, perhaps telling some one to stuff it and then calling them an arselicker doesn't make the best first impression. But that's just how they are, they get their knickers in a twist over everything.

So it began. I like to think of my first day at Hogwarts as my grand premiere. It was like I was walking down the red carpet surrounded by astonished onlookers as I gave them a taste of what was to come.

And I think they rather liked it. I guess you could say I'm like one of those sour candies – disgusting on one hand, making you scrunch up your face with displeasure, but once you take your first bite, you can't get enough. And you have to tell all your friends about how weird I am and once you've had the "pleasure" of meeting me, you won't ever be able to forget it.

Author's Note: Well, what do you think? This is my first Katie fic and hopefully it's all right. I've just noticed most of the Katie/Oliver stuff out there leaves Katie virtually personality-less. Anyway, I'm dying to know if I should continue, so drop me a line and tell me what you thought! … That little review button is up there for a wonderful reason…