Chapter 7
Slytherin Common Room
Roxanne was about to follow Harry in when the Fat Lady stopped her.
"I'm sorry love but you're not allowed in here," she said.
"Oh…ok. See you later, Harry," she muttered. She left without another word, dreading sleeping in the Slytherin Tower. On the way down the stairs leading to the Gryffindor Tower she bumped into a boy and nearly fell back.
"Sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" said the boy. It was Mark Evans.
"No problem."
"Ok well…I'll see you around then," he said cheerfully.
Roxanne walked a bit more before realising she didn't know where the Slytherin Tower was. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, she met some seventh years on the third staircase.
"Look, its that Winters girl," said one beefy boy with no neck.
"You look lost," said a girl with strawberry blonde hair.
"I am."
"Follow us," the blonde-haired girl said.
Roxanne nodded and walked behind the small group of Slytherins. Some of the portraits whispered and pointed while they went through corridors, behind tapestries and hidden doors. They were going deeper and deeper underneath the school.
They reached a stretch of bare, damp stonewall.
"Diaboli ad portas," said the chubby boy.
Devil at the gates…What a weird password, thought Roxanne.
A stone door concealed in the wall slid open. The seventh years marched through it and Roxanne followed.
The Slytherin common room was a long, low underground room with rough stonewalls and ceiling, from which round, greenish lamps were hanging on chains. A fire was crackling under an elaborately carved mantelpiece ahead of them and several Slytherins were silhouetted around it in carved chairs, deep in conversation.
"The sixth years mostly sit over there," said the girl, pointing to a large part of the common room. As she said that a blonde boy turned his head and grinned widely.
"Come here, Roxanne! Make yourself at home," called Malfoy, a look of deep satisfaction on his pointy face.
Forgetting what she had promised Harry, she walked over to the group of Slytherins and sat down as far away from the rest as possible. Though she loathed Malfoy already, she had decided she had to make some friends in Slytherin. Malfoy was sitting next to Pansy with his arm around her shoulder. Goyle was staring into a slightly smaller fire than what Roxanne had seen. It had great, fanged snakes carved into the mantelpiece and the flames were a dull purple.
"Roxanne, this is Marilee Deville," said Malfoy, pointing to a pretty, black girl, "Leila Murphy." He indicated to a scrawny girl with thick brown hair, making her look much like a broomstick. "Kacia Smith." An oriental looking girl. "Millicent Bulstrode." She looked like she was related to Goyle. "And Brontë Adaway." He pointed to a boy with a tanned but skeletal face and very high cheekbones.
"They're all in sixth year. These two," he said, pointing to two boys in the corner, "are in fifth. Malcolm Baddock." A very short, brown-haired boy. "And Graham Pritchard." Indicating a lanky boy with black hair to his shoulders, who was pouring over a small book.
"This is Roxanne Winters," said Malfoy with emphasis.
They all smiled and nodded. Roxanne gave Malfoy a dark look. Graham looked up from his book. Roxanne noticed the name, Top 100 Feared Names Of The 1990's.
"Your name is seventh," said Graham, holding up the book, "mines not even in here," he added disappointedly.
"That's a good thing," muttered Roxanne.
He shrugged and went back to reading the book.
"So now you've met the gang. I'm off to bed," said Malfoy, "show her to your dorm," he whispered into Pansy's ear. He kissed her on the cheek, got up and left.
"Come on," said Pansy. Roxanne followed her out of the common room and up a flight of stairs. Their dormitory was painted indigo and was very gothic. The four-poster beds were made of dark mahogany and each had a different animal on the heads. Secretly, Roxanne really liked the look of it.
"You sleep here, below Kacia," said Pansy, pointing to the bunk in the far corner. The head was a tiger, its mouth opened in a roar. Her belongings were on her bed and she spent fifteen minutes sorting it out and putting her clothes in the chest of drawers. She slept better than she had for ages, which worried her terribly.