"Time to wake up!" Someone shouted interrupting me from my dream.
I rolled over and parted the white curtain of my four poster bed and peered out as the other two girls in my dormitory did the same. A girl was standing in the door about fifteen years old. I groaned and looked at my alarm clock to see that it said seven a.m. I wondered why we were being awoken so early, the prefects who had led us to Perlussa house the night before had told us that we didn't have classes until the next day.
"You are to wait in the Common Room for Mrs. Couder to come and talk to you." The girl said. "She will explain everything."
The girl quickly left the dorms and I climbed out of bed. I took a look around the dorm. It was decorated in white and purple. The curtains of our beds were white while the bed spread was purple. There were only three beds in the dormitory. The two other girls climbed out of their beds as well, ignoring them I started going through my trunk to pull on my uniform before heading into the bathroom to get dressed and ready for the day. While I was combing my hair, a tall girl with black hair and brown eyes stepped up next to me and began brushing her teeth.
"Do you have the feeling we are some sort of outcasts?" I asked her. "The hat said it wanted to put me in Ravenclaw but it couldn't because of my type."
"It told me it wanted to put me in Hufflepuff." She answered spitting out her toothpaste. "It said I was very hard working and loyal but I had to be put in Perlussa."
"I'm Amy Henson by the way." I told her.
"Leah Banks." She said washing her hands.
"Banks?" I asked. "But I don't remember seeing you be sorted . . . "
She didn't say a word, she just started brushing her hair while the other girl walked in scowling. She had long pale blond hair. She refused to meet our eyes. She instead went into a shower cubicle and moments later turned the water on. Leah and I left the bathroom together and headed out of our dorm and down the steps. I knew we were in some sort of tower somewhere in the castle because I had looked out the window the night before and both our dormitory and Common Room were circular.
The Common Room was full of purple and white assorted chairs and couches. There were also white banners around the room that said Perlussa in purple lettering on them. We saw that the five first year boys were sitting on a couch near the fireplace so we headed over to them each taking a white chair. I glanced at each boy. Most had confused looks on their faces. One of the boys, the one that I had seen looking at Slytherin table the night before was scowling at the floor with his arms folded. I wanted to ask them if they knew anything about Perlussa house but I had a feeling they were just as clueless as I was so I didn't say a word.
The other girl joined us about fifteen minutes later. We spent the time while waiting for Mrs. Couder watching the older students walk by. They seemed to be really happy and I wondered if maybe we were special. If the house was for outcasts surely the older students would be depressed but they weren't. Two boys waved at us as they walked by grinning.
As the two boys left the room through a sliding statue, a woman walked in. She greeted the two boys before walking over to us. She was a short plump woman with greying hair but she looked very friendly. She reminded me of a daycare teacher. She walked over smiling at us.
"Hello, first years." She said.
She took out her wand and made a swishing movement. A chair appeared moments later and she sat down on it still wearing her friendly smile. None of us answered back but she seemed to be expecting our reaction because she continued as if we had greeted her.
"Welcome to Perlussa house. I am your head of house so any questions you may have or concerns will go directly to me. Now I would like to explain while you are here first before any of you ask any questions. So please keep your questions to yourself until I tell you that you can speak. I know that you are wondering why you were sorted into this house and also wondering what Perlussa house is. This house was founded about four years after Hogwarts was built and is named after the founder just like the other four houses are.
"Malicia Perlussa came to this school to teach History of Magic but while she was here she noticed that in each year there were students who couldn't do the magic of other classes, these classes being Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts. A lot of these students had to repeat years several times because they had a lot of difficulty doing magic. So Malicia looked into this and discovered that these students were almost squibs. They had the magical blood in them but it wasn't strong at all. She also noticed that the students who could do the magic really well looked down on the students who weren't powerful. Even the students who could accept muggleborns and squibs seemed to look down on them. These students were teased terribly and a lot of them wanted to drop out of school because they felt useless. So Malicia talked to the four founders and that is when they decided that a fifth house would be formed.
"This house would protect the nearly squibs from scorn and allow them to be able to do magic for when they are out in the real world. Powerful enchantments were set in the Great Hall so that no one else except people in Perlussa house the teachers or the rightful people could see them."
I sat thinking through everything she had just said. How could I not be powerful? I had set a toy on fire without even touching it. I had once made a boy who was falling from a tree slow down before he hit the ground so he wouldn't be hurt. I was also confused, how could people not notice another table full of students in the Great Hall?
"Is it only the Great Hall that they can't see us in?" Leah asked.
"Yes. They can see you in the corridors or outside because they do not have to know who you are." Mrs. Couder answered.
"But what about my brother?" The scowling boy asked. "He's going to wonder what happened to me."
"Yes your brother is one of the rightful people. Anyone who knows you well enough, not meaning the people you just met on the train, can see you. As soon as you were sorted they heard a voice in their head saying that they weren't to say anything to anyone but were to meet with the Headmaster this morning to get details." She answered.
"So what is stopping my brothers friends from telling people? They have known me since I was six, they are in their seventh year now you know. They'll think this is funny . . . my family is one of the most known pure blooded families around!" The boy exclaimed.
He noticed that I had been watching him and he glared again just as he had the night before. I couldn't help it, there was something about the boy that interested me. I wanted to get to know him, perhaps be his friend. He didn't seem to have the same feelings toward me though. I thought that he was sort of cute. He almost looked like Byron because he had black hair and brown eyes but his nose was smaller than Byron's and he had really large ears.
"They can't tell anyone. That is part of the enchantment. I'm not sure if any of you know what the Fidelius Charm is but it's the same except there isn't a secret keeperbut it's very powerful. Only one known person has ever been able to cast it and that was Malicia Perlussa. No one knows of course except the right people what she used it for. Now, is there anymore questions?"
"Can we tell people?" I asked.
"Only the right people such as your parents for example, family friends or relatives. They cannot speak of it to anyone either." She said. "Now, I am going to show you around the school. You will be taking History of Magic with the Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors and all the houses take Astronomy together Wednesday nights. As for Charms, Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts you will be taking those classes with highly skilled teachers which you will meet when we visit the classrooms. For Herbology and Potions you will take those with the regular teachers who teach them, Professor Sprout and Professor Snape once a week."
"Aren't people going to notice we exist if we take classes with the other houses?" The boy asked bitterly.
"They will notice you yes but they will just think you are in another house. No one pays much attention to whom else is in their class for History of Magic. You will understand that when you have your first class. Now come along."
I stayed beside Leah unsure if we were friends but as she had been the only friendly person so far I decided to stick with her. The scowling boy walked on his own while the other four boys divided into groups of two. The other girl walked beside me but she didn't say anything, she just stared at the floor. We followed Mrs. Couder out of the Common Room, down a short corridor than down some winding stairs. Mrs. Couder was pointing to different portraits and explaining what they were but I didn't pay any attention.
I felt like I couldn't belong any where in life. In the muggle world I had been an outcast, I had no friends at all. Now in the wizarding world I had to be hid away from the rest of the students because they would look down on me. I wondered how the older students in Perlussa house could be so happy, having to be hid away from people should have made them insecure and depressed. I was certainly feeling that way and I guessed that the others around me felt the same way. This is stupid. I decided. They should not hide us away because we weren't powerful. I'd rather have the students tease me. I was use to it.
"This will be your Charms classroom." Mrs. Couder said interrupting my thoughts.
We entered a classroom that only had two boys in it. A tall and very skinny old man was showing them how to make things appear out of this air. He then asked them to try and it neither of them could. The old man smiled and came over to us while they practised.
"This is quite a large group." He said. "I don't think I've ever taught more than seven."
"Their year was quite large." Mrs. Couder said. "A lot of the magical schools are filled right up this year. Anyway, first years this is Professor Organ. He will be your Charms teacher for the next seven years. He is teaching seventh year right now. There use to be three seventh years but the young lady didn't return for sixth year."
"Will we actually be able to conjure things like that since we aren't powerful?" The scowling boy asked.
"Yes you will. It will be a lot of hard work but you should be able to." He answered.
"So then why can't we just be with the regular students?" I asked.
"Because I teach differently than the other Charms teacher does. The other first years should be able to start doing magic by October or November. You, however won't be doing anything until after Christmas Break. It will be like this in Defense and Transfiguration too. None of you will be doing any magic until after the break. I will explain more when I see you in class tomorrow."
No magic until after Christmas? I felt even more worthless after he told us this. Mrs. Couder took us to two more classrooms that held a small amount of students as well. The fourth years were only a group of four in Transfiguration, a short young woman named Professor Agin taught this class and three fifth years were in Defense Against the Dark Arts. A woman taught this class and she seemed quite stern. We were then shown where the rest of our classes before she took us back to the Common Room.
"You have the rest of the day to get to know each other." She told us before leaving. "Feel free to explore some more."
As soon as she was gone, the boys started out a long list of complaints about Perlussa house, Hogwarts and Mrs. Couder. Leah and I sat down beside each other on the floor near the five boys who were complaining and didn't speak. The other girl sat down near the boys as well and looked as though she was on the verge of tears.
"What is your name?" I asked her deciding to be friendly.
"Don't talk to me, you filthy mudblood. Just because I am whatever I am doesn't mean I associate with mudbloods." She snapped. "And it's Kelly Gretchen."
I had no idea what a mudblood was but I had a feeling it wasn't good. The boys went very quiet and Leah was instantly at her feet and yelling at her. Kelly just shrugged, got up and went up to the girls dormitories smirking. Leah shaking from anger sat back down beside me.
"What's a mudblood?" I asked.
"It's a name that witches and wizard who think that people like you don't belong in this world came up with. They think that muggleborns are untrustworthy and should have no right to study magic just because they came from muggles. There was actually just a war that finished up a few months ago over it. My mother is muggleborn so that's why I got so angry." Leah answered.
"Do a lot of witches and wizards think that way?" I asked and wondered at the same time how she knew I was muggleborn.
"Yes, unfortunately and anyone who doesn't are called blood traitors." She glared at the scowling boy when she said this. "People like him are bad like that though."
"Actually my family is, I've never agreed with them." He said coolily. "So keep your mouth shut about things you don't know."
"I heard that all the Nott's are like that." Leah said.
"I'm not." The boy insisted. "My family has always known that I was different and now this will definitely confirm their suspicions."
He got up and stormed toward the boys dormitories. I felt bad, knowing that I had caused all of this. The remaining six of us decided to go outside for the day. We walked through the corridors quickly and were stopped by a ghost that started to throw things at us and cackling.
"That's Peeves! A Poltergiest." One of the boys said as we sprinted through the corridors to get away from him. We took many turns and I was afraid we wouldn't be able to find our way back but then we sprinted into the large Entrance Hall after we ran down some steps. I didn't see Peeves any where but we hurried outside anyway, just in case. I wasn't sure if ghosts could go outside but I was hoping Peeves had found his next victim by then. We walked toward the lake to sit under a tree and watched a group of students be taught by the giant man.
I soon learned that the boy's names were Craig Abian. He was a short and skinny boy with red hair and glasses. I couldn't remember him being sorted but I imagined it had been because of the enchantments in the Great Hall because I hadn't seen Leah or Kelly be sorted either. Stuart Tarbon was a tall black boy who laughed a lot. I instantly liked him because he gave off a warm aura. Danny Howard was also short, a little chunky with long blond hair that went past his ears and green eyes. Damian Zeldon dirty blond hair and blue eyes. He was a little bit taller than me and I thought he was rather cute. I also learned that the other boys name was Justin Nott.
We spent the morning outside until lunch and then we all decided to explore the castle, Justin joining us this time. He didn't speak at all though. He seemed really nervous and angry. He caught me looking at him a few more times and when it was time for dinner he sat beside me and whispered for me to stop staring at him or else he would learn a good hex and use it on me. Although I still felt down about being in Perlussa house, I started to feel better when I realized that I had made a new friend. I couldn't wait to get to know Leah more.
A/N: I'm not sure if I answered a lot of questions people may have so I decided to have a little fun with this. If there are any questions you have still you can ask me and I'll have one of the students ask Mrs. Couder or another teacher and they'll answer. The next chapter is pretty much written but I'll add it in or use the questions for the chapter after that. Also Justin Nott is Theodore Nott's cousin not brother. By the way, I'm sorry if this chapter seems a little rushed or has too much dialogue.