Chapter 7: Pairing with the Dragon

Pepper put on her school robes and checked herself in the mirror the next morning. She thought she looked pretty good with the Gryffindor insignia that had magically appeared on the breast of her robe overnight. The school uniform fit her well. She brushed her hair back into a high ponytail with a gold hair tie and slung her schoolbag over her shoulder before going down to the Great Hall for breakfast with Hermione. She didn't think she would ever be able to memorize where everything was, what with all the corridors and moving staircases. She would constantly have to follow someone else around to get to where she was going on time.

The magic ceiling in the Great Hall showed a brisk fall morning, fluffy clouds moving quickly across the sky. Hermione and Pepper sat down at the Gryffindor table across from Ron, Ginny, and Harry, and tucked into some toast and eggs while they all chatted. As Pepper began to consult her class schedule, there was a loud rustling as hundreds of owls came swooping into the room in a swarm of whites, black, and browns, bringing mail to their owners. Harry, Ron and Hermione each had owls land in front of their plates, and Pepper watched in fascination as they untied letters, and fed their owls. Harry had a few things in his hands and was shuffling through them. He held one out towards Pepper.

"What?" Pepper asked.

"It's a letter for you, Pig brought it," Harry explained, pointing sideways with his thumb at the little hopping owl in front of Ron.

"Pig!" said Ron to the owl. "Stop jumping around like mad! Here, eat a bit of toast." Ron picked up a piece that was almost as big as the owl and shoved it in the owl's beak, almost knocking it backwards. "I left you at home for a reason you know," he mumbled.

"Why'd you name him Pig?" Pepper asked.

"His proper name is Pigwidgeon," Ginny told Pepper. "It's sweet, don't you think?"

"Erm, yes, sweet," Pepper said. She took the envelope from Harry and opened it. Inside there were two letters. The first one was from her aunts, each part of the letter delineated by a different handwriting. The first was Piper's:

Pepper, I hope your first day of school is going well and you haven't gotten into any trouble yet. I miss you already and don't know how I'm going to survive not seeing you until Christmas break. Mrs. Weasley was nice enough to let us use her son's owl, but I think you should get one so we can send regular letters. Please look after yourself, Pepper, and remember that you can ask for help if you need it.

Send a letter back soon, sweetie. We love you.

Then Aunt Phoebe's handwriting:

The house is so quiet without you here! Not much has really happened to fill you in on except that yesterday since we were so sad after you left Mrs. Weasley invited us over for lunch and a 'spot of tea.' She really is nice, isn't she? I hope her kids look after you as well as she looked after us! Anyway, I really miss my gossip and shopping buddy. Paige is fighting to write here, so I'll say goodbye. I love you honey!

The last part was from Aunt Paige:

I was wondering if you packed your birthday present from me, I didn't get a chance to ask you that yesterday. Anyway, did anyone tell you how quiet the house is now? We're all sort of depressed over your leaving and I can't wait to see you. We've never been without you for more than a few hours and now you're halfway around the world! Enjoy the experiences you're getting to have, make some new friends and make some fun mistakes!

All our love,
Aunt Piper, Aunt Phoebe, Aunt Paige

Pepper realized at that moment how much she missed her aunts. Her Aunt Paige was right; she'd never been away from them for more than a few hours. To keep herself from crying, she opened the other letter, finding it was from Mrs. Weasley.

Pepper dear, Arthur and I hope you're having a wonderful time at Hogwarts so far. We know it's your first time around witches and wizards and we hope they're treating you well. If Ronald isn't then you can just tell me and I'll put him right. Will you please write back to your aunts, too, they were very distraught yesterday after the train left. Good luck with your classes,

Sincerely, Mrs. Molly Weasley

Pepper smiled; that was very sweet for her to do. She'd have to write back to Mrs. Weasley, she just wasn't sure how because it seemed Ron was sending Pig away with a letter right now.

"Are there any school owls I could use?" Pepper asked the table, folding up her letters and tucking them away into the pocket of her robe.

"Yes, in the Owlery," Hermione replied. She sent her own owl flying away after a snack. "Who wrote you?" she asked, opening the newspaper she'd gotten.

"My aunts and Mrs. Weasley," Pepper responded. "What's that you're reading?"

"The Daily Prophet," Hermione said. She showed the front cover to Pepper. There was a moving black and white picture of a man with a bowler hat on. The caption underneath read Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge Thinks About Retirement.

"So all pictures move here?" Pepper asked.

"Of course," said Ron, helping himself to seconds of everything.

"What's our first class?" Harry asked, rifling through his bag. "I haven't looked at my schedule yet."

"Herbology," Hermione answered without having to look at her sheet.

"Have you memorized the schedule already?" Ron asked, dismayed.

"Yes," Hermione said. "Then we have Transfiguration, I have Ancient Runes...Pepper do you have Ancient Runes or Divination?"

"Ancient Runes," Pepper replied. "Then Potions."

"Ug, with the Slytherins," Ron said disgustedly, checking his own class sheet.

"Well we'd better get going," said Hermione briskly. "We've got to get down to the greenhouses."

In Herbology with the Hufflepuffs a fellow Gryffindor Neville Longbottom answered most all the questions Professor Sprout asked. They were learning how to plant Kilgimunas and then how to extract the sap from their stems. The sap was to be put in tea to cure a cold and for homework they had to write a twelve-inch essay on it. It was only the first class, but Pepper's mind was already boggled. And she definitely was not the type of girl who loved to dig through dirt.

After class, Pepper set up a time to catch up on Saturday morning.

Pepper found Ancient Runes very interesting and, surprisingly, managed to answer one of the questions Hermione hadn't. She was to meet with this professor Saturday after she met with Professor Sprout.

Harry had warned her profusely about Professor Snape, the Potions teacher, and she didn't want to give him any reason not to like her, (besides being a Gryffindor). Ron said his favourite thing to do was to take points from houses for no reason.

It took Pepper and Hermione a while to get from the Ancient Runes classroom down to the dungeons, where Hermione said the Potions room was. Where the upper floors of the castle were bright and airy, with spectacular views of the countryside, the dungeons felt old and stuffy, and they filled Pepper with apprehension.

They'd just taken their seats when Professor Snape entered. His jet-black robes and tall, pale stature made a statement as he made his way to the front of the room. He waved his wand at the board behind him to make a list of ingredients and instructions.

"You have till the end of class to create this potion. Bring a vile up to me at the end of the hour. I'll put you into pairs," Professor Snape went around the room pairing them up. Pepper looked at the board. She recognized some of the ingredients but others were a complete mystery to her. Snape came past her, appraising her down his long nose. "Halliwell and Malfoy," he said, and then moved on.

Pepper couldn't believe that she'd gotten paired with Malfoy! Snape's intention was probably to make her seem like a complete idiot without the help of a friend to explain the way things worked. Well, she'd sure show him. She walked over to Malfoy's table where he was sitting there, smirking. "You're lucky, you know that Halliwell?" he sneered, "You've got Snape's favorite student to work with. Now go get me some – "

"Why don't you?" she asked sweetly.

"I'm mixing the potion," he answered arrogantly.

"What if I want to mix it?" countered Pepper.

"You've never made a potion before," he said matter-of-factly. "You've had no magical training."

"Now that's where you're wrong, Malfoy. I've made plenty of potions before," she said truthfully, referring to the dozens of vanquishing potions she helped her aunts make. "And I have had magical training." He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off by saying, "But I'll get the ingredients since you so desperately want to mix it yourself." And with that she was off to the storeroom, gathering the things on the board and brainstorming ways to prove her worth in the next hour.

She returned with the supplies just as Snape was walking by their table. Double checking how to chop the first ingredient, she placed the things on the table and made sure to meticulously follow instructions. She didn't want to screw up at all but she was getting a bit nervous as Snape watched over her shoulder. "You must cut them evenly," he snapped at Pepper before moving on. Malfoy's smirk grew deeper. Pepper thought of saying, "They ARE even!" but thought better of it.

Throughout the class Malfoy commanded Pepper to cut this and hand him that and she obeyed begrudgingly, not wanting Snape to find something else wrong with what she was doing, (though she'd occasionally add this and that to the cauldron). By the end of the hour they were finished with their potion and it was the correct texture and color. Malfoy put some in a vial and took it up to Snape's desk. Pepper heard Snape tell Malfoy he'd done a good job and she glared at the back of Malfoy's evil gelled head.

"You know Malfoy," she said when he'd returned to the table. "I didn't get to tell you last night that I'm glad to see you're in the House of the Great Ugly Gits, I'm sure they really needed a mascot before you came along." Pepper then walked back over to Hermione's table, where she was just finishing her potion with Pansy Parkinson, another evil Slytherin.

"You weren't flirting with Draco, were you?" Parkinson asked her with narrowed eyes.

"Yes, of course I was," Pepper answered sarcastically. "He's just so hot I couldn't resist."

Parkinson stuck her nose in the air in disgust and poured her potion into a vial unsuccessfully, as she was still glaring at Pepper. "Parkinson, watch it," said Hermione, grabbing the cauldron and vial away from her partner. With a haughty sigh Parkinson walked back over to Malfoy, flinging herself on him.

"Oh, Draco," Pepper heard her exclaim, "Wasn't it so HORRIBLE working with a Mudblood!"

"What's a Mudblood?" Pepper asked Hermione quietly.

"A very rude term for someone of no magical background, like me," Hermione answered, cleaning up her work area.

"Oh," Pepper said. Wait, she thought, I'm not a Mudblood! I'm PUREblood! "Is that how Slytherins decide if someone's okay or not – by their bloodline?"

"Mostly, though Malfoy's father doesn't like Mr. Weasley so even though Ron's Pureblood Malfoy doesn't like Ron. It's probably because they're poor."

"I see, so do you think Malfoy would think the same of me if he knew I was Pureblood?" Pepper asked, glancing over at Malfoy and Parkinson.

"Class dismissed," Snape announced. The students picked up their supplies and filed out of the room.

On their way to Gryffindor Tower to drop off their books, the two continued their conversation. "It can't be that you're poor," Hermione said in answer to Pepper's question. "But he may hate you because you're a Gryffindor. And that you're friends with the three of us. Let's see," Hermione began, thinking, "he hates me because I'm not Pureblood, Ron because he's poor, Harry because he's famous and we're all in Gryffindor. Though we're not sure if he hates you yet, now are we?" Hermione cocked an eyebrow.

"You know, Hermione, you could be the hot enemy Malfoy hates but secretly lusts for," Pepper said, nodding knowingly.

"What?" Hermione laughed.

"Yep, everyone needs one of those...it makes their lives more exciting."

"Do you need one, then?"

"I might, but I wouldn't know, really, since I've never had any enemies...except demons, and you can't secretly lust for them. Well, I guess you could, my Aunt Phoebe did, that wasn't really secret though, they did that right in public, but...anyway! Back to me – I've never really had any enemies, I'm still giving Malfoy the chance to make peace with me."

"Fat chance."

"Ooh!" Pepper suddenly exclaimed, slapping her forehead with the heel of her hand. "I didn't talk to Professor Snape about my catching up!"

"Talk to him on Wednesday; we have him then."

Following lunch was Charms, (which Pepper liked because it was the first time she actually got to use her wand), and then they had Care of Magical Creatures. Harry, Ron and Hermione seemed to be friends with the teacher, and before class introduced him to her. He was alarmingly large, at least twice the size of a regular full-grown man, with a large black beard and thick voice.

"Pepper, this is Hagrid," Harry said.

"I'm Pepper Halliwell."

"Nice ter meet ya," Hagrid replied.

They had Care of Magical Creatures with the Slytherins, too, and, taking the advice of Hermione, Pepper observed Malfoy's behavior to see if he was worth having as not-quite-an-enemy. She did want to show him he wasn't the boss of anyone, just because he was Pureblood, even if she did just do it for her friends' sake.

Pepper watched as he pushed the other kids out of the way, trying to get closer to the animal that they were studying. He made rude remarks and made fun of the way Hagrid taught. Pepper wondered briefly if he wrote down what he was going to say in preparation for the right moment to say it. Surely he couldn't come up with all the material he did on the spot. And Harry had said he'd been doing this for five years?

Watching him do that, she was ready to have a go at him right then and there, but thought better of it. She figured if all of these people could survive Malfoy's taunts and rude comments for as long as they had, she could do it for a few more days. Pepper just couldn't stand watching people being picked on, especially when they'd done nothing.

She found her thoughts (and her eyes) drift over to Harry who was standing there paying rapt attention and taking notes. She realized with a shock that she should be focusing on taking notes, not on staring at Harry's sexy mop of hair.

After dinner Pepper wrote a letter back to her aunts and one to Mrs. Weasley in thanks. She asked Harry to show her where the Owlery was, and he happily obliged.

The evening was cool, and Pepper wrapped her robes more tightly around her as they trudged across the grounds towards the dilapidated tower housing all school and visiting owls. The edges of summer were just hanging on, but the air was threatening a downturn into fall.

"So did you like your first day?" Harry asked as they crossed the grass in the setting sun.

"Yeah, except maybe for Potions."

"Pairing with Malfoy must've blown."

"Yep," Pepper answered, laughing. "It sure did. I wanted so much to prove to Professor Snape and Malfoy that I could do it, that I wouldn't screw up, but Snape found something wrong. Plus, I didn't know half of the ingredients we were using."

"That's alright, I'm sure you'll catch on quick enough." They came to the foot of the Owelery and Harry started up the stairs before her.

"Especially since I've got to make up, like, all the work you've done. I have to see all the teachers individually so they can see if I'm caught up." The room housed at least a hundred owls, and it smelled like it. Harry chose one of the brown ones that seemed to be the school standard and motioned for Pepper to use it.

"Eesh, you'll probably have to take your O.W.L.S. then," Harry grimaced.

"O.W.L.S.?" Pepper asked as she tied the letters to the owl's foot.

"Ordinary Wizarding Levels. They're exams. I'm sure Hermione will tell you all about them if you ask her."

"I'm sure...so how do you deal with all of this homework?" Wanting to minimise the time spent in the smelly room, Pepper carried the owl towards the window to help it fly away before making for the stairwell again.

"Most of it's not due till at least Wednesday...Hermione usually helps me and Ron with it. We go to the library...write it...hand it in."

"Where's the library?" Pepper asked, brightening. How had she not seen this place already?

"Want me to show you?" So, Harry led Pepper through the winding hallways to the Hogwarts library.

"It's huge," Pepper gasped. She ran her fingers over some of the leather book spines. "There must be a hundred thousand books in here. This is amazing!"

"I'm willing to bet there's more than that."

"I could spend weeks in here."

"I think you and Hermione are going to be great friends," Harry chuckled. "You could just come in here and read and read. I don't know how people are able to do that."

"Don't you like to read?" Pepper asked, looking at Harry, aghast.

"Not so much..."

"Shame," Pepper said, shaking her head. "Too bad I didn't bring any of my books, I could get started on my homework – I know it's going to take me a while."

"Well we could go back up the common room, get them, and come back down," Harry suggested. "As long as we're up in the Tower by curfew, we've got all the time in the world."

"How late is curfew?"

"Three hours."

"Sounds good to me. As long as I don't have to go anywhere by myself, I'm fine, otherwise I'll get lost. How do you know where everything is?"

"Well," Harry began once they were out of the library, "it comes from walking around the castle so much. I learned where all my classes are pretty quickly. I also have this handy map...it's called the Marauder's Map," Harry said, dropping his voice considerably. "It shows you a layout of the castle and everyone in it and where they're located."

"Forget homework, I want to see that," Pepper said excitedly. "Where'd you get it? Sounds like something everyone would like to have."

"Weasley twins," Harry explained. "They got it from Filch – he's the caretaker – they got it from his office in their first year. They gave it to me so I could get to Hogsmede because my aunt and uncle wouldn't sign the permission form. It gave me seven ways to get out of the castle, rather helpful really."

Neither of them said much on the way back to Gryffindor Tower. Pepper was once again trying to memorize the way to get there and Harry was lost in his own thoughts. When they arrived in the common room Harry quickly went up to his dormitory, dug in his trunk and found the map. He went back to the common room where he pulled Pepper into a corner so no one could see what they were doing. "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," Harry murmured.

Ink suddenly appeared across the parchment. "Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs?" Pepper wondered aloud.

"My dad and his friends. Moony was Remus Lupin, whom I'm sure you'll get to meet, Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew...who...who betrayed our parents and tried to kill me..." at this Harry's voice faltered a bit. "Padfoot," he continued, "was your dad and Prongs was my dad. They were best friends, have I told you? That's why Sirius was my godfather. Anyway, this is the map." He unfolded the map until he found where Gryffindor Tower was. "See, there we are," he told Pepper, pointing to two dots in the corner of the common room. They were labeled 'Pepper Halliwell-Black' and 'Harry Potter.'

Pepper had to take a moment to absorb the new information. She loved learning new things about her parents. "This is incredible," she said eventually. "So you can see what anyone in the castle is doing?" Harry nodded. "You know, you could really creep some people out with this..."