Over the next few weeks, Grace became accustomed to life at Hogwarts. The days melded together as she fell into a routine. Wake up, attend classes, hang out with Rowan, read, repeat. She had been chipping away at the book about the construction of Hogwarts that she had found, as well as keeping her eyes peeled for signs of anything strange, but so far she hadn't found anything.
Occasionally the other Slytherins dragged her away from her reading for games of wizard's chess or Gobstones, or simply to talk. Merula was still mad about Grace's friendship with Rowan; she knew this because Merula made a point of repeating it almost every time the two saw each other.
Grace enjoyed her first Herbology class as expected. In their first class they had cared for thin vines covered in tiny blue flowers- the macaw flowers that Rowan had told her about. Since there was an odd number of Slytherins, she'd been paired with Chiara Lobosca, the shy girl who'd been in the boat with her and Rowan before the Welcoming Feast. The two hadn't said much, only speaking to ask the other to do something. They'd been a quiet but efficient pair.
History of Magic was the opposite of Herbology in every way possible. It was taught by a boring ghost who droned on endlessly about subjects that Rowan assured her were fascinating. Binns could have been lecturing them on anything from wars to foot fungus for all Grace paid attention. Less than halfway through the first class, she'd given up on trying to take notes and decided to ask Rowan about everything later. Rowan wasn't pleased with the arrangement, but she agreed after Grace convinced her that it would be good practice for when she became a professor.
Since the defeat of Lord Voldemort, the curse on the Defense Against the Dark Arts position had been broken. That meant it was a good thing Grace liked her professor, because he would be sticking around for more than just one year.
Professor Wilkins was a small, bearded man with white hair. He was very old and fragile-looking, but somehow he had a presence that demanded the respect of everyone in the room.
"If the second war against Lord Voldemort taught us nothing else, it taught us the importance of unity," he began.
This again, Grace thought. The professors kept talking about unity between the houses, but in every class she had been in, the Slytherins stayed on one side and the other students kept their distance. It was clear that no unity existed.
"Many more people would have died fighting here at Hogwarts if they hadn't had someone they trusted to watch their backs," Professor Wilkins continued. "So, the first thing you are going to do is pick a partner from the other house. Over the next seven years, you will work with this partner, so that you can have someone you trust in case of trouble. We may be in a time of peace now, but there is no telling how long it will last."
He stopped talking and watched them expectantly. No one moved.
The silence stretched on. Grace looked around. In the back of the room she saw the boy who had been in her boat before the Sorting ceremony, Ben Copper. She walked over to him.
"Want to be partners?" she asked, conscious of the fact that everyone was watching them.
Ben's eyes widened. "Oh! Yes. Thank you."
Grace sat down next to him. Emboldened by her success, the other Slytherins left their seats and approached the Gryffindors. Ethan pompously offered his hand to Corey Hayden, who smiled and obliged with a handshake. Quiet Sam approached Levi. Somehow they came to an agreement without speaking a single word, and Sam sat next to his new partner. Ismelda sat next to Jae Kim and glared at him, daring him to object. Murphy McNully wheeled up to Liz and started chattering excitedly to her. A pair of Gryffindor girls reluctantly approached Barnaby.
That left just Merula and Pippa Macmillan. Neither girl was happy with this pairing.
"I can't be partners with a Slytherin!" Pippa protested, looking at Merula as if she was a slug.
Merula gave Pippa an equally disgusted look. "As if I want to be partners with a Gryffindor," she retorted. She turned to Professor Wilkins and scowled at him. "Why do we have to work with people from other houses? Slytherin has always gotten along just fine on its own."
"Gryffindor too," Pippa added. She realized that she had agreed with Merula and glared at the Slytherin girl.
"In recent years, the Sorting Hat has made many pleas for the houses to unite as the founders wished," Professor Wilkins said in a calm voice. He arched one eyebrow. "Surely you don't claim to know more than the four greatest witches and wizards of their time?"
Pippa wisely chose to back down. She looked away from the old professor, her petulant expression replaced by a sheepish one.
Merula, however, continued to glare. Professor Wilkins sighed. His friendly gaze sharpened. "Perhaps I wasn't clear before, Miss Snyde," he said. "Either you partner with Miss Macmillan willingly, or you can continue to protest and spend the rest of term in detention- and still be paired with Miss Macmillan."
Merula finally backed down, grumbling insults under her breath, which Professor Wilkins pretended not to hear. She slumped into a chair next to Pippa, where she sat, fuming, for the rest of class.
Professor Wilkins moved on to their first lesson. He taught them how to cast the Stinging Hex, which they practiced in the air. When they cast the spell correctly, there was a brief, almost imperceptible, flicker of light at the end of their wands.
Grace and Ben picked the spell up quickly- or at least Professor Wilkins said they did. There was no way to know what effect the spell would have for sure without casting it on someone.
The two of them talked quietly for the rest of class. Ben explained that he was a Muggleborn, which was part of why he was so nervous- everything was new to him.
"Didn't a Ministry official come to your house and explain everything?" Grace asked.
"Yes, but there's a difference between being told that there are moving staircases and talking pictures and a poltergeist and actually seeing those things," Ben said.
"There must be something you aren't scared by," Grace said.
Ben thought for a moment. "I like playing chess, but I haven't tried the magical version yet."
"You should join the wizard's chess club," Grace suggested. "It meets in the Transfiguration classroom every Thursday after dinner. I could also introduce you to my friend- do you know Rowan Khanna?"
When Ben nodded, Grace said, "She really likes playing wizard's chess. You could play with her sometime."
After class ended, Grace found Rowan in the library. Rowan agreed to bring her chess set to the courtyard and play with Ben.
Grace heard a noise as they walked into the courtyard. Ben was backed against the fountain by two older students, who looked to be about three years older than Grace.
"Stay here," Grace told Rowan. "I'll deal with this." She pulled out her wand. She had wanted to know if she could cast the Stinging Hex, couldn't she? This was an opportunity to find out.
She walked towards the group of boys, who were too distracted to notice her. "Leave him alone," she spat.
Three heads whipped in her direction as the boys turned to look at her.
"Aren't you a Slytherin?" one of the boys sneered. "Since when do Slytherins help anyone?"
"Since thirty seconds ago," she said. "Get out of here, Ben," she ordered him without taking her eyes off the older boys. There was a sound of footsteps as Ben scurried to safety.
"He's a Muggleborn, you know," the other boy said. "Are you sure you want to be helping him?"
The implication of the boy's words wasn't lost on Grace. Before she could stop herself, she raised her wand. "Aculeo," she snarled. The boy yelped as her Stinging Hex hit him.
She struggled to resist the urge to hex him again, or hex the other boy. She gave them her best condescending look before walking away to find Ben and Rowan.
She found them at the edge of the courtyard. "Thank you," Ben said. "No one's ever stood up for me like that before."
"Don't you have any friends in your own house?" Grace asked.
Ben shook his head.
"Then we'll be your friends," Grace decided.
Ben's face, which had turned sad, lit up. "Really?!"
Grace and Rowan nodded. Ben's face bore a smile that put the Cheshire cat to shame. "Thank you," he said.
They sat down to start a game of wizard's chess, and from then on, Ben joined them every night.