Chapter 5
"On the Hogwarts Express"
The train ride to Hogwarts gave Lexie plenty of time to reflect on her days at her own magic school and remember everything that she had both enjoyed… and loathed.
In school, Lexie had excelled in nearly all of her subjects, save Charms, in which she was a complete disaster. She'd shown exceptional strength in Defense Against the Dark Arts, Divination (mostly due to the fact that she was becoming an Empath and the occasional premonition), and fortunately for her, Potions. Keeping a low profile under Snape's long, hooked nose wouldn't be easy. Especially since she was still sure he'd recognize her at first glance, despite Sophie and Moody's assurances that he wouldn't.
But it wasn't the classes, the homework or the exams that made Lexie dread returning to school. It was the students. Lexie hadn't initially been very successful in making friends upon her arrival at her magic school in the U.S. She met the standards for a Slytherin, appearance wise. Small, thin, dark hair, hooded eyes, a serious stare. She had all the characteristics that Slytherin's were known for as well, cunning, resourcefulness, determination. But she also had many other traits that were characteristic of the other houses; bravery – Gryffindor, intelligence – Ravenclaw… just to name a few that the sorting hat had run through before he resolved that Slytherin would suit her best. Lexie had remembered sitting in front of the entire school, waiting for the sorting hat to make a decision. The wait had been agonizing and she'd been so happy that it had finally made a decision that she didn't care where it put her in the end.
Slytherin turned out to be a difficult house to make friends in. Most of the students were from pureblood, ancient wizarding families. Their parents were friends, grandparents were friends, great grandparents were friends… and they were friends. It was hard to make a name for yourself when you had no idea who you were or where exactly you'd come from.
Lexie had been adopted at a young age by a Muggle woman. While she proved to be an excellent mother, she knew relatively little about where Lexie and her special "talents". She had been dropped off at a monastery when she was only a small child, with only her first name and the clothes on her back. And to this day, that was all she really knew about her past.
But this time would be different. She didn't need to make any friends. She was a ehem… uh, somewhat successful Auror, for the Ministry of Magic. She didn't need the approval of any of these students. She smiled smugly. The satisfaction of knowing that she had already made something of a name for herself, on her own, would give her enough confidence to get through this mission in one piece.
Sophie had also given her an order, "You have to find a way to get close to Snape. Not chummy I mean… but once you're sure he doesn't recognize you, find a way to be around him. I don't care whether it's remedial potions, or tutoring… find a way."
"Find a way…" Lexie mused as she stared out the window. That'd be tricky all right.
She pulled out her copy of Advanced Potion Making and began to read. "It'd be a good idea to brush up on this stuff…" Lexie surmised.
Before she knew it, the train ride was over and they were being herded up to the school. Just as they had crossed through the huge wooden double doors a hand fell on her bad shoulder. She nearly collapsed out of surprise and the shock that it was still giving her so much pain. "Alexandra Bane?" said a sharp female voice.
"Yes…" she said, trying not to groan with pain as the thin, bony hand remained clasped onto her shoulder.
The hand belonged to an older woman, with dark hair, pulled back neatly into a knot in the back of her head, square spectacles and pursed lips. "I'm Professor McGonagall. Head of Gryffindor house and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts." She introduced herself.
"Pleasure to meet you," Lexie said quickly extending her hand, hoping that McGonagall would return the gesture and release her shoulder. "Same to you." She said, shaking her hand briskly. "It is my understanding that you are transferring in from the States?"
"That's right." Lexie said, trying to avoid being trampled by the crowd of students filtering in through the doors. No lies so far, Lexie thought to herself.
"And that there, you were a member of Slytherin house?" she asked curtly, her voice turning a little colder. She'd said the word Slytherin, with some dislike.
"Yes ma'am." Lexie replied, trying to be as polite as possible.
McGonagall pursed her lips before saying, "Come with me please." She was leading Lexie toward a door across the entrance hall.
She led her into a small, cozy room with a warm fireplace, some squashy red and gold furniture and a three-legged stool On the stool sat a tatty looking old hat with a ripped brim. McGonagall gestured to the stool. "Take a seat and place the sorting hat on your head… just to be sure." She said kindly.
Lexie nodded and did as she was told. "Please, please, please not the same bullshit as last time. Just let it be quick. Just make a decision." She thought desperately to herself.
She pulled the old hat down around her ears and waited. "Hm…" said a deep voice in her ear. "It seems as though you've done this once before." It asked, though, it was not a question at all. "Just as I thought." Said the hat. "Last time you were put in Slytherin, were you not?" asked the hat.
"Yes." Lexie thought inside her head.
"Hm… you also possess a great number of qualities which are often exhibited by those in Gryffindor and Ravenclaw."
Lexie felt her leg begin to shake nervously. McGonagall was staring at her.
"But I suppose you already know that." The hat went on. "Were you happy with the decision of being sorted into Slytherin?"
"Yes." Lexie thought. It was no better or worse than any of the other houses would've been to her.
After another moment, the hat spoke again. "Well… I see no reason to make changes. If it ain't broke, don't fix it." The hat said in her ear just before it shouted, "SLYTHERIN."
McGonagall's pursed lips turned a shade whiter and Lexie would've sworn she was even more curt with her as she led her out of the room and back toward the Great Hall. As they emerged, McGonagall, who had ahold of Lexie's elbow, abruptly changed directions. They were now facing a dark stairwell at the opposite end of the hall. Just then a figure appeared at the top of the stairs. There, dark, menacing and looking as perturbed as ever was Severus Snape. Lexie felt as though she'd received some sort of electrical shock at the sight of him.
McGonagall drug her right up to Snape. "Professor Snape." She addressed him, her voice still sounding less than friendly.
Snape sneered, but stopped. "Professor McGonagall, good to see you." He said, though it certainly didn't sound like it was good to see her.
"Yes, yes, Severus, this is the new transfer student. She's just been sorted into your house. Alexandra Bane, this is Professor Snape, head of Slytherin house and the schools current Potionsmaster." McGonagall said briskly pushing Lexie forward to stand in front of Snape.
"Ahh… Miss Bane. We meet at last." Snape said and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. It made Lexie feel as though a very large rock had suddenly landed in the pit of her stomach. Instinctively Lexie could do little but stare at her feet, feeling all of the insecurities she'd always felt in school uncontrollably returning to her.
"Thank you sir." She said politely to her shoes.
"Look at me when I'm speaking to you." He snapped.
She quickly looked up only to lock eyes with her mark. Those dark, mysterious eyes, boring into hers as though he were reading her thoughts. The memory of the night they'd met in Knockturn alley fought to make it's way to the front of her mind, but she forced her mind to remain blank and as innocent as possible. She had a feeling that Snape was likely a very skilled Legilimens, once having been a Death Eater and all. She swallowed hard. He said, eyebrows knitted together in a decisive frown and she found herself desperately wondering what he was thinking. As though she'd just received an electrical shock, she suddenly had a most overwhelming sensation of suspicion and dislike overtake her. She had only just met Snape and already she knew what he was feeling; and it wasn't good. He already didn't like her.
He studied her for a few moments longer before finally speaking again, "Well Miss Bane, as you are in Slytherin, you should know that I expect only the best behavior and performance from the students in my house. That means top grades and no detentions. You'll be rooming with Miss Sena and Miss Zaizen. That will be all." He said, finishing rather abruptly.
Lexie took the dismissal thankfully and excused herself to file in with the rest of the students, leaving Snape to guard the entrance hall for anyone who seemed to be having too much fun for their own good.
Once inside, it wasn't hard to figure out what table she belonged at. Though all the students were dressed in their usual black, the Slytherin's still managed to stand out. While the rest of the house tables chattered uncontrollably, the Slytherins were more subdued. They put their heads together and talked softly about their summers and how they could one-up their rivals this year. Most of them were dark in appearance wearing expressions of someone who had just smelled something foul.
Lexie knew that Slytherin's didn't take very kindly to newcomers, so she chose a seat near a group of younger girls toward the end of the table where no one else was sitting. A few students took the time to throw her contemptuous glances, but other than those few, she remained, thankfully, unnoticed.
Just before the start of the feast, Lexie felt a set of eyes on her. She looked down the table and caught two pale, sinister looking girls staring at her curiously. She looked away, annoyed, thinking to herself, "Take a picture… it'll last longer."
A few moments later, the same two girls dropped down across the table from her. "Are you Alexandra?" the first asked. Her voice was just a bit on the whiney side and Lexie thought vaguely that she wouldn't fancy listening to this girl talk for any extended period of time.
"That depends on who's looking for her." Lexie said smartly, eyes flitting between the other two.
The newcomers exchanged a look, apparently silently discussing whether Lexie's smart-ass comment was clever or if it was too bold for a newcomer. "Funny. We're your roommates. I'm Natasha… Natasha Zaizen." Said the taller of the two. She had pallid skin, heavily lidded eyes and was wearing a smirk that positively screamed her superiority over everyone else in her presence. "And this is Druscilla Sena." She said, gesturing to the other girl at her side. The smaller gave a small, unenthusiastic wave. "Dru for short." She said. Her hair was a mousy shade of brown, she had cloudy looking gray eyes and had the look about her that she was permanently bored.
"Nice to meet you." Lexie said hesitantly, still not sure if these girls were the type to be making friends with on her first day.
"So are you a pureblood?" Natasha asked and it was obvious she'd been bursting to ask since the moment she'd laid eyes on Lexie.
"Uh…" Lexie faltered, it had been a long time since anyone had asked her that question. "I don't know. I was adopted."
"Oh." Natasha said shortly.
The pit of Lexie's stomach fell out. This was why she hated school. The pettiness. It didn't matter what you could do, or what kind of person you were… all that mattered was your name, heritage and looks. "That's why I came here… I'm originally from London. So I came back to see if I can find out about my family." Lexie said, thinking it wasn't far from the truth. She had wanted to find out about her family when she'd moved to London in the first place. "I just hope my worthless parents at least had the decency to be a witch and wizard… after dropping me at the monastery. And if they weren't… and they're still alive and around… I'll make them pay." She said, wondering if this would be the right thing to say.
Natasha's eyes lit up. "Bravo." She said, sounding impressed. "Well… I hope they're purebloods too. You seem like you'll fit in just fine with us, right Dru?" she asked her sidekick.
Dru nodded in agreement.
Inwardly, Lexie wiped the beading sweat from her brow. She'd made her first connection. As long as one person thinks you're cool… everyone else thinks so too; as it so often was.
Just then the headmaster stood and began his start of term speech. He kept it brief, saving his proper speech for after the feast. It was storming outside and the bewitched ceiling mirrored the outside weather as it flashed lightening and was splattered with rain. Just then, with a particularly loud crack of thunder, the feast began.
Natasha and Dru sat with Lexie through the meal, asking an occasional question about what school in America was like and how the teachers were. Lexie indulged them, playing every story up to make the American magic school look as though it was a respectable training ground for Dark witches and wizards.
"But then I decided to come here… like I said, I wanted to know about my heritage, but more than that – I wanted to study under the professors. I hear there's an excellent transfiguration teacher and Potionsmaster." She said, wondering if this would give her any clues about what sort of opinion the students held regarding Snape.
Natasha and Dru exchanged a significant look. Then Natasha smiled smugly. "Professor Snape." She gave a small laugh and glanced at the staff table momentarily. "Yes… he's wonderful. And also happens to be the head of our house." She said proudly. "He's easily the most powerful wizard at this school." She went on. Dru nodded in agreement. It was obvious that they both held Snape in highest regard, bordering on reverence.
"Interesting…" Lexie thought to herself.
"My father knew him well. He was a few years ahead of him in school. Said he was the best in his year at Defense. Father also said that Professor Snape is the man to know if you want to be connected once you leave school. His colleagues and acquaintances are the shit." Natasha said importantly.
"Yeah he knows all the De- ooof." Dru wheezed.
Natasha smiled weakly, "All the right people." She finished for her winded roommate who Lexie was sure had just caught an elbow in the stomach under the table. But Dru didn't need to finish what she'd been saying for Lexie to know that 'all the people he knew' were Death Eaters. The question was, 'why did Natasha seem so interested in Snape's connections?' The likelihood of her desiring to be a Death Eater seemed plausible. More so by the second.
Soon, the feast was over and the headmaster, Dumbledore, was getting to his feet again. He began to tell the students about the new rules and regulations which included a long list banning products from "Zonko's Joke Shoppe" in Hogsmead. There was a cry of outrage from the gallery of students but it was overruled by the headmaster who insisted that it was time for them all to get to bed, so that they would be well rested for their lessons the next day.
And with that, they were excused. Lexie made her way back to her dormitory with her new roommates. It had been a very long, exhausting day, full of stress and forgotten memories regurgitated through this new school. Her head had barely touched the silver and green pillowcase of her four-poster before she was fast asleep. She slept soundly as she dreamed of everything and nothing.
