2
The Fifth First Day
Doe awoke on the first day of term to Lily's overly cheerful voice.
"It's our first day of classes, sleepy" Lily squealed, jumping on top of her sleeping body. Doe reached up and tried to push her off, but missed her by inches.
" Lily, shut up" Marlene moaned from the bed next to Doe's.
" I second that" Alice Prewett called from the bed in the corner. Mary was still snoring.
" Did you expect me to let you all sleep in and miss breakfast?" Lily demanded.
A few groans of annoyance later and Marlene's moody promise to hex Lily later and the five Gryffindor fifth year girls were all up and dressed. As they left the dormitory, Doe couldn't help but feel as though her skirt was a bit shorter. Maybe her legs had grown over the summer.
" Lily, does my skirt look shorter to you?" she asked.
She stopped and looked at her, surveying the length objectively, "It looks fine, honest"
Doe was satisfied enough with Lily's assurance and followed her to the Great Hall. When they got there, most of Gryffindor was at the house table, loading their plates with eggs, bacon and kippers.
" Oh, how I've missed Hogwarts food" Doe said biting into the apple tart in front of her.
" Mom, not much of a cook?" Emmeline Vance asked from further down the table
It took Doe a minute to respond. Emmeline was a sixth year Gryffindor, and she and Doe looked quite a bit alike. They had similar frames with dark hair and fair complexions.
" Not like this," she told her, " Muggle food mainly"
She took a sip of pumpkin juice, " and it's been months since I've had pumpkin juice"
" Doe's been deprived!" Marlene called out in mock horror, " Alert the house elves! They'll have a carton by your bed at all times"
" You know, kindness is a trait that most people admire. Right, McKinnon?" Landon McKinnon, Marlene's older brother asked joining them at the table.
" So I'm told, McKinnon" Marlene said smugly.
Landon was a 7th year Gryffindor, and the youngest of Marlene's six older brothers. Doe had met all of the other five McKinnon brothers' various times over the summer and when they had been at Hogwarts, but Landon was the closest to their own age, so she knew him best.
" Hi, Doe" he said with a smile.
" Hi Landon, how've you been?" She asked.
" Splendid," Landon grinned, " Congrats on your badge by the way"
" Thank you," She told him.
" I knew you'd get it" he added with a large smile.
Doe thought she noticed him blush slightly when he said this, and she couldn't figure out why.
" and yours's as well, Lily" he added after.
" Thanks," Lily said brightly.
" So, Marlene" Landon began, " I've just gotten a letter from our eldest brother Klark telling me that Christmas Holiday is going to be in the isles"
" Ugh, " Marlene groaned, " It's always the in the isles."
" We'll survive, we always do" Landon said patting her head and rejoining his seventh year friends.
" Landon's so annoying" Marlene said rolling her eyes, as she watched her older brother plop down next to Gideon and Fabian Prewett.
" Cute though" Mary said wiggling her eyebrows.
" Mary!" Marlene said throwing her balled up napkin at her.
Mary ducked and stuck her tongue out at Marlene.
" Be happy you get along," Lily said sadly, " Petunia didn't say one word to me all summer"
" Is she still dating that awful boy, Vernon?" Marlene asked.
Lily shuddered violently, " They're inseparable"
" Guys, McGonagall's coming over" Mary hissed at them.
Professor McGonagall strode over to the four girls, " Good morning ladies, I have your schedules" she said passing them out.
" And here" she said loudly handing James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter, who had just walked into the great hall, their schedules, " for you lot who can't seem to be on time"
Doe opened her schedule and groaned. Today they had divination, followed by potions, history of magic, and charms. It wasn't a fun schedule.
" Bloody hell Minnie," Sirius said eyeing his schedule, " couldn't have given us a worse first day back"
" Detention, Mr. Black" McGonagall said angrily.
Sirius only grinned. " I knew you missed me"
McGonagall narrowed her eyes and strode away.
" Did you hear, Black?" Cormac Dracony, a fourth year asked, as soon as soon as McGonagall was out of earshot.
" Hear what?" Sirius asked, only half listening. Cormac was always trying to impress Sirius, so he only half paid attention now.
" That guy, you-know-who, killed a group of muggleborns in Diagon Alley yesterday" he said and slid today's copy of the prophet towards him.
James was wide eyed and Lily was pretending she hadn't heard. As a muggleborn, the rising popularity of You-Know-Who was most frightening to her.
" My dad told me the ministry was taking care of you-know-who" Doe said staring at the front of the paper.
" Is he still a magical law enforcer?" Sirius asked.
" Yeah, he's head of the department," Doe said reading the paper of his shoulder.
" He probably didn't know how bad it was" James said, " they say he's gotten stronger lately".
" It say's he looking for followers" Cormac interjected.
Sirius rolled his eyes, " Wonder where he'll be recruiting from"
Everyone looked towards the Slytherin table.
It had all started when they were third years. Back then it was just whispers. Their parents and teachers gossiped about the rumor that a young wizard's was trying to rid the wizarding world of bloodtraitors and mudbloods, making it so that only the purest blood could practice magic. But in the two years that had followed since their third year, this You-Know-Who had gained massive popularity and followers. He was becoming very popular.
They all finished breakfast and headed up to their dormitories to get the books they needed.
" You don't think the you-know-who thing's anything to worry about do you?" Lily asked clutching her copy of 'unmasking the future'.
" I'm sure the aurors are handling it" Doe told her.
She nodded. Doe bit her lip in order to hide her thoughts. You-Know-Who was becoming more of a problem than she thought even the aurors would be able to handle soon, but she didn't let Lily know that. There was no need for her to worry yet.
Mary and Marlene had already left, so Lily and Doe headed to the Divination tower.
" Divination is such a rubbish class" Lily said climbing the tower.
" It's useless unless you're a seer" Doe agreed.
As soon as they entered the room, a thick perfume hit their noses. Professor Gibbons always burned too much incense. Mary and Marlene has saved two poufs at their table.
" Nice skirt" Sirius commented when Doe walked by. She sighed angrily.
" I told you it was short" She snapped to Lily. If Sirius was commenting on it, then Doe knew she need a longer one. Lily just laughed.
" Good Morning" Professor Gibbons announced, " We will be deciphering each other's dreams with the charge on page 139"
Doe flipped her book open to the page, and it revealed a very complex chart listing common dream themes and their meanings. According to the book, Lily's recent dream about fighting with Petunia meant she was destined for greatness, and Doe's about being late to class mean she'd be faced with a horrible secret.
As they wrote down the meanings, Professor Gibbons walked around and read them over their shoulders.
"Greatness," he smiled at Lily's paper and then looked to Doe's, " a horrible secret" he read.
" Yours or another's?" he asked.
" It didn't say" Doe told him.
He shook his head, " But what do you see?"
She didn't know how to answer. She didn't see anything. But rather than listening to Professor's Gibbon's lecture about how she needed to use her 'inner eye', she let her eyes slip close and pretending to be concentrating on seeing into the future.
" Someone else's secret, Professor" She guessed.
Professor Gibbons smiled, " perhaps we have a seer in our midst's"
" or a very convincing guesser" Lily added quietly with a giggle.
Doe smiled widely as Professor Gibbons left their table and began circling the room.
" That man is off his rocker" she said as soon as he was a good distance away.
" I'd of dropped Divination years ago, but Runes didn't sound much better" Mary said.
Doe flipped through the charts again, trying to further decipher the dream, when she was interrupted.
" I think I may go after Sirius this year" Marlene announced abruptly.
All three of the other girls turned and looked at her with absolute disbelief at her words.
" Marley, no don't" Lily begged.
Marlene grinned, " Come on, Lily it's bound to happen eventually, and I'm curious to see if he lives up to his reputations"
" Sirius has commitment issues" Mary warned.
" Who says I want a commitment?" Marlene asked, " it would be fun"
" You say that now" Doe told her, even though she knew Marlene would do what she wanted.
The clock tower chimed loudly signaling the end of the lesson. They all gathered their things and headed for the door with the rest of their classmates.
" Oh joy, potions" Marlene said unhappily.
" Potions is actually pretty interesting" Doe told her, " If you pay attention"
" Which she wont" Mary said.
They climbed down the tower and headed towards the dungeons. A chill fell upon them, the closer they got. It made Doe wonder how the Slytherins could handle such a cold environment for their common room.
The hallway outside the classrooms was lined with both Gryffindors and Slytherins. The Gryffindors groaned as they noticed who they would be having this class with. Potions could be exhausting enough without dealing with their enemies.
" Goody, Slytherins" Marlene said sarcastically.
" Not like we're looking forward to this any more than you are" Bellatrix called from the other side of hall, twirling one of her thick black curls.
If there was one person Doe despised most in this world, it was Bellatrix Black. She was completely full of herself and made it her mission to ruin the lives of those she thought less of.
" We got the short end of the stick here" Doe called back to her.
" What is it with you Gryffindors? You think so highly of yourselves" Elizabeth chimed from beside Bellatrix. Her tanned skin glowing with hatred.
" US!?" Marlene demanded, " were not the ones running around announcing our blood content!"
" Well you couldn't, could you?" Bellatrix snapped, " you're all a bunch of blood traitors and mudbloods"
Doe crossed her arms angrily, " You're all inbred anyway. Keep the bloodlines closed? More like keep it in the family"
She heard the Marauders snicker behind her.
" You've got quite a mouth on you, don't you Meadowes" Elizabeth snapped, drawing her wand.
Doe didn't even flinch. She could handle herself around them.
" I'd put that away if I were you, Ms. Merlin" Professor Slughorn said rounding the corner.
Elizabeth looked mildly irritated that her Head of House had stopped her from her hexing the Gryffindors. She threw a nasty look at Doe before following the rest of the Slytherins into the Dungeon.
Doe took her usual seat at the double desk with Lily and opened her copy of Advanced Potion-Making: Year 5.
Professor Slughorn was standing in front of his desk that was cluttered with several flasks of potions and ingredients. He had a wide smile as he looked at his fifth year students.
" Welcome back, my hungry pupils" Slughorn said with a grin.
He began to pace the room as he talked.
" I know this year is going to be challenging with you O.W.L.'s and career selection to think about, so I've planned the months leading up to the exams very carefully, with lots of reviewing. Until then, however, I think you need some practice" Slughorn started.
Everyone stared at him with wide eyes. Practice in potions usually meant extra homework or hours of reviewing potion steps.
" So I have planned an extensive O.W.L. related project that will help you master the concepts." Slughorn continued, "You will master five O.W.L potions and write an extensive research paper on them. In addition to the five essays, you'll be expected to write a 2 foot essay on what the project has taught you and how it's helped you prepare" he finished.
Everyone groaned. It was worse than they had thought. Fifth year was already hard, and it was only their first day.
" This is one huge project" Mary said sighing.
"I'm working with Lily!" Marlene shouted, knowing Lily was well versed in Potions
" Remus, you're my partner" Sirius added quickly.
" No fair, " James said, " I need a decent grade, If you're working with Remus, then I'm working with Doe"
" Hey!" Doe said loudly.
" Hush, Meadowes" James said quieting her with a wave.
Remus looked at her and gave her a fleeting smile. She smiled back and then turned back to Slughorn before she started blushing.
" Okay," Slughorn clapped his hands together to regain everyone's attention, " I have decided to make this project better by creating a little inter house unity. Which is why I will be pairing one Gryffindor with One Slytherin."
There was an uproar of groans and sighs at his words, from Gryffindors and Slytherins alike.
" You've got to be kidding me" James said angrily.
" I am not working with a bloody Slytherin" Sirius said irritably, eyeing the Slytherins across the room darkly.
" I'll read out the names of the partners so that you can join them" Slughorn said,
" Potter and Crouch
Mckinnon and Merlin
Lupin and Rosier
Evans and McNair
Prewett and Nott
Pettigrew and Vanity
Meadowes and Snape
Dearborn and Rift
Black and Malfoy
McDonald and Black "
" I swear to god, I am going to kill her" Marlene growled as she strode over to Elizabeth's table. She wasn't alone in her opinion. Most of the room was furious with who they had been partnered with.
" You got Snivellus, rotten luck" James said to Doe.
Doe looked over towards Severus, he didn't look like he had any intention of coming over to her, so she gathered her things and sat down next to him.
" Hello, Severus" she said as she sat down.
" Dorcas" he replied.
" Actually, I prefer Doe" she told him. His eyes flickered with annoyance, but Doe didn't care. She hated the name Dorcas. Irritating Severus was worth it so she didn't have to hear the name vocalized.
" Today will be for brainstorming, just try and come up with some ideas" Slughorn advised them as he walked by.
She turned to Severus, " Are there any ideas that you'd like to try out?" she asked him.
There was a moment of silence as he eyed her with what looked like contempt.
He narrowed his eyes, " Do you intend on doing any work on this project? Or do you plan on skating by with what I'm doing?" he demanded.
" I fully intend on doing my part" Doe snapped, " I was just being gracious"
" Excuse me for the mix-up" Severus said sarcastically, " you Gryffindors are not the image of scholarly work ethic"
Doe could feel her anger starting to form. She had come over here with the intention of working together with Snape, and not only was he being rude but he was being accusatory now.
" And Slytherins are?" she demanded, " because last time I checked, my potions marks were just as high as yours"
Snape rolled his eyes at her and turned away from her.
" I didn't come over here intending to bicker with you," she told him honestly," I just want a good mark which is also what you want right?"
Severus didn't respond so she opened her book and began to read through all the different types of potions, trying to let her anger at Snape dissipate. He was as unreasonable as James and Sirius. She didn't understand where the hostility was coming from. She had been nothing but nice to him.
She angrily flipped through a potions textbook not looking at him.
" Veritaserum" Snape said after a few minutes.
" Excuse me?"
" We could do Veritaserum," Snape said, " It looks very impressive"
" The truth serum?" Doe asked, trying to be civil.
He nodded eagerly.
" We could make that one of them, if you want" she said nodding and writing it down on the parchment in front of her.
He nodded and seemed to have softened his angry exterior a bit.
" If you're all right with something a little bit challenging" Doe suggested, " There's always Amortentia"
He furrowed his brow for a moment, and then said, "we can probably do that".
They worked in silence for a few minutes, after that.
Severus was a very quick reader, it took him half the amount of time as her to read a page, and he scribbled little notes in the margins.
She eyed it oddly. It was cramped but he had managed to get quite a bit of information between the line of text.
" Do you want some parchment?" she asked.
" I prefer the margins" Severus said gripping the book tighter.
Slughorn had gone to the front of the room again and was now waiting to address the class once more.
" I hope this class period has been productive for you" Slughorn said happily, " but before I dismiss you, I want to warn you. Do not procrastinate. This project will take a lot of time and I expect you to allow for such"
Doe gathered her belongings " See you next class," she said to Severus and followed the other Gryffindors out of the room.
All of her housemates were gathered together, complaining as they walked.
" That was the worst bloody hour of my life" Sirius complained loudly.
" You think you had it bad?" Mary asked venomously, " I had your cousin"
" I feel for you, deeply" Sirius assured her.
" How was Severus?" Lily asked Doe, " was he nice to you?"
Doe shrugged, " He was alright. Didn't talk much"
" Maybe you two'll get to know each other now that you're working together" Lily suggested.
" Yeah, maybe" she told her, even though she highly doubted it.
The rest of the day passed by very slowly. History of Magic was as dull as usual and Professor Flitwick spent the entire charm class reviewing. By the time dinner rolled around, Doe was exhausted.
" Monday's are awful," she complained biting into her roast pork.
She barely had the energy to chew. All she could think about was putting in behind her and getting into bed.
" I hate to put an even bigger damper on your night, but we have to go patrol the fourth floor." Lily said, bursting with false enthusiasm.
Doe had completely forgotten about patrolling, and there was nothing she wanted to do less than walk around the castle.
She sighed, and got up from the table, following behind Lily.
Most of the other students were leaving the Great Hall and heading back to their common rooms.
" Can I ask you something?" Lily said as they walked off of the staircase and onto the fourth floor.
" Whats up, Lilypad?" Doe asked her, trying to stifle a yawn.
" I've been thinking a lot about Petunia lately," she said sadly.
" What about her?" Doe pressed further.
" What if it's my fault that we fight?" Lily said quickly, " Maybe I should have thought more about coming to Hogwarts"
Doe blinked quickly in surprise.
" You regret coming to Hogwarts?" She asked stopping in the middle of the floor.
" No! Of course not," Lily assured her, "It's just maybe I shouldn't have been so excited to leave her?"
" Thats ridiculous," Doe said shaking her head furiously., "You needed to come to Hogwarts, and you had every right to be excited. Your relationship with Petunia is the way it is because she's jealous, Lil"
" I know" Lily said softly, " I just wish we were closer, were sisters after all"
" I know, but you don't need Petunia, you have me, and Marlene and Mary" Doe assured her.
Lily's frown softened a little as she pulled Doe into a tight hug.
Doe felt for Lily. Doe had never had any siblings, her parents had only wanted one child. She couldn't imagine fighting with someone that you were supposed to be so close to.
" You'll always have us Lily, no matter what"