CLARA'S P.O.V:

Daylight shone through the curtains and made its way through the small crevice of space between my bed sheets and my face, awakening me from my slumber. A reluctant groan escaped me as I grudgingly opened my eyes and stretched my arms above my head.

First day of class.

I was never a morning person, which was quite apparent due to the series of grunts and rolling around that had to occur before I could finally force myself out of the warmth of my bed. However, the idea of once again starting a fresh routine of classes sparked within me that extra bit of determination, and even a lift in mood as I finally came out of my groggy state and moved towards getting dressed.

Routine.

Classes.

Ah, yes. How I loved being on schedule.

I would once again be in my most comfortable element; attending classes every day, engrossing myself in new lessons, and escaping to my most favorite nook in the library- where I could do nothing but be immersed in thick, leathery books, reading all through the night until I'd reached my hearts content.

I let out a content sigh.

How truly wonderful.

Perhaps I sounded like the most stereotypical Ravenclaw to exist…. a girl who was excited to attend classes? Who actually enjoyed studying? Whose favorite thing to do was isolate herself from the rest of humanity in the library? Well, firstly, I promise I wasn't phobic about people, and secondly, yes, I'll admit I loved everything related to academics…

And it's because I knew I was good at it.

And also, because returning to classes at Hogwarts, was a thousand times better than anything I would ever be doing during the summer.

Hogwarts was home for me.

And home… home was not home.

I cringed as my departure with my parents at the end of this summer replayed in my mind. My mother, with her strange flowing dress, dried out flowers woven through her fiery red hair, her skin smelling of the crushed herbs she used in all those mysterious elixirs that were always scattered about our already-scattered house. "Oh my little sunshine! We'll see you soon," she sighed, planting a big, sloppy kiss right upon my cheek. I wrinkled my nose in distaste.

My father stood next to her, with his unruly, greying hair sticking every which way, "Don't forget to practice those breathing exercises the muggles taught us when you get stressed, dear. Always remember- centering yourself is key," he said.

Oh Merlin. There he goes on another one of his meditation rambles," I had thought.

It wasn't that I didn't love my parents. I loved my parents endlessly. In fact, I was beyond blessed to have been brought to such a lovely home. I was left on the side of the road, a screaming infant wrapped in nothing but a wool blanket. That's when Margaret and Julian Paisley, a newly wed couple, found me there, alone and clearly abandoned by whoever my real parents were. They swooped me up into their arms and directly into the warmth of their home. They took me in without a second of doubt, and raised me with unconditional love, as if I were their own child.

I would have died if they hadn't found me. I was very, very lucky indeed.

I loved my parents as if they were my own blood, just as any other child loves their real parents. The problem was that they were rather… eccentric. My parents did not believe in living a normal lifestyle. For them, everything had to be as diverse and as abnormally peculiar as they could possibly make it. In the sixteen years I had been alive, my life had been full of spontaneous adventures to the muggle world: riding atop camels through the Sahara desert, visiting the Hindu temples in India, and being dragged to random hiking retreats where we pretended to be muggles and I forced myself to be friendly to the smelly muggles who thought walking through the wilderness barefoot was fun.

Trust me, it wasn't fun.

Life with my parents was random, always scattered… kind of like our house, which was usually a mess due to my parents' lack of organization skills. I couldn't have been more opposite from them. My bedroom, the only clean and organized room in the house, was a perfect example of that. My parents were eccentric, and I was all about practicality.

And so as much as I loved my parents, I could not stand living with them.

I liked a simple life, and my life at Hogwarts gave me this.

My own, fresh schedule. My own, clean living space. My own independence.

And most importantly, what I was best at: school.

With that thought, I secured tying my long, unruly hair in a ponytail atop my head and hastily grabbed the books I needed for my first class of the day.

Charms.

My favorite.

I arrived to Charms just as everyone else was seeping through the door. Scanning the room, my eyes fell upon two familiar black pigtails towards the right of the classroom. I smiled and took a seat next to Nina.

"Don't worry, I always save your spot," Nina smirked, "Some chummy looking Hufflepuff tried to take it, but I glared at him and he didn't look so chummy anymore."

I rolled my eyes at her and grinned, "I appreciate your act of kindness."

Nina shrugged and snickered as we opened our books.

Professor Flitwick strode through the doors just as everyone became settled. "Hello, hello class!" the tiny man's voice rang through the room as he hoddled up to his desk. "Welcome to a brand new year of Charms! A very exciting year, indeed. This year we shall begin by learning how to properly-"

The rest of Flitwick's sentence was cut off abruptly as the class doors banged open, two more students entering.

I looked over my shoulder and was not surprised to see that the two late students were Slytherin boys.

Not surprising at all.

They shuffled through the desks and came to sit directly behind Nina and I, books clanging against the desk as they carelessly dropped them, and chairs scraping against the floor as she shoved them back and sat down.

The boy behind me leaned back in his chair, his dark skin and even darker glinting eyes locking on mine as he lips curved into a small smirk.

Blaise Zabini. I never saw him around much, but when I did- he always seemed to have that mischievous glint in his eyes.

I narrowed my eyes at him and look away, only to look instead at his companion.

A shock of white hair, and pale, pale skin. The boy looked miserable.

His pale eyes stared vacantly off into the distance, rimmed by dark circles that showed signs of no sleep. His mouth, pressed firmly into what seemed to be a permanent grimace, did not move an inch.

He was, of course, instantly recognizable.

Draco Malfoy.

The most depressing being I had ever laid my eyes upon.

I raised a brow and he caught my glance, returning it with that same vacant stare. His mouth seemed to become even more of a scowl, if that were even possible.

I didn't bother returning the scowl and instead simply turned away. His glare was so dreadful and his face looked so miserable that I felt he'd be contagious if I looked any longer.

"Ah, Mr Malfoy! Mr. Zabini! Late for class? What a surprise!" Flitwick clapped his hands together and raised a brow at the boys, earning a few snickers and chuckles from students.

Class quickly carried on, however, and my mind zoned out every other being and sound as Flitwick began to lecture.

DRACO'S P.O.V:

It would be a miracle if I managed not to kill Blaise one of these days.

Just moments before there was peace, quiet, calmness…

I closed my eyes, ignoring the hollers of the boy outside the bathroom door and instead tried to focus on the hot water pouring over me.

"I know you can hear me, you fucking wanker! You often forget you have several other roommates who enjoy showers as well."

I tilted my head back, eyes still closed as I took in a deep breath of the steamy air. Still in no mood to deal with anyone's bullshit, I chose to ignore him.

Though the initial shock of everything that was happening lately had for the most part worn off, I couldn't see that deep feeling of dread leaving anytime soon.

One thing that helped were showers. Really fucking long, hot showers. Bad thoughts seemed to burn away in the scalding water. Of course, it was merely an extremely temporary solution to an irreversible situation. But it was enough.

And Blaise motherfucking Zabini wasn't going to interrupt my few moments of peace.

"Fine, you bloody diva. I'll just be disgusting my first day of classes."

Right. First day of classes. Not that I gave a shit.

With my moment of peace being ruined, I forced myself to step out from the shower and into the steam filled room. Even through the haze fogging the mirror, it was still easy to make out the visible dark spot that lay on my arm. I stood there for a moment, staring blankly at my foggy reflection.

Still me. But different. Darker.

And honestly, I couldn't tell which version of myself I preferred.

After getting dressed in my robes, I met with Blaise in the common room.

"Smile, Draco, you look gorgeous. With all that time you spend in the bathroom."

I gave him a mocking laugh. "You're hilarious. Come on, let's get classes over with. I have more important things to do," my voice trailed off.

After today, classes would no longer be a priority. They were far from what I needed to be prioritizing right now. Fixing the vanishing cabinet came before everything. Without the success of the cabinet, the Dark Lord's orders would become much, much more difficult. And I didn't want to imagine what would become of me as a result of this.

We approached the doors to Charms and I shoved them open, not bothering to make a more subtle entrance.

We were late. There was no hiding it. And I didn't care.

The only thing I planned on caring about was draining out the despicable sound of Flitwick's blathering long enough for class to be over with.

And I had already begun to block out all other voices the moment I stepped foot in the classroom, only vaguely hearing the sound of Flitwick's voice. My eyes set on the two remaining seats in the back corner of the room, and I slipped into the furthest one, slumping back into it and crossing my arms firmly against my chest.

I didn't see Blaise take a seat next to me, only heard the creak of him sitting beside me as my eyes stared blankly off into the distance.

Flitwick's words went right past my head, only a muffled noise in the distance. My eyes blurred on the blank canvas of the far classroom wall, and my mind suddenly became cluttered with thoughts. I went over again and again what needed to be done. The Dark Lord's voice echoed in the back of my mind, and I felt my chest tighten, a lump forming in my throat, as if I could hear the sound of his words brushing past my ears. The hairs on my neck stood on edge and I shut my eyes briefly.

Stop, I told myself. Focus.

I tried to relax, re-centering myself.

If I was going to be successful in any of this, it was important that I didn't give into the fear. I needed to remain focused.

After class, I would go to the vanishing cabinet and decide how to go about my first task.

I exhaled slowly and relaxed my fists, not realizing they had been clenched all this time.

I will succeed, I told myself.