Yay, I'm back, with more than last time!
Dis: now, really, if i owned HP, would it REALLY center around Harry? didn't think so.
The last thought that ran through my mind before I feel asleep was how my House mates would react to my being a Muggleborn.
I woke up in the morning to the sounds of people getting ready. Sitting up, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and started to get ready as well.
Now more awake, I searched for my wand once I had gotten ready for the day.
"Stupid wand…" I muttered, ducking down to look under my bed. I saw it way under the bed near the wall, well out of my short reach. "Damn, I wish I had my own body back, then I'd be able to reach it… Accio," I said, holding out my hand. My wand rolled to the tips of my fingers and I grabbed it. Standing up, I brushed off some of the dust on my robes, grabbed my bag, and headed down to the common room.
I entered the room just as Professor Snape finished talking to the rest of the House.
"-and I expect you to treat her just like any other member of this House. If I hear of any misbehavior of any sort, you will get a weeks' detention with me, do I make myself clear?" he was saying. As soon as I walked in, all heads turned towards me, with expressions varying from shock to respect, and I think I saw Pansy's face turn an interesting shade of magenta in her rage.
"It's time for breakfast, so everyone go to the Great Hall," Professor Snape said. I was about to leave when he stopped me and some sixth-year girl.
"Arietta, since you were not present during the pairing, I will explain it to you. Each first-year is paired with an older student, so they can get help with assignments and such so you don't have to come running to me. I am very busy, so I can't have students asking me every little thing. This is Victoria Crabbe." With that, Professor Snape turned and walked away, presumably to breakfast.
I looked at Victoria, and she looked at me with the same speculation. She was of average height, with long brown hair and rather muddy green eyes. She was also about average weight, maybe a little above average, but not by much.
"Hello, my name is Victoria Elizabeth Crabbe. I'm sixteen years old, and am one of the best Charms students in the sixth year. I have a younger brother who just started school this year," Victoria introduced herself, nodding to me. I nodded back.
"I'm Arietta Marie Granger. I'm fif-" I stopped myself before I said 'fifteen', "eleven, and I have a twin who got sorted into Gryffindor," I said.
"Ugh, you're related to a Gryffindor. Well, Vincent might not look like much, but he's smarter than he looks, and so is Gregory." Here she sighed. "You might be a Mu-" here she hesitated before continuing, "-ggleborn, but you're still Slytherin. Come on, I'll show you a shortcut to the Great Hall, since we're almost late for breakfast," Victoria said as she grabbed my hand and literally dragged me out of Slytherin Tower.
She led me down two flights of stairs and four corridors before she stopped next to a statue. The copper plate on the base proclaimed it to be of 'Patricia de Polie'.
"Excusez moi," Victoria said in perfect French. I was about to ask why she was speaking French when the statue responded.
"Mot de passe?" it asked in a decidedly feminine voice(1).
"Puissance," Victoria replied(2).
The statue seemed to consider this before nodding to us and stepping aside to reveal a hidden passage.
"Passez," she said(3). Victoria ushered me through the hole.
"Merci," she said, nodding to the statue, which nodded in return and stepped back into her place in front of the hole once she went through.
We were halfway down the passage when I said "That statue was French…"
"Yeah, and she demands that her passwords be in French as well, and she won't reveal the passage if the person asking is rude. She's not 'Patricia the Polite' for nothing," Victoria responded. I fell silent, and the rest of the trip was spent that way.
We made it to the Great Hall just before the doors closed themselves. I hurried to the table with Victoria. She went to sit with her friends, and I looked for a place to sit myself. I was about to sit by myself at the end of the table when I heard my name being called.
"Arietta!"
I looked around and saw Draco trying to get my attention. He gave me the universal 'come over here' sign, and I complied.
"Come sit here," he said. I gave him a skeptical look. He sighed. "Look, I know you're a Muggleborn, and to tell the truth, I really don't care. But appearances must be kept, so I'll have to insult your sister in classes and such, but since you're a Slytherin, people will understand if I don't insult you as well. So sit here with me. Trust me, most of the House is the same way." He sounded so sincere that I believed him and sat down.
I was about to start eating when I heard a loud screech. I looked around to find out where it came from when I remembered: Owl Post. Relaxing, I went back to my food. That's why it surprised me to find a letter being dropped in my lap. I looked up to see a school owl standing on the table looking at me. Handing it a piece of toast, I went to my letter. By the handwriting, I guessed that it was from Hermione.
Ari-
How was your first night in your House? I hope they weren't too mean to you. I've heard that Slytherin can be awful bullies when it comes to Muggleborns. The people in Gryffindor are somewhat stuck-up, and there's a pair of twins that are pranksters.
I can't wait for classes to start! I've heard we'll be starting small, like turning matchsticks into needles and levitating things.
Meet me in the library during the free period? I wanted to look something up, and it would be a good time to talk in person.
We have the first class of the day together, can you believe that? I can't wait. I know you won't have any problems, though, I mean, you're able to pull off a spell that isn't taught until fifth year!
Well, see you in class. With any luck, we'll be paired together!
-Hermione
I folded up the letter and looked at my food, suddenly not hungry. She knows that the Summoning Charm is fifth-year material? That's not good. I managed to take a few more bites before I just couldn't swallow anything. Looking to my left to Draco, I saw that a large eagle owl had brought him a package from home. I looked away, jealous.
"Arietta."
I jumped at my name, and at the voice speaking it. It was Vincent Crabbe, and I was sure I hadn't seen him sitting on Draco's left side.
"Are you going to finish your food?" he asked. I shook my head.
"No, you can have it." Vincent grinned and nodded his thanks. Looking at Draco, I saw he was immersed in his letter. Suddenly feeling like I was only in the way, I quietly got up.
"Hey, where are you going?" Vincent looked up and asked.
"To the library. Tell Draco where I went if he asks." Vincent nodded and went back to his food. I grabbed my bag from its place at my feet and walked towards the double doors.
I half expected someone to stop me, but it was obviously a normal thing for students to leave a meal early.
The entrance hall was quiet. All I could hear was the murmur of the portraits on the walls and the scraping of the moving staircases. I was about to choose one when I remembered that I had no idea where the library was.
"Excuse me," I politely stopped a passing ghost, "but could you point me in the direction of the library?"
The ghost, a female dressed in a lacey gown, smiled at me.
"If you take the staircase on the right of the double doors, they'll take you to the statue of Rowena Ravenclaw. Take a left, and go up the first staircase you see. That should take you straight to the library." I nodded.
"And from there, what's the fastest route to the dungeons?" I asked.
"You come back here and take that staircase." She pointed to the stairs right in front of me that led downward.
"Thank you."
"No problem. Gook luck in class." With that, she floated through the nearest wall. I took the route she told me to, and within minutes, I was in the library.
I stepped through the doors and looked around in awe. Thousands upon thousands of books were on the shelves. I would have dove right into them, but I remembered that I had Potions first thing. With a sigh, I made my way to the dungeons.
I made it just as the bell rang. I was able to slide into a seat next to Draco just before Snape stormed into the room.
I watched in awe as what was once, to me, a scene in a book came to life. Snape took roll call, pausing when he got to Harry's name.
"Ah, yes, Harry Potter, our new celebrity…" he said softly. Draco, Vincent, and Gregory all started snickering.
"Stop it," I hissed, elbowing Draco. It felt amazingly like scolding my little brother. Looking annoyed, Draco reluctantly nodded and nudged Vince and Greg and made them stop laughing as well. I turned back to the front to discover that I missed the exchange between Harry and Snape.
Snape paired everyone up so we could work on that boil-curing potion. Of course, Murphey's Law decided that was the perfect time to exact a little vengeance for my near-perfect Diagon Alley trip. I got paired with Neville.
Surprisingly, things went relatively well, until it came to the porcupine-quills bit. Seeing that he was about to add them, I stopped him.
"Take it off the fire," I hissed.
"Huh?"
"The potion, take it off the fire or it'll explode all over you when you add the quills."
"Oh." He took the cauldron off the fire before adding the ingredient, and sighed in relief when it didn't blow up. To be honest, I expected it to explode anyways, just to prove me wrong. Snape passed by at the moment. He looked at our cauldron, and then at us and ground out the word "Acceptable." Neville looked elated.
Potions was the only class we had with the Gryffindors, up until someone posted the notice about flying class. Most of the first years groaned. They had been taught as children, and we had it with 'those bloody Gryffindors'. I was looking forward to it immensely.
That morning at breakfast, I got another note from Hermione.
Ari-
Can you BELIEVE we get taught flying? I can't wait! Harry and Ron are both groaning since we have the class with you Slytherins. I still don't see how you can stand that Malfoy person. Everyone I talk to says he's a real git.
See you in class, then!
-Herm
I grinned and scribbled a reply on the back.
Hermi-
I KNOW, I've wanted to be able to fly since I was a child, I can't wait. Most of our first years are groaning about having class with all 'those bloody Gryffindors'.
Draco's pretty decent, but you're probably just seeing him like a Gryffindor instead of a Slytherin. Which reminds me. I know this is very un-Slytherin of me, but how about we switch places for a night, maybe on a weekend? We're identical, right? That way, I could learn about your House and you could learn about mine.
How about it?
-Ari
Giving the owl, who I recognized as Hedwig, a bit of toast, I asked her to take the note back to Hermione. She hooted softly and flew back. I watched from across the Hall as Hermione's face went from interested to excited. She scribbled something under my note and had Hedwig fly it back.
Ari-
That's a great idea. We ARE identical, so nobody would know. You have the same free period as we do, so can we discuss it then?
-Herm
Thinking for a second after wondering vaguely if this was the wizarding equivalent to Instant Messaging, my mind hit the Room of Requirement.
Hermi-
Seventh floor, across from that tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and those trolls. Meet me there, I know how to get in. It's called the Room of Requirement, don't tell anyone else. Bring a spare set of your robes?
-Ari
Hermione looked at me across the hall and nodded.
Checking my schedule, I happily discovered that our free time was just before our flying lesson.
After three excruciatingly long classes, I ran up to the seventh floor with a set of my spare robes in my bag and looked for the tapestry. I found it just as Hermione came up. Before she even opened her mouth, I started walking back and forth in front of a bare stretch of wall. I concentrated on a place that I knew by heart. After my third pace, a worn door appeared. Grinning, I ignored my twin's whispered 'bloody hell?' and opened the door.
I was greeted to the familiar sight of violet walls, tan carpeting, and twin-size bed. I was looking at my bedroom from home.
"Welcome," I started, grinning at Hermione's stunned face, "to the Room of Requirement."
"Bloody hell," she said, "does it look like this every time?"
"Nope," I responded cheerfully, "which is why it's called the Room of Requirement. It turns into whatever you require. So," I sat down on the familiar bed, "you bring the robes?"
Hermione got over her shock quickly and sat down next to me. She took a set of robes out of her bag at the same time I did.
"What about your accent? It's different than mine is," she asked.
"I can copy your accent, what about you?" I replied, imitating her accent as best I could.
"I'm fine," she said with a flawless American accent. Impressed, I nodded and handed her my robes. She did the same to me.
Grinning, I quickly changed into her robes. At her curious look, I said, "I'm going to our flying lesson as you, so you might want to go as me." A look of understanding crossed her face before quickly being replaced by an evil grin that I didn't know she was capable of. Within a minute, we looked like each other.
"Well," she started, in that American accent, "we may as well get going if we're gonna make it."
"Yeah, lets."
With identical evil grins, we left the Room of Requirement and headed towards the Quiddich pitch.
Oooooh, everything's moving slightly faster now. I can't wait to write the flying scene...