I was woken up by the curtain around my bed being pulled. I looked towards my curtain to see Daphne holding it while smiling towards me.
"Hey, we are about to go down to breakfast. We can wait for you to get ready if you want?"
"If you guys don't mind waiting, I can hurry and get ready."
"Of course. We will be waiting in the common room."
Daphne and the others left for the common room, and I hopped out of bed and quickly began getting ready. I took a quick shower and then magically made my hair dry and styled. I threw my uniform on, not before realizing that my robes that were once colored red and gold and already turned to green and silver. Once my robes were all on, I quickly threw on some light makeup before I made my way up the stairs into the common room. Upon entering the common room, I received stares from multiple people either wondering who I was or wondering why I was resorted. I looked around the common room to see Daphne, Pansy, Millicent, Draco, Blaise, and another boy I didn't recognize. Daphne was waving me over to the group, so I headed towards them.
"Did you have a good first night in Slytherin, Scarlett" Blaise asked
"It was nice. Very different from Gryffindor. Much quieter." I laughed
"Have you gotten a chance to speak with your brother or your friends since last night?" Daphne asked
"No, not since before the resorting. I'm going to talk to them today, during classes."
"Are you guys not going to introduce me?" The guy who I didn't recognize asks.
"Oh yeah, Scarlett, this is Theodore Nott." Pansy said half ass introducing Theodore.
"Please call me Theo. Theodore is too formal for me. Nice to meet you, officially, Scarlett."
"It's nice to meet you too," I smiled, "Are you guys ready or are we waiting on more people?"
"We were just about to head out. Are you ready?" Draco asked, speaking for the first time since last night.
"I'm ready if you guys are." I said. We all left the common room and headed up to the Great Hall for breakfast. On the way to breakfast everyone was chatting with each other and trying to get to know me.
"So, Scarlett, what are your elective classes this year?" Theo asked.
"Well, my two electives that I am mainly focusing on for N.E.W.T.s next year are Arithmancy and Ancient Runes; however, I am also taking Care of Magical Creatures. I'm not too sure if I want to continue it next year or not."
"Oh, so you're going to be in class with Draco, Blaise, Pansy, and I for both of those electives." Theo noted.
"And Daphne and I will be in your Care of Magical Creatures class." Millicent added.
"All our required classes are usually with Gryffindor; however, I do believe this year we are going to have Herbology and History of Magic with Hufflepuff." Pansy mentioned.
I nodded and continued to walk to the Great Hall. I looked around and noticed people staring at me and whispering to their friends.
"Looks like I'm the talk of the school." I said loud enough to get the attention of the different people in the corridor whispering about me. At that moment the entire corridor went silent, and everyone just stared at all of us.
"Come on, Scarlett. It's not worth it, let's just get to breakfast." Daphne whispered, ushering all of us towards the Great Hall. I took a deep breath and continued following Pansy and Theo, who were in the front of the group, into the Great Hall. Once we appeared at the entrance to the Great Hall, all the conversations stopped. The Hall became silent, and everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at all of us.
"What the bloody hell are you lot looking at?" Blaise yelled towards all the students. I silently walked over to the Slytherin table without batting an eye towards everyone who was staring at me. All my Slytherin friends, however, were giving them all death glares as they walked towards the table.
"What the bloody hell is wrong with everyone?" Theo asked
"I know it's like they all have a staring problem." Pansy said loud enough for the group sitting behind us to hear her and continue their conversation.
"How are you doing, Scarlett?" Millicent asked as we sat down and got our food.
"Well… I'm fi…" I started to reply that I was fine. The typical answer when someone asks you how you are doing, but before I could even finish speaking someone spoke up for me.
"How would you feel, Millicent? Being pulled away from all your friends, everything you've ever known?" Draco asked, seeming slightly irritated.
"Draco!" Pansy chastised, "Millie is only trying to help. Yelling at her won't help anything."
Draco abruptly got up from the table and walked out of the Great Hall.
"Well, Scarlett, this is your first snake breakfast. How eventful!" Theo joked.
I couldn't help but watch as Draco left the Great Hall until a voice brought me back to the group. "Don't worry," Blaise whispered to me, "Drake has a flair for the dramatics. He'll be fine." I giggled but I couldn't help but wonder where he ran off to.
"Oh, Professor Snape is passing out our schedules!" Daphne said, getting everyone's attention as Snape walked towards us.
"I see that Miss Scarlett has been fitting into Slytherin house quite well. It looks like I will be seeing you all this afternoon." Snape said as he handed us all our schedules.
Once I was handed my schedule, I looked at what classes that I had today.
"Ugh… We only have required classes today." Theo groaned.
"Not one elective. That blows." Blaise sighed, "Who has Draco's schedule? I'm going to take it to him."
"I do. Do you mind if I come with you? I left one of my textbooks in my room." I asked.
"Yeah, of course, I don't mind. We better head out if we don't want to be late to Transfiguration."
I nodded in agreement as we both gathered our stuff and exited the Great Hall.
"So, what was the real reason you wanted to come with me?" Blaise asked.
"I just wanted to make sure he's okay after this morning."
"Oh… So, you wouldn't be upset knowing that we aren't going back to the Common Room.?"
"No. I didn't really leave anything behind." I laughed as we walked together trying to find where Draco went. We walked around for a little bit before I heard someone call my name.
"Scarlett! Scarlett! Wait!"
I turned around and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione walking towards Blaise and me.
"That's my cue to leave." Blaise said.
"No, you can stay." I said, not really knowing how this is going to go. "Hey guys."
"How could you do this? How could you move to Slytherin knowing that there's a war coming?" Harry asked.
"What are you talking about?" I asked
"You know exactly what I am talking about, Scarlett. You were there! In the graveyard last year! You know what is coming, yet you still did this! You are such a disappointment and a traitor." Harry continued his rant, while Ron and Hermione stood behind him glaring daggers into my soul.
"You think I chose this?" I laughed, "You think I chose to leave my friends, my family, everyone I love? I didn't choose this, you asshole!"
"You didn't try to stop it." Hermione said, speaking to me for the first time.
"What am I supposed to do?" I yelled, throwing my hands into the air. "I'm not like you, Harry. I don't try to bend the rules to make them work for me! I take the cards I was dealt and deal with them. I make the best out of situations that I would rather not have to be in!"
"You should have done something! Anything! It's like you accepted it. You know half of your new classmates have death eater parents? How about you ask Zabini how many death eaters he's had dinner with?" Harry yelled towards me and Blaise.
Before he could continue to yell at me, Draco seemingly appeared out of nowhere and stepped in front of Blaise and I, "Oi Potter! First, quit your yelling, it's giving me a headache. Second, why in the bloody hell would any of you think that Scarlett would choose to move to Slytherin? Third, you aren't going to talk to her like that."
"Or what, Malfoy? This is my sister; I can talk to her how I please."
"You don't deserve to talk to her like that. You don't deserve to talk to her at all." Blaise said taking a couple of steps to be standing with Draco.
"What are the two of you going to do?" Harry asked, stepping towards the two of them.
"Come on, Harry. It's not worth it. Let's go." Ron said, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling him away from the three of us.
The three of us stood there silently for a second before the guys turned around to face me.
"You okay, Scarlett?" Blaise asked.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I kind of knew that would be the reaction I would be getting."
"They have got some nerve to talk to you like that."
"It's no big deal. They will either get over it or not. It's not my problem." I said.
"Aye, that's a Slytherin if I ever saw one." Blaise cheered.
I turned towards Draco, "Thank you."
"Of course." He responded
"He shouldn't have said the shit he said about you guys." I sighed, "I'm sorry."
"You shouldn't be apologizing for him. He said some awful stuff to you too, he should be apologizing to you." Blaise said.
"Not like much of the stuff he said was wrong anyways." Draco stated. "I mean you were there, you say my father last year, in the graveyard with the death eaters. Not all Slytherin children have death eater parents and none of them, but a select few, agree with their parents. However, it doesn't make what he said inaccurate. A lot of us have death eater parents."
"But you aren't your dad, Draco. None of you are your parents." I said
"Come on, we need to get to class." He said, ignoring my sentiment.
The three of us started walking to Transfiguration and barely made it without being late.
"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Zabini, and Miss Potter, nice to see you three on time. Please take your seats." Professor McGonagall said as we entered the room, receiving death stares from all the Gryffindor students. As we took our seats, I noticed Pansy and Daphne staring at the three of us and I gave them a look that screamed 'I'll tell you later' so they dropped it. Throughout class we reviewed things that we learned last year and then we started working on new spells.
"Today we are starting Vanishing Spells. These are easier than Conjuring Spells, which you would not usually attempt until N.E.W.T. level, but they are still among the most difficult magic you will be tested on in your O.W.L. exams. I want to start these early so each and every one of you will be prepared."
Once she showed us how to produce the spell, we spent the rest of the class practicing how to do it in groups. Draco, Blaise, Pansy, Daphne, and I began working together on this spell and before we knew it the class had ended and only Hermione had completed the spell.
"Keep working on this spell and we will continue going over it next week." Professor McGonagall yelled as we all walked out into the corridor and to Potions.
Daphne and Pansy locked arms with me, and we walked through the corridor to potions while the boys followed behind us.
"So, what happened back there?" Pansy asked
"My brother happened."
"What did he say?" Daphne asked
"That I was a disappointment and that I was ruining our future and handing Voldemort the win in the upcoming war." I sighed, "Basically that I am going to be a huge disappointment to our dead parents and a whole bunch of others."
"Hey hey hey, look what the cat dragged in", We heard as we were walking towards Potions. I turned my head to see Fred and George walking towards our group.
"Whatever you want to tell me about how I'm such a disappointment, I don't want to hear it. I already heard it from Harry."
"What ever do you mean? We would never do such a thing. You're family to us. We still love and care about you" They said alternating every other sentence like they always do.
"Even now?" I asked
"Even now."
The two of them saying that they still cared about me broke the bridge of emotions that I was pushing deep down inside of me. All the emotions from last night and this morning came rushing back to me. I quickly grabbed the two of them in a tight hug and started bawling. They squeezed me tightly and let me cry on their chest. I could feel George let go of me and heard him quietly talking to my new housemates assuring them that I was okay and telling them to go to class. This made my grasp on Fred that much stronger. He rubbed my head with his hand and assured me that everything was going to be okay and that I wasn't a huge failure.
"I'm staying with her; you guys go on. Snape will understand if we are late." I heard from afar, but I couldn't care less who said it. Fred and I stayed like that for what felt like forever until he pulled away.
"Scarlett, I love you like a little sister, but I know if I am any later McGonagall will chew my arse and spit me out." He said and we both giggled.
"Go, I'll be okay."
"Come find me if you ever need me. You know where I live." He smiled as he and George headed off in the opposite direction.
"You okay? We don't have to go to Potions if you don't want to, Snape will get over it." A voice behind me said. I jumped around to see Theo.
"I'm fine, we can go now. Thanks for waiting for me."
"Can I ask you a question?" He asked as we started walking towards Potions.
"Go for it."
"Why do you let them get to you?"
"They are my family. I care about them and, unfortunately, I care about what they think of me."
He nodded, "I don't mean to pry. It's just, obviously, we are all close, we've known each other for so long, but we have all had similar childhoods and it's interesting to see how different it is."
"I don't mean to pry, and you can definitely tell me to stop talking at any point, but your dad's a death eater, right?"
He nodded, not making any eye contact with me. "I know Draco's probably told you, but rarely anyone who has death eater parents agrees with them."
"He did tell me that, this morning. My Godfather's parents believed in pureblood ideologies, and he suffered because he didn't agree with them. Does that happen to you guys too?"
Theo sighed and finally met my gaze. "Sometimes, it depends on the family. Draco, I think, has it the worst out of all of us. Blaise's mom doesn't believe in pureblood supremacy, and Daphne's parents couldn't care less about any of it as long as she and her sister marry someone wealthy. Draco, Pansy, and I really understand each other on that front. I think that's why we became such close friends. Blaise is Draco's best mate, but there are some things that I understand that he would never be able to grasp."
I nodded and just like that we were in front of the door to the Potions classroom and knocked on the door. It only took a second before Professor Snape appeared in front of us.
"Late on your first day in Slytherin, Miss Scarlett, not a very good first impression.
"I apologize, Professor Snape, it will not happen again." I said.
"Professor, her brother and his friends said some really awful things to her this morning, and she just had a minute to process her emotions." Theo mentioned.
Professor Snape's gaze went from angular and strict to soft and concerned as he looked deeper into my eyes.
"Both of you get in class." He said and then he looked at me "Stay for a minute after class."
The two of us nodded and hurried into the classroom. Professor Snape followed behind us and continued the lecture. As Theo and I walked in and took our seats, we got death glares from the Gryffindor side of the room and concerned looks from the Slytherin side. Class went on as usual until it was time for Professor Snape to dismiss us and head to lunch. Pansy, Daphne, Draco, and Blaise all gathered around the table Theo and I were sitting at together.
"Scarlett, are you okay?" Pansy asked, as she walked up to our table.
"Yeah, I'm fine. You guys can go on ahead to lunch, Professor Snape wants to talk to me." I responded, still getting concerned looks from the group.
"Do you want me to stay with you?" Theo asked
"No, you guys go on to lunch, I'll be down soon."
They nodded and everyone began to walk away, except for Draco.
"You guys go ahead; I'll catch up later." He said as he sat down in the chair that Theo was once occupying.
"What are you doing?" I asked
"Isn't it obvious? I'm staying with you. I don't trust those lions to not hang back and bother you on the way to lunch."
I nodded and the two of us waited in comfortable silence as we waited for the room to clear out. Once everyone left and it was just the three of us, Snape ushered us into his office.
"So is what Theodore said earlier true, Scarlett?"
"Yes sir. Earlier today, before our first period, Harry and a few friends confronted Blaise, Draco, and I and said some really nasty things about me and everyone in Slytherin."
"It's true sir. He called her a disappointment and a traitor." Draco spoke up.
"I'm sorry that you had to go through that Scarlett. This being said neither you, nor Mr. Nott will have a detention or and house points deducted. If this happens again, please don't hesitate to tell me and I will have a conversation with the offenders and Professor McGonagall."
"Yes sir" Draco and I both said simultaneously.
"Now both of you get to lunch, and don't be late." He said with a smirk as he ushered us out of the door and shut it behind us.
We walked to lunch in comfortable silence, knowing that when we got to lunch all our friends would have a million questions for us. We quickly and quietly walked over to the Slytherin table after entering the Great Hall and sat down with our group of friends.
"Snape didn't give you a hard time, Scarlett?" Theo asked
"No, not at all. He was actually concerned." I responded, "Can we talk about something else? I don't really want to think about this morning again…"
"I can't believe Snape didn't give us homework yet!"
"I know right!"
"You know the year is going to start off tough because we already have Transfiguration homework."
"Yeah, and that spell isn't easy."
Everyone continued talking about the courses we already had today and continued to eat their food. While everyone was talking and laughing, this was the first time that I forgot about everything that happened in the past few days and just let go.
"I'm not too hungry. I think I'm going to go back to the common room before Herbology." Draco said, getting up from the table.
"Do you want some company?" Daphne asked
"No, I'll be fine."
Once he walked away from the table, everyone else went back to their conversations but I was still watching him as he walked out the door. I continued watching the spot where he was until a voice broke my thoughts.
"I think what Harry said this morning got to him." Blaise whispered to me; I hadn't even noticed him move to be next to me.
"I was thinking so too." I whispered back to him.
"He puts off this tough front, but things like that really get to him. He likes to tell all of us that we aren't like our parents, but he has a hard time hearing it from us."
"Do you really think he wants to be alone or does he just want us to not worry?"
"Maybe a little bit of both."
"Would he be upset if I went and talked with him?"
"No. He knows he needs someone to talk to, but he's stubborn."
I nodded and quickly made up an excuse that I needed to talk to Professor McGonagall about the spell we were working on this morning before excusing myself and heading down to the common room. Upon walking into the almost empty common room, I spotted Draco slumped over in the same corner that he was in the night before.
"Hey, do you care if I sit?" I asked as I walked up.
He shook his head and I sat down beside him.
"What's on your mind?" I ask him.
"I'm not my father." He sighed, "I am tired of pretending I am for him. All he ever talks about is the Dark Lord and what he wants. I'm tired of pretending I care."
"You're not your father, Draco. You are allowed to have differing beliefs and thoughts from your family."
"Not in his eyes." He said, as he dropped his head into his hands. He took a breath before looking at me for the first time since I had been here with him. "You would never understand, Scarlett. You have the picture-perfect life."
I laughed and he looked at me confused.
"Oh, you truly mean that… I live with my aunt and uncle who hate my entire existence. These people starve and beat me for breathing the wrong way, and now the people who I used to call family also hate me."
"They hit you? And starve you?" He asked quickly, getting angry.
"This isn't supposed to be about me. We are talking about you."
He took a deep breath and started to speak before a large wave of students rushed into the common room.
"Fuck lunch is over." He said quickly getting his stuff off the floor. I jumped up and followed him out of the door and outside to the greenhouse.
Herbology and History of Magic both dragged on, but once those classes were over with and out of the way it was time for Defense Against the Dark Arts with the new professor, Professor Umbridge. Our friend group made sure to get to the classroom early and find the seats that we wanted. Daphne, Pansy, and I all got a table together while the boys got the table behind us. As the classroom started to fill up and the students started to wander in, the louder the room got.
"Ahem! Good afternoon children." Umbridge's shrill voice broke through all the chatter. "Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. OWL, more commonly known as OWLs." She stated as she walked towards the front of the classroom. "Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so and the consequences may be severe."
Pansy leaned toward me and whispered, "This lady is a nutjob."
She flicked her wand behind her, and the books started passing themselves out to us. "Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven. But you'll be pleased to know from now on you will be following a carefully structured, ministry approved course of defensive magic. Yes?"
We all turned to where she was looking and saw Hermione looking through the book with a concerned look on her face. "There's nothing in here about using defensive spells?"
"Using spells?" Umbridge laughs, "Well I couldn't imagine as to why you would need to use spells in my classroom."
"We're not going to use magic?" Ron asks
"You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way."
"What use is that? If we are going to be attacked it won't be risk free?" I ask, confused.
"Students will raise their hands to speak in my class. It is the view of the ministry that a theoretical knowledge would be sufficient to get you through your examinations, which after all is what school is all about."
I move to start talking but Pansy grabs my arm and shakes her head. She's right. I don't want detention with this psycho.
"How is theory supposed to prepare us for what's out there?" Harry pipes up and asks.
"There is nothing out there, dear. Who do you imagine would want to attack children, like yourselves?"
"Oh, I don't know, maybe Lord Voldemort?" Harry says very sassy.
Everyone goes silent, for a moment even Umbridge doesn't even know what to say back to him.
"Let me make this quite plain, you have been told that a certain dark wizard is at large once again. This. Is. A. Lie."
"It's not a lie! I saw him! I fought him!" Harry screamed.
"Detention Mr. Potter."
"So according to you Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?"
"Cedric Diggory's death was a tragic accident."
"It was murder! Voldemort killed him! You must know this!" Harry yelled
"Enough!" She screamed, "See me later, Mr. Potter. My office." She said with a giggle.
After the commotion at the beginning of class, the rest of the class was filled with her talking about defensive spells. As soon as she dismissed us to go to dinner, we all took a big breath of relief and ran towards the door.
"Well, that was something…" Theo said as we all walked together to the Great Hall.
"That woman is a nutjob." Pansy laughed
"Did you see how angry she got when Harry brought up Voldemort?" I asked
"She had crazy eyes!" Daphne giggled.
We all laughed as we walked into the Great Hall for dinner. After dinner Blaise, Theo, Draco, and I all went to the courtyard to continue to practice our Vanishing spell for Transfiguration. We broke into two pairs, Draco and Blaise were a pair and Theo and I were a pair. Theo and I were using a mouse that we charmed to stay in one place.
"Why is this so bloody hard?" Theo asked after failing to make the mouse disappear once again.
"We just haven't had to do anything like this before. Once we do it one time, we will think it is the easiest thing." I smiled at him as I also failed to make the mouse disappear. "We are also working with a mouse rather than a snail, like we did earlier."
"Oh yeah. I forgot we were using a snail instead."
We continued to practice for a couple of hours before all four of us got tired and headed back to the empty common room.
"Well, I am insanely tired. I'm going to head to bed. Goodnight boys." I said and I walked past them and down to the girls' rooms. When I opened the door to my room, I realized that all my roommates were asleep, so I quietly got ready for bed and then collapsed onto my bed and fell asleep almost immediately.