*This chapter has been changed! I decided that there will be no threat of Rape because logically 12 year olds don't threaten to have someone raped. BUT IT DOES HAPPEN! However, for arguments sake; I fixed it!*
The group spent a good hour and a half talking to one another and getting to know each other. Hermione, Ron, and Harry introduced themselves to Owen, Emilee, and Salem. The three new comers smiled and introduced themselves as well.
"Paige has been our friend since we were cubs!" Emilee smiled, her smile faltered slightly when she looked at Paige; who in turn gave her a look.
"What school did you go to? What was your animal?" Hermione asked excitedly. The newcomers stared in slight confusion.
"She means houses; this school is set up into houses, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. The animals are a lion, snake, badger and raven." Paige explained. She then turned to Hermione. "We didn't have anything like that at our old school. We were always called cubs by our teachers and elders because we were always getting into trouble like a group of some sort of animal cubs."
Hermione smiled in understanding. "Oh I see now! That's cute!"
Owen was watching Hermione with a strange look, Salem nudged him nonchalantly and Emilee looked at Paige quizzically. Paige understood what they wanted and so she made a decision.
"Hey guys, is it alright if I show these guys around by myself? I haven't seen them in a very long time and we have to catch up." Paige asked.
"Of course! Find us at dinner alright? We can all catch up later and think of something to do!" Hermione said brightly.
The group left the Golden Trio behind to walk around, they headed back into the school. Owen and Emilee raced one another up the steps and with howls of excitement raced through the corridors. Salem stuck close to Paige.
"I swear those two are going to grow up to have pups of their own someday!" Paige idly commented.
"No they can hardly stand one another long enough to mate" Salem chuckled. And then he turned serious. "Your father arranged for us to stay here the rest of the year. We will find out which houses we are in later I suppose. I am guessing our headmaster doesn't know of our situation?"
"Not that I know of, as far as I know dad never told him, which might be the smart thing but I'm not one hundred percent sure. And before you ask no I haven't told them." Paige said.
"It's alright to keep secrets sometimes Paige. Even if they are your new friends, its instinct and you are our alpha so we won't say anything if you do not wish it. "Salem replied.
Salem was taller than Paige with black hair and bright blue eyes. They had been pack-mates all their lives as well as best friends. Emilee was slightly shorter with dark brown curly hair, tanned skin and green eyes. Owen had blonde hair, one blue and one gold eye, he was shorter than Salem but taller than Paige.
"Come now Salem, we are still kids for Moons sake! You do not have to take any orders from me until we are much older!" Paige said.
"Well I know that, you are just so pushy sometimes that there has to be a reason why you don't want them to know about us."
"You know they'd treat us differently. Everyone always does, even those kids who became close friends with Emilee and you remember what happened don't you? They hurt her because they thought she was a monster. Even if we are in a magical world, wizards treat lycanthropes differently, especially lycanthropes like us. And you know this. That is why it is best to stay quiet." Paige stated softly, her eyes thoughtful, and then a new gleam came to them. "And in the meantime get into as much trouble as possible!" Paige stated with a gleam in her eye.
Salem smiled and with that they raced the rest of the way, soon catching up to Emilee and Owen. Paige grabbed Emilee by the hand and the two skipped around, Owen snuck up behind them and grabbed them around the waist; depositing Paige in Salem's arms. The two boys carried the girls down the hall, not without protest. They turned a corner and ran into a group of Slytherins. The head of the group being none other than Draco Malfoy.
Upon running in to the Slytherins, Paige removed herself from Salem's arms. Draco paused long enough to study the newcomers before finally opening his mouth.
"Well, well, well, it looks like Castro has finally ditched those gryphindorks and decided to whore around some other people." Malfoy sneered. Crabbe and Goyle stood behind him, both grinning maliciously. Paige's eyes narrowed at his comment but she didn't say anything. Own however did.
"Excuse me." Owen snarled, stepping in front of Malfoy's face, causing the blond haired boy to step back, startled. "I don't believe we've met. My name is Owen and that whore you speak of happens to be one of my friends. Now I suggest you take that little comment back before you find yourself in the midst of a horde of angry centaurs." He stepped forward aggressively, Malfoy blanched, Crabbe and Goyle glared and stepped forward as well.
"Castro, I suggest you call off your dog before he gets himself hurt." Malfoy snapped, angry that this new boy was able to intimidate him.
"woof." Owen said before grabbing the blonde haired boy and shoving him hard. Crabbe and Goyle both jumped at Owen in return, grabbing him and wrestling with him. They soon overpowered him and pinned him to the ground. Malfoy moved forward and kicked him as hard as he could in the stomach.
In response to this, Salem jumped in, grabbing Crabbe and sending him flying backwards. Malfoy instantly backed away as Owen squared off with Goyle and Salem with Crabbe. Paige and Emilee exchanged looks, watching the fighting go down. Malfoy walked over to them and glared angrily.
"Call off your friends before we all get into trouble for fighting you idiot!" Malfoy hissed.
Paige looked at him, and then simply walked over to the edge of the scuffle.
"Enough." She said, and almost immediately Owen and Salem got off of Crabbe and Goyle. They walked away from the two boys, completely unharmed whereas Crabbe and Goyle both had bruises all over them. As the three friends turned to walk away, the two thugs looked at one another, and then charged after them. Before they could reach them however, Paige whipped around and sent a spell flying their way. The spell froze them mid-leap, as soon as she zapped them, she lifted the spell; causing both brutes to once again fall to the ground.
"Wow. You two would definitely NOT be part of the Garde. Your fighting skills lack skill entirely and you tramp around like buffoons, making you susceptible to being caught and whipped before you even made your mark on your target. I'm sure that a Death Dealer would be soiling himself laughing at your poor excuse of combat techniques." Emilee sniffed disgustedly.
The Slytherins stared at her in complete surprise, looking at one another and trying to piece together which insult was worse. Malfoy glared angrily and then moved forward, straight towards Paige who in turn stood stock still, eyeing him suspiciously.
"I don't know what game you're playing at, or what in the bloody Hell a Death Dealer is, knowing you idiotic American's its some sort of music group. But I suggest you watch yourself very carefully Castro because when your friends are nowhere to be found, there I will be; waiting to put you back in your place you filthy degenerate." Malfoy hissed.
"Such bold words for someone who runs head first into things without his pants." Paige replied. Malfoy gave her a confused look right before his pants suddenly dropped to the ground and he pitched forward straight into the nearest wall. The four American friends howled with laughter as they flounced off, unable to contain their mirth. The Slytherins all limped the other way with their tails between their legs.
"What now! Hey, you should show us around that forest tonight! That way we can begin marking our territory!" Owen bounced up and down excitedly.
"Sorry guys, I cant, I have to go to detention tonight." Paige said ruefully. The others turned to look at her.
"What, already you are in trouble? The school year has barely started! What in the world have you been up to while we've been away?" Salem asked.
"Oh you know, I get to serve detention with Harry and Hermione because we all decided to play a game of truth or dare." Paige smiled.
"That doesn't sound too bad….oh wait…you mean extreme truth or dare don't you?" Emilee asked with a smile. "That game Is the best! How'd you get caught?"
"My guess. Ron's older brother Percy ratted us out." Paige responded. "oh well. C'est lavi, come on, ill bring you to the common room but then I have to get going or he might beat me" Paige laughed.
The reunited group turned in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.
Paige stood in front of Snape's office door, she reached up and was about to knock when the door suddenly opened. Snape stood there sneering down at her, for a moment the two just glared back at one another.
"Do come in, its my pleasure having you here this evening." Snape said snidely.
"Don't mind if I do, I know how much you love having me here." Paige spat back, receiving a withering stare from Snape.
Paige entered to see Hermione and Harry standing there already. She looked around for cauldrons, wondering if their task was to clean them.
"Don't get your hopes up Miss Castro; I have something different planned in mind. The three of you shall be helping me with the task of collecting herbs tonight." Snape stated.
"From the forbidden forest…but professor, students aren't allowed to go out there!" Hermione stated. She worried glance toward Paige. "And besides, Paige really shouldn't be going out there in the first place. Not after what happened!"
Snape turned toward Hermione, whose eyes widened nervously. He walked over until he was standing in front of her. She began to quiver with uncertainty.
"As I recall, the three of you enjoy doing things you aren't supposed to do. And the two of you" He looked between Hermione and Paige. "Obviously enjoy the forest so I believe you should bite your tongue Miss Granger."
Hermione looked at Paige helplessly.
"It's alright Hermione, I'm a big girl, and there is nothing in that forest that could hurt me. At least not while the professor is with us…" Paige smiled sweetly at Snape, who simply glared back at her. Harry just stood quietly between all of the bickering.
"If you are done, let us get this detention over with before all the herbs wither up." Snape barked. He handed them gloves and buckets to use and then turned and marched in the direction of the door. The trio had no choice but to follow.
When they reached the edge of the forest, Snape came to an abrupt halt. The children almost ran into him when he did this.
"Alright" He stated, turning towards them. "Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, you will take the northern most trail and collect everything on this list. Do not lose that path because I do not want to spend the night trying to find dead bodies." He handed them a list and the two looked at one another.
"Miss Castro, seeing as you are the least trustworthy; you are coming with me. We will cover the other trail. When we are done, we will meet back near Hagrids hut. Well what are you waiting for, get moving!" Snape barked.
The four people entered the woods, splitting off into groups of two. Hermione and Harry went in one direction and Paige and Snape went in the other direction. After walking in silence for a while, Snape stopped and turned toward Paige.
"Alright, start looking for these herbs. I trust you do not need my help determining which ones are which?" Snape growled, handing her half the list.
"Yes sir, my aunt taught me all about herbs when I was four, but you can definitely ask me any questions if you need help yourself." Paige spit back. Snape stared at her.
"I do not appreciate the back talk. Now get to work."
Paige turned away from Snape and moved further away from him; she put her gloves on and began finding all the herbs. Soon enough she checked off every one but one. She had found the patch where they were but she was looking for a particular one. She glanced back the way she came; Snape had his back to her, searching the ground for something. Paige quickly moved out of sight, following a trail that she noticed. When she came upon a tree, she looked down and found the herb she was looking for, one that was ten times better than the other ones.
As she stood to turn back, she heard a noise come from behind her. She turned back around to see a large brown wolf standing there with bright green eyes. It stared right at her, she blinked and then smiled. She moved forward and as she got closer to the wolf, she reached her hand out toward it. It bared its teeth at her, but there was a smile in its eyes. She smiled back and as her hand was just about to touch the wolf's head, there was another noise behind her.
"Miss Castro!" Snape's yell sounded behind her, causing both her and the wolf to jump. As Paige began to turn around to look at him, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and dragged her backwards. When Paige looked up, Snape was standing between her and the wolf with his wand pointing right at the wolf's head. The wolf stared back at Snape.
"Miss Castro, head back to the trail. Now." Snape said calmly, but Paige could tell he was furious. Then came a bark, causing Paige to turn around and see that they were surrounded by two other wolves.
"Professor…I cant" Paige stated clearly, Snape looked and a look crossed his face.
He raised his wand and began to hit the brown wolf with a spell. Paige heard him and realized what he was doing. She leapt at him, knocking his hand out of the way; causing the spell to bounce harmlessly off a tree. The wolf blinked and seemed to grin at the two humans.
"Professor no! You can't hurt them! They haven't done anything!" Paige exclaimed.
"How dare you-"
"Just look!" Paige snapped, and began walking toward the other two wolves. They watched her and then stepped aside to let her pass. Snape stared after her in surprise, he glanced at the wolves before following her.
When they got back to the trail, Paige turned and winked at her three best friends before she turned back to Snape. The three wolves raced off with yips of laughter. As Paige turned around she jumped, Snape was standing mere inches away from her.
"What point of stick to the path do you not understand! What in Merlin's name were you thinking? That was a wolf! A wild animal! Similar to the beast that almost tore you apart, or have you forgotten!" Snape roared at her.
"I haven't forgotten anything, I remember the creature that attacked me and it was nothing like those wolves. I was just about to pet one when you scared them, and then you almost hurt one! It seems to me that you were more scared than I was! Why is that professor? Its not like you have ever been attacked by a werewolf!" Paige shot back.
Snape gave her a look of pure venom, causing Paige to wonder if he actually had been attacked once. "You could have gotten seriously injured! You young lady are cutting it very close with how much trouble you have been into." He leaned closer to her and lowered his voice. "If I were you I would begin behaving or else it will be much worse for you."
"But I didn't get hurt! And I collected everything on the list like you asked! Its not like I meant to go looking for trouble! I was just looking for the ingredients you need to make a dark magic potion!" Paige spat out.
Snape froze and then glared at her. "Come on, we need to collect the others."
With that, Snape turned and stormed off back toward the school. Paige grabbed her bucket and hurried after him. As they reached the edge of the forest; they came across Hermione and Harry, who had just finished collecting everything.
"Good, you are finished. Give me the ingredients and all of you go back to your common rooms. If I catch any of you out after curfew your punishment will be extended." With that, Snape took the ingredients and gloves and stalked off.
"What's his problem?" Harry questioned.
"He was mad because I confronted him about the herbs he was making us collect." Paige explained. The two Gryffindors looked at her. "They are for a dark magic potion, we studied them at my old school."
"Really? Why on earth would the Headmaster allow a professor to make a dark potion!" Hermione exclaimed, becoming concerned.
"For study, he told me so." Paige lied to ease her mind. "And he was also mad because we ran into a wolf, I tried to pet it."
Instantly the other two turned their full attention on Paige as the trio walked back toward the castle. They talked animatedly about it and (in Hermione's case) worriedly.
As they were heading back up to the common room, Emilee came around the corner.
"Oh hey guys! Hey Harry, Ron was looking for you in the Great Hall sounded quite important." Emilee smiled. Harry nodded, excused himself and left.
"What's up?" Paige asked.
"Oh nothing, just thought that we could use some girl time! Gives me a chance to get to know Hermione a little better and also get away from the boys! I swear they only ever talk about quidditch!" All three of them laughed.
"Did you find out which houses you were placed in?" Hermione asked.
"Yes actually! During dinner while you all were gone! Okay so Owen and Salem are in Gryffindor like you guys and I ended up in Slytherin of all placed!" Emilee exclaimed.
Paige and Hermione both expressed their regret. "That sucks!" Paige stated.
"Yeah so I told the headmaster to stuff it and that I would be staying in Gryffindor tower. The other teachers were shocked but I convinced them I belong with you guys. So I am a self-made Gryffindor!" Emilee exclaimed happily.
The other two girls cheered and whooped as they raced down the hallway, as they rounded another corner they heard noises. They stopped and stared at the site before them, all three of them completely shocked.
There before them were Draco, Crabbe and Goyle; surrounding two young female students. One of which was Ginny Weasly. The three boys were bullying them bad from the looks of it because the two girls had red marks all over them, and they looked like they were going to cry. And Ginny was not the type of girl to cry.
"What's the matter; you filthy first years don't know how to bow to your betters? I think we shall teach you some manners! No one disrespects a Malfoy! We are too pure to be undermined and disrespected! I think you ought to apologize before I get Crabbe and Goyle to correct your attitude you filthy blood-traitor! Quick, before I make you eat dirt!"
"Go…Go to hell Malfoy! You can't do anything to us!" Ginny stammered.
Draco reared his hand back and slammed his fist in Ginny's stomach, causing the first year to cry out in pain. Paige shook herself from the initial shock, and her rage overtook her.
"Stop right there Malfoy or I swear you will be eating your own teeth for a week!" She snarled angrily as she rushed down the hallway. The three Slytherins turned their attention on the three Gryffindors.
"Or what Castro, you ganna punch me again? These little first years disrespected me! I suggest you mind your own business." Draco smirked, causing his cronies to laugh and the first years to whimper.
Paige just stared at Malfoy for a few seconds, her eyes showing him just how sorry he would be if he did not back off. Draco's smile faltered slightly.
"Girls, come here." Paige ordered, the two girls stood and began to walk over; only to be stopped by Crabbe and Goyle.
Paige snarled angrily at the two boys, rushing at them and punching them both in the groin. They dropped to their knees with wails of pain. She whipped around and glared at Malfoy, daring him to do something. When he stepped backwards, she turned her attention on the girls.
"Are you two alright?" She asked, looking them over. While she did that, Emilee and Hermione moved in; facing the boys in a protective manor (although Hermione looked terrified).
"Y-yes…they beat Luna up a bit though, I'm worried they may have hurt her bad." Ginny said shakily. Luna's eyes were brimming with tears.
Paige hugged them both. " The two of you go to the infirmary, I will be right behind you. I need to make sure these three won't bother you anymore." The two girls nodded, cast a scared look at Malfoy, and then limped away.
Paige glared at the boys, Crabbe and Goyle had recovered. "How dare you assholes do such a thing to those weaker than you! You deserve your own special place in Hell! If I catch any of you near them for any reason, I will kill you. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!" Paige threatened. The three boys nodded, and the three girls turned to walk away.
"I must say it would have been wonderful to put those two in their places, seeing as how I can't correct any of the other Weasley's! Don't worry Castro, when they aren't looking; ill teach them a good lesson n manners! Draco taunted once more. Which was a big mistake.
Paige turned around and without thinking, launched herself at Malfoy with an angry screech.
*The reason she attacked him should be clear to those following along with Paige's past. However it will be explained in the next chapter! REVIEW PLEASE!*