CATTLEYA'S POV

Cat followed the prefect into her dorms and closed the door behind her. Then she heard the giggles. Was it fashionable or something to laugh like that? She found it a little disturbing, but all the same she turned to face the girls.

- Hey, one of them called, a curious expression on her face, is it true that you broke Charlus Potter's nose?

Oh, yeah. She had forgotten his name. *Smacks herself mentally for her bad memory with names*

-Actually, I'd rather not talk about it… She told them her honest feelings, as she usually did.

-So it IS true!

More giggling ensued. Cat felt uncertain. She was already uneasy at the idea of sharing her bedroom – she was a very social person but she also enjoyed the moments she could spend on her own, and during which she was left face-to-face with herself, enjoying the soothing effect peaceful silence always had on her. It only made things worse to know that she might not get along so well with the girls she shared it with. As she made her way back from the bathroom however, one of the girls was waiting for her.

-Please, do not take them seriously. They can be a bit childish at times, but they mean no harm. My name is Minerva by the way. Minerva Mcgonagall.

The girl smiled, her eyes steadily holding Cat's gaze.

Cat looked into the girl's serious but strong and honest face and felt something pass between them. She had always been alone at home. There were few children of her own age amongst the Mibu, and since the members of the clan always kept to themselves, scarcely allowing her in the "outside world", she had never really had any comrades. She had been taught by different masters who also belonged to the clan. She admired them and enjoyed their company, but she had always been alone during the lessons and had spent the rest of her time either with her parents or studying on her own. She really loved her clan, but without realizing it, she had sorely missed growing up with friends her own age.

-My name is… Cattleya Mibu, she said, holding out her hand. Professor Dumbledore had advised her to introduce herself that way.

The girl took it and they came back to the room.

Term was starting today. Cat was having breakfast with Minerva when she was handed out her timetable. She had chosen Potions, DADA, Transfiguration just for the comfort of Dumbledore's presence, and Charms. Of course, very few students only took four subjects, but she did not care much. The more free time she had, the better it was, for it would allow her to learn more upon this world that still was completely alien to her.

She had spent her summer "catching up" and hadn't learned much about the country, its history and traditions. She hadn't chosen History of Magic or Muggles studies, though, because when it came to pure knowledge and not practice, she preferred finding things on her own and take her time to read good books that dealt with the subject. She liked to be active in everything she did, and sitting on a chair, doing nothing for two hours but passively listening to a lecture was something she found utterly inefficient. When she had asked Minerva how students managed to stay awake during these lessons, her new friend had told her that they actually didn't, and when Cat had wondered why they went on with the subject when it wasn't compulsory, she had simply shrugged her shoulders, grimacing slightly.

On Mondays, she had double Potions in the morning, a free period, then double Transfiguration in the afternoon. On Tuesdays, double Charms, free period, then double DADA. Wednesdays were the same as Mondays and Thursdays the same as Tuesdays. She had Fridays free.

-No way, she heard one of her dorm mates complain. Why do we have our most important subjects with stinky Slytherin? It's only Charms where we are with Ravenclaw…

-Well, at least, we get to see Riddle 6 hours a week, her friend consoled her.

And they both giggled again. Cat thought she was starting to get used to it.

-Cattleya, are you coming? Minerva called. We'll be late for Potions.

Cat followed her friend to the dungeon where they were to have their first lesson. They were the firsts to arrive, and she opened the door only to be greeted by an enormous wizard that exclaimed at the sight of her in a merry, booming voice:

-But you must be the Miss Mibu Dumbledore has been telling me about! Do come in, my dear girl!

TOM's POV

Tom was lazily listening to his Professor, faking an expression of utmost interest. Today they were going to learn how to make the only antidote known to have an effect on the Great Tarantula venom. As if he would ever need it.

-Well then everyone let's get started!

Tom shot a look at his partner. He had chosen to be with Malefoy, the only one of the lot who actually had some brains. Avery, Nott and Dolohov were completely useless, except for their ability to follow the most basic orders. Well, even that was sometimes beyond them, and they had almost been caught executing his plans a certain number of times. But they made it up with their fierce hatred of mudbloods and their eagerness to… have a little fun with them. Malefoy understood situations quicker and was a tad more subtle in his ways, but he simply wasn't in Tom's league. Not that anyone was, he smirked to himself, unconsciously holding his chin a little higher. He could only count on himself for the most subtle tasks. He had looked for the Chamber on his own, he remembered, never telling the four of them who he was and what he was up to until the moment he was sure to have found its' entrance in his 5th year. Only then had he told them what he was planning to do once he got into it and included them in his schemes.

Class was almost finished when Slughorn, who liked to check on students, arrived to his cauldron.

-Tom, m'boy! You're doing just as fine as usual! Haha, glad to have my best student back!

-Thank you, sir. Tom slightly bowed his head in a modest fashion. For all his foolishness, the man was a great wizard, he would give him that. Knowing that he had him wrapped around his little finger, just like the rest of the staff, enthralled him. Except for Dumbledore. There was always the old fool, smiling and making stupid jokes that people only laughed at to be polite… Thinking about him made Tom so angry…

He abruptly snapped of his musings upon hearing his name again.

-Why, now, Tom, you certainly seem to be having competition! Miss Mibu, Miss Mcgonagall, to what do we owe this pleasantly blue colour?

Mcgonagall was obviously waiting for her partner to speak, but the girl remained concentrated on her cauldron and so she answered.

- Well, we thought we could put the fire at a much higher temperature than what was written….

-My dear girl, I follow your reasoning, of course a higher temperature would allow the ingredients to blend in more completely, but then Salamander's blood evaporates and it is crucial to the potion! It already has been tempted, and with disastrous effects!

This time, Mcgonagall was at a loss for an answer. Not looking up from the cauldron came her partner's serene voice.

- Professor Dumbledore wrote a paper about how dragon blood, put at such a high temperature, might actually acts the same way as Salamander's doe as at a much lower one. I read it this summer. So I merely switched the two.

-Well, Dumbledore did write that, Slughorn muttered. But you see, it hasn't been tested yet…

-Well, there's a first time to everything.

And with that the girl walked over to the Professor's desk and seized the small bottle labeled "G.T. Venom" that was supposed to serve as a test to check whether they had correctly brewed their potion. She opened it and took a few sips. The class gasped and Tom straightened in his chair, vaguely excited by the possibility of witnessing the horribly painful death this venom was supposed to bring, but not letting it show.

-Miss Mibu! Slughorn cried in despair. Here, drink this, I brewed it myself… he hurried over to his potions kit, hastily took out a vial filled with a dark blue liquid and tried to force it on the girl. But she was already walking back to her own desk. She conjured up a small glass, put it in the cauldron and drank. The class was dead silent. Seconds passed when -

RIIIIIIING

Everyone jumped upon hearing the bell, but no one made a move: they all had their eyes fixed on the new girl, expecting her to start convulsing anytime now. However, it looked like they wouldn't be graced with such an interesting spectacle.

-All that drama for nothing, Tom heard Avery tell Nott under his breath as they were leaving the classroom, a clearly disappointed look on his face.

Tom followed, but his eyes were on the girl. So, either she was brilliant and daring, which would make her… interesting enough, or she had just done this for the show. The fact that she was a Gryffondor, who were famous for their need to do everything that was in their power to attract attention, as well as her loud and rash behavior on the train, made him incline to believe that it was more the second than the first of his hypothesis. But it couldn't hurt to keep an eye on her whenever he could and to ask his cronies to gather information on her. Having decided that, he hurried over to his next lesson, sparing the girl no second thought.

CATTLEYA's POV

-Wait! Hey! Cat, wait!

She froze upon hearing the nickname. None, not even Keikoku, had addressed her like that since she had left her family. It was always her father who had called her that, his little Cat…

-That was so dangerous! Why did you do it? For show or something?

-For show? She frowned, not understanding. I just thought it was the quickest way to find out.

-Really, what if you'd been wrong? Minerva sounded angry, but Cat could see the concern in her now grim face.

-Minerva, it was obvious that Slughorn already had a brewed antidote and had it with him. If mine hadn't worked, I would only have had to drink his, she tried to reassure the other girl.

Minerva didn't lose her composure:

-What if your antidote had worsened the poison, or even altered it to the point that the regular antidote wouldn't have had any effects on it?

-Minerva, that's what potions masters do for a living. They experiment. Trust me, I know what I'm doing… Do you have class now? Cat added hastily, not wanting her friend to ask what she meant by "I know what I'm doing". How could she tell her that she had already successfully experimented on herself a certain number of times? Her clan was specialized in healing techniques and potions, and she had started learning very early. As a result, she knew all of them by heart before she was 12. She had been allowed to assist Akari-san then, who was in charge of the medical lab, in her researches and experimentations.

-Yeah, Arithmancy… Where are you going? Minerva sighed, knowing a lost cause when she saw one. She could tell Cat was hiding something, but they weren't close enough for her to ask.

-Library. Let's meet for lunch ok?

-Sure. Don't get lost in the corridors! She warned Cat before leaving.

Oooops. That was easier said than done. She took corridor after corridor, yet only seemed to lose herself deeper into the castle. She had always had a crappy sense of orientation, just like her mother.

*Nooooooo, why are the genes showing up like that? Why isn't possible to just be given a piece of paper once you are born and write every quality you would like to have during your life? Raaaaaaaaaa this is getting so FRUSTRATING* she thought, kicking a stone without real aim.

-Careful now, Mibu. You might hurt someone, came an amused voice from behind her, making her jump.

There stood a blond-haired boy she had seen this morning in class. She was quite fascinated by him: she had never met anyone with such light hair in her world. But she hadn't gotten his name.

-Hello, she beamed. Cattleya Mibu. She held out her hand to him as she had been told to do.

-I know that already. And I don't shake hands with filthy Gryffondors, he answered, looking disgusted.

-Ah ok! Then do you know where the library is?

Cat wasn't really offended. She thought it was slightly rude from the boy, but she had to concede that she understood his feeling. She personally found this tradition a little bit unhygienic too: after all, you didn't know the person or what they had been doing with their hands, or whether they had recently washed them at all… She found bowing a much cleaner way do things. But a voice interrupted her thoughts on the matter.

-Looking for the library? I can take you there if you want.

She jumped yet AGAIN and, thinking that she really needed to work on it, turned around to recognize the guy she had seen during her journey to Hogwarts and whose nose she had broken. What was his name again? She was sure it ended with "us".

-Umm I wouldn't mean to trouble you…

The boy shrugged:

-It's on my way to lunch, so no trouble really.

She eyed him suspiciously after the train incident. Why was he offering her his help after what had happened then? There was not a hint of malice in his eyes however, and it was obvious that he was not planning to corner her for punching and kicking him. She felt a pang in her stomach, remembering how much she hated those who judged her brother on a first impression, automatically thinking his red eyes and quiet behavior made him a freak and not giving him the slightest chance to try and fit in. She had branded him as a pervert in her memory, but then maybe she too was mistaken. And so, she decided to follow him.

-OK then! Goodbye, she beamed to the blond, bending her back the way she had been taught to when taking your leave from a person you did not know.

MALEFOY'S POV

Abraxas Malefoy was walking from his Arithmancy class. He hated the stupid subject, but his father had forced him to go on with it for a N.E.W.T. Leaving class in a foul mood, he had just spotted the girl that had put up such a show with her antidote during Potions. He remembered how Riddle had quietly asked him to keep tabs on her when possible after they had left class. He smirked.

-Careful, now, Mibu. You might hurt someone, he called behind her as she kicked a stone.

He saw her jump at his words, bringing a hand to her heart.

-Hello, she beamed nonetheless. Cattleya Mibu, she introduced herself with a smile and holding out her hand.

Yeah, as if he were going to take it.

- I know that already. And I don't shake hands with filthy Gryffondors, he said smugly, waiting for the offended, possibly angry look that was bound to cross her features.

But to his astonishment, her smile did not even falter:

-Ah ok! She replied, oblivious of the insult. Then do you know where the library is?

He was unsure as how to reply. Never in Hogwarts' history had he heard of a Gryffondor who wouldn't have roared at his rudeness. Of course, not all of them would jump at his throat, but her beaming was a bit much. He narrowed his eyes, trying to discern sarcasm behind her smile, but found none.

That was when Potter had interrupted their conversation and offered to take her there. At first, she had eyed him with suspicion, but then her smile was back again. Then she had turned back to Malefoy, her eyes locking with his, and slightly bent her back while saying goodbye, leaving him to ponder on her strange behavior.

CHARLUS'POV

- Hey, you know what, I was just thinking, it's really nice of you to take me there when you obviously didn't need to. Maybe I misjudged you on the train. I'll give you a second chance, OK?

She held out her hand and he took it, slightly confused by her antics. He had seen her shout something about frustration and kick a rock aimlessly. That's when he had seen Malefoy talk to her. Well, that could not bode well for the girl. He had heard her ask for the library, and knowing that Malefoy would point to the exact opposite direction, he had offered to take her there. She had seemed quite moved by that, and, frankly, he didn't understand why. And now, she was babbling something about second chances. WTF?

-And I apologize for hitting you, she went on.

- Yeah, you already did that on the train, he replied vaguely.

-But this time I really am sorry!

At that, he lowered his eyes to meet hers. What kind of girl would apologize to you, then tell you she didn't mean it and apologize again days later, sincerely this time? Apologies were all about pretence, who cared whether she really felt sorry? She was looking back at him and she smiled the most honest smile he had ever seen, with actual remorse in her eyes. Remembering the way he had thought about her in the train, he felt bad. And then, what had happened during Potions came back to his mind.

-Hey, why did you do have to put a show with the antidote this morning?

He saw her eyes widen at the question.

- Why does everyone keep asking me the question? I did it because I believed Professor Dumbledore was right about his assumptions about Dragon blood.

-Yeah, assumptions that had not been proved right!

-Well, I had faith in them, she answered serenely, looking straight in front of her. Plus, someone had to prove them right, and that was a good occasion.

-Are you kidding me? It's not a 17 years old girl's role to do the guinea pig part… his voice trailed off, seeing the look in her eyes.

-My role? Because it actually is someone's role to sacrifice themselves for magic? Why would my life be more important than anyone else's? Just because I'm younger? She didn't sound angry, just confused.

She couldn't be serious, could she? But then, she had stopped in her tracks and her face was nothing if not dead serious. He rolled his eyes. God, did the girl take every single thing that came out of people's mouth seriously or what? He actually hadn't thought about what he was saying, he just wanted to point out how dangerous her behavior had been, and there she was, putting up the argument... Of course, her reasoning made sense, but it made him feel uneasy.

-Look, here's the library… I'm going to have lunch then… See you around.

-Huh? What time is it?

-12:30…

-CRAP! I was supposed to meet Minerva at 12h15 in the Hall! I can't believe I got lost for TWO whole hours! And I can't even remember any place I've seen. Mum if you hear this, CURSE YOUR LOUSY ORIENTATION SENSE THAT YOU FORCED UPON ME WHEN I WAS BORN! Anyways, sorry, got to go. Bye!

Charlus found himself, once more, completely at a loss. What was that about her mother and orientation sense? He watched in awe as she sped with rare velocity (he would give her that) in the completely wrong direction, then stopped, then raced back to him. She clasped her hands together in front of her face.

-Maybe you could take me there? The plea was obvious in her eyes.

His rolled his, grasped the girl by her arm, and made his way to the Great Hall. Both remained silent, and she didn't seem to mind, just like in the train. Well, somehow, this time he didn't mind either. He knew it probably had nothing to do with him, she was just weird that way.

-Thanks! She beamed when they arrived. I can't remember your name and you sometimes say really stupid things, but you're actually a nice person! I owe you one.

And with that, she went to seat next to McGonagall.

OMG she's completely nuts. Shaking his head, he gave her one last thought before looking for his friends.