Chapter 1: A lion in Slytherin

The King's Cross station was crowded, busy businessmen carrying a briefcase were walking fast through the station, families with sunburns were coming back from their holidays, tourists were looking at a map, trying to figure out where to go next. Everything seemed normal, everything except for two lone figures who didn't blend into the background.

"So… Nervous?" Asked a man wearing a shabby set of wizard's robes.

"I'm fine." Said an eleven years old girl with long auburn hair and big green eyes.

"Listen, I just want you to know that... Well, it doesn't matter what house you'll be sorted in, ok?"

They both walked through the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

"Why are you being so dramatic over it?"

"I… I don't know, nevermind." The man chuckled and pulled a train ticket out of his pocket "All right miss, don't forget to write."

"I won't." The girl smiled before getting inside the train.

Riley managed to find an empty compartment. She sat down and started to read her book about Astronomy, she loved everything about space, but mostly its hugeness.

"Is this place taken?" a boy with dark ash-blonde hair opened the compartment door and looked at the only girl sitting in there. The girl gave the three empty places a quick glance before turning her head back to him.

"I should hope not. I mean... Either that or I'm sitting with ghosts."

The boy raised an eyebrow "You know that we can actually see ghosts, right?"

"Yeah, I know. You can sit." Riley answered a little uncomfortable, cursing herself for even trying to make a joke, this is what you get for trying to be funny. The boy hesitated for a little moment, and then decided to sit in front of her, but he kept looking at her with a frown.

"What?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Are you a muggleborn?" he asked faintly after a few seconds of hesitation.

"No" Riley was starting to dislike this boy. She should have told him she was waiting for friends. Remus had warned her about people like him, people who hated muggles. He said that some people had prejudice not only against muggles, but also against muggleborns. She didn't spend much time around muggles to have a genuine opinion about them, but she doubted that they were that bad.

"Cool" he seemed to relax a little bit "So, my name's Adrian Pucey. What's yours?

"Riley." She answered dryly without removing her eyes from her book.

"Just Riley?" Adrian asked in an amused tone, while putting a pumpkin pasty into his mouth.

"Riley Potter," her answer made Adrian choke "Are you okay?"

"Yes…" He said difficultly, "I just ne-eed to…"

"Here" Riley handed him a bottle of water, he took a sip.

"Thanks" At this moment two red-headed boys opened the compartment door. Riley noticed they were very alike, even if one of them had shorter hair. One was wearing a brown pullover with a "F" on it and the other one with a "G".

"Hello, hmm… We need a place to sit, we kind of… Well, we aren't welcomed anymore in our compartment."

"Why not?"

"We dropped a dungbomb in there" the other one responded "So can we sit here with you?"

"Are you goin' to drop a dungbomb in here?" Riley asked.

"We ran out of those."

"Then make yourselves at home." The two boys sat down.

"We're Frorge."

"Frorge?" Riley asked raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, I'm George, he's Fred, we're Frorge, that's our thing!"

"Oh right, never would've guessed that." Riley giggled, Adrian rolled his eyes at the pair "I'm Riley, he's Adrian… That's it, we don't have a thing." The twins chuckled making her relax, finally someone that could get a joke, she also noticed that Adrian smiled slightly.

"What about you, what's your name?" The boy named Fred asked. It was clear that his question was only directed to Riley.

"Riley Potter" she answered quickly. Their mouths fell open.

"Potter? Like in Harry Potter" this time it was the boy named George who asked.

Riley forced a smile and nodded. She wondered if it was going to be like this, every time she would say the name "Potter".

"He's my brother" she finally answered.

"No way, so how's he?" Fred asked. Adrian was also looking at her with curiousity.

"I wouldn't know" Riley replied sadly "Haven't seen him in a while."

"How so?"

"We don't live together, after my parents were murdered, he went to live with my mom's sister and her husband, and I went to live with my godfather, haven't seen him since… To be honest I don't even know if he knows I exist."

"That's… odd." Fred said.

"What about you two?" Riley asked, quickly changing the subject, before they could ask another question she didn't know the answer. She felt a bit ashamed that she knew so little about her own brother. He was a stranger to her as much as to them. "Must be nice having a twin."

Fred chuckled, "yes, that's pretty cool, but we also have five other siblings. Bill's already off school, but Charlie is Gryffindor Quidditch Captain" he said proudly, "the other one is Percy, he's less fun… The other two are younger than us."

Riley was still incredulous "That's… That's a lot of people." Adrian snickered silently.

"Yeah, but at least we never get bored." Fred smiled at her. "So what house do you want to be sorted in?"

"I don't know, both my parents were Gryffindors" said Riley.

"All our family's been in Gryffindor as well" Fred commented.

"What about you Adrian?" Asked Riley.

"Slytherin" snapped Adrian making the twins frown their faces.

"Sorry about that mate" Fred said. Adrian gave him a glare, but Fred was too busy looking at the witch in front of him to notice.

"Hope you'll be in Gryffindor, it's the best house."

Riley gave him a soft smile before turning her attention back to her book. The twins started to talk about the different pranks they were going to do in Hogwarts. Adrian stayed silent the whole time, looking through the window, but at times he turned his head towards the girl in front of him and thought to himself that he had never seen such beautiful eyes.

When they arrived it was raining, they all followed a very large and tall man named Hagrid. Riley was impressed by his size, but this was magical school after all. They arrived at the castle wet, it wasn't a very good weather to take boats. After a few minutes a woman with a rigorous face and a pointed hat stood in front of them. She dried them with some spell and presented herself very briefly before telling that she would lead them to the Great Hall, where all the other students were waiting, so they could be sorted into the different houses.

Riley looked everywhere with admiration when they entered the Great Hall, the enchanted ceiling, the different tables dressed in different colours, it was really… how could she put it… Magical. But what most caught Riley's attention was a singing hat. It made her giggle. After the hat finished singing, Professor McGonagall started to call the names of the first years.

"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Anderson Mary" A shy little girl with plump cheeks put on the hat.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Shouted the sorting hat. Riley heard some girls giggle behind her.

"Avery, Cora!" Called Professor McGonagall, and a girl walked past Riley, she had long, straight, blonde hair and a mischievous grin on her face, she was pretty. Riley reckoned that she was one of the girls who were giggling. Cora put on the hat and puffed out her chest, as if this was the most important moment of the entire night. But it didn't last long.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat shouted. Cora proudly joined her housemates' table.

"Burke, Emily!" this girl was also behind Riley, she had curly, brown hair and hazel eyes. She sat on the stool and put on the hat. The hat remained on her head for several seconds before finally shouting "SLYTHERIN". Riley did not know why, but those girls were really starting to annoy her.

"Davies, Roger!"

"RAVENCLAW"

"Diggory, Cedric!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

And it kept on going, "Johnson, Angelina", she became a Gryffindor, and so did "Jordan, Lee".

"Lloyd, Andrew!" A fat boy with a hamster face started to walk clumsily forward and almost fell over when he reached the stool. A burst of laughter came from the Slytherin table. Riley wanted to laugh too, but watching the boy struggle to sit down made her heart race, what if it happens to her too? So she decided to contain herself. "HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Montague, Graham!" He became a Slytherin, "O'Connell, Laurel!" She became a Ravenclaw.

"Potter, Riley!" Riley felt her heart stir when she heard her name, she could also hear whispers coming from all four tables. Why were people whispering about her? She didn't do anything to deserve it, her brother did. She walked forward the stool, when she glanced at the professors' table she saw a pair of dark eyes staring at her with a glint of curiosity.

"Hmm… A hard choice I have here, what house will be the most fit for you? You certainly have the bravery to be a Gryffindor, the intelligence to fit just fine in Ravenclaw, but I can feel something stronger inside you… Yes, I know where I'll put you… SLYTHERIN!"

The word came as a shock to her, she knew that it was a possibility, but in her mind she would be in Gryffindor, this is where Potters belong, right? She remembered what Remus told her in King's Cross, did he expect that somehow? Still feeling confused she walked towards the Slytherin table forcing a smile, she could hear applauses from her housemates, she glanced at the dark-eyed professor, he wasn't clapping. Then she sat down and turned her head to watch the few first years who remained there. She noticed that Fred wasn't smiling, he wasn't looking at her either.

"Pucey, Adrian!" Adrian sat on the stool and it didn't take long to the hat to shout "SLYTHERIN!". The boy walked towards the Slytherin table with a big smile on his face and sat down next to Riley.

"It seems that we're in the same house." He smiled at her.

"Yes" she simply said.

The two girls, Alicia Spinnet and Patricia Stimpson became Gryffindors. Kenneth Towler became a Ravenclaw. Elizabeth Thompson and Cassius Warrington became Slytherins.

"Weasley, Fred!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Weasley, George!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Riley heard one of her housemates' comment, "Another Weasley? Damn, they reproduce like bunnies" a burst of laughter came from the table. Riley turned her head to see who said this and saw a large boy with dark hair and grey eyes, he had a smug grin on his face, a grin that made Riley despise him. "At least, they're all in Gryffindor and not contaminating the other houses" she heard more laughter.

"Well, I heard there are more of them, so… don't speak too soon" a girl with long dark hair and tanned skin said. The boy deepened his grin.

"Don't worry Sarah, you can bet that if one of them is sorted in Slytherin, he won't last a week".

Riley looked at Fred who was laughing with some Gryffindors, she wanted to be there with them, she wanted to laugh instead of insulting people. She wanted to tell her housemates to shut up, to tell them that the two boys were nice, nicer than all of them put together. But she couldn't, instead she dropped her eyes. It couldn't be right, she couldn't possibly be a Slytherin, she thought that she was the one who wasn't going to last a week.

Professor Dumbledore said some weird words that didn't make sense at all, and then a vast variety of food appeared in front of them. Riley put some boiled potatoes and some pork chops on her plate.

"Potter, huh? So are you related with that ickle baby that everyone seems to be so fond of?" Riley looked at the blonde girl in front of her and frowned. This grabbed the attention of some Slytherins next to them.

"Excuse me?" Riley snapped.

"I mean don't get me wrong, but the boy just got lucky, that's all," the two girls sitting next to Cora Avery nodded quickly, "I think that he's not all that!" Some of her housemates snickered slightly.

"I think that you are not all that" Riley grumbled making other Slytherins snicker. Cora flashed a dark glance at Riley but then forced a smile.

"So if I remember correctly, your mom was a mudblood, wasn't she?" Riley felt her blood boil. "I think that the sorting hat got confused, I mean it's so old and dirty, I really think that Dumbledore should get rid of it and get a new one, but well, the old man is not better." The boy named Montague laughed at this.

"There are plenty of half-bloods in Slytherin!" Adrian stated, which kind of surprised Riley.

"Of course you would know" Cora gave him a twisted smile.

"I'm a pureblood" he snapped.

"Are you?" Cora mocked him "Not really a good one, though." The two girls beside her started laughing.

"Let it go Adrian" Riley said to him "Some things are just not worth it."

"She learns fast the little potty girl." Avery teased.

"Yeah, unlike you" mumbled Riley.

Adrian and Riley finished their dinner silent, while Cora Avery was bragging to her girlfriends about her summer. When they finished dessert, Professor Dumbledore made they sing the school song. Riley noticed that almost none of the Slytherins sang along with the others.

"Every year, the same stupid song" Riley heard the same boy who mocked Fred and George. Cora laughed at his words, the boy looked at her with a confused expression, and Cora gave him a smile. He looked back at his friend who was cackling. Riley was well positioned to hear what his friend was saying even if he was whispering.

"Marcus Flint, stealing little girls' hearts since 1989" he chuckled "but you know if I were you, I'd look for someone with more… I don't know… tits" he chuckled putting his arm around the girl named Sarah and kissing her.

"Shut up" Marcus snapped giving his friend a dark glare.

Riley turned her attention to Cora who was whispering with her friends, and didn't seem to have heard their conversation.

"I was told that he's in the Slytherin Quidditch team, and that he's favourite to be captain next year."

"But he's too old for you," the girl named Elizabeth insisted.

"So what Liz? It's even better," Cora retorted, "you know how purebloods are supposed to go out with only purebloods, it's perfect." Riley could see that Elizabeth wasn't convinced, but she didn't dare to say anything, she was probably afraid that she might lose her "friendship" with Cora.

"Girls are really pathetic…" Adrian commented making Riley look at him, "Er… Sorry I didn't mean to… I didn't want to… Well, you know it's just that…" but Riley burst into laughter.

"Right?" she giggled.

Adrian smiled at her, "I didn't mean you!"

"No problem."

They both got up and followed the Slytherin Prefects to the dungeons.

"So, do you like quidditch?" Adrian asked Riley.

"Love it! Want to try out for the team, too bad they don't take first years. I don't see what difference does it make, I mean, I play since I can walk, what's one year?"

"Yeah, well… we can try out together next year"

"I'd like that" she said before leaving to the girl's dorm. When she arrived there, she saw Cora and her cronies, Elizabeth Thompson and Ava Nott.

"Just my luck" she muttered to herself.

"Please take the bed opposite to ours, we don't want to get contaminated." Cora said dramatically.

Riley rolled her eyes, it was not like she had a choice anyway, all the other beds were already taken. She noticed the fifty girl with curly hair and hazel eyes, Riley gave her a soft smile, the girl hesitated but then smiled back at Riley. What was her name again?

"Emily! What in Merlin's name is that? If you want to be in our crew, you can't wear these horrific pyjamas!" The other girls giggled. Emily's cheek turned red and she quickly searched for something else to wear. Riley sighed, this was going to be a long year.

Riley was in a dark cold place, but she couldn't say where, she looked around and saw graves everywhere, she couldn't see the end of it.

She started running to get away from this place, but it was endless.

She stopped when she heard a baby crying behind her, she turned around to see the baby, but jumped when she saw that it wasn't a baby but a little creature there, it stopped crying and started laughing at her. A cold and evil laugh. The creature started to grow, and she saw a pair of red eyes stare and point a finger at her, "You're next!".

Riley woke up suddenly, she looked around as if she was still in the cemetery but only saw other four beds around her. She got up and went to the common room. She sat in front of the fireplace and started to think about her dream. It wasn't unusual, those nightmares, but the odd thing was that she had had specifically three different nightmares that were always coming back. She couldn't understand why, sometimes new fragments would appear, but it was still the same dream. She had talked to Remus about this and even if he had admitted that it was indeed odd, he had no explanation. Riley didn't want to go back to bed, fearing that she would dream of this again. So she stood there, staring at the fireplace.

"Miss Potter", a voice came from behind her "what are you doing here?" She turned her head and saw the same Professor who was staring at her at dinner.

"I… I couldn't sleep" she said making him raise an eyebrow.

"Then, go back to your bed and try harder." he said a little more coldly.

"I don't want to."

"And why not?" he asked, clearly losing his patience.

"I…" Riley hesitated for a moment. Should she tell him? She didn't know him, but he was her Professor and also head of the Slytherin House. "I had a nightmare, it's always the same nightmare, along with other two I mean" he looked confused "I have those recurring dreams, or nightmares, three different ones." She hoped that she had been more clear, she felt a little stupid after her words came from her mouth.

"I see." It was all he said for a moment, before adding. "Come with me." He left for his office, Riley stood up and followed him. When she entered his office she saw a vast variety of ingredients and potions on some shelves. He took one little vial and gave it to her.

"Here, take this, it will help you sleep." She looked at him confused, but then took the vial and drank it. "You can go now." She thanked him and left, when she was by the office door she heard him say.

"Welcome to Slytherin, Miss Potter" and with that she went back to her dorm and had a dreamless night.