Amanda had been at Hogwarts for almost a month now. She still hadn't made many friends; sure, Ginny and Luna were nice to her, but they didn't go out of their way to include her in anything. Neville was sweet but really didn't talk very much about anything except plants. She had to admit that she was feeling quite lonely.
Because of that, she spent a lot of time alone in the library in order to avoid the happy groups in the common room. It was after one of those solitary study sessions that she saw something most peculiar.
Entering the common room through the portrait of the fat lady, she was perplexed by how empty it seemed. There were only a few first years lounging about, not the crowd she would normally see. She checked her watch and confirmed that it was only 8, much too early for everyone to have gone to bed. With a shrug she sat down at the nearest table and pulled out the essay she was working on for Charms.
With her attention firmly on her work, time passed quickly. It was nearly 9, the hour when everyone was required to be in their houses, when she noticed students entering the common room in small groups, two or three every couple of minutes. She saw Ginny and Neville whispering to each other but was too far away to hear what they were talking about.
Ginny came over and sat across from her. "Hey, Amanda, what are you doing?"
"Oh, just a paper for Flitwick. Where have you been?"
"At the library, doing some research for Defense against the Dark Arts."
Amanda narrowed her eyes. "I was at the library earlier, but I didn't see you there."
"Oh, yeah, I had some stuff to do first, guess I missed you."
Although she was suspicious, Amanda chose not to press the issue.
The next morning, Neville received a copy of the Daily Prophet by owl, as he did every day. This time it featured an expose on the fugitive criminal Harry Potter, suspected of killing the previous Headmaster.
"Wow, I hope they catch him soon," Amanda commented.
Ginny, who was several seats away, heard this remark and whirled on the startled girl. "Catch him? He's no criminal, don't you know anything? He's a hero."
"I'm sorry, it's just that I know the Ministry would never mean harm-"
"You know nothing! Nothing about anything! Harry is a wonderful, amazing, good person." She abruptly jumped up from the table and ran off, one of her close friends following behind.
Amanda looked at Neville. "What did I say wrong?"
The boy scowled at her. "Watch what you say about Harry. Ginny's right." Then he stood up and left, leaving Amanda all alone and bewildered.
The day just kept getting worse. In Divination she misread her tarot cards to say the exact opposite of what they were supposed to mean, causeing everyone but Luna to laugh at her. She forgot her paper for Charms in the dormitory. Then there was Muggle Studies.
She had never warmed to Professor Carrow. In fact, the more time she spent in class, the more she disliked the things she was being taught. Amanda had never had a lot of contact with Muggles, but enough to know they were not the coarse, animalistic creatures that she was being taught about. It was hard to hide her revulsion, and Professor Carrow had noticed. She had called Amanda to the front of the class and slapped her knuckles with a ruler until they were red and swollen. But Amanda stood firm and refused to cry, even though it hurt so much.
The one bright spot came in her final class, Herbology. She had been working on an experimental strain of mandrake, which Professor Sprout greeted with approval and praise. Spending this time in the greenhouse, sinking her hands deep into the soil, soothed her mind and made her feel more hopeful.
After class, she went to greet Neville and find out what tasks they were going to work on. But he was nowhere to be found. She waited by the greenhouse for half an hour and he never came. Amanda felt totally abandoned, and finally admitted to herself that what she was beginning to feel for him was something far beyond friendship.