Chapter 2

Where one wishes to not be seen

When Valerian finally woke up, it was already afternoon and the sun was shining through the class windows creating long golden patterns around the room. At night she had been too tired to really pay attention to her surroundings, but now she took the time to familiarise herself with the room she was now supposed to be calling her own.

It was not as big as the one she had back home and it was darker too. In her eyes, the whole room looked weird and foreign. Everything seemed so rough around the edges; all the furniture was so heavy, that she was unable to move it around using muscle strength alone. Figures, humans are so crude creatures after all, she thought while standing in the middle of the small space. Kayn was sending odd looks at her direction from the bed while she was whisking her wings whit short sharp movements while thinking about the situation at hand.

There was a reason why she was given her own room instead of just putting her in with the other girls. She was one of the fey, and a court fey at that, and when one of her kind habited some place long enough, things would get rather interesting. They were highly magical creatures after all, and magic had a habit of gathering other magic around it self, kind of like planets and gravity, so in a month's time the room would be sizzling with magical energy and that would be a time for her to do some redecorating. But for now, the things already there would have to do. At least there wasn't any iron there anymore sense all of it had been removed before she moved in.

Sighing deeply Val settled to unpacking some of her belongings and then proceeded to stare grudgingly at her new school robes that were laid on her bed. They supposedly looked more or less the same other students were wearing, but hers were made of the same fabric all her other clothes were made of. That way they wouldn't be too heavy for her to move around in, and she would probably be able to fly in them too, should she ever try. They were not very practical for that purpose, and even if they were, her dad had advised her to appear as human as possible witch meant no flying around. At least not during the daylight hours, she added to herself pulling the offensive clothing over her head and stepping in front off the mirror to inspect her reflection.

The clothes did make their job, even thou they were ugly as hell, they made her more human looking already. The blue on her new robes almost matched the colour of her eyes, and her slender figure almost disappeared under all that fabric. She would have to change her form somewhat to hide her more inhuman features, but decided to leave her hair and eyes mostly untouched. Call it vanity if you may, but she was rather proud of her soft silky curls that cascaded down her back like a silvery waterfall.

When she was done with humanising her appearance she send one last scrutinizing look at her reflection before setting some charms on her book bag to be actually able to carry the things around, and after telling Kayn repeatedly, that she was to wait in her room and not to follow her around inside the castle, she was off to her first dinner at her new school.

-XXX-

It wasn't all that hard to figure out witch table she was supposed to sit. While there was only four to choose from, they were also covered with the colours of each student group. Houses, Val reminded herself while heading towards the one with blue and bronze colours all over it. They were called houses, and hers was called Ravenclaw. What a silly name, she mused while trying to figure out her place at the long table.

Most of the people in the hall were not paying much attention past their full plates and friends around them. But the longer Valerian continued to stand there undecided, the more eyes she could feel burning holes to her petite frame, so after spotting a delicate silvery box near the other end of the table she hurried towards it and sat down between two chatting groups of students.

Don't pay attention to me. She chanted as hard as she could biting her lip so vigorously that she almost drew some blood. After what felt like a really long time, she felt that the curious eyes drilling in to her subsided gradually. With a sight of relief she gripped the small silver key hanging around her neck in a long chain and carefully opened the box peaking inside.

Inside the box were few different kinds of food she usually liked to eat at home. Fay food was not exactly healthy for humans, so the school wanted to play it safe, hence the locked box and the key. Smiling faintly to herself Val gripped some summer wine and a piece of soft white cake with flower petals and nuts baked inside it, eating while riffling through one of the books she had brought with her to the castle.

"Excuse me." someone was talking rather loudly somewhere near her. That was another thing she would have to remember to complain to Vidar when writing a letter to him. This place was so noisy that it was almost impossible to even hear your own thoughts.

"Excuse me." came again, this time even more loudly than the last. This time Val raised her head from the book she was reading and glanced around to see who was making so much noise. On the other side of the table, where there was an empty seat across from her, was a boy looking directly at her with a pair of muddy green eyes.

"Me?" Val asked a bit surprised, that someone was already talking to her, it hasn't even been ten minutes, she thought. The boy made a double take at the sound of her voice, witch caused Valerian to frown slightly wondering whether or not she did something wrong at her quest at appearing human.

"Yeah, you are the new exchange student right?" The boy asked while seating himself in front of her without waiting her answer. Well, it was king of obvious whet you thought about it, she thought with a nod of her head, waiting that the boy would get to his point.

"I'm the head boy of our house. My name is John Hallow, and Professor Flitwick requested that I make sure you adjust here without any problems." the boy, John smiled extending a hand to her.

"Valerian Nightshade, but I go by Val." she said quietly while taking the offered hand and shaking it briefly before letting go.

"So I hear that you are one of the fey, is that correct?" John was asking while he obviously knew the answer already. Other students were sending curious looks at their direction and were trying to look like they weren't listening in, while they were doing exactly just that. Val was feeling rather awkward as she was nodding again and humming something that sounded somewhat agreeing.

"Wow, I have never seen a fay before." the boy was going on and on. Did other humans talk this much? Valerian wondered while picking absentmindedly at what was left of her dinner.

"How come you look so much like us, is it a glamour? I have read about those, you have to show me sometime, I bet it's really interesting to watch… "And so on. Val noticed pretty soon, that all she really had to do, was nod or shake her head every once in a while, while John did most of the talking. Silently she added this to her ever growing list of things to complain to Vidar in her first letter to home.

-XXX-

It was dinner time, and the Marauders were sitting in their usual seats down at the Gryffindor table. Peter was focusing all his attention at shovelling as much food in to his mouth as he could muster, while Sirius and James were planning yet again some prank heads together over their plates and Remus… well he was Remus so what could you expect? He was sitting his nose glued in to yet another book, eating without even looking at his plate.

Suddenly the amount of nose in the Great Hall considerably dropped, and after briefly glancing at the doors to see what had caused it, Sirius elbowed his best friend hard on the ribs to get his attention.

"Ow! What was that for?" James asked, rubbing the now sore spot at his side, but fell silent after Sirius shot him a meaningful look and nodded towards the double doors. And sure enough, there stood the girl they all had seen last night, glad in ravenclaw robes from head to toe. Looking as lost as a little kitten stuck in a rainstorm, or so it appeared to Sirius at least.

"She seems different somehow." noted James still rubbing at his sore ribs. At his words, Remus finally pulled his eyes out off his book and looked at the doors.

"Well you would look different too, if one day you would have wings on your back and the next day they would be gone. Sometimes I am rather amazed at your observational skills James." Moony's vocal stab was delivered at his usual quiet and steady tone; witch caused Sirius to snicker at the cost of his friend.

"Haa haa Moony, be a comedian why don't you? You are clearly heading towards the wrong kind of profession with that always so solemn scholar thing you have going on. Make a career as a stage comedian and leave being serious to Sirius." James was not all that happy with his friends' sense of humour at the moment.

"You now that the sidhe are able to shape shift." Sirius said after regaining some of his composure, making the best Moony impression he could.

"Umm, Padfoot? You realise that we have all read about it right? We had to do that paper about the fay folk for DADA last week." keeping a straight face proved to be difficult, when after James's words, Sirius was at loss of what to say and ended up looking like a fish on dry land, moth opening and closing with nothing coming out.

"Of course I know we had that essay last week, it just wasn't realistic for me to assume that you would have actually done it you git!" He eventually said, face all moody and grumpy.

"You spend more time ogling at Lily's arse, than paying attention to your studies."

"Aww Sirius, look at you. You already sound like our dear Moony!" James exclaimed grinning from ear to ear.

"No he doesn't. I almost never say "arse"" Remus corrected from behind his book.

"No you say buttocks or behind" barked Sirius, already back to his normal misbehaving self.

"You know what boys." he said after a while, looking as the head boy of the ravenclaws made his way over to the fay sitting alone, not really paying attention to anyone around her.

"I think this could become an interesting year after all."

If I get even one review from you, I promise to draw a nice picture about the story for you :) And I don't completely suck at drawing either. (or at least I hope so) Or I could always do some owls, I bet you guys like them anyway.