Chapter 2

But Sasha was from Russia, where the sunsets are longer, the dawns less sudden and sentences are often left unfinished from doubt as how to best end them.

- Virginia Woolf

Belle only emerged out of the loo when she felt the train coming to a stop; by the time she made it back to the compartment it was empty. Quickly grabbing her bag, she headed for the door and jumped off the train, landing firming onto the platform.

She surveyed the station watching the buzz of people walking about. Older ones seemed to walk to where they needed to go without thinking or even noticing. The very small ones were congregating around a man with a very large bright blue hat on. Figuring it was as good a person as anyone, Belle slugged her way over to him.

"Umm, excuse me" she asked standing very close.

The large hat man looked down at her and all of the little nervous looking children surrounding him looked up at her, "Ja?"

"I'm new," Belle began, "and well, what am I meant to do?"

"Vell, I expect you come vith me" the hat man responded smiling, the lightness of his German accent coming though. She fell into the swam of what she thought must be first years.

"Why aren't you in your uniform?" The little boy with mousy brown hair and an enormous nose who was standing next to her asked.

Belle looked at the large nosed boy and then down at herself, "Oh" she thought, looking at her legs still encased in jeans, "Guess I forgot," she put a smile on her face then turned back to the boy, "and who are you then?"

"Right are we all here?" A reasonably tall, brown haired professor came walking down the stairs, cloak flowing behind him. All the new first years quickly gather around the man, who was carrying a roll of parchment in one hand and a hat in the other, "Well, I'm Professor Longbottom, Herbology Teacher and head of Gryffindor. Welcome to Hogwarts…" The professor continued to do his welcoming speech. Belle very slowly made her way to the back of the crowd going behind a wall. Quickly she dropped to her knees rummaging through her bag trying to put her hands on her cloak.

"Does Miss need any help?" A small voice next to her asked helpfully. Belle jumped and looked to her side, to find a very young looking house elf standing there.

"Just trying to find my cloak, I forgot to get changed on the train" Belle explained to the small house elf turning her head back to her bag, finally putting her hands on her cloak and pulling it out.

Standing up to put the cloak on over her jeans and t-shirt, feeling that it would have to do as her uniform was somewhere else in her luggage, "Shall I take your bag, Miss?" the little house elf asked, picking the bag up and holding it up.

"Oh," Belle said, quickly looking around the corner noting that it looked like the Professor was drawing to the end of his speech, "That would be great, Spasi..Thank you" The house elf nodded before disappearing into thin air. Belle, let out a short breath and turned to rejoin the little first years.

Moving along the edge of the crowd till she was standing at the front of the crowd but at the edge still, she waited for the Professor to finish his speech. She didn't have to wait long till he did. Then biting her lip, she waited till he was looking at the parchment in his hand, when she slowly walked up the couple of steps to stand just to the Professor's side.

"Sorry Professor Longbottom?" Belle asked quietly.

"Yes, Miss..."

"Belle." She said wringing her hands; Professor Longbottom just looked down at her, "see that list you've got there." She pointed at the piece of parchment in his hands.

"Yes..." He said the words carefully his eyebrows going up in intrigue.

"Well um," Belle went up on her tippy toes and peered over the piece of parchment and pointed at one of the names on the list. "That's me" the Professor looked at her with shock on his face having obviously not previously looked down to that part of the list, "yeah" Belle said grimacing slightly , "I don't really use it" she finished looking up at him sheepishly.

"I guess that I can understand that."

"So do you mind not saying it?"

Professor Longbottom just stared at her for a few moments, "Belle you said?" He eventually said, smiling at her.

"Thank you, Sir." Relief coating from her words and she smiled properly up at him.

Walking into the hall most of the first years looked up at the ceiling, ohhing and ahhing at the sight. Others looked out for their siblings sitting at various tables but Belle kept her eyes dead set on the front, not moving her gaze from the old raggedy hat sat upon a wooden stool. When the crowd stopped, Belle zoned out, repeating the Nicene Creed over and over again, forgetting where she was.

"Belle" Professor Longbottom called. The call broke her repetition of the creed. Blinking firmly, she moved herself through the group of first years and went to sit in the chair, keeping her eyes downcast not wanting to look at the people starring at her.

"Well hello, where shall we put you?"

Belle just tried to keep her thoughts blanks, "intriguing, it seems like a Slytherin we have here" there was a pause, "however there is something else" again a pause "fancy being different do we?"

Belle couldn't help but think, "Please."

"Maybe... No..." The hat paused again, before speaking out loud "GRYFFINDOR"

Belle looked up at the table that was clapping and cheering, finding herself searching for the group she shared the train journey with. Removing the hat from her head she quickly made her way to the Gryffindor table, bypassing the space at the front set for the new first years she walked to where the 4 compartment companions were sat. Rosie hit the person next to her "Budge up" then moved up herself, patting the space on the bench next to her, letting Belle sit down.

"Guess you are stuck with us then" John smiled at her.

Belle couldn't help but smile at him.

Once the food appeared covering most of the long table, Rosie turned to her and said, "What NEWTS are you doing then? Did you even do OWLs?"

Swallowing her bread, "No, no OWLs but they tested me and things so..."

"Oh, so what are you doing?" Rosie continued.

"Defence against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, Ancient Runes and Herbology" Belle paused, "McGonagall is letting me do Muggle Studies as well though."

"Six?" Albus spluttered.

Belle could feel herself getting redder, "Yeah, well the Muggle studies one is more ummm, more for me." She spluttered to explain.

Albus studied her slowly before shrugging and turning back to his plate.

Coming down the stairs, Belle stopped at the bottom looking down at the common room. The room was being emptied of the younger years that were excitingly making their way passed her and up the stairs. She had been instructed by Rosie and Albus after the meal that she should follow John and Delia up to the common room and get changed out of her uniform and meet them all down by the fire in the common room.

When she had entered her new bedroom, it had been empty. Finding her luggage and the bag she had left with the house elf, sat on the bed in the left hand corner of the room she had begun to unpack her things. The clothes were easy but when it came to opening her little box of knick knacks she paused.

Belle didn't really know what to do with them all. Really she didn't even know why she had bought most of them. She buried the photos deep at the bottom of her trunk with a concealment charm on them. She thumbed the little silver box carefully deciding to place it on her bedside table. She stared at the other little trinkets she had brought, not really wanting to go through them all, she just placed them all in the bottom of the trunk with the hidden photos. As she placed the bag in the trunk, the wooden bear at the top caught her eye. Smiling gently she picked it out, closed the trunk and put the little wooden bear next to the silver box. She also uncurled the shrunken blanket she had packed, the multi-coloured, embroidered blanket didn't really match the rest of the room or the school issued bedding but her bed looked more like hers with it on. It was probably the only bit of her old room that she couldn't have imagined leaving behind. Staring down at her bed, she sighed before pulling her cloak off.

"Belle, come sit" John beckoned her over to the fire where he was flopped on along with the others.

Sitting down on the settee next to him, she spotted the stack of glasses and bottle of firewhiskey on the table.

"Are we drinking then?" Belle asked, smiling at them.

"Ah, a woman after my own heart" the voice from the door came from James Potter as he sauntered in along with a few others.

Belle looked up at him, watching as he flopped, if slightly arrogantly, onto a seat nearest the fire, "No asking about anyone else, just straight to the booze, I like it" He smiled at her. "Crack it open, Allie" He turned and instructed Albus.

Albus glared at him but did open the bottle and began to divvy it up.

"So are you the one who ran off?" the tall ginger who had entered with James, said to Belle as he leaned to pick up a glass.

Belle could feel her face quickly turning beetroot red and smiled nervously.

"Fred" Rosie chastised, "excuse our cousin Belle, He's just an idiot" She smiled gently at Belle before sending daggers at this Fred boy.

"Fine, fine," Fred put one of his hands up in surrender before smirking at Belle, "I'm Fred obviously, do you have a name?"

"Belle" she said quickly, before downing the whole glass of Firewhiskey that had somehow ended up in her hand.

"Easy." James told her, watching her as she downed the drink not making any indication that she had actually drunk anything.

Belle, shock her shoulders, before sitting back into the settee and looking straight at him, "I'm Russian."

Albus laughed, Delia tried to stop herself from joining him. "Where is your accent then?" She asked, tilting her head looking at Belle.

"Only when I speak Russian" Belle told them, filling her glass up again.

"So what are you?" John asked.

"What?" Belle looked at him, puzzled by the question.

John shrugged, "you know, Pureblood, half, muggle…" he trailed off looking at her.

It certainly wasn't the question she was expecting, and she could feel herself beginning to seize up. She must have been staring at him for longer than she thought because her gaze was broken by Delia saying "Merlin, John. What are you a Slytherin?" the joke seemed to work because John looked a bit sheepish.

"Sorry" he said to Belle.

Belle shrugged, realising that it was just an innocent question, "Pureblood."

They nodded as she took another drink.

The conversation soon went in another direction and Belle settled back to just listen to them discussing people and quidditch, as it seemed that James was the new captain.

Very suddenly though after a good bit of time had gone by, James turned to Belle and asked, "Can I ask a question?"

She just nodded, slightly intrigued as to what he wanted to ask that warranted him asking if he could.

"Why didn't they call a surname for you? You must have one."

Belle looked at him, and paused. He was looking at her gently. She sighed and bit her lip, "I do have one" she began, "but I don't like it, it isn't me" she settled on saying.

James just continued to stare at her before nodding so slightly that it was hard to truly spot.

The conversation went back to the quidditch and gossip but Belle could spot James keeping one eye on her still.