AN: I completely forgot to mention that I changed the time! (Thank you, jason. matthews. 940436, for reminding me!) IPods didn't exist in 1992, at least not the kind Emily has. So I'm saying now, I changed the year!

Disclaimer: horsegurl16 does not own

As the days went by, I started to get used to Hogwarts. On this particular day, our first class was Defense against the Dark Arts. I was actually mildly interested in going to this class, because all but one book on the booklist (The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1) was obviously meant for Defense. And they had all been written be some bloke called Gilderoy Lockhart, who was apparently supposed to be our teacher. As far as I could tell, he was some kind of famous wizard who went around fighting the dark forces or something like that. I wondered briefly what on Earth he was doing teaching school. I mean, you would think that such a talented wizard be out there doing something productive with his life. I mentioned this to Ginny, but she didn't seem concerned.

"My mother absolutely adores Lockhart," she giggled. "I think she fancies him, but we can't get her to admit it. Fred and George keep trying to catch her off guard, but she's pretty on top of it. It's cool and all what he's done, but honestly, he sounds awfully stuck up, don't you think?"

I shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?" I hadn't even opened my books yet.

Just then, Lockhart swept in with a flourish, catching us all by surprise. He beamed around at us all. His smile was way too big and lasted way too long to be real. And those teeth were way too white. I thought about my parents. Being dentists, I knew they would agree that his smile was just plain unnatural. Still grinning, he started the class.

"For those of you who don't know me (although I expect that number is rather small), my name is Gilderoy Lockhart. However, since this is a school, you will be calling me Professor Lockhart."

I frowned. My impression so far of "Professor" Lockhart wasn't a good one.

"I thought I would start the year off with a quiz, just to see how much you know," he said "All of the information needed is in my books, so you should all know it!"

I sat up straight, eyes wide. Had he just said we were having a quiz on the books? Oh boy, was I screwed. As he passed out the tests, I tried to look unconcerned and calm. By the looks Ginny was giving me, I could tell I was doing a rather poor job of it. But Lockhart seemed unfazed by the rather alarmed looks that many of the class were giving him.

"You may begin!" he said happily.

I looked down at my paper, and fought not to roll my eyes. Snickering, I read to myself:

1. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's favorite color?

2. What is Gilderoy Lockhart's secret ambition?

3. What, it your opinion, is Gilderoy Lockhart's greatest achievement to date?

4. What time of day does Gilderoy Lockhart find most appealing?

This nonsense went on for a full page, front and back, and the front of another page continued all the way down to the last question (54. When is Gilderoy Lockhart's birthday, and what would his ideal gift be?). Not having read the books, I had no clue what his favorite color might be, nor what his secret ambition was. Question 3 seemed relatively easy, however. It was quite an achievement to be such a stuck up, self-centered prat and not be completely ashamed by it. But I had a feeling that wasn't quite the answer he was looking for.

A half hour later, Lockhart picked up the test papers. We all sat there quietly while he looked though them. He tutted occasionally, and every time he did this he would look up at the class and make an announcement.

"Oh dear, I state quite clearly in Wanderings with Werewolves that I am quite fond of dawn, although dusk is quite lovely. I simply don't see why you would think I like midnight…"

"No… that's not right at all… lilac, people, lilac. In chapter four of Year with the Yeti, I say that my favorite color is a nice shade of lilac. I can't figure why you insist I like green…"

"My lord, nobody remembered my favorite season is spring! I mention it quite often in Voyages with Vampires…"

He continued on like that for a while before finally setting them down and standing up with a flourish. He seemed to do everything with a flourish. Not to mention that smile – I was sure he hadn't stopped since class began.

"No perfect scores! Disappointing, but I suppose it's not unexpected. I've only had one perfect score all week, and that was Miss Hermione Granger!" He then beamed around the room like this was the best news anyone could possibly hope to receive; a few people smiled back halfheartedly. His eyes, falling on me, grew wide.

"Miss Granger?" he said. "But this is a first year class!"

I muttered something about sisters, and his smile grew even wider. I was afraid his face would snap in two. Professor Lockhart hurried back to his desk and rifled through the tests. He pulled out a paper which I recognized as my own. Upon seeing it, his smile faltered for the first time since class had started. I could tell he was slightly disappointed by my lack of similarity to my sister. I decided I could deal with that, since I didn't like Lockhart anyway.

When he called role, I again saw that fleeting disappointment cross his face. But honestly, whatever hopes I'd had for this class had vanished a long time ago, along with my respect for Lockhart. It was with a slightly diminished air that I left the classroom, and from what I could tell, I wasn't the only one. Many people strode past me with expressions of slight disappointment on their faces, not unlike the one Professor Lockhart had worn when he looked at my test scores. But since they were not directed at me, I saw no reason to be concerned by it. Without a word, Ginny and I headed to our next class

Later that day, Ginny and I climbed through the portrait hole together, only to find Hermione sitting there with Ron and Harry. Hermione looked startled; Ron was simply resigned. Harry, on the other hand, grinned at us and waved. Ginny turned scarlet at once, and headed towards the girls' dormitory. I however, found a chair as far away from Hermione as possible to do my homework. Homework was the only aspect of me that my sister ever paid attention to. At home, she would hover over my shoulder, tutting at my incomplete answers and miscalculated problems. If there was an upshot to all of this, it was that I always knew when I got a wrong answer. However, it was quite distracting, so I kept my distance. Hermione soon finished, and ignoring Harry and Ron's pleas for her to check their work, walked resolutely past me to the girls' dormitory. When Harry followed in her footsteps, Ron didn't even complain as he walked past to the boys' dormitory. He was too immersed in his homework.

When he finally finished, he set down his quill and lay back in his chair. He noticed I was still there.

"So you're friends with Ginny, huh?"

I was momentarily startled by his outburst, but I quickly recovered.

"Yes…" I said, unsure of where this was going. But he merely grunted in return, before getting up and entering his dormitory. Seeing no reason to remain in the common room, I headed in the opposite direction, up the stairs and through the door marked "First Years". As I lay in bed, I ran over my strange encounter with Ron. I guess it made sense, because Ron was Ginny's brother and all. It was only natural he would want to know who her friends were. I fell asleep still mulling it over.

AN: It's a bit soon in the story for this, but when I reach Prisoner of Azkaban, should I start a new story, or continue under the name Shadowed? And speaking of the name Shadowed, would you all kill me if I changed it? Let me know in your reviews!