I settled at the far end of the table, ready to eat and head for the peace and quiet of my room. Had skipping dinner been an option, I would have been down there already. Sadly, the Headmaster thought we should eat together like a massively dysfunctional family in the vain hope all of the houses might one day get along. As if that would ever happen with all the idiots that composed the other houses. Only Ravenclaws were worth giving the time of day and they were so absorbed in their textbooks they could not see a foot from their own faces. Still, they had their uses, unlike the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs.
Professor McGonagall led the new students in from the side door. Stunned delight covered Brianna's face as she entered the Great Hall. Her old school must not have been very impressive if this was all it took to astound her. Still, as I glanced around the Great Hall, it did give me some sense of pride to know our school was obviously better. I hoped for her sake the quality of her previous instructors was up to par or she would be in for a miserably difficult year.
The Headmaster stood up, "Good evening to you all. Before we begin the sorting I'd like to announce that we have a new fifth year student joining us this year. I know you will all make her feel welcome in her new school and assist her in any way you can." He sat down and the hat began to sing. As usual, I ignored it. I knew everything I cared to know about the houses and current events. My gaze swept the room, searching for Lily. There was no sign of her from my spot at the end of the table, but it was likely she would move at some point during the feast to catch up with her many friends.
Professor McGonagall unrolled a sheet of parchment and called, "Berkley, Brianna."
My attention returned to the front of the room. There were a few assorted whispers, but not much interest in the new girl. I dearly hoped she was not sorted into Gryffindor. There was no way I could assist her if that was where she resided. Her gait was quick but unhurried as she moved to the stool and put the hat on. It was so big it fell over her ears but didn't quite obstruct her eyes. They widened, no doubt when the hat began rifling through her mind. Her lips moved, but her voice was far too low to carry so far. Her arms crossed and her posture turned aggressive. The hat considered her for a moment more, "SLYTHERIN!"
Stunned, I could only stare. Brianna looked at the hat as if it had lost what little mind it had then returned it to the stool. She smiled easily at all the Slytherins that made eye contact with her and walked directly to me. When I made no move to invite her to take a seat beside me she spoke, "Why are you so surprised? You've lived in this house for years and didn't recognize a kindred spirit?"
Finally, I found my voice, "That's just it. You come off as more of a Ravenclaw or even a Gryffindor."
She raised a brow in an already familiar expression, "Don't insult me. I'm a much kinder person than those Gryffindor boys we had to put up with on the train."
"True, but Slytherins aren't necessarily known for their kindness."
She shrugged, "As long as I get to spend time with you and aren't stuck living with those idiots I don't much care about anything else."
Everything in me warmed at her words. "Would you like to take a seat?"
"I would, thank you." She gave the bench a dirty look before stepping carefully over it. "Are chairs illegal over here?"
"No, we enjoy watching girls struggle with getting into their seats in skirts."
"Smart ass."
"Not usually." Which was true. Being sarcastic and being a smart ass were entirely different. McGonagall ran out of first years – it must have been a slow year for the rutting masses – and the feast began. Suddenly starving, I heaped my plate and Brianna accepted equal servings of everything I took. "You eat a lot for a female."
She waved her fork in the air, "If you're looking for a girl that lives off of carrot sticks you are destined for disappointment." I surveyed her figure. No, she was definitely not one of the carrot stick crowd. She was by no means heavy, but there was a sturdiness to her figure that few girls had. Her eyes narrowed before she gestured at the head table, "Tell me about my new teachers."
I relayed information one at a time until a flash of red caught my eye. I watched as Lily moved down the table and sat near the end, in the center of a group of chattering girls. She glanced up at me and smiled. I must have returned it because Brianna let out a low whistle.
"She's gorgeous."
My head snapped around, "Excuse me?"
"The redhead you're staring at. Absolutely gorgeous. My plan isn't interfering with that, is it?"
"No." I leaned close, "If I may be honest?"
"Please." She took a forkful of potatoes and sighed in pleasure. "I must meet the cook. This is the best food I have ever eaten."
"House elves." I waved it away, "I rather hope her seeing you with me will encourage her to think of me as something other than a friend."
"Ah, yes. An ancient ploy, but a good one. Would you like to have a messy public break up after she sees what a generous and thoughtful boyfriend you are? I can yell and cry and you can stoically sit there, accepting it all with dignity. Then later, you can let slip how upset you are and she'll comfort you. Then, surprising you both, that first kiss and the rest, as they say, is history."
"You make it sound so easy."
"Shouldn't it be?"
Perhaps in a perfect world. "It often is not."
"Well, I'll help make it so, being you're doing me such a huge favor here."
"One thing I do not understand, why do you believe my posing as your boyfriend will solve all your troubles?"
"They were hitting on me, worse it was from boredom, not real interest. If I get into it with them now, publicly, I have no credibility. As long as I'm dating you, they won't bother me and I can use the time to build a good reputation." She paused thoughtfully, "If they really believe we're dating, they'll never bother me again, will they? I couldn't help but notice how much you despise each other. Maybe I'll get lucky and they'll despise me by proxy. That would be fine." She leaned in and brushed her lips just in front of my ear, sending shivers down my spine. Across the room, Black and Potter glared at us. "Thank you for helping a stranger."
I allowed her to twine our fingers together under the table, "You are quite welcome."
Later, she followed me down to the dungeons, a single lift of her brow her only comment on the location. A dorm map was posted on the wall and the new students were clustered around it. Ours was the only dorm that boasted private rooms, and better still, we kept our rooms from first year to last. The dungeons were nearly as extensive as the castle itself, leaving more than enough room for us to have our own space.
Surprise and pleasure flickered over her face, "I get my own room?"
"Of course. You may lock it and only those you wish to have access will. I strongly recommend you lock it." I was pleased to see her room was not too far from my own. I led her down the center hallway.
"The Head of House and Headmaster?"
"They are required to have access, but I have never seen Professor Slughorn use it and Dumbledore never dirties his shoes with the likes of us."
She hummed, "Good to know."
We stopped in front of her door, "This is you. I am just down the hall, three doors after the right turn."
"Thank you. Do you have to go now, or can we talk for a little while?"
"We may talk if you like."
"I like." I opened the door and gestured her inside. She immediately went to her trunk and rummaged until she came up with quill and parchment. "I just have to jot a quick note to my dad or he'll be here tomorrow night, worried I somehow didn't make it."
I watched over her shoulder as she wrote. Her script was tight and precise.
Dear Dad,
I'm here. I'm safe. I made a new friend. Will write more when I know more. Taking the usual precautions but they are likely unnecessary in this fortress.
I love you.
Don't worry so much.
Your Jewel.
She paused, sighed, put her quill back to the parchment.
Please tell Mum I said hello and send my love.
She folded, sealed, and addressed the letter. "Where do they keep the owls?"
"All the way across the castle."
"Of course they do." she muttered. "I knew I should have brought quill and parchment with me to dinner."
I held out my arm, "Would you enjoy company?"
"I would."
We headed back upstairs. She marveled over the moving staircases, spoke with the inhabitants of several pictures, and even met the Bloody Baron. She was unfazed by his appearance and appeared quite content to speak as long as he was willing to answer her questions. We finally resumed our errand and she twined our fingers once more.
"You were not frightened."
"Of what?"
"The Baron."
"Of course not. He wasn't going to hurt me."
"Most are afraid of his appearance."
"I've seen scarier than that. Will ill intent."
"I see."
"Hopefully you will one day."
"May I ask about the woman in white you tried to hide from me?"
She sighed, equal parts resignation and frustration evident in her expressive face, "My adoptive mother."
"She is not particularly fond of you?" I hazarded.
"She is too fond of me. She doesn't see why I should have to grow up or go to school away from them."
That was not a problem I had ever considered having. "It must be nice to know you're loved."
She glanced sharply at me, "In a way. In other ways, it's difficult. I am not as fond of her as of my father, but he loves her and so I try to be a good daughter. I just wish we didn't have such different ideas of what 'good' meant."
I shrugged that off, "Do you let it control your life?"
"Only as much as I have to. She is not quite right in some ways and it makes my father's life more difficult than it needs to be."
I caught her arm before she went through the vanishing step and assisted her over it. "If he wants to stay with her then he does not see it as difficult."
She smiled her thanks, "That's true, but it's what he's used to. They've been together forever."
"How did they meet?"
"In a stable one night. My father was upset and when she saw him, she comforted him."
"Why was he upset?"
"He never said. I wonder sometimes but if he wanted me to know, he would have told me."
We arrived at the owlery and I watched as she coaxed a tawny owl down, "Come on, Garvan. I've a letter and you know how generous Daddy is with treats when you bring him my letters."
I reached up to help but she caught my hands and pushed them down, "He bites anyone but my father and me. And heavens above, never say s-o-r-r-y in his hearing."
"So-" She stomped my foot as the owl fluttered down. "Don't say it. Don't even think it."
"Why not?"
"There was an incident. He feels apologies are best expressed in food, not meaningless words. Say it and he'll bite you, me, and anyone else that comes within reach for the next two days."
"Perhaps you should trade him in for a less bad-tempered creature."
"I have a soft spot for bad-tempered creatures." Garvan accepted the letter with what could only be described as an irate gleam in his eye and took off, glancing a claw along my head. The bastard. I knew that was deliberate.
Her hands were warm as she pulled my head down to inspect the cut, "Oh, I am so sorry. He's tired and it makes him cranky."
"Why was he not on the train with you? We could have chased the Gryffindors out of the compartment in an instant."
"He's five times as mean if you coop him up. I told him where I would be and he found his own way here. Really, he should have left sooner, and then he could have rested longer." She murmured a spell and healed the small slice the useless bird had left in my scalp.
"Did you have him in America?"
"Yes. He hated the trip over here. We let him out a few times but the captain did not appreciate having an angry owl flying through the hallways as he made his way in and out and hunted the ship's mice."
"Maybe he will die soon."
She released my head and tugged my hair as I straightened, "That's not very nice."
"Nor is he."
"He's a good owl, just a little rough around the edges." She shivered lightly, "We should get back, it's chilly up here."
I indicated she should lead the way. "Were you paying attention?"
She frowned, "How hard could it be? We just went across the castle and up a zillion stairs."
"Then you should have no trouble leading us back down to the dungeons."
An hour later, I had learned more about American cursing than I cared to know and we were still wandering the halls. "Were you paying any attention at all while we were walking?" She muttered something unintelligible and marched down the stairs ahead of me, stomping right through the vanishing step and nearly falling down the rest of the stairs as she yanked herself up, temper sparking around her. "What was that, Brianna?"
"I said," she managed to draw it into three angry syllables, "why the hell won't the damn staircases stay put? I mean really, what sadistic bastard builds staircases designed to make students late?"
"I do not believe that was their intended purpose."
Her hands fisted on her hips, "Oh, really? Enlighten me. Please."
"To fool the simpleminded."
Her eyes turned hot, "Simpleminded am I?"
"Have you learned your lesson?"
"What lesson?"
"To always pay attention to your surroundings."
She stomped back up the stairs, only just remembering the trick tread before she stormed through it a second time, and stopped on the tread above me so she was only slightly below eye level. "I always pay attention to my surroundings. I can describe every person we have passed, every item that can be used to gain the higher ground or as a weapon, and that the entrance to the dungeon is south and east of here. What I can't tell you, is how to get down there without jumping for it."
Her face was flushed, lending lively color to her pale skin and her eyes were dark with anger. "I find you much more appealing when you are angry."
She shoved her hair away from her face, "You what?"
"Has no one told you that you are much more attractive when you are angry?"
"Ah, no. Usually they say something like 'uncle' or 'I'm sorry, I'll never do that again.'"
"You have a very physical temper."
"I am a very physical person."
I crossed my arms, "Humph. I prefer intellectuals."
"I prefer getting downstairs before I break curfew on my first night here."
"You seem to have a preoccupation with not breaking the rules."
"Only while I'm new. Once I get comfortable, I'm certain I'll be breaking them quite a bit." She breathed deeply, let it out. "Would you please show me how to get down from here?"
"Of course. I was only waiting for you to ask."
She muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'ass' and wound her hand around my arm with a bright smile. "Lead on."
I watched from the corner of my eye as she carefully noted each landmark, corridor, and staircase we took. "Just out of curiosity, how many staircases are there in Hogwarts?"
"One hundred forty-two."
"What on earth for?"
I shrugged, "I have no idea what the founder's intent was when they built so many."
"Perhaps they ran out of things to teach the students at the end of the first school year and just needed to put them to work and keep them out of their hair."
"Perhaps."
We made it the rest of the way down to the dungeon and stopped beside Brianna's door, "Do you remember how to get back?"
She recited the directions we took perfectly and shrugged when I asked how she planned to get back to the owlery if her directions only got her halfway. "I'll figure something out."
"I will see you tomorrow."
Brianna tiptoed and kissed my cheek, "Yes, you will. Have a good night, Severus."
I ignored the gawking Avery as he walked by, presumably on his way to his own room and touched her cheek. The skin was soft as silk and warm to the touch, "Good night, Brianna."
I ushered her into her room and shut the door before heading to my own quarters. All in all, it had been an interesting day. I laid my robes neatly over my chair before climbing into bed and lying back. Classes the next day would likely prove uneventful but perhaps I could convince Professor Slughorn to allow me to work independently instead of following the curriculum. At least then I might learn something. Satisfied with that plan, I shut my eyes and allowed sleep to overtake me.