This chapter is a sort of miss-match of other scenes I had written for this story when it was first drafted. It tells the other side of the story for all of the characters.
Oh, I forgot to mention last chapter that I do not own the Harry Potter Universe (obviously).
Aria Rey sat with her back against the dungeon wall. Her thoughts seemed to keep spiralling back to her housemates and their old prejudices. She couldn't believe that she got into her fight before lessons even started. Why did the other Slytherins get caught up in this petty feud? Surely, they knew better than to blindly follow the poor example their parents set!
It just wasn't fair. Aria could hardly help being muggleborn any more than she could help having a father as a politician and a mother as an heiress. Being shunned because of her background wasn't something she normally experienced - usually it was the opposite.
Aria had spent her entire life being accepted by those sorts of people; the rich, the influential. Rejection was simply something she had never experienced. She was scarcely able to comprehend how easily they had turned on her.
Wondering the lonely dungeons, the first year Slytherin shivered slightly, but refused to go back to her dormitory. She had only been at Hogwarts for a week, but already she was unable to stand her dorm-mates.
The clocks drew close to midnight and the air was cold and still. The lack of candles sending flickering shadows across the floors was strangely comforting. Until that moment, the only sound Aria could hear what that of her own breathing. So naturally she leaped in terror when a smashing sound could be heard up ahead.
Cautiously, Aria moved towards the noise, mentally rearranging excuses if she was confronted with a teacher or prefect. Her mind ran through all the possible causes of the sound. It was probably just Peeves, but her curiosity got the better of her.
She moved stealthily and silently; her breathing became shallow and her footfalls turned to velvet. No one could possibly hear her or realise her presence.
"Well, I didn't expect to see anyone else out of bed this late."
His eyes scanned the darkness. It was quiet; there was no one else around. But still his movements jerked about, every sense alert. To anyone who had met him, they would be astounded that the first-year Gryffindor trickster could move so silently.
Jonathan Bulstrode had not been able to sleep. His dorm-mates' snoring had made sure of that. To be honest, Jonathan wasn't sure he preferred them awake. Most of them thought that he was some sort of pureblood fanatic after his parents had sided with the Death Eaters at the Battle of Hogwarts. A matter which Jonathan found ridiculous, as he often disagreed with his parents on almost every single one of their beliefs.
When Jonathan's sister had married a muggle and his parents had blasted her off the family tree, his entire perspective of wizarding culture had changed. He had been into the muggle world and witnessed its many triumphs and faults and he knew more about it than any wizard-raised half-blood. Only, his housemates had been unable to see the person behind his surname and it didn't help his reputation that he was a troublemaker by nature and had already lost their house several points.
Over the week, the howlers from his family had eventually dried up. Jonathan rolled his eyes - like he'd actually want to be another carbon-copy of everyone else in his family and be placed in Ravenclaw or Slytherin! However, now he was proving himself to be a true Gryffindor, as he sought adventure in the labyrinthine corridors inside the dungeons. The dungeons had been the first item on his exploration list, because his family had always given him the impression that no one ventured down there except the snakes, giving his expedition a sense of rebellion.
Suddenly, a mighty crashing sound echoed through the dungeons. Eyes widening, Jonathan wondered if it was one of the ghosts making that noise. Creeping towards the disturbance, Jonathan couldn't hear any other sounds, so he almost missed the fact that he wasn't alone. His eyes glimpsed a flash of white and it took him a moment to realise that it was a strand of long, blonde hair.
Jonathan grinned at the chance to sneak up on someone. "Well, I didn't expect to see anyone else out of bed this late." He made his words sound as casual as possible and laughed when the girl jumped in surprise.
"It's not nice to sneak up on people like that!" The girl snapped, crossly. "You're not exactly meant to be out of bed either!"
Jonathan's grin remained intact. "Neither are you."
The Slytherin glared, while the Gryffindor continued to grin, knowing that it would get under her skin. It totally did.
Opening her mouth for an angry retort, the Slytherin girl was interrupted by another smashing sound coming from the deepest, darkest part of the dungeons. The two first years shared a knowing glance and reached a silent agreement. Using all of their cunning and bravery, they stealthily slipped away into the darkness to investigate.
Phobia Darkewood was not having a great evening. The prefects had discovered that she was sleeping in the common room and had sent her back to her dormitory, much to the other girls' disgust. Not wanting to cause another scene, the part-dementor second year had grabbed her blanket and headed to the dungeons, where she couldn't disturb anyone. She'd sort everything out with Professor Sprout in the morning.
Unfortunately, stealth was not one of Phobia's talents and she had already knocked over several objects in her make-shift bedroom in the darkness. To be honest, Phobia was a little afraid of the dark. It reminded her of the nightmares she would get whenever she used her powers on someone. Being part-dementor definitely felt like a curse to her, for whenever she hated someone enough to make them live their worst moments, Phobia lived it as well and could taste their fear. The sensation terrified her.
Not surprisingly, Phobia wasn't very popular in Hufflepuff house. Or anywhere really. Her powers scared people almost as much as they scared her and despite the fact that she rarely used them, no one wanted to come anywhere near her. Even teachers liked to keep their distance.
Despite this, Phobia always tried her hardest to be likeable. Last term she had brought in a selection of the Honeydukes' finest and shared it with her housemates. She would hold open doors and offer to carry people's books. None of these things had helped her make more friends. The Hogwarts students simply went out of their way to avoid her.
Therefore, she was quite unprepared to discover two first years actually coming near her willingly and asking if she could keep the noise down. Surprised, Phobia made to grab her wand, but being as clumsy as she was, her hand glanced off it and her wand skidded under an unused desk. Hopelessly trying to find her wand in the dark, Phobia realised that the first years hadn't ran away yet - a highly unusual occurrence.
"Can I help you?" She asked, one hand still stretched out under the desk, trying to identify her wand by touch alone. If only she had her wand, she could cast a lumos charm and actually see what was going on.
The first years took in the blankets laid out across the floor. "Why are you sleeping in here?" The mousy haired boy asked, his forehead crinkling in confusion.
"Because my dorm-mates can't stand me." There was a silence from the younger students and it suddenly struck Phobia that they didn't know who she was. What she was.
"Mine too." The blonde blurted out, before apparently realising what she had said. Her eyes widened, as if she had just broken some sort of ultra-top-secret Slytherin code.
"Same here." The boy told them. "Or at least, I can't stand their snoring. Mind if we camp here with you?"
Phobia narrowed her eyes, not quite believing that someone would actually want to spend time with her. "I'm sorting out my sleeping arrangements with my head of house in the morning, so it's only for tonight."
"Got it." The Slytherin girl said. It was better than spending it with people who thought she wasn't worthy being in Slytherin house because of her heritage.
The Gryffindor grinned. "Cool. It can be like an inter-house sleepover."
The Slytherin rolled her eyes at his vulgarity. Phobia finally located her wand and placed it back inside her nightgown pocket. It had been so long since she had had real company. As she fell asleep next to the first years, it was the first time in months that she didn't have bad dreams.