A/N: Thanks very much to Mini Luna and HighQueenDofNarnia for reviewing. In general, I'm really happy with all the people reading this story-just more reviews please so I can improve!
Thanks to my sister for proofreading this chapter and cutting out some of the grammar mistakes/run on sentences that plagued earlier chapters.
As for the previous chapter, I do not intend to bash Ginny's character. Her reaction may have been a little OOC but I believe Ginny feels protective towards Harry with a strong undercurrent of jealousy. So somebody with Natalie who has the name of a family with the same reputation as the Malfoys and Lestranges would evoke a very harsh, inflammatory reaction from Ginny.
Anyway, I realize I have yet to do a disclaimer so here it goes:
Besides Natalie and Kalissa, I do not own anything else of the wizarding world that belongs to the brilliant genius of JK Rowling.
Chapter 7- First Day of Classes
Natalie awoke the next morning, alert and ready to begin her first day at Hogwarts. She noticed surprisingly that it was still slightly dark outside and the other three girls in the dormitory lay fast asleep. She looked at the time on her magic alarm clock. Natalie groaned. It was 6:45. After trying several times unsuccessfully to fall asleep, Natalie decided that it would be best for her to get dressed and continue some of her preparatory reading. She brushed her teeth, took a shower and quietly proceeded downstairs to the common room. As she skimmed through her Potions textbook, Natalie reflected on last night.
From an outsider's perspective, the night had been a disaster. She had received two detentions, lost 50 points for Gryffindor and made several enemies, not to mention the small fact that she had attacked another student in full view of the entire Gryffindor common room. However, for some mysterious reason, Natalie felt somewhat exhilarated and excited. Harry Potter seemed to have befriended her. His aversion to any sort of attention along with his unrestrained warmth to her had completely changed her impression of him. She started to see why Dumbledore liked him so much. The possibility that she may have a friend in Harry, though she did not want to raise her spirits too high, was very reassuring. It gave her something to look forward to instead of the usual gloomy sullenness. She sighed, thinking she was likely taking too much out of too little.
After Natalie had been reading for about half an hour and watched several students go down to breakfast, she decided to get something to eat. She put her Potions textbook back in her bag and reluctantly lifted herself from one of those cozy armchairs. As she walked to the portrait, Natalie ran straight into Harry Potter and his friends.
"Oh, sorry Harry. Let me get that bag," said Natalie, slightly flustered. She hastily picked up his bag.
"No problem. You going down to breakfast?" asked Harry, taking his bag.
"Yeah. I just wanted to get some toast and tea before Ancient Runes."
"Then, you can come with us. Hermione and I just want to get a bite as well. Ron, on the other hand, will take some time," remarked Harry, comically gesturing at his red haired friend.
Before either could react to the joke, Ron had walked up to Natalie, his face contorted with fury.
"Touch my sister again and you'll regret it," snarled Ron, waving his finger in front of her face.
"Excuse me. And what?" replied Natalie defiantly even though her insides were squirming. Her hand was squeezing the wand in her pocket.
"No, Ron, remember what McGonagall said about these types of things," exclaimed Hermione frantically, who was now tugging on his arm.
Before either could do anything, Harry pulled her away. "Honestly, Ron," scowled Harry.
Harry walked ahead through the portrait, Natalie at his side, with Ron and Hermione following. She could hear their frantic whispering.
At breakfast, Natalie sat down next to Harry and across from Ron and Hermione. To Natalie's displeasure, they both made a concerted effort to not look at her at all. Most of the other Gryffindors including some of the first years were sending her suspicious and even malicious looks. Determinedly avoiding them, Natalie concentrated on buttering her toast and occasionally talking to Harry.
Ancient Runes went smoothly. Natalie sat with a girl called Padma Patil, apparently the Ravenclaw twin of Parvati Patil. Hermione too was in the class as Harry had informed her. And like Harry said, Hermione was extremely smart. She answered most of the Professor's questions immediately and correctly. Natalie did take some pride in that she knew the answer to all of those questions as well and that she was able to describe more fully than Hermione the underlying groundwork of adverb styles in Ancient languages.
Once the bell rang, Natalie excitedly rushed out of class. She was eager to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts, mainly to see all the fuss behind Professor Snape. She took a seat in the back row, restlessly waiting for the class to begin as people filed in. While she waited, Natalie glanced around the classroom. It had a very grim, somber mood. Gruesome portraits lined the walls. Some showed people tortured and decayed by the Cruciatus curse, others displayed those with blank, mindless expressions on their faces; obviously the work of the feared Dementor Kiss and some even depicted the morbid actions of Inferi. The room was dimly lit and an unsympathetic, brisk coolness gripped the air. The gloomy atmosphere seemed to glorify those abominable portraits rather than condemn them. Natalie got the distinctly unpleasant impression that she was still in Durmstrang.
The dull thud of a heavy bag disrupted her wandering thoughts. She quickly jerked her head to see the familiar spectacles of Harry Potter gazing down upon her.
"Can we sit here?" he asked pleasantly.
"Sure," replied Natalie, her voice slightly high. He had an uncomfortable habit of startling her. Though on second glance, she noticed that Ron and Hermione did not seem too excited to sit with her. Both were looking pointedly at Harry as if they strongly disagreed with his decision. They sat down tentatively at the other end of the desk while Harry took the seat next to Natalie. Her stomach gave a pleased lurch.
The door closed with a swift click. All heads turned to see the pale, dark haired Professor Snape sweep into the room, his presence commanding silence and utmost attention.
Without any introduction or greeting, he stated sharply, "You have had five teachers so far in this subject, I believe." He added a small touch of sarcasm to the last word.
His eyes roved over their upturned faces. Natalie thought he seemed to linger for a fraction of a second longer on Harry's face than anyone else's. She remembered Harry's comment that he and Snape detested one another.
"Naturally, these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities. Given this confusion, I am so surprised so many of you scraped an O.W.L. in this subject. The N.E.W.T. work will be much more challenging so I shall be even more surprised if as many of you manage to keep up."
The arrogant, contemptuous edge to Snape's voice took Natalie by surprise. He seemed to bear a grudge against the entire school or at least its students.
"The Dark Arts," said Snape, "are many varied, ever changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before."
Natalie gaped at the loving caress in his voice. He contrasted so much the anti-Dark Arts reputation that Hogwarts seemed to portray. He should definitely be teaching at Durmstrang; they would love him.
The lecture continued for another minutes with brief interjections from excessively curious students, mostly Gryffindors. They went over wordless spells and then set off in partners to practice these charms.
Harry tilted his head toward Natalie and asked nervously, "Partner?"
"Yeah, sure," answered Natalie steadily, carefully disguising her pleasure.
They moved to the back of the room. Ron and Hermione had paired up as well, not wanting anything to do with Natalie. A few people were shooting Harry and her curious, bemused looks. Ignoring them, Natalie kept her head held high and gazed at Harry expectantly. Harry pointed his wand at her, his lips pursed tightly and his cheeks blue faced. After waiting a minute, nothing happened. Harry let out a breath of frustration. Natalie could not resist laughing.
Harry frowned at her. "Well, you try it. It's hard to keep your mouth shut," he said crossly.
Since Kalissa had taught her these spells last summer, Natalie felt pretty confident that she was ahead of the class. She raised her wand at Harry and calmly focused on the word, "Stupefy". A jet of red light was sent rocketing at Harry. For a spit second, Harry looked taken aback that she had succeeded but he quickly side stepped the spell. The red light hit the wall behind with a crashing explosion. Most of the class was now staring at them. Natalie inwardly swore at herself for using that spell when it would arise so much attention.
Snape quickly navigated his way towards them. "Potter, what did I say about repelling the spell? Unlike your classmates, I do not enjoy watching a childish display of your Quidditch reflexes," drawled Snape angrily. He lazily waved his wand at the hole in the wall Natalie had made, causing it to gradually mend itself.
Snape then eyed Natalie with an interested expression on his face. "Well done, Miss Malkae. It's really a shame that such talent should be wasted in Gryffindor. Though, you were foolish to use that spell on Potter. He does have a nasty habit of jumping out of the way," said Snape silkily. Harry looked positively irate.
"Let's see if Potter actually knows what a Shield charm is," continued Snape, still leering.
He turned his wand on Harry so fast that Harry reacted instinctively and yelled, "Protego!"
His Shield charm was so strong that Snape was knocked off-balance and hit a desk. The whole class watched as Snape righted himself, scowling.
"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing nonverbal spells, Potter?"
Natalie was overcome by a strong urge to defend Harry. She felt guilty for the crack in the wall and angry at Snape's unfair needling of him. Before she could restrain herself, she said defiantly, "Professor, you shouldn't have turned your wand on him. He had almost no time to react. Anyway, it was my fault that the wall cracked."
Several people gasped. Natalie cringed. She sensed that she had placed herself in a very ominous position.
Snape eyed her dangerously. "20 points from Gryffindor. Miss Malkae, I do not stand for such cheek. Next time you talk to me that way, you will have a week of detentions. Do you understand?"
"Yes," said a furious Natalie.
"Yes, sir."
"There's no need for you to call her 'sir' Professor."
Several people, including Hermione, gasped. Natalie turned around to see the source of the quip. Harry stood there, an angry and triumphant gleam in his eyes.
Snape's face was livid. "30 points from Gryffindor, Potter and detention, tonight. I do not take such cheek from The Chosen One."
Natalie could barely suppress a smile. Harry's remark was completely idiotic, given Snape's unrestrained abuse of him but the paradoxical combination of his helplessness and his genuine bravado made the interaction quite amusing.
After the class ended, Natalie quickly pushed her books in her bags and rushed out of the class. Embarrassed that she had been reprimanded for the second time in as many days at Hogwarts, she desperately wanted to return to her dormitory and reflect on the day. Before she could distant herself from the others, she ran into a blonde haired boy with grey eyes and a nasty leer on his face. His eyes were narrowed at her, watching her intently.
"You're the new student, are you not? Malkae, eh? Father always talked highly about your family even with the disappointment your mother turned out to be. By the way, I heard what you did to the Weaslette last night." He gave a cruel laugh. "The Mudblood and the Weasel certainly do not seem to be too happy with you. You'll see that type of people will not last long once everyone falls into their proper place."
Natalie instantly disliked this boy. He seemed to perfectly fit the Death Eater image she detested. An arrogant, pureblood lover who looked to be more words than action, judging by the massive beasts that were lodged on either side of him. And even more to her indignation, he appeared to regard her as some type of trophy or item that could refine his reputation within the school.
Not bothering to choose her words carefully, Natalie spat, "Please get away from me. I think I can see who the scum is. For your information, what I did to the red haired girl was unintentional and not some cruel, mean spirited act that your type likes. And, I couldn't care less about what your Death Eater father says- my mother is a 100 times powerful than he could ever imagine."
The leer on his face quickly transformed into a snarl. He reached into his pocket but quickly withdrew his hand at the sight of Professor Flitwick walking down the hall. His cronies, who had clenched their fists, looked uncertainly at him.
"Join the mudblood lovers then like your filthy mother. You should realize that the Dark Lord does not reward traitors," hissed Malfoy maliciously.
With that comment, he and his two bodyguards walked past her along the corridor. Natalie's gaze followed their walking figures with smug pleasure. She heard a whistle behind her and then a hand clapped her back. Turning around, Natalie saw a positively delighted Harry.
"Good on you. That was bloody brilliant! Did you see the look on his face?" exclaimed Harry jovially.
Natalie blushed. She was again pleased at Harry's ease with her.
His face took on a much more suspicious look. "But it's not like him to leave like that. I swear there's something up with him," muttered Harry.
"Nah, he knows who my mother is. He doesn't have the nerve to try something on me," said Natalie airily. Despite her indifference, Malfoy's last remark still resounded in her head, twisting knots in her stomach.
"So, how does he know your family?" asked Harry casually as they walked to lunch.
Natalie sighed. He obviously wanted to know more about her after hearing Ginny last night and probably Ron today. It was natural curiosity but still frustrating that even the friendliest person towards her in school had some doubts.
"Erm. Ginny was right about the Malkaes. They are very famous in the circles that Malfoy's family run in. But I hate those people. They all think they're so superior just because they marry each other and produce supposedly purified kids."
Harry grinned at her. "Know what you mean."
Turning the attention away from her family, Natalie said, "Snape's a real git, isn't he? Honestly, what does he have against you?"
Harry's eyes darkened. "He and my dad were enemies at school. He apparently can't lose the grudge. Today was actually timid. But thanks for defending me. Not many people can stand up to him," added Harry with a tinge of admiration.
Natalie smiled. "Well I just thought he was so grumpy because he can't see anything past that greasy hair."
Harry laughed. "You're not the first one to say that."
"Where's Ron and Hermione?" asked Natalie, sensing that she would not like the answer.
Harry frowned. "Gone off to lunch. They're still a bit angry after last night. Don't worry they'll come around," muttered Harry.
"Oh." It did not bother Natalie that they were angry with her for hexing Ginny. She knew, however, that their coldness towards her came in part from some preconceived notion of her as a dark wizard or pure blood lover. Just because of her name and the school she used to go to. The irrationality and pure thickness maddened her.
The rest of the day proceeded rather smoothly, considering the dysfunctional, chaotic nature of her first day and a half at school. During Transfiguration and Charms, she was able to perform the spells as quickly as Hermione. In Arithmancy, she solved a relatively complex problem that all of the others, except for Hermione, could not even understand.
During potions, Natalie could not help but roll her eyes at Professor Slughorn. Not to her surprise, he did not refute her initial perception of him. He extravagantly presented the most complicated N.E.W.T. potions to the class with unnecessary and grossly exaggerated anecdotes about his life. Even, his announcement that he would reward the best prepared potion with Felix Felicis barely caught her attention. In Natalie's view, the most potent bottle of good luck would only make her troubles obsolete for an entire day. The next day, her mother would manifest herself in the same cumbersome worries.
Nevertheless, Natalie did not want to prepare a feeble, inconsistent potion. The pride of her own work motivated her. Even though she was carefully cutting, measuring and pouring her ingredients into the potion, the potion did not have the same full bodied purple colour recommended by the textbook. To Natalie's relief, Hermione's potion also had a slightly faint purple colour but Harry, on her left, had managed to produce an almost perfect potion. She looked at him in admiration. She had not taken him for a potions specialist.
Noticing her gaze, a slight blush crossed his face. But then, he muttered at her from the side of his mouth, "Add a clockwise stir."
Natalie stared at him with a puzzled expression on her face. That instruction was not in the textbook, but if it worked for Harry, then she might as well experiment with a new method. She added a clockwise stir and to her surprise and pleasure, her potion also took on a stronger purple.
"Thanks," whispered Natalie. Harry smiled at her, causing her to obsessively stare at the bubbles forming on a potion.
At the end of the class, Slughorn examined each person's potion. Once he came to Natalie and Harry, he let out a loud squeal.
"The clear winners! Looks like young Harry and Natalie have inherited their mother's talents. Kalissa and Lily were dab hands at Potions. I'll let both of you share the Felix Felicis," announced Slughorn boisterously.
As they streamed out of the class, Natalie whispered to Harry, "Listen, take the Felix Felicis. You helped me so you deserve it. Anyway, I don't believe in that sort of thing."
"Er, you sure? Thanks Natalie but you should know that the only reason I knew how to make that potion is because the last user of the textbook had written some er hints on the margin. He must have been a genius. I just wanted to get the bottle so that Malfoy wouldn't get it. "
Natalie frowned at Harry as Ron and Hermione joined them. The now revealed truth that he had won the bottle of Felix Felicis by copying from another person's notes enraged her. This very act seemed to fit her quickly evaporating image of him as some sort of arrogant toerag like Malfoy. But then again, he had been honest with her and she herself had benefited from this potion textbook. There was no doubt that what he had done was wrong, but he had not taken advantage of the situation. Oddly, he rather seemed to be trying to blend into it. Again, her quickly formed anger at him disappeared to be replaced by that same eerie fascination.
At supper, Harry told Ron and Hermione about the potions textbook. Hermione expectedly was quite disgruntled and reproachful. Ron, on the other hand, seemed annoyed that Harry had not shared his secret with him. Natalie noticed again that Ron and Hermione were making sure to keep their distance from Natalie.
Ron, who Natalie gathered was not the most subtle person, blurted, "Why did you help her anyway? Didn't you see what she did to Ginny?"
"Ron, lay off, will you?" said Harry darkly.
Natalie, whose temper was starting to rise with the unconcealed displeasure of Ron and Hermione at her presence, chose to confront them and set things straight.
Turning towards them, she said flatly, "Listen, I know neither of you are rather fond of me right now. But what happened yesterday evening is not at all an accurate indication of my personality. I am not as you may naively think an old fashioned pureblood lover or Voldemort backer. The things I said about my mother are completely true and I try to follow her example. So please remove any misconceptions you have about me and try to treat me with some respect."
A blanched, shocked silence washed over the two. Natalie noticed Harry smirking to her right. Not bothering to glare at them any longer, Natalie focused on eating her supper.
Once Natalie had finished her desert, she heard Hermione clear her throat. Natalie lifted her head to see Hermione nervously gazing at her.
"Yes?" said Natalie expectantly, not unpleasantly but not friendly either.
"Ron and I want to say sorry for our er coldness to you,"said Hermione, slightly shrilly and faltering. She quickly composed herself and stated more strongly, "However, we still don't agree with what you did to Ginny last night. We don't want to be your enemy but you cannot attack our friends." Her tone had slowly become stern and reproachful. Natalie was eerily reminded of Professor McGonagall. Ron carefully nodded along
Natalie paused to contemplate Hermione's words. Judging by the twinge of regret in Hermione's eyes and Ron's slightly red face, the apology at the very worst was partly genuine. Natalie presumed that neither was particularly comfortable in her presence nor had their prejudiced views of her been completely eradicated. She had called Ron's sister and Hermione's friend scum and then proceeded to send her hurtling across the room. Therefore, she conceded forcefully that they were somewhat justified in their distrust of her.
Natalie thought for a moment of what to say. She wanted to show her acceptance of the apology and her willingness to be on friendly terms with the other two but also that she too would not tolerate any nonsense. Choosing her words carefully, Natalie said, "Same goes here. I hope we are able to get along too. I lost control yesterday and I promise it won't happen again. But please don't judge me on what you've heard from misinformed sources."
Hermione looked relieved, smiling at Natalie for the first time. Ron too nodded at Natalie, still hesitantly but not unkindly.
"Harry, honestly, you should return that textbook. Not to mention that you're not doing your own work, strange books like that are not safe," scolded Hermione for the tenth time that evening.
"Hermione, you're just mad that someone finally nipped you in Potions," exclaimed Ron, earning him a furious glare from Hermione.
Natalie thought about Hermione's words. Hermione had a point but then again, that tip was extremely clever, not the same conniving or dubious dark magic she had seen at Durmstrang. She chose to speak. "Hermione, I was thinking about his instructions and that extra counter clockwise stir makes a lot of sense. If you look at the kinematics behind the potion, reversing the direction once a while actually improves the flow and viscosity of the overall mixture. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that this person's textbook is probably not some dark object. It's not anything like some of the things you'll see at Durmstrang."
Hermione stared at Natalie, a mixture of indignation and admiration in her eyes. Harry gave her a grateful look and even Ron had stopped dishing food to stare at her. Natalie looked down at her food. She should not have just made her own long, arrogant speech.
"That's a good point. Very clever," stated Hermione without a trace of bitterness in her voice. The sour note did return. "But still, you don't know who that person was."
"Yeah I guess," conceded Natalie. She did not feel like continuing the discussion. Anyway, she was still elated that now Hermione had taken the beginnings of a liking towards her.