A/N: There's been a bit of confusion so we've decided that this story takes place durring hbp. Sirius Black never died but everything else did happen according to the book.
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
Scarlett's loud, heavy footsteps sounded on the stone floors of the corridor. The hallways were empty except for the hefty brunette. After crying for hours, Scarlett had finally fallen asleep but no one had woken her up for her first period class. She thought maybe somebody would have taken pity on her and saved her the humiliation of being late to her first class.
After a number of wrong turns, Scarlett finally found the door to her DADA class 15 minutes later. She shivered and wondered why someone would put a classroom in the dungeons. 'How could anyone be comfortable in here?' She double checked her timetable. She did want to be in the wrong classroom. Sure enough, this was the right classroom. The professor was Severus Snape and she had double Defense Against the Dark Arts with her fellow 6th year Gryffindors and the Slytherins. Taking a deep breath, Scarlett put her hand on the big brass handle and pushed open the heavy door.
Every head turned to her direction. She laughed nervously and looked to the front of the class where a man dressed all in black with long greasy hair. She apparently had interrupted a lecture or speech of some sort.
Professor Snape raised his eyebrow as if asking for an explanation. Scarlett opened her mouth but nothing came out. Her face took on a confused look and she opened her mouth again. Same result as last time.
"Ms. Vitello, am I correct?" His voice was a low baritone and made shivers crawl up and down Scarlett's arms. She nodded. "What, may I ask, is your reason for interrupting my class?"
"I was busy making myself pretty as I heard you were quite a handsome teacher and I wanted to impress you. I'm hoping that you have a fat fetish." Scarlett immediately clamped a hand over her mouth. Her eyes widened and watered when she heard the class burst out laughing. She had meant to simply say that she had gotten lost.
Snape seemed to be a little less amused. "Ms. Vitello, you should learn to refrain yourself from speaking so honestly if your response is as crude as yours just was."
Scarlett opened her mouth to respond but found her answer to be in the similar fashion as her last. "Yes well, Severus, I may call you that can't I?" Snape began to object but Scarlett continued to speak. "Severus, I think you and I are going to be great friends. Might you be able to give me the name of your shampoo? I think the whole greasy hair look would work quite well on me." She blinked back the tears that were so close to falling.
The professor looked very mad for a moment before he saw the horrified look on Scarlett's face. He scanned his eyes over all of the laughing students and rested them on a certain red head double over in laughter.
"Mr. Weasley, I realize that you often find yourself hidden in the large shadow that Mr. Potter casts. Nonetheless, you would do well not to give me the smallest reason to have you punished." He yelled startling the students. The class was quiet except for the occasional chocked up sob that emitted from Scarlett. His hardened gaze turned soft when he looked at Scarlett. "Ms. Vitello, you may take a seat next to Mr. Malfoy. As for you Weasley, you will have detention every night this week at 8 o'clock."
Ron glared at Scarlett as she walked to her desk. She kept her gaze down but didn't notice a boy stick out his foot. Her books went flying and she ended sprawled over the floor. She thought the classroom shook when she landed. The room rang with laughter and though Snape tried his hardest to control the class, the laughter just increased. Scarlett wondered why they were laughing so much. So, she tripped. Whatever. She looked down and turned even redder if that was possible. When, Scarlett tripped, her skirt had ridden up giving everyone a clear view of her purple and green polka dotted panties.
Professor Snape reached out a hand to help her up. She took it but didn't stay to thank him. She ran as fast as her stubby legs would let her. She stopped several times to catch her breath but finally she reached her destination.
She was up in the astronomy tower. It had a beautiful view of the grounds and the slight breeze would blow in Scarlett's hair. She decided that this would be her thinking place. It had a calming serene surrounding and she felt at ease. But then, she remembered that red head. Ronald Weasley, she had heard his name during dinner. He was best friends with Harry Potter. The two of them and Hermione Granger were known as the Golden Trio. They were known to everyone in Hogwarts.
But how dare they think that they were better than her. They didn't know her. Scarlett could be great. She knew it. If only she was given a chance, she could prove herself. Scarlett wanted to be a healer when she grew up. She would love to be able to help those in need and maybe save a life or two.
Scarlett was busy with her thoughts that she hadn't noticed the students scattered around the grounds. Classes were let out and it was lunch. Her stomach growled but she remembered the recent incident and decided that maybe skipping a meal wouldn't hurt her.
"The hungry hippo wants to eat, huh?" Draco Malfoy's voice startled her and she whirled around to meet his legendary smirk. She ignored him and turned back to the gorgeous scenery. He didn't seem to notice though and continued to speak. "I see you've found my favourite spot. I usually come here to think."
He seemed genuine and nice but Scarlett couldn't trust him. After all, he did embarrass her in front of the entire school. "And what would you come up here to think about? Other ways to torture me or maybe how daddy didn't give you enough presents for your birthday." She was being vicious but was proud of herself for being confident enough to stand up for herself.
Her happiness faded away at the look on Draco's face. AT first, he seemed sad but then his face took on a look of anger. His sharp cheekbones and cold gray blue eyes all added to his evil persona. His lips were curled in disgust. He whipped out his wand and pointed it at her. She was scared. He opened his mouth to say something and she closed her eyes preparing herself for pain. Nothing happened. She looked up at him slowly. He was still staring at her as if he was deciding what to do. Finally, he turned on his heel and walked away.
She whimpered. Scarlett knew she did something wrong and it was very possible that she would regret it soon.
***
Scarlett had gathered enough courage to continue on to her remaining classes. She breathed a sigh of relief when it was time for dinner. 'Food!' Her stomach had been mad at her for skipping lunch.
She plopped down at the end of the table next to Neville Longbottom. She was about to say hi when he smiled nervously at her and moved farther away from her. She sighed and piled mashed potatoes, chicken, poutine, and roast beef onto her plate. Then she covered it all with gravy.
"Hey, Vitello! Maybe, you should stick to some veggies." She looked down the table. Two red headed twins were smirking at her. They reminded Scarlett of Ron. She blinked back tears and looked down at the mess in front of her. She pushed it away gingerly ignoring the whispers surrounding her and grabbed another plate. She piled on some salad doubting very much that she would be satisfied.
Luna sat beside her. "Hey."
Scarlett grunted and ate another leaf. She stared ahead and pretended to listen while Luna rambled on about Nargles. She nodded at the appropriate times but couldn't seem to shake the feeling that she was being watched.
Discreetly, she scanned the great hall. Scarlett blushed ten shades of red when her chocolate hues met gray blue ones. She returned her gaze to her salad but decided that she should inquire about him. "Luna? I'm sorry for interrupting but I was wondering, is Draco Malfoy dangerous?"
Luna replied in her usual airy voice. "Well, he is a bully here but I'm not sure if he is capable of doing any great danger towards anyone like his father."
Scarlett nearly chocked. She vaguely remembered talking about his daddy. "His father? What did his father do?"
"He recently was arrested for being a death eater. I don't think you should ever mention that to him though unless you have a death wish."
Scarlett laughed nervously. She made a mental note to apologize to him and to Professor Snape for missing his class. Hopefully, both of them would be understanding.
Please do review. Also, I have a question... who do you think should be Scarlett's friend? Hermione, Ginny, Pansy... etc???
