Author's Note

Woah! Look at me, done with this next chapter already! It's maybe not quite as long as the last two, and its more plot-driven than anything, but hey, a chapter's a chapter!

Chapter 4 is basically going to be a continuation of this current situation, but with a bit of Sirius added in! Yay! Things are looking up!

Again, I would like to thank those who have reviewed my story thus far. Its so encouraging and makes me want to write better and faster!

Alrighty, here's chapter 3 :)

Read, enjoy, and please review!

Disclaimer: I don't own HP!

3. Competition

"Adeline,

I have learned that you have been sorted into the Gryffindor House at Hogwarts. This revolting news was a great surprise to me. I cannot begin to tell you how disappointed I am. We raised you perfectly and you have ruined your own name and tarnished our family's. I assure you that there will be significant consequences.

However, after long consideration, I have decided to allow you to stay in the Villori family. Know that you were very nearly disowned, and may still be unless we can find another use for you.

No longer do I care for you as a daughter. You're actions are detestable.

Samson Tiberius Villori

I found the letter on my new bed in the Gryffindor tower, and read it with shaking hands, sobs beginning to rack my body as I came to the end and read the last lines. How could this happen to me? A few hours ago I had been the princess of the Villori family, the apple of my father's eye.

Now I was nothing. Worse than nothing, really. My father hated me, I had very nearly been disowned, and I had no one.

I suddenly felt a wave of sickness pass over me, and ran into the bathroom, drive heaves racking my body as I struggled to remember the last time I had eaten. This morning? Last night?

I finally stood up on shaky legs and splashed some cold water on my face. It brought me back to the present and I stared at myself in the mirror, wondering what had possibly gone so wrong. I was pure blood and had been raised as one. I had done everything my parents had asked me to do. Why in God's name had everything suddenly been so ruined?

I went into my new bedroom, inwardly groaning when I noticed for the first time that Lily's belongings had been placed on the opposite side of the room next to her bed. I was certainly dreading our next encounter after my little show at dinner.

I sat on my bed, masochistically deciding to read through the letter one more time. The words still bit me, but I could see a little sparkle of hope on the horizon.

School would be over in a year. If I worked tirelessly, I was fairly certain I could get top-notch grades. I was damn good at magic; those expensive tutors had ensured that. Then, after, when my father learned of how flawless my scores were and how strong my desire was to please him, maybe he would see that my being put in Gryffindor was just a minor setback. Maybe he would decide to take me back in, and things could go back to how they were, this little accident forgotten.

It was a long-shot, but it was all I had and probably the best option for me. It's not like I had any friends to distract me from my studies anyway, and more likely than not a school full of mud-bloods wasn't going to offer me much in the way of competition. More than that, I had never wanted anything as badly as I wanted to be back in father's good graces. I needed it.

Resolved, I decided I might as well avoid Lily as much as possible, starting now. Normally I wasn't the type of girl to run away from my problems, but I was too mentally and emotionally exhausted to get into a huge confrontation. I was sure that she and all those boys she hung around with, as well as the entire Gryffindor house, thought I was a monster. But they didn't understand because it wasn't their lifestyle. The way they had been raised.

Not that it mattered to me. I wasn't at Hogwarts to make friends with Gryffindors. Now I was here to work hard and win back my place in pure-blood society, which had been lost because I came to Hogwarts in the first place. It had been a bloody bad day.

But anyway, I didn't want to see Lily. So, with a wave of my wand I turned out all the lights and drew the curtains around my bed, wrapping myself up in the safety of my covers and shutting my eyes tightly, effectively cutting myself off from the rest of the world.

Sleep did not come quickly.

"Villori, Adeline!" called Professor McGonagall at breakfast the next morning, holding my time table high in the air and looking around the Great Hall for me. I raised my hand a little above my head and she spotted me, nodding as she gave me the paper and turned away, seeking out the next Gryffindor on her list.

I tried to avoid eye contact with everyone as I sat by myself at the long table, as far away as I could get from Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter. I knew very well that everyone in Gryffindor hated me. Even as I devoted all my attention to the Daily Prophet and glanced nowhere but the newspaper and the small bowl of oatmeal and fruit in front of me, I could feel angry gazes boring into me like daggers.

I suppose I understood. They were blood-traitors, the very people my family was trying to eradicate from the wizarding world. If I had been placed in Slytherin, I would be among other pure-bloods like myself. I would have friends and admirers who praised me—not hated me—for being a Villori. Now, though, I was the subject of disdain by everyone: my fellow pure bloods for being sorted into the Grffindor house, and my fellow Gryffindors because of my family.

I tried to shake this off, telling myself that it really didn't matter. My entire life, I had hardly known anyone that I would call a friend, and it hadn't bothered me in the slightest. Why should it now?

Unfortunately, it couldn't be that simple. The teenage girl within me was desperate to be accepted, even if I was too proud to admit it.

With a sigh I set down the spoon in my left hand and picked up my times table. My first class was potions, followed by Defense Against the Dark Arts. Excellent, I thought with a small smile, my problems forgotten momentarily. My two best subjects.

"Attention, everyone, attention!" said Professor Slughorn, waving his wand as he tottered into the room. Words began to write themselves on the board as everyone took their seats. I found myself near the front of the classroom, with Lily somehow ending up at the work station right next to my own. Figures.

The directions for brewing an Invigoration Draught having been written neatly on the chalk board, Slughorn smiled calmly at the class, his gaze resting on me. "Ah, a new student! What's your name, dear?" he asked, almost as if he was sizing me up.

"Adeline Villori." I said, holding my head high and ignoring the snickers that came from the Slytherin half of the classroom.

Slughorn seemed oblivious to their mirth and surveyed me with new interest. "Really?" He said, eyebrows raised. "How very curious! A Villori in Gryffindor! Well, it's truly a pity you weren't been placed in Slytherin, you would have been a wonderful addition."

I winced, thinking he probably could not have said anything worse. There was more giggling from the classroom as a Gryffindor boy I didn't recognize sitting in the back called out, "You can take her!"

Slughorn, still oblivious, gave me one last smile and turned his attention back to the classroom at large. "Well, dear students, it's a new school year, and a pleasure to see you all again! Let's get this show on the road, shall we? As you can see, the directions for brewing an Invigorating Draught are written on the board behind me. I would like for you all to work diligently and precisely, but with efficiency! The student with the best quality potion at the end of the hour will earn 50 points towards their house and the highest mark! Begin!"

While I didn't find house points to be much of a motivator, there was nothing I desired more than good grades with which to please father.

With that in mind, I set to work, ignoring my surroundings and focusing all of my energy on the ingredients and brewing tools in front of me. Professor Slughorn ambled slowly around the room, commenting on techniques and giving suggestions. He complimented me on my stirring method before scurrying off to address a Slytherin's potion that had suddenly started emitting pink bubbles. I took his lack of criticism to be a good thing, and kept working, following the directions exactly.

Forty-five minutes later, I set down my stirring instrument and stepped back from my cauldron, satisfied but thrilled that I seemed to be the first one finished. I opened my mouth to call out to Slughorn and ask him to judge my draught, just as a clear voice rang out to my left.

"Professor Slughorn, sir?" said Lily Evans, "My potion is done!"

I watched, my skin prickling with frustration, as Slughorn went on and on about Lily's perfect invigorating draught. After what seemed like forever, he moved on to my worktable, where I waited silently for him to critique my own potion.

"Excellent work, Miss Villori." he said, grinning. "No doubt you have ample skill in the field of potions. This draught is simply exquisite!" he smiled kindly at me, apparently not noticing the tenseness of the situation as he examined the rest of the class' potions and went to stand in the front of the room.

"Well," he said, clapping his hands together. "Good show! I must say, it was a very hard decision, choosing the winner. Two students, Miss Adeline and Miss Lily, certainly stood out from the rest!" he looked at us proudly, as the entire class waited with baited breath for him to declare the winner, myself included. Slughorn seemed to be enjoying the tension, as it seemed like ages before he finally said, "While both draughts were of magnificent quality, the victory goes to Miss Evans! Congratulations!"

My heart sunk as Lily beamed and the rest of the class clapped, someone, probably James, enchanting red and gold confetti to fly around the ceiling.

I slouched back into my chair as Lily looked back in my direction and smiled at me, showing off straight white teeth. "Nice work, Adeline." She said with a little laugh, all kindness and positivity. "I'm always up for a little friendly competition!"

I stared back at her, doing my best not to roll me eyes at her attempt to make friends. Lily Evans was nothing to me but a nuisance, standing in the way of me impressing my father. "Yeah," I said, not meeting her eye and instead starting to pack up my materials, wanting to get out of there as soon as I could. "friendly competition."