Aubrey stepped into the low ceilinged Slytherin common room, looking around the vast, open space. For a dungeon the room had a grand appearance, with walls and staircases carved out of stone and a large marble fireplace near the centre of the room. Green coloured sofas and chairs sat scattered across the floor and large reading tables, with serpents carved in the legs, rested against the cool walls. The room was dimly lit, and a green tinged light cascaded in through tall windows on the far side wall. It was beautiful, Aubrey thought, classic and yet somehow cold. She smiled as she stepped further into the room, following Celinda.

"Nice isn't it?" Celinda said to Aubrey, "It looks kind of green because we're under the Black Lake" she finished, leading Aubrey further inside the green room.

Aubrey just nodded, now observing a group of first year girls heading up a stone staircase to the right of the room.

"Those lead to our dormitories" Celinda said, noticing Aubrey watch the stairs. "Usually there are four to a room, but in our case there will be five...since you're new" she said, starting up the steep staircase.

"Your stuff should already be up here" Celinda continued over her shoulder, as Aubrey followed behind, "so let's go see the others."

Aubrey followed Celinda through a doorway into a room at the top of the staircase. Inside she found five four poster beds positioned against the walls and, sure enough, her trunk and its contents waiting for her. Four other girls, who Aubrey hadn't noticed at dinner, stopped in mid motion and starred at her as she and Celinda entered the room.

"Everyone" Celinda bellowed, closing the dormitory door, "this is Aubrey Knight...she's the transfer student from Laurier Academy."

Aubrey smiled awkwardly as she felt the others size her up and she could feel their eyes studying her intensely. There were a few seconds of silence before a tall witch with long black hair stepped forward from the back of the room, her hand outstretched.

"I'm Elle Lacroix" she said as Aubrey shook her hand. "It's a good thing you made it into Slytherin" she smiled, "we'll make sure you have a good time while you're here."

Aubrey smiled and began to relax as the others introduced themselves. Aside from Celinda and Elle there was Anastasia Harrow, a pretty blonde witch and Gabrielle Vance, a tiny, red headed girl who wore a shiny Prefects badge on her right shoulder.

"Nice dress" Elle said as Aubrey headed over to her bed. "Is that your school uniform?" Elle questioned.

"Yes" Aubrey replied, flattered by the comment, "I didn't know what to wear..." she began trailing off.

"It's nice" Elle reassured it, "bit different from ours though" she said, pointing to her own long, heavy robes.

Aubrey grimaced and hauled her heavy trunk onto her bed to begin unpacking her things. The girls made small chatter before Anastasia got up from her bed and walked over towards her.

"So..." Anastasia began as she crossed the room, "are you a pureblood, Aubrey?"

"Of course!" cried out Celinda before Aubrey could respond, "she's in Slytherin, isn't she?" she said protectively, scowling at Anastasia.

Anastasia looked suspiciously at Aubrey, who only nodded silently, confirming she was indeed of pure blood.

"I was only wondering" said Anastasia defensively, returning to her bed to brush her long, golden hair.

"Ana is obsessed with lineage" chimed in Elle, "always concerned with other's blood purity...aren't you Ana?" she said teasingly.

"I'm not obsessed" Anastasia protested, "I just think that it's interesting to know."

"Of course," Elle said, unconvinced.

"Besides" Anastasia pressed on, "it's fact that pureblood witches and wizards are often brighter, stronger, and more powerful in magic-"

"Not to mention more inbred" Elle interrupted and the girls began to laugh, leaving Anastasia with a frown. Aubrey knew right then and there that she liked Elle. There was something about her confidence and upfront attitude that Aubrey admired.

"I'm just kidding Ana" Elle said, slinging her arm around her friend, "but really, there are so few families who don't have some muggle ancestry in them" she finished.

"Well, mine is one of them" said Anastasia, climbing into her bed and closing the curtains around her.

"Yes, we've all heard about the pure lineage of the Harrow's" Elle groaned, rolling her eyes and heading back over to her own bed.

"You lot should really go to bed, too" said a quiet voice beside Aubrey. Gabrielle was climbing under the covers, "you'll want to be ready for tomorrow" she finished, pulling in the curtains around her.

"Yeah, yeah" said Elle, sighing heavily "see you in the morning then."

It took Aubrey a long time before she finally fell asleep. She laid in bed replaying over her first few hours at Hogwarts, trying to make sense of the seemingly endless thoughts that cluttered her mind. She wondered what the Sorting Hat meant when it said that she was "so much like her mother...yet different?" She worried about her father, and wondered how he was doing during her first night away from home. Aubrey knew that her mother would be proud that she was placed in Slytherin house, and she wondered what opportunities, if any, Hogwarts might hold for her. Aubrey tried to remember all the different people she had met that night, noting that so far everyone seemed quite friendly especially Garridan, Celinda, and Elle. Although she didn't think it would be hard to form new friendships at Hogwarts, Aubrey still longed for her own friends back at Laurier, who were starting their sixth year without her. Finally, Aubrey allowed her mind to drift to the handsome Tom Riddle, as she wondered when she would see him again and what she could possibly say to the school's brilliant Head Boy. All these thoughts seemed to rush through her head at once, and before she realized it, Aubrey was soon fast asleep.


"Hey" Aubrey heard a quiet voice say "it's time to get up, you've got to get going" it continued.

Aubrey opened her eyes and found Elle standing next to her, "you don't want to be late for your first day now, do you?" she said, smiling.

Aubrey groaned and slid out of her warm covers onto the cold, stone floor. She couldn't remember falling asleep last night, and the morning seemed to have come too early.

"Your uniform is right there" said Elle, pointing to the pile of clothes on a chair beside Aubrey's bed. "And there's a bathroom right there...I'll wait for you to get ready, and then we'll head down for breakfast."

"Thanks" Aubrey replied, making her way towards to the bathroom.

When she was dressed, Aubrey could see what Elle had meant about Hogwarts and Laurier uniforms being very different. The Hogwarts uniform, consisting of a white shirt, house coloured tie, sweater, pleated skirt and knee high socks seemed so foreign to Aubrey. She exited the bathroom unsure of her appearance, and longing for her own black dress, to find Elle starring at herself in a mirror beside her bed.

"Honestly, I swear these uniforms get worse every year" said Elle, rolling up her skirt to make it shorter, "they're so...frumpy."

Aubrey tried to ignore her own skirt, which fell past her knees and lightly brushed against her socks, and made her way over to bed, fetching her book bag.

"Elle!" shrieked Gabrielle, entering to the room to grab a book, "that's not school uniform!"

"Really Gabby" Elle sighed, "you need to lighten up a little...it's a wonder the guys even recognize that we're girls in these things" she said, pulling at the dark, wool sweater.

"That's no reason to have your skirt so short!" retorted Gabrielle.

"Oh it's fine, just a bit of sass" said Elle reassuringly, "besides...Slytherin girls should show some sass, don't you think Gab?"

Gabrielle frowned and exited the dormitory, shutting the door harder than necessary on her way out.

"She used to be fun you know" said Elle to Aubrey, who now walked over to the mirror. "She's gotten worse since she became a Prefect."

"Slytherin girls are supposed to have sass?" Aubrey asked, studying the modifications Elle had made to her uniform.

"Sure...we've got a sassy reputation to uphold" started Elle, "you know...like adding a bit of interest to things...keeping people guessing. That's what being a Slytherin is all about, really. Gabby just overreacts to anything that's not done by the book."

"Sassy Slytherin" Aubrey whispered, thinking about her mother who had probably had a hand in starting that revelation.

"I wish we could wear your dress" continued Elle, who finally seemed satisfied with her appearance, and went to grab her school bag.

"Me too" said Aubrey, turning away from the mirror.

"Come on, let's get something to eat" said Elle, grabbing her arm and heading down the stone staircase, "I'm starving!"

The girls headed out of the common room and up through the dungeons toward the great hall. Elle spoke the entire way, explaining more about life at Hogwarts to Aubrey.

"Today is going to be a crash course for you" said Elle, who had just finished explaining the changing staircases throughout the castle.

The girls finally reached the hall and took empty seats near the end of the Slytherin table. The hall was littered with students spread out across the other house tables, and chatter of classes and different professors echoed off the bare, stone walls. Aubrey glanced down the Slytherin table to see if Tom Riddle was at breakfast, but her unsuccessful search was interrupted when Anastasia joined the table.

"There you two are" she sighed, sliding into the bench beside Aubrey. "I got your class schedules...here's yours Aubrey" she said, passing Aubrey a rolled up piece of parchment.

"Thank you" replied Aubrey, unrolling the paper and examining her class schedule. It read:

Aubrey Knight – Year Six – Class Schedule

Rotation Day 1

History of Magic

Potions

Lunch

Break

Divination

Transfiguration

Rotation Day 2

Defence Against the Dark Arts

Herbology

Lunch

Break

Free Period

Charms

"We start on rotation day one, right?" Aubrey asked.

"Yeah" replied Elle, grabbing Aubrey's schedule to compare it to her own. "Seven classes...won't you have fun this year" she said sarcastically.

"Gabrielle is taking eight" Anastasia added.

"Yeah, well that's not a surprise now is it?" Elle responded, helping herself to more pumpkin juice. "At least most of our classes are together " she finished. Aubrey began to study the three schedules and found that Elle was right; Aubrey had each of her classes with at least one of her roommates.

"Come on" said Elle, setting down her glass and getting up from the table. "We have History of Magic first."

"How are the Professors?" Aubrey asked as the three girls made their way out of the grand hall, towards their classroom.

"Most of them are pretty good" started Elle, "Professor Binns, for History, is easily the worst."

"He's a ghost" piped up Anastasia, "and he can be really dull."

"Definitely" Elle agreed, "it's a good thing we get him over with first thing."

"Why do you both keep taking the class if he's so awful?" Aubrey questioned.

"Because it's an easy grade" answered Elle calmly, as the girls entered a half filled classroom. Aubrey took a deep breath as she found a seat next to Elle near the back of the room, readying herself for her first class at Hogwarts.