Vriska:
After the feast, Eridan, Karkat, Gamzee and I followed the Prefect to the Slytherin dungeon. We walked down about seven flights of stairs and came across... a brick wall? I paused. The Slytherin Prefect turned to us.
"This is the entrance to the Slytherin Common Room, plus all of your dorms. Just say the password, Cobra's Toothache, and you're in. Each time there's a password change, it will be posted on the message board.
"We have water from the lake down here, cascading down the left and right sides of the room. Those two doorways there lead to the dorms. You will find a corridor. Find the door with your room number carved into it, and there's your room. I suggest you go straight to bed, seeing as classes begin tomorrow morning at 7:30 sharp. Goodnight, and welcome to Slytherin and to Hogwarts!"
I found my dorm room immediately and went inside. It was empty. None of my dorm mates were in yet, I suppose. I wandered. It was spacious, with high ceilings and open spaces. Windows showed the lake. Since it was dark, the lake was dark, but I swear I saw a tentacle.
I ventured to the bathroom. It was big, with five sinks and a giant tub the size of a small pool. The floors were white and green tiles, and the backsplash was too. Green was a common theme. Slytherin.
I went back into the naim room, and claimed a bed and a desk. I tore a piece of paper in two and wrote Vriska Serket on either piece. I placed them on the bed and the desk., and noticed my trunk and tarantula in its cage across the room. I took it out of it's cage and put it on my shoulder.
"Hey, Spinnerette." I said, addressing the spider. Spinnerette had all kinds of charms on her so that no one could squash her with their feet, or pull off her legs or anything. I was grateful to at least have her. I sat down for a moment, contemplating the room, but then stood back up because I felt kind of stupid. I then dragged my trunk to the foot of my bed and opened it. I put on my pajamas, braided my hair, and got into bed, but then felt awkward because I was still by myself. So I walked around a bit.
Finally my dorm mates stumbled in, and I met them, introducing myself. We talked and laughed as we got ready for bed, and they all seemed impressed, not grossed out, by Spinnerette. They all had owls, except one. But I was perfectly capable of using a school one, plus Spiders are way cooler.
The girl in question without an owl was very nice. She had a cat. That was cool. The cat showed no interest in eating Spinnerette, so I was okay with it.
"Hey, I'm Olive, but you can call me Itchy."
"Okay? Um, Hi. I'm Vriska. You can call me Vriska."
"Okay, Blue." she said, gesturing to my blue eyes, pajamas, and hair ties. I was okay with Blue. I didn't mind one bit.
We all settled into bed. I kinda knew that we wouldn't be close, because of how different we were. But I had one sort of friend, and that was good enough for me.
The next morning, Itchy and I were the last ones to get up. Everyone else left, so we had to hurry to throw on our robes and new uniforms before rushing down to breakfast.
We sat at the Slytherin table. I served myself some bacon, potatoes and buttered up some toast and hushpuppies. I began to ate as Eridan and Karkat argued. I cut in, annoyed.
"Boys, please. Just shut up and eat, we have a day ahead of us." I said, motioning to the schedule. "First class is... Charms with Hufflepuff."
"Oh, great. I've been excited for charms." puts in Eridan. I roll my eyes.
"Yeah. Next after that is... Defense Against the Dark Arts with Ravenclaw. Excellent, I get to be with Kanaya for this class."
"That's fucking wonderful." said Karkat, who was disgruntled. "I get to have that class with a bunch of snooty pretentious asslamps."
"Karkat." I snapped. "They are not pretentious." he mumbled something unintelligible. After that, oh, lunch, then... Herbology." I said. The three of them groaned loudly. My heart sank. "With Gryffindor." They all groaned louder.
"It's okay, Guys! Plants are a miracle, so we can survive that class!" said Gamzee unconvincingly. Karkat made a guttural sound and looked at Gamzee.
"Enough with the fucking miracles, bro! We're in a magic school, we get it!"
"Karkat, shut the fuck up, I'm trying to eat!"
After that, we scaled the stairs, seven flights, and found the charms classroom. Professor Renegade sat at the front of the classroom, surrounded by books, quills, papers and all manner of items confiscated from students.
"Welcome, welcome, class. This is your first class of the year, and at Hogwarts, so I expect you to be on your best behaviour. Now, I don't like putting kids in seating arrangements, but if I have to, I will. Find a person to sit with. This will be your desk partner for the rest of the year, so choose wisely."
There was a bustle as kids found people to sit with. I almost sat with Itchy, but then Feferi caught my eye. I sat down next to her.
"Hey, Feferi." I said. She smiled.
"Hi, Vriska! Wow, this is exciting, isn't it?" she asked. I nodded. Just then, Eridan appeared. "Oh, Vriska? Do you mind? I kinda want to catch up with Eridan."
"Oh, yeah, sure." I said. I stood up and walked away. The only person left without a partner was-
"Hey, Tavros. Mind if I sit?" I asked, and he shook his head. I plopped down next him and looked around. The classroom had high ceilings and a very airy quality to it. I rummaged around in my bag for a notebook. Just this year, Hogwarts realized that using rolls of Parchment was utterly ridiculous, and so they started selling notebooks made of parchment paper. Problem solving. I Opened the red one and labeled it "Charms". Professor Renegade cleared his throat.
"Now, please open up "Standard Book of Spells Grade One" and read the preface. When you are done, we can discuss the spells we will be learning this year."
When the class was over, I said goodbye to Tavros, whom I had been throwing tiny parchment balls at all period, and headed to my next class. I bumped into Aranea on my way into the classroom.
"Hi, Aranea." I said. She smiled.
"Hello, Vriska. Enjoying Hogwarts?"
"It's better than home." I said moodily. She opened her mouth, then closed it. There seemed to be nothing to say. I was about to walk away when Kanaya's sister walked up.
"Vriska, good day." said the girl. I smiled.
"Portia, right?"
"Porrim." she said, distracted. She took Aranea's hand. "Babe, we're going to be late for our next class." Aranea turned purple.
"Babe?" I asked. Aranea about died.
"Yeah- oh. Your sister didn't tell you." said Porrim, looking at Aranea, somewhat annoyed.
"No." I said.
"I- was waiting for the right time." Aranea stuttered, still flushing beet red. I smiled softly.
"Well, I'm happy for you." I said, and Aranea looked at me.
"I hope... I hope we can become closer, while we're here at Hogwarts." she said. I was shocked, but I continued grinning.
"Yeah, me too." I began to walk away, but she grabbed my arm.
"Umm, but Vriska?" she said, nervously. I shrugged.
"Yeah?"
"Don't- don't tell Mother and Father, okay?"
"Yeah, alright." I said, and I was off, my head swimming. I walked into the classroom and sat down next to Kanaya.
"Hey, Kanaya." I said. She smiled.
"Hello, Vriska." she said. Professor Signless stood at the center of the sort of lecture hall and began speaking.
I came out of that class more confused than when I entered it.
"Never heard such a lecture in all my life!" I said. Kanaya nodded. I wondered if I should tell her about Porrim and Aranea. I cleared my throat.
"So, Kanaya, how bout that sister of yours?" I inquired awkwardly. She was rummaging in her bag.
"Hmm?" she asked, distracted. I pressed on.
"Ya know, Porrim? She's dating Aranea."
"Yeah, I know." said Kanaya. I looked at her with every ounce of surprise I could muster. She pretended not to notice, so I kept on talking.
"Porrim called Aranea 'babe' this morning."
"Okay." said Kanaya, still looking in her bag.
"Well, you don't find this weird?"
"No, not really. Oh, found it!" said Kanaya, producing a sewing needle and some thread. She grabbed my shoulder and began stitching.
"Kanaya, what the Hell?" I asked. She shook her head.
"Stop moving. The seam on your shoulder came undone. I'm almost done..." she stated, focused on my robes. I waited impatiently.
"Are you done now, Mom?" I asked when she tore the thread away and tossed the needle back into her bag.
"Well, it's nothing neat, but it'll do." said Kanaya. We walked side by side to lunch. Kanaya rushed to eat quickly, she wanted to visit the library before next class. I sat down and began eating some pot pie and reading the leftover morning newspaper. More news of the crazy SBURB Movement. The article went as follows:
The radical Pureblood Movement known as 'SBURB' struck again last night with a supposed mass murder of more than 45 Muggles, Half Bloods, and Muggle Borns alike. The Leader of this elitist ring, Lord English, left a note at the sight of the gruesome murder.
"'SBURB' is only trying to clean the filth of mudbloods and muggles out of this world. We hope only to make sure our children and our children's children don't have to hide away from muggles, that they can practice magic openly and freely, and have as much ambition to do anything they want as possible."
According to the Minister, people living anywhere near and in Surrey should be on the watch, and should help to protect the muggles if it comes to that.
"'SBURB' is nothing but a group of terrorists, and I swear to my country, and my people, that we can stop this. I thank the wizarding world for it's bravery and help in these dark times."
I sighed and put away the paper. I was sick of all bad news. I longed for the days of comics about silly banshees and talking bowler hats. But alas, I grew bigger, so did evil.
Lunch ended, and I began to make my way to Herbology. The air was a bit chilly. I shivered in anticipation. I couldn't wait for Halloween. I was, with help from Kanaya, planning a costume to wear with her, and we had been abuzz with excitement since the summer. We were dressing as our favorite characters from a muggle book about Vampires. The information, of course, was phony, but the story was hilariously addictive. I was to be the fiery heroine, full of passion and brains. I was the girl who dated the brother of Kanaya's character. Both Kanaya's character and her brother were vampires. All this took place in the 1700's. Kanaya and I considered it a guilty passion. Kanaya was making the dresses, and now that she had magic, she could speed it up considerably.
I finally reached the greenhouse and sat down in front of a flowerpot. the room was mostly empty, and a dank chill hung around the room. Plants of all sorts grew everywhere. I smiled. This was very cool. I imagined Kanaya first seeing this place. She loved gardening.
Everyone filed into the classroom. I sat still, peering at my old friend. I think the professor was talking. All I heard him say was that Aradia and I would be working together. I moved like a robot. My arm reached for my bag, my feet stood up, and legs walked over to this girl. My guilt was like a wave, washing over me. I closed my mouth and stared straight ahead, pretending not to notice her. But her closeness in vicinity to me and her slow, methodical breaths, entirely too loud, might I add, distracted me. It felt like she was trying to make me uncomfortable, which was soooo not getting past me. I breathed loudly and through my mouth throughout the rest of the class, and tapped my shoes on the ground. I hoped she was properly irritated as I left the greenhouse, because I just about died.
Itchy and I walked back up to the Castle. I watched the castle grow larger before my eyes, and we finally entered. I looked around. Somehow, it seemed smaller than it had yesterday, before the sorting. I went and leaned against the wall to consult my schedule. I was needed on the Quidditch Pitch for a short lesson in flying. Great. I loved flying, and I was planning on being the Keeper for the Slytherin Quidditch team. This was a fine time to learn for some of the others, too.
I stalked onto the green, the overcast afternoon light illuminating the row of brooms lined out. I stood in front of one. A Cleansweep 7, aka a piece of trash. I knew what broom I wanted. It was made by a remote broom company my father held stock in, and it was simply the best. It flew straight and true, and I'd never had such a satisfying Quidditch experience in my life. It was called the Flarper, and it was awesome.
Monsieur Summoner stood before us all, and surveyed the class. His deep orange robes were laughably pressed, and the red streaks in his hair made me cringe.
"Hello, class." said Summoner.
"Good morning, Monsieur Summoner." we repeated back. I noticed the silly boy, the one with the vague expression and blue eyes. He was talking to his friend, who was wearing dark shades. They were both dweebs.
"Now, first thing you are going to do is get the broom into your hand. Hold it over the handle like this, and say 'up'."
"Up." I said immediately. My broom rolled over. I tried again. "Up." I said concisely. My broom flew up into my hand and I gripped the handle tightly. I looked around. The silly boy and his friend couldn't get their brooms to move. A girl who was standing next to them, who had circular glasses and long black hair, was holding her broom in her hand. Good. I'd be needing competition on the pitch next year. Eridan's broom hit him in the face. Gamzee's broom was spinning in circles. Itchy's broom was hovering off the ground, but only just. I was proud of myself. When everyone was finally holding their brooms, Monsieur Summoner quieted us.
"Now, you are going to mount your brooms, kick off, and fly up only a few feet. Next time, we can practice real flying, but for now, only hovering will be acceptable. Now, when I blow my whistle. One. Two. BEEP!"
I kicked off, hard, and found myself about 10 feet off the ground. Others in the sky were the green eyed girl, her silly friend, and the one with the blue eyes and buck teeth. Itchy was taking off now, and her friend who went by Quarters.
The class was mostly uneventful. I was bored, because we did no real flying, and I craved my time in the sky. I would have to wait. Besides, the Quidditch Season was starting soon, and I couldn't wait to watch.
As the week passed, I fell into a schedule. Get up, class. Lunch, class. Sleep, class. All was class, but it was nice to have a little schedule. I was planning on skipping a little, but later, maybe after Winter Holiday. Itchy and I pretty much began to ignore the others in our dorm, but that was okay, because they did the same thing, for the most part. Aranea and I spent some time together on Saturday in the common room. We played chess, and talked about mom and dad. We talked about school, and about Porrim. It was nice, I guess.
Week two passed without a hitch. Kanaya and I conspired in the Library to study, and I had so much fun with her. She understood most of the class, and so she helped me out whenever she could. She was a good tutor.
"Wait... so they have to touch the garlic for it to affect them?" I asked. She smiled.
"Yes, there you are. Eating garlic can be deadly, in fact."
"Ohh, okay. Thanks, Kan." I said, etching my answer onto my parchment. She looked back into her book. It was late, very late, and rain pattered down on the windowsills of the dusty old library. Kanaya and I lit candles around the table to cast light, and floated them. She was very good at charms.
"So, Kanaya?" I asked unceremoniously. "How are you coming along with those dresses?"
"They're nearly finished. just some lace to add here and there. How about you with the wigs?" she had asked me to style the wigs for the stume. I nodded.
"They're all styled. Halloween is soon. Will you be done by then?"
"Yeah." she affirmed.
"What are some of your friends going as?" I asked casually. She smiled.
"Rose made a Rowena Ravenclaw costume." she said. "Jade is going as a dog. Feferi is going as a mermaid. How about your friends?"
"Eridan is going as a merman." I stated, distracted. Kanaya snorted. "Karkat and Gamzee are going as each other." Kanaya looked up from her book.
"Really? That's hilarious."
"Tavros is going as Peter Pan." I continued. "I think John is going as-"
"Who's John?" asked Kanaya. I shrugged.
"Just this Gryffindor. Hangs out with Dave Strider and Jade Harley."
"Oh, him." said Kanaya huffily. I opted to ignore this.
"Anyways, John is going as some shitty muggle character from a movie called 'Little Monsters'."
"Hmm." said Kanaya, not paying attention. I looked back at my work and continued writing my paper.
Jade:
I wasn't all too sure of how brave I was, but if the hat said that Gryffindor was where I belonged, I was going to believe it. There's nothing worse than being pessimistic about everything! Though...I was sure how happy I was to be in a house with one Mr. Dave Strider. He acted like he was just sooooo cool on the train. It was pretty annoying (and kind of endearing, but not much). But never mind that! I was sure I was going to make lots of new friends.
I spent most of the feast talking to a girl named Aradia. She was very quiet, but she seemed very nice. Finally, a Gryffindor prefect led us up to the Gryffindor dormitories. I was in awe the moment I stepped inside. "Alright, everyone, welcome to Gryffindor," the prefect began. I immediately focused all of my attention on her, but I couldn't help but notice Dave whispering to John. How rude! "The password is aurantiaco. Make sure you remember that. Your dorms are at the top of the stairs. Have a good evening, and make sure you make Gryffindor proud!"
With those words, we were left to our own devices. The common room was done up in red and gold, and there was a cozy fireplace. I wasted no time looking around and bounded it up the stairs, finding my dormitory. It was the third room on the left, and there were three beds in the indents on the walls. I turned in a circle, taking it all in, and then claiming the bed by the window. I love the outdoors, and maybe this would keep me from getting too homesick.
There was a bathroom attached to the spacious chamber, but I didn't really feel a need to go in there yet. Instead, I examined the bands on my fingers. I was so excited for herbology! I loved growing things.
I wasn't alone for very long, because suddenly, a girl I had barely noticed burst into the chamber. She realized pretty quickly that she wasn't alone, and flashed a half-grin at me.
"Hi, I'm Jade!" I chirped. The girl sat down on the bed, and there was a small pause before she answered, playing absentmindedly with some sort of coin in her hand.
"You can call me Quarters," was all she said, not giving her real name, and it was clear she didn't want to say anything more.
I was glad to learn that my last roommate was Aradia. I was sure we were going to be great friends! I set up all the stuff in my corner, and was really happy until later that night, when I was trying to sleep. I tossed and turned, and I found myself really missing Bec. He was more than a pet, but he couldn't come to Hogwarts, because apparently dogs aren't allowed. It's probably all because of the Headmaster's preference for cats.
My brother, Jake insists he's an animagus, and turns into this white cat with green eyes that always turns up at the most inconvenient times. A friend of his came up with the idea of calling the cat 'G-Cat.' Beq was probably better than the cat at any time.
I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up to the sound of the Gryffindor head of house. "First years, get up! Tomorrow, you should figure out how you are going to wake yourself up, because this is the last time I do it," he called. I jerked awake and flashed a grin at my still sleepy roommates. I was so excited for the day.
I practically bolted down to breakfast, not waiting for anyone, and I found myself sitting next to John as I ate. I eyed him warily. I wasn't quite sure what I thought of him.
"Hi, Jade!" he said cheerfully.
"Hi, yourself, mister sleepyhead," I teased him. He grinned.
"Are you excited for classes? I hope I'm not too bad at them," he confided, and I smiled.
"I'm sure you'll be fine. I'm really excited for herbology! What about you?"
"I haven't really thought about it, but I think I'll like Transfiguration."
Just then, Dave burst into the great hall, obviously in a bad mood. He sat down next to John, ignoring me, and just like that, my morning was ruined. Stupid Dave Strider and all his cool kid ways. John tried his best though, not willing to ignore me.
"Morning, Egbert," came Strider's greeting.
"Hi, Dave! Jade and I were just talking about classes for tod-"
"So you know that thing we were talking about? With Pyrope?" Dave interrupted John's attempt at mediating between the two of us.
"You mean the red glasses girl?" John asked Dave, shooting me a helpless look. I decided that I was not willing to be the victim, and two could play at this game.
"So what do you think of the teachers?" I inquired of John, completely innocent.
"A lot of them look really intimid-"
"Because turns out, she's blind, so I don't really want to go that hard on her."
"How did you figure that out?" John asked Dave, apparently genuinely curious. Mr. Cool Kid opened his mouth to respond, and I cut in.
"I think a lot of them will be really nice! Like the Groundskeeper, last night, he was-"
"I have my ways." Dave Strider made me wonder if it was possible to be me more arrogant. By this point, John was just looking helplessly back and forth between us. I kind of felt sorry for him.
"As I was saying," I said. "I thought-"
"How are you three enjoying your time in Gryffindor house?" Came an amused voice behind me. We all started, and turned around to find Rose standing there. After my conversation with her on the train, I wasn't at all surprised that she was in Ravenclaw . It seemed perfect for her!
"It's great!" I said enthusiastically, and Rose smiled, moving on to sent next to an elegant, dark haired girl who I think was named Karaya. Karala? I don't know, I hadn't tried to remember everyone's names. All conversation was stalled when the Gryffindor prefect came around with schedules. By this point Aradia was sitting across from the three of us. John glanced down at his schedule and groaned. Dave looked incredibly annoyed, and Aradia didn't look too happy either. "What's wrong, guys?" I chirped.
"We've got History of Magic first," John complained. "According to my cousin, that's the most boring class there is. And then we've got Double Potions, and everyone says the Condesce has something against Gryffindors." John's explanation did make me less excited for the day, but I did my best to stay positive.
"Well, maybe it'll be better than you think! And we get Herbology this afternoon, which I am so excited for!"
"Yeah, but it's with Slytherin," Dave commented dryly. I glared at him.
"Nobody asked you, Strider!" I was determined to have a good time.
"I'm quite excited for History of Magic." Aradia added in quietly. "I think it will be very interesting."
"See?" I said triumphantly. "Some people aren't so negative." I shot a glare at Dave and John, and then, with various amounts of complaint, we all got up to walk to History of Magic. Many of the Ravenclaws were already there, and I moved to sit in front of Rose and the girl she had been talking to this morning. Kanaya-that was her name. Aradia sat down next to me, but didn't seem that invested in conversation. It sure was hard work trying to be her friend! The teacher, Ms. Paint, seemed very sweet. I liked her immediately, and the topics we were covering sure did seem interesting. She spent the class going over what we would be doing this year, and lying some basic ground rules. I got more and more annoyed with Dave, who seemed determined to not pay attention for the entire class.
I stalked out, done with my good mood. Then, of course, I got lost on the way to Potions. I knew I was somewhere near the dungeons when I bumped into a blonde, bubbly looking girl. She squeaked in surprise.
"Oh, hi! Are you looking for Potions? I'm Feferi!" I smiled at her.
"I'm Jade, and I think we're almost there." The two of us rushed off together, but we were a couple minutes late. Heads turned as we entered the classroom. Professor Condesce offered us an intimidating glare.
"You two are late," she said. "Five points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff." The two of us nodded guiltily, and found two empty desks next to each-other, but the Professor wasn't done. She turned all her attention to Feferi. "I only hope this kind of rule-breaking behavior isn't what we come to expect from the Peixes heir." Her comments seemed unnecessarily cruel, but after that, she seemed done for the day. I shot a smile at Feferi, and she returned it. I felt like we were well on the way to being friends.
Potions dragged on and on, and for once, I actually appreciated the snide comments Dave made to John under his breath. Gryffindor and Hufflepuff lost more than forty points overall between the two of them by the time the class was over. I was sure that was going to be my least favorite subject. I hoped I wasn't too bad at it.
I wasn't really at the mood to sit with anyone at the Gryffindor table, but I wasn't sure how people would react if I went to sit with Rose or Feferi. So, I forced myself to eat in mostly silence with Aradia, and after a time, Quarters joined us. The day couldn't be all bad though, because the next class I had was Herbology! I really hoped there was such thing as magical pumpkins, because I love pumpkins. But I love growing all things.
I was the first one to make it to the greenhouse, and I was in heaven! All of the magical plants were so amazing. Slowly, the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses filed in. The teacher, Professor Vagabond, clapped his hands. "Welcome, welcome class! I hope you are enjoying your first day at Hogwarts, and I hope you will enjoy the time you spend with me. I'm going to be assigning your partners, who you will work closely with up through Christmas break whenever I have these two houses together. Now, let's begin. Eridan Ampora, you will be working with Olive-"
"I go by Itchy," the girl interrupted. The professor nodded, before continuing. "The remaining groups are: Vriska Serket and Aradia Megido." I watched in interest as Aradia, and the girl who must be Vriska, went pale. "Karkat Vantas and John Egbert, Gamzee Makara and Dorothy Lohac-"
"Quarters," Quarters interrupted. She looked uncomfortable. I guess Dorothy was her real name. I zoned out as the professor continued until I heard my name. "Jade Harley and Dave Strider. That is all. Now, if you will pull out your copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, we can begin a review of the basic magical herbs. Hopefully, you read the first chapter over the summer, as you were supposed to. If not, that is homework tonight."
I heard Professor Vagabond's words, but barely. I was revising all my optimistic, happy statements about Herbology. How was I supposed to enjoy myself while I was working with Dave? I glowered down at my herbology textbook for the remainder of class, refusing to look at the boy sitting next to me. When class ended, I practically sprinted out into the fresh air. One more class, and I would be free to explore Hogwarts.
John, who was walking next to me, looked positively thrilled to be getting on a broomstick. I have to admit, I was excited too. When we got to the quidditch pitch, Messr Summoner walked slowly between us, ordering us to go stand by the brooms.
Mine shot right up into my hand, and I shared an exciting look with John. "Good, now stand over the broom like so, and on the count of three, push off the ground. 3...2...1!" Some of the students had trouble getting off the ground at all, but I shot right into the air. I was given permission to go off a little on my own, and I was soaring, and flying, and I had never known such a euphoric sensation in my whole life. I knew then that as soon as I could, I wanted to try out for the Gryffindor quidditch team.
After class ended, John and Dave went off somewhere, and Aradia clearly wanted to be alone. I didn't know anyone else in my house, so I just wandered around awkwardly for a little while. I was standing alone in front of the entrance hall, awkwardly scuffing my shoe, when I heard my name. "Jade!" Feferi squealed, coming towards me. She had amassed quite a large group of people with her-there was a girl wearing what looked like a cat hat, having some kind of conversation with a tall, aloof looking boy. I recognized a Ravenclaw boy who looked thin and moody. He was wearing the oddest glasses. Off to the side a little was a Slytherin boy, who looked quite uncomfortable with the others.
I was engulfed in a hug, and I decided I liked this enthusiastic blonde. "It's so wonderful to sea you again!" she said.
"You too. Did you have a good day?" I asked.
"Of course I did. These are my fronds. Do you know any of them?" she said, gesturing to the kids behind her. I shook my head. "Well, this is Nepeta," Feferi said, gesturing to the cat girl. "Nepeta, this is Jade."
"It is pawfully nice to meet you," the girl said. I giggled at her pun.
"You too!"
"And this is Equius," Feferi continued, gesturing at the tall boy. He gave me a nod. Feferi turned to the Ravenclaw boy, pulling him forward. "This is Sollux. He's a genius! Sollux, meet Jade."
"Hi," he said, clearly uncomfortable. I got the sense he wasn't a big fan of large groups. "And fin-ally," Feferi continued, "This is my best friend in the whole glubbing world, Eridan." He didn't even acknowledge me, talking straight to Feferi.
"Fef, why do we have to do this?" She glared at him.
"Because it's so much fun to meet new people!" Turning back to me, the girl asked, "Do you want to explore with us? I never realized just how big Hogwarts is," she said with a smile. I gave my consent, and we all headed off together.
Over the next week, I grew more and more used to Hogwarts. I attended my first Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and that was lots of fun, but also kind of weird. The teacher was really intense. I had Transfiguration too, but I was sure my best subjects were going to be Herbology and History of Magic. Even though I had to work with Dave in one of them. Ugh. I became great friends with Feferi and Nepeta and Rose, though I barely ever saw Lalonde. I would've been closer to John, but Mister Strider took up all of his time. Aradia was really mysterious. I didn't know anything about her, but we both loved History of Magic while everyone else hated it, and I enjoyed conversations with her. I hoped we were becoming friends. Dave just continued to get on my nerves. I grew more and more suspicious of him and John. They were always off in a corner with these mischievous looks on their faces. It wasn't until the next Wednesday that the situation really came to a head.
I was spending some much needed time with Rose in the Ravenclaw common room. They have the best password system-it actually makes you learn! You are asked a riddle, and you have to solve it to get in. How cool is that? Anyways, Kanaya was there too, and we were going over Potions homework. Sollux was sitting there too, and this girl called Terezi, but they were playing a game of wizard's chess together. Terezi was winning, but I don't know how, considering that she was blind.
Suddenly, the common room door opened. None of us looked back, but I heard two pair of footsteps going up the stairs to the dormitories. It didn't seem that important. It was probably just two random Ravenclaws. But then, I heard their voices.
"Are you sure this is gonna work?" That was a boy, his voice high and a little nervous. It sounded really familiar. I frowned, setting down my parchment.
"Positive. Those dungbombs will explode and she won't know what hit her." This voice was deeper, and totally self-satisfied. I stood up, and the other Ravenclaws looked a little confused, though Rose seemed to understand what was going on. There was a small wince on her face, but she was hiding it pretty well, continuing to look down at her Potions textbook.
"Strider!" I screeched, spinning around to face John and Dave. John flinched. I heard Sollux snort behind me, and Rose give a little sigh.
"Shit," John breathed out. "Do we run?" Dave laughed at that.
"Are you kidding? Harley's just a first year. There is no way she'll be able to do anything." By this point, the rest of the common room was watching avidly.
"What did you do? And don't think I won't report this to Handmaid, because I will." John gulped, but Dave still looked as self-satisfied as ever.
"We just set dungbombs in some girl's bed it's nothing I swear," John blurted out. I glared at him. I bet Dave was corrupting him.
"As a Ravenclaw girl, may I ask who's bed?" came an interested voice behind me. I looked around to see, Kanaya watching the proceedings with Rose. Sollux looked very amused by the whole thing, but Terezi was starting to look as angry as I was.
"Not yours," Dave said.
"Pardon me for asking, but how do we know you are not being ironic?" Rose added in. John finally relented.
"It was Terezi's, okay?" The brunette stood up at the sound of her name, coming to stand next to me.
"Oh, that's nice of you, pick on the blind girl," she said, her voice mocking. "What did I ever do to you, Egbert, kill you?" John looked down, but Dave's expression was inscrutable. It was probably because of those dang glasses.
"We didn't get around to doing it, you caught us before hand," he said smoothly, probably annoyed with John for all the blurting out he did. I opened my mouth to speak, but Terezi spoke first.
"I smell your deceit," Terezi hissed out. "It covers up all of the cool-kid." I looked at her a little oddly, but I was really quite happy that someone else was yelling at Strider with me.
"I'm going to tell a professor," I informed the common room.
"Come on, Harley, don't be such a-" Dave began, but Terezi interrupted him.
"She's only doing what is right in the name of justice." She marched towards the common room door. "Come on, Jade."
The two of us found Handmaid really quickly. When we found her, she was furious. She was the embodiment of rage as she entered the Ravenclaw common room. "Never in my life!" She got out. "Entering a common room that is not your own! Planting dungbombs in a bed? 30 points from Gryffindor, and I would like to see you two in detention for the next two weeks! Now out!"
John left quickly, but Dave turned and made a rude gesture as he exited. Thankfully for him, the Handmaid was not looking. I turned to Terezi and grinned at her. We shared a moment of triumph, and with that encounter, I knew I had made another friend.