Chapter 6: Great Day

The students started to come in, and I kept my eyes stubbornly fixed on my notebook, not raising them even once. I could feel their gazes on me, and I could hear low whispers behind me, but I ignored it all, trying not to blush.

Then the lesson started, and I relaxed a bit as the Professor drawn my classmates' attention to him. Only then I allowed myself to throw a quick glance at the others, trying to go unnoticed: there were several Ravenclaws, a few Gryffindors and two Hufflepuff girls who sat in the back, chatting in a low voice and ignoring the fact that the lesson had already started. I turned my attention back to the Professor, and sighed: I had already done that topic back in my old school.

Just then the door opened, and a boy stuck his head inside, smiling.

"Morning, Professor." Professor Flitwick sighed and shook his head, looking exasperated. "Come in, Mr Weasley. Glad you decided to join us."

From his tone of voice it sounded like he was used to the boy's delays. Had he said Weasley? So, he was one of Ginny's older brothers. I looked at him as he blushed, his ears turning of an impressive shade of pink, and went to his seat, somewhere in the back. He was tall and lanky, his mass of dark red hair terribly ruffled, his Gryffindor tie hung carelessly around his neck; his eyes were dark, of a stormy colour I couldn't exactly figure out.

I quickly looked down before he could see me, almost hiding as he came closer and sat at the desk behind mine, and began to doodle again, feeling slightly bored. I ended up looking at the rain outside the window, so heavy it covered everything in a grey, shiny blanket, and sighed in relief when the bell rang, letting me free. I quickly collected my things, put on my jumper and fidgeted with my bag; then I got to my feet, keeping my eyes low as I took my crutches.

"Hi."

I looked up, surprised that someone was actually talking to me.

Two identical girls were standing in front of me, smiling kindly. They were a few inches taller than me; they had pin-straight, waist-length black hair, dark eyes and olive skin. The only difference was the colour of their uniforms: one was dressed in the blue and black of the Ravenclaws; the other in the red and gold of the Gryffindors.

"I'm Padma," said the first.

"And I am Parvati," echoed the other. "And you are…"

I smiled tentatively. "Hermione. Hermione Granger." They both smiled wide.

"Pleased to meet you," they chorused. Then Parvati laughed.

"Don't mind about that, we often say things at the same time," she said, while her twin -they were twins, there was no doubt about that- grinned.

"So, where are you headed now?" she asked. I thought about the timetable McGonagall had given me, trying to remember.

"Botanic, in the Greenhouse." I had no clue about how to reach it, of course.

"I have the same class," said Padma, gesturing towards the door. "This way, I'll show you where it is. It's easy to get lost in this place." I smiled gratefully and followed her and her sister in the corridors.

Ron's POV:

By the end of the hour, I had decided to try and talk to her: I was so damn curious…I watched her as she struggled to get on her feet and took her crutches, her bag slumped on one shoulder.

I made the move to get up, but before I could get on my feet the Patil twins got to her, introducing themselves and getting her attention. I eavesdropped their conversation as I put my battered Trig book in my schoolbag, as slowly as possible.

"So, where are you headed now?" they asked her, cheerful as always. Jeez, those girl made me want to kill them sometimes: how could anyone be so happy on a school Monday morning? It was unnatural!

She hesitated for a second before answering, like she was thinking about it.

"Botanic, in the Greenhouse."

And with that every hope to talk to her for the next hour vanished: I had Zoology now, in the other wing of the castle. After another minute or so she left with the girls; I waited for a few seconds, then I went out as well, hurrying to get to Zoology in time: Professor Caporal hated me enough not to tolerate another delay of mine.

"Trig was pretty interesting today, huh?" Harry said, sniggering and catching up with me. I scowled, shoving him with just enough force to make him stumble.

"Yeah, mate, wonderful," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "You and your stupid notes! If Flitwick caught me, he would have given me detention for the whole month!" Harry shrugged, fussing with his hair, a nervous habit he had gotten from his father.

"Well, at least we would have had it together. I mean, detention alone is a bore, but when it's the two of us? Brilliant!" I scoffed, but smiled.

"Anyway, did you talk to her?" I pretended to ignore who she was talking about.

"To her who?" I asked casually, looking out of the tall windows. Harry made a sound which was in between a snort and a laugh, and nudged me.

"The new girl, who else?" I shrugged, getting into classroom 23 and slipping in my seat.

"Nope, Patil twins got her first and dragged her to Botanic."

Then the lesson started and we quit talking, but I smiled: next hour was lunch, and I would have had all the time to make up an excuse and talk to her.

When the bell rang, I felt almost disappointed: the lesson had been amazing! The Botanic teacher, Professor Sprout, was really great -it was obvious that she loved the subject she taught-, and I enjoyed every minute of that hour.

I took my time in gathering my things, waved at Parvati as she went out and then stood up slowly, trying not to stumble on a vase or something.

I followed the stream of students to the Great Hall, but before I could even put a foot over the threshold two pairs of hands grabbed me, making me jump.

"Sorry," said Ginny, smiling apologetically.

"We were looking for you," added Luna, seraphic as always, showing me an overflowing tray of food.

"We were going to sneak our lunch into the library to eat there, want to join us?" asked Ginny, pointing at the corridor to her left. "You know, in the Great Hall we have to sit tour house's table, so we can never mix -a stupid rule, I must say-. So we always go somewhere else."

I nodded, relieved: the Great Hall was so crowded…I didn't want so many people to stare at me the way my classmates had. So we snuck up silently in the library, settling to a table hidden behind a massive bookcase and chattering in a low voice in order not to get caught by Madam Pince, the 'monstrous librarian', as Ginny called her.

"So, which house had they put you into?" asked Luna, looking thoughtfully at her sandwich before taking a bite from it. I smiled, straightening my back with pride.

"Gryffindor."

Ginny grinned, throwing her arms in the air. "Yes! I knew you were one of us!" she cheered in a loud whisper, laughing. Luna gave her a funny look and smiled as well.

"You are lucky," she told me, picking a small bottle of water from the tray. "Everyone says Gryffindor is the best house here. Your aunt was a Gryffindor, I think. And Professor Dumbledore was, too." I smiled, chewing my sandwich quickly.

"At first Professor Dumbledore wanted to put me in Ravenclaw, but then he changed his mind. Said I fit better where I am,' I explained, shrugging. "I hope he was right," I added in a whisper, looking down.

"Dumbledore is never wrong, trust what he told you," said Ginny kindly, nudging me. "That man is incredible: it's almost like he can foresee things. He is brilliant, even if a little strange. People say he is some kind of wizard," she added, laughing at her own words. I grinned, shaking my head.

"Well, in a castle like this I could expect anything, even that the Headmaster is a wizard!"

We all laughed loudly, and then we almost ran away, half stumbling, half bending to hide behind the shelves, as Madam Pince came to see who had caused all of that noise.

We ended up in an empty classroom, still laughing at our quick escape. "Oh, time is almost up," said Ginny, disappointed, looking at her watch.

"What do you have next?" Luna asked me, her large blue eyes alight with curiosity. I took my schedule from my bag.

"Hmm…Chemistry, classroom 5." Ginny made a face.

"Ugh…You'll better watch yourself," she said, wrinkling her nose. "Snape is really hateful. He is the Head of Slytherins, and favours them openly. Plus, he hates us Gryffindors. He takes advantage of every single slip to take points away from our house: he wants Slytherin to win the House Cup, and now we are in the lead, so he is even more venomous than usual." I sighed, putting the paper back in my bag.

"I'd better go, if things are like this: he'll hate me anyway, but I don't want to risk detention on my first day for being late." Both Ginny and Luna nodded sympathetically.

"Good Luck." I gave them a half-smile.

"Thank you. See you later!"

I found out that classroom 5 was in the dungeons -a pretty strange thing, I thought-. It was colder than the rest of the castle, and I pushed the sleeves of my jumper further on my hands, shivering slightly.

The corridor was narrow, and the lack of natural light bothered me, making me wish I was still upstairs, in the bright library.

The classroom was barely lit by a few torches, and there was no fireplace there -it must have been freezing in winter-; there were various alembics of different shapes aligned along the walls, and a large closet which held dozens of tools and bottles filled with coloured fluids.

To be honest it was a bit creepy, but it matched perfectly the teacher. He was tall and scrawny, with black, shoulder-length greasy hair and an incredibly long nose; his eyes were black and cold, piercing like daggers, and his lips were thin, pursed in a tight line. As if that wasn't enough, he was completely dressed in black, reminding me of a giant bat.

I swallowed thickly and stepped in as soon as the bell rang, my shoulders straight and my head held high. If he was the Head of Slytherin, I could only guess what his students would have been like.

"You must be the new student," said the Professor coldly, looking at me without any kindness. I nodded once.

"Yes, sir." He pulled his upper lip in what resembled a snigger.

"And in which house have you been sorted in?" I took a deep breath, steadying myself.

He is going to dislike me anyway, so…

"Gryffindor, sir," I said eventually. His snigger became more pronounced.

"Another one of those, huh? You are all the same: noisy and lazy, all arrogance and no wit."

I had to put every ounce of my self-control not to yell at him. The prejudiced bastard! Ginny was right when she said he hated Gryffindors! But I would have proved him he was wrong.

I nodded once, coldly, and sat in one of the double desks in the front. I was the best of my class in Chemistry, I would have proved him who was all arrogance and no wit.

This time I kept my head high as my classmates came in, quick and silent. I recognized a few Gryffindors from the previous classes, and I had to stifle a groan when I saw the green-and-silver ties of the others: Slytherins. Perfect, we had to share the class with the teacher's favourites.

I saw the ruffled redheaded Weasley I had Trigonometry with -I had forgotten to ask Ginny which of her brothers he was, though- slipping in the desk behind mine, and I was actually surprised when the boy he was talking with, another Gryffindor with jet black hair sticking in every direction, round glasses and bright green eyes, sat beside me.

"Hi," he said in a low voice, taking the textbook out of his backpack and smiling at me. "You are the new girl, right?" How many times will people ask me that question throughout the day? I sighed and nodded, fidgeting with the sleeves of my jumper.

"I'm Hermione." He grinned.

"I'm Harry." After a few seconds he asked, "Which house had they put you in?"

I grinned back, pointing at the rampant lion embroidered on his jumper.

"Gryffindor." His smile got wider.

"Well, so welcome to you. It's always good when another fellow Gryffindor joins us. We should initiate you, or something like that. I'll talk with the others later and-"

Suddenly Snape called the class' attention, and he shut, pushing the book towards me so we could share. I mouthed a 'Thank you' and took my notebook, determined to show the Professor who Hermione Jean Granger was.

"So, can someone name all of the noble gases in crescent order of atomic number?"

I looked up, smiling: I knew this one. It was easy, but no one seemed willing to answer, so…My hand shot up immediately, almost automatically. Snape looked around the silent room with his cold eyes, and in the end he focused on me, almost reluctantly.

"Yes, Miss Granger?"

I took a deep breath and started at top speed: "Helium, 2; Neon, 10; Argon, 18; Krypton, 36; Xenon, 54; Radon, 86."

Then I smiled a little, glad to remember it so well. Snape's lips, instead, pursed in a line so tight they almost disappeared.

"Good show of your great brain, Miss Granger. But we are here to learn, not to show-off. If we were, I would have surely put you in my place to teach."

His voice dripped sarcasm as he spoke.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for your arrogance."

I widened my eyes, and this time I couldn't restrain myself.

"But-why? I gave the right answer!" I protested, that damn fiery temper of mine coming out in the less opportune situations.

Snape narrowed his eyes, and I almost -almost- flinched, taken aback by his suddenly hate-filled expression.

"Ten more points from Gryffindor, Miss Granger, for your insolence. Next word you speak, you will have detention for the whole week."

I shut up and looked down, my cheeks burning with shame and my eyes threatening to water. I bit my lip to stay in silence, and saw Harry scribbling something with his pencil on the margin of his book.

Don't mind, he is a bastard.

I smiled and nodded, even if I felt pretty depressed. I had the suspect I wouldn't have had great marks in this subject.

Ron's POV:

That bastard! Ok, he hated us Gryffindors, but this time he was truly unfair: what had she done to earn such a treatment? And those 20 points he took from us!

I watched as she looked down, her cheeks flushed, biting her lip -probably to restrain herself from protesting more-. Her shoulders, though, stayed straight, like she was trying to stand up anyway, if not with her words or eyes, with her posture. She was a though little thing, I had to admit it.

After a while the bell rang, and I stood up, determined to talk to her this time; I failed, though, because she quickly grabbed her bag and almost ran out of the room, stumbling slightly on her crutches. I huffed: if it wasn't for the fact that she didn't even know me, I would have thought that she was avoiding me.

"Found out anything about her, mate?" I asked Harry as we walked out. He smiled, ruffling his already messy hair.

"Nothing, apart from the fact that she is in Gryffindor. She didn't talk at all -well, no one does in Chemistry-. Apart from those hateful Slytherins, but they are his beloved little snakes, so it doesn't count," he said, shrugging.

"Well, at least she seems to fit well in our house. Did you see how she protested when Snape reacted so unfairly? Every Gryffindor who can be called so would stand up to a Slytherin, whether he is a teacher or not!" Harry shook his head, laughing.

"Right! We got -how many?- at least twenty detentions in the last seven years because we stood up to Snape! But I think she is going to beat us: I mean, she risked detention on her first day! That needs talent, mate!" I smiled as we headed towards the library -we had a free period in sixth hour, since we hadn't reached the standards for the advanced Latin class, a thing we were proud of-, and shook my head.

"Talent, or a very bad temper," I muttered, amused.

Latin class passed quickly -it was an interesting lesson, and, besides that, I had always enjoyed the subject-, and then I headed to Art Languages, class 16. Luckily it was right at the end of the corridor, so I didn't have to struggle to find it.

As soon as I entered it, though, I started to regret my choice for seventh hour.

The walls were hidden behind tall shelves, stuffed to the top with blocks of clay and wax, tempera colours, sketchbooks and blank canvas, but also with an impressive collections of crystals and oddly-shaped stones of indefinable colours.

There were heavy violet curtains shielding the pale light of the rainy day, and the room was dimly lit by dozens of candles placed everywhere -on the shelves, on the narrow windowsills, even on the desks!-; prisms of various sizes and colours were hanging from the ceiling and the blackboard, creating strange lights on the walls.

I noticed there was a thin ribbon of white smoke lifting from a few long sticks on the teacher's desk, and I wrinkled my nose as I recognized the pungent, rich smell: incense.

Ugh.

I walked forward, and stifled a sigh when I saw the teacher: she blended in perfectly with the bizarre surroundings.

She was thin in the extreme, with long, incredibly tousled dirty blonde hair which had small braids in them; she wore large, two-inches-thick round glasses, and her caramel eyes seemed huge behind the lenses, magnified to several times their natural size.

She was wearing an orange floor-length skirt, and the upper part of her body was wrapped in a gauzy spangled shawl, which showed some kind of purple long sleeved blouse under it; part of her hair was held back by what looked like a long red scarf, and dozens of tingling bracelets were hanging around her wrists, some with oddly-shaped charms or crystals attached to them, some looking like they were made out of bones or something similar.

She looked like a crazy gypsy obsessed with clairvoyance and ghosts, like the ones who read your hand at fairs.

"Oh, dear, you are the new student, aren't you?" she asked me, fixing her huge eyes on me. I nodded doubtfully, chewing my lip and eyeing her with suspicion. She nodded, rocking slightly back and forth, reminding me of a giant owl.

"Well, welcome to you. I am glad you have decided to initiate the noble study of arts. It is a long path, and, of course, you need to have the Eye." She emphatically stressed the last word, making me think she had intended it as capital.

Ok, she was really creeping me out.

"You need the eye to see beyond things and catch their true shape."

I nodded quickly, trying to smile, and slipped into one of the seats in the back, as far from her as possible. That woman gave me chills.

I sighed as the professor greeted the others and then started her lesson, showing us what looked like a red-and-green dotted canvas, babbling something about 'the eye', 'inner meaning' and 'hidden shapes'. Personally, I thought it looked like the doodle of a three-years-old, but if she wanted to waste an hour talking about it, I was cool with that.

After a while I started to feel a little drowsy –the dimly lit room was overly warm, and the intense smell of incense made my head spin slightly-, but just when I was starting to consider the possibility of falling asleep on my desk, something hit my shoulder lightly, bumping on the floor. I bent carefully and picked it up: it was a small ball of paper.

I unfolded it, and smiled. There was only one word scribbled inside in black ink.

Hi.

Who..? I looked to my right, where the note had come from, and saw the tousled redhead from Trigonometry and Chemistry grinning at me.

"Hi," I mouthed silently, amused by the note. He quickly wrote something down on another piece of paper, and threw it at me; I caught it this time, and read it.

I'm Ron.

I looked at him, wondering if he was serious, and he gestured for me to reply. I shook my head, smiling, and accomplished, my neat cursive standing out just below his messy writing.

I'm Hermione.

He swiftly caught the note as I threw it back to him, and smirked, taking his pen again.

So, u in Gryffindor?

I smirked back, writing a quick reply.

Yep, seems so.

He smiled widely, and I blushed slightly.

Noticed by how u tried to stand up to the snake.

He was talking about Snape, there was no doubt about that. I shrugged with a half-smile.

Sorry he took 20 pts from us because of me, I wrote back, grimacing.

He read, than shook his head.

We'll get them back: football match lions-snakes next week. We'll crush them.

I couldn't help but smile, and took my pen to reply.

The hour flew by, and as the bell rang I stood up, leaning into the desk to steady myself as I put my things back in my bag.

"So, New Girl, what do you think of our wonderful Hogwarts?" asked redheaded boy, Ron, who was standing by me. I smiled, pointing at the Professor, who was cleaning the thick lenses of her glasses with her robes.

"Coolest school ever, but the teachers are…singular." Ron laughed softly, shaking his head.

"Don't be so gentle: they are totally nuts. And Professor Trelawney is the craziest of all them." He followed me as I slowly walked out, trying not to hit something -or someone- with my crutches.

"Yes, I think you are right. Is she into clairvoyance stuff? You know, incense, crystals…" Ron nodded, making a face.

"Oh, yes, she is: she believes in ghosts, spirits and luck. You know, she tried to read my hand once. She said I would have died in the matter of a few days, in a very painful way."

I widened my eyes, incredulous, and he smirked.

"It was three years ago." I couldn't help but laugh: that woman was far beyond the definition of crazy.

"And she had said the same thing to all of my brothers! Seems like she is convinced that us Weasleys are condemned to die young," he added, with a huge grin on his face. I smiled at him, and just then I noticed that the indefinable, stormy colour of his eyes, which before I couldn't exactly figure out in the distance, was an unusually dark shade of blue, with smoky grey specks around the pupils.

"Hermione!" I looked up, and saw Luna waving at me from across the hall as she tried to close her huge bag, which was covered in pins and bizarre drawings.

"Coming!" I called, smiling at her.

"Sorry, my lift is waiting," I told Ron, grimacing. "See you tomorrow in class?" He nodded and smiled.

"'Course. I can't miss our next Art Languages class: who knows, maybe Professor Trelawney will decide to read your future in a teacup." I smiled back, quirking an eyebrow.

"She does that, too?" I asked, half surprised, half amused. Ron smirked, adjusting his battered schoolbag on his shoulder.

"Oh, yes, of course. She says tea leaves are 'the mirror of what will come'. She would never miss the chance of making a good prediction to the new girl." I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.

"I'm really looking forward to it, then," I said sarcasm evident in my voice. Ron shrugged, a sparkle of amusement in his dark eyes.

"So do I, Hermione. Well, see you tomorrow then." He smiled at me one last time and then disappeared in the crowd of students of the hall.

I stayed there for a moment; then I slowly caught up with Luna. She smiled kindly at me and patted my shoulder.

"How was your day?" she asked with a happy sigh, stretching her arms over her head. I smiled, peeking to the grey sky above our heads. It wasn't raining anymore, and thin streaks of light lightened the dark clouds, illuminating the rain-soaked hills like diamonds.

"Great, Luna," I replied, enjoying the sweet smell of damp earth and leaves which filled the air.

"It was really great."

Here is the new chapter! The second this week, I'm very proud :P Tomorrow I'm back to school, though, so I will not have so much time to write, and I will be back to 1 chap every week. Hope you liked it...It was fun to write this chap, with Ron who doesn't know how to talk to Hermione; I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing! And, guys, as always...REVIEW! I love your comments!

J