Author's Note: Tartar sauce, you caught me! I don't own Harry Potter or anything you recognize from the great works of J.K Rowling.
Chapter 7 First Impressions Are Pretty Much Always Right
Alex woke up early once again and got ready in the bathroom. She was relieved that she had not been haunted by dreams that night. She was afraid that being so far from her father would cause them to return to their evening haunts. Alex pulled on her favorite jeans and took out the well-worn photograph of her mother's friends.
So now she knew who they all were. She remembered the mystery haunting her those years ago. And yet, was she better off knowing? Knowing that the Longbottoms, Neville's own parents, had been tortured into insanity? Knowing that her aunt had died in an accident just one week before her wedding? Knowing that one man in the picture, Peter Pettigrew, had torn hers and Harry's family from them? Yes, she finally decided, she was better off knowing. Otherwise she would think her real father was some crazy murderer waiting to kill her to get revenge.
She heard movement outside the door and left to pack up her books. Hermione dashed into the bathroom after Alex was out of the doorway. Smiling and shaking her head, Alex put her books into her bag and waited. She happened to glance over and see Stevie looking extremely pale and even a little green as she sat on her bed, fiddling with an undone thread in the blankets.
"Nervous?" she asked the American, who jumped and looked around.
"What? Oh…yeah, just a little."
"Don't worry," Alex said kindly, "Hogwarts is a great place. It's like a second home to all of us and I'm sure it'll feel that way for you too."
Stevie gave a small smile but looked up as the bathroom door opened again and ran into the room with lightning speed. Once Hermione was ready, she and Alex went into the Great Hall and found the boys, both looking moody.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked as they sat down.
"I don't know, why don't you ask Finnegan over there?" Harry asked loudly and Seamus looked up.
Alex looked from one boy to another, sensing anger and tension between them. "All right then," said Alex, like she would when trying to calm a large animal, "Someone please calmly explain to us what is going on around here?"
"He thinks we're nutcases, that's what!" said Harry furiously, "He thinks we lied about Voldemort coming back and that Dumbledore's crazy too!"
"Seamus," said Alex quietly, feeling hurt, "Is that true?"
"Oh come off it!" said Seamus angrily, "You actually believe the dragon crap he's telling us?"
"Yes, I do," said Alex, her voice trembling with rage as she fought to keep her composure, "Because I was there too. I saw Voldemort return, Seamus, and you better hope that you come to your senses before you say something really stupid."
"Well, I always knew you and Potter were close," said Seamus with a smirk that would have made the old Draco proud, "But I never actually thought you were…involved…"
"THAT'S IT!" Alex roared and went to lunge at her fellow housemate, but Ron and Harry held her back with much difficulty.
"At least my friends are loyal, Finnegan," said Harry savagely, "I don't see your buddies coming to help you."
"That's probably because my mates and I don't spend our evenings in a broom cupboard," Seamus countered, looking at Alex and Hermione with raised eyebrows.
Ron let go of Alex and took one stride over to Seamus, his eyes flaming with anger and his ears the same color as his hair.
"If you talk about Hermione, or Alex, like that one more time," he whispered menacingly, "I'll make sure you clean the entire castle without magic for your next detention. Got it?"
Seamus sniffed, but he looked frightened. Ron towered over him, being at least a head taller, and could have easily stepped on him if he wanted to. Ron went back to his seat and Seamus took off like a frightened animal. Hermione was looking at Ron with wonder, causing him to turn a little red.
"What?" he asked.
"You didn't beat him up," said Hermione, sitting down across from him, "I thought when you went over to him, you were going to punch him or at least hex him. That was…mature of you."
"Yeah, well it happens sometimes," said Ron with a shrug, "Pass the hash browns down this way, I'm starving."
"And he's back to normal," muttered Alex to Hermione as Ron piled on the food.
Soon, McGonagall came around with the schedules. Alex looked at her day and almost choked on her juice.
"This is…the worst…Monday ever!" she managed to say through coughs. Finally, her cleared her throat and continued, "We have History of Magic, double Potions, I have Arithmancy, and then double Defense Against the Dark Arts!"
"Hey, at least you don't have Trelawney predicting your death every few minutes," said Harry gloomily, "And each way being more gruesome than the last."
Professor Trelawney was a skinny, bug-eyed witch who taught Divination and loved making predictions having to do with death and destruction.
"Sounds like you four have a hard day back," said Fred, sitting down between Alex and Hermione.
"Sure would like to give you our latest invention," said George, pushing Ron aside to sit next to Harry.
"What is it?" Alex asked curiously.
"Skiving Snackboxes!" Fred said quietly, "They're sweets that make you sick so you can miss classes and enjoy life for a change."
"But if you're sick, how-?"
"One part you eat makes you ill and the other part makes you well again," said George, interrupting Alex's question.
"We should warn you though, they're not really ready yet," said Fred, shifting uncomfortably in his seat, "The Pox Pops give you these massive boils, they're killing me!"
"I don't see any boils," said Hermione with a frown.
"We'd prefer not to show you," said Fred through gritted teeth as he shifted some more.
"You know, too many people around and we wouldn't want to give you a reputation or anything," said George.
Alex got the message and laughed out loud. However, she was cut off by the arrival of owls. She saw her black Monty flying towards her with a letter in his beak. She took it and read it to herself. She sighed and put it in her bag.
"What's up?" Harry asked quietly.
"Just my uncle giving me an update on Orion," she whispered as she put her bag over her shoulder, "He's upset and lonely now that we're gone."
When they arrived at History of Magic, Alex pulled out parchment, her textbook, and her Quick Quotes Quill she had gotten from Ron last year. Once she was set up, she put her head down and closed her eyes.
History of Magic was, by far, the most boring class in all of Hogwarts. It was taught by Professor Binns, the only ghost teacher at Hogwarts, which was a blessing because he had a droning sort of voice that put anyone, except Hermione that is, into a stupor worthy of Sleeping Beauty. Alex didn't know if she could handle having all ghost teachers if they talked like Professor Binns.
When the bell made Alex jump, she packed up her belongings and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Hermione was giving her a dark look and Alex raised her eyebrows.
"What? I can't help it if he puts me to sleep."
"You three don't even try to listen!" she said furiously as they walked to the dungeons, "Don't you remember what year this is?" When they stared at her blankly, she sighed and said, "O.W.L year! Our Ordinary Wizarding Level exams are this year and we need to pass them to continue on in magic!"
"So what does this have to do with us sleeping during Binns boring lectures?" Ron asked.
"It means," said Hermione as she raised her eyes to the heavens, "You might actually have to start taking notes once in a while, Ronald."
They continued on and talked about what they would do during Potions. Alex thought it would be something difficult to get them out of summer-mode.
"Well," said Harry with a suppressed groan, "If Alex thinks it's hard, then it's going to be impossible for the rest of us!"
They all laughed as they turned the corner and Harry stopped, causing the other three to run into him. Cho Chang was walking towards them with a smile.
"Hello Harry!" she said cheerfully.
"Hi!" said Harry awkwardly, his face turning red. "Um…did you have a good summer?"
"Oh, it wasn't horrible," she said, her smile fading a little. Alex remembered seeing Cho with Cedric the night of the Yule Ball. She guessed they must have been dating.
Realizing they probably wanted some time alone, Alex began to move her other friends quietly away, but Ron spoke.
"Is that a Tornado's badge?" he asked, "Have you always supported them or are you just doing so now because they're winning a lot more?"
"I've been a fan since I was little," said Cho after a few seconds, "So…I'll see you around Harry."
She smiled warmly at him and, after giving Ron a much cooler look, went off. Once she was out of sight, Alex gave Ron a hard slap on the back of the head.
"Ouch!" he gasped as Hermione gave him one as well, "What is it, Hit-Ron-Day?"
"You have no social grace whatsoever!" said Alex exasperatedly, "Cho obviously wanted to talk to Harry, not you!"
"And so what if she just became a Tornado's fan, or she's been one since she was little?" Hermione asked furiously, "Does it really matter?"
Harry sighed and led the way to the dungeons while the others continued arguing in whispers. Once they reached the dungeons, however, they stopped their talking and waited a little away from the Slytherins. Alex saw Draco talking with his friends and he caught her eye. He gave her the quickest of winks as the door opened and they entered the classroom.
"Everyone settle down quickly." Snape said but there was no need. Everyone was already in their places with their books out by the time he said this.
Alex was tapping her fingers impatiently on the desk, waiting for the instructions to be given. Finally, after he went on a long-winded speech about O.W.L tests, he began to talk about the potion.
"Today you will be…attempting to brew the Draught of Peace," he said as his lips curled, "Everything you need is in the store room and the directions are on the board."
He flicked his wand twice and the store room opened and words appeared on the board. Alex set to work with a smile on her face. This potion was more precise than the others she had done in this room during class. Everything had to be added at the right time with the right amount. Stirring had to be exact with no room for error. However, Alex enjoyed adding her own flair to things and using techniques she had learned over the years to help her potion along.
Finally, she finished first, as always, and was putting a vial into the cauldron for grading. She looked over and saw Hermione adding the finishing touches on hers, Ron attempting to fix the white sparks coming out of his caldron, and Harry adding his final ingredient. The smoke rising from his cauldron was more grey than silver and Alex was about to ask why when Snape came over and looked at it. He smiled evilly then.
"You forgot the hellebore syrup," Snape said maliciously, "Which means this potion is not worth my time grading. Evanesco!"
The potion vanished completely. Harry stood there shaking with anger as Snape left. He looked at Alex's potion with a frown and continued on, not finding anything to complain about. Alex put her vial on the desk and went back to her workstation. She cleaned up quickly and watched as everyone finished. She laughed along with everyone else when Goyle dripped his deep black potion down his front and his robes burst into flames.
When the bell rang, Harry was seen speeding out of the classroom. By the time Alex, Ron, and Hermione reached the Great Hall, Harry was gone to his next period. The girls and Ron ate their lunch in silence and went their separate ways. Alex and Hermione were the first to arrive in the small Arithmancy classroom. Soon, both Ernie and the other Hufflepuff girl came and sat at the other table. Then came the two Slytherins followed by Draco. The other Slytherin boys looked Alex and Hermione up and down, causing Alex to feel disgusted. However, Draco slid by his housemates and joined the girls. The Slytherins looked at Draco with anger and sat with the Hufflepuffs.
"Good afternoon everyone!" Professor Nellie wheezed as he sat at his desk, "Oh my, it seems we have lost a member of our group. I hope you three don't mind competing against a larger team."
"No sir," said Draco, "I think we're fine."
"Good, so come up here and let's see what you have retained over the summer."
Hermione raced to the desk and brought back the packets. Every year, Professor Nellie would start off the year with a packet. Whoever finished it in the fastest time with the most correct answers would receive a special prize.
Alex was proud to learn she remembered everything. However, she couldn't take all the credit. Draco had coached her through the class last year and he was a great teacher. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that he was smiling proudly at her whenever she would get an answer right without help. Finally, they finished first, yet again, and packed up their bags.
"Did you two have a good summer?" Draco asked as they waited for the bell to ring.
"Yes," said Hermione stiffly.
"We did, thanks," said Alex, throwing Hermione a look. Just then, the bell rang and everyone ran out of the room. Draco took his time while Alex nodded for Hermione to go on ahead. When she was gone, Draco looked around for anyone else and smiled, looking relieved. He walked over to her and hugged her tightly.
"Hey!" he whispered as he pulled away.
"Hi!" she said with a smile, "So when are we starting up those lessons again?"
"What, Arithmancy? I thought you did an amazing job today! You don't even need me anymore!"
"When we start learning new stuff, I will," said Alex, "But what about Potions? Are we doing that again too?"
"I'd like to," he said with a smile, "Same time and place as last year?"
"You bet!"
They smiled at each other and ran off to their last periods. Alex made it on time to Defense Against the Dark Arts and took her seat by Hermione, who was in front of Harry and Ron.
"Hey boys!" she said, turning around in her seat while waiting for class to start, "How was Divination with the loony?"
"Great, simply fantastic!" said Harry sarcastically, "Because I just love people telling me I'm going to die in horrible and nasty ways!"
"Hem, hem!"
Alex looked around and saw Professor Umbridge in front of the class. She was staring at Alex, who turned slowly back in her seat.
"Good afternoon class!" she said cheerfully.
There were mumbled "Good afternoon's" and "Hello's" throughout the classroom.
"Let's try that once more," said Umbridge with that creepy smile of hers that revealed her sharp little teeth, "When I say "Good afternoon class!" I expect to hear "Good afternoon Professor Umbridge!" So, good afternoon class!"
"Good afternoon Professor Umbridge!" the class said loudly. Alex knew this year's class was not going to be fun at all.
Author's Note: Hello readers! What did you think of Seamus in this chapter? Kinda rude, wasn't he? And who's excited for the first DADA class in the next chapter? I AM! :D
Now I want to let you all know something rather important. Because of a little thing called college, I'm thinking that my updates will fall anywhere from Thursday to Sunday. I have more free time during those days and I'll be sure to update multiple chapters to make my fans happy...or at least not make you guys wanna feed me to the Giant Squid. :P
Thank you all so much for your lovely reviews last chapter! I can't tell you how happy I am that you're excited for Stevie's character. She feels quite welcome now. :) Also, I'm glad that you all enjoyed seeing Levina in this chapter. She will be making guest appearances so keep an eye out for her! Thank you to all my fans out there and guess what? You rock! :D