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Chapter 11 - Acclimatization
As Lily walked the corridors, following the prefects and her fellow first years, it grew colder and gloomier as she went lower and lower.
When they entered the common room, she watched in bemusement as they were given a 'Welcome to Slytherin house' speech.
By none other than Slytherin Head of House and Potions Professor Severus 'Snivellus' Snape.
There were a few fundamental house rules.
1: What happens in Slytherin, stays in Slytherin. They were welcome to have rivalries with other Slytherins, but they must show a united front to the rest of Hogwarts.
2:Do your best. They were expected to put forth a decent amount of effort on their classes and exams, as how they performed was considered representative of Slytherin House.
3: Do not get caught. While not stated in so any words, it did not matter if they broke school rules so long as they were not caught breaking them. If they were caught, the punishment would be severe.
Lily thought Slytherin House would suit her just fine, with its quiet and austere elegance embodied in the common room`s furniture. She would have to see how her relationship with her roommates developed.
All in all, Lily looked forward to seeing what the next day would bring.
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Penelope led the seven girls up the girl`s dorm stairs. Only girls were allowed to come up, and boys would be flipped upside down and hung in the air if they went past the third step. That was nice.
"Because of the fact that we need four dorms for all of you, you guys get your own 'mini-common room' that has your doors leading off of it.
Each bedroom has two queen sized beds, one on either side of the room. In each bathroom, there are two shower stalls, a bathtub, and a toilet.
I suggest you guys get to know each other after you unpack your stuff. The roommate pairings are posted on each door."
The girls rushed to look at them.
"I get my own room!" Samantha cheered.
The other roommate pairings were Padma Patil with Su Li, Lisa Turpin with Lilith Moon, and Isobel Macdougal with Mandy Brocklehurst. And, of course, Samantha Taylor.
"Let`s meet back in our mini common room in an hour," Lisa said.
When she entered her room, Samantha was impressed. This was living the high life for sure! The bedspreads were of blue silk, and the bathtub was voluminous.
She unpacked her stuff, then lay on her bed for a little while to rest. Exploring Ravenclaw tower could wait until tomorrow.
After a bit, she went back to their mini common room. All the girls except Lisa and Lilith were already there.
There were five recliners, two beanbag chairs, and a small sofa. Quite nice.
Samantha merged into the conversation.
Once Lilith and Lisa came out, she started asking the important questions.
"Did everyone expect to be Sorted in Ravenclaw?"
"I didn't," Isobe said shortly.
"Any elaboration?" asked Lilith.
"No."
"Both Su Li and I are the first from our family to come to Hogwarts, so we had no familial preference," Padma said.
Samantha noticed that both Lisa and Lilith had a slight stiffening at these words.
"You're not muggleborns, right?" asked Lisa.
"No, our families have just chosen to attend other schools prior to this. As a matter of fact, both Padma and I come from ancient pure-blooded families in our own countries." Su Li spoke for Padma and her this time.
"I think I'm a muggleborn though," Samantha said casually. "I can't know for sure because I was adopted." She launched into her explanation.
"Interesting," Lilith commented, relaxing somewhat. "So, you might be a half-blood?"
"Yes."
"You haven't said much yet, Mandy."
"Listening is of more value than talking, Lisa."
By the time she went to bed, Samantha knew that Lilith had an older brother in Slytherin. She knew that Lisa Turpin, a member of one of the Sacred 28 families, felt very pressured to do well in school, although she had not said so in so many words. But above all, she knew that despite Isobel`s shyness, despite Lisa and Lilith`s blood purist attitudes, that she could and would be friends with all of these girls. She looked forward to it.
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Harry, Ron and the others followed Percy up the stairs.
"I am sorry I am the only one leading you tonight," Percy said, "But my fellow fifth year prefect, Maggie Joseph, has contracted a rather bad case of dragon pox and cannot be at Hogwarts while she is contagious."
They encountered Peeves along the way, but he was of no consequence to Harry. He just wanted to see the Gryffindor common room he had heard so much about from his father.
When they entered it after givng the password to the Fat Lady, it was just as awesome as Harry had hoped for. It was very warm and cozy looking, filled with squashy armchairs that Harry immediately tested out.
As they unpacked their luggage in the dorm, Ron asked Harry in a low voice, "So you really have a sister?"
"Apparently. I wonder why Dad never told me."
"And now she is Sirius Black`s heir?"
"Yeah, I really wonder about that as well."
"And even worse, she`s a Slytherin," Ron said in disgust.
"At least I beat her in a duel."
"What are you two whispering about?" asked Seamus.
"My stinking Slytherin surprise sister."
"Good alliteration," Dean commented.
"Well, we can get into this more tomorrow," Harry said, "but right now I am tired. Good night!"
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Marco climbed into bed in the dorm he shared with Kevin Entwhistle, Zacharias Smith, Ernie Macmillian and Justin Finch-Fletchley. They seemed to be decent enough people.
Kevin and Justin were muggleborns like him, while both Zacharias and Ernie were purebloods.
The Hufflepuff common room, which they had passed through quickly, was low ceilinged and cozy, with plants everywhere. Apparently, it was termed the Sett.
He fell asleep quickly.
But he soon moved into troubling dreams.
He saw himself standing next to three others, whose faces were blurred. They stood on a battlefield, with corpses all around. A great black something started creeping along the ground towards him...
But the dream changed.
He was in Hogwarts, in a gloomy place. He was tied up in chains. He could hear the sound of water going drip... drip... drip... But he became aware of a sliding, slithering noise coming closer and closer...
The dream changed again, and again, and again.
Now he was racing through tunnels, Now he was casting spells in a classroom. And now he was standing in front of a volcano.
But the final scene was the worst, and it was not because it was unknown. Its terror came in its familiarity, the way he had run this path hundreds of time, both in dreams and in real life.
He looked to his side, and Illia was there.
They neared the bridge, and Marco screamed, "NO!" "NO!" "NO!"
He opened his eyes.
His dormmates were stirring, but were not fully awake. He was thankful for that, at least. But why was he dreaming that again? He had not dreamed that dream for almost a year. Her face, the way she looked as...
He shook himself. Hopefully he would be able to go back to sleep without being disturbed by nightmares.
He rolled over and buried his face in his pillow.
The classic troubled dream sequence with foreshadowing! (Evil Laugh)