1st September 1991

"Gryffindor!"

The moment snapped, and the Gryffindor table started clapping, the identical red heads shouting at her, in jubilation. She removed the hat from her head, stood up and placed it back on the stool. Gryffindor? She wasn't disappointed. She was just surprised. She was expecting Ravenclaw, although if she was honest, she was worried about Ravenclaw, what if she would have to open a textbook for more than needed? What if she wasn't allowed to sketch or read fiction? No. Gryffindor was good. She smiled as she walked towards the left of the hall, and sat next to Hermione, who was congratulating her. The prefect, who was introducing himself as Percy Weasley, and the twins themselves as Fred and George. They both seemed nice, whereas Percy seemed stiff and professional. Others were introducing themselves. Then they calmed down and they continued to reel off names, until – "Longbottom, Neville." Her fingers crossed. Even though she was confident Neville was worthy of Gryffindor, it didn't stop her from worrying that the sorting hat wouldn't agree, until, "Gryffindor!". Beaming, Neville took the hat off and ran over to her and they hugged.

"Well done, Nev!" He beamed back. She knew how much this meant to him.

After a few more, the blonde boy who was giving Harry and Ron trouble earlier was sorted into Slytherin, Draco Malfoy. Go figure. They kept going through the alphabet until, "Potter, Harry." Silence. And not like the silence with hers. But dead silence. Then the whispers.

"Potter, did she say?"

"The Harry Potter?"

With baited breath, she waited. And it took a while. Nearly as long as Hermione's. Neville leaned in, "Blimey, not even yours took that long." What? Hers was long? Now she was confused. It didn't feel that long. Until "Gryffindor!" The table irrupted.

Everyone was shouting, the twins were chanting; "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Not that she could blame them, but poor Harry looked like a Pixie confronted by a glow bug.

And now there were only a handful of people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a black boy even taller than Ron, who was quite tall for an eleven-year-old, sat next to Harry at the table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. A second later the hat had shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" Isla clapped loudly with the rest of the table as Ron collapsed into the chair next to Harry.

"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Ron's brother Percy pompously from across Harry's head.

Isla turned and watched as Zoe Winters got sorted into Gryffindor. She happily ran over and sat on Neville's other side as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat and the stool away. She was getting hungry now. She hoped the Aunt had managed to convey to the school her allergy to strawberries and walnuts. She was allergic to silver too but she would be surprised if that affected her here. The goblets, plates and cutlery were silver but goblin silver was fine. It was muggle silver that affected her.

Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there. "Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. She looked across at Harry seemed bemused as the food appeared. He must not have been pre-warned about Professor Dumbledore's eccentricities. She heard Harry ask Percy if he was a bit mad. Isla smirked as she started adding food to her plate. Beef Wellington. Lovely. She snorted at Percy's reply;

"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?" She snorted again when she saw the expression on Harry's face. He either wasn't pre-warned or he knew nothing about magic, Hermione had a similar expression on her face. But that couldn't be it, right? That the Harry Potter knew nothing about magic? That would be a turn-up for the history books.

She continued eating as she heard a ruff voice say; "That does look good," She looked up to see a ghost hovering behind Harry.

"Can't you -?" Harry asked. Isla rolled her eyes slightly.

"I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor tower." Isla had heard lots about him. A knight from the court of the muggle King. Henry the eighth she thought.

"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you – you're Nearly Headless Nick!" Isla could have smacked her head in exasperation at his stupidity.

"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy – "the ghost began stiffly, but Hermione interrupted.

"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?" This time she did. Now they were in for it, if the stories were true. The twins were already smirking. She shut her eyes, as did Neville, who had heard them too, just as Sir Nicholas, who looked and was extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted. All she heard was grossed-out moans and she knew he had shown them how. And she only opened them when he had moved away.

They had moved onto their backgrounds by the time pudding was served. "I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mam didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him." They all laughed.

"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.

"Well, my Gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all-Muggle for ages. All except Isla and Aunt Ella that is"

"Isla? You both already know each other! Harry asked.

"Yes," she responded. "Our Grandparents are cousins and we're the only kids in the family, and with so few of us, we kind of grew up as closer cousins than we are. Nev's like a brother."

Neville nodded. "Anyway, my great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and try to force some magic out of me – he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, and I nearly drowned – but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Aunt Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced – down the garden and into the road. They were all pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here – they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

"It was scary," she said solemnly. She was there that day. She just heard Uncle Algie shouting and Aunt Augusta screaming and then crying.

Harry then asked; "What about you?"

"Half-blood. Same as Seamus, my Dad was a muggle and my Mum was a witch. But they died when I was a baby, and my Mum's sister raised me. Aunt Ella is basically my mum, as she raised me. But I was brought up around magic. It wasn't a secret for me or anything"

Everyone nodded solemnly. Harry then said, giving her a half smile in understanding; "It was for me. I live with my aunt, uncle, and cousin, and they are all muggles, and they never told me anything about magic." Well, that explained it.

She heard Hermione talking to Percy about how she hoped they start classes right away. As today was Sunday, it would be like a normal week, she knew. Her Grandpa had told her yesterday.

They had all finished their puddings now, and Isla was starting to feel sleepy. It was half nine, and she had been awake since half five. A long day. She heard a noise coming from Harry's direction, who was looking up at the teacher's table, rubbing his head. Odd.

"What is it?" asked Percy.

"N-nothing." He responded, but she could see a look of confusion on Harry's face. He turned back to Percy, "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"

"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to – everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."

Harry continued looking at the table. Strange. She knew the man with the greasy black her was Snape, her Aunt had given her a detailed description after her cousin Marcus mentioned him a few years ago. That meant Professor Quirrell was the one with the turban. She briefly wondered if that was a religious thing.

The deserts were disappearing from the tables now, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent. "Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First-years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins. "I have also been asked by Mr Filch, our caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

She heard a few people laugh. Was he being serious? She overheard Harry asking Percy the same question. "Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. "It's odd because he usually gives us a reason why we are not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." She rolled her eyes. He is going to be annoying.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Oh gosh! Her Aunt told her about this. She noticed the teachers' smiles had left their faces. Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words. "Everyone picks their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And everyone did. Isla zoned out a bit at this point.

Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest. "Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" Dumbledore was mad.

2nd September 1991

As Isla woke up, she smiled. Her first official day of school. She had a small shock last night when she got to her dormitory and her Aunt's owl, Cyril, was waiting patiently on her bed, her Aunt Ella must have told him to come to her. She wrote to her Aunt straight away.

"Dear Auntie Ella,

I'm in Gryffindor! You were right haha. Neville's in Gryffindor too! That's great, right?

Harry Potter is as well. Along with other boys, Ron, Dean and Seamus. The girls in our year who I share with are; Hermione Granger, Lavender Brown, Parvati Patil, Zoe Winter and Faye Malloy. Hermione and Zoe are both muggle-born and Lavenders a half-blood like me. They seem like nice girls. Hermione seems like she's stuck up but I think she is intelligent and was just very nervous so it came across badly. Her bed is to my right, the others are to the left. We're both by the door.

There isn't much more to tell. I sat with Nev (obviously) on the train, with Hermione, Susan Bones and her friend Hannah. A boy named Anthony Goldstein joined us. He was funny.

I am sleepy now through. It's after ten. So, I think I'm going to try and get some sleep.

Good night.

Love,

You Favourite niece,

Isla xxx "

Isla checked her watch. It was seven. She should get up. Breakfast had started and classes started at half eight. So, she got dressed. The other girls have already left. Why didn't they wake her? She walked down to the common room to find Neville waiting for her.

"Morning Nev."

As he said; "Morning Isla!"

She laughed, "Hungry?"

"Ravenous," Neville replied. They were headed to the portrait hole when they heard running. They turned and saw Harry and Ron.

"Walk with us?" She said.

"Sure" Harry smiled back. As they started towards the great hall. "How's your dormitory?"

Ron butted in, "I don't envy you sharing with Hermione. She is so annoying."

Isla glared at him, "I think she's nice actually. She was just really nervous, combine that with being very intelligent, it just came across as annoying."

Ron put his hands up in surrender, "Okay don't have a go at me!" Isla just rolled her eyes as they entered the great hall and sat down. "Nice, bacon!" Ron then gets a load of food and starts eating the bacon. Isla could not help but look at him with a disgusted look on her face. She noticed that a few others did too, including Harry, Neville, and Hermione. They all shared a look and just started laughing. It wasn't mean, just the fact they all had the same look on their faces. Ron looked up, "What's so funny?"

Still laughing; "Nothing Ron. We just all looked up at the same moment." Ron just grunted and continued eating.

Around eight, Professor McGonagall was making her way down the table, handing out timetables. Their timetable was pretty booked up today. They had double Herbology, break and transfiguration before lunch. Then they had Charms and Astronomy (theory) after lunch. She couldn't wait.

3rd September 1991

It was time for their first potions lesson. They were lining up outside the dungeon, waiting for Professor Snape to let them in. Hermione was in front of her, talking to Zoe and Faye. She was very excited for yet another class. Boy! From what her Aunt had told her, she was in for a shock. She turned to Neville behind her. "At what point do you think it'll sink in?"

"Hmm," Neville said, thinking. "About 10 minutes"

"Maybe" Isla replied.

"What do you mean?" Harry questioned, Ron looking over too.

She shared a look with Neville. "You'll see." Ron just shrugged his shoulders.

It was at that moment Professor Snape opened his door and stated in his cold tone, "Enter." They all went in single file, and the Gryffindors took the seats on the side near the door. The Slytherins, who they were sharing this class with, took the opposite side of the classroom. Snape started the class by taking the register, he paused at Harry's name, Professor Flitwick did the same yesterday Isla noted. Poor Harry. "Ah, Yes," Snape said softly, "Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity." Isla bristled, knowing what might be coming. Her Grandpa was not a fan of Snape's, that's for sure.

The Slytherins sniggered behind their hands. Snape finished calling the names and looked up at the class. His eyes were black like Hagrid's Isla noted, but they had none of Hagrid's warmth. They were cold and empty and made you think of dark tunnels. Freaky.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion making," he began. He spoke in barely more than a whisper, but they caught every word - like Professor McGonagall, Snape had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort. "As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper in death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach."

The class was silent. Isla bristled further. Her Aunt and Grandpa were not exaggerating. She could feel Neville shaking next to her. She took his hand. Poor Neville. She noticed Harry and Ron exchanging looks with raised eyebrows. Hermione was on the edge of her seat and looked desperate to start proving that she wasn't a dunderhead. Hermione was not quite there yet. "Potter!" barked Snape suddenly. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" Powdered root of what to an infusion of what? That wasn't in the textbook! How on earth is Harry supposed to know that? She seemed to recall Percy mentioning that. Does that mean it's a NEWT-level question? Hermione's hand had shot into the air. Of course she knows.

"I don't know, sir," said Harry.

Snape's lips curled into a sneer. "Tut, tut - fame isn't everything." What? He ignored Hermione's hand. Double what.

"Let's try again. Potter, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?" Hermione stretched her hand as high into the air as it would go without her leaving her seat. Isla knew this one so she put her hand up as well. But it wasn't in the textbook either. She knew because it was a remedy used in one of the fiction books she read. But Harry didn't know. Isla saw that Draco Malfoy and his bully-boy friends Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle were sitting there laughing. Literally shaking with laughter. Snape looked like he was thriving off it. What a horrible man! He was picking on him!

"I don't know, sir." Poor Harry.

"Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Potter?" Harry just kept staring into Snape's eyes. Good for him.

Isla put her hand down now but Hermione's hand was still in the air, and Snape continued to ignore her. "What is the difference, Potter, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" Now that was a high-level question. Isla thought she remembered her Aunt saying they were the same thing. She gave her some tips before starting and this was one of them. Hermione stood up, her hand stretching toward the dungeon ceiling. Isla just put her hand up again.

"I don't know," said Harry quietly. "I think Hermione and Isla do though, why don't you try one of them?" Isla and the rest of the class laugh. She put down her hand to cover her mouth. Hermione kept her hand in the air. She noticed Seamus winking at Harry. Trust Seamus.

"Sit down you stupid girl," he snapped at Hermione. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of the Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Well? Why aren't you all copying this down?" Isla started writing, but she was a little happy. Two out of three isn't bad. Most of the other students started rummaging for quills and parchment. Over the noise, Snape said, "And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter." Isla just started at the Professor. That was out of order. Hermione looked like she was going to cry.

Things didn't improve for the Gryffindors as the Potions lesson continued. Snape put them all into pairs and set them to mix up a simple potion to cure boils. She was paired with Hermione and Neville with Seamus. He swept around in his long black cloak, watching them weigh dried nettles and crush snake fangs, criticizing almost everyone except Malfoy, whom he seemed to like. He was just telling everyone to look at the perfect way Malfoy had stewed his horned slugs when clouds of acid green smoke and a loud hissing filled the dungeon. Neville had somehow managed to melt Seamus's cauldron into a twisted blob, and their potion was seeping across the stone floor, burning holes in people's shoes. Within seconds, the whole class was standing on their stools while Neville, who had been drenched in the potion when the cauldron collapsed, moaned in pain as angry red boils sprang up all over his arms and legs.

"Idiot boy!" snarled Snape, clearing the spilt potion away with one wave of his wand. "I suppose you added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire?" Neville whimpered as boils started to pop up all over his nose. Snape looked at this and sneered, before turning to Seamus, and spat, "Take him up to the hospital wing."

Isla was angry now. She felt bad and was worried for Neville. She saw Snape turn to Harry again. Oh no! "You – Potter – why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought he would make you look good if he got it wrong, did you? That's another point you've lost for Gryffindor." Harry's mouth literally dropped open. They were not even facing Neville. This is when Isla saw red.

"I am sorry Professor Snape. But I think that was uncalled for. This is our first lesson, so why are you shouting at Neville? Plus, you are literally bullying Harry. It's not his fault, there is no way he could tell Neville that if she isn't looking at him. Plus, it is no one's responsibility to tell him except yours! You are a teacher so teach! I don't think I don't know those questions earlier weren't NEWT-level questions. You have made about 5 students cry, that is not teaching! That was unfair and just another example of bullying and singling someone out!" Isla stood there, hands in fists, looking up at Professor Snape.

Snape looked like he was going to hit her. "Get. Out." Isla just stared. "GET OUT YOU STUPID LITTLE GIRL!" He grabbed her arm, forced her out of the room, and threw her out. "Detention. One week's worth. Twenty points from Gryffindor. And I am not going to teach you." And then slammed the door in her face. Isla stood there shocked. Did that just happen? Tears coming down her face, she started running, and she ran to the nearest girls' bathroom shutting herself in a cubicle. No one had ever spoken about that in her whole life. Then again, nor had she, not that he didn't deserve it.