Lilith woke up with a slight gasp of panic, Huginn and Muninn flapped their wings in alarm at her sudden awakening.
"Ye-alrigh' Lilith?" Isobel sleepily asked from her bed, red hair sticking out every which way in a frizzy mess.
"Fine," she mumbled, checking her watch, it was five in the morning, with a groan she stood up and got dressed.
"Goin' te breakfast?" Isobel asked, perking up as she watched Lilith flick her wand, making her hair twist and arrange into a simple braid, "ah can never get tha' spell righ'!"
Lilith smiled at her new friend, "Andromeda made sure to teach both me and Harry since our hairs not the most manageable." She flicked her wand at Isobel, who giggled when her hair straightened and tied back in a ponytail, "i'm going to head down to the Great hall-"
"Wait for me!" Isobel exclaimed, jumping up to get dressed, soon both were heading down the halls, Isobel chattering away while Lilith listened with an amused smile, Huggin and munnin flying above them.
"-then me and Korkie found a creek so we went swimmin'! I caught a fish with me bare hands!" Isobel cheered giddily.
"You should've been a Gryffindor." Lilith said in amusement, "you seem to like adventures."
"Me da says I'm too smart to be a gryffindor." Isobel said proudly, "marks were better than my brothers at least, an' I like learnin' things as Much as the next person, but wha' abou' you? Yer brothers a gryf, though' ye'd go the same way."
"I'd have preferred it." Lilith sighed as they entered the great hall, food already appearing on the pristine gold plates. "Harry and I have never been separated, but there's not much we can do about it."
"I bet there's somethin in the school charter tha' would let ya go see him in the common rooms." Isobel said, spooning eggs and hash onto her plate, "can look after lunch if ya want."
"Already showing your Ravenclaw intelligence." Lilith praised.
"no ravenclaw about it!" Isobel objected, puffing up her chest importantly, "it's the McDougal in me!"
"Lilith!"
Lilith immediately perked up as she watched her brother run over to her table, Ron and-surprisingly-Hermione right behind him, "beat you here!" she taunted with a grin.
"I'll beat you tomorrow." he said with a laugh, sitting down beside her, Ron settling in beside Isobel.
"You know it's probably against the rules-" Hermione started, the way both boys groaned it wasn't the first time Hermione had pointed this out.
"-it's breakfast, i'm sure no one'll have a tiff about it." Isobel objected before Lilith could, "take a load off and load up yer plate, kippers are good this mornin'!"
Hermione hesitated, then begrudgingly sat across from them. Soon everyone had food on their plates.
"Foods not too bad," Isobel mumbled around some toast, "doesn't touch what me da' can make."
"It gives mum's food a run for her money, but she still tops." Ron muttered begrudgingly, making Hermione hum in thought.
"My parents make good eggs," She said, "but past that we don't usually deviate, sometimes we get biscuits from the store."
"Ted likes to make waffles." Harry interjected. Smiling a bit while Lilith stiffened a little bit, "he likes to put chocolate chips in them, right Lilith?"
"Yes.' she agreed quietly, hesitating before saying "he also likes to make omelets, he's not the best but…they're always good."
"Uh…what's waffles?" Ron asked in confusion.
"Dutch I do believe." Isobel said sagely, "da' makes those sometimes too."
"These seats taken?" Blaise asked as he plopped down beside Lilith, Daphne taking a seat on the other side of Hermione alongside an unknown brunette.
"If they were, you just stole them." Lilith said blandly, before turning to the new girl, "hi, I'm Lilith Potter." she said, holding a hand out.
'Tracey Davis!" the girl said peppily, shaking her hand enthusiastically, "i'm this one's roommate!"
Nice to meet you,' Harry said, being the next to shake her hand, 'Harry Potter."
"Ron Weasley!" Ron piped up around a mouthful of porridge.
"Could you not talk with your mouth open?" Hermione asked in disgust before giving a polite, "Hermione Granger."
"Isobel McDougal!" Isobel cheered with a thumb pointed at herself.
"It's nice to meet all of you." she said with a grin, "boy, those upper classmen didn't know what they were talking about."
"Upperclassmen?" Lilith questioned.
"Yeah, a bunch of the Slytherin upper years were telling us the other houses didn't like Slytherin." Daphne said softly, shifting a little as she looked around nervously, "I don't think they were wrong…"
Harry looked around, finding that a lot of the upper years of all houses were staring at their group, some with eyes narrowed and frowning, others were smiling and giggling with their friends.
But they were all staring.
"What's the big deal?" Isobel asked, having made the same observations Harry had, "we're only eating' with our friends."
"Probably has something to do with the way half the school was booing anyone who got sorted into Slytherin." Blaise pointed out, "we also got the upperclassmen telling us it's 'us against them'."
"That's depressing." Lilith sighed, polishing off her plate as Huginn landed on her head to take his customary scraps while Muninn pilfered Harry's, taking advantage of Hedwig not being there, having been sent off to give a letter to Andy and Ted.
"Just a bit," Ron agreed, shifting uncomfortably, thinking about the things his mother said about Slytherins, "Really not fair is it?"
"Excuse me!"
The group of friends all turned to look at a diminutive man running up to them, smiling politely, "I don't mean to ruin your first meal here at Hogwarts, but first years should be at their house tables until after they get their schedules."
"Oh I'm so sorry sir!" Hermione immediately said, jumping up, "we didn't know!"
"Quite alright! Go ahead and finish eating and then head to your house tables," he said kindly before moving off.
"We should probably head back to Slytherin." Daphne said quietly, standing up, "we didn't get to load our plates yet."
"She's right," Blaise agreed, jumping up, "But we'll meet up for lunch?"
"Definitely." Harry agreed with a friendly smile, "we can sit at someone else's table too, since we started by sitting here."
"Ooh! We can sit at the Slytherin table! Malfoy will blow a gasket!" Tracey said gleefully.
"It's only been one day, Trace, let's not alienate our entire house." Daphne muttered glumly, walking away.
"She had a hard time last night." Tracey said apologetically, scurrying after her friend with a "see you guys at lunch!" Blaise followed after them, giving them a thin smile.
"Has it really been that bad already?" Lilith mumbled, looking at her brother, who was frowning.
"We should get to our table." Ron said awkwardly, sharing a look with Hermione.
"Right…see you at lunch Lilith." Harry said as they retreated to the Gryffindor table.
Lilith sighed as Muninn flapped on over to her shoulder, cawwing as she looked around.
"Pretty heavy for the firs' day." Isobel said, nudging Lilith, "Maybe we should bring a chess set or somethin' for lunch.'
"Yeah, maybe."Lilith sighed as Flitwick approached them with their schedules. The diminutive professor gave them a kind smile before moving on, 'lets see, we have potions with Hufflepuff this morning, we should get going."
WVWVW
Harry felt anxious as he entered the great hall, he hadn't liked how down Daphne had seemed, but hadn't really known what to say to make things better. If he even could say anything to make it better.
He'd pondered over the problem during his first few classes, though it did take a back seat to actual learning. He'd been eager for his classes since he and LIlith had learned about Hogwarts, but he still felt a bit guilty for not thinking more on the problem.
"Not really your problem is it?" Ron asked as they walked, "If the Slytherin's want to be nasty to themselves I say let them."
"But she's my friend Ron." Harry argued.
'But there's not really anything you can do." he argued right back as they sat down at the Slytherin table, both pausing their conversation to give Lilith a worried look, the young witch was Irate, aggressively stabbing at her shepherd's pie while Isobel poured over a potions book.
"Is…everything alright Lilith?" Harry asked slowly.
"Fine." She grumbled, aggressively chewing her food as Isobel put the book down.
"Professor Snape was a right Tosser in class." Isobel explained, making Lilith growl under her breath, "he started asking Lilith a whole slew of questions about Potions, and didn't stop until she got an answer wrong."
"Like I could remember Oswald's method is a month longer than the recommended polyjuice potion," Lilith seethed, "Andromeda only talked about it with me once! ONCE!"
A small bolt of neon green static sparked off the end of her hair, zapping Ron.
"Oi!" Ron yelped, his hair going poofy, "I wasn't the one bein' a tosser so don't take it out on me!"
"Sorry," she sighed, running an embarrassed hand through her hair, "but I absolutely HATE that man now."
"He was being unfair." Isobel agreed, "he took twenty points for that one wrong answer, and it only got worse throughout the class."
"Ninety points, he took ninety points." Lilith complained, "he took ten points because Mandy sneezed, 'speaking out of turn' he said."
"That can't be fair." Hermione said, having joined them partway through their conversation.
"Professor Flitwick said he couldn't overturn it." Isobel said glumly, "he said Snape Does this every year to all the houses save for his own."
"Overgrown bully." LIlith bit out.
"We have him this afternoon." Ron said fearfully, "what will we do?"
"You could try reading ahead." Daphne suggested as she and Blaise joined them, Tracey sitting beside Ron, "surely he wouldn't go past first year curriculum."
"Ask Oswald." LIlith grumbled, earning her a pat on the head from Isobel.
Daphne frowned, anxiously looking down the table where the other slytherin'swere glaring at them distrustfully.
Harry followed her eyes, "do they really not trust us?" He asked curiously.
"The upperclassmen have been telling us it's Slytherin house against the world." she said softly. "Draco's been leaning into it heavily, so most of our first year aren't too happy that we're giving any of you the time of day."
"They'll get over it." Tracey said dismissively, while Blaise loaded his plate up.
"Do you want to sit together during Potions Daphne?" Harry asked.
"Tracey wanted me to help, she hasn't got much experience with potions." she said, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then smiled at him, "we can sit together in Charms if you want."
"Brilliant." he said with a grin.
The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, quickly they all began dispersing, with Lilith and Isobel heading to their first charms class while Harry followed Daphne, Tracey and Blaise to the dungeons, Ron and Hermione right beside them.
"So you actually live in the dungeons?" Ron asked as they walked, "how's that?"
"Not as cold as you'd expect." Blaise offered, "and there's a see-through wall into the lake, and saw some mermaids the first night."
"There's mermaids in the black lake?" Harry asked in awe.
"The black lake is home to a lot of magical creatures," Hermione said matter-of-factly, "I read about it in "Hogwarts: a History."
"I need to check that out at the library." Tracey hummed as they rounded the corner into the dungeon, their steps faltering a bit when they saw their fellow first years staring at them, "Is…there something following us?" Tracey asked as she turned around, looking down the empty hall before looking back to everyone.
Ron shifted nervously, sharing a look with Blaise, and then Harry. "Anyone heard any good quidditch stories lately?" Ron asked, his voice cracking just a bit.
Before anyone could respond, the door to the classroom slammed open, revealing a tall, greasy haired man who scowled at all of them, "Inside, Now." He barked out, making everyone jump and rush inside. Harry sat with Blaise while Ron and Hermione sat together. "I am Professor Snape, you will not be needing your wands." Harry quickly pulled out a piece of parchment and his potions book, quill inked and ready as Snape continued to speak.
"This class is not about silly wand waving and incantation." he drawled, "the subtle art of Potions requires a steady hand and a sharp brain. I can teach you how to brew success, bottle the mind and even put a stopper on death."
Harry quickly started writing down what he wrote.
"If you manage to follow my orders precisely you will be able to excel in this class…of course there may be some of you who will not want to pay attention…POTTER!"
Harry jumped a bit, looking up at Snape as Blaise steadied his inkwell, likewise thrown off.
"Our local celebrity." he sneered, "what would I get if I added a powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Harry paused, his mind blanking for a moment before he started to remember some of Lilith's gushing rants over the summer when she had been pouring over their potions book, "A-A sleeping potion." Harry mumbled, "a powerful one, sir."
Snape narrowed his eyes, "where would you find a Bezoar?" He almost demanded to know.
"Er…um…it was…in a stomach…" Harry stuttered, wracking his brain.
"Goat." Blaise whispered softly, disguising it as a cough when Snapes' gaze snapped to him.
"Goats stomach, sir." Harry said, eyes darting away from Snape's eyes when they shot back at him.
"That will be two points from Slytherin," Snape said to Zabini, "and what is the difference between Monkshood and wolfsbane?" he continued on. Now keeping his beady black eyes on Harry.
"...there is no difference." Harry said with a frown.
'Excuse me?"
"There is no difference," Harry said again, "Monkshood and Wolfsbane are different names for the same plant." He felt confident in his answer, he'd taken an interest in his herbology book and remembered, "They're the same plant, sir."
" One point to Gryffindor," Snape bit out sourly, obviously not happy he hadn't been able to catch Harry more off foot. "I hope you all wrote those down, because you will be tested!" he swept his robes back as he stalked back to the front of the class, "today you'll be making a bruising salve for the infirmary, instructions are on the board, Begin!"
What followed was an hour of Snape stalking between the tables, harshly critiquing the Gryffindors and deducting points for anything he wanted.
"Weasley! Five points from Gryffindor for yawning! You can sleep on your own time. Finnegan five points for rolling your eyes!"
"He's really havin' a go at it isn't't he?" Zabini asked quietly under his breath. "All for getting a few questions right?"
"Lilith was right, he is a Tosser."
"What was that Potter?" Snape snapped from across the dungeon.
"Nothing sir." Harry said shortly, already feeling a headache come on.
"Five points for disrespect, any more and you'll be scrubbing Cauldrons after classes Potter."
By the end of the period Gryffindor had lost thirty points, and Slytherin had been awarded fifteen for things such as 'looking attentive' or in Daphne's case 'displaying proper stirring technique."
"I don't think I'll survive if every Potions class is like that." Ron said miserably as they all left the Dungeon.
"It was a bit much." Daphne agreed hesitantly.
"What do you care, he gave you points." Seamus snapped at her.
"Oi, lay off." Harry said, glaring at Seamus. "It's not like any of us asked for that."
"Perhaps Professor Snape was just having a bad day." Hermione mumbled, looking frazzled and teary eyed. Snape had made sure to critique Hermione until she had made a mistake so he could promptly take points.
"Doubt it." Zabini muttered, glancing back towards the dungeons, as well as his housemates who were snickering and laughing about the Gryffindors misfortune. "I think he's just like that."
"Nothing we can do about it now." Harry said mutely, "let's just get to charms."
Daphne fell back a bit to be right next to Harry, "I'm sorry about that." she said quietly to him, "I didn't think he'd give me points for…something so stupid."
"He's just being a bully." Harry responded, giving her a smile, "it's not your fault our professor is a tosser."
Daphne giggled at that and they continued on into Charms.
Ignoring the way certain members of their houses were glaring at their backs.