Note: This chapter was betaed by MasterQwertster.
Chapter 5
Explosive Beginnings
1 September 1991, Hogwarts, Scotland
The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and a very rigid posture. Alexandra knew someone strict when she was looking at one, and she knew in an instant the woman before her had not a drop of humour in her whole body.
"The firs'-years, Professor McGonagall," said the giant man.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here," replied the woman, who by her name had to be the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts.
The teacher pulled the door wide. The Entrance Hall was so big you could have fit two whole houses like the Dursleys' in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was way too high to figure out its height, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors.
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Alexandra could clearly hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school no doubt was already here waiting for them – but Professor McGonagall pulled the first-years into a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common room."
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
Her eyes lingered for a moment on Nigel's cloak, which was fastened under his right ear, on Ronald Weasley's smudged nose and several boys who had adopted rather strange hair styles.
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."
She left the chamber.
Alexandra took a moment to look around. Now that they were all gathered in one place, she could tell there were between forty and fifty new students to be sorted with her. She noticed the pure-blood princess with long blond hair and ice eyes she had met at Madam Malkin's was in the back of the crowd, while Neville Longbottom the Boy-Who Lived was already soaking up attention by chatting with several boys, which seemed to include Ronald Weasley. A thin blond boy was flanked by two boys who looked like his bodyguards. The bushy-haired girl who had helped Nigel was whispering something at full speed as if her life depended on it.
Alexandra felt her stomach tighten. For better or for worse, these were the wizards and the witches she was going to be in classes with. Why did she felt absolutely no enthusiasm at this very idea? She also had no idea what House she was going to be in. Hufflepuff was all about loyalty and hardwork, and she had to admit she did not fit in the mould. She could be loyal to herself, she supposed, but she had never trusted anyone in her ten years with the Dursleys. Too many children had abandoned her when Dudley and his gang chased her for her to have any friends in school, and she had never respected any teacher as they tended to bow before her Uncle Vernon.
Gryffindor was all about nobility and courage, but most of her solutions facing someone stronger than her was to flee, and she stole to live better. There was no honour in what she did, only survival.
She supposed she was a bit intelligent and liked reading, so maybe she could be a Ravenclaw? She didn't think she would really fit in Slytherin: her ambitions were relatively modest once said, and she did not have the cunning of a politician. Then again, neither did most of the children who were waiting with her here.
"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" She heard the voice of an unknown boy behind her.
"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking," replied Weasley.
Alexandra restrained herself from drawing her wand and cursing Weasley here and now. They were eleven years old children! No one was going to make them do something dangerous, not in front of hundreds of students. Then again, when she heard the red-hair boy speaking about "trolls", she wondered if there was a fifth house for stupid people. Some children in this crowd looked like they would have been sorted there in the blink of an eye.
Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead them to their sorting and destiny.
Then something happened which made her jump about a foot in the air – several people behind her screamed or shouted.
"What the –?"
She gasped. So did the people around her. About twenty white beings had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the first-years. Ghosts. They seemed to be arguing about something. What looked like a fat little monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance..."
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?"
A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first-years.
Nobody answered.
"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be sorted, I suppose?"
A few people nodded mutely.
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."
Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. Funny.
"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first-years, "and follow me."
Alexandra got into the line between one of the bodyguard-type boys and before a girl who looked really, well, massive. Perhaps she was the magical girl equivalent of Dudley Dursley? All the line began to walk out of the chamber, went back in the hall and then, passing a pair of huge double doors, they entered the Great Hall.
It was a marvel of magic. Lit by thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air over four long tables, the rest of the students were sitting. The tables were laid with shining golden plates, cups, forks and knives. At the top of the Hall was another long table where all the adults, about thirty teachers all told, were sitting. Professor McGonagall led all her group up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked rather like pale lanterns in the lights of the candles. Dispersed among the students, the ghosts shone a pale silver. Alexandra looked upwards and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. She heard the bushy-haired girl not far from her whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside, I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."
Alexandra had read it too, but reading about a thing and seeing it for real were far different things. It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall wasn't just simply open to the sky.
Ceasing her observation of her surroundings, she quickly looked down again as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of her group. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat looked like it had seen better days: it was patched and frayed and looked dirty. Petunia would have had a stroke at the very idea of wearing it.
For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth – and the hat began to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The whole Hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.
"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Weasley said to a boy at the back of her group. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll."
Alexandra smiled openly despite the stress. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to fight a monster, but giving the supposed popularity of her family at this moment, she wished she was not forced to do it in front of the whole school.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moment's pause –
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table just on their right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Alexandra saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Black, Leo!"
A black-haired boy with a mischievous smile advanced and put the hat on his head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" exclaimed the hat, and the table on the extreme right of the Hall burst into applause. Was it her imagination or were all the Slytherin looking at the first-year with looks full of hate?
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first girl to go to Gryffindor and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Harry could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" the large girl who had been behind her marched to the hat and then became a Slytherin.
The sorting continued putting the twins sisters Flora and Hestia Carrow in Slytherin, Michael Corner and Stephen Cornfoot in Ravenclaw, Vincent Crabbe and Tracey Davis in Slytherin. Fay Dunbar was sorted into Gryffindor, Kevin Entwhistle into Ravenclaw.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The hat had taken a whole minute to decide for this boy, she noticed. For some boys or girls, the sorting seemed to be quasi-instantaneous, while for others it could take a minute or more to decide.
"Finnigan, Seamus" sat on the stool for almost two minutes before the hat declared him a Gryffindor. Antony Goldstein went to Ravenclaw and the bodyguard boy who had been before her, "Goyle, Gregory" went to Slytherin. Strange, she wouldn't have imagined the boy as cunning or even ambitious.
"Granger, Hermione!"
The bushy-haired girl who had helped Nigel on the train ran without any decency to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Alexandra was surprised. She would have rather put the girl into Ravenclaw rather than Gryffindor.
"Greengrass, Daphne!" the blond-haired girl who had insulted her at Madam Malkin marched with the style one expected of a princess to the stool and the hat didn't waste any time to scream "SLYTHERIN!" Alexandra groaned, now she really wanted to avoid Slytherin!
The following kids were not known to her: Thelma Holmes went to Gryffindor, Megan Jones and Wayne Hopkins to Hufflepuff, Su Li to Ravenclaw.
"Longbottom, Neville!"
The round boy marched to the stool with the arrogance of a chief of state, while the Hall was consumed by whispers and cheers. To everyone's surprise, the sorting took rather long, as the Boy-who-Lived seemed to argue with the hat. Finally the magical artefact screamed "GRYFFINDOR", looking really unhappy. The Gryffindor table burst into cheers and a thunder of applause welcomed him. All the Prefects shook his hand like if they were meeting a VIP, and the Weasley twins shouted "We got Longbottom! We got Longbottom!"
The sorting of Ernest Macmillan to Hufflepuff was lost in the clamours for the Hero. Alexandra noticed the three other Houses looked disgruntled to not have welcomed the Boy-Who-Lived into their ranks.
The thin blond boy named Draco Malfoy swaggered forward at a pace that showed a lot of arrogance when his name was called and the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" He went to join his bodyguards Crabbe and Goyle, looking very pleased with himself.
The minutes after that saw many people sent to Hufflepuff, with the twins Leanne and Roger Malone. Moral MacDougal was sorted into Ravenclaw. Theodore Nott and Pansy Parkinson to Slytherin. Another set of twins, this time of Indian ancestry, named Parvati and Padma Patil were sorted, Parvati going to Gryffindor while Padma went to Ravenclaw. Sally-Anne Perks went to Ravenclaw. And then at last-
"Potter, Alexandra!"
The mutters and whispered conversations around the hall ended abruptly. The silence was deafening, and when Alexandra started to walk towards the stool, she heard several of the Gryffindor at the opposite side of the Hall whisper "traitor's daughter". She tightened her jaw, but she kept her head high and marched to the stool.
The last thing she saw before the hat covered her eyes was the hateful looks being directed at her.
"Interesting, very interesting," came a deep rich voice in her ears. "Lots of talent, yes. Not a bad mind, either, and a nice thirst to survive challenges, now that's interesting … So where shall I put you?"
Alexandra thought "Where should I go?"
"The worst choices, though it will not surprise you, would be Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. You have no loyalty to anyone but yourself, and if I put you with the Lions there will be a massacre before the week is over. You are very well suited for Slytherin, dear, but you're not cruel, vicious or ruthless enough to join them and thrive through the challenges they would make against you. That only leaves ..."RAVENCLAW"!
This last word was shouted to the whole hall, but unlike the others, this was not met with cheers, just a deep silence. A lone girl at the Ravenclaw table cheered, but she stopped quickly when she saw she was the only one.
Face entirely blank, Alexandra stepped down from the stool and sat at the table of Blue and Bronze, noticing all the Ravens in proximity to her tried to get way as discreetly as possible, and failing miserably.
There were only few people left to be sorted now. Zacharias Smith to Hufflepuff. Dean Thomas to Gryffindor. Lisa Turpin to Ravenclaw. Byron Vaisey to Slytherin.
Then it was Ronald Weasley's turn, and she noticed the hat send him almost immediately to the Gryffindor table before it had even been fully installed on his head. What sort of nobility the hat had seen in him, she had no idea.
Nigel Wolpert, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called and he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with him she noticed. When it finally shouted "GRYFFINDOR", Nigel ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to Blaise Zabini.
She would have enjoyed the boy who had been in her compartment with her to be in the same House, at least to have a familiar face, but alas he was sorted into Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.
Now that the sorting was over and she had no one near her, she could see the high table where the teachers sat. At one extremity was the giant named Hagrid, while at the other sat a woman who appeared to be a nurse or its magical equivalent. There were men and women, although a man with greasy hair, a nervous young man with a violet turban and the Headmaster stood out. Albus Dumbledore, she thought, was really someone who looked like Gandalf in the books of Tolkien or Merlin in the legends of the Round Table Knights should look like. The colour of his hair and his beard was a deep silver, shining like mystic silver candles and projecting a sort of serene aura around him.
As the Headmaster got to his feet, silence fell upon the Great Hall. He beamed at the students, his arms opened wide and he spoke.
"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. A lot of people clapped and cheered. Alexandra face palmed. Was her new headmaster playing the role of an idiot, or was he completely senile? Even with her limited knowledge of the world, she knew such a speech was the best way to kill any form of authority held by the adults over the students. She didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.
When the shining gold dishes were suddenly piling with food, she put the sanity of her new Headmaster on the backburner for now. She was very hungry, but fortunately there was more food on the Ravenclaw table than what Dudley and her uncle ate in a year. Roast beef, roast chicken, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, fish, eggs, and some other meals she wasn't able to name as she hadn't seen them before in her life.
The Dursleys had never managed to starve Alexandra, but she would lie if she said she had been able to grab the quantity of food she wanted for every meal in some fashion or another. If they ate every day like this, she thought she could very well adapt to Hogwarts. Well, she would have exercise a lot to not become fat, but it would be worth it.
Frowning while eating a large piece of beef, she wondered if it was the "every day" part which was going to cause problems. Watching the length of the Ravenclaw table, she was instantly able to divide her new House into three categories: the ones who watched her with fear, the ones who watched her with anger and hate, and the ones who looked completely indifferent or curious about her.
But that last category was an endangered species, she remarked sadly. Most who had watched her in an innocent manner were her fellow first-years, and if their faces as the dinner passed were a clue, the upper-years were doing a nice turn to turn them against her. It looked like it was going to be Saint Gregory's all over again, only this time it would not be only Dudley and his gang leading the hunt but witches and wizards.
She was going to be in danger, she realised internally a bit too calmly as the desserts appeared, dozens of puddings, ice-creams, tarts, chocolates and doughnuts to finish this copious dinner. If she judged correctly the situation and the threatening looks some Ravenclaws threw her, she was not going to last the week unharmed. In fact, she realised she would be lucky if they didn't attack her before she went to bed tonight. The whispers between some students looked really bad, and they didn't look like people who were discussing their holidays. More like a punitive expedition or a murder, and she as the black sheep of Hogwarts was the enemy number 1 on their list.
The only advantage she saw was that these older students ignored she had practised magic. They ignored everything of her magical skills, of course the reverse was also true. If she defeated them badly in the first skirmish, there was a probability they would back down for a time, giving her the opportunity to learn more powerful magic to defend herself. Probably. Hopefully.
Lost in these not-comforting thoughts, she nearly missed the moment when the remains of the food faded from the plates (and the disappointed cry of Ronald Weasley who appeared to be an even worse case at dinner than Dudley Dursley), the puddings and the rest of the desserts disappeared 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."
Formidable, she thought. Had the man learnt nothing? Knowing from experience at her former school and Dudley's activities, the best way to make sure a kid would do something is to tell him it's forbidden. The more she heard from the Headmaster, the less she appreciated the man.
Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.
"I have also been asked by Mr Filch, the 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 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."
This time Alexandra couldn't avoid laughing. The man was officially either mad or an imbecile. She didn't know how things worked out in the magical world, but in the non-magical, a teacher or a headmaster speaking like that was retired immediately if he was lucky. Already, she saw some kids at the Gryffindor table discussing if they would go, giving an idea that this warning had been perceived as a challenge.
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" affirmed enthusiastically Dumbledore. Alexandra noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become frosty, if not outright frigid. The man with the greasy hair looked like he was about to vomit.
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 snake-like into words.
"Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!"
And to the horror of Alexandra the school shouted in a voice able to wake up the dead:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
This was not music in her opinion. It was a cacophony of infernal proportions, and she noticed none of the Slytherins participated in it, apparently recognising the bad taste of singing this musical atrocity. Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march, which Alexandra found singularly appropriate. 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!"
Alexandra stood and then like the other Ravenclaw first-years followed a prefect girl with blond hair through the crowd and out of the Great Hall. As they walked past dozens of portraits and suits of armour, she felt her worries decrease. No one attacked her, no one shouted any more "traitor!" at her again. Perhaps, as they went up another stair, she had been too pessimistic concerning her new housemates.
She was wondering just how much distance was left when after a few minutes of walking they came to a halt in front of a door with no keyhole and no handle. The door had nothing but an eagle-shaped bronze knocker.
The female prefect turned towards them and said, "This is the entrance to the Ravenclaw Tower. You have to knock and the door guardian will ask a question or a riddle, which you will have to answer, otherwise you won't gain entrance. If you don't know the answer, wait for another student to come along or go to our Head of House."
She proceeded to give them a demonstration "What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?" The answer given was: "A towel." And after giving the right answer, the eagle knocker let them pass.
Alexandra was in the back of the first year group and so got her first glance of the Ravenclaw common room when everyone had already entered. The room could be best described as an "airy" room with many arched windows overlooking the surrounding mountains, all hung with heavy bronze and blue curtains, matching their house colours. The ceiling was domed and painted blue with twinkling stars on it. The floor was covered by midnight-blue carpet. The room was filled with fat and cushy armchairs that looked quite comfortable to just sit in and read a book. The room also seemed to be circular in shape, showing that it was indeed on the inside of the Ravenclaw tower, while there were several stairs leading up to the student dorms. There was a white statue of Rowena Ravenclaw beside the entrance to the dorm, one of the Hogwarts the founder of Ravenclaw house.
The male prefect called for their attention, "Members of Ravenclaw House are famed for our intelligence, and as such we have two students per room, while other houses have to share. This is so you can read and study without troubling all your year mates. As you learn more spells, you will be encouraged to improve and customize your room."
"Each year has its own group study period, along with their own older student, acting as a mentor, who will be tasked with helping you." He gestured to the surrounding Ravens, who were watching their new household mates with interest.
"Now, the girl's dorms are over there," the prefect said, pointing to a set of stairs, then pointing at another set in the other corner, "And those are the guy's dorms. While I remember, I suggest you reread your potion books, because you have potions tomorrow morning and our senior potion master loves to take house points for failing to answer his questions." He then dismissed them to find their own rooms.
Alexandra breathed. Maybe it wasn't going to be too bad, after all. Unfortunately, she had not made three steps in the stair's direction before a large hand held her robe by the back and forced her to stop.
"Where do you think you are going, Potter?" the hateful voice of what looked to be a fourth-year boy asked her.
Turning completely to see the boy, she saw her interlocutor had a face twisted in loathing and anger. It looked like her worst suspicions had been verified. The circle formed by several older Ravenclaws, all having their wands drawn, confirmed she had walked right into an ambush.
"I'm Alex Sykes, Potter." the older boy drawled, drawing his wand at the same time."And I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my father!"
"I'm sorry," Alexandra replied. "But I'm not my father."
She watched the eyes of the boy, full of anger, and realised she had as much chance reasoning with him right now as she had reasoning with Dudley Dursley when he wanted food. None. She saw the blond prefect girl who had led them to the common room running out of the door, perhaps to warn the teachers, but she had the bad feeling they would arrive too late.
"Now, you're going to pay, traitor!" shouted Sykes."REDUC...!"
Alexandra didn't give him the time to finish whatever spell he wanted to hit her with. As he was literally close enough to look her in the blank of the eye, she threw him a punch to the nose, while at the same time grabbing his wand and throwing it away. She gave him a second kick, this time at the place no human being wants to receive a strike, and Sykes fell to the floor, screaming as if she had killed him.
"Well?" she said to the other Ravenclaws, drawing her wand in a defensive posture."Can we discuss, now?"
Apparently, as she saw their faces turn red and their jaws tighten in anger, it had been the wrong thing to say. She had just enough time to launch a quick "FUMOS!" before the avalanche of spells started.
The smoke created gave her enough time to throw herself behind an armchair, and the battle began. Alexandra had never participated in a real battle between witches and wizards, but she realised quickly, neither had her opponents, judging by their lack of accuracy and pathetic sense of tactics.
Throwing spell after spell of Fumos and Petrificus Totalus from behind the armchair, she misdirected a large demonstration of magic trying to hit her into missing her completely. The Ravenclaw common room was now completely lost in the smoke and the spells came from every side at once, forcing her to roll, jump or put the armchair between herself and the spells.
She lost completely the notion of time. A red-white spell only narrowly missed her and shredded the armchair in a loud explosion, tossing her away in the middle of the common room. She fell badly on her right leg, and only moments later she felt a sharp sensation of pain. She shouted, hurling into the smoke another Petrificus Totalus, and hearing a crash. She had hit someone. She threw another two Fumos in rapid succession trying to get away from the fighting, but her leg felt heavy, too heavy for her to move, forcing her to crawl desperately for a corner. Over her, she saw an older boy being propelled into a section of the Ravenclaw common library, striking it, and being buried under a large amount of books.
She grimaced, but she continued throwing the only two spells she knew in rapid succession, she had to survive, she had to last a bit longer...
"FINITE INCANTATEM!"
All the smoke cleared completely at once, only for Alexandra to find herself face to face with an Alex Sykes who looked like hell, his nose and the rest of his face covered in blood.
"Now you die!" He snarled, pointing his wand towards her head.
But apparently, he was too slow to act. A red beam of magic took him in the stomach and slammed him on the opposite wall where he too fell on his back, clearly unconscious.
All was too fuzzy for her now, she realised. Looking at her leg which appeared having taken a nasty blow, she thought she had lost a lot of blood. Her last coherent thought before closing her eyes was that her first day at Hogwarts really could have gone better.
1 September 1991, Unknown place
"Our Pawn has successfully infiltrated himself into Hogwarts, your Majesty."
"Has he located the Stone?"
"Yes, but the Headmaster has put several traps and wards around the place in question. Bypassing them without Dumbledore being aware of the intrusion is going to require time and preparation."
"As expected. Tell him he has until the end of the school year to complete his mission. And Knight Alchemist?"
"Yes, your Majesty?"
"Don't expect me to tolerate another failure."
"Of course, your Majesty."
