September 1971. Hogwarts.
The next morning, Alya woke up at dawn in excitement. It was her first day of classes at Hogwarts and she was excited to find out what wonderful things the day would bring. Her schoolmates were still sound asleep, so she got ready without making the slightest noise, careful not to wake them. She noticed one more figure, hidden among the green blankets, which Alya had seen empty the night before: a head full of raven curls hummed loudly.
Armed with her bag and with everything she needed for that first day of school, she trotted downstairs to the common room; there wasn't a soul there, except for a couple of other students.
Alya took a seat at one of the mahogany tables and pulled from her bag two sheets of parchment and a long raven feather, which she had purchased in Diagon Alley, during the shopping trip with her parents and Sirius.
A small inkwell, standing in the middle of the table, immediately jumped to attention and hopped quickly towards Alya; it bowed its head, politely offering its black contents.
"Oh, thank you!" trilled little Black smilingly.
She dipped the tip of the feather into the ink and began to write a letter addressed to her parents. As suggested by Narcissa, Alya warned them about her Sorting and how happy she was to be sent to Slytherin, following the family tradition. At the same time, the girl was careful not to mention Sirius and the result of his Sorting.
Alya knew well how infuriating it would make them to find out that their first-born had been sorted into Gryffindor. Therefore, little Black avoided mentioning the incident, leaving it to her brother to tell their parents.
Alya grabbed the second parchment, this time addressed to Regulus:
Dear Reg,
everything here at Hogwarts is fantastic! It's impossible to describe the powerful aura of magic that permeates every single stone in the school. The tales of our cousins don't do it justice at all!
Oh, Reg! How I wish you were here. You'd love, I'm sure!
As I've already written to Mum and Dad, I've been sorted into Slytherin - thankfully! And I've already made friends with two girls, Melyssa and Philippa. They too are purebloods and, like us, are part of the Sacred 28. I think Mum and Dad will be pleased.
Now comes the painful part. I haven't said anything to our parents, so, mind you, mouth shut! Sirius has gone to Gryffindor! I spoke to Narcissa last night and she looked worried about it. She also told me something else. Andromeda has run off with a Muggle-born! A Muggle-born, Reg! I still can't believe it. I'm shocked! Cissy thinks the uncles will proceed with the Ritualis Evulsionis immediately, to save the family reputation.
Did you know about this? Did Mum and Dad say anything to you about it?
Keep me posted and write to me as soon as you can.
A hug,
Alya
Alya quickly rolled up both parchments, writing the names of the addressees on each one.
Then, Alya exited the Slytherin common room and walked briskly towards the Owlery, near the west tower of the castle. It was quite far from the Slytherin dormitory and it took her less than a minute to get lost in the tangled mazes which snaked through the school. She had to stop several times to ask senior students or ghosts for further directions.
Despite her orientation difficulties, little Black managed to arrive at her destination. The Owlery appeared as a large circular room, crowded with numerous feathered creatures, intent on dozing on their perches. Alya tried to wake up a large tawny owl by prodding its breast with a finger. The owl woke up, emitting an annoyed shrill cry of protest, glaring at the little girl with its yellow eyes.
"I must send two letters --"Alya explained, as if to justify herself.
The owl then stretched out a paw, to which the young girl tied the two rolls of parchment.
"The addressees are different, but the address is the same," she added, before seeing the large bird spread its wings and soar, setting off on its journey.
Then, Alya set off on the Great Hall of Hogwarts, where the tasty breakfast treats awaited her.
In the meantime, the school had woken up; the large hall already housed numerous students, immersed in their morning dishes and chatter. Little Black spotted Melyssa and Philippa at the Slytherin table and joined them. With them there was also the little girl with black curls, whom Alya had glimpsed between the bed covers.
"Where have you been?" asked Philippa, brusquely, when her companion sat opposite her.
"In the Owlery. I wanted to write to my parents right away."
"You don't waste time, eh! I'll write to my family tonight. This morning I would never have been able to wake up as early as you did." sighed the little blond girl, pragmatically. "By the way, this is Elizabeth Grey. She's our roommate." she added, pointing to the little brunette girl next to her, who gave Alya a shy smile.
"Hi! I'm Alya Merope Black, nice to meet you!" she introduced herself, cordially.
"Beth too - I can call you Beth, can't I? - is descended from a pureblood family, but she's not part of the Sacred 28." explained Philippa, in a flat tone.
"Beth's father is American," Melyssa intervened.
"Cool!" exclaimed Alya, genuinely impressed. She had never met anyone from abroad.
"Ah, the prefects have already given us the class schedules. Here you go!" announced Melyssa, handing Alya a slip of paper.
"Mmm, this morning we have two hours of Charms and two hours of History of Magic. In the afternoon, two hours of Transfiguration. Not bad for a first day of school!" observed little Black, imagining a busy day. The other three nodded, agreeing with her.
A vague apprehension suddenly began to tickle Alya's soul.
Her father's and Narcissa's stern words admonishing her with the duty of upholding the honour of the Blacks had taken hold of Alya's mind. The little Black was feared of not living up to her parents' expectations, she was afraid of disappointing them. Alya couldn't imagine anything worse than her mother's terrible frown. Walburga's disappointment represented her worst nightmare.
But Alya's fears soon proved unfounded. From the very first day of school, little Black showed great magical talent; not only did she live up to the instructions given by her teachers, but her results proved to be well above the average of all her classmates. The first day at Hogwarts was full of success for the talented little Black.
Thanks to the many points she received, Alya began to be noticed by her new Housemates. Melyssa and Beth congratulated her sincerely, enjoying the prospect of a beneficial friendship. Philippa did likewise, but couldn't conceal a certain annoyance: she wanted to be the one to excel and the centre of all that attention. Alya realised it, but welcomed her friend's competition as a pleasant challenge. In fact, that veiled envy of her achievements only fed her ego even more.
Thus, Alya proceeded light as a feather to the end of that wonderful day, becoming more and more confident in her own abilities.
Until the following morning. It was a Friday. According to the timetable, there was only one subject, Potions, which would occupy the first two hours immediately after breakfast, leaving the afternoon free for Slytherin students.
Potions was one of the most complicated subjects at Hogwarts. However, mindful of the remarkable results obtained the previous day, Alya didn't feel worried at all.
Moreover, the professor who taught Potions, Horace Slughorn, was the director of Slytherin House, so Alya considered that she would have no difficulty getting into his good graces.
There was only one thing that made her nervous: that day, the Slytherins were to share the time of the lesson with the Gryffindors, and thiat meant that Alya would be seeing Sirius again for the first time since the Sorting Ceremony. The previous day, in fact, the two Black twins had hardly met. Alya had rarely crossed paths with Sirius, only in the corridors of the school and in the Great Hall. On those few occasions, they hadn't even exchanged a glance, making the wall of icy indifference, which seemed to have been permanently erected between them, even more impassable. Alya wondered how her brother would behave in her presence in class. He would probably ignore her as usual, but the idea of spending two hours with him in the same room made her uneasy.
After breakfast, Alya and her friends walked towards the classroom. Unlike all the other classes, Potions was held in the castle dungeon, near the dormitory of Slytherin House.
The room which housed the Potions class was dark and much colder than the other ones. The humidity seeping through the thick stone walls gave the students goosebumps as they began to crawl awkwardly between their desks. Soon, the entire classroom was invaded by the black of the pupils' uniforms, punctuated by the colours of the two Houses: red and gold of the Gryffindors, green and silver of the Slytherins.
"Welcome, my dears! Welcome!" they were greeted by the warm voice of Professor Slughorn. He was a vigorous and corpulent man, well dressed, sporting a waistcoat of sumptuous cloth, which appeared particularly round at the waist. His jovial face was adorned with a conspicuous pair of large moustaches, which the professor waved proudly.
With a friendly smile, he invited the students to take their places between the desks and to divide into pairs in front of the cauldrons.
Once she was settled at the table with the other Slytherins, Alya caught a quick glimpse of the classroom: on the left, there was Snape, the little boy with greasy hair and yellowish skin who had been sorted into Slytherin like her. She hadn't had a chance to chat with him yet; Snape was definitely wary and reserved. Next to him was the red-haired girl Alya had collided with on the Hogwarts Express. She belonged to the Gryffindors and Alya judged it inappropriate for a Slytherin to share his seat with a rival House student.
At another table, further forward from hers - Alya shuddered - was Sirius, together with his skinny friend called Potter. Seen from behind, his hair looked even more dishevelled. The two kids seemed to get along very well, doing nothing but giggling mockingly. Alya felt envy growing in her chest: what Sirius saw in that cocky boy, the girl couldn't quite understand.
As she had imagined, Sirius didn't even give her a glance, ignoring her as usual. Instead, he seemed much more intent on casting disdainful glances at Snape, then immediately confabulating something in Potter's ear. They both looked at him like a creepy being and their expressions did not portend anything good.
Once all the students had taken their places in front of the cauldrons, Professor Slughorn began a long and tedious speech introducing his subject. He extolled the talents and virtues that every good potion maker must possess, such as dedication, meticulous attention to details, patience, profound precision and a good dose of creativity. Then, he listed famous people who had invented antidotes, poisons, cures, but Alya soon stopped listening to the teacher's tedious soliloquy.
Her bored gaze floated lazily around the room, studying its granguignolous details: along the walls of the room, already dark and gloomy in itself, old wooden shelves stood out, holding glass jars containing dead creatures, or parts of them, submerged in dense yellowish liquids, looking anything but pleasant. The glassy eyes of salamanders, toads and other unidentified animals would certainly haunt the nightmares of the most sensitive pupils in the nights to come.
After finally finishing his introductory speech, Professor Slughorn cheerfully announced the day's exercise: the students were to try their hand at preparing an easy antidote against juvenile acne.
"Open your book to page three. You'll find the list of all the necessary ingredients and instructions to follow. Good work!" he encouraged them gently.
Alya ended up paired with Beth. With listless movements, she took out her textbook and opened it to the indicated page.
Meanwhile, all the students set about preparing their supplies, fiddling in their bags and ingredient cabinets. After a few minutes, the classroom was invaded by thick fumes and humid boils. The metallic clicks of knives chopping ingredients mingled with the muted mutterings of cauldrons cooking concoctions. Everyone present showed a very concentrated and heated expression due to the hot emissions.
Beth carried out Alya's suggested instructions like a puppet, relying completely on her mate's talent. A talent which, unfortunately, did not seem to want to manifest itself in that subject. Concerned more about the end result than the step-by-step preparation, Alya found it difficult to follow every single instruction described in the book. More than once she happened to skip a step or forget an ingredient, only to add it at a different time than suggested in the text.
When their time was up, Alya and Beth looked desolately at the result of their work: instead of a clear liquid, barely thicker than water, as illustrated in the book, their concoction was slimy and greyish, much like mud.
Professor Slughorn began walking between desks and cauldrons, pausing to comment on the students' work. In a good-natured voice, he bestowed praise and encouragement. When he reached the cauldron shared by Alya and Beth, his walrus moustache rippled into a contrite smile.
"Mmm -- I think you've overdone the horned slug slime here," he commented practically, eyeing the slimey liquid. Without adding anything else, he continued towards the next stall.
Alya saw a gleam of victory cross Philippa's gaze; for the first time, her performance had been better than that of the talented Black.
But what hurt Alya's pride was not so much her companion's sidelong glance, but what happened a few seconds later.
Slughorn's voice exploded with excitement as he contemplated the inside of Snape's cauldron and his little Gryffindor friend with incredulous wonder.
"A perfect job! I'm looking at two talented future potions maker!" chirped the man, admiringly.
Snape and the little red-haired girl exchanged a smug look.
"Can you tell me your names again?" asked the professor, with a broad smile.
"Severus Snape." whispered the yellow-skinned boy, with shy pride.
"Lily Evans." replied the little girl, in a swaggering voice. Her green eyes sparkled proudly.
"Snape and Evans," Slughorn repeated, as if to weigh the value of those surnames. "Are there not some well-known potionists among your ancestors?" he asked with sincere curiosity.
"I don't think so, my parents are Muggles." announced Lily Evans nonchalantly, though a small spark of defiance seemed to shine in her gaze.
Indeed, many a Slytherin cast malevolent looks of disgust at her when they heard the words Muggle. But Professor Slughorn took no notice and continued his praise undeterred.
"Then it is an innate talent! That's even more astounding!"
Slughorn's eyes lingered first on the liquid inside the cauldron, then on Lily Evans with an increasingly admiring expression: he looked at the red-haired student as if he were looking at a rare precious gem.
The bell suddenly trilled, ending the lesson. Ten points were awarded to both Gryffindor and Slytherin, thanks to Snape and Evans' result. But the verdict was greeted with little enthusiasm by both Houses: the rivalry between the two factions did not allow for ties.
"Potions is a very complicated subject, indeed!" huffed Beth, as she and Alya walked out of the classroom.
Little Black merely nodded, mute, with clear disappointment painted on her face.
For the first time that week, Alya had not proved to be the best in her class. In fact, her performance in Potions had turned out to be less than mediocre. Not to mention that she had been outperformed by an insulting Gryffindor Muggle-Born. A fierce anger began to bubble up acidly in her stomach as she thought back to the swaggering grin that Lily Evans had showed when announcing her non-pure origins.
A Muggle-Born proving herself better than you! What a disgrace! whispered maliciously a little voice hidden in Alya's head, which sounded remarkably like Walburga's.
***
When evening came, Alya was happy to go to sleep. The frustration she had felt at Potions was still burning inside her and the only thing she wanted was to leave that heavy day behind. While her friends, wrapped up in their pyjamas, were busy exchanging the most disparate opinions and comments on the professors they had met in those two days of classes, Alya mumbled a very hasty goodnight and, with the excuse of feeling exhausted, took refuge under the green blankets and sheets, nagged by tormented thoughts about dishonour.
Little Black tried to calm the whirlwind of her mind, concentrating exclusively on the aquatic movements that reigned in the depths of the Black Lake, the perfect view that the bedroom window gave her every night. The image of the sinuous tentacles of the giant octopus, floating in the dark water, was captured by Alya's sleepy eyes, before closing in drowsiness.
Now, it was Alya floating lightly in a liquid black skein; a serpentine figure swung before her. It was a snake. Alya recognised it and was not surprised when it barely opened its smooth jaws to emit a hissing sound, which the girl had learned to understand.
"Follow me." the reptile whispered its silent invitation, muffled by the dark slime.
Alya followed it fearlessly, aware of where it would lead her.
Indeed, the dark liquid mass dissolved, revealing a new landscape, well familiar to little Black.
Alya walked through the courtyard, hidden by twisted trees and full of uncultivated weeds, past the small door with the usual snake corpse nailed to the wood, the miserable and dirty kitchen and crossed the doorstep of a small room.
Alya's grey eyes recognised the frail, bony figure of her dream friend, whose back was now turned to her, as she gazed pensively at the starry sky expanding beyond the little window above the cot.
"Hi, Merope!" greeted Alya in Parseltongue, announcing her presence.
Thus, Merope turned slowly, pleased to hear her friend's voice, ready to give her a warm welcome.
But when she saw Merope's face, Alya paled, horrified.
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A/N:
Hi Beauties! Here is a new chapter of my story.
What do you think about these Alya's first days at Hogwarts?
And about Merope? What could have happened to her?
As usual, I truly hope you enjoyed the chapter.
Thank you for reading ♡! I hope to read your opinions^^
Vale