**TOOK ME LONG ENOUGH-- For all those refusing to give up on removing this story from their library- I love you 😘 ****
All Ava heard as she woke up early that morning of her first day of fifth year was the swirling current of the great lake echoing against the window of her room.
The deep sighs and shallow breaths of her fellow roommates sounded around her as she slowly sat up in bed and removed the satin sleep mask from her eyes.
There was nothing more comforting then waking up from a deep sleep, feeling fully rested and noting the time on the clock read over one hour before you had to get up from bed. It took another moment of her blinking back sleep to remember once again the fact staring her in the face.
She was safe.
Her father couldn't get to her here and there was no need to whisper and hoard her time in her bedroom.
I swung my legs off the bed and let them dangle as I felt a smile spread on my lips.
I was free here and there was nothing my no good parents could do about it.
My feet touched down on the floor and I was off like a pixie, grabbing my newly ironed uniform off the hanger and stealthily sneaking out the door with my ballet flats in hand.
Fully dressed with my hair brushed back and a pop of red on my lips, I was out of the girls dorm within ten minutes and racing down the stairs where I found a mostly dead common room.
A first year was by the left-sided fire place with a notebook open writing down a list of his classes in cursive better than my own. He didn't stir as I walked past, exiting through the portal.
I found myself outside by the bridge leading to the grounds when I finally let Oliver, who was squirming in my arms to the point of strangling himself, off running into the green without a care in the world.
I climbed up the side of the railing of the bridge itself and swung one leg over, letting my skirt flare out before leaning back onto the wooden beam behind me.
I pulled a cigarette out of my cloak and lite it aimlessly before taking a drag and turning front to face the castle.
This year was going to be different. I could feel it in my bones. My brother was going to be saved if I could only get a moment of Dumbledore's time. That shouldn't be that difficult considering the letter I still had to deliver.
And once Theo was in the clear, then maybe I could escape from my family as well...after all, I had friends in varying places.
The one thing I knew for certain was I was never going back to my father's again. I had an entire school year to figure out how I was going to elude my parents.
But first I had to go to class.
Sam was in the midst of eating her beans on toast when I waltzed up the Slytherin table and straddled the bench opposite her.
"Sleep well?"
Her brow rose as I reached for a muffin before she took a deep sniff of the air.
"You smell like a chimney."
" Nothing a little perfume can't fix."
"Merlin—can you be any more French? Pass the pitcher."
As I reached for the orange juice, I caught sight of Snape standing at the far end of the table handing out a schedule to Blaise. Draco sat beside him, scanning his own schedule with deep interest.
"Are you going to tell me where you were this morning or am I just going to have to accept silence?" Sam asked, catching my eye over her cup.
"You already have an answer. You smelt it."
As Sam cast me a discouraged look, Tati caught my eye, rushing up the table, and stopping short by her sister with an urgent look in her dark eyes.
"What do you want?"
Sam didn't look entirely pleased to be interrupted from her breakfast a second time. But her sister wasn't really giving her an option on the topic.
"The girls didn't listen to me and now Rebecca and Lottie have books for Divination while I bought books for ruddy Ancient Runes!"
"What do you want me to do about it?"
"I don't know!" squeaked Tati with frustration. "But Snape's coming and I don't know what to tell him."
"Tell him you have two thick-headed friends."
"Sam!"
"What's going on?" I asked, lowering my cup. Sam gave me a shake of the head in warning but Tati was already going off.
"My friends and I were talking over the summer about which two additional classes we should add now that we're fourth years and I remember deciding on Muggle Studies and Ancient Runes. And I thought we as a group had too but—"
"Oh Tati, did you forget to write them about it?" Sam sighed, dragging a hand through her unruly hair. "You did this to yourself. Just deal with it."
"But I don't want to sit in a class alone without my friends!"
"Easy solution," I said, stopping the sister's bickering short. "Just hand me your copy of Ancient Runes and I'll give you my copy of Divination. It's the same textbook as last year, right?"
"Ava," Sam warned but Tati had already clapped her hands excitedly.
"That's brilliant. Yes, please thank you, Ava! I'll pick it up after breakfast."
I hid my smile in my cup as Tati walked off with a new pep in her step leaving me with a pair of dark eyes glaring at me.
"Oh and so now I'm the one without a friend through Divination?"
I smiled beside myself as I picked at my muffin, catching a glance at where Snape was in the lineup not too far from us.
"You will have Ginny and besides, I've been in her situation before. It's no fun."
"And yet you're willing to do it again? What's Tati done to get you all sweet all of a sudden?"
I feigned deaf and turned in time to see Snape stop short in front of me in a whirl of black fabric.
"Miss Fountaine," Snape's cool drawl of a voice sounded with as much joy as a grey lens. "And Miss Spencer.... As incoming fifth years you will both have one on one meetings with myself within the coming days to discuss your futures should you make it to graduation."
"Should?" Sam repeated but Snape had already drawn out a blank schedule and looked to me.
"Your meeting times will be on the Slytherin bulletin by this afternoon and in the meantime, Miss Fountaine, your core classes along with your NEWT level potions course are as follows. What of your electives?"
I told him to change my divination class and to add choir which stirred another raised brow from my raven-haired friend across the table. I watched as he drew up my schedule with a swift touch of his wand without comment and hand the parchment my way before turning to my friend.
"And Miss Spencer..."
"Professor?" I spoke up, sending both Sam and Snape's dark stares back towards me. "If I were to seek a meeting with the headmaster, how should I go about it?"
Snape drew up to his fullest height before racking me with scrutinizing eyes.
"And what business do you have, Miss Fountaine, with our headmaster? He does not have the time to meet with every student at this school. Whatever you have to ask I should suffice.
A flicker of worry flared in Sam's eyes as Snape peered down to me expectingly but I kept his stare as I responded without missing a beat.
"My mother has a letter she wishes I deliver to the headmaster myself."
"And the reason for why your mother did not just send this letter over owl?" Snape questioned.
"That's a question to ask my mother. I'm simply following orders. Though I suppose it relates to my being able to take part in the apparition classes given my American citizenship."
It took a beat for Snape to respond but I could see his mind working for possible reasons I may be lying. Finally he extended his hand out to me expectingly.
"The letter."
"But—"
"No buts," he critiqued smoothly. "Otherwise you can attempt to send your mother's letter through owl. I'm sure the headmaster will get to it in a week or so. Once he's sorted out the rest of his post..."
I handed him the letter without another word and watched it disappear in the mass of his black cloaks before Snape moved on.
"I guess you'll have to find a different way to speak to Dumbledore about Theo," Sam stated as we made our way through the halls toward first class. We paused near the stairs as a mass of students came from the doorway.
"I'll figure it out. Worst case scenario I get Ron to make Harry my messenger boy."
"What was that?"
Sam and I turned together to find Hermione walking towards us from the Great Hall. Her hair was brushed back with a clip to her ear to reveal the line of her neck.
It hit me in that moment that Hermione looked older.
"Just Ava's ramblings for school domination," Sam said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She looked back to me, adding, "I'll see you in Transfiguration."
I turned to see Hermione watch Sam's retreat before turning her gaze to me with an arched brow.
"You said it yourself, I need to get to Dumbledore."
Clarity filled her face as she released a sigh and grasped my arm in hers. We started for the stairs and joined the growing crowd of students.
"Have you heard anything about this new potions professor?" I asked as we made our way down the steps, with the others.
"Only that he's the one who sent all those invites on the train," Hermione explained, holding open the door to the end of the stairs. "And that he collects people. He's not bad really from what Harry's said."
"Well I guess we'll find out. Also, I'm joining you for Ancient Runes this year."
Hermione turned sharply my way with an expression I couldn't entirely read. "What's with the sudden change of interests?"
"Do I need a reason to change out of Divination?" I shot back, with a similar look towards her. A boy in front of me in Hufflepuff yellow held the door out for me as we made it to the lowest level and I thanked him with barely a nod of the head.
"I guess not," Hermione sounded, though her voice held skepticism.
"Where are the boys?" I asked as we made our way across the dungeons towards the potions room. Hermione paused in front of the door as a few students tried the locked door.
"They didn't apply for this class. Snape had a strict OWL limit as you very well know. I think they have a free period, actually."
"I thought Harry wanted to be an auror. Doesn't he need potions?"
"How do you know that?" Hermione quipped back, sounding skeptical again. The repetitiveness of it was starting to irk me.
"Ginny. She knows quite a lot about him given her constant assurances she does not have any inclinations towards him."
This did cause Hermione to break into a chuckle and consequent smile that had her docking her head briefly, her bushy hair- once a mad house of curly strands and straight pieces—now held a uniformity of waves as her trussells shifted like a curtain around her face and then faded back behind her ears.
She gave a stare that held a level of intellect that I only wish I could convey.
"I think the breeze may change between those two from what I've seen of Harry recently." I only managed to quirk my head to the side at the news before the classroom doors were suddenly opened, revealing that bon-bon happy physique of my new potion's professor.
"Very well then, come in come in!" He said in a voice a decimal higher in tone than what I was anticipating. I gave Hermione a perturbed glance but she only docked another small smile before stepping forward with me on her tail and into the classroom.
I was pleasantly surprised to see how much the potions room had changed with the new professor in place. While Snapes classroom always held the sense that the shadows moved on their own, the corners were possessed and if you ventured too far into one side of the room, something would be there to great you in the smoky haze, this new classroom had dispelled of all that nonsense.
Two separate fireplaces that I hadn't noticed existed before, were lit, allowing a charming warmth to wash over the once cold atmosphere of a classroom. The tables were no longer stacked in rows with the professor's table at the far back of the room. Rather, my new teacher stood beside a table in the center with the students tables arranged in a circular fashion around him.
Different cauldrons already smoldering with vapors lazily curling in the air sat on varying tables for all to see.
Gone were the shelves of pickled animals, skulls of varying cleanliness and old tomes that housed generations of spider kind. Replaced instead by intricate glass vials of different sizes, some no doubt looked like elvish crystal that shone lavender and red in the light.
Another shelf held what looked to be an array of different frames with pictures moving idly to watch the newcomers fill the space.
Hermione and I gave each other another look, before moving towards a table closer to the center where a cauldron who's lid remained steadily closed sat waiting.
A small stream of students filtered their way into the room, reminding me of just how many people Snape had weeded out from the original class.
There was a few Ravenclaws I hadn't recognized that were setting themselves up at a table behind us as a trio of Hufflepuff fifth years came in followed by the slinky movements of Nott, who's sly eyes made contact with mine almost instantly. A slight wiggle of his brow with a line of humor in his smirk was all I caught from him before he turned and made his way to a table exactly opposite mine, facing south in front of the potion's master while Hermione and I sat North. He placed his bag down and feigned intrigue in the bubbling potion beside him before raising his left hand from his collar and simultaneously turned his gaze back my way.
With a snap I closed my potions book and faced back to Hermione who was regarding me with a line of concern in her gaze.
"Nothing," I muttered as I readjusted myself on my seat and waited.
I felt more than saw Draco appearing in the room, with Blaise in tow. They seemed to walk in as shadows to the other students ahead of them and faded just as easily into the corners of the room as they made their way to Nott and his choice of table that was irritatingly placed directly in my line of sight from my chair.
I couldn't look to the professor without also catching sight of that trio.
Nott was such an ass for that.
And he knew it of course.
But as Draco made himself comfortable next to Nott, he made no sign that he recognized that I was even there as he went about turning to say something in passing to Blaise, leaving the trio to their quips and sharp tag lines.
"Now that I see everyone settled, let's begin!" The professor started, as the doors to the classroom closed with a low groan, signaling the start of my day.