ᗪOᑌᗷᒪE TᖇOᑌᗷᒪE.
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Almost immediately, the door swung open and they were greeted by a stern-looking witch in emerald green robes. (Y/n)'s first thought was of her grandmother on her mothers side, Endora Benedict. She never did take on her grandfathers surname (Grimrose).
(Y/n) looked around at all of the other first years, saw Harry, and waved. To her surprise, he saw her and waved back with an uncertain grin, which was a shame. (Y/n) turned back to look at the witch.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid introduced.
"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here."
McGonagall pulled the door open wide and (Y/n) marveled at the entrance hall. She was quite sure she'd never seen anything quite as big as this, unless... maybe Gringotts, but she couldn't tell which was bigger. It'd be funny if the ceiling somehow fell down on them and killed them all.
They followed McGonagall as she led them into an empty chamber off the hall, clustering together. She then proceeded to dive into a detailed explanation about the Sorting Ceremony, as well as the different Houses you may be sorted into depending on you. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, RavenClaw and Slytherin. Triumphs earn House Points, rule-breaking loses points. Then stuff about the House Cup.
"I shall return when we are ready for you." She said. "Please wait quietly."
(Y/n) shuffled slightly closer to the front of the crowd, as did Draco. She could hear Harry asking Ron how they sorted them.
"Some sort of test, I think." Replied Ron. "Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."
"A test?" (Y/n) half-whispered, suddenly uneasy. Although, she should be fine, right? Her mother mentioned something about a test, maybe. Should she have studied beforehand? All of the other first years seemed anxious as well, but of course, Draco still had a calm expression. (Y/n)'s anxiety didn't remain for long... if she didn't get something good, well... lifes tough, get a helmet.
She soon remembered her mothers words about some sort of Sorting Hat. Sorting HAT, Sorting CEREMONY... Soon enough she jogged her memory, as a series of ghosts streamed through the walls, arguing.
She only looked up when one of the ghosts addressed the first years. How cursed yet blessed they are... "New students! About to be Sorted, I suppose?"
She nodded, along with a few others. This was the Fat Friar, as it seemed.
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" He exclaimed gleefully. "My old House, you know."
(Y/n) chuckled and heard a scoff next to her, no doubt from Malfoy. She remembered his words from Madam Malkins.
"You might just get placed into Hufflepuff, Draco." She whispered as Professor McGonagall came back, leaning towards him and watched as a frown made its way onto his face. "Think you'll leave?"
"Please, you don't really think that I'd be sorted into Hufflepuff?" He asked with narrowed eyes, crossing his arms. (Y/n) looked him up and down as they and the first years got into a line at McGonagall
"Well, you'd fit in, probably. Actually, they're a House of hard-workers, so, probably not..."
His pale face now had a hint of unusual pink on it, most likely from anger of being told he'd fit into Hufflepuff, and then from her implying he's lazy. He opened his mouth to speak but she laughed slightly and covered it.
"No, no, don't worry, I was joking." This didn't seem to appease Draco, so she hastily added, "Hey, hey, I'd still like you anyway, hm? Maybe." She added under her breath.
"You kind of have to, either way." He said annoyedly after removing her hand. "To make your parents happy, as well as mine. If you disliked me, there'd be big problems."
"Riiiight." (Y/n) chuckled dryly. "No use worrying till the future, hm? Even if it probably sucks... For now we can hate each other as muuuuch as we'd like. Uh... You don't really hate me, do you?"
"Hate would be an understatement."
"Ouch, what did I do?"
"Be insufferable." Draco hit her head harshly. "Never visit again or I'll hex you."
They were shushed annoyedly by someone. All of the first years had entered the Great Hall by now
The hat broke out into song, and after that was over, one by one the first years went to try on the hat. Hannah to Hufflepuff, someone named Terry to Ravenclaw.
"Frey, Uhuru!" McGonagall called. A girl with strikingly red hair and green-eyes went up to try the hat on. Uhuru had the hat on for a few moments before it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"
Next went "Chevalier, Nirvikar!" Nirvikar had sandy blonde hair and what seemed to be different colored eyes. He was sorted into Slytherin. (Y/n) looked back at Draco and saw that he had an approving look.
Somebody named Mandy went up and went to RavenClaw, then Lavender. Nereus Hydrophyte went to RavenClaw, as did somebody named Lei Tempest. Anahera Harper went to Hufflepuff.
(Y/n) perked up when her last name was called.
"Kloet, Ezekiel!" A false alarm. A sickly, pale boy with dull green hair and dead yellow eyes stalked up to the sorting hat. This was (Y/n)'s cousin on her fathers side. He was sorted into Slytherin. She suspected he might be adopted, but then again, maybe not.
Then went a girl name Hermione Granger to Gryffindor... Draco went soon after a boy named Neville...
Finally it was (Y/n)'s turn. The Hat didn't take too long to decide. It murmured stuff about the Kloet family tree, pondered whether she should go to RavenClaw or Slytherin, took a quick look into her own thoughts to figure out her as a person (fairly quickly though) and made it's final choice.
"SLYTHERIN!" It shouted out, there were plenty of boos and hisses mostly from the Gryffindor table. Particularly loud ones, she noticed, were from two ginger twins. Ignoring those, she got off the stool as McGonagall removed the hat from her head.
(Y/n) bounded over to join Draco and his friends. "Good going, Draco! I thought you would have to leave, hm?"
"No way would I be in Hufflepuff." Draco retorted.
"Hmm... why do you dislike Hufflepuff so much? Hate what you can't be?" (Loyal, hardworking... friendly jokes.)
He didn't respond. Like, at all. They got into chatting for a bit, as the rest of the first years were sorted into their houses. Harry Potter into Gryffindor, obviously. There was a lot of kind of playful banter between the two, although also some serious insults between friends. She could tell he was really trying not to be rude, but if it weren't for their parents Draco probably wouldn't have given two shits about her whatsoever.
Once all students had been sorted into their Houses, which didn't take too long as there weren't many left, Dumbledore stood up off his seat.
"Welcome!" Dumbledore greeted. He seemed like a nice old man. "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."
"What the bloody hell was that all about?" (Y/n) murmured to Draco, who shrugged in response. When they looked down at their plates, they were filled with all sorts of delicious foods. "Wow, you want first pick?"
She noticed that some ghosts were stopping by to chat with the students. After filling her plate with whatever it was she wanted to try out (there was a wide variety of dishes here, a lot of which she had never seen), she looked over to see Draco's now displeased face. Leaning forward to see why, she now saw that it was due to one of the ghosts being next to him.
She looked over to the Gryffindor table and saw some of the students conversing another ghost she knew was most likely the Gryffindor ghost. The transparent figure spoke to them once more and she caught Harry's gaze when he looked over to their table. Smiling, (Y/n) waved slightly at him. He didn't seem to sure whether to return the friendly gesture but did it all the same.
Then, with the thought of House Ghosts in mind, (Y/n) gasped and turned to look at the ghost on the other side of Draco.
"Oh! Aren't you the Bloody Baron?" (Y/n) asked. "My mum told me about you."
The Bloody Baron turned out to be an... interesting fellow. He chatted somewhat with the first years. Dumbledore then gave his start-of-term notices to the Hall, they sang their school song (all singing to different tunes with the last to finish being the ginger twins that booed particularly loudly at her being placed in Slytherin) and went to their dorms.
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(Y/n) found the classes to be challenging but at the same time rather easy, if she simply paid attention. She had good hearing, so she was able to take seats near the back of the class and hear the teachers alright. The only problem was that sometimes, she got a little bored and used Draco as a distraction by whispering rude things to him and watching him get annoyed.
Herbology was interesting for (Y/n). She wondered whether all these plants that Professor Sprout had would be useful for brewing potions, and she'd always wanted to try making one herself. She wondered whether she could make figure out how to make some sort of lethal poison in just her first year, yet that was unlikely.
(Y/n) was sure she wasn't alone in thinking that Defense Against the Dark Arts was extremely disappointing. Professor Quirrell proved to be a bit of a wimp who didn't really teach them much and his classroom always held the strong, rather foul odor of garlic.
Classes she really looked forward to were any with Harry. She was excited to see how he, the famous Harry Potter, would do in school and to learn more about him. After all, she'd grown up with stories about him, the boy who lived against all odds. Plus, if he failed ever, it'd be highly amusing.
Double Potions with the Gryffindors was on her schedule today. This meant she might see Harry in class, she couldn't decide whether the big PLUS+ in this scenario was seeing more of Harry Potter himself or the fact that she was going to attend Potions for the first time.
She'd always been very keen on learning about potions, having a strong affinity for them. (Potions is my favorite class okay?)
"What do you reckon?" (Y/n) asked, turning to Draco. It was breakfast at the moment. Draco stared at her blankly.
"What?" He said.
"What do you think he's like?" (Y/n) asked again, looking up when the owls arrived with the mail. Apollo was among them.
Draco blinked, looking up at the owls as well as he spotted his own. "Who?"
"Harry Potter, of course. We've only met him twice, briefly."
Draco, again, merely stared at her while she took the small package of snacks from Apollo that her mother had sent. He thought for what was probably only a second before responding. "A real idiot, if you ask me."
"I was asking you."
"Shut up."
"Do you have to say that every time? It's getting old."
He looked away annoyedly. It seems the poor boy still hadn't gotten over Harry refusing his friendship proposal, (Y/n) chuckled and pocketed some of the snacks she'd received, offering her least favorite ones to him (Bertie Botts Beans). They finished their breakfast and headed off to their Potions class.
Professor Snape started off this class by taking the roll call, pausing when he got to Harry.
"Ah, yes." Snape said softly."Harry Potter, our new celebrity." (This scene was so amazing in the movies but in the books- CHEFS KISS.)
When Snape had finished calling the names, he started to give what seemed like a mini-speech. "You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with it's 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, and even... put a stopper, in death — if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads I usually have to teach."
Everyone stayed silent after this. (Y/n) shifted in her seat nervously yet excitedly. This, after all, was the class she had been most eager to learn in. Before coming to Hogwarts, she had studied up on Potions during her free time (by free time, whenever her mother was for once CALM and not disturbing her peace).
"Potter!" Snape said out of the blue. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"
Granger's hand had shot almost immediately into the air, and (Y/n) followed, a bit more hesitantly. She didn't trust her memory all that well at times. Meanwhile, Harry looked very perplexed.
"I don't know, sir." He replied.
Aw, picking on him already. Poor boy. Do it again.
"Tut, tut — clearly, fame isn't everything. Is it, Mr. Potter?" Snape sneered, if he noticed Hermione and (Y/n)'s hands he chose not to call them. "Let's try again. Where, Mr. Potter, would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"
This time (Y/n) stuck her hand up quicker than Granger.
"I don't know sir."
"And what, Mr. Potter, is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"
Granger and (Y/n) raised their hands higher, both standing up, except (Y/n) was pulled back down onto her seat by Draco.
"I don't know." Harry responded, this time more quiet than before. "I think Hermione and Kloet do, though. Why don't you try them?"
No first name basis? Dang. However, understandable. A few people laughed at Harry's comment but Snape definitely did not look pleased.
"Sit down," he snapped at Granger, who had stood up on tip-toes to raise her hand even higher. "For your information, Potter, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of 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 that down? And a point will be taken from Gryffindor House for your cheek, Potter."
(Y/n) quickly started to grab her quill and pieces of parchment to write everything down. They were all sorted into pairs and put to prepare a cure for boils. Snape had taken to criticizing most of the students except for (Y/n) and Draco, who were paired up.
"It's amazing how I did a lot of of the work for you yet he only credited you." (Y/n) whispered, leaning against her friend slightly. Draco scoffed. "Favoritism, much?"
"I did work, too."
Snape was busy praising their work (again, crediting mostly Draco) until... Neville happened. He'd melted a cauldron and was sent to the hospital wing, then Snape unfairly took a point from Gryffindor again by blaming it on Harry. An hour later, class ended and they all went on with their lives.
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A bit later in the day, (Y/n) was sat down in the Slytherin common room, reading a book on Potions so that she wouldn't disappoint anyone. The 'anyone' being herself. Or at least, that was the case, until Draco came up to her to talk, and do note that he mostly likes to complain about others, so (Y/n) found herself putting away her books in the girls dorms and leaving the common room altogether.
She strode alone the halls boredly, the excitement she'd had about coming to Hogwarts having worn off as she slowly got accustomed to the daily routines. Having nothing to do and usually not being able to sleep too well, she'd started reading books as a pass-time, sometimes during night and not getting the amount of sleep required.
It was a miracle that she was able to stay awake during her classes and get notes without passing out and missing most of the lesson. She was lost in her thoughts, thinking about how to improve her grades in History of Magic as it was the only class she was dozing off in, when she inhaled a strong and extremely foul odor.
Narrowing her eyes, she covered her nose with the sleeve of her robes and stepped back. The sound of laughter was heard, as well as the screeching voice of Filch the caretaker and his running footsteps.
She spotted the two twins who had booed loudly at her placement in Slytherin as they dropped another Dungbomb into the corridor. They smirked and quickly dashed into an empty classroom, managing to close the door quickly yet quietly behind them.
Filch's cranky figure came running into view and (Y/n) blinked, her robe sleeve still covering her nose. She glanced at the closed classroom door and then to Filch, who was glaring at her as though she were a fly trying to land on his lunch.
Out of nowhere, he bellowed: "PEEVES!"
"Sorry, whom?" She inquired, dumbstruck.
"The bloody poltergeist! Oh, I'll have him out of here one day- PEEVES!" He roared angrily, trying to ignore the smell the Dungbomb had left behind. There had been no ghost, as (Y/n) was fully aware, but rather a mischievous pair of ginger twins.
"He went that way, sir!" (Y/n) pointed behind her, big mistake since she'd pointed with the hand that was covering her nose. She coughed and quickly covered it again. "Threw another Dungbomb in my direction and everything!"
"PEEVES! I'LL HAVE YOU OUT OF HERE, MARK MY WORDS!" His anger against Peeves seem to have made him forget to question (Y/n) as to why she, a student, was out and about wandering the school. Filch went running off in search of the poltergeist that was actually innocent for once.
The smell of the Dungbombs had gone away rather quickly (surprisingly, since she'd had experience with those previously and the stench was awful and lingered for hours). (Y/n) sighed, shrugged, and went on her merry way.
She was nearing the corner when the door of the classroom was heard opening and out came the two twins, who were still grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Nice save, for people you don't know." Said one as they came up to her. She turned around and stared. Why had she done it? Well, for one thing, she didn't feel like making any enemies just yet.
"So, why'd you do it?" Said the other, coming up on her other side and eyeing her curiously. "I mean... with you being a Slytherin, and all."
"Gosh, not the House prejudices..." She groaned, covering her face. "Do Slytherin's really need a reason for acts of... kindness, if you can call it that?"
"What do you think, Fred?" Said Tweedledee.
"I dunno, what do you reckon, George?" Said Tweedledum.
"They are a pretty dodgy lot."
"Evil is more like it."
"I'm right here." (Y/n) sighed, exasperated. These were older students if she was correct... would it be wise to insult those more experienced than her in magic?
"You seem decent enough, for a Slytherin." George observed, placing a hand on his chin. "What's your name?"
"(Y/n) Kloet." She answered impatiently, although she had nowhere to be just yet she felt that she simply wanted to be away from here as soon as possible. The smell of Dungbombs... I'd said it was gone, yet was actually still there... faint, but there.
"Ah, that does ring a bell. Reminds me of poet." Fred commented. He suddenly stepped away. "I'm Fred, this is George."
"Or is he George, and I'm Fred?"
"Hm, you're... Thing one, meanwhile that's Thing two." She spoke of a muggle television show that her mother had mad her watch... Her mother had always been fascinated by muggles in a way, but not nearly on the level that she'd described Arthur Weasley to be. "Meanwhile, I can hear footsteps as well as the sound of a rather cranky caretaker who must not have found any Peeves, so don't you think you ought to dash?"
The two of them chuckled at this, before the one she knew as Fred (since he was on her left and was called Fred by George) spoke.
"You'll get in trouble if you're also still here, he's in a bad enough mood as it is." Fred said with what was probably meant to be a solemn voice. "Poor you, all alone to deal with grumpy Filch."
"Unless you come with us." Added George
"I am perfectly capable of turning this corner and going on with my life..." (Y/n) muttered annoyedly, but sighed and shrugged. "Alright, nothing to do anyway."
"Great, now let's dash before we really do get in trouble." Fred murmured, running off so that George was left to pull (Y/n) along, to her protest.
They found a hidden passageway that they swore was one Filch didn't know about. Although (Y/n) strongly disliked meeting new people, she found these two to be rather entertaining and fun to be around.
They seemed to have forgotten that she was a Slytherin during the free hour or so they spent together, till she spoke up about it again. Oh yeah, they were now in an empty corridor instead of a hidden passageway.
"I have to return to the common room, forgot to read up on Potions since Draco was being annoying." She said with a sigh, looking at their disappointed faces.
"Isn't Potions kind of lame with Snape teaching it? Plus, he'll just take points off you and be highly critical and never satisfied." George commented, clearly confused as to why anyone would actually waste time trying to get better in a class Snape was teaching.
"It's my favorite subject." (Y/n) muttered. The disbelief was highly evident on their faces, until it went away.
"Oh, right. You're Slytherin." Fred muttered, as if realization just dawned on him. "He favors the lot of you."
"Jokes on you, I've been reading up on Potions since before Hogwarts." She tried her best to crack a smile at them but it seemed like they could tell. She looked around the empty corridor, trying to remember where it was exactly that she was.
"Fun seeing you, do remember us please?" George requested politely.
"Of course, it's hard to forget people quite as wonderful as us." Fred said with a smirk.
(Y/n)'s gaze flitted back and forth from Fred to George and Forge to Gred. "My memory isn't the best, but I'll try."
"Brilliant."
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(The Death Eaters but rabbits?! 😱 The way I'd join so fast.)