Wow, guys over 50 reads! Thanks so much. I know it isn't a lot compared to other authors but I really do appreciate your support so thanks! Let me know if there's anything I can improve on, I really am happy to take constructive criticism. Nice long chapter for you today; enjoy...
Al entered the Great Hall on the first morning with Daphne and instantly spotted Harry sat with Ron on the far right table. She headed over to them, smiling and saying hello as she did so. "How's Gryffindor?" she asked, helping herself to some porridge and honey.
"Uh yeah, it's good. Loads of armchairs and stuff and everyone's really nice," Harry replied with a grin, "How's Slytherin?"
"Sounds pretty much the same. People seemed a little bit on edge but all the prefects are really helpful," Ron pulled a face, "What?" she asked him, confused.
"Ron already got told off by a Slytherin prefect," Harry informed her, "for not tucking his shirt in."
"They're so unfair. Fred and George warned me that they wouldn't be nice to anyone but their own house," Ron complained. Al didn't argue and just went to her orange juice, considering she didn't have any evidence against it.
She carried on eating in peace - despite getting odd looks from other students - until McGonagall approached Ron, Harry and herself. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," she listed, handing out timetables, "Are you supposed to be sat over here, Miss Dursley?"
Al felt herself go a little bit pink, "Am I not supposed to?" she asked as politely as was possible.
"Well it's not usually done, but I don't see why not," the professor replied, "I'd go and get your timetable from Professor Snape, though," she added as an afterthought.
Al nodded and once she'd finished her porridge went to go and find Snape. He was wandering along the Slytherin table, also handing out timetables. "Uh, Professor?" she asked, "Do you have my timetable, please?"
He turned around looking her up and down, "Is this table not good enough for you, Miss Dursley?" he asked her accusingly. A few of the older students sniggered around her.
"Well, Harry's my cousin, so I thought I'd check-in. Like the loving, caring person I am," she replied, forcing a smile.
"Hm," he responded, looking ever-so-slightly taken-aback. "Here's your timetable then," he said, handing her a small piece of parchment. She looked at it; first up was Charms with the Hufflepuffs.
"Thank you, Professor," she said, plonking herself down next to Draco, who was eating his toast while reading through a letter from his mother.
"Sleep well?" she asked, grabbing an apple to eat while passing the time.
"Uh-huh," he said still engrossed in his letter.
When the bell rang, she headed off to her very first charms lesson. It, like most of the other lessons she had that week, was pretty simple to her. They mainly practiced wand motions and theory in charms and transfiguration, although she did manage to turn her toothpick into a needle by the end of her first transfiguration lesson. McGonagall gave her five points for being the third in the year, right after Hermione Granger and Draco. Herbology was pretty simple too. All they really did was re-pot plants, although sometimes they wriggled a little bit.
Her very first potions lesson was on Friday morning and the only lesson with the Gryffindors. She looked around for Harry but couldn't see him, so she sat with just Draco. The other Slytherin girls were gathered around Blaise and Theodore was sat with Crabbe and Goyle, waiting presumably for Draco.
Finally, Ron and Harry ran in, late, and she beckoned them over to sit with her. Draco huffed about it but she was sure he didn't really mind. Throughout the week she'd caught him complaining or making mean comments about other students, but he was getting better than he had been on the train. And for whatever reason, he didn't dare say anything in front of Al. The thing about the Slytherins, was they all acted really tough in front of each other, but each one of them could tell everyone was faking it. It was only the second day when Al overheard Millicent Bulstrode saying she'd hex the next Gryffindor that spoke to her but then broke down crying half an hour later in the dorm. Al couldn't make any sense of it all.
Snape began to speak, "Ah yes. Harry Potter. Our new - celebrity." Harry flushed pink and some of the Slytherins sniggered into their cauldrons. Al caught Crabbe and Goyle joining in and sent them a glare, which shut them up. Blaise and Daphne hadn't though, and neither had Theodore. He carried on talking, going on about something vaguely to do with potions. Ron and Harry were pulling some funny faces and Draco was actually listening. It took all the will in the world for her not to laugh when she looked over and saw Hermione Granger on the edge of the seat. "Potter!" Snape shouted suddenly, making her jump, "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel, to an infusion of wormwood?" Al honestly had no idea and it looked like Harry didn't either. Granger did though because her hand shot up into the air. Al rolled her eyes at Draco and Ron.
"I don't know sir," said Harry.
"Tut-tut," the professor sneered, "clearly fame isn't everything." This got a few laughs too, but Al was getting angrier by the second.
"No one ever said it was," she mumbled, loud enough for only her table to hear. Harry smiled over at her.
"Think something's funny? Let's try again. Where would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" he asked Harry.
"Maybe the store cupboard?" she mumbled, making Draco and Ron grin. Harry echoed what she'd said and Snape's eyes flashed dangerously. Granger's hand was still up, to the great annoyance of Al and clearly Harry.
"What is the difference, Potter, between Monkshood and wolfsbane?" Hermione actually stood up at this point and Al had no choice but to let out a small, quiet laugh. She wasn't a cruel person but the girl just looked ridiculous.
"I don't know sir," Harry replied, "I think Hermione does though, why don't you ask her?" A few of the Gryffindor's laughed at this, and Al was bursting with pride.
Snape did not find it funny, "Sit down," he snapped at Hermione, "And one point from Gryffindor for your cheek Potter."
Al was very careful when making her cure for boils - she wanted to get it just right. With a steady hand, she weighed out her nettles perfectly and stewed her horned slugs until they were exactly right. She finished first out of everyone, with her potion a beautiful, deep blue, just like the book said. Snape peered in a small smile of satisfaction flickering over his face, "Excellent work, Miss Dursley. 10 points to Slytherin."
She smiled back and cleared away her space, bottling up her potion and taking her cauldron to the sink. Just as she passed a table full of Gryffindor's, she noticed Neville from the train about to add his porcupine quills at the wrong time. She hastily scurried over, stopping him just in time. "Your potion needs to cool a bit first, otherwise they'll react with the heat," she told him.
"Oh yeah," he said, suddenly realising. She glanced down at his potion, which was a toxic looking, thick, lumpy mess.
"And you didn't stew your horned slugs for long enough," she added, pointing to the lumps, "and you added way too much flobberworm mucus." She glanced up at him and saw him going very pink. "But don't worry!" she said quickly, not wanting to hurt his feelings, "if you add more water and let it simmer before adding the quills, it should smooth out."
He nodded, "Add more water, leave to simmer, leave to cool, add the quills," he said, repeating it back to her. She nodded with a smile as he scribbled it down, "Thanks, Al," he added and she headed back to her bench, where Draco was finishing up.
Thirty minutes later, Snape dismissed the class, and Harry and Ron left ahead, looking relieved. She attempted to go with them, but Snape stopped her, "Not you, Miss Dursley. Stay behind please." Wondering what on earth could be the matter, she waited impatiently while the potions master cleared away the leftover things. "Sit," he said suddenly, so she sat back down at her bench. "I saw you helping Mr. Longbottom," he told her accusingly. He waited for her to respond, but she didn't, so he continued, "How did you know what had gone wrong with his potion?" he asked her, so she explained. The lumps were obviously bits of horned slug because that was the only lumpy ingredient and it was the wrong colour. And the only thick ingredient was the flobberworm mucus, so that was why it wasn't runny. He nodded understanding, "So you added water because that would allow the slugs to stew some more and thin out the potion simultaneously."
"Yes, Professor," she replied.
He smiled at her, which was slightly grim because he usually wore a sour expression, "You'll be stealing my job soon, Miss Dursley."
"Is that all, Professor?" she asked, hungry for her lunch.
"No, it isn't. I have been informed your parents are muggles. Non-wizards," he added when she looked confused. That cleared a few things up.
"Yes they are, Professor," she replied.
He looked a little irritated with her response, "It was not Salazar Slytherin's wish to have muggle-born students in his house. You will stay, but be wary - muggle-borns are not favoured by Slytherin students." She was quite annoyed at this - who was he to tell her that she didn't belong there? She bid goodbye and left the dungeon in a huff, making Draco sit at the Gryffindor table with her so she could talk to Harry about the lesson.