Crossing the Pond

Crossing the Pond

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Chapter 5: First Day, First Date, First Detention

    "Come on then, wake up!"

    Callie rolled over from her side to her stomach, burying her face into her pillow and ignoring the voice. "Just a few more minutes, Aunt Ellie," she muttered, groping for a snooze button on the hand that was shaking her shoulder.

    "I'm not your Aunt Ellie!" The voice continued. Its owner was lifting Callie by her arm and pulling her into a sitting position. Callie blinked a few times, vision blurred due to her lack of glasses. She squinted at the blonde head in front of her, trying to regain her wits.

    "Where am I?" she asked, looking around. "Ellie, your hair grew overnight."

    "I already said I'm not your aunt!" Molly Whitby pursed her lips, then picked up Callie's glasses and plopped them on her nose. "There, better?"

    "Ah-" Callie looked around again. Sunshine was streaming in from two windows facing east high above the beds. All around her the sixth year Slytherin girls were in the middle of getting dressed, brushing their hair and making themselves pretty. "That's right, I'm at Hogwarts," she murmured, twisting the leg of her Mr. Clean pants. "I was sorted into Slytherin." A sudden and unexpected pang of homesickness hit her in the gut, and she slumped down. "What time is it?"

    "Quarter to seven," Molly replied, sitting next to Callie on the bed. She was already fully dressed, except for socks. "We usually don't get up until seven or so, but it's the first day and we want to look somewhat decent."

    Callie shot Molly a look to kill. "So I could have slept for fifteen more minutes?"

Molly just glared at her with cool eyes.

"Are you sure you're not my Aunt Ellie? She always looks at me like that," Callie said while swinging her legs down to the floor and standing up. She stood on her tiptoes and stretched her arms to the ceiling, meowing in the process.

Sadie looked over at her from a full-length mirror next to the door. "Did you just meow?" she asked, frozen in place with a hairbrush in her hand.

Callie nodded, grinning. "Yup. Just something I do." She then reached behind her back and grabbed her right foot, stretching out her legs. Sadie returned to her hair, and Molly walked back over to her own bed to pull on knee socks. The only one missing from the room was Laura Lee.

    "Where's Laura?" Callie asked as she stretched her other leg. Morgan looked up from her dresser, also pajama clad.

    "She goes out running in the morning," she answered. "She's the second earliest riser here."

    "Who's the first, then?"

    "Molly. She was up at five this morning."

    Callie stood stone still and stared at Molly Whitby, who was struggling with a sock. "You're kidding me." Molly looked up, a bit surprised. She shook her head, then returned to her footwear dilemma. "That's friggin' early!"

    "Yup," Rin chimed in from inside her curtained off bed. "But at least she's quiet about it. Unlike Laura, who insists on banging around and waking us all up when it's still dark out."

    "I didn't hear a thing," replied Callie as she finished stretching out. She yawned and plodded over to her trunk, where a fresh set of robes emblazoned with the Slytherin shield was folded in a nice pile. "How did this get here?" she asked, looking back towards the rest of the girls in the room.    

    "House elves," Molly replied simply. She was now working on the other sock.

    "Huh." Callie curled her upper lip as she began to pick apart the many pieces of the uniform that went under the black work robes. "So what's the weather supposed to be like?" she asked, hopping out of her pajama pants.

    "Why don't you stick your head out the window and find out?" Rin replied, voice tinted with sarcasm. Callie shrugged, then climbed on top of a dresser situated right beneath one of the eastward facing windows. She pushed the window open with the heel of her hand and poked her face outside. The grass was covered in fine, clear dew, and while the air had a cool nip it was thick with moisture and the promise of an unusually hot day. The sky was a deep blue, without a cloud in sight.

    "It's gonna be hot and humid, with a chance of rain this evening," Callie predicted, ducking back into the room and hopping down from her dresser. She then turned back to her uniform, poking at her gray sweater. "Do we have to wear this?"

    "You can probably take it off between classes," Morgan answered as she precariously applied a rose colored lipstick. "I do. But it's really nice to have when it gets cold in the winter. Just put up with it; after a few days summer will be gone and there'll be snow on the ground, I promise." Callie nodded, finished with her questions for the moment. She continued changing into her uniform, hopping up and down to put on the same long knee socks Molly had struggled with earlier. She added black Mary Jane shoes as a final touch, then twirled in front of the full-length mirror.

    "Not bad!" she chirped, now fully awake. Sadie sauntered up behind her and grabbed her auburn hair, somewhat clumped from the night's sleep.

    "Can I play with your hair?" she asked.

    "Suuuuure," answered Callie. "Just don't do anything too... freaky."

    "Freaky?"

    "Erm... weird," Callie answered quickly. Sadie raised an eyebrow slightly, but shook off the answer and summoned Callie's hairbrush. She combed through Callie's locks piece by piece until they ran straight, if not somewhat frizzy, down her back, standing out against the deep black of the school robes.

    "I think it looks nice just like that," Rin commented as she finally exited her bed, fully prepared for the first day of school.

    "But it's Wednesday, and if our schedules are the same as they usually are we'll have potions today. Hair in a potion is not good. It should really be tied back," Sadie answered.

    "I'll bring a hairband and put it in a braid if we actually do any cauldron work," Callie cut in, desperate to get her hair back to herself.

    "How do you usually do your make-up?" Rin was eyeing Callie's face and taking mental note of its features as she spoke.

    "I don't wear make-up," the young American answered quickly. "Too much trouble, and it all wears off at the end of the day anyways."

    "Not if you use a sealing charm." Rin flipped her curly red hair over her shoulder and reached into her bag for something. "I'll help you if you like."

    "It's really okay." Callie smiled, glancing anxiously at her watch. "So when's breakfast?"

    "Anytime before classes start at 8:15," Molly answered, joining the rest of the group that was now swarmed about the door. "Once we get our schedules I'll tell you how the week is separated into different subject and course blocks. But for now we should head down to the great hall before all the good seats get taken and all the pastries are gone."

    "Sounds good!" Rin chimed, pulling her black robes around her shoulders. She kicked open the door with her toe and marched out into the round lobby that led to the girls' dorms, heading for the stairway to the common room. The rest of the group filed out after her, Molly in the lead and Callie bringing up the rear, feeling rather out of place and uncomfortable. She sighed and glanced down at her watch again. It was 7:00 A.M.

    "Maaaah..." she sighed. "Why am I even awake at this ungodly hour? I bet Danny's still sound asleep."

******************

    Danaya Ayanada let a great yawn escape her mouth as she stood in the Gryffindor common room amid many other robe-clad students. It was 7:00 A.M.; she had been awake since 6:15. "Geez... stupid jet-lag," she quipped, stretching out her arms. "It feels like friggin' midnight."

    "Come on then, sleepyhead!" Fred Weasley appeared at Danaya's side, waking her up a bit more with his cheerful voice. He took her by the shoulders and tried to make her move around in a circle. "The more you walk around the more awake you'll be!" he advised. Danaya scowled and turned to look at Fred, staring him directly in the eye.

    "Fred Weasley, I swear to God, if you and your stupid brother come bursting into our dorm at six in the morning singing 'Good Day Sunshine' in two different keys one more time I will hex both of your asses so bad you won't even realize what hit you until you're pathetic little piles of dust on the floor."

    Fred simply laughed and headed towards the portrait hole.

******************

    The great hall was bustling with students as the gaggle of sixth year Slytherin girls walked through the door. Callie took a deep breath and frowned. "Callie smells no coffee," she stated blankly. Molly sighed.

    "I'll never understand you Americans and your fascination with coffee," she muttered, rolling her eyes. "It's disgusting."

    "Callie does not wake up without caffeination," Callie continued, sounding even more robotic.

    "Coffee is for professors only," replied Molly, "and even then only a few drink it. Otherwise we drink tea here."

    "Tea?"

    "Yes, tea. Do I need to explain the concept to you?" The girls laughed as Callie wrinkled her nose and shook her head, cheeks tinged with pink.

    Rin grabbed Callie by the arm and nodded her head sympathetically. "Don't worry, a good cup of Earl Grey will get you going better than coffee ever did." Callie didn't look too convinced, but she remained silent.

    The Slytherin table was only about half filled with students, and most of them were crowded as far away from the faculty as possible. The five girls took seats towards the middle of the table, with Callie, Molly and Rin on one side and Sadie and Morgan on the other. Callie looked up towards the ceiling again, staring at the blue sky. "I don't think I'll ever be able to get over the coolness that is this ceiling," she murmured as the rest of the group began serving themselves breakfast.

    "That's what we all thought as first years," Morgan answered, voice half muffled by a mouthful of scrambled egg.

    "I'm still fascinated by it," Rin chimed in. She also raised her head to the sky, craning her neck to see better.

    "Someday if we're really bored we oughta come in here and lie on the table and figure out what clouds look like," suggested Callie. She nabbed a cheese Danish from a tray in the middle of the table and watched as Rin poured her a cup of Earl Grey. She wrapped her fingers around the golden mug, sniffing cautiously. Her brow furrowed as the scent hit her nostrils. "Oh dear God, that's rancid," she mumbled as she ventured forth to take a sip.

    "What was that?" Molly asked. Callie shook her head and smiled.

    "Nothing, really!" she answered. She quickly took another sip of tea, trying not to make a face, then settled in to listen to the conversation that ricocheted back and forth between the other sixth year girls. Eventually her eyes began to wander and take in the other students. She noticed Laura sitting with the same black haired prefect who had led the students to the Slytherin common room the night before, and Draco Malfoy chatting haughtily with a few girls, flanked on either side by two huge boys.

    "Oy, Callie!" Molly's voice once again brought the young brunette back down to earth. Callie looked towards her blonde companion, eyes wide with surprise. "We have our schedules," Molly continued, handing Callie a piece of white parchment. Callie began to peruse the paper, memorizing her classes.

    "Just as I thought, Potions on Monday and Wednesday," Sadie stated as she gazed at her schedule. "Except it's first thing this year. Last year we had it after lunch."

    "I hear some of the Ravenclaws complained about the timeslot last year," Rin chimed in. "They wanted Charms in the afternoon or something."

    Callie looked from girl to girl as they each said their piece about the new schedule. She then looked down at her parchment again.

Schedule for Callista J. Summers, year Six, Slytherin

Monday/Wednesday

Block 1: Potions

Block 2: Charms

Block 3: Free Study

Block 4: Herbology

Midnight: Astronomy

Tuesday/Thursday

Block 1: Defence against the Dark Arts

Block 2: Transfiguration

Block 3: History of Magic

Block 4: Free Study

Friday

Block 1: Care of Magical Creatures

Block 2: Astronomy

Block 3: Magical Literature

Block 4: Divination

Morgan leaned over towards Callie, examining her schedule. "Ooh, you're taking that new Magical Literature class," she breathed. "I wanted to, but my father would have murdered me. He's determined to make me a defence against the dark arts expert." She paused. "Either that or an expert in the dark arts in general."

"That kinda sucks," Callie replied, not quite sure how to answer. "So do you want to explain to me how this schedule works?"

Morgan smiled, and then moved aside a few plates so she could point at the schedule from across the table. "Okay. Every day has four class blocks. Mandatory courses are Monday through Thursday; electives are Friday. If you have more than four electives, they take away your free study blocks on the other four days. There's a fifteen-minute break between blocks one and two, then lunch, and then another fifteen-minute break between blocks three and four. Each class is one hour and fifteen minutes long. For example, our first class today, Potions, goes from 8:15 and ends at 9:30. Then Charms goes from 9:45 to 11:00. 11:00 until 12:30 is our lunch break, which a lot of people use to take naps or go for extra help. And then from 12:30 to 1:45 is your free study and 2:00 until 3:15 we have Herbology. Oh, and Mondays and Wednesdays at Midnight we have the Astronomy practical- we need to go to the Astronomy Tower to use the telescope. Got it?"

Callie's eyes had grown wide; her eyebrows furrowed inward in worry. "Erm... how about I just latch onto one of you for a few weeks until I get it down?"

Morgan laughed. "You think it sounds hard now... wait until you find out about the disappearing doors and phantom hallways and migrating stairways."

"Migrating stairways?!?" Callie sighed and shook her head. "And I thought I couldn't be surprised by anything else."

"You haven't seen anything yet," a new voice spouted from behind the girls. Callie looked over her shoulder and came face to face with Molly's twin brother, Marcus. "Danish!" he chirped, yanking Callie's pastry from her hand and shoving it in his mouth. He grinned at Callie's wide-eyed response.

"Dude!" she shouted. "That's my danish!" Marcus removed the danish from his mouth, then gave the half-eaten pastry back to Callie.

"Here you are," he said cheerfully. "Thanks a bunch!"

Callie frowned, then gestured in a very crude way with her left hand. "You're an asshole," she snarled. Marcus shook his head, shaggy blonde hair flying in every direction.

"No. I'm a Slytherin." He then tapped Callie on the head and marched off to chase after a red haired Ravenclaw. Morgan rolled her eyes.

"Sorry 'bout that... there's really nothing we can do to control him. We just kind of try to forget that he exists." Callie simply nodded and grabbed another Danish from the same golden tray.

"Put it back," Laura ordered suddenly, speaking to Callie for the first time ever as she stalked towards the group of sixth year girls. She suddenly appeared behind Rin, dark eyes cold and unfriendly. "We need to head towards the dungeons."

"But I'm hungry!" Callie protested, feverishly protecting her newfound danish. She looked towards Molly for help; Molly simply shrugged.

"No food in the dungeons, especially during class," Laura stated again. "Let's go then. You don't want to make a bad name for American witches, now do you?" She smirked viciously before stalking off towards the large doorway that led into the entrance hall.

"Yeesh. Someone obviously got their wand stuck up their rear," Callie muttered, standing up and pushing in her chair. Morgan snickered, covering her mouth, and Molly rolled her eyes.

"CALLIE!!!!" The giggling was cut off as Danaya Ayanada ran towards Callie and glomped her on the back, smiling and jumping up and down. "Oh my gosh, it feels like I haven't seen you in a year!"

"Danny Danny, YAY!!" Callie cheered back, hugging her friend and jumping in time with the other girl. "Hey, guess what?? I'm a Slytherin!"

"Are you now?" Danaya smiled and hugged her friend again. "Aw, I miss you so much! But you'd probably have killed a few Gryffs by now. Today the Weasley twins came bursting into our dorm singing at the top of their lungs, and-"

"I woulda murdered them," Callie finished. "Holy crap. Want me to beat them over the head for ya?"    

"Please, thanks. That'd be great."

"So what's your schedule like?" Callie grabbed the white parchment in Danaya's hand and began comparing it to her own. "Hmm. We have... Defence against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Magical Lit and Divination together. That's not bad!"

"Yeah," Danaya said, nodding. "I hear that the Gryffs and Slyths had more classes together last year, but they kept trying to beat each other up so they cut down." Callie twitched her nose.

"Gryffs and Slyths? What, are you on the nickname committee already?"

"Sure!" Danaya laughed, shrugging. "Gryffs, Slyths, Huffs and Claws. Makes fast conversation a lot easier, hmm?" Callie shook her head, feeling a tad embarrassed for her friend, then reached up and ruffled Danaya's hair.

"That is so typically you," she sighed. "Just don't piss anyone off with it." She paused, fighting down the urge to hug her friend once again. "So I have to go to potions... guess I'll see you at lunch?"

"Sounds good. Just don't go getting detentions within the first five minutes of class like you did last year. And don't be too muggly," Danaya said as a final warning before trotting off to join the sixth year Gryffindors.

Callie watched her friend's hair sway across her back for a moment, then began striding towards the group of students exiting the building. She caught the sight of Molly Whitby's blonde head and set off at a trot to keep up.

"Molly!" she called. Molly turned around and looked at her. "Don't let me get lost!" Molly smiled and paused, waiting for Callie to catch up.

"Come on," she ordered. "The dungeons are actually pretty easy to find. They're just beyond our common room and down a bit lower." She took Callie's hand and led her out of the great hall, back towards Slytherin house. The two marched together past the blank wall that served as an entrance to the common room, down a flight of stairs and around a corner until they reached a pair of heavy wooden doors with the Hogwarts coat of arms intricately carved in the center. "And here we are," Molly declared, pushing open one of the doors. It opened into a stone walled room filled with tables, cauldrons, cabinets and shelves of things floating in jars.

"I see why they call them dungeons," mused Callie as she took in her new surroundings. A few early Ravenclaws, bent on getting a head start in Potions this year before Snape could get the better of them, already inhabited the desks. Sunlight streamed in from two full-length windows on either side of a large desk set on a raised platform at the front of the room. The desk was littered with quills, parchment, a silver cauldron and still more jars. Callie looked around, taking in her surroundings.

"Hmm. It's actually kinda nice down here," she mused. "Like my basement back home. All cool and dry and stuff."

"Your basement?" Molly asked, taking a seat at an empty desk. Callie sat down next to her, watching more and more students flood into the dungeon.

"Oh, you know. An underground room where you store stuff. Sometimes people decorate them just like normal rooms and keep TVs and video games and pool tables down there." Molly raised an eyebrow.

"I know what a basement is, but all that other stuff..." She paused.

"Oh. Well. TVs are Muggle invention -televisions - things that use electricity to convey picture and sound through a screen. You play video games on a TV... you a use machine with a special controller to make people or things on the screen act in certain ways. Usually there's some kind of quest that a character has to go on, and you have to play that character and complete the quest to win. And a pool table... it's like a billiards table. I thought you wizards had billiards?" The room had become eerily silent while Callie was speaking. As she finished, she glanced around to find nearly every student watching her intently, a few with confused grimaces or angry scowls on their face. "What?" she asked a particularly nasty looking Slytherin boy. "My uncle's a Muggle, and I live with him. I've had to adjust."

"But that doesn't mean you have to actually KNOW this stuff," he spat back. "That's just sick. You're a witch, aren't you? Why do you have anything to do with THEM?"

"Because my uncle's-"

"Just be quiet," Morgan cut in, whispering in Callie's ear. "He's one of the ones that particularly dislikes Muggles. He probably hates you now too." Callie's eyes fell to the desk, a shadow creeping over her face.

"Well he should just take his magic wand and stick it up his magic-"

Before Callie could finish the doors to the dungeon swung open once again, and professor Severus Snape strode into the room, black robes billowing in an unseen wind. "Please take a seat somewhere, whether it is where you were last year or not." Instantly, every student in the room sat down. Snape turned around and surveyed the students, eyes narrowed in a glare. "As you'll notice, our class has been moved first thing in the morning on Monday. I'll warn you now, this is not my best time. Nor is first thing in the morning on any day. I expect impeccable behavior from all of you, including the Slytherins, or detentions will be handed out." Callie raised her eyebrows, tapping her fingers on the edge of her desk. Snape noticed the noise in an instant. His eyes landed on her face, and she felt herself go crimson. "Is there a problem, Miss Summers?"

"You're scary," she said without thinking. As soon as the words left her lips, she realized her mistake. Her cheeks turned an even darker red as she covered her mouth with her hand, eyes wide. Around her, many students were trying to muffle giggles. Snape's mouth twisted into a sinister smile.

"Am I?" he asked, gliding over to Callie's seat. He leaned on the table, inches from Callie's nose, staring directly into her speckled green eyes. "Trust me, young one, you have yet to see ANYTHING scary." Callie stared back into his pale face and beetle black eyes, heart pounding. She wanted to break his gaze, but found it impossible. "You'll do your best to remember not to speak to me or about me in such a manner," Snape continued. "Even if you can't help it... being an American and all."

"Yes sir," Callie muttered. More snickering echoed off the walls. Snape stood and surveyed the classroom once again.

"I will announce your seating assignments, and we will begin on our first project for the year. While you are taking notes I will be passing out a course syllabus. If I hear a word out of any of you while I'm doing this, you will regret it." Utter silence filled the room. Snape once again returned to the front of the classroom and began calling names and pointing at desks.

"Whitby, Molly, and Callaway."

"Whitby, Marcus, and Dunn."

"Lee and Walken."

The list continued on, until everyone was situated at a desk except for Callie and another girl, an Asian Ravenclaw. She looked up at the American girl and grinned slightly. Callie grinned back, winking.

"Chang and Summers."

Callista Summers and Cho Chang both made their way towards the most front and center desk in the room. "Hi," Cho whispered. Callie raised her hand in a peace sign.

"Yo."

"What's up?"

"Not much." Callie looked up towards Snape, who had begun lecturing about sleeping potions. "Wow. I already know this stuff," she murmured in a surprised tone, falling forwards onto her hands. Cho looked at her with wide brown eyes.

"How?"

"I had a lot of trouble falling asleep, especially at school... still do, really... so my big brother taught me how to make sleeping potions. They work wonders, especially-"

"MISS SUMMERS!!" Callie jumped as Snape yelled her name, staring fiercely at the two girls. "How many times to you plan to make me profusely angry within the first ten minutes of your year at Hogwarts?!?"

"Erm... forty-two?" Callie replied, earning a giggle from her classmates. Cho smiled and shook her head in disbelief.

"Well that's quite a high number," Snape continued. "You already know this then? Why don't you come up and teach."

"Um... I'd rather not, sir."

"Then why do you feel a need to interrupt my class if not to share information that is relevant to the lesson?"

The classroom was quieter than death as Callie thought of her response. Finally, she lifted her eyes and spoke softly. "Because the information IS relevant, sir. I'm just expanding on what you're teaching."

Snape's brow furrowed; the silence in the classroom was deafening. "Miss Summers."

Callie looked up at Professor Snape, who was glaring down his rather large nose at her. "Yes?" she asked politely.

"You will serve a detention in this classroom tonight at seven o'clock. If I hear any more out of you I will begin taking points away from your house." Once again, the room was silent. "You wouldn't want to start Slytherin off with negative points, would you?"

"No sir."

"Then shut up and PAY ATTENTION."

"Yes sir." Callie lowered her eyes to the desk, cheeks burning pink; however, it only took her a moment to notice that Cho Chang was shaking in silent laughter. She picked up a quill and quickly wrote down on a piece of parchment-

Wow- no one's shown that much nerve against Snape since I started here!

Callie grinned and wrote back.

Yeah, well, he's an ass. What do you want me to do about it?

Cho smiled again, then maneuvered the long sleeve of her robe so it covered up the illicitly exchanged conversation. Professor Snape had ordered the class to take down the notes on the board while he passed out a sheet of project requirements. Callie began scribbling on her parchment, writing down everything lest she be caught slacking off again. She sat stone still as Snape tossed another piece of parchment in front of her face. She perused the requirements, biting her lower lip as she read. She didn't dare make a noise or tell Cho that she was already knew the basic theory behind most of the sleeping potions on the list.

A slight sting on Callie's arm and a soft noise took her attention from the class schedule. She looked over to her right side and found a crumpled piece of parchment sitting on the floor. She deftly leaned down and picked it up, uncrumpling the ball. Inside was a short message written in a scrawling hand.

Callie-

Sweet stuff you pulled. Want to go out sometime?

    ~ Marcus

Callie looked back in Marcus's direction, then checked to make sure Snape had his attention diverted. She quickly turned, stuck her tongue out at him, and then nodded and smiled, showing a thumbs-up sign. Cho watched the entire exchange, still grinning happily. The American girl smiled and turned back to her notes, then glanced at Cho, studying her face as discreetly as possible. She decided to take a chance.

"Hey... do you know Japanese?"

"... yeah."

    Callie's eyes grew wide with happiness. Cho understood Japanese. The two girls grinned at each other, realizing that they had a new secret language to communicate in and a new bond of friendship. Finally, after all of the communication had ended, Callie looked back up at the board, continuing to take notes. She sighed and let her eyes wander over to Snape, who was whispering to a brown haired Ravenclaw boy. Well. What a day this is turning out to be, she thought as her quill scratched at the parchment. Danaya's prediction had come true; she had received a detention within the first five minutes of class.

******************

The rest of the day's classes proved uneventful; charms and Herbology picked up right where the girls had left off at Montgomery, with the exception of a few breeds of Venus Fly Trap they had never encountered. Eventually, dinnertime rolled around, finding Callie slumped over the Slytherin table poking at a pile of green peas with her fork. "I don't like peas," she muttered, utterly depressed and wondering why she had even bothered to take the vegetable.

    "They're good for you," Molly countered as she took a swig of pumpkin juice. "Fiber or something."

    "Chlorophyll," Sadie muttered with her mouth full.

    "That's what makes them green, dork," came Molly's retort.

    "Still don't like 'em." Callie picked up her knife and started lining up the small, round, green vegetables one by one on the flat surface.

    "Better not fling those at anyone," warned Molly.

    "Yeah, don't want to get into more trouble," Marcus said, speaking up for the first time. He was sitting next to his twin, also having a fine time playing with his food.

    "Shut up," Callie spat, dropping her knife to her still-full plate. She was nervous about the detention and feeling a bit sick to her stomach because of it- food was not what she wanted to be focusing on right now.

    "So when's our date?" Marcus asked, ignoring Callie's last order.

Molly nearly choked on her chicken.

    "Date?!?" she exclaimed, flabbergasted.

    "Don't ask," muttered Callie. She stood and stretched.

    "Don't tell me you're dating him," the blonde haired Slytherin girl asked, eyeing her roommate with a wary gaze. "You're insane."

    "Yeah, I know." Callie reached across the table towards Marcus and ruffled his short blonde hair. "What are you doing Saturday?"

    "Meet me on the Quidditch Pitch at 1:00," he replied without missing a beat. "And try out for the team while you're at it."

    "Ooooooh." Molly breathed as if everything had suddenly become clear. Her tone of voice almost sounded relieved. "He's recruiting you."

    "For what?" Callie turned and looked at Marcus, who gazed up at her from his seat.

    "Yoo mag uh guh chasuh," he said with his mouth full.

    "And you would know this how?" Callie asked, hands on her hips and lower lip jutted out. Marcus grinned wickedly. He swallowed and stood, marched around the end of the table and returned to stand next to her. He leaned slightly forward, face close to Callie's.

    "You have the right body type," he murmured, placing his hand on her waist. Callie's green eyes grew to the size of golf balls; without thinking, she kicked Marcus in the shins and stuck out her tongue.

    "Go eff yourself, asshole. That's the only way you'll be getting any," she retorted, marching away. "Now if you'll excuse me... I have a detention to serve." Her robes flew out around her as she stalked off towards the door, face redder than Gryffindor Quidditch robes. Marcus stared at her retreating figure with a smirk on his handsome, yet quirky, face. Oh yeah. This was love.

******************

    The door to the Potion's classroom was truly an intimidating sight. At least, it was according to Callie's perception. Then again large wooden doors had always intimidated her.

    Callie Summers stood outside those doors for the second time that day, fist raised and wondering if she should knock or just waltz in. She finally made to pound on the door when a pale hand grabbed her wrist and pulled it back.

    "No need," Professor Snape said to the startled girl, releasing her arm and pushing the door open. Snape stalked into the room, robes billowing in the usual fashion.

    "Um... uh-huh," Callie replied, stepping across the threshold.

    Snape had sat down at his desk and was studying the girl quizzically. Callie squirmed under his gaze while taking her seat up front. Silence permeated the room once again. Then Snape spoke.

    "What you pulled today was completely unacceptable," he stated, hardly moving. Callie stared at the desk as he continued. "You mocked my authority as a teacher and stepped completely out of your bounds as a student." Another pause. "Have you thought about your yearlong project yet?"

Callie's head shot up to gawk at the Potions Master. "Huh?" she squeaked, once again failing to utter a coherent sentence.

"Unless I've been misinformed, you and the other girl are required to take on a year long project in your sixth year at the Montgomery School. The headmistress wishes for you to complete this task at Hogwarts. Or am I mistaken?"

"No, sir," Callie answered.

Snape stood, walked towards Callie, pulled a stool from beneath a desk and sat across from her. "Have you thought about it yet?"

Callie raised an eyebrow. "It's the first day of class," she said bluntly. "And why are you asking?"

Snape's brow furrowed, but this time in concentration, not in anger. "Well, putting to side your cheek and disrespect for authority, you appear to be quite talented in potion making."

"It's the first day of class," Callie repeated more slowly.

"I understand that, Miss Summers," scoffed Snape. "But I heard you whispering to Chang, and I saw the notes you were writing down- they had details in them that weren't on the board, including a few optional ingredients in most light sleeping potions."

"It's cause I have trouble sleeping," answered Callie quickly. "They're the only things I can make, really." She was now staring Snape directly in the eye, determined to prove- of all things- her own inability at Potion-making.

"Your transcript from last year says that you received top marks in Potions."

Now Callie was fumbling for excuses. "I got a lot of extra credit...?" she attempted.

Snape smirked. "Nice try." He stood and made his way back to his desk. "I'm serious. I have a few ideas. When you're ready to begin the project, please consult me." He once again settled into his chair and began to weed through a stack of parchment.

Callie found her mind bogged with questions. She stood as well, stool scraping against the stone floor. "Professor?" she asked.

"You may go," Snape answered without looking up.

Callie remained still. "Who the hell are you?" she blurted out.

This time Snape stopped and looked up, eyes tinged with anger.

Callie gulped and continued. "Everyone says you're so mean; and even though you supposedly favour Slytherins, you were really strict with me. You were an absolute asshole this morning. But now I come to detention and you ask me not to do hard labour or... or scour cauldrons with toothbrushes or something... but you ask me to work on my project with you. What the hell is THAT all about?"

Callie was gasping for air- the ever-present silence once again took over the room. It was so deafeningly quiet that Callie wished for a moment she hadn't stopped speaking. Finally, Snape replied.

"Would you prefer to scour cauldrons with toothbrushes?" he asked. "You are an insolent child, Miss Summers, but I recognize potential. And I'll take potential whether it's in the form of a perfect student or a blatant troublemaker."

"Oh." The uncomfortable quiet reigned again, and Callie turned to leave.

"You have trouble sleeping?" Snape asked, stopping the girl in her tracks. She turned around and nodded slowly.

"Yeah... have for a while."

"Why?"

"Um... I have nightmares."

"About?"

Callie hesitated. "Giant tidal waves," she finally answered.

Snape raised an eyebrow, but let it go. "Do you know the Draught of Dreamless Sleep?" he asked.

Callie nodded again. "I've heard about it, yeah. But I've never made it."

"Would you like to learn?" Snape's gaze had yet to break from Callie's face.

Callie felt her previous humility slowly changing into frustration. "Why the fuck are you being so NICE?" she demanded, voice rising. "What the hell IS this? You bitch me out, and then you're all calm, and then you insult me and now you're offering to TEACH me? What the hell is UP with you??"

Snape was silent for a moment. "I will ask you not to use such language around me in the future." He paused. "Would you like to learn?"

Callie blinked, then shrugged. "Um, sure. I guess."

Once again, Snape stood and walked towards the girl. "Get out your cauldron," he ordered, "and don't think I'm going easy on you, OR being nice to you. The Draught of Dreamless Sleep is not a simple creation; consider it an evaluation of your abilities."

"Okay..." Callie removed her cauldron from a shelf and placed it on the worktable, then shifted uncomfortably as she watched Snape dig out ingredients. She eventually let her eyes wander to the recipe on the table, and as she gazed over it, felt her heart sink.

It would be a long night after all.