At the Edge

Chapter 4

Where We Belong

Rheah checked her reflection in the window one last time. The butterflies in her stomach grew worse as the train slowed down. Her hands were trembling and her heart was nearly jumping out of her throat. She took a deep breath to calm herself, while muttering a quick prayer to God. A quick glance at Sara told her that she was not the only one who was nervous. Sara was pacing around the compartment and breathing quite heavily. However, Sara looked excited whereas Rheah was bordering on fear.

Both sisters had changed into their Hogwarts robes when a voice informed them that the train would be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. It was raining lightly outside, much to Rheah's dismay. Her carefully controlled hair did not agree with rain, and the last thing Rheah needed right now was to look like a wild cave-woman by the time they reached the school.

Finally, the train came to a stop at the station.

'I wonder if we have to carry our owls with us,' said Sara, adjusting her robes again a bit anxiously.

'Well, it's only our luggage that is taken to school separately, right? I'm sure our pets don't count as luggage. Or do they?' Rheah asked in confusion.

'Oh, whatever. I'll just carry Storm with me,' Sara said decisively.

Rheah just shrugged and said, 'Better hurry now. Everyone's getting off,'

They joined the mob of students outside their compartment as they jostled their way out of the train. Sara's owl - Storm kept hooting shrilly which attracted the irritated looks of many kids around them.

'God! Doesn't that stupid owl ever shut up?' asked Rheah in annoyance.

'Afraid not,' muttered Sara while shrinking a bit under some glares.

After a great struggle, they finally managed to escape onto the small dark platform. Rheah shivered in the rain trying desperately to cover her hair.

'Firs'-years, over here! Come on, firs'-years! Line up here,' shouted a great booming voice from her right. She turned to see a giant of a person beckoning to all the first years.

'What do you reckon? Should we go over to him? We are new after all,' she shouted to Sara over the voices of the students.

'Pardon?' came a voice that sounded distinctly male.

In surprise, she turned to the person next to her to find a tall blond boy. What the ...?

Oh, bugger! Where is she now? Rheah wondered frantically when she could not find her sister anywhere near her.

'Sorry, I wasn't talking to you,' she apologized to the boy before rushing off to try to find Sara.

'Er - excuse me ... Sorry ... excuse me, please ... shit,'

After a lot of pushing and bumping into people, she finally found herself in front of hundreds of stagecoaches. Kids were piling into them in groups. Rheah could not see what was pulling them; it was as if they were charmed to set off on their way to Hogwarts as soon as they were full. She was still searching for Sara while steadily getting soaked, when she heard Sara's voice.

'Rheah, Rheah! Over here,' Sara called to her from one of the carriages. 'I've found one for us, come on,'

Feeling extremely relieved, she trudged over to the carriage in which Sara was already sitting. Handing her Caesar's cage, Rheah hoisted herself up into the carriage with some effort. As soon as she seated herself safely, she turned to her sister, to tell her off for leaving her on the platform without a word. It really bothered her when Sara always pulled the disappearing act on her. After all, she was supposed to look after this girl.

'Sara Ali, why in the world didn't you tell me -,'

However, someone cut off Rheah's furious tirade, hence saving Sara from receiving an earful.

'Hello ... I was just wondering if we could join you,' said an Asian girl with long black hair.

'Sure, come on in,' Sara chirped looking relieved.

A dark-haired boy climbed into the carriage first and then he helped the petite girl into the carriage. Rheah could tell from the way they acted towards each other that they were more than just friends. She looked at the couple in disgust, wondering how long it would be before either of them cheated on the other. Really, having a serious relationship was such a flop.

The carriage started to move. Lost in her thoughts, she did not realize that she was frowning rudely at the couple until Sara elbowed her harshly in the ribs. The two students were staring at Rheah with looks of apprehension. Their eyes kept darting down to the green and silver badge on her robes.

'Hello, I'm Rheah,' she said, offering them her hand to make up for her rudeness.

The girl just stared at her hand for a while, but the boy shook it introducing himself and the girl.

'Hi, I'm Michael Corner, and this is my friend Cho Chang,' he said with a hesitant smile.

'Nice to meet you guys. I'm Sara.'

For some reason, the girl named Cho smiled warmly at Sara and shook her hand. Rheah just stared at her feeling rather bemused because of Cho's hostility towards her. To focus on something else, she gazed at the badge on their robes curiously.

'So, which house do you belong to?' asked Sara, wondering the same thing.

'Excuse me?' enquired Cho, looking as bewildered as Michael did.

'Oh, did we not mention that we are new at Hogwarts?' Rheah asked them, understanding Cho's confusion.

However, this seemed to confuse them even more.

'Pardon me? You are what?' Cho asked Sara.

'New, we transferred to Hogwarts this year,' Sara replied looking excited about the fact.

'Oh, interesting. I've never heard of transfers at our school. Though, we do get exchange students occasionally,' said Michael.

'Yeah, it's a bit odd,' Cho mused, nodding at Sara. Rheah might as well have been invisible.

'Sure it is, so which house are you in?' Rheah asked their previous query again. This time she pointed the question at Cho specifically.

'We are Ravenclaws,' Cho replied coolly, looking at her snidely. 'I see you are a Slytherin,'

She said the name Slytherin as if it were a disgusting word. Rheah gaped at her while Sara looked a bit puzzled as well.

Michael cleared his throat uncomfortably and tried to keep the conversation flowing, 'So, are you two excited about being in a new school?'

'Er - yeah, very excited,' Sara replied looking between Rheah and Cho warily.

'How about you, Rheah?'

Rheah nodded vaguely in response, still quite shocked and a bit hurt from being treated so harshly. Fortunately, the carriage had finally arrived at the castle by that time. The two Raveclaws scrambled out of the carriage muttering a quick goodbye to them.

As soon as they left, Sara asked, 'What's that girl's problem? Why was she being so rude to you?'

Rheah just shrugged despairingly. She climbed out with a feeling of impending doom. The memories of being bullied and mistreated back in her old school rushed back into her mind. She really did not want a repeat of that in Hogwarts. God! How I hate changes, she thought irritably as she walked over to the castle; depressed and dreadfully wet.

*

Harry felt a sense of tranquility as he walked into the Great Hall with his best friends who were still not talking to each other. They were all feeling cold and wet from the rain, but he did not care. He was back in Hogwarts, where he truly belonged. Many students were already seated at their respective house tables; swapping tales about their summer. However, there was also a somber tone in their conversations, which Harry reckoned was connected to the return of Voldermort. Last year, they had not really believed his and Professor Dumbledore's claim that the Dark Lord has returned. However, this year when Harry passed some students on his way to the Gryffindor table, instead of disbelieving looks he received smiles and friendly greetings.

'It's a bit different from last year, isn't it?' whispered Ron as they sat down.

'Yeah, much different and nicer,' Harry said while waving at Ernie Macmillan who was talking to Hannah Abbot at the Hufflepuff table.

Meanwhile, Hermione was scanning the staff table at the front of the Great Hall anxiously. Ron opened his mouth to say something at her, but then seemed to change his mind. Harry nudged his arm trying to persuade Ron to make peace with her so that they could all enjoy the sorting ceremony. But he just shook his head stubbornly.

Rolling his eyes at Ron, he asked Hermione, 'Who do you reckon is the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?'

'I don't know, there isn't anyone new at the staff table yet,' she responded, still staring at the front of the hall.

'This has got to be a first ... her not knowing something,' Ron muttered quietly so that only Harry could hear.

Harry shook his head at Ron, though he could not stop a smile from appearing on his face.

Ignoring Ron completely, Hermione said to him, 'I was so happy to see Hagrid at the station today. I wonder how his "little" brother is doing,'

Harry was suddenly reminded of Grawp the giant who Hagrid was hiding in the Forbidden Forest. He had completely forgotten about the fiasco when Hagrid had asked Hermione and him to teach his giant brother English, while he was away earlier in the year.

'He must be making some sort of progress with his "little" brother. After all, he looked quite good today, didn't he?' Harry said while trying to remember if he had seen any sort of bruise on Hagrid when they had talked to him at the station.

'Yeah, either that or maybe Dumbledore finally found out about Grawp and sent him away,' said Ron.

'Oh, don't be silly, Ron. I'm sure Dumbledore knew from the start. He seems to know everything that goes on in Hogwarts,' Hermione disagreed.

Ron frowned at her, but before they could start fighting again, Harry interrupted.

'I'm not too sure about that, Hermione. Even Dumbledore doesn't know some things. He wasn't able to figure out that a Death Eater was posing as Moody, did he?' said Harry, still feeling some resentment towards the headmaster who was sitting at the head table, looking around merrily at the students. He still remembered Dumbledore telling him that Sirius had acted rashly.

'He is only human, Harry' said Hermione in a futile attempt to defend their headmaster.

'Exactly my point,' Harry piped up.

Hermione looked thoroughly disconcerted knowing that Harry had shot her down while Ron bit down a chuckle. Harry turned his attention towards the door of the Great Hall to watch the last couple of student file in before they closed with a great bang. He could hear Ron's stomach rumbling and his stomach gave a twinge as well. Despite al the sweets he had consumed on the train, he was still starving.

'Hi Harry,' said a familiar voice.

Harry looked up to see Sara sit down next to Hermione, facing Neville who was currently deep in conversation with Ginny.

'Hey, what are you doing here?' he asked, startled.

'This is the Gryffindor table, right?' she enquired hesitantly as she looked at their robes.

His eyes also flicked towards her robes, which sported the Gryffindor lion on the badge. In confusion, he wondered how she had managed to be sorted into a house so fast. The sorting ceremony had not even started yet. He could not see her sister either.

Maybe she was sorted into another house, he thought hastily.

'Wow! You are a Gryffindor? When did you get sorted?' Neville asked her interestedly, as soon as Ginny turned to talk to Dean Thomas.

'A few days ago,' said Sara casually, looking around the Great Hall. 'Me and my sister came up to Hogwarts with our dad,'

Then, she gazed up at the charmed ceiling that showed a very cloudy sky with a look of awe on her face. 'That's so pretty, how did they manage that?' she asked no one in particular.

'The founders charmed the ceiling so that it shows the sky outside. It's all in Hogwarts: A History,' replied Hermione as if automatically. Both she and Ron were shooting questioning looks at Harry.

'Yeah,' Neville agreed, and then he had enough sense in him to introduce her unlike Harry. 'Guys, this is Sara Ali. She's a transfer student from Beauxbatons. And Sara - that's Ron and Hermione, the sixth year prefects,'

Hermione shook her hand politely and Ron called out a greeting.

'Changing schools is not going to be easy, right? Which year are you in?' asked Hermione.

'Fifth, one of the worst years,' replied Sara with an easy smile.

'Oh, that sucks! I gotta tell you, it'd better if you take your bags and leave right now,' said Ron wisely.

'No, no. There's no need to be scared, really. The OWLs aren't that bad and all the professors are very nice,' Hermione said hurriedly, glaring at Ron when she saw Sara's worried look.

'Easy for you to say, Hermione. Not all of us got ten "Outstanding" OWLs,' Harry joined in. Ron agreed heartily and Hermione gave him a disapproving look, which he avoided.

'And not all the professors are nice, you are forgetting someone,' Neville reminded her.

'Yeah, Snape the git. D'you see that hook-nosed and greasy-haired ugly fellow over there' said Ron pointing at the staff table, where Snape was sulking. 'That's him. He teaches potions. And he's very nasty, especially to Gryffindors. It's best to stay away from him,'

Harry tried to contain his laughter as Ron winked at Sara, who was starting to look more and more worried. Seeing this, Neville decided to save her from Ron.

'Sara, this is Ginny - Ron's sister. She's also a fifth-year like you,' he said pointing at Ginny who was having a heated discussion about Quidditch with Dean and Seamus Finnigan.

Then he tapped Ginny's shoulder to introduce them, 'Ginny, Ginny! Er - hey, this is Sara Ali. She's new in Gryffindor ...'

Harry turned his attention to his best friends as Neville introduced Sara to Ginny and them. Unfortunately, Hermione was still glaring angrily at Ron.

'God! You guys, really, will you two make peace already? This whole disagreement is driving me insane,' he exclaimed in frustration.

The annoyed looks on both of their faces vanished, and Hermione had opened her mouth as if to apologize when Ron blurted, 'Who's that?'

All of them followed his finger to see a pretty witch dressed in emerald robes who had joined the staff table. She was attracting the attention of many boys and Harry could not blame them. As they watched, she tried to engage Snape in a conversation, but he appeared to be very uncomfortable and reluctant.

'That must be our new DADA teacher' Hermione mused thoughtfully.

'Wow! Finally, Dumbledore has found a good DADA teacher,' murmured Ron with a dreamy look on his face.

Harry wanted to agree with Ron but he kept quiet when he saw the look on Hermione's face. However, Ron did not pay attention to Hermione's face that was steadily gaining colour.

'How is it that you know she is such a good professor when she hasn't even taught a single lesson, Ron? Have you suddenly developed a sixth sense that tells you who the good teachers are?' snapped Hermione, shooting daggers at an oblivious Ron with her eyes.

'Not really, it's just that she is rather nice-looking. So I just reckon that she would be nice as well,' said Ron, finally moving his eyes towards Hermione.

Harry held back a groan. Even he knew that Ron had just put his foot in his mouth rather badly. Ron blanched as Hermione swelled imposingly, ready to give Ron a severe lecture. Luckily for Ron, at that precise moment the huge doors of the Great Hall swung open and Professor McGonagall swept in with a group of tiny first years who had terrified looks on their innocent faces. Ron finally let out a breath when he was sure that Hermione was distracted enough by the sorting ceremony, which commenced soon afterwards. The sorting hat sang a new song yet again, and even this time it reminded the students of all the houses to stick together to survive the darkest of times. Hermione turned to give the boys a rather pointed look at that, which they naturally ignored. Very soon, the number of students at each table had increased by a bit as the new first years joined them. With a clap from Professor Dumbledore, after he had welcomed the new students, a great variety of food appeared on each table and the starving students attacked the food mercilessly until almost every dish was empty and their stomachs were satisfyingly full.

Harry was munching on his fourth helping of delicious sticky-toffee pudding when Dumbledore who was clad in magnificent plum-colored robes stood up for his usual end-of-the-feast speech. Even though he looked cheerful as ever, his brilliant blue eyes did not seem to twinkle as much as before. However, that was the only sign that gave away the seriousness of the days ahead. Harry felt his last remaining feelings of resentment ebb away as he gazed at the headmaster who had concealed the prophecy from Harry for all those years, just for the sake of his happiness. Even as Harry felt misled, he was also touched by the fact that Dumbledore cared for him so much.

'Now that our hunger has been considerably satisfied by such a magnificent feast, I would like to steal a few moments of your attention for some announcements,' said Dumbledore while smiling cheerily around at the students. 'Mr Filch, the school caretaker has asked me yet again to remind all of you that magic is not permitted in corridors between ...'

Harry tuned out Dumbledore's customary speech as he examined the staff table. Professor McGonagall was listening aptly to the headmaster as she kept a careful watch over the students. Hagrid was beaming at the first years, looking very red in the face due to the large amount of wine he had consumed over dinner. Professor Snape was staring steadily at his goblet as if to ignore all the students in the hall. Suddenly he felt Ron nudge him and when he looked up Ron just inclined his head at Dumbledore.

'... addition into our teaching staff. I'm delighted to inform all of you that Professor Lelaina Knight has kindly accepted the post of your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,' Dumbledore said as he smiled warmly as the pretty witch stood up to a loud applause - Ron clapped very loudly until Hermione gave him a harsh glare. She waved at the students and then returned to her seat looking very pleased by the warm welcome that she had received. Next to her, Snape scowled severely at his goblet.

'On a more somber note,' Dumbledore continued when the noise died down, 'I would like to impress upon all of you that we are looking ahead at very dark times. As you all know by now, Lord Voldermort has' (gasps of fear rang through out the hall), 'risen again. He has not been active in spreading terror amongst us because currently he is gathering his fellow supporters and recruiting new members. Nevertheless, I assure you that Hogwarts is very safe, and your protection is ensured within the walls of this school. Unfortunately, such circumstances call for some sacrifices, and hence the number of the Hogsmeade weekends would be lessened.'

Groans of disappointed filled the hall. Dumbledore did not pay attention to it. The professors looked alert and very serious.

'However, to compensate for these sacrifices, events would be organized within the school for your enjoyment. It is necessary for us to enjoy life and remember happiness during such disheartening days. In addition to this, I agree with the sorting hat about the inter-house relations. Even though you are all in different houses, you will be stronger as one whole student body. Trust and loyalty to each other is very crucial to survive a war against evil. Together we stand, divided we fall. It is an old saying, a very true saying,'

Harry could feel Hermione's eyes burning a hole at the side of his head, but he avoided looking at her. Instead, he looked over at Draco Malfoy - who had a black eye - and his gang over at the Slytherin table. They were talking quietly while shooting looks of loathing at Dumbledore. Harry would rather hug a Blast-Ended Skrewt than trust Malfoy.

'I advise you to think about all that has been said. And now, I am sure you are all ready for a good night's sleep to freshen you up for tomorrow's lessons. Sleep well. Nighty Night,'

Students started walking out of the hall as soon as Dumbledore dismissed them. Harry could sense a thick tension surrounding almost all of them. The only people who looked relaxed were the Slytherins, and Malfoy sneered nastily at Harry when he saw him watching them. Harry, Ron and Hermione followed the Gryffindor fifth year prefects - Colin Creevey and Vicky Frobisher as they led all the Gryffindor first years out of the hall.

'Mr Potter,' called Professor McGonagall's stern voice from behind them.

All three of them exchanged worried looks as they turned to face the Head of Gryffindor house. What did they do now?

'Move along, you two. I only need to speak with Potter,' she said, and Ron and Hermione walked off reluctantly.

Neither of them said anything as Harry followed her up a marble staircase, along a corridor and into her office. Professor McGonagall sat down at the desk and motioned Harry to sit across her. He obeyed and then looked at his professor anxiously. Was he in some sort of trouble? So soon?

'How was your summer, Potter?' she asked while watching him closely.

'Er - it was OK,' said Harry in mild surprise.

'Good. Potter, I need you to arrange the Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs, as soon as possible,'

Harry gawked at her in bewilderment, 'But Professor, I thought that ...'

'As you know well, Miss Johnson and Miss Spinnet graduated last year. So, I need someone to handle the try-outs for the new Chaser positions,'

'I don't understand, but isn't the new Captain supposed to handle them?' Harry said ... and then it dawned upon him. He looked at her to see her smiling at him, which gave him another shock.

'P-Professor, you m-mean that I-I'm ...' he stuttered.

'Yes, you are the new Gryffindor Quidditch Captain,' she announced, looking proudly at him.

'But Professor, what about Katie Bell? She will be more qualified, I'm sure,'

'She wants to focus on getting good NEWT results, and hence she did not want to take on such a big responsibility. Anyway, you are more than qualified,'

Harry could not believe it; he pinched himself to make sure that he was not dreaming.

'Wow!' he finally murmured feeling completely stunned.

'Congratulations Potter. I want you to get me the Quidditch cup this year,' Professor McGonagall stated calmly. 'I trust you can handle such a big responsibility, do not let me down.'

Harry nodded, barely containing a shout of glee. He felt like doing a crazy celebration dance right there, in front of his stern Head of house. He could not wait to share the news with Ron and Hermione. He could just imagine what Ron would ... but Harry suddenly remembered Ron staring at the Mirror of Erised and saying that he saw himself as Quidditch Captain. What if Ron wanted the position even now?

'Are you alright, Potter?' Professor McGonagall asked seeing his face drop.

'Erm - Professor, are sure I'm the best choice?' he asked her hesitantly.

She gave him a small smile again and nodded firmly, 'Yes, you are. Now run along, the password to the Gryffindor tower is "Bowtruckle". Good night, Potter,'

*

Rheah was feeling rather miserable.

She and Sara had separated in the Great Hall as her sister went off to find the Gryffindor table. Standing at the entrance to the huge hall, she had felt really small and insignificant. At the Slytherin table, she had sat away from all the older students - they looked like an unfriendly lot - with the new first-years who were so anxious that they barely said a word. To make up for the lack of interesting conversation, she had paid close attention to Professor Dumbledore's serious speech.

Now, as she followed the Slytherin first-years, she tried to convince herself that things would start to look better in the daylight. Finally, she located Sara moving out of the Great Hall while chatting enthusiastically with a red-haired girl.

Great! At least one of us is happy, Rheah thought as she watched her sister disappear out of her sight. She was nearly at the door when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Surprised, she whirled around to face a tall wizard who was clad in flowing black robes. She immediately recognized him as the brooding professor who had stared at his goblet throught out most of the dinner.

'Miss Ali?' he asked in a deep voice, while looking down at her Slytherin badge.

'Y-Yes,' Rheah stammered.

'I am Professor Snape - the Head of Slytherin house,'

She stared up at the greasy-haired, sallow-skinned and hook-nosed professor uneasily. He did not look very friendly, in fact he reminded her of a bloodthirsty vampire. However, he smiled at her - even though it looked more like a sneer - showing slightly yellowing teeth much to her surprise, as she had expected fangs.

'Welcome to Hogwarts, the Headmaster informed me of your arrival. Before you go on into the Slytherin dungeons with your housemates, I need to you to step into my office to settle some paperwork,' he said quietly, and Rheah had to strain her ears to hear him over the noise as the students moved out of the hall.

'Sure, Professor Snape,'

Professor Snape whirled around dramatically and then set off towards a marble staircase leading to the dungeons at a fast pace, with his black robes sweeping behind him impressively. Rheah hurried after him while wondering what she had done in her life to deserve the penalty of living in the dungeons for the rest of her school life. As she expected, the dungeons were dark, cold and inhospitable. After a while, Rheah was sitting opposite Professor Snape who was seated at his desk and ruffling through some papers. She deduced that he was the Potions Master of Hogwarts. His office did nothing to improve her mood; there were shelves stocked full with jars containing slimy potion ingredients - in other words, bits of animals and plants preserved in different colored potions. The atmosphere in the office was damp and heavy.

'So, Miss Ali, I see that your OWL results are quite impressive, well done,' said Professor Snape with a nod.

Rheah could not speak; her tongue appeared to have tied in several knots due to nervousness.

'That makes all the subjects taught at NEWT level easily available to you. I would like you to fill out your choices on this form ... if you need any help with that, I would be delighted to assist you,' drawled the Head of her house, while trying at another attempt at a sincere smile.

Rheah nodded and took the parchment in trembling hands; she nearly tipped the inkbottle in the process of dabbing a quill in it. She ticked all her desired subjects: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Potions, Charms and Care of Magical Creatures, under the keen eye of Professor Snape. He made a small sound of approval when she chose Potions.

'I will inform the Headmaster about your options after I take you to the Slytherin common room,' he said as he motioned for her to follow him out of his office.

'Now, understand this, Miss Ali. We never reveal our common room's password to anyone other than Slytherins, and I do not approve students from other houses entering our common room. I hope that as a Slytherin, you will work hard to win the house as many points as possible. The Slytherins have lost the house cup to Gryffindor,' (He spat out the name in disgust), 'for the past couple of years. I wish to change that, and so all the Slytherins must work as a team. Moreover, I do not accept any trouble making from any of my students,'

Rheah tried to digest all that was being said as she tried to memorize the path they were taking to the common room. However, the labyrinth-like dungeons made it very hard for her.

'I will ask the Slytherin sixth-year prefects to show you around tomorrow, so that you would arrive at your classes on time. You have no reason to look so worried, Miss Ali, try breathing normally,' Professor Snape remarked with a hint of amusement on his face.

He halted in front of a bare, damp stone wall very abruptly and Rheah nearly walked into him in her hurry.

'Alright, the password changes on a weekly basis. The prefects would inform you if there has been a change ... and try not to forget the password. The current password is - Parsel-tongue!'

As soon as he uttered the word, a concealed door in the wall opened and Rheah walked into the Slytherin common room beside Professor Snape. She took in the dimly lit, low and long room in which green lamps hung from the ceiling. It gave the room a rather sinister look, but a lively fire that was crackling under an elaborate mantelpiece broke the coldness of the common room. A handful of students were scattered around the room, whispering in groups of threes or twos. Nevertheless, as soon as their Head of house entered, all the conversations ceased.

'Good evening, Professor Snape. How was your summer?' a boy called out, but Rheah could not make out his face as he was sitting in a dark corner.

'The summer was acceptable, Mr Malfoy. I see that you have taken care of your eye. Gather around, all of you,' Professor Snape ordered quietly. However, all of them heard him and they were soon gathered around him and Rheah. Some of them were shooting curious looks at her, and she fidgeted uncomfortably under their calculating looks.

'We have a new student joining Slytherin this year. This is Miss Rheah Ali; she transferred from Beauxbatons and she will be a sixth-year at Hogwarts. I hope you make an effort to make her feel welcome in our community,' he said calmly while surveying the crowd of Slytherins coolly. 'Mr Malfoy, Miss Parkinson - You will assist her around Hogwarts tomorrow,'

'We will take good care of her, sir,' said the boy who had greeted the Professor a while ago.

Rheah assumed that he was Malfoy; he had very pale-blond hair that was slicked back neatly. She had noticed him at dinner; he seemed to be popular with other Slytherins. Almost everyone had listened to him whenever he spoke. He watched her with an interested look on his pointed face; it only made her more anxious. This boy certainly did not give off the friendly aura that Neville had given off.

Seemingly satisfied by the response, Professor walked off after bidding them a good night leaving a restless Rheah alone at the mercy of the Slytherins. She remained frozen to her spot until a girl walked over to her with a smug smile on her face. Rheah recognized her as one of the girls who had talked non-stop through out Professor Dumbledore's speech at dinner.

'Hello there, I'm Pansy Parkinson,' she said in a fluttery voice. 'I am going to assist you around school, tomorrow. Don't worry; you are in safe hands,'

'Hi Pansy,' said Rheah meekly.

'This is so exciting! We are going to have so much fun together, Rheah,' Pansy gushed while leading Rheah over to the fireplace where she had been sitting before. 'You can be the newest member of my small group ... The Slytherin Sirens,'

Rheah did not know what to say to that, so she just nodded along with Pansy.

'Of course, you have to be very pretty to be part of The Slytherin Sirens,' said Pansy as she looked at Rheah's messy hair disapprovingly, '... but that's no problem, I can fix you up quite easily. All you need is just a - er - little makeover. Lucky for you, I love giving makeovers to people who have the potential to look good, and you sure ...'

However, Malfoy who had snuck up on them cut off her speech rather harshly, 'Parkinson, I think it's time for you to shut up. You are going to scare her away on her first day,'

Pansy looked hurt for a moment, and then she stalked off towards her girlfriends while throwing murderous looks at Malfoy. Nevertheless, he did not seem to care about her fury as his eyes roamed over Rheah. She was grateful to escape from Pansy, but unfortunately, Malfoy gave her the creeps. She could not decide whether it was because of the two bulky guys at his back, or if it was the look on his face.

'Hi, I'm Draco Malfoy. It's such a pleasure to have you join us,' he drawled; he took her hand and raised it to his lips.

In surprise, Rheah jerked her hand away from him. Something flashed in his cool grey eyes so quickly that Rheah thought it was just her imagination. She knew that he was being courteous, but she preferred handshakes.

'Nice to meet you, too,' she muttered, avoiding his probing eyes. Instead, she stared at the two dark-haired boys who towered behind him. They gazed back at her blankly with goofy grins on their faces. Draco followed her gaze enquiringly and then smirked.

'These are my friends - Crabbe and Goyle,' he said motioning towards each one who grunted a greeting at her. 'Can you two leave me alone for a while?'

Friends? It seems to me that they are more like your puppets, mused Rheah.

'So, you are from Beauxbatons,' Draco said as Crabbe and Goyle lumbered away. It was a statement, not a question. Therefore, she just nodded.

'It's an excellent school; I think it's much better than Hogwarts. If I were you, I would have finished my studies at Beauxbatons. Why did you transfer?'

'My parents made us change schools, we didn't want to. It's because of their work,' she replied exasperatedly, wondering how many more times she would have to explain the reason for her untimely transfer.

'We?' he asked, puzzled.

'Oh, yes. My sister and I. Sara ... erm ... she's in Gryffindor,'

Draco's expression suddenly hardened and he sneered, 'Gryffindor? I see ... she must be very noble and brave, then,'

Rheah stared at Draco in mild surprise, why did he look and sound so displeased? Then she remembered what Professor Dumbledore had said about Gryffindor being Slytherins' main competitor. At that time, she had not really thought that the competition was that serious, but now she wondered if she would be ever able to talk to Sara in peace anymore.

'Er - I guess she is OK ...'

'Let me give you some useful advice, Rheah. We Slytherins don't really socialize with the Gryffindors. The Gryffindors are an arrogant bunch; they think that they can win anything just because they have got Potter and his little gang,' spat Draco with an ugly look on his face.

'You mean, Harry Potter?' she asked incredulously.

'Yeah, the famous Potter. He is such a nuisance, always going around telling stories about how he defeated the Dark Lord repeatedly. As if! He gets away with everything. After all, Dumbledore and the teachers favor him - except for Professor Snape ... you know, because he's the boy who lived and everything. It's very unfair, we lose the house cup to them every single year just because Harry Potter got himself out of the stupid situations he gets himself into, ' sneered Draco.

Rheah listened in trepidation. She had met Harry on the train and she had liked him, but from the sounds of it, the Slytherins did not. According to Draco, Harry was as bad as the newspapers make him out to be. She wondered anxiously whether Neville was on of his gang members, though she did not dare ask Draco.

'Anyway, I know that you would want to talk to your sister and all, but try to stay away from Potter and his followers if you wanna have a good rapport in this house. I don't want to see you get shunned by fellow Slytherins, you seem like a nice and sensible person,' Draco said with a brief smile. 'Just follow my advice and you'll fit right in. I'll be glad to help you around tomorrow, but it's fine with me if you'd rather hang out with The Slytherin Sirens,'

She glanced at Pansy as she let out an awful high-pitched cackle and shuddered involuntarily.

Draco caught her look of revulsion and sniggered quietly, 'I thought so. Pansy can be a bit overwhelming and ditzy at times. Well, in that case, I'll wait for you in the common room tomorrow morning. We can go to breakfast together and then I'll take you to your classes. So what do you say, are we friends?'

Rheah glanced at Pansy one last time to see her flipping her blond hair flirtatiously as she talked to a boy. At least, Draco would not try to give her a makeover, and he was certainly well-liked among the Slytherins. That had to be a good sign. Therefore, in the end, she decided to accept Draco's hand of friendship even though he appeared to be a bit intense. Moreover, she could not understand his hostility towards Harry Potter; for some reason Rheah just did not want to imagine Harry as such an arrogant prat. He was their savior after all.

Well, tomorrow I'll be able to figure out whether Harry's as conceited as Draco says, she thought absently as she followed Pansy and her friends - Millicent Bulstrode; a strongly built girl and Daphne Greengrass; a pretty brunette - into the girls dormitory later that night.

When they entered their room, she found her trunk at the foot of a bed, which was in a corner of the room. The room was low and rectangular, with four beds facing each other. There were green lamps hanging from the ceiling, similar to the common room. Rheah was pleasantly surprised to see four big windows on each stone wall, which showed false projections of the outside. They gave the room a more open and pleasing atmosphere. She felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her as she examined her four-poster bed with its emerald and silver covers. As she changed into her pajamas, Pansy tried to involve her in girl-talk, but she declined politely with a good night. Shutting the bed's dark-green velvet drapes firmly to keep out the girls' voices, she settled under the duvet covers and fell asleep immediately, not knowing what tomorrow would bring.

*