Second Chances

. Streams of people were flowing out of the Great Hall. The six girls fought their way over to Seamus. They surrounded him and pushed him out of the stream.

"Hey, little sib! Did you enjoy your breakfast?" he said cheerfully.

In response, she smacked him as hard as she could.

"Ow! Hey, what did you want to do that for?" he cried.

"You creep! You jerk!" cried Alexis.

Seamus's friends came over to see what was going on as Janey said, "You knew perfectly well that we wouldn't get down for breakfast!"

"How would I know that?" asked Seamus, looking pale.

"You flaming idiot, you gave us directions to Divination!" shouted Kaiulani.

"Hey, it was a joke," whimpered Seamus. "Can't you chicks take a joke?"

"Next time you want to play a joke, Slinky Boy, play it on someone else!" snapped Erin, and the six girls marched off, while Seamus and his friends stared at them.

One thing was puzzling Julie. "Slinky Boy?"

"Yeah," said Erin. "You know, the silver springy thing." She began to sing. "It walks downstairs, alone or in pairs, it makes a slinkety sound. A spring, a spring, a marvellous thing, everyone knows it's-"

"Yes, yes, yes," said Kaiulani. "But why did you call him Slinky Boy?"

"Oh, that," giggled Erin. "It's something one of my friends told me-she got it off of someone's signature on a message board."

"What is?" chorused the other five girls as they headed off to Herbology, their first class.

"Men are like Slinkys-they're basically useless, but it's fun to watch them fall down the stairs," said Erin.

The girls giggled. "Do you know any others?" asked Janey hopefully.

"Men are like fine wine," said Erin.

"What?" cried Ashley.

"I'm not done!" cried Erin. "Men are like fine wine: they start out as grapes. Then you pick them, crush them, squeeze them, stuff them in bottles, and leave them in the dark for a few years, then they turn into something you can have dinner with."

Giggling furiously, the six girls walked into Herbology.

Neither the boys nor the Hufflepuffs were there yet, which was a veritable godsend, as the girls were still laughing about the Slinky Boy thing. Professor Sprout asked them what was so funny. When they told her, she laughed too. Then the Hufflepuffs showed up, and finally the boys, Noah in the lead. He scowled at Erin. "How did you get here from breakfast so fast?"

"What breakfast?" snapped Erin. "Alexis's brother sent us up to Divination."

Professor Sprout had them replanting cinnamon trees that were still rather young, although very fragrant. After they were done, they headed back to the castle. Hufflepuffs waved as they went to Transfiguration, and the Gryffindors, with some trepidation, headed down the stairs to Potions.

The Slytherins had not arrived yet. Neither had Snape, which Noah said was a miracle. He had been talking to an older student, Ron, who had told him that Snape generally favoured the Slytherins over everyone else. When the Slytherins arrived, Snape soon followed. He gave them all a lecture.

"It has been my misfortune that the Gryffindor class is the worst one I have to teach all year. I am forced to take more points from them than from any other class. I don't expect many of you to be much better."

His cold, black eyes swept the room. Erin's first impression was that of a large, oversized bat. He began to take role. When he got to the S's, he said (for he called the names in reverse order under each heading), "Sullivan, Erin!"

"Here," said Erin firmly.

There were several titters from the Slytherins. Snape's lip curled in an unpleasant sneer. Erin couldn't figure out what was wrong. Then it hit her. Boldly, she said, "If my accent bothers you, I can shut up. If it doesn't, you can stop sneering at me. Being American isn't a disease. It's just a way of life."

The Slytherins shut up immediately and looked at her with new respect. From what they heard, Snape scared the living daylights out of most Gryffindors, and here this girl actually stood up to Snape and stood up for her country. Snape, however, advanced menacingly on her.

Erin stood her ground. Snape reached her and said, "You are not starting the year off on the right foot, young lady. It doesn't help that you're a Gryffindor-"

"She wasn't at first," spoke up Janey bravely. "She and I were transferred to Gryffindor from Slytherin."

Snape eyed her beadily. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Jan-Mary Jane Sanders," stammered Janey.

Snape regarded her and Erin coolly for a moment, then returned to his desk and began the lesson.