Shadows Of Yesterday

Lenora Whitborn picked at her breakfast as she sat at the unusually rowdy Ravenclaw table. Normally, they were a rather subdued lot, but apparently summer had taken its toll on the Ravenclaws, and they were not yet settled down.

Lenora was rather plain looking, in her own opinion. She was fairly short, about 5’ 3". Her dark auburn hair was shoulder length, straight and flat. A pair of glasses, unfortunately, hid her jade green eyes. She often found herself wishing that there was a spell to fix vision.

Across from Lenora sat her best friend Alexa Mkale. Appearance wise, the two girls were as different as night and day. Alexa nearly towered over Lenora at 5’11". She had an athletic frame, due to her long hours spent playing Quidditch. Currently, she was the best beater in the school and had brought the Ravenclaw's victory the past two years in a row. Her black hair fell down to her waist, and her eyes were such a dark shade of brown they seemed to match the blackness of her hair.

Though both girls were well acquainted with nearly all the student’s of their house within two years of them, they knew virtually no one in any of the other houses. They weren’t quiet or shy; Alexa was actually the loudest and most rowdy Ravenclaw, it was just that they found it rather hard to get together and do things with other house members. They’d never had a need for it, and didn’t expect to anytime soon. Unbeknownst to them at the time, things were about to change.

"Ugh, we’ve got Arithmancy first block! I can’t believe they cancelled Divination," Alexa moaned, "Now we’ve got to start off every morning with that old bat Granger."

"Alexa!" Lenora cried indignantly, "How can you say that? She’s never even taught us before. Besides you didn’t have to take Arithmancy."

"What else was I supposed to take? Muggle studies? My parent’s were Muggles last time I checked. And honestly, that Granger woman, haven’t you heard the way she talks to those Gryffindors? Terrible!"

Lenora let out an audible sigh. It was a futile effort, arguing with Alexa. Often, she was too stubborn for her own good. She was already put out by the fact that divination had been taken off the course list. They’d both chosen to take Arithmancy instead, though only Lenora was looking forward to the change of schedule.

"Come on. Let’s get to class."

Before long, both girls were seated at a table in Arithmancy. Professor Granger had not yet arrived, though seemingly all the students were there. On closer inspection of the house crests on the students’ robes, Lenora noticed that there were students from each house in the class, instead of the usual two. The class was composed almost entirely of Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. She and Alexa were the only Ravenclaws in the room, and a lone Slytherin sat at the back table.

Lenora observed him for a moment. He had dark chestnut hair that fell slightly into his gray eyes. He wasn’t wearing a scowl, the usual Slytherin expression. But he wasn’t smiling either. He just seemed very serious. He had broad shoulders, although he didn’t seem particularly muscular. She could tell that he was also taller than her, probably around 5’7".

Suddenly, the Slytherin looked up and met her gaze. She kept eye contact, too surprised to do anything else. He didn’t frown or look away, as she’d expected. They sat for a moment, transfixed, just staring at each other.

The door opened with a bang, causing them both to jump and look away from each other to Professor Granger, who had just entered, a slight grin upon her ageing features.

"I see we have three new students this year. As you all well know-"

Professor Granger was cut off as the door burst open once again. This time an enormously tall Gryffindor came bounding into the room. He was taller, even than Alexa, 6’ 5" at the very least. His blond hair, which he had spiked in a crazy manner, only added to his height. He had a muscular frame, and Lenora recognized him as one of the Gryffindor chasers. A cocky grin was plastered on his face, and a mischievous glint sparkled in his blue eyes.

"Sorry I’m late Professor Granger, but-"

"Ah, Mr. Tarkin, " said Professor Granger in a strict tone, any traces of a smile now vanished from her face, "That makes four new students. Five points from Gryffindor and I trust you’ll be on time tomorrow or ten more will be deducted. Now find a seat."

He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but seemed to think better of it. Instead he turned and headed to the back of the classroom, scowling as he took the only empty seat in the room; the one next to the Slytherin, who didn’t look too pleased himself.

"Now, this is the highest number new students we’ve had at this level in a long time. I feel that it is necessary for one of the students who’s taken this class before to work with the new ones, seeing that they don’t have the background to understand what we’re doing now. Are there any volunteers?"

It seemed that no one wanted to make an offer. Silence echoed throughout the classroom. Professor Granger opened her mouth, about to choose a victim.

"I’ll do it Professor," said a tiny voice.

The entire class, including Professor Granger turned to stare at the speaker. She was a particularly tiny-looking Hufflepuff girl, though Lenora knew she was probably the same height as her. The girl had straight, golden hair, hanging down in two braids. Her blue eyes looked slightly frightened, and she’d drawn up her already petite frame to look even smaller. She, herself, seemed as shocked as the rest of the class at her offer.

"I was hoping you’d volunteer Ms. Quinn. You are the best student in this class," she paused for a moment to frown at a few of the Gryffindors, "By far," She continued in a very stern voice. A few Gryffindors, including the late chaser, were now sniggering uncontrollably. Professor Granger chose to ignore this and continued, undaunted, " Now, if our four new students and Ms. Quinn will come with me, I’ll explain things to you. The rest of the class can begin to read chapter one of your books until I return."

Lenora was surprised to see the Slytherin rise along with Alexa, the Gryffindor, the Hufflepuff and herself. He swept past the Gryffindor who was obviously taking his time, and walked swiftly to the front of the classroom where Lenora, Alexa and the other girl were waiting next to Professor Granger. The Gryffindor made no attempt to move towards them. He stretched lazily and began to gather his things at a record breaking slow pace.

"Hurry it up Tarkin!" Professor Granger barked. That got him up and going a little faster, though not by much. He sauntered up to the front of the room, and the five of them eventually left the classroom. They followed Professor Granger down the hall a ways before coming to a stop in front of a worn looking door. She removed a metal key ring from her belt, flipped to the appropriate one, and unlocked the door.

Lenora stepped inside the dusty, ancient classroom. The room was bare, save a rickety table, surrounded by a few chairs and a near empty, dust entombed bookshelf over in the corner.

"Now," said Professor Granger, "I’ll give you the week’s notes and assignment, and the five of you may complete it together. Ms. Quinn, try to explain things to them as best as you can. If you have any problems," she said, giving the Gryffindor a warning look, "be sure to report to me and I shall deal with them appropriately."

"Yes Professor Granger," said the Hufflepuff in her tiny voice.

With that said, Professor Granger turned and swept out of the room, leaving the students to their own devices. Unsure of what action to take, the five stood there gawking at each other. Unexpectedly, the Gryffindor yawned loudly and flopped down onto one of the dusty, wooden chairs. Lenora noted that Alexa was regarding him with a rather strange expression on her face. It was something similar to an amused frown.

"You’re one of Gryffindors chasers, right?" She asked him. The Gryffindor looked startled for a moment, before replacing the expression with the same cocky grin he’d worn earlier.

"That’s right, Toby Tarkin, at your service," he said in a voice that matched his grin. The Slytherin let out an almost audible scoff. Toby glared at him, "Stuff it Malfoy. I wouldn’t be laughing if my name was Septimus," he practically growled.

"That’s not what I was laughing at," Septimus replied in a cool voice, apparently unruffled by Toby’s comment. Unsure how to reply, Toby instead cast his gaze around the room. His eyes finally came to rest on the Hufflepuff girl, who looked rather terrified.

"So Ms. Quinn," he said in a flawless Professor Granger impression, "what’s your first name?" The Hufflepuff gulped visibly. Toby’s smirk grew.

"Savannah," she said, quietly but evenly. Toby forged on, sensing weakness.

"So, Savannah, what’s it like being a Hufflepuff? Must be nice. There are a few good-looking girls in there. But everyone knows Ravenclaws the place to go for that." He was now giving Alexa a very thorough once-over. Her mouth opened, on the verge of insult, but his gaze wandered to Lenora.

"Could you stop being a prat for five minutes?" But the voice was not Alexa’s. They all turned to look at Septimus Malfoy, who was standing with his arms crossed in challenge. Lenora didn’t react at first; too stunned by the fact that a Slytherin had just defended her. However, she snapped out of it quickly, realizing a major blow out was about to go down if she didn’t say something soon.

"Anyways, I’m Lenora Whitborn, and this is Alexa Mkale. Now that we’re all introduced, why don’t we try to get some work done?" No one argued. Instead they all sat at a table.

Little was accomplished, due to Toby’s constant interruptions. He was apparently still trying to annoy Septimus, and anyone else he could manage in the process. Needless to say, when the end of the lesson came, Lenora was very relieved to get out of there.