Perago

Starting over again

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Several things happened in the next minutes. Hermione stood still, her breath in her throat. Adriana looked at her strangely, and then shrugged, turning her attention to the door. The door opened and the first person to enter was a blond boy. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a green T-shirt. His hair was shuffled, and his grey eyes scanned the tiny room in a care-free way. When they fell on Hermione, he just nodded at her curtly, before taking a seat in the armchair in front of Adriana. The vampire looked confused. The door opened again. The man who entered was the kind of person that fell under the tall, dark and handsome category. Jet black hair, which fell in front of his violet eyes, and tanned skin. He was wearing black jeans as well, and a grey shirt. The man ran a hand through his hair, and looked at Hermione, recognizing her. The corner of his mouth curved up in amusement, and he nodded towards her amicably. He went and sat next to the blond.

"Nice seeing you again, Granger," the black-haired man said after a few minutes of silence.

"Likewise," Hermione answered politely.

"Oh, sodding hell. Please, get off the politeness, it doesn't suit you," the blond interfered. "Granger, can't say I'm surprised seeing you again."

"I'd lie if I'd say I was beginning to miss your big annoying mouth, Malfoy," Hermione said, half-smiling.

"And I'd tell the truth if I'd say I was not missing yours," the blond answered back.

"I see you're still brave to put up with him, Zabini," Hermione said, pointing towards Draco.

"I like saying I was born with that talent," the black-haired man answered. Draco scoffed.

Adriana sat on the edge all that time, studying the three ex-schoolmates. They didn't seem friends, but at least they got along together well enough. She cleared her throat, and Hermione took notice of her.

"Ah yes. Adriana, these are Blaise Zabini and Draco Malfoy. We used to go to school together."

The three shook hands, as required, and settled down once more, as the door opened. This time, inside stepped a woman. She looked in her mid-thirties, short copper hair, black eyes and a strict-like position. She was wearing the University's standard robes for teachers: long black skirt, beige chemise and the black cloak strapped to her shoulders. On it the honorary badge with a P on it shined brightly.

"Welcome to Salem University for Numerology. My name is Ophelia Verne, and I was assigned to guide you, Hogwarts alumni, around the school. There are several things you must know before beginning the year here. This is a very prestigious University. Well known mages such as Newt Scamander, the author of Fantastic beasts and Where to find them, or Adalbert Waffling, author of the Magical Theory, as well as the author of Defensive Magical Theory, Mr. Wilbert Slinkhard, and Mr. Olivius Ollivander, the maker-of wands studied here. As you see, everyone who leaves Salem leaves it with the knowledge that a good future career expects them. Before I show you around, I'd like to know a few things about you, as required. Ms. Zabini, please tell me what are your goals for the future?" she asked, looking at Adriana.

"Em, I'm not Zabini," she answered.

"You're not? Then who is Ms. Zabini?"

"I am. And it's mister Zabini," Blaise answered annoyed.

"Oh my. You're a man? Oh, brother, this is wrong. This is going to be so totally wrong. The Council will so have my head. This is what you get when you don't look at the bloody photos, Ophelia!" the once strict woman was now pacing around the room, a preoccupied look on her face. "If you're not Zabini, then who are you?" she asked looking at Adriana.

"Adriana Kevlar, from Arges School for Vampires, in Romania. I arrived late for the calling, but I believe I'm the only one in my school anyway. So I joined Hermione here."

"Ah. You're right; you were the only one in your school to get admitted, because you don't stick to the vampire rules. Mr. Zabini, please accept my most humble of apologises. I seem to not have looked at the photo enclosed on your file. Which is the exact reason why I thought you were a girl."

"It happens," Blaise said, with a sullen look on his face.

"Right. Well, then, tell me Mr. Zabini, what are your goals?"

"I want to become Mr. Ollivander's assistant, and maybe have my own business in wand making," he answered honestly.

"Interesting. Your N.E.W.T. scores were very good; I think you might have a chance. Mr. Malfoy, what about you?"

"I wish to become a Potions Master, and research on the Wolfsbane Potion and the Elixir Of Life."

"Very nice. Any specific reason to doing that?"

"No."

"Okay. Ms. Granger, what about you?"

"I'd like to become a Curse Breaker, or a worker for Gringotts. Or maybe both."

"And Ms. Kevlar?"

"A Potions Mistress as well, but my interest is the Blood-Replenishing Potion."

"How come?"

"Well, being a vampire, I know my kind often suck people dry. So I want to improve the potion to making the entire blood quantity be restored in only one drink. That way, not so many people will die because of my...family."

"That's a very noble intention. First vampire ever to think of it, I assure you. Very well, then. Now that this is settled I shall lead you to your bedrooms," Ophelia finished, standing up and exiting the room. The others followed. They were taken down a marble hallway, turned right once, then left again, and finally reached a big black door. "This is the entrance to the residence, or the dormitories. Each dormitory is for two persons. You can either end up with someone you know, or someone you don't. You can change you dorm-mate, after presenting a plea in front of the Council, with enough reasons to be changed. In your rooms you shall find a map to the entire Salem, and the outside surroundings. You shall no doubt learn it quickly, but for a few weeks it's advisable to keep it in hand."

They opened the black door and stepped into a whole new different building. The floor tiles were now soft beige, and the walls were decorated with many paintings and portraits, moving and Muggle alike. Upon reaching a mahogany door with the letters Z&G on it, they stopped. Ophelia turned towards them, looking apologetic.

"There was a confusion with Mr. Zabini's gender, that was my fault, I admit it. Upon thinking that you were a girl, I put you in the same dormitory as a girl as well. I thought you wouldn't want to be lonely, so I picked someone I thought you knew. So, Mr. Zabini, Ms. Granger, you two will be dorm-mates. The school trusts that you will have put behind any school dispute, and that you could please act civilly to one another. If you wish to change rooms, please present your case to the Council."

Hermione and Blaise were looking at her open mouthed, their eyes wide in astonishment. Afterwards, they turned to one another and looked, frankly, terrified. Before they could utter a word, Prof. Verne interfered again. "Mr. Malfoy, you will be staying with a student from Luxembourg, your dormitory is not very far away from your friends'. Ms. Kevlar, you are to stay with a girl from Norway. Your dormitory is down the hall, to the left. Please keep your rooms in order. There will be a feast held at 9 o'clock in the evening. The Council will welcome you and give you some instructions. Please try to be there. Enjoy your stay at Salem, and welcome to your first year here," she finished. After saying goodbye to each of them, Prof. Verne left to help prepare the feast.

The first one to speak, if you could call it that, was Draco, who began laughing loudly. "You two, dorm-mates! Oh this is precious. I wish Pansy could hear about this. Pity she went to Germany, she would've enjoyed seeing your faces. Oh, god you faces were priceless!"

"Draco, you are going to end up in your room as a poster. Shut up," Blaise said calmly.

Adriana, meanwhile, was trying to enter their room, and found out it was closed. "Maybe it needs a password. But to whom do you give it?" she asked curiously. Seconds later, the question was answered when a girl from the painting next to the mahogany door called them over.

"Hello, I'm Eliza. As you can see, next to each door there's a painting. Well, you say the password to the painting, and the door opens. Please choose a password."

Hermione and Blaise looked at each other, and shrugged in synchronization. Draco was still laughing behind them, while Adriana looked at him in amusement. "Don't you have some options to give?" Hermione asked the painting-girl.

"Well, yes, but normally people chose their own passwords, not minding the school's suggestions. If you're interested, you can choose between Agrippa, Aristotle, Conscientia and Consilium. Do you want information on what they mean? Agrippa was a famous Alchemist, Aristotle was a Greek scientist, Conscientia means 'knowledge' in Latin, and Consilium means 'wisdom'," the girl finished proudly.

"How do you say freedom in Latin, Granger?" Blaise asked.

"Freedom? Why freedom?" the witch asked, curious.

"Because we're finally free of House prejudice, blood prejudice and of our parents and friends. We're free to start a new life. What do you say?"

"I say 'freedom' makes a great password. The word for it in Latin is 'Libertas'," she said, and turned to address Eliza. "The password will be Libertas."

"All right. Welcome to Salem," she nodded, as the door made a click sound.

"I'd better see to my rooms as well. I'll stop by before we go to the feast," Draco said, going to his own rooms, which were only two doors away.

"Better get going. Hopefully, that girl from Norway isn't against vampires," Adriana said, smiling slightly and going her way.

Hermione was the first to enter the rooms, Blaise right behind her. Upon crossing the door, the first thing they took notice of was that there was only one big room, with a couple of stairs leading to a door. The gigantic room was of a beige colour, they suspected it was Salem's colour, with large windows and a small balcony. In the middle of the circular room there were two big sofas, arranged in a semicircle around a small coffee table. On the coffee table there was a vase with a bouquet of daisies in it, the honorary welcome gift. A big fireplace was on the northern wall of the room, around it, shelves filled with books, and some empty shelves, which were to be filled with the students' personal belongings. In front of the fireplace there was a Persian rug, once again beige in colour, and some cushions that clearly belonged on the sofas, rather than on the floor. To the left of the sofas were two small steps which lead to a sort of pedestal, on which a bed, a desk, some shelves, a dresser and a chair were placed nicely. There was no door separating the small bedroom space from what they considered the common room. To the right of the small common room, were the same two stairs, which led to the same type of small bedroom. Each bedroom had a big window next to the desk, and a small wall for hanging portraits and photos. The southern wall of the room was filled with some maps, paintings and portraits, and a spiral staircase, which led to another door, where the bathroom was. In short words, no doors separated the rooms, meaning, they had no privacy.

The two students agreed to keep out of the other's pedestal-set bedroom, unless they had permission. They unpacked and decorated the place. Hermione re-made her bed, and changed the colour of the sheets from white to a soft grey. She put her books, study books and reading books alike, on the shelves she had on the wall next to the bed. On the small wall made for paintings and photos she put all the photos she had taken with her from home, which were namely: Various pictures of her and either Ron or Harry and a few of them all together, her parents, places she had visited such as the plaza of Rome, the Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower, the Alps and a cathedral she had seen in Spain. Also, on the same wall, she stuck some drawings Dean had drawn for her, as a graduation gift and a finger-painting her little cousin had made for her in the nursery. On the desk she placed her quills, more books and set her clothes inside the dresser neatly.

Meanwhile, Blaise decorated his own part of the room as well. He changed the sheets to a pale green, and charmed some black curtains on the windows. On the empty wall he put some painting his big sister Mona had painted for him, three in total. There was one of a small welcoming house near the river--'your dream-home' she had told him, while giving him the painting--, a panting of the sun rising behind some mountains, and a portrait of Blaise and his two sisters, Mona, and his little sister, Giulia. Mona had been the big artist of the family; she dedicated herself to photography and panting, and was now a renowned painter and photographer for the Italian Gazette. She owned a flat in Venice, which she shared with Venetia, the white cat Blaise had given her for her birthday. She was the oldest of the Zabini children, and the most independent. She had taught Blaise how to paint on his own, and was the idol of Giulia's eyes. On the same wall, Blaise hung up pictures his little sister had made of the Zabini Mannor, and some drawing which she had given him from when she had been only 5 years old. On the shelves he placed some books, and a few items he had stuffed into his suitcase, which belonged to his parents. His father's shirt, his mother's glasses, she had many other pairs, and a box full of things he had collected on his visits to his grandparents in Greece (the plate in which his grandmother held the candy in, and his grandfather's used pipe). Once the room was like he pleased, he joined Granger in front of the fireplace.

There they discussed what to put on the empty shelves, and decided on leaving them empty for the time being, assigning them for the place where the projects would be placed, or something of the sort. Agreeing on that, they took turns to the bathroom, to prepare for the feast. Hermione took a bath, and Blaise took a shower. They both put on the uniforms, which consisted on a pair of black pants, a white chemise, a black tie, a jacket and the school's cloak. Apparently, they discovered, the school Council thought it wiser to dress everybody in the same way, thus bringing the uniforms. Then they decided to make the same uniform for both male and females alike, to avoid disputes and changes in style. Some vapid feminists disagreed, but the decision had been met with enthusiasm.

At exactly eight and a half, there was a knock on the door. Hermione let Adriana and Draco inside. The blond looked pleased with the uniform, and Adriana had tied her hair in a pony-tail. They spent sometime in the common room, while Hermione finished combing her hair, and Blaise shaved. Once they were done, they grabbed the school's map, and left for the feast.

On their way they met Prof. Lupin, who was wondering around the school helping the various lost students. "How do you like Salem, then?" he asked all of them, avoiding Adriana's eyes.

"It's nice. Very big," Draco supplied. "The fun part is that Blaise and Granger are stuck as room-mates."

"Really? How come?" the older man asked.

"Prof. Verne thought Zabini was a girl and put him with me in the same room," Hermione answered, amused Blaise's scowling expression.

"Ophelia tends to do that often it seems. Don't worry, you'll like her classes. She tries to be strict, but she likes teaching Arithmancy the fun and entertaining way," Lupin explained.

"We should be heading to the feast, it's starting very soon," Adriana cut in.

The four of them said good bye to the professor and continued searching for the hall where the feast was held. They reached two big ebony doors, and opened them to reveal a gigantic room where a lot of people sat at tables of four. They suspected this was where the feast took place, so they looked for an empty table. They found one very near the Staff table and sat down. At the staff table they saw Prof. Verne, who waved at them, and Prof. Lupin, who was in deep conversation with a funny looking man. Before they could ponder any longer, a man stood up, ready to speak. Hermione couldn't help but wonder where she had seen him before.