Philosophies, Perfection, and Nobility

So maybe the Slytherin common room was not as grand as Hogwarts as a whole, but it was amazing nonetheless. The common room was a dark place located somewhere in the dungeons of Hogwarts school. According to the prefect, whose name I forgot, the room was partially underneath the Great Lake. Due to being half way under the lake, the low ceilings were decorated with green lamps. Chairs filled the room and were noticeably carved from stone - as were the walls - but sported green and silver cushions. The room had a very dark aura to it.

The temperature was quite icy and the unlit fire did not help the situation in the least. A frigid chill traveled up my spine causing goose bumps to spread across my arms and legs. I wrapped my arms around myself as the prefect pointed me toward the direction of the dormitories.

The stairs leading to the dormitories led down a dark hall. Boys' dorms were on the left while girls' dorms were on the right. I found the door marked First Years, opened the door, and went in. It was fairly obvious that I was the first person to enter the room. The others must have still been in the common room.

Slowly, I walked over to the last bed on the right, next to the window, and knelt down in front of the trunk bearing my name. . I opened the lid and peered inside. Lying atop my clothing was a white blanket lined with lace Madam Ellie had folded neatly into a triangle. Branded upon the blanket was a symbol, my family crest, a dove encircled by fancy writing. Filosofie, perfezione e nobiltà. I knew from the few years of my parents making me learn our ancestor's language, Italian, that these words would be translated into Philosophies, Perfection, and Nobility. I forced a smile onto my lips, though nobody was around to see it, and I removed the delicate blanket from its resting place. I laid the blanket beneath my bed, just as Mother had said to always do when others were around. I honestly have never understood my mum's odd ways of thinking, but I obeyed her still.

Grabbing my favorite yellow nightgown - I will admit I always thought that yellow clashed horribly with my pale skin - I made my way in the direction of a door that I assumed to be the rest room. I changed my clothing and reentered the arctic dorm. By this time, the other four girls had found their beds and were sitting on them, talking about the possibilities of what the next day may bring. I simply rolled my eyes and walked toward my bed. I drew the dark green bed curtains around me and lay down. Chattering. When does it ever stop? Obviously not within an hour, because that is about how long I lay in my bed, wishing for sleep with the loud giggling and incessant talking filling my mind and ears. Letting out a heavy sigh, I grabbed a book from my trunk and proceeded to vacate the room and make my way towards the common room. It must have been at the latest around 10:30. Once I entered the common room, I noticed but one soul, the black-haired boy from the boat ride. Severus Snape. Looking over at him, I saw that he had his face practically pressed inside what appeared to be his potions book. Needless to say, the book was anything but new. It was literally falling apart at the seams.

"I guess somebody is very fond of potions. Am I wrong?" I looked at him incorrectly assuming he'd look back at me. Nothing came from him except for a type of grunting sound, which I took as a yes. I raised an eyebrow, shrugged my shoulders, and sat in the stone chair across from him.

The fire in the room had been lit earlier that evening, but the flames were diminishing as the night wore on. I was quickly beginning to regret not bringing a warm blanket to cover up with. Despite this, I snuggled into the chair and opened my book to chapter one. My love for books had always been a never-ending thing. This particular book was about Salazar Slytherin. I become easily engrossed into my book and forgot about the cold. It was not long before my eyes began to close and a welcomed emptiness took over my tired mind.

I woke up later to realize that I had fallen asleep in the common room. I looked around and noticed I was the only person in there. Obviously, Severus had already gone back to his dorm. I stood up and made my way to my dorm, before crashing onto my bed, in my warm covers.

A night of silent dreams ended once I awoke. Although my body was crying for sleep, screaming for that peacefulness, my mind refused to let the dreams steal it back. Giving up, I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. I slowly stretched my back out like a feline, pushed my bed curtains back, and kicked my feet over the side of the bed. The ground was unexpectedly cold against my bare feet; I quickly pulled my legs back onto the bed. I let out a breath and placed my feet back onto the icy floor. I stood up and turned toward the window right beside my bed. The window was wet and the sky was colored a shade of grey indicating two things: First, it was no later than 5:30. Second, it had rained the night before. That would explained why I slept so well through the night. I shook my head slightly and looked around the room at the sleeping faces of my dorm mates. They all were faces the opposite direction from me except for one.

The girl whose bed sat directly across from mine slept with both her eyes and my mouth closed. Her light brown hair spread across her pillow. She looked at peace in her sleeping form. I would have thought her dead, especially with her skin being as pale as my own, had it not been for the slow rising and falling of her chest. She was very beautiful, and it pained me when I realized why I could not tear my eyes away from her face. She reminded me of a woman I once knew. I closed my eyes tightly, took three deep breaths, and then headed for the bathroom.

Once I disrobed, I stepped into the shower and turned the water on hot. Every inch of my body could feel the water as it washed over me, burning away every thought and deepening every sore breath. Only my mind could word things this way. Showers are usually not intense things, until something begins to cloud your mind and speed up your breathing, threatening to wash your eyes with acid tears. I held my face up to the water, looked down, blinked my eyes, and turned the knob to off.

After I dressed myself in my school uniform and robe, I reentered my dorm. By this time, the girls had woken up. A girl with short blonde hair and a girl with long blonde hair were arguing over who would use the shower first. I silently laughed to myself when they both suddenly stopped arguing and looked up at me. The girls looked to be twins. The one with short hair had bright blue eyes, while the other had dark green.

"Looks like you don't have too much to fight over. I took the first shower. Problem solved." I smiled to myself, while the girls simply looked at each other hen back at me. They were definitely twins. I raised my eyebrow and stared at them, waiting for one to say something.

Small giggles escaped their lips before the green-eyed one stepped up to me.

"I'm Madison, and this is Mackenzie."

The other girl came to stand in front of me before, suddenly, pulling me into a tight-squeezed hug. My body went rigid and I'm sure she realized this, but she wasn't letting go of me. I reached my hand behind her and awkwardly patted her on the back. Finally, she pulled away from me and shot me the largest ad brightest smile I think I have ever seen. To be honest, I was in shock.

"You'll have to excuse her; she tends to be a bit more bold and forward than myself. I'm afraid that you will just have to get use to it." I looked at Madison and blinked my eyes. I struggled to get control of my thoughts before introducing myself.

"I... I'm Achindra. Achindra Lewis actually," I said proudly, once I was finally able to get a handle on my thoughts. The twins glanced at each other before looking back to me again.

"Lewis? As in the Lewis'? The Lewis'? Cool. We've heard of you guys, but I don't think we've actually met any," Mackenzie said happily. Madison elbowed her lightly in the side before giving her a stern look.

"Don't talk like that. I'm sure that Achindra doesn't care about your love of meeting well-known families, Mackenzie. I'm sorry again. Like I said before, you're going to have to get use to it." Madison looked toward the ground as if she was embarrassed.

"Please, don't worry about it. It is perfectly okay. I understand. My family is very well-known, so it's understandable." I let out a giggle, which I know much have sounded awkward coming from my mouth.

Next thing I know, Mackenzie is running for the bathroom door, obviously taking advantage of her sister being distracted, all the while laughing like a madman. Madison dashed off after her, yelling about unfairness and cheating. Before I could really comprehend what was happening, I began laughing. When the bathroom door slammed closed in Madison's face, she turned around and walk to - I figured - her bed. She let out a weak laugh while shaking her head. I made my way over and sat down next to her.

"We could go down together. That is, if you don't mind waiting for me and Mackenzie to finish our showers." She looked at me with - I am guessing - hopeful eyes. I thought about it for a second before nodding.

"It would be nice to have somebody to wait on. It's not like a have anything better to do, really." I smirked before falling back on her bed, hands behind my head, while she started talking about summer, Hogwarts, and classes.

Both of the girls managed to finish showering within an hour, allowing us to be among the first people in the Great Hall. The hall quickly filled with people, and the food seemed to disappear just as fast. Voices surrounded us and food covered the table.

"Here are your timetables, girls," said an annoying sounding voice behind me. The twins looked up, while I turned my head around. Behind me stood a short, fat man. He appeared to be past middle age, but I wouldn't have called him a very old man. His blond hair was balding, a massive mustache covered his lip, and he wore an ugly golden waistcoat. I suddenly felt sorry for the golden button, which looked to be putting up a tough fight holding on to jacket flap. I gave him the once over then looked back up to his face. Glancing quickly at his eyes, and then looking away, I found that I knew him. Horace Slughorn. This man helped my father get the job managing Gringotts bank in Diagon Ally. Slughorn had made about three visits to the Lewis home in the past eleven years.

I took the timetable he held out and turned around to continue listening to Mackenzie and Madison. It was not long before the three of us became bored with the Great Hall and decided to make our way toward our first class, all the while laughing at the struggle of the poor button on Professor Slughorn's waistcoat.