Survivor

Ravus had known disappointment before she came to Hogwarts; she had known pain and hate. But the way of Hogwarts...that was different. She did not belong there and God knew she did not want to be there. She was an outcast from the beginning; not even the House of Slytherin wanted to associate with her. Her own house cast her out. She was a Mudblood, they said, almost worse than a Muggle. The other houses hated her for being Slytherin and people who she thought would accept her held her past against her like a crime. Hate teaches you hardness; hate teaches you isolation.

She arrived at Hogwarts, beginning of her fifth year. She had transferred from Durmstrang after an incident with a male member of her class, a certain amount of nudity, and a potion that, well, enlarged. It went horribly wrong, to say the least, and she was dismissed for improper use of magic. Her father, for once concerned for his daughter's welfare, called in a favor to a Professor Snape, an acquaintance of his (the relationship was never explained to her), and this Snape talked on her behalf to the Headmaster, Professor Dumbledore. She was admitted hastily and arrived late on the first day of term, late for the opening ceremony and halfway through dinner. She scurried into the school, her bags vanishing from her hands as she passed through the portal, and a ghost guided her to the main hall. The doors opened and hundreds of eyes turned to look at her. The exorbitant noise quieted immediately as she walked further into the hall, taking as much in as possible.

"Come here, Ravus," an old man at the head table called, beckoning her with his hand. She ducked her head, blushing, knowing that this was Headmaster Dumbledore. She reached the table, apologizing as she curtsied. "I do apologize for being late, Sir. Our...transportation had trouble passing the gates and that added to a delayed starting time. I am quite sorry, Sir." Her voice was clear but a Russian accent made her every word distinct. She raised her black eyes just far enough to meet his and relaxed when she saw a smile grace his face. She smiled back and stood up from her curtsey. She could have stayed in that position for hours; she had before. She had attended an all-girls school where proper etiquette was severely taught and severely punished. As she rose, Dumbledore spoke to the students behind her, still quiet at the sight before them.

"Dear students, we have a new addition to our school. This is Ravus Splendoss, a seventh year that has transferred from Durmstrang. I hope all of you will welcome her with open arms and not let any differences between her former school and Hogwarts be a problem. Now dear, let us get you Sorted." A woman with a stern face and a tight bun moved from behind the table, pulling a hat and a stool along with her. The stool was sat in front of Ravus and with a glance, she was directed to sit, facing the crowd. She sat, eyes almost daringly looking straight into the crowd, making eye contact with no one. The hat was placed upon her head and there was silence. She jumped when it moved, emitting a loud yawn.

"Well now," it said, "Another one, it seems. What have we here? Too old for a first year but never the less confused about where she belongs. Now, child, let's see, let's see. Hmmm," it paused. "You're too hard for a Ravenclaw, too independent for a Gryffindor, too...too everything for a Hufflepuff, it seems. Slytherin is left, even there I cannot see you belonging. You're everything and nothing, child. A perfect match for none of the houses." The tears came unbidden to Ravus's eyes. She knew she was different but she did not need a damn magical hat to announce it to a hall full of complete strangers. "Ah," the hat sighed, sympathetically, "You've been through much, my dear. Good luck. SLYTHERIN!"

She released her breath and stood immediately, the weight of the hat taken off. Where applause was supposed to be, there was silence and more stares. She looked around confused, not knowing where to go. The stern woman's hand was placed upon her shoulder, her other hand coming around and pointing to the far table to her right. An empty seat directly in the front appeared and Ravus went to it, grateful to be out of the public eye. Slowly, the room came back alive, the sounds of conversation and the consumption of food rose slowly. Ravus looked around her some more, not knowing what to do with herself. The food in front of her she could not imagine eating after what had happened. She had raised herself to block out any form of pain but even after years of training, public humiliation still knew where to find her weak spot.

"What kind of a name is Splendoss?" came a cold voice from across the table. She looked at a boy, the same age as her she assumed, with blonde hair, slicked back, and gray eyes that met her black ones with ferocity, almost begging her to challenge him. True to her nature, she did.

"A Russian one," she answered calmly. "May I ask what yours is?"

"Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," he stated as if she should be impressed. "I've never heard the Splendoss name. Is it famous in Russia? We Malfoys have been a wizarding family for centuries, pureblood, of course."

She smirked a little at this. "My father works for the Russian equivalent of your Ministry of Magic. He has made a name for himself, though it may not be a famous one. As for my family, we have had wizards and witches, a few in each generation." She shrugged her shoulders. "Is there anything else, Mr. Malfoy?"

He looked shocked, not knowing whether she was serious or mocking him with a deadpan face. He shook it off quickly and nodded to the two thugs next to him. "This is Crabbe and that one is Goyle. They are Slytherin seventh years as well. We'll show you around the first few days to get you acquainted with the place."

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Consider it a favor."

"Will I have to repay this favor at a later time?"

Malfoy smirked at this and replied in a gruff tone, "We'll have to see what you can do for me, won't we?" Crabbe and Goyle let out rough laughs, finding a sexual undertone in everything.

Ravus turned her black eyes colder when she looked at Malfoy again. Her voice hardened and it added years to her in one moment. "I'll accept it as kindness, Malfoy, not as a favor. Do it on those terms and I may repay you later in a return kindness. And not in the way your thugs are thinking."

Malfoy had turned hard as well as her thoughts were voiced and replied, "We'll see." They left the conversation at that until dinner ended and the entire house made its way to the dungeons, to the dorm where they were housed. They entered the common room and Draco called to a girl close by. "Pansy! Come here now." She jumped and scampered up to him, practically falling onto his arm, pushing herself as close to him as possible. He made no move to remove her from his body, merely saying, "Pansy. This is Ravus and I want you to show her the girls' dormitory. Show her where everything is and I'll give you a surprise later." The girl giggled at this and left Malfoy's side, making Ravus follow her. A whirlwind tour later ended in a room filled with four beds, one of them being Pansy's. Ravus's baggage had been piled neatly in front of her bed, her robes for tomorrow taken out and laid across her trunk.

"That's it," Pansy said. "All seventh years have the same schedule so you can follow me to all our classes."

"Will Draco give you another surprise if you do that?" Ravus asked.

Pansy's face turned dark but she laughed it off quickly. "He'd give me a surprise any time I asked for it. I don't have to earn it." She laughed again, saying, "If you're jealous, don't waste your time. He is mine and it will stay that way." She cocked her head, staring down at Ravus. "You really don't want to see what I'll do to keep it that way." With a final glare, Pansy turned on her heel and left, striding out of the room like she owned the world.

Ravus would have laughed at the silly child if only she hadn't felt so utterly lost. Ravus had known her place at Durmstrang, known who her friends were, knew where her enemies hid, and knew where she could reach her parents. Now she knew that she didn't belong and that the first impression her schoolmates had gotten of her was not a good one. She was different, her life had made her unforgettably so, and now she was starting over. "Crying was a weakness," she reminded herself when she felt self-pity form at the edge of her eyes. She beat those feelings down till exhaustion grabbed her and sleep claimed her for the night.

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She woke early the next morning, dressing quickly and hurrying out into the common room, trying to avoid Pansy at all costs. She was a girl Ravus did not want to be indebted to, for any reason. She decided to explore the castle before it was crowded with students to notice her lack of knowledge of where she was going.

Walking upwards towards the light, she escaped the cold of the dungeons. Morning light crept in the windows on the first floor of the castle. She passed paintings with people and objects that moved. More than one moved to whisper something to the next person, probably about how new and lost she looked. The paintings at Durmstrang were much more severe; she had to search her mind to remember when she last saw one smile. She let the memories come as she walked. She was in unfamiliar territory with one definite enemy and three possible ones; all those within her own house. She had been stupid and careless at Durmstrang, making it easy for her to be expelled. She had let her guard down and that was taken advantage of. She had let him get so close, trusting him blindly.

"You are a stupid girl. Stupid girls trust people and for that, they get hurt," she thought to herself, swearing it would never happen again. She shook off the past and looked up, noticing she ended up in an arched doorway, facing a room (could it be called a room?) with portraits and stairwells. The room was several stories high with different entryways, some of them without staircases leading to them. As she stood there watching, a stairway suddenly moved from its original landing to one across the way. She smiled suddenly, liking the idea of a maze with a mind and personality of its own. Laughter and voices broke her from her reverie and brought her eyes to a staircase on the third (?) floor. A trio of students came to the staircase and slowly descended. One of them, a red-haired fellow, mumbled something under his breath, making the other two laugh. Her heart stilled as she got a closer look at them. She remembered descriptions of the Boy Who Lived, the infamous Harry Potter, given to her by Viktor Krum. She shivered at his name and tried to forget their brief acquaintance. She looked again at the boy in the middle and knew that was Harry Potter.

As she stared, he caught her eyes and, as he moved closer, he stopped in front of her, his other two friends not noticing. "Hello," he said, almost shyly.

Her eyes tightened slightly but she responded civilly enough. "Hello, Harry Potter. You are he?"

He nodded slightly, replying, "You're Ravus, aren't you? I noticed you last night at dinner."

She snorted at that and said sarcastically, "How you could have missed me?" Without an answer, she continued, "I am Ravus Splendoss." She looked at him, not knowing how it would look to her new house if she were caught talking to a Gryffindor, Harry Potter at that. "I need to go," she said and turned on her heel, leaving a perplexed Potter behind her, with his two friends watching the show.

She heard the girl whisper, "Well, she's a strange one."

"She's from Durmstrang - what do you expect? You remember that Viktor Krum, don't you, Mione?" the red-haired boy countered, receiving a slap on the arm for his comments. Ravus walked away, knowing she was alone but not allowing herself a moment to dwell on it. She picked a way to walk, hoping it would lead her into the Great Hall. She made it a small way before running straight into Malfoy and Pansy, who were declaring their affections in a rather physical way. She avoided them deftly, walking quickly past, rounding a corner into the Great Hall. She sat by herself at the end of the Slytherin table. She had a quiet breakfast, the people around her deftly noticing the 'leave me alone' attitude that exuded from her body. Thinking she had avoided Draco or Pansy, she got up and left the table...only to be grasped by the arm and turned around by Draco himself. She looked at him with such anger; even he took a step back.

"You have no right to touch me. Ever. Never forget that," she said, eyes boring into his.

He said nothing for a moment, looking perplexed. "We go to Potions first," he stammered eventually. "It's with Snape. He'll do anything for his house, especially me. Stick close by and I'll show you the ropes," his confidence grew with every word. She looked at him for a moment and just nodded. She did not know where to go and felt that she may as well learn the way, joining his company, grudgingly.

They arrived in the Potions room with little time to spare. Draco dragged her to sit with him down at one table. She tried to resist but Snape walked out of his office. With a glance at him, she knew moving at that moment would have been a mistake. She felt Pansy's eyes staring at Draco's and Raven's table, making it quite clear the arrangement was not acceptable.

Snape surveyed the room, finally resting on her face, his eyes narrowing slightly. "It seems the Splendoss joined us. Hopefully, they taught you something worthwhile at Durmstrang," he spoke quietly but it penetrated the room effectively enough. She did not let herself react more than a nod of the head. He stared back for a moment but then began the class. He reviewed the Swelling Solution and Deflating Draught. She wondered at his selection of potions but chose to ignore it. She could not be paranoid enough to think that a man she never met was out to make her life miserable. She would not act like that.

The class passed and her first impressions of Snape were of complete approval. She liked structure and discipline: both of those he gave quickly and deftly. He was not a handsome man but he gave off an air of power that made her feel in awe of him. She had little time during the class to look at her classmates. Leaving the room, she looked around and noticed the gold and red colors adorning some of the other students' robes.

"The seventh damn year with the Gryffindors...every year the same schedule with them," Draco snorted and stared at some of the passing Gryffindors with utter disgust. Ravus just looked around her, the contempt in Draco's voice signaling a weakness to her brain. Her eyes landed on Harry Potter as he and his friends stood to leave the room. He fascinated her. To have survived Voldemort...the legends and tales of what that dark wizard had done even made it into cold Russia. Some feared him, some applauded him, and some, like her father, sat back to watch the show, to see who the winner was and join them then. "Survival is key, Ravus. Never sacrifice yourself for another; you are the only one that matters," he often told her that and she confused it with affection. She realized too late that his advice applied to himself and he would not sacrifice anything for his daughter. His help in transferring to Hogwarts had been a surprise and she was sure she would have to repay it later.

She cleared her mind of her father...only to find Harry right in front of her. "Are you alright, Ravus?" he asked her gently, his hand reaching out to touch her arm lightly. She stared in his eyes, surprised to find only concern there. She nodded and began to respond when Draco pushed in between them, shoving his face directly into Harry's.

"Don't even think to touch her, Potter. Wouldn't want to sully her purity with the likes of you." Draco's voice was dark with anger and Harry's face was clouding with rage as the altercation escalated. Ravus, drowning in the testosterone, turned and left, knowing the fight was not about her and neither of the boys would even notice she left.

She had barely made it out the door when she heard a voice call behind her. "Barely here twenty-four hours, Splendoss and you already are making mischief. Whatever would your father say?" Ravus turned and came face to face with Professor Snape.

"My father would say not much, sir. He does not interfere with my life that often." She cocked her head as she waited for his response. There was no anger in his eyes, only the constant sarcasm and watchfulness that others mistook for contempt.

He smirked and replied, "Do you know how your father knows me?"

"No, sir, he did not speak of the matter to me."

"If you survive the year, I will tell you that fascinating tale." He paused. "You should go to your next class. Professor McGonagall does not like to be kept waiting."

She nodded, curtsied, and left him watching her leave. She wasn't what he expected, she knew that. He expected her father in a younger, female form and was surprised with what he saw. She did not know, though, if what he was impressed with what he saw. She wanted his respect; he was someone she wanted to trust.