Eve

            I discovered that Pansy Parkinson wouldn't be my only roommate; there was another girl named Millicent Bulstrode who was just as terrible as Pansy, if not worse. What made it so awful was the fact that Millicent and Pansy were friends, so when the feast ended and we went down to our dormitories, the two of them immediately went to their side of the room and whispered together for hours.

            It took everything I had not to Owl my aunt and beg to be sent home. I had been nervous about making friends here even before arriving, but this was worse, so much worse. How was I supposed to make friends if the only girls in my House and year absolutely hated me?

            And it looked like being friends with anyone outside of Slytherin wasn't an option; I'd seen the way Ginny and Harry had looked at me from across the Great Hall. It was clear the other three Houses didn't want much to do with my House, and it seemed as though the other Slytherins were perfectly okay with that.

            I went to bed praying that tomorrow would be better.

           At breakfast the next morning, Professor McGonagall handed out everyone's schedules before classes started. I found that I had Potions first, and my stomach lurked a bit. It wasn't because I was bad at Potions—I was worried about where I was going to sit.

            The bell rang all too soon, and I reluctantly got up from the Slytherin table and made my way out of the Great Hall along with everyone else. I searched the crowds of students for Ginny Weasley, but I couldn't spot her anywhere. Trying to decide whether or not this was a good thing, I clutched my schedule and concentrated my gaze on Pansy's back. As much as I already disliked her, there was no way I could find the Potions classroom without deliberately following her.

            I discovered that the Potions classroom was in the dungeons, pretty close to the Slytherin common room. Taking a deep breath and pulling up the strap on my bag, I hurried inside the classroom.   

            My heart sank almost as soon as I stepped inside. The class was full of Slytherins, and as I looked over the tables, I realized there was not a single student who wasn't a Slytherin. I nearly turned around and walked back out when I saw that none of the tables were empty.

            "Hey, Hawkings! Sit over here."

            I turned my head as someone called my name and I saw, to my surprise, Blaise Zabini beckoning me over to his table. Uncertainly starting forward, I couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

            He laughed at my unsure expression and told me to just sit down. I hesitated, noticing for the first time who else was sitting at his table. Draco Malfoy and another Slytherin boy from last night were seated around the table, and I felt the sudden urge to back away very quickly.

            "Relax, you can sit here," Blaise said, and I finally gave in. Where else was I going to go?

            As I gave him a small smile and took a seat next to him, I heard Malfoy mutter under his breath, "Does she have to?"

            I felt my cheeks flush, no matter how hard I tried to ignore him. The intense anger that had helped me snap at Pansy last night was gone now, and I knew I was back to the way I always was: quiet and not standing up to anyone.

            Blaise rolled his eyes at Malfoy, and he was about to say something to me when the Potions professor cleared his throat at the front of the room. Everyone instantly quieted down, and I looked up to see a tall man standing before all the tables, dressed head to toe in black with greasy hair. I felt uneasy just looking at him.

            "Welcome," the man said, his voice unnaturally smooth, "to fifth year Potions. I am Professor Snape...but everyone here should know that."

            I expected him to call me out on being new here but he didn't, and I let out an inaudible sigh of relief.

            "Since you are all in Slytherin, I expect you all to excel in this class," Snape continued, his dark gaze sweeping over the tables. He then went on to explain what we would be learning this year, but I stopped listening. Malfoy had begun to whisper quietly with the larger boy sitting next to him, whose name I still didn't know, and the two of them kept glancing my way with smirks on their faces. Malfoy must have said something extremely funny, because the boy next to him snorted loudly and tried to disguise it with a cough.

            Biting my lip, I looked over and hoped Snape would call them out for talking while he was, but he didn't even glance at our table. I tried instead to focus on what the professor was saying, but I couldn't help but try to listen in on Malfoy's conversation. What was he saying about me that was so damn funny?

            "...we'll be studying that a great deal, but we will focus on Versaterum—although we won't be able to brew it legally..."

            I shut out the professor's droning voice completely, even leaning slightly closer to the table to try and hear what Malfoy was whispering without making it obvious. I strained to hear anything, and I definitely picked up on, "...obviously she's...why the hell...fucking obnoxious..."

            I wasn't angry this time—I was just sad. Why did Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins hate me so much? It wasn't like I'd ever done anything to them. Sure, I didn't look like I belonged in Slytherin, but that wasn't a crime, was it? I had no idea why Malfoy had some sort of reason to be cruel to me; he'd been the one who bumped into me at Diagon Alley, after all. I'd never bothered any of them, it was only the first day of class for Christ's sake—

            "The hell are you looking at? Are you gonna get your book out or what?"

            My head snapped to the right and realized—of course—Draco Malfoy was smirking over at me and trying not to laugh. Seeing that everyone was getting their books out and that Snape was clearly finished with his boring speech, I glared heatedly at Malfoy and reached inside my bag angrily. I knew I wouldn't be able to say anything against him, so I didn't even bother. Why did I always have to zone out like that?

            "Ignore Draco," Blaise told me, flipping through his own book and smirking over at Malfoy. "He's had something up his ass for as long as I can remember."

            "You're a dick," Malfoy snapped, which made me think the two of them weren't friends after all. But Blaise laughed and Malfoy rolled his eyes with exaggerated annoyance, and I figured they both must just naturally be mean to everyone. It certainly seemed that way.

            I flipped to the right page, seeing that we had to read the beginning of the chapter until class was over. Blaise leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the pages of his open book and clearly having no intentions of actually doing the reading. "So, you never said why you had to get Sorted last night."

            Checking to make sure Snape was on the other side of the room, I replied, "I had to transfer here from Beaubaxtons."

            "Why?" Blaise asked nosily, and I was opening my mouth to make up some sort of an excuse when Malfoy cut me off.

            "She flunked out, obviously," Malfoy drawled, leaning back in his chair and not even bothering to turn to the right page in his book. "She doesn't seem very bright, does she?"

            The large boy next to him laughed loudly, and I pressed my mouth into a thin line. It was bothering me more and more, the fact that Malfoy kept talking about me like I wasn't even there.

            Blaise rolled his eyes and snapped, "Stop being an ass, Draco. I'm trying to talk to her."

            "Goyle thought it was funny," Malfoy smirked, and the boy next to him laughed again. Snape passed close by our table then and I held my breath, waiting for him to call Malfoy out on talking instead of reading. But all the professor did was glance at him and continue walking around the room, while Malfoy leaned over and said something to Goyle in a low voice.

            What the hell? It was like Snape didn't even care that Malfoy was talking the entire class; was Malfoy really on the professor's good side so much that he could do whatever he wanted? It seemed to be that way, and to be honest, that made me loath him even more.

            I defiantly turned towards Blaise and said evenly, "I just moved over the summer, and Hogwarts was closer. I didn't flunk out, in case you were wondering."

            "I didn't think you did," Blaise told me, raising one eyebrow. "You look smart to me."

            I flushed under his intense gaze, starting to feel seriously uncomfortable. I was saved from having to think of a response to that by the bell ringing loudly, and I automatically shut my book and shoved it into my bag. Standing quickly, I realized that the other three Slytherins were moving much slower, lazily closing their books and taking their time. They probably didn't care about being late to their next class.

            As I turned for the door, I could practically feel Blaise's eyes on my back. Why was he always staring at me? And it was weird to think this, but...why was he being so nice to me?

            I swallowed hard and started off for Charms, desperately hoping that my next class would be better than the last.