Ravenclaw isn't as... horrible... as I thought it would be. Annoying Serenity is definitely going to be a habit, and the bed I have next to her is the perfect distant for pretending I'm going into 'rabid werewolf mode'. All I have to say is, 'It's a full moon tonight,' and then she starts squirming and screeching louder a Mandrake with a Hollering Charm. But there's one thing that will be certain. I have to cherish every bit of Maria Finnegan I get, because I have a massive hunch that she will be my only friend in pompous palace of a school. I can get past the obsessive posters and the Quidditch babbling if it means I have one person to rely on. But now it's morning, I've done what I do best. Sleeping in. It's quarter past seven, so I have exactly fifteen minutes before I rush off to Defence Against the Dark Arts with Slytherin. I shudder to think what will happen when the first spell I ever casted nearly killed my dad. I snap off a square of dark chocolate to calm my nerves, take my notebook from the side table and continue my notes on the Mimbletacula as I'm calling it. Serenity is using her wand to meld a glass crystal ball, with such poised and elegant movement I can tell she's going to laugh at me while I fail every spell we're about to be assigned to do. She giggles politely yet maliciously, 'I thought doggies hated chocolate,' I roll my eyes, 'But clearly Mummy's precious pygmy puff doesn't?' I point to the mountain of sweets beneath her bed, and I can't tell whether the sickly sweet stench is her darling parents' surprise or her disgusting perfume. 'You could just use your wand to move your notebook,' she comments. I flush bright red and look away. 'Oh! That makes sense. Puppies don't have opposable thumbs to hold things,' she laughs, Natasha egging her on, from a distance, looking mildly concerned to be insulting me. Oh, Merlin's beard. Ten minutes to be ready. Rolling my eyes and pretending to care in the face of getting a detention on my first days, I leave quickly, letting Serenity think she's won. I shove on some Ravenclaw robes and wrap a bronze and blue scarf around my neck so tight that it looks like a Venomous Tentacula is throttling me. I water my plant, my parents didn't trust me with a pet, they told me I'd only kill it. I pack away my notepad and put on some random socks that probably aren't mine, but nevermind, and then I nearly collapse down the dorm's stairs, looking around wildly for Maria. Then, a chuckle, 'Did ya lose a sock or your sight?' she laughs, pulling out the sock I should have been wearing, and I realise mine has the word 'FINNEGAN' written in bold, sloppy letters on the back. 'What can I say?' I laugh. 'Not much, come on, wolfie!' she beacons, I roll my eyes and sprint alongside her. We struggle with the moving stairs, taking far too long for Ravenclaws to work out this week's password to this specific staircase, before finally nearly landing facefirst into Defence Against the Dark Arts. The teacher tuts, straightening an emerald hat with a massive brim and adjusted some matching green robes with ornate, gold trim. She examines us closely with her green-lensed monocle and runs her hand through her ginger hair. 'Misses Finnegan and Silvereye, if being punctual was Dark Magic, you'd be Harry Potter,' she chuckles to herself, like she just told a joke to get George Weasley out of business. Whipping her wand through the air and muttering something under her breath, magic binds our limbs together as we are transported firmly into our seats, to be greeted with teases for Maria and hastened whispers and glances for me. Wow. That Cornish Pixie of a girl really did tell everyone. I cover my face in my robes, full well knowing all eyes on me as the teacher calmly but spitefully declares, 'Since our once missing students have...' she stares me up and down with a grimace etched upon her face, '... chosen to suddenly find themselves, we'll start off our lesson with basic questions. My name is Professor Clementina Black, and this is, hopefully, as you know, Defence Against the Dark Arts!' The hushed whispers seem all the more louder as Professor Black continues, everything she says gliding over my head, but every muttered word imprinted on my very skull. 'She's danger...' they said, 'Who let a mutt into our class?' they said. I drifted off into the sea of rumors, each malice-filled syllable just barely keeping me awake. I am woken by the snapping of 'Silvereye! Cast the spell I just taught you. We haven't got all day!' I clear my eyes, look up at the crumpled, sneering face above me, swallow, and pick up my wand and prepare myself to be screeched at. Wow. And I thought that being laughed at for being late was bad enough. Just as the polished wood meets my fingers, it snaps. The splintering sound echoes throughout the class. The unicorn hair is exposed, silver lighting up the whole room with dappled, reflected sunlight. No one makes a sound. They know why it happened.
- continued from last section! - They know it was the werewolf girl. Doing what the werewolf girl did best. Destroy things. Like she would destroy us. Like she would destroy Hogwarts. Like- 'AGH-' Natasha yelled, eyes bulging with fear, like they could burst out her sockets, as she flung herself to the back of the classroom, her finger pointed directly at me, 'W-w-w...' she began, barely being able to get out a word, 'Werewolf. WEREWOLF. SHE'S LOOKING AT ME, SERENITY, WHAT IF SHE BITES ME AND-' And just then, anyone in doubt of the gossip circulating around the school, anyone who couldn't believe the two-faced, pink-laced plastic doll Serenity was reassured. Jamie Silvereye was a dangerous werewolf. And they were counting down the days until the full moon. Until she claimed her first victim. I feel sick to my stomach for the rest of the day. Maria tries to put in a word, 'Are ya-' and I turn my head and look downwards, refusing to meet her gaze. I can't bear to talk to her. Every lesson I slump through, just barely bothering to take notes, to which I feel bad about. Wand lore was nearly impossible considering the state of mine, Potions was bearable, but nothing else stands out as more than subpar. All I hear is murmuring brewing from the other students. I finally collapse into my bed after somehow effortlessly completely the riddle, probably because I put none of my brain power to any use today. The detention with Professor Black looms over my head, I can't even be bothered to document a plant, despite Professor Longbottom insisting that 'Herbology is your strong suit,' or 'You must draw another one of those for my sample collections,' Maria doesn't even try with me. She knows. And it stings, the tension is so palpable, the way she avoids me physically hurts. Merlin's beard, what have I done? I didn't even know werewolves could use their brute strength within the absence of the full moon. I guess I have to be more careful next time. Serenity glides into the room, sharing her plastic smile with the whole room, as sickly sweet as a Bertie Botts jelly bean. She gracefully places her stuff down, opening a case delicately, and produce a crystal ball, smiling knowingly at and Mei, as she squealed at the sight of it, 'Oh! Are you going to that Seer thing again? Can you do it... but in the future?' Mei says, slightly timid. 'Ah, but of course!' she laughs, flipping her hair and sharing a knowing glance with me, like she's telling I'll never reach her level of popularity. Her eyes turn pure, silky white, as she does elaborate gestures with her wand, just for show. I turn my head, and swaddle myself in the deep blue quilts. Just then, Natasha bursts into the room, practically teeming with energy, as if she was being charged with pure electricity. The door slams loudly, and I shudder as she exclaims 'Oh... my... MERLIN! GUESS WHAT SERENITY!' The girl returns to reality, scoffing and rolling her eyes, and declaring, 'Honestly! Don't you know it's bad luck to wake a Seer mid-prediction? What could be so important that-' 'THE YULE BALL HAS BEEN REORGANIZED TO TAKE PLACE... Drumroll please, NEXT WEEK!!' 'Oh my stars... You're completely and utterly right for interrupting me, N.. What ever your name is! TIME TO FIND EVERY BOY IN RAVENCLAW, MAYBEL AND... NINA? CHOP CHOP!!' Mei tries to butt in, probably trying to get a word in about her actual name, but Natasha shushes her and drags her towards the door to the boy's dormitory. The words still resonate in my head though. Yule Ball. Y u l e B a l l ... Why does this stuff happen to me?
