AN:

A few words on the story you are about to read.

First, I owe the idea for this fic, or at least the pairing that formed the basis for this fic, to slythadri, Jiigglypuff, and ToManyLetters. The three fics I read from those authors gave me the idea of trying to write a fic with the Pansy-Potter Pairing. The pairing is not my favorite Harry ship nor my favorite Pansy ship, but I decided to give it a try because it has the same sort of appeal as the far more popular Dramione but at the same time I think it is far easier to write; I think I can pull off School Mean Girl falls for Good Guy Hero better than I can pull off Junior Klansman wannabe realizes he's got it all backwards and falls for girl with "undesirable" background.

Secondly, I have introduced a few changes to canon in order to better write this fic. Pansy, in canon, is a nasty, stupid, and ugly girl. I, of course, understand why Rowling wrote her that way: Pansy was meant to be the anti-Hermione. Her intentions aside, I always thought that Pansy being ugly didn't fit with canon. Not because there are no ugly girls in school but because I had the misfortune of knowing many Draco Malfoys in school. Guys like that don't date, or pretend to date, or accept advances from, ugly girls.

So, in my story Pansy is not ugly. She's not "beautiful" but attractive enough that when she mocks Hermione for her looks no one is going to think of the rather obvious comeback "look who is talking." Since she gets made a prefect in fifth year, she's not going to be stupid either, just not brilliant. This Pansy is going to be attractive and smart enough, nasty to people she doesn't like but kind to her friends (she did manage to become a leader of a gang of Slytherin girls in canon, hard to do if she was mean to everyone around her).

On that note, Slytherin in my fic is not going to be the evil House of Evil that it is in the books. It's going to be more divided but eventually dominated by supporters of Lord Voldemort. In this fic, Zabini is going to be a good guy. I think it was a waste to make all five Slytherin boys wannabe Death Eaters.

In order to convey this schism I have introduced plenty of OCs into this story, but fret not, none of them have a really big role in the story. They are easy to spot too, as you will see.

There are some other changes I have made to Rowling's world. Nothing too fancy, like lordships and noble houses and all the rest of it, just enough to satisfy my need for things to make sense: Rowling is a better writer but I am a better nerd—I think.

If you have any questions, leave them in the reviews. If I can, I will answer them.

Finally, this story is shaping up to be somewhat long. The first two chapters will deal with first year, and I think it will take seven or eight more chapters until the story really gets going. In other words, be patient!

Now let's get on with the show.

September 1st was, for Pansy Parkinson, the first day of a very special year. Standing on the foyer of the manor in which she had grown up and spent most of her life, Pansy did her best to avoid fidgeting, for she had been taught that it was not appropriate behaviour for a young lady, as she waited dutifully for her parents to descend the staircase in front of her.

Pansy cast an anxious glance at the grandfather clock to her left. It was still early, and she knew that they would not be late, her parents had never, as far as she could remember, arrived late anywhere. Punctuality, her father had taught her, was a virtue. Nevertheless, she worried, for that day would be the first day of her new life, the beginning of the best and most important years of her life, as her mother had told her.

The summer holidays had officially come to an end, even if the weather remained agreeable, and like most eleven-year-old children in Britain, Pansy would be starting school the following day. However, unlike most children her age, Pansy would not be returning to school. she would be attending school for the first time in her life. Unlike most children her age, Pansy, like her parents before her, and like her friends and acquaintances, had spent the years usually devoted to primary education being tutored at home. And, unlike most children in Britain, or elsewhere, she would not be attending a normal secondary school, she would be going to a boarding school where she would spend much of the following year. And, unlike most children who attend boarding schools, her school was a school of magic.

Pansy was a witch, and the daughter of a witch and a wizard who themselves were the offspring of witches and wizards, going back generations, and like most young witches and wizards in Great Britain and Ireland she would be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where older and more skilled sorcerers would teach her how to control and how to use her magical abilities.

Not all magical parents sent their children to Hogwarts. Some preferred to keep them at home rather than send them to the enchanted castle in the Scottish Highlands. Others preferred to send them to schools in other countries, but not the Parkinsons. For the Parkinsons attending Hogwarts was one of their many family traditions and so there was no question of sending their precious daughter elsewhere or robbing her of the experience by keeping her at home.

But there were other causes for Pansy's nervousness.

All Hogwarts students were required to head to King's Cross station where they would board a train with a red steam engine that would take them to Hogsmeade Station in Scotland, from there they would make their way to Hogwarts Castle. For Pansy this meant that it would be only the second time in her life she would be out in public; she had only left her home to visit her friends, who were the children of her parents' friends and acquaintances, and the only other time she had been allowed outside the house, and outside the house of any of her friends, had been on the first week of July, when her father had taken her to buy her wand.

She remembered the experience vividly.

While the Parkinsons ate breakfast, an owl had arrived bearing a letter from Hogwarts, confirming that Pansy had a place at the school. It also contained a list of books and other materials she would need, the most important of which was a wand. When she finished reading the list she looked up and saw her parents beaming at her.

"Go and get dressed darling," her father said with a smile on his face. "We need to go get your wand."

"But Father," said Pansy, "what about the books and —"

"Don't worry about them, dear," her mother assured her, patting her on the head, "your father will get them for you, but only you can choose which wand is right for you."

She nodded dutifully and headed towards her bedroom to dress, changing her pyjamas for simple purple robes. Once she was dressed, she descended the stairs as quickly and gracefully as she could and saw her father waiting on the foyer, extending his left hand towards her.

She took her father's hand and while giving her a reassuring squeeze he turned on the spot. She immediately felt as if an invisible force was squeezing her from all sides as the two of them disappeared from the foyer, reappearing within Garrick Ollivander's wand shop in Diagon Alley which, Pansy noted sadly, was empty. At once, Mr. Ollivander appeared from behind a tall shelf.

"Ah, is it time already?" asked Mr. Ollivander, although he did not seem to expect an answer as he bowed his head in greeting towards her father.

"Mr. Parkinson, it has been a long time. Oak, dragon heartstring, twelve inches and rather supple, was it not?" asked Mr. Ollivander, which Pansy found to be a strange question to ask someone after greeting them.

"Your memory never fails you, Mr. Ollivander," her father replied, withdrawing his wand from the pocket of his robes and presenting it to Mr. Ollivander. While her father did not seem at all surprised, Pansy's eyes widened in shock. How was it possible for Ollivander to remember a wand he had sold so long ago?

Upon taking the wand, Mr. Ollivander drew it closer to his eyes while twirling it with his fingers, he then placed it upon the palm of his right hand and rolled it towards the palm of his left hand. Whatever it was that he had been looking for he seemed to have found it for he soon handed the wand back to Mr. Parkinson.

"You have taken good care of it," Mr. Ollivander said approvingly, as Mr. Parkinson pocketed his wand. "And now, I must find one for your daughter." He turned his misty eyes towards Pansy. "Wand arm?"

Pansy extended her left arm silently. "Very good," said Ollivander who then produced a tape measure and let it float in front of Pansy, "let's find you a wand then, Miss Parkinson," and with that he turned back towards the maze of shelves as the tape measure performed its duty by itself.

Pansy followed him with her eyes until Ollivander disappeared behind a shelf. "Your mother," he called from behind the shelf, addressing Pansy, "was chosen by a Rowan wand, nine inches, unicorn hair."

Pansy did not reply, confused by the wandmakers manner of speaking; it was highly unusual to her and she was unsure if she was expected to make any kind of comment. Not that she would have known what to say in that situation, she had never asked her mother about her wand.

Ollivander returned, carrying a thin long box which he presented to Pansy. "Now, let us try this one. Oak, eleven inches, dragon heartstring, quite spirited." Pansy lifted the lid and took the wand gingerly with her left hand and then, as her parents had instructed her to do, she waved the wand slightly, but Mr. Ollivander soon grabbed it out of her hand. Pansy held back a gasp, struck by the wandmaker's rudeness.

Mr. Ollivander disappeared once more and returned with another box. Lifting the lid, he presented the wand to Pansy. "Sycamore, nine and a half inches, unicorn hair, manageable." No sooner had Pansy picked up the wand that Mr. Ollivander once more took it out of her hand. "No, no, no, sadly not."

By that point Pansy was intrigued by how Mr. Ollivander could tell that the wands did not suit her. She had heard from her parents that finding a wand could be tricky and the process could take a long time which was why there was rarely more than one customer in the shop. It was common knowledge that it could take a while for a person to find the right wand and it was better to use that time to buy other things.

The third attempt proved to be the lucky one for her. Mr. Ollivander presented yet another wand to her. "Birch, ten and a half inches, Thunderbird tail feather, jumpy." The moment she held the wand in her hand she knew, without being told, that it was the right one. She felt a warm sensation in her hand and when she waved the wand it emitted silver sparks. "Well then," Mr. Ollivander said excitedly, "it seems that this one has chosen you, Miss Parkinson."

She smiled in reply as her father withdrew his coin holder and paid the seven galleons Mr. Ollivander charged for his wands. Her father then extended his left hand towards her again, getting ready to Apparate them back to their manor, but she hesitated, glancing shyly at Mr. Ollivander.

"Yes, dear?" said Mr. Ollivander, smiling.

"If I may ask, sir, how do you do it?" she asked. "How did you know none of those wands were right for me? I did not even have to tell you."

Mr. Ollivander's smile broadened before replying. "That is part of the art of wandlore, Miss Parkinson, and I am afraid that you would not understand it now even if I explained it to you. But if you are still interested, a few years from now, you are welcome to ask me again."

Pansy nodded in reply and took her father's waiting hand before being subjected once more to the oppressive feeling of Apparition.

Pansy finally succumbed to the need to do something as she waited for her parents and twirled her birchwood wand in her fingers as she reminisced on her previous outing beyond the boundaries of her known world. A hoot distracted her from her thoughts as she turned back to her owl. Her parents had bought it for her eleventh birthday, knowing she would eventually need it at Hogwarts where she would not be able to use the family's owl, Murph.

"Don't worry, Derkaz," she said soothingly at the bird perched on the cage that sat atop her trunk. "I'll let you out as soon as we get to Hogwarts." She already knew she would be spending at least some of her free time in the owlery, if only so that she could see her pet owl more often.

"I see you are both impatient," said her mother as she descended the stairs dressed in elegant midnight blue robes, Mr. Parkinson next to her in his usual grey robes.

Pocketing her wand quickly, she turned to face her parents holding her hands in front of her. "No, Mother," she replied.

Mrs. Parkinson lifted a sceptical eyebrow at her but did not press the point, instead she pointed to the trunk standing behind Pansy. "Did Korky pack everything for you?"

Korky was their family's House Elf, bound by magical contract to serve the Parkinson's, and while he was becoming increasingly forgetful due to age, Korky was still reliable.

"Yes, Mother," replied Pansy, "I checked," she added at her parents' disbelieving expressions.

"Very well then," said Mrs. Parkinson, extending her right hand to Pansy who took it eagerly, Mr. Parkinson, meanwhile, took hold of Pansy's trunk with one hand and the cage with Derkaz with his other one. He looked to his wife and the two of them quickly counted to three, after which they both turned on their heels and the Parkinson family, along with Pansy's trunk and her owl, Disapparated from the manor.

They Apparated inside a room at King's Cross that was not visible to Muggles (how the Parkinsons and other magical people referred to non-magicals). The first out of the room was Mr. Parkinson, with Pansy's trunk and owl cage, holding open the door for Mrs. Parkinson and Pansy who soon followed him out of the room. As they left Pansy heard another crack of Apparition and she turned her head to look into the room, her father closing the door behind her. She saw a chubby boy her age with dark hair she had never seen before and supposed he would be one of her future classmates.

Out on the station, Pansy's eyes roamed eagerly over everything that met her sight. The walls, the strange black mirrors with numbers written in them that seemed to change every few seconds, the trains, and more than anything, the people around her. Muggles, all of them, of different ages and sizes, in their strange colourful clothes, walking across the station casting curious looks at Pansy and her parents and her owl, she wondered for a moment if none of them had ever seen someone with a pet owl.

Her parents had told her that Muggles were strange and had different habits and customs. The Parkinsons did not like Muggles, thinking them crude and oblivious and, on occasion, dangerous to wizards, but at that moment Pansy did not feel fear or disgust towards them, she was simply fascinated by the sheer number of people around her, having never seen so many people in one place in her entire life. Indeed, she thought, she had never seen so many people at all. She doubted she had ever seen more than forty or fifty people in her few and short years alive, and now she was in a place positively teeming with human bodies.

"Here we are," said Mr. Parkinson as the family came to a sudden stop between platforms nine and ten. "Well, Pansy," he said dramatically, stepping away from the trolley with her belongings and her owl, "the time has come."

Pansy gulped; she had been hoping that her father would continue pushing the trolley for her. She gripped the handle of the trolley but before pushing it she turned towards her father. "Will you come with me, Father?" she asked.

Her parents shared a look before Mr. Parkinson sighed, "Very well, Pansy, but next time you will have to do it on your own."

"Yes, Father, just this once," she quickly agreed.

Mr. Parkinson stood next to her daughter and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Off we go, then," he said simply. And with that father and daughter walked towards the wall between platforms nine and ten, Pansy pushing her trolley, neither of them minding the Muggles around them.

At the last moment Pansy picked up her pace and soon stepped through the wall diving the two platforms into another platform, inaccessible to Muggles. She had finally stepped into Platform Nine and Three Quarters. It was less crowded than the rest of the station she observed as they moved further along the platform and closer to the red engine train, Mrs. Parkinson soon following them through the barrier, but Pansy was still in awe for there were certainly more children and teenagers in this platform than she had seen in her eleven years of life.

The Parkinsons headed towards the seventh car and, finding the first compartment empty, Mr. Parkinson loaded Pansy's trunk on the luggage rack and the three of them went back out into the platform to bid each other goodbye.

"Remember Pansy," said Mrs. Parkinson, as she ran her hand through Pansy's hair, "first thing tomorrow you must write to us to tell us which House you were sorted into."

"Respect your professors, Pansy," said Mr. Parkinson, as he stroked his short beard.

"And write to us at least every week," added Mrs. Parkinson, trying to hold back the tears glistening in her eyes.

Pansy nodded in reply, too overcome for a moment to speak. For the first time in her life she would be away from her parents for more than a couple of days, she would not be seeing them until Christmas.

"You will do well, Pansy," Mr. Parkinson assured her placing his hands on her shoulders. "I know it."

The Parkinsons hugged their daughter and she boarded the train again, heading to her compartment from where she continued to smile and wave at her parents through the window. Before long the train started to move, and she waved at her parents until she could no longer see them. Her compartment was still empty, sighing she turned towards the owl perched on the cage sitting on her lap.

"Looks like it is just the two of us for now, Derkaz," Pansy said affectionately, sticking a finger through the bars of the cage to pet her owl. Derkaz gave a brief hoot in reply, which Pansy felt was meant to be sympathetic. However, only a few minutes later the door to her compartment opened and a girl wearing Muggle clothes with bushy brown hair, brown eyes, overly large front teeth and skin so pale that Pansy wondered if the girl spent any time outdoors at all, walked into her compartment, carrying a brown bag, followed by a tall boy with ginger hair already dressed in his school robes who was pulling a trunk. Pansy noticed that he had a red and gold badge with the letter P pinned on his chest. Must be a prefect, thought Pansy.

The ginger prefect lifted the trunk onto the luggage rack. "Thank you, Percy," said the girl, beaming a smile at the prefect. Percy the Prefect waved a hand dismissively, "it was nothing at all," he said pompously, glancing between Pansy and the bushy haired girl he added, "the two of you should change into your school robes soon. Students are forbidden to wear casual robes or Muggle clothing during the week. Except for seventh years, of course." With that he waved at both girls and left their compartment.

The bucktoothed girl took a seat opposite Pansy and for a while neither of them spoke as the train moved across the English countryside on its way to Scotland, instead they alternated between staring out of the window and stealing glances at each other.

"What is its name?" asked the other girl suddenly, pointing at Derkaz.

"His name is Derkaz," replied Pansy. "Father bought him for my eleventh birthday."

"He's adorable, "the girl said, "I wanted an owl, but I didn't manage to convince my parents," she added somewhat sadly.

"Maybe you'll manage next year?" Pansy supplied helpfully.

"Hopefully," replied the girl. The two stared at each other silently for another moment.

"My name is Pansy, by the way, Pansy Parkinson," Pansy said proudly, extending her hand, "I am sorry for not introducing myself earlier."

"Oh, don't worry about it," said the girl. "I am Hermione. Hermione Granger," she added, shaking Pansy's hand.

Granger, thought Pansy, well, she's certainly not a pureblood. No pureblood family I know is named Granger. "Are either of your parents wizards?" she asked Hermione curiously.

"Oh no," said Hermione, "I'm the first one, it seems. We were all quite surprised when I got my letter this summer. Not least because it was delivered by an owl."

Muggle-born, thought Pansy. "Well, that explains the clothes."

"What do you mean?" asked Hermione.

"Most wizards don't bother dressing like Muggles," Pansy replied easily. "And Father says that most who try to dress like them, or dress their children like Muggles, tend to get it wrong."

"Really?" asked Hermione.

"Yes," said Pansy with a short giggle. "Father says that he once saw a wizard wearing clothes that Muggle women wear."

It was Hermione who giggled now. "really?"

Pansy nodded. "From what Father told me the man didn't even know he was wearing women's clothes."

The girls laughed again before silence returned to their compartment. Once again, they alternated between staring at each other or looking at the countryside flashing past them.

Eventually the Muggle-born girl broke the silence. "Will it be all right?" she asked quietly, "not being from a Wizarding family?"

Pansy looked at the girl for a minute thinking about how to answer. Her parents had told her that Muggle-born children performed more poorly than children from families like hers. "It's only natural," her Father had said, "it's not in their blood." Nevertheless, they had taught her not to express such views in public, it was not polite, and as her mother had said, 'people might get the wrong idea,' not that Pansy felt like saying any of that to the girl sitting in front of her. The girl seemed so excited to go Hogwarts that Pansy did not want to dampen her spirits on the first day. She will realise she is not as good as pureblood children on her own, she thought sadly.

"Yes, it will be all right," Pansy lied, trying to sound cheerful.

Hermione brightened up at this. Pansy smiled tentatively. Then they both returned to staring out of the window. Pansy was thankful when an old woman with a kind face appeared in the corridor and asked them if they wanted to buy anything from the trolley she was pushing. Pansy and Hermione both bought a few of the sugary treats she offered. While Pansy had grown up with all the different brands of sweets available in the wizarding world, Hermione had not and that gave them something to talk about. Pansy realised that with every passing minute the other girl seemed to grow more confident and talkative, as she asked more questions about the candies they had bought and even told Pansy that she rarely ate candy at home.

"My parents are dentists," she explained when Pansy had asked her why.

"Dentists?" repeated Pansy.

"You don't have wizard dentists?" Hermione asked in return.

"I don't think so," Pansy said uncertainly, as she popped a peppermint flavoured bean into her mouth.

"Who looks after your teeth, then?" asked Hermione, frowning as she opened a chocolate frog.

"There is a spell for it," Pansy replied, as she grabbed a dark coloured bean which turned out to taste like sesame seeds. "In wizarding families if parents think their children aren't doing a good enough job brushing their teeth, they will use the spell to clean them out. If they are damaged there's a potion to fix it." She was proud of the fact that her parents had only needed to cast the spell on her twice. She knew that some of her friends had had the spell used on them multiple times over a period of a few weeks.

Hermione was clearly fascinated by this. "Do you know the name of the spell?"

"No," said Pansy, and raised an eyebrow when Hermione briefly gave her a disapproving look, as if she had been about to reprimand her for not knowing the spell. "The one time my father used it," she said, lying only slightly, "he did it nonverbally."

"Do you think they will teach us that spell during our first year?" Hermione asked.

"Probably," Pansy shrugged. "Anyway, what are dentists?"

"Oh, right," said Hermione, "they are doctors who specialise in looking after people's teeth."

Pansy assumed that doctors were Muggle healers. She almost scoffed at the thought that Muggles needed to dedicate a whole career to dealing with what any competent witch or wizard could cure with a simple spell or potion. She held back, however, because she did not want to offend the girl unnecessarily.

"And, since my parents are dentists," Hermione went on, "they have always tried to keep me from eating candy because of how bad they are for one's teeth, so they only ever bought sweets or chocolate for special occasions."

As she finished her chocolate frog, Hermione spoke again. "I think Percy was right. We should get changed now, we don't want to leave it for the last minute, do we?"

Quite bossy, this one, Pansy thought. Looking up at Hermione's trunk, she said, "I'll help you with your trunk if you help me with mine."

"Oh," said Hermione, with a look of surprise. "You have your robes in your trunk?"

Pansy raised an eyebrow at the girl. "Where else would I be carrying them?"

"Well," said Hermione, patting the bag she had placed on the seat next to her, "I knew we would have to change on the train, so I packed a set on my bag along with a book for the trip."

Clever, thought Pansy, I will keep that in mind for next time. "I didn't think of that," she said honestly, "would you mind helping me with my trunk, all the same?"

"Of course," Hermione said good-naturedly.

It took some effort, but between the two of them they were able to lower the trunk onto the floor of the compartment. Once they were done, and sweating just a bit, the two girls looked at each other awkwardly.

"You go first," Pansy said finally.

"No, no," Hermione replied urgently. "You don't need to —"

"I don't mind," said Pansy, "you helped me with my trunk, after all." And with that she exited the compartment. Hermione let down the blinds over the compartment door to get changed. A few minutes later she opened the door and walked out and allowed Pansy to walk back into the compartment. She opened the trunk and picked out a set of robes and got changed into her uniform. When she finished, she opened the door, letting Hermione back in and the two girls lifted the trunk back onto the rack over Pansy's seat. No sooner were they done that a chubby boy who seemed slightly familiar appeared at their compartment door and knocked on the glass.

Hermione opened the door. "Can we help you?" she asked the boy.

"I lost Trevor," the boy said, then added by way of an explanation, "he's my toad."

"A toad?" Pansy laughed disbelievingly. "Who on earth gets a toad, these days?"

The boy blushed but did not reply. Hermione shot Pansy a nasty look, which surprised her, then turned back to the chubby boy, "Don't worry, Pansy and I will help you find your toad, er —"

"Neville," the boy said shyly. "Neville Longbottom."

Longbottom was a name she was familiar with; it was an old pureblood name, although neither of her parents were friends with any Longbottoms. Her parents had told her, however, of how an auror named Longbottom had been tortured into insanity years ago by some of the Dark Lord's followers. Perhaps this boy is related to them, Pansy thought sadly.

"All right," said Pansy reluctantly, "we will help."

Longbottom beamed at her with gratitude. "Oh, thank you so much, I've been looking, but I've had no luck so far."

"Since when have you been looking?" asked Hermione.

The boy shifted nervously. "Since I boarded the train," he mumbled.

Pansy rolled her eyes. Pathetic, she thought.

"Where did you start looking?" said Hermione.

"Twelfth car," said Neville. "I have been moving my way up the front of the train."

"Well," said Hermione, "since you haven't come across it so far, we could split up. I could go towards the back of the train, and see if I find Trevor, and you and Pansy can head to the front."

"Oh, er, yeah, I guess," replied the boy, blushing.

"That's settled then." She turned to Pansy. "Good luck, Pansy." And with that she darted off down the corridor.

Pansy looked at Neville who had not yet moved an inch. Pansy shook her head at him. "Let's go," she said.

And so Pansy started knocking the door of every second compartment in her half-hearted attempt to help the boy find the toad. By the time they were halfway through the sixth compartment she was ready to give up and go back to her own compartment.

She paused at the door to a compartment occupied by some third-year students. She noticed the gold and black patterned ties the ones facing the door were wearing. Hufflepuffs, she scoffed internally. Her parents had told her that while hardworking, the members of Hufflepuff house lacked talent or ambition, with a few exceptions. She inhaled deeply before knocking. One of the third years whose back had been turned towards the door stood up and opened the door.

Pansy felt her brain freeze as she looked up at the boy looking down at her curiously. Tall, dark hair, grey eyes and sharp features, she felt her brain freeze. She was certain she was looking at the most handsome boy she had ever seen.

"Can I help you?" asked the handsome boy as he peered down at her.

Pansy heard herself mumble incoherently. The boys sitting inside the compartment laughed, and she blushed furiously.

"Come back in, Cedric," one of the boys called, "maybe she'll remember how to speak then!"

Pansy felt her blush intensifying, but Cedric smiled at her gently. Whether he found her reaction ridiculous or not he at least had the decency not to mock a girl to her face.

"Don't mind them," he said softly. "What did you want to ask?"

Pansy shook her head, trying to speak through her embarrassment, "A boy lost his toad," she said. "I'm helping him find it."

"Oh, is he your boyfriend?" one of the boys behind Cedric asked her. Cedric shot him a disapproving look before turning back towards Pansy.

"I'll find your friend's toad," he said, "go back to your compartment."

"What?" replied Pansy, so confused she did not bother correcting Cedric by telling him that Neville was not her friend.

"A lot of older students like to bully first years," he explained. "So, even if they find your friend's toad, they wouldn't tell you."

"Right," was all that Pansy managed to say.

"What's the toad's name?" asked Cedric.

"Trevor, I think," replied Pansy.

"Right, Trevor," repeated Cedric. "And your friend?"

"Neville Longbottom," she answered. "He's not my friend, though, I just met him today."

Cedric smiled at her and she thought she could melt. "Right," said Cedric. "Don't worry about Trevor, I'll find it and return it to Neville."

"Thank you," Pansy said sincerely as Cedric exited the compartment, ignoring his friends who were urging him to forget about the toad and get back inside their compartment.

Cedric smiled at Pansy before walking to the next compartment and knocking the door.

"Hello," said Cedric confidently, "I'm looking for a friend's toad, have you seen it?"

With that Pansy turned around and rushed back towards her compartment. When she settled back in, she grasped Derkaz' cage and placed it on her lap, fitting a finger through the bars of the cage to scratch her owl's head.

"I just met the world's most handsome boy!" she gushed to her pet who gave her an amused hoot. She continued to tell Derkaz all about Cedric until she saw Hermione opening the door to their compartment.

"Any luck?" Hermione asked her as she returned to her seat.

"No," said Pansy, shrugging her shoulders. "I did meet a third year who offered to search it for us. According to him if anyone did find it, they would be unlikely to tell us because we are first years." She did not say anything about the third year, she did not want Hermione running to meet him, at least not yet.

Hermione looked indignant. "Well, I guess it will have to do." She then brightened up a bit more as she looked at Pansy. "You will never guess who I met while looking for Trevor?"

"Who?" Pansy asked curiously.

"Harry Potter," answered Hermione.

"Really?" Pansy gasped. She had known that the famous Harry Potter would be starting Hogwarts the same year as her but had purposely delayed their meeting until they were both sorted into Slytherin. She was certain she would be sorted into the same house as her Father, and her Father had assured her that a wizard as powerful as Harry Potter was—and he was surely powerful if he could defeat the Dark Lord while still an infant—was bound to be sorted into Slytherin. "What was he like?" she asked Hermione.

Hermione looked thoughtful for a moment, as if considering how to reply. "To be honest," she started, "there was nothing impressive about him."

Pansy did not bother hiding her disappointment. "What do you mean?"

"He was scrawny and rather short," replied Hermione, but Pansy noted that even though the words were harsh the girl's tone was not, as dispassionate as her voice sounded, she might very well have been talking about the weather. "He was also dressed rather dreadfully," she added and at Pansy's questioning look she clarified, "his clothes were normal enough, for Muggles at any rate, but they were awfully big for him, as if he was planning to grow into them during the next four years."

Pansy laughed at the image even as her idealised picture of what the Boy Who Lived looked like crumbled in her mind. He might still be powerful, she assured herself, even if not at all handsome like Cedric. "Did you talk to him?" she asked.

"I did," the girl replied. "Not very communicative, though. We spoke about which Houses we would like to be sorted into, and neither he nor the boy he was with seemed to know how we will be sorted into the different Houses. Not that I know either, Hogwarts, A History did say that there was a process involved to sort students into the different Houses but didn't mention what it was. And that reminds me, I didn't ask you earlier, what House would you like to be in?"

Whatever Harry Potter's merits or demerits were Pansy found herself thinking that it was surely his fault that Hermione had returned even more talkative than she had been. "My father was in Slytherin," answered Pansy. "So, I'm hoping to go there, as well. It's the House of the cunning and the ambitious."

She did not miss the wary look that crossed Hermione's face for a moment. "I'd prefer Gryffindor — since it was Dumbledore's House — or Ravenclaw," said the girl, "What do you know about Hufflepuff?"

Pansy thought for a moment about how to answer the question. She did not want Hermione to blab and have her true opinions of Hufflepuff House reach Cedric's ears. "A lot of people say they are pushovers," she replied evenly, "but I think they are all right," she lied. "Hardworking, you know, and fair."

Hermione nodded. "Right."

"Better than Gryffindor at any rate," she added. "Dumbledore is a great wizard, but from what my parents told me Gryffindors are brawny but a bit lacking in brains." She giggled at that and decided to ignore the slight glare Hermione was sending her way.

"Have you read any of our course books?" asked Hermione, changing the subject. "I have already read all of them, I wanted to be sure to at least know something when classes started, since I had not even known magic existed before I bought the books, and also because I was not allowed to practice magic at home, so I thought it would be good to at least know the theory behind the spells even if I could not practice them."

"I read through the Charms textbook —" she started to say before Hermione cut her off.

"The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 1?" Hermione asked cheerfully, her eyes lightening up. "I found it fascinating. I am not sure which charm I would like to learn first."

Pansy nodded before continuing, "I also chose to give Hogwarts, A History a try —"

"Really?" Hermione asked delightedly interrupting her again. She had been about to say that she had found the book too boring but it seemed that she would not get the chance to finish that thought as Hermione began to speak at length about the book, her favorite chapters, her favorite anecdotes included in the book, and just how fascinating she found all of it.

She would really feel at home in Ravenclaw, Pansy found herself thinking as she sat listening to Hermione drone on and on excitedly about the book, and her mind drifted off since all that Hermione needed from her was the occasional 'yes' or 'right' or an 'oh, really?' though she did find herself injecting a 'fascinating' every now and then to mimic the girl but it seemed that Hermione did not notice it.

As the sky darkened outside, Hermione stood up suddenly from her seat, shaking Pansy out of her daydreaming. "I'll go ask the conductor how soon we will be at Hogwarts," she informed Pansy. "And I'll see if Neville found his toad," she added before leaving the compartment.

Pansy sighed in relief and turned towards Derkaz, "she's a bit much, isn't she, Derkaz?"

Derkaz gave a short hoot. Pansy supposed he agreed.

"Well, hopefully," she whispered, "she will relax after the first day of classes."

Derkaz hooted again, and Pansy fitted a finger through the cage to scratch Derkaz's head. "You're very sweet, Derkaz."

"You know," she said to her owl, "if I'm not sorted into Slytherin, I do hope I get sorted into Ravenclaw. Mother said their dorm is in a tower, so you'd be able to sleep in the same room with me."

Derkaz gave a longer hoot. Pansy giggled.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll visit you every day at the Owlery if I end up in Slytherin."

She opened her bag and retrieved a few owl treats she pushed through the bars of the cage. "You must be hungry," she told her owl who nibbled on the treats appreciatively. "I am too, to be honest. I hope they have Shepherd's Pie at the welcoming feast."

She continued to speak to Derkaz, who knew when to hoot at the right time, until Hermione returned to the compartment.

"We are almost there," she said as she plopped down on the seat opposite her. "At least Neville got Trevor back, he told me a third year found it and took it back to him."

Pansy smiled to herself, thinking of Cedric. "Let's hope he doesn't lose it again," she said. Then, looking out of the window, she saw the lights emanating distantly from the castle, "it's beautiful!" she gasped and Hermione joined her gazing out of the window at the castle that would soon become their second home.

The train came to a stop at Hogsmeade village, and a voice ordered them to leave their luggage on the train, assuring them that their belongings would be taken up to the castle. The girls marched down the now crowded corridor of their car and descended onto the station. A prefect found them and guided them towards a massive mountain of a man who presented himself as Rubeus Hagrid, the school's gamekeeper. Pansy shuddered as she looked upon the enormous man and wondered if he was either half a giant or had swallowed a whole cauldron's worth of Skele-Grow potion as a child. Fallen in, more like, thought Pansy.

Hagrid guided them down a dark, steep, and narrow path towards a lake where a small fleet of boats was waiting for them. "C'mon, get in the boats, all of ye," ordered Hagrid, waving them forward until all the boats were full. Pansy and Hermione got in the same boat as a short boy with glasses and a redheaded boy wearing robes that did not fit him properly. "Only four ter a boat!" called Hagrid over their heads. "Everyone in?" he asked and took their silence as a 'yes' before getting on a boat himself. "Forward!" he said, and the boats began to move over the black lake towards the castle.

They sailed in silence towards the castle, which was so impressive, even to those who had grown up hearing of it that all they could do was stare in awe at it. It was so impressive that even Hermione was silent. Soon they reached a small harbour and docked at a large boathouse where they clambered out of the boats and followed Hagrid up a giant staircase, through a giant set of doors, then through a wide corridor followed by a shorter flight of stairs, until they finally stood in front of a large oak door which Hagrid knocked forcefully.

The door swung open and a tall witch in emerald robes came out to greet them. She introduced herself as Minerva McGonagall, Transfiguration Professor and Deputy Headmistress. She informed them that the start of term feast had not yet begun, for first they needed to be sorted into one of the four Houses, which she told them would be something like a second family and a home within the castle.

"While you are at Hogwarts," she said, "you will be awarded points to your House for good behaviour and your achievements, and points will be taken from your House for rule-breaking or failure to hand in your assignments. At the end of the year, the House that has accumulated the most points will win the House Cup. I do hope that each one of you will do your best to ensure that your House, whichever it may happen to be, will win the House Cup. Each of the four Houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin have produced outstanding witches and wizards throughout the centuries, so even if you are not sorted into the House you had hoped to join, let me assure you that you should feel proud of your House."

"Now, form a line and follow me," finished the witch. And with that she turned around and led them through the Entrance Hall, which Pansy noted was at least five times larger than the foyer of Parkinson Manor, and through a set of double doors. "Move along," Professor McGonagall called behind her as they walked past the tables filled with students. Feeling nervous under the stares of the older students Pansy directed her eyes towards the ceiling. Wow, she thought, Mother was right, it is gorgeous. Her mother had told her how beautiful it was to see the sky outside reflected in the ceiling of the Great Hall, and Pansy thought that her mother's words did not do justice to the view that met her eyes.

"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside," whispered Hermione to no one in particular, "I read it Hogwarts, A History." Pansy suppressed a sigh and gave her a small smile. The girl really needed to learn when not to speak.

They came to a stop near the front of the hall, where a stool stood in front of the teacher's table, and atop the stool sat an old, worn, and ragged hat. They waited for a moment and Pansy turned her eyes towards the staff table, letting her eyes pass over each of the members of the Hogwarts staff, and then the hat ripped open and burst into song.

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find,

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head,

The Sorting Hat can't see.

So try me on and I'll tell you,

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindor apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true,

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folks use any means,

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none),

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The entire hall burst into applause and the hat bowed towards them. Pansy clapped along with the older students, and she noticed that a few of her fellow first years clapped along as well. Soon Professor McGonagall stepped next to the stool, holding a long piece of parchment. "When I call your name, you shall sit on the stool and I shall place the hat upon your head, and you will be sorted into your House. You will then remove the hat, place it back on the stool, and I will call the next name on the list." She peered at the parchment and, picking up the Sorting Hat, called clearly and firmly, "Abbott, Hannah!"

Hannah Abbott, a frail blond girl and one of Pansy's childhood friends, approached the stool and took a seat. Professor McGonagall put the Sorting Hat over the girl's head and in a few seconds it called out, "Hufflepuff!"

Applause broke out from the table to Pansy's left, and Hannah Abbott rushed to take a seat at the table. And so, the sorting began, student after student was sorted into one of the four Houses. Hermione, it turned out, ended up in Gryffindor, just as she had hoped, and Pansy did not know whether to feel sad or relieved. It had been years since she had met someone new, and she was the first girl raised among Muggles she had ever known, but she was bossy and talked too much and seemed to be a bit of a know-it-all.

Of her childhood friends, only Tracey Davis and Daphne Greengrass were sorted into Slytherin, at least so far. Aside from Hannah Abbott, Lily Moon was also sorted into Hufflepuff, which didn't surprise her that much, while Mandy Brocklehurst and Morag MacDougal joined Ravenclaw. When Morag ran to sit at the Ravenclaw table she heard Parvati Patil sigh behind her, "we are all going to be split up." She turned and smiled nervously towards the Patil twins who were now standing right behind her. All too soon, McGonagall, called her name. "Parkinson, Pansy!"

"Good luck!" whispered Padma Patil as she walked towards the stool. She sat down gracefully, folding her hands over her lap as McGonagall placed the Hat on her head.

"Hmmm," said the thin voice of the hat, "There is some courage there, loyal, yes, and a fine mind, though not brilliant." She had never imagined she would be insulted by a hat. "Proud," the hat went on. "Very proud. Not particularly ambitious, at least not yet, but very determined, resourceful. Yes, without a doubt, I shall place you in — SLYTHERIN!"

Pansy sighed with relief. She took off the hat and handed it back to McGonagall. As she went to join the Slytherin table, she smiled at the Patil twins. At the Slytherin table, Daphne and Tracey had made room for her and she took a seat between them, across from a blond boy she had met on a few occasions but with whom she had not been very close. He was more attractive than she remembered.

"Hello, Parkinson," the boy said, smiling at her.

"Hello, Malfoy," she replied before turning her head towards the sorting then taking place. In a moment Padma Patil was sorted into Ravenclaw and soon after Parvati was sorted into Gryffindor. Pansy's spirits sank a bit. She had been hoping to have at least one of the twins in the same House as her.

Another girl was sorted into Gryffindor and then McGonagall read out a name that caused the entire Great Hall to break out in whispers. "Harry Potter?" said Tracey, "he's really here, then?"

Pansy saw that it was the short boy with glasses with whom she had shared a boat. She wanted to sink into her seat. She had had the opportunity to speak to the great Harry Potter and she had not even recognised him. She had not even exchanged a few pleasantries with the boy. She remembered that Hermione had met him, but they had not spoken to each other either while on the boat. Apparently, neither party had been impressed with the other.

She waited with bated breath as Potter tried on the hat. She looked up and down the table and saw that everyone at the table looked just as anxious as she felt. If Slytherin could get Harry Potter. . . . The only ones who did not seem anxious at the prospect of Potter joining their table were Malfoy, and the two boys sitting on either side of him. The three of them were scowling at Potter and Pansy wondered what had happened between the three of them and Potter so soon for them to be so angry at the other boy.

The great hall waited for a couple of minutes, though they seemed like an eternity to Pansy, and finally the Sorting Hat announced that Potter would go to Gryffindor, dashing to pieces Pansy's hopes of befriending the Boy Who Lived. She had learned from her parents that friendships with members of other Houses were difficult to form and more difficult to maintain, with all the competitiveness that existed between the Houses, especially when there was no previous acquaintance. Only two more students were sorted into Slytherin in the end, a redhaired girl Pansy did not know personally, Sophie Roper, who sat down next to Daphne, and a dark-skinned boy with curly hair named Blaise Zabini who sat down across from Roper.

The feast passed rather uneventfully. She was pleased that there was some Shepherd's Pie and served herself a generous portion. She talked with Tracey and Daphne, who told her that they had sat in a compartment near the back of the train, which they had shared with Zabini and Roper, since they had arrived almost late to the station, and assumed that her compartment had been full. She told them about Hermione Granger, though she kept her blood status to herself, not knowing how the other students at the table would react. Tracey and Daphne, like her, were upset that their group of friends had been divided, but they were more hopeful about managing to keep the group together in spite of being scattered across the four Houses.

When the feast ended, the Headmaster gave a short speech, warning them about the various banned objects, the corridor on the third floor that was now off-limits to all students, and the Forbidden Forest which, "as the name suggests, is forbidden," said Professor Dumbledore. When he finished, he led the students as they sang the school song. It occurred to Pansy that it might have been a nice way to end the feast, delightful even, if not for the fact that everyone sang it in a different tune. When the last two students stopped singing, Dumbledore dismissed them to their dormitories.

"First years, follow me," they heard a tall blond boy with his hair slicked back and protruding blue eyes call over to them. Pansy and her new Housemates stood up and obediently followed him and another girl as they marched out of the hall. Once in the entrance hall the two prefects led them down a corridor into the dungeons. They walked on in silence for a few minutes before the blond prefect stopped suddenly and turned to face a seemingly bare patch of the wall. "Look at your surroundings," he drawled at them, pointing to the few identifying features in the corridor, a set of armour, the statue of a gargoyle, and the torches along the walls. The boy then pressed a hand on the wall and said loudly, "Fraternity!"

At the words a door appeared on the bare and damp wall and slid open, revealing the entrance to their common room. They filed in, one after another, through the narrow passage. Once inside, Pansy looked around at her surroundings. She was somewhat disappointed. It was not very cosy. Impressive, most impressive, but not cosy. It was a long room with rough stone walls and green lamps hanging on silver chains that hung from the low ceiling. The windows gave a view of the Black Lake, tinting the common room in a greenish color. On either side of the entrance were doors that Pansy knew led to the dormitories.

The prefects explained to them some of the rules of the school but not nearly all of them. "There are more rules than we can keep track of," Gemma Farley, one of the fifth-year prefects, explained to them, "not even most of the teachers know all the rules," she added. "I think only Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall really know all the rules," she said.

"The password to the Dungeon changes every fortnight," said Bernard Buckley, the blond prefect. "it will be posted on the notice board next to the fireplace."

"And you're forbidden from bringing any non-Slytherins into our common room," added Gemma, "it doesn't matter if they are your friends. No outsider has entered this dungeon in seven centuries, and I hope none of you will be break that tradition."

Bernard nodded. "We don't mean to sink your spirits after the feast, but this is something you will have to accept sooner or later, Slytherin has not only been the most successful House for centuries, it has also been the most hated one. For every Merlin our House has produced a Dark Wizard has arisen from amongst us, so don't be surprised if the members of the other Houses are wary or even hostile towards you."

And on that gloomy note, Pansy and the rest of the first years were sent off to their dormitories. The boys and girls split as they went through different doors. Pansy and the other girls in her year descended a short flight of stairs into a long, sloping hallway. On one side, facing the interior of the castle, were the doors that led to the bathrooms. She had assumed that there would be one for each year, but she was wrong. There were far more. On the other side of the hallway, to her left was the door to her dormitory. Like their common room, it was a long room and, unlike the corridor outside, the room was not inclined. Each bed faced the window, framed by rocks, which gave them a view of the Black Lake. Pansy stood at the door for a moment, enjoying the school of fish that swam past the window before claiming one of the beds next to the door.

Tracey followed her into the room and claimed the bed on the other side of the door. Daphne took the bed next to Pansy. Millicent took the bed next to Tracey, and poor Sophie Roper was left to take the bed furthest from the door.

"It's a nice view, don't you think?" Daphne said excitedly, as she sat at the foot of her bed, gazing through the window at the Lake.

"It is," agreed Tracey. "But I think I might end up missing the light of the sun a bit."

There was a collective murmur of agreement, after which the girls changed into their pajamas, and prepared themselves to go to sleep. The moment she laid her head against the pillows, lying comfortably in her bed, Pansy fell asleep.