*  *  *

"ARE YOU REALLY Valerie Grindelwald?"

The young witch couldn't believe the questions she was receiving. Ever since she had taken a seat at the Slytherin table, her housemates treated her like some defendant to be interrogated.

"Yes, yes I am." Valerie turned to the third-year girl with a smile. "I am the evil spawn of a notorious villain who will go on to start yet another Wizarding War."

The girl left her alone after that.

"Oi, Grindelwald!"

Valerie lazily turned to the boy who had called her.

"I'm Draco Malfoy." he introduced himself from across the table. She already knew who he was, he did make that clear in front of the whole year earlier.

"I take it you already know my name." she answered.

"My father says your grandfather was one of the greatest wizards in history." Draco changed the subject.

Valerie had never heard that before, then again this boy was a narcissist bully. "Good to know."

"Well, second to you-know-who, of course. Father says he'll be back, it's not like he was imprisoned." Draco's words earned scattered laughs from the rest of the table.

"But I heard you've got abilities, at least that's what father said. You know, I'm rather advanced myself."

"You know," Valerie mocked, having had just about enough of him, "—you should talk to me when your father says to have your head sized down a bit."

This time, the laughs were on him. Valerie turned away, and instead she found Theodore giving her an enthusiastic thumbs up. Rolling her eyes, she jabbed her fork at the chicken on her plate, wanting to continue her meal in silence.

Valerie then looked to the Gryffindor table, where Harry Potter sat smiling, surrounded by his housemates. Eventually, he locked eyes with her, and the two stared awkwardly at each other.

She couldn't forget the repulsive look on his face after the hat sorted her into Slytherin. It was like he had no idea who she was.

*  *  *

Harry Potter couldn't help but feel guilty as Valerie Grindelwald was the first to tear her gaze away, her eyes falling back to her plate.

"Ron, are you sure all Slytherins are the same?" he asked, his stare still on the girl.

"No," the Weasley replied, eagerly taking a bite out of his drumstick. "Some are worse than others. Why?"

Ron followed Harry's line of sight to Valerie, his eyes now the size of saucers.

"Bloody hell, Harry. You don't mean her, do you? She's the worst of the lot. Do you know what her grandfather did?"

Harry sighed, "Yeah, he started the Global Wizarding War. But so what? It doesn't mean she'll end up like him."

"Well, being sorted into Slytherin might be a start. You barely know her." Ron reasoned.

Harry reluctantly looked away. "I suppose."

The feast ended soon after, and Harry followed his Gryffindor housemates out of the Great Hall to their dormitories. They crossed paths with the Slytherins headed to the dungeons.

"Hey, Harry." Valerie waved with a small smile.

Harry was about to reply, when Ron sent him a panicked glance. He said nothing, simply walking past her.

He needed to stay out of trouble, and Slytherins were going to cause him that. Valerie said it herself, that he didn't want to be friends with her in the first place.

Besides, it was for the best, right?

*  *  *

Valerie would have been far more awestruck seeing her new Common Room for the first time, if it wasn't for her encounter with Harry minutes before.

She didn't understand what she had done, after all, he was the one who didn't meet her at the platform on time, and she believed he wasn't petty enough to disregard her because of her house.

"I'm Gemma Farley, your prefect for this year. Remember, the password is Salazar Slytherin. Boys' dormitories are straight ahead, and girls' are down the hall to your left. Feel free to approach me anytime, but don't ask any stupid questions. Have a good night."

Valerie followed the directions, trying to ignore the noisy paintings and their comments on the way.

"A Grindelwald? Just when I thought things were getting dull. Excellent!"

"Oh, this one's a troublemaker alright."

She quickened her strides until she found herself in front of a door, five names engraved unto the wooden surface.

First Year Girls' Dormitory
Millicent Bulstrode
Tracey Davis
Daphne Greengrass
Valerie Grindelwald
Pansy Parkinson

Knowing she was in the right room, she pushed the door open with a twist of a knob. She heard the girls quiet down as she walked in, recognising that she was the last to arrive.

They were all seated in a circle on one of the beds before one stood up and shook her hand.

"I'm Daphne Greengrass." the blonde spoke. "That's Pansy," she pointed to the scowling girl. "Millicent," the pale, dark-haired girl smiled forcibly, "and Tracey." the last waved, lacking energy.

"I'm Valerie—"

"Grindelwald." Millicent finished. "We know."

Tracey nodded, "Everyone knows. You're the talk of our year."

"What's it like being famous?" Daphne asked excitedly, motioning for her to join them in the circle.

Valerie wondered if this was better than being feared, people praising her grandfather's crimes. "I'm not—"

"Oh, don't deny it." Pansy crossed her arms. "You don't need to fish for compliments."

"Pansy!" Daphne elbowed her.

Valerie shook her head, "It's alright, really. I was tired anyway."

Pansy scoffed, "You think you're better than everyone just because of you name."

Valerie didn't know how she could be more wrong, but it was getting late, and arguing was tiring. "If I agree, will you leave me alone? Because in that case, then sure. That's exactly what I think."

She walked over to the bed where her trunk had been placed, taking Harriet out of her cage, before collapsing unto her bed. It was a long day.

"You shouldn't have said those things, Pansy." Daphne chided.

"We could have been popular. You've basically ruined our chances." Millicent sighed.

The four girls continued their conversation, and the young Grindelwald pulled the blanket over her head.

*  *  *

Valerie rubbed her eyes, squinting them open before sitting upright. She looked around the dormitory, everyone else was fast asleep. It was the middle of the night. Swinging her legs out of bed, she went to look for her owl, who had somehow escaped from the room.

There was a loud hoot from outside, and she slipped on her slippers, making for the door.

The Slytherin Common Room, despite its dark interior, presented a cozy feel about it. Built under the Black Lake, the air was always cool, and the most beguiling creatures would occasionally swim by the windows to greet the students.

Valerie found Harriet perching by the entrance.

She was about to take her and return back to the dormitories, when she overheard a patter of footsteps from behind the painting.

"I'll be back." she told the scope owl, stroking her feathers before quietly sneaking out of the Common Room.

A hooded figure rushed up the dungeon staircase, and Valerie followed suit, letting her curiosity get the best of her. She was led out of the castle, to the boundary between the grounds and the Dark Forest.

Valerie swore she heard the Headmaster say it was forbidden, but then again she wasn't for rules.

The man looked over his shoulder, and the girl jumped to hide behind a tree in panic. She furrowed her eyebrows as she watched him trudge back toward Hogwarts like nothing had happened.

There was a gust of wind from inside the forest, and Valerie's confusion grew as she watched the hooded figure venture deeper through the shadowed trees.

Her feet were moving before her mind could process, and she let the lantern light her way in. Realising she had stepped on something, she looked to see that a line of thick, silver substance had left a trail on the soil, to the very path the creature had gone in.

Her next step resulted in her snapping a twig in half, and the hooded figure caught her before she could hide. Whatever, or whoever the creature was, its pale face was seething as it charged to attack her.

It stopped before it could collide with her.

Valerie's eyes shot wide open, her breathing heavy as she stared at the walls of her dormitory.

It was all a dream.

There was no way she was going back to sleep after that, deciding to sit on her windowsill, her head resting on her knees as she hugged them to her chest.

Unbeknownst to her however, on the high towers of the Gryffindor dormitories, the boy who lived was in an identical predicament, but his thoughts couldn't be more different.

Harry James Potter stared longingly out his glass window, thinking of how much had changed in the span of two months. The possibilities of the coming year couldn't leave his mind, neither could the image of a certain golden-haired girl and her ice blue eyes.