January 1998

I was jabbing my cereal with my spoon, trying to block out all the noise of people catching up after the Christmas break. After my meltdown I've been kind of lifeless and drained, well at least that's what Draco told me while we I was moping around his family's manor. 

I've never stayed for that long, I've always visited, but Draco told me his father would be away and he wanted me under his supervision. I saw my reflection in my spoon and I scoffed. My scar had healed completely, it looked like it was never there at all. Like it's that simple. Someone's voice interrupted my thoughts and I flinched as I looked up to see who it was.

"Hey!" My ears vibrated from the chirpiness. 

"Oh hey, I didn't even see you walk in," I said, trying to sound lively. 

"How was your break?"

"Uh, it was fine, I read mostly."

"I got you a Christmas present." He took out a small box and I opened it. It was a silver necklace with a pendant. It was a snake looping around an eagle that had its wings outstretched. I looked up at him with a smile and then I hugged him.

"Thank you Michael, I love it." I put it back in the box, setting it on the table and I turned to him. He was smiling down at me. "What?" I questioned, glancing down at myself nervously.

"Nothing, I just missed you that's all." He leaned towards me and kissed my forehead. As always a few Slytherins glanced our way and I eyed them, so that they wouldn't say anything. 

"Same here." For some reason I felt tears well up in my eyes and I sniffled. I took a gulp of water and I inhaled tightly so that Michael didn't notice.

"Sup Michael." Mat gave him a nod from across the table and Michael returned it. He then glanced at my still-full plate and his face tensed.

"Don't you like sausages?" Mat asked sarcastically. I nodded so he gestured with his eyes for me to eat. I rolled my eyes at him and picked up my fork. I looked at Draco who was watching me eat, well waiting for me to eat enough.

I took a bite and used Michael not knowing about my meltdown to my advantage and I turned to him shoving my plate away.

"How was your break? You wrote in your letter that your family took you Iceland, I've never been."

"Yeah, I saw the northern lights."

"The what?"

"The fancy name is Aurora Borealis but it's just these colourful clouds basically. You can see them in the sky."

"Oh, sounds boring."

"It's actually really cool." I could see his nerdy side when he spoke about this stuff, it made me think about how we're so different. I looked behind him where the entrance was as a new student walked in. I assumed she was new because I've never seen her before. Mat, Draco and Michael followed my gaze as did several others on our table.

She was light skinned, like me, and had jet black hair and was in Slytherin robes. She walked towards our table and there was a seat next to me on my left that she now occupied. How wonderful, I love people. 

The boys had looked at her as if she was foreign and I shook my head at them. They're hopeless. I turned to her and put on my best smile. I guess I had to be the welcoming one, no one else on this table was going to. 

"Hey, are you new?" She looked up at me and then stared for a few moments making me uncomfortable. She blinked finally and smiled, looking less creepy.

"Yeah I am, my names Morana Rose."

"My names Davina Claire, nice to meet you."

"By the way I'm a pureblood so you don't need to ask."

"I wasn't going to, I couldn't care less." She nodded suspiciously and I presume her parents must be prejudice and she didn't know what to think.

"So these are my friends, this is Draco Malfoy and this is Mattheo Riddle." I gestured to both of them and they exchanged nods and smiles, I was surprised that someone didn't experience a muscle spasm at the name Riddle, this made me like her a little more. Mat however eyed her down suspiciously.

"Do I know you from somewhere? You look oddly familiar." She shook her head and looked down as if trying to hide her face. Good job Mat, you're freaking her out. 

"And this is my boyfriend, Michael."

"Nice to meet you." He said politely and she shook his outstretched hand. 

"So, you have a lot of guy friends." Draco, Mat and I exchanged a glance and then chuckled.

"Well I grew up with Draco and Mat and I met during our first year so we're basically family and I don't really get along with girls in our house. You'll understand why soon enough."

We finished our dinner and we collectively headed down to the dungeons and I kissed Michael goodbye telling him I'd go to his dorm later. I was catching Morana up to life at Hogwarts while Mat and Draco followed, seeming skeptical about her. We ended in the common room and resided on the couches.

"Uh, Davina, you can call me Ana if you want just to make it simpler." I nodded and told her she could call me Dav. I guess we're friends now, we're using nicknames. 

"So what did you do over the holidays?"

"It's just me and my uh, my father, so nothing much. I read most of the time." I smiled, happy that I have something in common with her. I feel like we're getting along which is bizarre, I'm actually going to have a girl as a friend. "So do classes start tomorrow?"

"Yes, do you know what you have first?"

"Yeah, it said potions."

"Awesome, we all have that too." She smiled and then looked at Mattheo, still smiling. I wonder what that's about. A lot of students were heading up to bed and Draco and Mat had got up as well.

"Night Davina."

"Night Draco." I chuckled as he ignored Morana, he will never trust another person in his life will he?

"Night Dav, I didn't even get to say hi earlier when I got back." He said sadly. I laughed at him and then got up to hug him.

"Hi Mat how was your holidays." 

"Absolutely terrible, my father was home so it wasn't very pleasant."

"Get any presents?" I joked, knowing he's never gotten a present.

"Very funny."

"Oh wait I got you one. It's under your pillow, thought I'd be sentimental."

"Thanks love." He smiled but then worry swept over his face. "You alright after everything, you seemed happier today because of Corner, you haven't told him about-?" He didn't finish the sentence and I realised it was because Ana was still on the couch.

"Uh no I haven't. It's fine, I'm good. He doesn't need to know, I'll get better."

"I know." He said. More for my benefit I assumed. He went to his dorm and I sat back down with Ana.

"You're really close with them then. So you don't have siblings?"

"None and little biological family as well so don't bother asking. It's just me and my father as well, my mother died, and my father and I, we uh don't talk or see each other. I stay with Draco over breaks."

"Your mother's dead?" She questioned. It almost seemed like she didn't believe me.

"Yeah. But we weren't really close either."

"Oh. So your parents weren't all that lovey dovey." I guess she's not used to family dynamics having it just be her and her Father. I noticed that she did seem a bit odd, but she also seemed very cool which is probably why she's in Slytherin. 

"Not at all. So how come it's just your father?" I asked, changing the subject off of me. 

"I never met my parents, my father is my adoptive father."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that."

"It's fine. He's really strict but I grew up with him so he's all I know and I'm grateful for him. But he's pretty old now so i'm mostly on my own."

"Wow." There was a long moment of silence except for the fire crackling and slowly going out.

"Do you know what dorm you're in?"

"Yeah, apparently it's just me so I get a room to myself." Well she's lucky.

We went up to her dorm and I wondered around. I had never been in a Slytherin prefect room so the amount of green and fancy furniture was overwhelming.

"This is awesome."

"It is nice," she said and she sat on her bed where her bag was and unzipped it. "So does Hogwarts have any special occasions or anything?"

"We had a Yule ball a couple years ago. That was pretty fancy." I smiled at the memory and continued, "every Halloween and Christmas there's a feast and 6 and 7th years get a formal dance. Which reminds me, I don't have a dress for that."

"We can go shopping together for one because I don't have anything either." She smiled and so did I which seemed like the first time in a while. It felt good having a new friend and I feel like we're going to be really close.

"Hey I don't know if this is weird but you're actually my first friend."

"No it's not weird at all. I'm honoured." I joked. We smiled briefly and then she started searching her bag again. She came out with a small tin.

"What's that?"

"It's some herbal remedies." I think she was joking but I didn't know for sure. She opened the tin and took out a joint. So she was joking. "You mind?"

"Go for it." She lit it up and inhaled deeply. She gestured for me to take a drag but I shook my head.

"Have you ever tried it?"

"Nope."

"Then try it. It's fine, you just inhale." I hesitated for a moment, "just trust me." I paused for a moment, looking at her handing me the joint.

"Sure." She handed it to me and I took it. Then I inhaled and almost choked but I held it down and then exhaled slowly. I think I inhaled too deeply for my first time. She laughed and took another drag.

"So, tell me, has the hot brother got a girlfriend." I guessed she was talking about Mat and Draco.

"The light haired one or dark haired?"

"The light haired of course." She said, as if Mat was unattractive or something.

"Usually girls think Mattheo is more attractive but they're just too scared to date him."

"Well I don't, and he isn't scary at all."

"Then no, Draco doesn't have a girlfriend."

"Mm." She said, amused.

<><><><><><><>

"That new girl, you like her?" Michael asked and I looked up at him from our usual cuddling position.

"Yeah I do, she's cool."

"That's good, I'm happy you have a new friend."

"Why because I'm a loner."

"No, I just think it's good for you." I turned to my other side and closed my eyes to try and sleep. "You smell different again."

"How do you know when I smell different?"

"You have a specific smell and I'm attracted to you so I can tell when it's different. Is it smoke what is that?" He questioned and I turned to him so that we were face to face.

"It's just marijuana."

"You smoked marijuana?" He asked, almost appalled.

"Yeah, why not?"

"It's so bad for you." I could tell he was contemplating giving me a lecture with a bunch of facts but decided not to. "Have you done it before?"

"No."

"Where did you get it from?"

"I did it with Ana, it was hers."

"Who's Ana."

"Morana."

"Oh she has a nickname. Dav, smoking isn't a good idea."

"I'm not addicted or anything, I was just trying it, it's no big deal." he deep breathed and then he put a strand of hair behind my ear and smiled. 

"Okay, fine."