The Pact

My first night at Hogwarts went off without a hitch. Hannah introduced me to our dorm mates, Alice and Diana. They’re sisters, twins, but fraternal. I could’ve guessed as much, but I’m glad Hannah didn’t leave me any space to embarrass myself straight away.

Conveniently for us, the Hufflepuff dorms are right next to the kitchen, so there’s always an endless stream of snacks coming through. To make it even better, some of the other puffs made friends with the cooks, so they let us use the ovens to bake cookies and brownies when we want to.

After a long night of gossiping and playing exploding snap on a sugar high, I absolutely crashed as soon as my head hit the pillow. I woke up feeling so groggy this morning. Hannah actually had to nudge me awake when our alarms went off. I thanked her with a big hug once I got myself together.

“Ready to head down for breakfast?” Alice asks, voice high and scratchy. Her black curls are swept into a ponytail today, since she doesn’t like her hair in her face.

“Yes ma’am. Just gotta grab my bag.” I pick up my bag and sling it over my shoulder, making sure I have everything I need for my classes today. Thankfully I do (thanks to Diana’s checklist) so I tuck my wand in my sleeve and we start to make our way down to the Great Hall.

We wind through the corridors until eventually we walk through the doors, taking our place at the Hufflepuff table. I start to piece together my plate, grabbing little bits of everything since it all looks so good.

As we eat and talk, my owl comes streaming through the air and drops a letter at our table, right in front of me. She perches on my shoulder for just a moment, and I give her a nibble of my food. “Thanks, Willow,” I say, giving her a scratch and a kiss before she flies back out.

“You got a letter?” Hannah asks, eyeing the envelope.

“Apparently,” I chuckle, opening it. “Oh, it’s just from my mum.”

“What does it say?” Alice questions, leaning forward in her seat.

I open it and scan it quickly. Part of me hoped she’d be asking about my first day, or sending me well wishes, but no.

It says, “Y/n, we have a meeting with an influential wizarding family in a few weeks on the 18th. Dress nicely and meet us at home at 5 pm sharp. Don’t be late. -Mum”

My dorm mates look at me expectantly, so I just say, “Wishing me luck at my new school!”

They nod their heads and smile, looking as if that was exactly what was expected. I don’t have the heart to tell them my mom doesn’t actually care how my day goes; she just wants me to make her look good to yet another wizarding family. We’ve already met with three since we’ve been here, but those were before I was at school. It’s more annoying now because I have to get approval from the headmaster to floo home.

Alice and Hannah begin to chat away about their parents and the sweet letters they receive, and I listen quietly. I don’t have much to add, so I just busy myself with eating. Thankfully, mid conversation, a nervous looking boy (who seems to me to be quite like a Ravenclaw but somehow is a Gryffindor) strides up to us, looking straight at Hannah.

“Hannah! Good morning. Did you, er… how was the book I leant you?” he stutters.

“Oh, hey! It was great Nev, thanks,” Hannah replies, eyes sparkling up at him. I watch the interaction until she suddenly remembers that I’m here, placing her hand on my arm. “Oh! You’ve gotta meet my new roomie! Neville, this is Y/n Lavigné. Y/n, this is-”

“Hiya! Neville Longbottom. Good to meet you,” he cuts in. I reach out and shake his hand, which is quite clammy, but I keep a smile on my face.

“It’s a pleasure, Neville. You’re a… Gryffindor?” I ask, pointing at the emblem on his robe.

“Huh? Oh, yeah!” He smiles, his round cheeks tinging pink. “How are you liking Hogwarts so far? I know it’s only been a day, but…”

I scoot over and invite him to sit down, between Hannah and I so we can keep talking. Don’t want the poor boy to have to stand for the whole conversation.

“It’s been quite lovely, so far. I’m glad I’m a Hufflepuff too, everyone is so sweet. Thank Merlin Hannah took me under her wing. I was so nervous.” I laugh softly, and he joins in, along with my new roommates. I look around for just a second. Wow. I’ve already made friends?

“That makes sense. Everyone is bound to get nervous on their first day of something. I was lucky enough to make friends with Harry and Ron,” he says, then upon seeing my confusion, adds, “two of my Gryffindor mates.” I nod and look over at his table. He points to a redheaded boy with a mouth full of food, and a brunette boy with round glasses and unkempt hair.

“You ought to introduce me, then, if you don’t mind. I need as many friends as I can get,” I chuckle, softly elbowing the side of his arm.

“Oh yeah, no problem! They’ll love you. Oh, and their other best friend is named Hermione. She’s a huge bookworm.”

“I reckon we’ll get along then,” I say with a bright smile, before happily eating at my breakfast. He stays and talks with us the whole time, and I really enjoy his company. He’s really sweet and charming, in an awkward sort of way.

After some time, Diana looks at her watch and reminds us we need to start making our way to potions. We bid farewell to Neville and head to our class, Alice and Diana pairing off and me and Hannah sitting close by. I arrange my things neatly on my desk, mirroring what some of the other students do. It looks like we’re going to be taking a lot of notes, so I pull out my quill and ink, setting it to the side.

Hannah and I chat away until we hear the door close behind us. I turn around to see an intimidating looking man- Professor Snape, Hannah told me- storming into the room as though we’ve already upset him.

“Please open up your textbooks and turn to page 17,” he drones, his syllables long and drawn out but not lacking any force behind them. I flip through my textbook, settling on the page, before looking up at him.

To my dismay, he makes completely locked eye contact with me. His dark hair frames his face as he straightens his spine, assessing me with a glare.

“Right. We have a new student this year. Please stand, Ms. Lavigné.”

I look at Hannah with panic, and she reflects it right back to me. Oh shit.

I rise to my feet, clasping my hands together behind my back. Professor Snape looks me up and down before suddenly asking, “If one added too much hellebore to a calming draught, how would you counteract the imbalance to correct it?”

My shoulders relax a bit at the familiar question. Oh, so he’s quizzing me. I’m careful not to look cocky, so I keep my expression calm. “It would be too strong with the extra hellebore, so you’d have to dilute it with water and add powdered moonstone to stabilize it.”

He looks at me suspiciously, as if trying to figure out whether I’m cheating somehow. “Correct,” he drones, his tone miraculously flat. He fires another at me. “If you were faced with a duel, which potion would you carry with you as a defensive precaution?”

“I’d choose a shielding potion, Professor. It would be useful for temporary magical protection should I need it.” I take a breath, face a bit flushed from being put on the spot but not any less confident in my answers.

Snape raises an eyebrow- subtly impressed, I think- before nodding. “You may take a seat. Well done, Ms. Lavigné. I take it you’re experienced with brewing?”

I sit down and nod, replying, “Yes, sir. I was top of my potions class at Beauxbatons.” I make sure my voice is measured, stating it as though I’m delivering news about the weather. I give him a polite smile, folding my hands on my desk.

“I expect to see more of the same here, then,” he states, no real bite behind his words but still just as monotoned. I nod, but my smile falters when I hear snickering behind me. Snape must hear it too, because his face turns sour. I keep my composure, not wanting anyone to get the impression that they’ve gotten the better of me. Snape clears his throat. “Mr. Nott, Mr. Malfoy, is there something… entertaining?”

I turn my head around and, sure enough, it’s two of the Slytherin boys who bothered me in the hall yesterday. They smirk when I make eye contact with them, so I roll my eyes and face forward. Not this again.

“No, professor. Apologies,” Nott says, and I can hear the smirk in his voice.

“I do not tolerate disruptions in my class,” Snape hisses, turning to the board. “Five points from Slytherin… each.”

I hear the Slytherins in the room collectively groan, and watch them all shoot dirty looks at Malfoy and Nott. Serves them right. I can feel the pair staring daggers at me from the back of the class, but I’m just going to ignore them and focus on the notes. After all, now I have a standard to live up to.

I sit through class and take attentive notes, but when class ends, Snape tells me to stay after. The snake twins sneer at me when they hear this, and it takes everything in me not to walk over and clack their heads together. I don’t, though, and wave off my dorm mates to tell them I’ll be fine.

“If you’re sure,” Hannah says, relaxing when I give her an assuring nod. “Alright, meet you in Divination, okay?”

I give her a smile before making my way up to the front of the class, standing in front of Snape. “Yes, Professor?”

“Ms. Lavigné.” He says it like a statement, not so much a precursor to a sentence. “I must admit, I’m impressed with your bandwidth of knowledge about potions and your… calm demeanor under pressure.” He drawls out the words, leaving me on edge.

“Thank you, sir. It’s just practice, really.” Snape looks at me intensely, as if studying a book he can’t quite understand. I wring my hands behind my back. Merlin, this man is intense.

“Like I said earlier, I expect to see you excel in this course. If you fail to meet those expectations, I will be rather… disappointed.” He drops it like a curse word, fully intending to make me nervous. And damn, it’s working.

“Of course. I won’t let you down, sir,” I reply, a slight conviction behind my words. “And if there is a lapse in my knowledge , I’m not too proud to ask for help.” I don’t know why I add that, but sitting under his gaze makes me feel like I’ve downed a vial of veritaserum.

“Is that so?” He drawls. “In that case, should you need help, I’d recommend you ask one of my other top students in this course.”

“Yes, sir.” He looks at me and I can see something almost like amusement in his eyes as he states, “Currently, my top pupil is Mr. Malfoy, so should you need anything, ask him.”

“Malfoy?” I ask, my words much too brash. “But, he’s-”

“Ms. Lavigné,” he cuts me off, “you will get nowhere in this course if you are too busy whinging about like a petulant child to learn what you need to know. I understand Mr. Malfoy can be a bit difficult at times, but he is nearly unmatched in his ability to brew a potion. Should you need any help, I’m requesting you go straight to him. Is that clear?”

“Crystal, professor,” I say through clenched teeth and a tight smile. He gives me a curt nod before gesturing his head to the door. “You may go.”

I turn around and grab my bag, walking out of the room as quickly as I can without seeming like I’m having a temper tantrum. The last thing I need is to make Snape even more upset with me.

I turn the corner outside of the classroom and bump into something- no wait, someone. I immediately start to say, “Oh shit, sorry, I was just-” before looking up. “Oh, it’s you. Never mind.”

“Watch yourself, Lavigné,” Malfoy sneers, peering down at me. I roll my eyes before quickly realizing we’re alone. Why was he standing outside the class by himself?

“Whatever,” I mumble, starting to walk away.

“Hey, badger!” He shouts. I turn around with an obviously annoyed look on my face. “What, Malfoy? I’ve got to get to class.”

“Do you even know how to get there?” He looks at me with a cocky smirk and I pause. Actually, no, but I couldn’t tell him that.

“I’m sure I can manage,” I say, my tone icy.

He gets a mischievous glimmer in his eye. “Go on, then. Lead the way,” he gestures, completely arrogant.

I roll my eyes before looking around quickly, trying to figure out which direction to start walking. I settle on a corridor to my left and take a couple steps, before he says, “Wrong.”

I groan, whipping around to face him. “How do you even know where I’m supposed to be going, Malfoy? I doubt we have the same schedule.”

“Because your friends talk so bloody loud that I heard them say to meet in Divination class,” he says with a look of disgust on his face.

I look at him curiously. “You and the rest of the class were already gone when Hannah said that,” I tell him, tilting my head. Then realization dawns on me. “Wait a minute… were you eavesdropping, Malfoy?”

He startles, looking like he’d obviously been caught. “Eavesdropping? On you?” He stutters, furrowing his brow. “Why would I-”

“That’s why you’re out here by yourself, isn’t it?” I cut him off. “You were listening in on my conversation with Snape!”

“And what if I was?” he sneers, recovering from his embarrassment. He takes a step towards me, looming over me, trying to intimidate me.

“Then you’re a bloody stalker,” I reply through gritted teeth. He narrows his eyes at me, lowering his voice.

“Someone has to watch you, Lavigné. Merlin knows why you had to transfer schools.”

I look at him incredulously. “What are you implying?”

“Nothing. Yet,” he responds, “but I intend to find out exactly why you’re here and where you came from.”

“Screw off, Malfoy.” I head down one of the other corridors, using a tracking charm to lead me to Hannah. I know he’s watching me, but I don’t care. I’m so over him and his stupid arrogant face, and his annoying cocky smile, and that nasty tone—

“Y/n! Come sit with me,” Hannah shouts as I walk in. I breathe a sigh of relief, shaking off the interaction. I plaster on a smile and sit with Hannah.

I catch her up on my conversation with Snape after Divinations is over. She looks as shocked as I feel, knowing he tried to steer me to talk to Malfoy.

“But he’s…” she trails off, trying not to come off too harsh. I finish her sentence for her.

“A complete and total arse. Or in Snape’s words, ‘difficult’,” I reply, drawing out the word just as he had. Hannah chuckles at my impression, and we head over to charms.

This is going to be a long year.