Chapter 2
13 September 1971
Dorcas
Baby, where I come from
It's been a long time, been a long time
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time
Rock and Roll, Led Zeppelin
It was Monday, and after a week of being left to get to know the school as they settled in as first years, they were now expected to start lessons. First up was transfiguration, with the same professor who had initiated the sorting ceremony.
The day had already started off on the wrong foot, being woken up by the infuriatingly verbally excited girls in her dorm, of which had become best friends already. Dorcas on the other hand, had barely spoken to them, busying herself with getting ahead in her studies.
At home it was illegal to perform magic, even if all of the other purebloods ignored the rule. In her case it was different. As a pureblood, she was privileged, of course she knew that. However as a black girl, all of the laws the other kids could get away with became much more imposed and strict.
Because of this, upon arriving at Hogwarts she felt out of her depth. Knowing the theory behind the magic is all well and good, but she had never actually cast anything before. So that was how she spent her first week at Hogwarts.
Transfiguration seemed simple enough. No complex wand movements, and the incantation was easy enough to pronounce correctly. They were sharing this lesson with the Ravenclaws, which Dorcas found a relief. It seemed that house qualities were taken very seriously, and according to some of the older Slytherins she had met in the library earlier, the Gryffindors were the rowdiest and most stuck up people around. Although she would often take information like this with a pinch of salt, Dorcas could see this with her own eyes. Any time she glanced over at the crimson table during meal times, there was always a noisy bunch all laughing unnecessarily loud. As far as she could tell, the ringleaders were the Black heir and the Potter’s son.
When it came to Sirius Black, Dorcas became heavily confused. So did the entirety of the school too, apparently. His cousins were in her own house and she wanted to find the time to ask them about it some time. Information on sacred twenty-eight families could prove useful one day, especially if it wasn’t something they want broadcasted everywhere. After all, Dorcas was not above blackmail if it came down to it. She was just covering all her bases.
***
Transfiguration went well, and after a few pathetic attempts which she would rather not bring attention to, she was able to get the swing of it. Her magic was strong, or at least, it would be one day.
“Alright class, I am pleased with the progress that you have made thus far, however more work must be done. I shall be setting a research based homework task for you to complete for next week. You should work with partners for this.” the professor began to explain despite the groaning from the others.
Great.Dorcas hadn’t made any friends yet, and until right this second, had no intention to. This was going to be embarrassing.
“Hey, I noticed you also didn’t rush to your friends to partner up, do you want to go with me?”
Dorcas turned around to see a small Ravenclaw girl looking up at her. She had wild blond hair and big brown eyes.
“Uhh sure,” she replied. At least now she doesn’t have to awkwardly ask around. The blond girl smiled a big toothy grin back.
“Great! I’m Pandora, Pandora Lovegood.”
“Dorcas Meddowes, nice to meet you,” she responded, slightly unsure of how the conversation was supposed to go. Pandora seemed oblivious to her lack of social skills- either that or she pretended not to notice it as the awkward silence dragged on, which Dorcas appreciated.
“Let's meet at the weekend then.” Pandora finally broke the silence, “I discovered this place that nobody goes to on the second floor.”
“Sounds good,” Dorcas cringed at her failing attempt to appear cool. “Friday afternoon work? I have no subjects then.”
“Yes! See you there!”
Dorcas watched the blond girl walk away, fixated on the way she appeared to float, as if in her own little world. She had held her hair in an almost half up do, using her wand to keep it in place while the rest of her curls cascaded down her waist.
***
Second period was Defence against the dark arts with the dreaded Gryffindors. It was as if they didn’t care for their education in the slightest. Black and Potter were pissing about twice as much as they did in the great hall, which had she not seen it with her own eyes, Dorcas would not have believed it were possible.
The two of them had chosen the desk in the very middle of the room, no doubt to attract as much attention as physically possible. To their left was Marlene McKinnon, who Dorcas had met on the train, and some other girl that she had heard people call Mary. To their right sat Lupin and Pettigrew, the other two in Potter’s little gang. Finally, Lily sat at the workbench opposite her, sat with one of the slytherin boys that Dorcas couldn’t name if she tried. Lily was okay, at least. Dorcas had spotted her in the library a few times, always hanging around with the same boy. She wondered if he was her boyfriend, but she was sure even Lily knew she could do better than him. He wasn’t exactly nice to look at.
D.A.D.A went very well, especially after transfiguration. The spell they learned, a simple knockback jinx, was easy to master, and Dorcas found that rather than concentration, these lessons were more based on power, pushing the opponent back with as much force as you can muster.
Then came the practical work. Clearly the task of practising the jinx became much too boring for the Gryffindors, who had decided to instead fling pieces of scrunched up paper as hard as they can at the wall. Honestly, what kind of children do that? Dorcas was most disappointed to see Marlene joining in. From the train ride she had actually come across as sweet and not to mention smart, but now as she looked across the classroom, Marlene was hunched over Black’s shoulder laughing so hard at a quill that she had flattened with the spell. Absolute morons.
The exception to this, of course, was ever perfect Lily Evans, who was busy doing the actual work that had been set out for them. Not that their teacher noticed- she was an elderly witch who was almost completely blind, and, judging by her lack of reaction to the whooping and giggling coming from the centre of the class, deaf too.
The bell rang, of which the defence against the dark arts professor did not bat an eyelid at, leaving the class of eleven year olds to dismiss themselves for lunch.
***
For lunch, the students were given an assortment of foods ranging from roast dinner to fancy quiches. All traditional British food, Dorcas noted. She supposed she will just have to get used to it until the Christmas holidays came around.
As she picked at her couscous, pretending it was the jollof rice her mum made, she felt a light tap on her shoulder.
“Pandora?”
“Hi, is it okay if I sit with you? I think someone has meddled with the Ravenclaw tablecloth, it keeps swallowing everyones plates.”
“Uhh yeah, I don’t see why not,” Dorcas responded as she watched Pandora slip onto the bench next to her, her brilliant blue robes standing out against all of the green.
That day, Dorcas made a friend. A real one. One who didn’t care who she was, or what colour her skin was, or how good her grades were. And she got a feeling Pandora wouldn’t leave her alone any time soon.