First Day
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I wake up the next morning groggy. I blink up at the windows that go straight into the lake. I can see a little bit of sunlight beginning to filter through. Time to get up and cause some problems.
It's still very early, but I get up anyway. The buttcrack of dawn is a good time to start mischief because nobody is awake yet. Except maybe a few teachers who probably don't sleep anyway *cough* Snape *cough*. I sneak out of my "secret" room into the common room and then leave to wander up to the Great Hall. Breakfast is not even served yet despite the sun being awake, but, as I suspected, Snape is up at the head table alongside a very sparse gathering of professors. McGonagall is awake, barely, as well as Dumbledore, Lupin and Flitwick. Hagrid is just walking in as I go up to the head table. I don't plan on being in my place for breakfast once the other students arrive, so I may as well ask for my timetable while I'm here. I'm a mischief-maker, not a deadbeat. I'll be attending my classes.
"Professor Snape, good morning!" I say, far too cheerily. He scowls at me.
"Do you... need something?" He drawls. Goosebumps erupt across my skin and I take it down a notch completely on instinct.
"May I get my timetable before breakfast starts? I'm still gathering a few items and might not be able to get it while I eat because, well... I might not be able to sit and eat at all." I say in a much more subdued manner. I almost want to slap myself for being so polite, but it's only rational considering I want something from him. Rational. Yes.
"If it gets you out of my hair quicker, I suppose..." He decides, flicking his wand to pull out a piece of parchment with my timetable on it.
"Thank you, sir." I say as I smile and pocket the paper, then I look at Lupin and grin.
"See you in class, cub!" I say cheerily and bolt right out of the Great Hall as fast as my legs will take me, not wanting to explain my weird, impulsive words. I hear him say something as I get out the door and start to make my way up some stairs. I stop in a small alcove with a window and take my wand out.
"Point me... Gryffindor Tower..?" My wand reacts and spins in my hand, pointing in a direction. I get up and follow where it leads until I end up on the stairs. I carefully follow the directions my wand sends me as it spins and settles on a route, then I get to a floor it seems happy on and follow the directions until I reach a portrait of a fat lady. I cancel the spell and grin. I knock gently on the painting to wake up.
"Good morning, miss! Sorry to wake you so early, I only wanted to tell you how pretty you are! I couldn't pass by without letting you know!" I gush. The fat lady blushes quite brightly and I almost laugh, but I restrain myself. She's going to be traumatized by a rogue Sirius Black on Halloween, the least I can do is compliment her.
"Why, thank you, Miss..?" She responds with surprising composure considering her bright red face.
"Valerie Noct! You can call me Valerie, miss!" I say, smiling brightly. She smiles back.
"Please, my name is Elizabeth Spriggs, call me Elizabeth." She says happily. I grin even wider.
"It's nice to meet you, Elizabeth! I'm sorry to ask, but do you, by any chance, have a common room behind you?" I chuckle and she laughs.
"I do! Gryffindor common room! However, you are not of Gryffindor house, so you are not allowed inside. Especially not without the password!" She says. I chuckle.
"That won't stop me from causing chaos just outside the common room entrance!" I exclaim, she laughs.
"Well, the students are just starting to wake up now, so you best be ready." She advises and I salute exaggeratedly, making her laugh again.
I wait until the portrait hole opens to the first few students and stand at attention as if I'm stationed there as a soldier. I get several odd looks and a few snickers, but I don't budge, awaiting two very specific people. And then they appear, in all their identical glory.
"There you are! I've been waiting here since six thirty! Goodness, you two sleep in!" I exclaim as soon as I see the Weasley twins pop out. They look between each other.
"Aren't you the girl-"
"Who fell out of thin air-"
"After the sorting ceremony?"
My head bounces between them with a big smile on my face as they talk. I nod enthusiastically.
"Yep, that's me! Quite an entrance, huh? Anyway, I have some info for you. About that little map you've had since you were little firsties!" I speak rapidly, bouncing excitedly on the balls of my feet. They look at each other, perhaps a bit alarmed, but definitely somewhat curious.
"What map?"
"No map here."
They answer quickly, giving me two, identical, falsely innocent looks. I grin wider.
"The Marauder's Map, of course! I only have a little tidbit for you about it. You know Moony?" I lower my voice secretively. They both lean in closer, listening intently.
"Professor Lupin is Moony." I whisper to them and I watch as they look at each other in shock, then grin widely and look back at me, speaking at exactly the same time.
"Thank you for the info!" They then run off down the corridor while I snicker into my hands. I turn to see three very familiar faces exit the portrait hole, then freeze and stare at me.
"Ah, the Golden boy and his buddies! How the dementors treat ya? Coldly, I assume?" I know I'm being mean, but I'm not going to lie and say I'm sorry. The looks of anger on these thirteen year old faces is too funny.
"Shove off!" Ron immediately retorts, his face red with irritation. I almost coo at his anger, but I restrain myself to avoid a fight.
"No thank you! I'll bother you three for a while. The twins'll be too busy with the cub to play with me." I say with a bright smile as I follow them down the corridor. They look at me with different ranges of irritation as they attempt to ignore my following them. They seem to have decided that it would be better to just pretend I don't exist. Which is fine with me, I'll find some other students to bother when we get to the Great Hall.
"You should learn the Patronus Charm, ya know? Wards off the sad, cold bastards. Ask Professor Lupin about it, he cast it on the train, didn't he?" I ramble. They glance back at me and I hear Hermione whisper to them something about the charm and me being right. I grin at their backs.
We soon reach the Great Hall and I leave them alone to wander the area. Professors are handing out timetables now, so I just place around different tables. I hear Draco shout something about dementors being spooky at Harry and pick up a handful of beans and chuck it at him. I nail him in the side of the head and he shrieks. I burst into laughter immediately and so does a good few students in the Great Hall. Draco looks furious, but I just look at him and raise an eyebrow. I cast a cleaning charm to remove the beans from his hair, because I'm not cruel, and watch as he gets up and storms over to me.
"Do you know who I am! My father will hear of this, you crazy woman!" He yells. I just smirk and grab the collar of his shirt and yank him right up close, making him yelp, and whisper.
"Your father has no power over me, Malfoy... and neither do you. Watch your tongue." I follow the statement with a sharp, threatening hiss, then let him go and nudge him in the right direction where he runs back to his seat, looking embarrassed and angry. I chuckle and turn my attention to Lupin, who looks flustered as he is interrogated by two very excited Weasleys. I wander up to him and snort when I hear one of them asking him about what prank spells he would suggest. I poke a twin in the side, making him yelp and look at me with an affronted look.
"No poking, strange knowledge girl!" He scolds. I snort again.
"Let the cub breathe, you two." I say, still snickering a bit. Lupin gives me a very nervous look at the nickname. I smile up at him, the corners of my eyes wrinkling in an oddly mischievous manner.
"Don't worry, I won't call you that in class, Professor. I'm not stupid." I claim. He relaxes minutely and I chuckle. The twins are looking between us with comically narrowed eyes. I grin toothily at them and one opens his mouth to say something so odd it makes me burst out laughing.
"Miss Strange Knowledge Girl... are you dating our new Professor Moony?" He says in a very suspicious voice. I end up folded over, laughing so hard I can barely breathe for several minutes before I can collect myself.
"No offense, sir, you're very attractive. I'm the problem. You two really think he would go for me? Nah. No way. Not a chance. Have you seen this man? Look at him. I could ramble for hours about how amazing this is. I'm just some hopeless idiot that fell on the floor dramatically." I ramble through chuckles. Lupin is red-faced by the time I'm done and the twins are grinning widely.
"Ah, unrequited love..." They both sigh dramatically and I snort at them.
"Yeah yeah, go eat your breakfast, ya wackos." I shoo them off. They scurry away with a wave and a yelled farewell to Lupin. I can still feel Lupin's eyes burning a hole through the back of my skull so I turn to him with a smile.
"They're idiots. Ignore them." I say casually and he chuckles, still red-faced and clearly nervous.
"I'm very flattered by your compliments, Miss..?"
"Valerie Noct."
"Yes, Miss Noct, but you are aware that as I am your Professor-"
"I am aware I cannot get involved with a Professor. Don't worry, sir." I reassure quickly. "I was mostly just joking around, though you are very much desirable, I have no intention of bothering you with any romantic pursuits... until I've graduated, at least." I smile innocently and walk away to go finally sit down and eat a very small, very quick meal of bacon and toast I picked up on the way to my first class.
My first class of the day is Ancient Runes, which is incredibly fun, especially considering the vast array of possibilities that comes with it. I continue on through the day with similar interest and enthusiasm in all classes. In potions, Snape is surprisingly decent, though he isn't nice to the Gryffindors who share the period with us. I actually sit next to Percy Weasley for that period. He's very uptight and somewhat annoying, but he's got his moments. Like when I nearly died because of someone who threw something aiming at him, it hit the floor and I stepped in the slimy ingredient and slipped. He caught me, righted me, threw out the ingredient and got me back to work without a sound or any fanfare of any kind. It was much appreciated. The day went on much like this, where I would go about my classes like the most perfect student. During my free period, I went to the astronomy tower and caught two Hufflepuffs snogging and scared the crap out of them with a firework charm. At lunch I sat at the Hufflepuff table as if I belonged there and got many odd looks for it, then I went back to my last few classes and spent the rest of the day doing homework in the library until dinner. I did not, in fact, go to the Great Hall for dinner. I snooped around until I found a painting of a fruit bowl and tickled the pear. I slipped into the kitchen to be met with many big, confused eyes. That's a lot of House Elves.
"Hi! I'm Valerie! Nice to meet you all! Could I spend dinner here?" I ask sweetly, smiling at them. They all are suddenly on the move.
"Of course, Miss Valerie! We's is honored to have you in our kitchen!" A slightly shorter elf exclaims to the agreement of most others. They all usher me into a chair and bustle about, setting up a spot for me to eat.
"Thank you, what are your names?" I get bombarded with lots of exclamations and names. I catch Floppy, Hinky, Banpey, Dolbey, Gadpey and several others. I smile and laugh at their antics. Dinner is very exciting that evening and I leave the kitchens stuffed.
It is on my way to the library that Professor Snape finds me. Right, I'm supposed to go get my wand. He just grabs my arm and drags me along to exit the castle and walks me out of the range of the wards. He apparates is straight to Diagon Alley and he silently drags me to Ollivander's. It's dark out by now and I just let him drag me around. I'm too tired and too full to argue. Ollivander spends some time getting me to try wands and I destroy a good bit of the shop before I am finally given a wand that feels right. I smile softly at the ebony wand in my hand, the core of which is Phoenix feather. It feels warm and perfect, like it was meant to be in my hand. Professor Snape does not comment as he pays for the wand and apparates us back to school and leads me inside. I disappear up some stairs to the library and get to work on some homework.
When I finally return to the common room after finishing most of my homework, it's almost curfew. I turn in almost immediately, hiding away in my new room and falling asleep quickly.