The First Morning

You woke up first. You ate a lot at the opening feast and, as a result, had fallen asleep easily enough - once you got used to the sound of water swishing against your window. But now that there was a faint trace of greenish-tinted light shining through the glass, you knew you wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep any time soon. You were too excited to even try. This was your first day at Hogwarts! You were finally going to learn magic!

You slipped out of bed and padded over to the window and glanced out into the Black Lake. Gemma had been right the night before. It was much easier to see through the water now that it wasn’t dark. Your eyes went wide when you spotted a long, dark tentacle.

“Draco! Draco!” you hissed at your roommate.

“What?” the groggy blonde boy mumbled. “Bugger off…”

“Draco! I can see the Giant Squid from our window!”

Malfoy mumbled something insulting and slowly climbed out of his bed. He trudged over so he was standing on the other side of the desk from you and peered out the window. There ahead of you was the massive tentacled form of Hogwarts’ infamous Giant Squid.

“Wicked,” Draco remarked as he rubbed sleep out of his eye. “Father says seeing the Giant Squid early on is a sign of good fortune.”

“Well, we’ve seen it the first morning, so that’s bound to be a good sign,” you reasoned.

“What time is it?” Malfoy asked.

“Oh, I know a spell for that!” you realized. “Now that we’re here I can finally try casting it…” You fetched your wand off of your night table and gave it a quick swish. “Tempus.” Green symbols listed the time. 6:37

“What’re you doing waking me up that early!?” Draco complained.

“You were the one who wanted to get an early start and swing by the Owlery,” you argued. “And you said yourself that seeing the Giant Squid was a sign of good fortune. You would’ve completely missed it if I hadn’t woken you up. Besides, I’m too excited to sleep -- we can finally learn magic!”

“Well, I’m still going to try,” Draco decided. “Go wake the others. You’re the one who wanted to make it a group outing.”

“You mean you’re going to let me take credit for the idea?” you asked.

“I’m going to let you be the first person they see after waking them up at this disgusting hour,” Malfoy retorted. “Now bugger off and come get me once everyone else is awake.”

Maybe he had a point… if the other pampered pureblood heirs were half as grumpy as him at being woken up early in the morning, this didn’t bode well for your standing in the house. You decided to take an early morning shower first to give the others a little bit more time.

After gathering everything that you’d need, you headed out of your room and further down the boys’ hallway until you came to a communal bathroom. There were likely to be others further down. Yours could be easily reached by the first and second years. There was a changing area just outside the shower stalls, which made it look something like a locker room.

You emerged from the shower a little over fifteen minutes later, fully dressed and ready for your first day at Hogwarts. You were surprised to find Blaise Zabini walking toward you as you headed back to your room.

“I see you’re an earlier riser too,” Zabini mused.

“Who could sleep? I’ve been waiting to start Hogwarts for years,” you replied. “By the way, Draco and I wanted to get an early start today. He has a letter to send to his parents. We wanted to make sure there was time to head to the Owlery before our first class.”

Blaise looked thoughtful. “It’s a fair idea. I should probably send my mother something.”

“Pass it on to your roommate when you’re done,” I requested. “If Draco’s any indication, I’d like to avoid having to wake up grumpy pureblood heirs where I can. It was lucky that I came across you.”

“I’ll pass it on,” Blaise agreed before he headed off towards the showers.

You continued back down the hallway and stopped to knock on Crabbe and Goyle’s door. On a whim, you reached down and tried to turn the knob, but found it locked. You leaned to the side and tried to twist the knob for Nott and Zabini’s room, but that was locked too. You turned around and twisted the knob to your own door and that one turned for you. Since you doubted that the doors were designed to lock out the person living in the room, you came to the conclusion that the doors were enchanted to only open for the students assigned to the room - and possibly authority figures.

“What is it, Draco?” a dull voice came through the door before it opened. You found yourself facing the taller of the two boys and reminded yourself that the taller one was Goyle. When Malfoy had introduced them he hadn't actually said which was which. Thankfully, you'd been paying attention during the sorting. “Oh… it’s you.”

“Yeah, it’s me,” you replied. “Draco wanted to get an early start today. He’s got a letter to send to his parents, so we’re going to head the Owlery between breakfast and our first class.”

“Draco’s going?” Gregory Goyle asked.

“Yeesss…” you answered slowly. “I just said that.”

“Okay… then we’re coming too,” Goyle decided.

“Brilliant,” you replied. It instantly felt wrong to use that word regarding these two. They didn’t seem to be the sharpest knives in the drawer. But who knew, maybe they’d show a surprising talent in one or two lessons? “Best get a move on then.”

You turned away from the larger boy and opened your own door. You slipped inside your room and dropped off your nightclothes and shower things. Malfoy wasn’t moving in his bed, so it appeared as though he’d managed to fall back asleep. You decided to give him an extra couple of minutes while you went to wake the girls.

“Tempus…” 7:02

It was now safely past seven, so you felt a bit better about waking people up. You made your way out into the common room. There were a handful of older students milling about, but it seemed practically deserted compared to how it had been last night.

You crossed the room and reached the girls’ hallway, then paused before entering it. Was there a spell in place to prevent boys from entering the girls’ hallway? Would you be forcibly ejected? Would it sound an alarm? One of the students milling about was a girl… you thought briefly about asking for her help, but decided against it. It was the first day, you could wave off any issues that arose by blaming it on being your first day. You could write the whole thing off as a learning experience.

You took a deep breath… slowly extended your right leg… and placed it in the girls’ hallway.

Nothing…

There was no reaction. No alarm. No screams. No spell to throw you back out.

You stepped the rest of the way into the hallway. Still nothing. Perhaps the school was counting on the personalised locking charms to keep unwanted students out of other rooms? You walked up to the first room on the right but stopped to stare at the names on the door.

‘Millicent Bulstrode’

‘Pansy Parkinson’

You turned to look behind you.

‘Daphne Greengrass’

‘Tracey Davis’

Interesting. At some point overnight the names on the doors had been swapped to match the occupants. Perhaps you should have followed Greengrass’ example to avoid rooming with Draco Malfoy? You got on alright with Zabini and you both seemed to be early risers… you might have been able to convince Nott to switch.

You filed away this new information as you knocked on the ‘Bulstrode, Parkinson’ door. You heard a loud whine emanate from inside, which you assumed came from Pansy as she ordered Millicent to see who was knocking.

The door opened a crack and Millicent peaked out.

“Morning, Millie!” you greeted her. Millicent blinked at the shortened version of her name. “The boys and I were going to get an early start today. We’re planning to head to the Owlery before our first lesson. I thought I’d extend an invitation for you and Pansy to join us.”

“Is Draco going?” Pansy’s voice sounded from inside.

“Yes, Draco’s going,” you confirmed.

“That sounds alright then,” Pansy decided.

Meanwhile, Millicent frowned. “I haven’t got an owl…” She turned away from the door and briefly bent down then turned back with a cat cradled in her arms. It had black fur, long pointed ears, and yellow eyes. “This is Mittens.” You glanced at the cat’s paws and saw that they were white in contrast to the rest of its black fur. That explained the name.

You couldn’t help smiling at the image of the rather big and tough-looking Millicent Bulstrode cradling a furry kitty in her arms. And with such a ‘cute’ name too. Her frown grew harder and she seemed to be getting defensive.

“That’s alright,” you were quick to reassure her. “You can use my owl. I haven’t actually got a letter to send. No parents to send it to, you see. I was just going to check in on my owl. For me, the trip to the Owlery was a chance to learn some of the castle’s layout.”

“Really?” Millicent asked as her frown turned into a smile. “You’d let me borrow him?”

“Of course,” you replied. “We’re family, right? And besides, if you have a letter to give him… he won’t feel left out when the other owls are sent off.”

Millicent was still smiling. “Okay… thanks… Marvolo...”

You nodded and turned to see a familiar blonde girl peek out from the room across the hall. “What’s all the commotion?”

“I’m following Professor Snape’s instructions about Slytherin unity by getting a group together,” you answered. “We’re trying to get an early start today so we can head up to the Owlery before we have to go to our first lesson. Did you and Daphne want to join us?”

“Hold on…” Davis said as she pulled her head back into her room and no doubt had a quiet conversation with her roommate before she peeked out again. “Daphne says that’s fine. She has a letter to send to her parents and sister, so we were likely going to do that anyway.”

“Brilliant,” you replied. This time it didn’t feel wrong to say. “By the way, did you girls notice that the names on your doors changed to reflect your room swap?”

Millicent and Tracey both blinked before they turned to look at their respective doors and then across the hall. “So they did…”

“I guess that’s what you can expect when you’re living in a magic castle,” Tracey reasoned.

“Anyway, I’ll leave you to get ready,” you resolved. “Meet me in the common room when you’re done.” You gave both girls a quick nod before you backed out of the hallway and slipped into the main common room. You made your way across to the boys’ hallway and returned to your own room.

“Rise and shine, your majesty!” you called out to your roommate. “Everyone else is up. That means you should be too.” Draco grumbled, but started to twist in his bed, which showed he was probably going to follow the instruction.

You decided to bring something along to keep you busy while you waited for the others to assemble. Unfortunately, you had no idea what classes you’d have today. Your schedule would likely be handed out at breakfast. All you knew so far was that you had Potions on Friday. That actually made the decision of what book to grab fairly easy. Professor Snape warned you all to be prepared for his class, so you retrieved Magical Drafts and Potions from your trunk and brought it to the common room with you.

You spotted a couple of empty couches and claimed a seat on one, then began to read. You’d skimmed this book over the summer, but you definitely didn’t want to get on your intimidating Head of House’s bad side, so you resolved to do a much more thorough reading.

Blaise Zabini joined you soon after. He set a bit of parchment on the table in front of your shared couch and began composing the letter he would be sending to his mother.

“Hey, did you know that a bezoar is a natural antidote?” you asked the other boy. “It’s a stone taken from the stomach of a goat. It’ll save you from most poisons. That sounds like something useful to have. Not that I’m worried about being poisoned... but as the last of my family line I can’t be too careful.”

Zabini nodded, “My mother’s third husband could’ve done with one of those.”

“He was poisoned?” you asked.

“Yes, it tragically happened at a Ministry function,” Blaise said in a smooth deadpan. “It was front-page news three years ago.”

“Wait… third?” you repeated. “How many husbands has your mother had?”

“She married her fifth husband over the summer,” Blaise informed you.

“And was one of them named Zabini… or is that your mother’s maiden name?” you inquired.

“Her first husband, my father, was Zabini,” Blaise explained. “He died from natural causes. The others all under mysterious circumstances. All she has from the other husbands is the money they left her.”

You suddenly suspected that Madam Zabini may have had a hand in her many husbands’ mysterious deaths. But you knew better than to mention that out loud. Blaise was smirking, which told you that he probably knew what you had been thinking and that he was amused at unsettling you.

Tracey Davis was the first of the girls to arrive. She took one look at your book and decided that was a good idea and hurried back to her room to retrieve one of her own. She sat on the couch across from yours and was no doubt saving the space beside her for Greengrass who arrived a few minutes later.

Crabbe and Goyle came out next and sat in nearby chairs that gave them a clear view of your room's door. Once again, you wondered if the duo had received some kind of pre-Hogwarts ‘bodyguard training’.

The others slowly trickled into the common room. Millicent arrived and took the seat on your other side and began writing her own letter. Theodore Nott emerged and claimed the chair next to Crabbe’s and used a book as a hard surface to write his letter to his father. Pansy came flouncing out of the girls’ hallway and surveyed the group. Her smile fell when she saw that Draco Malfoy wasn’t among you yet. She sat primly in the remaining seat on the couch with Daphne and Tracey.

When Malfoy finally arrived, you were quick to rise to your feet.

“Now that Draco has finally deigned to grace us with his presence, we can go,” you reasoned. You pulled out your wand and gave it a quick swish. “Tempus.” 7:34 “We should still have enough time.”

“Do you remember the way to go?” Blaise asked as he stood up and easily fell into step beside you as you led the way out of the common room.

“We travel along the dungeon and then take the stairs the prefects showed us to the entrance hall,” you recounted. “It’s not too hard. There are drawbacks to living in an underwater dungeon, I suppose. Can you imagine if we were in a tower like the Gryffindors? We’d have to go up and down all those infamous moving staircases. That might be more convenient for some classes, but since every day starts and ends with a trip to the Great Hall, I’d say we lucked out.”

“That’s a fair point,” Zabini acknowledged.

You were briefly worried that the other first years wouldn’t follow your lead, but movement caught your eye and you were pleased to see Millicent hurry forward to walk at your other side. You cast a quick glance back and saw that Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis were behind you with Theodore Nott trailing behind them. Pansy Parkinson was smiling as she walked beside a slightly annoyed Draco Malfoy who seemed put out that he wasn’t the center of attention. Crabbe and Goyle brought up the rear.

It seemed as though the hierarchy for the boys in your year hadn’t been decided yet. In another world, Draco Malfoy would have easily taken his place as the so-called Prince of Slytherin. But as a descendant of Salazar Slytherin, you were able to give him a run for his considerable money.