Lyra’s breath fogged up the window, her nose pressed against the glass, her eyes fogging. She heard a shriek and a cry. She turned around. It was her brother. Menacing eyes, and a toothy grin. He waved his wand around and-

Lyra awoke with a fright. She shook her head, reminding herself that it was just a dream. It was her second day at Hogwarts, and life was already a mess. She had gotten bullied several times over, all for different reasons. A car with the legendary Harry Potter had flown into a tree, and people continued to make remarks about her brother. Worse than that, they kept saying how “all the bad witches and wizards come from Slytherin” or “It was bound to happen.”

She had been sorted the other night, with no hassle and a mere gasp or two into Ravenclaw. She didn’t seem to know why, but the hat said, “Best we put this one here.” She didn’t know what he was talking about, but she had wheeled over to the table nonetheless, with only half the school cheering for her.

Her dorm mates were all first years as well, Luna, Oki Sumiko, Claudette Dumont, Alura Chanser, and Wendi Knott, all of who were nicer than she had expected, but were obviously weary from all the things that had happened last night.

Oki barely talked, barely spoke, barely did anything but look at her posters that she had stuck to the wall and sigh. And when she did speak, she barely even got to the point, meaning that it took Lyra two hours to try and learn her name.

Claudette (which she insisted everyone call her Claudia) was the exact opposite. She got straight to the point and told you what she was thinking. She didn’t hang up posters or anything like that, she just showed off her vast collection of french stuff and perfumes and make-up to the point where the girl’s bathroom had basically become a shrine to Claudette’s makeovers, which were tacky.

Alura, like Oki, was reserved, but she opened up after learning Lyra’s name and soon showed a fierce personality, loyal and brave, but she eventually admitted to coming from a full family of Gryfinndors, who didn’t exactly enjoy the thought of her being in a different house.

Then there was Wendi, who was friendly and cheerful, but shy and scared. At the sorting, she tripped over her robes twice, and when she was called a klutz at the sorting, Alura stood up and yelled, and Wendi had stuck to Alura like glue ever since.

“Oh, you’re awake! I thought you would be sleeping forever!” Luna smiled, dressed in her robes, holding her magazine under arms again. “You know, there are some rumors in the north of these people who simply just sleep forever and ever…” She sighed, the dreamy look coming back on her face.

“Oh, shut up, Luna. Those people don’t exist and you know it.” Claudette was putting on a fresh layer of lipstick, her lipstick layering as thick as a wall. She swept her platinum blonde hair back, looking at herself in the mirror. “Hmm, is it too much eyeshadow?” She shrugged, going on to perfectly apply a thin eyeliner.

“Where’s Oki, Alura, and Wendi?” Lyra mumbled, getting on her own robes and transferring into her wheelchair.

“Well, Oki’s out reading in the library-” Claudette rolled her eyes and started to braid her hair. “And Alura and Wendi are ‘outside’.” She spoke it as if it was a joke. Lyra barely opened the door to the dorm a crack before she could hear muffled voices.

She cracked the door open a little more, to see Alura yelling at Wendi, her hair flying as if a breeze had perfectly aligned itself, and her robes rustling. Lyra could see the faint waves of silver and green… she shook her head, realizing that the colors were probably just blending together in her head.

“Oh, Lyra…” Alura turned away. “I was hoping you didn’t see that…” She bit her lip, her hands trembling. “I don’t want you to get caught up in my messes. Wendi and I were just having-” She tutted slightly, nearly noticeable. “A talk.” She turned on her heels, her hair flipping behind her.

Wendi rolled her eyes and fumed off, her own hair flipping furiously. “I don’t know what’s happened to those two,” Claudette said, her lips puckering and sticking out from all the lipstick. “One day, they’re best friends and then-” She made a whooshing noise and her hands exploded. Her eyes rolled, revealing the ridiculous amount of eyeshadow she had put on.

---

“Welcome-” The teacher paused dramatically, pulling the sleeves of his black robes up. “To Potions. I am your teacher, Professor Snape and if any of you-” He gave a quick glance at Lyra, as if expecting her to kill everyone in the room. “Decide to act up in my class, you can be ensured that strict punishments will be handed out. You have one hour to brew a Cure for Boils. I expect it to be flawless. Start. Oh, and Ms. Lotstein, please meet me at the front.”

He folded his hands on the table, his eyes boring into Lyra’s soul. “Hello, Ms. Lotstein. I suspect your brother has told you loads about me already.”

“Actually, no. He’s never talked about Hogwarts or honestly anything about it. He’s never come home with anything remotely wizarding and-”

“Let me tell you right now, that your brother was a dreadful student. I would’ve expelled him as soon as possible, however, Professor Flitwick managed to convince me not to,” Snape said through gritted teeth. “Honestly, Ravenclaw’s Head of House, vouching for my student?” He scoffed and looked away dramatically again. It occurred to Lyra that this man could easily be crazy or a movie star. He turned again, his finger almost jabbing Lyra in the face. “Don’t mess up in this class, as you will sure to be expelled when I find a reason to.”

Lyra wheeled over back to her desk, where Luna was mixing her potion with a powder and stirring it. “I’ve heard Professor Snape’s a werewolf. That’s why he’s always so mean and grouchy, cause he’s got fangs and claws and he doesn’t like showing them.” She tipped something into her potion, making it turn yellow.

“Well, that’s no excuse for rudeness.” Lyra tried not to bump into the bookshelves behind her. She started to mix her own potion, almost getting confused between flobberworm mucus with the snake fangs. “Why did you think Connor never told me about this?” She whispered to herself, stirring the potion.

“Mum said that Connor was a proud wizard but his mind was meddled with a lot. I’ve seen a photo of him, demented looking guy,” Alura said, her eyes glowing green. “Can’t believe he was a pure-blood. He acted like a muggle, or at least, that’s what I’ve heard.” She stirred her own potion perfectly, sniffing it.

“Well, I better not fail something that I haven’t been taught,” Lyra muttered to herself, adding the porcupine quills. She checked the recipe again and sighed. “I should’ve crushed the snake fangs finer.” She frowned at her potion, realizing it was a tiny hint off color.

“This color reminds me of the Crumple Horned Snorlack,” Luna said melodiously, her voice tuning out again.

“Which probably means you’ve brewed it wrong, cause the Crumple Horned Snorlack doesn’t exist,” Alura said through gritted teeth. “Mum says it’s just something that Quibbler thing made up.”

“My father’s the editor.” Luna’s hand moved instinctively to her magazine, and she put on her multicolored glasses, ignoring what Alura had said. Alura’s face froze, then settled once more, her lips pressing into a thin line.

Snape looked away distractedly, his glare cold and hard when he turned around and pursed his lips. He seemed to suck all the joy out the room and he looked straight at Lyra. “Well, Ms. Lotstein. You’re already doing a much better job than your brother… let’s hope it stays that way.” He turned around dramatically again. “Class dismissed.”