Carnival I.M

3

The collar on my robes faded into a green colour and a serpent logo found it's way onto my now green tie. The table on the far right hand side of the Great Hall had already erupted into a fit of cheers and wolf-whistles, which made my eyes stray over to the two redheaded twins from earlier who were frowning and booing loudly from the table on the opposite side of the room.

When I sat down in the same spot as before, the quiet girl, Pansy Parkinson, watched me smugly, but in a good way, as though she were proud, and then she spoke.

"What is your blood status?"

Her gaze grazed over me egotistically.

"Why? Is it important?" I laughed half-heartedly, fiddling around with an empty goblet in front of me. That is, until the Headmaster finally announced that the feast would begin, and plenty of food magically appeared in front of us. Boiled potatoes, steak, bread, green peas, and plenty others.

"Forget about that," Sabrina rolled her eyes. "Let us eat."

I reached over to grab one of the golden bowl that was piled off to the side the same time Draco did, accidentally knocking one of the bowls out of his hands. My stomach lurched as the entire stack of bowls, probably about a dozen or so in this particular pile, were sent falling off to the side, crashing all over the place. A loud ruckus was sent down the line.

Sabrina stared at Draco and I with a blank but annoyed look, blinking slowly. Draco and I both quickly managed to fix all the bowls up.

Next time I'd just stick with the plate in front of me.

"I'm so sorry!" I breathed out as Draco slowly, gently placed a bowl in front of me, as though he feared I'd set the bowl on fire.

"You really are a klutz, aren't you?" Draco mused, a smirk twitching at his lips.

"Not usually," I responded as I placed a simple, decent meal in my bowl.

"Congratulations, by the way," Sabrina said smugly, staring at me in a fake-vicious way. At least, I hoped so. "You just made the best House."

Pansy scoffed from beside her. "You're just bothered that you're a Slytherin. Honestly, after all these years? Get over it."

"Oh, shut up. If I wasn't the daughter of such horrible people who both just happened to be in Slytherin, I wouldn't have minded it."

I squirmed in my seat, feeling very uncomfortable to have heard someone speak so poorly of their parents. I'd never have done so. I couldn't help but put my own two sense in.

"You're not your parents, so don't worry about it - even though I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about."

Pansy seemed half happy with my response. Sabrina opened her mouth to argue, but a high-pitched throat clearing sounded from the front. I glanced over curiously, my eyes meeting a short, pudgy woman in a long pink cardigan - the woman who was calling the first years over to her. She seemed to be a new teacher as the students had been eyeing her curiously.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking up at me. I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends! The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the wizarding community must be passed down the generations lest we lost them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by out ancestors must be guarded, replenished and polished by those who have been called to nobel profression of teaching."