The unfamiliar stirs of life in the castle are what woke me up the next morning. The cold dungeon air nipped at my exposed skin, causing me to shrivel back underneath my cozy duvet. I opened my eyes carefully, expecting to see the blinding sun peering in through my balcony window as it used to when I lived in the astronomy tower. Instead, I opened my eyes to my pitch black surroundings. I felt around on my night stand for my wand, "Lumos!". I quickly squinted my eyes, allowing myself time for them to adjust to the newly bright light that lit up my entire room.
I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and let my toes touch the shockingly cold wooden floors. I stood slowly, so as not to fall, and stretched a big stretch before making my way to the light switch. Thank Merlin that my chambers had electricity unlike most of the castle. I then headed to the bathroom where I went about my normal morning routine, getting ready for the day. I slipped on my robes and headed to the Great Hall for breakfast, still trying to get used to the newness of the bustling castle.
Once I made my way to the Great Hall, I quickly spotted Riley, her black hair with a streak of red and bright blue eyes being hard to miss. I took a seat across from her and loaded a plate with pancakes and fruit whilst asking Riley about how she slept. She barely heard me though, as she was staring up at the professors table with a curious gaze. I turned my head to see what she was staring at and quickly met the penetrating gaze of Severus Snape, whose eyes quickly darted away from mine, his cheeks turning a slight shade of pink.
"Alrighty then," Riley said with a hint of humor in her tone, I looked at her confused to which she just shrugged and casually changed the subject.
It was our only day before classes started that we could freely explore the grounds and get accustomed to our surroundings, so Riley and I decided to make the most of it. We left the Great Hall and wandered around Hogwarts until we found ourselves next to a quaint little hut, which we soon learned to be the home of the grounds keeper, Hagrid. He introduced himself and then invited us inside for a very sketchy cup of cider. I politely accepted the drink and we found ourselves thrown into a riveting conversation of dragons and all of the mythical creatures that caused the forbidden forest to be, well, forbidden to all students.
Our conversation, however was cut short when the door to Hagrid's hut was slammed open to reveal a raging Snape, who scanned the area until his eyes landed on me, full of anger.
"Ms. Kettle, a word. Now." He began a hurried pace back towards the castle to which I had to run to keep up with his long strides. He wordlessly made his way down to the dungeons and to his classroom. He picked up a crumpled piece of paper and angrily threw it at me.
Confused and upset, I picked it up and unwrinkled it to see what it was. It was the note from last night that I had left saying that I borrowed a few items to help me sleep.
"But I just thought tha-"
"NO! YOU WILL NOT COME INTO MY CLASSROOM AND STEAL FROM ME. YOU. WILL. NOT. THIS IS FORBIDDEN FROM HAPPENING AGAIN, I DON'T CARE THE CIRCUMSTANCES. STAY OUT OF MY CLASS UNLESS INSTRUCTED. DETENTION AT 6!" He then herded me out of his class and slammed the door in my tear streaked face.
I ran to my chambers, ignoring the stares from those around me and slammed the door shut before locking it and running to my bed where I threw myself under the blankets and cried myself to sleep, not leaving the rest of the day, completely forgetting my detention.
