Valerie Sloane was never one who liked to be at the center of attention. And yet here she stood, not only late to the sorting ceremony but also joining Hogwarts as a new 7th year - of course, everyone in the Great Hall was staring at her.

She turned back to Professor Fig who gave her an encouraging smile. "Go on." He mouthed.

"Ahem. We don't have all day." A visibly irritated Headmaster Black said and that spurred Valerie to walk quickly, knowing that it would be wise not to upset him even further. The students were all whispering amongst each other, some didn't even bother to hide their shock and crude comments.

Valerie tried to focus on the architecture of the hall instead, which was breathtaking. There were floating candles everywhere, giving the otherwise dim space a soft glow. A large rectangular mosaic window stood proudly at the center of the hall, and Valerie was certain that it would look even more spectacular in the daytime with the sunlight shining through. But what blew her breath away was the ceiling that was enchanted to look like a galaxy. Swirling colours of pink, blue and purple and tiny silver stars - it was simply captivating.

"Professor Weasley! We have one more to be sorted."

"You're just in time, please have a seat." In contrast to the gruff demeanor of Headmaster Black, Professor Weasley was pleasant, although there was an intimidating air around her.

Valerie sat on the wooden stool with her back straight, meeting the eyes of hundreds of anticipating students. It was time to find her house.

Professor Weasley gently placed the sorting hat on Valerie's head, and she couldn't help but take a sharp intake of breath - this was really nerve wrecking.

"Hm...where should I put you?" Oh please, not a hatstall. She didn't want to be up there anymore. The longer she was up here, the more the students would have to say about her. She silently prayed that there won't be too many bamboozling rumors about her tomorrow, she didn't have the energy to entertain nor deal with them.

Valerie glanced around the hall in an attempt to ease her nerves somehow. The Gryffindor and Hufflepuff table were chatting away absentmindedly, the Ravenclaw table were somewhat paying attention to her and the Slytherin table looked bored...except for one.

Brown eyes met hers.

The student in question was sitting near the front of the Slytherin table, looking intently at her. "Breathe." He mouthed and did a rather exaggerated demonstration of a deep breathing technique. Valerie couldn't help but giggle at his attempt - this dark haired stranger sure knew how to cheer her up. Seeing her laugh, the boy couldn't help but laugh too.

"Better be...HUFFLEPUFF!" The Sorting Hat boomed.

Loud cheers and hoots erupted from the Hufflepuff table as Valerie stood up (after a good 5 minutes, thank you very much sorting hat) and joined the Hufflepuff table.

***

After Headmaster Black dismissed everyone, Valerie looked hopefully at the Slytherin table for the mysterious stranger earlier but he was nowhere to be found. She was just about to head there when she felt a light tap on her shoulder.

Valerie spun around to find a rather petite Hufflepuff student. She had warm brown eyes and short brown hair. She looked a bit nervous, and was fiddling with the loose thread on her robe.  "I'm Poppy Sweeting. Professor Weasley asked for me to show you to our common room."

"I'm Valerie Sloane. It's nice to meet you, Poppy."

Despite being out of her element, Poppy managed a small smile. She beckoned Valerie to follow her and the pair headed out of the Great Hall. They walked in silence as Valerie took in the sights and sounds of the castle. They went twisting and turning in so many different corridors which made Valerie's head spin.

The Hufflepuff common room was cozier than she'd expected. The amount of flora was evident when she first stepped in, hanging from the ceiling and placed around the tables and the overstuffed sofas. The copper lamps together with the honey coloured wood structure made the dorm feel like a giant warm hug.

"Lovely, isn't it? It's my favorite place in Hogwarts." Poppy spoke up for the first time since the Great Hall, noticing Valerie's awestruck expression.

"Well, besides the beast's classroom." She added hastily. Almost everyone had made fun of her for being a beast enthusiast, which made her nervous sharing that piece of information with a total stranger, but Poppy had a gut feeling that Valerie was a 'good egg'.

"I take it you're an animal lover like myself?"

Poppy's eyes lit up at the words, 'animal lover' and clasped her hands excitedly. "You are an Augurey at noon in the desert!"

"I - certainly hope that's a good thing."

"It's something my Gran and I say! It means that something or someone is a welcome surprise...at least that's what we decided it meant." She smiled sheepishly at Valerie.

Valerie smiled back. She had a feeling that Poppy and her were going to be good friends.

***

Valerie was unable to fall asleep. She had been tossing and turning for a good 20 minutes now. Her first day of classes was tomorrow and she needed a good night's rest. Stupid brain. She quietly got out of bed, making sure she was careful as to not wake her roommates up.

Once she got to the common room, she flopped on the sofa unsure of what to do. Valerie was absentmindedly twirling a piece of her reddish brown hair when she heard a whisper.

"Valerie..."

"Huh?" She looked around the common room, but there was no one there.

"Valerie..."

This time the whisper grew even louder. Oh Merlin. She knew that Hogwarts had numerous ghosts but she didn't wish to be haunted this early into the school year. She didn't even do anything!

Valerie looked down and gasped audibly. There were traces of blue like magic on the floor, and it seemed to form a path out of the common room.

"Come to me..."

It wasn't even a whisper at this point. The voice sounded commanding, and without her fully registering it, she stood up and walked towards the exit. She wasn't wholly herself, the sea of voices seemed to be roaring in her head - controlling her every move. She followed the path which led her up and down the stairs...to the library? Huh, just where she wanted to go. Even before she could enter, she felt herself suddenly being pulled to a dark room.

Valerie looked around, snapping out of her trance. She instinctively slapped the arm away, and was ready to throw spells before...

"Ow! What gives?"

She squinted in the darkness, trying to make out who the figure in front of her was. Was it a friend or foe? (she only made one friend so far but still)

"Lumos!"

The room was so tiny that it was instantly illuminated. Lo and behold, standing before her was the stranger from the Great Hall! He was frowning at her while rubbing his arm (presumably the arm she had slapped).

"It's you! Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry!" Valerie apologised profusely, while also trying to stifle a giggle.

"That was a good hit, though." He lightly hit her back on the shoulder good naturedly. "And now we're even." He said smugly.

Valeire laughed and now with her wand in hand, she could properly see him. The first thing that she noticed about him was his freckles, which were dotted across his entire face. He had a smirk which seemed to be a default expression of his. She had to admit, he looked awfully handsome. His brown wavy hair and dark brown eyes were mesmerizing. Looking around, there were brooms and some boxes on the shelves and so she deduced that they were in a storage closet.

"What are you doing out in the middle of the night? The prefects could have caught you!"

Valerie blinked. Oh blast, she had forgotten about the prefects. Telling him about the voices and the strange magic she had witnessed was completely out of the question. He wouldn't have believed her and probably would have called her crazy.

"I couldn't sleep so..." She shrugged. At least she wasn't completely lying. He stared at her suspiciously, but thankfully didn't press it further.

"Wait, what are you doing here?"

She could feel his breath still and his body tense. He squinted slightly, "Couldn't sleep too." He shrugged back.

They both looked at each other, aware that neither of them were telling the truth. Who would willingly tell their motives to a complete stranger?

"I didn't get your name."

"Valerie. Valerie Sloane." She smiled and he could have sworn that he saw stars in her eyes.

He shook her hand firmly and she could have sworn she felt a small bolt of magic surge as their hands touched.

"Sebastian Sallow." he grinned and gave her a mock bow which she returned with a dramatic cutesy. They both laughed and were silent for a moment.

Valerie cleared her throat, breaking the silence. "Well, I should head back."

His eyes widened. As Valerie was about to walk out, she felt a small tug at her coat which stopped her in her tracks.

"Are you just walking out like that?"

"What do you want, a kiss on the cheek?" Valerie commented boldly (must be from her lack of sleep), not missing the blush quickly forming on his cheeks. For a moment, he was rendered speechless - he probably had a thousand butterflies there and then.

"Did you forget that the perfects are still patrolling the grounds as we speak?"

Valerie's face paled. How was she going to get back now?! The prefects wouldn't hesitate to report them to the headmaster, and she already hadn't made a good first impression on him - Merlin knows that he might do.

"Are you familiar with the disillusionment charm?"