It had been a couple of hours since I made my decision; I was going to stay and learn at Hogwarts. A refusal of this kind would be incredibly foolish on my part.

Professor Dumbledore had taught me almost all of the basic spells, types of potions and a lot of magical terminology. Along with his own notes that he had taken when he was a student here. He explained how everything worked around the school - common rooms, curfews, house points, and visits to places outside the castle.

I don't know how he did this in the little time we spent together, but he did. My 'muggle' school teachers would never believe it.

He continued to assign me with reading a book 'Hogwarts; A History' and some other reading materials to help me catch up. I could really do with a wheelbarrow to take all of these books out of his office, they were stacking up with every subject he added. It's a good thing I was into reading; I couldn't imagine how some of the students that weren't academic would feel with this amount of reading material.

As a condition of passing the end of term exams, I would need to have private tutoring with him at least once a week. This was quite a surprise at how much I managed to learn so quickly.

I rubbed my eyes, looking around the room for a clock. It must be very late, I thought to myself.

"Oh, and of course you will need a wand" he said. "But you won't be able to get one until Saturday, when the students can go into Hogsmeade".

I nodded, trying to conceal a yawn. Even though I was tired, he continued to tell me what I needed to do before beginning any lessons. "Unfortunately, you missed the sorting ceremony on Monday, so we will have another one for you tomorrow afternoon" he said, grabbing a quill and writing it down.

I could see how busy he was but he seemed quite excited to have a new student. He had been so kind to me and I felt so welcomed already. In retrospect, I did feel a little anxious about meeting my peers, but I knew I was prepared. If they were anything like Neville, I'm sure that I'll make some great friends.

"Sorry Professor, but where am I going to sleep if I haven't been sorted into a house yet?" I asked. But before he answered my question, he pulled out his wand and a suitcase appeared by the door of the office. When I suggested retrieving it for him, he nodded.

I walked over to the suitcase; it had old-fashioned ridges on the front panel and a latch on the top. I turned it over to grab the handle but I saw my initials printed in gold on the side.
He smiled at me proudly as I turned back to him. "Thank you!" I beamed at him, and quickly turned my attention back to the case.

"For now, the only place with beds is the hospital wing" he told me. "I have already informed Madam Pomfrey, and she is expecting you. You can find your uniform in that new case of yours, as well as everything else you'll need," he said pointing to the suitcase.

He began walking down the steps towards me, and opened the door leading out of the office.

I paused before picking up my case. "This is incredible, thank you so much Professor! Thank you for making me feel so welcome" I said with a huge grin.

"Miss y/l/n, it's my pleasure! You didn't think I would leave you on your own now did you?" He joked with me as we walked down the spiral staircase and into the corridor.
He walked me to the hospital wing where I was greeted by a nurse, who I assumed was Madam Pomfrey. 

As I thanked the Professor again, we said our good-nights and Madam Pomfrey closed the door behind me. She helped me set my things down on the bed and I found some pajamas in the suitcase.

This all feels so natural - I thought to myself as I got changed into the pajamas and slid under the covers of the hospital bed. Everything that was happening felt like it was meant to be happening. 'Tomorrow I would be sorted into a house, start my lessons and soon I will be able to pick up my wand' I thought out loud to myself. My eyes grew heavier as I rolled onto my side and fell fast asleep.

I woke up in the hospital bed, already smiling to myself as I propped myself up against the metal frame. I was in a bed next to a tall stained glass window. I could see some of the castle; it was breathtaking as the sunrise made everything golden. I looked forward to exploring the castle, but I was more eager to see which house I would be sorted into this afternoon.
I looked around the hospital bay, but I was the only person in here.

I swiveled my legs so I was sitting on the edge of the bed. My suitcase was placed at the end of the bed and I reached for it as I stood on the cold stone floor.

I heard the door open as Madam Pomfrey came in "Morning dear" she smiled at me.

"If you get dressed, I can take you to the Great Hall for some breakfast". Her attention turned to folding bed sheets when she spun around again.

I reached into my suitcase and pulled out a long black robe, it was heavy and there was a Hogwarts Emblem embroidered on the chest. I placed the rest of my uniform on my bed before quickly brushing through my h/c hair.

"Ready?" She asked me as I made my way towards her. "I bet you're starving!" She chuckled as I followed her out.

While I was walking between the great hall and the hospital wing, I tried to take in as much as I could of the castle. As we entered the Great Hall, there were four long wooden tables reaching end-to-end. Several students were sat eating already; they smiled at me before returning to their breakfast.

There was so much food to choose from, and it was presented so beautifully in the center of the tables. As Madam Pomfrey left me to eat my breakfast, I aw Neville walking in and gave him a little wave. He spotted me and sat down next to me

"Morning y/n! How did you sleep?" He asked me.

"Really well actually, thanks!" I told him. "I was up most of the night speaking to Professor Dumbledore, and I've chosen to stay at Hogwarts".

He looked at me excitedly "Oh that's great news, you'll love it here! When are you getting sorted into a house?" He asked me, biting into a muffin.

"Not until this afternoon apparently" I answered. I fetched a plate and had some jam on toast and a glass of orange juice. After breakfast, we sat and talked until Madam Pomfrey returned to pick me up.

I spent the rest of the morning sat on my bed in the Hospital Wing, reading 'Hogwarts; A History'. There was such peace here, and I was learning a lot of useful information about the castle and the people who founded each of the houses. The book held my attention as I flicked through it, page after page.

The Sorting Ceremony was just beginning when Professor Dumbledore arrived to take me to the Great Hall. The scene looked very different from the one I saw this morning; it was crowded with every student in the school. This included the first-year students who had been sorted the day before.

Nobody noticed me as I walked in and sat by the door. Dumbledore began his speech; how he was pleased to see everyone settling in for their first term back. As he finished, his gaze landed on me.

"Please give a warm welcome to Miss y/l/n, who will be starting in her fifth year!" he clapped and extended an arm towards me.

I kept my gaze on Dumbledore as he motioned for me to come forward, but everyone in the great hall turned to look at me. I sat down in front of Dumbledore on a wooden stool. Putting a brown hat on my head, he shuffled back slightly.

I jumped slightly as it began to hum and speak about me. I could feel it moving around on my head, as it thought deeply about my place in this school. Everyone was watching me, and I could feel my breathing becoming irregular. I didn't really think about how daunting this was going to be, I thought.

"You have the creativity of a Ravenclaw and the confidence of a Gryffindor...." the hat began to mutter. "But where to put you?" The hat paused for a moment, everyone including the Professors, fell silent in the Great Hall. I could feel the anxiety bubbling up inside of me, feeling every pair of eyes on me, watching my every move. I fiddled with them hem of my black robes, trying to calm my breathing as I awaited the response. 

Soon enough, it rumbled above and said "Mhm, yes, it would most definitely have to be... SLYTHERIN!" it shouted. 

The way it echoed through the large room slowly faded out as the students began to grow louder with noise again. The Slytherin table had risen to their feet when I looked up with a grin. Cheering and clapping as I walked over to sit with them. I glanced over at the Gryffindor table where I saw Neville looking rather disappointed at me.

During my time at the table with the other Slytherins, the atmosphere was cheerful and everyone was waiting to speak to me. While I was sitting at the end of the table among the first-years, a girl with blonde hair touched my shoulder and began introducing herself as I looked up at her.

"Hi, I'm Daphne Greengrass!" I shook her hand with a polite smile.

"Hi Daphne, I'm Y/n" I said to her as the smile on her lips grew wider.

"I'm a fifth year too, you should come and sit with us further up the table y/n!" She pointed to her friends who were all sharing smiles with me. Well, all but one; a blonde boy who gave a half nod instead.

Getting up, I walked with Daphne to where the other fifth-year students were sitting. I grabbed a plate of food from the center of the table and filled my glass with orange juice. As I took a sip I choked a little and some of the juice dribbled down my chin. They all giggled at me as I wiped my chin and coughed.

"I thought I poured myself orange juice" I remarked.

"That's pumpkin juice!" said another girl sat beside Daphne. I laughed with them as they realised how clueless I must be to everything here. Well done y/n, that's exactly the first impression you were going for.

The other girl introduced herself and the other Slytherins. "I'm Pansy Parkinson, and this is Blaise Zabini, Greg Goyle and Vincent Crabbe" she said pointing to each if them. "But can just call those two Crabbe and Goyle, we don't really use their first names" she said to me quietly.

"Yeah I'm not here or anything" said a voice sitting opposite me. It was the blonde boy who hadn't smiled at me, and he continued to look at Pansy.

"Sorry, this is Draco Malfoy. But you can ignore him if you like, he's quite annoying!" she said, playfully rolling her eyes at him.

"Hi, I'm-" and before I could finish he cut me off.

"I heard you the first time" he muttered, his eyes narrowing. I was a bit taken aback and I didn't know what to say in return. I turned back to the rest of the Slytherins on the table, Pansy and Daphne including me in their conversation once again.

"Hey look y/n! Your robes have changed!" Blaise pointed out. As I looked down, my tie had changed to the rich green Slytherin colour the rest of them were displaying. The emblem on my robes now a Slytherin Crest and the inner material was also green.

"Yeah look at you!" Pansy sang. "You're really one of us now! Welcome to the family" she said as she gave me a side hug. She seemed really sweet and genuinely happy to have me in their house.

We finished eating our lunch, and the head of Slytherin came by to give me a timetable for my classes. He seemed a miserable man, and barely spoke to me. I folded the timetable and put it into the pocket of my shirt. My fingers grazed past the Hogwarts letter that was still in my pocket from earlier. This all felt so surreal.

"Y/n, are you finished eating?" Daphne said as she got up from the table. We can show you around the castle if you like?" she asked, waving her hand towards the door.

"That would be great!" I said excitedly to the group sat around me, receiving smiles from them all. The blonde boy had already left the table before anyone else. He really didn't match the energy of the rest of them, he seemed colder and completely unamused by everything, and everyone, around him.

Once the group had shown me around the castle, we all headed down into the dungeons. This was where the Slytherin Common room was located.

Blaise stepped out in front of the door and said "pure-blood". A door appeared out of the stone wall, and began to open voluntarily. I managed to peak the green hue seeping through the door frame. All of us stepped inside when the door creaked open. The room was surprisingly warm considering it was deep underwater. The tall windows looked out into the Black Lake, creating a subtle green glow in the room.

It's a lot neater than the Gryffindor room I thought to myself. The fireplace reached the ceiling and the long sofas were a dark green, almost black leather. I felt a hand grab mine before I could take anything else in.

With Daphne following behind us, Pansy pulled me up the stairs and into the girls' dormitory. The middle of the room had a fireplace; it was so cozy. While the single beds were surrounding the outer edges of the room. Pansy showed me which bed was mine, and to my surprise, my suitcase was already placed on the end of it. A Slytherin scarf draped over the chair, and a small silver parcel lay on the bedside table.

The other two sat down with me on the side of the bed. Reaching over, I picked up the package. As I began to open it, a note fell out of the packaging. The note was from Professor Dumbledore;

Dear y/n,
I am giving you a small gift as a welcome present and for getting into Slytherin.
Enjoy every moment.
~ Prof Dumbledore

"How sweet! I wander what it is?" Pansy said curiously.

I opened the rest of the parcel to find a small tie pin; it was a silver snake. It was surprisingly heavy for its size, and it was an elegant looking snake too! After pinning it on my tie, I walked over to the mirror to check how it looked.

"You suit being in Slytherin y/n" Daphne said as Pansy nodded in agreement.

"Well, what can I say" winking at them, as they laughed at me. I sat back down on the bed with them.

We spent the next hour or so discussing how I had just joined the school in my fifth year. As I explained, I wanted to know why my mother never told me that I was a witch. Occasionally, they asked questions about my life as a muggle. The students at Hogwarts were really nice and just like I had imagined them to be. As well as catching me up on the current drama in the school, they told me all the gossip from the previous year.

I felt at home here, and that was the feeling I had been missing for most of my life. Not realising until now. Being here in this place where I immediately felt like I belonged was an overwhelming feeling that I couldn't express with words. I just displayed a grin as I chatted with my new friends.

Daphne must have discovered the time as she bolted up from the bed. "Crikey! It's time for dinner already, we should head down!" She said. "We've been chatting for ages!" Daphne chimed in.

We made our way downstairs and into the common room. I was passing the fireplace when I felt something fall out of my shirt pocket. I crouched down to pick it up, but the blonde boy got there before me, picking up the letter I had tucked in my shirt. His grey eyes studied the letter closely, turning it over in his hand.

"Why are you carrying your Hogwarts letter around with you?" he scoffed. "That's so sad" he sneered at me.

"Can I have it back, please?" I asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Nah, I think I'm going to keep it... or maybe use it for the fire" he said. Clearly proud of his ability to belittle people, but I wasn't going to stand for it.

I snatched it out of his hand and smiled sarcastically at him, tucking the letter back in my shirt pocket. As I walked away, he took a step back and stared at me intently.

I joined Pansy and Daphne who were waiting for me by the door. They were unaware of what just happened between Malfoy and I. I continued walking with them to the great Great Hall to eat dinner.

It was Thursday morning, I sat on the sofa in the common room, still in my pijamas. I was still reading Hogwarts; A History, as I stayed warm by the fireplace. I was the only one up this early, as everyone else was still asleep. I always woke up early and it was a habit I couldn't shake. Although, I'd love to be able to have a lie-in one morning.

I heard footsteps coming from the stairs, meaning someone else was up as well. I glanced up from my book to see Malfoy, as he stood at the bottom of the stairs glaring at me. I scoffed and continued to read my book but I noticed he was still standing there. 

Is he really going to stand there and watch me read? I thought to myself. Every paragraph I was reading, I wasn't taking any of it in because I knew he was just stood there.

I slammed the book shut and placed it on the sofa as I stood up. I walked over to him "Don't you have something better to be doing?" I asked him in frustration. I hated it when someone interrupted my reading.

"Probably" he sneered as he walked over to the sofa I was sat on. He picked up my book and pretended to be interested in it. Dramatically flicking through the pages and raising his eyebrows sarcastically.

"What are you doing?" I questioned him as I reached for the book. But he wouldn't let me have it. "Please, it's too early for this" I pleaded. I didn't want an argument this early and right before my first lesson at Hogwarts.

"You're a proper goodey-goodey aren't you new girl?" He scoffed. He was still holding my book in his hands.

"I'm not, I just don't understand why you're doing this?" I stood above him with my arms folded, as I began tapping my foot in anger. "I've not even been here a day, what is your issue?" I asked him. He didn't say anything, he just glared at me. "What a sad life you must have" I sighed through my nose.

That was enough for his eyes to suddenly fill with darkness. He got up with the book and put it on the highest shelf in the common room. He turned on his heals and shoved past me, storming out of the room. As I walked back to my dorm room to change, I laughed to myself. That was a bit pathetic, I thought to myself before I showered. I dried my hair with the towel and brushed through it, letting it air-dry. I walked into my dorm where Pansy and Daphne were still sleeping and changed into my Slytherin robes.

I walked to the Great Hall for breakfast before my first lesson, as it was still rather early. I was the only one at the Slytherin table, but it was quite peaceful to be alone after the commotion of the ceremony the day before. I served myself some scrambled egg on toast, and went to take a bite when something hit my shoulder. It was a crumpled piece of paper; I put down my breakfast and opened it up. It read;

'You better watch yourself new girl, you're treading on thin ice!'

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks, but soon realised who it was from; Malfoy.

I tried not to laugh at the thought of someone like Malfoy sending me threats. I was 5 foot and 3 inches, and I barely new half of the magic he already knew - how could he be threatened by me? Or did this boy just hate me for being new? I was quickly interrupted by Pansy sitting herself down beside me.

"Morning y/n! How long have you been up?" she asked me, sipping her drink.

"A couple of hours, I don't tend to sleep for long" I told her, glaring at Malfoy once more before returning to the conversation.

"Oh I love a lie-in" she mumbled. She noticed the paper in my hand and lent over to read it, but she just shook her head and continued talking.

"Y/N, Daphne and I thought it would be best if you didn't tell Malfoy about your father being a muggle. He won't take it well, trust me" she explained. I was confused why Malfoy would have a problem, or more of a problem with me, if he found out.

"Why? Does he not like muggles?" I asked as she shuffled close enough to whisper.

"Well, he is from a Pureblood family" she noticed my confused expression. "His family are bloodline are nothing but witches and wizards. Meaning that there are no muggles in his family. He spent most of his time bullying 'mudbloods' or 'muggle-born' students." she said as my eyes widened.

"What a nasty little sh-" I looked over Pansy's shoulder to see Malfoy stood in the doorway, he looked furious. "So what class do we have first?" I asked pansy, as I began to panic. She noticed the change in my behaviour; she turned around to see Malfoy staring at the two of us. Her jaw dropped slightly as she started to feel nervous.

"I think we have potions first" she said quickly, trying to make Malfoy think we weren't talking about him. But he stood there watching us; the same way he did this morning when I was reading. The rest of breakfast was considerably awkward.

Daphne met us outside of the potions classroom with the rest of our peers. Soon enough, everyone went silent when Professor Snape arrived, opening the door, he walked to the front on the classrooms and began to talk. I'd heard that most people were a bit frightened of him, but he didn't seem too bad.

"This year is an important year for you all, so I will be assigning the seats" he said in a monotone voice. He began pairing students together, most were with a different house. It felt like he was talking for hours when I finally heard my name.

"Miss Y/ln and, let's see..." he scanned the room. "Mr Malfoy" he said, as his eyes fell on the blonde.

My stomach started doing back flips as I heard his name and mine; we had to sit next to each other. I let out a slight sigh as I sat myself down next to him.

Potions class consisted of huffing and sighing from the boy beside me. I kept looking behind me at Pansy who was sat with a Ravenclaw girl. She gave me an eye-roll, we were both unhappy with the assigned seats. Every time Snape walked away, Pansy tried to make me laugh by making faces at me.

"Stop turning around, it's really distracting!" Malfoy hissed in my ear.

"Oh of course! I'm terribly sorry" I said sarcastically, leaning away from him and scribbling more notes on the parchment in front of me. "Not like you distracted me from my book this morning" I added under my breath. 

"This is an actual lesson" he said quietly, hoping Snape wouldn't catch the two of them whispering. He had already given detention to a Gryffindor boy in the first 5 minutes of class. I didn't need to be in his bad books, even if he didn't intimidate me. I wanted to enjoy my time at Hogwarts, not spend it in detention with Professor Snape.

"Now who's the goodey-goodey?" I teased him.

If he was going to be like this then I'll play him at his own game, I thought. Malfoy scolded at me, I could see that he wasn't used to people talking back to him.

"You think you're funny do you?"

"Yes, I'm really funny! Why? Does that bother you Blondie?" I said confidently, knowing this would get a rise out of him.

"What did you just call me?" he snapped. Instead, I kept staring at my notes, trying desperately not to laugh. He kept twitching and I could feel his eyes burning into my soul. I could sense how much that comment annoyed him. My only wish was that he would leave me alone, but something in my gut told me this would make things worse.

After what seemed like the longest first lesson, we packed up and headed to the next class. I was last to walk out of the classroom, hoping Pansy and Daphne had waited for me.
Malfoy was around the corner when I accidentally bumped into him.

The hard floor hit my head as I fell backwards. My vision blurred and people crowded around me. He leaned down towards me, with a cocky smirk on his face.

"I told you, to watch yourself" he whispered harshly. Barging through the crowd of students around me, to lean against the wall. He was a few feet away, but still close enough to see me lying on the floor.

My head was throbbing and I could feel something warm running down my neck. My fingertips were covered in blood as I reached back and touched my head. I didn't know what to do.

"She's bleeding! Someone help her up!" someone shouted.

Meanwhile, Malfoy stood by and watched. His lack of expression said it all; he did this on purpose! Having waited until I left the classroom so he could push me or trip me as I walked out. While he watched the situation play out in front of him, he didn't offer any help.

"She needs to see Madam Pomfrey, I'll take her!" it was Pansy. She was linking her arm with mine, ready to help me off the floor. "Malfoy! Can you grab her other arm please?" She pleaded, but he scoffed and walked in the opposite direction. The room was spinning but I could see someone else coming over to help.

"What happened?" Asked a familiar voice. It was Neville, he linked his arm with mine as he helped Pansy get me off the floor.

"Y/n bumped into Malfoy and she's hit her head pretty bad" she explained.

"You'll be ok, we're taking you to the Hospital Wing now y/n" he said reassuringly.

I was brought to the hospital wing. Neville left me with Pansy and walked back to his friends. Madam Pomfrey helped me onto a bed and used a spell to clean the blood. She continued to monitor me for a bit longer, and I'm glad she did. As each second passed, my headache became more intense. She fetched a potion from the cupboard and told me to drink it.

"It should help with the headache y/n, drink up!" She instructed me as I drank the potion. Almost immediately I felt better, the headache was fading but the cut was still stinging.

"You should be more careful Miss y/l/n! It's only your second day and you're already in the wars!" She joked, trying to make me feel better. My weak smile quickly turned to trembling when my head began to throb a little.

"Right, off to your lesson. Pansy, keep an eye on her for the rest of the day".
Pansy nodded as she handed me my bag and walked out into the hallway with me.

"Thank you for helping me" I said to Pansy. She smiled at me for a moment but her expression changed; she looked confused. "I don't understand why Malfoy walked away. He's always one to help his fellow Slytherins".

I wanted to tell her about the way Malfoy was being, but I knew that she would tell him off. I don't want to come across weak and incapable of defending myself. So I stayed quiet, but I could see she was confused with the situation.

"I mean, Malfoy can be quite cruel to people. But it's usually first years or the Gryffindor students." She mumbled to herself. "I think I need to have a chat with him!" she said.

"No!"

She looked at me "What? Why not?" she stopped walking and turned to face me. "I need to y/n. It's totally out of order - not even an apology from him after what he did!"

"Look, it will just wind him up more and I don't want any drama. Please?" I said. She looked concerned as she furrowed her brows, but continued walking nonetheless.

"Ok? As long as you're sure?" She asked.

"Yes I'm sure, I promise. I don't need any drama on my first week" I laughed and I could feel the cut stinging again.

We got to our next class, and luckily Malfoy wasn't in it. I sat with Pansy and a girl from Gryffindor. The walls of the classroom were lined with cages, each containing a different animal within them. The class was Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall. I looked around but she didn't seem to be there yet. I hadn't met her but I remembered that Professor Dumbledore spoke highly of her.

"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger!" she said, shaking my hand. "You're y/n right?" and I nodded. "Neville hasn't stopped talking about you" she smiled, opening her book. She seemed lovely, most people did... just not that blonde git.

"Where's the teacher?" I asked Pansy. But before she could reply, a cat had sprung from the desk in front of us. As it landed on the ground, it transformed into Professor McGonogall. I couldn't help but stare in amazement. Our eyes met and she proceeded to walk over to me.

"Ah! You must be y/n! Dumbledore has told me about you, welcome to your first class on Transfiguration." She said, looking down her nose at me. "We won't be doing any practical tasks today, so you can take notes along with your peers".

She smiled at the three of us and handed out the textbooks. It was a peaceful lesson, probably because Malfoy wasn't in it. Pansy shared her notes with me from last year. It was a fascinating subject, and I learnt a lot in the first lesson.

I couldn't help but daydream towards the end of the lesson. My mind was filled with thoughts about the weekend and which wand I'd be buying. Although I was in another world, quite literally, it all felt so natural. My mind was picking it up so quickly that I couldn't believe this place had been hidden from me.

The lesson ended and it was time for lunch. We walked into the Great Hall and sat on the Slytherin table. As we waited for Daphne to join us, owls began to fly over our heads. Everyone was stood up looking for their owl, awaiting mail from their families.

I didn't think about contacting my mother until now. I knew Professor Dumbledore had already informed her of my decision, but I hadn't thought about writing to her myself. I don't know what I would say; I've never fallen out with mother but I was furious at her. She never told me who I really was, I was a witch this whole time and she never told me.

I was startled when an owl landed beside me with a letter in its beak. After carefully removing it from its beak, I put it on the table in front of me. There, in my mothers handwriting, was a letter addressed to me.

A/N

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