I wake up with the sun shining through the big window straight through my eyes. Ugh, why does the sun have to shine towards my bed? I sit up and realize that no one else was in the dorm room, I shrug my shoulders and put on my uniform. The uniform wasn't so bad, I mean, it could be worse. At least it's comfortable, minus the tie though, I hated the tie. But going to a school like Hogwarts, there had to be some kind of catch. I grab my book bag with all of the textbooks I'll need for the day; potions, divination, and defense against the dark arts, and head into the common room, which I quickly realized was empty. Where is everyone? It took me a few seconds for a thought to process. Shoot, I'm late for my first Potions class of the year! I run out of the portrait and fling myself down the stairs, heading towards the class I was supposed to be in ten minutes ago.

I open the door and slip into class. Luckily, the class was just reading the instructions of the potion we are going to make with the potions professor. “Ah, Miss Anastasia Whiteford. How lovely to see you.” He checks his watch and shakes his head in disapproval, “Ten minutes late I see. I will only allow this to slide because it is the first day, take your seat and we will begin. Page twelve if you will, the Befuddlement Draught.” I mentally sigh with relief as I look around for an empty seat. Why does everyone have to stare at me like I'm the bad guy? Sure, I was on the brink of losing some points for my house, but why stare me down when I didn't? I find an empty chair in a corner right at the back of the classroom. Perfect! I sit down and take my textbook out, ready to listen in on the lesson. As soon as I turn to the page of the Befuddlement Draught, I feel a sensation of someone looking at me. I tilt my head to the right of me and see a Slytherin uniform, a boy with star-gazing blue eyes. Right, Gyrffindor and Slytherin have this class together. He leans closer to me, careful to not disturb the professor's lesson, and most likely to not get caught. “I thought you were going to leave me here to do the potion all by myself. I would have had to personally get the professor to let me out of class to look for you.” He said with a smirk across his face. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Ace. This is the boy from the train, the one who liked to be mysterious from afar. “Sounds like you would've had fun missing class then.” I roll my eyes as I try to pay attention to the instructions we are to be given.

The professor droned on and on for half of the class time, all the while Ace just stared at me. The professor eventually excitedly addressed the class, “Everyone, it's time to brew your potion. Make sure you have all of the ingredients on your table. Slytherin's, you are to get the ingredients from the cabinet while Gryffindor's, you are to set up your stations. You all have the rest of the class to complete this potion, and the pair that gets it right will have a vile of it for their own use.” Ace gets up and walks away, leaving me to have a few moments of breathing room to myself. I prop up the textbook with the instructions and ingredients list as well as a few other things before Ace came back. Once he put the ingredients on the table, I double checked the list, just to make sure he was really listening or not. Lovage, check. Sneezewort, check. Scurvy grass, check. Damn, he was listening. “I think I got everything on the list, or do you not believe me?” Ace smirked at me again. I didn't answer, not to be rude, but to make him believe I really didn't believe him. “Alright then, I guess it's time to brew.” I take the lovage ingredient and plop it into the cauldron, turning the heat on at the correct temperature. “Next ingredients are sneezewort and-” Ace cut me off, “-and scurvy grass. Got it.” He takes both sneezewort and scurvy grass and plops it into the cauldron.

I take my wand out and look at the textbook instructions. It says to stir once until the potion's colour turns dark red, so I take my wand and move my hand in a counter-clockwise movement, practising before I actually stir the potion. I hear Ace chuckling beside me, “You know, you'd be a bad potioneer. It says to stir clockwise.” Ace puts a finger in the air and twirls it around in a clockwise motion. Thanks for the emphasis. I roll my eyes, thinking of something sarcastic to say. “You do it then.” Ace takes his hand and puts it on mine, with my wand in my hand. He drags my hand and wand over to the cauldron and stirs once in a clockwise motion. I look at him, his face deep in concentration looking at the cauldron. What is he doing with my hand? He could have just simply done it himself with his own wand. Just as quickly as Ace had took my hand and stirred the potion, he let go. “There, stirred and complete. Professor!” He waves down the professor, having completed the potion. The professor heads towards us and while we sit in anticipation of the result, Ace smirks at me. “If we got it right, you should have the vile. You look like you need some recklessness in your life.” Ugh! Why does he do that? He's playful one moment, and the next he's some douche bag. The professor looks into our cauldron and nods approvingly. “Well done Miss Whiteford, Mr. Fitzgerald.” The professor takes a vile, scoops some of the potion, and pours it into the vile. “Which one of you would like the vile?” As if I wasn't in the room, Ace speaks up, “She should have it professor. I don't think she wins things often.” The professor hands me the vile and, before I could even say anything, the school bell rings. The professor turns away and addresses the class as everyone starts to pack up. “Alright class, I would like an essay handed in by the end of the week with observations you had during your lesson today. At least five hundred words please. Have a good rest of your day!”

I start collecting my things, stuffing them in my book bag. I vaguely notice the amulet glowing a bright green and I quickly shove my textbook in front of it, hiding the glow. Why is it glowing? Ace isn't angry, so that's not the reason. Before I can collect any other thoughts, Ace starts a conversation, “I'm Ace by the way, Ace Fitzgerald.” He sticks out his hand to shake mine, but I refuse his offer. “Anastasia Whiteford.” I stalk off as if I'm running late to my next class, knowing full well I won't be. With my book bag around my shoulder and the Befuddlement Draught vile from class in my hand, I walk through the hallways. “Anastasia wait up!” I hear a voice coming behind me and I stop to turn around. It was Ace again. Great. Not only is he in my class, but now he's going to be stalking me in the hallways too. “Anastasia,” he walks beside me, slowing down to my pace. “If I was being a total jerk before, I apologize.” Oh, now he wants to make amends. “I'm sorry for the way I acted on the train too. It was very rude of me and I believe I owe you an explanation. You see, I only found out that I was coming to Hogwarts a few days before school, so I never got to properly say goodbye to my old one. I was upset and I took it out on you, which obviously wasn't a good start to making friends.”

We eventually end up in an empty corridor, just him and I. Ace gently grabs my wrist to stop me from walking away and goes on, “Will you accept my apology?” I look at him, even in this slightly dimmer corridor, his eyes are a piercing blue. I slowly relax, as the moment drags on to a minute. After what seemed like forever, I finally made a decision. “Fine. I forgive you.” He gazes into my eyes, almost soft and caring. The corridor seems to have tension in the atmosphere, as his grip on my wrist stays in place. As if reality slammed us back to earth, I hear Traci behind me, “Anastasia, there you are! I've got herbology homework and I need you to help me with it.” Ace lets go of my wrist and walks away in the opposite direction of Traci and I. Not even a “see you later”, huh? I sigh as I watch Ace walk bristly down the hallway and disappear by the turn of a corner. I turn around to Traci and she has a confused look on her face. “Did I just interrupt you and Ace,” She crosses her arms together, smirks, and continues, “together, in an empty corridor?” I look at her and ignore her comment. “Come on Traci, herbology homework isn't going to do it itself.” I walk past her and head towards the library, putting the recent incident out of my mind for the time being.