A couple of Slytherin girls acknowledged her with almost imperceptible nods. Draco Malfoy, her friend/maybe more than a friend, beckoned her over to a seat next to him. She sat, crossing her legs one over the other and finger-combing her hair until someone spoke.

"Who are you?" This from a tall, stocky brown-haired boy who, after speaking this, put a long, thin piece of wood back between his teeth. He was easily a sixth year, weighing a minimum of two hundred pounds, and almost a foot taller than Chloe, who was tall for her age.

"Chloe," she said, relishing the words. "Chloe Snape. What's it to you?"

An appreciative murmur spread through the compartment, and she grinned. Being Snape's daughter gave her not only some serious street cred, but also an air of mystery. She seemed secret, cold and calculating yet kind and delicate in the same breath. A girl with that kind of history deserved to be a Slytherin.

The boy spat. "Snape's a traitor."

Utter silence filled the room. Chloe gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "What did you just say to me?" she hissed through her crooked teeth.

The boy didn't back down. "You heard me. He's a traitor to his house. Just shows what happens when you break the rules and let a half-blood into Slytherin." His friends guffawed, and Chloe felt heat rise to her cheeks. She was a half-blood. "And what's more," he continued, relishing her discomfort, "I know for a fact any kid of his has got to be the same way."

A ringing filled Chloe's ears. The laughter grew louder as she turned her back on the boy. And then suddenly. as if possessed, she whipped around. She grabbed the boy by the front of his robes and punched him right in the nose. There was a snap, and the boy's nose began to bleed. Draco gasped. "Chloe!"

Chloe ignored him, pummeling the boy until someone grabbed the back of her jacket and yanked her off of him. She turned around to see Professor McGonnagal glaring at her.

"Detention! And furthermore, violence is never an acceptable option. You are a young witch, not a Muggle hoodlum."

"Fine," Chloe said. She smiled perkily, then, "Petrificus totalus!" With a crack and a burst of smoke, the boy went rigid. Then she turned and stalked out of the compartment.