Reading by the Fire

Leighton sat down on one of the couches in the Slytherin common room with her cat, Drea, cuddled up beside her purring softly. The fire made her feel warm. She clutched her potions book, wanting to learn more about it. She could never learn enough about Potions. Especially since she was late the first day of school.
Leighton could see other students walking around the common room, one girl with a worried look on her face. Leighton would've gone to help her, but she didn't really feel welcome; she didn't know if she should ask to help. They would ask her if they needed any, so why should she bother them? Besides, Leighton didn't really fell like doing anything at the moment.
Leighton looked down at her book, wondering about her family was doing. Was mother sitting in father's study writing in her diary like she does everyday? Was father siting in his desk beside her working and sneaking glances at mother with lovestruck eyes? What about Alyxander? Was he busy outside in New York hanging out with his Muggle friends talking about girls like they usually do? It was annoying not knowing what was going on.
Leighton was getting sick of not having an ally that was in Slytherin. She needed to meet someone like her. Someone who was cunning, secretive and mysterious. Someone who she could plot thins with and pull pranks (mature pranks that are ingenious, of course) on other students. Leigh was sick of showing her caring side all the time, not that it was a bad side. But, she wanted to adventure and some excitement. She wanted to skirt around punishment but make trouble like she did back home. She was a mysterious child and loved to bend the rules. Weren't there other people like her? Sly, cunning, manipulative and loyal ? That's why she was put in the House of Snakes, right?

Lyss walked into the Common Room, still furious about Charms class. Between Charms and Astraios, she couldn't stand school. She also was concerned about the other Slytherin girls, hopefully she'd meet one of them eventually. Looking around, she noticed an empty seat next to another Slytherin girl. Perfect, Lyss thought, Maybe I'll get to meet someone else.

"Excuse me," Lyss asked the girl, confidently of course, just like her family's motto, "But would you mind if I sat here?"

Lyss glanced at the girl. She had brown hair, near black eyes, and her hair was curly! Just what Lyss had always wanted. Envying her curls, Lyss waited for her reply.

Leighton glanced up at the girl. Leighton had an odd trait of studying people's appearances every time she met someone. Leigh looked at the girl and she that had black hair and really interesting green eyes that seemed to sparkle.
Leigh moved her legs and repositioned herself on the couch. "Of course not! I've been dieing to meet a fellow Slytherin." Leighton replied with a smirk. "I'm Leighton Vladimir, you can call me Leigh though." she continued.
Leighton was excited, very excited. So far her only "friend" (she used the term friends extremely loosely, because Leighton never really had friends) were a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor. Sad, but true.
Leigh was just worried that this Snake wouldn't look down upon her for her American ways and accent. Hopefully, this girl wasn't prejudice like the other Slytherins.

"Thank you." Lyss replied, sitting down next to her. "I'm Alyssa Lastwick, but you can call me Lyss."

Lyss glanced at the girl again. There was something different about her, but she seemed nice. Hopefully she wouldn't be a complete prejudiced Slytherin, like the other ones. Then it hit her.

"Are you American?" Lyss asked. She loved America, everything about it. Her dad often traveled there to visit family, and Lyss loved to come with him.

Leighton smirked while setting down her book. This girl seemed excited to find out she was American. That thought pleased Leigh very much.
"Yeah, born in England but moved to New York when I very little. I consider myself full blood American. Its a lot different from England." Leighton replied, looking over at Lyss.
Leigh liked Lyss. She seemed very different from everyone else at Hogwarts. She was a Slytherin; that meant she was like her, yet she wasn't mean or rude like one.
Leighton looked curiously over at Lyss. "I apologize for asking, but are you prejudice like the other Slytherins I heard about? Because, I want to let you know that I am not." Leighton felt like she had to clear the air. She knew that most people wouldn't feel comfortable diving into a topic like this, but Leighton couldn't find it in herself to care. She was in her own territory now.

"You aren't?" Lyss prayed her mouth hadn't formed into a foot-long smile. "That's great. Neither am I, at least, I try not to be. It's a little hard when your uncle is Draco Malfoy, but, anyways, moving on."

Leigh seemed nice, and Lyss was thrilled to find out she wasn't bratty or prejudiced. Maybe the two would be friends. It was nice to know she had a friend who was actually a Slytherin. Not that there was anything wrong with Terry, except for her cousin.

"Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Lyss asked, knowing from experience this was a great conversation starter.

Leighton laughed slightly when she heard Lyss' question. Leigh could already tell she was going to be close with Lyss. Not only was she a Slytherin, but she was a really nice person too! It was going to be fun having someone who she can talk to in her own common room and during classes.
"Well, I have a brother. His name is Alyxander and he's fifteen. Like most boys, he is girl-crazy and loves to pull pranks. Back at our old Muggle private school in New York, we were trouble makers. Well, at least Alyxander, his friends and my cousin Lachlan were. I was always there to cover up their mistakes so they wouldn't get caught. I was also the brains behind the operations most of the time." Leighton stopped there once she could feel herself bragging and talking about her family too much. It was difficult not to talk about them. She loved to death and missed having someone to talk to.
Leigh looked over at Lyss. "Sorry, I get carried away sometimes." Leighton stated, sounding confident but feeling slightly embarrassed.
"How about you?" Leigh asked, "Any brothers or sisters?"

"Don't feel bad, I talk a lot too. I have three sisters, actually." Lyss replied, glad Leigh was actually listening and not trying to push her away. "Lily finished Hogwarts last year. She's my favorite, and the least annoying. Christina and Marie are twins, they're fifteen, and well, something. I really want a brother though, but a cousin is the closetst I've got. I don't know if you know Scorpius Malfoy, the name or personally, but he's a real pain. Super annoying."

Leighton raised her eyebrow. She had a feeling that she should know who Scorpius Malfoy was. The name itself made her thoughts scream Slytherin. "I'm sorry, I don't know him. But, by the way he sounds, I don't know if I want to." Leigh replied with a giggle.
"Funny how you said you wanted a brother. I've always wanted a sister. The grass is always greener on the other side, right?" Leighton paused for second while she stroked Drea's grey fur.
"So, Lyss?" Leighton said looked over at the person she considered to be her first real Hogwarts friend, not that the other people she met weren't nice. Lyss just seemed more easy to relate to. "How are you liking Hogwarts?" that seemed like a safe topic to talk about.

"It's alright." Lyss shrugged. She had been hoping for a little more, but, hey, it was only the first week. "I've already gotten a detention, but, that's Slytherin for you."

It had taken Lyss all this time to notice the cute little cat curled up on Leigh's lap.

"Aw, Leigh, I love your cat. What's it's name?" Lyss cooed. It was a little grey ball, and Lyss loved cats. And her screech owl.

Leigh smirked down at Drea. "Yeah, I love them too. I love owls and I almost got one, but I have always wanted a kitten. Back when I got her at the store, the sales witch was so adamant about me not buying Drea. She was dead set on thinking that Drea was dangerous. But, the minute I held her, she was purring." Leighton scratched Drea behind the ear which caused Drea to start purring.
Leigh then looked over at Lyss. "Do you want to hold her?" Leighton knew that, if Drea had a good judge of character, Lyss would be fine. And Leigh was almost positive that Drea did have a good sense of character, which was why she didn't like Alyx.

"Sure!" Lyss replied, a little too enthusiastically. But hey, it's a cat. The cutest little cat in the world. The cutest little grey cat in the world. Lyss needed a cat, maybe she'd ask for one for Christmas. That would be the best present. Lyss, calm down. It's a cat. Lyss told herself. "Do you mind?"

Leighton grinned widely at the enthusiasm in her voice. Not only was this girl nice, Slytherin and she now Leigh discovered she loved cats. Leigh scoffed at Lyss' question. "Gosh no! Please hold her!''
Leighton slowly and gently scooped up Drea who made a little mew of annoyance. Then, Leigh set her in Lyss' waiting arms. As Leighton suspected, Drea began purring again and butting her head against Lyss' arms, begging for her to pet Drea.
Leighton smirked at her new friend. "See? She loves you!" Leigh exclaimed.

Lyss smiled as the little cat purred in her arms.

"She's so cute!" Lyss exclaimed, smiling her face off. "And soft."

Lyss stroked her hand through the kitten's soft fur. She was definetly asking for a cat for Christmas. The small cat butted her head against Lyss arm, and finally curled up into a ball. Lyss just might have to steal this kitten from Leigh. But in a good way. That is, if that was possible. Lyss then remembered Leigh and decided she should continue the conversation.

"So, what classes are you taking?" Lyss asked, wanting to know what classes they shared.

Leighton laughed at Lyss and Drea. "I wouldn't be surprised if Drea decides to cuddle up in your bed at night! Since we are sharing the same dormitory. Oh and don't worry, I'm not selfish. Go ahead and play with Drea whenever you want; Drea knows who are her friends are and who aren't." Leigh said proudly as she reached over to pet Drea's velvet-like fur. She must be happy getting all the attention today, Leighton thought with a shake of her head.
Leigh back back down at looked over at Lyss. "Aren't you in most of my classes? I believe I've seen you around a lot before. I wouldn't doubt if you haven't seen me though. I am usually in the back by myself." Leighton stated, pushing a piece of her short hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, you look familiar too. From DADA, for sure. And Potions as well." Lyss replied, still holding Drea close. SHE WAS SO DANG CUTE! Lyss could not get over it. She was now officially obsessed with cats. "I like the back too, although I don't like coming off as a slacker. So I sit in the middle."

Leighton nodded at Lyss' answer. She could understand where she was coming from. The people who sat in the back had a tendency to seem like they didn't care. "I sit back there because I don't know anyone who would want to sit by me. People usually don't like me. Back at my Muggle school, I was known as the freak. Apparently, I don't have a very welcoming personality." Leigh smiled delicately at the statement. She didn't seem to have a hard time opening up to Lyss, in fact, she found it quite easy.
Leigh glanced up at her with a amused expression. "In fact, the people used to call me a witch. I was always tempted to say 'if only you knew," but Alyx would've probably killed me." Leighton said while laughing.

Lyss laughed. She couldn't imagine why people though Leigh was like that. Lyss thought she was anything but that.

"I suppose I can't relate to you about that," Lyss sighed, feeling bad. "But I still can't believe people called you a witch! No pun intended, but that's awful."

Drea was purring harder now. Lyss petted the soft cat, still not believing there was such softness as that cat.

"I guess you could say I was popular, but I didn't care," Lyss was opening up the truth, she found it wasn't hard when you were telling someone who you knew would care. "I did like to swim, though."

Leighton perked up when she heard Lyss was a swimmer. Leighton never got to swim much because she lived in New York, but she could remember going to the Hamptons and loving the beach. "I love the water. I never got to swim much, but I loved it when I could!" Leighton laughed when she remembered a story from last summer.
"Alright, so last summer I was with my cousin Lachlan at her house in the Hamptons and we decided to go swimming. It was dark outside and her mother didn't allow her out at night. But, she thought because she was thirteen that she could do whatever she wanted. Real smart girl, if you know what I mean. Well, we swam the whole night until about one when her mother found us. I was sent right back to Manhattan before I could blink!" Leigh laughed again at the story. She really missed Lachlan and Lyss was a lot like her.
Leigh glanced up at Lyss. "Any funny stories about your family?" Leigh questioned, wanting Lyss to have the chance to talk.

"One time, when we were younger, me, my sisters, and my cousin were all in my mum's bathroom. Christina broke my mum's comb, so we took all the bristles off, and jammed them into the hair dryer. Well, you can imagine. It was like a machine gun." Krista couldn't help but to laugh as she reminisced the moment. "And to this day, I still sneak into my sister's bathroom and mix toothpaste with her lotion. And she thinks she has 'sensitive skin'."

Leighton laughed at that, in fact, she laughed quite a lot at that. "You and my cousin would get along great!" Leigh exclaimed, as she covered her mouth to control her laughing. "That is so funny!" Leighton stated, finally controlling herself.
Leigh leaned her head on the couch and looked at Lyss. She looked really happy as she recalled her family. Leigh was sured she wore the same expression. Leighton was sure that Lyss was her favorite person at Hogwarts, by a long shot.
"I think its your turn to ask the questions!" Leighton proclaimed in a jokingly way. Leighton was getting sick of hearing herself talk and probe Lyss with questions, it was only fair that Lyss got to do the same.

"Okay, if you insist." Lyss laughed with Leigh, glad she wasn't the only one who found her story funny. She tried to think of something to ask Leigh, but she couldn't. They had covered all the basics. "I honestly can't think of anything to say!"

Lyss pondered the thought while stroking Drea, who was still purring in her arms.

"So, what's your deepest, darkest, secret?" Lyss asked playfully, raising her eyebrows. On the inside, she hoped Leigh wouldn't be offended.

Leighton actually smirked at the question. If anyone else would've asked her that question, like Alyx for example, she would've yelled at them and strobed out of the room. Yet, there was something different about Lyss. She felt she could trust her. That thought sort of scared Leigh. She wasn't used to trusting people, yet Lyss was nice and didn't seem like the kind of girl who would go around yelling out all of Leighton's private information.
Leigh leaned forward slightly and moving her shoulder length hair. When Leigh did that, she exposed the side of her neck that had a dark brown rose petal shaped birthmark imprinted in my skin. "See this here? Its my birthmark. Apparently, my mother drank this one potion on accident that was meant for a legal Animagus. But, my mother was pregnant with me at the time. So, instead of her turning into an Animagus, I became half-panther. Yes, you heard me right, panther. I haven't changed into my other form since I was smaller. I've been trying to keep it a huge secret." Leighton has never told anyone that story. The only person that knows is her mother. It was a well-kept secret. Because she could be considered a were-wolf, even though she wasn't. It was nice to tell someone else.

"Panther?" Lyss whispered so others would hear. An Animagus? Lyss couldn't believe Leigh's luck."That's so cool! I'm jealous!"

Drea purred once more and then crawled back over to Leigh. Although Lyss was no doubt disappointed, she didn't grab her back. Besides, Leigh deserved a turn with the world's cutest kitten.

"I suppose you want to know mine." Lyss replied, sighing before she began. "I told you I was a swimmer, right? Well, one time, I was drinking a juice bottle before the swim meet. A little spilled into the pool, but I didn't notice. The juice was processed with some ingredient that one of the other swimmers was allergic to. Her face got all red and puffy, and her parents threatened to sue. You can't tell anyone, my parents would murder me."

Leighton smiled as Drea made her way back to her. Leighton didn't missed the saddened expression on Lyss' face, but she was sure Drea would walk back over to her in a second.
Leigh was shocked that Lyss took to the fact that Leighton was an odd mutant thing. Leigh expected her to freak out or do something rash. Not only was Lyss fine with it, but she was jealous!
When, Leigh heard what Lyss did she smirked a little. "Thats bad! Oh wow, but I mean, its not your fault! You didn't know the girl was going to go all pimple-y on you! It sucks though, sorry you had to go through that!" Leigh really felt bad for Lyss. If she almost killed a girl on accident, Leigh was sure she would feel terrible.
Suddenly, Leighton had an idea. "How about, sometime I show you my panther form. I can't do it where the teachers could find out. They wouldn't be happy about having some odd half girl half panther on their school property." Leighton offered smiling. She could tell Lyss liked cats and Leigh was also sure that Lyss would like if her friend was a half cat creature.