"I just don't get it!"
"How can he do that?!"
Class was over. As Alice waved goodbye to Hermione, she could still hear Harry and Ron griping.
Snape's wildly different treatment of her versus Harry had the Boy Who Lived totally baffled—and, no surprise, Snape was now Enemy #1 in Harry's book.
Hermione shot the boys a shut-it glare. Alice was still standing right there; you don't trash-talk the Slytherin Head of House in front of a Slytherin first-year. Wait till she's gone, at least.
Harry still looked steamed, but one glance at Alice's face and he zipped it. Ron followed suit.
Hermione beamed. "We've got flying lessons together—hope we're still partners! Not sure if they do groups, though."
Alice grinned. "Absolutely." Hermione was good people.
Ron—fiery Weasley red hair and all—eyed Alice. "Hey, we met at the train station. You…"
Alice's gaze flicked—unavoidably—to the beat-up wand in his hand. She looked away fast, but Ron caught it and awkwardly tucked the wand behind his back.
Alice felt bad. Meeting his eyes, she said, "Ask away."
"…Uh, we all figured you'd get picked on in Slytherin. Is it… like that?"
Before she could answer, Neville—kinda spacey—jumped in. "No way. They're the bullies. You? No chance."
Alice noticed Neville's wand wasn't new either, but he either didn't care or didn't notice her glance. No hiding.
She smiled at the Gryffindor crew. "Nah, I'm good. Getting along fine with the other first-years, at least."
Right then, Snape swooped out of the classroom like a giant bat.
Harry opened his mouth—then swallowed a fly. He muttered a quick bye, grabbed his friends, and bolted. Snape had grossed him out hard today.
Snape watched them vanish, then glided over to Alice.
She stayed put. She could tell he wanted a word.
"Alice Norton."
"Something wrong, Professor?"
"Don't… get too close to Potter and his lot. It'll ruin you. Gryffindors—pah."
He spat the house name like it burned his tongue.
Alice frowned, annoyed. "Professor, you think anyone in our house would've paired with me back there?"
Snape opened his mouth, closed it, then muttered, "Just… keep your distance."
With that, the bat flapped off.
Alice stared after him, wheels turning.
So my hunch was right. Back in the day, Snape hadn't just dealt with pure-blood pressure from inside Slytherin—he'd been targeted by Gryffindors too. Bullied, even?
She tried picturing Harry or Hermione picking on anyone. Impossible. Whatever Gryffindors Snape had known must've been a different breed.
Dumbledore and McGonagall didn't strike her as the bully type either.
But she wasn't from their era. She wouldn't pick sides without facts—that'd be dumb.
Suddenly, the Banner on her wrist thrummed. The first soul was fully refined.
Yes! Her first real power-up.
The upper-year Slytherins had been a thorn in her side—constant pressure, even if school rules kept them from direct attacks on first-years.
But Alice wasn't buying the "rules will hold" fantasy forever.
She needed to shut this down fast. No one stays sane in total isolation.
She couldn't change their minds overnight. Solution? Get so strong nobody could talk trash.
This first soul was proof she was on the right track.
She was dying to peek at the goodies from that old dark wizard's soul, but not here.
The day dragged on under hostile glares. Alice pushed through the Slytherin common room, slipped into her dorm, and flopped onto her bed.
Body in Hogwarts—soul in the Banner's space.
Empty void. One dazed old-guy soul floating: the dark wizard she'd scavenged.
First question to the Banner: "Was this dude evil?"
A vision flashed—human experiments, live subjects. Guilt? Poof. Gone.
Sure, some bleeding-heart would call her a hypocrite—you already took the soul, why check now?
Alice didn't care. This was her code.
She'd do it again—even if the soul had been a saint. But a saint? She'd have given them peace.
"So, what do we get?"
The Banner rippled. Answer time.
The old wizard had been strong—a gray-area rogue, no rules, pure freedom. High-quality soul. Patched a chunk of the Banner's damage.
Result? Nighttime soul-wandering wouldn't leave her wiped out the next day.
Soul Intimidation upgraded: 5-meter radius around her, stronger effect, longer duration.
One or two more souls, and the Banner would unlock danger sense—early warnings from hidden threats.
Plus: alchemy knowledge, off-the-grid style. Not the mainstream stuff. She could craft gear with it.
First thing that popped into her head?
A sword.
She was gonna be a wizard and a swordmaster.
Magic and steel.
Heck yeah.
She let out a low, evil-genius chuckle. The other girls in the dorm jumped like she'd cast a spell.