Hellooo, people. This is my first HP fanfic. It's a work in progress and i've put a lot of time into it. It's going to be funny, sad, heart-warming, suspenseful, and disturbing. Disturbing meaning rape. I didn't want to spoil the story but i'm telling you so people don't get upset. The disturbing scenes are not penned (because of fanfiction's rules), but they are evident and will be rated M (also for language). I really hope you like my story :) xxxx

(I will be posting artwork related to the story on my deviantart account. For some reason I can't link it, but my username is bubblegumbitch13)

(this fan fic can also be read on archive of our own with more explicit scenes)

16 Years I lived in Wool's orphanage, waiting to be adopted. 16 long years.

All I could remember from my childhood was being left at the orphanage by a man, my father I supposed, and waiting for him to come back every single day like a bloody fool, but, of course, he never returned. The younger children encouraged me to remain optimistic, but that was easy for them to say. They got adopted in a heartbeat, but I stayed put. I was the eldest by 9 years. I just had to accept the fact that the orphanage was my permanent home, that I was unwanted, but something incredible happened the night before my birthday that would prove me wrong.

It was August 5th, and I was called downstairs because I had a visitor. An actual visitor. I bounded down the stairs as quickly as possible, ready as I'd ever be to meet the wonderful person who would finally save me from this awful place. I stopped in my tracks when I saw the headmistress with a giant, portly man, 11'6" to be exact, with a big bushy head of hair and a matching beard. His nose had turned red from the bitter British weather, and his little brown eyes looked into mine with certainty.

"Miss Woodcroft," the gloomy headmistress said, "This is Rubeus Hagrid."

"How d'yeh do?" Hagrid grinned down at me.

"Wipe that smile off your face, child, he hasn't come to adopt you. He's recruiting you for school." I frowned. I had heard things about this school business,…mostly bad.

"Oh…" I looked down at the floor, disappointed. And there I was ready to go to my new home and make a new life for myself.

Hagrid chuckled, "This is no ordinary school, Miss Woodcroft. Hogwarts is fer children who show magical ability. You shoulda received a letter when yeh turned 11, but we couldn' seem to reach yeh."

The headmistress cleared her throat nervously, like she was hiding something, "Go get your things, child."

"Oh, no, she don' leave until August 31st." Hagrid said, "I'll take her ter Diagon Alley the mornin' of ter get 'er school supplies. She must wake up early ter catch the Hogwarts express." He smiled again at me, "I'll see yeh later then." and left.

Both pretty shocked and confused, the head mistress and I stood quietly for a while. She broke the silence with, "Alright, off to bed, Woodcroft", and as usual, I had to obey.

I lay wide awake in my bed that night, unable to think of anything else but Rubeus Hagrid and this magical school. It had all happened so quickly. Perhaps it had just been a dream and I was going to wake up in a few minutes? Magic wasn't real…as far as I knew. Neither were giants. But I'd just met one, and he looked pretty real to me. At around two o'clock in the morning, my brain had stopped racing with thought, and my tiredness finally took over. My eyes fluttered shut.

In just over three weeks I'll be out of this place…

I woke up at 8 in the morning on August 31st as I had been instructed to, and almost squealed with joy when I realized I hadn't been dreaming. I got dressed in a dark green turtleneck sweater and ripped jeans, set my bag aside, and looked around for my cat, "There you are." She was underneath my bed. "Today's the day, Grey. We're outta here." I picked up my long-haired black kitten, Greystoke, and carefully inserted her inside my coat. This was something Greystoke had become accustomed to, as the orphanage didn't allow pets. After double checking the room, I hurried downstairs with a smile stretched across my face. "Morning, Hagrid!" He was waiting with the headmistress, looking equally as excited as I did.

"'Ello, Fay! Ready ter go?"

"Yes, sir."

"We'd best get goin' then; the train leaves at 11 sharp."

"Fay." The headmistress stopped me as I was heading out the door, "Good luck."

Hagrid took me to Diagon Alley, a concealed street near Charing Cross Road, where I was to buy the necessary materials for school including a wand, subject books, a standard 2 pewter cauldron, a set of brass scales, a set of glass or crystal phials, a kit of basic potion ingredients, and a telescope. It seemed like the stuff of fairy tales. "So, 'ow abou' we get yeh a wand, eh?" Hagrid looked down at me. I was overjoyed, but extremely nervous to the point of shaking. "Excited?" He asked.

"Excited is an understatement, but I'd like to know why I, of all people, was chosen for this. Hell, I thought I was just some ordinary girl…" As we walked to the wand shop, Greystoke trotting by my side, Hagrid explained that I was a 'muggle-born' witch, which meant I was born to non-magical parents, but the descendant of a distant ancestor. I was astounded, and more confused than I'd ever been before, but my concentration soon shifted to the shop window of Eeylops Owl Emporium, where different kinds of owls sat on wooden perches inside. One particular owl caught my attention. It was a little brown burrow owl with big yellow eyes. I walked over to look at it, and saw Hagrid follow from the reflection in the glass.

Assuming I wasn't going to leave the premises without this owl on my arm, Hagrid chuckled and opened the shop door, "After you."

I ran straight to the little burrow owl, "Hello." I smiled at it. It jumped right onto my arm, seeming to trust me immediately. "Hagrid!" I called for him to come and look.

"Well, look at tha'." Hagrid stroked the breast of the bird with two pudgy fingers. "He's a tiny little feller, in'ne?" The owl tilted its head and looked up at me with its big yellow eyes. "Wha're yeh goin' ter name 'im?"

"You…you mean I can have him?"

"Yeh…consider it a belated birthday treat." Hagrid grinned. Happier than I'd ever felt in my life, I flung my arms around the giant in a tight hug.

"Thank you, Hagrid." He chuckled and patted me on the back with a large hand. I turned back to the little owl and invited it to hop back onto my arm. It did, and I smiled, "Good boy, Wingbeak."

A little over two hours later, Hagrid and I had purchased all of the necessary materials for school, and were rushing to the train station. It was 10:50, and we had only just managed to make it inside. "Look fer platform 9 3/4." Hagrid told me and patted my shoulder. "I'll see yeh soon. Good luck." Once he left, I felt hopeless, like I was going to get lost and miss the train. I began to push my luggage cart with all my strength; it seemed to weigh a ton with Wingbeak in his cage on top of my bag, and Greystoke curled up next to him.

"9 and 3/4…" I looked around for a sign, my eyes darting in every direction. I noticed a large crowd, and naturally, stopped. I watched a boy about my age with dark brown hair and circular glasses run into a brick wall in between platform 9 and 10, and disappear right before my eyes. I couldn't believe it no matter how hard I tried. After him, a boy with red hair disappeared through the wall.

"After you." A brunette girl smiled in my direction. I nodded, and forced myself forward. I waited on the other side of the wall for the girl to pass through, dumbfounded at what I'd just done. "Hello." The girl held out her hand. "Hermione Granger."

"Fay Woodcroft." I shook it. Hermione and I made our way onto the train, only a minute before departure in fact, and I could finally breathe when we sat down. Greystoke and Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, sniffed each other and got acquainted as us two talked.

"So, I'm guessing this is your first year at Hogwarts?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I'm new."

"How old are you? You don't look eleven."

"I'm 17. I'm an orphan. I'm a…uh…late admission."

"...Interesting eyes..." Hermione observed my oddly coloured eyes. I was one of the few people in the world cursed with heterochromia iridum. My right eye had always been sky blue, and my left eye had always been dark brown.

I moved a strand of red hair out of my face and looked away, embarrassed, "I was cursed with them."

"No, they're beautiful." Hermione assured me with a smile. Before I could answer, the door to the cabin opened and two boys stepped inside. It was the boy with the circular glasses, and the younger redhead.

"Ronald, Harry, this is Fay Woodcroft." Hermione introduced me.

"Hiya." I said, shyly.

The redhead skittishly sat next to Hermione and nodded at me, "Ron Weasley…" He stared at my eyes like they were the portal to hell. It irritated me quite a bit.

"Harry Potter." The boy with glasses smiled, shook my hand, and then sat down next to me. As soon as Harry's hand had left mine, he reached for his forehead, "Ow…" I flinched. Maybe I'd squeezed too hard?

"I-I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?"

"It's fine." Harry assured me, looking just as confused. I noticed a little red scar on his forehead.

"So…how long's the ride?" I turned my attention back to Hermione.

"We'll probably arrive after nightfall." She observed her watch. I sighed; 9 hours on a train sounded anything but appealing. Surprisingly, though, I managed to sleep for about 6 hours, only waking occasionally. When I woke up completely, I noticed I had been leaning on Harry's shoulder, but he, as well as Ron and Hermione, was asleep. I blushed; he was rather cute. I stayed awake for the final 2 and a half hours, looking out the window at the beautiful starry night sky. It was the same sky I had looked at for the past 17 years from my bedroom window, but somehow, that night, it just seemed so much more...magical.