Much of this background is based on real places. The school that Alice used to go to is based off of an actual school in the North Georgia Mountains and their magic was based on Shaman and Native American traditions. At her school she was allowed either a Falcon, a Dog or a Turkey as their means of mail delivery. Much of the language she uses is because of her American heritage. She is also from Atlanta, GA which hosts as one of the main places for "international wizard transportation" aka the Atlanta Airport. Also, for the sake of ages, just assume that fifth years are 17 even though this is based during the Order of the Phoenix. Won't be 100% accurate to the book like I'd like to be, but I don't feel comfortable with a 15 year old in the "situations" that will happen in this story.
The mountainous countryside in the Appalachian range was turning all kinds of colors for autumn. The great and ancient trees began to burn brilliant colors of red, orange, brown and yellow. The leaves themselves began to shed from their homes in the branches and gracefully fall to the ground where their life began. A small mountain road ran though the landscape of beautiful deaths, though this road was rarely traveled. This small narrow road could only be accessed by very special people of a world that was unrenowned by Muggles.
"Why the hell am I going to England, the land of and buck toothed weirdoes. Come on, I know you are my parents, and you know what's best for me, but still! I call this child abuse!" A small voice echoed in the back of a white GMC.
"Come on, Alice, it's only for one semester. Besides we've already talked about this once before" Alice's father retorted as the family vehicle took flight.
"Yeah, when I was half asleep! I call that mental warfare, dad!" Alice snapped back.
"Well, there's no use arguing it now Alice, you're going to Hogwarts, that's that," her mother intruded. "Hit the gearshift honey, we're not going to get to England traveling by road," she continued.
Alice slumped back down in her seat and crossed her arms. She turned her head to look out the window of the GMC. As the clouds passed she began to let her mind wonder.
"Why do I have to go to this God forsaken place? I could have transferred to India, Japan, Egypt but noooo England. For Christ's sake there aren't even any cute guys there. It's all, 'lets sip tea and talk about how we hate the rebels.' I'd rather have a wand shoved up my-" she thought but was interrupted by an intruding vocalization.
"Alice stop thinking about where you'd rather have your wand shoved, you're making me uncomfortable," said a small voice in Alice's head.
"Oh would you stop invading my mind Salt? Just go back to sleep" Alice fiercely thought back, staring at the large white dog sitting next to her.
"Hey, I'm just trying to be man's best friend here, but I guess the emphasis is on man," Salt replied mentally.
"Just because you can communicate with me doesn't mean you have to jump into every personal conversation I think, Salt. Sometimes I just want to be like you, a bitch," Alice spat back.
"Well, maybe you shouldn't think so loud," Salt replied calmly, "It's not my fault that you have werewolf blood in your family line of wizards. Please, remind me how that happened again?"
"My great grandfather was attracted to women who looked like you," Alice replied jokingly.
After a bit of time the car began to descend and Alice looked out the window curiously. She saw a bunch of trees, a huge lake and then the castle itself. She had to admit, it looked pretty impressive, more like a college then a high school. All the campuses in the US had nothing on this. Then again, magic in the Americas was started by Shamans who lived among nature so it makes sense to have simple hand made structures, rather then the Europeans' style of fancy elaborate castles.
The car descended and landed next to what seemed to be the front gates. An older woman was standing outside, waiting for them.
Alice stepped out of the van and took a look at ate architecture. "Well at least they know how to make a school right." She thought.
"Welcome, you all must be the Honeydew family. It's a pleasure to meet you. You must be Alice. Hogwarts is absolutely thrilled to have you stay here with us."
"Well, Alice is excited to be here, right dear," her mother questioned. Alice nodded in response even though she really wanted to speak her mind.
"Well come along Alice, the other students are expecting you and we need to get you settled. Don't worry about your bags, those will be taken to your room."
Alice let out a sigh and turned to her parents one last time.
Alice followed the woman through the labyrinth that was Hogwarts until they reached a large Yale-like cafeteria.
"This will be your dining area Miss Honeydew and this is where we will sort you into the house you will be in for the semester," Professor McGonagall explained.
"House," Alice questioned.
"Yes, at Hogwarts there are four separate houses named after the four wizards that founded the school. There is Griffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. The house you are placed in will become like an extended family," McGonagall continued to explain.
"And just how does one become a part of one of these houses," Alice asked with the mental image of college frat parties in her mind. She had no intention to being a part of Kappa Beta Hogwarts.
"You shall see Miss Honeydew. Follow me,"
Alice complied silently walking behind her.
"Who is that?" the youngest of the Wesley boys asked. Hermione turned her attention to the short girl walking across the great hall.
"I believe that's our new transfer student for the semester. I heard that she's from one of our sister schools in the United States. The Magical Institute of the King George they call it."
"Wow, she bothered to come all the way to England for one measly semester? Talk about a waste of time." Ron retorted trying to be funny.
"Oh Ronald, maybe she decided change would be good for a few months, or maybe her family is moving. Whatever the case may be it'll be nice to have someone new around the campus for a time. Perhaps she'll be placed in Griffindor," Hermione retorted.
"Psh, I hope she gets put in Griffindor, that girl is lookin' pretty good if you ask me. I mean just look at her. Her knockers are the size of your head," Shamus gestured to Ron. Ron tried to look on the sly, only to have Hermione stare him down with a gaze more deadly then a Basilisk.
Alice felt the gazes of her future classmates burn into he soul. The attention she was receiving made her nervous and self-conscious. It would have been one thing if she started with the new students, but school had been going on for three weeks now and she felt that fact would make fitting in even more difficult.
Professor McGonagall turned to her.
"Now Miss Honeydew, we will have you sorted into your house. Please step foreword," she stated, stepping to the side.
Alice looked up to see what seemed like a grand council of some of the finest wizards around. Her gaze went from one end of the table to the other, memorizing the faces of her new teachers. An elderly and feeble looking man sat in the center with a dirty old wizard's hat in front of him. She assumed he was the Principal of Hogwarts.
The man took a hard glance at Miss Honeydew, as if he could see every detail about her life before this time. Alice looked back with a proud look upon her face to cover up her terrified undertow. He smiled after a bit and raised his hands to speak. The entire dining hall fell silent.
"Student's please, let me introduce you to Miss Alice Honeydew. She is our transfer student from the United States and will be spending the rest of the semester with us," the bearded man explained and then continued. "Please welcome her, students."
The students all simultaneously clapped for the American. She felt the gesture was both warming and slightly disturbing. "What if I become a drone like this," she thought to herself.
"Now, Miss Honeydew, could you come here for a moment? We must determine the house that you will be placed in," he said, patting the old dirty hat in front of him.
Alice skittishly walked towards the man. A curious expression befell her face.
"Now, allow me to place this Sorting Hat upon your head. This hat will be the judge of where you will reside in Hogwarts," Dumbledore explained placing the hat upon her head.
"Ah, well this will be an interesting endeavor, very interesting indeed, yes hmm," stated the voice from the sorting hat. "You will be quite the odd one to place."
"What do you mean, odd," Alice questioned.
"What I see in you is quite the combination. You seem to be talented and Hufflepuff would be great for you to further your antics. Although, you seem to have a brilliant mind. Ravenclaw would help you sharpen it. Your heart shows great bravery and courage. Griffindor would be perfect for you natural sense of loyalty to your friends."
At that time Hermione smiled feeling as though she was as right as always.
"However…" the hat continued.
Hermione stopped smiling.
"…there seems to be something here. Cunning, slyness and a need to be great no matter the cost. You seem to have great determination to do the best you can and succeed over all your obstacles. Ah yes, I know just where to place you…"
The tension on the air was as tangible as the food in front of the students. All fell silent at the final judgment of the sorting hat.
"Slytherin," the hat exclaimed.
Alice notice only the group on the far right side of the Dining Hall were clapping for her along with a dark figure she noticed out the corner of her eye. She couldn't make much of him from the angle she was standing at but she assumed he had to do with the house. Dumbledore removed the Sorting Hat and gestured for her to go sit with her new 'family'.
Alice scouted out an open seat next to a few girls seemingly younger then her. Knowing how the social crowds work, she would sit with the semi-losers and see if the higher ups would accept her into their crowd. If not, she would hang with the younger ones and act as a big sister to them as to have a more pleasant experience for the semester. The only problem with both of these plans was that she was more social then to just hang out with one crowd. As much of a bitch Alice could be, she would only use it in times of desperation rather on the daily. She loved to be loved, as it was far easier then being hated. Since three fourths of the school wouldn't accept her because of these "houses" she decided to see what she could work with in her own area.
Alice began to mingle with the people around her and started to make friends almost immediately. They thought that her accent was odd and asked the general "what is wizarding school like in America" question. All seemed to go according to plan until a group of five boys strolled up behind her. All fell silent around her as the boys made their stop. "Looks like we found the head honchos in this House," She thought turning her head at her seat.
"Yes," Alice spoke after a few moments for silence.
Two of the boys giggle in the back, eating some of the sweets from the table. One in particular, a short blonde, scolded them for their rude behavior and answered the new girl.
"Well, seems like the new girl's making friends with the wrong crowd. You listen here. I'm know that even in America they know of the Malfoy family, the best wizard family in all the world," The boy gloated
"Yeah, I've heard of your family," Alice replied. She had heard about the Malfoys before but never concerned herself with learning about their history.
"And I'll bet that you know why I came over her to see you, Alice. You are part of the Honeydew family, a seemingly rich, powerful and attractive family," the boy continued eying down Alice's uniform shirt.
"Sure," Alice replied tersely and turned away. The boy crept closer to Alice and let his mouth near her ear. As his breath trailed her neck, he whispered to her.
"And I'll bet you can't guess who's going to be the first and only to touch that body of yours. Lets make a deal, be my girlfriend and I'll tell you."
The boys in the back laughed at the Malfoy boy's attempt at wooing the new girl. Alice sighed in frustration and was bout to rebuttal, only to watch as the blonde boy was snatched from her space. He started to scream and gasp like a small child and he was lifted off the ground by his robe.
"That will be enough Draco, obviously the girl is not interested in your petty children's games," a smooth yet strong voice calmly stated. "If you like to play games so much Draco, you any your friends may play them in detention."
"But-but-but Professor Snape," Draco tries to spit out.
"No buts Mr. Malfoy," Professor Snape interrupted then let go of Draco's cloak, dropping him on the floor. Snape then made a hasty exit, flipping his cloak for dramatic exiting effect. Draco was up on his feet at this point still trying to gather up his pride. Alice had turned away at this point and continued talking to the others at the table, paying no heed to the boy behind her. Draco was frustrated by her lack of concern for him and stormed off with the rest of his group. Once they were out of ear shock Alice asked about what had just happened.
"So tell me, what was that all about? Is that scrawny brat really part of the Malfoy family?"
"Draco, the dreamboat? The best-looking Slytherin around? Of course!" one girl claimed.
"Oh, so that's the best looking Syltherin guy…" Alice replied and trailed the rest of the sentence in her mind. "Fuck."
"I'm so jealous, Alice! You haven't been here a day and Draco Malfoy has chosen you as his new girlfriend," another girl added in.
"Oh joy," Alice replied sarcastically.
"You don't think Draco is absolutely brilliant, Alice?"
"Not really, there are plenty of guys with his kind of attitude in America. If I was to go for a guy, he'd have to be way different then that Malfoy boy." Alice stated
"What kind of guy are you looking for, Alice?" another girl questioned, not fully understanding.
Alice smiled.
"Ya'll ever hear of Prince Charming?"
All the girls giggled.
"Oh and before I forget, who was the scary guy with the creepy cloak and the eyes that look into your soul and make it hurt?"
"Oh him, try not to get on his bad side. That's Professor Snape, head of our household."
"So he's like our dorm parent, who's suppose to nurture, encourage and give us advice? Will he read me a bedtime story and give me a glass of hot milk?"
All the girls laughed again.
"He's more like a dragon with a wand. He's mean to all of the students outside of Slytherin and sometimes mean to us if we disappoint him."
" Sounds like a bundle of joy, wrapped in a rainbow ribbon and carried by a Unicorn," Alice stated, "Oh and what does the Professor teach?"
"Potions, in the lower levels."
"So not signing up for that."
By the end of lunch, Alice had become fast friends with some of her fellow housemates. She began to realize it wouldn't be so bad at Hogwarts for the next few months, as long as she stayed under the radar. Then again, being a foreigner, it may not be that easy. She strolled out of the Great Hall with a group of girls, talking, laughing and gossiping about the students and faculty. Of course, she knew all about the house rivalry with Gryffindor and the fabled Harry Potter. She didn't think much about "the boy who lived," mostly because the Dark Lord seemed to think there was no world past Europe and hadn't made any attempt to take any other area.
"Yeah, but I'll bet that our Quiditch team will win for sure this year,"
"You mean that flying Rugby game?" Alice asked ignorantly but was interrupted.
"Miss Honeydew." A voice called out to her. Alice turned around to see her Head of House glaring at her. All the girls fell silent.
"Um, yes sir," she replied quietly.
"Unless you're too busy babbling on about nonsensical gossip, I suggest you come with me," Professor Snape spat out.
"Ok sir," Alice was completely terrified.
"It's Professor. Professor Snape,"
"Yes Professor," Alice replied in a shaky voice and followed after him.
DONE with the official first chapter :3! Hope you all are liking it so far so please review and let me know what you think :D!