Here it is. My very own story. You all have said to me "Why don't you write a story if you're such an expert on the subject," and I got to thinking, well, I have written plenty of stories, but I have yet to post one. So, I dug through my documents and found this little tidbit. The story should end up being six chapters, and it does have a sequel, so if you really want it, Hell, why not? Otherwise, if I wrote you a review that wasn't very flattering, flame at will. It's really a marvelous way to vent at me for not being appreciative of your extraordinary writing talent. Here you go:
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Harry and Ron were sitting in the train, eating the Bertie Botts every flavor beans, and soon they were both laughing. Harry had never had such a good time with anybody, and he felt truly content, laughing there with the first friend he had ever had. The Train was speeding through fields and pastures, and then the lights went out in their compartment. They both looked up, confused, only to see the lights flicker back on. The light brought with it a person, a boy who looked about their age, who seemed to have just fallen casually into the seat next to them. He was a rather strange person, with black hair that fell over black eyes and olive skin. His attire matched his hair; dark. Harry thought he caught a glint of steel within the dark leather jacket, but the boy shifted and it was gone.
"Hello," he said, as though it was perfectly normal for him to have appeared out of thin air like that, "I'm Nico."
Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, and then shrugged.
"I'm Ron Weasley."
"Harry Potter."
Nico nodded, "pleased to meet you."
"Yeah," Ron said, "you too. Er, if you don't mind my asking, how did you get in here?"
Nico looked a little bit taken aback by the question, but he was saved from answering by a round-faced boy who came in, looking for a toad. When they both responded that they hadn't seen it, he looked miserable, but then his eyes fell on Nico.
"Nico?" He asked in shock, and Nico looked just as surprised.
"Neville! I forgot you were going to be here this year."
"yeah… but what are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to be…"
"I am. I'll talk to you about it later. Good luck with the frog."
"Toad!" Neville said indignantly, "and I can't believe I lost him again!" he wailed as he left the compartment.
Ron looked at Nico curiously
"How do you know him?"
"Oh, Neville and I go way back." Nico said, and he smiled wistfully for a minute, staring into space as though remembering some moment from long ago, "He and I were friends before I moved to America."
"You're from America?" Harry asked, intrigued. He had never been there, but there had been a huge storm that wiped out a large section of the country just last month. It had been a big story even on their news; Harry had heard his uncle talking about it.
"Can't you tell from the accent?" Nico asked, amused, "Why, have you ever been there?"
"No," said Harry, "but I heard about that storm on the muggle news."
"Oh, yeah. It was pretty big, took out half of Ohio and most of the area around the Mississippi."
"Really?" asked Ron, "I didn't hear about that. Where you in the middle of it?"
"Oh no," Nico replied, "I was in New York at the time."
"Oh." Ron said, "Is that close to Ohio?"
Nico laughed, and Harry realized that Ron had learned everything from his parents, who probably never thought to teach him much about geography in America.
"No, it's a pretty good distance, but my half of my family was caught in the middle. They didn't get hurt, but it was still pretty freaky."
"Wow," Ron said, looking slightly impressed, "are they wizards, then?"
Nico looked startled by the question, but once more was saved by the opening of the compartment door. This time a bushy brown-haired girl entered followed by Neville. She had a very bossy tone of voice as she asked, yet again, if either of them had seen the toad. Seemingly disappointed by the lack of positive response, she turned to go, but, like Neville, stopped at the sight of Nico.
"Is that a dagger?" she asked with a tone of disgust, staring at Nico's waist. He shifted uncomfortably, moving his leather jacket to hide whatever lay underneath.
"And what if it is?"
"What in the world would you need a Dagger for at Hogwarts?" She asked, sounding appalled.
Nico looked at her, eyebrows raised, "cutting things, of course."
She looked taken aback for a moment, and then noticed something else about him.
"Is that your wand?"
He pulled it out, and the shape looked a bit funny to Harry. The edges seemed a little blurred and the tip rather pointy, but then the edges cleared a little, and Nico nodded.
"Sixteen inches, stygian core, inflexible."
Harry thought that the wand looked slightly foreboding. It was pitch black and seemed to darken the room just by its presence. He didn't like the way Nico pronounced stygian; he sort of rolled it, giving it a foreign sound.
"Stygian core? Wands can't have Stygian cores, it says so in Magical Theory." She said.
Nico gave her an odd look, "That so? Well, this one has a Stygian core, so I suppose it isn't a wand."
The girl looked taken aback, then decided to suddenly change the subject.
"I'm Hermione Granger. Who are you?"
"Nico Di Angelo." He said, stowing his wand away inside his jacket.
"And you're from America?"
He nodded, and Hermione turned to the other two boys.
"And, you are?"
"Ron Weasley."
"Harry Potter."
"Are you really?" she asked, excited, before going on about all the books he was in. They started talking about the houses.
"Are you all eleven too then?" Hermione asked. Ron and Harry nodded, but Nico spoke up.
"I'm twelve."
"So this is your second year at Hogwarts?"
"No, I studied in America. I'm transferring, but I'll be repeating first year. The Age limit is different here."
"Oh," Hermione said, looking rather put out. Harry expected she would have liked to get a bit more knowledge about the school.
She and Neville left soon after, and Harry and Ron began talking about the houses.
"What about you, Nico? Where do you think you'll end up?"
Nico frowned, "Either Gryffindor or Slytherin. It makes no difference to me."
"What about your parents? Are they witch and wizard?"
Nico considered, "It's sort of an awkward subject. I don't like to talk about it."
Ron and Harry, much as they would have liked to, didn't press.
The door opened once more, and the pointy-faced boy Harry had met from Diagon ally came in followed by two very large boys. They talked and exchanged insults, and then both boys were on their feet, ready to fight. Then there was the sound of an adult with the commanding voice only a teacher can possess coming down the train car. Draco Malfoy hovered for a minute, then left with his two beasties following. Hermione stopped back in again, and told them that they would be arriving at Hogwarts soon.
They changed into their school robes as the light outside the windows began to fade. Harry noticed that Nico left on his muggle clothes and put the robes on over them. It didn't matter much; he still looked immaculate in the black. Harry watched out the window as the train rolled to a stop. They left their luggage on the train as was instructed, and followed Hagrid to the lake. Nico had hung back a bit and Harry lost him in the crowd, but he managed to stay next to Ron. Harry and Ron were at the end of the group, and they were passing by trees and undergrowth when Harry heard rustling. There was something moving in the forest just to their left. Harry stopped Ron, and, gesturing for him to stay silent, peeked quietly through the trees. He saw Nico enter the small clearing confidently, then there was more rustling and Draco Malfoy came in from the other side. His face broke into a wide grin when he saw Nico standing there.
"Draco! Good to see you." Nico whispered, shaking Draco's hand.
"Me? I'm glad to see you. You changed your mind then?" Draco returned, keeping his voice low.
Nico grinned, "Nope, you're on your own there. I'm doing some stuff for my dad."
Draco's face fell. "Come on. We really need you here! How long are you staying?"
"However long it takes. I just gotta finish this before I head back."
"At least help us while you are here," Draco salvaged.
"Draco, I need to stay focused. If I happen to come across someone, I'll send them your way. That's all I can promise." Nico told him.
"Well, thanks anyways Nico. Hey, I'll see you this summer, right?"
"Yeah. Now we gotta go. Have fun being a spoiled asshole."
"Have fun being the American exchange student."
They both grinned, and Draco slipped back into the group. Harry and Ron looked at each other in the shadows. Nico knew Malfoy? Something was definitely wrong with that.
Well, one chapter down. Wasn't it lovely?
Information regarding updates: This story will run a three-week course. It will be six chapters, with an update every Monday and Friday. As it was originally posted on the 19th, the next update will be on the 23rd and so on. The story will be complete on the 14th of October, at which point I may or may not post the sequel. The uploading of the sequel will be based on its completion and my happiness with it; begging will get you nowhere. (Though I do accept bribes- flat rate of $100 per chapter. Leave it in a fiddle case on a hickory stump in Georgia, two miles from Atlanta … No, not really.) Okay, I think that about covers it. I might vary the timing, if I suddenly realize I forgot something or I had a spontaneous urge to write an extra chapter. See you Friday-
The Georgian Devil