CHAPTER 1: First Impressions

Rebekah Hammond stood next to her father between the ninth and tenth platforms at King's Cross station. Her father, Ari, was leaning on her cart with his current girlfriend, Yvonne Mann.

"It's going to be okay Rebekah, go on, you saw the others do it," he beckoned her towards the brick wall that was a pathway to the platform nine and three quarters, with a soft push with his large hand. Rebekah pivots on her heel and hugs tight to her father, who pats her on the back. She moves to give Yvonne a hug and gets fuzz in her mouth from the extremely puffy sweater her father's girlfriend was wearing. Just behind Yvonne was a girl a few inches taller than Rebekah with short blonde hair. She is standing with her arms tightly crossed in front of her. Shyly, Rebekah moved towards her best friend, Sabine.

"Sabine, are you mad at me?" Rebekah asks, as Sabine turns her back on her. "I really don't want to go since you're not. I already told you I have to though, because my mom went here. I don't belong in my dad's world."

Rebekah tried to explain herself again, but her best friend just snorted and stuck her chin in the air. Rebekah hugged Sabine from the side, an elbow digging into her chest as she hugged tight. She hesitantly rushed through the wall and found herself in front of a large, bright red train. She pushed her luggage towards the back, where two boys were helping a younger boy with his bags. They both of them picked up her bad with a smile and lifted it on the train, giving her a hand up. She smiled shyly at them and quickly made her way through the cars to an empty compartment. She pushed her trunk under the seats and slung a bag on the top racks. She plopped into a seat and pulled a large, leather bound book from her shoulder bag. Hogwarts, A History, it read in gold lettering on the front. Then flipped it open to a dog-eared page. After reading only a few sentences on the common rooms and their structures, she began to picture her lonely days at school with out her fun, bouncy best friend by her side. Her mind was lost in memories of that previous summer…

An old man was at the door. He was wearing strange clothes, as if he was a character acting in a play. Ari was at the door, and looked much younger. The old man was speaking in a soft voice, so only Ari could hear. The subject must have been serious, and sorrowful, because at a point, Ari doubled over, holding his face in his hands. His body jerked, and it was apparent he was crying. The old man looked up at her on the middle stair. Within a blink, he was in front of her, and presenting a stick that looked smooth and worn. She grabbed it as he disappeared in thin air. Then, she was outside. She was much taller, and older. Her hair was colored with the sun, just as her cheeks were. The old man was sitting in a chair adjacent to hers, and handing her a cup of tea. "You'll belong here," he said, and took a sip of his tea. "Your mother belonged, and she knew you would too."

"Why me? Are you saying I'm special?" she asked, inspecting the tea for signs of tampering.

"Of course you are. You're a witch, just like your mother," he explained, not looking at her, as if the fact that calling someone a witch was as mundane as pouring a cup of tea. Then her father came up the walk, and she was transported into her kitchen, were her father was explaining how she was a witch because her mother was one, and why he wasn't a wizard because he wasn't born one, or chosen to be one. She only knew what he was saying because this conversation had been discussed before, but it was muffled this time, and her father was a blur of deep brown colors. Then, Rebekah got a sudden feeling of falling into a deep abyss, and was jerked awake.

Rebekah opened her eyes quickly, trying to catch herself, when she realized she was on the train. There was a girl across from her, who had picked up the copy of Hogwarts, A History that had fallen out of Rebekah's lap when she fell asleep.

"Are you quite alright?" the girl asked. She was wearing a black robe like the one Rebekah bought in Diagon Alley a week before. Her hair was mousy brown and looked like it needed to be combed, and when she talked, her mouth opened widely, exposing big white teeth. Rebekah did not answer the question, for the doors of the compartment were thrown open, and a round boy dove on the floor, searching under the chairs.

"What are you doing?" the big toothed girl asked the round faced boy.

"My toad…I seemed to have lost him," the boy explained, continuing to search the floor.

"Well, he's not here. I'll help you search the rest of the train," and she got up to follow him out of the compartment, but before she did, she turned to Rebekah. "We'll be arriving at the school soon. You'd better change into your robes. I'm Hermione Granger by the way."

"Rebekah Hammond." Rebekah replied, seconds before the door was shut with a loud clack! She pulled her trunk out from under the chairs. She dug through all the parchment, quills, and books she piled on top and extracted a black robe from the bottom. She threw it around her, and checked her reflection in the window. She hated wearing black, especially when her shoes stuck out, and happened to be bright yellow with dirt stains. She replaced the books, quills, and parchment back into the trunk, placing her shoulder bag on top of it all. Hermione returned to the compartment, and took her seat again, updating an interested Rebekah on the toad situation. Within the next half-hour, the train came to a stop outside a stone walkway with vine covered walls. She followed Hermione out of the train, leaving her trunk, as instructed. As she stepped off the train, she heard a large man calling for first-year students, and she followed the voice to a group of young students, all dressed in plain black robes. She stood to the back of the group, and slightly to the left. She tried not to make eye contact with many people, which was easier than she thought, because something seemed to be grabbing their attention instead. The boat ride over to the castle was short, but she enjoyed it. The sound of the water being pushed aside under the boat calmed her, and she felt sad when she had to leave to follow the group up to the Great Hall and to an empty room.

"First years, we will be entering the Great Hall, and you will follow me to the front. When I call your name, you will walk up to the stool, and be sorted into your houses. As many of you know, there are four different houses. There is Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. Now, in just a second, I'll lead you into the hall," explained a thin, old woman, with bulging eyes that were soft and gentle, with an edge.

Rebekah filed into the hall next to the boy she met on the train with the frog, and had yet to learn his name. The hall was full of students, and she became very aware of the motions she took as she walked through the hall. There were four tables, one for each house, she guessed. Then a longer on facing the other four at the front, which seated the professors. Before the last table, sat a stool, with an old hat upon it. She could barely see it talk as the boy in front of her stood on his toes to view above other first-year's heads. She didn't get to hear the song the Sorting Hat sang, because her head was occupied with questions.

"What house was my mother in? If I don't get into that house, will my dad be mad? I wonder what house Sabine would be sorted into if she was here. I should probably write a letter to her, that is, if I think she'll respond. Dumbledore said witches send letters by owl. I wonder how many kids here own an owl. Maybe dad will buy me"but her thoughts were cut off.

"Is there a Hammond, Rebekah here?" the old lady questioned, sternly. Rebekah pushed her way through the group of students, and rushed up to the stool. She whispered an apology to the old lady, and took her seat. The hat was dropped onto her head, and she heard a deep, hoarse, manly voice in her ear.

"Hm. I can see some cleverness in you. Very clever indeed. Wait, I also see some loyalty. Mmm, very good qualities indeed. Hard choice, to make. You'd make a fine witch in Ravenclaw, but Gryffindor looks like a good suit for you too," and the voice died, and she sat in the stool listening to silence for a few seconds. She shifted slightly on the stool, waiting in anticipation. Finally the hat yelled at the hall, "Gryffindor!" and the hat was taken off her head. Rebekah slipped off the stool and made her way to the red clad table. She sat across from Hermione, who smiled at her and congratulated her. She was shaken by a red headed boy who had a clone sitting next to him, cheering. She rubbed her eyes, feeling tired. She saw a few other students rush to the Gryffindor table, and she heard the boys next to her cheer, as she rested her head on her hands and closed her eyes. She didn't keep them closed for long, because she was being yanked out of her seat by the same red headed boy. He grabbed her shoulders and shook her in excitement.

"We've got Potter! We've got Potter!" he shouted towards his clone, which then turned and shook another boy with dreadlocks hanging in his face. She tapped the red head next to her.

"Excuse me." And he turned and looked at her, leaning down to hear. "Who is Potter?"

"What! You don't know Harry Potter?" he asked, sitting back down with the rest of the table. "You must be a muggleborn! He's the only survivor of the killing curse. You-Know-Who tried to kill him, but it didn't work. Harry Potter is The-Boy-Who-Lived."

"Oh. Okay," she blinked slowly, still not understanding.

"So you are a muggleborn then, huh? My dad liked muggle stuff," he leaned in close to whisper to her, "he collects plugs!"

"I'm not a muggle. My mom was a witch. My dad was a Jew," she stated as-matter-of-factly. "And why would anyone collect plugs?"

"That's what I ask. My name is Fred. Fred Weasley," and he stuck his hand out to be shaken. She barely grabbed it and shook it once before recoiling her hand, and felt her cheeks turn pink. She blink again, still feeling tired. "This is my lesser half," and he tugged on the sleeve of his clone, who turned to face her. "George Weasley. We're twins, incase you're slow." She giggled behind her hand.

"No. I figured that much. I'm Rebekah Hammond. I'm an only child, so don't expect any introductions," and food appeared on the table in front of her. She watched as people filled their plates, so she did the same. She picked some roast potatoes off a large plate and put them on her own, along side some crisp, green beans. In the middle of the feast, Dumbledore approached a podium and made a speech about first-years, and warned the students of dangers in the castle.

"You know," Fred said, nudging Rebekah in the shoulder with a mouth full of potatoes. "Maybe you should hang out with us in the common room after the prefects show you around. George and I will tell you about this prank we're going to pull on our brother Percy," and he points at a curly headed boy sitting a few inches away, properly placing small portions of food into his mouth with a fork.

"He's you're brother? He doesn't act like you guys." Rebekah commented.

"Thanks, and unfortunately he is our brother. So is that one over there," and he points to yet another red head, stuffing his face with chicken legs while talking to The-Boy-Who-Lived.

"You must have a big family. I'm jealous. You're never going to be lonely, I'm sure," and she stuffed another large potato into her mouth, having trouble chewing, as Fred laughed, eating his own food.

Rebekah was in her dorm, she was straightening her belongings like the rest of the girls she shared the dorm with. To her right was Hermione Granger, to the left was Lavender Brown, Sally-Anne Perks, and finally a girl named Enid Nott. They were chatting and getting to know each other as they folded up socks and laid out folded clothes on their beds. Rebekah just piled her books up in a neat pile and placed her hair brush on her nightstand. She pushed her closed trunk to the foot of her bed with her foot, and exited the dorm. She skipped down the steps and into the common room, where Fred and George yelled for her to come over to a corner. There was a wooden chair open for her to take a seat. They introduced her to a Lee Jordan, who turned out to be the boy with dreadlocks in his face. They were no longer in his face, but pushed back with a rubber band. She shook his hand, which was smooth and dark, and his white teeth shone from his dark lips. "Is she going to become a prankster too?" asked Lee.

"I didn't think about it," started Fred.

"She could possibly; she looks like she's pretty mischievous. Have you ever pranked before?" asked George. Rebekah blushed and thought back to the first time she used magic, without meaning to.

"Well, in primary school I accidentally pranked the teacher. I didn't mean to, but while he was writing, I imagined him writing curse words on the board, and he did. It had the class rolling for hours. My magic only really worked by itself when I wanted something funny to happen. I made this bully's pants fall down around his ankles while running laps in gym." she explained.

"That's a right good laugh! She'll definitely fit in with this group," Lee stated. The three started discussing the layout of a prank to be played on the caretaker of the school, Argus Filtch. Rebekah was not listening; instead she was staring at the floor, wondering what Sabine would think of her, becoming friends with people such as these. She shook her head, trying to get those thoughts out of her mind, when George placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked, and she wished people would stop asking her that. She nodded and said she was tired, which was not a lie. She trudged up to her dorm, where she was bombarded with questions from the girls. What were you doing with second year boys? Why don't you fold your clothes? Why aren't you talking to us? Are you stuck up? She apologized and fell onto her bed, not bothering to take off her clothes, and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next morning she was awoken by Hermione, who told her she needed to come down for breakfast, because schedules were being handed out today. She pulled herself up and walked with Hermione down to the dining hall, still in the clothes she wore yesterday, her hair puffed up on the side she slept on. She took a seat next to Hermione and pulled the plate of bacon and beans towards her, spooning some onto her plate, as a screech filled the hall. She looked up, startled, and saw a crowd of owls enter through an open window and fly over the tables, dropping odd packaged and envelopes onto tables. A brown and black owl with strange green eyes dropped a small envelope into the beans on Rebekah's plate. She picked it up hesitantly, ripping it open. She didn't expect her father to write to her so soon, as if he had done enough to report to her about. She pulled out the notebook paper and unfolded it, reading as she brought spoonfuls of beans to her mouth.

Dear Bekah

I know it's only the first day at school, and I should have waited at least a few days to write to you, but I had some news that I couldn't wait to share with you. I noticed that Sabine was acting a little stuck up and jealous on the way to the train station, and I thought if I ate over at Yvonne's house, that it would make her seem more important, and cheer her up. Yvonne made Sabine her famous fudge, but Sabine only cheered up when an unexpected visitor came to the house. A large woman who looked relieved when Yvonne told her that her house was the resident of a Sabine. We invited her into the house, and I poured some tea for her while they talked quietly in the sitting room. Her name was Olympe Maxime. I don't know if you've heard of her, or read about her in one of the books we bought in Diagon Alley, but she is a headmistress of a school in France. As you know, Sabine is adopted. Yvonne couldn't get any information about Sabine's biological parents, because she was abandoned. Her real name is Sabine Odette Chapney, and was the daughter of Sylvie Chapney, who was a teacher of Charms at Beauxbatons Acadamié of Magic, which is a French wizarding school. Although I think this school is known for the orderly students who excel in academics. I'm not sure though. Well, long story short, since Sabine's mother was a witch, and a teacher at the school, she is naturally going to be attending Beauxbaton. She felt so horrible for treating you sorely, and I hope she writes an apology.

Please write me back about your first day of school. I want to know EVERYTHING!

Love,

Ari

Rebekah sat finishing the letter with her mouth open. Her schedule had been handed to her, and she glanced at it once. The twins walked up to her, after the students across have finished and left. The grabbed the schedule off the table and looked it over, George over the shoulder of Fred, who held it in both his hands, a letter shoved between his pointer and middle finger. "Oo, Potions first!" he exclaimed.

"…and with the Slytherins," finished George. They both looked at her, as she still gaped at the letter. "Who's that from?"

"My dad," she answered, "I just received amazing, yet surprising news."

"What news?" they both asked at the same time.

"My friend, who was mad at me for going to a wizarding school because she thought out of the two of us, she'd be the witch, well…she…she's," she stuttered, still surprised, "a witch! She's going to a French school called 'Bowbaton'."

"At least it's good news," said George.

Rebekah noticed the letter in Fred's hand, as he handed back her schedule, and asked "Did you receive bad news?"

They both shook their head, and she got up, and they walked out of the hall together. Fred slung his book bag over his shoulder and sighed. "Divination, it's such a useless class. At least we have it first…" he said, yawning.

"…it's a great class to take a nap in. If the professor wakes you up, just make up some dream and interpret it. You'll get off scot-free!" explained George.

"How's potions?" asked Rebekah.

"Well, the professor, Snape, he's a git," started George.

"Overall, it really depends on what you like," finished Fred.

"Where is it?" she asked, looking around for some of her first year students.

"The dungeons, just head down this hall, and there will be a stair case leading down to it. You can't miss it," and Fred yawned again. They both waved to her, and she went up to the common room to grab her book bag and potion's book. She found her way to the dungeon. She filed into the darkroom behind Enid Nott, and took a seat next to her. She placed her book in front of her on the table, and left her cauldron and book bag on the floor, keeping her quill and a slip of parchment out. She looked around the room, noticing strange plants and jars filled with god-knew what. At the front of the class was a desk, where she was sure the professor would be. On top of the desk was a beaker with a complicated tube bending and twirling from a globe that contained a bluish, clear liquid. She imagined herself liking this class, if it was going to be like Chemistry or Biology, which she excelled at in her muggle school. The professor came in, and made his way to the front of the class, introducing himself as Snape, and immediately took roll call.

"Rebekah Hammond," he asked. She stood up and proclaimed her presence. He gave her a glare as some of the students chuckled at her behavior. She sat down, and turned to Enid.

"Why are they laughing?" she asked. Enid then explained that she didn't need to stand up when the teacher called their name, and tried to tell her what she should do, but the class went quiet.

"Harry Potter  our new celebrity!" said Snape, smirking in an evil way. She looked over at a boy with wild black hair, who was looking embarrassed in his seat. He sat next to a tall red headed boy, who she knew as Ron from the twins.

"I guess I'll hear about him a lot through my school years," she thought to herself. "Seven more years, I wonder what I'll be like in seven years!" She continued to daydream about herself as a witch, like her mother, fighting off evil wizards and dying for a strong belief.