Thank you so much for deciding to read this story. This story had been in my head for quite some time and I hope you will enjoy reading it!
'Samantha Steward, if you don't get out of bed this instant you are going to miss your train!' I shot up and looked at the alarm clock beside me. I immediately jumped out of bed. Merlin, I was late. Why couldn't I just wake up on time for once in my life? I quickly grabbed the muggle clothes I had laid out the night before and rushed to the bathroom to have a quick shower. My first day of attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was certainly not off to a good start.
My name is Samantha Stewart, but most people call me Sam. A few weeks ago I moved from America to England. My mother had gotten a work opportunity at the British Ministry of Magic and she decided to take it. At first she was hesitant, because she didn't want my father and I to just back up our lives for her, but my father and I wanted to support her with this decision. This job at the Department of International Magical Cooperation was just too good to turn down. I did have to give a lot up at home. I attended Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was one of the most promising young witches there, or so I was told. Fair enough, I did get good grades, had a bunch of friends and was Quidditch captain of the Horned Serpents. But at the same time, the move was kind of a relief. All these expectations and responsibilities came with a lot of pressure and stress. Starting of somewhere new and fresh where nobody had these expectations of me and I didn't have any responsibilities sounded like music to my ears. I could start from scratch. It also helped that at Hogwarts I wasn't a known descendant of one of their founders, which I was at Ilvermorny. I was related to Isolt Sayre. I guess that fact contributed to all the expectations at Ilvermorny.
As I got out of the shower I started to think of Hogwarts. I was going to start my sixth year there. Obviously it was kind of frightening, because I didn't know anyone. However, there was this one family friend, whose family we visited many years ago here in England, but I didn't think he would know me. Hell, I didn't even know what he looked like today or which House he called his home. I was awakened from my daydream when my mother called for me again. I started to move faster and got dressed and put a light layer of make-up on: just a bit of concealer and mascara. I was still too tired to put much effort into my hair, so I just combed it through and put it in a high pony tail. I looked contently into the mirror. At times I felt a bit insecure about my appearance. Not because I thought that I was ugly or anything, but because sometimes I just thought I looked boring. I had normal dark brown hair, green eyes and had an average height. Nothing wrong with that, but when I looked around at school I just saw these girls who could be world-renowned models if they chose to be.
Back to the real world I walked out of the bathroom, grabbed my suitcase out of my room and went downstairs to meet my mum and dad. I parked my suitcase at the front door. When I walked into the kitchen I saw that my mum and dad were still enjoying their breakfast. 'Good morning,' I greeted as I sat down at the head of the table. 'Good morning Sam,' said my father smiling. 'Good morning sweetheart. You do have to rush with your breakfast, because we only have about 15 minutes before we have to head off to the train station.' 'I know,' I smirked to my mother. I quickly grabbed some toast from the table and a cup of tea. I finished it in less than 10 minutes and then helped my parents with clearing the table before we went off. 'Do you have everything you need, Sam?' I heard my father ask while I was putting away the last dishes. 'My suitcase is already at the door. I just have to grab Catherine from the living room and my train ticket.' I replied. Catherine was my owl. She was a tawny owl and had feathers in a beautiful dark rusty brown tint. My parents had bought her as a Christmas Present when I was 12 years old and she hadn't left my side ever since. She was one of the only parts of America that I was able to take with me. 'Are you sure you have packed everything?' It was amazing how my mother could ask the same question at least five times in the last 10 hours. 'Yes mum, I am sure. As do you cause you insisted on checking it twice last night.' I laughed. My mother started to laugh as well. 'I guess you are right,' she said honestly.
When everything was sorted and my suitcase and Catherine's cage was put into the back off the car, we headed off to Kings Cross Station. We lived on the outskirts of London, so it was about a 30 minute drive. This gave me time to think things over again. I was excited to go back to school, since I loved learning and all the classes. I wondered if classes at Hogwarts would be different from the classes at Ilvermorny. I imagined that most of the subjects would be the same, but maybe the teachers would have different methods. As of right now Potions was definitely my favourite subject, closely followed by Defence Against the Dark Arts. Potion making took a lot of concentrating and dedication, but when you did it right, the result could be extraordinary. Defence Against the Dark Arts was something entirely different. Here, I always thought, it was more about instinct and self-confidence. And especially in these times it was an important subject.
Before I knew it we pulled over at Kings Cross Station. I heard Catherine screeching beside me and smiled at her fondly. At least she was going to Hogwarts with me. My parents and I grabbed all of my luggage and started to walk to platform 9 ¾. We had been informed that we had to run to the space between platforms 9 and 10, so that is what we did. When we arrived at the platform I still had about 10 minutes before I had to board the train. I looked around for a few moments and saw already a great bunch of young wizards and witches saying goodbye to their families and joining their friends, hugging them and high fiving them as a greeting after the summer holidays. For me, it was now also time to say goodbye to my parents. I looked back at them with a smile. 'Samantha, I need you to promise me to do your best at school. This is a very important year for you, the last before your N.E.W.T.s.' my mum was always worried about my academics, whereas my father normally didn't care about them at all. It was a good combination. I wouldn't like to have two parents who pushed me to my limits. 'Yes, mum, I promise.' 'O, and dear,' my father began, 'I don't want you to worry about the housing okay. If you are put in Slytherin, it doesn't matter.' I nodded at my dad.
After that it was silent for a few minutes. 'Okay, Samantha, do your best at school and we will see you during Winter break,' my mum said one more time. I smiled and hugged my mum and dad. 'Oh, and Sam. Don't forget to have fun,' my dad said. 'I will,' I said promising. Then it really was time to board the train and leave my parents. I felt kind of sad. It wasn't that I got homesick quick. I mean, I had lived at Ilvermorny for the past five school years, but this just felt different. It was brand new, a new adventure and with that I was climbing on board the Hogwarts express full of anticipation, wondering what would come next. Remembering my father's words I promised myself that I would have fun and wouldn't worry about the Sorting, even though that seemed like an impossible task. Being a descendant from Isolt Sayre meant after all that I was also related to another well-known wizard. Namely, the one and only Salazar Slytherin.
I hope you liked this first chapter! Please review this story. I am always open to feedback!
xxx
Lisa