Decidedly Undecided

Chapter One: Picky Teen

"Manuela, your grandfather is here! Put down that damn guitar and get down here, or you'll be late!" Lucille Riddle called up the stairs. Her voice was barely audible above the music Manny was trying to follow with her 'damn guitar'.

She would normally stomp down stairs and sulk, but Gramps was here so she opted not to. He, unlike her parents, could turn her into something. Instead she grabbed her wizard Mp3 player and slid down the banister, landing like a cat on all fours at the bottom.

"Hey Gramps, Are we taking the floo or apparating?"

"The floo, we'll be able to go straight to the castle instead of having to hike." She couldn't actually hear him over the music, but his lips were readable.

"Manny, why aren't you wearing that shirt with the butterflies on it? I hear butterflies are all the rage in England." Her mother acted like she was a 'concerned' parent, but Manny knew it was really her trying to make her daughter look 5 again.

"Because we aren't going to England, we're going to Hogwarts, and Hogwarts has a dress code that forbids butterflies being worn."

Lucille rolled her eyes, hugged her daughter, and flicked her wand, causing Manny's bags to flip into the fireplace.

"Be good. Try not to fight and if you must, DO NOT use your wand."

"Like I ever would" Manny grumbled back.

"Bye, Honey, Write to us when you get there." Her father, Trace, said giving her a hug. "Have fun at school."

Manny climbed in the fireplace and disappeared in green flame, followed by her grandfather.

After 20 minutes of spinning she fell out into the great hall, on top of her bags.

"Well, lets get you sorted, then you can put your stuff away." Gramps said, dusting her off, and leading the way to his office behind the stone gargoyle.

In the office, he pulled down a raggedy old hat, and put it on her head.

"Ssih!" The hat's intake of breathwas sharp in her ear. "Your powerful. Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw are out. I see evil, but good, too. Slytherin may bring out your darker side, but Gryffindor surely would. So Slytherin it is!" The hat said all this very fast.

Gramps showed her to the dungeons, where her new common room was. There was a tall, lanky looking man reading in a chair by the fire when they walked in.

"Oh, Severus, this is your newest student. I brought her early so she'd get used to the castle before school starts," Gramps addressed the man, apparently her head of house.

"Yes, Miss Riddle, you'll be in the 5th year girls dormitory. Your things arrived a few minutes ago." He seemed jolly.

"Yea, um, what do I call you?" Manny was testing his bubble of jolliness.

"Professor Snape, and how shall I address you?" He was still jolly.

"Manny. Not Manuela, not Man, and NEVER Miss Riddle."

"Ah, your grandfather told me you were a bit picky."

Manny was about to reply, when Gramps cut in with, "Go put your things away."

As she unpacked her clothes, Manny thought about her family. Her dad, Trace Riddle, never talked about his parents. Her mom had told her his father, Tom Riddle, had disowned him for being a squib, and his mother had died in child birth. He'd come to America to get away from the memories. Her mother, Lucille Dumbledore, had a slightly brighter story. Her father, Albus Dumledore, had raised her alone since she was 15 when her mother died of cancer. She'd come to America to go to college. They met, fell in love and had her.

She thought her Grandfather Riddle was horrible to throw his own son out, but he was a squib. Manny loved her parents, but she had been years behind the other kids in her old wizard school, Teckla Academy, since basic magic was learned from the parents at home. She had to take special mudblood classes for 2 years because of them. But now she was a 5th year at Hogwarts. She had graduated Teckla last spring, though her parents thought she would 'do better coming out of Hogwarts'.

She finished unpacking and headed down to the common room to see if she could go down to the quidditch pitch. She had been the back-up seeker on the JV team at Teckla Academy. She could still play, but she only had to go to the practices the day of a game. She got permission to go and headed down to the field with her Dragonfly, the best American broom ever made.

She flew around the pitch a few times, but was bored by the fifth time around. She headed up above the castle to give herself a birds eye view of the place. From there, she weaved in and out of the buildings until the sun started to burn her shoulders, and she headed inside to cool down.

As she walked through the common room door and started down the stairs, she tripped, fell face first down 20 some stairs and landed on her ass at the bottom. A green… thing scurried down and attempted to pick her up, though it was difficult as she towered above the thing.

"Get off me!" she yelped as she aimed a blow for its torso with her foot. The thing darted back and started slamming its head on the wall wailing, "Bad Winky! Bad Winky!" Manny watched this for a few minutes with a touch of glee.

"Come on, knock it off!" she finally interjected, picking it up by its… towel. 'God Damn!' Manny thought, 'The English are freaks!'

The thing stopped struggling and looked up at Manny. It screamed, apparently horrified by her, but did not run away.

"I a-a-am t-to-o escort M-m-m-miss around the c-castle." It stuttered. It shook like it knew it was going to its death.

"What are you?" Manny had always been blunt when it came matters of superiority.

"I a-am a-a-a-a house e-e-elf, M-miss."

"And what's a house elf?"

Winky looked up, dumbfounded. Surely this human who reeked of he-who-shall-not-be-named was kidding?

"We serve wizard families, Miss."

"Ok. Why did you trip me?" Manny couldn't believe this scrawny little thing served wizards. PA-THE-TIC.

"I did not m-m-mean to-o" Winky said, again scared.

"Yea, what ever. Are there any other kids in the castle?"

"N-no, But the Malfoys are going to join Professor Snape for dinner, and they have a son your age." The more winky said, the less she stuttered. "He is going to stay here so you will not be lonely. And a few others in your grade will come to help you adjust."

"Adjust? Nice. Let me know when he gets here, k?" Manny couldn't have sopped the sarcasm dripping off her voice with a cotton blanket.