"Mia adorata, hurry now!"
The bedroom looked as though an werewolf had transformed in the midst of it. Clothes were strewn everywhere, muggle items littered the unmade bed, and make up was scattered across the girlish pink vanity. With a flourish of her wand, old Adelinda Isis Amoretto sent everything spinning into its proper place in her trunk; she was packed and the only thing left to do before departing was prepare herself mentally for her first year at Hogwarts. Five years late but finally happening, the only comfort that the girl took in it was that she would not be the only one behind in her classes. As the war had begun, so many children had been pulled out of the school; the ones that chose to return would start where the left out.
In truth, the war was not the reason the sixteen-year-old witch had not attended Hogwarts. Adopted by a magical family who had disassociated themselves with the wizarding world and moved to Italy, her mother's native country, she had been assumed a simple, non-magical Muggle-born. As she grew, her parents realized this to be far from true; she had magic, and it was strong. Knowing the prejudice against Muggle-borns was leaking into Hogwarts more and more every day, having attended the school themselves, her parents opted to keep her in Muggle school and instruct her in the field of magic on their own time. At age nine, Adelinda's magic was too strong to hide from the other children, and her parents pulled her from school. From then to age sixteen, it was home-schooling and magical tutors. She was a bright and powerful witch, learning quickly and surpassing her home lessons, but there would still be lower-level classes to take, new things to learn, a new community to assimilate into. She had spent little to no time around other witches her age, had never met a wizard anywhere close. And yet she was excited.
She had gotten a letter each year since having turned eleven; her father was British and had been a favorite of Dumbledore's at Hogwarts, and she supposed that was why McGonagall was so keen on her coming to the school. She also happened to be particularly fond of the girl herself, having tutored her quite often over the summers between school years. As the Second Wizarding War began, however, her parents decided that Hogwarts was not safe for Adelinda, and they stayed as far off of the radar as they possibly could, making limited trips out into the magical community.
But here she was, three years after the war had ended, making her first trip to the school alongside those students who had fought in the war and had never returned. It felt shameful, almost, but she pushed that feeling aside as she closed her trunk and checked herself over in her vanity. She was dressed simply in Muggle clothing, jeans and a snug camisole, black cardigan thrown over it to shield against the wind that would surely blow against her as she flew to a portkey to begin her journey.
"I'm coming, Mama," she called out. Her voice was lightly accented, a mix of British and Italian—she was fluent in the language but spoke English as her first, and yet a sweet Italian accent, not too heavy, stuck to her words as a result of having lived in Italy since she was small. Wand in hand, she levitated her trunk and the cage which held her owl behind her as she made her way into the living room to greet the one and only Harry Potter.
"There you are, dear, you've kept Mr. Potter waiting!" her father scolded gently, rising from his seat on the couch as Mr. Potter did the same. The twenty year old looked older than his years, and much older than he did in photos—it was to be expected, she supposed, after the life he had lived. He was handsome though short, with his disheveled black hair and Quidditch-made body.
"Oh, I'm in no rush," the Chosen One told her father with a polite smile. "I remember my first year. It's very exciting." He took a step forward and extended a hand to Adelinda, who let her trunk settle onto the carpet and tucked her wand into her belt
"It's very nice to meet you, Mr. Potter," she greeted a bit shyly, shaking his hand and meeting his green eyes. They were more vibrant than the books had described.
"No need for the formalities, it's Harry," he told her warmly. "It's good to meet you too, Adelinda. Are you ready to head off? We have a lot of shopping to do."
Her eyes lit up a bit at that and he grinned at her. What girl didn't love to shop? They were headed to a portkey which would take them to London—from there they would go to Diagon Alley, a place she had visited only once in her life despite having been born very near it. Harry was returning to Hogwarts along with many others who had fought in the war beside him, now that the wizarding school had been returned to its full staff and full glory and would have enough students in attendance to be open for teaching—and she was sure the three years had been needed for many to heal after the war. It was something she would never quite understand, having been so far from it all, and she was shamefully grateful for that fact and forever thankful for those who had fought and won it. She looked up to the Golden Trio for that very reason. "I'm more than ready," Adelinda told him happily. She turned towards her parents. "I'll miss you both. I promise to write to you every week, I know you—" at this she cast a playful glance towards her mother, "—will be very upset if I don't. Ti amo, ti amo tanto, come hug me so we can go!"
"So excited to leave us!" her mother teased, half-joking. "No, do not feel bad, I would be excited as well. I know you have waited so long for this, and it will be good for you. I'm sure Mr. Potter here will see you along safely and I will try not to worry too much, cara." She embraced both her parents long and lovingly, her father telling her not to get into too much trouble and to stay away from those young wizards, her mother telling her the opposite with a teasing wink, making her blush red and exclaim, "Mama! Not in front of company!"
Harry held back a chuckle at that. "Mr. and Mrs. Amoretto, it was nice seeing you. I'll remind her to write once we get to Diagon Alley so you won't worry, and again as we get to the school. She'll be safe, don't you worry."
Her parents saw them out the door, and from there they made their way to the broom shed, where they had a moment of confusion of whose was whose. "You must be a talented flyer, for your parents to buy you the latest of the Firebolts," Harry laughed, and she turned pink in the cheeks.
"My mother taught me when I was ten," Adelinda told him, taking her broom. Her belongings were still in the living room; they would be waiting for her at Hogwarts. "I didn't have many friends out here in this rural part of Italy, so I spent my free time flying. I love it."
"It is a wonderful pastime," he agreed. They mounted their brooms and she followed him to the portkey—a heavy football that had to have been filled with something and which had been placed in a clearing in the middle of the woods far behind her house. Her parents owned acres on acres of land, inherited from her mother's family, who had owned the house that sat on said land for several generations. It took five minutes to fly to it, but it would have taken forty to walk. As they landed he took her broom, tucking both his and hers into a sort of sheath that held them snugly to his back. She wondered where he had found such a thing. "Alright, Adelinda…I know you've never used a portkey. I need you to hold tight to the portkey with one hand, and you need to hold tight to my hand with the other. You might feel a little sick, but that's normal. Whatever you do, don't lose your grip."
She felt a little queasy. It was true, she had never used a portkey—she had never used a lot of magical items, and she was nervous. But on the count of three they both grabbed the portkey and she kept a death grip on his hand, squeezing her eyes shut as she felt a sharp pull in her belly and the world spinning around her. After what felt like forever but could only have been a few moments, she felt their feet touch the ground. "Was it as bad as you thought it would be?" he asked her, removing their brooms from the strap on his back.
"Worse," Adelinda admitted with a grimace. She was a bit embarrassed when he laughed but she was sure it was not in a mean way.
"You'll get used to it," he assured her. "Follow me again. We're just outside of Diagon Alley." They mounted their brooms again, and fifteen minutes were in the middle of a busy stone road that reminded her of the towns in Italy. She had not been there since she turned eleven; her parents had taken her to Ollivander's, world's best wand shop. They wanted her to have the best.
"Is it always this busy?" she asked, glancing around. She felt very out of place in her muggle clothing, but Harry was dressed similarly; that offered her some relief as she eyed the robed men and women and children as they eyed the Chosen One and then her, surely wondering who the young girl was.
"Not quite," he told her, offering to take her broom again. "But at this time of year, yes. All the parents are here doing last-minute school shopping for their children. You have your money?" She nodded. She had worn a small black pack, which had an outfit to wear to the train station the next day, a few essentials, and her little purse full of Wizarding money which her parents had gone over time and time again with her just to ensure that she knew what it all was and would not be ripped off.
Harry assisted her in all her shopping as he did his; together they went down their lists, getting all of their books, stocking up on plenty of parchment, quills, and inkpots, and robes. Harry had outgrown his and Adelinda had never owned any. She found herself distracted quite often; she had never been around so much magic. Her parents had begun to use casual magic more in their home after the war had ended and not just for her classes, but none of it was ever like what she saw here; there were little red and orange magical fires burning in place of street lights as it darkened and moving displays in shop windows. In the wizarding equivalent of a pet shop she found small creatures she had always seen in her books but never in person and Harry obliged to let her pet and play and look for awhile, seeming amused by her amazement. She decided she was done after she got bitten by something small and scaly and odd looking that she probably should not have been touching in the first place and finally, hours after they had arrived, they made their way to The Leaky Cauldron where two rooms waited for them. Their brought all of their things to their separate rooms and went downstairs to get something to eat.
As they ate their dinner and sipped butterbeer, a drink Adelinda had never tried before and loved, they chatted a bit—in between the people who came over to dote on Harry and friends who were returning to Hogwarts as well. Everyone seemed nice enough, and she was happy that no one asked why he was escorting her—McGonagall had said that he was in Italy for the summer as it was, and it saved her parents a trip, but Adelinda found it odd that such a famous wizard would come to escort her; let alone know of her existence. As the pub grew louder and the night grew late, they said goodnight and made their way to their rooms.
"Be ready in the morning," Harry told her before they departed. "We're going to floo over to a friend's house, and go with them to King's Cross Station, where we'll leave for Hogwarts."
She went into her room. She could hear the talking and laughter of the pub beneath the creaky wooden floors, and light and noise from the street came in through her cracked window. As it turned out, Adelinda loved this magical community so far. The warm hustle and bustle, the closeness, how everyone seemed to know each other. There was no evidence in the pub of the struggle that had taken place three years ago. She took a seat in the window, leaning against the frame and curling her legs up to her chest, just watching the people on the street below her with interest, and that's how she fell asleep.
i've noticed that the readers who drop off usually do so after the first chapter, or the third chapter. i know they are a bit boring, but i promise it gets a lot more interesting! the first chapters are getting a feel for the story and building up to the drama. please keep reading and reviewing, compliments and constructive criticism are both very welcome :-)