The Analissa Chronicles
Chapter One, The Encounter
Cold, icy droplets of rain smacked against the windows of the car
as Analissa Moreno stared dully at the passing countryside. She felt sad
and without a friend in the world. She had recently transferred from
Salem's School of Witchcraft deep in the hills of Texas. It was a private
wizarding school for young woman from rich families. And she had
completely hated it there. With a quiet sigh she rested her warm forehead
against the cool glass. The change in temperature quickly soothed the
beginnings of a nasty headache that was becoming rooted behind her
eyes. After a few moments her mother's overly cheerful voice came
bouncing into the backseat, her headache coming with it.
"Analissa dear we're almost there. Do not put your forehead on the
window! You'll get greasy prints on it. Analissa, are you even listening to
me?"
Analissa wasn't listening to her mother. She was running her finger tips
tenderly over her wand, eighteen inches with a heart string of a phoenix,
thinking about her new school. She had never been accepted at any
school she ever went to, everyone always said that she was different. The
car pulled up in front of a dirty looking pub and her mother got out of
the car. Analissa quickly followed, not willing to risk her mother's wrath
for taking forever. Her mother grabbed her arm and literally dragged her
into the pub. Gloom assailed her senses and temporarily making her feel
blind.
"Stop fooling around Analissa, you don't know who could be in here. Now
pay attention." Her mother hissed softly at her.
She kept on dragging Analissa until they were out of the pub, ignoring
the whispers that sparked when they appeared. Her mother pulled her
out into the dingy little lane way behind the grimy little pub and within
moments Diagon Alley was revealed to the two.
After buying all the necessities for a year at Hogwarts Analissa and
her mother headed over to the animal emporium in hopes of getting a
cat. Inside the dark, rather smelly room there was ruffling of feathers and
a pure white owl gracefully swooped down from the ceiling and settled
himself on Analissa's shoulder. She stood quite still, unsure of what to
do. An elderly man came toddling out from behind the counter and
grinned up at the startled girl, revealing a row of very few teeth.
"Aye, the owl truly does choose the mistress. Ten galleons for the owl
Miss." He said that last part to her mother, who looked angry.
"My daughter will not be the owner of that…that…flying rat. I order
you…"
Analissa didn't hear the rest because a voice had suddenly wormed its
way into her thoughts.
A flying rat? I always thought that I was much better looking that a
rat…Oh don't be alarmed Mistress, it's just me your humble flying rat.
At that the owl riffled his beak through her hair affectionately, showing
her that he was a kindred spirit.
How can I hear you?? I've never heard what a bird has said before.
Well Mistress I am your kindred spirit and you'll only be able to talk to
me at first. But after I teach you a couple things you'll be able to talk to
all the birds in the world. Please tell your mother to stop calling me a rat
and let's get out of here.
Of course…But what is your name? I do not wish to give you one if you
already have one.
I have had many names, but I suspect that the one I was given when I
was a hatchling will suffice. Tis Gabriel. Though do call me Gabe
Mistress.
Lissa nodded quickly and reached a hand out to touch her mother's arm.
"Mami, please let me have the owl. He's really very sweet. See?"
Gabe, being able to pick up on whatever she said, started to run his beak
through her hair again. Her mother sniffed and with a look of disdain at
the owl grudgingly took ten galleons out of her small bag and gave it to
the man.
"Fine Lissa. But I hear about that bird acting up in the slightest I'll get one
of the house elves to cook it. You hear me?"
"Yes Mami. I promise that Gabe will behave. Thank you so much!!!"
Before leaving the shop Lissa was boggled down with several large bags
of bird feed, all of which Gabe clacked his beak at.
Honestly, the man thinks I'm a simple house bird. I will not be eating
that dehydrated mess! I'll be hunting for my own food thank you.
I'd do the same if I were you Gabe that stuff looks nasty.
They spent the night at the Leaky Cauldron because the next day
would be the day Lissa went to Platform 9 and ¾ and go to Hogwarts. It
was the little pub her mother had dragged her through early that day. She
woke up late the next morning with only about an hour to throw her
clothing on, eat, and get to the station. Her mother was frantic and
almost forgot to grab Gabe before they vacated the room. The drive to
the station was horrible hectic and Lissa felt another mind blowing
migraine approaching. After a few minutes of some trouble with the wall
they were standing in front of the scarlet train. She hugged her mother
tightly then ran onto the train, dragging her errant trunk behind her. She
surprisingly found a completely empty compartment at the very back of
the train and gratefully dumped her things down and took a seat. The
moment Lissa was seated Gabe settled himself in her lap.
I don't see why we couldn't have just apparated to that school of
yours.
None of the people in my year can apparate yet Gabe. I think we're
supposed to be learning it this year. I looked through my books last night
and I know most of the stuff, maybe this will be a pretty easy year.
Gabe clucked softly and tucked his head under his snowy wing, asleep in
seconds. She absently ran her fingers through his soft down as she stared
out the window at the rapidly disappearing train station. She was jerked
out of her stupor when the door to her compartment was opened up. Her
dark chocolate eyes rested on the tall, blonde haired boy leaning in the
doorway. Standing behind him were two oafish boys, both grinning
stupidly.
"You aren't supposed to be in here, this is our compartment. Get out."
Lissa raised a brow slightly and nonchalantly stretched out further on the
three seats she was occupying.
"You say this is your compartment? Your name wasn't written anywhere
so you can't claim it as your own. None of your crap was in here either,
so sod off and leave me alone."
The boy snorted and crossed his arms over his muscular chest and took a
menacing step forward. He had no idea that the Hispanic girl sitting so
comfortably before him could have easily blown his arse out of the train.
"Sod off? Did you hear that boys? She said sod off. What year are you in?"
"Seventh, you?"
"Seventh? If you're in your seventh year how come I've never seen you
wandering the desolate halls?"
"I just transferred here from Texas."
"So you're a mudblood are you…I'm sure the boys and I can help you feel
more…welcomed."
Lissa knew exactly what their "welcome" would be like. She drew her
wand from the sleeve of her robe, a dark scowl crossing her tanned face.
"I am a pure blood and you three will not be welcoming me. Now either
sod off or taste a curse you nasty little wankers."
None of the boys heeded her warning and the two oafish ones walked
towards her, rolling their sleeves up. She shook her head slowly then
pointed her wand at the two of them.
"Tentaculus metamorphosis!" She murmured softly.
When the jet of faintly green light hit the two of them, they fell to the
floor covered in a mass of slimy, dark blue tentacles. The blond haired
boy looked surprised and quickly fled, leaving his companions behind.
Within moments the thick minded two had left, leaving the compartment
blessedly free of all life except herself and her owl. Gabe clacked his beak
at her, amusement in his voice.
You know, that might be the reason you never make any friends. You
curse them before you can get to know them.
She huffed and then stared a little at the five people who were filing into
her compartment. They all grinned at her and the boy with messy black
hair stepped forward.
"Hello! I'm Harry Potter and this is Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Erin
Fleming, and Adrienne Yim. What year are you in, we've never seen you
before?" He pointed at each of the people as he
introduced them.
A soft sigh escaped her lips as Lissa rubbed her temples, trying to banish
the painful pounding of her headache. Harry seemed to be expecting
something at the mention of his name and was surprised when she just
stared blankly at him like a cow at an oncoming train.
"Am I supposed to be amazed that your name is Harry Potter?" She asked,
confusion written on every line of her face.
The red haired boy, Ron, burst out laughing along with the three girls.
Harry just stared at her like she had just sprouted two heads. When he
spoke his voice was quiet.
"You mean you've never heard of Harry Potter before?"
"No, I'm sorry. Am I supposed to have known who you are?"
"Well yes. He is the Boy Who Lived. I thought everyone knew who he
was…" Said the bushy brown haired
girl, Mya.
"Well maybe everyone here in England has. No one back home has the
slightest clue who you are. If you don't mind leaving now, I have a
horrible headache and need some quiet."
With that she walked back to her seat. She took Gabe out of her place and
curled up in it, her head resting against the cool glass. The five of them
stared at her for quite some time until she glared at them, her brown
eyes glinting dangerously. The Asian girl, Adrienne, walked over to her
and sat down.
"Want some help with that headache of yours? I know plenty of spells to
cure headaches. I'm gonna be a medi-witch when I graduate. What year
are you in? I've never seen you on the train before. I know how you're
feeling; I transferred here too in our third year."
Lissa nodded weakly at the mention of a spell. She ran one of her hands
through Gabe's soft feathers, her eyes loosing that frightening glint.
"Yes please and thank you very much. I'm going into my seventh year.
The reason you've never seen me before is I just transferred here from
Salem's School of Witchcraft in the middle of the hill country in Texas."
Ron leapt towards the seat in front of her and peered at her over the head
rest, interest sparking in his blue eyes.
"You're from Texas? You lived on a ranch and rode a horse to school and
ate beans for breakfast??"
Lissa's temper flared. She hated being asked those stupid questions.
Living in Texas was just the same as living anywhere else, except for the
creepy old guys with cowboy hats who talked with accents you couldn't
understand. Gabe reflected her anger and woke up. He started flapping
his wings and screeching fiercely. Everyone clamped their hands over
their ears until she calmed her owl down.
"NO! For Goddess sake no!! That's just a stupid lie! I apparated to Salems
when the trimester began and disapperated when it was over. I've never
even ridden a horse."
All five of them asked her the same question in unison.
"You know how to apparate?"
"Yes…We start earlier at Salems then you do at Hogwarts. About three
years to be exact."
After awhile of talking it was obvious that Lissa had been accepted and
now had five life long friends who would always be there to watch her
back. But Analissa kept thinking back to the attractive blond haired boy
she had came close to hexing. She pushed the thought to a dark corner
of her brain and answered one of Erin's many questions.
Analissa stood nervously behind the large group of unsorted first
years, her eyes on the jovial old man standing up at the high table. She
was going to be sorted into her house in moments; she only hoped she
would be a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw so she could be with at least one of
her friends. The old man clapped his hands and silence fell over the Great
Hall.
"I welcome you all back to another year and to all of you who are new this
year. I welcome you to your first year here at Hogwarts. We are very lucky
this year to have a transferring student from America. I hope all of you
will welcome her, especially her new housemates. Miss Moreno if you
would please come up and place the Sorting Hat upon your head so you
may be sorted into your house."
Lissa gulped nervously and walked to the stool. Right before the brim of
the hat slipped over her eyes she saw Harry and her new found friends
flashing her thumbs up sign. A grin spread across her face, but
disappeared when the hat began to talk to her.
"Well…Haven't had someone with a noggin like you in many years. A
Moreno are you? You are the first to have me upon your head. You want
to be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw do you? Your first really friends…You
have the smarts to be a in the house of Ravenclaw, but your talents are
better for a…GRYFFINDOR!!!"
Lissa gladly slipped the hat off her head and hurried over to her new
table. Harry and Mya moved away from each other so she could sit
between them. Harry threw a friendly arm around her and whispered
quietly into her ear.
"Good job!"
And then the large table was suddenly filled to the breaking point with
food. She gaped and through an inquisitive look at Harry. The food had
never been served like this at Salems. There were house elves who served
the food and then cleared the plates away. Harry laughed through his
mouthful of food and clapped her on the shoulder.
"Va 'ouse elwes."
"Pardon?" Harry swallowed his mouthful before repeating what he said.
"The house elves. There's a spell that makes the food they put on the
tables in the kitchen and when it's time the food comes up."
Lissa nodded and tucked in. After the feast was over everyone surged up
from their seats and out of the Great Hall. As she was leaving she felt
someone grab her arm. She turned around and was looking to the icy
blue eyes of the attractive blond boy from the train. Her eyes narrowed as
she tried to shake her arm loose. He tightened his grip on her and smiled
faintly.
"Just wanted you to know my name, it's Draco Malfoy. I wish you a good
night. Sleep well Analissa."
He smiled softly to her and gently pressed his lips to hers. To both of
their greatest surprise, she kissed him back, and then his cheeks flushed
to a soft raspberry color. He turned and ran to the stairs that led down to
the dungeons, leaving a very astonished Lissa behind him.