My Perspective
I walked down the hall looking for an empty compartment on this amazing train. At long last, I found one and situated myself within it. I closed my eyes and remembered how this all came to be…
I was sitting in my home in Glasgow playing with my cat, when my sister came in the room. She was very angry with me over something I hadn't even done! She walked up and shooed the cat away and picked me up. She's six years older than I am, so picking me up was no difficult task for her. She started yelling at me about something so ridiculous that I can't even remember now! It wasn't the most ideal start to this particularly AMAZING day.
She was standing there, holding onto my arms and yelling in my face. I was hardly phased, as my sister often time did that. It seemed as though her incessant screeching would never come to an end. Much to my gratitude, there was a loud THUD at the window which made us both jump violently and make this odd whimper sounds. Neither of us were too keen on the idea of going over to the window to see what it was. I, being only of age 10, walked over to the window and, very timidly, opened it.
We were both rather confused that what was beyond the glass pane, was an owl. We lived relatively close to the countryside, but we've only rarely ever seen owls come to the city. It's golden eyes looked up at me, and my light blue ones stared back. The bird held an envelope in its beak, and, to my amazement, the envelope was addressed to me. My mouth fell open a bit as I looked at it in awe. At that point, my sister had decided to stroll over and grab it out of my hands.
"Who'd bother writing to you? You're a freak!" she shouted.
"Give it back!" I demanded.
She refused to do so. I channeled as much anger as I could and tackled her, tearing my letter out of her hands in the process. With my knee on her stomach, I asked if she would surrender. All I got was a nod in return. I got up and walked to my room with my bewildering letter. I locked my door and sat on my bed, just staring at the envelope. It was sealed with wax, imprinted with an "H" seal. I've always loved the look of wax seals.
After conjuring my courage to open it, I read the letter as fast as I could. Apparently, I was a witch? My parents always told me that magic wasn't real. Maybe someone was just playing a trick on me. That's probably it. One of the kids from school found out that I love magic and the idea of being able to cast spells and such things. This was all just a joke. So, I grabbed the letter, crumpled it up, and left my room, throwing the letter into the fire.
It was shortly after that, that I got 3 more letters. They all looked the same as the first, all contained the same letter. I decided to tell my father about it, and he didn't seem surprised at all.
"Amanda, dear, this isn't a joke that one of your classmates is playing on you. When you were born, we received a letter from this school. They told us that you would grow up to be magical, and that you'd be receiving a letter to attend Hogwarts at age 11."
"How'd they even know it was my birthday?"
"I don't know, hon. Magic, probably. I'm sure you'll learn all about it. It's lucky your birthday is in the middle of July. Plenty of time for you to become accustomed to all this magic stuff. Don't want you to be freaked out, now do we?"
"… That's just ridiculous. I'm 11, I'm not stupid."
"Yes, I know. You're a very bright young girl, and you'll go to Hogwarts and learn all about how to spells, and brew potions, and even fly on a broom."
"I'm afraid of heights! How is that going to fun?"
"Trust me, sweetie. You'll have a great time. According to this letter, we'll need to go to Diagon Alley in London to get supplies for your school year. We'll go in a couple weeks, alright? School doesn't start until September 1st."
"If what you're saying ISN'T the result of head trauma, why can't we go tomorrow?"
"You'll learn too much before you get there. Give the teachers a chance to let you learn something."
"Fine, I guess."
I turned to walk away, but I was halted by my sister standing in the doorway.
"Witch."
"Jealous?"
"Not at all. I always knew you were a freak. It will be wonderful with you finally out of the house."
"Thanks. It will be great to not have to listen to you boast about yourself for an entire school year. And, please, don't write."
"You're not gone yet, Amanda."
"Who cares? I can't wait to get away from you for a while."
All I can remember from in between these two points in time is a lot of giddy behavior from me and my parents. Even my sister seemed to be highly intrigued by Diagon Alley when we finally got there. We had to have a sort of Guide to help us around. He took us to this wizarding bank called Gringotts. It was full of GOBLINS! GOBLINS! That's just mental! I met this WONDERFUL shopkeeper, Ollivander, who sold me my WAND. A WAND! Can you believe that? It was remarkable! Apparently, I can't choose my own wand, because it would choose ME! I've never really been chosen for anything! Well, besides belittlement from my sister.
My wand was made of vinewood with a unicorn tail hair core. Uh, hello? UNICORNS EXIST? What?! And it's unyielding and 12 ¼ inches long! It's AMAZING! Then, I had to go get fitted for school robes. Robes? I mean, come on. It's the 1970s. But, fine, I shall deal with robes, I guess. I got to go to this WONDERFUL bookstore! I mean, yes, I had to pay for school books, but there were so many fascinating tomes there! I couldn't believe it! I had to get a cauldron and a bunch of other things from an apothecary.
The last thing on my list of supplies was a pet! I got to have a pet! I've always wanted a pet! My sister is dreadfully allergic to cats and dogs and things of that nature. Since it'd have to accompany me back at my home, I couldn't get a cat, much to my dismay. I've never really been partial to toads, so all that was left, was an owl. I was going to own an owl! That's incredible! I bought a Screech owl, and named her Avalon. I figured it was a greatly suited name for a witch's pet. That's when it hit me. I'm a witch.
We went home after that, and I sat around for the next couple weeks doing absolutely nothing of importance. I wanted to get on the train and be on my way to my new school, and new home for the next school year!
Then that day finally came, and here I am. Sitting aboard the Hogwarts Express and it makes its way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It's all just completely mental! I was about to lounge down on the seats, since no one was in here with me, and take a nap, when I heard a girl shouting.
"NO, I WON'T GO OUT WITH YOU, YOU FRIZZY HAIRED GIT!" the voice had shouted.
"Random," I had said aloud to myself, as I often did. I had a bad habit of talking to myself.
Shortly after, there were two girls walking down the hall and then my compartment door was opened.
"Can we sit in here with you?" One of the girls asked. She had black hair, and soft yet fierce features. She was accompanied by a girl with red head and remarkably green eyes.
"Of course you may."
The two of them sat opposite me and the first girl started consoling the redhead.
"What happened? If it's not too intrusive, that is" I inquired.
This time, the redhead spoke.
"Some abomination of a man decided to flirt with me. It was nauseating, really. He thought he was so suave, I bet. That Potter boy will be all sorts of trouble for me, I can see it now. Thinking he's so smooth with his hair flying away in all directions."
"Wow. He sounds terrible." I've never been good in these kinds of situations. What am I supposed to say to something like that?
"He is!" She replied. There was a silence that followed for what seemed like an hour. "I'm Lily Evans, by the way. This is my friend Alice Prewett. I'm muggle born, she's a Pure Blood. How about you?"
"I'm Amanda Joye, it's nice to make acquaintance with you two."
"Great," Alice said. "She speaks proper just like you do!"
"There's nothing wrong with proper speech, Al." Lily said. "Are you a pureblood? I don't think I've heard of the Joye family before."
"No, I'm muggle born, as well. My last name is silly, I know. My sister always told me that my attitude is too dark for such a cheery last name."
"No, the name suits you quite well, it seems," Lily told me.
"Well, thank you! I have a friend back home named Evans. Well, her name is Jessica, but I've always called her Evans. Maybe you two are distantly related?"
"That'd be interesting, but I highly doubt it. I may have the smallest family known to Britain. Judging by your accent, you're from somewhere in Scotland. Maybe somewhere near Glasgow?"
"Right on the dot, you are. Have you ever been? It's hardly worth it. There's golf courses everywhere, if you're into that kind of sport."
"I'm afraid I'm not, but Glasgow has always seemed like such a nice place."
"It's alright, I suppose. It's quite beautiful, though."
"I bet!"
"So, Alice, since you're the only one of us to know what to expect at Hogwarts, want to let me in on it? My dad refused to let me read about it! He wants me to leave things a mystery so that the professors actually have something to teach me." I gave a small chuckle.
"Actually," Lily said. "I read all about it! I think I may know more than Alice! It's a big, magnificent castle that no muggle can see-"
"Muggle? What on Earth is a muggle?"
"People who cannot do magic. The students are divided into 4 different houses, each represented by a different animal and different colours! There's Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Gryffindor's colours are scarlet and gold, and they're represented by a lion. Ravenclaw's colours are blue and bronze, and they're represented by an eagle."
"Why isn't it a raven?"
"I- … You know, I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, Hufflepuff's colours are yellow and black, and they're represented by a badger. Slytherin's colours are green and silver. They're represented by a serpent. Be careful with the staircase, as they're enchanted to move. Oh! The ceiling in the Great Hall is bewitched to look like the sky outside! I'm looking forward to that. When we arrive, we'll be taken on a boat ride to the castle. Then we'll be escorted into the castle and then we will be sorted into our houses!"
"Why are there 4 different houses?"
"They represent the 4 founders," Alice chimed in. "They all have traits to them that make them unique, but not all students who end up in a certain house will have all those traits, necessarily. Like, Gryffindors are stereotypically these wild and crazy kids who will put their lives in danger to show their bravery. Rarely the case, though. But their typical traits are bravery, and chivalry. Hufflepuff's is rather close to that, actually. Their traits are loyalty and tolerance. Ravenclaw's traits are intelligence and individuality. Slytherin's traits are ambition and traditionalism."
"Wow. What house do you guys think you'll be put in?"
Alice answered first, "Where I admire the traditionalism in some families, I will not be a Slytherin. There's no witch or wizard who went bad that wasn't in Slytherin. Though, that's not to say that all Slytherins are bad people. Some can be quite remarkable. I just refuse to go there. Beyond that, I don't really know. Hufflepuff would be nice."
Lily squinted in concentration. "I'd go so well in all of them, actually. I don't think I can choose!"
"Ravenclaw seems to be calling my name already. How are we sorted, exactly?"
"You go to the front of the Great Hall and they place an old tattered hat on your head, the Sorting Hat, and he prods are your mind and he will sort you," Lily informed me.
"Well, then I can't wait!"
We spent the rest of the train ride talking and getting to know each other. I told them about my family and my home, about my new pet owl, Avalon, and all my expectations of the years to come. It seemed like just an hour had gone by when the train finally stopped. We looked outside and night had been brought upon the sky. We exited the train, running into the frizzy-haired boy named Potter, who prompted Lily with another proposal of courtship. Which she declined, in a not so polite manner. We were greeted on the platform by a man that was taller than my father. Lily informed me that he's a half-giant.
"'Ello, there, ferst years! Rubeus Hagrid at your service! Now, if all you would follow me t' the boats we gots for yeh, we'll all be on our way."
Students filed in to the boats, no more than four to a boat. Then, something intriguing happened. The boats began to sail on their own, and followed its route to the castle. We rounded the corner, and stood before us was the most magnificent looking castle that I had ever seen. (Not that I have seen many castles in my time.) Seeing my new, temporary home for the first nearly brought tears to my eyes. I couldn't believe that my life had changed so drastically and so fast. Towers on towers spiked up to into the sky. The castle had its own feel of a magical ambiance to it.
The boats came to a halt outside, and we were led out of them. Hagrid directed our way up to the front doors of Hogwarts. My heart was pounding harder than it ever had before. The doors opened, and Hagrid sent us in to meet with a Professor. I stood at the front of the group with Lily and Alice. We began to walk up the stairs and we were met by a woman, dressed in a green robe with black accents. She wore a pointed black hat, though the tip was bent over, that bore a green feather at the brim. She spoke to us, explaining to us what will happen when we walk in the doors to the Great Hall.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. Now, in a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates, but before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Now while you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule breaking, and you will lose points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup. I am Professor McGonagall, Deupty Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor house. I will also be your Transfiguration teacher. I will be back to collect you all in just a moment."
With that, Professor Mcgonagall left through the doors.
"Oh my God, Lily! I think I'm going to die! I can't believe this! I'm so excited!" I was bouncing up and down in my robes. I was wearing ROBES.
Lily laughed at me. "Calm down, you haven't even been sorted yet!"
"Who cares? This is going to make my heart beat so fast it ends up stopping!"
I was smiling from ear to ear when I heard a boy's voice form behind us. "Cute friend, Evans. Not as cute as you, of course. So, how about that date you promised me?"
I turned around to see a boy with black, frizzy hair and glasses. This must be the Potter boy that Lily spoke of on the train. He was accompanied by two other boys, one with longer black hair that had a slight wave to it, and another smaller boy with light brown hair, similar to my own.
Lily scoffed at him. "I would never promise such a thing to you, Potter. I'd rather expelled than go out with you."
The other black-haired boy spoke next. "That could be arranged, Evans."
"Oh, shove it, Black!" exclaimed Alice from the other side of Lily.
The brunette boy look at me with a smile and sighed. He hold out his hand and said, "Hi, I'm Remus Lupin, the sane one of these goons."
I accepted his handshake and introduced myself. "Hello, Remus Lupin. I am Amanda Joye."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Amanda."
"Do feel free to call me Manda. Only on a rare occasion to people call me Amanda. It's informal, I know, but I've always preferred it. That goes for you two as well," I said turning to Lily and Alice.
"So, Evans, what should I wear on our date?" Potter asked.
"How about a lovely hex that I'd be more than happy to put on you."
Potter seemed like he had some witty reply coming to him, but their bickering was interrupted when the doors opened once more, and out came Professor McGonagall.
"We're ready for you," was all she said to us before she turned and walked back.
This time, however, we were close on her heels when she did. We walk between four long tables, presumably one for each house. All heads turned to watch us walk down, and I felt my face grow warm from all the attention. I turned my head to the ceiling only to see the bewitchment that it held. It looked just like the night sky outside. Lily was right after all, though I expected her to be. I was so fixated on the stars twinkling indoors that I didn't notice that we were at the front of the Hall, and I walked into the back of Lily.
"Sorry," I whispered to her.
"It's okay, I ran into Alice doing the same thing."
All attention turned to McGonagall now.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "James Potter."
Potter broke between us and strolled up to the stool. The Sorting Hat had barely found its way through his mess of hair when it called out, "GRYFFINDOR!"
One of the tables next to us broke up in cheers, as did some of the students standing behind us.
McGonagall called out the next name, "Severus Snape."
A boy came up from the back of the crowd, and Lily pat him on the shoulder with a friendly smile as he went past us. He had a bit of a crooked nose, and sleek black hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in a good while.
"SLYTHERIN!" Shouted the Sorting Hat after coming in slight contact with Snape's head. Cheering came from one of the other tables.
"Sirius Black," said the Professor.
The black-haired boy that was with Potter walked past us. My eyes were following Snape over to the Slytherin table, and when Black was at the stool, there were a lot of anticipating looks coming from most of them.
All their eyes widened, and some mouths fell open when from behind me came a sorting that they didn't seem to anticipate.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table fell into an uproar that was much louder than that given for Potter. Black stepped down, and sat at the table next to James.
Lily's name was called next. Unlike the last three, the Sorting Hat took quite a while to place her.
It seemed like a good 10 minutes before the Sorting Hat finally shouted out, "GRYFFINDOR!"
More cheering came from that table, and this time Alice joined in, as did I.
Alice was sorted into Gryffindor, as was Remus Lupin. A young blonde boy was sorted into Hufflepuff, and a black-haired girl was sorted into Slytherin. I was so caught up in imagining how much it'd suck to not be placed with my friends, that I didn't hear my name being called out.
"Amanda Joye."
"Oh, sorry, Professor."
I walked up and sat on the stool, and the Sorting Hat now rested on my head.
I could hear him muttering to himself within my head, and then the moment came. He called out my House, and I was probably more saddened than happy by it.
"RAVENCLAW!" The Hat shouted.
It was taken off my head, and I walked down to my table, instantly greeted by people that seemed so genuinely sweet. I glanced over to the Gryffindor table and made eye contact with Lily.
"Sorry," I mouthed to her.
"Don't be," She replied, nonverbally.
After that, my focus went straight to the dinnerware. Goblets and dishes were laid out in front of me, all gold. Well, gold-plated, I assume. I was in a mental investigation about whether these were solid gold or not, that I missed the rest of the Sorting. I probably wouldn't have ended my search for an answer if a soft, old voice hadn't started speaking.
"Welcome!" the voice said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Also, I'd like to give a warning to all of you. This year, some of you may have noticed a new addition to our school. A large tree has been placed on the grounds here, and I must stress that none of you go near it. True to its name, it is a Whomping Willow, and may severely harm you. Thank you! Let the feast begin."
And with that, he sat back down.
"What was that about?" I asked, turning to the girl next to me.
"That's Professor Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster. He's quite strange like that, actually."
"Brilliant!" I said with a smile on my face.
My smile quickly turned into a face of awe and disbelief, because before my eyes, platters of food erupted from the table. My goblet had filled itself, and I quickly began to fill my dish with food.
— —
After I had eaten so much I nearly chummed it all back up, the Feast was over. As instructed, I was to follow the Ravenclaw prefect to my Common Room. We trekked up so many moving stairs, I still wasn't even sure where I had gone. Finally, we reached a door that bore a bronze knocker shaped like an eagle.
"Which came first, the phoenix, or the flame?" the knocker said.
"What is this?" I asked the boy next to me.
"To get into our common room," he said, "you need to answer a riddle. If you can't answer it, you have to wait for someone who can. Only those with enough intelligence can get in, really."
"Bloody hell."
"A circle has no beginning," said the Prefect.
The door swung open, and I was led into the Common Room. It was beautiful, to put it plainly. It was like a library for me to use as my own. I was told where my dorm would be, and I was sent up to it straight away.
I got dressed in my sleep clothes, laid down in my four-poster bed, and stared up at the ceiling.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Amanda," I said to myself, hoping my dorm-mates didn't hear me. "Welcome home."