Disclimer: I, Devin Ebony, do not own the Harry potter Series. The only things in this story that I in anyway own Is Catalina and the majority of her family.

September 1, 1971

The clock ticked the minutes off until the Hogwarts Express would be leaving, taking Catalina Rostov with it for her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Though this was an exciting day for any witch or wizard, Lina was practically terrified of going. She felt as though she was going to let her parents down or upset them so much that they would immediately disown her. The only way they would do that, she supposed, was if she was sorted into Gryffindor or Hufflepuff; the only problem there was she kind of wanted to be a Gryffindor. Her brother, Michael, hadn't received too joyous of a response upon being sorted into Ravenclaw. She didn't even want to think about what they would do if she actually did get sorted in to Gryffindor House. Sure, she would be happy at first, because she had a feeling she would love that house. Then what, though? She'd have to deal with her parents' hatred for seven years until she could get out of the house.

Catalina's whole family, minus three or four Ravenclaws, had been Slytherin. To break that tradition would not only upset her parents, but the rest of her family as well. The only thing that really mattered to her family blood and money. They had been one of the many Pureblood families in Russia, but after the fights began breaking out amongst the families almost a century ago, her family had begun relocating to the UK. That was where Catalina, her siblings, and her cousins had been born. From the second that the Rostov family began entering Hogwarts, they'd all been sorted into Slytherin. Then as the rise of Voldemort had begun, they'd all followed in his footsteps (minus the few who had been disowned). Her family had the same Ideals and beliefs towards Muggle borns and Muggles. This was a belief that Catalina and some of her cousins did not share, but did not dare go against for fear of what their family might do to them.

Boarding the Train, Lina was anxious to find her older cousin, Larisa. Larisa had been born on September 3rd, just days after the cutoff date. Lina, herself, had been born near the end of August, just barely making it into her first year. She was rather glad the way it had worked out, seeing as she would have Larisa to cling to for the first year at Hogwarts; she wouldn't be completely alone. Isa, as Larisa preferred to be called, had always been her closest cousin both in age and in general. She did suppose, however, that it kind of sucked for her cousin, being stuck with some students nearly a year younger than you.

"LINA!" A voice shrieked over the crowd, causing the girl in question to jump slightly. A tall girl, who Lina immediately recognized as her cousin, was shoving through the crowd. Isa's head was visible over the crowd of first years and she towered nearly all of them. She'd always been tall for her age, and the fact that she is nearly twelve didn't help her case any. Isa didn't seem to mind her tallness then as she was plowing her way through all of the much shorter first years to find her younger cousin.

"Merlin, Isa. Must you be so loud?" Lina called with a roll of her eyes, as she attempted to shove her way down the corridor and pulling her trunk along behind her.

"Well. I didn't know you were right there, Princess." She retorted, "I found a compartment, though! It has another girl sitting is in it... but we'll survive, I suppose." She shrugged, making her way back. and pulling Lina's trunk from her hands

"Hey-" Lina weakly protested, but it was to late for that. Isa had already dragged it to the compartment and was shoving in. They made it just in time to see another boy also coming into the compartment. He had pale, sickly skin and slightly greasy looking black hair. Lina didn't want to say he was ugly or anything, but he wasn't exactly all the best looking bloke on the train. In fact, he rather scared her with the mean looking expression her wore. Inside, the compartment there were two others besides the girl that Isa had mentioned. Lina raised an eyebrow in question, but Isa shrugged, dealing with Lina's trunk and sitting down next to the two boys on the other side of the compartment. With a sigh, Lina flopped down on the opposite side, closest to the door and was absorbed in her thoughts until she heard a disbelieving yell come from one of the other boys.

"Slytherin?" The messy haired boy asked incredulously, "Who wants to be in Slytherin? I think I'd Leave, wouldn't you?" He questioned to the other boy. At that moment Lina had to resist the urge to smack him. Despite not really wanting to be a Slytherin, her mother was a Slytherin and she still loved her dearly. She also knew that Isa wouldn't take to well to that, either, considering how many of their family members were Slytherins.

"My whole family has been in Slytherin." The other boy commented dryly.

"Blimey," said the first one, "and I thought you seemed all right!" This gained a grin from the other

"Maybe I'll break the tradition. Where are you heading, if you've got the choice?"

The messy haired lifted an invisible sword.

" 'Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart!' Like my dad." The greasy haired one made a small, disparaging noise, causing the boy to turn to him. "Got a problem with that?"

"No," said the greasy haired one commented, though his slight sneer said otherwise. "If you'd rather be brawny than brainy —"

"Where're you hoping to go, seeing as you're neither?" one of the others interjected, electing laughs from the other boy. The poor redheaded girl hopped up, dragging the other with her.

"Come on, Severus, let's find another compartment."

"Oooooo . . ." The two boys mocked her as she walked away

"See ya, Snivellus!" one of the called down the corridor.

"So, what are your names?" Isa finally asked after a moment of silence, glancing at the two boys next to her.

"James Potter." The messy haired one replied.

"Sirius Black." The other stated. Lina made a face of disgust, which she thought had gone unnoticed by him, luckily.

"I'm Isa and this is my cousin, Lina." She introduced, gesturing to her cousin, who was still huddled up in the corner near the door.

"So, what houses do you two want to be in?" James questioned.

"I know Lina's gonna end up in Slytherin." Isa shot, smirking and kicking her cousin lightly from across the compartment.

"Sod off. We know that you'll be the Slytherin, Larisa." Lina returned, rolling her eyes jokingly.

"Larisa, is it now? Alright then, Catalina." She mocked, "Really, though... I'm kind of hoping for Gryffindor to annoy my parents, but I'll probably end up in Ravenclaw. Lina will annoy her parents with any house other than Slytherin, though."

"I'd rather be a Gryffindor over any of those other houses, but knowing my parents, I'll get disowned straight away if I'm anything but a Slytherin or Ravenclaw. Ravenclaw is just barely accepted, too." She explained, shaking her head gloomiy and wishing that her family could just be more accepting. That wasn't something that would happen anytime soon, though.

"So that's why you made a face when I said my name?" Sirius said with a smirk, "Your family is like mine, one of the purblood, muggle hating maniacs."

"You saw that- Oh uhmm..." Lina Trailed off, her cheeks turning a bright red color, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to seem so rude; my parents are always talking about your family, though. They keep talking about how they should Marry off my brother to one of you guys, or something. Narcissa, I believe her name is?" She rambled on, trying not to offend the boy any farther.

"Don't worry about it, Cat." Sirius waved his hand, trying to end her mindless ramblings.

"Cat?"

Hogwarts Castle sorting Ceremony:

"Black, Sirius" Sirius made his way up the stool and hat, a smirk on his face. The hat appeared completely silent for a few minutes before it finally yelled, "GRYFFINDOR!" The hall was stunned into silence.

"Cresswell, Dirk" and "Crouch, Baremius" were sorted before the next person that Cat recognized went up.

"Evans, Lily" The redhead that Isa and Cat had seen on the train went up, looking slightly nervous. The hate immediately shouted out "Gryffindor!" Cheers rang out through the Great hall. Cat did not miss the Serverus boy's groan, however.

A few more went up, going to Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, before "Lupin, Remus" became the next Gryffindor, followed by "Macdonald, Mary", "McKinnon, Marlene", and "Pettigrew, Peter".

"Potter, James" was called and Cat barely even paid attention, knowing that the messy haired boy would be "Gryffindor!" Two more Gryffindors came from the sorting before finally she heard:

"Rostov, Catalina" ring throughout the hall. Cat slowly made her way up the steps to the stool, settling down and feeling the hat placed on her head.

"Another Rostov, I see. Your family will be quite numerous in Hogwarts in the next few years, am I right? Well, on with your sorting, Ms. Catalina." she immediately corrected him for use of her full name, "Well then, Cat. Let's see... You're ambitious, and cunning. You would make a good Slytherin. I don't think that is your house though. You are smart, and Loyal but not hardworking. I'd say that rules out Hufflepuff. So that's it... Ravenclaw or Gryffindor." Cat paused thinking about it. It wasn't her choice, but she couldn't help but think. If she was a Ravencalw, her mum could get over it... She didn't want to be a Ravenclaw, though. She didn't care what her family thought anymore. "That's the answer to that question then, my dear." To the rest of the hall it shouted its final answer "GRYFFINDOR!"

Cat, hopped down, handing the hat back and ran for the cheering table. She was so happy, that she didn't even pay attention the dark look that her cousin was giving her as she ran on. She knew how Cat's parents would react, as did Cat. Right now, though, she was too happy to care. She was in the house that she wanted to be in, and her parents would have to get over it. Even her brother was smiling and clapping for her, so how mad could her parents be?

"Rostov, Larisa" The hat was on her cousin's head for less than a second before it shouted- "Ravenclaw!"

June 30, 1972

"Catalina Cassiopeia Rostov! How could you be sorted in to Gryffindor? What were you thinking.. THE SHAME! You horrible little brat! To your room! Go! I don't want you in my presence! GO!" Cat high-tailed it up the steps, forgetting about the question she was going to ask her parents. There was no way that they were going to let her go anywhere with her friends now, was there?

"I don't want her in my house, Morgan! She's going to amount to nothing more than a filthy little blood traitor! If only I was as cruel as my father and Grandfather, I would teach the little brat a lesson! She would learn her place, just like my aunts Larisa and Sonya did!"

"IVAN! You do realize what you just said, don't you? You're talking about killing our own daughter! I know that you don't want her to be Gryffindor, and as understandable as that is, she is still your child-"

"THAT THING IS NO CHILD OF MINE!" A Voice roared, shaking the mansion and vibrating off of walls, "As soon as she turns Seventeen, She's gone! I'm done with her! She'll be disowned, and I never want to see her face again." Cat bit her lip as her father screamed, the conversation seemingly ending.

"Catalina?" A woman's stern voice called, "Open your door, now." She ordered. Cat made no move to open it, and a click was heard from the door. "Do you have a friend's house that you can go to, Catalina? Just for a few weeks?" Cat thought about it and bit her lip.

"She's Muggleborn, mum, that would only-" The woman made a slight face, a sneer coming in to place.

"It's still safer for you there until your father calms down. Contact her, explain the situation, and I will have you dropped off. I will tell your father that you are with..." She paused, trying to think of a family that would suffice.

"The Potter's." Cat announced, "I'm friends with their son, James." Her mother nodded stiffly, turning to leave the room.

"Your father was serious, Catalina. Time may bring his temper down so that he won't hurt you much, but he is going to disown you. He wouldn't forget something like that." Cat simply nodded, going to her desk to send an owl to her best friend, a certain Miss Lily Evans.

September 1, 1976

"Goodbye, Mum." Cat whispered, wrapping her arms around Mrs. Evans as the woman freted over her clothes and hair. She grabbed a hold of Cat's tie, adjusting it for about the millionth time.

"Don't get in to too much trouble, Kitty. Keep your grades up! You did so good on your OWLs, just make sure to not get distracted by any boys-"

"No Boys at all would be better, really, Kit Kat." Mr. Evans interjected, gaining a chuckle from his wife.

"Make sure Lily doesn't over work herself." She finally finished, giving the young girl one last hug. Cat smiled, dreading the next few minutes when she was required to spend time with her real mother and father. Cat spent most of her summers with Lily and her family, minus the first two weeks and when they had to visit other family members. She'd come to see Lily's parents as her own and Lily as her own sister. Her relationship with her own family, however, was failing miserably. The only ones that she was able to have a pleasurable conversation with anymore was her Cousin and her older brother. The rest of them saw her as the scum of the earth, especially when they saw how close she was to a 'mudblood'.

"Oh, look, it's the blood-traitor." Her youngest brother drawled.

"Nice to see you too, Vladimir." Cat shot back with a glare.

"Don't get snappy with him, Catalina." Her father growled, grabbing her arm and forcing her to turn away from his her brother. "You listen here, you filthy little brat. I'm giving you one more chance this year. You will either stay at home with your mother and I for the summer, or I'm done. You should have been disowned years ago, the moment you were sorted in to Gryffindor and you became friends with that little mudblood-"

"Don't you dare call her that!" Cat interjected hotheadedly, receiving a crushing squeeze on her arm. Sharp ripples of pain ran along her arm to her shoulder, making her cry out in pain.

"I'll call her what I want. You worthless little Bloodtraitor!" He roared, and for once, Cat was glad that the Platform was too loud for anyone to hear him, and not to mention, her family always met away from the others. "You're scum. You're the reason that Michael is turning out so screwed up, too. You are you're little Blood traitor ways. You were lucky; I have given you chance and chance again to redeem yourself. You still refuse, and continue on with your ways. You're done, Catalina. No longer are you to be considered part of this family. We don't want such a filthy, worthless, slag in our family. You'll amount to nothing; all that you're going to do is end up pregnant, your husband will be garbage! A worthless criminal who can give you noth-"

"Excuse me, Mr. Rostov." A voice interrupted. Cat was relieved to see James standing, speaking to her father, with Sirius next to him. Usually, she would be groaning in annoyance at the sight of Sirius Black, but anyone was better than being alone and listening to the rest of her father's rants. "Can we borrow Catalina now, sir? We really need to speak with-" But he was cut off by her father shoving her, releasing the arm that he'd still been griping, and slamming her into Sirius. Luckily for her, he caught her rather than letting her fall to the ground, or she would have been in even more pain. She quickly pulled herself away from him, going behind the two boys to wait.

"You can take the little slag and keep her. I never want to see her face again." He snapped, storming back over to his wife and Sons.

"Bloody hell! What was that, Cat?" James snapped as he led her away, "You never told me that your parents were that bad. Come on, Catalina! Speak." His tone softened towards the end as he saw how shook up she looked.

"Usually he's not that bad in public. I don't know if he actually just disowned me or if he was just going off on one of his rants again..." She shuddered slightly, and then felt the pain in her arm. "Bloody Hell, that hurts!" She squealed, rubbing it to try and get the circulation back faster.

"Of course it does! He nearly tore your arm off, Kitty. You're just lucky that Sirius saw him start screaming at you, or neither of us would have come." James exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.

Cat raised an eyebrow in questioning. Usually, she and Sirius were lucky to even be considered civil towards one another. They were constantly bickering back and forth, never getting along. There were a few times, she supposed, that they'd gotten along, but they only lasted for a few minutes. One was when she'd seen her first boyfriend in a broom closet with another girl while walking to class with James and Sirius. Both James and Sirius had moved to hex him, but Sirius had gotten to him first; the rest of the day they had no arguments. Another time was during quidditch, when one of the beaters had whacked her in the stomach with their bats, going unnoticed by the referee or teachers of any sort. Sirius had hit the boy in the back with him own bat, earning himself A. Detention and B. a penalty shot on Gryffindor (Cat insisted this was only because it was quidditch, though).

"Thanks, Black." She said with a slight smile, allowing herself to give him a small hug, despite how much she truly disliked him. He rolled his eyes in response, giving a small smile; Cat noticed, however, that he seemed to be angered over something. It was weird for her, considering how good the Black family usually was with covering up their feelings.

"Anyways, Kitty, are you looking forward to our sixth year at Hogwarts?" James questioned, eyes practically sparkling with mischief.

"Ready as I'll ever be." She replied with a grin, hopping on the train along with the two boys.

AN: So this was just a quick chapter too get you too our point in the story. It doesn't really show much about Cat's personality, friends, etc, just gives you an idea of her life before Hogwarts and who her friends are and what not. I'm going to put up a family tree for Catalina sometime soon and I'll probably leave the information on her family on my profile.