A/N— Hi! Okay, so I know this is an overly used idea, but I'm going to try it anyway. This story obviously doesn't follow main the main plot line, but I'm going to try to stay as close as I can. Do Not Fear; my character will not be the savior of the series, or yet another horcrux, or the heir of Slytherin/Ravenclaw/Hufflepuff/Gryffindor. She is not going to be that important to the central plot, although she will appear at points.
Summary: Kristen Lily Potter was never going to amount to anything, or so she felt. She was the second child of an orphan family, and not even her aunt and uncle wanted her. She was smart, but brains can only get you so far. Follow her through her seven years with biased teachers, crumple-horn snorkaks, pranks, and magic.
Chapter 1: Of Reform School and Magic
Walking down a dreary street in the English countryside, you would come across a school that, if possible, is even more depressing than the area itself. Whether the street was gloomy because of the school, or if the school was gloomy because of its general location is unknown. All we know is that the school and the area surrounding it was defiantly not the best place to go on a midnight stroll with your loved ones.
The school was surrounded by a tall rot iron gate with a sign for St. Garfunkel's School for "Promising" Youth. The building it self was a large white marble castle with smaller buildings sticking from its sides. The original building was built some time in the eighteenth century and looked exactly like Dracula's Castle. The smaller buildings were symmetrical and adorned with many windows. On the edge of the school grounds, there was a small chapel and a convent. At regular intervals the nuns could be seen walking toward the school to trade shifts during the night.
Even though the nuns didn't own the school, they came with the whole reform school experience. They taught a handful of classes and helped patrol at night. The children weren't very fond of the sisters and tended to avoid them, but sometimes this wasn't possible. The nuns had a reputation for their strict behavior, and they were often in charge of punishment.
Back at the school, a girl was perched in one of the many windows. This girl was not your average eleven year old. She didn't have three eyes, speak dog or anything cool like that, she spoke English and looked quite normal. Things just sometimes happened around her that she couldn't explain. In other words, she was magic.
Kristen Lily Potter had curly, fire red hair and emerald green eyes. She was one of the smartest girls in school, but also one of the biggest troublemakers, according to her teachers. At the end of every semester, the principal would call her into her office to discuss her report card. As usual, she kept her 3.8 GPA, never below or above 3.8, and her habit of being in detention at least three nights a week.
Of course, she never went there alone. Next to her, her calibrator and best friend, Charlotte, sat. The principal always sighed and said," Ladies, I'm very ashamed that you are in my office, again." Then, she would read off the list of things they had done this semester, and it was a very long and tiresome list. The girls just sat there nodding and looking innocent, but really they felt as though had just won an Academy Award. When the principal finished, they girls would thank her and pledge to do better.
After they left the office, one would bow and the other would applaud as they walked back to their dorm. They didn't mind going to the principal, it was the nuns they were afraid of.
I looked at the forest. As usual, nothing was there. I peaked again. Nothing.
I hopped off the window pain, and Charlotte looked up at me.
"Did you see anyone?"
"Nope, as usual, no one is stupid enough to be here at night."
"Darn, could of sworn I saw someone," she huffed.
"Ah, come on, it was probably just you neighborhood serial killer or a stalker, nothing to worry about," I joked.
"Probably, or it might have been a fan who heard about how you almost caught a nun on fire yesterday!"
"Shh, your not supposed to talk about it!" I said as I clapped a hand over her mouth. Suddenly, I felt something wet tickling my hand. "Oh my god, did you just lick me," I screamed. "Ew, nasty! Now I have stupid spit on my hand! I can feel it flowing through my blood stream, contaminating it. Do you want me to be like you?"
Charlotte laughed and I heard a hushed shushing sound. "Good job, Kristen, now every one knows not to let you around candles," she teased. I pouted, but I was glad for the topic change, because I had a feeling that Charlotte was right. No matter how much I wanted it to be false, I did believe that she had seen something. Whether it was a person or not, I wasn't quite sure.
Things had been getting weirder and weirder resently. The teachers had even stricter about staying on the grounds and sneaking around at night. They had given us the "Stranger Danger" speech at least three times. They had doubled up guard, but they still refused to give us any information.
There were only two months until Hogwarts and we hadn't gotten our letters yet. Term was ending in only two weeks, and Charlotte and I would be going to her house for summer. It was weird to think that these might be the last fourteen days we ever spent here. Even stranger, these were the last fourteen days left with the lovely nuns and all these special people.
It was a good thing that Charlotte was a witch, too. If she wasn't, they would of probably had to drag me to Hogwarts kicking and screaming. I would have been like," Nope, sorry, I have no desire to leave my best friend alone in this nuthouse." I wonder if anyone has ever turned down Hogwarts.
Charlotte could have been my sister, except for the fact that we looked nothing alike. She was tall and thin with chin length black hair. Her eyes were like storm clouds and the colors swirled when she got angry. We both knew everyone around us belonged either belonged in a juvenile delinquent center or in preschool. Being the only two sane people in a house full of crazies really could bring two people together.
We also complimented each other perfectly. She cooled my quick temper and I knew how to easily lie us both out of trouble. She tutored me in math and I tutored her in science, because keeping a 3.8 GPA was harder then it looked. Her parents quickly took me in like their own daughter when we weren't at school, and I was the sister she always wanted. It was only more convenient that she was a witch, too. I wouldn't trade her for all the magic in the world.
The next day, we sat in the library studying for our approaching exams.
"Uh, if I do anymore math today my brain might rot," I complained
"Yeah, and the relationship of ocean currents and weather makes far more sense than dividing fractions!" she replied sarcastically.
"Finally, you see it my way!"
"Kristen, come on, how could you not note that sarcasm?" The librarian shushed us, sending us both into spasms of uncontrollable laughter.
"God, I'm going to miss this place! How is it possible that we act like we hate this place, and yet I can't imagine life without it?"
"I know right? This place may be a nut house, but it's our nut house." We both sighed and got back into our chairs.
We sat there in silence for what seemed like forever. Finally, Char decided to break the silence."Have you heard anything from Harry, yet?" she whispered anxiously.
"No, not recently. Why?" I looked at her, and tried to decipher her strange expression. Her face was creased with worry lines, but a strange glimmer of something still shone in her eyes.
"I don't know," she sighed," I was just wondering if you could ask him when he got his letter, that's all."
"I know, I'm starting to get nervous. Do you think they forgot about us?" We fell back into our awkward silence, and neither of us said a word for the rest of the time.
After we had our fill of studying, we left the library in silence. That night I dreamed of nothing but flesh eating clowns and owls that might never come.
We did both get owls. They came exactly three hours after we finished our last exam. We jumped up and down and screamed, swearing we always knew that they were coming. Charlotte said that the school had never seen so much happiness. I said the whole damn town had never seen so much happiness.
The night before we left, we threw a huge party for ourselves. We frolicked up and down the hall, and threw so much glitter we thought the school might drown in pink sparkles.
When Charlotte's parents came, the nuns and teachers told them that they would miss our talent and enthusiasm to learn. They all cried, but we knew that they were tears of joy. They wouldn't really miss the tornado of damage we left in our trail, especially after last night. The only thing they might miss was the sparkling bathrooms that were cleaned by us at least three times a week.
We didn't look back once as we left. Charlotte and I simply watched the town fly by our car windows as we thought of the memories connected with each building. We were too anxious to arrive at our new home, Hogwarts. The sun shined brighter that day that we left; the school really would miss us.
A/N—Thanks for reading and please review. You don't even have to review about this story! You can review about ponies, socks, or whatever else your heart desires. I also need to know if I should write one story, seven, or split it half and half. Any suggests? Feel free to include that in your review, too. Bye for now -_-
