Chapter One:

She hurried outside of the Leaky Cauldron, her purse hanging from the crease of her right elbow and her coat on the other side, without looking in front of her. Magdalene Middleton was late for a job interview at the Zabini manor, to be a personal nurse to the oldest member of the family. She knew whose family it was, naturally, and hoped that it would not be a hindrance to her obtaining the job. Blaise Zabini used to be a classmate of hers at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Maggie would never forget her first day there…

Her parents had accompanied her to the train station, but having no idea as to how to get on platform 93/4, they decided to wait for someone who knew Hogwarts and ask them how to get on the platform. After nearly half an hour of trying to decipher the wizards from their fellow Muggles, a rather eccentric-looking old woman appeared in the crowd. She was flanked by a sleepy looking boy, roughly Magdalene's age, rolling his luggage upon which sat a quiet toad. The woman complained loudly about how disorganised that 'Muggle'-station was. Maggie's father knew the word meant non-magic people, after hearing it from a redhead father in Diagon Alley, who helped the newcomers adapt to the extraordinary world. His name was something like Arthur Weasley, the eleven-year-old remembered. The lady on the train station kindly helped her and her parents access the platform after saying that her last name and her grandson's was Longbottom. The little girl muffled a snort and her mother glared at her, hissing "Manners, Magdalene!" under her breath.

The platform was overly crowded, mainly with adults. The train was bright red and, unlike on the Muggle platform, it was a steam engine. Occasionally her parents spent a few weeks abroad for work while Magdalene stayed with her cousins. Aside from that, she had never been separated from them for more than a week. She hugged her mother tightly and her father lifted her so that she could hug him with both arms.

They said their goodbyes and she went inside the train holding her month old black kitten, whom she still hadn't named yet, on one arm and her school uniform on the other. She walked up and down compartments looking for some room for herself. One compartment held four boys and a girl, so she figured that she could use the sixth place on the seat. There was a chocolate-skinned boy sitting next to a boy with white blond hair, who stared at her with obvious disgust, in front of them were one tall plump boy next to a short and equally as thick one. The girl looked like she could be the twin of the blond boy, as her hair was just as bright and her eyes, just as dark.

"Can I sit here?" she asked shyly.

"Name," said the blond curtly.

"Magdalene Middleton," she said hesitantly "why?"

"I don't know you," he replied simply, "and if I don't know you, you're not worthy of sitting here."

"Listen here, you little albino, wizard or not, I'm not going to let you decide anything for me. I've always stood up for myself and you're never going to change that!" she said without pausing once.

"And a Mudblood on top of that!" was his falsely-impressed response.

The girl looked like she was going to speak, but Magdalene had heard enough. She huffed as she didn't understand the word he'd used to insult her, she would never show weakness in front of him or any other bully, ever. She continued on her quest for a seat and found a compartment occupied by two girls and the Longbottom boy she recognised from the train station. He had fallen asleep.

"Can I sit here?" She whispered.

"Of course," said one girl without lifting her eyes off of her book "I'm Hermione Granger, what's your name?"

"Magdalene Middleton," she said warily, expecting the same scenario as with the blond-haired boy.

"I'm Rebecca Cole," the second girl introduced herself without looking away from the view at the window.

"That's Neville Longbottom, right there. I suppose that he isn't quite used to waking up early," Hermione remarked with a pitying look before resuming her reading.

"Yeah, my parents and I met him and his gran at the train station. They showed us how to get onto the platform," Magdalene declared as she sat with her kitten on her lap.

"Oh, so you're a Muggle-born!" Rebecca squealed excitedly "Just like she is!"

"Shhh!" Hermione hissed, as Neville stirred in his sleep.

"Sorry," Rebecca mouthed.

"What about you?" Maggie asked.

"I'm Half-Blood," she said casually.

"Meaning?"

"My mum is a pure blood and my dad is a Muggle-born," she explained.

"Can I ask you something?" Magdalene asked, uneasy.

"Of course," Rebecca assured her, and Hermione nodded absentmindedly.

"What's a Mudblood?"

Both heads jerked up, shock plastered all over their faces. Rebecca's eyes were wide and Hermione was fishing for words. Finally, Magdalene realised that what she had said was probably a mean insult

"It's a foul word to designate Muggle-born witches and wizards, never used in civilised conversations," Hermione squeezed out in a strained voice, returning to her book with pursed lips.

"Where did you hear that?" Rebecca asked.

"A boy called me that. I don't know how he figured out what kind of witch I am. He asked for my name and that's all."

"Do you know his name?"

"No, but he was so blond he looked like an albino. Well, I did call him that before he insulted me, but that was because his tone was insulting." Magdalene shrugged, hoping her description might be helpful.

Rebecca scoffed. "Must be a Malfoy, his father's always mean to mine at the Ministry of Magic."

"Well whoever he is, I'm not being disrespected," she decided.

"'Morning," mumbled a boy's voice, Neville had woken up "where's Trevor?"

"Who?"

"Trevor, my toad" he clarified.

"Oh… I haven't seen it" she said.

"Trevor?" Neville called, looking in between trunks. "He must've gone away. I'll go look for him." He stood up and walked out of the compartment.

"I'll see if he needs any help," said Hermione as she closed her book and stood up.

Rebecca and Magdalene stayed in the compartment and continued their conversation. Later on, a disappointed Neville and a rather fascinated Hermione got back to the compartment and spoke about the presence of a "Henry" Potter being inside the train. Magdalene did not question it, must've been the son of the Minister of Magic or something. She and Rebecca put on their robes and fled the train as it stopped, by nightfall. The kitten, which had fallen asleep right when she sat down in the compartment, woke up frightened again at the sight of so many people going about. She hid the female kitten inside her robes and was careful not to crush her. A giant bearded and overall hairy man with an accent led the first years to boats that transported them to a well-lit castle. A tall, black-haired witch wearing a long, emerald velvet dress and a pointed black hat was waiting for the first years at the top of the stairs shown to them by the giant named Hagrid.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," he grunted.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here," he left for the Great Hall and she turned to them. "Welcome to Hogwarts, the start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your houses will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house's common room."

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points and inversely any rule-breaking will lose your house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting.

Her eyes lingered on Neville's cloak an instant, and Allison tried to fix her brown blonde hair as much as she possibly could while another boy nervously attempted to flatten his black hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."

She left and whispered conversations broke out. Hermione was whispering very fast about everything she'd learned already. A gasp made everyone turn around to see about twenty ghosts, pearly-white and slightly transparent. They glided across the room deep in conversation about someone named Peeves, and how they already forgave him enough. One round and plump, named Fat Friar, said he hoped to see most of the students in Hufflepuff, his old house. McGonagall came back moments later, telling them to form a line and follow her. They were led inside the gigantic Great Hall where four endless tables with benches on either side were placed perpendicular to a fifth elevated table which held teachers and the bearded headmaster. Magdalene looked up to find a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars and, for an insane moment, she thought that there was no ceiling at all.

Hermione caught her gaze. "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History."

"Looks pretty real to me," Magdalene mumbled.

She looked at the faces of the students. One table on the left only had occupants with blue ties and blazons: they looked at the first years in a, analytical way. Behind them was a table with students who wore green ties and who seemed rather curious with the first years. To Magdalene's right was a table with peaceful looking students wearing yellow and behind them were the cheerful red and gold uniforms. A voice from in front of her said a loud "HUFFLEPUFF!" guiding Magdalene's gaze toward a girl named Hannah who jumped off a four-legged, wooden stool to go sit with the cheering yellow-dressed students. Maggie then followed the Sorting Ceremony and when one student was sent to the Slytherin house, she heard the redhead tell the nervous, black haired boy that there wasn't one bad wizard who wasn't in Slytherin. She gulped hard and hoped that she would not be sorted to that house.

"Malfoy, Draco!" called Professor McGonagall.

The platinum-haired boy swaggered confidently toward the stool and sat on it. The Sorting hat had yet to touch his head before it exclaimed "Slytherin!" and he went to the green-dressed students' table. She turned back to McGonagall who glanced at her list and called again. Magdalene knew that name. She knew whose it was. It was hers! She drew in a deep, shaky breath, and walked somewhat steadily to the stool. Stairs, why did it have to be stairs? At that moment? Never mind that, why did she even have to face so many people in the first place? No time for the answers, she was sitting on the stool before she even realised that she was moving. The hat felt dusty, and oddly heavy, on her squirrel ginger, shoulder-length hair.

"Interesting, very interesting," it said thoughtfully "I see ambition, a bright mind and a strong tongue as well… The perfect house for you would be… SLYTHERIN!"

Shock ran through her spine at once, she froze on the stool, sure that she had misheard the talking hat, or at least that it had made a mistake it was about to correct… But none of that happened, instead she walked stiffly to the table at her right where the green-dressed students were applauding her… The redhead's words haunted her. Not one bad wizard wasn't in Slytherin...

"Welcome to Slytherin house," a tall boy with fair skin and dark hair with a P embroidered next to his Slytherin coat of arms greeted her before helping her find a seat.

After the rest of the first years were sorted, the headmaster made a speech and the feast appeared on the tables at once. Magdalene was neither impressed by the magic nor was she feeling hungry at all. The news of her attributed house made her stomach toss and turn, making it impossible for her to even look at food. Instead, she rubbed her cat between eyes and ears letting the purring appease her and thinking of a name for the little fur ball.

Shaking her head, Magdalene sighed at the memory. She shuffled through the door only to bump into someone in a black-on-black suit so tall that she, who stood at 5'1", was facing his black button down shirt. Maggie looked up, only to be taken aback by who it was…