Pandora's Box
Disclaimer: Can you believe that the characters from Harry Potter are actually owned by J.K Rowling? I know, so can I. Only Pandora's mine.
Pandora took a deep breath, transferring would be hard. Beaubatons girls had never considered her as anything but a freak, and now she had to start all over again, at Hogwarts. Of course, it could be a new start as such, but Pandora had never been particularly optimistic. She looked down at her scrappy uniform through her dishevelled blue hair, freak was putting it simply. Disregarding herself for a moment she gazed up at the deep December sky, they were a whole term into studies already, how would she ever be able to catch up. Let alone establish any social status what so ever.
"Hey. Who are you?" asked a boy who appeared to have come from nowhere, he had shaggy deep brown hair and was tall and muscled.
"I'm… I'm Pandora, I'm new here," She stuttered.
"I see," The boy frowned but smiled warmly. "My name's Sirius." He shook her hand and beckoned to some people who weren't visible. To her surprise, three more boys appeared from under a silvery cloak, right in the middle of the corridor.
The lankiest one, whose manic black hair stood on end, greeted her first, "James," he said. "Welcome to Hogwarts."
A portly, freckled boy leered at her shyly but didn't shake her hand, "Peter." He mumbled incoherently, Sirius scowled at him disapprovingly.
The last boy was the most intriguing; his sunken eyes peered at her from behind long curtains of brunette dreadlocks. Werewolf, she thought, obviously.
"Remus," he said, his weary tone and scratched hands confirmed her suspicions, and she stifled a giggle at his appropriate naming. He sighed and smiled crookedly, "We better take you to see Dumbledore." Pandora saw the glint of a prefect badge pinned to his chest, the sensible ones are always werewolves, she thought.
The four boys led her down various corridors and up and down numerous staircases, she had only just got used to Beaubatons, how on earth would she find her feet here?
They came finally to a rather impressive gargoyle at the end of a corridor.
"Moony," said James and motioned for Remus to go in front. God, it was so blatantly obvious this boy was a werewolf; did they think she was stupid?
"Sugar Quill," he muttered gruffly and the gargoyle began to spin upwards, producing a flight of spiral stairs. The four boys hopped on, and grabbing Pandora's hands, Remus and Sirius hauled Pandora to their level.
"Thank you," squeaked the girl, and blushed a warm pink.
Once at the top of the stairs, a voice from within permitted them to enter, "I have been waiting for you." It said.
James shrugged and held the door open for her, the room was glorious, a wonderful circular form adorned with paintings and an array of magical artefacts, of course, Pandora knew this room all too well, as well as she knew it's current inhabitant.
"Good evening Miss Throth. James, Sirius, Remus, Pettigrew. Thank you for your aid, but your services are no longer called for. I suggest you go to bed instead of sneaking around corridors, who knows who you might run into." Dumbledore paused, a glint in his eyes. "They might be dangerous."
The boys filed out, all looking a little disgruntled at their dismissal, Remus stood a second longer, but dashed out quickly, his grey cheeks slightly red.
"Now Pandora, old friend. It has not been an easy decision letting you receive an education here. We don't usually invest ex-prisoners amongst out students."
Pandora was about to protest, but the old man raised his hand to stop her, "But seeing as you are innocent of all crimes other than being what you are, I managed to persuade my colleagues of your sincere nature and incomparable thirst for learning."
Pandora smiled, Dumbledore had got her out of many problems in the time they had been friends, and in return, she was a loyal and much loved member of the order of the phoenix, which was currently only a very small endeavour in the making.
"Thank you Albus. Yet again, I am indebted to you. I will cause as little trouble as I can."
Dumbledore smiled warmly, his eyes crinkling with lines, and yet there was still youth in him, "Pandora, you are like a daughter to me, there is no debt. As for the trouble, I believe it will not be as easy to uphold your vow as you think. You have already earned the favour of the resident trouble-makers." He chuckled vaguely. "I suspect you are tired from your journey. As we established you to be a Gryffindor, your dormitory is above that of your new friends.
"We've put you separately to others for obvious reasons. There is a trapdoor in the boys' dormitory, which is where we have put you."
Pandora felt too gracious to be hurt by this, as long as it was a bed, and as long as there was good company just below, she wasn't going to complain. "Thank you, sir." It was odd calling a friend 'sir', but evidently necessary.
"Follow the feather," said the old man and a brilliantly coloured phoenix feather beckoned to her to follow.
Pandora hated having her own dormitory, she felt so isolated from people, so singled out, it was as if she was the most dangerous being possible, which technically, in the wrong hands, she probably was. Her blessing was her curse; eternal life had given her the ability to survive any poison, blade, spell or potion completely unscathed. She had been bitten by a werewolf four hundred and eighty-four times, a vampire two hundred and thirteen times and a basilisk twice. She didn't do the full moon thing, thank god, but she went into frequent night time convulsions whenever full moon hit. She didn't sleep properly either, but instead with her eyes rolled back into her head yet completely open, and she'd whisper to herself.
Anyone who had witnessed her sleeping moments found it an unnerving experience at best.
The feather departed her at a wooden door above the Gryffindor common room, she knocked on the wood.
"Who the hell's that?" she heard a voice say, Sirius' she assumed.
"Pandora," she replied.
Someone gasped faintly, and she heard a thudding noise. Sirius opened the door and grinned manically. She jumped a little, he was topless, and showing off so blatantly it was funny. He nodded his head to the side, motioning for her to come in.
"Get off the floor Moony, we have a visitor." He said, poking obvious fun at the closet case werewolf who was sprawled across the floor and nursing his head. He poked his tongue out at Sirius and smiled blushingly to Pandora.
"What's with the late night visit then newbie?" asked James, who was cleaning his glasses with a look of boredom and sucking on a squirming chocolate frog carcass.
Only then did Pandora notice her surroundings, the room was small and messy, four beds cramped into it, and books, broomsticks, pranks and clothes strewn over every surface. It was obviously the dormitory of the resident trouble-makers. How could it not be?
"Newbie?" asked James.
"Sorry! Yes," babbled Pandora. "Do you by any chance, have a trap door?" She looked hastily up and searched the ceiling.
"Yes actually. Behind you," Sirius smirked.
Pandora scowled playfully, "Thanks. Alohamora."
The trap door swung open, not on their heads thankfully. Another bonus of eternal life, and being bitten by various creatures, were the wonderful flying and jumping skills inherited. With a graceful ease she leapt into the room above. She heard cries of dismay from below, poking her head over the edge she smiled gleefully at the shocked looks of the three boys awake. James and Sirius both looked impressed, Remus, on the other hand had a look that couldn't quite be explained, one of almost fear mixed with a burning fascination.
Pandora conjured a rope ladder and told them to come up.
"How come you get your own dorm?" asked Sirius.
"Because I'm a freak."
James laughed, "That we all are."
Remus frowned a little, a touch of concern was in his brow, "Some more so than others."
Pandora nodded, keeping a strange eye contact with him which seemed to clash their souls together regardless of the consequences. It seemed like hours they were staring at each other, ripping apart the very fabric of each others being, finding every oddity, every quirk, trying to understand. Remus jumped down to the room below, he shivered as he reached the floor. There was something in Pandora he recognised, something that enticed him, but scared him all the same.
Sirius shrugged in apology to his friend's hasty descent and he and James departed also.
"Night!" he called up, Pandora waved, slightly miffed by Remus' sudden departure. Closing the trap door she sighed, cheered immensely by the kindness and friendship of the four boys below her. It would be nice to have friends who at least appeared to be the same age, being fifteen for a grand total of four hundred years wasn't exactly easy.
But somehow, she had a feeling it might get better.