Hey guys! It's Nelly here. I have like a 3 week break so I'm just experimenting with writing. I don't usually write this sort of third person chronological non-drabble type novel that spans over the life of an individual but I thought I'd give it a go. Not perfect, no. Far from it but this is for my own personal practise and well it might be fun! Just so you know, this story will span over the 7 schooling years of Lyn Chang, Cho Chang's bastard daughter. It involves the development of her as a character along with those around her, including many of the JK Rowling canons from the original series. Expect a lot of teenage angst, drama, romance, tragedy and even comedy? If you think that my dry sarcastic cynicalism is really comedy at all but whatever. As the story progresses, I'll include more characters and plots that randomly pop up in my head and every chapter I'll post the look-alike of a few characters. Most are models because I tend to watch fashiontv a lot. I'm totally up for critique and everything and please review! Thanks and I hope you enjoy this little experiment of mine!
Playbys :
Lyn Chang – Xiao Wen Ju
Albus Potter – Gaspard Ulliel
Scorpius Malfoy – Jeremy Dufour
Rose Weasley – Lily Cole
Ezra Chang – Sen Mitsuji
Sienna Belby – Sara Blomqvist
Mateus Smethwyk – Douglas Neitzke
Rita Zabini – Josilyn Williams
Lorcan/Lysander Scamander – Dylan Forsberg
Sean Finnigan – Miles Garber
Osric Avery – Jeremy Young
James Potter – Sean Opry
On the first day of September, Cho Chang hugged her daughter with much vigor Not that Lyn could really hold against her because after all, from the moment that Lyn was to step on the gleaming scarlet train, Cho Chang was to be utterly alone. Lyn had discussed it with her brother, Ezra on several occasions leading up to the start of the upcoming year. Neither was all too keen on leaving their single parent of a mother alone until Christmas, both knowing her vulnerable nature. But what else was there to do? Lyn was to start Hogwarts this year. The prospect itself shot eccentric excitement coursing through her veins.
She realized with a pang, as she watched her mother continue to grow smaller against the rapid speed of the train departing the station, that she indeed, felt guilty. Her mother had cried, clinging on to her only daughter and kissing the cheek of her only son. They were the light of her life, the fire of her lions (Lolita, if you please) and her sin, her soul, her flesh, her children. Cho Chang had infused into a small relationship with a man under the name of Ethan Kim and had delivered her first child, Ezra, into the world ten months after meeting Ethan. However upon the arrival of their second child two years later, Ethan had left Cho along with her two children, leaving the woman extremely devoid of happiness and trekking head-first into tragedy.
But in all, she had survived… or coped, either way. It took a lot of cheap red wine and constant loans from her parents along with morbid amounts of moral support from friends but Cho had did it, raised two children on her own without a second parent. And to Lyn, watching them both leave her for the next few months would indeed, be very painful.
She sat alone in a compartment, her eyes now travelling to the rapidly moving bucolic scenery shredding through the window. It was a bleak day, the sun diluted between dull grey clouds. September, it marked the beginning of Autumn, the beginning of her schooling career. Lyn couldn't deny the threshold of butterflies currently flapping around in her stomach and she pressed her cheek to the cool window pane, relishing at the smooth glass against her skin.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the compartment door slide open.
"Lynnie, why don't you sit with my friends and I?"
It was Ezra, the regular brotherly face etched upon his features. He had always been protective of her and overly concerned, always making sure that she was never alone to dwindle on negative emotions, something their mother tended to do. He in all, was the 'man' of the house and Lyn figured that being the man of the house meant taking responsibility and making sure that everybody was in decent condition.
He probably thought that Lyn had inherited their mother's volatility and from young, had always accompanied Lyn wherever she went much to Lyn's irritation whom in turn, had always preferred the company of herself.
He leant against the door frame, his lank thirteen year old body somewhat taller than Lyn had last remembered. She glanced his way, an inquisitive eyebrow slightly raised. "Alright, I ought to meet some of your friends anyway." She said slowly, now getting out of her seat.
A soft smile broke over his face and he held out his arm to his younger sister. "That's the spirit, Lynnie. Time to be social and shit. Oh, I mean, stuff." An elaborate wink retreated from his face and Lyn rolled her eyes, linking her arm to his.
Ezra's compartment wasn't all too far away and in no time, did Lyn find herself facing a gaggle of teenagers that looked more than irked to have some scrawny first year abide their presence. But Ezra was popular and a natural born leader and what he wanted, the others adapted. Lyn felt a shove on her back and realized that her brother was edging her into the rather crammed compartment. She scrutinized the faces, making note that Ezra's gang considered a mixture of three boys and two girls. Including him, the ratio was 4-to-2.
Not that it mattered, Lyn just liked to pay attention to minuscule detail such as irrelevant ratios.
A pretty girl with brown hair and a pointed jawline smiled at Lyn, waving. "Hi, my names Sienna. I'm a Ravenclaw like Ezra. Over there is Mateus, Lorcan, Sean and Chitrita but call her Rita, otherwise she'll hex you." She said, indicating at every person in the room. Each gave a small nod in acknowledgement but nothing more. It seemed that Sienna was friendlier than the other four who sat in immiscible silence, their eyes raking over Lyn's lithe figure.
She glanced from person to person, taking in their appearances. Mateus was thin and tall, his nose hooked and straight brown hair sticking out at odd angles. He reminded Lyn vaguely of a mean looking scarecrow, his furrowed brow and calculating expression somewhat shy of welcoming. Lorcan seemed a little more open, with a lopsided grin and a round face complete with golden curls eloping upon his forehead. Sean was as burly as Mateus was skinny, with a defying angular face consistent with a mole just towards the corner of his mouth. He was squarish with mischievous brown eyes and a curving dent of a smirk wedged upon his face. To Lyn, he looked a little like an asshole. Chitrita or Rita as preferred was darker than the others, sheens of black hair like gossamer falling in tumbling crescents upon her slender figure. Her cheekbones were extremely prominent and her eyebrows arched, achieving an extremely aristocratic feel to her otherwise ethereal face.
Lyn said nothing however and turned to her brother, a nervous look plastered on her face. He only sighed in return and shoved her further into the compartment, causing her to stumble into a vacant seat between Chitrita and Mateus.
"So guys, this is my sister Lyn. She's eleven but beats me to how someone like her could act so bloody mature." Ezra explained to the group, plotting his butt down in another empty space between Sienna and Lorcan. A lazy arm draped itself around Sienna's shoulders who rolled her eyes in return.
The train ride was uneventful to Lyn who paid little attention to the older students but instead, sat silently between Rita and Mateus. Occasionally the train would lurch, causing Lyn to bump into Rita and Mateus occasionally. Upon apology, Rita just glanced at Lyn with her haughty elegance, causing Lyn to feel like something mildly unpleasant stuck on the floor. Mateus just scowled.
Ezra had split up from Lyn upon arriving at Hogwarts, directing her to the lake house before dashing off to his friends. She loved her brother dearly but sometimes he was so overwhelming! She was like something made out of the finest glass to him- one collision and that would be the end.
Lyn didn't make any attempts to talk to any of her boat occupants which consisted of a green-eyed boy with black hair and a seemingly familiar stance, a freckled girl with more hair than seven people put together and a surly blonde boy who looked as if he would have loved to jump into the black lake than associate with three fellow year mates. He however, seemed to stare intently at the freckled girl whenever she turned her back, a sense of stricken curiosity and doubt exploited in his expression. Although Lyn didn't know the three, she could tell that tension was thick as soup in the small boat. Neither four students talked and emitted themselves to complete silence but that didn't rule out the stark obvious discomfort wavering from person to person.
Thankfully for Lyn, none of them induced in conversation but instead glared at one another from each side of the boat. She felt oddly out of place, and it was only until the boat reached the dock did she find herself realizing that she could breathe again.
A figure was there to meet them and by figure, Lyn meant half giant. Rubeus Hagrid had grown older but some say, none the wiser. He was still the beetle-eyed soft-hearted giant of a man than ever. She could recall her mother telling her tales about individuals at Hogwarts, Hagrid being included. Cho Chang had apparently taken a liking to her Care Of Magical Charms professor back in her day and spoke well of him.
"Hello you lot, Welcome ter 'Ogwarts School O' Witchcraft n Wizardry!" Hagrid boomed in a loud and cheerful voice, smiling down at the batter of first years. Despite his size, he really did seem like a nice guy. "Now, Professor McGonagall is goin' ter take yer lot to the great hall ter be sorted, jus' form a nice an' orderly line, there we go an' I'll go fetch 'er." Kids around Lyn now started to shuffle into a straight formation, their eyes misted over with edginess.
Her mother was a Ravenclaw, as was her brother. The only thing that she knew about her father, was name and that he was a Slytherin. She hadn't really thought about the sorting process until this moment and as Lyn stood there, she realized how anxious she really was.
Gryffindor was out of the question for Lyn hardly conducted herself as bold and brave or even loyal for that matter. Hufflepuff caused a thrill for fairness and hard-working folks; also out of the question. That left Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Lyn personally, opted for the former. She didn't want to associate with her father in any way, hence her brother and her taking after their mother's maiden name. She had always thought him as repulsive ever since he walked out on them the very day she was born. If she was to be in Slytherin, that meant that ultimately, Lyn was like her father.
Which she wasn't.
Ravenclaw seemed like an ideal house. Lyn herself was a thinker, her rational and theoretical approach to life keeping her in line and logical. Independent and determined, she always strived for the best of herself, leaving her self-preserved and cautious. People mattered little to her but if anything, Lyn had always been courteous and respectful, and willingly treats others the way she'd expect to be treated. She was an orderly and empathetic girl, her distinctive archetype as an acting alchemist; She did not speak of benevolent subjects such as love and compassion but instead of righteousness, of an immaculate and undefiled perfection that is her own personal world. Lyn was the one who hunts all the deep secrets and won't stop nothing nor let anything get in her way. It is the pure drive of bloodthirsty persistence that kept Lyn reeling.
Before Lyn knew it, she was already in the castle, a half-bemused expression lingering over her face. She gaped at her surroundings, her eyes darting from corner to corner. She remembered dreaming about this day, but had managed to contain her excitement. Until now. It was evident that she was stimulated with eagerness, the day her face shone like the moon itself, enraptured with a demeanour of inquisitiveness. Besides her, the girl that she had shared a boat with was watching her with intent.
"Amazed?" She asked, causing Lyn to snap out of her trace and turn to the bushy haired girl.
"Yeah, more than I would have presumed." Lyn replied, looking at the girl up and down.
She smiled, nodding lightly. "My names Rose Weasley."
Lyn raised a quipped eyebrow, her gaze surveying the girl before her. A Weasley, huh?
"Lyn, Lyn Chang." Her response was quick, soft, not at all wanting to endure in a conversation.
Rose didn't take that into consideration and instead beamed lightly, holding out a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Lyn. Say, you can come meet my cousin now! I think he's just around there talking to Sid. Hey, hey Al!"
The boy whom she had shared a boat with now turned towards the direction of his name and smiled upon realizing who had called him. He excused himself from what Lyn presumed to be Sid and sauntered up to the girls, looking at Lyn curiously.
"Al, this is Lyn Chang! Your parents knew one another!"
A grimace eloped against Albus' face and Lyn wasn't sure what to depict of it. "Hey Lyn, it's nice to meet you. I'm Albus." He said, shooting Rose a condescending look.
"It's nice to meet you too." Lyn responded automatically as if she was a robot, receiving a skeptical stare from Albus.
Just at that moment, the door opened and a beaming and extremely short wizard entered the room. "Hello first years! My name is Professor Flitwick and I am the Ravenclaw Head of House! Through these doors awaits the Great Hall where you will be sorted! I will call you out each by alphabetical order, now come along!"
So that was the Ravenclaw Head of House, Lyn thought, staring at the tiny man. Ezra had talked about him on occasion- apparently he was the Charms teacher and a rather brilliant one at that.
The line of first years bustled through the grand door and into the great hall. A series of gasps infiltrated between child to child as their eyes lay upon the spectacular extensions of the area. Floating candles rippled to and fro underneath a cloudless night sky, stars abundant upon the black sheath of the ceiling. Ghosts floated to and fro from wall to wall, circling four tables that were lined with teenagers, all wearing their respected colours proudly upon their uniform.
The headmistress was already present, Professor McGonagall standing at the podium looking upon her students. Lyn was listless however and didn't listen to the introductory speech being presented by her new headmistress. New Headmistress. The words itself sounded foreign.
"And with that, let the sorting begin!"
Lyn snapped her head to focus, now concentrating on a sour-looking boy hobbling onto the stage and plunking himself down on the stool.
"SLYTHERIN!"
A small smirk erupted upon the new serpents face and he rushed down to join his new house who was cheering profusely.
"Belby, Alyssa." Called Professor Flitwick.
Now Alyssa followed her previous year-mates steps and seated herself upon the stool, the sorting hat now placing itself on her head.
"HUFFLEPUFF."
The sorting went on, with Baddock, Lorelai and Boot, Tony being sorted in Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw. Cadwallader, Carsyn made the first Gryffindor, receiving a loud round of applause from the far table. Lyn's stomach turned into a knot, realizing that her name was most likely next. Which it was.
"Chang, Lyn."
Lyn felt her blood run cold and her head spin, her breath hitching to an ultimate high. She was nervous, and hadn't realized how much this sorting business meant to her until now. Slowly, she found herself walking to the centre of the stage and shakily place herself atop the stool. She only had a second to scan the great hall before a dark and rather musty smelling cloth covered her eyes and steeped just at the bridge of her nose, receiving a few chuckles from the students before her.
"Chang? Your mother and brother were in Ravenclaw. So you think that you ought to be too."
Lyn's eyes widened at the voice. "Yes, I suppose I ought to be."
"Little Lyn, that's not how it works. But it could be a possibility. You lack the qualities of a Gryffindor and a Slytherin. Your brain is indeed, charmed and carefully twined. An architect of sorts, it seems. Your missions life being to construct your world around yourself into a better place through brilliance and intelligence. A philosopher even, both intelligent and logical and stooping into sensibility. But there it is, that artfulness, that mechanism of yours that deconstructs everything you see and lays it out in front of you. And my that tongue of yours, sharp as a two-sided sword and dripping in poison. You manipulate things, objects, situations, people to suit as you please. There is no us but only you. Selfishness, ambitiousness, analyticity, resourcefulness… do you know what house associates with those traits? Yes, Lyn. Just like your father. Better be…
SLYTHERIN!"
A round of applause descended upon Lyn whose eyesight was restored once Professor McGonagall removed the hat from her head. She glanced at her brother at the Ravenclaw table who looked a little bemused but once he realized that she was staring at him, gave her the thumbs up. That made her a little better.
Lyn hurried over to her new house, taking a seat next to which she recognized as Osric Avery, the only other first year Slytherin as of current. Across from her was Rita Zabini who flashed her a small smile. "Welcome." Rita whispered to Lyn, throwing a wink at her direction. Perhaps now they were house-mates, Rita saw Lyn in a possibly new light which would explain her sudden approachability compared to how she acted on the train.
Her eyes travelled back to the sorting ceremony, watching her fellow year mates getting sorted one by one. Cresswell, Wallace and Jones, Elliot were sorted into Gryffindor and upon arriving at their table, hi-fived each other with enthusiasm. Everytime Ravenclaw got called out, Lyn felt a pang of jealousy course through her like electricity, igniting her bones. She narrowed her eyes as she watched Davies, Jemma walk over to her brothers table.
Screw this.
"Potter, Albus!"
Whispered wedged themselves between students, their heads bending down to discuss the second Potter child entering Hogwarts. James was a little bit of a star at only thirteen years of age. He was a Gryffindor and had been put onto his houses quidditch team during second year, his amazing chaser abilities causing his house to lead every single game of theirs by at least sixty points without the addition of the snitch. She could recall her brother mentioning him in some letters to her. On occasions did she remember how Ezra had called him a few unpleasant words.
She watched Albus, his startling green eyes peeking out from under the brim of the sorting hat, his face excruciating in concentration. His eyes were shut, as if he was praying. After a few pregnant moments, the hat had made its decision.
"SLYTHERIN!"
But there were no cheers, no applauses, just hollow silence. And then…
"Screw you, Gryffindor's! We got a Potter!"
And around Lyn, the Slytherin's stood up and cheered victoriously for their gain, the rest of the hall continuing to stay silent. Albus feebly walked over to his new house, taking a seat on the other side of Osric Avery, looking as if he were about to cry.
The rest of the sorting ceremony concluded of Weasley, Rose, Wake, Jacqueline, Rothschild, Cassandra in Gryffindor, Longbottom, Augustine in Hufflepuff, Weasley, Louis and Thatcher, Ingrid in Ravenclaw along with Pucey, Carya, Pritchard, Dolores, and Rosier, Tristan joining Lyn in the Slytherin house.
There were eleven new Slytherin's this year, including herself. Lyn remembered by memory the names of her fellow house-mates that had accompanied her through the sorting process. There was her along with Osric Avery and Albus Potter sitting by side. Including the boys, were Scorpius Malfoy, Vincent Goyle, Tristan Rosier and Leon Montague. Lyn however, was more interested in the girls or in other words, her roommates for the next seven years.
She recalled twins, Ariel and Athena Nott. Both had bleach blonde hair and a very vixen-like face, their ice blue eyes adorned by doll-like lashes. They were both thin and tall, a sense of bitter grace enveloped against their posture despite their childlike age. Then there was Carya, a brunette with a thick set of lips and a large beauty mark in the corner of her mouth. The final girl was Dolores Pritchard who was wiry in appearance. She was the tallest out of the Slytherin girls, with light tawny brown hair, a sunken face and a lovely set of blue but cold eyes. The four of them sat opposite one another a little way down from Lyn, already in high conversations. Lyn lowered her head, suddenly feeling rather dejected.
The food magically appeared in that moment, mounds of mouth-watering dishes piling up on each table, complete with cheers from the students. Lyn however, found herself unable to stomach anything and instead, found herself lingering on the defying words of the sorting hat.
Just like your father
It made Lyn feel sick.
She found the common room surprisingly comforting, despite its hostile appearance. In the dungeons, the Slytherin Common room was dankly unapproachable, a sort of melancholic atmosphere surrounding the room of green and silver. It was cold, profusely despite the month and not very well lit but to Lyn, it seemed oddly like home. Back in their crummy flat in London, Lyn could remember months where her mother had forgotten to pay the electricity bills and was too miserable to get out of bed and cast a spell over the light bulbs to induce brightness. Thus, Lyn and her brother used candles as an alternative, tiny tea-lights that littered every nook and cranny of their mouldy flat. The darkness of the common room and the occasional orbs of lanterns scattered in various composition was a stark comparison to home, making her feel relaxed.
The girls in her dormitory were more or less pleasant to be around. They did not provoke her nor acted daunting but instead attempted to descend into conversation with Lyn. However, Lyn could not fuse any connection with any of her room mates and eventually they left her alone, simple presuming that she wasn't very social. She realized with a pang, that her and her brother were one of the very scarce amount of orients in the school, with Lyn being the only one in the Slytherin house. That alone made her feel slightly self-conscious if not mentally vulnerable.
Finding herself tiptoeing out of the girls dormitory, Lyn went downstairs to the common room. It was getting late, the clock just surpassing eleven thirty. No matter though, Lyn rarely slept early so there was no difference.
"Why are you up?" A voice asked.
Lyn squealed, the voice startling her and causing to jump. She whipped around to find Scorpius and Albus sitting together on a couch, looking at her with intent. "You scared me." She said accusingly.
Albus shrugged, an apologetic expression exploiting itself upon his features. "Sorry, didn't mean to. Come join us." He said, glancing at Scorpius who said nothing but instead eyed Lyn with curiosity.
Not having anything else to do, Lyn approached them cautiously before taking a seat opposite the pair. Albus smiled at her with assurance, the first amount of genuine kindness that Lyn had received in a while. "So how do you like Slytherin?" He asked her.
"I didn't expect it." Lyn bit her lip, lowering her gaze.
A chuckle came from Albus. "Agreed, neither did I."
"And you don't feel agitated?"
"I was really surprised at first, and really scared but my father had assured me before I got on the train that it would be alright on whatever house I got into. It's probably just my brother who's going to be disappointed with my sorting." Albus replied with another shrug, glancing at Scorpius who remained silent, his grey eyes brooding.
"I see." Lyn muttered, recalling that Albus was indeed a Potter and him being in Slytherin had caused quite a commotion amongst the students and a few of the staff members.
"Slughorn was mighty pleased though. " Said Scorpius, smirking a bit. Lyn found his voice unusually melodic, a mellifluous eminence that was somehow bittersweet, edged with acidity. She didn't think that anybody could hold such a contrasting tone but it was apparent that Scorpius did.
"I'm expected in Slytherin." Scorpius then said, recognizing Lyn's inquiring expression. "Malfoy, I'm sure you've heard. It's funny actually because Albus and I are supposedly meant to be enemies considering our heritage but damn expectations. If it makes my grandfather angry then so be it."
"Anything to cause a scene, huh?" Albus joked.
"So how about you Lyn, any great expectations on your behalf?"
She found herself wary, as if she was treading on shards of glass rather than talking to a pair of fellow students. It was awe-striking even, that the boys could compare personal opinion within hours of meeting. By their two minute conversation, Lyn already knew a vast amount of information to each boy and yet she couldn't find herself returning the favour.
Because she didn't want to, she didn't want to accept and obey the law that was constitutional of her house. She didn't want to be a Slytherin, she didn't want to be like her father. She couldn't be.
Because accepting thus, meant that she was nothing but a shadow.
"I never had expectations." Lyn found herself saying, her voice slow. "I never needed expectations. I just…" And there she found herself, confining in the two serpents. She told them about her father leaving her mother, about how he was in the Slytherin house, on what the sorting hat said and every other miniscule elation of doubt that she had held in her mind. She erased the boundaries of her words and instead indulged in the liberty of confession and to her surprise, both Albus and Scorpius listened without a word. They simply held the air of shameless empathy, a certain discernment present upon both boys faces.
For the next few hours, the trio talked about everything and nothing, confiding to one another about their perceptions and values, about their families and worries. It was only until a few older students came down in the early hours of the morning did all three first years realize that they had conversed with one another throughout the whole night. Lyn was a solitary person, independent to her guts and confided in herself and no one but herself. She strayed from the human kind, instead wallowing in the gallows of her own heart, picking apart pieces and constructing them into amorphous shapes of nothing. She morphed easily, freely, conducting everything on her own and having two people whom she had only met that day listen to her mot profoundest secrets and opinions was beyond her.
Way beyond her.
But Scorpius just smirked and Albus rolled his eyes. "Socializing, you should try it. The whole world isn't against you, Lyn. Just remember that."
And with that, the second day of school began.