Roanyn Taylor
And the Boy with a Scar
Written by Morganne Martines
A Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Fan-Fiction
Book One
CHAPTER ONE-THE ODD GIRL
A meek girl with dark blond hair and blazing blue eyes sat on an overstuffed armchair, concentrating on the needle and thread moving in and out of the rough fabric. For eight years she had lived in Dralliza's Orphanage, no one had wanted her. After the disappearance of her parents, none of her extended family had wanted to continue raising her. There had been a strange aura over the three year old, and there still seemed to be.
"Roanyn! Are you done mending my apron yet?" a thick, harsh voice screeched from behind her.
"No, Matron Dralliza," the little girl replied, continuing with her stitching.
"Well, hurry up you lazy cow!" the grouchy matron smacked her behind the head.
Roanyn bit her lip, fighting back the usual tears of pain. "Yes, Matron Dralliza." The orphanage matron exited as a tall boy with a large body approached the eleven year old.
"Matron's going to be really mad with you," he spoke with a gruff voice.
"Why? I haven't done anything to upset her besides not finishing with her apron," Roanyn replied, not looking up from her sewing.
"You tried to flush her chicken down the toilet," he grinned widely.
"No I didn't," she still didn't stop.
"I'll prove it--follow me," he grabbed her small hand and dragged her out of the room, the needle, thread, and apron still in the other hand.
"Drew-stop! You're crushing my hand!" she shrieked as he continued to pull her down the hallway, her fellow orphans pressed tight against the walls in fear of the big boy.
"We're here!" he lifted her off the ground, and easily threw her into the flooding bathroom with a squawking chicken. Quickly, Drew closed the door behind him. "Oh Matron Dralliza! Roanyn is trying to flush Henry down the loo again!"
"Let me out! Drew, let me out now!" Roanyn kicked and pounded on the door with her fists. "Drew, you big bully!"
"ROANYN!" Dralliza stormed red-faced out of her rooms, curlers still in her hair. The round woman balled her pink, beefy fists and shoved children aside as she made her way to the only bathroom in the whole orphanage. "MOVE!" she bellowed at Drew, and burst into the bathroom. Water covered the cheaply tiled floor, toilet paper strewn all over. Hiding in a corner was the petite form of Roanyn. " You girl! Where is my Henry?" she grabbed the small child by her thick, wavy hair.
Tears welled up in those blue eyes of hers. "I-I do-don't know!" Roanyn stammered.
"If he's-"
"BAWK!" a chicken stood in-between Dralliza's legs. He was a young chicken, but was already balding. He had less feathers than what he was born with.
"Henry!" Dralliza dropped the bruised girl to the wet floor, and picked up her pet chicken. "Taylor, it's to the cellar with you!" Dralliza grabbed her thin arm with a free hand.
The crowd of orphans disassembled as the matron dragged Roanyn out. Unable to hold them back and no more lip to bite, Roanyn let warm tears of fury, shame, and pain pour down her freckled face. Soon, they arrived at the heavy oak door with three padlocks.
Opening the door, Dralliza threw Roanyn down the steep stairs, bruising every inch of her body. The only light came from the half-opened door. Dralliza stood in the doorway, blocking nearly ever ray of light with her large body. "Until you can learn to behave, you will stay down here with the blood-thirsty rats!" she slammed the door shut, enveloping Roanyn in darkness. Roanyn heard each lock click shut.
Fearfully, Roanyn moved about the chilly cellar. A breeze came from a hole in the wall, leading outside. Examining the size of the hole, Roanyn realized her small form would easily fit through. As she pulled out the damp grass outside, Roanyn could feel tiny claws and small teeth sink into her left leg. Unearthing a small handful of dirt, Roanyn pulled herself all the way out.
She pulled in her leg, and looked at the small wounds. She pressed a small scrap of exra fabric from Matron Dralliza's apron on the cuts, dying up the drops of blood.
Roanyn stood up from the dewy grass, and looked up into the blue sky. It was July 18, her eleventh birthday. Maybe something special would happen that day. Then again, nothing good had ever happened to the Odd Girl.
CHAPTER TWO-A BIG BIRD
Roanyn wrapped her aching arms around her aching body as she quickly walked away from the shabby orphanage. The wind bit at her still wet skin. Although the sun shone down brightly, there was still a slight breeze that put a cold spell upon the town of Southampton, England.
The birthday girl sat on a street corner, staring at everything that passed her. The outside world was so new to her, she had been locked up inside that orphanage for all those years, only a glance every once in a while gave her an idea of life on the outside.
Three cars, nine bicycles, and an old lady passed Roanyn before she decided to explore a little more of Southampton. Just a block ahead of her was a park. Running just for sport, Roanyn leapt over mounds of brick, waiting to be made into something. A swing creaked as the wind pushed it. Roanyn stopped the chain swing and sat on the rubber seat, rocking back and forth. Soon, she was soaring in the air, then descending. This continued for another twenty minutes, and Roanyn's weak arms became sore from clutching so tight to the chains. The Odd Girl planted her feet firmly on the ground and skipped towards a teeter-totter. To her disappointment, the teeter-totter slanted down when she sat on an edge. A large, gray bird perched on the other end, holding an off-white envelope with a deep purple seal on the flap, reflecting the sun's rays. The bird hopped closer towards Roanyn and dropped the envelope in her lap. It soared away, flapping its vast wings.
Roanyn turned the envelope over and was surprised to see it was addressed to her.
Miss R. Taylor
The Second Bed to the Left, Room Nine
Dralliza's Orphanage
8 Drear Lane
South Hampton
It read in dazzling green ink. Roanyn ripped open the thick envelope, and unfolded a piece of paper made of the same parchment of as the envelope, and read aloud what it said.
"HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
♠
HEADMASTER: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock, Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
Dear Miss Taylor,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours Sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall
Deputy Headmistress."
Roanyn stared in awe at the faded yellow parchment. It was a joke, it had to be.
"Drew," she muttered under her breath. Clutching the letter to her chest, she sprinted all the way back to the hole in the cellar. After she climbed through the hole, she tucked the letter into the back pocket of an old orphan's trousers.
CHAPTER THREE-THE TRUTH COMES OUT
Roanyn trudged through the many layers of dust and grime. Several objects covered her path, either broken or missing pieces. A bike stood in her way, the broken wheel pikes cut her bare ankles. Keys scratched at the door and the pad locks came unlatched. The creaky door swung open, and Matron Dralliza stood in the doorway, once again blocking all the light.
"Come here!" she barked down the moldy stairs, into darkness.
Roanyn slowly made her to the stairs and ascended the steep staircase.
"Are you done ruining my orphanage?" Dralliza demanded. "You're lucky I didn't let those drunks take you, and look at how you repay me!" she was referring to five years ago when a couple had wanted to adopt her. Their only flaw was they were often drunk, and could become very violent.
"Yes, Matron Dralliza," Roanyn bowed her head as she reached the top step.
"It is time for my lunch, and i want three sloppy Joe's in no more than fifteen minutes!" Dralliza instructed as she closed the cellar door. "Let me see your legs."
Roanyn lifted her pants up a little higher, revealing several scratches on her shins and ankles.
"I think the rats have made new friends," she examined the wounds. "Clean up before they get infected."
"Yes, Matron," Roanyn quickly walked to the washroom and scrubbed her cuts with rubbing alcohol.
Ten minutes later, Roanyn was cleaning the frying pan she had used to cook the meat for Dralliza's sloppy Joe's. Dralliza stuffed her mouth with several bites at a time. Roanyn finished with the pan, and turned around to sweep the floor. She noticed Dralliza still had a pink curler in her hair. Snickering, Roanyn removed the broom from a hook protruding from the wall.
"What are you smirking at?" Dralliza turned in her chair to glare at the skinny girl. The wooden chair groaned in agony under her large buttocks.
Roanyn had to turn away so Dralliza wouldn't see her silent giggles. Bits of sauced meat were stuck on the dark whiskers above her sausage-like lips.
"Nothing, Matron Dralliza," Roanyn continued sweeping. "May I ask you something?"
"You just did," the matron grunted.
"Oh, right," Roanyn frowned. "Is there something unique about me that makes you hate me so much?"
"Roanyn, I hate all children," Dralliza didn't look up from her sloppy Joe's. "Although, there is something strange about you that I should have told you long before," she stood from the screeching chair. "Follow me,"
Roanyn put the broom back on the hook, and followed Dralliza to her rooms. One of them was being an office.
Dralliza unlocked the door and led Roanyn into the office. "Sit," she nodded at a chair. "I knew your parents, they were great people, but then after a while, I stopped hearing from them. One night, I drove to their house. Strange lights came from inside, and I had to break a window to get in.
"I was too late to see what happened to them, but I found you asleep in your room, unharmed. The next day, I drove all over, trying to find you a home with extended family. Nobody wanted you, and finally your Aunt Chessy explained to me why you were so unwanted," Dralliza took a deep breath and paused from her explanation to pull out a picture. "Your mother and father were...wizards."
"What?" Roanyn stared at her in amazement.
"And you, Roanyn, are a witch," she said solemnly, pushing the photograph towards her. Roanyn turned it over. It was a picture of her and her parents in the spring, laughing together. Tears rolled down her face. Being eleven was great.
CHAPTER FOUR-DIAGON ALLEY
"An--and are you a witch?" Roanyn stammered.
"Heavens no! I'm what you would call a Muddle...I think. I thought I explained that."
"I guess you did," Roanyn ran a hand through her hair. "So this-"she pulled the letter out of her pocket,"-this is real?"
"Let me see," Dralliza extended an open palm. Roanyn handed it over. The matron skimmed through the letter. "Yes, it's very real," she returned the letter.
"Where do I get all of these supplies? And what's this about expecting an owl?"
"Ah, there's another orphan who, like you, is a witch," Dralliza leaned back in her computer chair. "Room fourteen, ask for Betha."
Roanyn nodded and excused herself. She ran up the creaking staircases until she reached the third floor. Walking down the hallway, Roanyn found room fourteen. "Hello?" she knocked on the wooden door.
"Yes?" a tall girl with thin wire rimmed glasses opened the door.
"Betha?"
"That's me."
"Um, can I talk to you?" Roanyn leaned closer and whispered, "It's about Hogwarts."
Betha gasped and opened the door, pulling Roanyn in and closed the door.
"Betha?" Roanyn sat on a wooden chair across from a creaky bed the chalk-white Betha rested upon.
"Sorry--"She regained her natural color. "I--uh, I just never thought there'd be another...like me."
"It's okay, you can say witch."
"Sh!" Betha clasped a hand across Roanyn's mouth. "Others could be listening," she looked around cautiously, as though she was expecting little ears to be surrounding them.
"OH!" Roanyn smiled meekly. "I forgot."
"Okay--listen: Muggles can't know about us, got it?" Betha began to explain. "We always make sure that no Muggles are around before talking about things.
"What are Muggles?"
"Humans with no magical talent," Betha answered.
"Where do I get all of my supplies? How do I send an owl? What's an owl? Everything's so new to me-I don't know where to start!"
"We'll worry about supplies later, but first the school needs to know you're coming," Betha stood up and stroked a large tan bird similar to the one Roanyn had seen earlier. Betha picked up a piece of parchment and a quill. The quill flashed through the air as she quickly scribbled a few sentences down.
"How does this sound?" Betha handed the parchment to Roanyn.
Professor McGonagall,
Miss Taylor has received her letter, and will be attending Hogwarts.
Sincerely,
Bethany
Jones
"Uh-great," Roanyn returned the letter.
"Okay," Betha tied the rolled-up letter to the bird's leg, opened a window, and the bird flew away.
"What kind of bird is that?"
"An owl..."Betha raised her eyebrows. "You didn't know that?"
"I don't know a lot of things," Roanyn bowed her head.
"Well, that's going to change!" Betha stood in front of a bookcase and grabbed several large books. "You'll start by reading these!"
Roanyn trembled under the heavy books Betha had placed on her lap. "But what about my supplies?"
"Well, we'll go to Diagon Alley of course!" Betha clasped an emerald green robe around her shoulders. "You can borrow this one," she handed Roanyn a ruby robe, which was a bit long when she draped it on her shoulders.
"Now?" Roanyn placed the textbooks on a moth-eaten blanket and followed Betha to the door.
"We have to get you ready!
