CHAPTER 1

1st Year

Dear Miss Ishita Suri

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place 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 no later than 31 July. Also expect a visit from a school faculty to give you further information and to clear any queries you or your parents might have.

Yours Sincerely

Neville Longbottom

Deputy Headmaster

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That was three months ago. Now I am on my way to Hogwarts – the finest school of witchcraft and wizardry. Not my words but of Rubeus Hagrid, the Care of Magical Creatures professor and gamekeeper at Hogwarts, who had come to my house and scared me half to death and gave my father a heart attack. I mean seriously, what does he eats to become so huge.

I am sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express with my belongings and school equipment that I had purchased from the Diagon Alley with the help of Professor Hagrid, my Screech Owl called Zeus, a 12" Ash Unicorn Tail hair wand and a worn out copy of Hogwarts: A History, which was read not only by me but my parents and my twin sisters.

My mother is a doctor while my father is a lawyer. My sisters are three years younger than me and were insanely jealous when they came to know that I could perform magic. I was born in India, but then my parents had to move to UK due to work related reasons. Now I live in suburban London in a comfortably big country house.

When we reached the Hogsmeade Station Professor Hagrid escorted the first year students to the Great Hall for the sorting ceremony. When he spotted me in the crowd of first years, he came tumbling towards me and lifted me 8 feet off the ground in a hug. I could only hope that he didn't start tossing me up in the air.

"How are ye, little Ishita. So you decided to come to Hogwarts after all, eh! I am sure yer will 'njoy your time here." he said after putting me down on solid ground. It took me a while to reply as I was still trying to get my head straight after that deadly hug.

"Um… yes, it took me awhile to convince my parents to allow me to come to Hogwarts, but I knew soon enough they would crack, Hag….uh...Professor Hagrid."

"Come on, run along. Ye don't wanna be late for yer sorting." Professor Hagrid said ushering me towards the rest of the first years into a boat.

Personally, I think I will be a Ravenclaw. I read way too much. Even my mother sometimes worries that I will go completely blind if I don't stop reading into the wee hours of the night. I already wear power 3 spectacles. Studying has always been easy for me. The world inside the books is always so much more fascinating that the reality.

Even though the Suri's are a close knit family, I sometimes feel that I don't really fit in. Don't get me wrong, I will do anything to protect my family, it's just that while they are loud and boisterous and I am reserved and on the quiet side. I have tried to fit in and become the life of family functions but till now I have not succeeded. Sometimes I have heard my parents complain to their friends and relatives that I am very self-centered and do not care much about relationships. Really, who can blame them?

After entering the Great Hall, the first years were filed in two lines. The Sorting Hat sang the most outrageous song ever and that too out of key. I heard groans of protest fill the Great Hall from the older students, while the younger ones were giggling. When the song finished, a tall man with buck teeth who introduced himself as Professor Neville Longbottom started calling out names of first year students for sorting. I recognized some of the students who were in my boat, Janice Dolohov, who was sorted in Slytherin, Lysander Scamander, a Ravenclaw, Shane Adams and James Sirius Potter, who were both sorted in Gryffindor, and Karin Creevey, who was put in Hufflepuff.

"Suri, Ishita".

By the time they called my name I was pretty nervous. Houses at my school in London were never a big deal. But here at Hogwarts they pretty much described who you will be for the next seven years and if you are unable to rise to the challenge, you are a misfit in your own house. Slowly, I came forward and sat down on the stool and the sorting hat was put on my head.

"Ahhh….clever mind, I see. Not only that, I see a desire to prove yourself, especially to your family. Quite independent too…hmmm…..you will do well in SLYTHERIN."

Hiding a grimace, I hopped off the stool to go towards the Slytherin table. Personally I have nothing against being a Slytherin. But I am a muggle- born witch and the house prides blood purity above anything else. Also while reading about the wizarding world I came to know about the Second Wizarding War that took place in 1997-98, I came to know that most of the people on the side that was trying to rid the world of muggle born and half blood witches and wizards were from the Slytherin House. I was hoping that by going to a place that gave me an opportunity to interact with people like me who had magic, I would be able to reinvent myself and become slightly popular. But I cannot do much when the people who are to be my housemates are supposed to hate me on principle.

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Author's Note: This is my first attempt at writing fanfiction, so i am really not sure how this will turn out. I have the story and characters all mapped out and have a fairly good idea of how it will end. i have very intention of completing this story, though the updates may be slow as i have my exams in the coming months. The story is definitely a romance with undertones of friendship and the general teenage drama. The romance will begin at a bit later stage as i want to develop my OC and her initial relationship with James and other characters. On that note, enjoy the story and be sure to review and fave.