I do not own Harry Potter, only Arianne.
Another morning, another street. Arianne didn't want to open her eyes. She was just having a marvelous dream that had something to do with flying broomsticks and a castle. Already she was losing the details and it was all because of a stupid car stood, stretched, and dusted herself off wondering which street today would get her the most money and least amount of police.
For as long as she could remember Arianne had been an orphan. She didn't have any family as far as she knew, nor (she often told herself) did she need any. She was small, with dark blue eyes and a small nose, she never considered herself pretty but she also wasn't particularly ugly. Her hair reached the middle of her back and was abnormally straight. For living most of her life on her own she was clean…cleaner than most others anyway. As best she could figure she was ten...maybe eleven…possibly nine. Old enough, she reminded herself, to not idle over far-fetched dreams and get to working on her "puppy-dog" eyes that got oh so many 'poor dear's and 'have a little extra's.
Suddenly a shiver ran down her spine even though it was a warm summer's morning; It wasn't even raining. Arianne spun slowly trying to look non-chalant and caught the image of a hook-nosed, black haired man wearing long black robes across the street. She kept moving her head looking for an escape route. He was definitely staring straight at her.
Arianne faltered a bit; this wasn't a look that she usually got. It didn't look as though he wanted her gone like she had encountered with police or other vagrants on the streets. No, he looked like he wanted to approach her but didn't know how and was slightly uncomfortable about it.
Her eyes raked over him again (hopefully) as though he was just another face in the crowd. She wasn't sure why, but she didn't feel like she needed to run, but that she needed, that her future and security needed her to talk to him. With another slight hesitation she locked eyes with the man. His coal black eyes bore into her and she felt he saw more than just a small girl barely in the two digit ages. Slowly he crossed the street.
He stopped at a respectable distance; one that would give her enough time to run if he tried to make a grab at her. Slowly a feeling of trust rose inside her. She tried to repress it, spending so much time on the streets teaches you not to trust anyone, but here she was. It was all very confusing.
"Arianne Smith." His voice was soft and reserved. Arianne looked up into the cold eyes, but didn't say anything. She was quite nervous but knew that her curiosity had won out and that she needed to see this through or she would never forgive herself. He seemed to take her silence as a good sign and continued talking.
"Miss. Smith, my name is Professor Snape. I am a teacher at a school called Hogwarts. A school to which you have been accepted."
"What do you mean accepted?" She couldn't help but interrupt. "I haven't applied to any schools"
His lips pursed and for a moment and Arianne thought she would be scolded, but he seemed to let it slide. "It is an acceptance for which you have been down since birth. You see Miss. Smith, Hogwarts is not a normal school. It is a school of witchcraft and wizardry. You, Miss. Smith, are a witch, and by coming to Hogwarts you will be taught to hone your abilities. Surely you have noticed that strange things happen to you haven't you?" He almost sneered. He seemed to be trying to contain himself, as though he didn't like to deal with ignorance, but little she knew.
Of course strange things happened to her. A million thoughts and memories spread themselves in her mind. Like the time she was running from the police because they were trying to put her in an orphanage and she had gotten terribly lost, but as the coppers gained on her she leaped over a ditch and found herself inexplicably lying on the awning of a store.
Arianne was lost in her thoughts and memories, but as Professor Snape laid a hand on her shoulder she jumped, realizing he had been trying to get her attention. His hand quickly drew away from her.
"I am to accompany you to Diagon Alley." Then seeing the look of confusion on her face, "The street designated to wizards and witches for shopping." "I haven't any money." Arianne said flatly. She watched as he pulled a small pouch that jingled with the sound of change and handed it to her. "There is a fund for students with no magical money. You will have to buy some things second hand." Arianne opened the pouch and saw strange coins. "The gold are galleons, the silver are sickles and the bronze, knuts. Are you ready?"
Arianne looked up at him and nodded smiling slightly. She considered running again. This "money", though strange looking, had to be worth something to a novelty shop or auction house…as if anyone at those places would let her in. She allowed Professor Snape to lead her to a little, run down looking bar that no one else seemed to see. As they walked in they seemed to be catching the back end of an apparently famous person making their way to the back door.
"That was Harry Potter!"
"Wow! Harry Potter! I can't believe he's already eleven!"
"Who's Harry Potter?" Arianne asked Professor Snape looking at the still excited people.
"The downfall of a very powerful, very evil wizard." He answered his eyes growing colder and harder. Arianne decided to ask another time…or perhaps another person.
"Is this Diagon Alley?" Changing the subject she took in the large dark room confusedly. It didn't look like there were any shops in here.
"No, Miss. Smith, this is the Leaky Cauldron. It serves as the portal to Diagon Alley." He answered stiffly as he began steering Arianne to the door Harry Potter had gone through. They came out into a small courtyard and Professor Snape tapped a brick. Then, the wall disappeared and opened up to a bright, loud, colourful, crowded street filled with so many different people and, Arianne noticed, some that didn't look quite…human. Arianne didn't know where to look until she saw the book store.
"Can we start there?" Arianne asked excitedly. Snape eyed her but nodded curtly. Walking in, Arianne's heart skipped a beat. She had always loved books. Always found them fascinating and growing up took every chance she could to read as much as possible. Not that she knew how she knew how to read. She gave an excited squeak and, list in hand, scurried down the aisles. Professor Snape lingered by the door, but he helped her with the money. This happened in nearly every store, except after the first couple of stores Arianne was able to handle the money on her own. She reveled in all of the magic and her thoughts were whirring with questions.
"What's Hogwarts like?" She asked tentatively after getting her robes; Professor Snape didn't seem like the kind to tolerate questions, but she was insanely curious.
Professor Snape thought for a moment pointing her towards a small shop called Ollivanders. All the walls were lined with small boxes. A shout from the back told them that they would be helped in a moment.
"Hogwarts is a castle with seven floors and a dungeon. It has a Great Hall, several classrooms and a library. There are four houses; Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Gryffindor. Each student is sorted into a house upon arrival. Slytherins are known for their cunning and ambition, Ravenclaw, for their intelligence, Hufflepuffs, for their honesty, and Gryffindors for their, ahem, bravery." He smirked at the last part.
"What house were you in?" "I was in Slytherin." "What kinds of classes are there?" "Several. As a fist year you will take basic classes such as Transfiguration, Charms, Astronomy, Herbology, Potions, History of Magic, and Defense Against the Dark Arts, as well as flying lessons. There is also Divination, Arithmancy, Muggle Studies, Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures that are offered after second year."
"Hello!" An old weedy man with wide pale eyes came out of the back room. "Is it you, young lady, that is purchasing a wand?"
"Um, yes sir. I'm Arianne." Arianne stepped forward awkwardly.
"Yes, yes, if you would stand here please and spread your arms, that-a girl." He pulled out a measuring tape that started measuring Arianne's arm on its own. He turned and walked down a few aisles pulling boxes.
"Um, Professor Snape? Did you say flying lessons?" Arianne asked as the tape measure measured around her wrist.
"Yes, on brooms." Arianne's mind flashed back to her dream; a castle with flying broomsticks, could that be Hogwarts?
After a while Ollivander came back and opened a box and handed a short slender piece of wood to her, taking the tape measure and stuffing it back into his pocket. Then nearly as quickly as he had given it to her he took it away again shaking his head excitedly. "No, no that's not the one."
Over and over this happened. Arianne glanced at Professor Snape but he displayed no signs that this was irregular so she simply took each wand and allowed him to take them away again. Until finally she felt a warmth spread through her whole body starting from her arm with a 12 ½ Yew with Dragon Heartstring core. A grin spread across Mr. Ollivander's face and Arianne couldn't help but grin as well.
"Wonderful! Just wonderful! Well, my dear, that will be seven sickles and three knuts." Arianne left the store in high spirits. She had all of her supplies for a new life and was looking to a bright future. Distracted by this thought, she accidentally bumped into a tall blonde man and dropped most of her things.
"Do watch where you are going." He sneered watching her as she picked up her things. "Ah Severus…it is…good…to see you again." Arianne felt Professor Snape's hand on her shoulder as she stood up and she quietly scooted behind him as the intimidating man spoke.
"Yes Lucius, you as well…" Everything was very tense. Then a boy around who looked to also be eleven strode up to the man.
"Father, I want a broomstick." The boy whined.
"Now Draco, you know it's against the rules for first years to have broomsticks…we wouldn't want to make a bad impression would we? Draco, this is Severus Snape, he will be your Potions master and head of Slytherin house. Remember to be respectful. Severus, my son, Draco."
Draco held out his hand and Professor Snape shook it. "Who is this young lady?" Prompted the man even though Arianne was clearly trying to disappear. She didn't like him for some reason she couldn't explain, nor did she trust him. Professor Snape looked as though he felt the same way when looked down at her.
"This is Arianne Smith, Lucius; she is starting at Hogwarts this year as well. Miss. Smith this is Lucius Malfoy, he works on the board of directors for the school." Arianne held out her hand politely as Draco had done and Mr. Malfoy grasped her finger tips briefly.
"A muggle-born, Severus?" Mr. Malfoy asked coldly.
"We don't know. She is an orphan." Arianne dipped her head. Why did he have to parade that when this man was so obviously wealthy?
"Ah," replied Mr. Malfoy bluntly. The boy, Draco, looked at her curiously. "Well, we had best be going, Severus, good-bye." They walked away and Professor Snape relaxed slightly.
They continued walking through the crowd silently and soon they were back at the wall to the Leaky Cauldron.
"Pro…Professor Snape?" Arianne had just started thinking about the days between this one and September first. "Do I have to stay on the street things until it's time to leave?" She asked in a small voice as they stepped into the courtyard outside of the Leaky Cauldron. He stopped and turned to look at her, his eyes going the softest she had seen yet and imagined she would ever see.
"I will see about a room here. Perhaps Tom will allow you to wash dishes or bus tables until September." She smiled brightly and could have sworn that she received a small smile in return.
Arianne woke up early on September first in an actual bed. Tom had agreed to let her stay and wash dishes and rest of the summer had gone by swiftly. She was more used to people using magic and much more familiar with the magical world. She had hardly slept the night before because she was so excited. She had also packed all of her things and was ready to go in less than 20 minutes. Arianne hopped down the stairs dragging her trunk behind her brimming with excitement and met Tom on her way. He offered to walk her to King's Cross and after a quick breakfast they were off. On arrival, Tom reminded her about how to get onto the platform.
"Now it may be a little daunting but all you have to do is run into this wall and give your ticket to the taker on the other side." He wheezed as they approached a family all with red hair. "I'll have to go back to the pub now, good luck." With a swift hug and a smile he disappeared behind a large group boarding another train.
"You go ahead dear," what looked like the mother said smiling sweetly to Arianne. "We wouldn't want to make you wait on all of us." Arianne tried to protest but after a look from the woman, Arianne submitted with a "Thank you very much."
Running into the wall was daunting like Tom had said, but in the month she had stayed at the Leaky Cauldron she had seen so much more and felt she could take it. Appearing on the other side of the wall was like stepping into Diagon Alley again. All the sounds and colours overwhelmed her, but she was excited all the same. She found a compartment quickly as she didn't have anyone to socialise with.
Looking out the window Arianne watched the students greeting each other and saying good-bye to their parents. She saw the red-headed twins she saw outside the station helping a small black-haired boy lift his luggage into the train. She saw the blonde Malfoy family meet up with another couple of families. The two boys of those families were big and intimidating but they treated Draco as though he was in charge. At nearly 11 everybody started rushing to the doors and Arianne was joined by a few older students who smiled warmly at her but were soon caught up in their own conversations.
Arianne watched the country side go by. At one point during the trip one of the other student's owl got out and flew around the compartment finally landing in Arianne's lap. She stroked it smiling as the others laughed and teased the owner while he apologized to Arianne. She grinned up at him and told him that it was no problem. Arianne had wanted to get an owl but decided against it once she learned that they were used for sending letters. Since she didn't have anyone to send letters to she felt it would be better to save her money.
After that, though, the older students introduced themselves and told her they were in Hufflepuff and graduating that year. They talked about different aspects of the school like the grounds and the owlery. She was really excited and when the train stopped they helped her with her trunk and pointed her to a giant man calling for first years. They waved and wished her luck as she walked away.
Following the rest of the first years they came to a little group of boats that glided, unmanned, across a great black lake. There she got her first sight of the castle. It was beautiful. Against the dusk sky the towers were silhouetted and lights shone out of a few windows. Arianne had never seen anything more breath taking.
They bumped onto the shore and there was a scuffle about a toad. The grounds were dark and the first years stuck together as they made their way into the open double oak doors.
First chapter. Please give me reviews: all opinions are welcome. I'm trying to stay book cannon but there will be a little bit of movie cannon as well.