Tala didn't feel like sitting around anymore. She was close to pulling her dark hair out of her head. She had been dragged from place to place for the last four hours and she was not a happy camper. First she had been taken away from her mother's hospital room, then she was put on a train that only made one stop. The train was completely empty and Tala could not find the driver. When the train finally stopped she was let off at an empty train station and the train went on without her. There at the train station a strange man with long white hair and a beard showed up. Tala did not comment on the fact that he was wearing a long purple bathrobe. People thought she looked strange too with her blue streaked hair. She was put on a carriage that pulled itself and up to the large front doors of an immense castle. She tried to ask where she was being taken but the man just walked into the castle and expected her to follow. She followed the strange man, against her better judgment, as he led her down some large stairs. Tala shivered as it began to get colder. She almost wished she had a long purple bathrobe at that moment. The man stopped at a door and peeked in.
"In a class." he muttered to himself and proceeded to turn around and head back up the stairs. 'All this way for nothing?' Tala thought to herself. She stepped towards the door but was stopped by the old man's kind voice.
"This way please, Miss Lance." He said kindly. So again she was dragged around to a different part of this very unusual castle. Back up the stairs they went again. They reached a section of wall and the man said some sort of gibberish and it opened on its own. They walked up (again) a spiral staircase and into an office. The man sat behind the large desk and started sipping tea! This further enraged the young teen.
"Is someone going to tell me what's going on?" she asked. Sarcasm seeping into her tone. The man just popped a candy into his mouth. "Where am I? Why was I taken away from my mother?" she spat at him again. He continued to sip his tea as she ranted. "I could take you, old man? Tell me what the Hell is going on!" she yelled, holding up her fists.
"Watch your language, young lady." Growled a voice. Tala looked above the man's desk only to see a portrait of a crazed looking man who looked like he had just woken from a nap. "You are speaking to the Headmaster of Hogwarts School, have some respect." The portrait spoke again. Tala's eyebrows rose and her expression softened.
"Tell me about Hogwarts again, Mom." A young Tala pleaded. Heather just smiled lightly and pulled her daughter up onto her lap.
"Hogwarts is a beautiful castle that's amazing no matter if the sun's shining or if it's covered in snow. There are great turrets and towers and a huge lake. The forests are scary but the swaying of the trees is a wonderful sight." Heather tucked a piece of golden hair behind her ear before continuing. "The classes are exciting and you never know what's going to happen. A suit of armor can be enchanted to dance if someone wished it so. You could get chased down by the poltergeist or have a friendly conversation with Nick, my favorite of the Hogwarts ghosts." Heather had Tala's complete attention. The small girl had her eyes closed and she was smiling widely trying to imagine this unbelievable place.
"Will I get to see it?" Tala asked excitedly.
"I'm sure you will. You just have to wait. Now go to sleep or you'll never get any older." Heather chided, her green eyes sparkling, and pushed Tala towards her bedroom.
"You'll go to Grove Secondary School and I don't want to hear anything about it." Growled a voice.
"But..." Tala started.
"I don't want to hear it!" He yelled. "It's close and it costs less than a fuckin' bag of peanuts. You're going!" He finished. But Tala wasn't.
"I'm suppose to go to Hogwarts." Tala said hopefully.
"Hog warts? What is this trash?" He spat. "Heather!" He yelled in the general direction of the kitchen. Heather stepped out, golden hair pulled back and messy.
"Yes." Heather asked obediently.
"What is this rubbish your daughter is talking about?" He complained.
"He says I can't go to Hogwarts." Tala said tearfully to her mother.
"I told you to shut up about that rubbish!" The man yelled again, not bothering to stand from his recliner or look away from his television.
"It's not rubbish!" Tala had had enough. The man finally stood from his recliner. "It's a great school! It's a big beautiful castle like in a fairy tale! And there are ghosts and mythical creatures and everything!" She yelled, trying to keep hold of the image her mother had spoken of so many times. She desperately wanted to see Hogwarts. The only thing she saw was the back of a large hand.
"This is Hogwarts?" Tala whispered, as if she didn't want to speak it aloud lest it fade away with her breath. The girl finally looked around the office. It was a castle. Beautiful stone carved into the most wonderful school Tala had ever heard of. She had been a guest of Hogwarts for over a half hour and all she had done was sulk and yell. The place she had dreamed of, was right underneath her feel, right above her head, and right in front of her. "Oh, Headmaster, I'm really sorry." Tala said tearfully. The rush of memories had thrown her somewhere in between awe and somber romantic love for a place she had never been. Whatever emotions they were it was making it very difficult for Tala to breathe.
"It's quite alright, my dear." The man said compassionately. Tala noticed his tone of voice and immediately sobered. She sniffed once and rubbed her nose and she was as calm as could be.
"So, am I to be sorted?" She asked quietly. "I'm sort of behind," She said to the floor, "but if I get a tutor I know I could catch up in no time. I'm really fast learner. I promise." She said a small bit of excitement showing in her eyes. The headmaster just smiled.
"Let's just start small for now, shall we?" He asked. "I'm Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." He said, standing to greet her.
"It's wonderful to meet you, sir. I'm Tala Lance, daughter of Heather Lance, Gryffindor. And I am really sorry about earlier." Tala couldn't help but smile even during her apology. Dumbledore just nodded shaking her hand.
"Oh, dear me, look at the time?" He looked down at his wrist with a small amount of shock. Tala noticed his lack of wristwatch and pegged him immediately to be as eccentric as her mother had explained. "Lunch should be soon. We should get you down to the Great Hall. You must be starving." Dumbldore commented. Tala ignored the fact that she thought him a complete loon and decided he was correct. "But first, there is a short teacher's meeting and you should come with me so I can introduce you." He said and Tala thought it reasonable. She imagined if she shook a few hands she could escape to the Great Hall and stuff herself, and maybe talk to some of her classsmates.
"What are we here for again?" Severus Snape asked, annoyance seeping into his voice.
"Apparently we're receiving a transfer student. Which is unusual in and of itself because Hogwarts rarely allows such a thing." McGonagall commented. "But from what I've hear she hasn't even been to a Wizarding school before. She's a witch who's been going to muggle school this whole time. She's already 14. She'll be extremely behind and I can only hope she ends up in Ravenclaw or else she'll never catch up." She said again.
"What's got you so temperamental today, Minerva?" Severus asked.
"I could ask you the same thing, Severus." They both stood and glared menacingly. It would seem that an upcoming Quidditch game between Gryffindor and Slytherin had both their panties in a bunch.
"Are you two going to fight it out in the Teacher's Lounge or should I give you each a broom and you can play the match yourselves?" Dumbledore's voice came from the doorway. He was smiling and Tala nearly giggled. The two heads of house sat back in their seats. The rest of the room calmed and the other professors were slightly put out that there wasn't going to be a fight. "I'd like you all to meet Tala." Dumbledore pulled her out from behind him and gave her a gentle shove into the room. She smiled and waved. "She is our transfer student and will be needing some extra lessons and I hope you will all be willing to put in the extra time to help." He finished. "Would you like to say anything, Tala?" He asked. Tala took a small step forward, though she really didn't want to.
"Umm...I'm...Tala Lance...and I would really appreciate the extra help. I'm a real quick learner and I promise not to be too much of a problem." She finished and stepped back. Professor Sprout looked like someone who had just found a stray cat on the sidewalk and wanted to hug it to death. Professor McGonagall looked interested. The rest of the Professors looked hungry and Professor Snape had not hear anything past "Lance".
"Alright, I do not wish to hold you against your will any longer. Feel free to stuff yourselves in the Great Hall." Dumbledore dismissed the professors. Most shook Tala's hand as they passed. McGonagall mentioned something about looking great as a possible Keeper. (Whatever that was.) The man named Snape however stayed behind.
"What did you say your name was?" he demanded. Tala eyebrows furrowed a bit at the harsh demand.
"Tala Lance." She stated, staring straight into his dark eyes.
"Is your mother's name Heather?" he asked, finding the stare unnerving.
"Yes. Did you know her?" Tala asked, slightly interested.
"We were in the same year." He said and walked out the door. Tala just raised a brow in confusion.
"He's a strange one." Tala commented. Dumbledore just laughed. He led her to the Great Hall doors.
"So, are you going to tell me what going on?" Tala asked again when they reached the doors. "What happened to my letter? The one I was suppose to get when I turned eleven? Why am I here now? Can I still visit my mom? When are my classes? When do I get sorted? Where am I suppose to sleep?" Tala began to ramble and Dumbledore stopped her.
"Relax, child. Things have a way of unraveling at their own pace." he said and walked into the Great Hall.
"And I thought the castle was confusing. The people are worse!" Tala walked into the Great Hall and another question came to her. "Where do I sit?" she whispered worriedly. She went with the safe bet and picked a table closest to the wall and the seat closest to the door. It made for a good getaway.
"Excuse me?" Came a voice from her right. The owner of the voice was a young redhead with her wand being used to keep her hair back. Tala immediately liked her style and was glad to have sat by her. "Are you the new transfer student everyone's on about?" she asked politely.
"Gin! You don't just ask random people if they're the transfer student." Said another redhead seated across from her.
"Well, excuse me. It seemed like a reasonable guess to me considering I don't recognize her." The girl named Gin shot back. 'Siblings' the thought popped into Tala's head.
"Like how it's reasonable for me to assume you two are related?" Tala stepped in, wishing to defend the girl named after an alcohol.
"Exactly! Thank you." Gin said. "I'm Ginny, by the way, and this is my hotheaded brother, Ron." She didn't allow Ron to cut in.
"I'm Tala Lance and I'm the transfer student." She said and took great joy in seeing Ginny stick her tongue out at Ron. Tala just giggled and thought of her brothers.
"Who's your knew friend?" Asked a curly haired brunette who sat down in front of her.
"This is Tala. She's the transfer student." Ginny spoke of her like it was a big secret.
"Really?" The brunette asked her. Tala just nodded and another boy sat beside the curly haired girl. "I'm Hermione Granger and this is Harry Potter." She introduced them. There was a pause in which the group stared waiting for a reaction.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Tala Lance." she said shaking hands with them both. "I didn't know people here would be so friendly." She said excitedly.
"Well, You picked a good table." Ginny commented.
"Did I really? Good because I noticed the colors and I didn't know where I should sit. I haven't been sorted yet." She said, embarrassed. The boy named Harry was still staring at her. "Umm..." Tala said. Not really knowing how to respond.
"I'm sorry, I just...I noticed..." he attempted to speak.
"I noticed it too." Hermione jumped in.
"Excuse me?" Tala asked, confused by the half of a conversation that was going on.
"Are you a muggleborn?" Hermione asked.
"A what?" Tala said. She was lost at the final word.
"Are your parents magic?" Harry asked.
"My mom's a witch." Tala said with a nod. "And from what I've heard a great one too." She smiled.
"And your dad?" Ginny asked. Tala just shrugged.
"We're not asking to be mean." Hermione said. "I'm a muggleborn myself. It's just that you didn't really respond to Harry's name." Tala realized that being confused was a state of mind she was going to have to get use to.
"Was I suppose to?" She asked, afraid she had insulted someone, wondering if there was a ritual you had to perform every time one heard this boy's name. Her answer was interrupted by the arrival of food. The group of students told her of Harry's 'little run in' with an evil wizard by the name of Voldemort (although no one was allowed to say his name) and his encounters with him since then.
"Well, my mom didn't tell me much. Hogwarts, that's all she ever talked about." Tala smiled again though it was a somber smile. Thoughts of her mother flitted threw her mind.
"Well, it is an amazing place." Harry said, as if he himself believed it above everyone else. Tala smiled. Her dark eyes lightening a bit. They finished they're lunch with talk of Hogwarts and its many wonders. Tala's new friend regretfully had to leave her to get to class but it didn't seem like Tala was going to be too bored.
"Miss Lance, come with me and we'll get some things sorted out." Dumbledore approached her after lunch and lead her back to his office. Tala sat in a chair in front of his desk and allowed him to place a hat upon her head.
'Oh, well here's a strange combination.' The hat said in her mind. Tala listened aptly. 'A Gryffindor and a unheard of but surely unusual.' it commented to itself quietly.
'A Slytherin?' Tala thought. 'My father?'
'Well, yes, but I'm not at liberty to discuss that.' The hat commented and Tala glared at her eyebrows which she found to be quite difficult.
'No matter how much control parents may think have over their children it does not effect their choices nor their destinies.' it continued. Tala just nodded, agreeing. 'Alright, so what should we do with you?' The hat asked. Tala wished she had asked her new acquaintances in the Great Hall what house they were in and was currently beating herself up for it.
'New friends already?' Tala nodded. 'Haven't picked up a book yet, have you?' Tala had the decency to feel ashamed. 'Never even picked up a wand, yet you're so determined to succeed?' She continued to just listen and not interrupt the hat's thinking process. 'Just tossed right into the middle of things? I think I've got it!'