Friends on the Other Side
Song title taken from Dr. Facilier's song in The Princess and the Frog. This may be a chapter fic or a oneshot, it all depends. My other fic Stronger Than You is still being typed up so an update will be up soon.
Basic Synopsis: A girl from New Orleans who attends Ilvermony signs up for the Ilvermony Study Abroad program, where she will be staying for the next few years with a host family in England and attend Hogwarts. With her, she brings her craft and an air of mystery, but not everything is as it seems…
Notes: I will also avoid stereotypes and do my research to make sure I do not offend anyone who does practice the Voodoo faith or has Louisiana origins. This will take place during the GoF.
"Hey Bri! Wake up or else you're gonna miss your departure or whatever. C'mon!"
Brianna Noel slowly opened her eyes and sat up in her bed with a groan and blinked a few times, only to see her best friend sitting at the end of her bed then at the calendar and immediately rushed to get out of bed, which only served to get her feet tangled in the blankets and go sprawling across the floor.
"Stop laughing Chloe and help me up." Brianna groused as she attempted to untangle her feet.
Chloe chortled and crossed her arms. "No way! Seeing you make a fool of yourself is always fun."
After a few minutes of curses being spewed, Brianna finally untangled her legs and stood up on shaky feet and huffed and went around the shared room and gathered up her supplies and clothes and put them all in an expanding case as she thought about the next few years. She was one of many who got accepted into the 3 year study abroad program and she was heading to the most popular wizarding school in the UK. After her stuff was packed, she did a once over and with a nod, left the dorms and headed to the Main Hall where 2 other kids stood.
"Are you ready Bri?" one of the students asked and sat on their luggage.
"Yes. You two are going to the other major schools correct?" she asked as she watched the Headmaster come strolling through the double doors leading into the dining hall.
She saw the two nod before the Headmaster cleared his throat.
"Now you three have been chosen as not only guests, but representatives of Ilvermony. Therefore, you will all be on your best behavior. I take it you have read up on each of your respective Wizarding culture since they do things differently across the pond?" At their nods, he continued in a proud tone. "Then there should be no problem then. Miss Simmons, you will be headed to Beaubaxton while will be heading to Durmstrang. Brianna, your arrival will be a bit… different than the others. We will be going by Floo Powder directly into Headmaster Dumbledore's office. I wish you all the best of luck. Miss Noel, if you will." The headmaster said pleasantly and strode off.
"Bye! Crystal, you have to tell me how the food is in France." Brianna said excitedly as she followed the headmaster.
Once inside, the headmaster picked up a vase filled with green powder and threw some into the fire.
"All you have to do is say 'Headmaster Dumbledore's Hogwarts's Office' and you will arrive. He has been notified already and I will be following right behind you." He explained and watched as she stepped into the fire and repeated what he told her and disappeared in green flames. She reappeared with her luggage by her sprawled body. She stifles a blush and quickly stands up and dusts her robes off only to look into the eyes of Albus Dumbledore.
"Ahh. You must be Miss Noel from the illustrious Ilvermony School of Witchcraft. I am Headmaster Dumbledore and I warmly welcome you to Hogwarts."
"My headmaster will be here momentarily but thank you for the warm welcome." She said with a small smile and took a seat opposite of his desk and waited for the tall, lanky form of her headmaster to appear from the fire. A few minutes later, the fire roared green and out stepped her headmaster, covered head to toe in soot.
"I can never get used to that. On another note, I am Headmaster Ricardo Arutellio, pronounced ar-RU-te-lio, of Ilvermony. You must be the famed Albus Dumbledore. It is an honor to meet you at last. "he said and shook Dumbledore's hand. As the two talked, Brianna looked around the office in interest before getting her attention caught by a cough and she looked at the two Headmasters.
"Since you will be staying at Hogwarts until you're 17, you will need to be sorted into a House and that will be your home for the next 3 years. The Sorting Hat has been used for centuries and it's almost never wrong." Dumbledore said gently and lifted the tattered hat from the shelf and placed it on her head.
"Ahh. What do we have here? A practitioner of…voodoo? How intriguing. You want to keep it hidden because you do not know how they will take it over here."
"H-how are you doing that?! You won't tell anyone will you?"
"Relax child. Everything we discuss here will be kept between us. Now, I can already tell that Hufflepuff is out. You have loyalty yes, but you are only loyal to yourself and your craft. Griffindor is not a good place either. You are more reserved and prefer to attack from the shadows. Ravenclaw would do you good, however my only concern would be if anyone found out you practice voodoo, you would be either ostracized or hounded. So it better be… SLYTHERIN!
Dumbledore took the hat off and placed it back on the shelf and went to the fireplace and threw the Floo Powder into the flames and stuck his head inside. "Severus. Can you please come to my office?" Once he pulled his head out, he was followed by a sallow, faced man with long black hair and a blonde haired wizard.
"Miss Noel, Headmaster Arutellio, this man here is Professor Severus Snape, our resident Potions Master and Head of Slytherin House. The other male is the patriarch of the family you will be staying with, Lucius Malfoy."
Brianna looked over the two and could immediately sense the Dark aura radiating from the two males and she hid a smirk. "It is an honor to meet you, Master Snape and Lord Malfoy." She crooned, her Creole accent thickening as her dark brown eyes flashed with amusement.
Said males look at her with an unreadable expression and Severus clears his throat. "If you would follow me, I will show to you to the common room and brief you on the rules then you shall be staying with the Malfoys until September 1st. Am I clear?"
Brianna nods and stands up and levitates her stuff behind her. "Farewell Headmaster Arutelio. I shall make it my mission to try and visit Ilvermony and the States. Also, I left you your…potion on your desk." She adds with a wink and follows Snape and Lucius out of Dumbledore's office, missing her headmaster disappear into the flames and a worried Dumbledore staring at her back as he could've sworn he saw he shadow move on its own.
