Brushing a lock of her back-length black hair out from in front of her eyes, Mandy turned to her mother, who smiled and said, "This is it." A pause slid into the air before the two hugged, both slightly teary-eyed. Today, Mandy went away for the first time, and it wasn't just a simple sleep over elsewhere. No, the eleven year old was off to Hogwarts. Joanna O'Malley was finding it extremely hard to believe that her daughter was growing up so quickly. It seemed like only yesterday to her that her baby girl had been placed into her arms. Alone in the hospital yet among people, it was just Joanna and Mandy, and that was how it had been ever since.
Suitcases in hand, Mandy waved goodbye and smiled weakly one last time. "Goodbye, Mum," she said for the umpteenth time, her blue eyes sparkling at her mother, and her mother's matching eyes sparkling back moistly. Another quick hug, and then Mandy ran through Platform nine and three-quarters. Now she was in front of the Hogwarts Express, her bags taken to wherever they needed to be taken. Mutely, the quiet child moved herself onto the train, into a compartment that was bare and free of other students at the time. It wasn't so much that Mandy was anti-social, just a bit shy. She didn't want any unneeded conversations, for fear they would go wrong. Her inferiority complex disenabled her from striking conversation like many other children did, so instead she hid herself behind long dark hair, belittling her striking eyes.
Listening to the music that was the train and its turning wheels, the breeze through her cracked window, and the ringing of her ears, Mandy was soon soothed into sleeping. Acute hearing, however, woke her when she heard the trolley rolling towards her compartment. One ivory hand after the other pulling herself up, Mandy greeted the trolley lady warmly. When asked, "Anything off the trolley?" Mandy shook her head. "No, thank you, ma'am," she replied politely, and the lady was on her way. Settling herself back into her compartment, she realized it wasn't unoccupied anymore; there were boys in here, boys she hadn't noticed when she had first woken up.
Two of the boys were a bit round, one taller than the other, but both with brownish hair. The last boy -he looked like the leader- had big eyes, a pointed chin, and very light blonde hair. When she re-entered, all three heads snapped up at her. None of them looked very friendly. "Well, she's back!" the blonde one laughed, an air of mockery about his words. "Think she's noticed us yet, boys?"
A light blush of embarrassment colored Mandy's cheeks. She felt like such an idiot! "Um, I'm sorry," she said briefly. "I mean-…" Truthfully, she didn't know what she meant. There weren't really words she could think of to use in this situation. Head down, she said sadly, "I'll just leave…" Walking away to find another empty compartment, Mandy heard cruel, arrogant laughter follow her out.
Unable to find an empty one, Mandy gave up and knocked lightly on a compartment with two boys inside. One had red hair and a pet rat. The other had black, messy hair and an interesting scar on his forehead. "Mind if I sit here?" she said unsurely. "The ride won't be much longer now, and I just need a seat…"
It was the black-haired boy who answered her. "Sure," he said. Mandy found him to be much more friendly than that blonde kid had been. "We don't mind at all." Smiling weakly in a feat of gratitude, Mandy seated herself next to the red-haired boy. "I'm Harry, by the way. Harry Potter," the first boy added, recapturing her attention.
"And I'm Ron Weasley," said the redhead, stealing it back. She tucked a stray strand of black hair behind her left ear before fixating on the boy who introduced himself as Ron. Never before had she seen so many freckles on one small face. Mandy would have sworn his face was just made of them!
Smiling pink lips lighting up her pale face in ways only accented by the bright blueness of her eyes, Mandy made her own introduction. "My name's Amanda O'Malley," she said. "I like to be called Mandy." A modest blush tinted her ivory skin lightly, and for the first time Mandy could remember, she had people who seemed to like her. Maybe they could even become her -dare she think it?- friends. That was a new experience for Mandy. So far, she liked the feeling, the prospective hope. Maybe, just maybe, her life would feel human, normal.
~!…!~
Sorting was about to occur. Mandy had all the symptoms of nervousness: the butterflies, the sweaty palms, all of it. A few feet from her, a girl with curly blonde hair, eyes with brown in the center and green around the edges, and skin almost as pale as Mandy's. She seemed to be the only one who wasn't nervous, yet was featuring a smile. The girl leaned over to Mandy and said cheerily, "Ready for this?" But before Mandy could reply, the ceremony began.
At first, Mandy found herself staring off, not really paying attention. The first name she heard was some girl called Hermione Granger, who was sent to Gryffindor not long after seeing the sorting hat. Another spell of spacing out took her to Draco Malfoy, who was that blonde boy from the train. Upon hearing a last name like Malfoy and realizing it was alphabetical by last name, Mandy determined that just maybe she should pay attention. The hat barely touched his head before it sorted him to Slytherin. Next called was Samantha Mercury. That excitable blonde bounced her way up to the front and sat down, eagerly having the hat placed upon her head. "The very example of Gryffindor!" exclaimed the hat.
Once "O'Malley, Amanda" was called, Mandy carefully moved herself up to the front, sitting in that spot and having the hat lowered to her head. "Hmm… I'd like to take a risk here, but I promise it'll work out in the end," the hat assured her. Glancing up at it skeptically, Mandy heard it shout; "Slytherin!"
Disbelieving whispers rang through the crowd; a non-Pureblood in Slytherin? Unheard of! How could the hat have sorted her as such? Nervously, Mandy sat down at the Slytherin table, receiving unfriendly glares and cold shoulders. However, the whispers changed subject when the next name -famed Harry Potter- was called. All magic being unknown previously to her, Mandy found it hard to pay attention.
