Disclaimer-None of the characters in here belong to me they all belong to J.K Rowling her publishing company and what-not….don't sue me.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story has gone through A LOT of revisions. This is the final one. I am slowly switching the story from first person to third person. Bare with me while I make the switch, and feel free to point out any places I missed when converting it.
"Mom why couldn't I ride the train with all the other kids?" Addie asked as her carriage pulled into the shadow of the dark castle before them; a castle she had only ever seen in her dreams.
"Because dear," Her mother replied, opening the carriage door, "This is an important event. Addie White is going to Hogwarts. I don't want you to be seen until you're walking into the Great Hall to put on that tattered old hat."
Of course, Addie was used to her mother's affinity for spectacle. She was Addie White, daughter of Sherri White, the most famous model Witch Weekly had produced in a century. Sherri White had graced the cover of every major magazine since she first graduated from Hogwarts. She had dated every Quidditch player that had ever dominated the field, but most importantly, when Addie was born Sherri, in her infinite wisdom, had kept her daughter hidden from the public eye until that very day.
It was a simple spell that had kept Addie out of the spot light. She only attended small social gatherings with her mother, and those whom she had met there were magically bound to not relay any personal information. Addie had lived a relatively normal life. If a reporter happened to see her with her mother at a Quidditch game or party they would soon find, as they eagerly pulled out their quills to write the editorial of a lifetime, that they were unable to put the words to a page. They would find that the words would fade as quickly as the pen touched paper.
Because of the usefulness of this spell, Addie had not, as many assumed, been hidden away in the bowels of the White estate. She had lived a relatively normal life, and had been spotted many times. The stories just remained untold.
Many wondered why Sherri, a woman so fond of media attention, would hide her daughter in this way. At the time of Addie's birth, the wizarding world was at a standstill as Lord Voldemort had only recently been stripped of his power. The media wished to provide the world with a breath of fresh air, a mysterious, yet altogether calming story that would keep readers playfully interested and provide with headline news as the wizarding world attempted a return to normalcy. Addie provided just that scape-goat. Prophet editors quickly caught on to the mysterious pregnancy of Sherri White. The story remained a staple in every tabloid. Paparazzi hounded Sherri, asking her question after question and only received two small pieces of information: It was a girl, and her name was Addie. Even Addie herself was kept in the dark about several crucial details surrounding her birth, namely, the identity of her father, who she had long ago decided was a month-long affair gone wrong, and no more. Before her mother had released her given name, the media had given Addie a name of their own, "The Sherri White Scandal".
The latest headlines, however, read a bit differently: Sherri White retires after 17 long years of modeling, Will her daughter follow the in her footsteps? Little did they know that Sherri had not, in fact, retired to give her daughter a normal life, but instead had plunged her daughter into the danger that came with having a parent as an active member of the Order of the Phoenix.
She was expected to be pretty, glamorous, and to exert the same amount of cool sexual energy that her was famous for embodying. As she stepped out of her mother's carriage the ground was springy and fresh. The air hit her as she took in her first few breaths of Hogwarts. It was the scent of evergreens and opportunity, and she knew that her life, from that moment on, would never be the same.
"If I'm found out," Sherri had told her, "I will always know that my daughter will be safe at Hogwarts."
It had been due to years of dedicated service that had prompted Dumbledore to bend otherwise immovable regulations regarding admittance to Hogwarts School.
Addie had been coached by her mother ever since her acceptance to Hogwarts as to who she should and should not make friends with. She had been told not to worry. She had been told that there were students at Hogwarts whom she could trust. She had been reminded of Harry Potter.
Addie took a moment to take all of these things and file them away appropriately in her mind before making her first moves toward the school. The huge doors opened and a figure appeared in the doorway. A tall, thin woman, with cat-eyed spectacles and her hair pulled back into a tight bun. Her lips were pursed and Addie immediately sensed that this woman, whoever she may be, was not one to tolerate the playful rule-breaking that comes with adolescence.
Next to her was a girl who seemed to be about Addie's age. The part of her that was grounded in her mother's superficiality immediately took in the girl's bushy hair and insecure stance. She took in the sloppy way that the girl's clothes were put together and shuddered. She was her mother's daughter.
The resemblance between Addie and her mother extended the bounds of family resemblance. They had the same nose, same face, same body, same skin tone, and Addie sometimes felt that she was a mere copy of someone who had existed before; that perhaps she was not her own person at all.
The only piece of Addie that she felt was truly her own, untouched by her mother's influence, were her eyes. Unlike the pale blue of her mother's eyes, Addie's were a deep grey. She knew they must have come from her father, as the White family was notorious for the piercing blue eyes that had passed down from generation to generation until Addie. She had spent hours as a child watching the men who came in and out of her house, hoping that one of them would have her round grey eyes. She was proud of the independence they gave her. When she looked at her own eyes she was reminded that she was not just a copy of her more accomplished mother, but her own person, with her own life to live.
"Professor!" Sherri smiled, tossing her hair behind her and allowing the moonlight to gleam off her nails, "It's been so long!"
"Hello, Sherri, it certainly has been, I'm sorry to say, much too long," Her voice was as strict as her demeanor, but her sincerity was clear.
"Well I trust you'll keep my daughter out of harms way?" Sherri laughed, but once again sincerity peered through her speech.
"You know quite well that no harm could come to Miss White as long as she is safe within Hogwarts grounds," The woman replied with warmth.
"Well I'll be on my way then," Sherri turned to her daughter, "Oh one last thing!"
She lowered her voice just above a whisper, "Remember what I told you Addie, if you make friends with one person this year, make sure that person is Harry Potter."
"I'll remember," Addie replied, and watched her mother's silhouette fade into the darkness as her heels clicked softer and softer down the path.
"Well, Miss White, Welcome to Hogwarts!" The woman said, "I am Professor McGonagall, Transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts, and head of the Gryffindor house."
"Addie White," She answered vaguely, still watching her mother's carriage disappear into the darkness, and letting her new sense of freedom sink in, "Pleasure to meet you."
"This is Hermione Granger," Professor McGonagall pointed to the bushy haired girl to her right. "I've chosen her to be your tour guide as you get assimilated to your new life here at Hogwarts, Miss Granger has proven throughout her five years to not only be an exceptional student, but moreover a responsible one. I hope to see that you prove to have the same merits as Miss Granger."
"Hello!" The girl smiled, blushing slightly after such lavish praise. "Let's get started then. We'll—er—we'll see you inside, I suppose."
Professor McGonagall nodded, and allowed a small smile before leaving the two girls on her own.
Hermione and Addie paused for a moment. A silence followed as the two girls took in how different they truly were. Hermione was struck, as were most, by Addie's beauty even in the dim light of the moon, and instinctively stepped backward as to avoid comparison. The jealousy that is almost immediate when two so different girls meet sprang hot in both of them. Addie was convinced that this Hermione, so clearly top of her class, already thought less of her, a vice that came with the intellectual insecurities of a pretty girl, and Hermione was convinced that Addie, so clearly beautiful and vivacious, already thought less of her, a vice that came with the physical insecurities of a smart girl.
After Hermione had regained control, she motioned for the two of them to step through the threshold and gave Addie her first glance of the Hogwarts interior.
Growing up, Addie had been accustomed to lavish surroundings. Pureblood parties, Quidditch games, and ministry events had marked her social life, but she had never seen a place so grand.
"Well—you know the most remarkable thing about this place is that it's quite difficult to navigate. You see, I read in Hogwarts, A History that the place was specifically designed so that tours were useless. It really is quite fascinating," She spoke quickly and rang her hands nervously. "I could give you a brief history of the building, if you'd like, but showing you around will hardly do you any good. The only thing that stays constant is your common room, and unless you're in Gryffindor I won't even know where that is."
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, the staircases shift, and some doors aren't really doors at all, they're just… pretending," She answered quickly. Addie, clearly confused, decided it was best for the two girls to part ways. She didn't like to have her hand held. She preferred a level of independence, even in new experiences.
"Right…" She replied, "I suppose it's just one of those, figure it out on your own, sort of things?"
"Precisely," Hermione allowed herself a small smile, "Well…I suppose I can take you to the Great Hall, that usually stays put."
"Sounds lovely," Addie said, flashing her most charming smile.
Hermione kept herself a few paces in front of Addie at all times, and indiscriminately pointed at various paintings and rooms that she could give a bit of history about. Addie followed along behind her, taking in very little of what Hermione said, and trying desperately to remember the things around her only to realize that if what Hermione said was true, any attempt at orienting herself was futile.
The two stopped in front of two large doors where they were once again joined by Professor McGonagall who seemed happy to see that the two girls had gotten along.
"Well," McGonagall said, "Miss Granger I believe it's time you get inside, Miss White, you will wait out here until you are called. We're not sorting you with the first years today. You will be sorted directly afterward."
"Oh, alright, that's a relief I suppose," She replied, watching as Professor McGonagall and Hermione Granger slipped into the Great Hall without a word, leaving Addie alone with the task ahead of her looming over her. She waited for a few moments, leaning up against one of the walls and wondering if the students had already crowded inside the hall or if they were only just arriving. She saw a large crowd of students her age and younger pass by, but none of them saw her. She had successfully hidden herself behind a large statue of a knight on back of a Hippogriff and peered out only when she knew it was safe. She wanted these last few moments for herself. The spell that had bound the world to secrecy could only be broken in two ways: an open acceptance of public life, and reaching the age of sixteen. Since Addie was nearly sixteen already, here mother had decided, in true White fashion, to break the curse themselves by enrolling Addie in Hogwards. Her mother, the only woman capable of speaking openly, had fed the story to the Prophet weeks before in an attempt to cushion what was sure to be a media frenzy as soon as the spell was broken. Even as she stood, hidden from the students only a few feet away from her, she could hear her name whispered through the crowd.
Great, She thought, now I'm the school celebrity.
The Daily Prophet had been reporting about it for weeks, delighted at some news that they weren't magically bound from reporting and in an attempt to cover up the imminent rise of Lord Voldemort. Addie had been anticipating, since her mother first told her that she was to attend Hogwarts, that as soon as she stepped into the Great Hall, breaking the curse and allowing herself to be photographed that the Prophet would consist of only three stories: Dumbledore's descent into insanity, Harry Potter's instability, and anything at all to do with Addie White.
She waited outside the doors long after the students had all gathered inside and as she did she could hear the mutterings of students, and house names being shouted throughout the hall. Suddenly, there was silence, and Addie stepped out from behind the statue and prepared herself. The silence could only indicate that the first years had been sorted, and soon it would be her turn.
A skinny, hunched man opened the doors and she could hear all the students turning in their chairs to look at her. She felt as though something had lifted, and she knew that the spell had been broken. She could feel her insecurities rising, and then she looked at the crowd. The part of Addie, the overwhelming part of her, that was her mother's daughter, took over in that moment. Insecurity melted and she leaned back comfortably on her heels and regained her usual swagger. She was Addie White. There was not a person in the entire Great Hall whose eyes weren't on her. She was young, she was beautiful, she was rich, she was everything, and as she walked toward the front of the room she allowed herself to embody every notion anyone had of her. She was a fantasy.
The room pulsed with energy, and as Addie absorbed it her confidence radiated brighter and brighter. No one was whispering, and no one took their eyes off of her. She'd had attention poured on her since she was a child, but never to this magnitude. It was at that time that Addie realized how she flourished under scrutiny. She held up to everyone's dreams about who she would be as sat down, pulled the Sorting Hat over ears, and waited to be sorted.
"Hmmmm…." She could hear a voice inside her head, "You are ambitious, that's clear, but there's a heart here…yes...you certainly are noble."
"I want to be a Gryffindor," She thought hard in response.
"You've set your mind to it, then?" The voice replied.
"Yes," She thought back.
"Well, then that's the most important thing…"
She felt a sudden change, as the voice of the hat shifted from one that was inside her head to one that the entire hall could hear.
"GRYFFINDOR"
The hall erupted with applause and Addie immediately spotted the Gryffindor table. They had all jumped up in the air and the boys were frantically checking their appearances in the goblets that sat in front of them.
As she walked toward the Gryffindor table she became extremely aware of her own beauty. She had heard, from her grandmother, that the White line had descended from the last living Siren, but her grandmother was one for making up stories. What was true was that Addie had been blessed with exceptional genetics, and had attained a level of beauty that was so breath-taking that many inhabitants of the Great Hall were little less than shocked by it. She'd heard from other Wizards that modesty is a virtue, but modesty was not a virtue taught in the White household. Addie, and her mother, were used to being adored on sight. Though Addie, in moments of clarity that she preferred would never happen, acknowledged that many, if not all, of her relationships were friendships only on the shallowest level, it was the curse of beauty that she was willing to bare.
She strode over to the Gryffindor table. She knew she'd be accepted, because she knew she'd been accepted before they had even seen her. She looked around for a place to sit, and finally laid her eyes on Hermione Granger. Addie nearly turned away, in favor of sitting at the other end of the table, and then noticed the young man to her left. It was the boy who lived. It was Harry Potter.
She made up her mind then to wave at Hermione and sit down in an open seat across from her next to a red-haired boy who was frantically rubbing his nose in the reflection of his goblet.
"This seat taken?" She cooed, smiling at the boy from under her dark lashes.
He squeaked a response that Addie assumed indicated that the seat was not taken and she sat down next to him, not taking her eyes off Harry Potter for even a moment.
After the Great Hall had settled Dumbledore addressed the crowd. Addie, whose attention was not easy to keep, took a moment to observe the man that so many regarded as brilliant before she took to observing those around her.
"What's your name?" She asked the red haired boy.
He looked up from his goblet and stared at her with his eyes round. She took a moment to allow the words to form in his throat, "Ron Weasley," He squeaked.
A Weasley, She laughed to herself. I should have known.
"And you're Hermione right?" She asked, though of course she had remembered Hermione's name.
The jealousy that had formed at their first encounter solidified as Hermione glanced from Ron to Addie and then replied coolly, "Yes, Hermione Granger."
Addie then shifted her attention to Harry. She had saved her most sultry looks and her most charming smile for last. She allowed a small portion of her hair to fall into her eyes and said, "And you're Harry Potter, I've heard a lot about you this summer."
"Yeah well, the Prophet is garbage in case you're wondering," He replied.
Even Addie, who often was regarded as flawless, admitted that she had an easily ignited temper. At Harry's rebuke she could feel the tension that started in the pit of her stomach rise up toward her face and her fists felt hot as she clenched them under the table. She had been expecting a warmer response from the boy she had been told she must befriend. She had hardly expected coldness. Addie had never been refused. She wouldn't allow it.
"No, that's actually not it at all, Harry," She replied scathingly. "I actually heard it from my mother who was very close friends with your mother. Oh, and you know, she's also a member of the Order of the you-know-what. From one tabloid favorite to another, I would have expected you not to be one to jump to conclusions."
Harry looked up at her for the first time, and Addie allowed herself the full enjoyment of the self-satisfaction that came with his reaction. First was the shock that always accompanied Addie meeting someone for the first time. It was a moment's recognition of her beauty. Then, she recognized in Harry a begrudging embarrassment as Addie smiled coquettishly from across the table.
He lowered his voice to a whisper and muttered, "Don't talk about that stuff here!"
"Pfft!" She scoffed, waving her hand. "They're not paying attention to what I'm saying."
Which was entirely true, they were just looking at her, deep in thought about things that would only ever happen in their dreams.
"Who are you?" Addie asked a young man sitting across from her, turning her attention away from the boy who lived.
He, unlike most boys, replied with ease, "Seamus Finnegan and I must say it's a pleasure to be in the company of such beauty," He reached over and kissed her hand. Addie giggled uncharacteristically. He was cute.
She spent the majority of the dinner regaling the Gryffindor table with stories of her childhood and asked for advice about classes and the like. The boys hung on her every word while the girl's watched with thinly veiled animosity. Addie had taken her place as the Queen of Hogwarts, and she had hardly stepped through the door.
She left the Great Hall with a gaggle of already adoring followers in her wake, and glided through the corridors with confidence, despite not knowing where she was. As she approached a tall staircase that Hermione indicated led to the Gryffindor common room, she heard a voice that made her stop in her tracks.
"Hold on just a moment," She said, not only to the trio in front of her, but to the scores of people behind her.
"What?" Harry asked, "What's going on?"
She ignored him, and ran down the corridor, leaving her bewildered admirers to watch her from the foot of the staircase. She had spotted an old friend, a boy from her past, standing in between two other boys almost as big as trolls, and talking to a small, pug-like girl, with ease. Addie slid in between the boy and the girl with ease and once again, allowed use of her most charming smile.
"Draco Malfoy I don't believe it!" She said, kissing him on the cheek. "It's been too long!"
He took her in an embrace that was far warmer than any of his Slytherin friends were accustomed to. The pug-like girl gave a snort of jealousy as Draco Malfoy replied, "Much too long."
Addie Whit had only had one playmate as a child, and it had been Draco Malfoy. His family has always been throwing parties, and hers has always been attending them. However, now that the Order was reformed, and the fight against Voldemort was just beginning, Addie didn't think she would ever attend a Malfoy party again.
Addie loved very few things. She even wondered if she truly loved her mother. She'd had no childhood pets, and no dolls that weren't easily replaced. She had an affinity for Quidditch that she supposed she could call love, but it was her love of Draco Malfoy that had been constant. Her crush on him blossomed when they were children and he, being the only boy her age that she had ever really known, had been the object of her affection for so long that she could hardly call it anything but love. He walked into a room with more confidence than she did, and she had often thought that perhaps he was her perfect match; beautiful, pureblood, and rich.
She put her face in his chest and took in the smell of his sweet cologne. The pug-faced girl tapped his shoulder in an attempt to regain his attention, and finally Draco turned away.
"How are you?" She asked, her voice taking on a lighter, airy quality.
"Things are quite well. Father and mother bought me a new racing broom. I play for Slytherin, you know," He smiled at his own accomplishment and Addie felt her knees weaken.
Suddenly, a light hand was placed on Addie's shoulder and she turned to see Harry Potter standing behind her, "Come on, Ron and Hermione are prefects and they have to show the first years—and you—the way to the common room. We have to go."
He spoke quietly, as if he were trying to diminish his presence.
"She can stay a few more minutes, Potter," Draco spat. "If you must wait for her, wait over there, we have a lot of catching up to do."
The thing about hatred is that it hardly masks itself. Addie could sense the tension immediately, even before Harry's response. She backed away from the two and though that perhaps she had made a mistake.
"Oh shove off Malfoy," Harry spat back, with a look of utmost contempt. "I've had a right bad summer and I have not the time or energy to deal with you."
"Oh poor whiney Potter," Draco shot back. "Why don't you go peddle your problems to someone who cares? I'm busy."
Addie took this moment to recognize that between these two boys there were few people one hated more than the other.
"Well!" Addie clapped her hands together, demanding their attention, "This was a lovely little reunion but I have to leave now. I will see you around, Draco, goodbye!"
Addie grabbed Harry by the hand and pulled him away before she was able to hear Draco's response.
She asked once the two were at a safe distance, "You really seemed to hate each other."
Harry paused a moment, "He's scum, he's evil, he's—he's…"
"He's my friend," She responded curtly. "And he's not any of those things either, now come on if you had to show me the common room so badly then why don't you?"
Addie was not one for long silence. The forced contemplation of her current situation that came along with silence was so unbearable that she attempted to avoid it at all costs.
"So…what's it like being famous at Hogwarts?"
This apparently, was the wrong thing to ask.
"It's awful!" Harry lamented. "Everyone's always pestering you about something, and everyone loves to think badly of you, and when newspaper articles come out about you they believe them. But nobody ever believes anything YOU have to say, and even when you have to see a fellow classmate DIE nobody leaves you the bloody hell alone!"
Addie's had warned her against reminding Harry of "the incident". Apparently over the course of the last school year Harry had not only narrowly escaped death at Voldemort's hands for the second time, but also had watched a classmate die. However, Addie was growing bored of talking about Harry and hoped to discuss a subject about which she was well versed, herself, for example.
"You know, I'm not really used to the media, what with the spell and all," She began, "I was just asking because I don't know what to expect."
Harry opened his mouth to respond, possibly to apologize, but a loud voice interrupted and the two looked to see Ron and Hermione standing in front of what Addie judged to be an extremely tacky painting of a rather large woman.
"Hi guys!" She greeted cheerfully. "Sorry I was just catching up with an old friend."
"Oh, who?" Hermione asked.
"Draco Malfoy," Addie replied without shame.
Ron and Hermione exchanged glances and asked in unison, "Draco Malfoy?"
"Yes," She replied coolly, "Why does everyone hate him so much? I've known him since I was a baby. He's not a bad guy."
Ron then doubled over with laughter, Hermione looked shocked, and Harry, as always, looked angry.
"The reason we dislike Malfoy…" Hermione began, choosing her words carefully, "Is because he's never really been...nice...to us."
Addie looked at her for a moment, and then it clicked, "You're muggle born aren't you?" She knew Harry wasn't, and the Weasley's were historically pureblood, so it must have been the girl.
She looked at me astonished, "Well yes…"
"Oh, well then this makes perfect sense…" She muttered.
"What?" She asked.
"I've known him for my whole life and he's been programmed not to like muggle borns by that horrible father of his. You've got to try and understand him though, he doesn't know any better."
"But he's….he's….horrible!" Ron stuttered. "He's been mean to me since the day he met me because he think I'm a—a…"
"Blood traitor?" Addie offered, "Yeah now that I think about it he's mentioned the Weasleys before. He can be quite nasty sometimes, but you've got to believe me on this one it's his dad, not him."
"And?" Harry replied scathingly. "I've only just met you so I'm not one to give you any advice, but let me just say this: Lucius Malfoy is a Death Eater. Draco is a bigoted, evil, pathetic toad and if your mother really is risking her life to be in the—you know what—then you should choose your company with a bit more care."
Addie was shocked. It was a rare occasion that even her mother reprimanded her. She had been allowed to make her own decisions without consequence for fifteen years, who was Harry Potter to tell her she should make them more wisely?
"Like you said, you've only just met me, and you're not in any position to tell me what to do, so stop it."
Silence descended upon Addie once more and she turned before she would have to face another moment of it, "I'll see you guys later. I'm going," She paused for a moment, and heard the snickers of the trio behind her. Addie rarely humbled herself, but this was a rare occasion and she truly had no idea where she was going.
"Hey guys…" She asked, "Where am I going."
Ron laughed and said, "Say Frog Spawn".
Being that this was all she had to go on, Addie faced the possibility of being humiliated, turned back around and said "Frog Spawn."
To her surprise the painting swung open revealing a hole in the wall that lead to what she determined was the Gryffindor common room. "Thanks!" She called over her shoulder as she hurried into the common room.
She was angry, but Addie was a master at hiding her own emotions. She took just a moment for a deep breath, shook off her anger, and appeared, smiling, in the common room.
Before she could even greet her fellow Gryffindors, she could feel herself being lifted. She looked around frantically as she saw two red-headed figures had lifted her off the ground and put her onto their own shoulders , "Welcome to Hogwarts!" They said in unison.
She laughed, "Hello, who are you?"
"I'm Fred Weasley!" The first boy said, kissing her hand. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"And I'm the more handsome brother, George," The second twin said pushing the first out of the way.
"You must be Ron's brothers!" She exclaimed, assuming they already knew who she was.
"Now don't go spreading that around," Fred said taking a low bow, "If you ever need assistance…"
"Skipping class," George said.
"Faking Homework,"
"Getting Food,"
"We're your men,"
She was relieved to finally meet two people who seemed to fit her own personality, "I'll remember that."
"Well first day of classes tomorrow," Fred gave a big false yawn, "And you know how excited we are about that."
"We'll see your lovely-ness tomorrow morning," George said, then they both strode off toward the left staircase, "Oh and by the way!" Fred called, "The girl's dormitory is on the right, and your year tells you what room you sleep in!"
"Thanks!" She called back.
She trudged up the stairs after a long day, trying alternately to process all of the information she had received that day and not to dwell on anything that had just happened. She turned into what she assumed to be the fifth year's dormitory and ignored the stares from the other girls and plopped on the bed, fully clothed, and went to sleep.