Chapter One: Offended Potatoes and a New Life
"I didn't know potatoes could talk," she declared, "I didn't even know they were sentient!"
"There now, I think you've offended them," the British boy with messy black hair peered over the edge of his book, eyeing the grumpy looking lumps of plant root pitifully.
"They're not potatoes," the short, American boy with a rather large trench coat on seated himself next to her; "they're Mandrake roots."
Christine stared blankly at the sullen plant matter in front of her.
"Yeah, that doesn't really help me."
Earlier that week, Christine Rivera had woken up on the last day of school to find a peculiar man sitting at her kitchen table, talking to her parents.
"Um, who are you?" She inquired, rubbing her tired eyes and pouring herself a cup of coffee.
"Albus Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," the man replied casually. Christine stared at him, and then at her parents, who nodded enthusiastically.
"I'm sorry," she faltered, "you're who, from what?"
"Albus Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," he repeated, the same ease in his voice, "why don't you come sit down?'
Christine took a sip from her coffee mug and slid into one of the kitchen chairs.
"Um, guys," she turned to her parents, "what's going on?"
"Well dear," her mother leaned in, "this man is from a school for young men and women with extraordinary powers. You're a witch!"
"I'm a what?" She turned towards the old man, "is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Definitely, a good thing," he chuckled, "don't worry."
"I'm not a five year old," Christine sighed, "I'll need a little more proof than your word of honor."
The headmaster pulled something that looked like a stick out of his robes and waved it in the air.
"Expecto Patronum!"
A silvery bird-like animal emitted from the tip of his wand, flying around the room before fading into the air.
Christine sipped her coffee, unimpressed.
Dumbledore grinned at her reaction.
"Wingardium Leviosa!"
The mug full of coffee that Christine was holding suddenly rose into the air.
"Okay," she stared at the air born mug, "I believe you."
"Good," he smiled, "unfortunately there was a small error with your letter. It's getting harder to track muggle-borns and you were accidentally overlooked. That is why I am here in the summer. You have two options for your academic course. Either start with the 1st year class and learn with those younger than you or spend this summer being tutored by the lovely Professor McGonagall so you can attend your correct age group."
"Well, I don't have any summer plans," she shrugged.
From that peculiar scene, Christine was soon at a potion ingredients shop; staring hopelessly at the list she had been given. In order to begin her tutoring, she had been given some odd coins and a list of materials.
"Need some help?" She looked up to see a young boy, around her age, in an odd striped suit paired with sneakers.
"Oh, um, yeah, I have no clue what I'm doing?"
"Isn't it a little early to be shopping for school supplies?" He asked casually, taking the list from her.
"I'm… in a unique situation," she mumbled.
"How so?" He looked over the list.
"Apparently I wasn't sent my letter in time and since I'm not from a magic family I never knew," Christine sighed, "so now I'm tutoring with one of the professors to catch up for the 5th year."
"Oh dear, so you don't even know what house you're in?" He exclaimed, looking utterly scandalized by the idea.
"House…?" She trailed off, "Honestly, that Dumbledore guy was kinda sparse on details."
"House, you know, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff," he shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets, "I'm a Ravenclaw. Name's David, but my friends just call me The Doctor."
He stuck out his hand to shake, which she took.
"Odd nickname," she commented.
"Yeah, well I'm odd," he winked.
"What're the houses like?"
"Well Gryffindor is usually very brave people, Ravenclaw is smart people, Slytherin is ambitious people, and Hufflepuff is loyal people."
"What if you're none of those things?" Christine sighed, mulling over her good qualities in her mind, of which she thought there were very few.
"Everyone's one of those things," he winked again, "now let's help you get these stuff…"
The Doctor spent a lot of time explaining how Hogwarts worked to Christine, and crash coursing her in a lot of the material she would need to survive life in the castle. He told her about all the ghosts and moving pictures, it was so ridiculous Christine could hardly bring herself to believe him.
She plunked down in front of an odd plant display, next to the books section. A boy with messy black hair, who had been absorbed in a book, looked up at The Doctor and stood next to the display cage.
"Hello Doctor," he said coldly and returned to his book. Another boy in a trench coat waved frantically at him from another display cage labeled "devil's snare".
"What on earth are those ugly things?" Christine asked, pointing to the cage in front of her. The plants inside, which resembled mutated potatoes, suddenly looked up and made some rude gestures.
"Oh, look what you've done!" The Doctor leaned down, trying to appease the potatoes, who were muttering restlessly amongst themselves.
"I didn't know potatoes could talk," she declared, "I didn't even know they were sentient!"
"There now, I think you've offended them," the British boy with messy black hair peered over the edge of his book, eyeing the grumpy looking lumps of plant root pitifully.
"They're not potatoes," the short, American boy with a rather large trench coat on seated himself next to her; "they're Mandrake roots."
Christine stared blankly at the sullen plant matter in front of her.
"Yeah, that doesn't really help me."