A young blonde girl walked nervously beside her mother, biting down on her lower lip as she absent-mindedly stroked the beak of the caged owl in her trolley. Her eyes were wide, absorbing everything she could of the train station—she had never been to one before. Usually when they traveled, her mother used side-by-side Apparition or floo powder. Naturally, Vanessa preferred the powder.
"Go on, you go first, Nessa," Tanya Stiles encouraged her daughter, indicating to the barrier a few yards before them. "You'll go straight through, I promise." Vanessa looked up at her mother's smiling face, nodded, and glanced back at the brick structure. She could hardly believe that she could walk straight through brick.
She shut her eyes tightly, taking in what she expected to be her last breath, and charged at the wall. She waited for the impact, but when nothing happened she skidded to a halt and looked up in nothing less than awe. A sign hung above her head reading 'Platform 9 ¾' and she grinned, turning to witness her mother follow with the trolley.
Witches and wizards of all ages were hurrying along, and Vanessa could not suppress her wide grin. She had never seen so many non-Muggles in once place; her mother preferred to live in the company of Muggles. She was set on avoiding the rising conflict that the other purebloods were starting with the Muggle-borns.
Looking around, Vanessa noticed quite a few people that she recognized. The Blacks were a few yards away, hurrying to get all of the children onto the train. Bellatrix was tormenting young Regulus, who was whining about wanting to go to school as well; Narcissa had ventured off a ways, and was speaking with a tall blonde boy; Sirius, who was apparently trying to prove how rebellious he could be, had stormed away somewhere else. He was no longer in sight.
"Nessa, be good, don't get into trouble and take care of that bird!" Vanessa looked at her mother, attempting an expression of innocence, and flushed. She had never had much luck with animals in the past; the longest she had ever kept a pet was about a month before it ran away or died.
She embraced her mother quickly and turned back to the train, hurrying to board. Within mere moments the crowd of other students consumed her, and she disappeared from Tanya's view.
XXXX
Sighing, Vanessa slid into a compartment and pressed her back against the door. Relief to be out of the discord outside the small cubicle washed over her, and she glanced around; two boys were there already, but they didn't seem to notice her. She slid past them, plopping down into one of the empty seats.
It was silent; Vanessa was unaware of how long she had been sitting there before the door opened and two others stumbled in—a redheaded girl and a slim, dark-haired boy. The girl sat opposite of Vanessa, and smiled slightly while the boy sat in the empty space between her and one of the other boys.
"I hope we get put in Slytherin," the dark-haired boy commented to the redhead; she didn't seem to care.
"Slytherin?" a brown-haired boy asked, staring at him incredulously. "Who'd want to be put in Slytherin? I'd leave, wouldn't you?" He was regarding the second boy, who had yet to speak, and then seemed to glance at Vanessa.
"My father was in Slytherin," she said stiffly, knowing that it wasn't necessarily a positive thing. Her father had walked out on she and her mother when Vanessa was only five, due to the temptation of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Tanya, who had looked down upon that sort of perspective, certainly wasn't disappointed to see him go.
"My whole family has been in Slytherin," commented the other boy. When he looked up, giving Vanessa a better view of his face, she noticed him instantly as Sirius Black. He glanced at her, but seemed not to care enough to say anything.
"Blimey!" the brown-haired boy exclaimed, gawking at Sirius. "And I thought you seemed all right!" This only earned him a grin.
"Maybe I won't be," Sirius shrugged. "What about you, Stiles?" Vanessa was somewhat shocked that he had bothered to acknowledge her. "Gonna follow in your dad's footsteps?" He was taunting her.
"Never," Vanessa replied darkly, glowering. "I'm hoping for Ravenclaw, like my mum. I wouldn't complain about Gryffindor, though. I don't really think the House matters much." She shrugged, leaning back against the seat and crossing her arms.
"I bet you get put in Slytherin anyways," Sirius sneered, and Vanessa snapped, "I bet I won't!"
She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth; Sirius smirked and wagered three galleons that she was in Slytherin. Sighing, Vanessa agreed.
"Gryffindor is all right…" the dark-haired boy piped up, his tone cool. "If you want to be all brawn and no brain."
"So where are you going, seeing as how you're neither?" Sirius retorted, and laughed.
This was apparently enough for the redhead, who stood and stormed off. "Come on, Severus, lets go find a different compartment." He followed after her, somewhat like a lost puppy; Sirius and the other boy made mocking sounds after them, and one called, "See ya, Snivellus!"
Vanessa rolled her eyes and stood as well. She paused once in the doorway and said, "You're just like Bellatrix, Sirius." She closed the door behind her and ventured away to change into her school robes.
XXXX
The crowd of students was large. Vanessa was shoved around numerous times, and the ruckus only stopped once the group of First Years made their way into the castle. An older woman stood at the top of a small flight of stairs, her gaze piercing.
"Once you enter the Great Hall, before you will be able to join the other students for the feast, you must be Sorted. The Houses are: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While here, your House is your family. Good behavior will earn you points, while misbehaving will cause you to loose points. At the end of the year the points will be counted, and the House with the most will be awarded the House Cup."
A low murmur of interest broke the students' silence, and they were being led into the Great Hall within a matter of minutes. Many of the students were enthralled with the ceiling, bewitched to look like the night sky, while others were more interested with gazing at the front of the room. A lone stood was placed before the Head Table, and an old black hat sat upon it.
When the crowd finally fell still and the shoving ended, Vanessa found herself standing beside the redheaded girl and the black-haired boy from the train. She and the girl exchanged half-smiles before directing their attention to the front.
Professor McGonagall was calling names; "Black, Sirius!" Sirius approached the hat and sat down; it was only a matter of seconds before the thing screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!" Cheers broke the quiet, and Sirius cast a sneering glance at the Slytherin table, where Bellatrix and Narcissa were glaring.
"Evans, Lily!" Gryffindor.
"Lupin, Remus!" Gryffindor.
"Pettigrew, Peter!" Gryffindor.
"Potter, James!"" Gryffindor.
"Snape, Severus!" …Slytherin.
Vanessa inhaled deeply as her name was called, stepping forward and sitting down. She remained silent, listening as the hat rambled through her qualities. Her breath caught when it prepared to blurt out her house—anywhere but there, anywhere but there—"SLYTHERIN!"
The table of green and silver cheered; Vanessa forced a smile onto her face, and didn't bother to search for Sirius's face among the Gryffindors. She hurried into the empty seat beside the boy, Severus, and was congratulated by Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Black, and Narcissa Black. There were others, but she only recognized the three.
The Sorting continued, only a few more students left, and then they were allowed to eat. Vanessa talked to the people around her, regardless of how she did not want to be there, and developed a certain interest in the Snape boy—he was odd, somewhat different that the others. Perhaps it was just because he was another First Year, but she made her decision then to stick with him.
As the number students in the Hall began to thin considerably, Vanessa stood with Severus to leave, but was not able to escape before a hand caught her arm and she was whirled around by a triumphant Sirius Black.
"A bet's a bet, kid—pay up."
Vanessa scowled and handed over her money; Sirius grinned and sauntered away to a group of three other boys who Vanessa only vaguely remembered from the Sorting.
She grimaced with sheer dislike, but hurried on to catch up with Severus, who had already started towards the common room.