My fingers were trembling ever so slightly following the movement of the train. I glanced at the countryside which was a lovely sight and took a deep breath.
"No worries right? I mean, I'm human and possibly entering my fifth year at a wizardry school. I mean that's totally normal!" I laughed quietly and nervously to myself. I sat alone in a compartment. Don't get me wrong, I like being alone.
My fingers ran through my milky white ferret which sat on my lap, Silver, as my parents called her. Speaking of which, I missed them already. Just yesterday I was a normal schoolgirl, lazing about in my room and today I'm on board a train to a wizardry boarding school! I was told to bring a cat, owl or toad. Guess a ferret would do.
My hands fiddled with the letter which sat comfortably in my breast pocket. Yesterday, a lady donned with emerald green robes, her hair pulled in a tight bun which looked uncomfortable and a pointed hat. I think she called herself Professor McGonagall or something like that. She came to my house, startling my parents. She said about how the acceptance letters for me to go to Hogwarts were mixed up or some sort and I was actually to be starting that school when I was eleven! Turns out I missed out almost four to five years of valuable magic.
Strange as it seems though, I never thought magic was real. Except when I was eleven and I poured a pitcher of water over my least favourite aunt, using my mind. Since then, weird things began happening, I could levitate things with my mind and much more.
I was so engrossed in my thought I didn't hear my compartment door open until someone let out a haughty laugh.
"Well, well, another Mudblood aren't you?" a male voice said, bursting my thoughts. I glanced up and noticed three boys standing by my compartment. The one speaking, he was tall and slim compared to the other two who looked like they've been eating nothing but cake. He had a rather pointed look, might I add smug and haughty. A rather pale complexion ,which was rather odd due to the hot weather, but complimented on his white-blonde hair and his cold grey eyes which seemed to be staring right through me. He looked pretty good looking though.
"Mudblood?" I asked with confusion. I barely had any time to read up anything about Hogwarts and magic and other rubbish. This must be a joke.
"Told you she was clueless about this." Blondie, which I will call him, said. That's it. I wanted to keep a cool and low profile but no. They had to ruin it.
"Excuse me, but do I look like I care about this mudblood or whatever of this nonsense? I don't even know how the hell did I even got accepted at this school. So if you boys just get out and leave me in my peace, that will be nice." I said loudly with an angry voice. They looked taken aback except for Blondie. He just gave me a smirk.
"Feisty Mudblood. Just like Granger. C'mon Crabbe and Goyle." he muttered before closing my compartment. I stood back down and ran my fingers through my hair which made an outstanding colour difference to his. While his was a white-blonde mine was a raven black and straight. Soon after he left, three others came into my compartment.
"Nobody here right?" the girl asked. She had brown hair and smiling eyes. Her voice seemed like one of those smart and bossy types yet she seemed nice.
"No, have a seat." I gestured to the opposite seats.
"Thanks." she muttered as she called for two other boys.
"Harry! Ron! I found us some seats!" she shouted. The two boys stepped in. One had black hair like mine and he wore round glasses whereas the other had red hair and he was dotted with freckles.
"This is Harry and that over there is Ron. I'm Hermione Granger, you are?" she introduced me to the boys who were in a conversation. They had some pretty good looks but not like the blonde I saw earlier.
"Hi. I'm new. Amelie Darling." I smiled shaking her hand.
"What house are you in?" Ron asked. House? What is he talking about?
"She's new." Blondie seemed to have returned.
"Piss off Malfoy." Hermione said.
"Two mudbloods together. How adorable." he taunted.
"Go away Draco." Harry said and he smirked at the three before sending a wink in my direction and left.
"Who is he?" I asked, trying to avoid the house subject.
"Draco Malfoy. Smug, arrogant and Pureblood." Hermione described with disdain in her voice. "And did he say you were a mudblood?"
Draco Malfoy? I sniggered at his name. I nodded at Hermione's question.
"Aren't you offended?" Harry asked.
"I don't know what it means so, no." I replied. They asked a few more questions before getting into their own conversation. Something about You-Know-Who, Death-Eaters, Dementors and some more other weird things.
We arrived at Hogwarts soon enough. The sky was already painted with dark blue hues and we were to go to the school by carriage. I glanced at the humongous castle which looked magnificent and regal.
"The best wizards and witches came from Hogwarts. Even our headmaster, Albus Dumbledore." Harry explained. I just nodded along, not understanding much. I got into a carriage with the trio and another two people.
"Luna, Neville, this is Amelie, she's new." Hermione introduced me to the girl and boy.
"I'm Luna Lovegood. Please to meet you." she smiled. Her voice sounded very dreamy as if she's in a trance and her hair was dirty blonde yet it shone in the moonlight. Neville on the other hand, had a slight clumsy look about him, but he seemed nice.
Upon arriving at Hogwarts, I was being separated from the group I met. Professor McGonagall explained to me a brief explanation on the wizarding world and magic. It was a lot of information to take in but her voice was crisp yet stern, implementing the information in my brain. Apparently I was to be sorted into a house.
Houses. I think I heard Hermione say that they were in Gryffindor and Luna was in Ravenclaw. I think I also heard them say that there isn't a wizard that's gone bad that wasn't in Slytherin. Personally I'm unsure about what house I was to be in, but any house except for Blondie's.
When everyone was seated at their respective houses and the first years sorted through, the headmaster, I believed, stood at the gold podium and began speaking.
"For the first time, we have a new student here attending Hogwarts. Though she was to come here when you fifth years were in your first. Come here Amelie Darling." the headmaster ushered. He had a long beard which made him look like a stereotypical wizard. I sat on the oaken chair as McGonagall took an oversized hat which looked really really old. She placed it on my head and to my surprise it began speaking!
"Why why! Another Muggleborn!" it began which gave me a fright. I saw Blondie and his sidekicks snickering at their table. I noticed the green crest hanging above them and on it was a coiled snake. Obviously Slytherin. My eyes travelled over to Harry, Hermione and Ron who gave me a reassuring smile and thumbs up.
"So, let me see… Brave, like Gryffindor. Loyal to people, Hufflepuff. Intelligent like Ravenclaw. And oooh, cunning and resourceful like Slytherin. My my, you possess many qualities of the different houses, mainly Slytherin and Gryffindor. I know which house to put you in." it talked. I held my breath.
"Slytherin!" the hat yelled. I swore the whole hall fell silent. Until the hat piped up again.
"Oh and dear, you are the first muggleborn to be in Slytherin, have fun!"
Have fun!? I laughed mentally. Great I'm now stuck with Blondie. The hall then erupted into a slow clapping, much to their surprise. Professor McGonagall gently took the hat off me which a look of bewilderment. Why is everyone so shocked? Even Dumbledore was shocked. I slowly made my way to the Slytherin table and sat myself down.
Though everyone was shocked, I can say some of the girls were nice.
"Pansy Parkinson." a brunette introduced herself to me smiling.
"Amelie Darling." I replied. She sounds nice. She began asking questions about my life and my past but I had this strange feeling at my neck like someone's watching me. I glanced up and saw Draco staring at me with mixed emotions. I ignored him and replied Pansy.
"You aren't like those Muggleborns are you?" Pansy asked as we walked up the steps to the Slytherin common room.
"What do you mean?" I asked back taking in all the paintings that seemed to be moving. I noticed they moved a lot, quite like a video tape yet on their own. There were ghosts hovering about Hogwarts as well, in which one gave me a fright when we left the Great Hall.
"Like Granger. I mean, she practically gets insulted when we call her Mudblood." Pansy laughed.
I laughed nervously with her. "Well, I'm completely clueless about this blood thing so if you want to call me mudblood, I guess you do before I find out the true meaning." I joked. She laughed at my attempt and linked her arms with mine.
"You're not like them. That's good." she skipped happily. We reached the top and someone said some password thing for us to get through. As the bricks slid open, my jaw dropped.
"Beautiful ain't it? My reaction was just like yours when I first came to Slytherin." Draco whispered into my ear. I didn't even realise that he was next to me. I nodded and stepped in. It was indeed beautiful. The walls were decorated with tapestries of medieval people which I presumed were the famous Slytherin wizards. The lamps in the room gave off a green tinge and it was dimly lit in the common room, save the windows. Otherwise, the decor seemed pretty Slytherin-ish I guess, skulls, books, dark cupboards. I shivered a little, it was rather cold in the common room. Before I could slump my aching body onto one of their leather sofas, a small first year came in bringing news that Dumbledore wanted to see me, Pansy and Draco. We left the room, with me groaning internally for my body.
We walked along the corridor until bumping into Hermione, Harry and Ron. I gave them a small smile and they smiled back.
"What are you doing here?" Draco asked.
"Going to see Dumbledore, you three?" Harry replied simply.
"Same reason." Pansy replied. We knocked on the door of his study and a crisp voice uttered, 'come in'.
"Ah, Amelie Darling." Dumbledore spoke. I nodded my head in his direction. He gave off this aura of respect and greatness. I fear to make a mistake under him.
"Well, I called you all here today because I need a favour." Dumbledore began.
"Anything sir." Harry said. He sneaked a glance at me which I replied with a wry smile.
"Since Amelie here is new, and she will be needing lots of tutoring being in fifth year with almost no knowledge of magic. Ms Granger, since you excel in charms and transfiguration, you will be tutoring Aria on Charms." Dumbledore said. Hermione nodded. "Mr Potter here, he's top in class for Defence Against the Dark Arts so he'll be tutoring you."Dumbledore gave a smile at me and Harry nodded.
"I'd love to tutor her.." Harry said. Draco and Pansy nudged each other, mocking Harry.
"And finally Mr Malfoy, best potions student and might I add, high recommendations from Professor Snape, who is also the Head of Slytherin. So if he wouldn't mind-" Dumbledore was cut off by Draco.
"I'll tutor her." he said with a gleam in his eyes. He gave me a smirk which made me roll my eyes.
"Now that's settled, I have another announcement. Ms Granger and Mr Weasley, you both will be prefects for Gryffindor. And Mr Malfoy and Ms Parkinson, both of you will be prefects for Slytherin." Dumbledore said. I raised my eyebrow. Prefects?
"Might I ask what is a prefect?"
"A prefect is the head boy and head girl of each house." Dumbledore explained. Not meaning to be rude, I just nodded as if I understood.
"Professor Dumbledore, do you mind if we take back Amelie back to the common room and show her the dormitory first?" Pansy asked sweetly.
"Do. It's getting late anyways, I suggest all of you return to your dormitories first tonight. I'll discuss your duties as prefects tomorrow morning." Dumbledore said. We nodded and headed off our opposite directions back to the common room.
"And by the way, our common room is set below a lake. Like way below, that's brings out the green tinge. And sadly, not much sunlight so it's pretty dark all the time." Draco said. My sleepy eyes nodded as Pansy brought me into the girl's dormitory. I was to share a dorm with a few other girls.
The dormitory was decorated similarly to the common room but instead of plush sofas, it was beds. The beds were all decorated with green pillows and matching blankets. Slytherin sure loves green.
The pillows were etched with letters, the one nearest to me said Pansy but up to closer inspection, the letters rearranged to Amelie.
"Gosh I'm sorry Pansy, I don't mean to take your bed." I said hurriedly. Pansy chuckled and patted my back.
"Aren't Muggleborns adorable?" she said to her group of friends. "No, I'm a prefect so I'll be staying in my own room." her friends giggled. "Alone." she added. Ah, I understood their rather dirty joke.
"Though I might enjoy the ambience by myself, I'm sure going to miss chatting here." Pansy said. "Goodnight ladies, and take care of her!" Pansy said before exiting the rooms.
The girls leapt off their beds and introduced themselves to me. Load of nonsense. I can't believe Hermione thought they were rude and haughty, they were so nice. Like genuine nice.
I changed into my pajamas and sneaked into my bed. As my head touched the pillow, I fell into deep and peaceful slumber.
I woke up in a bed, back home in Sutton. My pillow was drenched and I was sweating. Not that same dream again. It was vague and blurry, bits and pieces flashing about. My recurring dream. I shook off the nasty feeling and lay back on my bed. Suddenly bright flashes sparked in my eyes. They're back.
"Mom? Dad?" I croaked. I would always say the same thing over and over again in my dream. My "parents" stood at the foot of my bed. They would lift some kind of twig and a bright light and I would wake up in 3, 2, 1
"No!" I screamed loudly getting up. The lights flicked on, passing off a green hue. This wasn't my room.
"Amelie? You alright?" Pansy asked, rushing to my side. She held my shoulders. I was shaking. My pillow was drenched in sweat. "Shh, it's just a nightmare." Pansy cooed. Surprisingly, it brought relief.
Pansy ushered me out of the dorms and sat me down on one of the plush couches. She began making some tea. Within minutes, I heard footsteps running down and I saw Draco. The look on his face was worried.
"What happened? I heard some shouting and ran down." Draco panted. "She alright?"
Pansy just gave Draco a 'go back' look and Draco took one last look at me before heading back to his dorm. She passed me a cup of tea and sat down.
"Want to talk about it?" she asked. I took a deep breath. My parents, well technically my foster parents, sent me to many therapists but they never were able to get me to tell my dream. The therapists say it's just nightmares and trauma. It will wear off in age.
"I guess now's time." I shrugged and told Pansy about the recurring dream. Throughout my story, she remained silent, just her expressions changing.
"I think we should keep this between us." she murmured. I sipped my tea and nodded. It was slightly bitter but it was a comforting taste. "You should get back to bed, got a busy day tomorrow."
"Why?"
"Shopping of course! McGonagall told me how you have hardly any supplies so me and Draco are taking you shopping at Diagon Alley." she said excitedly. "Well, I volunteered but judging from my recent exam results, Snape would want me in school so it's just you and Draco."
"Oh." I replied, setting the cup on the table. "Goodnight." I said smilingly to Pansy.
"Goodnight muggle." she winked before returning to her dorm. My head felt much better after the tea Pansy gave me, I laid down on the bed again and pull the covers tighter over my head and fall back into slumber.
"Morning sleeping beauties!" Pansy yelled into our dormitories. I groaned and tried to pull the covers over my head but she ripped them from my grasp. Although Draco said there's no sunlight but a few bits of ray slinked in through the cracks.
"You've got a shopping trip with Malfoy." Pansy smirked from my side. I smirked back and rolled off the bed. My uniform seemed to be folded neatly on the foot of my bed. I picked it up and examined it.
It was a white long sleeved button up with our house coloured tie, in my case, green. I quickly wore them on and loosened the tie before tucking my shirt into a black skirt with black tights underneath. I slipped on a charcoal grey v-neck jumper and a cardigan over. It was very warm compared to my old clothes with sat in a lonely pile. My jeans and sweater was no match to this uniform. Finally, I fastened my robe and twirled around a little, which embarrassingly Pansy saw.
"C'mon, let's grab some breakfast." Pansy linked her arms and she began chattering about the history of Slytherin and a few spells.
"See, a handy spell you can remember is a light spell, just wave your wand and say lumos." Pansy said.
"Um, I don't have a wand remember?"
"Right. Sorry, but we can practice it, secretly." she placed her index finger to her lips and giggled. Pansy was like the best friend I never had. Back home in Sutton, I never had much friends, let alone any.
We entered the Grand Hall for breakfast and I noticed, out of all the teachers who wore black robes, one seemed to be striking out. I never noticed her last night though she made an announcement. She was short, stout and plump. She was wearing bright pink articles of clothing which blinded my eyes. Her voice was just annoying.
"Dolores Umbridge. She's the one which lets Muggleborns like you in." Draco said at the table. Some more of the magic food appeared and everyone helped themselves generously.
"Not hungry?" Pansy asked, nibbling on a piece of sausage. I shook my head and forcefully picked up a slice of toast and buttering it. I noticed at the Gryffindor table, Ron seemed to be stuffing his plate with sausages, bacon, ham, eggs and toast. Boy could he eat.
I nibbled my toast and picked at the edges. Once breakfast was over, Pansy took me and Draco to see Professor Snape.
"Professor Snape, could I please follow Amelie and Draco out to help out Amelie?" Pansy asked nicely. Snape had this look which made me scared of him. He looked overpowering and mysterious.
"Ms Parkinson, if you could improve your grades from last year I would've considered. Since you failed quite a few subjects, I suggest you stay at Hogwarts. Off you two." he dismissed me and Draco, leaving a disappointed Pansy. I gave her a wry smile and she returned with a sad one. This was going to be a long trip.
"C'mon, the Leaky Cauldron's this way." Draco said, pulling my arm. It felt a bit good to be back to what they call, the "Muggle world".
"There better not be anything shady in there." I said.
"You're a Slytherin! Cunning and smart is what we are." Draco said. I rolled my eyes and ran my fingers through my black hair. "Muggles" have sent us weird stares as we walked through the streets of London to the Leaky Cauldron.
Draco took me to a room behind the pub but it was all bricked up.
"Better not be a joke Malfoy."
He waved his wand and the bricks rearranged themselves neatly, revealing the busy and packed streets of Diagon Alley. My eyes could nearly pop out of their sockets.
"Brought your money?" he asked. I rolled my eyes again.
"I may be a "mudblood" but I know when it comes to shopping we obviously need money." I huffed.
"Alright, don't get your wand in a twist." he laughed.
"If you haven't noticed, I haven't got one." I pointed out which made him laugh harder. News seemed to spread that I was another Muggleborn and was sorted into Slytherin. Wizards and witches gave me stares alike. I ignored their stares and stayed closer to Draco.
"First stop, Ollivander's Wand Shop." Draco introduced, pushing me into the shop. The bell ringed softly and the shop owner, Mr Ollivander shuffled out. When he saw me and Draco he looked like he was going to wet his pants.
"Mr Malfoy! I had no idea you were going to be here." he said. "And I see you brought the Muggle."
"I have a name you know, Amelie." I said.
"People been talking about you, first muggle to be in Slytherin, an honour. But how's your father, Lucius reacting to this, Draco?" Mr Ollivander asked.
"He hasn't sent any letters yet, that's a safe bet he doesn't know." Draco laughed nervously. He seems to be afraid of his father.
"Alright, now, young lady your wand?" he said with a twinkle in his eyes. Wand making must be his passion that runs in the family because from the looks of the store outside, it must've been in Diagon Alley for generations. Mr Ollivander went back to the stores and began rummaging around for some wands.
"Is there like some special thing about wands? Why the big fuss?" I asked, taking in the dusty boxes and wands lying about.
"Well, the thing about wands is that they choose you, not you choose them." Draco explained. He pulled out his wand and passed it to me. It had a warm feeling but not the warmth I like.
"Ah, Mr Malfoy's wand!" Mr Ollivander said. "Ten inches precisely, hawthorn wood and unicorn hair."
"That's amazing! How do you remember the exact wand?" I asked in surprise.
"My dear, I remember every wand I sold. Now how about yours?" he laid four boxes of odd looking sticks on the table. Come on they all look the same. I ran my hands on the wands, all of them felt cold and hard except the last one which sparked with electricity and seemed to be screaming 'pick me'. I picked up the last one and held it up, gripping it.
"Eleven inches, hawthorn as well and phoenix feather." Mr Ollivander murmured. "Give it a wave."
I waved the wand and pointed it at the vase nearby which instantly shattered. I gasped and quickly place the wand back on the table.
"I'm so sorry sir, I didn't mean that!" I apologised.
"She's polite for a Slytherin eh?" Mr Ollivander teased Draco who looked pink. "Young lady, this wand chose you. So you are now the owner. Take care of it."
I paid Mr Ollivander some odd coins Draco instructed me. Something about galleons, knuts and sickles. We left the shop with me jumping happily, glad to have a wand. We went into a few other shops for some supplies and soon enough, it got a bit darker. I saw a pretty charm bracelet, which I thought Pansy would like and bought it secretly with Draco knowing.
"We missed quite some lessons today." I stated.
"Nah, we usually don't do much on our first day. Did you have fun today?" he asked.
"Other than breaking the vase, yes. I did have fun." I replied. The walk back to Hogwarts was tiring and all I wanted to do was to lie on the bed and sleep. Luckily, dinnertime was nearly over once we reached Hogwarts.
Pansy left me with some food and I graciously accepted the food. With the first bite, I realised how hungry I was from all the walking and shopping.
"How was it?" Pansy asked eagerly.
"Fun." I replied vaguely. "Oh, and I got this for you." I said pulling out the box with the bracelet.
"It's beautiful, I actually thought of buying one with you if we were allowed to go to town soon but hey, thanks." she smiled clasping the bracelet on her right wrist. "I was right, you aren't like those muggles, Amelie."
Finishing my dinner in silence, we headed back to the common room and I quickly changed before flopping down on the bed. My feet ached and my body was tired. As I shut my eyes, I realised that tomorrow was my official first lessons at Hogwarts.
DISCLAIMER: IN MY STORY, THE EVENTS ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE AND JUMBLED UP BECAUSE WHY NOT? BEAR WITH ME PLEASE THANKS :)