Disclaimer: Most of it's not mine, unfortunately. I only own the plot, Jennyver, Arianna, and any other lesser character's I make up. I also have to say specifically that Severus' little speech in Jennyver's dream is a direct quote from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and the school song is as well.
A/N: So one thing before we start, Jennyver is pronounced with French pronouncing stuff, if you speak French you should be able to figure it out, if not it's pronounced similarly to Jenny-vair (like fair with a v sound). I used it because a) I like the way it sound, and b) I like the way it looks. Oh and also this has only been partially betaed cause I was really anxious on knowing what you all think so I put it up before I asked her to read it again.
Coming Home
Jennyver had been waiting for this for years. She was delighted by the sight before her. The Hogwarts Express was sitting in the station, the mob of people in front the train was full of teary "goodbyes", as well as those said in relief.
Jen's "goodbyes", however, had been said a week earlier, before Dumbledore had apparated her to the Leaky Cauldron where she lived for the week Dumbledore had personally showed her around Diagon Alley, helped her exchange her dollars to galleons, sickles, and knuts, made sure she got everything she would need for school, and he even helped her pick an owl. Jen thought this was a bit odd, when she asked him why he was showing her around, he had only responded with his typical vagueness, saying she would know soon enough. Dumbledore was wary and constantly watched her. She was special, just like Arianna was. Having both of them in the same place could be difficult, but after spending time with Jennyver his fears were calmed somewhat, they would get along quite nicely, no rivalries to worry about. These thoughts though made him rather agitated. He had tried for three years to get an American school to take her, but each claimed they had neither the resources nor the knowledge to teach such a student, though really they just feared what could happen. But they had to be taught; else wise their power could get lose and run amuck. As it was she had already unknowingly broken her ex-boyfriend's leg. Apparently they had been at Marching Band practice when a rather large rock appeared in front of him. He tripped and dropped his Tuba, so between the rock and the Tuba, his leg ended up broken. Now she was 8,500 km from home.
Jen boarded the train towards the back and found an empty compartment. She tucked her belongings away and settled down, hoping that no one would join her in her compartment so she could get some sleep, without some stranger trying to talk to her all the while. As the train began to move, Jen relaxed and fell asleep.
She was in a room which looked to be a dungeon of sorts. The walls were made of stone, and were lacking in any sort of windows or decoration, except for a single blackboard in the front. A teacher's desk was in the front near the blackboard, and student desks were lined up in rows. Jennyver sat near the front as she always had, because she was both nearsighted and very eager to learn. Around her sat a group of students about three years younger than her.
A dark, brooding man abruptly entered startling all of the students into silence. "There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class... As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few who possess the pre-disposition... I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death." . . .
She awoke and began contemplating what she remembered from the dream. Who was that man . . .? Just then the compartment door opened.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize anyone was in here." The speaker was a girl about Jennyver's age. Her hair was black, and her eyes were blue with white streaks. Looking at Arianna gave Jen a strange feeling, like she was looking in mirror, the only difference was that her eyes were hazel with red streaks.
"No, no, it's fine. I was actually hoping someone would come visit me during the trip," she lied quickly. She laughed silently to herself. She would never be able tell someone to leave, or that they weren't wanted, even when she wanted them the least. "My name's Jennyver."
"And mine is Arianna," she said with some relief. "Are you a transfer student? You're definitely not eleven years old."
"I am fourteen, and I'm not entirely sure why I'm coming to Hogwarts rather than somewhere in America."
"You're the same age as me then. America . . . so you're American? I should've known because of your accent."
Jennyver nodded. "Which house are you in?"
"I'm in Ravenclaw. Do you know what house you'd like to be in?"
"I was actually thinking that Ravenclaw would be good for me. I've always had a very logical mind set." It seemed the week spent reading Hogwarts, A History had come to be of some use.
"Maybe we shall be seeing a lot of each other then, " Arianna glanced at her watch, "We're nearly there; you should change into your robes."
"Yeah, I probably should. See you later."
And Arianna left her to her thoughts.
As Jen changed she thought about Arianna, as well as the dark man from her dream. She was somehow fascinated by him, but as far as she knew he was merely a figment of her imagination that she would never see again.
She was soon standing in the entrance hall waiting to be sorted.
Professor McGonagall entered the room, "Make a line and follow me."
Jen got in line behind one of the many nervous looking first years. They followed McGonagall into the Great Hall. Once inside, Jen was too amazed to register much of what was going on around her. At one point, she stopped long enough to watch a few people, including a boy named Eddie Carmichael and a girl named Cho Chang who were both sorted in to Ravenclaw, go through the ceremony so she knew what to do.
At last she heard McGonagall call, "Rill, Jennyver!" She walked up to the stool and put the Sorting Hat on her head. She sat down, but not for long. It merely muttered, "So like her sister," before it yelled, "RAVENCLAW!" Jen removed the Hat and headed swiftly toward the Ravenclaw table. Sitting in a vacant seat next to Arianna, she looked at the smiles around her and felt at home for the first time in her life
The sorting was finally finished after "Neuner, Liliane!" was sorted into "SLYTHERIN!" Dumbledore then stood. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts. And it will be a great one at that. But before I continue, dig in!" He sat down and Jennyver returned her gaze to the table to discover that the platters, which were empty until recently, were now full of food.
Arianna laughed at the bewilderment written all over Jen's face. "Potatoes, Jen?"
She recovered quickly and responded, "Yes, please. Thank you," and she took the bowl from her hands.
Jen ate mostly in silence, listening to those around her talk about what new things they would learn this year, and about quidditch. When Jennyver asked if someone would explain Quidditch to her everyone nearby turned and looked at her as though she had grown a second head, even though a few of them had been in the same predicament a few years earlier. Arianna came to her rescue by beginning an explanation, and soon everyone got over their shock and began adding their own bits to the description. Eventually people had stuffed themselves to the bursting point and the food vanished from the tables, leaving the plates looking as clean as they had before the feast.
Dumbledore stood, "Now that we have filled our bellies, I have a few start-of-term announcements to make. The first is the make it know to the new students, and to remind old ones, that the forest is forbidden to all students. It has also been requested by Mr. Filch that I remind everyone to not use magic between classes in the corridors. My last announcement before the school song is that quidditch tryouts will take place during the second week of the term, and anyone interested should speak to Madam Hooch. Everyone choose a tune and begin the song!"
And the school sang:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald,
Or young with scabby knees,
Our head could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead Flies and bits of fluff,
So teach is things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
While singing, Jennyver scanned the staff table for the first time. When she came to the end she nearly gasped out loud. That is the man from my dream.
"And now it is time to settle for the night in warm comfy beds. Of you go!"
A ravenclaw prefect led them to the dormitory, which had its door way covered by a painting of an old wizard reading in a brown armchair.
"Password?"
"Scientia vox."
The painting swung open to reveal a rather large yet cozy common room. The prefect walked forward and stopped just before the staircases. "The staircase on your left leads to the girls dorms, and the stair on your right lead to the boys dorms. A sign on each door tells you the year which resides in the dorm. First years are all the way at the top this year."
Jen followed the other first years to the top of the stairs and went into their new room. Their were four four-poster beds hung with blue curtains, and all of their luggage had already been brought up. Jennyver quickly changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. Her thoughts returned to what had happened that day, and she thought of the Sorting Hat's words. Her last thought before slipping into sleep was, I don't have a sister. . .
A really long A/N:
blueSirius: This is just a note to all reviewers. I am not one to explain all things at once. For now these gals may seem a bit bleh, but there's a lot more to them than meets the eye (and there's a lot of hint to what powers they hold). And if you don't like the descriptions of them, I don't care (hints back to what I said in the last sentence). This is the magical world and all things are possible, magic likes to mess around with things. So now I hand you over to my loverly, and very crazy, friend hfd
hieisfiredemoness: I am bluesirius's beta so if any of you give her a hard time, I will personally find where you live and … I'll let your imaginations run with that idea, but trust me, I always complete my threats. Now review and have a nice day.
blueSirius: Oh yes all flames will be used to heat my room in the winter and to burn my interactive buddy (great game on Newgrounds might I add, highly amusing). I like constructive criticism and like hfd said review and have a nice day.