Reena sighed and placed her head on the small desk in front of her. It was summer, as always, and boring. She was lonely; not only had her friends shunned her for strange goings-ons blamed on her, but her own family took a dislike to her as well. She would spend hours at a time, sitting in her room with a blunt knife in her hand, ready to cut if only she had the guts. Every night, she would sit on her balcony and stare up at the sky, wishing she was anywhere but home. Reena was curious about what she had been blamed for that the school; small fires and things breaking, it seemed trivial but Reena knew that someone or something was doing this to make her look like she was the bad man. She noticed that these things only happened when she felt a strong emotion, such as hate or fear. And it was always in the same place as her. One sleepless, starless, humid summer night, she awoke to a loud THUD at her window. Scared, she opened the window and saw a small black owl with a piece of paper tied to its foot. "How strange," Reena murmured, taking the owl into the saftey of her room. She untied the paper from its talon and read it over quickly.
Reena Amelia Black
84 Green Day Drive
The small upstairs room
The note was about her being accepted into some sort of boarding school- what was it called? Reena scanned the note quickly. Oh yeah, Hogwarts. She stifled a giggle, and read on. It said that she had special powers that would be honed to perfection if she went to this school of- witchcraft and wizardry! Reena nearly dropped the note. "But I'm not-!" she protested to the owl, who was perced on her headboard. It hooted. "'Please keep the owl and contact us with any questions. You are to board the train at platform 9 and 3/4 on September 13th.'" She read aloud. "Keep the owl?" She questioned. The owl bobbed it's head up and down. Reena placed the letter aside and crawled towards it. "Well, what shall we call you?" She reached out to it, slowly, and stroked it's feathers. It cooed in delight. "How about Nightbringer?" she asked the pitch black owl. It swayed its head from side to side. "No? Well...how about..." she paused to think. What would she name an owl, anyway? "Are you a girl owl?" she asked it. It bobbed its head up and down once more. "Well, then boy name's surely won't do." Reena thought s bit more. "How about...Gaia?" Gaia was the goddess of the earth, Reena had read in a book a couple of weeks ago. The owl hooted, and took to flying around the room. "Shh!!" Reena hissed. "Someone might hear you!" The owl calmed down and perched on the headboard. "I can send letters with you, they say?" she asked Gaia. Gaia bobbed her head up and down. "okay...platform 9 and 3/4..." she read off the paper. "Where the hell is that?" Gaia stuck out her leg. "You want me to write and ask?" Gaia did her rendition of an owl nod. "okay," Reena said, digging around in her desk for a pen and paper. "'To...whom it may concen,'" Reena spoke aloud as writing. "'Thank you for the owl, she is quite smart and beautiful too-'" Gaia crooned. "'-I was wondering if you could tell me where this platform nine and three quarters is so I could attend your school next year. Also, I was wondering if I needed to buy anything for the school year and where to go for that. Thanks again! Reena.'" She laid down her pen. "Sounds good, right?" she asked Gaia, who did her nod. "okay, now, can you take this...?" Gaia promptly stuck out her leg, and a piece of string that fell off the letter. Reena grabbed both. "You want me to-?" Reena stared blankly at the paper and the string. Then it hit her. "Tie the message onto your foot!" The owl hooted. Reena did her best, and ended up rolling the message up like she had seen it done before with her letter. Gaia then flew out the open window, leaving Reena alone again, but with more hope.
The next day was September 9th. Reena had but four days to find what she needed for school. Gaia returned that night with another message attached to her leg. "'Dear Reena, You can find your school supplies in Diagon Alley...' and there are directions to get there... 'and the supplies are... ' there are magical things on this list! 'Platform nine and three quarters is located...' This will do great!" Reena exclaimed. "I'll set out tommorrow for Diagon Alley."
Reena left the house early in the morning to avoid her family's harsh interrogation. She found Diagon Alley easily, and followed the instructions. It wasn't working, the door that was supposed to be behind this brick wall wasn't opening. She scanned the letter again. "A wand?" she gasped. "I don't have one of those!" "May I help you?" a tall man with long blonde hair asked. Behind him was a boy about her age with the same shade of blonde hair. "Ah, yes, I'm trying to get into Diagon Alley to buy school supplies," she held up the letter. "You know, for Hogwarts." The man raised an eyebrow. "Then you will be going with my son Draco," he beckoned to the boy beside him. Then he pulled out his wand and tapped the bricks in the order that the letter said, and it opened. "Thank you so much," she said, flustered. "no problem," Draco's father drawled. "Do you have any wizard money with you?" Reena shook her head. "I have normal money," she held out some dollars. "Ah, well, would you us to show you around? And get your money changed, of course." Reena smiled. "Would you? I'm afraid I don't really know much..." Reena realized that neither of the two who had helped them knew her name. "I'm sorry for not introducing myself- but I'm, Reena Black." she held out her hand to the tall, blonde man. "Luicius Malfoy," he said, taking her hand gingerly and shaking it. So Reena traveled with the Malfoys, buying all sorts of things she'd never see back home. Draco didn't say much, and nor did Luicius. So Reena kept quiet as she bought the things they needed. Once they had covered everything on their list, Draco turned to her. "Do you have an owl?" he asked. Reena nodded. "Her name is Gaia. Do you have one?" Draco nodded. "Send me a letter sometime, just tell Gaia to go to the Malfoys, I'm sure she'll have heard of us." Reena nodded. "I will." Draco smiled for the first time. "Well, I suppose I had better head back," Reena said, sad to go. Draco and Luicius showed her the way out and she said goodbye. Then Reena walked home the way she came, carrying bags of stuff for her new school year. She avoided her family again, who were sitting down to dinner, and skipped to her room. She placed her bags at the foot of her bed and pulled out some paper. "'Draco, just wanted to write you and say hello. Thank you for showing me around Diagon Alley today, I had a wonderful time. Hope I see you on the train or at school. -Reena.'" She found some yarn from her closet and rolled the message up tightly. "Gaia?" she called. Gaia swooped down from on top of her dresser and stuck out her leg. Reena tied it on, and instructed Gaia to fly to the Malfoys. Reena then flopped down on her bed, pushing aside a dead mouse (which sort of disturbed her, but she knew owls ate that sort of thing.) and fell asleep with her clothes still on, finally happy.
She grew more excited as September 13th neared. Finally, she sneaked out of the house at 5 A.M. and walked to the train station which was, thankfully, close to her house. She probably looked strange, wheeling a cart with an owl cage on top, but Reena had thrown a blanket over it so that Gaia would stay unseen and quiet. She followed the instructions on how to get into the platform, and watched some other people do it too. She followed them, straight into the wall, and made it through on the other side. She saw Draco standing on the platform with his father, and she went to join them. "Hello Draco!" she said. "Oh, hey," he replied. Just then, a large red train pulled into the station, whistling. "Train's here," he drawled, grinning at her. "Want to sit with me?" he asked. "Sure," Reena replied, returning his smile. The two boarded the train, and placed all their luggage into the storage racks above them. Just as they were about to sit down, two other students came in, and took the seats opposite them, talking madly about some game called Quidditch. Draco sat down. "Hey!" he called to the two boys. "What's your names?" The one on the left answered first. "I'm Crabbe, and this here is Goyle." "Well, Crabbe, Goyle; I think you should-" Reena was cut off by the door sliding open before she could finish what she was saying. A girl with really curly hair and bright green eyes looked down at them. "Has a toad hopped through here? Neville's lost his," she said. Reena found her voice extremely annoying and at once took a dislike to her. "No, now scram, filthy Mudblood," Draco shot at her. She pouted and stomped away. "Nice," Reena said, smiling appreciativley at him. "All in good fun," he replied. Crabbe and Goyle were back in their heated conversation. Reena tossed her auburn hair and sighed. "I really hope we get sorted into Slytherin," Malfoy said. "They say that only purebloods can get into Slytherin, and of course, I should make it." He turned to Reena. "What about you? Are you a pureblood?" Reena looked confused. "Meaning...?" Malfoy smirked. "Meaning your mom's a witch and your dad's a witch," Reena's face fell. "No, they're just normal," Crabbe stared at Reena with interest. "Wait a minute, what did you say your name was?" He asked. "Reena Black, why?" Crabbe's mouth hung open, staring at her. He quickly shoved the newspaper he had in his bag at her and she read the front page aloud. "'Sirius Black to be sentenced to life in Azkaban?'" She looked up. "Who's Sirius Black and what's Azkaban?" Everyone stared at her. Draco looked at her. "You don't know anything about..." he looked pained for a moment. "V-voldemort?" Crabbe and Goyle shuddered. "Who's he?" Reena asked. Draco groaned. "Oh, man," Reena sat still, looking confused. "I'm going to have to tell you everything I know, and this may take a while, so listen up." Draco cleared his throat. "There was this kid, and his name was Harry Potter..."
Four hours later, the four had collected their things and gotten off the train. They were put into boats, two each, and went across a lake to their 'new home for the next 7 years' a teacher explained laughingly. The castle was huge, and so much better than the school that Reena had been going to before. Earlier on, Draco had introduced her to the magical world and even taught her incantations to open any locked door, to disarm someone's wand and to stun someone. They were led into a large hall where dozens of other students were waiting, and the ceiling looked like the night sky. It was amazing. Reena and Draco stood in line, waiting to be sorted. Reena took a look at the people she presumed were teachers. A large man with a scruffy beard barely fit at the table, Reena noticed him because he led them in. Next to him was a small old man, who was probably standing on his chair to see over the table. Along down the line were various other strange looking teachers, but only one returned Reena's gaze. He had greasy black hair and a hook nose. When he saw Reena looking at him, she could have sworn that a small smile escaped his lips. Finally, a woman came in carrying a battered old hat, and she set it down on a stool It opened its mouth and began to sing:
"All ye who enter,
Soom shall ye find
That this learning center
Will educate ye mind.
We'll teach ye all the things ye need
And everything in between.
There will be rules ye must heed,
So that we can keep ye little minds keen.
The skills ye will be learning
Might not be so fun
But keep ye hearts a'yearning
For the day to be done
And soon ye will be greeted
By friends who love and care
Around ye they'll be seated
Oh yes it will be there.
Maybe by the roaring fires of Gryffondor,
Or the darkness of Slytherin.
The humbleness of Hufflepuff
Or the cleanliness of Ravenclaw.
So I shall sort ye out
All ye huddled masses
I shall shout
Which portrait ye passes
So step up, be brave
And do not delay
For we shall let the sorting begin!"
Reena nodded and smiled a tight lipped smile. The teacher who carried the hat in, pulled out a large scroll and began to read out names. The student called would walk forward, place the hat on its head and be sorted into one of four places; Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Reena hoped she would be put in Slytherin. Finally, the teacher called; "Black, Reena!" As she walked forward, the other students who were talking fell silent. Reena was unsure why. "Ooh, the Black girl..." a voice said in her head. "Maybe you'd work well in Ravenclaw?" No, Reena thought. "No? Then let's go for SLYTHERIN!" The hat announced and Reena pulled it off her head. She strode towards the table and waited for Malfoy to be sorted. The others at the Slytherin table smiled wickedly at her. Once girl sat next to her and asked, "Is it true that you're really related to Sirius Black?" Reena shrugged. "For all I know, I could be. I just got a letter from here saying I was accepted and I came." The girl smirked, and went back over to her friends. Malfoy got sorted into Slytherin before the hat was even completely on his head. He smiled triumphantly and came to sit with Reena. At "Potter, Harry!" there was another large silence as he got sorted into Gryffindor. Reena realized this was the boy Malfoy was telling her about on the train. Malfoy smirked. "Stuck up little Muggle-lover." Reena raised an eyebrow. "Muggle?" she asked. "Non magic person," Malfoy explained. "Like your parents." Once the sorting was completed, they all ate, and were led up to their common room. Slytherin's was decorated mainly in green and black, but Reena enjoyed this. Black was her favorite color, and green her second favorite: it matched her eyes. All their stuff had been put upstairs, and was in a large pile. Gaia screeched uncomfortably from the table in which she was still caged, and Reena dashed over to take her. "Nice owl," drawled Draco. "Thanks," Reena said, grinning weakly. She lugged her suitcase and owl up to the girl's dorm, and picked a bed by the window. Gaia banged against the cage, and Reena finally opened the window and let her fly free. The moon was full, and somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled. Reena smiled, and lay down to sleep. There was no other place she'd rather be than here.
Reena Amelia Black
84 Green Day Drive
The small upstairs room
The note was about her being accepted into some sort of boarding school- what was it called? Reena scanned the note quickly. Oh yeah, Hogwarts. She stifled a giggle, and read on. It said that she had special powers that would be honed to perfection if she went to this school of- witchcraft and wizardry! Reena nearly dropped the note. "But I'm not-!" she protested to the owl, who was perced on her headboard. It hooted. "'Please keep the owl and contact us with any questions. You are to board the train at platform 9 and 3/4 on September 13th.'" She read aloud. "Keep the owl?" She questioned. The owl bobbed it's head up and down. Reena placed the letter aside and crawled towards it. "Well, what shall we call you?" She reached out to it, slowly, and stroked it's feathers. It cooed in delight. "How about Nightbringer?" she asked the pitch black owl. It swayed its head from side to side. "No? Well...how about..." she paused to think. What would she name an owl, anyway? "Are you a girl owl?" she asked it. It bobbed its head up and down once more. "Well, then boy name's surely won't do." Reena thought s bit more. "How about...Gaia?" Gaia was the goddess of the earth, Reena had read in a book a couple of weeks ago. The owl hooted, and took to flying around the room. "Shh!!" Reena hissed. "Someone might hear you!" The owl calmed down and perched on the headboard. "I can send letters with you, they say?" she asked Gaia. Gaia bobbed her head up and down. "okay...platform 9 and 3/4..." she read off the paper. "Where the hell is that?" Gaia stuck out her leg. "You want me to write and ask?" Gaia did her rendition of an owl nod. "okay," Reena said, digging around in her desk for a pen and paper. "'To...whom it may concen,'" Reena spoke aloud as writing. "'Thank you for the owl, she is quite smart and beautiful too-'" Gaia crooned. "'-I was wondering if you could tell me where this platform nine and three quarters is so I could attend your school next year. Also, I was wondering if I needed to buy anything for the school year and where to go for that. Thanks again! Reena.'" She laid down her pen. "Sounds good, right?" she asked Gaia, who did her nod. "okay, now, can you take this...?" Gaia promptly stuck out her leg, and a piece of string that fell off the letter. Reena grabbed both. "You want me to-?" Reena stared blankly at the paper and the string. Then it hit her. "Tie the message onto your foot!" The owl hooted. Reena did her best, and ended up rolling the message up like she had seen it done before with her letter. Gaia then flew out the open window, leaving Reena alone again, but with more hope.
The next day was September 9th. Reena had but four days to find what she needed for school. Gaia returned that night with another message attached to her leg. "'Dear Reena, You can find your school supplies in Diagon Alley...' and there are directions to get there... 'and the supplies are... ' there are magical things on this list! 'Platform nine and three quarters is located...' This will do great!" Reena exclaimed. "I'll set out tommorrow for Diagon Alley."
Reena left the house early in the morning to avoid her family's harsh interrogation. She found Diagon Alley easily, and followed the instructions. It wasn't working, the door that was supposed to be behind this brick wall wasn't opening. She scanned the letter again. "A wand?" she gasped. "I don't have one of those!" "May I help you?" a tall man with long blonde hair asked. Behind him was a boy about her age with the same shade of blonde hair. "Ah, yes, I'm trying to get into Diagon Alley to buy school supplies," she held up the letter. "You know, for Hogwarts." The man raised an eyebrow. "Then you will be going with my son Draco," he beckoned to the boy beside him. Then he pulled out his wand and tapped the bricks in the order that the letter said, and it opened. "Thank you so much," she said, flustered. "no problem," Draco's father drawled. "Do you have any wizard money with you?" Reena shook her head. "I have normal money," she held out some dollars. "Ah, well, would you us to show you around? And get your money changed, of course." Reena smiled. "Would you? I'm afraid I don't really know much..." Reena realized that neither of the two who had helped them knew her name. "I'm sorry for not introducing myself- but I'm, Reena Black." she held out her hand to the tall, blonde man. "Luicius Malfoy," he said, taking her hand gingerly and shaking it. So Reena traveled with the Malfoys, buying all sorts of things she'd never see back home. Draco didn't say much, and nor did Luicius. So Reena kept quiet as she bought the things they needed. Once they had covered everything on their list, Draco turned to her. "Do you have an owl?" he asked. Reena nodded. "Her name is Gaia. Do you have one?" Draco nodded. "Send me a letter sometime, just tell Gaia to go to the Malfoys, I'm sure she'll have heard of us." Reena nodded. "I will." Draco smiled for the first time. "Well, I suppose I had better head back," Reena said, sad to go. Draco and Luicius showed her the way out and she said goodbye. Then Reena walked home the way she came, carrying bags of stuff for her new school year. She avoided her family again, who were sitting down to dinner, and skipped to her room. She placed her bags at the foot of her bed and pulled out some paper. "'Draco, just wanted to write you and say hello. Thank you for showing me around Diagon Alley today, I had a wonderful time. Hope I see you on the train or at school. -Reena.'" She found some yarn from her closet and rolled the message up tightly. "Gaia?" she called. Gaia swooped down from on top of her dresser and stuck out her leg. Reena tied it on, and instructed Gaia to fly to the Malfoys. Reena then flopped down on her bed, pushing aside a dead mouse (which sort of disturbed her, but she knew owls ate that sort of thing.) and fell asleep with her clothes still on, finally happy.
She grew more excited as September 13th neared. Finally, she sneaked out of the house at 5 A.M. and walked to the train station which was, thankfully, close to her house. She probably looked strange, wheeling a cart with an owl cage on top, but Reena had thrown a blanket over it so that Gaia would stay unseen and quiet. She followed the instructions on how to get into the platform, and watched some other people do it too. She followed them, straight into the wall, and made it through on the other side. She saw Draco standing on the platform with his father, and she went to join them. "Hello Draco!" she said. "Oh, hey," he replied. Just then, a large red train pulled into the station, whistling. "Train's here," he drawled, grinning at her. "Want to sit with me?" he asked. "Sure," Reena replied, returning his smile. The two boarded the train, and placed all their luggage into the storage racks above them. Just as they were about to sit down, two other students came in, and took the seats opposite them, talking madly about some game called Quidditch. Draco sat down. "Hey!" he called to the two boys. "What's your names?" The one on the left answered first. "I'm Crabbe, and this here is Goyle." "Well, Crabbe, Goyle; I think you should-" Reena was cut off by the door sliding open before she could finish what she was saying. A girl with really curly hair and bright green eyes looked down at them. "Has a toad hopped through here? Neville's lost his," she said. Reena found her voice extremely annoying and at once took a dislike to her. "No, now scram, filthy Mudblood," Draco shot at her. She pouted and stomped away. "Nice," Reena said, smiling appreciativley at him. "All in good fun," he replied. Crabbe and Goyle were back in their heated conversation. Reena tossed her auburn hair and sighed. "I really hope we get sorted into Slytherin," Malfoy said. "They say that only purebloods can get into Slytherin, and of course, I should make it." He turned to Reena. "What about you? Are you a pureblood?" Reena looked confused. "Meaning...?" Malfoy smirked. "Meaning your mom's a witch and your dad's a witch," Reena's face fell. "No, they're just normal," Crabbe stared at Reena with interest. "Wait a minute, what did you say your name was?" He asked. "Reena Black, why?" Crabbe's mouth hung open, staring at her. He quickly shoved the newspaper he had in his bag at her and she read the front page aloud. "'Sirius Black to be sentenced to life in Azkaban?'" She looked up. "Who's Sirius Black and what's Azkaban?" Everyone stared at her. Draco looked at her. "You don't know anything about..." he looked pained for a moment. "V-voldemort?" Crabbe and Goyle shuddered. "Who's he?" Reena asked. Draco groaned. "Oh, man," Reena sat still, looking confused. "I'm going to have to tell you everything I know, and this may take a while, so listen up." Draco cleared his throat. "There was this kid, and his name was Harry Potter..."
Four hours later, the four had collected their things and gotten off the train. They were put into boats, two each, and went across a lake to their 'new home for the next 7 years' a teacher explained laughingly. The castle was huge, and so much better than the school that Reena had been going to before. Earlier on, Draco had introduced her to the magical world and even taught her incantations to open any locked door, to disarm someone's wand and to stun someone. They were led into a large hall where dozens of other students were waiting, and the ceiling looked like the night sky. It was amazing. Reena and Draco stood in line, waiting to be sorted. Reena took a look at the people she presumed were teachers. A large man with a scruffy beard barely fit at the table, Reena noticed him because he led them in. Next to him was a small old man, who was probably standing on his chair to see over the table. Along down the line were various other strange looking teachers, but only one returned Reena's gaze. He had greasy black hair and a hook nose. When he saw Reena looking at him, she could have sworn that a small smile escaped his lips. Finally, a woman came in carrying a battered old hat, and she set it down on a stool It opened its mouth and began to sing:
"All ye who enter,
Soom shall ye find
That this learning center
Will educate ye mind.
We'll teach ye all the things ye need
And everything in between.
There will be rules ye must heed,
So that we can keep ye little minds keen.
The skills ye will be learning
Might not be so fun
But keep ye hearts a'yearning
For the day to be done
And soon ye will be greeted
By friends who love and care
Around ye they'll be seated
Oh yes it will be there.
Maybe by the roaring fires of Gryffondor,
Or the darkness of Slytherin.
The humbleness of Hufflepuff
Or the cleanliness of Ravenclaw.
So I shall sort ye out
All ye huddled masses
I shall shout
Which portrait ye passes
So step up, be brave
And do not delay
For we shall let the sorting begin!"
Reena nodded and smiled a tight lipped smile. The teacher who carried the hat in, pulled out a large scroll and began to read out names. The student called would walk forward, place the hat on its head and be sorted into one of four places; Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. Reena hoped she would be put in Slytherin. Finally, the teacher called; "Black, Reena!" As she walked forward, the other students who were talking fell silent. Reena was unsure why. "Ooh, the Black girl..." a voice said in her head. "Maybe you'd work well in Ravenclaw?" No, Reena thought. "No? Then let's go for SLYTHERIN!" The hat announced and Reena pulled it off her head. She strode towards the table and waited for Malfoy to be sorted. The others at the Slytherin table smiled wickedly at her. Once girl sat next to her and asked, "Is it true that you're really related to Sirius Black?" Reena shrugged. "For all I know, I could be. I just got a letter from here saying I was accepted and I came." The girl smirked, and went back over to her friends. Malfoy got sorted into Slytherin before the hat was even completely on his head. He smiled triumphantly and came to sit with Reena. At "Potter, Harry!" there was another large silence as he got sorted into Gryffindor. Reena realized this was the boy Malfoy was telling her about on the train. Malfoy smirked. "Stuck up little Muggle-lover." Reena raised an eyebrow. "Muggle?" she asked. "Non magic person," Malfoy explained. "Like your parents." Once the sorting was completed, they all ate, and were led up to their common room. Slytherin's was decorated mainly in green and black, but Reena enjoyed this. Black was her favorite color, and green her second favorite: it matched her eyes. All their stuff had been put upstairs, and was in a large pile. Gaia screeched uncomfortably from the table in which she was still caged, and Reena dashed over to take her. "Nice owl," drawled Draco. "Thanks," Reena said, grinning weakly. She lugged her suitcase and owl up to the girl's dorm, and picked a bed by the window. Gaia banged against the cage, and Reena finally opened the window and let her fly free. The moon was full, and somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled. Reena smiled, and lay down to sleep. There was no other place she'd rather be than here.
