TITLE:
Searching for AcceptancePART: 1/3 (Chapter One - One to Gryffindor, One to Slytherin)
ABBREVIATED TITLE: S4A
AUTHOR: Cardinal Syn/Jamie Carlson
RATING: PG for Language
SPOILERS: Misc. Harry Potter spoilers
DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter and all things HP belong to JK Rowling. Not me.
NOTES: Lamiæ are creatures of legend, similar to vampires. One of the descriptions that go around nowadays are of a snake woman, with the torso of a human woman and the tail of a snake, who feeds on the life-force and blood of young men. The Lamiæ in this story are similar to those.
This is a Short Story
WARNINGS: Language, and possible butchering of personalities and DEFINITELY of the legend of the Lamiæ ^^;
PAIRINGS: None that are obvious this time around
MAIN CHARACTERS (in order of most prominent in the story): 2 OCs (original characters), Severus Snape and the other teachers at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron & Hermione
FANFICTION.NET SUMMARY: Two new girls enter Hogwarts, and the trouble starts in potions class when one of them comes in contact with... catnip? Fuzzy, almost angsty at parts, and moral-teaching ^_^
EXTENDED SUMMARY: Trouble starts when two new students enter Hogwarts. Within a matter of days, one of them goes haywire during Professor Snape's Potions class - oddly enough, when she happens to come into contact with some catnip... This story is about acceptance of those unlike yourself, and of how friendships can be made in the oddest of places.
Chapter One - One To Slytherin, One To Gryffindor
"There are days when those gray skies make you blue! Each forward step you take, you fall back by two†," a cheery voice sang. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger all leaned out of their car on the train to Hogwarts, staring at the rather loud girl in the back. "You've been hit by some hard knocks, you just can't stand! Feeling like Alice felt in Wonderland..."
"Enough!" a strict, equally female voice snapped. The other winced and muttered an apology.
"They're a little old to be first-years," commented Hermione. She, Ron, and Harry were entering their third year in Hogwarts.
"Yeah, they look more like fourth or fith-years," Ron agreed. "But I've definitely never heard the singing one before, or seen her for that matter!"
"They may be transfers from other schools," Harry said, leaning back in his seat, looking at his newest Albus Dumbledore trading card. The image waved at him and wandered out of the picture, probably to go visit some other image.
"Probably," Ron said, and nothing more was said about the two of the newest students to Hogwarts.
***
"Crescent, Liam," Professor McGonagall called. "Please come up here and be sorted."
It was after all of the new First Years had been sorted. Now, the transfer students were to be sorted into their own respectful Houses.
Ron nudged Harry when he saw it was the stricter of the two girls they had seen on the train.
The girl had shoulder-length, straight blue-black hair, which was styled to fall across her face in front, almost covering her eyes, and swooped down to frame her face. Her eyes were almond-shaped and a startling green shade. She held her head high with pride, and walked with a serpentine grace.
"You just know she's going to get Slytherin," Ron said. Harry nodded.
The girl walked up the steps to the stool and Professor McGonagall and took a seat. She stared over the heads of the crowd of children preparing to eat the welcoming meal at the long rows of tables. Professor McGonagall set the hat on the girl's head, and it began to Sort.
"Hmm, interesting. You are a definite Slytherin, but you have other qualities, Gryffindor qualities. Odd mixture... But it's leaning more toward Slytherin. Where do you desire to go?" the hat asked her.
"It doesn't matter to me. Wherever I go, I will still be learning wizardry skills. That is all that concerns me."
"Are you sure? Alright then." The hat then addressed the crowd.
"SLYTHERIN!"
The Slytherin tables cheered, and Professor Snape nodded to himself at the High Table.
"Alright. Maxwell, Nii Nah," Minerva McGonagall called. The spunky girl who had been sitting with Liam trotted up the steps. In comparison to her friend, her movements were rather feline - almost kittenish.
She had poufy, short brown hair and sparkling blue eyes. Her skin was a surprising pale shade, almost white. Even her friend had darker, more tanned skin than she. Nii Nah sat on the stool and kicked her legs playfully, causing her robes to billow about her ankles.
"They're third years, by the way," Hermione said. Ron and Harry looked at her in surprise. "The one sent to Slytherin, Liam, is only thirteen. That one is fourteen," she said, pointing to the hyper girl being Sorted.
"Well, that is certainly odd... Anyway, GRYFFINDOR!" the hat crowed. The girl hopped off the stool and threw a disappointed look at Liam, who nodded back with understanding, then turned her attention to Draco Malfoy, who was ranting to her about how great it was to be a Slytherin. She looked bored to Harry.
The Nii Nah girl took the empty seat next to Hermione. She smiled at the three of them.
"Konnnichiwaa," she said, smiling brightly. "I am Nii Nah Maxwell‡, I was originally from Japan, then moved to America... Liam and I came to this school together from a little one in America." If Harry didn't know better, he could have sworn the girl was PURRING.
"I'm Ron Weasley," Ron replied, shaking the girl's proffered hand. "This is Hermione Granger and the famous - or infamous, if you are talking to Snape - Harry Potter."
The girl's eyes widened and she perked up. "Oh, that's right! Liam was saying I would probably get to meet you right off, since you're in Gryffindor." Hermione arched her eyebrows.
"She knew you'd be in Gryffindor?" she asked. Nii Nah shrugged.
"Liam analyzed our personalities and said I'd either end up in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, but she said it was more likely to be Gryffindor. And she said she'd probably end up in Slytherin with the 'snakey-people', because of the way her mind works," she said, taking a bite out of the chicken leg she had snatched while speaking. "But," she mumbled around her food before swallowing, "She said there was a slim chance for her to get into Gryffindor, since she isn't EXACTLY like all the other Slytherins. I asked the hat, and he said he gave her the option, but she said she wasn't picky, and she isn't, really, when it comes to cliques and stuff - they annoy her."
The girl talked rapidly and with a faint accent that didn't seem very American or even Japanese, to Hermione. But she let it go. The girl was pulsing with positive energy, and all three of the group already decided they liked her.
__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__-__
Author's Notes: This is just a quick chapter to get this one up and going. It should only be about 3 or 4 chapters long, looking to be 3, and I'll try to get it finished by this coming Monday so that I can start work on my bigger HP fanfiction, which takes off a little after this one. I have to get this one out first because the next one has mention of Liam in it. The day I first tried to submit this fic to FF.net Thursday night, but the servers were down ¬_¬ They were switching internet services once again....
† - First verse lyrics to "Call My Name (And I'll Be There)", from the English dub of Sailor Moon, and can be found on the CD soundtrack "Sailor Moon: Songs from the Hit TV Series"
‡ - I didn't steal the name Maxwell from Duo - I just like that name XP (Duo Maxwell is from Gundam Wing)
