Ok, new story! Hope you enjoy! Read and review n stuff. Yeah. ...
Chapter 1:
England. They were sending me to England. "They have a school there, for people sort of like you." they said. "You're too dangerous to stay with the rest of society." is what they meant. I don't blame them after what had happened.
The next thing I knew, I was being dropped off on a train with my meager belongings and left to find my way to the train I was supposed to board. Great. Just great.
I stepped onto the huge train, my backpack over my shoulder. A crowd of loud, laughing teens, who were probably a year older than me, pushed me from behind. I swerved quickly out of the way and they stampeded down the hall away from me, not even glancing in my direction. I turned down the dimly lit hallway and looked for an open seat. Every single compartment I passed was full of friend groups. I continued on to the very end until I found a six seat compartment containing only two people. I really didn't want to talk to anyone, but, as I had no choice, I slid open the door and hoped that they'd let me sit down for the ride.
"James! You can't just-" the amber-brown haired girl broke off as I opened the door a bit more. "Um, everywhere else is full. Is it ok if I sit in here?" I asked, awkwardly. "Blimey, yeah, come on in!" the brown haired boy said, grinning. I stepped in and closed the door behind me. "You can sit here if you want," the brown haired boy added, returning to his seat. "Thanks," I said and took the seat a bit cautiously.
"I'm Rose Weasley," the girl said warmly. "It's nice to meet you."
"James Potter, how ya doin?" the brown haired boy said sticking out his hand.
I loved their accents.
"Hi, I'm Aspen Tavernase." I replied, shaking James's hand.
"So what year are you in?" James asked.
"Well, I'm a transfer student from America, so it's technically my first, but they're putting me in with the fifth years…?" my voice trailed off in a sort of question.
"Fantastic! You're in our year then!" James cheered. I cracked a smile.
"Ah, when you're in a class with me, you'll wish I wasn't in your year." I joked. They all laughed.
Before I could say anything else, a boy with light brown hair poked his head into the compartment, smirking. ""Hey Weasel. Hey Pottie. Ooh, looks like you picked up a stray." he sneered. I gave him the look.
"Shut it, Worthing," James growled. "James, what now?" Rose looked up from her scroll and scowled when she saw the boy. "What's the matter Weasel? Too poor to pay attention?" Worthing jeered. Rose flushed. He caught my eye and raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, the stray's pretty cute." I stood up, and leaned forward with my arm against the doorframe. Then I slapped him square in the face. He stumbled back, shock showing on his face.
"Blimey! What was that for?" he snapped.
"Well, I don't know about England, sweetheart, but in the US, when a guy you barely know is hitting on you and insulting your new friends, that's the proper greeting." I said sweetly. "So you better back off before I show you what making this American chick properly angry looks like."
Worthing gave me a nasty look. I met his glare with my own, daring him to try it again. Finally, he made a disgusted noise and walked down the hallway.
I turned to go back to my seat and was surprised to see Rose and Jameswith delighted expressions at me.
"What?" I asked.
James just grinned. "I think you're a Gryffindor in Snakeskin." I laughed, not entirely sure what that meant.
I returned to my seat and placed my backpack back onto my lap. It's familiar weight was comforting.
"So, Aspen, have you got any of your proper school materials yet?" she questioned.
"Well…."
"I'll take you to Hogsmeade! You can get some of your stuff there," James offered enthusiastically.
"You'd get her into trouble, James, I'll take her." Rose retorted. James shot an annoyed look at his companion. I laughed.
Rose pulled out a scroll and opened it, becoming absorbed in whatever was written on them.
"Give it a rest, Rose. You've already memorized your schedule so why are you looking at it again?" James asked, slumping into his chair and putting his hands behind his head.
"I'm just making sure I've memorized it." she said, her eyes quickly scanning the page. "You're going to be drowning in homework," James commented, shaking his head.
"Are the classes hard?" I asked.
"Well, it depends. Some are some aren't. Like potions? That's ridiculously easy for me. Transfiguration? That class is hard for everybody." Rose said reassuringly.
"Nah, transfiguration is easy. Now Care of Magical Creatures on the other hand," James snorted.
"Wait, magic?" I asked. I was certain they were joking. "Like witches and wizards?"
Rose put down her scroll and looked at me with serious eyes. James looked at me too, concerned.
"Are you a… Muggle?" Rose asked tentatively. I stared at her.
"What?"
Rose and James exchanged confused, concerned glances. I was starting to get a bit angry. "What?" I asked again, a little more forcefully.
"Hogwarts is a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It's only a place for people with magic." James said.
I stared at him. This had to be a joke. They were sending me to a school of crazy people. I stood up, abruptly, swinging my backpack over my shoulder and heading towards the door. Anger and despair welled up inside me.
"No, Aspen, wait!" Rose rushed over and took my arm. I didn't look at her. I knew that if I did, all the betrayal I felt would spill over. I shook her off and left the compartment, closing the sliding door behind me. I didn't know where I was going to go, but I started walking.
I walked down the red carpeted train car and into the next. The sounds of happy chatter sounded from all of the compartments. The ground swam before my eyes as my tears threatened the spill over. I made it to the end of the car and leaned against the wall. I slid down to the floor and stared at the small designs in the rug.
I clutched my bag tight to my chest. The first tear rolled down my cheek. Then the second. And the third. I pulled in my knees and wrapped my arms around them and put my head down. I willed myself to stop, not to sob. I tried to hold in everything I had felt in the past 24 hours but some of it leaked out. I refused to sob here though. Not on this train. Not surrounded by these people.
"Hey, are you ok?"
I slowly raised my head. Standing over me was a black haired boy. I quickly ran my arm across my face, wiping away my feelings as best I could.
"Yeah, I'm ok, thanks." My voice was confident despite what I probably looked like.
"No you're not," the boy said, eyeing me with genuine concern.
"I'm fine," I insisted. He gave me an unconvinced look, then shrugged.
"Well, do you want to come sit with me and my friends?" he asked, holding out a hand to me.
"Is that ok considering that I'm a "muggle" or whatever you call them?" I asked. He tilted his head curiously.
"I see no reason why it wouldn't be ok… I mean, you're already on the train and you can't get off until we get to Hogwarts." he replied. I hesitated for a moment, then took his hand. He hoisted me to my feet easily. I expected him to let go of my hand, but he he held it in his own and led me back the way I had come.
"I'm Albus, by the way." he said, looking back at me.
"Aspen," I said.
The next thing I knew, we were standing outside of the compartment of Rose and James. Albus slid open the door and grinned.
"Hey guys," he said. Rose completely ignored that and pushed past him. Then she gave me a fierce hug.
"I'm sorry for earlier," she cried.
I hugged her back. "No, I should be the one apologizing. I shouldn't have just barged out like that. Sorry." I said, guilt washing over me.
Albus looked a little confused. "What happened when I was gone?" he asked. James grinned.
Rose returned to her seat next to James. I sat back across from her. I expected Albus to go sit with Rose and James, but to my surprise, he sat down next to me.
"I'm quite glad you didn't bring that git with you," James said to Albus, nodding approvingly.
"Scorpius is not a git," Albus sighed. "And he is coming over here once he's done writing to his parents."
James scoffed. "Is he that afraid of being away from his parents?"
Albus glared at him. "No."
"That's nice of him," I commented. Albus looked at me. "You don't agree with James?" he asked, sounding pleased.
I shrugged. "Well, it's nice of him to write to his parents, I mean." I said. People didn't realize how important things like that could be. Abus smiled.
"Aspen, do you know what house you'll be in yet?" Rose asked, setting aside her scroll for a moment.
"Not yet. I'm supposed to go to the Sorting something or other," I replied.
"Oh, you'll be with the first years then." James said. I laughed.
"I bet some of those first years are taller than I am," I joked. "Ah, you're not that short," Albus said, grinning.
Before I could give a good-natured reply, a blonde boy stepped into the compartment.
We spent the rest of the trip feeling light, exchanging banters and questions. The blonde boy was called Scorpius Malfoy. He seemed nice enough, though James had something against him. Maybe it was because he was head over heels for Rose…?
The sky outside the train was dark when Rose said, "We should probably get into our robes."
"Yeah, let's go change," Albus said, standing up. James grabbed ahold of Scorpius and dragged him out of the compartment, muttering threats all the way. Rose opened her trunk and pulled out a long black cloak, a white shirt, and a grey skirt/leggings as well as a brightly colored gold and red tie.
I politely turned around as she changed. I straightened my shirt a little and tried to unwrinkle the sleeves of my blue hoodie.
"How do I look?"
I turned to see Rose in her robes, grinning at me. "You look better than I do," I said.
Rose considered me for a second, then dug through her trunk for a moment and pulled out a brush and her wand. "I can't change your clothes, but I can fix your hair," she said, smiling. I looked down at my hair and grinned sheepishly. It was matted and tangled.
Rose muttered a little spell and started to brush my hair. Then she pulled it back and began to braid it. I have never braided my hair, so it felt strange when Rose twisted it. In a few minutes she had finished her handiwork. "There," she said, sounding satisfied. She handed me a small mirror and I looked into it.
I smile. It's nice. My long brown hair was pulled to my right side in a thick braid. The boys return, wearing similar cloaks and ties, although Albus and Scorpius have green and silver ties.
Not so long afterwards, the train slowed to a stop. I stand up with the rest of my companions, shouldering my backpack.
"Stick with us," Albus said, flashing me a quick smile. The corridors of the train arere crowded and loud with chatter. I did my best to stay close. Everyone is wearing the black cloaks and assorted color ties. I, on the other hand, stick out like a sore thumb, with my bright blue jacket, headphones, skinny jeans, and converse. I receive more than my fair share of strange looks and curious mutters.
"First years! Over here! First years!" an enormous man with a big burly beard called out. He towered at least four feet above the tallest student. I hesitate and turn to Rose for direction.
"Should I be going over there?" I ask. Rose shakes her head.
"Just come with us," she says. And I took my first step to my new life.