Nothing But The Truth
By Violetphantasy
Summary: Winona and Luke have been fierce rivals from the time they first met, but after they accidentally drink a potentially dangerous potion, they are quarantined to a separate dorm where they realize that they are as different as they seem and that they will need each other to unravel the mystery behind their circumstances.
Disclaimer: Hogwarts and the Wizarding World are created by J.K. Rowling. But, the characters are mine. ;D
A young girl stood nervously by her parents, looking around uncertainly. She grasped her mother's hand firmly as they approached the train in front of them. Her father gave her a light push, but the girl refused to budge, grabbing onto her mother's dress.
"Now, now. Winona, don't worry." Her father said soothingly, "You'll like it there." Winona said nothing, but she stared ahead at the crowd of kids, pushing and shoving their way onto the train. Nearby, a sign read, "Hogwarts Express."
"Winnie, it'll be fine." Her mother said as they helped her onto the train, "Don't forget to write to us." Soon, the train started to move, and Winona watched through the window until she could no longer see her parents, waving at her from the station. She was still standing near the doorway when a obnoxious voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Are you going to stand there forever?" A brown-haired boy said with a glare, "You're in my way, you know. So, move it." Winona bit her lip as she moved to the side. It was narrow, and even with her almost flat against the wall, there still wasn't enough room for the boy and his suitcase to pass. Rudely, he shoved against her to make way, and without a glance backwards, walked off.
"Are you okay?" Winona heard a voice from behind, and when she turned to look, she saw a few girls, sitting nearby. The one who had spoken looked around her age, with red hair tied back in a ponytail. "That was just mean, pushing you like that. You wanna sit here?" The girl gestured at an empty seat. Gratefully, Winona nodded and sat down without a word. The girl seemed to be staring expectantly at her, but Winona had no clue what to say.
"Thanks." She uttered finally, her head slightly bowed, letting her bangs hide part of her face.
"No problem. You looked a bit lost." The girl said cheerfully, "I'm Leslie. Nice to meetcha. What's your name?"
"Winona..."She said softly, glancing timidly at the girl.
"Hey, that's a pretty name." Leslie said, grinning, "Ain't it, Layna?" She turned to the girl next to her.
"Mhm." The girl replied, her mouth full of sweets. On her lap was a large assortment of candy - more than Winona had ever seen. Her parents would have never let her eat that much. After a while, the girl seemed to notice Winona staring at her hoard. "You want some?" She asked, "I'm Layna, by the way."
Shyly, Winona took one of the chocolate frogs. She'd rarely ever eaten sweets, due to her mother's strict policies. The chocolate tasted delicious, and WInona longed to take another, but decided against it. She didn't want to eat too much of someone else's food.
"So, what house do you want to be in?" Leslie asked, "I want to be in Gryffindor. Practically all my relatives are, though a few are in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. I don't know many people from Slytherin, though. I heard Slytherins are just plain mean."
"...I don't know." Winona replied. Her mother had been a Ravenclaw and her father a Gryffindor. They hadn't really cared what house she'd go in, but Winona doubted it would be Gryffindor. On the other hand, she thought Leslie seemed like she'd fit there. She seemed bold, confident, and brave, so unlike Winona.
Leslie shrugged, "We'll find out soon, anyways. I'm so excited! My brother said that Hogwarts is huge. And beautiful, too. Plus, there's Quidditch. I can't wait till I can try out for the team."
"There's a lot of food there, too." Layna added in between bites. Leslie hit her friend lightly on the shoulder.
"Is food all you can think of?" Leslie said in a mock annoying tone.
"Is Quidditch all you can think of?" Layna retorted. Leslie stuck her tongue and Layna rolled her eyes in reply. "You're so immature."
"You seem to know each other well..." Winona remarked quietly.
"Yeah, well, I've known Layna since I was a baby." Leslie told her, "Our parents were friends back when they were in Hogwarts." Winona wondered then if she could be friends with them. They had known each other for so long, and Winona felt like an outsider.
"Unfortunately, I am stuck with this girl for, like, the rest of my life." Layna said, rolling her eyes again. She'd almost finished her entire candy collection and was now sorting out the cards that came with the frogs, mumbling under her breath.
Suddenly, the train lurched to a stop. Leslie looked out the window and pointed excitedly.
"Look, there it is." She was pointed at a castle, looming ahead. It was dark, and to Winona, it seemed almost sinister. She was scared, scared of being away from home for the very first time. For years, her parents had pampered her and sheltered her, and today, Winona was about to take her first step into the "real" world.
Author's Note: Thank you for reading the prologue of Nothing But The Truth. I hope you enjoyed it! Feel free to give any suggestions, comments, etc. that you may have. I'd love to hear your opinions! So, please review. :D It makes me very happy to see them. Anyways, I'm a rather slow writer (and a huge procrastinator), so please bear with me. It might take some time between chapters. ;; Oh, and I'm sorry about the length of the prologue and the next few chapters. I know they're rather short. They'll get longer, I promise.