THE FIRST CHAPTER will be a bit repetitive but from here on out I will be detached from the main plot. I will make up new situations and I might shape the relationships of the characters a bit differently. I only wanted to establish the original first-meetings and keep the information that Harry knows in the beginning. Ignore everything about the Sorcerer's Stone in reading this story. Voldemort is questing for a completely different object. Let's assume that Dumbledore destroyed the stone in the first place.
Disclaimer: I, Baudouin, do not own the rights of the Harry Potter Series and J.K. Rowling's characters. I am merely using them to entertain me and others. I am not making a profit off of my story and share it to the public for free.
The beginning will be a lbit slow, but I will be arriving to the action segments much earlier in the story. I just have to get all of the introductions and sorting done.
CHAPTER ONE
Muggles, Magic, and Blood
Mr. and Mrs. Devoy of Nordale Street, apartment number twenty six, had never once thought of wizards and magic. They didn't even think it was possible that an entire school was devoted to teaching the young witches and wizards. The most impossible idea to grasp was that their eleven year old daughter, Silva, was one of them, a witch. The shocking news came one evening when the Devoy's were eating a home-cooked meal together after visiting their relatives. Their daughter Selene was munching on her chicken quite morosely as Mr. Devoy began to rattle off about his extensive ken on how to make a restaurant really work. Mrs. Devoy looked devoid of all emotion and seemed to be zoning in and out of the conversation. "If I was the owner," He managed to bellow as he chewed on his bread, while his bald head shined in the fluorescent light. Mr. and Mrs. Devoy worked at a local restaurant called King's. Mr. Devoy swallowed the lump of bread and exclaimed, "We'd have ten times as many customers!" Silva rolled her eyes in annoyance as she played with her napkin impatiently. She had finished eating nearly thirty minutes ago; she desperately wanted to leave but Silva had to wait until everyone had their fill. Silva gritted her teeth, the way her father was carrying on she wouldn't be able to leave the table for hours. Her brown hair reached past her chin and had a tint of red to it under the bright kitchen light. Silva's bangs looked as if someone had closed their eyes and chopped them off. She wore ovoid shaped glasses that were slightly damaged.
Her father began again, "Richie was telling me today that we lost nearly a quarter of our customers to that bloody Café on the corner! I have half a mind to go down there and tell those nit-wits that-" A sudden loud tapping sound came from their window that interrupted 's oratory. Mrs. Devoy, awakened from her slumber, abruptly pushed her chair back and jumped up. She strolled gingerly towards the window, unsure of what to think of the disturbance. Once Mrs. Devoy spotted the cause of the sound she jumped away from the window with a scream. Silva hopped out of her chair and rushed to see what it was. She looked out the window with caution and saw a chocolate brown owl tapping the window with its curved beak. "I think it wants to come in," Silva announced excitedly as a wide smile spread across her features.
Silva went over to the door and opened it, her mother protested with a loud roar, "NO!" But it was too late, the owl had already swooped in and dropped a heavy yellow envelope on a worn out armchair and settled itself beside its delivery. Silva closed the door, as it was a bit hot outside. Mrs. Devoy, who was closest to the bird, scrunched up her nose in disgust and stomped over to the bird. "Go away!" She shooed the disgruntled owl in vain. She took a step closer and attempted to grab the chocolate-brown bird but it pecked at her fingers in retaliation. Mrs. Devoy screeched and headed back to the table where her husband and eldest daughter were. "We have to call animal patrol or something dear! It BIT me!" She pointed a thin bleeding finger in the direction of the owl. Silva looked at the creature with great interest, and then remembered the envelope the avian had delivered to her home. She cautiously reached out for the letter by the owl's talons. The owl ruffled its feathers and picked up the letter edgily and wobbled over to her. Silva reached out and took the envelope out of its beak.
She read the address printed in emerald-green ink out loud,
"Ms. S. Devoy
The Smallest Room
Nordale St.
Durden Complex, Apt.26
Guffberg"
Silva wondered how they knew she had the smallest in the room in the house. She shook her head and turned the thick yellow envelope over and saw a blood red wax crest that was sealing the envelope. The girl eagerly broke the seal and opened it up and took out the letter. She could hear her mother wailing out in objection and her father continuing on with the conversation with a nervous edge in his voice. She read the fancy script with wide eyes:
HOGWARTS SCHOOL
of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf Warlock,
Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)
'What's a Mugwump?' Silva thought to herself as she continued to swiftly read down the page.
Dear Ms. Devoy,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.
Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.
Yours sincerely,
Minerva McGonagall,
Deputy Headmistress*
Her lips stretched from each side of her face. She had always wanted something like this to happen, sure she wasn't a fairy or could control people with her mind but she was a witch! "I'm invited to a magical school Mum; Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizard-something!" She declared matter-of-factly as Silva turned to face her horrified parents. "A witch, really? How come I didn't get one?" Silva's sister voiced gruffly, but Silva ignored her sister's vocal pout and read the letter over again. "HOW CAN YOU BE A WITCH?" Mr. Devoy shouted quite angrily as his story got interrupted for the third time. "I dunno, maybe I'm just special like that," She giggled to herself as she began to think of all how much more entertaining school would be now. Mrs. Devoy shook her head violently as she hung up the phone, "Get that animal out of here, and stop talking so crazily."
Silva shook her head and went to fetch a piece of paper in her room to reply to the letter. She took a notebook off her desk and flipped it open to an empty page. Silva ripped a sheet out for her letter and began to scrawl her response:
Dear Mrs. McGonagall,
I want to go to Hogwarts but I'm afraid I don't know how to get there.
My parents don't have any powers and haven't heard of the school.
Can you help me?
Sincerely,
Silva Devoy
Silva wondered if her letter would reach Mrs. McGonagall before July 31; she hoped the school wasn't too far away that it would take a whole month to get there. She carefully folded up her letter and put it in a plastic bag, 'Just in case it rains' she thought to herself. Silva ran into the anteroom as fast as her feet would take her and handed the plastic bag to the owl. The avian glared skeptically at the bag but took it in its talons none the less. "What are you giving that bird, Silva?!" Her mother shrieked as the bird flew around the length of the anteroom and kitchen impatiently. "My reply!" Silva shouted back as she realized what the owl wanted. She hurriedly pulled open the door, and just as quickly the owl came and swooped down and out the entrance of apartment twenty six. Silva ran outside to the balcony, her short brown hair bobbing up and down with her movements. She watched the owl fly off into the dark night sky and disappear. A satisfied smile came to rest on her face as she looked out dreamily towards the sky.
***
Merit Morley was not a happy little girl, not at all. Her dark stormy blue-green eyes held a strict position as she stared at the thick yellow envelope. She had been invited to Hogwarts, and had a quite different reaction to the acceptance letter than Silva Devoy. When she saw the famous seal that had a lion, badger, raven, and snake on the four sides of the crest with a large H imposed on top, she sighed with disappointment. She called out to her father with an exasperated tone, "I've been invited to Hogwarts." Merit's original choice was to go to Durmstrang, like her father, and learn the Dark Arts. She had been studying on her own for years, and had found the subject was to her liking. "Hogwarts?" Mr. Morley replied quite sourly as if he had bitten on a lemon. "How could this be?" he swiped the envelope out of her hand. Breaking the seal he pulled out the letter and studied it with narrowed eyes. "Well, your mother would have been proud, I suppose," He thinned his lips as he rumbled out his words. Merit sunk in the armchair she had been sitting in and a foul look of disgust came over her face as she began to think of all the things she could have learned and would miss at Durmstrang. "Well, I suppose we must go to Diagon Alley to obtain your supplies," He grumbled as he looked at the second page of the letter. Merit sunk even lower in her chair, couldn't her father put in a word at the people in Durmstrang? Couldn't he use his connections to send her to the most appropriate school? She gazed up to her father with a glimmer of hope but instead of determination to get her in he just barked at her, "Sit up in your chair! You know that is not how a Morley should sit!"
Merit immediately propped herself up in the opulent armchair and continued her sulking. "You have to at least get into Slytherin," He shook his head in disappointment. "There is a professor there, Severus Snape, I've heard rumors of his knowledge of the Dark Arts. He might help you with your Dark Arts training, but it will have to be in private," He ordered with a stern glare at her with his poisoning hazel eyes. Merit's hopes had lifted up a bit, at least she would still have a chance with this Professor Snape. Maybe Snape knew more of the Dark Arts than the teachers at Durmstrang. She wished for a chance to study with him and for Snape to accept her as his pupil.
She found the Dark Arts more interesting than Pure Magic though, but maybe that was just a result of being raised around dark magic. Her father had been a spy for one of the most sinister wizards of all time, Voldemort, and worked in the Ministry of Magic. Her mother had disappeared during the Dark Lord's rise to power and had never been heard from again. Merit did not know much about Voldemort since her father had kept quiet after his downfall. Her family was pureblood, meaning that not one of her family members had married a non-magical human or a half-blood. Merit's father had only joined Voldemort in hopes of cleaning away the 'mudblood slime and muck' of the world. He found that the Dark Lord was the only half-breed he cared for since he was a proponent of the death of mudbloods and muggles. Merit did not care much about blood purity, it had never been something she even considered. She was much too involved with making herself more powerful to care about such trivial things.
The flustered girl tucked her long blonde hair behind a tiny pointed ear and continued to think about her future. 'Hogwarts might not be too bad,' Merit began optimistically, 'there's always time for learning Dark magic I suppose and now that I can maybe have private lessons.' A placid smile grew on her lips as she began to comfort herself with all the newfound possibilities of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
"Father, look at it this way, at least I'm not a Squib," She chuckled at the thought of not being able to perform magic. Her father scrunched up his face in abhorrence and left the room in fury. Merit began writing her letter to the school and sent off the spotted owl back to Hogwarts. In only a couple of weeks time she would be on her way to the magical school, and beginning her seven year climb to her goal.
***
Silva was the most perplexed she'd ever been in her life. The McGonagall's reply informed her where the train was that would deliver her to Hogwarts. It also told her that she would be sponsored by the school so that her parents didn't have to worry about trading their money with goblins. This meant that she didn't need to carry any luggage because it had all been delivered when she had bought it a week previously with a purple haired witch. "Platform nine and three quarters," She breathed out as she looked for the pillar she was supposed to go through. Silva turned around to look for any other students going to Hogwarts. She spotted a dark tussled hair boy who looked just about as clueless as her. The only indication that he was attending Hogwarts was the snowy yellow-eyed owl that was locked in a golden cage. "Hey, you!" She shouted as she ran over to the boy, startling him with the sudden call. "Are you going to Hogwarts?" She inquired quite abruptly when she reached him. His lucid green eyes brightened as she mentioned the school, "Yes, are you going too?"
She nodded excitedly, forgetting completely about her previous problem, "Is that your owl? What's her name?"
"Hedwig," He smiled brightly as the girl looked into the cage at the flustered owl. Then the boy's eyes widened a bit with realization, he hadn't introduced himself yet, "I'm Harry."
"Oh, hi Harry, My name is Silva," She nodded with a smile, and then she frowned. "I think I forgot something," She nibbled her lip nervously. Harry looked at her with questioning eyes, and then another wave of realization hit him when he heard the word 'muggle' being said by a red-haired passerby. "Oh the train!" Silva Devoy said suddenly.
"I think those people can show us how to get here," Harry pointed quickly as a large family was waiting by a pillar between the ninth and tenth platform. "Hey, wait up!" She called out for the both of them. "Come on Harry, let me help you with your cart!" Silva and Harry went behind his cart and pushed with all their might and they launched themselves towards the ginger family. The plump woman Harry had seen earlier turned around to see them both rush at her waving their hands. "Oh hello dears," She grinned as they came to a stop in front of her.
"Excuse me, but we don't know how to get to platform," Silva sputtered as her chest heaved at the sudden exercise. Harry noticed the family was now short by three members. "First time? Well don't worry, all you have to do is run into that pillar, and try not to be too nervous," She pointed to the stone mass ahead of her and patted Harry on the shoulder. "We can go through stone?" Silva asked dumbfounded at the new information, she hadn't really thought that they had to go through the pillar. "Yes, dear" She chuckled. "Just watch Ron and follow him," She waved to a long-nosed boy who was nearly as thin as the starving Harry. Ron nodded in their direction with a confident smile and ran toward the pillar at full speed. Silva and Harry gasped in surprise as he went through. They then looked at each other and gave each other a determined grin. They parroted Ron's speed and knitted their eyes shut just as they collided with the pillar. When they opened their eyes they saw a scarlet train that had black smoke billowing from its stack. A large black sign with gold lettering hung overhead that read Hogwarts Express, eleven o'clock. Harry turned around and looked behind him to see an iron archway with Platform Nine and Three Quarters written above it in beautiful calligraphy where the pillar had once been. The boy felt someone tap him on the shoulder, "Thanks and see you Harry"
Silva with her brown bob bounced off to the train and left the boy standing there in amazement. "Bye," He called out after her but her brown hair had already disappeared in the crowd.
The station was filled with people pulling large carts like Harry's. The student's owls were hooting loudly above the noise of the parents cooing as their children and giving their last goodbyes. Silva saw a boy standing next to the train who was quite dumpy looking, a stern elder woman was sighing at the boy about a toad he had lost. She entered the train along with a couple of other first years who looked excited and nervous. They were eagerly chattering away about something called Quidditch, it sounded like a sport of some kind but Silva was too shy to ask if it was. Once she passed the twittering bunch she looked down the corridor and saw the train cabins on the left side of her and large windows to the right. Silva wished her sister could be here to see the owls flying up and down the train. Ever since she had gotten the letter from Hogwarts her sister had turned a cold nose to her, and would often mutter under her breath whenever Silva passed by her. It wasn't Silva's fault that her sister had not been invited! If it was up to Silva she would have definitely invited her to come and see the beauty of the magical world. The train sounded off an ear-piercing whistle to alert the students that the train was about to start.
The brunette quickly picked a random compartment and opened and shut the door hastily. She slid down in her seat with her eyes closed, she breathed out a sigh of relief but her relaxation was interrupted by a snide voice, "Who are you?" A girl with an almost pug-like face lifted up her eyebrow disapprovingly, she had a haircut similar to Silva but it had no body to it. "Silva Devoy," Silva responded with a severe eye. "And you?"
"Pansy Parkinson," She said in a partisan-like manner as she flipped back her hair and stuck her pug-nose in the air. "You can't sit here, there isn't possibly enough room for Draco, Blaise, and those two buffoons and you," She continued as she glowered at Silva trying to intimidate her. Silva gave a smirk and replied in saccharine voice, "I'll move when the time comes." She wasn't going to budge until her friends came. Silva had already situated herself by the window.
***
When Harry Potter found a compartment that he thought to be empty he opened the wooden door with small glass windows. While he opened the door he was looking over his shoulder at two kids trying to catch a chocolate frog outside his cabin. Harry stood there looking at the two eleven year olds trying to jump up and catch the frog that was now positioned on top of the window. He chuckled to himself as he watched their frantic antics. As he turned around his laughter died down. A blonde girl, who looked about his age, had seated herself next to the window. Her face appeared to be almost against the glass. She seemed to be studying the figures outside the window with a studious eye, as if seeing human interaction was new to her. Harry quietly shut the compartment door as not to disturb her. He then placed Hedwig's cage on the seat across from the girl, Hedwig ruffled her feathers and gave a tiny hoot. Harry pressed a finger to his lips towards Hedwig and she quieted herself in response. Harry picked up his trunk and stood on his tip-toes to push it into the storage area above. Although Harry was slightly used to carrying around heavy things for the Dursley's he had never lifted something as heavy as this. His muscles quivered under the weight. He looked over to the girl to see if he had disturbed her, and he found out he had. Her deep blue eyes gave him a curious look; the sudden eye contact scared Harry to lose his already loose grip on his luggage. The heavy trunk fell down on Harry's foot with a loud bam. Harry yelled out and pulled up his foot in response, "Ouch!" Hedwig fluttered around from the loud noise and hooted angrily at Harry.
"Trutino Minor," The girl suddenly called out waving her wand with a flick of her wrist at his luggage. Harry could not see any difference in his trunk's appearance. The girl calmly glided over to the pain-stricken boy and swooped up Harry's trunk in her arms. She then swiftly stepped up on the seat and reached out with one of her hands to clutch at the edge. She speedily pushed the trunk in the storage unit and let go as she jumped down on the ground. "That's how you do it, the spell lessens the weight of the trunk a bit," The girl nodded towards Harry with a stern look on her face. Harry nodded nervously at the girl, and uttered small thanks underneath his breath as he copied the girl's movements with his remaining suitcases. Although Harry did feel as if he was going to fall as he jumped back to the ground he had successfully put up his suitcases without any more bodily injury to himself. Harry looked to the girl to find her stifling her laughter, she spoke up with an amused voice, "Do I look that silly when I'm putting up luggage?"
Harry gave a small laugh as he sat down across from the girl. Now that he had shared a laugh with the girl he felt less nervous. "My name is Merit Morley, and yours?" She reached out her hand in order to shake Harry's. The boy shook her hand, her strong grip surprising him, "Harry Potter." Merit had heard the name before but she couldn't quite remember where. There was a strange silence that settled between them as they pulled back their hands. "That owl of yours is quite extraordinary," Merit coughed as she admired Hedwig. Harry's owl heard the comment and immediately puffed out her chest trying to impress Merit even more. Merit giggled at the act as Harry voiced her name with pride, "I named her Hedwig, after a witch in a book." Before their conversation could continue the train whistled shrilly for the last time. The train groaned as it started up with a jolt and gained speed. Harry watched the red-haired family and platform zoom by it was replaced with blurred houses as they rounded a corner. The door of the compartment opened slightly, the youngest red-haired boy poked his long nose in, "Is anyone else going to be sitting here? All of the other cabins are full."
Harry shook his head in agreement, and Merit gave a curt nod of approval. Ron sat down next to the blonde girl. He took a quick glance at Harry's forehead and look quickly back as if he were interested by something else. Harry noticed that the black smudge was still highly apparent on Ron's freckled nose.
Merit stared at the boy with a peculiar look on her face and then turned her focus back on Harry. "Do you know any spells Harry?" Harry shook his head with a bit of disappointment and embarrassment. Morley seemed to spot this, she spoke with a comforting voice, "Oh, don't worry! I'm sure you'll learn a lot of spells at Hogwarts within the first few weeks."
"Are you really Harry Potter?" A squeak sounded out from the area where Ron was sitting. Harry nodded. Again the girl looked Ron over with a skeptical eye. Ron ignored her harsh gaze, "So Fred and George weren't joking? And…" The freckled boy paused for a moment; he was leaning on the edge of his seat and whispered, "Do you really have that… Well y'know?" He pointed to his own forehead, thinking that it was less of a rude gesture.
"What are you going on about? Why are you asking Harry all of these weird questions?" Morley interrupted, clearly angered and confused by Ron's words. "He's the one that killed… You-know-who, right?" He turned to Harry as if to ask for support. Merit's face went slightly blank as the information registered; her eyes went slightly wide in shock. That's where she had heard it! Her father went on about Hogwarts so she could be well-equipped with information and would not appear ignorant. "So you have a scar where he tried to perform the Unforgivable Curse on you?" She suddenly began to echo Ron's curiosity. Harry nodded slightly and brushed back his bangs to reveal a jagged mark. "I don't really remember anything but a lot of green light," Harry shrugged as if it wasn't too big of a deal. Another silence settled in the air as the two began to process the information.
"So are all of your family wizards?" Harry inquired; he was still lacking knowledge of the wizarding world. Ron began first, as it seems that Morley wasn't as keen to answer the question, "I think so,"
"What about you Merit?" Harry turned to face her with a cheery smile. Merit knew that if she were to tell Harry about her dark pureblood family that he would not be likely to talk to her again. She was sure that if she even mentioned her dad's name that the Weasley, which she knew by hair color, would tell Harry all about her father's supposed past. "I've got five brothers, you saw some of 'em, didn't you, Harry?" Ron continued as if Harry had never asked Merit the question. "Yeah, don't you have twin brothers?" Harry continued as he had seen Merit's discomfort. Maybe she had bad blood or whatever that blonde pointed face boy had said in the shop. He wanted to tell her that he didn't care and shouldn't be ashamed but he didn't want to press the issue around Ron. The flaming haired boy perked up even more, "Yeah, that's Fred and George!"
"What's your name?" Merit intervened, her voice sounding a bit cold.
Ron glanced at her and smiled weakly, "Ron Weasley."
"You have a father in the Ministry, is that correct?" She gave him a warm smile. Merit had noticed how icy she sounded when Ron gave his weak answer. She didn't wish to be on bad terms with the boy, even though she thought he was a bit dodgy. Ron nodded slightly but changed the subject to his brothers, "Yeah, Bill works with dragons in Romania and Charlie works at Grignotts."
"There are dragons in Romania?" Harry's mouth dropped open in amazement.
"Yeah, they have all different types. Bill always rambles on about them. He says out of all of them the Hungry Horntail, or something like that, is the most dangerous! It has spikes all over its body and spits out fire as far as twenty feet!"
"It's Hungarian," Merit mumbled under her breath. Ron, luckily, didn't seem to hear her. He continued his spiel about his father for almost forty more minutes. Ron commented on the crazy pranks that his brothers had pulled on others and about his stuck up Prefect brother, Percy. "Since I have so many brothers I always have to get things secondhand," He complained, his face had now fallen from his previous excitement. A hoarse squeak sounded from his pocket but Ron ignored it. Suddenly it began to wiggle vigorously as if his pocket were possessed by a fat lump. "I think there's something in your pocket that wants to be let out," Merit chuckled along with Harry. Ron laughed shortly as he pulled out a disastrous mess of a rat. Once of its little toes was missing and the fur that covered was long and wiry. "That's just Scabbers. He was Percy's rat before he got an owl. Mum and Dad can't-" Ron's ears went red as he realized what he was about to say.
Merit, although annoyed at Ron stopping in mid-sentence, knew that it was probably embarrassing to not have enough money to buy new things. She had never experienced the lack of luxury but she knew about limitations on spending. Her father had to be the most frugal pureblood in the world. "Owls are pretty expensive, my father refused to buy me one this year," Merit pointed out, trying to cheer up the boy. "Yeah, and before I came here, I had to wear huge hand-me-downs from Dudley. I also had to wear my Uncle Vernon's old socks," He scrunched up his nose as he told them about his wonderful birthday present from the Dursley's. Merit and Ron laughed at Harry's face and the once tense mood had lightened up quite a bit. "So you lived with Muggles? You didn't know anything about who you are?" Merit asked in disbelief. "I didn't know anything about wizards and I just learned about Voldemort when" Harry began but was interrupted by Ron gasping in horror. "Oh shut it Ron," Merit couldn't help herself from scolding him. It was a good thing to say the Dark Lords name. She thought the stupid fear that Ron and her father shared shouldn't be passed on to Harry, the boy-who-lived. "Not saying his name causes even more fear," She added reproachfully.
"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, I just didn't remember-"
"Do the lot of you want anything to eat, we've got Pumpkin Patsies, Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans," The plump woman in grey robes began to rattle off every name brand candy and food she carried. Merit was the first to scurry over for a Pick-Flavor Sandwich, and a bag of Dragon Fire Drops. She dropped five silver Sickles and two Knuts into the woman's hand. "Thank you ma'am" She dipped her head slightly to the jubilant cart woman as she unwrapped the Pick Flavor Sandwich. It first looked like it was merely two slices of white bread. Merit whispered a few words under her breath and the sandwich took on a whole new form. It was now two slices of wheat bread that deli-styled meat and fresh lettuce and tomato along with other toppings. Harry gaped at it and immediately bought almost every candy on the cart while Ron shook his head at the lady.
Harry found it even more mind-blowing that the food in the magical world had supernatural properties to it too! Harry was so excited he didn't see Ron's mopey face until Merit poked his knee and gestured with her head towards Ron. The freckled boy was now looking at his lap at a sorry-looking sandwich he had pulled out of his pocket. Scabbers was nibbling gluttonously at the corner of it. The cart-witch closed the compartment door and went on her way. "Want to trade?" Merit asked offering her sandwich to Ron. She didn't know why she was making such a kind gesture to such a complaining boy. She told Ron that it was because she was not hungry but inside she felt Ron's disappointment with his life. It was just a sandwich anyways, and they would be dining at Hogwarts. Harry and Merit shared their candy with each other and Ron. 's sandwich was soon forgotten by the trio. It sat beside a famished Scabbers who again began nibbling at the dry corn-beef that was sticking out.
Ron and Harry had stuffed themselves full of chocolate frogs and pumpkin patsies (Merit couldn't taste anything after eating the Dragon Fire drops. They were so hot they made her breath out a short burst of fire!). They began to trade their chocolate frog cards with each other. Harry was stunned at the moving photos and the ridiculous attire of the witches and wizards in them. "Do you know any spells Ron?" Harry asked as he read the back of a Merlin card. "I've tried one before on Scabbers but it hasn't worked yet," He replied as he pulled out his dilapidated wand to show Harry the spell he'd been working on. He whispered a rhyming line and waved his wand over the half-dead Scabbers. A bushy haired girl and an uneasy-looking plump boy appeared in the doorway as Ron performed his so called incantation. "That's not really a spell you know," She told him with an inquiring look. "I've read all of our textbooks; I've learned each one by heart. They were all pretty interesting too. I wish my Mum and Dad knew more about the magic world. They're muggles, so, of course, I had to learn about it myself through our school books Have you seen Neville's toad?" Her speech flew by their ears so fast they barely caught what she was saying. Merit spoke up for the two boys who looked as if they were approached with a calculus equation, "No we haven't"
"I'm Hermione Granger, what are your names?" She asked as she stepped farther into the cabin with the nervous boy muttering behind her. Neville was attempting to gain her attention quietly by his whimpering about Trevor but was severely ignored by her.
"I'm Ron Weasley."
"Merit."
"Harry Potter."
"You're Harry Potter?" Hermione drawled out while turning her ear slightly towards him trying to hear him better. "I've read about you in-" She was cut off by a coughing Neville. "Oh okay Neville! I get it! Bye," Her wild hair swished out of the compartment as she and the worried boy left. Ron shook his head as if getting out of a trance, "Wow that girl Hermione sure has a lot to say. A lot, of which, I didn't understand," Harry and Merit both chuckled at this and nodded their heads in agreement. "I'm sure she's going to be in Ravenclaw," Merit offered as she finished laughing. She toyed with her flat blonde hair absentmindedly. "Yeah, she sounds really smart," Ron nodded in agreement.
"What house do you want to be in Harry?" Ron threw his attention towards Harry who was now nibbling on an unfinished Pumpkin Patsy. "Well," he replied quite honestly, "I don't know much about the houses. Hagrid didn't tell me much about Hogwarts." Ron looked at Merit with a thoughtful expression. The girl, who was still playing with her hair, caught Ron's eye. "Well, there's four houses at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," She started, mimicking her father's words. "Each house was founded by different people. One of them was Rowena Ravenclaw, who valued academic interests above all others. Then there was Helga Hufflepuff, who valued loyalty and fairness. Most of the time, though, people who are unsure of themselves are sorted into Hufflepuff. Also there's Godric Gryffindor," Merit was interrupted by an electrified Ron. He pounced on the chance and spoke as if he was in a race, "That's the house I want to be sorted in… Well I hope. All of my family's gone there. They said that you have to be brave and kind to be sorted there!"
Merit giggled at Ron's explanation, and the freckled boy's ear grew red. "And then there's Slytherin, right?" Harry brought up between the two. He found it interesting that the houses were named after actual people. Ron's previously happy face melted into a grimacing one, "Yeah, the darkest wizards come from there." Merit felt a tingling sensation in her fist. "Well let's not go making hasty generalizations," Merit commanded through clenched teeth.
"What about you-know-who, Merit? And Slytherin, himself, was positively daft about the whole purity thing," Ron shot back quite scathingly. Merit's shoulder sunk at this, if she were to be cast into Slytherin, would they both refuse to talk to her? She sat quiet, sulking in the corner as Harry shot Ron a reproachful look. "Well I don't know what I said to offend her," Ron spouted off smugly. Harry didn't know why either. He looked at the girl with curious eyes but she had already turned her back to them and was now watching the landscape passing by the window. Merit turned around and looked at the boys with apologetic eyes, and she lied, "One of my family members was in Slytherin."
"Well were they a dark wizard?" Ron asked imploringly.
"No," She gave him a small smirk. "She ended up running a book shop in Bulgaria." It was true, she did have an aunt who was running a book shop, but it was. in fact. a forbidden one. The cabin door opened before Ron could question what type of book store she ran. A pale pointed face boy glided into the room. He was flanked on both sides by heavy-set cavemen-like boys. Merit thought that one looked as if someone had just punched him in the face or insulted his mother. The other held a blank, zombie like expression. The pale, blond headed boy was now staring fixatedly at Harry. "So it is true. You're Harry Potter aren't you?"
Harry replied with a short 'Yes' as he glanced at the two imposing body-like guards. "That's Crabbe and Goyle, my father knows their fathers," Draco said almost nonchalantly, a tint of pride apparent in his voice. "My name is Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," He put his nose a little higher in the air as he mentioned his name. Ron shifted in his seat as he tried to suppress his laughter. Merit winced at Draco's introduction to himself; he was one of the purebloods her father had corresponded with. Lucius worked in the ministry along with her father. Although the two were far from what you'd call friends, Mr. Morley had impressed upon Merit to make friends with any purebred she crossed. He really emphasized a friendship with the same boy that stood in front of her. She had missed part of the conversation as she was contemplating what to do. "You shouldn't associate yourself with that kind of wizard," Draco sent a sneer in Ron's direction. "So come with me Potter," The blonde boy voiced with a wide smile while holding out his hand but Harry didn't take it. "I'll choose who I'm going to be friends with," Harry replied quite coldly. Draco scoffed in disbelief and a rose colored tint surfaced on his cheeks. Merit looked up at Draco and studied his features a bit more. His grey eyes looked unusually stormy as he thought up something to say. "You better watch who you're with Potter," Malfoy seethed. "If you continue to go around with people like the dirt poor Weasleys and that giant buffoon Hagrid people will start to think-"
"What makes you think your money and heritage makes you worth more?" Merit called out with a similar sneer marring her face. Ron, who had been ready to leap and fight Draco, was now looking in shock at Merit. "I'm a pureblood and that's better than being a mudblood like you," The snide boy had jumped to the conclusion that her blood was tainted by her offensive comment. "I'd have you know, you gormless Malfoy, that my line's purer than yours and less inbred! Ron's family is purebred and is worth ten times more and they're more liked!" She exploded into a flight of rage. Draco's face had turned from pink to beet red. Goyle and Crabbe began to puff themselves up as they snarled at the trio. They would not move though, not until their master Draco Malfoy had ordered them to. "Come on Crabbe and Goyle, it's beneath us to try and reason with muggle-lovers," Draco sneered, his voice laced with contempt. Goyle closed the compartment door behind them with a meaty hand. "That was great Merit. You really told him!" Ron nudged her side with an exuberant grin. She turned pink from the compliment and shrugged her shoulders slightly. Merit didn't look as happy as she should have, Harry thought to himself. Later, he decided, he would question why Merit was acting so strange.
Her father would be less than impressed by her words. In fact, she told herself, that if she was even allowed back home for winter break, she was sure there would be a long lecture of her mistakes. She sent a weak smirk to Harry who was looking at her worriedly. The Granger-girl passed by complaining about the noise and told them that the train was about to arrive at Hogwarts. "You should put on your robes, and stay out of trouble," Hermione told them as she escaped from their cabin, once again shutting the door behind her. Ron and Harry looked towards each other bewilderedly but followed her instructions, as she was more informed about this place anyways. Merit had her robes folded neatly beside her. She put them on with a neat toss as Ron squirmed into his.
"Arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be in five minutes. Leave all personal items on the train; they will be delivered safely and securely at the school."
***
Silva snickered at Pansy. Her so-called friends had not come by or even sat down in the cabin she had laid claim to. She wondered if Pansy had made it up as she stared out the window dreaming up her own version of Hogwarts. Silva turned around to see the door being slammed open by a pudgy boy as he pushed his way through. "Come on Goyle, move!" A disgruntled voice said behind another equally plump boy that was launched into the cabin. He stumbled and fell over on the other boy that was taking a seat by Silva. This fall created a domino effect in which Pansy was the end domino. Pansy squealed loudly as she screamed at the boy to get off. The boy who had now entered the room had a bemused look upon his face, "Get up you bumbling idiots!" Goyle and the other boy, who Silva learned was Crabbe, sat beside Pansy. The pushy blonde then sat himself next to Silva as he smoothed out his robes. He seemed to have completely missed Silva's presence until he turned to her with a wary eye. "Who are you?" Draco drawled as he studied her presence. She was already wearing the Hogwarts School Uniform and surprisingly, for secondhand quality, they looked almost brand new. "Silva Devoy," She told him with a certain amount of strength in her voice. She didn't want this boy to try and bully her around like his fat companions. "My name's Draco Malfoy. Are you a pureblood?" Draco's eyes narrowed as he asked the question. Silva tried to remember what the purple haired witch had told her about the wizarding world but couldn't, for the life of her, recall a single thing about purebloodedness. It sounded like it was a good thing to be so she replied with a strict, "Yes."
Draco, who had once held a skeptical eye, was now beaming cordially at her. "Good. Do you want to go into Slytherin?" Again, Silva must have zoned out when she went to Diagon Alley. Well, she couldn't help it really! If you had all of those fantastic and new sights swirling around you and someone was rattling off boring facts, what would you do? Listen?
She quickly explained her ignorance to the boy, "I'm not from this country, so I don't know too much about Hogwarts." Pansy looked over at the girl with an envious look flitting across her features. Draco was hers and now some girl was stealing her time to talk to him. "Oh really, that's quite interesting. That's probably why I've never seen your name before!" He replied quite vibrantly. "My father made me remember all of the pureblood families by heart so I wouldn't accidently taint my reputation by associating with mudbloods," A smug expression appeared on his facial expressions as he bragged about his knowledge. Silva nodded in agreement. "Slytherin," He continued. "Is one of the best houses to be in, you know. My father was in Slytherin and I'm pretty sure that all of my family members were in Slytherin," Draco seemed overly excited as he tried to show off more. Silva thought the boy to be a bit boastful but he seemed to be the only one worth talking to in the cabin. His features were pleasant to the eye, even though his nose was quite pointy and always shoved in the air his baby face was quite attractive.
An official voice rang out above their heads, "Arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry will be in five minutes. Leave all personal items on the train; they will be delivered safely and securely at the school." They all looked at each other with hyper grins. Finally they would be arriving at the school that Silva had been told about all this time! She looked out the window to find thick forests and mountains swishing by at a quick pace. "Let's go, Silva," Draco called out as he opened the compartment door. Pansy, Goyle, and Crabbe had already left. Silva and Draco joined the queue of people that were in the hallway of the train. Pansy was visible in the crowd, her pug nose turned to a tall black boy. She was muttering something into the scowling boy's ear. After about a couple minutes of waiting (the time had been shortened by Draco because he pushed through the throng to get to the door) they had arrived onto the platform.
"Come on firs' years! Over here!" A large man with a thick bushy beard and jet black eyes waved. Silva gaped at his size; he had to be nearly ten feet tall! A lantern the size of Silva's head was clasped in one of his calloused hands, it giggled slightly as he beckoned them over. "Only four 'an go on the boat, no 'ore than that!" He called out gruffly as he led them down to a dark, gloomy lake. A large castle was perched on a cliff across from it. It looked like something you'd spot out of a history book with its large battlements and sky high towers.
Dark wooded boats bordered the shore of the lake and bobbed up and down with the water. The violet sky that hung over their heads looked as if it were about to cry. The students quickly hobbled over to the boats and got in them with difficulty. Silva joined Draco, Crabbe and Goyle on the boat, despite the feral eyes Pansy sent in her direction. The giant bellowed out a command and the boats began to move over the glossy murky lake. "Put your head down Silva," Draco hissed as they came near an archway bombarded thickly with ivy. She had been staring dreamily at the castle. A shiver of excitement ran through her. Silva glanced at Draco and saw that excitement had overthrown his snooty attitude. He was smiling eagerly as their boats docked at an underground wharf. The ground was composed of shiny pebbles that glinted in the light of the giant's lantern. Silva stepped on top of the ground carefully and Draco, surprisingly, aided her in keeping balance. After they had gone through a damp cave, where a blonde headed girl slipped and nearly cracked her head on the rocks, they climbed up a flight of worn stone stairs. A gargantuan oak entrance-way stood before them.
The giant knocked on the door three times and talked to a couple of first years in the front. Silva, Draco, and his bodyguards could not hear a single thing the giant was saying. They were located at the very back of the crowd. Silva could see the tangled mess of hair and recognized it as the boy she had met before she boarded the Hogwarts Express. She wondered what house he would be sorted in as the ancient oak door swung open.
Author's Note: I am attempting to avoid all Mary-Sue situations. This story is being shown to the public to have others help me improve my writing and so that I can maybe beta sometime in the future. If anyone ever reads this, thank you for your time! Please review and give me your opinions on the story and how it's going. I am changing up the story to go in a different direction because if I didn't I'd just be giving you a shortened version of Harry Potter with original characters stuck in it. That wouldn't be too fun and I'd feel like I'd be copying J.K. Rowling too much.
I will be making some references to the book and I will attempt to keep a trace of the original relationships in order.
I actually like Draco Malfoy more than I show in the story. Later on you will be able to see my small fan-girling towards him and other characters people usually detest. Oh, yes, and I enjoy Ron's character too but my first real impression of Ron was very low.
*Taken from page 51 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, 1998.