Breath of fresh air from Down Under
Chapter1. 1st impressions
Clarissa Delaney took one final look at herself in the mirror supported on her door before she left her hotel room. She was wearing a pair of olive green baggy cargo pants, her favourite Docks and light blue tank top. Her elbow length auburn hair was pulled loosely back in a ponytail. She didn't think of herself as a stunning girl but she didn't think she was exactly ugly either. She had eyes the colour of the sea, blue-green: except when she was sad and they would turn bluer in colour. Also from growing up in a sunny continent she had light freckles across her cheeks and a slight tan. She always hated her freckles and the fact her skin couldn't go honey brown like all her friends. She assumed it was the Irish blood in her that made her pale. Clarissa was always worried about how she looked and though first impressions were extremely important. She was more worried then usual because she was starting at her new school today. She had transferred from her school in Australia so that she could be with her father who was teaching at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Clarissa wasn't sure if having her father on staff at the school would make the transition easier or worse.
She was pulled out of her train of thoughts when she heard a knocking at her door. 'Clarissa hunny, you almost ready the train leaves in close to half and hour and it takes twenty minutes to get to the station' her father, Lionel Delaney called through the door
'Sure Dad I'll be out in second' Clarissa called back. She then walked over to the door and called to her father who was making breakfast in the kitchen 'couldn't get a hand with my trunk could I?' Her father looked up from the dishes he was drying and smiled.
'Eat your breakfast while I take it down to the taxi, be quick though because he's already charging for the cab fare' her dad said as he passed her in the hall way to get her trunk from her room.
Clarissa sat down to two pieces of toast with jam and a glass of apple juice. She wasn't really fond of toast but decided she'd get it down as quick as possible with her juice. Once she was finished she did a once over to check the room was cleared of all their belongings before they left. She found one of her Fathers shoes under his bead and her toothbrush still in the bathroom.
As she walked out of the hotel room she couldn't help but feel nervous. In less then half an hour she'd be catching a train amongst her to-be fellow students and would see little else but the school grounds for a year.
They arrived at Kings Station with 10 minutes to spare. Lionel Delaney Had already been informed on how to get onto the platform 9 ¾ . he told Clarissa what to do to get onto the platform and she looked at him in a sceptical way.
'Don't believe me? Ok, watch instead, but be sure when you do go not to draw attention to yourself, the Muggles might get worried if they see people disappearing into the barrier'.
Clarissa watched as her father walked directly towards the wall between the 9th and 10th platform, expecting him to crash into it. But instead he walked straight through as he said he would. She pushed her trolley with her trunk on it in front of her figuring if she couldn't get through it would take most of the blow. But instead of crashing into the wall as she expected she went right through just as her father had done. She was now on a different platform that was filled with people in all different types of clothing. Some wore black robes with the Hogwarts coat of arms on them and other wore normal clothing.
'Never seen a sight like this in Australia eh?' said her father's voice to the side of her. He seem more captivated by the whole scene then Clarissa was.
'Its amazing, this has to be more then triple the amount of people we had in school back home' she said
'Mmm much more then triple, well Clara I need to get a few things sorted, why don't you go find yourself a compartment you can leave your trunk with me' her father said as he was searching the platform.
'How will you know where to find me? The trains huge' Clarissa asked
'Well I'll see you when we get to Hogwarts' her dad explained
'You aren't sharing a compartment with me? She asked again
'Um no, sweaty I doubt you want your Dad hanging around whilst your making new friends' he chuckled 'no I think I'll go upfront with the driver'
'Alright, well, I'll see you when we get there I guess' she said and kissed her father on the cheek before heading off to the train.
She stepped into the train and looked around, down the narrow passage there seemed to be a numerous amount of compartments all with sliding doors. Clarissa had never been on a train before and didn't know really what to expect of one. For the second time that day somebody interrupted her thoughts. A man behind her cleared his throat impatiently and said 'if you wouldn't mind unblocking the passage miss' his words were polite but in the manner he spoke them Clarissa thought him to be quite rude. She turned around and managed a small apology but as she did another voice cut in
'Apologise Martin, that's no way to speak to a lady', said a tall pale boy with blonde hair and silver eyes as he steeped into the passageway. Much like the first man, this one had said something that most would consider polite, even gentlemanly, but it was said with such an air that Clarissa wondered if he meant it. Wether he meant it or not didn't seem to matter once she took a proper look at him. He was extremely good-looking.
*Pity* she thought, *the gorgeous ones always seem to know how good- looking they are, this one certainly does* 'No its fine' she said offhandedly, hopping that she could brush off this guy and find some one else to talk to.
'Are you new here' he asked, leaning against the side of the train and giving her a once over.
*Egh, what a sleaze* she thought
'Um yeah' she said looking around her, trying to find any escape rout. If all else failed she'd even resort to the "having to find my father" excuse.
'We don't usually get new students here' the boy said mater-of-factly
'Yeah well I just transferred' she said shortly. *Ok so I think I'll have to go for the last resort here*
'Oh from Buexbatons or Durmstrang?' he asked interestedly
'Um neither, I went to a school in Australia called Marshals' she explained *Why am I still here, I should just say I have to go, and go. what's wrong with me? *
'Never heard of it, but you say its in Australia, that's probably why.' He smirked as he said the last words, as if she were beneath him.
*Get more arrogant, ok I'm getting out of here now, this guy is certainly not worth the time*
But before she could say anything there came a screeching noise and a lot of chatter from behind the boy. Three students had entered the train. One was a tall boy with freckles, red hair and had a cage with a tiny owl in it, the other boy had black hair, glasses and was carrying a cage with a larger owl in it and the girl accompanying them was pretty with brown curly hair and was carrying a ginger cat.
'Malfoy!' exclaimed the red haired boy
'Weasley' retorted the blonde
'You're blocking the passage get lost' the dark haired boy said with a clear trace of venom The girl with them looked from Clarissa to Malfoy back again to Clarissa then said 'are you new here?'
Clarissa thanked the Gods for the perfect timing. The last thing she wanted to do was let the arrogant blonde in on the fact that the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher was her father. And now, with any luck she wouldn't have to. 'Yeah I've just transferred'
'Is he bothering you' the red haired boy asked
Clarissa looked towards Malfoy briefly and slyly replied 'No, not yet
Malfoy was glaring daggers at the three newcomers. He was slightly surprised by the nerve of this girl. Under usual circumstances he'd be nothing short of pissed off with what she had said. But for some reason her words struck not anger inside him but curiosity. Here was a girl in a situation which many would dread to be in (not knowing anyone), who was clearly confident and would stand up for herself, as subtle as it may come across. Though he did sense something else, doubt was it? Oh this girl certainly had him perplexed, and what a turn-on that was. There is nothing worse then a person you can read like a book. That was something he prided in himself, he could emit one persona and be thinking something entirely different.
'Calm down boys we were only', he looked towards Clarissa 'talking. Frankly there are more respectable people I could be with right now so if you'll excuse me.' He said arrogantly as he turned to go. He paused next to Clarissa and said more quietly yet no less arrogantly 'Nice to meet you' and gave her a small wink and strode off.
'Can you believe that slimy git' the red haired boy said
'I'm Hermione Granger and this is Ron Weasly and Harry Potter' said Hermione
'Yeah and that was Draco Stuck-up Ferret Malfoy' Ron said
'Stuck-up Ferret?' asked Clarissa
'Yeah he's as Stuck-up as they come and makes a good ferret' Harry said. All three laughed. Clarissa assumed it was a personal joke. They all got a compartment and spent the whole trip telling stories about the students and people at Hogwarts especially Draco Malfoy. Clarissa found herself disliking him more and more as each story was told, but something in the back of her mind wouldn't let her forget how he had said quietly to her 'Nice to meet you'. It was almost sexy. Almost.
Chapter1. 1st impressions
Clarissa Delaney took one final look at herself in the mirror supported on her door before she left her hotel room. She was wearing a pair of olive green baggy cargo pants, her favourite Docks and light blue tank top. Her elbow length auburn hair was pulled loosely back in a ponytail. She didn't think of herself as a stunning girl but she didn't think she was exactly ugly either. She had eyes the colour of the sea, blue-green: except when she was sad and they would turn bluer in colour. Also from growing up in a sunny continent she had light freckles across her cheeks and a slight tan. She always hated her freckles and the fact her skin couldn't go honey brown like all her friends. She assumed it was the Irish blood in her that made her pale. Clarissa was always worried about how she looked and though first impressions were extremely important. She was more worried then usual because she was starting at her new school today. She had transferred from her school in Australia so that she could be with her father who was teaching at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Clarissa wasn't sure if having her father on staff at the school would make the transition easier or worse.
She was pulled out of her train of thoughts when she heard a knocking at her door. 'Clarissa hunny, you almost ready the train leaves in close to half and hour and it takes twenty minutes to get to the station' her father, Lionel Delaney called through the door
'Sure Dad I'll be out in second' Clarissa called back. She then walked over to the door and called to her father who was making breakfast in the kitchen 'couldn't get a hand with my trunk could I?' Her father looked up from the dishes he was drying and smiled.
'Eat your breakfast while I take it down to the taxi, be quick though because he's already charging for the cab fare' her dad said as he passed her in the hall way to get her trunk from her room.
Clarissa sat down to two pieces of toast with jam and a glass of apple juice. She wasn't really fond of toast but decided she'd get it down as quick as possible with her juice. Once she was finished she did a once over to check the room was cleared of all their belongings before they left. She found one of her Fathers shoes under his bead and her toothbrush still in the bathroom.
As she walked out of the hotel room she couldn't help but feel nervous. In less then half an hour she'd be catching a train amongst her to-be fellow students and would see little else but the school grounds for a year.
They arrived at Kings Station with 10 minutes to spare. Lionel Delaney Had already been informed on how to get onto the platform 9 ¾ . he told Clarissa what to do to get onto the platform and she looked at him in a sceptical way.
'Don't believe me? Ok, watch instead, but be sure when you do go not to draw attention to yourself, the Muggles might get worried if they see people disappearing into the barrier'.
Clarissa watched as her father walked directly towards the wall between the 9th and 10th platform, expecting him to crash into it. But instead he walked straight through as he said he would. She pushed her trolley with her trunk on it in front of her figuring if she couldn't get through it would take most of the blow. But instead of crashing into the wall as she expected she went right through just as her father had done. She was now on a different platform that was filled with people in all different types of clothing. Some wore black robes with the Hogwarts coat of arms on them and other wore normal clothing.
'Never seen a sight like this in Australia eh?' said her father's voice to the side of her. He seem more captivated by the whole scene then Clarissa was.
'Its amazing, this has to be more then triple the amount of people we had in school back home' she said
'Mmm much more then triple, well Clara I need to get a few things sorted, why don't you go find yourself a compartment you can leave your trunk with me' her father said as he was searching the platform.
'How will you know where to find me? The trains huge' Clarissa asked
'Well I'll see you when we get to Hogwarts' her dad explained
'You aren't sharing a compartment with me? She asked again
'Um no, sweaty I doubt you want your Dad hanging around whilst your making new friends' he chuckled 'no I think I'll go upfront with the driver'
'Alright, well, I'll see you when we get there I guess' she said and kissed her father on the cheek before heading off to the train.
She stepped into the train and looked around, down the narrow passage there seemed to be a numerous amount of compartments all with sliding doors. Clarissa had never been on a train before and didn't know really what to expect of one. For the second time that day somebody interrupted her thoughts. A man behind her cleared his throat impatiently and said 'if you wouldn't mind unblocking the passage miss' his words were polite but in the manner he spoke them Clarissa thought him to be quite rude. She turned around and managed a small apology but as she did another voice cut in
'Apologise Martin, that's no way to speak to a lady', said a tall pale boy with blonde hair and silver eyes as he steeped into the passageway. Much like the first man, this one had said something that most would consider polite, even gentlemanly, but it was said with such an air that Clarissa wondered if he meant it. Wether he meant it or not didn't seem to matter once she took a proper look at him. He was extremely good-looking.
*Pity* she thought, *the gorgeous ones always seem to know how good- looking they are, this one certainly does* 'No its fine' she said offhandedly, hopping that she could brush off this guy and find some one else to talk to.
'Are you new here' he asked, leaning against the side of the train and giving her a once over.
*Egh, what a sleaze* she thought
'Um yeah' she said looking around her, trying to find any escape rout. If all else failed she'd even resort to the "having to find my father" excuse.
'We don't usually get new students here' the boy said mater-of-factly
'Yeah well I just transferred' she said shortly. *Ok so I think I'll have to go for the last resort here*
'Oh from Buexbatons or Durmstrang?' he asked interestedly
'Um neither, I went to a school in Australia called Marshals' she explained *Why am I still here, I should just say I have to go, and go. what's wrong with me? *
'Never heard of it, but you say its in Australia, that's probably why.' He smirked as he said the last words, as if she were beneath him.
*Get more arrogant, ok I'm getting out of here now, this guy is certainly not worth the time*
But before she could say anything there came a screeching noise and a lot of chatter from behind the boy. Three students had entered the train. One was a tall boy with freckles, red hair and had a cage with a tiny owl in it, the other boy had black hair, glasses and was carrying a cage with a larger owl in it and the girl accompanying them was pretty with brown curly hair and was carrying a ginger cat.
'Malfoy!' exclaimed the red haired boy
'Weasley' retorted the blonde
'You're blocking the passage get lost' the dark haired boy said with a clear trace of venom The girl with them looked from Clarissa to Malfoy back again to Clarissa then said 'are you new here?'
Clarissa thanked the Gods for the perfect timing. The last thing she wanted to do was let the arrogant blonde in on the fact that the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher was her father. And now, with any luck she wouldn't have to. 'Yeah I've just transferred'
'Is he bothering you' the red haired boy asked
Clarissa looked towards Malfoy briefly and slyly replied 'No, not yet
Malfoy was glaring daggers at the three newcomers. He was slightly surprised by the nerve of this girl. Under usual circumstances he'd be nothing short of pissed off with what she had said. But for some reason her words struck not anger inside him but curiosity. Here was a girl in a situation which many would dread to be in (not knowing anyone), who was clearly confident and would stand up for herself, as subtle as it may come across. Though he did sense something else, doubt was it? Oh this girl certainly had him perplexed, and what a turn-on that was. There is nothing worse then a person you can read like a book. That was something he prided in himself, he could emit one persona and be thinking something entirely different.
'Calm down boys we were only', he looked towards Clarissa 'talking. Frankly there are more respectable people I could be with right now so if you'll excuse me.' He said arrogantly as he turned to go. He paused next to Clarissa and said more quietly yet no less arrogantly 'Nice to meet you' and gave her a small wink and strode off.
'Can you believe that slimy git' the red haired boy said
'I'm Hermione Granger and this is Ron Weasly and Harry Potter' said Hermione
'Yeah and that was Draco Stuck-up Ferret Malfoy' Ron said
'Stuck-up Ferret?' asked Clarissa
'Yeah he's as Stuck-up as they come and makes a good ferret' Harry said. All three laughed. Clarissa assumed it was a personal joke. They all got a compartment and spent the whole trip telling stories about the students and people at Hogwarts especially Draco Malfoy. Clarissa found herself disliking him more and more as each story was told, but something in the back of her mind wouldn't let her forget how he had said quietly to her 'Nice to meet you'. It was almost sexy. Almost.