I glanced out the window of the Hogwarts Express, the water droplets streaking my view, nervously tapping my fingers against my knee, itching to pull out the letter once more, hoping that maybe, just maybe, I had read it wrong.

A futile hope, I knew. If I'd read it wrong I wouldn't be here now, speeding towards a new school.

I gripped my hands together to stop the incessant movement and turned my attention back to the window, instead staring into the reflection of my green eyes.

How had it come to this?

My reflection gazed morosely back at me, offering only silent companionship.

I let my fingers resume their constant tapping, anything that would keep me from losing myself in my own memories.

I grimaced at my train of thought. I had been so eager to leave, to get away from what I had known, who I had known.

Back home, everyone knew who I was and it either led to pity or disgust. Being a smart ass hadn't helped matters, most people could never get past my prickly exterior, and those that tried, well, they didn't last long.

I'm what is known as stone marked or gorgon cursed. Which means exactly what you think. I'm a descendent of Medusa, although the legends are greatly exaggerated. Turn people to stone with her stare? True. Snakes for hair? False. Turning into a half-woman half snake monster? False. Parseltongue? True.

Medusa was a witch back in ancient Greece who happened to become cursed during a very nasty duel with an ex-lover. After a few years, Medusa was able to amend the curse to only afflict those she wanted, which happened to be quite a lot of people. Along with that little gem, it also passed down through her bloodline, carried by the male and activating in the female. The last female descendent had died a few years before I was born, leaving only a journal describing a few practices in learning how to control the curse.

Lucky me.

My parents hadn't thought much about me being stone marked until I came home from school one day, holding the broken statue of a bird.

I'd turned the poor thing to stone while it had been flying overhead.

They sat me down and talked to me about my curse, trying to explain that if I wasn't careful I could turn everything to stone if I didn't learn to control my curse.

I had only heard that I could turn people to stone.

And I used it to my advantage.

I didn't practice not turning people to stone, I practiced turning parts of them to stone.

It never lasted for long though. The reversal process was very long and very painful but it was never permanent. Or hadn't been.

There was always that one, dumb kid. The one trying to prove that they were the baddest thing walking the halls and they always decided that trying to kick my ass would earn them the respect they wanted.

At the New Orleans Academy, dueling was banned, so if there was fighting, it was done muggle style. Which, some days, wasn't a bad thing.

It had been our third year and this dumbass decided that he was going to show little old me a thing or two about life.

A few punches later, plus a swift kick to the knee, he went down. I'd laughed in his face but as I turned to walk away, he'd swung his arms out, knocked my legs from under me and dropped me on my ass. He laughed as he got up.

It was the last thing he'd done.

I passed his laughing statue everyday for the next three years.

I'd started looking for cures, experimental magic, and when all those had come up empty I had turned to dark magic but of course there hadn't been much information in America. Especially not with all the restrictions imposed since Marie Laveau in New Orleans, not to mention the whole shit storm in Salem.

After a lot of dead ends and a lot of wasted time I eventually made contact with a group of dark magicians who claimed to have knowledge about my curse. They had then put me in contact with a professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, a dark haired man with an imposing glare.

We had met during the summer as well as a student from Hogwarts. It hadn't taken long for an arrangement to be made.

Which was how I found myself here on the Hogwarts Express, speeding towards my new school.

A sudden knock at my cabin door startled me out my somber reverie.

I jerked my head around to the door only to see a kindly gray haired lady with a sweets trolley.

"Would you care for something sweet, dearie?" She gave a cursory glance around my cabin, probably wondering how I had gotten one to myself.

"Ah...no...no thank you," I stuttered at her, my heart still beating a mile a minute from the scare.

"You sure, dear? I have plenty to offer," She gave a warm smile.

I hesitated about to say no but before I could my stomach rumbled.

She laughed, a tinkling noise, and said, "Oh dear, you probably haven't had anything to eat all day with a growl like that!"

I felt my cheeks burn. I hadn't eaten anything but I really didn't have much of an appetite, not knowing that -

Stop! Don't go there! I gave myself a mental shake.

Taking my silence for embarrassment, the old woman said, "Now, now. Don't feel bad. Why girls like you try to slim themselves down by not eating I will never know!"

Her comment brought me back to reality. "Girls like me? What-"

She started loading up a bag with candies, "I saw you when you got on this train you know. You have a lovely figure! You shouldn't worry over it so!"

"Ma'am-" I kept trying to explain to her that my figure was the least of my worries but she kept talking over me.

"I do hope that you realize how unhealthy it is to starve yourself!" She turned towards me with a motherly glare.

"Trust me, I am not starving myself," my temper snapped.

"Good!" She gave a sharp nod, seemingly satisfied with my response. "Now, take this," she pushed the bag of candies into my hands.

"I don't-" I tried to give them back, but she folded her arms and gave me a disapproving look.

"Dear, I thought you said you were going to eat something?"

I stared at her, dumbstruck.

Oblivious, she turned away, "6 galleons."

Galleons? I had to pay?! "Hey! There's no way-"

"I know, dear," she turned back around, with her original smile, "that's why you'll eat up. Otherwise," her face took on a horrendous scowl, the warning clear.

She was good.

"Yes ma'am," I nodded slowly. I dug through my bag between my feet, counting out the coins in her outstretched hand.

Her scowl replaced once again by a sugary sweet smile, she closed the door to my cabin, leaving me to my thoughts and the candy.

I scowled at the candy before dropping it onto the plush seat beside me with a huff.

I glanced at my reflection, "What are you looking at?" But of course, my reflection only returned my snarl with a look of disdain. "Not much help are you?" It continued to glare silently back at me.

I sighed, my anger leaving me with the realization of talking to my own reflection. I ran my hands through my hair, the strawberry blonde strands falling in front of my eyes. I had to get my act together before reaching Hogwarts or everything was going to go to hell in a handbasket.

I took a deep breath. I could do this.

I had to do this.

I turned to look at the candy bag, sitting innocently beside me on the red cushion. I may as well enjoy it. Opening the bag, I saw she had put in a couple of chocolate frogs, some every flavor beans, a couple of lemon snaps, plus a lot more.

"Well, shit..." she had really loaded me up on goodies. I wasn't sure I could finish it all.

I narrowed my eyes, gave a derisive snort and dug in, going straight for the chocolate frogs.

I carefully opened the box, turning it towards the window. I hated the ones that jumped out immediately, they always landed on my face. When nothing rapidly made an attempt at an escape I cautiously opened it up further only to stare at an empty box.

"Ugh..." All that prudence for nothing. Oh well, at least the card should be cool.

I flipped the card up to look at it and lost my appetite again.

"Damn..." I murmured.

I focused back on the rain streaked window, the card falling to the floor at my feet.

I really needed to get a grip. If the card was enough to give me pause...

I closed my eyes and gave myself another mental shake. I could do this.

How had things come so far?

I was planning a dangerous scheme that would either kill me or someone else.

I closed my eyes, letting my head fall back onto the seat, the card of Dumbledore with his twinkling eyes watching me quietly the entire time.