I still remember the last words my brother, Tim, said to me. As I was taken out of my chains by my saviors, he looked at me with pain in my eyes he said, "Ami, I need you to listen to me. You are a wonderful young woman. I need you to promise me something. I need you to make some friends and be open. I need you to have a bloody great time at Hogwarts. And just remember, I will always love you."

He then kissed me on the head and watched in pain as I looked at him with fear in my eyes. He was the only person I had ever known that had treated me with kindness. And now, I was on my way to Hogwarts. My brother, Tim, had told me it was a beautiful place where no one was ever mean to anyone. That no one would try to hurt me. I didn't believe him.

I looked up at the huge castle that would now be my home. The tall dark towers loomed over my head to me looked just like the giant dungeon that I had just escaped from. The large white bandage around my arm was almost hidden and I was grateful for it. I did not need the many questions about the word carved into my arm. A woman with a stern smile first took me into a small office.

"Hello Ami! I am Professor McGonogall and welcome to Hogwarts!" she said, "Right now we will head into the Great Hall and you will be sorted. The house that you are assigned to will be like a family. Are you caught up with the fifth years here?"

I nodded. She smiled again and then led me into the hall.

It was bigger than I could ever imagine! Thousands of eyes looked at me as I walked slowly forward, my brother's wand at my side. I hoped he was all right. I walked up onto a platform and sat on a little stool. A tattered old hat was placed onto my head. It slipped over my eyes so I could no longer see.

I jumped violently as the hat started to talk to me. "You have a young, brilliant mind. But you are frightened. Don't let you past destroy your future… RAVENCLAW!"

The table with blue banners over it started to cheer with a loud roar. McGonogall nodded to me and I walked slowly towards the table with my wand still out. I sat next to a boy with kind eyes and a nice smile. I thought that I might be able to give him a chance. The girl across from me had brilliantly long blonde hair and eyes that seemed to cover most of her face. She looked like a curious character. I looked away when her eyes met mine. I slid to the edge of the long bench so I wouldn't have to talk to anyone.

Then the head master, Albus Dumbledore, walked up to the stand, smiled at me, and said loudly, "Tuck in!" Then food magically appeared. Tim had told me about this when he told me all he could remember about Hogwarts. I was surrounded by more food than I had ever eaten in my entire life. I waited, to see if I was supposed to wait for table scraps. The boy next to be smiled and asked, "Do you want anything?

I nodded and cautiously piled food onto my plate. When no one stopped me I began to eat slowly, to savor the taste. For the past fourteen years I had lived off of bread and watery soup. I had not been full for a very long time.

After the feast I walked with the rest of my house to the dormitories. I was in the same room with the girl who sat across from me during the meal. My bed was in the very middle with two more on either side of it. I had no memories of a bed. I fell asleep in an instant and dreamed of my rescue.

Throughout the rest of the week I mostly kept to myself. I did my work quickly and quietly and I ignored the many question asked of me by my curious peers. I had to go to the hospital wing four times a week so that my scar could be cleaned. I refused to talk to anyone, not even my teachers. But I soon found out that they were not as kind and patient as they were the first day I arrived, most were very strict and gave mounds of homework. I wrote letters to Tim constantly, though of course I couldn't send them, for he would be punished dearly because of them. I missed being able to talk to someone about everything. I longed for a friend.

One morning, I got up at 5:30 and sat in the common room. I didn't bother changing out of my nightgown. No one would be up this early. I started to look through my schoolbooks. Of the subjects I was taking, I was interested in Transfiguration. I longed to turn the people that tortured my brother and me into toads or flies. I wanted to pay back those who killed my parents and maybe Tim by now.

"Hmm…," I heard a voice say.

I looked up to find the girl from the feast. She continued to stare at me as if she was observing a curious specimen. I stared determinedly back.

"Do you talk at all?" she asked.

I cleared my throat. "Yes."

"Well," she said, "tell me about yourself."

"I'm a muggle-born and I have a brother names Tim who is my best friend in the whole world…" I refused to tell her anything else.

But she was still curious and refused my attempt at being anti-social.

"What happened to your arm?" she asked in a completely different tone.

I slowly unwound the bandage, unraveling it a little bit at a time. The word Mudblood showed red on my arm. Her already over-large eyes widened with shock. She suddenly moved and sat next to me in the arm chair. She put her arm around me, "I'm Luna by the way. I'm sure we'll be the best of friends. You can trust me."

And I believed her. Of all the people in the entire school, I trusted Luna, a strange, unpopular girl with a giant heart.