A Different Kind of Magic

by Belle's Noir

Sequel to 'Lies and Limitations'. Halliwell Potter has well remembered every lesson her Aunt ever gave her about the magical world and now she's starting Hogwarts. She just can't understand the way these people think magic works but she won't let their nonsense rules hold her back. Fem!Harry.

2. Chapter 2

Hello again.

Now, Halli is finally going to show off some of those awesome powers you just know she has but bear in mind, she is not all powerful, she just has a different understanding of magic. If you don't quite like it now, wait until the next chapter when her magic is explained before you make a decision.

I went a little bit mad writing this chapter, inspiration struck and I churned out ten thousand words in a day. I've not written with that level of enthusiasm for years so please forgive me in advance for any spelling mistakes. Some of this was written a three in the morning with my eyes half closed. I tried to catch all the errors I could but if there are any left now they're not spelling mistakes so much as me typing the wrong words.

Thanks, read and enjoy. Feel free to share your thoughts.

Hanna x

September 1st rolled around much too quickly for Halliwell's liking. Despite what she'd thought, it felt like she'd barely had enough time to do everything she needed to.

The first thing she'd done was take another trip to Gringotts that weekend, this time with her uncle in tow. She'd figure that as somewhat of a businessman, her uncle would have a better chance at keeping up with the goblins if they tried to talk circles around her.

This precaution turned out to be unnecessary. The goblin's practically bent over backwards to accommodate her. Apparently, she and her family should have in possession of her key the entire time, including the two other keys in existence. She also should have been receiving her statements. The fact that neither of these things had happened was a personal affront to the Goblin Nation, who took their banking policies very seriously.

It was, however, a good thing that Uncle Vernon had been there. As a minor, she couldn't actually authorise them do to anything but her uncle, as one of her guardians, could. With a single drop of her blood, they'd been able to nullify the other keys as well as recall any magical item that had officially belonged to the Potters for more than five years.

This happened to be quite a few things actually, most of it apparently looted from her parent's house after they died. For some insane reason, no one had thought to secure the house the Potters had been living in when they died and so people had been able to help themselves to 'souvenirs'.

There had also been a large number of silver instruments that used her blood to function. According to magic, this made them hers though she had absolutely no idea what they did. There had also been a ruby encrusted sword, a silvery sort of cloak and a stone basin with runes etched into the side of it, apparently these artefacts had been in the Potter family for generations.

Uncle Vernon had been rather baffled that they were able to simply summon everything to them and so was Halli for that matter. What stopped someone stealing the blood of someone else and using it to summon everything that belonged to them and robbing them blind?

'Magic has a level of sentience to it,' a goblin had explained. 'It is not a living entity by any means but it understands the intention behind an action. For example, this spell can be used by anyone but if the blood is being used this way without a person's permission, the spell simply fails.'

Halli, personally, thought that was a load of tripe. If magic had enough sentience to it to prevent someone stealing, then shouldn't all crimes via magic be impossible? She thought it was far more likely that after years of performing this spell, magic was responding to their expectations rather than intentions.

After all, if you knew you were using the blood without permission and you expected the spell to fail then it would. However, the goblins were intimidating creatures and Halli had no desire to share this theory, let alone test it.

Business at the bank had concluded quickly after that. Thankfully, nothing had actually been taken from any of her vaults since her parents had last been there which meant that the Headmaster had, at least, not been actively stealing from her. That didn't mean she trusted him though, nor anyone in this rather backwards world actually. Her uncle had instructed the goblins to take higher security measures just in case. From then on, direct access to the account would require a blood test every time and only her uncle and her were authorised to enter.

The revelation that she had more than one vault had come as a surprise though it did make sense after the goblins explained. There was her trust vault, the one she'd seen, this was the only one she could access until she turned seventeen. There had also been the main vault which held everything the Potters owned, including the rest of their gold.

There had also been several vaults left to her by people with no children or family that wanted to thank her for stopping the Dark Lord. It was the contents of these vaults that were converted into Muggle money and added to her family's account. They were already shopping around for a new home in a nicer part of London, though they promised that Halli could view the houses at Christmas before they made their final decision. And it wasn't like Halli couldn't come home at a moment notice if they found one they really liked and wanted to place an offer there and then.

The young girl had spent the next few weeks reading the books she had purchased during her first trip to the Alley. She began to understand a little more about why she was so famous when she read of all the atrocities the Dark Lord had committed before he'd tried to kill her. She supposed she too would hail the child that had managed to stop such an evil man even if the child hadn't consciously done anything.

It still didn't mean she liked the fame though but she could be tolerant and gracious to the people she met now she understood a little more what the people had been through before she came along.

Reading about that had also made her determined to keep her magic a secret for as long as possible and even if people found out what she could do, she would die before she told them how, even if she could explain it.

This society was practically tribal in certain aspects and its people were like children, doing what they're told without question and turning on anything different. Halli had yet to find a single person in her history books that she would trust with the power she had. All of them would use it to achieve their own end and ideals. It seemed that almost every war this world had suffered through had been about who should be in charge or who should be allowed to study magic. In some cases, they had actually been about who was allowed to live.

Halli had begun to suspect it was probably a good thing that these people had placed restrictions on their powers. If they had been only limited by her imagination like she was, it would become a society of people believing themselves to be gods, probably vengeful gods. And half the people she'd met already thought they were superior as it was, even if they didn't realise it.

Her Aunt Petunia had told her that, in the end, even Lily had been tainted by that mindset and began to look down on her Muggle family.

Since then, Halli had been having a bit of a personal dilemma.

How could she make friends?

It seemed like such a juvenile question but it was a valid point. Anyone she got close with would eventually realise just how much she could do, what if they became envious? It would be perfectly understandable but still not something she wanted to deal with.

What if they turned on her? Thought her dark for being able to use magic in a way they didn't understand, a way they were told couldn't be done?

She'd decided during her third trip to Diagon Alley, this time with Aunt Petunia as they shopped for her school things, that she'd stick to people Muggle-raised. They were far more likely to have an open mind.

There was one good thing that came out of being the Girl-Who-Lived, it was somewhat expected that she'd be extra powerful. If anyone did catch her using her own special brand of magic, it could be brushed away and under the rug.

She'd planned to keep a low profile, to let herself be considered weak in order to go unnoticed. She already laid the groundwork for it weeks before when she visited the Leaky Cauldron with Hagrid. However, with every new thing she read about herself, that seemed more and more unlikely. Almost nothing in the books she'd read was actually true, at least not as far as she could tell, but everyone she'd encountered still seemed to believe it.

If people just took a moment to really think, out of everyone present the night her parents died, she was the only one alive so how could anyone else possibly know what had occurred? Did they even know for certain it was the Killing Curse she'd been hit with? Was there a way to tell what spell had been used?

There were so many things that could be nothing more than speculation and the entire magical world took them as fact.

This let Halli with one burning question, did she stick with the original plan of flying under the radar – if the general populace would actually let her, that is – or did she play into the image? Both options had equal consequences and benefits.

Halliwell jumped as she felt the train begin to move. She'd been so deep in thought she hadn't even heard the whistle going. She looked up as the door opened to see a round faced, blonde haired boy with a hopeful look on his face and a struggling toad gripped in his hand.

'D-do you mind if I j-join you?' Although the look on his face was hopeful, there was something about the tone of his voice that said he expected rejection. He seemed like a kicked puppy and Halliwell had always had a soft spot for strays.

She smiled warmly at him.

'Of course, come on in. It would be nice to make a friend before arriving.'

She wasn't usually so forward but the boy practically screamed insecure, Halli knew that any overtures of friendship would have to be made by her. She mused about the best way to help him relax as she watched him struggle to lift his trunk into the overhead rack. She discretely pointed a finger at the offending object, subtly using her magic to help the boy move it into place. He was slightly out of breath as he turned around but he'd managed to get it up there without too much difficultly. Halli made sure her hands were busy stroking the black kitten on her lap just in case.

The boy smiled shyly at her as he settled himself in the seat opposite.

'So, what's your name?' She asked, trying to keep her voice quiet and soothing. The boy blushed anyway.

'N-Neville Longbottom.' He answered quietly. 'Yours?'

'Halliwell Potter.'

Neville's eyes widened slightly and twitched just a little bit. Halli was amused and impressed; he'd managed to stop himself glancing at her scar. He was the first one so far so she decided to reward him. With a grin, she pushed her fringe to the side, just enough to expose the famous lightning bolt scar.

Neville seemed to be at a loss for words which just served to amuse Halli more.

'So, tell me about yourself, Neville.'

The boy blushed again.

'There's n-not much to t-tell, really.' He mumbled quietly, staring at his fingers clenched in his lap. Halli's heart went out to the boy.

'Well, are you Muggle-raised or wizard?'

'W-wizard. I'm from one of the o-old families, l-like you.'

Halliwell frowned at that.

'I'm from one of the old families?' She asked. 'What does that mean?'

Neville looked at her in surprise so she elaborated.

'I was raised in the M-Muggle world, by my mum's sister. I knew magic existed but not very much about it. I really only came back to the Wizarding world about a month ago.'

Neville nodded his head slightly, aware that Lily Potter had been a Muggleborn.

'W-well, it d-doesn't mean anything r-really. Being part of one of the old f-families means your family have been magical B-British citizens for a very long time. Like n-nearly a millennia. There's n-nothing attached to it, l-like a responsibility but its considered s-something of a status symbol. Even the Malfoys aren't considered an old f-family because they only came from F-France about five hundred years ago.'

Halli had no idea who the Malfoys were but nodded anyway. Okay, this was fine, she decided, if it didn't have any responsibility then it wasn't something that would try to keep her in this topsy-turvy world.

'Do I get a title?' Halli asked with a grin. Neville still blushed but at least managed to smile back.

'You do, a-actually.'

Halli's eyes went wide and Neville even managed a laugh.

'Really?'

'Y-yep,' Neville nodded. 'When you t-turn seventeen, you'll be k-known as L-Lady Potter.'

Halli was in shock. She would be considered a Lady of the Realm but how? Surely, all the Muggles vying for titles would have picked up on the fact that a few Lords and Ladies were missing from their Christmas card list.

'I won't actually have any connection to the Peerage though, will I?'

Neville shook his head.

'N-no, the title is just for d-decoration. It's just an honorary t-thing for being d-descended from the f-first magical settlers but you w-will be expected to act a c-certain way.'

Halli felt herself go pale. This is not what she signed up for!

'What sort of way? Do I have to learn to curtsey and cross my legs properly?' She asked, her panic obvious. Neville hastened to reassure her.

'Nothing l-like that but you c-can say that no one w-will expect you to work in a s-shop after graduating unless you o-own it.'

She frowned.

'Is there something wrong with working in a shop?'

'N-not really but it c-could be awkward if c-customers had to c-call you Lady P-Potter.' Neville laughed.

Halliwell finally cracked a smile, pleased her friend was lightening up even if it was sort of at her expense.

'Okay, Neville, I have a job for you.'

Neville lost his smile and paled slightly. Halli made a mental note to build up his confidence.

'W-w-what?'

Halli frowned when she realised his stutter was worse than ever, she hadn't even noticed it had started to fade as he relaxed.

'Neville Longbottom, I task you with job of making sure I don't embarrass myself or my ancestors. You said you were from an old family too, right? You're going to be Lord Longbottom when you turn seventeen?' She waited for him to nod before continuing.

'I'm actually g-going to be Lord Clearwater. The title comes f-from my mother's s-side so while I'll s-still be called Neville Longbottom, I w-will officially be called Lord Neville C-Clearwater.' He explained. 'It w-will be the same if you get m-married. Even if you t-take your husband's surname, officially you'll b-be Lord and Lady P-Potter.'

'Okay, these rules are starting to get complicated. Now, I definitely need you to help me. I have no idea how to be a Lady. Can you teach me?'

Neville blushed but looked oddly flattered. He sat up a little straighter.

'There's n-not much to teach really.'

'Okay, then will you be my friend, stick close by and pinch me if I'm about to do something I shouldn't?'

Neville's shoulders straightened out a little more and he managed a smile, though he still blushed.

'I think I c-can do that, if you h-help me with my potions homework. Gran g-got me a t-tutor over the summer and I'm t-terrible at the subject.'

'I think I can do that,' she parroted back. 'But I've only read the theory in my books, I've never actually tried to make a potion. I'm looking forward to the class so I hope I'm good, however, I promise that if we both stink, we'll muddle through together.'

She held out her hand. Neville didn't even hesitate to shake it.

'Deal.' He said with a nod and a grin.

Halli wanted to do a happy dance. She'd officially made her first magical friend, though it could nearly be considered first friend altogether. She'd had casual friends in primary school but no one she spent a lot of time with because, while she could control her magic, she still had accidental magic when she was frightened or upset.

'So, what do you know of Hogwarts?' She asked with a wide smile, still absentmindedly stroking the kitten on her lap. 'Do you know what house you want to go in?'

'You don't get to pick your house,' Neville said glumly. 'I'll probably be in Hufflepuff though Gran wants me in Gryffindor like my dad.'

'I kind of want to go to Hufflepuff,' Halli responded, trying to bring her new friend out of his funk. 'Hogwarts: A History said the house is loyal and hardworking but that Helga Hufflepuff was also willing to take any student the others didn't want. I like the sound of that, people would be humble and friendly; you'd probably make some great friends. However, I look terribly in yellow.'

Neville grinned at that, somewhat cheered at the improved opinion of Hufflepuff.

'Besides, you must have some say in where you go.' She said matter-of-factly. 'If you were really opposed to one house or really desperate for another, whoever decides would probably take it into account. Surely, the school can't make you miserable by putting you somewhere you'd hate, even if you do possess the necessary qualities.'

'That makes sense,' Neville said with a nod. He looked to be thinking hard. 'I don't think I've ever actually meet anyone who hated the house they were in.'

'See!' Halli said, grinning smugly. Pleased when her new friend grinned back, suitably cheered up. 'Still, it would be nice if you got to be in the same house as your dad. I don't know what houses my parents were in. Aunt Petunia never saw any of my mother's school things.'

'They were in Gryffindor with my parents,' Neville's voice was soft. 'Our mums were close friends.'

The mood in the carriage felt sombre again but Halli was determined to keep things light.

'Well then, we shall have to carry on the tradition and be very close friends as well. Two very close friends in Gryffindor.'

The two share another grin and jumped when the compartment door opened.

'Anything off the trolley, dears?'

Half an hour later, Halliwell was groaning and holding her stomach. Neville was laughing at her.

'I told you it wasn't a good idea to try a little bit of everything.'

'Well, I've never had magical sweets before,' Halli said, sounding rather pathetic. 'I didn't know what I'd like.'

Neville just laughed at her as she moaned piteously. The little black kitten, however, seemed rather unimpressed with the way her seat kept moving. With a small wiggle and a stretch, making sure to lightly scratch her owner's leg, she hopped on to the seat next to Halli and tried to getting comfortable again but not before giving her human an admonishing look.

Halli forgot about her stomach ache as she laughed.

'It's a cute kitten,' Neville said, lightly. 'What's it called?'

'I don't know yet,' Halli answered with a shake of her head. 'I can't decide between Salem and Tabby. At the moment, I just keep referring to her as 'Baby'.'

'But she'd not a tabby cat.' Neville pointed out in confusion, suddenly concerned for his new friend's mental capacity. Halli just laughed.

'Well, it wouldn't be a funny name if she were actually a tabby, there's no joy in life in you can't leave people confused every now and then.' She pointed out with a grin. 'Besides, they're Muggle references. There was a book series called the Worst Witch about a girl going to magic school. She had a cat called Tabby, it seemed appropriate but it also feels like I might be jinxing myself.'

Neville nodded with a chuckle.

'So, what's Salem from then, besides the obvious?'

'Another Muggle reference, again about a teenage witch, this time called Sabrina. She had a talking black cat that acted as the family's familiar.'

'The cat could talk?' Neville asked with a raised eyebrow.

'It's fictional!' Halli defended.

'I'd go with Salem, it suits her more.'

'I think you're right, even though Salem is meant to be a boy's name.' She stroked her kitten thoughtfully. 'If I get any funny looks, I'll just shorten it to Sally.'

'You could call her Sally-Cat, you know, like alley cat. It can be short for Salem the Cat.'

Halliwell burst out laughing.

'I love it. And she's certainly got the right attitude. Though I think it will be short for Lady Salem of Catwick. That sounds like a good and proper British name, suitable for the companion of Lady Potter.' She looked over at her friend. 'Did you bring a pet with you?'

'I did,' Neville said with a nod as he began looking around the compartment. 'My uncle got me a toad but I seem to keep losing him.'

She remembered he'd been holding a toad when he'd first arrived but she hadn't seen it since. She also hadn't heard any croaking.

'He's probably escaped the compartment,' Halli said sympathetically. 'Let's go looking for him. You go left and I'll go right.'

Neville nodded morosely and left the compartment. Halli sighed. She knew she could bring the toad right to her but she couldn't risk exposing her powers so soon and as much as she felt she could trust Neville with her secret, it would still be foolish to do so after only a few hours of friendship.

She'd give it few weeks, maybe until Christmas, and if Neville still seemed like he'd understand, she'd tell him.

With another sigh, she gathered Sally-Cat into her arms and set off in the opposite direction of her friend. The kitten fussed slightly in her arms, unhappy about being moved yet again. Halli rubbed behind her ears until she'd settled down.

Halliwell decided to check the corridors first before she started disturbing people but when that search yielded no results, she forced herself to steel her courage and start knocking on compartment doors, starting at the end of the train and making her way back up towards her own seat.

Most people were rather friendly or at least cordial. A few people in green and silver ties had sneered at her and offered her a curt 'no'. Halli decided that she didn't want to be in that house, whatever it was, though if her memory served then those colours represented Slytherin house.

A pale boy with blonde hair had simply given her a look of disgust and resumed his conversation. Halli glanced around the compartment quickly before leaving. She stood in the corridor still able to hear their conversation. She quickly pictured the three of them sitting there. The pale, blonde boy and what appeared to be two vaguely humanised lumps of rock.

She focused on the blonde boy. He'd had a goblet of pumpkin juice in his hand, it had been full. Why he wasn't just drinking it out the bottle like every other self-respecting pre-teen, she didn't know but it certainly made her job easier.

She quickly placed a hand on the outer wall of the corridor and channelled her magic. The train car gave a small but sharp lurch. A shocked cry from inside the compartment told her the magic had done its job. She peeked through the window of the door and was pleased to see the blonde boy standing up and franticly trying to brush the icy juice off his lap.

With a small, self satisfied giggle, Halli moved onto the next compartment.

She was only a few doors down from her own when a girl with bushy brown hair opened the door to the compartment she was heading for next. She arrived at the girls shoulder just in time to hear her ask if anybody had seen a toad. She smiled at Neville as he appeared at her other shoulder.

Halli mentally sighed; she should have just pretended to look under the seat then summoned the toad to her. It would have been much easier than this but she was just too afraid to take the chance.

'We've already told him we haven't seen it,' she heard someone snap. Halli looked over the girls shoulder and into the compartment. There were three boys sitting inside, it seemed to have been the redhead holding his wand that had spoken.

'Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then.'

Halli gave the girl an unimpressed look even though she couldn't see it. The girl didn't sound very nice. A bit imperious and demanding. In other words, a little bit spoiled.

The girl moved into the compartment and invited herself to sit down. Halli thought this was rather rude, and it looked like the boys agreed given the taken aback looks they were all sporting.

At least it allowed Halli and Neville to move closer to the doorway and see what was going on. The two other boys gave them friendly smiles, the red head seemed to be too shocked at the command he'd just been given to notice them.

'Er – all right.' He said, clearing his throat. He pointed his wand at the sleeping rat in his lap.

'Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow.'

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. The rat stayed grey and still appeared to be fast asleep.

'Are you sure that's a real spell?' The other girl said, her voice taking in a slightly haughty quality. 'Well, it's not very good, is it?'

Halli raised an eyebrow in shock. That was an incredibly rude and somewhat mean thing to say. She was fairly certain she wouldn't like this girl. The girl also seemed like she had a lot more to say. Halli got the impression that this girl considered her own opinions more important than other people's.

'I've only tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me.'

Okay, she was just showing off now, Halli decided. Her opinion of dislike firmly cemented. She chose to interrupt before the girl could hit her stride.

'I think it's a real spell.' Halli said, offering the dejected and humiliated redhead a warm smile. 'British wizards don't typically use spells like that, you know, in rhyming verse, so you might have got the words wrong when translating. Do you mind if I try?'

'How can you get it right, if the original spell isn't here for you to translate?' The other girl stared down her noise, sounding rather superior.

'How do you know it isn't here?' Halli countered with a raised eyebrow. 'Besides, if you have practise at using these sorts of spells, it becomes rather easy to figure out what's gone wrong.'

Halli had absolutely no idea what she was saying. She was completely making it up as she went along but she didn't care. She wasn't going to let this bossy show-off continue to make the redheaded boy feel two inches tall. Besides she was making it seem like this was a kind of magic from another culture but Halli didn't specify which culture, not that it was actually any as far as she knew. The girl would be searching for months, possibly years, if she tried to check them all.

She turned to the redheaded boy who gave her a grateful look and nodded to the seat next to him. Halli sat, shifting Sally into one arm so she could pull her wand out her hair were she'd stuck it into her bun. It seemed like a good idea considering the wand was a bit long to put into a pocket, plus it was fun.

The other girl gave a disdainful sniff.

'Now,' She starting, trying to sound like she knew what she was saying while still completely making it up. 'In the kind of cultures these spells can come from, magic is normally treated as something to be worshiped. Spells are written in a way that the caster is stating a need and hoping it's fulfilled, or sometimes requesting it.'

She imagined something like the Incans and the way they'd worshiped their Gods with sacrifices. Nothing was allowed to be taken for granted; even the changing of the seasons had to be officially requested with a sacrifice. Halli looked around the compartment to see she had everyone's undivided attention. It was a little bit unnerving.

'Well, it sounds like you've got the first bit right, you describe your desired outcome. Chances are the issue is within the wording of the second line. It's stating a need; this spell might be written for a request. Let's see,

Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

I request this rat turn yellow.'

Halli waved her wand and focused her magic. The others watched in astonishment as the rat rapidly began to lighten from grey to white before morphing into a pure, dazzling yellow.

'Hmm,' Halli said with a faux-thoughtful frown. 'The spell isn't a very powerful one, so its results are only temporary, it might last an hour at most.'

The redhead was staring at his now yellow rat in shock.

'I've got to show Fred and George,' He said, getting to his feet. 'They gave me the spell, probably trying to trick me. This'll shock them.'

The boy quickly made his way out of the compartment, only pausing long enough to turn to Halli and say,

'I'm Ron, by the way, Ron Weasley.'

He was gone before Halli had the chance to introduce herself. She turned to the others to find the girl glaring at her.

'Well, who are you then?' She demanded.

Halli straighten her shoulders and lifted her chin, she was going to play the Girl-Who-Lived angle to its full advantage.

'I'm Halliwell Potter,' She sniffed disdainfully just for effect. 'And you are?'

The girl looked down quickly, obviously she'd heard of her.

'Hermione Granger.' She muttered absently as she left the compartment quickly. Halli didn't know exactly what had effected such a change in the girl but either way she was grateful for it. Maybe Hermione thought Halli would use her status as a celebrity to make life difficult for her? Given the way people had reacted to her in Diagon Alley, she had no doubt she could make that happen but she certainly wouldn't want to and nor would she bother.

Halli waited until she was completely certain the other girl was gone before she dropped the act.

'Sorry about that,' she said to the others with a grin, friendly demeanour completely back in place. 'But, whether she meant to or not, she was embarrassing your friend and I didn't really want to let that continue. I'm Halli, by the way.'

She held her hand out, the black boy went to take it first.

'Dean,' He said giving her hand a firm shake. 'And don't worry about it.'

Halli narrowed her eyes. That was an ambiguous comment. Was he being deliberately diplomatic? She couldn't help but notice that he'd forgiven her behaviour without falling into the common trap of commenting on Hermione's. A pitfall especially dangerous to children who were still learning the consequences of their words.

'You have younger siblings?' She stated more than asked.

'Yeah,' he said with a laugh. His subtle comment had been deliberate or at least force of habit and he knew that was exactly why she figured him out. When one sibling comes crying to you about something one of the others did, don't express an opinion, just offer comfort, anything you say will be used against you when everyone is friends again. 'Several, actually.'

Halli nodded, pleased with herself noticing. She turned to the other boy. This one had sandy hair with a smattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks, he reached over to shake her hand.

'Seamus,' He supplied with a slight Irish brogue. Halli decided it was a pleasant accent.

'This is my friend, Neville.' She said, indicating the boy still hovering in the doorway.

'Come on in,' Dean answered the unasked question, indicating the seat that Ron had recently vacated.

'So, what house do you want to be in?' Halli asked before the silence could get awkward. That question seemed like a pretty good ice breaker between the fellow first years.

Halli and Neville made their way back to their own compartment about an hour later. They'd just polished off the last of the sweets when Neville realised it was starting to get dark which meant they'd be arriving soon. Both reached into their trunks for their robes and Neville was polite enough to go and find a bathroom to change in and Halli took the opportunity to recall the runaway toad.

Halli quickly changed her Muggle clothes for a pair of tailored black slacks and a fitted white blouse. The sales assistant at Twilfitt and Tatting's – an upscale clothing store in Diagon Alley – had explained that while Hogwarts didn't have an official uniform to go under their school robes, the robes themselves would not sit right over regular Muggle clothing. Apparently, the robes were most flattering over an outfit like this. Halli didn't really mind as she thought the whole ensemble made her look rather grown up. Aunt Petunia had teared up at the sight of her.

Halli also found herself liking the robe more than she thought she would, though she did admit to her aunt then she felt like she was wearing a Halloween costume. Aunt Petunia had said she looked very smart and modern for someone who had just stepped off the pages of Lord of the Rings.

The robe really wasn't that bad. There had been a few different designs to choose from and Halli found she quite liked the one she'd picked. It wasn't as Medieval as it could have been, though the style was a little mature for her age, it was still perfectly appropriate. It was fitted around the chest though it didn't really have anything to fit to. It also had long sleeves that gradually became more fitting as they reached the wrist and covered the back of her had just ever so slightly, it felt very elegant. Apparently, that was so they couldn't interfere with her spell casting or potion making.

It was the skirt part of the robe that Halli loved most though. Despite picking the style that made her feel most like a grown up, she had to admit she loved it when she twirled and the long skirt spread out around her. Even when she was standing still, the skirt flared out slightly at the waist. The robes fastened up to about mid chest, leaving just enough room to see the white collar of her shirt and the top of her currently black tie. They also fastened down to just above the knee, which was why she chose to wear slacks even though some woman didn't.

Halli was very conscious of the fact she was heading for a winter in Scotland. All in all, the robes were pretty decent, to Halli it just felt like an extra long pea coat made out of a more lightweight material.

Halli gripped Neville's hand tightly as they followed the giant Hagrid through the dark. She was far from pleased. It was dark, it was cold and it was damp and they were walking through a bloody forest. It felt like Hansel and Gretel being lead to the gingerbread house. She couldn't even see where she was going, this was dangerous. If she broke her ankle, she was going to sue.

Though even Halli quickly forgot her complaints as the castle actually came in to view. It was magical. Now she was pleased she'd come.

Even if she wasn't going to put much stock in her lessons, simply spending seven years in this castle while practicing her own magic would be wonderful. Her mind exploded with the idea of hidden rooms and secret passageways. This first thing she was going to do was head to the library; she was going to pull every book off the shelves one by one. It would be just too perfect if she found a room lost to the ages that way.

Her complaints came back as they had to actually cross the lake it little boats. Sure, the view was beautiful and coming across the lake was great for effect but it was September in Scotland, it was bloody freezing! At least she didn't have the Granger girl in her boat. It was the three boys they met, Ron, Dean and Seamus, that had been stuck with Hermione. Halli could see the other girl's lips moving a mile a minute but was thankfully too far away to hear her. Her and Neville were sharing with a set of Indian twins.

The Entrance Hall wasn't much better than the lake. It was absolutely enchanting of course, it could have held the Dursleys whole house, but its size made it very hard for the room to maintain warmth so Halli continued to shiver until she was led into a considerably smaller antechamber.

She listened with fascination as Professor McGonagall explained the houses and the points system. It was like the gold star systems a lot of primary schools use. Halli nervously began adjusting her hat as she waited for the teacher to return. McGonagall had eyed her as she told them to smarten themselves up.

Apparently, according to the sales witch at Twilfitt and Tatting's, the hat she'd selected was quite unfashionable. Apparently, pointed hats didn't come with wide brims any more. Halli honestly didn't care.

She wanted to wear her robes and her wide brimmed witch's hat, she wanted to sit side saddle on her broom as she flew through the moonlit sky, cloak billowing behind her and her black cat settled comfortable on the broom's tail.

She wanted to fulfil the cliché, damnit!

Halliwell clung on tight to Neville's hand as the school ghosts caused several people to scream, giving her the fright of her life. She struggled to get her heart rate to return to normal, her nerves were starting to creep up on her. What if she was too different? What if they decided she didn't belong at Hogwarts? Halli wasn't even really sure why she was panicking, she wasn't really fussed on what people thought of her. Maybe it was the idea of the whole school watching as she was rejected. She was too lost to her thoughts to do anything more that follow automatically as McGonagall led them into the Great Hall.

She came back to earth with a bump as a Hat began to sing.

She scoffed silently. That hat had a wide brim.

It was an interesting process, watching the Hat sort people into their houses but Halli could help but wonder how it worked. Did the Hat read your mind? Did it ask you questions? Did it ask you for your opinion?

Seamus Finnigan was the first of Halli's new friends to try the Hat. He sat there for almost a whole minute before the Hat announced he was going into Gryffindor. Halli's happiness as that was short lived as Hermione Granger was quick to join to him.

The young girl groaned. If she got her wish of going to Gryffindor, she was going to have to share a living space with that overbearing girl for the next seven years. Hufflepuff was starting to look appealing again, despite the fact she really did hate the colour yellow.

Halli crossed her fingers when it was Neville's turn. She decided that whatever house Neville went into, she'd do her best to follow.

'GRYFFINDOR.' The Hat shouted. Neville was so relieved he ran off still wearing it. He had to jog back to pass it to someone called Morag MacDougal.

The pale, blonde haired boy with the wet trousers turned out to be named Draco Malfoy. Halli felt a thrill of vindictive pleasure. He'd slighted her on the train, possibly because of the Muggle clothes she'd been wearing at the time, and it turned out she was from a more prestigious family that him. She couldn't wait for the first time he had to call her Lady Potter.

'Potter, Halliwell,' McGonagall finally called. The entire room became deathly silent before almost everyone starting hissing and whispering to the person next to them. It sounded like the Great Hall had a gas leak.

Halli grit her teeth, trying to remember her vow to be more tolerant. She was desperate to snap at someone. Instead, she decided to have a little fun.

She wanted to make a scene, an entrance. If people were going to blatantly talk about her when she could clearly see them then she'd see what she could do to leave them speechless. That would put a stop to it.

For the moment, at least.

She just couldn't let it be too obvious that it was her, especially if she decided to stick to her low profile plan.

She'd read Hogwarts: A History once cover to cover and had skimmed it several times since. There were several greatly supported theories that the Castle had become semi-sentient over the one thousand years it had been standing.

Halli could sort of believe that. It had been saturated in magic for so long that the Castle had probably retained some magic of its own by now but Halli sort of doubted it could consciously use it. It didn't have a mind after all.

Then again, neither did the Sorting Hat, at least not one she could see. If the Founders of Hogwarts had used magic to bring a Hat to life, could the collective magic of one thousand years bring the Castle to life? It actually seemed quite likely when she thought about it that way.

But whether it was true or not, Halli was going to use that theory to her advantage and have a little fun with her fame if she couldn't make it go away.

She approached the hat and the stool slowly, pulling her own hat off her head, gently so as not to mess up her bun. Halli focused her magic towards the stool that she had to sit on. She turned to face the rest of the school, everyone was craning their necks to get a close a look at her. A few of the older Slytherins that had been rude to her were sharing grim looks. Malfoy looked positively stricken.

Halli released her magic as she lowered herself on to the stool. The gasps around the Hall telling her that her magic had been successful.

Instead of sitting on a wooden stool, Halliwell felt herself sitting on a large high-backed throne, golden if she'd done it right. The seat and back cushioned with plush and hopefully red velvet. Quite conveniently, the throne just happened to be Gryffindor colours.

Halli adopted a look of shock and turned around to see the throne for herself. It was rather pretty actually. Not too gaudy but still intricate and regal. The words carved into the top of the throne announced her as the Heiress of Gryffindor. She looked up at the teacher next to here.

'What happened?' She asked softly, making sure to sound slightly timid.

Despite the fact she'd practically whispered, her questioned echoed in the silence of the Hall.

Professor McGonagall floundered, looking slightly like a fish out of water. The woman turned to the Headmaster, clearly expecting an answer.

'Well, this is interesting,' the Headmaster said in his grandfatherly voice. 'I do believe Hogwarts is welcoming the Heiress of Gryffindor home.'

That was sort of stating the obvious really, Halli thought. Since no one would expect her to be able to do that level of magic, no one would suspect her. They might suspect the Headmaster or one of the teachers but she highly doubted staff would be allowed to play favourites. So who else could it have been but the Castle itself? Or at least, that was the conclusion she wanted people to come to.

Whispering resumed in the Hall and Professor McGonagall finally lowered the Sorting Hat onto Halli's head.

Halli jumped as a gravelly voice began muttering in her ear.

'Well, well. This is an interesting mind you have here, Miss Potter. A very unique perspective on magic, I must say, but where to put you? A great mind, oh yes, very logical but open to new things. A good amount of cunning and you're certainly not afraid of hard work. Plenty of courage even if you are a little jumpy.'

Halli felt herself tense. That could be any house!

'But you want a quiet life, don't you, Miss Potter? You don't want the level of scrutiny that comes with greatness and I can understand why. What is your goal in coming to Hogwarts, Miss Potter?

Halli thought about the question seriously, she hadn't particularly wanted to come at all but she hadn't had a choice in the matter. So what did she want now she was already here?

Friends, her mind whispered, and fun.

'Really?' The Hat asked, sounding amused. 'Well then, better be GRYFFINDOR!'

She was unsurprised to hear the Hat shout the last word to the rest of the Hall. The red and gold table practically exploded with cheers. Halli placed her own hat back on her head as she raced to the empty seat next to Neville. Grinning as she undid the magic on the stool, returning it to its original appearance.

Two redheaded boys that looked like they could be related to Ron were doing a sort of jig, both of them singing 'We got Potter! We got Potter!' It actually took a firework from the wand of the Headmaster to get the table to settle. Halli supposed that having the Girl-Who-Lived in your house as well as the actual heir to the Founder of your house gave people reason to celebrate.

The rest of the Sorting seemed to pass quickly after Halli had her house. Maybe that was just her perspective though? Time had seemed slower while she was waiting for her doom.

Dean Thomas and Ron Weasley quickly became members of Gryffindor House. Halli was pleased she'd be able to continue her friendships with them without the inconvenience of different houses. She looked down at her empty gold plate and realised just how hungry she was, her last real meal had been breakfast and even those sweets seemed like hours ago.

The Headmaster eventually got to his feet, beaming at them all with his arms opened wide in greeting.

'Welcome!' He said. 'Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words to you, and here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!'

Halli chuckled slightly, bonkers the man might be but at least he was witty.