The Story

Chapter One: Fast Car

Anyplace is better
Starting from zero got nothing to lose
Maybe we'll make something
But me myself I got nothing to prove

I was just sitting in my dorm throwing a basketball up in the air. Honestly. That was all I was doing. I wasn't bugging anybody else, or anything. But the second they hear that I'm doing something muggle-related I'm in trouble. Of course this is no news to me. I do it just to annoy them. Because, truth be told, that's really the only thing I can do in this goddamned establishment.

Let me explain. My name is Ava Alice Motta, I am fourteen years old, and I am a muggleborn witch currently residing at The Salem Witches' Institute. Most people don't know this, but Salem is ridiculously prejudiced towards muggleborns. Salem wasn't always like this. 'It's just your generation,' says my Headmaster (Headmaster Brown), my advisor (Mrs. Tuck, whom I hate with a passion) and my History of Magic teacher (Mr. Murphy). Well, I hope what they say is true. I'm the only muggleborn at my school, and that means all their prejudiced feelings are all directed at me. Granted, Mr. Murphy is a muggleborn too, but he's cool enough to make up for it. I'm not, because I haven't entirely 'embraced' magic yet. Sorry for doing what I enjoy…bitches…

I love being a muggleborn. You get the best of both worlds (A/N: HANNAH MONTANA!) and it's awesome. The only problem is I'm kind of not liked in either. Because I like sports so much and I'm a witch, muggles think I'm a freak lesbo. But because I love muggle things so much, I'm considered a freak. So, in case you haven't guessed yet, I don't have many friends. I'd have to say my only true friend is James Potter. He's British, but we own Cape houses in Chatham that are next door to each other. I've known him for my entire life. I have no idea why he wouldn't stay in London, but I guess that's just proof that American's are awesome!

James is…an idiot. He's totally gaga for this chick, Lily Evans is her name, I think. He met her at his private school. It's some school for kids that are especially talented. Well, I guess that explains a lot about James. But so when he first met this Lily person, he hated her. He thought she was the most stuck up girl he had ever met. She sounded like it too, the way he described her. Then he went back to school and everything changed. He became completely infatuated with her. I quote: 'You should see the way she stands up to the jerks at our school, Ava. She's amazing. I can't believe I never noticed her before. She's got the prettiest eyes, like emeralds. And her hair is just as fiery as her temper.' I swear to god, I'm going to stick a letter opener into his skull the next time he tells me about how 'wonderful' this child is. If she stands up to the jerks at his school, she obviously thinks she's the shit. And I hate people who think they're the shit. Because they're wrong. I am the shit. There's no denying it.

Ok, just kidding. I am definitely not the shit. I just like to act like I am, because, as stated above, I really enjoy annoying people.

So, back to the story. I'm just practicing my basketball shot. I'm lying on my back on my bed throwing the ball in the air. Then they stalk in. Whoops, forgot to lock the door. Blast.

'They' are the other girls in my class. Marianne Miller, Brianna Corrado, Haley Vann, and Laura Lahey are quite possibly the most idiotic, asinine, stupid, ditzy, slutty, and prejudiced people I have ever I had the displeasure to meet.

"What are you doing?" asks the ringleader, Marianne.

"Oh, you know, just chillin'" I say. I see her face go beet purple. She's a terrible ringleader, if you ask me. Brianna would be much better, because she doesn't get as flustered when I act like someone I know they won't like. Marianne, on the other hand, is so easy to rile up, I just can't help myself.

"Well, stop it. It's distracting us from our work," says Haley.

"Oh, you mean the work you were doing downstairs?" I ask.

"Yes, that work," she confirms.

"Well, how did you hear the ball go up in the air and back from all the way down there," I ask, throwing the ball back up in the air. It stops midway and deflates. I look over to the girls and see Lauren putting her wand back in her hand bag. Out of all of them, she's the most studious and the easiest to get along with. That being said, she's still an ass.

They're all silent from my last comment. Marianne, refusing to be outdone, creates the wittiest comment I have ever hear.

"We just did, ok? So can you stop, you fucking mudblood," she says with an air of superiority.

I snort and laugh in my ever so girly way. Ok, not really, that was sarcasm. "You know I don't care what you call me. Find something personal. Like, they are tons of other mudbloods out there. You calling me one doesn't make me feel bad because I know there's someone out there who's dealing with the same thing. I don't care," I say, getting up. I refuse to let their petty comments get to me.

"Why do you have to make knowing you so goddamned hard?" Brianna asks.

I walk towards her, grabbing my deflated basketball out of the air. "Because I'm just fun like that, yo. Life's tough, get a helmet," I say, and smack her in the forehead with the palm of my hand. I cackle and run downstairs. I hear her screech in frustration from behind me, and I run faster.

It's around seven, so I figure there will be less people in the dining hall getting dinner. I head in there and get my dinner, put it on a tray, and leave the hall.

I stroll around outside eating my hotdog and sipping milk from a carton. I had put a heating charm on myself to keep my feet, which are currently in sandals, from freezing in the snow. I'm more of a summer person anyways. I've only gotten to take one bite-a single bite, and food is very important to me-of my hotdog when I hear a large boom come from the school behind me.

"Oh, shift."

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I run back up to the dining hall. I see a large, shimmering, green skull with a snake coming out of its mouth. "Aw, hell," I say to myself, because I know this to be the sign associated with the Death Eaters. I'm shocked that Voldemort has already moved on to the U.S. I wasn't expecting this for a few years.

I take out my wand and tiptoe my way into the hall. They are dead bodies everywhere, but no Death Eaters. Huh. Did they already come here? Thank god it was late. Everyone's probably back at the dorms, which are on the other side of the campus.

I look at a few faces, seeing a few girls I knew and also disliked. Not that big of a loss, if you ask me. I kick a few bodies out of my way, happy the people who made my life miserable are now dead.

"Are you happy with my work?" I hear a cold voice from behind me say.

"Oh yes, quite happy. These bitches deserve it, if you ask me," I say, not turning around. I'm pretty sure who it is though.

"Oh, really? Because, if you ask me, you deserve far worse, mudblood," he replies. I turn around and am immediately met with a Cruciatus Curse. I bite my lip to keep from crying out in pain. I am not going to give him that satisfaction.

Five and a half minutes later, I can't take it anymore. "Shit," I murmur under my breath, hoping he wouldn't hear. WRONG.

"Oh, my, you Americans are such potty-mouths. Imagine what your mother would say!" he laughs and puts more power behind his Cruciatus.

"At least…my mom…is still…alive…" I manage to get out. I know all about the history of Tom-freaking-Riddle. I had to do a report on the Slytherin family last year for History of Magic, so I know all about his poor existence.

"My mother was of purer blood than yours will ever be!" he says, taking the Cruciatus off of me, allowing me to stand up.

"Well, if you wanna be literal, my mom's blood and your mom's blood are equally pure; they're just at different ends of the spectrum!" I grab my wand. I figure if I can keep him talking I can distract him.

"But your mother is a muggle! She's at the wrong end of the spectrum!" Voldemort argues back. I wonder if he realizes that this argument is beyond stupid and that I'm trying to distract him. Not the sharpest tool in the shed if you ask me.

"At least my mom wasn't a whore who needed to create a love potion to get the man she wanted!" Aha I got you! Suck on that Tommy-boy!

Bam. Ouch. There's another Cruciatus Curse. He takes it off after only a few seconds. "Take. That. Back," he hisses.

"Hmm, no I don't think I shall," I say with a fake British accent. This time I'm ready for the Cruciatus he sends my way

"Protego!" I yell.

So I basically avoid every spell he throws in my direction for the next few minutes. Eventually, a curse rebounds towards him and momentarily stops him. I take this opportunity to run to the fireplace at the end of the hall. I grab the jar of Floo Powder, and throw some in. I lean in and yell "Dumbledore' s office!" and my head and shoulders begin to spin, while the rest of my body remains stationary. When the spinning stops, I see Dumbledore walking towards me.

"Sir! Sir! Voldemort's attacked my school! He's at Salem-" I began, but then the man in question pulled me back to Salem. Damn.

"You think you can get away just like that?" he hisses, the little nostrils he has are flaring, and his eyes flash red.

"You know, you bear a striking resemblance to a snake," I say, the words just falling out of my mouth before I could even think about it.

"Shut. UP!" he screams. "Crucio!" he yells again. I yelp in pain, but refrain from crying out anymore. And lucky for me, Dumbledore's just arrived. The only reason I know about Dumbledore is because I read about him on a Chocolate Frog card. If he can defeat Grindewald he can help me out of my little scrape with Voldemort.

"Leave her alone, Tom," he says. "She has done nothing to you." He's standing in front of me now. They begin to duel, but Voldemort is always aiming for me. Well, time for me to get out of here.

I look around for something I can turn into a portkey. Finally I see a glass lying on the ground. I pick it up, mutter "Portus" and I am taken to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in a matter of a few seconds. I stumble over to a couch on the other side of the room and fall asleep.

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I'm awoken a few hours later by Dumbledore's incessant shaking of my shoulders. I almost socked him in the face because I hate being woken up by other people.

"What's going on?" I ask, still groggy.

"Your school was attacked, Miss…?"

"Ava Motta. Yeah, I gathered that my school was attacked. What's the damage?" I ask, sitting up properly.

"Well, the entire school has been burnt down. Lord Voldemort Apparated away and by that time the rest of the school was gone."

"So, all of my stuff…is in essence a pile of ashes?" I ask.

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Crap," I mutter. Well, I have some clothes at home I can grab. And my guitar- Thank God I didn't bring it to school this year. "So, what am I doing for school now?"

"Well, where would you like to go?"

"Umm, preferably someplace that speaks English; that would be good. Is Utica still open?" I ask. Utica is Salem's brother school. My cousin goes there.

"No, Utica was attacked as well, but has not sustained as much damage." My face pales as he says this, because me and my cousin Sam are pretty good friends. He must sense this, because he says, "Don't worry, there were no casualties. Just some injuries. I'm sure everyone will be okay." I let out a sigh of relief at that statement.

"Well, I guess the only place left would be here, because I can barely speak Spanish anymore and I hate the French."

"Well, then, let me just enroll you into the school," he says, sitting down behind his desk. He pulls out a huge book-all tattered and stuff-and writes something in it. "All done!" he says jovially after a few seconds. "Now, let's get you sorted." I give him a look. Sorted? "Of course, you wouldn't know. There are four houses here at Hogwarts: Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor. Slytherins are known for being cunning, Hufflepuffs are known for their kindness, Ravenclaws are very smart, and Gryffindors are extremely brave."

Dumbledore gets this old disgusting rotting smelly hat down from a high shelf in his study.

Before he plops it on my head, I say,

"Is it really that easily here? Just like, write me in and 'sorted' and that's it?"

Dumbledore smiles at me, "Yes, Miss Motta, that's it."

He puts the hat on my head and it falls over my eyes. I tilt it up so I can still see my surroundings. Then I hear this creepy voice in my head.

'My, my, you are a difficult one. You would do well in most houses. Hufflepuff is definitely not for you. And I don't think you value your studies well enough to be a Ravenclaw, no. Well, you certainly could go either way. Hmm…you certainly have the bravery for Gryffindor, but the way you use your words to anger those around you is definitely a Slytherin trait. But I don't think I would be cruel enough to put a muggleborn into Slytherin house. Yes, I suppose for you it's GRYFFINDOR!'

"Very well, now that that is sorted out, we should probably get you home and let your mother know what you're doing."

With that, he creates a new portkey, and we travel back to the States. When we land, I ignore my mother's questioning and simply trudge upstairs so I can get a few hours of sleep. I'll let Dumbledore explain what I've been through tonight.

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I wake up to see a boy in glasses staring at me. I blink a few times, and I realize it's Sam.

"SAM!" I scream. I jump out of bed and give him a huge hug. "Oh, thank god you're alright! I was so scared that the Death Eaters got you! Are you hurt? How are you feeling? What are you doing now?" I ask all in one breath.

He laughs his pubescent teenage boy laugh. Sam has been stuck in the middle of puberty for the past three years or so, and hasn't been able to get out of it. I hope it's soon though, because I won't look that cool with an almost sixteen (January 16) year old cousin who still talks like a thirteen year old child. "I'm fine, Ava. In fact, I'm coming with you to Hogwarts."

I scream again. "YOU ARE? AWESOME! Oh, man, I am so pumped! It's gonna be legendary!"

He laughs again. "I know, Ava. Let's go get some grub, shall we?" he asks. Ah, always thinking about the food.

After breakfast, I find my mom talking to with Sam's mom, Aunty Carol, and Dumbledore in the living room.

"So what's going on?" I ask, walking in barefoot.

"Well, honey," my mom begins. "You're going to go to Hogwarts, since you're already enrolled. Sam's going to go with you. Since Professor Dumbledore wants to make sure you don't miss much school, you're going to leave tomorrow morning. Is that okay?"

"Yeah, that's fine. Umm, question, though: is there a potion to overcome jetlag?" I ask. "Just because I don't want to be waking up at ungodly hours and such."

Dumbledore answers. "Yes, we have a hospital wing and a fully accomplished nurse who can take care of all of that for you."

"Snazzy. Okay, well, I guess I'll go pack then. You coming Sam?" I ask Sam.

"Well, I'm all packed, but I can help if you want," he replies.

"Kinda what I was hoping for. C'mon!" I say, pushing him out of the room.

It takes me three hours to pack. Sam and I had to go shopping first, because all of my winter clothes were destroyed. When we got back, we had a snowball fight on our way from the car to my house (and the walkway from the driveway to the front door is only about thirty feet), which just shows how small our attention spans are. So we finish packing, and then it's time for dinner, which is my favorite dinner of all time: hot dogs and baked beans. Yeah. I'm just that cool…

Sam and I sleep in the TV room that night. It's a tradition of ours. Whenever he comes to my house, we sleep on the magic (figuratively speaking…) couch that could make a person who suffers from sleep apnea fall asleep. Yeah, it's that good. We stay up all night talking and watching television. We do finally fall asleep, and I'm awoken the next morning by some god-awful birds chirping and the sun glaring right in my eyes.

"Ow…" I groan. I check the clock above the television. It says 7:30. Knowing Sam isn't one who likes to be late (just kidding, he's not a morning person), I pounce on him, knowing where he's ticklish the most.

"Okay, okay, Ava! I'm getting up!" he yells, his voice cracking. Haha, puberty.

We have breakfast, get changed, and all that jazz. Dumbledore's arriving at nine, and it's only 8:30. So I basically have nothing to do with myself. I am so excited right now. Maybe I'll be able to make friends with people. It would be nice to have girl friends. I only see James for two months a year, and that's not nearly enough. I always feel so lonely at school, but his letters help me out, I guess.

The grandfather clock in the living room strikes nine and I hear a pop of Apparation outside our front door. Assuming it's Dumbledore, me and Sam go get our bags while Mom opens up the front door. "Hello, Albus, lovely to see you again," I hear her say from downstairs.

"So what house do you think you'll be in?" I ask Sam, while I put my bags downstairs.

"I don't know. Gryffindor would be cool, because that's where you are, but I think I'm smarter than I am brave, so Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad." We reach the bottom of the stairs, to see Dumbledore just waiting around. In his hand is the hat that sorts people.

"Well, Mr. Motta, let's get you sorted," he says, and gestures to the big green chair in the living room. Sam sits in it, and the hat sits on his head for a few seconds before yelling out "RAVENCLAW!" Dammit. Well, now I have to actually make friends with people. Crap.

"Very well, now, I shall explain the system of the school to you. Your house is like your family away from home. Do good things, and you will earn house points. Do something wrong, and you will lose house points. The four houses each have their own common room, and dorms. You will share your dorm with the boys or girls in your year. Ava, you are a third year, and Samuel, you are a fifth year. You will eat at your house tables, but you do have the option of sitting with someone of a different house. We have a system of prefects and Head Boy and Girl that you also had at Salem and Utica, so I won't bother explaining that. I think that's all. Now, grab onto this piece of paper. It's a portkey that will take you to my office. The Head Boy will direct you," he looks at Sam, "to your dorm. The Head Girl will direct you," he looks at me, "to your dorm. Are there any questions? No, very well, let's get going!"

I give Mom and Aunty a big hug. "I'll see you in the summer, yeah?" I say to them. Sam does the same thing. We grab the piece of paper. In a second, we're transported to Dumbledore's office. There the Head Girl, Alice Prewett, takes me to the Gryffindor Common Room. It's completely decked out in red and gold everything. There's a fire going in the fireplace, but I just walk up the stairs until I find a door that says 'Third Year Girls.' I walk inside and dump my bags. After I unpack, I go back to sleep, something that seems to be a regular occurrence in my life lately. I wake up a few hours later, to find that I missed dinner. Whatever, I'm not that hungry. Now I'm ready to make myself some new friends. Wish me luck.

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Well, there ya have it. Chapter 1. Please let me know what you thought of it. Even if you think it totally sucked, let me know. I just want a crap load of reviews to make me feel special :D So please review. PLEASE!

Next time on The Story:

-Ava meets the entire gang (what will their reactions be??)

-Friar

- em yes this would be her RIDICULOUSLY AMAZING (and currently very ticked off/upset/annoyed/choose one) beta who tots kicks ass and is thinking that there had DAMN WELL better be a character based offa me cuz I'm just too amazing not to be here. So you think… So yea….review I guess? So I don't have to deal with her complaining? I think you're thinking of yourself, marge. you're the only one who complains. Yea woot. Oh and for all those Quebec-ians out there, YOU'RE HABS ARE GOING DOWN TONIGHT. THAT'S RIGHT. BOSTON KICKS ASS. As much as I love boston sports teams, hockey is probs are weakest link, and I def don't think we're going to win

-wicked

Yeah breener good job

40 days and waiting

SINCE WHAT??