The Shadow Witch Avenger

by Iveya Jade's psycho mind 08

A young daughter of Hades was born one night along with a half twin brother. Upon birth they were separated for his and her protection. As a result she was thrust into the world of demigods from the very beginning to train. Eleven years later, she discovers that she is more than just a demigod. She's a witch too. Co-written with Angel Cauldwell. Starting The Chamber of Secrets.

2. Chapter 2: The Letter and The Journey

Chapter 1

~~Ten years later~~

Swords clashed as two kept fighting, one was a ghost of a man no older than eighteen years of age. The man was tall and buff, he looked like he could pass as a god of war if he really wanted to, his shaved hair was black and his eyes were a shade of pale green. The one he was fighting was a girl that was ten almost eleven. She had long thick dark red hair that was wavy, her eyes were dark purple but with flecks of bright green in them. Arabella had stepped to one side before knocking the sword form Achilles's hand and pointing the tip of her sword at his face. Achilles smiled when she did that.

"That was very good, Arabella. You are improving." Arabella had put her sword back in it's sheath.

"Thanks, Achilles."

"You better go back to the palace before your father sends out a search party for you." Arabella nodded and walked back to the palace as Achilles disappeared. It had taken her a few minutes before she reached the throne room. When she entered, she saw that there were two people there. One was her father and standing next to him was her Uncle Severus. Arabella ran over to her uncle and hugged him, he hugged her back. He told her some things about her birth mother and that she looked very much like her mother. That was all she knew about her birth mother, her father and Uncle Sev refused to tell her any more than that. She was fine with that, she had a father in Hades and a mother in Persephone, as well as having an uncle. When Arabella pulled away Uncle Sev lead her over to a couple of chairs, she sat in one while Uncle Sev sat in the other. Her father remained close by and he was the first one to speak.

"Arabella, when Severus brought you down here, it was to train you in the ways of the demigods and to learn how to use the powers given you at birth. But there is one thing we never told you." Arabella looked between her uncle and father.

"Is this about my mother?"

"In a way, yes. You have been down here long enough to hear the dead talk about wizards and witches."

"I have heard them use the terms but I never really gave it much thought about it. What does this have to do with my mother?" Her Uncle Sev had spoke.

"Simple, your mother was a witch and you are one, yourself. It is time for you to learn how to use your magic." Uncle Sev pulled out an envelope and handed it to her. It was yellow and there was emerald ink on it and the ink said:

Arabella P. Evans

Biggest room

Hades' palace

Underworld

Arabella turned it over to see a waxed seal on the back with a badger, lion, snake and an eagle on the back of it. She opened the envelope up and pulled out a couple pieces of parchment, she unfolded the letters and read it.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,

Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)

Dear Miss. Evans,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted

at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all

necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Arabella then looked at the second letter that was behind the first letter.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)

by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic

by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory

by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration

by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi

by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions

by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection

by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand

1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring, if they desire, an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Yours sincerely,

Lucinda Thomsonicle-Pocus

Chief Attendant of Witchcraft Provisions

Arabella looked up, half expecting them to be joking but she could see the seriousness in their eyes. This was no joke, she was a demigod but also a witch. If she was both than what she was exactly, a demiwitch? What else could she be other than a demiwitch, for she was both, provided that it was true.

"What I am, a demiwitch?"

"Yes, there were a couple others like you but they have long been dead though." Arabella looked at Uncle Sev when he said that.

"But aren't you one?"

"Not exactly, I am a legacy and a wizard. I have some demigod abilities but not all of them. I can shadow travel as you know." Arabella had looked at at the letters in her hands before looking back at her Uncle Severus.

"Where will I got the supply for the school?"

"I will take you to Diagon Alley. So are you ready to buy the supplies and go to Hogwarts?" Arabella looks at the letters before looking back at her uncle.

"I am ready." Uncle Severus held out his hand and stood as she took it, than they ran at a shadow and they were engulf in shadows. When they emerged from the shadows she found herself standing in front of a brick wall, Arabella looked at her uncle. He pulled out his wand and tapped the wall. He tapped the wall in a pattern that made the brick wall open up before them. Arabella gasped at what she was seeing, her uncle took her hand and lead her into the alley. There was a bunch of people moving about and the shops were nothing she had ever seen before. Though Arabella would admit that she hardly ever went into the mortal world, she found herself fascinated as they walked by the different shops and he told what each shop was. Then they found themselves at the steps of a white building and he told her that this was the wizarding bank, Gringotts, and there was a trust fund for her in the bank which he had set up for her.

When they went inside to go down to the vault, Arabella thought she was going to throw up as the cart went on. Once it stopped and the goblin opened the vault, Arabella was amazed at how much was in there. Uncle Severus had to explain to her that her vault could grow easily with who her father was. After gathering enough wizarding coins they went back to the surface and their first stop was at Madam Malkin's Robes for Every Occasion. There was a boy in there with a pointed face, pale skin, oily blond hair and pale skin, his skin was almost as pale as hers. Arabella wondered if he might be a half brothers of hers. Then her uncle leaned forward and whispered to her, "That's Draco Malfoy, he is not a demigod." Arabella nodded as a squat woman walked over to them.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Severus. Who is this?" Uncle Severus had out his hands on her shoulders before he spoken. "This is my niece, Arabella Evans and she will be attending Hogwarts this year." The pointed face boy had spoke. "I didn't know you had a niece, Professor. Does my father know?" "Draco, that is unimportant if your father knows or not that I have a niece." The squat woman was already leading Arabella to a stool and made Arabella stand on it so that she was standing next to the pointed face boy.

"I am Draco Malfoy by the way. So are your parents from our world?" Arabella had bite her lip when he had asked her that question, she was unsure of what to say but thankfully her uncle had spoke for her. "Yes, Draco they are." The boy continued to ask her questions though "Which house are do you want to be in?" "I am not sure which one I want to be in yet."

"Slytherin is the best house, my father was in Slytherin as well as my mother." Thankfully it was at that moment that the woman had finished measuring her for her uniform. When she had brought her robes that they had left the shop and headed into each store that she needed to go to for her school supplies. When they reached Eeylop's Owl Emporium that they had looked at the different owls and Arabella picked a black owl for her pet that she named Shadow. After buying the owl they went to the wand shop, and there was no one in there when they entered. However, Arabella jumped up when she heard a voice behind her and she heard her uncle jump as well.

"Good evening, Professor Snape." A man stood there, he looked rather old. Arabella wasn't sure of how old the man was though not for sure. "Hello Mr. Ollivander." "What brings you here?" Uncle Severus and gestured to Arabella. "This is my niece and she needs a wand." Ollivander walked over to her and started measuring as he went to get some boxes. As he moved around Arabella realized that the tape measure was measuring her without help which sort of freaked her out. Right magic...she thought. Then he told the measuring tape to stop and it fell to the floor, he opened one of the boxes and handed a wand to her.

"Maple, 13' inches, unicorn hair. Give it a wave." Arabella did just that, it shattered a vase. They went through many more till they reached the off mixes. Among the wands she tried was a Holly wand with a Phoenix feather, finally when they reached near the last of the wands that Ollivander handed her a wand. As soon as she grasped it, she felt warmth coming from the handle of the wand and spreading through her body.

"Aspen, 13' inches, Phoenix feather, good for charms and dueling." Arabella gave it a wave and sparks came out of it, both Uncle Severus and Ollivander clapped, then they bought the wand before shadow traveling back to the underworld with her things.

When they got back to the Underworld, Uncle Sev turned to her and gave her a ticket telling her "Shadow travel to Kings' Cross Station on September 1st and run at the wall between Platforms 9 and 10. That will get you to Platform 9 3/4 so you can get onto the Hogwarts Express which will take you to Hogsmeade station where you will meet a man named Hagrid and from there will be taken to Hogwarts. Now you can go pack while I talk to Lord Hades." "Actually I am going to go practice..." He nodded and walked off in one direction.

Arabella walked out to a field and called out, "Achilles! I want to practice the bow and arrow!" She waited there until the ghost of Achilles came out and materialized with two bows and some arrows. Arabella made some skeleton targets appear and started to shoot arrow after arrow with Achilles correcting her every now and then.

As she thought, she let her train of thought think to what might be in store for her at this school. She was nervous as she had never been to a real school before and had only been tutored by ghosts like, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, Achilles, Elzie Crisler Segar, and many different demigods who all taught her basic knowledge. She was curious as to how many people would actually talk to her and what she would learn.

Not that many hours later though, Arabella was walking back to the palace for dinner. She sat at the table and only waited five minutes before her mother and father walked inside and they were served their dinner. There was no talking until Arabella was finished and asked to be excused.

She went to her room and laid down on her big four-poster bed with dark red and black sheets. There were curtains that were dark blue and a little see-through. Arabella pulled out her books for Hogwarts and and started to read so she could be prepared for school. Never know if the teacher..wait I mean Professor..will give us a pop quiz on the first day, she thought. She read until her eyes started to close and she had to call a lights out. Her last waking thought being about what might happen at Hogwarts.

The rest of Arabella's summer past in the same matter, she woke up and would eat breakfast before she would go and be tutored by the ghost. After that she would eat lunch before going and training until it was time for dinner. Not a thing changed the slightest. However, her uncle came back and asked Hades if there was a little Cerberus that he could take to Hogwarts for the year. Hades was about to say no when Arabella walked in and spoke, "Father I was wondering if the founders of Hogwarts and some ghosts that were witches and wizards could tutor me about the wizarding world for these last two weeks. I am done with all my lessons.." Persephone looked at Hades who sighed before waving his hand in a whatever fashion and calling the ghosts that could tutor her. He looked back to Severus Snape and asked why he needed a Cerberus for Hogwarts. "Lord Hades it is because Albus Dumbledore promised his friend, Nicholas Flamel, that he would protect his Philosopher's Stone. Dumbledore asked me to provide him two protections." Hades flushed with anger and forgetting Arabella was still there stood up and yelled. "THEY WANT TO PROTECT SOMETHING THAT IS DEFYING THE NATURAL ORDER OF THINGS! LIFE DOESN'T WORK THAT WAY! YOU ARE BORN TO LIVE YOUR LIFE UNTIL THANATOS COMES TO CLAIM YOU! THAT NO GOOD STUPID -" Arabella had never seen her father get so angry but understood why. Everyone was born to do something in their life until they were claimed for death. She was a little angry with this stone too…

She didn't think anything else could happen before she got to Hogwarts, but there was goodbye that was bound to happen. Arabella was sitting in her room, it was the night before she started Hogwarts and she was flipping though the books that she got for Hogwarts when there was a knock on the door. Arabella had looked up to see her half sister standing in the doorway. Her half sister had two names and appearances, or that is what her father told her but her half sister has yet to tell her about it or even inform of her other appearance and name. But they didn't look at all a like, of where Arabella had red hair, that her half sister had black hair. Her half sister, Rachel Emily Blackthrone, had dark eyes that had the gleam of a mad woman or a genius. Arabella has the same gleam but her eyes were purple with emerald green, her half sister was just as pale as Arabella was. Emily, she prefers Emily as oppose to Rachel, walked over to her and sat down in the bed.

"Scared?"

"A little, I am more worried than scared."

"There is nothing to be scared about. Sure it seems scary at first but when you learned at you are part of another world. I remember when I learned that I was a demigod."

"When you meet Lauren?" Emily stiffened a little, Arabella felt guilty at once. They both know Lauren wasn't dead and that she was alive but Emily has no idea of where Lauren was. Arabella knows that Lauren and Emily were sisters in all but blood. "I am sorry, Emily."

"It's all right, Arabella. I love Lauren and I wouldn't change my memories of her for anything, it's worries me that I can't find her or learn of what happen to her." "Just like Steve and Bucky." Arabella bite her lip when she said that, Arabella knew that Steve and Emily were related somehow but she was unsure of how. Arabella could tell Emily was close to tears, once again Steve and Bucky were sore subjects like Lauren was. But Emily was holding the tears back though.

"Yes, just like Steve and Bucky." Emily hugged her and Arabella hugged her back, than Emily kissed the top of her head. "Now you better get to sleep, for you will be going to London tomorrow with your uncle to go to Hogwarts." Emily had pulled away from the hug and Arabella laid down on her bed as Emily took the book off the bed and pulled the blankets over Arabella and turned off the light that was by Arabella's bed. Emily had kissed her forehead. "Good night, Arabella." Arabella heard Emily walk across the room and left.

The next day she had all her robes, mortal..muggle..clothes, books, potion supplies, and a few disguised demigod items like her sword, bow and arrows, scepter, and Princess of the Underworld outfit. Her owl, Shadow, was in her cage and fast asleep. Arabella walked to the throne room to say goodbye to her father and stepmother. She knew she wouldn't see them again till Christmas break. Persephone spoke first, "Oh Arabella I can't believe it's time for you to leave and go to that school! Make sure you eat enough and be nice to the plant life there on the grounds. Don't start any fights and be careful baby girl please!" She pulled Arabella into a bonecrushing hug, suffocating the girl. Hades got Arabella out of her arms and looked her in the eye, "Now on the Winter solstice you will be home and so will accompany Persephone and I to Mt. Olympus as I believe you are old enough to attend and I believe Zeus and Poseidon would like to speak with you. Be good and talk to Professor Dumbledore telling him that the Cerberus I gave must be trained by either you or Severus everyday. Don't forget to train with your weapons either! I love you my little one." He gave her a quick hug before letting her go. Next the Furies flew down each giving her a hug and Alecto even giving her a charm for her bracelet that had the three Furies connected by their wings. She yelled a thanks before grabbing all her items and disappearing with the shadows.

Arabella reappeared in an alley next to King's Cross Station and got a cart as she went to find the barrier she had to walk through to get to the Hogwarts Express. She ran through it and got through astonished to see a red locomotive that must have been the Hogwarts Express. She got over her excitement and found an empty carriage compartment. She put her trunk and owl cage away before sitting down in a corner by the window and looking out the window. Moments later a black haired boy with emerald green eyes and glasses came in without noticing her. Two redheads came and helped him put away his luggage before getting called out for goodbyes by their mom...mum. She forgot she had to speak a little bit more like a Brit here. The boy turned around and finally noticed her. "Hi I'm Harry. Harry Potter." She remembered how the ghosts had told her about him and she gasped. "Hello Harry. My name is Arabella. Arabella Evans."

Harry was surprised. She didn't sound surprised or anything when she heard his name. He looked her over as he sat down. From her dark red hair that was pulled up into and bun and held in place by a chopstick, to her pale complexion and dark purple eyes that had specks of green in them, to her outfit she wore. She had on a purple v-neck shirt, dark blue skinny jeans, black leather boots laced up to her knees, many chains that acted as a belt of some sort, bracelets loaded onto her wrist, and a choker necklace that had a skull on it with a flower background. She looked like the type to hide in the shadows but want to face danger. Harry felt the sudden urge to protect her and be an older brother to her. "Well Arabella its nice to meet you." She nodded and then leaned back. Harry felt like they wouldn't talk anymore and decided to listen to the red head family out on the platform.

The mum had just taken out a handkerchief. "Ron, you've got something on your nose." The youngest boy tried to jerk out of the way, but she had grabbed him and began rubbing the end of his nose. "Mum -geroff." He wiggled free. "Aaah, has ickle Ronnie got somefink on his nosie?" said one of the twins. "Shut up," said Ron. "Where's Percy?" said their mother. "He's coming now." The oldest boy came striding into sight. He had already changed into his billowing black Hogwarts robes and Harry noticed a shiny silver badge on his chest with the letter P on it. "Can't stay long, Mother," he said. "I'm up front, the prefects have got two compartments to themselves-" "Oh, are you a prefect, Percy?" said one of the twins with an air of great surprise. "You should have said something, we had no idea." "Hang on I think I remember him saying something about it," said the other twin. "Once-"

"Or twice-"

"A minute-"

"All summer-"

"Oh, shut up," said Percy the Prefect. "How come Percy gets new robes, anyway?" said one of the twins. "Because he's a prefect," said their mother fondly. "All right, dear, well, have a good term- send me an owl when you get there." She kissed Percy on the cheek and he left. Then she turned to the twins. "Now, you two- this year, you behave yourselves. If I get one more owl telling me you've- you've blown up a toilet or -" "Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet." "Great idea though, thanks Mum." "It's not funny. and look after Ron." "Don't worry ickle Ronniekins is safe with us." "Shut up," said Ron again. He was almost as tall as the twins already and his nose was still pink where his mother had rubbed it.

"Hey, Mum, guess what? Guess who we just met on the train?" Harry leant back so they couldn't see him looking and wasn't sure if he saw Arabella with a look of sympathy. "You know that black-haired boy who was near us in the station? Know who he is?" "Who?"

"Harry Potter!" Harry heard the little girl's voice. "Oh, Mum, can I go on the train and see him, Mum, oh please…" "You've already seen him, Ginny, and the poor boy isn't something you google at in a zoo. Is he really, Fred? How do you know?" "Asked him. Saw his scar. It's really there- like lightning." "Poor dear- no wonder he was alone. I wondered. He was ever so polite when he asked how to get on to the platform." "Never mind that, do you think that he remembers what You-Know-Who looks like?"

Their mother suddenly became very stern. "I forbid you to ask him, Fred. No, don't you dare. As though he needs reminding of that on his first day at school." "All right, keep your hair on." A whistle sounded. "Hurry up!" their mother said, and the three boys clambered on to the train. They leant out of the window for her to kiss them goodbye and their younger sister began to cry.

"Don't cry Ginny, we'll send you loads of owls." "We'll send you a Hogwarts toilet seat." "George!" "Only joking, Mum." The train began to move. Harry saw the boys' mother waving and their, sister, half laughing, half crying, running to keep up with the train until it gathered too much speed, then she fell back and waved. Harry watched the girl and her mother disappear as the train rounded the corner. He looked at Arabella and they both knew that the other was wondering what would happen now. The compartment door slid open and the youngest redheaded boy came in. "Can I sit here?" he asked, pointing at the seat next to Arabella. They both shook their heads and the boy sat down. He looked at Harry and then Arabella before looking out the window.

"Hey, Ron." The twins were back. "Listen we're going down the middle of the train- Lee Jordan's got a giant tarantula down there." "Right," mumbled Ron. "Harry," said the other twin, "did we introduce ourselves? Fred and George Weasley. And this is Ron, our brother," Fred pointed at Ron and then his eyes travelled to Arabella and stopped. George wondered what Fred was looking at and he turned to see Arabella. She looked up at them and spoke in a soft and light voice, "Hello, I'm Arabella. Arabella Evans." Fred spoke without thinking, "You're beautiful." George nudged his brother and then turned to Harry, "See you lot later mate." He dragged Fred away from embarrassing himself further.

Back in the compartment, Ron blurted out, "Are you really Harry Potter?" Arabella glared at him and while Harry nodded she yelled at Ron, "Don't be so bloody rude Ronald! For Ze-Merlin's sake treat him like you would treat any other normal mort-human!" The two boys looked at her in surprise. Ron apologized and Harry thought he take over the conversation now.

"So are all your families wizards?" Harry asked. "Er – yes, I think so," said Ron. "I think Mum's got a second cousin who's an accountant, but we never talk about him." "My mum and dad were wizards.." Arabella said trying to make it sound real as that was the story Uncle Sev told her to say. "My uncle is one too but my stepmom who raised me is not one." "So you guys must know loads of magic already." "I heard you went to live with Muggles," said Ron. "What are they like?"

"Horrible – well, not all of them. My aunt and uncle are though, wish I'd had three wizard brothers or even a wizard uncle."

"Five," said Ron. For some reason, Arabella thought he was looking gloomy. "I'm the sixth in our family to go to Hogwarts. You could say I've got a lot to live up to. Bill and Charlie have already left – Bill was head boy and Charlie was captain of Quidditch. Now Percy's a prefect. Fred and George mess around a lot, but they still get really good marks and everyone thinks they're really funny. Everyone expects me to do as well as the others, but if I do, it's no big deal, because they did it first. You never get anything new, either, with five brothers. I've got Bill's old robes, Charlie's old wand and Percy's old rat."

Ron reached inside his jacket and pulled out a fat grey rat, which was asleep. "His name's Scabbers and he's useless, he hardly ever wakes up. Percy got an owl from my dad for being made a prefect, but they couldn't aff – I mean, I got Scabbers instead." Ron's ears went pink. He seemed to think he said too much, because he went back to staring out of the window. Arabella looked at him with sympathy seeing as she didn't ever inherit anything from Emily or anyone. "So what's your stepmum like Arabella?" Harry said to her obviously trying to make Ron forget about the embarrassment. "Well she tries to teach me to be proper all the time as if I'm under bloody surveillance…" The two boys looked at her with sympathy not understanding the hidden reason behind the statement.

"So what happened to your mum and dad, Arabella?" Ron asked, finally turning away from the window. "Oh, my mum and dad died when I born and I have been raised by my stepmum my whole life.

Arabella and Ron listened as Harry told them all about his life with the Dursleys, having to wear Dudley's old clothes and never getting proper birthday presents. This seemed to cheer Ron a bit and make Arabella appalled by his relatives.

"… and until Hagrid told me, I didn't know anything about being a wizard or about my parents or Voldemort – " Ron gasped. Arabella rolled her eyes. "What?" said Harry.

"You said You-Know-Who's name!" said Ron, sounding both shocked and impressed. "I'd have thought you, of all people – "

"I'm not trying to be brave or anything, saying the name," said Harry. "I just never knew you shouldn't. See what I mean? I've got loads to learn… I bet," he added, "I bet I'm the worst in the class."

"Harry, don't worry about being the worse in the class. We all start out on the same level and lots of people come from Muggle families and they learn quickly," said Arabella trying to cheer her new friend up. Harry nodded.

While they had been talking, the train had carried them out of London. Now they were speeding past fields full of cows and sheep. They were quiet for a time, watching the fields and lanes flick past.

Around half-past twelve there was a great clattering outside in the corridor and a smiling, dimpled woman slid back their door and said, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Harry, who mustn't have had any breakfast, leapt to his feet along with Arabella, but Ron's ears went pink again and he muttered that he'd brought sandwiched. Arabella and Harry went out into the corridor.

She had never had any money for sweets in the Underworld as there was never a need for them what she found were Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, Droobles Best Blowing Gum, Chocolate Frogs, Pumpkin Pasties, Cauldron Cakes, Liquorice Wands and a number of other candies. Harry, who seemed to not want to miss anything, bought several of everything and paid the woman eleven silver Sickles and seven bronze Knuts. Arabella decided to get a pack of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, a couple Cauldron Cakes, and a few Chocolate Frogs.

Ron stared at them as they brought it all back into the compartment and Harry tripped it on to an empty seat between him and Ron, while Arabella kept hers next to her on the opposite seat not wanting to mix-up any of her sweets with Harry's. "Hungry, are you?" said Ron who must have gotten over his shock. "Starving," said Harry, taking a large bite of the pumpkin pasty while Arabella started to eat her Chocolate Frog.

Ron had taken out a lumpy package and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches in there. He pulled one of them apart and said, "She always forgets I don't like corned beef."

"Here why don't we trade? Have some chocolate," said Arabella, holding a Chocolate Frog towards Ron to be nice to her other new friend. "Go on."

"You don't want this, it's all dry," said Ron. "She hasn't got much time," he added quickly, "you know, with the five of us." Arabella gave him a look and forced them to switch, taking a taste and loving the home-cooked taste it had.

"Go on, have a pasty," said Harry. Harry turned to Arabella while holding a pack of Chocolate Frogs and asked, "Those weren't really frogs were they?" She got the feeling he was starting to feel that nothing would surprise him.

"No. It's the card you really want," said Ron, while starting to eat his second piece of chocolate. "What?"

"Oh, of course, you wouldn't know – Chocolate Frogs have cards inside them, you know, to collect – famous witches and wizards. I've got about five hundred, but I haven't got Agrippa or Ptolemy," said Ron.

Harry unwrapped his Chocolate Frog and picked up the card. Arabella walked over to see it showed a man's face. He wore half-moon glasses, had a long crooked nose and a flowing silver hair, beard and mustache. Underneath the picture was the name Albus Dumbledore.

"So this is Dumbledore!" said Harry. "Glad to finally put a face with the name.." muttered Arabella going back to her seat.

"Don't tell me you'd never heard of Dumbledore!" said Ron. Harry turned over his card and read out loud:

Albus Dumbledore, currently Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Considered by many the greatest wizard of modern times, Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindelwald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood and his work on alchemy with his partner, Nicholas Flamel.(Arabella let out a growl at the name since she knew he defied death.) Professor Dumbledore enjoys chamber music and tenpin bowling.

"He's gone!" Harry exclaimed when he turned the card over

"In the wizarding world pictures move all the time," said Arabella with some chocolate in her mouth.

"Don't worry he'll be back. No, I've got Morgana again and I've got about six of her… do you want it? You can start collecting," said Ron, giving the card to Harry while eating the chocolate.

Ron's eyes strayed to the pile of chocolate frogs waiting to be unwrapped, while Arabella was almost done her small pile that she bought.

"Help yourselves," said Harry. "But in, you know, the Muggle world, people just stay put in photos."

"Do they? What, they don't move at all? Weird!" Ron sounded amazed while Arabella rolled her eyes and chuckled at Ron's antics, muttering lowly, "There are weirder things.." Harry looked at her and she guessed he probably heard her.

Ron and Arabella were more interested in eating the frogs than looking at the Famous Witches and Wizards cards, but Arabella noticed Harry couldn't keep his eyes off them. Soon he had not only Dumbledore and Morgana, but Hengist of Woodcroft, Alberic Grunnion, Circe, Paracelsus and Merlin. He finally tore his eyes away from the druidess Cliondna, who was scratching her nose, to open a bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.

"You want to be more careful with those," Ron warned Harry. "When they say every flavour, they mean every flavour – you know you get all the ordinary one like chocolate and peppermint and marmalade, but then you can get spinach and liver and tripe. George reckons he had a bogey-flavoured one once."

"Come off it. Bogey-flavoured? I highly doubt that Ron. It's disgusting!" said Arabella, picking up a bean and chewing one end of it. "Chocolate, mmm…"

"Bit of a chocolate lover aren't you?" asked Ron, as he also picked up a green bean and carefully bit into a corner of it.

"Of course I am! It's the best thing in the world! And it's dark!" said Arabella, going for another chocolate frog.

"Baleegh – see? Sprouts," exclaimed Ron, trying to prove his point from before.

They had a good time eating the Every Flavour Beans. Arabella got toast, coconut, baked bean, strawberry, curry, chocolate again, coffee, dirt, and was even brave enough to nibble the end off a funny grey one Ron and Harry wouldn't touch, which turned out to be pepper.

The countryside now flying past the window was becoming wilder. The neat fields had gone. Now there were woods, twisting rivers and dark green hills.

There was a knock on the door of their compartment and the round-faced boy Arabella had passed on platform nine and three quarters came in. He looked tearful. "Sorry," he said, "but have you seen a toad at all?" When they shook their heads, he wailed, "I've lost him! He keeps getting away from me!" "He'll turn up," said Arabella in a shaky voice, trying to reassure the poor boy in front of them. "Yea," said the boy miserably. "Well, if you see him…" He left.

"Don't know why he's so bothered," said Ron. "If I'd brought a toad I'd lose it as quick as I could. Mind you, I brought Scabbers, so I can't talk." The rat was still snoozing on Ron's lap.

"He might have died and you wouldn't know the difference," said Ron in disgust. Arabella focused on his life-force and said, "He's alive for now." "I tried to turn him yellow yesterday to make him more interesting, but the spell didn't work. I'll show you, look…"

He rummaged around his trunk and pulled out a very battered looking wand. It was chipped in places and something white was glinting at the end that Arabella realized were feathers. "Are you sure that wand's safe? It has some of the feathers sticking out of it," said Arabella, eyeing the end of the wand with uncertainty. "It's fine. Unicorn hair's just poking out. Anyway –"

He had just raised his wand when the compartment door slid open again. The toadless boy was back, but this time he had a girl with him. She was already wearing her new Hogwarts robes.

"Has anyone seen a toad? Neville's lost one," she said. She had a bossy sort of a voice, lots of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth. Arabella thought, if she had blonde hair and grey eyes she could be a child of Athena.

"We've already told him we haven't seen it," said Ron, but the girl wasn't listening, she was looking at the wand in his hand. "Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." She sat down. Ron looked taken aback. "Er – all right." He cleared his throat.

'"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,

Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."

He waved his wand, but nothing happened. Scabbers stayed grey and fast asleep. "Are you sure that's a real spell?" said the girl. "Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me. Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard – I've learnt all our set books off by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough – I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" She said this all very fast.

Arabella looked at Harry and Ron and was relieved to see by their stunned faces that they hadn't learnt all the set books by heart either. "I'm Arabella. Arabella Evans," said Arabella, still with a stunned look on her face but trying to be nice. "Ron Weasley," Ron muttered. "Harry Potter," said Harry. "Are you really?" said Hermione. "I know all about you, of course – I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century." "Am I?" Harry asked. "Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," said Hermione. "Do any of you know what house you'll be in? I've been asking around and I hope I'm in Gryffindor, it sounds by far the best, I hear Dumbledore himself was one, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad… Anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You three had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon." And with that she left, taking the toadless boy with her.

"Whatever house I'm in, I hope she's not in it," said Ron annoyed. "Ronald Weasley be nice to her! She probably doesn't have any friends and doesn't know how to make friends! Be nice Ugh Merlin!" He threw his wand back into his trunk while Arabella ranted. "Stupid spell – George gave it to me, bet you he knew it was a dud." He said when Arabella finished.

Harry turned to Ron. "What house are your brothers in?" asked Harry. "Gryffindor,"said Ron. Gloom seemed to be settling on Ron again. "Mum and Dad were in it too. I don't know what they'll say if I'm not. I don't suppose Ravenclaw would be too bad."

"What about you Arabella?" said Harry turning back to Arabella. "Well, my mom was in Gryffindor, but most of my family were in Slytherin," said Arabella. "Your family was in Slytherin?" said Ron, looking a bit astonished.

"Um… well… yeah… they're really nice people, so I don't know where I might go. I just hope it's not Hufflepuff," said Arabella, looking a bit embarrassed talking about her family. "Vol –I mean, You-Know-Who was in Slytherin, right?" said Harry obviously taking the conversation off of Arabella. "Yeah," said Ron. He flopped back into his seat, looking a bit depressed.

"You know, I think the ends of Scabbers' whiskers are a bit lighter," said Harry, trying to take Ron's mind off houses. "So what do your oldest brothers do now they've left, anyway?" "Charlie's in Romania studying dragons and Bill's in Africa doing something for Gringotts," said Ron. "Did you hear about Gringotts? It's been all over the Daily Prophet, but I don't suppose you get that with the Muggles – someone tried to rob a high security vault." Harry and Arabella stared at Ron. "What happened?" asked Arabella. "Nothing, that's why it's such big news. They haven't been caught. My dad says it must've been a powerful Dark wizard to get round Gringotts, but they don't think they took anything, that's what's odd. 'Course, everyone gets scared when something like this happened in case You-Know-Who's behind it." She turned this news over in her mind.

"What's your Quidditch team?" Ron asked. "Not interested in Quidditch," replied Arabella. "Er – I don't know any," Harry confessed. "What!" Ron looked dumbfounded. "Oh, you wait, it's the best game in the world –" And he was off, explaining all about the four balls and the positions of the seven players, describing famous games he had been with his brothers and the broomstick he'd like to get if he had the money. When the compartment door slid open yet again, but it wasn't Neville the toadless boy or Hermione Granger this time.

Three boys entered and Arabella recognized the middle one at once: it was the pale boy from Madam Malkin's robe shop, Draco Malfoy. Arabella noticed the pale boy was looking at Harry with a lot more interest than he'd shown her back in Diagon Alley. "Is it true?" he said. "They're saying all down the train that Harry Potter's in this compartment. So it's you, is it?" "Yes," said Harry. Arabella was looking at the other boys. Both of them were the thickest and looked extremely mean. Standing either side of Draco they looked like bodyguards. "Oh, this is Crabbe and this is Goyle," said the pale boy carelessly, noticing where they were looking. "And my name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy." Ron gave a slight cough, which might have been hiding a snigger. Draco Malfoy looked at him. "Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask who you are. My father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles and more children than they can afford." He turned to Arabella. "And you are Snape's niece right?" "Yes. Evans. Arabella Evans," she said while still looking at him.

"Why are you hanging out with people like him?" he pointed to Ron. "You should be hanging out with us." Arabella looked furious. He turned back to Harry. "You'll soon find out some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there."

He held out his hand to shake Harry's, but Harry didn't take it. "I think I can tell who the wrong sort are for myself, thanks," he said coolly. Draco turned back to Arabella.

"What about you? We are family. I'll guide you along the right path considering my godfather is your Uncle." "I'm fine thank you very much," said Arabella to Draco as nice as possible. Draco Malfoy didn't go red, but a pink tinge appeared in his pale cheeks when he got rejected twice.

"I'd be careful if I were you, Potter," he said slowly, turning back to Harry. "Unless you're a bit politer you'll go the same way as your parents. They didn't know what was good for them, either. You hang around riff-raff like the Weasleys and that Hagrid and it'll rub off on you. But if you hang around people like Evans and me, they get you before you get them." Harry, Ron and Arabella stood up. Arabella's face just as red as Ron's hair. I think it's time you leave Draco," she said.

"Oh, you're going to fight us, are you?" Draco sneered.

"Unless you get out now," said Harry bravely. Crabbe and Goyle were a lot bigger than Harry or Ron. Certainly bigger than Arabella. "But we don't feel like leaving, do we, boys? We've eaten all our food and you still seen to have some." Goyle reached towards the Chocolate Frogs next to Ron – Ron leapt forward, but before he'd so much as touch Goyle, Goyle let out a horrible yell.

Scabbers the rat was hanging off his finger, sharp little teeth sunk deep into Goyle's knuckle – Crabbe and Malfoy backed away and Goyle swung Scabbers round and round, howling, and when Scabber finally flew off and hit the window, all three of them disappeared at once. Perhaps they thought there were more rat lurking among the sweets, or perhaps they'd heard footsteps, because a second later, Hermione Granger had come in. "What has been going on?" she said, looking at the sweets all over the floor and Ron picking up Scabbers by his tail. "I think he's been knocked out," Ron told to Harry and Arabella. He looked closer to Scabbers. "No – I don't believe it – he's gone back to sleep." And so he had.

"You've meet Malfoy before?" said Ron. Arabella and Harry explained about their meeting in Diagon Alley with the pale boy. "I've heard of his family," said Ron darkly. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side."

"Don't worry. You don't need people like him," said Ron. He turned to Hermione. "Can we help you with something?" He must have finally noticed her presence.

"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up front to ask the driver and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!" "Scabbers has been fighting, not us," said Ron, scowling at her. "Would you mind leaving while we change?" "All right – I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors," said Hermione in a sniffy voice. "And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?' Ron glared at her as she left. Arabella and Harry peered out of the window. It was getting dark. They could see mountains and forests under a deep purple sky. The train did seem to be slowing down.

Harry and Ron changed in the compartment as Arabella went to change in the washroom. When she came back she noticed that Ron's robes were a bit short for him, you could see his trainers underneath them.

A voice echoed through the train after Arabella came back from the washroom: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."

Harry held his stomach and Ron, she saw, looked pale under his freckles. Arabella was excited and nervous. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.

The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way towards the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Arabella shivered in the cold air. Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students and Harry heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" A big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "C'mon, follow me – any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"

Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark either side of them that Arabella thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much. Neville, the boy who kept losing his toad, sniffed once or twice.

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here." There was a loud "Oooooh!"

The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers. "No more'n five to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Harry and Ron had to calm Arabella down to get her into one and were followed into it by Neville and Hermione. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself, "Right then – FORWARD!" And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake which was a smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. Except for Arabella as she kept her eyes closed and kept muttering to herself. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.

"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy which hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbour, where they clambered out on to rocks and pebbles.

"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" said Hagrid, who was checking the boats as people climbed out of them. "Trevor!" cried Neville blissfully, holding out his hands. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last on to smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle. They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. "Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?"

Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.

The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face and Harry's first thought was that this was not someone to cross. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid. "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."

She pulled the door wide open. The entrance hall was so small compared to the throne room in the Underworld. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Arabella could hear the drone of thousands of voices and feel the life forces from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer tighter than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your houses will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory and spend free time in your house common-room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered for a moment of Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Arabella saw Harry nervously try to flatten his hair. Arabella ran her hands down her robes and ruffled her hair. "I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly." She left the chamber. "How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Harry asked Ron and Arabella. "Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking," replied Ron, while Arabella smiled with mischief. Arabella felt Harry's heart gave a horrible jolt. No one was talking much except Hermione Granger, who was whispering very fast about all the spells she'd learnt and wondering which one she'd need. Arabella tried hard not to listen to her. She kept his eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor McGonagall would come back and lead her to her future.

Harry turned to Arabella, "How are you calm about this?" "Because I know how they are going to sort us. And, plus, watching everyone freak out is kind of fun." Then something happened which made Harry jump about a foot in the air – several people behind him screamed. But Arabella started to curse. "What the - ?"

Harry gasped. So did the people around them. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to each other and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying, "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance –" "My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost – I say, what are you all doing here?" A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years. Then he noticed Arabella and went even paler. Nobody answered. "New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them, avoiding Arabella. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" A few people nodded mutely. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."

"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall. Arabella relaxed a little once they left. "Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."

Arabella got in line behind Harry, with Ron behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.