Amelia heaved her trunk onto the train before jumping on the train to Hogwarts. She wore her usual ratty jeans and worn out shirt with a grey jumper, the only thing keeping her warm. She walked into an empty compartment, and started playing with her wand. She made random items zoom around the room, including the little money she'd brought on the train. She kept this up until the door slid open and a voice sounded, "Hi."
Harry James Potter didn't know what to expect when he opened that door, but a girl his age sat there, making objects fly around the compartment. She had long hair, darker than midnight and one eye stormy grey and the other a pine green. Harry couldn't help but flinch as she shifted her gaze to him, but patted the seat across from her. "Sit," she ordered. Harry obliged. "What's your name?"
"Harry. Harry Potter," he replied shakily. She laughed.
"I'm not going to kill you, calm down."
"Who are you?"
"Amelia Riddle. First year."
"Ah." Silence.
"So where'd you come from?" she broke the quiet.
"Surrey, Privet Drive. What about you?"
"A garbage orphanage in London." Just when Harry was about to make an excuse to leave the scary witch, a redhead opened the door.
"You mind if I come in? Everywhere else is full," he said. Amelia shrugged in an I don't care way and Harry gestured for him to sit. "Who are you two?"
"Harry Potter. And that's Amelia Riddle," Harry introduced. The witch shot him a look. He shuddered.
"My name's Ron Weasley." Just as Ron sat down, the compartment door slid open again, this time by a boy with white-blonde hair and pale skin. He folded his arms as he observed who was in, then sneered as he saw Ron's red hair.
"Weasley, would your name be?" he said. Amelia simply leaned back in her seat, and the snake that always followed her, that she'd adopted as her pet slithered around her wrist.
"Yeah, so what?" Ron shot back. The snake hissed.
"Shhh," Amelia reassured it. The boy looked at her, as if noticing her for the first time.
"And who would you be, bringing in a snake of all pets?" he said, smirking.
"Amelia Riddle. And I believe your name is 'arrogant idiot'," she replied. His nostrils flared as Ron and Harry erupted in laughter.
"Mudblood, I'm guessing."
"Actually, I might have been raised in a Muggle orphanage, but I'm a half blood."
"Mmm." He studied her further, before gesturing for her to come with him. She rose steadily, her snake squeezing her wrist as she followed him out of the compartment, not even sparing Harry or Ron a parting glance. She'd have to name it eventually she supposed.
"What's your name?" she asked, breaking the silence. He looked down at her, and she touched her snake to make sure it was still there.
"Draco Malfoy. Or as you call me, arrogant idiot." She didn't bother replying as he led her into a compartment with another three- two boys and a brunette girl. The girl looked at them both, then smirked as she saw Amelia.
"Who's this, Draco?" she purred.
"Amelia. Amelia, this is Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle."
"Brilliant," Amelia said flatly. "Now where'd you come from?"
"Yorkshire," Pansy answered. "Sit down!" She gestured next to her and Amelia sat down, slowly, carefully. "Finally, Draco's picked up another girl! I can't stand being alone with those two gorillas."
"Fair enough."
"So what's your blood status?"
"Half blood."
"Same here. Oooh! That's a pretty snake!" Amelia looked down at it. She supposed it was, with its emerald green scales and eyes exactly like hers except its eyes were reptilian. It slithered onto the seat, making its way to Pansy's arm. She shrunk back. "It's not poisonous, is it?" Amelia shrugged.
"It once got annoyed at me and bit me and I'm still alive so I don't think so," she said. Crabbe and Goyle edged away from her. "It only bites if provoked." The snake came back to her and she stood abruptly. "If you're all gonna judge me on my pet, then I'm leaving." Pansy shrieked as she left, crying out that she couldn't just leave. Amelia left anyway. She didn't care.
She came across another empty compartment fifteen minutes later and immediately went inside. She studied her snake and thought. A name… whatever would she name it? She was fairly certain it was a female, so that cleared up a little bit. Maybe Clara. No, too human. Dawn… too bright and happy. Lilith, perhaps? She'd settle on Lilith for now. She heard a few clicks and the compartment door opened. A redhead boy, different to Ron but they were definitely related. "The hell are you?" she demanded.
"Charlie Weasley," he said. Must've been a seventh year. "Who are you?"
"Amelia Riddle, now get the heck out and find someone else to annoy."
"For a first year, you've got a dirty mouth."
"I could say much worse."
"Huh." He looked at Lilith, now slithering around the room. "You mind if I come in with a few friends?"
"Fine." She told Lilith, "Come here." Lilith obeyed and curled around her wrist. Charlie yelled something out to someone and two people came in. A girl, with choppy brown hair and blue eyes with freckles splashed across her nose. Then a boy with blond hair and amber eyes. Oh god, she wasn't going to survive the train journey.