Welcome to my first FanFic! I really hope you enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Harry Potter. I only have possession of Cordelia and all my OC's. I do NOT expect anybody to love my first story either. Lol
Now then, on with the story!
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A young first year girl sat aboard the Hogwarts Express on September 1st, her pale face pressed to the cool glass as she watched all of the parents hug their children lovingly, telling them things such as "Be safe!" or "I love you sweety!". She sneered darkly at the gestures and tore her face away from the wretched scene. You see, this young girl had never had such an. . . intimate family.
Cordelia Evangeline Fiore came from a long-line of purebloods. Well, not that long. Their were a few half-bloods, not to mention "blood traitors", but if that ever came up their names would be swiped from the family tree for eternity. Cordelia's family was particularly harsh about keeping their blood pure. Anyway, they weren't exactly the nicest people to say the least.
Sighing, she pushed her dark brown hair behind her ear, sweeping her blue eyes around the empty compartment. It was fairly large, and it was at the very back of the scarlet train. Five, perhaps six, people could possibly manage to fill it if they really wanted to, though it might get a bit cramped. Outside the clear compartment door she could see and hear all of the students chatting giddily, happy to be reunited with their school friends.
Cordelia knew a few people that attended school at Hogwarts, mostly Slytherins. She wasn't specifically fond of many of them, either. Her parents, Lorelei and Malcolm Fiore, were good friends with many of the other "hardcore" pureblood families. The Malfoys and Blacks in particular. Oh, if only they truly knew how she felt about them. Her name would be wiped out of the family history for sure!
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the compartment door sliding open. Snapping her eyes to the intruders, she focused on the frame of the door, which held two young girls.
What in the name of Merlin. . .?
One of the girls had flaming red hair and vibrant green eyes. She had an abundance of freckles splotched across her cheeks and nose as well. From the looks of it, she was a first year as well and a few inches shorter than Cordelia. In her hands, she held a battered leather luggage case. A red jumper was folded across her arm, slightly hiding the thick book which was pressed tightly to the girl's chest. She was already clad in her school robes even though the train ride hadn't even began.
The other girl, also seeming to be a first year, stood a bit behind the girl that had opened the door. She was nervously biting at her cuticles, ruining the fancy French-tip manicure. Her chocolate-brown eyes darted around the train. She had short, curly, light blonde hair that was shorter in the back and longer in the front. She was wearing a dark pink jumper with a black skirt, which was paired with a pair of white leggings. The heels of her combat boots thumped against the floor of the train as she bounced on the balls of her feet. A black messenger bag was draped across her shoulder, and a cage which contained a black cat was gripped securely in her right hand.
Raising a perfectly combed brow, Cordelia narrowed her gaze at the two questioningly.
"Can I help you?" she asked bitterly, though the others didn't seem to notice the inflection of her voice that yelled 'GO AWAY!'.
"Actually, we were just wondering if we could sit here. All of the other compartments are getting pretty cramped," the red-head said setting her luggage at her feet.
Rolling her eyes, Cordelia muttered a curt "Whatever" and went back to gazing out the window. In the corner of her eye, she saw the red-head shrug at Blondey. Picking up their luggage, they walked into the compartment, Blondey shutting the door behind her. Cordelia could hear them shuffling as they made themselves comfortable.
"I'm Lily Evans," the red-head said from her seat across from Cordelia. The pureblood glared at the hand, but shook it nonetheless.
"Fiore. Cordelia Fiore," she replied. Lily smiled, realizing that she was actually making progress with this seemingly-unfriendly girl. Looking over to the other girl expectantly, Lily nodded in the direction of Cordelia as if saying 'Your turn!'.
"Oh-erm, uh, My name is, um, Malia," she squeaked. Her cheeks became flushed with embarrassment, and Cordelia snickered a bit. This girl had some serious people issues.
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"Honestly, what is that atrociously large book you are reading?" Cordelia asked Lily in exasperation.
The two girls had just reentered the compartment, now having Cordelia dressed in her school robes. They were steadily getting nearer and nearer to Hogsmeade Station. After introductions, the three girls slowly warmed up to each other. Each were a bit hesitant, but eventually even Malia broke out of her shell a bit. Now, Cordelia realized, the problem wasn't really getting her to talk. It was getting her to stop talking! Honestly, the girl should get an award for her rambling.
Lily narrowed her eyes at Cordelia while gingerly marking her page.
"Re-reading, thank you very much," Lily corrected. "For your information, it's 'Hogwarts: A History'. I figured I might as well familiarize myself with the school if we're almost there!" she told the brunette with a defensive tone.
"Alright, alright. Sheesh," Cordelia said with a small laugh. Malia chose then to walk into the compartment. In her arms was a pile of chocolate frogs stacked from the crook of her elbow to her thin chin.
"Goodness, Malia! Do you intend to eat all of that by yourself?" Cordelia asked in surprise. The blonde girl seemed so petite!
"Well, I did. . .Unless you guys want some? I mean, I didn't even think of offering to buy you guys some sweets. Honestly, I should have thought that my new friends-"
"There she goes again," Cordelia muttered.
"Malia!" Lily cried, interrupting the girl. "It's alright. We don't want any. Thanks for offering, though."
"Oh, sorry," Malia mumbled sheepishly.
"I'm sorry I asked!" Cordelia replied, snickering once again.
Suddenly, the train whistle sounded and the Hogwarts Express slowly rolled to a stop. Hurriedly, all three of the girls rushed towards the foggy window. In the distance, just over a large hill, they could see the tip of the castle.
Outside the compartment, they could hear excited chatter and passengers gathering their luggage in the hallway. "I guess that's our cue" Lily told the others, picking up her luggage. Malia quickly picked up the cat carrier, which Cordelia learned contained a cat named Salem, as well as her messenger bag. Cordelia swiftly bent down and collected her items, such as her black, leather trunk. She also grabbed her carry-on duffel bag.
The three new friends then made their way off of the train and into Hogsmeade Station.
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Cordelia boldly followed Professor McGonagal into the Great Hall of the castle, closely followed by an eager Lily and an extremely nervous Malia. After getting off of the train, the three girls were met with an extraordinarily large man, which he introduced himself as Hagrid, the groundskeeper of Hogwarts. He lead them into a boat, which then took the girl to the Boathouse of Hogwarts. From there, they trekked to the large Entrance Hall, and they were met by a bespectacled woman who's hair was drawn into a tight bun. Her name was Professor McGonagal. After going over a couple of rules, the professor lead the abundance of first years into the castle.
Now, all of the first years were going to be sorted into their school houses. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. On the train ride, the three girls had discussed which houses were good and which were bad. To Cordelia, all of them sounded pretty good. At least, none sounded particularly dreadful. . .
They figured Malia would get Hufflepuff for her sweet and shy personality, Lily would get Ravenclaw for her exceptional knowledge of witchcraft, and Cordelia would get Slytherin for her family history (considering almost her entire family had been sorted into Slytherin).
The students could feel all eyes on them as they were lead into the belly of the beast. Every Hogwarts student ranging from second to seventh years sat and watched them as they padded deeper into the Entrance Hall, finally stopping in front of a stool which held an old, battered hat. McGonagal proceeded to call out names from a list. When a student was called, they would be instructed to sit on the stool. Then, the professor would place the Sorting Hat on their head and the hat would. . . well, sort them.
After what seemed like an eternity, McGonagal called for a "Bristelle, Malianna". Malia's eyes widened in horror, and Cordelia had to practically push her onto the sorting platform. McGonagal lowered the hat onto her head, and after about two seconds, the hat called "Gryffindor!".
Lily and Cordelia both gasp and laughed. That was certainly unexpected. After a few more sortings, Lily's name was called. The hat barely even touched her head before it shouted "Gryffindor!". Cordelia laughed again. This hat must be malfunctioning or something.
As Lily made her way to the end of the Gryffindor table, Cordelia's name was called to be sorted. Bravely, Cordelia marched up the few steps and sat on the short stool, crossing her arms and legs in the process. At the table, Lily and Malia grasped hands, praying that all three of them would get the same house. As the hat was placed on the brunettes small head, a voice popped into her mind.
'Interesting. Very interesting. A Fiore. An only child. Pureblood.'
Raising a brow, Cordelia narrowed her eyes at the hat in her mind. She wished he would just speed it along.
'You're impatient and stubborn, though you have a soft side. . .'
"I do not have a soft side," Cordelia mumbled in an irritable tone.
'There's that stubbornness. Now, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw just won't do. Gryffindor or Slytherin? Hmm. . . .'
Cordelia listened to the hat with interest. She wished she knew what he was thinking!
Suddenly, after about two minutes of waiting in the Great Hall, the hat called "GRYFFINDOR!" The entire Slytherin table gasped and the professors looked very shocked. Apparently, they all expected her to get Slytherin as much as she did! Her parents are going to go berserk. . . However, the Gryffindor table cheered and clapped as Cordelia made her way quickly toward Lily and Malia.
Once she was seated between Lily and Malia, they all burst into excited giggles and hugged. A boy, seated directly across from Cordelia, was looking at her like she was insane. He had rich black hair and dazzling blue eyes. The girls stopped hugging and stared back at the boy.
"Problem?" Cordelia asked with bite.
Suddenly, the boy started laughing. Laughing so hard he almost doubled over! Now the girls were staring at him as if he were the crazy one.
"You really don't recognize me, do you Fiore?" He asked, finally sobering up. Though, that annoyingly smug smirk was still plastered on his face. Now that he mentioned it, she did find him quite familiar. . .
"Should I?" She asked, this time genuinely curious.
Sighing, the boy looked over as two other boys took the seats on either side of him.
"Problem, Sirius?" A boy with sandy brown hair and honey colored eyes asked from Sirius's right side. The other, seated on Sirius's left, had messy brown hair and light brown eyes which were hidden behind a pair of circle-rimmed glasses.
This Sirius person just shook his head and looked back Cordelia in exasperation.
"Sirius," he said solemnly. "Sirius Black."
Cordelia's eyes widened when she heard his last name, finally remembering how she knew him.
"Sirius? The last time I saw you, you were getting sent to your room for ruining your mother's lovely ball!" she said, her voice raising another octave. "What on Earth are you doing in Gryffindor?"
"I could ask you the same!" He said, his barking laugh coming back.
"Umm, I'm assuming you two know each other?" The boy on Sirius's left asked sarcastically.
"James, Remus, this is Cordelia Fiore."
"Hi, nice to meet you," Remus said politely.
"Who're your friends?" James asked, staring at Lily. Lily's faced flushed, and she tried to avoid eye contact.
"Oh, nice to meet you too. These are my friends, Lily Evans," she gestured to Lily, "and Malia Bristelle," she gestured to Malianna.
"Well," Sirius started, "your mum is going to kill you."
"Tell me about it," Cordelia mumbled with a grin.
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Thus began the greatest friendship anybody could hope to have!
REVIEW, RATE, FAVORITE, AND FOLLOW!
~Juni