Young Blood
Vanessa's legs trembled as she trekked along the corridor of the Hogwarts Express. She clutched Moondust in her arms tightly, looking for an empty compartment, or even Hermione Granger. She walked past a compartment where a pudgy boy with brown hair sat across from a bushy-haired girl. Vanessa recognized the girl immediately and paused in front of the compartment. Hermione looked up and smiled, waving Vanessa inside. Vanessa entered the compartment and sat beside Hermione.
"Neville, this is Vanessa Addington," said Hermione, "Vanessa, this is Neville Longbottom."
"Nice to meet you," squeaked the boy. He glanced down at his hands, which were clutched around a toad. "This is Trevor."
"This is Moondust," Vanessa exchanged, indicating to her kitten.
"Oh, how sweet! May I hold her?" Hermione asked. Vanessa nodded, handing Moondust over to the girl.
"What House do you think you'll be sorted into?" Neville asked.
"I hope Gryffindor, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad." said Hermione.
Vanessa's cheeks flushed. She had no idea what these two were talking about! Neville blushed, too. "I'll probably get Hufflepuff." he mumbled.
"Better than Slytherin," pointed out Hermione. "Though, I doubt they're all bad. What do you think, Vanessa?"
"Er… I don't know what you're talking about." Vanessa admitted.
"Oh, that's right, you're Muggleborn, aren't you?" Hermione said. Vanessa nodded. She wasn't sure if she was or not, but she might as well be with the amount of knowledge she had about the wizarding world. Hermione puffed out her chest. "Well, there are four Houses at Hogwarts. They're named after the founders: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. You get sorted based on your attributes, I think. From what I understand, Gryffindor is for the brave, Ravenclaw is for the wise, Hufflepuff is for the loyal and Slytherin is for the cunning. But there's more to it than just that, I believe."
Vanessa nodded slowly. "What's wrong with Slytherin?"
"Lots of Dark wizards come from Slytherin." said Neville.
"Although, Merlin himself was a Slytherin." Hermione allowed.
"But so was You-Know-Who." Neville added.
"Well, I'm sure there have been Dark wizards from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, too. No one is all good or all bad." Vanessa replied.
"Yeah," said Neville, though he didn't sound too sure. The three of them moved onto subjects they were most looking forward to. Vanessa had not researched very much, and felt out-of-the-know compared to Hermione and Neville. When she voiced this, Neville said, "Don't worry too much about it. There are plenty of Muggleborns who've come to Hogwarts with even less knowledge than you. That's why we go to Hogwarts, to learn."
Vanessa offered him a grateful smile. There was light knock on the compartment door. Vanessa stood and answered it, greeting an elderly woman. "Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked.
Vanessa's eyes scrutinized the assortment of candies on the trolley. She glanced at Neville. "What's good?" she asked, indicating to the trolley.
"Oh, um… Pumpkin pasties are good and so are chocolate frogs." Neville replied, pointing. Trevor leaped from his hands and took off down the corridor. "Trevor!" Neville cried, scooting out of the compartment.
"Don't listen to him," drawled a new voice. Vanessa turned to meet the cold grey eyes of a blonde boy. He stuck his nose in the air with a sense of authority. "Acid pops are the best. Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans are always an adventure, too."
"Thanks," Vanessa muttered.
The boy merely flashed her a smirk. "I want a pack of acid pops and some licorice wands." He exposed a handful of Galleons and Sickles. He paid for the items and strutted back down the corridor. Vanessa watched him go, wrinkling her nose in disgust at the boy's swagger. Someone needed to knock that kid off his high horse with a broom. She turned back to the elderly lady.
"May I have some pumpkin pasties, chocolate frogs, acid pops and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, please?" Vanessa asked.
"Of course, dear," said the woman. She gave Vanessa her candy, who paid and reentered her compartment.
"Want any?" Vanessa asked, gesturing to her candy.
"May I?" Hermione queried, looking a bit surprised.
"Sure," said Vanessa, smiling, "I didn't get this much all for myself."
Hermione smiled back. "Thank you," she said. She picked up the box with pumpkin pasties and bit into it.
Vanessa opened the Bertie Bott's. She sifted through the beans. "Every flavor… Do you think they're serious? I mean, some Jellybean flavors are odd… Like pepper."
Hermione shrugged. "I don't eat Jellybeans much."
Vanessa picked a bright green colored bean. She bit into it gingerly. "Green apple." she announced.
"That's not too bad," Hermione said, leaning forward. She picked a dark blue bean and popped it into her mouth. Immediately, she made a face. "Dish soap!"
Vanessa's eyes widened. Then, she laughed. Her laughter was cut short when Neville burst back into the compartment. "I can't find Trevor anywhere!" he wailed.
Hermione stood up. "We'll help you look." she promised.
Vanessa followed suit. The three of them stepped out of the compartment. "We should ask around," Vanessa suggested. "Neville, you keep searching the hallway. Hermione and I'll ask around."
"Good idea," said Hermione, "you go left and I'll go right."
Vanessa nodded. She headed down the corridor. Her heart jumped into her throat at the thought of talking to new people. Oh, why hadn't she suggested Neville ask around and she look for the toad?
The first few compartments, though filled with older kids than her, had been nice enough. They hadn't seen a toad. Vanessa continued along, asking each compartment. Her confidence grew steadily. She opened the compartment door to see the blonde boy from earlier. He had two large friends with him. The boy scowled at her. "What do you want?" he said coldly.
Vanessa pursed her lips. "Have any of you seen a toad? My friend's lost his."
The boy sneered. "No. And if we had, we would've tossed it out."
Vanessa raised her eyebrows. "Who are you, anyway?"
The boy seemed taken aback that she had the audacity to question him. "Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. This is Crabbe and that's Goyle." He gestured to the two silent and large boys.
"Right," said Vanessa, not caring, "if you see the toad, toss it out to my compartment, would you?"
"Why would I do that?" Draco snickered.
Vanessa shrugged. "Oh, I don't know, it's what a decent human being would do. I would say have a good day, but I'd rather not. Ta!"
"Wait, candy girl!" called Draco. Vanessa turned, narrowing her eyes. "How'd you like my suggestions?"
His two friends guffawed together. Draco seemed smug. Vanessa raised an eyebrow. "Actually, I liked them. Thanks for the suggestion." Vanessa left the compartment before Draco could make fun of her some more.
"Vanessa!" called Hermione, jogging up to her. "You should get into your robes. We'll be arriving soon."
"What about the toad?" Vanessa asked.
"Neville said he was going to ask the conductor to keep an eye out for him." Hermione replied.
"Oh, okay," Vanessa said. She headed to her compartment. She put on her school uniform quickly. Several minutes later, the train slowed to a stop. Hermione, Neville and Vanessa walked out onto the platform.
"Firs' years this way!" called a familiar voice. Vanessa grinned.
"Hi, Hagrid!" she called.
"Hey there, Vanessa," Hagrid greeted. He looked toward a thin boy with black hair and glasses, "All righ' there, Harry?"
The redhead next to Harry gaped at Hagrid. "Whoa." he said.
Hagrid led the way to the banks of a large lake, where several boats awaited the first years. Vanessa clambered into a boat with Hermione. Neville climbed in with them. The boats took off from shore by themselves. They glided across the black surface. Vanessa's heart pounded. They rounded a corner and a tremendous castle came into view. Vanessa felt her lips part in awe. She gazed up at Hogwarts until her neck hurt from craning. The boats bumped against the shore. The first years clambered up the stairs.
An older with intense green eyes peered at them. She wore a triangular hat with green feather sticking out of the side. "Welcome to Hogwarts," she said solemnly, "in a few moments you will walk through these doors and enter the Great Hall for your Sorting Ceremony. Your Houses here will be like your family. There are four Houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Good behavior is rewarded with points for your House, while bad behavior deducts points." The witch turned and entered the Great Hall. The first years began mumbling among themselves immediately.
"Good luck," Hermione whispered.
"Thanks," said Vanessa. "You too."
The witch returned after a few moments. "We're ready for you." She led the way into the Hall.
Vanessa felt tons of eyes on her as she walked toward the front. They were doing this in front of the whole school? Her stomach churned and writhed at the thought. She glanced at the floating candles. Her eyes lifted to the ceiling, which reflected the night sky. "It's not really the sky," said Hermione, "it's just bewitched."
Vanessa nodded, though she had figured that to be the case. The leading witch stopped. "I will call out your names, and you will sit here, where the Sorting Hat will put you into your Houses." she announced. Vanessa glanced at the stool on the platform. A dusty old hat sat on it. She felt slightly relieved. All she had to do was wear a hat! A girl called Hannah Abbot was sorted first, into Hufflepuff. "Addington, Vanessa." called the witch.
Vanessa's heart pounded painfully in her chest, the sound reverberating against her ears. She trembled as she stepped forward. She sat on the stool, facing the rest of the school's curious eyes. The witch placed the hat on Vanessa's head.
"Ah, hello," said a small voice in her head, "you're an interesting one, aren't you? Courage is there, yes… But a great deal of loyalty, yes… Not a bad mind, either, not all… And you're certainly dedicated and determined… A thirst to prove yourself… But you are wise beyond your years, too… Hm… Where to put you? I know… Better be… RAVENCLAW!"
The hat was lifted from Vanessa's head as thunderous applause from the Ravenclaw table congratulated her. Vanessa hurried over to the table. Several of the students patted her on the back and congratulated her. Vanessa couldn't stop grinning. A bit of disappointment slid into her stomach when Hermione and Neville were both sorted into Gryffindor. Now she was alone again.
…
Vanessa hurried to her first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. She entered the classroom and chose a seat near the front but off to the side. She didn't want to get called on. She happened to choose a seat beside Draco Malfoy and some other Slytherins. They looked at Vanessa in disdain, wrinkling their noses as if she smelled unpleasantly. Vanessa wrinkled her brow but did her best to ignore them. She had a right to sit there, just like anyone else. They didn't own the school.
Professor Quirrel rambled on about the Vermillious spell, a charm which would emit red sparks from the wand's tip. Vanessa scribbled down notes until Quirrel's lecture concluded and he instructed the students on the maneuver. "N-n-now p-p-practice i-it y-y-yourselves, b-but s-stand w-with y-your w-wands p-pointed a-away f-from y-your c-c-classmates!" Quirrel stammered.
Vanessa stood off to the side and flourished her wand slightly, uttering the spell. Nothing happened. Vanessa looked at her notes. Ah, she had flourished too much. She flicked her wand and said, "Vermillious!" A splash of red sparks jetted out of her wand. Pleased with herself, Vanessa moved to sit down. She noticed Draco Malfoy having a bit of trouble with the spell, a look of increasing frustration on his face.
"Bloody vermillious!" he growled.
Vanessa stepped toward him. "You're flourishing your wand too much," she said. She demonstrated for him. Draco narrowed his eyes. He followed Vanessa's example and red sparks emitted from his wand.
He scowled at Vanessa. "Keep your nose out of other people's business. I would've gotten it." he snapped.
Vanessa pursed her lips. "Fine. Next time I won't bother."
A pug-faced girl marched over. "We don't need your help, mudblood!" she hissed.
Vanessa had no idea what mudblood meant, so she shrugged it off. "I didn't help you, I helped him," she pointed out. She turned to Draco. "And you're welcome."
Class was dismissed and Vanessa grabbed her things. She headed out of the class and caught up to Hermione. "Hey." Vanessa said.
"Oh, hello, Vanessa," said Hermione.
"Can I ask you something?" Vanessa probed.
"Sure." said Hermione.
"What's a mudblood?" Vanessa asked.
Hermione's face grew troubled. "I don't know."
Neville, who was walking in front of them, wheeled around. "What did you just say?"
"Uh, I asked what a mudblood was." Vanessa replied.
Neville recoiled. "Don't say that! That's the most offensive thing you can call a Muggleborn! Where did you hear that?"
"Er, Pansy Parkinson called me one." said Vanessa.
"You should tell a teacher!" insisted Hermione.
"No," Vanessa replied, "I am not a tattletale."
When Vanessa reached her next class, she approached Pansy and the other Slytherins. "What do you want?" sneered Pansy.
"Just so you know, I'm an orphan. I don't actually know if I am Muggleborn or not, so calling me a mudblood has no effect on me. Don't assume, Pansy. It'll only make an arse out of you and me." Vanessa said coolly.
Some of the Slytherins snickered while others looked surprised. Draco smirked but said nothing. Vanessa rolled her eyes at them. No wonder the Slytherins were so disliked. They were arrogant little prats. But, Victoria thought as she sat down, the Sorting Hat had considered her for Slytherin. But now there was blossoming bad blood between them.
…
Thank you so much for the review, Jeanessa! Before I answer some questions, let me say that I plan to change the summary because I know it is incredibly vague. I suck at summaries and just posted the story with that one for the time being. Anyway, to answer some questions from Jeanessa… Yes, Malfoy does have some significance with this story. I love JK Rowling to death, but I wasn't happy with how Malfoy's story turned out. The story will be following the books and the movies in a sort of mixed universe, I guess. There were some things in the books that didn't make it to the movies that I was disappointed about and some things in the movies that weren't in the books that I found interesting, so I'm going to sort of combine the two. Thank you again for your review! I hope you guys enjoy the story so far (I know its not much yet) and please review! Remember that fanfiction writers don't get anything for their work. :)
