AN - This is the first chapter of my Harry Potter Fanfiction. Though I am not a native english speaker (or writer), I am trying my best, so please be nice with your reviews ;)
Anyway, enjoy !
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"Is your phone completely charged? You're gonna need it to find your way to the airport once you arrive in London!"
"Don't worry, Mom! I've got everything I need. I'll be fine, stop worrying! I'll see you next year when I come back, and I'll call you at least once a week! I may be going to the other side of the planet, but I'm not disappearing of the face of the Earth!"
"Alright, alright. Give me a hug before you hop on the train."
Alyssa Davis leaned in towards her mom, Anne, hugging her tight. She was leaving to study in India for a year on a student exchange program. Needless to say, she was not going to see her mother for a while, and she was sure going to miss her.
"Love you Mom!"
"Love you too, sweetheart!"
On this note, Alyssa stepped away from Anne Davis and got on her train. She easily found her seat and settled herself, it was going to take a while to get to London. After a last wave goodbye to her mother through the window, she opened her book. She was reading it for at least the tenth time, she almost knew it off by heart, almost. Of course, it was "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". The Harry Potter series had gotten her through her childhood, making her dream of receiving her Hogwarts Letter, which she definitely did not receive. But given that she was going away from her family for a whole year, reading Harry's story another time comforted her.
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Alyssa opened the door and got out of the train's bathroom. While going back to her place, she looked at her phone, a force of habit. She didn't even know what app she wanted to open. She tucked it away when a voice called her.
"Hey Alyssa! We're here!"
A boy was poking his head out of the compartment she had just passed. She didn't know him, how the hell did he know her name.
"I'm sorry, do I know you?"
"We literally just met on the platform before going on the train. Remember? I'm Harry."
"I must be a little confused." She looked at the number of the compartment. It was indeed where her place was. She decided to follow the boy and sit down. She looked around her.
"I'm sorry, I had a book. Do you know where I left it?"
"Oh, it's right there, I borrowed it while you were in the bathroom. Here." A red-headed boy handed her an old book. This wasn't her "Harry Potter". She took it and read the title: "Hogwarts, a history". What the hell?
"So where are you from, anyway, you didn't tell us before, Alyssa."
The girl looked at the red-haired. Apparently, she had also met him. Alyssa was really confused now. Ever since she got out of that bathroom, something felt wrong. Very, very wrong.
"Well, my dad is from York, that's were we live now, but my mom is from France, it's actually where I grew up." She then added a little awkwardly. "Sorry but I don't remember your name. Apparently, I'm really bad with those…"
"Well, I'm Ron, Ron Weasley."
At that precise moment, Alyssa lost all touch with reality. She picked up the book she had discarded minutes ago. "Hogwarts, a History". It couldn't be possible. But if it was, if the boy in front of her was really Ron Weasley, then the black-haired boy with green eyes sitting next to him had to be… Harry Potter. She took a good look at them. They did fit the description she had read over and over again when she was little. A small black-haired boy, with knobbly knees, messy hair, and two distinctive green eyes. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised that he didn't really look like Daniel Radcliff. And then Ron was actually leaner than Rupert Grint.
"Hey! Are you listening? Is everything alright?"
She hadn't realised that the boys had been talking to her.
"Yeah, sorry, I was thinking. What did you wanna know?"
"Why aren't you going to the French school, if you lived there?"
Wait, she was going to school. Alyssa was 22, why was she going to school? She looked at her reflection in the window. The girl staring back at her must have been no older than the boys next to her. Shit. What year was she even supposed to go to?
"Hmm… I don't really know, my parents decided. Guys, you're in first year, right?"
They both nodded. Alyssa decided then to assume that she was also in first year. Scared to let slip that she didn't even know how she got here in the first place, she started asking questions to get the conversation away from her. Once she got Ron to start explaining quidditch to Harry, she sat back. She had to think.
After a while, Alyssa concluded that she had to have somehow ended up in a parallel universe where Harry Potter and the Wizarding World existed. This was definitely not a dream, even though she had wondered at first. It felt way too real, and besides she never could take a moment to think in dreams, which she had just done. The problem was, if this was not a dream, she probably knew what was going to happen. How Voldemort was supposed to die. But even if she wanted to save her favourite characters, or favourite people apparently, she might just as well end up killing them all by messing with the timeline. The butterfly effect or something. She needed help to figure out this mess.
When the trolley had passed, she saw Ron take out his sandwiches. When Harry returned with more candy than he could carry, and Ron mentioned something about corned beef. Alyssa realised that things were definitely going accordingly to what J.K. Rowling had wrote. She decided to wait, she remembered that Neville and Hermione were supposed to go by the compartment looking for Trevor, maybe she could find a way to ask her a few questions and get help.
As she had predicted, Hermione and Neville stopped by. During their conversation with Harry and Ron, Alyssa went through her bag, she needed to find her robes. She hoped that whoever had decided to send her to a parallel universe would have the decency to leave her with school supplies. She couldn't help but realise, as Hermione was showing off her knowledge, that the brown-haired girl was indeed obnoxious. Hopefully, she would change for the better.
"You two had better change, you know, I expect we'll be there soon."
"Hey! Wait! I'll help you find the toad! Just need to put on my robes first."
Hermione gave her a smile. She waited as Alyssa put the black robes over her muggle clothes while Neville was leaving to find Trevor on his own.
"By the way, I'm Alyssa Davis. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too!"
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"Hey, do you know anything about time travel?"
Hermione looked at her with wide eyes. Apparently, time travel wasn't mentioned in the schoolbooks she had read. Alyssa sort of expected that, but it wasn't exactly what she wanted from the girl. She wanted cold logic, and from what she knew, there were not many people who could beat Hermione on that.
"Never mind, I just wanted to know, hypothetically, if someone ended up knowing how events will turn out, but they didn't know how much their actions would change the outcome. How could they make sure that everything ends up the way they're supposed to?"
Hermione gave her an amused look.
"You sure have some weird questions. You'll probably end up in Ravenclaw! Anyway, I think that if you want your actions to change as little as possible on the outcome, you have to meddle as little as possible with what's happening."
"And if you wanted to change a few things for the better?"
"You have to make sure that whatever you do won't impact on many things."
There lied her problem. She had no way of knowing how her actions would change the way things were supposed to be. Hell, she had probably already changed things by becoming friends with Harry, Ron and Hermione. She probably should stop talking to them. But how? She was in their year; she was bound to interact with them at some point. Unless… Unless she ended up in Slytherin. She would probably have to bribe the Sorting Hat for that, which was definitely a Slytherin move.
"So are you anxious about the Sorting. Do you know how we are sorted into the different houses?" Hermione asked her.
"Relax, you already know all your books by heart from what I can gather and I'm pretty sure that they won't ask you to do anything. It's probably a psychological test or something like that."
"A psychological test?" Hermione looked at her as if she was mad.
"You never know, I heard Dumbledore is… somewhat peculiar, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was something unexpected."
Hermione didn't seem to believe her and decided to go on reciting all the spells she had learned over the summer. They still looked around to find Neville's toad, but Alyssa knew that it was already in Hogwarts, so she didn't really try. Neville had gone to the other end of the train right after leaving Harry's and Ron's compartment.
They finally ended up at the end of the train, and of course, Trevor was nowhere to be found. Hermione quickly asked the conductor when they were supposed to arrive. When she turned to Alyssa to tell her, the train would soon stop, Alyssa asked if the girl would come with her to the compartment.
"Sure, let's get your stuff."
Alyssa didn't mention that she actually didn't need to get her luggage since they had to stay in the train anyway. She managed to get Hermione to talk about her parents for a while before she could go back to reciting spells. They were almost at the compartment when three boys came running out towards them. Hermione, who was reciting the standard book of spell under her breath didn't see them. She would have walked right into the first one if Alyssa hadn't gotten her out of the way. The boy, blond with grey eyes, stopped. He seemed ready to yell at her when his eyes spotted Alyssa.
"Hey! You're Alyssa Davis, right? Your dad came by the Manor last week to see my father. Work thing, but he told me you were going to Hogwarts."
"Hmm... Yeah, I'm Alyssa, and you are…?"
"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy"
So apparently her father was working with Lucius Malfoy. That could not be good. But then, maybe it would be easier to get into Slytherin. And she probably had to play nice with Malfoy if she really wanted to spend seven years in his House.
"Well, nice to meet you. See you at Hogwarts, I have to get something from my bag."
"See you."
The three boys went on their way. Alyssa waited a few second for Hermione's snarky comment, but it never came. They might not already know each other.
"Stay away from him Hermione. That guy really means nothing good."
"Then why did you just talk to him like he was your friend?"
"Sometimes, people have to pretend. But you don't have to. You're a muggle born, so if he knew, he'd probably just try to hex you."
"What?"
"Yeah, Pureblood bullshit or something like that. It doesn't mean anything, but some people will always fear others just because they are different."
"Well… Thanks for the warning." Hermione finished while opening the compartment's door. She quickly saw the mess: "What happened here?"
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Seeing Hagrid for the first time was something, Alyssa realised. He was way bigger than what she was prepared for. Hermione whispered next to her.
"Man, this guy is huge!"
The girls laughed together, following the other first years to the boats. Crossing the lake was definitely magical. More magical than ending up in a parallel universe. Alyssa only now realised how much the sight of the castle made her happy. She had grown up dreaming of that castle. Not just eleven years, like the others around her, but twenty-two years. The wait was worth it. Seeing the huge towers, the windows lit up by a dancing light, the black waters reflecting the majesty of the huge stone pillars. Alyssa was mesmerized.
When the boats went under the cliff on which the castle stood, she turned away her gaze with regret.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Harry asked her.
"Yeah, I can't believe we're actually gonna live there for seven years."
"Me neither. But weirdly, it already feels like home."
Alyssa looked at him in the eye. Of course, for the poor orphan that had lived under the stairs until two months ago, any place would have felt like home. She hadn't realized until now that, that orphan was Harry. Harry was not the brave teenager fighting Voldemort she had read about on the train. He was just that broken child that had just found a place where people accepted him for who he was.
"It's not really weird. I think it's how it's supposed to feel like," She told him with a smile.
Harry smiled back.
"Come on you two!"
The shipped had docked on a pebble beach and Ron was calling them out from the stairs that led to the castle door. Alyssa and Harry joined him and Hermione in the crowd. When McGonagall opened the door and started talking, Alyssa didn't listen to a word she said. She was too busy comparing her to Maggie Smith. She was definitely younger than what she expected, her stern face did make her appear older, but she was no older than 50. When she left them in the room, Alyssa remembered with a smile that the ghosts of the school were supposed to surprise them. She was really excited to see what a ghost looked like. While the other worried about the Sorting, she looked at the walls hoping to see them first.
"Aren't you stressed about the sorting?" Hermione asked her, visibly terrified of what was going to happen.
"No, I don't really care, I think I'll end up in the House I'm supposed to go to. And she said the Houses are our family, you don't choose your family, do you?"
"I suppose that's true, but I still wanna be in Gryffindor."
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be just fine"
"Thanks"
That was when people started screaming. Alyssa turned her head to see the ghosts. She easily recognised the Fat Friar, but the others were harder to identify. McGonagall finally returned for the Sorting. She led them into the Great Hall. Alyssa's first instincts were to look at the ceiling, it seems that there weren't any. She looked at the stars shining above her head. Weirdly, she could easily see them, even though the great hall was full of light, the dancing light from the candles floating everywhere. All the first years gathered in front of the teachers table.
McGonagall put the Sorting Hat on the stool in front of them. Every first year around Alyssa seemed confused. Alyssa, on the other hand, just waited for the song to start. When the rip opened, an old voice rose up in the Great Hall.
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your tops hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell brave of heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And you won't get in a flap!
You're safe in my hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
And then the Sorting started. Alyssa didn't have to wait long before Professor McGonagall called out her name.
"Davis, Alyssa"
She walked to the stool with only one thought in mind. I need to be in Slytherin, and I would do anything to go there. The moment the Hat fell on her head, she heard its strange voice.
"So, you want to be in Slytherin, dear. You would also do well in the other houses. You have courage, you are smart and loyal to others. It is true that you do have a thirst to prove yourself. Are you sure you want to go in Slytherin?"
Alyssa thought as hard as she could: "I need to be in Slytherin."
"Alright, then your choice is made. SLYTHERIN."
The first thing she saw when she took of the Sorting Hat was the faces of the golden trio. They all had the same expression of shock. Ron muttered something to Harry who seemed even more surprised that Alyssa ended up in Slytherin. As she walked towards the Slytherin table, she could feel their gazes following her. Somehow, it was hard to disappoint her heroes, but at the same time, she was relieved that she would not change the future by messing with their friendship. She finally sat next to Millicent Bulstrode. The girl didn't seem like someone who would be friends with Alyssa, but she still managed to talk a little bit with her as the rest of the first years were sorted.
Throughout the dinner, she got to know the Slytherins a little better. She found that most of them were actually nice and interesting. There was Crabbe and Goyle who were completely stupid and could barely make a sentence, but they spent their dinner approving anything Malfoy was uttering. Pansy Parkinson seemed vain, and probably mean too. But apart from them, the other were nice to Alyssa. She talked a lot with Blaise Zabini and Daphne Greengrass. She decided that they would become her friends.
When the prefects lead the first years to their common rooms. Alyssa hung at the back with her two new friends. she whispered to their ear:
"We need to find a painting of a fruit bowl, it's where the kitchen is. I'll show you how to get in when we find it."
The path to get to the dungeons was easy, they just had to walk down a few stairs, they stayed in the dark corridors for about a minute before the prefect stopped in front of a bare wall, one of the few in the castle since there were paintings everywhere.
"Emerald," The prefect said out loud and the passage opened.
They all went in the Common Room. It was dark with a greenish light. Alyssa could hear a reassuring sound of water. She looked at Blaise and Daphne.
"This place is awesome, too bad we couldn't find the kitchen. We try again after class tomorrow?"
They both nodded. Blaise opened his mouth to add something when the voice of the prefect rose.
"Girls, your dormitories are behind the door to the right. Boys, same to the left. There is one dormitory for each year, the number is on the door."
The three friends stayed back, while the others rushed to their dormitories. There was an awkward silence. Obviously, Blaise didn't want to go alone in the boy's dormitory. Alyssa decided to break the silence.
"I guess we are all tired, we should probably go to sleep. But let's meet here tomorrow right before breakfast," she added with a smile directed towards Blaise.
"Alright, see you tomorrow," he answered, returning her smile.
They parted ways after a last goodnight and the two girls opened the door to their room. The dormitory was impressive with its four-poster beds made of dark wood. The velvet curtains that hung heavily were of a dark emerald. Alyssa was glad when she realised her bed was separated from Daphne's only by a window that opened under the lake, letting a dim green light filter through.
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"Hey Alyssa, wake up! Blaise is waiting for us in the Common Room and if you don't get up now, we are gonna be so late!"
Daphne was shaking Alyssa in her bed. She hadn't heard anything when the other girls had prepared to go to the Great Hall. She suddenly woke up when Daphne touched her.
"Shit, I'm going to miss my plane!"
Daphne looked at her with a puzzled expression.
"A plane. I'm pretty sure you're going to miss our first class if you keep going on like that."
At that moment, reality settled in. She was in Hogwarts; she was going to have classes with characters from a book. And of course, her friends were waiting for her. She quickly got up, took her bag that she had prepared the previous night before going to sleep and followed Daphne out of the room.
When they arrived at the Common Room, Blaise was indeed waiting for them, but he was not alone. Another boy was waiting for them. He was tall and lean with dark hair and clear blue eyes.
"Took you long enough" Blaise said, "This is Theodore Nott".
The girls greeted him with a nod and the for of them made their way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Once they were sitting at the Slytherin table, they couldn't help but overhear Draco Malfoy bragging about his Manor and his perfect life. Echoing Alyssa's thoughts, Daphne sighed loudly.
"Anyway, enough about this brat, what are your families like?" She asked to her friends.
Before Alyssa could answer, Blaise spoke out.
"Well, it's mostly me and my mum. I've had a few stepdads but none of them stick around. What about you?" He asked Daphne back.
"I got a sister, Astoria, an annoying brat if you ask me, then there's just my parents."
Both her friends looked to Alyssa, who could not answer because she didn't even have a clue what her life was supposed to be like. She spotted Professor McGonagall handing out the Gryffindor timetables.
"Sorry, guys, I have to ask something to McGonagall, see you later," She lied and dashed out away from the Slytherin table.
She realised that now she definitely had to ask something to McGonagall, and she also had to find a way to figure out how she happened to be an eleven-year-old student at Hogwarts. She needed to find someone she could trust, and not an eleven-year-old who had no clue about life, whether in the wizarding world or the muggle one. The answer was obvious, the only person she could trust was Dumbledore. He was the only one who would keep her secret and help her figure out everything. As she came up to McGonagall she knew what she had to do.
"Excuse me, Professor."
The witch turned to her with surprise, she was probably wondering why a first year Slytherin student was bothering her.
"Yes, Miss… I'm sorry, I don't think I remember your name."
"Miss Davis, Professor."
"Of course, you're the French student, we had a lot of trouble sorting you out between here and Beauxbâtons, I'm listening, go on."
French student. This meant some of her old life was probably the same, at least her name had not changed and she could still curse in French without drawing attention. That was good to know.
"I'm sorry, but is it possible to meet the Headmaster? I was wondering if I could ask him a few things."
"Well, this is certainly a weird request, but I think it can be arranged. I will get back to you on that. Now, off you go, I think Professor Snape is looking for you." She gestured at the wizard all clad in black. He was looking rather angry at them, standing right next to Alyssa's friends who seemed to have just received their timetables.
Alyssa rushed to the Slytherin table and took the piece of paper her Head of House was handing to her.
"In the future, any matter you have with Professor McGonagall, you can talk to me first."
The French girl nodded sheepishly, she would certainly not ask anything to Snape related to her secret, it would be way too dangerous. The ideal would be to only talk to Dumbledore but she also knew that, unless it was school related, McGonagall would probably not tell anything to Snape. Sometimes, the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin could come in handy.
Alyssa finely sat back next to her friends who were now talking about Quidditch. She had dodged the bullet of talking about her family, for now.