Author's Note: Hello everybody, Asmodeus here. Welcome to my very first multi-chapter Harry Potter fanfic! For those that don't know me, I have two completed Percy Jackson stories and have been planning to dive into the world of Harry Potter fanfiction for some time now. This is one of two Harry Potter stories I will be concurrently writing and posting alongside another Percy Jackson story. I know, I'm making life hard for me, but I don't really care.
For this and future stories, I'm going to be using a 3rd Person POV centered on one character as opposed to the 1st Person POV style I've used in the past.
This story, as you could probably tell from the tags, will be a Dark! Harry story with a Harry/Katie Bell pairing. The idea for this story sprouted from a discussion in the Discord Server of another author — Sectumus Prince — between server members Luq707 and Sinisterfox, both of whom I've been friends with for a few months now. The pair were arguing over who would write it, each giving excuses as to why they couldn't before I stepped in and said I would. So, here we are now.
Shoutouts go to Discord Members Sinisterfox, Luq707, Sectumus Prince, ubiquitouslyverbose, and 1saaa for helping with the planning and editing of this fic. Another shoutout goes to Discord Member alphaflash for coming up with the base idea for Katie's background.
Lastly, I'd like to thank my wonderful Beta, Athena, for her help editing this fic.
Self-Promotion: I have a Discord Server where you can talk with me and other readers for free. Also as part of the server, you get early access to all of my chapters. To join, paste the following link into a new tab and remove the spaces: discord . gg / Bfwywpf
The day of Katie's eleventh birthday dawned with little fanfare. Living in an orphanage was just as boring and mundane as one might imagine it to be. For Katie though, things were even worse for reasons she couldn't explain.
To begin, the other kids at the orphanage treated her with disdain. They refused to associate with her at any function. They didn't even make small talk with her at school.
Katie remembered when the first kid after her arrived at the orphanage. She had been so excited to meet them, hoping and praying that they could be her first friend at the orphanage — especially since all the orphans already there didn't seem that willing to befriend her. Unfortunately for Katie, the other kids had stopped her from exiting the dorm and, by the time Katie had been able to get out, the others had already turned the new kid against her. To this day all she received from them were wary glances.
Katie wasn't sure what she had done to offend any of them, especially to this level. She supposed that they could be jealous that she had had a family for the first seven years of her life while most of them hadn't. From the little she knew about the other kids, most of them didn't even remember their families. But even those who had also joined the orphanage a bit later in life did not seem to like her much.
That theory, however, didn't extend to the staff of the orphanage, who seemed to actively dislike her. Despite having thought long and hard on the matter, she couldn't come up with any conceivable reason as to why they did not like her.
Katie was broken out of her musings by a light knock on her room door. She looked up to see a tall man in her doorway. It was Director Hatch, the man in charge of the orphanage, whose short dark hair grew more grey with each passing day.
"Katie, there's a representative from some boarding school in Scotland here to see you. She claims you are enrolled to begin attending this... Hogwarts in September." Director Hatch said the name "Hogwarts" like he couldn't really believe it was a credible institution, but he wouldn't fight Katie if she wanted to leave for most of the year.
Katie felt her jaw drop. She had never heard anything about her being enrolled at a boarding school. She wondered if this was a birthday gift from someone at the orphanage, though she doubted it. No one cared that much about her. Or perhaps it was something her parents had done for her before they died and just never got around to telling her about it.
"What's the teacher's name and where are they? I don't see them."
The Director didn't answer. Instead, he stepped inside and gestured for someone out of sight to enter.
A tall woman dressed in an odd, robe-like, green dress walked inside. Her bun was so tight that it looked painful; idly, Katie wondered if that was why she looked so strict.
"This is Professor McGonagall," introduced Director Hatch brusquely. "I have other matters to attend to. I will return in an hour."
He then left the room, leaving the stern-looking woman alone with the girl.
"Good afternoon, Professor McGonagall." Katie stood up and extended a hand. "It's nice to meet you."
"Good afternoon, Miss Bell," the professor replied, shaking Katie's hand. Her intonation was formal, but there was a slight Scottish lilt to it, though it wasn't apparent at first. "It is a pleasure to meet you, as well."
Katie watched Professor McGonagall closely. "Director Hatch mentioned that you teach at a school in Scotland? And that I'm enrolled? How? Did my parents enroll me? Did someone here do it?"
Professor McGonagall smiled with some bemusement and replied, "Before I respond to your questions, I suggest that you take a seat."
Katie sat on her bed without another word, sensing that no further explanation would be provided until she did.
"Miss Bell, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry —"
"Witchcraft and Wizardry?" Katie interrupted. "Like magic? But isn't that just something out of storybooks?"
Professor McGonagall's eyes flashed with annoyance at the interruption, but she patiently responded, "That's what most muggleborns think when they first learn that magic is real."
Katie wanted to ask what a muggleborn was, but she had a feeling Professor McGonagall wouldn't tolerate a second interruption.
"Magic is quite real, I assure you. Allow me to demonstrate."
Professor McGonagall reached into her pocket and withdrew a long wooden stick before giving it a swish and a flick. As she pointed the stick — or rather, Katie supposed, the wand — at the vase of flowers sitting on the bedside table, the vase began to hover. It was as if gravity had stopped working on it.
"That's amazing!" Katie said, awestruck. "Can you please show me some more?"
"I don't see why not," Professor McGonagall decided as she lowered the vase back onto the table.
She summoned a stack of blank papers from on top of Katie's desk and, with another flick of her wand, transformed them into paper birds and sent them flying around the room before turning them back into paper and floating them back to the table they came from.
Katie watched, amazed, and asked her first question of many, "Can I do that?"
"Not yet, Miss Bell. Some of these spells you will learn in your first year. However, most are advanced magic that you won't study until your later years at Hogwarts."
Sensing that the professor was growing impatient with her questions, Katie quickly asked, "Is it possible that my parents had magic?"
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips before replying, "There are some witches and wizards whose parents cannot use magic. We call them muggleborns."
"If neither of my parents had magic, howdid youknow that I had magic?"
"Without delving into specifics, Hogwarts has a method of recording the birth of every magical person in Britain."
"Is that how I was enrolled?"
McGonagall nodded and hastily moved to a new topic. "I will be back tomorrow to accompany you to London to purchase your school supplies, should you choose to attend. I will see you at 3 o'clock tomorrow. Is that agreeable with you?"
"I would love to go, Professor," Katie said blissfully. Then her shoulders slumped and she became bashful. "I don't have any money, though, or school supplies. And I doubt the orphanage can pay."
"Hogwarts has funds set aside for students in situations like yours," Professor McGonagall reassured her in a surprising display of compassion. "You do not need to worry about that."
Katie didn't need to think twice about the offer. "I accept!" she exclaimed with joy.
The Professor gave Katie a short nod before taking her leave, presumably to inform Director Hatch of their plans for the next day, which left Katie alone to digest the news that she was a witch.
The next day found Katie sitting on her bunk, reading a book while she waited for Professor McGonagall to return for their trip to London.
A familiar voice full of false sweetness from the doorway pulled her attention away from the story. "Katie, dear."
Katie fought to keep a scowl off her face. "Yes, Ms. Fitzgerald?"
"Director Hatch wanted me to ask you if the representative from Hogwarts told you anything about how you were enrolled," Ms. Fitzgerald continued, looking as if she didn't want to be in the same room as Katie.
"She said that it was my father," Katie lied easily, spouting the lie Professor McGonagall had given her.
"Sweetie, didn't your father die when you were three?" Ms. Fitzgerald's voice seemed to be dipping with condescension.
"He did," Katie affirmed, puffing out her chest in pride. "He was part of Her Majesty's Armed Forces during the Falklands War."
"Then he clearly can't have enrolled you," Ms. Fitzgerald said slowly as if speaking to a toddler. "Dead men can't fill out enrollment forms, now can they?"
"Well, he must have enrolled me before he died!" Katie shot back furiously.
Ms. Fitzgerald hummed skeptically. "We shall see about that, young lady."
She turned her back on Katie and began walking away. Without looking, she called back over her shoulder, "The school representative will be here within the hour. I suggest you brush that rat's nest you call your hair."
Katie growled indignantly and grabbed her hairbrush. She went into the girls' shared bathroom to prepare for Professor McGonagall's arrival.
Just under half an hour later, Katie heard a light knock on her door.
"Katie," came Director Hatch's voice, "Professor McGonagall is here. I expect you back by supper."
He turned on his heels and left the room.
"If you are ready to go," Professor McGonagall said from the doorway, "I suggest we leave for London immediately so we can get your things and have you back here as soon as possible."
Katie nodded, "Yes, Professor. I'm ready."
With that, Professor McGonagall turned and began to walk down the hall at a brisk pace, Katie following closely behind.
As they walked out the front door, Katie noticed there weren't any cars nearby. "How are we going to get to London?"
"We will be apparating, which is a method of instantaneous transportation," when McGonagall realized that Katie was about to ask something, she stopped the question. "The specifics of it will be explained in your sixth year."
Professor McGonagall led Katie to a nearby alley and instructed her to tightly grab onto her arm. "We will be side-along apparating since you do not know how to do it yourself. In order to make sure that you arrive safely, you will need to keep hold of my arm the entire time. The first time one apparates is more often than not an unpleasant experience."
As soon as Katie grabbed onto the Professor's arm, she heard a loud crack and felt a sensation not unlike what she imagined being squeezed through a rubber tube would feel like.
When the pair reappeared, Katie stumbled around for a few seconds before vomiting on the pavement. Professor McGonagall quickly vanished the mess and, without saying a word to Katie, briskly strolled out of the alleyway they had reappeared in, forcing Katie to run after her.
By the time Katie caught up, the professor was standing outside a door. The golden sign above the doorway read "Leaky Cauldron" and depicted a black cauldron.
Professor McGonagall opened the door for Katie, letting her pass before closing it and setting off at a rapid pace through the grubby, dimly-lit pub. Professor McGonagall led Katie out into a small, walled-in courtyard behind the dilapidated building, which was nearly barren, aside from a trash can and some overgrown weeds.
"Watch closely, Miss Bell." Professor McGonagall drew and raised her wand to the trash can, then began to count. "One, two, three up… One, two left."
She pressed her wand into the brick, causing it to quiver and wiggle before a hole appeared in the wall. The hole grew larger and larger until there was a full archway centered on where the brick used to be.
"Welcome to Diagon Alley."
Katie was amazed. As far as she could see, there were colorful shops all over — a cauldron shop decked out with copper, brass, and silver cauldrons stood on her left; a pet shop with owls lining the windows stood on her right. All down the alley, colorful awnings, and bright displays beckoned to Katie. Even a shady alcove towards the far left intrigued her.
Professor McGonagall noticed where Katie was staring and immediately said, "Miss Bell, I would advise you stay away from there. That is Knockturn Alley and is no place for a young lady such as yourself. Or any self-respecting witch or wizard, for that matter."
'Young lady like yourself,' Katie wondered to herself. 'Does she mean someone without magical parents? Somebody my age?'
Before Katie could vocalize her questions, Professor McGonagall resumed talking. "Now then," she continued, "we need to purchase your supplies. Our first stop will be Gringotts — the Wizarding Bank — since you will need money to purchase your school supplies."
She led Katie through the winding alley to a white-marble building at the very end. Standing beside its massive bronze doors was a short, dark-skinned creature in a scarlet and gold uniform.
Seeing Katie's inquisitive expression, Professor McGonagall informed her, "That's a goblin. They run Gringotts."
As the goblin opened the silver doors leading into the bank, Professor McGonagall told Katie, "I would think it's common sense, but do not try to steal from Gringotts. It will not end well for you."
Once the silver doors were fully opened, the goblin guided them through into a long, ornate hallway lined with about a hundred goblins sitting on high stools behind long counters, doing various tasks from weighing fist-sized rubies to counting gold coins.
The goblin led them to the very end of one of the counters, where another goblin was sitting, counting silver coins, before returning to the doors.
Professor McGonagall softly cleared her throat, causing the goblin — Gornuk, if the nameplate in front of him was to be believed — to look up from his coins. "Yes?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone.
"I am here to make a withdrawal from the Hogwarts account for Miss Bell, here."
"How much?"
"Just the normal amount for a first-year muggleborn."
"Very well, I'll have another goblin take you down to the vaults."
"Gnarlak!" he called out. "Take these two down to the Hogwarts Vault!"
Another goblin, Gnarlak presumably, then walked up to the two and led them to a doorway off to the side. When he reached the door, he opened it displaying a narrow stone passageway lit with torchlight.
When Katie looked ahead, she noticed that the passageway sloped steeply downwards and that there were metal rails on the ground. Before she could ask what the rails were for, Gnarlak whistled sharply and a small cart came hurtling up the rails before stopping in front of Professor McGonagall.
"In you go," Gnarlak commanded.
Once the three climbed into the cart, it shot down the rails at a blistering pace through what felt like a maze of passageways.
'Left, right, left, middle fork, left, left, right, left,' Katie thought to herself, trying to keep up, but utterly failing. The cart, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly where it was going, especially since Gnarlak wasn't steering it.
When the cart screeched to a halt, Katie's legs were trembling. Professor McGonagall's, on the other hand, were perfectly fine, allowing her to gracefully step out of the cart as if it had been a short drive in a car.
Gnarlak, when he exited the cart, walked up to a door inset in the wall with the Hogwarts crest on it. He raised his right hand to the door and stroked it, causing the door to disappear.
Katie took one quick peek inside before her jaw dropped. Inside the vault were massive mounds of coins. Even without knowing how much each coin was worth, Katie could tell that there was a large fortune sitting in the vault.
The professor briskly walked past her into the vault, bag in hand, and began to scoop coins into the bag. "The large gold ones are called galleons, the silver ones are called sickles, and the small bronze ones are called knuts. There are 29 knuts to a sickle, and 19 sickles to a galleon."
As Katie stood there, taking in all the new information, Professor McGonagall walked past her again, this time heading to the cart. "We do not have all day, Miss Bell. There is still much we have to purchase before we return to your orphanage."
One exhilarating cart ride later, the duo exited Gringotts into the bright sunlight. Without a word, Professor McGonagall began to walk down the alley, Katie scrambling to catch up to the professor.
When they finally stopped, it was outside a store with a green awning and a red shield-shaped sign that said"Flourish and Blotts."
When the professor opened the door, Katie was greeted with the sight of bookshelf upon bookshelf of books. Shelves were stacked to the ceiling with books as large as paving stones bound in leather, books the size of postage stamps in covers of silk, books full of peculiar symbols, and a few books with nothing in them at all.
As Professor McGonagall walked around the store collecting the books Katie needed, Katie browsed through the store, looking for something interesting to read.
After a few minutes of searching, Katie happened across Curses and Countercurses (Bewitch Your Friends and Befuddle Your Enemies with the Latest Revenges: Hair Loss, Jelly-Legs, Tongue-Tying and Much, Much More) by Professor Vindictus Viridian.
'I wonder if there's anything in here I could cast…' Katie mused to herself as she opened the book. 'It would certainly make my life at the orphanage much easier.'
"Ahem" Katie heard from in front of her, causing her to look up from the deeply entrancing book. Standing in front of her was Professor McGonagall with her lips pursed disapprovingly. "Miss Bell, I have been trying to get your attention for five minutes. Whatever could you be reading that is so entrancing?"
Katie blushed in embarrassment before wordlessly holding up the book so that McGonagall could see the cover. Upon seeing the name of the book, Professor McGonagall's already pursed lips pursed even more if such a thing was even possible.
"Miss Bell!" the professor said in a no-nonsense tone of voice. "Why is it that I continually find you engaged in something wholly inappropriate for a young lady such as yourself?"
Not for the first time that day, Katie thought to herself, 'What does she mean by "young lady such as yourself?"'
Katie didn't dare say anything aloud, knowing that any response she could come up with would likely draw more ire from the stern professor.
Sensing no response was coming, Professor McGonagall instructed Katie to return the book to where she had taken it off the shelf before turning to exit the store. After leaving Flourish and Blotts, which Katie had no doubts would become her favorite store in the Alley, the duo visited all sorts of shops to pick up school supplies.
They went to Madam Malkin's to purchase her robes; Potage's to purchase her cauldron; Sribbulus Writing Instruments to purchase parchment and quills — because, apparently, wizards didn't use paper and pens; and the Magical Menagerie, where she purchased a brown tawny owl — which she promptly named Persephone — as a pet.
As the duo made their way through Diagon Alley, Professor McGonagall explained to Katie what Hogwarts' four houses were, what each represented, and whatever tidbits of information she deemed relevant enough to provide. It was clear to Katie that the Professor had a bias towards Gryffindor, likely due to it being her former house and the house she was now head of.
After Katie and Professor McGonagall had purchased all of her supplies, the Professor led Katie to a narrow and shabby shop, whose sign was merely fading gold letters over the door that read 'Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands since 382 B.C.'
McGonagall opened the door and allowed Katie to step inside, causing a tingle to ring out through the shop. It was quite a tiny shop, Katie noted. Aside from a spindly chair in the corner, which the professor promptly took, and the stacks of boxes around the room that could only contain magic wands, the shop was seemingly empty.
"Hello there," a soft voice said from the back of the shop.
Katie turned around, startled, and meekly replied, "Hello, sir."
"Ah, Miss Bell," the man, who Katie presumed was Ollivander, said. "What a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I have been expecting you for quite some time, although your present company is not who I expected, but no matter. Let us find your wand, shall we?"
As Ollivander found a few wands for Katie to try, she wondered to herself how Ollivander knew her name and what he meant by being surprised about her being with Professor McGonagall. She didn't have any magical ancestors and had never met anyone magical before the professor, so she was confused as to what Ollivander meant.
Before she could think any further on the matter, Ollivander reappeared with a stack of wands for her to try.
"Let us begin, shall we?" he said excitedly, handing her the first wand. "Blackthorn and unicorn hair, eleven and three-quarters inches, nice and supple."
She gave it a wave, causing Professor McGonagall's hat to fly right off her head. This led to Ollivander snatching the wand right back from her and muttering to himself, "No, no, how about this? Yes, this might do it."
He handed her another wand, "Rowan and unicorn hair, ten and a half inches, pliant."
Katie gave it a wave, incinerating a potted plant in the back of the shop that she had failed to notice when she first entered the room.
Ollivander snatched the wand back and handed her another, which also caused some sort of mildly disastrous effect. The cycle repeated for about ten more wands before Ollivander handed her a wand that was quite different looking from all the rest she had tried. "Ebony and dragon heartstring, eleven inches, with rigid flexibility."
When Katie grasped onto the wand, she could immediately tell this was it. She felt a tingly warmth spread throughout her body as she rose it and gave it a wave, setting the shop aglow in a rainbow of color.
Ollivander smiled, "Yes, Miss Bell, I do believe this wand has chosen you."
After paying for her wand, Professor McGonagall led Katie to a shop near the center of the Alley. "Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor," the professor said, breaking Katie out of her thoughts. "It is widely recognized as having the best Ice Cream in Wizarding Britain."
Professor McGonagall's voice then softened as she asked, "Care for a cone, Miss Bell?"
Surprised by the sudden offer, Katie stuttered back, "S-sure, Professor. What do you recommend?"
"If you wish to try a flavor unique to the Wizarding World, Butterbeer or Pumpkin Pasty," Professor McGonagall began. "Florean also sells a wide assortment of muggle flavors, if you wish for something you are more familiar with."
It had been longer than Katie cared to admit since she'd had ice cream, so she simply responded, "Surprise me, Professor."
The professor gave a slight smile as she commented, "Spoken like a Gryffindor," and walked into the parlour to purchase the ice cream.
While Professor McGonagall went inside to purchase the ice cream, Katie sat down and began to ponder over which house she wanted to be in when she got to Hogwarts.
'Hufflepuff is completely out of the question,' Katie thought to herself. 'In Hufflepuff, I would be expected to like and be kind to everyone. I couldn't do that if I had a gun pointed at my head. I'm too brash to be a Hufflepuff.'
'Ravenclaw is an interesting possibility,' Katie continued. 'I've always enjoyed learning and it would definitely be a better fit than Hufflepuff. However, if what the Professor says is true, the intra-house competitiveness can get toxic. Hogwarts is an escape from the toxicity of the orphanage. I don't want to end up in another toxic environment.'
Katie sighed inwardly, 'That's two houses now that don't fit. Half of my options. That leaves Slytherin and Gryffindor. Cunning and ambition versus courage and chivalry. I'd fit in better with Slytherin, but I'm a muggleborn and, according to Professor McGonagall, most of the blood purists end up in Slytherin.'
Mentally acknowledging that Slytherin would not be a pleasant experience for her, Katie concluded her musings, 'Gryffindor is my best option. From what the Professor had told me, they'll accept everyone regardless of blood status and I embody some of their traits.'
It was at that moment that Professor McGonagall returned with the pair's ice cream. The Professor handed Katie a cone of orange ice cream. "Here you go, Miss Bell," The Professor said. "One cone of treacle tart ice cream."
She then took a seat across from Katie and said, "Tell me about yourself, Miss Bell. As Deputy Headmistress, I make it my duty to act as a counselor to all at Hogwarts who seek one."
Katie was quiet for a moment as she decided what all to tell Professor McGonagall. Once she'd determined what she would tell the Professor, she responded, "Well, I grew up in the suburbs of Sheffield with my mother until she died when I was seven. It was at that point that I began to live at the orphanage where you picked me up."
Professor McGonagall frowned slightly, disappointed by the lack of information, before asking a follow-up question, "You mentioned you lived with your mother. What about your father?"
Katie's chest puffed out with pride at the mention of her father and she replied, "He was a soldier in Her Majesty's Armed Forces. He died fighting in the Falklands War when I was three."
"I can see that you take great pride in your father's service," Professor McGonagall commented before segueing into her next question. "What is life like at the orphanage? I have heard mixed stories from other students who have lived in them during their years at Hogwarts."
Not wanting to disclose the full truth to her, Katie carefully responded, "It's not like my life was when I lived with my mother, but it is not awful. The staff always make sure that we are well taken care of."
Noting how Katie dodged around the question more than she answered it, Professor McGonagall chose to move on. "One more question, Miss Bell. I'd like to make sure the Hogwarts records are correct. What were your parents' names?"
"Caelus and Aurora, Professor."
Unnoticed to Katie, the Professor's eyes widened slightly at her father's name before returning to normal. "Thank you, Miss Bell. I will check the records when I return to Hogwarts."
"Now then," she continued. "Have you given any thought to which House you might end up in?"
Mildly annoyed that the Professor had lied about being done asking questions, Katie responded succinctly, "Based on what you have told me, Professor, it appears my choices are not four, but rather two. I would not be accepted in Slytherin due to my blood status, and I don't want to deal with the toxicity that can appear around exam times in Ravenclaw."
Professor McGonagall nodded, "Well deduced, Miss Bell. That would leave Hufflepuff and Gryffindor."
Katie merely nodded, not deigning the comment a response.
"To be quite frank with you, Miss Bell, I do not think Hufflepuff is a good fit for you either. You are a reserved girl, which is a trait that is rarely — if at all — found in Hufflepuff house. The Badgers are more of an outspoken group of students. My Lions, on the other hand, have a wide assortment of both reserved students and more outspoken ones. I can see you doing well in Gryffindor."
"I will take that into consideration," Katie replied, already having come to the same conclusions as Professor McGonagall, albeit in a less biased manner.
Having finished her own ice cream and seeing that no further response was coming from Katie, Professor McGonagall stood from the table and said, "Well, Miss Bell, seeing as we are done with our shopping, I believe it is about time I return you to the orphanage. We don't want Director Hatch to be worried, after all."
Katie was unenthusiastic about returning to the orphanage but didn't want the Professor to dig further into her personal life, so she simply replied, "Probably a good idea. After you, Professor."
Professor McGonagall nodded and gestured for Katie to collect Persephone's cage, which was sitting on the table next to Katie, and to follow her to the Alley's designated apparition point, where she slide-along apparated the two back to the orphanage.
When Katie and Professor McGonagall arrived in the alleyway near the orphanage that they'd apparated to Diagon Alley from earlier in the day, Professor McGonagall reached into her pocket and retrieved a miniature trunk. She then placed it on the ground and tapped her wand to it, causing it to expand into a full-sized version of itself with all of Katie's school supplies inside it.
As soon as the trunk finished expanding, Professor McGonagall said, "Come along now, Miss Bell. Let's not give Director Hatch a reason to be concerned about your whereabouts."
She then briskly strolled out of the alley before turning in the direction of the orphanage, leaving Katie to, once again, scramble to catch up. With the added weight of the trunk and Persephone's cage, she was unable to catch up until the Professor had almost reached the orphanage's front door.
When the two reached the door, Professor McGonagall stretched her hand out and prevented Katie from opening the door. "Miss Bell, I have been a teacher at Hogwarts for over three decades, I know when students are hiding things from me. I recognize there are aspects about your life here that you do not wish to share with me. I sincerely hope that in the near future you trust me enough to confide in me."
'Fat chance of that happening,' Katie thought to herself as the Professor removed her hand from the door, allowing Katie to open it and step inside.
"Back already?" The saccharine voice of Ms. Fitzgerald asked.
"And you are?" Professor McGonagall inquired.
"Kelley Fitzgerald. I'm one of the volunteers here."
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Fitzgerald. By any chance is Director Hatch here? I would like to speak with him about matters regarding Katie's education."
"He's in his office. I can take you to him now if you'd like."
"I trust Miss Bell can find her way back to her room without assistance. That being said, if you could show me to Director Hatch's office, that would be kind of you."
"Katie, dear, head on back to your room. Director Hatch will come to see you once he's done talking with Professor…"
"McGonagall," Professor McGonagall supplied.
"Once he's done talking with Professor McGonagall," Ms. Fitzgerald finished.
She then motioned for Professor McGonagall to follow her, leaving Katie to walk back to her room all by herself.
As Katie walked past the open doors of other dorms, all she received from her fellow orphans were glares. 'Well they're clearly not happy to see me back,' Katie thought to herself as she lowered her head to avoid the piercing glares of hatred directed her way.
By the time Katie arrived at the doorway to her room, the excitement that had been fueling her throughout the trip had drained away and Katie felt utterly exhausted and morose.
It wasn't long before Director Hatch knocked on Katie's open door and entered without waiting for a response. "I take it your shopping trip was successful?"
"Yes, Director. We were able to purchase all of my school supplies," Katie replied.
"So I see. I see you also purchased an owl. Whatever could you use it for?"
Katie sighed internally and explained, "Hogwarts is located in rural Scotland. The Royal Mail has no pickup spots anywhere near it, so the school recommends students purchase an owl to act as a letter courier for them."
Forestalling Director Hatch's next question, Katie continued, "Professor McGonagall never said how the owls know where to deliver letters to. I assume they train the owls once they arrive at school."
Director Hatch snorted in disbelief and made a comment under his breath about how he was even more sure now that Hogwarts wasn't a credible institution before redirecting the conversation to his meeting with Professor McGonagall. "Professor McGonagall told me in our meeting that you would be departing for this… Hogwarts… on September 1st by means of a private train at King's Cross Station in London. Quite an inconvenient drive. One which I'd rather make as little as possible. That being said, I'd prefer, if at all possible, that you remain at your school over the holidays."
Katie had already been planning to stay at school over whatever holidays it offered, so she quickly agreed to Director Hatch's request.
"Now then," the Director continued. "I couldn't help but look inside the envelope that Professor McGonagall provided with your ticket enclosed and notice that the departing platform was 'Platform 9 ¾.' Now, I'm no expert, but, last I checked, train platforms were labeled with whole numbers, not mixed numbers. Did Professor McGonagall mention anything about this to you?"
Professor McGonagall had, in fact, mentioned this to Katie. She had explained in great detail how to access the platform, but never how to explain it to a muggle who didn't know about magic. Thus, Katie was forced to come up with an explanation on the fly. "It's in a private section of the station reserved for private schools like Hogwarts. As to why it's labeled Platform 9 ¾ as opposed to Platform 12, she never said. Perhaps it's of some significance to the school."
Director Hatch seemed to believe the story, as he nodded his head in response. "Very well then. That's all the Professor had to say, so I will leave you to your peace and quiet or whatever term you've dubbed it."
As he exited the room, he paused for a moment, turning once again to face Katie. "Oh, and Katie?"
"Yes, Director?"
"There's still another four months until September. I don't care that you are going to some fancy rich school that the others here couldn't afford to go to. I expect you to act the same as you did before Professor McGonagall arrived. Is that clear?"
"Yes, Director."
Director Hatch merely nodded as he left Katie's room, closing the door behind him, leaving Katie to her thoughts.
Author's Note: Well, there's the first chapter for you. No Harry, I know. We'll be seeing him in the chapter after next or the one after, depending upon how I decide to arrange things. The next chapter will cover Katie's first year at Hogwarts, which will be rather calm compared to Harry's six canon years at Hogwarts.
Writing a Harry Potter fic has been on my bucket list for quite a while now and I'm thrilled to have finally gotten around to doing it. This is a quite unique concept that I've never seen done before and I've had a blast planning out the basic plot and many of the details that you have already read.
As best as I can tell, all the information I have provided about King's Cross Station in the closing little scene is accurate. I'm not British though, so if I'm wrong, please let me know. The last thing I want is incorrect information.
Lastly, before I go, if any of you out there are Percy Jackson fans, the first chapter of my latest PJO fic was released moments ago. It features a Dark Percy Jackson and will have a Percy/Reyna pairing. It would mean a lot to me if you all gave it a read and followed/favorited/reviewed it.
- Asmodeus Stahl
