Nadine's homelife had alway been terrible. Her mother was a pureblood witch who always wanted everything to be perfect and under control. The smallest mistake could send the witch into a terrible hissy fit.
Nadine's father was a muggle, how her mother could have ever fallen for that monster she could never understand. He was always drunk, and smelled strongly of sweat and dirt. Nadine didn't know what happened to her father, he had been like this for as long as she could remember. Always sitting on the couch with a bottle in his hand and a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth, the smoke clouding around him.
Both parents took amusement in tormenting the child, it might sound like an exaggeration, but it is unfortunately not. Her mother would use her child as an ashtray whenever the girl was around. Her father would get so drunk to the point he would beat her without motive, he would simply get too drunk for his own good and take it out on the poor girl.
So when Nadine got her acceptance letter from Hogwarts, she was beyond excited. She however could not show it unless being told to do so. Going to bed that night, she cried in joy. These would be the best years of her life.
August 29th 1938
Nadine and her mother were in Diagon Alley shopping for school supplies for the girls first year. Her mother was a put together woman in public, straight back, straight clothes, those were the moments where nadine admired her mother, her elegance.
Walking into the wand shop called Ollivander's, the store was filled with boxes from the bottom to the top. Shuffling was heard from behind the counter and from behind it a man stood, his hair was greying and he had a few wrinkles here and there, but Nadine thought he looked kind. "Oh a Winter is it? Remember the day your mother got her wand." The man told, her mother in fact looked as if she might hex him if he said more.
Shuffling around he found a few wands for the girl to try. First was a hornbeam wood unicorn hair wand. She swished the wand as the man had kindly told her to. A rack of boxes from behind ollivander shot out of their place, "no, not quite right." He mumbled with furrowed brows. Taking out a box he said, "red oak, phoenix feather, 10 inches fairly flexible." He handed her the wand, and she repeated the movement. A light came soaring out of the wand. The man behind the counter smiled brightly, "yes, very rare, very powerful." He muttered. Her mother seemed to be broken from the trance she was previously in, and paid the kind man.
In flourish and blotts the girl bumped into a boy, who seemed to be her age. She smiled brightly at him, but got nothing back. He was completely void of emotion it seemed, he kept a natural face and perfect posture. He reminded her of her mother in some ways. She already disliked him, and it seemed that the feelings were mutual. It could be the way he carried himself, acting as if he was above everyone else, or the fact he glared at the people who dared look at him.
September 1st 1938
Her mother had taken her to platform 9 only few minutes before the train left. She was hurrying through the small crowd of people left on the platform, some were still saying goodbye while others were watching their kids leave.
She looked at the kids hugging their parents, some were crying even. She looked back to see if her mum was there. a tiny bit of hope that she would be crying. But no, where her mother once stood was now an empty spot.
She should have expected it, but it still hurt, no matter how cruel her mother might be, she still cared for her opinion, she wanted to make her parents proud. Perhaps her mother would tolerate her more.
The whistle blew, Nadine ran onto the train. She was looking out for available compartments. She noticed the boy from earlier seated by the window in the compartment on her right. She decided not to bother him, seeing as their last meeting didn't go well. Walking further down the aisle, a compartment with a girl in it. The girl had straight brown hair reaching her shoulders, and big blue eyes, making her look a bit like a bug. "May I sit here?" Nadine was trying to sound confident but it came more out like a squeak.
The bug looking girl smiled brightly, "yes, of course!" She moved over, but nadine sat on the opposite side. "Leona." She held out her hand for Nadine to shake.
Reaching out to shake it, she introduced herself, "Nadine."
The great hall was grand. The ceiling looked enchantingly beautiful, glittering stars on dark canvas. Hundreds, maybe thousands of candles were floating above, making the hall glow. At the front stood a chair with an old tattered brown hat. The hat started singing;
One thousand years ago this story starts
There were four sorcerers with strong and kind hearts
Bold Gryffindor from wild moor
Fair Ravenclaw from glen
Sweet Hufflepuff from valley broad
Shrewd Slytherin from fen
They had a dream to teach all that they knew
Witches and wizards came far and it grew
'Til a castle stood tall by the shores of a lake
And a thousand years later the magic remains
Old Hogwarts Sorting Hat sing me a song
Speak in my head tell me where I belong
And when things look bad and there's no where to run
Unite all the houses and we'll fight as one
Brave Godric Gryffindor favoured the strong
Those who had courage and knew right from wrong
And Rowena Ravenclaw taught only the best
So kind Helga Hufflepuff would teach all the rest
But Salazar Slytherin had is own plans
He thought the Muggle-borns didn't understand
The subtleties of magic and so he devised
The Chamber of Secrets with a monster inside
Old Hogwarts Sorting Hat sing me a song
Speak in my head tell me where I belong
And when things look bad and there's nowhere to run
Unite all the houses and we'll fight as one
Old Hogwarts Sorting Hat sing me a song
Speak in my head tell me where I belong
And when things look bad and there's nowhere to run
Unite all the houses and we'll fight as one
Unite all the houses and we'll fight as one.
The man at the front who introduced himself as professor Dumbledore when he led them to the great hall started announcing names.
"Avery, Adelio." A boy with tan skin walked up to the stool. "SLYTHERIN." The hat shouted.
She zoned out until she heard the name, "Riddle, Tom." Up walked the same boy who she had bumped into, his back still straight. If he was nervous he certainly did not show it. "SLYTHERIN." The hat shouted once again.
"Winter, Nadine." She looked around, seeing she was the only person left. Heat rose up her neck as she walked to the hat.
'Certainly have bit of a temper, don't you?' A voice in her ear said 'very patient, but ambitious, just like your mother.'
'Not my mother.' Nadine thought.
'Not your mother you say, must be.' "HUFFLEPUFF" the yellow and black house clapped. She walked over to Leona who had also been sorted into hufflepuff.