PART ONE

CHAPTER TWO: DAISY

Reviews:

qwerty1410: yeah, sorry 'bout that... I just had no idea about where they were going. But thanks for reviewing!

FosterJacksonPotter: thank you! I've got a lot planned out already, so I'm definitely not discontinuing this...

Word count: 2,300

ONTO THE FIRST CHAPTER!

Family was a strange thing.

For one, the word had no actual definition (in Raven's opinion, at least). Were the people you were closest to you considered your family—even if there weren't any real blood ties? Or was it the people who you actually shared blood with? Was your family the people who you felt love for automatically? Or was it the people you had to learn to love? Did you choose your family? Or was your family fixed for life?

As a naturally sharp young girl, very few things confused Raven, but the concept of family completely baffled her. For example, she was born with love for her parents, and although she still loved them, she didn't consider them her family. She hadn't for a while, actually (which was another one of the few things she was confused about, actually; if she didn't consider them her family, why in the all the worlds would she still lo So that would prove that your family wasn't determined by the people you loved automatically, right?

But then there were her siblings. There was Grey, who was thirteen, and Teal, who was nine. Raven was born with love for them, and she considered them her family. The three siblings were inseparable (well, they were, until she decided to come to Hogwarts), and she had complete and unconditional faith in them—and that was something she didn't give easily.

And then there were her other three siblings—Pearlia, Gold, and Leif. Even though Pearlia and Gold were only four years older than her (making them both 15), and Leif was 18, she felt... nothing for them. She doubted that she'd really grieve for them if their lives were to abruptly end; she would feel sad, yes, because she wasn't a psychopath who took pleasure in others dying, but it would be like the death of a stranger.

She considered this as she stared outside the window of the Hogwarts Express. Was it normal to not care about your siblings? She doubted it. She had seen siblings interact on Platform 9 3/4. They treated each other like how she treated Teal and Grey; teasing and poking fun at each other, but still missing them before they even took a step away.

(That being said, she doubted that it was strictly normal to have five siblings, either.)

And parents... She was the only one who had to board the train without any parents. Once her father apparated her to Kings Cross Station, he reminded her to introduce herself as a halfblood if asked. Then, he left, leaving Raven to fend for herself—not that she had expected anything different. (It would be stupid to expect otherwise, and Raven wasn't stupid.)

Predictably, her parents were furious when they realized that she had agreed to attend Hogwarts—and her awkwardly asking her human-hating mother if she had had an affair with a wizard (her mother had vehemently denied it. Apparently, Raven was like the heartless version of what witches and wizards called "muggle-borns"; even though she had no witch blood flowing through her veins, she was somehow a witch herself) hadn't exactly made them any happier with her. In fact, she was pretty sure that they would force her to unenroll in Hogwarts (she knew that she'd fight that with all she had, if only for the reason to taste freedom) if Pearlia didn't point out that having a witch in the family could be incredibly useful in the war like a normal fifteen-year-old girl. After considering this, they agreed to let her go, but refused to be seen with her when she went to do her "witch things" like buying her books and whatnot from Diagon Alley or helping her find Platform 9 3/4. She was just lucky wizards and heartless used the same type of money.

But still, Raven had to figure everything out herself. When she had approached a family of wizards and a single witch to ask how to get onto the platform, the witch had ushered her children through a pillar, sneering at her and calling her a Mudblood. Even though Raven didn't know much about wizarding culture to know what it meant, she was smart enough to understand that that was an insult, but the family was gone before she could do anything about it.

She wondered if her parents would've defended her if they were there. Then she wondered why she was wondering that in the first place.

The landscape outside slightly blurred together with the speed the train was traveling at. There wasn't anything interesting there. Raven was already missing her home.

Well, somewhat.

The only people she missed were Grey and Teal, but she knew that they'd send her letters. Teal had practically begged her to get an owl so they could exchange letters, and while Grey wasn't as obvious, he still grudgingly admitted that he would miss her and didn't want to not be able to contact her for eight months. Of course, he only said this after Teal yelled at him in the way that only siblings can do, but that was just the kind of person Grey was; he would act like he was indifferent and unbothered by everything that had to do with people unless Teal—and only Teal—made him show affection. And until she did, he was grumpy.

But other than those two, Raven missed her home. Not the inside; her house was quite big, but it always felt cold and empty, even though more than all eight of her family members lived in it, including the the two house elves, Finny and Winnie. But around her house were beautiful gardens and a pristine lake, and a dark, dense forest surrounded the property. The gardens weren't her favorite part, and the forest was interesting, yet not exactly... amazing. It lacked a certain excitement—or maybe it was just so adrenaline-inducing that she didn't even feel it (was that possible?).

But the lake was the place she could always be found at. The water was soothing and cool, and instead of grass or sand, large rocks surrounded the tranquil waters. Every night, she'd come outside barefoot when everyone else was asleep, and practice controlling the water. The water was a powerful force that she couldn't fully control, but she could guide it into doing what she wanted. She could guide the water out of something, she could guide the water into something, she could even freeze the water into ice or boil it into steam. And when she grew tired of training herself to guide the water, she would sit on the rocks and dip her pale, bare, and a little calloused feet into the lake, letting the water run its silky fingers and relieve her of any pain that came from running around on both slippery smooth and jaggedly sharp rocks with her feet free of the confines of shoes. She'd let the cool night air wash over her, energizing her, and would finally feel at peace.

The nights were the times she could forget about the shackles of stress that pressed themselves onto her shoulders at all times with no sign of relenting. Of course, they would always come back with the rising of the sun, but that was later. Now, they were gone.

She'd miss that...

But Hogwarts was going to be the same kind of freedom, but forever, she reminded herself. Or, at least, until she came back in the summer.

Just then, the door to the compartment she was sitting in opened. Raven was alone in that compartment—or, at least, she had been.

She tore her eyes away from the window and her mind out of her thoughts as she looked to the human who opened the door—a girl, she noticed, and a fellow first year, if the way her warm brown eyes practically glowed with excitement was any indication. (Also, her height.)

"Hi!" the girl chirped as she smiled brightly at Raven. "Can I sit here?"

The girl was like a candle. Her mere presence alone could warm the coldest of hearts—or maybe "give a heart to the heartless" was more fitting. She didn't seem to realize that she was doing it, either.

She didn't realize that she'd burn herself out trying to give light and warmth to everyone around her.

But Raven did.

Raven kept her expression blank, she kept it cold. Almost lifeless. Most would run from the pure mercilessness on the eleven-year-old's face, the thousand-yard stare her silvery-green eyes possessed. Anyone smart would.

The girl stayed, that strange, genuine smile still curving her lips.

Definitely a Gryffindor.

Raven gave a nod, despite better judgement. The girl sat down, facing Raven. "I'm Hestia Jones," she introduced herself, holding a fair-skinned hand out for a handshake.

Raven couldn't help but wonder if Hestia would still willingly touch her if she knew that she was a heartless. The thought caused a dark chuckle to slip from her lips as she clasped the girl's hand with her own.

She wouldn't even look at me.

"I'm Raven." She pulled her hand back like she'd been burned—although, that wouldn't be all that far-fetched. Hestia's skin was warm. Incredibly warm. It further solidified her comparison of her to a candle.

"Are you a first year, too?" Hestia asked.

Raven hummed her confirmation. Hestia didn't stop her attempts at conversation, though, despite Raven's less-than-enthustiastic response.

"So... What house do you want to get into?"

Raven shrugged. Although she knew that she'd be a Slytherin (she was cold and cunning; what other house could she possibly go to?), that wasn't the question, and she honestly had no preference.

But her parents had a lot to say on that matter.

They had said that Slytherin was the house she needed to get into. Apparently, the children of the richest and most influential witches and wizards typically got into that house. The Slytherins were the ones who ended up controlling the wizarding world (in England, at least), and if she could figure out what made them tick, she could win the war in the name of the House of Nightshade.

But all this hinged on whether she could figure the Slytherins out, and to that, she needed to become a Slytherin herself. It made sense—but even if it didn't, she wouldn't need the hour-long lecture she was given on the matter.

"I kind of want to be a Hufflepuff," Hestia spoke, reminding Raven that other people actually existed. "I know everyone says that they're stupid, but my parents were both Hufflepuffs, and the Hufflepuffs I've seen are nice, and..." She trailed off. Then, she finished, blushing a little bit, "And I know it's naïve, but I think that kindness really makes a difference in the world."

"It is naïve," Raven agreed nonchalantly—but then she saw Hestia's incredulous look and quickly added, "But it's... sweet, so... that makes up for it?"

Raven didn't care about what Hestia thought about her. Really. She just didn't feel like making enemies before the school year started. Unfortunately, Hestia would probably despise her more because those comments made her sound rude, snobbish, and fake.

She held back a frown. She was typically good at saying what people wanted to hear, so why was she struggling with someone as simple as Hestia?

And then it hit her.

Her entire life, she had been surrounded by people who... weren't the best kind (not including Teal and Grey, of course). They were rude, snobbish, and fake. She had always acted like she was the same, and she had subconsciously assumed that the witches and wizards at Hogwarts were the same, too. But if what happened with Hestia was any clue, that was a foolish assumption make.

So, if she wanted to be able to say the right things and not, well, fail at her job in general, she had two options here; figure everyone out, or... just be herself. It was painfully obvious which was the easier choice.

So, now, not only did she have to learn how to be a witch, but she also had to learn to understand everyone at Hogwarts?

Still... it was the easier choice...

Besides, if everyone was as open, polite, friendly, and overall strange as Hestia, it would be potentially easy and an... intriguing experience, at the very least.

Speaking of intriguing...

Hestia giggled slightly. "You know, you're strange." She smiled. "But in an intriguing way."

Raven blinked.

What was that?

Was that a compliment or an insult? Or was she overthinking things and it was just an observation?

Whatever it was, Raven smiled a smile that looked like it physically pained her to make. "Yeah..."

If this was what everyone at Hogwarts was like, it was going to be a long seven years.

In the language of flowers, DAISIES represent innocence and hope—or, in other words, Hestia Jones.

Questions:

1. Favorite quote?

2. What house do you think Raven's going to get into?

And, remember; please review!

~Sarcasticsnark13