Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you might recognize from the original HP series.

Chapter 2: A Really Bad Day

"Yeah, mom. I miss you guys too," Elle stood in her Nana's kitchen talking into the receiver that she had held up to her ear. "The plane ride was fine. Stop worrying! This was your idea, remember?" She let a small laugh escape her mouth as she listened to her mother's voice on the other end of the line. "Yeah, okay. Love you too. Bye." Elle placed the phone back on it's cradle and turned to face her Nana. "Thanks for letting me phone long distance. Mom made me promise to call as soon as I got here."

Nana smiled up at Elle, "That's fine, dear. It's just so good to have you here. I can't believe how much you've grown in five years!" She reached up and began to trace the outline of Elle's face with her small wrinkled hands.

Elle allowed the old woman to do so. She understood that this is how she 'saw' things. She looked down into her nearly pure white eyes. She had to admit that they kind of made her feel nervous because they made her look like an old witch from the fairy tales that her mother used to tell her when she was little. But she knew that her Nana was anything but a witch. For as long as she could remember, those had always been what her eyes had looked like and she knew that she was one of the nicest people she knew.

"Elle, you are no longer a little girl. You've grown into a fine young woman, and I'm proud to call you granddaughter."

"Thanks, Nana," Elle said as her Nana let go of her face.

"Come," Nana said in a casual tone. "You start school tomorrow and I must show you your room so you can get settled."

Elle followed her Nana out of the kitchen and down the hallway. They then preceded to go up a few steps before coming to a room that Elle guessed to be hers.

Elle glanced it over before dragging her bags all the way into the room. She couldn't complain. It had a double bed, a dresser in the far corner, and a large standing mirror off to the side. The furniture was a little old fashioned, but it's nothing she couldn't handle.

"What do you think?" asked Nana.

Elle turned to face the old woman in the doorway, "it's great, Nana. Thank-you."

Nana smiled, "Glad you like it, child. If there's anything else you need you'll be sure to let me know."

"Yes, ma'am," replied Elle as she swung her biggest suitcase onto her bed.

"Good. We eat in an hour. I imagine that you're plum tired, but I won't let you be going off to bed without a decent meal in your belly," Nana smiled and turned with her walking cane in her hand and was off back to the kitchen.

Elle shook her head as her Nana left her alone to unpack her things. She couldn't imagine ever being able to live in a world of darkness like her Nana had for the majority of her life.

She took another glance around her new room at the plain white walls and decided that she could definitely make it her own with a little help from some of the X-Games posters she had brought along with her. But first things first. She dug her yellow discman out of her bag, along with her little speakers, and hooked it together. She then took out a Blink 182 cd and popped it into the player. She turned the volume up most of the way and sang to the music as she unpacked. It didn't quite give the same effect that her stereo did at home, but it would have to do. Her stereo didn't fit into her bag, so she wasn't able to bring it with her. But it was her music just the same, and as long as she could hear it, she didn't mind. She just hoped that her Nana wouldn't mind either.

An hour later Elle went down into the kitchen just as her Nana had requested. She turned around the corner quietly and didn't think that her Nana had heard her because she was still focused on the stove.

"Do all kids your age listen to that ruckus?" Nana turned around and was looking right where Elle was as if she could actually see her.

This surprised Elle. How did she do that? How'd she know I was standing right here?

Nana sensed Elle's surprise and smiled. "Just because I'm old and blind, dear, doesn't mean that my hearing's no good," she laughed.

Elle sighed from embarrassment and laughed as well.

"How do you feel about pot roast?" Nana carried a black pot between her oven gloved hands over to the table. She set it onto the table and lifted the lid off.

Elle sat down and took in the aroma. "It smells delicious!"

Nana smiled graciously. "Help yourself."

Elle dug into the food that was in the pot and helped herself to the mashed potatoes and carrots as well. After having two platefuls of food she sat back in her chair and patted her now full stomach.

"That was some meal, Nana," Elle sat straight up in her chair again and grabbed her plate and glass and took it to the sink. "Would you like some help with the dishes?" she offered.

"That would be lovely, dear," Nana replied as she gathered her own plate and came up to start filling up the sink while Elle finished clearing off the rest of the table.

After dishes were done, Elle let out a yawn that told her it was time for bed. She knew it was still early, but back home it was already the middle of the night. Elle was just about to head upstairs to bed when Nana caught her with her voice.

"Dear, before you go to bed, I'll give you this," Nana held out some clothes for Elle to take.

Elle took the clothes and looked at them, "What are these for?" she asked tiredly.

"That's your school uniform for tomorrow."

Elle's eyes went wide. A uniform? No, it couldn't be. She had a feeling that she knew what it was going to consist of. She unfolded the items of clothing. There was a white blouse, a plaid tie, and knee high white socks. And then there was what she had been dreading. A bloody plaid skirt! "Oh," she moaned. "Nana, this can't be right," she said desperately.

"What's wrong?" Nana felt the items of clothing that she had handed over. "Are they the wrong size?"

Oh, if that was the only problem! "No, the size is fine," Elle responded with despair in her voice.

"Well then, what's wrong?"

"It's a…skirt!" Elle didn't mean to spit out the word 'skirt' with such disgust but that's how it came out. She hated skirts! She hadn't worn one since she was four!

Nana laughed whole-heartedly. "Oh, is that all?"

Elle gaped at her with her mouth wide open. "But you mustn't understand. Me and skirts don't mix well together. I don't DO skirts."

Nana chuckled once again before pushing the uniform back into Elle's hands. "It's only a skirt, dear. All the girls wear them. It won't bite you, you know."

"But Nana, I-" but Elle was cut off.

"Ah!" Nana held up her hand to silence her in a joking manner, "I don't want to hear it. You'll look fine, dear. I promise you!" She reached up and pinched Elle's cheek lightly. "Now, it's off to bed with you!"

Elle threw in her best fake pout, even though she knew that her Nana couldn't see it, she knew that she could sense it. She turned her back and started out of the kitchen.

"Ah, ah!" Nana's voice caught her. "Aren't we forgetting something?" she smiled and pointed to her cheek.

Elle half smiled as she went back to her Nana. How could she have forgotten? Even when she was little, she remembered her Nana always wanting a goodnight kiss on the cheek. Elle leaned down and kissed her Nana on her wrinkled cheek.

"That's better. Now, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Nana," Elle said as she turned and walked up to her bedroom.

When Elle got into her room, she threw her uniform onto her dresser and cursed under her breath about having to wear a 'friggin' skirt. She then dug out her pajama bottoms and a tank top and sprawled herself onto her bed. She hoped that tomorrow would go well for her. She hoped that she would be treated differently than how she was treated at home. And it was with these thoughts floating around in her head that she finally drifted to sleep.

***********

Beep Beep Beep

"Arghhhh…" Elle groaned as she reached over and shut off her alarm. She stretched out in her bed and reluctantly pushed herself up off her stomach and into a sitting position. She yawned and popped a Good Charlotte cd into her discman. She then walked over to the dresser where her uniform lay from the night before and started to put it on. Once she was fully dressed, she stood in front of her mirror and groaned in defeat. She didn't think she would ever see herself like this. It was murder for her to be in a skirt. She reached down and grabbed her black studded wristband from the surface of the dresser and put it on. She would at least feel a little more comfortable if she wore at least one accessory that she was used to wearing. She then grabbed her brush and untangled her wavy hair. She pulled the sides back into a braid - so that her hair was only half down. She grabbed her reading glasses case and threw it into her book bag along with some school supplies she thought she might need. She didn't have any shoes that would really match her school uniform, so she decided on just wearing her black and white street shoes. She planned on skateboarding to school just like she always did and was very happy that she wasn't told she had to wear dress shoes. It was no big deal anyways. She did care about first impressions, but she didn't think that anyone would notice her shoes. They did match her uniform - well, sort of.

Elle grabbed her skateboard and helmet from the corner of her room and hurried down the stairs. She wasn't running late, it's just that she wanted to make sure that she would find her classroom in plenty of time.

"Morning, Nana," she said as she kissed her on the cheek.

"Morning, dear," Nana replied as she set down her coffee mug. "Help yourself to some breakfast if you like."

"Oh, that's okay. I'm too nervous to eat this morning," Elle said as she grabbed a glass from the cupboard and poured herself some juice.

Nana walked up to her and felt that she had the skirt on and smiled. "See? It's not that bad, is it?"

"No," Elle said reluctantly, "I guess not."

"You'll do fine today," Nana reassured her.

"I hope so," replied Elle as she put her glass into the sink, swung her backpack over her shoulder and strapped on her black helmet that had 'HAWK' sprawled across the front.

"Remember that you have to go down two blocks, turn left at the stop sign, go down for about seven blocks, and then turn right. You won't be able to miss the school. It's right in there," Nana looked like she was meeting Elle's eyes.

"Gotcha, Nana," she said as she opened the door, wishing that she had of written down the directions because she had been known to be forgetful at times.

"Be careful on that contraption of yours, dear. I don't want to have any broken bones," Nana called out to her as she waved good-bye.

"Don't worry! Bye!" Elle waved back as she skated away. She laughed inwardly because that's exactly what her parents had said when she had first gotten her skateboard five or six years ago.

Elle didn't have much trouble finding the school, but when she arrived she received many glares from students - both male and female - that made her feel somewhat uneasy. She figured that perhaps they just weren't used to seeing all that many female boarders.

She took off her helmet as she entered the school and began looking for her homeroom. She felt so…blended with that of all the other students. All the others were dressed in the same fashion as her. Only the guys, of course, were wearing pants - not skirts.

'Lucky guys…they don't know how lucky they are,' she fumed inside her own mind while trying with no luck to pull down her skirt farther so that it reached below her knees.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" came a voice from behind Elle.

Elle turned around to come face to face with a group of three guys. The one who spoke to her stood in the middle. He had black hair and brown eyes - he was quite good looking, Elle thought immediately. She quickly took a glance at his friends, both of whom were a little shorter than the first, but looked just as good.

"I do say…we have some fresh meat!" the one in the middle spoke again as they began to close in around Elle. He gave his lips a disgusting smacking sound and he brought his hand down and reached for Elle's rear.

But she knew what he was trying to pull. She quickly grabbed his hand and threw it away. "Try that again, pal, and you die."

The guy scoffed as he looked at her and then gave her a smirk, "We have a foreigner in our midst. Care for a tour?" He tried to touch her again and she blushed furiously. She wanted nothing more than for him to drop dead.

"I can take care of myself, thank-you!" she said in a rush as she pushed past them. As she walked away, she heard them laughing. She guessed that seventeen year old guys were the same no matter what country you were in.

She continued her way down the hall, still receiving many stares for the skateboard that she carried with her. But she was relieved when she came to what she was told was her homeroom. She carefully entered the room and approached the teacher who was busy writing something up on the board. She handed him the slip of paper that she had been given by her Nana to give to him and took a seat in the chair that he had pointed at.

Just then, she heard a bell sound and everyone took their seats around her. And to her horror, the teacher introduced her to the rest of the class. She blushed a deep purple and wished that she could just disappear.

Once the class had begun, and the focus of the students was on the teacher once again, Elle took a quick glance around the room at her surroundings and noticed that a couple rows over from her sat that guys who she had come across in the hall. The one who had spoke to her nodded towards her and winked.

This made Elle sink down into her seat further and she just hoped that she wouldn't have another run in with them.

The rest of the school day dragged on for Elle. Between trying to understand the British accent coming out of everyone's mouth, and being tormented by those three guys, she knew that she was going to have her hands full. She hadn't even met any girls yet who wanted to befriend her.

She was glad when the school day was finally over. She followed the rest of the students out the door with her skateboard and helmet in hand. Once she was outside on the school grounds, she set her skateboard down on the pavement and put one foot on it just out of habit. She strapped on her helmet and pulled her book bag over both shoulders. Just as she was about to kick off, high pitched laughter stopped her.

"Oh, my God. What does she think she's doing?"

Elle turned to find those three guys once more, only this time, there were about five girls surrounding them.

There was more laughter after they saw the puzzled look on her face.

"Does she think she's making a new fashion statement or something?" said a redhead as she walked up to Elle and grabbed onto the wrist that had the black studded band on it. She held it up for her friends to see.

Elle quickly pulled her wrist from the girl's grasp. She gave her a hard look.

"Get real, sweety. Do you really think that you'll get anywhere in this school by looking like that?" The redhead circled her while lowering her voice so only she could hear. "And…what is that…that thing?" she pointed down at the skateboard with a flick of her hand.

"That," Elle said just as rudely, "is called a skateboard."

The girl just shrugged and whisked herself away to her friends, "Never heard of it."

Elle couldn't help herself. She sarcastically mimicked the redhead's face as she said that last part.

She got a laugh from the guys in the group, but all the girls scoffed.

The red head came towards her once again with an angry glare. "Do you even know who I am?" She got right in Elle's face.

Elle didn't back down, but instead stood her ground. And before she could stop herself, she said "Do I even care?"

That put the redhead on edge. She freaked out in a very ditzy way and turned to face her group of friends, "Duncan? Did you hear what she said to me?"

The guy who had spoken to Elle in the hall was the one to answer, "Sorry, baby. I didn't hear her say anything." Him and the guys gave a little snigger once the redhead's back was to them once again.

The redhead turned to Elle again, "You'll be sorry you crossed paths with me you little filth."

Elle just shook her head, "Somehow, I'm not all that worried."

And with that, she just boarded away from them leaving the redhead speechless.

She found herself reaching her Nana's house in no time. She entered through the side door and called out to Nana. But no one answered and so Elle went into the living room of the house and dropped her things on the floor. 'What a day,' she thought to herself as she plopped herself down on the piano bench. She let her fingers play around with the keys, making no particular melody as she thought about her day. She had never felt so alone. She couldn't believe that she didn't make even one friend on her first day. Although, she was pretty sure that she made more than one enemy. She thought that for all it was worth, she may as well have stayed at home.

As her fingers danced across the piano keys, she found herself playing a certain melody that she had heard a few times before. She was the only one in her family who was somewhat musically inclined, and although she preferred punk rock, she loved to play the piano. She recognized the melody from a movie she had once seen. While she played, she began to sing the lyrics.

I have often dreamed of a far off place

Where a hero's welcome will be waiting for me

Where the crowds will cheer

When they see my face

And a voice keeps saying

This is where I'm meant to be

I'll be there some day

I can go the distance

I will find my way

If I can be strong

I know every mile will be worth my while

When I go the distance

I'll be right where I belong

Somehow, Elle felt strongly about these lyrics - that this was how she truly felt at this point in her life.

Down an unknown road to embrace my fears

Though that road may wander

It will lead me to you

And a thousand years would be worth the wait

It might take a lifetime

But somehow I'll see it through

And I won't look back

I can go the distance

And I'll stay on track

No, I won't accept defeat

It's an uphill slope

But I won't lose hope

Till I go the distance and my journey is complete

She knew that it was doubtful she would ever make any friends at this new school if today was any indication on how her time here would go. She didn't know why, but this thought hurt her. Perhaps she just wasn't meant to have friends. Maybe she was really meant to live life as some sort of hermit. She knew that she hadn't been wanted by her biological parents - they had just left her on her parents' doorstep. There wasn't even a note explaining why they were leaving her. This rejection was probably the thing that had hurt her the most in her life.

But to look beyond the glory is the hardest part

A hero's strength is matched by his heart

As Elle thought about this, she felt like she was going to cry. But she managed to hold back the tears.

Like a shooting star I will go the distance

I will search the world

I will face its harms

I don't care how far

I can go the distance

Until I find my hero's welcome waiting in your arms

I will search the world

I will face it's harms

Till I find my hero's welcome waiting in your arms

As Elle played the last cord, she heard clapping coming from behind her.

"That was beautiful, dear," Nana came up and sat beside Elle on the piano bench.

Elle was thankful at the moment that Nana couldn't see her face because she was sure that her eyes were brimmed with tears. "I wish your father could play like that when he was your age. I couldn't get him to sit down and practice if his life depended on it!" She laughed and was surprised to get no reaction from Elle. Sensing that something was wrong, she cupped Elle's face in her hands and wrinkled her brow in worry, "Child? What is it?"

Elle just shook her Nana's hands off her face gently and said it was nothing.

"Don't even try to lie to me, my dear," Nana said. "Did your first day not go so well?"

Elle sighed in frustration. "No. It was almost as bad as every day I have spent at my old school."

"What happened?" asked Nana, her white eyes narrowed in concern.

"Nothing. It's just that I happened to meet up with the rich, snobby bunch. It's like I can't get away from them no matter where I go!" Elle threw her hands up in frustration. "It's like another group of Stacey and her friends to deal with."

Nana nodded in understanding, "That girl you got into a fight with at your old school, you mean?"

Elle nodded, forgetting that Nana wouldn't notice.

"What did happen between you two, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Stacey has been a pain in my side for as long as I can remember. She's always making fun of me for any reason she can find. Last week, she told me that the only reason my parents took me in was because nobody else wanted me. Not even my own biological parents. I don't really know what happened after that…I guess I just snapped and before I knew it, I had punched her in the face." Elle paused and felt Nana place a hand on her shoulder. "She called me worthless…and because of that, I've promised myself that I will prove her wrong." And then she added with more determination in her voice, "Someday I will prove myself. I'm not just some mistake that was left on a doorstep in the middle of the night. I know there's more to me than this…there has to be…"

"Elle, sweetheart," Nana said softly, "Stacey had no right to say that to you, whatever her reason for doing so was. I promise you that you're not worthless. You have a family who loves you very much." She knew that Elle's silence meant that she was somewhat unsure. "I believe that everything happens for a reason. I believe…that you were left on that doorstep for a reason. You do have a purpose, I promise you that. You shouldn't let the harsh words of others get you down. Alright?"

Elle nodded as she looked down at her hands. "Thanks, Nana."

Nana smiled, "Now, why don't you go wash up? You can help me make dinner tonight."

*************

Beep…Beep…Beep…

Elle groaned while she rolled over to shut off her alarm. She squinted her eyes to see what time it was.

Her eyes went wide as she realized that she only had ten minutes before the first bell rang. "Shit," she quietly scolded herself and dashed out of bed and put on her uniform. She raced around the room trying to get ready, throwing stuff into her backpack while attempting at the same time to brush the tangles out of her hair. "Oh, man…" she became frustrated and quickly pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail.

"Nana!" she yelled as she ran down the steps and came face to face with her in the kitchen. "I'm off! Talk to you later," and giving her Nana a quick kiss on the cheek she raced out the door not stopping to listen to what her Nana was calling out to her.

"Oh, no…" Elle's shoulders dropped as she realized for the first time that it was pouring rain. "Great, just great." She threw down her skateboard and started off to school, pushing herself faster than she ever had before.

She arrived five minutes late and was sure the entire world could hear her shoes squeak as she ran down the hallway to homeroom.

Once she reached the classroom door, she entered the room only to have all eyes rest upon her. The teacher didn't say much to her but instead gave her a sympathetic look. As she walked to her desk, she heard giggles from students as she passed. She didn't realize what they were giggling about until she sat down in her seat. For the first time, she realized how soaked she was. She must have looked a wreck! Her hair was tangled and her clothes were nearly soaked through. She wished that her classmates would stop staring at her. 'Man,' she thought to herself as she laid her head on the desk, 'I definitely can't wait until this day is over.'

Unfortunately, her day didn't get any better. She was at her locker just after the first bell of the afternoon had gone when she was shoved from behind. She fell into her locker and it was slammed shut behind her.

"That's what you get for messing with me, new girl!" That statement was followed by a mass of giggles and Elle knew exactly who it had come from.

"Hey!" she yelled from inside the locker. "Let me outta here!" She hit her fists hard against the locker door. "Is anybody out there?! Please open this door!!" But her cries for help would go unnoticed. Finally, after a good five minutes of yelling and hitting the door she finally gave up. She gave her fist one last hard slam against the locker, "Damn her!"

But to Elle's surprise, the locker door flung open. She stood there for a moment in shock as she carefully stepped out of her locker. She didn't really think too much about it, as she thought that she just didn't know her own strength.

She picked up her skateboard and backpack, deciding that she'd had enough of this for one day. She was heading home. 'Things definitely couldn't get any worse than this,' she thought to herself as she stepped out into the rain once again.

Elle took her time going home that afternoon. She trudged along carrying her skateboard in one hand allowing the rain to soak her right through.

As she turned a corner, she raised her head to find that she had turned into an alley of some sort. It was very dark, and it was only then that she realized that her day dreaming had caused her to become lost.

"Great," she murmured so that only she could hear. She spun around and looked both ways to see if she could place her position.

"Is the little pretty lost?" a raspy voice came from the alley.

Elle spun around to come face to face with three thugs. The one on the far left held a chain, the one in the middle walked towards her with a metal pipe, and the one on the right pounded his fists. The guy with the pipe came right up to her as she tried to back away and grabbed onto her arm. "Come on, sweets, we aren't gonna hurt you…well, at least not until we're through with you." All men laughed as if it was some great joke.

Elle tried to pull away from him but his grip was strong. Fear immediately set in. Without hesitation, Elle gave him a swift kick between the legs, and he crumpled up releasing her arm. She ran away from the men as fast as her feet would carry her and could hear their threatening yells coming from behind her. She turned one way and then another…she was panting so hard…she was so scared. She had no idea where she was going!

At one point she looked behind her and saw that they were only twenty or so feet behind her. God! They were catching up to her!

She squinted through the rain hitting the ground hard around her, and turned onto another street. She looked straight ahead and saw a sign that read 'King's Cross'. If it was a public place, then she thought she would be safe. She headed through the doors of the building and turned onto the platforms. There were people in there, but still, it wasn't all that crowded.

Elle hid behind the Platform ten pillar. She peeked around it and saw the three men fanning out, obviously trying to find her. How much worse could this day get?

Seeing that one of them was coming towards her, she made herself as scarce as possible and sighed a breath of relief as he passed her. She let her full weight lean against the pillar, but she found herself falling completely backwards instead. The wall had disappeared! She let out a small scream as she fell backwards into pitch blackness…

A/N: In the next chapter, Elle finds herself at Hogwarts. How will she take it when she finds out that wizards and witches really do exist? And why was she sent to Hogwarts? Stay tuned to find out! And don't forget to review to let me know what you think of the story so far!! ^_^