A/N~~~ ok, now the story can really begin!!!!! (Kiana and Ariana, you better be reading this!!!!) oh, and this is based on our freshman year in high school,
(last year) so our character's opinion of some of the other characters have changed. Drastically. (but don't worry too much, Ariana, Kiana, and Silvanna will remain friends!)
Disclaimer~~~ as I have already told you, the idea behind the school wasn't my idea, it was JK's, and that is why this is under the Harry Potter genre.
Thank you. Please review!!!
The Arrival
Kiana sat back in the seat. Only a few minutes more and she would be at Kualumpar, one of the challenging schools of refined magic in the world.
She and her dad had gone and bought her schoolbooks just two weeks ago, and her mom had helped her select her wand.
In fact, everything had been picture perfect until Kiana found out that her best friend would be attending Calgar instead.
Then, as if that were not enough, she was told that her archrival Jemissa was the only one from her school going to Kualumpar.
With one exception. Her secret crush, Robert, had also passed the tough exams. The only problem was that Jemissa also had a crush on Robert, and she was not keeping it a secret.
Well, not to Kiana, anyway. Kiana sighed and locked the door, planning to change into her special school uniform. As she took it out she smiled.
Her uniform was a long deep red dress with a golden dragon curled in a circle on the front. The dress was trimmed with thin gold braid and deep red rubies that glittered and always caught the light.
Her long brown hair was held back with a red velvet headband with tiny gold jingle bells sewn across the top.
About five minutes after she changed, the train came to a stop. Gathering up her stuff, she took a deep breath and walked out of her compartment and onto the platform.
Kiana gasped in astonishment. Utterly astounded, she gazed around in complete awe. Standing in front of her was the most incredible building that she had ever seen in her entire life.
Directly in front of the platform was the largest, oldest, and most amazing tree she had ever seen. Towering several hundred feet above the ground, some of the branches swirled and twisted around the trunk,
weaving in and out to create a spectacular castle of wood complete with latticed windows, gabled roofs, and hanging walkways connecting the main building to smaller castles in the surrounding trees.
Afternoon sunlight filtered down through the treetops, tinted green by the summer leaves. Kiana stood on he platform, bag in hand, just looking up and staring.
"Oh, excuse me, I'm sorry," Kiana turned around, about to yell at the jerk who just whacked her with his bag. She turned around and every insult she was about to throw at him flew right out of her head.
"I'm sorry," she finally managed to say while staring up into his deep golden-brown eyes.
"No, no, that's ok, it was my fault," he said, hesitating and gazing back into her own bright brown eyes. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Kiana," she replied, "What's yours?"
"I'm Anthony. What Tower are you in?" he asked, prolonging the conversation.
"I'm in Dragon Heights," she said, "What Tower are you in?" she questioned, heart pounding as he smiled.
"I'm in Dragon Heights too," he said, "Well, I guess I'll see you around then," he said as he waved and began to walk away.
"Yeah, I guess so," Kiana said, watching as he disappeared into the crowd. Wow, she thought to herself, that doesn't happen everyday. Once everyone was off the train and on the platform,
there was a sudden flash of light and the entire train and railroad disappeared from behind them. A few moments later, six older students dressed in uniforms with the different
Tower symbols on the front began shouting out the names of their Towers. Finally Kiana heard the name of Dragon Heights being shouted out. Grabbing her bags she wove her way
through the crowd towards the student calling out her Tower's name. She made it just as the student began calling out the names of roommates.
"Kiana Okran, Silvanna Evergreen, and Ariana Cadenza," called out the student in charge. "Please come forward for your room number." Kiana stepped forwards and joined a
tall, green-eyed girl with long black hair (and no, she is NOT modeled after Harry Potter!)standing beside a tall girl with blue eyes and silvery-blond hair.
"You girls are in room 212. Havanna," the older student called out, "Please take this group to their rooms," she asked as she turned back to her list of names.
"Come this way," said Havanna. "Dragon Heights is that tower on the far left. Next to it is Unicorn Moons, then Griffin Peaks, Lion's Mane, Northern Lights, and Centaur Skies," she said,
pointing and leading them to the base of the tree which held the castle for Dragon Heights. "Most or your classes will be in the main Castle, where you will also eat your meals. Any Questions?"
she asked. The dark-haired girl half-raised her hand as she stepped over a small brook running through a tiny channel of smooth rocks.
"Just one. How were the towers made? It looks like part of the tree, only not in a natural shape," she said, a little embarrassed by asking her question.
"Well, I'm not really sure," said their guide, her moccasined feet sinking into the thick green moss. "All I can tell you is that the branches were woven together in order to make the walls, floors,
ceilings, even the furniture. I guess over time they just grew together and formed a solid wall." She looked around. "Any more questions?" she inquired. This time Kiana raised her hand.
"When will classes start?" she asked eagerly. A wry smile flashed across Havanna's face.
"Classes- and homework- will start tomorrow," she answered. "Now," she turned around and pointed to the massive tree trunk in front of them. "This is how you get up to your Tower."
"Opanos Starasiom," she announced in a clear, steady voice. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the bark rippled and the trunk began to open, moving apart like a fluid curtain.
Inside it revealed a spiral staircase. Wordlessly the girls looked at each other, then turned and followed their guide up the steeps. As soon as they had all entered, the trunk snapped shut
behind them, causing Kiana, Silvanna, and Ariana to jump. Inside, the tree was dark, but as Kiana's eyes became more accustomed to the dim light, she could see glowing veins of golden
light moving in waves and curves along both sides of the trunk. She put out a hesitant hand and touched the wall, quickly pulling back. When nothing happened, she rested her hand back
on the trunk and continued climbing up after Havanna.
(last year) so our character's opinion of some of the other characters have changed. Drastically. (but don't worry too much, Ariana, Kiana, and Silvanna will remain friends!)
Disclaimer~~~ as I have already told you, the idea behind the school wasn't my idea, it was JK's, and that is why this is under the Harry Potter genre.
Thank you. Please review!!!
The Arrival
Kiana sat back in the seat. Only a few minutes more and she would be at Kualumpar, one of the challenging schools of refined magic in the world.
She and her dad had gone and bought her schoolbooks just two weeks ago, and her mom had helped her select her wand.
In fact, everything had been picture perfect until Kiana found out that her best friend would be attending Calgar instead.
Then, as if that were not enough, she was told that her archrival Jemissa was the only one from her school going to Kualumpar.
With one exception. Her secret crush, Robert, had also passed the tough exams. The only problem was that Jemissa also had a crush on Robert, and she was not keeping it a secret.
Well, not to Kiana, anyway. Kiana sighed and locked the door, planning to change into her special school uniform. As she took it out she smiled.
Her uniform was a long deep red dress with a golden dragon curled in a circle on the front. The dress was trimmed with thin gold braid and deep red rubies that glittered and always caught the light.
Her long brown hair was held back with a red velvet headband with tiny gold jingle bells sewn across the top.
About five minutes after she changed, the train came to a stop. Gathering up her stuff, she took a deep breath and walked out of her compartment and onto the platform.
Kiana gasped in astonishment. Utterly astounded, she gazed around in complete awe. Standing in front of her was the most incredible building that she had ever seen in her entire life.
Directly in front of the platform was the largest, oldest, and most amazing tree she had ever seen. Towering several hundred feet above the ground, some of the branches swirled and twisted around the trunk,
weaving in and out to create a spectacular castle of wood complete with latticed windows, gabled roofs, and hanging walkways connecting the main building to smaller castles in the surrounding trees.
Afternoon sunlight filtered down through the treetops, tinted green by the summer leaves. Kiana stood on he platform, bag in hand, just looking up and staring.
"Oh, excuse me, I'm sorry," Kiana turned around, about to yell at the jerk who just whacked her with his bag. She turned around and every insult she was about to throw at him flew right out of her head.
"I'm sorry," she finally managed to say while staring up into his deep golden-brown eyes.
"No, no, that's ok, it was my fault," he said, hesitating and gazing back into her own bright brown eyes. "What's your name?" he asked.
"Kiana," she replied, "What's yours?"
"I'm Anthony. What Tower are you in?" he asked, prolonging the conversation.
"I'm in Dragon Heights," she said, "What Tower are you in?" she questioned, heart pounding as he smiled.
"I'm in Dragon Heights too," he said, "Well, I guess I'll see you around then," he said as he waved and began to walk away.
"Yeah, I guess so," Kiana said, watching as he disappeared into the crowd. Wow, she thought to herself, that doesn't happen everyday. Once everyone was off the train and on the platform,
there was a sudden flash of light and the entire train and railroad disappeared from behind them. A few moments later, six older students dressed in uniforms with the different
Tower symbols on the front began shouting out the names of their Towers. Finally Kiana heard the name of Dragon Heights being shouted out. Grabbing her bags she wove her way
through the crowd towards the student calling out her Tower's name. She made it just as the student began calling out the names of roommates.
"Kiana Okran, Silvanna Evergreen, and Ariana Cadenza," called out the student in charge. "Please come forward for your room number." Kiana stepped forwards and joined a
tall, green-eyed girl with long black hair (and no, she is NOT modeled after Harry Potter!)standing beside a tall girl with blue eyes and silvery-blond hair.
"You girls are in room 212. Havanna," the older student called out, "Please take this group to their rooms," she asked as she turned back to her list of names.
"Come this way," said Havanna. "Dragon Heights is that tower on the far left. Next to it is Unicorn Moons, then Griffin Peaks, Lion's Mane, Northern Lights, and Centaur Skies," she said,
pointing and leading them to the base of the tree which held the castle for Dragon Heights. "Most or your classes will be in the main Castle, where you will also eat your meals. Any Questions?"
she asked. The dark-haired girl half-raised her hand as she stepped over a small brook running through a tiny channel of smooth rocks.
"Just one. How were the towers made? It looks like part of the tree, only not in a natural shape," she said, a little embarrassed by asking her question.
"Well, I'm not really sure," said their guide, her moccasined feet sinking into the thick green moss. "All I can tell you is that the branches were woven together in order to make the walls, floors,
ceilings, even the furniture. I guess over time they just grew together and formed a solid wall." She looked around. "Any more questions?" she inquired. This time Kiana raised her hand.
"When will classes start?" she asked eagerly. A wry smile flashed across Havanna's face.
"Classes- and homework- will start tomorrow," she answered. "Now," she turned around and pointed to the massive tree trunk in front of them. "This is how you get up to your Tower."
"Opanos Starasiom," she announced in a clear, steady voice. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the bark rippled and the trunk began to open, moving apart like a fluid curtain.
Inside it revealed a spiral staircase. Wordlessly the girls looked at each other, then turned and followed their guide up the steeps. As soon as they had all entered, the trunk snapped shut
behind them, causing Kiana, Silvanna, and Ariana to jump. Inside, the tree was dark, but as Kiana's eyes became more accustomed to the dim light, she could see glowing veins of golden
light moving in waves and curves along both sides of the trunk. She put out a hesitant hand and touched the wall, quickly pulling back. When nothing happened, she rested her hand back
on the trunk and continued climbing up after Havanna.