Tai stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express. There were a few other
people in her compartment but they were chatting among themselves and she
didn't feel like making an effort to talk to them. She would have usually
but for the effort it had taken her to get into this school. The memory
made her cringe. She had had a huge row with Mrs James, that had shook the
foundations of the building. It had just been a shouting match, with Mrs
James shouting that magic didn't exist and that the letter was just a prank
and Tai shouting back that she didn't care and she was going anyway.
And then there was the issue of getting her school stuff. A ministry witch had come by and asked if it was a convenient time to take Tai to Diagon Alley. Fortunately, she was used to dealing with people with difficult parents or guardians so she had calmly listened to Mrs James and then asked what Tai wanted to do. Of course she wasn't the one that got shouted at after she came home.
Tai sighed. After all that trouble she had expected a little more than an old fashioned steam engine. She had expected some wild display of magic. But she realised now that that had been a foolish notion. She was suddenly distracted by the compartment door opening. A plump witch was wheeling a trolley of strange looking food.
"Would you like anything from the trolley, dears?" She said cheerfully. Tai's stomach rumbled. She hadn't packed lunch but she didn't have much wizard gold either. That was another thing her mother had left her without. Money. And most of it had been stolen by the orphanages as 'funds'. She turned back to the window while the other people in the compartment bought stuff. They had parents with loads of money of course.
"Excuse me?" Tai looked up warily at the girl. She had a tangled mass of hair that made her look so much like one of those cartoon witches she nearly laughed.
"Yes?" Tai said politely as she could. Trying not to sound guarded. But years in an orphanage gave her voice a harsh edge. The girl looked a little perturbed.
"I'm Hermione Granger." She said boisterously. Tai decided she was annoying. She wished people wouldn't probe like that.
"I'm Tai Yang." Tai said simply, in a voice that said 'I don't want to talk to you.' But the girl charged on.
"What school did you go to before you came here?" Hermione asked.
"I'm from an orphanage." Tai said a little bitterly. Hermione sat down next to her with a shocked expression.
"You mean you haven't been to a wizarding school before?"
"No. What's so strange about that?"
"Wizards and witches magic is always discovered by the time they're eleven. I read it in Hogwarts: A History." She said in a know-it-all voice.
"Well I wasn't. Life isn't as orderly as the textbook says it is." Tai sneered. The girl got all huffy and walked over to her friends. She talked quietly to them – about her probably – for a while and Tai watched as the red head boys face slowly turned as red as his hair. He stalked over to her.
"You shouldn't be so nasty you know." He said testily. "You'll be put in Slytherin if you don't watch yourself. I'll bet you –" He was cut short by the other boy.
"Ron. Leave her alone it's not important. She's just being mean for the sake of it. She's trying to stir us up." He looked at her meaningfully, as if to say 'aren't you.' She stood up.
"No I'm not." She said, dangerously quiet. "I've had a really rough couple of days thanks! You probably don't know what it feels like living in a muggle orphanage. You probably have loving parents who listen to you. Mrs James already thought I was strange and when I got my letter she moved on to thinking I was a freak!" Now she was shouting. "I had to fight my way into this school. So excuse me if I've got a bit of a bad temper at the moment!" Everyone in the room was shocked into silence. Tai sat down and stared out the window. She shouldn't have shouted at them but she just needed an outlet for her frustration and they just happened to be there. She turned her head more so they couldn't see the tears running down her face. She heard one of them sit in the seat next to her. She resented it. Couldn't they get it through there thick skulls? She just wanted to be left alone.
"My parents are dead too." She looked at him surprised, then immediately regretted that he'd seen her tears. She wiped them away quickly. "I live with my aunt and uncle and cousin. They're all muggles. They tried to stop me coming to Hogwarts too. In fact they never actually told me I was a wizard."
"Really? I bet they weren't as bad as living in an orphanage though." She said sourly.
"Um… I don't know they were pretty bad." Tai chuckled. "I'm Harry Potter."
"Hi." Tai felt a lot better now. She felt like she wasn't the only one in this school who new how she felt.
"Do you want something to eat?" He asked, changing the subject.
"I am a bit hungry but I shouldn't eat your food."
"I bought too much anyway." He walked over to the other side of the compartment and picked up some of the food he had bought off the trolley lady. Tai chanced a glance at Hermione and Ron was it? As she suspected, they were both looking disapprovingly at her and Ron looked as if he were about to boil over. Tai smiled weakly at them and their frowns deepened. She looked at her feet. She supposed she should apologise. No. She hadn't really been entirely in the wrong. She'd let them simmer.
Harry came back carrying some sweets and drinks.
The rest of the train trip passed reasonably comfortably. Ron and Hermione eventually warmed up to her a little and stopped glaring at her.
Finally the train pulled to a halt.
"This is our stop." said Harry cheerfully. They all pushed their way into the packed corridor and filed out the doors. A huge man in a shaggy cloak was calling for first years.
"Is he a giant?" asked Tai, a little awe creeping into her voice.
"Well he's half giant. His name's Hagrid. He's the games keeper." said Ron. Tai watched as the first years all walked nervously over to the man.
"Come on." Hermione said impatiently. Tai followed them onto the horseless carriage.
When they arrived in the hall, there was a little confusion as to what to do with Tai but eventually Dumbledore solved the problem by summoning her to the teachers' table. Tai walked nervously over. Dumbledore smiled cheerfully at her.
"Good evening, Miss Yang." Tai nodded, not trusting her voice. She felt her hands shaking and hid them behind her back. "As a tradition in Hogwarts all new students are sorted into there houses by the sorting hat." He indicated a hat that had been placed on a stool while Tai wasn't watching. He told her to go and stand with the first years.
Tai watched nervously as the sorting hat recited a long poem about the houses. Harry, Ron and Hermione had warned her about the hat but a talking hat was still a bit strange. A severe looking witch stepped up after the hat had finished.
"When I call your name please sit on the stool and place the hat on your head." She said. "I will start with the fifth year girl. Tai Yang." Tai walked over nervously, wondering what the hat would do. She sat unceremoniously on the stool and let the hat slip over her eyes.
'Hmmm.' The small voice in her head surprised her. 'Oh dear. This will be a difficult choice. Such an unusual personality. I think I would be more inclined to put you in Ravenclaw… Oh dear.' That didn't sound good.
'What's wrong?' Thought Tai.
'What's wrong is that you're not a witch.' Tai's breath quickened.
'WHAT? But when I got my wand it worked! And my letter! I got my letter from Hogwarts! I have to have magic powers! I hope I do anyway.'
'Oh you definitely have magical powers.' Tai's worries were only slightly relieved. 'You just have a different magic, that I've never encountered before.'
'Different? Why am I always different. Why can't I be just like everyone else. Being different is so hard.'
'You'd better take me off and let me talk to Professor Dumbledore.' Tai did as she was told. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.
"What is wrong, Miss Yang?"
"Th-" she swallowed. "The sorting hat says that I'm not a-a witch." Dumbledores' friendly face creased into a frown.
"Is that true?" He addressed Tai but thankfully the sorting hat answered.
"She has magic powers professor but they aren't normal." Dumbledore chewed his lip.
"Interesting." Tai wondered what he meant by that. "Well, you'll have to sit down and have some dinner. Just sit at the Ravenclaw table for now. We'll talk about this later." Tai nodded. She was on the verge of tears. She turned numbly and walked to the Ravenclaw table. The Ravenclaws seemed unsure whether to clap or not but someone started clapping and the rest of them followed. By the time she had reached the table they were cheering. At least they thought she was a Ravenclaw. She sat down next to a boy she thought must have been in 5th year too and a smaller girl in 2nd or 3rd year.
"Hi." They said together and the small girl giggled. Tai stared at the table, trying desperately to control her tears.
"Hi." She said softly. Tai wished she were alone so she could cry. But she also wished that someone here would ask her what was wrong so she could share her troubles.
"My name's Elsie." Said the small girl cheerfully. "What's yours?"
"I'm Tai." Tai continued staring at the table, knowing that if she looked up the tears would start falling.
"That's a pretty name. Is it Japanese or something?"
"It's Mandarin Chinese. My full name's Tai Yang. It means The Sun." Tai wished this girl would stop asking her questions. She was having trouble keeping her voice level. The girl turned back to the sorting ceremony. Tai kept staring at the table. Suddenly, there was an enormous cheer from everyone as the last of the first years were sorted. Dumbledore made a small speech and the food appeared on the plates.
The feast seemed to go on forever. All Tai wanted was to find a private place so she could cry and hit things. She averted Rosie's questions by giving her one-word answers and the girl eventually got the point.
Finally the feast finished and the students were instructed to follow their house prefects. Even with her troubles Tai managed to notice the awe- inspiring mazes in this castle. She stared wide-eyed at the moving staircases and strange passageways. Eventually they came to a halt at the statue of a gargoyle with enormous wings.
"The new password is 'Filibuster'." The girl who had been leading them said. At the mention of the password the gargoyle opened its mouth wider and wider until it became a doorway. Tai followed everyone into the common room. It was decorated with blue banners with eagles printed on them. Tai met the girls she was sharing her dorm with and they led her upstairs.
"That's your bed." Said the small, mousy girl named Kayla. Everyone got changed and slipped into bed. The sound of soft snores filled the room quickly. But Tai couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about the sorting hat saying she wasn't a witch. Was she going to be kicked out of the school? Would they send her back to the orphanages? Or worse still they might lock her up, saying her magic was dangerous because it was different. Or maybe… maybe they'd do experiments on her. Now her imagination was running away with her and she knew it. She couldn't stand it any longer. She needed to do something to keep her mind off it.
Tai crept silently down the stairs and into the common room. She sat in a comfortable chair in front of the fire and opened her herbology textbook.
'The properties and uses of magical plants. 1. The Eribow. The Eribow is found in the tropical regions of Transylvania. It is commonly used as…'
Tai shut the book with a snap. She was reading the words but her mind was elsewhere. She still couldn't stop thinking about what the sorting hat had said. Finally she let the tears run down her face. She sobbed into a pillow, trying to drown out the noise. The fire was burning one side of her face but she ignored it. Suddenly the heat was shielded and a comforting arm snaked round her shoulders. Tai couldn't see who was there and she didn't care. She leaned into them. Finally, her tears dried up and she looked up at whoever had been comforting her. She was surprised to see it was a boy. She blushed and looked at her hands.
"Um… are you ok?" He asked.
"Yes. I just, um…" She could tell him what happened couldn't she? She looked up at him again and realised it was the boy who had been sitting next to her at the feast. He shifted uncomfortably.
"What wrong?" he asked gently. She sniffled and made a decision to tell him.
"When I put on the sorting hat, it told me that I wasn't a witch." The boy frowned in confusion but didn't interrupt. "It said I had magic but it wasn't normal magic and that he'd never encountered it before."
"I don't understand. That's not so terrible." He said in confusion.
"But won't they kick me out of Hogwarts or something?" the boy chuckled.
"I doubt it. Its not your fault you have different magic."
"But people wouldn't accept it that easily. People are afraid of things that are different."
"Some people are, yes. But I'm pretty sure Dumbledore will accept it. He's pretty eccentric anyway." He shrugged.
"Really?" Tai aloud herself to hope. She sighed. "I never understand people. I always take things the wrong way. And no one understands me either. I guess I'm not a people person." She laughed weakly and wiped her eyes. "I guess I'd better go to bed now. Um, thanks for… you know. I feel a lot better now."
"I'll go get that glass of water I was getting fifteen minutes ago." Tai smiled.
"My names Tai."
"I'm Brian. G'night." Tai yawned and suddenly realised how tired she was.
"Mmmm." She said sleepily and wandered off to bed.
And then there was the issue of getting her school stuff. A ministry witch had come by and asked if it was a convenient time to take Tai to Diagon Alley. Fortunately, she was used to dealing with people with difficult parents or guardians so she had calmly listened to Mrs James and then asked what Tai wanted to do. Of course she wasn't the one that got shouted at after she came home.
Tai sighed. After all that trouble she had expected a little more than an old fashioned steam engine. She had expected some wild display of magic. But she realised now that that had been a foolish notion. She was suddenly distracted by the compartment door opening. A plump witch was wheeling a trolley of strange looking food.
"Would you like anything from the trolley, dears?" She said cheerfully. Tai's stomach rumbled. She hadn't packed lunch but she didn't have much wizard gold either. That was another thing her mother had left her without. Money. And most of it had been stolen by the orphanages as 'funds'. She turned back to the window while the other people in the compartment bought stuff. They had parents with loads of money of course.
"Excuse me?" Tai looked up warily at the girl. She had a tangled mass of hair that made her look so much like one of those cartoon witches she nearly laughed.
"Yes?" Tai said politely as she could. Trying not to sound guarded. But years in an orphanage gave her voice a harsh edge. The girl looked a little perturbed.
"I'm Hermione Granger." She said boisterously. Tai decided she was annoying. She wished people wouldn't probe like that.
"I'm Tai Yang." Tai said simply, in a voice that said 'I don't want to talk to you.' But the girl charged on.
"What school did you go to before you came here?" Hermione asked.
"I'm from an orphanage." Tai said a little bitterly. Hermione sat down next to her with a shocked expression.
"You mean you haven't been to a wizarding school before?"
"No. What's so strange about that?"
"Wizards and witches magic is always discovered by the time they're eleven. I read it in Hogwarts: A History." She said in a know-it-all voice.
"Well I wasn't. Life isn't as orderly as the textbook says it is." Tai sneered. The girl got all huffy and walked over to her friends. She talked quietly to them – about her probably – for a while and Tai watched as the red head boys face slowly turned as red as his hair. He stalked over to her.
"You shouldn't be so nasty you know." He said testily. "You'll be put in Slytherin if you don't watch yourself. I'll bet you –" He was cut short by the other boy.
"Ron. Leave her alone it's not important. She's just being mean for the sake of it. She's trying to stir us up." He looked at her meaningfully, as if to say 'aren't you.' She stood up.
"No I'm not." She said, dangerously quiet. "I've had a really rough couple of days thanks! You probably don't know what it feels like living in a muggle orphanage. You probably have loving parents who listen to you. Mrs James already thought I was strange and when I got my letter she moved on to thinking I was a freak!" Now she was shouting. "I had to fight my way into this school. So excuse me if I've got a bit of a bad temper at the moment!" Everyone in the room was shocked into silence. Tai sat down and stared out the window. She shouldn't have shouted at them but she just needed an outlet for her frustration and they just happened to be there. She turned her head more so they couldn't see the tears running down her face. She heard one of them sit in the seat next to her. She resented it. Couldn't they get it through there thick skulls? She just wanted to be left alone.
"My parents are dead too." She looked at him surprised, then immediately regretted that he'd seen her tears. She wiped them away quickly. "I live with my aunt and uncle and cousin. They're all muggles. They tried to stop me coming to Hogwarts too. In fact they never actually told me I was a wizard."
"Really? I bet they weren't as bad as living in an orphanage though." She said sourly.
"Um… I don't know they were pretty bad." Tai chuckled. "I'm Harry Potter."
"Hi." Tai felt a lot better now. She felt like she wasn't the only one in this school who new how she felt.
"Do you want something to eat?" He asked, changing the subject.
"I am a bit hungry but I shouldn't eat your food."
"I bought too much anyway." He walked over to the other side of the compartment and picked up some of the food he had bought off the trolley lady. Tai chanced a glance at Hermione and Ron was it? As she suspected, they were both looking disapprovingly at her and Ron looked as if he were about to boil over. Tai smiled weakly at them and their frowns deepened. She looked at her feet. She supposed she should apologise. No. She hadn't really been entirely in the wrong. She'd let them simmer.
Harry came back carrying some sweets and drinks.
The rest of the train trip passed reasonably comfortably. Ron and Hermione eventually warmed up to her a little and stopped glaring at her.
Finally the train pulled to a halt.
"This is our stop." said Harry cheerfully. They all pushed their way into the packed corridor and filed out the doors. A huge man in a shaggy cloak was calling for first years.
"Is he a giant?" asked Tai, a little awe creeping into her voice.
"Well he's half giant. His name's Hagrid. He's the games keeper." said Ron. Tai watched as the first years all walked nervously over to the man.
"Come on." Hermione said impatiently. Tai followed them onto the horseless carriage.
When they arrived in the hall, there was a little confusion as to what to do with Tai but eventually Dumbledore solved the problem by summoning her to the teachers' table. Tai walked nervously over. Dumbledore smiled cheerfully at her.
"Good evening, Miss Yang." Tai nodded, not trusting her voice. She felt her hands shaking and hid them behind her back. "As a tradition in Hogwarts all new students are sorted into there houses by the sorting hat." He indicated a hat that had been placed on a stool while Tai wasn't watching. He told her to go and stand with the first years.
Tai watched nervously as the sorting hat recited a long poem about the houses. Harry, Ron and Hermione had warned her about the hat but a talking hat was still a bit strange. A severe looking witch stepped up after the hat had finished.
"When I call your name please sit on the stool and place the hat on your head." She said. "I will start with the fifth year girl. Tai Yang." Tai walked over nervously, wondering what the hat would do. She sat unceremoniously on the stool and let the hat slip over her eyes.
'Hmmm.' The small voice in her head surprised her. 'Oh dear. This will be a difficult choice. Such an unusual personality. I think I would be more inclined to put you in Ravenclaw… Oh dear.' That didn't sound good.
'What's wrong?' Thought Tai.
'What's wrong is that you're not a witch.' Tai's breath quickened.
'WHAT? But when I got my wand it worked! And my letter! I got my letter from Hogwarts! I have to have magic powers! I hope I do anyway.'
'Oh you definitely have magical powers.' Tai's worries were only slightly relieved. 'You just have a different magic, that I've never encountered before.'
'Different? Why am I always different. Why can't I be just like everyone else. Being different is so hard.'
'You'd better take me off and let me talk to Professor Dumbledore.' Tai did as she was told. Dumbledore raised his eyebrows.
"What is wrong, Miss Yang?"
"Th-" she swallowed. "The sorting hat says that I'm not a-a witch." Dumbledores' friendly face creased into a frown.
"Is that true?" He addressed Tai but thankfully the sorting hat answered.
"She has magic powers professor but they aren't normal." Dumbledore chewed his lip.
"Interesting." Tai wondered what he meant by that. "Well, you'll have to sit down and have some dinner. Just sit at the Ravenclaw table for now. We'll talk about this later." Tai nodded. She was on the verge of tears. She turned numbly and walked to the Ravenclaw table. The Ravenclaws seemed unsure whether to clap or not but someone started clapping and the rest of them followed. By the time she had reached the table they were cheering. At least they thought she was a Ravenclaw. She sat down next to a boy she thought must have been in 5th year too and a smaller girl in 2nd or 3rd year.
"Hi." They said together and the small girl giggled. Tai stared at the table, trying desperately to control her tears.
"Hi." She said softly. Tai wished she were alone so she could cry. But she also wished that someone here would ask her what was wrong so she could share her troubles.
"My name's Elsie." Said the small girl cheerfully. "What's yours?"
"I'm Tai." Tai continued staring at the table, knowing that if she looked up the tears would start falling.
"That's a pretty name. Is it Japanese or something?"
"It's Mandarin Chinese. My full name's Tai Yang. It means The Sun." Tai wished this girl would stop asking her questions. She was having trouble keeping her voice level. The girl turned back to the sorting ceremony. Tai kept staring at the table. Suddenly, there was an enormous cheer from everyone as the last of the first years were sorted. Dumbledore made a small speech and the food appeared on the plates.
The feast seemed to go on forever. All Tai wanted was to find a private place so she could cry and hit things. She averted Rosie's questions by giving her one-word answers and the girl eventually got the point.
Finally the feast finished and the students were instructed to follow their house prefects. Even with her troubles Tai managed to notice the awe- inspiring mazes in this castle. She stared wide-eyed at the moving staircases and strange passageways. Eventually they came to a halt at the statue of a gargoyle with enormous wings.
"The new password is 'Filibuster'." The girl who had been leading them said. At the mention of the password the gargoyle opened its mouth wider and wider until it became a doorway. Tai followed everyone into the common room. It was decorated with blue banners with eagles printed on them. Tai met the girls she was sharing her dorm with and they led her upstairs.
"That's your bed." Said the small, mousy girl named Kayla. Everyone got changed and slipped into bed. The sound of soft snores filled the room quickly. But Tai couldn't sleep. She kept thinking about the sorting hat saying she wasn't a witch. Was she going to be kicked out of the school? Would they send her back to the orphanages? Or worse still they might lock her up, saying her magic was dangerous because it was different. Or maybe… maybe they'd do experiments on her. Now her imagination was running away with her and she knew it. She couldn't stand it any longer. She needed to do something to keep her mind off it.
Tai crept silently down the stairs and into the common room. She sat in a comfortable chair in front of the fire and opened her herbology textbook.
'The properties and uses of magical plants. 1. The Eribow. The Eribow is found in the tropical regions of Transylvania. It is commonly used as…'
Tai shut the book with a snap. She was reading the words but her mind was elsewhere. She still couldn't stop thinking about what the sorting hat had said. Finally she let the tears run down her face. She sobbed into a pillow, trying to drown out the noise. The fire was burning one side of her face but she ignored it. Suddenly the heat was shielded and a comforting arm snaked round her shoulders. Tai couldn't see who was there and she didn't care. She leaned into them. Finally, her tears dried up and she looked up at whoever had been comforting her. She was surprised to see it was a boy. She blushed and looked at her hands.
"Um… are you ok?" He asked.
"Yes. I just, um…" She could tell him what happened couldn't she? She looked up at him again and realised it was the boy who had been sitting next to her at the feast. He shifted uncomfortably.
"What wrong?" he asked gently. She sniffled and made a decision to tell him.
"When I put on the sorting hat, it told me that I wasn't a witch." The boy frowned in confusion but didn't interrupt. "It said I had magic but it wasn't normal magic and that he'd never encountered it before."
"I don't understand. That's not so terrible." He said in confusion.
"But won't they kick me out of Hogwarts or something?" the boy chuckled.
"I doubt it. Its not your fault you have different magic."
"But people wouldn't accept it that easily. People are afraid of things that are different."
"Some people are, yes. But I'm pretty sure Dumbledore will accept it. He's pretty eccentric anyway." He shrugged.
"Really?" Tai aloud herself to hope. She sighed. "I never understand people. I always take things the wrong way. And no one understands me either. I guess I'm not a people person." She laughed weakly and wiped her eyes. "I guess I'd better go to bed now. Um, thanks for… you know. I feel a lot better now."
"I'll go get that glass of water I was getting fifteen minutes ago." Tai smiled.
"My names Tai."
"I'm Brian. G'night." Tai yawned and suddenly realised how tired she was.
"Mmmm." She said sleepily and wandered off to bed.