Harry Potter and the Newcomer's Secret
By: Samantha Marcolini
Prologue: A Witch from Another Country
It took me long enough to find the train station, but finding Platform 9 ¾ looked like it was going to a bit more of a challenge. I struggled to carry all my stuff, which included a trunk, my black owl 'Hades', and my ratty old broom, a Meteorite 55. Weird stuff to have, isn't it? Let me introduce you to a witch. Her name is Samantha Zappel, and she is fifteen years old. Her wand is fourteen inches long, is made from Yew wood, and contains a single Griffin feather. She just moved here to England a week ago, and this was going to be her first time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She is originally from Canada, where she studied the Dark Arts at Verbatim Academy. When her muggle parents forced her to move here, she placed a dark spell on herself. This spell denies her the ability to smile anymore. She is the only known witch in the family, and her parents refuse to have anything to do with this abnormality. By the way, this witch just so happens to be me. I was wandering around aimlessly, desperately trying to find the Platform before it came time for the train to leave. I finally stopped someone who seemed to know where they were going. "Excuse me sir, but can you tell me where I can find Platform 9 ¾?" He gave me a sideways glance, then continued on his way, totally ignoring me. I just turned a corner, which lead back to Platform 10, when I crashed into somebody. "Ouch, watch where you're going!" I cried out, trying my best to shake away the stars. "Sorry about that." a deeper voice responded. I looked up, and saw a guy with black hair, green eyes, and a funny looking scar on his forehead. He shook his head a couple of times, and stood himself up. Then he outstretched his arm and offered to help me up. I just put my hands on the ground and helped myself up. "Yeah, whatever," I said, grabbing all my stuff and putting it back on the trolley. "Okay then, see you!" he said happily, snatching his trunk and his white owl. He then packed it back on the trolley and headed off in the opposite direction. That's when it finally hit me. That guy must obviously be a wizard! I walked after him, careful as not to be caught. He finally stopped at a pillar halfway between Platforms 9 and 10. I hid behind another pillar and watched him with curious eyes. He was just standing there, looking like a total loser. I held back the urge to let out a sarcastic laugh. But just as I was about to turn and walk away, he began walking again, this time a lot faster. He seemed to be running straight at the pillar itself. "What is he doing?" I asked myself, starring at him wide- eyed. He was about to hit the wall, and I almost flung my hands in front of my eyes, when I saw something amazing. He disappeared. He had walked right into the brick barrier! "Oh.well, I suppose I have to do that too." I whispered to myself, walking out from behind the pillar. I looked around quickly; making sure no one was keeping a close eye on me. I grasped my trolley tightly, and I began walking at full speed towards the barrier. "Oh God, please let this work!" I thought to myself as I hastily ran towards the wall. I held my breath and closed my eyes, about to crash into the brick pillar. But to my surprise, the expected crash never came. I opened my eyes, and found myself in an entirely new place! It was packed with people, all seeming to be going back to school. I looked straight ahead, and saw a glorious sight. There was a train.a flaming, fire engine red train to be exact. And the words 'Hogwarts Express' were proudly glistening on the head of the train. Looking up now, I saw the numbers 9 and ¾ brilliantly shining on a metallic plaque. "Finally!" I cried, letting out a sigh of relief. I walked around for a few moments, checking out the train and watching these kids say good bye to their mommies and daddies. I just snorted. "Babies," I sneered, heading back to the front of the train. I saw a few people take their stuff and heave it into the body of the Express. I decided to mirror their moves, only because it was my first year here. After packing everything away safely, I didn't hesitate to go looking around again. My adventures at Hogwarts were about to begin! Although, to me, this just seemed to be a punishment.
Chapter One: All Aboard the Hogwarts Express
I then noticed that everyone was beginning to board the brightly coloured train. I figured that I should consider doing the same thing. My bag and my trunk were packed away in the body of the Express, so there was no other choice but for me to take my last breath of freedom.and board the train. I slowly entered at the front of the Express, and glanced from seat to seat. But all I could see were kids, kids, and more kids! They were all chatting happily, and actually seemed excited to go back to school! I narrowed my ruby-red eyes. "Fools," I muttered, heading for the next car. "They're all foolish children. They probably think magic is a game. They have no idea what kind of power they're about to face this year." As I reached the next car, I grabbed a hold of my wand and gripped it tightly. I stepped inside, quickly browsing through each cabinet. But as expected, there was no room. "I never knew idiots came by the cart-full. Oh well." I had the same luck with the next two cars on the train. All full. I growled loudly as I entered the last car, the last chance. As soon as I looked up, I immediately saw an empty seat. I cocked an eyebrow as I slowly approached the seat. It was positioned beside a girl that looked a little younger than I was. She had dark brown hair, freckles, bluish-gray eyes, and was sitting next to a guy. I looked up at her. "Excuse me, but is anyone sitting there?" I asked sarcastically. She glanced up and gave me a dirty look. I glared at her. "As a matter of fact, it is taken." She sneered. "Wow, do you really need two seats to sit down?" I asked, again being sarcastic. She smiled. "Actually, I just don't want a nerd like you sitting down beside me. And anyway, my feet need a place to rest, and this seems like the perfect spot." I just rolled my eyes. "Ha, with feet like that, I can understand why they need so much room." "Ha ha ha.you're just so funny." She said, turning the other way. She began talking to her guy friend there, so I just decided to leave. But before I did, I turned around, pointed my wand her way, and whispered, "Lemencious." A few seconds later, the colour from her skin began to fade. Her eyes no longer had the same colour, and her hair had turned an ugly gray. I stood there and laughed for a moment before I kicked up my heels and walked away. I opened the doors for the second last cabin, hoping to find a seat. All four seats were full, but one of its occupants caught my eye. He had red hair, blue eyes, a face full of cute freckles, and was laughing. I stood there and stared at him before I finally caught myself and looked to the other seats. I had to blink twice. Was I seeing double? No. The guy beside him was his identical twin. But for the weirdest reason, he didn't stand out as much as his brother. Finally, they all stopped laughing and glanced in my direction. My body wanted me to blush, but the spell I had cast on myself refused to let me do so. "Can we help you?" one of the guys on the opposite side asked. "Huh? Oh.no. I was just looking for a place to sit down. Obviously there isn't one here, so.I'll just be going now. Sorry to bother you." I turned and began closing the door, but just as I did, I made eye contact with the guy I had had my eyes on. He gave me a smile.and then I closed the door. "Last cabin on this stupid train." I sighed, slowly opening the door. I glanced in, and almost smiled. There were only two girls in there, and both of them seemed to be of my age. They both looked up. "Excuse me, but is anyone sitting there?" I asked, expecting to hear them say that it was taken. The girl with silver hair smiled. "Nope. Why? You need a seat?" she asked. "Well duh!" I thought to myself, still not opening my mouth. But I nodded. "Okay, have a seat!" she said cheerfully. "Gross. All this cheerfulness is going to make me barf." I thought as I looked over to the other girl. She seemed to be giving me a dirty look, so I decided to take the seat next to the silver-haired chick. "My name's Cheryl, and this is my friend Katie. What year are you in?" she asked. "Ugh.my fifth year. Why?" I asked, trying not to sound too rude. "Oh, we are too. I don't think I remember seeing you around before." "Obviously. This is going to be my first year at this stupid school." I growled. "It's not a stupid school, it's actually pretty cool." Her friend Katie said from across the seats. "But you might want to watch out for Professor Snape.not the type of guy who's fun to be around." "Snape huh? He doesn't sound so scary." I gripped my fists tighter and glared straight ahead of me. "Well don't forget. Snape might be the head of your house. But that's only if you get sorted into Slytherin, of course." Cheryl said, flinging a long piece of her silver hair out of her face. "Slytherin? What the hell is that?" I asked, this time obviously sounding rude. But both girls continued to smile. "Slytherin is one of the four houses that you might be staying in. Other than Slytherin, there's Gryffindor, which Cheryl and me are in, there's Ravenclaw, and there's Hufflepuff. Slytherin is the bad one. It turns out more dark witches and wizards than any other house." "HEY! You got something against dark witches and wizards?" I asked suddenly, pulling out my wand and pointing it right at the surprised girl. She just cocked an eyebrow. "Doesn't everybody?" she replied, not knowing exactly what to say. I growled lowly, then sneered at her. "For your information, I am a dark witch!" Both girls seemed stunned. I didn't get what the big deal was, until Cheryl finally spoke. "You're actually a dark witch?" she asked. "Sure. I studied dark magic in Canada. Why? What's wrong with that?" "Nothing. Nothing at all." She turned around, not saying anything. I stared at her blankly for a few more minutes before I turned back in my seat and stared at the door. After a few moments in an uncomfortable silence, I felt the train give a jerk, and slowly, it began moving underneath me. I just sighed and settled down in my seat. I figured that it was going to be a long trip, so I might as well get comfortable. "My God is this ever going to be a long year," I thought to myself as the train pulled out of the station and into brood daylight. Cheryl suddenly turned to me. "Nah. The year only goes by slowly if you don't have any friends. That and if you don't have any fun." "What are you talking about?" I asked, confused. She gave me a puzzled look. "Didn't you just say that you thought the year was going to be going by slowly?" "Ugh.no." I said, sounding extremely rude. "I think the dye from your hair is getting to your brain because you sure are weird." "My hair's not dyed. This is natural sister," she said, wrapping a little piece around her pinkie finger. I just rolled my eyes and sat back. "Great, I'm going to be spending my entire time on this kiddy train with a bunch of weirdoes. Great.just freaking great."
Chapter Two: The Reoccurring Dream
I didn't talk much on the train. As a matter of fact, I didn't even talk at all. I quietly munched on the Bertie Botts Beans that I purchased from the fat lady and the trolley, and stared out the window at the boring scenery. That was about it. Cheryl and Katie kept babbling on in French about a place called Beauxbatons. At some point in the conversation, I really wish I knew what they were talking about, but I didn't dare to ask. Finally at around lunchtime, I managed to doze off and forget about all my problems. Well, at least I thought I would. It was a younger me, running in a field with nothing in it except for grass. I could tell instantly that I was back in Canada, and it seemed to be nighttime outside. I was running, but not for fun. In this dream, I seemed to be running for my life. "Stop it! Just leave me alone!" I cried, running faster and faster as the minutes progressed. But no matter how much I pleaded, the person kept walking faster and faster, getting ever so close to me. "It's not my fault! I never wanted to be a witch, and to have these stupid powers of mine! Just please.I beg you.LEAVE ME ALONE!" By this time, I was so out of breath that I had to stop running. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and clutching my chest closely. Whatever it was that was chasing me was now standing right behind me. I was crying, sweating, and panting. For some odd reason, however, I knew I wouldn't make it out of this field alive. I flipped myself around, to view my worthy opponent, but all I saw of him or her was a long black cape and an extended wand, pointing in my direction. "Please, master, spare my worthless life. I beg of you, please. Don't hurt me." But as it seemed, it was too late. "Crucio!" A deep voice sounded from inside the hood of the person. A bright green stream of light shot out from the wand, and hit my body head on. I wanted to scream, I really did. But something was preventing me from it. My body was in immense pain, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had been hit with the Cruciatus curse. My body was madly twitching, and my arms grasped their opposite tightly. I was trying my best to fight it, but because I hadn't had the time to do the counter-curse, I wasn't able to fight it off. I was going to die, and in a very painful was too. I felt myself give one last scream as my body finally gave up the struggle. I opened my eyes widely, and gasped for air. I was lathered in sweat, and my body was shaking like crazy. I looked over at Cheryl, her mouth was gaped open and her eyes were wide. She finally seemed to be noticing me staring at her, so she shook it away, and smiled once again. "You okay?" she asked; now trying to act befuddled. I just cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, I'm fine. Don't talk to me," I grumbled, wiping away the sweat. My body was still quivering, but it was slowly calming down, seeing as I was back safely on the train. "Okay then," Cheryl said, turning back to Katie and talking in French again. I just rolled my eyes. But then I noticed that they were both in black robes with a weird looking symbol on them. The symbol was red, gold, and had a little lion on it. "What are you wearing?" I asked, actually not sounding too rude. "Our uniforms," Katie said, looking me over. "Aren't you going to change? We're going to be arriving soon." "Oh, sorry. I don't have one of those ugly things," I thought, looking out the window once again. "They are not ugly!" came Cheryl's voice from behind me. I spun around in my chair, and glared at her. "What the hell are you talking about now?" I imposed. "Our uniforms! They are not ugly! They are, as a matter of fact, of profound quality." "I never called them ugly," I muttered, looking at her like she was abnormal. "Oh.sorry!" she said, her face turning quite red. "I guess I'm just hearing things." And with that, she turned back around. "You need a uniform?" Katie asked, looking at me. "Ugh.yeah! Kind of." I mumbled, feeling slightly humiliated. "Well, I have an extra one I always keep in case I burn this one. But.well.I guess you can have it since you don't have one. We're about the same size of fit, so you don't have to worry about it being too broad or too petite." "Ugh.yeah.thanks?" I said, getting up from my seat. I opened the door to the reveal the hallway of the train, feeling like I just made a few friends. This is what I was hoping for though.right?
Chapter Three: Hogwarts and the Sorting Hat
I came back from changing, and sat back down in my chair. But by the time I did that, I could feel the train coming to a stop. I felt like a total loser in this uniform, but I guess I was going to have to get used to wearing it, right? I was still sitting down when the train came to a full stop, but Katie and Cheryl had already stood up, and were heading for the door. "You coming?" Cheryl asked, seeing as I was still sitting down. She smiled and was holding the door open for me. "Ugh.yeah.I guess." I then stood up again, and left the car. As I filed out of the train (Like a cow in a herd might I add), I saw the cute red-head just a few feet in front of me. I moved faster yet, trying to end up somewhere beside him. But to my dismay, when I got outside, he was no where to be seen. "Damn!" I thought. That's when I looked straight ahead, and saw a magnificent sight. It was a huge castle, and it was lit up brilliantly. My mouth dropped at the sight. "Wow. It's beautiful." I muttered to myself. But then I was brought back down to earth by a deep British voice. "Firs' years over 'ere!" a huge giant was saying. He had a big black beard, long trench coat, and was holding up a lantern. Then from behind me, another voice was calling out; "Fifth years come with me!" I saw Katie and Cheryl head over towards the voice, but that's when I got confused. I was in my fifth year of schooling, but this was my first year in this castle. Which way should I go? "Excuse me," I called up to the giant. But he didn't bother to look down at me. I guess he didn't hear me calling. "EXCUSE ME!" I shouted even louder. Finally, he looked down and saw me standing there. "Yea?" he asked, his big black eyes staring into mine. "I just moved here from Canada, and this is my first year to Hogwarts. But I'm fifteen and in my fifth year of school. Can you tell me where to go?" I inquired. "So you're Samantha, eh?" he said, his loud voice booming over everyone else's voice. "Well duh!" I said rudely. He grunted. "Fine then. You come with me. You're goin' to be sorted, then you can take you're regular classes. Aiight?" "Whatever," I sighed, staying in my place. He looked slightly offended, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he continued calling out for the first year students. After about five minutes a standing there, looking like a moron, the giant man turned his back and hollered "Follow me ev'ryone!" A tremendous bunch of kids were walking with me, some of them actually making conversation with me. "Isn't this cool?" a younger looking girl muttered excitedly, looking up at the gigantic castle. I merely grunted. "I finally get to be a student the ever famous Hogwarts School!" another girl stated proudly. I rolled my eyes and began walking faster. We arrived at a lake soon enough, which was magnificently lit by the lights from the castle. Awaiting us in the lake was a set of miniature boats. "Four to a boat! Partner up!" the giant once again called out to us, sitting in the first boat (which he had all to himself). Grumbling, I sat in a boat by myself, which was soon filled up by three other students. Two boys and girl. "This is so much fun!" the girl squealed, as the boats began to sail off towards the school. The guys didn't reply, however, because they were too busy staring at the immense castle that waited ahead of them. I didn't bother looking ahead of me. I was getting pretty tired of staring at the same thing, so I sighed and stuck my head in my hand and let my other hand dip into the darkened water. I swirled my hand around, desperately wishing to return back to Canada, where my friends and normal life dwelled. But even I knew that I was never going to return to that wonderful country again. At least not in this lifetime. I found myself drifting off into a daydream, when I was rudely awakened by a woman's shrill and irritable voice. "Everybody, come with me," she said sternly. I was reluctant to listen, but I did, following the huge crowd as we all headed toward the doors of the castle. "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You and your fellow classmates will soon be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Huff." "Yeah yeah, I've heard all of this already. Can I just be sorted and get on with my life?" I shot, crossing my arms and staring at a wall beside me. The teacher looked offended, and glared at me. "I've been warned about you.you're Samantha, aren't you?" "No.I'm Santa Claus." I snorted. A couple of people around me giggled menacingly with laughter, as I just stood there, looking up sarcastically at the teacher. She shot me a threatening look. "All right then, you come with me.Hagrid, you stay here and watch this bunch for me for a moment." "Aye," he responded, getting out of the boat and walking up towards our group with loud steps. The teacher opened the giant doors, allowing me to step inside out of the horrible rain. She quickly closed them again, and beckoned for me to follow her. I rolled my eyes and followed, only because I had no choice. We trotted up a couple of flights of stairs, eventually getting to another giant oak door. "Follow me." she stated, opening the door to reveal a giant hallway, filled to the capacity with students. I looked around quickly, drinking in every sight, smell and sound. But just then, the teacher took off again, walking at a rapid pace. I hurried myself along, desperate to keep up with her. I passed by many students, some of them looking in my direction as I passed. We were about half way there, when that redheaded guy had met my eyes again. I could feel my heart begin to beat faster as I walked right past him, wanting to stop and just hug him to death. As expected, however, we continued to walk to the front of the hall, by the giant table filled with teachers by the looks of it. In front of it, however, was a small three- legged stool. And a-top the stool was a tattered, mangled looking hat. I held back a laugh. "What in God's name is that?" I asked, raising a brow and looking at the piece of torn up junk. "You should know, Miss Zappel, after all, you heard all of this before," the teacher said, looking at me like I was a five year old. I looked away as she stood at the front of the students and called out in a loud voice; "Attention please!" It took about a good minute, but eventually, everyone was sitting down in their seats and looking upwards at us, whispering quietly. "We have a new student. Her name is Samantha Zappel and has come to us all the way from Canada. She is in her fifth year of schooling, so she will be sorted and shall take her classes like any other student. Samantha, please, sit down on the stool to be sorted." I looked around; hundreds of students both younger and older were staring at me. I walked slowly up to the stool, the professor now holding the mangy hat up at its end. I sat down, wanting to go red in the face, but before I could complain, the hat was on my head, falling much below my eyes. I groaned and sat there, wanting to throw it off at any given minute. "So.not enjoying your time here at the school, are you?" a sudden voice said in my ears. I screamed out loud, my face turning a bright red from embarrassment. The voice I heard just laughed. "You don't have to be afraid you know, I don't.bite." "Can you just put me in a house already so we can both move on with our.lives." I thought, rolling my eyes in the mean time. "Oh, impatient are we? Hum.you'd do exceedingly well in Slytherin, but there's something about you that tickles my fancy. You have an extraordinary quality that distinguishes you from the Slytherins.so I'd better make it.HUFFLEPUFF!" it called out for the entire school to hear. I heard the sound of echoed claps from the students at the third table to the left, and suddenly, the teacher removed the hat, allowing me to get another firm glimpse of the school. "Well.go on.join your fellow classmates," she said, pointing towards the table. I nodded silently and got up, walking away and heading towards the 'Hufflepuff' table. "Hey new girl, come sit over here!" a girl said, patting the bench beside her. I looked around at all the new faces most of them smiling at me, nodding me a small 'hello'. I sat down beside the girl, and she turned and smirked at me. "Hello, I'm Hannah!" she said brightly. I looked up at her and nodded. "Just call me Sam," I stated, looking at the table with a vacant expression. Hannah just kept on smiling. "Hey, come on! This house is pretty cool.cheer up! Smile!" "Can't smile." I said bluntly, looking up at her. "Oh, everyone can smile.it's just something you have to try!" "No.I mean it, I can't smile. I have a curse on me forbidding me to smile." "Oh." she responded, blinking a few times. I looked slightly away again. Suddenly, a few of the people around me turned and smiled at me, all of them presumably speaking in unison. "Hullo new girl! Your name is Samantha right?" I wanted to explode from all the happy faces, no one actually seeming to notice they were back at school. I could feel my eyes widen as I nodded my head repeatedly, not knowing what to say to the brigade of people.
By: Samantha Marcolini
Prologue: A Witch from Another Country
It took me long enough to find the train station, but finding Platform 9 ¾ looked like it was going to a bit more of a challenge. I struggled to carry all my stuff, which included a trunk, my black owl 'Hades', and my ratty old broom, a Meteorite 55. Weird stuff to have, isn't it? Let me introduce you to a witch. Her name is Samantha Zappel, and she is fifteen years old. Her wand is fourteen inches long, is made from Yew wood, and contains a single Griffin feather. She just moved here to England a week ago, and this was going to be her first time at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She is originally from Canada, where she studied the Dark Arts at Verbatim Academy. When her muggle parents forced her to move here, she placed a dark spell on herself. This spell denies her the ability to smile anymore. She is the only known witch in the family, and her parents refuse to have anything to do with this abnormality. By the way, this witch just so happens to be me. I was wandering around aimlessly, desperately trying to find the Platform before it came time for the train to leave. I finally stopped someone who seemed to know where they were going. "Excuse me sir, but can you tell me where I can find Platform 9 ¾?" He gave me a sideways glance, then continued on his way, totally ignoring me. I just turned a corner, which lead back to Platform 10, when I crashed into somebody. "Ouch, watch where you're going!" I cried out, trying my best to shake away the stars. "Sorry about that." a deeper voice responded. I looked up, and saw a guy with black hair, green eyes, and a funny looking scar on his forehead. He shook his head a couple of times, and stood himself up. Then he outstretched his arm and offered to help me up. I just put my hands on the ground and helped myself up. "Yeah, whatever," I said, grabbing all my stuff and putting it back on the trolley. "Okay then, see you!" he said happily, snatching his trunk and his white owl. He then packed it back on the trolley and headed off in the opposite direction. That's when it finally hit me. That guy must obviously be a wizard! I walked after him, careful as not to be caught. He finally stopped at a pillar halfway between Platforms 9 and 10. I hid behind another pillar and watched him with curious eyes. He was just standing there, looking like a total loser. I held back the urge to let out a sarcastic laugh. But just as I was about to turn and walk away, he began walking again, this time a lot faster. He seemed to be running straight at the pillar itself. "What is he doing?" I asked myself, starring at him wide- eyed. He was about to hit the wall, and I almost flung my hands in front of my eyes, when I saw something amazing. He disappeared. He had walked right into the brick barrier! "Oh.well, I suppose I have to do that too." I whispered to myself, walking out from behind the pillar. I looked around quickly; making sure no one was keeping a close eye on me. I grasped my trolley tightly, and I began walking at full speed towards the barrier. "Oh God, please let this work!" I thought to myself as I hastily ran towards the wall. I held my breath and closed my eyes, about to crash into the brick pillar. But to my surprise, the expected crash never came. I opened my eyes, and found myself in an entirely new place! It was packed with people, all seeming to be going back to school. I looked straight ahead, and saw a glorious sight. There was a train.a flaming, fire engine red train to be exact. And the words 'Hogwarts Express' were proudly glistening on the head of the train. Looking up now, I saw the numbers 9 and ¾ brilliantly shining on a metallic plaque. "Finally!" I cried, letting out a sigh of relief. I walked around for a few moments, checking out the train and watching these kids say good bye to their mommies and daddies. I just snorted. "Babies," I sneered, heading back to the front of the train. I saw a few people take their stuff and heave it into the body of the Express. I decided to mirror their moves, only because it was my first year here. After packing everything away safely, I didn't hesitate to go looking around again. My adventures at Hogwarts were about to begin! Although, to me, this just seemed to be a punishment.
Chapter One: All Aboard the Hogwarts Express
I then noticed that everyone was beginning to board the brightly coloured train. I figured that I should consider doing the same thing. My bag and my trunk were packed away in the body of the Express, so there was no other choice but for me to take my last breath of freedom.and board the train. I slowly entered at the front of the Express, and glanced from seat to seat. But all I could see were kids, kids, and more kids! They were all chatting happily, and actually seemed excited to go back to school! I narrowed my ruby-red eyes. "Fools," I muttered, heading for the next car. "They're all foolish children. They probably think magic is a game. They have no idea what kind of power they're about to face this year." As I reached the next car, I grabbed a hold of my wand and gripped it tightly. I stepped inside, quickly browsing through each cabinet. But as expected, there was no room. "I never knew idiots came by the cart-full. Oh well." I had the same luck with the next two cars on the train. All full. I growled loudly as I entered the last car, the last chance. As soon as I looked up, I immediately saw an empty seat. I cocked an eyebrow as I slowly approached the seat. It was positioned beside a girl that looked a little younger than I was. She had dark brown hair, freckles, bluish-gray eyes, and was sitting next to a guy. I looked up at her. "Excuse me, but is anyone sitting there?" I asked sarcastically. She glanced up and gave me a dirty look. I glared at her. "As a matter of fact, it is taken." She sneered. "Wow, do you really need two seats to sit down?" I asked, again being sarcastic. She smiled. "Actually, I just don't want a nerd like you sitting down beside me. And anyway, my feet need a place to rest, and this seems like the perfect spot." I just rolled my eyes. "Ha, with feet like that, I can understand why they need so much room." "Ha ha ha.you're just so funny." She said, turning the other way. She began talking to her guy friend there, so I just decided to leave. But before I did, I turned around, pointed my wand her way, and whispered, "Lemencious." A few seconds later, the colour from her skin began to fade. Her eyes no longer had the same colour, and her hair had turned an ugly gray. I stood there and laughed for a moment before I kicked up my heels and walked away. I opened the doors for the second last cabin, hoping to find a seat. All four seats were full, but one of its occupants caught my eye. He had red hair, blue eyes, a face full of cute freckles, and was laughing. I stood there and stared at him before I finally caught myself and looked to the other seats. I had to blink twice. Was I seeing double? No. The guy beside him was his identical twin. But for the weirdest reason, he didn't stand out as much as his brother. Finally, they all stopped laughing and glanced in my direction. My body wanted me to blush, but the spell I had cast on myself refused to let me do so. "Can we help you?" one of the guys on the opposite side asked. "Huh? Oh.no. I was just looking for a place to sit down. Obviously there isn't one here, so.I'll just be going now. Sorry to bother you." I turned and began closing the door, but just as I did, I made eye contact with the guy I had had my eyes on. He gave me a smile.and then I closed the door. "Last cabin on this stupid train." I sighed, slowly opening the door. I glanced in, and almost smiled. There were only two girls in there, and both of them seemed to be of my age. They both looked up. "Excuse me, but is anyone sitting there?" I asked, expecting to hear them say that it was taken. The girl with silver hair smiled. "Nope. Why? You need a seat?" she asked. "Well duh!" I thought to myself, still not opening my mouth. But I nodded. "Okay, have a seat!" she said cheerfully. "Gross. All this cheerfulness is going to make me barf." I thought as I looked over to the other girl. She seemed to be giving me a dirty look, so I decided to take the seat next to the silver-haired chick. "My name's Cheryl, and this is my friend Katie. What year are you in?" she asked. "Ugh.my fifth year. Why?" I asked, trying not to sound too rude. "Oh, we are too. I don't think I remember seeing you around before." "Obviously. This is going to be my first year at this stupid school." I growled. "It's not a stupid school, it's actually pretty cool." Her friend Katie said from across the seats. "But you might want to watch out for Professor Snape.not the type of guy who's fun to be around." "Snape huh? He doesn't sound so scary." I gripped my fists tighter and glared straight ahead of me. "Well don't forget. Snape might be the head of your house. But that's only if you get sorted into Slytherin, of course." Cheryl said, flinging a long piece of her silver hair out of her face. "Slytherin? What the hell is that?" I asked, this time obviously sounding rude. But both girls continued to smile. "Slytherin is one of the four houses that you might be staying in. Other than Slytherin, there's Gryffindor, which Cheryl and me are in, there's Ravenclaw, and there's Hufflepuff. Slytherin is the bad one. It turns out more dark witches and wizards than any other house." "HEY! You got something against dark witches and wizards?" I asked suddenly, pulling out my wand and pointing it right at the surprised girl. She just cocked an eyebrow. "Doesn't everybody?" she replied, not knowing exactly what to say. I growled lowly, then sneered at her. "For your information, I am a dark witch!" Both girls seemed stunned. I didn't get what the big deal was, until Cheryl finally spoke. "You're actually a dark witch?" she asked. "Sure. I studied dark magic in Canada. Why? What's wrong with that?" "Nothing. Nothing at all." She turned around, not saying anything. I stared at her blankly for a few more minutes before I turned back in my seat and stared at the door. After a few moments in an uncomfortable silence, I felt the train give a jerk, and slowly, it began moving underneath me. I just sighed and settled down in my seat. I figured that it was going to be a long trip, so I might as well get comfortable. "My God is this ever going to be a long year," I thought to myself as the train pulled out of the station and into brood daylight. Cheryl suddenly turned to me. "Nah. The year only goes by slowly if you don't have any friends. That and if you don't have any fun." "What are you talking about?" I asked, confused. She gave me a puzzled look. "Didn't you just say that you thought the year was going to be going by slowly?" "Ugh.no." I said, sounding extremely rude. "I think the dye from your hair is getting to your brain because you sure are weird." "My hair's not dyed. This is natural sister," she said, wrapping a little piece around her pinkie finger. I just rolled my eyes and sat back. "Great, I'm going to be spending my entire time on this kiddy train with a bunch of weirdoes. Great.just freaking great."
Chapter Two: The Reoccurring Dream
I didn't talk much on the train. As a matter of fact, I didn't even talk at all. I quietly munched on the Bertie Botts Beans that I purchased from the fat lady and the trolley, and stared out the window at the boring scenery. That was about it. Cheryl and Katie kept babbling on in French about a place called Beauxbatons. At some point in the conversation, I really wish I knew what they were talking about, but I didn't dare to ask. Finally at around lunchtime, I managed to doze off and forget about all my problems. Well, at least I thought I would. It was a younger me, running in a field with nothing in it except for grass. I could tell instantly that I was back in Canada, and it seemed to be nighttime outside. I was running, but not for fun. In this dream, I seemed to be running for my life. "Stop it! Just leave me alone!" I cried, running faster and faster as the minutes progressed. But no matter how much I pleaded, the person kept walking faster and faster, getting ever so close to me. "It's not my fault! I never wanted to be a witch, and to have these stupid powers of mine! Just please.I beg you.LEAVE ME ALONE!" By this time, I was so out of breath that I had to stop running. I collapsed to the ground, gasping for air and clutching my chest closely. Whatever it was that was chasing me was now standing right behind me. I was crying, sweating, and panting. For some odd reason, however, I knew I wouldn't make it out of this field alive. I flipped myself around, to view my worthy opponent, but all I saw of him or her was a long black cape and an extended wand, pointing in my direction. "Please, master, spare my worthless life. I beg of you, please. Don't hurt me." But as it seemed, it was too late. "Crucio!" A deep voice sounded from inside the hood of the person. A bright green stream of light shot out from the wand, and hit my body head on. I wanted to scream, I really did. But something was preventing me from it. My body was in immense pain, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had been hit with the Cruciatus curse. My body was madly twitching, and my arms grasped their opposite tightly. I was trying my best to fight it, but because I hadn't had the time to do the counter-curse, I wasn't able to fight it off. I was going to die, and in a very painful was too. I felt myself give one last scream as my body finally gave up the struggle. I opened my eyes widely, and gasped for air. I was lathered in sweat, and my body was shaking like crazy. I looked over at Cheryl, her mouth was gaped open and her eyes were wide. She finally seemed to be noticing me staring at her, so she shook it away, and smiled once again. "You okay?" she asked; now trying to act befuddled. I just cocked an eyebrow. "Yes, I'm fine. Don't talk to me," I grumbled, wiping away the sweat. My body was still quivering, but it was slowly calming down, seeing as I was back safely on the train. "Okay then," Cheryl said, turning back to Katie and talking in French again. I just rolled my eyes. But then I noticed that they were both in black robes with a weird looking symbol on them. The symbol was red, gold, and had a little lion on it. "What are you wearing?" I asked, actually not sounding too rude. "Our uniforms," Katie said, looking me over. "Aren't you going to change? We're going to be arriving soon." "Oh, sorry. I don't have one of those ugly things," I thought, looking out the window once again. "They are not ugly!" came Cheryl's voice from behind me. I spun around in my chair, and glared at her. "What the hell are you talking about now?" I imposed. "Our uniforms! They are not ugly! They are, as a matter of fact, of profound quality." "I never called them ugly," I muttered, looking at her like she was abnormal. "Oh.sorry!" she said, her face turning quite red. "I guess I'm just hearing things." And with that, she turned back around. "You need a uniform?" Katie asked, looking at me. "Ugh.yeah! Kind of." I mumbled, feeling slightly humiliated. "Well, I have an extra one I always keep in case I burn this one. But.well.I guess you can have it since you don't have one. We're about the same size of fit, so you don't have to worry about it being too broad or too petite." "Ugh.yeah.thanks?" I said, getting up from my seat. I opened the door to the reveal the hallway of the train, feeling like I just made a few friends. This is what I was hoping for though.right?
Chapter Three: Hogwarts and the Sorting Hat
I came back from changing, and sat back down in my chair. But by the time I did that, I could feel the train coming to a stop. I felt like a total loser in this uniform, but I guess I was going to have to get used to wearing it, right? I was still sitting down when the train came to a full stop, but Katie and Cheryl had already stood up, and were heading for the door. "You coming?" Cheryl asked, seeing as I was still sitting down. She smiled and was holding the door open for me. "Ugh.yeah.I guess." I then stood up again, and left the car. As I filed out of the train (Like a cow in a herd might I add), I saw the cute red-head just a few feet in front of me. I moved faster yet, trying to end up somewhere beside him. But to my dismay, when I got outside, he was no where to be seen. "Damn!" I thought. That's when I looked straight ahead, and saw a magnificent sight. It was a huge castle, and it was lit up brilliantly. My mouth dropped at the sight. "Wow. It's beautiful." I muttered to myself. But then I was brought back down to earth by a deep British voice. "Firs' years over 'ere!" a huge giant was saying. He had a big black beard, long trench coat, and was holding up a lantern. Then from behind me, another voice was calling out; "Fifth years come with me!" I saw Katie and Cheryl head over towards the voice, but that's when I got confused. I was in my fifth year of schooling, but this was my first year in this castle. Which way should I go? "Excuse me," I called up to the giant. But he didn't bother to look down at me. I guess he didn't hear me calling. "EXCUSE ME!" I shouted even louder. Finally, he looked down and saw me standing there. "Yea?" he asked, his big black eyes staring into mine. "I just moved here from Canada, and this is my first year to Hogwarts. But I'm fifteen and in my fifth year of school. Can you tell me where to go?" I inquired. "So you're Samantha, eh?" he said, his loud voice booming over everyone else's voice. "Well duh!" I said rudely. He grunted. "Fine then. You come with me. You're goin' to be sorted, then you can take you're regular classes. Aiight?" "Whatever," I sighed, staying in my place. He looked slightly offended, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he continued calling out for the first year students. After about five minutes a standing there, looking like a moron, the giant man turned his back and hollered "Follow me ev'ryone!" A tremendous bunch of kids were walking with me, some of them actually making conversation with me. "Isn't this cool?" a younger looking girl muttered excitedly, looking up at the gigantic castle. I merely grunted. "I finally get to be a student the ever famous Hogwarts School!" another girl stated proudly. I rolled my eyes and began walking faster. We arrived at a lake soon enough, which was magnificently lit by the lights from the castle. Awaiting us in the lake was a set of miniature boats. "Four to a boat! Partner up!" the giant once again called out to us, sitting in the first boat (which he had all to himself). Grumbling, I sat in a boat by myself, which was soon filled up by three other students. Two boys and girl. "This is so much fun!" the girl squealed, as the boats began to sail off towards the school. The guys didn't reply, however, because they were too busy staring at the immense castle that waited ahead of them. I didn't bother looking ahead of me. I was getting pretty tired of staring at the same thing, so I sighed and stuck my head in my hand and let my other hand dip into the darkened water. I swirled my hand around, desperately wishing to return back to Canada, where my friends and normal life dwelled. But even I knew that I was never going to return to that wonderful country again. At least not in this lifetime. I found myself drifting off into a daydream, when I was rudely awakened by a woman's shrill and irritable voice. "Everybody, come with me," she said sternly. I was reluctant to listen, but I did, following the huge crowd as we all headed toward the doors of the castle. "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You and your fellow classmates will soon be sorted into one of four houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Huff." "Yeah yeah, I've heard all of this already. Can I just be sorted and get on with my life?" I shot, crossing my arms and staring at a wall beside me. The teacher looked offended, and glared at me. "I've been warned about you.you're Samantha, aren't you?" "No.I'm Santa Claus." I snorted. A couple of people around me giggled menacingly with laughter, as I just stood there, looking up sarcastically at the teacher. She shot me a threatening look. "All right then, you come with me.Hagrid, you stay here and watch this bunch for me for a moment." "Aye," he responded, getting out of the boat and walking up towards our group with loud steps. The teacher opened the giant doors, allowing me to step inside out of the horrible rain. She quickly closed them again, and beckoned for me to follow her. I rolled my eyes and followed, only because I had no choice. We trotted up a couple of flights of stairs, eventually getting to another giant oak door. "Follow me." she stated, opening the door to reveal a giant hallway, filled to the capacity with students. I looked around quickly, drinking in every sight, smell and sound. But just then, the teacher took off again, walking at a rapid pace. I hurried myself along, desperate to keep up with her. I passed by many students, some of them looking in my direction as I passed. We were about half way there, when that redheaded guy had met my eyes again. I could feel my heart begin to beat faster as I walked right past him, wanting to stop and just hug him to death. As expected, however, we continued to walk to the front of the hall, by the giant table filled with teachers by the looks of it. In front of it, however, was a small three- legged stool. And a-top the stool was a tattered, mangled looking hat. I held back a laugh. "What in God's name is that?" I asked, raising a brow and looking at the piece of torn up junk. "You should know, Miss Zappel, after all, you heard all of this before," the teacher said, looking at me like I was a five year old. I looked away as she stood at the front of the students and called out in a loud voice; "Attention please!" It took about a good minute, but eventually, everyone was sitting down in their seats and looking upwards at us, whispering quietly. "We have a new student. Her name is Samantha Zappel and has come to us all the way from Canada. She is in her fifth year of schooling, so she will be sorted and shall take her classes like any other student. Samantha, please, sit down on the stool to be sorted." I looked around; hundreds of students both younger and older were staring at me. I walked slowly up to the stool, the professor now holding the mangy hat up at its end. I sat down, wanting to go red in the face, but before I could complain, the hat was on my head, falling much below my eyes. I groaned and sat there, wanting to throw it off at any given minute. "So.not enjoying your time here at the school, are you?" a sudden voice said in my ears. I screamed out loud, my face turning a bright red from embarrassment. The voice I heard just laughed. "You don't have to be afraid you know, I don't.bite." "Can you just put me in a house already so we can both move on with our.lives." I thought, rolling my eyes in the mean time. "Oh, impatient are we? Hum.you'd do exceedingly well in Slytherin, but there's something about you that tickles my fancy. You have an extraordinary quality that distinguishes you from the Slytherins.so I'd better make it.HUFFLEPUFF!" it called out for the entire school to hear. I heard the sound of echoed claps from the students at the third table to the left, and suddenly, the teacher removed the hat, allowing me to get another firm glimpse of the school. "Well.go on.join your fellow classmates," she said, pointing towards the table. I nodded silently and got up, walking away and heading towards the 'Hufflepuff' table. "Hey new girl, come sit over here!" a girl said, patting the bench beside her. I looked around at all the new faces most of them smiling at me, nodding me a small 'hello'. I sat down beside the girl, and she turned and smirked at me. "Hello, I'm Hannah!" she said brightly. I looked up at her and nodded. "Just call me Sam," I stated, looking at the table with a vacant expression. Hannah just kept on smiling. "Hey, come on! This house is pretty cool.cheer up! Smile!" "Can't smile." I said bluntly, looking up at her. "Oh, everyone can smile.it's just something you have to try!" "No.I mean it, I can't smile. I have a curse on me forbidding me to smile." "Oh." she responded, blinking a few times. I looked slightly away again. Suddenly, a few of the people around me turned and smiled at me, all of them presumably speaking in unison. "Hullo new girl! Your name is Samantha right?" I wanted to explode from all the happy faces, no one actually seeming to notice they were back at school. I could feel my eyes widen as I nodded my head repeatedly, not knowing what to say to the brigade of people.