Julia's head was flooding with a swirl of nervousness and excitement.
Though she had never REALLY believed in magic as a child, she had always
been interested in how magicians fooled their audiences into thinking that
it did exist. Hagrid had dropped her off at Platform 9 ¾, and she had sat
down in a vacant car to avoid contact with any wizards or witches,
particularly the ones that Hagrid had warned her to stay away from, for
fear of being dragged into the maelstrom. Luckily, no one else sat down in
her car, but a few girls had walked through her car, whispering about
something and giggling. Julia didn't at all mind being alone. She wasn't
a great conversationalist and she could talk to almost anyone she wanted.
She decided to see if she could get a hold of her literary hero, William
Shakespeare.
"Shakespeare? Not again, Julia."
"Can you blame me Arrow? He was a genius!"
Arrow seemed to let out a sigh as he ruffled his feathers. Julia closed her eyes and cleared her mind. If a student came through it would look as though Julia were trying to fall asleep.
"Hey, William, guess what?"
"My fair lady, thou knoweth I despise guessing sport."
"I'm going to a school to learn faerie magic!"
"O' the fates! 'Tis not imaginable! Thou shalt not be skinned alive for't maiden?"
"Not by these people, my good sir. These people can't live without this magic. I will be considered normal here."
"Godspeed."
Julia decided to bring herself back to reality, just in case anyone happened to be staring. Thankfully, no one was. She decided to change into her robes, seeing as the train appeared to be slowing down. As soon as she was finished, she looked out the window and was amazed at what she saw. The castle was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen, with all it's towers and landscape. The familiar voice of Hagrid brought her back to reality. "Firs' years, over 'ere! Follow me! How yeh doin', 'Arry?" Julia strained to see who Harry was and what he looked like, but it was foggy and she couldn't tell where he was, let alone where he was. "Julia, get in the boat with me; the rest o' you firs' years, get into the other boats, three to a boat, please, an' follow me."
The ride to the castle was fairly short, but when all the first years were being herded towards the Great Hall, Hagrid lead Julia to a different corridor, where Albus Dumbledore himself was waiting. "Hello, Hagrid," he nodded. "Julia Andrews, I presume?" Julia smiled and nodded shyly. Dumbledore smiled broadly. "Welcome to Hogwarts! Professor McGongall is the head of your house; she will explain things a bit for you. Ah, here she comes now," he declared as a petite woman with black and grey hairs pulled back into a tight bun headed towards the two.
"Well, Albus?"
"Here is your new Griffindor, Professor," Dumbledore smiled. As McGongall made what almost looked like a smile (Julia immediately deducted that McGongall wasn't a teacher to joke around with), Dumbledore repeated, "She will tell you everything you need to know so you won't be confused. Now if you'll excuse me, everyone in the Great Hall is probably wondering where I am." And with that, Dumbledore left the two standing in a slight awkward silence.
Professor McGongall broke the silence. "Well, I'll be supposing that you aren't very familiar with magic, are you?"
Julia could tell that McGongall was trying to be nice, but had the nagging feeling that she wasn't trusted. "Not really. . .I guess I'll be needing extra help of some sort to catch up with my class," she respectfully suggested. She didn't want to get on any of the teachers' bad sides, for fear of being expelled of an 'accident' she might be blamed for.
"Precisely," McGongall replied. "Starting tomorrow, you will be attending evening classes at 9:00 involving only you and the teacher. We don't want any students getting suspicious, that's why the classes will be at the later hour. Your professor will help you with the basics until you catch up to the rest of your class. The only students who will be aware of the fact that you're not a witch will be your fellow Griffindors and the faculty. You may therefore feel free to sit in on any Griffindor ONLY classes during your free time if it will help you catch up at all," she added.
Julia didn't want to spend a school year knowing that the head her own house didn't trust her. "Pardon me for asking, Professor," she began, "but you don't seem to trust me, and I was curious as to why. . ." she immediately looked at her feet and blushed.
McGongall's face suddenly seemed to soften. She didn't realize that her harsh no-nonsense shell was terrifying Julia. "I'm sorry, Julia.it's just that I'm worried about you telling other muggles about the existence of wizards and witches. . ."
Julia immediately looked up and smiled. "Was that what you were worried about, Professor? Please, don't. There is no one back in America that I like. I'd have no one to tell. Plus, I'm able to keep a secret really well. Your strongest honesty spell would let you know that!" Julia felt a lot better when she saw McGongall actually smile.
"Alright. I trust you. A few people may not though, I warn you." She paused for a moment. "It sounds like the students are heading up to their houses. I will escort you there, but wait outside so I can explain the situation to your fellow Griffindors."
As Julia was lead through corridors and up staircases, she gazed in wonder at the moving stairways and the living portraits. She even thought she saw a few ghosts passing through the walls. "I dunno if I'll ever get used to this. . ." she whispered to herself.
Finally, Professor McGongall stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. To Julia's surprise, the lady looked at the professor and asked, "Password?"
Without a pause, Professor McGongall replied, "Chocolate frog." As the portrait swung aside to reveal a hole which led to the Griffindor common room, the professor turned to Julia and told her to remember the password; she wouldn't be allowed in the common room without it. "I'll be back in a minute or so."
As Julia waited, she wondered who she would meet, if she would make any close friends, and if the famous Harry Potter was in the same house. "Shit. . .I KNEW I forgot to ask Hagrid something." The thought of only being able to talk to Arrow on a friendly not for a year was horrifying, especially since he could have a bit of an attitude every so often, and Julia tried to keep a positive attitude. "I'm going to make friends. These guys are ' kind-hearted.' I should fit in well. . .I hope."
At that, the professor stepped out. "They're somewhat ready for you," McGongall said almost teasingly.
"Worst comes to worse, I guess I can always talk to Professor McGongall. . ." Julia took a deep breath and stepped into the common room. What met her were about 30 or 40 pairs of eyes. Once again, Professor McGongall broke the silence. "May I introduce Miss Julia Andrews. She is a transfer student from a muggle school. She accidentally found out about Hogwarts when she was 'channeling' and asked to apply. Needless to say, she has been accepted. I trust that all of you will be kind and show her around for the next few days so that she may find her way around Hogwarts. I also trust that none of you will tell ANYONE that she is a muggle," she looked at a few students, "or I may be forced to take points away from my own house. Good night, all of you." She turned and looked at Julia. "Your things should already be in your room. Remember: 9:00 tomorrow night. You will get a note tomorrow morning telling you where and with whom." With that, she left.
Luckily, Julia didn't need to break the silence. Two identical red-headed boys strode up to Julia to introduce themselves. "Pleased to meet ya, Julia," the first one said grabbing Julia's hand and firmly shaking it. "Fred Weasley! A real pleasure, a real pleasure!"
"He's not Fred, I'm Fred!" started the other. "He's George."
"No, I'm not, you bloody poser! I'm Fred!"
Julia cracked up. The two were hilarious. As soon as she calmed down a bit, she thought for a moment, and then looked at one. "You're Fred." She looked at the other. "And you're George." She smiled in triumph as the two twins stared at her in disbelief.
"How did. . ?" George couldn't finish his sentence.
"No one has ever been able to tell the two of us apart," Fred gasped. "How in. . ?" Like his brother, Fred couldn't believe it.
Julia grinned. "Lucky."
"Weren't any of you listening?" came a voice. A girl with bushy brown hair pushed her way through. "She's a psychic. She can read minds."
Julia was slightly offended. The way the girl had said 'psychic' bothered her. She said it as though she didn't believe in it. "Actually, I didn't do anything. One just seems more like a 'Fred' than the other," she said quietly.
"Of course," the girl retorted. She didn't seem to mean it though. "isn't that what all psychics do anyway?"
Julia didn't reply. How could one girl be so cruel? She had no problem with some people not believing in the sixth sense, but she couldn't believe that someone could be so harsh about it.
"Hermione!" cried another girl. "Where are your manners? Sorry, Julia, SOME people don't believe in the extra intuition. My name's Pavarti Patil, by the way. And this is Lavender," she continued, motioning to the girl next to her. "We're gonna be in the same classes as you," she smiled. "Oh, by the way," she said rather uninterestedly, "that's Hermione Granger. You'll hafta excuse her," she added, throwing Hermione a Look. "She doesn't believe there's such thing as an Inner Eye." Julia didn't either, to be honest, but she figured that now was not the time to bring that up.
Julia sighed with relief. "Nice to meet ya," she replied. She tried to smile at Hermione, she was one of Harry's friends, after all, but Hermione had buried her head in a book.
A few more students introduced themselves, mostly guys, and Julia finally decided to go to where her bed was. She was surprised to see that her suitcase was already unpacked, and Arrow was perched in the window, his favorite spot in any place.
"Well?"
"I think I'm gonna do fine."
-=-=-=-=-
"Shakespeare? Not again, Julia."
"Can you blame me Arrow? He was a genius!"
Arrow seemed to let out a sigh as he ruffled his feathers. Julia closed her eyes and cleared her mind. If a student came through it would look as though Julia were trying to fall asleep.
"Hey, William, guess what?"
"My fair lady, thou knoweth I despise guessing sport."
"I'm going to a school to learn faerie magic!"
"O' the fates! 'Tis not imaginable! Thou shalt not be skinned alive for't maiden?"
"Not by these people, my good sir. These people can't live without this magic. I will be considered normal here."
"Godspeed."
Julia decided to bring herself back to reality, just in case anyone happened to be staring. Thankfully, no one was. She decided to change into her robes, seeing as the train appeared to be slowing down. As soon as she was finished, she looked out the window and was amazed at what she saw. The castle was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen, with all it's towers and landscape. The familiar voice of Hagrid brought her back to reality. "Firs' years, over 'ere! Follow me! How yeh doin', 'Arry?" Julia strained to see who Harry was and what he looked like, but it was foggy and she couldn't tell where he was, let alone where he was. "Julia, get in the boat with me; the rest o' you firs' years, get into the other boats, three to a boat, please, an' follow me."
The ride to the castle was fairly short, but when all the first years were being herded towards the Great Hall, Hagrid lead Julia to a different corridor, where Albus Dumbledore himself was waiting. "Hello, Hagrid," he nodded. "Julia Andrews, I presume?" Julia smiled and nodded shyly. Dumbledore smiled broadly. "Welcome to Hogwarts! Professor McGongall is the head of your house; she will explain things a bit for you. Ah, here she comes now," he declared as a petite woman with black and grey hairs pulled back into a tight bun headed towards the two.
"Well, Albus?"
"Here is your new Griffindor, Professor," Dumbledore smiled. As McGongall made what almost looked like a smile (Julia immediately deducted that McGongall wasn't a teacher to joke around with), Dumbledore repeated, "She will tell you everything you need to know so you won't be confused. Now if you'll excuse me, everyone in the Great Hall is probably wondering where I am." And with that, Dumbledore left the two standing in a slight awkward silence.
Professor McGongall broke the silence. "Well, I'll be supposing that you aren't very familiar with magic, are you?"
Julia could tell that McGongall was trying to be nice, but had the nagging feeling that she wasn't trusted. "Not really. . .I guess I'll be needing extra help of some sort to catch up with my class," she respectfully suggested. She didn't want to get on any of the teachers' bad sides, for fear of being expelled of an 'accident' she might be blamed for.
"Precisely," McGongall replied. "Starting tomorrow, you will be attending evening classes at 9:00 involving only you and the teacher. We don't want any students getting suspicious, that's why the classes will be at the later hour. Your professor will help you with the basics until you catch up to the rest of your class. The only students who will be aware of the fact that you're not a witch will be your fellow Griffindors and the faculty. You may therefore feel free to sit in on any Griffindor ONLY classes during your free time if it will help you catch up at all," she added.
Julia didn't want to spend a school year knowing that the head her own house didn't trust her. "Pardon me for asking, Professor," she began, "but you don't seem to trust me, and I was curious as to why. . ." she immediately looked at her feet and blushed.
McGongall's face suddenly seemed to soften. She didn't realize that her harsh no-nonsense shell was terrifying Julia. "I'm sorry, Julia.it's just that I'm worried about you telling other muggles about the existence of wizards and witches. . ."
Julia immediately looked up and smiled. "Was that what you were worried about, Professor? Please, don't. There is no one back in America that I like. I'd have no one to tell. Plus, I'm able to keep a secret really well. Your strongest honesty spell would let you know that!" Julia felt a lot better when she saw McGongall actually smile.
"Alright. I trust you. A few people may not though, I warn you." She paused for a moment. "It sounds like the students are heading up to their houses. I will escort you there, but wait outside so I can explain the situation to your fellow Griffindors."
As Julia was lead through corridors and up staircases, she gazed in wonder at the moving stairways and the living portraits. She even thought she saw a few ghosts passing through the walls. "I dunno if I'll ever get used to this. . ." she whispered to herself.
Finally, Professor McGongall stopped in front of a portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress. To Julia's surprise, the lady looked at the professor and asked, "Password?"
Without a pause, Professor McGongall replied, "Chocolate frog." As the portrait swung aside to reveal a hole which led to the Griffindor common room, the professor turned to Julia and told her to remember the password; she wouldn't be allowed in the common room without it. "I'll be back in a minute or so."
As Julia waited, she wondered who she would meet, if she would make any close friends, and if the famous Harry Potter was in the same house. "Shit. . .I KNEW I forgot to ask Hagrid something." The thought of only being able to talk to Arrow on a friendly not for a year was horrifying, especially since he could have a bit of an attitude every so often, and Julia tried to keep a positive attitude. "I'm going to make friends. These guys are ' kind-hearted.' I should fit in well. . .I hope."
At that, the professor stepped out. "They're somewhat ready for you," McGongall said almost teasingly.
"Worst comes to worse, I guess I can always talk to Professor McGongall. . ." Julia took a deep breath and stepped into the common room. What met her were about 30 or 40 pairs of eyes. Once again, Professor McGongall broke the silence. "May I introduce Miss Julia Andrews. She is a transfer student from a muggle school. She accidentally found out about Hogwarts when she was 'channeling' and asked to apply. Needless to say, she has been accepted. I trust that all of you will be kind and show her around for the next few days so that she may find her way around Hogwarts. I also trust that none of you will tell ANYONE that she is a muggle," she looked at a few students, "or I may be forced to take points away from my own house. Good night, all of you." She turned and looked at Julia. "Your things should already be in your room. Remember: 9:00 tomorrow night. You will get a note tomorrow morning telling you where and with whom." With that, she left.
Luckily, Julia didn't need to break the silence. Two identical red-headed boys strode up to Julia to introduce themselves. "Pleased to meet ya, Julia," the first one said grabbing Julia's hand and firmly shaking it. "Fred Weasley! A real pleasure, a real pleasure!"
"He's not Fred, I'm Fred!" started the other. "He's George."
"No, I'm not, you bloody poser! I'm Fred!"
Julia cracked up. The two were hilarious. As soon as she calmed down a bit, she thought for a moment, and then looked at one. "You're Fred." She looked at the other. "And you're George." She smiled in triumph as the two twins stared at her in disbelief.
"How did. . ?" George couldn't finish his sentence.
"No one has ever been able to tell the two of us apart," Fred gasped. "How in. . ?" Like his brother, Fred couldn't believe it.
Julia grinned. "Lucky."
"Weren't any of you listening?" came a voice. A girl with bushy brown hair pushed her way through. "She's a psychic. She can read minds."
Julia was slightly offended. The way the girl had said 'psychic' bothered her. She said it as though she didn't believe in it. "Actually, I didn't do anything. One just seems more like a 'Fred' than the other," she said quietly.
"Of course," the girl retorted. She didn't seem to mean it though. "isn't that what all psychics do anyway?"
Julia didn't reply. How could one girl be so cruel? She had no problem with some people not believing in the sixth sense, but she couldn't believe that someone could be so harsh about it.
"Hermione!" cried another girl. "Where are your manners? Sorry, Julia, SOME people don't believe in the extra intuition. My name's Pavarti Patil, by the way. And this is Lavender," she continued, motioning to the girl next to her. "We're gonna be in the same classes as you," she smiled. "Oh, by the way," she said rather uninterestedly, "that's Hermione Granger. You'll hafta excuse her," she added, throwing Hermione a Look. "She doesn't believe there's such thing as an Inner Eye." Julia didn't either, to be honest, but she figured that now was not the time to bring that up.
Julia sighed with relief. "Nice to meet ya," she replied. She tried to smile at Hermione, she was one of Harry's friends, after all, but Hermione had buried her head in a book.
A few more students introduced themselves, mostly guys, and Julia finally decided to go to where her bed was. She was surprised to see that her suitcase was already unpacked, and Arrow was perched in the window, his favorite spot in any place.
"Well?"
"I think I'm gonna do fine."
-=-=-=-=-