Chapter 3- Discoveries (part 1)
"Ron, Ron get up!" Harry yelled while shaking Ron trying to wake him so they could get to King's Cross station in time to catch the Hogwarts Express. Ron however had no intentions of catching the Hogwarts Express instead he planned to sleep the day away. Once Harry realized that shaking and yelling weren't going to wake Ron up he left the room and came back with a glass. "Ron I'm sorry but I have to. It's for your own good." Harry stated as he poured the ice water on Ron's sleeping form.
"Bloody hell that's cold!" Ron screamed as he jumped out of bed. "…Harry?…I would've expected that from Fred, Bill, George, or Charlie…but not you!"
"Sorry but I had to get you up…we've got a train to catch."
Ron quickly changed out of his wet pajamas and into dry clothes and then he and Harry headed down to breakfast.
"Ronniekins your hairs' all wet!" Fred exclaimed as Ron sat down at the kitchen table.
"I know." Muttered Ron.
"What happened?" Ginny asked curiously.
"Harry dumped ice water on me."
"Why?"
"I had to get him up. He wouldn't get up any other way." Harry responded
"Right on Harry! You're starting to pick up on how we run things!" George exclaimed in glee.
"Shut up George!" Ron yelled
* * *
The Weasley's, Hermione, and Harry were once again arriving at platform 9 ¾ with less then ten minutes before the train left. They all said a hurried good-bye to Mrs. Weasley and went off in search of places to sit. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were looking for an empty car and finally found one towards the back of the train. They all collapsed into seats and had a few minute rest before there was a knock on the door.
"Yes?" Hermione answered.
The door slowly slid open to reveal a tall girl with long semi straight chestnut brown hair. She wore form-fitting jeans and a long bell sleeved orange top. She also wore at least three rings on each hand, a blue beaded choker around her neck and a silver bracelet around her left wrist with some sort of engraving on it. Harry noticed also that her eyes were the most peculiar blue-green color, and that they seemed to be able to read your mind.
"Do you mind if I join you since the other cars are full or filled with people I'd rather not associate with?"
"Sure come on in, there's an empty seat right here." Harry responded gesturing to the seat next to him.
"Thanks." She responded barely above a whisper as she sat down next to Harry.
"My name's Harry by the way, Harry Potter…and those are my best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger." Harry introduced pausing after saying his name to see if the girl's eyes would flick up to his forehead like everyone else who had ever met him. To his surprise though her eyes only moved away from his to look at Ron and Hermione.
"Pleased to meet you all. My name's Olivia Stanton."
"I'm sorry if I come off rude but I don't believe I've ever seen you around Hogwarts before and you look to old to be a first year. You're not a first year are you?" Hermione inquired, studying Olivia to see if she could recognize her.
"No I'm not a first year and it's ok I'm not offended by your question."
"Well what house and year are you in then?"
"Well that I can't answer quite yet."
"Why not? I'd find it hard to believe that you've forgotten if you're a Huffelpuff, Ravenclaw, a slimy Slytherin, or a great Gryffindor, like us." Ron stated.
"Oh it's not that I've forgotten Ron," Olivia responded chuckling at his description. "It's just that I don't know yet. I guess you could say that I'm a transfer student. …I'll answer the rest of your questions when it's just the four of us again but right now I do believe Malfoy and his goons will be joining us shortly."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at Olivia with confusion that changed into shock when the cabin door opened once more to reveal Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.
"Well, well, well if it isn't Potty, Weasel, and the mudblood." Malfoy exclaimed spotting the three he knew. "Oh look is this a fourth member of the dream team I see. Is she a mudblood too Potter so that neither you nor Weasley have to be left out? …I must say though for a mudblood she's not bad looking………a much better then Granger over there."
"Nice to meet you too… Malfoy." Olivia stated as she slowly rose to stand right in front of Malfoy, towering him by at least five or six inches. "I believe that you need to have a few things straightened out. First know this, I am neither of these young men's 'mudblood' as you called me. Second I'll have you know that I'm a pureblood transfer student. So I suggest that you stop calling people offensive names it just might come back around to kick you in your ass. Scared Malfoy…well I've got more for you. Yes just like calling a black American the n-word, I refuse to say it, kicked white American's asses; a mudblood will kick your sorry pureblood ass. You will spend the rest of your life being beaten by a 'mudblood' in just about everything, then you will end up marrying a mudblood, all your children will be squibs, and your family will be ruined." Olivia's smile grew into an even bigger one as she saw that look of disbelief and horror spread across Malfoy's face. "Don't believe me Malfoy. Would you like to stay so that I can predict more or would you rather leave believing that I'm wrong?"
Without another word out of any of them Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle turned and quickly left the car.
"That's what I thought." Olivia stated closing the door and smiling to herself for her quick thinking. When she looked around the car she saw three very confused but very grateful faces.
"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron exclaimed. "I've never seen Malfoy leave so quickly and without saying anything back!"
Harry and Hermione though were still looking at Olivia with confusion, wonder, and suspicion.
"Alright before you two bombard me with questions let me explain as much as I can first and then you guys can ask me questions. Like I said before I'm something like an exchange student. If you couldn't tell I'm not from England, I'm actually from America and…I'm not technically a witch…"
"Why are you telling us all thins? You barely know us…how do you know we can be trusted with this secret of yours?" Harry interrupted.
"I trust you three because I know you don't betray people's trust, especially those you think of as friends. I think of you three as soon becoming my good friends so I trust you."
"How…" Harry began but was stopped with Olivia's hand.
"Please let me finish explaining. Anyway what I was trying to say before is that I'm what you call a muggle. I don't go to a school of witchcraft I go to a muggle high school. This past summer I traveled to London as part of a student exchange program in my school. The family I ended up staying with was the Dursley's. I know who the Dursley's are and everything because of the books, they really must think that muggle's don't know magic when it's staring you in the face. So while I was in London I found the clues I needed to be completely convinced that it was all real. So the past week while I was staying with my best friends family I explored Diagon Alley getting everything I needed by following the list that's in the books, I even got myself a broomstick, the only thing I didn't get was school books because I wasn't sure what one's to get and I wasn't sure if I'd even be allowed to stay. Then today I just entered the platform like it says in the book and here I am now."
"So you just assumed it was all real? That these books told the truth?" Harry asked still shocked by Olivia's story.
"Yea, pretty much."
"How did you get into Diagon Alley if you didn't have a wand?" Hermione inquired suspiciously.
"Well at first I wasn't sure I was even going to be able to get in because I didn't have a wand so I thought I would wait for someone that I could follow in but I must have picked a bad day cause no one came and I was growing impatient. So finally I went out by myself and tapped the appropriate bricks with my finger and the archway opened. So that was how I got into Diagon Alley without a wand."
"You opened it with your finger?!" Ron asked in disbelief "Wicked!"
After that the conversation turned to a questionnaire of Olivia's life in the muggle world and of Ron, Hermione, and Harry's life in the wizarding world. The questions were general ones but Olivia, Harry, and Hermione spent a lot of time explaining muggle things to Ron. After a while Harry and Ron began discussing Quidditch and Hermione buried her nose in a book meanwhile Olivia looked through her book that she picked up to learn how to bewitch some of her muggle things to work in the wizarding world.
* * *
The Hogwarts Express pulled into the Hogsmead station and everyone gathered onto the platform in the chilly night air. They didn't have time to stop and talk to Hagrid since he was already leading the first years off towards the lake, so the four of them took off for the nearest empty carriage.
"So you'll have to be sorted I suppose." Ron observed.
"If Dumbledore let's me stay." Olivia replied gloomily.
"Oh don't worry he will." Harry assured.
"Don't be so sure of yourself Harry, Dumbledore may not let her stay." Hermione warned.
"Yea but she got this far." Ron protested. "Why wouldn't she be allowed to stay?"
"I don't know Ron…" Hermione began in an unconvincing tone but was interrupted by Ron who was too impatient to wait to hear the rest of Hermione's response.
"So what house do you reckon you'll be put in?" Ron asked excitedly.
"Well I'd love to be in Gryffindor with you three but I suppose Ravenclaw's not bad either. I think I'd have to leave if I was put in Slytherin though."
"At least you'd have Potions and Care of Magical Creatures with us." Ron jokingly stated.
"We don't really know that Ron…maybe this year we'll have those classes with another house." Hermione retorted.
"I get the feeling that Ron's right in his assumption." Olivia voiced.
"Yea me too." Harry added much to Olivia's relief.
All too soon for Olivia the carriage came to a sudden stop and the four stepped out of it. They made their was along with the rest of the school into the Front Hall. But as they reached the doors to the Great Hall Professor McGonagall stopped them.
"Ms. Stanton…Professor Dumbledore would like a word with you. Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, Ms. Granger you will report to the feast and sorting ceremony."
With that Olivia was taken away with Professor McGonagall and feared for the worst.