Chapter 2 -New Beginnings
It was decided that since Hogwarts was closer, and because Mother for some reason was convince I would be safe there, I was to transfer there for the rest of my schooling. Of course, I was not too happy about this. All my friends were at Durmstrang, and I was to become a school prefect in my fifth year. Not to mention the fact that I was well on my way to becoming Head Girl in my seventh year. And now I had to go to Hogwarts, where I had no friends, and no reputation built up. My friends and Durmstrang were the only stable things left in my life, and now they were being taken away from me too. But Mother was very adamant, and I knew by then not to argue with her after a certain point. After all, I did get my stubbornness from somewhere, didn't I?
"I know that you are disappointed Lithia, but if you go to Hogwarts, you will be closer to me, and besides that, I have a feeling that you would be a lot safer there."
"Of course you feel that way, Mother! You went to Hogwarts, and so did Tara!" I said as I threw myself down in a chair, close to tears.
At this moment, Tara decided to join the argument, and I was completely outnumbered. "Lithia, how could you even think that?" she snapped at me. "And besides, you know better than to argue with her. The only thing Mother is thinking of is your safety."
"I do, however, have something that may make you feel a bit better," Mother said, seeing that still quite unhappy about the entire situation.
"Oh what now?" I said sarcastically. "Aside from me signing an official death certificate for my life as I know it?"
Mother looked at me somewhat crossly. "Wait here, and you'll see," she said, leaving me to ponder my sullen thoughts. When she came back in, there was a cat in her arms. She had pitch-black fur, except for a white patch under her neck, and streaks above her eyes. The cat's slightly long fur plumed at the end of her body into a shiny, bushy tail, and her eyes gleamed as if two onyx stones had been set there.
"Her name is Nimuwe," Mother said as she gently placed the cat into my lap. "And she's for you. She can be a companion, and a familiar."
"Mother, she's beautiful," I gushed as Nimuwe looked up at me with a knowing gleam in her eye. I stopped and studied the cat's expression carefully. "She's part Kneazle, isn't she?"
Mother smiled at me. "She most certainly is. I thought you would be able to tell. You always have had an affinity for felines."
As I gently stroked Nimuwe's head, I noticed the small charm attached to her collar. It was a gold clover leaf with a tiny diamond embedded in its center.
"This is just like the necklace you always wear, isn't it?"
As if on cue, Mother's hand touched the clover that hung delicately around her neck. "Nearly, my dear. It's a reminder. You can look at it and think of home, and your family."
I almost felt bad making such a fuss earlier. Almost. It was obvious that Mother knew the transition was going to be difficult for me, and was trying to make it slightly easier.
Mother placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "It may not be as bad as you think it's going to be, you know. I know this is hard on you, but we are doing what we think would be best for you and the family."
"I know, I know," I said reluctantly as Nimuwe calmly flapped her tail against my legs.
So I resigned myself to spending the next three years of my life at Hogwarts.
Mother, Tara and I visited Hogwarts just before the term began. Even though I didn't want to be at Hogwarts, Headmaster Dumbledore seemed very nice, so I did my best to be pleasant. He allowed the sorting hat to go ahead and put me in a house, in order to make my adjustment easier. I was put in Slytherin. No surprise there, since it was the house Mother had been in when she was at Hogwarts. Tara had taken after Father and spent her years in Gryffindor.
Mother, Tara, and Reyhan all accompanied me to platform 9 ¾. It was clear that they were still concerned about my safety.
"Be careful," Mother reminded me for the millionth time that day.
"I will, I will," I responded agitatedly. You would think that she would trust me to survive a stupid train ride. She had already instructed me to keep quiet about the specifics of my father's death, as well as the fact that I was a Fae. I was beginning to think that she expected me to go in the first day and shout at the top of my lungs to anyone who would listen, "My father was a spy for the Aurors and died trying to help take down Voldemort! By the way, I have wings! Want to see them?" This is ridiculous, I thought. As if I didn't know how to conduct myself.
My sister let out an exasperated sigh. "She's just worried, Lithia. We all are."
"I know that, but eventually you are going to have to let me get on that train, and you're not going to be able to come with me. And don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Oh, of course you will," Tara said, giving me one last hug goodbye. "Now go on, if we stay here much longer, I think Mother is going to have a nervous breakdown."
I laughed at Tara as I bent down to pick up Nimuwe, and then turned to board the train with my new Hogwarts schoolmates.
I quickly found an empty compartment and settled myself into it. I then proceeded to pass the ride by gazing out the window. The countryside here was beautiful, though I was still partial to my mother's homeland. After thoroughly investigating the compartment, Nimuwe settled herself beside me and proceeded to nap her way through the ride.
"You're new."
I turned my head towards the sound of the voice and saw a girl my age wearing Slytherin robes standing in the doorway. She wore her brown hair in a shoulder length bob, and had slightly sharp features, as well as a somewhat clueless expression on her face.
"And you're in Slytherin, too," she said as she moved to take the seat across from me.
Someone has a knack for stating the obvious.
"Yeah, and so are you, I guess that means we're housemates."
"What year are you?" she asked, beginning her inquiry.
"Fifth."
"So am I. So not only are we housemates, we're roommates."
Oh lovely, I thought.
And so the volley of questions began. "What school are you transferring from? Who's your family? Is that your cat? Ooohh, she's so adorable!" Blah blah blah. I eventually tuned her out, only actually hearing and answering her questions every now and then, and the other times just nodding and smiling. Somehow she seemed not to notice. Either that, or my smiles and nods were very well timed. I had never been so thankful to see another living person as I was when someone stuck their head in the compartment door.
"There you are Pansy. I've been looking all over for you."
The new arrival had strawberry blonde hair and wore Slytherin robes as well.
"Who's this?" she asked, as she paused to look at me.
Before I could even answer Pansy jumped in. "Her name's Lithia, she's new, transferred in from Durmstrang, she's a Slytherin, and she's a fifth year, so she'll be rooming with us."
The girl at the door rolled her eyes.
"And I'm sure that she could have told me all that, Pansy, if you would have shut your mouth for a minute."
I liked this girl already. It seemed that I had met someone who I could actually hold a conversation with and be able to get a word in edgewise.
She looked at me with a slight look of pity. "I bet Pansy has been talking your ears off. She does that."
Pansy did her best to look insulted as the other girl sat down beside her.
"I'm Blaise Zabini."
"Lithia Beryl."
The rest of the trip went pretty uneventfully. I chatted with Pansy and Blaise, who seemed to balance each other out, with Blaise keeping Pansy's spazziness in check. I stuck with them for the sorting of the first years as well, sitting beside them at the Slytherin table.
My mind wandered during the sorting, as I pondered the house descriptions that the sorting hat had given. It seemed that the Gryffindors were supposed to be brave and noble, the Ravenclaws intelligent bookworms, the Slytherins cunning and sly, and Hufflepuffs loyal and hardworking. So far, I had yet to see either slyness or cunning displayed in any of my fellow housemates. Pansy was, well, Pansy. Blaise had a good head on her shoulders, but there was nothing extraordinary about her. Millicent-ugh. Crabbe and Goyle, I am not even going to begin to talk about their shortcomings. Draco Malfoy seemed to be the only exception so far. From what I'd heard, his marks were the second highest in our year, and his family name was well known as well.
And what kind of a way to sort students was an old, tatty hat? The sorting procedure at Durmstrang had been much better. At the front of the main hall at Durmstrang, there was a huge silver bowl with ornate carvings on it. All the first years lined up in front of the bowl, and clear quartz stones would appear in it, one for each student to be sorted. Each first year would then take a stone from the bowl. When all the stones had been distributed, each student's stone would glow a particular color, according to which house they were to be in. A deep navy blue for Felidae, house of the panther, a rich earthy brown for Danube, house of the stallion, or a vibrant orange for Aquila, house of the eagle. I had been in Felidae, wearing our colors of navy and white proudly. Now I had to do the same with Slytherin's green and silver. I was determined not to be "the new girl." If I had to be here, then by Merlin, I was going to make my mark on Hogwarts.
It seemed that the Quidditch players here were held in high regard, so I decided to try out for the house team. Tara and I had spent so much time chasing and playing with the little ones that seeking was a snap for me. I used to zoom through the woods and gardens on my broom playing chase and tag with them. I had also been very good at keep away. To me, it was easier to keep a ball away from a full sized person than from a flock of small faeries. They were very good at teamwork, and could do almost anything when they banded together. Not to mention that one or two of them tended to separate from the group to taunt you and try to distract you from what you were doing. This also made me an excellent chaser, and since Draco Malfoy had already set himself in the position of the team's seeker, I was made a chaser.
It was decided that since Hogwarts was closer, and because Mother for some reason was convince I would be safe there, I was to transfer there for the rest of my schooling. Of course, I was not too happy about this. All my friends were at Durmstrang, and I was to become a school prefect in my fifth year. Not to mention the fact that I was well on my way to becoming Head Girl in my seventh year. And now I had to go to Hogwarts, where I had no friends, and no reputation built up. My friends and Durmstrang were the only stable things left in my life, and now they were being taken away from me too. But Mother was very adamant, and I knew by then not to argue with her after a certain point. After all, I did get my stubbornness from somewhere, didn't I?
"I know that you are disappointed Lithia, but if you go to Hogwarts, you will be closer to me, and besides that, I have a feeling that you would be a lot safer there."
"Of course you feel that way, Mother! You went to Hogwarts, and so did Tara!" I said as I threw myself down in a chair, close to tears.
At this moment, Tara decided to join the argument, and I was completely outnumbered. "Lithia, how could you even think that?" she snapped at me. "And besides, you know better than to argue with her. The only thing Mother is thinking of is your safety."
"I do, however, have something that may make you feel a bit better," Mother said, seeing that still quite unhappy about the entire situation.
"Oh what now?" I said sarcastically. "Aside from me signing an official death certificate for my life as I know it?"
Mother looked at me somewhat crossly. "Wait here, and you'll see," she said, leaving me to ponder my sullen thoughts. When she came back in, there was a cat in her arms. She had pitch-black fur, except for a white patch under her neck, and streaks above her eyes. The cat's slightly long fur plumed at the end of her body into a shiny, bushy tail, and her eyes gleamed as if two onyx stones had been set there.
"Her name is Nimuwe," Mother said as she gently placed the cat into my lap. "And she's for you. She can be a companion, and a familiar."
"Mother, she's beautiful," I gushed as Nimuwe looked up at me with a knowing gleam in her eye. I stopped and studied the cat's expression carefully. "She's part Kneazle, isn't she?"
Mother smiled at me. "She most certainly is. I thought you would be able to tell. You always have had an affinity for felines."
As I gently stroked Nimuwe's head, I noticed the small charm attached to her collar. It was a gold clover leaf with a tiny diamond embedded in its center.
"This is just like the necklace you always wear, isn't it?"
As if on cue, Mother's hand touched the clover that hung delicately around her neck. "Nearly, my dear. It's a reminder. You can look at it and think of home, and your family."
I almost felt bad making such a fuss earlier. Almost. It was obvious that Mother knew the transition was going to be difficult for me, and was trying to make it slightly easier.
Mother placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "It may not be as bad as you think it's going to be, you know. I know this is hard on you, but we are doing what we think would be best for you and the family."
"I know, I know," I said reluctantly as Nimuwe calmly flapped her tail against my legs.
So I resigned myself to spending the next three years of my life at Hogwarts.
Mother, Tara and I visited Hogwarts just before the term began. Even though I didn't want to be at Hogwarts, Headmaster Dumbledore seemed very nice, so I did my best to be pleasant. He allowed the sorting hat to go ahead and put me in a house, in order to make my adjustment easier. I was put in Slytherin. No surprise there, since it was the house Mother had been in when she was at Hogwarts. Tara had taken after Father and spent her years in Gryffindor.
Mother, Tara, and Reyhan all accompanied me to platform 9 ¾. It was clear that they were still concerned about my safety.
"Be careful," Mother reminded me for the millionth time that day.
"I will, I will," I responded agitatedly. You would think that she would trust me to survive a stupid train ride. She had already instructed me to keep quiet about the specifics of my father's death, as well as the fact that I was a Fae. I was beginning to think that she expected me to go in the first day and shout at the top of my lungs to anyone who would listen, "My father was a spy for the Aurors and died trying to help take down Voldemort! By the way, I have wings! Want to see them?" This is ridiculous, I thought. As if I didn't know how to conduct myself.
My sister let out an exasperated sigh. "She's just worried, Lithia. We all are."
"I know that, but eventually you are going to have to let me get on that train, and you're not going to be able to come with me. And don't worry, I'll be fine."
"Oh, of course you will," Tara said, giving me one last hug goodbye. "Now go on, if we stay here much longer, I think Mother is going to have a nervous breakdown."
I laughed at Tara as I bent down to pick up Nimuwe, and then turned to board the train with my new Hogwarts schoolmates.
I quickly found an empty compartment and settled myself into it. I then proceeded to pass the ride by gazing out the window. The countryside here was beautiful, though I was still partial to my mother's homeland. After thoroughly investigating the compartment, Nimuwe settled herself beside me and proceeded to nap her way through the ride.
"You're new."
I turned my head towards the sound of the voice and saw a girl my age wearing Slytherin robes standing in the doorway. She wore her brown hair in a shoulder length bob, and had slightly sharp features, as well as a somewhat clueless expression on her face.
"And you're in Slytherin, too," she said as she moved to take the seat across from me.
Someone has a knack for stating the obvious.
"Yeah, and so are you, I guess that means we're housemates."
"What year are you?" she asked, beginning her inquiry.
"Fifth."
"So am I. So not only are we housemates, we're roommates."
Oh lovely, I thought.
And so the volley of questions began. "What school are you transferring from? Who's your family? Is that your cat? Ooohh, she's so adorable!" Blah blah blah. I eventually tuned her out, only actually hearing and answering her questions every now and then, and the other times just nodding and smiling. Somehow she seemed not to notice. Either that, or my smiles and nods were very well timed. I had never been so thankful to see another living person as I was when someone stuck their head in the compartment door.
"There you are Pansy. I've been looking all over for you."
The new arrival had strawberry blonde hair and wore Slytherin robes as well.
"Who's this?" she asked, as she paused to look at me.
Before I could even answer Pansy jumped in. "Her name's Lithia, she's new, transferred in from Durmstrang, she's a Slytherin, and she's a fifth year, so she'll be rooming with us."
The girl at the door rolled her eyes.
"And I'm sure that she could have told me all that, Pansy, if you would have shut your mouth for a minute."
I liked this girl already. It seemed that I had met someone who I could actually hold a conversation with and be able to get a word in edgewise.
She looked at me with a slight look of pity. "I bet Pansy has been talking your ears off. She does that."
Pansy did her best to look insulted as the other girl sat down beside her.
"I'm Blaise Zabini."
"Lithia Beryl."
The rest of the trip went pretty uneventfully. I chatted with Pansy and Blaise, who seemed to balance each other out, with Blaise keeping Pansy's spazziness in check. I stuck with them for the sorting of the first years as well, sitting beside them at the Slytherin table.
My mind wandered during the sorting, as I pondered the house descriptions that the sorting hat had given. It seemed that the Gryffindors were supposed to be brave and noble, the Ravenclaws intelligent bookworms, the Slytherins cunning and sly, and Hufflepuffs loyal and hardworking. So far, I had yet to see either slyness or cunning displayed in any of my fellow housemates. Pansy was, well, Pansy. Blaise had a good head on her shoulders, but there was nothing extraordinary about her. Millicent-ugh. Crabbe and Goyle, I am not even going to begin to talk about their shortcomings. Draco Malfoy seemed to be the only exception so far. From what I'd heard, his marks were the second highest in our year, and his family name was well known as well.
And what kind of a way to sort students was an old, tatty hat? The sorting procedure at Durmstrang had been much better. At the front of the main hall at Durmstrang, there was a huge silver bowl with ornate carvings on it. All the first years lined up in front of the bowl, and clear quartz stones would appear in it, one for each student to be sorted. Each first year would then take a stone from the bowl. When all the stones had been distributed, each student's stone would glow a particular color, according to which house they were to be in. A deep navy blue for Felidae, house of the panther, a rich earthy brown for Danube, house of the stallion, or a vibrant orange for Aquila, house of the eagle. I had been in Felidae, wearing our colors of navy and white proudly. Now I had to do the same with Slytherin's green and silver. I was determined not to be "the new girl." If I had to be here, then by Merlin, I was going to make my mark on Hogwarts.
It seemed that the Quidditch players here were held in high regard, so I decided to try out for the house team. Tara and I had spent so much time chasing and playing with the little ones that seeking was a snap for me. I used to zoom through the woods and gardens on my broom playing chase and tag with them. I had also been very good at keep away. To me, it was easier to keep a ball away from a full sized person than from a flock of small faeries. They were very good at teamwork, and could do almost anything when they banded together. Not to mention that one or two of them tended to separate from the group to taunt you and try to distract you from what you were doing. This also made me an excellent chaser, and since Draco Malfoy had already set himself in the position of the team's seeker, I was made a chaser.