Chapter 2
Albus Dumbledore felt a jolt in his office, something he always felt when something had gone terribly wrong. He sighed and looked into the mirror he kept in his desk that told him what was wrong. Immediately he saw Frances, looking around wildly.
"A muggle in Platform 9 3/4? We need to modify her memory."
He reached to call Professor McGonagall, but he realized she was not just a muggle. With a start he realized she was a witch. How come no one had notified him? She had a great deal of magical potential in her, Dumbledore noted as he looked at her more closely. He had a gift for seeing how magically powerful another witch or wizard was.
Again he reached to call Professor McGonagall. This time he was to inform her of the new student that would be attending Hogwarts.
Frances looked around. She sat on a bench. Where was the place she fell through, anyway? She didn't want to ask anyone, and she wasn't sure she wanted to run into a wall either. So she sat there, trying to think of how she was going to get out of this place, when a train appeared. A man with dark hair stepped out and walked over to her.
"Do you know what this place is?" he sneered.
"No," she answered.
"Oh, then you are the girl. Would you like an explanation?"
"Yes."
"This is Platform 9 3/4, halfway between Platform 9 and 10 in the muggle world."
"The what world?"
"They didn't tell me you were American." He sighed. "This will take longer, then."
"Look, I didn't ask for any help. You can leave whenever you want."
"I didn't ask to give it to you. Anyway, I have something extremely important to tell you. You are not a muggl- a normal human being."
"I know tae-kwon-doe, so I 'm going to ask you to lea-"
"I'm not quite sure what tae-kwon-doe is, and I'm not sure I care. I don't think it is a match against magic."
"It wouldn't be if magic existed."
"What do you think these wands are for?"
"Wands? These are wands you're using. Oh god." Frances started laughing hysterically. "Who is your cult leader?"
"I'm serious. I'm a wizard. You're a witch."
"I may have my bad days, like today, but that doesn't make me a witch."
"Look, do I have to prove it to you?"
"Yes, I guess you do."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Turn this bench into a frog."
"Ah, transfiguration." He snapped his wrist and mumbled some words, and voila! A frog appeared where the bench was. Frances turned to him, her expression one of terror.
"Uh, ok. What was it you were saying?"
He rolled his eyes. "I'm a wizard. You're a witch. You can do this with practice. Make potions, etcetra. It's a new world, one outside of the muggle world."
"Okay, what the hell is a muggle?"
"Watch you language." The man slapped her.
"Ow!"
"Don't make me do it again. I am a teacher, and where I teach we do not accept vulgar language."
"I'm sorry."
"Good. Now, a muggle is a human, one who does not have magical powers. Now, there are people in the magical world that do not have powers, but they use magic to their advantage, creating potions and going to joke shops and such. They are called quibs. Muggles hate magic and do not use it, idiotic if you ask me. You are a witch, one that must have been forgotten or, we don't know who would do such a thing, purposely dismissed as a muggle. Do you know what a mudblood is?"
"No."
"That's what you are. Also most likely the reason you were not acknowledged as a witch. Anyway, I am a teacher at Hogwarts, a school for witches and wizards. The headmaster-"
"Headmaster? Is this a boarding school?"
The man laughed. "All schools of wizardry are boarding schools. Anyway, the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, would like a word with you."
"Anytime. Of course. Whatever you say."
They boarded the train. The man scared Frances. She finally got the courage to look at him, but by that time they were almost at their destination. With a small voice, she asked him a question that had been burdening her since they boarded the train.
"Sir?"
"Don't sir me, call me Professor Snape."
"Sorry, Professor Snape. Well, Professor Snape, what about my parents?"
"They have been notified."
Ron woke with a start. He looked at the time.
"Damn," he muttered. "Some cat nap. I slept for eight hours and I still need to do the homework, let alone study for the year end exams."
"Yeah, how are we gonna fit it all in?" Harry wondered aloud.
"At least we're done with O.W.L's."
"Yeah, I guess."
Suddenly they heard a big commotion in the Gryffindor common room. Harry and Ron dashed out of their dormitory.
"What's going on?" Ron asked.
"You haven't heard?" Hermione answered.
"No..." Harry responded.
"Oh. Well, there's going to be a new girl."
"What?" Ron asked.
"A new girl? In April?"
"Not just that, she's never gone to a wizarding school," Dean Thomas put in.
Ron and Harry looked at each other.
"How old is she?" Ron asked slowly.
"Fifteen."
"Fifteen," Harry repeated. Fifteen and she was only starting to learn magic? That was kind of stupid, he thought. Ron was thinking the same thing.
"Not only that," Ginny added, "She's American!"
"What has that got to do with anything?" Ron asked.
"Well, I dunno..."
"It explains the stupidity," Harry answered.
"That's not fair," Ron said. "She could be smart for all you know."
"Who cares," Dean Thomas said. "What does she look like?"
"What does that matter?" Hermione yelled, outraged. "It's someone's personality that matters!"
"You keep telling yourself that, Hermione," Ron answered.
"Hello, my name is Albus Dumbledore, and I am Headmaster as Hogwarts."
Frances smiled. He seemed very nice and wise. "Hi, I'm Frances, nice to meet you, Mr. Dumbledore."
"That's Headmaster Dumbledore to you, Frances," Snape snapped.
"Sorry."
"It's alright. You may just call me Dumbledore."
"Thank you, Dumbledore."
"Severus, if I may have a word with Frances alone?"
"Yes, Dumbledore." Snape left the room.
"So, Frances, would you like to become a student at Hogwarts?"
"Are all the teachers like Professor Snape?"
Dumbledore laughed, but not at all like Professor Snape. When Snape laughed, it was at you and it was to belittle you. When Dumbledore laughed, it was goodnatured.
"No. We have Professor McGonagall, who is strict, but very goos to her students. Professor Sprout is a nice teacher, and Hagrid's class is very interesting."
"Cool. But would I be able to see my parents? Like, won't they wonder where I am?"
"We sent them a letter."
"But we live in California, and we're vacationing in England, how will they know? Would they leave the country without me?"
"No, I sent it to their hotel room."
"Oh. Ok. They know I know where that is."
"Now, we don't want a big commotion about this, so we'll just let you do the Sorting Hat in here."
"The what?"
"The Sorting Hat. It's a hat that sorts first-years into different houses. You'll be studying separately from the other students and doing more work. I'll tutor you and help you every day."
"Okay, thank you. So, are the Houses are different from each other, like one for smart people, one for funny people, like that?"
"Yes. There is one for intelligence, Ravenclaw, one for Slytherin, pure-blooded wizard, ones whose parents were wizards, and their parents, and their parents, and so on, an then there's one for bravery, Gryffindor, one for the rest, Hufflepuff. So, let's put the hat on and see which one you are."
I hope I'm not Hufflepuff, Frances thought. Maybe Ravenclaw, but that'd be kinda annoying with all those smart people sometimes. Slytherin sounded pretty stupid, just a bunch of witches and wizards that have parents that are witches and wizards, that's not a big accomplishment. Gryffindor sounded cool, I think I want Gryffindor. Yeah, Gryffindor.
"Well, what house is she in?" Ron asked.
"We... don't exactly know yet," Hermione answered.
"And how is she going to catch up on four years?" Ron wondered.
"Maybe Dumbledore will help her," Harry said, looking off in the distance out the window.
Why this was so interesting eluded Harry. Voldemort was a very big threat and getting bigger. His Occlumency lessons with Dumbledore were getting steadily harder. A girl who had arrived in a wizarding school four years late wasn't that amazing to Harry when he was dealing with Voldemort. He knew Voldemort was planning an attack on him very soon, so he avoided Snape as much as possible. True, Snape was a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but he had once worked for Lord Voldemort, so he was therefore not to be trusted.
But for Ron, this was the distraction he needed. With all the work he was loaded with and the threat with Voldemort, a new girl that was pretty much his age was exactly what the doctor ordered. But, Ron reasoned, she'll end up being totally hideous because his life was bloody hell right now.
"I hope we get her. Then I can help her with everything," Hermione said. "It will be a good deed."
"Yeah, we figured that. That's because you're Hermione the do-gooder," Ron joked.
"That wasn't funny, you know," Hermione snapped.
"Ooh, sorry."
"Ugh!" And Hermione stomped up the stairs.
"What? Is it her time of the month or something?"
Ginny stared at Ron. "That was kind of you to say, Ron. Just make fun of us girls because of our period." Ginny ran up the stairs.
"What I said wasn't that bad."
"I know. They're just being girls."
"And Harry wonders why he isn't a babe magnet," Padma said.
"Just shush, will you Padma? You're not exactly helping... anything by talking, you know that?" Ron told her.
"That's very hypocritical of you," Padma said, and she and her sister went up to their dormitory.
Dumbledore smiled. "Just like I thought. I knew the Sorting Hat would pick the right house."