A school-aged girl in a pair of straight-legged black jeans and sleeveless
white silk shirt sat at an outside table of a Diagon Alley café. Her long,
glossy black hair was tied back into a french twist, delicate strands
escaping to frame her pale face. Her bright green eyes looked around at
the crowd of shool kids and their parents gathering supplies for the
upcoming year at Hogwarts.
This was the emerald eyed girls first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry, having transferred schools for her final year of magical
schooling.
She was to withdraw a suitable amount of money from her school fund from
Gringotts and get her shopping done today. She was hungry and couldn't pass
up the wonderful smell of the café on her way past so she stopped for
lunch.
She hoped to make friends in this school. She didn't know too much about
it, being from halfway around the world from the United Kingdom. She knew
that the students of this school were divided into one of four different
dormitories based on different charactoristics. Her school was small and
didn't bother with that kind of thing, so she was to be sorted along with
the eleven year old kids just starting their magical educations. She
wondered what she would become.
*****
Entering Diagon Alley, Harry sighed He rubbed his scar absently and his
glasses slipped down his nose. As he passed a small, brightly lit café,
his stomach rumbled. He dropped his hand from his forehead and his longish
hair masked his lightning bolt shaped scar.
He needed to get more money, but hunger won and he headed into the cafe. He
had a few coins and his friends wouldn't be arriving for another hour or so
yet so they wouldn't miss him. He paid for a pumpkin juice and chicken
sandwich and stepped outside to sit in the sun.
As Harry sat down and began to eat his sandwich the green eyed girl looked
over. He looked vaguely familiar to her and she couldn't help but stare as
she tried to figure out where she had seen him before. Then it dawned on
her, 'he must be that boy on the cover of the newspaper I saw earlier.
Harry Potter, that was it.'
Just when she thought of who it was, the messy haired boy looked up and
straight at her. He blushed and looked down. 'Why is that girl staring? I
don't know her... It must be because she knows who I am." he thought kind
of angrily. Why did people only pay attention to him because he was Harry
Potter? He took a big bite of his sandwich and tried to concentrate on it
instead of knowing that he was being stared at.
A minute or so after Harry looked down the girl grinned. She picked up he
plate and drink and walked over to him. She cleared her throat lightly
and asked quietly, "Do you mind if I join you? I was getting kind of
lonely over there by myself.. or are you waiting for someone?" she spoke in
a Canadian accent and smiled broadly at him.
His ruffled head shot up, he hadn't heard her approach. "Yeah... Umm no I
am not waiting for anybody, I mean."
"So... I can sit here then, 'eh?" she said setting her food and drink down
on the table.
"Yes, sure, no problem at all." he replied as she sat down. "So, are you
new around here?" he asked, knowing full well that if she was a student
that she would be as he had never seen her before.
"I am new to England, yes. I decided that I wanted to take my final year of
schooling abroad and I was accepted into the transfer program. I have heard
wonderful things about the Headmaster and faculty of Hogwarts so that is
why I am here." she took a sip of her juice. "You look school aged. What
year are you in?" she asked. If he said 'seventh' then she was probably
right and he was Harry Potter. He wasn't talked about much where she was
from and neither his picture shown so she wasn't quite sure.
"I am in my last year actually..." he said slowly, didn't she know that he
was? Everyone knew what year the Boy-Who-Lived was in.
"Aha! Then you are Harry Potter." she said triumphantly. "I saw your
picture at the news stand earlier today. You aren't talked about that much
where I am from so I wasn't sure. It's nice to meet ya!" she held out
a hand, "I am Nerissa Honey."
Taken aback, Harry sighed, he couldn't stay out of the limelight no matter
how hard he wanted to. "It is nice to meet you too, Nerissa." He extended
his own hand to take hers in a friendly handshake, "You already know my
name."
Withdrawing her hand she told him that she didn't know much about him other
than his help in the defeat of Voldemort last year. He was kind of shocked
that she said his name without fear. Still the witches and wizards in
Europe feared to say it. She explained that her school was very isolated.
Harry swallowed another bite of his sandwich, "Where was your school that
you were so isolated?"
Nerissa licked a droplet of juice from her lip, "I'm from Canada. Way North
in the Arctic. I must say, England is much warmer." she smiled.
"I suppose this is pretty far away for you then. It might be warmer, but it
rains so much. I don't like rain much." he said.
"Quite honestly, I prefer the rain to the snow and ice," her laughter
tinkled like bells. "Not to pry, but what classes are you taking this year
Harry?"
He shrugged it wasn't a big deal. "Transfiguration, DADA, Potions," he
shuddered, "Divination, Charms, History of Magic," another shudder, "Care
of Magical Creatures and Herbology."
"Divination? I was never one for that subject. Along with the required
courses I am taking Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies and Care of Magical
Creatures. I must say that I will feel like I am cheating with Muggle
Studies though."
"It is pretty easy if you are from a Muggle family. Oh, I forgot to mention
that I am on the Quidditch team..." he paused. "You say you will feel like
you are cheating... is that because you are from a Muggle family?" he
enquired.
She stared into her plate, "Well, I was raised in a half-Muggle home when
my mother died. I never knew my father. So I learned a lot from my foster
father. He was a Muggle..." she took a small bite of her food. "So!
Quidditch 'eh?!... I have heard a lot about it, but because of our weather
we weren't able to have games. Nobody liked the idea of being a popsicle."
Discomforted by her easy tone, she was talking about her deceased mother
and not-there-father so casually! He looked down. "That's too bad about
your parents," he said knowingly. He moved off the subject, "I've known
about Quidditch since I started school here. I made the team in my first
year! After my first flying lesson." he looked proud of himself.
"I'm excited about finally being able to see my first game, even if it
isn't for a few months. It sounds fascinating." Nerissa had no problem
talking about her parents because she hadn't known her mother very well and
had never even met her father.
Her mother was very well off from an inheritance when her own mother and
father passed away and she was on constant trips all over the world leaving
Nerissa with the nanny that eventually became her foster mother when her
birth mother was killed on a trip the summer before her first year at
her Wizardry school. She was raised by that woman and her Muggle husband
after that.
"Well, I hope there are plenty of games this year," he cleared his throat.
"I should be going. I have to be meeting my friends now." he finished off
the last of his lunch.
"Well, it was nice to meet you Harry. I'm sure that I will see you at
school... where everyone will gawk at the tall, older girl who gets sorted
with the first years.: she laughed uneasily.
Harry half nodded, "That will be an amusing sight I am sure." He threw his
sandwich wrapper in the trash bin "See you at Hogwarts, Nerissa."
She waved at him as he walked away, "Bye Harry."
*****
A/N So how was that? do I need a beta? Don't review saying that I need one.
Please just email me (zenia at shaw dot ca) with the subject line
"i want to beta read for you". You have to be relatively quick, cause I
like to post chapters soon after I write them!
white silk shirt sat at an outside table of a Diagon Alley café. Her long,
glossy black hair was tied back into a french twist, delicate strands
escaping to frame her pale face. Her bright green eyes looked around at
the crowd of shool kids and their parents gathering supplies for the
upcoming year at Hogwarts.
This was the emerald eyed girls first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft
and Wizardry, having transferred schools for her final year of magical
schooling.
She was to withdraw a suitable amount of money from her school fund from
Gringotts and get her shopping done today. She was hungry and couldn't pass
up the wonderful smell of the café on her way past so she stopped for
lunch.
She hoped to make friends in this school. She didn't know too much about
it, being from halfway around the world from the United Kingdom. She knew
that the students of this school were divided into one of four different
dormitories based on different charactoristics. Her school was small and
didn't bother with that kind of thing, so she was to be sorted along with
the eleven year old kids just starting their magical educations. She
wondered what she would become.
*****
Entering Diagon Alley, Harry sighed He rubbed his scar absently and his
glasses slipped down his nose. As he passed a small, brightly lit café,
his stomach rumbled. He dropped his hand from his forehead and his longish
hair masked his lightning bolt shaped scar.
He needed to get more money, but hunger won and he headed into the cafe. He
had a few coins and his friends wouldn't be arriving for another hour or so
yet so they wouldn't miss him. He paid for a pumpkin juice and chicken
sandwich and stepped outside to sit in the sun.
As Harry sat down and began to eat his sandwich the green eyed girl looked
over. He looked vaguely familiar to her and she couldn't help but stare as
she tried to figure out where she had seen him before. Then it dawned on
her, 'he must be that boy on the cover of the newspaper I saw earlier.
Harry Potter, that was it.'
Just when she thought of who it was, the messy haired boy looked up and
straight at her. He blushed and looked down. 'Why is that girl staring? I
don't know her... It must be because she knows who I am." he thought kind
of angrily. Why did people only pay attention to him because he was Harry
Potter? He took a big bite of his sandwich and tried to concentrate on it
instead of knowing that he was being stared at.
A minute or so after Harry looked down the girl grinned. She picked up he
plate and drink and walked over to him. She cleared her throat lightly
and asked quietly, "Do you mind if I join you? I was getting kind of
lonely over there by myself.. or are you waiting for someone?" she spoke in
a Canadian accent and smiled broadly at him.
His ruffled head shot up, he hadn't heard her approach. "Yeah... Umm no I
am not waiting for anybody, I mean."
"So... I can sit here then, 'eh?" she said setting her food and drink down
on the table.
"Yes, sure, no problem at all." he replied as she sat down. "So, are you
new around here?" he asked, knowing full well that if she was a student
that she would be as he had never seen her before.
"I am new to England, yes. I decided that I wanted to take my final year of
schooling abroad and I was accepted into the transfer program. I have heard
wonderful things about the Headmaster and faculty of Hogwarts so that is
why I am here." she took a sip of her juice. "You look school aged. What
year are you in?" she asked. If he said 'seventh' then she was probably
right and he was Harry Potter. He wasn't talked about much where she was
from and neither his picture shown so she wasn't quite sure.
"I am in my last year actually..." he said slowly, didn't she know that he
was? Everyone knew what year the Boy-Who-Lived was in.
"Aha! Then you are Harry Potter." she said triumphantly. "I saw your
picture at the news stand earlier today. You aren't talked about that much
where I am from so I wasn't sure. It's nice to meet ya!" she held out
a hand, "I am Nerissa Honey."
Taken aback, Harry sighed, he couldn't stay out of the limelight no matter
how hard he wanted to. "It is nice to meet you too, Nerissa." He extended
his own hand to take hers in a friendly handshake, "You already know my
name."
Withdrawing her hand she told him that she didn't know much about him other
than his help in the defeat of Voldemort last year. He was kind of shocked
that she said his name without fear. Still the witches and wizards in
Europe feared to say it. She explained that her school was very isolated.
Harry swallowed another bite of his sandwich, "Where was your school that
you were so isolated?"
Nerissa licked a droplet of juice from her lip, "I'm from Canada. Way North
in the Arctic. I must say, England is much warmer." she smiled.
"I suppose this is pretty far away for you then. It might be warmer, but it
rains so much. I don't like rain much." he said.
"Quite honestly, I prefer the rain to the snow and ice," her laughter
tinkled like bells. "Not to pry, but what classes are you taking this year
Harry?"
He shrugged it wasn't a big deal. "Transfiguration, DADA, Potions," he
shuddered, "Divination, Charms, History of Magic," another shudder, "Care
of Magical Creatures and Herbology."
"Divination? I was never one for that subject. Along with the required
courses I am taking Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies and Care of Magical
Creatures. I must say that I will feel like I am cheating with Muggle
Studies though."
"It is pretty easy if you are from a Muggle family. Oh, I forgot to mention
that I am on the Quidditch team..." he paused. "You say you will feel like
you are cheating... is that because you are from a Muggle family?" he
enquired.
She stared into her plate, "Well, I was raised in a half-Muggle home when
my mother died. I never knew my father. So I learned a lot from my foster
father. He was a Muggle..." she took a small bite of her food. "So!
Quidditch 'eh?!... I have heard a lot about it, but because of our weather
we weren't able to have games. Nobody liked the idea of being a popsicle."
Discomforted by her easy tone, she was talking about her deceased mother
and not-there-father so casually! He looked down. "That's too bad about
your parents," he said knowingly. He moved off the subject, "I've known
about Quidditch since I started school here. I made the team in my first
year! After my first flying lesson." he looked proud of himself.
"I'm excited about finally being able to see my first game, even if it
isn't for a few months. It sounds fascinating." Nerissa had no problem
talking about her parents because she hadn't known her mother very well and
had never even met her father.
Her mother was very well off from an inheritance when her own mother and
father passed away and she was on constant trips all over the world leaving
Nerissa with the nanny that eventually became her foster mother when her
birth mother was killed on a trip the summer before her first year at
her Wizardry school. She was raised by that woman and her Muggle husband
after that.
"Well, I hope there are plenty of games this year," he cleared his throat.
"I should be going. I have to be meeting my friends now." he finished off
the last of his lunch.
"Well, it was nice to meet you Harry. I'm sure that I will see you at
school... where everyone will gawk at the tall, older girl who gets sorted
with the first years.: she laughed uneasily.
Harry half nodded, "That will be an amusing sight I am sure." He threw his
sandwich wrapper in the trash bin "See you at Hogwarts, Nerissa."
She waved at him as he walked away, "Bye Harry."
*****
A/N So how was that? do I need a beta? Don't review saying that I need one.
Please just email me (zenia at shaw dot ca) with the subject line
"i want to beta read for you". You have to be relatively quick, cause I
like to post chapters soon after I write them!