Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter
Alastrine Brygid and the Enchanted Chill
Year 1
Ch. 1
The Academy
Alastrine sat in her room, staring at the wall, wondering if she even dared to climb out of bed today. She wondered what task her grandmother, Tosia, would put her to today. Yesterday she had been forced to clean all of the bathrooms in the mansion, without the house elf to help. Previous tasks had included ridding the property of gnomes (which had taken her a week, during which her grandmother would not allow her inside until she had finished), flying to America to personally deliver a letter to a nonexistent person, cataloguing the huge library (after dusting every book and shelf), and traveling to Egypt to get an ancient scroll from a creepy, old professor who kept hitting on her.
Just as she was about to go back to sleep, her grandmother began pounding on the door, "Alastrine! Alastrine, it's past 7:00! Get up, you lazy girl!"
Alastrine moaned and rose from her bed as her mother's mother walked down the hall. She dressed and made the bed before leaving her room. She walked down stairs, dressed in black pants, combat boots, and a grey camo tank top. Her black hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail with the white streak left hanging in front. Her black rat, Cadell, rode on her shoulder.
"Your food's in on the table." Her grandmother barked as a morning greeting as Alastrine entered the kitchen. "Be sure to eat all of the eggs, bacon, and sausage."
The girl turned around and went into the dining room. At the other end of the immensely long table, sat her plate, piled high with eggs. Beside it was a heaping dish of bacon and sausage. This was her grandmother's way of telling her she had a difficult chore to do today.
She sat down with a sigh and began to eat, feeding Cadell pieces of bacon and sausage. She managed to finish in 2 hours, hiding some of it under the tablecloth and in her napkin. She also fed a bit to her grandmother's cat, Armina.
When she finished, she stood and stretched as the house elf, Auc, came running over to retrieve the plates. Auc had auburn hair that was pulled back into a braid. Her large eyes were the color of spring grass, and the flag she wore like a toga showed the red, white, and blue stripes of the English.
"How are you today, Miss Alastrine?" she asked in a squeaky voice.
"I'm fine, you?"
"Very well, thank you." The elf bowed, her small, turned up nose almost touching the floor, and left with the dishes.
Alastrine went into her grandmother's study to inquire about her task for today.
The study was large and had an old oak desk in the center. It was covered with all sorts of artifacts from ancient witches and wizards. There were skulls of now-extinct beasts, fossilized wands, and the first cauldrons. There were several stacks of papers and parchment beside the desk, threatening to fall anytime now and force Alastrine to put them back in place. Three floor-to-ceiling windows were on the Eastern wall and dressed with heavy, green, velvet drapes.
Tosia sat in a tall chair behind the desk, studying a bone through a huge magnifying glass.
Alastrine cleared her throat to get her grandmother's attention.
Tosia looked up at her, picked up a letter from the edge of the desk, and handed it to her. Alastrine opened it and read:
Dear Alastrine Brygid,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Aicdun Academy for Magic. Enclosed is a list of the supplies you will need and your schedule. Please be in the front hall of the school by 7:00 pm on Monday.
Sincerely,
Delaney Bran
Headmistress
Alastrine smiled with pleasure. She had just been accepted to the most exclusive school in Britain!
"Oh, Grandma Tosia! This is wonderful!" She threw herself at the woman and hugged her.
"Yes, yes, yes. Now, today, you are going to Diagon Alley, to buy all of your school things. I can't go with you because Bert has decided to come visit me today of all days."
Bert was Tosia's brother and Alastrine's great-uncle. He was nearly a squib and the biggest klutz ever to walk the earth, though he had quite a talent for tickling your funny bone.
"So, I'm going alone?"
"I'm afraid so."
Alastrine smiled inwardly, everyone else would be with their parents! She could get whatever she wanted without supervision! Perhaps she might even take a walk down Knockturn Alley!
"It says to be there by seven o'clock tomorrow. How will I get there?"
"I've taken the liberty of getting you a spot on the Knight Bus. It will be outside the Leaky Cauldron at midnight. Be sure that you don't miss it."
"I won't! Thank you, Grandma!"
Alastrine ran to her bedroom to pack the things he already had that she would be taking. Into her large, dark, wooden trunk went her robes, her cloaks, her shoes, her underwear, and her books, even Cadell!
After her grandmother had attached the trunk to Alastrine's Nimbus 2000, they said good-bye, and Alastrine took off towards London.
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Ceara crawled out of the closet that she had been forced to use as her bedroom for the past 13 years, as of today. She could hear her father snoring upstairs. She snuck into the kitchen and began cooking breakfast for him. She made eggs, pancakes, sausage, toast, tea, and many other things as well.
When he came lumbering down the stairs, Ceara had just finished the dishes and dodged upstairs for an extremely quick shower. About five minutes later, she came back down to stand in the corner of the dining room, waiting for her father to finish eating, but today, he noticed her and called her over.
"How old are you, girl?" He growled at her.
"I-I'm thirteen today, Father." She said, looking at the ground.
He grunted and threw a dirty piece of paper at her. "Go away. I don't want to see you."
Ceara ran out of the room, afraid of her father's fists, and into her closet, where she turned on the dim light bulb. She looked at the letter she held in her hands.
To Miss Ceara Dunn/ 408 Silver Street/ Dublin, Ireland.the seal says "Aicdun Academy".hmmm.
She slid her finger under the lip of the envelope and pulled out the yellowed paper.
Dear Ceara Dunn,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Aicdun Academy for Magic. Enclosed is a list of the supplies you will need and your schedule. Please be in the front hall of the school by 7:00 pm on Monday.
Sincerely,
Delaney Bran
Headmistress
Ceara smiled, but was sure not to make any noise or her father would surely beat her, as he had last night. She was still bruised and sore.
Oh no! How am I supposed to get there? I'm sure that Father won't drive me! Oh well.I guess I have to ask.perhaps I can stay at school over the summer, or get a job somewhere and never have to see him again!
She ran out of the closet, turning off the light as she did, to ask him.
After hours of sitting silently in the car, her father finally dropped her off in front of a pub in London that he didn't seem able to see. Ceara jumped out of the car, her small bag of belongings flying out after her as the car zoomed away.
Ceara entered the Pub, called the Leaky Cauldron, and was shown into Diagon Alley by the owner, a nice man named Tom. The alley entrance closed behind her and she looked about this magical place.
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Alastrine walked down the crowded streets, heading for Gringotts Bank to retrieve her money. She filled a black leather bag with Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts from Vault 512. Then, she stepped out into the light and went straight into Madam Malkin's for her school cloak.
She was fitted for it and looked about as the magic needle and thread embroidered the silver flames onto the bottom of the black fabric. Madam Malkin herself had told Alastrine that she had put a spell on it that would change the colors, depending on what house she got into. When she left, she went to Flourish and Blotts for all of her books. She came out with her moneybag a bit lighter, having not been able to resist the large curse book, the Quidditch strategy book, or the one that told the history of Aicdun Academy.
She bought herself everything else she would need, potion ingredients, food, quills, food, parchment, food, erasers, food, a cauldron, food, dress robes, food, and.oh, yeah, food! She finally wound up standing alone with her bags in Ollivanders, waiting to be attended. She watched as a boy about her age with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes bought his wand and left, muttering to himself about finding his parents. Alastrine couldn't help but blush as he passed, but she didn't think he noticed.
Mr. Ollivander came out from behind the counter and over to her. His strange pale eyes seemed to glisten. "Well, Miss Alastrine Brygid, I knew I'd be seeing you in here soon." He walked over to the box-lined walls and picked one up.
"Here you are, spruce and gillyweed, try."
She waved it about and blue flames shot out of the end, but dissolved into air right before they hit the shop owner.
"Dear, dear, I think not! Here, test this. It's made of rowan and has 16 liquidized dragon scales in it."
As soon as Alastrine gripped the wand, it felt like a part of her. She waved it and a gold and silver rainbow shot out the end.
Mr. Ollivander smiled, "Well! There you are!" He walked over to the cash register and rung it up. "That'll be 10 Galleons." Alastrine paid and turned to leave. "Well, good luck, Miss Brygid, at Aicdun. That is where your grandfather wanted to go there so badly, after all."
Alastrine turned about, fire in her eyes, only to find the man gone.
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Ceara entered the bank and waited in line to talk with what she had overheard someone call a "goblin". She saw why when she got to see one. They were short and looked sly and a bit cruel. The one she spoke with had a raspy voice and a nametag that proclaimed it as "Finatish".
"Excuse me, but I think I have an account here." At least her father had grunted at her that her gran had left her money here.
"Well, what's your name? Do you have your key?"
"Umm.I don't have a key, but my name is Ceara Dunn. It's my gran's old-"
"Vault 623. Here's your key. I'll get someone to take you down."
Two moments later and Ceara was sitting in the rickety car, speeding down the tracks in the dark to her vault with a goblin named Shnifelt. The cart stopped abruptly at a large door. Shnifelt took the key and opened the door for her.
Inside gleamed gold, silver, and bronze. Shnifelt gave her a brown, leather pouch to put her money in and told her what each piece was and how many were in which.
The gold ones were Galleons. The silver ones were Sickles and the bronze were Knuts. There were seventeen Sickles in each Galleon and twenty- nine Knuts in a Sickle, which meant that a Galleon was equal to 493 Knuts.
Ceara said thank you and good-bye to Shnifelt before leaving the bank. She went around and bought everything she thought that she would need, books, cloaks, robes, clothes, quills, shoes, a cauldron, parchment, an owl, a small black cat, food, make-up, a trunk, and a wand that was 13 inches long, made of cherry wood and had an inner lining of unicorn hair with a core of unicorn hair and blood.
When she had bought everything, she went back into the Leaky Cauldron to get a drink and ask about ways to get to school.
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After Alastrine had left her bags with Tom in the Leaky Cauldron, she went back out to go for a stroll.down Knockturn Alley. She turned into it and suddenly was out of the crowds.
Knockturn Alley was a dodgy place where mostly only dark witches and wizards lurked. It was full of the filth of the wizarding world and black market goods and held a certain interest for curious and mischievous young witches and wizards, like Alastrine.
She walked down the quiet streets and looked into the windows. There were shrunken heads, fingernails, necklaces made of teeth, fetishes of toes, dark and dangerous creatures, charms made of human body parts, and right in the center square, a life-sized statue of her grandfather, of Voldemort.
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When Ceara had finished her pumpkin juice, she asked a teenage boy who was wiping down the counter how she was supposed to get to school.
"Well," he said, "what school are you going to?"
"Aicdun Academy."
"Ah! So, you'll be with me! I'm going on the train because it's free, but the more "fashionable" students usually take the Knight Bus."
"Oh." she said, not knowing what the Knight Bus was. "Well.could I go on the train with you? That is, if you could take me?"
"Sure. Tom's walking me there later. Be outside at 5:00 and you can come with us."
"OK! Thanks!" She embraced the boy. "By the way, my name's Ceara Dunn."
"I'm Deirdre Cullon. It's nice to meet you, Ceara."
They shook hands and Ceara went to roam Diagon Alley for an hour before she had to leave.
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Alastrine quickly returned to Diagon Alley, angered and frightened by the statue, but she tried not to let it get to her too much.
She went to the Leaky Cauldron and threw all of her things into her trunk, but her broom, and went to wait in the Leaky Cauldron until it was safe to go into London for the Knight Bus.
She sat alone in the corner, eating her dinner, as a happy-looking blonde talked with a tall black-haired, blue-eyed boy who was wiping down the bar. Alastrine glared at them and returned to her food.
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An hour later, Ceara was sitting outside on her trunk, waiting for Deirdre and Tom. The eyes of the people walking down the street seemed to pass right over her and not see her. A few minutes later, the two came out and they went to the train station together.
Tom left them at the boarding platforms and Deirdre led Ceara over to a pillar beside the ticket booth. He pushed on it and slipped through, taking her hand and pulling her with him.
In front of them was a large platform with a few kids running about, hopping on and off the train, lugging luggage and trailing trunks. Deirdre helped Ceara to put hers into the luggage compartment and went off to see his friends.
Ceara found an empty compartment and sat in it, watching out the window as girls and boys greeted each other and laughed together. Ceara sighed, she wanted a friend so badly.
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At midnight, the Knight Bus appeared outside of the Leaky Cauldron and Alastrine, as well as half of a dozen others climbed on. They were given beds and lay down as the bus hopped into the countryside, the nearsighted driver causing trees, cows, and even a lake to jump out of the way!
Three hours later, they had been dropped off at the school entrance. Alastrine looked around and carried her trunk into the large grey Irish castle. She set it on a pile in the front hall and went into the Dining Hall, where the tables had been cleared away and sleeping bags of every color imaginable awaited them. Several groups of people were already asleep on the floor. Alastrine picked up a black one and carried it off into a corner. The kids who rode the train would be there soon.
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The door to Ceara's compartment opened and a short, blonde-haired girl with blue eyes peeked in. "Is there anyone sitting with you?" Ceara shook her head as the girl came in. "Do you mind?" Ceara shook her head again as the girl sat. "I'm Rosalia Vivi." She stuck out a hand.
Ceara took it. "Dunn, Ceara Dunn."
Not even a minute later, two more people popped their heads in and joined the two. One was even shorter than the first with brown eyes and dark red hair. Her name was Eaven Aislinn. The other was the shortest of all, with green eyes and wavy blonde hair. She was Pearl Trista.
The four became friends at once and were busy exchanging girl talk when the door opened again. This time, a girl the same height as Eaven stood there, her straight blonde hair fell halfway down her back and looked a bit dirty. Her blue eyes seemed to pierce everyone with a cold glance. Her school robes were knee-length and brown and green speckled.
She silently sat down rudely beside Pearl, who was now between her and Eaven.
"Uh." said Ceara, "Hey there, I'm Ceara."
The girl looked at her, "I'm Perdita. Now shut up. I'm older than you and know more. I'm far your superior."
"Oh really? What year are you?"
Perdita went red, "I'm 13."
"No, I meant school level."
"One." She mumbled.
"Really? Me too! I'm starting late, though."
"Why?"
Ceara felt a bruise on her arm throb as she choked, "That's private."
"Hey, come on! I won't tell anyone!"
"No."
Perdita got fire in her eyes as she pulled out her wand. "Don't make me force it out of you."
Ceara stood, pulling out her wand as well. "Go ahead and try." She now had ice in her friendly, accepting voice.
Perdita held her wand over her head and an orange light burst from it. Ceara's emitted a white streak and forced the Perdita's spell right back at her.
Perdita fell to the floor, dazed. Ceara pulled her into an empty compartment down at the opposite end of the car, afraid of what the curse had done.
When she returned, all of the girls were looking at her in awe.
"Wow." said Eaven.
"Whoa." said Pearl.
"COOL!" burst out Rosalia. "How did you do that?!"
"I-I don't know! I-I-I-it just happened! I just knew what to do!"
The three shorter girls gazed at her in amazement a few more moments before returning to their chatter.
Hours later, after the four had talked their mouths dry, they sat gazing wearily out the windows of the train as they passed through woods, fields, forests, and bogs. Finally, a large grey castle peeked up on the horizon, filling the entire train with excitement.
The girls were full of anticipation as the pinnacle of their lives pulled closer.
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About an hour after Alastrine had finally decided to try and sleep, a huge commotion was heard in the hall. The train had finally arrived.
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When the train arrived at the empty station, the students hurried off, collecting their trunks. Then, the ones with broomsticks got on, shrinking their trunks, and took at least one other person with them.
Ceara took Eaven and Rosalia took Pearl. The ones left had to walk to the castle. Ceara felt badly for them and after dropping Eaven off went back and took several more students up.
Back up in the castle, Eaven, Rosalia, and Pearl were waiting for Ceara to return. She had volunteered to go down and bring some more people up. Alastrine was glaring at everyone who came near her corner, but the room was filling up with groups rapidly, most were first years, a few were prefects, the head boy and girl, of course, and a couple of teachers.
By the time Ceara came back from her task, the room was pretty near full and they resigned themselves to.the corner, which had for some odd reason not been reached yet. They lay down their sleeping bags, pink for Ceara, blue for Rosalia, red for pearl, and purple for Eaven, and shut their eyes, even though they really wanted to sneak out of the Dining Hall and explore the castle.
Alastrine rolled herself over against the wall as the girls overflowed into her territory. She pressed herself into the little space and went to sleep.
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In the morning, Ceara awoke to sunlight streaming into the windows. She looked around. A few people were already up, while many others were just rubbing sleep from their eyes.
This was when she noticed the raven-haired girl in a black sleeping bag curled up in the corner, whom she had not seen the night before.
Oh, God! We came in here and took her sleeping place! I feel like such an arse! How could I do that? I'll make it up to her somehow.
Just at that moment, a woman in tall woman with shoulder-length blonde hair in bright purple robes came in.
"OK! Everyone, up! We need to get ready for your breakfast!"
Everyone groaned and shook the person they were sleeping beside to get them up. Soon, the room was bustling with movement. Within ten minutes all of the sleeping bags had been whisked away.
The first years had them been taken out into the front hall to straighten out. They would have to wait an hour before they could eat. After the sorting ceremonies, they could go up to their rooms to shower and change.
They stood in a large group out front, wondering anxiously where they would be placed and how it was done.
Exactly an hour later, the woman in purple robes came back. "Hello, everyone! I'm Madam Erea, the transfiguration professor here at Aicdun. Are you all ready to be sorted? Good! Follow me!"
She turned about and entered the Dining Hall, which now had tables and benches filling it, on which were seated the rest of the student body, arranged by house. On the far East side was the black and silver Akieda, beside them were the students of Svakeb, whose colors were red and purple. On Svakeb's other side was a mass of orange and blue, Libof. Finally, there was the brown and green of Bokieb. Hanging above the first table of each school table, was a shield with that house's mascot: Pegasus for Akieda, a pixie for Svakeb, a mermaid for Libof, and a gnome for Bokieb.
The 72 new students stood in awe as a woman in lavender robes rose from her seat at the teacher's table, which sat at the front of the room. "Hello, and welcome, to all of you new students! For those of you who don't know, I'm Delaney Bran, the headmistress of Aicdun Academy." She paused and smiled at them as she opened an old, carved, wooden box, stained with age. Inside were four jewels, black, red, blue, and green, each representing a different house. "Now, all you need to do is come up here when Madam Erea calls your name and wave your hand over these. The one that lights is your new home. If more than one illuminates, its up to you to choose."
She set the box on a red, silk cushion and sat back down. Madam Erea began to call names.
"Darrion Finian!"
A tall, blonde boy came up and waved his hand over the box. A light appeared in the middle of the black one. He smiled and breathed a sigh of relief as he sat at Akieda's tables. Applause roared from that side.
"Rosalia Vivi!"
Ceara squeezed her friend's hand as she left. She tentatively moved her hand above the gems and the red one lit up. She went over to Svakeb's seats.
Many other students left, in the middle of them Ceara, who was placed at Akieda. Finally, only Alastrine was left.
"Alastrine Brygid!"
Alastrine walked calmly over to the jewels and stuck her hand above them. All of a sudden, all four lit the room up with their lights, illuminating everything. Alastrine stepped back in shock and the lights faded.
After an odd silence, Headmistress Bran said, "Well, Ms. Brygid, which one do you choose?"
She looked at the tables for a moment and moved over to Akieda.
As soon as she sat, Delaney Bran raised her glass, "Welcome to Aicdun Academy for Magic!"
So, what do you think?! Please R/R! I need some reviews! PEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ?! THANKS! Every bit of feedback will be appreciated!
Alastrine Brygid and the Enchanted Chill
Year 1
Ch. 1
The Academy
Alastrine sat in her room, staring at the wall, wondering if she even dared to climb out of bed today. She wondered what task her grandmother, Tosia, would put her to today. Yesterday she had been forced to clean all of the bathrooms in the mansion, without the house elf to help. Previous tasks had included ridding the property of gnomes (which had taken her a week, during which her grandmother would not allow her inside until she had finished), flying to America to personally deliver a letter to a nonexistent person, cataloguing the huge library (after dusting every book and shelf), and traveling to Egypt to get an ancient scroll from a creepy, old professor who kept hitting on her.
Just as she was about to go back to sleep, her grandmother began pounding on the door, "Alastrine! Alastrine, it's past 7:00! Get up, you lazy girl!"
Alastrine moaned and rose from her bed as her mother's mother walked down the hall. She dressed and made the bed before leaving her room. She walked down stairs, dressed in black pants, combat boots, and a grey camo tank top. Her black hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail with the white streak left hanging in front. Her black rat, Cadell, rode on her shoulder.
"Your food's in on the table." Her grandmother barked as a morning greeting as Alastrine entered the kitchen. "Be sure to eat all of the eggs, bacon, and sausage."
The girl turned around and went into the dining room. At the other end of the immensely long table, sat her plate, piled high with eggs. Beside it was a heaping dish of bacon and sausage. This was her grandmother's way of telling her she had a difficult chore to do today.
She sat down with a sigh and began to eat, feeding Cadell pieces of bacon and sausage. She managed to finish in 2 hours, hiding some of it under the tablecloth and in her napkin. She also fed a bit to her grandmother's cat, Armina.
When she finished, she stood and stretched as the house elf, Auc, came running over to retrieve the plates. Auc had auburn hair that was pulled back into a braid. Her large eyes were the color of spring grass, and the flag she wore like a toga showed the red, white, and blue stripes of the English.
"How are you today, Miss Alastrine?" she asked in a squeaky voice.
"I'm fine, you?"
"Very well, thank you." The elf bowed, her small, turned up nose almost touching the floor, and left with the dishes.
Alastrine went into her grandmother's study to inquire about her task for today.
The study was large and had an old oak desk in the center. It was covered with all sorts of artifacts from ancient witches and wizards. There were skulls of now-extinct beasts, fossilized wands, and the first cauldrons. There were several stacks of papers and parchment beside the desk, threatening to fall anytime now and force Alastrine to put them back in place. Three floor-to-ceiling windows were on the Eastern wall and dressed with heavy, green, velvet drapes.
Tosia sat in a tall chair behind the desk, studying a bone through a huge magnifying glass.
Alastrine cleared her throat to get her grandmother's attention.
Tosia looked up at her, picked up a letter from the edge of the desk, and handed it to her. Alastrine opened it and read:
Dear Alastrine Brygid,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Aicdun Academy for Magic. Enclosed is a list of the supplies you will need and your schedule. Please be in the front hall of the school by 7:00 pm on Monday.
Sincerely,
Delaney Bran
Headmistress
Alastrine smiled with pleasure. She had just been accepted to the most exclusive school in Britain!
"Oh, Grandma Tosia! This is wonderful!" She threw herself at the woman and hugged her.
"Yes, yes, yes. Now, today, you are going to Diagon Alley, to buy all of your school things. I can't go with you because Bert has decided to come visit me today of all days."
Bert was Tosia's brother and Alastrine's great-uncle. He was nearly a squib and the biggest klutz ever to walk the earth, though he had quite a talent for tickling your funny bone.
"So, I'm going alone?"
"I'm afraid so."
Alastrine smiled inwardly, everyone else would be with their parents! She could get whatever she wanted without supervision! Perhaps she might even take a walk down Knockturn Alley!
"It says to be there by seven o'clock tomorrow. How will I get there?"
"I've taken the liberty of getting you a spot on the Knight Bus. It will be outside the Leaky Cauldron at midnight. Be sure that you don't miss it."
"I won't! Thank you, Grandma!"
Alastrine ran to her bedroom to pack the things he already had that she would be taking. Into her large, dark, wooden trunk went her robes, her cloaks, her shoes, her underwear, and her books, even Cadell!
After her grandmother had attached the trunk to Alastrine's Nimbus 2000, they said good-bye, and Alastrine took off towards London.
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Ceara crawled out of the closet that she had been forced to use as her bedroom for the past 13 years, as of today. She could hear her father snoring upstairs. She snuck into the kitchen and began cooking breakfast for him. She made eggs, pancakes, sausage, toast, tea, and many other things as well.
When he came lumbering down the stairs, Ceara had just finished the dishes and dodged upstairs for an extremely quick shower. About five minutes later, she came back down to stand in the corner of the dining room, waiting for her father to finish eating, but today, he noticed her and called her over.
"How old are you, girl?" He growled at her.
"I-I'm thirteen today, Father." She said, looking at the ground.
He grunted and threw a dirty piece of paper at her. "Go away. I don't want to see you."
Ceara ran out of the room, afraid of her father's fists, and into her closet, where she turned on the dim light bulb. She looked at the letter she held in her hands.
To Miss Ceara Dunn/ 408 Silver Street/ Dublin, Ireland.the seal says "Aicdun Academy".hmmm.
She slid her finger under the lip of the envelope and pulled out the yellowed paper.
Dear Ceara Dunn,
We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted to Aicdun Academy for Magic. Enclosed is a list of the supplies you will need and your schedule. Please be in the front hall of the school by 7:00 pm on Monday.
Sincerely,
Delaney Bran
Headmistress
Ceara smiled, but was sure not to make any noise or her father would surely beat her, as he had last night. She was still bruised and sore.
Oh no! How am I supposed to get there? I'm sure that Father won't drive me! Oh well.I guess I have to ask.perhaps I can stay at school over the summer, or get a job somewhere and never have to see him again!
She ran out of the closet, turning off the light as she did, to ask him.
After hours of sitting silently in the car, her father finally dropped her off in front of a pub in London that he didn't seem able to see. Ceara jumped out of the car, her small bag of belongings flying out after her as the car zoomed away.
Ceara entered the Pub, called the Leaky Cauldron, and was shown into Diagon Alley by the owner, a nice man named Tom. The alley entrance closed behind her and she looked about this magical place.
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Alastrine walked down the crowded streets, heading for Gringotts Bank to retrieve her money. She filled a black leather bag with Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts from Vault 512. Then, she stepped out into the light and went straight into Madam Malkin's for her school cloak.
She was fitted for it and looked about as the magic needle and thread embroidered the silver flames onto the bottom of the black fabric. Madam Malkin herself had told Alastrine that she had put a spell on it that would change the colors, depending on what house she got into. When she left, she went to Flourish and Blotts for all of her books. She came out with her moneybag a bit lighter, having not been able to resist the large curse book, the Quidditch strategy book, or the one that told the history of Aicdun Academy.
She bought herself everything else she would need, potion ingredients, food, quills, food, parchment, food, erasers, food, a cauldron, food, dress robes, food, and.oh, yeah, food! She finally wound up standing alone with her bags in Ollivanders, waiting to be attended. She watched as a boy about her age with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes bought his wand and left, muttering to himself about finding his parents. Alastrine couldn't help but blush as he passed, but she didn't think he noticed.
Mr. Ollivander came out from behind the counter and over to her. His strange pale eyes seemed to glisten. "Well, Miss Alastrine Brygid, I knew I'd be seeing you in here soon." He walked over to the box-lined walls and picked one up.
"Here you are, spruce and gillyweed, try."
She waved it about and blue flames shot out of the end, but dissolved into air right before they hit the shop owner.
"Dear, dear, I think not! Here, test this. It's made of rowan and has 16 liquidized dragon scales in it."
As soon as Alastrine gripped the wand, it felt like a part of her. She waved it and a gold and silver rainbow shot out the end.
Mr. Ollivander smiled, "Well! There you are!" He walked over to the cash register and rung it up. "That'll be 10 Galleons." Alastrine paid and turned to leave. "Well, good luck, Miss Brygid, at Aicdun. That is where your grandfather wanted to go there so badly, after all."
Alastrine turned about, fire in her eyes, only to find the man gone.
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Ceara entered the bank and waited in line to talk with what she had overheard someone call a "goblin". She saw why when she got to see one. They were short and looked sly and a bit cruel. The one she spoke with had a raspy voice and a nametag that proclaimed it as "Finatish".
"Excuse me, but I think I have an account here." At least her father had grunted at her that her gran had left her money here.
"Well, what's your name? Do you have your key?"
"Umm.I don't have a key, but my name is Ceara Dunn. It's my gran's old-"
"Vault 623. Here's your key. I'll get someone to take you down."
Two moments later and Ceara was sitting in the rickety car, speeding down the tracks in the dark to her vault with a goblin named Shnifelt. The cart stopped abruptly at a large door. Shnifelt took the key and opened the door for her.
Inside gleamed gold, silver, and bronze. Shnifelt gave her a brown, leather pouch to put her money in and told her what each piece was and how many were in which.
The gold ones were Galleons. The silver ones were Sickles and the bronze were Knuts. There were seventeen Sickles in each Galleon and twenty- nine Knuts in a Sickle, which meant that a Galleon was equal to 493 Knuts.
Ceara said thank you and good-bye to Shnifelt before leaving the bank. She went around and bought everything she thought that she would need, books, cloaks, robes, clothes, quills, shoes, a cauldron, parchment, an owl, a small black cat, food, make-up, a trunk, and a wand that was 13 inches long, made of cherry wood and had an inner lining of unicorn hair with a core of unicorn hair and blood.
When she had bought everything, she went back into the Leaky Cauldron to get a drink and ask about ways to get to school.
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After Alastrine had left her bags with Tom in the Leaky Cauldron, she went back out to go for a stroll.down Knockturn Alley. She turned into it and suddenly was out of the crowds.
Knockturn Alley was a dodgy place where mostly only dark witches and wizards lurked. It was full of the filth of the wizarding world and black market goods and held a certain interest for curious and mischievous young witches and wizards, like Alastrine.
She walked down the quiet streets and looked into the windows. There were shrunken heads, fingernails, necklaces made of teeth, fetishes of toes, dark and dangerous creatures, charms made of human body parts, and right in the center square, a life-sized statue of her grandfather, of Voldemort.
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When Ceara had finished her pumpkin juice, she asked a teenage boy who was wiping down the counter how she was supposed to get to school.
"Well," he said, "what school are you going to?"
"Aicdun Academy."
"Ah! So, you'll be with me! I'm going on the train because it's free, but the more "fashionable" students usually take the Knight Bus."
"Oh." she said, not knowing what the Knight Bus was. "Well.could I go on the train with you? That is, if you could take me?"
"Sure. Tom's walking me there later. Be outside at 5:00 and you can come with us."
"OK! Thanks!" She embraced the boy. "By the way, my name's Ceara Dunn."
"I'm Deirdre Cullon. It's nice to meet you, Ceara."
They shook hands and Ceara went to roam Diagon Alley for an hour before she had to leave.
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Alastrine quickly returned to Diagon Alley, angered and frightened by the statue, but she tried not to let it get to her too much.
She went to the Leaky Cauldron and threw all of her things into her trunk, but her broom, and went to wait in the Leaky Cauldron until it was safe to go into London for the Knight Bus.
She sat alone in the corner, eating her dinner, as a happy-looking blonde talked with a tall black-haired, blue-eyed boy who was wiping down the bar. Alastrine glared at them and returned to her food.
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An hour later, Ceara was sitting outside on her trunk, waiting for Deirdre and Tom. The eyes of the people walking down the street seemed to pass right over her and not see her. A few minutes later, the two came out and they went to the train station together.
Tom left them at the boarding platforms and Deirdre led Ceara over to a pillar beside the ticket booth. He pushed on it and slipped through, taking her hand and pulling her with him.
In front of them was a large platform with a few kids running about, hopping on and off the train, lugging luggage and trailing trunks. Deirdre helped Ceara to put hers into the luggage compartment and went off to see his friends.
Ceara found an empty compartment and sat in it, watching out the window as girls and boys greeted each other and laughed together. Ceara sighed, she wanted a friend so badly.
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At midnight, the Knight Bus appeared outside of the Leaky Cauldron and Alastrine, as well as half of a dozen others climbed on. They were given beds and lay down as the bus hopped into the countryside, the nearsighted driver causing trees, cows, and even a lake to jump out of the way!
Three hours later, they had been dropped off at the school entrance. Alastrine looked around and carried her trunk into the large grey Irish castle. She set it on a pile in the front hall and went into the Dining Hall, where the tables had been cleared away and sleeping bags of every color imaginable awaited them. Several groups of people were already asleep on the floor. Alastrine picked up a black one and carried it off into a corner. The kids who rode the train would be there soon.
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The door to Ceara's compartment opened and a short, blonde-haired girl with blue eyes peeked in. "Is there anyone sitting with you?" Ceara shook her head as the girl came in. "Do you mind?" Ceara shook her head again as the girl sat. "I'm Rosalia Vivi." She stuck out a hand.
Ceara took it. "Dunn, Ceara Dunn."
Not even a minute later, two more people popped their heads in and joined the two. One was even shorter than the first with brown eyes and dark red hair. Her name was Eaven Aislinn. The other was the shortest of all, with green eyes and wavy blonde hair. She was Pearl Trista.
The four became friends at once and were busy exchanging girl talk when the door opened again. This time, a girl the same height as Eaven stood there, her straight blonde hair fell halfway down her back and looked a bit dirty. Her blue eyes seemed to pierce everyone with a cold glance. Her school robes were knee-length and brown and green speckled.
She silently sat down rudely beside Pearl, who was now between her and Eaven.
"Uh." said Ceara, "Hey there, I'm Ceara."
The girl looked at her, "I'm Perdita. Now shut up. I'm older than you and know more. I'm far your superior."
"Oh really? What year are you?"
Perdita went red, "I'm 13."
"No, I meant school level."
"One." She mumbled.
"Really? Me too! I'm starting late, though."
"Why?"
Ceara felt a bruise on her arm throb as she choked, "That's private."
"Hey, come on! I won't tell anyone!"
"No."
Perdita got fire in her eyes as she pulled out her wand. "Don't make me force it out of you."
Ceara stood, pulling out her wand as well. "Go ahead and try." She now had ice in her friendly, accepting voice.
Perdita held her wand over her head and an orange light burst from it. Ceara's emitted a white streak and forced the Perdita's spell right back at her.
Perdita fell to the floor, dazed. Ceara pulled her into an empty compartment down at the opposite end of the car, afraid of what the curse had done.
When she returned, all of the girls were looking at her in awe.
"Wow." said Eaven.
"Whoa." said Pearl.
"COOL!" burst out Rosalia. "How did you do that?!"
"I-I don't know! I-I-I-it just happened! I just knew what to do!"
The three shorter girls gazed at her in amazement a few more moments before returning to their chatter.
Hours later, after the four had talked their mouths dry, they sat gazing wearily out the windows of the train as they passed through woods, fields, forests, and bogs. Finally, a large grey castle peeked up on the horizon, filling the entire train with excitement.
The girls were full of anticipation as the pinnacle of their lives pulled closer.
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About an hour after Alastrine had finally decided to try and sleep, a huge commotion was heard in the hall. The train had finally arrived.
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When the train arrived at the empty station, the students hurried off, collecting their trunks. Then, the ones with broomsticks got on, shrinking their trunks, and took at least one other person with them.
Ceara took Eaven and Rosalia took Pearl. The ones left had to walk to the castle. Ceara felt badly for them and after dropping Eaven off went back and took several more students up.
Back up in the castle, Eaven, Rosalia, and Pearl were waiting for Ceara to return. She had volunteered to go down and bring some more people up. Alastrine was glaring at everyone who came near her corner, but the room was filling up with groups rapidly, most were first years, a few were prefects, the head boy and girl, of course, and a couple of teachers.
By the time Ceara came back from her task, the room was pretty near full and they resigned themselves to.the corner, which had for some odd reason not been reached yet. They lay down their sleeping bags, pink for Ceara, blue for Rosalia, red for pearl, and purple for Eaven, and shut their eyes, even though they really wanted to sneak out of the Dining Hall and explore the castle.
Alastrine rolled herself over against the wall as the girls overflowed into her territory. She pressed herself into the little space and went to sleep.
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In the morning, Ceara awoke to sunlight streaming into the windows. She looked around. A few people were already up, while many others were just rubbing sleep from their eyes.
This was when she noticed the raven-haired girl in a black sleeping bag curled up in the corner, whom she had not seen the night before.
Oh, God! We came in here and took her sleeping place! I feel like such an arse! How could I do that? I'll make it up to her somehow.
Just at that moment, a woman in tall woman with shoulder-length blonde hair in bright purple robes came in.
"OK! Everyone, up! We need to get ready for your breakfast!"
Everyone groaned and shook the person they were sleeping beside to get them up. Soon, the room was bustling with movement. Within ten minutes all of the sleeping bags had been whisked away.
The first years had them been taken out into the front hall to straighten out. They would have to wait an hour before they could eat. After the sorting ceremonies, they could go up to their rooms to shower and change.
They stood in a large group out front, wondering anxiously where they would be placed and how it was done.
Exactly an hour later, the woman in purple robes came back. "Hello, everyone! I'm Madam Erea, the transfiguration professor here at Aicdun. Are you all ready to be sorted? Good! Follow me!"
She turned about and entered the Dining Hall, which now had tables and benches filling it, on which were seated the rest of the student body, arranged by house. On the far East side was the black and silver Akieda, beside them were the students of Svakeb, whose colors were red and purple. On Svakeb's other side was a mass of orange and blue, Libof. Finally, there was the brown and green of Bokieb. Hanging above the first table of each school table, was a shield with that house's mascot: Pegasus for Akieda, a pixie for Svakeb, a mermaid for Libof, and a gnome for Bokieb.
The 72 new students stood in awe as a woman in lavender robes rose from her seat at the teacher's table, which sat at the front of the room. "Hello, and welcome, to all of you new students! For those of you who don't know, I'm Delaney Bran, the headmistress of Aicdun Academy." She paused and smiled at them as she opened an old, carved, wooden box, stained with age. Inside were four jewels, black, red, blue, and green, each representing a different house. "Now, all you need to do is come up here when Madam Erea calls your name and wave your hand over these. The one that lights is your new home. If more than one illuminates, its up to you to choose."
She set the box on a red, silk cushion and sat back down. Madam Erea began to call names.
"Darrion Finian!"
A tall, blonde boy came up and waved his hand over the box. A light appeared in the middle of the black one. He smiled and breathed a sigh of relief as he sat at Akieda's tables. Applause roared from that side.
"Rosalia Vivi!"
Ceara squeezed her friend's hand as she left. She tentatively moved her hand above the gems and the red one lit up. She went over to Svakeb's seats.
Many other students left, in the middle of them Ceara, who was placed at Akieda. Finally, only Alastrine was left.
"Alastrine Brygid!"
Alastrine walked calmly over to the jewels and stuck her hand above them. All of a sudden, all four lit the room up with their lights, illuminating everything. Alastrine stepped back in shock and the lights faded.
After an odd silence, Headmistress Bran said, "Well, Ms. Brygid, which one do you choose?"
She looked at the tables for a moment and moved over to Akieda.
As soon as she sat, Delaney Bran raised her glass, "Welcome to Aicdun Academy for Magic!"
So, what do you think?! Please R/R! I need some reviews! PEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ?! THANKS! Every bit of feedback will be appreciated!