I don't own Harry Potter or any of JKR's characters, I'm just borrowing them for a little bit (and not making one cent off of them, either). But Cerian is all mine (and Squamy, too).

A/N: This is my first fanfic, and I'm so excited to be uploading it here!!!!1! Please read and review and let me know how I did! And no flames, please! Also, I need help with a title, any suggestions?

Chapter One:

Cerian paced the vast sitting room for the sixteenth time, now one for each of her years.

"Darling, come sit down," Cerian's father called softly.

Pausing mid-step, Cerian looked at her father and sighed. "I'm so nervous, Daddy. What if they don't like me?"

Cerian's father patted his thigh, encouragingly, and Cerian walked over and sat on his lap. "They'll love you darling, everybody does."

"You're just saying that because you're my father."

"No, I'm saying that because you're charming and beautiful and smart and well-bred and because you're my daughter."

"Daddy!" Cerian said playfully, slapping him gently on his arm.

"Besides, you're an Eadmund-Tunric, and us Eadmund-Tunrics are successful and admired everywhere we go."

"But that's just it, Daddy. What if I'm the first Eadmund-Tunric to fail?"

"Darling, you'll do just fine. Now stop worrying that pretty head of yours and get off to bed. You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

Mr. Eadmund-Tunric was right. Cerian did have a big day ahead of her. She was about to leave the safety and security of her own home to intern as a teacher's assistant at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You see, Cerian was a witch, like the rest of the long line of Eadmund-Tunrics witches and wizards. But unlike most young witches and wizards, Cerian did not attend Hogwarts School from age eleven. Instead, she was home taught by the best tutors her parents could buy. Cerian's expert tutors and personalized teachings paid off. By the age of sixteen, she had already completed her basic magical education and passed eight N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests). Cerian wanted to be an Auror, part of a special investigative force in the Ministry of Magic, but the Ministry of Magic's Auror training school only accepted students eighteen and above. Cerian's father spoke with every minister official he could, including the Minster of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge, but to no avail. The director of Auror training suggested that Cerian spend some time with children her own age in order to develop her "social skills." This had enraged Cerian's father, who was quite proud of Cerian's upbringing, but Cerian insisted that the director had a point. Cerian was fabulous with adults of both aristocracy and servitude alike, but she had spent little time with children her own age. Growing up in such wealth as the Eadmund-Tunric estate offered, Cerian certainly had specialized play-dates with other established wizarding family's children, but long-term exposure was something Cerian rarely experienced. So her mother had a chat with Hogwart's Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, and before she knew it, she was set up in a position of teacher's aid at the school, starting with the new term on September 1st.

Hands shaking, Cerian climbed the stairs to her room suites. She decided to draw a bath to help settle her nerves.

Carefully, Cerian stripped her cherry red robes off her slender body, and pulling her shoulder-length, silky blond hair back, Cerian slipped into the lavender scented bubbles.

The sound of water running drew Cerian's pet into the vast, luxurious bathroom through the small pet door hidden among the walls of her suite, allowing her miniature crocodile, Squamy (short for Squamiger), to move freely throughout Cerian's suites.

"Ah, come here sweetie," Cerian called to Squamy. "Come enjoy my bath with me."

Cerian scooped up the miniature pet crock and placed him on the edge of the tub where he playfully splashed Cerian with his tail.

Laughing, Cerian said, "It's a good thing you're just a miniature tamed crock, so I can take you with me to Hogwarts. I don't know what I'd do without you!"

After her nice relaxing bath, Cerian dawned her cherry red silk pajamas and slid into her Egyptian-sheet bed. Squamy slid into his own silk lined basket. And with a tingling in her stomach, Cerian drifted off into a sleep full of exotic dreams.

A/N: So how did I do?! I hope you all just love Cerian (I do). And isn't Squamy awesome? Make sure to review!!!!