Stephanie Evans and the Mystery of the Diary
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the places used in this story. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and the Hogwarts Express belong to the wonderful imagination of J.K. Rowling. I own the main characters.
Rating: PG13 – There may be some violence that younger readers my find disturbing. There's no romance at this stage, but there could be in future years, if you guys thing I'm good enough to write more!!
Pairings: None at the moment!
Summary: Stephanie Evans, Armina Leona, Elessar Sorel and "the mean boy" all start their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Set after Harry and Co have left Hogwarts.
The rest is a surprise! That's all I'm saying!
Author's Note: Please R/R! I'd really love your feedback. I know the first chapter is rather long, I mean, I typed it. But I didn't know where else to end it. I'm sure I could have ended it somewhere else, but I wanted it to end on a little cliff hanger.
If you want to take it, that's fine, but please, just tell me about it via email: and give me the credit! Thanks a lot!
Anyway, on with the story.
Chapter 1: And the Trip Begins
Stephanie Evans brushed her long golden blond hair behind her ears as she gazed up at the massive train in front of her. The sign on the side said it all. "The Hogwarts Express". She had always dreamed about going to Hogwarts, but never thought it would actually happen.
No one in her family had come to see her off. She'd had to catch a bus to get to Kings Cross Station. Her family were all Muggles. It was a hard life at home, and Stephanie was glad to be heading off to Hogwarts, which had always been her dream. She'd heard about it from her sister, who knew of witches and idolised them, but her parents didn't think much of them. They hadn't seemed too excited about the prospect of Stephanie going to Hogwarts.
Stephanie dragged her trunk onto the train and soon found an empty compartment. She looked out at the platform, where many families were saying goodbye to one another, and she sighed. She wished she was like them, happy to be with their families and not having anyone with her to see her off.
She pulled out one of her books and looked through it, but couldn't concentrate and so just sat and stared out the window for awhile, hoping someone would come and talk to her, or it could be a very long journey.
A tall, thin, dark haired boy tugged awkwardly at the hem of his new robes as he slowly walked through the train looking for an empty seat. He was dressed the part, in wizards robes and all, even with the end of a sleek wand sticking out of an oversized pocket. Still he looked oddly out of place, with his pale skin, and eerily colourless eyes.
His search brought him to the compartment where the girl sat, listlessly staring out the window. He entered silently, his natural way of moving about, he never –intended- on sneaking up on people... it just happened that way. Or did it? He grinned slyly to himself as he neared her, his eyes flickering over her expression before he turned his gaze to follow hers to the window.
"What are you looking at?" His voice was low, cruel, cold even. A hushed whisper that seemed to echo loudly in the confines of the small cabin they were in.
Stephanie jumped in surprise. "Oh, I'm s-sorry," she muttered, as she looked at the newcomer. She gulped, he was scary looking.
"I was looking... at the families and how happy they look." Stephanie said, quietly.
She turned her head once more to the window, staring out at nothing now. She really didn't want to talk anymore, this newcomer looked rather like an evil boy...
Armina loudly stormed into the compartment but stopped when she noticed two people already occupying the space. She sighed and looked around. "This is the only compartment that' is even nearly empty. All the other ones are full of screaming little brats or old Know-It-Alls. Mind if I join ya?" Her honey coloured hair was swept into a messy bun but it was falling out. Without waiting for an answer, Armina marched over to the empty seat next to the girl and sat heavily down. Talking to no-one in particular, Armina said "I'm Armina Leona. But most people call me Mina... or Leo... So I guess you can choose whatever." She had an unusual accent which was a mix between Australian and English.
Elessar entered the compartment, tired of looking for an unoccupied space. It was rather packed – to be expected. This was Hogwarts, after all.
And hope faded once again, as he acknowledged the tree people in the compartment. Two girls and a... slightly intimidating boy. "Uh, sorry if I'm interrupting something. I was wondering if there was a space for another here? My legs feel like they're about to give, and the other compartments are fairly crowded."
Something about the boy made him uneasy. He seemed... dark. But, oh well. He needed to sit down. Bad.
Stephanie smiled at Armina and Elessar, "Sure, make yourself comfortable," she said with a smile. Actually, she was thankful for the 2 newcomers, she still wasn't sure of the boy she had just met.
"I'm Stephanie," Stephanie said, proudly. "But you could call me Steph, or Stephie. I don't mind." She shrugged and giggled. "I'm a muggle-born," she continued, but her voice changed to one of sadness. "My parents aren't into the whole witch thing. And my brother, well, you know brothers. My sister is older than me, and she always dreamed of going to Hogwarts, but she never got the letter. I did!" Stephanie paused to take a breath, looking at the others. "Oh, I'm sorry, I start to talk and I just can't stop myself!" She giggled helplessly.
Armina laughed at the girls last comment and smiled at the newcomer. "Muggle-born eh?" Armina looked Stephanie up and down by smiled. "Oh well, I usually don't like muggle-borns, but I guess I could make an exception." She laughed. "I'm half. My mother's a muggle." Armina rolled her eyes. "And I have a younger sister! She's only about three days old! She's so cute. Anyway, my father is a wizard... and well... so am I, well, I'm a witch, I mean. So what houses do you guys want to get into?"
Elessar smiled. Rest at last. "Thanks. Elessar Sorel – nice to meet you." He sat on the couch, ensuring that he kept an eye on the boy that remained standing near the window.
He laughed a bit at Stephanie's comments. "S'Alright, my sister's the same way. I'm from an all-wizarding family, but I really admire muggle-borns. To be able to manifest magical abilities without hereditary aid – amazing."
He turned to Armina. "I'd like to get into Gryffindor. Everyone in my family has been in Gryffindor. Father, mother, grandparents, sister... everyone. Except me and my brother. I'm unsorted, and he's in Slytherin, 5th Year. My father..." he took a deep breath. "Wasn't too happy about that."
He looked out the window.
Stephanie smiled back at Armina. "I don't really mind, the only one I really don't want to get in is Slytherin. I don't really mind Gryffindor, Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. What about you?"
Stephanie blushed at Elessar's laugh. "Gryffindor would be cool, "she continued. "Do you guys know any spells?"
Armina grimaced as Stephanie asked her the question. "Well... I guess this is possibly the worst compartment I could have walked into..." she sighed. "I want to get into Slytherin... Or Ravenclaw I guess. I'm not too fond of Heroes and Goodie Goods. No offence or anything.
She looked back at Stephanie. "I don't know any spells. I don't even have a wand, or for that matter, anything else. I should really look into that soon."
Elessar looked at Armina as she talked. "No offence taken. I have nothing against Slytherin myself. Don't have a reason to. I mean, not everyone in Slytherin is evil, like my brother."
The sentence sunk in. "Heh... heroes... that's kind of reassuring." He smiled.
Armina sighed in relief. "That's good. I don't really have anything against anyone, except those who think they're invincible... unless they really are. Or heroes. Modest heroes are okay, but those people who go out of their way just to save the day and get awarded for it... that really annoys me. Some Muggle-borns annoy me. I really hate the ones who think they are better than everyone else because they were muggles, but somehow got wizard DNA in them. But then again, I really, really don't like those pure-bloods who think they're so good." Armina paused and looked slightly embarrassed. Standing up, Armina pushed her falling hair out of her face and walked to the joining glass door. She pulled her bun out and started fixing her hair using the glass as a mirror.
"Heroes that save the day just to get rewarded aren't heroes, as far as I'm concerned." He laughed a bit. "You seem to have really high standards. But I hate it when purebloods insult muggle-borns – my sister Amy was born without any magical abilities, and one guy called her 'worse than a muggle-born,' right to her face. Me and my bather were standing right beside her, and his best friend is a muggle-born, to boot. That... got ugly. Heh, my father gets upset easy."
He mentally kicked himself.
"Sorry, I have a tendency to drone on about stupid stuff." He had noticed that she had looked a little embarrassed as she got up and began using the glass door as a mirror. "Why are you embarrassed? They're your opinions. You have no reason to be embarrassed about them."
Armina looked over her shoulder at Elessar and smiled, "It's not that I'm embarrassed about my opinions... Ahh... well... maybe I am. I just don't know anymore." She sighed and walked back to her seat. "So, tell me about yourself. What was your life like before coming to... well... before getting your letter anyway."
"Not much to tell. Think of a medieval squire, tagging along and basically doing everything for his knight. That was me to my brother, Elethorn. Mother and father sort of ignored me, until he was sorted into Slytherin. Then, my father basically disowned him. I don't know why – he doesn't resent Slytherins or anything, at least, he didn't until then. IT was around then that my uncle died – he was kind of the family's 'glue', so everything's falling apart now. This necklace is all the family has left of him." He held up a simple, wooden necklace in the shape of a cross.
But since I got my letter, my father's been smiling constantly. He thinks that we need another Gryffindor. So, if I get sorted into Slytherin, I don't know what my father will do. I mean, no offence – I don't know what's going on with him lately."
Another mental kick. These were getting painful.
"Sorry again. More droning. It's a habit." He smiled. "So? How about you? What makes you dislike heroes?"
Armina laughed, smiled and waved off his apology. "Ahh, don't worry about it. I do it a lot if you haven't noticed already. I'm actually surprised at the moment. I haven't really made an idiot of myself yet. Usually I'm heaps embarrassed around people I don't know very well and I always end up doing something really stupid. Then people think I'm a freak or something..." Armina laughed, "I'm blabbering on about nothing at the moment." She wrinkled her nose, "I don't know what I have against heroes. I guess watching a lot of the muggle programs on television has put me off heroes. You know I have never seen a movie or read a book or anything where the bad guy wins. Someone always has to save the day." She sighed. "As for my life before getting my letter... think of small defenceless little girl with evil mother who doesn't like you one bit. My father was hardly ever home so my mother forced me to go to a muggle primary school and get braces because I had wonky teeth. I only got them off the other day," Armina smiled to show off her perfectly straight white teeth. "It feels so weird to have them off. Anyway... I'm sure you really don't care about that... Sorry... I've talked too long..."
"Nothing to be embarrassed about – babbling about nothing occupies about 90 of my daily schedule. And I've said everything stupid already, so you don't have to worry about that." He smiled.
She seemed rather reclusive when she mentioned about her parents. Peculiar. Elessar thought to himself. Even more so was that the boy in the wizard robes who still stood by the window seemed greatly interested now – Elessar discreetly watched him as he continued.
"What do you mean your mother "didn't like you one bit?' Why wouldn't I care? And one last question – I'm just curious, if you don't mind remembering – what exactly is muggle school like?"
Yet another mental kick. Numbness abounds. She probably didn't want to talk about it.
Stephanie looked at the pair who were just so happy talking. She thought quietly to herself whether to leave or not, but decided to stay. After all, she WAS the one who got the cabin. She stared out the window and started thinking about her days before she got the letter. Her parents were happy, and her sister was being a brat as usual. Her sister constantly talked about Hogwarts, like it was some sort of... I dunno... Hollywood or something. I mean REALLY... Stephanie rolled her eyes. She grinned and turned back to the others.
"You'll never guess what my sister did when I got the letter. She ripped it out of my hand and threw it in the rubbish bin! She said that if she couldn't go, then neither could I." Stephanie started laughing. "I guess you had to be there..." she said, trailing off...
Armina laughed at Steph's story, "For a minute there Steph, I thought you were dead... or asleep... or ignoring me..."
She turned back to Elessar. "I don't mind at all. Muggle school was alright... I guess. I think being at Hogwarts will be more fun and exciting though. All we did in Muggle School was sat around in the same classroom with the same teacher learning about Australian History, Science and Maths. That was in Australia though... if you haven't noticed I still have a slight Aussie accent." Armina laughed. "It's really noticeable when I say advanced." She laughed again and her eyes sparkled.
"Oh well. I don't know why my mother doesn't like me. It's odd because I never really did anything bad... at least I don't think I did. There was something in her voice that made me think she didn't want me at all. I think she was afraid that I was a witch. She avoided me when I got my letter. That's why I arrived at the station alone."
"So, what about you Stephanie, what was life like for you?" She asked the other girl.
Mental kick. Mental note – no more mental kicks. But this time, he deserved it.
Elessar laughed. "Sorry Stephanie! I haven't really talked to you, and you're the one who let me in here! I'm a idiot, sorry..."
Lord, I'm even droning in my apologies. I'm also apologizing a lot.
"How old is your sister And is she, um... is there a word for this? 'magically talented'? or just kind of wishful? And, you said your parents are muggles, so how did you know about the wizarding world?"
For some reason, whenever any of them spoke about Stephanie's heritage, the boy by the window seemed to twitch his oddly colorless eyes. This was getting weird.
He turned back to Armina. "You arrived alone too? My parents were both on business, so Elethor gave me a ride, and left. I'm to live here until the end of the school year. And I doubt you did anything bad. Some people are just like that, it's not your fault.
So yeah, Stephanie – is Steph alright? – What's your life like?"
Armina stood up and moved next to Elessar. She looked at him weirdly and leaned in to whisper in his ear. "That guy over there is freaking me out. He hasn't said anything yet." She leaned back and glanced at Elessar. His expression was unreadable. She shuffled away from him and glanced at Stephanie. "Yo Steph! You okay kiddo?" When Steph didn't answer, Armina shrugged.
"Yeah, my Mother should be at home with me sis... my father... is... somewhere." She shrugged. "So you're going to stay at Hogwarts during the holidays too huh?"
Stephanie jumped. "Sorry! I was miles away. How'd I know about the Magical World? Well my sister knew a lot about it, wouldn't stop talking about Hogwarts, I dunno how she found out about it though. She's not 'magically talented,' I don't think. Well, she didn't get into Hogwarts. She's 13 now.
My life was pretty cool. But now I've come here, I don't know what home will be like now, as I've said before, my Mum and Dad aren't into the whole witch thing. So I don't know how they'll act."
Stephanie glanced at the boy who hadn't introduced himself to them. She leaned to Elessar, "Why does he keep twitching whenever I talk about my home life?" She asked. "He's freaking me out!"
The boy was starting to creep Elessar out too, though he didn't admit it. As for the twitch..."I don't know. Probably just doesn't like muggle-borns." Elessar whispered. He knew Stephanie wasn't convinced, and frankly, neither was he. This boy was here for a reason – if he didn't like muggle-borns he would have left by now.
"So... um I didn't catch your name?" Elessar asked. No response. Not a good sign.
Stephanie gulped. This wasn't good.
"You think we could sneak out and find another compartment?" She whispered to Elessar again.
"Yeah, I think that would be wise." He turned to Armina, and whispered... "That kid is probably best left alone. We should get out of here."
At about that moment, from a few compartments down, a door slam was clearly audible, and the voice of a girl screamed that Hogwarts had been attacked by Death Eaters. Odd, as the attack was a few months ago, but it didn't matter. They boy walked quickly to the door and exited just outside, listening to the commotion.
"Now or never." Elessar said.
Stephanie grabbed her stuff quietly and slipped out of the cabin, heading across the corridor to the only other empty cabin. She put her luggage in the rack and sat down, waiting for Elessar to join her, along with Armina.
Elessar followed suit, and joined Stephanie in the new compartment. A few seconds passed, and no sign of Armina. "Where's Armina?" He asked, and slowly peeked from the doorway into the hall. The boy was gone. "Strange..."
And as he spoke, the boy's head jutted from the old compartment's door, and searched the hallway. Elessar ducked back inside. "This is bad... really bad..."
The door could be heard shutting from the hall. Elessar shut the door to their compartment, and sat down.
"Well?" He asked. "Any ideas?"
Stephanie shook her head as she sat down again. She gasped as the boy starts to walk towards their cabin.
"Quick! Hide!" She whispered to Elessar and ducked down so that the boy couldn't hear her from the door.
Great, persistent, he is. Elessar thought to himself.
He silently dived behind a couch – a rather tight fit to the wall, but it was better than in the wide open. He heard the boy walk into the room, and silence was dominant for a few moments. He was thankful as he heard him leave, and walk down the hall opposite the one with Armina's compartment. After taking a minute or two to squeeze from his hiding spot, and checking the hall for signs of the boy – of which there was none, thankfully – Elessar turned to Stephanie.
"That was close. I'm going to get Armina. Coming?"
Meanwhile, back in the old compartment
"That's strange." Armina whispered to no-one. She looked around the compartment. "Whoa... I was deep in thought I didn't even notice them leaving..." She paused and sighed..." I'm all alone..." She laughed out loud but soon stopped as her lonely voice etched in the room...
Elessar slid the door to the compartment open, relieved that Armina was still there, and at least, not visibly wounded. "Armina? Are you all right?"
Footsteps in the hall. He turned, just in time to see two students walk in silence past the door. Again relieved he turned back to her.
"That kid, in the robes – something's not right with him. Come on, Stephanie found another compartment. Hurry, I don't know how long he'll be gone."
Elessar looked out the door, and thankfully, there were no signs of the boy.
Armina looked up and saw Elessar standing in the doorway. "Oh! Hello! Where'd you go to? Me? I'm fine... okay, cool." Armina stood up and sighed. She glanced at Elessar who was standing in the doorway and poked him to make him move. "Come on then. I'll follow you." She laughed and continued to poke Elessar until he moved.
Stephanie looked worried as Elessar left, but then sighed with relief. He was getting Armina. All was okay.
But then she noticed a black figure walking towards them.
"Uh, guys, don't wanna be obvious or anything, but you better get in here and get down!" She said.
"Hey." Elessar said after Armina poked him the first time.
"Hey!" He continued when she didn't stop.
"Armina!" He shouted her name.
"Okay, okay! I'm going!" Elessar began moving to the compartment, folding under Armina's barrage of pokes. He laughed, despite the situation. He moved quicker as Stephanie motioned for them to hurry, looking quite worried. He was probably coming back. This kid has issues... he thought.
He hurried Armina into the compartment, and stood just inside the door as the two girls hid, and after they were concealed, resumed his spot behind the couch, listening carefully to the sounds of approaching footsteps.
Armina followed Elessar into the new compartment quickly. Obviously the strange boy was coming back. Once safely inside, all three dived for cover and waited...
Armina held her breath as she heard the footsteps stop right in the doorway of their compartment. Please don't sit down, please don't sit down. Armina's left leg was getting uncomfortable. Just as she was starting to get 'pins and needles' in her leg the boy moved off, leaving the three friends to emerge warily. However, Armina stayed still, afraid that he would come back... or in fact he still hadn't gone, and was still waiting for them.
Elessar climbed out of his particularly uncomfortable hiding sport and looked out of the doorway. The boy was there, looking around. He sucked back before he was spotted, and heard the boy's footsteps getting further away. He wasn't relieved this time, as he knew the boy would be back, but at least this time he didn't know that they were there. He took a seat, a thought crossing his mind.
"I wonder – whatever he wants, why didn't he just act while we were in the other compartment?"" Elessar asked the girls.
Maybe he thought that they knew something about him, but regardless, Elessar was curious.
Armina sat up as she heard Elessar talking. She clambered out of her akward position and shuffled over to lay on a couch. She started up at the ceiling and pondered for awhile. Finally she muttered. "Safety in numbers perhaps... or maybe he just wanted information." She sighed and closed her eyes.
Good point. Elessar thought to himself. It was actually a comical thought that I squeezed myself behind a couch two feet from the wall twice to avoid telling a kid how to get to the bathroom. Well, okay, he probably wanted to know something a bit more vital than how to get to the bathroom, but still.
"Maybe... the next time he comes – and he will – I'll stay out, and if he wants info, he'll ask me any questions he wants answered, alright?" Elessar said out loud.
He didn't feel comfortable with facing the boy himself, but he seemed to be least interested in Elessar, as he had barely looked at him in the other compartment. And if he asked something along the lines of 'Where are the other two?', then... well there would probably be running. Ironic, as he had come to the compartment to rest his legs.
Armina laughed without opening her eyes she said "Good luck."
There was a few moments of silence, Mina got lost in thought. Suddenly she sat up and looked at Elessar, puzzled. She stood up and walked to the compartment door. "I think I've left my diary in the other compartment." She looked back at Elessar. "It looks like no-one is around. Should I go and get it?"
He could tell her diary was important to her, and wouldn't be the one to deprive her of it. He also knew that attempts to do so would most likely be in vain. So; he simply said "Okay, but hurry. No telling how long 'till he gets back. I'll watch the halls."
He stood, and walked to the door, slowly opening it and surveying the hallway. Nothing.
"Now's your chance. Be careful."
Mina hurried out of the compartment and rushed down the hall. She rushed into their old compartment and searched around.
End of Chapter 1
To Be Continued...