Disclaimer: I do not own anything that you recognise from the HP books.
That all belongs to JK Rowling. I own only Erica Kohle and future
characters. Please do not try and sue me!
Story Name: Foundation of Friendship
Rating: PG-13
Author Name: Esgalhothwen
Warnings: may be slight use of language in future, lots of fluff, future angst
"__" Speech '__' Thoughts *__*writer's actions Chapter 1
Erica Kohle was brooding on an airplane with her parents headed for England. Her father's company had transferred him, now, she had to go too a new school called Hogwarts. You see, Erica was no ordinary girl. She was a witch but her parents were muggles (non-magic people). Pureblood witches and wizards tended to call her kind mudbloods, and it was a cruel name to call someone. (Purebloods believe that magic should only belong to purebloods. If that would happen though, magic would be extinct.) In the American wizarding world, it was worse than swearing. She hated the word; it has nothing to do with a wizard's power and knowledge. She didn't know much about the English wizards and was dreading moving but she had no choice. So she kept complaining the whole way there just so her parents would know she was positively opposed to her relocation. However, she knew it would have no effect at all on their decision.
Erica had been the best, and most gifted student at the Esgal Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry (her previous school). Her teachers had practically wept when she left. The students, though, had hardly noticed her leave. She was not exactly popular; in fact, she had only one true friend at the academy. Some people feigned friendship with her though, when they needed help on a paper or with a spell. But she got used to it and eventually tried to ignore the teenage race altogether. She just did not have any other use to them. There was no point to try and fit in. They would think she was a poser then. Why should she change to get friends? If they truly liked her they would not mind her being herself. But no, she was too much of a "nerd" to be anyone's friend (She had had straight A's since first grade).
She was often depressed and how she dressed often signified how she felt, which meant that she had a lot of black in her wardrobe. She was hardly ever happy, but on occasions when she was, she wore more reds or blues. Her hair was a dark copper red, very straight and went a bit past her shoulders. She often complained that it frizzed and just couldn't get it to stop. When her dandruff wasn't too bad she would wear it down. She wore glasses and had been begging her parents for contact lenses for years. They said she had to show them she could be "responsible" before they bought her contacts.
Erica was obsessed with emotional and rock music such as Stone Sour, Good Charlotte, and Godsmack (all muggle bands that no good pureblood had heard of). They just had so much meaning and soul behind the songs. The songs were often depressing but she still liked them, they were real. She simply could not resist a song that had meaning, especially if the song told how she felt about something or herself, such as Evanescence's "Bring me to Life". Sometimes she felt as if she didn't want to exist, that she needed to be saved somehow, that she was missing something important.
Since she was young, Erica had loved science and believed there were things that simply could not be explained. (Like magic and other things such as monsters, witches, giants, and elves.) She had gone to an all girls' private school till she was eleven. That had never been fun for her either. On her eleventh birthday she received a letter from the Esgal Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had been accepted. She finally knew that all her beliefs as a child were correct even though her parents were thinking it was a dumb joke. Her parents had been astonished. They didn't believe for a while until the headmaster's disembodied head appeared in their fireplace. They had been spooked out of their wits and thought they were hallucinating until the head started to talk. A month later her parents had sent her on the plane to Esgal. That was when her life had changed forever. She had made a promise to herself to never give up and never give in while she still had a breath in her.
But now she was moving to England. She knew she probably would not fit in, just as it was at Esgal. She did not want to be an outcast or worse, popular, even though that would never happen. She kept telling herself that she did not need friends. In her heart though, she knew she was wrong. She knew that even if it was once she would like to hear a sincere compliment from someone other that her parents. Erica told herself she would be shunned by the students at Hogwarts at first sight. She thought it would be the worst thing to ever happen to her. She had no idea how wrong she would be.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"This is going to be horrible, mom. I'm not going to fit in. It will be Esgal all over again, only worse." It was Erica who had spoken. They were still on the plane.
"Do I have to keep telling you that it will be fine? It will. Call it a mother's intuition."
"Call it whatever you want mom, we all know it's just bullshit to try and make me feel better because you know I'm right. You and Dad don't know what it's like to be a witch with muggle parents."
"No, we don't. We do know what it's like to be a muggle parent with a witch for a daughter, though, that's not easy either. We can't brag to our muggle friends about your accomplishments. They would just think we were nuts. Hell, we thought we were nuts at first. We are so proud of you that it's hard not to brag when other parents do. We do have the best daughter."
The seatbelt light above them lit up and her father poked his head out over their seats from the seat behind them, "Your mom's right. Now you two buckle up," then disappeared behind them again.
As they buckled the airplane driver spoke over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing in 10 minutes. Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts." Erica forgot about complaining as she looked out of the window at the miniscule trees below them. "Hogwarts, you best make way for Erica Kohle."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Today was the big day, the day Erica leaves for Hogwarts to join the other sixth years. She had read Hogwarts a History and had some idea of what it had been like. Of course, she would first have to be sorted into a house. They didn't mention how they did that in the book so she was a bit confused. Erica shoved her trunk into the trunk of her parent's car and put Ashlyn, her black cat that she had since she was ten, into the back seat. She looked at her ticket once more. "Is this a joke? Platform 9 ¾, It has to be magic. After all, they can't let muggles find out about them. But how would they have it hidden? They surely did not mention that in the book. Oh well. I'll find it somehow." Then her parents came out and ushered her into the back seat.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they arrived at King's Cross Station, Erica's father loaded her belongings onto a cart. Erica gave her parents a good-bye hug, and promised to write, then grabbed Ashlyn and went off to find platform 9 ¾. She eventually noticed, after about 3 trips between platforms nine and ten and asking a muggle (who thought she was playing a really bad joke), that there was no visible entry to it and no sign, and then she heard a clatter and looked in the direction of the noise. The noise had come from a girl about Erica's age and a large orange colored cat that had obviously decided it would be fun to pounce at a mouse in front of the girl's cart, which resulted in the cart upending itself. After putting Ashlyn down, Erica decided to walk over to her and see if she could help. As she got closer she noticed that the girl had really bushy brown hair. "Hey, need some help?" She kneeled down and started to help her reload the cart. The girl stood up and spoke, "Thanks, my name is Hermione Granger and this is my cat Crookshanks." They shook hands.
"Hi, I'm Erica Kohle and this is my babe, Ashlyn," she said, pointing at the cat who was now in the process of sniffing Crookshanks.
"Where are you from, you have an accent."
"Oh, I'm from America. My father's company transferred him here. I am supposed to be on my train to school, but I can't find the platform. In America, I went to the Esgal Academy..." Hermione burst out, interrupting what she would have said.
"The Esgal Academy! I've heard of that school!" but then remembered where they were and whispered the next part, "you're headed for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry then, that's why you can't find the platform. That's where I'm headed too. Here, I'll show you where it is and how to get there. It's just through the wall there..."
Now it was Erica who cut Hermione off, "Through the wall? That's how it's hidden! Gee, I feel so stupid. That could be done with a few simple charms."
"Yes, keep your voice down. There are muggles around you know. Now all you have to do is walk straight at the wall and you will be on the platform. If you're nervous it's best to go at a run. Let's go together, one second. Come on Crookshanks." The enormous orange cat that had knocked over Hermione's cart leaped into her arms and Erica picked up Ashlyn. "Ready Erica? You're going to just LOVE Hogwarts." They ran at the wall and crossed the barrier pushing the carts ahead of them.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hermione and Erica had found seat in an empty car box when two boys walked in, currently occupied with heavy laughter about something one of their school friends had told them. One had jet black very unkempt hair that didn't look like it would settle down even with the help of a powerful potion, he was also skinny with glasses and looked like he had lately been very stressed out. The other boy was tall, had a long nose, freckles, and red hair. Hermione shrieked, jumped up and practically smothered the tow in a great bear hug which had them smiling wider. "Harry! Ron! It has been so long! Oh, guys this is Erica Kohle. She's a transfer student from the Esgal Academy in America. Erica, this is Ron Weasley," When Erica reached out to shake his offered hand with a great big smile Ron's cheeks turned almost as red as his hair, "and this is Harry Potter."
Erica shook his hand, looking him up and down, as she spoke, "The Harry Potter? Wow, and I thought England was going to stink."
Harry was taken aback, "They've heard of me in America?"
"Only the people who were alive back then or the people who read the books I have. Of course they weren't assigned school readings, I just bought them for a little background reading when I found out that I was a witch. You were mentioned in most of the books I read, maybe about 12 out of the 18. You are very famous, Harry."
"Wow, Ron, looks like we might just have ourselves another Hermione." They laughed while the girls stood there and arched their eyebrows, crossed their arms, and gave the boys the evil eye in ways that were so alike that even the girls broke into laughter. After a while they calmed down and started talking about quidditch. Surprisingly, to Harry and Ron, Erica knew as much as them about it and was, of course, rooting for the American team. She told them about her experience as keeper on her house team and they all listened intently when Harry told her about his seeking experience and how Ron was keeper last year. Before they knew it they had pulled up to the Hogwarts gates.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Ok everyone, here's the first chapter of many to come. I don't exactly know how long this will be. For those of you who have already read this, I haven't really done anything to change the plot here, I just got a new beta and he revised it for me :D so I had to post the fixed copy. I also have this story on Forever Fanfiction, that's where my beta is. Thank you all for reading please review!
If anyone wants to get an email when I update, please leave your email address in a review and I will email you when I post!!!!
~Esgalhothwen~
Story Name: Foundation of Friendship
Rating: PG-13
Author Name: Esgalhothwen
Warnings: may be slight use of language in future, lots of fluff, future angst
"__" Speech '__' Thoughts *__*writer's actions Chapter 1
Erica Kohle was brooding on an airplane with her parents headed for England. Her father's company had transferred him, now, she had to go too a new school called Hogwarts. You see, Erica was no ordinary girl. She was a witch but her parents were muggles (non-magic people). Pureblood witches and wizards tended to call her kind mudbloods, and it was a cruel name to call someone. (Purebloods believe that magic should only belong to purebloods. If that would happen though, magic would be extinct.) In the American wizarding world, it was worse than swearing. She hated the word; it has nothing to do with a wizard's power and knowledge. She didn't know much about the English wizards and was dreading moving but she had no choice. So she kept complaining the whole way there just so her parents would know she was positively opposed to her relocation. However, she knew it would have no effect at all on their decision.
Erica had been the best, and most gifted student at the Esgal Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry (her previous school). Her teachers had practically wept when she left. The students, though, had hardly noticed her leave. She was not exactly popular; in fact, she had only one true friend at the academy. Some people feigned friendship with her though, when they needed help on a paper or with a spell. But she got used to it and eventually tried to ignore the teenage race altogether. She just did not have any other use to them. There was no point to try and fit in. They would think she was a poser then. Why should she change to get friends? If they truly liked her they would not mind her being herself. But no, she was too much of a "nerd" to be anyone's friend (She had had straight A's since first grade).
She was often depressed and how she dressed often signified how she felt, which meant that she had a lot of black in her wardrobe. She was hardly ever happy, but on occasions when she was, she wore more reds or blues. Her hair was a dark copper red, very straight and went a bit past her shoulders. She often complained that it frizzed and just couldn't get it to stop. When her dandruff wasn't too bad she would wear it down. She wore glasses and had been begging her parents for contact lenses for years. They said she had to show them she could be "responsible" before they bought her contacts.
Erica was obsessed with emotional and rock music such as Stone Sour, Good Charlotte, and Godsmack (all muggle bands that no good pureblood had heard of). They just had so much meaning and soul behind the songs. The songs were often depressing but she still liked them, they were real. She simply could not resist a song that had meaning, especially if the song told how she felt about something or herself, such as Evanescence's "Bring me to Life". Sometimes she felt as if she didn't want to exist, that she needed to be saved somehow, that she was missing something important.
Since she was young, Erica had loved science and believed there were things that simply could not be explained. (Like magic and other things such as monsters, witches, giants, and elves.) She had gone to an all girls' private school till she was eleven. That had never been fun for her either. On her eleventh birthday she received a letter from the Esgal Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She had been accepted. She finally knew that all her beliefs as a child were correct even though her parents were thinking it was a dumb joke. Her parents had been astonished. They didn't believe for a while until the headmaster's disembodied head appeared in their fireplace. They had been spooked out of their wits and thought they were hallucinating until the head started to talk. A month later her parents had sent her on the plane to Esgal. That was when her life had changed forever. She had made a promise to herself to never give up and never give in while she still had a breath in her.
But now she was moving to England. She knew she probably would not fit in, just as it was at Esgal. She did not want to be an outcast or worse, popular, even though that would never happen. She kept telling herself that she did not need friends. In her heart though, she knew she was wrong. She knew that even if it was once she would like to hear a sincere compliment from someone other that her parents. Erica told herself she would be shunned by the students at Hogwarts at first sight. She thought it would be the worst thing to ever happen to her. She had no idea how wrong she would be.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"This is going to be horrible, mom. I'm not going to fit in. It will be Esgal all over again, only worse." It was Erica who had spoken. They were still on the plane.
"Do I have to keep telling you that it will be fine? It will. Call it a mother's intuition."
"Call it whatever you want mom, we all know it's just bullshit to try and make me feel better because you know I'm right. You and Dad don't know what it's like to be a witch with muggle parents."
"No, we don't. We do know what it's like to be a muggle parent with a witch for a daughter, though, that's not easy either. We can't brag to our muggle friends about your accomplishments. They would just think we were nuts. Hell, we thought we were nuts at first. We are so proud of you that it's hard not to brag when other parents do. We do have the best daughter."
The seatbelt light above them lit up and her father poked his head out over their seats from the seat behind them, "Your mom's right. Now you two buckle up," then disappeared behind them again.
As they buckled the airplane driver spoke over the intercom. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be landing in 10 minutes. Please return to your seats and fasten your seat belts." Erica forgot about complaining as she looked out of the window at the miniscule trees below them. "Hogwarts, you best make way for Erica Kohle."
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Today was the big day, the day Erica leaves for Hogwarts to join the other sixth years. She had read Hogwarts a History and had some idea of what it had been like. Of course, she would first have to be sorted into a house. They didn't mention how they did that in the book so she was a bit confused. Erica shoved her trunk into the trunk of her parent's car and put Ashlyn, her black cat that she had since she was ten, into the back seat. She looked at her ticket once more. "Is this a joke? Platform 9 ¾, It has to be magic. After all, they can't let muggles find out about them. But how would they have it hidden? They surely did not mention that in the book. Oh well. I'll find it somehow." Then her parents came out and ushered her into the back seat.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
When they arrived at King's Cross Station, Erica's father loaded her belongings onto a cart. Erica gave her parents a good-bye hug, and promised to write, then grabbed Ashlyn and went off to find platform 9 ¾. She eventually noticed, after about 3 trips between platforms nine and ten and asking a muggle (who thought she was playing a really bad joke), that there was no visible entry to it and no sign, and then she heard a clatter and looked in the direction of the noise. The noise had come from a girl about Erica's age and a large orange colored cat that had obviously decided it would be fun to pounce at a mouse in front of the girl's cart, which resulted in the cart upending itself. After putting Ashlyn down, Erica decided to walk over to her and see if she could help. As she got closer she noticed that the girl had really bushy brown hair. "Hey, need some help?" She kneeled down and started to help her reload the cart. The girl stood up and spoke, "Thanks, my name is Hermione Granger and this is my cat Crookshanks." They shook hands.
"Hi, I'm Erica Kohle and this is my babe, Ashlyn," she said, pointing at the cat who was now in the process of sniffing Crookshanks.
"Where are you from, you have an accent."
"Oh, I'm from America. My father's company transferred him here. I am supposed to be on my train to school, but I can't find the platform. In America, I went to the Esgal Academy..." Hermione burst out, interrupting what she would have said.
"The Esgal Academy! I've heard of that school!" but then remembered where they were and whispered the next part, "you're headed for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry then, that's why you can't find the platform. That's where I'm headed too. Here, I'll show you where it is and how to get there. It's just through the wall there..."
Now it was Erica who cut Hermione off, "Through the wall? That's how it's hidden! Gee, I feel so stupid. That could be done with a few simple charms."
"Yes, keep your voice down. There are muggles around you know. Now all you have to do is walk straight at the wall and you will be on the platform. If you're nervous it's best to go at a run. Let's go together, one second. Come on Crookshanks." The enormous orange cat that had knocked over Hermione's cart leaped into her arms and Erica picked up Ashlyn. "Ready Erica? You're going to just LOVE Hogwarts." They ran at the wall and crossed the barrier pushing the carts ahead of them.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Hermione and Erica had found seat in an empty car box when two boys walked in, currently occupied with heavy laughter about something one of their school friends had told them. One had jet black very unkempt hair that didn't look like it would settle down even with the help of a powerful potion, he was also skinny with glasses and looked like he had lately been very stressed out. The other boy was tall, had a long nose, freckles, and red hair. Hermione shrieked, jumped up and practically smothered the tow in a great bear hug which had them smiling wider. "Harry! Ron! It has been so long! Oh, guys this is Erica Kohle. She's a transfer student from the Esgal Academy in America. Erica, this is Ron Weasley," When Erica reached out to shake his offered hand with a great big smile Ron's cheeks turned almost as red as his hair, "and this is Harry Potter."
Erica shook his hand, looking him up and down, as she spoke, "The Harry Potter? Wow, and I thought England was going to stink."
Harry was taken aback, "They've heard of me in America?"
"Only the people who were alive back then or the people who read the books I have. Of course they weren't assigned school readings, I just bought them for a little background reading when I found out that I was a witch. You were mentioned in most of the books I read, maybe about 12 out of the 18. You are very famous, Harry."
"Wow, Ron, looks like we might just have ourselves another Hermione." They laughed while the girls stood there and arched their eyebrows, crossed their arms, and gave the boys the evil eye in ways that were so alike that even the girls broke into laughter. After a while they calmed down and started talking about quidditch. Surprisingly, to Harry and Ron, Erica knew as much as them about it and was, of course, rooting for the American team. She told them about her experience as keeper on her house team and they all listened intently when Harry told her about his seeking experience and how Ron was keeper last year. Before they knew it they had pulled up to the Hogwarts gates.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Ok everyone, here's the first chapter of many to come. I don't exactly know how long this will be. For those of you who have already read this, I haven't really done anything to change the plot here, I just got a new beta and he revised it for me :D so I had to post the fixed copy. I also have this story on Forever Fanfiction, that's where my beta is. Thank you all for reading please review!
If anyone wants to get an email when I update, please leave your email address in a review and I will email you when I post!!!!
~Esgalhothwen~