The New Student
Chapter 1: Late Bloomer
Elza Ocean was very nervous. She was eighteen years old and was just about to start her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was bad enough that she was starting out at such an older age, but she also had quite an unusual background. She knew that all of the students there were British. Not only was Elza American, but she was raised in Japan because her father was in the military.
Elza was fluent in Japanese and English. She loved learning languages, travelling, and learning the customs of different cultures. She was a fourth degree black belt and she was more than effecient in the art of bokken.
She sighed and slipped into her Japanese school uniform. She figured it wouldn't be too different from the Hogwarts uniforms. It would probably suffice until she was issued a new one. She combed her short, green hair and rebraided the small section of longer hair that hung in front of her left ear. That's right, she thought. My hair is very different. She swiped some mascara onto the long eyelashes that framed her ice blue eyes. After brushing her teeth for the second time that morning, she slicked on some pink-tinted lip gloss and left her hotel room.
Her parents had gotten her onto a free military flight to London. She'd also gotten the hotel room at a military discoung. Before she'd left Japan, her parents had thrown her a going away party, gave her tons of money, and gave her a loving goodbye. She missed them already.
Getting to platform nine and three quarters reminded her of Kagome and the well. It was so early in the morning that she hoped the stores in Diagon Alley were open. She rememberd the advice her uncle gave her about where to buy her supplies. Her uncle was a wizard and had studied at Hogwarts. He never told her much about it though.
She found that Digaon Alley was surprisingly active even in early morning. She'd floated through all the stores and bought all her supplies in no time. She was wondering why her magic had shown up so late in life, when she ran into somebody. She fell onto the ground with a thud. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you standing there!" As she stood, she found herself looking at the largest man she'd ever laid eyes on. "No worries! You must be an incoming student to Hogwarts. M' name's Hagrid," he said as he shook her hand. She was really beginning to wish her uncle didn't like to surprise her. "Hullo, Hagrid! Nice to meet you," she responded, happy to have been talking to somebody she'd be seeing at school.
"Hey Hagrid, who's that you're talkin' to?" Elza turned to see a dark-haired boy, a red-haired boy, and a lovely girl with curly, brown hair. They were walking closer with looks of wonder and fascination on their faces. Elza blushed furiously. They were obviously students at Hogwarts. What are they thinking of me!
"You must be a new student. My name's Hermione," said the girl, shaking Elza's hand. "Hope you're sorted into Gryffindor." Sorted? She wondered, but didn't ask. "My name is Elza, Elza Ocean." The boys blushed at her and shuffled their feet a bit. "I'm Harry," said the dark-haired boy, "and he's Ron," he nodded toward the red-haired boy. "Nice to meet you," she replied.
She found, on the way to Hogwarts, that these three would be great friends, indeed. None questioned her about joining Hogwarts so late, and all were very helpful and interested in her. Hagrid was also a good friend. Elza inhaled deeply and straightened her clothes. She gathered her belongings and swept her hair from her face. Then, she entered Hogwarts.