"So they're kicking you out? You and the twins?" Wellington's golden eyes flashed beneath her bushy red hair, which her furiously pink cheeks clashed horribly with.
"How dare them," she fumed.
Aelanne O'Clanagh nodded miserably, huddled in the corner of a compartment on the Limerick Bound, her tear stained cheeks hidden beneath strawberry colored curls, her blue-green eyes wild.
"Aelanne, you're one of the best! You have the best grades in the year! You're practically a star! And all the thanks you get from Aoife Kayell Thayer is getting kicked out!"
Aelanne cried harder at the reminder of how hard she had worked for the past year and a half. She had been so proud of her school and did anything she could to help Limerick Magical Academy and all Headmistress Thayer did was kick her out.
"Don't worry," fumed Wellington consolingly "One day Aoife Kayell is going to wish she had fired her own Alina over you."
It wasn't much, but to Aelanne it was a comforting thought and she wiped her streaming eyes and flashed a brief smile at Wellington and the McCannon twins
Once they reached Cork station, Wellington flashed a consoling look in Aelanne's direction, but quickly bounced off the train into the arms of her parents.
"So where do you guys want to go," Aelanne sniffed, looking at the twins. Eadaoin was the first to respond. "I want to go to Cape Breton National. I'm almost glad to be kicked out. Headmistress Thayer was a bitchy loser and her daughter was anything but better. CBN seems to be a lot more rigorous and the experience of being so far form home…" she trailed off with a far away look in her chocolate colored eyes.
"I want to go to Silver Plume Magic Resort," began Orla, the fair twin. "It's kind of set up like a summer camp and the programs are great, and it's so high in the mountains…" and she too trailed off with a far away look in her eyes.
"Orla, where's that?"
"Huh? Oh, Silver Plume? It's high up in the Colorado Rockies."
"But you're going so far away," said Aelanne, her eyes filling with tears.
Eadaoin actually stopped what she was doing to give Aelanne a hug.
"It's okay Aelanne. We'll write, and we don't even know if we'll get in."
With those parting words, the girls exited the train and found their families.
"What?" Petri was livid. "But Aelanne's practically the pride of LMA! What does Thayer mean by it?"
"That," Aurora began icily "And don't forget the number of letters I've had about her scuffles with Alina Thayer."
Aelanne's head hung as her sister and mother bickered over there.
The first three days of Aelanne's winter break, her mother went around with a livid, angry look on her face. Aurora's children and muggle husband stayed well clear of her.
At last, on the third day of winter break, she made the grudging announcement that she had sent out owls to three nearby magic schools and had received a reply from a place in Scotland, Hogtails or something like that, the school cousin Devin attended.
"Mistress Thayer always did have the wrong priorities," admitted Aurora. "We're going to meat the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore on December the twenty-eighth. Aelanne and I will leave for Aunt Sabrina and Uncle Anthony's house the twenty-seventh."
Aelanne nodded sadly and went up to her room. Christmas was a dreary affair for Aelanne, but the shrieks and squeals of her five siblings added plenty of cheer to the house, and there were many gifts to go around, so all in all, even for Aelanne, it wasn't a bad Christmas. Two days later, Aelanne and her mother apparated to Aunt Sabrina's house, where sixteen year old Devin met them with a grin.
"Welcome Aunty…cuz."
"Hi Devin," said Aelanne quietly. "How are you Aunt Sabrina?"
"Fine dear, thanks," said Aunt Sabrina as she rushed to steer her sister into the parlor. "Devvie," she called over her shoulder "Why don't you show Aelanne to her room?"
Devin grimaced at the babyish nickname, but grabbed Aelanne's trunk and hauled it to the guest room, which was a tiny pinch of a thing with a rickety cot and clothes chest made of crates.
"So you're going to Hogwarts, huh," said Devin in a lame attempt to make conversation.
"Yeah," said Aelanne, drearily forcing herself to talk.
"You'll want to be put in Slytherin," said Devin, her nose in the air. "All the other houses are quite…babyish and snooty. Hufflepuff is a load of wimps those Ravenclaw brainiacs are so full of themselves, and Gryffindor…" the sixteen year old left off in a shudder. "And I said Ravenclaws were full of themselves! And our Headmaster," Devin grumbled "He has got to be the ultimate worst headmaster that Hogwarts has ever seen! That fool lets half bloods and…" Devin shuddered "mudbloods besmirch the halls of our fine school. And get this Aelanne," Devin said, her voice rising to a hysterical note "That mudblood loving FOOL has allowed that wretched Harry Potter to remain at Hogwarts even though he has been openly attacking muggleborns for at least two months!"
In an attempt to keep her cool, Aelanne said casually "Hogwarts…it's kind of a funny name, isn't it?"
Devin laughed scornfully "I find it a sight more imaginative than Limerick Magic Academy," she scoffed, storming out of the room and slamming the door behind her.
As Aelanne miserably reclined on her bed, a tawny owl rapped at the window, a scroll attached to its leg. In great need of something to do, Aelanne sprang to open the window and let the owl in.
After detaching the scroll, Aelanne read Eadaoin's letter:
Dear Aelanne,
Do you like my new owl? I named him Tetris. Mam and Da gave both Orla and I owls so we could easily send messages between our schools and Ireland. To my great delight, I was accepted to Cape Breton National Magic Academy, and I arrived the twenty-third, when I was given my mission debriefing and introduced to my new friends, twins Caleandra and Christina St. John. Academics haven't started yet, but Headmistress MacDougal has made it clear that Cape Breton step dancing, Scottish Country and Step, as well as Highland dance are expected, as are fluent knowledge of both Breton and Scottish Gaelic, and MacDougal hastened to assure me that, while not expected, bagpipe playing is by no means frowned upon.
Anyway, I'm in the pyrite dorm, with Chrissy, Callie, Abigail (don't call her Abby!), Ernestina, and Charlotte, and we have this wall that is made of glass which has a view of the ocean that many would die to see.
Props to Orla, she got in to Silver whatsits in Colorado…I expect she'll bombard you with letters soon enough, she was feeling homesick before the plane even took off. (Yes, we went muggle part way and I LOVED it.)
Anyway, if possible, please come to Cape Breton Island, I miss you!
-Sincerely,
Eadaoin
Eadaoin's letter left a smile on Aelanne's face and warmth in her heart, so that by nine o'clock the next morning, when she arrived at Hogwarts, she wasn't totally inclined to believe the worst of the castle.
When Aelanne stepped out of the fireplace, an old, knarled hand reached down to help her up.
"Welcome," said the voice of an old man. "I'm Albus Dumbledore. I will be with you in a moment, but in the meantime, you can go become acquainted with Candace and Sarah while fattening up on shortbread, hot chocolate, and lemon drops."
Aelanne nodded warily, trying to see if she should be wary of this man, but decided against what her cousin had told her, and shyly introduced herself to the two waiting girls.
Sarah Wallace was a miniscule, slim first year with wide, alarmed gray eyes and hair the exact length, color, and texture of Eadaoin's. She came from Independence, Missouri.
Candace Martin was tall, haughty, sturdy, her facial features made her look like a female Harry Potter who hailed from Wellington, New Zealand. She didn't bother trying to get to know anyone better and merely shook hands with a haughty, standoffish "Pleasure."
Over the next half hour, nine others arrived, including three others from LMA: Lysaig Thatcher, Liarmuid O'Connor, and Seamus Twaig.
"Welcome," said Dumbledore once everyone was seated. The next hour flew by as Dumbledore explained the rules and the four houses-indeed, Aelanne was wondering if Devin knew what she was talking about-Dumbledore was light-hearted, polite, and kind, joking with everyone, while he made sure that everyone knew that all rules were to be obeyed.
No matter what Dumbledore said, no one…not even haughty Candace…could dispel the fear of sorting.
As Dumbledore expressed grave sorrow that the teachers could not be present with a sorting, he pulled ot a bedraggled hat and a wobbly stool.
"When I call your name," he said "You will sit on this stool and place this hat on your head. De Caleone, Isobel!"
"Gryffindor!" yelled the hat.
"Langford, Cassidy!"
" Hufflepuff!"
"Martin, Candace!"
The hat waited less than a second before the bellow "SLYTHERIN!" echoed around the office.
"Mon Aven, Thatcher!"
Thatcher pulled the hat low over his ears, and it took the hat a little over two minutes to decide "Slytherin!"
"Montague, Leighanna!"
A third year Italian girl walked timidly up to the hat, which tookabout five seconds to say "Hufflepuff!"
And before she was ready, the call came out for "O'Clanagh, Aelanne!"
As she walked toward that ancient, yet intimidating stool, Aelanne had never felt like vomiting more in her life. Like a frightened rabbit, she dropped the hat over her head and waited. The hat seemed to be mumbling something, but Aelanne was to terrified to make out what it was until the last word: "GRYFFINDOR!"
After the last word, everything seemed to be better. The tight bands unraveled from her chest and she flounced over next to Isobel as Dumbledore smiled gently at her and called the next name:
"O'Connor, Liarmuid!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Partridge, Laramie!"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Relvord, Louise!"
"Slytherin!"
"Thatcher, Lysaig!"
The hat took a long time to decide with Lysaig, but Aelanne was glad when it called "Gryffindor!" She and Lysaig weren't best friends, but they were friendly, and Lysaig.
"Twaig, Seamus!"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Last but not least," smiled Dumbledore "Wallace, Sarah!"
The tiny first year was placed in Gryffindor, and with a few more notes, Dumbledore sent them back to their parents.
After the meeting, Aurora wasted no time in taking Aelanne to Diagon Alley to get any supplies she didn't have.
"Are you going to continue to wear your LMA robes for a while? You've always seemed so fond of them?"
Aelanne wasted no time and nodding a yes, and she and her mother retrieved more books…some leisure, some not, an owl, some ingredients., and a few other various supplies before considering themselves through. They stopped at Florean Fortescue's for ice creams before Aurora took Aelanne back to Hogwarts, where she met Lysaig, Isobel, and Sarah. The four were given instructions on how to get to Gryffindor tower, and they set off.
When they reached the portrait that Dumbledore had described…a fat woman in a pink silk dress, they gave her the authorized password, and entered the relatively empty common room.
"Who are you guys? A loud voice startled Aelanne, and she looked across the common room at several people who had worried expressions on their faces: A red head, a boy with untidy black hair and a scar, two more red heads, older looking and obviously twins, and a pale boy with brown hair, who was a distance away from the rest.
"We're new students."
"Oh, said the girl with dark hair in a thick American accent, but with a smile. "Been there, done that."
"America, I take it," asked Lysaig disdainfully.
"How'd you guess," retorted the girl in a voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I'm Aelanne O'Clanagh," Aelanne informed the rest.
"I'm Deliverance Haliwell," responded the American.
"I'm from America too," piped up Sarah.
"First year, right?"
"Yeah," agreed Sarah. "I'm Sarah Wallace."
"Isobel de Caleone," said Isobel with a sigh.
"I'm Seamus Finnegan," the standoffish boy introduced herself.
With great astonishment, Aelanne discovered that the untidy-haired boy was the great Harry Potter, and no matter what Devin said, he was a charming boy, as were his friends the Weasleys: Ron and his twin brothers, Fred and George.
Within days, Aelanne met Hermione Granger, and within a few days, Aelanne was the glue that held Harry, Ron, and Hermione together with Seamus.
Within months, Harry caught the real attacker, and then it was third year, which was filled with happy memories:
Hogsmeade, being asked out by Seamus Finnegan, who was now her steady boyfriend, becoming quidditch commentator, and helping Harry fight dementors as he rescued Sirius Black.
Fourth year was a more trying blur, but the few good memories stood clearly in Aelanne's mind.
"Aelanne! Aelanne, wake up!"
Suddenly everything zoomed into focus: It was fifth year, and Deliverance was bending over her, but she quickly straightened up. "It's all right everyone," she announced. She's alive!"
A/N: Just a note:
I came up with some of the names from this Irish book I have, but a lot of them are just twisted words and not really Irish at all.
Aelanne- Ay-Lynn
Lysaig- Ly-shug
Liarmuid- Leer-mwid
etc...
However,
Eadaoin (Ay-deen)
Orla
Seamus (shay-mus)
Aoife (Ee-fuh)
really are Irish, and according to my book are pronounced in the ways indicated above. Please note that some names have accent marks above certain letters that I'm too lazy to add in.
This chapter is the prelude to something I'm working on with doolyop and evanescencerose. This is a little backstory to my particular character and other than mentioning Deliverance and Isobel haslittleto do with them, but if they caught something, please tell me, I'll fix it. If it suits me to do so. Read, and please refiew. Any flames willbe used to ward off inferi.