-1Chapter 1: Rayden

I had expected Hogwarts to be a lot smaller than it appeared when I arrived. The large wooden doors greeted me as I walked slowly up the stone steps. My hand clasped around the cold steel knob and I flung the door open, shutting the door behind me.

School at Hogwarts had been going on for no less than two weeks and I hated having to walk in during the middle of term. I would have been a lot happier if the Ministry let me stay on my own until I was old enough to get a job.

I had been staying at the Ministry for several years now. They have taken care of me; they fed me, clothed me, and put me in school. I hate it. I would much rather just be on my own. Nevertheless, it's either that or a Muggle orphanage…and I definitely don't want that.

I looked around the well-lit room. It was a spacious area with what looked like expensive Persian rugs lying at random on the floor. About four chairs sat in different places around the room with lamps and tables sitting on either side of them.

The room was deserted, with the exception of one figure coming towards me. She was a little taller than my 5'6, and wore round glasses on the tip of her pointy nose. Her dark green dress robes went down past her ankles and flowed behind her as she made her way towards me with a slight smile on her face.

"Welcome, welcome!" she cried in a cheerful voice. "I'm Professor McGonagall and I've been waiting for you."

I nodded to her with a fake half smile as she motioned for me to follow her through two black wooden doors that were even larger than the front entrance doors.

"Dinner's just about to start," she said. "And now that you are here, it can."

She flung the doors open and pulled me inside before I could say one word. I looked around when I had a chance to and nearly fainted.

The room was large enough to fit a Muggle baseball stadium. It had four rows of long tables in the center of the room with a number of students sitting at each. At the head of the room was what I assumed to be the teacher's table. It was higher up than the other tables and had quite a few teachers sitting behind it waiting for their food.

A man with a long, silver beard and half-moon spectacles stood when he noticed me. That's when I saw that the ceiling and walls had a moonlit presence. You could see the moon and stars glittering across the ceiling with floating candles just below them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Miss. Granger," he said to me.

All at once, every student turned to look at me, whispering in each other's ear.

"I am Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts." He bowed slightly.

I just continued to look at him.

He then turned to the students, who were watching me, and clapped so they would avert their attention to him. "Everyone, this is Rayden Granger and she is going to be attending Hogwarts. She is a sixth year student and she has been placed in Slytherin."

Without warning a bunch of screams and yells came from one table at the far left side of the room and on the other side came a bunch of boos. It was more than I could take.

Dumbledore hushed them and continued speaking. "Miss Granger, if you would, please, take your seat with your House so we can begin dinner," he said. "Oh, and one more thing, Rayden, see me outside the Great Hall and I shall give you your schedule."

I walked over to a table, where people were waving me over, and sat down.

"Now, let the feast begin!" Dumbledore cried out in his booming voice.

Then, all kinds of different kinds of food and drinks appeared on the once bare, wooden table in front of me. I looked around and saw everyone digging into their food. I just looked down at my own food and slowly began to eat. This was going to be a long year.

After dinner, I walked out the door and stood just outside the Great Hall. I watched as everyone walked past me, whispering to their friends and looking in my direction. The look on their faces was one that I have seen many times before.

I just tried to put it at the back of my mind and continued to wait for Dumbledore. I made my way over to a painting that caught my eye.

It had a witch and a wizard sitting at a small table, drinking tea and looking ever so elegant. They waved at me silently and I faintly waved back. The wizard walked out of the frame and came back with a basket of pumpkin pastries to eat.

"Lovely painting isn't it?" came a voice from behind.

I nearly jumped through the closest window when I had first heard the voice. But when I saw that it was only Professor Dumbledore, I relaxed and put my hand over my racing heart.

"Follow me, Miss. Granger," he said, turning around. "My office is this way."

I followed him down a long corridor and up a few flights of moving staircases until we reached a large stone gargoyle sitting in front of a large door frame. Dumbledore looked straight at the stone monster and said, "Unity." The gargoyle roared and began to move upward, revealing a moving staircase that I followed him onto as it rose toward the sky.

When we arrived in his office, he sat down behind his large black desk as I quietly looked around.

In that office was a lot of curious things. A number of pictures of what I assumed were the previous headmasters and headmistresses hung on the walls, the ratty old hat Dumbledore used to sort me into Slytherin sat at the top of one of his shelves, and a beautiful phoenix that looked as though it were smiling at me sat on its perch behind Dumbledore's desk.

"That is Fawkes," Dumbledore said to me. "Very loyal birds, phoenixes."

"He's gorgeous," I told him.

"Please, have a seat."

I sat down in a black leather chair that appeared at the wave of his hand in front of the desk.

"You seem like a very smart girl, Miss. Granger," he said. "Must…run in the family."

Where's he getting at?

"No doubt you will make a fine addition to our school."

I was about to say something when I heard footsteps coming through the door. I turned around in my seat and watched as two students came inside.

The first was a boy. His platinum blonde hair hung slightly in his face and his intense gray eyes made contact with my green ones as he walked up to the desk. I had to admit…he was very good-looking.

The second was a girl with bushy brown hair and dark brown eyes. I smiled when I saw her, but she looked at me in shock as I stood from my seat.

"Rayden, meet Draco Malfoy, and I'm sure you already know Hermione," Dumbledore told me.

I nodded to Draco and he just smirked at me as though he'd rather be anywhere but meeting me. I just shrugged and turned my attention to Hermione, who was still staring at me.

"Well, cousin, I know it's been a long time, but there's no need to stare," I said to her.

I saw Draco's jaw nearly hit the floor in shock upon hearing my announcement.

Hermione just forced a smile and nodded.

"Draco and Hermione are our Head Boy and Girl this year," he began. "They have enough power to take away House points if you disobey the rules. Draco will be showing you to the Slytherin common room. I hope you will make better choices here than you have in your past," Dumbledore explained, stressing his last sentence.

I slightly rolled my eyes as I turned and followed Draco out the door with Hermione right behind me.

Draco stopped us when we reached the bottom of the staircase, which now ceased to move, and stood in front of us with a disgusted look on his face. "You two are…cousins?" he asked, spitting out the word as if it were rotten food.

"As a matter of fact, we are Malfoy, now move," Hermione replied angrily.

Draco ignored her. "Great, more Mudbloods."

I glanced over at Hermione. She looked as though she was going to burst. Apparently, being called a Mudblood affected her more than it did me.

"You must not be very bright," I said to him. "We're cousins; we don't have the same parents. My father was a pureblood and so was my mother. So, there fore, that makes me a pureblood."

Draco looked at me in disbelief. "Then you are not Granger's cousin."

"I was adopted you stupid git!" I cried, becoming very angry. "I was left with Hermione's aunt and uncle when-"

I stopped. Why was I telling him all this?

He kept looking at me, expecting an explanation.

"Why am I explaining myself to you?" I asked, repeating my thoughts. "I've heard all about you Draco Malfoy, and to be honest, you're not exactly the type I would want to get to know…let alone get to know me."

We glared at each other for a long while until he finally turned and walked away.

He turned the corner and Hermione growled loudly. "I hate that stupid pureblood prat!" she cried.

I laughed. "Yeah, he's not the nicest person I've ever met."

"He is the most rude, self-centered git that I have ever met! To think that I have to share a common room with him!"

"Can I just go to my common room now?" I asked before she blew a fuse.

She sighed. "Well, I guess I'll take you, follow me."

Hermione ran off, with me at her heels, down the stairs, through a dark corridor, around two corners and stopped in front of a rectangular portrait of a large snake lying in a pit with other smaller snakes.

"Passsword?" it hissed.

"Honor and pride," Hermione told it.

The snake hissed and the portrait swung open. She directed me to go inside where I would meet other Slytherins to befriend and who would show me around the common room.

I just shrugged my shoulders and passed through the entrance.