There were many difficulties to being a foreigner here. Olivia hadn't thought there'd be much of a language barrier given everyone spoke English, but she was startled to learn it was a very different kind of English. The heavy accents had been the most difficult hurdle so far. The British accents weren't so bad, but the Scottish and Irish ones threw her head for a loop. Her tics couldn't decide which to copy first, and each outburst sounded worse than the last. As it turned out, half the students who heard her tic couldn't make out what she was saying either.

Unfortunately for her, barking seemed to be a universal language.

Word of her getting the wizard equivalent to a spray bottle to the face had traveled fast. She thought most of the kids giggling in the hall as she walked by, water squelching shoes and all, were laughing at her at first, but the more she thought of it, the less likely it seemed to be the case. Professor Mcgonagall didn't strike her as the type of teacher to play pranks on students, not that she had known any to begin with what with being taught by nuns her whole life, so Olivia got the distinct impression it was the situation itself that had everyone so boisterous.

In fact, Olivia realized as she walked towards the greenhouses for Herbology, she could appreciate the humor herself. She tried to picture one of the nuns, particularly Sister Thompson, playing along with her tics, instead of whacking her with a ruler for interrupting. She couldn't do it.

There were two kinds of adults Olivia couldn't stand-The overly harsh and the politically correct. There was the kind who thought they could discipline it out of her, like the nuns from Saint Mary's School for Girls and Professor Snape, but there was also the ones who treated her like a delicate ticking time bomb, so afraid to acknowledge the elephant in the room and offend her. Something about her tics being ignored made her subconscious take it as a challenge, growing louder and more violent until Olivia was in so much pain, and the class so sick of her, she had to leave.

Olivia thought back to Transfiguration. She had been so shocked by Professor Mcgonagall's wand in her face, it had taken a moment for her words to sink in, but when it finally had, to the great surprise of the class, Olivia had broken out in laughter. That was all it had taken for the class to follow suit. At that moment, she hadn't cared if they were laughing at her or with her, because it was the first time she felt her presence hadn't been unwanted by others around her.

For the rest of the day, Olivia's lessons had gone rather smoothly, at least until it was time for her last class of the day. She had been looking particularly forward to herbology, once she learned what it was, anyway.

"It's sort of like gardening." Hannah had told her, once Olivia had worked up the courage to speak without being addressed. She had a fondness of things that kept her outside a traditional classroom setting. Olivia never particularly had much of a green thumb, but she liked most activities that involved the outdoors and being in nature. Nature didn't care if she yelled or couldn't sit still. Nature didn't judge.

When she entered one of Professor Sprout's greenhouses, she was surprised to find she didn't recognize anything, plants of all different shapes and sizes sitting in pots and trays along the windows, soaking in the sunlight. There was one in particular that produced the biggest, and strangest shaped purple flower she had ever seen, but when she tried to read the label underneath the plant she found it was in a language she didn't recognize.

There were no tulips, orchids, roses, or daisy's to be found, no miniature cacti, or succulent plants. She came across something she thought looked like a small bonsai tree, but the name read Venomous Tentacula. As she walked around the room, she had the distinct impression that all of these plants wanted to kill her. So much for nature not judging, she thought, with unfriendly names such as Venomous Tentacula, Bushy Barb, and Devil's Snare, she was almost certain they weren't interested in becoming her friend.

She shook her head at herself. Why was she thinking of them as sentient beings? Then again, after everything she had seen these last two days, she had better start checking the toilet seats for eyes before she sat on them. She had nearly had a heart attack this afternoon when she had been having a rather rude sort of tic that involved grabbing her crotch, when she had heard a voice begin to scold her.

"What? Were you raised in a barn, girl?" Olivia had nearly jumped out of her skin when she found a painting of a lady in a silver dress scowling at her. She had seen trick paintings before with eyes that appeared to follow you, but this was…it was…moving! "Hmph! Someone needs to teach you some manners!" Olivia had wasted no time in running off.

As she approached the plant called Devil's Snare, she noticed long tentacle like vines bunched together in a knot and, oh god! It was moving! She shuddered. Why was everything in this school alive? She jumped back, before slowly working up the courage to take a peek up close. The vines pulsed as if it had a heartbeat. She stared wide-eyed in morbid fascination as it slithered around in its jumble of limbs.

Olivia could feel the pressure building in her right arm. Oh no, you don't, she thought. Her tics were trying to make her slap it. She searched the room in a near panic, she needed an anchor and fast! She grabbed the first thing she could think of, a passing Gryffindor boy's hand, in a desperate attempt to keep her afflicted limb occupied. Olivia clung to the round faced boy as if her life depended on it, but unfortunately, he seemed to be just as socially inept as she was. The contact startled him so much, he jumped as if she had just bitten him, causing him to stumble forward and land, right into the Devil's Snare.

Olivia winced, and then let out a frightened gasp. As soon as the Gryffindor boy made contact with the slithering plant, vines burst forward, wrapping around his waist, legs, and to everyone's horror, around his neck.

"Neville!" Two of the other boys he was with called out. The boy called Neville began to struggle against his captor, vigorously flinging his body from left to right, but Olivia could tell it was only making the situation worse. His face was beginning to turn a deep shade of red.

"Help!" he choked out. "Can't. Breathe."

"Where's Professor Sprout? Someone get Professor Sprout!" a girl shouted. Olivia stood frozen in place. Move! Help him! No matter how much she internally yelled at herself, she couldn't get her body to move. If someone didn't do something soon, he was going to die, and it would all be her fault!

Just as she was certain Neville was going to suffocate, she heard a voice cry, "LUMOS!" followed by a blinding, bright light that made Olivia shield her eyes. By the time her vision returned to normal, she found the vines had retracted and returned to their slithering, and pulsing knot within the bowl. Neville was on the ground, a blubbering, red-faced heap. A girl with bushy brown hair stood over him, hands on hips, and scolded him like a disobedient child.

"Honestly, Neville, everyone knows struggling against Devil's Snare will only make it constrict tighter. Did anyone actually read? It's right there in chapter 11 of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi, and you!" The girl turned on Olivia, "Why did you just stand there? Why didn't you cast Lumos? He could have died!"

"Uh sorry, I- I don't, what's Lumos?" Olivia asked. She didn't know who this girl was, but she could already tell she didn't like her. And chapter 11? She had only known she was going to Hogwarts two days ago!

"Devil's Snare hates sunlight! You need to cast Lumos, the illuminating spell! You'd know this if you had read any of your text books!" Olivia blanched. Did this girl really expect her to know all this? Wasn't that why she was here? To learn?" Her eyes fell to a red-headed boy with freckles who rolled his eyes. Olivia relaxed a bit, thankful to see she wasn't the only one to find this girl pretentious.

"10 points to Gryffindor!" a voice called out from behind them. "Very good, Miss Granger, that is exactly how you deal with Devil's Snare, but do go easy on the rest of the class, I don't expect anyone to know any of this on their first day.

Olivia breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, someone with realistic expectations. She had only learned magic was real a week ago! If someone had told her back then people could turn into cats, and plants had a tendency to murder children as they walked by, she would have suggested they needed medication, not her!

"Now, what on earth happened here?" A short little woman, barely a foot taller than the children that surrounded her, came hobbling down and glanced at Neville who was still sitting on the floor shell shocked.

Olivia blushed and ducked away when his only explanation between wheezes was, "A girl grabbed my hand."

Olivia kept trying to shoot Neville apologetic glances all throughout the lesson, but he seemed determined to avoid eye contact with her. She had, however, managed to grab the attention of the black haired boy with glasses standing next to him, who seemed just as lost and confused as she was.

"Is he okay?" Olivia mouthed to him. The boy smiled and nodded his head.

"He's just a bit accident-prone." Came his silent reply. Olivia frowned. It had been her fault, though! She was the accident-prone one! She would have jumped out of her skin too if someone grabbed her unexpectedly.

"Tell him I'm sorry." If she had been… normal, none of this would have ever happened.

When Professor Sprout dismissed the class, relief rushed through Olivia. Now that classes were over for the day, she was determined to crawl into bed and pull the curtain around herself. It was the only time she had any time to herself since getting here, and her introvert batteries were in desperate need of recharging. In order to do that, she required peace and quiet.

After her book bag was packed, and she had almost made it out the door, the voice of Professor Sprout called out to her.

"Miss Rodger's, would you mind hanging back a moment? I'd like to have a word with you." Olivia's's heart nearly dropped out her stomach. What was she in trouble for now? Had Professor Sprout thought she pushed Neville into the Devil's Snare? Had that Granger girl told her she had just stood there like a coward as he was nearly choked to death? Why else would an authority figure want to talk to her if not to scold her? It was probably for not knowing about Lumos! Even though Professor Sprout had said she hadn't expected anyone to know, Olivia was used to outrageous expectations placed on her as a way to skirt around disability laws.

Instead of getting a helping hand, Olivia more often found herself under a microscope, as people waited impatiently for the slightest mistake, so they could gleefully point to it and say, "See, look at that! Your daughter is a problem child! She didn't do her homework!" or "Look, she isn't getting along with the other children! She isn't a good fit for this school," It never mattered that all the other kids had missed ten times more assignments as her, or avoided her as if she had the plague, as long as they could point to something that wasn't her tics, they were free to toss her to the curb. Which they frequently did, eagerly.

Olivia had been expelled from three public schools, one private school, eight after school programs, and four sports teams. The thing that had broken her was Ilvermorny. When she had received her acceptance letter, she had been ecstatic. Here was proof she wasn't crazy, or bad, or had delusions of grandeur, as her psychiatrist had diagnosed her with after telling him her suspicions she made strange things happen. It had been the best 20 minutes of her life, at least until the second letter had arrived.

Dear, Miss O. Rodgers

We hope this letter finds you well. We regret to inform you that your admission to Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been revoked. While the board acknowledges your status as a witch, we feel, in the interest of public safety due to your unique situation, you fail to meet the standards for magical education at this time.

Best Regards,

The American Wizarding Association of Education

If it hadn't been for Dumbledore showing up when he did and welcoming her with open arms, she didn't know what she'd do. He seemed to be under the impression not teaching her magic would have far more consequences than letting her go on the way she was. Normally, Hogwarts accepted 40 new students a year, 5 boys, and 5 girls assigned to each house, usually chosen at birth, but this year it had 41. She was the Eleventh Hufflepuff- a special exception to the rule, and yet, it was as if her dormitory had always been made to fit six beds instead of five.

Olivia stood awkwardly to the side as Professor Sprout motioned for her to take a seat. Nothing good ever came from being told to sit down. Had she really blown her chances on the first day?

"So, Miss Rodgers, as you already know, my name is Professor Sprout, and I am the head of Hufflepuff house. I just wanted to properly introduce myself. I understand you're here under special circumstances, is that right?" Olivia nodded, unsure where this was going. Had this woman really just pulled her aside to say,"hi"? "This is so exciting, isn't it? I've never had a student from America before. And an addition to the school at the last minute, it's unheard of! Dumbledore must have seen something special in you. For him to go all the way to America to collect you, even! "

Olivia wasn't so sure about those last parts, she had been under the impression he just felt sorry for her, but whatever his reasoning, she was more than grateful for the chance. It was more than Ilvermorny had given her. As for travelling to America, it wasn't like he had flown, he had just… shown up. When Olivia had shaken his hand in acceptance of his offer, she had felt the bottom of her stomach drop out from under her. The room had begun to spin so violently, she had to shut her eyes. It was like a force was trying to pull them apart! Then all at once it had stopped. The next thing she knew, she was losing her lunch in a busy street in London.

After being forced to drink nearly half her weight in tea and water in a strange pub called The Leaky Cauldron, he had taken her outback into a deserted ally. She imagined this was the last thing she'd see before waking up in the hospital with a missing kidney, but before she could change her mind, he pulled out a stick-no, a wand- and began tapping on the brick wall that led to a dead end. Her mouth nearly fell open. The bricks were beginning to fold in on themselves.

Her eyes went wide with wonder and excitement. This, this was magic! Once a dead end, the alley now opened onto a completely new street, and it was unlike anything she had ever seen before! Families were bustling about dressed in an odd assortment of clothing and cloaks. Items and goods for sale floated in the shops windows. Her tics were going wild from the excitement, but she paid them no notice.

"Where are we?" she asked, looking up at the older man who smiled with amusement, at least, she thought he was smiling. It was hard to tell what his mouth was doing underneath the large white beard.

"Diagon Alley, the best place to shop for school supplies, and of course, Ollivander's. You will be needing a wand after all."

Olivia's face fell. "But the hearing, they said I wasn't allowed a wand, and I was put on a blacklist."

"Ah, yes, but their ruling only goes as far as the America's, we're in England now, and you are under no such restriction here." She couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face.

"Unfortunately, we are rather short on time, so I'm sorry I can not give you the full tour. If you would be so kind as to head over to Madam Malkins, so you can be fitted for your uniforms. I will go collect your textbooks and other odds and ends, and we will meet in front of Ollivander's when you are finished. I do have a fondness for watching young witches and wizards pick out their first wands." Dumbledore said. Olivia could have sworn she heard him mumble something about loving to watch the wand maker's face as his shop gets blown to pieces. She must have heard wrong.

"I don't have any money with me." Olivia admitted.

"Tell her it's going on the Hogwarts tab, and do watch out for the measuring tape, it tends to have a mind of its own." Before Olivia could ask him what he meant, he had turned and vanished into the crowd.

Madam Malkin's had been surprisingly easy to find, despite Olivia's lack of a sense of direction. The giant pair of scissors that moved up and down on its own had given it away. At first she thought it was a hair salon, until she saw the measuring tape in its logo. She heard the chiming of a bell as she entered, announcing her presence, despite there being no bell in the door Olivia could see.

A woman, with long black hair tied in a bun, sat behind the counter reading a newspaper called The Daily Prophet. Olivia would have paid it no mind, until she saw the picture on the front page begin to move! She let a gasp, as the woman looked up.

"Something wrong?" she asked, taking in the look on Olivia's face.

"The picture's moving!" Olivia nearly shouted as she came closer. People were flying around on broomsticks! The page above the picture read "Germany wins 120- to Ireland's 27." Her eyes followed the picture around until she noticed the amused look on the woman's face.

"First time in the wizarding world, lass?" Olivia nodded. "Are you a Hogwarts student?" Olivia nodded again. "Well, if you think this is impressive, just you wait till you get to school. Go ahead and stand in front of the mirror over there, and I'll get you sorted out."

She left the uniform shop nearly 30 minutes later in a complete daze. Dumbledore hadn't been kidding about the measuring tape. She had been absolutely transfixed by it as it unraveled and swirled in the air all on its own. Then it had attacked. It measured her arms, legs, shoulders, neck, wrists, head size, nostrils, ears, fingers, butt cheeks, the space between her eyes, the space between her nipples, her toes. She felt a bit violated, but now it was time for the thing she had looking forward to the most. A wand!

Dumbledore was waiting for her next to a large trunk and eating something that looked like jelly beans. He offered her a green one. "Should be apple." She popped it in her mouth and began to chew. The most vile and disgusting taste she had ever experienced leaked into her mouth. She spit it out onto the ground and began to gag. "My apologies," Dumbledore said as he looked at the back of the red and white striped box. "It was boogers. Light green is apple."

When they went into Ollivander's, an eccentric looking man with wild gray hair looked up, a large grin now plastered on his face. "Professor Dumbledore! What in the world brings you down here?" His eyes gradually shifted and met Olivia's. His smile faltered a bit and he looked confused. "I'm sorry, I-I'm not sure if I recognize you? Who is this?"

"A last minute addition to the school roster, this is Olivia Rodgers, coming all the way from the states." The eccentric looking man now looked even more confused and flustered.

"An American?" he peered down at her as if looking at her for the first time. The scrutiny made her uncomfortable. Her neck began to twist and jerk. "Very well, I have a few ideas in mind." Olivia watched as he began pulling boxes out of impossibly high stacks that seemed to defy gravity. He opened a box and handed it to her. "Let's start with a Dragon Heart string." She picked it up and examined it. It was beautifully crafted and seemed to fit perfectly in her hand, but when she waved it around, nothing happened. He took it back from her and offered her another. Again nothing happened. Both men looked at each other.

This went on for several minutes. Olivia was starting to panic, what if she wasn't magic after all? Even Dumbledore seemed rather disappointed. Olivander began muttering to himself, before coming back with another box. " A mixture of Unicorn hair, phoenix feather, and dragon heart string. " He said. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was pure white, as if made of porcelain, and carved into it were two unicorns running side by side underneath a full moon and stars. It felt much sturdier in her hand compared to the others, she had held. The moment she picked it up, she could feel it vibrate in her hand, it sort of reminded her of a purring cat. She waved it and two gold sparks flew from the tip. "Well now, looks like i've finally found this one a home after all these years."

"I haven't seen a student with one of these in the last 50 years or so." Dumbledore said.

"Try a century." Ollivander said, taking it from her and placing it back in the box. "Last of the Triple Core series, I don't make them like this anymore. Too hard to find owners. They were so picky about who they let even hold them, the last time I let someone try, it threw itself out the window. The time before, it gave a poor woman very painful looking boils. Very powerful, but very finicky. I was starting to think it wanted to spend all eternity gathering dust on my shelves." Olivia was a little taken aback. Why had he let her hold something so potentially dangerous?

It was the oddest thing, Olivia thought as they walked down the street together. She had only held it for 30 seconds at most, but as soon as she put it back, her hand felt so empty, not to mention cold. She wanted to hold it again, but Dumbledore had the box in his hand and told her she couldn't take it with her to America because of her restriction.

"It will be waiting for you at the school." he said. She felt like a part of her soul resided in that box, and the thought of leaving it behind was painful. "Now, at Hogwarts, you are also allowed to bring a pet with you. You have the choice of either an owl, cat or a toad? Would you like to stop at the pet store before I take you back?"

Olivia had been very tempted to go and, "look" but thought better of it. While she was quite fond of animals, but the feelings were not mutual. Her tics stressed animals out, and they often lashed out at her. She thought of their poor family cat they had to give away once her tics had begun to develop. He had begun loosing chunks of his fur to the stress, and had tried to run away every chance he got.

"So how are you liking the school so far?" Professor Sprout asked, bringing Olivia's attention back to the present.

"I like it!" Olivia admitted, "mostly."

Professor Sprout raised an eyebrow. "Mostly?"

While the school was everything she had ever hoped it could be and more, it did have some drawbacks, like the potions' professor who hated her, plants that wanted to murder her, and sharing a bedroom with five other girls-one, she didn't know which, who happened to fart like a grown man in her sleep. Oh, and the fact the boys here would rather throw themselves into killer plants than hold her hand.

"Professor Snape gave me detention and took away fifty house points from me." She didn't know why she had blurted it out. It was as if she was trying to make Professor Sprout angry with her, as if to say, "See, look, I'm nothing special."

Professor Sprouts eyes grew very dark. Her eyebrows knitted together and Olivia could see her now clenched fists resting on the table in front of her. "Good job," she thought to herself, "mission accomplished."

"That cheating little snake!" Professor Sprout said, sounding beside herself. She slammed her fist on the table, making Olivia jump. "That vile, no good, cheating lowlife of a serpent!" Olivia was confused. It was as if she was angry at him and not her. Did she even want to know what she had done to deserve such a punishment? She didn't ask, but Olivia volunteered it anyway.

"I sort of, accidentally, turned his hair pink after he yelled at me to stop ticcing." Now Professor Sprout looked ready to march down to the castle and murder him, despite Olivia attempting to incriminate herself. "I yelled at him not to use goat sperm as a shampoo."

"And he deliberately ignored Professor Dumbledore's instructions! He told us all you couldn't control it, and making you try would have dire consequences! You should have singed his eyebrows off instead of turning them pink!" Huh, so she had already known? Olivia hadn't mentioned anything about his eyebrows. "Slytherin wins the house cup every year, and you want to know why? Because that cheating, little prick steals house points from every other house for the most mundane reasons and rewards them to his own every time one of his students remembers to wipe properly!" Professor Sprout blew out an angry puff of air from her nostrils, before collecting herself. "Don't you worry about that detention, I'll talk to Professor Dumbledore about it."

Olivia felt a rush of gratitude towards her. She may as well come clean about everything else that was bothering her too. "Professor, it was my fault Neville fell into the Devil's Snare. I was trying to keep a tic from making me touch it and grabbed his hand without warning to anchor myself."

Professor Sprouts feature's softened even more, a confused sort of smile played at her lips. "Miss Rodger's, do you always blame yourself for everything that happens?" Olivia blinked in surprise.

"Well, usually everything that happens is my fault." Olivia admitted. "If I hadn't grabbed his hand-"

"Then you'd be the one with ligature marks and broken ribs." Professor Sprout said. "You act like you pushed him! Now, don't you worry about that, there's always someone who gets too close." Olivia thought it was rather strange. If this was a recurring accident, then why have such a dangerous thing out in the open? English wizards sure were strange. This school's motto should really be, "safety third"

"Now, you feel free to come to me if you run into any more problems. Run along now, it's dinner time."

Olivia headed back to the castle in a daze. She had never in her life had a teacher treat her so…so…reasonably! Her mood lifted considerably, a smile still on her face as she sat down across from Hannah at the Hufflepuff table.

"I saw you ogling Harry Potter during Herbology." Hannah said with a grin.

"Who?" Olivia asked. She didn't know anyone's names yet.

"Harry Potter. You know, the one everyone's been going on about for the last eleven years! Everyone's been talking about him."

"I'm sorry, I still don't know who that is. I'm not from around here. Does he have famous parents or something?" Olivia asked, reaching for the bowl of mashed potatoes.

"You don't know who Harry Potter is? Have you been living under a rock or something?" Hannah asked dumbfounded. "He's the one who defeated You-Know-Who!" Olivia shrugged, feeling confused.

"No, I don't know who. Who's You-Know-Who?"

Hannah stared at her, dumbfounded. "He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named? The darkest and most evil wizard to ever live? Ring any bells?" Olivia shook her head. Her curiosity was now winning out over logic. She knew no good would come from her knowing, but she couldn't help it. Hannah leaned her head in and Olivia followed. "We're not supposed to say his name, it's taboo but, I mean, if you really don't know."

"What is it?"

"His name was Lord Voldemort." Hannah whispered in her ear, a shudder running through her body at the mere mention of his name. Saying his name is like saying the most vile profanity you could ever imagine!" Olivia swallowed. This wasn't good. She grimaced and shut her eyes tight. She could feel the pressure clawing its way to the surface.

"Worse than profanity!" Someone added in. "It's like cursing your own mother!" Sweat was beginning to form on Olivia's forehead. No, no, no, no no!

"It's like cursing a newborn baby!"

"No! It's the verbal equivalent of taking a newborn baby and hitting it like a bludger!"

"Drowning a bag of kittens!"

"No a puppy! You'd have to be really messed up in the head to use his name! Hey, what's the matter with her? You okay? You look like you're about to-"

"LORD VOLDEMORT!" Olivia shouted at the top of her lungs.