The streets of Diagon Alley were filled with witches and wizards of all ages. Everyone seemed to be out shopping for their school supplies on the morning of August 29th.
"Oh my god. Dad why does Val get to be a witch and not me" Leah asked in a whiny tone. They had just entered the alley through a brick wall behind a small pub called The Leaky Cauldron. Leah's eyes were wide with shock and excitement as she scanned the streets to absorb as much of this new world as she could.
"Because if you were a witch too then there would be no one to keep me company" Luca said while rolling his eyes at his twin.
"No, you two just aren't as special as me" Valencia replied giving her siblings a grin.
"Oh shut up" the other two said in unison.
Valencia and her entire family were in Diagon Alley getting her supplies for her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. After first receiving her letter from the school, she believed it to be some sort of scam. However, later that day her family was visited by one of the professors from the school, proving that she was in fact a witch. It was still hard for them to believe seeing as neither of Valencia's older siblings had any magical powers but there was no denying that some strange things had happened to Val in the past.
"OOH Val lets go get your robes first," Leah said as she started to tug her sister along, "I want to make sure you look extra good on your first day at school, that way you can get all the hot boys." she finished. She wiggled her eyes at Val and waved to their parents before the two of them disappeared into the crowd. The two of them finally arrived at a shop called Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions after getting completely lost about 10 times, as neither of them knew their way around.
"Oh Val you are so doomed. These robes are hideous. What the hell kind of school are you going to" Leah asked. Her nose was scrunched in disgust as she looked at the black robes that lined the walls.
Before Valencia could reply, a voice sounded in front of them. "Ah welcome my dears. My name is Madam Malkin, how may I help you?"
"This little one needs some robes" Leah said as she shoved her sister forward. Valencia shot a glare back at her before turning to Madam Malkin and giving her a smile. She was a stubby looking woman with plump features and soft brown eyes. Her gray hair was pinned back into a neat bun leaving her round face and pink cheeks to be exposed.
"Is this your first year at Hogwarts my dear?" Madam Malkin asked as the three of them made their way over to a section of robes that appeared Valencia's size. Leah tagged along behind them no doubt to make sure that her sister didn't look overly atrocious in her robes.
"Er, yes, it is," Val replied. Madam Malkin gestured for her to step up on a small pedestal, and the seamstress took the next 30 minutes to find the perfect fitting robe for her. It would have taken hours if Val hadn't stopped Leah from criticizing every one of them that she tried on. She herself could find no difference between any of them, but Leah, being the fashion and beauty freak that she was, insisted that there was something off about all of them. After finding one that Leah agreed looked half decent, they paid at the counter before stepping back into the busy alley. Leah insisted that they get her wand next, then an owl, and then they would get her 'stupid, boring old books' as she put it. She had lined up their entire morning for the two of them and gave Valencia no choice but to follow her everywhere.
When the two finally arrived at Ollivander's Wand Shop, they stepped in to find that there was no one there, but before Valencia could call out to someone, the door behind them opened and the two swung around to see that a boy with messy black hair and clothes that were twice his size was standing at the door. He appeared to be about the same age as Valencia.
"Er- hello, do you know where Mr. Ollivander is?" he asked the two of them.
"No we just got here ourselves and he wasn't here" Valencia said, shooting him a small smile.
"Ah Mr. Potter, I wondered when I would be seeing you here." An old man white and greying hair slipped out from behind one of the many shelves to greet them. He had a lively smile on his face as he approached them causing his aging skin to crinkle at his eyes. "Oh yes, of course of course. And you must be Miss... Martin is it?" he added. He had a rather attentive look on his face as he studied her, making it look as if he were as if he were looking for something on the complexion of her face. He nodded his head before he mumbled something under his breath that none of them could hear, and then disappeared behind the counter where he had come from.
Val, Leah, and the boy all turned to each other in confusion. "Well that man is odd. I'm going to go find mum and dad, don't get into too much trouble Val. Oh and don't forget we are getting you an owl next" Leah said. She patted her sister on her shoulder before exiting the shop to find their parents.
"Er- hi I'm Valencia, Valencia Martin" she stuck out her hand for the boy to shake.
"I'm Harry, Harry Potter" Harry said as he took her hand to shake it.
"Are you going into your first year at Hogwarts?" she asked.
"Yeah I am. You?"
"Yes. This is all so new to me. I'm the first witch in my family" Val replied as he smiled back at her.
Before they could continue their somewhat awkward conversation the man, who she had deduced was Ollivander, appeared before them with two long boxes in his hands. "Here you are," he said as he handed each of them a box. With confused expressions they both took the boxes and opened them to find what Valencia thought looked like a regular brown stick. She picked it up in her hands not knowing what to do.
"Well go on then, give them a wave." Ollivander flicked his own hand as if showing him what to do, and so almost simultaneously the two of them waved their wands following his lead. "What the-". A glass vase filled with water that she hadn't noticed before suddenly burst in front of them. The two jumped back in surprise before looking at each other with wide eyes and then lowering their hands.
"Oh my. Nope nope, definitely not" Ollivander said as he hurried to take the wands back from the two of them. He placed the sticks back in their boxes and quickly disappeared behind one of the many shelves. He returned only a few moments later with two new boxes in either hand. After handing them each a box he stepped back and observed them with anticipation. As soon as they picked up the wands a rush of air seemed to almost encircle them both. Dumbfound, Harry and Valencia stared at each other with the wands still raised.
"Curious, very curious," Mr. Ollivander said, the attentive look in his eyes studying the both of them.
"Er- I'm sorry, but what's curious" Harry asked.
"Well you see, Mr. Potter, Miss Martin, you both happen to have a tail feather from a phoenix in your wands. It so happens that those particular tail feathers that reside in your wands come from the same phoenix". Still confused, Harry and Valencia raised their eyebrows at the old man. "This particular phoenix gave another feather, just one other. It is extremely rare for a phoenix to give two tail feathers, but for one to give three is practically impossible" he continued. "What's curious however, is that the brother of your two wands gave you that scar." He raised his hand to point at Harry's forehead. Confused, Valencia followed his finger to find that Harry had a lightning bolt-shaped scar that resided towards the right side of his forehead.
"I'm not quite sure I understand sir," Valencia said. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were squinted as she stared at the scar on Harry's forehead. But Ollivander didn't have time to elaborate further before Harry asked his own question.
"And, who exactly gave me this scar" Harry asked. He had brought his hand up to his forehead to trace the figure of the lightning bolt.
"Oh we do not speak his name. He was one of the darkest wizard's of all time" Ollivander said. He mumbled something under his breath before retreating behind the counter once more.
"But why, why this wand. Why these wands? Are you saying that they are somehow all connected to one another?" Harry asked as he and Valencia both approached the counter.
"The wand chooses the wizard Mr. Potter" he said as a small smile appeared on his old features. "There is no particular reason that they are connected however, it just so happens that they are". Valencia couldn't wrap her head around what Mr. Ollivander was trying to inquire, and by the looks of it, Harry couldn't quite tell either. "Right then, shall I ring you both up?"
After paying, she and Harry left the shop together and parted ways, and after saying goodbye, she made her way over to Eeylops Owl Emporium where she met up with the rest of her family. As they continued their shopping, Valencia couldn't help but think about what Ollivander had said. Someone had given Harry a scar, and the wizard who did happened to have matching wands with her and Harry. The part that she didn't quite understand though was the fact that she had sister wands with these two wizards. Why her? Why did she have sister wands with these two wizards when she had absolutely nothing in common with them? He had said that there was no particular reason which would mean it was all coincidence. One hell of a coincidence.
Luca ended up convincing Val to get a Great Gray Owl because 'it looked cool as hell'. They collectively decided to name the bird Aven, which had no true meaning behind it but Leah had insisted that they call her that if she were to ever use her. She had a mix of brown and gray feathers, piercing yellow eyes, and almost always kept a poised posture. After they bought Aven, the five of them headed over to Flourish and Blotts to buy her book, and then to Potage's Cauldron Shop for a cauldron. It took them nearly 2 hours to acquire everything that Valencia would need for school, mostly because they were still learning their way around Diagon Alley. After they eventually finished, the family of five made their way back to their house where Valencia would wait impatiently for the morning of September first.
"Are you absolutely positive you need to be going to Platform nine and three quarters" her mother asked.
"Yes i'm sure, look," Valencia showed her parents the ticket in her hand that displayed the platform number that her train would be at, "it says Platform 9 and right on it."
It was finally September first, the day that Valencia would depart from her family and make her way to Hogwarts. The family was walking through King's Cross Station searching for platform 9 and where she would board the train. She was pushing a trolley that had her trunk and the cage with Aven on it with giddy steps towards their destination. Leah and Luca were tagging behind playing rock, paper, scissors, shoot, and the two of them would occasionally bump into passing people while they were too focused on their game, and would receive a glare as they did so, but neither of them seemed to care. Val's mum and dad were walking ahead of all of them, looking for the nonexistent platform. Just as they were approaching platform 7, Valencia saw a familiar looking head of hair who looked just as confused as her parents.
"Harry?" Valencia asked. He too was pushing a trolley with his trunk and a cage with a snowy white owl in it.
"Oh hi Valencia!" Harry said as he looked over to her. A smile formed on his face as their eyes met.
"Are you looking for the platform?" she asked him.
"Yea, and I have absolutely no where it is. I assumed Hagrid would show me how to get there but he left before I could ask".
Valencia was about to ask who this Hagrid guy was before her parents turned around to see that she had stopped. Leah and Luca looked up from their game of rock, paper, scissors, shoot to see who she was talking to as well.
"Oh mum, dad this is Harry. We met in Diagon Alley the other day. He's a first year too" Val said as her family approached the two of them.
"Hello Harry," her dad said as he greeted the boy with messy jet black hair and stuck out his hand for him to shake, "I'm Val's dad, this is her mum, and those two over there are Leah and Luca, her brother and sister". Her dad pointed to each person as he said their name, and her mother smiled at Harry before she too stuck out her hand for him to shake.
"Er, nice to meet you all" Harry said with a smile.
"Oh my, look at the time. You really should be getting to the platform," Valencia's dad said as he checked his wrist watch and cut the conversation short. "Val would you like us to see you there or are you okay with making your way there with your friend, Harry?" her dad asked.
"I think I'll go with Harry if that's okay with you" she said as she approached her mother and father.
"Alright, but don't think you are getting away without a hug first" her dad said as he embraced her in one of his iconic bear hugs. After almost suffocating in her dad's hug, Valencia embraced her mother in a loving hug. Her mom kissed the top of her head before pushing Valencia away, arms still on her shoulders and saying "You be good alright. Learn lots. I love you".
"I love you too" she told them both as she started to head back to her trolly that she left near Harry. Luca and Leah waved to her with smiles before she and Harry made their way to platform 9 and .
"Your family seems really nice" Harry said as the two of them passed platform 8.
"Oh yes they are. I love them to death. Did your parents not accompany you to the station" she asked.
"Oh no, my parents died when I was only one" Harry said. He didn't seem to be bothered too much by talking about the topic, but Valencia could make out a very small sense of uncomfortableness in his eyes.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't know". She shot him an apologetic look as they continued walking.
"No it's okay, I live with my aunt and uncle now. They aren't the best people but at least I have somewhere to be" he said as he gave her a reassuring smile. They had just arrived at platform 9 so the two of them both stopped and looked around in search of Platform 9 and . It looked as if Harry were about to ask her a question before a voice sounded from in front of them.
"It's the same as every year, packed with muggles of course. Come on, Platform 9 and this way" a woman with red hair said.
"Muggles" Harry said in such a low voice that it was almost inaudible to Valencia. He started to make his way over to the family red heads that accompanied the older woman, and so she followed.
"Go on Percy, you first" the woman said to an older boy who also had red hair. The boy gave the older woman a smile and before he turned, with his trolly in hand, and started running towards the brick wall that separated platforms nine and ten. To Valencia and Harry's shock, Percy disappeared behind the brick wall. With wide eyes, the two of them approached the older woman. Then a pair of boys that Valencia assumed were twins followed Percy and they too ran straight at the brick wall and disappeared.
"Er- excuse me. Could you erm, show us how to... how to-" Harry started.
"How to get onto the platform?" the woman asked in a sweet voice. Her eyes beamed as she looked over at the two of them. "Yes not to worry dear, it's Ron's first year at Hogwarts as well" she said as she gestured to another smaller boy who also had red hair. The boy named Ron smiled back at Valencia and Harry.
"All you have to do," the older woman continued, "is head straight for the wall between platforms nine and ten. Best do it at a bit of a run if you are nervous". She continued to smile at Val and Harry as she explained.
Valencia and Harry gave each other nervous smiles before the two of them aimed their trolleys at the wall and began to jog. She half expected the two of them to crash into the brick wall when it was only a few paces away, but instead they ran straight through it and appeared on the opposite side. When they opened their eyes, they looked up to see a scarlet steam engine sitting in front of them. Eyes wide, Val surveyed the new area around them. There were witches and wizards of all ages scattered around the platform, some boarding the magical train and others saying farewell to their parents or children. When she looked over at Harry, his eyes were wide with a mix of shock and amazement and he had the biggest smile spreading across his lips.
The two made their way towards the train, neither saying a word as they were too focused on taking in the surroundings. After leaving their trunks and the cages with their owls with an older wizard who took them onto the train, they then boarded the train themselves.
"Er, would you like to find a compartment?' Valencia asked Harry.
"Er, yea sure. We can try to find an empty one near the end" he replied.
And so they did exactly that. They shuffled their way around other people in the hallway and made their way to the back of the train in search of a compartment that wasn't already occupied. Valencia couldn't help but smile as they continued to walk. She was beyond excited to start a new chapter in her life. She had never been too popular at her other schools, mostly because she would spend all of the time she could reading books. She thought of reading as an escape from her current reality, a reality that she had started to fall out of love with when she was only ten. But now, as she was walking in the train, she felt as if she no longer needed to read in order to escape to a new place. This was a new place. A new reality. Her new reality. And she couldn't wait to explore it.
"This one here is empty" Valencia said to Harry who was walking behind her. She opened the sliding door to allow both of them in and closed it after he had entered. She sat down next to Harry who had taken to sitting near the window, and the two sat in silence both taking in the scene around them as the train started to move out of the station.
She had opted to take one of her favorite books with her on the train; To Kill a Mockingbird. She had only been reading it for a few minutes when the door to their compartment slid open to reveal the young red headed boy named Ron that they had met back at King's Cross.
"Er- do you mind if I sit with you, everywhere else is full" Ron asked.
"No I don't mind at all" Harry said.
Ron smiled at the both of them before taking a seat on the other side of the compartment.
"I'm Ron by the way, Ron Weasley," Ron said as he stuck out his hand for the two of them to shake one by one.
"I'm Valencia Martin, it's nice to meet you," she said with a smile.
"And I'm Harry, Harry Potter".
At those words, Ron's eyes went wide with shock and he stared at Harry as if he weren't actually real. "So- so is it true then, do you really have the- do you have the- the scar?" Ron asked.
"Oh yea, here" Harry said. He brought his hand to his head and moved his hair to show Ron his scar.
"Wicked".
The two boys started a conversation about their lives and where they came from, but instead of joining in Valencia decided to go back to reading her book. Within the next few minutes a woman with a trolly full of sweets came to their compartment, and of course Harry and Ron got all they could manage to buy. Then, about an hour or so after that during which Harry and Ron shoved the various sweets down their throats, a girl with bushy brown hair and buck teeth came to their compartment asking if any of them had seen a toad that a boy named Neville had somehow lost. None of them knew however which caused an agitated look to appear on her somewhat snobbish looking features. Then she, like Ron, had been shocked to find out who Harry actually was which only confused Valencia further. There was definitely something about this boy that she was missing, something that she hoped to research once they arrived at the castle.
"You three best be changing into your robes, I expect we'll be arriving soon" the girl who Valencia learned was named Hermione said. "Oh, and you've got dirt on your nose by the way, just there" Hermione said as she pointed to Ron's face. She then turned to leave the compartment.
"Well she's just a ray of sunshine isn't she" Valencia joked.
"Tell me about it," Ron said. He was now self consciously rubbing the spot on his nose that Hermione had pointed out had a smudge of dirt on it.
"I'm going to go find a place to change into my robes, you two can change in here" Val said as she stood up from her seat. She left her book on her seat before standing up, grabbing her robes, and sliding out of the compartment.
"Ow, watch it-"
"Oh I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there". Right as Valencia closed the door to her compartment she accidentally bumped into someone. A girl with curly black hair and brown skin was standing in front of her. She half expected her to have a scowl on her face, but instead her hazel eyes were filled with curiosity as she looked over Valencia's features.
"I'm June Adams," the girl said "Pure-Blood". She quickly stuck out her hand in an aggressive manner for Val to shake which surprised her, but nonetheless she grabbed her hand and shook it.
"Er- Valencia Martin. What's a Pure-Blood?".
The girl scoffed before rolling her eyes. "You seriously don't know? You must be a mudblood then".
"A what?"
"Oh never mind. It doesn't much matter anyways. Well, I suppose it matters to my parents but I've never seen too much of an issue with someone being muggle born, besides the fact that they are all idiots when it comes to the wizarding world". She crossed her arms in an almost defensive manner as she continued to study Valencia. "I assume you'll be put into Gryffindor or Hufflepuff," June continued, "I mean those are the two houses with the most mudbloods in them. As for me, I'll be put into Slytherin. Both of my parents were in Slytherin and so is my older brother Carson, he's a third year".
With the little amount of research that Valencia had done since she found out she was a witch, she knew that there were four houses at Hogwarts; Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. She had always assumed she would be sorted into Ravenclaw, the house known for their wisdom, cleverness, and wit.
"Erm- June, whats a mudblood."
"Oh it's just a pretty foul name for someone who's muggle born, someone like you. I mean honestly I don't call people it unless I don't know their names, but other Pure-Bloods and Half-Bloods love to use it to degrade people like you. I forgot your name the moment you said it, but try not to cry about when someone else calls you it, okay? You don't want to look like even more of a piss pot than you already do" June shrugged as she said the last part as if the term were nothing offensive and as if it were blatantly obvious how hideous Val looked . Even if June wasn't using it in a derogatory manner, Valencia was sure she wasn't the only person who would be calling her 'mudblood'.
"Okay," Val replied, "and what about a Pure-Blood? What does that mean?"
"Oh well as you know I myself am a Pure-Blood. People like my family are witches and wizards who have fully magical blood. We all in some way descend from The Sacred Twenty-Eight. And then there are Half-Bloods, people who have one Pure-Blood parent and one muggle-born parent. Although I suppose you can have two Half-Blood parents and still turn out as a Half-Blood yourself but that's besides the point."
"Oh, Okay" was all Val could manage to respond with. Rather than asking more questions, she thought about what June had just explained to her. One thing that she knew for sure was that June loved to talk. She was sure she would rant on and on if Valencia didn't stop her from talking. Val was hoping almost more than anything that there was a library at Hogwarts. Along with researching about Harry's past, she was now also intrigued to learn as much as she could about wizarding families and their blood, and a library would be the perfect place to do so.
"Hey, do you know where the girl's lavatory is?" Valencia asked June. She had almost forgotten the reason that she was out here talking to this girl in the first place, but thinking about the school had brought the thought back to the forefront of her mind.
"Oh yea I was just going there myself, come on mudblood I'll show you where it is".
The two then took turns changing into their plain black robes and then went back to their separate compartments. Valencia spent the rest of the train ride reading her book while Harry and Ron continued to talk. She would occasionally bud in if they asked her a question, but other than that her head stayed down to scan the words on the pages.