Camp Hogwarts Challenge Collection

Camp Dumbledore

Kayaking- Write about your OC going to Hogwarts for the first time (50 points)

Chapter 5 - Kayaking

She was a bit of a plain looking girl. Wavy but bushy blonde hair down to her waist. Freckles over especially pale cheeks and nose. Wide, grey eyes that weren't anything particularly special framed by a pair of thin wire glasses. She was taller than most girls her age and nearly as thin as the railing along the stairs but her siblings were all built similarly so she didn't feel too odd about either issue. To look at her, there was absolutely nothing particularly special about the girl.

But she was, apparently, witch.

Eleven year old, Miranda Kay Norse was a witch. A very special girl with, an apparently rare, gift. A gift that none of her siblings nor her parents shared with her.

The news, unfortunately, hadn't made her devout Catholic parents pleased at all. Though they were considerably less angry over the fact that their daughter was a borne witch than they had been at the repairs they'd had to make to the basement after their last attempt to rid her of her "possession".

They had spent the majority of her childhood trying to explain away and eradicate her strange behaviors. They had tried every form of discipline that they dared try. She had visited numerous doctors, specialists and psychiatrists over the years, to no end. The worst attempt, though, was when they had called on the Priest to rid her of her "demons". It had not been a pleasant situation and she had well and truly been frightened. She had tried to stop it from happening, stop her fear from reacting, but her "accidental magic" had very nearly brought the ceiling down on them all. Miranda had been understandably terrified at declaration that the old woman-who she now knew to be the Headmistress of Hogwarts-had visited them that summer had made to her parents.

But, somehow, by some miracle, and Miranda was certain she would never fully be able to understand it, her parents had conceded to allow her to attend Hogwarts.

Don't look the gift horse, yeah?

And now, she stood in the middle of an enormous Hall inside of a gorgeously gigantic castle staring up at a ceiling that looked to not exist for as efficiently as the charm had been cast over it. Not only was she standing inside a magical castle but she was joining several hundred other children who, like her, were magical. Not evil but magical. A month ago the entire concept would have sent her scurrying to the nearest hiding hole. But now she was actually here. Her world was actually changing! If she did well enough and played all of her cards just right, soon she would be away from home for good!

Until then, good grades and lots of thorough studying was to be her primary goal. Being a witch wouldn't make her parents proud but good grades always tended to.

If only they could see this place, though. If only they could see how beautiful and not evil it was.

"Norse, Miranda!"

Miranda was quickly drawn from her thoughts and scurried towards the stool positioned at the front of the Great Hall, pale cheeks flushing pink when she realized that the entirety of the Hall's occupants had their attention firmly on her. She swallowed nervously before settling onto the stool, facing her soon-to-be classmates, and allowed the shoddy hat to fall down over her eyes.

A very interesting mind you have, Miss Norse.

"Where should I go, Mister Hat?" Miranda politely asked the hat. Not feeling nearly as odd as she would have thought, mentally speaking to a tatty old hat.

You're a very brave one, aren't you? Yes, to grow up in that home you'd have had to be. Definitely ambitious with a strong sense of self-preservation. You're loyal to those who are loyal to you. And intelligent enough to tie all these attributes together to make the best of your situation. Where do you think that you should go, Miss Norse?

"I'm more self-preservation than bravery or loyalty but I'd like to think that the self-preservation is a sign of intelligence?" Miranda replied. "My intelligence is what is going to get me out of that house for good. I need knowledge and I need to learn so that I can use it to better myself and never have to go back there."

Interesting. Hmmm, in that case it had better be….

"RAVENCLAW!"

Miranda sighed in relief when the hat was pulled from her head and she rose to join her new housemates. She quickly took a seat to the right of a dark haired boy and across from a ginger girl. Both had been sorted just prior to Miranda but she couldn't quite remember their names since she had been a bit lost in thought during their sortings. She offered a quick smile to the two, reminding herself to formally introduce herself once the sorting had finished.

She listened attentively to the rest of the Sorting and then to the Headmistress's announcements-The Forbidden Forest is, as the name suggests, forbidden-with curious anticipation. She grinned when the school ghosts appeared. Miranda was already very much in love with the magical world and with the school. Her mind immediately started spinning on what exactly she might need to do in order to possibly teach here after she had finished school. That was, of course, a long ways off but Miranda couldn't help but feel as though she never wanted to leave this beautiful castle.

It wasn't until the sorting had ended and dinner had appeared-it had literally appeared on the tables!-that Miranda realized that her robes and tie had changed to blue and bronze all on their own. Oh how she loved magic already!

Story Word count 963