An absolutely huge thank you to nymphxdora, I-am-a-Huntress, alicemitage and Annabelle4.0 for reading, reviewing, favouring and following! It means the world to me that people are still reading and enjoying my work! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!
Nymphxdora – Thank you so much for the constructive criticism! I went back and fixed all those bits and pieces up if you want to go back and read it! Feel free to criticise the rest of my chapters if you'd like! Thank you, you are absolutely amazing!
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. The only thing I own is the plot, the OC's you will be introduced to throughout the book, and on occasion Oliver Wood, Fred and George Weasley because they're just so hot! All known characters, that are not OC's, belong to the wonder woman J.K. Rowling!
Sav
Fred and George had changed into their robes, whilst I stayed in the compartment. When they came back, I took my robes and walked to the girl's bathrooms. On the way there I saw Oliver in his compartment with some of his friends. I saw him laugh. I saw him smile. I saw him joking around with all of his friends. I saw him with a girl. She sat so close to him, I was surprised she wasn't sitting on his lap. I felt tears spring to my eyes, and swallowed the lump in the back of my throat.
I walked to the bathrooms and started to pull on my robes, whilst thinking about what I just witnessed. Why was I getting so upset? Oliver and I were just friends. Not even that! More like acquaintances. It wasn't my business of what Oliver did, or who he dated. I was perfectly fine on my own. I didn't need some guy in my life. I was eleven for Merlin's sake!
I exited the bathrooms only to crash into someone. Please don't be who I think it is. Please don't be who I think it is. Please…
"Have you got some fascination of bumping into me or something Sav?" I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, as I could feel tears starting to brim in the corners of my eyes. I could feel my throat starting to close up, and to be honest I was confused. I didn't like him, so why was I acting this way? I faked a yawn and turned to him.
"Sorry Oliver, but if I throw a stick, will you leave?" I asked bluntly. Wow where did that come from? I didn't miss the flash of hurt in his eyes before I bumped past him and back to my compartment. It was a good thing I walked away when I did, I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
"Sav!" I heard him cry. I decided to give him a chance and turned around. But I was less than impressed with what I saw.
"Oliver, baby. What's the matter?" I heard the girl that was all over him before ask. I didn't even bother to stick around and hear what he had to say, because to be honest, I didn't even want to waste my precious time on him, even though it hurt me to think things like that.
I had made it back to the compartment with about two minutes to spare, as the train slowly rolled to a stop at the Hogsmeade Station. Fred, George and I exited the train only to be met with what appeared to be a half-man, half-giant.
"First years, this way!" He called. I walked over with Fred and George. He looked down to us, not in a mean way, and smiled at me.
"'Ello there. Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts." He introduced as he held out a hand for me to shake.
I placed my much smaller hand in his and gave it a polite shake.
"Pleased to meet you Mr Hagrid! I'm Savannah Chambers, and this is Fred and George Weasley." I pointed to them behind me, and they both nodded their heads in a polite greeting. He smiled at the mere mention of me calling him "Mr Hagrid", like it was the most important thing in the world. I felt eyes lingering on the back of my head, and it took all of my self-control not to turn around and yell at the culprit.
"Are ye a'right Mr Wood?" Hagrid asked, as he peeked over. I turned around and saw Oliver. He stood there and stared at me, as hurt radiated through his entire being. When the Muggles said eyes were windows to your soul, I didn't think they meant it. I'm sure my eyes and my posture were exactly the same as his. We were both hurt. Me, for that girl that crawled all over him. Him, because of what I insinuated. I may be eleven, but I'm pretty smart.
"No Hagrid. Everything's fine. I'll see you around." Oliver smiled slightly, but I could tell it was forced. He then turned to Fred, George and I.
"Fred, George…" He trailed off, before he looked at me with a pained expression. "Sav…" It was almost like a ghost or a silent whisper. He walked away, and over to the carriages that the other years took to get to the castle.
"Bloody hell Sav!" Fred started, as he looked at me with a look of pure astonishment.
"What did you do to the poor guy?" George finished, as he mirrored his twins look.
"To be honest," I started as I tried desperately to tear my eyes away from the carriages and the older students. I succeeded as I looked at Fred and George with sadness etched into every part of me. "I don't know." I finished. I got into a boat that I was sharing with a girl named Angelina, another girl named Alicia and another girl named Eila. They were all hoping to get into Gryffindor as well.
We sailed across the wide lake, as the moon reflected off the small ripples on the surface that were made from the movement of the boats. But you wouldn't believe this. They were rowing by themselves. I love magic.
We entered a small cave carved into the mountain Hogwarts stood tall and proud on. Vines of ivy draped over the entrance, just touching the surface of the water. When our boat got to the entrance into the cave, Angelina pushed the ivy to the side, so that we could all go through. That resulted in a little bit of a rash on her hands. They should really do something about that.
We all got out of the boats in the end, and walked up into the castle through the courtyard. It was absolutely magnificent. My parent's stories didn't even bother to do it justice.
"Hogwarts is one of the finest magical institutions in the wizarding world. What appears to be an abandoned castle to the Muggle population of the world is an institution for the magically gifted. With one hundred and forty-two staircases, which are known to move every few minutes. Not even Professor Albus Dumbledore knows all of Hogwarts' secrets, as the castle have a long history and witnessed centuries of ancient magic." I don't know for sure, but I knew that Hogwarts would definitely be my new home.
We followed Hagrid up winding staircases, and through wide hallways which were covered with moving pictures. Did I mention that I love magic? I looked to one of them who smiled and dipped into a small curtsy. I stopped walking, smiled, and curtsied back, before running to catch up to Hagrid and my new friends.
We finally made it to what Hagrid called the "Great 'all" and saw a woman standing there in a green cloak. She had a kind, but stern face and knew instantly that she was a strictly, "follow the rules" teacher. She waited for all of us to assemble on the steps in front of her, and I instantly knew. We were about to be sorted, and all the other students were sitting in there. The room, where my future reputation awaited.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," she started. She sounded wise. She had a clear, but loud voice, and she spoke with a tone of authority. So guessing from my parent's stories, this must be Professor McGonagall. "Now, in a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates, but before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor," She said this house with a tone of pride. "Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin." At the mere mention of Slytherin, I knew definitely that I would never even want to go near that house. I also knew that this woman didn't really take a fancy to Slytherin all that much. She looked directly at me, and the twins that insisted on standing on both sides of me. I felt like I had what the Muggles called a posse.
"Now while you're here, your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule breaking, and you will lose points." I was absolutely determined not to break any rules. Yeah, yeah, I know. Goodie-Goodie Two-Shoes. "At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup." I knew instantly what the house cup was, because my parents had described it to me. They also described what the Quidditch Cup was also, and I was even more determined to learn about Quidditch. Whether it was from Oliver or not.
"The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily." With that, the woman disappeared into the Great Hall, and appeared only a few minutes later with a scroll in her hand. "We're ready for you now. Follow me." With that being said, all of us first years stumbled into the Great Hall. I found myself in complete awe. Candles floated in the air, fire lighting the hallways around the edges. Students flittered around the tables, all of them trying to get a look at the new first years. The ceiling looked almost transparent, so I could see the clouds and the bright stars in the night sky. We walked up to the stairs that led up to the teacher's table and in front of the teacher's table and the entire school sat a stool with a worn down looking hat. I almost screamed in fear as it started to sing.
Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find,
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve and chivalry
Set Gryffindor's apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps you'll be in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat bowed to each of the four tables before becoming deathly still. The woman who led us in to the Great Hall, opened up the scroll, and read a name off the list.
"Aldar, Andrew." The boy in question walked up and sat on the seat. He was only there for a minute or two before the hat cried into the quiet hall.
"RAVENCLAW!" Cheers erupted from the table to the far left side of the room.
"Angel, Brandon." He went to Gryffindor.
"Arncliffe, Becky." She went to Ravenclaw.
"Alexander, Christian." He went to Hufflepuff.
It was pretty much all the same until my name was called.
"Chambers, Savannah."
I looked around, even though I knew there was really no point. I ran my hands over my skirt to smooth out the wrinkles, and walked carefully up the steps, as not to trip up them and make a fool of myself. I sat down on the stool, my knees shaking, my hands trembling, and oxygen was coming in short and shallow gulps. If you couldn't tell, I was nervous.
"Hmm… Another Chambers." The Sorting Hat hummed to itself, as it contemplated where to place me. What another? I dismissed the question, as the hat was probably referring to my parents. Little did I know, I was wrong. Really wrong.
"Very difficult. You are cunning, like a Slytherin. You are loyal like a Hufflepuff. You are intelligent like a Ravenclaw. But you are courageous and brave at heart. There's only one place for you my girl."
"GRYFFINDOR!" It yelled into the once again quiet Great Hall. A table that was next to the Ravenclaw table started cheering and screaming. I jumped up with a smile on my face, and ran down to the Gryffindor table. I got pats on the back, and "welcome to Gryffindor!", but I couldn't shake the feeling that somebody was watching me. My eyes ran carefully over the Gryffindor table, only to rest on, surprise, surprise, Oliver Wood. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Great, what is Merlin doing to me!?
"Weasley, Fred." Fred bounded up to the stool, and sat underneath the hat for a good two seconds before it registered who he was.
"No need to sort this one! It's a Weasley! GRYFFINDOR!" It shouted, making some of the older students laugh. Myself, however, couldn't keep the grin off my face.
I opened my arms, as Fred practically came barrelling towards me, and hugged me tightly to his chest. I was short, leave me alone.
"Weasley, George." This time, George walked casually to the seat, and I swear I saw him whisper something to the hat.
"I swear I just sorted you! I'm seeing double! Get to Gryffindor you prankster." George practically skipped down to the Gryffindor table, and squished himself down between Percy and myself. The twins practically swallowed my small figure, as they were practically hiding me from everybody's view.
I seemed to have dosed off for a bit, because the next thing I knew, Angelina, Alicia and Lee had joined us at the Gryffindor table, and food was being piled in the middle. I reached for an apple, my favourite fruit, but dropped it instantly as a ghostly, looking head floated up into the middle.
"Good evening! Welcome to Gryffindor!" He yelled, with a smile.
"Good evening Sir! I'm Savannah, but you can call me Sav! This is Fred, George, Angelina, Alicia and Lee! May I be polite enough to ask who you are?" I asked. My parents would probably die of laughter. I was never polite. Ask anyone. Do it.
"I, my dear girl, am Sir Nicholas. I am also known as the Ghost of Gryffindor!" He said with a huge smile, and a happy tone, making me giggle.
"Well, Sir Nicholas! It was a pleasure to meet you!" I cried, as I swatted Fred's hand away from my towering dinner plate in front of me.
"Hey Sav?" I heard Angelina ask me from across the table. I leaned over, to listen to what she had to say. "There's a guy in Ravenclaw who won't stop staring at you." I was curious, believe me. So I turned around, and was pretty damn shocked at who I saw.
My brother. Christian Kale Chambers, went to Hogwarts, and the git didn't even tell me. I felt tears spring to my eyes. The one thing about Christian, is that he knew when I was about to cry. I squirmed out of my seat from between the twins, and bottled for the door.
"Savannah wait!" I heard him cry. But I didn't care. I pushed the doors open, which were actually a lot easier than I thought they would be to open, and just kept running. I could hear footsteps behind me, but I didn't care. I ran up flights, and flights of stairs. I lost count after two thousand and something stairs, and came to what looked to be a tower, that had an absolutely stunning view of the night sky. I sat down on the cold, stone ground, and looked up to the stars.
I envied them. They were free in a way. They didn't have to deal with emotions, rejection or betrayal. All they had to do was compete with one another to see who could shine the brightest. They stayed in the same spot every night, only doing one thing. Providing light. Providing dreams. Providing freedom.
I heard footsteps come up the stairs that led into my new sanctuary. I instantly recognised it as Wood.
"Nice cologne Wood, but seriously, do you have to marinate in it?" I asked, as I hugged my knees to my chest. I heard him sit down on the floor over by the staircase, and to be honest, not knowing why he was here, was driving me insane.
"Why are you even here Wood?" I asked, as I turned to glare at him. My normal blue eyes were red, puffy and sore, and to be honest, I literally thought I was all cried out, so whatever he wanted to say, he could go ahead and say it for all I cared.
"The feast is over. I realised that you hadn't come back, so I came to find you." He started. I cut him off.
"Why Wood. Why?" I repeated, as I was starting to get slightly aggravated.
"You don't know the way to the common rooms." He said simply.
"I could have just asked a teacher." I responded, as I turned my attention back to the stars.
"Look, Sav…" He started.
"Savannah." I snapped.
"Savannah," He sighed, in that Scottish accent that I couldn't ignore. "I don't know what I did, but if I hurt you, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, you must believe me." He finished, as he ran his fingers through his short brown hair.
"Oliver." I sighed, as I rubbed my eyes with the palm of my hands. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. After all, it's not my business of who you date and who you don't." I whispered.
"What are you talking about?" He asked, as he stood up and walked closer to me.
"That girl in your compartment on the train. The one that called you baby." I looked down in shame. Here I was, getting jealous over something that probably would never even concern me. I was mentally preparing myself, for the scolding, but it never came. I opened my eyes, and looked up to Oliver, who looked like he was choking. It took me a second to realise that he was actually trying to stop himself from laughing.
Eventually, he couldn't handle it anymore, and burst out into laughter. I couldn't help but laugh along. It's not my fault his laugh is contagious!
"What's so funny Wood?" I asked, in between giggles.
"That's Chastity. We dated for like a month last year, but I ended it because she got to clingy. That day on the train, I told her to back off. When she called me baby, I told her to go away, because I wasn't with her, and I never would be again." He explained through laughter. I looked down at my hands, and fiddled with them nervously.
I felt his fingers grasp my chin softly, and lifted it up so he could look me in the eyes.
"Don't tell me you were jealous?" He asked, with a small amount of teasing in his voice. I shoved him away gently.
"In your dreams Wood. In your dreams." I stated, as I leant back against one of the marble columns.
"I'd kill to be up there." He whispered. I looked to him. I must have looked confused, because he continued on. "I love flying. Just being up in the air. Away from land. Kind of reminds me of my problems. When I'm up there, I tend to leave them all behind. Like they don't matter anymore." He whispered.
"If only that was the same for just being able to get away from absolutely everything. I didn't even know Christian went here. He was at home over the summer, and he has been going here for the past four or five years! Why didn't he tell me? I could feel the onslaught of tears coming my way again, and once again I buried my head in my hands.
"Hey, hey," Oliver started as he leant next to me on the marble column, and pulled me tightly into his side. "Maybe he had a good reason for it. Maybe it was for the same reason why your parents didn't tell you, you were magical." He finished. I nodded slightly. That was a maybe. I looked up at Oliver. His strong jawline, and high cheekbones were what every girl wanted in a guy. His amazing chocolate brown eyes, which would probably make any girl, melt into a puddle on the floor as if he so much as glanced at them. His short, brown, unruly hair that was tousled, yet neat.
What was I doing? It wasn't long before I fell asleep, and as I did, I could feel him pick me up gently, and start to walk back to wherever we were going.
"Braveheart." He whispered, as I heard a slight creaking. I felt him duck, and walk quickly into some sort of room, where it was warm and comfortable.
"Eleanor." He whispered. "Can you take her to the first year's room?" I heard him ask. I felt myself being transferred to someone else. A girl.
"Sure thing Ol, get some sleep before classes tomorrow. I'll take care of her." I heard the girl promise him. Who was she, and why was she calling him Ol?
The one thing I thought about before I blacked out completely was, I sure hope I didn't do anything stupid tonight.
HI! WOW! I just want to thank everyone for reviewing and favouring and following (again), and I want to welcome all of you to Chapter Two of, "Do You Believe In Magic?" This is what I am really looking forward to as this book progresses, and I am completely in awe of all the ideas I have had while in the process of writing, and reading my own work!
I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and I can't wait to see if I have gained any silent reviewers and followers and favours.
Until next week,
Kisses from Australia,
~Danger xx