A/N: Don't own the rights. Yada, yada, yada.

I wish I could say that my first night at Hogwarts was wonderful. That I slept soundly, with lovely dreams of unicorns or something. But I didn't. No sooner had I fallen asleep, I was thrust into a nightmare.

In my dream, I was on a ship. When I say ship, I don't mean a boat in the water. The ship in question was a spaceship of sorts, with a hexagonal console in the center. A center light strand rose from the center of the console, leading up to a large overhead mechanism. Humming noises emanated from the room. This in itself wasn't so much terrifying as awe inspiring. The disconcerting part was the man in the center of the room.

He was quite tall, with the same flame-red hair as myself. Tall as he was, he was still quite narrow shouldered, with a magenta waistcoat and brown overcoat. His pants were business attire, however, they were completely covered with patches. One read, "Moon of Poosh: Tell Your Friends!"

The man was fiddling with something on the console, anxiously looking over his shoulder to a long, metal box behind him. The box was locked and I became aware of a fog streaming out of it. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was likely something akin to liquid nitrogen. Sweat beaded on his forehead and slammed his right hand down on the console.

At that moment, the entire ship quaked. Lights flickered and the happy humming stopped. "I'm so sorry." His voice surprised me. It was old and sorrowful, with just a hint of fear. He looked at the box as he said it. It was then that I noticed he held something clenched in his left hand. His fingers released and it was then that he began to weep.

"I'm so sorry." It was wracked with sobs. His hand closed around the object again and he slid down to floor, his morose cries echoing throughout the room. I longed to comfort him but I wasn't sure how. Hesitantly, I approached him.

"Sir," I began. "Don't cry. It's going to be alright."

He didn't seem to hear me. Trying again, I ventured forward. Placing my hand upon his shoulder, I hoped that perhaps he would notice. My hand went through him. I couldn't help. As far as he knew, he was alone. The ship quaked again, wiring falling from the ceiling in sparks.

I looked around the room, not exactly sure of what I was hoping for. Explosions could be heard from outside. With one last sob, he clutched the object in his hand to his mouth. "Be safe." He whispered before jumping to the console again.

"Time to end this!" He pulled a lever and the ship began to shake violently. The humming returned, growing louder and louder, each time higher than before. The last thing I remember before waking was a siren piercing the space.

I awoke sweating, my skin burning to the touch. A quick glance around the room revealed that the other girls were still sleeping. Sighing, I flopped back onto my madness. The clock stated that it was three fifteen in the morning. I couldn't go back to sleep after my dream. Not to say that I was entirely certain it was a dream. I had inherited my mother's gifts, after all.

When I rose to my feet, I realized that I was trembling. I took a moment to catch my breath before going downstairs to the bathrooms. I entered into the shower with the dream replaying in mind on a loop, trying to deconstruct what I had seen.

My mind was still racing when I entered the common room. I thought to search the bookcases for anything about spaceships or alien life, but to no avail. Wearily, I sat in one of the blue wing-backs near the windows. I looked out at the dark, mountainous landscape and shivered.

Who was the man? Where was he? What was happening? Then there was the matter of the box. The mysterious, smoking box that seemed to disturb the oddly dressed man. I thought on the possibilities for nearly two hours before the first of my roommates descended the stairs.

"You're up early." Lisa Turpin stated with irritation.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Hmmph." I noted that she wasn't much of a morning person.

"Why are you up early?" Remembering my vow to be more friendly that day, I sought to make conversation.

"Habit. Dad was in the military, made us get up at the crack of dawn to do drills." She flopped down in the chair beside me, her blonde hair messed in every direction.

"Wow."

"Yeah. What classes have we got today?"

"I don't know. We probably get a schedule at breakfast or something."

We sat in silence for a while before Lisa blurted, "I'm hungry. Want to grab a pasty or something?"

"A what?"

"Oh yeah. You're American." It's like the realization suddenly hit her. "Hey, why are you here?"

"Long story." I stated grimly, scowling as I did so.

"Well, it's nice that you're here. The other girls told me to sod off last night. Said I talk too much." I mentally nodded in agreement. "I can't help it. It's my coping mechanism. Anytime I'm put into a new situation, I just ramble. I know it's not great or anything, I just do it." She sighed heavily.

"You weren't expecting this?" So she wasn't sure of all this either.

"Are you joking? My parents are Muggles. Dad's a retired officer turned cabby and Mum's a librarian." Lisa tucked her feet beneath her. "I was just hoping to survive school. Never thought I'd end up here. One day, I'm just the smart, awkward girl. The next day, I'm a witch."

"If it's any consolation, at least you're not the weird, American girl."

Lisa grinned and I smirked. "So, I'm assuming a pasty is food?"

She laughed. "Yeah. It's a baked pastry thing. I'm rather fond of having them for breakfast."

"Right. Well, um, I hope they have something normal. Like hash-browns or pancakes." At pancakes, I felt a pang in my stomach. Mom. I shook my head and Lisa and I set off to find the Great Hall for breakfast.

"I don't suppose you found a map in any of your summer research, did you?" She asked as we came to a dead end.

"Nope. Want to go back?"

"This is kind of like an adventure. Let's turn around and go left this time."

Eventually, we found an older student who directed us to the Great Hall. A few students dotted the tables but, for the most part, it was just us. "Schedules, ladies."

At that point, the days moved on in a blur. Three days a week we had Herbology in the greenhouses with the Slytherins. History of Magic was taught by a ghost and was "dead" boring. Most of the time, Lisa fell asleep. Charms was rather enjoyable, being taught by the Head of Ravenclaw: Professor Flitwick. He was tiny, he had to stand on a thick pile of books to see over his desk. I found him to be rather munchkin like. Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall was a serious matter, requiring great concentration.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was probably the most anticipated, however the instructor, Professor Quirrell, was a complete buffoon. Most of the time, he seemed terrified by his own subject. Which was, of course, slightly amusing. It didn't help that his classroom smelled like garlic, something that was rumored to be due to his meeting of a vampire in Romania.

We had double potions with the Hufflepuffs on Thursday. The Head of Slytherin House, Professor Snape, was also the instructor of potions. Our first class was...interesting. It was quite apparent that Snape didn't think much of the Hufflepuffs. He made one girl named Hannah Abbot cry. The only good thing about potions that day, was that Lisa and I perfectly brewed the boil cure. Snape didn't seem particularly pleased about this.

Friday evening, however, was a different matter entirely. Over the week, I had come to like Lisa. She was beginning to feel comfortable around me, which meant she didn't talk as much. There were several times when I nearly lost it, but remembered that my mom had always hoped I'd have friends, so I tried. I was rewarded for it. Friday evening was our Astronomy class and Lisa was grumbling about it at dinner.

"I don't see why we have to learn this stuff!" She cried, as we climbed the stairs in the astronomy tower. "What are we going to do with knowing how many rings Saturn has? Honestly."

I gave her a sympathetic look and opened the door. Truth be told, I was more excited about this class than any of the others. As much appeal as DADA had, given that I lost my mom this summer, Astronomy reminded me of my dad. True, I had never known him, never so much as seen a picture of him, but Mom said he was from space. Maybe looking at the stars would make him more real to me.

Professor Sinistra was nice enough, if a bit dull. Our first class, she gave a brief overview of the term and started us on learning the names and positions of the planets. Lisa's groans frequently caught my attention while we looked through our telescopes. Some students were nodding off.

Perhaps it was crazy, but I never felt so alive than when I looked at the stars. It had always been true. I remembered being a little girl and asking Mom if we could go to the lake and look at the stars. I knew most of them already, Mom had told me about her adventures with Dad and it made me curious. I spent most of my summers reading up on astronomy and the many stars and galaxies they contained.

I finished my chart that first night, to which Professor Sinistra was skeptical. "Are you sure about this?" She asked with raised brows.

"Positive." I saw her scowl as she unrolled my parchment. At first her face was expressionless, but then I saw her mouth drop in surprise.

"You've just-" She looked back and forth from me to the paper. "I've never-" I stood there, silently wishing she'd finish a sentence. "Did you cheat?" She asked finally.

"No, ma'am." I replied seriously.

"How did you-"

"I always had an interest in the stars, Professor. I've been studying them for as long as I can remember."

"Right." She rolled my parchment up and handed it back to me. "Well, ten points to Ravenclaw. Keep up the good work. I trust your spring chart will be just as accurate."

I returned to my spot by Lisa, smiling to myself. "Did you just finish an entire term's worth of work in two hours?" She asked with disbelief.

I shrugged and looked at the heavens eagerly. Maybe, just maybe, my dad was still out there. A flicker of hope rose inside me. Maybe he'll come for me. I thought hopefully, smiling all the while.

Everyone else went to sleep immediately that night, but I lay awake in my bed. Merlin was snoring at the foot of the bed. I looked out my window at the night sky, imagining my dad materializing outside. I'd throw on my clothes and sneak outside. I didn't care. I'd break the rules if it meant I could see my dad. Then, we'd travel the universe together, exploring every nook and cranny. It was well into morning before I finally fell asleep, my last thought being of my dad.