Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the stuff J.K. Rowling created.

Chapter One

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the home of many legends and tragedies, was now my prison. After many years of running and hiding, they had found me. So they dragged me, kicking and screaming and putting up one hell of a fight, to the Hogwarts Express. They locked me in one of the compartments and strode away, bruised and hurt, not eager to meet me again.

I shook myself out of my memory as I heard many voices all at once. I had been sitting here on this train for about five hours, and just now the other students were boarding.

I leaned back in my seat and watched many kids, all different genders, shapes, sizes, colors, and ages, walk excitedly past my door, chattering to friends, family, or whoever would or wouldn't listen to them.

None of them even glanced inside my compartment, so I guessed it was either under some invisibility spell or they were warned. I could care less which it was. Actually, I was kind of glad. Besides, it wasn't like I would smile, wave, and welcome them. No, I'd be trying to rip their heads off and wipe their perky little smiles right off their faces.

I closed my eyes, just wishing the next seven years would hurry up and fly by. But my wishes never came true, and I could tell I was still thirteen. I had four years to learn whatever they were going to teach us, then three years to stay there and do god-knows-what for the three years after that. Brilliant.

I opened my eyes and saw a handsome teenage guy staring at me with a curious expression. He was tall, had blackish grey eyes that suggested he knew a secret and wasn't going to tell, and he had wavy black hair that went down to his shoulders. He was dressed casually in blue jeans, black t-shirt, and black tennis shoes.

He saw me looking at him and stared back at me straight in my eyes. He gave me a dazzling smile, showing off white teeth, and then walked off.

"Stupid boy," I muttered, lying back on the seat.

I closed my eyes as the train started to move, and braced myself for a long ride.

Too soon it seemed that the train slowed down and then gradually came to a stop. I stood and went to my window, looking at my surroundings. I saw trees that looked black in the lack of light that the night had. I saw a dark lake off to my left that had many little boats with lights attached to them pulled up on the shore. Off to my right were carriages pulled by strange skeletal almost transparent horses that had wings. Must be the thestrals, I thought. I heard the other kids unloading, but I didn't turn around. I didn't want to see their way-too-happy faces…and not to mention that stupid, conceited boy.

I watched as kids loaded the boats, leaded by a strong looking man in his mid-twenties who looked like he hated his job. The older kids checked in with an older woman who had an old looking emerald green cloak on, and then boarded the carriages with their friends. After both the boats and the carriages left, a soft but firm knock sounded on my door. I growled and turned around, glaring at whoever was there. My glare was replaced with surprise. I had expected someone from the Ministry, but walking into my compartment was a young man, maybe about twenty or twenty-one, who was definitely not from the Ministry. He didn't have that stuck-up air about him.

For a moment we just stood there, each sizing the other up. He didn't look that strong, but he was tall, and it seemed from the look in his eyes far wiser than I could have thought.

"Are you Nike?" he asked, his voice soft and calm.

My glare returned. "Who else could I be?"

He smiled a little bit. "You're not what I expected. You must have calmed considerably, deeming you don't seem like a wild animal that has rabies."

I almost smiled. Was that what they thought? "Let's just say I'm mad beyond words and action." I stalked past him into the hallway.

He grabbed my arm and peered into my eyes. "Don't try anything, okay? I was instructed to bind you with magic, ropes, and shackles, but it doesn't seem polite now that you're acting like a civilized person."

"You'll change your mind later on," I muttered. His grip tightened on my wrist, and his bright blue eyes flashed. "Fine," I grumbled.

"Good. Now hold on tight," he said, offering me his hand.

I just stared at him like an idiot. "Are you joking with me?"

As a reply he grabbed my hand, and we flew forward, spinning and tumbling forward, sideways, backward, up, down, and just about any way you could move. My heart was in my throat when it felt like we were falling off of a cliff to our deaths. It was completely dark, which freaked me out even more. I wasn't afraid of the dark; I just wanted to see how I was going to die. I had issues like that.

Then, out of nowhere, it was extremely bright. I wrenched my hand out of the man's and I started to fall even faster. My back hit something hard and (thank god) solid, seconds later. My head fell down next and was hit with even greater force, which made my vision swim. I blinked a couple of times and realized I was in a beautiful old hall that had stone floors, huge staircases, and walls that had an assortment of things hanging upon it, ranging anywhere from pictures to swords and shields to cases that held trophies and medals.

I felt a hand on my arm, lifting me up. I stepped quickly away from the man.

"Are you completely mental?" I yelled. "What in the bloody hell was that? You can seriously kill someone doing that!"

He was shaking his head. "That was Apparating. It would only have killed you if you would have let go just a second sooner. You're lucky we were already in this room when you let go of my hand."

"Lucky?" I exclaimed, immediately angry with myself when my voice came out as a shriek.

"Come. You've missed your first year here, so you'll be Sorted now." He walked to two huge oak doors that I had overlooked earlier. I followed him hesitantly and he opened the doors. Together we slipped quietly inside.

We were in a room that appeared to be a cafeteria, filled with hundreds of students sitting at long tables that looked like benches. The kids that had gotten on the boats were in an aisle between the four tables. They were clustered together, each one trying to make their way to the front of the line. Despite them trying to look brave, they still looked like scared little rabbits. Sitting at the table/bench things were all of the other older students.

Up on a raised dais was the same green cloaked woman who was still holding a scroll, watching a small girl who sat on a wooden stool with a pointed black hat on her head. It took me a moment to notice the hat was talking.

"Wha—" I started to ask.

"That is the Sorting Hat," he said. "Follow me." We walked around one table to the front of the room and climbed the stairs up to the dais and walked over to a table filled with adults, who I guessed were the teachers or whatever they were called. I stood at the foot of the stairs and watched as he talked to a middle-aged man who seemed to be at the middle of the table and sitting on a throne-like chair. They talked, and they both looked over at me.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" something yelled. I looked over and saw the small girl prance over to a table that was cheering wildly. The older woman had the Sorting Hat in her hands and walked over to the two men. She crossed a name off of her scroll, and then looked at me, then at the two men. The middle-aged man, who I guessed was the headmaster, walked over to me followed by my escort and the woman.

"We finally meet, Miss Nike." His voice was gentle and kind…at the moment. I knew I of all people would probably change that. He held out his hand for me to shake, but I just stared at him. People started to whisper. He sighed and dropped his hand at his side. "Welcome to Hogwarts. I'm Professor Vera, Headmaster of this school."

"Oh…so it's you and the Ministry that I owe my thanks to. I'm grateful that you and they dragged me here. It's just the place I want to be, ya know? 'Cause I tried soooo hard to get here, and I just couldn't do it on my own," I said sarcastically. "And my name is pronounced nick-ee, not nii-k, got it? I'm not a goddess." Someone laughed, and was joined by two others when the lady with the scroll glared at them. I looked over and saw it was the guy from the train and two others. I rolled my eyes.

The headmaster stiffened. "Mark," he said, addressing my escort. "I thought you had said she was different then we had originally thought."

My escort, Mark or whatever, paled a little bit, which made me notice he had really red hair. "She was." He looked at me, trying to tell me to knock it off. I shrugged my shoulders at him and gave him a fake smile. His face hardened and all friendliness evaporated.

The headmaster gestured to the lady, who came over. She handed him the dusty old hat. "Thank you professor." She nodded in response.

"Surely another Slytherin," Mark muttered to the lady. Professor Vera looked at him sharply at that, and then placed the Sorting Hat on my head, and the room seemed to bristle with tension. The hat was extremely silent.

It finally spoke, to me and no one else, its voice sounding old and young at the same time. "Hmm…now you're a confusing one, aren't you? I haven't had one like you in years…and he made his way to greatness… What should it be? Smart and clever enough to be a Ravenclaw. Loyal and sometimes patient enough to be a Hufflepuff…" What does it want? A lifetime story? I thought.

"That's not necessary," it answered with a sound that sounded suspiciously like laughter. "Let's see, where was I? Oh yes… Cunning, evil, mean, and terrible enough to be a Slytherin. And of course! Daring, brave, and true enough to be a Gryffindor." The Sorting Hat paused. "So…which shall it be?" I looked at the three professors and saw them waiting impatiently and uneasily. Apparently, as the Sorting Hat had said, this wasn't normal and rarely happened.

"You belong to… Yes! I've got it! Just like him… GRYFFINDOR!" the Sorting Hat yelled enthusiastically so all could hear. There was cheering coming from the table my escort and I had walked around, the one with the guy from the train. I took the Sorting Hat off my head and handed it back to Professor Vera.

Mark stomped down the stairs and grabbed my arm in a steel-like grip. Apparently this professor was through being friendly with me. Told you I could change anyone and everyone.

"Good luck to you Nike! I'll be seeing you soon…" the Sorting Hat called cheerily.

Professor Mark dragged me into the hall and up the moving staircases. I didn't worry about them though, not with the red-headed professor who at this moment had a fiery attitude and was about to tear my arm up if he didn't let off some. We walked down another hall, but this one was lit by floating candles instead of a chandelier, and around many twists and turns. Finally he stopped in front of a portrait of an enormously large woman dressed in a pink old-time dress.

"Little bit early for students, isn't it professor?" the picture asked. I jumped a little, surprised. I had known pictures in the wizarding world moved and some could talk, but I didn't expect them to sound so…human.

"This is the special case. A lot of trouble, she is," the professor explained politely.

"Ooohhh…I didn't think you had actually found her…I thought the others were fibbing. And Peeves has finally shut up about her, so I figured there was no such luck."

He snorted at the word luck. "I'm starting to wish the Ministry had insisted she stay hidden. Don't you worry; Peeves'll be at it night and day after he lays eyes on her."

"Hey!" I said. "I'm right here!"

"Right," he muttered. "How could I have forgotten?"

"Password?" the woman asked, down to business.

"Huh?" I said, confused.

"If you don't make any friends, then come and find me and I'll explain," he said bluntly. Then, to the portrait, he said, "Parseltongue."

"I still think it's a password for those Slytherins," she grumbled as the picture part of her portrait swung forward off of the golden frame, like a door. The professor walked through the tunnel-like passageway and I followed. The picture covered the opening without a sound.

I didn't get a chance to look around because we headed straight up the stairs. As soon as we got to the top, we stopped. There were tons of doors on both the left and right.

"Girls on the left, boys on the right. There's a living room downstairs. Tomorrow, if you stay out of trouble, you can look around the school," he said, looking tired. "Your room is the very first one. You'll have roommates, thankfully only two, so try and act civil."

"Always," I replied.

He looked at me in a way that shut me up. "I mean it. I know you're not that bad. Why you were being so horrible a few minutes ago…it's not really you."

"How do you know?" I asked, trying to keep the anger and sarcasm out of my voice.

"The fact that you're a Gryffindor proves it." I laughed at him and stopped at the look on his face.

"Oh. You're serious. Okay. I'll try." But the way he said it…it made me think that he actually knew me.

He looked somewhat relieved. "Thank you. By the way, I'm Professor Mark Weasley, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." He held his hand out and I shook it.

"Nike. Obviously you know I don't have a last name and I really don't care."

He smiled and all the tension left. For some odd reason, I felt like I knew this wizard. "Maybe here at Hogwarts you'll find one and you'll care about it."

"Maybe." I doubted it.

"Good night Nike. Try and behave. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night Weasley." He shook his head but didn't bother to tell me to use the correct form for his name. He was halfway down the stairs when I called, "Hey Weasley?"

He turned around and looked up at me. "Yeah?"

"You're not that bad. For a teacher, I mean."

A/N: So, this is my first Fanfic. Here's how this story came about: when ideas (like this) come into my head…I have to write or else I can't move on. I read the Harry Potter series, and as many of you probably did, I fell madly in love with Sirius Black and fell apart when he died. That's why I'm writing this. To bring him (and the others of course) back.

If you liked it, hated it, have any advice or ideas…please let me know! Oh, and from what I've heard, reviews are a big thing…so please review!

Nike