Chapter One: Back to Hogwarts
Author's Note: Hello! Here's the first chapter of the Harry Potter fan fiction I'm writing. I hope it turned out okay.
-Persephone.
"Stop slouching. You're not going to end up anywhere if you keep slouching like that," my mother's sharp voice pierced my thoughts. To be fair, I had been ignoring her. She was making me practice the violin again. Instead of being a witch, she wanted me to be a musician. I never understood why she thought she could force her failed dreams onto me. It was rather…Annoying.
"Mum, please. I've been practicing for two hours now. It's the last day of my summer vacation before I go back to Hogwarts," I begged her.
"That education isn't going to get you anywhere. Besides, I know you did your summer homework. So, keep practicing," she told me.
The year was 2023 and instead of writing my friends via Discord or owl mail…Here I was. My mum only allowed me to do my homework once she was happy with the progress of how I was playing the violin. It was annoying that was for sure.
I was in the sixth year of Hogwarts. I was in the same year as the famous Scorpius Malfoy, Albus Potter, and Rose Granger-Weasley. To be honest, I didn't interact with them much. I was a Ravenclaw and only had classes with them. Rose was in Gryffindor, while the other two were in Slytherin.
I had two close friends – a boy named Jacob Thomas. Everyone always asked if he was related to Dean Thomas. Jacob sheepishly admitted that he was. He looked a lot like a younger version of his father according to those who knew Dean Thomas. I hadn't been over there to his house. My mother expressly forbade it. She said it would distract from my practice. I had received multiple invitations to go over there though.
The other close friend I had was Leo Kim. His mom was the infamous Cho Chang. His dad was a muggle from South Korea. Leo reminded me of a member of a K-Pop band. I always jokingly called him a pretty boy. He had bleached his hair blonde and loved to dye it multiple colors. Before the break, it had been a light pink. I hadn't been over to his house either, but his mum had shown up with Dean Thomas in tow one day to attempt to talk to my mum about letting me see Leo and Jacob, but it didn't go over well.
The three of us were as thick as thieves. I missed them a lot. Luckily, I had a laptop stashed so I could message them on Discord, but aside from that – I was just stuck on my own with my mum over the summer. Luckily, that was ending. Tomorrow, I'd be on my way back to Hogwarts.
Practice went on for what felt like forever. Finally, when my mum let me stop, I glanced at the clock and noticed that only an hour had passed. Finally, I was free. Putting my violin and its bow away, I took it upstairs to my room and put it with my luggage. To appease my mother, I joined the school's orchestra. There were three of us who played violin and I was first chair which I had gotten through the orchestra's auditions.
Knowing Jacob, I'd hear all about how he was excited for tryouts. He had been on the team for the last three years as the Ravenclaw Quidditch team's Keeper. He was good at it. One of the best in the school. Leo and I were always in the stands cheering for him. Leo and I were able to fly on a broom but never had any interest in Quidditch. However, Leo did try out at one point because his mum had been a seeker. It hadn't gone over well.
I spent at least an hour packing my things. My mum had reluctantly taken me shopping this summer. She hated spending money on my school things. She was wealthy thanks to my grandparents, and was frugal with it. One of the things I had begged for was a pet of my own. I promised I would take care of it. She eventually gave in and let me adopt a cat. He was a fluffy white cat and I had named her Roxanne. I called her Roxie for short – and true to my word, I took care of her.
Luckily, my mum was oh-so generous enough to pay for her vet bills. My mum did care, but at times it didn't feel like it. I had gotten good scores on my OWLS and I had expressed that I wanted to break curses during my career consultation. So, I was going to be in classes for what I needed. Arithmancy was the major one, but there were a few others I needed: Potions, Charms, Arithmancy, Defense Against The Dark Arts, Transfiguration, and Herbology.
Mum finally made supper and I ate as fast as I could so I didn't have to talk to her. I didn't have much to say. I went to bed early, because I wanted to get to King's Crossing on time. My night was restless for the most part. When I slept, I had a nightmare of Voldemort returning. But that was impossible, right?
When I woke up, it was early morning. I carefully prepared what I wanted to wear: a cute black pleated skirt, tights, high-heeled ankle boots, and a plaid crop top. Was this the most appropriate outfit? Probably not, but I loved the outfit a lot. I made my way to the bathroom and turned on the light.
I quickly adjusted to the lit room. Greeting me was a mess of red hair and bright blue eyes. They looked tired. I brushed my hair and quickly put it into a high ponytail. I brushed my teeth and then headed downstairs. Surprisingly, I smelled pancakes and sausages. My mum made breakfast? That was a surprise. She rarely did. Entering the kitchen, I saw my mum happily humming to herself. What was going on?
"Good morning! Guess what, Eleanora!" my mum said to me.
I winched when she used my full name. I preferred Nora by a mile. Eleanora was my grandmother's name. She had named me after her. I unfortunately knew nothing about my father. I was the result of a one-night stand. I've always wondered if my father was a Wizard or if the magic came from his side of the family.
According to my mum's friends, I looked almost like her. Except for my eyes – she had emerald-colored eyes. My mum was very pretty despite how much I disliked her. So, I was glad I looked like her.
"What is it, mum?" I asked.
"I am breaking out my violin! I got a gig!" she exclaimed. Ah, so that was why she was in a good mood. It felt a bit suspicious. I wasn't going to say anything about that though. I forced a smile. God knows how long she'd be gone, then.
"That's great, mum. I'm happy for you," I said to her. She finished making breakfast and we ate. She did most of the talking. It was an international tour and that meant I had to stay over break unless Leo or Jacob's families wanted to take me. She talked a lot and I did tune her out for a lot of it. I just wanted to get on the train.
After eating, she made sure I was ready. She made sure my violin was in my trunk and that I had enough clothes and that all my things were together. When she was done, she helped me carry things out. I did like Mum when she was in a better mood. So this was nice. She drove me to King's Crossing and I went through where I was supposed to go.
I felt relief wash over me. It meant I was free from her. It was nice that she was at least kind to me today. She wasn't an awful mum but she was just a bit on the neglectful side. According to my mum's best friend – she never really got over my dad. There was something special about him to her and he had just disappeared off the planet. Or so it seemed.
I understood, but I wish she would treat me more kindly. Getting onto the train, I found an empty compartment and put my trunk on the upper rack where the luggage was kept. Settling in, I was waiting for Leo and Jacob to get in. It felt like an eternity but eventually, they arrived. Seeing them made me feel happy. They opened the door and took their seats once their luggage was up.
"Well hello there! I see you arrived early. Mum in a good mood?" Leo asked.
"She got an international tour…Somehow. She droned on about it, but I didn't listen to it. I know that I'll have to stay for break unless I go home with one of you two," I explained to him.
"I'm sure that my mum and dad wouldn't mind," Leo said.
"Or I have a great idea – we stay for break," Jacob offered.
"Oh! That could be fun," Leo said.
"That would be fun," I agreed.
"I'll write to my parents when I get to school," Leo said settling into his seat further than what he was already.
"I'll do the same," Jacob agreed. Suddenly, the door slid open. There stood Albus Potter and his best friend Scorpius Malfoy.
"Hello, do you care if we join you?" Scorpius asked us. To be fair, I wasn't surprised the two of them came here. Their parents knew Leo and Jacob's parents and despite not knowing them personally – the two felt like it was okay to ask to join.
"I mean I'm fine with it but it's up to Jacob and Nora as well," Leo said with a shrug.
"I'm okay with it," Jacob agreed. Suddenly, all pairs of eyes were on me. If I disagreed I seemed like a jerk, but I wasn't sure how comfortable I would be agreeing to them joining.
"You're Nora Bailey, right?" Scorpius asked. I nodded at him. I was still weighing the positives and negatives of allowing Harry Potter's son and Draco Malfoy's son to join us.
"I've heard you play violin before, you're really good!" Scorpius remarked to me. Leo glanced at me knowing that was a bit of a sore spot.
"Oh, thank you," I politely replied.
"Look, can we come in or not?" came the voice of Albus Potter.
"Sure," I shortly said. I understood they were in a bit of a time crunch, but his tone was rather rude in my opinion. Scorpius and Albus shut the door as they joined us in the compartment. They sat with Jacob as Leo was sitting with me.
"Are we going to be seeing Rose, too?" Leo asked.
"No, she decided to sit elsewhere," Scorpius responded.
"I'm surprised given you three tend to be together," Leo responded.
"She wanted to see her other friends, which is fine," Scorpius said to him. I had heard a rumor that Scorpius Malfoy had a big crush on Rose. But, I wasn't sure of the validity of those rumors. When I first started at Hogwarts, people assumed I was a Weasley because of my red hair but that was quickly disproven by the Weasley-Potter clan.
Leo glanced my way. He could probably tell that I felt forced into letting them into our compartment. He quickly squeezed my hand out of comfort. I appreciated him doing that. I gently squeezed it back. Scorpius seemed to notice the interaction between us as curiosity filled his gray eyes.
"So, are you excited for the Quidditch season, Jacob?" I asked him. I was trying to change the topic. I didn't want Scorpius to ask if Leo and I were a couple. We had gotten that question way too much. Jacob and I did, too. It was rather frustrating at times.
"Yes! My dad got me a new broom for doing well on OWLs!" Jacob said beaming with excitement that he had gotten asked about his favorite sport.
"That's great," I responded.
"Oh, and I was made captain as well!" he said.
"That's great, Jacob," Leo replied to him with a grin on his face.
"Oh wow! That's awesome Jacob. I bet your dad was happy about that as well," Scorpius said chiming in. Albus remained silent. It seemed Quidditch was a sore point for him as he wasn't good at it at all. He had even struggled to get on a broom. It started a bunch of even more cruel rumors. Like when he got sorted into Slytherin as well. I thought the rumors were unfair.
"Yeah! He was," Jacob remarked. I was glad that they had good families. I was jealous of that. I wasn't going to say anything though. It wasn't my place and I didn't want to tell these two strangers about my family problems. I knew that Scorpius's mother died when he was younger. He had his dad at least. It seemed that Draco Malfoy was supportive of his son.
"What about you Nora? What's your mum and dad like?" Scorpius asked. I know he wasn't intending to, but that hit a sore spot. He was just trying to get to know me as he only knew my name.
"I'm excited to see how our sixth year will go," Leo said hastily changing the subject. I was grateful that he did. I might have unintentionally snapped at Scorpius. Albus's attention turned to the sudden topic change. Interest filled his eyes. Great, now I had two people wanting to know all about my life story.
"Yeah! I heard after OWLs it gets harder," Jacob chimed in. They were both the best. With the topic changed, Albus went back to minding his own business. I didn't want the attention. The train soon pulled out of the station. The three chatted about classes and what they were looking forward to. I chimed in on occasion and so did Albus. However, our commentary was few and far between. Soon, the train arrived at Hogwarts. We had all changed into our robes before the train rolled to a stop.
Getting off the train, the five of us went our separate ways. Albus and Scorpius ended up in a carriage with Rose and her friends while Leo, Jacob, and I ended up in our own and a few random other students. I didn't know their names or faces, but they seemed nice enough. Soon, the carriages pulled in front of Hogwarts and our sixth year was about to begin.