Chapter One

It was another September on platform 9 3/4s. A black-haired beauty with skin as white as cream, lips as red as blood, and eyes as gray as a stormy English sky stood before her grandmother, who once held an unhealthy hatred toward all things magical for decades until her son and lovely daughter-in-law brought her into the world.

"Now, Endora, please message me when you arrive at school. Promise your dear old grandmother this," she said as she wiped away the tears from her eyes, as though she would never see this girl again.

The would-be sixteen-year-old laughed softly, "Oh, grandmama, of course I will. We do have phones, you know."

"Yes, yes, but I still worry. You're my pride and joy, after all."

"Hey, Mum, I thought I was your pride and joy." The voice of her burly father came, appearing with a bundle of treats.

"I can have more than one."

He got flustered. "Mother, please." He handed the girl known as Endora the box. "You have a nice full lunch in there that should last until you get to the feast."

"Thanks, Dad."

He reached a hand, about to muss up her hair, when he stopped himself, "Ah… I don't want to mess up your hair."

She snorted and leaned up on her tiptoes to meet his hand. "I have a brush."

He gave her a tender look. All these years, he would still never believe he deserved such a good child. "You should get on, or you'll never find a good seat."

"All the seats are good seats, Dad."

"Mm, but you want a window for the view."

She breathed out softly as she turned her eyes to him. She hugged him tight and closed her eyes as she felt him cuddle her. "I'll see you at Christmas," she said.

"We miss you already."

"Tell Mother I'm still cross that she couldn't come." She gave him a weak smile before pulling away. Hugging her grandmother briefly, she tugged her trolley to the car and got on with the other students; a wiggling black mass poked its head out from the pocket of her blazer; long ears wiggled, and beady red eyes looked around for a second before it went back into hiding. Endora barely registered the movement, far too used to the antics of her shape-shifting pet Santo. She lugged her trunk and bag behind her and found herself a room on the train that was miraculously still empty. She was putting her trunk on the shelf when the door opened, revealing a trio of siblings.

"Have room for three more?"

She glanced over to the three and felt her heart skip a beat; Lily, James, and the youngest, Albus, were staring at her. "U-um, sure."

"Having trouble there?" James approached her side and started to help her with the trunk.

"Ah- thanks." She openly blushed but shook that off as she moved back to give him room to push it back for her.

He helped his other siblings and glanced her way. "Um, so I don't think I've seen you before? I'm James, this is Lily, and that's Albus."

She coughed and sat down. "I'm Endora. I usually keep to myself for the most part."

He laughed a little and sat down, ruffling his brother's hair as they sat together. He pointed out the window toward where their family was waving them off and waved in return.

"So, Endora, what house are you in?"

"Slytherin." She said with a slight tinge of pride in her tone.

"Oh yeah! We have potions, don't we?" James asked.

She nodded, "Yeah… " This was getting awkward. She looked to Albus, "Are you nervous for your first year?"

"Ah... y-yeah, is it obvious?"

Endora was about to say no but snorted, "A little, but don't worry. You'll be okay. The first two weeks are a little overwhelming, but you'll get used to it." She let her eyes wander to the window and spotted the Potters and the Weasleys waving their kids off while idly chatting to each other. She leaned back a bit and tugged out her phone to play on.

The three looked back at her with interest. "That's a phone, right?"

She nodded, "Yeah. Do neither of you have one?"

"No, Dad won't let us." James rolled his eyes, "he says it takes away from the experience of being a child. Whatever that means."

She laughed a bit, "Not my dad. He was adamant that I take one as soon as I got my letter."

"So you're muggle then?" Lily was surprised by that information.

"Ah well, no, not quite. My dad is, but my mom's a witch."

"Oh, how interesting. I thought Slytherin only let in pure bloods."

"That's a common misconception." She said softly. "True, most of the house is full of them, but they just don't care. It's certainly not as bad as it was several years ago."

"Huh…" James nodded, "learn something new every day."

Endora looked down at her phone, feeling even more awkward around them. It was the first time she had interacted with anyone from that family despite having been in the same classes all this time. Each time she tried to approach James, she would turn tail and go in the other direction. She had hoped she'd be able to have a better time than this.

Lily was mistaking the entire thing immediately as she looked between James and the other girl. She opened her mouth to change the subject when Albus spoke up first. "So Slytherin isn't that bad?"

"What? No, of course not, we're just like any other house, I think. You have your fair share of idiots, but what house doesn't? I think talent and ability are far more important than what's in your blood. No one should gatekeep magic." She paused and looked at him, "Are you worried about the house you'll end up in?"

He looked down, a sheepish expression crossing his features. "Dad told me I was named after two of the bravest people he knew who came from both houses and that it didn't matter which I got sorted into, but…"

"And he's right. You shouldn't let the name of your house define you. You'll be who you'll be because that's who you are, and no one has the right to shame you. Even if you end up in Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or Gryffindor, why should it matter? In the end, the house is where you'll rest your head while you're at school, and that's that. It's not all you'll ever be."

Albus looked up to her with eyes shining full of relief.

"And...even if you end up in Slytherin, at least you'll know one person already, right? If you need help, regardless of where you end up, you can always come find me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and your siblings wouldn't abandon you if you ended up in a different house, " she said with a smile.

"That's right, Albie." Lily smiled his way.

The rest of the ride up was idle chatter until the boys fell asleep.

Lily looked at Endora, "Thank you."

"Huh? For what?" She asked with a tiny yawn as she looked up from her phone.

"For what you said to Albus. He's been… worried about it since he got his letter."

She waved her hand, "Don't mention it. It's tough the first year enough as it is, and then the rumors and old bad blood between houses don't help either."

She nodded. "Yeah, it was a bit of a shock when I ended up in Ravenclaw instead of Gryffindor."

"But I bet your parents took it well, right?"

"They did." The twelve-year-old smiled. She looked at Endora for a long moment, "So… do you have a crush on my brother or something?"

Endora went stiff at that and eyed her, "No. He's not exactly my type."

"Oh…" Lily was sure she got that read off her and was disappointed that she was wrong. BUT! Endora could also be lying. "So, what is your type?"

"Is this a conversation we should be having?" She mused a bit to herself.

She pouted and toyed with her fingers a little, "I'm just curious."

"Mmhm."

"I am! Really. You seem super nice…"

"Maybe because I am nice?" She smirked a little.

Lily wiggled in the seat. "C'mon, please, what's the harm in it?"

Endora sighed and set her phone in her pocket. " Well… I guess I'd like a cool guy who's not afraid to speak his mind, who knows what he wants, and who treats others the way they should be treated."

"My brother is those things." She mumbled, "Sometimes."

She snorted, "Trust me, I'm not interested in James."

Lily slumped a little, not sure she had read her correctly.

When the express made its way into the station, they all joined in the scrambling to get out, knowing their things would go where they needed to. "I'll see you at the feast; good luck, Albus, and welcome to Hogwarts." She gave him a little wink before heading off with the others of her year.

James looked at her back, thinking about their interactions for a long time before shaking his head. Before they parted ways, he spoke, "Endora."

"Hm?" She looked back at him, "yes?"

"Did you mean it when you said you'd watch out for him if he ended up in your house?"

"Of course, and even if he didn't, I still would."

"That's very decent of you. See you."

She awkwardly waved and watched his back for a while as he faded from view. She quickly joined the others of her house as they got on the carriages toward the school. She still didn't understand the tradition of first years coming up by boat to climb up on those rickety ass stairs.

After the sorting, Endora kept true to her word and made room for Albus to sit with her, making some of her housemates move for him and the other newcomer, Scorpius. They chatted the entire meal, and when it came for them to go with the prefects, she promised to see them both in the morning. She locked eyes with James, and the two nodded to each other.

Others from their houses certainly noticed this. Rumors would no doubt spread, but neither actually cared about that.

Endora could feel a pair of eyes on her and slowly turned toward the direction. No one stuck out as looking her way, but her eyes fell on someone in the crowd for some reason. Wyatt Silverthorn. He was one of those rich boy types she would see in the many self-insert romance novels she read occasionally. He was handsome with short, fluffy brown hair, hazel eyes that looked gold in certain lights, and flawless milk-white skin. He was the kind of guy who seeped with arrogance and pride, a true Slytherin if there ever was one. A girl was hanging off his arm, but he didn't look anything less than bored in her presence as she giggled and clung to him. Everything she was saying was going in one ear and out the other.

He felt eyes on him and turned his own to meet with Endora's; he raised a delicate brow and scoffed when she turned away. "Well, now, aren't you interesting?" He muttered, but the girl beside him thought he was talking about her.

The first week of school went by quickly enough, and some students didn't know if that was a blessing or a curse. Endora sighed as she reread the passage for what felt like the third time today. She was super distracted as her mind wandered to what happened at lunch. Wyatt had randomly approached and sat beside her, leaning on his elbow as he straddled the bench. "You're Endora, right?"

She blinked as she slurped up the noodles and looked at him, a confused expression on her face at the fact that he was even addressing her, of all people. "Er, yeah?"

"In most of my classes?"

She squinted, "Yeah?" When was he going to get to the point?

He rubbed at his chin as he leaned closer to her personal space, almost like he was trying to assess her. "You'll do," he said.

"Excuse me?"

"I said you'll do."

She wanted to stab him in the face with a fork. "Can you not? What are you even talking about?"

"I need a partner for Astronomy, and you're in that class, right?"

"Yes? But what does that have to do with anything?"

"I had a falling out with my partner last year, and you look like you're knowledgeable enough." He leaned in toward her, "So I'll see you at tonight's class."

She went rigid and wondered where he got off, dictating that they should be partners without talking to her about it. She shook her head, "Wait, no," she barely got two words in as he got up and left with a flourish, his robes flowing in the movement. She batted it as it smacked her in the face while he walked away, "what the ever-loving fuck just happened?"

It was nearly time for Astronomy, and she was still wondering what the fuck that was all about. Wyatt had never spoken to her before, at least not since their first year, but now he was suddenly talking to her again. She had gotten a few looks out of the girls in their house, but it was an absolute annoyance. There were whispers and rumors about how Wyatt had broken up with a girl over Endora and how she was now considered a 'homewrecker.' "How ridiculous." She muttered to herself as she reached the top of the tower and looked about at the other people already getting things together for the first class of the year. She puffed out her cheeks, went to a table where she sat, and began pulling out the materials.

Someone sat beside her with a huff, "Good evening." He said smoothly. He half expected the girl to swoon over him like every other he had ever come in contact with, but she turned her eyes on him with disinterest. He wondered why that stung his ego. "I said-"

"Yes, good evening Silverthorn. Is this a habit of yours to pick a random girl or…?"

He raised a brow, "I don't think I know what you mean."

"You were with a girl earlier this week, and now you're randomly sitting with me. You know that sort of thing sparks rumors, right?"

He laughed a little, "You're worried about my reputation? How sweet of you."

"I don't give a damn about your reputation Silverthorn. Keep me out of whatever you're trying to do, will you?"

"Well, aren't you spicy?" He hadn't expected that. Had he been mistaken when he caught her looking his way that night? Him mistaken? Nah, of course not. She was playing the long game; he could do that, too.

She just sighed and turned her attention to the start of class. "I just want to pass my classes, got it?"

"Of course, a Slytherin must have academic pride after all."

"It's not about being a Slytherin or not. I don't want my grades to slip. I won't be having you distract me, understood?"

He leaned over her a little, "So you admit it?" He breathed in her scent. What was that? He couldn't tell what the scent was, but he liked it.

"Admit what?"

"I'm a distraction." He teased as he spoke lowly near her ear.

Her eye twitched visibly, "you're impossible, is what you are."

He laughed and leaned away, amused by her attitude, "All right, I'll take you seriously."

"Do what you want." She went on to ignore him. What an arrogant piece of shit. He thinks he can go to any girl and have them fall into his lap. And for the most part, he had been right. Wyatt had always been a decent-looking guy, but when puberty hit, damn did it hit him hard. In nearly every best-looking guy in school poll, Wyatt consistently ranked at the top, along with James Potter, Yugorio Krum, Ravian Hawthorn, and Ineth Udirick. Endora couldn't help but think that Wyatt had let that popularity get to his head.

Wyatt figured if he returned her cold shoulder with one of his own, she might start getting the picture and want him to pay attention to her, but that failed miserably. He had underestimated her ironclad will to focus on tasks. It was, in a word, frustrating. By the end of class, he quietly followed her out with a scowl. Nothing had gone his way.

Endora barely registered that he had been following her back to the dungeons. Her mind was elsewhere. When she got there, she was bombarded by Albus and Scorpius, who had stayed up waiting for her because of a problem they were stuck on.

"Endora, help!" Albus pleaded.

"Of course, what's stumping you?" She let them lead her to the table where they had been doing homework.

Wyatt stared after her with the most priceless expression. How could she go from cold toward him to as warm as a spring day to these two children? The only thing that came to mind and logical explanation was that Endora had to have a thing for younger men. Temporarily crushed by his strange and hideously wrong conclusion, Wyatt stomped up to his dorms. Whatever in the fuck this was, he had to find a way to get in the way. He nodded sagely to himself.

She was sitting with the boys, helping them, when she felt the angry aura storming off and turned her eyes in his direction. What crawled up his ass and died? She shook it off and returned to helping them with the problem.