Stronger than Storms (A Harry Potter Story)

1. Heading to Hogwarts

Note: Stronger than Storms takes place in the years before Harry Potter comes to Hogwarts and Voldemort returns. Cannon characters besides teachers aren't mentioned very often, if at all, in this story. The teachers pretty much the same as when Harry first went there but most of the other characters are my OCs.

-

The clink of metal of metal made Cynthia wince. She quickly placed the shiny set of scales aside. Her mother, watching from her position leaning on the edge of Cynthia's bed, curled her lip slightly.

She had insisted her daughter unpack and repack her entire trunk to ensure that everything that needed to be included was present. And of course she had to watch to make sure she actually did it, and make comments about what Hogwarts had been like when she went there.

    Cynthia tried to understand. She really did. It would only be frustrating to send any items she had thoughtlessly left behind, but as she adjusted the bothersome set of scales under her mother's scrutinizing gaze, she thought that she'd prefer forgetting some stupid textbook to this.

    "Now darling," came the tired voice. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you that we don't care which house you get sorted into as long as you do well in it. We're expecting only the best from our extraordinary daughter."

    Extraordinary. Cynthia hated the word. Her parents adored it and used it constantly. Strangers did too.

    'The pureblood Alderfires, extraordinary family they are!'

    'And you've heard about their newest child? Cynthia? I'm sure she will be the same.'

    'Yes, the family is blessed with power. Such an extraordinary bunch they are!'

    But the thing was, there was nothing special or ever rather different about Cynthia Alderfire at all aside from her family. And she did not like the fact that her last name was a larger part of her identity than who she was as a person.

    She looked... average. Warm brown eyes and wavy brown hair that went just past her shoulders. Her skin was fair and dotted with light freckles. She wasn't extraordinary looking.

And she didn't have extraordinary talent. She'd had all the same magical experiences as a child as many other magical children did.

She'd shattered a shop window in a temper tantrum at the age of five, and then there was the time she had accidentally set fire to a large, well manicured bush in the front yard. Her father had tried to hide his fury over the lost topiary with some proud words about her power.

Really it was all about her family. The Alderfire line went back for generations and while some would occasionally marry with muggles or muggle borns, the root of their bloodline remained influential.

    "I'll get the marks, mother," Cynthia replied quietly.

    "Good. And I wanted to just make sure you weren't having any thoughts about befriending any of the more... distasteful... students," she said slowly, lips pursed tightly together. "Purly for the sake of our image, of course."

    This was another aspect that she hated about her parents. They recognized that muggles and people with muggle blood were no less than them, they were in the Alderfire bloodline for Godric's sake!

But there was always that internalized discomfort that came from being raised a certain way. Compared to some of the other big wizarding families the Alderfires were very accepting. But Cynthia thought they could make more of an effort.

"There is nothing wrong with not being pureblood," she mumbled, putting a stack of robes back into her large trunk.

Her mother turned her head to the side, turquoise earrings swaying. "I never said there was! I was only trying to remind you what some of the other students from our circles might think." She refused to meet her daughter's eyes.

There was nothing she could to convince her parents that their opinions were wrong, even if they would never voice them publicly. Their views were just as hurtful whispered behind cupped hands over tea as they were in an article in the Daily Prophet.

The only difference was that one won them more popularity with both the public and the inner circles where they were called progressive and extraordinary.

"Whatever," Cynthia muttered in reply, shutting her luggage away with a snap. "I'll make the friends I want to and if they happen to not have pure blood there's nothing I can do about it." Her mother took a deep breath but instead of getting mad she merely sighed and swept out of the room.

"I'll have Pip retrieve your things in an hour or so," she called from down the hall, voice thin. "Be sure you're ready to leave by then. You wouldn't want to miss the train."

There was no way Cynthia was going to let the family's house elf, Pip, carry her enormous trunk down the looming front stairs to the front door. It had to be four times his size! Which meant she had to bring it herself.

She was already dressed and ready to travel to Hogwarts. She had been preparing for this her whole life! That meant she had an entire hour of otherwise doing nothing to forcibly drag her trunk out of her expansive bedroom and onto the wide balcony that hung over the entry hall.

To avoid the extra work of carrying it down, Cynthia simply gave the trunk a hearty push and whooped as it tumbled and slid down the stairs like a bear rolling down a rocky slope. No one was around to hear her, so she could fully enjoy the booms and crashes that echoed throughout the large space.

It felt almost like payback and a giddy sense of joy rose within her until she realized who would be in charge of cleaning the shallow scratches the metal corners had caused. She hoped they wouldn't be too much trouble on Pip, she had done this to make things easier on him after all...

-

Aside from her trunk, Cynthia had her cat, Bane. It had taken her months of endless complaining, begging, and fussing for her parents to let her have a cat and not an owl. They had called a cat impractical but she loved them.

And Bane was amazing. With fur like a moonless midnight and deep blue eyes he looked like a walking shadow and was just as sneaky. And on top of that he was big, easily the strongest and largest cat she had ever seen.

She thought that, at the very least, if she got attacked, he could do some damage protecting her. Maybe her parents would find him useful then...

At the moment he was lying in her unmade bed, purring so loudly it could have been mistaken for a lawnmower. "Come on, you silly cat," Cynthia told him, scooping the animal into her arms then into his carrier. He meowed in annoyance but made no effort to escape when she tossed some treats in with him.

When she had zipped it closed she was finally ready.

On her way to the door she hesitated. This would be her first time away from home. As prejudice and prideful her parents and family could be, she really did love them and knew they tried their best. And they had always been good parents to her.

She would miss them and she was sure they would miss her too.

Don't be stupid, Cynthia told herself. It's not like you're leaving forever. You'll be back for holidays and there's no way mother and father aren't going to send me letters constantly...

-

At the platform she hugged her parents goodbye and carefully adjusted the cat carrier on her shoulder before pushing forward with her trolly.

Cynthia didn't have any older siblings, or younger for that matter, so she had never seen the Hogwarts Express herself. It was breathtaking and for a moment she almost forgot to breath. She tried to not look as giddy as she felt. Her mother would only say she was being childish. But the smoke poured from the top in a thick stream, pointing her in the right direction, and the shiny paint seemed to call out to her. She couldn't help but listened and move closer.

It was harder than she had expected to dodge all the other students and parents and get her trunk up into the scarlet train, but a fifth year Ravenclaw paused to help her lift it.

And, as if all at once, she was there: aboard the train and on her way to Hogwarts.

Author's Note: Thank you so much for taking the time to read the first chapter of Stronger than Storms! I really appreciate it! This is the first work I have posted on Wattpad, and I'm open to any feedback or comments people have. I'll do my best to update as frequently as possible and will respond to any/all questions or suggestions.