Chapter 1: (3 years ago) Sophiana's POV (Sophiana: http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/12400000/Elizabeth-Gillies-elizabeth-gillies-12416301-318-400.jpg )
I listen as the familiar ringing of bells chime in reaction to my push of the front door to the hospital I work in during the summer. "Oh, hello Sophiana. I'm afraid you can't help today. The state officials are coming today to do a check on the on the place. Unfortunately, I can't have anyone under the age of fourteen here both voluntarily and working." Mr. Bumad, the owner, informs, his kind blue eyes apologetically glancing at me over his round frames.
Okay, so maybe I don't work here, but a ten year old girl can dream, can't she? I give a small pout, knowing he meant best, and partially because tomorrow I'd be off to school, on the train by 11 AM sharp. "Come here kid," He smiles, my feet slowly walking over to him. He kneels down a bit, since I'm short compared to his six foot something stature, and whispers, "I promise when you step through that door four years from now, I will hand you a nametag and uniform. Sound good, sport?" Content, I nod with an enormous grin on my face, his expression mirroring mine. However that changes immediately when the bells jingle again, informing us that someone had just entered.
"Mr. Bumad, nice to meet you. I'm Francis from the state department." A bald man with warm milk chocolate eyes, clean shaven, introduces himself before he takes a step further into the veterinary animal hospital/rescue. As he goes to inspect the back room, he passes by the front desk and spots me swirling around in the desk chair. With a kind smile on face, he chuckles, "Your daughter?"
"Yes. She's just stopped by to check on her old man. She's heading home though." I stop swirling at Mr. Bumad's hint and jump off the muggle object with a nod. I hug Mr. Bumad around the waist as he briefly picks me up before setting me back to my feet. I then shake Mr. Francis' hand before I wave to both men, walking out the door in which the bells cheerily hum a goodbye.
I put my earphones, that had been forgotten about upon arrival at the animal shop, back into my ears, a beat softly singing into my eardrums, Ignoring the jeers thrown at me from the kids that had previously attended classes with me back at muggle school. That's one of the reasons I dreaded school; 1) kids bullied me every chance they got, 2) it was against school rules to listen to music, during school hours, even lunch, which I personally feel is absurd. I mean we can chase people, shove them into a tree, knock them to the ground, but you can't listen to calming chords?
I awake from my fogged thoughts of opinion to find myself having knocked on the large, white door of the Dursley's house on 4 Privet Drive. The door pulls open the slightest and Mrs. Dursley pokes her long, thin face between the space she created. Her dark eyes peek around her surroundings before they land on me. Being polite, I turn my iPod shuffle off, pocketing the small device in my backpack after wrapping my earphones around its rectangular form. When I turn back to the tall, slim woman, her eyes are closed and she looks as though she were calming herself down while holding the door open for me.
As I enter, I wince as a booming voice sounds from the living area, "Petunia! Who's at the door?" I widen my eyes as I notice the hint of fear in Mr. Dursley's tone. I step down the hall, passing the living area to find my best friend's cousin whimpering while holding his knees to his chest. Before I can knock on the cupboard's door, Mrs. Dursley yanks it open desperately before her nephew responds, unlocking it. She then opens it and harshly yanks Harry out, who furrows his eyebrows in confusion before he sees me.
He grins before his aunt shoves both of us towards the door she hadn't even bothered to close. Once our feet hit the pathway leading to the door, it slams behind us. I quizzically eye my best friend who only grabs my hand and begins to run to the old, mostly abandoned park that we went to, to talk about important things.
Once we settle on the swings, I give him that look that says 'Tell me or else...' which he complies to. Before I can even register his movement, he's shoved an envelope into my hands. I pull the familiar eggshell colored envelope up to chest level as I read the also familiar, emerald green ink, spelling out:
Mr. H Potter
The cupboard under the stairs
4 Privet Drive
Little Whinging
Surrey
I turn the letter over in my hands already knowing there is a 99.99% chance it's exactly what I think it is. There'd been no stamp on the front, something only my kind does since we have our own delivery systems. And then I see the purple wax seal engraved with the coat of arms; the lion, the eagle, the badger, and the snake surrounding the enlarged H.
Unable to hold in my grin, I turn to Harry, who is smiling right back at me. "I'm a-a wizard, Soph!" He cheers, somewhat hushed, throwing his arms up in the air victoriously. I shake my head with the same stupid grin on my face that is, to an extent, genuine. "Wait, you're not freaking out. Are you a witch?" He questions with clear excitement in his green/blue eyes. I nod in response, watching as he throws his arms around me in pure happiness at the idea of not having to do this alone.
I smile as I wrap my arms tightly around him, content with being able to get him away from his aunt and uncle who were pretty horrendous to him. But not nearly as their spoiled brat of a son could be to my best friend. When we pull away and he swings beside me, I give him the same quizzical look as earlier and he snorts, catching my gaze, "They're terrified of me now..."
I watch as every part of Harry's face glows with laughter and revenge as he tells me the story of how he met the Hogwart's groundskeeper, Rubeus Hagrid. I notice then that Harry's grin had never been wider as he laughs at how Hagrid (the half-giant preferred it) had made a curly, pink tail stick out of Dudley's blue pajamas, once Mr. Dursley had insulted Mr. Albus Dumbledore before him.
I find myself (after Harry's finished) chuckling quietly besides Harry's howling. We calm down after we erase the image of Harry's plump cousin with a coarse, pink, curly, pig's tail. But actually, I'd been chuckling, not at the image, but at the irony of the animal's tail chosen by Hagrid because quite honestly, Dudley is a pig. After talking for another hour or so, we stand from the old, creaky swings, and share another hug before we head separate ways. But quite content, we make plans with each other for the train.
Five songs (seventeen minutes) later, I arrive at my house (two streets up from the Dursleys) to find a familiar Ford Angeline parked by the curbside. I smile at the old, turquoise motor vehicle my uncle had been obsessed with ever since my mum had shown him the object. I stroll up to the familiar navy blue door and knock my knuckles against the wood gently, while still loud enough to be heard. My mind had begun thinking of why my family, the Weasleys, were here, especially the night (it is 6PM) before I am seeing them at the King's Cross Station for my first term at- my mind stops working through the future events, as my aunt squeezes me into a hug.
"My, Sophie, you've grown quite a bit since we've last seen you at the beginning of the summer." She squeals as she pulls off me and ushers me into the house. "Ahem," My aunt interrupts the only conversation happening between the "Adults": Percy, my uncle, and my mom, Amelia. Instantly my cousins rush to me, enveloping me in a hug, the twins first. Then Ron, who slips something into my pocket, followed by Ginny, who is the only girl AND youngest of the Weasley children.
"Hello Dear," My uncle grins at me, while opening his arms for a hug. I wrap my arms around his waist, his around my back due to my lack of height.
"Hi, Soph." Percy smiles as he tugs me to his chest before he gives me a small hug. He then puffs his chest out once again before he sits himself back down. I raise my eyebrow at him when a hand lands on my shoulder, making me jump.
"Didn't mean to scare you. But Percy's got more ego abilities now he's head boy of Gryffindor." Fred whispers in my ear and I 'oh' mentally. I'm not entirely shocked since he is the apple to his parents' eyes.
I then take a seat beside Ron, hoping to get an explanation for their presence when I should be getting sleep for tomorrow's excitement. My mum clears her throat and my attention changes from Ron's blabbering about next year and how he's going to do Quidditch, to my mom nervously fumbling with her hands. My eyes follow her movement as she settles in front of me, kneeling to my much smaller height. "Um, Soph-" I stand to my feet with a frown, her tone suggesting all that she was not saying so she didn't need to explain further. I understood her job at the Ministry of Magic has unpredictable hours, but couldn't she take five minutes off just to walk me out front of the train station?
I shove open the door to my room, pulling my trunk off my desk chair, adding a few books in my trunk before I lock it. A soft knock is placed upon my door, but I remain still, leaning over my packed luggage. "Soph, I am sorry. I really am. I wish I could see you off, but I can't and you don't know how much that sucks, seeing as I am a parent." She argues her case, trying to apologize to me in the least lame way she can. My only response being a quick hug before I grab the closed and locked trunk off my bed, then trudge down the stairs. "Soph!" She calls, the rest of my family gazing at me as I exit the house, pull out my wand, and unlock the trunk of the car with 'Alohamora' before shoving my personal trunk into the seemingly vast space.
Deciding it to be better to remain outside in the cooling atmosphere of night, I sit on the curb and lie in the soft, green blades filling the space in front of our mini mansion. I then close my eyes, opening them when the stars begin to awaken the intrigue in my mind. Suddenly, a warmth joins me on the left of me, setting chills upon my pale skin due to the temperature mixture. "Amelia is really sorry. Oh, and in case you're wondering, Primavera is back at the Burrow." Ron smiles, my lips forming one in return to a slight degree, when he sighs, noticing I am not budging from my spot. "Okay, well I think we are going to leave soon." He offers.
I continue to lay there, ignoring my mum's arguing with my uncle. Instead, I shove my black earphones into my ears, a familiar beat exploding throughout my conscious, my being. I tap my foot subconsciously to the beat, the faded black Converse upon my feet barely making a small thud against the pavement below them. I watch as my uncle walks to the driver's seat, Percy climbing into the front. Fred grabs my hands and tugs me up, a slight yawn coming from me so he picks me up and lays me in his lap where I fall asleep.