Elizabeth's bags were packed and she was waiting in the kitchen. She couldn't believe she was attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She and her friends at her old school had always dreamed of going there.
"Elizabeth, it's time," her mother called softly from the living room.
Elizabeth walked to her parents and watched as they fussed with their coats. Combatting the chilling temperatures of early November, Elizabeth put on her own coat, tying the fabric sash around her waist to keep it on.
"Once you get to Hogwarts, you can't speak of our apparations. There are different rules there and you might get into trouble," Elizabeth's father informed her.
"I understand," Elizabeth nodded in agreement.
She and her mother grabbed her father's arm and in a second, Elizabeth felt her feet leave the ground and the familiar pressure pounded at her head as they flew through the earth. Force pushed at them from all around and Elizabeth held onto her trunk as tightly as she could. Finally, she felt her feet hit the ground with a sharp thud as the three of them were faced with a bright red train. Nobody else was on the platform, meaning that Elizabeth would be taking this ride alone.
"It's ten fifty six, you should get going," her father told her.
"Will you be okay?" her mother asked, concerned for her well-being.
She nodded. "Mama, I'll be fine."
She gave Elizabeth a small hug, kissing the top of her head. Elizabeth turned to her father, "I'll miss you father." She gave him a hug as well as a kiss on the cheek.
The train's engine started working up, "I'll miss you two," she called out as the conductor helped her into the train. She saw tears in their eyes; this happened every time they would leave her somewhere for a long period of time.
Elizabeth sat down in an empty car among the lonely train and looked out the window, still waving to her parents. Her mother wiped her eyes as the train started moving. When the station was out of sight, Elizabeth stood up and thought of things to keep her entertained. At a lack of ideas, she walked in circles around the train car, growing very bored very quickly.
She began humming a song to herself that her muggle friends had sang to her once. An old woman with a cart came to her car and knocked. Elizabeth politely opened the door. "Would you like any treats dear?"
"No, I'm fine, but thank you," Elizabeth kindly rejected, wondering why she was there for only one student.
The woman left and Elizabeth stood by the door. The train was completely empty. Due to it being a Saturday in the middle of the term, there were no people in sight. It was only the one operating the train, the woman selling the treats, and Elizabeth. Being the curious young spirit she was, she decided to explore the train a little bit. She peeked her head out into the narrow hallway and nonchalantly whispered, "Hello?" With the absence of a reply, she slipped out of the car and began walking down the aisle of the train.
The train consisted of nearly hundreds of other cars like hers: two cushioned benches facing each other, silver shelves above to store luggage on, and a sliding window. Elizabeth finally neared a section with tables that was closed off by a door. She opened it and looked around. As she walked around, admiring the nicely carved wooden tables and chairs, she ran her hand over a small snake that had been etched into one of the tables. "Hm," she wondered aloud, studying the serpent.
She walked out and made her way back to the only car with a trunk and bag in it. Elizabeth had nearly let it slip her mind that she was supposed to change into her Hogwarts robes, so she did exactly that. For another hour, she looked out the window and crumpled balls of parchment up and threw them at the wall.
To her utmost delight, she saw a castle in the foggy distance. "I'm here," Elizabeth said to nobody in particular as she began to stand up. She grabbed her trunk and bag, and exited the train. On the misty platform, she saw a girl who looked about her age, waiting for her.
"Hello!" she exclaimed. "I'm Sophia, and you must be Elizabeth!"
"Yes, I am," Elizabeth was taken aback by her enthusiasm.
She flashed a set of dangerously bright teeth, "Okay, so we are going to go on the carriage ride to the castle now. You can leave the bags here and they'll be taken up to your room once you're sorted."
The two brunette, pale skinned girls walked to the carriages in silence, with Sophia occasionally sneaking in an out loud thought about the feast. "Headmaster Dippet said you'd be taken into a private room to be sorted, you know, to spare the embarrassment of going up alone."
Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows, not knowing what she was talking about, "Of course."
"I dearly hope you get into Hufflepuff. That's the house I'm in and it would be so great to have you," Sophia said with a large smile.
Sophia and her rode along the foggy path on the carriages, making small talk. "Your accent is amazing," Sophia remarked. "So what is it like to live in America? I heard it is basically a deformed version of England, but now I have a true source!"
"Uh, well it isn't exactly deformed. It is pretty normal there. I've been to England and not much is different besides the choice of words and of course the accent."
"Tell me more. I hear the women regularly wear trousers there, or is that a lie?"
"Uh," she began, not knowing what to say, for Elizabeth wasn't too fashionable.
To her luck, the carriage stopped and they got out, beginning to walk up to the castle doors. "Now," Sophia started. "I have to get to the feast, but go to the room with the large feather carved into the door; you won't miss it." She smiled and waved goodbye, delightfully skipping off to the feast.
Elizabeth walked down the dim hallway until she was faced with the feathered door. She opened it and inside was a man with a long grey beard, round cheeks and half-moon glasses was sitting behind a wooden desk. Elizabeth's eyes caught a rugged hat on a stool. Bookshelves lined the walls and many odd floating objects were hovering above trays on various shelves.
"Hello, you're Elizabeth, correct?" he asked. She nodded and walked closer to the desk, "I'm Albus Dumbledore or Professor Dumbledore as most students call me, and I teach Transfiguration here at Hogwarts. The headmaster wanted me to be here for the sorting, so we can do that now if you'd please so we can both enjoy that delicious feast awaiting us in the Great Hall."
"Yes, of course," Elizabeth sat down on the stool and he placed the hat on her head. It slumped down over her small face and to her surprise, it began speaking.
"Hm...coming in at such an odd time, yes...," it spoke. "You're outgoing, smart, resourceful...you're very tricky...well, let's see. If it so does, I think you'll do best in...Slytherin!"
"Slytherin," Professor Dumbledore said, sounding a little shocked. "Very well," he stood up and smiled, shaking off whatever thoughts were clouding his brain. "Now, that feast sounds delightful. Let's go, shall we?"
Elizabeth nodded and carefully placed the enchanted hat back on the stool. Following Professor Dumbledore out the doorway, she looked back as the hat closed it's eyes and seemed to go to sleep. "You'll find that Slytherin has a very interesting group of students," Professor Dumbledore added in a cheerful tone.
They neared closer to the great hall and Elizabeth spoke up, "You sounded surprised with me being in Slytherin. I don't know much about the houses, let alone this school. Can you inform me on this house?"
"How can I be one to be surprised, I haven't gotten to know you yet? But, if you must know, the Slytherin house is known for their cunning attitude, resourcefulness, and their ambition," he told her with a smile.
"Oh," she replied as they kept walking. She still hadn't completely understood the house she had been placed in, but she didn't mind. After a moment, she saw a large hall with four long tables and one at the front. The dining hall was illuminated by torches across the walls. The ceiling looked like there was no ceiling at all; it had been charmed to look like the night sky itself!
"Elizabeth Maryn, this is where I leave you," he began. "The best of luck and happiness to you this year." He smiled and walked off.
Elizabeth saw Sophia sitting at the table nearest to her, so she walked over to her and greeted her, "Hello Sophia, I was wondering if you could point me to the Slytherin table?"
Sophia nearly choked on the juice she was drinking and stared up at her, "Slytherin?" she exclaimed. "How could you be in Slytherin?"
"Uh, I don't know, genetics maybe," she said in a hurry. "Can you please point me to the table?"
"Well you've definitely got the attitude of a Slytherin," she muttered. "The table is the furthest to the left," she pointed across the hall, "Over there."
"Thank you," Elizabeth nodded and started walking. She was not unfamiliar with rudeness; after all, she had experienced worse.
Once Elizabeth got to her table of fellow housemates, she sat at the most end of the long, wooden bench. A girl with jet black hair and nicely tanned skin approached Elizabeth at the end of the table, followed by two girls.
"Hello, I'm Walburga," the girl outstretched her hand to Elizabeth and she shook it gladly.
The second girl with dark skin and brown hair sat down next to Elizabeth, "Melissa."
Walburga sat down on the opposite side of the bench as the last, blonde haired girl followed her and spoke to Elizabeth, "I'm Matilda."
"It's nice to meet you all, I'm Elizabeth," she smiled at the three girls who had been very polite to her.
Walburga leaned forward on her elbows, "So Professor Dumbledore, I'm assuming you've already met him, he told us you were going to join our dormitory! There's only the four of us in our room and there are some other Slytherin girls in another but I'm so glad you're our new dormitory mate!"
"Oh, lovely!" Elizabeth said as a genuinely happy smile danced on her lips.
The four girls ate their meals and they informed Elizabeth about Hogwarts and the curriculum. By the end of their talk, Elizabeth even knew where the best areas to skip class were!
Elizabeth decided to leave the feast early so that she could check out the Common Room and dormitories.
Just as she had reached the corridor, she realized she had no idea where she was going. The halls were lined with portraits of all kinds of people that moved and talked like normal humans. She found one of an old woman holding a basket of bread and stopped in front of it.
"Uh, excuse me," she began saying, knowing that portraits could advise to some extent. "Do you know where the Slytherin dormitories are?"
"Ah, The Slytherin Dungeons."
Elizabeth furrowed her eyebrows, "Dungeons?"
The woman shook her head, "Sorry dear, just the name." She nodded her head to the left, "Head straight that way and then take the stairs down and you'll see another corridor. Once you're there, look for the door with the candles floating near it and that is it."
"Thank you," she said to her and began walking off into the direction she'd pointed her in.
The corridor grew darker as she made her way to the stairs. Candles that were once illuminating the dim walls faded into a smokey haze. She proceeded for what felt close to five minutes, then found herself facing a staircase descending down in a spiral manner. The stairs faded off into darkness and she shivered.
Elizabeth walked down them, soon finding that she could barely see. She grabbed onto the cold stone walls to steady her body as she walked down the steps. When she reached the bottom, her eyes got adjusted to many candles floating above a door in the distance. Elizabeth walked all the way to the candles to find a door that had a snake encrested onto the front. As she reached for the door, it came to her attention that there was no handle.
"What?" she whispered to herself as she ran her hands around the door. She pushed inwards and the door didn't budge.
"There's a password, you know," a heavily English accented, deep voice said from behind her, causing Elizabeth to jump.
She turned around to be faced with a tall, dark-haired boy with a mysterious face. He looked down at Elizabeth like he was a king and she was a servant. "Can you tell me the password?"
He raised his eyebrow when she spoke, "So you're the American?"
"I am, yes, but can you please tell me the password so I can go inside?" Elizabeth replied, growing irritated with this snooty boy's attitude.
He walked around Elizabeth and faced the door, "Pureblood." The door opened and he walked inside. "That's the password."
She stood there, making a mental note of that. "Are you coming in?" he asked, staring at her like she was an idiot.
"Oh, uh, yes," Elizabeth walked inside and the door closed behind her.
The room was large and eerie. A large fireplace glowed at the other side of the room. Two leather black sofa's faced each other by the fire. Many chairs were placed around various tables. There was a large painting of an old wizard hanging amongst the green tapestry.
The boy sat down in a chair near the fireplace and looked at Elizabeth "Why did you come down from the feast so early?" he asked.
She remained standing, "I wanted to become familiar with my surroundings." The boy did not respond, and Elizabeth decided she wouldn't benefit from any forced small talk. "It would seem I'm familiar with this part of the castle," she said awkwardly and began walking down the stairs to her dormitory.
After debating whether or not to tell the boy goodnight, Elizabeth went off to her dormitory. She walked down the stairs to be met with almost a dozen doors. Elizabeth entered the one on the far right as the girls had told her. There were beds in a frame that had posts going up with silky green curtains surrounding them. The walls were a magnificent shade of emerald with a darker green accent. A brown trunk similar to her own sat at the foot of each bed, along with other various bags to their sides. She found her luggage and looked around for the owl they had promised to her. A piece of parchment laid on Elizabeth's trunk and it said her owl had been taken up to the owlery and she could visit him tomorrow. She drew back the green curtains and looked down at the bed which had a comforter and pillow of an equally green color.
"It would seem their house color is green," she whispered to herself. Just then, the three girls she had talked to at the beginning of the feast burst through the door, laughing.
"Oh, hello Beth," Walburga Black addressed Elizabeth by a nickname she dearly hated.
"Hello," Elizabeth greeted with a faint smile, deciding not to fight the friendliness that these girls offered her.
Melissa, deciding to change into her nightdress, abruptly took off her sweater and began undressing herself, whilst digging through her trunk. Elizabeth looked down at the black carpet as Melissa was now changing into her nightdress. "C'mon Elizabeth, we're all girls here," Matilda laughed at her and began changing into her nightdress. Elizabeth felt a pang of embarrassment, but it was toned down by Walburga's scoff.
Walburga sat down on her bed, "Don't expect her to be to keen on watching you both run around nude, she's only just met you." Elizabeth gave her a small smile of thanks and they both laughed as the two girls talked, half naked.
Elizabeth decided she might as well change so she went behind her bed and slipped off her Slytherin robes, folding them and setting them in her trunk. She took off the rest of her clothes, (leaving her undergarments) folding them and storing them in her trunk. She then grabbed her below the knee, silk white nightdress and put it on, then stepping out from behind her bed. Walburga was wearing a black, shorter, strapless nightdress that showed off her chest and curves. It didn't look nearly comfortable enough to sleep in. Matilda had a similar one on, but it had sleeves to her elbows. Melissa wore one like Elizabeth's; white and down to her mid-calves.
"Walburga, you're not going to score Tom wearing that old thing," Matilda rolled her eyes.
Elizabeth sat on her own bed and asked quietly, "Who's Tom?"
They all rolled their eyes but Walburga smiled dreamily.
Matilda sat next to Elizabeth on her bed and explained who Tom was, "Tom Riddle is this guy. All the girls are in love with him, especially Walburga." She raised her voice for this comment, "She's stalked the poor guy for the past seven years, I swear she's weirder than he is!"
"Why is he weird?" Elizabeth asked.
"He never talks to anyone except for six Slytherin boys, he has never once dated or even shown emotion towards a girl, or a boy. He's insanely bright and talented, I'd say even more than Dippet and Dumbledore combined."
"Oh don't tell me you're falling in love with him too?" Matilda giggled.
Melissa mocked Walburga's dreamy sigh and put her head on her forehead, acting dramatically, "If I don't date Tom Riddle, I'll die!"
Walburga threw a green pillow at Melissa, "Oh shut up, but did you see the way he was looking at me during the feast?"
"That's probably why he left the feast early," Matilda snickered and a pillow flew at her head this time.
"Walburga, aren't you going to be a little chilly in that nightdress, or should I say, nightcloth?" Matilda asked.
"Again, shut up," Walburga rolled her eyes and crossed her legs on the bed, causing her dress to hike up. Elizabeth was never one to judge this early in a friendship, but she could already tell that she and Walburga were in no way alike.
"I'm going to go to sleep," Elizabeth stated.
Melissa's face went sad and she sat next to Walburga, "No! You're new and we barely know you! You can't fall asleep, we have to do girl talk!"
"I suppose," Elizabeth replied. Matilda was sitting next to her on her bed, while Walburga and Melissa sat on the bed across from them.
Walburga leaned back, "So, tell me about these American boys?"
"They are just like the boys here I guess, except the accents are different."
"Speaking of accents, no pun intended, I love the way you talk," Matilda commented on Elizabeth's voice.
She awkwardly smiled, "Oh, uh, thanks."
The four girls talked and laughed long into the night before a creak in the ceiling put them all at silence.
"Guys," Matilda shushed the girls as foot steps were head from the Common Room above them. "Tom's awake."
Walburga pulled her dress down in a fashion that showed off her chest even further. Matilda fluffed out Walburga's hair and Melissa squealed. Elizabeth sat there, not knowing why all the excitement and hair fluffing had been occurring.
Walburga's jet black, wavy hair pooled around her back in magnificent curls. She bit her lip so that color rushed to it and walked to the door. "Beth, come with me."
Elizabeth's blue eyes went wide and she pointed at herself, "Me? Why?"
"I can't go up alone," Walburga said like it was obvious.
"Pardon my questioning, but why go up at all? Might you get in trouble?" Elizabeth asked.
Walburga rolled her eyes, "Tom is up there, I have to go."
"Oh, alright, I guess," she stood up and put her slippers on.
Walburga and Elizabeth walked out of the room and into the clearing right before the stairs. "Once we're up there, you need to act like you are in need of a glass of water and that I just came with you to direct you. There is a fountain in the room off the area of the study. I will talk to Tom while you go off and get water," she explained in a hushed tone.
"Sorry, but can't you just talk to him tomorrow?"
"He won't be able to see me like this tomorrow," she gestured to her underwear-like sleeping attire.
"Fair enough," Elizabeth agreed. With that, the two girls walked up the spiral stairway and were met with the room she was in earlier. There was a boy facing the other way sitting in a chair that had dark hair, barely viewable by the dim light. It was this Tom guy that the three girls had made such a huge deal about.
"Ahem," Walburga abruptly said and the boy's attention had been grabbed, ever so faintly.
Tom stood up from his chair. As his face caught the light of the flames, Elizabeth was taken aback as it was the boy she had seen just hours before.