I didn't go to Hogwarts when I was 11 like any other witch or wizard because, well, let's just say, something came up.
My father, Scorpius Snape, was killed in the Ministry of Magic. He worked there for 20 years and on one particular day, my Father's fate wandered into the Ministry. Apparently, a squib had escaped from a muggle mental ward and somehow slipped into the Ministry, armed with, what I believe the muggles call, a gun. Guns contain small pockets of lead called bullets that, once shot out of the gun, penetrate the body and kill almost instantly. The squib was shooting around frantically, screaming "Give me what I deserve!" and "You'll pay, you've destroyed me!"
One of the bullets entered my fathers' skull and he died a few days later in St Mungo's. There was no chance he could have survived it, the damage was too severe.
I was completely distraught. As you could imagine, my mother was too. In fact, she was so devastated that she became a selective mute and refused to get out of bed. Mum never slept, she was probably too frightened of what she would see if she did. I couldn't take the pressure of looking after myself and my mother at the age of 11, so when my father's best friend, Amos Diggory and his wife, Martha, discovered what was going on with me at home, they insisted that I come and live with them and their son, Cedric. I left my mother in a second and never heard a word from her in three years.
Cedric Diggory and I became close friends. He was a sweet and attractive boy, very confident and talented. We bonded very quickly and he, being three years older than me, taught me a lot of advanced magic. I hadn't learnt much before this, since my father was dead and my mother was immobile, so my main sources of knowledge were Cedric and his father.
I had been living with the Diggorys for 3 years and I had just turned 14 when my Hogwarts finally letter arrived. I remember that moment very clearly since I thought the letter could possibly be from my mother. My heart fell slightly when I saw that it wasn't. Despite her neglect of me, I still missed her.
"Sorry it's not her, Ray" Cedric said, patting me on the back sympathetically.
"Oh, that's okay. Besides, this is far better, right? Hogwarts, it's about time!" I replied, trying to sound enthusiastic for Cedric. He was delighted to be going back, for weeks Hogwarts was all he could talk about. I guess I was slightly excited too, but more than anything, I was nervous. I was going into the fourth year, three years below Ced, so I wouldn't know anyone in my year and they'd all have made friends by now. I knew Cedric had his own friends as well, so I couldn't rely on him. I'd have no one.
A few weeks before school started, Amos announced to Cedric and I that he'd got tickets for the Quidditch World Cup, Ireland versus Bulgaria! I was thrilled; I had only ever seen Quidditch results in the Daily Prophet, so this was something entirely new to me! Amos told us that we were meeting a "Mr Weasley" from the Ministry who we would be travelling some of the way there with. Amos worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, whereas Mr Weasley was Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. They were very good friends and Amos said that Mr Weasley would be bringing his family with him, along with a few others, three of which would be in my year at Hogwarts.
"It'll be a good chance for you to get to know them before you go to school, Ray" Amos had told me. I agreed that I would feel a bit more confident at Hogwarts knowing a few people in my year.
Amos, Cedric and I left the house and walked a long way to Stoatshead Hill. I wasn't sure why we weren't driving there or why we were headed to Stoatshead Hill in particular. I was pretty sure I'd been there before and there was no Quidditch stadium! Nevertheless, we walked on until we met Mr Weasley, a smiling ginger man with a rather large belly. He and Amos hugged and Cedric waved at someone who was walking up behind Mr Weasley.
"Who are you waving at?" I asked him. Cedric lowered his head to me and whispered in my ear.
"Okay, don't be nervous, but Harry Potter's over there. Remember? The one I told you about". Harry Potter. The Boy who Lived. He had survived an attack from You Know Who, he was the reason You Know Who was gone. I'd admired this boy ever since Cedric told me his story. I expected Harry to be quite tall, handsome and strong, but he was almost the exact opposite. He was handsome, but he was short, skinny and quiet. He shook hands with Ced and simply smiled at me. I elbowed Ced jokingly.
"Good friends, are we?" I teased.
"Oh, shut up!" he chuckled. Mr Weasley and Harry were accompanied by five other people; Ginny Weasley, whom I thought to be quite a pretty girl; the Weasley twins, Fred and George, and Weasley's youngest son, Ron. Ron seemed exhausted and quite miserable at first sight; they had obviously walked quite a while to get to the hill. Ginny, Fred and George on the other hand were quite cheerful and obviously very excited for the match. Ginny, who was in the year below me, seemed to be permanently stuck to the other girl accompanying them, Hermione Granger. She was stunning and very slim, which made me exceedingly jealous of her. She was lovely to me and exceptionally intelligent, so she made it impossible for me to be bitter about her beauty!
"So, you're just starting at Hogwarts? I thought I didn't recognise you! Are you Cedric's sister?" she asked, her brown eyes wide.
"Erm, no. I'm his friend. I live with him and Mr Diggory" I explained.
"Why? Where's your parents?" Ron asked, his mouth full of the chocolate that he'd nicked from his dad. Hermione slapped him harshly on the arm.
"Don't be so rude, Ronald! And don't talk with your mouthful, it's disgusting!" she snapped. Ron swallowed sheepishly whilst tentatively rubbing his arm. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ginny muffling her laughter. This sort of behavior who obviously normal between them.
"No, it's okay. My dad was killed a few years ago in the Ministry of Magic and I was taken away from my mother because she neglected me" I said. Everyone just stared at me. No one seemed to know what to say.
"I'm sorry" Harry murmured after a long and uncomfortable silence. I smiled at him piteously.
"Thanks, Harry".
"Wait, wasn't your dad Scorpius Snape?" Ron piped up. "He got shot at the Ministry, didn't he? My dad was there that day, he said it was petrifying". Hermione gasped over-dramatically.
"Oh, gosh. I remember reading about that in the Daily Prophet. I'm so sorry, Radia" she said. I just smiled at her. I understood that people didn't know the appropriate reaction to my father's death. It wasn't a normal death for a wizard. I appreciated their sympathy though. I decided quickly that I would quite like to stay friends with this group.
Ginny, Hermione and Ron walked ahead, chatting about the tournament arrangements. Harry hung back slightly with me.
"Your dad, his name was Scorpius Snape?" he asked me.
"Yes".
"Was he, by any chance, related to Professor Severus Snape? He's the Potions Master at Hogwarts". I nodded.
"I know. My dad was Severus' brother. I couldn't go and live with him when dad died because...well, I don't know why actually" I replied, chuckling nervously. Harry smiled at me; it was a sweet smile, made me feel safe.
"Well, I won't say anything bad about him if he's your uncle" he joked.
"Go for it, I've never met him!" I laughed.
"Well, I think he's a slimy bastard who's also a terrible teacher". I chuckled heartily.
"Oh God" I muttered, giggling.
"Don't worry about him, we'll look after you!" Harry promised, smiling at me cheekily.
"Thanks, Harry. I appreciate it" I beamed. Harry returned my look and we walked on together.
Out of breath and sweating slightly, my scarf wrapped tightly around my neck, we finally reached Stoatshead hill.
Mr Weasley called out "there it is. Come along, everyone! Hurry up!" On the top of the hill, in front of the still, orange sunset, sat an old muddy boot. Everyone was stood round it, then they knelt down and grabbed onto different parts of it. I knelt down in between Cedric and Mr Weasley.
"Ced, what are you doing?" I questioned.
"Just grab the boot and hold onto me" he instructed. So I did as he said and before I knew it, we were spinning out of control. Hermione squealed loudly and Ron screamed, until suddenly, thud!