Tara Atrio hated attention, so as she stood with her family on Platform 9 3/4 with everyone giving her glances as they walked by, she felt incredibly uncomfortable. There were people everywhere saying goodbye to their families and waving from the train, causing the station to fill with incredible noise of chatter.
She had been dreading this day ever since her letter arrived, and now, as she stood here, her stomach was curling in on itself. She couldn't help but think she wouldn't be able to make friends. She had never been good at putting herself out there.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned around to see her mother crouching down in front of her, a gentle smile gracing her face.
"I can see you're worried, sweetie. What's wrong?" her mother said. Tara opted for keeping her thoughts of loneliness to herself and instead focused on another thing that had been bothering her.
"What if I'm not in Slytherin?"
"Then we'll force you to eat spinach and mushrooms every day for the rest of your life." Her father said, a big grin on his face. "Don't worry, honey. We don't mind what house you're in. In fairness, it would actually be rather cool to have another house associated with our family. With that we could prove we're not mean old Slytherins. So really, you'd be doing us a favour." he ruffled her hair before turning back to her twin brother, Roman, who was also attending school this year.
"Your father's right, sweetie. The sorting hat will put you where you belong, and we have no issue with you belonging somewhere that isn't Slytherin." Her mother said reassuringly, smiling at her daughter who looked very lost.
She nodded as the train whistle could be heard, making the people still on the platform begin to rush. The Atrio's included.
"My friends just got on; I'm going to go catch up with them. Do you want to come along?" Roman asked. Tara was grateful for his offer and might have gone with him if it weren't for his friends. They were extremely intimidating, and she didn't like them very much, so she shook her head. Roman nodded. "See you at Hogwarts then." He said before hugging his parents goodbye and walking onto the train.
"You've got to get on the train before it leaves, sweetie." Her mother said, standing up and placing a hand on her back. "Roman will be there the entire time and you can always send us letters; everything will be fine." Tara nodded but was not convinced. Yet, she said goodbye, hugged her parents tightly, and walked onto the train, all the while holding back tears.
She noticed immediately as she walked through the train, that most of the compartments were full. This was something she had not anticipated as she was hoping to sit alone. She knew only her brother on this entire train and that though stuck with her as she dreaded the year to come. Luck, it seemed, was on her side because she finally found an empty compartment and sat down by the window, relief flooding through her. The train's whistle went of once more and the train began to pull out of the station.
The reality of the situation started to settle as she looked out at the moving landscape. She was going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, alone, without a single friend or any special magical skills. She was getting quite distressed and couldn't help but think of the worst-case scenarios, but before she could worry anymore the compartment door opened suddenly. In the doorway stood a boy with the most striking features she had ever seen. The boy had dark curly hair and dark skin. His eyes were a most striking pale blue and were a stark contrast to his skin. The boy was smiling, and his eyes were twinkling. Before she could think about why he was here or get nervous about it, the boy spoke, looking incredibly happy.
"Hello! Do you mind I sit here?" He asked in the most enthusiastic voice she had ever heard anyone use asking such a simple question. "Everywhere else is full," he continued.
Tara couldn't bring herself to say no to the overly excited boy with the striking eyes, so she shook her head. The boy gave a big smile and thanked her profusely. He sat down across from her and looked at her for a while. The smile not leaving is face.
"I'm Pierre. Pierre Deneuve. What's your name?" The boy, Pierre was looking at her expectantly, so she had no choice but to answer the overly energetic boy and besides, she didn't want to be rude
"Tara." She said simply. She knew her face was red because she was nervous as hell. She hated it and it was so obvious because she was so pale. At least she had freckles that hopefully hid it slightly.
Pierre smiled at her again and started asking more questions. He did most of the talking, but after a while Tara started to become less nervous and began to open up to the boy. This is the first self-made friend she had, and the nervous girl couldn't help but swell a bit with pride .
She was telling Pierre about her parents who had both been Slytherins. Her mother a Pureblood and her father a Muggleborn. The moment the words registered with Pierre, he jumped with delight. She couldn't help but be amused by the energetic boy sitting across from her.
"We're both Half-bloods! We should probably stick together, who knows, we could be the only ones, and besides, I don't know anyone else but you. Friends?" he asked, a hopeful expression on his face. She probably smiled brighter than she had ever done with someone who was not in her family. She had made a friend. She nodded her head as fast as she could. She was happy her first friend was Pierre, who later during the ride had stated he would be in Gryffindor. Tara thought that very likely.
Pierre talked enough for the two of them, but Tara didn't mind, she liked listening to what he had to say. As he was talking about a whale safari he had been on in southern France, the compartment door sliding open stopped his chatter. In the doorway stood a boy with blond hair and freckles very similar to Tara's. Pierre looked from the boy to Tara and back again with confusion on his face.
"Hi, I just came to see if you were alright. I figured you found someone to sit with." Roman said "Who's this?" he asked, a hopeful tone to his voice.
"This is my friend, Pierre." she spoke up happily, a big smile on her face. She was comfortable with the amount of people in her vicinity.
"Roman Atrio, nice to meet you. I'm Tara's twin brother." Pierre smiled politely up at Roman, hiding the look of surprise on his face and introducing himself. Roman stayed only for a few minutes after that before leaving to sit with his friends once more.
The second the compartment door was shut, Pierre turned to her in surprise. "You're an Atrio! Like, The Atrio twins! Your parents must be awesome! Fighting against You-know-who! That's so badass." Tara let out a sigh. She never knew what to say when people began speaking of her parents fighting during the war. Pierre seemed to notice this and changed to topic to what her potential favourite school subject would be.
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"Firs' years follow me" a booming voice bellowed across the hordes of people at the station. Pierre and Tara made their way over to where the voice was coming from. They both looked up in awe and shock when they saw the giant of a man. He must have been at least 8 or 9 feet tall, his hands the size of dustbin lids and his massive cloak the size of a curtain. They followed the giant man to a dark lake where loads of boats with lanterns inside where waiting.
"No more'n four to a boat" the giant man called pointing to the little boats. Pierre and Tara sat down in a boat together, she was hoping to one else would join, but had no such luck. A boy sat down in the boat with them. She looked at the boy and realize it was Roman. A smile spread across her face and she exclaimed, "I'm actually more excited than nervous! Can you believe it!"
Out of nowhere Pierre nudged the both of them and pointed to the castle. She hadn't noticed the boats had started moving by themselves, so seeing Hogwarts was a slight shock. The castle was amazing. It was so majestic and beautiful with its tall towers and lights, illuminating the darkness around it.
Once they entered the castle Roman bid them goodbye before he left to go talk to his scary friends. They were all lead to the top of a staircase where they were instructed to wait by a stern looking witch in emerald green robes and a pointy hat atop her head, who introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. Tara was standing near the bottom of the stairs with Pierre beside her, feeling much more comfortable knowing no one could see her.
Once Professor McGonagall had left someone close to the top of the stairs started talking, mentioning Harry Potter. Everyone stilled at the mention of his name. She recognized the boy who was talking, to be one of Romans friends. Apparently, his name was Draco Malfoy. Behind Draco, she saw Romans other scary friends who apparently were Crabbe and Goyle according to Draco Malfoy who was now insulting a boy called Weasley, but what caught everyone's attention was the boy beside the Weasley boy. Harry Potter himself. Everyone was staring at the-boy-who-lived. But what made her worry was behind Draco Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle stood Roman looking at her with concern and worry. It seemed he was realizing at about the same time she was. He was friends with people who hated Harry Potter.
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The sorting hat had just finished the last lines of its song when Professor McGonagall rolled out a roll of parchment and started calling out names. She realized her name would be early on because it starts with an A. She felt extremely uncomfortable standing at the front of The Great Hall with all of Hogwarts students looking at them. All the excitement from the boats had converted into nerves again. She could feel her knees wobbling and her heart beating out of her chest.
"Atrio, Roman!"
As Roman stepped forward a few whispers suddenly broke out like hissing. Their family was well known, or their parents were. They played an important part during the war. Her brother gave her a reassuring glance along with a smile before he walked up and sat on the small stool. The hat was placed on his head and everyone waited in anticipation. He sat on the stool for quite a while before the hat called out for the whole Hall to hear.
"SLYTHERIN". The table to the left erupted in applause as he walked over and sat down beside his friends who had also been sorted into Slytherin.
She knew what was coming next.
"Atrio, Tara!"
More whispers erupted this time. Probably because they weren't expecting there to be two Atrios. Tara walked up to the hat and sat down. The hat was placed on her head and after just a second the hat called out.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
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A/N
So, this is my first Fan-fiction . I'm unsure if I should write in first person or third person. I mixed it up a bit in the first chapter (not very professional) so I have to edit it and decide what I should do. First person is easier, so I think I'll go for that. The book will get better I assure you.