The beginning

Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Hogwarts Express
Afternoon

Antanasia looked out the window where she was comfortably curled up, lost in thought as her fellow Slytherin six and seven years talked and joked about the upcoming school year. She tuned out her friends and turned her attention to the world outside the train, watching the world fly past her. She was always apprehensive of how fast the Hogwarts Express went, regardless of any wizardry involved. She felt as if the train could come flying off the tracks at anytime, then she would think about how high up the train was, and then...Antanasia swallowed hard, willing herself to think of something else. Hand shaking, she reached into her purse and pulled out a romance novel, and began reading, becoming nearly absorbed in the book, but not enough to let her guard down, one ear vaguely listening to what was happening around her.

Sunay, frustrated and upset from all she had been through in the preceding morning, pattered swiftly down the corridor of the Hogwarts Express, blocking everything out as she went. Her mind was cluttered with change and worry, none of which she was happy about.

She had gotten up early that morning, climbed out of bed and made sure everything was packed. Saying goodbye to her brother and sister, her parents loaded her luggage into the car and lectured her the whole way, telling her again and again to be respectful and listen her her instructors. She simply nodded and gazed back at their country home, having barely broken it in before being whisked away to a new life, just as she had been whisked away from her home in Turkey as well.

Mother, sitting in the front seat, gazed back at her with a bittersweet smile, knowing this would be the last time for nearly half a year that she would see her eldest daughter. But that was how it had to be, as the modest school she had previously attended was over two thousand miles away. Hogwarts, it seemed, was not much better.

She had arrived at King's Cross right on time, taking her trunks to Platform Nine and Three-Quarters and, with the assurance of her family, burst through the wall with them. They bid their farewells, embracing her tightly, then left for the Muggle World, leaving her truly alone for the first time in her life. She had boarded and fought to find a car ever since, finding every one of them occupied to capacity or full of snickering Gryffindors, neither of which were conducive to providing her with the sweet sleep she desired.

Then, peering into a car and finding nothing but Green and Silver, she asked, her accent still very obvious, "Is that seat taken?", eying the spot next to a cute, raven-haired girl.

Antanasia looked up from her book, aware that someone was addressing her. "Pardon?" she asked as she mentally replayed everything she had heard in the past two minutes.

"Oh...no, it isn't taken," she smiled reassuringly up at the new girl, revealing her fangs. "You're new here, yes? I'm Antanasia Vladescu, and these lovely people," she gestured to her cabinmates, "are Scorpio Malfoy," a pale boy nodded at the two girls, "Lacey Parkinson," a brunette smirked at Sunay, "and Franklin Goyle," a sallow faced boy blinked lazily. "I think you'll fit in with us really well," Antanasia told the new girl. "As long as you're not a Gryffindork, a zombie, or a werewolf. Major point losage if you're either."

"Thank you," she blushed. It had been a much warmer welcome than she expected. She sat quietly, then turned to Antanasia and grinned nervously.

"My name is Sunay Demir. I just moved to the UK from Turkey, so i apologize if my English isn't perfect yet. I've only been learning for a few years. I'm a sixth year," she swallowed. "And i'm not any of those things. I'm one-fourth Naga, but not a werewolf or a Gryffindor..." A moment of silence greeted her, bringing sheer terror as she cautiously gazed out the window. She had never been on a train before, much less a magical one, and the scenery whizzing by dizzied her for a moment. Then, looking around, she took in everyone else.

Antanasia looked rather sophisticated, her dark hair gleaming as the sun shone in from outside. A book was tucked under her arm, but Sunay couldn't see what it was. Lacey looked slightly annoyed, sighing occasionally and flicking her hair out of her face. Franklin appeared rather tired, his eyelids heavy as the rest of him, but his presence seemed the least tense of the lot. Then, finally, there was Scorpio, the pale (yet strangely dark), blonde-haired boy across from her. She quickly turned her gaze from him.

Antanasia (I'm not a Disney Princess) watched Sunay take in the surrounding people and scenery. "It's a lot to take in at a time," she chuckled, remembering herself when she was a first year, scared out of her wits and trying desperately to hide her vampirism. Today, however, she flaunted her fangs with pride, getting a small kick out of scaring the annoying first years.

Marking her page and putting the book back in her bag, Antanasia turned back to Sunay, "So what brings you to Hogwarts? Surely there are wizarding schools in Turkey, yes?" she inquired, her Romanian accent slowly creeping into her voice.

[Sorry, fixed. Loved Anastasia, but she wasn't a Disney character. Anyway...]

"Yes, we have many there, but we moved here for my father's job," Sunay replied, carefully selecting her words. "He's a Ministry worker now. He was very prominent in the Turkish magical government. We have a home in Kent now..." she sighed. "I'm sorry, i'm a bit nervous. I've never been on my own like this."

Her worries thrust into the front of her mind again. Though she seemed to have made some friends for the moment, what if she made a wrong move? What if this girl, Antanasia, was only pretending to be king to her? And the fact that she wasn't a pure witch only complicated things further. She knew half-muggles caught a lot of slack for their blood, but what of a quarter-Naga? Vampires...they were accepted, it seemed. Did these people even know what a Naga was?

"It's fine," Antanasia reached out and took Sunay's hand reassuringly. Always a warm person, she wasn't exactly the stereotypical, cold and aloof Slytherin. But she did have a penchant for being nasty. Maybe that's why she was chosen for Slytherin house. "I was afraid my first year, too. It does get better with time. Especially the boys," she winked carelessly, choosing to ignore Scorpio and Franklin's presence, even with Scorpio right across from her. It wasn't like they weren't used to Antanasia's flirtatious nature by now. She smiled conspiratorily at Lacey, "Right, Lace?"

"Yeah, sure," the brunette muttered, obviously annoyed with her Scorpio-ogling being interrupted. Antanasia rolled her eyes in annoyance. 'For the love of all that is holy, when will that girl take a hint? Scorpio's repeatedly spurned her advances,' she grumbled internally, feeling a stab of jealousy for Lacey's affections towards the hottest boy in Slytherin.

The vampiress turned her gaze back on Sunay, recalling something the girl had said earlier, "A Naga? Wow, don't exactly get a lot of those nowadays, especially Naga witches."

Sunay slipped her hand from Antanasia's, blushing again. "I guess you're right. I'm just very unused to all of this. I knew everyone from birth back where i used to live, but here, i don't know anyone. Still," she looked up and smiled, "i'm excited for all this change."

Then her face grew stoic and and she sighed, then continued.

"Yes...we are few in numbers...witches found pure blood very important until rather recently, and the Naga are the same. Few have opened up to the outside world. That and the fact that our native lands of Arabia are a war-zone now, you can see why we're uncommon. Most have fled to Greece or India, and Turkey is becoming dangerous as well. That's why my father took the job in the Ministry, he thought it would be better in the country," she lied. Well, it was true that her family would be safer in here, but that wasn't the only reason.

"I've never met a vampire before," she changed the subject. She had heard much about their kind, read about them at school, but never come fang to fang with one.

Antanasia couldn't help but smile at the mention of her people. Well, half people. But she felt more vampire than witch. "Oh really? We've been coming out into society more since Voldemort died. Well, most of us. There are still the old stiffs that don't go out into sunlight, and hate humans with a burning passion. But they really are the minority," Antanasia explained. "We don't really care about bloodlines, any blood is good blood."

"My people never stepped foot outside of the Middle East before his death. And yes, i have heard of the Vampire's ways. You are quite prolific...or was it polyamorous? I'm not sure which word i'm looking for." She palmed the back of her neck in embarrassment as the others chuckled.

"Yeah, polyamory suits Antanasia well." Lacey teased.

"Hey, you're one to talk!" Antanasia chuckled at Lacey's comment. "But yes, I am prolific with my polyamorous ways," she smiled laughingly, "I have what, four, five lovers?"

"I'm not sure blood muffins count as lovers," Lacey smirked. "Only if you name them."

Antanasia snorted, "Oh, like how you name your romance novels? Then you have me beat, Lace."

The witch pouted, "Hey, no fair! EVERY girl reads at least one of them in her life! I'm perfectly normal!"

"Or perfectly lonely?" Scorpio drawled, a smirk on his face. "You practically have a bookstore in your trunk, Parkinson."

A giggle fought to escape Antanasia, who always seemed to turn into a giggling fool near the young Malfoy. She hastily turned the giggle into a cough, hoping Lacey wouldn't call her out on it. Ever since they were first years, Lacey and Antanasia had fought for Scorpio's affections, even though they were close. It was just so hard to resist the pale, blond young man that practically screamed danger.

Sunay laughed nervously at the exchange, finding it droll but not wishing to upset anyone with her giggles. The dynamics of the group were becoming clear to her even now, with only a few minutes of observation. Antanasia was something of a leader, or at least a spokesperson, with her take-charge attitude. Lacey was clearly the second in command, but her part in the group had yet to be clearly defined. Draco was calm and collected, and had two women wrapped around his finger, ever if he didn't know it. And Franklin? Well, he was just there to take up the extra space.

Sunay calculated how she herself might fit in, if she stuck with this group. Then again, there was a myriad of other students she could peruse, her shyness notwithstanding, if she wished to find a collection in which she could be the matriarch. However, none of this appealed to her, and she resolved to hover around these four in the meantime, at least until she was settled in.

After all, Scorpio and Antanasia were quite interesting to her.

"We don't bite, Sun," Antanasia told Sunay as she heard the nervous tone in her laughter. "You're one of us, after all." She glanced quickly at Scorpio to see if he approved of this statement. Yet he was back to staring moodily out the window. She sighed in frustration, "Right, you guys?"

"Sure," Lacey shrugged nonchalantly, then leaned over to whisper almost silently in the vampire's ear, "As long as she doesn't go after my Scorpy!"

Antanasia rolled her eyes at the nickname. "Really, Lacey?"

Franklin and Scorpio were still silent, Scorpio being lost in his thoughts, Franklin...well, he wasn't that bright, to be honest. He WAS Gregory Goyle's offspring, after all.

"You know, snakes can't hear but i certainly can," Sunay shot the slightest look at Lacey, then softened her gaze to look back at Antanasia. "Thanks. That really means something to me. I was very afraid that everyone would shun me. I'm glad i don't have to worry about that anymore," she paused a moment. "So how long before we arrive at Hogwarts," she asked.

Sunay was starting to feel very uncomfortable in the tiny car. She wished to be outside again, and definitely not in the city as she had been earlier. She could only hope that Hogwarts was more open.

"Um, about another fifteen minutes," Antanasia said as checked her watch. "And anytime, Sunay. You're certainly not the first girl Lace has targeted because of him. And you won't be the last."

She gazed out the window, letting herself be engrossed in the scenery flashing by, thinking over everything that had happened in the past hour or so. Nagas, snarky girls, blood muffins, Scorpio...and Antanasia had a feeling the year would bring definite change to her small clique of friends. Which now included a Turkish Naga.

"Oh, all right," she said, happily.

The rest of the train ride was spent in quiet conversation between the group, though it was mostly Sunay, explaining more about her life in Turkey.

She told of her family, her mother and father, and how different they were. She spoke about her brother, an artist who seemed to not have a bit of Naga blood in him, and of his sister, who seemed more Naga than witch. She also reminisced of her large, old home in the Turkish countryside and how there were many, smaller magical schools there, as opposed to the great academies of France and Great Britain. There, most everyone had at least a bit of Naga in their blood, or alternatively the blood of a Djinn or even a Werewolf. She had many companions there, mostly underclassmen girls or boys from her grade. There, she was well known for being a bit of a loner even within her large group, wandering off, and her impromptu skinny-dipping trips in the river. She was most certainly a creature of the water.

Then, as the they finally pulled into the train stop at Hogwarts, Sunay was over-flowing with excitement.

Vasili sat in his seat on the train and decided that he needed to talk a walk on the train. He knew by now that with this little time to Hogwarts, he wasn't suppose to get up, but he needed to. He couldn't stand sitting for so long.

Vasili carefully got out of the compartment, which was a bit of a chore for him since he was such a large student, thanks to Rugby and Quidditch.

"Hmm lots of first years on this car." He said with a sigh as he began to walk past a bunch of Slytherin students.

Antanasia listened raptly as she stared out the window, even laughing a bit at the skinny dipping bit. Once they pulled into the station, she threw on her robes over her uniform, excited to finally be back at Hogwarts. She tried reaching up to get her trunk, but struggled. Lacey snickered at her height issues, but Scorpio had taken down the heavy trunk for her, putting a sudden end to Lacey's chuckles as she pouted and tried the short, helpless damsel routine. Franklin took her luggage down.

"Wanna ride to school with me?" Antanasia asked Scorpio as Lacey seethed.

He laughed as he politely declined, "I think Lace over here might have a coronary if I accepted, I already promised I'd ride with her." Scorpio shot an apologetic look at the young vampiress, who was trying not to pull out Lacey's perfect, highlighted locks out of her head.

She recovered quickly, "It's fine, Malfoy, I'll just meet up with you later, I'd much rather ride with Sunay." The five Slytherins ventured out of their cabin amongst the other Hogwarts students, trying to ignore those who weren't in their little posse that more or less ruled Hogwarts.

Vasili watched the a Hogwarts student called Antanasia, he had liked her but he figured for the most part he wasn't anywhere near her league. First off she was a Slytherin with an inbred hate for all things Gryfindor. Secondly he was part werewolf, and she part vampire. The two races never really seemed to get along together, so he had to just deal he figured with watching her from a distance.

Vasili grabbed his stuff and headed out to the carriages that would bring them to the feast and the first years assignment of houses.

Antanasia felt Vasili's eyes on her as she walked down the corridors with her friends, but she ignored him. Vasili wasn't her type, with him being one of those goody-goody Gryffindorks and a werewolf. What could be worse? She glanced over at Scorpio. And another thing, why bother to go after a silly Gryffindork werewolf jock when she had her sexy Slytherin Scorpio within reach? It was like giving up human blood in exchange for red Kool Aid. Yet she couldn't help but be somewhat drawn to him.

"Ooooh, Antanasia, your boyfriend is looking at you!" Lacey giggled, perfectly aware of Antanasia's revolt but fascination with Vasili.

"Shut up," she growled menacingly. "Or I'll bite you."

Vasili pasted the group of Slytherin's, muttering just so that they could hear her. "Bet you she'd do it too." He smirked as he walked past.

"Ready to get whooped again this year in Quidditch?" he chuckled jobbing at some of the Slytherin Quidditch players as he passed them and loaded his own carriage before heading off to the Hogwarts Castle.

Sunay, stepping off the train Antanasia, marveled at the scene. There were just so many people here, and all of them were witches or wizards! So many chances at friendship, at fueds, at romance...it was overwhelming.

Then, off in the distance, past the thestral-drawn carriages was Hogwarts, in all of its majesty. A mountain of mortar and stone, Sunay's mouth slacked agape, trying to take it all in. Tall towers thrust up into the sky, raking against the heavens and sitting atop a massive range of rooms and corridors. She had seen pictures of it before, heard stories of it, but no one could ever capture the feeling of what it was like to really be there. All the while, she barely even noticed Lacey's exchange with Antanasia, and the boy who was silently watching her.

Antanasia glared at Vasili hatefully, "Maybe I'll bite you instead, Milkovich." She tossed her jet black hair over her shoulder flippantly. "C'mon, Sunay," she dragged her new friend off to one of the vacant carriages, trying to escape the creepy werewolf kid that Lacey kept telling her liked her. Antanasia had always chuckled at Lacey's suspicions. Werewolves just didn't like vampires, and Gryffindors didn't like Slytherins. As she had pointed out many times to Lacey, if Vasili was watching her, he was probably plotting her demise. Werewolves and vampires just didn't mix.

Sunay, ushered off by Antanasia, climbed clumsily into the carriage, excited for her first night at Hogwarts. She wondered, however, if she would have to get up and place on the sorting hat during the feast. After all, every part-Naga in the history of Hogwarts went into Slytherin, never any other house. And she wasn't technically a first-year student, even if she hadn't attended this school before.

The ride began as they bumped along on the uneven dirt road, sitting uncomfortably in the shabby cabin. Looking through the front, all she could see was the spindly, ethereal form of Thestrals, their wings shooting off from their bodies like flesh-buried arrows. She could certainly see them, but could Antanasia? Well, she must be able to, considering her being a Vampire.

Antanasia stared out the window, wondering what Scorpio and Lacey were up to in their carriage. 'Probably snogging it up, if Lacey has any say in the matter,' she thought glumly. 'And what about that creepy Vasili guy? Serious creeper. I hope Scorpio doesn't take him the wrong way...Oh my God, what if he thinks Milkovich and I are together, and that's why he didn't want to ride with me. Oh, God. I swear, if Vasili foils my plan to get Scorpio-' she stopped herself. 'Great, now a werewolf is getting in my way AND I sound like an evil villain. Today. Sucks.' She continued glaring out the window, lost in her thoughts, forgetting about Sunay temporarily.