** Again, this isn't real exciting, but I think it's a fairly important chapter nonetheless as it introduces some more characters. Tell me what you think! **

"Bye Mum, Dad!" I called out the window of the Hogwarts Express. I could see the waving hands of my parents, my aunts and uncles, even my grandparents as the train began to move slowly away from the platform. I was in a compartment with Annelies as we set off for our fifth year at Hogwarts. There were a couple of nervous-looking first years occupying the seats opposite us; we hadn't been able to find an empty one for just the two of us.

I remembered the first time I had sat on this train with Annelies. That time, Natalie had been there, too. Something must have changed in her after she was sorted into Slytherin; she wasn't mean to us, exactly, but she turned her back to us with a cold ignorance that was probably just as bad.

Of course, it wasn't just Natalie that acted that way towards me, and Annelies, too, because of her association with me; news of my transformation had spread like wildfire that day, and by the time I walked into the Great Hall the next morning, more heads turned than usual, with people whispering quietly as I walked by.

The gossip had lost it's spark, of course, but no one had forgotten what happened that day, especially not the Ravenclaws who had witnessed it or the Slytherins. The only ones left to stick up for me were my family and, as always, Annelies. I couldn't help but wonder why she still stuck with me.

"Hello," a small voice said, snapping me out of my reverie. I looked up to see one of the first years in our compartment watching me.

"Hi," I replied, startled.

"I'm Thomas," the boy said.

"Hi, Thomas," I said.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah," I replied. "Why?"

"You looked sad," he shrugged.

"I'm fine," I smiled, probably unconvincingly. I was grateful for the fresh batch of incoming first years; they were probably too much younger to become good friends, but at least they could look at me without grimacing. "But thank you."

I noticed three long, claw-like marks on the side of Thomas's cheek; they were faint, but still visible. I was almost going to ask him about it when the girl sitting next to him spoke up.

"Aren't you Victoire Weasley?" she asked pompously, sitting up straighter, the quick move making her mass of short, dark brown curls bounce.

"Yes..." I said hesitantly. How did she know me?

"My parents warned me to stay away from you," she said, looking at me appraisingly.

"How do they...?"

"I'm Dana Anderson. My older brother is in your grade," she said, seeming to know what I was about to ask.

"Oh, yes, Daniel... of course," I grimaced, seeing the resemblances in their dark hair and eyes. Knowing that Daniel was her brother, I wasn't surprised that her parents knew about me; Daniel had been the one that had really triggered my explosion.

"What did she do?" Thomas asked her.

"She's a veela," Dana replied slowly, annunciating the word 'veela' with particular disgust.

"Oh," said Thomas, looking confused. "What's a veela?"

Annelies and I laughed.

"A veela is-" I began, but I wasn't exactly sure what to say.

Dana spared me the need to speak.

"A veela is a human-like creature that usually takes the form of a very beautiful women who can easily charm men. When angered, veela transform into a bird-like creature and can throw fire. Magical historians think that the Sirens of Greek Mythology were actually veela," Dana chanted as if she were reciting the answer from a textbook.

"Oh," Thomas said again. "Well, we should be friends, Victoire. I'm a werewolf."

I heard a sharp intake of breath that belonged to Annelies.

"You're a werewolf?" Dana said incredulously with the same disgust she had used when describing veela.

"Yup," Thomas replied proudly.

"I've had enough of this," Dana said, standing up with a flourish.

"Enough of what?" Annelies burst out angrily. I looked over at her in surprise.

"My parents have signed me up to go to a school of Witchraft and Wizardry, haven't they?" Dana replied. "Not a school of werewolves and veela and who knows what other filth."

With that, Dana stepped out of the compartment, slammed the door shut behind her and bounced down the hall, dark curls bobbing.

"Filthy little-" Annelies stopped herself from completing the sentence.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. I'd never seen her get angry like that, not all of the time I'd known her.

"Fine," she snapped, still staring out the hall where Dana had disappeared. "Thomas, you stay away from her. She'll only be trouble."

***

Sure enough, when "Anderson, Dana", placed the sorting hat on top of her head, she was the first student to be sorted into Slytherin. She pulled it off her head, looking proud as she bounced her way over to the cheering Slytherin table. I looked over at Daniel to see his reaction; he didn't look so happy at the fate of his little sister. He had always seemed nice enough (not that I'd ever been able to talk to him), but I suspected that he might be an oddity in the family.

A few more students were sorted before "Heart, Thomas" was called up to take his turn on the stool. He stumbled his way up, keeping his head down as people whispered. Somehow, it seemed that Annelies and I were not the only ones who knew what he was.

"Gryffindor!" Called the hat. I had almost hoped that Thomas was in Ravenclaw; I felt a need to protect him, and Annelies seemed to have the same line of thought. At least, I figured, he wasn't in the same house as Dana, and I knew that he belonged in Gryffindor; after all, he had admitted that he was a werewolf, as fearless as if he were merely stating the color of his hair.

Despite the whispering from other houses, the Gryffindors cheered as Thomas made his way to their table; one of the older boys messed his hair genially, and his girlfriend cooed at the small boy, who looked a lot younger than his age, like a mother would her child. Another first year boy motioned towards himself, and Thomas sat down next to him.

I felt a pang of jealously as I watched the happy scene; would I ever be welcomed like that at school? Anywhere outside of my family, even?

Speaking of family, my eyes snapped back up to the front of the Great Hall when one of the last names, "Weasley, Louis," was called.

I watched my little brother sit down on the stool and place the hat over his eyes, letting it fall clumsily over his eyes. I wasn't sure where I wanted him to be sorted; sure, I'd love to have him with me in Ravenclaw, but it was probably best if he wasn't in the house full of people who had watched me transform last year and now hated me with a passion. Dominique, my younger sister by two years, was in Ravenclaw; she ignored me, mostly, during the year, though she apologized profusely every time we were at home. It had hurt a little at first, but it for the best that people didn't automatically associate me with her.

"Gryffindor!" The hat yelled, and Louis pulled it off, almost skipping over to the table in relief. I smiled as he sat down next to Thomas and his friend; yes, Gryffindor was a good place for him. My dad would be proud, too.

***

Once the feast and Professor McGonagall's speech were over, the Great Hall erupted into a jumble of clattering and talking a scraping chairs. Annelies hurried to the head of the table, calling for the first years to follow behind her; she had been chosen as prefect that year. I hadn't, but I wasn't exactly surprised.

I followed the rest of the crowd into the Entrance Hall and up the stairs to Ravenclaw Tower. Annelies and the other prefect, Daniel, explained to the first years that they would have to answer a question or riddle to gain access to the common room ("If wizards can conjure things from thin air, why must their still be shops and money?").

"One answer to this question might be that conjuration is a very difficult and impresice branch of magic," Annelies explained. "Or, you could say that **** Law explains that you cannot conjure certain things, such as food."

The first years looked slightly terrifed, but Daniel assured them that it'd be okay, and that they'd get used to it.

Then the door opened to the common room I know knew so well, and everyone clambered in, settling down in their usual chairs.

Except for me. Rather, I combed quickly through the bookshelves that were the Ravenclaws' own mini library for something to read. I settled for "Charming: A Wizard's Guide to Performing Any Charm Easily." I wanted to do some reading to try and get caught up with everyone else before O.W.Ls were upon us. However, I knew books could only get me so far; I had excelled in all of the subjects that just required reading, memorization and hard work: arithmancy, muggle studies, and even history of magic, despite the fact that it was probably the most boring subject ever created. It was the classes in which I actually needed to perform magic (Charms and Defense Against the Dark Arts) that I failed at. I was okay in potions, though Professor Shalf, the potions master, seemed to particularily hate me after the news of my outburst had spread last year.

Not even wanting to deal with everyone, I went straight up the staircase to the dormitories. My trunk was there, along with my snowy owl, Hedwig II, who had been a gift from my uncle Harry. I rummaged through it, pulling out my pajamas and changing quickly before settling into warm bed.

I picked up the book, trying to focus on it, but I realized that I had read the same introductory paragraph at least three times without picking up any of it's meaning.

The dormitory wasn't exactly sound proof; I could hear the muffled laughter from the common room below, the constant chatting as people caught up with each other after summer break. I sniffed, imagining I was down there, fitting in just like everyone else. I would be sitting in the love seat by the fire with my boyfriend, laughing flirtasiously. I wouldn't be ugly, but my hair would be a little frizzier, perhaps, and I'd have a pimple or two. Just enough to make me look like a normal girl.

I sniffed as I realized that a tear was dripping down my perfectly smooth face. I wiped it away with my perfectly smooth fingers, tucked by perfectly shiny hair behind me, as I tried to forget my not-so-perfect life. I knew I should have been grateful; what girl didn't want to be stunningly beautiful to every guy?

But in this situation...

It just wasn't worth it.

I lay awake for a while, just imagining that I was down there, getting along with everyone else, until my daydreams melted into real dreams, and my tears melted into my soft pillow.

***

Schedules were handed out the next morning over breakfast; the first thing I did after getting mine was rush back to Annelies to compare; she had chosen different classes than me to pursue her dream of becoming a Healer, but there were still the classes that we were required to take.

I sighed in relief when I saw that we had potions together; I wasn't sure that I could deal with Shalf all by myself for the whole year.

"We've got Defense Against the Dark Arts together, too," she said excitedly, "and Charms! And Transfiguration!"

I smiled. "That's a relief."

"Attention," a voice called from the front of the hall. Everyone went silent as Professor McGonogall adressed the crowd. "Any students wishing to try out for their house's quidditch team should submit their names to me before they leave for their classes this morning. The date for tryouts will be decided by each house's captain."

Annelies had never been one for sports, but I had wanted to be on the quidditch team since I'd flown on a broomstick last year. I didn't have much experience, but if I did well enough at tryouts, it wouldn't matter. I had a sinking feeling that I knew what everyone else's reactions would be when I showed up at tryouts, but for a moment, I didn't care.

"I'm going to tryout," I said suddenly, quickly finishing the last of my cornflakes and standing up.

"What?" Annelies looked up, surprised.

"I'm trying out for the quidditch team," I repeated confidently.

"You... but... have you ever even flown?"

"Twice," I smiled; I had flown during our flying class first year, and then again last year when I needed to get back to the castle after my outburst.

"I-well..." I had a hunch that Annelies was trying to come up with a gentle way to tell me that it was a really, really, stupid idea.

"I know it's stupid," I shrugged. "But you know, everyone hates me already, so I may as well do what I want," I smiled sweetly and strutted up to the front of the hall, a newfound purpose in my walk.