Love Leaves a Marking

Chapter One: The Transfers

. . . Gadriela . . .

Thinking back to my first day at Hogwarts: I was scared stiff, sitting alone on the Hogwarts Express. I was about to start a new school with new people and new teachers - no one that I knew. When my parents announced that we would be leaving Holland and moving to Britain, I knew it wouldn't be good. On my first day at the best wizarding school in the world, that was my opinion - now is another story.

I remember it as if it were yesterday. My mother was tearful as she bade me goodbye on the platform. Platform Nine and Three Quarters. I never fully understood that; I don't understand it even now. She gave me a hug, crying too much to say anything. I wasn't crying. I wasn't happy, but I wasn't crying. "Bye, Mum," I said softly, causing her to cry even more. I gently pulled away and hugged my father. "Bye, Dad."

"Bye, pumpkin," he said teasingly. He still calls me that.

I climbed onto the Hogwarts Express, which began to pull away. My grinning father and crying mother waved, and I waved back, forcing a smile. As the train rounded the corner I sank into a seat, staring out of the window across the bleak moors. There was nothing much to see, just land stretching way into the distance. It wasn't too boring, but I can't say I was content. I sat there, thinking about my old school and my old friends. I missed them. Holly, with her ridiculous laugh and hilarious jokes; Carla, the schemer and plot-carry-outer as we called her; Jasmine, the peacemaker of the group; Faye, the brainiac. I never really had a specific characteristic, but I suppose I could say I was the lookout when we were carrying out one of our 'evil' ideas - Carla locking our teacher in the broom cupboard for a whole day comes to mind.

I thought about my friends as the train rounded another corner and I rocked to the side. They would all be having fun together. I was furious with my mother and father at the time. I asked myself the same question again and again - why couldn't they start a business in Russia? Why did we have to move? It all seemed so unfair.

'But I want to stay here!' I'd wailed to my mother while we were still in Holland. It was ridiculous now I think about it, but back then I was an angry sixteen-year-old (going on seventeen, my birthday, October 1st, being quite early in the school year) hoping that a furious outburst and tears would change my parents' minds (my plan didn't work).

I could speak English, but I wasn't that good. Worse than now, definitely - but not too bad. I didn't have the widest vocabulary in the world but I could understand the basic stuff. The things I understood, I heard as 'Het hallo, hoe bent u?' and not 'Hello, how are you?' The things that I didn't understand were just a jumble of words, but I pieced the sentences together by using the words I did understand to help me.

Thoughts whirled around in my head as I stepped off the Hogwarts Express at Hogsmeade Station. It had been an uneventful ride. I think I even fell asleep halfway through the journey, because as I clenched my fists in the cold I had no recollection of a lot of the time I'd spent on the train. I was told that my luggage would be taken to the castle separately, and that I should just head up the platform to the lake. I did as I was told.

My first glimpse of Hogwarts was the school at its best. The sun was slowly setting, and a pinkish glow surrounded the castle. Shadows danced around the old building, and the lights in the great hall gleamed brightly. I was brought out of the trance I had fallen into by a gigantic man with a bushy black beard coming to stand beside me. "It's beautiful, don't yeh think?" he asked me.

"Mmm," I murmured. I looked up at him. "Are you the caretaker?"

"Gamekeeper," he replied. "Forgive me feh not introducin' meself. Rubeus Hagrid, keeper of the keys 'n' grounds at 'ogwarts." He extended a gigantic hand, which I shook politely. My hand seemed so small at that moment. I felt like a midget as he led me to the edge of the lake, where two boats were sitting. "Right, in yeh get," he instructed. I climbed into one and he climbed into the other, taking up the whole of the boat. "Ready? Forward!"

The boats began to move. I heard a whistle as the Hogwarts Express began to move again, but I wasn't really interested. I was looking intently at the castle and its grounds: the Quidditch pitch, the dark forest and the hut on its edge, the willow tree - it was all new, and to me, new things were interesting things. "Is this it all?" I asked curiously, wondering if there was anything else.

"Nah," Hagrid answered. "There's a graveyard round the other side."

I shuddered, deciding that it would be best not to look into that any further. "What Quidditch teams are here?"

"One fer each o' the houses."

"Oh." I couldn't think of anything else to say. When he said houses, I began to wonder which one I would be in - Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. I didn't know much about any of them as my mother and father didn't really read up on the school's history - it only took the fact that Hogwarts was the best wizarding school in probably the whole world to convince them. All I knew was that some wizard called Tom Marvolo Riddle was in Slytherin, and that didn't tell me much as I didn't even know who Tom Marvolo Riddle was.

The doors opened as we climbed out of the boats. A tall, dark-haired woman wearing square spectacles and dressed in emerald green was waiting for us. The first thought that went through my head was that getting on the wrong side of her was a no-no. She looked like she followed everything by the rules, with everything about her neat and tidy, and her hair in an tight, orderly bun. Steel blue eyes bore into me as we got closer, and I started to feel even more scared than I already was. Were all the teachers like this?

"Here yeh go, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said as we stopped in front of her. I can't describe my relief - this woman wasn't an inspector from the Ministry out to get me, but the Deputy Headmistress. I'd heard that the McGonagalls were a powerful wizarding family, and the confident look about Professor McGonagall made that even more believable.

"Follow me." Professor McGonagall's accent was a broad Scottish one. She turned and led me into the entrance hall, where bright lights shined above us. I was filled with warmth. The entrance hall alone was certainly inviting. The Deputy Headmistress stopped at a pair of double doors and turned to face me again. She raised her voice slightly to be heard over the chatter coming from the room beyond the doors. "In a few moments you will be sorted into one of the four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. I shall return when we are ready for you." She headed through the doors, and the chatter died down slightly. I realised that the sorting would take place in this room, the Great Hall.

I peered inside inquisitively. A man with a long white beard was sitting at the centre of the staff table, in front of the Hogwarts crest - Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster and supposedly the most powerful wizard in the world. Four long house tables took up the space left by the identical staff table. Laughing, chatting students were sitting along both sides of these tables. I glanced around the room to see what I could find out about the houses by looking at the students in each one. The red and gold Gryffindors looked good, brave people; the Hufflepuffs struck me as tag-alongs for some reason; the Ravenclaws looked intelligent and studious. I came to the Slytherins. They looked the opposite of the Gryffindors - sly and cunning, their smirks identical. One boy caught my eye. He looked about the same age as me, with white blond hair and blue-grey eyes. Something about him appealed to me.

Dumbledore stood up and said something that I didn't quite catch, but I heard my name. Seconds later Professor McGonagall returned. "We are ready for you now." I followed her anxiously into the great hall, knowing that walking through those doors was the equivalent of walking into a new life.

. . . Hermione . . .

As the headmaster stood, the noise level in the great hall went from very loud to completely silent. I always marvelled at the way Dumbledore had that effect on people, even when he did nothing but stand up; I still do. I wondered what was happening. It was September 2nd, so I didn't think it could be anything that important - important announcements were given on the first day of term. However, this was actually quite important, if one looked at it in that light.

"As well as Harmony, we have another transfer, Gadriela Alohra, who is from Holland. Although she is not a teaching assistant, she deserves just as much respect - starting a new school in the middle of everything is much worse than starting as a first year. She will be sorted in a few seconds." We all waited, and just as Dumbledore had said, a few seconds later the doors opened and Professor McGonagall swept in, followed by a girl who looked about the same age as me. She had straight blonde hair that came to just above her elbows, and was not too tall but not too small. I couldn't quite make out the colour of her eyes from my position, but they appeared to be quite light in colour. I felt quite sorry for her, as she was alone and all students were staring at her.

She sat on the stool nervously. I couldn't blame her for being petrified. We waited for a few seconds before ..

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I clapped along with everyone else as she sat down quite near to me. Lavender and Parvati immediately launched into conversation. I fought the urge to laugh at their stupidity - they were too eager and giggly to even consider the fact that she would most likely not have a vocabulary as broad as theirs. It took all my strength to restrain myself as she gave them a puzzled look and said, "I don't understand." The look of surprise on their faces was priceless.

"She's Dutch, you dimwits," I laughed. "My name is Hermione," I said kindly, extending my hand across the table. She smiled gratefully and shook it. "What do you think of Hogwarts?" I asked.

She looked around and smiled, nodding. "I haven't seen it all, but it looks good."

"It is," I said reassuringly. "You'll love it." She smiled and began tucking into the food on the plate in front of her. Lavender and Parvati looked quite disappointed, and they watched her for a few seconds before carrying on with their conversation (which was, unsurprisingly, about boys). I grinned and carried on with my own meal. I was soon approached by Harry and Ron.

"Hey, 'Mione," Ron greeted. "You looking forward to getting all dolled up for the Yule Ball this year? They're saying it's going to be fantastic."

I gave him a sceptical look. "Really, Ron. I don't have time for things such as spending an hour in front of the mirror, applying make-up. And what is it to you anyway? Boys and lipgloss didn't go together last time I checked."

"I was only asking," Ron replied, putting on a fake hurt look.

"Since when did you have any concerns for the Yule Ball?" I asked as I swallowed the remnants of a roast potato. "If I remember rightly, you nearly had a fit in fourth year just because you had to wear dress robes. So why are you asking me about it all of a sudden?"

"He's just asking you that because he couldn't think of another way to bring the subject up," Harry explained. Although chances of him smiling were nil thanks to last summer's events, I could tell he was amused. "What he really wants is you to find out if Lavender fancies him."

I snorted. Ron and Lav? She was so girly it would drive him insane, but she was quite pretty. "Ron likes Lavender?"

"Yeah," Harry replied absently, carrying on eating. Ron, however, was bright red and looked like he was about to strangle both of us. He caught my eye and I smiled gently. The colour of his face faded to pink, but he still looked quite angry. I shook my head. Boys, I thought as I placed my knife and fork at the side of my plate, full to the brim.

At the end of the feast I pulled Ron aside. "Ron, prefect duties. I took the first years to the common room last year. It's your turn. Anyway, Gadriela doesn't know the way, so I'm going to show her."

Ron groaned. "Harry, mate, you are so lucky you're not a prefect." He stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Gryffindor first years follow me! And be quick about it!" I laughed a little. Ron was ridiculous sometimes.

"See you later 'Mione, I'm whacked," Harry yawned, trudging tiredly up the stairs. I made my way over to Gadriela.

"Would you like me to take you to the common room?" I asked. She smiled and nodded. I led her to the stairs. From the look on her face I didn't think she was used to such a big crowd. I was the same in my first year - to start at a new school with over 900 students was quite frightening. I watched students go down different corridors - Gryffindors going up, Slytherins down, and Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw heading along ground floor passages. I sighed quietly when I remembered that we had to climb all the way up to the seventh and highest floor. "It's very high up," I told Gadriela.

"It doesn't matter," she replied. "I want to see the common room, and if I have to climb to the top of the castle I will."

I smiled. For someone who didn't understand that much English, she'd put it very well. We climbed all the way up, and by the time we reached the top we were exhausted. Exhausted, because after six weeks of relaxation we had not adjusted to this, but happy all the same. I climbed through the portrait hole and Gadriela followed me. My thoughts as I entered the common room were that this year was looking good. Fifth year had been awful, but miraculously, sixth year was looking good.

. . . Harmony . . .

Even after quite a bit of practice at watching an enormous crowd of people come into the common room at the same time, I still wasn't used to it. I knew from experience (even if it was only a day's experience) that it was best to put all work away immediately. I had just turned 18, and having a job as Transfiguration teaching assistant came with marking quite a few papers - but that couldn't be done in the mayhem of the first week. I graded the one I had just read and stacked them up neatly. There weren't that many, because even Minerva couldn't give people too much homework in the first week of term.

I spotted Hermione, whom I had become quite friendly with, and waved her over to where I was sitting. She came over, followed by a girl I didn't recognise. The stranger was about a millimetre shorter than Hermione, and had blonde hair that reached just above her elbow and blue eyes. I have been told a number of times that my eyes are the brightest of bright blues, and one can tell their colour even from a distance. From a distance the stranger's eyes would have looked grey, but I was close enough to see that they were blue.

"Harmony, this is Gadriela Alohra, she's from Holland," said Hermione. I smiled at Gadriela. "Gadriela, this is Harmony, she's the Transfiguration teaching assistant. She's a kind of transfer too." I'm not sure Gadriela fully understood Hermione's words, but she seemed to get the gist and smiled back at me.

"So do you like it here so far?" I asked.

Gadriela nodded. "It's great."

"Is it different to your old school?"

"Yes and no. They are both castles and they are both big, but very different inside."

"Did you have a boyfriend?"

"No." I smiled. She couldn't be a bad sort if she knew that to a female Hogwarts student, boyfriend was one of the most important words in the English language. I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and grinned.

"So, do you have your eyes on anyone here?"

Gadriela's eyebrows shot up and she looked quite shocked. "No!" she said quickly, laughing.

I looked at my watch. It was nearly ten o'clock. "I'm turning in," I said, "goodnight." Hermione and Gadriela chorused 'Goodnight' and I climbed out of the portrait hole, heading for my quarters. It was great to have my own room in school. I'd customised it already, with white carpet, a fluffy white rug, white sheets and canopy, both with gold edging, a dressing table, a walk-in wardrobe, and all the Muggle objects I'd tweaked so that they would work at Hogwarts. At the time I was perfecting the art of magic without a wand, a talent that ran through the family, so that had helped a lot. Mostly the room was white and gold.

Knowing for sure that I was going to love my job at Hogwarts, I changed into a pair of white pyjamas and fell asleep.