Year of the Dragon

Chapter 1:

"I just don't think it's a good idea for you to go to wizarding school!" my mother pleaded. "You can learn so much more here in our world. We've managed for years without magic, and I think you should do the same."

"I can't believe you're doing this to me!" I screamed. "This is what I've dreamed about for years, ever since you told me dad was a wizard, and now I finally get accepted and now you're telling me I can't go!"

"Honey, you're only ten. I can't imagine you going off to school alone, growing up there. I'll never get to see you anymore, and I won't be a part of your life. You don't listen to me as it is, how will it be if you're at some crazy wizard boarding school?"

"This is why daddy left you! He hated how over-protective and sheltering you were. He hated how you want everything to be like you! I wish he would have taken me with him, not left me here with...with a MUGGLE!"

"Jennifer Rebekha Chambers! If you ever talk to me like that again, you can be sure that wizarding school will be a thing of the past!"

"I don't care! I'll run away. I'll get my own school stuff. You can't stop me! You can't keep me with muggles my whole life! I'm a witch, and I'm going to that school no matter what!"

"Go to your room. Go to your room right now. I don't want to hear another word about this silly school. I'll make my decision now."

* * * * * * * * * * *

My mother walked into my room about 45 minutes later. Apparently she had been doing some thinking, which was exactly what she interrupted. I didn't care though, I wanted to know if I was going to wizarding school or not.

"I guess you can go to this...this school. I'll take you to get your things tomorrow."

I was a bit dazed for a minute and then I started jumping up and down on the bed, yelling happily and thanking my mother as only a ten-year-old can do.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Four years went by, and they were quite un-eventful, surprisingly so, since we lived in New York City. I learned magic and showed my mom my favorite spells. I think she was happy that she decided to let me become a witch.

The summer I came home from Clearwater Institute (a private, all witch school), my mom had some interesting news for me.

"We're moving to Britain."

"WHAT?"

"I'm sorry dear, but we've got to."

"Cool! But, why are we going anyway?"

"We've...been targeted by the dark lord."

"Voldemort?"

"Voldemort? What are you talking about? Have you been reading those goofy Harry Potter books again? I told you not to keep borrowing those from your friends."

"They're not goofy, they're true. There really is a Harry Potter mom."

"I'm sure there is sweetie, now as I was saying, we've been targeted and we've got to move out of the states. Now get all your things packed up, we're leaving tonight."

"TONIGHT? But, what about all my friends mom?"

"You can write to them when we get to Britain. Take all of your things, unless you want the dark lord to have them. I'm sure he would enjoy your CD player," mom said sarcastically.

"I bet HE would like the music I listen to."

"No doubt," she said ambiguously.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-A Few Months Later-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Wow I'm really on platform 9 ¾! This is so COOL!" I said out loud. I got some weird stares then, but I didn't really care at the moment. 'I wonder if I'll meet Harry Potter and all his buddies...' I thought (silently). 'That would rock.'

"Excuse me," said someone behind me, with a small but obvious drawl in his voice.

'Oh great, just the person I want to meet first, evil Draco Malfoy,' I thought, obviously not having read ANY schnoogle fanfics. I had my ferret insults ready in case he felt like being rude, which, I reminded myself, he probably did.

"Are you the new girl from America?"

I turned around, "Huh? Um, I mean, yeah." I wanted to ask why he wasn't being a complete and total jerk, like he usually was to Harry and co., but it probably would have freaked him out if I knew him already. He must have grown up over the summer or something, because he was HOT. His silvery hair was un-gelled, and strands of it tended to fall in his gray blue eyes. They were like storm clouds in the winter, cold, mysterious, and beautiful. His face was classical and perfectly shaped. It was like a master designer sculptured him. Michelangelo came to my mind first. He was probably about 5'12" or so, because he wasn't that much taller than I. He had a thin, yet muscled, upper body, and a very tight ass. This was obviously not the Draco Malfoy from the Harry Potter books, and it definitely wasn't a bad thing either.

"Interesting accent. I'm Draco Malfoy, by the way. You are..."

"Jenny Chambers," I said, as I extended my hand, which he didn't shake, but kissed instead. 'I know what house I want to be in,' I thought.

"Need help with your stuff? It looks like you've got plenty of it," he added with a smirk.

"She doesn't want your help, Malfoy, so sod off," said someone. It was none other than Harry Potter himself. 'Excellent! They're going to fight over who gets to carry my suitcases!'

"And she would much rather have famous Potter and his stick figure arms carry them for her."

"Better than an ugly git like you Malfoy," said someone else. Who else but good old Ron Weasley? 'Oooh a three way battle. Could be interesting...'

"Look in a mirror Weasley, I'm sure you'd see something much uglier. Not that you could afford a mirror, but if your family ever scrounged enough money to buy one, you'd probably break it."

Without warning, Ron dove at Draco and they started brawling. I was beginning to think that this luggage thing was getting a little out of hand, and I was just going to hex them all and carry the stuff up myself when a third person came to our little reunion.

"Oh my gosh! Ron! Stop! He's not worth the effort! Harry! Why did you let him? Why don't you stop him? Ron! Stop! STOP!" Ron looked up at Hermione and stopped his mad effort to try and defeat Draco (which would never happen) for a moment. Harry grabbed Draco's robes, pulled him up, and slammed him into a wall. 'Well this is a fair fight.'

"Harry! Leave him!" Hermione was the obvious and very necessary peacemaker, although she honestly looked like she wouldn't mind if Draco had gotten hurt during the squabble.

"You're right, Hermione, he's not worth anything," said Harry, and he let go of Draco's robes. Draco wisely walked away. "I'll help you with your suitcases," he said to me. "It's too bad you met Malfoy first, we're not all like him."

"I noticed," I said with a smile. "He was very polite to me, anyway."

The three of them stared at me like I had been wearing a neon orange "Eat At Joe's" sign on my head. 'Oh well, Draco was gorgeous if nothing else.'

Hermione was the first to resume the conversation, "Well, we'd better introduce ourselves. I'm Hermione Granger, this is Ron Weasley, and that's Harry Potter. It's nice to meet you..."

"Jenny Chambers, same here. We better get on the train unless we want it to leave without us."

"It would, too," Harry said, while smiling at Ron. They were obviously remembering their little expedition in Mr. Weasley's flying car. "Here give me your stuff, I'll take it."

"Harry, you've already got your own luggage and mine. I don't think you can carry Jenny's also."

"Hermione, I'll be fine," said the boy who lived to carry girls' luggage.

"Dude, I can take my own," I said, once again getting weird stares.

"Dude?" asked Ron, who was apparently not updated on Jenny-ian expressions.

"Yeah, it means 'hey.' It's American."

"Whatever, dude," he said. 'Ack! He's using it wrong.'

"No, no, no. If you're gonna say 'dude', you have to use it properly." 'This could take some explaining...'

* * * * * * * * * * *

I was sitting with my friends Blaise Zabini and Malcolm Baddock in the Slytherin compartment. Crabbe and Goyle had been expelled from Hogwarts because of their terrible grades. They were talking about Quidditch, which strangely enough, could not distract me now. I was thinking about her. Her eyes were piercing blue, but they had a strange sadness in them. Her hair was straight and shoulder-length. It looked brown from far away, but close-up one could see the red and gold tints. She had a soft, rounded face, and very light skin. She was very tall for a girl, about 5'10" probably, and quite slender. She was beautiful.

'She better not be in Gryffindor! Damn those Gryffindors! They stole her!' As I was pondering that incredibly meaningful thought, I prayed that she would get in Slytherin. Not to anyone in particular of course. I didn't believe in all that God crap. I had always been more focused on...material things.

"Draco, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing, Blaise. I was just thinking about how to make Potter and Weasley look stupid."

"They already do, Drake," said Malcolm.

"I was meaning what kind of prank we should pull on them."

"Oh."

And Slytherin is supposed to be a smart house. Imagine the conversation I would be getting if I were a Hufflepuff. 'Oh wait, I would have gotten right back on the train if the hat tried to put me in there.' Of course, they would have had to dig my coffin out of the ground first, since father would have killed me.

'I suppose you can't have everything. Where would you put it?'

* * * * * * * * * * *

"I'm sorry you can't watch the first years get sorted, Miss Chambers, but you've got to get sorted and unpacked first," said Dumbledore. "Ah, here we are. LEMON PIE." Surprisingly, a very ugly gargoyle came to life and jumped to the right, revealing an entrance to a large, circular office. 'Dumbledore must really like lemony stuff. Oh well, whatever butters his bread...'

"And here we have the sorting hat. You may sit down, and I will place the hat on your head. It may talk a bit, so don't be alarmed," Dumbledore said as he picked up the hat. It fell over my eyes and immediately started speaking.

"Hmm, let's see, there's charm, cunning, an excellent mind, you'd make a fine Ravenclaw, yes indeed."

"Ravenclaw? But Mr. Hat I really want to be in Slytherin. I've been chanting in my head the whole time 'Slytherin, Slytherin, Slytherin,' and you want me in RAVENCLAW? That's for smart, but unimaginative, boring people."

The hat laughed, and a very strange laugh it was. 'Probably because it's a HAT.' "If you really want to be in there, I better make you a... SLYTHERIN!!!"

Dumbledore took the hat off and looked at me strangely. "We don't get many students who ask to be put in Slytherin. It really has a terrible reputation. But I suppose if that's what you want...Well come with me and I'll show you where your dormitory is. I want you to unpack your things first, and then you may come down to the feast."

'Dude, he sure walks fast for such an old guy.'

"Um, professor, do these staircases change all the time?"

"I'm afraid so. But certainly a clever Slytherin wouldn't be confused by moving stairways?" he asked, and gave me a strange, almost challenging, smile.

"I'm not confused. I'm just asking."

"Right. Well then this is your common room, and your password is 'fire mote.' Don't forget your password, or you'll have to wait in the hallway until someone else comes and gives it to you. The girls dormitory is up those stairs and to your right. You'll have a lot of roommates. Have a good year," finished Dumbledore.

"You too, professor."

* * * * * * * * * * *

"They really need to speed the sorting along. It seems like it takes longer each year."

"Ron, you always complain about the sorting. It's very important."

"But the feast is more important!"

"I'm with Ron on this, Hermione. I'm starving!"

Hermione muttered something that sounded like "boys."

I guess I'll never be good enough for her. It'll always be Hermione and Harry, and then me left out. It's not fair! Harry doesn't even notice her, and she still picks him. Last summer when I asked her it was 'Oh Ron, you're a great friend, and you'll always be one of my best, but I love Harry, and I've loved him since our first year.' Figures she would love my best friend and overlook me. Oh wait, I forgot, I ALWAYS get overlooked. Jesus, its always the same thing , 'Oh look its famous Harry Potter. Step aside kid, I want to get Harry's autograph.'

Oh here comes Jenny! Should I talk to her? I hope she's in Gryffindor! She's gotta be in Gryffindor. Hey, why did she just pass up our table? "Oi! Jenny!" 'Why did I just do that? WHY?'

"Ron? What is it?"

"What, um, house are you in?"

"Slytherin."

"SLYTHERIN? But...but you, you're the most, um, un-Slytherin-ly person I've ever met!"

"Very well said, Ron. And I am a Slytherin-ly person."

"No you're not. Slytherins are mean and evil, and, well, they're all, well, almost all, dark wizards. You're not a dark wizard, I mean witch, and, well, you just shouldn't be in there." 'Way to go ladies' man.'

She smiled and laughed. "You insult my house Ron! Oh, I better go sit with them, the feast is about to start!"

"Huh? Oh yeah the seats, I mean the feast, yeah. I guess I'll, erm, see you, um, tomorrow?"

"Yeah I think you will! You have potions with us tomorrow! See you there!"

'Argh! I am such an idiot! I just looked incredibly stupid in front of Jenny! Why do I always act like I have a speech impediment around girls?'

"Way to go Ron, that was very smooth."

"Shut up Harry!"

"Honestly Ron, you like every girl you see."

"No I don't Hermione. I only like the pretty ones."

* * * * * * * * * * *

I made my way over to the Slytherin table just as Dumbledore was about to start talking. 'Where the heck do I sit? Every friggin seat's taken!'

"Jenny, come here," whispered someone. Who else but way-too-gorgeous-to-be-a-real-person-or-so-it-seemed Draco, who currently was taking up two chairs. 'Figures he would. Could he let his feet touch the floor? Oh no, that would be a sin beyond repair.'

"It's a wrench, giving up my chair, but I figure your need is greater than mine."

"How sweet," I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Besides," he whispered, "it gives me an excuse to sit next to you."

Not knowing exactly what to say to this, I genuinely smiled at him. He smirked back. 'Dude, I gotta learn how to do that.'

~: ~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~AFTER THE FEAST~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:~:

"So I was thinking, just so we get to know each other, we should play truth or dare," Draco drawled, apparently enjoying the fact that he stole my bed and I was sitting in a rather uncomfortable chair next to my desk.

"Do you do this to every new person who gets transferred?"

"Nope. You're the first victim," he said, and gave me yet another twisted smile. 'That's it, he is so teaching me how to smirk properly.'

"Fine. You get to go first. Truth or Dare."

"Hmmm, truth I suppose."

I really wanted to ask him, in my very best Austin Powers imitation, 'Do I make you horny baby? Do I?' but my practical side judged against this. He probably hadn't seen Austin Powers anyway. 'Dude, why couldn't he have picked dare? Those are so much easier...'

"Have you ever had sex?"

"Good or crappy?"

"Either."

"Crappy then. And you?"

"I don't answer, remember? Dare, by the way."

"Taking risks, we are."

"Yes indeed, master Yoda, now give me something to do."

"Yoda? Who in bloody hell is Yoda?"

"I'll explain later. Now come on, dare me!"

"Sing."

"SING? You want me to sing?"

"Mmmhmm. Quickly now, or I'll make you dance also."

"How much do I have to sing?"

"How about the full refrain to any song you know?"

"Okay, but I warn you, you might be scarred for life after I'm done." 'I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm singing in front of Draco Malfoy, who just so happens to be in the girls dormitory AND apparently plans to stay here the whole night. Oh well, I better make it Michelle Branch...'

"Cause you're everywhere to me-ee, and when I close my eyes, it's you I seee, and everything I know that makes me belie-ee-ve, I'm not alo-wo-wo-woah-oh-ne, I'm not alone." 'God I know that must have really sucked. Michelle will you ever forgive me for butchering your song?'

"Keep going."

"Huh? You want me to sing the rest? Wasn't it bad?"

"I've never heard that song before, and I didn't think it was bad either."

"Oh. Well if you really want me to..." 'Dude, this guy belongs in a mental hospital. Oh well at least he's nice about it. Thank God no one else is in here yet. I thought Draco was supposed to be a complete jerk. Shows what I know.'

"Turn it inside-out so I can se-ee, the part of you that's drifting over me-ee. And when I wake, you-ou-ou're, you're never there, and when I sleep, you-ou-ou're, you're everywheeere, you're everywhe-ere."