The Sovereign Of Purity

The new students at Hogwarts varied greatly this year. While there was a majority of first years, there were also scattered second to seventh years, immediately recognized as American transfer students. Most of them looked weary and gloomy. The others looked uneasy and lonely. All of the students standing in the cramped and small corridor looked slightly queasy. The room was filled to capacity with students spilling out into hallways and various nooks around the room, as there were twice as many students this year than it usually held.

Jordan was wedged between Eli and a wall, fidgeting nervously, not unlike many of the first years. Kumori was across the room talking with another American girl. Glancing worriedly at his friend beside him, Eli put a hand on Jordan’s shoulder, which was difficult to do as they were all pressed into the room like sardines. Jordan jumped and looked up at him with wide eyes, and faintly reminded him of a hamster crammed into a too-small cage. Eli chuckled softly at the image. Jordan frowned at him.

"What’s so funny? Something on my face?"

"Nothing nothing…"

"Tell me—" Jordan stuck out her lower lip and gave him large puppy eyes, but it had no effect on Eli, "—come on don’t refuse my pouty face—you’re asking for it mister!" She furiously started poking his stomach and other sensitive body parts, causing the older boy to twist and squirm. He desperately tried to fight back, but was losing. Giggling madly, Jordan managed to poke him down into a crouching position, and Eli hugged his knees, trying to protect himself from her attack. The two had gained stares from the other inhabitants of the room by now: partly because of Eli’s shrieking pleads for her to stop and also because they were jostling the other students around them in the already snug space.

Jordan’s unceasing attack only stopped when the two tall doors at the front of the room swung open. Professor McGonagall, who had led them from outside of the school into the small corridor, stood in front of them. She cast a glance at the students and Eli immediately stood up, furiously trying to pat his hair back into place.

"Form a line please," the professor instructed, "and follow me."

McGonagall turned on her heel and began to walk forward as the students hurriedly organized themselves into a somewhat sloppy line. They filed out of the room and followed the professor reluctantly: Jordan could tell by their faces that most of them were just as tense as she was.

The small corridor opened up into a short hallway, a great relief to the cramped confines of the previous enclosure. Jordan looked at the end of the corridor where light streamed in from the next room. As the line of students grew closer to the room ahead, Jordan could hear merry laughing and talking growing louder. At the end of the tunnel the new students were met with a glorious sight.

Before them was a wide dining hall that seemed endless in volume, as the ceiling, Jordan guessed, was enchanted to look like the sky. At the moment it was a hue of purple with pale starts just beginning to show their light, as the sun was almost done setting. Hundreds of candles floated in midair above four long tables, one for each house. Jordan spotted Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny at the Gryffindor table sitting next to Fred and George. They waved and she smiled, trying to act like she hadn’t seen George wink at her. From in front of her, Eli waved to Cho at the Ravenclaw table. Jordan looked at the other side of the room and her eyes fell on the Slytherin table, full of shifty and cunning looking characters. Among the heads she spotted Draco Malfoy’s silvery one, talking to a heavily makeup-clad girl. Jordan could tell he wasn’t really paying attention to what the girl was talking about. His eyes drifted around the room lazily, as the girl made wild gestures in the air. Draco’s restless eyes eventually came to Jordan. Quickly she looked away, but not quick enough to see the languid smirk crossing his face.

Jordan turned her attention back to what the line of students was doing. It had now come to a stop, and the new students all looked terrified as they waited for more instructions. Professor McGonagall disappeared into a room off to the side for a moment and then returned; carrying a stool and a pointed hat that looked like it had seen better days.

Moving to the center of the room, all eyes were on Professor McGonagall. Reaching the central point of the room, the professor set down the stool and placed the hat on it. Jordan watched in wonder as a rip near the brim of the hat opened wide; and began to sing. Jordan paid rapt attention to the hat, as it explained the houses and how it would sort them. Immense relief passed through her as she realized that the sorting process was much easier than the others had tried to convince her on the train.

As soon as the hat had finished his song, the entire hall burst into wild applause. Jordan stifled hysterical laughter, as she found nothing funnier than singing inanimate objects. She was relieved that all they had to do was try on the hat to be sorted.

Professor McGonagall began calling out students to try on the hat. "Ao, Eli!" Was first, and Eli left the line and made his way to the hat, casting Jordan a look that read, ‘Wish me luck.’ He stepped up to the stool, placed the hat on his head, and sat down. Jordan watched with the rest of the room as he sat there, the hat drooping over his eyes. After a few moments the hat opened it’s mouth again and shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

Jordan watched confusedly as Eli removed the hat and walked over to the roaring Slytherin table. Sly? Cunning? She studied the inhabitants of the Slytherin table again. Yes, they all looked sly and cunning, but Eli? Was that really the house he belonged in? Jordan looked at Eli who waved and smiled at her before taking a seat next to none other than Draco Malfoy. Draco looked at her again and sneered, giving her a look that she could imagine drawling in a singsong voice, "I’ve got your fri-end…" Jordan made a face at him, and his sneer widened. Furiously, Jordan returned her attention to the sorting.

The Gryffindor table roared as a first year joined them, and then the Ravenclaw table did the same as an American student joined their ranks. Jordan fidgeted nervously as, "Martigan, Mortimer!" joined the Ravenclaws, and "McDevit, Riley!" became a Hufflepuff.

"McKensey, Jordan!"

Removing herself from the line, Jordan nervously made her way up the hat. Fumbling slightly, she placed it on her head and sat on the stool, waiting apprehensively for something to happen.

"Ah…" a voice in Jordan’s ear whispered, startling her slightly, "What an interesting case we have here… I haven’t seen someone like this since… well, never mind… Wise and true, you would make an excellent Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff… Ho ho, but we don’t always work hard do we?" Jordan rolled her eyes inside the hat. It was beginning to sound like her mother. "Well, there’s plenty here to make up for idleness… very cunning, you always do what ever it takes to get what you want… but Slytherin’s not for you." Jordan sighed thankfully. "Yes, bravery and strength is most dominant in here, so it better be GRYFFINDOR!"

Jordan heard the last word ring throughout the entire hall. Smiling happily, she made her way over to the hooting and whooping Gryffindor table. She was greeted enthusiastically by several members, then made her way over to Harry and the gang; taking a seat between Ginny and George. They all congratulated her joyfully, especially George. The uproar quickly quieted down as everyone turned their attention back to the sorting.

Jordan watched as Kumori was sorted into Ravenclaw, but quickly lost interest in the sorting, distracted by the ceiling. The sky had darkened to black by now, and the stars shone brilliantly. Jordan could make out familiar constellations, including all of the Seven Sisters, which, on a regular night, could not be seen.

"It’s stunning, isn’t it?" Jordan turned her attention to George, who was clearly speaking to her.

"Absolutely. United was very boring, a new modern school," Jordan sighed remembering her school, "It was luxurious, but wasn’t nearly as interesting as this place."

George smiled. "Yup, this place is one of a kind."

They sat there in silence for a while, heads turned up towards the ceiling. It reminded Jordan of lying in the grass next to Eli and Catty, staring up at the stars for hours… Jordan found herself lost in the stars, remembering those peaceful summer nights. She drifted into her own thoughts of twilight and warm nights, oblivious to George watching her, the end of the sorting, and the welcoming speech made by Professor Dumbledore. Jordan was only brought out of her daze when the room burst into talking and motion, and the delicious odor of food awakened her senses, making her mouth water.

She blinked at the food then began piling various meats and vegetables on her plate. Jordan hadn’t bought anything at the cart on the train on their way to the school, and discovered she was very hungry. She filled a bowl with tomato soup and quietly looked on at her new housemates. Spooning the soup in her mouth, Jordan watched Ron tease Hermione and then her make a remark that turned his face red. Jordan watched amused as Ron caught sight of Fred slip something down Ginny’s back, and then howl with laughter as Ginny danced around, trying to get the item out from her robes. After much jiggling around and many odd looks, a bright red squirrel hopped out from under Ginny’s robes and rapidly turned into smoke. Jordan snorted into her soup as Ginny, with her face as red as the squirrel, returned to the table and promptly poured pumpkin juice onto Fred, who continued to laugh hysterically along with the rest of the gang.

The rest of dinner was a blur of new faces and goofy antics put on by Fred and George for Jordan. She occasionally joined in the conversation, but was used to keeping to herself when meeting new people. Eventually, dinner ended and all the stuffed students were led to their common rooms by prefects. Drowsily, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all flopped down on chairs around a table as Fred, George, and Ginny went off to converse with students from their years. Not knowing anyone else from her year, Jordan went to sit with the trio who smiled as she sat down. After a moment of silence, Harry spoke up.

"So, Hermione, I guess you didn’t go to Bulgaria with Krum then." Hermione nodded and blushed. "Parents wouldn’t let you?"

"No, it was fine with them," Hermione said, "But I told him I wasn’t interested in him like that." At this, Ron turned very red and he sat forward in his chair.

"You mean you broke up with him?" he asked, "After all the attention you got at the ball and the ‘Herm-own-ninny’s?"

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. "Honestly Ron—you of all people should be glad I broke up with him," Jordan noticed that at this Ron shifted nervously, his eyes fixed intently on Hermione, "What with all your ‘mingling with the enemy’ and ‘traitor’ hogwash. He just wasn’t my type." She shrugged.

Ron smiled triumphantly and sat back in his chair. "I knew that Bulgarian boy wasn’t up to par. But of course no one listens to me." Harry laughed.

"Yeah well, I seem to remember you idolizing him with the rest of us before he became a champion."

Jordan looked on in confusion as the three quarreled. She remembered reading about the Triwizard Tournament, about how Harry was illegally entered, and how things had gone wrong, ending up in the untimely death of Cedric Diggory. Jordan turned her attention back to the trio.

"Whatever Hermione," she caught Ron snapping.

"Whatever yourself Ron, and you can take your whatever and shove it up your-,"

"YEEP!"

A large, orange ball of fur had launched itself into Jordan’s lap, and was currently pawing her legs with sharp claws. "Owch!" Jordan screeched, trying to push the orange mass off her lap, but to no avail as it was now quite situated, it’s claws dug into the material of her robes.

"Oh! Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping up and also trying to pry the bunch of fur off Jordan, and as Hermione managed to detach the thing off of her, Jordan realized it was a cat as it opened it’s large yellow eyes and began to emit a low purr.

"Is that your cat?" Jordan rubbed her sore legs and glanced over to see Hermione nodding and stroking the large cat. "It’s er- friendly." Jordan said, examining the holes in her robes and brushing orange fur off in large clumps.

"Just a ray of sunshine," remarked Ron sarcastically.

"Ron’s just sour because his last pet was evil," said Harry solemnly, "And Crookshanks didn’t succeed in eating it."

"But now I’ve got a non-evil little fluff ball of an owl," said Ron. "That was named ‘Pigwidgeon’ against my will."

"Poor Ron," Harry said, patting the other boy on the back, "At least I got to name my owl."

"I wish I had a pet," Jordan sighed. "Mom thinks I’ll kill it. I mean, it’s not my fault I forgot to feed the hamster for a week…" She frowned.

Harry chuckled. "Funny thing about animals, need to be fed on a regular basis." He shrugged. "Nature."

"You’re making fun of me now," Jordan said grinning slightly. "Just because you British men have a sexy accent doesn’t mean you’re smarter than us silly Americans!" At this she stood up and shook her fist dramatically. Giggles from other American girls around her rippled throughout the room as Jordan sat back down and coolly leaned back in her chair. Hermione giggled.

"Damn those sexy accents. Probably why I fell for Viktor."

"Hermione… Krum’s accent was not sexy!"

"Says you, who was head over heals for Fleur! ‘Oh zat is so coot! Oh ‘arry, zank ‘ou for saving my sizter!’ Bah!"

"Well at least she could say my name right!"

As the two bickered Jordan shot a look across the table at Harry and raised her eyebrows. Harry met her gaze and rolled his eyes at his two quarrelling comrades. It was clear that he had witnessed many accounts not unlike this one.

Jordan watched as a little light bulb went off in Harry’s head. "Hey," he said, trying to get their attention, but the pair continued bickering. "Hey. HEY!" Ron and Hermione stopped in mid-squabble and looked at him, alarmed.

"Yes Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Question. What did you do with our little bug… friend?" At this Hermione grinned mischievously.

"Ah yes, Rita. I released her. She is very grateful for our silence, and she swore to only write true and non-slanderous information from now on," Hermione smirked. "But I did have to shake the jar a few times."

Jordan watched the trio laugh at their inside joke and immediately felt a sense of loneliness. Back at United she would get every inside joke, she knew everyone and always felt right at place. But here at Hogwarts she knew no one… she was lost and had no one to turn to that would be able to help her out. It was because everyone that she knew was just as lost as she was, all just trying to find a way through this difficult time.

"Well…" Harry said, noticing that the direction of their conversation was leaving Jordan out. "What’s your favorite class Jordan?"

"Well… I guess I really like Runic Studies, Charms and Transfiguration… always handy," Jordan replied, glad to be back in the discussion. "Any teachers I shouldn’t get on the bad side of?"

"Snape," they all replied in unison, their tone matched with shudders.

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "What does he teach?"

"Potions," Hermione said. "Down in the freezing dungeons."

"He’s evil," Ron added. "An ex-Death Eater. Lord only knows why Dumbledore trusts him."

"And he’s head of Slytherin house," continued Harry. "And favors them above everyone else, especially Malfoy. And he’s always trying to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job." Hermione and Ron nodded in agreement.

"It’s getting riskier and riskier every year, especially since we have trouble keeping Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers," Hermione said sighing.

"Really?" Jordan asked, "How come?"

"Well," Ron said, and began ticking off on his fingers. "First one was evil and was harboring You-Know-Who on the back of his head, second one was a snooty lying git, third one was a great teacher but was a werewolf, and the last one was evil and pretending to be someone else."

"Speaking of which, did anyone see the new teacher at the professor’s table?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I looked but there was an empty spot."

"Guess they haven’t arrived yet," Ron said shrugging. "But they better get here soon, classes start tomorrow."

Harry nodded. "Let’s just hope that Snape hasn’t gotten his dream job."

Jordan blinked for a few minutes, taking everything in. "Well, what a colorful operation you run here." Jordan said as Harry smiled.

"If you think our teachers are interesting, wait till you hear about how we helped them lose their jobs."

Jordan straightened up and leaned forward on the table. "Ohh, do tell." Harry laughed.

"Maybe when we get to know you better," he said.

"Yeah," Ron added, "We have to know you’re trustworthy."

"Can’t go around spilling our secrets to everyone you know," Hermione said, winking.

Jordan grinned, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. "Well then, I think I’ll be hanging around for a long time."

Eli followed the rest of the Slytherins down into the dank and musty dungeons. Several torches lined the walls, casting long shadows on the students in the hallways. Eli was a bit on edge—United had not had a basement, much less dungeons—closed, dark spaces were not his ideal place to be. He looked next to his side at Draco Malfoy, who was completely calm and looked at place in this cold, bare place. Every thing about him was cold—the way he talked, the way his face was at ease, the way he walked, his skin, his hair, his eyes… everything of him gave off a frozen aura, like he was untouchable—ice not able to melt. Eli turned away from the younger boy when he realized the procession of students had stopped.

The Slytherin in his year that was leading the other students had stopped in the middle of the hallway. He now turned to an empty wall, and said loud enough so that the others could hear, "Grindelwald." Eli watched as the wall slid back to reveal a doorway. They hadn’t used passwords in United; every student had instead an enchanted card that only they could use to get into their assigned dormitories, which was a method thought to be more reliable that passwords—although some tricky students had found ways to get around this restriction.

Eli smiled sadly as he remembered his old school, and followed the rest of the Slytherins into the common room. The common room gave little relief to the dark hallways—the only light coming from the green lamps scattered around the room and little head coming from the fires burning in the fireplaces along the walls.

Draco coolly walked over to one of the chairs next to a fireplace and sat down. He could feel Eli follow behind him—Draco had become acquainted with him as soon as he became a Slytherin—mostly because Draco had seen him be friendly with the McKensey girl. As he sat down, Draco watched the older boy sit in a chair next to him. He seemed like too much of a classic American punk—spiky black hair, several eyebrow and ear piercings, and a refusal to wear the uniform correctly. Eli’s tie hung around his neck untied, and instead of the traditional Hogwarts vest and white collared shirt, he had a black vest and shirt.

"So," Draco said as Eli settled down. "Welcome to the Slytherin common room." He gestured around the room. "It may not be homey, but it’s functional."

Eli smiled and sat back in his armchair, draping his right leg over the other. "It’s nice, I like it. It’s got class."

Draco smirked. "It should. My father practically funded the whole thing." He knew he was boasting now, but after all, he was still a Malfoy.

"Wealthy family, huh?"

"One of the wealthiest in the wizarding Britain," Draco replied smugly.

"So you come from a wizarding family?"

"Of course, a long, strong line," Draco smirked. "The Malfoys have always been strong wizards associated with the right sort, if you know what I mean." Eli grinned.

"Yes, my family line goes back a long way too, and can be traced back to the ancient royal families of China, even," Eli said. "Of course there were a few squibs along the way." Eli sighed and sat back in his chair. Draco watched the older boy as he continued. "Of course, my uncle turned out to be a squib. My mother, his sister, refuses to talk to him and his wife, even though they followed my family to America. It doesn’t really matter to me, I hang out with Catty, their daughter that’s also a Muggle and Jordan, whose mother is a Muggle."

"Humph, some Slytherin you make," Draco said, grinning mockingly. "Befriending mudbloods and Muggles, how lowbrow."

"Hey, mudbloods and Muggles are still people too you know, and deserve equal treatment," Eli said, shaking his finger at Draco in a mock-scold. "Jordan’s a good witch."

Draco straightened up when Eli mentioned his Jordan was a witch. So he was friends with the girl he had met on the train. "Jordan McKensey?" He asked.

Eli looked at Draco, surprised. "You’ve met her?" Draco let out a hallow laugh.

"You could say that. We crossed paths on the train, quite an…interesting experience," he replied. Eli smiled and nodded.

"She seems to have that effect on people," Eli said, becoming restless and twisting the fabric of his robes in boredom. "That girl’s going to get herself in trouble one day." Draco smirked.

"Especially when she walks right up and flirts with the enemy. Figuratively of course."

Eli laughed. "She’ll walk right up and tickle the sleeping dragon." Draco nodded and laughed, suddenly feeling very tired and exhausted from the day’s journey from King’s Cross to Hogwarts, and the grand feast that had welcomed them.

"Well, I’ll be going to bed. I’ll see you before classes tomorrow," Draco said as he stood and began to head towards the boys’ dormitories.

"Good idea," Eli said, standing up also and stretching, his arms reaching high up into the air and his body elongating. He was much taller than Draco. "See you in the morning." Draco nodded, and the two boys went their separate ways into their respectful dormitories.

He looked down at her, this little bundle of pink flesh, dark hair, and blankets that he had produced. She was so small, so fragile. She looked up at him with large, chocolate brown eyes, his eyes, enough to make his heart melt. She was beautiful already.

"Jordan," he said softly, lifting her into the air. "My Jordan, my beautiful Jordan." She giggled and a little wet tongue poked out between two tiny lips to form a baby smile.

And he smiled too, thinking of how they would all go back to China, and he could raise her to be like him: teach her his language, his customs, his abilities. She would grow up strong, he and Adele would raise her with all the love and care any child deserves, and she would receive the best of both their worlds.

He spun her and spun her, this arrow that was sent to him so he could form her and teach her everything she needed to know, everything he had to offer, and then send her off into the world again, so that she could go and influence others with her magnetic charm and her amazing intelligence. And soon he was spinning not a baby, but a little girl, full of gusto and energy.

"Daddy!" Jordan cried, laughing as he spun her around, her dark locks of hair flying in the air freely, her dress of pink taffeta and lace floating out behind her. "Daddy! Stay with me forever. Play with me forever."

But her put her down. Her mother was standing beside him, and she shook her head sadly, frowning.

"Adele…" he started, but she shook her head again.

"No… we can’t stay here… we have to go back."

Now he shook his head and frowned.

"No… you can’t… my plans…"

"I have to go. I will take Jordan with me. Nothing you can say will stop me. I have to." Jordan watched, frightened, as her father seemed to boil with rage. And with one last look at her, he turned away and stormed off.

"Daddy!" Jordan shouted, and she began to run after him. "Come back!" She grabbed her mother’s hand and tried to pull her along, but her mother just stood there, looking down with a frozen look of horror and sadness on her face.

"Hurry!" Jordan cried. "He might disappear! We might never see him again!" She pulled her mother’s arm forward again. But still she didn’t move. Jordan realized the hopelessness of the situation and dropped the unresponsive arm, which immediately dropped right back to the side of her mother’s body.

Jordan stood frozen in her spot staring in the direction of which her father had stormed off. But all she saw was white. Everywhere around her was white, nothing had substance, there was just an endless plane of white mist. Above and below was an endless abundance of blank white space. And Jordan felt now that if she jumped, she could just fall, and keep falling and falling for an eternity…

Jordan plummeted back into consciousness with a sharp and sad ring. Her eyes felt dry, like she had been crying, or had just woken up from a nap in the middle of the day. And she felt very, very tired, more tired than when she had been asleep. Jordan ran her hand through her hair and closed her eyes, knowing that she would not be able to get back to sleep that night.

She had had this dream before, but this night it was different… Jordan could hear her father’s thoughts. Before she could only see him, although his image was always fuzzy, and she could hear his voice speaking to her, soft and far away, she had never truly known what he was feeling.

Jordan didn’t know what her father looked like. She had very vague memories of when he would read to her or put her to bed at night. Her mother had never told her anything about her father, except that he had left them when she was about four. Whenever she questioned her mother further, she refused to answer, and Jordan stopped, afraid of opening old wounds. She knew nothing about him, what he looked like, where he came from, even what his name was.

The closest thing to knowing him was through that dream. Jordan had always thought of him as a bad guy before, giving a child to her mother and then abandoning them both when he realized he couldn’t handle the pressures of a child. But now in this dream, Jordan truly felt his love for her, all of his expectations. And even further, he mentioned going to China, which was even more baffling to Jordan, as she had never had any recollection of going to China, and her mother had never said anything. The ending had been different this time too, and it gave Jordan something to ponder, because never before had the dreams shown her mother as the disagreeing one. Now Jordan was even more confused as to why her father had abandoned them.

But no, Jordan didn’t want to think about him now. She was in a new place, starting over. She had left behind old things, and was moving on. Swiftly, she jumped out of bed, and headed over to her trunk at the end of her bed. She undid the latches and flipped open the lid, and then dug through it until her hands came upon the soft material of the item she was looking for. Jordan pulled out two long black and red striped socks, looking at them and smiling softly, remembering their origins. They were more than what they were to the eye, as the soft cotton socks granted their wearer invisibility.

Pulling them over her arms, Jordan headed out of her dorm and the common room.

Jordan had been wandering for an hour or two around the castle, looking behind every door and curtain. She watched all the portraits move around and converse with each other. Hogwarts was a much more enchanting place than she could have ever imagined, filled with old world charm. United had been new, using recent architecture with modern and functional uses, and certainly no secret passages, switching stairs or hidden entrances. Jordan mused that whoever had built this castle must have had an odd sense of humor; or things worth hiding.

Jordan sat on the edge of a windowsill now, looking wistfully out at the lake. The sun was just beginning to rise, casting its golden rays of morning on the peaceful waters. Jordan realized that people would be waking up soon, and began making her way back to the common room. When she reached the portrait, she prodded the fat lady awake, whispered the password of "frog slippers" and entered the common room, silently taking off the invisibility socks. Then, more relaxed and tired than she had been when she woke from her dream, Jordan climbed the steps up to her dormitory, crawled into her bed, and fell asleep, clutching the invisibility socks under the covers.