Ab Initio - 01

Ab Initio

_{Warnings: Contains massive FC/OC interaction, and some cameos of canon characters. See if you can catch some of them! :] Also a massive amount of British slang courtesy of Wikipedia--if it's wrong, sorry. D:}

Columbia Kempley Vitious, age eleven, walked along Platform 9¾ with her house elf Caddie trotting beside her thin form. The two-foot tall female elf pushed a metal trolley full of the girl's Hogwarts supplies with great difficulty beside her, but the girl made no move to help the struggling little creature.

To any other magical folk or muggle who fought for creature-rights, the interaction between the girl and the elf would have seemed almost cruel. But Kempley knew better. If she had moved to take her own luggage, the elf would have simply shrieked loudly, apologized in that stuffy high-pitched voice of hers, and would have most likely started to bang her small wrinkly head on the pavement as self punishment.

Such ruckus was an unnecessary addition to the already storm-like barrage of activity that was occurring in the magical train station. Magical and muggle-born folk alike: old, young, hyper, boring, classy, ethereal, all gathered to depart to Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry--the finest school in all of Europe. The success of Hogwarts had students from multiple backgrounds in attendance, all of whom were very different in both personality and physical being.

Kempley herself was a bit too tall and her face held the regal prowess of someone far past her age, but those traits were highly contrasted against her below average weight and terrible posture. She could clearly distinguish the older students from the first years --the other students were already in their robes and walked along the platform with an air of extreme excitement and confidence. The first years, however, were quite the opposite.

Through silent observation, Kempley made note that most first years seemed timid and innocent--it made her wonder what these students would be like in their last years together. Time did such strange things to folk, especially in the world of magic.

She continued her adventure across the Platform, house elf in tow, and gave her best effort to not bump into the other students, parents, and trolleys. With a sigh, she lazily reached behind her head and undid the black elastic that held back her champagne-blonde hair, freeing the tresses from it's confines. It fanned out along her shoulders and collarbones, framing her face in shadow. Her mother had insisted she tie it back to seem "proper", but Kempley hated her hair out of her face. She much preferred it to be lose and she rather enjoyed hiding behind it. Tying her hair back also made her look like her elder brother, Aurelius, whom she so deeply resented.

"M'lady, your bags, an attendant will take them from here." murmured the small house elf, tugging on her mistress' black sock, "Caddie will let him take it for you."

Kempley nodded absentmindedly and handed the elf a small piece of caramel candy (something that was frowned upon, but her family did it anyway, as Caddie was a swell house elf). A stoic middle-aged man in a proper-looking red uniform approached and took her trolley, following the other attendants to a separate section of the train. Kempley's wee little Reddish Scops owl, Bailey, hissed disapprovingly and flapped inside of his small cage, cooing for his mistress.

"Thanks, Caddie," Kempley muttered, watching her small owl be carted off. With a nod, the house elf apparated away back to the Vitious mansion, holding the piece of candy like a treasure. Kempley began to walk along the platform once more, attempting to find a few familiar faces within the large, boisterous crowd. She first noticed a large family of gingers and a few others crowding around them. It was rumored that Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, was coming to Hogwarts this year as well. Kempley's suspicions were confirmed when the small black-haired boy hanging around the family lifted his bangs and showed off a small indent in his forehead.

Shrugging to herself, uncaring for the so-called famous child, she turned to look around in a different direction--she wasn't used to being alone. The nurses and maids always came to her aid at home, but she was on her own for the time being. It was a strange feeling to not have adults swarming around her--no one was coming to her every beck and call.

With curious green eyes, she glanced around to find other students who, like herself, had been left alone. To her unconscious dismay, her emerald orbs immediately kept traveling to large happy families who quite literally flooded the area. A quick but sharp pain went through her chest, and she coughed to get it out of her system.

A soft slap to her back brought her out of the small pang of loneliness. "You alright, there?"

"Huh?" Kempley turned to face an extremely short girl with strawberry blonde locks and sky-blue eyes. She was a peculiar girl to Kempley, as she was never used to seeing other children who weren't proper--did this girl just touch her without asking permission?

"You were coughing and your eyes seemed a bit glossy. You looked lost. This your first time on the Platform?" asked the other freckled girl, with a slight hint of excitement.

"No," responded Kempley. She had come here a few years prior to see off her older brother, but she would rather not talk or even dare to think about that. At least she was no longer alone for the moment. "What about y'self?"

"Nope! I've got an older sister, Harriet. I was here a long time ago 'cause she's old, but my twin Noah and I are first years!" The girl pointed behind her to a family of blondes, and Kempley noticed a boy who looked nearly identical to the girl in front of her. He was a bit attractive, from what Kempley could see. "Oh, I'm Bree by the way. Bree Garrison," piped up the girl, "nice to meet you."

Kempley blinked stupidly for a moment before realizing she needed to maintain her manners. "Oh, I thought your parents looked quite familiar. Pleasure. I'm Columbia Vitious, but I usually go by Kempley."

Bree looked at Kempley strangely at the mention of the Vitious family name, but seemed to shake it off. "So, are you well excited for the sorting? Where are your parents?"

"My parents are off on business," Kempley grit out, a bit harsher than she intended, "to Africa."

"Oh...that's cool! I mean, I've never been out of England myself. Terribly sorry you're all alone on the platform though." Bree looked over her shoulder to her parents and her brother, who beckoned them over with his hands. She turned back to Kempley with a bright smile, "Care to join us?"

Kempley scoffed, "Just because my parents are so cultured doesn't mean I am as well." At the look on Bree's face, however, she double-backed and sighed. "Sorry to be a bit cranky, I awoke rather late in the morning. Thank you for the offer, but I'm actually looking for a family friend."

The shorter girl shrugged and the smile from earlier spread across her cute features, "Not a problem, I understand mate. Hope to see you at the sorting!" With another smile and a wave, Bree Garrison made her way back to her family.

Kemply stood for a moment, simply watching them interact, then made her way back into the crowds. A tall, thin, stern-looking woman in a large fur hat bumped into her shoulder, but did not stop to speak her apologies, causing Kempley to seethe at the number of bumbling elderly folk that were also there.

She stood against a column by the station's stairs to see if she could find anyone she knew. Kempley knew it was a wasted effort, but she did it to pass the time till she was forced to board the train. She was raised within the community of elitist pure-blood wizards and her only interaction with other children was limited to the children of other elitist purebloods. And even then, it only went as far as brunch and tea-time.

Several groups of people walked past her with their trolleys and families, but one stood out to the stoic young girl the most--another first year girl with long golden blonde hair and brilliant glassy eyes. She walked briskly, but nervously, next to a slender woman whom she greatly resembled. Kempley assumed the woman to be the mother, and tried her best to not glare, but ended up meeting the gaze of the girl instead. The other blonde girl held eye contact for a brief moment before the brown-spotted kitten in the her arms hissed wildly at Kempley, nearly scaring her out of her knickers.

She was gone in a wave of the crowd, but Kempley couldn't shake the familiar feeling that had sparked within her at seeing those chilling blue eyes stare into her own.

With a few more glances into the slew of people, Kempley finally spotted a familiar boy, Draco Malfoy, a few meters away speaking with his parents. His white-blonde hair was neatly slicked back in the fashion of his father and his voice was louder than necessary (as usual).

The Vitious and Malfoy families were close as the parents had worked together in the Ministry and had been in Slytherin house the same years--but Kempley was not in the mood to be cooed and coddled by Mrs. Malfoy at the moment. The woman had a tendency to treat Draco's female friends as her own as she ached for a daughter.

Kempley met Draco's eyes for a split second and gave him a friendly nod (to which he returned) and she turned away, only to bump into a tall man's arm.

"Good morning, Columbia."

Kempley looked from the arm in front of her and tilted her head back to meet the cold, dark eyes of Mr. Alric Conrad. "Oh, blessed be me... I'm terribly sorry, I should really watch where I'm heading to. Good morning, Mr. Conrad," she spoke, slowly. Kempley stood back to space herself and curtseyed politely to the man and his wife beside him, "Mrs. Conrad."

"No need to apologize, dear."

Mrs. Khristina Conrad, a lithe, emaciated-looking woman nodded to her and adjusted the fur shawl that was around her small shoulders. "It's quite early in the morning after all, you must be quite tired."

"A bit, Mrs. Conrad. I nearly dozed off in the carriage," Kempley admitted, sheepishly.

"Saw your parents a bit before when we arrived, pity they're off on another trip to Africa. I'm afraid we wanted them to stay for afternoon tea." Mr. Conrad looked down to Kempley and smiled, laughing a bit dryly, "They're always on some fantastic adventure, are they not?"

Kempley cleared her throat and nodded slightly, making sure her posture was straight and perfect. "Yes, my parents are very busy with their Ministry duties..."

"Roberto always was very hard-working and had a thirst for adventure," added Mrs. Conrad, "as was Loretta. Such carefree individuals. Rather envious of them, really. You know, our Elizabeth is starting Hogwarts this year as well."

Kempley nodded slowly and did her best to keep her feet still, "Yes, we spoke of it at our last brunch." She made eye contact with said girl as she hid behind her parents. Kempley used every shred of her willpower to keep herself from pulling the girl out from behind the two stoic beings in front of her.

"Ah, yes," breathed Mrs. Conrad, adjusting her shawl once more, "I do recall you were seated together. Such beautiful robes you were wearing."

"Yes," spoke Kempley, her eyes wide and faking attentiveness, "My uncle bought it for me, in Spain, I believe."

Suddenly, the deep horn of the Hogwart's Express bleated through the station, and signaled for the sea of students as they filled the train. The Conrads quite literally pushed their daughter in front of them and looked her up and down with frowns gracing their hard faces.

"Well, it looks like this is farewell till Christmas holidays," murmured Mrs. Conrad. She looked down at her daughter disdainfully, "I do hope you're in Slytherin. Pity if you weren't."

Mr. Conrad nodded and patted Kempley on the shoulder, "I expect nothing less of you, please give our best regards to your parents in a letter. If you will."

Kempley nodded and curtseyed again as the two disapparated. She looked to Lizzy beside her, who just rolled her eyes. "Your parents are bloody-well scary, they are," whispered Kempley, almost afraid the Conrads were still around on the Platform. Lizzy merely nodded at her and scratched at the back of her neck, ruffling her short malt-chocolate hair.

Though the Conrads and Vitious families often associated with each other, neither set of parents knew that the two girls were already close friends. It humored Kempley, as she had almost grown used to her friend being posh and delightfully dainty around the presence of their parents--she was rather excited to finally see the real Liz come out more now that they were going to school far away from their households.

She only hoped they would be sorted into Slytherin together.

"Should we head onto the train?" asked Lizzy, her expression bored as always. "Don't know anyone I'm seeing here, best we grab ourselves a seat before some pillock tries to associate with us."

"I must agree with you," murmured back Kempley, adjusting her navy-blue wool jumper.

Lizzy snorted loudly and crossed her arms, sending her friend a slight glare, "Oh, drop it, will you? They're gone now, no need to act like the prissy little tea-drinkin' maggots they wish we were."

"I suppose you're right," noted Kempley, as Lizzy grabbed the hem of her sweater, "it's going to take some getting used to. I think I'm cursed to be polite and decent all the time. Though I do like tea."

Lizzy simply let out a loud laugh and a nod, standing still to try and find an opening in the crowd where they could squeeze in. At the opportune moment, they made their way between a set of ginger twins and a girl with a mess of curly auburn hair whose luggage bore the initials 'C.S'.

Kempley let Lizzy lead her along by the sleeve and finally managed to step onto the train. Though students ambled on around them, the girls managed to get through the students crowding the aisles and tried to find the car with the other first year students. As they made their way through the cars filled with older children, Lizzy held quick eye contact with a tall, lean Gryffindor lad who held an overload of Quidditch gear. With a snort, however, she turned away and continued to pull her friend behind her.

"Where the hell is this bloody--oh, found us some seats, mate!" Lizzy pulled Kempley along roughly and nearly threw herself into the seemingly empty compartment area for first years.  However, as the girls stepped inside the compartment Lizzy had chosen, they realized they weren't alone.

A timid-looking girl sat by the window, her hands neatly folded over her lap. As she heard the door to the compartment open, her head snapped to the noise, dark chocolate curls bouncing with the movement. "Quoi...?" she asked, more to herself, absentmindedly, before showing off a furious blush.

Lizzy and Kempley gave each other looks, unsure of what to do, but stepped all the way into the compartment anyway, shutting the door heavily behind them. "Mind if we sit here with you?" asked Liz, already seating herself on the opposite bench. She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side, effectively intimidating the girl in front of her.

"U-um...certes oui, yes of course, please sit." replied the smaller girl, a thick French accent working its way into her speech. "B-bon jour, I'm Oriane. Oriane Quentín. Enchanté," she murmured, barely audible, "How...are you?"

"No need to be pernickety, love," said Lizzy, as she raked a hand through her hair in a leisurely manner, "I'm Elizabeth Conrad--but you can call me Lizzy or Liz, up to you, really." She grinned and stuck out her hand in a greeting, which the girl--now identified as Oriane--took shyly. "And this git over here is Kempley. Columbia Kempley Vitious--but don't call her Columbia, ever, unless you want to end up a bloody mess."

"No need to introduce me, you bleeder. I'm a big girl." Kempley stuck her nose in the air and resisted the urge to flash her friend the lovely middle finger. "I know it makes you randy in your knickers to think you're my mother though."

Oriane looked to the blonde girl who now sat beside her and giggled softly at seeing Lizzy's comically horrified expression. These two seemed nice enough in her innocent eyes and she did want some company--she didn't know a soul going to school this year except her daft older sister, Helene. These two girls already seemed to have a friendship, after all, perhaps she had a chance at being a part of it.

"Sorry we barged in on you, there are so many people on this train...we grabbed the first compartment we could find," Kempley spoke, kicking Liz in the knee.

"De rien...not a problem," replied Oriane, now a bit less shy towards the two, "I was growing a little lonely anyway. It's nice to have some company."

Lizzy nodded in understanding and sat cross-legged to avoid her friend's kicks. "We got you on that, mate. I promise we aren't dodgy folk. So, you're from France? Always wanted to go there. Bloody amazing pastries. I love croissants."

"Oui, France," spoke Oriane, trying her best to rid herself of the accent--it made her self-conscious in the presence of these two rather posh British girls. Kempley seemed to catch on to her nervousness and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"That's quite grand, I've always wanted to adventure there myself! But not for the same fat-arse reasons as Liz," Kempley smiled kindly and squeezed her new friend's shoulder, "We're not dunderheaded blokes mate, we don't mind the accent. It gives you flair. No worries."

Oriane blinked at the blonde girl and broke into a slow, but sheepish grin. "Vous êtes trop gentille," she spoke happily, but then shrank into her seat, embarrassed to suddenly blurt something out in her native tongue, "Um, I meant to say, I'm very glad. You are too kind to me."

With a noise of confusion akin to a meow, Lizzy snorted and raised an eyebrow, "Now, if you go off and do that all the time, it might get a bit annoying." She gave a smirk and looked to Oriane, cocking her head again. "But I think we might as well get used to it."

Suddenly, a loud bang erupted from the front of their compartment as the door was slammed open. A short, chubby, disheveled looking boy stood in the doorway, his pink fingers curling around the door frame. The noise startled all three girls and they looked to the fellow first year student as if he had three heads.

The boy's short brandy-colored hair was plastered onto his forehead and temples as if he had been running--he twitched his hands in utter desperation as he choked on his words. "Have...have you...", he wheezed. He was breathing heavily and his round cheeks were red with exhaustion and embarrassment.

"Have you s-seen Trevor? He's my t-toad," he finally stammered, looking at each of the girls frantically, his large green eyes gleaming with fright as they traveled from girl to girl. Kempley merely looked on with scorn at the frantic boy and nodded her head 'no'.

Lizzy's smile from before contorted into a deep scowl and she put her hands on her hips, leaning forwards angrily in her seat, "Why in the bloody hell would your pet be in here, that door has been closed--"

As if it was a joke, a fat, slimy toad jumped through the boy's legs and landed on Lizzy's lap, making her shriek and scramble frantically in her seat. The girl wasn't afraid of anything except for all things slimy...her day was quickly becoming unfortunate the longer the animal rested on her lap.

"Trevor!" cried the boy, happily. He quickly made his way over to Lizzy and tried to grab the toad, only to be thwarted as the large amphibian made a leap of faith towards the other two girls.

Luckily for Oriane, Kempley was quick with her wand and shouted a rushed Expelliarmus at the animal, effectively throwing it back into Lizzy. The boy's expression was a mixture of horror and confusion as he quickly tried to think of a way to save his school pet.

"You git!" screamed Lizzy, finally shoving the creature off of her lap with her arm. The other two girls looked on with wide eyes at the now shaking Lizzy and looked from the boy to their friend, nervous for the impending emotional strain the girl was about to put on him. "And you," Lizzy hissed, pointing to the boy, "I better not see that disgusting creature again, and I mean the both of you when I say that, or I will use an unforgivable curse on it and your fat arse, and I will not be sorry!!!"

The boy fumbled, clenching his fists in a nervous rut. "I'm s-sorry, I didn't know--"

"Piss off!"

Lizzy's face turned a deep, angry red and she seethed at the boy till he quickly apologized again, turned on his heel, and very nearly ran as fast as he could out of the compartment. As the door slid closed, Oriane caught the glimpse of another first year girl with frizzy brown hair chase after the boy. His high-pitched voice, still calling for his pet, could be heard echoing through the compartments.

The door finally shut heavily and the compartment remained silent except for Lizzy's loud, frantic breathing. She wrapped herself with her own arms, shuddering and making gagging noises.

"Sorry, I meant to direct it to the kid, but I'm not so great with defensive spells yet," apologized Kempley, softly, trying not to push her friend further into a bad mood. "Totally bodged up your day though, I'm sorry."

"It's alright mate, not your fault," Lizzy sighed, irately. "Damn kid."

"Well," whispered Oriane, "at least I know what not to do to get on Lizzy's bad side! Or," she spoke, mischief lacing her words, "what to do to scare the living bogies out of her." She grinned at Lizzy, who's scowl slowly turned itself into a wide, evil smile.

"Got that right!"

* * *

The girls all laughed and continued to talk as the train made its way through the Scottish countryside. About an hour in, the snack trolley passed by and the girls all bought their share of favorite snacks. After the unfortunate frog attack, Kempley was able to cast a small but effective sanitizing charm to ease Lizzy's nerves.

As they gossiped and grew closer, they shared their candy, sorting it out into piles onto a small table so they could each take whatever they wished for.

"So, what house do you think you lot will be sorted into?" asked Liz, her cheeks full of what was a licorice wand, "I think I'll be in Slytherin. Well, I better be...I literally may be turned into a worm if I don't."

"You will be," laughed Kempley. She unwrapped a chocolate frog, grimaced at realizing she had gotten Dumbledore again, and almost violently tore the enchanted chocolate in half. With a small purple 'poof' the movement charm on the candy was lifted. "The rest of the family, except for m' aunt was in Slytherin, so I best be there as well. Pity if I was in Gryffindor, dunno what Mum would say to that."

"My family did not go to Hogwarts, only my sister--and she is Ravenclaw," murmured Oriane, softly. She broke her pumpkin pasties into small pieces and set them onto the table in front of her. "But I'll probably be in Hufflepuff or something. Maybe I won't get sorted at all. I'm nothing special."

"Nah," said Liz, defiantly, "You've got fire in you--a cold fire. You might be sickly sweet right now mate, but I bet if I get on your bad side you'll give me a good ass-hexing."

Oriane snorted and rolled her eyes, causing Kempley to choke on her sweets at the unexpected expression. "See, told you! And shut your mouth with all that rubbish, you seem like a swell bloke to me!" retorted Lizzy, as she munched on a candy cauldron.

At this, Oriane smiled and happily popped a piece of candy into her mouth, a rush of happiness flooding over her as the sugary juice of the pumpkin pasties touched her tongue.

"Mercí, Lizzy."

* * *

The girls had arrived on the Hogwarts property, and were taken to the castle by boat with the rest of the other first years. A large but gentle man led them all--he called himself Hagrid (and to Liz's chagrin, Oriane referred to him as 'Hahgreed').

Luckily, the three had ended up in the same boat and sat at the bow. Kempley sat by the hanging light, the flickering candle sending the shadows dancing across her freckled cheeks--Oriane and Lizzy sat on either side of her. The french girl sat quietly behind Kempley, her hands daintily resting in her lap, her curious eyes wandering over the heads of other students and observing the large, glowing castle that approached closer. She had lived her entire life in Grasse, France, but even so, seeing such a glorious-looking castle was simply brilliant to her.

Lizzy, however, payed no attention to where they were going and was busy looking around as if trying to find someone.

"Oi! she cried, valiantly, "there's that fat arse over there!" She pointed a sharp finger in the direction of the boat he was in and sneered, "I hope his beloved little monster falls into the lake and gets eaten by a--"

"Ouí Lizzy, we get it! You hate frogs." Oriane laughed softly and placed her hands on either side of Lizzy's head to turn her to face forwards again--she didn't want the poor kid from earlier to get more scared of her new friend than he already was.

"Damn right," murmured Lizzy, angrily crossing her arms like a child about to throw a tantrum. She was in no mood to even think about that creature--just hearing it croak a few boats behind them was giving her the nastiest of chills. If that thing crossed her path again, she would probably not hesitate to hex the crap out of it--if only she knew a good hex, that is.

"Come on now, quiet your blasted bickering, " shushed Kempley, turning around to smack her friend in the knee, "We're just about there."

The girls, along with the other students, all stared in awe at the extremely large castle that stood tall and proud above the black waters. The lights from the magnificent stained glass windows flickered across their small, innocent forms. None of them had been to the castle before, and it was even more beautiful than it was in the picture books they read in their youth.

And to think, they were just about to be thrust into what would shape the rest of their lives.

....TO BE CONTINUED