I'm walking along a trail through the woods. There are two people behind me, walking together holding hands. I know it's a man and woman, but I can't see their faces, but the woman has the most beautiful violet eyes I have ever seen. I'm anxious to get to where we are going so I run ahead. I hear a woman's voice call out to me but I can't make out what she said. I'm not paying attention to where I'm going and I trip over something on the trail. Now I'm falling. All the light has gone. I hear a woman screaming for me. I try to call out but I can't speak. I feel something slither around my legs. I try to get away, but it tightens its grip. It continues to snake its way around and up my body. It's squeezing me tighter and tighter. I try to scream again, but I'm being squeezed so tightly I can barely even breath. I know this is it. There's no escape for me. I feel tears running down my cheeks. A pair of green eyes shine dimly in the darkness and I hear a woman laughing at me. Such an evil laugh, full of hatred. I can't breathe at all now. My body tingles from lack of oxygen. My vision blackens, I can't see her eyes anymore. Her laugh fades into nothingness. I am no more.

I woke in a cold sweat. Wide awake, I looked at the clock. 3:19 in the morning. It took me a moment to remember where I was. I've had that dream before, but never this vivid. This has been a recurring dream since as long as I can remember. Sometimes I remember more than others. But one thing that I have never forgotten are those violet eyes. More love and caring held in them than I have ever seen. Even Aunt Petunia looking at her precious Dudley didn't have that same love in them. I've read in books at the library that recurring dreams like this are usually based in fact. I've always wanted to believe that the violet eyes were my mom's. I've never known anything about my parents other than their names. And I've never met anyone with green eyes before, other than myself of course. One thing's for sure though, I can hardly ever go back to sleep after having that dream.

I decided to take a hot bath. I had taken one just before dinner, but it's such a luxury I've rarely been able to indulge in. The heat relaxes all my worries away. I start feeling relaxed enough that I can go back to sleep so I get out and dry myself off. I wipe the fog off the mirror to brush my hair, and I freeze. Staring back at me are violet eyes. The same violet eyes from my dream. I blink. They are still violet. I shut my eyes as hard as I can and hold them closed for a minute. I open my eyes slowly and see my normal green irises in the mirror again. I hope I'm not going crazy… or this is all just a dream. It's probably just the stress about going to stay with strangers. Try as I might, I couldn't fall back asleep. My mind flipping back and forth from the dream to my violet eyes and back again.

Professor McGonagall was surprised that I was fully packed and ready to go before she even got there. "Couldn't sleep." I said with a shrug of my shoulders.

"I'm sure everything will be fine Miss Potter. Now come along and I'll take you to Abbott Manor." She led me to a fireplace and explained how the floo system works. Professor McGonagall went first. She took my trunk with her as she told me my first trip on the floo can be a little disorienting. Stepping into the fireplace and throwing down a handful of powder and saying "Abbott Manor" enveloped her in green flame and she was gone. I followed suit and it suddenly felt like I was weightless, zooming through space. I could see countless green dots pass by too fast to actually focus on any of them. After what seemed like only a few seconds I was at my destination. 

I step out of the fireplace into a room with several lounge chairs and a few couches. Three people are standing in front of me, Professor McGonagall on the left, a woman I would place in her mid thirties in the center and a girl my age to the right. The two women are very obviously mother and daughter. The girl who I assume to be Hannah has her mother's same blond hair, same cheekbones, and the same sparkling brown eyes.

"Good morning, Miss Potter. I'm Regina Abbott, and this is my daughter Hannah."

"Umm, good morning Mrs. Abbott. Thank you for allowing me to stay here."

"No problem at all dear. Hannah, why don't you and Holly go ahead and get breakfast, then you can show her to her room. I have a few things to discuss with Professor McGonagall." 

With that Hannah grabbed my hand and pulled me along saying "Come on. After breakfast I'll show you around."

Breakfast was already on the table. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and several types of fruit. When we finished eating our plates vanished. When I asked about that, Hannah just laughed and said "House elf's, silly. Jorpey!"

Jorpey appeared with a pop. Big floppy ears and bright blue eyes. "Little Miss calls for Jorpey?"

"Jorpey, this is Holly. She's going to be staying with us until school starts."

"Well hello little Miss Holly. Jorpey is pleased to meets you."

"Hello, Jorpey." I replied.

"That will be all Jorpey. Oh! If you haven't already, please take Holly's trunk up to the guest room please."

"Jorpey has done thats already, Little Miss. Buts the chest is locked, so Jorpey can't put everything away." Jorpey looked troubled and a little sad as he said that.

"It's ok Jorpey. I paid good money for that lock and I'm glad it works." My tone was less reassuring than I would have thought it would be. I've never been one to look down on others, but something in the back of my mind enjoyed seeing this creature sad and afraid.

I was torn from my thoughts when Hannah dismissed Jorpey and said "Come on, I'll give you a tour of the house."

To call it a house is actually an understatement. It's more like a mansion. I counted at least six bedrooms, and four common rooms, one of which is a library, and both an indoor and outdoor pool. My room is right across the hall from Hannah's and, just like all of the other rooms, I was told, has its own bathroom. Hannah sat on the bed while I put all of my things away, and we talked until lunch. She was just as fascinated by the muggle (non magical people I was told) world as I was with the wizarding world. After lunch we went to her room and shared with each other what spells we knew, and practiced the first few spells out of our first year book of spells. Hannah wanted to try a few "dueling" spells, saying that we will want to be able to stand up to any bullies so we took things outside.

The "dueling" spells came much more naturally to me than they did to Hannah. I only needed a couple tries before I could cast them. Even though they were some of the first spells people learn, Hannah was impressed. After a few hours we started to get tired. And headed inside and washed up for dinner.

The next few week's were much the same. A few times a week we would go "shopping". We usually didn't buy anything, but it was fun browsing through clothes, trying things on, and just talking. I was introduced to some of Hannah's friends. A red head by the name of Susan Bones, who's Aunt is in charge of the DMLE (Department of Magical Law Enforcement), and a brunette Lisa Turpin who seemed a little more shy than the other two. Professor McGonagall checked in on me as promised, and seemed glad to see me happy. 

My birthday was quickly approaching, but after 9 years of my birthday being ignored, it never occurred to me to mention it. So it should come as no surprise that on the morning of July 31st, I was in shock of the fact that there were two presents waiting for me when we went down for breakfast. Mrs. Abbott and Hannah sang me happy birthday and Hannah handed me my first present, a thin box about eight inches long. Inside was a beautiful runespoor (three headed snake) pendant on a platinum chain. "I saw you admiring that the other week." Hannah said.

I hugged her and started crying. "What's wrong? I thought you'd like it." She said, her voice filled with concern.

"I do like it… sniff… It's beautiful… sniff… It's just… sniff… this is the first time I've ever gotten a real present."

"Well you can expect something from me every year. And don't think I'll forget Christmas either." She said as she handed me a napkin off the table. 

As soon as I finished wiping my tears, she handed me my other present, which was the book Dueling for Beginners. "You picked up on those types of spells quickly and seemed to really enjoy it." 

"I trust you to use discretion with those spells, Holly. I don't want you destroying half my house." Mrs. Abbott said, her attitude was more playful than serious.

"Yes, ma'am." Both Hannah and I responded at the same time, causing all three of us to burst into laughter.

Throughout the next month I had practiced almost half the spells in the dueling book. Some of them seemed a little too dangerous or destructive to try without supervision. Hannah did her best to keep up with me, but she lacked the natural talent that I seemed to have. Of course, she had a much easier time with other spells than I did. Regardless, it came time to pack our things and get ready for our last day before school started.

September 1st was a busy day. We got to Kings Cross Station and made our way to platform 9 ¾. I was about to ask where it was when I saw a family of redheads walk right through the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Following suit I crossed the barrier with Hannah right behind me and Mrs. Abbott trailing behind her. 

After saying our goodbyes to Mrs. Abbott, and her telling me I'm more than welcome to come back with Hannah for Christmas break and again during the summer, Hannah and I boarded the train and found an empty compartment. We weren't alone for long, as Susan and Lisa soon found and joined us. It was good having more people to talk to. Don't get me wrong, I have come to really like Hannah, but variety is the spice of life as they say. We all settled in for the long ride.

The train finally pulled to a stop at the village of Hogsmede in the early evening. A voice on the platform rang out "All first years this way! Leave your things! Come along then! All first years to the boats!" The man that the voice belonged to was huge. Standing about 11 feet tall and hands that could probably easily wrap around my waist. His beard and mustache hid his facial expressions, but even in the low light his eyes revealed a gentle soul. He led all of us first years, about 30 or 40 of us by my guess, to the lake and into boats. The view of Hogwarts was breathtaking, the lights emphasizing the grand scale of the castle that is our school. 

With the boats docked, we were ushered up a set of stairs to the Great Hall. We stopped at the doors, at which point Professor McGonagall introduced herself to everyone as the deputy headmistress, transfiguration professor, and for everyone that is sorted into the house of Gryffindor, their head of house. She then led us into the hall, all the way to the front of the room, past the four rows of tables, to just in front of the faculty table. There was a mangy hat sitting on a stool which I recognized from my reading about Hogwarts as the sorting hat. Before the sorting ceremony started, Professor Dumbledore had a few announcements. Apparently he thought it necessary to tell us that the Forbidden Forest is still forbidden, and that certain death awaits anyone visiting the third floor. With that said the sorting ceremony started. The sorting hat kicked things off with a song, highlighting the various traits that each house is known for. After the song, a mighty applause and cheer came from the students behind us. Professor McGonagall pulled out a parchment and called us up one by one to be sorted. Both Hannah and Susan went to Hufflepuff. Soon enough it was my turn. It seemed like everyone went extra quiet when my name was called. But maybe it was just me being nervous.

While sometimes the hat made grunts, or simple words before declaring a house, I was not quite expecting a full conversation in my head. 

"Well you are certainly a conundrum my friend. What to do, what to do…" 

"Aren't you the one to tell me?" I asked, almost confused.

"Ahh, but that's the problem. There are powers in play that make things difficult."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"If only I could say. But unfortunately I am bound by law, and forbidden to tell anyone about any student past or present."

"So a former student did something to me!?"

"Ahh, very astute miss. But I did give that one away, didn't I? I see you doing well in any house. You have spent your life without friends, so now you will be loyal to those friends you do make. That same loneliness has given you courage and bravery to face almost any challenge. You also spent a lot of time in books, and have a longing for knowledge."

"You didn't mention any Slytherin traits yet."

"Haven't I? Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. I am an old hat you know. But there is the fact that you are a parselmouth."

"Then this whole thing was a test then? Get me to reveal my inner truth?"

"Very clever my dear. But I must warn you, Slytherins don't take too well to those raised in the muggle world, or even to half bloods."

"If that's where I belong, then I'll take my chances."

"As you wish."

"Slytherin!" The hat cried out, to the cheers of the assembly, and a few expected boos coming from the Gryffindor table.

I made my way to the Slytherin table and took my seat. The last of my friends, Lisa, was sorted into Ravenclaw, but there was never much doubt about that from anyone that knows her.