The one with a dragon heart
“Ok Valentina remember you must stay hidden, no one is to know who you are and where you’ve come from; take this it will hide your horns and make you appear normal….ish” Biagio the family bodyguard said handing Valentina a small bottle filled with a light blue liquid. Valentina nodded her head; taking the bottle she popped off the top and quickly swigged it down before the horrible taste could invade her mouth. A couple minutes later her long curved horns retracted themselves into her skull, causing Valentina to wince in pain for a moment as she could feel every moment of the slowly fading horns disappear deeper into her skull, but as soon as the pain came, it went away and she no longer could feel the horns retract themselves even as they continued to do so.
“Seems the potion is kicking in; sorry I know the after effects are horrible but it’s for your own safety” Biagio said softly placing his hand on Valentina’s head and patting her. She looked up confused for a brief second till a horrible headache made its presence known.
‘I much preferred the horn retracting than this damn headache’ Valentina thought to herself has she messaged her temples and tried not to think of the pain.
“Now go, the carriage will take you and the others to Hogwarts. Once there you’ll be greeted by the headmaster, from there you’ll receive the rest of the information. Now go, and make us proud” Biagio said slightly pushing Valentina towards the carriage. She turned to look at Biagio who stood tall and proud not letting his true emotions out, but Valentina could tell he was hiding his true feelings as she was about to enter the carriage she looked deep into his eyes for a brief moment and felt all he was feeling. He was sad to see her go for she had become some what of a daughter to him, then depression set in for he knew this would be the last he would ever see or hear of her.
The path ahead for him was nothing but pain and death, and just for a brief moment Valentina felt a sense of pride. For Valentina would continue on in life and bring something better to this dark world, making all the pain he went through all worth it. Valentina looked from his eyes finally and let those feelings consume her; she gave a small smile and hugged Biagio tightly knowing she would never see him again.
“Thank you Biagio for all you’ve done for me, and I will not let you down.” With that Valentina and the others quickly boarded the old carriage. As the kids took their seats the wood creaked and cracked giving Valentina a very unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. She took the window side of the carriage that was closet to where Biagio stood. As the last student got on and the driver clicked the reins Valentina could feel tears wanting to escape from her eyes.
The carriage drove off into the cold dark forest as Valentina watched Biagio become less and less visible disappearing into the dark night. Valentina let one single tear fall that night; for when she left Biagio and her town, she left a part of herself though she would never admit it to anyone she was deeply sadden. She not had not only lost a good friend but someone who was more of a father to her than her real one, but also her town, the Dracona way of life, and her pride and joys; her horns which were a symbol of who she really was.
Days passed as they traveled to Hogwarts, Valentina was growing more inpatient as the hours dwelled on and was hating the carriage ride more and more as days went by. It would creak, crack and jumble around at the slightest rough terrain; causing Valentina to hit her head or lose her place in a book she was reading. The other two would chat quietly to themselves and never engaged in a conversation with Valentina due to her being of noble pureblood status. This was something Valentina was use to, so she kept herself occupied by reading, and studying the books she brought from her old school.
She didn’t want the time she had on the carriage to go to waste. Finally they had arrived to the gates of Hogwarts, the carriage slowly coming to a stop jumped Valentina out of her thoughts and before the driver could open the door Valentina quickly pushed it open and was the first person to get off. She had never thought she’d be this happy to have her feet on the ground again. The other two had slowly climbed out behind her, still talking about current events and about the school they were now going to attend as they made their way next to Valentina. Valentina looked around and on top of the hill was a giant castle, all the lights seemed to be off except for a few spread about. This was Hogwarts.
Valentina couldn’t believe the size of the school it was huge, much bigger than Unta and much prettier. Unta was just a small manor close to the mountains, it was small though do to most of the time the students were outside working with dragons and training. Not allot of magic, was done or taught at Unta, so Valentina took it upon herself to learn by herself buying many books and staying inside the manor tucked away from the other students; which she did like since she could practice as much as she wanted without any distractions. As Valentina thought to herself a very tall, older looking gentleman walked up to her group. He had a very soft kind look to him, he had a very long white beard that tied at the end with some metal charms, and he wore half moon spectacles and looked very proper plus wise. Valentina pushed her thinking into the back of her mind turning her attention to the man before her.
“Welcome students from Unta we are honored to have you at our school. I am the Headmaster of Hogwart; Albus Dumbledore” He said bowing his head in respect, the three of the students bowed low as it was tradition to show your respect back at Unta to bow low to someone higher in life.
“Now then we must hurry and get you inside and sorted out.” With that he led the group to a carriage which was drawn by the strangest creatures ever seen. They were large, black and looked like walking skeletons. As Valentina eyed the creatures she caught the attention of the headmaster, who softly smiled.
“I noticed you see the Thersatls” He spoke quietly so only she could hear, she nodded her head but never looked away from the Thersatels before her.
“Therastels? Why is it that no one else seems to notice them? I mean they do stick out” Valentina said as she looked to the headmaster, watching the other two already board the carriage. He chuckled lightly and motioned for her to follow the other two into the carriage.
“It’s because only those who have seen death can see them” As he said this Valentina climbed on board shocked, turning her head to ask more but before she could say anything the carriage began to move. The idea that she can only see these creatures was because she saw someone die did cause a few goosebumps to go over her skin. But this didn’t bother Valentina to much, because she loved magical creatures and loved to see ones she has never seen in Adelaide Calogero before and she liked the idea that no one else could see them from her group; it was her little secret.
The trip was quite short which made Valentina happy since she was so tired of these carriage rides she was taking. When the carriage stopped once again Valentina was the first off , the group came upon the large doors of the school which opened with a thundered noise which echoed through the empty halls; this place was even bigger up close, Valentina’s eyes wandered around taking in every little detail. The headmaster appeared in front of the group and began to led the group through the doors and down the large hallways, no one was around which caught Valentina’s attention as she was about to speak up; Valeia began talking.
“Where is everyone?” Valeia asked; Valeia was a small petite girl with a small pixie haircut. She was nice but could be quite annoying since she loved to gossip. Nothing got past this girl; it seemed her job in life was to know everyone’s deep secerts. She was a great potion maker and was known for her healing techniques at Unta, but Valentina never really talked to her since she was 2 year younger than her and was lower class, which meant they were in different classes. The headmaster turned and smiled and then looked on before him.
“Its curfew time here, that it’s why we must hurry; the sooner we get you in a house and ready, the more unnoticed you three will be.” Valeia nodded and then stayed silent.
‘I’m glad someone asked because this was beginning to bug me’ Valentina thought to herself as she looked at the two others and then again at the large castle grounds. As the group continued on their tour down the long winding hallways they finally stopped at a statue; the headmaster looked back at the students who just looked at him with puzzlement as to why they were stopped in front of a giant statue. The headmaster chuckled again and spoke a word and the statue began to turn, revealing a set of stairs behind it. The students stood shocked, Valentina looked up at the statue then the stairs and shared a small smirk. She liked this school more and more.
They followed the headmaster up the stairs which led them to a large wooden door; slowly he opened the door which was to the headmaster’s office. It was very grand and large filled with many different artifacts, books, things that whistled or made noises; the walls were covered with many different paintings which all seemed to move and be alive. The group stopped in a large room which had a cozy fireplace and were confronted by many different professors.
“These are some of the teachers here at Hogwarts and the head of houses.” The headmaster said looking at the professors then back at the students.
“Now then we should sort you three into a house” He said quickly still with a smile on his face as he reached for an old, battered hat, that looked like it would fall apart soon. The three looked at each other confused then back at the hat.
“What do you mean sort us into a house?” Valentina asked her eyes still fixed on the hat.
“Here at Hogwarts we have four different houses which students are placed in to, too help them achieve their goal in life. The houses are Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff. This hat will match you with the house that best represents you.” The head master said motioning for the only boy in group forward. The boy sat down on the chair and let the headmaster place the hat on his head; though the guy was a little apprehensive of having this ragged hat placed on his head. It was quite for a while till the hat suddenly yelled out “Ravenclaw!” with that the headmaster took off the hat and the boy walked back in line. The headmaster then called forth Valeia, quickly she walked up to the chair and plopped herself down on the chair. It didn’t take long for the hat to yell out “Gryffindor!” She then quickly jumped down and went back to the line smiling. Now it was Valentina’s turn, she sighed and slowly walked up to the chair; she slowly placed herself on the chair and sat there. Her eyes were wandering around trying to find something to entertain herself. She could feel the hat being placed on her head, and once it sat on top of her head she started hearing a voice.
“Hmmm you’re a tough one indeed; you have such great strength, courage, and knowledge that you’d be great in Gryffindor. But there’s something deep inside you, something dark, sadness, anger, many things seem to be bothering you. Hmmm” The hat spoke quietly so only she could hear. Valentina sighed deeply again, her eyes looking up at the hat.
“I don’t care where I’m placed I’m here to study and bring honor to my family. That is all I am for.” Valentina quietly spoke catching the attention of the hat.
“Hmmm a lot put on such a young child but there’s something else inside you……… Slytherin! ” The hat finally called out; the headmaster took the hat off and looked down at Valentina. She shrugged her shoulders, her eyes going from her normal violet to hazel. The headmaster looked down at Valentina noticing her eyes change got his attention; something was strange about her though he did not show it he just thought about it.
“Ok now that everyone has a house the professors will show you three to your house common room and dorm.” The headmaster said as the heads of the houses stepped up to there new student. Valentina looked around as the other two that were with her, now were walking off to their dorm; she then turned her attention back to her head of house. He was very tall, had long black hair, and had a very stern look upon his face.
“I am Professor Severus Snape the head of Slytherin” He said as if he was already bored and annoyed with Valentina. Valentina bowed her head as it was custom of her race to do so. Snape just acknowledged the notion before motioning for her to follow him. She followed behind him quietly. The way to the Slytherin common room and dormitories was long and lead straight through the dungeons. When they came upon a bare stone wall Snape spoke.
“ Basilisk” With the word spoken a hidden door appeared and opened. Snape looked over at Valentina.
“Remember that word for it’s the password into the common room and dorms.” Snape said stern fully as he began walking inside. Valentina noted the word in her head, and followed behind the professor; when she stepped inside the door behind her closed and disappeared. Her eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing, the room she was standing in was quite marvelous it had a green glow to it, the chairs were carved wood, there was a fireplace and everything looked to be really classy and expensive. She then looked at the windows; she was quite shocked the room was underwater a mermaid swam by causing Valentina to jump slightly. As her mind tried to observe everything she heard a low cough, which caught her attention. She stopped looking around and looked at Snape you looked annoyed.
“Are you done spacing out Miss Loreto” He said sharply
“Sorry professor” Valentina said keeping her eyes from wandering around.
“Your things will be in the dorm area. Girls on the right boys on the left, this room is the common room you can come here to rest after classes and you will report back here and stay here during curfew hours. Got that, if you are caught wondering the school grounds after curfew, punishments will be met. Classes begin 8 am sharp, here are the classes you’ve been assigned and in the morning I will send a prefect to help you around the grounds and get you settled in.” Snape said pulling out a scroll and handing it to Valentina. Valentina opened the scroll and looked down at the classes, she then looked at Snape.
“What about my text books and supplies?” Valentina asked taking another look at the classes.
“All of that will be on your bed along with the school’s uniform. The headmaster is the one who provided it to you and the others that came along with you. Now then if there are no more questions I must make my runs.” Snape said coldly as he turned to leave, leaving Valentina to figure out the rest. Once Valentina saw the professor leave, she sighed loudly and took a seat on the couch by the fireplace. She looked at the classes she was going to be taking; Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Charms, Potions, Astronomy, History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures and Herbology. She couldn’t believe how many classes she had been assigned, she was happy though about some and that they got here just as the school year started. Rolling up the scroll, she then stood up to go to her room. As she began to stand she could feel eyes on her, she slowly turned to see behind her but there was nothing. She shrugged the feeling away and walked up the stairs to the girls dorm. When she reached the top she quietly opened the door and slipped inside, being as quite as she could she found her bed. Just as Snape said her books and things were there, her eye scanned the pile of books which were stacked on a table next her bed. She rubbed her neck trying to take her mind off of the day she had. Slowly Valentina slipped in the covers of her bed and laid there, letting her eyes relax and fall into a deep slumber.