The blessed girl's destiny (a harry potter fanfiction)

Chapter 5

Vanessa was mid-laugh, still teasing the twins about their overreaction to Batman, when the train's announcement startled her. "We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes." She blinked, momentarily confused, as Fred and George exchanged excited grins.

"Already?" she muttered, glancing out the window, her stomach twisting with a mix of nerves and anticipation. How had the time flown so quickly? She hadn't even realized they were so close to Hogwarts.

"Yep!" Fred said, bouncing to his feet. "Better get ready! First day of Hogwarts and all."

George grinned at her. "Nervous about the sorting?"

Vanessa's heart skipped a beat. The sorting. She had almost forgotten. That familiar wave of anxiety crept in, stronger now. "I guess..." she admitted, trying to play it off, but her voice wavered slightly.

Noticing her nerves, Fred tried to reassure her. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be in Gryffindor, with us."

"How do you know that?" Vanessa looked at him skeptically.

"Well, you have a bat for one, and you got him because of a dare—that screams Gryffindor. I'm never wrong about these things. Tell her, George."

George, unamused, nudged Fred back when he nudged him first, setting off a chain reaction of playful shoving that left Fred nearly tumbling onto the floor.

"Hey! Not cool—"

The conversation carried on as they exited the train, but Vanessa's mind was elsewhere the moment they stepped out of the bustling station. The sight in front of her—a castle of towering spires bathed in twilight—stopped her in her tracks.

Hogwarts. She had never heard the name until Dumbledore came to deliver the news of her mother's death, and now, standing before it, she was struck by its grandeur. The castle loomed against the darkening sky, its spires twisting like ancient sentinels guarding secrets older than time. Golden lights flickered in its windows, making the stone shimmer in the twilight like something out of a dream.

Yet, as she gazed at its towering spires, a knot tightened in her chest. This was not a choice she had made; it was a forced escape from a life she hadn't fully understood. At Durmstrang, she had always felt out of place, surrounded by others who seemed just as lonely. Her mother's love had been tinged with paranoia, and her last plea to Dumbledore echoed in Vanessa's mind. Coming here meant stepping into the unknown—would she find a place to belong, or would she remain adrift in her grief, the weight of the past holding her back, her mother's ghost haunting her life?

Her doubts were short-lived as Lee yanked her back, narrowly avoiding a carriage that nearly plowed into her. "Wow, thanks," she mumbled, half-dazed.

"No problem. Can't have the new kid dying on day one, can we?" Lee winked at her as they clambered into the carriage, which, to Vanessa's surprise, seemed to be pulled by nothing.

During the ride, her heart raced, a blend of excitement and unease churning within her. This was it. The moment she had anticipated for so long.

She was standing, in front of the massive doors of the Great Hall, with a woman who had introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. Vanessa was standing alone in front of the open doors and had a full view of the Hall and of everybody looking at her, the new kid. She was alone because she had taken up a place behind all the first years, she was to be the last one sorted. Any moment now.

"Miss Vanessa Taylor-Bălănescu," the professor struggled to pronounce her last name, she had inherited both her mother's and her father's name, the latter being Romanian.

Time seemed to slow down with each step she took, head high, advancing to an old and dirty-looking hat who was to determine her future. She sat down, and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head.