The Canis Major

C h a p t e r 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Harry Potter Characters; all rights go to J.K. Rowling

The weather was a lot cooler than it had been this summer. With September just a day away, I couldn't be surprised. The start of a new school year always meant cooler weather. Without thinking about it, I silently hummed a tune I had heard on the radio earlier today.

I leaned against the tree trunk and read through my new book. I had to constantly brush away my curls so I can read the words in the book. The wind kept blowing the pages, so I found myself getting frustrated. I let out a frustrated sigh and held down the pages a bit better.

"Look, she's getting frustrated," I paused when I heard the familiar voice of one of my old classmates. I hesitated in looking up, not knowing how to react. My light brown skin was already bruised around my ankles where they decided to kick me repeatedly yesterday. "Does she think she's too good to look at us now?"

I looked up warily to see Jason and his small group around him. He smirked down at me. The rest of his group was laughing at he had said.

"Allo, Jason," I greeted with a slight french accent tracing my voice.

"Allo, Jason," he mocked me. This sparked another unison laughter from the group. He laughed along with them before turning to glare down at me. "Get up, loser. How did you become so rude?" I closed my book softly and reluctantly stood up. I had to pull up the pants that hung on my hips since they were too big. The orphanage never had clothes that fit us properly since they also never had enough food to feed us properly.

Some of the only nice clothing I owned were the ones I had to wear when I went to Hogwarts every year. I always made sure to keep those in their best condition before and after I go to Hogwarts. The clothes I had to wear here on a daily basis were long trousers along with a grey shirt and our choice of jacket. Most of my peers at the orphanage were jealous of the Hogwarts uniform I owned, and treated me as if I were pretentious.

"Wait, I forgot." Jason made a fake surprised face and looked back at his group. His dark eyes returned to mine and he smirked again. "Her parents weren't around to raise her right." I didn't bother to respond or even glare since I had heard the insult many times before.

"Nice one, Jason!" One of Jason's most loyal followers complimented. The group started to laugh again while some of them gave him high-fives. The guy that had spoke came up next to Jason and smiled, his crooked teeth showing. His eyes went up and down my figure before he put on a similar smirk like Jason's. "She sure is pretty, though." He ran a hand up my arm, and I jerked away. The group laughed at my discomfort.

"Don't," Jason put an arm in front of his friend. I was surprised at first. "You might catch something. Who knows what happens inside that orphanage." The boy laughed and thanked Jason for stopping him. "She's not even that pretty. Pretty ugly if you ask me." Jason raised an eyebrow to see if the rest of the group agreed with him, and they all nodded their heads and called out words in agreement. "Do you think you're pretty?" Jason asked me. I've been in this situation many times before, and now knew to shake my head every time. Jason laughed. "That's right."

He stepped a bit too close for my comfort till he was right in front of me. If we were the same height, his face would have been about an inch away from my face. He looked down at me with disgust and grabbed a few of my thin, tight curls. He then dropped it in disgust.

"You're hideous," Jason whispered. His eyes flickered to mine before looking away and smirking. He walks away and the group began to push me as they walked by. My arm was scratched against the bark of the tree and my book was stepped on multiple times. The cover was now muddy and impossible to read, but I was relieved to see I could still read the inside.