Broken People--A Hufflepuff Story

Chapter I

                When Anna first arrived at Hogwarts, she was scared and alone. She followed the crowd of other first years at the back, taking in the scenery and the world she had been told so much about in the past few days. In just a few short weeks, her life had changed considerably, then it had escalated into drastic change. 

       She had grown up in a foster home in the United States of America. The incredibly small town which she had lived was called Pryor Creek, Oklahoma, and if magic had ever made an appearance there, there is no record. That is, until Anna arrived. 

           Her foster mother, a kind and open-minded lady called Carrie by everyone, had known Anna was special from the beginning. You never knew what sort of child you were given care of in the foster system, but Carrie had, by now, had plenty of experience and was prepared for whoever came her way with whatever sort of past or problems. It was almost as if she had expected Anna--or Annie as she called the girl--to be a silent, lost, and incredibly malnourished child. Anna hadn't expected that at all. But it was as if Carrie had seen the spark of magic in her, as if she had known all along that Anna Penworthy was extraordinary. 

                     She remained at Carrie's home for four years. In those years, Carrie encouraged reading (especially fantasy) and writing. She made an extra effort to discover the children's passions, their talents, and went above and beyond the expectations and responsibility of a foster parent, even if she only had a certain child for a few days. It took Anna a while to get used to this kind of love. She had been placed in a variety of 'homes', some not homes at all, but offices where she stayed until someone came to take her to a foster family.

         There were times when she didn't know if she was going to eat.  There were times where she  wondered if she would sleep in a bed that night, or on the tile floor, or in a metal chair. She had experienced cruelty by the worst of kinds of people, but rarely a kindness. Carrie knew and understood this, and she treated each child as if they wore a Caution! Handle with Care label. 

           It took a while for Anna to get used to Carrie, to get used to her surroundings, to relax. But when she did, it took a huge load off of both her and Carrie. Carrie used the time she had with Anna to love her, hug her, and teach her--not just academics, she learned that in school--but how to live, love, laugh, hope, and forgive. A lost art. 

                       After four years had passed, Carrie planned an extra special birthday for Anna. She would be turning eleven, which was a very important age to the foster mom. She had always felt like double one's meant something magical, and so she made eleventh birthdays the best she could for any child she had. 

           But on that day, Anna received a letter . From an Owl. 

     The seal was unlike Carrie had ever seen before, from a school called Ilvermorny, school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At first, Carrie had thought it was some sort of joke. But then little Anna, still a tiny little girl, looked her in the eyes, and said, 

           "It's real, Carrie."

                And at that moment, Carrie knew it was. She didn't know how the staff at Ilvermorny found her little Anna, and she didn't know how she would ever provide Anna with supplies, but she knew that she would do her best  to help Anna fit in as a thriving young witch. 

     Three months later, in an old, beat-up pickup named Sam, Carrie drove Anna and the three other foster children she had with her to New York City, and took her to Grand Central Terminal. Carrie didn't know how she'd let Anna go all by herself, but the little girl had met the older woman's watery eyes, and assured her she could get to the platform from here.