Eyes on Fire
Chapter 1: Establishing Differences

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Staring up at the house before me as I shut the car door behind me, a frown graced my lips as I tried to ignore my nerves and shifted my backpack higher up onto my shoulder. I walked forward and toward the small country-sized house with the traditional white picket fence that I avoided looking at as the wheels of my duffel bag slapped against the pathway stones. I glanced down at myself as I ran my free hand through my hair, shaking it so the curls it naturally had would loosen up.

I sighed and walked up to the door, closing my fist and reaching up to knock. It was almost like slamming my fist against my head my frown deepened, hearing some light footsteps followed by incoherent hushed whispers and the doorknob finally jiggling. I put my best blank expression on with a small smile as the door was opened and two elderly people stared at me, both wearing smiles to hide the pain behind their blue eyes. I felt a tug at my heart and had the biggest urge to turn around and run, but I stood my ground as I forced a smile to my face.

"I'm glad you made it here safely, Jennifer," the elderly woman stated, smiling with a hint of sadness at the back of her words. I heard it and nodded, rocking on my feet, awkwardly. She smiled and pushed the elderly man behind her, motioning in. "Come in, dear. We've been anxiously waiting for you to arrive," she stated.

'So rehearsed,' I thought as I walked in, careful of my wheeled bag. I glanced around before staring down at my so-called grandparents. The elderly man looked the most distraught, figuring my father was his first and only son. He had three daughters after that and his son, Quentin—my father was his prized possession, basically. My heart twitched with pain as I thought of Quentin Williams, my father. I turned my head away from my grandparents as my eyes began to burn, memories flashing through my mind like old flicks. The elderly couple before me were quiet as I stood there, basking in my own pathetic depression.

Finally, the elderly woman cleared her throat and forced a smile on her face. "We prepared your bedroom for you, Jennifer. I think all of your stuff made it just fine this morning and we did our best to dress it up. Change it however you like. It's upstairs and down the hallway, fourth door on the right," she stated. I nodded, smiling awkwardly and turned to walk upstairs.

My boots slapped deeply against the aged stairs; I felt the eyes of my grandparents on my back as I headed upstairs. I was glad when I was out of their sight and heading down the hallway, counting the doors in my head before stopping at the fourth door and pushing it open. I stared inside and frowned; all my stuff was in here in the places they were in at my old home. I fought against the tears rising against my eyelids and walked in, dragging in my bags. I shut the door behind me and sighed, staring around before sitting on the edge of my bed and staring out the window, straight into the setting sun. I flicked my eyes to the bedside picture and frowned, reaching out and grabbing it.

It was a picture of a man and woman that looked like me when I compared it in a mirror and tears rimmed my eyelids. The woman had a beautiful head of red hair and rather mystical grey eyes that shone brightly as she hugged the man beside her, who had a grin on his handsome face with a head of thick, dark brown hair and a pair of brightly hued copper brown eyes; they looked like they were deeply in love and happy together. I ran my thumb over the glass as my eyes leaked tears down my cheeks. I let out a sob and gripped it to my chest, bowing my head as I began to sob. They were my parents; my beautiful parents whom I loved very much: Quentin and Roslyn Williams, happily married for almost twenty years before a tragic accident took both their lives.

I pushed that thought from my mind and began focusing on pushing my tears back. My grandparents informed me that a man was going to visit me at almost dark to get me settled into the new school I'd be attending. I preferred my school back at home, Salem University for Witches and Wizards but my only active family members lived here in London, England. It was even more saddening when I had to move from all my previous friends after my parents' deaths, four days after their funeral. I remembered all their faces when I told them I was leaving; they were all so heartbroken. I didn't want to leave them but my grandparents, halfway around the world, had custody of me in case anything happened. I had godparents but no one knew where they were at the moment so they stuck me with my grandparents. It's sad because I have no idea who my godparents were; my parents never mentioned anybody. It was probably a very distant friend, whom they lost contact with.

I set the picture back down and wiped at my face, staring down at the black blotches now appearing on my index finger and thumb. I sighed and controlled my emotions before standing and looking around. I saw two doors on the far wall, to the right of my bedroom door. I walked to one and opened it, taking a deep breath when it was a bathroom. It was a marvelous bathroom with tiled floors and a blue and brown décor with the porcelain furniture white.

I walked to the sink and stared at myself in the mirror. I ran a hand through my dark burgundy red hair and loosened up the curls before searching in the drawers, finding a hair tie. I pulled the thick curly strands up into a ponytail and stared at myself again, frowning. I looked so much like my parents. I had my father's copper brown eyes and a mixture of their hair; my mother's red hair showing a bit more. I had a more olive skin tone and a few freckles that were hardly recognizable unless staring real hard, or in fluorescent lighting. I was rather tall for my age but my body was well-built instead of lanky and lean. I had my father's body with stern shoulders and a rather hefty set of legs. I had my mother's roundish face with the set of deep dimples in my smile when I was lying, much like she had. I felt my eyes begin to burn as I clenched them shut, closing my fists around the edge of the counter. My tears mixed in with my mascara and dripped down into the white sink, making small black spots that dripped downward. I turned the faucet on and washed them away, trying to compose myself.

My parents would hate to see me crying so much over them. My father would give me his usual lecture about a "face so pretty should never shed such ugly tears" and my mother would make me a huge batch of double chocolate cookies with a glass of milk, just to cheer me up. I shook my head and allowed my grip on the counter to loosen as I cupped some water in my hands, splashing it on my face and washing off my make-up. I decided to brush my teeth as well before rearranging everything in the bathroom to where they were at my house. I walked to my bed and managed to shift things around, to the way I'd want them. I walked to my bags and began unpacking my clothes. My grandparents insisted I only pack the necessities, which didn't include my toothbrush so the whole twenty-hour flight over here, I had to keep chewing gum to keep my breath slightly attractive. I didn't want to make anyone pass out.

I changed out of my jeans and shirt and into a grunge outfit, sweatpants and a loose fitting shirt. I slipped on some socks and slippers and headed out of my bedroom, needing something digestible to eat. Airplane food got rather disgusting after twenty-hours. I pushed away any depressing thoughts, for my grandparents' sake, as I stumbled downstairs and toward the long hallway, guessing where the kitchen. I haven't been here since I was eight and it's hard to remember where everything is in a long period of time. I walked through a gap in the wall and ended up in the living room so I pivoted and headed through a swivel door, smiling slightly when I saw a bunch of house elves bustling around in the kitchen. They all paused when they saw me, looks of shock and surprise lighting up their faces. I blushed and cleared my throat.

"Would you like someone to eat, miss?" a rather timid looking one asked, motioning rather innocently with his hand. I nodded and the house elf smiled, clapping his hands and getting busy again. I sat on one of the stools that lined the small island counter in the middle of the kitchen and shifted nervously as the house elves busied around. My parents didn't own house elves so it was weird having someone, or some-elf doing everything for me.

After a while, a rather succulent smell reached my nose and my stomach began gurgling as a plate was slid across the table, steaming and smelling delicious. I pushed the fact of the elves eyeing me aside and began eating; my stomach engulfed everything. It tasted like good ole home cooking and whatever it was, was amazing. It had a rather succulent taste with a hint of bitterness that made my taste buds ignite magically. I ate it all and even patted my stomach in satisfaction. I knew I'd spend the next four days here in the kitchen, before going to my new school. I couldn't say I was excited because I really wasn't. I knew it was the school my parents went to when they were underage wizards but the whole fact of starting over, the year before I graduated sounded ridiculous. I knew the fakes would probably want to be my friend and people who thought they were the shit would try to talk to me. This school had another thing coming, figuring I was a born American who had no tolerance for bullshit.

I don't like bragging about myself but I wasn't going to this new school to make friends and spend lives with them; I was to graduate and apparate back to the states, staying with my closest friend and getting a job at the American Wizardry Association, which was like the ministry over here. It handled everything in a more orderly matter. They used traditional muggle artifacts, such as the computer and email and telephones to reach people but only within the actual building. In America, everything outside the AWA was the same as London's wizardry world. We were kept secret and consequences for using magic in front of a muggle were very strict, depending on the type of spell or jinx or curse.

I shook my head, relieving it of that for now and glanced at the house elves staring up at me. I must've zoned out. I smiled at them meekly and stated, "Thank you," before heading out the door. I paused when I saw my grandparents and some older gentlemen smiling at me. I felt the urge to just turn back around and go back into the kitchen but kept my ground and eyed him. He had a very friendly look to him and twinkling blue eyes before half moon spectacles. He had slightly curly white hair that was covering his shoulders and a long beard tied with a small ribbon at the middle of his chest. He had a very intricate blue robe on that fell gracefully to the floor and I noticed one of his hands was slightly…blackened compared to the other one. I shrugged it off and decided to be polite, so I smiled weakly at him.

"Hello, Miss Jennifer Williams," he stated. "I am Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." I nodded my head, remembering the name now. It was something weird and that confirmed it. "I'm here to tell you a little about Hogwarts. It's a big difference compared to Salem University. At Hogwarts, we divide our students into four houses: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. Each house has a Head of the house, which is a handpicked professor. The courses are the same here at Hogwarts. Our curriculum is slightly different. We don't have the interesting muggle-like classes you have, such as biology or anatomy or elective classes. We have a more structural system that is rather enjoyable once you get used to it." I nodded, feeling disappointed. Hogwarts sounded boring. He's probably going to tell me they have no sports…

"We do have one sport activity called quidditch. It's rather interesting and fun, if you haven't heard of it," the headmaster stated.

"I know of quidditch. I played at Salem, as one of the main chasers," I stated, making sure he knew I wasn't an idiot to the one sport they did have.

"Good, I'm glad. Our quidditch is similar to yours, with teams except our houses play against each other so it's not confusing," the headmaster said, smiling. I nodded; that was relieving. I hated trying out for a specific team, especially the one my friends were on. That was always the hardest part. "In regards to the houses, we have a hat called the Sorting Hat that places you in the house you're destined to be great in, so he always says. I wanted to save you the humiliation of being sorted before classmates your own age within the first years." I smiled, feeling grateful. I'd hate to be sorted in with the first years, whatever that meant. "That way when you buy your robes, you can have the right house stitched on them," he added in and I nodded. He motioned for me to sit and I did as he pulled out a raggedy, fading brown hat with a lot of stitching from under his over coat. I stared at it as he unfolded it and padded it slightly before smiling at me and setting it on my head. It was real light but I felt it shift, my head tickling with suspicion.

"Hm, difficult mind I see here. So conflicted with rage and guilt and depression, it makes it hard to choose where to put you, young Miss Williams," the hat began saying. I was surprised I hadn't ripped it off and begin stomping on it. I was easily scared by things like this. I found myself intrigued by the magical artifact. "I'm not just a magical artifact, Miss Jennifer Williams. Anywho, let's get going on finding where to put you. Your mind is so much like your father's in more ways than can be counted, once I look under all the conflicting emotions. He was a great success in Hogwarts, so was your mother. Your mother was from Ravenclaw with that amazingly sharp mind of hers and your father had a bravery I hadn't seen in a long time; he belonged in Gryffindor no doubt. However, you have a slight cat-like wit that would do lovely in Slytherin. You belong in every house except Hufflepuff." I blinked, confused. I had no idea these houses had specific traits in order to be in. What if I didn't have a specific house? Then what happens?

"Your mind is complex but your path lay rather clear ahead, deciding on which house I choose. If you were to be in Gryffindor, you'd solve a lifelong conflict among peers and discover your true self. If you were to be in Ravenclaw, you'd no doubt befriend lots with the intelligence you inherited but you'd be lacking in adventure that you so crave for. If you were to be in Slytherin, you'd gain many adoring fan members yet be stuck alone. Hm…" the hat seemed to pause and I blinked, real confused. If had to pick one, I'd pick that Gryffindor house because my path seemed happier. This hat was very intriguing, predicting my future. "One's future is laid beneath them like writing. They just have to learn to read it. I know which house to place you in…Gryffindor!" Headmaster Dumbledore released my head of the hat and I blinked, staring around.

"You should feel lucky the hat gave you such options. He usually keeps his comments to himself," the headmaster stated, smiling. I shrugged, feeling rather flamboyant about the whole situation. Albus Dumbledore reached into a hidden pocket and held out a sealed envelope. "This is your acceptance letter and supply list for Hogwarts. School starts in four days, which you probably know. Your grandparents know where the station is set and I'm figuring they'll show you the way. Welcome to Hogwarts, Miss Williams. I look forward to seeing your capabilities." The headmaster nodded his head politely to my grandparents before apparating away with a rather silent, yet noticeable pop. I sighed and stared down at the sealed envelope before up at my grandparents, who were smiling.

"Tomorrow we'll go to Diagon Alley to get all your supplies," my grandmother stated, beaming. I nodded. We usually got our supplies in the mail from Salem, so we'd all have the right copies. London was so different compared to the States, schooling and accepting. I was going to be confusing.

Author Update (10.7.2012): Alright everyone, I reread through the entire story and tried to catch all the mistakes that were in this story. If I missed something, please let me know so that I can go back, find it and fix it. I'm in a stage of rereading stories that are completed to fix the mistakes in them, and to update them a bit. Almost like refurnishing an old house. :] Anyways, if you find a mistake, leave me a PM with the story name, and chapter number. Please enjoy!