A/N This is my first story. I've already written the first few chapters- please try to stick it out, I swear it gets better after the first few. Any tips or other reviews would be appreciated...

Mackenzie Rush was so excited that she was literally shaking by the time that she and her mother reached the train station. She was also very nervous- what if the other wizards didn't like her?- but it was outweighed by her anticipation. Because, after all, it wasn't every day that Mac began wizard school. Because that was what she was: a wizard. Well, actually, she was a witch, but that was besides the point. Plus, she was just happy to be getting out of her house, as her parents had been distancing themselves ever since they had found out that she was a witch.

She had been shocked when the huge man- she thought his name was Hagrid or something- told her she was a witch. She hadn't believed him, until he had shown her that it was true with his pink umbrella. Her parents had been shocked and appalled when her they found out about her abilities.

She hurried ahead of her mother (her father hadn't wanted to come), wanting to see the Hogwarts Express. She was momentarily confused when she reached platform 9, trying to remember where platform 9 and ¾, where she had been instructed to go, was. She thought back to the strange, huge man who had told her that she was a witch. Oh,yes. She remembered.

Mac waited by the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 for her mother to catch up, then pulled her towards the barrier. She squeezed her eyes tightly closed, then ran towards it, ignoring her mother's frightened squeak. She opened one eye and then, relieved, opened the other to see a red train with many parents and students milling around, saying their goodbyes. They all looked upset, but glad, that their children were magical and off to Hogwarts. Mac looked back at her own mother, whose eyes were shifting nervously over the crowd, and realized that she was ashamed of her. Her mother's nose was in the air: she thought she was above all this, above her daughter.

Mac hurried onto the train, not so sad to be leaving her parents for the year. She wandered down the aisle, looking for an empty compartment. In the end, she sat in the corner of a compartment of second year Hufflepuffs, who didn't speak to her. Mac told herself that there would be plenty of time to make friends later. She wondered what she would do if she had no friends, but told herself that it couldn't happen. She would be fine. She sat, alone, growing more and more nervous, until the train finally halted, and she got off.

She was so anxious, she barely even noticed the boat ride across the lake, sitting with a red-headed girl who was babbling about the sorting, and how she already knew all about it from Hogwarts: A History. However, she began to listen when the girl started talking about the different houses. She said that Slytherin had pureblood mania (alright, Mac wouldn't end up there), Hufflepuff was for hard workers (with a snort, Mac decided that there was no way she would be put in that house), Gryffindor, where the girl wanted to be placed, was for the brave and loyal (Mac thought this was a possibility, but she wasn't overly loyal, just brave. But, then again, she'd never really had anyone to be loyal to), and Ravenclaw (Mac thought this sounded best) was for the intelligent.

They entered the great hall, and suddenly Mac wasn't the only really nervous first year. She could see in the faces of most of the others that they were just as scared as she was, except a few who just looked bored and arrogant. There were four tables of people, she assumed divided into the four houses, and they were all staring at the first years. She felt tiny. The first years were walking between the blue and the yellow tables, and she was shorter than the other students, who were sitting, staring down at the new students.

There was a tall, pointed, torn, and grungy hat on a stool in the front of the hall. Mac wondered why everyone was staring at it, until a flap opened in it and it began to sing. She stared at it in shock, and it took a moment for the words to begin to sink in. It was going on about the merits of the four different houses. The only difference between the hat and the girl from the boat's telling was the hat also said that Slytherin was cunning. Maybe it isn't that bad, Mac thought.

The hat finished, shutting the hole in its side. A professor, who had announced herself as McGonagall, called up a first year. "Aberan, Lisa!"

She was sorted into Hufflepuff as all of the students at the yellow table cheered. Mac waited and waited, hardly noticing as the redheaded girl got her wish and was placed in Gryffindor. Why was her name so far into the alphabet? After a seemingly infinite wait, McGonagall finally called, "Rush, Mackenzie!"

Mac hurried up to the stool and grabbed the hat. She sat and placed it carefully on her head, but it still slipped down until it was blinding her. She sat straighter as a shock ran through her: the hat was speaking. "Hmm, what have we here? Never seen anyone quite like you before: Muggle-born, eh? Still, you seem clever. But perhaps more cunning than intelligent. Yes, I know. Quite a commotion you'll cause, but I think its the right place for you."

It then screamed out, to Mac's shock, "Slytherin!"

She sat up, shaking a little on her feet. No one was cheering for her and that made her nervous. What was wrong? She cautiously placed the hat back on the stool and proceeded to the far right, where she had seen that the green Slytherin table was. She got the feeling that this wasn't good, and she was right. Maybe the other students wouldn't care. But when she saw their faces, she realized that that was impossible. This wasn't good at all.

Mac couldn't even hear McGonagall call the next name. She was in a daze. She wasn't a pureblood: not even close. What was she doing here? Hadn't the hat made a mistake? Maybe it was a joke; the hat had said she would cause a commotion.

She realized that everyone was still staring at her, so she sat at the end of the table, alone. The older students were all glaring at her. Some were hissing "Mudblood!" or demanding that she leave. She ignored it all, telling herself over and over that she could do this. She was so busy talking to herself that she almost didn't notice when someone sat next to her. It was a boy with long black hair and ill-fitting robes.

"Hi. I'm Severus," he introduced himself, "Severus Snape."

She was shocked for a moment, then replied, "Mackenzie Rush. But you might want to stay away from me. I think everyone hates me."

For she had just realized that not just the Slytherins, but everyone in the hall, was glaring at her. She turned back to look into the boys sparkling black eyes and saw him sizing her up and, apparently, coming to a decision. "Nah. They'll get over it."

Then he smiled. He looked much better when he smiled. She smiled back, deciding that perhaps Hogwarts wasn't as bad as she had thought. "In that case, you can call me Mac."