The orange snake
Nami was an ambitious girl. She knew and never felt any shame because of it. You know what you want and you get it, no matter how, she used to say. She had some principles, though; her family and friends were over everything.
Since she was a small child, she had had some problems because of her penchant for taking things that belonged to other people. Nevertheless, she had a natural skill to get away with it. She was a charming and brilliant girl, and her strong and stubborn character would take her wherever she wanted, as Genzo often said. She was particularly good in charms and astronomy, and proved to be an excellent Quidditch player.
When she was a baby, her parents were killed during a terrible attack performed by dark wizards. However, luck was on her side when an Auror, Bellemere, adopted her along with another girl, Nojiko. Bellemere was a loving and strong woman who worked hard to raise the two girls. They also owned a big orange tiger cat with bright green eyes. Bellemere used to compare it with Nami because of the feline’s nimbleness and character.
The small family lived happily in a small house surrounded by tangerine trees (the muggle neighbors always wondered how those trees could survive despite the cold weather) until tragedy struck again. One day, when she was nine, Nami returned home to find a group of horrible dark wizards in her house. They were known as the Fishmen because of their appearance, a mixture of men and merpeople. Their leader, Arlong, had a shark face and was suspected of having committed several murders and illegal curses. However, no witness had ever survived to accuse him. When he saw Nami, he threatened to kill her if Bellemere didn’t tell him the whereabouts of certain magical objects he was after. When the woman refused to tell him anything, Arlong performed the Killing Curse against the small girl. However, the brave Auror, already severely injured, protected Nami and ended up dead. Although the wizard tried to kill Nami afterwards, he realized she was protected by some strange magic. To prevent her from talking, the man threatened to kill Nojiko, who was already at Hogwarts, and the rest of the town. He also forced Nami to join his group and help him find those magical and mysterious objects. To keep her under control, he put his fish mark on the girl’s arm. Since then, Nami had been researching and looking for those objects in the hope that Arlong would free her and her loved ones.
The day her letter arrived was one of the happiest Nami had had in a very long time. Going to Hogwarts meant some freedom, although she knew reality was waiting for her beyond school’s doors.
Though Nami knew that Nojiko would be in school with her, she was reluctant to the idea of making new friends. More loved people meant more worries. That was why she wanted to bring the family’s cat to Hogwarts to keep her company.
Her journey in the Hogwarts Express was not very exciting. While they were looking for a compartment, Nojiko was trying to convince her, again, to leave Arlong, no matter what he had threatened.
“Nami, you’re not alone. You don’t need to do this”, she whispered, hurriedly. “You can start a new life”.
“You don’t understand it, Nojiko”.
“She was my mother too”.
“But she didn’t died in front of you… That spell was meant for me. And she…” Nami couldn’t finish the sentence. She grabbed the pendant she was carrying, one of the few things that had belonged to Bellemere. “I’ll figure something out, ok? And by the way”, she added trying to change the subject, “don’t you have friends or something “Ravenclawy” to do? I didn’t know older sisters liked to hang out with their little sis during school time”.
Nojiko smiled and pushed her jokingly. “You’re not an ordinary sister”.
“Well, thanks for that. But I think I am able to find a seat by myself… Besides, I have to find that grumpy cat… Why did I bring it again?”
“Because you actually like it very much and it is just like you. Okay, I let you be. Make a lot of friends and… enjoy”.
“I’ll try. See you later”.
Nojiko left and Nami started to look into the compartments. Finally she reached one where a group of what looked like second year boys were passing their time. When she opened the door, most of the occupants stopped their activities and looked at her.
“Oh, hello, sorry, have you seen a…” but she didn’t need to finish the sentence. Her cat was comfortably lying on the head of one of the boys, who was quietly napping with a serious expression on his face. His green hair contrasted sharply against the orange fur of the cat. Nami couldn’t help smiling at that sight. Suddenly, something was blocking her view. A tall blond boy dressed in Gryffindor robes had risen from his seat and had grabbed her hand.
“How can we help this lovely lady?”, he asked cavalierly.
His manners surprised Nami . How old is he? She thought. Nevertheless, she smiled at the boy and pointed to her cat.
“That’s my cat over there… I hope it didn’t bother much”.
“Oh? Don’t worry, my love, that stupid marimo has a deep sleep”, said the blonde. “The world could explode and he would continue sleeping”. However, Nami saw how the green-haired boy’s brow had twitched slightly when the blonde had said “marimo”. “I’m Sanji, by the way. May we know your sweet name?”
“Um… Nami. First year”.
“Great! Should you need anything, do not hesitate to ask me. I can be your knight…” He bowed. “Do you want me to take your cat? I don’t mind waking up that lazy ass”.
“Oh, no! I can do it myself, thanks”, she said hurriedly. “It is not very friendly, you know… It’s funny that he is with him, actually”.
“Maybe it mistook his hair for grass?”, laughed Sanji. Nami smiled and approached the sleeping boy. He had tanned skin and he was well built for his age. She took her cat carefully from his head, hoping not to disturb him. If he awoke, he didn’t bother to open his eyes. “Thank you and sorry again…”
“Don’t you want to stay with us?”
“Oh no… I have to go… My… sister may be looking for me”. Nami was about to leave when something caught her attention. Two of the boys who were also in the compartment were reading a magazine, and in one of the pages there was a big photo of Arlong. Nami approached them.
“May I read that?”
Johnny raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“Don’t question the sweet Nami you idiot!”. Sanji took the magazine and gave it to Nami. “These barbarians have no manners. You can have it”, he said, ignoring the offended looks of Johnny and Yosaku. “Are you ok?”, he asked, noticing Nami’s tense expression.
“What? … Yes, thank you, Sanji. I will return it to you later ok?”, Nami said and left the compartment.
“Weirrrd, bro…”, said Yosaku. Sanji hit him in the head.
“She is an angel”.
“Pervert”.
The three boys looked at Zoro. The boy had opened his eyes and was looking at Sanji with a scowl on his face.
ゾロ と ナミ
The group of first years had entered the Great Hall. Nami could see Nojiko sitting with her fellow Ravenclaws and for the first time felt nervous about the ceremony. Which house would she be sorted into?
The woman who had introduced herself as Professor Nico Robin opened the parchment she was carrying and started reading the names on it. One by one the students were sorted. Finally, Nami was called.
Nami sat on the stool and Robin put the Hat on her head.
“ Aha !”. Nami could hear a strong voice in her mind. “ Interesting… I see intelligence and shrewdness, but an important amount of bravery as well… and a burning wish inside of you… What would you do to achieve it? ”
“ Anything ”, thought Nami, closing her eyes.
“ In that case… ”, the voice said, “ Your house will be … SLYTHERIN”.
Nami could hear the cheers and opened her eyes. Her housemates were clapping enthusiastically. Nami noticed that the rest of the tables didn’t look that happy, particularly the members of Gryffindor. Nami could recognise the group of boys from the train. Sanji waved at her with a bright smile, but the boy with the green hair had an impassive expression that somehow disturbed the girl.
“Welcome to Slytherin”, greeted one of her housemates. “You’ve joined the best house of the school”.
Nami smiled back. She knew the fame of her house… But she realized she didn’t care. She had a goal and nothing was going to prevent her from achieving it.