The girl who lived
For those who don’t know when a child is born with magic their name is written, with an enchanted quill, on a list to attend a school for magic. When they turn 12 they then receive a letter accepting them to the nearest school of magic.
My situation in comparison to most other students is unique because I am the only child that has been on that acceptance list 8 years in a row. This astounded the mind of the headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, as in her many years of teaching had never seen this. But it was in my time of need Hogwarts rescued me, and that is where this chapter starts.
When I entered this world I had no name and no where to go so when I entered the foster system they named me, Hayley Marshall. For most of my life I was known as Maria, but at Hogwarts I was Hayley it was a bit confusing but I got use to it. Maria was my God given name, Hayley was my original name and I didn’t mind that it made me unique, but let’s be honest I think I’ve had enough unique to last me a lifetime.
Not much unlike Harry potters story Rubeus Hagrid entered my life quite abruptly telling me I’m a witch, which to be honest I already knew but it was about to take on a whole new meaning. Most people in the wizarding world had never met someone like me. Someone who could do magic without a wand, I still had a wand but it doesn’t mean I used it. This is probably how I sparked the attention of the headmistress and later the ministry of magic.
Hogwarts became my new home as I had no where else to go so naturally I became close with a lot of my teachers, non as much as my herbology teacher Neville Longbottom. I loved when he told me the stories of him and his friends; Harry, Ron and Hermione and It was through Professor Longbottom that I met the legendary trio. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit star struck, Hermione was who I looked up to and who I wanted to be when I was older and coincidentally she was my way into the ministry of magic because even she saw my potential.
I was a master at quidditch and anything I set my mind to really, and that is why I was “collected” by my head of house, Horace slughorn. I was his prized pupil, I basically carried slytherin to house cup 4 years in a row, mostly with the quidditch games I won as seeker. So evidently I became a member of his “slug club”, a club comprised of members slughorn handpicked, made up of the most talented, clever and famous students in the school. We would often meet for lavish meals in his office but to be quite honest the conversation was dreadful. The only reason he did this was so when we succeeded after graduation we would pay him back in knowledge and other various luxuries
But that’s not all, I only spent 4 years in Hogwarts as I excelled through my classes. At the discretion of headmistress McGonagall, I was allowed to take my OWLs in third year obviously passing with the highest marks and took my NEWTs a year later surpassing most people’s expectations.
This wasn’t always a good thing, standing out, because some people saw my power as a threat, much like Voldemort people thought I might abuse my power making me a target. Nevertheless, I had to prove myself, to prove that I was good and honest in spirit and that is when I turned to the ministry of magic.