Chapter One

The train station was in a constant state of motion. People late for their first day at work, teens wanting to go on a day vacation, and families with children ranging from a few months to twenty years old hurriedly rushed through the platforms, worried that they weren't at the right place at the right time. So worried that none of them seemed to notice the strange family of eight making their way towards the tenth platform.

This family stuck out from the rest of the crowd at King's Cross Station. They were all dressed in robes lined with fur, trolleys with a screeching owl and suitcases being pushed in front of them. The six children all had unruly brown hair except for one young girl who looked like the spitting image of her mother with her bright red hair.

Yet, the strangest thing about this family was how they calmly sprinted into the wall between platforms nine and ten in pairs, disappearing without a trace to the rest of the crowd at King's Cross Station.

What the crowd at King's Cross Station wouldn't know about the family was that the father's name was Ned Stark, a well-respected Auror who it was rumored may become the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement within the next few years. They wouldn't know that his wife, Catelyn, was from an extremely prestigious pureblood wizard family, the Tullys. The loving pair had six children; Robb, Jon, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. Robb and Jon were both in their third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; a school dedicated to teaching talented young magic folk to hone their magical powers. The Stark twins, Sansa and Arya, were starting their first year at the school.

If one were to take one look at the girls, they would have no idea that they were twins much less related. The twins were as different as night and day. Sansa was a tall, lanky girl with vibrate red hair that she got from her mother. Her eyes were the piercing kind of blue that made people stop for a second when looking at them. She had quite soft features but her face was fairly mature for a girl of eleven. Underneath her fur robes, she was wearing a beautiful, intricate, blue dress, that matched her eyes. Sansa was walking elegantly beside her mother, looking straight forward as if nothing phased her. On the other hand, Arya was a tiny girl--barely reaching Sansa's shoulders in height. Her dark hair was done up in a messy ponytail, a bright pink bow placed strangely in the middle of her head, looking out of place. Her eyes were sparkly and grey, looking for trouble at every turn. Arya had boyish features that, paired with the black trousers and a grey, buttoned tunic she wore under her robes, made her look more like a young boy than a girl. Unlike Sansa, Arya was gripped tightly onto her older brother Jon's hand as she excitedly pointed out every new thing she saw.

When the family entered into platform nine and three quarters, Arya was amazed. This was the first time that all of the Stark children had come to platform nine and three quarters together, so the experience was something of a sensory overload to Arya. Other witches and wizards and their children huddled in pod-like groups chatting among themselves as a great, big, black train sat on the tracks nearby, a little bit of smoke coming from it. Her first instinct was to go try to climb the train but before she could get far, Jon grabbed her arm and yanked her back from the tracks.

"Arya, what the hell. You have to stay with our family." The boy whispered into her ear, steering her back towards the rest of the Stark clan. Once back behind the family, Arya couldn't help but notice the quick glare Sansa shot in her direction. Arya stuck her tongue out at her sister, earning herself a roll of the eyes.

"Stark family meeting!" Her father called out, Arya running over to be as close as she could to her heroic father.

"Jon, Robb," Ned started as soon as all six of his children were close enough to hear him, "I expect you to watch over your sisters next year. You remember how much change happens your first year and how hard it can be to adjust. I, also, heard some Gryffindor Quidditch spots may be opening up," Jon and Robb looked at each other excitedly, "I expect nothing but greatness from you two this year." Ned turned his attention to Sansa, "Sansa, I know you'll do great things this next year. Make sure you take a break from your studies every once in a while," Ned chuckled, "and please get along with your sister. Arya," Arya perked up and looked at her father, excitedly, "your curiosity will take you far at Hogwarts. Please don't get into much trouble and please don't mess with your sister too much." Arya fake gasped and clutched her chest as if she'd been offended, Jon and Robb tried to hide their laughter with the sleeves of their robes. Sansa rolled her eyes, again.

The train's loud whistle interrupted Ned before he could say anything else. He sighed and bent over to kiss each of his children on the forehead. Catelyn sobbed, crying out, "Oh my babies!" Over and over as she repeatedly kissed her departing children all over the face, especially Arya and Sansa. Rickon and Bran, still too young to get on the Hogwarts Express, quickly hugged their siblings goodbye and went back to the game of 'chase the chocolate frog' that they had been playing before.

The Stark children took their luggage and their trusty owl, Hootie--named by Rickon--and went to line up with the other kids getting on the train. They managed to get a train car all to themselves and waved goodbye to their parents and brothers as the train started to slowly pull forward. Once their family was out of sight, they sat down on their respected seats. Sansa and Robb on side of the car with Hootie's cage placed on the other side of Robb, Jon, and Arya on the other side of the car. The was a slightly awkward silence that came over them.

"So, what houses do you two want to be put in?" Robb broke the silence looking between his sisters intently.

"Gryffindor, of course." Arya scoffed at the stupidity of the question, Starks had been put into Gryffindor for centuries.

"Y'know mom wasn't a Gryffindor, right Arya?" Jon asked, "She was a Ravenclaw, so it's perfectly okay to be put in another house."

"So? Gryffindor is the best house."

"I happen to like Ravenclaw." Sansa huffed out, crossing her arms.

"Nobody asked you." Arya growled out to her sister.

"Actually, Robb asked me." Sansa said pointedly, turning her oldest brother. "I want to be put in Ravenclaw."

Arya rolled her eyes at Sansa's comment. "Ravenclaw is the perfect house for you, Sansa. It's full of smartasses." Arya smirked to herself

Sansa turned to her twin, giving her a death glare. She opened her mouth to retort but Robb stopped her by putting his hand over her mouth.

"Okay, enough you two."

Sansa bit his hand so he would let go and angrily said, "Well at least I have some brains! I must've taken them all when we were in mom's stomach!"

Arya rolled her eyes, "Is that the best you've got, Gingy?"

Sansa turned red in the face at the name Arya called her. "Dad told you you couldn't call me that!"

"Well guess who isn't here smart one?" Arya acted like she was pondering a thought. "Oh! That's right! Dad!"

"Okay, that's enough, Arya." Jon said. Arya sat back against the cushioned seat, pleased with herself.

Silence again filled the train car. Sansa continued to glare at Arya. Robb was holding a napkin to the bleeding bit on his hand, frustrated with his younger sisters. Jon was sitting quietly, thinking to himself. A few minutes later the silence was broken by a hesitant knock at the door. All four Stark children looked to the doorway to find a young girl standing there, her luggage held tightly in her arms.

"Uh... hi. Could I sit here?" The girl's smooth voice rang out across the silent car.

"Of course!' Jon said, scooting over to make room for the young girl in between him and Arya. The girl graciously thanked him, put her luggage up in the storage, and sat down in between Jon and Arya. The young girl nervously met Arya's eyes and smiled slightly before looking down again. Arya noticed the girl had brilliant purple eyes.

The siblings all watched the other girl carefully. "What's your name?" Robb asked the younger girl, kindly.

The girl's head lifted slightly to meet Robb's eyes, "I'm Daenerys." She said softly.

"Daierys?" Arya asked.

"No, Daenerys, you idiot!" Sansa exclaimed.

"Hmm... How about Dany?" Arya suggested, mostly just to annoy her sister.

"She said her name was Daenerys!" Sansa seethed

Picking up on the growing tension in the car, Daenerys said, "Actually, Dany's fine. I kinda like that name." She blushed slightly when Arya held out her hand for a high-five, but complied. Sansa huffed as she leaned back against the seat.

"So, Dany, we've just been talking about which houses we want to be put in. How 'bout you?" Arya asked.

"Uh, anything but Slytherin would be fine with me." Dany said, looking down at her feet.

"May I ask what's wrong with Slytherin?" Jon asked.

She smiled to herself a little bit, "Eh, green's just not really my style."

Arya laughed, one of those laughs where she almost couldn't breathe she was laughing so hard. Daenerys smiled a little, proud of herself for making the other girl laugh. Jon and Robb chuckled a little and Sansa didn't laugh at all, just rolled her eyes at her sister's deep laughter.

"So, Daenerys," Sansa said the girls name carefully, giving Arya a look when she said it, "where are you from?"

Dany looked a little uncomfortable with the topic. "A bit south of here," she stated vaguely, "kind of near Canterbury."

Arya's eyes widened, "Like the chocolate??"

"Arya, you can't be serious," Sansa said, incredulously, "that's Cadbury. Do you know anything?!"

"I know that you're stupid."

"I AM NOT--"

"GIRLS!" Jon yelled, making Dany jump a little, scared of the strong voice. "STOP!"

Arya, feeling Dany shake a little beside her, muttered out a "fine." Sansa just nodded tightly, crossing her arms.

"Sorry for scaring you, Dany," Jon put his hand on Daenerys's shoulder, "it's the only way to get them to stop sometimes." The girl shrugged but was obviously still rattled by the yelling. For the rest of the ride, Arya tried to make small talk with Dany but the girl continued to be stiff and shaky the entire rest of the ride. As they got closer to the school, Jon and Robb instructed the girls to put on their robes. They put on their all-black robes as Jon and Robb put on their red and gold robes. When the train finally reached its final destination, the Stark children and Daenerys collected their things and made their way off the train. Arya stopped in her tracks as she looked over at the school. The lights of the castle were reflected in the water creating a picturesque image in her mind. Daenerys was just as enthralled as her, standing next to her staring at the castle in awe. "Dany, Sansa, Arya," Robb called for their attention, "do you see that older man over there?" The boy pointed to a tall, older man who was helping children get into boats that were traveling across the lake to get to the school. "That's Ser Jorah. He's the groundskeeper. He's helping the first years get to the castle. You need to go over to him."

"You're leaving me?" Arya cried, clutching onto Robb's sleeve. "Please don't leave." Sansa, for once, was quiet, looking nervous as well.

"Arya I'm not leaving you. I just need to go with the other older kids. I'll see you in the Great Hall, okay?" Robb bent over and hugged Arya then Sansa. Jon followed suit, both boys waving goodbye as they ran off to join their peers. Sansa, Dany, and Arya hesitantly walked over to the tell man helping kids get into boats.

"First years? All of you?" He asked Arya nodded. He carefully helped the three girls into a little boat that started to move when all three girls were settled. Each girl was quiet for the ride, amazed at the scenery surrounding them as they slowly drifted towards the castle. Before the knew it, the boat had carried them through a curtain of ivy and into a long dark tunnel that must've been underneath the castle. They reached an underground harbor where they joined their other first years, climbing over rocks. They grouped by a set of stairs that had to lead into the castle. Nervously, the three girls stood close together on the outskirts of the large group.

"Do you guys know what we're doing?" An impatient voice said to the group of girls. Sansa and Dany either seemed to not hear him or were ignoring him but Arya turned around to find a boy with blonde hair and cold blue eyes standing behind them. He looked strangely familiar to Arya but she had never been good at matching names to faces. "No clue," Arya responded turning back around to face the stairs.

"Hey!" The boy grabbed Arya's shoulder roughly, turning her around to face him, "I know you!"

"I don't know you, so please leave me alone." Arya stated, trying to turn around again but his grip tightened on her shoulder.

"My name's Joffrey Baratheon" Arya's eyes widened. He was the Minister of Magic's son, that's why he looked so familiar. "You're probably a Stark, aren't you?" Arya narrowed her eyes, not giving him the satisfaction of being right, "I could tell by the eyes." He stated smiling wickedly at her. She was about to punch him in the face when a booming voice broke the tension.

"First years! Over here!"

"Ah, that'll be my Uncle. Even you might have to look down for his speech." Joffrey chuckled, letting go of her shoulder then walking off to find a new person to annoy.

"Who'd know the Minister's son was so, ugh." Arya huffed out to Dany and Sansa, rubbing her shoulder in pain. Daenerys nodded, obediently. Sansa shrugged, "I found it kinda endearing." Arya looked at her sister, incredulously. "Tell that to the bruise on my shoulder."

Sansa rolled her eyes and walked closer to the stairs where a small dwarf man was standing, beginning to speak to the crowd of first years. He was dressed in elegant blue and grey robes that were tailored perfectly to fit his small form. Arya followed closely behind, with Dany close behind her. "First years! Welcome to Hogwarts. Soon you will all start your journey to becoming great witches and wizards. Before we can start those processes, there are a few rules you must follow. Firstly, no student is permitted to leave the castle after sundown. Secondly, no student is permitted to go into the Forbidden Forest without an adult..." The man continued explaining rule after rule to the first years. Arya tuned out after the man said the word, 'rules'. She, instead, was trying to annoy Sansa as much as possible by kicking her shins lightly. After a few minutes, Sansa turned around violently and glared at Arya. Arya shrugged and pointed to the boy next to her in accusation. Sansa rolled her eyes, turning around again. Arya continued to kick her shins the rest of the time the Professor was talking.

Eventually, the small man got all the first years to line up by their last name and walk into the Great Hall. Arya was so taken by the decorations she stopped in the doorway of the hall just to stare up at the ceiling. Now it was Sansa's turn to kick Arya, except she did it much harder. Arya sharply turned around to fight Sansa but her sister motioned to Arya to keep walking. Pouting, Arya caught up with the person in front of her. She looked in front of her to see each of the Professors sitting in a line next to one another at a giant table. In the middle of the table sat an old woman, Arya knew as Professor Olenna Tyrell, the Head Mistress of Hogwarts. She looked to be an intimidating woman, she was wearing golden robes with a matching veil hat. Arya could've sworn the woman looked right at her and smirked. Suddenly the Sorting Hat started to sing about each of the houses. Arya kind of half-listened to the song, more focused on studying each of the Professors than listening to a hat sing. After the song, one by one each of the first years were placed in their houses. To no one's surprise, Joffrey was put into Slytherin. After a few minutes, Arya was up next. She could feel her hands getting sweaty from nerves, she started to rub them against her black robes.

"Arya Stark?" The dwarf man said. Arya, suppressing her nerves, walked up to the chair. Once she sat down she could see both Jon and Robb watching her, proudly, from where they sat at the Gryffindor table. She smirked at them. The Sorting Hat was barely placed on Arya's head before it shouted,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Arya excitedly hopped down from the seat and ran to join her brothers at the red and gold table. The two boys high-fived her, rustling her hair. The three Stark children watched in anticipation as Sansa gracefully walked up to the seat, sitting down. She made eye contact with Jon, who smiled reassuringly as the Sorting Hat was placed on her head. It took a little longer for the Sorting Hat to place Sansa but eventually, it shouted out,

"RAVENCLAW!"

Robb and Jon clapped as Sansa walked over to the table with students dressed in blue and bronze-colored robes. Arya just stared as she and her sister were separated from each other for the first time in their lives. She couldn't dwell on it for too long because the name, "Daenerys Stormborn," was the next name called by the professor. Arya watched intently as her new friend slowly made her way up to the Sorting Hat. Arya secretly hoped that Dany would be put in Gryffindor with her. However, those hopes were lost when the hat yelled out,

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Arya cheered this time. She watched Dany smile at her briefly before joining her new house. After a few minutes, all the first years were placed into their houses. Professor Tyrell stood up from her seat in the middle of the long table of Professors and began to give a speech, "Good evening Hogwarts students. A very special welcome to the new students who have just been placed into their houses." The old woman smiled as she looked at the new faces seated in front of her. "Another special welcome to our new Potions Professor, Professor Baelish!" Claps rung out as a skinny, rat looking man waved to the students. The Headmistress began to welcome each of the professors for the new students but Arya, again, zoned out. She was thinking about how hungry she was. She looked down at her plate and started to picture what kind of food they may be serving at the feast. She bet that they would have some type of meat. She hoped that there would be some type of sandwich. Suddenly her plate was full of corned beef sandwiches, potatoes, steak and kidney pie, and a small portion of salad. "Merlin! It's like magic or something!" Arya exclaimed taking a giant bite of her sandwich. Jon, who had a mouthful of potatoes watched her, disbelieving, "Arya we're at Hogwarts."

"Mmmhmm." Arya hummed in agreement, only really paying attention to her sandwich.