Rose Petals and Shining Armour - A Harry Potter fanfiction

I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it, J. does but I think you knew that already.

Chapter 1

"Welcome to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" a tall silver-haired wizard announced. The chatter in the room instantly died down and everyone stood waiting for what would come next. "In several minutes these doors will open and you will be sorted into your houses before the rest of the school" the man continued as he pointed to the magnificent doors behind him. The whispering bubbled up again as people discussed what they heard about the sorting ceremony; some claimed it was duel, others a test of magical abilities, and one boy was carrying on about having to face a dementor. No one seemed to notice the rather tall boy in the back of the room staring intently at everyone. He seemed to have chosen the spot deliberately since the only two things that were not concealed by the shadows were his snow white hair and his jet black eyes. His eyes swept the room until he found what he had been looking for, the young lady Leigh from the House of Pelp originally from Finland. She did not look it though, she was a true brunette with equally brown eyes. But her looks were of no interest to him; he was curious as to how good her magical skills were. It was rumoured that she could already produce a full fledged Patronus and perform some wickedly complex pieces of magic. He was not worried about her because he knew he could easily match her though no one knew that. He was a nobody and that was the way he intended to stay. Suddenly several trumpets sounded and the doors to the Great Hall opened. He knew that the ceiling was enchanted with some sort of a transparency spell nevertheless he thoroughly enjoyed seeing it in real life.

As she slowly walked down the aisle in the centre of the Great Hall she held her breath at the sight of the magnificent hall. Her mind went back to the day the owl had brought the acceptance letter to her castle and how happy she and her parents had been. Then the journey to Diagon Alley to get her wand, books, and other supplies. Finally, the port-key journey to the village of Hogsmeade and how dizzy she had felt as they landed in the town centre along with the rest of the first years. Well everyone except the strange boy with the snow white hair, it looked as if he had walked the whole way there from wherever he had come from. Her thoughts got interrupted when the Headmaster stood up and called for attention. The young man, who could not have been older than thirty, started his beginning of the year speech. "Welcome, welcome to a new school year, here at Hogwarts. For those who do not know me I am Headmaster Litesprieg and for those who do know me I am also Headmaster Litesprieg. Now for some unfortunate news. At the end of last year our dear transfiguration teacher, Professor Twiger, became ill and during the summer holidays he passed away. He was 602. The good news is that we found a replacement, Professor Starmy. Give her a warm welcome." As the hall died down after the bout of applause he continued, "Everyone must be anxious to get the sorting done with and start the feast, so without further ado, let us begin!" "As I call your name, please step forward and take a seat in the chair" the silver-haired wizard said in a calm even voice. "So what her parents had told her was true, it would be just a chair and an old hat". This calmed her down, and as the names started to be called she found herself eager to be called.

"Lady Leigh Pelp" a clear even voice announced. He was very curious about which house she would be placed in. His bets were on Ravenclaw but he was impressed as the sorting hat cried out "Gryffindor". "Interesting", he though to himself. He had no time to dwell on it because his name was next.

"Lord George Swanson" the same voice announced. "So that is who he is" she thought as she sat down at the Gryffindor House table. "My bet is Slytherin" an older boy said to another. She before she knew it she had asked him why he thought that. "He gives me the creeps more than the dark forest, that's why" he answered. A grin appeared on his face as indeed the hat announced "Slytherin". George stood up slowly and turned ever so slightly when suddenly the hall became completely pitch black. Before anyone could utter a scream of panic, a light appeared in the front of the hall. The light cast an eerie orange glow on the surrounding walls until it brightened and people realised that the chair and the sorting hat were on fire. Leigh looked on in utter amazement as the chair crumbled and collapsed as multi-coloured flames turned it to ash. The sorting hat, being an extremely powerful magical artefact, was still unscathed. Leigh was slightly disoriented as the light of the candles came back on and the chair let out a final wisp of smoke. No one spoke as the Head Master stood up, with a troubled look on his face. "It seems to me that the chair finally had enough, so let us continue without it." Leigh looked around for George and saw him staring directly at her with his dark piercing eyes from the Slytherin table. She quickly looked away, not being able to match the intensity of his gaze.

The rest of the ceremony proceeded without any further disturbances and finally the last person had been sorted. The headmaster, without standing up, shouted "Let us eat!". Dishes of all sorts appeared on the tables and everyone hungrily helped themselves. Even the wealthiest students were enjoying the dishes with pure delight on their faces. Everyone at the table was discussing how the chair had caught fire. George had to answer several times how he had managed to get back down to the Slytherin table. "I knew where the table was so walking to it was not very hard, the burning chair made it easier to see." After the last person had stopped eating, the dishes silently disappeared and they had to follow their prefects to their respective dorms. George silently made his way down to the dungeons with the rest of his house. "The password is basilisk", the prefect said as the wall opened up revealing a comfortable living room area with a lit hearth. "Lords straight foward and Ladies take a left right after the statue of Salazar Slytherin himself." George did not wait to be told what to do next; he walked to the Lords bedrooms and found the four poster bed with his name engraved into the head board. He quickly changed into his pyjamas and crawled under the covers. He was asleep by the time the rest arrived.

Just like the Slytherins, the Gryffindors made their way to their dorm, located in one of the highest towers of Hogwarts. A grumpy old man in a portrait guarded the entrance to the tower. After the prefect had given the password, lionheart, the portrait moved inwards revealing a cozy room complete with plush chairs and a hearth. "Let us hope these chairs do not catch fire" someone said in a joking voice. "Lords up the stairs and to the left, Ladies up the other set of stairs and to right" the prefect said as everyone looked around. Leigh sat down in one of the lazy chairs in front of the fire. The heat of the fire felt good on her cold skin. Soon she was almost drifting off to sleep. She forced herself to get up, walk up the stairs and to the ladies bedrooms. A four poster bed with her name on the headboard was waiting for her. Her belongings had been placed on the floor in front of the bed. She silently changed into her sleeping clothes and got into bed. She was about to nod of to sleep when she heard one of the girls whisper to another girl "That white haired boy, George was so creepy but also so intriguing, I hope I get a chance to talk to him." Leigh drifted off to sleep as she remembered those piercing black eyes staring at her with a frightening intensity.

End Chapter 1

Sorry for taking such a long break from writing. I hope you guys enjoy this first chapter and I would really appreciate some reviews! Thanks, ryutana