Chapter One
Clara looked around the crowded platform for a friendly face. She saw no one she knew, as she'd expected but there was bound to be someone who would be more than happy to help her.
Like a gift from Merlin, a grinning blonde approached her. "You alright?" she asked.
"Um yeah – well, bit lost. I'm meant to go see Professor McGonagall 'before the sorting ceremony' apparently."
The blonde smiled. "This way," she said, nodding her head in the direction the majority of the crowd was moving in.
"Oh, but she said I was supposed to get there the quickest way, as in before most people got there."
"Don't worry, you'll get there in time," the blonde assured her, heading off.
Clara followed her anxiously. This was nothing like Beauxbattons. "So, what's your name?" she asked once the crowd had become more dispersed and there was room to breathe.
"I'm very disappointed with you," the blonde said with a chuckle.
Clara raised an eyebrow in her direction, "Sorry?"
"I know it's been what, eight years? But I recognised you."
"What? Who are you?" Clara asked.
"It's Rose, remember?"
Clara's jaw dropped. "Merlin's beard…" Rose had been her best friend before she'd moved. They'd lived in the same area. They said they'd keep in contact but that's hard to do when you're eight.
Rose laughed and pulled Clara into a hug, "So how was Paris?"
Clara gave a small smile, "Good."
Rose sighed, sensing Clara wasn't referring to recent times. "Same here. Well, it's better now though."
Clara had been terrified when her dad told her where she'd be going to school.
"But Dad people died there!"
"And people are dying here right now. We've got no other choice, Clara. I'm sorry. But it's better over there now. Voldemort's dead."
"I know that, but what about the girl who died there two years ago?"
"One of the Master's followers. But now that he's moved on over here, they'll have moved on too."
The rest of the journey took only a few silent seconds. Rose walked to the front of one of the carriages, fishing something out of her pocket.
"How are we supposed to get to the castle quickly?" Clara asked, exasperated. "The carriages don't have anything to pull them!"
She looked to Rose who had her palm up and bits of what looked like nuts were disappearing from it. Rose stroked the air, ignoring Clara's question.
"What are you doing?" Clara asked.
"Bribery," she told her before moving and hopping into the carriage. "Come on, then."
Clara climbed on, feeling slightly embarrassed. She should have guessed they were enchanted.
Lots of carriages were taking off up the path to the castle but Clara and Rose's carriage went in a different direction. "Shortcut," Rose explained after seeing Clara's worried look.
"McGonagall's probably just gonna get you sorted," Rose told her after a while of tense silence.
"Oh yeah I read about that. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin, right?" Clara knew she was right. She'd read Hogwarts: A History twice on the ship over.
Rose nodded. "Yep. 'm in Gryffindor."
Clara laughed. "I'm not surprised. Remember the time you stole that pygmy puff?"
Rose chuckled. "Course I do. I still think he would have been beautiful with some yellow streaks."
"He'd look like you if he had." When she was younger, Rose almost always wore pink to the frustration of Mickey – "I can't be hanging about with all that pink!"
"How is Mickey these days anyway?" Clara wondered aloud.
"He's good. Hufflepuff."
Clara smiled. Hufflepuffs seemed like a good bunch.
The carriage came to a stop and Clara turned to see the castle mere feet away. It may not have been like a castle from a fairytale like Beauxbattons, but it was beautiful.
"That's her office. I assume she gave you the password?"
Clara nodded.
"Well, I best be off then. See ya at dinner if you're brave enough." Rose winked and headed off.
"Cat-a-coon," Clara said once Rose was out of earshot (she'd been given specific rules not to let anyone hear the password).
The grand bird moved and turned to reveal a staircase. Clara stepped forward and walked up the spiral case, with each step she became more excited. This place was screaming with history. She wasn't too fond of History of Magic, but she was always intrigued by stories.
She reached the top and her eyes immediately darted to the woman sitting behind the desk.
"You must be Miss Oswald," she greeted, standing up and giving her hand. Clara walked over quickly and shook it. Professor McGonagall didn't seem like a woman to cross. "Yes, that's me," Clara confirmed.
McGonagall smiled. "I assume you know of the housing system?"
Clara nodded. "Yes, Professor. I read Hogwarts A History before I came." McGonagall had stood up and was walking towards an old raggedy hat on a stool, her back to Clara but Clara could have sworn McGonagall smiled slightly.
She picked the hat off of the stool and brought it over to Clara. "This is-"
"The sorting hat," Clara interrupted. "Sorry."
McGonagall nodded and placed it on Clara's head.
The hat moved and Clara gave an instinctive jump.
"Ooh now you, Clara Oswald could be in many houses. You're loyal and caring, like a true Hufflepuff but despite being a little jumpy I can't help but recognise your potential in Gryffindor." The hat paused before finally coming to a decision.
"Yes, many contenders but only one house is truly for someone. With a mind like yours, it better be RAVENCLAW!"
Clara smiled as McGonagall took the hat off of her head. It was a shame that the only people she knew were in different houses, but after eight years it was still a pretty fresh start with Rose and Mickey.
"The Head Girl will be here soon, she's in your house so she will be able to show you to your dormitory where you can change into your house clothes. All your belongings have been brought up. Why don't you have a biscuit while you wait?" McGonagall extended her hand which was holding an open tartan tin.
Clara politely took one and thanked the Professor. It was then that two other students entered the office; one girl, one boy. Clara assumed these were the Heads and that the dark girl was the one who'd be showing Clara to her room. The boy was a tall, handsome Hufflepuff who'd rebelled against the usual school tie and instead worn a yellow and black bowtie. They both smiled at Clara and she smiled back.
"It is good to see the both of you," McGonagall said, smiling fondly at the two of them. "Miss Jones will you please show Miss Oswald here to her dormitory, she is to be joining your house. Mr Smith can inform me what the both of you have planned for the year."
Miss Jones nodded, "No problem, Professor." She smiled at Clara and headed back to the stairs, Clara following after a quick smile to Mr Smith and Professor McGonagall.
"I'm Martha," the Head Girl told her once they were out of the office. "Clara," she said, extending her arm. Martha shook it. "And that," Martha nodded her head in the direction of the office, "was John. But people call him the Doctor because in first year he took medicine from the hospital wing and posted them to a hospital in the Muggle World because he felt bad for them not having medicine as good as we do."
Clara smiled. "That's cute."
Martha laughed. "He's cute. I know you noticed."
Clara blushed. "I did not," she argued, her tone resembling that of a seven year old. Martha gave her a 'Don't even bother' look. "Okay, maybe a little." They both started laughing as they made their way up a flight of stairs.
"Are you and him…?" Clara began but she had a feeling she knew the answer.
"God no. I used to fancy him but I'm way over that now – doesn't mean I can't appreciate a pretty face when I see one though."
Clara chuckled, she already liked Martha. Maybe settling into the school wouldn't be as hard as she thought.
"So where did you go before here?" Martha asked as they passed through a corridor of shining armour.
"Beauxbatons," Clara told her.
"I assume you moved there? You don't look French," Martha said with a smile.
"Yeah I lived there since I was eight."
They chatted the rest of the way to the dorm and she was grateful Martha didn't mention the reason Clara had moved.
"Here we are," Martha declared when they reached the Ravenclaw Tower. There was no handle on the door, just a bronze eagle knocker. The two of them impatiently waited for the riddle. "First, think of a person who lives in disguise; who deals in secrets and nothing but lies; next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend; the middle of middle and the end of end? And finally give me the sound often heard during the search for a hard-to-find word; now string them together, and answer me this; which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"
The two of them stood puzzled for a moment before Martha exclaimed, "Got it! It's a spider."
The door slid open and the two of them strolled inside. The common room was wide and circular, furnished with tables, chairs and overflowing bookshelves. It was decorated in almost all blue and bronze as to be expected.
"The dorm's just through there," Martha told her, pointing to a door behind a statue of who Clara recognised to be Rowena Ravenclaw.
"Just look for your trunk and your uniform should be with it on your bed."
Clara thanked her and followed her instructions, quickly getting changed into her new house colours. She felt it appropriate that her knew house colour be blue, like the Beauxbatons uniform. It was a different shade entirely, but blue all the same.
Clara returned to the common room after just three minutes and the two of them headed to the Great Hall. They arrived the same time as almost everybody else and Clara was grateful that Rose had known how to take the shortcut. She imagined she'd be in a stressful hurry if they'd taken the normal path. She could see Rose at what she assumed was the Gryffindor table seeing as red and gold were the only house colours she could see at the table. Clara waved at her and Rose pretended to be disgusted at the sight of Clara being in Ravenclaw.
"We're here," Martha told her, pointing to the table nearest the fire. They sat next to each other half way down the table and were soon joined by some of Martha's friends.
"What year are you in?" an odd girl named Idris asked.
"Sixth," Clara told her.
Martha made a noise of disappointment, "I'm in seventh. Oh well, I suppose it's best you don't jump straight into your NEWTS, being at a new school and all."
Clara nodded. "That's what I was thinking too. I –" It was then that Professor McGonagall silenced the hall and the sorting ceremony began with the sorting hat singing.
Clara was too busy searching the Hufflepuff table to see if she could recognise Mickey to pay much attention. She couldn't find him, concluding that he'd either changed so much that she couldn't recognise him like Rose had or his back was facing her. She did however, find John. He was looking absentmindedly around the hall until his head darted back to the sorting hat and his expression changed from that of content blankness to worry and possibly fear. Clara looked back to see what it was that had triggered this change but the sorting hat's song was over. Clara saw that the air to the rest of the hall had turned grim too. She wanted to ask, but the silence kept her quiet.
The sorting ceremony started and ended and McGonagall had the hat taken away and said a simple, "Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts and let the feast begin." The food suddenly covering the tables seemed to lighten the mood considerably. So much so that Clara forgot about the worry that had been injected into the students during the sorting hat's song.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and stick around for the rest! Reviews are really appreciated and motivate me to write more x
