"Let's ask him," Emma decided.
"Okay," Betsy said. "Excuse me, sir, but how do you get onto platform 9 ¾?"
The man yelled at them, "Grrrrr." His face turned a shade of purple. Only some of his words were understandable. "My nephew…..wizard…..summer!" Emma and Betsy turned around so he wouldn't see them giggling.
A boy about their age with really messy hair and glasses turned back from where he was, close to the barrier, and said, "Sorry about my Uncle Vernon. He hates me, and he hates people like me."
"Like a witch or a wizard?" Emma asked. The boy nodded his head.
"So how do you get onto platform 9 ¾?" Betsy asked.
"You walk right through the barrier," the boy replied. Emma and Betsy looked at each other and raised their eyebrows, not believing him.
"Why don't you go first," Emma suggested.
The boy shrugged his shoulders, turned away from them, walked right into the barrier and disappeared. "He was telling the truth!" Betsy exclaimed. Both girls broke into a run, excited at the thought of going through the barrier. Suddenly they were outside a train with lots of people crowded around it. They got on the train, dragging their overfilled trunks. They had a compartment completely to themselves. Not for long though.
"Hey chicks," a boy who walked into their compartment said, "I'm Draco."
Betsy checked him out. He had chiseled features, spiked blond hair, and icy blue eyes. and "Peep, peep," she said. Even though Draco was pretty darn hot, she couldn't resist the opportunity to make fun of a chauvinist male.
"Come on Crabbe, Goyle, let's not waste our time here," Draco said snootily, and left. The minute he closed the door, Emma and Betsy burst out laughing. "Chicks……" Betsy said, gasping between bursts of laughter.
"Hey chicks, I'm a loser," Emma imitated.
"I hope all wizard boys aren't like this!" Betsy said
"I know! His friends were soooooooooooooo fat!" Emma replied. "Actually, the boy at the train station wasn't too bad."
"His hair was really messy! You'd think he didn't know what a brush is! Although Heath Ledger has messy--"
"Shhhhhhh! He's coming!" Emma whispered. Betsy turned around. The boy they met in the train station was there, accompanied by a girl and a boy with bright red hair.
The boy with the red hair studied them. "Who're you?" he asked.
"I'm Emma, and this is Betsy," Emma said.
"I'm Ron Weasley, and this is Hermione Granger and Harry Potter," said the boy, and paused, as if he were waiting for something. "Harry's famous for defeating You-Know-Who."
"Oh, yeah, you're that little baby who killed Voldemort, right?" Betsy asked. "We did a unit on the Dark Times in History of Magic last year."
"Well, I didn't really kill him," Harry said.
"What year are you?" Ron asked.
"We're both fifth years," Emma replied.
"I've never seen you at Hogwarts before," Hermione said.
"We're coming to Hogwarts for a year as exchange students from Catback Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry ," Betsy said.
"Neat!" Ron said, "Is Catback in America?"
"Yeah," Emma said. "We came to England on an airplane." She rolled her eyes. "Our parents wouldn't let us fly over the Atlantic Ocean."
Hermione smiled. "Well it is rather large."
"Anyway, we came in here looking for a boy named Malfoy," Harry said, "He has two monkeys named Crabbe and Goyle."
"Oh, you must mean our friend Draco," Emma said, and the two girls burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Hermione asked, looking bewildered.
"He called us chicks,' Betsy answered, laughing.
"What did you say?" Harry asked.
"I peeped at him!" Betsy giggled. "He wasn't very nice."
"Well he won't like you now," Hermione said. "Join the club."
"How old are you guys?" Emma asked.
"Fifteen," Hermione answered.
"We are too! I hope we're in the same dorm!" Betsy said.
"You'll have to get sorted. The sorting hat decides what house you'll be in. There's Gryffindor – we're in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw," Ron saw the confused looks on the girls' faces and said, "Never mind, you'll see soon enough."
Just then the train pulled in next to a lake. Across the lake, the castle loomed overhead, the lights reflecting in the dark on the lake. "This is Hogwarts?" Betsy said breathlessly. "Wow." The girls dragged their trunks off the train, and found a line of carriages waiting to take students to the castle. The carriages were round, and had large wheels that made them quite high off the ground. "Emma, could you help me with this?" Betsy asked, trying very unsuccessfully to lift her trunk into the carriage. A boy with red hair appeared as if by magic (but not really) beside her.
"Can I help you?" the boy asked, and grinned. Betsy's heart melted.
"Yes, please," Betsy said. The boy lifted the trunk into the carriage without much effort.
"See you at Hogwarts," he said, and left as suddenly as he had came.
"You damsel in distress," accused Emma. "You could have just used a charm. Windgardium Leviosa." Emma's trunk rose, and Emma directed it into the carriage with her wand.
Betsy blushed. "I didn't even think of that," she said, and followed Emma into the carriage. "Emma, he was so sweet!"
The carriage started forward with a jolt. "You're so boy crazy," Emma rolled her eyes.
"You know I can't help it," Betsy retorted.
"Yeah, I know," Emma said admitted. "These carriages are really cute. Everything here is so different than at Catback. It must be cuz it's older or something..."
"What was Ron trying to tell us about those 'houses'?" Betsy asked.
"I have no idea," Emma replied. "Maybe there are different dorms called houses."
"He said something about 'Griffin Dorm,' so that would make sense...but what was he saying about a raven's claw?"
"I dunno," Emma said, and the carriage stopped with a jolt. "I guess we're gonna find out soon." The girls got out of their carriage and pulled their trunks out after them.
A strict looking woman with a tight gray bun met them. "Are you Emma Anderson and Betsy Styles?" she asked. The girls nodded. "Welcome to Hogwarts." She gave them a once over. "You're not wearing your robes," she said.
"We have to wear robes?" Betsy exclaimed.
"Yes, all the students do," Professor McGonagal said, and conjured some. "Put these on and then go quickly to the Great Hall to be Sorted."
"I'll change that!" Betsy whispered to Emma. They changed their clothes in a bathroom and went to the Great Hall. As they walked in, the last person got sorted into Hufflepuff, and all the Hufflepuffs burst out cheering.
"These are our last students to get sorted this year," Professor Dumbledore said. "They're exchange students from Catback Academy in America, in the fifth year. They're a bit late because they weren't wearing robes," He tried to give them a stern look, but his twinkling eyes gave him away. "All right, Emma Anderson, why don't you get sorted first?" Emma sat down in the chair and pulled the hat onto her head.
That must be the sorting hat, thought Betsy. After about half a minute, the hat shouted "Gryffindor!" What? The hat was talking? This was too weird. But before she had time to think, Dumbledore had called her up. She sat down and put the hat on her head.
Oh, she thought, I hope it puts me in the same house as Emma!
"What house?" the hat asked her. "Hmmmmmm…Ravenclaw? Perhaps...there is some real intelligence...no, you have no common sense! Not Slytherin, much too innocent and sweet. So, Hufflepuff or Gryffindor?"
Griffin Dorm, please Griffin Dorm, Betsy thought.
"Oh all right, you've got courage, and by the way, it's GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.
The Gryffindor table burst out in cheers. Betsy went to sit with Emma, who was sitting with Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Everyone sang the Hogwarts song, and Emma and Betsy joined in, harmonizing in thirds to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. They finished along with the majority of the students, and a minute later, there were only two base voices left singing, coming from somewhere down the Gryffindor table. Betsy leaned forward and looked down the Gryffindor table and saw that the guy who had helped her with her trunk was singing. He has a nice voice, she thought. Across the table from him was the other person singing, and he looked exactly like the guy. There were two of him! A second later, she thought, that was stupid, he's a twin. They finished singing, and Professor Dumbledore waved his wand, and made food appear on the table, and Betsy momentarily forgot the guy.
"Okay," Betsy said. "Excuse me, sir, but how do you get onto platform 9 ¾?"
The man yelled at them, "Grrrrr." His face turned a shade of purple. Only some of his words were understandable. "My nephew…..wizard…..summer!" Emma and Betsy turned around so he wouldn't see them giggling.
A boy about their age with really messy hair and glasses turned back from where he was, close to the barrier, and said, "Sorry about my Uncle Vernon. He hates me, and he hates people like me."
"Like a witch or a wizard?" Emma asked. The boy nodded his head.
"So how do you get onto platform 9 ¾?" Betsy asked.
"You walk right through the barrier," the boy replied. Emma and Betsy looked at each other and raised their eyebrows, not believing him.
"Why don't you go first," Emma suggested.
The boy shrugged his shoulders, turned away from them, walked right into the barrier and disappeared. "He was telling the truth!" Betsy exclaimed. Both girls broke into a run, excited at the thought of going through the barrier. Suddenly they were outside a train with lots of people crowded around it. They got on the train, dragging their overfilled trunks. They had a compartment completely to themselves. Not for long though.
"Hey chicks," a boy who walked into their compartment said, "I'm Draco."
Betsy checked him out. He had chiseled features, spiked blond hair, and icy blue eyes. and "Peep, peep," she said. Even though Draco was pretty darn hot, she couldn't resist the opportunity to make fun of a chauvinist male.
"Come on Crabbe, Goyle, let's not waste our time here," Draco said snootily, and left. The minute he closed the door, Emma and Betsy burst out laughing. "Chicks……" Betsy said, gasping between bursts of laughter.
"Hey chicks, I'm a loser," Emma imitated.
"I hope all wizard boys aren't like this!" Betsy said
"I know! His friends were soooooooooooooo fat!" Emma replied. "Actually, the boy at the train station wasn't too bad."
"His hair was really messy! You'd think he didn't know what a brush is! Although Heath Ledger has messy--"
"Shhhhhhh! He's coming!" Emma whispered. Betsy turned around. The boy they met in the train station was there, accompanied by a girl and a boy with bright red hair.
The boy with the red hair studied them. "Who're you?" he asked.
"I'm Emma, and this is Betsy," Emma said.
"I'm Ron Weasley, and this is Hermione Granger and Harry Potter," said the boy, and paused, as if he were waiting for something. "Harry's famous for defeating You-Know-Who."
"Oh, yeah, you're that little baby who killed Voldemort, right?" Betsy asked. "We did a unit on the Dark Times in History of Magic last year."
"Well, I didn't really kill him," Harry said.
"What year are you?" Ron asked.
"We're both fifth years," Emma replied.
"I've never seen you at Hogwarts before," Hermione said.
"We're coming to Hogwarts for a year as exchange students from Catback Academy of Witchcraft and Wizardry ," Betsy said.
"Neat!" Ron said, "Is Catback in America?"
"Yeah," Emma said. "We came to England on an airplane." She rolled her eyes. "Our parents wouldn't let us fly over the Atlantic Ocean."
Hermione smiled. "Well it is rather large."
"Anyway, we came in here looking for a boy named Malfoy," Harry said, "He has two monkeys named Crabbe and Goyle."
"Oh, you must mean our friend Draco," Emma said, and the two girls burst out laughing.
"What's so funny?" Hermione asked, looking bewildered.
"He called us chicks,' Betsy answered, laughing.
"What did you say?" Harry asked.
"I peeped at him!" Betsy giggled. "He wasn't very nice."
"Well he won't like you now," Hermione said. "Join the club."
"How old are you guys?" Emma asked.
"Fifteen," Hermione answered.
"We are too! I hope we're in the same dorm!" Betsy said.
"You'll have to get sorted. The sorting hat decides what house you'll be in. There's Gryffindor – we're in Gryffindor, Ravenclaw," Ron saw the confused looks on the girls' faces and said, "Never mind, you'll see soon enough."
Just then the train pulled in next to a lake. Across the lake, the castle loomed overhead, the lights reflecting in the dark on the lake. "This is Hogwarts?" Betsy said breathlessly. "Wow." The girls dragged their trunks off the train, and found a line of carriages waiting to take students to the castle. The carriages were round, and had large wheels that made them quite high off the ground. "Emma, could you help me with this?" Betsy asked, trying very unsuccessfully to lift her trunk into the carriage. A boy with red hair appeared as if by magic (but not really) beside her.
"Can I help you?" the boy asked, and grinned. Betsy's heart melted.
"Yes, please," Betsy said. The boy lifted the trunk into the carriage without much effort.
"See you at Hogwarts," he said, and left as suddenly as he had came.
"You damsel in distress," accused Emma. "You could have just used a charm. Windgardium Leviosa." Emma's trunk rose, and Emma directed it into the carriage with her wand.
Betsy blushed. "I didn't even think of that," she said, and followed Emma into the carriage. "Emma, he was so sweet!"
The carriage started forward with a jolt. "You're so boy crazy," Emma rolled her eyes.
"You know I can't help it," Betsy retorted.
"Yeah, I know," Emma said admitted. "These carriages are really cute. Everything here is so different than at Catback. It must be cuz it's older or something..."
"What was Ron trying to tell us about those 'houses'?" Betsy asked.
"I have no idea," Emma replied. "Maybe there are different dorms called houses."
"He said something about 'Griffin Dorm,' so that would make sense...but what was he saying about a raven's claw?"
"I dunno," Emma said, and the carriage stopped with a jolt. "I guess we're gonna find out soon." The girls got out of their carriage and pulled their trunks out after them.
A strict looking woman with a tight gray bun met them. "Are you Emma Anderson and Betsy Styles?" she asked. The girls nodded. "Welcome to Hogwarts." She gave them a once over. "You're not wearing your robes," she said.
"We have to wear robes?" Betsy exclaimed.
"Yes, all the students do," Professor McGonagal said, and conjured some. "Put these on and then go quickly to the Great Hall to be Sorted."
"I'll change that!" Betsy whispered to Emma. They changed their clothes in a bathroom and went to the Great Hall. As they walked in, the last person got sorted into Hufflepuff, and all the Hufflepuffs burst out cheering.
"These are our last students to get sorted this year," Professor Dumbledore said. "They're exchange students from Catback Academy in America, in the fifth year. They're a bit late because they weren't wearing robes," He tried to give them a stern look, but his twinkling eyes gave him away. "All right, Emma Anderson, why don't you get sorted first?" Emma sat down in the chair and pulled the hat onto her head.
That must be the sorting hat, thought Betsy. After about half a minute, the hat shouted "Gryffindor!" What? The hat was talking? This was too weird. But before she had time to think, Dumbledore had called her up. She sat down and put the hat on her head.
Oh, she thought, I hope it puts me in the same house as Emma!
"What house?" the hat asked her. "Hmmmmmm…Ravenclaw? Perhaps...there is some real intelligence...no, you have no common sense! Not Slytherin, much too innocent and sweet. So, Hufflepuff or Gryffindor?"
Griffin Dorm, please Griffin Dorm, Betsy thought.
"Oh all right, you've got courage, and by the way, it's GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.
The Gryffindor table burst out in cheers. Betsy went to sit with Emma, who was sitting with Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Everyone sang the Hogwarts song, and Emma and Betsy joined in, harmonizing in thirds to the tune of The Battle Hymn of the Republic. They finished along with the majority of the students, and a minute later, there were only two base voices left singing, coming from somewhere down the Gryffindor table. Betsy leaned forward and looked down the Gryffindor table and saw that the guy who had helped her with her trunk was singing. He has a nice voice, she thought. Across the table from him was the other person singing, and he looked exactly like the guy. There were two of him! A second later, she thought, that was stupid, he's a twin. They finished singing, and Professor Dumbledore waved his wand, and made food appear on the table, and Betsy momentarily forgot the guy.
