-The First Day-

Karn

Full Description: Karn Crevice couldn't wait to start his first year at Hogwarts. He was tired of how misunderstood he was at home, especially considering his parents pureblood status and their hatred of Muggles. His only real concern is that he will be placed in Slytherin house like the rest of his family had been. But he'll have more to worry about than just being sorted into a house that he hates. A diary that talks to him, voices echoing through his head, apparently coming from nowhere, and a rumor that he is destined to succeed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? He thought that his years at Hogwarts would be happy and free, but it looked like it would be anything but that. At least he has Emma along for the ride. (I suck at descriptions)

IMPORTANT NOTE (Please Read): I was recently browsing the internet and I found that someone had the nerve to copy two of my stories, post them on another website, and pass them off as their own work. Listen, you should never copy another persons work, it's just wrong and you will not get away with it. So always remember, respect the work that authors put into their stories and never try to copy them.

Note: Okay, several things I want to say here. First of all, to anyone who hasn't read my other stories, welcome, to anyone who has, welcome back. Now, i want to start off here by saying that this story is somewhat of a side project and is very much a work in progress and I really don't have much of a plot planned out for it right now, I have a general idea, but nothing is really concrete right now. Also the title is a working title, i.e. i don't actually have a title for this story so I may or may not change it in the future. The final note regarding this story is that it will be told from two different points of view, that of the main male character Karn Crevice and that of the main female character Emma Watts. For this reason, I will put the character's name under the chapter title to indicate the POV. Also, just for clarification, though I do make it pretty clear, this story takes place BEFORE the events of the books. Now, a note regarding spelling and grammar mistakes in my stories, I do make a point to proof read each chapter AT LEAST once, but i still see that mistakes slip by me and I try to fix them when I spot them, I just want to apologize for any past and future errors that might occur. I do this because I know that I can become incredibly irritated when I'm trying to read and the flow of the story is interrupted by spelling/grammar mistakes. I do, however, understand that proofreading can be long and difficult and I can only hope that everyone else will understand this as well. Okay, so, anyway, as always, enjoy the chapter.

Karn Crevice sat alone in a compartment in the far back of the train and listened to it rumble over the tracks and watched as the countryside sped by outside. The rest of the compartments were full of other students, all of them talking and laughing, most of them dressed in their school robes already. He didn't mind sitting by himself really. He knew that he would make friends soon enough. Now that he was going to Hogwarts anyway.

He had waited all summer for this, sometimes spending the whole of the day sitting and staring out of the window of the house, hoping that the owl with the letter announcing his acceptance would come and going to bed disappointed when it didn't. Of course, he knew that he would be accepted to the school. How couldn't he be? He was, after all, a pureblood, and had shown an aptitude for magic at a fairly young age. But it still came as a relief when he held the letter in his hand that almost acted as his ticket out of the house and on to better things.

It wasn't so much that he had a bad home life that made him want to leave. On the contrary, it was actually quite comfortable, especially since his parents were considerably wealthy. The reason that he couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts was because he believed that he would be understood there the way that he wasn't at home. It was for this same reason that he thought he would never get his letter.

His parents had been Death Eaters during the reign of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Like many others, they had avoided being sent to Azkaban by claiming that they had been under the influence of the Imperius Curse and that their actions were not their own. But Karn knew that had been a lie. He couldn't prove it, but it was clear to him that his parents had been loyal Death Eaters. And if he could see through them, how would a man like Albus Dumbledore not be able to see through their deceit.

Nothing made this more clear than they way that they taught him. They always told him that Muggles were the evilest and vilest of all creatures and that Mudbloods, or Muggle-Borns, were even worse. Karn couldn't believe that though. Sure, he had read all about how Muggles treated witches and wizards in the past, killing and burning them and anyone who had any relation to them simply because they were different, because they didn't understand magic. But wasn't it true to say the same of wizards? They understood little about Muggles and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and his followers were no better than those Muggles for what they tried to do.

That was why Karn hoped to be accepted at Hogwarts. His parents couldn't understand how he could feel sympathy for those Muggles and Muggle-Borns who had been killed during He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's reign and they forbade him from speaking his protests to their lectures on anti-Mugglism. Of course, Karn wasn't willing to just accept that tyranny. He may have been forbidden from speaking his protests, but he could go out of his way to show it. It started with little things, a picture of the Hogwarts crest in his room(His parents spoke often of sending him to Durstrang instead), a few minor spells to interrupt his parent's lectures, but it soon escalated to a much larger scale, a large poster of Albus Dumbledore in his room(A man whom he admired and his parents hated), a newspaper clipping hung on his wall which announced the downfall of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named after attempting to murder a young boy named Harry Potter, he even went as far as to bring up his hopes that he would be placed in Gryffindor house rather than Slytherin, the house in which his entire family had been placed. This had been the final straw for his parents and he was sent to live with Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, who were close personal friends of his parents, until he started at Hogwarts. At the Malfoy's, he was forbidden from even showing himself and was subjected to strict punishment if he even tried to show his pro-Muggle attitude.

None of that mattered anymore though. At Hogwarts, he would surely find others who shared his ideals. He may even get the chance to meet a Muggle-Born. There was, after all, more than one reason that he admired Albus Dumbledore. Everyone knew that he was a great wizard who had, even his parents had to admit, accomplished amazing things. But that wasn't the only reason that Karn thought so highly of the headmaster of Hogwarts. Dumbledore was also one of many wizards who argued on the side of Muggle rights.

Karn stared out at the countryside and let himself be lost in thoughts of what his life would become now that he was going to Hogwarts. He knew that he would have to go home again once the term ended, but it was comforting to know that he wouldn't have to worry about watching what he said or stepping out of line for a while at least. Well, he would have to, but not on the same level that he would have to at home. The thought of it was so comforting, in fact, that Karn barely noticed when the compartment door slid open.

"Excuse me," he heard someone saying.

He tore his gaze away from the window and looked at the newcomer. A girl stood at the entrance of the compartment. She was clearly the same age as Karn, a first year as well. She had long, curly, dirty blond hair and light blue eyes. She had a dreamy sort of look on her face, like she wasn't entirely sure where she was, or that she was supposed to be there in the first place. She was wearing Hogwarts robes, like Karn's, so she must have been a student.

"Umm," she said as she looked around the compartment, "All the others are full. Do you mind?"

Karn looked up at her for a moment. There was something odd about her. It wasn't just the dreamy way that she was staring around the compartment, or the way that she avoided looking directly at him. There was something else about her, something different from the others, the ones that Karn had spoken to on the platform. She wasn't like the others. She wasn't like him.

"No," Karn said, "Of course not."

"Thanks," the girl said.

She stumbled into the compartment awkwardly and slid the door shut behind her, nearly closing it on her foot as she did so. She sat down across from Karn. She was shaking and her eyes were darting in every direction like she was afraid that something might jump out at her at any moment. It was understandable that she would be a bit nervous, but this girl was being ridiculous. It wouldn't be that bad.

"I'm Emma," she said suddenly as her eyes focused on Karn, "Emma Watts."

"I'm Karn. Karn Crevice."

"It's nice to meet you Karn," Emma said. She looked around the compartment again before focusing on Karn. "I have to admit, I was happy about coming to Hogwarts, but all this is very strange to me."

"It's…strange to you," Karn asked. Emma nodded. "What is?"

"All of it," Emma said, "What I've seen so far at least. Platform nine and three quarters, the spells I've seen some of the other students using, even the food is a bit strange." Emma leaned in close to Karn like she was afraid of being overheard. "Did you know that those chocolate frogs are actually alive," she asked "I saw a boy unwrap one of them and it hoped right out of his hand. I mean, it just…" her voice trailed off as she made a motion with her hands like she was throwing something toward the window.

Karn eyed the girl for a moment, thinking that, if anything here was strange, it was her. Most, if not all, wizards and witches were aware of the charms that hid their world from that of the Muggles, especially the one that hid the existence of platform nine and three quarters at King's Cross station. And most people would be surprised the first time they unwrapped a chocolate frog and discovered that it would, indeed, attempt to escape their grasps, but everyone knew that it was just a spell, and it wasn't all that surprising after it happened the first couple of times.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Emma said suddenly as Karn was beginning to think that she was crazy, "You should know that I'm not from a wizard family. I'm a…"

"A Mudblood," Karn said without thinking. It was too late when he realized what he had said. It wasn't often that his parent's teachings cropped up, but sometimes his parent's ideals would reflect in him. "I mean," Karn said in an attempt to save himself, "I didn't mean that, I'm sorry."

"Sorry," Emma said like it was a question, "For what?"

"For…Don't you know what I just called you?"

"I heard perfectly fine," Emma said, "I heard some of the others whispering about me while I was walking through the train and I caught that word a few times, but I don't actually know what it means."

"Well…It's…An insult actually," Karn said. He looked for some kind of indication that Emma was hurt by the word. He was relieved when he saw none. "It means dirty blood. It's what some wizards call Muggle-Borns, that is, wizards or witches with Muggle parents." He waited for the fact that he had just insulted her to sink in, but Emma's dreamy expression never changed.

"So you meant to insult me," Emma asked.

"No," Karn said quickly, "I didn't mean to at least. My parents, their both purebloods and they hate Muggle-Borns, but I have no problem with them." He could feel himself stumbling with his words, making things worse. "Look, I'm sorry okay, I didn't mean it. It's just, sometimes my parent's lectures get to me."

Emma eyed him for a moment and Karn expected her to storm out of the compartment and leave him alone. Not only did he just mess up his chance to make his first friend, but he also just made an enemy out of a Muggle-Born, which was the complete opposite of what he wanted. Even when they weren't there, his parents seemed to be intent on ruining his ambitions. He was glad when Emma smiled at him.

"It's alright," she said, "I suppose it just slipped out, and you didn't mean to say it really." She looked out of the window and Karn let out a sigh of relief while she wasn't looking. "Besides," Emma went on, "I'm rather proud to call myself a Muggle-Born, or a Mudblood if anyone prefers to call me so."

Karn couldn't help but stare at Emma after that. He always thought of the word "Mudblood" as highly insulting, especially when he heard his parents use the word. The fact that Emma could just ignore it that way was fascinating to him. He had only known her for a few moments, but Karn already knew that he could learn a lot from Emma.

For the rest of the trip to Hogwarts, Karn and Emma sat and talked all the time. Emma asked so many questions that Karn barely had the time to answer all of them. She was completely fascinated by the wizarding world, having only had time to read a small amount about it. In fact, she was just as interested in his world as Karn was interested in hearing about hers. He had always hoped to meet a Mudblood so he could learn more about the Muggle world and prove to himself that he was right and that Muggles weren't as bad as his parents and other purebloods made them out to be.

"What about the four houses," Emma asked as the train sped onward, "I've read a bit about them, but I don't actually know that much."

"I don't actually know that much about them either," Karn said, "Except for Slytherin, my parents can always talk about Slytherin."

"Oh, I wonder which one I'll be put in," Emma went on like she hadn't heard Karn, "My first guess would be Gryffindor, but I suppose I would fit in Hufflepuff as well." She stopped for a moment and beamed at Karn the way she had been ever since they started discussing Hogwarts. "What about you," she asked, "Which house do you think you'll be in?"

He hesitated in answering at first. He never wanted to voice his opinion on what house he would be sorted into. He always hoped that he would be put in Gryffindor, just so he could spite his parents since they absolutely hated Gryffindor above the others, but any of the three non-Slytherin houses would be great. The problem was that he was sure that he would be sorted into Slytherin. He possessed most of the qualities that Slytherin house prized, not to mention the generations of his family that had been in Slytherin. He could only hope that his hatred of the house and interest in Muggles would land him in a different house.

"Well…I hope that I'm put in Gryffindor," Karn said. "But anything other than Slytherin would be great," he added under his breath.

"I hope we're both in the same house," Emma said, "It would be nice to know that you have at least one friend in your house wouldn't it?"

Karn felt himself smile unconsciously when Emma called him her friend. He was glad that she thought of him that way. He was also glad that he had met at least one person that he could call a friend. And even better, that person was a Muggle-Born. At the same time though, he couldn't help feeling sad. Because he knew that there was no way that they would be in the same house.

"Yeah," Karn said, "That would be nice."

Emma continued to talk on and on about how she couldn't wait to get to Hogwarts and start learning magic while Karn sat silently and listened to her, only speaking up when he thought it appropriate. He tried to get his mind off of it, but he couldn't help thinking about whether or not he would be in Slytherin. He had managed to forget about it until then, but now it was at the forefront of his thoughts and the more he thought about it the more he wished that he could just be over with it, no matter what might happen when it passed. He was actually glad when the train came to a stop.

"Looks like we're here," Emma said, "Let's go."

She stood up and moved to leave the compartment. As she did, she accidentally knocked something off of the seat next to her. She picked the small book up and stared at it for a moment. Karn had nearly forgotten that he had brought the stupid thing on the train with him. He didn't like to be reminded that he had it, especially since it was clear that there was something evil about it.

"What's this," Emma asked.

"It's nothing," Karn told her, "Just a stupid diary that my parent's friend, Lucius, gave me on my eleventh birthday. I don't have much use for it, actually, I was planning on throwing it out the window on the way here. You might as well just leave it."

Emma continued to stare at the book for a moment. It was a simple black book, nothing special. The pages of it were blank. Karn had been told that it was meant to be used as a diary, but he really didn't care. He had no use for something so trivial. Besides, he knew that it was more than just a blank diary, and he wasn't too keen on finding out what it really was.

Emma threw the diary back on the seat and left the compartment. Karn followed her. They and the other students on the train filed out of it. Emma and Karn looked through the darkness, trying to see where they should go. Karn knew that first years were taken to the castle across the lake, but he wasn't sure if they should just walk down on their own.

"Firs' years this way," he heard a deep, rough voice that he recognized, "This way firs' years."

A large man carrying a lantern came into sight. He was nearly three times the size of any normal human, he could have been mistaken for a small giant at first glance. He wore tattered, stitched up clothing and had a long, thick, black beard with a head of hair to match. He marched up the length of the train, conducting the first years to follow him.

"'ello there Karn," the large man said as he approached him and Emma.

"All right Hagrid," Karn asked, "Hogwarts still treating you all right?"

"Dumbledore still does," Hagrid said, "Long as he's here, I got no complaints. But I see you've made a friend, care to introduce us?"

"Right, this is Emma, we met on the train," Karn said, "She's a Muggle-Born." He didn't think it was necessary to add that part, but he felt it was appropriate. "Emma this is Hagrid, he's the gamekeeper at Hogwarts."

"Pleased to meet you," Emma said.

"Pleasure's mine," Hagrid said.

Karn hoped to have a moment to catch up with Hagrid. The last time they had spoken was a few months ago, but he knew that so much happened at Hogwarts and he wanted to hear all about it. Unfortunately, Hagrid had already turned back to leading the first years down to the lake and Karn knew that he wouldn't have the chance to talk to him again. Instead, he and Emma followed Hagrid and the other first years down to the lake.

"You know him," Emma asked as they followed the others.

"Yeah," Karn replied, "My parents come and go from Hogwarts a lot, and sometimes I go with them. I met Hagrid about two years ago on one of their trips. He's a bit intimidating, what with his size and all, but he's a nice guy."

Emma looked ahead to Hagrid and then back at Karn. "But what is he," she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Emma said risking another glance at Hagrid, "Surely he isn't human, not with how large he is."

"Well, I suppose you have a point," Karn said, "But, as far as I know, he is human." Emma looked at Hagrid one last time and then back at Karn. She was in no way satisfied with his answer, but she didn't argue her point any further.

The group reached the shore of the lake and from there they could see it in the distance. Hogwarts castle was perched on a cliff on the other side of the lake, its towers rising up out of the ground and reaching into the sky as if to touch the very stars above. Karn had never seen anything quite so amazing. He had thought that his and the Malfoy's manors were big, but their size paled in comparison to the size of the castle.

Karn, Emma, and the other first years were all herded into small boats by Hagrid. There were four students in each boat, so Emma and Karn had to share theirs with Peter and Penny Vickars, the later of which introduced herself and her brother quite enthusiastically. Karn continued to marvel at the castle as they crossed the lake. Emma was quick to get along with Penny as the two of them were quite talkative and Emma still had what appeared to be a never ending stream of questions for anyone who would answer them, whether it was Karn or Penny didn't matter much to her.

"You can just ignore my sister," Peter spoke up after some time, "She likes to hear herself talk."

"I do not," Penny complained.

"I don't mind much," Karn spoke up, "It's a bit refreshing to have someone to talk to for once."

"Are their any monsters living in this lake," Emma asked ignoring the conversation, "I think I just saw something move down there." She leaned farther over the side of the boat.

"I'd imagine so," Peter said in response to Karn, "You're from the Crevice family right, I heard they don't let their son out much." Karn nodded. "You see," he said turning to his sister, "I told you we would meet the best of the best here."

"Are you still on about that," Penny asked, "What is it with you and pureblood families?"

"Are their monsters on the grounds," Emma asked unaware of what was going on, "Do you think we'll get to see any of them? Are Unicorns real?"

"Yes, no, and yes," Karn told Emma, who wasn't paying attention anyway.

"Purebloods are the greatest of all wizards," Peter said, "And we would be right to get in good with them if You-Know-Who comes back."

"Who's You-Know-Who," Emma asked, now interested in the conversation.

"You-Know-Who will never come back," Penny said, "Everyone knows it."

"And what if he does," Peter asked, "Mom would be serious trouble just because she married a Muggle-Born. We'd be in trouble too if we don't have friends that can help us."

"Who's You-Know-Who?"

"I won't be much help if he does return," Karn said, "I probably wouldn't be his favorite pureblood."

"What makes you say that," Peter asked, "I thought that You-Know-Who wanted purebloods to rule over Muggles and Muggle-Borns."

"Hey," Emma yelled. The other three went silent and turned to her. "Who's You-Know-Who?"

Penny and Peter dropped their gaze away from her. Karn, however, continued to stare at her. Even though he knew the reason why, it still amazed him that she was so ignorant to even the most well known facts of the wizard world. What surprised him even more was that she could speak of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named without so much as a hint of fear.

"You-Know-Who, also known as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, and to the few who don't fear him," Karn hesitated with this part and had to speak in a whisper, "Lord Voldemort," Peter and Penny flinched at the name, but Emma seemed unfazed.

"Lord Voldemort," Emma said like it was a question.

"Don't say his name," Penny said quickly.

"Sorry," Emma said, "But who is he?"

"He's one of the most powerful wizards in history," Peter said.

"And one of the darkest," Penny added.

"He led an army to take over the wizarding world and tried to eliminate all traces of Muggle-Borns," Karn said, "He thought that only those with wizard blood should live."

"Oh," Emma said, a bit of understanding coming over her.

"Mudbloods deserved it if you ask me," Peter said.

"Peter," Penny snapped at him.

Emma didn't seem fazed by it, but Karn couldn't help but fix Peter with an angry glare. "You should watch what you say," Karn told him.

Peter looked up at Karn with a confused look, but Emma was the first to speak. "I'm a Muggle-Born," she said, "Or a Mudblood if you prefer." She didn't sound bitter about it at all.

"Oh," Peter said after a time, "Sorry, I didn't…I mean…Sorry."

The group was silent for a long time before Emma broke the spell. "So what happened to him," she asked, "To You-Know-Who I mean?"

"A few years ago," Karn said glad that the tension was gone, "He went after the Potters. No one's quite sure what really happened; only that he tried to kill their baby, Harry, and failed. The boy was left with little more than a scar and You-Know-Who disappeared after that. He hasn't been seen since then." The last of the trip was made in silence as none of the group wanted to talk about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named anymore.

The boats reached the opposite shore and Hagrid led the first years into the castle where they made their way upstairs and into the entrance hall. There they stood facing a massive door that Karn guessed led into the great hall where they would be sorted. None of them really knew what the sorting consisted of and many of the students were discussing what it might be. Some were showing clear signs of being nervous, some shaking, some tapping their fingers against their legs, their was even one girl, a metamorphmagus, who's hair kept changing color, one moment it was bright pink, then purple, then red, then back to pink. Karn himself was feeling quite confident by this point, even if he was sure that he would be put into Slytherin, but even he couldn't help but reach into his robes and touch the end of his new wand, just to make sure it was there.

After some time, a woman wearing emerald green robes and a pair of rounded glasses stepped out from behind the doors in front of them and stood before the crowd. "Good evening first years," the woman spoke, "I am Professor McGonagall."

A wave of whispering spread over the first years. "Who's that," Emma whispered to Karn as she leaned in closer to him.

"Professor McGonagall," Karn said, "Teaches Transfiguration, head of Gryffindor house, and deputy headmistress."

"Oh," Emma said, "So she's important."

Professor McGonagall hushed the crowd before Karn could give an answer. "Now," she said, "Let me be the first to officially welcome you to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Another wave of whispers was quickly silenced. "In a few moments," Professor McGonagall went on, "You will be led into the Great Hall where you will be sorted into one of four houses. The houses are: Gryffindor," she said the first name with a hint of pride in her voice, "Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin." She said the last one with clear bitterness in her voice and, to his dismay, her eyes shot at Karn for just a moment, like she knew what his fate was already.

Professor McGonagall scanned over the crowd as if waiting for someone to voice any questions. "Now then," she went on when no one else spoke, "If you would." She turned and entered the Great Hall. The crowd followed her, some moving slower than others. The girl who's hair had been changing colors stood still for a moment before stumbling forward and nearly tripping over herself as she did so. Her hair turned bright red as she caught up with the rest of the students like it was reflecting her embarrassment.

Karn had been to Hogwarts on few occasions, but this was the first time he had ever seen the Great Hall. Four long tables spanned the whole of the hall, hundreds of students dressed in school robes sat at each of them. The first years were led along a table, where the teachers were sitting, and lined up in front of the other students. At the center of the teacher's table sat the one and only Albus Dumbledore. He looked exactly how he did in the picture that Karn had hanging on his wall at home, a long, silver beard with a head of hair to match it. He wore robes of red and a pair of half-moon spectacles. Also at the staff table were several more teachers that Karn recognized from his trips to Hogwarts with his parents. There was Hagrid on the end, standing out among the others because of his height. He saw the short charms teacher, Professor Flitwick, sitting atop a pile of cushions, and the plump herbology teacher, Professor Sprout, wearing her hat askew on top of her curly grey hair. He also caught sight of Professor Snape, the Hogwarts potions master and another friend of Karn's father, with his long, greasy black hair and his hooked nose and wearing black robes. Professor Snape was chatting with a man Karn had never met, but who he guessed was the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

The moment they entered the Great Hall, many of the first years broke into fervent whispers, but none were more enthusiastic than Emma was. "Wow," she exclaimed, "That's amazing, and that over there, and…Oh my, the ceiling is magnificent." Even Karn had to admit that she was right about that. The ceiling showed an exact image of the sky outside of the castle, and at that moment, it showed a beautiful, clear, star-filled sky. "How does it do that," Emma asked.

"It's an enchantment," Karn told her. Emma didn't respond but continued to stare up at the ceiling in awe.

The first years followed Professor McGonagall until she motioned for them to stop. She then left the Great Hall and reappeared a moment later with a stool and a rather old looking hat. She placed the stool in front of the first years and the hat on top of it. The students watched the hat suspiciously, as if waiting for something to happen. After a moment, a long tear near the brim opened up like a mouth and the hat suddenly broke into song.

When it was, that I was made

It was with but one intent

To sort you into houses four

And so, now, let us commence

Perhaps you'll go to Gryffindor

Where the brave are meant to shine

Or maybe into Ravenclaw

Where the clever have their time

And then there is sweet Hufflepuff

Where hard work will grant admission

And finally, shrewd Slytherin

Will take those with great ambition

So come forth you all and I will say

To which house you will belong

Come forth and fit me on your head

I have yet to ever be wrong!

The whole of the room broke into applause as the hat fell silent.

"Now," Professor McGonagall said as she held up a scroll of parchment and the applause faded, "I will call your name, you will step forward, I will place the sorting hat onto your head, and you will be sorted into your houses." She unrolled the parchment. "Abbey Alison."

A short brown-haired girl who had her hair pulled back into a ponytail stepped forward. She approached the stool as Professor McGonagall lifted the Sorting Hat off of it. Alison sat down and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. There was silence for a long time as everyone stared at the girl, who had lowered her head so she didn't have to look at anyone.

"RAVENCLAW," the Sorting Hat burst out. A table to the right erupted into cheers as the Sorting Hat was lifted off of Alison's head and she rushed off to join her house and was greeted by several of her classmates.

The cheers faded as Professor McGonagall called out the name of the next student. The first years had gone back to shaking nervously. Emma's eyes were darting from one table to the next, looking at each of them in turn. Penny, who stood on the other side of Emma, tried to keep her eyes off of the Slytherin table, but kept glancing at it apparently having the same fears that Karn was experiencing. Peter, unlike his sister, couldn't keep his eyes off of the Slytherin table. The metamorphmagus's hair, she was standing on the opposite side of Karn, kept changing color like it had been before, slowly at first, but changing faster as each student was called forth and sorted. Karn kept his hand on his wand in his pocket and gripped it tightly every time a student was sorted and one of the tables erupted into applause. No one had been put in Slytherin yet. Would he be the first?

I won't be in Slytherin, he told himself, I won't be in Slytherin.

"Cook, Barry," Professor McGonagall called.

A tall, dark-skinned boy stepped forward and sat with the sorting hat on his head. He was only there for a moment, but it felt like ages. Karn knew that he would be next. His heart was pounding fast as he thought about how all of his desires to learn about the Muggle world and prove his parent's ideals wrong could be dashed in a moment if he was put into Slytherin. He would be separated from Emma, and she may not even talk to him anymore if he were in Slytherin. Plus, he would be surrounded by Muggle haters day and night in Slytherin. But all he could do was hope. He flinched as the Sorting Hat announced Barry's house.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table on the far right erupted into cheers as the other tables had done before. Karn watched as the boy jumped down from the stool, a look of relief on his face, and dashed over to the Gryffindor table. Karn could feel his heart pounding harder now. He was gripping his wand so tightly that he was questioning how it hadn't broken. He felt sweat falling down his forehead.

I won't be in Slytherin.

"Crevice, Karn."

The cheering fell silent. All eyes fell on Karn. He was glued to the spot, unable to move until Emma gave him an encouraging little push. He looked back at her and she gave him an encouraging smile, even though she looked about as nervous as he was. He saw Peter and Penny staring at him, though they both looked away several times. The girl that Karn had been standing next to now had hair that was changing color so fast that it didn't have one clear color. The only person completely focused on Karn was Emma. Her hands were folded together in front of her and her eyes were glued on him, hoping that whatever house he was in, she would be in the same one. Karn turned, stepped forward, and sat on the stool.

Karn crossed his fingers as the Sorting Hat was placed on his head.

I won't be in Slytherin.

For a moment, there was nothing but silence, and then a voice whispered in his ear. "Ahhh," the hat said, "Interesting, yes, very interesting, but difficult. I can sense much talent in you. And a desire to prove yourself as well, to accomplish something great."

I won't be in Slytherin. He thought this over and over as hard as he could, but he couldn't seem to voice his desire.

"And an interesting bloodline, a Crevice, powerful wizards they are, but you aren't like the other ones I've seen."

I won't be in Slytherin.

"Perhaps Hufflepuff would do well. No, I don't think so. Gryffindor maybe? Hmmm. Yes, I know what to do with you."

I WON'T BE IN SLYTHERIN! He thought with excitement. Then he felt like he had been punched in the stomach.

"SLYTHERIN!"