A/N: Essentially, what you recognize belongs to the goddess that is J.K. Rowling, and what you don't belongs to lil' ol' me.
Finally, a bit of story!
Dally'sTUFF: Thanks so much for the kind words! I can't keep up with how fast you are reviewing. And yeah, I am writing these stories pretty fast, but I suppose I simply find her story easy to write. If you look back at the first chapter of Blinding Snow, I addressed your review on a chapter about Magical Creatures. Please continue to give me input.
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Here she was, back for her third year at Hogwarts, though she would be short the first friend Genevieve had made at the school. Charlie had graduated Hogwarts the year before, so this year it was simply the Weasley twins, Lee Jordan, and Katie Bell, a second year Genevieve had also befriended.
Genevieve, Lee, and Katie waited a while in their compartment, before finally Katie voiced what everyone was thinking.
"Okay, where are Fred and George? They should be here by now. The train's going to leave any minute."
Genevieve shrugged. "Ron's coming for the first time. Maybe they're helping him?" The group laughed. They doubted Fred and George would genuinely help their youngest brother, whom they affectionately referred to as "ickle Ronniekins."
Finally, as the train began to move, the twins burst in. "Guys, you won't believe who we just met!"
They looked up in interest.
"Harry-" George began.
"Potter!" Fred finished triumphantly.
"What?" The other three said in unison.
"Harry Potter?" Genevieve questioned doubtfully. "As in, defeated You-Know-Who, Harry Potter?"
"The one and only!"
"Ron's sitting with him now."
"He's got the scar and everything."
"I hope he's in Gryffindor."
For a while, the group sat in silence, marveling over what it could mean if Harry Potter was in their House. Finally, breaking the silence, Lee asked, "Wanna play Exploding Snap?"
•~0~•
Once at Hogwarts, everyone filed in, sitting at their House tables, except for the nervous first years.
George leaned forward. "See the one with the crazy black hair? Small, with green eyes?"
Genevieve nodded.
"That's him."
They didn't have much time to discuss, for soon after, the Sorting began. Genevieve and the rest of the group cheered whenever a first year was Sorted into Gryffindor, which included an intelligent-looking girl named Hermione Granger, who had a Near-Hatstall, and a timid boy named Neville, with whom the Sorting Hat has also taken a long time to decide. When the name "Potter, Harry" was called out, the entire school burst into quiet chattering, anxious to see what House he'd be put in.
After a short while, the Sorting Hat called "GRYFFINDOR!" and Genevieve laughed in delight as Fred and George chanted loudly, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"
Even Percy almost tripped over himself rising to enthusiastically shake his hand. Genevieve snorted. His arrogance had only worsened once he'd been made a Prefect.
Soon, Ron joined the Gryffindor table.
When the Sorting has concluded, and the feast began, the first years began conversing among themselves, as well as with Percy and Nearly-Headless Nick, the Gryffindor House ghost. Genevieve passed the time by talking about their upcoming electives with the twins and Jordan, while Katie was talking to Oliver Wood about Quidditch tryouts, the new Captain after Charlie.
All in all, it was likely the most eventful first night Genevieve had witnessed, and she had a feeling the year would only get wilder - especially when Dumbledore mentioned avoiding the right side of the third floor, at which point the twins got a mischievous gleam in their eyes. Something told Genevieve that the years Harry Potter would be at Hogwarts would be very eventful indeed.
