JAMES POTTER
And the Road To No Promises
Chapter 2. The Hat's Change Of Heart
James sat down next to Fiona while Landon took the seat across from her. One of their year mates, a timid girl named Amelia Keen (known and Millie), sat next to Landon and Michelle Thomas sat on Fiona's other side. Millie's parents were both muggle paleontologists, they were busy most of the time and sent her to fancy boarding schools for most of her young life. They provided for her well but she always seemed a little lonely, getting short letters from them every couple of months and going to the dig on holidays though she always tried to spend as much time at school as possible. Millie's transfer to Hogwarts had been an odd one, since her parents were already disconnected from her Professor McGonagall and the Muggle Headmistress had sent them recommendation letters, suggesting a school transfer. Sometimes the other students would wonder what it would be like to have parents that didn't even know you had magic, but it never seemed to bother Millie, and she never had trouble keeping it from them. Millie stood a couple centimeters taller than Fiona, she had lightly tanned skin and her face was still sprinkled with freckles left over from her summer in the desert. She had her wavy blond hair cut to chin length and was usually held back by an extravagant headband. Her eyes were a soft gray, her face was pretty but plain, her eyebrows didn't curve and her eyelashes were nearly nonexistent, her cheekbones were high but it made her eyes look rather sunken in. Millie was shy and mostly kept to herself; somehow she couldn't seem to help drawing herself away from people. Though, for the last couple of years she found herself sitting closer and closer to Fiona and James; spending time with them in the common room, asking for homework help and providing some of her own. James and Fiona welcomed her with open arms, trying to ease the shy girl out of her shell had been a challenge of theirs since second year; when Millie had passed behind them while James was telling a funny story and giggled. They had both spun around to see Millie smiling at them, though she quickly walked away. The two friends decided that they liked her laugh and wanted to see her smile more often.
Michelle Thomas was the daughter of Fiona's father's best friend Dean Thomas. Her mother died when she was very small and her father tried very hard to raise her on his own, but he often found it hard and enlisted his old friend and his family for help. Michelle would stay over at the Finnegan's whenever her father went out of town or needed the house, or even if she needed to get away for a couple of days she would go straight to the Finnegan's where everyone knew she would be safe. As a result, the two grew up more like sisters than anything else, and they acted like it too. Most people would have a friend in that situation that they would never leave their side, but Fiona and Michelle seemed just too close for that. They moved around differently, talked differently, hung out with different people but at the same time the two girls were one. No one could describe it except that they were so comfortable together that they could get sick of each other, just like real sisters would. Fiona had once overheard her parents talking about Michelle. Her mother brought up the subject one day after sending them all to bed, Fiona had snuck back down for a snack but stopped outside the kitchen to listen. At the mention of Dean Thomas her father had set his face in his hands. Marina asked what caused the reaction and Seamus explained how hard it was for his friend to raise his daughter all alone, how hard it was to provide for her, how hard it was to relate to her. Often the Thomas house would go days without the two members of the family speaking to each other. This wasn't out of anger either, they just didn't have anything to say to each other. Nowadays Michelle was exactly as tall a Fiona, but more elegant. Michelle had soft, cocoa-colored skin and deep chocolate eyes that were set under wonderfully arched eyebrows and long dark lashes. Her nose was petite and her face was sharp, when she smiled she revealed perfectly straight white teeth, plump and shapely lips, even dimples. Her glossy black hair hung in ringlets around her shoulders and whenever she got bored she would twirl a few strands through her fingers, though this action often made it hard for any boys in the vicinity to concentrate. Michelle wasn't very vain, though she did know that other people thought her beautiful, and she enjoyed it. Michelle was able to hop from group of friends to group of friends. Everyone was glad to have her and she was glad to have so many people to be with. Fiona looked over at her and saw her wave at someone, turning her head Fiona saw a dark Ravenclaw boy return the gesture, Michelle smiled flirtatiously. Fiona leaned over and elbowed her.
"Who's that?" She asked curiously. Michelle giggled.
"That's Eddie Veskell. I wrote you about him, remember?" Michelle whispered.
"Ah." Fiona exhaled in comprehension, "Your new boyfriend." Michelle went through boyfriends faster than last year's sweaters (which Michelle wouldn't be caught dead in).
"Isn't he cute?" Michelle asked enthusiastically. Fiona looked at Eddie again. Her first impression was that the word cute couldn't even pretend to describe him. He was tall, dark and muscular, his dark hair needed a trim and flounced this way and that whenever he moved his head, though that only made him that much more attractive.
"I don't really think I'm a judge." Fiona said finally, but if she was she'd correct her friend. This boy wasn't cute, he was downright hot. And honestly, Michelle didn't seem to think anything of it. That was the only thing Michelle ever did that annoyed Fiona. Somehow, with very little effort on her part, Michelle would end up dating the hottest boys in the school. They'd date for a while, Michelle would keep her friends up to gush about them after hours, they'd send each other secret notes at meals and during class, Michelle would sit on the edge of Fiona's bed and describe his kisses in gory but somehow fascinating (to Fiona, anyway) detail. Then, something would happen to make them break up. If it was on Michelle's end life would just go back to normal. They'd walk the school with high heads and thoroughly ignore each other. If Michelle was on the receiving end all hell would break loose. She's stay up for days, crying and making Fiona (because no one else could be near her at this point) listen to her sobbed stories of how perfect he was, then what she had imagined the future would have been like. Fiona always tried to be sympathetic but sometimes she couldn't bring herself to it, in her opinion if you were lucky enough to get a boyfriend in the first place your life would be complete. But that wasn't how Michelle thought. Michelle would even hop out of corridors and into empty classrooms to avoid her new ex, usually dragging Fiona along with her. Then, suddenly, after about a week it would stop. Everything would go back to normal and Michelle was mooning over a new guy.
"There they are!" James said suddenly. Fiona had somehow missed Professor McGonagall's opener and was called back to the present when the door swung open and the first years trailed in. They spotted Lily first, her fiery red hair standing out in the crowd. She was linked arms with a very sullen looking girl that watched the hall through emotionless, darkly colorless eyes.
"Who's that?" James asked in a strained voice at the same time Fiona thought it.
"She looks like she drowned." Michelle whispered in awe. She was right. The girl's skin was so icily white that it seemed to have a blue tinge to it, there were shadows under her eyes and her face was thin. Her hair was black that had an oddly gray tone to it, as though the darkness had been sucked out of it, and it hung lifelessly to her waist.
"How creepy." Fiona said with a shudder.
"She's so small." Millie said unexpectedly, her tone almost unbearably soft and caring. They all leaned forward to see better. True, the girl that Lily was holding on to was about a head shorter than all the other first years, the top of her head came up to Lily's chin. Lily looked around the hall and saw Albus and Rose first. She waved at them enthusiastically, they waved back but were obviously scrutinizing her new friend as much as the others were. Lily saw Fiona next, then automatically looked next to her to lock eyes with James. She waved; James returned it halfheartedly, causing Lily to send Fiona a perplexed look and Fiona to return it. The hat was placed on the stool and the hall went silent, everyone watching the hat anxiously. The seam at the bottom opened and the hat began to sing;
"Seconds hours so many days
You know what you want but how long can you wait
Every moment last forever if you feel you've lost your way
What if your chances are already gone
Started believing that I could be wrong
But you give me one good reason to fight and never walk away
Every step you climb another mountain
Every breathe its harder to believe
You'll make it through the pain
or through all your aches and pains
Weather the hurricane
To get to that one thing
When you think the road is going nowhere
Just when you've almost gave up on your dreams
Then take it by the hand and show you that you can
There are no boundaries
I fought to the end to stand on the edge
What if today is as good it gets
Don't know where the future's headed
Nothing will bring me down
I've jumped every bridge and I've run every line
I've risked being saved but I always knew why
I always knew why
So here I am still holding on
Every step you climb another mountain
Every breathe its harder to believe
You'll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricane
To get to that one thing
When you think the road is going nowhere
Just when you've almost gave up on your dreams
Then take it by the hand and show you that you can
You can go higher
You can go deeper
There are no boundaries
Above and beneath you
Break every rule, there's nothing between you
and your dreams
Every step you climb another mountain
Every breathe its harder to believe
You'll make it through the pain
Weather the hurricane
There are no boundaries"
The hat went silent, leaving the students looking at each other in confusion for a few moments before the applause started. The Deputy Head Master, Professor Alvie the potions master, stepped forward and started calling off first year's names. When the first student ("Acer, Mary") took a seat on the stool Rose Weasley and Albus Potter turned to look at each other.
"That was weird." Rose commented slowly, looking over her friend's face, searching for his reaction. Albus pursed his lips.
"Yes, I mean, it usually talks about the houses and what they mean, doesn't it?" Albus analyzed. Rose smiled and rested her chin on her hand, eyes focused on Albus, watching him over think things was her favorite pastime. At the age of 14 Albus was intelligent, but he had tendencies to think ideas to death. It was strange because of the person that he seemed to be joined at the hip with. Rose Weasley was a person of action, where Albus would think an idea or plan over in his head for days on end. Rose would listen to his first few debates with himself then start working for it. If Albus thought of the idea of making a study schedule Rose would listen to the first few arguments he had with himself then disappear and draw one up. Sometimes Albus was frustrated that she didn't plan or think things through enough, but it never lasted long because she always did it better on impulse than he could with years of planning. Rose Weasley and Albus Potter had a strange relationship because anyone could see the two were polar opposites. Rose liked being a Quidditch Keeper, eating without thinking about it, making ideas come to life, having adventures and setting goals. Whereas Albus would rather read, research anything he'd even consider eating, sitting completely still for hours on end with only his thoughts, never taking risks or stepping outside his comfort zone and go as far as you can before hitting the ceiling. Their arguments were always something to be seen because no matter how passionate they were on the subject the debate would be friendly, each making valid points without their temper clouding their thoughts. Oddly enough, never could you find one without the other. They did absolutely everything together, Albus would watch her play Quidditch and Rose would watch him think and read with him. They moved the same way without talking about it and even finished each other's sentences from time to time.
"Maybe the hat thought this would be more useful." Rose suggested. Albus smiled.
"I bet that's it."
"I'm hungry." James complained, no one could respond because suddenly Fiona's eyes widened and she slammed her hands on the table.
"It's her." She whispered, watching the front stool. Landon, Millie and Michelle followed her gaze, but James didn't take his eyes away from Fiona.
"No it isn't. Lily got sorted, remember? That's her down at the end of our table." He said. Fiona rolled her eyes at him.
"Not her. Her." She pointed to the front where only one first year stood.
"Zellit, Ella." Professor Alvie called. It was Lily's little drowned friend.
"Ella is such a pretty name." Millie said, watching the depressing girl put the hat on her head.
"I don't know." Landon said slowly, poker face still in place, "I think it fits. She's pretty spooky, you know?"
No one said anything because they did know.
Wow, so much character description. Sorry guys! There will be more plot/coolness and stuff when I'm done giving you a taste of who the characters are. THE LYRICS TO THAT HAT'S RHYME are from the song "No Boundaries" written by Kara Dioguardi, I just removed a couple words to keep the hat from sounding like a popstar.
You know the the drill XD
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