-Gryffindor Tower-
Emma
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.
Well, now that's out of the way. So, here's my apology for the fact that it took me forever to post this chapter. I've just been having a bit of trouble with this story, I have a good idea of where I want the plot to go, but I'm having trouble getting there. I'm hoping that my momentum will start to pick up here soon. Also, i'd like to say here, if you've read my Percy Jackson fanfiction (The Other Prophecy Child) then I have some good news, the sequel is currently in the making. I won't make any promises now, but you could probably expect something within the next month or two.
Well, enjoy the new chapter.
Emma watched as Karn stood from the stool and walked over to the table full of cheering Slytherins. He looked miserable and Emma was sure she knew why. He never told her outright, but she had already guessed that he despised Slytherin and wanted nothing to do with the house. He must have been hoping this whole time that he wouldn't be put in the house. Now that he had been, Emma knew that he must have been feeling as hopeless as ever.
He sat down next to an older boy who looked like he was trying to cheer Karn up a bit, but it wasn't working. Several of the other students at the table were whispering to each other while pointing at Karn and then at Emma. They clearly knew that she was Muggle-Born already and that Karn was associated with her. Now more than ever, Emma knew, Karn needed a friend.
"Danielson, Evan," Professor McGonagall called.
A boy on the far end of the line of first years stepped forward and sat at the stool. Emma was barely aware of the rest of the sorting. Her eyes barely moved from where Karn was sitting as he continued to stare down at the table and refused to talk to anyone around him. Penny looked just as worried about him as Emma was as she stared in his direction as well, but she soon went back to looking around the Great Hall and avoided looking at the Slytherin table. As the sorting went on, Penny began twirling a strand of her long, raven black hair around her finger. Peter looked even more hopeful about being sorted into Slytherin.
"Tonks, Nymphadora."
The girl on the other side of Emma, who had been shaking a moment ago, stood up straight and still at the sound of her name. Her hair, which had been multicolored as she waited, turned to a bright shade of red. For a moment, she stood, rooted to the place where she was. Then she stepped forward and immediately tripped on her school robes and fell forward. The students in the hall began laughing as the girl pushed herself up onto her knees, her hair and face now the same shade of bright red. She looked around, hoping for some form of encouragement, and her eyes fell on Emma, who couldn't help but give her a heartening smile and hope that it would help. The girl, Tonks, smiled back and got to her feet, her hair now a shade of bubblegum pink. She took her place on the stool and the Sorting Hat spoke her house within moments.
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The table next to the Slytherin's erupted into a loud cheer as Tonks stepped down from the stool and rushed to join her house, her hair turning the same shade of yellow as the Hufflepuff's color.
Emma continued to wait anxiously for her turn to be sorted. All the while, she kept her eyes on Karn, hoping that he would cheer up, but knowing that he wouldn't. Many of the students at the Slytherin table were continuing to whisper and point from Karn to Emma. It was obvious that the word of what she was had spread through most of the table.
"Vickars, Penny."
Penny, who had barely been paying attention by that point, looked around at Professor McGonagall and, just for a moment, fixed her with a confused look before walking forward and sitting down on the stool. The Sorting Hat was silent for a long time as it sat on her head. When it spoke, Penny couldn't have looked more relieved if she tried.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Penny let out the breath she had held in and dashed off to the Gryffindor table, who were all cheering for her by then, and greeted as many of them as she could with as much enthusiasm as she could possibly muster. Her brother looked after her with a bit of anger showing in him. He clearly liked Gryffindor about as much as the Slytherins did. Emma, on the other hand, was glad to see that Penny's worries could be laid to rest now that she hadn't been sorted into Slytherin, but she couldn't help but continue to worry about Karn.
"Vickars, Peter."
Peter moved forward without hesitation, his black eyes full of determination. He sat down and the Sorting Hat was only on his head for a few seconds before it spoke up. Apparently, Peter was the easiest student to sort yet.
"SLYTHERIN!"
The Slytherin table erupted into loud cheering once again as Peter walked over and sat down between Karn and the older student he had been sitting next to until then. Peter greeted his fellow housemates with about as much enthusiasm as Penny had greeted hers. He was clearly much more excited about being in Slytherin than Karn was. At least the presence of someone he knew cheered Karn up a bit.
"Watts, Emma."
Emma stepped forward. She wasn't sure what she wanted from the sorting anymore. She wanted to be with Karn like she had said on the train, but she had made another friend since then in Penny and she wanted to be with her as well. Peter's presence in Slytherin house might be a pick up for Karn, but he still didn't look happy about being in the house. Penny would make friends in due time. She would be okay without Emma. Karn was the one that really needed her now.
As she sat down at the stool, all eyes in the Great Hall turned to her. Even Karn, who had yet to look up from the table since he had sat down, turned to watch what would happen next, though he didn't look very hopeful. The Sorting Hat was placed on her head and she waited. Emma wasn't sure what to expect and was surprised when someone whispered in her ear.
"Hmmmmmm," The hat said, "Yes, I see, there is a lot of potential here, and a desire to learn. You're clever, and brave, and there's also a willingness to work for what you want. So, where should you go?"
Emma closed her eyes and hoped that the hat would place her where she wanted. She suddenly found herself whispering it out loud. "Slytherin."
"Slytherin," the hat asked, "A Muggle-Born wishes to go to Slytherin? I don't think I've ever heard of such an insane thought."
"Slytherin," Emma whispered again, "I want to be in Slytherin."
"Are you sure," the hat asked, "Slytherin isn't right for someone like you. You would do so much better in another house. What about Ravenclaw? No? Still Slytherin? Hmmm, I'm not so sure."
"Please put me in Slytherin," Emma whispered.
"Well, maybe," the hat said, "I think you'll do best in…GRYFFINDOR!"
Her heart sank at the sound of the hat's voice. The Gryffindor table erupted into loud cheering, but Emma sat still in the stool, hoping that the hat might change its mind and put her in Slytherin. When it became clear that the hat had nothing more to say to her, she stood up and walked over to the Gryffindor table. Under any other circumstances, she would've been happy to have been sorted into Gryffindor, but the way that Karn was looking at her as she walked over to the Gryffindor table made her feel terrible about it.
She tore her gaze away from Karn, unable to bear the look of hopelessness he was giving her, and sat down between Penny and an older Gryffindor. Penny was talking excitedly to Emma about how happy she was that the two of them had been placed in the same house. Emma, happy though she was, couldn't get her spirits up as much as she would have liked, but she did manage to cheer up a bit. She risked another look back at Karn before the sorting went on. He had gone back to staring at the table in front of him.
"Weasley, Charles."
A short, red-haired boy, who looked a lot like the third year boy sitting across from Emma, stepped forward and took his place on the stool like the others had done before him. He sat nervously as the sorting hat was placed on his head. It didn't take long for the hat to decide where to put him.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Everyone at the table erupted into a loud cheer. Penny was clapping harder than anyone, which wasn't surprising considering how energetic she was. Even Emma, though being as down as she was, had to join in the cheering, though she couldn't muster as much energy as any of the others. Charles Weasley stepped down from the stool and rushed over to the Gryffindor table and sat down across from Emma and Penny, next to the boy that looked like an older version of him.
Emma was silent through the rest of the sorting, which seemed to drag on longer than it should have despite the fact that there were very few first years left to be sorted. None of the last bunch of first years were sorted into Gryffindor, so Emma had no reason to pretend like she had a reason to cheer. She tried to avoid it, but she kept looking back at Karn. He looked better than he had before; he was at least talking to Peter now. It might have been a good sign, but Emma couldn't help but continue to worry about him.
"Yates, Draven."
The last of the first years, a tall blond haired boy, stepped forward and took his place on the stool. There was no hint of worry in his appearance. He apparently had no concern over what house he would be sorted into. And he remained as such even after the hat announced his house.
"SLYTHERIN!"
The Slytherins broke into applause, all except for Karn. Yates stood proudly and walked over to the Slytherin table, taking a seat across from where Karn and Peter were sitting. He greeted the other students around him, speaking to Karn last. When Karn apparently did not respond to Yates's greeting, he said something to Karn that must have been an insult because the other Slytherin's began laughing and Karn looked up for the first time. Emma forced herself to look away, not wanting to see what would happen next.
"Oh, Peter," Penny said after a moment, "Don't go starting trouble already."
Emma looked back at the Slytherin table to see what had happened. Peter was standing with his eyes locked with Yates's who was still sitting. Karn had stood up too, but only to keep Peter from jumping over the table and attacking Yates. Whatever he had said must have been particularly nasty if it set Peter off like that. Emma didn't think he would stand just to defend her or Karn.
Yates said something else that couldn't be heard over the other students, most of whom were not paying any attention to what was happening at the Slytherin table. Peter tried to fight off Karn's grip, which caused enough of a disruption that the rest of the students began to take an interest in what was going on. The sixth year next to Peter stood up and helped hold him back along with Karn. Two first years, who were sitting on either side of Yates, stood up like they were preparing to defend him. Peter nearly broke free, but before things could get out of hand, a ringing sounded through the hall and Professor Dumbledore stood up at the staff table. The students turned their attention to him as Karn and the others took their seats once again.
"Well," Professor Dumbledore said, "What an interesting way to start the year." He glanced over at the Slytherin table to where Karn and the others were sitting. "But, moving on from that excitement," he went on, "Before the start of year feast begins, I have a few announcements. First, a reminder that no student is permitted to enter the Dark Forest under any circumstances, Second, Mr. Filch," Dumbledore gestured toward a man standing toward the back of the Great Hall. He was a rheumatic man with a pasty, pale face, bulging eyes, sunken cheeks, hunched shoulders, and a hunchback, and he was wearing a brown coat. "Our caretaker," Dumbledore continued on, "Would like to remind everyone of the list of items, which can be found in his office, which are banned within the castle walls. And finally, due to a recent increase in troll activity, certain areas of the castle's dungeons will be off limits for most, and possibly the whole of the year." Dumbledore paused and scanned over the students in the Great Hall. "And so, welcome, and let the feast begin."
As soon as he finished speaking, the tables were suddenly covered in platters of food that seemed to appear from out of nowhere. Emma had never seen so much food in her entire life, so much that she found herself drooling over the sight of it in no time. Of course, they could have placed a single plate of it in front of her and it would've had the same effect. Having lived in poverty most of her life, she wasn't used to receiving full meals.
Before long, any worries that Emma had were buried under the mountain of food that she piled onto her plate and began digging into; having completely forgotten the table manners her parents had taught her. Emma never thought that so many different kinds of food existed. There were things there that she had never seen or heard of before, but she had little concern over what it was. She was just grateful for the food.
Throughout the duration of the feast, Emma was aware of the fact that Penny was talking almost non-stop next to her, pausing only to take a few bites from her own plate. Emma was barely listening to her and could've cared less about whatever it was that she was saying, and Penny seemed barely concerned over whether Emma, or anyone else really, was listening to her or not. Emma was starting to think that what Peter had said about his sister was true. Maybe she just liked to hear herself talk sometimes. Emma didn't mind really. Her enthusiasm was rather refreshing actually.
Emma, lost in her meal, completely lost track of the time as she clawed her way through several plates of food. She was just glad that the platters along the table refilled themselves whenever they were empty. She was so lost in the feast that she was almost unfazed by the fact that a group of ghosts joined the festivities. Even food wasn't enough to stop her wonder lust though.
Emma was nearly half way through her second plate when she heard someone scream. It was the boy, Charles Weasly, sitting across from her. Emma looked up in time to see the head of a man with a bushy head of hair sitting on one of the platters. The head was pale and seemed to even be transparent.
"Hello," the head said, much to the surprise of the first years sitting nearby. The non-first year students continued with their meals as if this were normal. The head floated up off of the table and a body followed along with it. The body of the man was just as pale and transparent as the head was. The ghost floated up out of the table and sat down next to Charles. The first years stared at him in awe while the rest of the students paid little or no attention to him.
"Are you," Emma started to ask, stumbling with her words, "A ghost?"
"You act like you've never seen one before," the ghost said.
Before Emma could inform him that she had, indeed, never seen a ghost before, the Great Hall exploded into an uproar. At that moment, several more ghosts, one for each of the house tables, flew into the room, one hovered above the Ravenclaw table, another flew down the length of the Slytherin table and disappeared through the opposite wall, and the third floated down the Hufflepuff table and introduced himself to the new first years. Emma could do little more than stare at the ghosts.
"There's no need to be afraid of them," the third year sitting across from Emma said, "They're harmless…well, mostly, Peeves the Poltergeist can be annoying, but he usually doesn't hurt anyone."
"Which one is he," Emma asked turning to face the third year.
"Oh, he's not here," the third year said, "He's probably wondering the castle somewhere, planning some prank for the new students."
Emma stared at him for a moment before turning to the ghost at their table. "And…who is he?"
"Oh, that's just Nearly Headless Nick," the third year said, "He's the patron ghost of Gryffindor house."
"I prefer Sir Nicholas," Nick said, "And I can introduce myself, thank you."
"Nearly headless," Penny asked, "Is that even possible?"
"Why yes," Nick said.
He reached up and grabbed the top of his head. He then pulled, separating his head from his body until it was barely held on by only a small bit of skin. The first years all drew back at the sight of this, but, once again, the other students seemed unfazed. Emma found her appetite suddenly gone. Without another word, Nick placed his head back into its proper position on his neck and then floated off down the table, seeming to have been offended by someone.
"Don't mind him," the third year said, "He gets tired of explaining that one every year. My name's Bill by the way, Bill Weasly." Bill placed an arm around Charles, who was sitting next to him. "And this is my younger brother Charlie."
"Nice to meet you both," Emma said, finding her voice steady again now that Nick was gone, "My name's Emma Watts."
"I'm Penny Vickars," Penny said.
Emma and Penny spent the rest of the feast listening to Bill talk about Hogwarts, Gryffindor house, and, occasionally, his and Charlie's family. Emma wasn't in any kind of mood to continue eating, not after seeing Nearly Headless Nick, so she pushed her plate aside and, instead, listened to Bill's stories. Penny actually managed to remain silent for the rest of the feast. After what felt like several hours, another ring sounded through Great Hall and Dumbledore stood up at the staff table once again.
"Now," he began, "It is time to retire to the common rooms. First years, you will follow your respective prefects."
All around the Great Hall, students began to stand and file out of the hall. Prefects called out to first years and urged them to follow. A fifth year, who was sitting not too far from where Emma was, stood up and began calling Gryffindor first years over to follow him to the dorms.
Emma, Penny, Charlie, and the rest of the Gryffindor first years, followed their prefect from the Great Hall. Emma noticed that, once outside the Great Hall, the houses parted ways, and the Slytherins seemed to be heading toward the dungeons while the Gryffindors moved to climb higher into the castle's towers. Emma couldn't help but think back to what Dumbledore had said about parts of the dungeon being closed off. She wondered if Karn or Peter would be in any danger down there.
Her worries were quickly put aside as she and the others climbed higher into the castle and they passed all kinds of strange things. All of the paintings they passed were moving, the inhabitants of them looking as if they were normal people. Some of them would even disappear into the side of the frame only to reappear in another painting. Emma was also left awestruck by the fact that most of the stairs they climbed had a tendency to change positions. All of it was so amazing to Emma, that she hadn't noticed when the others had stopped and she ended up walking right into Penny who shushed her quickly. Emma had to stand on her tip-toes to see what was happening. She could barely make out what was going on, but, from what she could see, the group had stopped in front of a painting of a rather fat woman. This one, unlike the other paintings, was not moving however. At least it did not do so right away. After they stood there for a moment, the painting began to move.
"Password," the Fat Lady questioned.
"Viscus Draconis," the Gryffindor prefect said.
The Fat Lady motioned as if offering the group to enter her home, though there was no entrance to anything in sight. Emma watched as the portrait of the Fat Lady swung open slowly revealing the entrance into a room hidden behind it. The first years were lead into a circular room full of armchairs and tables. There was a bulletin board on one wall and a window that looked out onto the grounds. Another wall was dominated entirely by a fireplace. The walls were also decorated with crimson tapestries that depicted various wizards, witches, and a few depicting animals.
The prefect stopped and turned to face the group. "Welcome to the Gryffindor common room," he said, "Boys, your dormitories are up the stairs on your right, girls, the same on the left. And just so you know, my name is Winston Price. If you have any questions or problems, you can talk to me or one of the other prefects."
With that, the first years went up to their dorms, the boys and girls separating into their respective ones. The dormitory was nothing short of a circular room with five four poster beds. Their luggage had already been taken up to the dormitory, which just left them with the task of choosing their own bed. Penny and Emma were sure to claim beds that were next to each other.
They shared the dormitory with three other girls: Hannah Mills, Tiffany Rayner, and Rachel Harper, all three of which had fallen asleep within an hour. Emma, on the other hand, would not be granted the same luxury. Instead, she lay awake for several hours, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about everything that had happened earlier that day. She tried to push it out of her mind, but her thoughts kept wondering back to Karn and Peter and what might be happening to them in the Slytherin dorms. They clearly hadn't gotten off to a good start, and things could only get worse now that they were alone with Yates and his two friends. All Emma could do was hope that they could keep from killing each other.
Emma had hoped to be alone with her thoughts until she managed to fall asleep, but Penny had other plans. It just seemed like that girl would never stop talking. Several hours had already passed since the other girls had fallen asleep, but Penny was still wide awake in her bed, talking on and on about everything they had seen, and how amazing the castle was, and how she couldn't wait to start classes the next day, and a plethora of other things that Emma could care less about.
"I already know that I'm quite good at charms," Penny continued to talk on, "I am worried about Transfiguration though. I hear it's rather difficult and that Professor McGonagall is tough. Maybe she'll give us a break since we're in her house? I doubt it though. I also hear potions can be rough, especially since Professor Snape…"
"What about Karn," Emma asked, interrupting Penny's speech and completely changing the subject.
"Karn," Penny asked, "Oh, he'll do fine. He's a pureblood after all. He'll probably be top of the class and…"
"That wasn't what I meant," Emma said, interrupting Penny for the second time.
Penny looked at her quizzically. "What did you mean then," she asked.
"I mean," Emma began, but she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to say. "Well, things didn't really look good earlier," she went on, "Those two didn't seem to be getting along with…well, anyone really."
"Oh," Penny said, finally understanding, "Well, I can't argue with that, they didn't really make the best first impression."
Emma went back to staring at the ceiling, her worries far from being relieved. It wasn't just Karn either. She was worried about Peter as well especially since it was rather clear that he had a hard time controlling his temper. Emma could only imagine what had become of the two of them already, and what trouble they might have gotten into.
"But I'm sure they'll be okay," Penny said quickly as she caught sight of the look on Emma's face, "I mean, well, at least they're together over there. That's better than nothing right?"
Emma sighed. "Maybe," she said. She wasn't really convinced though. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen to those two. That or something bad had already happened to them.
"Listen, we'll see them tomorrow, and then you'll see that they're both perfectly fine," Penny said trying to reassure her friend, "Just try to forget about it and get some sleep, you'll feel better about it if you do."
"Yeah," she said, "You're right."
Emma wanted nothing more than to take Penny's advice and get some sleep, but she still found it difficult. She remained in place, staring up at the ceiling and letting her thoughts wonder. She knew that Penny was right, that she just needed to forget about all of it and sleep, and that she would feel better once she did, but she found it much harder than it actually sounded.
"I promise you'll feel better in the morning," Penny said, "Goodnight." With that, she turned to lie on her side and fell asleep.
Emma, however, was not quick to follow suit. She found herself lying still, unable to sleep. She closed her eyes at regular intervals, attempting to doze off, but would eventually open them again and continue staring upward. She reminded herself over and over again of what Penny had said, she would feel better in the morning, but it never seemed to work.
After some time, she managed to push her worries aside, but even this didn't help her sleep. Now there was something more keeping her awake. A strange feeling that something in the castle wasn't quite right, that something evil was there. She found herself thinking back to when she and Karn had left the train. She had found a book in the compartment just before they left. Karn told her that it was just a diary that someone had given him for his birthday, but Emma thought that there was something more to it. She thought she had felt something in it, like there was some kind of presence, something evil.
That's silly, Emma thought, There can't be anything living in a book. Emma laughed at the idea, which was just what she needed to calm down and push everything out of her mind. She closed her eyes and finally managed to doze off. Then again, she thought just before she fell asleep, I have seen crazier things here already.