I giggled to myself as I flicked through what had happened on the carriage ride. It had been fifteen minutes into it and someone had flown passed the side of the carriage. He was shouting something about 'Trevor'.
I walked up to the big oak front doors, yawning again before I walked inside. Stopping slowly, I looked around, my mouth rigid. It wasn't as impressive as people had explained it to be. It seemed almost dull compared to Durmstrung.
'Excuse me', a rather owlish looking woman called to me. I turned to her and smiled, before making my way over.
'Professor,' I greeted, holding my hand out.
'What is your name, Child?' she muttered, shaking my hand softly before going back to the scroll she hadn't been holding when I had first seen her.
'Axel, Ma'm, Axel Thunder', I answered, rather proud of my odd name.
'Follow the rest of the students in there, Miss Thunder, and you will be called up during the sorting', she smiled, indicating through the large doors that other students were flooding through.
'Oh, okay, thanks'; I smiled, nodding at her politely before making my way slowly into the great hall.
'Have you been to Fred and George's shop yet?' a rather gangly looking red-head exclaimed to his friends. 'Harry, it is bloody awesome'.
'Really, Ron, it won't be any different from when they were selling from the common room', a bushy haired girl snapped, causing the smile to falter slightly on the red head's face.
'Excuse me', I called out to them, not really sure why I had. A few heads turned my way, but when they stopped and looked to me, I smiled. 'Hey, sorry, I'm not really sure what I'm meant to be doing'.
'What house are you in?' the bushy haired girl smiled sweetly, staring at me intently.
'Oh, well, the old bird out by the door told me to come in here and take a seat and I'd be called up to be sorted', I sighed, indicating back out the door.
'Don't let McGonagall hear you call her that, she'd have your head', the one the red head had called Harry laughed. 'Come sit with us until you get sorted, it's all right'.
'Cheers', I smiled, following them further into the hall.
'My names Harry, that there's Ron and this is Hermione', he introduced, pointing to the three of them when they're name was said.
'Nice to meet you', I laughed, sitting at a table next Ron while Hermione and Harry sat on the other side, 'my names Axel, Axel Thunder'.
'Thunder's an awesome name', Ron commented uneasily putting his hands on the table.
'He always does this, he's waiting for the feast', Hermione whispered to me from across the table.
'Oh', I muttered, staring at Ron then at Hermione. They seemed to be the perfect TV movie couple. A dominating female and a rather dim-witted male.
'I wonder what Malfoy want's', Harry growled, staring passed me.
'What, Draco?' I questioned, turning around and smiling a daring smile before waving seductively at him.
'You know the weasel?' Ron chimed in.
'Met him briefly at Diagon Alley when I was shopping for school supplies', I sighed, turning around again to stare at Ron. 'He seemed a complete angel when we were talking, now, however, I'm not so sure'.
'Trust me, Axel, he's the scum of the earth', Hermione spat in, and by the looks on the boys faces surrounding us, she wasn't normally so open about her feelings, let alone hatred, for anybody.
'Where's he going now?' Harry sneered, and just as I turned around to follow his line of gaze I saw Malfoy exit through the large doors.
'Give me a second', I mumbled, closing my eyes. There was a few mumbles in my head as I searched.
'Axel?' I heard Harry shout.
'Sh, Harry, wait', Hermione whispered to him and I began to concentrate again.
'I am suggesting, as HeadBoy, professor that I be the one to show her around the grounds', I heard Malfoy exclaim, and I knew I had found the right conversation.
'Mr. Malfoy, HeadBoy or not, if you are not in her house, it will simply be a strain on your duties', the old bird I had talked to at the front doors snapped back with a strict tone. 'However, if she is placed in Slytherin, than I shall give you full responsibilities with her needs, do you hear me?'
'Yes, professor', I heard him reply; it seemed as if he was happy with this resolution.
'Axel?' Hermione whispered, touching her hand to mine. I jumped slightly, not having fully come out of my state, and I watched her pull her hand back quickly. 'Sorry'.
'No, no, your fine', I heaved, blinking as hard as I could before opening my eyes again.
'What did you hear?' she questioned again and I smiled softly.
'You knew?'
'Of course. I seem to be the only one here that has read Hogwarts: A History from cover to cover', she snapped, not at me, but at anyone who was listening. Harry and Ron rolled there eyes. It seemed to have been a topic of conversation previously. 'So, what did you hear?'
'Yeah, what is Malfoy up too?' Harry questioned, a little too enthusiastic.
'He simply went out there to ask the old bird at the door if he could be an escort for somebody. And since I'm gathering that everybody here knows their way around the grounds, he's talking about me', I sighed softly as the look in both Harry and Ron's eyes darkened.
'What is he up too?' Harry whispered to Ron who just shook his head.
'Students', a voice exclaimed over the rumble in the great hall. 'Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts school for witchcraft and wizardry'.
I drowned out the droning voice of the older gentleman standing up the front of the hall, and focused my attention on the little conversations happening around the hall. One conversation in particular.
'So, she's sitting with pothead and his lackey's?' a boy sitting beside Draco whispered, scratching his head with his index finger, looking more confused than his voice seemed. 'Thought you and her were tight, mate…' he went to say more, but the livid look that Draco gave him stopped him in his tracks.
'We…' Draco snapped, glaring at his friend, 'are not like that. She is simply another groupie, Marcus, just another drooling groupie'.
'Whatever you say, man', Marcus mumbled, turning his attention back to the gentleman at the front of the hall. 'Man, Dumbledore's speeches get worse every year'.
It was then that Draco looked over to me, and it seemed to me, the quickest I have ever moved. I turned in my seat so that my body was facing Harry and looked up to the front of the hall.
'Welcome to our first years', Dumbledore seemed to whisper, but everybody seemed to hear it, 'also welcome to an exchange student from Durmstrung, a Miss Axel Thunder, if I am not mistaken' and he smiled sweetly in my general direction, as if he knew I was sitting right here.
'Professor McGonagall, if you please', he whispered, and the old bird that I had seen standing at the entrance, stood up and placed herself next to a stool with an old patchy hat sitting atop it. I had only just finished analysing the hat, when a large line of younger people were brought in to stand in front of it.
'Derek McDouggal', she called out, and a rather twitchy looking boy made his way up to the stool. The hat was removed and he sat down, facing the occupants of the hall, before the hat was dropped onto his head.
For some reason I held my breath, waiting to see what was to happen. I jumped insanely and hiccuped as the hat shouted out a rather odd name. Ravenclaw.
As interesting as the "sorting" – So Hermione had named it – was, I looked around the hall once more with an interest and a purpose in mind. I stared at the crest that was sewn onto the left breast of each student and noticed that each of the four tables lined up within the hall had it's own crest.
The table at the far left of the hall, the one where Draco sat himself, had a green and silver crest. A snake was well embellished against the black of they're robes.
The table next to there's, the table I currently sat at, held a strange orange and yellow crest with a lion's head sitting smugly. I smiled at that. The heart of a lion.
Now, the table next to my own, on the right side held a rather unusual crest. It held a raven, draped in blue and grey. I suggested to myself that that could be the Ravenclaw that the hat had shouted out.
Happy with my observation, I moved onto the table at the far right of the hall. They instantly reminded me of a bumble-bee. They're crest colours were Yellow and black, and I couldn't quite make out the animal sewn on they're robes. It looked like a badger, or a skunk even, but I wasn't sure.
'Now, Miss Thunder, if you please?' Dumbledore stated from the front of the hall, and I shook out of my observation and stared at him like a deer in the headlights. What had he been saying?
'Go up the front', Hermione hissed at me, and I smiled guiltily at her. She knew I hadn't been listening and obviously had taken offence to it.
'Thanks', I whispered, non the less, and stood myself up confidently, even though I felt like I would melt into a tonne of jelly as every face in the hall turned to look at me.
'Come now', Dumbledore called, kindly.
I smiled awkwardly as I made my way as quickly as was humanly possible up to the front of the hall. I sat down on the stool without even having to be asked. I wanted this out of the way as quickly as possible. The hat was placed on my head achingly slow, but once it was there, I wish it was even slower. It began to talk to me.
'Miss Thunder', it sighed. 'I knew we would eventually come to face'.
'Umm…' was all I could manage, as I stared at the inner stitching of a patch.
'I was told by my creator that one day I would face one that would be near on un-sortable, it seems that has come to pass', and I heard it tut to itself as it thought. 'A new house, do you say?'
'I don't want to be different', I whispered, hoping that only the ratty old hat had heard me.
'I am stumped, Miss Thunder, utterly stumped', and I could hear the humph of Professor McGonagall outside.
'Just pick one, I'm looking like an idiot up here', I snapped.
'As you wish', he sighed, and I heard the faint sing song of "eenie, meenie, minie moe".
'Well?' I questioned, hearing the song stop.
'Slytherin!' it called out and I heard an outburst of applause as the hat was lifted off of my head. I knew at that instant that the whole hall probably heard the random rumblings of the hat, and they probably knew I was near un-sortable.
I ambled my way over to the table that was still cheering, and I saw instantly that it was the table with the green and grey crest, the one with the winding snake. I sat myself at the very end of the table, feeling very awkward indeed. The first years looked at me as if I was insane.
'Miss Thunder', Dumbledore stated with a laughing voice, 'if you would please walk down and join your fellow seventh years at the other end of the table, we shall begin the feast'.
'Oh', I mumbled, standing up and making my way down to the other end of the table. Some of the girls sitting there covered their mouths and giggled overtly loud.
The feast wasn't too bad. I pretty much ate by myself, everybody was too caught up in talking to the people they hadn't seen over the holiday's to bother talking to me.
'Now', Dumbledore called out, ceasing the chatter immediately. 'It is time to retreat to your common rooms, to of course, get a good nights sleep before classes tomorrow', and with a small glowing glint in his eye, everybody stood up and followed the head of each house to they're common room. I, of course, tagged along with the first years.
The temperature dropped with each staircase we descended. It seemed as if we were heading down into the basements of the castle, it wasn't until I took in my surroundings that I realised we were actually in the dungeons. A few first years walking ahead of me gawked at each intricate design embezzled into the brackets holding the ever burning torches lining the walls. At least that was what I was gawking it. They seemed so…demonic.
'Endearing Serpent', I heard a voice call out at the front of the "herd". Before I could comprehend why on earth someone was saying that particular phrase, a soft rumbling made itself known, quietening all first years and myself. 'This is your common room', the same voice shouted, 'treat it like you would your own home, or I'm afraid you will be banned'.
Sighing, I followed the group into the slim doorway – which obviously, is what the low rumbling had been – and emerged into a rather spacious room over flowing with couches and arm chairs. There was one single solitary fireplace in the corner, not really warming the room all that well and a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, reverberating the fire's light.
'First year's bedrooms are up that staircase, girls to the left, males to the right', I turned my head slightly, inclining it, waiting to hear where my bedroom would be, hoping to the gods of the world that I was not to be rooming with the first years. The leader of our little group opened his mouth to say something else, but an all too familiar voice interrupted.
'I'll show Miss Thunder her room, Marcus', Draco stated to our "leader", who just cringed – barely noticeable, but it was there – and nodded in reply. I felt my arm being grabbed, and my vision blurred slightly as I was whipped around to face a staircase at the other end of the common room.
'How polite', I snapped at him, finally gaining my balance as he stooped smoothly at the foot of the second staircase.
'I, as Head boy, do not have time to be polite', he sneered, although his eyes told a different story.
'Well, how about next time you decide to play all high and mighty, you make time', I growled, shaking his grip off and taking a small step backwards.
'You will receive a tour of the castle tomorrow', he said pompously, 'As it is Saturday night, we do not have classes in the morning'.
'All right, now how about skedaddling and leading the way to my bed chambers, hmm?' and I made the shooing motion, giving him the kick-in-the-head subtlety.
'Up these stairs to the right', he sniffed once, looking down his nose at me, before stalking off in the direction of the common room door. He was a moody little shit, wasn't he?
'Oh Draco?' I called out, causing him to stop dead in his tracks and the few older people lounging about the common room, to stare at me. He turned perfectly, and inclined his head to indicate he was listening. Everybody was still staring at me and I began to get a slight amount of stage fright.
'Cheers', was all I could manage, with a quick wave, I turned and ascended the stairs.