Chapter 2: Dreams Really Do Come True
A few weeks turned to months after their encounter, and eventually, the big day has arrived. The start of Term in Hogwarts.
"Annaliese! Let's go honey!" Layla cried out from downstairs.
"Coming mom." Annaliese called back as she tossed in a few more things and closed her trunk. One of their house elves, Sid, carried Annaliese' trunk down the flight of stairs, the blonde following from behind.
"Thank you Sid." Annaliese said while smiling and faced her mother and father.
"Ready." She said while radiating self-confidence. The day finally came, and she's absolutely giddy with excitement. New school, new friends, new teachers, and new adventures. The possibilities are endless!
"Alright, calm yourself Annaliese." Annaliese' father, Stephen said, all the while smiling down at his daughter.
The Diamond family apparated to King's Cross train station where many people, muggles and wizards bustled from every direction.
Annaliese got a cart, put her trunk on it and pushed it towards where her parents stood. They walked to the many platforms until they arrived between platform 9 and 10.
"Go ahead honey, we'll be right behind you." Annaliese' mother said with a convincing smile.
The blonde nodded and gave a determined look and pushed her cart with high speed towards the barrier.
She blinked and moved a bit, giving her parents some space for them to step on. Annaliese looked around, fascinated by the many wizards saying their goodbyes to their children, some parents crying, while others proudly stood, grinning.
"Annie!" Annaliese turned around to see Marceline, standing near a pillar, a warm smile spread across her face.
"Now go along, and have fun Annaliese." Her father said while hugging her. "And remember to show what a Diamond is made out of."
Annaliese grinned and also hugged her mother, then pushed her cart to where Marceline stood.
"C'mon! We can take the very last compartment." Annaliese said while her best friend complied, grabbing both of their trunks and they entered the Hogwarts Express.
Many wizards, looking like first years until wizards in their final year, chatted and laughed in each compartment. The pair walked to the last compartment, happy to see it empty. Annaliese slid open the door and Marceline put their trunks above them.
"So what house will you think you'll be in Annie?" Marceline asked as they both sat down on the same side of the compartment.
"Either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. They're both pretty great and all." The younger one of the two replied with eagerness. "How about you Marcie?"
"Me? Well, I guess either Slytherin or, yeah, maybe Ravenclaw. I don't know. I'm fine with any of the two." The girl with thick rimmed glasses replied as she leaned back on the seat, crossing her arms, looking like about to take a nap. "Tell me when we're there."
"Alright Marcie." Annaliese giggled. She knew her best friend always sleeps late, and tends to sleep on any vehicle. Cab, train, plane, you name it, she sleeps there.
Minutes passed until the train finally left King's Cross station, and they rode through the beautiful countryside.
A knock on the sliding door was heard and a head popped up.
Annaliese blinked in confusion and automatically asked. "Yes?"
"Um… excuse us. We were wondering if we could join you here, since the rest of the compartments are either full or chaotic." The guy said. He has black hair, a little spiky, blue eyes a little slanted upwards just like Marceline's, and a fair skin tone.
"Hold on just a sec." Annaliese said while turning to her sleeping best friend.
"Marcie" she shook her shoulder slightly. "Maaarrrcciiieee." She said, shaking her more.
"Annie…? We're here already…?" Marceline asked drowsily while getting a hold of her head and breathing in a deep sigh.
"No Marcie. These guys just want to know if they can stay with us in the compartment." Annaliese said while mentioning to the 2 wizards standing by the door with their trunks.
"Sure, no prob." Marceline approved, and noticed one of the guys who entered the compartment was the guy he saw in Flourish and Blotts. She also noticed both of the newly entered wizards look very much alike, except for their eyes.
"Hey, you're that girl from the store trying to get a book!" the said guy stated while dropping his trunk on the other guy's foot. Annaliese turned to Marceline which clearly had a 'tell-me-all-the-details-later' look on her face.
"You idiot! Get this damn thing off!" the other hissed as the trunk made contact with his foot.
"Here, let me help." Marceline offered as she took the trunk and slumped it above them, the other guy doing the same for his trunk. "Thank you." The blue eyed guy said while smiling pleasantly, then glaring at his red eyed companion "At least someone's helpful."
"I believe we haven't introduced ourselves." Annaliese piped in. "And since you guys just came in, you start."
"I'm Niel Lee, and this is my brother, Trace. We're just starting our first year at Hogwarts." The blue eyed guy said as he sat down, pointing at his brother who sat down lazily like he owned the place.
"Nice to meet you! I'm Annaliese Diamond, and this is my best friend, Marceline Morris. We're starting off our first year in Hogwarts too." The young blond said while smiling a bright smile.
"I guess we'll be seeing each other more often then." Niel said while giving a polite smile.
"I guess we will…" Marceline said, glancing out the window. And the story goes on…
"So what house would you guys want to be in?" the curious blonde asked the Lee siblings.
"House? What do you mean house?" Trace replied while giving a really confused look.
"Oh, so you guys don't know." Annaliese said, smiling politely. "Well, let me explain. In Hogwarts, the school is divided into 4 houses, and each house has the last name of the 4 founders, Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Each student is sorted by the Sorting Hat in one of the houses based on their qualities. Although you can make a request if you want to be in another house, for the Sorting Hat takes your opinion too. First of all, Gryffindor shows bravery, courageous and daring. For Hufflepuff, they show loyalty, hard work and dedication. In Ravenclaw, everyone posses intelligence, wisdom and creativity. And lastly, Slytherin who were known to be cunning, shrewd, and have a certain disregard for rules. Each house earns house points. They're given to students who answer questions right, do good deeds or win a Quidditch match. Oh, speaking of Quidditch! A team represents each house in Quidditch, which is a famous wizarding sport."
"How do you know about all those stuff?" Niel asked in complete astonishment to the blonde's long explanation.
"My parents are wizards. So are Marcie's." Annaliese grinned.
"That must be so cool, your parents being wizards." Trace said, imagining.
"So does that mean…" Marceline started.
"Yes, we're muggle born, as to what some people called us at the platform." Niel finished while giving a sad smile.
"No worries guys! Blood status doesn't mean anything. Don't listen to them. Just have fun in Hogwarts." Annaliese
encouraged. Then the train came to a complete stop.
"We're finally here~" the youngest girl said while bouncing up from her seat. She opened the door and ran out, leaving the 3 children in the very last compartment.
"Is she always that hyper?" Trace asked while turning to Marceline.
"Pretty much." Marceline said, shrugging it off. She got both her and her best friend's trunk and said "You'll get used to it. Now we need to go, if you want to catch up with Annie."
The Lee siblings followed the black haired girl carrying their own trunks and went out of the train, where they found Annaliese standing while smiling her usual bright smile.
"Alright. You first years leave your trunks over here, and it will be brought to the castle after you. Now, every student should aboard the boats, 10 at a time." A teacher said up front. "Dear, no pushing!"
"Alright! C'mon guys, let's get going!" Annaliese said, already near one of the boats. The three 11 year olds left their trunks and went with Annaliese on the boat.
The boat sailed silently across Black Lake, heading towards the Hogwarts castle.
"Children, please form 2 straight files. We will be entering the school in a short while." The same teacher, who turns out to be a professor named Leila Trince.
Many first years talked to each other, saying that they can't wait to get in the castle already. And their words finally subsided when the giant doors slowly opened and professor Trince led them inside, to the start-of-term feast.
"Bloody hell Niel, look at that." Trace said while looking up above them as they walked, several lighted candles floated.
"That's only the beginning." Annaliese stated.
The current headmistress, Minerva McGonagall gave her speech, and the Sorting Ceremony began.
Most of the students were put in Gryffindor by the sorting hat, the least were in Hufflepuff.
"Diamond, Annaliese." Professor Trince called.
Annaliese smiled and gladly walked toward the stool and the Sorting Hat was neatly placed on top of her head.
"Ah, a Diamond. It's been quite a while since we had a Diamond. Let me see now… Ah, bright, very bright indeed. You could do well in Ravenclaw. But you seem to be radiating a lot of confidence in you dearie. In that case…GRYFFINDOR!"
An applause was made from the Gryffindor table and the young girl almost skipped happily towards her new house.
The Sorting Ceremony continued until it was Niel's turn.
Niel carefully walked towards the stool, and sat down as the Sorting Hat was placed on his head.
"Lee, hmm? Smart indeed, you might be a Ravenclaw, yet there is that side of you with a side that makes you truly a…SLYTHERIN!"
An applause came from the Slytherin table as Niel sat down at the very edge of the table, some students congratulating him.
"Lee, Trace."
Trace walked up to the stool and sat down, the Sorting Hat placed on top of his head.
"Another Lee? You seem to be very courageous, perhaps Gryffindor? But wait… like your brother, there is that side of you that seems very rebellious, perfect for a…SLYTHERIN!"
Another round of applause came from the Slytherin table, Trace sitting down next to his brother.
A few more students were called up, then both Annaliese and Marceline softly smiled when they heard the next name.
"Malfoy, Scorpius."
Believe it or not, Annaliese and Marceline were really good friends with Scorpius. One might think they're siblings. Marceline lives near the Malfoy Manor, and Scorpius comes to visit sometimes, or they both go to Annaliese' house.
The platinum blonde boy walked up towards the stool, a heavy silence hung the air, Scorpius' tapping feet making the only sound in the hall. Some whispers where heard, but Scopius still continued walking, no matter what.
The Sorting Hat was placed on his head and they had a short conversation when the Sorting Hat finally said
"SLYTHERIN!"
A roar of applause came from the Slytherin table and Scorpius sighed of relief and went towards the said table, getting lots of greetings and congratulations.
After about 8 students, her name was called.
"Morris, Marceline."
Marceline trudged towards the hat, feeling her heart rate going faster. She felt really anxious, but wanted to just get over it already. She sat on the stool and the Sorting Hat was finally placed on her head.
"Morris, it's been a while. So you have the potential of a Ravenclaw, yes… However I can sense you don't want to be placed there. Why is that child?"
"Well, I don't want to disappoint my parents, fore they were both Slytherin." Marceline whispered softly.
"Slytherin you say? Well, you have the qualities also of that, so it's settled…SLYTHERIN!"
Marceline let out a sigh of relief and walked towards the Slytherin table, who was applauding, and a seat was saved for her, courtesy of Scorpius, in between him and Trace.
After so many students, a certain name was called.
"Potter, Albus."
All heads turned to him as the young Potter boy sat on the stool, and had a conversation with the Sorting Hat, and then the hat called "GRYFFINDOR!"
A very loud applause came from the Gryffindor table, now with some howling.
After the sorting ceremony, they finally had the feast.
"This is absolute good stuff!" Trace said as he bit off from a chicken leg.
"I agree with you on this one bro." Niel said as he stabbed a potatoe with a fork and ate it.
Marceline chatted with Scorpius about a few things while Annaliese looked happily around. Dreams really do come true.