Chapter 2
Eddie's POV
"Mate, I bet she would like you even more if you closed your mouth. I swear I saw a fly go in there a couple minutes ago."
"Huh?" Wow, this girl left him speechless. Kudos to her. I wonder...
"Hey Cedric, with you being a quidditch fan and all. Who do you think is going to win the first match of the season, Slytherclaw or Gryffinpuff?" He must really fancy her if he can't answer this question.
"Huh? Uh...the second one," he said with a dismissive wave of his hand, as he turned around and located the person that was burning a whole in his mind.
"You're right, mate. That was a stupid question." More like a really stupid answer. I shook my head as I also turned around to see this year's most anticipated sorting.
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Anastasia's POV
As I sat on the stool, I only got a glimpse of the school's denizens before the ratty hat was dropped on my head.
"Hmmm...what do we have here? A royal?" I heard someone say inside my head.
Yes, I'm...
"Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanov, Grand Duchess of Russia. The question is, what are you doing so far from home?"
As I thought of this, only one thing came to mind:
I don't know.
"Hmmm, yes, well. What house should I put you in? How about Slytherin? You're a pure blood witch but I can see where you wouldn't fit there, you're not 'resourceful' enough for them. That's a compliment."
Thank you?
"How about Ravenclaw? You're witty and intelligent but I can see where you would get bored of your housemates, so no to Ravenclaw, so lets keep going, shall we?"
I guess.
"Well, now it's only between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. I can see you fitting in both houses very well, but which one would be better?"
Well, I think that...
"GRYFFINDOR!"
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Cedric's POV
I watched the hatstall for what felt like hours but was probably a couple of minutes. I could feel the disappointment on my face the moment the Sorting Hat announced that she was to be placed in Gryffindor. Never have I ever wanted to be placed in Gryffindor as much as that moment.
Anastasia. What a pretty name...
I was hauled from my inner musings when I felt something furry underneath my hand. With a confused filled visage, I looked down to see that a little furry ball with wings had strayed from his owner.
"Hey, what are you doing here, buddy?" The only response I received was a squeak and a lick to my hand. "Want to seat next to me?" Another squeak. "I'll take your squeak as a yes. If it wasn't a yes, squeak now, or forever hold your peace," a reticent lion cub looked up at me. "Good." As I pulled him onto the bench, I saw that Anastasia was sitting between the Weasley twins...laughing?
I bet I could make her laugh even more than those two ever could.
"Uh...Cedric? I think your new pet is trying to get to get dinner," I heard Eddie say.
"What?" I snapped my head to face Eddie. He only pointed to the cub trying to get to the food that had sneaked its way on the table. "When did the food appear?" I couldn't have zoned out for that long. Could I?
"The food appeared a couple minutes ago," Eddie responded as he put more potatoes on his plate.
"Oh okay, that's not too bad," I said as I reached for what the lion wanted. "Eat up, buddy."
"Yeah, like ten minutes ago, after Dumbledore was done with his beginning of the year speech." Eddie said with a chuckle.
The thought that this was going to be a long year was the only thing that crossed my mind as I let my head fall on the table.
I'm screwed.
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Anastasia's POV
The school so far was great! I met two red headed twins, Fred and George Weasley, that kept asking me how come I didn't get into trouble from breaking the window in the Great Hall.
"Well, I...I've known Professor Dumbledore since I was little. He used to be my older sisters's tutor. I guess you could say he's a family friend."
"Professor Dumbledore? A tutor?" Fred started.
And George picked up right after him, "He became headmaster in 1955, how is that even possible, Fred?"
"I don't know, George." Fred responded.
"Anastasia?" Both twins said at the same time as they turned to stare at me.
"My family knew him a little bit before that." I said with a bowed head and a, hopefully, inaudible tremble in my voice.
"Interesting..." George commented and Fred continued.
"Yes, George, very interesting. Do you like quidditch?" I was so grateful for the change of subject in our conversation that I could have cried and laughed at the same time.
As I finished laughing I gave them my response, "Yes, I haven't played in a while so I may be a little rusty but I do love it."
While I laughed all throughout dinner with Fred, George and their friend Lee Jordan, I was aware of the preeminent meeting Professor Dumbledore would probably want to have after dinner was over.
As I was thinking this the same woman that had accused me of being late at the sorting, what had Professor Dumbledore called her? It was something starting with an M...huh? Well she told the first years to follow the prefects to their designated common rooms. I knew the conversation would happen but I would stall as much as I could because I did not feel like sharing my story right now.
As Fred and George stood up I mouthed to them "Hide me!" I guess the boys saw the desperation in my eyes because as soon as we stood up both boys shielded me but as we neared the entrance to the hall Professor Dumbledore's omniscient voice said "Oh! And Miss Romanov please stay behind."
I stopped and cringed at the thought of staying behind. Both Weasleys gave me looks that I interpreted as "Good luck" and "We want details." I nodded at both of them as I pulled a necklace from my shirt that had a whistle at the end.
As I blew on the whistle I could hear Alexandr's squeaks and rustling of his feathers. I looked to see where he had gone off to and my eyes connected with the same grey one from earlier. While I gave him a smile I couldn't stop my mind from thinking - I don't even know his name.
With one last smile directed at Grey Eyes, a nickname I will call him until I found out his real name, I turned around to see Professor Dumbledore with the lady from earlier.
This was going to be a long night.
