Chapter Three

DC: I don't own Harry Potter, but I do own the other non-cannon characters

"Gryffindor!"

Another scared little eleven year old walked shakily to the table. Other Gryffindors roared in delight as they gained more students. Ted clapped the boy on the back, who gave him a shaky smile in return. So far Gryffindor had got the most people. This made only the Slytherins angry, though no one really cared about them.

"Slytherin!"

There was yells and shouts that came from the other side of the room. A young girl with dark curly hair took a seat with her older sister, Arielle Swanson. She looked a little bemused, but happy. Ted shook his head. She didn't seem as mean and thoughtless like her sister.

There were some more to Ravenclaw and even more the Hufflepuff before there was another Gryffindor. Maddie awkwardly gave Vince a little pound on his back. He gave her a smile back. "The only moment you two can get along," Ted commented with a grin.

"Well, now I can keep a good eye on him." Madelyn turned to Phil, who was a few seats down. "I see no Weasley's this year."

"Yeah…there won't be until…I think my cousin James comes."

"Harry's boy is next?" Ted asked in wonder. "That's not for another three years! There must have been a long break before any Weasley's thought of any children."

The line to be sorted got shorter and shorter. At last the final student, who became a Slytherin, sat down, and another person stood up. She wasn't an aged old woman, though her hair was graying. Her height was a little shorter than most, but her face showed no hint of fear or patience. The robes she wore were a dark violet with little stars scattered at the hem. They flowed freely as she made her way up to the podium in the front of the hall. She stood a little higher than the students, and raised a hand for silence.

"Quiet, quiet," she said, her voice a little shrill. The chatter of talking died down quickly. "Welcome all new students and returning ones." Her voice pierced the air with the high pitch. "I would like to introduce the some new teachers that have arrived this year. Replacing the retired Professor Sprout, is…well, If you could just stand up Mr. Longbottom."

A man stood up, knocking over his goblet. There was a little murmur of giggles and snickers as he clumsily tried to pick it back up. He scratched his head a little nervously before waving to the crowd. He then turned to the Headmistress, saying, "Thank you Professor Vector."

Neville Longbottom took his seat, careful not to knock anything over. Professor Septima Vector continued on. "We have two more new teachers, one for Defense Against the Dark Arts and the other for Transfiguration. For Transfiguration, taking the place of Professor McGonagall, is Mrs. Pavarti Patil."

One of the two new girl girls stood up and nodded her head in greeting. Her long dark hair bobbed as she did so. Pavarti kept on standing. "And the other is Mrs. Padma Patil for Defense Against the Dark Arts."

The girl next to her stood up. Ted looked between them. The only way you could tell them apart were the robes. Parvarti Patil wore red under her robes and Padma wore blue. Ted shook his head. Why on Earth would they hire identical twin sisters?

The sisters sat down, and Professor Vector waved her hand in silence once more. " Settle down! For those of you who don't know, or tend to forget--" she looked over to a group of innocent looking girls sitting at the Gryffindor table--"the Forbidden Forest is not to stepped into, less you want to be mauled by some sort of dangerous creature. There are a few new things banned this year, so I'm sorry to those of you who like to cause mischief with the new products with the Wizard…Weasley whatever, but if you are caught with them prepare for the consequences. You can see the list of what is banned on Mr. Filch's door."

Vector took a look around the room before ending with, "I hope you all have a nice year, and welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Let the feast commence!"

She clapped her hands and the food bloomed onto the table. Some students who didn't expect it gasped, others just dug in. Ted saw the meat and dove for it. His stomach growled and he feared that if anyone reached for it he'd growl at them too. He calmed himself down and gently piled his plate full of food.

Madelyn watched him with such interest. "I'm never going to get in your way of food."

"It'll be wise," he teased.

The Great Hall grew with talking. Vince sat beside Phil and they both talked about owls and other animals that were permitted inside the walls of the school. Ted caught the eye of Victoire. She gave him a smile before breaking the contact by talking to her friend. Ted swallowed hard, then took a big gulp from his goblet. He then continued on.

The next face he saw made him wrinkle his brow. It was a Slytherin who looked of some sort of Asian decent. His hair was short and it spiked in the front; his expression looked mutinous. He seemed to catch Ted's eye and he gave him the most ugliest sneer. Ted scrunched his face up, doing something with his hair to force the boy look away a little frightened. Ted's hair went back to normal as he picked up his bread and a knife with butter.

"'Ello, Madelyn."

Ted looked over to see a Hufflepuff boy. He somehow wedged himself between him and Madelyn and was holding her hand. He kissed it, and Ted almost choked with glee when he saw her face. The said face was mixed with shock and revulsion.

"I hope you know…that was disgusting and foolish."

He laughed showing two sharp canine teeth. "I love doing that to you." Xavier Parker was a tall seventh year, with long black hair that hid his face most of the time. His eyes were a different, one a piercing emerald green, the other a warm chocolate brown. One look at him and you'd think he was in Slytherin, but he was in fact in Hufflepuff. Most people wondered why he was in Hufflepuff, but the Sorting Hat did not make any mistakes.

He and Madelyn talked for a little bit, catching up on their summer break, before he went back to his table. Ted gave Madelyn a smile and a wink. She glowered back at him.

The feast came and went. After the main course a whole load of desserts came. Ted ate his fill, though his best mate overate hers. She hiccupped and gave her plate a nasty face. "Oh, why does Hogwarts' food torture me so?"

"Overate again?"

"How'd you guess?"

"Be careful, not to get fat!"

Madelyn didn't have the energy to get up and smack her brother. Instead she mouthed the words 'I'll get you later.'

Soon it was time for Ted to gather some of the first years. Vector, with another clap of her hand, cleared the tables, and had the Prefects lead the first year students to the dormitories. Ted parted ways with Madelyn, got the new password from the Head of House, which happened to be one of the new teachers, Professor Pavarti Patil, Or was it Padma?, and gathered his first years. He took them off to the side.

"My name is Ted Lupin," he began. The students looked at him silently. He realized he said it a little too forcefully. He cursed the werewolf blood in his veins that changed his mood so suddenly. He gave them a crooked smile, and then tugged on his hair. They all gasped as it grew longer and turned a bright shade of blue. Some of the girls giggled and clapped, while the boys watched on in wonder and awe. "You can call me Teddy, if you like, and I'm one of the two sixth year prefects for Gryffindor. If you have any kind of problem that I need to take up to the Head Boy or Girl, then just tell me." He gave them a wink. "I'll be sure to get a hold of them."

He led them out of the hall and to the steps. "Be careful. Keep a watchful eye, these steps like to switch up on you."

And just to prove his point, the stairs shook. A lot of the students gave a little shriek and held on tightly to the railing as the stairs moved into another landing. "No worries," Ted said, climbing higher. "There is always another way to the Gryffindor Tower."

He led them this way and that, telling them about portraits and the classrooms they passed. Finally they reached the Fat Lady. Ted stood in front, and she said, "Password?"

"TreacleTart."

The portrait swung open and they were let into the Gryffindor room. They stepped into the warm room full of other students talking and laughing. The fire roared in the center of the wall, the cushiony couch and the crimson chairs made the room look welcoming as it circled the roaring fire.

"Before you go, you must remember to not try to get into the opposite genders' dormitories," Ted warned. "You might find yourself laying on the floor with a concussion."

He showed them the way up to the steps and which stair steps to go from there. He let them loose and found himself wandering back down to a chair. He sat down, giving a great sigh.

Someone threw him a Butterbeer. He caught it, instinctively, and looked at who threw it at him. She gave him a great smile. "Nicked it from the kitchens."

"Oh? Becoming a thief now, Josephine?" Ted opened it.

"No, not exactly. There's a House Elf down there who loves this stuff," she explained. "She's trying to get away from it though, so she gave it five bottles to us."

Ted looked at the two other girls who sat with her. They both looked mischievous, but he could tell they didn't mean much harm. They laughed and giggled as they teased some of the nervous first years. "Lookit those little tykes. Can't wait till they're in their fourth years like us."

"Oh they're quaking with envy." They laughed and tipped their bottles together. "Cheers!"

Ted watched as the three girls went up the steps. He laughed and took a big drought. It was then when the portrait door swung open, and Madelyn was pushing Vince into the common room. Everyone stopped talking to watch them. She let him go up the steps, albeit a little forcefully, and gave a glare to everyone in the room. "What are you lookin' at? Git your bloody eyes offa me!"

Ted could tell Madelyn was angry by the way her voice got higher and she stumbled on her words. As she turned to go to the steps, she gave him a look as if to say to meet him later. Ted nodded stiffly. She stomped up the steps. The room started to murmur again, then became its loud intensity.

Ted finished his Butterbeer. He wondered what the next day, the first day of school, would bring to him. Was it going to be happy? Sad? It was all a mystery. He threw the bottle away, his mind wandering to Madelyn and her angry mood.

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"Madelyn? Maddie? Are you here?"

"Shhh! You're being loud! Over…over--bloody! Teddy Remus Lupin git over here!"

Ted growled at the use of his middle name. He crept down the steps and found his way over to where the fire place was. The moon gave just enough light to show where Madelyn's silhouette was. He sat down next to her. "Why the middle name?"

She pulled out her wand, whispering the incantation, "Lumos!" Ted gasped. Tears streaked her face and her eyes were red and puffy. She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. "Stupid tears. They come at the w-wrong time."

Ted grabbed her hand. Things were becoming serious. "Who did this?"

"A git, prat, pillock…take your bloody pick!" Madelyn sniffled. "Sorry for the language."

"Don't worry. Are you okay?"

"Just my spirit is a little lost. It was a Slytherin. A boy, a little younger than us. I caught…Vince…he was…was…I don't know. But he was being bothered by him. I don't even know why he wasn't with you! When I stepped up the boy launched on me." The light glowed red a moment. Ted touched her shoulder, and it slowly turned back to its white glow. "He started insulting my family, my father. I wanted to explode…but I care too much for Vince. I couldn't duel the boy right than and there. I held it in, and shoved Vince past him."

Madelyn sighed, and wiped away the last tear. "He then called me a vampire follower. That's when I cracked."

Ted squeezed her shoulder. "It's not that bad, actually."

"It's a stupid thing to cry about!" she whispered harshly. Her hands shook. "He's stupid! I hate the boy! Why did it make me so angry? I shouldn't have cracked, but something about that stupid rumor bugs the…the…ooh…I get so angry! Xavier isn't a vampire! He's just…different."

There was a noise, like someone was opening a door. She whispered, "Nox," and the room went dark. They moved away from the light and into the shadows, to watch as Professor Patil moved past them and into her own room. Madelyn shook her head. "Too close. Let's go to bed."

"Don't let this bother you up all night." He gave her a hug. She squeezed him.

"Thanks for listening."

"That's what best mates are for."

They parted at the separate steps, following the walls to their own bedrooms.

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Lala Rue here, and I didn't expect myself to wait so long for an update.

Thank you for liking this story, I plan on making more chapters as soon as I get my Senior summer assignments over with. I'm a procrastinator. Sadly.

I'll update soon!

Love, Lala Rue!