NOTES: I put the stuff I changed in blue. Something you might need to work on is keeping everything in the same tense. You started out in past tense, so keep it that way.
Chapter 2
All too soon, my alarm clock wakes me up. I roll out my bed and shut the blasted thing off. I dress and freshen up in a state of semi-consciousness. I shuffled down the stairs, nearly falling under the weight of my book bag. I'm almost immediately mobbed by the crew.
That got me up.
As I'm carried in by the flow of robed children down to breakfast, George lifts my bag off my shoulder and pretended to buckle under it's weight.
"Gods, Katie. Why do you feel the need to carry around bits of cement block? If you want to have a bloke beaten up, just get us to do it.†He tossed it back to me and we sat down for breakfast.
I glanced around the table listlessly. Watching the rest of the school chattering and eating made me feel like I was watching all this from the other side of the sunrise-colored roof.
SuddenlyI didn't feel like eating.
I put my head down on the table between my plate and George's. I was almost asleep when George started to tickle my ear with the end of one of my braids. He grinned.
"Kitty, you gotta eat something," he said seriously, lifting my head up. I sat up and eyed my empty, golden plate. George piled on a sausage, scrambled eggs, a half-slice of toast, and a clump of green grapes. Across from me, Fred poured me a mug of tea and practically dumped half the contents of the sugar bowl in, before stirring it with the end of his wand.
Angelina, who is sitting next to him, rolls her eyes and swapped mugs with me. "Trust me. You don't need a dose of Weasley Tea on the first day. " give you a right headache by noon."
A prefect came by and passed out schedules to us. I glanced down at the piece of parchment. Monday's schedule was:
-Charms
-Transfiguration
-Herbology
-Lunch
-History of Magic
-Double Potions
-(And finally) Dinner
George read my schedule and pulled a face. "Ah, that's rotten luck." He gestured with his fork to my Potions class slots. "Snape is the worst in the afternoons."
"But that implies that he's nice in the mornings," says Fred from across the table. "...which he isn't." Lee laughed.
"Right. So Charms is great. Flitwick is so oblivious you could light a firecracker in the back of his classroom," said George as he piled bacon on his plate.
"Now there's an idea," Lee agrees, before shoveling pancakes into his mouth.
"Boys, you said no pranks until two weeks into the year!" Angelina admonishes.
"You sound like our mum," Fred and George answered together.
"She's right, you know," Alicia said on my left, pouring herself some juice, "remember what happened last year?" The boys started laughing.
"Wait. What happened last year?" I asked, turning to Alicia. She took a swallow of her juice before responding.
"Those idiots over there decided it would be a really clever idea to magic the suit of armor by the Potions dungeon to say insulting things to whoever passed it. Unfortunately, Snape was the first one to pass it and the suit said that he should wash his hair. Snape had a conniption and took twenty points off and gave them detention."
"Points?"
"Up there." Angelina nodded towards the Head Table. Behind it stood four immense hourglasses full of different colored gemstones. Above each of them were plaques. All of them right now said five hundred and all the gemstones were in the upper bulb.
"See, no one's lost points yet. Wait until after the first class and our darling friends here" she sent a look to Fred and George," will have lost us a few. The house with the most points at the end of the year wins. You lose points for being bad; you win points for being good. Snape is brutal with the pointsâ€"â€
"But Flitwick passes them out like candy," George interrupts. "Kitty, go to the Common Room at break. We'll be in there...and we have got something to show you."
As if by perfect timing, the bell rang. Everyone in the Great Hall dashed madly to class. Angelina volunteered to walk me to Charms since she had class nearby.
"Angelina, what's going on between you and Fred?" I asked as we climbed the stairs. "You two seemed really at odds on the train."
We weave in and out of the other students. Angelina seems to now where she's going. This is a good thing because I have no clue. "Please, call me 'Angie' or 'Ange'. Everyone does." She remembers me question and sighs, "Fred...Fred and I...well, I like him. Sometimes I wish I didn't because he does stuff that I don't like, or stuff that embarrasses me. But...I still like him. He's sweet, kind and cute."
"But I thought you liked Oliver. You seemed pretty keen on him last night at dinner."
"I think a lot of people like Oliver the way they like celebrities or famous athletes. This sort of untouchable, safe crush. If I had to pick between Oliver and Fred, it'd be Fred in a heartbeat."
"Isn't one twin like the other? Why Fred and not George?"
"I know you've known those two for less than twenty-four hours, but soon you'll begin to realize how different they are. Fred is the people person. He's out there conning people and laying pranks. George is more serious, even though he comes up with most of their crazy ideas. They're both smart and they play off each other well. I just sometimes wish they weren't into pranks so much. They're going to get into trouble..." She trailed off, and we walked the last few feet to my class in a warm silence.
I entered my classroom and shuffled to the back of the room. The professor is tiny. He had to stand on a pile of books to see over his desk.
I glanced around the room. Lynn, from my dorm room, was sitting by the window and pretending to be invisible. I looked at the rest of the class. Altogether, there were maybe fifteen of us. One of the boys was looking at smiled at me. I sat down in a vacant seat next to his.
"Cormac McClaggan," he says by way of introduction. "Gryffindor, obviously. What do you think of it here? My brother told me everything about this place. He's a sixth year."
Cormac appeared to be built like a George gone wrong. Both were stocky and broad-shouldered, but Cormac looked as if he was wearing shoulder pads underneath his robe. His curly, wiry hair grew from his head like sandy moss. I gave him a toothless smile.
"Katie Bell. It's alright, I guess."
The professor called together everyone's attention and began speaking. His voice was squeaky and high-pitched.
"Welcome to Hogwarts! As you have probably figured out, this Charms. I'm Professor Flitwick and this year, we are going to learn the basics of want movement and spell casting. I know you are all eager to being casting spells right away, but first, I must make sure you are all here."
He pulled out his class list and called out names. As usual, I was one of the first people to be called. When he reached my name, I raised my hand and said "Here" in an almost inaudible voice.
After he finished, Professor Flitwick instructed us to get out our books and read the introduction to the first chapter. We did so. While the professor paced the room, a note landed on my desk.It read:
I
don't get this...do you?
-Cormac
I responded:
Yes...sort of.
This is so stupid. Why can't we cast spells?
Because we have to know theory first. But I agree. I wish we could start now.
Ugh...he's giving us homework. Do you want to study with me during break this afternoon?
Sorry. I have to meet some friends. Maybe some other time, ok?
Yeah, sure. Whatever.
He glowered at me, then buried his nose in The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1). I felt bad for him. Obviously, he had some sort of crush on me or maybe he's dumb. But I had to meet George, and Angie, and everyone, didn't I?
I managed to drag myself through the rest of the morning, keen on avoiding Cormac. Transfiguration was amazing, as was Herbology out in the greenhouses. Finally, lunch rolled around. I ate with George, Fred, Ange, Alicia, and Lee. They were continuously reminding me to meet them at break.
I had plenty of time to think about what they were going to show me through and incredibly dull History of Magic lesson. Shortly after arriving in the Potions dungeon, I decided I hated the Potions Master, Snape. That double class was the worst. Fortunately, I kept to myself, did my work, and managed not to bungle the potion completely. Snape considered it "Fair", which I learned to be the closet thing to praise he'd give anybody who was a Gryffindor."
Finally, Potions was over and I walked back to the common room. Unlike this morning, the room was loud and packed with students. I spotted Lee's dreadlocks by a tapestry in a dark corner of the room. I rushed over to them, nearly bowling a fifth year over.
Fred, George, Lee, Angelina, and Alicia were all seated around a table we would later claim as our own. They smiled up at me as I plopped down into the remaining seat.
"Well, have you got to show me then?"
"Leave your stuff here, Katie," Fred said, "We're all going on a little adventure."
"What?" I asked, feeling confused.
The group stood up. Lee and Alicia scanned the Common Room to make sure no one, especially teachers and prefects, were watching us. Angelina leaned against the table, her arms crossed and her expression showed her obvious disapproval.
Fred
lifted up a piece of the tapestry all the way in the corner. He
motioned for me to go behind it. I hesitated for a second too long
and George seized my wrist and dragged me in.
We were standing in
a narrow passageway. The only light came filtered in through the worn
tapestry. I squinted to see George's outline.
"Lumos," he whispered and a light flared up between us from his wand. I did the same. The light made the passageway feel almost...homely.
"Ugh. What's taking them so long?"
"Fred probably had to convince Ange to come," I explained.
"So...did you meet anyone?" George asks.
"Funny you should ask. I met this guy...Cormac McClaggan in Charms first period." George stiffened.
"What did he want with you?" I shrugged.
"He wanted to study with me, but I told him I had to meet you lot."
"Good. You should steer clear of that guy. His brother…I've heard hear about his brother. He dated three girls at one time last year. He's a complete player and a real jerk. Doubtless he's taught young Cormac some tricks.
I was slightly shocked and offended. "Since when do I require boy advice?! Who do you think you are?! My brother or something?!" Before I could go on, George interrupted me.
"Kitty, all I'm saying is that I want to protect you from creeps like him. I'm only looking out for you."
"Stop calling me 'Kitty'! I'm not your little sister and I'm certainly not your bloody pet!!"
As if on cue, Lee, Alicia, Fred, and a very unwilling Angelina came through the tapestry.
"Right. So this passageway might come in handy later," notes Fred, as he and the others lit their own wands. We form a line: George, then me, Fred, Angelina, Alicia, and then finally Lee. We all held our wands aloft as George led us down the passageway and made a sharp turn after going down five or six steps. We then reached an open area. There were a dozen doors scattered around the open hall.
"Now, let's see…" Lee mumbles breaking off from the group. He counted the doors and muttered to himself. After a moment, he pointed to a door seemingly at random. "That's the one. Our marker went out over the summer."
Fred strode across the room and marked a big circle of red stars from his wand. He then opened the door and we all shuffled in. I looked around. We were in a huge tunnel. It could've easily fit two double-decker buses next to each other.
"Hey, Fred?" asked George.
"Hey, what?" answered Fred.
"RACE YA!" George takes off down the tunnel. Fred and Lee rushes after him. Soon, the echoes of their feet pounding the floor faded away. Alicia, Angie, and I exchanged sidelong glances.
"So?" Alicia probed
"So, what?" I replied.
"Who'd you meet" Ange questioned.
"What are you two on about?"
"You looked hot and bothered a few minutes ago." Alicia prompted, 'Who's the lucky guy?"
"Cormac McClaggen"
"Ooh. Is he cute?" Angelina asked.
"Not really. George said that his older brother is a creep," I answered.
"Oh, then he must be Connor McClaggen's little brother." Alicia shuddered. "He is a creep. He's a sixth year and therefore thinks that he's god's gift to the women of this school. He'll ask anything out as long as it's a girl."
"And sometimes not even then." Angie added with a laugh.
As we made our way down the tunnel, the walls got narrower and narrower. Finally, we have to fall into single file until we reached a wall. Fred, George, and Lee were waiting there. Lee was still panting a little from their run.
In the middle of the wall was a large brass handle. I tried unsuccessfully to open it. I turned and looked at the rest of the group.
"Ok guys, what's the password?" I asked.
"There isnt one," Angelina responded.
"Ok..."
"It requires a sacrifice to prove that you can be trusted to know the secrets of the school. That you can promise to never reveal them to any teacher, prefect, Head person, staff member, or school governor," George explains seriously.
"You must also promise to never use these tunnels, shortcuts, passwords, et cetera for malicious reasons," continued Fred. "We use them only for mischief-making, but never to seriously hurt someone."
"You may tell other students about some of the secrets of Hogwarts only when it is necessary for them to know. Only the six of us present here will know everything," Lee goes on.
"This sacrifice is a binding magical contract," Alicia explains further. "Should you break the terms of the contract, death awaits you. We all signed last year. The person who revealed the secret to us has graduated, but they told us that there must always be six guardians of the secret of Hogwarts. You were chosen."
"This
will be your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. Are
you willing to accept the education that the castle, not its
teachers, will give you?" Lee asked.
I glanced around at
them. Was this some kind of joke?
I nodded, slightly uneasy at their seriousness. Fred and George stepped forward, the former producing a small, gold goblet the size of a shot glass. George pulled out a dagger-sized letter-opener that looked exceptionally sharp.
"We need to make only one cut on your palm that you need to open the doors with," George murmured. I bit my lip, nodding again. I extended my right hand out to him. He took my fingers in his left and held the dagger a few inches above my palm. Fred held the goblet below my hand.
"Ready? It'll hurt more than a regular cut. Magical contracts always do."
"Ok," I whispered. I closed my eyes then opened them right before George lowered the knife.
As it made contact with my skin, I felt a sharp, shooting pain course through my body. Veins of magic, the color of the four houses of Hogwarts, twisted around my right wrist, arching to my left wrist, my neck, and both my ankles. George slid the knife along my palm and a few drops of my blood fell into Fred's cup.
I screamed when George lifted the knife from my skin, the magic rushing out of me as quickly and as painfully as it had entered. Fred caught a few, final drops before I collapsed to the cold stone floor, my head spinning.
George handed the knife to Alicia and knelt next to me, pulling cotton bandages out of his pocket. He wrapped up my hand as I start to cry. He helped me to my feet and he and Fred supported me since my knees were shaking so bad I could hardly stand. The croup converged around me in a group hug, and my tears begin to dry up.
Fred broke away and carefully poured the blood across the threshold that I noticed was stained brown no doubt from former mischief-makers. The blood glowed red and the locks on the door clicked open loudly.
'Wow." I breath, stunned.
Instinctively, I reached between the twins and opened the handle. The stones folded in on themselves and we were greeted with the setting sun lighting up the courtyard outside the archway where we stood. And there loomed the Quidditch Pitch.
'It's...beautiful." I gasped staring at it.
Angie chuckled. "Look at her. A born Quidditch player."
We all walked through the entrance arch onto the field. After standing there for a few minutes, Alicia checked her watch.
"Oy, you lot. We better get back to the castle. Dinner's due to start in a fifteen minutes."
We all walked back, the usual way and managed to get into the Great Hall before the rush. Dinner was filled with laughter and talk of classes.
"So how was old Snapey for you, Kitty?" George asked, popping an olive in his mouth. I shot him a glare at the nickname. He shrugged as if to say, "You're stuck with it now."
"Dreadful," I answered. 'He made poor Timothy Stuart from Hufflepuff cry after his potion spilled. He seemed to like my work well enough, though."
"Ahh, but once he knows you associate with these ne'er-do-wells we know and love as Fred and George, he'll dislike you quick enough," said Angie wisely.
After dinner, we all headed back to the Common Room. I completed my Charms homework and soon, we were all chatting around our table. All too soon, a prefect sent us off to bed. I collapsed on my bed after a quick detour to the crowded bathroom.
Hogwarts was great.
And George remained to be...interesting.
Beta Notes: Holy crap. That was brilliant. A few grammatical kinks, but bloody brilliant this chapter will remain. But geez. Eight pages, Katie. Eight friggin' pages.
Author Notes: Hey guys. Ok, so I lost my internet for a week awhile back so I was ale to hide myself in my room with a vat of tea, my laptop, and my emo cat and write. I'm up to chapter 5. However they will remain unpublished until I get some reviews. But I'm weak so I'll probably get like 2 and be all happy and shoot the next chapter off to my lovely beta. Speaking of my beta, she did an AMAZING job. So, review, review review! Constructive criticism would be nice, but flames will be used to toast marshmallows.
