Can you believe it? Right now I'm writing while listening to Linkin Park. It rocks!

Anyway, I have decided to do the character bios starting in chapter 5. By then there should be enough information for it.

I love writing this story! It's fun!

Okay, enough jibberjabber. On with Chapter 3!

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Disclaimer- Harry Potter and all of it's franchises and places do not belong to me. However, just about all of the characters here do, along with the plot of this story.

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"Well, here is a special one!" the sorting hat said as if it had entirely forgotten the whole ordeal before hand. If it was willing to do that, then so was I. "Mmm... Yes... Your a hard one to place... You seem to be a Ravenclaw, however, I have already placed three students there already... Hmmm... Well... I suppose... Ah yes... I know the perfect spot to put you in... You will go..."

"Ravenclaw!"

Withthat being said, I walked back to the seat next to Roth. All four of us were ecstatic... that is, if you didn't count Alicia. However, she still managed a small smile. And if that was all we could get out of her, then that would be fine. Roth and Aria high fived each other, missed, smiled, and tried again. I just smiled at their antics.

The 'Sorting Cerimony', as the Headmaster had called it, went on without too much of a hitch. One girl started crying once because she couldn't, in her words, 'be with her pals.' Another almost had to be forced to put on the hat, 'because it doesn't go with my make-up.' Honestly! We're 10 years old! Should fashion really be that important at our age?

Close to the end, our favorite spoiled princess made her way up to the hat. Her nose was in the air so high it looked like it might hit the candles floating around. Yes, I said floating candles. It surprised the heck out of me as well. But it did say somewhere in the papers that came with the permission slip that this school, quote; 'was something that you have never experienced before,' unquote. Floating candles and talking hats were probably some of the reasons.

The blond girl sat gracefully on the stool and promptly put the talking hat on. What it said didn't surprise any of us at all.

"Slytherin," it almost sounded disinterested. Almost as though it weren't even a challenge. And I'm sure there was a reason.

She passed our table on her way to the green snakes sitting beside us. And to our great disappointment, she stopped. Like she wanted to chat... and she did.

"Ten generations," she began. "I'm the tenth generation Slytherin in our house. You Americans can't say that, can ya?" She said Americans as if it were some kind of degenerate word.

"Thank God," those simple, yet oh-so-effective words came from an unknown source. It sounded slightly bored, but at the same time, almost angelic. Everyone in the room turned to see who had said that. Their eyes turned to the Ravenclaw table. To a certain long, dark haired girl sitting next to Aria. Alicia Gnuse had uttered her first words to our mortal ears.

I, along with everyone else in the room, was shocked. But no where near as shocked as Barbie-doll Blondiestanding at the end of the table. Her mouthwas agape and her eyes wide with astonishment. She seemed to be struggling to talk... and failing. After a few moments, she gave up and stalked over to her seat next to the skinny kid from the train.

It stayed quiet for a moment afterwords. The words of Alicia still hung in the air with venom. But the Sorting ceremony went on soon enough.

As the last student sat in her place at the Hufflepuff table, Allen, the Headmaster at Hogwarts, stood back onto his podium and began another speech...

"Well! Another fine beginning to a promising new year," someone whispered close by about how he says that every year. "Now, down to business. We will not be having a point system this year because of the prank played last year by Feanius Plumpert. Gryffindor's hourglass is still broken," a few people from Slytherin snickered, and the people from the Gryffindor table glared daggers at them. "Instead, whichever house's team wins the Quidditch cup will receive the House cup as well," cheers were heard. "But!" the cheering stopped. "Because points can't be taken away for bad behaviour, punishments for such will be much more severe," a groan was heard coming from quite a few students in Gryffindor. They must have been planning pranks or something.

My focus was brought back the the Headmaster. "We have a new teacher this year, as well. After the incident with the last Potion's teacher," all the older kids seemed to shift in their seat at this, "we now have someone who KNOWS that wolfbanedoesn't mix with liongrass. Meet Professor Terra," said man stood from his seat next to the teachers behind the podium. He waved slightly, noticed us, and promptly sat down.

Allen seemed to get deathly serious after the clapping died down. "One more thing. This year will be very different from your previous ones. Centaurs in the nearby forests have been strangely aggressive... We don't currently know what has provoked such behavior, but it is very disturbing. I hope that no one will go near the woods, lest he or she will feel a centaurs unbridledwrath..." The silence in the extravagant hall was mortifying. Tension lay thick in the air and no one seemed to want to talk. However, even so, Allen continued. "Now! If all of our business has been concluded..." He raised his hands in a cross like fashion and snapped his fingers.

Food appeared. Not just ordinary food you would find at your average, everyday convenience store. On the table lay large, fat hams that steamed. Bowls of fruits ranging from bananas to tropical star shaped things that I've never seen before. Bread fresh from the oven lay everywhere as all of the smells filled the room. As I looked down the table, more and more cuisine lined down until the very end. And I'd never felt so hungry in my life.

"Feast,"

I, myself, hadn't eaten anything since entering Platform 9 and three quarters. Even so, it was just a little candy bar. And it was almost a whole 24 hours ago. I guess I just never noticed the pangs of hunger because of all the drama happening recently. I hope the ENTIRE school year doesn't go like that.

I glanced at my new found friends as I grabbed some huge turkey legs. Alicia was delicate, even going so far as to put her napkin in her lap. But the nearby blueberry pie seemed to break her, because she went to town on it. As for Roth. He was delicate as well. But he seemed to have had to force himself. I could see the self restraint in his eyes. He wanted to take out the nearby chicken all by himself... and was succeeding.

Aria was probably the one withthe least self restraint. What she could grab, she put in her mouth. She noticed my staring, which I later smacked myself for, and looked away slightly ashamed. I told her there was nothing to be embarrassed about. After all, it was sort of a celebration... wasn't it? She agreed, and went back to the shrimp that she seemed to have noticed calling her name.

I grabbed a few things here and there, but mostly I tried to converse withthe kids sitting next to us. One was an older kid, maybe 13, that had a camera in his hand. It looked top quality, and he took a lot of pictures of us. He called us, 'The Experiment Kids.' I don't know why. But I didn't press the issue much. He seemed slightly insane with the way he was constantly taking pictures of random students. By the way, his name was Harry Justyse.

Another kid, by the name of Jordan Ports, seemed to be in much more control over his sanity. We ended up talking for a while. I asked him questions about the school. He was our age, but he still seemed to have more of an idea than any of us.

"Hogwarts," he began, "is a school for witchcraft and wizardry. Only the finest children of brave and powerful witches and wizards are allowed to come here," he went on to say things about his father 'Practically being the Prime Ministers right hand man.' "Why are you Americans here anyway? And why aren't you surprised by all of this?" he suddenly caught on to the mystery.

"You know," I said as I grabbed for my forth turkey leg. Those were good turkeys, "I have been wondering the same thing since we arrived. I don't know. And as for your second question. I can't answer for the others, but I have seen a wizard perform magic before,"

"Same here," Aria piped in.

"Yeah..." Alicia once again lendedher majestic voice. Roth, for some reason, stayed quiet. I just guessed he, at some point, met a wizard as well.

"What? How the bloody hell do you remember meeting a wizard performing magic. The Ministry of Magic would have erased your memory!" Jordan sounded dumbfounded.

"Some time after the incident, a man wearing a fancy suit came to the door. He asked if he could speak to me alone. After a lot of debate from my parents, they seemed to oblige and... we talked," I said, not really knowing what to call it.

"What do you mean 'you talked?'" Jordan asked suspiciously.

Aria jumped in. "When we were alone in the same room, he asked me a few questions about what I saw," she said in a soft, innocent voice. "After I told him, he muttered some weird words and asked me the same questions. After I told him the same thing again, he spoke those weird words once more,"

"So," Jordan began, "your telling me that they did try to erase your memory?"

"I guess if you'd classify saying a bunch of mumbojumbo 'erasing someones memory,' then yeah. I guess they did try to make us forget," I said witha thoughtful look in my eyes. Alicia seemed to be full, along withAria and Roth. Before Jordan could get in another question, I decided to ask my own. "So... what's this Quidditch Cup thing all about?"

Jordan, although put out, jumped right into the subject. Quidditch, a wizarding sport dating back to the 13th century, is a game similar to basketball. The entire game is located, an a large 'pitch,' or field, in the shape of an oval. It's about 180 feet long and is encompassed by large stands for spectators to watch. The goal hoops are located on either end of the pitch, three per team. Each goal post is at a different height, one being at about 30 feet, another at 40, and the last, in the middle, at about 50 feet.

There are seven players on a team: three Chasers, two Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker. The Chasersprogress up and down the pitch passing the Quaffle, a semi-large red ball, by hand amongst themselves, in an attempt to score goals by throwing it through one of their opponent's three goal hoops. The Beatersare armed withwooden clubs that are similar to, but shorter than, baseball bats. They are tasked with protecting their teammates from the Bludgers, enchanted iron balls that attack players at random, by knocking these balls off course or towards opponents. The Keeper is charged with protecting the three goal hoops. Finally, the Seeker, usually the lightest member of the team and equipped with the fastest broom, is charged with searching the pitch for, chasing down and eventually capturing, the elusive Golden Snitch. The Captain of the team can play any of these positions.

Hogwarts has four teams in which make up the roster. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin all play against each other to try and win the Quidditch Cup. And this year, because of a nasty prank pulled the by the Slytherins, whoever wins the Quidditch Cup also wins the House cup.

"Wow," Aria said in a small gasp, "Is it really that important of a sport?"

"It is the sport of the Wizarding World. Your just lucky you asked me to tell you about it before someone else tries to mess you guys up,"

Allen Scriptaire, the headmaster, stood again at the podium, awaiting patiently for the clutter to die down. I looked around and noticed that a large percentage of the food was gone. It was wierd. Had we really been talking that long?

All the students looked expectantly at the wizard, awaiting for something to happen. "I see everyone has eaten well. Most of you are probably extremely tired from your long adventure here. Especially you, First years," he looked almost pointedly at us, it seemed. And I had to admit, I was strangely sleepy. Maybe they put some kind of 'potion' in the food. "Now, unless there is still something to be done..." he waited a moment for someone to speak up, as if he knew some one would say something. After a long silence, he seemed slightly downcast. "Alright students, tomorrow will be your first big day. I hope you all have a pleasant dreams," he turned and exited through the door close to the teacher's table.

Professor Aqua stood up and ordered the prefects to take the students to their sleeping quarters. Not knowing what a prefect was, I did the logical thing. I just followed the crowd. The mass of students went down what seemed like corridor after corridor, even passing one or two moving staircases, until Ravenclawended up at its predetermined place. An ugly, pudgy man in a suit of armour sat on his loyal steed/mule, looking at parchment with a quill in his hand.

"Ahem," coughed a tall student, obviously one of the upper class man. After briefly looking up from whatever the pudgy knight was doing, he put forth a riddle in a bit of a scottish accent.

My first is in tea but not in leaf

My second is in teapot and also in teeth

My third is in caddy but not in cosy

My fourth is in cup but not in rosy

My fifth is in herbal and also in health

My sixth is in peppermint and always in wealth

My last is in drink, so what can I be?

I'm there in a classroom, do you listen to me?

"Oh, come on! You call that a riddle? The ending practically gives it away. A teacher," I admit, I wasn't really thinking when I said it. It was just... I don't know. Pathetic. We're in a castle withwitches and warlocks and talking paintings, and that's the best he could come up with?

Needless to say, the knight looked at me, along with all of the other kids in the House, with bewildered and angered looks. "How about this one, young man," he put infasis on the last words. "When is a door not a door?"

"When it's a jar," I said smoothly, making the portrait angrier.

"Alright boy! This is my best riddle. Most teachers don't even get this one right,"

Greater than God,

More evil than the devil.

The poor have it,

The rich need it.
If you eat it, you'll die.

What is it?

Before I even got a chance to respond, Aria stepped up and said, in a timid voice, "Nothing. The answer is nothing,"

Although I was was surprised she stepped up to the occasion, I was very, very proud. "That's right," I said. The portrait, thoroughly beaten, picked up all of the pieces of his shattered pride and opened the door.

The 'Common Room,' as the others called it, was filled with many shades of blue. Dark furniture, light curtains. Hell, even the fire was blue. Some of the others attributed this to some kind of bewitchment spell cast on it. The floor was carpeted and there were tables and chairs scattered about. It had a very... warm atmosphere.

The prefect directed us to our actual beds, telling us all to get a good nights sleep. Our things were, as Professor Aqua, waiting for us when we arrived. Pajamas, clothes, toothbrush and toothpaste... which some witches and wizards here seemed to lack...

After getting ready for bed... I just didn't feel like actually going to sleep. After everything that happened today... it was just too much to take in at once. Roth, along with a the few others sharing the room with us, were all in their beds. They all seemed to be asleep.

I walked down the small spiral staircase into the RavenclawCommon room. Apparently I wasn't the only one withthis idea. Aria, and even Alicia, was sitting down, close to the fire. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Roth must have been too tired to even begin to ponder what he was doing here, all mixed up in this mess.

"How are you guys holding up?" I asked. They both stared at me for a second, trying to get used to the oh-so mature train pajamas I had on. If they were laughing at it, it was on the inside.

"Good," Aria said as she and the ever quiet Alicia looked at the fire. "I'm glad we're all in the same places,"

"So am I. I'd hate to have to go around this place by myself. It gives me the shivers just thinking about it," I visibly shook, but smiled and sat down on the couch nearby. A silence fell over the three of us. Not a single noise was heard except the crackling of the ever-present fire.

"Everything is going to change now, isn't it?" Alicia, the quiet one, spoke up. Although it was small, there was an undeniable trace of sadness in her voice. "After tomarrow, we'll never be able to look at our parents the same way again..." I saw Aria look away, suddenly feeling out of place. I wasn't surprise.

I hesitated for a moment, trying to think of something to take the edge off. "Change is only what you make of it. If you fight it, you'll be stuck in a rut for the rest of your life. If you flow with it... well..." I couldn't find the right words.

"You'll make your life into something much better," I turned around to see who had spoke those words, only to find a drowsy-eyed Rothew Deven walking over to my couch in bare feet. "Right?"

I nodded. "Couldn't have said it better myself," And that was the truth. "Now what are you doing walking around on stone floors with bare feet? You'll catch a cold!" All three of them laughed at me, saying things like 'yes mom' and 'right away mam'. Although I never liked to be made fun of, I figured I could make an exception just this once.

We sat and chatted for about an hour more, going into deeper depth of what we did over the summer, what school was like, our favorite foods. Eventually, with heavy eyelids, goodnights were exchanged and heads were laid to rest on soft, feathery pillows. The last thing I thought before I lost consciousness was what a great summer this would turn out to be.

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I'm not going to lie. This chapter took me months to write. And I'm still not completely satisfied with it. But, with a heavy heart, I have bestowed upon you the third chapter. Hope everyone enjoys!

Please review!