Against All Odds

By Allison Stolz

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and any of the characters. If I did, I would be an extremely rich British woman named J.K. Rowling and this story would actually be in a published book. Seeing as I'm not Jo, please don't sue me. The only thing that I take credit for is the plot line, the sarcasm, and the personalities that I've put into some of the characters.

Allie

Ch. 3

                        Sally-Anne settled herself down at the Hufflepuff table in between Susan and Hannah.

                        The atmosphere in the air was quite cheerful with students talking about their summers and waving to their friends.

                        Sally-Anne noticed that some of the people around her started to whisper hurriedly. She glanced around to see what all the fuss was about, and noticed that Harry Potter and his friends were walking into the great hall.

                        "Oh won't they leave him alone?" Susan sighed irritably.

                        "Susan, you never told me what happened at the hearing," Sally-Anne suddenly remembered.

                        "Well obviously he didn't get expelled otherwise he wouldn't be here now would he?" Susan shook her head and sighed.

                        Sally-Anne frowned at her "that's not what I meant!"

                        "Sorry to interrupt, but look at our new defence teacher," Hannah nudged Sally-Anne in the shoulder and pointed towards the head table. Susan let out an audible gasp and her eyes opened wide in shock.

                        "What's the matter?" Sally-Anne questioned her.

                        "That's Dolores Umbridge!" Susan muttered quickly "she was one of the council members at Harry's hearing!"

                        Sally-Anne and Hannah tried to get a better look at Professor Umbridge. They weren't the only ones, Justin and Ernie seemed pretty interested as well.

                        "What is she wearing?" Hannah giggled inaudibly "look at that pink cardigan!"

                        The three girls started laughing but were interrupted when the doors to the great hall opened and professor McGonagall entered leading a long line of nervous looking first years.

                        "Oh look at them!" Susan whispered, "They look so scared."

                        Sally-Anne watched as they marched past and towards the front of the hall. She couldn't help but feel a little sympathetic towards them after remembering her own sorting. She closed her eyes and the events of her sorting came back to her in vivid detail.

                        Sally-Anne twisted her hair nervously as Professor McGonagall read out the names of two twin girls.

                        "Patil, Padma."

                        Sally-Anne could feel her stomach dropping from the nerves. She couldn't remember feeling this scared in all of her life.

            The hat shouted out "Ravenclaw" before Professor McGonagall read out "Patil, Parvati."

                        Surely she was going to be next. She gulped and clenched her eyes shut tightly as Professor McGonagall called out "Perks, Sally-Anne" just as Parvati had been sorted into Gryffindor.

                        Her eyes snapped open and focused on the Professor. She walked slowly, so as not to trip over her feet, and sat down on the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on her head, which fell past her eyes, leaving her in the darkness.

                        "Ah, Interesting!"

                        Sally-Anne jumped as the voice filled her head.

                        "You are rather difficult to place aren't you?"

                        Sally-Anne gripped the edge of the stool tightly as the bodiless voice continued speaking.

                        "Plenty of courage, yet you have many other qualities of loyalty and friendship. You would do well in both Gryffindor and Hufflepuff."

                        Just make up your mind! Sally-Anne thought irritably.

                        "HUFFLEPUFF!"

                        "Sally-Anne?"

                        Susan's voice brought Sally-Anne back to the present. She glanced up to the front and noticed that Professor McGonagall had just placed the hat on the stool and was moving away from it.

                        The brim of the hat opened up and the hat broke into song.

In times of old when I was new

And Hogwarts barely started

The founders of our noble school

Thought never to be parted:

United by a common goal,

They had the selfsame yearning,

To make the world's best magic school

And pass along their learning.

'Together we will build and teach!'

The four good friends decided

And never did they dream that they

Might some day be divided,

For were there such friends anywhere

As Slytherin and Gryffindor?

Unless it was the second pair

Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?

So how could it have gone so wrong?

How could such friendships fail?

Why, I was there and so can tell

The whole sad, story tale.

Said Slytherin, 'We'll teach just those

Whose ancestry is purest.'

Said Ravenclaw, 'We'll teach those whose

Intelligence is surest.'
Said Gryffindor, 'We'll teach all those

With brave deeds to their name,'

Said Hufflepuff, 'I'll teach the lot,

And teach them just the same.'

These differences caused little strife

When first they came to light,

For each of the four founders had

A house in which they might

Take only those they wanted, so,

For instance, Slytherin

Took only pure-blood wizards

Of great cunning, just like him,

And only those of sharpest mind

Were taught by Ravenclaw

While the bravest and the boldest

Went to daring Gryffindor.

Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,

And taught them all she knew,

Thus the houses and their founders

Retained friendships firm and true.

So Hogwarts worked in harmony

For several happy years,

But then discord crept among us

Feeding on our faults and fears.

The houses that, like pillars four,

Had once held up our school,

Now turned upon each other and,

Divided, sought to rule.

And for awhile it seemed the school

Must meet an early end,

What with duelling and with fighting

And the clash of friend on friend

And at last there came a morning

When old Slytherin departed

And though the fighting then died out

He left us quite downhearted.

And never since the founders four

Were whittled down to three

Have the houses been united

As they once were meant to be.

And now the sorting hat is here

And you all know the score:

I sort you into houses

Because that is what I'm for,

But this year I'll go further,

Listen closely to my song:

Though condemned I am to split you

Still I worry that it's wrong,

Though I must fulfill my duty

And must quarter every year

Still I wonder whether sorting

May not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the perils, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our Hogwarts is in danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her

Or we'll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you …

Let the Sorting now begin.

Sally-Anne clapped along with the rest although slightly perplexed.

"That was a little unusual," Ernie said to them from across the table. They all nodded in agreement and the applause slowly died down.

                        Professor McGonagall slowly unravelled a long piece of parchment and began to read off names.

                        Sally-Anne drifted off into her own thoughts while the many nervous looking first years began to get sorted. She snapped out of her reverie the moment she felt somebody watching her.

                        A cold chill ran up her spine and she shivered. She ignored the sorting once again and started to scan the hall. Her eyes finally made contact with a pair of piercing grey ones.

                        Sally-Anne nearly knocked her goblet over in surprise.

                        "What's wrong," Ernie whispered to her curiously just as 'Zeller, Rose' was sorted into Hufflepuff. She shook her head to tell him everything was ok as she clapped along with the rest of her house.

                        Professor Dumbledore stood up and the hall fell silent. Sally-Anne resisted the urge to drift off again and paid close attention to her headmaster.

                        "To our newcomers, welcome!" his arms were outstretched as if ready to embrace the hall in an appreciative hug. "To our old hands – Welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

                        Sally-Anne gave a snort of laughter along with many others in the hall. She glanced down and noticed that the tables had been suddenly stocked with every kind of food imaginable.

                        While her friends began to dig into the feast, Sally-Anne found herself shifting her gaze back over to the Slytherin table. Malfoy was conversing with a girl she presumed to be Pansy Parkinson.

                        Malfoy looked up and caught her gaze. He had his usual annoying smirk in place and his eyes seemed to be silently laughing at her.

                        Sally-Anne flushed with mixed emotions. She was angry with him for staring at her and embarrassed that she was blushing. She couldn't take it anymore; she tore her gaze away from him. Instead of following pursuit, she could sense him still watching her.

                        "You seem rather edgy all of a sudden Sal, what's wrong?" Susan interrupted her thoughts.

                        "First of all, don't call me Sal! Secondly nothing is wrong!" Sally-Anne snapped at her.

                        Susan frowned and slowly moved away from her.

                        Sally-Anne sighed and started stabbing her food with her fork. She imagined that every time her utensil made contact with something, that it was as if she were stabbing Malfoy.

                        The rest of the meal was uneventful. Sally-Anne kept to herself and only spoke when asked a question; even then her answers were short and curt.

                        Finally, once every crumb had been cleaned from the plates, Professor Dumbledore stood up once again.

                        "Well, now that we are digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices."

                        Sally-Anne stifled a yawn. Dumbledore always made the same speech, year after year. She was tired of hearing the same old thing.

                        "First years ought to know that the Forest in the grounds is out-of-bounds to students – and a few of our older students ought to know by now, too. Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me, for what he tells me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second tome, to remind you all that magic is not permitted in corridors between classes, nor are a number of other things, all of which can be checked on the extensive list now fastened to Mr Filch's office door."

                        "We have two changes in the staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grumbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."

                        Sally-Anne joined in with the rest of the hall, in a round of polite applause. She stifled yet another yawn.

                        "Tryouts for the house Quidditch teams will take place on the - "

                        Sally-Anne was confused as to why he had stopped. She was just about to ask Susan what was going on when Hannah jabbed her in the side.

                        "Look!" she hissed.

                        Sally-Anne looked back up to the head table and noticed that Professor Umbridge had stood up although it made no difference, seeing as how short she was.

                        "What is she doing?" Justin asked them from across the table.

                        "Hem, hem," she cleared her throat.

                        Sally-Anne watched in awe as the headmaster sat down and turned his attention to Umbridge. She noticed that her jaw was dropping and quickly shut it.

                        "Thank you, Headmaster," her voice sounded quite shrill and annoying "for those kind words of welcome." She cleared her throat yet again as she gazed around the room. "Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

                        Sally-Anne had to cover her mouth to refrain from laughing. She looked around at the rest of the students and noted that none looked too happy.

                        "Who does she think she is?" Ernie muttered looking very much-appalled "nutty old bat."

                        Sally-Anne turned her attention back to Professor Umbridge who had been speaking the entire time.

                        "The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be of vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction."

                        Sally-Anne rolled her eyes and stopped listening to the squeaky voice of her professor. She glanced around the hall again and noticed that many other people were doing the same. The quiet was suddenly becoming less and less, and chatter was starting to break out amongst the crowd.

                        "I hope your not too fond of her Susan," Hannah said suddenly "I can tell right now that she's a weirdo."

                        Susan shook her head and looked back up to the table "she was against letting Harry back into the school," she whispered to Sally-Anne.

            Sally-Anne looked at her expectantly wanting her to say more about the trial.

                        "I'll tell you more about it later, Sal."

                        "Don't call me Sal!"

                        "…We find practices that ought to be prohibited."

                        Sally-Anne returned her attention to the teachers as she heard Professor Umbridge finish her speech. Professor Dumbledore gave her polite applause as she sat down, and other teachers followed his lead.

                        He stood up once again to finish his speech but Sally-Anne was finished listening.

                        "This is so boring," she whined to her friends who had stopped listening as well.

                        "You can say that again," Justin muttered under his breath as a large amount of chattering broke their conversation. Dumbledore had obviously dismissed the hall as everyone was getting up to leave.

                        "We'll see you guys later," Hannah said to them "Ernie and I have to lead the first years to the common room."

                        Sally-Anne watched as Ernie and Hannah parted through the crowd and calling to the first years to gather together. She turned along with Justin and Susan and the three of them headed for the entrance hall.

                        "Sally-Anne, I've been meaning to ask you, where's your necklace?" Susan whispered into her ear as they left the great hall and turned towards the staircase that was just off of the main hall. "I noticed you didn't have it on, but I forgot to ask you about it."

                        Sally-Anne turned towards her friend and frowned "I don't know! I've looked everywhere for it." She clutched at an imaginary necklace around her neck and sighed heavily.  

                        Susan gave her a sympathetic smile and patted her on the back "You'll find it eventually."

                        Sally-Anne pretended to look thoughtful as they continued down towards the Hufflepuff common room. She knew exactly what had happened to her necklace.

                        Stupid git. How dare he take it from me!