This one isn't that good but it's part of my promise. Two updates in one day. I might fit in another one today.
Chapter Four
When the train rolled into the station in Hogsmeade, the town next to Hogwarts, Draco told Crabbe and Goyle to grab my stuff and then he lead me towards a women that he introduced as Professor Grubbly-Plank. She nodded a greeting at me and then proceeded to shout for all first years to come with her.
" I'll be waiting for you at the Slytherin table tonight," Draco said as he smirked at some first year and walked off to where odd black creatures were pulling carriages. Ten minutes later the first years and I walked towards a mass gathering of row boats armed with small lanterns. We boarded the boats, four people to boat, and they magically made their way across the lake. I ignored the kids whispering about me and Hogwarts as I played with the Native American pattern hand made bracelets that I stacked on my wrists. When we stepped off from the boathouse and made our way up the stairs, I noticed how beautiful Hogwarts looked, the pictures I have seen of it didn't do it any justice.
We entered the castle and were meet by a stern looking professor holding a rickety stool and an old hat. She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall and then lectured us about how old and wonderful Hogwarts was before leading us though a large door and down the center aisle of the Great Hall. As I passed the Slytherin table Pansy gave me a smile and a wave. I smiled back and surveyed all of the students in the Great Hall. When Professor McGonagall placed the hat on the stool the seam along the rim opened up and the hat burst into song
In times of 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 someday be divided,
For were there such friends 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 so I can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin, "We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry is purest."
Said Ravencalw, "We'll teach just 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 treat them just the same."
These differences caused little strife
When they first 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 a while it seemed the school
Must meet an early end,
What with dueling 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.
The hat became motionless once more; applause broke out, though it was punctuated by whispers. According to Hogwarts, A History the sorting hat usually sang about its role in sorting students into the correct houses and what each house looks for in a student. I was paying attention to a small conversation some Ravenclaw's were having when I saw Professor McGonagall giving all the student's that were talking a look that would dry up a slug. Once the students quieted down she gave the Great Hall one final look before unrolling a piece of parchment and reading the first name on the list.
"Abercombie, Eaun," She called as a shaking first year made his way to the stool. Surprisingly he managed to get to the stool and sit down, I was pretty sure he would pass out before he managed it. The hat was placed on his head for no more than three seconds before it called out Gryfindor. I started shaking. I heard him talking after we got off the boats that he wanted to be in Hufflepuff with his older brother, what if I didn't get into Ravenclaw? I noticed that the amount of first years began to thin and finally it was soon my turn.
"Night, Evelyn," Professor McGonagall called out. I blanched and slowly made my way forward. I can do this, I can so do this. I sat down on the stool and closed my eyes when the hat touched my head.
Your going to be a tricky one. I see some Hufflepuff, some Gryfindor, some Ravenclaw, and even some Slytherin. Please don't put me in Slytherin or Hufflepuff. Why ever not? Slytherin's make the best connections and being who you are you would fit in with all the powerful there. Hufflepuff's have a habbit of being loyal and that you are. No, Hufflepuff's are like outcasts and I won't have that. Not here, I was an outcast for so much of my life that I couldn't bare to be one again. Slytherin's are too much like Diane and Chase. I don't want to be like them. Hmmmm, you really put me in a rough spot. I'll respect the choice you made to eliminate two but now the choice is mine. You are extremely smart and yet you must be one of the most courageous people I have yet to meet. I think Gryfindor might be the best fit for you.
Before I could even protest the choice of House, the hat shouted out Gryffindor and the table decked out in maroon and gold stood up and cheered. I frowned and quickly made my way to the table and squeezed in front of two red headed twins. The rest of the sorting passed rather quickly. When the last girl was sorted into Hufflepuff Professor McGonagall picked up the hat and stool and made her way to the staff table. Now it was Dumbledore's turn to stand.
"To our newcomers welcome! To our old hands- welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!" Dumbledore said in a ringing voice as he stretched his arms out to encompass the entire hall. I looked down at my plate as food magically appeared on all the serving platters in the middle of the table. I looked up and across to Slytherin, Draco gave me a small smile before turning around to talk to Blaise. I delicately lifted a hand and played with a sliver fork.
"Well congratulations! Your the first hat stall in over a hundred years. It isn't common that someone takes more than five minutes to get sorted. In fact most people get sorted in a manner of seconds," Sir Nicholas, the house ghost, said as he floated down the table. The red head sitting to the right of my stuck his hand out at me and I shook it just like I shook Draco's at the train station. I lifted my arm to shake his and his twin's eyes widened when he saw how baggy the smallest of robes were on me. I also think that he might have seen some of the bruises on my neck. I didn't let Snape heal them because it was my fault that I got them. When I took my hand back, the other twin poured me a glass of pumpkin juice and then gave me a spoonful of mashed potatoes and some chicken.
"I'm Fred and this is George," Fred said as he filled his own plate.
"Where did you come from? Obviously not from England or you would have been in Hogwarts before," George said as he stole Fred's cup of juice.
"O-oh, I-I-I come from Carter, Cape Cod. It's in America, "I responded as I looked down at my plate and shoved my fork into my potatoes.
"We've always wanted to go to America," they both said before shouting jinx. I giggled and then shoved the fork full of potatoes in my mouth when I caught Blaise and Fred looking at me. After that they became engrossed in some kind of conversation about Quidditch, what ever that is. Then they started to talk about jokes with someone they called Lee Jordan. An hour later, when nearly everyone had stopped eating Professor Dumbledore stood up again and the whole hall became quite.
"Well now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention for the usual start-of-term notices. 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 time, 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 staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore's speech was winding towards an end before there was a polite applause. He was about to continue when the short, toad looking women stood up and coughed. Most of the teachers at the table looked shocked.
"I-I guess that doesn't happen very often," I commented as Dumbledore let the women walk forward and clear her throat again.
"You're right about that," George said as he started to play tic toe with Lee in Lee's left over mashed potatoes.
"You might want to eat something," Fred commented as he brought his attention to my plate. I smiled, I've gotten good at this, the lies about food and hidden secrets.
"I had a lot of candy on the train. The people I shared the compartment with wanted to show me some proper English candy," I replied as I turned around and faced the front. That would put an end to that. I didn't dare mention that I was in a compartment with Draco, as it seemed that Slytherin hated Gryffindors. I didn't want to risk Fred and George hating me because of who I sat with. Professor Umbridge gave another hem-hem and shifted her gaze around the Great Hall.
"Thank you, Headmaster," Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome." Some mummering broke out in the Great Hall again but I frowned. I had bad feeling about this and my feelings always turned out to be correct. I closed my eyes and focused on her ugly pink cardigan, her little girl voice, and her toad like appearance. There we go, she was senior sectary to the Minister of Magic. She coughed again and started up her speech.
"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy faces looking back at me! I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all, and I'm sure we'll be very good friends! The Ministry of Magic has always considered the education of young witches and wizards to be vital importance. The rare gifts with which you were born may come to nothing if not nurtured and honed by careful instruction. The ancient skills unique to the Wizarding community must be passed down though the generations lest we lose them forever. The treasure trove of magical knowledge amassed by our ancestors must be guarded, replenished, and polished by those who have been called to the noble profession of teaching." Here she stopped prattling and gave a small bow to the teachers sitting at the staff table, none of them bowed back. Snape looked bored and Professor McGonagall exchanged a look with a witch that had wild hair.
"Every headmaster and headmistress of Hogwarts has brought something new to the weighty task of governing this historic school, and that is as it should be, for without progress there will be stagnation and decay. There again, progress for progress's sake must be discouraged, for our tried and tested traditions often require no tinkering. A balance, then, between old and new, between permanence and change, between tradition and innovation." I looked around the Great Hall. Draco was glancing at me during his conversation with some other boy, a blonde girl with lots of hair at Ravenclaw was reading something upside down, and some Hufflepuffs were braiding their hair.
" . . . because some changes will be for the better, while others will come, in the fullness of time, to be recognized as errors of judgment. Meanwhile, some old habits will be retained, and rightly so, whereas others, outmoded and outworn, must be abandoned. Let us move forward, then, into a new era of openness, effectiveness, and accountability, intent on preserving what ought to be preserved, perfecting what needs to be perfected, and pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited," Professor Umbridge finally finished and looked like she was accepting applause. I gave a few polite claps and then looked at Fred and George.
"I'm guessing you didn't pay attention?" I asked as I took my first sip of pumpkin juice. It was actually pretty good and in my experience anything that tasted good was fattening. I quickly put the cup back on the table and leaned forward.
"Are you also telling me that you don't get what that speech meant? It meant that the Ministry of Magic is interfering with Hogwarts. That women, Dolores Umbridge, is . . . was the senior undersecretary to Fudge. The Minster himself is personally interfering at Hogwarts and not in a good way," I said as Dumbledore stood up to continue his speech. Lee Jordan looked mind boggled and sat there starting at me before he got into a conversation with someone sitting next to him. Fred and George just frowned before jumping over the table and grabbing my arm.
"We'll show you how to get the dorm. If Hermione and Ron take you you'll have to enter with all of the first years. Ron's our little brother and he's also a prefect. He's in your year. We'll introduce you to him and Hermione and then you'll be set for tomorrow," Fred said as he steered me towards the entrance and up some changing stairs.
"Be careful of the stairs they change. And you should eat tomorrow, our mum always said you can't survive on sweets," George added as he nodded at some painting. The fact that each painting with a person was actually able to interact with viewers and move from frame to frame still freaked me out a bit. Eventually we found our way to a picture of a fat women who demanded the password which turned out to be the Latin word for a strange cactus, Mimbulus mimbletonia. When I entered I was awe struck. There was a common room that was covered with maroon and gold. The circular tower room was filled with dilapidated squashy armchairs and rickety old tables and there was a fire going which made the room feel even more cozy. When we walked in Fred pasted a notice on the notice board and then came back over to where I was standing.
"You'll have to wait for Hermione to come and show you where the fifth year girls sleep. " Fred stated.
"Guys can't go into the girl's rooms but girl's can go into the guy's rooms," George finished as a bushy haired girl walked into the room.
"Hey Hermione! Over here!" Fred shouted as I cowered behind him. He noticed and moved me over next to him. Frowning when I flinched, I don't think they noticed my flinch when they grabbed my elbows. When the bushy haired girl started to walk over to us accompanied by a red headed boy I blanched. And tried to move back again. I liked Fred and George, I could tell they were awesome people and they kind of reminded me of Jace and Jaime. However, Fred held me still and I started to panic again.
"Hermione this is Evelyn Night. She's a transfer student and in your year. We figured you could show her around tomorrow," Fred said as he gently pushed me forward. She smiled at me.
"Yeah, we thought you would be the best because she wanted to be in Ravenclaw. So your both bookworms," George added. The other red head finally made his way towards us.
"Oh and this is Ron. We're both Prefects so if anyone gives you any problems just tells us. I'll show you to our dorm," Hermione said as she walked off. I followed her after a wave to Fred, George, and Ron.
"Is . . . .is.. . Ron related to George and Fred?" I asked quietly as we made our way up a narrow staircase. Hermione nodded.
"Yes, Fred and George are obviously older and then there is Ginny whose is a year younger. That's the bathroom," Hermione explained as we made our way past some actual first years. "Your not from England are you?"
"I-I-I'm from America. Carter, Cape Cod, Massachusetts to be exact." I replied as we made our way into an extremely comfortable circular dorm.
"Hey Hermione. Been made prefect?" a girl with curly hair asked. She raised her eyebrows when she saw me.
"Ohhh, you're the new girl! The first hat stall in a hundred years. So your why there is an extra bed here," a Indian girl cooed as she saw me. I shrunk back and smiled sheepishly.
"Y-y-yeah, I'm Evy," I responded as I noticed my trunk placed next to the bed near a window. I walked over and gently started to lay out my clothes, placing my uniform in a wardrobe before sliding out of my robe and hanging it over the top of a chair before unpacking my pajamas and underthings. I glanced around the room and crouched onto my bed, pulling the curtains closed and then sliding into clean underthings before opening them again. I heard someone gasp I bent down and picked up the tap shorts I was wearing to bed. I grimaced. I forgot, I'm still covered in bruises from falling down the stairs and certain lessons that have yet to fade. I quickly shimmed into my tap shorts and pulled on some over the knee velvet socks to cover most of the marks on my legs. I then quickly pulled on an over sized crop top.
"Where can we put dirty laundry?" I asked Hermione as she gasped like a fish out of water at me. She pointed to a small basket in the corner before turning around and walking out of the room. The next girl that seemed to come to her senses was the Indian who stood and shook my hand.
"I'm Padema Patil and this is Lavender Brown. Do you know what will be your choice class? Me and Lavender have Divination," Padema said in an attempt to cover the awkward silence. I frowned.
"I-I-I have no idea. I'm hoping for Muggle Studies just so I can get an easy class," I responded as I made my way to my bed. Lavender frowned.
"I hope your in divination. It's the best," Lavender stated before leaving the room after mentioning about checking the common room. I looked at Padema before crawling into my bed and waving my wand to draw my curtains closed.
Change in POV
I couldn't stomach seeing Evy's body so I left after pointing her to the laundry bin. When I got back to common room I saw Ginny, Fred, Ron, and Harry. When Ginny saw me she stood and up waved before noticing that I was practically in tears. I sat down in front of them and actually started crying. Harry and Ron were puzzled.
"You should have seen her," I said as I managed to dry the small amount of tears that I shed. Ginny looked at me.
"Who?" she asked as she glanced at Ron who just shrugged.
"Evy, she got changed in front of us and her body," I almost retched at the memory of it. "She was so thin her spine and ribs stuck out. And she was covered in bruises everywhere. Her left lower rib was ever swollen. It was sticking out. To think that someone could do that to someone else." Fred's jaw tightened and everyone else just looked pale.
"Whose Evy? Is that the transfer girl from America?" Ginny asked as she patted my shoulder. "Chipper up though. She's at Hogwarts now so nothing can happen to her here."
"I should have guessed something was up. Me and George saw a bruise on her neck today during dinner, she refused to eat anything, and she flinched whenever we touch her. I just thought she was shy. We'll look at for her right, she's so sweet," Fred said as he stood up rubbed his hand over his hand. I nodded in agreement.
"Isn't that the girl that your mum told us to watch out for? She said she had a rough life before," Harry said as he glanced behind me. I nodded.
"Well, we'll have to do that then. Take care of her," Ron said as he stifled a yawn.
