An Introduction to the Weasley Clan
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor am I the brilliant writer who came up with the original story. However, Ember and her story line is all mine. :) Also, the Sorting Song is directly out of book one.
A/N: Hey guys! I'm back. I know it's been forever, but I hope you'll come back and read. I hope to get chapters up fast, but I have AP tests and the ACT coming up soon, so no promises. But I promise I won't go months and months without writing again. I forgot how soothing it is.
I stood in front of the Great Hall entrance, completely alone. Professors Dumbledore and Snape had left me around the corner, entering the Great Hall from what I assumed were a professor's only entrance. The portraits around me whispered. Their blended voices sounded like a bunch of buzzing bees.
"Doesn't she look like Lily Evans?" a fat man asked of the woman in his painting.
"The poor dear! You don't think…" the woman broke off, leaning over to talk to the man in indistinct tones.
More secrets. That was exactly what I needed in a new place like Hogwarts. I felt so exposed in the emptiness around me. Where were all of the other students? I couldn't hear anything through the doors so I knew they weren't there.
I continued to stand awkwardly in the middle of the corridor for a few more minutes, arms crossed, staring around at the portraits and windows around me. Worry crept into my mind. What if the other students didn't like me? How hard would it be to find my niche with the other seventh year students? Would anyone actually want to be my friend?
I heard footsteps coming up the stairs behind me and saw a massive group of students headed my way, all dressed in robes with their house crest on the left breast. I quickly moved out of the way, allowing a group of Slytherins through.
Quickly, I decided to blend in with my surroundings. I watched a group of laughing Gryffindors pass me and pushed into the crowd to follow the flow of students into the Great Hall.
Four long tables were spread out evenly throughout the giant room before me. Candles had been bewitched to float above me. Their flames flicker, casting a gorgeous glow around the room. Glancing father up, I saw the ceiling. It was so much better than the blue drenched ceiling at Beauxbaton. I could see the night sky, littered with stars and so black.
I've stopped paying attention to where I'm going and bump into a tall, red head in front of me. The person is too muscular to be a girl, but has hair tied back in a short pony tail.
"Pardon me," I said, when he turned around. I was struck by the kindness in his icy blue eyes and his strong jaw line.
"It's alright, Miss…?" he struggles for a name in his memory. The Gryffindor robe he wore also sports a prefect's badge.
"Evans, Ember Evans," I answer, smiling at him.
"Ah, you're the one everyone's been talking about," he said, questions in his eyes. "I'm Charlie Weasley. Welcome to Hogwarts."
"Thank you,"
"You're welcome. You're a transfer from Beauxbaton, correct?" he asked, still walking towards the Gryffindor table.
"Yes," I answered, grimily. I still didn't enjoy the idea of transferring as a seventh year.
We'd reached the table by now and Charlie asked me to sit with him and his friends. We sat at the end of the Gryffindor table closest to the Great Hall entrance.
"In a few minutes the sorting ceremony should begin," Charlie explained. "My youngest brother is going to be a first year and we're all pulling for him to be a Gryffindor."
"Speak for yourself, Weasley," a boy who Charlie had introduced to me as Andrew yelled. "The last thing we need is another red-headed trouble maker to take more house points from Gryffindor."
"Another red-head?" I asked, confused.
"Yeah," Charlie said, turning to me. "I'm the second oldest of seven kids. My older brother Bill's been out of Hogwarts for 2 years now. Percy's a fifth year. And those two are third years."
He pointed about halfway down the table. Two tall, red-headed boys sat with a dark-skinned girl, chattering away amusedly. "That's Fred and George. Then there's Ron, who'll be sorted soon and little Ginny, the only girl."
"Do you have any siblings?" a girl named Marigold asked.
I didn't have time to answer before the Great Hall doors swung open. A tall, middle-aged witch, professor McGonagall, led a group of what I assumed to be first years into the room. We watched as they filed in and came to rest at the front, making a semi-circle around a stool and the black hat I'd seen Dumbledore carry down earlier.
"Listen, the hat sings," Charlie whispered in my ear.
Oh you may not think me pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
You might belong in
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!
McGonagall read off a list of names and one by one the first years walked up to the stool. The hat was placed on their heads and a house was chosen. Some tripped over their own feet walking to their house table. Others walked with pride, feeling lucky to be in the house the Sorting Hat had chosen for them.
"Ronald Weasley," McGonagall called out.
An eleven-year-old boy slowly gulped and slowly walked to the stool. He too was red-headed.
"Gryffindor!" the Sorting Hat exclaimed. Ronald quickly joined the first years at end of the Gryffindor table closest to the professor's table. Shouts of congratulations and pride filled the Great Hall.
"Harry Potter." The Great Hall silenced in less than a second. Everyone knew this name. This was the Boy Who Lived. This was the boy with the lightning scar. This was the baby in my dreams.
You could see it in the dark-haired boy's face that he was fighting with the Sorting Hat. Fear and frustration filled his green eyes. Eyes so much like my own. It seemed to take forever for the hat to place the Boy Who Lived in a house.
"Gryffindor!" Potter jumped off of the stool and hurried to join Charlie's little brother. The table buzzed with life as everyone cheered for the newest addition to Gryffindor.
Once the sorting had concluded, Dumbledore gave a speech welcoming everyone to Hogwarts and laying down a few of the school rules. The Dark Forest was off limits and so was the third floor corridor.
Finally the food appeared. There was so much variety; I could hardly choose what I wanted to eat. I noticed that most of the Weasleys were stuffing their faces with everything available and washing it all down with pumpkin juice. Everything I tried was delicious.
By the end of the feast I'd decided that maybe, just maybe, I would like Hogwarts after all. Especially with great food and the nice guy sitting next to me.