A/N: Nothing too new to day. This chapter is really, really long. Enjoy!
Chapter 10:
"Sorry. I was just looking for my friends." The boy who had just opened the door said. "I'll just…….Aren't you the girl from the books store?"
"Um, yea." Kenzie replied. "Mackenzie Pheleps. You are?"
"James Potter. Nice to meet you. Who's your friend?" James nodded at Evan.
"My name's Evan Malfoy."
James scowled. "Malfoy?
"Yes." Evan said, giving the boy a questioning smile. "Is there a problem?"
"No." James spat. "Just as long as you stay out of my way, we'll get along just fine."
"What's that suppose to mean?" Evan said, standing up.
"That means….."
"Ryan, I found him!" A girl appeared at the door of the compartment. "James, what are you doing?" James quickly turned around.
"Nothing Cass. I was just looking for Tyler."
"Doesn't look like that to me. Looks like you're tormenting these two." Cass said, shaking her head. She turned to Kenzie. "Sorry he's bothering you. My name's Cass Lupin, by the way."
"Cassidy Lupin." the tall boy standing behind Cass said. "I'm Ryan, her older brother."
"Cass." she corrected with a frown. "I hate being called Cassidy."
"Kenzie Pheleps." Kenzie said. She felt slightly confused.
"Evan Malfoy" Evan said, sitting down but still glaring at James.
"Nice to meet you both. Come on James, I think you've caused enough trouble. Tyler and everyone else are near the back of the train." Ryan said as he started to leave.
"Fine." James mumbled, shooting Evan one more look before exiting the compartment. "You comin' Cass?"
"Nah. I think I'll stay here with this lot. I'll see you when we get to school"
Ryan nodded at his sister and shut the door. Cass sat down next to Evan. "I'm really sorry about that idiot. What was he bothering you about?"
Kenzie glanced over at Evan, expecting him to answer. When he didn't, she spoke up. "It was over Evan's name."
"Oh." Cass said softly. "The git. Just ignore him."
Evan nodded, but still didn't say anything. Kenzie could tell he was mad. She gave him a look, but didn't say anything. "Is Ryan your only brother?" Kenzie asked, trying to change the topic.
"No." Cass replied. "I've got a baby brother named Josh. What about you? Got any siblings?"
"No.
"I don't have any brothers or sisters either" Evan said. "Just me and Dad at home."
"Just the two of you?" Cass asked curiously.
Evan nodded. "Yeah, Mum left when I was a baby."
"Sorry." Cass said quickly. "I should have said….."
Evan stopped her with a wave of his hand. "No big deal. You didn't know. It doesn't bother me much anyway. I don't remember her or anything."
Cass just nodded. A silence fell over the compartment. Kenzie wasn't sure if it was an awkward silence, but one that was just because they didn't have anything to say at the moment.
"What house do you think you'll be sorted into?" Cass asked suddenly. Kenzie looked up at her with confusion.
"Houses?"
Cass stared at her with disbelief. "You don't know about the houses? Are you a Muggleborn or something?"
"No. I just didn't grow up around here. I'm from Romania, you see. My mom and I moved her over the summer."
"I thought you voice sounded different." Cass laughed. "So you don't know anything about Hogwarts?"
"Nope."
"What about you, Evan?"
"Well, I know a little." He said, pushing his glasses up his nose. "I've read some of Hogwarts, A History."
"Merlin, you don't know a whole lot then."
"I wouldn't say that." Evan replied. Kenzie stifled a laugh. Evan hated it when someone said they were smarter than he was.
"I bet I know more than you." Cass said, smiling.
"Bet you don't." Evan retorted. His face was completely serious, but Kenzie could tell by his eyes that he was just playing now. She decided to speak up before Evan scared away their new friend. "I bet she does too, Evan."
Evan smiled and shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "You're probably right."
Cass punched the air in triumph. "Ha! I thought so. Ryan's told me lots of stuff." She continued on to tell them all about the houses, teachers, and everything else her older brother had told her. Kenzie paid attention but she was sure that she would forget everything by the time she got to school.
"Hiya James." Tyler said, spewing chocolate frog all over the compartment.
James and Ryan had just come in. The very last compartment on the train was filled with boys. Noah Higgens and Adam Weasley were playing a game of chess while Scott Gisiko watched. Scott's little brother, Tyler, was currently stuffing his face with sweets. Ryan took the seat next to Scott. James shoved Tyler's pile of sweets to the floor in order to clear a seat.
"What took you so long?" Scott asked Ryan absentmindedly as he watched Adam's rook pound Noah's bishop to dust.
"James decided to start an argument or something with another first year."
"Anybody we would know?" Noah inquired, taking his eyes off the game for a moment.
"No, I don't think so. Can't remember their names. Evan something."
"Malfoy." James supplied as he unwrapped a chocolate frog.
"Yea, Malfoy. What was his friend's name?"
"Mackenzie…."
"Pheleps?" Adam finished.
"Yes." James said with a confused look on his face. "How'd you know that?"
"Well, little boy," James scowled. "That is for me to know and for you to find out, isn't it?"
"Oh, come on Weasley." Ryan said irritated. Adam always got on his nerves. "Did you meet her before or something?"
"Oh fine, Ryan. I meet her one day a few weeks ago. She was at my dad's shop. She seemed nice. Why were you bothering her and her friend?"
"Cause he's a Malfoy." James said as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.
Tyler rolled his eyes. "So what?"
"So what? Ty, we've all heard the old stories. Don't you remember?"
"Yes, James." Tyler knew there was no use arguing with his friend. When James got a thought in his head, he stuck onto it for a long time. The older boys let the conversation drop and for a long time the boys went along playing chess and managing to eat most of the candy in the compartment. Finally, Noah stood up looking bored.
"Come on, let's go see how bad this Malfoy kid is."
"Noah," Ryan began. "Cass is there with them. Let's just leave them along."
"Even better. We won't do anything serious, just a small prank on them at the most." Noah said before turning to Adam. "Got any good stuff in your trunk?"
"Um," Adam said as he rummaged through his trunk He held up a bag. "I've got a few of these Smokebomb things my dad just thought up."
"They any good?" Scott asked, jumping to his feet.
"Of course they are."
Noah gave a satisfied nod at Adam. "Good." He turned to the younger boys. "You two comin'?"
James nodded his head eagerly, but Tyler was a little apprehensive. He glanced at Ryan, who was still sitting firmly in his seat and then to his best friend and his brother who were standing at the door. Slowly he stood up.
The boys crept down the corridor, James in the lead, trying not to draw to much attention to themselves. Ryan sighed and followed them in case they caused some real damage.
James halted them outside of the compartment. They could hear Cass's voice coming from inside. Noah pulled the door open a crack and waited. No one on the inside seemed to notice. Smirking, he looked at Adam. Adam rolled two black balls into the compartment and motioned that they should run. As they hurried back to their compartment, a gray smoke filled the one where Cass, Evan, and Kenzie where. The boys reached their compartment and shut the door as shouts were heard from the other end of the train.
"That was great, Adam." Noah said once the laugher had died down. "What was that stuff?"
"Nothing special. It just creates a gray cloud of smoke for about 5 minutes. It's perfectly harmless." he added when he caught a glance of Ryan's worried face.
"Relax, Ryan." Scott agreed. "Adam wouldn't do anything to really hurt anyone."
Ryan nodded. "Alright."
Tyler glanced out the window. "Looks like we're nearly there. Shouldn't we get our robes on?"
The others agreed and started shuffling around as they all tried to get into their trunks.
"Was that good enough for you James?" Noah asked as they were finishing up.
James nodded.
"Good. If you got any more problems, you come tell me, got it?"
"Got it, Noah." James replied as the train came to a stop.
"My brother and his friends are going to pay for that." Cass swore as they got off the train.
"How do you know it was them?" Evan asked. "And where are we supposed to go?"
"Cause I just know. They have a little group: Ryan, Scott, Adam, and Noah. I bet James and Tyler have joined their ranks by now too." Cass explained.
A male voice rung out over the station, "First years, this way, first years!"
"I think we're supposed to follow that voice." Kenzie said, answering Evan's second question.
The three of them trudged through the Hogsmeade station until they came to a short, fat man standing by a dock with many boats.
"First years?" He asked them. They nodded. "Go ahead and get into a boat."
Cass, Kenzie, and Evan climbed into the nearest boat. Much to their dismay, James and Tyler joined them a few minutes later.
"That was mean, what you did on the train, James." Cass said as the boats started moving across the water.
James smirked. "Only a bit of fun. And it was Noah's idea, not mine."
"Still, there was no reason for it." Cass argued.
"Of course there was." James glanced over at Evan.
Cass muttered something but said no more. Kenzie put her hand on Evan's arm to stop him from starting something with James. This didn't stop him though. The castle came into view and while everyone was distracted, Evan leaned over and pushed James out of the boat.
"Evan!" Kenzie yelled as James hit the water. He disappeared under for a few moments but soon came back up spluttering and cold. Tyler reached down and pulled his friend back into the boat.
James was too cold to retaliate. He just glared at Evan. Cass chuckled to herself and whispered to Evan that that was brilliant. Kenzie couldn't help but smile at image of James being pushed in.
Finally, the boats hit land and the students were ushered into a large hallway. Excited whispers could be heard all around them as they wondered what was to happen next. Finally, a tall woman wearing dark blue robes joined them. She wasn't too old, probably about her mother's age, Kenzie figured, but she had a sense of authority surrounding her.
"Quiet please." she said. Immediately all the whispering stopped. "My name is Professor Mercovitch." she continued, eyes scanning the many students. "In a few moments, you will…." her eyes were on James, who was still dripping wet. "Mister…"
"P-p-Potter." James stuttered, teeth chattering.
"Mr. Potter, why are you soaking wet?"
James glanced over to where Evan was standing but then turned his full attention back to Professor Mercovitch. "I f-fell in the l-l-lake."
The professor shook her head but pulled out her wand. In seconds, James was dry again.
"As I was saying," Professor Mercovitch continued. "In a few moments, you will enter the Great Hall to be sorted into your houses. Your house will be where you will live at your time at Hogwarts. You will gain points for good deeds and lose points for bad. At the end of the year the house with the most house points will win the House Cup. Now, I think they are ready for you, so if you will for two lines, we can proceed."
The students quickly formed two lines. Evan and Kenzie where near the back. Somehow Tyler and James had ended up in front of them. Cass was behind them. They entered a large room with tall windows and floating candles. The ceiling looked just like the night sky. There were four long tables filled with students and a staff table at the front that overlooked the students.
As the first years entered the Hall, Kenzie could feel the older students staring at them. Suddenly the line stopped and Kenzie almost bumped into the back of Tyler. The older students turned their attention to the front of the room. Through the many heads, Kenzie could see an old black hat sitting on a stool. Professor Mercovitch was stand beside it holding a rolled piece of parchment. Suddenly the brim of the hat ripped open and it began to sing.
I know you see me as an old odd hat
Not nearly as nice and your new caps.
But first looks can be deceiving, for I am the sorting hat
I'll tell you where you ought to go.
It may be Gryffindor for you,
A house for those daring and brave.
Or it could be Hufflepuff for the ones that are patient and loyal.
Maybe the ancient house of Slytherin is where you cunning few make your home.
Or finally, it may be Ravenclaw for the young minds,
Who thirst for knowledge and learning.
Wherever you may go, I will know.
So try me on and we will see, where you should be.
The students clapped as the song ended. Professor Mercovitch unrolled the parchment. "As I read your names, come forward and put the hat on. Once it has mad its decision, you will join your table. Anderson, Melissa."
Kenzie watched as the girl was sorted into Hufflepuff. The table directly to the left of them burst into applause. Kenzie watched in amazement at the ceremony. She hadn't seen anything quite like it before. It didn't take long before the professor said, "Gisiko, Tyler."
Kenzie watched as Tyler stumbled through the crowd and put on the hat. He had barely had it on for thirty seconds when the hat cried out "Gryffindor!" The table farthest to the right yelled and cheered for its newest member.
A few more students were called forward, but Kenzie wasn't paying attention. She glanced over at Evan. He looked as nervous as she felt. "You ok?" She whispered to him.
"Yea." He said giving her a small smile. At that moment, Cass's name was called. She walked up and put on the hat. It took a long time, in Kenzie's opinion, for her to get sorted. Finally, the hat yelled, "Slytherin!"
Kenzie glanced over at the Gryffindor table and saw Ryan frowning as his sister joined the Slytherins.
Professor Mercovitch waited until the cheering quieted down before continuing. "Malfoy, Evan."
Evan walked as bravely as possible up to the hat. After a full minute, he was sorted into Slytherin also. Now Kenzie was really nervous. Both of her friends were now sorted into the same house. What if she wasn't sorted into Slytherin with them? Three more students were sorted, and then Professor Mercovitch came to her name. "Pheleps, Mackenzie."
Kenzie felt the stares of many students on her as she put the hat on. Immediately it fell over her eyes.
"Hmmm, interesting." a small voice said in her ear. "Good mind, certainly brave. Gryffindor wouldn't be a bad place for you, especially considering your family history."
"Family history?" she whispered. Deciding that wasn't important at the moment, she thought of her friends in Slytherin.
"Ah, want to stay with your friends? Alright then. Slytherin!"
Grateful, Kenzie ripped the hat off and ran to take the empty seat next to Evan. The next person to be called was "Potter, James." The put the hat on his head and almost immediately it sorted him into Gryffindor. Kenzie saw Cass roll her eyes at this. "Knew it. "she muttered.
There were only a handful of students left to sort. "Look over there," Cass said, pointing to the Gryffindor table. "You see that blonde hair boy?" Kenzie and Evan both nodded. "That's Noah. And the boy sitting next to him is…"
"Adam Weasley." Kenzie finished for her. "I met him at Diagon Ally." she added, seeing Evan's confused look.
"There's my brother and his friend Scott. They're a little group. Noah is in charge, sort of."
"Well, Potter and Tyler are sitting with them." Evan observed.
Before either Kenzie or Cass could respond, the headmaster stood up. "Professor Barrington." Cass whispered to them. The Headmaster was an older man, tall with short gray hair. He wore dark red robes.
"Welcome back to Hogwarts!" he said. "Just a few announcements before I let you eat. First off, thanks to Professor Thadmian for meeting the first years this evening. The Care for Magical Creatures professor is feeling under the weather and was unable to handle it. He should be fine in a few days, of course. Secondly, the caretaker would like me to remind all of you that there is a rather long list of items that are banned from Hogwarts posted on his door, if any of you would like to take a look. The Forbidden Forest is off limits, as always." He looked over towards Ryan and his friends. "And congratulations to William Weasley and Heather Barr for becoming new Head Boy and Girl. I'm sure they will do a fine job. I believe that is all the announcements for now. Tuck in." Professor Barrington sat back down.
Kenzie heard Evan let out a soft gasp. Turning back towards the table, she saw it was filled with a large array of foods. Throughout the feast, Cass informed them about who all the different teachers were and what Ryan had said their classes were like. It was true when she had said that her brother had told her a lot about Hogwarts. Eventually the conversation got back to James.
"What is this group that Noah runs?" Evan asked as the table cleared and deserts filled the dishes.
"Nothing much." Cass replied. "Ryan says they play pranks and stuff. Not much else. Adam gives them the supplies for it."
"I have a feeling that we're going to be the target of their pranks." Evan muttered to Kenzie.
Kenzie nodded in agreement, but was too sleepy to answer him. It had been a long day. She was glad when Professor Barrington stood up again and said it was time for them to retire to their dormitories for the night.
They followed a Prefect down the steps towards the dungeons. They went through a series of corridors that Kenzie was sure she wasn't going to remember tomorrow. Finally, they reached a blank wall and stopped.
"Basilisk Blood." The Prefect said to the wall. Immediately it opened up.
Amazed, Kenzie walked in to see a large room with tables, chairs, and sofas scattered around the room. There was a fire burning nicely in the fireplace.
"Boys rooms are on the left, girls are on the right." The Prefect said in a bored voice.
After saying goodnight to Evan and promising to meet him in the common room in the morning, Cass and Kenzie trudged up the stone steps to the girls' dormitories. There they found their belongings waiting for them. Quickly they changed into their pajamas and climbed into bed. Kenzie fell asleep with in moments of her head hitting the pillow
Ok, I think now you've met just about every important character. Which one is your favorite?