(***A.N. I do not own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. I do own my own OC Characters in this story. Please do not copy this story and claim it as your own.***)
Chapter 2:
"I TOLD YOU TO PACK YOUR TRUNK LAST NIGHT!" Elaewyn scolded, weaving through the crowd of muggles, gripping my wrist, glancing at the numbers hanging above the stone-walls, spotting a specific sign, passing through the brick wall with me and Lupin trailing after her, maneuvering between the sea of parents seeing their kids off to Hogwarts, huffing in annoyance, and stopping a little ways from the platform, "NOW YOU'RE GONNA BE LATE!"
"She still has 10 minutes to get onto the platform, Ella." Remus claimed, lifting his lips up into a half-smirk, standing next to me, and amusement-twinkled into his eyes, "I recall you also waited until the last minute to pack your trunk when we were in school."
"You hush." Elaewyn mocked-ordered, swatting at Lupin's arm, turning to me, giving me a gigantic hug, kissing my cheek, bending down to face me, and her lips twitching, "Remember what we talked about?"
"If I'm gonna break the rules or play pranks, don't get caught." I recited, grinning-sweetly, giving her a gigantic-hug, kissing her cheek, giving Lupin a hug, blinking back tears, and mumbling against his chest, "What if I get sorted into Slytherin?"
"Honestly, Ella. That's your last-minute advice?" Remus berated, shaking his head in amusement, hugging me back, lightly-stepping back, placing his hands on my shoulder, and smiling-proudly down at me, "Whichever house you get sorted into won't change how much me and your aunt love you. Behave yourself while you're there and listen to your professors. Did you forget anything?"
"I don't think I did." I replied, mentally going through my list, placing my hand on my cart, sniffing, and swallowing down a lump in my throat, "I'll do my best."
"You're growing up so fast." Elaewyn sniffed, giving me one last bone-crushing hug, releasing me, placing her hands on my cheeks, lightly-shoving me towards the train, wiping a stray tear from her eye, standing beside Remus, watching me climb onto the rain, and both waving through the window as the train passed, "Off you get. I EXPECT LETTERS EVERY WEEK, MISSY!"
"Here." a boy's voice offered, spotting me struggling lifting the cart up off the 1st step, tan-hands effortlessly hoisting the cart up onto the floor, smiling-friendly down at me, walking beside me as we hiked down the narrow halls of the train-cars, and introducing himself, "Cedric Diggory."
Cedric had dark brown hair and beautiful grey eyes. He has broad shoulders, clear indicator that he either works out or plays quidditch. Judging by the scratches on his knuckles, I'd say he is a seeker.
"Mina Potter." I introduced, hauling my cart behind me, watching his eyes widen slightly, and smiling-sheepishly, "Thanks for helping me with my cart."
"No problem. I always like helping people." Cedric grinned, raising an eyebrow at me, and giving me a quizzical look when he noticed Midnight giving him the stink-eye) and guessing, "You're a 1st-year I take it."
"Don't mind Midnight. He normally be pecking your eyeballs out if he hated you. He has an incredible judge of character." I dismissed, snickering-softly upon seeing his expression, teasing-glint flashed into my eye, and glancing-curiously up at him, "I was joking about the pecking your eyeballs out part. He really does have a good sense of character. That obvious huh?"
"Every 1st-year has that I'm-Gonna-Hurl-Look." Cedric joked, walking beside me, grinning-brightly, and giving me a assuring-smile, "You've got nothing to be nervous about."
"Good to know." I smiled-weakly, staring at my feet, and glancing at him interestedly, "What house are you in?"
"Hufflepuff. I'm in my 3rd-year." Cedric answered, pride shimmered across his grey-eyes, stopping at a particular compartment, smirking-teasingly, and waving as he left, "It has been an honor being the first person to welcome you to Hogwarts, Mina Potter. If you ever need anything, don't be a stranger. Your brother is in this compartment."
"I'll keep that in mind, Cedric. Thanks." I thanked, smiling-brightly, turning to the compartment door, taking a deep breath to calm my nerves, opening the sliding-door, my eyes roaming over the 2 boys sitting opposite of each other, pausing on the boy with the messy-jet-black-hair, nervously-clearing my throat, and smiling-awkwardly at them, "Um…do you mind if I sit with you guys?"
"Veh." the red-haired boy nodded, speaking with a chocolate-frog in his mouth, swallowing, widening his eyes once he recognized me from one of his mother's rants after his mum had visited Elaewyn, glancing at Harry, standing up, excusing himself, shuffling out of the compartment, and closing the door shut, "I think I will help that nosy-girl look for that toad afterall."
"I thought you found her too bossy?" Harry claimed, scrunching his eyebrows together in confusion, raising an eyebrow at me, and a perplexed expression etched onto his face, "What was that about?"
"I don't know if the Dursleys mentioned me or not…" I stammered, rolling my cart into the compartment, sitting beside him, swallowing, and gazing at him, "But I'm your twin sister, Harry."
"I don't have a sister." Harry stated, narrowing his eyes at me, and scrunching his eyebrows together in concentration, Wait, there was that one picture Aunt Petunia had a cow when she spotted me looking at it.
"Yes, I am." I affirmed, summoning the worn-black-leather photo album that I packed into my trunk, flipping through the pages, finding the picture I was looking for, showing it to Harry, and pointing to the photo, "See the two bundles our parents are holding? Our dad is holding you and Mum is holding me. I think it was taken a few weeks after we were born."
"Why were we separated?" Harry questioned, scowling, flipping through the book, and glancing at me, "Why couldn't I live with you growing up with magic?"
"My aunt…our aunt Elaewyn said it was something to do with our mom and if we stayed together our magic would be like a beacon to Voldemort." I explained, inching my hand to rest on top of his, pulling back at the last second, dropping my hands in my lap, sending the book back into my trunk once Harry was finished with it, smiling-tightly at him, standing up, tugging my cart behind me, and starting to step out of the compartment, "It's a lot to process. I'll find another compartment…"
"Who's older?" Harry inquired, speaking after a few seconds, his words making me freeze in place, staring at my back, his lips twitching to grin, a flash of humor danced in his eyes, and smirking as I gave him a confused-look, "Which one of us is older? I'd like to know if I have an older-brother duty to protect my sister from slimy-gits."
"For your information, I can handle myself." I mocked-scowled, freezing in place upon hearing Harry speak, turning around, smiling-widely, stepping back into the compartment, sitting down beside Harry, playfully-punching his arm, crossing my arms against my chest, and pouting-childishly, "You're older. Only be a measly second."
"Still counts." Harry smirked, rubbing his arm, glancing up when the compartment door opened, smirking-smugly at me, and introducing me to the red-head boy form earlier, "Ron, meet my little sister…"
"You're never gonna let me forget that are you?" I voiced, fake-annoyance on my face, greeting the boy, and smiling, "Mina Potter."
"Ronald Weasley. But call me Ron." Ron introduced, nodding in acknowledgement, sitting down across from me, and smiling back at me, "My mum talked about you. She came home ranting once after visiting your aunt. Venting to my dad how your aunt ought to let you out of the house more often."
"My aunt mentioned how she was friends with your parents. She talked about how your family was one of the Pure-Blood families that fought against Voldemort in the War." I recited, biting piece off my chocolate-frog, swallowing it, and curling the corners of my lips up into a grin, "You're the 2nd Pure-Blood family that I met. I'd rather be friends with you than that rank-hair-gel-prat any day."
The three of us spent the next hour eating the bulky-pile of candy that Harry had bought from the trolley, chatting, and laughing. It wasn't until we were almost to Hogwarts that a bushy-brown-haired girl opened the sliding-door to our compartment.
"Any luck finding Neville's toad?" Harry inquired, smiling politely to the girl, opening a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, digging through the box, pulling out a lime-green jelly-bean, placing it in his mouth, chewing on it before scrunching his nose up in disgust, spitting it out onto a napkin that I summoned, and giving me a thankful-nod.
"No. Poor Neville is devastated." the girl replied, looking-upset, her eyes glancing over the two boys before landing on me, widening her eyes in recognition, gazing at me in fascination, shaking herself out of her trance, introducing herself, sliding the door shut, and leaving, "Holy cricket, you're Mina Potter. I've read all about you and your brother. Anyways, you three better put on your robes. We'll be at Hogwarts in 5 minutes. I'm gonna keep searching for Trevor."
"She said the same thing to Harry." Ron retold, rolling his eyes, an annoyed expression etched onto his face, and the pink-hue from the tips of his ears fading, "I just hope I'm not in the same house as her."
"I better go put on my robes." I mentioned, standing up, opening/shutting the door behind me, shuffling towards the Girls' Bathroom, making my robes magically appear, putting them on, straightening my tie, stepping out of the bathroom, and making a distaste-face upon spotting a white-blonde hair leaning against the wall, "Ugh. What do you want?"
"I came to apologize for my behavior back in Diagon Alley." Draco claimed, watching me go into the bathroom, leaning against the wall next to the bathroom, smirking at me as I came out, and following me as I walked away from him, "It's important to have powerful allies. I can be that friend."
"You're right. It is important to have powerful friends, Malfoy." I agreed, walking back to the compartment, smirking, setting Malfoy's pants on fire, walking past a certain compartment, and being grabbed into the compartment, "Just not you. Secondly, I hate liars."
"That was bloody-brilliant." a boy's voice praised, grabbing my wrist, pulling me into a compartment, letting me go, and grinning-widely at me.
"Teach us your ways, Oh, Short-One." another boy's voice acclaimed, bowing in mock-tribute, grinning-broadly, and a flash of waggery flickered in their eyes.
"You must be…" I guessed, recalling what Ron told me about his brothers, narrowing my eyes scrutiny at them, and raising my eyebrows at them, "Fred and George, right?"
"At your service, Mina Potter." the two boys greeted, talking in-sync, mock-bowing at me, straightening their backs, grinning-impishly, and winking at me.
"How did you do that?" another boy gaped, widening his eyes in fascination at me, and gazing over at me from his spot on the bench, "Everybody else can't tell either of these Dunderheads apart."
"WE REJECT THAT STATEMENT!" the twins objected, slapping their hands into the air, scowling-mockingly at Lee, and turning to me in awe, "Never mind that, Lee. We want to know how you did that."
"Did what? Oh, you mean setting that Snobbish-Prat's pants on fire without a wand?" I smirked-slyly, winking at them, shuffling out of the compartment, and waving a hand in the air at them as I walked away, "Strong focus and lots of practice. See ya boys later. I'll be sure to find you 3 if I ever need help with a prank."
It actually has nothing to do with keeping focus or how much effort you put into it. It has more to do with sensing someone's magical aura. Ever since I can remember, I've been able to "feel" someone's magic. Each person gives off a unique magical signature. For instance, my uncle Remus's magic aura has a crisp-night-air mixed with a wild animal feel to it. Still can't quite figure out why his aura has a wild animal vibe to it.
Fred and George may be identical twins, but their magic auras is completely different. Fred's has a smoky-mixed-with-laughter while George's has a singed-mixed-with-impish-cackles.
"There you are." Harry spoke, hiking out of the compartment with Ron beside him, falling into step alongside me, furrowing his eyebrows together in concern, and giving me a quizzical look, "What took you so long?"
"I was busy setting Draco Malfoy's pants on fire." I explained, walking next to him, following the other students out of the train, and smirking-impishly, "Then your brothers decided to kidnapped me to find out my secrets."
"You are my favorite person." Ron snickered, giving me a fist-bump, and smirking-approvingly, "Sorry about them. They get carried away with anything to do with pranks."
"I've noticed. I can see how they'd be massive mischief makers." I grinned, giving him a fist-bump back, and sighing-contently, "It's good to know someone appreciates my awesomeness."
"FIRS' YEARS OVER HERE!" a giant-man shouted, holding a big lantern in his hand, shining the light at us when we froze in front of him, glancing at Harry, beaming-happily at him, darting his eyes over to me, and his eyes growing big as he realized who I was, "FIRS' YEARS FOLLOW ME! 'Ello Harry. You must be Mina. Rebus Hagrid."
Hagrid had long black-scruffy hair with a scraggly beard to match. Elaewyn spoke about Hagrid, stating he was half-giant. Despite the stereotypes of giants, Hagrid's black-eyes crinkled with kindness as he stared down at us. I smiled in greeting, standing beside Harry.
"We'll chat later." Hagrid promised, shooing us towards a gigantic lake, and directing other 1st-years the same way, "Go on. NO MORE'N FOUR TO A BOAT!"
A line of boats were stationed along the waters in a line. Groups of 4 hurried into the boats.
"Come on, then." I advised, grabbing Ron's and Harry's wrist, climbing into the boat, sitting down beside Harry, smiling over at Hermione who had just climbed into the boat with us, feeling the boat start sailing towards a gigantic castle, widening my eyes in awe upon seeing the humongous castle, and gazing at the castle in admiration, "Wow. It's even more magnificent than how my aunt described it."
"Here." Harry offered, getting out of the boat once we stopped at the shore of the castle, helping me out of the boat, and walking beside me as we headed towards the castle doors.
A few seconds after Hagrid knocked against the gigantic-oak-door, the door opened revealing a stern-black-haired witch wearing emerald-green robes. Harry and I shared a look, both of us thinking she was not someone you want to cross.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take it from here." the witch nodded, smiling-faintly at Hagrid, pulling the door wide-opened, pivoting on her heels down a stone-hallway, walking in a brisk-pace which forced us to hurriedly keep up with her, stopping in front of a narrow-entranceway, turning around to face us, her eyes gazing over the students, giving us a stern-glare before leaving, and her heels clacking-loudly against the polished-stone-marble-floors, "When you enter the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Your house will be like your family. Triumphs will earn your house points while any rule-breaking will lose your house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup. The Sorting Ceremony will begin momentarily. Wait here quietly."
"IT'S TRUE THEN?!" Draco's annoying voice spoke loudly, grabbing everyone's attention, sauntering over to us once the lady left, eyes roaming over the 4 of us, landing his eyes on me and Harry, and standing in front of us, "Harry Potter and his sister have come to Hogwarts this year."
2 other muscular boys slid beside Draco sides. From what Harry told me about our cousin, they looked like Dudley.
"This is Crabbe and Goyle." Malfoy introduced, nodding towards his 2 friends, snapping his head towards Ron when Ron snorted, narrowing his eyes at him, turning back to us, and sticking his hand out towards us, "My name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. Think my name's funny do you? Red-hair, freckles, and handed-down robes. You must be a Weasley. You'll soon find out some Wizarding families are better than others. You and your sister don't want to go making friends with the wrong sort. I can help the 2 of you there."
"I think we can tell the wrong sort for ourself, thanks." Harry stated, staring at Draco's hand for a few seconds, making no move to shake it, and looking at Draco with bored-eyes.
"Unlike you, Malfoy, we belief strength comes from humility. Not by how much money one has." I added, standing beside Harry, eyeing Malfoy in distain, and pursing my lips together in judgement, "Clearly, it's something you could learn from."
Before he could retort, the lady came back. She tapped Draco on the shoulder with a scroll that she was carrying before nodding her head in a gesture that said Get-Back-In-Line.
"They're ready for you now." the lady announced, waiting until Malfoy stepped back into line before herding us towards a gigantic door, pushing the doors open, and ushering us into the Great Hall, "Form 2 lines and follow me."
I stood behind Harry as we made our way towards the Great Hall. All of us scanned our surroundings in wonderment. Excited murmurs echoed across the Great Hall as we hiked past tables filled with students. None of us were actually paying attention to all the stares coming from the tables due to the magnificent-décor of the Great Hall.
4 long tables packed with students had mostly filled the entire room. 2 of the tables were on the right and 2 were on the left. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the night sky. Candles were floating in midair. There was another long table at the end of the room where all the professors were sitting.
"When I call your name, you will step forward and place the hat on your head." the lady instructed, leading us past 4-long tables filled with students, ushering us into the middle of the hall, quieting our excited-chatter, bringing out a wooden-stool with a brown-old-hat, placing the hat on top of the stool, unrolling the long-parchment scroll in her hands, and turning towards us, "HANNAH ABBOTT!"
A girl with blonde-pigtails stepped forward. Stumbling up to the stool, she picked up the hat before sitting down. The girl took a deep breath before setting the hat on top of her head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted.
Cheers were heard from the table on the right.
"SUSAN BONES!" the lady called, giving a firm-look over at the table, and the cheers quieting as she continued.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat repeated.
"TERRY BOOT!" the witch read, peering over the scroll, and continuing once the noise quieted down.
"RAVENCLAW!"
Hollers came from the second table on the left.
"MANDY BROCKLEHURST!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"LAVENDER BROWN!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The table on the far left exploded with cheers this time. I spotted Fred and George winking at me.
"MILLICENT BULSTRODE!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
The 1st-table on the far right erupted in cheers.
"JUSTIN FLETCHLEY-FINCH!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
I glanced over at Harry. Noticing he looked pale, I grabbed his hand and gave him a reassuring smile.
"SEAMUS FINNIGAN!"
"GRYFFINDOR!
"HERMIONE GRANGER!" the lady proclaimed, scanning the parchment, and peering through her glasses at us.
The bushy-brown-haired girl from the train eagerly sprinted towards the stool. Hermione quickly-placed the hat on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM!"
I snapped my head towards where a pudgy boy with dark-brown hair stumbled towards the stool. My aunt talked about being friends with the Longbottom's. I kind of want to meet my aunt's friends' son.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"DRACO MALFOY!"
The hat barely touched his head before it announced Slytherin.
"THEODORE NOTT!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"PANSY PARKINSON!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
"PADMA PATIL!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"PARVATI PATIL!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Two more names were called before it was Harry's turn.
"HARRY POTTER!" the lady called, skimming over the list, her eyes widened-briefly upon reading his name, and jerking her head towards us.
Every noise in the Great Hall suddenly fell silent as my brother's name was called. Heads turned to look at the remaining 1st-years. Even the professors sat up straight in their chairs upon hearing his name called.
"Go on, Harry." I whispered, noticing Harry standing frozen in place, gently-shoving him towards the stool, and giving him an encouraging smile.
His took the longest to choose out of any of the 1st-years so far.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled after what felt like hours.
The whole Gryffindor table went bonkers upon hearing Harry being chosen into their house. I smiled as Harry walked past me, before sitting down beside Percy, Ron's other brother.
"MINA POTTER!" the witch spoke, once again expressing the slightest-emotions I'm willing to bet will be the only time we'll be seeing out of her, jerking her head towards me, and warmth-flashed into her eyes as she spotted me then disappeared.
The Great-Hall immediately went quiet for the 2nd time that day as my name got called. What felt like hundred-pairs of eyes stared at my back as I slowly-stepped towards the stool. Giving the lady a weak-smile as she sent me an encouraging smile down at me. Glimpsing a greasy-black-haired man staring-intently at me from the professors' table. Swallowing down a lump-of-rocks, I lifted the hat up. Sitting down on the stool and placing it onto my head.
"Difficult, just like your brother. A lot of bravery I see. Extremely loyal as well. Not a bad mind either. Characteristics of a leader too. I can tell you want to make up for lost time with your brother. Right then." the hat hummed, pursing his lips in thought, noticing me gazing over at my brother, and shouting as he made his decision, "GRYFFINDOR!"
The whole Gryffindor table erupted into bellows of enthusiasm. Fred and George sprung off their seats with shit-eating grins on their faces as they gloated-loudly, "WE GOT THE POTTER TWINS!"
A silver-haired man sitting in a large-gold chair gave me a welcoming-smile as I paced past him. Giving him a smile back as I sat beside my brother at the Gryffindor table.
"DEAN THOMAS!" the witch continued, her voice making the loud cheers fade to a murmur, and reading the name off the scroll.
A black boy made his way up to the stool.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat announced.
"LISA TURPIN!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"RONALD WEASLEY!" the lady read, briefly-glancing up from the scroll, and a flash of amusement flickered into her eyes before vanishing.
Harry and I both held each other's hands under the table and crossing our fingers that Ron gets sorted into the same house as us. Holding our breaths as Ron slowly-made his way up to the stool.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.
Ron's shoulders sagged in relief as he made his way towards us.
"I'm gonna kill you two." Ron growled, glaring-harmlessly at Fred and George, sitting down beside me, swearing under his breath at his brothers, and he, Harry, and I grinned at each-other, "You guys are major tossers. Making me think we'd have to wrestle a troll."
"Honestly, Ron." Percy sighed-exasperated, shaking his head, smacking Ron on the back in congratulations, and rolling his eyes, "Why do you keep falling for their childish-antics?"
"BLAISE ZABINI!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
All of the 1st-years were sorted, the lady rolled up the parchment before taking the hat and stool away. As soon as the lady took her seat at the professors' table, the silver-haired man took his place behind a golden-owl podium. Smiling-warmly as he addressed us.
"WELCOME TO A NEW YEAR AT HOGWARTS!" the headmaster welcomed, parting his arms wide, his eyes roaming over all the students, and sitting back down once he was finished, "NITWIT! BLUBBER! ODDMENT! TWEAK! THANK YOU!"
"Is that Dumbledore?" I inquired, Harry and I exchanging glances, turning towards Percy, and curiosity flickered in my eyes, "My aunt mentioned he was a bit odd, but has a gigantic-heart."
"Everyone is a bit odd when you think about it. Yes, that's Albus Dumbledore. Besides having a gigantic-heart, he's also the strongest wizard in the world." Percy cited, spooning some food onto his plate, noticing Harry and my empty plates, and nodding to the dishes in front of us, "What are you waiting for? Go ahead and eat."
We didn't have to be told twice. The two of us began stacking our plates with food. As I grabbed a piece of grilled-chicken, I spotted a ghost wearing a ruff floating inches above the students' heads. He glided down the table before stopping in front of Harry and me.
"Welcome to Gryffindor." the ghost welcomed, smiling-friendly at us, and smiling-dolefully at us, "You must be Lily and James' daughter and son. Heartbreaking what happened to them. My condolences by the way."
"You knew our parents?" Harry and I questioned in sync, widening our eyes, and focusing on Nicholas with inquisitive-eyes.
"Of course I did. They were my friends." the ghost retold, nodding-wistfully, and a fond-dismal-smile outlined his mouth, "Not every student goes out of their way to befriend us ghosts, you see. Your parents were different. They treated us with respect."
"My brothers told me about you. You're Nearly Headless Nick." Ron recalled, interrupting-rudely, his mouth full of food, and raising his fork at him.
"I prefer Sir Nicholas if you don't mind." Nicholas huffed-crossly, scowling in offence, crossing his arms against his chest, and beginning to float away.
"Nearly Headless?" Hermione repeated, glancing up from her plate, and scrunching her eyebrows together in puzzlement, "How can you be nearly headless?"
That curiosity of hers is gonna get her into trouble one of these days. I thought-deadpanned, my fork clattering onto my plate as I stared at Nicholas, my face scrunching together in disgust, and almost gagging when he answered her question.
"Like this." Nicholas elaborated, grabbing his head, yanking it to the side, looking pleased with our grossed-out expressions as we ogled his head hanging onto his neck by a tiny-piece of skin, and floating away.
"You're so small, how can you eat that much?" Lee Jordan marveled, sitting beside George and Fred, and glancing at me as I picked up my 4th piece of chicken.
"I like girls who can eat their full." George smirked-impishly, winking at me, and nudging Fred with his elbow, "You can't find girls now-days who can eat more than Ron, isn't that right, Freddie?"
"Right, Georgie." Fred agreed, winking at me, spooning some potatoes into his mouth, swallowing, and nodding towards the Professors' Table, "By the way Mina, Professor Snape hasn't taken his eyes off you since your name's been called during the sorting."
Harry and I both glanced over to the Professors' Table and spotting the same greasy-black-haired man from earlier staring-directly at me. He quickly looked away once he spotted us looking at him. I noticed a guy with a purple turban had also been staring at us.
"What does Professor Snape teach?" Harry asked, briefly staring at Snape, feeling a sharp pain in his forehead, rubbing his hand against his scar, and gasping quietly under his breath, "Ow."
"You ok?" Percy asked, gazing at Harry in concern, cutting a piece of chicken, and answering, "Snape teaches Potions, but it's Quirrell's job he wants. He's been after The Defense Against the Dark Arts job for a while now."
"I-I-It's nothing." Harry assured, staring at Snape, narrowing his eyes at him, and going back to eating, Somehow I get the feeling he doesn't like me very much.
"I have a few start-of-term notices to give you all now that we've eaten." Dumbledore announced, clapping his hands together, gaining our attention, standing up, and his eyes twinkling as he winked over at Fred and George, "1st-years should note that the forest on the grounds is prohibited to all students. A few of our older students would be wise to take note of that as well."
The twins smiled-innocently back at Dumbledore.
"Mr. Finch has kindly asked me to remind you all that magic is prohibited in the corridors at all times. Madam Hooch has informed me that Quidditch tryouts will be held in 2 weeks. Anyone interested in trying out should talk to her for further details." Dumbledore continued, roaming his eyes over all the students, and his voice taking a serious-note, "Finally, this year the 3rd-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die an extremely-gruesome death."
"What was that about?" I questioned, furrowing my eyebrows together in puzzlement, and raising my eyebrows at Harry.
"Beats me." Harry dismissed, shrugging his shoulders, looking equally-puzzled, and facing Percy, "Was that supposed to be a joke or something?"
"I don't think so." Percy replied, frowning in perplexity, scrunching his eyebrows together, and looking at Dumbledore, "It must be important otherwise he would've given us a reason as to why students are prohibited from going there. It must be classified since he didn't tell us Perfects about it."
"Now that we're all properly feed, it's time for us to head to bed." Dumbledore dismissed, waving his hands in a flourish, making all the plates disappear, and smiling-merrily at us, "Perfects escort the 1st-years to their dormitories."
"GRYFFINDORS FOLLOW ME! THIS WAY! KEEP UP EVERYBODY!" Percy instructed, standing up, ushering us up a massive marble staircase, and glancing over his shoulder at us, "MIND YOUR STEP! THESE STAIRCASES CHANGES DIRECTIONS!"
"I'm too tired to even snap at Percy for being a pompous troll." Ron yawned, falling in line beside Harry, and dragging his tired-legs.
After about 5 minutes of walking through hidden doors and staircases, Percy came to a sudden halt. Floating in front of them was a pile of walking-sticks.
"Peeves." Percy muttered, stepping towards them, an annoyed-expression etched onto his face as the walking-sticks started hurling themselves at his face, scowling, dodging the walking sticks, and raising his voice, "ENOUGH PEEVES! I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!"
A rude-farting noise was the answer Percy received.
"You want me to get the Bloody-Baron?" Percy warned, crossing his arms against his chest, raising an eyebrow up, waiting a few seconds then a little man floating cross-legged in the air appeared in the air holding a bunch of walking-sticks in his hands, continuing to lead us down a passageway once the man zoomed away, and grumbling under his breath, "Bothersome twat.
Neville had tripped over one of the walking-sticks that had bounced off his head.
"Here." I smiled-kindly, offering my hand towards him, helping him up, and tugging him along as we hurried to catch-up with the others.
"Thanks." Neville mumbled, taking my hand, his face going bright-red, hoisting himself up, smiling-gratefully at me, and keeping pace with me.
Adjourning at the end of the corridor hung a picture of a fat-lady in a pink dress.
"Password?" she drawled, raising an eyebrow at Percy, and eying all of us.
"Caput Draconis." Percy recited, entering into a magnificent-common-room after the portrait, swung-opened, continuing to speak once all of us were through the portrait, and nodding his head towards a circular-marble-staircase leading towards another floor, "This is the Gryffindor Common-Room. Girls' Dormitory to your right and Boys' is to your left. You're belongings have already been brought up to your dorms. Breakfast is at 7 am sharp. No one is allowed in the corridors after 10 pm. Lights out is at 9:30 pm. Now off to bed all of you."
All of us uttered-sleepily words of acknowledgment as we sluggishly trekking up the winding-marble staircase towards our dorms.
As soon as my head hit the soft-pillow, I was out-like-a-light.
TO BE CONTINUED…