The end of the summer came too quickly for Liv's liking. She was really excited to go to Hogwarts, but the month at the Burrow had been the happiest month in her life. It was extremely hard not to feel jealous of Ginny when she thought of the Dursleys and the sort of welcome she could expect next time they turned up on Privet Drive.
On their last evening, Mrs. Weasley conjured up a sumptuous dinner that included all of Liv's and Harry's favorite things, ending with a mouthwatering treacle pudding. Fred and George rounded off the evening with a display of Filibuster fireworks; they filled the kitchen with red and blue stars that bounced from ceiling to wall for at least half an hour. Then it was time for a last mug of hot chocolate and bed.
"Ginny, I think staying here with you and your family is the most fun I've had in my whole life." Liv told her smiling.
"I've had so much fun with you here too. You're like the sister I never had. I hope we get put in the same house when we get to school tomorrow night." Ginny responds.
"Me too."
It took a long while to get started next morning. They were up at dawn, but somehow, they still seemed to have a great deal to do. Mrs. Weasley dashed about in a bad mood looking for spare socks and quills; people kept colliding on the stairs, half-dressed with bits of toast in their hands; and Mr. Weasley nearly broke his neck, tripping over a stray chicken as he crossed the yard carrying Ginny's trunk to the car.
Liv couldn't see how nine people, seven large trunks, three owls, and a rat were going to fit into one small Ford Anglia. But then she saw the special features that Mr. Weasley had added.
"Not a word to Molly," he whispered to Harry and Liv as he opened the trunk and showed them how it had been magically expanded so that the luggage fitted easily.
When at last they were all in the car, Mrs. Weasley glanced into the back seat, where Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Percy were all sitting comfortably side by side, and said, "Muggles do know more than we give them credit for, don't they?" She, Ginny, and Liv got into the front seat, which had been stretched so that it resembled a park bench. "I mean, you'd never know it was this roomy from the outside, would you?"
Mr. Weasley started up the engine and they trundled out of the yard, Olivia turning back for a last look at the house. She barely had time to wonder when she'd see it again when they were back — George had forgotten his box of Filibuster fireworks. Five minutes after that, they skidded to a halt in the yard so that Fred could run in for his broomstick. They had almost reached the highway when Ginny shrieked that she'd left her diary. By the time she had clambered back into the car, they were running very late, and tempers were running high.
Mr. Weasley glanced at his watch and then at his wife.
"Molly, dear —"
"No, Arthur —"
"No one would see — this little button here is an Invisibility Booster I installed — that'd get us up in the air — then we fly above the clouds. We'd be there in ten minutes and no one would be any the wiser —"
"I said no, Arthur, not in broad daylight —"
They reached King's Cross at a quarter to eleven. Mr. Weasley dashed across the road to get trolleys for their trunks, and they all hurried into the station.
Harry had caught the Hogwarts Express the previous year, while Liv was left alone with the Dursleys.
"Percy first," said Mrs. Weasley, looking nervously at the clock overhead, which showed they had only five minutes to disappear casually through the barrier.
Percy strode briskly forward and vanished. "Olivia, you go with Arthur next." Liv and Mr. Weasley strode toward the sturdy looking wall, took one last look over her shoulder at the rest of the Weasleys and Harry waiting for them to go through the barrier, and ran through the wall. Liv gasped as they found themselves on platform 9 and 3/4. Fred and George came out next. "Wow, this is so cool." Liv said in amazement.
Fred and George grinned. "Just wait until you see Hogwarts."
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley pushed everyone to hurry up onto the train. Since they were late Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had already told them all to behave themselves when they were in the car, so each of them got a quick kiss from their parents, and Mrs. Weasley pushed us all onto the train. Liv and Ginny looked at each other.
"Hey, George and I are going to go find Lee, see you two later." Fred said and the twins left them.
"Come on Ginny, let's go find a seat," Liv pointed towards all of the cars in front of them. Liv pointed towards all of the cars in front of them. They found an empty compartment and they settled themselves in. A while later Hermione knocked on the door.
"Hi Hermione." Liv and Ginny said smiling.
"Hi, can sit here with you guys?" Liv and Ginny nodded, and she sat down across from the two redheads.
Hermione's smile faded. "Where are you brothers? I've looked everywhere for them." Ginny and Liv looked at each other. In all of the excitement, Olivia realized that they had lost Harry and Ron.
"I don't know, I thought they came after us." Ginny said worriedly.
"I hope they aren't doing anything stupid." Olivia added, and the other two girls nodded. When a lady with a sweet cart came to their compartment, Liv bought some sweets for the three of them. They had fun looking at the wizarding cards and eating every flavor jellybeans.
Hours past, and the sky grew dark. The girls had searched the train twice, but hadn't seen Harry or Ron. The girls were just putting on their robes, when a voice echoed through the train:
"We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately."
Liv's stomach lurched with nerves and, to her relief, Ginny looked nervous too. They crammed their pockets with the last of the sweets and joined the crowd thronging the corridor.
The train slowed right down and finally stopped. People pushed their way toward the door and out on to a tiny, dark platform. Liv shivered in the cold night air.
Then a lamp came bobbing over the heads of the students, and she heard a familiar voice: "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Livvy?" Hagrid's big hairy face beamed over the sea of heads. "C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
Slipping and stumbling, they followed Hagrid down what seemed to be a steep, narrow path. It was so dark on either side of them that Liv thought there must be thick trees there. Nobody spoke much.
"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "jus' round this bend here."
There was a loud "Oooooh!" The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
"No more'n four to a boat!" Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Liv and Ginny were followed into their boat by two boys. "Everyone in?" shouted Hagrid, who had a boat to himself. "Right then - FORWARD!"
And the fleet of little boats moved off all at once, gliding across the lake, which was as smooth as glass. Everyone was silent, staring up at the great castle overhead. It towered over them as they sailed nearer and nearer to the cliff on which it stood.
"Heads down!" yelled Hagrid as the first boats reached the cliff; they all bent their heads and the little boats carried them through a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. They were carried along a dark tunnel, which seemed to be taking them right underneath the castle, until they reached a kind of underground harbor, where they clambered out onto rocks and pebbles. Then they clambered up a passageway in the rock after Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last onto smooth, damp grass right in the shadow of the castle.
They walked up a flight of stone steps and crowded around the huge, oak front door. Hagrid raised a gigantic fist and knocked three times on the castle door.
The door swung open at once. A tall, black haired woman, witch, Olivia corrected herself, was standing there in dark navy-blue robes. She had a stern face and immediately Olivia knew that she was not a woman to cross.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She pulled the door open wide.
The entrance hall was so big, you could have fit the Dursley's house in it if you wanted to. The stone were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and the stairs facing them were marble. They all followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Olivia could hear hundreds of voices behind the doors to the right. The rest of the school was already here, but Professor McGonagall lead them into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in standing close together, while looking around nervously.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and began to welcome the first years. "Welcome to Hogwarts. The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history, and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."
"The Sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." She looked around the room and her gaze stopped upon some of the boys. "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." She left the chambers.
Olivia glanced at Ginny nervously. "How do you think they will decide what house to put us in?" A girl behind them asked.
Olivia turned and shrugged. "My brother never told me."
Ginny whispered a response. "Fred and George said that it was a test or something." Olivia looked around, why hadn't she stolen some of Harry's spell books? She could have learned something to show. Now she would look like a fool in front of the entire school. Liv looked at the other completely terrified students around her.
She happened to glance at the far wall and then her and a about half of the other students screamed. Around twenty or so ghosts had just appeared through the wall. They were pearly white and transparent.
"Woah, why aren't you all in the Great Hall, isn't tonight the feast?" One ghost asked a nearby student. He stayed silent.
"New students!" One ghost who looked like a fat old monk. "About to be sorted, I suppose?" A couple of people nodded mutely. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff, my old house you know."
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting ceremony is about to start." McGonagall had returned, and one by one the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.
"Now, form a line, and follow me." The first years scrambled to make a line behind her. Liv fell into line behind a tall boy with dark brown hair, and Ginny was behind her.
Her legs felt as though they had turned into jello and if she wasn't careful, they might slide out from underneath her. They walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.
Liv had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables where the rest of the students were sitting. These tackles were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the front of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. They were lead up to the front and they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring up at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone like silver mist. Liv looked up and saw the ceiling looked like the outside stars.
Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. Then she placed a patched, frayed and extremely dirty hat on the stool. For a few seconds the hall was completely silent, and then the hat started to sing.
"Welcome, welcome, new and old.
A new year's begun, and our minds are prepped to mold.
Welcome great Gryffindors, those bravest of folks. Gryffindors whose deeds laminate the way.
Welcome smart Ravenclaws, the ones the embody thirst for knowledge. Ravenclaws whose brains show me the way.
Welcome cunning Slytherins, students who strive to fulfill their hearts' greatest's ambitions. Slytherins' hearts lead the way.
Welcome hardworking Hufflepuffs, the rest that display loyalty. Hufflepuffs' ethics lead the way.
We can learn from all, or we can learn from none. But learning is the only way to grow.
I will split you to where you shall grow best.
For each individual is quite different from the next.
Now come to be sorted,
And you will be awarded, the place you belong, after my song..."
Olivia was entranced by the song, but found her eyes wandering to the crowd to search for Harry. However, there were thousands of students, and soon her eyes lit upon Fred and George, then she saw Hermione, but no sign of the two boys. Suddenly the hall burst into applause, and Liv realized that she missed the rest of the song. "So, we just have to try on the hat?" Ginny whispered to her and Olivia sighed with relief.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said.
"Alvadia, Alexander"
A tall, boy strode forward smiling nervously, and put on the hat, which fell right down over his eyes, and sat down. A moments pause -
"SLYTHERIN!" shouted the hat. The second table from the right exploded in cheers, and Olivia thought that many of them looked unpleasant.
Next McGonagall called, "Anderson Jillian!" The hat sat there for a second then screamed, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The table on the right cheered and clapped as Jillian went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table.
"Becker, Christy!" Became the first Ravenclaw, and the table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Christy as she joined them., "Boone, Eloise!" Followed her afterwards.
"Brenage, Jennifer!" Became the first Gryffindor and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Liv could see Fred and George catcalling.
"Briggs, Darla!" Became the next Slytherin.
The list went on and on, soon there were about half of them left. "Olson, Jacob!" The tall boy next to Olivia walked to the hat. He sat there for a whole minute until the hat screamed. "GRYFFINDOR!" And Jacob made his way down to the Gryffindor table.
"Potter, Olivia!" The hall started to whisper a little bit, things like, "Harry has a sister?"
Liv made her way to the stool. Quickly, she pulled the hat over her head and a voice filled her ears. "Ah... Another Potter, you are difficult. Very difficult just like your brother. Smart and kind like your mother, but brave, loyal, and hot headed like your father. Lots of courage and lots of talent. Ah my goodness, yes - and a small thirst for revenge? Now that's interesting... Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin? So where shall I put you?" I want to be in Gryffindor. "You would do well in Slytherin." The hat responded. Yeah, put me in Slytherin, because that's going to go over REAL well. Olivia thought in response to the question.
"Sarcasm, eh?" said the hat. "Better be GRYFFINDOR!" The hat screams to the hall.
Liv sighs with relief as she joins the Weasley twins at Gryffindor table. She high fives them and sits down next to a sandy haired boy.
Soon it's Ginny's turn. "GRYFFINDOR!" The twins and Liv clap loudly and Ginny slides next to Olivia.
Finally, the last name is called, "Zarkof, Brittaney!" And the hat screams "GRYFFINDOR!"
Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.
Liv looked down at her empty gold plate. She had only just realized how hungry she was. She then saw a greasy haired man cross the platform, and whisper in Professor McGonagall's ear, then she whispered to Dumbledore, who nodded, and his face slightly looked disappointed, then she stood up and left with the greasy haired man.
Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Dingus! Hullabaloo! Gobbledygook! Piffle! Thank you!"
He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Liv laughed with Ginny.
Suddenly Olivia's mouth fell open. The dishes in front of her were now piled with food. She had never seen so many things she liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, mashed potatoes, cheesy potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.
The Dursleys had never exactly starved Olivia and Harry, but she'd never been allowed to eat as much as she liked. Dudley had always taken anything that they really wanted, even if it made him sick. Liv piled her plate with a bit of the stuff she really liked. It was all delicious.
"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Liv scoop up her mashed potatoes.
"You can't eat right? Do you need to?" Olivia asked.
"I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."
"Nearly Headless Nick," the sandy haired in a thick Irish accent boy clarified in a thick Irish accent for the others nearby.
"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy -" the ghost began stiffly, but Liv interrupted.
"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?" Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going the way he wanted.
"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship again this year? Gryffindors won it back last year." Liv and several other first years nodded.
The sandy haired boy leaned over to the two red heads. "Hi, you're Harry's sister Olivia, right? I'm Seamus Finnigan and this is Dean Thomas, we share a room with Harry and Ron. Where are your brothers?" Seamus asks them.
They looked around and down the table. "I don't know. I'm sure they'll turn up somewhere. They do get in trouble a lot." Liv shrugs off the question.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding...
Soon whispers of what had happened outside during the sorting started to reach their ears. Lee Jordan, Fred and George came and sat next to the girls. "Did Harry or Ron tell you that they were going to take the car here?" Ginny and Liv shook their heads. The car? So they weren't on the train. Now all the talk at every table was now about Harry and Ron flying the car here...
At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.
"Ahem - just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Liv noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed.
Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.
"Everyone pick their favorite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And the school bellowed:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, Teach us something please.
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling with some interesting stuff,
For now, they're bare and full of air, Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So, teach us things worth knowing, bring back what we've forgot, just do your best, we'll do the rest, and learn until our brains all rot."
Everybody finished the song at different times. The twins had started doing a jig and when they were done, Dumbledore was one of those who clapped the loudest.
"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
The Gryffindor first years followed two prefects through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Olivia's legs were like lead, but only because she was so tired and full of food. She watched the pictures on the walls move from frame to frame or around in their pictures.
The perfects led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Liv and Ginny were just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.
"Here we are."
At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" she asked.
"Wattlebird," said the girl prefect, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.
The girl prefect directed the girls through one door to their dormitories. At the first door on the spiral staircase of a spiral they stopped and opened the door- they found a hallway in the hallway were three doors very close together. The one on the right was bright red with glittering gold specks mixed in, and the one on the left was shimmering gold with red specks. The middle door was just an ancient looking, brown door.
The prefect pulled out a list. "Nichole Walters, Lula Cain, Brittaney Zarkkof, Julia Jankins, and Alexa Lewis are in the red door, and Emma Mason, Olivia Potter, Jennifer Brenage, Ginevra Weasley, and Kayla Hansen are in the gold door. The middle door is the bathroom." The girls walked into their new room.
"Hi I'm Olivia." Liv introduced herself to the other girls. They all took turns introducing themselves. There was Jennifer, the loud, curly haired brunette; Kayla the very tall, straight haired brunette; Emma, the quiet, petite blonde with a lot of freckles on her face; and of course, Ginny.
They started to get ready to go to bed, but soon they heard cheers coming from downstairs. Liv and Ginny came out of their room to see what was going on. As they came out, they saw that Harry and Ron were at the center of attention.
Ginny and Liv smiled at the boys and they waved back. Finally, the girls returned to their room at last: the beds were five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Liv climbed into bed, her head full of wonder at this magnificent place, and under the warm, soft blankets, she fell asleep in no time at all.