Just Another Thursday

Just Another Thursday

C. Maura Matthews. Minus the "C." bit, it was a lovely, ordinary name, perfectly suitable for a lovely, ordinary girl. Hopefully the reader has realized by now that this was not the case. The author has complete confidence in the wisdom of the reader and has decided to skip the usual blather. You know she is a perfectly capable witch, in this case with a Muggle family, and you therefore know that she was sent to Hogwarts via the normal, owl-toting, strangely amazing, Diagon Alley-venturing way. Knowing the reader to be smart about how things of this nature work, the author has decided to hop straight to the beginning of C. Maura Matthew's story.

All she wanted was a piece of lemon meringue pie. But the cheerful woman pushing the trolley didn't seem to understand.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, but we have all kinds of sweets, darling. Would you like a Chocoroach instead? Or a nice warm goat spleen? They're quite fresh" Maura tried hard not to retch at the sight of the wriggling brown lump in the cellophane wrapping.

"No, thank you. I'll be fine." Maura was not fine. She was starving. She'd been too nervous to eat a breakfast proper, and had settled for a biscuit at the station. She eyed the thick ham and cheese sandwich occupying the seat across from her. It belonged to a rather sulky fellow, huddling under his mandatory black robes. Maura had yet to try hers on. Her stomach rumbled. The sandwich was just lying there, on top of a brown paper bag. It looked so helpless, vulnerable. She only wanted one bite, just to satisfy the hungry tiger living in her tummy, so he'd quit growling so ferociously. The skulking boy didn't seem to pay even a smidgen of attention to his lovely sandwich. Maura made a split decision. She let her hand dart across the gap in the seats and snatch that glory of ham and cheese.

"What, trying to nick my lunch off me then?" He was not so inattentive as he seemed, then, and he plucked Maura's wrist out of the air almost in the same fashion as she'd thieved his meal.

"Uh… I just, you know, was hungry, and your sandwich just sort of…" Maura stammered.

"Jumped into your hand and cried 'Eeeaaat Meeeee!!!', right?" he queried sarcastically. He waved the wand he held in his other hand and muttered "Edibolus Animatia". The ham sandwich proceeded to squiggle loose from her clutch and the top slice of bread flopped open and shut in a parody of a mouth, squealing "Eeeaaat Meeee!!!! Eeeeeat Meeeeee!!!!" Maura's eyes bulged and resettled back into their respective sockets before she burst out laughing.

"Rather clever, isn't it? It was how my mother cured me of snitching cookies before dinner. I was so horrified I refused to touch the cookie jar." He grinned and released her wrist. "I'm Keith Weston. First year." Maura smiled.

"C. Maura Matthews. Maura, really. I'm a first year too." Keith raised an eyebrow curiously.

"What does the 'C' stand for?"

"Charity." Maura made a face. Her given name was repulsive, old fashioned, and rather well worn, having been passed onto her by a great aunt who died of typhoid fever. While not knowing this, Keith seemed to understand the general gist of the situation, judging by the look of distaste she exuded.

"Excited?" he asked, without the need to elaborate.

"Uncontainably" she replied. "Nervous though. Apart from you, I don't know anyone here."

"No worries," Keith replied easily, "we've got each other, right? We're all strangers here, but you and I are actually one up on the rest of them." Keith whispered this to her as though it was some absolutely gigantic secret. Maura grinned again. They were one up.

The door to the relatively empty train car they occupied slid open. The delicate figure of a raven haired girl slipped through, closing the door softly behind her. She padded towards them and smiled gently. "First years?" she asked. They nodded. "I'm a sixth year. I recognized the nervous look straight away. My name is Liandra. You've probably met my brother Robert." Keith and Maura exchanged a look and shook their heads. "No?" Liandra sounded genuinely surprised, "Well, you will. And you'll know him when you meet−" A red-headed whirlwind burst through the door. "Bobby!" Liandra scolded. "Have you ever entered a room without announcing your presence to the whole world?" She sighed. "My twin brother, Robert McCaffry."

"Twin?" Maura demanded. Bobby's tall, commanding, athletic presence and loud Scottish looks were the antithesis of the petite, dark coloring and fair skin Liandra possessed. Bobby laughed heartily. He did everything heartily.

"Chalk up another unbeliever, Li. Where did you find these squirts?" His sister scowled good-naturedly.

"Hush, Bobby, they're first years. I seem to remember a certain member of the McCaffry family crying the entire train ride they were so frightened. These are our new friends…" Liandra trailed off.

"Keith and Maura" Keith supplied. Liandra's face broke into a radiant smile, which was quickly checked when she noted the time on her watch.

"I have to be over in the next train for a couple minutes. I promised Gladys I'd wake her up when we had fifteen minutes left. Bobby, you be good." With that stern admonition, Liandra slipped away as quietly as she'd arrived. Bobby turned his loud smile to Maura and Keith. 

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Have you any idea what house you'll be put into?"

"House?" wondered Maura aloud. Keith suffered no such lack of knowledge.

"I'd be okay with any of them. Maybe not Hufflepuff. I like something with a little action, a little excitement. Gryffindor, or Slytherin, they all sound sort of appealing." Bobby's grin faded a little, and he replied in a soft mutter.

"Slytherin house isn't the best house to get into right now. That's Liandra's house. I don't know what's going on, but they've been acting, well, different, venomous almost." He leaned back and resumed his normal tone. "Venomous like snakes can be, you know." He laughed at his own joke. "Join the Lions" When Bobby said it, it wasn't a command, it was a campaign slogan, with a capital L on Lions. "Gryffindor is the best house, no questions asked."

"Do we get to pick?" asked a rather befuddled Maura. Bobby laughed.

"There's this hat, and they put it on your head. It pokes around a bit and decides what house you should go to. There's Gryffindor­−like I said, the best, and Slytherin, who are usually pretty cool, if a little cold blooded, like reptiles, you know, and Ravenclaw, who I guess are okay if you're the brainy type. And Hufflepuff. They're all a bunch of yellow bellies. We whack them every year at Quidditch." He snorted at the soft Hufflepuffs. "You play?" he asked Keith, who nodded fervently.

"Every day!" he exclaimed, "I brought my broom with me….it's a Flyaway. Model seven. I'm saving my allowance for an eight, but by the time I have enough money, I'll probably be able to buy a ten."

"You're lucky" Bobby said, "They were talking last year about not letting us bring our brooms to school because kids are always zipping around. What position do you play?"

"Excuse me," said Maura, who was quite promptly ignored, as are all females when they try to interrupt sports-minded males.

"Chaser. But I'm a fair hand at Beater when I have to be." Bobby clapped his shoulder. Hard. Keith winced.

"Excuse me"

"We won't need you as a Beater. Hammond Gordon and I have that area pretty well tied up. But we did lose Freddie to graduation, so we've got a spot for a quick, clever Chaser. Make Gryffindor and you just might be the one."

"EXCUSE ME" Maura bellowed. Keith and Bobby turned to look at the determined brunette with the cross look plastered on her face. "What in the name of all that is good and holy is Quidditch?" Keith and Bobby exchanged a glance.

"Quidditch," Bobby intoned with a tinge of awe and respect for the word, "is the game to end all games. It's the best sport in any world, Muggle or wizard."

"Swell," Maura commented, "I like sports. Is it anything like badminton? We played that at the Putney Primary School for Girls. I found it a little dull, but much more exciting than grammar." Keith and Bobby exchanged another glance.

"Its far more thrilling than badminton, Maura." Keith informed her. "Quidditch is amazingly fast. It's bully to watch, too, you'll have fun at the games."

"The whole school turns out to watch" Bobby added, "team spirit and all that ballyhoo. Good stuff." Liandra diffused into the room.

"Talking Quidditch, I take it." She sighed. "Boys, Maura, they have to things on their mind, and they both involve testosterone." She giggled, saw that Maura didn't quite get it, and shook her head, "never mind, Maura. We'll talk later when those two little boys aren't around. We'll be arriving at Hogsmeade quite soon, and I suggest you get dressed, Maura." Maura nodded and moved away to put her robes on. Separated from the excitement of meeting three new people, she had the chance to reflect. Keith seemed nice, and funny, and Bobby was….Bobby. But Liandra, while friendly, still seemed incredibly chilled. And that remark Bobby had made put Maura on the edge around his twin. Her stomach growled, and Maura remembered how hungry she was. She'd never gotten a bite of Keith's sandwich. Hopefully there'd be plenty of food at Hogwarts.

At the noisy station filled with students, it was all Maura to do to keep from getting separated from Keith as Bobby herded them over towards the boats. "Don't worry about your bags," he said, "we'll take care of them for you." He winked back at a similarly burly young man who was already balancing Maura's trunk on one shoulder. "Look after these two," he called to a crook nosed older man with a wiry spray of hair, "they're friends of mine."

"In that case, I'll be sure to drown them in the lake." The man said in gravelly voice. To Keith and a frightened Maura, he said "into the boats now, good lad, now you lass, right off, and away, then." With a shove of his ancient heeled boot he sent their boat adrift into the middle of a misty and (almost certainly, Maura thought) haunted lake. There were two more children in their boat. The first was a dimpled blonde with clear, pretty blue eyes. She introduced herself as Charlotte Blackwell. "But call me Lottie," she insisted with a merry twinkle in her eyes. The second gave his name as Jonathan Stanford, and instantly won Maura over with his gentle smile and low, soft voice. "My sister is a seventh year," he mentioned, "she's a transfiguration genius, and she'd been hoping and hoping I'd be a wizard. Our parents are Muggles. She was so proud of me when I received the owl she accidentally turned our stove into large Christmas pudding. A rather tasty one, too." He added as an afterthought. Lotty giggled.

"Well, my parents were quite certain I'd get into Hogwarts. They met here. My father wants me to join Ravenclaw, but my mother is pushing for Hufflepuff." Maura remembered what Bobby had said about Hufflepuffs and wondered if Lotty's mother cared. "My older brother, Roger, right, he's a Ravenclaw. Daddy was bursting with pride when his oldest son joined his house. But Mum got her turn when Phyllis went Hufflepuff. So it's up to the baby of the family to decide which house is best. When Roger and Phyllis come home, they have regular squabbles about the houses. I'm excited to see who will finally win." Lotty was bubbly and gregarious. There was nothing about her cheerful, bouncy personality not to like. Maura felt drawn to the blonde girl.

The boats did not have any obvious method of propulsion or navigation, but skimmed along at a swift pace towards a shimmering tower of light in the distance. Maura could see little flickers of blue light around them on the lake, indicating other boats. Presumably, there were four first years for every boat, so by her tally, there were only about thirty-six other new students, herself and her new friends excluded. Maura had always been good with numbers. Maura, finished her digits and satisfied with herself, looked up and gasped.

A silver-blue castle that seemed to have been allowed to grow wild, spreading and twisting in a bevy of ways sprouted from the lake shore, its enormous towers budding into the star speckled sky. Luminous and looming, it seemed both welcoming and imposing at the same time.

"Hogwarts" breathed Lotty gently, her exuberant persona calmed for one moment. It was the last word anyone said for a while. The little boats pulled up along the shore and the gravelly man from before took advantage of the silence to give them directions.

"Come on, out of the boats, in a group then, come on stick together. Right now, follow me, and no noise mind you. Step along!" Subdued, the young charges huddled together and craned their necks to look upwards at the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall. Maura looked out nervously at the masses of people looking back at her. Standing on the podium with Keith, Lotty, Jonathan, and the rest of the first years in something that vaguely resembled the line they were supposed to be in, Maura caught a glimpse of ruddy Bobby McCaffry. He gave her a double thumbs up and winked while his friend waved. Maura gave a little sigh of relief. At least someone looked happy to see her.

A heavy-set but rather handsome woman placed a battered hat on a stool in the middle of the podium. It soon became animated, singing a cheerful, offbeat melody.

Everyone applauded nicely, and when the buzz died down, the woman gave the instructions that, when called, they were expected to sit on the stool and try on the hat. She adjusted her silvery spectacles and began reading from her list of names.

"Barnes, Nicholas" A tall, blonde boy built like a Viking placed the too-large hat on his head, or rather over it, and after a handful of seconds the hat chirped out "Ravenclaw!" A table decorated in blue cheered, crying "first first-year! We got the first first-year!"

"Blackwell, Charlotte"

"That's me," Lotty whispered. "Wish me luck!" Lotty pulled the brim over her sunny curls and after almost a full minute the hat cried "Gryffindor!" The red-gold table at which Bobby was seated roared as a dazed Lotty wandered off in their direction. Maura thought she saw her mouth the words "Gryffindor? Sorry Mum and Da"

"Carboux, June" "Ravenclaw"

"Cully, Alexander" "Hufflepuff"

"Delbarton, Annette" "Slytherin"

"Edwards, Janice" "Hufflepuff"

"Ferret, Martin" "Slytherin"

"Hathaway, Eve" "Gryffindor"

And so the list proceeded, with each name being called, and the house announced to cheers. And then, without hardly any warning at all, the name called was-

"Matthews, C. Maura" Maura stepped out of the dwindling group, her knees quaking. How horrible it would be to pass out in front of the entire school! Maura carefully placed the hat on top of her head. Hmmm…Maura…no wonder you aren't referred to as Charity.

What's that supposed to mean? Maura thought.

Nothing, dear. I just don't think you're headed to Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw might be an option, you have a good head for numbers, but no, you're completely awash in spunk. Best for you to head to

"Gryffindor!" Maura smiled and whipped the hat off her head and looked over at the cheering table. Bobby was already making a space for her between himself and Lotty. "I knew you had a lion inside you" he laughed, patting her on the back. Several other students scattered themselves among the tables, until the name announced was

"Stanford, Jonathan" who probably had the hat on his head the longest, with well over two minutes passing before the hat positively belted "Gryffindor". Jonathan beamed at a dark haired Gryffindor girl, whom Maura took to be his sister.

"Thornton, Blaire", became a Ravenclaw, and then it was finally "Westwood, Keith" who had barely touched the hat to his head when it shouted "Gryffindor!" Finally "Wyatt, James" became a Hufflepuff and suddenly the sorting ceremony was over. Maura found it hard to concentrate on what the Headmaster, a salt and pepper bearded man, was saying to them, her stomach was growling so ferociously. She remembered standing up to sing the tuneless lyrics to the Hogwarts school song, before the Headmaster finally pronounced those magic words, "Chow Time!"

Suddenly the silver dishes that littered the tables were covered in food. Maura's heart leapt in glee. Food! Between stuffing her mouth with food and sipping from a cider-filled goblet, Maura fielded questions dished up by her new housemates. She tried very hard to remember who was who, but in the end she only ended up with the names of the other first years, whom she'd at least seen up on the podium. Besides her friends from the boat, there were five other new Gryffindors. Eve Hathaway and Gregory King were both spitfire personalities. Eve had a clever, open personality and a foxy smile, and Gregory was charmingly honest. Baxter Johnson was the most solemn of the group, which, combined with his mature proportions made him seem a good deal older than twelve. Nancy Parsons was a smaller, louder, a much more annoying version of Eve. And Ingrid Lang was incredibly shy, introducing herself and hunching farther into her robes.

Maura ate until she was sure she'd have to buy new robes to adjust for her sudden weight gain, and soon she and the other first years were gathered into a little group, and herded from the main hall by a pretty girl who introduced herself as Colleen Braleigh, and of course the cheerful Bobby McCaffry. It was soon common knowledge that the Head Boy and Girl of Gryffindor House were very, very, very good friends, this fact made obvious by the way Bobby's arm wrapped around Colleen's waist every second it was navigating a stairwell or gesturing to a landmark necessary for survival at Hogwarts.

Colleen and Bobby finally halted in front of a large portrait of a knight. "Halt" he cried, waving his sword around while his horse munched grass, "Who trespasses on the land of Sir Cadogan, brave and esteemed knight for whom-" Colleen cut off the flow of words with a roll of her eyes and saying clearly "Hollythwaite" The portrait swung open, leading a hole large enough for even Bobby to slide through.

Once everyone was safely through, Colleen gave a short speech. "Welcome to the Gryffindor common room." She said "this place will be your home for the next seven years. Here you can study, relax, or eat between meals. To get in, you have to give the password to Sir Cadogan, which this week happens to be 'Hollythwaite'. We, meaning Bobby or I, will notify you when we change the password. Do NOT give the password out to someone from another house. That's just stupid. If you have any questions, you can ask Bobby or I, or Professor Jade. He's our head of house. Or really, any of our older students will give you a hand. Just beware of advice given to you by the Damion twins. Jeffrey and Johnson, they're sons of the devil, really. Oh, and Peeves the Poltergeist will try and get you in trouble. Headless Nick is a decent fellow, and so are some of the other house ghosts, but the Bloody Baron, well, watch out for him. He's….not too nice. Any questions?"

"Can we go to bed now?" Someone—Greg, asked. Colleen smiled.

"Of course, you must all be exhausted. Girls, come with me. Boys, you head off with Bobby." Obligingly they split, grinning away tiredly at each other. All five girls shared the same, large room that was stairs above in the tower. The five beds were perfectly made with hospital-like precision, but the trunks at the foot of the bed made Maura wonder. Who'd known she would be in Gryffindor, and that she'd want her bed next to Lotty and Eve, far away from Nancy?

The first night was hardly a night. Even though they were bone tired, nothing can prevent girls from staying up late together chatting. It's a female bonding thing. It was very late when the five females finally laid their heads, curly or otherwise, onto their pillows to fall into the well of slumber.

AN: More to come, more to come…but I've got to write it first. What happens next is stuffed somewhere behind the finals I'm "studying" for. No worries. I just hope you haven't fallen asleep while I get the boring part out of the way.

Love and a Peanut Butter Sandwich!

Meitora