Miranda probably would have been captivated by the Great Hall's bewitched celing, made to look like the skies, but the twinkling stars above her head didn't hold her attention. Instead, her gaze was fixed on an old, raggedy hat being donned by one student after another.
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat called while on one boy's head.
"Figelsteen, Miranda." she heard her name called and her stomach did a flip-flop. It wasn't that she was scared of the hat, she just hated going up in front of the entire school.
Miranda felt herself shaking as she walked up to the stool that the hat was on and put it on her head.
"Ahhh, an intelligent one, I see." a voice seemed to come from nowhere. She then realized that it was the hat itself talking. "Yes, I can see that you would be an excellent addition to Hufflepuff ... but I also sense strength in you. Quiet strength, but strength nonetheless. Yes, you belong in GRYFFINDOR!"
Half startled at the sudden exclamation and half relieved that it was over, Miranda numbly walked over to the Gryffindor table amid cheers from its occupants. She found an empty seat and sat down before settling to watch the rest of the sorting.
It really wasn't very interesting, and Miranda found herself wishing she hadn't put her Physics book back in her trunk. This person went to Slytherin, that girl went to Hufflepuff, and someone else went to Ravenclaw, and whenever 'Gryffindor' was called, Miranda had to cover her ears because everyone at the table insisted on cheering at the top of their lungs whenever a new person came to their house.
Through the whole thing, she noticed that the boy she had met on the train ride was still waiting to be sorted, and wondered why it was taking so long to get to him. Then she chided herself for caring.
He turned out to be the last one: "Weasley, William."
He walked up to the stool and put the hat on, and for a brief moment, Miranda wondered what the hat might be saying to him. It must have been a tough decision because it ended up taking quite a while, but finally, the exclamation of "GRYFFINDOR!" could be heard throughout the Great Hall. Dispite herself, Miranda clapped along with the rest of the Gryffindors at the arrival of a new member.
~*^*~
"I remember it like it was yesterday." Bill said with a smile. He had now joined Miranda at her table. "So what have you been up to lately?"
"I'm going to college in muggle America." Miranda said, tucking one of her dark brown locks behind her ear.
"Really?" Bill asked, "Going into Physics?"
"How did you guess?" Miranda asked sarcastically.
"I dunno, I guess seeing you reading about a hundred physics books in the course of the nine months I knew you kinda tipped me off." he replied with a wink, "What brings you to England?"
Miranda pondered for a moment on how to explain this one. "The professor I work for has an interest in ..." she faltered a moment, trying to find the right word, "supernatural ... stuff ... and I came with him on an investigation."
"Supernatural?" Bill questioned.
"Yeah ... you know ... like miracles and coincidences ... and anything out-of-the-ordinary." It was a little hard to describe exactly what Declan did. He wasn't your average run-of-the-mill professor, that was for sure.
Bill raised an eyebrow. "Does he know ...?" he asked, wordlessly finnishing his question with 'that you're a witch?'
"No," Miranda said, picking up his implication, "no, he doesn't."
Bill glanced at his watch and his eyes widened. "I'm late for work." he said quickly, "I've got to go. Maybe I'll se you again sometime?"
Miranda smiled. "Sure. Tomorrow ... same time?"
"Sounds good. See you then." He flashed her a smile and dashed down the alley.
Miranda watched him for a second, then figured that it was about time to check up on what Declan and Peggy were up to. She picked up the bag she had with her and made her way back toward the Leaky Cauldron.
~*^*~
"Where were you all morning?" Declan asked as Miranda entered his hotel room.
"Around." Miranda said, giving him a 'don't ask' glare.
Declan raised an eyebrow at her, but then decided to accept her answer.
"So where's Peggy?" Miranda asked.
"She went to go get lunch." he said, then he got a guilty look on his face, "Sorry, I didn't get anything for you."
"I've already had lunch." Miranda said, "Any new developments?"
"Nothing yet. We got all the equipment set up, but St. Gregory just doesn't seem to want to show himself." Declan said grimly.
Miranda settled herself on Declan's bed. Not surprisingly, the small hotel room already looked as if he had lived in it for quite a while. There were various pieces of paper, magazines, and books spread on the floor, on the bed, and even inside the open drawer of the desk.
"So did you have fun going 'around' this morning?" Declan asked cautiously, his question quickly met by a second warning glare from Miranda. She didn't want him involved in this ... not if she could help it. She would have to find some excuse to get away tomorrow, but she knew she'd figure it out.
~*^*~
"Now you get to see the Gryffindor house!" Charlie said excitedly as Bill trailed behind him, "It's great, you'll love it."
Charlie always acted high-and-mighty just simply because he wasn't a first year any more, and he felt it his duty as an all-knowing second year, to give Bill the grand tour. Bill just smiled and nodded.
As everyone exited the Great Hall, Bill put himself in auto-pilot mode and sleepily followed Charlie and the rest of the people in his house.
"... and that's the Transfiguration classroom, and down that staircase a little ways is Potions. Word of the wise ... watch out for Snape ..."
Charlie's constant chatter continued, and Bill continued to pay little attention to it. 'I'll let him talk,' he said to himself, 'I'm not in the mood to argue.'
Quite suddenly, he was shaken out of his semi-trance when he walked straight into someone.
"Watch out!" came a familiar voice.
"I'm sorry ..." he said as the dark-haired girl got up from the ground.
She didn't say anything. Instead, she turned and walked faster than she had been before.
"Fine," Bill said, even though she was way out of earshot by then, "be that way."
"RAVENCLAW!" the hat called while on one boy's head.
"Figelsteen, Miranda." she heard her name called and her stomach did a flip-flop. It wasn't that she was scared of the hat, she just hated going up in front of the entire school.
Miranda felt herself shaking as she walked up to the stool that the hat was on and put it on her head.
"Ahhh, an intelligent one, I see." a voice seemed to come from nowhere. She then realized that it was the hat itself talking. "Yes, I can see that you would be an excellent addition to Hufflepuff ... but I also sense strength in you. Quiet strength, but strength nonetheless. Yes, you belong in GRYFFINDOR!"
Half startled at the sudden exclamation and half relieved that it was over, Miranda numbly walked over to the Gryffindor table amid cheers from its occupants. She found an empty seat and sat down before settling to watch the rest of the sorting.
It really wasn't very interesting, and Miranda found herself wishing she hadn't put her Physics book back in her trunk. This person went to Slytherin, that girl went to Hufflepuff, and someone else went to Ravenclaw, and whenever 'Gryffindor' was called, Miranda had to cover her ears because everyone at the table insisted on cheering at the top of their lungs whenever a new person came to their house.
Through the whole thing, she noticed that the boy she had met on the train ride was still waiting to be sorted, and wondered why it was taking so long to get to him. Then she chided herself for caring.
He turned out to be the last one: "Weasley, William."
He walked up to the stool and put the hat on, and for a brief moment, Miranda wondered what the hat might be saying to him. It must have been a tough decision because it ended up taking quite a while, but finally, the exclamation of "GRYFFINDOR!" could be heard throughout the Great Hall. Dispite herself, Miranda clapped along with the rest of the Gryffindors at the arrival of a new member.
~*^*~
"I remember it like it was yesterday." Bill said with a smile. He had now joined Miranda at her table. "So what have you been up to lately?"
"I'm going to college in muggle America." Miranda said, tucking one of her dark brown locks behind her ear.
"Really?" Bill asked, "Going into Physics?"
"How did you guess?" Miranda asked sarcastically.
"I dunno, I guess seeing you reading about a hundred physics books in the course of the nine months I knew you kinda tipped me off." he replied with a wink, "What brings you to England?"
Miranda pondered for a moment on how to explain this one. "The professor I work for has an interest in ..." she faltered a moment, trying to find the right word, "supernatural ... stuff ... and I came with him on an investigation."
"Supernatural?" Bill questioned.
"Yeah ... you know ... like miracles and coincidences ... and anything out-of-the-ordinary." It was a little hard to describe exactly what Declan did. He wasn't your average run-of-the-mill professor, that was for sure.
Bill raised an eyebrow. "Does he know ...?" he asked, wordlessly finnishing his question with 'that you're a witch?'
"No," Miranda said, picking up his implication, "no, he doesn't."
Bill glanced at his watch and his eyes widened. "I'm late for work." he said quickly, "I've got to go. Maybe I'll se you again sometime?"
Miranda smiled. "Sure. Tomorrow ... same time?"
"Sounds good. See you then." He flashed her a smile and dashed down the alley.
Miranda watched him for a second, then figured that it was about time to check up on what Declan and Peggy were up to. She picked up the bag she had with her and made her way back toward the Leaky Cauldron.
~*^*~
"Where were you all morning?" Declan asked as Miranda entered his hotel room.
"Around." Miranda said, giving him a 'don't ask' glare.
Declan raised an eyebrow at her, but then decided to accept her answer.
"So where's Peggy?" Miranda asked.
"She went to go get lunch." he said, then he got a guilty look on his face, "Sorry, I didn't get anything for you."
"I've already had lunch." Miranda said, "Any new developments?"
"Nothing yet. We got all the equipment set up, but St. Gregory just doesn't seem to want to show himself." Declan said grimly.
Miranda settled herself on Declan's bed. Not surprisingly, the small hotel room already looked as if he had lived in it for quite a while. There were various pieces of paper, magazines, and books spread on the floor, on the bed, and even inside the open drawer of the desk.
"So did you have fun going 'around' this morning?" Declan asked cautiously, his question quickly met by a second warning glare from Miranda. She didn't want him involved in this ... not if she could help it. She would have to find some excuse to get away tomorrow, but she knew she'd figure it out.
~*^*~
"Now you get to see the Gryffindor house!" Charlie said excitedly as Bill trailed behind him, "It's great, you'll love it."
Charlie always acted high-and-mighty just simply because he wasn't a first year any more, and he felt it his duty as an all-knowing second year, to give Bill the grand tour. Bill just smiled and nodded.
As everyone exited the Great Hall, Bill put himself in auto-pilot mode and sleepily followed Charlie and the rest of the people in his house.
"... and that's the Transfiguration classroom, and down that staircase a little ways is Potions. Word of the wise ... watch out for Snape ..."
Charlie's constant chatter continued, and Bill continued to pay little attention to it. 'I'll let him talk,' he said to himself, 'I'm not in the mood to argue.'
Quite suddenly, he was shaken out of his semi-trance when he walked straight into someone.
"Watch out!" came a familiar voice.
"I'm sorry ..." he said as the dark-haired girl got up from the ground.
She didn't say anything. Instead, she turned and walked faster than she had been before.
"Fine," Bill said, even though she was way out of earshot by then, "be that way."