Heres part three!







Rats and Hats, by Aisha Iwakura







Early morning rays filtered through the room Alyssa and Iris shared at the Leaky Cauldron. Somewhere under Alyssa's blankets a tiny bell jangled and Andromeda, Alyssa's new pet cat, peeked over the covers and licked Alyssa's cheek.

"Mmm...not now..." Alyssa moaned, rolling over as Andromeda gave a growl of protest and hopped over to Iris' bed.

Iris opened one eye at the cat's sudden weight upon the bed and she smiled, sitting up. She picked up the cat and shook her best friend awake. "Alyssa...wake up. We have to get to school."

Alyssa slowly sat up and her brown eyes slowly traveled to the clock on her beside table. "Nine? We have to get up at nine?" she asked, irritably. Iris giggled and nodded, slipping her glasses on, and getting up. Alyssa petted Andromeda for a brief moment before following her friend to the large wardrobe at the other side of the room.

After getting dressed, the two hauled their trunks and Andromeda's cage with her inside down the Leaky Cauldron's stairs. Alyssa suddenly remembered something and stopped Iris. "Why don't we just use magic to carry these things??" Alyssa huffed, as she plopped into a chair.

Iris narrowed her eyes. "Alyssa, you know we can't use magic outside of Hogwarts...the letter said so!"

Alyssa only sighed and crossed her arms as the waitress set down their daily bowls of cereal. "Thanks Amy," said Alyssa as she picked up her spoon. "No problem. See you two next year!" Amy said, tucking a pencil behind her ear and walking away.

Iris suddenly blinked, and leaned forward to Alyssa. "How're we getting to the station? Everyone's too busy serving people to take us...."

Alyssa grinned at her friend.

"Floo powder!"

Alyssa loved getting to different places traveling by Floo Powder. She'd gone in the Leaky Cauldron's fireplace when no one was looking one day when Iris was up in their room. Floo Powder was a very fine powder, usually kept in an urn above the fireplace. All you had to do was take a pinch of the powder, toss it into the flames, step into the grate, and yell out the place you wanted to go. The only bad thing about Floo Powder was if you didn't yell out the name of the destination you wanted to go clearly enough, you could end up at the wrong grate. Alyssa had tried once: she'd ended up at Knockturn Alley, which was dedicated to the Dark Arts. She'd gotten a telling off from the innkeeper once she'd managed to find her way back.

"Floo Powder? What if we don't end up at the station? Are we allowed??" asked Iris all at once!

"Iris! Stop worrying! That was only one time, and I got back alright! And, I already asked the innkeeper and he said it was alright, as long as we were careful."

Iris nodded and got up, having finished her breakfast. Alyssa followed and the two dragged their trunks and Andromeda's cage to the fireplace at the other end of the Leaky Cauldron. Alyssa picked up the plain urn on the mantlepiece and took the lid off. She took out a pinch of the fine, glittery powder and tossed it into the flames. The flames turned a brilliant emerald-green color and shot up until they were higher than both of them.

"I'll go first, since I've used Floor Powder. Just take a pinch of the powder, throw it in the fire, and yell out where you want to go."

Iris nodded as Alyssa took her trunk and Andromeda's cage and stepped into the flames.

"Hogwarts Express, platform nine and three quarters!" were her last words before she whirled away down the bottom of the fireplace.

Iris took a pinch of the glittering powder and threw it into the flames. Again, the flames turned emerald-green and rose higher than her. She stepped into the grate, with her trunk and instantly felt a nice warmth wash over her body.

"Hogwarts Express, platform nine and three quarters!" she yelled out, before the fireplace tugged her downward through the bottom. Through her smudged glasses, all she could see were many other grates whizzing by, and she clutched her trunk closer to her. Moments later, she stumbled through a very large fireplace, almost falling on her face.

"Iris!! Are you alright??" yelled Alyssa, hurrying over and helping her friend to her feet. She began to brush all the soot off of her clothes and Iris coughed.

"Alyssa! It's alright! I can brush myself off!" Iris laughed at her protective friend. Alyssa shrugged and led Iris down the long corridor of the Hogwarts Express and to an empty compartment. Iris set her trunk down as Alyssa let Andromeda out of her cage. She leapt to the carpet and scampered through the closed compartment curtains.

"Andromeda! Get back here!" cried Alyssa, pushing back the curtains, but she suddenly stopped once she bumped noses with the one and only...

"H-Harry?" she stammered, as Iris pulled her back so Harry and his friends could enter the compartment.

"Hey! All the compartments are full, mind if we join you?" Harry asked, looking around the compartment.

"Sure!" beamed Iris, moving her trunk off of the seat to make room.

Harry pulled back the curtains and shoved his trunk inside, followed by a girl with bushy brown hair, and a boy with flaming red hair and freckles covering his face. The girl had a cage on top of her trunk containing a enourmous ginger cat that had a face that looked like it ran headlong into a parked car. The red-headed boy had a smaller cage containing what had to be the smallest owl either of them had ever seen. Harry held a cage that held a beautiful snowy owl, her amber eyes surveying the two girls.

Suddenly, what sounded like a cat's low growl drifted from just outside the compartment to Alyssa's ears.

"Oh NO! Andromeda!"

She got up, threw back the curtains, and looked around frantically. Andromeda was crouched on all fours, a sickly looking rat cowering in terror before it. Alyssa quickly scooped up Andromeda before the rat became her lunch. Just before the rat dissapeared out the door, she noticed a toe from it's front paw missing.

"Hmm...that's peculiar..." Alyssa mumbled, carrying the wriggling Andromeda back into the compartment.

The bushy-haired girl's eyes lit up at the sight of Andromeda, now trying to bite her hands to get away.

"Oh! Is that Andromeda?" she said, getting up. "I'm Hermione Granger, what's your name?" Hermione held out her hand for a handshake and Alyssa let go of Andromeda who immidiately hopped inside of her cage.

"I'm Alyssa Patterson, and this is my friend, Iris Wordensbader." Iris smiled merrily and waved from her seat. Ron stood up. "I'm Ron Weasley. Harry told us about meeting you in Diagon Alley, and we've been looking forward to meeting you!"

Everyone muttered their hello's and sat down to enjoy the train ride to Hogwarts. Alyssa kept eyeing Andromeda who kept shifting in her cage and meowing every now and then. Iris kept staring at Harry's lightning bolt scar, and looked out the window of the train whenever he glanced her way. The rattle of an old cart down the corridor told them the old lady selling sweets was almost to their compartment.

"Anything from the cart, dears?" the old lady asked, sticking her head through the closed curtains. Both Iris' and Ron's ears turned an embarrasing shade of pink, but Harry hopped up and bought his usual load of Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, and Pumpkin Pasties. He sat down with his load and Iris have him an unusual look.

"Hungry, are you?"

"Starved." said Harry through a Chocolate Frog. "I never get to eat this stuff all summer except here so I get as much as I can."

Alyssa smirked as the Chocolate Frog Ron unwrapped leaped from the package and hopped out the train window. Iris decided to try her luck with a funny tannish-greenish Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean. She spluttered and coughed up the mushed bits of candy muttering a word that sounded suspiciously like "Foot."

As the five were happily eating their pile of sweets and chatting about life, parents, and the wizarding world, the curtain was pulled back and everyone looked up. In the doorway was a boy about the same age as Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but with pale skin and blonde hair slicked back. On either side of him were what looked like two bodyguards with their bulky bodies and mean looking faces.

"Well, well, well, If it isn't the Mudblood, Potty, and the Weasel..." the boy and his two goons chuckled at the joke. Alyssa stood up, red in the face.

"How DARE you use the term Mudblood! I know who you are...you're Draco Malfoy. Your father comes into the Leaky Cauldron all the time. From what I've seen, you and your family are a bunch of stuck up snobs that hate Muggle-born wizards."

Malfoy smirked.

"Right you are, Missy. I see you're not a Mudblood, but you've got a pretty big mouth. I'd watch out for yourself if I were you this year." And with that, Malfoy left, followed by his two goonies. Alyssa turned around, slightly red in the face, and were met by the stares of Iris, Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Sorry...I don't let anyone insult my friends." she smiled and sat back down beside Iris.


Pretty soon, the Hogwarts Express slow down, and came to a stop in Hogsmeade Station. Everybody was pushing and shoving, trying to get out of the train first. As soon as Iris stepped off of the platform, she bumped into someone...or something? She looked up to find the tallest man she had ever seen in her life! He had to be well over ten feet tall, and twice as wide as any normal man.

let out a small squeak sound and ducked behind Alyssa, who was staring up at the stranger in amazement. He had a long, shaggy black beard and un-tameable black hair. His eyes were a dark beetle black and shined with warmth.

"Firs' Years over 'ere!!" the large man bellowed.

After waving goodbye to Harry, Hermione, and Ron, they followed the rest of the first years to a small group of wooden boats docked on the shore of a gigantic dark lake.

"No more an' four to a boat!" the large man bellowed again, and Iris and Alyssa clambered into a boat with two other first year girls. The boats lurched as they set off toward the great, glittering castle in the distance and the two girls stared at it in awe. When the boats docked once again, everyone climbed out and followed the giant to the enourmous wooden front doors and he knocked on them.



strict looking witch answered the door. She was dressed in all blac robes, complete with pointy black hat. Her black hair was pulled back tightly into a bun at the nape of her neck.

"Got the firs' years, Professor McGonagall."

"Thank you, Hagrid, I'll take them from here."

The first years followed Professor McGonagall through a door to their right inside the castle. They soon found themselves in a wide, open corridor, the sounds of students entering the Great Hall echoing through the stone wall. The students began looking around at the paintings all around the walls, which were waving merrily at them. Professor McGonagall turned to the first years and everyone was suddenly quiet.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few moments, the Sorting Ceremony will begin, but I need to inform you of a few things first. You will be Sorted into your house, which will become your home for the next seven years and the other people in your house, your family. The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Your personal triumphs will earn you House Points, while your breaking any school rules will cause a deduction of House Points. At the end of the year, the points will be tallied, and the house with the most points will win the House Cup. Any questions?"

Silence greeted her question.

"Very well then. If you will follow me..."

Professor McGonagall opened a different door and the first years filed out into the Great Hall. She brought out a very battered old hat and set it on the stool. A rip near the tip of the hat opened like a mouth a suddenly burst into song.

i"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty
But don't judge on what you see
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me
You can keep your bowlers black
Your top hats sleek and and tall
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I cap them all
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be
You might belong in Gryffindor
Where dwell the brave at heart
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindor's apart
You might belong in Hufflepuff
Where they are just and loyal
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw
If you've a ready mind
Where those of wit and learning
Will always find their kind
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"/i

The Great Hall was filled with cheering and clapping as the Sorting Hat finished it's song and Iris gave Alyssa a relived look.

"We only have to try it on!! I thought we were going to have to do some kind of really hard magic or something...What if the hat puts me in Slytherin? Or what if we get put into different houses?!"

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Iris, don't worry! I'm sure we'll both be put into Gryffindor."

Professor McGonagall took out a very long roll of parchment and called off a name.

"Acton, Angela!"

A short, freckled girl with blonde hair hurried forward. She sat on the stool, and shoved the hat on her head. It must've been a good two minutes before the Sorting Hat yelled out "HUFFLEPUFF!"

Professor McGonagall went on calling off names until she came to "Hayes, Jonathan." A short, brown haired boy slowly stepped forward and sat on the stool. Iris recognized him as the quiet boy from the robe shop in Diagon Alley. The Sorting Hat had barely touched the boy's brown head when it shouted "RAVENCLAW!" And the boy slowly walked to the Ravenclaw table.

A couple minutes passed and Professor McGonagall shouted "Malfoy, Danielle!" The blonde girl from the robes shop stepped forward, and Alyssa could catch some murmurs coming from the crowd of students, some looking at Draco Malfoy.

"Another Malfoy?"

"Didn't know Lucius Malfoy had a daughter..."

Danielle shot a venomous look at Alyssa and Iris and sat on the stool, a dignified look on her face as if she knew she was going to get sorted into the Slytherin House. Sure enough, when the hat touched her head, the hat yelled out "SLYTHERIN!" Danielle grinned and went to join Draco Malfoy at the Slytherin table.

More names passed and Professor McGonagall yelled out "Patterson, Alyssa!" Alyssa blinked and stumbled forward and sat on the stool. The last thing she saw before the hat was lowered over her eyes was Harry waving to her from the Gryffindor table. A full minute passed before the Sorting Hat declared her a Gryffindor. Al cried out happily and ran down the steps to join the Gryffindors.

"Iris! See you in Gryffindor!" Alyssa yelled, waving from her seat.