Not much to say here. But I can daresay I'm happy that Neko is back.

***

Chapter 3: The Sorting

The Sorting Ceremony began without a hitch. The hat sang its little song, leaving me slightly dazed as to its more upbeat version from the movie. People were called up in alphabetical order.

The name I waited for was not long off now, I knew, as the young Hufflepuff boy, Justin, was called out.

"Galis, Angel!" I stood straight and tall despite my pounding heart. My feet were lighter than feathers instead of heavier than lead as I had expected. I took the cap gently and placed it over my head, sitting down on the stool.

"My, oh, my, what an interesting past you have," the hat said quietly within my mind, "Not even human, I see, but still, you are magic, so there is no doubts there. Plenty of courage, I see, and the will to win your battle. Now, what have we here? You're supposed to be raped by a demon, now that is most dreadful. Well, I can't see where I should place you, but since you know all about this world and where you want to be, I'll say...GRIFFINDOR!" He shouted the last part, causing me to jump, but I stood carefully and returned the hat gracefully.

"Galis, Chi-chi!" the professor called out. Chee made her way cautiously up the steps and sat in the chair, the hat on her head. I sat down next to Fred or George, I'd probably never figure out which, and took a deep breath.
"That was close," I whispered to myself.

"Close?" one of the two Weasley twins asked.

"Never mind," I said with a teasing smile. I missed Trunks already. I watched as Chee and Pan sat on the stool, one after the other, and were placed in the Griffindor House. Then as Hermione, staring out at the three of us at the Griffindor table, was placed in the same House. A surprise was evident as the young lady, Jupiter, was placed alongside Hermione and became another member of the Griffindor House.

The Sorting continued just as quickly, the children sorted evenly among the tables. Harry sat on the stool for the longest I'd ever seen and I watched as some of the older boys whispered among themselves. Harry was flushing with happiness as he made his way to sit beside Pan. There were few chairs left at the Griffindor table, but there were also few remaining first years. The Weasley twins were still cheering wildly about the fact that the Griffindors had Harry Potter in their House. That is, until Professor McGonagall shut them up with a slight glare.

Dean Thomas and Ron were the last two of the Griffindors and I was glad that we had saved the end seat for the Weasley twins' youngest brother.

"That went well," I whispered under my breath as Albus Dumbledore stood to say his small speech.

"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I'd like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit, Blubber, Oddment, Tweak! Thank you!" He sat down as the room erupted into clapping and cheers.

"Is he...a bit mad?" Harry asked me from across the table where he sat.

"He's a genius, the best wizard in the world," I told him, nearly quoting Percy from the novel, "But yes, he is a bit mad."

"How do you know?" Percy asked me with an eyebrow raised. I blushed as I realized he could hear me.

"Um...I've got a good sense of perception," I told him with a furtive wink, "You gonna eat, Harry?" His mouth flew open and I had to hold in a giggle at the familiar scene. I began to eat myself, sampling all of the traditional English dishes I had been neglected for a long time.

Although my mother could cook, she'd never made anything for us past a yearly Thanksgiving turkey. I basically made all of my own food and it wasn't typically all that good for me, which was why I had been overweight. I never understood how Tiger had remained so thin. Everything I ever had gotten from her she'd given me to just get me to leave her alone. My father was never around in the first place, at least not until he was drunk, so it had never been a good idea to talk to him, anyway. The reason she'd woken me up every morning to go to school is that she could be alone to clean for a few hours without hearing me type on my computer or listen to music.

My face had drooped in remembrance of such things as I continued to slowly eat the chicken dumplings I had loved so much when my mother had cared for me. When she'd had Dee, she just stopped caring all together. I guess that happens sometimes, though. I didn't blame Dee, of course, he was my brother and didn't understand any of this.

"Whatcha thinking about, Angel?" Chee asked me softly.

"Trunks," I sighed as I thought about my handsome, lavender-haired boyfriend. I missed him.

"You're thinking about swimming trunks?!" Percy asked in horror.

"No, my boyfriend!" I said with flushed ears, "His name just happens to be Trunks, all right? Jeez!"

"Sorry, sorry," the boy said, waving his arms like he was protecting himself.

"It just so happens that a lot of my friends have name-puns, all right?" I asked him for verification on this subject, "Like my own name, its supposed to speak of angels, you know, pure creatures. Pan here can be named for two things, actually. One is the cooking pan and the other is that its Spanish for 'bread'."
"Wow, I didn't know you could do that with names," Ron said, looking at me inquiringly, "So, what's Trunks like?" I smiled at him gently.

"Trunks has the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen and the silkiest hair. He's a martial artist, like me, and he loves to fight. In fact, he's the one who taught me to fight." I smiled dreamily, "And he's got the cutest little face. His voice is really low-pitched, and I can almost hear him at times, when the wind blows." I sighed and looked down. "But there's no wind tonight." I looked up again and resumed eating, "But I'll see him again. You can bet on it." I ate and ate, until I decided to wait for dessert.

I looked up at the High Table for the first time. I saw Hagrid drinking deeply from his goblet until he paused for only a moment to give me a little wave. Professor McGonagall was talking to Dumbledore, gesturing to each of the tables in turn. I saw a black-haired man with slightly greasy hair and knew he was Snape. I decided not to judge him until I had really met him and it was a slight blessing as he turned and gave me a small nod. I returned the nod and turned my head to glance at the other teachers. I knew that the place where Professor Quirrell was supposed to have been in was filled by another, but I didn't expect the beautiful young woman I saw. She looked kind and pleasant, as though she weren't at all related to the treacherous Malfoys. I glanced across the row at Jupiter, who was eating in a silence I found disturbingly like the ones I'd gone through when my family had first moved to Kansas.

The desserts appeared and I sampled each one despite my almost-full stomach. When I was through, I was overly stuffed, but I felt wonderful all the same. Dumbledore stood once more and began his speech to those of us who were new. It went basically the same.

First, he spoke of the forest and how it was forbidden to all students. Then to the fact that no magic should be used in the corridors between classes. Then he spoke of the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side. Several, including my two unknowing sisters, laughed at this. But there were no older kids who laughed at the mention of a "terrible death".

"He's not serious?" Harry asked Percy.

"Must be," the prefect of the Griffindor House muttered, "It's odd, because he normally gives us a reason. The forest is full of dangerous creatures, everyone knows that. I do think he might've told us prefects, at least."

"And now, may I introduce the newest addition to the Hogwarts staff, Professor Jupiter of the Defense of the Dark Arts."

"Ooh, Snape must be so mad!" Fred and George cried in a hoarse whisper.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Snape's been after that job for years, everyone knows that," Percy answered.

"And now, before we go to bed, let's sing the school song! Pick a tune and sing aloud," Dumbledore cried out and I noticed why Ms. Rowling had said the teachers' smiles had become "rather fixed". They were practically trying to smother their giggles and Snape looked like he was about ready to kill.

I listened to the song the first time through and caught on to the words. I knew that they sang the song thrice just for the first years to catch the words and I began to sing aloud as the words came to me like the beauty of the stars that the ceiling of the Great Hall portrayed. My singing was to "Hold On" and many could hear my bell-like voice over the rough sounds of the Weasley twins. The Weasley twins finished right after I did and Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand.

"Ah, music," he said, a quote of his book form, "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" I hung back with the other Griffindors as the other three Houses went ahead.

"Oh, Angel!" I heard a voice shout behind me. I turned around to see Dumbledore behind me and I gulped in thoughts of what he wanted. "Percy, you go on ahead and take the others, I'd like to speak with her alone." Pan and Chee hesitated for a moment before following Harry, Ron, and Jupiter to the Griffindor Tower.

"You wanted to speak to me, Headmaster?" I asked respectfully. Snape and the other teachers were still there.

"Yes, I wanted to speak with you about what the Sorting Hat spoke of," he answered with a smile, "And you may call me Albus."
"A-Albus?" I asked with confusion, "Y-You can hear what the Sorting Hat says?"

"Yes, you see, when a Headmaster takes this school, that hat ties itself to whomever it is, meaning I can see the same things the Hat sees," he smiled gently, "You have a great deal of knowledge already. Why did you come to this world? Why change your age and the identities of your friends?"

"Things aren't always what they seem, Albus," I said with a mysterious smile, "I know that firsthand."

"You are speaking of the teachers?" he asked softly.

"Not only them, but myself as well," I said, glancing to them, "The mystery that was presented by the human author, Miss Rowling, is a mystery once more with the death of Professor Quirrell."

"You know of things," Albus said softly, "Some you don't even understand. Yet you wish to continue?"

"For all," I told him, "I wish to protect all. I use the strengths of my spirit to fight, but now I must use the strengths of worlds I've only just glimpsed." He nodded and sighed.

"You won't tell me why you are here, then?" he asked.

"Oh, you already know why I'm here," I told him slyly, "As I told Ron on the train: I am here as the students are here. I am here to learn the magic of Hogwarts."
"Why did you travel over the dimensions to learn our magic?" Albus asked.

"Because it was the only way to defeat my enemies," I said softly, "And there are ten such people, one of which comes from this dimension. He is the master of the Dark Arts. I do believe you know of him. His true name is Tom Riddle, but he called himself Voldemort." Several of the teachers flinched or gasped in surprise. Albus smiled.

"You are not afraid to say his name, impressive," Albus told me.

"Not impressive," I sighed, "A name is nothing. If I had a dime, an American coin, for every time I've said 'a name is nothing to the person', I'd be a billionaire by now. My true enemy, a demon called Dirken, has gathered all of these enemies together. I have strewn myself out over seven different worlds, each with a different power I required to defeat its evil. But, as the Yin-Yang Theory goes, everyone has a good side and a dark side."

"You are impressive, Angel," he said, "Come along, I'll lead you to the Tower." He left the other teachers standing around in the Great Hall.

"Why did Snape acknowledge me?" I asked as we walked along down the resounding halls. "He usually isn't so kind toward students."

"Professor Snape has an interesting history, for certain," said the white-haired wizard, "But as you've said, nothing is as it seems."

"That is not how I recall Snape," I said thoughtfully, "In the book, he was bothersome and quite rude, always trying to get his dream-job, even though he planned to push the students beyond their limits. And he even is a traitor to the same people who saved his life years ago."

"Professor Snape simply needs someone who can explain morality to him," Albus told me, "Unfortunately, no one seems to have been able to do so."

"Perhaps that is my purpose, besides this Sorcerer's Stone business," I sighed, "I just hope that Harry can figure it out before it's too late." The silver-haired wizard nodded as we came to the portrait of the fat lady.

"Password?" she asked droningly.

"I suspect you know it already?" Albus asked, turning his half-moon-shaped glasses-clad blue eyes toward me.

"Caput Draconis," I said in answer to his question. He nodded lightly and turned to leave.

"I hope you complete your mission, Angel," he whispered, meaning for me not to hear, yet I did. "Things are not always as complicated as they seem."

"Angel, what'd he say?" Chee asked worriedly as I entered the room. She, Pan, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Jupiter remained in the common room.

"He hopes that I succeed," I answered, "Come on, let's get some rest. We're gonna need it." We made our way up the stairs and to the four-poster beds. I was happy to see that Penny had been released to fly free with the other owls. Pan and Chee took off their robes and shoes and fell fast asleep before their heads hit the pillows.

My dreams were still haunted by those I had been trying to forget over the past three months. But one kept me dreaming on...the reunion of my love and I. I smiled as I remembered that at one time he had been nothing more than a cute cartoon character to me and now he was the most important person in the world. (Aw...isn't that sweet?)

***

Ooh, a lil scary there, but okies....I hope that the little fluffy bits with Angel and Trunks aren't too annoying or anything, but they are part of the story. With me, you gotta pay attention to nearly every line in there in order to figure out stuffs.

N-She's pretty wild, ne?

A-Neko, please don't get me mad.

N-Mad? At lil Neko?

A-Yes, at you.

N-I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. Here's the preview for the next chapter!

"Thinking about Trunks again?"

"Not in this world,"

"I make it known here and now, Galis,"

A-I think that's enough. See ya later, guys.

N- Later, nekos!

A-That joke's getting really old, Neko.

N-What joke?

A-....Never mind. Ja, peeps.