THE TIES THAT BIND
CHAPTER TWO
By Dragonmage
Rating: R (eventually)
Characters featured: Mostly an original character and Draco. Although Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville are key players.
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowlings owns Harry Potter and all things tied up therein. Me? I'm borrowing her world and people and having a wee bit of fun with them. No profit bein' made, so don't sue me... I ain't got anything worth takin' anyway. That said...
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"Now, pay attention first years, we will be sorting a transfer student from the States before we sort all of you." Professor McGonagall, an older witch in green robes, explained as she led the group of students out of a small chamber towards the Castle's Great Hall. "You'll have a better idea of what to expect this way."
Minutes later, a dirty, patched and frayed wizard's hat, sitting atop a four-legged stool that had been placed in the front of the Great Hall, finished singing it's Sorting Song to the applause of the teaching staff and the hundreds of students seated around the cavernous room. Professor McGonagall, who had been waiting with the line of students, stepped forward holding a roll of parchment saying "when I call your name, you will step forward, place the hat on your head and sit on the stool to be sorted." "Conners, Lillith." She began.
Chrissy walked up to the stool, placed the hat on her head, which immediately fell over her eyes, and sat down on the stool.
Silence filled the Great Hall for several minutes.
Chrissy, however, was listening enraptured as the hat rattled off the good and bad points of placing her in this house or that house. It changed houses so often that she was beginning to fret that she wasn't special enough to merit any one of them.
Sitting at the Gryffindor table, Harry turned to Hermione and Ron, who were staring, confused looks on their faces, as the seconds rolled by, "Did it take this long with me?" Harry whispered. Twin nods answered him as they all continued to stare. Chrissy looked like she was ready to start crying. McGonagall was patiently smiling at the first years. Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts Headmaster, was leaning forward slightly in his high-backed chair, hands steepled in front of him, a look of curiosity and concern hinted at in his features. While Severus Snape, the Potion's Master, looked ready to rip that hat off her head and chase her out of the castle.
In Chrissy's head, she could hear the hat winding down. 'So I suppose... for all your strengths and weaknesses... greatness... and frailties... courage and fear... and... Oh! That's a wee little secret I'll keep to myself... for now. But you don't know why... and that's why you'll go into...' "GRYFFINDOR!" the sorting hat roared loudly, its voice filling the Great Hall.
A shriek of joy came from Ginny as the whole of the Gryffindor table applauded and cheered their newest Fifth Year. Professor McGonagall removed the hat from Chrissy's head, her soft motherly voice whispering, "welcome to my house, my dear girl," before Chrissy dashed away.
At the Slytherin table, Malfoy banged his fist onto the tabletop and hissed, "of course, she's a Gryffindor. Of course, bloody hell!" Pansy glared at him for a second before returning her attention to the dark haired girl skipping over to the Gryffindor table.
"Welcome to Gryffindor!" Harry, Ron and Hermione tripped over each other saying. Ginny was still too busy clapping to say much of anything. Chrissy sat down, blushing at all the attention. The Sorting Ceremony went quickly after that. Only one student caused any kind of a delay and that was a plump young boy named Sebastian Smithe, who tripped as he was going up the stairs to the stool. Mr. Smithe was immediately sorted into Hufflepuff a few seconds later, red cheeks and all.
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The feast was a rousing success, the house ghosts making themselves known in their usual pomp and circumstance. Sir Nick, making his entrance by popping up through a half-eaten turkey resting on a serving tray near Chrissy's seat, caused her to jump and spill her goblet of fruit juice all over her skirt. After a good bit of patting the skirt dry, she seemed okay... if frazzled by the experience.
"Eaglewing is still too new a castle to have attracted any ghosts," she said to Hermione, who was carefully dissecting her chicken leg with a fork and knife. "Um... that's finger food, you know."
"Only if you want to be coated in grease." Hermione explained disdainfully.
"You mean like everyone else?" Chrissy smiled.
"Exactly."
Chrissy shrugged at Hermione's reply and picked up a piece of chicken with her fingers and started eating. Hermione's tsk of disapproval garnered muffled chuckles from Ron and Harry. Both of whom were steadily stuffing food into their faces like starving men. The Start of Term banquet ended a little while later with everyone dashing off to his or her House Common Room.
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"And this is the Girls' Dormitory, Chrissy." Hermione said as they reached the top of the spiral staircase. "Your things are already put away for you. The common room is generally a noisy place, best place to study is usually the library. I spend a lot of time there," Hermione explained as she strolled into the room with Chrissy and Ginny on her heels. The new girl was looking at everything with wide eyes. Hermione chuckled. "Does take a bit of getting used to, doesn't it? The moving stairs, the talking portraits. Just wait until you meet Hagrid, he's a good friend of ours. Loves all animals... and I do mean all animals. Just never eat any candy he offers... tends to be a bit... sticky... if you understand."
"Once had my whole mouth glued shut by a piece of fudge," Ginny added helpfully. Chrissy nodded and wandered over to the covered cage near what she assumed was her bed. The girls followed, eager to see what sort of creature was hidden within.
"Owls have their own area," Hermione offered.
"Not an owl. Not my AmenTut," Chrissy chuckled and lifted the cover carefully. Asleep on the bottom of the cage, in a nest of sand and small rocks lay a snake. Ginny yelped and leapt away while Hermione took a step closer to examine the serpent.
"What sort of snake is AmenTut?"
"Oh, a winged serpent. I found his egg while my parents and I were in Egypt over the summer break. It hatched before we could get it to anyone better trained to deal with the rarer beasties... and well, he sort of adopted me as his mom. I couldn't just leave him. I spent two weeks learning how to take care of him from some cute guy in the Egyptian Ministry of Magic and then had to wait another two just to get permission to bring him into England." She unlatched the cage door and reached in to scratch the snake's head gently. "How's Mommy's little baby? Did you sleep the whole trip? Come on out, Tut. Stretch a bit." She lifted the serpent from the cage carefully; it coiled around her wrist peacefully.
Hermione took a step back as Chrissy cooed and fretted over her familiar. The snake was black, but it had a silvery sheen to its scales that reminded Hermione of hematite. Then it spread its wings. The wing span was barely two feet total, but it made the snake seem much bigger than it should have. Hermione was trying to puzzle out which breed of serpent it was. 'Feathers?'
"Ginny?" Chrissy queried looking around for her new friend. "Tut won't bite, promise. He's a good boy. Hasn't bitten anyone, not even the specialist I had to take him to."
"I'm fine over here, thank you." Ginny answered from across the room, peeking out from behind the heavy drapes surrounding her bed. " I'm... not fond of snakes."
"Oh, sorry," Chrissy kissed Tut's head and started to tuck him back into the cage. "Sorry, Tut. You'd best stay in here until everyone gets used to you."
"Actually, Harry might like to meet Tut," Hermione offered. Chrissy shrugged and walked out of the dormitory as the snake began slithering up her arm to his usual spot around her neck. The snake settled in as the girls reached the bottom of the stairs. At the sight of the snake, no less than a dozen screams followed as pandemonium broke out in the crowded Common Room. Chrissy screamed as well when Tut, startled by the commotion, dove into her robe.
"T-tut! Get out of th-there!" Chrissy giggled. "That tickles! Stupid snake! Those feathers tick-tickle!" She scolded while fishing within her robes frantically trying to grab Tut's tail. Harry was watching equally horrified and amused. Then he noticed that everyone had stopped scrambling for cover and was staring at Chrissy in shock.
"Um... Tut? Out of there. You're embarrassing her," Harry said. Well, he thought he said. In reality, he was hissing to Tut in Parselmouth, which apparently worked because the snake froze and Harry heard a voice from Chrissy's direction
"What? Who are you?" the silky voice asked from within the folds of her robe. Chrissy managed to wriggle out of her robe at that instant and it fell to the floor with a soft thud. A loud and clear 'ouch' came from under the robe and Tut slithered out, looking as sheepish as a serpent could. Harry rescued the snake before Ron could bash it with a poker he had grabbed from the fireplace.
"Here, here. He's sorry. He was frightened, that's all," Harry offered in Tut's defense. Chrissy reclaimed her snake-free robe and put it back on before walking over.
"Ron! Put that down. You hurt Tut and I'll never speak to you again," Chrissy hissed and took her familiar back from Harry. "Thanks. Didn't know you were a Parselmouth too. I might as well not be." Chrissy sighed. "Scale-head tends to ignore me no matter what language I'm speaking." Though her words were a bit harsh, Harry could see the gentle scratching and looking-over that Chrissy gave the serpent. Clearly, she did care a great deal about her pet.
"Bloody Hell! That... thing almost killed you!" Ron yelled still brandishing the fire poker like a sword.
"No, he didn't." Harry said calmly. "He was just spooked by all the sudden movement. Everyone started jumping around and such. Really, Ron, like you've never saw a snake before."
"Snake, yes. Winged snake, no. Winged snake around a student's neck, definitely not!" Ron exclaimed and then paused. "He is sort of cool in a snake-ish sort of way, isn't he?" Chrissy rolled her eyes while Harry chuckled at his friend's choice of words. "And... you're a Parselmouth too!" Ron said, gaping at Chrissy. "I thought that was a rare talent, but now we've two Gryffindors that can talk to snakes. Right strange if you ask me."
"I didn't," Chrissy huffed and stormed back up the stairs to the Girls Dormitory.
"What did I say?" Ron asked. Harry and Hermione shrugged and then winced at the loud slam that echoed down from the top of the stairs.
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(Chapter Three will be up shortly. Sorry for the delay. Reviews appreciated, as always. Flames will be used to roast marshmallows, warm up Malfoy's heart and then be tossed away like so much trash.)
~DragonMage