A/N: And I now present for your express delight the one and only, fifth, longest-ever chapter of my fic! Read on to discover just who it was that appeared in order to fight off the creature, and for (Drum roll please) the Sorting Ceremony! Reviews are always welcome (so REVIEW!!!) (pwitty please?)
Anyway, hope you like the new chapter. XXX Rubii.
Part 5: The Sorting Hat
At that, Apollo laughed, a barklike laugh that had no humour in it.
"That?" he asked slowly, sitting down. "That was Artemina, though I've no idea what that black creature was."
He said no more, and the others simply looked at each other in confusion. At last Artemis sighed heavily. Apollo raised his head to look at his twin.
"There shouldn't be secrets between friends," Artemis said quietly. Apollo sighed, just as heavily.
"All right… you tell it," he said simply. Artemis turned to the rest.
"Me and Apollo…" she began. "We're not really twins. We're triplets. Or we were… Artemina was our sister. She was as different to us as me and Apollo are- you'd never have guessed we were related, let alone triplets. Really shy, Artemina was. You never quite knew she was there, kinda invisible, you know? Unbelievable temper, though. Absolute fireworks, there were, when she got angry enough. But she died when we were nine. On our birthday… we'd gone to London for the day, to Diagon Alley. We'd just been into the Magical Menagerie… 'Mina got a kitten, same as me, and Apollo got a puppy. We came out, and these guys in black masks –Death Eaters- dark wizards," she explained for the sake of the Muggleborns, "started firing spells at us, everyone who was doing their shopping. We got out of the way, we were safe, when 'Mina dropped her kitten, Snidget. It ran, (her voice was shaking now) it- it ran towards the Death Eaters. 'Mina let go of my hand- I wasn't quick enough to stop her- and dashed across the road for it. They were- were both killed there and then." Suddenly Artemis' expression had become as hard as granite. "Those evil- those evil creatures killed her, just because she dropped her kitten. One day… One day, I swear…" she trailed off.
"But what I don't understand," said Apollo slowly, "is how she –appeared- just then. I don't know what's going on, but it's probably bad. Speaking of which, what was that other thing?"
Remus looked at the floor.
"One of the dread prison guards of Azkaban," he said quietly, a little dreamily, but as though the dream was a bad one. Then, completely matter of factly: "A Dementor."
~*~
At the tone of his voice a loud squeak was heard and Peter Pettigrew, looking terrified, tearful (as usual) and incredibly grimy, popped out from under Lily's seat, where he had evidently been hiding since the appearance of the Dementor.
Suddenly a tall boy with messy black hair and friendly brown eyes, wearing a little silver badge with the word 'Prefect' upon it and looking extraordinarily like James except for eye colour, and with the same friendly but slightly reckless smile, stuck his head into their compartment.
"Yo, Jamesie-boy," he grinned, looking around. "I'm Michael, by the way, you guys. Gonna introduce us, oh-brother-of-my-heart?"
James laughed. "Everyone, this is my brother Michael. Michael, this is everyone."
At this Michael pretended to scrag his brother in mock anger. "Idiot!" he chuckled, when he let James go. "Anyway, the Express'll be arriving any minute now- I thought I'd better warn you, so you can get changed. Wouldn't do to have too many Slytherins seeing you in Muggle clothing, though I've nothing against it myself."
Sirius nodded. "Thanks pal. Did you get the Dementor just now? Scary, aren't they?"
Michael nodded too, shuddering. "Yeah- vile creatures. Word is that the new Headmaster can't stand 'em either, but nobody knows who he is- old Armando Dippet died last year. He was right dippy 'n' all, totally off his rocker. They reckon they've got a right cracker for us this time, though, someone dead special. One of the other Prefects reckoned we're gonna get two Heads, but I doubt that. We've not had two Heads at the same time for five hundred years, as far as I'm aware."
At this, a pretty, coloured girl with her black hair jaw-length and as smooth as a mirror stuck her head in too. "So there you are, Michael," she said by way of greeting. "I've been looking for you all down the train- Bilius Weasley's causing havoc, as usual." She shook her head despairingly. "How a kid that thick- and nervy- got into his third year of Hogwarts (Gryffindor, of all houses!) I'll never know."
"All right, Suki, I'm coming," smiled Michael. "I'll you guys later, at the Sorting."
With this he went back up the train with his girlfriend, whom James explained was named Suki Chang and came from Ravenclaw, the Hogwarts House of Knowledge. There were less girls than boys, so Lily, Monique, Artemis, Minerva, Arabella and Erin went into the compartment containing the pets in order to change.
The six of them had just re-entered the compartment when the Hogwarts Express ground to a halt once more and they heard a rough, slightly hoarse voice yelling: "Firs' Years! Firs' years over 'ere, c'mon nah, all of yeh over 'ere!"
They all clambered out, and found that the source of the voice was a giant man with kind, black eyes and a forest of tangled hair that virtually covered his face, holding a giant pink umbrella over his head against the rain that was pelting down out of the ebony sky.
"Hagrid!" yelled Artemis and Apollo, in delight. "Hagrid, it's us!" The giant looked down and grinned in welcome.
"'Temis! 'Pollo!" he said. "Bin wond'rin' when I'd see yeh. How're Sarami an' Mihedrin?"
"Mum and Dad are fine," smiled Artemis. "We haven't seen you in ages, Hagrid, where've you been?"
Hagrid looked slightly shifty. "'S Hogwarts business, I'm not allowed ter tell yeh what or the new Head'll 'ave my head. An' tha's never Miranda an' Jonathan Potter's James, is it?"
"Sure is," grinned James. "Good to see you, pal. These are Sirius Black, Lily Evans, Remus Lupin, Monique James and- oh, I can't be bothered to tell you the lot. You'll meet 'em all in due course. What're we supposed to do?"
"Foller me down 'ere, an' yeh'll see sooner or later," answered Hagrid. "Any more firs' years? All righ' then, follow me!"
Everyone trooped down, following the gigantic man down a dark path hemmed in by massive conifers, so dark it was hardly possible to see. Lily caught the slight reflection from James' glasses as he took them off, reckoning he could see better in the howling storm without them. Suki Chang had taken pity on Milo as they had disembarked from the train and performed the Impervius charm on his glasses, so that they now repelled water. At last they reached a lakeside with a flotilla of tiny little boats clustered around the edge. The lake was oddly calm despite the howling wind.
"Well, there yeh are!" grinned Hagrid, gesturing. "Yeh firs' sight o' Hogwarts!" There were oohs and ahhs from the students as they gazed open mouthed at the massive castle shining silver in the moonlight with hundreds of towers and turrets, sitting high on a cliff, lashed by the storm. Though a golden light shone and twinkled at every window, still the great castle looked more like a fortress than a fairytale castle, though Lily felt that the presence was still more benign than malignant.
"Yer meant ter sit in these boats ter take yeh ter Hogwarts," explained Hagrid, gesturing to the miniature flotilla. "'S traditional, see." He raised his head and bellowed above the crowd:
"Firs' years over 'ere righ' now! No more'n four ter a boat fer pity's sake- I'm watchin' yer, Malfoy, there's four in tha' boat already so find another before I make yeh!"
Lucius Malfoy threw him a dirty look but obeyed, slinking reluctantly into a boat with the blonde girl- Narcissa, Lily thought her name was, Narcissa Rosier- who had helped him up before, when Lily had kicked him. Lily climbed into a boat with Monique, and Erin and Minerva joined them. Sirius and James were in a boat with Remus and Peter, while the twins shared with Arabella and Milo. Mundungus was in a boat with an old friend of his, Rovaticus Brocklehurst, and two others who Lily didn't know.
Then, with a word of command from Hagrid, they were off, coasting slowly along on the mirror-like lake despite the wind and rain that was lashing into them. Lily wished they could move quicker- she wanted to be in the warm, or at least to be dry. Everyone was completely silent, except for a few sniffles from Peter, as they glided steadily along, gazing up at the great castle.
"Mind yer 'eads!" yelled Hagrid in warning, as the first boats neared the cliff face. Everybody ducked as the tiny little boats carried them through an emerald curtain of dripping ivy, which hid an opening in the rock of the cliff. They were carried along a lightless passageway in a stately sort of way for nearly ten minutes until they reached a little underground harbour. Here the boats slowed to a halt and they clambered out onto slippery, damp pebbles, stumbling slightly in the darkness. Milo tripped and would have fallen flat on his face, but James and Sirius, who happened to be near, grabbed his arms and hauled him back to his feet just before he hit the ground. Remus whipped out his wand to try the Lumos Maximus Charm he had used before, but Hagrid frowned at him and Remus put the wand away in his pocket again. Then they stumbled up a passageway in the stone following Hagrid's lamp, coming out at last in a courtyard with soaking grass that at once soaked through their trainers and socks, leaving everybody with freezing, sopping feet that squelched as they walked. Everyone walked up a flight of white stone steps and crowded round the massive oak and steel front door.
"Everyone here?" Hagrid enquired. Then he raised a fist the size of a ham and bashed three times on the grey, steel doorknocker that was carved into the shape of a dragon. In the carvings above the door the symbol Lily had seen on her letter announcing her acceptance to Hogwarts was prominent, right in the middle of the archway: the Hogwarts crest and motto, 'Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus'.
The door swung silently open almost at once.
"If there's nobody behind that door, I'm screaming all the way home," muttered Erin, and Lily, who was near, nodded fervently. However, there was someone there: a tall, smiling blonde haired wizard wearing navy blue robes who bore a startling resemblance to Minerva.
"I'm Professor McGonagall," the wizard said crisply, with the faintest possible hint of an American accent. Lily, Erin and Monique glanced at Minerva in surprise; she noticed their glance and mouthed silently "My dad", smiling at the Professor. He smiled back and gave a small, barely noticeable, wave of greeting.
"Thank you for your help, Hagrid. I will take them from here. By the way, I could do with your assistance in righting my desk later on- Peeves decided to overturn it in a fit of new-school-year high spirits, smashing my wand in the process: I must get Erick to mend it after the Sorting. You know how much our least favourite nuisance loves new, inexperienced people to torment, though I doubt he'll try that particular trick again- the Bloody Baron heard the noise and investigated, with amusing (from my point of view, at least) consequences."
"I'll be onter the job immediately, Professor," replied Hagrid promptly. "I'll be seein' yeh later, you lot." This was said with a nod at the Westhaven twins and James.
"Bye, Hagrid!" Artemis piped up as he left. Hagrid waved.
Professor McGonagall showed them across an Entrance Hall so massive you could have fitted Lily's house into it twice, lit with lighted torches and with the most enormous, imposing marble staircase Lily had seen in her life, and into a small empty chamber off the hall.
"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," said McGonagall in what seemed to be his usual, precise way. "The beginning-of-term Feast will begin very shortly, but before you may take your seats in the Great Hall you must each be Sorted into one of the four Houses: Slytherin, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. While you are at Hogwarts, your House will become a little like a second family to you- you will eat at your House table in the Great Hall, take classes with other House members of the same age as you, sleep in your House dormitory and relax in your House common room. Each of our four houses has its own legends and history and each has produced some outstanding wizards and witches. Any triumphs you may have will be rewarded with points for your house, while any misbehaviour on your part will result in the deduction of house points. At the very end of the year, at the Leaving Feast, the Headmaster will present the House Cup to the team with the most house points, which is a great honour. I sincerely hope (here McGonagall's eyes lingered on Sirius and James) that you will be a credit to whatever House you are accepted into.
The Sorting Ceremony will commence in a few moments; it takes place in front of the rest of the school, so I suggest that you try to tidy yourselves up as much as is possible (Monique uneasily tried to smooth her wild, spiky hair down a little, while James and Sirius looked to be doing much the same thing). I shall return in a few moments, when we are ready for you, so please wait quietly." With this, Professor McGonagall swept out of the chamber. Lily felt apprehensive; a large lump seemed to be fighting its way out of her stomach.
"How exactly do they Sort us?" she enquired, trying not to show her nervousness.
"Don't worry," said James dismissively. "My brother Michael told me about it: all you have to do is try on this hat and it shouts out whichever House it thinks you should be in. The only worrying bit is that it's in front of the whole school."
"Did you say thinks?" Arabella asked interestedly.
"Yeah, sings too, I heard," put in Mundungus' pal, Rovaticus. "Does a poem or somesuch."
"Should be nea--" Sirius started to say, but broke off as McGonagall re-entered the chamber.
"Now, form a line and follow me," he said crisply, leading them off back through the Entrance Hall and from there off another side door into the Great Hall. Lily gasped; it was the most amazing place she had ever seen, with candles floating in the air above four long tables at which the rest of the school sat, staring at the very front, where, on a raised platform, sat the teachers, with an old man with twinkling blue eyes and a crooked nose in the middle, next to a short, dumpy old lady with a kind face and crinkly silver hair. He wore robes of midnight blue with silver stars and moons upon it and his hair, which was silver streaked with very pale auburn, shone as brightly as the stars that decorated his robes and grew down to his waist. The old lady seated next to him wore pale blue and soft gold, with ears that were pierced all the way down with silver hoops and sapphire stones. Her slightly crinkly silver hair was pulled back in a tight bun except for a braid at either side that was finished in a pale blue bead exactly the same colour as her robes.
Monique, Sirius and James gave almost simultaneous shrieks of surprise.
"Albus and Luisa Dumbledore!" Minerva gasped. Lily, Arabella and Erin could not understand the excitement.
"But who're they?" Erin enquired softly, mindful of the teacher standing very close to them.
"Only the greatest wizard and witch in the world!" said Milo, his normally quiet voice hoarse with excitement.
"They can't be our new headteachers, surely!" chorused Apollo and Artemis in a rare moment of twinnishness.
"Silence!" hissed McGonagall, and all were immediately hushed; even such excitement as the new headteachers didn't mean anyone wanted to make a bad impression on their first day.
Lily glanced around; everybody, including those who had heard James' explanation of what was to take place and, Lily noted, James himself, looked absolutely terrified. Nobody was speaking very much as Professor McGonagall lead them all up to the teachers' table, where he placed a four-legged stool and a patch, frayed black hat before them. Ghosts, misty silver, were sprinkled here and there amongst the students. One, wearing a stiff white ruff and tights, winked at Lily from where he was floating next to James' brother Michael. Noticing that everyone was staring at the hat, Lily tore her gaze away from the ceiling, where spectacular forked lightning had just bloomed, and stared at the hat too. A rip near the brim twitched. Then it began to sing in a quavery, little old lady sort of voice with, oddly enough, a Scots accent:
"You're assembled now in Hogwarts,
And for a thousand years,
Your school has sheltered many,
From their Dark Magic fears.
But who first began this school of ours?
Who had the first idea?
This is their tale, won't take me hours,
To tell those seated here.
They were raven haired Ravenclaw,
Smart and slim and tall,
And lionhearted Gryffindor,
The bravest of them all.
The other man was Slytherin,
Shrewd, handsome and sly,
And then sweet-natured Hufflepuff,
Sweet as apple pie.
But how to choose the entrants
To their Houses of Witchcraft?
'Twas the Founders found the answer
(Let me tell you, they weren't daft).
I was there then, I'll still be here,
A thousand years from now,
To tell you the house you should be in,
That was my solemn vow!
So step up bravely to the stool,
Don't worry, I won't hurt you,
But don't you try to play the fool,
I'm here to help and Sort you!"
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished. It bowed to each of the four house tables and became quite still again. Now McGonagall stepped forwards once more, unrolling a long sheet of yellowed parchment. The bottom fell to the floor, bounced a few times, then rolled under the teachers' table. A clever-looking young woman in dark red robes, with flowing blue-black hair, kicked it neatly back to McGonagall's feet. He nodded his thanks.
"That's Professor Silbain," whispered Artemis. "She takes Potions. She's dead clever!"
McGonagall's voice cut in on whatever else Artemis had to say on the subject of the Potions teacher, though Lily noticed a dark haired, good looking young Professor with dreamy black eyes watching Silbain, a slightly dazed smile on his face.
"Allbright, Kirk!" said McGonagall's sharp voice. Kirk stumbled forwards, sat down on the stool and tried on the Sorting Hat, which took over a minute's thought to shriek "Ravenclaw!", but 'Avery, Michaela', was pronounced a Slytherin almost before the Hat touched her head and she strode off, apparently well satisfied. After her came 'Anderson, Justin', who, after nearly five minutes deliberation, was pronounced a Hufflepuff albeit in a rather uncertain voice that sounded more like a question. 'Azim, Kazaan!' came next, a sharp faced boy with clever black eyes. The hat barely touched his head before it screamed "SLYTHERIN!".
The first Gryffindor was 'Banges, Michael', a clever, mischievous-looking boy with a shock of light brown hair. Then it was Sirius' turn to try on the Sorting Hat.
"Good luck!" James hissed after him. Sirius turned and waved with a nervous smile, showing tightly crossed fingers. However, he need not have worried- the Hat took only a few seconds to pronounce him definitely 'GRYFFINDOR!' and Sirius scooted happily over to the table decorated in scarlet and gold.
Immediately after him came Milo, stumbling as usual- he practically fell over on his way to sit on the stool but was quite quickly pronounced a Hufflepuff. The next of their gang to be Sorted was Lily, after two Ravenclaws, two Hufflepuffs, another Gryffindor ("Dervish, Samora!") and a burly Slytherin boy, Moloch Crabbe. She knew, from what she had heard about the different Hogwarts Houses, that she wanted to be in either Ravenclaw or Gryffindor, preferably the latter. A horrible thought struck her: what if she was put in Slytherin with the boy she had kicked earlier? From the mutters of conversation she had heard along the Hogwarts Express, Lucius Malfoy seemed to be a very powerful person in his own way and an almost definite Slytherin, and spending seven years incarcerated with him and his supporters was not exactly Lily's idea of a fun time.
When her name was called, she strolled forwards, doing her best to act as though she hadn't a care in the world, though it was anyone's guess how well she was doing at the pretence. She picked up the hat, plonked herself on the stool and let the thing fall down over her eyes. She was plunged once more into pitch blackness.
"Well well well," said a little voice in her head, "What have we here? A lot of bravery, I see, but there's better than average brains here too, plenty of loyalty, and determination? Oh, in sackloads! Well, you've certainly given me a problem here- not that I don't enjoy it, of course."
"Anywhere, just not Slytherin!" Lily thought firmly.
"Hmmm… well, if not Slytherin, and I don't think you're a Ravenclaw, where shall we put you? I know, why not let you be a- GRYFFINDOR!"
The Hat yelled the last word to the whole hall, which instantly burst into applause as it always did when a new House member had been announced. Lily, still entirely surprised at her good fortune, and slightly deafened by the Hat's strident blare, walked as steadily as she could over to the table on the right, where she sat down next to Sirius. He high-fived her, grinning. After Lily came 'Faraq, Noosah', who became a Hufflepuff and then Arabella, who looked pale green with nerves. The hat decided her House quite quickly with a sudden yell of 'RAVENCLAW!'. Immediately after her came Mundungus, who was immediately made a Hufflepuff like Milo. Next came a pretty dark-haired girl, 'Glyssey, Charana!', who became a Gryffindor, then another burly boy ('Goyle, Malcolm') who became a Slytherin.
At last it was Monique's turn. She was milk-white as the hat slipped over her face, but in a trice it was off again as she was immediately pronounced a Gryffindor. She ran quickly over to the table where she linked arms gratefully with Lily, grinning with triumph. The next people to become new Gryffindors were twins, 'Llewelyn, Catrin' and 'Llewelyn, Madoc', and then it was Remus' turn to try on the Sorting Hat. It took a good while to decide with Remus, but eventually he was announced a Gryffindor. Next of the gang was Minerva (GRYFFINDOR!), then Peter (SLYTHERIN!), James (GRYFFINDOR!), Erin (RAVENCLAW!) and, last of all, the twins. Apollo went first, but the Hat didn't take very long at all to pronounce the two of them as Ravenclaws. After Minerva had come Lucius Malfoy, who had swaggered forwards, his blonde hair slicked neatly to his head, and had immediately fulfilled all of the predictions by having been announced an immediate Slytherin. There was only one person left now, a small, dark haired, dark skinned girl with proud eyes and a slightly hooked nose, announced as being 'Zabini, Musa!'. She strode forwards at once and was quickly made a Slytherin. When she had gone, McGonagall picked up the stool, rolled up the scroll and took them both away.
Now both the Dumbledores stood up, both beaming happily. Lily noticed that Albus Dumbledore was very tall, while his wife (she presumed, due to the lack of a family likeness) was absolutely tiny, not much bigger than most of the second years.
"Welcome to a new school year!" beamed Albus. "It is my first year as Headmaster of Hogwarts myself, though I used to fill the capacity of Transfiguration teacher, so I'm not as likely to get lost as you may think!"
"Oh, do shut up, dear!" Luisa cut in. "I'm Headmistress this year instead of Charms teacher (the post I used to fulfil, many moons ago) and I don't intend to take any nonsense from you lot! That said, it is my belief that there are many storms ahead of us as we face the new Dark threat. Teachers may be leaving us, and of course new ones will be coming to fill the gaps left. Together, we must forget all our petty squabbles between our houses, and though it's a cliché, remember this: We are only as strong as we are united. Together we will fight this storm, but separated we can do nothing." With this she sat down again, allowing her husband to continue.
"Yes yes, thank you for our daily gloom and doom update, my dear," he said, still smiling, his strangely blue eyes twinkling behind their half-moon glasses. "There doesn't seem to be much more to say, so please tuck in!"
Instantly, food materialised on the plates in front of them, brimming with all kinds of delicious-looking food; for some reason, mint humbugs and golden sweets that looked suspiciously like Worther's Originals to Lily, had been included in the fare. Everyone, ravenous after the long trip on the train, ate as though just released from a ten-year famine. As they ate, they talked, and Lily began to get to know her fellow new Gryffindors. Besides the five she already knew, there were three boys and three girls, including a set of Welsh twins named Cerys and Madoc Llewelyn. These were unlike the Westhaven twins in that they were very similar, being small with thick dark hair and deep brown eyes. The two even finished each others' sentences, and in short were as twinny as it was possible to be. Besides them, there was Michael Banges, a clever-looking, dark haired boy with eyes that had a permanent, wickedly amused light in them (he became instant friends with Sirius and James after they discovered his father co-owned Hogsmeade's joke shop, Dervish and Banges) and a solemn-looking boy named Kyle Browning. The two other girls were Charana ("Call me Chaz") Glyssey, a tall girl with dark blue eyes, and Timothea Ollson, a shy-looking blonde girl.
Under the constant stream of chatter, the time went quickly, and it came as a surprise to all when Luise Dumbledore stood up and yelled "BED!" at the full blast of clearly robust lungs. Slightly deafened, and only just realising exactly how tired she was, Lily joined the others in stumbling up to Gryffindor Dormitory and bed.