I'm baaaaack!! OMG!OMG, OMG, OH MYYYYY GOOOOOODD!!!I got reviewed!I can't thank you enough!
As I write this, 8 ppl have reviewed, so thanks to elizabeth, caro, Luna9, Toraia, Savita Yoshima
aka Louisa, AntiSocialButterfly, Starlight, and erised_15 for all the support and comments.
And thanx if you've just reviewed like two seconds ago! Uh, yeah...um, sorry caro,
my e-mail's kinda gone weird @ the moment, that's why I couldn't contact u.
And be patient Savita Yoshima. Let's just say Shan's character may get pretty...manical.
Shan:Get the heck on with my story, Shadowz!
OK. Sozz, I'm being controlled by Shan Parks...weird. Thanx again!
Harry Potter and the Crystal of Dreams.
By nine-thirty the next morning, Harry Potter had finally left number four, Privet
Drive, for another glorious year at Hogwarts. He couldn't stop grinning, even when faced by
his hostile, silent relatives.
Uncle Vernon loaded his trunk, which contained all the spell books and things he had
gotton at Diagon Alley, into the car boot and orded him gruffly to get in the car. He was driving,
Aunt Petunia sitting in the passenger's seat with her lips pursed. Dudley, after being bribed with
three new games for his new computer, and eventually agreed (still somewhat reluctantly) to sit next to Harry
in the back. His porky body was pressed so far away from Harry and Hedwig that he was in danger of falling out
of the car door.
Harry really didn't care. He wanted to just leave his dratted family and be at his school
with his friends.
Hedwig hooted gently from the cage on his lap. She was excited too. She was looking forward to
nights of flying free, and days of long, undisturbed sleep.
King's Cross station, when they got there seventy five minutes later, was bustling as usual. Harry unloaded
his things onto a trolley by himself and walked off. His relatives were, for some totally strange reason, were
following him. Harry suspected that Uncle Vernon wanted to complain loudly about the 'good-for-nothings' more
commonly known as witches and wizards.
He frowned as he wandered over to the platforms, half-watching the large clocks that clicked as their numbers
flicked over. Where were Ron and Hermione? He guessed, in a resigned sort of way, that they were probably already on
platform 9 and 3/4. But then he realised he'd missed someone out. And then he heard her voice.
"Hey Potter, wait up!"
Shannon came running through the crowds at a dangerous speed towards him, pushing her trolley in front. Hannah
was sitting on top of her trunk, clinging on for dear life, but laughing with her cheeks flushed from the ride.At the
last minute, she skidded to a halt and instinctively grabbed her little sister's arm to keep her from falling.
"Hey Shannon," he said, laughing too. She grinned and replied with, "Hey ya."
There was a loud coughing behind Harry, and he turned to see Vernon complaining to Aunt Petunia about "young hooligans"
with "no respect for safety". Petunia nodded at each sentence, obviously taking in everything she could possibly hate about the
young pureblood. Her scruffy trainers, her battered leather jacket, even the loose bunches her dark hair was tied back in.
Harry knew Shannon had heard, but she said nothing, and shifted the bright backpack on her shoulder.
"Shannon! Wait for us!" a man's voice called.
Edging through the masses now were her parents. The man looked slightly like her, but he was quite tall. The woman was
the glamorous Julianna, who now helped Hannah jump down from the trolley.
"Sorry Dad, saw my friend." She gestured to Harry. "This is Harry. Harry, this is my dad, and you already know Hannah and
my stepmum Julianna."
Shannon's Dad's eyes flicked up to the scar underneath Harry's fringe then shook his hand. "Joe Parks, Mr.Potter, very
glad to meet you." Behind him, Julianna smiled kindly and Hannah lisped "hello" in a very small and shy little voice.
Harry's relatives left at this point, half dragging Dudley away from these dangerous maniacs. Mr.Parks let go of Harry's hand
and looked at the clock, and then his elder daughter.
"You'd better go Shannon. Don't want to miss the train." He smiled sadly. "We'll miss you."
Shannon hugged him, then Julianna, then Hannah. Harry felt like he shouldn't be watching this family moment. But there was something else.
An odd sort of jealousy, because he had never known his own parents. Then Shannon eventually let go of her sister and straightened up,
wrapping her hands around the bar of the trolley.
"OK. This is me. I'm goin'." She glanced at them one last time. "Bye then."
With that, she started off for the barrier at high speeds. Harry almost having to run to keep up. At the same moment they passed through the
barrier-
And stepped out onto another platform full of pupils in black robes pushing their way onto a large scarlet steam engine. Platform 9 and 3/4,
with the Hogwarts Express just about to leave. The pair dodged through anxious parents and excited children until they reached a realtively empty
entrance. Harry helped Shan load the trunks onto the train and they set off to try and seek out their friends.
They didn't have to go that far. Hermione and Ron were in compartment eleven, screeching at each other at the top of their lungs, both red in the face.
They didn't exactly know what the topic was, but it seemed to be about Hermione's psychotic fluffball cat Crookshanks. What he had done, they also didn't know,
but Ron's Charms textbook was now attractively shredded. Shannon slid the glass door open and they entered, unnoticed at first.
"Honestly, Hermione, that thing is evil! I don't see why you don't have it put down!" Ron yelled at her.
"I can recommend a god vet!" Shannon said brightly, then winced ever-so-slightly at the weird looks she was getting. "What?"
Hermione moved up so that Shannon could sit next to her, which she did, and Harry sat opposite her, next to Ron. Shannon took off her
backpack and unzipped it. In the next instant, a blur of fur shot upwards into the luggage rack and peered at them with bright amber eyes
from between Hermione's books and Pigwedgeon's cage. Harry squinted at it. It was what looked like a small white and tan cat, But then he realised that it had
outsized ears and a lion's tail.
"That's Tiah," Shannon explained. "My kneazle. Always great at diverting arguments. Dad put an oxygen charm on the bag so I don't have to carry her in one of
those muggle cages and get normal people asking why my cat has lion features."
The train gave a huge heaving jolt as it began on its long journey to the castle. With a small sigh, Shannon brought out a deck of magical cards from her jacket and began
to shuffle them. "Esplosione Colpo, anyone?" When greeted by their blank faces she explained. "Exploding Snap? Sorry, I have to work on my Italian translations."
They carried on playing loud and raucous games until the plump smiling witch appeared with the lunch trolley. Shannon, Hermione and Harry all brought a huge stack of sweets,
whereas Ron's ears turned pink as he mumbled about having brought some food. Harry just tossed him some pumpkin pasties as the conversation turned to Quidditch. Shannon and Ron got
into a quite heated discussion over the teams they supported-Ron supporting Chudley Cannons and Shannon the Ballycastle Bats. It only broke up when Ron couldn't think of a reply to,
"We wiped the pitch with you last season! It was 450-nil, and we were missing a Chaser!" The other branch of this conversation was the school teams. Shannon had been a reserve Beater
at her last school, and listened with great intrest to the recounts of every victory Gryffindor had gained in the past four years with Harry as Seeker.
By mid-afternoon, conversation had dried up and they all sat quietly doing their own things. Harry was tending to his prized Firebolt, Ron was attempting to shut up his owl,
Hermione was busily absorbed in "The Standard Book Of Spells Grade 5", and Shannon sat with Tiah draped across her shoulders, reading a book entitled "Explosive Pranks To Blow Your Mind!"
and noting things down on a brightly coloured notepad. It had been like this for a good half hour when they heard the door slid open and all looked up simultaneously-
To see Draco Malfoy standing there, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Well, if it isn't Potty, the Weasel, and Miss Mudblood..." he began, in his usual drawling tones. Shannon cut him off.
"If it isn't them, you can always go away. In fact," She cocked her head in mock thought, then shook it. "Do that anyway. Please. Your face makes me sick."
To their utter surprise, Malfoy's pale, pointed face cracked into a small grin. "And you are?"
"Shannon Jade Parks, who the hell are you?" Her voice sounded like Hannah's almost when she said that.
"Draco Malfoy. What's with these loosers as friends?" he asked, indicating the indignant trio around her.
"What's with the bullying jerks as bodyguards?" Shannon replied, her gaze slipping past him to where Crabbe stood stupidly. Her teal eyes narrowed and locked into Malfoy's grey
ones. "That taller one, he was picking on my Hannah." She sighed, and raised her eyebrows in a bored expression. "If the best you could do was idiots who push into four-year-old girls,
you really must be bummed."
Malfoy's expression darkened. "You'll regret saying that, Parks."
Harry brought his wand out from his pocket and pointed it at his enemy's sneering face. "Leave, now."
"Or you'll what? Hex me?" He laughed slightly, mockingly, and took a step into the carriage. He was about to say something else cutting, when a scraggy ball of matted fur leaped
up and attached itself to his robes, yowling in high-pitched menace. Crookshanks obviously did not appreciate spoilt little rich kids trampling on his bushy tail. And being a very expressive
cat, he wasn't one to hide his feelings. Malfoy screamed, but the cat's body smothered the noise as he tried desperately to shake him off. Eventually, with the help of his goons, he managed
to get it off, even though it left huge, deep gouge marks bleeding in a shocking contrast to his white skin across his face.
There was about three seconds of complete silence, save for Crookshanks's hissing and spitting. Then the newly-formed quartet burst out laughing, unable to contain it any longer. Malfoy
clenched his fists and scowled, turned and left. Goyle and Crabbe hurried clumsily after him. Finally, they brought themselves back round to some measuer of sanity, or at least composure. After
that the silence was only broken by the occasional snort of supressed laughter. The psychocat calmed and fell asleep on Hermione's lap, just as peaceful as Tiah.
By nightfall, they were well into the wilder land that led to Hogwarts. They were all sharing a mixture of feelings-happiness, nervousness, excitement-as they changed into their school
uniform and began to clear up their stuff. Tiah went back into the roomy backpack, and Crookshanks was shoved into his basket. Hedwig, who had slept for the whole journey, hooted gently as Harry
lifted her cage down from the luggage rack.
Fifteen minutes later, the train came to a juddering halt in Hogsmeade station. They stepped out of the compartment and joined other black-clad students in the bustle to get off the Express
and onto the platform, which they found just as crowded. The night sky above them was clear and cloudless, with a nearly full moon and plenty of stars. Near the head of the train, they could see
Hagrid looming over an ever-growing band of frightened first-years, swinging a large lantern from one of his dustbin-lid sized hands.
"Firs' years! All new pupils this way!" he called. The four enchanged a questioning look; Shannon shrugged and pushed her way through the students over to the gameskeeper, closely followed by
Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Hagrid raised his shaggy eyebrows when he saw her.
"You don' look like a firs' year." he remarked. Shannon gave him a lop-sided grin.
"I'm not. Fifth year transfer." she explained.
"Shannon Parks?"
"Yep."
"OK then. Yer to be Sorted after the firs' years." he told her. Shannon nodded. Hagrid's beetle black eyes moved onto the other three and crinkled as he smiled at them. "Hello, you three?
Ready fer another year at school?"
They chatted to him for a while, until a bell rang somewhere, signalling that the horseless coaches were about to leave. They said a hurried goodbye, and Shannon replied with, "See you in Gryffindor."
"How d'you know where you'll be?" Harry asked, puzzled. Then he wondered if it was just him, or if Shannon's eyes suddenly seemed a bit sad. He decided it must have been him, as a second later
she seemed perfectly happy.
"I just do. Trust me on this one. Now go!"
They ran off to the last carriage in line just as the first few began to move. They climbed inside, joining Neville Longbottom and a couple of fourth year Ravenclaw girls they didn't know. In
a moment, their carriage sprung to life and began for the school. Looking out of the window, they saw Shannon in the midst of the group going by the lake boats, chatting amiably to a few of the others.
Half of them looked about as tall as her, and possibly older, but she held a total ease with strangers that none of them did. The journey for them was bumpy and slightly unpleasant, but quick-soon they
had arrived at their destination. When walking up the steps to the main entrance, they caught sight of Malfoy, scowling sulkily, in between his cronies. He had used some sort of charm or something to get rid
of his facial cuts, but still seemed to be in considerable pain.
The Great Hall looked as marvellous as usual on feastdays. The massive stone room was decked out in the colours of the four houses, with silken banners of each house mascot hung above the correct oaken table.
Behind the staff table hung another banner, this time of the whole school crest. A lion, an eagle, a serpent, and a badger grouped around a large capital 'H'. The trio found places at the Gryffindor table where they
could get a clear view of the Sorting. Already, the patched and frayed old hat sat on a three-legged stool in front of the table which the staff sat around.
They could see all their normal teachers talking amongst themselves, with the few odd exceptions. Professor Trelawney, the fraudulant Seer, had obviously been coaxed down from her usual haunt of the North
Tower by Dumbledore, and was now perched nervously on the edge of her chair, studying the milling students with enormous, frightened eyes behind giant glasses and fiddled nervously with the loops of clashing
jewels around her neck. Professor Snape-the head of Slytherin, Potions master, and general biased slimeball-slumped in his seat with an expression quite like Malfoy's, but with double the sourness. He was glaring at
the lovely girl who didn't seen more than eighteen with a long sheet of white-blonde hair. They realised after a moment who it was.
Fleur Delacour, the ex-Beauxbatons champion in the Triwizard Tournament, had obviously gotten the job she had wanted as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to 'improve her English'. Snape, who had wanted
that job since he joined the school as a teacher, looked as though he had swallowed one of Honeyduke's Super Sour Balls whole.
Presently, Professor McGonagall came out of a side door, leading all the new students into a line facing the Hat. Shannon, in between a tiny girl with blonde plaits and a tall boy with glasses, smiled and gave
them a hidden wave. Then the Hat pulled itself up, the rip near the brim opened, and it began its traditonal welcoming song:
"Here I am, The Sorting Hat,
Just as observant as a cat,
In front of you to decide what house you should be at.
Let me tell you this.
Gryffindor is for the brave,
The stalwart and the true.
Not for the weak-hearted are the lions-
The fearless warriors, one of them are you?
The clever ones to Ravenclaw,
Who value learning and wit.
These brainy people can learn it all
In one go, not bit by bit.
Students loyal in Hufflepuff,
These are the just and fair.
They may be your best friends,
About you they will care.
The fourth house is cunning Slytherin,
House of the ambitious and the sly.
For they will get what they want,
They use any means, by and by.
So put me on and sit right here.
I'll see what you have between your ears
Don't worry about it, I'll find the correct place
For you in Hogwarts Schhool!"
(A/N:Yes, I am fully aware that the song sucked, but bear with my dreadful poetry, please?)
The students cheered and applauded. The filthy Hat bowed to each table, grinning widely, and eventually lay still again. McGonagall, unrolling a long parchment scroll, stepped forward.
"When I call out your name, step forward, try on the Hat, and wait to be Sorted." she explained, looking down at the list. "Atkins, Emily!"
The girl next to Shannon came out and tried on the Hat. It considered her for a moment, before yelling, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
The Hufflepuff table exploded with cheers and applause even louder than that given for the Hat. Emily took off the Hat and scurried over to find a seat.
"Azecka, Jack!"
"Ravenclaw!"
And so the Sprting continued, until "Zacharias, Ellen" joined the Slytherin table. Shannon was the last, remaining alone in front of the Hall. Whispers of confusion erupted, everyone
curious as to why this dark-haired stranger was still up there. She smiled at them, and winked at her friends on the Gryffindor table. McGonagall rolled up her scroll and sat down. The talk
died as Dumbledore stepped forward, the torchlight gleaming on his silver beard.
"Last year, you may well remember me telling you that ties with other magical communities are more important now than ever. I therefore ask you to welcome into the fifth year our
first ever transfer, Shannon Parks from the Carnia Academy of Magic." He turned to Shannon. "Please try on the Hat, Miss Parks."
Shannon glided forward, pulled the Hat over her head and sat down. The Hat began to talk to her, as she knew it would, in its low voice.
"Well, last one now. Hmm, Miss Shannon, you seem mighty familiar..."
Shannon couldn't stop the wry smile that twisted at her lips."You're thinking of Eileen Hope, I can tell." she thought to the Hat.
The Hat paused, then continued in a surprised tone. "Eileen Hope? The Cursed One?"
"Yes. My mam."
"Oh dear."
"It was a long time ago. Anyway, aren't you supposed to be Sorting me? If I delay the feast, I swear Ron will kill me. About a million chocolate frogs, and he's still hungry."
"Oh, yes. Now, Miss Shannon, you probably wouldn't fit into Slytherin. Your biggest ambition is to invent the world's largest firecracker, and I don't think that's quite Slytherin
material. Now then...creativity, that's good for Ravenclaw, but you don't always work as hard as you could, so not Hufflepuff. Dear oh dear...ah yes, what's this? You would do anything to
protect your little half-sister."
"Hannah means the world to me. I'd do the same for any others in my family, and my friends."
"Then that's settled. Just as your mam would want it." She heard the house name shouted to the whole Hall. "GRYFFINDOR!"
Sighing in relief, she removed the Hat and went over to the applauding table and slipped into a seat next to Harry, grinning in a maniac fashion. "Hey ya, told you I'd see you in Gryffindor!"
He grinned as well, very happy now they knew Shannon was in their house. "I'm glad you're in our house."
"So am I." She cracked her knuckles, making Hermione wince. "Next stop, dyeing that damn giant squid purple!"
Dumbledore meanwhile was making all the usual announcements about things being banned (like fake wands and ink-squirting quills, or entrance to the Forbidden Forest), and he introduced Fleur as the
new DADA teacher. With that all done, he clapped his hands and the feast appeared. Each of the starving students loaded their plates high and tucked in at furious speeds. Conversation spread like wildfire in
between mouthfulls, the fifth year Gryffindors discussing Quidditch and the upcoming O.W.Ls. When asked about her own past in Italy, Shannon vaguely told them about a school smaller than Hogwarts
with about fifty boarders and the rest just day pupils. According to her, the grounds had consisted of one Quidditch pitch and not a lot else, because it was all too easy for them to be spotted by muggles
in the nearby town of Venzone.
Just as Harry started on the dessert, his fan club turned up. It consisted of Colin Creevey, his second-year brother Denis, and Colin's camera, which was, as usual, slung around his neck.
"Hiya Harry!" Colin said enthusiastically, clutching the muggle photographing device. Harry stifled a groan and looked up from refereeing Shannon and Ron's ressurected argument over Quidditch teams.
"Hello Colin." he replied, attempting to keep the resignation and annoyance from his voice. "Had a good holiday?"
"Great, great!" Colin answered, grinning broadly. "Any chance of a photo Harry?"
He must have enough photos of me to start a gallery, Harry thought. Aloud, he said, "No, not tonight. Maybe some other time."
Colin, looking extremely disappointed, slid his gaze to Shannon, who was smiling triumphantly at having beaten Ron into silent glares. He said, "You're the new transfer, aren't you?"
"Y'think?" she said with added friendly sarcasm, looking up at him. He didn't answer, just left and joined up with the rest of his fourth-year gang.
Shannon leaned over to Harry, her crooked smile showing she was about to make another joke. And here it was.
"Nice pair of psychotic stalkers y'have there Harry!" she told him. Opposite her, Dean and Seamus snorted with supressed laughter. Harry smiled, but said, "That isn't funny Shan."
"Really? I'm funny, and y'all know it!" With that, she launched into the extremely worn-out joke routine she had been using since she had been five and still living in Kilmare in Ireland.
She had quite a large audience from various houses by the time it came to the end of the feast, and people began dispersing to their house quarters. The original three threatened to gag Shannon as they went up the first
staircase to their common room and dormitories if she didn't quit the why-did-the-whateverhaveyou-cross-the-road? gags. She obeyed with mock-meekness, and concentrated on memorising the numerous staircases and
hidden doors. Eventually they came the the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"The password's 'Antipodean Opaleye'." Ron told them as the painting swung forward. "McGonagall told me just before we left the Hall."
They climbed through along with the other Gryffindors into the warm, circular stone common room. It was filled as always with its usual jumble of threadbare chairs and battered old tables. They all bid
each other goodnight, and Hermione showed the new girl up to their dormitory. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were already in there and ready for bed, but poring over a copy of Teen Witch. The other two
followed suite and got ready. Shannon let Tiah out of her bag and began to set some things on the bedside cabinet that was next to the new bed. There were two photos, one in a gilded frame and the other in a simple wooden one.
The first was a picture of Shannon and Hannah outside their Italian home, and the second was of a laughing woman who looked like a twenty-something version of Shannon. Parvati wandered over and looked at them.
"Who's in the pictures?" she questioned.
"That me and my little sister Hannah about a year ago. And the other one," Here she sighed, and Hermione noticed how sad she seemed as she gazed at the picture, the happy woman's features frozen forever.
"That's my mam."
*****
Yes, I know you'll all flame me to high hell for putting Shan in Gryffindor. Go 'head. I know, I know, it's like cliche of the millenium, but I just thought that's where she belonged. Review please!
If you do, I will carry on writing this, and you can find out about why I picked this title, about Shannon's past, and about her mum. Now go, review!!!
P.S. I am planning a spoof/parody of the HP charcters in a chat room w/ Shannon included. It will probably/certainly have a v. lame title, so just tell me if u would read it, K? K then. Thanx once more!
-Shadowz.
As I write this, 8 ppl have reviewed, so thanks to elizabeth, caro, Luna9, Toraia, Savita Yoshima
aka Louisa, AntiSocialButterfly, Starlight, and erised_15 for all the support and comments.
And thanx if you've just reviewed like two seconds ago! Uh, yeah...um, sorry caro,
my e-mail's kinda gone weird @ the moment, that's why I couldn't contact u.
And be patient Savita Yoshima. Let's just say Shan's character may get pretty...manical.
Shan:Get the heck on with my story, Shadowz!
OK. Sozz, I'm being controlled by Shan Parks...weird. Thanx again!
Harry Potter and the Crystal of Dreams.
By nine-thirty the next morning, Harry Potter had finally left number four, Privet
Drive, for another glorious year at Hogwarts. He couldn't stop grinning, even when faced by
his hostile, silent relatives.
Uncle Vernon loaded his trunk, which contained all the spell books and things he had
gotton at Diagon Alley, into the car boot and orded him gruffly to get in the car. He was driving,
Aunt Petunia sitting in the passenger's seat with her lips pursed. Dudley, after being bribed with
three new games for his new computer, and eventually agreed (still somewhat reluctantly) to sit next to Harry
in the back. His porky body was pressed so far away from Harry and Hedwig that he was in danger of falling out
of the car door.
Harry really didn't care. He wanted to just leave his dratted family and be at his school
with his friends.
Hedwig hooted gently from the cage on his lap. She was excited too. She was looking forward to
nights of flying free, and days of long, undisturbed sleep.
King's Cross station, when they got there seventy five minutes later, was bustling as usual. Harry unloaded
his things onto a trolley by himself and walked off. His relatives were, for some totally strange reason, were
following him. Harry suspected that Uncle Vernon wanted to complain loudly about the 'good-for-nothings' more
commonly known as witches and wizards.
He frowned as he wandered over to the platforms, half-watching the large clocks that clicked as their numbers
flicked over. Where were Ron and Hermione? He guessed, in a resigned sort of way, that they were probably already on
platform 9 and 3/4. But then he realised he'd missed someone out. And then he heard her voice.
"Hey Potter, wait up!"
Shannon came running through the crowds at a dangerous speed towards him, pushing her trolley in front. Hannah
was sitting on top of her trunk, clinging on for dear life, but laughing with her cheeks flushed from the ride.At the
last minute, she skidded to a halt and instinctively grabbed her little sister's arm to keep her from falling.
"Hey Shannon," he said, laughing too. She grinned and replied with, "Hey ya."
There was a loud coughing behind Harry, and he turned to see Vernon complaining to Aunt Petunia about "young hooligans"
with "no respect for safety". Petunia nodded at each sentence, obviously taking in everything she could possibly hate about the
young pureblood. Her scruffy trainers, her battered leather jacket, even the loose bunches her dark hair was tied back in.
Harry knew Shannon had heard, but she said nothing, and shifted the bright backpack on her shoulder.
"Shannon! Wait for us!" a man's voice called.
Edging through the masses now were her parents. The man looked slightly like her, but he was quite tall. The woman was
the glamorous Julianna, who now helped Hannah jump down from the trolley.
"Sorry Dad, saw my friend." She gestured to Harry. "This is Harry. Harry, this is my dad, and you already know Hannah and
my stepmum Julianna."
Shannon's Dad's eyes flicked up to the scar underneath Harry's fringe then shook his hand. "Joe Parks, Mr.Potter, very
glad to meet you." Behind him, Julianna smiled kindly and Hannah lisped "hello" in a very small and shy little voice.
Harry's relatives left at this point, half dragging Dudley away from these dangerous maniacs. Mr.Parks let go of Harry's hand
and looked at the clock, and then his elder daughter.
"You'd better go Shannon. Don't want to miss the train." He smiled sadly. "We'll miss you."
Shannon hugged him, then Julianna, then Hannah. Harry felt like he shouldn't be watching this family moment. But there was something else.
An odd sort of jealousy, because he had never known his own parents. Then Shannon eventually let go of her sister and straightened up,
wrapping her hands around the bar of the trolley.
"OK. This is me. I'm goin'." She glanced at them one last time. "Bye then."
With that, she started off for the barrier at high speeds. Harry almost having to run to keep up. At the same moment they passed through the
barrier-
And stepped out onto another platform full of pupils in black robes pushing their way onto a large scarlet steam engine. Platform 9 and 3/4,
with the Hogwarts Express just about to leave. The pair dodged through anxious parents and excited children until they reached a realtively empty
entrance. Harry helped Shan load the trunks onto the train and they set off to try and seek out their friends.
They didn't have to go that far. Hermione and Ron were in compartment eleven, screeching at each other at the top of their lungs, both red in the face.
They didn't exactly know what the topic was, but it seemed to be about Hermione's psychotic fluffball cat Crookshanks. What he had done, they also didn't know,
but Ron's Charms textbook was now attractively shredded. Shannon slid the glass door open and they entered, unnoticed at first.
"Honestly, Hermione, that thing is evil! I don't see why you don't have it put down!" Ron yelled at her.
"I can recommend a god vet!" Shannon said brightly, then winced ever-so-slightly at the weird looks she was getting. "What?"
Hermione moved up so that Shannon could sit next to her, which she did, and Harry sat opposite her, next to Ron. Shannon took off her
backpack and unzipped it. In the next instant, a blur of fur shot upwards into the luggage rack and peered at them with bright amber eyes
from between Hermione's books and Pigwedgeon's cage. Harry squinted at it. It was what looked like a small white and tan cat, But then he realised that it had
outsized ears and a lion's tail.
"That's Tiah," Shannon explained. "My kneazle. Always great at diverting arguments. Dad put an oxygen charm on the bag so I don't have to carry her in one of
those muggle cages and get normal people asking why my cat has lion features."
The train gave a huge heaving jolt as it began on its long journey to the castle. With a small sigh, Shannon brought out a deck of magical cards from her jacket and began
to shuffle them. "Esplosione Colpo, anyone?" When greeted by their blank faces she explained. "Exploding Snap? Sorry, I have to work on my Italian translations."
They carried on playing loud and raucous games until the plump smiling witch appeared with the lunch trolley. Shannon, Hermione and Harry all brought a huge stack of sweets,
whereas Ron's ears turned pink as he mumbled about having brought some food. Harry just tossed him some pumpkin pasties as the conversation turned to Quidditch. Shannon and Ron got
into a quite heated discussion over the teams they supported-Ron supporting Chudley Cannons and Shannon the Ballycastle Bats. It only broke up when Ron couldn't think of a reply to,
"We wiped the pitch with you last season! It was 450-nil, and we were missing a Chaser!" The other branch of this conversation was the school teams. Shannon had been a reserve Beater
at her last school, and listened with great intrest to the recounts of every victory Gryffindor had gained in the past four years with Harry as Seeker.
By mid-afternoon, conversation had dried up and they all sat quietly doing their own things. Harry was tending to his prized Firebolt, Ron was attempting to shut up his owl,
Hermione was busily absorbed in "The Standard Book Of Spells Grade 5", and Shannon sat with Tiah draped across her shoulders, reading a book entitled "Explosive Pranks To Blow Your Mind!"
and noting things down on a brightly coloured notepad. It had been like this for a good half hour when they heard the door slid open and all looked up simultaneously-
To see Draco Malfoy standing there, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.
"Well, if it isn't Potty, the Weasel, and Miss Mudblood..." he began, in his usual drawling tones. Shannon cut him off.
"If it isn't them, you can always go away. In fact," She cocked her head in mock thought, then shook it. "Do that anyway. Please. Your face makes me sick."
To their utter surprise, Malfoy's pale, pointed face cracked into a small grin. "And you are?"
"Shannon Jade Parks, who the hell are you?" Her voice sounded like Hannah's almost when she said that.
"Draco Malfoy. What's with these loosers as friends?" he asked, indicating the indignant trio around her.
"What's with the bullying jerks as bodyguards?" Shannon replied, her gaze slipping past him to where Crabbe stood stupidly. Her teal eyes narrowed and locked into Malfoy's grey
ones. "That taller one, he was picking on my Hannah." She sighed, and raised her eyebrows in a bored expression. "If the best you could do was idiots who push into four-year-old girls,
you really must be bummed."
Malfoy's expression darkened. "You'll regret saying that, Parks."
Harry brought his wand out from his pocket and pointed it at his enemy's sneering face. "Leave, now."
"Or you'll what? Hex me?" He laughed slightly, mockingly, and took a step into the carriage. He was about to say something else cutting, when a scraggy ball of matted fur leaped
up and attached itself to his robes, yowling in high-pitched menace. Crookshanks obviously did not appreciate spoilt little rich kids trampling on his bushy tail. And being a very expressive
cat, he wasn't one to hide his feelings. Malfoy screamed, but the cat's body smothered the noise as he tried desperately to shake him off. Eventually, with the help of his goons, he managed
to get it off, even though it left huge, deep gouge marks bleeding in a shocking contrast to his white skin across his face.
There was about three seconds of complete silence, save for Crookshanks's hissing and spitting. Then the newly-formed quartet burst out laughing, unable to contain it any longer. Malfoy
clenched his fists and scowled, turned and left. Goyle and Crabbe hurried clumsily after him. Finally, they brought themselves back round to some measuer of sanity, or at least composure. After
that the silence was only broken by the occasional snort of supressed laughter. The psychocat calmed and fell asleep on Hermione's lap, just as peaceful as Tiah.
By nightfall, they were well into the wilder land that led to Hogwarts. They were all sharing a mixture of feelings-happiness, nervousness, excitement-as they changed into their school
uniform and began to clear up their stuff. Tiah went back into the roomy backpack, and Crookshanks was shoved into his basket. Hedwig, who had slept for the whole journey, hooted gently as Harry
lifted her cage down from the luggage rack.
Fifteen minutes later, the train came to a juddering halt in Hogsmeade station. They stepped out of the compartment and joined other black-clad students in the bustle to get off the Express
and onto the platform, which they found just as crowded. The night sky above them was clear and cloudless, with a nearly full moon and plenty of stars. Near the head of the train, they could see
Hagrid looming over an ever-growing band of frightened first-years, swinging a large lantern from one of his dustbin-lid sized hands.
"Firs' years! All new pupils this way!" he called. The four enchanged a questioning look; Shannon shrugged and pushed her way through the students over to the gameskeeper, closely followed by
Harry, Hermione, and Ron. Hagrid raised his shaggy eyebrows when he saw her.
"You don' look like a firs' year." he remarked. Shannon gave him a lop-sided grin.
"I'm not. Fifth year transfer." she explained.
"Shannon Parks?"
"Yep."
"OK then. Yer to be Sorted after the firs' years." he told her. Shannon nodded. Hagrid's beetle black eyes moved onto the other three and crinkled as he smiled at them. "Hello, you three?
Ready fer another year at school?"
They chatted to him for a while, until a bell rang somewhere, signalling that the horseless coaches were about to leave. They said a hurried goodbye, and Shannon replied with, "See you in Gryffindor."
"How d'you know where you'll be?" Harry asked, puzzled. Then he wondered if it was just him, or if Shannon's eyes suddenly seemed a bit sad. He decided it must have been him, as a second later
she seemed perfectly happy.
"I just do. Trust me on this one. Now go!"
They ran off to the last carriage in line just as the first few began to move. They climbed inside, joining Neville Longbottom and a couple of fourth year Ravenclaw girls they didn't know. In
a moment, their carriage sprung to life and began for the school. Looking out of the window, they saw Shannon in the midst of the group going by the lake boats, chatting amiably to a few of the others.
Half of them looked about as tall as her, and possibly older, but she held a total ease with strangers that none of them did. The journey for them was bumpy and slightly unpleasant, but quick-soon they
had arrived at their destination. When walking up the steps to the main entrance, they caught sight of Malfoy, scowling sulkily, in between his cronies. He had used some sort of charm or something to get rid
of his facial cuts, but still seemed to be in considerable pain.
The Great Hall looked as marvellous as usual on feastdays. The massive stone room was decked out in the colours of the four houses, with silken banners of each house mascot hung above the correct oaken table.
Behind the staff table hung another banner, this time of the whole school crest. A lion, an eagle, a serpent, and a badger grouped around a large capital 'H'. The trio found places at the Gryffindor table where they
could get a clear view of the Sorting. Already, the patched and frayed old hat sat on a three-legged stool in front of the table which the staff sat around.
They could see all their normal teachers talking amongst themselves, with the few odd exceptions. Professor Trelawney, the fraudulant Seer, had obviously been coaxed down from her usual haunt of the North
Tower by Dumbledore, and was now perched nervously on the edge of her chair, studying the milling students with enormous, frightened eyes behind giant glasses and fiddled nervously with the loops of clashing
jewels around her neck. Professor Snape-the head of Slytherin, Potions master, and general biased slimeball-slumped in his seat with an expression quite like Malfoy's, but with double the sourness. He was glaring at
the lovely girl who didn't seen more than eighteen with a long sheet of white-blonde hair. They realised after a moment who it was.
Fleur Delacour, the ex-Beauxbatons champion in the Triwizard Tournament, had obviously gotten the job she had wanted as Defense Against the Dark Arts professor to 'improve her English'. Snape, who had wanted
that job since he joined the school as a teacher, looked as though he had swallowed one of Honeyduke's Super Sour Balls whole.
Presently, Professor McGonagall came out of a side door, leading all the new students into a line facing the Hat. Shannon, in between a tiny girl with blonde plaits and a tall boy with glasses, smiled and gave
them a hidden wave. Then the Hat pulled itself up, the rip near the brim opened, and it began its traditonal welcoming song:
"Here I am, The Sorting Hat,
Just as observant as a cat,
In front of you to decide what house you should be at.
Let me tell you this.
Gryffindor is for the brave,
The stalwart and the true.
Not for the weak-hearted are the lions-
The fearless warriors, one of them are you?
The clever ones to Ravenclaw,
Who value learning and wit.
These brainy people can learn it all
In one go, not bit by bit.
Students loyal in Hufflepuff,
These are the just and fair.
They may be your best friends,
About you they will care.
The fourth house is cunning Slytherin,
House of the ambitious and the sly.
For they will get what they want,
They use any means, by and by.
So put me on and sit right here.
I'll see what you have between your ears
Don't worry about it, I'll find the correct place
For you in Hogwarts Schhool!"
(A/N:Yes, I am fully aware that the song sucked, but bear with my dreadful poetry, please?)
The students cheered and applauded. The filthy Hat bowed to each table, grinning widely, and eventually lay still again. McGonagall, unrolling a long parchment scroll, stepped forward.
"When I call out your name, step forward, try on the Hat, and wait to be Sorted." she explained, looking down at the list. "Atkins, Emily!"
The girl next to Shannon came out and tried on the Hat. It considered her for a moment, before yelling, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
The Hufflepuff table exploded with cheers and applause even louder than that given for the Hat. Emily took off the Hat and scurried over to find a seat.
"Azecka, Jack!"
"Ravenclaw!"
And so the Sprting continued, until "Zacharias, Ellen" joined the Slytherin table. Shannon was the last, remaining alone in front of the Hall. Whispers of confusion erupted, everyone
curious as to why this dark-haired stranger was still up there. She smiled at them, and winked at her friends on the Gryffindor table. McGonagall rolled up her scroll and sat down. The talk
died as Dumbledore stepped forward, the torchlight gleaming on his silver beard.
"Last year, you may well remember me telling you that ties with other magical communities are more important now than ever. I therefore ask you to welcome into the fifth year our
first ever transfer, Shannon Parks from the Carnia Academy of Magic." He turned to Shannon. "Please try on the Hat, Miss Parks."
Shannon glided forward, pulled the Hat over her head and sat down. The Hat began to talk to her, as she knew it would, in its low voice.
"Well, last one now. Hmm, Miss Shannon, you seem mighty familiar..."
Shannon couldn't stop the wry smile that twisted at her lips."You're thinking of Eileen Hope, I can tell." she thought to the Hat.
The Hat paused, then continued in a surprised tone. "Eileen Hope? The Cursed One?"
"Yes. My mam."
"Oh dear."
"It was a long time ago. Anyway, aren't you supposed to be Sorting me? If I delay the feast, I swear Ron will kill me. About a million chocolate frogs, and he's still hungry."
"Oh, yes. Now, Miss Shannon, you probably wouldn't fit into Slytherin. Your biggest ambition is to invent the world's largest firecracker, and I don't think that's quite Slytherin
material. Now then...creativity, that's good for Ravenclaw, but you don't always work as hard as you could, so not Hufflepuff. Dear oh dear...ah yes, what's this? You would do anything to
protect your little half-sister."
"Hannah means the world to me. I'd do the same for any others in my family, and my friends."
"Then that's settled. Just as your mam would want it." She heard the house name shouted to the whole Hall. "GRYFFINDOR!"
Sighing in relief, she removed the Hat and went over to the applauding table and slipped into a seat next to Harry, grinning in a maniac fashion. "Hey ya, told you I'd see you in Gryffindor!"
He grinned as well, very happy now they knew Shannon was in their house. "I'm glad you're in our house."
"So am I." She cracked her knuckles, making Hermione wince. "Next stop, dyeing that damn giant squid purple!"
Dumbledore meanwhile was making all the usual announcements about things being banned (like fake wands and ink-squirting quills, or entrance to the Forbidden Forest), and he introduced Fleur as the
new DADA teacher. With that all done, he clapped his hands and the feast appeared. Each of the starving students loaded their plates high and tucked in at furious speeds. Conversation spread like wildfire in
between mouthfulls, the fifth year Gryffindors discussing Quidditch and the upcoming O.W.Ls. When asked about her own past in Italy, Shannon vaguely told them about a school smaller than Hogwarts
with about fifty boarders and the rest just day pupils. According to her, the grounds had consisted of one Quidditch pitch and not a lot else, because it was all too easy for them to be spotted by muggles
in the nearby town of Venzone.
Just as Harry started on the dessert, his fan club turned up. It consisted of Colin Creevey, his second-year brother Denis, and Colin's camera, which was, as usual, slung around his neck.
"Hiya Harry!" Colin said enthusiastically, clutching the muggle photographing device. Harry stifled a groan and looked up from refereeing Shannon and Ron's ressurected argument over Quidditch teams.
"Hello Colin." he replied, attempting to keep the resignation and annoyance from his voice. "Had a good holiday?"
"Great, great!" Colin answered, grinning broadly. "Any chance of a photo Harry?"
He must have enough photos of me to start a gallery, Harry thought. Aloud, he said, "No, not tonight. Maybe some other time."
Colin, looking extremely disappointed, slid his gaze to Shannon, who was smiling triumphantly at having beaten Ron into silent glares. He said, "You're the new transfer, aren't you?"
"Y'think?" she said with added friendly sarcasm, looking up at him. He didn't answer, just left and joined up with the rest of his fourth-year gang.
Shannon leaned over to Harry, her crooked smile showing she was about to make another joke. And here it was.
"Nice pair of psychotic stalkers y'have there Harry!" she told him. Opposite her, Dean and Seamus snorted with supressed laughter. Harry smiled, but said, "That isn't funny Shan."
"Really? I'm funny, and y'all know it!" With that, she launched into the extremely worn-out joke routine she had been using since she had been five and still living in Kilmare in Ireland.
She had quite a large audience from various houses by the time it came to the end of the feast, and people began dispersing to their house quarters. The original three threatened to gag Shannon as they went up the first
staircase to their common room and dormitories if she didn't quit the why-did-the-whateverhaveyou-cross-the-road? gags. She obeyed with mock-meekness, and concentrated on memorising the numerous staircases and
hidden doors. Eventually they came the the portrait of the Fat Lady.
"The password's 'Antipodean Opaleye'." Ron told them as the painting swung forward. "McGonagall told me just before we left the Hall."
They climbed through along with the other Gryffindors into the warm, circular stone common room. It was filled as always with its usual jumble of threadbare chairs and battered old tables. They all bid
each other goodnight, and Hermione showed the new girl up to their dormitory. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were already in there and ready for bed, but poring over a copy of Teen Witch. The other two
followed suite and got ready. Shannon let Tiah out of her bag and began to set some things on the bedside cabinet that was next to the new bed. There were two photos, one in a gilded frame and the other in a simple wooden one.
The first was a picture of Shannon and Hannah outside their Italian home, and the second was of a laughing woman who looked like a twenty-something version of Shannon. Parvati wandered over and looked at them.
"Who's in the pictures?" she questioned.
"That me and my little sister Hannah about a year ago. And the other one," Here she sighed, and Hermione noticed how sad she seemed as she gazed at the picture, the happy woman's features frozen forever.
"That's my mam."
*****
Yes, I know you'll all flame me to high hell for putting Shan in Gryffindor. Go 'head. I know, I know, it's like cliche of the millenium, but I just thought that's where she belonged. Review please!
If you do, I will carry on writing this, and you can find out about why I picked this title, about Shannon's past, and about her mum. Now go, review!!!
P.S. I am planning a spoof/parody of the HP charcters in a chat room w/ Shannon included. It will probably/certainly have a v. lame title, so just tell me if u would read it, K? K then. Thanx once more!
-Shadowz.