Well, did you like the last chapter? I hope so. Here's the next chapter. Of course, you probably already knew that. Anyway, here it is. Oh, and thanks to those who've reviewed! And to those who haven't... I'm not angry. Just disappointed. You're only hurting yourself. And me. Anywho, on with the chapter.
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
* * *
CHAPTER TWO: A NEW SCHOOL YEAR
August was drawing to a close. For the past month, nothing of great importance had happened. The people in Hogwarts kept themselves busy by talking to the others in their general age group.
But, finally, the school year began. Everybody except the parents went to get seats at their house tables as they heard the thestral-drawn carriages arrive. Within a few minutes, all of the students above first year came stampeding into the Great Hall. Everybody said their hellos and settled in to watch the first years walk in, scared to death.
Professor McGonagall brought out the dilapidated, yet still functional, Sorting Hat and put it on a stool. Everybody watched with bated breath, waiting for the hat to begin its ritual song.
The Sorting Hat began.
There once was a man named Gryffindor,
To him bravery was fore,
If you're brave like him,
It ain't just a whim,
You belong in Gryffindor!
But too was a man named Slytherin,
Cunning was what you needed to get in,
But if you're like a fox,
Can't get trapped in a box,
Then you belong in Slytherin!
Also there was a woman named Ravenclaw,
To whom picking unwise ones was a faux pas,
If you were real smart,
And on tests did your part,
You of course belonged in Ravenclaw!
And lastly, not leastly, was Hufflepuff,
Of the others' segregation she'd had enough,
So she took all the rest,
And taught them her best,
So if you don't fit in you're a Hufflepuff!
Everybody cheered, and the Sorting began.
"Abraca, Debra!" A nervous-looking girl walked forward.
The hat thought for a minute, then proclaimed, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
Harry zoned out for a while, clapping whenever a Gryffindor was called.
Finally, McGonagall called out, "Zygee, Sue!" She was sorted into Slytherin, and Harry got ready to chow down, vaguely remembering that there would be a total solar eclipse tomorrow, and Hogwarts would be the central point.
Dumbledore stood up, and everybody licked their chops. "I know I usually only say, 'Let's eat' right now, but we have one more ceremony tonight," Dumbledore announced. "We would now like to give a very warm welcome to our exchange student, Tom Matthews."
There was an excited murmur as the aforementioned Tom walked into the hall, smiling. He was about 5 feet, 8 and ΒΌ inches tall, with brown hair sprinkled with light, light blond, and had gray eyes with medium-sized blue specks.
"Now, Mr. Matthews," Dumbledore continued, "if you would please proceed to the stool and put on the hat."
Tom walked over to the stool and put on the Sorting Hat. The hat thought for about a minute before it yelled, "RAVENCLAW!"
Luna was snapped out of her (usual) stupor and looked around for the source of the noise. The sudden movement caught Harry's eye, and he remembered he had never asked her about that stare she gave him when he arrived.
Tom went to sit at the Ravenclaw table, and they all dug in.
That night, Harry was lying in bed, wide awake despite eating tons of food, wondering what the stare had meant. Maybe she was only looking at him. But maybe not. He closed his eyes to think, and the next thing he knew, she was staring at him again. But right before his eyes, she changed. Her skin became chalky white and she grew about a foot and a half. Her stare went from disconcerting to evil, while her eyes became red and catlike. Her hair shortened, and her fingers grew until they looked like large pale spiders.
Finally, she said in an evil, high-pitched voice, "I shall kill you, Harry Potter." Then Harry rolled out of bed and woke up.
"Why the hell do I always have dreams like that?" Harry muttered under his breath, climbing back into bed.
Suddenly, he gasped. There was a figure by the window. It didn't look anything like one of his roommates, because whoever it was was built along the lines of Crabbe and Goyle's fathers. Come to think of it, there were strange similarities in the shape.
Then the man turned around, and he got a brief glimpse of a mean-looking face that really needed a trim before he was knocked unconscious.
Harry awoke suddenly to the sound of a woman screaming. He looked around for the source of the noise, but all he saw was that he was in a dungeon sparsely and tastelessly decorated with some chains on the wall, a dementor, the typical bars for the inside wall, the stereotype barred window on the rear wall, some torture instruments... Hold on a sec, Harry thought. He rewound his train of thought until he got to the second item in the list above. Holy hell! I'm being guarded by a dementor! Well, that explained the screaming.
Harry turned his head toward the door in the bars when he heard a creak. Actually, it was more like a CREEEEEEEEEEEEK, but you get the picture. Stepping into the cell was the same man that had kidnapped him. The man grinned broadly. "Ah, good, you're awake," he said.
"Who are you?" Harry asked.
"Hey, I'M the one asking the questions here!" the man snarled. "No, wait," the man said, seeming to remember something. "I'm not supposed to interrogate you... something about 'unnecessary information'... but anyhow..." The man thought for a second. "Oh yeah! I'm supposed to tell you what's going on, because Lord Voldemort thinks for some reason that in stories such as this, the hero's obligated to find out what the bad guy's big plan is." With that, he launched into an explanation at hyperspeed. "You get all that?" he asked when he finished.
"Er... no, actually," Harry replied. "Would ya mind slowing down just a tad?"
The man groaned. "Fine," he said. "Here we go.
"My name is Tom Matthews."
"Hey, you go to my school!" Harry interrupted. "But you can't be Tom Matthews. Unless you're one of those..." He thought for a second. "Um... shapeshiftymabobs."
"Uh, yeah, I'm a Metamorphmagus," Matthews responded. "I'm also being put under the Imperius Curse by Voldemort himself, because I show such great resistance to it.
"Anyhow, I'm Tom Matthews. I'm a Metamorphmagus who goes to your school under Voldemort's Imperius Curse. I'm acting as a spy, and I'm also trying to get close to your friends. Now, here's the short version of the plan.
"I'm going to kidnap one of your friends for Voldemort, I haven't been told who yet. After that, I'm going to bring him/her to Voldemort to torture to death in front of you to provoke you into dueling him to the death. After he kills you, he will be unstoppable and will take over the world. The end."
"That's the whole plan?" Harry asked incredulously. "You do realize you have to fill more than four chapters, right?"
"Of course," Matthews said. "Which is why you will escape, as usual, and when we finally get your friend and lure you back, the Order of the Phoenix will interfere. That'll make it so much longer."
"Oh." Harry was speechless for a second. "Well, that'd work." He happened to look down and noticed the wand on his belt. He briefly thought, They were actually stupid enough to leave me with my wand? before he grabbed it and blasted his restraints off.
"See?" Matthews said. "I told you you'd escape."
"Right," Harry said. "So, I won't be seeing you, since you'll be shipped back to America."
"Who the hell are you kidding?" Matthews said. "I've got this great memory charm I developed myself that enables one to make one's opponent forget whatever one wants them too." He grinned evilly. "Nurilicio!" A purple beam with rainbow polka-dots shot out of his wand and hit Harry square in the chest.
Harry didn't feel a thing. He grinned. "Is that all you got... um... uh..." Damn! He couldn't remember the guy's name!
"No, it's not, Harry, but it's all I'm gonna hit you with, because it's all I need." The man grinned. "Buh-bye now!"
Harry ran for all he was worth and suddenly remembered that he had passed his Apparition test the previous summer. He concentrated on Hogsmeade, and disappeared with a pop!
* * *
So, do you like? Please give me more reviews! Thanks again to those who have already!
