I'd been wondering when I was going to see you, a voice said in my
ear, making me jump. Hmm... you're almost as difficult to sort as your
father.
My father? I thought, stunned.
Yes, indeed, the voice continued. I can see that you have many qualities in common. You both are friendly-
But my father was never friendly, I thought. Not the one I knew.
I am talking about your real father, the voice said patiently. Not your adoptive one.
Oh.
As I was saying; you and your father both are friendly, creative, and have a knack for coming up with the most absurd pranks.
I smiled, remembering the summer.
You both are brave and would willingly give you lives for your friends. Hmm... yes, and you both will be in the same house:
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted the last word so the whole Hall could hear. It was taken off my head and I re-joined the wildly applauding Gryffindors, sitting down next to Harry again. He was grinning from ear to ear.
As soon as the clapping died down, Professor Dumbledore stood up, beaming around the Hall. "Before we begin the feast, I have some things that hold some importance," he said. "First of all, first year should note that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits. I trust our prefects and new Head Boy and Girl to reinforce this." As he said this, Dumbledore at Hermione.
"How come you didn't tell us?" Ron whispered. Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment, Dumbledore started to speak again.
"Secondly, seeing as most of the houses are missing captains for their Quidditch teams, I am asking the members of each house to vote for the Quidditch player on your team who you think is most worthy of being captain. And, lastly, let us all welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Ms. Flue Delacour!"
Everyone clapped loudly, and Fleur smiled around. Ron went red again and clapped once.
"I think that is everything," said Dumbledore. "Yes, that's all. Now. let's eat!"
I looked away from Dumbledore and saw that the golden plates on our table had been filled with foods of all kinds. I took a little of everything and began to eat. Harry and Ron started talking about who might become Gryffindor Quidditch captain.
"Maybe Fred or George," said Harry through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"What about you?" Ron asked, starting on a chicken leg.
"Me? Nah." Harry shook his head.
Next to me, Hermione was talking excitedly about the next day and what classes I met get.
"I hope you get Arithmancy, or Study of Ancient Runes," se said. "It'll be good to have someone to talk about the lessons for a change."
"That runes class sounds interesting," I said, cutting up a piece of ham with my fork. "I've always been interested in lost languages."
The feast went on cheerfully, and when Dumbledore stood up to send us all to bed, it was a while before everyone quieted down. When the last whisper had faded, Dumbledore said, "Now we have filled ourselves to the brim, it is time for bed. Lessons begin tomorrow, and I doubt anyone would want to sleep in and be late for the first class of term."
Everyone got up out of their seats, talking again. I followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione up the marble staircase and along a corridor that ended with a picture of a fat lady dressed in pink. When we halted before her, she said, "Password?"
"Ater lebes," said Hermione. The fat lady swung open on her hinges to reveal a huge hole about a foot off the ground. We climbed into it, and moments later, I found myself standing in the Gryffindor common room.
Scarlet, comfortable looking couches and armchairs were placed around the circular room, some in front of the fire, some facing each other with what looked like a chess table between them, and some pulled up to wooden tables that were scratched and indented in. In the fireplace, a fire was roaring happily, sending flickering shadows upon the walls. A few people were lounging on the armchairs, talking with their friends. Ginny was among them. When she caught sight of Harry and me, her eyes glared fiercely, but she looked away quickly.
I sighed and followed Hermione up the staircase to the girls dormitory, passing a large box labeled "Quidditch Captain Votes" on the way.
We climbed the stairs to a door that had a sign nailed to it that read, "5th Years." Hermione pushed it open, and I saw a circular room as big as the ones in the cottage that had five four-poster beds arranged around it. The hangings on three of them were drawn shut; open trunks stood at the end of them. Hermione and I took the remaining two (our trunks were already at the end of them), changed into our pajama's behind our hangings, and talked in whispers about the possible classes I could get. When we could no longer keep our eyes open, we said good-night and curled up under the crimson sheets. I thought I would have a terrible time falling asleep for all the adrenaline rushing through me, but as soon as I closed my eyes, I fell into a deep sleep.
Since it had been so long, I was a bit surprised to see a golden mist everywhere. I blinked away my surprise and grinned.
"Hello, D.C.," I said, sitting down and crossing my legs.
"Hello," came the cheerful reply.
"Um, D.C.," I said suddenly, "why haven't I been dreaming about you since
I escaped from Voldemort?"
"Because you didn't need to," D.C. said slowly.
"Do I need to now?" I asked. There was a long pause. "D.C.?"
"I don't know if you need to," D.C. admitted. "You're probably dreaming this because Hogwarts is so magical."
"That's part of it, D.C.," came a clear voice behind me. I jumped up and whipped around. A tall woman with long, wavy red hair and bright green eyes was smiling at me.
"Hello, Emerald," she said cheerfully.
"Er," I said. How does she know my name?
"Lily!" D.C. exclaimed. I stared.
"Lily? As in Lily Potter?" I said, shocked. Lily nodded. "But, I thought-"
"No," she said firmly. "I'm not dead. Neither is James."
"How-" I gasped as a man with untidy black hair and sky blue eyes that sparkled with laughter appeared next to Lily. He took her hand and looked at me.
"You've changed so much since we last saw you," he said.
"Before-" Lily began, but she broke off. Her eyes shimmered with tears.
"Before what?" I asked. I didn't get an answer, because at that very moment, the golden mist began to fade. "No!" I shouted, but too late. It was gone.
My eyes snapped open. Sunshine was streaming through a tiny opening in my hangings, right into my eyes. I shielded my eyes and threw off the sheets. After dressing in my Gryffindor robes (I stood for 5 minutes in front of the mirror admiring them), I headed down for breakfast.
When I entered the Great Hall and joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Professor McGonagall had nearly finished distributing the class schedules. Once she sighted me, she hurried over and handed me mine.
"You might want to eat quickly," McGonagall advised me. "Lessons start in half an hour.
"Ok," I said, loading my plat with hash browns, bacon, and pancakes. "Thanks."
While I ate, I looked over my schedule. Harry snatched it out of my hands and compared it with his.
"You've got exactly the same schedule as Ron and me!" he exclaimed.
"Really?" I asked, taking his and my schedules and comparing them. He was right, except for one thing. "But instead of Double Divination every Thursday, I have the Study of Ancient Runes."
"You do?" Hermione exclaimed. "So have I!"
"Cool," I said, grinning. As we finished eating, a loud bell chimed from somewhere within the castle, signaling the start of lessons/ Standing up and talking vividly, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I made our way outside towards the greenhouses for our first lesson; Herbology.
We joined the mass of students outside the greenhouses just as a squat little with a patched hat perched on her wild hair arrived.
"We'll be planting snap dragons and fairy wings today," she announced, motioning to the many pots behind her. Some pots contained orange flowers that squirmed and twisted to get out of their pots. Others contained purple, transparent flowers shaped like dragonfly wings. Every now and then, one would flap its petals for a moment and then sigh softly. The squat little witch continued.
"When you are working with the snap dragons, be sure to wear your dragon hide gloves," the witch warned. "They have a very painful bite." As if to prove a point, one of the orange flowers suddenly snapped at an unwary fly.
The squat witch started to assign pairs of students to flowers and areas to plant them in. Harry and I received five pots of fairy wings each and a section of grass in front of greenhouse two; Ron and Hermione were planting snap dragons nearby. We could see them laughing and throwing clumps of dirt at each other.
"Aren't they cute?" I asked, giving the dirt covering the roots of the flower I just planted a good pat.
"Oh, yeah," Harry laughed, taking another fairy wing out of its pit. "Although they aren't as cute as us."
"Suck-up."
"Barbie."
"I thought it was fashion model."
"Yeah, but that's a compliment."
After Herbology, everyone tramped up the stairs for a quick wash and then made their way towards Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures. I groaned as I saw Malfoy talking with the two thugs that had been with him on the train.
"I wish we didn't have this class with the Slytherins," I complained to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They nodded in agreement as we joined the group milling around Hagrid's hut.
As soon as Malfoy saw me, he smirked and walked over to us.
"Hello, Emerald," he sneered. I pinched my nose.
"Go away, dragon dung," I snapped.
"Why should I?" Malfoy challenged.
"Because I'll disfigure your ugly face even more," I shot back.
"Is that so?" Malfoy jeered. I nodded and started to bounced around.
"Come one, come all!" I shouted. "Center attraction is Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret!"
The Gryffindors roared with laughter, and even some of the Slytherins couldn't keep a straight face. Malfoy's pale face, now tinted with pink, showed an expression of deep hatred. He opened his mouth to retort, but at that moment, Hagrid came out from behind his hut.
"Hallo, there!" he said happily. "Fun lesson planned fer today. Follow me 'round back, and stay quiet."
We followed Hagrid to the back of his hut. I gasped, and so did a few other people.
A beautiful, swan-sized, scarlet bird was sitting peacefully on the wooden railing behind Hagrid's hut. It had a large golden beak and tail, and beautiful black eyes.
"Is that a phoenix, Hagrid?" I asked.
"Yup," said Hagrid. "Dumbledore lent 'im to me fer the lesson.
"First off, who can tell me some powers phoenix posses?" Hermione's hand shot up in the air, followed by Harry's. Hagrid called on Harry.
"Their tears have healing powers," he said.
"Right. Five points to Gryffindor. Hermione?" said Hagrid.
"They can vanish and reappear someplace else at will," she said promptly.
"Right again. Take another five points," said Hagrid, beaming. He spent the next 15 minutes of class walking around with the phoenix perched on his arm, letting people pet him and telling the class phoenix facts. When Hagrid reached Harry, the phoenix trilled a short note and disappeared, reappearing on Harry's shoulder.
"Get off, Fawkes," Harry said uncomfortably, trying to push him back to Hagrid. Fawkes piped indignantly and disappeared again. He reappeared on my shoulder. I was startled at this because I never actually had met a phoenix, let alone Fawkes. All the same, though, his warm weight on my shoulder was comforting to have there... in a sense.
"Fawkes," I whispered to the phoenix, "I'm very pleased you trust me, but Hagrid really needs to teach his lesson."
The phoenix let out a sort of cross between a sigh and a chirp, but he rose off my shoulder and flew back onto Hagrid's arm.
"That's odd," said Hagrid. "I've never known any phoenix to act that way. Harry, Emerald, stay a moment after class so I can talk ter ya."
In a few minutes, a bell rang form somewhere in the castle. While the rest of the class departed for their next lessons, Harry and I stayed behind to talk to Hagrid.
"I want you two ter come ter the headmaster's office t'night at 7," he murmured to us. "Password's 'chocolate frogs.'"
"Why?" asked Harry.
"You'll find out," said Hagrid winking. "Now, off ter Transfiguration with ya! Professor McGonagall won't be too please if yer late."
We hurried to Transfiguration and slammed our things down on our desks just as the bell rang.
Transfiguration, as it turned out, was just as difficult as I though it would be. We were supposed to turn a black top hat into a white rabbit, but all I managed to do was turn the hat white and make it hop around the desk. Harry and Ron were having no better luck; Ron gave his hat a cotton tail and long ears; Harry gave his fur. Hermione, of course, was the first (and only) person to change their hat completely.
"How do you do it?" asked Ron as we headed for lunch.
"She's not a prefect for nothing, you know," said Harry, laughing.
After lunch, we headed down towards the dungeons for Potions.
"Great," said Hermione sarcastically, "another class with the Slytherins."
"And the ferret," I added. Ron laughed, but his laughter died away as we entered Snape's dungeon. We took our seats at the very back of the classroom, as far away from Malfoy and the Slytherins as possible.
When the bell rang, Snape looked up from his desk. He looked around the class, his eyes stopping on Harry, full of loathing.
"We'll be brewing a Binding Potion today," Snape said, not taking his eyes off of Harry. "Who can tell me the main ingredient?"
Hermione's hand, automatically, it seemed, shot up. I paused for a moment, then raised my hand tentatively into the air. Snape's eyes flashed.
"A new hand?" Snape said. "I'm impressed. All right, Ms. Destiny. The main ingredient is...?"
"A colligo lapis?" I asked.
"And a colligo lapis is...?"
"A rare lapis found mostly in southern Africa, reddish-orange in color," I said, stunning myself on how much i sounded like Hermione.
"Finally, someone other than Ms. Granger has decided to actually pick up their textbook," Snape said without a hint of emotion. "A point to Gryffindor."
"Snape actually gave a point to Gryffindor?" asked Harry, shocked, as Snape wrote the directions for the Binding Potion on the blackboard. "There must be something wrong with him."
After potions was over, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I headed back up to Gryffindor tower to drop our things off and get started on our homework.
"They're evil," said Ron, flipping through his copy of Lapi Around the World, "giving us homework on the first day."
"Our O.W.Ls are coming up this year, though," said Hermione.
"But they're at the end of the year!" complained Ron. Hermione sighed and checked her watch.
"Fine. If you don't want to do your homework, we might as well head down for dinner," she said. We rose from the table we were sitting at, left our papers there, and went down to eat.
When we entered the Great Hall, I caught sight of Hagrid and remembered what he had said to Harry and me that morning.
"Hermione, what time is it?" I asked.
"6:30," she replied as we sat down.
"We only have half an hour to eat then," I groaned.
"Why?" Ron asked, puzzled. I explained about what Hagrid had said to us.
"Who knows what he wants us for?" said Harry when I had finished. "Maybe he wants us to help him plan for the next class."
"But in the headmaster's office?" Hermione asked skeptically.
Harry and I ate hurriedly, and at five minutes to seven, set off for Dumbledore's office. Harry led the way to a stone gargoyle in one of the corridors and said, "Chocolate frogs."
The statue jumped aside, revealing a moving staircase that very much resembled an escalator. We stepped onto it, and it brought us up to a large wooden door. Harry knocked on it, waited for a moment, then pushed it open.
Golden chairs were placed around the perimeter of the circular office. Most of them were occupied by witches and wizards of varied ages, but there were four vacant chairs. Harry and I made our way to two of the chairs, very well aware of the stares we were getting.
"What is this?" I whispered to Harry.
"It looks like some sort of meeting," he whispered back.
"For what?" Harry shook his head. I sighed and looked around at all of the faces. A woman with graying hair was chatting to a man next to her, glancing at Harry often and half-smiling. Dumbledore was sitting next to them, eyes closed, apparently deep in thought. Further along was Hagrid. He was talking to a giant of a woman with olive black hair and a creamy complexion. Then an empty chair, and my eyes fell on Snape. He was looking as sour as ever. Another empty chair, and I saw a boy of about our age sitting next to the door. He had dirty blonde hair, broad shoulders, and a nervous expression on his face. I couldn't see his eyes because he was looking down at his hands.
Suddenly, the grandfather clock chimed seven times, and Dumbledore opened his eyes. He stood up and cleared his throat.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming here on such short notice," he said, looking around at everyone. "I've called you here because matters are very urgent, and unfortunately, our own Minister of Magic still refuses to believe there is any reason to panic. But there is.
"At the end of last term, as many of you may have heard, the unthinkable happened. Lord Voldemort-" here, some of the witches and wizards in the room flinched slightly "- has returned. He is gathering he supports back at a remarkable speed, and soon, the Dementors might be tempted to join him. Thankfully, the giants resisted. Hagrid and Madame Maxime managed to convince them to help us fight, instead of Voldemort." There was a short round of applause, then Dumbledore continued.
"Voldemort is gaining power rapidly, too. This summer, he tried to get the item that would make him invincible. Fortunately, he did not succeed.
"But matters are still urgent," Dumbledore persisted. "If we do not act now, Voldemort could become stronger than before. This is why I've called the first meeting of the Order tonight."
My father? I thought, stunned.
Yes, indeed, the voice continued. I can see that you have many qualities in common. You both are friendly-
But my father was never friendly, I thought. Not the one I knew.
I am talking about your real father, the voice said patiently. Not your adoptive one.
Oh.
As I was saying; you and your father both are friendly, creative, and have a knack for coming up with the most absurd pranks.
I smiled, remembering the summer.
You both are brave and would willingly give you lives for your friends. Hmm... yes, and you both will be in the same house:
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted the last word so the whole Hall could hear. It was taken off my head and I re-joined the wildly applauding Gryffindors, sitting down next to Harry again. He was grinning from ear to ear.
As soon as the clapping died down, Professor Dumbledore stood up, beaming around the Hall. "Before we begin the feast, I have some things that hold some importance," he said. "First of all, first year should note that the Forbidden Forest is off-limits. I trust our prefects and new Head Boy and Girl to reinforce this." As he said this, Dumbledore at Hermione.
"How come you didn't tell us?" Ron whispered. Hermione opened her mouth to answer, but at that moment, Dumbledore started to speak again.
"Secondly, seeing as most of the houses are missing captains for their Quidditch teams, I am asking the members of each house to vote for the Quidditch player on your team who you think is most worthy of being captain. And, lastly, let us all welcome our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Ms. Flue Delacour!"
Everyone clapped loudly, and Fleur smiled around. Ron went red again and clapped once.
"I think that is everything," said Dumbledore. "Yes, that's all. Now. let's eat!"
I looked away from Dumbledore and saw that the golden plates on our table had been filled with foods of all kinds. I took a little of everything and began to eat. Harry and Ron started talking about who might become Gryffindor Quidditch captain.
"Maybe Fred or George," said Harry through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.
"What about you?" Ron asked, starting on a chicken leg.
"Me? Nah." Harry shook his head.
Next to me, Hermione was talking excitedly about the next day and what classes I met get.
"I hope you get Arithmancy, or Study of Ancient Runes," se said. "It'll be good to have someone to talk about the lessons for a change."
"That runes class sounds interesting," I said, cutting up a piece of ham with my fork. "I've always been interested in lost languages."
The feast went on cheerfully, and when Dumbledore stood up to send us all to bed, it was a while before everyone quieted down. When the last whisper had faded, Dumbledore said, "Now we have filled ourselves to the brim, it is time for bed. Lessons begin tomorrow, and I doubt anyone would want to sleep in and be late for the first class of term."
Everyone got up out of their seats, talking again. I followed Harry, Ron, and Hermione up the marble staircase and along a corridor that ended with a picture of a fat lady dressed in pink. When we halted before her, she said, "Password?"
"Ater lebes," said Hermione. The fat lady swung open on her hinges to reveal a huge hole about a foot off the ground. We climbed into it, and moments later, I found myself standing in the Gryffindor common room.
Scarlet, comfortable looking couches and armchairs were placed around the circular room, some in front of the fire, some facing each other with what looked like a chess table between them, and some pulled up to wooden tables that were scratched and indented in. In the fireplace, a fire was roaring happily, sending flickering shadows upon the walls. A few people were lounging on the armchairs, talking with their friends. Ginny was among them. When she caught sight of Harry and me, her eyes glared fiercely, but she looked away quickly.
I sighed and followed Hermione up the staircase to the girls dormitory, passing a large box labeled "Quidditch Captain Votes" on the way.
We climbed the stairs to a door that had a sign nailed to it that read, "5th Years." Hermione pushed it open, and I saw a circular room as big as the ones in the cottage that had five four-poster beds arranged around it. The hangings on three of them were drawn shut; open trunks stood at the end of them. Hermione and I took the remaining two (our trunks were already at the end of them), changed into our pajama's behind our hangings, and talked in whispers about the possible classes I could get. When we could no longer keep our eyes open, we said good-night and curled up under the crimson sheets. I thought I would have a terrible time falling asleep for all the adrenaline rushing through me, but as soon as I closed my eyes, I fell into a deep sleep.
Since it had been so long, I was a bit surprised to see a golden mist everywhere. I blinked away my surprise and grinned.
"Hello, D.C.," I said, sitting down and crossing my legs.
"Hello," came the cheerful reply.
"Um, D.C.," I said suddenly, "why haven't I been dreaming about you since
I escaped from Voldemort?"
"Because you didn't need to," D.C. said slowly.
"Do I need to now?" I asked. There was a long pause. "D.C.?"
"I don't know if you need to," D.C. admitted. "You're probably dreaming this because Hogwarts is so magical."
"That's part of it, D.C.," came a clear voice behind me. I jumped up and whipped around. A tall woman with long, wavy red hair and bright green eyes was smiling at me.
"Hello, Emerald," she said cheerfully.
"Er," I said. How does she know my name?
"Lily!" D.C. exclaimed. I stared.
"Lily? As in Lily Potter?" I said, shocked. Lily nodded. "But, I thought-"
"No," she said firmly. "I'm not dead. Neither is James."
"How-" I gasped as a man with untidy black hair and sky blue eyes that sparkled with laughter appeared next to Lily. He took her hand and looked at me.
"You've changed so much since we last saw you," he said.
"Before-" Lily began, but she broke off. Her eyes shimmered with tears.
"Before what?" I asked. I didn't get an answer, because at that very moment, the golden mist began to fade. "No!" I shouted, but too late. It was gone.
My eyes snapped open. Sunshine was streaming through a tiny opening in my hangings, right into my eyes. I shielded my eyes and threw off the sheets. After dressing in my Gryffindor robes (I stood for 5 minutes in front of the mirror admiring them), I headed down for breakfast.
When I entered the Great Hall and joined Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Professor McGonagall had nearly finished distributing the class schedules. Once she sighted me, she hurried over and handed me mine.
"You might want to eat quickly," McGonagall advised me. "Lessons start in half an hour.
"Ok," I said, loading my plat with hash browns, bacon, and pancakes. "Thanks."
While I ate, I looked over my schedule. Harry snatched it out of my hands and compared it with his.
"You've got exactly the same schedule as Ron and me!" he exclaimed.
"Really?" I asked, taking his and my schedules and comparing them. He was right, except for one thing. "But instead of Double Divination every Thursday, I have the Study of Ancient Runes."
"You do?" Hermione exclaimed. "So have I!"
"Cool," I said, grinning. As we finished eating, a loud bell chimed from somewhere within the castle, signaling the start of lessons/ Standing up and talking vividly, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and I made our way outside towards the greenhouses for our first lesson; Herbology.
We joined the mass of students outside the greenhouses just as a squat little with a patched hat perched on her wild hair arrived.
"We'll be planting snap dragons and fairy wings today," she announced, motioning to the many pots behind her. Some pots contained orange flowers that squirmed and twisted to get out of their pots. Others contained purple, transparent flowers shaped like dragonfly wings. Every now and then, one would flap its petals for a moment and then sigh softly. The squat little witch continued.
"When you are working with the snap dragons, be sure to wear your dragon hide gloves," the witch warned. "They have a very painful bite." As if to prove a point, one of the orange flowers suddenly snapped at an unwary fly.
The squat witch started to assign pairs of students to flowers and areas to plant them in. Harry and I received five pots of fairy wings each and a section of grass in front of greenhouse two; Ron and Hermione were planting snap dragons nearby. We could see them laughing and throwing clumps of dirt at each other.
"Aren't they cute?" I asked, giving the dirt covering the roots of the flower I just planted a good pat.
"Oh, yeah," Harry laughed, taking another fairy wing out of its pit. "Although they aren't as cute as us."
"Suck-up."
"Barbie."
"I thought it was fashion model."
"Yeah, but that's a compliment."
After Herbology, everyone tramped up the stairs for a quick wash and then made their way towards Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures. I groaned as I saw Malfoy talking with the two thugs that had been with him on the train.
"I wish we didn't have this class with the Slytherins," I complained to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They nodded in agreement as we joined the group milling around Hagrid's hut.
As soon as Malfoy saw me, he smirked and walked over to us.
"Hello, Emerald," he sneered. I pinched my nose.
"Go away, dragon dung," I snapped.
"Why should I?" Malfoy challenged.
"Because I'll disfigure your ugly face even more," I shot back.
"Is that so?" Malfoy jeered. I nodded and started to bounced around.
"Come one, come all!" I shouted. "Center attraction is Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret!"
The Gryffindors roared with laughter, and even some of the Slytherins couldn't keep a straight face. Malfoy's pale face, now tinted with pink, showed an expression of deep hatred. He opened his mouth to retort, but at that moment, Hagrid came out from behind his hut.
"Hallo, there!" he said happily. "Fun lesson planned fer today. Follow me 'round back, and stay quiet."
We followed Hagrid to the back of his hut. I gasped, and so did a few other people.
A beautiful, swan-sized, scarlet bird was sitting peacefully on the wooden railing behind Hagrid's hut. It had a large golden beak and tail, and beautiful black eyes.
"Is that a phoenix, Hagrid?" I asked.
"Yup," said Hagrid. "Dumbledore lent 'im to me fer the lesson.
"First off, who can tell me some powers phoenix posses?" Hermione's hand shot up in the air, followed by Harry's. Hagrid called on Harry.
"Their tears have healing powers," he said.
"Right. Five points to Gryffindor. Hermione?" said Hagrid.
"They can vanish and reappear someplace else at will," she said promptly.
"Right again. Take another five points," said Hagrid, beaming. He spent the next 15 minutes of class walking around with the phoenix perched on his arm, letting people pet him and telling the class phoenix facts. When Hagrid reached Harry, the phoenix trilled a short note and disappeared, reappearing on Harry's shoulder.
"Get off, Fawkes," Harry said uncomfortably, trying to push him back to Hagrid. Fawkes piped indignantly and disappeared again. He reappeared on my shoulder. I was startled at this because I never actually had met a phoenix, let alone Fawkes. All the same, though, his warm weight on my shoulder was comforting to have there... in a sense.
"Fawkes," I whispered to the phoenix, "I'm very pleased you trust me, but Hagrid really needs to teach his lesson."
The phoenix let out a sort of cross between a sigh and a chirp, but he rose off my shoulder and flew back onto Hagrid's arm.
"That's odd," said Hagrid. "I've never known any phoenix to act that way. Harry, Emerald, stay a moment after class so I can talk ter ya."
In a few minutes, a bell rang form somewhere in the castle. While the rest of the class departed for their next lessons, Harry and I stayed behind to talk to Hagrid.
"I want you two ter come ter the headmaster's office t'night at 7," he murmured to us. "Password's 'chocolate frogs.'"
"Why?" asked Harry.
"You'll find out," said Hagrid winking. "Now, off ter Transfiguration with ya! Professor McGonagall won't be too please if yer late."
We hurried to Transfiguration and slammed our things down on our desks just as the bell rang.
Transfiguration, as it turned out, was just as difficult as I though it would be. We were supposed to turn a black top hat into a white rabbit, but all I managed to do was turn the hat white and make it hop around the desk. Harry and Ron were having no better luck; Ron gave his hat a cotton tail and long ears; Harry gave his fur. Hermione, of course, was the first (and only) person to change their hat completely.
"How do you do it?" asked Ron as we headed for lunch.
"She's not a prefect for nothing, you know," said Harry, laughing.
After lunch, we headed down towards the dungeons for Potions.
"Great," said Hermione sarcastically, "another class with the Slytherins."
"And the ferret," I added. Ron laughed, but his laughter died away as we entered Snape's dungeon. We took our seats at the very back of the classroom, as far away from Malfoy and the Slytherins as possible.
When the bell rang, Snape looked up from his desk. He looked around the class, his eyes stopping on Harry, full of loathing.
"We'll be brewing a Binding Potion today," Snape said, not taking his eyes off of Harry. "Who can tell me the main ingredient?"
Hermione's hand, automatically, it seemed, shot up. I paused for a moment, then raised my hand tentatively into the air. Snape's eyes flashed.
"A new hand?" Snape said. "I'm impressed. All right, Ms. Destiny. The main ingredient is...?"
"A colligo lapis?" I asked.
"And a colligo lapis is...?"
"A rare lapis found mostly in southern Africa, reddish-orange in color," I said, stunning myself on how much i sounded like Hermione.
"Finally, someone other than Ms. Granger has decided to actually pick up their textbook," Snape said without a hint of emotion. "A point to Gryffindor."
"Snape actually gave a point to Gryffindor?" asked Harry, shocked, as Snape wrote the directions for the Binding Potion on the blackboard. "There must be something wrong with him."
After potions was over, Harry, Ron, Hermione and I headed back up to Gryffindor tower to drop our things off and get started on our homework.
"They're evil," said Ron, flipping through his copy of Lapi Around the World, "giving us homework on the first day."
"Our O.W.Ls are coming up this year, though," said Hermione.
"But they're at the end of the year!" complained Ron. Hermione sighed and checked her watch.
"Fine. If you don't want to do your homework, we might as well head down for dinner," she said. We rose from the table we were sitting at, left our papers there, and went down to eat.
When we entered the Great Hall, I caught sight of Hagrid and remembered what he had said to Harry and me that morning.
"Hermione, what time is it?" I asked.
"6:30," she replied as we sat down.
"We only have half an hour to eat then," I groaned.
"Why?" Ron asked, puzzled. I explained about what Hagrid had said to us.
"Who knows what he wants us for?" said Harry when I had finished. "Maybe he wants us to help him plan for the next class."
"But in the headmaster's office?" Hermione asked skeptically.
Harry and I ate hurriedly, and at five minutes to seven, set off for Dumbledore's office. Harry led the way to a stone gargoyle in one of the corridors and said, "Chocolate frogs."
The statue jumped aside, revealing a moving staircase that very much resembled an escalator. We stepped onto it, and it brought us up to a large wooden door. Harry knocked on it, waited for a moment, then pushed it open.
Golden chairs were placed around the perimeter of the circular office. Most of them were occupied by witches and wizards of varied ages, but there were four vacant chairs. Harry and I made our way to two of the chairs, very well aware of the stares we were getting.
"What is this?" I whispered to Harry.
"It looks like some sort of meeting," he whispered back.
"For what?" Harry shook his head. I sighed and looked around at all of the faces. A woman with graying hair was chatting to a man next to her, glancing at Harry often and half-smiling. Dumbledore was sitting next to them, eyes closed, apparently deep in thought. Further along was Hagrid. He was talking to a giant of a woman with olive black hair and a creamy complexion. Then an empty chair, and my eyes fell on Snape. He was looking as sour as ever. Another empty chair, and I saw a boy of about our age sitting next to the door. He had dirty blonde hair, broad shoulders, and a nervous expression on his face. I couldn't see his eyes because he was looking down at his hands.
Suddenly, the grandfather clock chimed seven times, and Dumbledore opened his eyes. He stood up and cleared his throat.
"I'd like to thank you all for coming here on such short notice," he said, looking around at everyone. "I've called you here because matters are very urgent, and unfortunately, our own Minister of Magic still refuses to believe there is any reason to panic. But there is.
"At the end of last term, as many of you may have heard, the unthinkable happened. Lord Voldemort-" here, some of the witches and wizards in the room flinched slightly "- has returned. He is gathering he supports back at a remarkable speed, and soon, the Dementors might be tempted to join him. Thankfully, the giants resisted. Hagrid and Madame Maxime managed to convince them to help us fight, instead of Voldemort." There was a short round of applause, then Dumbledore continued.
"Voldemort is gaining power rapidly, too. This summer, he tried to get the item that would make him invincible. Fortunately, he did not succeed.
"But matters are still urgent," Dumbledore persisted. "If we do not act now, Voldemort could become stronger than before. This is why I've called the first meeting of the Order tonight."
