Chapter 3
Place for Friendship
The boat ride was less than enjoyable for a girl who loomed above the other scared looking eleven-year-olds in the boats. Cadence glanced about wearily, not sure what to say or do. She only wanted to get to the castle, get sorted, and hopefully cling to the only three people she knew. People she didn't know very well at that.
The lanterns on the tops of the boats only allowed the students' view to go so far. The murky water looked almost pitch black as the large Hogwarts castle came into view. Suddenly, it was as if all of Cadence's problems had vanished.
It was just as beautiful as her parents had described if not more so. It was a great thing, looming above the dark water with its brightly lit windows, large acreage, magnificent scenery and eerie luminescence. It had to be the most beautiful thing Cadence had seen since the night her parents had been taken away from her. other than the acceptance letter.
She gulped as they came upon it, and without warning, the boats stopped. To her own surprise, she found herself climbing out and onto dry land, following the large man known as Hagrid up the way and into the castle of Hogwarts.
Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach the more she continued to walk. Nothing could have prepared her for the way she felt when she walked into the castle that would be her home for the next three years of her life.
Hagrid continued to show the first years where they would be going, and Cadence caught the glimpse of a witch who appeared stern and strict. She had her hair pulled into a tight bun with small spectacles perched on her nose. She was tapping her fingers lightly on the banister next to her, waiting patiently for the first years to make their way up the stairs.
They watched Hagrid disappear as they took their place in front of the professor. She told them about their first year at Hogwarts. She explained the houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, told them about the sorting ceremony, the points, the house cup, and the fact that the sorting ceremony was beginning at any minute.
The doors to the Great Hall opened and Cadence saw almost one thousand heads turn her way, staring at her attentively. She saw four tables set up, all of which contained students in matching black robes. They watched as the swarm of first year students made their way feebly to the front of the room, where a table of what appeared to be professors sat at, watching just as intensely. Perched in front were a stool and a ratted sorcerer's hat.
Cadence stepped up toward the stool, looking at the hat with disgust. It had to have certainly gone through the ringer to look as hideous as it did, and she could only wonder excitedly what its purpose was.
"When I call your name, I will place the Sorting Hat upon your head and you'll join your houses," she instructed, holding up a roll of parchment, holding the dusty hat in her fingers, calling off the first name. "Alexander, Daniel."
A meek blond boy stepped up to the stool, sitting down and visibly shivering as the hat went onto his head. All of a sudden, it began to move and a smile crept up Cadence's face. Long before had her parents told her stories of the Sorting Hat, and how it had stunned them so much their first year that it was extremely amusing from then on to watch scared new students be sorted.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat yelled.
"Benson, Tyler."
Cadence watched and felt her heart beat within her chest. She was coming up soon.
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Bringer, Sarah."
Cadence gulped and looked behind her at the tables. There was mild clapping after each student was placed. She couldn't spot anyone she had met from the train, and didn't know what she had gotten herself into.
Our table.
"Bund, Merry."
She kicked at her feet a little more, feeling out of place. She was the tallest one in the whole group and yet she had to be the most nervous. She felt like everyone had been staring at her and only her. The way Ron had looked at her on the train was enough to unnerve her altogether.
"Cartwright, Cadence."
There was an instant silence, and it scared Cadence to no end. She stepped up onto the stool and felt the large hat slip over her ears and past her eyes. She felt her heart pound within the walls of her chest so madly she was sure it would burst out. Then the hat did something it hadn't done with the students before her.
"Hmm." it breathed into her ear. She felt apprehensive almost automatically.
"Let's see. this is almost hard. but I'll have to go with. GRYFFINDOR!"
She breathed a sigh of relief and jumped off of her stool, heading for the table she knew had to be it. Overhead, the flags were scarlet and gold, bearing the symbol of a lion.
And as she approached the table, she saw the glittering eyes and wonderful smile that had told her where to sit all along.
Our table.
She sat down, smiling at the bushy haired Hermione, sitting next to Ron a couple seats across from her. Ron held out his hand for her to shake in congratulations and Harry did the same. He winked at her, knowing what she was thinking, because he had been thinking it as well.
The Sorting Ceremony seemed to take ages from there, and all Cadence could now think about was eating.
She stared longingly at the dwindling line of first years, hoping it was over soon.
The headmaster of the school, Professor Albus Dumbledore stood up, gave his usual speech and start of term notices, then with a wave of his hand announced, "Let the feast. begin."
The food appeared in front of them and Cadence managed to get her hands on every bit she could.
Ron looked at Cadence in amusement. They looked almost identical as they grabbed the food and piled it onto their plates as if they hadn't eaten in over a year.
"Hungry, Cadence?"
Cadence looked up and saw that Ron had a large smile on his face. She noticed his plate piled as high with food as hers was.
"Just a little bit," she said, smiling back.
Harry looked at the two happily. It was one thing to see Ron joking around and being happy, but it was something he had witnessed before. He had yet to see Cadence smile more than twice in the few hours he had already known her.
He watched her throughout all of dinner, making friends with the new first years, and the students that were all her age and up. She seemed to be hitting it off with everyone quite well, and when she looked up to see Harry's wonderful green eyes twinkling at her, she turned pink.
The feast continued on and when it was over and done with, the first years were led up to their house towers, received the password, and went to bed. The next day at breakfast, they would be served with their course schedule, and Cadence had been instructed to report to the head of whatever house she was in (which would be Professor McGonagall) and pick out the courses she wished to take, being a fifth year.
She followed the Gryffindor prefect up the steps and was warned about the changing staircases. She stared around in awe at the wonderful moving paintings and smiled at the memory of her mom's voice, "And they waved at us and everything! It was quite extraordinary!"
She was on her way up the steps when she felt the jerkiness as the stairs moved out from under her. She looked around at the other fearful first years, who clung to the railings for dear life.
"Not to worry," the prefect yelled. "They're just changing. When the staircase stops, we'll proceed back to our prior destination."
Cadence heaved a loud sigh, watching with enjoyment the changing of the scenery below her. The staircase jerked to a stop and Cadence followed the group as they took the turns they wouldn't have normally taken in their circumstances.
They continued walking for what seemed like forever when finally, they came upon a gigantic portrait of a large, distinguished looking woman in a pink dress. "Password?" she asked with certain poise.
"Amare cadere."
The portrait slowly creaked open, revealing a vast space where chairs and couches were set up around a crackling fire. Windows along the side of the room rose up to the ceiling, and there were two stairwells beyond the room.
The prefect stopped in the middle of the room and began to talk. "This is the Gryffindor Common Room. The boys' dormitories are up the stairs to your left, the girls' dorms are up the stairs to your right. Your belongings have already been brought up. Your course schedules will be handed out tomorrow at breakfast. Go upstairs and get a good night's sleep. Classes start first thing tomorrow."
The crowd dispersed and Cadence found herself looking around the Common Room with a great admiration. It was here that so much had happened prior to her life. Her parents had gotten engaged in this very room, in front of the fire, staring into each other's eyes.
Cadence looked at the ceiling. She wanted her parents by her side. She missed them more than anything. Her thoughts constantly dwindled back to them in whatever she was doing. Even looking at Harry, she thought about her parents.
And that thought shocked her more than anything. Where had Harry come from? The thought of him seemed to have sprung out of nowhere. She sighed, looking down at her now quivering hands, cursing herself for being so formidably stupid. She was thinking about a person that she had only met that night and would probably not talk too much once attending Hogwarts.
And just as she had begun to think it, the portrait hole opened and Hermione, Ron, and Harry stepped in, laughing about something.
Cadence looked past her as her long, pale blonde hair swept in front of her eyes. She now realized that with the exception of the three who had just entered, she was the only person in the common room.
She cleared her throat and sweeping her hair past her shoulders, walked toward the right staircase.
"Cadence?"
The voice was soft and gentle, and unmistakably Harry's. She felt the tremble of excitement when her name was said and she turned around on her heel to face him.
She was obviously very distracted by what she was thinking. Harry noticed the cloudiness set in her dark eyes as she headed for the dorms. He had been meaning to talk to her ever since the Ceremony, but hadn't been able to get a word in edgeways as she made new friends. He couldn't stop himself from looking at her though. He would glance at her and watch her smile, talk, and engage in conversation with the utmost interest. He couldn't believe that this was the same girl he had sat with on the train who'd barely looked at him.
He stared at her in amazement the entire time he had been eating. He suddenly wanted to know everything about her.
"Harry?" she whispered back in a voice she didn't recognize as her own.
The two stared at each other for an uncomfortably long period of time. Harry realized that his hand was still on her shoulder.
"Um. I just wanted to talk to you," he said softly.
"Oh," she said sheepishly, turning bright pink.
He noticed her uneasiness and smiled at her reassuringly. "What are you so nervous about?" he asked her.
She looked up and then away from him again, shrugging. "I-I don't know. I guess I'm a little nervous about starting at an actual school. I haven't ever been in a school."
Both Cadence's and Harry's eyes went wide when she told him what she had told him, and both for different reasons. Harry was surprised that being a fifth year, she had never been in school. What did that mean? Was there some sort of reason?
Cadence couldn't believe she had actually said anything to him about it. She had opened her mouth and revealed a bit of her past to the one person she didn't want knowing.
Why didn't she want Harry to know about it? Why did she have to hold it back at all? She knew of Harry Potter and she knew of what had become of his family. It had all happened the night that her parents had moved to America from London, and hadn't gone back. They were very close in that aspect, so why shouldn't he know? He had suffered the same traumatic loss she had. Why couldn't she let him in?
"- Uh. uh. what I meant was-"
"- You, you shouldn't uh. be-"
"- I, I should probably go to. um-"
"- Yeah, um. you can um-"
They finally both ceased talking and stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Finally, Cadence whispered, "Goodnight, Harry," turned around, and fled to her bedroom.
Harry watched her back retreating up the stairs and turned to face his two friends. They had been taking the whole scene in with great interest. He shrugged it off as they gave him a knowing look. He smiled meekly at them and then looked back up the stairs at her.
"Don't go after her, Harry," Hermione warned after a few seconds of silence. "She wouldn't like it. Give her some time."
Harry sighed, staring back up the stairs at her and finally choosing not to do what he had wanted. He turned back around and whispered, "She'll tell me."
"Wait for it, Harry," Ron whispered back.
"She'll tell you when she's ready," Hermione told him again.
Harry sighed one more time before going up the stairs to his own bed. "When she's ready."
He went upstairs to his dorm, took off his robes, got into his pajamas, and didn't get to sleep until late that night. He had been up thinking about Cadence, her eyes, her smile. and her held back way of talking to people. He wanted to break her free, and he knew there was something she was keeping hidden. It was something dark, something secret, and he wanted to know what it was. Not just for the sake of knowing.
But maybe so he could capture that part of her soul.
Classes started almost first thing after breakfast the next morning. Cadence found that she was going to have ten classes, and her jaw dropped at the choices she was given. However, she found it quite easy to pick what she wanted to do, because she already had her witch career in mind.
The normal required classes were on her course schedule already. Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Astronomy, Charms, and History of Magic were on the list, and that only left her three extra choices to choose from. She decided to take Care of Magical Creatures, because she knew she was interested in the subject as it was. She chose to take Divination because it sounded interesting enough, and she also jotted down Muggle Studies. It was a very practical class to take, especially since she had grown up in a Muggle neighborhood but with witch parents. It was probably better for her that she knew what to do when the time came.
She received her fully finished course and made her way to her first class, Herbology, with the Hufflepuffs.
She ran into the classroom late, clutching her black satin book bag and breathing heavily. The lot of the class looked up at her strangely, and a red haired girl seated toward the front with the Gryffindor patch on her robe gave her an encouraging smile and beckoned for her to come closer.
She walked over as the students turned back to the teacher, Professor Sprout, as she began that day's lesson.
Cadence smiled at the girl as she sat down next to her and buried her face in her hands. She could hear the girl laugh and ask in an assured voice, "You're new here, right?"
Cadence looked up and smiled even wider when she answered, "Yeah, how did you know?"
"I saw you get placed with the first years. I knew you couldn't have been one, you looked far too tall," she said, chuckling.
Cadence laughed too. "Cadence Cartwright," she whispered, offering her hand.
The girl's brown eyes opened widely, taking her in. "Oh. so you're. okay."
Cadence didn't want to think about how everyone knew her name. It was still too painful.
"Yes, yes, I am Cadence," she answered, as if knowing exactly what this girl was talking about.
"All right. Well, I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley."
Cadence frowned a bit, knowing she had heard the name before. "Weasley. do you have a brother?"
Ginny's head tipped back as she laughed heartily. "Which one? I have six. Ron, you mean," she said, giving Cadence a large, reassuring smile. "You know Harry Potter?"
Ginny didn't miss how Cadence turned bright pink at the mere mention of the boy's name. "Sort of."
The red haired girl smiled all too knowingly at Cadence and shook her head. "He's quite a nice boy, to be perfectly honest. He sometimes spends summers over at my house, The Burrow. He's quite pleasant as a matter of fact. Very sweet."
Cadence hid behind her hair, but unfortunately it was too pale to hide the dark crimson color she had turned. Why am I acting like I'm only ten? I am fifteen years old! Why am I behaving this way when I talk about this boy? This unimportant boy?
"Now class," Professor Sprout interrupted Cadence's thoughts and she thanked her silently for it. "We're going to be dealing with these charmed- karibus plants momentarily. Do remember please, that if you do handle them for too long, their magic will begin to work its way on you and will taint you. You are to dig up the karibus, put it in the green pots and fill it with sod immediately. If you do not, you will start to feel a tingling in your arm, and if you do, put the plant in the pot and come see me promptly. You may begin," she said, waving them off.
Cadence turned to Ginny; confused almost for the first time ever in her studying of witchcraft and Ginny shook her head. "Don't sweat it. It really isn't all that hard once you start getting the hang of it."
Cadence nodded in understanding, and started to do exactly what the professor had told them to do, and found that after a while she was really starting to get the hang of it. She watched as a few students became enchanted by the plants and floated their way to the front of the classroom almost instantly.
Ginny smiled at her friend's nervous hands and whispered, "I've been enchanted by these before. She makes it sound so terrible, but all it does is put you in a dreamy state of being. If you're not cured right away, you float around daydreaming, and most professors can spot it almost immediately. You'd be sent straight to the hospital wing."
She nodded, still a bit nervous and continued with her work. The bell sounded for the next class to begin, and Ginny helped her straighten up all of her things before going on.
"What is your course schedule?" she asked curiously.
Cadence fished around in her pocket for it and handed it to her. Ginny looked it over and nodded. "We have practically all of our classes together."
"Which ones don't we?" she inquired, putting the paper back in her bag.
"Care of Magical Creatures and Divination," she answered. "I'm definitely taking Muggle Studies because my brothers don't even know how to use a common Muggle telephone. I figure one person in the household besides my father should know something."
Cadence smiled. "What are you taking then?"
"Arithmancy and Ancient Runes," she told her. "I like Hagrid and everything, but I don't fancy taking care of the wild creatures Hagrid likes to pet."
Cadence's grin grew steadily wider. "He plays with wild creatures?"
Ginny's eyes were wide as she nodded, for more emphasis. "Oh definitely. He fancies three-headed dogs, dragons, hippogriffs, blast-ended skrewts."
Ginny was cut off by Cadence's loud shrill of amusement. "HIPPOGRIFFS!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, causing several people to turn her way.
"You like these creatures?" Ginny asked in amazement.
Cadence shrugged. "I was brought up in a very sheltered witch world. I never got to see any of these creatures firsthand. They're really quite fascinating to me. I've seen the pictures of them, but never one close up."
"Well you'll really enjoy Hagrid's class won't you?" her friend said with a smile. "We have Transfiguration next, so don't get your hopes up about it just yet."
Cadence nodded and stared at the ground as they continued to walk. They made it to Transfiguration within a matter of minutes, and Cadence found herself in the middle of a very lengthy, almost proper looking classroom. Babbling fifth years surrounded her. The teacher appeared to be nowhere in sight.
A few minutes later, a gray and black tabby cat appeared from the inner door of the classroom and the students 'oohed' and 'ahed' to Cadence's surprise. She looked around for any sign of a teacher and then whispered to Ginny, "Where's the professor?"
Ginny only stared straight ahead and Cadence turned in time to see the cat change into the exact professor that had placed the Sorting Hat on her head. She gave a small smile to the students clapping around the classroom and pointed at the board. "Students, as you know, in your fifth year, you will be taking your O.W.L.s. Don't expect anything short of a very heavy workload this year."
The students groaned and shifted in the classroom for a few seconds and Cadence shakily raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Cartwright?" Professor McGonagall asked.
She shifted uncomfortably under her stare and then spoke up, "What do you do if you've already taken your O.W.L.s?"
The entire classroom became eerily silent as they all shifted to stare at Cadence. She felt a hot flush creeping up her cheeks and she slouched visibly in her chair.
"I've already spoken with your grandmother, Miss Cartwright," the professor said in a quiet voice. "We've worked everything out. You are still required to carry the same workload as the rest of the students, but you are not going to be taking the O.W.L.s."
Cadence sighed as the professor turned her gaze to the rest of the students and began her lesson.
Ginny stared at her friend, almost mesmerized. "You've already taken them?"
Cadence put her hand on her forehead and nodded. "My mother thought I was advanced enough to take it at the end of my tutoring last year. I got fifteen of them."
Ginny's face went blank. She mouthed the word, 'Wow' and turned her attention back to the front of the classroom. As the pair listened intently on what Professor McGonagall was saying, Cadence couldn't help but feel like everyone in the classroom was now judging her. She wanted to escape from the sudden heat of the room and go to lunch.
After being instructed on how to transfigure an ordinary Muggle book into a witch textbook, the students tried it on their own and then they got the hang of it, they were quizzed. The bell rang for lunch. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's packs gathered up their things and moved toward the Great Hall.
Ginny led the way, talking incessantly about how much she was going to hate Potions. The teacher, Professor Snape, was insistent on bringing down his wrath on any house that wasn't his own, Slytherin. Ginny also told Cadence that in no way should she hint or mention the fact that she knew Harry Potter.
"But why?" Cadence asked almost immediately after Ginny instructed her, giving Cadence the distinct impression that she sounded like a child of three.
"He's got it out for that boy, he does," Ginny told her. "Ever since Harry's first year here."
They wandered into the Great Hall together and found that most of the students in the school were already there, studying and eating. Cadence sat down at the Gryffindor table alongside Ginny, looking around for someone she knew.
Harry had watched Cadence walk in. He was pleased that she had found someone to connect with in her year, and was even more so that it was someone close to him. She seemed a bit anxious and nervous. Harry wondered when she would finally start to realize that Hogwarts wasn't so bad after all.
Perhaps she would after Harry had shown her that Hogwarts was indeed, a place for friendship.
A place for more than that, even?
Place for Friendship
The boat ride was less than enjoyable for a girl who loomed above the other scared looking eleven-year-olds in the boats. Cadence glanced about wearily, not sure what to say or do. She only wanted to get to the castle, get sorted, and hopefully cling to the only three people she knew. People she didn't know very well at that.
The lanterns on the tops of the boats only allowed the students' view to go so far. The murky water looked almost pitch black as the large Hogwarts castle came into view. Suddenly, it was as if all of Cadence's problems had vanished.
It was just as beautiful as her parents had described if not more so. It was a great thing, looming above the dark water with its brightly lit windows, large acreage, magnificent scenery and eerie luminescence. It had to be the most beautiful thing Cadence had seen since the night her parents had been taken away from her. other than the acceptance letter.
She gulped as they came upon it, and without warning, the boats stopped. To her own surprise, she found herself climbing out and onto dry land, following the large man known as Hagrid up the way and into the castle of Hogwarts.
Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach the more she continued to walk. Nothing could have prepared her for the way she felt when she walked into the castle that would be her home for the next three years of her life.
Hagrid continued to show the first years where they would be going, and Cadence caught the glimpse of a witch who appeared stern and strict. She had her hair pulled into a tight bun with small spectacles perched on her nose. She was tapping her fingers lightly on the banister next to her, waiting patiently for the first years to make their way up the stairs.
They watched Hagrid disappear as they took their place in front of the professor. She told them about their first year at Hogwarts. She explained the houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, told them about the sorting ceremony, the points, the house cup, and the fact that the sorting ceremony was beginning at any minute.
The doors to the Great Hall opened and Cadence saw almost one thousand heads turn her way, staring at her attentively. She saw four tables set up, all of which contained students in matching black robes. They watched as the swarm of first year students made their way feebly to the front of the room, where a table of what appeared to be professors sat at, watching just as intensely. Perched in front were a stool and a ratted sorcerer's hat.
Cadence stepped up toward the stool, looking at the hat with disgust. It had to have certainly gone through the ringer to look as hideous as it did, and she could only wonder excitedly what its purpose was.
"When I call your name, I will place the Sorting Hat upon your head and you'll join your houses," she instructed, holding up a roll of parchment, holding the dusty hat in her fingers, calling off the first name. "Alexander, Daniel."
A meek blond boy stepped up to the stool, sitting down and visibly shivering as the hat went onto his head. All of a sudden, it began to move and a smile crept up Cadence's face. Long before had her parents told her stories of the Sorting Hat, and how it had stunned them so much their first year that it was extremely amusing from then on to watch scared new students be sorted.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat yelled.
"Benson, Tyler."
Cadence watched and felt her heart beat within her chest. She was coming up soon.
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Bringer, Sarah."
Cadence gulped and looked behind her at the tables. There was mild clapping after each student was placed. She couldn't spot anyone she had met from the train, and didn't know what she had gotten herself into.
Our table.
"Bund, Merry."
She kicked at her feet a little more, feeling out of place. She was the tallest one in the whole group and yet she had to be the most nervous. She felt like everyone had been staring at her and only her. The way Ron had looked at her on the train was enough to unnerve her altogether.
"Cartwright, Cadence."
There was an instant silence, and it scared Cadence to no end. She stepped up onto the stool and felt the large hat slip over her ears and past her eyes. She felt her heart pound within the walls of her chest so madly she was sure it would burst out. Then the hat did something it hadn't done with the students before her.
"Hmm." it breathed into her ear. She felt apprehensive almost automatically.
"Let's see. this is almost hard. but I'll have to go with. GRYFFINDOR!"
She breathed a sigh of relief and jumped off of her stool, heading for the table she knew had to be it. Overhead, the flags were scarlet and gold, bearing the symbol of a lion.
And as she approached the table, she saw the glittering eyes and wonderful smile that had told her where to sit all along.
Our table.
She sat down, smiling at the bushy haired Hermione, sitting next to Ron a couple seats across from her. Ron held out his hand for her to shake in congratulations and Harry did the same. He winked at her, knowing what she was thinking, because he had been thinking it as well.
The Sorting Ceremony seemed to take ages from there, and all Cadence could now think about was eating.
She stared longingly at the dwindling line of first years, hoping it was over soon.
The headmaster of the school, Professor Albus Dumbledore stood up, gave his usual speech and start of term notices, then with a wave of his hand announced, "Let the feast. begin."
The food appeared in front of them and Cadence managed to get her hands on every bit she could.
Ron looked at Cadence in amusement. They looked almost identical as they grabbed the food and piled it onto their plates as if they hadn't eaten in over a year.
"Hungry, Cadence?"
Cadence looked up and saw that Ron had a large smile on his face. She noticed his plate piled as high with food as hers was.
"Just a little bit," she said, smiling back.
Harry looked at the two happily. It was one thing to see Ron joking around and being happy, but it was something he had witnessed before. He had yet to see Cadence smile more than twice in the few hours he had already known her.
He watched her throughout all of dinner, making friends with the new first years, and the students that were all her age and up. She seemed to be hitting it off with everyone quite well, and when she looked up to see Harry's wonderful green eyes twinkling at her, she turned pink.
The feast continued on and when it was over and done with, the first years were led up to their house towers, received the password, and went to bed. The next day at breakfast, they would be served with their course schedule, and Cadence had been instructed to report to the head of whatever house she was in (which would be Professor McGonagall) and pick out the courses she wished to take, being a fifth year.
She followed the Gryffindor prefect up the steps and was warned about the changing staircases. She stared around in awe at the wonderful moving paintings and smiled at the memory of her mom's voice, "And they waved at us and everything! It was quite extraordinary!"
She was on her way up the steps when she felt the jerkiness as the stairs moved out from under her. She looked around at the other fearful first years, who clung to the railings for dear life.
"Not to worry," the prefect yelled. "They're just changing. When the staircase stops, we'll proceed back to our prior destination."
Cadence heaved a loud sigh, watching with enjoyment the changing of the scenery below her. The staircase jerked to a stop and Cadence followed the group as they took the turns they wouldn't have normally taken in their circumstances.
They continued walking for what seemed like forever when finally, they came upon a gigantic portrait of a large, distinguished looking woman in a pink dress. "Password?" she asked with certain poise.
"Amare cadere."
The portrait slowly creaked open, revealing a vast space where chairs and couches were set up around a crackling fire. Windows along the side of the room rose up to the ceiling, and there were two stairwells beyond the room.
The prefect stopped in the middle of the room and began to talk. "This is the Gryffindor Common Room. The boys' dormitories are up the stairs to your left, the girls' dorms are up the stairs to your right. Your belongings have already been brought up. Your course schedules will be handed out tomorrow at breakfast. Go upstairs and get a good night's sleep. Classes start first thing tomorrow."
The crowd dispersed and Cadence found herself looking around the Common Room with a great admiration. It was here that so much had happened prior to her life. Her parents had gotten engaged in this very room, in front of the fire, staring into each other's eyes.
Cadence looked at the ceiling. She wanted her parents by her side. She missed them more than anything. Her thoughts constantly dwindled back to them in whatever she was doing. Even looking at Harry, she thought about her parents.
And that thought shocked her more than anything. Where had Harry come from? The thought of him seemed to have sprung out of nowhere. She sighed, looking down at her now quivering hands, cursing herself for being so formidably stupid. She was thinking about a person that she had only met that night and would probably not talk too much once attending Hogwarts.
And just as she had begun to think it, the portrait hole opened and Hermione, Ron, and Harry stepped in, laughing about something.
Cadence looked past her as her long, pale blonde hair swept in front of her eyes. She now realized that with the exception of the three who had just entered, she was the only person in the common room.
She cleared her throat and sweeping her hair past her shoulders, walked toward the right staircase.
"Cadence?"
The voice was soft and gentle, and unmistakably Harry's. She felt the tremble of excitement when her name was said and she turned around on her heel to face him.
She was obviously very distracted by what she was thinking. Harry noticed the cloudiness set in her dark eyes as she headed for the dorms. He had been meaning to talk to her ever since the Ceremony, but hadn't been able to get a word in edgeways as she made new friends. He couldn't stop himself from looking at her though. He would glance at her and watch her smile, talk, and engage in conversation with the utmost interest. He couldn't believe that this was the same girl he had sat with on the train who'd barely looked at him.
He stared at her in amazement the entire time he had been eating. He suddenly wanted to know everything about her.
"Harry?" she whispered back in a voice she didn't recognize as her own.
The two stared at each other for an uncomfortably long period of time. Harry realized that his hand was still on her shoulder.
"Um. I just wanted to talk to you," he said softly.
"Oh," she said sheepishly, turning bright pink.
He noticed her uneasiness and smiled at her reassuringly. "What are you so nervous about?" he asked her.
She looked up and then away from him again, shrugging. "I-I don't know. I guess I'm a little nervous about starting at an actual school. I haven't ever been in a school."
Both Cadence's and Harry's eyes went wide when she told him what she had told him, and both for different reasons. Harry was surprised that being a fifth year, she had never been in school. What did that mean? Was there some sort of reason?
Cadence couldn't believe she had actually said anything to him about it. She had opened her mouth and revealed a bit of her past to the one person she didn't want knowing.
Why didn't she want Harry to know about it? Why did she have to hold it back at all? She knew of Harry Potter and she knew of what had become of his family. It had all happened the night that her parents had moved to America from London, and hadn't gone back. They were very close in that aspect, so why shouldn't he know? He had suffered the same traumatic loss she had. Why couldn't she let him in?
"- Uh. uh. what I meant was-"
"- You, you shouldn't uh. be-"
"- I, I should probably go to. um-"
"- Yeah, um. you can um-"
They finally both ceased talking and stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Finally, Cadence whispered, "Goodnight, Harry," turned around, and fled to her bedroom.
Harry watched her back retreating up the stairs and turned to face his two friends. They had been taking the whole scene in with great interest. He shrugged it off as they gave him a knowing look. He smiled meekly at them and then looked back up the stairs at her.
"Don't go after her, Harry," Hermione warned after a few seconds of silence. "She wouldn't like it. Give her some time."
Harry sighed, staring back up the stairs at her and finally choosing not to do what he had wanted. He turned back around and whispered, "She'll tell me."
"Wait for it, Harry," Ron whispered back.
"She'll tell you when she's ready," Hermione told him again.
Harry sighed one more time before going up the stairs to his own bed. "When she's ready."
He went upstairs to his dorm, took off his robes, got into his pajamas, and didn't get to sleep until late that night. He had been up thinking about Cadence, her eyes, her smile. and her held back way of talking to people. He wanted to break her free, and he knew there was something she was keeping hidden. It was something dark, something secret, and he wanted to know what it was. Not just for the sake of knowing.
But maybe so he could capture that part of her soul.
Classes started almost first thing after breakfast the next morning. Cadence found that she was going to have ten classes, and her jaw dropped at the choices she was given. However, she found it quite easy to pick what she wanted to do, because she already had her witch career in mind.
The normal required classes were on her course schedule already. Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Transfiguration, Herbology, Astronomy, Charms, and History of Magic were on the list, and that only left her three extra choices to choose from. She decided to take Care of Magical Creatures, because she knew she was interested in the subject as it was. She chose to take Divination because it sounded interesting enough, and she also jotted down Muggle Studies. It was a very practical class to take, especially since she had grown up in a Muggle neighborhood but with witch parents. It was probably better for her that she knew what to do when the time came.
She received her fully finished course and made her way to her first class, Herbology, with the Hufflepuffs.
She ran into the classroom late, clutching her black satin book bag and breathing heavily. The lot of the class looked up at her strangely, and a red haired girl seated toward the front with the Gryffindor patch on her robe gave her an encouraging smile and beckoned for her to come closer.
She walked over as the students turned back to the teacher, Professor Sprout, as she began that day's lesson.
Cadence smiled at the girl as she sat down next to her and buried her face in her hands. She could hear the girl laugh and ask in an assured voice, "You're new here, right?"
Cadence looked up and smiled even wider when she answered, "Yeah, how did you know?"
"I saw you get placed with the first years. I knew you couldn't have been one, you looked far too tall," she said, chuckling.
Cadence laughed too. "Cadence Cartwright," she whispered, offering her hand.
The girl's brown eyes opened widely, taking her in. "Oh. so you're. okay."
Cadence didn't want to think about how everyone knew her name. It was still too painful.
"Yes, yes, I am Cadence," she answered, as if knowing exactly what this girl was talking about.
"All right. Well, I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley."
Cadence frowned a bit, knowing she had heard the name before. "Weasley. do you have a brother?"
Ginny's head tipped back as she laughed heartily. "Which one? I have six. Ron, you mean," she said, giving Cadence a large, reassuring smile. "You know Harry Potter?"
Ginny didn't miss how Cadence turned bright pink at the mere mention of the boy's name. "Sort of."
The red haired girl smiled all too knowingly at Cadence and shook her head. "He's quite a nice boy, to be perfectly honest. He sometimes spends summers over at my house, The Burrow. He's quite pleasant as a matter of fact. Very sweet."
Cadence hid behind her hair, but unfortunately it was too pale to hide the dark crimson color she had turned. Why am I acting like I'm only ten? I am fifteen years old! Why am I behaving this way when I talk about this boy? This unimportant boy?
"Now class," Professor Sprout interrupted Cadence's thoughts and she thanked her silently for it. "We're going to be dealing with these charmed- karibus plants momentarily. Do remember please, that if you do handle them for too long, their magic will begin to work its way on you and will taint you. You are to dig up the karibus, put it in the green pots and fill it with sod immediately. If you do not, you will start to feel a tingling in your arm, and if you do, put the plant in the pot and come see me promptly. You may begin," she said, waving them off.
Cadence turned to Ginny; confused almost for the first time ever in her studying of witchcraft and Ginny shook her head. "Don't sweat it. It really isn't all that hard once you start getting the hang of it."
Cadence nodded in understanding, and started to do exactly what the professor had told them to do, and found that after a while she was really starting to get the hang of it. She watched as a few students became enchanted by the plants and floated their way to the front of the classroom almost instantly.
Ginny smiled at her friend's nervous hands and whispered, "I've been enchanted by these before. She makes it sound so terrible, but all it does is put you in a dreamy state of being. If you're not cured right away, you float around daydreaming, and most professors can spot it almost immediately. You'd be sent straight to the hospital wing."
She nodded, still a bit nervous and continued with her work. The bell sounded for the next class to begin, and Ginny helped her straighten up all of her things before going on.
"What is your course schedule?" she asked curiously.
Cadence fished around in her pocket for it and handed it to her. Ginny looked it over and nodded. "We have practically all of our classes together."
"Which ones don't we?" she inquired, putting the paper back in her bag.
"Care of Magical Creatures and Divination," she answered. "I'm definitely taking Muggle Studies because my brothers don't even know how to use a common Muggle telephone. I figure one person in the household besides my father should know something."
Cadence smiled. "What are you taking then?"
"Arithmancy and Ancient Runes," she told her. "I like Hagrid and everything, but I don't fancy taking care of the wild creatures Hagrid likes to pet."
Cadence's grin grew steadily wider. "He plays with wild creatures?"
Ginny's eyes were wide as she nodded, for more emphasis. "Oh definitely. He fancies three-headed dogs, dragons, hippogriffs, blast-ended skrewts."
Ginny was cut off by Cadence's loud shrill of amusement. "HIPPOGRIFFS!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, causing several people to turn her way.
"You like these creatures?" Ginny asked in amazement.
Cadence shrugged. "I was brought up in a very sheltered witch world. I never got to see any of these creatures firsthand. They're really quite fascinating to me. I've seen the pictures of them, but never one close up."
"Well you'll really enjoy Hagrid's class won't you?" her friend said with a smile. "We have Transfiguration next, so don't get your hopes up about it just yet."
Cadence nodded and stared at the ground as they continued to walk. They made it to Transfiguration within a matter of minutes, and Cadence found herself in the middle of a very lengthy, almost proper looking classroom. Babbling fifth years surrounded her. The teacher appeared to be nowhere in sight.
A few minutes later, a gray and black tabby cat appeared from the inner door of the classroom and the students 'oohed' and 'ahed' to Cadence's surprise. She looked around for any sign of a teacher and then whispered to Ginny, "Where's the professor?"
Ginny only stared straight ahead and Cadence turned in time to see the cat change into the exact professor that had placed the Sorting Hat on her head. She gave a small smile to the students clapping around the classroom and pointed at the board. "Students, as you know, in your fifth year, you will be taking your O.W.L.s. Don't expect anything short of a very heavy workload this year."
The students groaned and shifted in the classroom for a few seconds and Cadence shakily raised her hand.
"Yes, Miss Cartwright?" Professor McGonagall asked.
She shifted uncomfortably under her stare and then spoke up, "What do you do if you've already taken your O.W.L.s?"
The entire classroom became eerily silent as they all shifted to stare at Cadence. She felt a hot flush creeping up her cheeks and she slouched visibly in her chair.
"I've already spoken with your grandmother, Miss Cartwright," the professor said in a quiet voice. "We've worked everything out. You are still required to carry the same workload as the rest of the students, but you are not going to be taking the O.W.L.s."
Cadence sighed as the professor turned her gaze to the rest of the students and began her lesson.
Ginny stared at her friend, almost mesmerized. "You've already taken them?"
Cadence put her hand on her forehead and nodded. "My mother thought I was advanced enough to take it at the end of my tutoring last year. I got fifteen of them."
Ginny's face went blank. She mouthed the word, 'Wow' and turned her attention back to the front of the classroom. As the pair listened intently on what Professor McGonagall was saying, Cadence couldn't help but feel like everyone in the classroom was now judging her. She wanted to escape from the sudden heat of the room and go to lunch.
After being instructed on how to transfigure an ordinary Muggle book into a witch textbook, the students tried it on their own and then they got the hang of it, they were quizzed. The bell rang for lunch. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw's packs gathered up their things and moved toward the Great Hall.
Ginny led the way, talking incessantly about how much she was going to hate Potions. The teacher, Professor Snape, was insistent on bringing down his wrath on any house that wasn't his own, Slytherin. Ginny also told Cadence that in no way should she hint or mention the fact that she knew Harry Potter.
"But why?" Cadence asked almost immediately after Ginny instructed her, giving Cadence the distinct impression that she sounded like a child of three.
"He's got it out for that boy, he does," Ginny told her. "Ever since Harry's first year here."
They wandered into the Great Hall together and found that most of the students in the school were already there, studying and eating. Cadence sat down at the Gryffindor table alongside Ginny, looking around for someone she knew.
Harry had watched Cadence walk in. He was pleased that she had found someone to connect with in her year, and was even more so that it was someone close to him. She seemed a bit anxious and nervous. Harry wondered when she would finally start to realize that Hogwarts wasn't so bad after all.
Perhaps she would after Harry had shown her that Hogwarts was indeed, a place for friendship.
A place for more than that, even?