A/N: I'm back, and quite richer (all hail summer jobs ^_^), and, as promised, here is the illustrious Chapter Twenty One..

IMPORTANT! Every single chapter has been given an overhaul and a rewrite. Some have been changed slightly, others, not so slightly. I do suggest that you re-read Chapters 1-20 again, as minor details have probably changed that will affect the story later. Chapters 1-10 have the most changes, 11-20 have smaller ones.

- Cellie

Note: It is advised that you read I Never Knew before trying to tackle this piece.

Disclaimer: Anyone you don't recognize is most likely mine. The concept of Timekeys are mine, as well as how they're used. The Cirrus species is all mine. Everything else (Harry, Peter, Voldie, James, Remus, Arabella, Sirius, Dumbledore, McGonnagal, Flitwick, Snape, and all the other Wizarding people) belongs to J.K Rowling. The concept of Annie being Sirius's squib/muggle twin sister belongs to Kaydi. Annie's personality, however, belongs to me.

Chapter Twenty One
And The Hat Said..


Cellie was awoken with a rough shove in her direction. Whatever it was, she was sure it was fairly hurt, for her retaliating kick in its direction made the thing yell a string of curses she was pretty sure her father would've grounded her for saying.

BLOODY HELL, CELLS! The voice muttered in a rather loud tone. It was then that Cellie realized the identity of her attacker.

Er.. Sorry, Harry. She mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. The face of Harry Potter swam into view, who didn't exactly look his greatest. He scowled at her, rubbing his right calf vigorously.

Jeez, remind me never to get on your bad side.. Better yet, remind me never ever to get on any of your sides. Harry groaned, and thrust his free hand into Cellie's face. Her eyes widened when they set themselves on the time: 10:30.

The train— She jumped out of the chair, accidentally knocking Harry to the floor. Oh, jeez, we can't miss it.. Cellie looked at the bed, where she remembered leaving her parcels.

My stuff—dammit, where's my— She dropped the rest of her sentence when she saw it all neatly packed in a trunk by the door.

I thought you might sleep in, Harry said from behind her, So I packed for you earlier this morning. Then, I made the mistake of trying to wake you up, and we both know how that played out. Cellie turned and faced the green eyed boy, smiling sheepishly.

Again, sorry.. She muttered. Harry shrugged.

It's not like I'm a stranger to pain, or anything.. just, try not to do it again, alright? Cellie nodded, and her mind shifted back to the previous topic.

The train! It leaves at eleven! How are we gonna get over to— Harry grinned, and pointed to the fireplace, in which bright green flames were spouting.

It helps that Platform 9 and 3/4 is connected to the floo network one day a year, doesn't it? He said with the lightest touch of sarcasm in his voice. Cellie rolled her eyes, and grabbed her trunk from its spot near the door.

On three, okay? She said, a tinge of nervousness in her voice. Floo powder wasn't her favorite form of transportation, especially after using it so much when the whole James fiasco was going on. Harry nodded.





Diagon Alley!





I don't get it, James said ruefully to Sirius as they walked along one of Hogwarts's more deserted corridors. How do you manage to Bind a Cirrus to you in the course of a day, when Remus tried for several months and couldn't make himself bound to one of them?

Sirius shrugged, and gave the tiny kitten riding on his shoulder a bite of a Custard Cream he was currently munching on. I guess I just have an affinity for odd magical creatures. He replied. Gah! That was mine, you scoundrel! Sirius swatted a hand at the Cirrus, who had just swallowed the cream whole.

Chuckling, James pulled out his wand. Accio Canary Cream! He said loftily. A similar cream whizzed itself into his hand. Sirius sighed.

I have got to remember to ask Bella for my wand back one of these days.. Trying to remember why I didn't just keep it in the first place. James shrugged.

Ah, well, if it makes you feel any better, here.. James passed the cream to Sirius, who was about to eagerly take a bite of it when the kitten swooped down and snatched it.

Sirius shouted. You bloody fiend! I was gonna— James shook his head, and pointed at the kitten.

Sirius complied, and an evil smile came to his face as the kitten burst into a bright yellow canary.

Why didn't we think of that in school? He commented offhandedly to James.

Because turning Snape into a canary would be an insult to the species, I suppose. Snickering, Sirius watched as the kitten molted, and transformed back. It looked quite shaken.

Harrumph. That's to teach you from eating my food, runt. He muttered kindly to the Cirrus. The kitten meekly curled up on Sirius's shoulder in response.

See? Told you, I'm a natural with strange creatures. Sirius boldly stated.

So I'm sure you'd love to tangle with one of Hagrid's mixed breeds, right? James replied, cockily.

Er.. No comment.





Cellie tumbled out of the fireplace in front of the biggest steam engine she'd ever seen, her trunk flying after her. She barely managed to keep it from exploding itself onto the train by grabbing the handles and PULLING. Taking a deep breath, she stood up and moved to the side so Harry could tumble out—which he promptly did.

Bloody hell, He muttered. Couldn't they invest in cushions, or something? Cellie chuckled.

My sentiments exact— But she was cut off by a yell from a red haired teenager several inches taller than herself. Harry got up, and ran (well, as fast as you can run with a giant trunk trailing itself behind you) over to meet him.

Once he had managed to get himself (and the trunk) over, Harry had the suprise of his life. Harry exclaimed.

She flew over to the Burrow about a month ago, expected us to take care of her for awhile—figured you were off gallivanting with Si—Snuffles, and Hedwig couldn't exactly follow. The red haired boy (whom Cellie assumed was Ron) replied.

Well, not exactly.. said Harry, and he dived into the stories of what he'd been doing for the past month and a half. Cellie smiled weakly, from her spot twenty feet away.

I'll, uh, go get a cabin.. She muttered, mostly to herself, and entered the Express. She bypassed the Head Cabins, and the Prefect ones, and went straight to the back of the train, grabbing herself a seat in a small compartment near the front of the last train cabin. She dug into the satchel she had brought in with her, which contained her Hogwarts uniform, a bottle of butterbeer she had bought from Tom the night before, and several books.

She pulled out a particularly fat one entitled The Silmarillion, a muggle book by J.R.R Tolkien, and began immersing herself into the book's world.

Cellie was broken out of her trance by a rather loud cough. She looked up and saw the Malfoy boy she had punched in Madame Malkin's.

Was all she could think of to say. Malfoy's eyes narrowed.

Er is right, you mudblooded misfit, He sneered, and brought out his wand level with her face. Now, look who has the upper hand. Cellie looked up to see two more shapes outlined behind Malfoy, and the size of these people could give her old english teacher a run for his money. A plan came to her in moments, and she made her emotions as overexaggerated as possible. True, Schwartz would get on her case about overacting, but she didn't really have time to worry about that.

Well, Malfoy, as far as I can see, neither of us have the upper hand. That boy coming up behind you, well, he looks pretty angry. In truth, there was no boy, but it got Malfoy and his bodyguards to look the other way, giving her time to grab her wand and yell out the only spell she knew, hoping it would be strong enough.

Well, Cellie certainly didn't have to worry about strength; the Flipendo charm threw all three teenagers back into the other cabin across from her. Stuffing The Silmarillion and her wand into her satchel, she got up and headed for the cabin door—but Malfoy and crew were already rising.

Okay, Plan B.. Plan B.. Cellie shut the door and locked it, knowing that wouldn't keep the three out for long. She looked around. Window? No, she wouldn't have time to get back on the train before it left; she could feel the engine starting up as she tried to think. Seat compartment? No luck. The seats were glued down. And then, as she looked up, she got it.

Aha! Plan B.



When Draco burst in ten seconds later, Cellie was nowhere in sight. Where is she? The bloody American's too young to be a teacher, so she can't Apparate.. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle searched for her until the train started to move. Finally, they sat down in that cabin, for apparently Draco didn't want to move.

From her position on top of the train, looking down through the skylight, Cellie cursed—and grabbed onto a rung on the train's roof. This was going to be a VERY long ride..



Cassie grumbled and kicked a cauldron out of the way in the storage room, cursing as said cauldron was much heavier and thicker than she'd thought.

Why'd I ever agree to teach potions? She spat, and Banished the cauldron up onto a nearby shelf.

For the food, probably. Severus's slimy voice echoed behind her. Cassie turned, and both found themselves at wandpoint within moments.

I didn't want to take any chances, Both replied simultaneously. Cassie raised an eyebrow at the greasy haired man.

I'll put mine down if you will, She said slowly. Severus frowned.

What's to stop you from attacking me with your wandless magic? He sneered. Cassie blew out frustrated air, and set her wand down.

There. We're even. Happy? She asked, an angry lilt to her voice. Severus shrugged, and said nothing, his wand still up.

Look, you obviously dislike me, and I'm not too crazy about you either, so why're you here? Cass pressed.

I wanted to make sure that Lupin hadn't made a grave mistake referring you to this position.. being friends with someone can obviously.. influence their skills. Cassie bit back a laugh. He thought that Remus had referred her?

You, ah, must be mistaken, She replied with as much of a straight face as she could manage. Remus was never my colleague.

Then how do you know him? asked Severus. Cass glared at him.

I just do. Period. Besides, what is this, the Salem Inquisition? My personal life is of no real meaning to you, Severus. She spat.

But it is, indeed, Miss Woods, if you are related to Mr. Sirius Black, as I suppose you are. His words glittered with malice, and Cassie bypassed her question about how he knew her name.

What does it matter if I am or not?

Severus said. Considering that members of the Black family should never be trusted. Cassie gave him an icy stare.

I will ask you only once, Severus. Leave. Now. She said icily, chilling the atmosphere of the room.

As you wish, Cassandra.. Cass shivered as he spoke her name, and watched as the man left her quarters. He was up to something, and she couldn't tell what. But she'd find out, sooner or later. Oh, she'd find out.




Cellie yelled, letting go of the current rung she was on and quickly grabbing the one after. She had to do something to occupy her time, and Cellie noted that it would be a good idea to get down from the roof as soon as possible—so what better way than to fly on her way back?

The Hogwarts Express started to go on a giant bridge, so Cellie held onto the current rung she was on, not wanting to accidentally fall down to her doom. There was a skylight near that rung, and Cellie looked down and saw, to her surprise, Harry's black hair and Ron's red, along with another girl of fairer red hair than her own, and a boy with blondish brown hair. She thought of trying to open the skylight and jump into the compartment, but decided that a bad idea, considering that the train was moving far too fast for her to even undo the first latch.

The Express got itself off the bridge, which signaled for Cellie to fly back several more rungs, until she found herself at the back of the train. The rungs she had been holding onto formed into a ladder going down the back of the train, and Cellie started to climb down now, not daring to jump any of these for fear of flying back instead of down. Her sneakered feet hit the platform on the back of the train, and she crouched down, keeping herself away from the general wind population until she could access the door handle to the back of the train.

Her stiff fingers found the handle, and Cellie pulled with all her might, which opened the steel door. She hauled herself inside, and shut the door with a slam.

Cellie took a couple of deep breaths, and observed her surroundings. She was in a larger cabin than before, and instead of having just two seats, it had four, one on each side of the window and a table in-between the two. Cellie glanced at her watch, and it told her that the Express was just an hour away from Hogwarts. Smoothing back her windblown hair as much as possible to fit into a ponytail, she quickly changed into her blazer. When it came to the bottom of her uniform, though, she recoiled.

A skirt?! She exclaimed. No way in hell am I wearing a skirt. Nu-uh. So she stuffed that back in the satchel and kept on her jeans. The same went for the knee socks and the Mary Jane loafers. She liked to actually be able to run, thanks very much. As she pulled on her robes, Cellie felt the Express screech to a halt. She looked remorsefully at her forgotten book.

I'll read you later, I promise, Cellie said, and stuffed The Silmarillion back into her satchel along with the rest of her goodies. She opened the door leading back into the train and filed suit with the rest of the Hogwarts students. For a few seconds she could've sworn that she'd seen Fred and George's bright red locks of hair, but they were gone in seconds. As Cellie climbed out of the train, a rather loud voice exclaimed something about First Years. Not one for paying attention to announcements that didn't concern her year, she brushed it off and followed the others to a carriage.

Seeing Harry and Ron climb into a carriage near her, she rushed through the throng of people—and stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Malfoy and his goons directly in front of her. Their backs were turned, thank goodness, but Cellie didn't want to take any chances, and swung herself up into the carriage nearest her.

So, I was telling Lavender that pink was definitely NOT the new orange, and that everyone knows that it's red.. Oh, hullo, who're you? Cellie looked up, startled, and saw two girls of relatively similar build, who probably were twins. Realizing they were talking to her, she opened her mouth to speak—then shut it again.

Better not take any chances that these two aren't horribly biased against Americans.

Cellie switched over to her best british accent she could manage. Her teachers said it was decent, so hopefully she'd pass.

Cellie said, lightly. I'm Celli—estia. D'you mind if I sit with you? The twins shrugged.

Sure, no problem, Said the one Cellie had heard talking earlier. I'm Parvati, and this is my sister, Padma. The second one waved slightly.

Say, what house are you in? asked Parvati. I'm in Gryffindor, and Padma's in Ravenclaw, but I've never seen you before.. Have you, Padma?

Not that I know of, The second twin said. Cellie shrugged. They'd find out at the Sorting Ceremony soon enough, so what was the harm in them knowing.

I'm uh, a transfer student. Cellie said, deciding to drop the accent. The girls seemed nice enough, and neither were Slytherins, who seemed to not like her ethnicity much. From California. Padma's eyes lit up.

Wow, you're from California? Is it nice there? How'd you learn to do that with your voice? I thought you were actually English for a moment. Overwhelmed with questions, Cellie smiled slightly, and held up a hand.

Woah, one at a time, She said, grinning. Yeah, I'm from California, some parts of it are quite nice, and I'm an actress. I can manipulate my voice cords. Now Parvati was interested.

An actress? Do you do commercials, and such? Cellie laughed.

Nah, I'm only in training.. Besides, I don't think I want to be a commercial actress.. I like doing plays more. And so the questions continued, all the way to Hogwarts. Cellie would've liked to get some reading in, but they were so interested.. However, the conversation did change briefly when Padma saw The Silmarillion half out of her satchel. She squealed slightly.

You read Tolkien's works? She asked incredulously. Cellie nodded enthusiastically.

Yup. I've read The Silmarillion half a dozen times, but I never get tired of it. Parvati rolled her eyes good naturedly, and busied herself with her travel muggle makeup kit while Cellie and Padma talked about muggle books for the rest of the ride. Cellie wasn't paying nearly enough attention towards the end, as it was captivated by the castle. Sure, she had seen the innards of it well enough, but the outside.. now that was a different story.

Oh, I forgot.. First time looking at Hogwarts, right? Padma asked nicely. Cellie nodded. Well, look way over to the right, and you see that tower over there? The one with the raven painted on it? Geoffrey did that, he's ever so talented at drawing.. That's the Ravenclaw turret, right there. And then, the one straight across, that's Gryffindor Tower. Parvati, where's your dorm again? Up near the top, right? Parvati gave her sister a kind look.

It's right across from yours, silly. Padma blushed a scarlet color, and nodded sheepishly, continuing to describe the castle. When they were almost there, Parvati broke in with a question.

Cellie, what house do you want to be in? Cellie shrugged. The thought hadn't occurred to her, really..

Any one of them, I guess. Parvati gasped.

Including Slytherin? I simply couldn't stand it if I'dve been placed there..

Ah, I dunno. Perhaps it'd be fun to be placed in Slytherin.. That way I could drug Malfoy in his sleep without getting in as much trouble as normal.. after all, Slytherin doesn't like to lose points themselves.. She said sneakily. Parvati grinned.

You've got a point.. Though I'd be much too scared to do something like that. She confessed. At least, not with Professor Snape as the Head of Slytherin house.. He gives me the shivers. Cellie raised an eyebrow.

Professor Snape? She questioned.

Oh, you don't know much about the teachers, do you? Padma asked. At Cellie's shake of the head, she went into a detailed explanation of each teacher. As she was finishing up about Professor McGonnagal, the carriages stopped.

Ooo, we're here! Parvati squealed. C'mon, Cellie, you can sit with me at the Gryffindor table until you get called for the Sorting. Waiting with those first years would be ever so embarrassing. You don't mind, do you, Padma? She asked her sister. She shook her head, and mumbled something about wanting to sit with Geoffrey anyway.

That's the problem with being in different houses, Parvati confided. It kind of stinks sometimes, because we don't get to see each other often. Cellie nodded. She knew what that was like. Her best friend apart from Metz, Ally, was a Music major, so the two rarely saw each other in school. But even that was probably not as bad as being separated from your sister.

Cellie and Parvati filed into the Great Hall, and Cellie could not stop staring at the ceiling. One of the few main rooms Cellie hadn't seen during her stay at Hogwarts, so it was right of her to be amazed.

It's enchanted to look like the night sky, Parvati told her softly.

Cellie whispered to herself. They sat down at the table closest to Cellie's right, next to a girl Parvati introduced as Lavender. As the rest of the student population walked in, Cellie told Lavender who she was, but the girl wasn't as interested as Parvati had been, and pretty soon Cellie was left out of the conversation entirely—not on purpose, Cellie figured, but because the two obviously hadn't seen each other for awhile. Suddenly, Parvati squealed inwardly and pointed.

Professor Lupin! Parvati exclaimed. He's back! Cellie looked up and grinned at Remus, who sat next to two new faces Cellie didn't recognize.

Who're the other two? She asked Parvati. The girl shrugged.

Dunno. We've never had three new teachers before.. She said. But, look! Professor Snape's not at the table, that's something awfully good to see... And with that, Parvati went back to talking with Lavender.

Quite happy to be left out, Cellie pulled out her book and had barely started to read before another interruption plagued her, and this was the Sorting Hat and the First Year's arrival.

Cellie's eyes widened as the Sorting Hat began to sing, but the amazement soon wore off, and she thankfully took the scraps of napkin Parvati handed her and stuffed them in her ears. She didn't dare unplug her ears until the first boy, a small mousy one with tufts of brown hair sticking every which way, sat up on the three-legged stool and had the Hat placed upon his head. She and the rest of the Hall waited until the Hat cried out,

The boy looked ready to cry. Cellie bit her lip, but said nothing. Parvati leaned over and whispered, Poor kid.. He's going to be eaten alive. Personally, she agreed with Parvati. She continued watching the Sorting, and saw in amazement the amount of Slytherins that'd been sorted.

Are there always this many Slytherins? She wondered aloud, softly. Parvati, overhearing, shook her head.

No, never. It's usually about ten first years to a house, but they must have at least twenty..

Cellie was a bit surprised as her last name was not called when the Professor Padma had described as McGonnagal passed through the Rs. Finally, Trent, Villae was made the first Gryffindor, and Thomas, Kathleen was made the second, and Parvati relaxed slightly. However, by the end of the sorting, only 4 new Gryffindors, 5 new Ravenclaws, and 7 new Hufflepuffs sat at their respective tables. 29 new Slytherins, all looking quite scared, sat at theirs.

Brushing that oddity off, Cellie looked confused. Would they not call her name? Professor McGonnagal had started to gather up the Sorting Hat, and it's materials. Cellie wasn't sure whether to stand up and exclaim, or do something, when Professor Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat.

Minerva, I'd wish for you to leave the stool and hat there. The professor looked up curiously.

We still have but one student left to sort—an American student. Celestia Rivera, will you stand, please? Cellie blinked and stood awkwardly. She was suddenly aware of all eyes on her, and she wasn't pleased to note that most of them were angry glares.

Cellie bit her lip and made her way over to the Sorting Hat. Looking at her oddly, Professor McGonnagal dropped the Hat on her head.

Dimly, Cellie could hear Professor Dumbledore speaking, but she couldn't distinguish one word from another. Suddenly, the voice she remembered all too well came into your head.

Any Slytherin lineage?

What? She thought, puzzledly. This wasn't what had happened the last time.

I said, any Slytherin lineage, Miss Rivers? Now Cellie was even more puzzled. The Sorting Hat knew who she was last time. And why in bloody hell did it call her Rivers?

It's Rivera, you dammed hat. The aura flow that she felt changed and became harsher.

Rivera. So the rumors are indeed true. How old are you, Miss Rivera?

None of your bloody business.

Well, if you will not tell me, Miss Rivera, I shall have to force it from you.

Suddenly, a huge pain rushed between her temples. Cellie bit her lip to keep herself from crying out. It hurt, hurt more than when she fell off the roof of her house, hurt more than anything.

STOP! She thought, amidst her blinding pain. The pain receded.

Will you tell me now? It asked. Quickly, Cellie made up an age that seemed reasonable.

Eleven. I'll be twelve this December. Now, can I go? The hat seemed to chuckle.

I don't like liars, Miss Rivera. Not at all. I was thinking of putting you somewhere out of the way, somewhere you'd have an easy time slipping into my fingers, but now I see you want the hard way. Cellie's eyes widened in terror.

What do you— But she didn't finish her thought, because at that moment, the hat cried out:

And Cellie froze.



A/N: I warned you.. And don't kill me, please! Besides, I can't put every single character I create in Gryffindor, now can I?


WeasleyTwinsLover1112: No, I told you what house she gets into.. it's afterwards that I leave off.

ra-chan: Eheheh.. yeah. I'm a big fan of all things Spectre, so.. ^_^; ROFL, good analogy. Yeah, Cellie wouldn't want to put a boot in Malfoy's ass, it would dirty her boot.. :p Well, as you'll find out in the next chapter, the Rivera line has a bit of a secret.. Ollivander was just touching up on that.

Tarawyn: How many times have you changed your penname now—Thrice? :p Yep, I couldn't end the chapter with Remus and Cass on a bad note, because they've been a bit too angsty for long enough. Cassie being a potions teacher is not the greatest idea that Albus Dumbledore's had, truthfully, seeing as how she knows nothing about potions.. Don't expect her to stick too long in that job, though, for I have other plans for Cassie..

*grin* I know I promised someone in I Never Knew that I'd make Snape a bit nicer, but I just couldn't resist messing around with everyone's favorite ex-DE's mind a bit.. Ooo, yes, I'll buy five memberships into that club; I need that many to fit my hatred of the dumbarse in.

Oh, if the Rivera family has your head spinning now, wait until Chapter 22..

WhetherRose: Yeah, I'm pro'lly going to have quite a bit about Grindlewald in this story.. I'm a big fan of previous generations, see, so you'll most likely see a lot of Cassie flashes.. Eheheh, the reason you couldn't find Orion's father's name is that it's not in Dewdrops, it's in my little Cassie miniseries, The Truth About Cassandra. Orion's father is David Sirius Dennings. And yes, it's Lizzie's son. As for Cassie and Remus.. well, find that out for yourself. ;P Yep, I've wanted to do that as well.. If not for my twin doing school for me, then something else. *grin* And Malfoys were made to be tortured. Period Point Blank.

Marauder chick: Yup, Cellie's definitely gonna cause a few skirmishes, and that's only on her first day! :p As of now, Sirius and James are at Hogwarts, out of sight.

Jelli Bean: Yep, Sirius's Cirrus will definitely be named.