A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! And about Lily… well, *shrug* I'll tell you this much… she isn't evil (well, not in that sense) or possessed or anything like that… she's just trying to mother the little boy that she didn't get to watch grow up… think about it… the last time she spent any time with him he was only 15 months old and now, suddenly, he's 18 and doesn't really need her any more. Just want to put things into perspective…
Anywho, here is the last completed chapter that I have now, currently working on the next (so sorry if it takes even longer to post it).
Enjoy!
Chapter 6: New Faces, New Places
"So are we gonna go or what?" Mel asked, bouncing up and down impatiently.
"I never thought I'd live to see the day," Remus began, "that you were ready to leave the house before anyone else." Mel scowled at her father as he laughed quietly. "Excited about school, huh?"
"It's not fair. How come Aaron got to go to Hogwarts already? Why couldn't I go with him?" she pouted.
"Mel, really, you know the answer to that."
"But dad," she whined.
"Why would you want to miss out on the Hogwarts Express anyway? It's half the fun of going to school! And twice as fun when you come home," he winked.
"Remus," Jem reprimanded. "Don't talk like that. Melissa, I know you're anxious to go, but first you have to eat some breakfast."
"But-"
"No buts. We're leaving for King's Cross in 35 minutes, and you will sit there patiently and eat something."
Mel finally conceded, and as promised, the remaining Lupins set out 35 minutes later, arriving at King's Cross at 10:45, leaving them 15 minutes to spare. Remus and Jem assisted their daughter through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, and delighted in seeing her awed expression as she first laid eyes on Platform 9 ¾.
"Mel!" a semi-familiar Irish accent called out. "Mel! Hey! Over here!"
Grinning madly at the sight of a familiar face, Mel ran across the platform to the boy she recognized from Harry's birthday party, Les Finnigan. "You remember me!" she laughed.
"Well, believe it or not, not many girls jump me at first sight," he said, smiling wickedly.
"I can believe it. After all, I didn't see you until after. And believe you me, if I had, it never would have happened," she quipped.
"Ten minutes!" called a voice from nowhere. "The train will be departing in ten minutes!"
"I'd better get back to my mum and say goodbye before she tries to kill me," Les said. "See you on the train though, right? Or at least at the feast. You will be sorted into Gryffindor, won't you?"
Mel smirked. "If I'm not, I think I'll be disowned. No matter though, see you later!" Mel then turned to return to her parents as well, pleasantly surprised to find Harry and Ginny in an animated conversation with them.
"Gin!" she shouted, running up to Ginny and greeting her with a big hug.
"Hello there, Dot," Ginny laughed. "Good to see you too!"
"Hey, squirt, what's up?" Harry asked, grinning from ear to ear as Mel scowled at him. "Well, I could call you shrimp, shorty, half-pint…" he trailed off.
"You know what, Harry?" Mel said sternly. Harry raised his eyebrow in question. "Sometimes I don't like you very much."
"Well, fine then," Harry said, his smile now gone. "And to think," he began, giving Remus a meaningful look to which the older man winked in response, "I was going to give you a going away present."
Mel's face fell. "What?" she squeaked. Harry simply nodded. "What kinda present?"
"You'll never know now, will you?"
"Mom, daddy," Mel whined. Her parents smiled and shook their heads, though Jem really did have no idea what Harry had in mind for her daughter. She turned her gaze back to Harry with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry?"
"Walk with me for a minute, squirt." Mel once again looked at her parents and Ginny for support before nodding and quietly following Harry toward a remote corner on the platform. "Alright, Melissa, I have something very important to give you. I spoke with dad and Remus, and we all agreed that now is the time. Now, you know what kind of trouble-makers our parents were when they were in school, right?" Mel nodded. "Well, what I'm about to give you was both the product of and catalyst for nearly all of that trouble."
"What do you mean?" she asked, her voice full of awe.
Harry pulled a piece of old parchment out of his robes and tapped it lightly with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
As Mel walked down the aisle on the Hogwarts Express in search of a seat she could hardly contain her glee. Not only was she going to undoubtedly one of the greatest wizarding schools in the world where she would get to spend more time with her brother and Ginny and meet lots of new and exciting friends, but Harry and her dad and James all thought that she was special enough to take on one of their most cherished school possessions: The Marauder's Map.
"Hey, Dot! Come in here for a mo'!" Ginny called out from her compartment.
Mel couldn't erase the dopey grin from her face. Having a good friend who is a 7th year is just so totally cool, she thought to herself as she entered through the doorway. "Wow! Why is your compartment so much nicer than the others?"
"What? You mean you don't know?" another girl asked. Mel looked at her quizzically for a minute. "Our dear Miss Virginia Weasley here is Head Girl! This is a special compartment for her and those friends she deems fit! Nice to meet you, by the way, I'm Annabelle Dewitte," she said, extending her hand.
Mel, in turn, shook hands with the older girl and smiled. "Mel Lupin."
"That's right! You're Professor Lupin's daughter, Ginny told me all about you… Are you excited to be starting at Hogwarts?"
"Totally," Mel grinned. "Oh! Gin! Harry gave me-"
"I know, Dot, and we'll talk about that later," she said, winking.
"Oh, really?" Annabelle said slyly. "And just what might this be about? We wouldn't want our new Head Girl causing trouble on the first day back."
Ginny looked at her friend with mock-shock. "Moi? When have I ever caused trouble, my dear Belle?" The two girls then collapsed into a fit of giggles, leaving Mel shaking her head as she watched people pass by the compartment door.
"Ya know, I think I'm gonna try and meet some people my own age," Mel said.
"Sure," Ginny laughed. "Try toward the back. I'll see you later."
"Bye, nice meeting you, Annabelle!"
"You too, Mel."
Mel continued walking toward the back of the train, occasionally peeking into various compartments and finding them too full for any more people. Feeling slightly put out, she continued to walk down the bustling aisle, hoping to perhaps find a familiar face in the way of Les. She was just about to give up and sit down in the aisle when a friendly voice called out to her.
"There's room in here if you want to sit down!"
"Thanks," Mel said, looking relieved as she walked into the compartment that was empty other than a single girl sitting by the window. "I'm Mel Lupin, and you?"
"Elizabeth Longbottom, nice to meet you," the girl smiled.
"That name sounds familiar," Mel said thoughtfully. "Do you know Harry and Ginny?"
"Harry Potter?" Mel nodded. "Me? No… but my cousin does! Neville? He graduated last year with Harry."
"Oh, ok, I must have met him at Harry's birthday then… knew the last name sounded familiar."
"Are you a first year too then?" Elizabeth asked.
Mel bit her lip and nodded. "Yup. It's gonna be an interesting year." Mel sat herself across from Elizabeth and looked out the window at the passing scenery. "How did you manage to get your own compartment, anyway? I was looking for a seat for like, forever!"
"Oh," Elizabeth laughed. "A couple of other girls were in here, but they went looking for the food trolley. Should be back in a bit with lots of sweets," she grinned.
"Cool."
The two girls quickly began chatting like old friends, Elizabeth insisting that Mel tell her all about life in America with muggles, her insane family and friends back home. Eventually they were joined by a few other first years with their hands full of candies Mel had never even dreamed existed. Elizabeth it turned out was a pure blooded witch (just like Mel) but the other girls were either mixed or from completely muggle families. They all talked excitedly for the rest of the trip, wondering what sort of bizarre and exciting things they would encounter at the school with only three real interruptions.
The first of these interruptions came in the form of Les, wanting to make sure that Mel was enjoying her first journey on the Hogwarts Express. Once he left and the girls had giggled sufficiently about how cute he was and how lucky Mel was to already know him, the next interruption came, and it was not nearly so lighthearted.
"So, there you are," a voice sneered.
"Excuse me?" another one of the girls, Kathleen (Kat), asked.
"I don't think I was talking to you," the boy smirked.
"What do you want?" Mel asked, rising from her seat by the window.
"Just a few words with you, Lupin. After all, I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm David. David Thomas Crawford."
"I know who you are, thanks. But I really don't see any reason for us to talk." She was now walking toward the door, wrapping her fingers around her new wand in her pocket. "After all," she said, mocking his own speech, "I don't think we have anything in common."
"You certainly think you're high and mighty," Elizabeth chimed in, looking at David as though he had grown a second head.
"And you, Melissa, obviously don't know your place. Just because Sirius says that your fa-"
"I hope that there's no trouble going on in here," Ginny said, walking up behind David with Annabelle in tow, thereby serving as the third interruption. "That wouldn't be a very smart way to begin the term, now would it."
Mel grinned. "Things are good, Gin. My friend David was just leaving. You met Gin, right, David? Head Girl? Therefore able to bust your a—well, not someone to mess with anyway."
The other girls in the compartment stifled their giggles and David glared silently between Mel and Ginny, who was now giving him a disapproving look. "Perhaps you'd best go back to your own compartment and change," she told him. "We're going to be arriving at the station very soon."
Mel and her new friends stared in silent awe at their surroundings as they stepped off the train and onto the platform in Hogsmeade station before following Hagrid, the half-giant keeper of the keys and grounds of Hogwarts, to the lakeshore where they boarded the boats and glided toward the magnificent castle. Once they arrived, the anxious first years followed Hagrid up the front steps of the castle, stopping in front of the huge, oak front door.
After he knocked dramatically, the door creaked open, a dim light flooding out from the hallway inside illuminating another face familiar to Mel: Professor Minerva McGonagall. Turning to go to the feast through a different entrance (Mel assumed) Hagrid left the first years with the Professor, but not before giving the slightest of winks to the young Lupin.
It took a second before Mel realized that Elizabeth had grabbed her hand and started to drag her through the torch-lit passageway to catch up to the rest of the students. Mel tried to listen to Professor McGonagall as she told them about the Sorting Ceremony and the different houses, she really did. But the simple fact was she already knew about it all from her parents and Ginny, not to mention the Potters, and she had more serious things to worry about… like how to convince the old hat that she belonged in Gryffindor.
"Now form a line," Mel heard McGonagall say, "and follow me." Eagerly, and yet apprehensively, Mel jumped in line with Elizabeth, Kat and Cosette (another of the girls from the train) and followed the Professor (and the other first years) through a set of double doors and into the Great Hall.
It was hard for Mel to decide where to look first. Instinctually though she looked straight ahead, and suppressed the urge to giggle when she saw her brother Aaron, waving and smiling proudly at her from the head table, sitting next to one of Ginny's brothers. She then scanned the hall, taking in the four long tables all set with golden plates and goblets glistening from the candlelight. She grinned again when she caught Ginny's eye, who gestured for her to look up. When Mel did so, her breath caught in her throat. The ceiling looked just like the night sky, only with countless candles floating in mid-air amongst the stars and swirling clouds.
Mel looked down again in time to see Professor McGonagall bring out a tattered wizard's hat and set it on a three-legged stool in front of the Hall. "They want us to put that on our heads?" Mel uttered in disbelief.
"Is that all we have to do?" a very nervous Cosette asked.
Elizabeth and Kat shrugged, only to jump in surprise a second later as the hat opened at its brim, forming a mouth in the fabric there. Then, it began to sing.
Once upon a time
Upon this very ground,
There lived four wizards and witches
Common talents they had found.
They came together as one to work
To teach the old and young
And now that they are gone I lurk
To continue what they'd begun.
I shall place you all in one of four,
Great houses, one for each.
And so if you are patient,
This lesson I to you will teach.
In Hufflepuff there belongs
Those who will work hard,
A dedicated lot and loyal friend,
From whom one shan't be barred.
Then there are those who are
Of quick and clever mind
These are ones who will find a home
With the Ravenclaw kind.
For Slytherin would want no less
Than those with great ambition,
If your deepest, darkest inward desire
Seeks power with no inhibition.
Sadly only one remains,
Though sad he naught will be
Brave Gryffindor for whom we sought
Those strong of heart and head
It is here that I shall place
You of valiant, fearless stead.
After hearing what it is
That I have had to say
Do try me on and I'll do my best
Not to lose you in the fray!
"Well, I've never seen a hat do that before," Elizabeth whispered to Mel, who simply nodded, as the rest of the hall burst into applause.
It seemed like only a second had gone by, but suddenly Mel was brought back to reality when she heard Elizabeth's name ("Longbottom, Elizabeth!") being called by Professor McGonagall. It was her friend's turn to be sorted, and that could only mean one thing. She was next.
Mel watched apprehensively as Elizabeth walked forward and sat on the stool, the old sorting hat dropping over her eyes. She took a deep breath and the hat suddenly bellowed out "Gryffindor!" She smiled as Elizabeth grinned at her as she made her way to the applauding Gryffindor table.
"Lupin, Melissa!" Professor McGonagall called.
Mel took a deep, calming breath, looked quickly to her brother and Ginny for their smiles and nods of support, and walked resolutely, though slightly trembling, up to the sorting hat. She took her seat on the stool and the hat was dropped on her head. She nearly jumped a foot in the air when she heard a voice croaking in her ear.
"Worried about what they'll say?"
"What who'll say?" Mel muttered to herself.
"Your family, your friends. You have quite a history in Gryffindor, I know. I sorted them all. But perhaps it's not best for you. Quite clever…"
"Please just put me in Gryffindor, Mr. Sorting Hat, sir."
"I don't know," the hat teased. "You would do quite well in Ravenclaw."
"But-"
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted for the whole hall to hear.
This time, Mel did jump up from the stool. She grinned wildly as she pulled the hat off her head and ran toward the Gryffindor table. Pausing briefly to give Ginny a quick hug, she then continued to make her way to an empty seat next to Elizabeth. The two then chatted excitedly with some other new Gryffindors who were sitting around them as the Sorting Ceremony dragged on and on for what seemed like forever.
"Are we ever going to be able to eat?" another first year, Simon Perry whined.
As if in answer to his question, there was suddenly the clink of metal on glass as Professor McGonagall had taken her seat and was trying to attract the attention of the student body for the Headmaster's welcoming speech.
"Welcome!" declared Albus Dumbledore from under a mass of silver hairs. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! Before you all become distracted by the wonder that is our banquet this evening, I have a few start-of-term announcements to make. First, as always, please note that the forest on the grounds is off-limits to all students. Also, do make sure that no magic is used in the corridors between classes, that is a benefit, at least in my mind, reserved for inside your classrooms under the watchful eyes of your professors.
"In addition, I would like to take this time to welcome some new professors into our midst. First, owing to his growing family, Hagrid has stepped down from his position as the Care of Magical Creatures professor to resume his former duties. In his place, we are pleased to have none other than Professor Charlie Weasley." He paused for a moment as the students clapped for the young professor who, in turn, stood up grinning and waving around the Hall, giving Ginny a showy wink, Mel was pleased to notice.
"Next, it is my duty to inform you that Madam Hooch has decided to retire, leaving a vacant position for your flying classes. However, we have found a superb replacement, keeping teaching alive in the family," Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye. "Aaron Lupin has agreed to take on this position and will also be handling all of your quidditch needs."
"Woohoo!" Mel cheered over the applause, clapping excitedly and laughing as her brother also stood and waved at everyone.
"Lastly, I regret to inform you all that our beloved Divination professor, Professor Trelawney, has for reasons beyond anyone's control left us as well. In her place, I am pleased to announce that her former teaching assistant, Star West, is now assuming full teaching responsibilities!" The uproar from the older students was almost deafening. They were cheering and clapping madly, all extremely thrilled that the reign of Professor Trelawney (the fraud) was over.
Dumbledore held up a hand for silence. "That all having been said and done, do tuck in!"
A/N: Review? Please? Yay! *very big grin*