I began pacing back and forth around the corridor. Let's see... my
options were either to pick a door at random or stay hear and wait for
someone to notice I'm gone and come get me. Maybe I could ask a painting
for help. No... this corridor only has landscapes in it.
"When in doubt, try the never failing method." I shut my eyes and spun around in a circle with one arm outstretched. When I stopped spinning, I was facing a rather dull looking door.
"Okay. Let's see what's behind door number two," I said as I opened the door.
The door led me into a long hallway, decorated with a long rug and scattered paintings.
"Off we go." I sighed and walked quickly down the hallway.
As I hurried along, I swear I heard laughing behind me.
Ignore it. Just ignore it...I thought.
The laughing increased steadily as I broke into a run.
"All right, who's there?" I asked.
I heard a loud cackle and suddenly, someone materialized in front of me. It was a small figure wearing loud yellow pants and green slippers. "I should've known," I said as I shook my head. "A poltergeist."
"Ooh, I've never seen you around here before," he said in a high- pitched voice. "Does little witchy want to play with Peeves?"
"I am not so little!" I exclaimed. "Now could you please let me go? I have a sorting to get to."
"Not until you play with Peeves!" he replied. He laughed and waved his hands. Several water balloons appeared around him.
My eyes widened. "Oh no you don't!"
He smiled deviously and raised his hands. "Time to play!"
I threw my arms over my head as he lowered his hands. Cold water splashed over me and I felt the chill to my very bones. I pulled a piece of rubber off my face as I stared evilly up at the annoying poltergeist.
"I'm done playing," I said as I felt a surge inside my body. "I've been meaning to let this out since the train."
I whipped out my wand and pointed it at the poltergeist. "STUPEFY!"
Static electricity surged through the air with a loud cracking sound and a bright light that shot from my wand nearly blinded me. As soon as I heard the poltergeist hit the floor, I began to run. I had to get to the Great Hall. I couldn't miss my sorting!
"Faster, faster!" I screamed at my legs as I ran along.
I ran up a flight of stairs and emerged in another corridor. It was large and I guessed that it had to be the Entrance Hall. There were hourglasses that showed the amount of House Points each House had and a large staircase in the center. I recognized them because we had the same system back at my old school.
I smiled as I noticed a pair of large double doors to my right.
"Intuition, don't fail me now." I headed towards the door on my left and yanked at it.
I finally pulled open the doors and faced a large number of faces that were all staring at me. It seems that I had actually made it to the Great hall.
I pulled a piece of rubber out of my hair and smiled sheepishly. They continued their gaze. I must look like an idiot, with my pink hair sticking to my face. So much for my plan of sneaking in quietly.
My cheeks turned crimson as I looked around the Great Hall. Many floating candles illuminated the faces of the students and professors and the ceiling resembled the dark sky outside.
I saw Professor McGonagall standing at the end of the hall, holding a scroll. A rather troubled looking first year sat on a stool with an old hat on his head. It fell below his eyes and then I felt like I wasn't the only stupid looking person in the hall.
Some students turned away, while others remained staring. The hall was as silent as a graveyard. They were all waiting to see who this strange pink-haired short person was.
I made my way between the tables and to Professor McGonagall. She was looking shocked and rather stern and I was afraid that she was going to yell at me in front of the entire hall. What a wonderful way to begin my year.
"Hi," I greeted as I looked around. "Uh. I'm late, aren't I?"
She nodded and her lips remained pursed.
"RAVENCLAW!" yelled the hat on the first year's head.
I nearly jumped as I stared at it. Did it just talk?
Finally, to break the silence, people from one of the tables started cheering as the first year walked over to them proudly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our transfer student, Chilly Richardson, has finally decided to join us," McGonagall said loudly after the Ravenclaw table stopped cheering.
My cheeks became hot. "What am I supposed to do?"
She pointed to the stool. "Sit."
I nodded and walked slowly over to the stool. I sat down and placed the hat onto my head. The hat did not cover my eyes, allowing me to see the whole hall staring at me.
"Well, hello, there," the hat said to me. "A little late, aren't you?"
Sorry, I thought. Wait. did you just talk to me?
"So, let's take a look inside. hmm. I see strength. power; yes. lots of power. ah; yes, you have a little trouble controlling that power, don't you? No matter. what else is here.Trust, honesty, and a thirst for revenge. Standing up for yourself is good."
If I don't, who else will?
"Where to put you. how about Slytherin?"
Slytherin? SLYTHERIN?! Don't even go there! If you put me in that house, I will sew your big mouth and, your stupid eyes shut with ugly green thread, and you will never sort another student again! Am I really that evil that I deserve to be placed in a House like Slytherin? It's because I'm American is it? Oh yes, Americans and their evil ideas about football and fast food-
"How about. Gryffindor, then?"
Gryffindor? Well I-
"GRYFFINDOR!"
At first, the applause was hesitant, but it gradually became louder as I approached them. It was nice for them to cheer for me, although they couldn't be thinking highly of me. I was late, soaked, and horrible looking.
I sat down next to a girl with bushy hair, regretting not saying 'no' before the hat screamed "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Now that the sorting has ended, I have a few announcements to make before we begin the feast," I heard a raspy voice say.
Professor Dumbledore was standing up at the table at the end of the hall. He wore blue robes with star and moon designs. His long hair and beard were a silvery gray and he reminded me of Merlin. His eyes looked at every one of our faces and he wore a faint smile.
"As all students know, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds. Our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has decided to slightly increase the punishment for students out of bed. Get caught out of bed for more details," Dumbledore went on. "I also hope that you will all welcome our new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Vladimir Constantine!"
A tall man stood up at the end Dumbledore's table. He had pale skin and dark black hair that covered his eyes. He smiled slightly and sat back down. I heard faint giggles from several girls at my table.
"Let the feast begin!"
Suddenly, the golden plates on the tables filled with food. I smiled in glee and grabbed a drumstick off the nearest turkey.
"So you're American?" the round-faced boy sitting next to me asked.
"Yep," I replied.
"Not to be rude or anything. but do all Americans look like you?"
"Not exactly."
"Okay. Just wondering." He turned back to his friends and stuffed a biscuit in his mouth. For the remainder of the feast, I shoved food into my mouth and listened to the conversations of others around me. I did not intend to join in with them and I doubted that they would want to talk to me anyway. They actually looked as if they were willing to talk to me. I must have scared them off with my appearance.
"So anyway," I heard the boy next to me say, "I heard that Draco Malfoy was punched out by a girl on the train!"
"Really? Do you know who?" asked a redheaded girl.
"Nope," he replied. "But I did hear that there was blood all the way down the hallway of the train!"
I decided not to join in and tell them that I had lost my temper and punched out the person nearest to me. Something told me not to.
I looked around the hall for the table that Cela and Trill sat at. When I finally found them, I attempted to get their attention. They were too busy chatting away with other people to notice me. My smile fell and I sighed. I was going to be extremely lonely this year. Curse my father for thinking this would be good for me.
My appetite soon left me and I sighed as I looked at my plate. I had never felt so alone before. I guess I deserved it for what I did.
But why did I have to keep going on that subject? That wasn't the reason why we left America. It couldn't be.
But what if it is? I thought.
The feast was soon over and it seemed that everyone was having a hard time trying to get up and leave. Many of the students were beginning to get tired and I decided that I should leave, too.
I became slightly worried at the fact that I didn't know how to get to my dormitory. I bit my lip as I frantically searched for someone I had seen at my table.
My eyes caught sight of a girl with bushy brown hair who was busy talking to a tall redheaded boy. I realized that I had been sitting next to her during the feast. I got up from the table and followed her out of the hall.
The Entrance Hall was crowded with students that were trying to find the prefects, who would probably lead them to their dormitories. All I had to do was find out where exactly the Gryffindors were.
I spotted the bushy haired girl and pushed through the crowd to where she was. I found myself standing in a group with several other students.
"All right," the bushy haired girl said. I then noticed a small badge on her robes and I realized that she was a prefect. "It's about time that we head to Gryffindor Tower. Let's go."
We followed the prefect out of the hall and to a large staircase.
As we walked up a staircase (occasionally pausing so that the staircase could assemble itself), I noticed that quite a few paintings that were watching me. I remembered how at my old school, Chris used to make faces at paintings that would stare at us. I heard the sound of his laughter in my head as I told him to stop. "What are they going to do? Jump out of their portraits and strangle me?" he had replied.
I felt slightly uneasy as we walked down a hallway that was lined with suits of armor. The old feeling of being watched by shrouded eyes returned and I grabbed my wand for comfort.
"Here we are," I heard the prefect say as we came up yet another flight of stairs.
We were facing a rather large portrait of a lady in a large pink dress.
"Password?" she asked.
"Flibbertigibbet," the prefect said.
The portrait swung to the side, revealing a small hole. We climbed in, one at a time, as instructed by the bushy prefect.
"Nice," I commented as I looked around.
We were in the Gryffindor common room. It had many large red armchairs by a fireplace and a large rug on the ground that portrayed a lion. The ceiling was high up and many paintings decorated the walls. Desks and tables were scattered around the room and a notice board hung next to two staircases.
My eyes searched around the room and I saw that the girls were heading up one of the staircases. I decided to follow them, in hopes of finding my dormitory. I kept walking until I saw a sign that said "Gryffindor Sixth Years."
I opened the door slowly and smiled. The room was large and had many canopy beds. There were a few windows and a large blue rug on the ground. Candles hung on the walls and some were also placed on nightstands. There were several wardrobes and my things had already been brought up. I assumed that my bed was the one by the window, because my cat was lying on the pillow.
"Hello, Friday," I cooed as I scooped him up. He purred contently in my arms.
I looked around the dormitory. No one else was here yet. Either that or they went downstairs to hang out in the common room.
"Looks like it's just you and me," I said as I sat down on my bed.
"What took you so long?" Friday asked.
"Remember that it was a feast and they generally take a long time because people stuff themselves until they have to cut themselves out of their pants," I replied. "You must have been bored, staring off into space the whole time."
"For your information, I do much more than that. I lick myself and sometimes I sleep or stalk birds from the bed."
I stood up and opened my trunk.
"What are you doing?" Friday questioned.
"Making my little corner of the room more homey," I replied as I placed an Orlando Bloom poster on the wall above my nightstand.
I then put up a Destiny's Child poster on the wall adjacent to the window. Since I was near the window, I had more wall space. I also placed a large smiley face poster on the wall behind my bed. Then I posted several of my manga drawings on the wall.
I stood back to admire my work. "That's much better."
A few minutes later, after I had changed into an oversized tee shirt and teddy bear shorts, several other girls joined me. They were talking loudly and I was surprised that they had this much energy at this time at night.
"Who're you?" one of them asked me. The talking suddenly stopped.
"Chilly," I replied as I put down my cat.
"Oh, the Yank," another said. "I didn't know you were in our year."
"That's a strange name, though," said the first. "Then again, American names are rather strange."
"Don't even get me started on your name, Parvati," another girl said.
"What's wrong with Parvati, Lavender?"
I didn't care much about the fact people kept on making remarks about my name. The only thing I would care about would be if one of those girls tries to take down any of my posters.
"So. America. what's that like?" Lavender asked me as she fished through her trunk.
"Lots of pollution."
"Yeah, I figured," Lavender replied. "You'll probably enjoy the good ol' British countryside. It's a change from those cramped cities of yours."
I sighed and sat down on my bed. "It's not all that bad. I mean, there are plenty of other places besides just cities. Like the beach and prairies."
"You have a point there," Parvati said as she turned down her covers.
The bushy-haired girl came over to me and smiled in greeting.
"That's an adorable cat," she said.
"Thanks," I responded. "His name is Friday."
"I have one of my own," she went on. "His name is Crookshanks. He is sitting over there on my bed."
She gestured to a large yellow fluff ball that was burying itself in her pillows. I stared at it and couldn't decide whether it was really a cat or a small tiger.
"By the way, I'm Hermione Granger." She scratched Friday's head. "I'm one of the prefects for Gryffindor. The other is Ron Weasley. you'll meet him later. Anyway, I was wondering if it was you who." I sighed. "You heard about me punching Draco out, didn't you?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed. "When I heard that someone finally taught him a lesson, I nearly jumped out of my seat and screamed! I slapped him once, but I do not think that I really got to him... My friend, Ron, has been talking about it since dinner. Apparently, he's quite upset that he wasn't the one to do it. I admit, it is nice to see him happy about something again.but I also must say that you broke rule ten in the student's handbook. I must also-"
"There's a student handbook?" I interrupted.
"Oh, yes. It just came out this year." She pointed to a large manual that was sitting on her bed. "I'm nearly through the last chapter. You can borrow it when I'm done, if you want."
"That's okay," I insisted. "I don't think I'll be needing it."
Hermione shrugged. "Suit yourself." She turned and walked over to her bed and pulled the curtains around her.
I did the same and I blew out the candle next to my bed. I snuggled deep into my many blankets and pulled Friday close.
"Good night," I whispered.
Then sleep took me.
"When in doubt, try the never failing method." I shut my eyes and spun around in a circle with one arm outstretched. When I stopped spinning, I was facing a rather dull looking door.
"Okay. Let's see what's behind door number two," I said as I opened the door.
The door led me into a long hallway, decorated with a long rug and scattered paintings.
"Off we go." I sighed and walked quickly down the hallway.
As I hurried along, I swear I heard laughing behind me.
Ignore it. Just ignore it...I thought.
The laughing increased steadily as I broke into a run.
"All right, who's there?" I asked.
I heard a loud cackle and suddenly, someone materialized in front of me. It was a small figure wearing loud yellow pants and green slippers. "I should've known," I said as I shook my head. "A poltergeist."
"Ooh, I've never seen you around here before," he said in a high- pitched voice. "Does little witchy want to play with Peeves?"
"I am not so little!" I exclaimed. "Now could you please let me go? I have a sorting to get to."
"Not until you play with Peeves!" he replied. He laughed and waved his hands. Several water balloons appeared around him.
My eyes widened. "Oh no you don't!"
He smiled deviously and raised his hands. "Time to play!"
I threw my arms over my head as he lowered his hands. Cold water splashed over me and I felt the chill to my very bones. I pulled a piece of rubber off my face as I stared evilly up at the annoying poltergeist.
"I'm done playing," I said as I felt a surge inside my body. "I've been meaning to let this out since the train."
I whipped out my wand and pointed it at the poltergeist. "STUPEFY!"
Static electricity surged through the air with a loud cracking sound and a bright light that shot from my wand nearly blinded me. As soon as I heard the poltergeist hit the floor, I began to run. I had to get to the Great Hall. I couldn't miss my sorting!
"Faster, faster!" I screamed at my legs as I ran along.
I ran up a flight of stairs and emerged in another corridor. It was large and I guessed that it had to be the Entrance Hall. There were hourglasses that showed the amount of House Points each House had and a large staircase in the center. I recognized them because we had the same system back at my old school.
I smiled as I noticed a pair of large double doors to my right.
"Intuition, don't fail me now." I headed towards the door on my left and yanked at it.
I finally pulled open the doors and faced a large number of faces that were all staring at me. It seems that I had actually made it to the Great hall.
I pulled a piece of rubber out of my hair and smiled sheepishly. They continued their gaze. I must look like an idiot, with my pink hair sticking to my face. So much for my plan of sneaking in quietly.
My cheeks turned crimson as I looked around the Great Hall. Many floating candles illuminated the faces of the students and professors and the ceiling resembled the dark sky outside.
I saw Professor McGonagall standing at the end of the hall, holding a scroll. A rather troubled looking first year sat on a stool with an old hat on his head. It fell below his eyes and then I felt like I wasn't the only stupid looking person in the hall.
Some students turned away, while others remained staring. The hall was as silent as a graveyard. They were all waiting to see who this strange pink-haired short person was.
I made my way between the tables and to Professor McGonagall. She was looking shocked and rather stern and I was afraid that she was going to yell at me in front of the entire hall. What a wonderful way to begin my year.
"Hi," I greeted as I looked around. "Uh. I'm late, aren't I?"
She nodded and her lips remained pursed.
"RAVENCLAW!" yelled the hat on the first year's head.
I nearly jumped as I stared at it. Did it just talk?
Finally, to break the silence, people from one of the tables started cheering as the first year walked over to them proudly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, our transfer student, Chilly Richardson, has finally decided to join us," McGonagall said loudly after the Ravenclaw table stopped cheering.
My cheeks became hot. "What am I supposed to do?"
She pointed to the stool. "Sit."
I nodded and walked slowly over to the stool. I sat down and placed the hat onto my head. The hat did not cover my eyes, allowing me to see the whole hall staring at me.
"Well, hello, there," the hat said to me. "A little late, aren't you?"
Sorry, I thought. Wait. did you just talk to me?
"So, let's take a look inside. hmm. I see strength. power; yes. lots of power. ah; yes, you have a little trouble controlling that power, don't you? No matter. what else is here.Trust, honesty, and a thirst for revenge. Standing up for yourself is good."
If I don't, who else will?
"Where to put you. how about Slytherin?"
Slytherin? SLYTHERIN?! Don't even go there! If you put me in that house, I will sew your big mouth and, your stupid eyes shut with ugly green thread, and you will never sort another student again! Am I really that evil that I deserve to be placed in a House like Slytherin? It's because I'm American is it? Oh yes, Americans and their evil ideas about football and fast food-
"How about. Gryffindor, then?"
Gryffindor? Well I-
"GRYFFINDOR!"
At first, the applause was hesitant, but it gradually became louder as I approached them. It was nice for them to cheer for me, although they couldn't be thinking highly of me. I was late, soaked, and horrible looking.
I sat down next to a girl with bushy hair, regretting not saying 'no' before the hat screamed "GRYFFINDOR!"
"Now that the sorting has ended, I have a few announcements to make before we begin the feast," I heard a raspy voice say.
Professor Dumbledore was standing up at the table at the end of the hall. He wore blue robes with star and moon designs. His long hair and beard were a silvery gray and he reminded me of Merlin. His eyes looked at every one of our faces and he wore a faint smile.
"As all students know, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds. Our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has decided to slightly increase the punishment for students out of bed. Get caught out of bed for more details," Dumbledore went on. "I also hope that you will all welcome our new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Vladimir Constantine!"
A tall man stood up at the end Dumbledore's table. He had pale skin and dark black hair that covered his eyes. He smiled slightly and sat back down. I heard faint giggles from several girls at my table.
"Let the feast begin!"
Suddenly, the golden plates on the tables filled with food. I smiled in glee and grabbed a drumstick off the nearest turkey.
"So you're American?" the round-faced boy sitting next to me asked.
"Yep," I replied.
"Not to be rude or anything. but do all Americans look like you?"
"Not exactly."
"Okay. Just wondering." He turned back to his friends and stuffed a biscuit in his mouth. For the remainder of the feast, I shoved food into my mouth and listened to the conversations of others around me. I did not intend to join in with them and I doubted that they would want to talk to me anyway. They actually looked as if they were willing to talk to me. I must have scared them off with my appearance.
"So anyway," I heard the boy next to me say, "I heard that Draco Malfoy was punched out by a girl on the train!"
"Really? Do you know who?" asked a redheaded girl.
"Nope," he replied. "But I did hear that there was blood all the way down the hallway of the train!"
I decided not to join in and tell them that I had lost my temper and punched out the person nearest to me. Something told me not to.
I looked around the hall for the table that Cela and Trill sat at. When I finally found them, I attempted to get their attention. They were too busy chatting away with other people to notice me. My smile fell and I sighed. I was going to be extremely lonely this year. Curse my father for thinking this would be good for me.
My appetite soon left me and I sighed as I looked at my plate. I had never felt so alone before. I guess I deserved it for what I did.
But why did I have to keep going on that subject? That wasn't the reason why we left America. It couldn't be.
But what if it is? I thought.
The feast was soon over and it seemed that everyone was having a hard time trying to get up and leave. Many of the students were beginning to get tired and I decided that I should leave, too.
I became slightly worried at the fact that I didn't know how to get to my dormitory. I bit my lip as I frantically searched for someone I had seen at my table.
My eyes caught sight of a girl with bushy brown hair who was busy talking to a tall redheaded boy. I realized that I had been sitting next to her during the feast. I got up from the table and followed her out of the hall.
The Entrance Hall was crowded with students that were trying to find the prefects, who would probably lead them to their dormitories. All I had to do was find out where exactly the Gryffindors were.
I spotted the bushy haired girl and pushed through the crowd to where she was. I found myself standing in a group with several other students.
"All right," the bushy haired girl said. I then noticed a small badge on her robes and I realized that she was a prefect. "It's about time that we head to Gryffindor Tower. Let's go."
We followed the prefect out of the hall and to a large staircase.
As we walked up a staircase (occasionally pausing so that the staircase could assemble itself), I noticed that quite a few paintings that were watching me. I remembered how at my old school, Chris used to make faces at paintings that would stare at us. I heard the sound of his laughter in my head as I told him to stop. "What are they going to do? Jump out of their portraits and strangle me?" he had replied.
I felt slightly uneasy as we walked down a hallway that was lined with suits of armor. The old feeling of being watched by shrouded eyes returned and I grabbed my wand for comfort.
"Here we are," I heard the prefect say as we came up yet another flight of stairs.
We were facing a rather large portrait of a lady in a large pink dress.
"Password?" she asked.
"Flibbertigibbet," the prefect said.
The portrait swung to the side, revealing a small hole. We climbed in, one at a time, as instructed by the bushy prefect.
"Nice," I commented as I looked around.
We were in the Gryffindor common room. It had many large red armchairs by a fireplace and a large rug on the ground that portrayed a lion. The ceiling was high up and many paintings decorated the walls. Desks and tables were scattered around the room and a notice board hung next to two staircases.
My eyes searched around the room and I saw that the girls were heading up one of the staircases. I decided to follow them, in hopes of finding my dormitory. I kept walking until I saw a sign that said "Gryffindor Sixth Years."
I opened the door slowly and smiled. The room was large and had many canopy beds. There were a few windows and a large blue rug on the ground. Candles hung on the walls and some were also placed on nightstands. There were several wardrobes and my things had already been brought up. I assumed that my bed was the one by the window, because my cat was lying on the pillow.
"Hello, Friday," I cooed as I scooped him up. He purred contently in my arms.
I looked around the dormitory. No one else was here yet. Either that or they went downstairs to hang out in the common room.
"Looks like it's just you and me," I said as I sat down on my bed.
"What took you so long?" Friday asked.
"Remember that it was a feast and they generally take a long time because people stuff themselves until they have to cut themselves out of their pants," I replied. "You must have been bored, staring off into space the whole time."
"For your information, I do much more than that. I lick myself and sometimes I sleep or stalk birds from the bed."
I stood up and opened my trunk.
"What are you doing?" Friday questioned.
"Making my little corner of the room more homey," I replied as I placed an Orlando Bloom poster on the wall above my nightstand.
I then put up a Destiny's Child poster on the wall adjacent to the window. Since I was near the window, I had more wall space. I also placed a large smiley face poster on the wall behind my bed. Then I posted several of my manga drawings on the wall.
I stood back to admire my work. "That's much better."
A few minutes later, after I had changed into an oversized tee shirt and teddy bear shorts, several other girls joined me. They were talking loudly and I was surprised that they had this much energy at this time at night.
"Who're you?" one of them asked me. The talking suddenly stopped.
"Chilly," I replied as I put down my cat.
"Oh, the Yank," another said. "I didn't know you were in our year."
"That's a strange name, though," said the first. "Then again, American names are rather strange."
"Don't even get me started on your name, Parvati," another girl said.
"What's wrong with Parvati, Lavender?"
I didn't care much about the fact people kept on making remarks about my name. The only thing I would care about would be if one of those girls tries to take down any of my posters.
"So. America. what's that like?" Lavender asked me as she fished through her trunk.
"Lots of pollution."
"Yeah, I figured," Lavender replied. "You'll probably enjoy the good ol' British countryside. It's a change from those cramped cities of yours."
I sighed and sat down on my bed. "It's not all that bad. I mean, there are plenty of other places besides just cities. Like the beach and prairies."
"You have a point there," Parvati said as she turned down her covers.
The bushy-haired girl came over to me and smiled in greeting.
"That's an adorable cat," she said.
"Thanks," I responded. "His name is Friday."
"I have one of my own," she went on. "His name is Crookshanks. He is sitting over there on my bed."
She gestured to a large yellow fluff ball that was burying itself in her pillows. I stared at it and couldn't decide whether it was really a cat or a small tiger.
"By the way, I'm Hermione Granger." She scratched Friday's head. "I'm one of the prefects for Gryffindor. The other is Ron Weasley. you'll meet him later. Anyway, I was wondering if it was you who." I sighed. "You heard about me punching Draco out, didn't you?"
"Yes!" she exclaimed. "When I heard that someone finally taught him a lesson, I nearly jumped out of my seat and screamed! I slapped him once, but I do not think that I really got to him... My friend, Ron, has been talking about it since dinner. Apparently, he's quite upset that he wasn't the one to do it. I admit, it is nice to see him happy about something again.but I also must say that you broke rule ten in the student's handbook. I must also-"
"There's a student handbook?" I interrupted.
"Oh, yes. It just came out this year." She pointed to a large manual that was sitting on her bed. "I'm nearly through the last chapter. You can borrow it when I'm done, if you want."
"That's okay," I insisted. "I don't think I'll be needing it."
Hermione shrugged. "Suit yourself." She turned and walked over to her bed and pulled the curtains around her.
I did the same and I blew out the candle next to my bed. I snuggled deep into my many blankets and pulled Friday close.
"Good night," I whispered.
Then sleep took me.