CHAPTER TEN: THE SORTING
"Have I mentioned how much I really hate this uniform," Buffy complained as she donned the skirt, blouse and tie.
Hermione, Ginny, Lavender and Parvati all gave her the same look that screamed the word 'duh'.
Buffy just sighed and finished tying the half-hearted knot in her tie. It hung slightly lose, and Hermione just tsked softly. Buffy rolled her eyes. Hermione would never give up in her quest to get Buffy to wear the uniform correctly.
"You're going to be late if you don't hurry up," Parvati said as she and Lavender made their way to the door.
Buffy struggled with her shoelaces, used to just slipping on her joggers as she'd done everyday for the last few weeks.
"I'll see you guys at the feast," Ginny said, still her ever enthusiastic self.
Hermione laughed as the younger girl ran from the room.
"I can definitely understand why Ginny reminded you so much of Willow," Hermione commented.
Buffy grinned and jumped to her feet, finally finished with her dressing routine. She straightened her cloak and nodded towards the door.
"Ready?"
"Uh, Buffy, I was waiting for you, remember?"
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Buffy and Hermione entered the Great Hall, grinning form ear to ear. The sounds of several hundred students filled their ears, and they knew that being at Hogwarts when it was close to empty hadn't been anywhere near as good as it was when the students where there as well.
They made their way down to their seats at the Gryffindor table, waving to anyone who greeted them. Buffy caught sight of Tara, seated at the Hufflepuff table, and waved enthusiastically. The still terminally shy girl waved back with less gusto, but still with genuine affection.
Buffy scanned the table, looking for the familiar black haired and redheaded boys. Her eyes narrowed.
"Can you see either of them?" Hermione asked.
Buffy shook her head. She grinned and waved at Dean, Seamus and Neville who were already seated.
"Hey Shae, where's Harry?" Buffy called out over the noise of the Great Hall.
Seamus shrugged his shoulders. "Haven't seen him since we got off the train."
Buffy and Hermione exchanged glances. Not even ten minutes into the new term of Hogwarts, and it looked as though Harry and Ron had already found some sort of mischief.
Buffy suddenly felt a hand touch her shoulder, and she spun around to look at whoever had surprised her. Her eyes widened and a grin split on her face.
"Drake!"
Draco Malfoy, the calm, cool and collected 'Prince of Slytherin' was suddenly engulfed in a bone-crushing hug by his cousin. He smiled and returned the hug, lifting Buffy off her feet and brushing a gentle kiss on her cheek.
"I take it you're glad to see me Summers," Draco said, with his trademark smirk on his handsome features.
"Way to understate," she replied with a grin. "Gods I've missed you."
"Missed you too," he replied.
He looked at Hermione who stood just behind Buffy and nodded his greeting to her.
"Granger," he said.
"Malfoy," she replied. "Good summer?"
"Best ever," he replied honestly.
Buffy looked at him curiously and saw the sincere note in his eyes.
"You really enjoyed it?" she asked.
He nodded. "I never realised how much I hated summers until I finally got out of my father's house."
Buffy nodded in understanding. The conversations they'd had in the first month of summer had indicated that Draco's summer vacations had never been anything thrilling. And being the reluctant child of a Death-Eater would have been even worse.
"How's Sara?" Buffy asked.
Even though she and Sara had been sending owls to each other over the two months that Buffy had spent at Hogwarts, she still missed her real mother greatly. The letters were a great way for them to learn about each other, and Buffy had learnt a great deal about her mother's life at Hogwarts before Buffy had been born.
"She's good. She misses you like crazy," Draco replied.
"I miss her too," Buffy replied.
Draco glanced quickly at the Slytherin table, and Buffy followed his gaze. She noticed that most of the Slytherin students immediately turned away from watching the two blonde teenagers. Buffy scowled in their direction.
"What're their problems?" Buffy asked.
"I would guess that their summers were not quite so good as mine," he replied. "Some of their parents were sent to Azkaban. Not all of them would be happy about it."
Buffy felt herself going faint. She'd never thought about that. She'd known that Draco's father had been sent to the wizarding prison, but she'd never really given too much thought to all of the other students whose parents were Death-Eaters.
"Buffy?" Draco asked, touching her elbow to ensure she didn't fall over when she began swaying dangerously.
Buffy shook herself out of her thoughts and gave Draco a half-hearted smile. "I'm fine. I guess I never really thought about what would happen to all the other Death-Eaters," she explained.
"They deserved it," Draco said darkly.
Buffy couldn't exactly argue with that logic. The Death Eaters had deserved to be imprisoned for attempting to have another reign of terror. It wasn't as though it was Buffy's fault that they'd chosen to do so.
Draco saw the doubt in Buffy's eyes, and stepped forward to hug her once more. A deep voice coming from behind them broke them apart.
"Take your slimy Slytherin paws off my girlfriend."
Buffy grinned widely and practically threw herself at Harry. Even though it had only been three weeks since she'd last seen him, she had missed him terribly. She'd missed him even more, considering she hadn't been able to get one particular conversation out of her head.
Buffy and Harry kissed with passion, ignoring all the other students in the Great Hall. The Gryffindor couple had been very private the previous year, and most of the students had never really seen the duo interact with each other so intimately. Laughter, applause and much cat-calling broke out, but both Buffy and Harry were too focussed on each other to even notice.
"I missed you," Buffy said quietly.
Harry smiled softly and placed a soft nipping kiss on her nose. "Missed you more."
She grinned and hugged him tightly. A loud and pointed coughing began behind them. They broke away from each other reluctantly.
"Malfoy," Harry said coldly.
"Potter," Draco replied.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "You guys are terrible."
Both boys turned and looked at her with something that resembled puppy-eyes. She just grinned and shook her head in disbelief.
"I better get to my own table," Draco said regretfully. "I'll catch up with you later Buffy."
Buffy nodded and grinned at him. "See ya Drake."
She watched him for a moment before turning her attention back to Harry.
"Where were you?" she asked curiously. "How come you were so late coming in?"
Harry smiled mischievously. He reached into his robes and pulled out two small silver balls the size of marbles. Buffy touched them tentatively.
"What are these?" she asked curiously.
He winked at her and turned towards the Slytherin table. He located Crabbe and Goyle and quickly threw both balls in quick succession at the two boys. The twin silver balls hit the wall behind Crabbe and Goyle, and two sudden black clouds hovered above the thick Slytherin boys, rain pouring on both of them, saturating them completely.
Laughter rang out at every table, including the Slytherins. Draco looked towards Harry and Buffy, unable to contain the laughter that bubbled up inside him.
Buffy looked at Harry incredulously.
"Where did you get them?" she asked.
"Weasley's Wizards Wheezes," he explained with a grin. "As their main benefactor, the twins like giving me free samples."
As quickly as the clouds had appeared, they disappeared instantaneously. The only thing to show that they'd once been there was the two drenched boys who were looking around the hall indignantly. Their gaze lit on Buffy and Harry, and they scowled angrily.
"Remind me to never mess with you," Buffy said.
Harry just smiled and kissed her softly. "I was kind of hoping that you would mess with me love," he whispered.
Buffy grinned and felt herself go red. This year was definitely going to be interesting.
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With everyone seated, and the Sorting Ceremony complete, the seven grades of Hogwarts dug into the Feast provided for them. People were exchanging anecdotes about their summers, and commenting on the new First Year students.
Other conversations about the teaching staff were breaking out as well. This would be the first year where they'd had a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher stay for more than one year. The students were somewhat amazed that Giles had managed to keep the cursed position. The other comments about the teaching staff was the missing Flying Lessons Professor, Madam Hooch. Buffy and Hermione had noticed that the flying instructor had been missing for most of the holidays, but they hadn't given it too much thought.
The other hot topic on the Gryffindor table was about the much coveted Quidditch positions that had just opened up. With five open spots, speculation was running wild. Ron and Harry were trying to tactfully rebuff anyone who tried bribing their way into Harry's good graces.
"C'mon mate," Seamus said around a mouthful of pumpkin pie. "What are friends for?"
Harry just shook his head. "You're welcome to try out for it, but…I'm not giving anyone guarantees until I've seen you in the air."
Buffy couldn't help but giggle at the completely upset look on Seamus' face.
"What are you laughing at Summers?" Seamus asked, indignantly.
"You!"
Seamus rolled his eyes and glared at her. "Well, will you be trying out?" he demanded.
"Of course. And if I don't get on the team, I'll know it's cos I sucked. And if I do get on, it won't just be cos I'm sleeping with the captain," she said.
Harry went bright red, and most of the Gryffindor table choked on their food.
"I'm kidding," Buffy said, laughing and shaking her head.
Most everyone breathed sighs of relief. Harry on the other hand, just poked Buffy in the ribs, making her squirm.
"You'll pay for that Summers."
She grinned at him and kissed his cheek. "Counting on it."
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Ooo double update. Aren't you just lucky bunnies. Actually it's just cos I realised how slow this thing seems to be going. Oh well. It gets better, honest!
SNEAK PREVIEW:
Oliver Wood returns to Hogwarts and sparks fly between the former Quidditch captain and the new Quidditch Captain's girlfriend.
*grins* Toodles.