Disclaimer: Everything you recognize is J.K. Rowling's and the rest belongs to me- In other words, just the plot and the student-characters are mine. Most of the professors are J.K.'s with like one or two exceptions, and the setting and Hogwarts and the Magical world and eeevvvverrrryyythiiinnngg else you know is hers . is hers! Not mine. Hers. =)
AN: Hope this doesn't turn out too bad, this is my first time trying this and usually I end up getting off my focus when it comes to fan fictions. But, I persist anyway. Enjoy, and make sure you review at the end because I want to know what you think of it, even if you would rather read a week-old newspaper. Yup, criticize to your heart's desire.
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Chapter One- First Day Jitters? Not here!
Carissa Leighton slowly walked into King's Cross Station with her mother's hand clasped on her shoulder as she led her daughter past all the platforms. Her large aqua blue eyes had a look of curiosity playing in the swirl of color, but there was a bit of anxiety in the mix too.
"A little quicker, Caris," her mother told her, pulling her through the hustle and bustle of Muggles. She nodded in response, although it was unseen to her frantic mother who was already panicking as the clock struck 10:45.
Both mother and daughter slipped through the barrier separating the Muggle and magical worlds, blending in seamlessly with the crowd and disappearing just as well.
"I want to go hooome," Carissa moaned, stopping dead in her tracks as she began to think about leaving so many things behind. But, like a mother bird teaching her child to fly, April Leighton would hear nothing of it- she knew how much Carissa would enjoy being at Hogwarts.
"Trust me, sweetie, you'll love it at Hogwarts," she assured Carissa easily, and she was quite confident in her words, "Just wait until you make all new friends, you won't want to come home in July." She flicked a long auburn tress of hair out of her eyes and looked around, trying to spot potential friends for Carissa- one mother and daughter in particular stood out. Both looked a lot alike, owning light brown hair and the brightest green eyes she had ever seen.
As if struck by a lightning bolt, right when Carissa saw the Hogwarts Express looming in front of her, her eyes sparked and took on a new look. Her face brightened and she was keen on getting to Hogwarts ASAP- no exceptions.
"Bye Mom!" Carissa said, walking backwards to wave and smile at her mother, who was looking rather gloomy to see her daughter leave. She turned around just in time to catch herself from falling as she walked right into the light-brown haired girl that her mother had spotted earlier.
"Oof!" Carissa said, slipping back slightly but keeping her stance, "I'm really sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going."
Fortunately the girl smiled and promptly stuck out her hand. "No worries, great to meet you though," she said enthusiastically, which put Carissa at ease instantly, "I'm Laney Hudson and this is my first year, same with you I guess?"
"Yep, and I'm Carissa Leighton," she answered without delay, a friendly smile appearing on her face, "Do you know anyone here? I don't, so I'm actually kind of glad I walked into you, no offense."
"Only the psycho who walked into me," Laney said, straining to keep her expression blank.
Both girls laughed light-heartedly soon and boarded the train, trying to find an empty compartment that they could occupy. After making a full round on the train and finding not one vacant one, they gave up and pulled open the doors on one.
"Um, do you mind if we sit here?" Laney asked quickly, looking at the two boys that were sitting their. One was rather tall, about 5'5" and had dark black hair that was spiked up in no particular fashion and the other had sandy blonde hair that seemed to have a life of its own in a ruffled up, just-got-out-of-bed look. But, Laney had to admit it suited him well.
"'Course not," the sandy-blonde said quickly.
"Squeeze a cheek," Carissa warned with a grin as she plopped down comfortably next to the black-haired boy. "And, what're your names? I'm Carissa Leighton and this is Laney Hudson," she announced, taking the initiative to introduce both herself and Laney.
"I'm Carson Dalton," the black-haired boy reported, "and this here is Tyger Flynn."
Laney raised her eyebrows in approval at both boys, as if she had been paying close attention to them. "So, what house do you guys want to get in? I was hoping for Gryffindor, but I guess Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad," she said thoughtfully, making a bit of conversation between the strangers.
"I second that, I'm praying for Gryffindor," Carissa said with a nod of approval. Her shoulder-length brown hair swayed back and forth, threatening to escape from the restriction of her ears.
"Yup," Carson said simply.
"And, I guess we can safely say that we've got four Gryffindor hopefuls here," Tyger finished, looking out the windows at the top of the compartment doors.
It seems someone outside must have heard that last comment, because the compartment doors flung open revealing a short boy with a pale complexion and pale red hair that looked as if it had been in a sunny window for years- although his skin color contradicted that.
"Gryffindors?" he said in a disgusted voice, his nose crinkling to add drama to his cold words, "What a bunch of rubbish. Oh great, we've got a Flynn and a Dalton in the same compartment sharing their dreams. Why don't you too start snuggling for good luck?" He chuckled at his own joke to which there was no other response. "And who are you two?" he demanded, his cold silver eyes turning towards Laney and Carissa.
"Your new enemies," Carissa responded promptly, getting to her feet and sliding the doors closed forcefully, blocking out the annoyance.
Laney looked admirably up at Carissa, as if she wished she could prove herself to the other three people so naturally. "Great job, Carissa, you showed them!" she complimented, high-fiving her fellow brunette.
Carson grinned and pealed with laughter at the shocked look on Carissa's victim's face, which he would later proclaim as being the highlight of his day- no, wait, week. "Little firecracker, aren't ya?" he said to her teasingly.
"-And the fuse is burning low," Carissa finished with a smile, "Who is that kid, anyway? Before you tell me, let me take a guess. He's some rich snob with lots of money and a long line of Slytherin relatives?"
"Exactly!" Carson and Tyger proclaimed at the exact same time. Laney obviously found this rather amusing, for she burst into laughter. "Alexander Adelmonte," Carson finished dryly.
The four eleven-year-olds chatted about everything and anything for hours that seemed to pass in seconds to them, and before they knew it the lady with the tray of snacks had long since passed and the Hogwarts Express was approaching the castle.
"Look, there it is!" someone called loudly, since it was heard in the compartment where Laney, Carson, Tyger, and Carissa were still talking, currently about Muggle sports verses Magical ones.
"Ooh! Look how beautiful it is," Laney said dreamily, whipping around to look out the window. The silhouette of a majestic and large castle came into everyone's view, and for one of the first times all four were speechless.
"Well, I can tell you one thing," Tyger said, breaking the silence, "it looks a lot different than my brother told me. He said it looked like the White House! I mean, come on, this is like a night and that's day!"
Everyone laughed and turned back around, readying their bags and luggage to be moved.
The witch who had rolled by with the food cart before again came walking by the doors, yelling out, "Get your things ready, we're almost there!" and by the time she had passed the door twice Carson was having a hard time resisting the urge to tell her to just shut up already.
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After half of the train had emptied, Carissa walked out first followed by Laney and then Tyger and Carson at the back. The four of them carted their bags off the train, which were taken into carriages to be sent up to whichever House each student was sorted into.
"FIRS' 'EARS O'ER HERE!" a strong voice called out.
A pack of younger students followed and saw a large man, in all ways, standing on the edge of the lake. A gathering of regular rowboats were lined up on the shore.
"FOUR TO A BOAT! ONLY FOUR!" it continued.
Laney and Carissa glanced at each other and Tyger and Carson did the same. But, by the time a shuffle of students had passed through, almost all of them were separated. By luck, Carissa and Laney ended up together, along with a boy by the name of Darrell and a black-haired Asian girl named Jamie.
"Hey," Laney and Carissa said simultaneously to Jamie and Darrell.
"Hi," Jamie said shyly, "I'm Jamie Ellison."
"And I'm Darrell Taylor," the brown-haired boy finished.
Throughout the rest of the boat ride the four remained silent, mostly gazing up at the towering castle that was making a dark shadow as the sun set. A few times the choppy lake waters misted over the edge getting just about all of them somewhat wet, but none of them cared much.
"NOW, FOLLOW ME 'VERYONE!" the giant man bellowed, his burly stance alone causing all of the firsties to stop in their tracks and scurry through a set of large doors that led into the castle.
Immediately inside stood a tall, stately lady with a taut bun mid-way down her head and pursed red lips.
"Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I'm Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress," she greeted them all formally once everyone had filed in, "and if you'll follow me, we can get started."
She turned around and led the students across the flagstone floor and into a small chamber on the left. Once inside, she waited for everyone to quiet down before giving a short, to-the-point speech.
"The Welcoming Feast will take place shortly, but our first priority is the Sorting. Here at Hogwarts there are four noble Houses- Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin," Professor McGonagall began, "All of the Houses are known to produce outstanding wizards and witches, although their qualities differ. Your House plays a major role in the time you spend at Hogwarts, for you'll be sleeping in your House dormitories, spending spare time in the common room, and going to classes with your fellow house-mates."
She paused to take a breath before continuing.
"And now, I advise you all to spruce yourselves up for the Sorting," she finished, "for it will be starting quite soon." She turned and walked out of the chamber, the echo of her heeled shoes clicking against the floor leaving the only noise.
"How exactly are we Sorted?" Carissa asked loudly, to the group in general.
A heavy silence followed.
"Well, well, well," a repetitive voice drawled, "why should I tell you?"
Carissa and Laney's heads flicked around to see none other than Alexander, the boy that they had somewhat 'met' on the train, standing there with his arms crossed over his chest and a smirk on his pale face.
"Just don't, I regret the question," Carissa decided swiftly.
Alexander shrugged, raising one eyebrow, and stalked back over to the other side of the chamber.
Before anything else could be said, though, Professor McGonagall appeared at the door, beckoning the first years forward. "Time to be Sorted," she said simply, leading them into the Great Hall.
"Whoa, cool!" someone shouted from the back of the line. Everyone in line turned around, causing the boy's face to turn beet red.
"Quiet down!" Professor McGonagall said sharply, stopping for a moment before continuing towards a table near the Professors'. Sitting atop a stool was a ragged looking hat that showed no special traits at first. But, by the time everyone was seated, it proved otherwise.
Welcome to Hogwarts,
Where you'll learn a thing or two,
About how you can change the sky,
To green instead of blue.
A slit in the bottom of the hat just above the brim sang out in a cheery voice. Carissa shot a glance at Laney, although the girl's startling green eyes were only directed at the hat. Once it had finished singing its song, the whole room erupted in clapping.
Professor McGonagall stood up from her seat at the Professors' Table with a long, unraveled scroll clutched in her hands.
"Acurso, Tyler!" she called out first.
A short, somewhat pudgy boy stood up, nervously making his way over to the stool. Please not Gryffindor! Carissa thought, since her mind was already made up that that would be her House.
Tyler Acurso jammed the hat over his head and sat upon the stool, his feet dangling down.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted after ten seconds of contemplation. The Fat Friar's facial expression changed to a grin as Tyler scuttled over to the Ravenclaw table, plopping down on the end of one bench.
And so the sorting continued, each House receiving a bundle of new students. Not to Carissa's surprise, or Laney's for that matter, Alexander Adelmonte joined the Slytherins. Finally, Professor McGonagall called out, "Leighton, Carissa!"
Carissa stood up, her slender body and long legs taking her over to the Sorting Hat quickly. She gently set it atop her shoulder-length chestnut locks.
"GRYFFINDOR!" it shouted instantly, to her utmost joy.
The Gryffindor Table erupted in hoots, hollers, clapping, and a few whistles as Carissa proudly made her way over, sitting down next to Laney who had been sorted into Gryffindor as well. Unfortunately, Carson had been sent to Ravenclaw and Tyger was in Hufflepuff, but Jamie Ellison and Darrell Taylor were also officially Gryffindors.
After what seemed like an eternity, a tall man stood up at the center of the Professors' Table, clad in deep blue robes with silver edging. A startling white beard trailed down to his waist, and the same coloured hair sat atop his head.
"Welcome, young and old," Albus Dumbledore announced, a twinkle in his eyes, "to another year at lovable, huggable Hogwarts. Instead of wasting your time on a boring old speech, I'll just enlighten you with two more words: Chow time!"
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AN: Okay, that's all for now. Enough for one chapter, I guess. If you like it and want more, review! If you hate it and aren't going to bother reading one more letter of it, review anyway! Good reviews will lead to updates, of course. Cheers!
