Chapter 7-New students and staffs at Hogwarts
The Grand Hall was magnificent, as usual. It was decorated magically everywhere. All four-house banners were hung above their house tables. The lion, badger, snake and raven were all animated and doing their own actions. Lots of students were already seated at their house tables. Ron, Hermione and Harry walked to their house tables and met Neville Longbottom with a couple of classmates. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were peeping excitedly into a small quivering box. They all exchanged hellos and Harry, Ron and Hermione sat on empty seats. Hermione craned her neck and looked around.
"Who're you looking for?" asked Harry, following Hermione's gaze.
"Someone." She replied curtly.
"Malfoy's at his house table." Harry stated a matter of factly. "And he's waving at you."
Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to look over at Slytherin's table. Malfoy caught her eye and winked at her. Hermione moaned aloud and turned away, still searching for someone.
"Ok, if not Malfoy." Harry paused to stroke his chin and think. "How about Jeremy?"
Hermione jumped a little at the sound of his name.
"Why on earth would I want to search for Jeremy?" she asked hotly.
Ron raised an eyebrow as though the answer was very obvious. "Because you like him?" he said slowly. "Duh!"
Hermione started to blush furiously.
"Oh, look! There's your lover boy!" Harry said suddenly, pointing to Jeremy who was sitting at the other end of the Gryffindor table, talking to a group of friends and a very pretty girl sitting next to him. Jeremy looked up and spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione. He waved, said something to his friends and stood up with the pretty girl and another guy following him.
"Hey guys, zup?" Jeremy said as he reached Harry. They shook hands again and Jeremy, the girl and the other guy sat on empty seats next to Ron. Jeremy leaned over and crossed his arms.
"Hey, J, you're in Gryffindor too?" asked Ron.
"Actually, I haven't been told what house I'm in yet. I have to wait for the Sorting, right?" Jeremy asked.
"Right, the Sorting. It's going to start soon." Harry said.
"Yeah. Hope I'm in Gryffindor." He said hopefully, and then said, "Guys, meet my friends."
He pointed to the pretty girl. "This is Hailie Landers, one of my best buddies. She's in 6th grade this year. She's also from my hometown. You guys are in 6th grade, right?"
Hermione nodded and Jeremy smiled. "Great," He said, "You'll be classmates."
Hailie smiled shyly and shook their hands. "Nice to meet you." she said softly.
Harry took her hand and smiled, saying, "Welcome to Hogwarts, Hailie, you're going to have a blast."
"And this," Jeremy punched the guy playfully on the shoulder, "Is my ever popular, funny and nice bestest best pal of all times, the one and only, Steven Dalton!"
Steven smiled a smile sort of similar to the Darlie Advertistment smile and shook hands with all of them.
"Hey, any friend of Jer's a friend of mine!" he said, beaming.
Ron looked at Steven, shook his hand and said, "I think I'm going to like you a lot!"
The Hall was beginning to fill up with students and teachers. A bald man with only a little hair at his ears stepped up at Professor Dumbledore's place. He magiked a horn out of thin air and it blasted loudly, causing the hanging crystal lights hung up high above the Hogwarts ceiling to tingle dangerously. The candelabras that were floating around giving out light were blown back by the wind of the blast and their light burned out. They grumbled angrily, stuck out their tongue at the bald man and placed the tip of their heads into the fireplace for a while and walked away, with their tips alight again.
The Hall became totally quiet. The man cleared his throat and spoke in a clear tone.
"Welcome, all students of Hogwarts, to another brilliant year at Hogwarts. I know, you all are thinking 'What the heck is that old goat doing standing up there saying Albus's open speech?' Well, I'm here to tell you now, so listen up. Albus would not be here this year due to a very special event to him. He would be taking a year off to spend time with his parents to celebrate their 500th Golden Anniversary. Clap, people!"
The students began clapping.
"Ok, stop. As you all know because Hogwarts cannot run without a Headmaster, I'll be your substitute Headmaster for the year. Clap, students!"
The students clapped again.
"Stop. Now please allow me to introduce myself. I am Reuben Redford, Durmstrang's past year's headmaster. I was called forward to substitute for Albus Dumbledore, which is an honor for me, since we all know the famous Albus Dumbledore, the powerful and humble Dumbledore." He said this with deep respect and a tear forming at the corner of his eye was visible.
"I would also like all of you to welcome the newest teacher at Hogwarts, your newest Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, Miss Elizabeth Cheston!" Mr. Redford pointed at the Great Hall Entrance Door and it swung open majestically. A lady wearing a Hogwarts teacher's robe walked in, swinging her hips weirdly. All eyes were on her as she made her way to the high table. She sat down on an empty seat next to Professor McGonagall and scanned around the Hall, observing all the students with her small, fierce looking eyes.
"Okay, everyone, give a round of applause for Miss Cheston!" Mr. Redford clapped his hands and the Hall followed suit.
"I hope you all would make Miss Cheston comfortable in this school, since it's her first time teaching. Don't bully her now, she has a pretty bad temper, you know." He looked at Miss Cheston and winked. "That's all you need to know now, so let the feast begin!"
He waved his hand and all the empty plates that were laid on the table were filled up with magnificent food of all sorts. Everyone started eating immediately, and the chatter started again. The teachers sitting at the high table also started eating and making conversation with other teachers.
"Mmmm, this is good stuff." Ron said as he gobbled everything up.
Harry looked at him in disgust and started on his own food. Jeremy and Hailie looked impressed at the food and started trying out all the different kinds of food. Hermione was just pushing her food around with the end of her fork, staring at Jeremy's cute face while he was eating.
The feast ended after a while, when all of the students were full. The plates were cleared and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Reuben Redford stood up again. He cleared his throat and said briefly, "Now for the Sorting!"
Professor McGonagall appeared out of nowhere, carrying the tattered Sorting Hat that was sitting on a plush cushion. She placed it on a chair and walked back to her seat.
Everyone was quiet for a while and the Hat opened up his brim and started singing the Hogwarts's song. After it was done, everyone clapped and Professor McGonagall stood next to the Hat. She magiked a long piece of parchment and started calling out the entire first-years names. It took quite a while, seeing that there were so many new first-years.
Finally, after "Zakariah, Danny" was called, Professor McGonagall magiked another piece of parchment that was much shorter then the first and started calling out the new students name.
"Amsden, Jeremy!" she called, looking out of breathe.
Jeremy got up, gave a thumbs up to his friends and jogged over to the hat.
"Yo, cute Hat!" Jeremy said as he picked it up and placed it on his head.
Hermione was praying and praying, keeping her fingers crossed and mumbling 'Please let him be Gryffindor' under her breath.
The Hat kept quiet for a while and then shouted 'Gryffindor!'
The Gryffindor table gave a loud applause as Jeremy made his way back to the Gryffindor table. A few other student's name were called and then, 'Dalton, Steven!"
Jeremy gave his buddy a thumbs up as he walked up to the Hat. It took a little while for the Hat to say, 'Gryffindor!'
Steven happily walked back to his place and slapped all his friends high fives.
'Ianthe, Heather's name was called and Harry, Ron and Hermione looked up. The vain girl they had met on the train made her was briskly to the Hat, placed it on her perfectly tied head and sat down.
"Slytherin!" The Hat shouted at once. She looked satisfied as she took the hat off and walked to the Slytherin table, where she was greeted warmly.
"Landers, Hailie!"
Jeremy and Steven patted her on her back as she made her way nervously to the Hat.
"This is definitely a Gryffindor!" Someone said as she walked past the Ravenclaw table.
She took the Hat meekly from the chair and placed it on her head. "Gryffindor!" The Hat said loudly.
Hailie looked so happy she ran all the way back to the Gryffindor table and hugged all of her friends. When the last name was called, everyone gave a sigh of relief and stretched themselves.
Mr. Redford got up again. "Prefects, please lead all students back to their dormitories! I wish you all a pleasant night!"
Malfoy immediately sprang up from his place at the sound of 'Prefect' and walked proudly to the front.
Everyone was led back to their dormitories and they were all given the same room they had every year and everyone fell asleep almost immediately.
The Grand Hall was magnificent, as usual. It was decorated magically everywhere. All four-house banners were hung above their house tables. The lion, badger, snake and raven were all animated and doing their own actions. Lots of students were already seated at their house tables. Ron, Hermione and Harry walked to their house tables and met Neville Longbottom with a couple of classmates. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were peeping excitedly into a small quivering box. They all exchanged hellos and Harry, Ron and Hermione sat on empty seats. Hermione craned her neck and looked around.
"Who're you looking for?" asked Harry, following Hermione's gaze.
"Someone." She replied curtly.
"Malfoy's at his house table." Harry stated a matter of factly. "And he's waving at you."
Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to look over at Slytherin's table. Malfoy caught her eye and winked at her. Hermione moaned aloud and turned away, still searching for someone.
"Ok, if not Malfoy." Harry paused to stroke his chin and think. "How about Jeremy?"
Hermione jumped a little at the sound of his name.
"Why on earth would I want to search for Jeremy?" she asked hotly.
Ron raised an eyebrow as though the answer was very obvious. "Because you like him?" he said slowly. "Duh!"
Hermione started to blush furiously.
"Oh, look! There's your lover boy!" Harry said suddenly, pointing to Jeremy who was sitting at the other end of the Gryffindor table, talking to a group of friends and a very pretty girl sitting next to him. Jeremy looked up and spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione. He waved, said something to his friends and stood up with the pretty girl and another guy following him.
"Hey guys, zup?" Jeremy said as he reached Harry. They shook hands again and Jeremy, the girl and the other guy sat on empty seats next to Ron. Jeremy leaned over and crossed his arms.
"Hey, J, you're in Gryffindor too?" asked Ron.
"Actually, I haven't been told what house I'm in yet. I have to wait for the Sorting, right?" Jeremy asked.
"Right, the Sorting. It's going to start soon." Harry said.
"Yeah. Hope I'm in Gryffindor." He said hopefully, and then said, "Guys, meet my friends."
He pointed to the pretty girl. "This is Hailie Landers, one of my best buddies. She's in 6th grade this year. She's also from my hometown. You guys are in 6th grade, right?"
Hermione nodded and Jeremy smiled. "Great," He said, "You'll be classmates."
Hailie smiled shyly and shook their hands. "Nice to meet you." she said softly.
Harry took her hand and smiled, saying, "Welcome to Hogwarts, Hailie, you're going to have a blast."
"And this," Jeremy punched the guy playfully on the shoulder, "Is my ever popular, funny and nice bestest best pal of all times, the one and only, Steven Dalton!"
Steven smiled a smile sort of similar to the Darlie Advertistment smile and shook hands with all of them.
"Hey, any friend of Jer's a friend of mine!" he said, beaming.
Ron looked at Steven, shook his hand and said, "I think I'm going to like you a lot!"
The Hall was beginning to fill up with students and teachers. A bald man with only a little hair at his ears stepped up at Professor Dumbledore's place. He magiked a horn out of thin air and it blasted loudly, causing the hanging crystal lights hung up high above the Hogwarts ceiling to tingle dangerously. The candelabras that were floating around giving out light were blown back by the wind of the blast and their light burned out. They grumbled angrily, stuck out their tongue at the bald man and placed the tip of their heads into the fireplace for a while and walked away, with their tips alight again.
The Hall became totally quiet. The man cleared his throat and spoke in a clear tone.
"Welcome, all students of Hogwarts, to another brilliant year at Hogwarts. I know, you all are thinking 'What the heck is that old goat doing standing up there saying Albus's open speech?' Well, I'm here to tell you now, so listen up. Albus would not be here this year due to a very special event to him. He would be taking a year off to spend time with his parents to celebrate their 500th Golden Anniversary. Clap, people!"
The students began clapping.
"Ok, stop. As you all know because Hogwarts cannot run without a Headmaster, I'll be your substitute Headmaster for the year. Clap, students!"
The students clapped again.
"Stop. Now please allow me to introduce myself. I am Reuben Redford, Durmstrang's past year's headmaster. I was called forward to substitute for Albus Dumbledore, which is an honor for me, since we all know the famous Albus Dumbledore, the powerful and humble Dumbledore." He said this with deep respect and a tear forming at the corner of his eye was visible.
"I would also like all of you to welcome the newest teacher at Hogwarts, your newest Defence Against The Dark Arts teacher, Miss Elizabeth Cheston!" Mr. Redford pointed at the Great Hall Entrance Door and it swung open majestically. A lady wearing a Hogwarts teacher's robe walked in, swinging her hips weirdly. All eyes were on her as she made her way to the high table. She sat down on an empty seat next to Professor McGonagall and scanned around the Hall, observing all the students with her small, fierce looking eyes.
"Okay, everyone, give a round of applause for Miss Cheston!" Mr. Redford clapped his hands and the Hall followed suit.
"I hope you all would make Miss Cheston comfortable in this school, since it's her first time teaching. Don't bully her now, she has a pretty bad temper, you know." He looked at Miss Cheston and winked. "That's all you need to know now, so let the feast begin!"
He waved his hand and all the empty plates that were laid on the table were filled up with magnificent food of all sorts. Everyone started eating immediately, and the chatter started again. The teachers sitting at the high table also started eating and making conversation with other teachers.
"Mmmm, this is good stuff." Ron said as he gobbled everything up.
Harry looked at him in disgust and started on his own food. Jeremy and Hailie looked impressed at the food and started trying out all the different kinds of food. Hermione was just pushing her food around with the end of her fork, staring at Jeremy's cute face while he was eating.
The feast ended after a while, when all of the students were full. The plates were cleared and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Reuben Redford stood up again. He cleared his throat and said briefly, "Now for the Sorting!"
Professor McGonagall appeared out of nowhere, carrying the tattered Sorting Hat that was sitting on a plush cushion. She placed it on a chair and walked back to her seat.
Everyone was quiet for a while and the Hat opened up his brim and started singing the Hogwarts's song. After it was done, everyone clapped and Professor McGonagall stood next to the Hat. She magiked a long piece of parchment and started calling out the entire first-years names. It took quite a while, seeing that there were so many new first-years.
Finally, after "Zakariah, Danny" was called, Professor McGonagall magiked another piece of parchment that was much shorter then the first and started calling out the new students name.
"Amsden, Jeremy!" she called, looking out of breathe.
Jeremy got up, gave a thumbs up to his friends and jogged over to the hat.
"Yo, cute Hat!" Jeremy said as he picked it up and placed it on his head.
Hermione was praying and praying, keeping her fingers crossed and mumbling 'Please let him be Gryffindor' under her breath.
The Hat kept quiet for a while and then shouted 'Gryffindor!'
The Gryffindor table gave a loud applause as Jeremy made his way back to the Gryffindor table. A few other student's name were called and then, 'Dalton, Steven!"
Jeremy gave his buddy a thumbs up as he walked up to the Hat. It took a little while for the Hat to say, 'Gryffindor!'
Steven happily walked back to his place and slapped all his friends high fives.
'Ianthe, Heather's name was called and Harry, Ron and Hermione looked up. The vain girl they had met on the train made her was briskly to the Hat, placed it on her perfectly tied head and sat down.
"Slytherin!" The Hat shouted at once. She looked satisfied as she took the hat off and walked to the Slytherin table, where she was greeted warmly.
"Landers, Hailie!"
Jeremy and Steven patted her on her back as she made her way nervously to the Hat.
"This is definitely a Gryffindor!" Someone said as she walked past the Ravenclaw table.
She took the Hat meekly from the chair and placed it on her head. "Gryffindor!" The Hat said loudly.
Hailie looked so happy she ran all the way back to the Gryffindor table and hugged all of her friends. When the last name was called, everyone gave a sigh of relief and stretched themselves.
Mr. Redford got up again. "Prefects, please lead all students back to their dormitories! I wish you all a pleasant night!"
Malfoy immediately sprang up from his place at the sound of 'Prefect' and walked proudly to the front.
Everyone was led back to their dormitories and they were all given the same room they had every year and everyone fell asleep almost immediately.