Just a Random Thought: You'll have plenty of time to sleep when you're
dead.
Artemis disappeared into a boat, cuddled on Hagrid's lap. She had returned to Hogwarts numerous times over the month, and had become great friends with Hagrid, who seemed to recognize the girl's need to be. . . protected, in a way. Cared for. Hagrid yelled at the first-year filled boats to move, and the motley group set off across the chilled lake.
Artemis, warm and snug in Hagrid's arms, nearly fell asleep again. *funny,* she thought, * a two-hour nap that I shouldn't have needed in the middle of the day, and it's barely 6:15 and I'm exhausted. . .* Then it clicked. She hadn't fully regenerated. She'd taken back energy, yes, but she had expelled so much of the 4 Elements that the 2 that hadn't been used hadn't been enough. Going into a sort of trance, a kind of half-awake state, she regained some energy by the time the boats had slipped into the sub-castle cave and touched shore.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, Harry and the others were entering the Great Hall. Calling greetings to the people the four hadn't seen all summer, they took their places at Gryffindor table. Hermione's eyes immediately began to scan the high table.
"Who ya looking for, Hermione?"
Not even glancing at the questioning Ron, she answered irritably, "Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, of course!"
Ron shrugged and looked up at the high table along side her. "Well, Hagrid sits at the end, and he's with the first-years. . ."
"And Artemis." Interjected Hermione.
"And Artemis. That leaves two other seats. . ."
The seat three to Dumbledore's right was empty, as was the one to his immediate left.
"Snape's missing," noted Ron.
"Maybe he's left?" offered Harry, who had now joined the pondering.
"No such luck," sighed Ron as Snape entered from a side door. Beside him was a tall, tall African man in black robes with raven, blue-black hair. He was built in proportion to his height, which meant that his shoulders were broad and, seen from the back, he looked like the kind of person you didn't want to meet in a dark alley at night. However, his face was dark, with a wide, pleasant smile that gave him the air of someone friendly and easy to talk to. He tipped his head sideways, being half a head taller than Snape, to hear what he said.
"Looks like we've found our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Harry liked the look of him immediately. So did Ron. Hermione thought he looked rather imposing, and said so.
"Isn't he rather. . . tall?" She said in a small voice.
True, the man must have been 6 foot 6 inches. But the trustworthy look on his face banished the ability to think of him in any way other than a good one.
Ron looked over at Hermione in amazement. "Tall? Well, he sure isn't vertically challenged!" looking back at the man, he hald-whispered in awe, "Bloody heck, the guy would make a brilliant Quidditch player! I'd watch the bludgers 24/7 if he was a beater on the other team!"
Snape and the man took their seats, the new teacher beside Dumbledore, Snape three seats away from the Headmaster. Dumbledore leaned over and whispered in McGonagall's ear. She nodded and left the Hall by the side door.
Dumbledore suddenly stood up and cleared his throat. The Hall went silent.
"Students, welcome back for what is sure to be another exciting year! I know you must all be famished-" as if in response to this, Ron's stomach growled loudly "-and wish to begin the feast. Therefore, let the Sorting commence before I disclose some. . . information." Dumbledore sat down and McGonagall entered the room, the first years behind her in a straight line. Artemis stood, a head taller than all of them, at the very end.
The room filled with whispers. Right beside Harry, Neville hissed at Seamus. "There's no WAY she's 11!"
"She's not." Ron buzzed at them. "We saw her on the train. We thought she was a Seventh-Year, or something. . ."
"How old is she?"
Ron shrugged. "No idea."
Turning back towards the stage, they saw the a rip near the rim of the hat open.
"You must heed the warning,
I have given you before,
I am made to separate,
What should be 1 into 4.
I regret that I do the job,
And so horribly divide,
But you must look beyond the boundaries,
And see the good inside.
Gryffindor the strong
Ravenclaw the wise,
Slytherine the clever,
Hufflepuff the kind.
All have different qualities,
But within all the same,
All belong to the same race,
And therefore all unchanged.
Evil brews beyond the walls,
That shield us from Him,
And we must join for good of all,
To defeat Voldemort's sin.
So follow the path of justice,
Follow one and all,
United we will stand,
Divided we will fall.
I will leave my warning here,
But take a parting shot:
Some are beyond salvation,
But those in here are not."
A shiver had run through the Hall at Voldemort's name, but now, silence followed this pronouncement.
Then Artemis began to clap, slowly at first. Dumbledore and Hagrid joined in, to be followed by Ron, McGonagall, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and gradually the rest of the staff and the students were clapping for the hat.
The clapping died away. McGonagall stood, and called out "Balhams, Judy!"
The Sorting 'commenced' as Dumbledore would say. The first-years were separated from 1 into 4. Harry wondered if he had imagined it, but he thought that the hat seemed to say each word grudgingly. He didn't want to divide them. Or so it would seem.
Finally, all the new ones had been sorted into their respective houses. Dumbledore stood up as McGonagall took her seat once more.
"As you can see, we have a new addition to our school community. She's from Canada, and she will be joining the sixth-years. Her name is-"
Here Dumbledore paused. Glancing at Artemis, he inquired, "Would you like to say it?"
Artemis nodded. "Alexandra Robert Tryana Eve Manticori Inspiration Sarah Delta Andromeda." Bowing her head ever so slightly towards the assembled students, she added as an afterthought, "But Artemis will do."
The students stared.
Dumbledore gave his trademark serene smile and nodded towards the hat. "If you will, Artemis."
Artemis walked forwards and sat on the stool. Just as the hat dropped over her eyes, Ron could've sworn he saw her wink. Then her eyes were hidden, and she was being Sorted.
Long minutes past by. 2, then 3. 5. 6. 7 minutes. Sit in silence for 7 minutes and you will realize how long this is. At 7 minutes and 37 seconds, Artemis ground her teeth and grumbled, "Good Gatekeepers, I'm MISCHIEF for Guardian's sake!!!" Then the hat uttered what was unmistakably a scream.
Dumbledore jumped up. The hat stopped screaming and started to talk in a voice an octave higher than usual. "Dumbledore, you haven't told me the truth! This girl. . ."
Artemis ripped off the hat. "Be quiet, you idiot! Listen to me, will you?"
Artemis jammed the hat back on her head and sat, frowning and concentrating, as Dumbledore stood, frozen, leaning forward over the high table. A minute passed. Then,
"Gryffindor!"
No-one clapped.
Artemis took the hat off, stood up and, with a flourish, handed it to Dumbledore.
"Poor guy. Slightly psychologically scarred, but he'll be alright. . ." Giving one of her slightly mad grins, she turned, hopped of the stage and headed for the Gryffindor table.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
So. . . what ya'll think?!?!?
Review. It's good for your health! (not to mention my ego. . .)
Artemis disappeared into a boat, cuddled on Hagrid's lap. She had returned to Hogwarts numerous times over the month, and had become great friends with Hagrid, who seemed to recognize the girl's need to be. . . protected, in a way. Cared for. Hagrid yelled at the first-year filled boats to move, and the motley group set off across the chilled lake.
Artemis, warm and snug in Hagrid's arms, nearly fell asleep again. *funny,* she thought, * a two-hour nap that I shouldn't have needed in the middle of the day, and it's barely 6:15 and I'm exhausted. . .* Then it clicked. She hadn't fully regenerated. She'd taken back energy, yes, but she had expelled so much of the 4 Elements that the 2 that hadn't been used hadn't been enough. Going into a sort of trance, a kind of half-awake state, she regained some energy by the time the boats had slipped into the sub-castle cave and touched shore.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Meanwhile, Harry and the others were entering the Great Hall. Calling greetings to the people the four hadn't seen all summer, they took their places at Gryffindor table. Hermione's eyes immediately began to scan the high table.
"Who ya looking for, Hermione?"
Not even glancing at the questioning Ron, she answered irritably, "Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, of course!"
Ron shrugged and looked up at the high table along side her. "Well, Hagrid sits at the end, and he's with the first-years. . ."
"And Artemis." Interjected Hermione.
"And Artemis. That leaves two other seats. . ."
The seat three to Dumbledore's right was empty, as was the one to his immediate left.
"Snape's missing," noted Ron.
"Maybe he's left?" offered Harry, who had now joined the pondering.
"No such luck," sighed Ron as Snape entered from a side door. Beside him was a tall, tall African man in black robes with raven, blue-black hair. He was built in proportion to his height, which meant that his shoulders were broad and, seen from the back, he looked like the kind of person you didn't want to meet in a dark alley at night. However, his face was dark, with a wide, pleasant smile that gave him the air of someone friendly and easy to talk to. He tipped his head sideways, being half a head taller than Snape, to hear what he said.
"Looks like we've found our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Harry liked the look of him immediately. So did Ron. Hermione thought he looked rather imposing, and said so.
"Isn't he rather. . . tall?" She said in a small voice.
True, the man must have been 6 foot 6 inches. But the trustworthy look on his face banished the ability to think of him in any way other than a good one.
Ron looked over at Hermione in amazement. "Tall? Well, he sure isn't vertically challenged!" looking back at the man, he hald-whispered in awe, "Bloody heck, the guy would make a brilliant Quidditch player! I'd watch the bludgers 24/7 if he was a beater on the other team!"
Snape and the man took their seats, the new teacher beside Dumbledore, Snape three seats away from the Headmaster. Dumbledore leaned over and whispered in McGonagall's ear. She nodded and left the Hall by the side door.
Dumbledore suddenly stood up and cleared his throat. The Hall went silent.
"Students, welcome back for what is sure to be another exciting year! I know you must all be famished-" as if in response to this, Ron's stomach growled loudly "-and wish to begin the feast. Therefore, let the Sorting commence before I disclose some. . . information." Dumbledore sat down and McGonagall entered the room, the first years behind her in a straight line. Artemis stood, a head taller than all of them, at the very end.
The room filled with whispers. Right beside Harry, Neville hissed at Seamus. "There's no WAY she's 11!"
"She's not." Ron buzzed at them. "We saw her on the train. We thought she was a Seventh-Year, or something. . ."
"How old is she?"
Ron shrugged. "No idea."
Turning back towards the stage, they saw the a rip near the rim of the hat open.
"You must heed the warning,
I have given you before,
I am made to separate,
What should be 1 into 4.
I regret that I do the job,
And so horribly divide,
But you must look beyond the boundaries,
And see the good inside.
Gryffindor the strong
Ravenclaw the wise,
Slytherine the clever,
Hufflepuff the kind.
All have different qualities,
But within all the same,
All belong to the same race,
And therefore all unchanged.
Evil brews beyond the walls,
That shield us from Him,
And we must join for good of all,
To defeat Voldemort's sin.
So follow the path of justice,
Follow one and all,
United we will stand,
Divided we will fall.
I will leave my warning here,
But take a parting shot:
Some are beyond salvation,
But those in here are not."
A shiver had run through the Hall at Voldemort's name, but now, silence followed this pronouncement.
Then Artemis began to clap, slowly at first. Dumbledore and Hagrid joined in, to be followed by Ron, McGonagall, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, and gradually the rest of the staff and the students were clapping for the hat.
The clapping died away. McGonagall stood, and called out "Balhams, Judy!"
The Sorting 'commenced' as Dumbledore would say. The first-years were separated from 1 into 4. Harry wondered if he had imagined it, but he thought that the hat seemed to say each word grudgingly. He didn't want to divide them. Or so it would seem.
Finally, all the new ones had been sorted into their respective houses. Dumbledore stood up as McGonagall took her seat once more.
"As you can see, we have a new addition to our school community. She's from Canada, and she will be joining the sixth-years. Her name is-"
Here Dumbledore paused. Glancing at Artemis, he inquired, "Would you like to say it?"
Artemis nodded. "Alexandra Robert Tryana Eve Manticori Inspiration Sarah Delta Andromeda." Bowing her head ever so slightly towards the assembled students, she added as an afterthought, "But Artemis will do."
The students stared.
Dumbledore gave his trademark serene smile and nodded towards the hat. "If you will, Artemis."
Artemis walked forwards and sat on the stool. Just as the hat dropped over her eyes, Ron could've sworn he saw her wink. Then her eyes were hidden, and she was being Sorted.
Long minutes past by. 2, then 3. 5. 6. 7 minutes. Sit in silence for 7 minutes and you will realize how long this is. At 7 minutes and 37 seconds, Artemis ground her teeth and grumbled, "Good Gatekeepers, I'm MISCHIEF for Guardian's sake!!!" Then the hat uttered what was unmistakably a scream.
Dumbledore jumped up. The hat stopped screaming and started to talk in a voice an octave higher than usual. "Dumbledore, you haven't told me the truth! This girl. . ."
Artemis ripped off the hat. "Be quiet, you idiot! Listen to me, will you?"
Artemis jammed the hat back on her head and sat, frowning and concentrating, as Dumbledore stood, frozen, leaning forward over the high table. A minute passed. Then,
"Gryffindor!"
No-one clapped.
Artemis took the hat off, stood up and, with a flourish, handed it to Dumbledore.
"Poor guy. Slightly psychologically scarred, but he'll be alright. . ." Giving one of her slightly mad grins, she turned, hopped of the stage and headed for the Gryffindor table.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
So. . . what ya'll think?!?!?
Review. It's good for your health! (not to mention my ego. . .)