I soon realized that it was beginning to grow dark, so I changed into
my new robes that I had purchased at a place called Diagon Alley two days
before. 'Ugh,' I thought, 'I hate wearing skirts.' The only reason why
I'm wearing one was because Steve (that's what I call Professor Smith) told
me to; he said that that's what is normal in the U.K. 'Well that's great,
but this a rare occasion, I'm only wearing it because it's my first day. Or
night. Whatever.' When I put in on though, it came most ungracefully down
past my knees. And it was supposed to be size 'small!' I used a
shortening charm so that it came to about mid-thigh. There. Much better –
for a skirt. Then I pulled on a white blouse and a sweater, and pulled the
cloak over top everything else. I really hated wearing wizarding clothes,
but I didn't really have much of a choice – considering I was a witch.
Soon the train pulled to a stop and I dragged my two suitcases off the train. As I stepped onto the platform, I saw a glimpse of lights behind the station. That must be 'Hogsmeade,' I think to myself. 'Steve told me about that place. He kept talking about some pub called Three Broomsticks. Hmm, I'll have to check it out sometime.' I was walking towards the carriages pulled by Thestrals, which are creatures that can only be seen by people who have seen someone die, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Are you Lily Evans?" said the stern looking woman.
"Yeah," I replied. "Can I help you?"
She raised her eyebrows and a few onlookers gasped. This was obviously a very well-known someone who isn't used to being messed with. "I am Professor McGonagal, the Transfiguration teacher here and the Deputy Headmistress," the lady said, slightly miffed. "Since you are here for the first time, you must go with the first years to be sorted into a house. That is," she said, seeing the confused look on my face, "Hogwarts has four different groups that eat together, go to classes together, and sleep in the same dormitories. Before the opening feast you must go and be sorted into a house."
"Okay..." I said slowly, nodding. "So where do I go...?"
"Just follow Hagrid, our gamekeeper," she told me, pointing to a huge man leading a bunch of first years, yelling "Firs' years, comin' through! Firs' years, this way!" "He'll lead you with the rest of them. You can leave your trunks in that pile over by the gate."
"Okay," I said again. I nodded my head to the teacher, and then proceeded to heave my suitcases over to the pile. After much huffing and puffing, I ran to catch up with 'the little people' and Hagrid. When I caught up, I just stayed in the back of the group.
"Alrigh', ye'll be gettin' yer firs' look a' Hogwarts in a sec...just roun' this bend..." The group went around the bend as he said and they all seemed to gasp as one. Even I took a breath quickly, the castle was so beautiful, with all its towers and flickering lights in all the windows, overlooking a glassy lake. I quickly changed my expression into a blank one again. I learned over the years that if you show emotion too easily then people could read you like an open book. I, however, prefer not to be read.
The crowd of nervous-looking pre-teens clambered into boats when Hagrid told them to. I just stood there, not really wanting to, until Hagrid had to drag me into his own boat, in which I just sat at the far end and scowled. I wasn't in the greatest mood. I was in fifth year; I didn't want to be with these little kids. Sighing, I continued to stare ahead as some of the other kids stared at me, but looked away quickly when I caught their eyes. I smirked. 'Probably wondering why someone older than them is here,' I thought.
When the boats finally arrived at the opposite bank, everyone hopped out and followed Hagrid again, and I, again, followed silently in the back. This Hagrid guy led us into the castle and then through a set of huge wooden doors, into a huge room with four long tables, where the rest of the students were assembled, and another long table where who I presumed were teachers sat. Hagrid led us to the front of the room, where a small stool on which a very frayed-looking old hat sat.
The lady I met at the platform, Professor McGonagal or whatever, started to call out names. Each time a name was called the kid with that name came up, placed the hat on their head, and after a few moments the hat called out a name, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Griffindor. 'Hmph, now I know what that guy on the train meant when he hoped I wasn't in Griffindor. That must be where he and his little friends are.'
After "Doyle, Emily!" was sorted into Ravenclaw, I waited for my name to be called. But to my surprise, the hat skipped me, and the teacher went right to "Filipa, George!" I stared at the teacher exasperatedly, only to get no response. My unease grew stronger as I was soon the only person left standing there. 'What the hell is going on?! Is this how all newcomers are greeted? I personally do not appreciate standing here like a freakin' idiot!' The students began to whisper to one another among their tables. I was just about to turn around and give them my death glare when an old man sitting at the middle of the teachers' table stood, and the room fell silent.
"Hello everyone, and welcome back to another year at Hogwarts! Before I say the start-of-term announcements, it is with great pleasure that we welcome Miss Lily Evans, a student participating in our exchange program with Salem Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Welcome, Miss Evans!" There was a polite applause around the room.
Professor McGonagal gestured to me with her hand to go and sit on the stool. So I walked over and plopped the weird old hat on my head. What happened next nearly made me fall off the stool. It talked to me.
"Hmm, tough decision, very difficult indeed . . ." I heard it whisper in my head. "Let me see, you are cunning like Slytherin, but I think you can do better then that . . . a good bit of intelligence here I see, but Ravenclaw will be no good for you, you're too out-going, and no, not Hufflepuff, you're no follower . . . Hmmm, and I see you have had past experiences like no others, and there is much bravery, honesty, and loyalty in you, even if you need some help finding it. So better be . . . GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat yelled out the last word to the entire hall, so I grumpily took the hat off, put it back onto the stool, and walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down at the very end, expression blank. 'Great, just great . . .' I kept repeating this to myself as I stared straight ahead during the old man's announcements. 'No. I don't want to be around those four bozos. Can't I ask the hat to put me somewhere else?'
"And now, we eat!" the old man called, and immediately the tables filled with food, and lots of it. Gratefully, I took some chicken that was nearest to my plate, plopped down some mashed potatoes, and ate. I didn't eat much; I don't think I've had a full meal since my parents were killed. It's become a habit, but it's not that bad. To make up for not eating large meals, I drank protein shakes and did many physical activities to stay strong. I may be skinny, but I sure ain't weak. That James guy who's ass I kicked should know. Speaking of which, I looked down the table in search of those dumbass boys. I spotted them about halfway down, laughing and chatting among themselves. I noticed that Broomstick Head got his nose fixed up as it was no longer bleeding and had no bandages. But when the guy sitting next to him accidentally elbowed him in the gut, he winced noticeably. 'Heh, serves him right,' I thought. He caught me looking at him and glared at me. I glared right back. Again. We kept our eyes on the other's eyes for a minute, when he broke the gaze and muttered something to his friends. Then they all looked over at me. 'Geez, can you be any more subtle?'
Soon, dinner was over and I asked Professor McGonagal where the dormitories were. She gave me directions and the password for some "fat lady's portrait," so I thanked her and left. I found the portrait easily, and when it swung to one side I went into the gap behind it. Inside the "common room," as I heard some people call it, there were lots of cushy chairs and couches, and a large, roaring fire with a mural of a huge lion above it. I looked around. People were starting to leave and go up two staircases.
"Excuse me," I asked a girl nearby. "Um, where do the girls sleep?"
"Oh," she answered, "Go up the staircase on the left and just keep poking your head through the doors until you find a room with your stuff in it."
"Okay, thanks a lot," I said, and headed up the staircase.
All the rooms along this set of stairs had at least 4 beds in it, but my stuff wasn't in any of them. Finally, I reached the room at the very top of the stairs, where I found a rather large room with two beds, but only my stuff was there. Confused, I closed the door behind me and took a look around.
The room was very nice, much nicer than the room I shared with two other girls at Salem. There was a bathroom with a bathtub, a shower, and a sink with a large cabinet to keep things in decorated white and sky blue. It had a window with a white curtain in front of it. The main room had, again, two beds, two sets of drawers, a large desk, a closet, and a large mirror which said "Why, hello!" when I walked in. This room was decorated in white and different shades of blue. It looked, in short, really nice. There was also a large empty space where I suppose you can put other stuff, like a TV or a workout mat or whatever else that I brang that was large. I unpacked my stuff, putting my clothes away in the drawers, my robes and shoes in the closet, and my bathroom accessories in the bathroom cabinet. I put all of my books on the shelf on the wall by the table, and set up my workout mat for the next morning. I also found a spell that can make electrical devices work at Hogwarts before I came here, so using it I set up my TV, lab top, and sound system that I used a shrinking spell on before I came here. Good thing too, because if I hadn't then I would've looked silly carrying all those huge boxes with electrical equipment. Lastly, I hung my punching bag in the far corner of the room, which I also shrunk before I arrived in the U.K.
Exhausted, I fell down onto the king-sized bed, which was really comfy. I changed into a sports bra and boxer shorts (my pajamas for tonight; I didn't feel like finding anything else) and then looked at my schedule.
"Hmm, breakfast is at 7 a.m. Then I got transfiguration, charms, lunch, history of magic, and potions. Joy." I said to myself.
I looked at the clock. It's only 10:30? Hm, I thought it was later than that.
"Oh well," I said to myself again (I tend to do that a lot), "I better get to sleep anyway. Gotta get up bright and early tomorrow for my daily workout."
As I was setting my alarm clock to 5:30, I heard a knock at the door. Grabbing a robe to wrap around me, I stood and walked over to it.
I opened the door to see the old man from the feast that night. "Hello Lily, my name is Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster here at Hogwarts. I wonder, may I come in?"
I stared at Dumbledore for a minute, unnerved by his kindness, then snapping out of it I stepped aside saying, "Sure, yeah, c'mon in."
Dumbledore smiled and entered the room. He then sat down at a chair nearby and motioned for me to do so as well.
"I see you have made yourself at home already, good, good. So, Lily, how do you like Hogwarts so far?" he asked.
"Um...I haven't seen enough of it to have an opinion about it . . . but it's alright, I guess. It isn't Salem, but it's nice. It's also really big." I answered bluntly.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, it is quite a bit larger than Salem, isn't it? I think that perhaps maybe after a week or so you'll be able to find your way to your classes fine. I think you will enjoy your stay here, the teachers are the best in Europe, but you will find that most of them have rather strict expectations. Professor Smith tells me that you are very intelligent in all subjects, but you lose marks because of tardiness. Is that correct?"
I nodded glumly. "I've never really been very organized or good at actually doing stuff. I understand and know it all just fine, but I tend to slack off a bit . . ."
"Yes, I see. Well, I think you will find the work rather easy here at first; Salem has a very rigorous curriculum in the first year, so you will find that you are maybe almost a year ahead of everyone your own age. You will, however, probably start to see some new things in a few months; so don't worry about skipping ahead a year or anything of such. In the meantime, you can start to get to know the students and teachers better and find your way around the school."
"Yes, sir," I answered.
"Any questions?"
"Yeah, a couple, sir."
"Shoot."
"Well," I began, "Sir, I am very active, and I work out daily, so I was wondering if there are any sports facilities, like a gym or a lane pool or something . . . ?"
"Hmm," said Dumbledore, frowning, "I'm afraid not, Lily. The only sports teams we have at Hogwarts are the Quidditch house teams, so we have a Quidditch field, but that's all. But . . ." he broke off.
"Yes?" I asked tentatively.
"There is a room that only a few students know of in this school called the Room of Requirement. If one passed by this room three times thinking of what they need, a doorknob appears and a room behind it contains whatever the searcher needs. For example," he said, chuckling, "last time I passed it I was on my way to the lavatories, I passed it three times looking for them and the room contained a large collection of chamber pots."
"Okay, thanks sir," I giggled. "Can you mark it on my school map?"
"Certainly," he said, and he did so. "Anything else?"
"Um . . . why are there two beds in this room?"
"Ah, yes, I almost forgot. If you wish you may invite someone to stay here for any of the holidays from Salem. Professor Smith told me of someone you would want to invite . . . Joey, was it?"
My eyes lit up. Joey could come? "Yes, sir," I grinned.
"Well, the other bed is for him or for whomever else you may wish to invite to stay. You have my promise that whomever it may be, he or she will have a warm Hogwarts welcome."
"Thank you sir," I said, smiling. I liked Dumbledore. He was a nice guy to talk to.
"Alright then, goodness, is that the time? It's nearly 11, we both need our sleep."
He rose and walked towards the door. I also got up and walked him out.
"Thanks again, sir," I said.
"You are very welcome, Lily. Good night." And with that, he went back down the stairs and out of sight.
Sighing, I took off my robe again, hung it on a chair, and slid into my bed. Thinking of the days to come, I slowly drifted off into sleep . . .
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
YAY!! Here's chappie two. Actually, this is the first half of chappie two, I originally had a very looong chappie which I decided to cut in half, sorta. So ya . . . reviews are ALWAYS appreciated, so please do. Review, I mean. ^_^'
Tbc . . .
Soon the train pulled to a stop and I dragged my two suitcases off the train. As I stepped onto the platform, I saw a glimpse of lights behind the station. That must be 'Hogsmeade,' I think to myself. 'Steve told me about that place. He kept talking about some pub called Three Broomsticks. Hmm, I'll have to check it out sometime.' I was walking towards the carriages pulled by Thestrals, which are creatures that can only be seen by people who have seen someone die, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Are you Lily Evans?" said the stern looking woman.
"Yeah," I replied. "Can I help you?"
She raised her eyebrows and a few onlookers gasped. This was obviously a very well-known someone who isn't used to being messed with. "I am Professor McGonagal, the Transfiguration teacher here and the Deputy Headmistress," the lady said, slightly miffed. "Since you are here for the first time, you must go with the first years to be sorted into a house. That is," she said, seeing the confused look on my face, "Hogwarts has four different groups that eat together, go to classes together, and sleep in the same dormitories. Before the opening feast you must go and be sorted into a house."
"Okay..." I said slowly, nodding. "So where do I go...?"
"Just follow Hagrid, our gamekeeper," she told me, pointing to a huge man leading a bunch of first years, yelling "Firs' years, comin' through! Firs' years, this way!" "He'll lead you with the rest of them. You can leave your trunks in that pile over by the gate."
"Okay," I said again. I nodded my head to the teacher, and then proceeded to heave my suitcases over to the pile. After much huffing and puffing, I ran to catch up with 'the little people' and Hagrid. When I caught up, I just stayed in the back of the group.
"Alrigh', ye'll be gettin' yer firs' look a' Hogwarts in a sec...just roun' this bend..." The group went around the bend as he said and they all seemed to gasp as one. Even I took a breath quickly, the castle was so beautiful, with all its towers and flickering lights in all the windows, overlooking a glassy lake. I quickly changed my expression into a blank one again. I learned over the years that if you show emotion too easily then people could read you like an open book. I, however, prefer not to be read.
The crowd of nervous-looking pre-teens clambered into boats when Hagrid told them to. I just stood there, not really wanting to, until Hagrid had to drag me into his own boat, in which I just sat at the far end and scowled. I wasn't in the greatest mood. I was in fifth year; I didn't want to be with these little kids. Sighing, I continued to stare ahead as some of the other kids stared at me, but looked away quickly when I caught their eyes. I smirked. 'Probably wondering why someone older than them is here,' I thought.
When the boats finally arrived at the opposite bank, everyone hopped out and followed Hagrid again, and I, again, followed silently in the back. This Hagrid guy led us into the castle and then through a set of huge wooden doors, into a huge room with four long tables, where the rest of the students were assembled, and another long table where who I presumed were teachers sat. Hagrid led us to the front of the room, where a small stool on which a very frayed-looking old hat sat.
The lady I met at the platform, Professor McGonagal or whatever, started to call out names. Each time a name was called the kid with that name came up, placed the hat on their head, and after a few moments the hat called out a name, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Griffindor. 'Hmph, now I know what that guy on the train meant when he hoped I wasn't in Griffindor. That must be where he and his little friends are.'
After "Doyle, Emily!" was sorted into Ravenclaw, I waited for my name to be called. But to my surprise, the hat skipped me, and the teacher went right to "Filipa, George!" I stared at the teacher exasperatedly, only to get no response. My unease grew stronger as I was soon the only person left standing there. 'What the hell is going on?! Is this how all newcomers are greeted? I personally do not appreciate standing here like a freakin' idiot!' The students began to whisper to one another among their tables. I was just about to turn around and give them my death glare when an old man sitting at the middle of the teachers' table stood, and the room fell silent.
"Hello everyone, and welcome back to another year at Hogwarts! Before I say the start-of-term announcements, it is with great pleasure that we welcome Miss Lily Evans, a student participating in our exchange program with Salem Institute of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Welcome, Miss Evans!" There was a polite applause around the room.
Professor McGonagal gestured to me with her hand to go and sit on the stool. So I walked over and plopped the weird old hat on my head. What happened next nearly made me fall off the stool. It talked to me.
"Hmm, tough decision, very difficult indeed . . ." I heard it whisper in my head. "Let me see, you are cunning like Slytherin, but I think you can do better then that . . . a good bit of intelligence here I see, but Ravenclaw will be no good for you, you're too out-going, and no, not Hufflepuff, you're no follower . . . Hmmm, and I see you have had past experiences like no others, and there is much bravery, honesty, and loyalty in you, even if you need some help finding it. So better be . . . GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat yelled out the last word to the entire hall, so I grumpily took the hat off, put it back onto the stool, and walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down at the very end, expression blank. 'Great, just great . . .' I kept repeating this to myself as I stared straight ahead during the old man's announcements. 'No. I don't want to be around those four bozos. Can't I ask the hat to put me somewhere else?'
"And now, we eat!" the old man called, and immediately the tables filled with food, and lots of it. Gratefully, I took some chicken that was nearest to my plate, plopped down some mashed potatoes, and ate. I didn't eat much; I don't think I've had a full meal since my parents were killed. It's become a habit, but it's not that bad. To make up for not eating large meals, I drank protein shakes and did many physical activities to stay strong. I may be skinny, but I sure ain't weak. That James guy who's ass I kicked should know. Speaking of which, I looked down the table in search of those dumbass boys. I spotted them about halfway down, laughing and chatting among themselves. I noticed that Broomstick Head got his nose fixed up as it was no longer bleeding and had no bandages. But when the guy sitting next to him accidentally elbowed him in the gut, he winced noticeably. 'Heh, serves him right,' I thought. He caught me looking at him and glared at me. I glared right back. Again. We kept our eyes on the other's eyes for a minute, when he broke the gaze and muttered something to his friends. Then they all looked over at me. 'Geez, can you be any more subtle?'
Soon, dinner was over and I asked Professor McGonagal where the dormitories were. She gave me directions and the password for some "fat lady's portrait," so I thanked her and left. I found the portrait easily, and when it swung to one side I went into the gap behind it. Inside the "common room," as I heard some people call it, there were lots of cushy chairs and couches, and a large, roaring fire with a mural of a huge lion above it. I looked around. People were starting to leave and go up two staircases.
"Excuse me," I asked a girl nearby. "Um, where do the girls sleep?"
"Oh," she answered, "Go up the staircase on the left and just keep poking your head through the doors until you find a room with your stuff in it."
"Okay, thanks a lot," I said, and headed up the staircase.
All the rooms along this set of stairs had at least 4 beds in it, but my stuff wasn't in any of them. Finally, I reached the room at the very top of the stairs, where I found a rather large room with two beds, but only my stuff was there. Confused, I closed the door behind me and took a look around.
The room was very nice, much nicer than the room I shared with two other girls at Salem. There was a bathroom with a bathtub, a shower, and a sink with a large cabinet to keep things in decorated white and sky blue. It had a window with a white curtain in front of it. The main room had, again, two beds, two sets of drawers, a large desk, a closet, and a large mirror which said "Why, hello!" when I walked in. This room was decorated in white and different shades of blue. It looked, in short, really nice. There was also a large empty space where I suppose you can put other stuff, like a TV or a workout mat or whatever else that I brang that was large. I unpacked my stuff, putting my clothes away in the drawers, my robes and shoes in the closet, and my bathroom accessories in the bathroom cabinet. I put all of my books on the shelf on the wall by the table, and set up my workout mat for the next morning. I also found a spell that can make electrical devices work at Hogwarts before I came here, so using it I set up my TV, lab top, and sound system that I used a shrinking spell on before I came here. Good thing too, because if I hadn't then I would've looked silly carrying all those huge boxes with electrical equipment. Lastly, I hung my punching bag in the far corner of the room, which I also shrunk before I arrived in the U.K.
Exhausted, I fell down onto the king-sized bed, which was really comfy. I changed into a sports bra and boxer shorts (my pajamas for tonight; I didn't feel like finding anything else) and then looked at my schedule.
"Hmm, breakfast is at 7 a.m. Then I got transfiguration, charms, lunch, history of magic, and potions. Joy." I said to myself.
I looked at the clock. It's only 10:30? Hm, I thought it was later than that.
"Oh well," I said to myself again (I tend to do that a lot), "I better get to sleep anyway. Gotta get up bright and early tomorrow for my daily workout."
As I was setting my alarm clock to 5:30, I heard a knock at the door. Grabbing a robe to wrap around me, I stood and walked over to it.
I opened the door to see the old man from the feast that night. "Hello Lily, my name is Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster here at Hogwarts. I wonder, may I come in?"
I stared at Dumbledore for a minute, unnerved by his kindness, then snapping out of it I stepped aside saying, "Sure, yeah, c'mon in."
Dumbledore smiled and entered the room. He then sat down at a chair nearby and motioned for me to do so as well.
"I see you have made yourself at home already, good, good. So, Lily, how do you like Hogwarts so far?" he asked.
"Um...I haven't seen enough of it to have an opinion about it . . . but it's alright, I guess. It isn't Salem, but it's nice. It's also really big." I answered bluntly.
Dumbledore chuckled. "Yes, it is quite a bit larger than Salem, isn't it? I think that perhaps maybe after a week or so you'll be able to find your way to your classes fine. I think you will enjoy your stay here, the teachers are the best in Europe, but you will find that most of them have rather strict expectations. Professor Smith tells me that you are very intelligent in all subjects, but you lose marks because of tardiness. Is that correct?"
I nodded glumly. "I've never really been very organized or good at actually doing stuff. I understand and know it all just fine, but I tend to slack off a bit . . ."
"Yes, I see. Well, I think you will find the work rather easy here at first; Salem has a very rigorous curriculum in the first year, so you will find that you are maybe almost a year ahead of everyone your own age. You will, however, probably start to see some new things in a few months; so don't worry about skipping ahead a year or anything of such. In the meantime, you can start to get to know the students and teachers better and find your way around the school."
"Yes, sir," I answered.
"Any questions?"
"Yeah, a couple, sir."
"Shoot."
"Well," I began, "Sir, I am very active, and I work out daily, so I was wondering if there are any sports facilities, like a gym or a lane pool or something . . . ?"
"Hmm," said Dumbledore, frowning, "I'm afraid not, Lily. The only sports teams we have at Hogwarts are the Quidditch house teams, so we have a Quidditch field, but that's all. But . . ." he broke off.
"Yes?" I asked tentatively.
"There is a room that only a few students know of in this school called the Room of Requirement. If one passed by this room three times thinking of what they need, a doorknob appears and a room behind it contains whatever the searcher needs. For example," he said, chuckling, "last time I passed it I was on my way to the lavatories, I passed it three times looking for them and the room contained a large collection of chamber pots."
"Okay, thanks sir," I giggled. "Can you mark it on my school map?"
"Certainly," he said, and he did so. "Anything else?"
"Um . . . why are there two beds in this room?"
"Ah, yes, I almost forgot. If you wish you may invite someone to stay here for any of the holidays from Salem. Professor Smith told me of someone you would want to invite . . . Joey, was it?"
My eyes lit up. Joey could come? "Yes, sir," I grinned.
"Well, the other bed is for him or for whomever else you may wish to invite to stay. You have my promise that whomever it may be, he or she will have a warm Hogwarts welcome."
"Thank you sir," I said, smiling. I liked Dumbledore. He was a nice guy to talk to.
"Alright then, goodness, is that the time? It's nearly 11, we both need our sleep."
He rose and walked towards the door. I also got up and walked him out.
"Thanks again, sir," I said.
"You are very welcome, Lily. Good night." And with that, he went back down the stairs and out of sight.
Sighing, I took off my robe again, hung it on a chair, and slid into my bed. Thinking of the days to come, I slowly drifted off into sleep . . .
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
YAY!! Here's chappie two. Actually, this is the first half of chappie two, I originally had a very looong chappie which I decided to cut in half, sorta. So ya . . . reviews are ALWAYS appreciated, so please do. Review, I mean. ^_^'
Tbc . . .