Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to this.
A/N: hey guys! Lookie how fast I got this out. Yay! So, there's been some changes to the story's "profile". 1) The title: I felt it needed something other then Artemis Xenoi. 2)the rating has gone up to PG-13 because, well, it is a teenage romance fiction, and things can get a little hot, and language filled, and 3) the story "type" has changed from General/Romance to Romance/Comedy. I don't think I'm gonna start making the romantical part of the fiction more heavy then originally planned, but that and comedy are a big part of how this works, so enjoy.
Artemis breathed a sigh of relief as she removed the hat from her head and walked over to the loudly cheering Gryffindor table. She smiled warmly as Sirius and Remus moved to make room for her between them. "I told you so!" James cried, reaching over to thump her on the back. Across the table, the girl named Sky smiled warmly at her.
"So glad you get to join us!" she called above the din.
Artemis blushed slightly. Really now, it was quite nice that she got to be in the same house as her friends, but all the fuss? It did feel silly. However, the noise died down quickly, and McGonagall proceeded to the next two boys. "Yong, Miltiades," she called. A brown haired boy confidently walked up and put the hat on his head. Almost instantly, the hat called out "GRYFFINDOR!" happily, he went and sat back down amongst the applause.
Lastly, a "Zeelen, Sunil," was sorted into Ravenclaw. The applause died down as the old man, whom Artemis assumed was Professor Dumbledore, rose.
He spread his arms wide, and smiled out over the crowd of young students. Artemis got the feeling that he would rather be doing his job then anything else in the world. "Hello all, and once again, welcome to another, or your first, year at Hogwarts. I hope you all enjoyed the Sorting ceremony, and will enjoy the feast just as much. I can tell you're restless, so I won't start the speech making until after you have eaten. So, eat up!" with that, he sat down and suddenly food appeared in the platters and bowls before Artemis.
"Fantastic," Sirius said next to her. "I've been craving the Hogwarts potatoes lately." He scooped a large amount onto his plate. "Here, you need some of this, Artemis," he said, putting a large helping onto her plate. "Nothing in the world like tem at all."
"Oh… and the roast chicken," James said, spearing a few chunks.
"Easy there, Potter, or you won't be able to get more than a few feet in the air," a boy a few seats down from James said.
"Don't ruin it, Wood. Besides, training doesn't start for another few weeks, remember?" James told him.
"Actually," Wood said, calmly ladling some soup into his bowl. "We're starting next week. I owled Professor McGonagall, and she booked it for us."
"Are you serious?" James cried ecstatically, leaning across a black haired boy next to him. Although all Artemis could see was his back, she could just imagine the grin of joy spreading across the boy's face.
"When isn't he when it concerns Quidditch?" Remus whispered into Artemis' ear.
"Woah, woah, woah!" Sky said from across the table. The equally tall black boy next to her looked interested as well. "What's this about practice next week?"
Odin sighed, looking exasperated. "I'm not going to repeat myself for you lot, and then again for Kalani and Ciel, wherever those two are. Only five out of us seven are here, and I hate going over things. We'll have a brief meeting in the Common room tomorrow night after dinner."
The black haired boy next to Wood asked him, "Should I spread the word to Ciel and Lani?"
"No, it's alright Van. We'll see them during classes," Wood said, eating a bit of bread. "Eat some salad, James," he ordered. "You're a Chaser, and you need to build up some muscle, especially considering who's on the Slytherin team this year." Odin got a dark look on his eyes.
However, Artemis was getting rather bored of Quidditch talk, and turned to look at Remus. "I suspect we'll be hearing lots of this until the end of the season?"
The boy shrugged. "Depends on where you sit. It's only usually the week before the game that they get excited. James and Ciel usually stop eating, so you can help watch that. I'm sure Odin would appreciate it."
"Are you serious? That's exactly what Ruth would do," Artemis said, taking a bite of her potatoes. They really are quite good, she thought. After swallowing, she turned to her friend. "Remus?"
"Hm?" the amber eyed youth said from around a cup of hot chocolate.
"This is going to seem like a silly request, but can you point out, some, uh, 'important' people in the House? You know, like prefects, stuff like that." She blushed slightly. It was a bit silly of a request, she couldn't help but think.
"Of course." Artemis felt him lean down close. "Alright, let's see, let's see… Well, let's start with the fifth year prefects, since they're right next to each other. You see the brunette? That's Ciel's cousin actually. Her name's Scarlett Rossi, and the boy next to her, the Asian, his name's Ormond Ruadh. They're both pretty cool. I'm the sixth year prefect, by the way."
"I could tell by the badge," Artemis whispered back.
"Ah, right. And Lily Evans, you heard about her on the train, is the other one. Now let's see… where is she… Lily's the only sensible girl in Gryffindor in her year, so I assume she'll be thrilled to have you here. Surprised that she hasn't made an introduction-"
"Hi," said a clear girl's voice behind them. Artemis and Remus turned around to see a girl with little past shoulder length auburn hair and the most brilliantly green eyes Artemis had ever seen in her life. "You're Artemis Xenoi, right?"
"Yes, that's me." Artemis noticed that James was running a hand up through the back of his hair again, messing it up even more, if it was possible., and trying to look totally suave at the same time.
"Wonderful. I'm Lily Evans, one of the other girls in your year. I'm sure Ruby and Brave will make their presence known eventually," Lily said with a scorn. James watched everything she did with utmost rapture.
"It's nice to meet you," Artemis said, not mentioning how she had heard about her previously. She noticed the "P" badge identical to that of Remus' on her chest.
"Right, well, I'll be seeing you tonight then!" Lily said. She then turned to Remus. "Remus, I expect we'll be getting off the hook for leading the first years up, since Ormond and Scarlett are here. You did get the password, right?"
"Yes, Lily, I did."
"Lovely. Well, if you'll be excusing me," she walked off with a wave.
Artemis turned to Remus. "She seems nice enough." Then, leaning in close, she whispered in his ear, "Did you see the look James had on his face though?"
Smiling, Remus leaned in close to whisper back into her ear, "He's always like that. Personally, I think she likes it, but just doesn't want to admit it." Artemis gave him a puzzled look. "I'll tell you later," Remus told her.
Just then though, the room got quiet as once more Dumbledore rose to his feet, and looked over the students, beaming at them. "As I said before, welcome to Hogwarts. Also, you know that I try not to publicly embarrass people, but there is one new student I'm sure that all of you noticed. Artemis Xenoi recently moved from England to here with her family, so I hope you'll help her to make a smooth transition.
"On to business. As I constantly remind you every year, all students are not to ever enter the Forbidden Forest on the edge of the grounds. It has that name for a good reason, but I notice that some students always seem to find their way in every year." Artemis saw him cast a stern glare at Sirius and James, who were currently looking the image of innocence. "Also, Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you all that using magic in the corridors between classes is forbidden, along with using a long list of other items which include Fanged Frisbees among others. Thank you. And now, if you will all be so kind to sing in the school song. Just pick a tune, and sing it at your own pace." With a flourish, he waved his wand, and a spout of gold sparks leapt out to start writing out the lyrics to the song.
"Our favorite part!" said Sirius and James excitedly. Remus and Artemis exchanged looks, and ended up laughing as they began the song.
"Hogwarts Hogwarts Hoggy Warty Hogwarts
Teach us something please
Whether we be old and bald or young with scabby knees
Our heads could do with filling with some interesting stuff
For now they're bare and full of air
Dead flies and bits of fluff
So teach us things worth knowing
Bring back what we've forgot
Just do your best we'll do the rest and learn until our brains all rot,"
the school sang. Due to the fact that everyone chose a different tune to sing
it to, they all finished at different times. Looking over at James and Sirius,
Artemis saw the duo were really getting into it.
Currently, they were singing in high operatic voices, gesticulating wildly, and all around making a scene. Giggling into her hand, Artemis thought that they would definitely be the scene stealers of the school during social functions. Even though they were moving at a relatively fast pace, they were still the last ones singing. "All ro-oooot!" bellowed Sirius.
"Oooot!" James picked up.
Up at the staff table, Artemis saw Professor McGonagall roll her eyes and exchange glances with a young looking teacher dressed in Gothic robes.
When the boys finished, they eagerly looked back up to where Dumbledore stood; the wizard just smiled, and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. "No matter how many times I hear that song," he said, "It'll always pluck a heartstring. One day you'll all understand. Right, well, off to bed with you all. Good night."
Assorted calls of "G'night Professor," came from the students as they stood up and climbed off the benches.
"Well, there you have it," Remus said as he lead the older crowd of Gryffindors up to the Common room. "Your first dinner with the school. What do you think?"
"Hmm…" Artemis said, while thinking. Truth be told, she had quite a lot of things to say, and everything being thrown at her at once did feel somewhat overwhelming. "Well, Remus…" she began, the taller boy looked down at her expectantly, but patiently not saying anything. "To be honest…" James, Sirius, and Peter were listening now. She glanced at them. "I don't think I've ever heard so many different English accents at once in my life. Do I sound funny to you?"
Remus raised his eyebrows in surprise. James snickered. Sirius rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. Peter smiled.
"No, you don't sound that weird," said the first year boy Militiades Yong, who had been sorted last. He jumped up in between Remus and Artemis. Artemis looked above the short boy's head at Remus, one of her eyebrows raised questioningly. Remus just shrugged back and smiled. Unnerved, the first year continued. "So, where are you from in America? It's a big place, so it's not quite like saying you're from Scotland."
"Is that where you're from?" Artemis politely asked.
"Of course," the boy said, standing up straight. "But you didn't answer my question. Where in America?"
"Nosy little kid," Artemis muttered James by her side before answering, "California- along the coast. Around the San Francisco area, more or less. How's that for an answer?"
"Just fine, thank you," Militiades said before waiting up to join some friends Artemis assumed he had just made.
"Hey, Remus!" a pretty brunette said, stepping up next to him. Artemis recognized her as one of the prefects she had asked Remus to point out during dinner.
"Oh, hi, Scarlett," he said, looking down at her. She was very short; Artemis expected just barely hitting the five-two mark. It was all Artemis could do though to keep her eyes from bulging out of their sockets from shock. Oh Merlin! She thought. She must be a double-D at least! Her robes aren't even putting up a fight to hide her figure! Artemis glanced down wistfully at her own, rather small chest. Ruth had always teased her about having little boobs.
"Are you still going to be tutoring this year for Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Scarlet asked, smiling in a very flirty way. Artemis noticed the prefect badge on her chest, identical to that of Remus'.
"Erm… maybe," Remus answered, looking uncomfortable. "I don't really think you need help though, you're doing really well in it, aren't you?"
The girl scrunched up her nose in a cute fashion. "Don't be silly!" she teased. "I was good at fourth year stuff, but fifth year is a lot harder, isn't it?"
"Well, obviously," Artemis snapped. "You're a year older, so it would be, wouldn't it?" Oh my, she thought. Did I just say that? I'm only rude when I'm hungry though, and I just ate… what's getting into me?
Scarlet gave Artemis a very dirty look. "Oh, you're the new student, aren't you?" She looked Artemis up and down. Artemis could tell she was comparing them. "Well," she said after a moment. "I'll be seeing you then." She bustled off importantly.
The rest of the walk was in awkward silence until they arrived at the portrait of a fat lady. "Password, please?" she asked Remus.
"Shall we dance," Remus recited, getting odd stares from his fellow Gryffindors. "What?" he asked as they climbed through the portrait hole. "I didn't make it up!"
"Yeah, sure you didn't Moony," Peter joked.
"Shall we dance, Ms. Gallagher?" Sirius joked to a redhead girl as he offered his hand.
Laughing she then jokingly said, "Oh, Mr. Black, I thought you'd never ask," she took his hand, and they danced a few steps together before stopping to laugh at poor Remus as James gave Lily a suggestive look.
With a "Humph!" Lily marched over to a pair of staircases. At the foot, she said, "Artemis, I'll be in the dorms. You should be getting to bed soon as well." Lily flounced off.
"She is so stuck up," said a Spanish looking girl who was standing with a blonde girl. "Oh, you must think that we're horrible for not introducing ourselves though!" she said, turning to Artemis with her friend. "My name's Brava."
"And I'm Ruby," said the blonde. "We're both in your year as well, so we'll be sharing a dorm with you and Lily, the redhead who just went to bed."
"Erm, sorry to interrupt girls, but I'm going to bed. It was great getting to know you today, Artemis," Remus said with a smile.
Artemis smiled back. "Likewise. See you in the morning then?"
"Of course. G'night Artemis. Ruby, Brava," Remus said before walking off.
"I think we'll follow Moony's lead," Sirius said with a yawn. "See you in the morning Artemis. Come on Peter."
"G'night Artemis," James said. Then, leaned in and whispered. "Now you see what I'm up against? I know you'll be able to help," he said, before winking at her and walking off up the boys' stairs with his friends.
"Good night, guys," Artemis said before turning back to Brava and Ruby, who were currently looking very bewildered.
"You already know Sirius Black?" Ruby asked, shocked.
"And James Potter?" Brava continued.
"Well, yes. Is that a bad thing?" Artemis asked, now feeling just as bewildered as the girls looked.
They tittered sillily. "Not at all, Artemis, dear," they chorused.
"Come, let's talk and walk," Brava said, taking one of Artemis' arms as Ruby took the other and led her up to the sixth year girls' dorm.
Remus Lupin watched from the semi-balcony, obscured from site by a tapestry, as Artemis was led away by the two girls. He smiled to himself. She'll be alright, he thought. Remus had been worried about her. On the train, when she had looked into the photo album he had the sense that she may have broken down into tears from homesickness, if she hadn't of had someone to talk to. Thankfully she met Sirius yesterday, he thought, so she at least knew someone nice to ride on the train with. It was also helpful that the friends Sirius had introduced her to opened her with loving arms as well, he thought, thinking of himself, James, and Peter, and that now she was in Gryffindor with them. Also, Lily seemed to like her, and Artemis also had a bit of a friend in Andromeda Black from the Ravenclaw House, although from what he had heard of what went on between her and Gwenaelle on the car ride over to King's Cross, she and the Hufflepuff were only really acquaintances.
That wasn't anything to worry about though, he continued thinking as he went back into the dorm. She's very likable. Wait, why am I worrying about her like this? He suddenly thought. I've never worried about a girl like this before…
However, his thoughts were interrupted as a pillow went flying into his face from Sirius' hand. The black haired boy grinned wickedly. "What's on your mind, Remus? You've been exceptionally quiet- even for you- lately."
Remus shrugged. "I'm fine, really," he answered, starting to undress. He glanced over at James, who was standing in front of the mirror in nothing but his knickers. James was flexing his muscles, and turning around, trying to get a better view of his body, occasionally rumpling his hair in different ways. His body, toned by the rough years of Quidditch training turned around as he looked over his shoulders at his back.
"What in Merlin's name are you up to now?" Sirius asked, walking over, his shirt completely unbuttoned, collar flipped up, and tie completely untied. His tan and toned torso was clearly visible.
"When did you get abs like that Padfoot?" James asked, obviously jealous.
Sirius looked down at his stomach, pushing his shirt apart to get a better view as he looked down. He snorted. "Don't be ridiculous, Prongs. It's nothing that new. Although I must say, they are rather nice," he grinned at his friend. "Granted, you don't have much as far as abs go, Prongs, but you do have a flat stomach, so I'm sure Lily will love that." He poked it playfully.
"You think so?" James asked eagerly.
Remus rolled his eyes, pants and shirt off. He was about to change into a clean pair of knickers and throw on a shirt, but Sirius and James pulled him over to the mirror. "Come on, Moony, let's see how your body's developed over summer!" the two boys said, standing in front of the mirror with him.
"Well, you're fit, that's always good," Sirius said.
"And tan!" James cried. "When did this happen?"
"I went to the beach this summer," Remus explained, uncomfortably. He honestly didn't care if he saw his friends naked/half-dressed, or vice-versa, but being compared always made him feel silly. The same went for when Sirius and James talked about girls, and general good looks. They were both very good looking, and could get any girl (or boy, for that matter) in the school, even though James had only ever wanted Lily. That didn't mean he didn't have his fair share of admirers though- James' talent on the Quidditch field had given him his share of fans. However, Sirius had played around with a few girls- and guys, if the summer rumors were true- in his time. Not to mention, he could make a girl freeze up just by saying her name. Remus however, although hanging around with the two most popular boys in their year at school, had barely been the object of any girl's interest- as far as he could tell. At least they weren't going down there. He turned around and walked back to change, disgruntled.
"Uh-oh, Moony's mood-swinging again," Peter said from in his four-poster bed.
"Quick, check my moon chart,Wormtail!" Sirius said. "It should be out by my dresser."
"The full moon's not for another few weeks," Remus snapped, crawling into bed.
"Hey now, what's gotten into you" James asked, seriously, coming over to sit on the edge of Remus' bed.
Remus pulled his short pony tail out of its hair band, letting it barely brush his shoulders. Gaining composure, he said, "Sorry, I'm just a bit stressed, that's all. You know, beginning of a new year, just getting the O.W.L. scores back, all that. I think I just need a good night's sleep that's all."
Sirius and Peter had joined James at the corner of Remus' bed, all with looks of concern on their faces. "Are you certain?" Sirius asked, still concerned.
Remus nodded. "Positive."
"Alright then," James said, getting up. The other boys followed. "Well, good night then, all."
The boys all went to bed within a few minutes.
Up in the girls' dormitory though, all was a-gossip.
"So, Lily, get any love letters from James this summer?" asked Brava, brushing Artemis' hair. Artemis had just told them that she was feeling a bit lonesome for the other girls in her dorm back home- Ruth, Cara, and Dakota- so Brava, Ruby, and Lily had felt obligated to step in and make her feel right at home.
Lily rolled her eyes as she stood in front of the vanity in the adjoining bathroom. "A few," she answered.
"Well, what did you do? Did you write back?" Ruby eagerly asked from unpacking. She put up an autographed poster of a very good looking male keeper from Puddlemore United next to Artemis' of Sora Kanzaka- the aerial gymnast Artemis admired. Along the walls, there were tacked assorted pictures of the girls' family and school friends- most moving magically, but a few not. These were mainly Lily's. Artemis had just learned that both her parents were Muggles.
"No, of course not," Lily answered. "I burned them, along with the rose that he sent me."
Brava and Ruby "awed" at the remark of James sending her a rose. Artemis did have to admit, it was a very romantic gesture, but she thought he'd of done better with lilies. "I still can't believe that you won't go out with him though," Ruby continued. "He's one of the foxiest men in school…"
Lily gave her an icey glare. "James Potter a man? Hah! That'll be the day!" she cried, stepping out of her slippers and hanging up her robe before jumping into bed. "I'm never, ever, ever going to go out with him in my life," she announced.
"Why?" all the girls, even Artemis chorused.
"Why? Hmph, that's easy: he's an arrogant, stuck up jerk, an insufferable know it all in transfiguration," Lily counted off. "And he just now got around to calling me by my first name! Since first year, the most he'd ever say is 'Evans', or if I as lucky, 'Lily Evans'. It's enough to make me sick!" the redhead spat.
Brava and Ruby looked very taken aback. Then, calmly, Artemis took initiative, and pulled her hair into a loose ponytail, saying to Brava, "Thank you for brushing my hair out, Brava. I think I'm going to bed now. I think the train ride's worn us all out and we need to sleep."
"True, true," came the assorted mutters from the girls as they crawled into bed.
Artemis was positive that everyone just needed to in a good sleep, and everything would be okay. Unfortunately, she had a huge craving for some chocolate right now, so that wasn't helping. However, in the few minutes after she had blown out the candle, she was dead asleep, exhausted from the adventures of the day.
***
There, that went out pretty fast. It's shorter then I wanted, but considering that I had been previously planning to end chapter four with everyone asleep and in their dorms at the end of the night, I think that this worked quite well. How did you guys like the stuff in the boys' dorm? I hope that seemed somewhat realistic as to what guys do.
darkslytherinangel- in case you didn't notice, your character was mentioned, although not by name. So, yay!
Heather Young- I don't know if you got my e-mail or not about being in the story.
Dulce- I hope it lived up to your expectations! And my cats Dinah, Jane, and Farron say hi to Bo. ^_^
And yes, I know that in Chapter Three I had Sirius state that James is a Seeker, and now Odin's saying that he's a Chaser. I think this will help to differentiate poor Harry from the shadow of his father (no, I have nothing against James, but poor Harry is always feeling compared to him, so let's give the kid a break). I don't think that James playing with the Snitch is book 5 really means he's a Seeker anyways- just showing off for Lily. ^_^
Also, one last note about the boys' dormitory scene/Remus' mind. Did everyone like the "sidetrack" to that, or should I just keep to Artemis? Going into Remus' thoughts won't be a frequent adventure, just every now and then. Well, that's all. Please review!
And check out my Artemis site: