Chapter 10 - The Term Begins
Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape made some elaborate request to procure three additional wands for the 'transferees' and now they surveyed the transformed teenagers with satisfied looks on their faces. They had performed some spells to alter their features and to conceal Harry's very noticeable scar. The girl now had jet black hair with a distinct mole on her left cheek. She was wearing dark brown matte lipstick and black eyeshadow that contrasted with her pale color, giving her the haunted appearance of a vampire. Both boys had colorful spiked hair and metal chains with weird-shaped pendants dangling loosely on their necks. The ugly scowl on their faces which showed their intense displeasure with their new 'look' only made them appear more menacing.
"Professor, can you please reiterate why we can't have the same vampire look as Ginny? We look like --- " said Harry indignantly.
" -- like overgrown chickens!" finished Draco as he checked himself out on a nearby mirror which sneered mockingly at him instead of giving him the usual praises he was accustomed to,
"Well, at least you look more like a ferret boy now, darling?" said Ginny, grinning mischievously at the two restless boys. Even Snape seemed amused with their discomfort.
"Now, now. Don't be stubborn, boys. That look would give everyone the impression that you are trouble-makers - perfect ticket to get into the "in" crowd at Slytherin." reminded Professor McGonagall sternly but the faint twitch on her mouth was a dead giveaway. Both boys glared at the others. "And Draco, remember that I placed you on seventh year even though you missed the whole sixth year just because you received high mark on your OWLs so I expect you to do very well this school year. Understand?" she added. Draco nodded mutely but he still did not look too pleased.
"Hrmp! You're enjoying this, aren't you?" grumbled the two boys.
"Indeed, we are!" declared Snape triumphantly. "But think of the bright side. At least you would be able finish your studies and defeat the dark lord at once. That's like hitting two birds with one stone, isn't it?" he added in pure delight. The boys' scowl deepened at the mention of birds but did not argue.
"By the way, where's Wormtail?" asked Ginny, putting a clever stop to the current topic. Both boys appeared on the brink of hexing them senseless if they irritate them some more.
"Ahh, Peter. He's in the dungeon --- apparently cleansing his soul." replied Snape with a smirk. "I'm glad you came up with a better plan though. It saved me a lot of trouble."
"Cut it out. I'm not feeling very glad at the moment." declared Harry grouchily as he and the other two 'transferees' followed the professors to the Great Hall.
====================================================================
The Great Hall was already filled with restless students when they arrived. The freshmen were fidgeting nervously as they waited for the sorting ceremony to begin.
"My brother told me we had to wrestle a troll or something..." said a scared-looking girl.
"Oh, my God! Is that true? I don't know any spells at all..." grimaced another terrified freshmen.
"Of course not! Haven't you read Hogwarts - A History? A sorting hat would place us to the house that suited our personality most." said a rather smug-faced little girl with curly brown hair.
The three snickered as they listened to their bickerings. The girl reminded them so much of Hermione that they could not help but laugh. Such innocence! When all had settled down, the three distanced themselves from the younger group. It would simply be too embarrassing to be identified with such naive company.
"Anderson, Sherbet" shouted Professor Snape, the new Deputy Headmaster, to begin the sorting.
"Hufflepuff!"
The three impatiently waited for the sorting to commence while shooting dangerous stares at those who were foolish enough to give them curious glances.
"Look at those midgets! How come there are so many of them?" whispered Draco irritatedly.
"Shhh! Not so loud!" Ginny whispered back while Harry was busy scanning the worried newcomers waiting for their turn.
"Engel, Victoria"
"Ravenclaw!"
"I really feel terrible! I can't believe McGonagall made that McMillan Head Boy. I mean I would have been Head Boy you know, if not for some unavoidable circumstances." said a thoroughly disgruntled Draco.
"But I thought you don't want the position. I, for one, am so glad to be rid of my prefect badge." said Ginny sternly to shake some sense into him.
"I don't but it doesn't make me feel any better." said Draco grumpily.
"I can't find Dudley! Have you seen him?" asked Harry, breaking them both from their conversation.
"No, and I wouldn't know. I haven't seen your cousin before." replied Ginny.
"You have a cousin? What does he look like?" asked Draco, curiously looking through the line of the first years.
"Well, he's a little overweight with lots of muscles. And he's supposed to be in fifth year now unless he failed the accreditation exam set by the Ministry." said Harry hastily before his gaze fell on the Ravenclaw table where he caught sight of a girl with long blond hair engrossed in a light conversation with a newcomer. The girl immediately looked in his direction as if sensing his presence. He smiled hesitantly and was surprised to see the girl smiling back at him. His smile faded at that and he moodily broke the eye contact with her.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Ginny as she noticed the sudden change in his mood.
"I'm only gone for a few days and my girlfriend is already cheating on me." a sucking Harry replied.
"What do you mean? And how do you know?" asked Draco, perplexed.
"I smiled at her just now and she smiled back." he said moodily. Ginny rolled her eyes at that while Draco just stared dumbly at him.
"Well, duh! You're his boyfriend. Of course, she's going to smile at you." said Ginny in exasperation.
"B-but she doesn't know it's me! I mean - I don't look like myself anymore." whined Harry.
"You're being paranoid. She's just being nice, you know." said Draco arrogantly as if he was a connoisseur on handling relationships.
"Welcome, first years! Now, I am pleased to announce that another student would be joining the fifth years in Gryffindor house. Dudley Evans, you may go to their table now." said the Headmistress after the freshmen had been sorted.
Harry's jaw dropped as he stared at his cousin. Dudley had lost considerable weight and he looked far better than he imagined. The protruding muscles was a plus factor for him, too. Several girls turned to give him appreciative glances as he walked anxiously to the Gryffindor table.
"That hunk is your cousin?" asked Ginny as she too gave him the once over. Harry nodded. "I did not know he is so handsome."
Draco glared at Ginny but she ignored him.
"Neither did I. He has changed a lot since I last saw him" said Harry, still in shock. "But I guess it runs in the family." he added with a grin.
"We also have three transferees from another wizarding school. They would be joining the Slytherin House -- Miss Callah Meyers, Mr. Devon Antonio, and Mr. Lander Mooney."
The three approached the Slytherin table with all the cool elegance that they could muster. They heard several people from other houses gasp in surprise at their appearance while others merely shook their heads in disgust. But it didn't matter to them. The people they need to impress were now eyeing them approvingly.
"Now that we're all settled, may I remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students and that the products from Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes are still prohibited in this school." stated the Headmistress and she looked at each student sternly to instill the warning on their minds. "To all students, please be informed that Hermione Granger is the new Head Girl and Ernie Macmillan is the new Head Boy. You may seek for their help if you have any problems. Your house prefects shall also be glad to assist you in any way they can. Let the feast begin!" she said after a while and the dinner table was immediately laden with mouth-watering delicacies.
"Cool outfit!" commented Blaise Zabini, one of Draco's closest allies. "What year are you in?"
"I'm in sixth year and both of them are in their seventh." replied Ginny nonchalantly.
"That's great! By the way, I'm Blaise and these are Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott." he introduced themselves proudly, as if he was announcing the members of the royal family.
"Aren't they the ones who studied at Azkaban last year?" asked Harry aka Lander, concealing his curiousity with a bored demeanor.
"How did you know?" Pansy eyed him suspiciously.
"It's all over the papers, pal. Nothing to it. Besides, it's bloody brilliant! How was it?" drawled Draco aka Devon lazily.
"It's boring." said Crabbe and Goyle.
"The minister just gave us probational pardon so we can finish our studies here - as if we care, honestly!" said Pansy with a smirk on her face.
"But you have to admit, no other student here could brag about that." said Lander and the Slytherin idiors laughed proudly.
"Hey, what do you do for fun here?" asked Ginny, munching daintily on a pumpkin cookie held between her fingers.
"Well, we usually make fun of students from the other houses - hex themselves sometimes for practice...." Blaise scrutinized the three. "...and if you're worthy, then we can let you in on other really great stuff."
"Yeah? Like what?" asked Devon as if he was not yet aware of it.
"...if you're worthy, you'll know." replied Pansy mysteriously.
=====================================================================
When the feast was over, all students were escorted by their respective house prefects to their dormitories. Callah and Pansy immediately went off somewhere while the boys lingered at the common room first.
"That Head Girl is one of Potter's bestfriend. She's bad news, I tell you. Nothing would make you an outcast here faster than making friends with her and the redhead git who follows her around. He was her boyfriend and also a great friend of Potter. They're the wrong sort, understand?" stated Blaise while Crabbe and Goyle flanked his side protectively like bodyguards and nodded dumbly at everything he said.
Devon was annoyed by their actions but tried hard not to let it show. To them, Draco Malfoy does not exist anymore and Blaise Zabini is their new leader. He had to deal with that fact and besides, he did not need to feel this way. They were not a great loss on his part.
"No one orders us around, Blaise. Show us first why they are not worthy and then when we'll allow you to call the shots." said Devon tauntingly. Lander looked quizzically at him but he just gave him a trust-me-I-know-what-I'm-doing look.
Blaise looked pissed at his words but he relaxed after a moment. "A challenge, eh? We like that, don't we boys?" again his cronies nodded without a second thought. "Watch us squash those dirts tomorrow before our potions session." he declared arrogantly.
"Make sure you win." said Lander with the same tone as Devon's.
"We will." said Blaise with a wicked glint in his eyes then he led his cronies to their room.
Devon waited until they were out of hear shot before he said to Lander. "In this house, you won't get any respect if you agree at once to what they are saying. But you shouldn't appear as if you're defying them too."
Lander mutely acknowledged his comment and stared at the Slytherin common room. It still had the same rough stone walls with round, greenish lamps hanging on chains to the ceiling. There were still no soft and comfortable sofas like in their own common room - only high-backed chairs which, from his experience, was not really satisfying to sit on. A fire also crackled merrily under a carved mantelpiece with an intricate design that depicted a very outmoded fashion of a wizard duel. Looking around the eerie surroundings, he slightly wondered if they were doing the right thing.
"Your common room has not changed much since my last visit." he commented over his shoulder.
"You've been here before? When?" asked Devon in astonishment.
"Oh! Um --" Lander silently cursed himself for being careless but decided not to lie. "We - that means me and Ron - came here during our second year. End of story."
"How the hell did you two get in?" queried Devon, a little miffed that some students from other houses were able to enter their secret domain without his knowledge.
"Don't ask questions because you might not want to hear the answers." replied Lander cautiously, unwilling to offend him.
"No, I'm bloody curious. Who was the slimy git who betrayed our oath of secrecy?" he asked heatedly.
Lander raised one eyebrow and his mouth twitched in amusement. "As I have said, you might not want to hear the answer. The slimy git who let us in was YOU." he laughed at the look of incredulity on Devon's face. "...and I would not ask more questions if I were you."
"Yeah - might as well not. I feel like an idiot!"
"You were but I hope you are not now."
"I wonder what that idiot Blaise is planning to do tomorrow..."
"Well, he better not make it too dangerous or that might just be the most humiliating moment of his life..."
Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape made some elaborate request to procure three additional wands for the 'transferees' and now they surveyed the transformed teenagers with satisfied looks on their faces. They had performed some spells to alter their features and to conceal Harry's very noticeable scar. The girl now had jet black hair with a distinct mole on her left cheek. She was wearing dark brown matte lipstick and black eyeshadow that contrasted with her pale color, giving her the haunted appearance of a vampire. Both boys had colorful spiked hair and metal chains with weird-shaped pendants dangling loosely on their necks. The ugly scowl on their faces which showed their intense displeasure with their new 'look' only made them appear more menacing.
"Professor, can you please reiterate why we can't have the same vampire look as Ginny? We look like --- " said Harry indignantly.
" -- like overgrown chickens!" finished Draco as he checked himself out on a nearby mirror which sneered mockingly at him instead of giving him the usual praises he was accustomed to,
"Well, at least you look more like a ferret boy now, darling?" said Ginny, grinning mischievously at the two restless boys. Even Snape seemed amused with their discomfort.
"Now, now. Don't be stubborn, boys. That look would give everyone the impression that you are trouble-makers - perfect ticket to get into the "in" crowd at Slytherin." reminded Professor McGonagall sternly but the faint twitch on her mouth was a dead giveaway. Both boys glared at the others. "And Draco, remember that I placed you on seventh year even though you missed the whole sixth year just because you received high mark on your OWLs so I expect you to do very well this school year. Understand?" she added. Draco nodded mutely but he still did not look too pleased.
"Hrmp! You're enjoying this, aren't you?" grumbled the two boys.
"Indeed, we are!" declared Snape triumphantly. "But think of the bright side. At least you would be able finish your studies and defeat the dark lord at once. That's like hitting two birds with one stone, isn't it?" he added in pure delight. The boys' scowl deepened at the mention of birds but did not argue.
"By the way, where's Wormtail?" asked Ginny, putting a clever stop to the current topic. Both boys appeared on the brink of hexing them senseless if they irritate them some more.
"Ahh, Peter. He's in the dungeon --- apparently cleansing his soul." replied Snape with a smirk. "I'm glad you came up with a better plan though. It saved me a lot of trouble."
"Cut it out. I'm not feeling very glad at the moment." declared Harry grouchily as he and the other two 'transferees' followed the professors to the Great Hall.
====================================================================
The Great Hall was already filled with restless students when they arrived. The freshmen were fidgeting nervously as they waited for the sorting ceremony to begin.
"My brother told me we had to wrestle a troll or something..." said a scared-looking girl.
"Oh, my God! Is that true? I don't know any spells at all..." grimaced another terrified freshmen.
"Of course not! Haven't you read Hogwarts - A History? A sorting hat would place us to the house that suited our personality most." said a rather smug-faced little girl with curly brown hair.
The three snickered as they listened to their bickerings. The girl reminded them so much of Hermione that they could not help but laugh. Such innocence! When all had settled down, the three distanced themselves from the younger group. It would simply be too embarrassing to be identified with such naive company.
"Anderson, Sherbet" shouted Professor Snape, the new Deputy Headmaster, to begin the sorting.
"Hufflepuff!"
The three impatiently waited for the sorting to commence while shooting dangerous stares at those who were foolish enough to give them curious glances.
"Look at those midgets! How come there are so many of them?" whispered Draco irritatedly.
"Shhh! Not so loud!" Ginny whispered back while Harry was busy scanning the worried newcomers waiting for their turn.
"Engel, Victoria"
"Ravenclaw!"
"I really feel terrible! I can't believe McGonagall made that McMillan Head Boy. I mean I would have been Head Boy you know, if not for some unavoidable circumstances." said a thoroughly disgruntled Draco.
"But I thought you don't want the position. I, for one, am so glad to be rid of my prefect badge." said Ginny sternly to shake some sense into him.
"I don't but it doesn't make me feel any better." said Draco grumpily.
"I can't find Dudley! Have you seen him?" asked Harry, breaking them both from their conversation.
"No, and I wouldn't know. I haven't seen your cousin before." replied Ginny.
"You have a cousin? What does he look like?" asked Draco, curiously looking through the line of the first years.
"Well, he's a little overweight with lots of muscles. And he's supposed to be in fifth year now unless he failed the accreditation exam set by the Ministry." said Harry hastily before his gaze fell on the Ravenclaw table where he caught sight of a girl with long blond hair engrossed in a light conversation with a newcomer. The girl immediately looked in his direction as if sensing his presence. He smiled hesitantly and was surprised to see the girl smiling back at him. His smile faded at that and he moodily broke the eye contact with her.
"What's wrong with you?" asked Ginny as she noticed the sudden change in his mood.
"I'm only gone for a few days and my girlfriend is already cheating on me." a sucking Harry replied.
"What do you mean? And how do you know?" asked Draco, perplexed.
"I smiled at her just now and she smiled back." he said moodily. Ginny rolled her eyes at that while Draco just stared dumbly at him.
"Well, duh! You're his boyfriend. Of course, she's going to smile at you." said Ginny in exasperation.
"B-but she doesn't know it's me! I mean - I don't look like myself anymore." whined Harry.
"You're being paranoid. She's just being nice, you know." said Draco arrogantly as if he was a connoisseur on handling relationships.
"Welcome, first years! Now, I am pleased to announce that another student would be joining the fifth years in Gryffindor house. Dudley Evans, you may go to their table now." said the Headmistress after the freshmen had been sorted.
Harry's jaw dropped as he stared at his cousin. Dudley had lost considerable weight and he looked far better than he imagined. The protruding muscles was a plus factor for him, too. Several girls turned to give him appreciative glances as he walked anxiously to the Gryffindor table.
"That hunk is your cousin?" asked Ginny as she too gave him the once over. Harry nodded. "I did not know he is so handsome."
Draco glared at Ginny but she ignored him.
"Neither did I. He has changed a lot since I last saw him" said Harry, still in shock. "But I guess it runs in the family." he added with a grin.
"We also have three transferees from another wizarding school. They would be joining the Slytherin House -- Miss Callah Meyers, Mr. Devon Antonio, and Mr. Lander Mooney."
The three approached the Slytherin table with all the cool elegance that they could muster. They heard several people from other houses gasp in surprise at their appearance while others merely shook their heads in disgust. But it didn't matter to them. The people they need to impress were now eyeing them approvingly.
"Now that we're all settled, may I remind you that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students and that the products from Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes are still prohibited in this school." stated the Headmistress and she looked at each student sternly to instill the warning on their minds. "To all students, please be informed that Hermione Granger is the new Head Girl and Ernie Macmillan is the new Head Boy. You may seek for their help if you have any problems. Your house prefects shall also be glad to assist you in any way they can. Let the feast begin!" she said after a while and the dinner table was immediately laden with mouth-watering delicacies.
"Cool outfit!" commented Blaise Zabini, one of Draco's closest allies. "What year are you in?"
"I'm in sixth year and both of them are in their seventh." replied Ginny nonchalantly.
"That's great! By the way, I'm Blaise and these are Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle and Nott." he introduced themselves proudly, as if he was announcing the members of the royal family.
"Aren't they the ones who studied at Azkaban last year?" asked Harry aka Lander, concealing his curiousity with a bored demeanor.
"How did you know?" Pansy eyed him suspiciously.
"It's all over the papers, pal. Nothing to it. Besides, it's bloody brilliant! How was it?" drawled Draco aka Devon lazily.
"It's boring." said Crabbe and Goyle.
"The minister just gave us probational pardon so we can finish our studies here - as if we care, honestly!" said Pansy with a smirk on her face.
"But you have to admit, no other student here could brag about that." said Lander and the Slytherin idiors laughed proudly.
"Hey, what do you do for fun here?" asked Ginny, munching daintily on a pumpkin cookie held between her fingers.
"Well, we usually make fun of students from the other houses - hex themselves sometimes for practice...." Blaise scrutinized the three. "...and if you're worthy, then we can let you in on other really great stuff."
"Yeah? Like what?" asked Devon as if he was not yet aware of it.
"...if you're worthy, you'll know." replied Pansy mysteriously.
=====================================================================
When the feast was over, all students were escorted by their respective house prefects to their dormitories. Callah and Pansy immediately went off somewhere while the boys lingered at the common room first.
"That Head Girl is one of Potter's bestfriend. She's bad news, I tell you. Nothing would make you an outcast here faster than making friends with her and the redhead git who follows her around. He was her boyfriend and also a great friend of Potter. They're the wrong sort, understand?" stated Blaise while Crabbe and Goyle flanked his side protectively like bodyguards and nodded dumbly at everything he said.
Devon was annoyed by their actions but tried hard not to let it show. To them, Draco Malfoy does not exist anymore and Blaise Zabini is their new leader. He had to deal with that fact and besides, he did not need to feel this way. They were not a great loss on his part.
"No one orders us around, Blaise. Show us first why they are not worthy and then when we'll allow you to call the shots." said Devon tauntingly. Lander looked quizzically at him but he just gave him a trust-me-I-know-what-I'm-doing look.
Blaise looked pissed at his words but he relaxed after a moment. "A challenge, eh? We like that, don't we boys?" again his cronies nodded without a second thought. "Watch us squash those dirts tomorrow before our potions session." he declared arrogantly.
"Make sure you win." said Lander with the same tone as Devon's.
"We will." said Blaise with a wicked glint in his eyes then he led his cronies to their room.
Devon waited until they were out of hear shot before he said to Lander. "In this house, you won't get any respect if you agree at once to what they are saying. But you shouldn't appear as if you're defying them too."
Lander mutely acknowledged his comment and stared at the Slytherin common room. It still had the same rough stone walls with round, greenish lamps hanging on chains to the ceiling. There were still no soft and comfortable sofas like in their own common room - only high-backed chairs which, from his experience, was not really satisfying to sit on. A fire also crackled merrily under a carved mantelpiece with an intricate design that depicted a very outmoded fashion of a wizard duel. Looking around the eerie surroundings, he slightly wondered if they were doing the right thing.
"Your common room has not changed much since my last visit." he commented over his shoulder.
"You've been here before? When?" asked Devon in astonishment.
"Oh! Um --" Lander silently cursed himself for being careless but decided not to lie. "We - that means me and Ron - came here during our second year. End of story."
"How the hell did you two get in?" queried Devon, a little miffed that some students from other houses were able to enter their secret domain without his knowledge.
"Don't ask questions because you might not want to hear the answers." replied Lander cautiously, unwilling to offend him.
"No, I'm bloody curious. Who was the slimy git who betrayed our oath of secrecy?" he asked heatedly.
Lander raised one eyebrow and his mouth twitched in amusement. "As I have said, you might not want to hear the answer. The slimy git who let us in was YOU." he laughed at the look of incredulity on Devon's face. "...and I would not ask more questions if I were you."
"Yeah - might as well not. I feel like an idiot!"
"You were but I hope you are not now."
"I wonder what that idiot Blaise is planning to do tomorrow..."
"Well, he better not make it too dangerous or that might just be the most humiliating moment of his life..."