Chapter 2

Sorting

Harry boarded the Hogwarts express ten minutes before eleven. He kept the door open and watched the aisle. Ron and Hermione weren't at the station yet, but he knew they would be, and he knew they would sit with him. The person he was really waiting for was Elizabeth. He really wanted her to sit with his friends so they could all meet each other. More people began to enter the train, Ron first and then Hermione, both accompanied by their pets. Hermione had Crookshanks, her cat, and Ron had Pig, his miniature owl. They found Harry and quickly went to sit with him.

"Did you see the new girl?" Ron asked as he took a seat. Harry shook his head.

"She's weird!" Ron blurted. "She wears all black and has black lipstick and-"

"Oh wait," Harry interrupted. "I do know her. Her name is Elizabeth, and she's actually pretty nice...in a...interesting sort of way." Hermione scoffed.

"Well, if she doesn't take those headphones off, she's going to get in a lot of trouble at school."

"Who's going to get in trouble?" said a voice from the side.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all turned to see Elizabeth's black, shadow-like figure hovering in the doorway. Ron and Hermione choked up, and Harry's blood began to burn in anger. He glared at his two cabin-mates.

"Oh, one of the first years up front," Hermione said, hesitating, but not too obvious. Elizabeth seemed to know she was lying though.

"Right," Elizabeth sneered and quickly marched to the back of the train, saying nothing else.

Harry glared at Ron and Hermione.

"Why did you have to go ahead and do something so stupid?" He growled.

"What? I didn't say anything mean to her."

"Yeah, but chances are, she knew what you were thinking." Harry got up from his seat. "I'm going to see if she's all right."

"She seemed fine," said Ron, but Harry got out of his seat anyway.

He walked past all the compartments. Most of them were open except for the last one on the right. Harry couldn't see into it, but he guessed that was where Elizabeth was. She seemed like the type to go straight for the back where no one else would be. Hesitating, Harry knocked on the door.

"What?" hissed a girl's irritated voice from inside the compartment.

"It's me, Harry."

At that, Harry heard a "click", and the door came ajar. Elizabeth was sitting next to the window. She had her around her neck and an unlit cigarette in her mouth. The light from The Witches Rune had been really dim, and now he was able to get a really good look at Elizabeth. Her eyes were a very pale blue that mesmerised Harry, though he could see why they might creep most people out. She had on a black dress with a fishnet shirt on under it. Her nails were painted black, and there were dozens of silver rings on her fingers. One ring that looked like a snake with an emerald for an eye reminded Harry of the Slytherin house.

"Those your friends?" she asked, taking out a box of matches.

"Yeah, and I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said, referring to the cigarette.

"What are they going to do?" she asked nonchalantly, and carefully lit it.

There was a sudden high pitched screech that made Harry and Elizabeth jump. A compartment in the ceiling opened, and a small elf, similar to that of a house elf, jumped down and snatched the cigarette from Elizabeth's mouth. He then smashed it out with his fingers, glaring at Elizabeth.

"No smoking on the train!" it yelled. "You understand me?" Slowly, Elizabeth nodded.

Grunting, the elf jumped up and crawled back into the hole he had leaped out, slamming the trapdoor once he was in. Elizabeth was sitting very still. Her hand was still up to her mouth, holding the now imaginary cigarette. The match was still burning. Her blue eyes were now wide with shock.

"That's what they'll do," Harry said.

Elizabeth didn't move until the flame of the match had burnt down to her fingertips. Elizabeth cursed and flung the smouldering match to the ground, stamping it out with her boots.

"Someone tried that last year," Harry informed her. "As long as it's out now, you shouldn't get in trouble." Elizabeth sighed.

"I need to quit anyway," she said as she opened her window and tossed a half-empty pack out.

"You shouldn't litter neither!" yelled the elf from above, still hiding in his secret compartment.

Elizabeth cursed again and then pulled a book out of her bag. Harry looked at the title. It was her "Standard Book of Spells". She was looking through it, smirking the entire time.

"They really expect me to do this stuff?" she asked.

"Well, it might seem hard at first-" but Harry stopped in mid sentence.

The look on Elizabeth's face told him that she really thought it was a joke. She had the book open to a page that instructed how to light a proper fire without the use of a wand. Harry was glad they were finally going over wandless magic this year, but Elizabeth didn't seem too thrilled.

" 'This incantation is very simple, but to make heavy objects levitate without your wand takes much practice and a lot of heart.' Are they kidding?"

"Well, no," Harry said. "They really teach you that at Hogwarts. It's really a school of magic. I didn't think so at first, but-"

"Don't you think your friends are wondering where you are?" Elizabeth interrupted.

Harry saw a look in Elizabeth's eyes that told him she wanted him to go. He felt embarrassed for having stayed with her so long in the compartment. He should've known someone like Elizabeth wouldn't really like him all that much. People like her usually kept to themselves. Harry sighed and got up, just as Malfoy opened the door, gripping the side of the doorway to keep his balance.

"Ah, I thought the two orphans would be attracted to each other," he said, sneering.

"I'd watch what you say, blondie," Elizabeth hissed.

"Why should I? What would you do about it?"

Elizabeth smiled evilly. Her black, painted lips went thin, and her blue eyes narrowed at Malfoy. It was the kind of smile that Snape would put on before duelling with someone. It gave Harry goose bumps.

Suddenly, the door slammed hard. Malfoy fell to the ground, gripping his bleeding hand.

"Ah! I think my hand is broken! Just wait until I tell my father!"

"What's he going to do? Escape from prison so he can scold me?"

Malfoy was too distraught to come up with a good response. Instead, he slammed the door again with his good hand, and Harry could hear him stomping back to where he was sitting before. He would be taken directly to Madam Pomfrey once they arrived. His fingers actually did look broken. Harry then stared at Elizabeth, feeling a little frightened.

"Don't worry," she said. "I won't do that to you. I think you're nice." Harry smiled, thankfully.

"Now go and sit with your friends before they think you've deserted them."

Elizabeth smiled as she put her headphones back on, and Harry walked back down the aisle. He could hear Malfoy complaining about the "freak that broke his fingers". It made Harry laugh. Hermione had stood up to him during their third year when she punched him square in the face. Harry never felt bad for Malfoy, even when his father was sent to prison.

"There you are," Hermione said happily when Harry entered. "How is she?"

"She's fine. She just broke Malfoy's fingers." Hermione and Ron started laughing.

"Really? What did she do?" asked Ron.

"She slammed the door on his fingers. Now he's crying like a dying mandrake in his compartment.

"That's great!" said Ron, enthusiastically.

"I like her already," Hermione said. "And...I'm sorry if I insulted her."

"I think she's over it. After the crap she has to put up with because of Malfoy, what you said probably seems like nothing to her.

"I wonder what house she'll be in," Hermione said. Ron nodded.

"Yeah, I wonder. What do you think, Harry?"

Harry hadn't thought about it. He really hoped she would be in Gryffindor, but something in his gut told him she wouldn't be. Though she was obviously brave, it didn't seem to fit. Hufflepuff was out, too. She didn't seem like the shy, friendly type to Harry. Ravenclaw was a strong possibility. She already seemed to know more magic than most students. She also had a smart, witty aura about her. There was still one more possibility, and it hurt Harry to think about it.

"I hope she's not in Slytherin," Harry said, but he knew that she would probably do well there, too.

She was sneaky (stealing from The Witches Rune), and she seemed like one who would go through any means to get what she needed done. Still, the likelihood of Elizabeth being in Slytherin was low. Harry hadn't yet met one Slytherin that he liked. He didn't think it was possible he could be friends with a Slytherin.

"Probably Ravenclaw," Harry said, trying to reassure himself. "She's really smart."

"She dresses like a raven, too," Ron said. "She'd make a great mascot."

Harry knew Ron didn't mean anything bad by that, either. Chances were that Elizabeth wouldn't really care too much anyway. She didn't seem like one who would really make a big deal over nothing. Then again, she also seemed quite unpredictable.

After a while of catching up with each other and going over the different courses chosen, the train stopped. Harry, Hermione, and Ron grabbed their Luggage and exited the train. Crookshanks jumped out of Hermione's arms and darted for the back of the train.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione yelled, but the cat ignored her. Instead, the orange fur ball found Elizabeth and jumped into her arms.

"Well then!" she exclaimed, petting the large, orange cat.

Hermione ran to the back of the train and took Crookshanks gently out of Elizabeth's arms.

"That was strange," she said. Elizabeth just smiled.

"I think he smelled Grim," she said. Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Grim?"

Elizabeth smiled as she opened a cage that sat on top of her luggage. I small, black and white cat crept out and climbed into Elizabeth's arms. Crookshanks leaned in and sniffed the small cat.

"This is my baby, Grim," Elizabeth said, petting the cat affectionately. "She's about a year old now."

Grim rubbed her face against Crookshanks' and began purring. It seemed the two cats really liked each other. Elizabeth got a worried look on her face.

"Erm, is your cat fixed?" she asked. Hermione shook her head, and then got the same worried expression as Elizabeth had.

"We'd better keep them separate then," Hermione said. "Otherwise there'll be a lot more cats running around the school."

Elizabeth gently put Grim back into her cage and began walking with her luggage. Hermione looked back, unsure of whether she should really introduce herself to this strange girl, but decided it was best to.

"I'm Hermione Granger," she said, extending her hand.

Surprisingly, Elizabeth accepted it, smiling her white teeth against creepy black lipstick.

"Elizabeth Woodside," she replied, shaking Hermione's hand.

Hermione couldn't think of much else to say. She thought it might be a bit awkward apologising to Elizabeth for something she didn't even know she did. Instead, they walked silently in the line to get off the train.

Elizabeth was overwhelmed by the view. The lake that overlooked Hogwarts was one thing to her, but actually seeing the school was something on a different level. It was a huge castle rather than a school. A thick mist was hanging over the lake and extending towards the castle. About one hundred or so boats were lined up at the water's edge, and a huge man with wild hair was standing by the lake.

"First year, come wit' me," he shouted. "All the rest, ye know what to do."

Elizabeth looked around confused. It was her first year, though she wasn't being placed as a first year, yet she didn't know what to do. She tapped the nearest person she could find. It was a girl with a pug shaped face.

"What?" she asked with an annoyed look, but her expression changed as soon as she saw Elizabeth.

"Err, yes, what am I supposed todo?" she asked.

"Are you a first year?" she asked, now calmly.

"Well, not exactly. This is my first year, but I'm being placed up with the seventh years."

The pug faced girl thought for a moment, but she didn't seem to have an answer.

"I think you should go ask Hagrid. He's the one over there taking the rest of the first years."

Ah, okay," Elizabeth answered. "Cheers!"

"Wait a second!" the pug girl called as Elizabeth began to run after Hagrid. She stopped quickly, and Grim yowled in irritation.

"Were you the one who broke Malfoy's fingers?" she asked. Elizabeth grinned.

"Aye, that would be me." The pug girl smiled back.

"You're officially my new best friend," she said. "I dated him, but he turned out to be a big jerk."

Elizabeth shuddered to think that Malfoy could date anyone, but the girl didn't seem too bad for a person.

"Aren't they all like that?" Elizabeth asked, and then went back after Hagrid.

"I think she's going with Hagrid to get prepared," Hermione said. "I saw her talking to Pansy, and then she went for the boats."

"Eww, Pansy?" Ron grimaced.

"Actually, she hasn't been so bad since she dumped Malfoy," Harry added. "She must've seen his true colours." Hermione nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, believe it or not, I think some Slytherins have matured a bit. They're not really friendly with us, but they don't give us as much of a hard time...except for Malfoy." Harry smiled.

"Well, with Elizabeth around, I don't think Malfoy will want to do anything to us. From what it looked like, she really broke his fingers. There was blood everywhere. It was gross, but great at the same time." Rom scoffed.

"I wouldn't mind seeing his head on a stick, honestly. He's been nothing but terrible all six years, and from what it sounds like, things won't improve for the seventh."

"You'd think people would learn to just grow up," Hermione added. "I mean, we're leaving for good this year, right?" Harry nodded.

"That's why Malfoy has to be so terrible," Harry said. "He's only got a limited amount of time to torment people, so he has to fill it in now."

"Well, I think he's met his match," said Hermione, smiling.

Later on, everyone was escorted into the Great Hall. Harry spotted Elizabeth in the line of first years waiting to be sorted. She looked awkwardly tall compared to most of them. When she saw Harry, she smiled in a way that said "go ahead and laugh at me". Harry did laugh though. She still had her headphones on, though one was pulled off her ear so she could hear what was going on. The girl definitely had a way about her.

Then, Dumbledore brought out the sorting hat. Harry watched as he sat down at the Gryffindor table as Elizabeth's eyes widened when the hat began reciting the poem. Harry laughed at her surprise, and then, the names were being called.

Harry looked over at the high table where all the professors sat. Again, there was a new professor, most likely for Defence Against the Dark Arts. Professor Snape was sitting at the far end, looking both bored and annoyed. He didn't get the job again. Everyone knew that Snape wanted the Defence class. He knew enough about the dark arts, more than most people should. Only recently had Harry learned that Snape had worked for Voldemort, but he tried to leave when things got bad. Voldemort ended up putting him under a dark enchantment, along with many other wizards. Snape still had the tattoo of the Death Eaters on his arm. It looked scarred up, as if Snape had tried cutting it out of his skin.

The hat called out the names, and finally, it came to Elizabeth.

"Elizabeth Woodside!" it shouted.

Nervously, Elizabeth approached the hat and sat down. Dumbledore set the hat on her head, and it waited a moment before it spoke.

"Hmm...interesting," it said. "There's a lot in here."

"Hmm...interesting," Elizabeth retorted, "a talking hat."

The sorting hat just laughed.

"Ha-ha! You're a witty one, you are. What else is there?...a lot of bravery I see, a whole lot of intelligence. Do you think Ravenclaw would work for you?" Elizabeth just sat there with that look one gets when he has just seen something frightening, like a BBC television show for toddlers. Harry was a little sad she wasn't in Gryffindor, though Ravenclaw wasn't bad.

"But!" the hat began abruptly, "there's more to you than just the wit. You'll do what it takes to get things done I see."

The hat cleared it's through (though it didn't really have one) and announced, "I'm certain now of which house you're in. Elizabeth Woodside's in SLYTHERIN!"

Harry's heart sunk, and he could see that Ron and Hermione felt the same way.

"No!" Harry cursed under his breath. "It must be wrong."

He knew otherwise though. Elizabeth would make a great Slytherin, but if it were the end of their short-lived friendship, Harry would really feel as though he'd lost something great.

"It won't be too bad," Hermione said, comforting Harry. "If she's your friend, than a house shouldn't change anything."

Harry nodded in agreement, though he knew that things probably would change a lot. He watched Elizabeth walk over to the Slytherin table and sit with Pansy Parkinson. They seemed to get along really well. Harry also noticed that Malfoy was nowhere to be seen.

I bet he's whining to Madam Pomfrey, he thought to himself.

When Harry looked up at the high table though, he saw something he had never seen before. Snape was watching Elizabeth, not with malice, not with content, but with curiosity. It was such a deep, unusual stare that it sent icicles running up and down Harry's spine.