Chapter 5: Glass Blues

It was quite dark when the train finally stopped. Luci and Silia were bursting with excitement. Apparently Silia hadn't seen her boyfriend all summer. Which made Star miss Tsu even more. Silia only went for three months...she'd have to go 9 months without Tsu. And at least Silia's time away was over the summer...she could play and enjoy her time off. Star had to go to school. WTF. Well...at least she had holidays...

All the Hogwarts students piled out of the train and milled about, wondering where to go. Several aging adults in swishing robes began calling for different age levels. One adult was so massive Star couldn't help but stare. She stared so long that the man noticed and gave her a smile and a wink. He started calling for 1st years and Star panicked. Which way should she go? With Luci and Silia and the other 5th years or the 1st years? The decision was made for her, however, when Luci linked their arms and pulled her away toward a carriage with no horse attached.

Inside the carriage, Star couldn't help noticing that she was the only one not sporting their house colors. She sort of wished she could have just gone with the 1st years...at least then she wouldn't have stuck out so bad. But since it was now too late for that, Star just leaned up against the window next to her and watched the land go whooshing by, trying to ignore Silia making smoochy noises and a tall blonde boy. God, did she miss Tsu.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, could have prepared Star for what she saw coming around the bend of the road. Not the secret wall/door at the train station, not Diagon Alley, not the huge smiling man, not even carriage drawn by nothing. Before her eyes appeared multitudes of glowing castle spires. It was like a picture out of a story book. She half expected to see Prince Charming go galloping past on his mighty steed...

When the carriage stopped she was pulled once again by Luci toward the expansive castle. It was truly an amazing sight, and it only got better as they hurried closer toward it. The grounds were massive and lush and there was the perfect amount of spooky hanging about the place from the darkness and glowing light. Star almost drooled on herself. Okay, so maybe it wasn't so bad...but before she even had a chance to be happy about getting to go to school in a castle, she thought of Tsu. Tsu would have loved to have been able to see it, too.

"So this is Hogwarts...?" Star asked, staring at the monstrous front hall. It was truly a fairy tale place. Star tried to get a good look at the place, but that was hard to do with the flood of students pushing her toward the large double doors to one side of the hall. But just before she reached the doors, a voice called her name.

"Wystaer Rayner!"

Star whirled around and tried to locate whoever it was who knew her name.

"Miss Rayner." This time her eyes found who she searched for. Standing on the steps just above the heads of the massing students was an aging woman with a stern face, tiny glasses, and dark green swishy robes. Star pushed through the crowd toward the woman. Once she was across the hall the woman led her to a small classroom.

"Miss Rayner, I am Professor McGonagall."

"H-hello..." Star said, a bit uneasily. "Is...is something wrong?"

"Heavens, no, child!" The woman gave her a bit of a smile. "I suppose you got something of a shock when you got your letter?"

Star nodded.

"Well, you will be starting a bit later than we would have liked, but that can't be helped. I suppose you are wondering how your education will be fulfilled, correct?"

Star nodded.

"You will go to class with your age group. You should be able to catch up, I've been told you are rather quick-minded."

Star stared. Her? Quick-minded? Maybe she wasn't dumb, but she wasn't ever all that great at school. She was average and all, but quick-minded? Never in her life had she ever considered herself THAT.

"Um, Prof., I don't know if I'll..."

"Be able to? Don't worry, you'll be fine."

This whole time they were in the classroom, Prof. McGonagall had been shuffling about, looking through a large desk and a wardrobe. Finally, she stood up triumphantly.

"Here we are." She set a stool down beside Star and gestured for her to sit down on it. She did.

"What are we doing?" She asked.

"I'm Sorting you." When Star merely stared blinking, Prof. McGonagall continued, "I am placing you in a House. Do you know what those are?" Star nodded, glad that she finally knew something. Prof. pulled a rather tattered hat out and placed it on her head. "Wait a moment and then we will know."

For a moment there was only silence, then a voice began to whispered inside her head, "So you prefer the name Star, eh, Wystaer?" Star jumped and McGonagall smiled again, as if to suggest that she knew exactly what was going. "Well, let's see...I see a lot of courage, but a lot of apprehension...we'll have to get you over that. Some terrible things have happened to you, very terrible...it's etched deep inside of you." Star wrung her hands, glancing around in a futile attempt to locate the source of the voice. You have a good mind, that you most certainly do...all these things you fear are nothing; if only you could see the strength you have to lead. Ah! Perfect! I know exactly where I should put you." Star braced herself.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Star froze as McGonagall took the talking hat off her head. Slytherin? Slytherin!? Wasn't that the house that Silia had said was the bad one? Fear swept through her. Slytherin. A tie and patch, both silver and green, were handed to her, the patch sporting a curling silver snake. A serpent. Slytherin. Wait, wasn't that boy of Silia's a Slytherin? Now she was really confused.

"Well, off with you now," McGonagall said, ushering her out of the classroom and into the hall, "I'm starving, and I'm sure you are, too. Just sit with the other Slytherins."

Star was so paranoid about the House she was placed in, she hardly noticed the spectacular décor of the dinner hall. She noticed the ceiling was the same as the sky outside, but now she was sure she'd never be surprised by anything ever again.

As she moved toward the table of green ties and patches she noticed the line of 1st years standing up by the head table. Sitting down in the last open seat at the green table (which was at the very end furthest from the head table) she realized that they were getting sorted. Star sighed. I guess they didn't want me getting embarrassed, or something...

When dinner was served she hardly ate. But then, she hardly ate, anyway. She picked at some chicken and tried the pumpkin juice (which was better than she'd expected it to be) and a few other things, but she just wasn't in the mood for festivities. Removing her glasses and pressing the heels of her hands to her eyes, she realized how tired she was and was more excited than she'd been in days when they were dismissed for beds.

In truth, she felt pretty euphoric as she descended toward the dungeons and couldn't help but feel butterflies. What kind of room would she have...?

Well, as it turned out, the boy Silia was fawning over, whose name turned out to be Draco Malfoy, was pretty all right. A little bit of a snooty rich boy, but he was all right. Through him she found out that the den sort of place that led on to the dormitories was called the Common Room. The room was roomy and made of stone. There were several large, green, leather upholstered easy chairs and iron tables and several fire places. She had to admit she liked it.

Her dorm room, which was occupied by four other very uninteresting 5th year girls, all of whose names she didn't bother to remember, was the greatest room she'd ever seen. The beds were tall and four-postered with forest green velvet curtains and the beds were covered with green and black satin and velvet. She couldn't wait to fall asleep in THAT. Her trunk sat at the foot of one of the beds which sat against the far wall nearest a window. The land Hogwarts rested on must have been quite a steep hill because the dungeons were pretty far down into the ground. But she was grateful for the window. She had a pleasant view of the hillside, forest and the ocean. She changed into her PJs and climbed into the comfy looking bed and let out a sigh. She'd have to figure out how to smuggle this thing home...