I'm so sorry for the long update! I was on a skiing trip and didn't have access to a computer for a while. Thank you to all the lovely reviewers. I'm sure anyone who writes stories knows that they really do help you write. Cupcakes to you all! Anyways, enough of my ramblings. On with the story!
Jess quietly made her way to the front, sat on the stool, and put the Hat on her head. Immediately a voice surrounded her.
"Hmmm. Very intelligent, that is clear. But somehow, you don't seem like a Ravenclaw. Perhaps Hufflepuff, for you do have loyalty. But, no, that wouldn't work. Hmmmmmm…."
Jess really didn't care what House she got into, just as long as she was with her new friends.
"I see," the Hat said in her ear, reading her thoughts. "Well, then. We better put you in GRYFFINDOR!" The Hat shouted the last word, and applause suddenly broke out around the room.
Pulling the Hat from her head, Jess slid of the stool and practically skipped to the Gryffindor table. Spotting James, Sirius and Remus, she quickly walked towards them.
"Well done!" James exclaimed, sliding over so Jess could sit down.
She couldn't help but grin. All that mattered right now was that she was with her friends. And seeing how she hadn't had any friends since what seemed like the Dawn of Time, Jess was very cheerful indeed.
The rest of the Sorting past in a blur. Finally, when 'White, Gregory' was sorted into Slytherin, a man with a very long white beard stood up.
"Welcome, and welcome back!" he said, arms stretched out in greeting. "I hope you all had a very enjoyable holiday."
Jess recognized the man instantly. Her mom had told her about him before she left for school. This was Albus Dumbledore, supposedly the most powerful wizard alive.
"Now, before we tuck into our delicious feast, I have a few announcements to make," Dumbledore continued. "Firstly, I am delighted to announce that we have a new potions master, Professor Banning!"
Applause rang through the Hall as Professor Banning stood up. He had short brown hair, and warm brown eyes. He was muscular, yet had a few wrinkles near his eyes. Banning smiled and sat down as the clapping died.
Dumbledore finished the announcements a few minutes later, but Jess didn't really hear him. Actually, she was stuffing her fist in her mouth, trying in vain not to laugh. Sirius had just told her a story about the time when he had dared James to set Professor McGonagall's sleeve on fire. The result was not pretty. Apparently, it took a wholeten minutes for her to realize she was alight, and anothertwo to figure out the culprit. But, due to knowledge of the Marauders' behaviour, it wasn't too difficult. James had been sentenced to a month of detention, and was forced to clean out the boys toilets every week for a month- without magic.
Still chuckling, Jess noticed everyone was clapping. Without the faintest idea what the applause was for, she joined in. Dumbledore sat down, and without further ado, the empty plates sitting on the tables filled with food. Jess was shocked that one table could hold so many dishes. There was chicken, steak, mashed potatoes, rice, buffalo wings, and more.
Jess piled her plate with lots of everything, since she hadn't eaten since breakfast this morning. Every bite was delicious, and Jess amused herself by listening to stories of the infamous Marauders. (And let me tell you, there were a lot.)
After the feast was over, Jess dragged herself to the Gryffindor Tower. She barely took in her surroundings before saying goodnight to James, Sirius and Remus. A seventh year prefect with curly blonde hair directed Jess to her dorm room.
Once she had found her bed, Jess crawled into her bed without even bothering to change, and fell asleep within minutes.
The next morning, Jess woke up earlier than usual. The sun was just climbing over the horizon, casting a pale light over the grounds. Stumbling out of bed, Jess dug some clean clothes out of her trunk, found the bathroom and hopped into the shower.
When she was done, Jess made her way to the common room. She was startled to see Remus was already there, reading a very heavy looking book.
"Hey you," Jess said, slumping onto the couch next to him.
Remus looked up, slightly surprised, but said, "Hey."
Jess stared out the window for a moment before asking, "Do you always get up this early?"
"Well, usually only on the first day back," he said. "I don't exactly know why, though."
Jess nodded, and they both sat in silence for a minute. A bird fluttered past the window, and the sun was fully out now. Jess stood up and strolled to the window, wanting to get a better view of the grounds.
The grass was still green, and a vast lake was rippling slightly from the wind. Further on was a gigantic forest, birds occasionally flying in and out of the trees.
Suddenly feeling quite hungry, Jess asked Remus if he wanted to go down and get some breakfast.
"Sure. I was waiting for someone to go with, as I don't want to look like a complete loner."
Jess chuckled as she pushed open the portrait, leading them out into the silent corridor. They had just gotten to the end of the hall when someone said, "Hey! Wait up!"
Whirling around, Jess spotted Sirius and James running towards them. Remus gaped at them and said, "I can't believe it."
"Can't believe what?" Sirius asked as they started to walk again.
"It's just, I never thought I'd see the day that Padfoot got up this early. I mean, seven a.m. must be some sort of record."
"Well, in my world, it's still the middle of the night. But James thought it would be amusing to shove some whipped cream up my nose."
Jess laughed. "And that still didn't spoil your appetite?"
"Jess," James said, shaking his head, "the only thing that would stop Padfoot from eating would be a herd of rabid flying goats."
Raising an eyebrow, Jess said, "How does that make any sense?"
"It doesn't. Nothing can stop him from eating," Remus laughed. "And I'm sure if somewhere out there, goats are soaring about with bloodshot eyes and foaming mouths, he'd just devour them as well."
Sirius punched Remus lightly on the shoulder as they entered the Great Hall. The ceiling was sunny, but grey clouds hovered around. After the four had sat down, Professor McGonagall came and gave them their timetables. Jess saw that Monday consisted of History of Magic, double Potions, double Transfiguration, and Herbology.
"Wow," Sirius said. "I don't know how they do it, but Mondays always turn out to be complete crap."
"Are all of these lessons really that bad?" Jess asked.
Everyone turned and stared at her. After a moment of this, Jess got the point, rolled her eyes, and helped herself to some more bacon.
When everyone had finished eating, the four made their way back to Gryffindor Tower to collect their books. Walking towards the History of Magic classroom, Jess looked at her timetable again
"Hey," Jess asked to no one in particular. "What's History of Magic like? We didn't have that subject at our old school."
"Oh, it's wonderful," Sirius said enthusiastically. James and Remus stopped in their tracks and stared at him. Sirius looked at both of them, turned back to Jess and said, "Well, say you didn't get a lot of sleep last night. You could snooze for the whole class and Binns wouldn't even look up."
"Sounds like fun," Jess said.
"Trust me, it's not," James said.
With a groan, Jess hitched up her bag and made her way to the classroom.
Great cliffhanger, eh? Sorry for the short chapter, but if it were to be longer, you'd have to wait another forty years. I promise the next one will be longer! Oh, and don't forget to review! Thanks!