When It Rains

Disclaimer: I own nothing in the Harry Potter world. That all belongs to my one true idol, Jo Rowling. If you haven't read the Harry Potter books...well you shouldn't really be here, now should you?  I also do not own the Wizard of Oz.  Lovely movie, really.

Author's Note: I have that stupid song "My Country Tis of Thee" stuck in my head. And yes, I'm American. A shame, I know. And if there are little annoying Americanisms in here, I'm so sorry! I'm trying my best to make it as British as possible, it's just really hard for me since I'm American (however much I don't want to be one).

                            "99 dreams I've had

                             In every one a red balloon

                            It's all over and I'm standin' pretty

                            In the dust that was a city

                            If I could find a souvenir

                            Just to prove the world was here..."

A Train Ride in 1972

    Kiora stood outside the barrier to Platform 9 ¾, anxiously anticipating her first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She took a deep breath, looking back at her guardian, Ms. Ella Mae. The kindly old woman kissed the top of Kiora's head and smiled brightly at the scared look on the child's face, "You'll do great." Kiora smiled at Ella Mae's kind words.

    "I only wish Mum could be here to see it," Kiora frowned slightly, looking around as if she would see her mother there. Ella Mae nodded in understanding.

    "She's watching you and smiling, wherever she may be," Ella Mae gave one last encouraging look at Kiora as the young girl ran through the barrier between the regular world and a world filled with magic. She reached the other side and stopped, gasping at the wonderful scarlet and black train that puffed steam. It was the most amazing site Kiora had ever seen. Children of all ages were waving and hugging their families goodbye and gathering onto the train with their things. Kiora took a deep breath and stepped onto the train herself.

    She walked along the hall, trying to find a compartment she could sit in. She found herself all the way to the last compartment. It was empty. She put all her things up and sat down, a book wedged under her arm. She wasn't going to read yet though, not until she got bored of looking out the window.

    "Is anyone sitting here?" a voice asked. Kiora turned her head and saw four boys standing in the compartment door. The one that had spoken was tall with shaggy black hair and piercing blue eyes. The one beside him had messy black hair and pale brown eyes hidden behind glasses with a rather muscular build. Behind the first boy was another boy with dusty brown hair and golden brown eyes, with a sharp air around his features. The last boy was short, with blondish hair and squinty eyes, almost like a mouse's.

    "No, no one's sitting here," Kiora responded. She watched the boys file in. She ended up sitting next to the one with the dusty hair. On his other side was squinty-eyes. Across from Kiora sat the one that had spoken and beside him was the one with glasses. She glanced at them all a bit nervously, since she didn't have much interaction with other children before. Ella Mae liked to keep her excluded from a lot of things. How loving the woman was, she was quite protective. She proceeded to slip the book out from under her arm and she opened it, starting to read.

    "Look, she's reading before school," commented the one that had spoken. "She looks like you Remus, only in girl-form. You'd be a really hot chick, man." Kiora realized slowly what the boy across from her was saying and a huge blush crept along her cheeks. She tried to hide it by pulling the book up in front of her face. 'So Remus is one of their names. Wonder which one?'

    "Oh, come off it Sirius!" the glasses one said. So the one that had called her hot was named Sirius. Like the star. She had read about that. "Lupin's a hot dude too!" That must mean that either the dusty haired boy or the squinty eyed boy was Remus.

    "Excuse my friends' rudeness," the boy beside her, dusty haired boy, said. She pulled the book down only past her eyes and looked at him. "I'm Remus Lupin, what's your name?"

    "Ki.....ra....is.." she mumbled. Remus furrowed his eyebrows.

    "Come again?" he asked. She pulled the book down, blushing slightly again.

    "Kiora Harris," she said. She pushed a strand of hair that had fallen from her sloppy bun away from her face.

    "Sirius Black!" Sirius held out his hand and Kiora took it sheepishly, shaking it. "This here is my buddy James Potter." James nodded and waved.

    "And I'm Peter Pettigrew," squinty eyes added. Peter had a high, buzzing voice. Kiora didn't like it all that much.

    "What year are you in?" James asked.

    "First," she said, book now closed in her lap.

    "Oh! A First year!" Sirius announced the already known information. "We're second years and we can tell you all you need to know about Hogwarts!" Kiora listened intently as James and Sirius went on about the houses at Hogwarts and the ghosts and Quidditch.

    "What house do you think you'll be in?" Remus asked her. She traced her fingers on her book.

    "Probably Hufflepuff," she sighed, "I'm no good anywhere else."

    "Aw, don't get so downhearted!" exclaimed Sirius. "You're more likely to be in Ravenclaw than Hufflepuff. What with reading like that and everything. Maybe you'll even be in Gryffindor with us. Then we could really help you out. We could teach you lots of things." He eyed James and they both sniggered. Kiora shrugged at this, choosing to ignore it.

    "It would be nice," she said as Sirius, James, and Peter started conversing about Quidditch again. She opened her book again and began reading, but it wasn't long until she was interrupted again.

    "What are you reading?" Remus asked, looking over her shoulder at the book. The three others were still avidly discussing the flying sport. Kiora flipped the cover over so that Remus could see it.

    "Saucy Tricks for Tricky Sorts," she responded. He smiled.

    "Never read that, is it good?"

    "I suppose," she said, staring at the red and orange cover of the book. Remus reluctantly turned his attention to the other boys' conversation that had turned from Quidditch to food. Instead of opening the book again, Kiora leaned her head on the window of the train and stared out a the rapidly passing scenery.

    "The train is stopping," Remus suddenly announced. Kiora shook herself out of a trance. She hadn't realized how long she had been lost in thought. She looked up. She couldn't feel the train stopping and couldn't hear the screech of metal on metal. She looked at Remus quizzically. He just shrugged as she finally felt the train begin to slow. 'Must be sensitive,' she thought. They filed off of the train and out on a station. There were carriages carried by what looked like sickly thin black horses with wings. She looked at the boys but they seemed unperturbed by the horses and so she decided she shouldn't say anything.

    "Firs' years, o'er 'ere!" a large man with a burly, thick mob of hair and a beard shouted.

    "We'll see you inside," James said. She nodded and walked over to the gigantic man. She could fit inside one of his boots and still have enough room to be comfortable.

    "Alrigh', now i's four to a boat!" All of the first years got into boats. Kiora got into one with a red-headed girl she would come to know as Molly Prewett, a gangly brown haired boy she'd find out was called Perkins, and a tall black boy with golden earrings she would hear was Kingsley Shacklebolt. As they neared the school, she gaped at it with admiring eyes. It was a huge castle, each window glowed with an iridescent light. It was beautiful, sitting nicely on the lakeside near a large, overgrown forest. They exited the boats and the giant man led them through the front doors to two large ones.

    "You wait here," he said before he left. Behind the doors the first years could hear a lot of laughter and chatter.

    "I heard we have to name all different kinds of potions and spells," Perkins whispered to Kingsley. Kingsley nodded, "I heard we had to duel with a seventh year." Kiora gulped softly. She hadn't practiced any spells or brewed any potions. Ella Mae would never allow it. Though Kiora had read enough books to be able to name a few good ones. A stern looking woman with her hair pulled tightly into a bun, wearing square glasses that settled on her nose walked up to the head of them.

    "Hello, I am Professor McGonagall. When you walk through these double doors, you will be in the Great Hall. There, you will be called up and sorted into your respective houses. Good luck to all of you and may I say welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall gave them a tight-lipped smile and opened the big doors, leading them in a line along the side of the Great Hall.

    Kiora looked around. There were four long tables, filled with students watching them. One held students that wore ties of yellow and black, the next were students with ties of blue and bronze, the third were students of red and gold ties, and the last were students with silver and green ties. She looked up at a fifth table that stood higher than the rest. It was the staff table, clearly. A man with a long white beard, long white hair, and twinkling blue eyes sat with his fingers intertwined.

    Professor McGonagall brought out a stool and a scrubby, patched hat. She set the stool down and placed the hot on top of it. After a while, the hat began to sing.

    "I see that we have a new year ahead

    With troubles, laughter, and learning

    All the newest, youngest faces

    Each unaware of all they'll be earning

    It's been over some hundred years

    Since I was new and clean

    But there's something in me that still burns

    With the founder's same clear dream

    There was Godric Gryffindor

    With his brave, noble heart

    No dragon, no boggart, no monster at all

    Could give this man a start

    Then there was Rowena Ravenclaw

    Her and her ready mind

    Sphinxes would shudder at her name

    Cause there was no answer she couldn't find

    Salazar Slytherin, he was the third

    He was such a cunning fellow

    Any who got in a brawl with him

    Came out feeling quite mellow

    Finally was Helga Hufflepuff

    The sweetest of them all

    She'd pick up any person

    If they so happened to fall

    They came to meet one summer day

    And they formed a wonderful plot

    To build a school of magic

    And teach until they rot!

    They each founded one single house

    In which they treasured their own

    Each student to resemble themselves

    And not one would be alone

    How do they sort students now, you ask?

    Well, Gryffindor stumbled upon me!

    And now I sit here and gab and gab

    About Hogwarts History

    So slip me on your small head

    I'll tell where you should be

    Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain,

    Just pay attention to me!"

    The students clapped as the hat finished its song, referring to a muggle movie The Wizard of Oz. A few kids had smiled at this, others looked confused. Professor McGonagall took out a scroll and began reading names from it.

"Andrade, Fiona!" she called out. A lanky girl with dark brown hair and too many freckles for her own good stepped up and put the hat on her head, sitting on the stool. After a couple seconds, the hat shouted out...

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

"Black, Regulus!"

'SLYTHERIN!'

Two twins, Karl and Kevin Broadmoor, were sorted into Gryffindor. Kiora patiently waited for it to be her turn. Ted Greer was also in Gryffindor. And then...

"Harris, Kiora!"