When It Rains

Disclaimer: I don't own it...

Author's Notes: Sorry it's taken me a while, I knew what I was going to write and all, I've just been busy with band practice and working on schoolwork and stuff like that.

And when your fears subside
And shadows still remain
I know that you can love me
When there's no one left to blame
So never mind the darkness
We still can find a way
'Cause nothin' lasts forever
Even cold November rain.'

First Impressions

Kiora took a deep breath and stepped out of the line, walking towards the stool and the tattered hat. She sat down, placing the hat on her head. It fell over her eyes so that she couldn't see the crowd, she just stared at black felt.

'Intriguing,' said a masculine voice inside her head. It was the hat, she recognized. 'I can clearly see where you belong...'

"GRYFFINDOR!" she heard the same voice shout out loud. She let out a breath that she hadn't known she was holding and she stepped off the stool, towards the table with the students bearing red and gold ties.

"Miss Harris!" Professor McGonagall's voice rang out after her. 'Oh no...' she thought, 'What did I do?' Kiora turned around, Professor McGonagall had her eyebrow arched. She raked through her mind, trying to think of something she had done. She could hear all the students snickering at her and a crimson blush covered her face. Then she felt it on her head...

She took off the hat and quickly gave it to McGonagall, walking swiftly away to the Gryffindor table and sitting next to Peter. Everyone was still laughing. She put her head in her hands, she had never felt so humiliated in her life.

"That was rich!" Sirius announced, slapping James on the back.

"Ouch," James murmured, rubbing his back where he was slapped.

Gretchen Nicholson, Molly Prewett, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Sadie Zelfing were also sorted into Gryffindor.

"Alright, so the new Gryffindors are Karl, Kevin, Ted, Kingsley, Molly, Gretchen, Sadie, and Kiora here. Odd bunch, I must say," James commented.

"Those Karl and Kevin guys look like total dolts," Sirius added. Peter nodded from next to Kiora.

"They sure do, I bet they couldn't even do a simple Conjunctive Concoction in Potions," he said.

"Peter, you can't even do a Conjunctive Concoction," Remus said among laughs from Sirius and James. Peter reddened and became silent. A single tapping was heard throughout the hall and the noise died down.

"Ah, students!" the man with the white hair was standing, arms spread out in welcome. "It is nice to see so many new faces this year. Before we begin our grand feast, I ask you to listen to an old man's babble." his eyes twinkled behind his half-moon glasses. "For those of you that don't know, my name is Albus Dumbledore and I am headmaster of this great school. Now this year, our caretaker has added a few things to the list of things that he forbids inside the school, including Dung Bombs and Melinda's Magicked Waterballoons. Also, to inform the newcomers and remind some of the old, the Forbidden Forest is forbidden, as its name does so suggest. Now what else is there to say except, tuck in!"

Food appeared on the plates in front of them and James and Sirius began wolfing down whatever was closest to them. Kiora took a few things and began eating. Sirius and James began a heated conversation about the caretaker, which no one else could understand since their mouths were filled to the brim.

"Are you glad to be in Gryffindor?" Remus asked.

"Yeah, I guess it's nice to be in a house where I know a few people," she said. She glanced around the Great Hall and something caught her eye. "Hey, why is that boy sitting all alone?"

At the Slytherin table, there was a boy with black hair that hung in front of his face and looked like it hadn't been washed in a few weeks. He wasn't eating , he was just staring at a spot on the table and he was all alone.

"That's Severus Snape, he's always alone. Nobody really likes him and I don't think he likes them in return," Remus said, turning to look at Snape.

"Oh, that's awful," Kiora said, frowning.

"Not really, he's quite unpleasant to be around."

"Well, how do you know? Have you ever been around him?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Remus blushed at this and shook his head. "I think I should go sit with him."

Remus shook his head, eyes wide, "Don't! That's the Slytherin table! Their rivalries with us Gryffindors go back ages, to the founder's times even! If you go there, well excuse me, but all hell will break loose!" Kiora merely humphed and left the table, walking over to the Slytherin one.

"What's she doing?" James asked, turning away from Sirius to look at Remus.

"Going to sit with Snape, it looks like," he sighed.

"Why she wanna do that for?" Sirius tilted his head as if it were incomprehensible. Remus smiled a little as he saw Snape look up in surprise when Kiora sat next to him.

"She's bloody sitting with Snivelly!" James said, shocked...

"Hello," Kiora said to Snape's surprised face.

"H...hi.." he muttered. Kiora blushed and looked down, toying with a small string on her robes.

"You were just all alone and looked like you wanted company."

"From a Gryffindor?" he spat the word out like it tasted bad on his tongue.

"From anyone really, you were so lonesome," she said. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and opened his mouth halfway as if asking her why anyone, anyone would do that. He shook out of it and shrugged.

"Okay," he said, turning back to staring at the table. They sat in silence while everyone else ate, getting a few glances from wondering students. When everyone seemed like they were about to burst, another ringing was heard.

"Thank you students, and now the prefects will guide you to the common rooms and to your dormitories. Have a nice night and a good school year overall!" Students stood up and Kiora said goodbye to Snape, walking back over to the Gryffindor table where a tall boy with his blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail was calling out.

"This way students, to the dormitory!" she followed his voice and the mass of students out of the Great Hall.

"Why were you sitting with that creep?" Sirius asked as the four boys came up behind her. She lifted and lowered one shoulder.

"He isn't all that bad..." she said, looking at her feet.

James scoffed, "Right, Snivellus is a greasy, nasty git. We don't want you sitting with him ever again." Kiora looked up at this, staring at James for a second. Why would anyone do that? That was horrible. And it wasn't like he could tell her what she could do and what she couldn't. Anger flared up in her but she suppressed it. These were her first, and possibly only, friends she had. She didn't want to ruin it by making them hate her. She just looked back down at her feet and nodded.

They got to a picture of a big lady in a fluffy pink dress.

"Password?" the portrait spoke. This didn't surprise Kiora, on their way to this place, she had seen portraits waving and smiling from their spots on the walls.

"Libertatem." the prefect said and the portrait of the woman swung aside to reveal a large hole in the wall. They filed through into a beautiful common room. The furniture was randomly placed and was red. There were rugs on the floor with wonderful designs and stitching. There was a cozy fireplace and a desk to do work at. The curtains hung grandly from the windows.

"Girls to the left, boys to the right. Have a goodnight," the prefect went on rambling to himself about blimey little kids as everyone went into their dormitories, tired from the long night.

"G'night, kiddo," Sirius patted her on the shoulder. James, Peter, and he raced up the stairs, seeing who could be the fastest up.

"Good night Kiora," Remus said as Kiora turned to go up the stairs to her dormitory. "Oh!" She turned back around and looked at him. "Sorry about what James said..."

He turned away and went up to his dormitory. 'At least he gets it..' she thought as she trudged up the spiral staircase to go to her dormitory. All she was thinking about was sleep, sleep, sleep..