Disclaimer- JK Rowling has all rights to Harry Potter. I only own the character of Kate, and the plot of this story. 

Kate stormed out of the Great Hall in a rage. Hermione was acting so stupid just because Kate asked a house elf to get her a drink. Kate had thought that Hermione's obsession with house elves rights was funny, but then she went too far. Hermione had accused Kate of being cruel to them, and although that was not true, Kate's parents ere the type of people of whom Hermione had accused Kate as being. Kate treated house elves with respect and curtsey; in fact, she was appalled at how her mother and father treated them. All Kate did was politely ask to have some apple cider, yet Hermione made a big deal out of it.

All these thoughts filled Kate's head as she was walking up a staircase. Suddenly, the staircase moved. Kate grasped the railing and stood paralyzed as the staircase moved to another landing. When it stopped, she quickly ran up to the next landing, not that anxious to repeat the experience.

She stumbled onto the unknown floor just as the staircase moved again. 'Great,' Kate thought. 'Now I'm in a he castle in which I have never been in before, and now I'm all alone in a deserted corridor.'

"Who are you?" asked someone from behind Kate. She turned around and saw a short girl with strawberry blonde hair and blue eyes staring at her. The girl was wearing a purple sweater and jeans.

"My name is Kate Aberdeen. I just moved here," Kate replied.

"Oh yeah," the girl said with a look of realization on her face. "You are the girl who they were sorting. The new girl. By the way, my name is Lavender. Lavender Brown. So where are you from?"

"I just moved here from New York, and I miss it. I wish that I could go back," Kate replied wistfully.

"Why do you want to go back?" Lavender asked curiously.

"I just got into a fight with this girl who I just met on the train," Kate said glumly.

"Oh really? Who was it?" Lavender questioned anxiously.

"Her name is Hermione Granger. I met her, as well as Harry and Ron on the train. Then, at the feast, I didn't like the pumpkin juice, so a house elf came and took it away. Hermione started on this whole long speech about how house elves should have rights and stuff."

Lavender laughed at this. "Yeah, that is Hermione. She always has her nose in a book or in other people's business. So, are you in sixth year?"

"Yes, actually, I am. I am also in Gryffindor. Is it just me, or did that strange hat say that the houses don't get along?" Kate asked.

"The hat is right. Gryffindor's and Slytherin's are mortal enemies. We get along with Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw well enough, but not Slytherin," Lavender informed her.

Kate yawned loudly and said, "Well, I'm tired. Do you know where our dormitories are?"

Lavender started walking as she said, "Yes, of course I do. So, have you seen anybody that you fancy yet?"

"No, not yet. I haven't really met any people yet. Are there any hot guys here at Hogwarts?" Kate replied.

"Don't worry; you'll meet plenty of people in the common room. And yes, Hogwarts has its share of good looking guys. But I'll tell you who has certainly gotten better over the summer. Draco Malfoy. He always was kind of hot, but now he is on fire! Wait until you see him, you will just die," Lavender giggled.

Kate was a bit taken aback by this confession. So Draco was known for his good looks? He probably had girls lining up. "Draco Malfoy? I already know him. We are good friends. His family came to welcome us when we moved into our new house. Our parents have been friends since they went to Hogwarts together."

Lavenders jaw dropped at this bit of news. "You are best friends with Draco Malfoy? He was at your house? Why was I never informed?"

Laughter filled Kate as she replied, "Are all the girls in Hogwarts in love with Draco? We are just friends."

Lavender smiled, knowing that they were 'just friends' as the two girls arrived in front of a portrait of a fat lady in a pink silk dress. As al paintings in the wizarding world, this one moved. "Password?" she asked.

"Dragon Flame's," Lavender stated clearly. The fat lady nodded, and the portrait swung open to reveal a passage way. Through the passage was a large circular room. This room was decorated in all sorts of red and gold. Red overstuffed couches surrounded a huge fireplace. A roaring fire gave the room a nice, welcoming, rosy glow.

Students sat on the couches, catching up with each other and talking about their summers. Some were flipping through magazines, and others were just enjoying the warm fire. Lavender smiled and said, "Home, sweet home."

"Come on, Kate. Let's go upstairs to our dormitories. Then you can meet Parvati and the other girls," Lavender said as she pulled Kate up a flight of stairs.

The two girls stopped in front of a crimson door. When the door opened, Kate found herself staring at a fairly large burgundy room. Five large four poster beds were pushed up against the far wall. Each bed had a canopy of gold sheer cloth, and blankets with the Gryffindor lion embroidered on them.

At the foot of the beds, were everybody's trunks. On the wall across from the beds, was an open space for each girl. One girl had a stereo, which must have been magically enchanted to work. Another door led to a very large walk in closet, which was big enough to hold all of the girl's clothes.

Last but not least, was what could quite possibly be the best thing in the whole room. Each girl had their own private bathroom. The bathtub was large enough to be a small swimming pool, with all sorts of scrumptious shower gels and bubble baths. Kate was happy to see that she had different kinds of jasmine scented bath products, for that was her favorite scent. The mirror in the bathroom took up a whole wall, save for a vanity in which Kate could fill with all of her make up.

While Kate was busy admiring the room, two other girls walked in. One girl had black hair and honey colored eyes. She was dressed in a pink baby doll shirt and jeans. The other girl was tall, but not as tall as Kate, with blonde hair and eyes that were so dark, they were nearly black. She was wearing a Weird Sisters hoodie sweater.

"Hey Lavender," began the girl with the black hair. "How come I didn't see you after the feast?"

Lavender looked up from the gossip magazine that she was reading, and said, "Oh, hi Parvati. I was showing Kate here to the common room. Kate just moved here from New York. She is a sixth year, like us."

"Well, hello Kate. My name is Parvati. So, you're from America, huh? I have always wanted to go there," Parvati said.

The blonde girl was staring at her wile Parvati was talking, and now decided to say something. "You are the girl that Hermione was talking about. She said that you were a pure blood snob who belonged in Slytherin."

"That is Rose. She is always so blunt, it's not just you," said Lavender.

Kate was still red with embarrassment from Rose's comment. "Yes, Hermione and I got into a fight. I asked a house elf for a different drink and she started freaking out on me. I mean, I was being polite and everything, but Hermione was mad."

Then, as if to emphasize the point, the door opened, and in walked Hermione. She was clutching a bunch of books, evidence that she had already visited the library. When she saw the four girls talking, she held her chin high and walked over to her bed. The thick book in which she was reading was entitled, 'Hogwarts, a History'.

Eventually, the other girls went to bed as well. Lavender and Parvati were whispering about the contents of the latest addition of 'Witch Weekly'. Rose was asleep, snoring softly.

Kate pulled out her CD player that was magically enchanted to work, even though muggle devices usually went haywire near Hogwarts. She turned on her favorite song, '1985', by Bowling for Soup. She listened to it until she fell sound asleep, escaping from the real world, and entering a world of dreams.

Authors note: Finally, the day is over! I never used to be able to make stories long, but now I think that I'm getting the hang of it! I got the song 1985 stuck in my head, so I thought that I'd add that as one of Kate's favorite songs.

Ashmee- Yeah, I guess Kate is a little bit of a hypocrite. But deep down inside, we are all hypocrites in one way or another. And also, Hermione was being a bit dramatic.