It looked as magnificent as ever. The lights on in the castle glowed like shining jewels. As the castle loomed ever closer in the darkness, it looked like something from a fairytale.
Harry gazed at the one place he could call his home and was totally unaware of the chatter going on around him. The welcoming bright lights were almost calling him home. He stared at the dark Gryffindor Tower and was already imagining the warm four-poster waiting for him to sink into….
Harry looked up suddenly as he heard his name. It took only a moment to notice that Ron and Hermione were gone.
"…prefect duties, don't you think, Harry? I, personally, would hate to be a prefect. You're up half the nights and you have to make sure the first years stay out of trouble. It's murder, I heard Caleb talking about it—" said Dean.
"Who?" Seamus asked, confused.
"The older Hufflepuff prefect, Seamus," Dean answered. "And he was talking about how horrible this one Hufflepuff first year is. James, I think his name was? Most unusual for a Hufflepuff, he said, and quite frankly, I must agree. Why, it was just before he walked onto the train…"
Dean continued talking, and Harry couldn't help but smile. Another troublemaker named James…
The train stopped in Hogsmeade, and Harry got out, accompanied by Dean, Seamus, and Neville. Ron and Hermione could be seen supervising the emptying of the Express, which was a bit tougher this year because the first years were even more clueless than usual.
"I'm waiting for Ron and Hermione. You guys go on and get a carriage," Harry suggested.
"Sure, Harry?" Neville asked.
"I'm sure," Harry assured Neville.
Dean, Seamus, and Neville walked up to the nearest empty carriage and stepped inside. As Harry looked ahead, he saw a pair of thestrals staring blankly at him. He looked into their pupil-less eyes, and had half a mind to reach up and pet them, but Hermione walked up at that moment.
"Harry, Ron said to go on and save him a place in a carriage. He's got to stop a first year from hexing another. I can already tell we've got several Slytherins on the way," Hermione said knowingly.
"More Slytherins," Harry said. "That's just what we need."
"Come on," Hermione urged, pointing to a carriage several feet away.
Harry followed Hermione toward the carriage, now looking at a new pair of thestrals. They, too, were staring at him, as though they could tell that he could see them. Harry had a sudden urge, and reached out and touched the nearest one. Its scaly skin was odd to touch; the reptilian part of it was unmistakable.
Harry could sense more than see Hermione staring at him, but she made no comment. He kept petting the thestral until Ron returned, looking very disgruntled.
"Harry, come on!" Ron snapped.
"Coming," Harry said, following Ron into the carriage. He was surprised to find someone other than Ron and Hermione sharing the carriage with them.
"Oh, hello! Harry, you heard me talking about Kelly Damen?" Hermione asked.
Kelly was a pretty girl with long, wavy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. She didn't have many freckles, which suited her appearance well. At the moment, she had a rather nervous smile placed upon her slightly pink face.
"Hello," she said quietly.
"Hi, Kelly," Harry said.
"Well, sit down, Harry!" Ron snapped. "I'd like to eat today, ya know!"
Harry grinned and sat down next to Ron. The carriage started moving immediately and questions were passed to try and get to know each other. It seemed Kelly lived in a muggle orphanage and didn't know who her biological parents were. She had no family at all that she knew of. She was transferring here from Beauxbatons, and she, too, was in her sixth year. What surprised Harry most was that when Hermione introduced him, her eyes didn't flit up to his scar, as everyone else who met him had done.
The carriage came to a sudden halt and the great oak doors leading into the Entrance Hall sauntered into view. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Kelly stepped out of the carriage and walked up the steps, still talking. They walked into the Entrance Hall and came upon Peeves, the poltergeist that caused chaos at Hogwarts.
"Oooh…" Peeves cackled. "Students!"
"Who's that?" Kelly asked. She was now quite comfortable talking to Harry.
"Peeves. He's a poltergeist, if you haven't noticed. You should watch out for him," Harry advised.
At that moment, Peeves started throwing chairs at the newcomers.
"I see what you mean," Kelly said, smiling. It was the first real smile she'd given.
"DUCK!" Ron yelled as a chair came whizzing through the air toward them.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione ducked, but with reflexes Harry had never dreamed Kelly to have, she pulled out her wand and yelled, "Locomotor chair!" The chair Peeves had thrown stopped just in front of her, and she made it zoom back at Peeves. Peeves ducked the chair's assault just in time and turned himself invisible. Kelly looked around for him in amazement, the chair still in her control. Finally, she set it down on the ground and released it.
"Where'd he go?" Kelly asked, still staring around desperately.
"He… he's invisible," Hermione said, goggling at Kelly.
"Where did you learn to do that? Not even Harry could do that!" Ron asked.
"What do you mean?" Kelly asked. "Does Harry have really good reflexes?"
"Yes. Harry's Seeker for Gryffindor Quidditch team," Hermione said.
"Really?" Kelly asked, turning to Harry.
"Yeah," Harry said, still pondering how she stopped the chair in time.
"That's amazing!" Kelly exclaimed, as though this was a huge achievement. "Seeker is my favorite job! That's really great, Harry. You must be good to get to be Gryffindor Seeker!"
"He's fantastic," Ron said dully. "Can we go eat now?"
They started walking, still on Quidditch.
"You're good, too, Ron. We won the Cup last year because of you," Harry congratulated.
"You play Quidditch, too?" Kelly asked Ron, her eyes wide in amazement and admiration. "What do you play?"
"I'm Keeper," Ron said, as though this was a horrible memory.
"You must be excellent, too!" Kelly exclaimed as they sat down across from each other.
"Not… really…" said Ron as they sat down at Gryffindor table.
"Oh, come
off it, Ron." Hermione continued to Kelly.
"He's really good. Like Harry
said, we won the Quidditch Cup last year because of him."
"There's a Quidditch Cup?!?!"
Kelly said, her eyes shining in amazement.
"You've got a lot to learn. There's a Quidditch Cup and an Inter-House Championship Cup. We earn or lose points throughout the year, and at the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup," Hermione explained.
"What are the different houses?" Kelly asked. "What house are you in?"
"We're in Gryffindor. The house over there," Harry nodded behind him, "is Slytherin. They're a really mean lot. I don't think you'll be in there. The house behind you is Ravenclaw, for the really smart people. Hermione thinks you could be in there. And then farthest away is Hufflepuff. They're kinda… I dunno, meek? Quiet, hard working and all. You might be in there, but I doubt it."
"What's Gryffindor for?" Kelly asked.
"The Sorting Hat says it's for brave people," Ron said, glaring at Dumbledore. He was obviously wanting to eat, and was hoping Dumbledore would start the feast without the first years.
"Wait…" Hermione said suddenly. "Don't you need to be sorted?"
Kelly went from looking amazed to worried. "What if it puts me in Slytherin?"
"It won't," Hermione assured her. "I can promise you that."
"I hope not. I want to be in Gryffindor!" said Kelly.
"You—" Hermione began, but was cut off by the arrival of Professor McGonagall.
"There you are!" McGonagall exclaimed to Kelly. "We were wondering where you were! It seems you've already made friends. Well, come along, now. You will be sorted with the first years."
Looking very nervous and worried, Kelly slowly stood and followed McGonagall toward the doors. She looked back when she reached them, and Harry gave her an encouraging smile. She returned a nervous smile and left the Great Hall.
"Well, what do you think of her?" Hermione asked Harry and Ron as the doors to the Great Hall closed once more.
"She reminds me of Colin Creevey," Ron said. "She's so interested in everything as though it were the best things in the world."
"Well, you have to understand, she came from Beauxbatons and she wouldn't have been here for the Triwizard Tournament. It seems Beauxbatons isn't as exciting because she was glowing when she saw the Great Hall," said Hermione.
"Yeah," Harry said thoughtfully.
"What do you think of her, Harry?" Hermione asked.
"Now that Ron mentions it, she does remind me a bit of Colin Creevey, though she's not obsessed with me." Harry gave a silent prayer of thanks. "But, I guess once she gets used to Hogwarts, she'd be okay."
They were quiet for a moment, listening to uprising talking going on around them. Ron finally broke the silence.
"How did she stop that chair?" he asked. "Harry, you've been playing Quidditch ever since you arrived at Hogwarts, and your reflexes aren't even that good."
"I dunno," Harry said, a slight amount of jealousy arising in him.
"Well, she's from Beauxbatons, and they might teach to a degree above Hogwarts. Or maybe…" Hermione trailed off.
"What?" Ron asked immediately.
Before Hermione could answer, the doors to the Great Hall opened and the first years, led by McGonagall, walked in. Kelly followed them, looking very odd, being a much taller sixth year. She looked as nervous as she had when she'd left them minutes ago. She looked around at Harry, Ron, and Hermione and gave them a small smile. They returned it and crossed their fingers.
McGonagall stopped a little ways in front of a stool with a very old hat on it, patched up in places. The whole hall was staring at it, and it began to sing:
You may wonder who I am
And what I'm here to do.
I am called the Sorting Hat
And I am here to sort you.
There are four houses—
To which will you belong?
Daring Gryffindor? Slytherin?
Hufflepuff? Ravenclaw?
When Hogwarts was founded
There came to be a dispute.
Which students should they allow?
Which students should they boot?
Gryffindor decided the brave
Would be all he would allow.
Slytherin said only those
Who, like him, played foul.
Ravenclaw said the smart
Were all that should stay.
Hufflepuff said she'd teach the rest
And treat them the same way.
But how would students be sorted
When they weren't still alive?
Gryffindor whipped me off his head,
Gave me brains so Hogwarts could thrive.
And here we are, a thousand years later,
And Hogwarts is still the same.
Tell me, Professor, so we can move on,
What is the first name?
A/N:
So I was going back through this, and I felt I needed to explain something that had just occurred to me. Much of Kelly's Mary-Sueness is actually just parts of a secret she holds. You may have already perceived as much, you may have not had a clue that Kelly already isn't telling them something. For those of you out there that actually use your brains (because I know I don't), I felt the need to explain a bit about her.
Oh yes, what do you think of my pitiful attempt at poetry? xD The Sorting Hat's song… something to remember for certain.
Next chapter! What do we have going on…? The sorting… Hermione's suspicious behavior… and the new Quidditch Captain! That's about all… fun fun.
Oh, and always remember… review! Make me smile!
Thankx,
Riles