Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley had returned to Hogwarts for their 7th year to find everything the same. The usual, giant bearded figure of Hagrid had greeted them after they stepped off of the Hogwarts Express. The ceiling of the Great Hall showed the dark, cloudless night, with a small sprinkling of dazzling stars, seeming almost as if someone had decided to throw glitter onto the dark ceiling. And Peeves continued his tradition of throwing water balloons at all the first years.
But there was one surprise in store for the students. After the sorting of the new students Dumbledore stood up to give his yearly, somewhat odd, opening speech.
"Welcome back to those of you who are hear to cause another year of mischief. And to those of you who are new, remember that there are limits on what you may do in this school," he said with a sparkle in his eye. "Mr. Filch has also asked me to remind you that none of the items from the Weasley's store shall be allowed, and that the Forbidden Forest is strictly off limits. For the complete list of banned objects, there is a copy available for viewing in Mr. Filch's office. And now, before I let you begin this delightful feast, I must introduce our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Winchell."
As the Great Hall broke into polite applause, a young woman with straight blonde hair and shimmering blue eyes, who looked like she was in her early twenties, stood up, waved slightly, and sat back down, her cheeks turning a brilliant shade of red.
Dumbledore smiled kindly at the new professor and continued on, "Professor Winchell had kindly come all the way from America to teach you. She has also brought a little treat for you all. I'm delighted to introduce you to our four new exchange students from the Salem Wizarding School."
Everyone turned their heads as the doors flew open in the back of the room. There stood four, slightly nervous looking kids. They wore blue robes with silver linings. Dumbledore motioned them forward and they timidly walked up to the Head Table.
"Each student will be assigned a house by the Sorting Hat, and they will join that house for the rest of the year. Now," Dumbledore paused to maximize the effect of his words, "let the sorting begin."
Professor McGonagall stepped forward, slowly unrolling a piece of parchment.
"Adams, Cory."
A humongous boy who rivaled Dudley in size stepped forward and attempted to situate most of himself onto the small, wooden stool. When he finally stopped squirming and seemed a bit more comfortable, Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat onto his large head that was covered with sandy blonde hair. For a minute, the Sorting Hat was quiet. Then, all of the sudden, it shouted out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" Cory fell off of the stool, startled by the talking hat. The Great Hall erupted into laughter, and the two female exchange students backed up slowly, eyes opened wide in fright.
The other boy who had come along from America, ran his hand through his jet black hair, marched up to the hat, and plopped it onto his head. The room became quiet, eager to see which of the houses he would be put in. Professor McGonagall looked at the boy and started, "You must be…" she trailed off and frowned slightly as she looked at the name on her paper.
"Weasley, Ayden."
The room became full of whispers. Ron and Ginny stared at the boy. Dumbledore held up his hand for silence as the Hat thought. It took a while, but then the Hat made its decision. "SLYTHERIN!" it yelled. The room was dead quiet. Every head in the room turned to look at Ayden, and then to Ron and his sister, Ginny, who sat with dumbfounded expressions on their face. Everyone knew that a Weasley had never been placed in Slytherin. Ayden was the only one who didn't seem aware of the well known fact, as he moved swiftly across the room and sat down beside the worst possible person in the world: Draco Malfoy. Whispers broke out in the Hall again, but were quickly silenced by Dumbledore once again. The Sorting continued, with a great unease now in the room.
Professor McGonagall shook her and looked quickly down at her paper.
"Noll, Shaylee," she read.
At first neither of the girls moved. Then, slowly, as if considering turning and running the other way, the girl with dark, chestnut brown hair stepped forward and timidly sat while the Hat was placed on her head. Everyone watched as Shaylee sat under the Hat with her eyes squeezed shut. When the Hat finally announced that she would be in Gryffindor, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and everyone else at their table cheered. Hermione, who was sitting across the table from Harry and Ron, scooted over to make room for Shaylee, who smiled shyly as she sat down.
Before anyone had a chance to say anything to her, their attention was directed back to the Sorting, where "Leenan, Grace" was sorted into Ravenclaw. As soon as Grace took her seat, Dumbledore stood up, and said, "Now I expect you all to help the new students around. They are in their 7th, and final year here, and will be in classes with some of you. I know you'll help them out," he gave them a quick look that plainly said or else and then smiled brightly, "and now…enjoy your feast!"
As the delicious food magically appeared on the tables, Harry looked up and caught Shaylee staring at him. He was used to people staring at him, but something was weird about this.
She's not staring at my scar. He realized as he stared back. She smiled. A real smile, that lit up her beautiful honey eyes. Harry smiled back and tried to pay attention to Ron, who was talking about Quidditch. This is diffidently going to be my best year yet. Harry thought to himself. He was sure of it.