Slyfoot: Hey there! We finally decided to update!
Swiftwings: You were the one who wouldn't type this!
Slyfoot: Hey there! Come on now. I had to rewrite it since we come up with this stuff on AIM and you like to use short words. Then I had to reread it and proofread it. Then I had to type it up and update. That doesn't happen over night.
Swiftwings: Yeah, but it shouldn't take several months either.
Slyfoot: …. Well I eventually got it done didn't I?
Swiftwings: I guess…
Slyfoot: Lucky for you I even have a penname for this. Whatever lets just start this chapter before our readers get too impatient.
Swiftwings: Joy, my turn for the disclaimer thing. Me and Slyfoot do not own the characters of Harry Potter and any other ideas from JK Rowling. But we do own Chris and Audry! And even the cardboard box.
Slyfoot: Alright now! Let's start this chapter!
Chapter 2
Sorting and Shopping!
Audry and Chris stared at the Sorting Hat in silent admiration. Dumbledore watched their faces, amused. His eyes were twinkling as he watched the two friends' faces break out into grins.
"Is that the…the Sorting Hat?" Audry asked, even though she already knew the answer. Dumbledore looked faintly surprised, but nodded his head all the same. Chris clapped her hands and squealed with joy and Audry laughed and her friend's immaturity.
Dumbledore smiled and set the Sorting Hat on an empty chair on the right side of his desk. He turned around and asked, "Alright, who wants to go first?"
Chris and Audry looked at each other, and silently agreed that Audry would go first. Audry slowly walked to the chair, very nervous. She shakily picked up the Sorting Hat, sat down, and put the hat on. The hat slipped over her eyes as she sat, waiting for something to happen. She gave a small start as the hat started speaking to her in her head.
"What have we here?" the Hat said, sounding somewhat smug. "You're different from anyone I've ever sorted. You're not from this world are you? No, you're from someplace very different and far away. Hmmmmm. Now where to put you. You have a very good mind, very smart. Much like a student I had sorted quite a while ago. But what's this? I see deep loyalty, and courage too. Yes, you defiantly belong in GRYFFINDOR!"
Audry smiled as she heard Chris' 'whoop' and pulled the hat off of her head. Chris' smile faltered a bit and she turned slightly pale as she walked to the chair with the Sorting Hat on it. She sat down and watched as Dumbledore's office was replaced with the black inside of the Sorting Hat. She full out jumped when the Sorting Hat spoke into her head and accidentally pushed the chair back a few inches.
"Ah, another one from this mysterious place that has just been learned of. I see, I see. Well, let's see now, where shall I put you? You are quite loyal to those important to you. Ahhh, you seem to have a love of mischief. Much like another student I sorted a few years ago. But your have such courage. And a noble heart, a bit like your friend. I know where to put you. You also belong in GRYFFINDOR!"
Chris beamed as she pulled off the Sorting Hat and ran over to Audry. The jumped up and down in excitement. They were together! They were in the same house! They were in Gryffindor!
Dumbledore smiled at them, his eyes twinkling more than ever. He cleared his throat and the two new Gryffindors went quiet, though they were still beaming.
"Well, congratulations on being together. I think we can explain more about the houses later. For now, follow me. There are some things we need to take care of. "
They followed Dumbledore into the Great Hall. Audry and Chris stared in amazement at the amazing ceiling above. You couldn't truly appreciate the beauty of it without actually seeing it in person. They noticed that four tables were pressed against the walls and that there was one table set up on some steps.
"Hey, Swiftwings! I'll bet that's the teachers table, and those others must be the tables for each house! How cool is that?" Chris whispered to Audry, pointing at the different tables. Audry just smiled at her friend as they followed Dumbledore out of Hogwarts.
"Before we do anything else," Dumbledore said, as they were walking past a small hut that made Chris gasp in delight over towards the school gates, "we need to get you two some necessary supplies. Since you two were unable to receive letters, I will help you buy all the supplies Hogwarts students require."
Chris and Audry felt as if the Harry Potter books they loved to read so much had been dropped painfully in their stomachs. How were they supposed to get any school supplies when they had no money? Even in their own world they had no money considering that they were orphans.
Dumbledore looked around when he didn't hear any response and noticed the girls' pale and worried faces. He was able to quickly guess what the problem was. He had seen this problem many times before.
"There is no reason to worry about any money problems. Hogwarts is able to lend to students money if they are in need of it. And since you two have a much larger situation than most students, I will also lend you a hand. That is, if you don't mind of course."
Audry and Chris both let out sighs of relief. They felt a little embarrassed that they had to borrow money, but they knew they would pay Dumbledore back. Somehow they would find some way.
"That would mean a lot to us Professor Dumbledore. Thank you so much!" Audry said, smiling widely. Dumbledore gave a nod of his head and a smile in return. His eyes were twinkling brightly behind his half-moon spectacles.
They continued the walk in silence, Chris and Audry enjoying the beautiful grounds around Hogwarts. They had never seen anything quite like it and couldn't wait to actually see the Quidditch pitch.
They walked past the gates of Hogwarts and after a minute Dumbledore stopped and pulled a strange looking watch out of his pocket. Chris and Audry recognized the watch from the first Harry Potter book, but didn't say anything. Dumbledore tapped the watch with his wand and then held it out for Audry and Chris to touch.
"I've turned this watch into a Portkey. Do either of you two know anything about Portkeys?" Dumbledore looked only faintly surprised when both girls nodded their heads simultaneously and touched the watch. A few seconds later, Chris and Audry felt a pull from behind their navels. It was exactly as Harry had described it and quite an experience.
When they had arrived at their destination, Chris and Audry looked around and realized they were in Diagon Alley. They had seen the bright white building with Gringotts written on the front in gold lettering and had known instantly where they were.
They followed Dumbledore inside of Gringotts and did their best to try not to stare too much at the goblins. One goblin led them to a cart and Chris got in excitedly. Audry followed, a little more nervous, and Dumbledore followed her, smiling.
When they arrived at the vault that was needed, Dumbledore told the girls to wait in the cart. A few minutes later, Dumbledore came back from the vault and got in the cart, still smiling.
A few minutes later found Chris, Audry, and Dumbledore outside of Gringotts and back in the sun. Audry seemed a little sick and looked a little green after the cart ride while Chris was jumping up and down in excitement.
"I wanna do that again!" Chris said loudly, absolutely beaming. Audry just moaned and dragged her by the ear down the steps in front of Gringotts with a very amused looking Dumbledore following them.
Chris and Audry followed Dumbledore through the different stores that sold the supplies that were needed. They first went to Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. They walked out with several robes apiece, wishing they could put them on right then and there. They had gotten mostly robes for school, but also got a few nice ones for wearing outside of school.
Chris had brown messy hair that she had kept up in a pony-tail all the time. She also had bright blue eyes that shined whenever she was up to something. Because of these things, Chris got deep blue robes that seemed to sparkle a little in the sun.
Audry had neat, black hair that she usually left down to hang by her shoulders. She had kind brown eyes that showed deep intelligence whenever she was concentrating. Because of these things, Audry got dark red robes that looked really nice with her eyes.
After getting robes, the three of them stopped by a small store and bought some quills and parchment. Chris had gotten some ink that changed colors as you wrote and Audry had gotten some ink that would disappear as soon as the person meant to read what had been written had read the message.
After buying quills and parchment, the three of them went over to Flourish and Blotts and bought all the books needed from first year to third year.
Dumbledore had told them that they were in third year according to their age. He promised to tutor them so that they would be ready by the end of summer.
Since they needed so many books, Dumbledore had the books sent to his office by Owl Post. There had been only one copy of each book for the first two years' list, but there had to be two copies of each book for the third years' list. It was too much to carry, and they still had a few more stores to go to.
After the book store, they went to a store that sold different items needed for potions and after that they went to the apothecary's to buy potion ingredients. Chris was forced to stand outside of the store while Dumbledore got the needed ingredients for that year. Chris had a very sensitive nose and couldn't take the smell after about three seconds after stepping inside of the shop.
After the apothecary's, Dumbledore finally led Chris and Audry to Ollivander's shop. Both girls were shaking with excitement. Having a magic wand was what they had most been looking forward to.
The three of them walked into the small dusty shop and heard a small bell tinkling from above them somewhere. Dumbledore quickly walked over towards the place where Mr. Ollivander was sorting a small pile of long, thin boxes on a shelf full of the same boxes.
"Ahhhh, Dumbledore." Ollivander said, turning around to look at Dumbledore. "Good afternoon, how may I help you?"
Dumbledore smiled and said, "I'm here with some new students. Both of whom, need some wands. Chris, how about you go first?"
Chris stepped forward slowly, and smiled brightly when the tape measure started to measure her on its own. She loved seeing magic, and couldn't wait to do some magic on her own.
Mr. Ollivander had started searching through the shelves, but turned around as Chris started to giggle. The tape measure had started to measure in between her nostrils, causing her to giggle. Mr. Ollivander snapped his fingers and the tape measure dropped to the floor.
A few seconds later, Mr. Ollivander appeared with a wand in hand. He handed the wand to Chris and told her to try waving it.
"Oak and unicorn hair. Twelve inches. Strong and sturdy. Go ahead and give it a wave." Chris took the wand and gave it a small wave and nothing happened. It was instantly snatched out of her hand by Ollivander and replaced with a new one.
After about half an hour of trying, Mr. Ollivander went into the back of the shop and came back with a very old looking box. He carefully opened the box and blew dust off of the wand.
"This wand is much different than the others. Hawthorn with sphinx hair. Eleven and a half inches. Nice and pliable. Give it a shot."
Chris took the wand and felt a warm and wonderful feeling in her fingers that spread throughout her entire body. She brought down the wand with a "whoosh" and sparks of purple and orange exploded out of the wand like fireworks.
Chris turned around to see everyone clapping. Mr. Ollivander came, put the wand back into its box, wrapped up the box, and handed it to Chris. Chris beamed as she took her wand and held it close to her.
Audry stepped up and got measured too. Mr. Ollivander let the tape measure drop right after measuring Audry's right hand. It had come out to be the exact same measure as Chris, so there was no point in continuing the measuring.
Mr. Ollivander looked at Audry, then at Chris. He grabbed a wand off the shelf and said it was twelve and a half inches with dragon heartstring. Audry gave the wand a small wave and had it snatched out of her hands by Ollivander.
Ollivander went to the back of the shop again and brought out another old looking box. He repeated the process he had done with Chris' wand and handed it to Audry.
"Willow with a chimera's feather. Eleven and a half inches. Nice and swishy. Go ahead and give it a wave."
Audry took the wand into her hand and felt a strange warmth spread from her fingers to the rest of her body. She brought the wand down quickly and blue and green sparks shot out of her wand in the same fashion as had happened to Chris.
Mr. Ollivander gave a small smile and repeated the process of wrapping the wand and handed it to Audry. Dumbledore paid Mr. Ollivander for the wands. Just as they were about to leave, Mr. Ollivander looked into Chris and Audry's eyes, making both of them a bit nervous.
"I can see both of you doing many great things. I have a feeling; you both will change things for the better. Just be careful what you change." Mr. Ollivander stood up straight again and bowed the three of them out of his shop.
Audry tried to think about what Mr. Ollivander had said, but gave up when Chris kept bugging her to think about it later. They walked down Diagon Alley, but Chris stopped suddenly in front of the store Quality Quidditch Supplies. Dumbledore noticed Chris' longing face, and told her to go ahead and look.
Chris ran inside as fast as she could, with Audry right behind her. Chris ran over and stared at the beaters stuff while Audry admired the chaser's stuff. Dumbledore went and talked to the owner of the store.
About twenty minutes later, Chris and Audry walked out with two beautiful new Nimbus 1000. It seemed that the owner of that store owed Dumbledore for some reason, and was happy to give him the brooms free of charge.
They walked back to the front of Gringotts and Dumbledore pulled out his pocket watch again. He held it out for Chris and Audry to touch, and a minute later they were back in front of Hogwarts.
As they were walking across the Hogwarts grounds, Dumbledore took a turn and walked towards the left side of Hogwarts. Chris and Audry followed, curious. They stopped dead in their tracks, however, when they saw what Dumbledore was trying to show them.
It was the Quidditch Pitch. It was one of the most amazing things that Chris and Audry had ever seen. Dumbledore shrunk all of Chris and Audry's new things and told them they could fly around for a while if they wanted.
"I was hoping you two would join Gryffindor's team. I've heard we're two players short, and I'm sure with practice you two will be perfect." With that, Dumbledore took Chris and Audry's stuff to the castle.
Chris and Audry immediately hoped on their brooms and pushed up. They both loved flying instantly. It came easy to them. Chris and Audry flew until the sun started to go down and they were both tired. They walked up to the castle and saw Dumbledore in the Great Hall.
"I decided that you two could sleep in the Gryffindor tower so that you get used to it. If you go to the kitchens, you can ask the house-elves there for something to eat." Before Dumbledore could tell them how to get into the kitchens, they both ran off. They vaguely remembered where the kitchens were from their books and found it after about twenty minutes.
Audry and Chris quickly made friends with an elf named Teddy. Teddy helped them find Gryffindor Tower quickly and told them the password (time-turner). He bowed to them and ran back to the kitchens after Chris and Audry had thanked him profusely.
They both walked up to the girls' dormitory, and saw their stuff was already in the room marked for third years. They ran over to their stuff and pulled out their wands first. They knew that they should probably keep the wands with them from then on. The got into their pajamas and got into bed.
Chris grabbed her wand and pointed it at the light. The light turned off, making Chris squeal with happiness. She put her wand back on her nightstand and snuggled deeply into the most comfortable bed she could ever remember sleeping in. Audry did the same thing and gave a small sigh.
"Good night Slyfoot." Audry said, closing her eyes.
"Good night to you too Swiftwings." Chris said, also closing her eyes.
And they both fell asleep, smiles stretched across each of their faces. They couldn't wait for the excitement the next day would surely bring.
Slyfoot: Hey guys! Well, there's our update finally. Sorry it took so long. Swiftwings and I don't go to the same school, do it's hard to find time together to write this. We usually do so while on AIM. Also, Swiftwings isn't here, so I'm alone doing the authors notes at the end of the fic. Swiftwings left in the middle of the fic, unfortunately. I just want to say thanks to out two reviewers! It really meant a lot to the both of us that you took the time to review. We really hope that you continue to enjoy our little story. So until next time, ttfn, ta ta for now!