Disclaimer: Not mine

Chapter Two

We had just started out of the compartment, dragging our heavy trunks behind us, when a hand rested on my shoulder. I nearly jumped out of my skin. It was a boy who looked to be about sixteen or seventeen, he was very tall and had a kind, wide face. "Hullo!" he said. "Do you need any help?" He proceeded to help us lug our luggage off the train. Afterwards he stopped to catch his breath. "They'll be brought from here! I'm Head Boy, my names Frank Longbottom, you must be the new girls."

"I'm Jenna." I said. "This is Bridget." Bridget was looking around rather frantically.

"This can't be Hogwarts!" she sputtered.

"No, no. This is just the station, Hogwarts is over there a bit." Frank pointed off into the distance where the vague shape of a castle loomed. "Oh, I'm supposed to show you to the boats, you'll be going across the lake with the first years."

"First years?" asked Bridget scornfully.

Frank laughed, seeing Bridget's expression. He started walking, taking long strides and leaving Bridget and I to hurry after him. "They live to impress. It's a grand view from the lake. Ah! Hagrid!" A man who was a good three feet taller and twice as wide as Frank strode over.

"Hullo Frank! These th' new girls?" He asked.

I could feel my jaw drop at the mere mass of this man. He was huge, though he looked to be in his mid-twenties. Had there been some sort of accident with an engorgment potion? Frank, however, looked unsurprised at the sight of Hagrid. "These are them Hagrid. I've got to run now or I'll miss the coaches." Frank turned back to us. "Good luck girls! Hope to see you in Gryffindor!" And with a wink and a smile, Frank Longbottom disapeared into the gloom.

"Well ladies," said Hagrid, holding out an arm to each of us. "I've got the firs' years loaded and we're awaitin' for yeh."

Bridget took the offered arm, and after a moments hesitation, I took the other. Hogwarts was already a new and strange place.

The journey across the lake was a glorious one. It was misting slightly, but the sky was clear and it seemed you could see forever. Across the lake, I assumed, was Hogwarts. In the darkness it glowed like candle; light emmiting from every window. It took my breath a way and Bridget sighed in longing. We had seen the jungles of Africa and the dry cold plains of Siberia, but this was a different kind of beauty.

"Almos' there now." said Hagrid. "Home."

"Home," I repeated, contemplating the word.

Bridget looked at me with wide eyes. They sparkled in the starlight "Home." she murmured. I realized that it wasn't the starlight, it was her tears.

The Great Hall, was exactly what the name implied. Great. There were four tables set up, each adorned with bright colors. Bridget and I walked up the center, surrounded by the first years. She rose nearly a head above them while I was only a few inches taller. I'm sure we looked rather funny, two tall girls in a sea of eleven year olds. At the front of the room was another table, but this one was where the teachers sat. In front of this table was a wooden stool, on the stool sat a hat. After a moment it smiled and broke into song. For the second time that evening my mouth fell open.

I could only listen, dumbfounded, as it told us of the founding of Hogwarts and the four houses. This is what Remus meant I thought. We're going to be put in different houses depending on our traits. Ohh, let me be with Bee! Apparently having the same thought, Bridget seized my hand and proceeded to squeeze it until I couldn't feel my fingers.

A woman in long, pale robes started calling names. Oh, it would take so long to find out if Bridget and I were in the same house! Bridget was called third.

"Brown, Bridget!"

Bridget sat and put the the hat on her head. They must have been having some sort of conversation as Bridget giggled and nodded her head several times. After another moment, the house called out "Gryffindor!" Immidietly I crossed my fingers and began to wish. Bridget set the hat back on the stool and after a look back at me, trotted off to the Gryffindor table where she threw herself on the bench next to Remus, who had the decency to blush.

It seemed like ages before I heard the woman's harsh tones call out my voice.

"Moore, Jenna!"

I drug myself to the stool and tenderly placed the sorting hat on my head. "Hullo Jenna!" it buzzed in my ear. "Bridget told me you'd want to be with her."

"Yes please," I murmured back.

"Well, that's not a hard wish to grant. Look at all the adventures you've been on! What a brave young girl we have! Sharp mind too, are you sure you want to be with Bee?" I nodded vigously, though I was fairly certain it was joking. "Alright then. GRYFFINDOR!"

Bridget put her fingers in her mouth and whistled shrilly. I smiled and muttered a thank-you to the hat before setting it gently back on the stool. I plopped myself next to Bridget on the bench and found myself staring off at a table across the room. It was decorated in green and silver. There was a boy sitting there, he had his nose in a book though he looked up when he felt my eyes. I smiled and winked, as if we shared a private joke. He looked around, startled, as if he thought I must be looking at someone else. He gave me a shy smile and blushed, sticking his nose back in his book. If I had my way, Bridget wouldn't be the only one with a boy by Christmas.

Bridget had seen my wink and smiled at me. I gave her our secret smile and she laughed, the sound echoing a million times in the large hall. The boy looked at me again, using the opportunity that Bridget had given him. This time he wasn't shy at all. A shiver ran down my spine and goosebumps raised on my arms.

I was unsure what to do, but then the plates in front of us filled and the feast began. I hadn't even heard the Headmaster's speech, something seemed very odd to me.

Now, however, was not the time to brood on it.