For copyright and disclaimers, please see chapter 1
(Thanks to GITM for the Hat's song - I am NOT a poet!)
2 - The Hogwarts Express
Wednesday, September 1, 1999:
London, King's Cross Station, Platform 9 3/4
"G'bye, Mom, Dad. I'll write often!" the young Chinese girl said with a hug.
"Mattie will keep an eye out for her," Selina said, offering her hand. "Bruce and Selina Wayne; and our daughter Mattie. We went through the first-year jitters last year," she added with a smile.
"It's really easy. Watch the twins," Mattie said. She grinned at her parents; then said, "I'll keep an eye out for her." First one twin, then the other charged through the seemingly solid brick column, vanishing after Arthur.
"'Kay." The girl screwed up her courage, and ran at the wall, coming to a stop on the platform. The elderly guard motioned her out of the way, Mattie reappearing a minute later. "Wow. That's… "
"Magic? Still amazes me." Arthur held out his hand, offering, "Arthur Morton, Columbus, Ohio. You're a firstie, I take it?"
"Lee Fook, from New York," Arthur looked at her quizzically, and she waved it off. "Yeah, yeah. What can I say; Mom was insane when I was born."
Mattie chuckled, while Arthur got a distant look in his eyes. Mattie winked at him, saying, "Haven't met any vampires yet, but the werewolves I know are cool."
"Waitaminute," Lee said, grabbing Arthur's sleeve. "Werewolves exist?"
"Sure, there's one in my house, and another in my study group. Let's get your trunk on board; that was the ten-minute whistle."
"Is this compartment taken?" Lee asked. A very tall fellow waved her in, as Arthur floated her trunk into the middle of the floor, then smiled and left with Mattie.
"Hartley Ravensworth, Cheltenham," the tall fellow said. "By your accent, you're a Yank?" he questioned. Lee nodded, "Meet your countryman, Connie…"
The blonde sneered, "Connie Koslowski, of New York City." She returned to her book.
Lee shot a withering look at Connie, adding, "Lee Fook, also of New York City." The train jerked, and started to pull out of the station. She asked, "What about the rest of you?"
"Stephanie Keyes, London," a long-haired brunette said.
"Daphne Ballantyne, Hogsmeade," a short-haired blonde said. "Pity I can't commute to school, it's only a fifteen minute walk."
"The drawback is that your parents are right there if you get into trouble," a fellow said with a French accent. "I am Louis Bourmont from Sarrebourg, France. Enchante'"
"Why didn't you go to Beauxbatons?" Stephanie asked.
"I would rather not discuss it, if you please."
"What about you two?" Lee asked a silent pair.
The dark haired girl answered, "I'm Violet Pellew, and this is my half-brother Jeremy, from Fredricton, New Brunswick."
"What do you know about the Sorting?" Stephanie asked. "Mum wouldn't tell me. Do you know if we have to sing or dance or anything?" Connie snorted, and Daphne added, "Neither would my parents."
"Well, Connie, you obviously know something we don't. Spill it," Jeremy said.
"I plan to be in Slytherin before the day is out," Connie said, and returned to her book.
Hartley stretched a long arm out, and snatched her book, holding her off with the other hand. "My, this is an interesting volume. 'Three hundred dark charms, volume two'."
"Accio book!" It flew back into her hand, and Connie smirked, "Be glad I didn't use any of these on you."
"Anything from the trolley?" a voice came in the compartment. Stephanie glanced around; then called, "No thanks!" She looked at the other people, "Mum said that when the trolley comes by, it's time to change to your uniform. If the boys will wait outside, we'll be as quick as we can."
"Bloody tights…" Connie cursed.
"Never worn hose before?" Lee asked. "You've got a run in the left leg, get a new pair and hurry up, the boys are waiting. We don't want to perpetuate the stereotype of girls taking forever to get dressed, do we?"
"Sorry, mates," Daphne said as they opened the compartment door. "Beauty takes time." The five girls squeezed out into the gently rocking corridor as the boys went past them. Other students stood outside their compartments, chatting as a redheaded witch moved down the corridor. As she stopped to talk to people, Lee suddenly found herself snout to nose with a large black panther. He smelled her; then changed to Connie, jumping up to lean against the compartment while he sniffed her. He pulled back, regarded her; sniffing again, a low, rumbling growl coming from his chest.
"Shadow!" The redheaded witch called, lightly slapping the panther's shoulder. He 'whuffed', eyed Connie again, then changed to Daphne. The witch apologized, "I'm sorry about Shadow. I don't know what gets into him sometimes." Shadow had finished Stephanie, and changed to Violet, who actually was rubbing his head. He purred, and licked her face.
"Firs' years o' here! Firs' years, o' here!" a huge man called, holding aloft a lantern. He was at least eight feet tall, with bushy hair, a ratty beard, enormous coat, and beetle black eyes.
"Hagrid!" Daphne called, and he waved, calling, "'Lo, there, Daphne! 'Bout time, eh? Welcome to Hogwarts!"
"Who's that?" Jeremy asked.
"That's Hagrid, keeper of keys and grounds, and the Care of Magical Creatures professor," Daphne explained, as she chivvied her companions toward him. "Oh, I'm so excited! Tradition is firsties like us ride across the lake with him, and I'm finally going to take that ride! I'm actually here!" She pointed at the enormous castle, lit up against the twilit sky, adding, "Isn't it gorgeous?"
"Right, now," Hagrid said. "We're going tae cross to the castle now, so follow me. If ye' fall in, dan' worry, the squid in tha' lake will fish ya out, na trouble. E'ryone ready?" He walked down to a wooden dock, and called "Four to a boat, ye' don't need ta row. Thirty four a' ye, so two wi' me, now!"
As the boats moved slowly across the lake, the castle loomed even more as they drifted into a cavern under the lake, and a cloud of bats took off, to the shrieks of students. The boats bumped up against the dock, and the firsties clambered out.
"Righ'." Hagrid did a quick head count, then said, "We'll be goin' up to the Great Hall now. 'Tis where you're sorted into y' houses. F'llo me, now." The firsties followed him, until he stopped. "Righ'. One more flight, an' ye'll be met. I'll see ye'll later now. G'luck tae all o' ye at Hogwarts." He vanished, moving surprisingly quietly for such a large man.
One floor up, Professor McGonagall waited. She looked the firsties over sternly; then said, "I am Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress. In a few minutes, you will proceed into the Great Hall, where you will be Sorted into your Houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Your house is your family while you are here at Hogwarts. Good grades and behavior will gain your house points, while misbehavior and rule-breaking will cost your house points." She added, "At the end of the year, the house with the most points will win the House Cup." She looked them over, "Follow me," turned, and opened the doors.
Lee followed along as people entered, murmuring about the hundreds of floating candles. They stopped in the middle of the hall, facing the high table. Professor McGonagall motioned us to wait; then advanced to stand next to a stool, where an ancient, patched and filthy hat sat. She blinked, a rip along the brim opened, and it started to sing.
Gryffindor and Hufflepuff, Slytherin and Ravenclaw,
I will Sort you to your house, it is not a random draw.
Griffins, they are brave and bold, Hufflepuffs be stout and true.
Ravenclaws, so sharp of mind, do their best to outthink you.
Slytherins, those cunning souls, only want the very best.
How then can I de-cide things? Well, I'll tell you. That's no jest.
The founders four, they thought hard, Gryffindor knew what was right.
They took his hat, gave it brains. Then they gave me oversight.
So place me upon your head, I will look inside and see,
Ex-act-ly where you belong... and there is where you'll be.
There was applause, and Professor McGonagall called, "When I call your name, come have a seat, and the Hat will sort you into your house." There was an excited murmur, and one of the boys started to hyperventilate. She called, "Ballantyne, Daphne." She swallowed, made her way between the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables, and climbed onto the stool. The Hat was placed on her head, and it twisted as it seemed to carry on a conversation. After a minute or so, the rip opened up with a call, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Bourmont, Louis" went to Ravenclaw, "Fook, Lee" went to Slytherin (after a discussion with the Hat), "Keyes, Stephanie" went to Hufflepuff, "Koslowski, Constance" went to Gryffindor (to her enormous disgust, after arguing with the Hat for Slytherin), "Pellew, Jeremy" went to Slytherin, his sister "Pellew, Violetta" went to Gryffindor (to her relief), and "Ravensworth, Hartley" went to Ravenclaw.
The Headmaster tapped his goblet, and Mattie turned away from her conversation with Lee. "Now that we all know where we are, I can hear stomachs growling from here, so I have one more thing to say." He clapped his hands twice, and said, "Dig in." Food appeared on the table, and someone muttered "Finally!" Lee reached for the mashed potatoes.
After everyone had stuffed themselves, the Headmaster stood again, and tapped his goblet. The noise died down, and he said, "I have only a few announcements. We will be continuing with our modified schedule, in which there is only one double class per each morning and afternoon session. All four houses will be in each class. Also, Mr. Filch, our caretaker, asked me to remind you that magic is not allowed in the corridors. He also informs me that the entire catalog from Weasley Wizard Wheezes have been added to the forbidden items list. That list now compromises forty six feet of parchment, and is available for your perusal at Mr. Filch's office, should you wish to inspect it." People chuckled, and he added, "First years will be taking a computer class on Friday afternoons before their flying lessons. I must remind you all that the Forbidden Forest is indeed forbidden if you do not wish to die a most horrible death." He waited for the murmurs to die away, then said, "Tomorrow is the first day of classes, so off to bed with you."
Lee and Jeremy waited with the other Slytherins. A blonde prefect told them, "My name is Karen Bundy, and I'm your Quidditch captain. This is the statue of Salazar Slytherin, the founder of our house. The password changes every month, you can get it from Professor Snape or a prefect. This month's is aconite." The statue rotated away, and people entered, taking places to watch the initiation. Another prefect, a very large fellow, said, "My name is Frank MacDonald, I'm one a' your Beaters. Let's have the firsties up front, please." He waited a minute, adding, "This is our common room, where you can study and socialize." He pointed, adding, "The door opposite the fireplace will lead to the Slytherin private library and to our potions laboratory, the left hand stairway leads down to the girl's dorms; the right to the boy's. Sound travels surprisingly well up and down the stairs, please be courteous and use silencing spells if you snore, yell or make other noise. If you have a guest from another house, they are not to learn the common room password, and they must be escorted. You will set a dorm password with your room-mates. Before you can sleep, Professor Snape has a few words."
Mattie watched as the tall Potions Master stood on the fireplace hearthstones, "Thank you, Mr. MacDonald." He swept the nervous firsties with a stern gaze; then nodded, "Before we enroll you as members of the Serpent's Den, there are several things I must emphasize. First, we present a united front to the other houses. Even if you disagree with another Slytherin, you will always support them in public. Everything that occurs in this house STAYS in this house. Only in an emergency should you reveal a house secret; that includes special talents of your housemates." He paused; a burning log broke with a pop, then he continued, "Our library and potions laboratory is here for your use. Library books are charmed to become illegible if taken outside the House, they will incinerate if touched by someone from another house. These represent a private storehouse of knowledge that is unavailable to the other houses. If you are having difficulties in your studies, ask another member of the house for tutoring. I do not expect a member of this house to receive a detention for misbehavior, if you do, you will receive a doubled one from me." He smiled, and Lee gulped. "If you are pulling pranks on members of another house, consult with older members of the house first. Lastly, ladies; if you need a pass for the nurse because of your… monthly visitor, do not hesitate to ask me. However, if you are using it to skive off classes, I will know. For both ladies and gentlemen, I will be most unhappy to learn of an accidental pregnancy. I would suggest you take appropriate precautions, potions are available from both myself and the nurse." He smiled, adding, "Are there any questions?"
Professor Snape turned, and muttered an incantation. A section of wall moved out, and a listing of names appeared. He said, "This is a listing of members of Slytherin House since our founding. If you become trapped in the castle, touch your wand to the castle's stone, and use the incantation succubi serpentis and your name if female, intestis serpentis and name if male. You will be delivered here to the common room, any other persons you wish to save must be in physical contact with you. This is, naturally, only to be used in mortal danger." He looked at his new charges; saying "Mr. Williams, you're first." He tapped his wand on the listing of names, and asked, "Are there any objections?" No one said anything, and Professor Snape offered the firstie a knife as he said, "Mr. Williams, tap the list with your wand, and state your full name. Then cut your finger, and smear some of your blood across your name."
The firstie stepped forward, and tapped the list. It stopped, and he said, "Herbert Peter Williams," then he fumbled the blade, finally slitting his finger. He passed the blade back, and massaged his index finger to get a good flow, finally touching it to all three words. Mattie and Sprink applauded with the others as his name blurred; then rotated with the others. Frank MacDonald motioned him over, and muttered a charm over his finger as he turned to watch the other's initiation.
After Professor Snape had left, Frank held up his hand, saying loudly, "One las' thing for ye firsties ta know. A bit o' free advice on wha' Professor Snape said." He looked each of the nervous firsties in the eye; then said, "Believe every bloody word."
Connie and Violet followed the others up the shifting staircases to the seventh floor, and the base of Gryffindor tower. Stopping in front of a large portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress, the prefect said to the winded firsties, "You'll get used to this climb, its good exercise. Passwords change every month, and are not to be shared with other houses. If you have a friend visit from another house, they must be escorted. You'll get the new passwords from a prefect or Professor McGonagall. This month's is courage." The portrait swung open, revealing a circular hole in the stone wall. Connie waited to clamber through, where the prefect continued, "This is the Gryffindor common room. Girl's dormitories are up the stairs to the left, boys to the right. The girls' staircase is charmed so boys can't get up it. Your trunks and things have been taken up by the house elves. Breakfast is served from seven to nine in the Great Hall, lunch from twelve to one, and dinner from five to six." He glanced at the other prefects, adding, "That's about it. Classes start tomorrow at nine. G'night, everyone."
"That's it? No rituals, no blood?" Connie asked.
"What d'you think we are, Slytherins?" a fourth-year said.
Wednesday, September 1, 1999:
Hogwarts, Headmaster's office
"Well, Alastair, what did you think of our two mystery firsties?"
The hat sighed as he was replaced on his customary shelf. "I was not happy with this, Albus. However, as a student's life is at risk, I did as requested. Miss Fook will be best protected by Severus and the Slytherins, even though her affinity was for Hufflepuff."
"Hmm. Did you gain any information from the faux Miss Koslowski's mind?"
"No, it's as if she had been Sorted before. There was some sort of blocking spell in place, it… well, it smelled of dark magic. Not Occlumancy, like Miss Wayne manifested last year." Alastair snorted, adding, "Her natural affinity, as she insisted, was for Slytherin, but the darker Slytherin of years past. That one will be trouble, mark my words."
"Hmm. Is there anything else, old friend?"
"One other thing, Miss Koslowski's mind had a definite, well, male tint to it, while having female patterns as well. The last time I saw this was with strong twin bonds, most recently the Cortez and Weasley twins. Both the Cortez girls showed it, just as the Weasley boys showed a feminine tint." Alastair sighed, "Minerva, Harry and the Gryffindors will keep an eye on her; do you think it would be useful to have Miss Wayne keep an eye on Miss Fook?"
"Possibly, possibly," the headmaster said. "The term is yet young, I will mention to Severus and Minerva our generalized concerns about the two students after Wednesday's staff meeting. I do not wish to place Miss Wayne in danger, though." He stroked his beard, sighed, and said, "I am off to bed. Good night, old friend."
"Good night, Albus. Sleep well."