Chapter 10

As the carriage rolled to a stop, Harry jumped out of the carriage and patted the black Thestrel on the nose before heading up the front steps. Behind him he could hear Neville gently murmuring back and forth with Luna. Smiling silently at the two friends he walked through the front doors.

'Haha, the tin man can't find his soup can head!'

Harry looked over to see the originator of the voice wearing a metal helmet on his round head. Looking below him Harry saw a suit of armor clanging about while searching for its head.

Sighing Harry said, 'Peeves I like your new look, I guess we should all get you some gel for your birthday, you know, to combat the helmet hair.'

Peeves looked at Harry and said, 'Ohhhh, wee Potty made a funny.'

Harry smiled up at him and said, 'Yeah, I guess you're right there Helmet Head.'

Peeves took off the metal helmet and threw it at Harry in anger. Catching it, Harry absorbed the shock with his stomach. Walking over to the suit of armor, he placed the helmet on its shoulders. In return the helmet bowed gratefully and walked off down some stairs where, Harry was sure, it resided beside the potions classroom.

Peeves swooped down after Harry and began to pelt him with dung bombs. Harry simply ignored this as he walked into the Great Hall.

The Bloody Baron saw Peeves and called out, 'Peeves, get to the astronomy tower!'

Harry's lips twitched as Peeve hurriedly zipped away to, Harry assumed, destroy Professor Trelawney's astronomy class room. Harry turned and sat between Hermione and Ron, Ginny on Hermione's other side.

'So, what did I miss?'

Harry tried to ignore the open mouthed gaping of the younger students as his friends said, 'Dumbledore doesn't seem to have found a new Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor yet.'

Harry had felt a rush of anger rise up as Ron said the Headmaster's name.

Hermione added, 'But I suppose we'll all see whoever it is soon enough.'

Ginny was looking up at the head table, and her brow furrowed in concentration. 'Doesn't Dumbledore look excited to you guys?'

Ron turned to his sister astonished and said, 'Blimey, how can you tell the difference?'

Ginny kept her eyes trained on the head table though and said in a soft voice, 'I wonder what he has got planned.'

Harry tried to avoid thinking about Dumbledore, because if he did, he would be reminded of the last time he saw the old man and the circumstances under which they'd been.

xxxxXXXXXXXxxxx

Draco sat between Pansy and Blaise Zambini, Pansy's hand on his thigh possessively, and Blaise was chatting on about his summer.

'Yeah, my mum took us all to Canada to visit our Uncle John. They must have some pretty nasty winters, because I swear, my uncle has got a frostbitten brain.'

Pansy giggled and said, 'That's too funny. I was stuck here all summer, lounging around by our back lake.'

Draco flashed his tradmark smirk; his friends were really good at putting up façades. He knew, because they were with him continuously, and he's seen both sides. Looking from his table, he looked at the unmistakable messy locks of Harry Potter. He noticed that the fellow teen was sitting with his usual group, Granger, and the two Weasleys.

Sighing, Draco interrupted his friend's and said in a bored voice, 'When will they get the sorting over with? I'm starved.'

Pansy looked at him and said, 'Poor Drakey.'

Draco inwardly laughed at the poor joke that she had insinuated there; when he was younger his mother used to say he screamed like a Mandrake root, giving him the nickname Drakey. But at that moment the side door opened and the new students were lead in. Draco noticed that most of them were in large towels that hid them from the other students.

Harry looked up as soon as the new students entered. His amulet had heated up on his chest. But there was nothing he could see, besides Hagrid's massive body placing the sorting hat on the stool. Confused, Harry shook his head and then turned his attention to the hat itself.

The hat looked old and as if it would fall apart at any moment; there was a large gash across the front of it. Harry smiled as he recognized the mouth. But the sorting hat and its mouth remained still until Hagrid stepped back amongst the students yet to be sorted.

'Through the years they've come and gone,

And after school they'll carry on.

But here soon, that will all end,

As many will lose a great friend.

But here I must say,

Although houses must stay,

They must be separated no more

Into the houses, for

We will never have peace

Until ALL fighting shall cease.

But until your last year

You must be with friends dear.

So I shall sort you now

And here is how:

Gryffindors are adventurous and bold,

Ravenclaws have knowlegde of old,

Hufflepuffs are very caring,

Slytherins are known as daring.

Now you all know how it works,

In your brain I will lurk

To find thoughts you are hoarding.

With this I shall begin my sorting.'

There was a great silence once the hat fell silent, and then there grew a rumble of whisperings as students turned to their friends to wonder at what the hat was talking about. How could they be separated, yet remain with friends dear? And the houses, what would happen to them?

Amidst all the whispering Dumbledore stood up until the hall once again fell silent, 'I have an announcement to make. As of this year, there shall be a new table. At this table, from whichever house they may have originated in, we shall have the seventh years sitting. This has been done to hopefully put an end to the house fights. So if all those in the seventh year could please move to the new table.'

As Dumbledore waved his hand, a fifth table appeared. This one was set out with silver cutlery instead of gold, and the table cloth was a mint green. Harry sighed and stood up, Hermione, Ron, and the rest of the seventh year Gryffindors stood up as soon as Harry did.

Walking over to the table, they were about to sit down together when Dumbledore said, 'How silly of me, I forgot to mention that all of you shall be given assigned seating this first month. You understand, simply to break the ice.'

At his words there was some out cries of protest. But Harry simply looked about and finally spotted his name at the one end close to the sorting hat. Moving to sit he put his satchel under his chair and watched the rest of everyone find their seats.

'Ugh. Sitting next to Potter is just plain torture. Who could ever think of being this cruel?'

Harry looked up to see Draco sneering at him. Sighing Harry said, 'Might as well make the best of it. We're stuck for a month.'

Looking around, Harry decided to find out who his other neighbors were. On the card beside him was the name 'Elizzabeth Dael.' Looking to Draco, Harry asked in a confused voice, 'Was there a Slytherin named Elizzabeth?'

Draco looked at him as if he had just sprouted a second head, 'No.' there was a pause as Draco fought with his self about talking to Harry, but eventually his curiosity got the best of him, 'Why?'

Harry said, 'Because, I'm seated next to an Elizzabeth Dael.'

Draco perked up and said, 'Well, at least I may have an intelligent person to speak with.'

Harry stared at him and then shook his head. Noticing that everyone seemed to be seated he looked at the place setting for Elizzabeth Dael confused, and then turned to look at Dumbledore.

'Well, now that we are all situated at our tables I do believe we have some new students to be sorted. Amongst the first years, we also have two new students who will be gracing us with their presence. They come all the way from Canada.'

At Dumbledore's quietly spoken words the whole hall remained silent and turned to watch the sorting take place. Dumbledore took out a large roll of parchment and called out, 'Ainsley, Davinia.'

A small girl with black hair walked up to the stool. As the sorting hat was put on top of her head, her violet eyes peered out fearfully at the other students.

'RAVENCLAW!'

Smiling the girl took off the hat and placed it on the stool as the Ravenclaw table burst into cheers and clapping.

'Bullsworth, Tyrel…SLYTHERIN!'

At the new addition to Slytherin Draco clapped delicately and said, 'Good to see we get some fresh blood.'

'Brain, Amelia…RAVENCLAW!'

'Chretien, Sandra…HUFFLEPUFF!'

Harry suddenly felt the amulet around is neck burn red hot, causing him to curse and grab at the collar of his robes. Draco looked over at him with a scornful frown on his face.

'Dael, Amy…'

Draco's head shot around to look up at the sound of the girl's name. Who wouldn't, after all, it was almost the same name as his long gone sister. Draco subconsciously looked her over. She had platinum blonde hair; his sister had had platinum blonde hair. She seemed slender and delicate; his sister would have had the potential of such a figure, from their mother of course. She looked like she couldn't be much younger than Draco; his sister was only two years younger.

Harry had looked up as well when the girl's name had been called out, at first he was hit with the strong resemblance between her and Draco, the second thing he was hit with was the fact that her eyes were the exact same color as the blue mist swirling in his amulet.

But both boys remembered her last name; it hadn't been Malfoy, it had been Dael.

'…SLYTHERIN!'

Draco's and Harry's eyes stayed on the girl. And since they were doing so they hadn't noticed when Dumbledore had stood up. Clapping his hands he said, 'Amièe is one of our new students from Canada. And as such I hope that the rest in her year will help her out with the schools many passages, classes, and professors. Saying that she shall be placed in with the fifth years.'

The girl took off the hat and placed it delicately on the stool, walking towards the Slytherin table she was heralded with cheers and hollers of welcome.

'Dael, Elizzabeth…'

A Girl with flaxen gold hair walked up to the stool. Looking out at the seventh year table she then turned to Dumbledore. Dumbledore shook his head at her and she placed the hat on her head.

'…SLYTHERIN!'

After the hat and yelled out the house name Dumbledore stood up again, 'Elizzabeth here is our other new student. She is Amièe's older sister. I have allowed Elizzabeth here to see which house she would have been sorted into, but she shall be seated with the rest of the seventh years.'

Up the table from him he heard Hermione saying softly, 'The house she would have been sorted into? But shee is being sorted into a house? What has he got up his sleeve?'

Once Dumbledore finished speaking, he waved Eizzabeth on to go sit down. Harry watched her as she came closer; she had obviously noticed the free chair beside Harry. Looking at the place card with her name, she sat down and gave out a soft sigh.

Turning to look at Harry and Draco she said in a accented voice, 'Hey, my name's Lizz. I guess you should have all heard I'm new. So…ummmm…do you mind if I kind of hung out with you guys until I get to know some more people?'

Harry nodded his head and said, 'Nice to meet you Elizzabeth, I'd enjoy it if you could hang out with me and my friends. My name's-'

But before Harry could finish, Draco, who was staring at Elizzabeth with a strange emotion in his eyes, cut him off, 'Yeah, nice to meet you. You can hang out with me and my friends no problem. My name's Draco Malfoy by the way.'

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Hi, yeah, I know, I threatened not to give it to you until I got another review, but I mean. I really like this story too, so I"m going to continue posting.
Once again I have to tell everybody about my wonderful beta, she is ever so good to me. And I think you should all send in some reviews about what an awesome job she did with thechapter so I can pass them on.