Chapter 1- The Three Dark Girls
'I can't believe how stupid the Great Hall looks with these stupid decorations!' Draco Malfoy sneered.
As Halloween was fast approaching, the Great Hall had been decorated with its usual splendor: numerous Jack-o-lanterns levitated below the misty evening sky of the enchanted ceiling, and thousands of live bats fluttered from wall to wall. Much to Draco's irritation, they often swooped down to grab some food off the tables from unsuspecting students. But the teachers had slightly outdone the decorations by adding skeletons made of some paper and glue to hang from the stone walls. Draco gazed at them with narrow eyes.
'Everything looks ridiculous,' he commented to Goyle, who was sitting beside him and seemed to be having a difficult time chewing a mouthful of baked potatoes and nodding in agreement with Draco at the same time. Crabbe, who was sitting on the other side of Goyle, nodded vigorously, sending pieces of kidney pie flying off his chest. Several students in front of him yelled in shock and anger as they were sprayed with the kidney pie.
Draco shook his head in exasperation. He grabbed a golden knife and roughly sliced the roast chicken in front of him. Then his eyes fell on Harry Potter, sitting on the opposite side of the Great Hall. He began to chop the chicken with anger.
'Draco, what's wrong?' asked Pansy Parkinson in a childish voice, fingering her prefect badge. He hated it when she talked like that. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his temper.
'Nothing is wrong...' he began, when suddenly a loud knocking sound came from the closed doors of the Great Hall.
Professor Albus Dumbledore stood up from the teachers' table.
'Ah,' he said, his eyes twinkling, 'it seems that our new students have arrived at last.'
Draco spun round to stare at Professor Dumbledore. 'New students?'
A loud buzzing erupted. It seemed that everyone was asking the same question. The bats grew excited with the sudden chatter and began zooming around the hall.
The doors opened with a loud bang. Hagrid walked in, shivering and holding a dying lamp.
'The students o' Durmstrang have arrived, Professor,' he declared between sniffs.
Draco clutched Goyle's arm in excitement. 'Durmstrang? We have new students from Durmstrang?' Goyle gazed at him in confusion, obviously at a loss on how to react. Draco, however, ignored him and turned to Crabbe. But before he could say anything more, Hagrid began speaking again.
'Here we are, yeh three! Go on, in yeh go!' he said proudly.
He stepped aside to reveal the three figures behind him. Draco, along with the rest of the school, gasped.
Standing there were three attractive girls, each one wearing robes of blood red and holding a black cloak. The girl on the far left of Draco was tanned and her pretty face wore an impish smile, which complimented her beady brown eyes. She had her black hair tied loosely back, which she now fingered as she whispered something to the girl beside her. The one next to her was slightly shorter and fair, with an innocent face and wide green eyes. The two of them were staring around the Great Hall with apparent interest. But the girl on the right was whom Draco found more appealing. She was the tallest of the three, and the eldest, judging by her face. With her pale skin, flawless complexion and long black hair, she seemed somehow mysterious. Her metallic blue eyes scanned the surrounding with cautiousness.
'Why did they transfer here from Durmstrang?' demanded Pansy with obvious jealousy.
As the room was so quiet everyone, including the three Durmstrang girls who eyed her with questioning looks, heard her words, after which Hagrid gave a loud sniff.
Professor Dumbledore chuckled softly. 'That is for their own reasons, Miss Parkinson,' he said, looking at her scowling expression. 'But they will certainly be joining our precious Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But first, they will have to be sorted!'
Draco stared at him, and immediately smiled. Students from Durmstrang, the school known for its powerful Dark Arts, would surely be sorted into Slytherin. How convenient, he thought with a smirk. But are they going to be sorted here, right now?
'Professor McGonagall, will you please bring out the Sorting Hat?'
The four Houses began talking rapidly, as each one looked at the three strange girls, and then at Professor McGonagall, who was now walking towards the center of the hall, carrying a four-legged stool and a very battered wizard's hat.
'Why can't they change that stupid hat?' muttered Draco, and then turned to look at the girls again.
The two girls on the left were now chatting excitedly with each other, occasionally being examined by the third, mysterious girl. She leaned to say something to the green-eyed girl then looked up, and caught Draco's gaze. He felt mesmerized by her piercing blue eyes.
Professor McGonagall cleared her throat loudly. 'Please step forward,' she said loudly.
The three girls slowly walked towards her. Hagrid beamed, then bowed and turned to leave the Great Hall, closing the doors after him.
'When I call your name, you will sit, and I will place the Sorting Hat on your head,' said Professor McGonagall. 'You already know what the houses are, I am sure. Dawn Adelheid.'
The girl with the green eyes bounced towards the stool and sat down on it with a wide smile.
'Look at her. She doesn't even look like a Durmstrang! It's like she's from the land of sweet happiness. How sickening,' Draco heard Marcus Flint comment to Blaise Zambini. Draco stared at Dawn Adelheid with raised eyebrows.
Everyone leaned forward curiously as the Sorting Hat remained quiet for a moment, then said, 'Ah... very interesting. A very intelligent mind, extraordinary...'
Draco smirked, and glanced at Granger at the Gryffindor table. Her lips were pursed and she was staring at Adelheid with a look of growing contempt.
'Your mind is that of a Ravenclaw,' continued the Sorting Hat, 'yes, and quite active, I see. But otherwise... you should be... SLYTHERIN!'
The Slytherin table erupted in cheers. Even Marcus Flint seemed pleased, Draco noticed. Draco clapped loudly, and smiled innocently at Potter, who had just turned to look at him.
Dawn Adelheid took off the Sorting Hat and placed it back on the stool. She was glowing with evident joy, and she ran towards the Slytherin table, where many offered her a place to sit. However, she chose to sit at the very end of the table, a few seats away from Draco.
'Atara Lilith!' called out Professor McGonagall.
Draco sat up with interest as he saw the tall, pale girl sit upon the stool with the Sorting Hat on her head. So her name was Atara Lilith.
'Nice name,' he said aloud. He glanced at Pansy, who was pouting at his remark.
'Quite difficult...' muttered the Sorting Hat. 'Secretive, yet active as well. And a great mind too, a great mind. You would do well in SLYTHERIN!'
Draco's smile widened as he shouted loudly for Atara Lilith. The Slytherin table was the only one cheering; Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were merely applauding out of politeness, and Gryffindor had remained stubbornly quiet.
Lilith walked gracefully towards the table and sat down next to a grinning Adelheid. Now there was only one more to go...
'Maria Tempestt!'
The tanned girl strode forwards, sat down and grabbed the Sorting Hat from Professor McGonagall, who gazed at her with patient annoyance. Tempestt plopped the Sorting Hat onto her head and it said, 'My, such an eager, adventurous mind, and also very intelligent. Ah, Durmstrang has taught you well. I know just where to put you... SLYTHERIN!'
This time the Gryffindor table groaned loudly. Draco felt an immense satisfaction and he clapped and cheered. Tempestt threw the Sorting Hat off and joined Adelheid and Lilith at the end of the table. Draco gazed at them and folded his arms. This was going to be a very interesting year.
'Now that the Sorting is finished, we can resume our feast!' declared Professor Dumbledore, as Professor McGonagall went to return the stool and the Sorting Hat. 'Welcome, once again, to Hogwarts. Oh, and one more thing. As I was informed, Miss Adelheid and Miss Tempestt will be in fourth year, and Miss Lilith is to be in fifth year. But as they already have knowledge of what other things there are to know about Hogwarts, please continue with this lovely feast.'
Draco glanced at Atara Lilith. Good, he thought, we're in the same year. She's sure to know tons of the Dark Arts. Maybe she can teach m-
He was interrupted out of his thoughts by a hard tugging on his shoulder. Annoyed, he turned his face around and found the girl called Dawn Adelheid staring down at him with a broad, toothy grin on her face.
'Hi!' she said in a rapid, high-pitched voice, though it suited her much more than it suited Pansy, in Draco's opinion. 'I'm Dawn Adelheid, pleased to meet you! Hey... you're cute! Sorry to bother you, but can we please borrow this pumpkin pie-' she reached forward and picked up the pie in front of Goyle, who looked at her in anger, 'because we didn't eat much on the way here, and it just seemed that this pie looked really delicious! We don't have any pie where we're sitting, and when I spotted it I just felt like giving it a taste. The people sitting around us actually volunteered to get it, but then I told them it was no problem, I wanted to get it, so I could meet the rest of the Slytherins! But then Atara volunteered to get it, she's always nice, but a little bossy at times, but I said no, and Maria offered, and I still said no, so here I am, asking you if we can have this pie to eat!'
Draco and many others stared at Adelheid with surprise and confusion. Draco leaned closer to her, not sure whether he had heard what she had just said.
'Um, okay...' he said slowly, examining Adelheid with interest. She giggled loudly, then skipped her way back to her friends. Draco could still hear her talking away to them.
'That girl talks too much, if you ask me,' retorted Pansy, scowling.
'But no one asked you, Pansy,' said Draco with a smirk, and drank his pumpkin juice with relish. Pansy's mouth dropped open in rage. He turned to look at Lilith again, watching her talk to Adelheid and the girl named Tempestt, as she slowly ate a piece of the pumpkin pie.
Yes, this was going to be a very interesting year.