A few of you requested to hear Yugi and Ryou's POVs of the sorting, so I'll include those for you guys before I reveal where Malik's going.
Before I start, I wanted to tell you all something that I meant to, but completely forgot to include in last chapter's AN. What I wanted to tell you was my motivation for the sorting hat not letting Malik choose his house. So, when Harry was being sorted, he didn't go in asking to be put into Gryffindor, he just asked to not be put into Slytherin. So he didn't choose his house. Malik, on the other hand, went in begging for Gryffindor. Naturally this pissed the hat off a bit, so it got a tad snappy and told him that he didn't get to choose either. Sorry if this caused any confusion!
Don't own anything. I once again copied a bit of necessary dialogue from the book in this chapter.
Enjoy!
Edit: Coming back and rereading this chapter, I realized that I messed up big time. I must have accidently saved and uploaded the wrong copy of this chapter. I usually edit in the same word document, but I must have forgotten to save it. What I'm trying to say is that I uploaded the unedited version of this chapter. Luckily I caught it only 2 days later, but I'm sure a lot of people have already read it. I did make a few changes, but since it was already uploaded and I know you guys don't want to reread it, it's mostly just grammatical errors that I went back and fixed. Nothing major was changed, and you do not have to reread this chapter by any means. Sorry guys!
Chapter 16
RYOU POV
"We are pleased to welcome three transfer students from Japan this year. They will be joining our fifth years in their studies. I expect all of you to give them the warmest of welcomes." Professor McGonagall announced, her eyes lingering on the Slytherin table, and she unrolled a second roll of parchment.
"Bakura, Ryou."
Wait, he was going first? Ryou felt every drop of blood drain from his head as Bakura took over his legs and forced him to walk to the front of the hall. He was once again glad he was there, because Ryou was aware of every eye on him and there was no way he could have achieved that simple task on his own.
After what seemed like hours later, Ryou finally reached the stool. He picked up the hat, sat down, and slowly placed it on his head. He felt even sicker when he remembered Ellie's words:
"The sorting hat looks into your mind. Then it decides where to put you."
He gulped. There was no way that the hat was going to miss the spirit of the Thief King in his head.
"My my my, what do we have here?" A voice sounded in his head. It was not unlike the way that Bakura spoke to him. "You are quite the powerful one, aren't you?"
Ryou gulped.
"Yes, Mr. Bakura I can see the one that shares your mind. My goodness, what power you both have…" The hat speculated.
"Sort the boy, leave me out of this." Bakura ordered the hat.
"You would be great for Slytherin, spirit." The hat told Bakura. "I see deep, deep ambition in you. But I will look at the boy, as you wish.
"Hmm, where to put you? You have the traits required for almost all of the houses. You have the intelligence for Ravenclaw, you have the loyalty and even the bravery for Gryffindor, and you have a kind enough spirit to be head of the Hufflepuff house. . . but where to put you?" The hat mused on. Ryou just listened, his eyes squinted shut.
There was silence for the next little bit. This was taking a lot longer than any of the first year's sorting. Ryou could hear the hall whispering as they anxiously waited for the hat to make it's decision.
"Boy, you are a mystery to me. However, I have explored your mind inside out and I do believe that you would be perfect for GRYFFINDOR!"
XXX
"That's them!"
"The Duel Monsters champions!"
"Oh my god! He's so cute!"
"What are they doing here?"
"Do you think that he'll autograph my hat? Next to Krum?"
-It seems as though you are well known here as well, aibou.- Yami chuckled as Yugi ignored the whispers while he anxiously waited his turn. -Especially with the girls.-
Yugi shifted uncomfortably, realizing that his yami was right but too modest to agree. He kept his eyes firmly on the ground, and refused to make eye contact with any of the girls staring his way.
"GRYFFINOR!" The hat bellowed, placing Ryou where Yugi knew he'd end up all along. He finally looked up and smiled and cheered with the rest of the school, watching his friend make a beeline straight for Ellie. He couldn't help but laugh at the blush on his face when she actually gave him a hug, and gestured for him to sit next to her.
-It seems that Ryou is making quite an impression as well.-
"Muto, Yugi!" Professor McGonagall called. Yugi blanched, as he had completely forgotten that he would have to go up there as well. He gave Malik what he hoped was a brave and encouraging look, and stumbled his way to the stool.
He placed the hat on his head, and jumped at the unfamiliar voice that intruded his head.
"Well, you and your friend have both given me quite the shock, I must say. It seems that you are just as powerful as Mr. Bakura.
"Ah, the presence in your head, however, is a lot like you. Yes Mr. Muto, the presence in Mr. Bakura was very different from himself, while you two are very much the same.
"Yes, yes, yes, you are a much easier choice: GRYFFINDOR!"
XXX
"I know exactly where to put you!"
Malik opened his eyes and waited for the sorting hat to call his fate. The silence in the hall was absolute, and Malik just prayed for something in his life to go right for once.
"Gryffindor!" It shouted, both inside his head and out. Said table erupted into cheers and screams, even louder than that of Ryou and Yugi, most likely because they were ecstatic to have gotten the set of transfers.
"YES!" Malik jumped up and punched the air, to the laughter of many in the hall. He set the hat back on the stool, yelled "THANKS!" and ran over to join his friends.
"Malik! You did it!" Yugi cried, jumping out of his seat and patting his friend on the back. The smile on the kid's face was huge, apparently he was happy that the three of them would be together as well.
"Congratulations!" Ryou said, equally as happy.
"Welcome to Gryffindor!" Hermione squealed from the other side of the table.
"I knew you could do it." Ellie added, hugging him as well and urging him to take a seat.
"Thanks guys!" He and Yugi squeezed in on either side of Ryou, patting each other on the back over and over again.
Malik politely smiled back at the half hearted congratulations from Harry and Ron, who were sitting across from them with Hermione. He resisted the urge to groan when he realized that they would be sharing a room from now on. This should be interesting.
Before any of the Gryffindors sitting around them, watching the newcomers could introduce themselves, the hall suddenly grew quiet. Malik turned his head to the front of the Great Hall to see Professor Dumbledore standing to greet them all, arms spread wide and smiling warmly.
"To our newcomers, welcome! To our old hands - welcome back! There is a time for speech making, but this is not it. Tuck in!" Appreciative laughter and a smattering of applause greeted these words, but Malik was suddenly distracted by the feast which had suddenly appeared before his eyes.
"Whoa!" He and Yugi gasped together, reaching forwards and digging in. "Cool!" He added, mouth already full of steak.
Ron was equally enthusiastic, as his mouth was just as full of roast potatoes. "Excellent," He managed.
Malik laughed at the disgusted look Hermione and a nearby ghost gave him.
Wait, ghost?
Malik gave a start, and nearly choked on his food. Ellie cheerfully thumped him on the back, successfully clearing his airways.
"This is Sir Nicholas de-Mimsy-Porpington," Ellie informed Malik and an equally surprised Yugi and Malik. She adjusted her glasses. "Or, as we like to call him, Nearly Headless Nick."
"At your service," The ghost bowed. He was dressed in a tunic, tights, and wore a heavy ruff around his neck. "Welcome to Gryffindor!"
"How can you be nearly headless?" Asked Ryou interestedly. Malik waved his hand through the ghost's midriff, only to feel as though his hand had been turned to ice. He grimaced, yanked it back, and scooted a little bit further away. Spirits he could deal with. Ghosts? No way.
"Like this!" With that, Nick grabbed himself by his translucent hair, tugged and his head promptly swung off, held on by an inch on skin. "Took the executioner forty five hits with a blunt axe to finish off Sir Nicholas!" He proclaimed proudly.
"Ugh!" The three transfers jumped back, while Ron laughed unkindly. Ryou, Malik noticed, had turned even paler than usual and pushed his plate away. The rest of the Hogwarts students, however, laughed as though this were a usual occurrence and continued eating as though nothing had happened.
"What were you saying before the Sorting, Nick?" Hermione asked the ghost. Malik noticed that the people sitting around them leaned in to listen as well.
"Oh yes," He said, twisting his body in a way that flipped his head back up to sit (a little crookedly) on his shoulders again. Malik was grateful that the ruff covered the gruesome injury, as he had no desire to look at it while eating. "Yes, I have heard the hat give several warnings before, always at times when it detects periods of great danger for the school. And always, of course, it's advice is the same: stand together, be strong from within."
Ron emitted a series of grunts that sounded like a question.
"I beg your pardon?"
Ron swallowed hugely, and without missing a beat said, "How can it know if the school's in danger if it's a hat?"
Malik thought that that was a very good question.
"I have no idea. Of course, it lives in Dumbledore's office, so I daresay that it picks things up there."
"And it wants all the houses to be friends?" Harry asked, pointedly looking over at the Slytherin table, which Malik was once again elated to not be sitting at, and said, "Fat chance."
Malik wholeheartedly agreed.
Nearly-Headless Nick didn't. "Well, now, you shouldn't take that attitude. Peaceful co-operation, that's the key. We ghosts, though we belong to separate houses, maintain links of friendship. In spite of the competitiveness between Gryffindor and Slytherin, I would never dream of seeking a fight with the Bloody Baron."
"Only because you're terrified of him," Ron muttered darkly. Malik couldn't help but laugh. He didn't like Ron's attitude towards him and his friends much, but he had to admit that he was funny.
Nearly-Headless Nick looked offended and floated off.
"Oh, Ronald, look at what you did!" Hermione tittered, anxiously watching the ghost float off.
Ron just shrugged and ate some more potatoes.
"Hey, mate, you're that duel monsters guy!" A voice floated from down the table. Malik looked up to see that a tall, black boy had spoken, and was grinning down at them. Behind him was a disgruntled looking boy who wasn't meeting their eyes. "I'm Dean." He grinned and offered a hand. "And this grump here is Seamus. Nice to meet you."
"Oi! I'm not a-"
"I'm Malik," He said, shaking Dean's hand. "Nice to meet you both."
"I'm Yugi," the short boy said, standing up and leaning forward to shake his hand as well.
"I'm Ryou. Nice to meet you too."
After this, many Gryffindors approached them with introductions, including a round, clumsy boy named Neville, a very excited set of brothers named Colin and Dennis who (to their horror) wanted photographs, two groups of giggling girls who were all flipping their hair flirtatiously, and a funny boy with dreadlocks that introduced himself as Lee Jordan.
Once dinner was through, it disappeared and was promptly replaced with a round of dessert that was equally as impressive as the main course.
"I could totally get used to this." Malik told Ryou, spooning mounds and mounds of ice cream onto his plate. "Really."
Once everybody was finished eating the dessert, the talking and laughter grew louder and louder and all the dishes disappeared. Malik disappointedly noticed that there wasn't a third round coming.
Professor Dumbledore stood at the front of the hall once again, and the students all grew quiet immediately.
"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast, I beg a few moments of your attention." He proceeded to inform them of the rules, all of which sounded reasonable to Malik. Since he and his friends were under protection from this man, he had no intention of gallivanting off and breaking any of these rules.
"We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Said woman was dressed almost entirely in pink, Malik noted, and bore a rather eerie resemblance to a fat toad.
Ellie leaned over to the boys to explain the angry looks that Harry and Ron were giving the new teacher. "Umbridge works for the ministry. She was at our trial, determined to get Harry and I kicked out. Watch out for her." Malik looked at Umbridge, shocked to recieve a warning regarding someone wearing so much pink and smiled so sickeningly sweetly. She suddenly rose, causing Dumbledore to stop his speech.
"Hem, hem," She cleared her throat as though demanding everyone's attention. Malik was shocked. She was interrupting Dumbledore?
The ghastly woman proceeded to make a horribly long speech, addressing them as if they were stupid children. Malik instantly stopped paying attention, as did pretty well everybody else. Only Hermione and Ellie seemed to be paying attention. Even Yugi, who had an incredible attention span, had a dazed look in his eyes.
When she was finally finished, there was a halfhearted attempt at a round of applause, but nobody was really ready for it. Only Dumbledore, who had risen again, clapped convincingly enough.
"Thank you very much, Professor Umbridge, that was most illuminating. Now, as I was saying, Quidditch tryouts will be held. . . "
"Yes, it certainly was illuminating," said Hermione, leaning in closer. "It explained a lot."
"Did it? It sounded like a load of waffle to me."
"There was some important stuff hidden in the waffle," Hermione said grimly, Ellie nodding fervently in agreement.
"There was?" Yugi asked, looking slightly shamefaced that he had missed it.
" 'Progress for progress's sake must be discouraged'? 'Pruning wherever we find practices that ought to be prohibited'? " Ellie quoted darkly, shaking her head. Malik was quite amazed that she had remembered this word for word.
But it was wasted, as five blank faces stared back at her.
"It means that the ministry is interfering at Hogwarts!" Hermione cried. "Honestly!"
"Oh."
Ellie laughed. "I think that it is time for you lot to get to bed." She got up and stretched, hundreds of students doing the same as Dumbledore must have just dismissed them.
"Ron, we have to show the first years where to go!" Hermione cried anxiously, rounding up the first years.
XXX
"Come on, you three," Ellie said to the transfers. "You can come with Harry and I, we can get you there quicker." She didn't feel like battling the crowds of people going to bed, she was tired and anxious to unpack. Besides, she wanted to get Harry out before he blew his top at all the stares and whispering he was provoking.
The five of them pushed and shoved their way out of the great hall. Ellie noticed that the transfers were earning just as many stares as Harry, albeit these stares were out of curiousity, and were mostly given by girls.
Said girls were giggling left and right at the new boys, and they kept 'accidentally' bumping into them, and throwing Ellie dirty looks for walking with them. She groaned. So this was how it was going to be? Ryou, Malik and Yugi were all very good looking, she thought, but it was ridiculous how the girls were all throwing themselves at them, especially when they were giving Harry and her such dirty looks immediately after.
Ryou and Yugi were both flaming red from all the attention, while Malik simply looked annoyed. At least they weren't enjoying it, she thought approvingly, as she pulled aside a tapestry that led to a deserted secret passage.
Poor Harry looked like he was going to blow his top again.
"Oh, thank Ra," Malik said, scurrying in. Ellie quickly pulled the tapestry over the opening, shielding them from view. Thankfully, it seemed that nobody saw them go in as they were not followed.
"Not liking the attention?" She asked the boys, eyeing Harry nervously.
"No. Stupid girls," Malik muttered. "No offense." He said to Ellie, clapping her on the shoulder.
"None taken." Ellie looked over at Yugi and Ryou, who were both blushing even harder and avoiding her gaze, and Harry, who had stalked ahead. "You guys okay?"
Yugi mumbled a grunt of agreement, and Ryou met her eyes quickly and nodded fervently. Harry didn't answer, but Ellie didn't push him. She knew better.
"Come on, let's get you to the common room before everyone else gets there."
She took them through a few more secret passageways that Fred and George had showed her, and within minutes they were at the portrait of the fat lady.
Ellie's face dropped when they reached her. She didn't know the password. She had forgotten to ask Ron and Hermione. "Uh . . ."
Harry didn't know either. "Er. . ."
The fat lady smoothed her dress importantly. "No password, no entrance."
Harry cursed.
"Harry! Ellie!" A voice drifted from behind them, and Ellie turned to see Neville jogging towards them, waving a cactus over his head. "I know the password! Guess what it is? I'll actually be able to remember it this time- Mimbulus mimbletonia!"
He looked extremely proud of himself. "Thanks, Neville!" Ellie said, as Harry climbed through the portrait hole and went upstairs without a word. She frowned, but turned back to Neville. "Hey, have you met-"
"Yep!" Neville beamed. "We're going to be roommates." He told the transfers, ushering them through the portrait hole. "Uh, I think Harry's a little tired. I'll show you where our room is instead!"
"Okay! Thanks, Neville," Yugi said, beaming up at him.
"Thanks for saving our butts, El!" Malik said, ruffling her hair.
Ellie laughed and swatted his hand away. She could get used to Malik, he reminded her a lot of her brother Ollie.
She bade him and the rest of the boys goodnight, then watched as Neville led them up the stairs with a nervous feeling in the pit of her stomach. She didn't like the idea of Harry and Ron sharing a room with the transfers. It seemed that the five boys couldn't get along for ten minutes without Ellie and Hermione around, let alone actually live together.
Also, Harry seemed to be itching for a fight again.
The students of Hogwarts did not exactly greet him enthusiastically, Ellie thought, leaning against the back of an armchair. Her only consolation was that the presence of Neville, Dean and Seamus might stop them from going at it completely.
"Hey, Ellie!" A voice yelled from across the almost-empty common room. Cormac Mclaggen, a large sixth year boy, approached her, grinning broadly and holding his arms aloft, almost as if he were trying to appear even bigger. "How was your summer?" He stood a little too close for comfort.
"It was good, Cormac. And yours?" She asked uncomfortably, wishing that she had gone upstairs when she had the chance.
"It was good. But it was missing something, if you catch my drift." He said suggestively, waggling his eyebrows. Ellie groaned internally. Pig, she thought.
"So I'm thinking of trying out for Keeper this year. I was wondering if you and I could have some one on one training sessi-"
"Look, Cormac, I'm really tired and want to get to bed. We can . . . We can talk later." She said tiredly, squeezing past him and walking away.
Before she could get far, however, he grabbed her wrist tightly and slapped her behind.
"I look forward to it," He whispered huskily in her ear, releasing his grip on her wrist and allowing her to run up the stairs, face flaming.
So, he was up to this game again? Groping her when no one was around?
Pig, she thought as she got to her room, greeting Pavarti and Lavender halfheartedly.
"Oh my god, Ellie, you're so lucky!" Pavarti squealed, while Lavender hung back on her bed, reading a magazine.
"I am?" She asked, mind still on Mclaggen.
"Yes! The transfers are so hot. And they were actually talking to you." She put a particularly negative emphasis on this last word.
"Yeah, I guess so. . ." She said, not really in the mood for this right now.
"Romilda Vane is already planning on asking one of them to Hogsmeade. She hasn't decided which one yet. Do you think that they'd go with her? And what about me? Do you think that they'll like me?" Pavarti asked, jumping on Ellie's bed and watching her begin to unpack. "Hey, why is your face so red?"
Ellie smiled halfheartedly, her roommate's cheerful attitude perking her up slightly. She could be cluelessly rude sometimes, but it was hard to stay mad at her. "I can only answer one question at a time, Pavarti."
Before Pavarti could repeat which question she deemed most important, Hermione walked in, looking ruffled.
"How'd it go?" Ellie asked, glad for an excuse to not have to answer Pavarti's questions.
"Oh, alright. They all just kept asking me about Harry." She rolled her eyes and sat down next to Pavarti on Ellie's bed.
Lavender, who had been utterly silent until then, looked over. "Asking what?" She asked.
Hermione gave her a suspicious look. "They asked about what had happened last June, and if I believed him-"
"So you do, then?"
"Of course I do." Hermione stood up slowly, giving Lavender a funny look. "Don't tell me that you don't?"
Pavarti was staring at them both, her mouth hanging open. Ellie was caught in the middle of them, praying that this wouldn't end in a fight. . .
"Of course I don't," Lavender snapped. "I mean, have you read the Prophet lately? They say that he's lying." She said this as if it settled the matter.
"The Prophet is full of rubbish," Ellie said, watching Pavarti retreat to her own bed out of the corner of her eye.
Lavender looked offended. "I think that Harry is a lying, attentio-"
"Keep your big fat mouth shut, Lavender. Don't talk about my friends like that." Hermione interrupted, staring her down.
Lavender scoffed huffily and drew her curtains around her bed angrily.
Pavarti giggled nervously. "So, how was your summer, Hermione?"
XXX
Yeah, Malik got Gryffindor. I know a lot of you will disagree with me on that, but I have my reasons that will be explained later on.
This chapter was really just filler, but it was necessary filler. I am not satisfied in any way with it, mostly because a lot of it consists of scenes from the book that I couldn't really mess around with.
Anyways, now that I'm finished complaining, I'll leave y'all be. I hope you enjoyed it!