Stepping off the train Emberlynne noticed how dark it was outside, and there was a light drizzle outside. She followed the crowd towards a long line of carriages that seemed to be drawn by nothing. She found an empty one and climbed inside; waiting for it to start towards the castle that she could just make out the outline of through the darkness.
A few minutes later a group of three students stood outside the carriage.
"Hello, are these seats taken?" Asked a girl with long dirty blonde hair.
Emberlynne shook her head and the three climbed in. She looked at the other two that climbed in after the girl. One was a boy, who seemed very tall, even sitting down, his eyes brown and his hair was a very bright shade of red. The other boy, who Emberlynne thought seemed rather familiar, had deep, green eyes; a bit scrawny and very messy black hair. Emberlynne noticed something hidden beneath the boy's hair. A thin, white scar in the shape of a lightning bolt.
"You're Harry Potter!" Emberlynne said aloud realizing why this boy was so familiar.
The boy looked a bit startled at the exclamation, but he nodded.
"Yes, that's me, and these are my friends, Hermione and Ron." He said politely gesturing towards the other two.
"Very nice to meet you, I'm Emberlynne." Emberlynne said, realizing that Harry was much more attractive in person than he was in pictures.
"That's a very nice name." Hermione commented.
Emberlynne smiled and thanked her. After that, the carriage began to move and the pathway seemed very bumpy. Emberlynne sat quietly, listening to the small talk between the other three.
When the carriage stopped Ron and Hermione jumped out first, Harry got to the door first, but he stopped.
"Ladies first." He said smiling at Emberlynne.
"I guess chivalry isn't dead." Emberlynne said stepping out.
Harry laughed and stepped out behind her.
"So, what year are you?" He asked.
"Fourth." Emberlynne answered shortly.
"Really? That's interesting; I haven't seen you around before." Harry said questioningly.
"Well, I was home-schooled for awhile." Emberlynne.
"I see." Harry said nodding.
As they reached the castle a hand pulled Emberlynne out of the crowd.
"Excuse me but…" Emberlynne began to say before she realized it was an adult that had done it.
"Emberlynne, correct?" asked the woman. She was an older witch, her spectacles resting on her nose; her auburn hair was pulled into a tight bun and her expression was stern.
"Yes ma'am" Emberlynne nodded.
"I am Professor McGonagall" The woman stated.
"Well, good evening Professor, how may I help you?" Emberlynne asked.
Professor McGonagall raised an eyebrow at such politeness.
"I need you to come with me to see headmaster Dumbledore." McGonagall said.
"Alright." Emberlynne said following the Professor through a separate set of doors that no one else seemed to notice. Through the door was a very long hallway. No doors or corners were present, the only thing of interest were the portraits on the wall of past headmasters, all moving in and out of their own frames to speak with others.
Finally they came to a door on which Professor McGonagall knocked three times and the door opened all by itself. McGonagall led Emberlynne inside. The room was fairly large and filled with all sorts of strange objects, most of which were also making odd noises.
"Ah, Emberlynne! Welcome." came a voice from the back of the room near a shelf full of books, all of which looked several years old.
"Minerva, please make your way to the feast." The man ordered politely. The woman nodded and left.
Emberlynne stood alone, nervous; she knew who this man was.
"Well, Emberlynne, welcome to Hogwarts." The man said; his face kind.
Emberlynne nodded.
"You're Dumbledore aren't you?" She asked.
"Yes I am. Now, I see that you have your robes and things, but I want to sort you just to make sure of what house you're in." Dumbledore said, pulling an old hat out of a glass cabinet. Dumbledore gestured for Emberlynne to sit on a stool nearby. She did so and when she was on the stool, Albus placed the hat over Emberlynne's long, dark brown hair, it slipped past her eyes.
The hat began to talk.
"Ah, a Riddle, but you are much different from your father. Well, I know just the house for you… Gryffindor!" The hat shouted.
Emberlynne sat for a moment after the hat was removed, Gryffindor? How could that be? Severus had said that normally people related went into the same house; apparently this was a normal case. When the hat was removed, Emberlynne saw that Dumbledore was surprised as well, but he didn't really say anything, he just pointed his wand at Emberlynne's robes and flicked it slightly, changing the green to red.
"Now Emberlynne, I hope you find Hogwarts comfortable" Dumbledore said.
"I'm sure I will." Emberlynne said.
"Now we should get to the feast so the first years can be sorted." Dumbledore suggested chuckling.
Emberlynne followed him through a door and another hallway until they entered a large dining hall filled several tables and a whole lot of people.
Dumbledore handed the stool and hat to Professor McGonagall. After that, he pointed to a table for Emberlynne to sit at. When she reached the table she saw that it was all Gryffindors. She sat down between to red-heads; she figured they were twins seeing as how they looked the same.
"Well, who are you?" Asked the red-head on the right.
"I'm Emberlynne." She answered.
"Well, I'm Fred" Said the boy on the right.
"And I'm George." Chimed in the one on the left.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Fred and George." Emberlynne said.
Food suddenly appeared on the tables and everyone began filling their plates and goblets.
Emberlynne enjoyed herself immensely; she hadn't been around people her age in a long time, unless you counted Draco, which she didn't. Fred and George were both extremely hilarious and witty. Emberlynne couldn't remember a time when she had laughed so much.
When everyone was full and tired all the houses were led to their dorms. Emberlynne followed everyone sleepily to the portrait of a large woman in a pink gown. They were all told the password and the portrait swung open to reveal a warm common room.
Some people stayed to chat with others, and everyone else went off to bed. Emberlynne was deciding what to do when Fred and George caught up with her.
"Hey Emberlynne, come sit with us!" Fred said excitedly.
Emberlynne shrugged and went with over to a few other people. Three of them she recognized as Ron, Harry and Hermione.
As they all talked about their summers, Emberlynne couldn't help but notice that Harry kept glancing up at her every few moments. She always looked back, causing him to look away. As he talked, Emberlynne tried to figure out how Harry fit Snape's description of him, and how her father could hate him so much.
"So Emberlynne, Why were you home schooled?" Harry asked her.
"Oh, well, my father just wanted to teach me himself for awhile." Emberlynne explained, leaving out most of the reasons for her home-schooling.
"Interesting, so, are you into quidditch?" Harry asked inquiringly.
"YES! I love it, best sport there is." Emberlynne said.
"Really? That's awesome, you know, I'm the seeker for Gryffindor." Harry said sitting up proudly.
Emberlynne and Harry stayed up long after everyone else went to bed, just talking about quidditch. Harry couldn't believe that he had found a girl that was so interested and knew so much about the game. She even gave him a few tips on how to maneuver his broom better.
Emberlynne was delighted that Harry was a quidditch player, finally, someone that understood her love of the game. He seemed so nice and polite, her stomach sank with the guilt of what she was really doing, and at the same time it was full of butterflies.