Chapter 12: The Sorting and News
"Hey Hermione, who's your friend?" Seamus asked as he sat next to Harry with Nina on her left.
"Oh, this is Nina. Nina, this is Seamus, Dean, Neville, Lavender, and Parvati, they're in our year." Hermione said. Everyone pleasantly exchanged greetings as the double doors swung open.
In walked twenty-six terrified eleven-year-olds led by Professor McGonagal.
The sorting hat sang his new song and Professor McGonagal read the names from a long parchment.
"Adrienne" (A/N I'm not good at last names so there's a new tradition, only their first name is announced)
A girl with flowing black hair sat on the stool.
"Slytherin!"
"Balin"
"Gryffindor!"
"Caden"
"Gryffindor!"
"Damon"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Emlyn"
Nina leaned to Hermione. "That's my cousin. Dad's sister's kid. Lives in France but she wanted her to be with fam." she whispered as the beautiful pre-teen walked to the stool.
The hat said "Slythe" as fast as it had with Malfoy in their first year.
Hermione and Nina were dumbstruck (A/N I LOVE THAT WORD), but as he was about to finish, he said, "No, I think, yea, GRYFFINDOR!" Hermione and Nina were so happy. Emlyn gracefully walked over to her cousin, receiving a few looks from the guys, but sat down with Ginny, who she ended up sitting with on the train ride.
"Farica"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Ganesa"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Hart"
"Gryffindor!"
"Irving"
"Slytherin!"
"Jett"
"Slytherin!"
"Kasim"
"Hufflerpuff!"
"Lara"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Mabel"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Nadine"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Ormand"
"Gryffindor!" The boy walked toward the table, looking disappointed, and sat beside Emlyn.
Hermione made a note to talk to him as soon as the sorting was over. (A/N Ormand means 'serpent'. Most of these names have a meaning relating to either their house or the personality that I'm gonna give them)
"Prentice"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Ranee"
"Slytherin!"
"Sadie"
"Slytherin!"
"Takoda"
"Hufflepuff!"
"Ursala"
"Gryffindor!"
"Varen"
"Slytherin!"
"Winfred"
"Ravenclaw!"
"Xander"
"Hufflepuff"
"Yasuo"
"Hufflepuff"
"Zuzana"
"Gryffindor!"
Everyone applauded as the students were sorted (individually). As soon as Zuzana sat down next to Ursala, Dumbledore stood up to make his announcements.
"Welcome, old and new. I would like to announce that the Forbidden Forest is called forbidden for a good reason. You may hear rumors, and some of them are true. Mr. Filch has, once again, reminded me to tell you that magic in the halls is forbidden and he has just added the majority stock of Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes products to his list of items un-allowed in the school, you may go to his office to read the list, but I am sure that we may post one up in each common room. I would, lastly, like to announce one last new student in our midst. Please welcome Nina, who has joined us from Durmstrang, formerly Beauxbatons. Nina, would you come up here to be sorted?"
Nina stood up from the Gryffindor table and walked to the platform where the sorting hat was 'sitting' on a stool. All eyes were on her. She sat down, confident that she would be put in Gryffindor (A/N but we know that that isn't going to happen evil smirk) and placed the hat on her head. 'Ah, I see a good friend, but a lot of brains. You are very brave, and loyal! You are very cunning though, and will do anything to get what you want, but what you want is freedom, and a Gryffindor yearn, along with some Slytherin fun. You are very trustworthy, but secretive. Where should I put you?'
'As long as it's Gryffindor, I'm happy.' She thought with a smirk. Everyone was watching her. They had never seen anyone other than a first year sorted.
'Hmm, I see trickery in your mind, and a want, but not knowing what it is. You have had much heartbreak in yo-'
'Are you here to predict my future or put me in Gryffindor?' she asked, getting a bit irritated.
'I was going to say that you wish for revenge, but nothing has been able to fill the void. You ha-'
'Excuse me, but you're talking more than my friend's older sister!'
'I have made my decision' "SLYTHERIN!"
Most of the hall was silent. Hermione was (A/N I love this word!) dumbstruck. Nina was ready to scream! The rest of the school, seeing her sit with Hermione and act like best friends, would never have expected her to be sorted into Slytherin, even the Slytherins thought that.
She gathered herself, stood up, and walked over to the Slytherin table, sitting in the only available seat, the one next to Draco Malfoy.
"Now, Tuck In." Dumbledore said.
Food appeared on the table and everyone began to eat (including Hermione and Nina.)
"So, looks like we're gonna be house-mates," Draco said, leaning towards Nina.
"Yeah, and I thought that this year was gonna suck," Nina replied sarcastically.
Draco snapped up. Nobody was ever sarcastic with him, or turn him down when he was flirting with them (actually her), except for Potter and his friends.
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to," he paused and looked at her, "hem hem, go out sometime," he hinted as he moved closer to her, "maybe we can get back to what we were doing on the train?" He wasn't nervous when he asked her out, but he lowered his voice. To be quite frank, his idea of a date was drinks followed by a romp in a closet.
"Hmm, maybe," she cooed. She looked at Hermione, who was looking at her and gave her a signal to meet her outside the room. Hermione got up and walked toward the Slytherin table. Nina got up as Hermione was passing the Hufflepuff table.
They walked out of the Great Hall together, linking their arms.
"Oh my f-in' god!" Nina started as they turned the corner.
"I know! You are so not one of them!" Hermoine giggled.
"UGH! I could scream! How could that, that...RAG...think that I was one of those, those, AAAAHHHHHH!" she pretended to sob.
"Well, maybe it won't be so bad. I mean, you can hang out with me and the Gryffindors whenever you want, except after curfew, and we can sit next to each other in class. Now, about you and Malfoy…" Hermione wiggled her eyebrows and smiled.
"OK, so he not only asked me out, but he asked me if I wanted to 'continue what we started on the train'!" The two screeched and then began to crack up.
"Well then, we're gonna have to get you ready then. HA! I can't wait to see Malfoy when you're done with him!" They laughed some more.
"Well, since you're my best friend, I'll let you come. You can help out with the finishing."
"Yes, I hear you did a good job with the pig," a voice said from behind them.
They turned around to see none other than Malfoy, who else would hear a conversation about revenge against him?
"Yeah, but I only did it so we could be together" Hermione said as she did a slow, yet sexual, strut towards him in a seducting voice.
"But 'Mione dear, I already called him." Nina said, imitating Hermione.
"Well, there isn't enough for us to share, so back off," Hermione said as she 'gazed' into Draco's eyes.
"Ladies, there' enough of me for everyone" Draco said with a large smirk.
"Nah!" Hermione said, pushing Malfoy away from her.
"Yeah, I mean, it isn't like you're worth fighting over, or even sharing." Nina said. "Plus, I kinda bet that there isn't enough to even share."
The girls linked arms and laughed as they walked into the Great Hall, leaving a confused Malfoy.
After Dessert
"Now students, I have a few more announcements to make" Dumbledore said after (duh) dessert. "First off, I would like the sixth and seventh year prefects, Head Girl and Boy, and Nina to stay after dinner. Fifth year prefects, you know the passwords, so please take the first years to the dormitories (the new students and fifth year prefects began to leave the hall) after I finish my announcements please. Haha. Quidditch tryouts will be posted in the common rooms, and the new captains know who they are, but please stand up so everyone else will too. (Harry, Draco, Justin Finch-Fletchley, and another student stood up). You may sit (they sat, duh). Now, I believe that there are no more announceme- (Professor McGonagall cleared her throat), ah yes. As all of you know, Voldemort is at large, as I told you two years ago. Now, there shall be precautions and new rules, which your professors shall be telling you tomorrow during your first class. You may leave and the people who I asked to come up please do so."
Most people left, but Harry stayed to wait for Ron and Hermione.
"Now, I presume that you, Nina, already know Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy, seeing how you are, what, best friends with Miss Granger. I would like to introduce you to Pansy Parkinson, she is also in your house. This is Ernie MacMallian (A/N I don't know how to spell!) and Hannah Abbot, the Hufflepuff prefects and Padma Patil and (I forgot the male Ravenclaw prefect's names, but I'll put them in as soon as I find my Harry Potter 5), the Ravenclaw prefects. I would like you two to stay afterwards. Now, because of the threat of Voldemort and to bring unity throughout the houses, there shall be a change in the living assignments." Everyone looked at him, confused "You shall all share a common room, but there will also be another, smaller common room with things other than a fireplace and what you usually see in a common room. Think about Micky Mouse's head with each of his ears hacing their own ears. Hufflepuff, you and Ravenclaw shall be sharing one of those rooms. And because the greater call for unity is between Gryffindor and Slytherin, you four shall be sharing the other one of these common rooms. Now, if you will all follow your heads of houses, they shall lead you all to your entrances. ("huh?") Oh yes, there shall also be two different entrances, one for each common room. Now all please leave except for Nina and Pansy."
"Professor Dumbledore, how will this help for protection, though?" Hermione asked.
"Ah ha, I should have known someone would ask this question. Thank you very much Miss Granger." Dumbleodore smiled. "In the central common room there shall be a moniter for anything wrong in the castle and a portal that will take you to any part of the castle in case of emergency. Now I must warn you all that it even detects practical jokes, but if something does happen, a picture will appear showing what is going on and a piece of parchment I enchanted will record the happenings. If necessary, an alarm will go off alerting everyone that there is danger in the castle, but I am sure that there will only be a long list of practical jokes by the end of the term. Does that help Miss Granger?" Hermione nodded. "Well then, your Heads of Houses are waiting for each of you outside. Good night."
Everyone walked away, including Harry who was told by Ron to go
without them.
"Now, Miss Parkinson, if I understand correctly, you misused you position fourty-three times last year, breaking thirty-seven rules, and have not done your homework since a few weeks before Professor Umbridge became headmistress last year. Is that correct?"
"How would I know? I don't spend my life counting how many whatevers I do," Pansy answered in a snobby voice. Nina was taken aback by her blunt rudeness towards the headmaster.
"Well, you shall be sharing your position with Nina now. According to her transcripts and my interviews with her former headmasters, if she was here before or during last year she would have your position instead of you." Pansy's jaw was hanging. "Of course, I do not know her well enough, though we have met on a few occasions," Dumbledore smiled, remembering first meeting her at one of her…'childhood meetings' with the ministry.
Flashback (Dumbledore's POV)
I sat in my chair, waiting for the accused girl who was on trial. According to what I had found out, she had a history for going to humanitarian and peace rallies, magic and muggle, for nearly three years. She was now going to be tried for her first time, though, for using underage magic while surrounded by a group of muggles. The doors opened and in walked a girl, no older than eleven, accompanied by a tall man. She was scared, but covered her fear with a courageous face. The man sat her down in the chair.
Her brown hair was tied back in a tail with whisps falling over her face. Her black, pleated skirt was cleanly pressed and her pink cardigan seemed itchy against her skin. I knew her father from when he was young, and knowing how this would affect his carreer, it was obvious that the parents had forced the outfit on her. She kept a hard gaze on the Minister, refusing to break eye contact.
"Nina (whatever her last name is), you are charged with the accusation of
chaining yourself to the front door of a building, striking a muggle officer, striking a ministry official, using the 'unbreakable spell' out of school, before even starting Beauxbatons, even though you are underage!" Fudge continued to read the list of actions that she did at the rally she was arrested at. I was surprised that a girl her age was being tried, and for doing so many actions to be tried for.
"Minister, all of the striking was in self-defense. The spell was for the chains and I was trying to stop them from destroying a monumental and historic building! You cannot try me for commiting the actions that I am accused of without a guilty concience! I plead guilty for fighting for what I believe in! Many other people do so and I don't see any of them being tried!" The girl screamed in her defense.
"But this is not the first time that this has happened. The only reason why
you have not been tried before is because you were, and are still too
young, but we are taking action now to make sure that it does not happen
again. Now please be quiet until you are allowed to speak." That Dolores Umbridge. She will soon get her's for not keeping quiet when neccesary.
"Listen! What I did was-"
"What you did was break at least thirteen rules at this rally alone!"
The trial continued in this fashion. In the end, though, she could not be punished because she was only eleven. I knew that this was not the last we were going to hear from the spirited girl.
End Flashback
"Now, I expect you to show her the Slytherin common room and everything else she will need. I shall personally take you to your new dorms. And here is your badge Nina" He handed her a shiny badge which she pinned on her robe and they were off.