Omg…
I haven't updated in forever! Yes, I realize it's been 2 weeks…
But school started and now I'm really busy…
But anyways, I'm soo happy I got 21 reviews! Thank you all! Don't forget to review on this one too, I made it extra special for you.
I'll probably stick to once a week updates now. But hey, each chapter is usually pretty long!
So: Review Responses!
*Btw, I just wanted to say that HarryPotterRocks09 was the 50th reviewer to my story. So congratulations!*
HarryPotterRocks09: Thanks for reviewing and voting! You are my 50th reviewer, so you get a free lemon drop of Dumbledore's that I nicked…hopefully he doesn't notice, lol!
Angelvan105: Thank you for spending so much time on your review! I'm very happy. I'm making Holly still more cunning than Lily, though, so she won't be exactly the goody-two-shoes, lol. I hope this chapter will be great too!
High Serpent King: Thanks for commenting again…hopefully this chappie will be the best of all! Hermione moving is irrelevant, probably for better education…lol.
Luiz4200: Hmm puts a bit of a spin toward the story, right? Anyways, I dunno what I'm going to do with Ron yet, I wonder how Holly will act toward him?
SpencerCollins: Thank you! You helped me a lot, and do you think Holly should be more girlish?
Katie Ladmoore: Hi! Lol if I DO write the later books, which has about .00000000001 chance right now, in her perspective, I'll worry about that…should I even make her have a crush? She's kinda young.
Gypsydancer529: Great, I'm glad you liked it! I think this chapter will be even more interesting…I hope.
L'espoire: Thanks for reviewing and the advice! Did you notice the part when Holly looked at that girl's book, and blushed? She's still embarrassed and innocent, I guess she'll think of cute only as platonic in the time being.
Grangergal101: Yep, I think this will be an interesting chapter! Boys do react differently than girls, after all, in most cases. How do you think Hermione will act toward Ron? Lol I'm sorry I didn't update sooner.
James108: Thank you James! That's a huge compliment, because JK writes awesome. Lol wouldn't it be cool if I were her editor? Hmm…yeah, I've read plenty of those fics, and she always ends up in Slytherin, and one time even Hufflepuff! Read and find out what house she'll be in!
Hermione Solo: WON-WON! How nostalgic, somehow it reminds me of Lavender. ;). Thanks for voting!
Nectarine Nightshine: Thanks for being my beta...no, seriously! Look forward to the next chapter!
Allen Pitt: LOL I could just imagine Ron cowering near a sink while a giant troll advances on him…Snape is going to have a fit, I bet.
Anarane Sindanarie: Hi, thanks for reviewing! *Changed*.
*I'm also putting a place for Anon reviewers. I'm glad they review!*
Puppylover06: Hi, glad you like the story so far!
Chap 1: Thanks! Glad you like it, and the newest chapters are more different!
Chap 3: Thanks for reviewing again! Haha, Percy did reform in the end, right?
Chap 8: Slytherin, hmm? Thanks for voting! LOL girls do rule! And no, I DO NOT want to bail on this story.
Couch Potato 21: Thank you, I'm glad you like it! Keep reading.
78910: Hmm not sure if I want to reveal Holly's interests yet, she's still kind of young…Harry got his first interest at 14, no?
Person: Lol, frie-enemies….that's actually very likely if she ends up in Slytherin…*hint hint*. LOL.
Whew. So many reviews this time, I'm soo happy!! And now…
SORTING HAT!
The door swung open at once. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes stood there. She had a very stern face. Holly saw Hermione looking very eagerly at the stern witch, and looked back at the stern witch, amused.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She pulled the door wide. The entrance hall was so big you could have fit the whole of the Dursleys' house in it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches like the ones at Gringotts, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. Holly's breath caught in her throat. She would be living here…she felt so happy!
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Holly could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -the rest of the school must already be here -- but Professor McGonagall showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."
"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours."
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, and on Ron's smudged nose. Holly brushed aside her bangs, and swallowed nervously.
"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor McGonagall. "Please wait quietly."
She left the chamber.
"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" She asked Hermione. She noticed Ron looked a bit jealous, and resolved to try and include him later.
"I don't know," Hermione said, looking put out. "It never said anything in our books! Even the little bit of extra research I did didn't help!"
Holly snorted. Probably Hermione's form of "extra research" meant poring over tons of old, long, books.
Hermione then commenced whispering what types of spells they should use. "We'd probably have to use the Lumos charm, anyone can do that—"
Holly rolled her eyes. She'd tried it out a few times, and had been successful, but the boy called Neville looked scared.
However, she couldn't deny she was extremely nervous.
Then something happened that made her jump about a foot in the air and stifle a horrified yelp-- several people behind her screamed.
"What the --?"
She gasped. So did the people around her. About twenty ghosts had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at the first years. They seemed to be arguing. What looked like a fat little monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance --"
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say, what are you all doing here?"
A ghost wearing a ruff and tights had suddenly noticed the first years.
Nobody answered.
"New students!" said the Fat Friar, smiling around at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?"
A few people nodded mutely.
"Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."
Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.
"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "and follow me."
She had the sensation that her legs were turning to rubber. Holly had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in mid-air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting.
Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Holly looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars. She heard Hermione whisper, "It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
It was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens.
Holly quickly looked down as Professor McGonagall silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Aunt Petunia wouldn't have let it in the house.
She wondered what she'd have to do. Pull out a rabbit? She didn't even think Hermione could do that. Then she noticed everyone was staring at it. She stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth -- and the hat began to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again.
"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Hermione whispered to Holly. Beside Holly, Ron was muttering. "Fred is gonna pay, he was talking about wrestling a troll!"
Holly smiled, though a little nervously. Yes, trying on the hat was a lot better than having to do a spell, but she did wish they could have tried it on without everyone watching. The hat seemed to be asking rather a lot; Holly didn't think she was really particularly smart, though she was second in the Muggle class—hard work, she wasn't really sure of that. She also didn't feel particularly daring, and she didn't REALLY think she was ambitious. Ok, maybe once or twice around Dudley.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said.
"Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause --
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Holly saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy" went to Ravenclaw too, but "Brown, Lavender" became the first new Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers; Holly could see Ron's twin brothers catcalling.
"Bulstrode, Millicent" then became a Slytherin. She eyed the Slytherin table. They certainly weren't the most rambunctious group, but there was a certain aura around them…
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
Sometimes, Holly noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," a sandy-haired boy sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.
"Granger, Hermione!"
Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned. Holly shot him a sharp look.
When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."
Draco POV:
I looked at the hat, and chest puffing out, I strode forward. I hoped the Potter girl was watching.
As I walked just the way Father taught me to, I felt her eyes bore into the back of my head. This would prove that I was right, and SHE was wrong. The hat slid over my eyes.
"Ooh…a Malfoy!" A small voice said in my ear.
"Get it over with already," I growled. I blinked. I wasn't usually this aggressive. Somehow, I was in a bad mood.
"Usually, I'd put you in Slytherin, but something has changed…Oh, what's this? Holly Potter telling you about Muggleborns?"
"Shut up!"
The hat chortled in my mind. "The pretty redhead girl, hmm?"
I wanted to wrench this stupid hat off my head.
"Talent, I see…not a lot of loyalty though. What's this? You've shown some bravery with Ms. Potter? Should I put you in Gryffindor?"
"No! Please!"
"It's too bad…you're the first Malfoy in generations who I've had so much fun with! I guess I'll put you in….SLYTHERIN!"
I walked off, shaky. I avoided the Potter girl's gaze, somehow feeling I did something wrong.
Holly POV:
Malfoy went to join his friends Crabbe and Goyle in Slytherin. Somehow, though, he didn't look happy.
There weren't many people left now. "Moon" "Nott" "Parkinson" then the Indian twins, "Patil" and "Patil"—Parvati was put in Gryffindor, but Padma was put in Ravenclaw-- then "Perks, Sally-Anne" and then, at last -- "Potter, Holly!"
As Holly stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the hall.
"Potter, did she say?"
"The Holly Potter?"
The last thing Holly saw before the hat dropped over her eyes was the hall full of people craning to get a good look at her. Next second she was looking at the black inside of the hat. She waited, her heart thumping.
"Hmm…" a small voice said in her ear. "Difficult, difficult. Now, where should I put you? You stay true to your friends, my, a good amount of talent and brains, oh yes, courage, nerve to stand up to anything you think is wrong, and…oh, ambition and cunning…"
"So…should I put you in Gryffindor or Slytherin? Those seem to be your dominant traits."
"I'd like to be put in Gryffindor," Holly said evenly, "But it's your choice."
"Are you sure? You would also do well in Slytherin."
"Positive," Holly said firmly.
"Then it had better be GRYFFINDOR!"
Holly heard the hat shout the last word to the whole hall. She took off the hat and walked toward the Gryffindor table. She beamed at everyone, and noticed that she was getting the loudest cheer yet. Percy the Prefect got up and shook her hand vigorously, while the Weasley twins yelled, "We got Potter! We got Potter!" Holly sat studiously a good distance from the ghost in the ruff, but the ghost patted her hand anyways. She got the horrible feeling that her hands had been plunged in ice water.
She could see the High Table properly now. At the end nearest her sat Hagrid, who caught her eye and gave her the thumbs up. Holly smiled back. And there, in the centre of the High Table, in a large gold chair, sat Albus Dumbledore. Holly recognized him at once from the card she'd gotten out of the Chocolate Frog on the train. Dumbledore's silver hair was the only thing in the whole hall that shone as brightly as the ghosts. Holly spotted Professor Quirrell, too, the nervous young man from the Leaky Cauldron. He was looking very peculiar in a large purple turban, and Holly couldn't help but wonder why he wore it.
And now there were only three people left to be sorted. "Thomas, Dean," a black boy even taller than Ron, joined Holly at the Gryffindor table. "Turpin, Lisa," became a Ravenclaw and then it was Ron's turn. He was pale green by now. Holly watched as the hat pondered for a long time where to put Ron in. Finally, it shouted, "Gryffindor!"
Holly clapped loudly with the rest as Ron collapsed into the chair opposite to her.
"Well done, Ron, excellent," said Percy Weasley pompously across Holly as "Zabini, Blaise," was made a Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up her scroll and took the Sorting Hat away.
Holly looked down at her empty gold plate. She was so hungry that her stomach grumbled loudly. Embarrassed, she put her hand to her stomach.
Albus Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was beaming at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
"Welcome," he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
"Thank you!"
He sat back down. Everybody clapped and cheered. Holly didn't know whether to laugh or not.
"Is he -- a bit mad?" she asked Hermione uncertainly.
"Mad?" said Hermione seriously. "He's obviously mad, he's a genius! Do you want potatoes, Holly?"
Holly's mouth nearly fell open—of course, she'd read a little bit about it in her school textbooks, but there was so much good food: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.
Holly had always considered herself fortunate with the Dursleys' food, but now, she was seriously wondering how fat she'd be at the end of this year. She piled her plate with a bit of everything except the peppermints and began to eat. It was all delicious.
"That does look good," said the ghost in the ruff sadly, watching Holly cut up her steak,
"Can't you --?"
"I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, but one does miss it. I don't think I've in introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."
"I know who you are!" said Ron suddenly. "My brothers told me about you -- you're Nearly Headless Nick!"
"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy --" the ghost began stiffly, but sandy-haired Seamus Finnigan interrupted.
"Nearly Headless? How can you be nearly headless?"
Sir Nicholas looked extremely miffed, as if their little chat wasn't going at all the way he wanted.
"Like this," he said irritably. He seized his left ear and pulled. His whole head swung off his neck and fell onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge. Someone had obviously tried to behead him, but not done it properly. Looking pleased at the stunned looks on their faces, Nearly Headless Nick flipped his head back onto his neck, coughed, and said, "So -- new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable -- he's the Slytherin ghost."
Holly looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a horrible ghost sitting there, with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face, and robes stained with silver blood. He was right next to Malfoy who didn't look too pleased with the seating arrangements.
"How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest. Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil made clucking noises, and turned away disgustedly.
"I've never asked," said Nearly Headless Nick delicately.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the desserts appeared. Blocks of ice cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate eclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, Jell-O, rice pudding -- "
As Holly nibbled a treacle tart, the talk turned to their families.
"I'm half-and-half," said Seamus. "Me dad's a Muggle. Mom didn't tell him she was a witch 'til after they were married. Bit of a nasty shock for him."
The others laughed.
"What about you, Neville?" said Ron.
"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all- Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me - he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned - but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced -- all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here -- they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."
Lavender Brown piped up "Oh, I'm a ¾ blood, you could say. My mum was a half-blood and my dad was a pure-blood."
On Holly's other side, Percy Weasley and Hermione were talking about lessons ("I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult-"; "You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing -- "). Holly shook her head. It was just like Hermione to be asking about classes already.
Holly, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up at the High Table again. Hagrid was drinking deeply from his goblet. Professor McGonagall was talking to Professor Dumbledore. Professor Quirrell, in his absurd turban, was talking to a teacher with greasy black hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin.
Snape POV:
I saw the Potter girl look at me, and my breath caught in my throat. She looked almost exactly like red curls cascaded down past her shoulders—shorter than Lily's hair, but it made her look cute. The only thing that she had inherited from Potter was his bangs, and hers were curly and brushed to one side.
Tears almost came to my eyes. I shook my head in disgust, I was such a soppy sentimental person. I noticed her eyes—they were exactly the shade of James, and I felt a powerful rush of dislike. How I hated him. But they were wide like Lily's eyes, so innocent…
As she turned back to eat, smiling, I kicked myself under the table. Stupid, stupid, Severus Snape.
I had resolved to hate her. She was Potter's girl. But no, I couldn't…because she couldn't be Holly Potter to me, she'd always be Lily Evans, the girl I'd loved, and turned me away.
Holly POV:
"Who's the teacher up there, next to Professor Quirrell?" Holly asked Percy. She didn't know why that teacher had stared at her.
"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to -- everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."
Holly watched Snape for a while, but Snape avoided her gaze.
At last, the desserts too disappeared, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet again. The hall fell silent.
"Ahem -- just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors."
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch."
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
"He's not serious?" she muttered to Hermione.
Percy, who had overheard, said "Must be. It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere - the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. Holly noticed that the other teachers' smiles had become rather fixed, and Snape in particular did not look happy.
Dumbledore gave his wand a little flick, as if he was trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out of it, which rose high above the tables and twisted itself, snakelike, into words.
"Everyone pick their favourite tune," said Dumbledore, "and off we go!" And the school bellowed:
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.
Everybody finished the song at different times. At last, only the Weasley twins were left singing along to a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted their last few lines with his wand and when they had finished, he was one of those who clapped loudest.
"Ah, music," he said, wiping his eyes. "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Holly's legs were like lead again, but only because she was so tired and full of food. She was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Holly was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.
A bundle of walking sticks was floating in mid-air ahead of them, and as Percy took a step toward them they started throwing themselves at him.
"Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raised his voice, "Peeves -- show yourself"
A loud, rude sound, like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.
"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"
There was a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared, floating cross- legged in the air, clutching the walking sticks.
"Oooooooh!" he said, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"
He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked.
"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.
Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed.
"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."
At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" she said. "Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it -- Neville needed a leg up -- and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.
Percy directed the boys through one door to their dormitory and the girls through another. At the top of a spiral staircase -- they were obviously in one of the towers -- they found their beds at last: five four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.
Hermione yawned next to Holly's bed, and Holly noticed idly that they had ornate drawers next to their beds. She snorted. She wouldn't need any of it.
She had a strange dream that night—she dreamed of Quirrell's turban unrolling, an evil hand, Snape, and Malfoy's face. She rolled over and fell asleep again, and when she woke next day, she didn't remember the dream at all.
Soo…another chapter done! Did you like the POVs?
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