Hello all! Here's chapter three for all the good little readers who came back for chapter two, and now this one; much thanks! I promise, this is the last slow chapter--it will all pick up in chapter four. In fact, I solemnly swear that it will ;-)

Special thanks again to Julie (remus23)!

Enjoy :-)

After an hour of laughing and joking with the other first years, Evelyn loosened up and dropped the formal tone she was so accustomed to using. She knew the trip took many hours, having to eat and use the loo a couple of times, but the time simply flew by as she talked with her new friends. By far, the funniest were the twins--they had her practically rolling the floor several times, and Lee was also very clever and witty. Angelina had a certain dry sense of humour that sometimes went over the boys' heads but Evelyn snickered at her antics. She and Alicia were very sweet, and Evelyn hoped they wound up roommates.

Finally, the train slowed to a stop and, stretching their cramped bodies, the six first years climbed out of their compartment to the platform below. Evelyn couldn't believe her eyes-- there were nowhere near this many people at her last school! The almost impenetrable wave of black robed students pushed and bumped into each other as they made their way off the platform.

Over the din, she heard a loud booming voice cry 'Firs' years, this way! Firs' years, all firs' years, this way please!'

'Come on, Evey, this way!' one of the twins (George maybe?) said as he took her hand and pulled her in the direction of the voice.

'Its "Evelyn" actually,' she corrected, but he couldn't hear her over all the voices of excited students.

He guided her through the crowd and over to a large tree where other first years seemed to be gathering. She thought it odd until she realized it wasn't a tree at all--it was a person! Fear ran through her and she tried to pull her hand free and run the other way.

'Evey? What are you doing?'

'You're dragging me toward a-a MONSTER!' she said in a harsh whisper, not even bothering to correct him on her name.

George chuckled and shook his head, 'That's not a monster, that's just Hagrid. He's as harmless as a kitten, Charlie and Bill told me so.'

Evelyn stopped trying to free herself from George's grip and turned to where this Hagrid fellow stood. He was absolutely massive--easily taller than the tree in her front yard at home. His hands were so huge they looked as if they could cover an entire Volkswagen Beetle easily, and his feet were even bigger. From where she stood, some three or four yards away, she could feel the vibrations caused from his loud, deep voice reverberating through the ground.

'He's enormous,' she breathed in awe, eyes wide as she stared.

'It's rumoured that he's half giant, dunno if its true, though,' George explained, tugging on her hand.

Evelyn nodded and allowed George to drag her to where the rest of the first years were gathered, none of whom reached past Hagrid's waist. Evelyn found herself standing between Fred and George and behind Lee, Angelina and Alicia. Once Hagrid was satisfied that he had gathered all the first years, he instructed them to follow him down a nearby path in the woods. It was a very slippery slope, and many of the children lost their footing on the unstable ground, Evelyn included. They emerged from the treed area, covered in mud and scrapes, onto the shore of a huge, black lake.

'An' there she is, you lot,' Hagrid boomed. 'Hogwarts.'

The whole group looked up as one and gasped; the castle was huge and majestic, perched on a cliff over the massive lake. The lights glittering in the windows blended so well with the stars in the inky sky that it was if the castle wasn't there at all, but just part of the backdrop.

'Alrigh', you lot, no more than four to a boat!'

The students looked back to the shoreline and saw a row of small dinghies rocking on the choppy waters. Evelyn's stomach flipped--she hated the water, always had, and the one time her mother convinced her to get on a boat she had become violently ill. In a daze, she followed Fred and George to the boats, finally snapping back to normal when she saw them climbing into the rickety looking boat.

'There is no bloody way am I getting in that thing!' she said, pointing at the boat.

The twins looked up at her. 'Why not?' they asked as one.

'Well, er, boats and I don't exactly get along,' she explained.

The twins rolled their eyes and one of them (Fred, she guessed) spoke, 'No worries, Evey--these are magic boats. The moment they take off, they stop rocking, so it's like they're floating.'

'First of all, it's Evelyn,' she corrected again. 'Secondly, how do you know?'

The twins glanced at each other quickly, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by Evelyn, before George spoke, 'Our brothers told us.'

Evelyn wasn't sure she believed them, but when she saw that she was the only one left standing on the shoreline, and that the other students were looking curiously at her as they waited, she quickly clamoured into the boat. The boat took off before she was properly settled, making her yelp and grab George for balance.

Ten awful minutes later, Fred and George had to lift a green-faced Evelyn out of the boat and onto the underground dock. Just as she suspected, the twins' story about "magical boats" had been nothing more than a ploy to get her into the dinghy--a fact she realized about ten seconds after the boats started moving. It had taken all her will power not to become physically ill, though she couldn't help thinking it would have served the twins right if she'd vomited on them.

'Well, think about it this way,' Fred said as he and George practically carried Evelyn between them, 'at least you never have to go on the boats again!'

Worried that if she tried to speak she'd lose her battle not to be ill, she merely glared at the twin on her right. His smile quickly disappeared and he looked towards the stairs they now had to climb to reach the castle. Five minutes of heavy breathing and stomach cramps later, they made it to the top of the stairs and were met by a stern looking witch with black hair pulled into a tight bun and square glasses. Evelyn smiled; it was Minnie! She quickly led the group to a small side room, then waited until all was quiet before speaking. Evelyn was so excited--Minnie was so interesting! But Evelyn quickly realized that the woman standing before her was not the kind witch she had spent her first day in the wizarding world with. This woman was stern and sharp and Evelyn found herself a little afraid of her.

But a more worrying issue arose as Minnie--or rather, Professor McGonagall --spoke. One of the first things she mentioned in her somewhat long winded speech, was that they were to be 'sorted' into separate houses. Evelyn felt a thrill of fear. The woman didn't tell them exactly how they would be sorted -- what if they asked her to perform magic in front of everyone? Sure, she had read all her school books and had the spells practically memorized but she never actually practiced any of it! What if she couldn't do it? What if they send her home? What if this was all a mistake and she wasn't really a witch?

She didn't want to leave the magical world but wouldn't her parents be pleased--they could send her to St. George's, an independent all girl school in Ascot that turned girls into perfectly finished zombies. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize the others were moving until George shook her shoulder.

'Evey, come on--let's go,' he said, pulling her around to stand in front of him.

He pushed her forward, almost shoving her into Fred's back. Evelyn fully snapped out of her daze and continued to walk. They entered the huge Dining Hall and Evelyn looked around, seeing every eye on the line of first years. She recalled something she'd read in Hogwarts, A History, and looked up, awestruck by the charmed ceiling which was the image of the night sky outside--mostly clear, the stars twinkling and moon shining.

Why was it that the book took the time to mention the ceiling but not the way students were sorted?

They finally reached the front of the room and lined up side by side in front of a stool on which sat an old ratty hat. When they were all stationary, the hat started to wiggle before the brim opened and the hat began to sing:

'Here we are; another year
Inside this noble school
And I know where to put you all
For I am not a fool.
The sorting hat, is what I'm called
And I know where you belong
That's why I come alive each year
And why I sing this song
If brave and loyal is what you are
A Gryffindor you shall be
Or perhaps you are cunning and sly
Then to Slytherin with thee
If you are smart and always wise
A Ravenclaw you are
If you are hardworking and true
Hufflepuff shall take you far
So sit down and put me on
There's no way you can't win
Just relax, open your mind to me,
And let the sorting begin!'

The entire Great Hall burst into applause, and Evelyn didn't hesitate to join them. A sorting hat! How very clever indeed! Now that didn't seem so bad at all. When the applause died down, Professor McGonagall unrolled a scroll and began calling names. Evelyn suddenly hated the fact that her last name began with the letter "C" because she'd be one of the first to be sorted! Only three students were called (one going to Hufflepuff, two to Ravenclaw) before Evelyn's name was called and she sat on the stool and the hat sat upon her head. After a moment, she heard a voice in her ear.

Ah, another Collins! Its been over a century since I've seen one of your clan--about 120 years, I believe.

'Huh, what?' Evelyn thought in surprise.

Its true, young Collins--you have magic in your blood, lying dormant all these years. And not only on your father's side, but your mothers as well. Do you know who your maternal great-great-great grandmother was?

'Not that I can recall, no.' she answered warily.

Her name was Isla Black--she was a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black. She was disowned by her family for marrying a muggle, your great-great-great grandfather Robert Hitchens. She and Robert produced no magical heirs, and the magical gene stayed dormant until your mother married your father, who also has a dormant magical gene. His has been dormant for just over 100 years.

'Wow, I never knew that,' she said in amazement. 'All I've ever known about my family is that we've been part of high society for generations.'

Oh yes, quite--even your magical family members on your father's side were part of muggle high society; their magical life was secret from their muggle friends, however. On your mother's side it started with Robert Hitchens who was a professor of literature at Oxford. But I've gone off on a tangent haven't I? Back to the matter at hand--your sorting. Now on your mother's side, everyone always was and always has been in Slytherin--well, except for your fourth cousin once removed, he was a Gryffindor. And on your father's side they were all Gryffindors. Well, I suppose majority rules then. Let it be...

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Evelyn rose with a smile, rushing to the loudly applauding and cheering table under red and gold banners after placing the hat back on the stool. She couldn't believe she was under the hat for so long--it must've been two solid minutes -- but she had learned quite a bit about her family and been sorted into the house she wanted. The rest of the sorting went by quite quickly. Angelina, Lee, and Alicia all were put in Gryffindor after spending no more than about ten seconds under the hat.

The hat had barely touched Fred's head when it screamed 'GRYFFINDOR!'

But by far the funniest moment of the sorting was when the hat touched George's head and yelled out 'Merlin's Beard, there's two of them!' before putting him in Gryffindor as well.

After an amazing meal and a strange speech from the Headmaster--who seemed to be a very eccentric man--the students were dismissed to their dorms for the night. As Evelyn lay in her new bed--her room mates Alicia, Angelina and a girl named Patricia all soundly asleep--she smiled to herself. She had never been so happy in her entire life.

Yay! She made it to Hogwarts! And what an intesting history lesson regarding her family, huh? Who do you think that fourth cousin once removed is? You could leave me a review with a guess if ya want :-) Until next time, loves!