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CHAPTER 2:

LONGBOTTOM AND THE COMMON ROOMS

Juliett:

Wow, Catherine was so into Fred. So, anyway, on the platform, I heard a loud, booming voice directing all the first years towards a group of canoes with lanterns. I watched as all of the first years traveled in a mob, talking in short excited whispers.

I followed Annie and Catherine into a carriage. It was just about to start pulling away when, what do you know, Fred and James came sprinting up to the edge. "Can we sit with you?" They asked.

"Sure." I said. Catherine was going to have a field day with this one, I thought. The smile on her face stretched from ear to ear. It also remained that way for most of the ride. The ride was not all that great considering the chilly breeze. At first it was nice, but by the end it had gotten ridiculously freezing.

We all got off at the gigantic Oak doors and said our brief goodbyes as we headed off to our own House tables. It was warmer inside, and the ceiling was magically enchanted so that it looked as though candles were floating in the air. I headed over to the Hufflepuff table where I sat down next Matthew, one of my best friends in Hufflepuff. He was folding origami, as usual.

Annie:

I swallowed and smiled weakly. "It's fine. You didn't know."

Catherine volunteered to get the candy we wanted from the trolley. She came back with not only candy, but Fred Weasley. When he sat down, I high-fived him. Catherine looked at me inquisitively.

"She helped me with a prank once." He said as if reading her mind.

I was usually had a more calm, quiet side to me, Angelina Austen, but I had a weak spot for a good joke. We talked to Fred for a long time, until James Potter entered the compartment, saying something about a toilet. Fred introduced us and we all sat around eating Bertie Bot's every flavored beans. Finally, we stopped and boarded the platform.

I always forget just how beautiful Hogwarts really is. It was late and the castle light sparkled, silhouetting its dark shape beautifully. I got into a carriage, Catherine and Juliett following. I looked out and saw Mary get into a boat with Lily and Hugo, but she must not have seen me waving.

I decided to see who was pulling the carriage today. I stepped out.

"Hey, little guy!"

"Who are you talking to?" asked Catherine.

"The thestral."

"Ohh…ok" she said, acting as if I hadn't been looking at a winged horse that is supposed to be invisible. How I wished it was invisible, I thought to myself. How I wish it was invisible.

Catherine:

Anne and I sat together at the Ravenclaw table. It was quiet because the first years were being placed. Afterwards, we sang the Hogwarts song and began our feast. There turkeys, hams, green beans, mashed potatoes, rice, tropical fruits, pasta and all sorts of tasty treats. There was almost everything and anything one could think of! We grabbed our goblets of pumpkin juice and went for the pudding. You couldn't resist the Hogwarts' feast. It was too darn delicious. It was an entire three course meal. I was stuffed. One by one people started leaving for their houses.

A door knocker in the shape of an eagle asked, "In the Pythagorean Theorem, what does the "C" represent?"

Annie yawned and answered. "The hypotenuse."

The door frame swung open leading to the Ravenclaw common room. Annie and I stepped inside, groggily. I was completely and utterly stuffed, and now I was tired. We waited by the fire, and talked. The fire let off a warm, comforting glow. I could feel myself getting sleepier. The fire, in the hearth, was crackling. My eyelids felt heavier and were closing. Annie must have noticed."Let's get to bed, now." She said as if to comfort me.

We trudged up the stairs, finding wrappers of magical candies, and the remains of firecrackers. It was funny though, because no matter how many wrappers and remains we found we never saw one mistreated textbook. I guess it was true that no matter how cool you were. If you were a Ravenclaw that book was like a Christian's Bible.

Annie seemed just as tired as I was. So, I wasn't surprised when she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed. That left me alone. I thought about reading my book, but I wasn't ready to strain my eyes in the darkness. I sat upright in my bed, at the sound of voices coming from my window. I inched closer to hear them clearer.

"Should I?" One asked.

"Dude, you should totally ask her out!" The other boy said. By the sound of their voices, I could infer that they seemed to be around my age. One of them, though, the second one, was clearly James Potter.

The first boy spoke again. "But what if she doesn't like me back?"

"Look, Longbottom, I know a thing or two about girls. Trust me." James said proudly with a sense of swagger. They were on the lawn for sure, but it was too dark to see them. I edged closer and strained to hear. "Ask her tomorrow at breakfast, in the morning. That way you don't have to looking for her during classes." There was a pause, a sign that Longbottom might have been considering it.

"What if she isn't a morning person?" The first asked.

James gave a sigh. "Your loss, Longbottom." Longbottom, I've heard that name before, but I couldn't remember where. There was movement in the darkness. I think James was walking away.

"Wait!" The first boy called out. "How would I ask her?" He seemed genuinely worried.

"Why don't we talk about it, inside? It's cold and past curfew, and the rebel I may be, I don't really feel like getting caught on the first night. That-and Fred and I have a bet to see who's going to get detention first." James stated with, what I am sure to be a very serious face.

It was silent and I was sure that my eavesdropping had been terminated. It made me feel good yet guilty inside. The guilty side did not last too long though. Usually I tried to stay out of gossip because I found that it only led to bad things, but I just had this feeling. I had a feeling of adrenalin, the kind you get when you are told a secret and you know that you cannot tell anyone else. It's the feeling you get when you know something no one else knows about. You get butterflies. Most of the time you just want to let it all out, grab the first person you see and just tell them everything. This was different though. For some reason I did not want to spread what I had heard. The poor kid already seemed extremely nervous.

One thing was clear though. This Longbottom kid was probably going to ask someone out at breakfast. I would have to keep my ears open for any news. With that, I let my mind drift off into unconsciousness.

Juliett:

After dinner I headed to the Hufflepuff common room. The route had been etched in my memory. I kind of felt jealous that Annie and Catherine got to be in the same house, but all the same, I had Matthew. I talked to him on my up to the common room. Matthew Chang had been of my best friends since my first year at Hogwarts. He was always nice, but he was sometimes shy. I was one of his best friends too, I think. He was the one who taught me how to do origami. It was one of his many hobbies and gifts.

After the huge feast, I was so full and tired. As soon as I got to the common room, I didn't even want to look around I just wanted to go to sleep, and that's just what I did.

Annie:

When the carriages stopped at Hogwarts, Fred and James had to go 'do something important'. They headed off towards the castle, taking from their bag what looked t be water balloons and bubotuber puss. I was genuinely frightened.

We walked through the huge oak doors and into the Great Hall. I felt as if I had been on a very long trip and had finally returned home. I caught Mary's eye and waved. She waved back nervously. "Austen, Marietta," called out Professor Flitwick in a squeaky tone. Mary! Mary shuffled up to the stool and put on the hat. It covered nearly her entire face. She was the smallest of the first years.

"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Mary took the hat off with trembling hands and walked over to the cheering sea of red and gold. I stood up and clapped. After the sorting came the best part though. FOOD! That's when the face-stuffing would begin.

I learned short, little bits and pieces of information about the people around me during the time period of chewing and getting more food. They were things like Catherine knew a girl here once, but then she moved and had to transfer to Beaubaton's School of Magic for girls. A sixth year boy named Dominique was the quidditch captain for Ravenclaw.

"Hey, Catherine?" I asked.

"Mm?"She said with her mouth full of food.

"Who's that boy over there? The one with the brownish blondish hair?"

"Oh. I think a's Mark 'ongbottom. E's a 'ird 'ear." She swallowed. "Why?"

"Wait. What?"

"I think that's Mark Longbottom. He's a third year. Why?"

"It feels like he's staring at me. Every time I look up he stares down at his shoes. It's so odd." I said.

"I think I know what you mean." Catherine said glancing at the Gryffindor table a few times. "Is Fred looking at me?" Fred turned back to James and began telling a joke.

"Nope." I said.

"Whew…okay." She said.

"Well Juliett seems to have a new friend." I said, changing the subject."What's his name again? The Japanese kid?"

"Matthew, I think. Yeah. His name is Matthew Chang." I was really impressed with Catherine's ability to be so good with all of these names and stories, and facts. She certainly was one of the more gossipy Ravenclaws.

Our conversation was interrupted by Professor McGonagall's speech. "I would like to give a warm, Hogwarts' welcome to the new members of staff: Professor Ernie MacMillan who will be teaching Potions. Professor Zacharias Smith who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts-" A pompous looking man bowed and a man with an upturned nose and snobbish expression just nodded his head. I immediately disliked Smith."-and a welcome back to a Professor Longbottom, who has returned from his whomping willow injuries."

Longbottom? Was he the father of Mark Longbottom? Proffessor Longbottom smiled and nodded at the applause. I'd always liked him as a Herbology teacher.

"Now off to bed! Pip, pip!"

We followed Dominique Weasley to the Ravenclaw common room, and once we were in we sat under the star spangled ceiling. I sat and talked with Catherine, and could hear the faint sound of firecrackers going off nearby. I suspect one of the Weasleys. Finally everyone made it back up to their dormitories.

That night I had a dream. I was sitting in the Great Hall with Catherine. It was raining; not that usual around this time of year.

"Uh…Angelina?" said a voice. My dream-self spun around. It was Mark.