A/N: Here is chapter four, I hope you all like it!
DISCLAIMER:I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER, OR ANYTHING ELSE YOU RECOGNIZE IN THIS STORY! Do I have to put a disclaimer in every chapter?
Let's get this started. Again, enjoy!
Chapter 4: The Train
I wake up bright and early the next morning, refreshed after a good night's sleep. I reach into my bag and pull out a change of clothes that I slip on. I also grab some notes that were in the bag and head out to muggle London to buy some clothes.
I wandered around most of the shops, only finding a few items that I liked, definitely not enough to last me through the year. That's not a matter, though, because I still have two months before I go to Hogwarts.
I head back to the Leaky Cauldron and put my new clothes in my room before heading back out to Diagon Alley.
After going through the arch way I head to Gringotts and refill my bag. The ride was still horrible, but not as bad as the first time.
Then I went to Magical Menagerie to buy food for my owls. I asked the cashier how the cat was, and she said he should be fine in a few days, but is very shaken up.
Later I went into a storage shop and bought myself a trunk to carry all my school supplies in. The man who sold it even said there was a spell on it so it was bigger on the inside.
By then, the sun was starting to go down, so I made my way back to the Leaky Cauldron and into my room.
And that is where I find myself now. I'm currently sitting on my bed flipping through my course books with my two new owls in there cage beside me.
I decided to name the black one Blackjack because that was the card game my father and I always used to play together, not to mention the owl is black, and the barn owl Maximus, because it seemed appropriate. He being so regal, and also I just really like the name.
Getting bored of looking over the books I hop out of bed and head down to Fortescue's. Florean is so nice and even lets me have free sundaes sometimes!
I say hello to Florean before sitting down at the high stools next to the kitchen. The barista, Margot asks
"What can I get for you, hun?"
I order vanilla ice cream with chocolate sprinkles and place the sickles in her hand. Margot brings me my order in a flash, and I thank her and Florean before heading out and window shopping a bit through Diagon Alley. As I make my way to Quality Quidditch supplies, I see that a boy with messy black hair, already pressing his nose up to the window, right in front of the gleaming Cleansweep 6. Right where I usually stand.
I walk up to him and cross my arms. He doesn't even notice me; he just keeps staring at the broom. I tap my foot impatiently, still no reaction. I clear my throat loudly and the boy looks over at me with a slightly annoyed expression.
"What?" He asks.
"You can't hog the window. Other people want to look at the broom, not just you." I respond.
"Girls don't play quidditch, go back to your friends and braid their hair." He snorts.
"I bet I can play quidditch just as well as you can, and for your information, my friends don't even like braids." I retort. "Now let me see that broom!" I say and push my shoulder against the boy's, to try and get a better view.
"No, I was here first!" He replies hotly, and pushes back with just as much force.
We struggle like this for a while before the boy suddenly stopped pushing back. I was using so much force that I fell forward when he stopped.
I landed with a small "Oofh". It actually hurt a little. The cobblestones weren't exactly soft. I sit up and dust my hands off, when the boy offers me his hand. I take it, and instead of pulling myself up, I pull him down to the ground. I grin triumphantly and look down at the boy, who is still lying face down on the street, his shoulders shaking. I think he's crying, but as he turns over and sits up, I see he is laughing.
"Well played, my friend, well played." He chuckles.
"Friend? We're friends?" I ask.
"It's an expression." He sighs "I'm James by the way." He says and sticks his hand out.
"Tessa." I reply and shake his hand.
Just then, two adults, who I suspect are James' parents, walk up to us, the man looking very much like James, except you can see very clearly that James has the same nose shape as the woman.
"Come on James, get up." The woman chides. "We still need to get your wand and your cauldron."
James stands up and offers me his hand, which this time I actually use to hoist myself up.
"I'll see you at Hogwarts, Tessa." James says and walks over to his parents.
"Bye, James." I reply and wave as they start to walk away.
I see James' mother lean down and say something to him. He sighs dramatically and says loudly
"No, Mother, she is not my girlfriend!"
I giggle and see James' dad chortle as well, before I turn around and make my way back to the Leaky Cauldron. I have a light dinner before heading up to my room and falling asleep quickly.
The next few weeks were sort of a blur, and very routine. Wake up, eat, shop, eat again, window shop, eat, and go to bed. Soon, it was the day I had to leave for Hogwarts. I wake up a eight and stuff all the odds and ends that were lying around into my already pack trunk before heading down to say good bye to all the employees on Diagon Alley that I have come to know.
I first say goodbye to the clerk at Magical Menagerie, who wishes me luck, then to Madame Malkin, who hugs me tightly. After I head over to Quality Quidditch supplies and say goodbye to Domenic Kalivas, the owner of the store, and promise to buy the newest broom as soon as my first year ends. I even walk by Ollivander's and see him wave goodbye to me through the window.
The last place I visit is Fortescue's. He tells me to have a great year and to "knock 'em dead". Margot tells me to disregard what Florean just said, and to just be myself. I thank both of them before heading to the Leaky Cauldron and picking up my trunk. I return my key to Tom and bid him goodbye and them I finally set off to King's Cross.
I get on a muggle bus and ask to go to the train station. It was weird though, because no one was eyeing me or my owls, and we were moving so fast that I could have sworn we should have crashed into at least 6 cars.
I was dropped off at King's Cross at 10:30, and I head in, to find Lily and Severus. It wasn't too hard to find Lily, who was with her mother, father, and sister, Petunia. Petunia, kept looking at me scornfully, and I couldn't help but somewhat agree with Severus' earlier description of her.
Shortly after, Severus himself arrived, but Lily's parents had to leave, because Petunia was getting irritable, and Lily's mom had to attend a friend's party at 12:00.
All three of us headed to where our platform should be, but only found 9 and 10. Both Lily and I were befuddled; there was no 9 and 3/4.
"Um, just how are we going to get to the platform? It's not here. Did we go to the wrong train station?" I ask.
"No, to get to the platform, you just have to walk through the barrier between platforms nine and ten." Severus says simply.
"Are you insane? There is no possible way that you can just walk through a barrier!" Lilly nearly yells, looking at Severus like he had four heads.
"Lily!" Severus hissed through gritted teeth. "Keep your voice down, the muggles are starting to look at us funny."
"Sorry." Lily squeaked and lowered her voice. "But Sev, there is no way that is possible. That barrier is made of brick." She whispers.
"Watch this." Severus says and strolls towards the barrier. He pushes his trolley towards it, and instead of rebounding, the trolley goes right through, as if the wall wasn't even there, and disappears. Then one half of his body goes with it. Then the other half. Then he's gone.
"Wha- how'd he do that?" I ask, but Lily just shrugs. "We better get to the platform before the train leaves without us. On three?" I say and Lily nods in agreement.
"One."
"Two."
"Three!" I grab her wrist and my trolley before I start running towards the barrier. I close my eyes just before we hit, and I wait for impact, but it never comes. I cautiously open one eye, and then another, taking a moment to appreciate my surroundings. There where people milling about, some dressed in robes and some in normal clothes. There was a gigantic sign hanging from a stone post that read "Platform 9 and 3/4". We made it. I am officially going to Hogwarts.
But the best part about the platform was the train. A huge scarlet and black steam engine was waiting for all the students to board, the sun reflecting beautifully of the paint coat.
"I'm going off to find Sev." Lilly announces and I nod before she wanders off. I also start to walk around, taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells.
Suddenly someone knocks right into me, sending down to the ground, along with most of the contents of my trolley. The air rushes by me as my attacker runs passed me, it faintly smelling of pine needles, like right off a Christmas tree. I look up to try and see who knocked me over, but all I can make out about their features is that they are a boy with long dark hair. Blackjack and Maximus hoot scornfully but they don't seem physically hurt. I huff before standing up and setting my trunk back on my trolley. When I turn to tell off the boy who knocked me over, he isn't there. Well that is very rude. If you knock someone over you should at least have the courtesy of helping them back up, if not getting a little berating.
Upon standing up I notice two tuxedo clad arms holding a sign that reads "Thorton", reminding me that I had to go see the person holding the sign before I leave for Hogwarts. I take out the letter my mother wrote to me. All black, white rose in the right pocket. Got it. I make my way over to them, and finding it is a man with blond hair. He turns to face me, the tails of his coat twirling as he goes. I look to his right coat pocket, and there is no rose, in either pockets actually.
Is this what my mother meant when I couldn't trust anyone, or did the messenger just forget the rose? I would guess not, especially since this operation is supposed to be so secretive and put together.
His blue eyes are piercing, like ice, as he looks me over.
"Is there something you need, child?" The man scoffed.
I shake my head, still staring up at him. There is no way that the Manipulators' Cult would send someone so cold to talk to an 11 year old child. Would they? Is this the type of people that they employ? Or does their work turn them into this cold and rigid type of person? I sure hope not.
"Are you the Thorton child?" He asks, his voice softening slightly, and a sickly sweet smile appearing on his face. It is quite unnerving, actually. Like the Cheshire cat mixed with the Joker.
"No… Sir." I squeaked. Just like that, the man's smile vanished and his voice tightens up again.
"Then what are you doing here?" He nearly growls.
I am taken aback by the ferocity in his voice. I mumble slightly before I somewhat respond
"Well I, um, I-I better just go, sorry to bother you… you see, I was… n-never mind, I'll just leave." I stutter before I grab my trolley and walk away with my head down. When I am a noticeable distance away from the man, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. If he was the Manipulators' Cult messenger, then I don't want to be in it. Having to work with him every week? I'd rather eat cockroach clusters every day for the rest of my life.
I look around and notice that there are two more people holding "Thorton" signs. Was I really that important? Maybe I was right, not going with the man I just saw. Who knows what would have happened?
I start over to the closest sign, but the person holding that one has a red rose. So I make a big arc around them, weaving through people, so I won't be seen. Not that they would know what I look like, but I best not take my chances.
I find the last sign, and the man holding it, thankfully, is wearing all black with a white rose in the right shirt pocket.
I walk up to the man, who turned to look in the opposite direction, and tap on his shoulder. He turns around and smiles kindly. He has dirty blonde hair and warm chocolate brown eyes. He doesn't look to be a day over 19.
"Are you Teresa Walsh?" He asks. I take a moment to retrieve the official papers and hand them to him.
He looks over them and smiles even wider.
"Great! I'm Clark Moore, the messenger for," He lowers his voice substantially "the Manipulators' Cult."
"I know, I just didn't think you would be so…" I trail off.
"Young? Yeah, I get that a lot. I'm 18 actually, joined right after I finished school, myself. You see, when I was five my dad was called to do the same thing you were. Mum raised me all by herself. Since then I've always wondered how it worked, so right after I graduated, I applied. Only started a handful of months ago. They sent me to be your "trainer", I guess, not sure if that is the right word, because I am closest to your age and they think that I can connect with you the most. See, this whole organization is based off of trust. No one would be sent anywhere in time if we didn't trust them to do the right thing. Oh, look at that, I've been talking this whole time, and you haven't the time to get one word in. Sorry, I can get carried away." Clark rambles, clearly excited.
"It's okay." I assure him "But what's my job?"
"Oh, your job? Yes. You have to get Severus Snape and Sirius Black to become at least friendly acquaintances. And a lot later in your life you have to try and save Lily Evans and James Potter from being killed by You-Know-Who." He answers.
"No, I don't know who." I say.
Clark's eyes dart from side to side before he again lowers him voice.
"Voldemort." He whispers.
Realization washes over me, and I make that 'I realize what you mean now' face, the one when your eyes widen and your mouth makes an 'O' shape. Clark takes no time at all before he starts talking again.
"Well, for that one, it may not be possible. Some events are points in time that can't be changed, and it just has to happen. This is a big one, and if it can be changed everything after will be completely different. But as for the first, it should be doable. Those two united can make forces against You-know-who stronger, so he can be defeated faster. Do you know any of them already? It would make your mission so much easier."
"Yes, I do actually. I met up with Lily and Severus to get to the train. And I met a boy named James earlier this month, but it is a common name, it might not be the same one." I inform him. "I have a question, though. There were two other men that had signs just like yours. Are they also in the group?"
A worried look passes over Clark's face.
"No. We have hundreds of employee's being sent to the past and future, reporting problems and fixing them, and employees coming from the past and future reporting if problems were solved or if new ones arose. A month back an employee came from the future and told us we had a mole. We tried looking for them, but it was too late, they had already turned the information over to the wrong hands. Files on different missions going thousands of years into both the past and future. Now we have an opposing group that send people to try and capture our group members or to send our missions awry." He says. He looks thoughtful for a second before continuing. "Have you told anyone your last name?"
I think about it. Have I? I don't believe so. Not even Lily or Severus, or that James boy. Huh, I never would have given it a second thought if Clark hadn't asked me.
"No." I reply.
"Good. So from now on you are not Theresa Walsh, you are Theresa Wright. Easy enough to remember, right?" I nod "Good, it should keep them off your trail for a while, because Wright is a pretty common name. They would have to go through a lot of people to find you." Clark finishes.
"Do any of the teachers know about me?" I ask.
"Just the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. I'll notify him of the change in your name before you get there." He says.
Then the train horn blasts, signaling that I only had a minute to board.
"I better go; I don't want to miss the train." I tell Clark.
"Oh! Before you go, I was told to give you this." He hands me a small, but surprisingly heavy box. "Best put it in your trunk, there's glass in there."
I quickly, but carefully place the box in my trunk between my clothes before I thank Clark.
"It's no problem. I'll owl you when our first training session is and where." He replies.
I take my trolley to the train and quickly throw my trunk on the train and hop on the train with my two owls, barely making it on before the train door closes.
I lug my trunk down the hall with Maximus and Blackjack, trying to find Lily and Severus. When I see Lily's fiery red hair through the glass of one of the compartments, I open the door and bring all my things in.
I don't even try to put my trunk on the luggage rack before I sit down across from Lily and Severus with a huff.
"Hey Tessa!" Lily greets me "Sev and I were talking, and we realized, we don't know your last name."
"Oh, it's Wright. Theresa Wright." I say, my new last name sounding foreign on my tongue.
Lily, Severus and I talk amiably until the candy trolley arrives.
"Anything from the cart, dearies?" The lady asks sweetly.
We end up getting three of everything, and the lady thanks us before moving on, and I start in on my cauldron cake.
Lily opens a chocolate frog and shrieks when the thing jumps out and lands on her head. She slowly picks it up and brings it to eye level.
"How can anyone eat this? It's like eating a real frog." Lily asks, both amazed and grossed out.
"Like this." Severus says and breaks the leg off the frog before taking a big bite out of it, right in Lily's face.
"That's gross Sev, and inhumane." Lily groaned.
"Oh, really?" He challenges before taking the frog from Lily. She covers her eyes right before he breaks it right down the middle. He takes another bite, this time from the middle and moans loudly.
"Mmmmmmmmm, this chocolate is soooooooo good. It's too bad Lily is too 'humane' to have any." He taunts.
Lily uncovers her eyes and breaks off a small piece of the leg and takes a tiny nibble. Then a big bite. After that she had no problem breaking apart the frogs and eating them.
We also had fun eating Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. I got green apple, leaf, cricket, cinnamon, and candy floss. Severus got bell pepper, mango, lemon, orange, and banana. Lily was unfortunate and had plastic, dirt, jalapeño, toothpaste, and water flavored.
We finish all our candy, and are all full of sugar, so I collect all the empty boxes and wrappers, and leave the compartment to throw them out. On my way back, just before I enter the compartment again, I see the boy, James, I met in Diagon Alley, talking to two other boys, one with sandy colored hair and the other with dark hair. He notices me and waves, heading over.
"Hey, Tessa! Can we come into your compartment?" He asks.
"Sure." I say and let them in.
Lily and Severus look utterly confused when the three boys usher into our compartment, but I introduce the one I know.
"Guys, this is James. James this is Lily and Severus." I say.
James shakes both of their hands, Lily's with more of a smile than Severus'. The sandy haired boy that James was talking to introduces himself as Remus Lupin. He nervously shakes all of our hands before sitting down. Then James introduces the last, and dark haired, boy, as Sirius Black. He merely nods to us and sits down, looking slightly bored. So this is Sirius Black, the boy I am supposed to befriend with Severus.
That's when I notice the fait piney smell in the room.
"Hey." I call. Sirius Black looks up. "You're the boy who knocked me over on the platform."
He just shrugs and says "Oh." Before turning to James and starting a conversation.
'Oh'? How rude can someone get?
I clear my throat, but he doesn't notice.
"Excuse me." I persisted. He looks over with an exasperated look.
"You knocked me over. You should apologize." I say. This isn't rocket science, it's just being polite.
"Sorry." Black said, not sounding apologetic at all, before he again turned back to James and talking to him again.
I didn't even bother trying again, it's not like you can force someone to be sorry for something they weren't sorry about.
Sirius Black didn't talk to anyone except James and a tiny bit to Remus, and I was fine with that. The rest of the conversations went pretty smoothly.
Until now. Remus asks if we had known we were going to Hogwarts.
Severus answers first. "Yeah, I did. I'm a half blood. My mum's a witch, my dad's a muggle. I knew since I could talk that I had magic."
Then Lily answers. "No, not until I got my letter. My mum found my letter. Didn't believe it until Professor McGonagall came and told us."
Sirius Black looked over to her, "So, you're a Mudblood, then."
Both Severus and I get absolutely livid when he says this, and even James has the decency to pale when Black used that term. How can I make friends with him, let alone make him friends with someone else? I don't know why anyone would want to be in the vicinity of him anyways.
"Leave." I order, pointing to the door. Black looks at us weirdly before he gets up and exits the compartment.
"We better go too." James says, and he and Remus also leave.
When it is just us three again Lily asks "What's a Mudblood?"
"It's a derogatory term for a muggle born, it means dirty blood. Only heartless pureblood supremacists use a word like that." I say.
"Tells me a lot about Black. He's just like his family." Severus adds.
"Are the Blacks pureblood supremacists?" I ask Severus.
"Only the biggest you can find. I think every Black that could so far has joined the death eaters." Severus confirms.
"Ok." Lily interjects. "How about we change into our school robes now, we should be there soon."
Both Severus and I agree, before grabbing our robes. Severus heads to the bathroom, while Lily and I just change in the compartment. Just as my robes slip past my head, I see mountains out the window, and turrets hiding right behind them.
A voice echoes through the train: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train. It will be taken to the school separately."
Lily pales slightly as we make our way out into the halls that are already flooding with students. The train slows to a stop, and the doors open, and all the students haphazardly file out onto the new platform.
Lily and I get off and we see a giant middle aged man holding a lamp yelling:
"Firs' years! Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"
We walk over to the man and find Severus already there waiting for us. Once all the first years were rounded up the big man introduced himself.
"I'm Rubeus Hagrid, gamekeeper here at Hogwarts. Now all you firs' years follow me." He says.
We followed Hagrid down a steep and narrow path, thick trees lining either side of us. There were soft murmurs coming from the students of what they think the castle will look like, and what houses they hope to be in.
"Jus' round the bend here, yeh'll get your firs' look at Hogwarts." Hagrid called over his shoulder.
There was a collective "Oooooh!" from the group.
We stumble around the bend and then the path opens up to a great big lake. The moonlight shining down on it makes the water sparkle, but the parts in the dark are a true black color. On a high mountain across the lake, sat a huge castle with many towers and turrets, its windows shining brightly in the dim light.
"No more'n five to a boat." Hagrid says, pointing to a small fleet of sailboats waiting at the shore.
Lily, Severus, and I climb into a boat, along with Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. James was in a boat with the boy with straw blond hair that I saw when leaving Ollivander's, along with two dark haired girls and boy.
"Everybody in?" Shouts Hagrid. " Right then, FORWARD!"
The boats move forward with a jolt, and they start gliding silently over the lake. Everyone is quiet, taking in the scene before them. Well, almost everyone.
"Move over a bit, could you?" Sirius Black asks, in a condescending tone.
I look over at him. "No, it's squished as it is, everyone else has the same amount of space that you do."
"No, you have much more room than I do." He whines.
"Fine, do you want to switch?" I ask, exasperated.
"Yes, I would, thank you very much."
We both stand up and the boat shakes slightly. Severus and Lily look back at us.
"What are you two doing?" Severus asks.
"Prince Thorn-in-my-side can't deal with sitting calmly on a boat for ten minutes, without making a big fuss, and wanting us to switch spots." I tell him whilst glaring at Black.
"Well, we wouldn't have had to switch, if Lady Stick-up-her-arse had just moved over." He counters.
"Oh, we had the same amount of space and you know it!"
"No, you clearly taking up more space then I was, you might as well kick your feet up while you're at it!" He yells back.
"You know what, I might just do that." I say before I kick him in the leg. He retaliates by pushing my shoulders. The boat starts swaying even more and I lose my balance.
I fall over the side of the boat, grabbing it as I go down. This only makes things worse, because with the force I used to grab onto the boat, it just pulls on it and makes it tip, so Lily, Severus, Remus, and Sirius Black all fall into the lake with me.
All the other boats stop when Hagrid shouts "HALT!" and he paddles his own boat over to us.
"Wha' happened?" He asks while turning out boat right side up again, and motions for all of us to climb back in.
As we clamor on to the boat, both Black and I start talking at the same time, trying to explain what happened, but Hagrid holds up his hand.
"Let the red haired young lady tell wha' happened. Wha's yeh'r name, sweetheart?" Hagrid asks Lily.
"Lily Evans, Sir." She tells him "And Tessa Wright, the one with the brown hair, was fighting with Sirius Black, the one with the black hair, because he said that she was taking up too much room, so they decided to switch spots. But when they got up they started arguing again and Tessa kicked Sirius so Sirius pushed Tessa. Then Tessa lost her balance so she fell off the side, but as she was going down she grabbed the side of the boat, and it tipped over and the rest of us fell out," Lily explains, barely pausing in between sentences.
"Ok." Hagrid sighs. "Wright and Black, yeh'll be ridin' with me for the rest of the ride. Come on."
Black and I stand up, and, carefully, make our way over to Hagrid's boat. We sit in silence for the rest of the boat ride, glaring at each other. I even hear Hagrid mutter to himself.
"Maybe next year we only have four to a boat."
We make it to a cliff and Hagrid shouts "Head's down!" We all bow our heads as we pass under a curtain of ivy that hid a wide opening in the cliff face. We travel down that tunnel, which seems to be taking us underneath the castle, until we reach some sort of underground harbor. Once the boats line the shore, we all climb out and follow Hagrid's lamp through a passageway in the cliff.
At last we reach the top of the passageway and emerge out onto the grounds, the castle looming right in front of us.
Hagrid walks up to the huge front door, all us first years straggling behind him, and he knocks on the door three times.
The door swings open at once. A tall, black-haired witch clad in emerald robes stands in the doorway. She had a stern look on her face; I sure don't want to get her angry.
"Hello students, I'm Professor McGonagall. Now if you could, please follow me." She says and opens the doors fully, allowing us to see the entrance hall. It is huge, bigger than some of the houses on my street! They hall was lit by torches that line the walls, and there was a big marble staircase that lead to the upper floors of the castle.
I hear the low murmur of hundreds of voices coming from a door on the right of the hall, but instead McGonagall leads us all into a small chamber off the hall. We file in, standing rather closely to the people on all sides of us. Lucky me, I have to be shoulder-to-shoulder with Black.
"Welcome to Hogwarts." Says Professor McGonagall "The banquet will begin shortly, but first you must all be sorted. The Sorting Ceremony is very important, because the house you will be sorted in is like your second family. You will eat meals together, you will have classes together, you all sleep in house dormitories, and you will spend your free time in house common room."
"There are four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Hufflepuff. Each has its own unique history and all have produced outstanding witches and wizards. At Hogwarts, your successes will earn you points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of each year the house with the most points will win the House Cup, a great honor. So remember, your actions not only affect you, but all your house mates as well. I hope all of you are a credit to whichever house you are sorted into."
"I will come back shortly to retrieve you all and bring you to the Great Hall. Best try and make yourselves look presentable." She says, eyeing Lily, Severus, Remus, Sirius, and me, who were all still sopping wet.
She quickly exited, her emerald cloak billowing behind her. Right after she is out of the room I turn to Severus and Lily.
"How do they sort you into houses at the Sorting Ceremony?" Lily asks, obviously nervous.
"I think it's kind of like a survey, you know, they find out what kind of person you are and base what house you're in off your answers. Kind of like those quizzes in those silly muggle magazines you read, Lily." Severus answers.
Lily playfully hits Severus on the arm "They're not silly, Severus. You just don't appreciate them."
"Oh yes," Severus sarcastically agrees. "There is nothing silly about finding 'Your perfect celebrity match'. By the way, Paul McCartney is way too old for you."
Lily just huffs, her cheeks turning rosy. Suddenly people gasp and I turn around, ending up face to face with wicked black eyes.
The figure those eyes belong to, backs up and I see that it is a small, transparent looking man. I think he is a ghost, and people gasped because he must have flew through the walls.
"Oh, I have just happened to float into a room full of ickle firsties! What a coincidence!" He cackles, laughing at his own joke.
"Are you a ghost?" I ask, voicing my thoughts.
"No, I am not a ghost, ghosts just sit around all day and argue over who died the most horrifically. No, I am a poltergeist. Peeves the Poltergeist." He says, holding out his hand.
"You know I can't actually shake your hand, you're a ghost." I say.
"Poltergeist! I am a poltergeist! I don't know why anyone would want to be classified as a ghost!" Peeves cries. "You're quite a feisty one aren't you? I expect I'll have a lot of fun this year. Why are all of you wet?"
"We fell in the lake." Lily answers.
"Let me guess, she pushed you all in." Peeves not so secretly whispers to Lily, pointing to me from behind his hand.
"You know you're transparent right? I can see right through the hand you used to cover the hand pointing at me. And even then, I would still know you were talking about me." I say "And, no, I did not push them into the lake, he pushed me and I lost my balance and then we all fell." I said, nodding my head to Sirius Black.
Black gave me a look. Like a "Why'd you throw me under the bus too?" and I shot him a "If I'm going down, you're coming with me." Look back.
"Oooooh! Two trouble makers this year. What fun!" Peeves laughs.
Then the door burst open and in the doorway stands an angry looking Professor McGonagall. I was right when I thought I wouldn't want to cross her, she looks dangerous.
"PEEVES, GET OUT!" She yells. "Get out before I tell the Baron about this!"
Peeves zooms over to McGonagall and sticks his tongue out in her face before cackling once more and whizzing away.
"Sorry about that." Professor McGonagall apologizes. "Peeves is a nuisance. We just can't seem to get rid of him. But, never mind that, the Sorting Ceremony is about to start. Form a line and follow me."
We all line up and follow McGonagall out of the chamber. I, myself, am starting to feel a little nauseous, my nervousness finally getting to me. We walk back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.
It was absolutely breathtaking. Four long tables line the wall, filled with students, and the place was lit with thousands of candles, suspended in mid-air. At the front of the hall there is another long table, on a platform, where adults, age ranging anywhere from mid-twenties to well above nineties, are sitting. I have to assume that is the staff table.
And that wasn't even the best part. When I look up there is the night sky dotted with silver stars. I remember reading somewhere that the ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky.
Professor McGonagall leads us to the first step of the platform before motioning us to stop. She continues up to where an old, scraggly hat is sitting on a tightly rolled scroll on a stool.
I wonder what we would have to do with the hat, Severus said it was like a survey. Maybe they put the hat on your head and it is bewitched to see if you are lying. I notice everyone else in the hall is staring at the hat too, not just the first years, in… anticipation? What could a hat do that was so amazing?
My question is shortly answered when a rip in the brim opens and the hat starts to sing:
"Many, many years ago I sat upon Godric's head,
But he came up with a bright idea, so here I am instead.
I look into the thoughts of big and small,
I've seen so many minds, And I have sorted them all…
The hat goes on to sing about the values of each house, and how there is nothing in your mind you can hide from him. We have to put on a hat that tells us which house we are in? And it can see your thoughts? I hope it can't see events that happened.
Lily, Remus and James looked intrigued the entire song, Severus looked indifferent, but I could tell that was only because he was so nervous. Sirius Black, on the other hand, looked utterly bored. How? It is a singing hat for crying out loud!
Before I can give it any more thought, Professor McGonagall clears her throat.
"I will call your name from the list and you will come up to the stool and place the hat on your head. Once you are sorted you will walk to your corresponding house table. Abbott, Daniel!" She calls. A pink faced, blond boy makes his way through the line and up to the hat. He places it over his eyes and after a few moments-
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat bellows. The Ravenclaws cheer and everyone else claps as Daniel makes his way over to the table.
"Avery, Malcolm" is the first Slytherin. The Slytherins' cheering sounds more like jeering to me. Looking over at them, they don't exactly seem like a pleasant group.
"Black, Sirius!" Professor McGonagall shouts. The whole hall goes silent as Black makes his way up to the hat and places it on his head, the brim covering his eyes.
The whole hall sat in silence for at least three minutes before people started whispering "hatstall". Finally the brim of the Sorting Hat opens and it yells:
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The whole hall is silent again, in shock. If what Severus said was true, which it most likely is, there hadn't been a Black in Gryffindor in centuries. I clap politely as Black heads to the Gryffindor table, because I felt bad that no one else clapped for him. A few follow suit, but most are too stunned to register any emotion other than shock.
Black sits down near the end of the table, with his head down. I actually felt sorry for him; he looked so alone. Maybe he wouldn't be if he was actually nice to people.
"Bones, Amelia!"
"RAVENCLAW!" shouts the hat, and Amelia power walks over to the second table from the left as they clap for her.
As "Bullstrode, Michael" walks up to the hat I start to think. What house will I be in? I'm pretty smart, and Ravenclaw doesn't seem like a bad choice, and the Hufflepuffs seem nice. All the houses do, actually, except for Slytherin. I think some of them have permanent scowls plastered on their faces.
"Evans, Lily!" Professor McGonagall calls, and Lily glances nervously at Severus and me before stumbling up to the stool. She put on the hat, a moment's pause-
"GRYFINNDOR!" The hat bellows. Lily positively beams as she makes her way down to the table. I clap loudly, along with the rest of the Gryffindors, but Severus seems dejected. Did he not want Lily in Gryffindor? He looks over at Lily, a frown tugging at his lips, but Lily smiles brightly at him, and his frown turns into a small smile.
"Fawcett, Samantha" was sorted into Ravenclaw, followed closely by "Higgs, Albert". Now, after new Hufflepuff, "Hopkins, Gerald" and Gryffindor, "Levski, John", it is Remus' turn to go up to the hat. He looks a little green, and his hands are balled into fists. McGonagall places the hat on his head and I wait, until the hat shouts out:
"GRYFFINDOR!" I see Remus' shoulders slump in relief and he makes his way over to the Gryffindor table. He sits across from Sirius, who says something, but I can't make it out.
"MacDonald, Mary" is sorted into Hufflepuff, "McKinnon, Marlene" joins the Gryffindors, and "Nott, Sabastian" is the newest Slytherin. Also the boy I saw in Ollivander's, I found out his name is Peter Pettigrew, was sorted into Gryffindor.
When Professor McGonagall called "Prewett, Alice", one of the girls that James was riding in the boat with scurries up to the stool. She is pronounced a Gryffindor, and after her is "Potter, Gisele". She runs onto the stage and pulls the hat over her head so fast I only get a glimpse of her face. I can only tell that she has short dark hair, the same color as James' hair.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat bellows and she runs over to her new house table.
After her, it is James' turn. Just like the girl before him he is declared as Gryffindor, and he goes off and sits next to Gisele.
"Rosier, Evan"
"SLYTHERIN!" Shouts the hat. A dark haired boy makes his way down to the Slytherin table.
"Snape, Severus" Professor McGonagall calls out. Severus takes a deep breath before heading up to the stool. Lily is looking at him with a big smile and she is wide eyed with anticipation. The hat barely touches his head:
"SLYTHERIN!" Lily's smile fell immediately. Severus sends her a sorry expression before he heads over to the Slytherin table, sitting next to Avery.
The rest of the names flew by as first years joined all four houses, and finally they stopped, leaving only me, and one other girl.
"Wright, Theresa" Professor McGonagall looks up from her scroll. I slowly walk up to the stool, taking each stair one at a time, but that doesn't help. Stepping onto the final step, my foot gets caught in my robes, making me fall flat on my face. Twice in one day, lucky me. I hear the other students quietly laugh as I pick myself up, and I scowl to myself. I make it to the stool and McGonagall places the hat on my head, and it slides down covering my eyes.
"That was quite some fall." I hear a small voice in my ear.
"Oh, you be quiet." I think.
"You're much like that Black boy." The voice says again.
"That git? I am nothing like him!" I think. How am I anything like him?
"I can't choose your traits, I am merely making an observation." The voice says.
"I am not like him! He is rude and egotistic and disrespectful and…" I start.
"And you both have huge tempers and care a lot for those you care for you. That is why neither of you would do well in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw. They are too nice and levelheaded."
"I am nice and levelheaded! You, sir, are just biased, that's what you are, all because I…" I think, this hat starting to get on my nerves.
"Hmm… Well, you are very loyal, but you can be sneaky as well." The hat deduced, completely ignoring me.
"Are you even listening to me?" I think loudly.
"There is no reason to yell, missy, I'm just trying to decide what house to put you in." The hat says.
"You don't have to be rude about it." I think back.
"Yes… you're much too brash to be in Slytherin so I'll have to put you in…"
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yells to the whole Great Hall.
I pull off the hat and make my way down to the Gryffindor table as "Blaise, Estelle" is called up.
Sadly, the only open seat near Lily is next to Sirius Black, so I sit down next to him, trying to ignore his presence.
"You were taking so long; everyone thought you would be sent home." He informs me.
"You probably took twice as long as I did up there." I say in a calm voice.
"That's not true." He scoffs.
"Oh really? Do you know how many people were saying "hatstall" when you were up there?" I continue.
Instead of fighting back, Black just looks down at the table with a frown and furrowed brows.
An older looking man, with a very long beard, sitting at the high table stands up, beaming at all the students.
"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! I am the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. Now that all the houses have astounding new members, the banquet may begin. Dig in!"
Suddenly the golden plates, that were once empty, are now full of food. Black's anger seems to disappear as he digs into a piece of Shepherd's pie.
I chat away with Alice Prewitt and Lily throughout dinner, enjoying myself very much. All the food is amazing, and I want to try all of it, but my stomach isn't that big.
I am cut forcefully into a tough piece of steak, when I accidentally ram elbows with Sirius Black.
"Ow, what was that for? Don't you have any manners?" He asks, with an appalled look on his face.
"I'm sorry, but I'm left handed, and you're right handed, our elbows were bound to crash sometime." I try to explain.
"Well, why were you using such big arm movements? It's dinner, not a roller skating derby." He retorted.
"Oh, so do you want me to teach myself to use smaller arm movements? Or, better yet, learn to eat with my right hand?" I ask, my voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Thank you. That is all I ask." He says in a clipped voice, before continuing with his meal. I just stare at him, open mouthed. Did he seriously not get my sarcasm?
I shake my head before resuming conversation with Lily and Alice. Soon after, the main dishes disappear, and desserts are set in their place. It is basically every dessert you could ever imagine. Ice cream, doughnuts, pies, treacle tart, puddings, cakes, trifle, éclairs, strawberries…
I help myself to most of the desserts, each more delicious than the next. Alice, Lily and I talk about what classes we are looking forward to most.
"Transfiguration," I say "we get to change one thing into another. How amazing is that?"
"Well, we won't do any big things until we are much older. I think for now it's just matches and buttons and things like that." Alice says "I'm looking forward to Charms, like little spells that are useful and fun."
Lily disagrees "I think Defense against the Dark Arts will be the best because we're doing something practical. Do you know how many people end up in the wizarding hospital because they were hit by a curse?" She asks.
Alice and I both shake our heads as the dessert disappears. Again, Albus Dumbledore stands up and the hall falls silent.
"Before we all head up to bed, I would like to give just a few notices to give to you."
"First years should note that the forest beyond the grounds is forbidden, though, some older students may need reminding of this as well." He says, glancing over to two older boys with amused smirks on their faces.
"Also, Madame Hooch has asked me to remind first years that they are not allowed to join their house quiddich team." As Dumbledore said this, I hear a low grumble come from James and some of the other first years.
"And lastly, Mr. Filch wants to remind everyone that the use of magic in between classes is prohibited. Now, if you could all follow your respective prefect to your dormitories."
We all get up and follow a blond haired boy out of the Great hall and up the marble staircase. I am so tired and full of food I barely register the talking paintings, moving staircases, and doors hidden behind tapestries.
We all stop at a big portrait of a fat lady.
"Password?" She asks in a regal voice.
"Venomous Tentacula" The prefect says and the portrait swings open.
A/N: So... how was it? I realize that I tend to switch writing styles for each chapter, I'm sorry, it's not intentional. For this chapter did you love it? Hate it? Don't really care? Tell me in a comment and I'll try and stick with your favorite style.
Yeah, I know, Sirius acted like a total jerk, but it has to be like that for now, to show how being outside of his pureblood family really changes him. I did the elbow thing because I want there to be more of a conflict between Tessa and Sirius, and also it shows you more of Sirius' pureblood personality. I would expect that purebloods have big fancy dinners like the ones in the Victorian era, with all the different courses and silverware, so Sirius would be raised with impeccable table manners, except for making conversation.
Were any of the characters too OOC? I don't know why but in this story Lily is a huge animal lover. And Remus is uncomfortable with people he doesn't know well. I don't even know anymore, were the characters even remotely like themselves?
Oh, and this story has over 100 reads! YAY! And in only three chapters! But the thing is, is that the first chapter has a lot more readers than the second and third. I know that is partially because those two haven't been up as long, but is there anything I can do to improve the first chapter so people will continue reading the other chapters, which, in my opinion, are more well written.
Reviews!
MissSlythedor: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it, I did too. And HA! This one is over 8,000 words! Oh god, what have I gotten myself into?
greenpineapple: It's Crookshanks, don't worry, I had to look it up to make sure I spelt it right too. Yay, you liked my Tangled quote, not sure how many people actually got it.
So, how about for this chapter we try and get 1 follow and 1 favorite? That's not to much to ask, right? It's not necessary, I will still update if it doesn't happen, but it just lets me know that you guys are enjoying my story.
I have to go, until next time,
~BecauseImClever12
P.S I am going on a two week vacation to Hawaii in two days, and I'm not sure how often I will have internet connection, so sorry in advance if the next chapter is late.