Chapter 2
Words: 2,286
Total Words: 4,030

September 1st dawned bright and sunny; Rebecca was even awake to see the sunrise. She was the first one awake, brimming with excitement for her first day at Hogwarts! She dressed and asked the house-elf to make her some eggs and bacon as she made sure her trunk was packed and ready to go. She was just beginning to eat her breakfast when her mother and father walked into the dining room, still in their night clothes.

"You're up early, Becs!" her father said with a sleepy smile on his face. "This is very unusual... maybe we should inform the Daily Prophet."

Rebecca laughed through a mouthful of bacon. She swallowed and said, "Very funny, dad. I'm just excited for my first day! We need to leave soon for King's Cross."

"Here's your breakfast, mister and missus," their house-elf, Cowrie, said, two plates of eggs, bacon, and fruit for Rebecca's mother and father. She sat the plates on the table on either side of Rebecca and her parents began to eat.

"I don't want to be late..." Rebecca whined, having just finished her own plate and watching her parents eat too slowly for her taste. "I'm going to go make sure I have everything ready!" She ran off to her bedroom to once again go over her trunk.

"Maximus, today is the day!" Rebecca sang as the snowy owl fluttered down onto her desk. "I wish I was there all ready."

After her parents had gotten ready (not without some encouragement from their all-too-eager daughter) the family set off for King's Cross. Her father had a car reserved for times like this; although they were an all-magic family, he still enjoyed the finer things that Muggles made - this Lincoln Towncar was one of them. Magically enhanced so that the trunk and all of Rebecca's Hogwarts supplies fit, the ride was comfortable and passed much faster than Rebecca thought it would.

"What platform is it?" Her father teased as they pulled out Rebecca's trunk and got it on the trolley.

"Nine and three-quarters, daddy. How could you forget?"

"Come on, Rebecca. The train leaves in fifteen minutes." Her mother closed the trunk and grabbed her daughter's hand - her father grabbed the trolly and wheeled it into the train station. They walked through throngs of Muggles until they got to the platform between 9 and 10.

"Ready, Becs?" Her father smiled at her as she let go of her mother's hand and grabbed onto the trolly. "All right, hold on!" They walked at a brisk pace towards the wall, and Rebecca closed her eyes seconds before she expected to run into it.

"Rebecca, dear, open your eyes." She heard her mother's voice and obeyed. Among the huge crowd of students, there was a scarlet steam engine sitting on the tracks, the name "The Hogwarts Express" on the side. Rebecca felt her mouth drop open and she looked at her parents excitedly. It was really happening! The clock read that there was now less than five minutes until the train would leave; Rebecca hurried onto the train and found an empty compartment to sit in after bidding her mother and father goodbye, watching them wave to her from the station. She waved back before settling in with her book (she had brought The Standard Book of Spells with her for the ride) and excitedly waiting to arrive at her new school.

...

The ride to Hogwarts was a lot quicker than Rebecca had expected, and she could barely contain her excitement as she got off at Hogsmeade station. There was lots of confusion as the older students got into the carriages, but the loud voice calling out prevented her from following them.

"Firs' years, this way! Follow me, firs' years!" Rebecca looked around for the voice, and it didn't take her very long to find from whom it was coming. There was quite a large, bearded man calling out to the new students and beckoning them to follow him into some tiny boats. "Ev'ryone grab a boat, now, don't be afraid to share."

Rebecca climbed into a boat and shivered slightly; it was clearly autumn and there was a decent breeze going, helped by the cold lake. She nearly cried out when the boats all suddenly began to move, gliding across the mirror-like surface of the water. She felt her jaw drop in awe as the castle began to take shape in front of her... it was more beautiful and larger than she could have ever imagined.

Once the boats arrived at the castle, the first years walked up the staircase towards a rather severe-looking woman with a roll of parchment clutched in her hand.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," she said, "I am Headmistress McGonagall. In a few moments you will walk through these doors and be sorted into your Houses. Each House is like your family... all triumphs will gain you House points and any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points will win the House Cup."

Some of the students started whispering; they quieted quickly under McGonagall's stern gaze.

"Now, if you will all follow me into the Great Hall..." she turned and began to walk towards two huge double doors, the first-years following along behind her. As they entered the Great Hall, they walked between two tables holding all the older students. Rebecca looked up at the ceiling and almost cried out in surprise; even though she had read Hogwarts, A History several times over before she arrived, the fact that the ceiling looked exactly like the night sky still took her breath away. She brought her attention forward just in time to see McGonagall bring a three-legged stool out and place a frayed hat on top of it. It opened at the brim and began to sing:

Welcome to Hogwarts
Founded by the four,
a castle full of magic
and secrets behind each door

Gryffindor, the bravest
and Hufflepuff, the pure
Ravenclaw, the clever
and Slytherins, austere

Though all four founders
have very different traits
we all must stick together
once you've walked through the gates

Only nineteen years ago
the darkest war was won
now the time for peace is here
cooperation's just begun

As we begin this year anew
and though you must be Sorted
don't let the boundaries be drawn
leave no one unsupported

Now let me say just one more thing
as we prepare to start the year
enjoy the learning and the success
and lead each other without fear.

The Great Hall erupted in applause as the hat finished its song; Rebecca applauded politely with the rest of the students, thinking about what the hat was saying. She knew it had alluded to the last war, which had happened before she was even born, but wondered if she really had to make friends with kids in other houses. She had never been all that friendly with those that weren't as intelligent or bookish as she was. She was so deep in thought that she missed McGonagall calling out the first half of the students; she came back to focus right as she called "Potter, Albus!" up to the stool.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat cried out, just seconds after it had touched the boy's head. The table to her right exploded with applause as he ran off to join them, grinning from ear to ear. Rebecca waited as a couple more students were sorted, each getting tumultuous applause from their respective Houses, before she heard her name.

"Stone, Rebecca!"

She walked through the few students left and made her way to the three-legged stool bearing the beat-up hat. She was slightly nervous as she sat down and put it on her head; most of her family had been sorted into Slytherin, but what if she wasn't? Would they be disappointed?

You would do fine in Ravenclaw, or Slytherin... came a voice in her head. It must be the hat talking to her. I see quite a bit of ambition, and knowledge all ready... but there's cunning, too, and a guard that is only let down for very few... the hat trailed off and Rebecca bit her lip.

"SLYTHERIN!" it finally called out, making her jump slightly. She smiled and gave the hat to McGonagall before jumping down and joining the table of gold and green that was currently applauding for her. She already felt at home here and sat down just in time for the last two first years to be sorted. They were both girls; they both had flaming red hair.

"Weasley, Molly!" McGonagall called out. The tiny girl ran up and jammed the hat on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat called out after only a few heartbeats. She ran off to join the other redheads at the Gryffindor table as the last girl was called.

"Weasley, Roxanne!" was the last girl to be called. She, too, seemed quite eager to find out where she belonged and it didn't take the hat long to decide; she was sorted into Gryffindor with the others. Rebecca assumed they all must be related somehow. There was no other way they could all look so similar and be in the same House. The chatter that had begun after the sorting quickly died down as McGonagall addressed the students.

"There are just a few things I would like to say before the feast," she said. "First, the Forbidden Forest is out-of-bounds to all first years, as is the Quidditch Pitch unless there is a match. Secondly, magic is not to be used in the hallways, nor is there to be any product from Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes; Mr. Filch will be most displeased if he catches any that have made it past the grounds. And thirdly... this will be my last year as headmistress -"

The entire Great Hall erupted into mutters; clearly, this was not only news, but it was unwelcome. McGonagall had been an amazing headmistress after Snape's brief time and the students that knew her best were all sad to hear she would be retiring.

"Please, calm down. I will be sorry to go too, but that just means we need to have a good year!" She offered one of her rare smiles before spreading her arms out. "Let's begin the feast!"

Rebecca's stomach growled as food appeared magically before them; she couldn't believe how hungry she was. She dug into chicken, potatoes, and vegetables while drinking a large gobletful of pumpkin juice. Everything was delicious; it felt like she had never had a proper meal before this one. After she had eaten so much she felt she might explode, the plates were cleared and dessert appeared in front of them. Although she had eaten her fill, Rebecca couldn't help but grab a Pumpkin Pasty and nibble on it; just a few bites in, she gave up and just finished her pumpkin juice. She looked around the table at all the Slytherins catching up with one another and couldn't help but feel a little sad that she was new and hadn't made any friends yet.

"So you're new this year, right?" a blond boy sitting across from her said. He had a pale, rather pointed face and a thin mouth that was pulled up into a grin. "My name's Scorpius Malfoy. I'm in my second year."

Rebecca smiled at the boy, glad he had spoken first. "My name's Rebecca Stone - you already know I'm in my first." She felt her cheeks go pink; he probably knew her name too, since McGonagall just announced it to the whole school.

"I guess -" Scorpius began, but he was interrupted by McGonagall, who had stood up and waited for the chatter to die down once more.

"Prefects, please show the first years the way to your dormitories," she said; Rebecca saw a rather large Slytherin down the table puff his chest out importantly. She bit back a laugh and turned her attention back to McGonagall. "Classes will begin tomorrow. Off to bed!"

...

The Slytherin common room was the most beautiful thing Rebecca had ever seen. There was a greenish light that filled the room and made the black chairs and sofa look a little green themselves. Upon closer inspection, the leather sofas and chairs had green buttons and when she sat in one, she almost melted (that may have been from the fireplace that was crackling as well.) Hanging from chains on the ceiling were greenish lamps, just adding to the hue already taking over the room. Taking a look around, Rebecca saw that there were plenty of dark wooden cupboards that contained everything from phials - both empty and full of weird, colored liquid - to skulls. Although it was a slightly dark atmosphere, she felt both happy and at home.

"All right, the girls' dormitories are down that hallway and to the left -" the prefect pointed in the direction he was referring to - "and the boys' is down the same hall, but to the right."

Some of the older students stayed in the common room, catching up on the summer and discussing what they hoped for this year, but Rebecca was hit with a sudden wave of exhaustion. It had been quite a big day and she barely felt her legs move as she walked down the hallway and to the girls' dorm. She found her bed (her things had all ready been magically moved there) and flopped down, too tired now to even get undressed. She fell into a sleep full of dreams about the classes she was going to start and the year she had ahead of her.