Disclaimer: JK Rowling the Great owns Harry Potter and all things pertaining to it. No infringement intended.
Summary: The story of Katie Prickit's time at Hogwarts. There is no romance and the only Mary Sue is intentional. This takes place during Harry's fifth year.
Author Note: I fixed up a canon error in the last chapter. I had completely forgotten that Hagrid was in the mountains with Madame Maxime over the summer holidays. Anyways, I updated as soon as I could...
The Story of Katie Prickit: Year One
Chapter Two
One week later...
"Katie! Hurry up! It's 10:00! We're going to be late!" Amelia yelled up the stairs.
"I'm hurrying Mum!! My bloody trunk won't close!" her daughter replied in frustration.
"Please watch your tongue dear. I'll come up to help you."
"Don't worry! I've got it!"
Twenty minutes later, Katie was dragging her trunk down the stairs. Her father took it while her mother handed her a plate of bacon and toast. She ate quickly and then they were on their way.
It took the ministry car fifteen minutes to reach the station. Katie, who was sitting in the backseat with her mother, was more than a little nervous. What if she got expelled? What if she failed? What if everybody hated her? She wasn't sure she could hold her breakfast down for much longer.
When they got to King's Cross by 10:45, they got a trolley for Katie's trunk. Amelia led them to the barrier of Platforms Nine and Ten. David went through the barrier first to show Katie how. Them Katie ran through it with her eyes closed out of nervousness. Amelia came through last.
Katie looked around her. Platform Nine and Three-quarters was packed with students and their parents. She saw a brief flash of golden blonde that could only be Psyche. She didn't really like the snotty girl but was glad to see someone she knew. Living in an entirely muggle neighborhood had more than a few setbacks.
Amelia smiled and hugged her daughter as David hoisted Katie's trunk onto the train. "Now, remember to do your work and follow the-"
"I know Mum!"
"Ok...well then remember to have fun and make a lot of friends. And owl us occasionally and tell us what's going on. And if anyone bothers you, tell your head of house. And-"
"Mum, I'm going to be fine! Stop worrying!"
"Oh I know, but I can't help it. Now, here's some gold for the train ride. Use it to purchase something when the lady comes around with the cart. I love you. Bye dear!"
"Bye Katie!" David called after his daughter as she headed to the train.
"Bye Mum! Bye Dad!" Katie called over her shoulder as she boarded the Hogwarts Express. She quickly found her trunk and claimed a seat near it.
Katie was bored. She was alone in her department, she didn't know a single person except for Psyche, and no one knew she was even alive and on the train.
A loud commotion outside of her department brought her back from her daydreams. Katie went to go and see what was happening. When she opened the door, a girl tumbled in and landed on top of her. Katie gasped as the wind was knocked out of her.
The new girl jumped up and apologized. "It's all right. No harm is done," Katie grinned.
"Alright. I'm Olivia White," the girl replied.
"I'm Katie Prickit," Katie said cheerfully, "Do you want to sit with me?"
"Sure! There was a mean boy out there. He was older with slicked back blonde hair. He kept calling me "mudblood", whatever that means. His friends were pushing me around the corridor."
"I can't believe he called you that! That's horrible!"
"What's wrong with it?" the muggle born girl asked curiously.
"It's a really foul name to call someone who is muggle born. It's meant to imply that you're not worthy of being a wizard. My mum made me eat an acid pop when I asked her about it," Katie explained.
"Oh...I see..." Olivia mumbled.
"Just ignore people who call you that. Dad says that those people are the worst sort of wizards and think that they're better than everyone around them. They just want to make you feel bad."
"Alright! Anyway, I have some questions about the wizarding world. I was reading about Hogwarts and I saw that you get sorted in four different houses at Hogwarts. Do you know how they sort us? I heard it was a test of some sort," Olivia questioned.
"Don't worry. Mum says that all you do is put on a hat and it tells you what house you're in," Katie informed her new friend.
"Oh, that's good! Two redheaded boys were going on about fighting dragons and chimaeras," Olivia sighed in obvious relief. "But wait a minute, a hat? What can a hat do?"
"Hats can do anything that they are charmed to do. And since Professor Dumbledore is the headmaster, I'd imagine that the hat could do quite a bit."
Olivia started to reply but before she could open her mouth, a cheerful looking witch walked in pushing a cart that was laden with sweets. "Would you like anything off the cart dears?" the kindly witch asked.
"Yes," Katie answered, "We'd like two Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, twenty chocolate frogs, and four pumpkin pasties please." The nice lady gave them the treats in exchange for the gold in Katie's hand.
When the cart lady had left, Olivia gaped at the candy in open-mouthed shock. She had never heard of chocolate frogs before. "W-what are these?" she gasped.
"They're candy. Here, have a pumpkin pasty. They're excellent," Katie replied.
"Ok...er I guess..." came the shaky reply to Katie's offer. Olivia took a small bite out of the pasty and smiled. These were good.
After several uneventful hours, in which they had changed into their black Hogwarts robes, the train began to slow down. When it finally came to a stop, they got off the train. Although it had been raining earlier, it seemed to have stopped as the cool night air struck their faces. Olivia shivered a bit and pulled her robes tighter around herself. They looked around to see a large number of students milling about. A swinging lantern highlighted a few of the faces. They could see the blonde boy who had been poking fun at Olivia earlier. A little beyond him were two boys with fiery red hair.
Suddenly, a brisk female voice yelled, "First years line up over here, please! All first years to me!" It was a witch with a prominent chin and a rather severe haircut.
"I guess that's us," Olivia squeaked as nerves took over the muggle born girl. The two friends pushed their way through the crowd toward the witch. They were soon in the middle of a group of kids their age. Katie could see Psyche's glowing golden hair only a small distance in front of her. The group followed the witch up a steep and narrow path through a wood.
"Now. You will all have your first view of Hogwarts once we turn this bend," the crisp voice of the witch announced. A loud Oooooooh!" of awe came from the group as they caught sight of the magnificent, many turreted castle on top of a high mountain overshadowing a large glistening lake.
A group of boats was waiting on the shore of the lake. "Four to a boat, please!" was the only voice to break the amazed silence. They all clambered inside of a boat. Katie and Olivia were sharing a boat with Psyche and a small boy who introduced himself as Euan Abercrombie. The boats started off with a cry of "FORWARD!" from the witch. "Heads down, please!" called the nameless witch. A curtain of ivy parted over their bowed heads and revealed a wide entrance into the cliffs.
When the boats reached the end of the tunnel, the bumped against the gravel that littered the floor of the underground dock. They all clambered out of the boats and followed the unnamed woman up a passageway to the right.
They got to the end of the passageway and walked out onto the lawn in front of the castle. They entered the shadows under the great castle. The witch knocked on the doors three times.
The doors opened and there stood Professor McGonagall. She looked just as strict as the day Katie had first seen her, if not stricter. She looked over the students and said, "Thank you Professor Grubbly-Plank. I will take them now."
The first years all piled in after her. They gaped at the entrance hall and all of its splendour. Katie stared around her. This was wild beyond imagining. The hall was huge. It had an impossibly high ceiling and a magnificent marble staircase that led to upper floors. A door off to the right had the drone of hundreds of murmuring people within the chamber it concealed. She realized that the rest of the school was probably already there.
However, they did not enter that hall. They headed to a small, empty chamber off of the hall.
"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 dormitories, and spend your free time in your House common room.
"The four Houses are 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 your House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will become 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." She glanced around the room, her eyes lingering on Psyche's smug expression, Euan's terrified look, and Olivia's panicked appearance. "I will return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." And with that, Professor McGonagall left the room.
----------
I took all descriptions of Hogwarts from the Philosopher's Stone, along with McGonagall's speech.