When Verity woke up, the last thing that she could remember was sinking into the depths of darkness. She had seen the light of the moon and all those silly twinkling stars fade as she sank deeper and deeper into the mist of the water. She had slowly drifted out of consciousness as she struggled to get to the surface, something pulling her down by the end of her thick, black robes.
I must look like a Dementor. She thought as her robes had spun around her and blocked the meager light from her eyes completely. Billowy robes…billowy robes…
Seconds had stretched on. Her lungs had been burning and the crushing weight of thousands of gallons of water above her had crippled her body and kept her from moving up more than a few inches. She had kicked with all her might at the creature or object or whatever it was that had clung so desperately to her robes. But she was fading into oblivion. Her mind began to leave her as she began to succumb to the darkness and open her mouth for a full breath of water.
And just as she began to black out, she had seen the shimmering image of another black, billowing creature moving towards her. Its head set ablaze by a halo of bright red. And then the dark world had swirled into nothingness.
"Verity! Verity?" A woman's voice cried out anxiously.
Verity slowly disentangled herself from her thoughts. It must have simply been a dream, she mused. is probably just waking me up so we can get to the train station on time…Hogwarts…I'm finally going!" She opened her clear blue eyes excitedly, only to receive a complete shock as she took in her surroundings.
She was in a huge room, grander and larger than any she had been in before. The walls supported cathedral-sized windows that let in the starlight and blackness of the sky. Lining the walls were blue-sheet covered hospital beds and curtains, each warm-looking bed was painted with glittering stars that sparkled as the light hit them. Standing over her was a plump and kind looking witch who was staring down at her apprehensively.
"Are you alright, dear?" The woman asked, withdrawing a wand from the pocket on her starch-white apron and making the lights a little brighter.
"Where am I?" Verity turned her head around to look towards the door at the end of the room, only to feel a burst of pain at the back of her head. She reached up to feel heavy bandages draped around her blond hair like a crown.
"Where does it hurt, dear? I didn't want to perform any healing spells before I knew exactly where…" She trailed off as Verity pointed to a spot on the back of her skull.
"Episky maxima…reparo celebria…" The plump witch continued her spell work for several seconds, waving her wand in complex figure-eights and X shapes. Verity felt the pain in her head subside and then disappear completely as the woman worked her magic.
"What happened? What is this place?" Verity asked as the witch sat down tiredly on the edge of an adjacent bed. Verity tried to recall what she had been doing and what had happened, but found that she could not even recall what she had had for breakfast!
"This is the Hogwart's Hospital Wing, and I'm Madam Promfry, Head healer here at the school." She said, drawing herself up proudly.
"You took quite a few hits to your head when you toppled out of that boat. I'm not quite sure how you fractured your skull…but I suspect it had something to do with the Merpeople…they've been in bad sorts lately. Ever since the Ministry tried to remove them from the lake and transport them to the African Congo for a 'Scientific Study,' they've been Mad as Hatters. I told Dumbledore to wait until we'd settled the matter with them before we let students cross the lake. But did he listen? No, of course not! Besides, what does a Healer know about Intermagical-creature-relations!" She threw her hands up into the air exasperatedly.
"Hogwarts?" asked Verity weakly, struggling to sort her thoughts as the day's events rushed back to her.
"Did anyone else get hurt? How did I get out?"Verity asked, observing that her clothes were dry and clean.
"Yours was the only boat that flipped, and the other four boys are quite fine. One of them pulled you out, actually. One of the Weasley boys…brother of Percy, that delightful boy from Gryffindor…Fred, I think."
"Wait…Gryffindor...Oh no! Did I miss the sorting?" Fear reflected off Verity's bright eyes as she thought about the rest of her year being sorted without her. What if it was too later and they could only hold a sorting once a year? Would they send her back home?
"Oh, don't look so glum! Here, we'll go get you sorted right now!" Madam Promfry jumped to her feet and pulled Verity up as well.
"Quickly, now, before they start the feast…"She murmured, checking a light blue pocket watch that dangled from the pocket of her apron.
They ran through corridors and past empty classrooms. Ghosts whirled around through the walls, intent to get to the feast as well. Finally, Madam Promfry stopped in a marble white entrance hall, and pushed open a pair of huge, dark wooden doors with a wave of her wand. Verity heard the sounds of about a thousand people talking at once.
"Well, go in, then!" Madam Promfry pushed Verity forward and shut the doors behind her.
Verity looked around to see the most beautiful room that she had ever seen in her life. Huge columns of marble spiraled up to meet a star-spangled ceiling. Thousands upon thousands of softly glowing candles were suspended in the air, their light reflecting off cathedral-sized windows. Hundreds of students crowded the long benches that were tucked beneath four large, empty wooded tables. As soon as the door shut, hundreds of hat-topped heads turned to see the latecomer. Verity shifted on her feet nervously, unsure of what to do. Up ahead of her, about a dozen or so teachers sat on a raised platform that supported a fifth staff table.
Verity glanced around, mentally begging for help as she stood by the door stupidly.
"Quiet, please! Alas, it seems that we have one last student to sort!" A voice boomed through the Great Hall, echoing as the chatter died down.
Verity looked up to see that the owner of the voice was a rather tall old man wearing half-moon spectacles and long, periwinkle robes. The man stood up, his long white beard trailing down the front of his robes as he walked from his seat to the middle of the platform, where all the students could see him.
"Professor McGonagall, if you please!" He called as a rather stern looking witch wearing a pointed hat stood up and waved her wand. A long scroll of parchment flew to her hand and a low, three legged stool set itself down on the floor.
"Mason, Verity." Professor McGonagall called, motioning for Verity to come forward.
Verity obliged, hesitantly, and trudged between two of the long tables in the center towards the stool. All eyes followed her as she walked deliberately to the professor, trembling slightly.
"Now just sit on the stool, dear." The Professor whispered sympathetically, as Verity glanced quickly around the room, wondering why she was being subjected to such humiliation. She looked at each table and then caught sight of Fred and George waving wildly at her from a table to the far right of the hall. Lee Jordan sat down next to them, looking excited, as the twins jumped onto the benches and put their thumbs up towards the ceiling.
And then, for the second time that night, everything went black.
Verity's head whipped around in panic-what had happened? Was everyone in the dark? Where were the candles? Where were the professors? And then, she heard a small voice in her ear.
"Ah….another Mason….we haven't seen any of your kind here for at least two decades…"
"W-What!" Verity whispered, still searching for a pinprick of light.
"Now…where to put you…where to put you…You have a clever mind…perhaps Ravenclaw would be appropriate….or possibly Hufflepuff…loyalty and truth are highly valued among the members of the House…"
The voice paused, as if waiting for a response. When Verity said nothing, the hat continued.
"You have a long connection to the Slytherin house, I know. I've sorted thousands like you…the intelligence you have is not unlike your mothers…" The sinister voice crooned.
"I don't want to be labeled and judged based on my parentage." Verity whispered angrily, despite her fear. "I hate flashjudgements; I wish to be sorted for who I am and not for whom I am related to." Verity's face heated up as she nervously whispered the words.
"I see…then I believe an appropriate House for you would be…GRYFFINDOR!" The darkness abated as Professor McGonagall pulled the sorting hat off of Verity's head, and a roar of cheering met Verity's ears. She ran down the steps of the teacher's platform and into a sea of Gryffindors waiting to high five her and pat her on the back.
In awe, Verity looked towards the Slytherin table where her mother and father had once eaten at. She wondered if the hat had made the right choice. She spotted the depressed-looking kid that Lee had poisoned on the train earlier sitting at the table next to a pair of dark haired girls. She stared at the hostile faces of the Slytherins for two seconds more before Fred and George pulled her into a seat between them. The white bearded professor rose to speak again.
"There are several words that I would like to say before we begin our supper. This term, we will be having a change in our staff. Taking the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher will be Professor Axel Specter." A tall, handsome pale wizard with shadows beneath his eyes stood up and waved morosely to them all. He looked young, perhaps about thirty year in age, but quite tired and worn. He returned to his seat rather unhappily as whispers engulfed the crowded room regarding the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.
"You reckon he'll teach us some good hexes?" Fred whispered across Verity to George.
"Hmm…I dunno…looks kind of like a vampire, doesn't he? Maybe he'll teach us how to turn into bats!" George waved his arms up and down enthusiastically.
"No, no. That would be Transfiguration class." Fred looked behind him to see a transparent man dressed in finery.
"I am Sir Nicholas, ghost of the Gryffindor tower. Pleasure to meet you all."
"Good to meet you Nick." George smiled, reaching to shake Sir Nicholas' hand. The ghost's hand passed through George's as Dumbledore cleared his throat to end the murmuring.
"Also, Professor Sprout will be starting up a Herbology club, should any of you wish to further pursue the vegetary arts. A signup sheet will be posted in each common room. And now, to the feast!" Dumbledore raised his hands impressively and suddenly the four long house tables were piled with immeasurable amounts of food.
"Wicked!" Fred and George breathed as one before filling their plates. Verity laughed as she grabbed some chicken pot pie.
The hall had a cheery, warm feeling about it as hundreds of students ate and laughed. Verity smiled as she finished her dessert and gazed around at her fellow Gryffindors. All were merry and smiling as they finished up treacle tarts, pudding and ice cream sundaes.
Within the next ten minutes, the talking and laughter died down and Albus Dumbledore stood at the front of the room once more. He clapped his hands and the countless plates and goblets of food and drink melted into nothing.
"Now then, I trust that you have all enjoyed the start of term feast. Before we are off to bed I have just a few reminders and announcements. Mr. Filch would like me to kindly remind you that dung bombs, fanged whizbees, and other joking paraphernalia are banned. For the full list of banned objects please look to Mr. Filch.
"As for trips to Hogsmeade, only third years and above with parental consent will be permitted to go to Hogsmeade this year on the dates posted in the common rooms. I'd also like to remind everyone that entering the Forbidden Forest is, well, forbidden. I won't go into any more detail about that subject, for I feel that it is quite self-explanatory." The old man's eyes twinkled from behind his half-moon spectacles as students laughed tiredly.
"And lastly, I would like to caution students from wandering the corridors afterhours as they will be subjected to detentions and other punishments if they are caught. And now, I wish you all goodnight and good luck. To those returning, may your first day back be pleasant. And to those who are joining us for their first year, I hope that your entrance into magical education is extraordinary." He seemed to look straight at Verity, Fred and George as he said this.
"Now, off to bed! You have learning to do tomorrow!" There was a loud, scrapping noise as benches were pushed and shoes hit the floor.
"First years! Over here, please!" A tall, pretty girl with long brown hair and freckles on her cheeks called down the table as the youngest students gathered sleepily around her.
"Come on-this way!" A boy with short, black hair motioned for the first years to follow him as the brown haired girl gathered more first years.
The two lead the first year Gryffindors down the deserted corridor and through several stairwells, once they even walked through a tapestry and down a secret hallway until they came to stop before a huge painting of a very fat lady.
"Password?" She croaked, blinking drunkenly.
The tall girl ignored her and turned to face the first years.
"I'm Abril Vicky and this is Shane Errens. We're the Gryffindor Prefects this year." She smiled smugly as she said the word Prefect, as if the job were the equivalent of the Minister of Magic.
"To get into the Gryffindor tower, you need the password, which changes periodically. Today the password is "Andromeda."
"Correct." Said the fat lady blearily, and the portrait swung forward, revealing a circular shaped hole.
"Before we enter, there are several rules that we must go through. Shane?" Abril turned to the dark haired boy, who pulled out a long scroll of parchment and cleared his throat.
"Rule number one, curfew is at seven thirty p.m. unless the student has a detention. Rule two-jumping from windows is forbidden. Rule three- Owls are not allowed in the common room at any given time. Rule number four-there will be no smoking in the tower. Rule five-no fighting (magical dueling or otherwise). And, lastly, taunting the house elves is forbidden."
"Thank you, Shane." Abril stepped out of the way and motioned for the first years to move forward. "The girls dormitories are on the left, boys' are on the right. Goodnight everyone." She and Shane stepped through the portrait hole and made themselves comfortable in a coach near a fire place.
The first years stepped through cautiously into a cheery, circular room. There were merry fireplaces, squashy armchairs and bookshelves all around the room. Two staircases wound up from the ground and disappeared from sight.
"Well, goodnight then, Verity!" Fred called, as he, George, and Lee charged up the boy's staircase.
"Goodnight." She whispered as she followed several girls up the girl's dormitory staircase. The stairs wrapped around spirally past huge glass windows through which Verity could see every star in the sky twinkling. She thought of Will.
Will. Where had he been sorted, anyway? She had all but forgotten about him in her exploits to be sorted and accepted into her House. Where exactly had he gone? She hoped that he was happy and had made a friend or two. He had seemed so nice…
She stopped and rested her arms on the handrail, leaning to get a full view of the stars. She pressed her face against the glass.
I wish that I will do well here at Hogwarts. She thought, staring at one of the brightest stars to the left of the tower.
I wish that my father will be proud to have a daughter in Gryffindor…and I wish…
She paused, unsure of what to ask for last. She thought of Fred and George and how she wanted them to be her best friends in the world and not leave her.
I wish that I will find real friends here.
She began to walk up the stairs once more, gazing still at the bright starlight that was shining through the glass. When she at last came to the door that bore the sign: First years she became fully aware of how exhausted she was.
Verity pushed open the door to see a quaint but beautiful room that held six beds with red and gold hangings. Emblazoned on the domed ceiling was a huge gold and glittering tailed lion. There was a small balcony and a door that lead to the white, luxurious bathrooms. Across the room, Verity recognized her trunk tucked at the foot of a bed. She walked over to it and began to unpack her things into the small dresser that stood adjacent to the bed. The other five girls were already in the bathroom, brushing their teeth. Verity figured that they'd probably do the introductions after they were finished, and pulled on a pair of light blue pajamas as she stowed her sketchbook under the night table.
She sat on her bead and began to read Hogwarts, A History. She turned to the section labeled HEADMASTERS and found the picture of Albus Dumbledore, beneath which was a brief description.
Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
She read a list of Dumbledore's accomplishments before returning to her sketch of Fred and George.
"Hi Verity." Angelina Johnson walked over to Verity's bed and waved, smiling. "Did you have a good holiday?"
"Um, yeah, it was great. You?"
"Mine was quite nice as well. Who is that you're drawing?" Verity tried to close the book but Angie was too quick.
"Are those the Weasley boys in our year?" She asked excitedly. Verity nodded cautiously, she hated people looking at her work.
"They're sooooo cute! You did a really good job on this! Where did you do this? On the train?" Angie could talk a mile a minute with her motor mouth-one of the reasons Verity had never really liked her.
"Yeah. We…er…sat together."
"Brilliant! Would it be any trouble to…introduce me?" She smiled up at Verity eagerly.
"Err…sure."
"Oh, thank you!" Angie squealed as she leaned forward to engulf Verity in a hug. "Maybe one of them will ask me out! Oh that would be soooo lovely!"
Verity decided not to mention the fact that there was nowhere to possibly go out to. At least not until third year.
"Oh-wait-you haven't met anyone yet!" She excitedly dropped Verity's book onto the night table and pulled Verity to the center of the room, giggling as her dark hair flew out behind her.
"This is Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell!" She said happily, pointing to a fair skinned girl with light brown hair and a taller girl with short black hair, bangs and a pointed nose. "Hello." The girls said brightly as Verity waved back in response.
Verity was wheeled back around by Angie to face two more girls who were sitting on a bed and pouring over Teen Witch Weekly.
"This is Verity." Angie pushed Verity forward towards the girls.
"Hi." Verity said nervously.
"Hey. I'm Destiny, and this is my sister Zona." The fairer of the two said. She was quite pretty, with long blondish hair and tiny silver earrings that were daintily pressed into the lobes of her ears.
"Nice to meet you Verity." Zona smiled, revealing perfect, white teeth. She looked nothing like Destiny at all. She was equally as pretty, though, with her strawberry blonde hair and freckles. She was tanner than Destiny and looked slimmer.
"We're not twins." Destiny said in response to Verity's questioning look. "We're both adopted. And as for our names- our Mom's into divination and our Dad's an astronomer. They're both unspeakable in the Ministry of Magic." She smiled brightly.
"Oh. Cool."
"Are you a Gilderoy Lockhart fan?" Zona asked eagerly.
"I guess so." Said Verity, taken by surprise.
"We were just looking at an excerpt from his new book- Gargoyles of Gavin. It's supposed to be really good! I was just wondering if anyone would mind me putting up a Lockhart poster…"
"No, that'd be really cool!" Angie piped in.
"I absolutely love Gilderoy!" She jumped up and down, clapping her hands. They began to tape up a huge poster of a winking, smiling blond man in baby blue robes. Scrolled across the poster were the words: Dark Magic Beware! He'll defeat you with his hair!
Gilderoy winked every few seconds. There was a knock at the door and all the girls froze.
Abril peeked in. "You better go to bed soon, girls. You don't want to be late for class tomorrow, now, do you?" And with a satisfied smirk, she exited. Verity decided that she did not really like know-it-all Abril and her Prefect status.
"Well, goodnight everyone." Verity climbed into her bed and pulled the hangings around her bed so that Gilderoy would not watch her as she slept.
"G'night!" The girls called to one another as they tucked into bed. Verity pulled out her sketch book one last time to gaze at Fred and George's laughing faces. As the lights shut off and the room plunged into darkness she whispered one last wish before closing her eyes. She wasn't sure why she said it, but she knew that in her heart that it was what she really, really wanted. They'd been so nice. She had never had a best friend before, and she was fairly sure that the kind of comfort that she felt around them was what friendship felt like.
I wish that they'd be my best friends and never desert me.