A/N- Ah, we've entered the era of erratic updating. Sorry, this isn't really a story you should check every day for updates. Hopefully it won't be another few months next time... Sorry. Thank you, Siriusly StarKid, for sticking with me. And to answer your questions: 1. You'll have to wait for that one :). 2. I love Jily too much to not include it... Same with another couple. ^.^
Disclaimer- I do not own any of this.
The Sorting ended quickly after that; "McKinnon, Marlene!" became a Gryffindor, as did "Pettigrew, Peter!" and "Potter, James!" "Snape, Severus" became a Slytherin. When everyone was Sorted, an old man with blue eyes stood up.
"Welcome, all of you, to a new year at Hogwarts! I have no doubt that you are longing to eat; so please, by all means, so so!" Food suddenly appeared on the platters before us- ribs and chicken and roast beef and pretty much everything.
"Whoa", I breathed softly. I helped myself, grabbing a chicken wing.
"... Did you fall into the lake?" I looked to my left to see Remus staring at me curiously.
"No, I had my own little personal rain cloud storming above me", I replied sarcastically, spooning some mashed potatoes on my plate and soaking it in gravy.
"So, you fell in the lake", Remus said. I thought for a moment.
"I'd give you another sarcastic answer, but I've got nothing off the top of my head, so yeah."
"Erm... Did you happen to swallow any of the water?" he asked.
"I don't think so... Why?"
"No reason, I just read somewhere that the Hogwarts plumbing drains into the lake", he shrugged. I choked.
"What?!"
"I could be wrong", Remus shrugged.
"I really, really hope so", I said, feeling nauseous. "Jeez... Why'd you have to tell me that while I was eating?"
"You're welcome." I sighed and took a swig of water.
"So... Magic school. This is new", I said, making another attempt at a conversation. We made awkward conversation for a bit, before he turned to James and I turned to Alice.
I was rather drowsy by the end of the feast, I was practically falling asleep- but hey, in my defence, it had been a big day. Soon, we were all trudging up to the Gryffindor common room, where we were led to our dorms.
Our trunks were all by a bed- mine was the bed nearest the door. Damn. That meant mine was farthest from the bathroom.
"I'd introduce myself, but I'm too tired and most of you already know me anyway", I yawned. And with that, I flopped myself onto my bed and fell asleep, clothes and all.
I woke up groggily the next day to the sound of Marlene shouting.
"Wake up, everybody! First day of classes! Whoo! Come on, we've got places to go and people to see!" God, I hated morning people. Rolling over, I pressed my pillow over my head and groaned.
"Get up, lazy bums! Hurry up, before I hog the bathroom for an hour!" Marlene sang.
Well, that got me up. I rolled out of bed and grabbed a toothbrush from my trunk and groggily brushed my teeth. When I was done, I quickly changed into a new uniform and began to pull a hairbrush through the forest of knots that was my hair. Urgh. How did short hair get this tangled?! While I brushed my hair, I examined myself in the mirror.
My hair was black, kind of like the dull black of a blackboard. It was short, it went past my chin but didn't reach my shoulders. It thankfully covered my ears, which were a bit (a lot) bigger than I'd've liked them to be. My dark brown eyes were a bit narrow, and while I had long eyelashes, there were thin and I didn't have very many of them. My lips were just a little thin, and I had a dainty nose that rather clashed with my stronger features.
All in all- Meh.
I walked out of the bathroom, and Alice quickly rushed in after me. I grabbed my bookbag from my trunk, cramming everything I would need in there. Books, ink, quill, parchment...
"Hey, did you figure out how to use a quill?" I asked a girl with brown hair in a ponytail with light brown eyes.
"Barely", she said. "Why can't they just let us use pencils?"
"I know, right?" I laughed. "It took me an hour, and I still drip ink everywhere!"
We all went down to the Great Hall when everyone was ready (because, you know, girls travel in packs- it's a rule of nature), and started eating breakfast.
My Top Nine Favourite Foods
4.) Candy Floss:
I first had some when I was six and my parents took me to an amusement park. I had been embarrassingly tiny, and I wanted to go on everything. And I mean everything. I dragged my poor parents to the carousel to the kiddie roller coaster to the pirate ship ride and back to the carousel again because the animal I had wanted the first time had been taken. My parents finally bought me some candy floss so they could sit down and rest their legs. And I've been hooked ever since. Looking back, I'm pretty sure my parents probably regret that decision now.
8.) Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream:
To everyone who says that mint chocolate chip or chocolate or coffee or strawberry ice cream is the best- you guys are all wrong. It's cherry vanilla. This subject is not debatable.
7.) Banana Cream Pie:
All I can say is this: If you haven't had banana cream pie, then you haven't truly lived.
6.) Walnut Brownies:
And not just any brownies. If you want to actually taste a brownie, then you have to go to the bakery two blocks away from my old school. Sigh. I miss that place already.
9.) Strawberries:
With lots of whipped cream on top. Lots.
2.) Cherries:
My brother Jesse used to take me to this one place a few blocks away from my neighborhood to pick cherries. I used to try to climb the trees, but I'd end up back on the ground again in a split second more often than not. (Looking back on it, I really should've had a couple of broken bones... How did I not notice I had magic?) But then Jesse would laugh and show me how to really climb a tree.
5.) Almonds:
Some people eat popcorn when they watch a movie. Others snack on chocolate. Me? A big bowl of almonds.
3.) Bacon:
Because honestly, who doesn't love it?
1.) Cinnamon Buns:
Cinnamon buns are little pieces of heaven that fell to Earth, and if anyone tries to tell me otherwise, I will smack them.
So when the breakfast table had four of those nine things, I pigged out a little, piling some cinnamon buns and bacon and strawberries and cherries onto my plate. I sunk my teeth into the first cinnamon bun when an enormously loud noise made me flinch.
"GRYFFINDOR! GRYFFINDOR! DISGRACING YOUR FAMILY, DIRTYING THE BLACK NAME! BLOOD TRAITOR! NEVER, IN THE HOUSE OF BLACK- A GRYFFINDOR!" I winced, trying to find the source of the shrieks. I looked over to Sirius Black, who was holding a red envelope at arm's length.
"Is that envelope... Shouting?" I leaned over to Marlene.
"Screaming, to be precise", Marlene said matter-of-factly. "I was wondering- a Black in Gryffindor, you know."
"Not really", I said. "Know what?"
"The Blacks are huge Pure-blood fanatics", Marlene explained.
"What?" I asked, completely and utterly confused.
"They pretty much hate everyone outside of themselves", Marlene elaborated. "It's hard to explain."
"Alrighty then, I won't ask you to", I shrugged, giving Sirius one last glance. The letter had now burst into flames, and an older brunette was now talking to him. I took another bite of my cinnamon bun and pushed that red envelope and the look on Sirius's face out of my mind.
The Classes at Hogwarts (Ranked)
1.) Defense Against the Dark Arts:
Defense Against the Dark Arts was taught by a very pretty young woman who couldn't have been more than 23 or so with a soft voice that had an almost childish lilt to it. She had golden curls piled on top of her head, and deep blue eyes. She had extremely pale skin, adding to her overall look of delicacy. She spent half the class giving the this-is-how-things-are-going-to-work-in-my-classroom talk, and the other half talking about the difference between Dark magic and magic used for Dark purposes. But she didn't give us any homework, so that was something.
2.) Potions:
This class we actually did work in- we were told to partner up and make a 'Swelling Solution'. Wonderful. I looked around- Marlene and Alice, Lily and Snape, Mary and unknown- they were all paired up.
Great. I was the odd one out.
I searched around the classroom to look for any more loners. Paired up, partners, he's available but I don't like him because he has a haircut that makes him look like a prat, paired, she's alone but she bumped into me on the way to the boats and didn't apologize so I shall hate her from now 'til the end of time...
Yep. Looked like I was alone.
I settled down at an empty station, taking this as a sign that I would die alone, resigning myself to a long, lonely life, in which I would die a miserable death, surrounded by my many cats. Butterscotch would be perched on a sofa, watching the life drain out of my eyes, Lucky would sit on a windowsill and groom herself, Ginger would curl up against my arm, not showing the slightest flicker of emotion that my miserable life was ending- And I'm already planning my own death. Brilliant.
"Hey, Peter's with Frank and James and Sirius are together, so..." Remus joined me.
"Huh. I thought I'd have to be alone", I shrugged.
"That's actually impossible- there's an even number of people here", Remus pointed out. Two, four, six, eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, so on... Huh. He was right.
"Alright, then... You cut the thingamajigs over there, and I'll start heating the cauldron. As soon as I figure out how."
3.) Transfiguration:
It sounds fun, really, turning stuff into other stuff. Unfortunately for me, I really, really suck at it. That's really all I have to say about that. Except that I almost set someone on fire.
4.) Charms:
Also sounded fun. Also suck at it. And I actually did set someone on fire.
5.) Herbology:
I have a black thumb. I have a thumb blacker than my neighbour Geraldine's heart. (More on that later.) I have a thumb blacker than the colour black. I have a thumb so black you can't even see it. My thumb is so black, that when I touch a plant, it automatically shrivels up and dies.
Guess how Herbology went.
6.) History of Magic:
Imagine the worst, boring-est teacher you ever had. Now make him/her invisible. And then take that one subject that you absolutely, positively cannot stand. For most people, math. (For me, science.) Now multiply the boring-ness by about ten. Hundred. And then mix in some really long, weird, confusing names that you could never in a million years remember.
But on the bright side, you're free to take a nap!
7.) Astronomy:
Midnight. What school makes you got to class at midnight?! Midnight. 12 o'clock. Sigh.
I fell asleep slumped over my telescope twice and learned that some stars have names and some don't. Which sounds like favouritism to me.
8.) Flying Lessons:
Broomsticks. Might as well attach a wart to my nose and get a black cat.
"I will never fly again", I swore. "Ever."
"Aw, calm down- your nose is barely even bleeding."
"Sod off, Black."
"And to be fair, I wouldn't even have called that flying."
"Shove off, Potter."
A/N- Yeah, all pretty filler. I hope to have some more stuff going on in the next chapter. Sorry it took so long.