As before, I do not own Harry Potter
The next morning Sarah wandered down to the kitchen to find a scene of utter chaos. As usual most of the Weasleys hadn't packed their Hogwarts trunks and, to make things worse, Fred and George had decided to levitate their trunks and fly them down the stairs to save time. Unfortunately the speeding trunks had encountered Ginny on the way down, knocking her down two flights of stairs into the hall. As such, although Ginny wasn't seriously hurt, the kitchen was a cacophony of noise as Molly Weasley and Mrs Black's portrait competed to shout over one another. Orion sat in the corner, his hair back to black and his calm expression resumed. He was slowly tossing his wand into the air with his left hand, easily catching it after on slow rotation- an oasis of calm amongst the madness. Sarah would have wondered how he had recovered so quickly, but she knew it was a mask so familiar it was like his own face: after all, she had worn a similar mask at the end of the past four years.
"I'd forgotten all this." Orion remarked, as Sarah walked over next to him. Once she got close enough silence descended- Orion must have cast a Silencing charm around himself. Sarah sat down with a sigh and filched a piece of buttered toast from a plate in front of Orion.
"Please, help yourself." Orion remarked, amused. Sarah didn't even dignify that sarcasm with a reply as Hermione came rushing in, Crookshanks perched on one shoulder, Hedwig on the other and looking frazzled.
"Hedwig just got back, Sarah. Are you two ready yet?"
"Absolutely. Is Ginny alright?" Sarah asked, popping the last bite of toast into her mouth as her owl swooped down and landed on her cage, before Sarah opened the cage and let her in. Hermione nodded.
"Mrs Weasley patched her up. But Mad-Eye says we can't leave unless Sturgis Podmore's here, otherwise the guard'll be one short."
"Guard?" Sarah questioned, arching an eyebrow. Orion caught his wand one last time and slid it into his sleeve.
"To look after you, Girl Saviour." He said, sounding amused as he stood and stretched. Sarah shot him a glare and stood as well.
"I thought Voldemort was lying low? He's hardly going to jump out from behind a dustbin and try to kill me, is he?"
"Probably not. But given that he's as mad as a box of frogs-" Orion supplied. Sarah groaned and hung her head.
"Even if he did jump out at me, how is the Order supposed to hold him off? They've never managed before, seems like." She groused. Hermione frowned.
"Whatever happens, if we don't leave now we'll miss the train…"
Molly Weasley yelled for everyone to get downstairs, causing Sarah to sigh and pick up her trunk.
"Orion, where's you trunk?" Hermione asked. Orion indicated the hallway with his thumb.
"In the hallway. I think Moody said he would take care of the luggage. Now, if you'll excuse me, I told Theia I'd help her with her trunk."
Sarah watched Orion wander off, and inwardly admitted to relief that he was managing. Or at least, he wasn't actively breaking down. Good enough, she decided, as she lugged her trunk into the hallway, carrying Hedwig's cage uncomfortably under one arm.
"Leave your trunk and your owl, Alastor will deal with the luggage- Sarah, you're with me and Tonks…oh, for heaven's sake, Sirius, Dumbledore said NO!"
A bear-like black dog had appeared at Sarah's side as she clambered over the trunks littering the hall. Just behind her Theia, assisted by Orion, stepped over the trunks with considerably more grace, though Orion himself seemed to find it harder, with his limp and cane.
"Oh, honestly," Mrs Weasley said despairingly, "On your head be it!"
Sirius barked in acknowledgement, and Mrs Weasley stepped out into the weak September sunlight, closely followed by Sarah, Theia, Orion and the dog. Sarah shot an inquiring glance at Theia, who shrugged.
"We're probably just as able as the Order guards." She offered, and Orion nodded. Mrs Weasley pursed her lips, but didn't say anything as the door slammed behind them, cutting off the wailing of Mrs Black.
"Where's Tonks?" Sarah asked, looking around as they walked down the stone steps of Number Twelve, which vanished the instant they touched the pavement.
"She's waiting for us just up here." Mrs Weasley said stiffly, pointedly looking away from the dog form of Sirius, lolloping along beside Sarah. An old woman greeted them on the corner, wearing a purple hat shaped like a pork pie over tightly curled grey hair.
"Wotcher, Harry," she said with a wink. "Better hurry up, hadn't we Molly?" she added, glancing at her watch. "I know." Mrs Weasley grumbled, lengthening her stride, "but Mad-Eye wanted to wait for Sturgis…if only Arthur could have gotten us cars from the Ministry again, but Fudge doesn't trust him, thinks he's too close to Dumbledore…"
"So the man isn't a complete idiot." Orion muttered from behind, easily keeping pace despite his limp. The great black dog barked in agreement, happily gambolling around them, snapping at pigeons and chasing his own tail, and Sarah couldn't help but laugh. Twenty minutes later they reached Kings Cross, with no sign of Death Eaters and the only thing that had jumped out from behind dustbins a cat. Once inside the platform they lingered unobtrusively near the barrier between platforms nine and ten, Orion somehow managing to blend in despite the cane, until the coast was clear and they were able to slip through the barrier onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. The Hogwarts Express stood, belching clouds of sooty steam over the groups of students and families milling around on the Platform, and Sarah took a deep breath of the sharp air and felt a comfort she couldn't describe, but one that felt like going home.
"I hope the others make it…" Mrs Weasley said in a worried tone. Her words proved prophetic, for barely a minute later Alastor Moody walked onto the platform, dressed as a porter and with a luggage trolley filled with their possessions on it. He was followed by Arthur Weasley, Ron ad Hermione and, shortly afterwards, Fred, George and Ginny escorted by Lupin. They had soon unloaded the luggage, with all reporting no trouble- much as Sarah had suggested, though she didn't mention it to Mad-Eye.
"Well, look after yourselves," Lupin said, shaking hands all round. He reached Sarah last, and gave her a pat on the shoulder.
"Especially you, Sarah- and don't forget to write if you need anything."
A few more handshakes and hugs later, and Sirius, still as a dog, reared up and briefly put his paws on Sarah's shoulders.
"For heaven's sake, act more like a dog, Sirius!" hissed Mrs Weasley, dragging him away. Orion laughed and ruffled the fur on Sirius' head as they quickly moved towards the train, just before the whistle blew.
"See you!" Sarah called out the open window, the others waving as the train pulled away from the station- the figures of the group shrank quickly, all except Sirius, who was chasing the train to the laughter of the people on the platform, until the train turned a corner and he was out of sight.
"He shouldn't have come with us." Hermione said in a worried tone. Sarah glanced at her, but Orion spoke first.
"He's been cooped up for months and the only people who might recognise him can't act on it. He'll be fine, Hermione."
Hermione didn't look convinced, but George clapped his hands.
"Well, can't stand around chatting all day. We've got business to discuss with Lee- see you." He said, before he and George disappeared down the corridor to the right.
"So," Sarah said eventually, as the train gathered speed, "Shall we go find a compartment then?" Ron and Hermione looked awkward.
"Actually, we're supposed to go to the Prefect compartment." Hermione said, looking as awkward as Sarah now felt. Ron had become intensely interested in his fingernails.
"Oh. Right. Fine. Well, Orion and Theia are here, and Ginny." Sarah said. Ron and Hermione nodded, looking relieved at her easy acceptance but, as they dragged off their trunks and other luggage, Sarah couldn't help but feel an odd sense of loss. Orion patted her shoulder gently.
"Come on- if we're quick we can save them a place in a compartment. And I think I know one compartment that will be all but empty right now."
"Right." Sarah muttered, following Orion and Theia down the train. As she walked she glanced into compartments, and she couldn't help but notice that a lot of people stared at her with great interest, and some even nudged their friends and pointed her out. She wasn't really surprised, after what the Prophet had been saying all summer, but the looks still made her uncomfortable. In the very last carriage they met Neville Longbottom, Sarah's fellow Gryffindor Fifth Year. His round face shone with the sweat of pulling his trunk along one handed while holding his pet toad, Trevor, in the other.
"Hey Sarah, hey Ginny. Who are-"
"Orion and Theia. We'll make proper introductions after we find somewhere to sit." Sarah offered. Neville blinked and nodded. "All the compartments are full, I think." He said. Orion smiled.
"Not quite." He said, slipping past Neville and opening the door into the compartment behind him.
"There's only one person in here. You don't mind if we join you, do you?" he asked, strolling in. Neville mumbled something about not wanting to disturb anyone, but Orion ignored him as the girl in the compartment looked up and Sarah recognised her. Straggly, waist-length blonde hair, pale eyebrows over silvery eyes, wand stuck behind her left ear, Butterbeer cork necklace…Sarah recognised her at once: Luna Lovegood. Her world's version of Theia. It was amazing, Sarah realised, what a difference the lack of accoutrements and shorter hair made. Orion smiled at Luna, who was giving him an unblinking gaze as he sat down.
"No, I don't mind." She said quietly, turning her gaze upon Theia, who met it calmly.
"So, introductions." Sarah said, mainly hoping to head off anything Luna might say that would give Orion and Theia away.
"Orion, Theia, this is Neville Longbottom, a fellow Gryffindor."
Theia turned her head, and offered her hand to Neville.
"Nice to meet you Neville. I'm Theia." She said. Neville was silent, but shook her hand. Orion, having stowed their luggage on the rack, offered his right hand- gloved, like his left, incongruous with the jeans and sweater he was wearing otherwise.
"Arcturus Orion Argent. Call me Orion, Arcturus was my grandfather and I can't stand the name." he said. Neville cautiously shook the proffered hand.
"Um…ok."
Thankfully, Luna was still looking at Orion and Theia thoughtfully, so Neville kept talking.
"I…um…haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"
"Oh, yes." Orion said, answering first. "I've been home-schooled by my mother, but she died recently so I'm having to attend Hogwarts. Luckily my father is Sarah's Godfather, so I was able to live with her for the summer."
Orion managed to put just the right amount of sorrow into his voice, Sarah reflected, and he spoke easily enough that Neville was almost deflected from the obvious question. Almost.
"Sarah has a Godfather? Who?"
Sarah sighed inwardly. This wasn't particularly common knowledge, happily, but it might become so. Orion stayed looking sad.
"Ah…Sirius Black." He admitted. Neville jumped.
"Sirius Black? You're Sirius Blacks son?" he squeaked. Orion, to his credit, didn't laugh at the response- Sarah noticed that Theia had leaned over to Luna and was muttering to her. Orion looked at Neville.
"Yes. But he and my mother were never married, and she refused to speak of him much after he was sent to Azkaban. I've never met my father." Orion said, looking entirely honest. Neville started to relax slightly, and looked at Theia. Sarah's suspicions of a conspiracy were confirmed at that moment, as Luna looked up from her magazine- The Quibbler, Sarah thought- and turned her dreamy eyes on Theia.
"You're me, aren't you?" she asked. Neville stared, and Sarah groaned inwardly. Theia smiled.
"Oh, absolutely. You from another world." She agreed. Neville was still staring, so Orion- in a move so practiced Sarah would never be convinced that it wasn't rehearsed- leaned over to him.
"I've met Theia before, Neville. She's a Lovegood- you know they are odd. The two of them are probably just winding you up." He said in a low voice. Neville frowned, thought about it, and then nodded, to the relief or Sarah. Much to her amusement that remark drew the attention of Luna and Theia to Orion, and they promptly re-arranged themselves so that they were on the seats flanking Orion before breaking into a conversation about various kinds of magical creatures, most imaginary- or at least undiscovered. Orion, to the clear surprise of Neville and Ginny, seemed to take it in stride, though Sarah wondered how long he could endure it. The train rattled on, until Neville brought Sarah back into the conversation.
"Guess what I got for my birthday?" he said. Sarah shrugged, took a shot.
"Another Remembrall?" she said, remembering the marble-like device he had received in First Year. Neville shook his head.
"No, I could do with one though, lost the first one ages ago. No, look at this…"
He dug into his bad with the hand that wasn't holding his escape-prone toad, and rather triumphantly pulled out a plant in a small pot.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia." He said proudly. Sarah stared. She knew that Neville had a fondness for and talent for working with plants, but she didn't see the appeal of the small grey plant covered in what looked like boils. It looked, Sarah thought, like a cactus with a horrible skin disease.
"It's really rare!" Neville said, beaming. "I don't even think the Hogwarts greenhouses have any, my Great Uncle Algie got it for me from Assyria. I'm going to see if I can breed from it…"
"Does it…ah…do anything?" she asked, a little suspicious. Neville smiled even wider, if that was possible.
"Loads of stuff! It's got an amazing defensive mechanism- here, hold Trevor for me-"
Sarah fielded the toad and watched as Neville pulled a quill from his school bag. He carefully held the plant up to eye level and held up the quill. Sarah and Ginny watched curiously: Luna half turned from her conversation: Orion pulled his wand from his sleeve, though Sarah didn't notice. Neville gave the plant a hard prod with the quill, and liquid squirted from every boil on the thing. It covered the walls, the ceiling, the floor and the passengers, all except Orion, Theia and Luna, who were shielded by a hastily whispered shield charm from Orion. Ginny was lucky: she got her arms up and so her face wasn't touched, but Sarah and Neville were soaked in the stuff. It was thick and green and smelled awful. Sarah repressed the first few responses that came to mind, trying to censor her response. Shaking his head to clear the worst from his eyes, Neville managed to speak.
"Sorry," he managed to get out, "Haven't tried that before…didn't think it would be that bad…don't worry though, the Stinksap isn't poisonous." He added, as Sarah spat a mouthful of the vile tasting stuff onto the floor. At that precise moment the door to the carriage slid open. Sarah immediately wondered if it was Draco Malfoy, early for his train journey taunting. On one hand that would be bad, because he would see her like this. On the other it would be nice to be able to let out some of the frustration, and cursing Malfoy into a quivering lump of jelly was as effective a means as any. Alas, not to be.
"Oh. Hello, Sarah. Bad time?" asked a vaguely familiar voice. Sarah turned her head to see the Ravenclaw Sixth Year, Cho Chang, peering through the door. Sarah quashed the instinctive first response of 'Absolutely wonderful, I do so enjoy being caked in vile green stuff' in favour of a shrug.
"Herbology is such an interesting discipline. Never sure what might happen." Orion supplied, with a smile towards Cho. The Ravenclaw looked at him briefly with an odd expression, then nodded.
"Well, um, yes, I suppose. Just thought I'd say hello, Sarah…um, bye then." She said, before leaving. Sarah sighed.
"Well, it could have been worse." She mumbled.
"I really am sorry…" Neville started, but Sarah cut him off with a wave of her hand.
"It's ok, Neville. Scourgify." She said, waving her wand around the carriage- her real wand, not the blank- and exulting in its familiar warmth. The carriage was very quickly back to its usual state, and Sarah was glaring at Orion.
"How did you know to cast a Shield Charm?" she demanded, more for the satisfaction of seeing him have to respond in front of Neville. She knew full well how he'd done it- he'd experienced it before. But what would his excuse be?
"Plant responses can be unpredictable. My mother, when she was tutoring me, always told me to put up a Shield Charm unless I was absolutely confident in what the reaction would be, and then to put one up anyway." Orion replied easily, and immediately. Sarah scowled at the ready answer, but didn't comment any more. Neville looked worried.
"Should you really? I never do…I'm not sure I can cast a Shield Charm…"
"Oh, it isn't that hard. You just need to get it right- I'm sure Sarah could help you learn to use one properly." Orion said brightly, and Neville seemed to cheer up slightly as Sarah nodded agreement. Theia and Luna resumed their conversation, with Orion joining in at several points, and Sarah leaned back into her seat and closed her eyes, relaxing. Almost an hour later, Ron and Hermione entered, Ron flopping down on the seat next to Sarah with all the grace of a sack of potatoes- and not a very graceful sack at that. Sarah listened to part of what they were saying before dismissing it as unimportant and tuning them out again. She briefly paid attention when Hermione offended Luna about the Quibbler, but went back to daydreaming until the compartment door opened for the third time that day and an all too recognisable blond stood sneering at her. Draco Malfoy. Not his best sneer, or his best entrance for that matter- seven out of ten. Sarah briefly wondered if he checked every compartment for her, but the thought brought up memories of Orion suggested that Malfoy had an unrequited crush on her, which made Sarah want to vomit. Or kill someone. Or maybe both. Luckily, Orion got in before she did.
"Ah, you must be Draco Malfoy!" Orion said happily, happiness that wasn't even slightly faked: Sarah could see the malicious delight in his eyes as he stood and started to shake Malfoy's hand- his left hand. Draco, going even whiter than before from the crushing grip of Orion's silver hand, managed a squeak.
"I've heard all about you! I was told that the Gryffindors and Slytherins hate each other, but that there was one Slytherin who acts just like a Gryffindor! It's nice to meet you at last." Orion said enthusiastically. Malfoy managed a noise of outrage that Orion ignored, bulldozing onwards.
"I mean, it's so nice to see that you appreciate the traits of blunt forwardness and direct confrontation that marks out Gryffindor! I'm glad you came to see Sarah so that I could meet you but, unfortunately, there really is no room in the compartment for anyone else. Maybe we'll speak again later?" Orion finished, ushering Malfoy back into the corridor and firmly closing the door, a smirk settling onto his face.
"What do you think?" Orion asked, glancing at Sarah. She shrugged.
"Seven out of ten. You'll have confused him there, but it probably could have been done better. How do you know he'll leave?"
"He cast a Confundus charm just as Malfoy left." Luna said, proving shockingly observant. Sarah, who had experience with the rather haphazard way Orion cast that particular charm, blanched then smiled.
"So he'll end up singing Queen songs or something in the drivers cab?" She asked, starting to laugh. Orion had the grace to look ashamed of his Confundus Charm, which tended to have odd side-effects.
"Actually," he said carefully, "I've experimented and the side effect seems to relate to personality and preferences. So it's unlikely that Malfoy is now feeling an urge to sing Queen songs. Opera maybe?"
Sarah made a noncommittal noise, thinking that the use of a Confundus charm hadn't been a part of their plan beforehand. While it was true that she, and therefore Orion, tended to alter plans on the fly, there must be a reason. Sarah resolved to ask Orion about it once they were away from Neville and Luna. Or maybe just Neville- Luna probably knew that Orion was an alternate dimension version of Sarah. She was oddly intuitive like that. Sarah leaned back again, gazing out of the window. The weather was unsettled: one moment a desultory rain would spatter the windows, only to be replaced by a feeble sunlight for a few minutes before being once again displaced by rain. She was still sitting, lost in thought, when darkness fell and the train lamps were lit. She looked across to Orion as he shifted slightly, and Sarah saw that he had moved to accommodate Theia, who was leaned against him, dozing. To Sarah's amusement and Orion's discomfort Luna was doing the very same thing on his other side. Sarah caught his eye and grinned at his uncomfortable expression, but she couldn't help but feel a spike of jealousy for Orion, for his relationship with Theia. A relationship so strong that Theia had broken into Azkaban and travelled to a different world to save him. Sarah idly wondered if she would ever know something so strong. Hermione dragged Sarah from her thoughts by announcing that they were close to Hogwarts, and that they should change into their robes. They managed, just, pulling robes over their Muggle clothes in the cramped compartment, just as the train began to slow down. Before long there was the usual racket as everyone up and down the train scrambled to get their luggage and pets assembled, ready to get off. As Ron and Hermione were supposed to be organising this they left that carriage again, Pigwidgeon and Crookshanks in the hands of the others. In the end Luna took Pigwidgeon, while Theia got hold of Crookshanks as the group traipsed out of the train into the cool night. Sarah expected to hear the familiar sound of Hagrid calling for the First Years, but instead the call came in a brisk female voice that belonged, as Sarah saw in the light of a lantern that swung towards her, to the grey-haired, square jawed Professor Grubbly-Plank, who had acted as a substitute teacher for Hagrid for a few weeks last year.
"Where's Hagrid?" muttered Sarah, frowning. Ginny, walking just behind, bumped into her.
"I don't know," she said, "but we'd better move out of the way, we're blocking the doorway."
"Right, yeah."
Sarah became separated from Ginny as she walked along the platform and out of the station, but Orion and Theia managed to stay close despite the jostling of the cloud. Squinting through the night, Sarah searched for a glimpse of Hagrid, but she was starting to suspect that he wasn't there. She looked for Ron and Hermione, knowing that she could ask Orion about Hagrid once she had the chance, but the two Prefects were nowhere to be seen and so she let herself be shunted along the road from the station, up the dark path where the horseless carriages that carried students above First year to Hogwarts. To her surprise, the carriages were no longer horseless- they appeared to have some hideous skeletal creatures harnessed to them. The creatures looked like horses, but their black, leathery skin hung loosely off sharply defined bones, their dragon like heads had white, staring eyes and massive black wings hung on either side of the body. Sarah stopped dead, but Orion pushed her onwards, murmuring in her ear.
"Those are Thestrals. They can only be seen by those who have seen and comprehended death." He whispered, and Sarah began walking again. There was something oddly familiar about the Thestrals, she thought, but she didn't know where from. The carriage was only really big enough for six, but with Neville vanished in the crowd and with the seven of them squashing up in the seats they just managed to fit. From the corner of her eye Sarah noticed Malfoy pushing aside some Second-years so that he and his minions could have a coach to themselves, noticing that Malfoy still looked a little red and wondered what effect exactly Orion's Confundus charm had had on him. Sarah suddenly snapped her fingers and pointed at Orion.
"That's where I've seen those Thestrals before! Your Patronus is one!" she said. Hermione gasped.
"Sarah, you can see Thestrals? But they're supposed to be omens of bad luck, and-"
"Nonsense, Hermione. Seeing a Thestral is not an indicator of bad luck in the future. Mostly it's an indicator of bad luck in the past. And yes, Sarah, my Patronus is a Thestral. Make of that what you will."
"Odd." Luna said dreamily. "You would have thought that the two same people would have the same Patronus, even if they are from different worlds."
Silence fell, until Sarah and Orion started to laugh.
"How did you know?" Orion asked. Luna smiled and, once again, Sarah saw that the dreaminess didn't quite hide the sharp intelligence in her eyes.
"Theia is quite close to Orion considering she should never have met him before, since she's from a different world. And nobody adjusts to me as quickly as Orion managed. Not without prior experience." She said. Sarah shook her head slowly, resolving to pay more attention to what Luna said in the future. Ginny was the one who eventually moved the conversation on.
"Did everyone see that Grubbly-Plank woman? What's she doing there, Hagrid can't have left, can he?"
Orion was quick to speak, Sarah noticed, cutting Luna off.
"I believe that Hagrid is still on…business…for Dumbledore. Nothing to worry about." He said, giving Sarah a look that she interpreted as being 'I'll tell you more later'. Satisfied, Sarah sat back, listening as the carriages creaked and rattled, rolling along in convoy up the road. When they passed the gates of the school grounds she couldn't help but glance at Hagrid's hut but there were no lights on, the dark bulk of the cottage hidden by the much larger darkness of the Forbidden Forest behind it. The carriages rolled to a stop before the doors to the Great Hall and the relieved group piled out, happy to no longer be squashed together and joining the group hurrying up the stone steps to the castle. Orion and Theia quickly broke off, waiting in the Entrance Hall where the First Years would wait to be sorted- something Orion had grumbled about, but had been able to persuade Dumbledore not to do. Sarah walked with the others into the Great Hall, noticing people putting their heads together to whisper as she walked past- she clenched her fists and gritted her teeth, being careful to keep her temper in check- it would do no good to lose her temper and have her Metamorphagus abilities manifest in the middle of the Great Hall. Luna drifted away towards the Ravenclaw table, and Ginny left to join some other Fourth years- Sarah, Ron and Hermione joined Neville about halfway down the table, between Nearly-Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, and Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, Sarah's roommates who she suspected had been gossiping about her, given the airy, over-friendly greetings they gave her. Sarah briefly scanned the staff table, frowning when she saw Dumbledore. The Headmaster looked normal- normal for him, anyway, in deep purple robes scattered with silver stars and a matching hat. No, what made Sarah frown was the woman sat next to him, whispering in his ear. She was squat, with short, curly brown hair that was not improved by a horrible pink Alice band placed in it, matching the fluffy pink cardigan she wore over her robes: her face, as she turned slightly, was pallid, toad like, with pouchy, bulging eyes. Sarah had a strong mental image of a frog, or a toad, and remembered what Orion had said: Dolores Umbridge. Orion had described the woman as malicious, bigoted and looking like a toad. Sarah had the feeling that his description had been perfect. Sarah throttled a sigh- she had been really hoping that this would have changed, and that Hogwarts would have a decent Defence teacher this year. Evidently not. Sarah watched as Professor Grubbly-Plank made her way to the staff table: that meant that the First-Years had crossed the Lake and, sure enough, the doors soon opened and Professor McGonagall walked in, carrying the tattered old Sorting Hat. Behind her came a long line of First Years and, at their head, Orion and Theia. Orion looked irritated as he first entered, but quickly smoothed away the expression into an easy half-smile. Sarah listened half-heartedly to the song the Hat gave, and watched with interest as Dumbledore stood and looked at Orion.
"This year," Dumbledore said, smiling, "We have two new students entering the Fifth Year. As such, they will be Sorted first."
The Headmaster sat back down, and McGonagall cleared her throat.
"Argent, Arcturus." She said. Orion, maintaining his calm expression, sat on the small stool and slid the Hat onto his head. Sarah wondered if he would take as long as she had to Sort: five minutes later there was no doubt. Orion looked slightly annoyed, and she had seen his lips move slightly sometimes. Sarah imagined the argument he must be having with the Hat: the thought made her smile in amusement. Eventually the Hat sniffed- actually sniffed in disdain, Sarah was amazed- and, in an aggravated tone, pronounced-
"Gryffindor."
The table was silent for a moment, before Sarah ad her friends managed a small scale cheer as Orion limped towards them. He sat down next to Sarah, nodding his thanks to her for saving him a seat, and mumbled a string of profanities aimed at the Hat, which made Sarah grin in amusement. Theia was sorted much faster, going to Ravenclaw- Sarah noticed that the Hat, and the Ravenclaw table, seemed much more enthusiastic than for Orion.
"I think you've intimidated the school already." She whispered. Orion rolled his eyes.
"Sheep." He mumbled under his breath, as the Sorting proper began. Orion eventually managed to smooth his irritated expression back into his normal look, just as the Sorting ended and Dumbledore stood again, smiling and spreading his arms.
"To our newcomers, welcome! And to our old hands, welcome back! There are times for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"
"Good man" Orion murmured, as food appeared on the golden plates of the tables and a clatter and chatter filled the Hall. Sarah ignored the way that Ron had dived on the food, talking to Orion.
"You know," she said conversationally as she loaded food onto her plate, "People are giving you almost as many funny looks as they are giving me."
"Hardly my fault." Orion said, turning away from the lamb chops on his plate.
"Oh? After taking so long to Sort, and getting that response from the Hat?"
"Wanted me in Slytherin, damn thing. You would not believe how many threats I had to use to get into this House."
"Really? Even considering that most of Slytherin would probably live about a day after you got there?"
"The Hat said it would be a good thing. Clean up the House. I'm not sure if it was bluffing, to be honest."
"The Hat is a psychopath. Huh. Who would have thought it?"
They were interrupted when Ron managed to offend Nearly-Headless Nick by a combination of tactlessness and a tendency to talk with his mouth full. Orion shook his head, and went back to his plate. Sarah would have done much the same, but George turned up.
"Hey, Sarah, guess what I heard about dear Draco?" he said, eyes shining with mirth. Sarah shot a glance over to where Malfoy was holding court at the Slytherin table, and thought that he looked a little less sure of himself than usual.
"What?" she asked, curious. George grinned even more widely.
"Well. Fromm what I hear, about halfway through the trip Draco ended up in the drivers compartment, somehow…singing the song 'That's Amore'. There are plenty of bets on who exactly he was serenading, though the singing itself wasn't very good- wrong pitch, I hear."
Sarah started to laugh, only getting worse as Orion choked. She thumped Orion on the back and continued laughing as Orion stared at George.
"That…was not intentional." He admitted. George grinned so widely that Sarah thought his face would fall off.
"One of your horribly unpredictable Confundus Charms?" he guessed. Orion nodded, smiling himself.
"I don't know why they have extra effects, but it's useful all the same. Looks like our shot at knocking Malfoy off his perch is further ahead than we thought."
"Sure, sure. Well, if you need help let me know." George said, walking back down the table, still grinning. Orion shrugged and went back to eating. Once the feast was finished and the food had faded from the gleaming plates Dumbledore stood, smiling again. Sarah briefly wondered if his seemingly boundless cheer was natural. Surely not.
"Well, now that we are all digesting another magnificent feast," Dumbledore started, "I beg a few moments of your time for the usual start-of-term notices. First years should know that the Forbidden Forest is, in fact, forbidden to students- a fact a few of our older students ought to know by now as well."
Sarah couldn't shake the feeling that Dumbledore gave her a knowing look at that point, but did her best to ignore that thought as the Headmaster continued.
"Mr Filch, our caretaker, has asked me, for what he informs me is the four-hundred-and-sixty-second time, to remind you that magic is not permitted in the corridors between classes,"- Sarah raised a sceptical eyebrow at that, the rule was probably one of the least followed- "And nor are a number of other things, all of which can be found on the extensive list pinned to Mr Filch's office door. We have also had two staffing changes this year. We are pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, who will be our new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher."
There was a round of unenthusiastic applause- Sarah noticed that Orion only actually clapped once- and Dumbledore began to continue, but was cut off by the short, pink Professor Umbridge. Sarah tried to listen to the speech she gave, but she quite soon found herself staring blankly at the table and letting the words wash over her without paying attention. Finally it was over, and Dumbledore started talking again. Sarah looked at Orion and Hermione questioningly. Orion shrugged.
"Ministry's interfering with Hogwarts and she's their tool." He explained succinctly. Sarah nodded. All around them there was a great clattering as the students stood: Dumbledore had dismissed the school. Hermione jumped up, looking flustered.
"Ron, we're supposed to show the First-years where to go!"
"Right, yeah. Hey you lot! Midgets!"
"RON!"
"Well they are, look at how tiny they are-"
"I know, but you can't call them midgets…First Years, over here, please!"
A group of new students shuffled up between the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, all of them looking very small and trying not to lead the group. Sarah briefly wondered if she had been so small and uncertain in her First Year. She smiled at them, trying to be reassuring. A blond boy next to one Sarah vaguely recognised as being called Euan Abercrombie looked petrified; he nudged Euan and whispered something. Euan looked equally petrified now, stealing a horrified glance at Sarah, who made a valiant attempt to maintain her smile.
"If you keep grimacing like that you'll terrify them even more. Ten points if one of them starts crying." Orion whispered in her ear. Sarah lost her smile, relishing the grunt Orion gave as she elbowed his ribs, then strode out of the hall, dragging Orion along with her. More staring, whispering: Orion, quite loudly, made a dry comment that he was flattered, but he wasn't quite so interesting that everybody had to stare. That caused some to avert their stares in embarrassment, but there were still enough stares to cause Sarah to take several shortcuts to avoid the mass of people.
"I should have expected this." Sarah said sourly, as she neared the Gryffindor Common Room entrance. Orion hummed softly.
"Yes, it was probably a mistake by Dumbledore not to let you tell the whole school the full story. Of course, would you have been up to it?"
Sarah gave a brief, sour laugh.
"Hardly. Well, I'll just have to deal with being notorious and feared. It's happened before."
"Which is indeed a pity…" Orion murmured as the3 two of them reached the Portrait of the Fat Lady, and Sarah realised he didn't know the password. She looked at Orion, who looked similarly embarrassed.
"Er…" Sarah started, but the Fat Lady cut her off.
"No password no entrance, I'm afraid." The painting said. Sarah looked glum, but luckily Neville arrived.
"Hey Sarah, Orion. I know the password!" he said happily. He waved the stunted little cactus he had shown them on the train.
"Mimbulus mimbletonia! I might be able to remember it this year!" he said proudly. Sarah smiled as the Common Room door swung open and she walked in, to the comforting familiarity and to the beckoning dormitory door. Sarah wished Orion good night and left for bed, too tired to even consider confronting the whispers and stare she would get when everyone else arrived. That could wait for tomorrow.
First Hogwarts chapter. Good times. Read and Review!