This chapter will have A LOT of references to the original "Sorcerer's Stone" but there will be different things to, it's not wise to just skim past this chapter because you have to kind of look for the differences (not really, you just have to read..) like you would the magical quill in Pottermore.
Connor: Hem Hem
Ninja: AHHHHHH! Oh, yeah. Ninja Penguin Prince changed his name to Connor Elric...why, why!
Connor: Did my mom give you coffee?
Ninja: Maaaybe.
Connor: Nice, if your reading this, thanks Mom, thanks so much for this annoyingly hyper teenage girl!
Ninja:That wasn't nice.
Connor: -.-
Ninja: We don't own! And..um I miss counted last time and forgot to add a chapter, so not counting this chapter there are 12 chapters left which I fixed last chapter...he he?
Now time for: Chapter 4: Sorting
The door swung open at as soon as Hagrid's fist left the door. A tall, black-haired witch in emerald-green robes and fierce-yet kind- green eyes stood there. She had a very stern and really familiar face, Ranma's first thought was that this was not someone he would want on his rapidly growing "enemies" list.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid, his gruff voice resounding off the inside walls, even though he was not inside. It took a second, but Ranma recognized the name and it clicked with how familiar she looked. This was his great-aunt. The one who told his mother about sorcery. He'd expected her to be older, she didn't appear to have one grey hair.
She appeared to be judging them on the spot, Ranma was now well aware that his pigtail was slightly crooked "Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
She pulled the door completely open, which was a show of great strength for someone as old as she must be, as it was thick and huge. It opened to a room "Must be an entrance hall or something" Ranma thought, looking at it in wonder. It was so big you could have fit over 2/3 of the Saotome's Britain house into it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, which appeared to just hang on the wall, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a giant marble staircase, which Ranma had never even heard of one being that big, that was facing them led to the upper floors.
"Whoah." Ryoga whispered, and Ranma just nodded. This was like nothing that had ever faced Japan, certain parts of China maybe but not Japan.
They followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Ranma could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right -the rest of the school must already be here - but Professor McGonagall (his aunt? Maybe he should refer to her as Professor- this is confusing) showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering about nervously. Except Ranma, of course. Because Ranma can never get nervous...right...never.
"Welcome to Hogwarts." said Professor McGonagall, her voice loud yet it seemed to take no effort. "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 dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room."
Ranma tried to pay attention, he really did! But he just couldn't go through all this all over again. So he found interesting things to look at while his aunt babbled on.
She was saying something about house points when Ranma began to panic. "I thought Mom said only Japanese and British kids went here!" He was staring at a girl slightly older than him, she had bluish-purple hair which was done in a Chinese style. She was looking intently at Professor McGonagall and looked slightly put down. Beside her was a Chinese boy who had thick glasses and long black hair. Shampoo! "It's okay, she only wants to kill your girl side..." he thought, trying to calm down. That chick freaked him out!
"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." McGonagall was saying, looking at Neville's cloak (how did he get it behind his ear?) Harry's hair, and Ron's smudged nose.
Everyone took the hint and begin adjusting their cloaks and running their fingers through their hair. A few of the girls took the time to re-adjust their ponytails. "I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." said Professor Mcgonagall, and she left the room. She need not have instructed them to remain quiet, for silence reigned over the room, barely interrupted by nervous whispering. Ranma quickly took down his pigtail and re-tied it, wishing he had a mirror. Ryoga was adjusting his headband, someone had helped Neville with his cloak (although no-one told Ron about his nose) and Harry was desperately smoothing down his hair.
Harry looked like he was swallowing a watermelon "H-How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Ranma heard him whisper at Ron, they were both right in front of him and Ryoga.
"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Ron responded, but he did not sound very confident, his voice was slightly shaky.
"A test!" Ryoga hissed at him "You think he's right?"
"My mom said something like that, and I heard a girl with a badge telling her younger sister about how it didn't hurt." Ranma decided to leave the 'Much' the elder sister had tacked on, he didn't want Ryoga getting lost on the way to where they were being sorted!
Ranma hadn't had a chance to practice any real magic yet, he had spent that time fighting with Ryoga! Ryoga was being quiet, it didn't appear as if he felt anymore brave then Ranma did.
Hermione, meanwhile, seemed to be taking Ron's comment as confirmation of her suspicions. She was whispering very quickly about all the spells she had learned and wondering which one she would need, completely oblivious to how her nervous monologue was making those around her equally as nervous. The blue haired girl from before was whispering very fast to a pink faced blonde girl- who had two pigtails- who was nodding and looking more nervous by each syllable. "And then she said it doesn't hurt," The blonde girl looked relieved "Much Oh my Ka-God she said much!" both of the girls looked like they were going to pass out.
Shampoo was talking to the black haired guy "Shampoo no scared!" She declared, looking cocky. "Great-Great Granmutter tell Shampoo no is to worry!"
Ranma was about to tell Ryoga something, when screams of people made him turn around quickly. He and everyone around him gasped as about twenty ghosts floated into the room through the back wall; Ranma felt someone, who turned out to be Hermione, grip his arm very tightly. The ghosts all seemed not to have noticed the first years, instead focusing on an argument amongst themselves. What looked like a little fat monk was saying: "Forgive and forget I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves?" said a ghost wearing a ruff and tights. "He gives all of us a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost he's just– I say, what are you all doing here?"
He had just noticed everyone in the room. No one uttered a word for a second, Ranma built up some courage but was beaten to it by her. "We is new students, waiting to be sorted." Shampoo declared, proving her 'Shampoo no scared' bit earlier.
"Ah! New students, hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" said the Friar. "My old house, you know."
"Move along now," said a sharp voice. "The Sorting Ceremony's about to start."
Professor McGonagall had returned. One by one, the ghosts floated away through the opposite wall.
"Now, form a line," Professor McGonagall told the first years, "And follow me."
Ranma got in line behind Ron. Ryoga was behind him and Harry was in front of Ron behind some sandy-haired guy.
Ranma closed his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath, feeling the flow of ki through his body and relaxing his muscles to release tension, helping the nervousness wane considerably. He grabbed back for the front of Ryoga's robes, the lost boy had almost walked into a wall-again. The line of first years walked out of the chamber, back across the entrance hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall.
It was every bit the place his mother had described and more. It was at least 10 times the size of the entrance hall and was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in midair over four long tables (without any wax dripping down), where the rest of the students were sitting.
These tables were laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led the first years up here, so that they came to a halt in a line facing the other students, with the teachers behind them. The hundreds of faces staring at them looked like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Ranma looked upward and saw a velvety black ceiling dotted with stars.
He heard Hermione whisper, "Its bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." So did he, but he didn't go telling everyone. As much of a cool person Hermione can be, everyone's going to think she's a know-it-all if she keeps quoting books every time she see's something.
Still, it was hard to believe there was a ceiling there at all, and that the Great Hall didn't simply open on to the heavens. He had seen places in China that did that, it was a strange country. Ryoga gave a gasp as he looked down.
Ranma quickly looked down also and saw that Professor McGonagall had silently placed a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she put a pointed wizard's hat. This hat was patched and frayed and extremely dirty. Were they supposed to set it on fire, or pull a rabbit out of it or something?
For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the it twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth - and the hat began to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffis are true And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still he did not want to openly admit it, Ranma was quite relieved that the "test" was very simple. Ron seemed to agree with him.
"So we've just got to try on the hat!" he whispered. "I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." (A.N: Anyone else see the irony here?)
Professor McGonagall stepped forward, holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." she said loudly enough for the entire hall to hear. "Abbott, Hannah!" the pink faced girl stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A moments pause -
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat. The table on the right cheered and clapped as the girl- Hannah- went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Ranma saw the ghost- Fat Friar- waving merrily at her.
Bone, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, Susan scuttling off to sit next to Hannah. The ghost seemed to be ecstatic, waving merrily at both new comers.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!" The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaws stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. Ranma slowly lost intrest until "Brown, Lavender" became a Gryffindor, the table on the far left exploding with the loudest cheers so far, a set of red-haired twins making cat calls.
"Chang, Mousse!" the black haired guy from before went up there, what kind of name was Mousse? It was better than Shampoo, though.
"RAVENCLAW!" The Ravenclaw table exploded again, and Ranma was losing intrest quick. Wasn't there a way to speed this up? Oh well. Sometimes, he noticed, the hat shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide. "Finnigan, Seamus," the sandy-haired boy next to Harry in the line, sat on the stool for almost a whole minute before the hat declared him a Gryffindor.
"Granger, Hermione!" Hermione almost ran to the stool and jammed the hat eagerly on her head.
"GRYFFINDOR!" shouted the hat. Ron groaned, while Ranma cheered for her, feeling more nervous by the second. Glancing over at Harry, he noticed Harry didn't look much better, he looked worse. He seemed to be anticipating the worst.
"Hibiki, Ryoga!" Ryoga went six shades of white.
"You know you got this, don't ya'? It's nothin'." Ranma lied smoothly and Ryoga nodded, finally making it somewhere without getting lost.
The hat seemed to take it's time, finally it yelled loudly "GRYFFINDOR!" and the table on the far left exploded again, Ryoga managed to make it there and set down by Hermione.
"Kuonji, Ukyo!" U- Chan was here?
"SLYTHERIN!"
When Neville Longbottom, the boy who kept losing his toad, was called, he fell over on his way to the stool. The hat took a long time to decide with Neville. When it finally shouted, "GRYFFINDOR," Neville ran off still wearing it, and had to jog back amid gales of laughter to give it to "MacDougal, Morag."
"Malfoy, Draco!"
The second the hat touched his-gelled up head, The hat decided "SLYTHERIN!" Which did not surpise Ranma, Draco's "Friends" had been sorted into Slytherin also.
Ranma barely noticed when others got sorted, noting that "Parkinson, Pansy" was another Slytherin, the twins "Patil, Padma" and "Patil, Parvarti" were separated, Padma went to Ravenclaw while Parvarti went to Gryffindor.
"Potter, Harry!"
As he stepped forward, the hissing of whispered conversation swept through the hall.
"Potter, did she say?"
"The Harry Potter?"
Everyone looked at Harry with intense interest. Seeming to ignore all the attention, he walked to the stool and pulled the Hat down over his eyes. The entire student body seemed poised on their tip-toes, waiting for the hat to announce the house.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat yelled. The Gryffindor table exploded with applause and cheering. Harry looked dazed as he placed the hat back on the stool and walked to the Gryffindor table, where he was met by what looked like Ron's older brother, who shook Harry's hand vigorously. Two other boys, who also looked like brothers of Ron, were yelling "We got Potter! We got Potter!". Ranma saw Harry sit down by Ryoga and they began talking.
It was a few moments before everything calmed down enough for Professor McGonagall to continue "Shitoko, Shampoo!"
"RAVENCLAW!" Ranma's mouth fell open, "She can barely speak English!"
"Saotome, Ranma!"
Ranma felt his stomach lurch slightly as he stepped out of line. He thought he heard a few whispers as he picked up the hat, but he ignored them. He sat down on the stool and put on the hat.
"Hmmm, what have we here?" the Hat said in his ear. "Loyalty, hard-work, honor...pride? A need to prove yourself, a love for glory...Courage, lots of courage, indeed. Where shall I put you...you'd do well in Hufflepuff...Slytherin...or maybe Gryffindor?"
Ranma did not know if the Hat was asking him or just talking to itself. Thinking honestly and without prejudice, he thought that he would like to be around others who, like he did, thought that bravery, honor, and glory were above all else.
"Ah yes, I thought you might say that." the Hat responded, though Ranma had said nothing at all. "In that case, you'll be in GRYFFINDOR!"
Another cacophonous round of applause greeted Ranma as he removed the hat from his head and placed it on the stool. He walked over to the table, grinning widely and being clapped on the back byother Gryffindors. Hermione gave him a big smile as he sat down, in between Harry and Ryoga and across from the bushy haired girl.
The Sorting Ceremony drew to a close shortly after Ranma's sorting. "Tendo, Akane" was a Hufflepuff, "Thomas, Dean", a tall black boy, joined Gryffindor, while "Turpin, Lisa" became a new Ravenclaw. "Unryu, Akari" became a Hufflepuff, then it was Ron's turn.
He was extremely nervous when he put on the Sorting Hat but the Hat took no time in placing him in Gryffindor, much to the satisfaction of his brothers and Harry, who encouraged him to sit on his other side. Finally, "Zabini, Blaise", a tall Italian boy, was sorted into Slytherin. Professor McGonagall rolled up the parchment and took the Sorting Hat and stool away.
Ranma looked down at his empty gold plate, he hadn't had anything to eat on the train and was starving. Harry seemed to also be looking longingly at the plate, flushing when he saw Ranma had caught him.
Albus Dumbledore beamed at the students, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have made happier than seeing them all there.
"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"
Ranma was not sure if the headmaster was joking, but he chuckled nonetheless. His stomach groaned with emptiness and he looked around expectantly, wondering when the food would be brought in. He heard Harry talking to one of Ron's brothers
"Is he - a bit mad?" he asked Percy uncertainly.
"Mad?" said Percy airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?" Ranma looked down at the same moment Harry did, his mouth fell open. The dishes in front of him were now piled with food. He had never seen so many things he liked to eat on one table: roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, fries, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, baskets of bread, hamburgers, mashed potatos, a strange yellow noodle thing, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs.
Ranma had never really got to eat that much with his father, what little he did get to eat he had to eat it before his father could.
Ranma smiled brightly and filled his plate with as much as it would hold, digging in immediately.
"Now really, Ranma!" complained Hermione as a pea hit her in the forehead. "Can't you eat a bit less disgustingly?"
"Mmmf..." Ranma took a great swallow. "Sorry Hermione." he said sheepishly. He looked around and noticed several people staring at him with a mixture of incredulity and nausea. "What?"
"I've never seen anyone eat that fast." said Ron, (and that was saying something). "Don't you need to breathe?"
"How on earth do you fit half that food in your mouth?"
"Why is a better question. It's not like it's going to disappear." said Hermione.
"Yeah, well, you've never eaten with my father." said Ranma. "If you wanted to actually eat anything on your plate, you had to eat it before he did."
Trying to save Ranma from an embarrassing situation, Ryoga looked at the twins something. "I'll make the signs, you call the cleaning company. Human Hoover!" Everyone laughed, the girl with short brown hair from earlier smirked at Ryoga.
"Sorry kid, if anyone's making money around here it's usually me and these guys." Ranma realized something, while everybody Else's uniforms were red and gold, hers were silver and green. She was a Slytherin.
"Why are you over here?" Hermione asked, noticing it too "Your robes are silver and green, I read in Hogwarts a History that Silver and green were Slytherin colors. Why are you wearing them?"
The girl smirked at her "Because I am a Slytherin, I have special permission to sit over here with you lions. Nabiki Tendo, at your service." Nabiki smirked, she was sitting in between the Weasley twins, the boy with dread locks from earlier was smiling at her.
"If it weren't for Nabiki, I wouldn't have charge for my spider seeings, she's a miracle worker."
He continued to eat, now at a more reasonable pace, and listened in on conversations. He overheard Harry and Ron talking to a ghost who called himself Sir Nicolas De Mimsey Porpington, though Ron insisted on calling him "Nearly Headless Nick". The reason for the name was simple enough, for the ghost's head was very nearly cut off, but for a small bit of sinew and muscle keeping it attached to his body. He demonstrated this fact with a bit of a flourish and satisfaction at the looks of horror it produced in the new students.
"So – new Gryffindors!" Nearly Headless Nick said to them. "I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors has never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable – he's the Slytherin ghost."
Ranma and the others turned to look at the Slytherin table where they saw a ghost sitting next to Malfoy. He a gaunt face, blank, staring eyes, and was wearing robes stained with silvery blood. Ranma smirked at Malfoy, who did not seem to enjoy the Baron's company.
"Puh-lease Nick! Slytherin will always dominate!" Lee sighed, and got a few Boo's "Hey, I wanna win too but It's not happening!"
Nabiki smirked again "Care to make a wager, two galleons a bet! Will Gryffindor win? Or will Slytherin dominate? Pays out double!" Almost everyone bet on Slytherin winning.
"The Bloody Baron, How did he get covered in blood?" asked Seamus with great interest.
"I've never asked." Nearly Headless Nick replied delicately.
"I can tell you, for three galleons." Nabiki said, extending her hand and then smiling when it was filled, she leaned over and whispered in Seamus' ear, who went green and stopped eating for a minute.
When everyone had eaten as much as they could (Ranma being the last one to finish eating, Ryoga finishing right before him), the remains of the food vanished from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the puddings appeared. Ranma's grin was as wide as ever and he was not the only one. Before them was an array of ice creams, tarts, pies, cakes, and puddings, all the sweet things he had liked so much but his father had not permitted because they were "not manly". Ranma piled his plate with one of everything, relishing the idea of spiting his father while eating all of his favorite things.
As they worked through the puddings, the conversation turned to everyone's family. Seamus had a witch for a mother and a Muggle for a father, though apparently his mother did not reveal her magical background until after the marriage. "Bit of a nasty shock for him." Seamus said. Everyone laughed at this.
"What about you, Neville?" Ryoga asked.
"Well, my gran brought me up, and she's a witch." said Neville. "But I didn't know I had magic until I was eight. My Great Uncle Algie accidentally dropped me from a third story window-"
"How do you accidentally drop someone from a third story window?" asked Harry incredulously.
"Well, he was always trying to scare some magic out of me, you see." Neville shrugged. "I didn't get hurt, I just bounced, and they were all really pleased. You should have seen their faces when I got in here – they thought I might not be magic enough to come. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."
"I'm Muggle-born." said Dean simply after Neville had finished. "Been doing funny stuff all my life, never knew it was magic. How about you, Ranma?"
"I didn't know I had magic until a few weeks ago, honestly. Both my parents are magical. I've been traveling with Pop's since I was really young, training. He didn't want me ta' be 'round Mom- he thought it'd distract me, and he thought me knowing 'bout magic would too. I found out in early August, Mom nearly killed Pop's when she found out I didn't know. Mom's a muggle-born and wanted me to be raised with magic, I'm actually related to McGonagall."
Everyone glanced at him "What about you, Ryoga?" Hermione asked, saving Ranma from the gazes and delivering them to his bandana clad friend/rival
"I was born with magic and grew up in a magical family, when they're around. My family was cursed by a American Wizard, all Hibiki's born with a red star on their back have the curse- we get lost even in our own home, I could be talking to you and then run in a direction looking for you guys."
"Wow..."
"Hey, Saotome? Is your Mum Nodoka Saotome, the Japanese Ambassador?"
"Yeah, she is."
"Excellent! I'm Percy Weasley, by the way, fifth year, prefect." said the boy, rather self-importantly, extending his hand, which Ranma shook. "I've heard good things about your mother; youngest ambassador in a hundred years, potions mistress, former prefect. I'd be delighted to meet her sometime."
"Uh, okay." Ranma said, not sure if the older boy was just being pleasant or actually asking to meet his mother.
"Don't mind him, he's always like that with anything related to the Ministry." Ron said in a low voice. "Don't be surprised if he smarms up to you though."
"Ouch!" Harry exclaimed suddenly, clapping his hand to his forehead.
"What is it?" asked Percy.
"S'wrong Harry?" Ryoga asked at the exact same time.
"N-nothing." replied Harry not-so convincingly. "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"
"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to - everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape." Harry stared at the table a moment longer, Ranma following his gaze to the staff table, where it rested on the two men. One had black, greasy hair, a hooked nose, and sallow skin and was wearing black robes with Silver and green trimming. The other was younger, pale-skinned, and wearing a large purple turban. He seemed, to Ranma, to have an odd kind of nervous tick. "Which one's Snape?" he asked, though he thought he could guess.
"Quirrell's got on the turban." said Harry absently, as if he were not really paying attention. Ranma had thought Snape would be the younger one, he seemed to have a dark aura around him.
"What's wrong with Quirrel?" asked Ron, seeing the man flinch a bit. "Is he all right in the head?"
"Hagrid reckons he had a bad run-in with a vampire or something." Harry replied, looking thoughtfully at the teacher. "Now he's nervous all the time." For a split second he thought he saw an odd glowing aura around the Defense teacher's head but, when he blinked, it was gone. Shaking his head, Ranma returned to his mound of puddings and promptly forgot about it.
Finally, the puddings disappeared and Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet again. The hall fell silent. "Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley twins and Nabiki, who smiled right back at him.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
A few people laughed, but Ranma refrained, feeling certain, from Dumbledore's tone and his slightly admonishing look, that the headmaster was not joking. "He's not serious?" he heard Harry say to Percy.
"Must be. It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere – the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least." Percy said, sounding personally affronted.
Before they were dismissed, the headmaster directed them in the Hogwarts school song, whose slightly silly lyrics and lack of any real music (Dumbledore had let them choose their own tunes and tempos) had more than a few people chuckling and giggling.
"Ah, music, a magic beyond all we do here." said Dumbledore fondly after the Weasley twins had finished their slow, funeral dirge variation, Nabiki laughing at them. "And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
The Gryffindor first years followed Percy through the chattering crowds, out of the Great Hall, and up the marble staircase. Ranma's legs were like lead again, but only because he was so tired and full of food. He was too tired even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridors whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Percy led them through doorways hidden behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Ranma was just wondering how much farther they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.
Ranma suddenly heard Percy yell "Look out!", snapping him out of his half-sleeping walk and putting him on alert. It was not fast enough, however, and the next moment he was almost drenched with ice cold water, Ryoga pushing him to the side. "What the-" Ranma spluttered, looking down and seeing a pile of robes and clothes, with a small black piglet in them. Ignoring everyone else (who was dealing with the source of water) he reached into his robe pockets and pulled out a thermos, pouring it over the small pig, and abruptly standing up and looking for the water-thrower.
A little man with wicked, dark eyes and a wide mouth was floating in mid-air and clutching the handle of the bucket. "Oooh! Ickle firsties need a bath! Should get the lot of them!" he said with an evil cackle.
He swooped suddenly at them. They all ducked, Ranma punching up a hand and sending him flying and looking around for who did it.
"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" barked Percy.
Peeves stuck out his tongue and vanished, dropping the walking sticks on Neville's head. They heard him zooming away, rattling coats of armor as he passed. Ryoga popped up, slightly blushing and fully dressed, robes a little disheaveled.
"You want to watch out for Peeves," said Percy, as they set off again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."
At the very end of the corridor hung a portrait of a very fat woman in a pink silk dress.
"Password?" she said.
"Caput Draconis," said Percy, and the portrait swung forward to reveal a round hole in the wall. They all scrambled through it - Neville needed a leg up - and found themselves in the Gryffindor common room, a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.
Percy directed the girls through one door to their dormitory and the boys through another. At the top of a spiral staircase - they were obviously in one of the towers - they found their beds at last: several four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up and were at the end of each one. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their pajamas and fell into bed.
"Great food, isn't it?" Ranma hear Ron mutter to Harry through the hangings. "Get off, Scabbers! He's chewing my sheets."
Ranma stayed up and motiened for Ryoga to do the same, once everyone had falled asleep he went through Ryoga's hangings and into his bed.
"*Your cursed form is a piglet?*" he whispered in Japanese, glancing at the still-bandana-clad boy. Did he ever take it off?
"*Yeah, and since you know mine, tell me yours, Ranma!*" Ryoga snapped/whispered back.
"*I turn into a girl.*"
"*Oh, well, you could always say that when your a chick or something your Ranma's sister 'Ranka or...Rinma...or..*"
"*Ranko? I like that, I think I have a book where two people had our curses! We can start researching soon!What about your pig curse, someone will pick you up unless they know your you.*"
"*How about I deal with that and we talk in the morning, I'm tired.*" Ranma nodded and crawled back into his bed, falling asleep the second his head hit the pillow, not even having a chance to do his nightly excersizes.
There yah go! Only 11 chapters in the sorcerer's stone left!PLEASE REVIEW!