Heey! Sorry it's a little late. My internet went out, I'm afraid. But it's here now.
I don't know if I really like this chapter much. It feels a tad rushed.
Reviews are food, and I live off food! :D
"I think Dumbledore wants us," I say, eying the older man as he waves to us from the teacher's table as we waited nervously at the door's edge. "don't you?"
"I daresay you're right," she murmurs offhandedly before walking promptly in that direction as if that was what she had planned the whole time. I follow her quickly.
"Now," Dumbledore said softly, meeting my eyes with a steady gaze. "I was just telling your headmaster, Professor Dippet, about how you were refuges from the war with Grindlewald. Tragic story, it is. How your parents were brought down in his course against half-bloods. It was quite brave of you to come here for safety. Home-schooled, weren't you?" All of this was said with a deliberate slowness that told me I just had to play along, so I nodded slightly.
"Now," he said, "I didn't quite catch your names."
I bite my lip, spouting the first thing that came to my mind. "James Evans." Luna raises an eyebrow at me but remains silent, as if saying she didn't really care. "And... Ummm. Linda... Lewis." comes out sounding more like a question, but there isn't much to do about that.
Dippet nods, beady brown eyes looking at us with no hint of suspicion in them. His hand, quill ready, races against a sheet of parchment as he writes it down.
"What year are you in?" he asks.
"Seventh," Luna speaks up. "We kept ahead with Hogwart's school regime."
The man nods tiredly. "Albus? Why don't you announce them? The first years are almost finished sorting. These two can just be added to the end of the line, don't you think?"
Dumbledore walks to the front of all the tables. "We have some exchange students to sort as well this year. Give a Hogwarts welcome to James Evans and Linda Lewis, who will be joining the seventh year." A few students, mostly Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, clap. We are directed to the sorting hat.
There was a time when the red and gold of Gryffindor meant home to me. I think of what home is now as I walk to the sorting hat with so many eyes on me.
When I think of home, my mind is filled with the Weasleys, Hermione, Luna, and Neville. The family I'd built around myself, which I'd found was much more important than what I had been born to.
But, now that I have been separated from that family, I think, what will my home be here? Will I be lost? Or will I make a new home for myself?
As Dumbledore talks to Dippet in the sidelines, I sit on the stool with as much confidence as I can master.
A thin woman with an upturned nose and a soft smile places the hat on my head. Regrettably, it still sags, though not as much as when I first wore it. My eyes are no longer blocked, but I an instantly tempted to push it up as it slouches on my forehead.
'Hmmm...' it began merrily. 'You would do quite well in Slytherin, but you already know that, don't you? Hufflepuff, while certainly not a meager house, wouldn't suit you well enough. Ravenclaw isn't the best choice, either, I daresay.'
'I was in Gryffindor last time.'
'Last time?' It paused. 'No matter. Even so, people change. The sorting would change with the person. Ahh... But you would fit well in Gryffindor, wouldn't you? Nice and brave, plenty loyal. Perhaps, perhaps...' it mused. 'Yes, I see, GRYFFINDOR would do greatly.' I think about all the insecurities I have ever had about my house and if I'd really belonged in Slytherin. Perhaps some things are just meant to be.
I take the hat off, standing to the side as Luna sat down. There is nearly an entire minute of terse silence.
I am only slightly shocked as "GRYFFINDOR!" comes out of the hat in a great bellow.
Luna's eyes widen, and she glares at the hat slightly before huffing and grabbing my arm to drag me to our table.
"Silly old hat wouldn't listen," she explains lightly. "I told it I was a Ravenclaw, but it insisted I was a Gryffindor." I laugh lightly, and we sit down at a small empty spot at the table.
A guy about our age with curly brown hair the color of coffee and almond-shaped blue eyes smiles at us brightly. Freckles dust over his cheekbones and I can't help but think he reminds me just a little bit of Ron somehow.
He sticks out his hand out over the table and gives me a lopsided smile. "Name's Daniel Prewett. You were James, right?" I pause and almost deny it before remembering at the last second and nodding. I can feel eyes of curious people watching us for answers.
"This is Linda," I say lightly, nodding in her direction. My hand meets his across the table; his grasp is warm and sharp, lasting for a few seconds before pulling away.
He nods, eyes never leaving mine. "Is she your sister?"
I pause, looking at her out of the corner of my eye. She nods slightly.
"Uh, Yeah." He laughs.
"You don't sound very sure." he says.
'That's because I'm not,' I think. But I smile at him anyway, saying, "I'm just tired, is all. It's been a long day."
"Yeah," he murmurs, a cloud falling over his face for a second before he says in a much brighter tone, "So, why did you transfer so late on? Most come in during fourth year or sooner. It seems a bit pointless to come now."
I try to remember what Dumbledore said. "We escaped from an attack on our family from Grindlewald. We got lost, so we came here."
"Oh," he says, sympathy flashing over his features. "I'm sorry. Have you been able to contact your family yet? You can borrow my owl if you need to."
I shake my head, looking down. The shame of the lie falls down on me full course. All I can think of are all the families I saw mourning after the final battle at Hogwarts. The people who lost whole families-I feel like I am mocking what they felt now. I am merely a sham of what they felt.
"It's fine," I croaked, hoping the guilt came off as pain. "They're all dead anyway."
His hand brushes across my wrist and I look up at him just to verify that I felt it. I'm still not sure I did. "I'm sorry," he says again.
I nod lightly. "So am I."
~~~
After the feast, Professor Dippet and Dumbledore pull us away from the crowd. Dippet, a short old man with gray curls and deep blue robes, smiles at us sympathetically. He smells like mothballs.
"We've arranged your schedule," Dippet says kindly, handing both of us a sheet of parchment. "Here."
I scanned over it lightly. It was very basic, the kind of classes a student with no idea what they would be doing would take. There was nothing specialized on the list.
"Thanks," I said sincerely.
"I've arranged for a prefect to lead you to a few of your classes for the first week," Dippet said. "He should be capable of answering any questions you have about Hogwarts. Tom, Riddle that is, has never had any trouble with this sort of thing, but if he harasses either of you in any way, don't hesitate to tell a Professor."
We nodded softly. I swallowed.
"Now," Dumbledore says. "It's getting rather late, so I think I shall call one of the Gryffindor prefects up to walk you to your rooms." He looks to Professor Dippet. "Debra is supervising the first dueling club meeting this year, isn't she?"
Dippet nods. "That leaves Daniel Prewett. I'll send for him." He whistled loudly, and there s just a moment where I wonder what he's doing before a small owl swoops in and lands on his shoulder. "Summon Daniel Prewett," Dippet says sternly, and the owl flew off after giving off a low hoot.
"Wasn't Daniel the boy from lunch?" Luna asks dreamily. I nod.
"The boy with the dark brown hair."
"Oh." she says brightly. "The one that looked like Ronald." I nod.
Sure enough, it's only a few minutes more before Daniel, all messy chocolate curls and long gangly limbs, stumbles in, seemingly tripping over a flat surface. The owl comes in behind him.
"Yes?" he says distractedly before he notices Luna and me with a wide smile. "Hi! What are you doing here? Didn't get in trouble already, did you?"
"No," Dumbledore says. "We were just wondering if you could lead them to their dorm rooms."
Daniel nods. "Sure. Why not? C'mon." He trots towards the door, half skipping. I jump to follow him, and Luna chuckles softly, already ahead of me.
"So," he says as we go down the hallways swiftly. "Do you know who's going to be showing you around to your classes?"
Luna nods. "Tom Riddle." I swallow; hearing her confirm it doesn't help.
"Oh," Daniel says, frowning slightly before chasing it away. "How do you like Hogwarts so far?"
"It's really big," I say, remembering my first impression when I was only a first year. I realize I'm lagging behind him just a bit so I speed up.
He chuckles as we reach the Fat Lady. "That it is. Don't worry; most of the old wings aren't even in use anymore. You'll be fine in no time flat. Oh, and the password is 'Lionheart.'"
I nod and watch as the portrait swings to the side and Daniel slips in lithely, following him. The common room is the same as it always was, though the people are different-if I don't focus on faces, it's almost a perfect mirror of what it will be.
"Tina!" Daniel calls out, stopping when a blonde girl with short hair in a meticulous bob comes to us. "Can you show Linda here to the seventh year rooms? She's a new transfer student."
The girl nods. "Sure," she says, giving Luna a friendly smile before walking off to the staircase with Luna trailing behind her.
Daniel turns to me intently. "Our's is just the staircase next to it," he says, turning around and heading through the sea of people and up the stairs. I follow him, surprised yet again at his speed. "You can't visit your sister in her rooms, though," he says lightly. "The stairs'll fall right out from under you." I nod as we reach the top of the staircase.
He opens the door for me with a flourish of his hand.
"And here we are," he says. "If you need anything, just ask. The empty bed is your's." He gives me another smile. "Right next to mine."
"Thanks," I tell him, looking around the same circular room that I slept in during my last visit to Hogwarts. I'll be sleeping in Ron's bed, I realize, and Daniel in mine.
How odd some things work out, don't you think?
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
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