A/N: I don't own anything except Adena! It's all J. K. Rowling's! I don't do those too often, so I thought I'd throw one in there.
The castle was huge! Its dark stones and tall, winding towers stood out against the black sky. The castle sat on the edge of an enormous lake that had about a hundred little boats floating on it. The lanterns in each boat made me think of a highway.
The carriages pulled up to a set of extremely tall wooden doors. I felt as if I had been shrunken, because everything in and around this castle was seemingly way bigger than it should have been. The doors opened to reveal a dimly lit stone hallway just to complete the medieval scene in front of me. A slim, elderly witch in emerald green robes was standing in front of us. She had her hair pulled back in a tight bun, and she seemed extremely strict.
She led us into the Great Hall, a place where the students eat and converse on a daily basis. We were then pelted with water balloons by the poltergeist that I come to know as Peeves. The very annoyed professor sat us down according to house. I was sad to see my new friends go, and I reluctantly followed students wearing the same logo on their robes as me. I specifically followed an airy girl with long, white-blonde hair that trailed down her back. I sat next to her too, but I don't think she noticed. She was particularly interested in the details of the laces on her shoes. So interested, in fact, that she had her sneakers up on the long, wooden table. I found this odd, but I didn't comment, for I didn't want to offend the girl.
I looked around at the magnificent hall around me. There were gold plates and goblets as far as my eyes could see. There were a million candles floating as if suspended in mid air. The hall appeared to be open to the clear night sky, but I already knew it was bewitched. There were four tables for all four houses and a table facing all of the other ones way up in the front for all of the teachers. Most of the teachers were already seated, with Dumbledore in the middle.
Dumbledore stood up to make a speech. He welcomed us all back for another exciting year. The witch who walked us in stood up and started reading names off a long list. The names belonged to first years that were just beginning at Hogwarts like I was. I was very grateful that I had done my sorting in the privacy of my home, for some of the first years looked like they wanted to pass out, while others looked extremely relieved that all they had to do was put on a hat. Once the sorting had finished, food appeared before us on the table. The other students didn't seem all that impressed, but I gawked at the filled table. The blonde girl next to me turned to me and stared for a moment.
"It's not going anywhere, you know", she said. I found her voice to be as airy as her disposition.
I looked up at her. "I know. It just amazes me how all of you seem so used to food just appearing like that", I said snapping my fingers.
She smiled at me gently. "It's okay; it took me a minute to get used to it, too. I'm Luna." She shook my hand and I smiled back.
"I'm Adena. What year are you?"
"I'm a third year. I've heard you're a fourth year."
"Yeah, where'd you hear that from?"
"Word of new people gets around. Don't worry about it; rumors have never quite stopped about me. It's something I've learned to live with. Now, dig in. You must be starving."
I was starving. I piled my plate and looked back at my new friends. A ghost was conversing with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. He said something that seemed to appall Hermione. She then pushed her plate away and refused to look at it. Harry looked at me and gave me an amused look. I smiled back and turned to my plate. I ate vigorously for the rest of the meal, which included a fabulous dessert of treacle tart. I finished, pushed my plate away and rubbed my belly. After stuffing myself with amazing food, I was exhausted. I looked up tiredly at Dumbledore who looked like he wanted to make another speech.
"So, now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming yo-yo's, Fanged Frisbees and Ever Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises of some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe…" he continued on, but at this point I began to zone out. I didn't really begin to play attention until the sky changed.
There was a loud boom of thunder and a flash of lightning as a man stepped out from the doorway. He had a mangled face and a wooden leg. He had patchy, pale blonde hair and one electric blue eye that swiveled 360 degrees in its socket. I felt as if it could see all the way through me. Dumbledore announced that this was Professor Moody, and that he was going to be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts this year. From what I've been told, Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers never lasted long here since You-Know-Who graduated from here. The new teacher frightened me a bit, but I knew I would need to get used to him, so I tried to brush it off. Dumbledore continued on, and I started paying attention. I learned that Hogwarts would be hosting a wizarding competition called the Triwizard Tournament. Dumbledore gave us the rules, regulations, and warnings that you could expect with a competition like this coming. He also informed us about new students arriving soon. It made me feel relieved knowing I wouldn't be the only older student who was new to Hogwarts.
We were then sent off to bed. A knob-less door was the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room which was located at the top of an extremely long spiral staircase. The eagle-knocker was the only thing on the door. It asked a question, and an older student answered it. It then let us all in.
The common room was a large, circular room with midnight blue carpet, furnished by chairs and tables. The ceiling was a dome and it was painted with stars. The windows had deep blue and gold drapes hung and there were bookcases all over the place. The windows and an excellent view of the grounds, and there was a marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw at the entrance to the dormitories.
I, accompanied by a bundle of other students, headed straight up the stair and into the dormitory. I found a door that said "Girls: Year 4" and I walked right in. There were six beds in a circular room. All of the furnishings were midnight blue and gold, matching the common room. The drapes on the bed were the same blue as the rest of the room, embedded with small, gold stars. I waltzed over to my bed, changed into my sleep clothes and fell asleep before the other girls even entered the room.