AN: Hey guys! My friend, who I put in this story, really likes the stories! So I'm gonna try and update as much as I can with my dumb mind! Let's get this started! Oh! And uh… WizardingWhovian got it right! The pairing is Kyara and John! Emiliano733 suggested Virgo and John. No… Virgo and Holly is the main pairing, the second one is John and Kyara. You get a pat on the head WizardingWhovian! Emiliano733 you get a stare from john.
After sailing across the lake, something that had Holly and Eva clinging to me a little too tightly, Kyara trying and somewhat succeeding to do the same to John, Hagrid lead us up a long flight of stone steps to where Professor McGonagall was waiting for us.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," said Hagrid, indicating to us with a huge wave of a hand.
"Thank you, Hagrid, I will take them from here," said the Transfiguration Teacher, before turning to us, ""Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "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. The four Houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each House has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your House points, while any rule breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House cup, a great honour. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours. 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."
Her eyes lingered for a moment on Neville's cloak, which was fastened under his left ear, on my, admittedly somewhat unnerving eyes, Kyara's hair, which look like it had been in a fire and burnt to death, and on Ron's smudged nose, before turning and vanishing into the Great Hall, leaving us to talk amongst ourselves. The inevitable topic was what exactly the Sorting Ceremony entailed, with theories ranging from tests to wrestling a troll. That comment drew a loud choked cough from me, the last one was something that Kyara would love to be honest, she was so violent!
"What's so funny, Malfoy?" Snapped Ron, the person who made the suggestion.
"Sorry, it's just that I think your brothers might have been having you on," I said, ignoring the Malfoy comment, he was light after all so it was understandable. "A troll could easily squish just about anyone in this school into paste with a single strike, with the possible exception of Hagrid. Oh, and I doubt it will be a test either since we haven't actually learnt anything yet."
That was for Hermione's benefit, who looked like she was about to start hyperventilating.
"Oh yeah, well then, if you're so smart, what do you think it is?" Snapped Ron, trying to glare holes into me, very clearly only half-heartedly.
"Hmm, probably a simple test where you have to wear an enchanted item that reads your personality to determine where you'd best fit," I said, "Maybe a hat or something. Hopefully adorable." I added with a grin.
Ron rolled his eyes, giving a small nod to me before glancing around.
"Yeah I guess." he said, before glancing around once more.
He'd been looking around constantly since we arrived and I could probably guess what, or to be more accurate, who, he was looking for.
"Looking for someone Weasel?" Asked Dray with his snobbish face.
"Shut up Malfoy!" Snapped Ron, "I'm going to find the Girl-Who-Lived!" He growled, his face looking angry but very clearly faked.
Holly shrank a behind me a little at that and I sighed. It looks like it's going to be an odd world... Fortunately, a distraction arrived in the form of about twenty ghosts that had just streamed through the back wall. Pearly-white and slightly transparent, they glided across the room talking to one another and hardly glancing at us as they continued their argument.
"Forgive and forget, I say," said one that looked like a fat little monk, "We ought to give him a second chance..."
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost — I say, what are you all doing here?"
A ghost, wearing something I couldn't remember the names off, had suddenly noticed us staring at them with expressions ranging from fear to interest. However, before anyone could answer, one of the ghosts spotted me and gave a little gasp.
"Oh my," she said as she drifted closer, "Aren't you an interesting one...Hmm, yes, very interesting indeed."
I blinked.
"Excuse me madam but, what's interesting?" I asked, "I'm just a normal 1st year. With an awesome fashion sense."
"A normal first year with unusually dense magic, and an awesome fashion sense." said the ghost, "It's been years, decades even, since someone like you has come to the school. If you get into Ravenclaw, I'd love to examine your Focus Ring."
"So long as you don't mind sharing some stories of your time here, I'd be happy to," I said with a smile.
"Deal," said the ghost, before drifting after her fellows as they left.
"What was that all about?" Asked Hermione.
"None of your business," I said shortly, still a little sore with the girl, I knew it was unfair but I was a salty little bugger.
Hermione looked a little put out, but before she could respond McGonagall returned.
"We're ready for you now," she said.
I grinned as we got ready to enter the hall, watching Kyara crack her neck and draw her thumb across her neck at me, we had a teeny rivalry, since Asriel could never decide who was better… It was more of a joke then anything.
She finally guided us through the doors and into the Great Hall which, I have to admit, took my breath away, despite the fact I knew what to expect. As with the first view of Hogwarts, there was just something about the magnificent room that simply could not be replicated by movies.
It was lit by thousands and thousands of candles that were floating in mid-air over four long tables where the rest of the students were sitting, tables laid with glittering golden plates and goblets. At the top of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting in front of the four massive hourglasses that served to count the house points, I made a mental vow to break them since they were SO SHINY! Professor McGonagall led us straight up towards the head of the hall, in full view of everyone else, hundreds of faces staring at us, shining like pale lanterns in the flickering candlelight. Dotted here and there among the students, the ghosts shone misty silver. I glanced down at Holly, who seemed to have glued herself to my side under the gazes of so many people, hugging Eva to her chest like a lifeline, adorably!
Finally, after what seemed like forever, we reached the head of the room where the Sorting Hat sat on the four-legged stool, looking just as frayed and dirty as I was expecting. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched and 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 Hufflepuffs 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 and bowed to each of the four tables and then became still again.
"Told you," I muttered, earning myself a mock glare from Ron.
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. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line, put on the hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. There was a moment's pause, before...
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.
The table on the right cheered and clapped as Hannah went to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the ghost of the Fat Friar waving merrily at her.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat again, and Susan scuttled off to sit next to Hannah.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
The table second from the left clapped this time; several Ravenclaw's stood up to shake hands with Terry as he joined them. The Sorting continued in this vein, with Kyara appearing to go to Ravenclaw, Daphne and Tracy ending up in Slytherin and Hermione going to Gryffindor, as expected, drawing a groan from Ron, before he went back to searching, somewhat desperately, for Holly. 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."
Drakey butt swaggered forward when his name was called and got his wish at once: the hat had barely touched his head when it screamed, "SLYTHERIN!" I could faintly see the hat giggling for some reason.
Then it was my turn. I stepped up to the stool, ignoring everyone else as the hat covered my eyes.
"Oh my word, this is an interesting mind," said the Hats voice.
'Tell anyone and I set you on fire,' I thought back.
"Oh don't worry Miss...Malfoy I suppose since that's who you are now, I am bound to keep any secrets I find in a student's mind. Hmm, this is fascinating and rather horrifying stuff. I assume you intend to do what you can to avert some of these disasters?"
'I do. I mean some of the crap that happens just sucks!'
"Hmm, in that case, I would say that Gryffindor would be a good place for you…"
'HELL NO! I quite like my life thank you very much!'
"Quite, it would be a poor choice, as would Hufflepuff. That leaves only Slytherin and Ravenclaw and, judging from what I've seen here, putting you with… Drakey Poo… Will likely lead to disaster. So, my choice is…" As it trailed off I could swear I heard it chuckle
"RAVENCLAW!"
I took of the hat and moved to the Raven's table amid polite applause, sitting where there was a bit of space so there would be room for Holly if she followed me which, judging from how she'd been acting around me, was very likely. The Sorting continued with no surprises, until…
"Potter, Holly."
Immediately whispers broke out as everyone strained to get a look at the GWL. Said girl looked ready to bolt at all the attention, like a scared puppy, before her eyes met mine. She seemed to steel herself, before summoning her courage and stepping forwards. Her incredibly small stature made the large Sorting hat look truly comical, and also adorable, but no one laughed as they waited with bated breath for its decision. It didn't take long.
"RAVENCLAW!"
A stunned silence filled the room for a moment as Holly removed the hat and scurried over to me, before the applause started, with me and my friends, naturally. From there it spread until she got the proper welcome she deserved. I gave the small girl a one armed hug as she sat down next to me and smiled down at her, which she hesitantly returned.
I tuned out the next few students as I scanned the head table, checking the teachers of my mental list and making a mental note to keep an eye on Quirrelmort and Snape. That said, when my eyes landed on Snape, I was surprised to see that he was looking at Holly, not with loathing, but with confusion. Actually, that wasn't all that surprising. After all, there was no way in hell that anyone, not even Snape, could look at Holly and think that she was in any way arrogant. From Snape, I looked to Dumbledore and saw that he too was looking our way. However, as soon as I met his eyes I knew I'd have my work cut out for me keeping Holly safe. I could practically see the gears turning in his mind as he tried to plan for this new variable. However, I mentally stopped myself before I could label the old man as a threat. Like with Ron, until Dumbledore did something wrong, I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.
I was distracted from my thoughts of Dumbledore a moment later when the Hat suddenly burst out laughing.
"BWAHAHAHAHA, Gryffindor? You think you can get into the House of the Brave and Reckless!?" Said the Hat between peals of laughter, "Oh dear creators, that's the best laugh I've had in years!"
Ron, who was the person under it of course, went the same shade of red as Kyara's eyes. The Hat, who had just started to calm down, immediately burst out laughing again.
"BWAHAHAHAHA, Merlin's beard, that's an even funny notion!" Said the Hat, "Sorry kid, but that spots already been taken and you don't have a chance. Oh, let's get this over with before I split! RAVENCLAW!"
Ron grumbled under his breath as he got up and sat at the Ravenclaw's table.
With the Sorting now over, Dumbledore stood, beaming at us, his arms opened wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see us all here.
"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!"
He sat down and the plates filled with food of all sorts. Roast beef, roast chicken, pork chops and lamb chops, sausages, bacon and steak, boiled potatoes, roast potatoes, chips, Yorkshire pudding, peas, carrots, gravy, ketchup, and, for some strange reason, peppermint humbugs, unfortunately there was no pie, my favourite food in the universes.
I immediately started helping myself, passing a few small chunks to Eva where she was under the table. Holly seemed a bit hesitant at first, but was soon eating happily, clearly enjoying the meal.
I largely kept out of the conversations going on around me, until the conversation turned to families and everyone looked at me.
"What?"
"No comments to make Malfoy?" Sneered Terry Boot.
"No. Umm… Should I?" I asked, very clearly lost in the conversation.
"Everyone knows how vocal Malfoys are about blood purity," said Boot, not losing his sneer.
I sighed and put down my cutlery.
"Alright, I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. I am nothing like either Dad or Dray Dray. The amount of shits I give about a person's blood status is precisely none. I don't care if you're Pureblood, Half-blood, Muggleborn or even creature blooded, I'll treat you the same as you treat me. And if anyone assumes to know what I feel about something because of my family name, I will ignore you, and if you keep doing it then I will pull out a frying pan and hit someone with it. Ask Kyara if you don't believe me."
Everyone in hearing range stared at me in surprise. I ignored them and went back to feeding Eva. Eventually, the conversations started back up again as people got over the idea of a tolerant Malfoy. Eventually, the conversation came back around to me.
"That's an unusual cat Virgo," said the older student sitting across from me who introduced herself as Penelope Clearwater, fifth year Prefect.
"That's because she's not a cat," I said, scratching Eva behind the ear as she chewed on a hunk of lamb, "She's a Nemean Lion cub. She also happens to be my Familiar, so she's perfectly safe unless someone threatens me or Holly. Then you may get your face clawed off."
"Why Holly as well?" Asked another upper year, "Normally Familiars are only protective of their master."
"Not a clue," I said, "But she seems to have taken a shine to her."
"My parent's might know, I'll ask them tonight." Kyara said quietly as always, watching John from his place further up on the table.
After that, the conversation turned away from me again as the desserts were demolished. Finally, after everyone was stuffed to bursting, the desserts disappeared and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet. The instantly 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." He announced.
"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.
"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."
I sighed as muttering started up around the hall. I could tell just by looking that at least 10 different people at the Gryffindor table would find their way to the Third Floor before the week was over. With Dumbledore's speech over, we all prepared to move out, with us First Year Ravenclaw's following Penelope and the male Prefect, Robert Hilliard to the entrance of the common room. After explaining how the riddle worked, they let us in and explained where the boys and girls dorms were, there were more girls then had been expected so we were split up into two dorms.
"Now, I'm sure your all tired, so get off to bed," said Penelope, "Professor Flitwick, our Head of House, will be holding a House meeting tomorrow before breakfast, so make sure you get up on time. Good night everyone."
Everyone started trooping upstairs, eager to find their pillows. I went to follow my dorm mates, but before I could, someone tugged on my sleeve. I looked at Holly, who looked upset.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Holly shook her head.
"Don't want to be alone," she said.
"Hey, don't worry," I said, "I'll see you tomorrow." I told her, wondering why we'd had to be separated.
Holly shook her head again and I sighed. She wasn't going to let this go. I glanced down at Eva, who had been following at my heels the whole way up. The little lioness looked at me for a moment, before nodding and padding over to Holly.
"I can't go with you, but Eva can," I said, "Is that alright?"
Holly hesitated, before nodding and letting go of my sleeve.
"Alright, I'll see you tomorrow, I promise," I said, gently rubbing her head.
Holly looked up at me, searching my eyes for any hint of a lie, before slowly nodding. And heading up to the girls dorm with Eva at her heels. I let out a sigh and suppressed the urge to go kill the Dursleys, who I had no doubt were responsible for Hollys state, before heading upstairs to bed…
As I rested in my bed I turned my head to look at Kyara who was writing letters to her family.
"Virgo… What do you think of John?" Kyara asked me curiously.
"Eh… He's cute I guess. But he's not my type." I shrugged, it was fairly well known that I preferred females so I had no problem with talking about my preferences wherever I wanted. "Why?" I asked, watching the circles glow red, as in glow in the dark glowing. "Oh my gosh you have a crush on him!" I squealed as the circles glowed even more.
"S-Shut up…" Kyara groaned, shoving her face into her pillow.
"Don't worry Ky-Ky! I'll help ya!" I told her, as I used her nickname. Since she was Chara with a different spelling we used both Character, as a jokey one, and Ky-Ky, as a serious one.
"Thanks…?" She mumbled as I closed my eyes, falling into the realm of sleep…