Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER! No infringement intended, the setting and characters ('cept for Sophie) belong to J.K. Rowling. Enjoy ;)

Chapter 3

 

The first day of classes was hectic for me.  The only thing to save me was the fact that Rosie had every class with me.  I was lucky.  I came to find out that Al had all his classes with us, too.  I’m not sure why we did, but we were surrounded by magic.  I had learned that first day not to question things.

Our first class was rather uneventful.  The only time I spoke was to say ‘present’ and other than that, I jotted down notes and kept my mouth closed.  Our next class was much more exciting.  It was Magical Creatures Studies with Hagrid.

“Hullo class, Hullo Rosie, Al, Sophie.”  He smiled at us all one at a time.  “I saw Trillie earlier?”

“How is she?” Rosie asked.

“She’s happy as can be, she is.  I bet you knew that though, didn’t ya?”  He winked at Rose.  “Any way, welcome to Magical Creatures Studies.  Now I’ve always believed in learnin’ by doin’.  The first thing we’re gonna look at is this here Unicorn.”  I couldn’t believe my eyes.  There was a real, living unicorn in front of me.  I had thought they didn’t exist, but then again, I thought none of this existed.  What a crazy past couple of days.  “Sophie, what’s that look for?”  Hagrid laughed.  “You’ve never seen one of these, have ye?  Well c’mere, you can pet it if ye like.”  He gestured for me to come forward and lightly touched my arm.  “Now don’t approach him too quick, ye don’t want ter scare ‘im.”  I walked slowly, my heart racing.  Was any of this real?  If it was a dream, I never wanted to wake up.  I slowly reached out a hand.  The animal snorted and stomped one of it’s hooves.  It was pure white with a shimmering mane that reflected every color of the rainbow as the light shined on it from different angles.  It’s horn was silver and deadly in appearance.  I made eye contact with it, it’s eyes were violet.  As soon as our eyes connected, I stopped moving, waiting for something to happen. I was sure he would charge me, but sure enough, he walked toward me.  The unicorn put it’s face in my outstretched hand and let me pet him.  “Good God!”  Hagrid laughed.  “He’s never come to anyone but me!  You got some kinda talent with the beasties, don’t ye?”  He ruffled my hair, the others applauded.  “Anyone else?”

After Hagrid’s class, we all trooped off to Herboligy with Professor Longbottom.  I was assigned a seat right up front.

“Well, Hullo, Sophie.”  The Professor smiled.  “How have you been?”

“I’ve been well, Professor.  Hogwarts is amazing!”

“Good, I’m glad.”  He smiled.  “You know, I’ve been talking to your mum, and I’m not supposed to tell you this, but I think she’s got a surprise for you when you stop back at home for Christmas.”  He winked.  I was too shocked that he’d spoken with my mother to focus on the fact that she’d promised a surprise.  I just smiled in response.

Herboligy was rather fun.  I was pronounced an ‘expert’ by the Professor when we were re-potting Mandrakes.  Once the class was finished, he said he was looking forward to having me in his class, then said a few words to Rosie and Albus, too, but I didn’t quite hear them.

 

The rest of the day was similar to the first as it seemed to fly by.  Lunch was delicious.  The next two classes were quite dismal, History and Potions.  I was an epic failure at making potions, though I gave it my best shot.  Al had laughed and commented that we were in the same boat.  Both of our potions failed to turn green, remaining gray instead.  Rosie was a natural, and immediately succeeded in making the green elixir.  The potions master was impressed with her and pronounced her most impressive.  It was a real yawn, but I got through it by taking notes and bouncing my leg tirelessly.

Afterwards we trooped off to our final class, which was my favorite.  Broom training with Madam Hooch.  Though not all of us would play Quiddich, we were all welcome to ride brooms.  I was so excited I could barely contain myself.  She invited us all to line up beside our brooms and say ‘up!’ to get them to rise.  Al, who’d ridden a broom more than anyone, had his up first.  I was determined to match him.  I placed my hand above the ratty-looking broom and said firmly, “Up.”  It soared into my hand while my classmates struggled.  I smiled at Al, who winked.  What was that supposed to mean?

Once everyone had succeeded in summoning their broom, Madam Hooch invited us to mount them, rise up off the ground a few feet, and tip the front end down slightly to land again.  We all mounted and kicked off on her whistle.  Albus managed to rise and fall again, his pin-straight hair flying up as he landed gracefully.  I followed his lead, landing easily on my feet.

“Miss Frederick.”  Madam Hooch said, “Have you ridden a broom before?”

“No, ma’am.”  I said, shyly.

“You’re a natural, my dear.  Here, let’s see how high you can go.  Kick off, would you dear?”  She smiled.  I nodded and kicked off the ground, slowly circling up into the sky.  When I was high enough to see over the top of the school, I just barely heard her shout that I should come down.  I shot down at first, aiming to far, but managed to pull in slowly and landed gracefully, just as Albus had the first time.

“Beautiful form!  Will you do one more thing for me?  Albus! Albus Potter, come here!” She said.  “Now, I want you two to race to the goal posts.  I want to see if you can do it, dear, go ahead.”  She smiled and gave me a nudge.  “On my mark!”  I stepped over my broom.  “Go!”  We both kicked off and started going.  I was right next to him, keeping his pace almost every step of the way.  When we were almost to the goal posts, I wobbled a bit, and had a heart attack, thinking I would fall off.  We finished with him in the lead and me just behind.  I didn’t know how to stop at that speed, so I ended up flying off my broom and landing on my backside.  Al ran over and helped me out.

“Thanks.”

“No problem.  You all right?”  His eyes sparkled with the laugh he was holding back.

“Yeah, I didn’t know how to stop.”

“Good race, though.”

“Thanks… But I’ll beat you next time.”  I winked.  “You can count on that.”

Madam Hooch apologized profusely, and briefly explained stopping at high speeds.  After that, she recommended that we both try out for Quiddich on Friday.

 

By the time all our classes were finished, dinner had never sounded so good.  I sat down next to Al, and Rose eagerly popped down next to me.  As we awaited something warm to fill our stomachs, a boy with light brown hair and brown eyes appeared.  He looked a little like Albus.

“Hey, little brother.”  He smiled, his smirk reading of a troublemaker through and through.  Hm, I thought, that explains why he looks so much like Al…

“Hey, James.”  Al forced a bit of a smile.  “How are you?”

“I’m just great.  So who’s the girl?”  He winked at me.  “She’s a cutie.”

“Hop off, James-“  James reached over and held out a hand to me.

“The name’s James Sirius Potter, and this here is my dork little brother.  Pleasure to meet you, lady.”  When I shook his hand, he surprised me by taking my hand between his own fingers and kissing it.  “You are beautiful.”

“Uh… Thanks.”  I smiled.  His eyes showed with laughter, and I could tell he was just trying to get on Al’s nerves.  I decided to play along.  “You’re pretty cute, too.”  He winked and continued to hold my hand.

“Have you asked her out yet, Al?”  He inquired of his brother.

“Seriously, James, go away.”  Albus shook his head, annoyed.

“All right, all right… Next time, lady.”  James winked at me and walked off with the typical swagger that belongs to a troublemaker.

Before dinner arrived, though, there was another visitor to the trio’s table.  His hair was blonde like stars, and his eyes were dark, and full of a strange sadness.  I vaguely remembered him being but in Slytherin.

“Hullo, Scorpius.”  Albus said, smiling.

“Potter.”  He smiled.  “Oh, Rosie!  Nice to see you’re here.”  He embraced both of them.

“Hullo, Scorpius.  I’ve missed you.”  She smiled, returning his embrace.

“I can’t believe I didn’t get Gryffindor… I guess it runs in the family.”  He sighed, fiddling with his necktie.  His gaze finally seemed to fall on me.  “Ah, and who is this?”

“This is our new friend, Sophie.”  Rose said.  “We met on the train.”

“Hi.”  I said, shaking his hand.  “How do you do?”

“Hullo,” he replied.  “Pleasure to meet you.  Do you think I can sit here for dinner?  Or is that against the rules?”

“I don’t know…” Rose said sadly.  “I don’t think so, Scorpius.”  The sadness in her eyes reflected his.  “Let’s meet up after dinner, though.  Maybe we can go someplace?”

“All right.”  He smiled, slightly.  “Enjoy your meal.”  He turned.  “Nice meeting you, Sophie.”

Once he had gone, I turned to Albus.  “Who was that?”

“That was Scorpius Malfoy.  Everyone is surprised that we’re friends, but he and his dad have actually been over to my house for dinner before.  He and I go way back.”

“Why is everyone so surprised?”

“His father was my father’s ‘enemy’ for all seven years.  The Malfoy family tried to kill both of my parents at one point, and I hear they were death eaters.  They’re hated now, and being outcasted has changed them.”  Al cast a sad look in his direction.  “Scorpius deserves better, he’s a really great guy.”

Just then our food arrived and the conversation was stopped while we filled our bellies with warmth.  When we were finally finished, we sat back, stuffed and delighted.  We talked about classes for a while, and then Al suggested that we get heading back.

“I’m going to talk to Scorpius for a while, all right?”  Rose smiled.  “I’ll meet you all up there.”

“All right, see you soon.”  I smiled at her, dragging Al away by his wrist so they could be alone.  It was a bold move… Maybe I was a Gryffindor after all.

We reached the common room and I had long since dropped his wrist.  We sat up for a while talking at the couches in front of the fire place about Quidditch.  He told me all the positions, and explained the game thoroughly.  He showed me different drills and moves, and promised that it would all make sense once I got a ball in my hand.  I had my heart set for Keeper, though I might make a fair Chaser.  Albus said he wanted to be a seeker, like his father and grandfather before him.  He told me that James was already on the team as one of the best beaters Hogwarts had ever seen, never missing a mark.  He promised that Quidditch was a dangerous game, but that didn’t phase me.  I wanted to play.

 

This process was repeated each day without fail.  Hagrid making me pet different, scary things that loved me, Professor Longbottom having me re-pot plants for everyone else to see… Me failing at potions, to the potions-master’s dismay, boring History classes… Madam Hooch pitting Al and I against ourselves and other students, and dinners, delicious dinners.  I never got any mail, but I did go feed Barnabus a couple of treats up in the Owlry one day.  After dinner, Rose and Scorpius would talk, and I would meet with Al up in the common room to work on Quidditch technique.  He was sure to get on the team.  When Rose bounded into the common room, she wouldn’t tell me what she and Scorpio had talked about, I had a hunch it was about his past.  He seemed less and less sad as he came to visit us.  Sometimes he would ask me questions about muggles and living in the muggle world, or what my favorite color was, or how I liked Hogwarts.  He really was a great guy.

Life was simple and routine like that.

That is until Friday.

Friday was when it all changed.

Friday was Quidditch tryouts.

about%�fi`6��n style="mso-spacerun: yes">  The hat inquired.  Hm… A heart of gold, I do see it in you.  Well then… “GRYFFINDOR!” It cried, and was removed.  To thunderous cheers I raced over and sat next to Albus, who ruffled my hair and laughed, looking relieved.  A tall boy with dark hair and deep blue eyes rose to shake my hand.

“My name is Tommy, I’m head Prefect of Gryffindor.  Welcome!”  He was beaming like my addition to the House was a large accomplishment.  I smiled back at him.

“My name is Sophie.”  I replied.

“Well, congratulations, Gryffindor!  After perhaps the longest that the Sorting Hat has ever taken to place a person, you’ve won the battle!  Put her to good use.”  Headmistress McGonagall smiled.  “Now for announcements, The Forest is absolutely forbidden to every student.  As usual, there are rules.  If you follow them, I trust you’ll have a favorable time here at Hogwarts, but if not…” She looked around.  “It may be less enjoyable.  Now, let the feast… Begin.”  She snapped her fingers and a feast of roasted turkey appeared on the table, enough for everyone to have first, seconds, and even thirds.  We dug in hungrily, ignoring manners.  It had been a long day.  I bit into the turkey hungrily, and it was perhaps the most delicious thing I’d ever tasted.  It was soft and warm, cooked to perfection, and breaded delicately.  I even had seconds, unusual for me.

After we were all full, Rose informed me that the hat had taken perhaps twenty minutes to sort me.  I was shocked, how had I been up there for more than 5?  It had felt like ages, but I had assumed it was just my own perception.  I smiled.

“I’m so glad it chose Gryffindor.” I said.

“So are we.”  Al added.  “Pass the salt?”

 

After dinner, Professor McGonagall informed me that curfew would be effective in exactly one hour, and that any student caught wandering the halls at night would come to regret it.  Tommy, head Prefect, lead us to our common room, which was guarded by a fat lady.

“Password?”  She asked, fanning herself and looking bored.

“Toadstools  Tommy answered.

“That’s correct.” She sighed, and the portrait swung open to reveal a common room with chairs and fireplaces scattered about.  It smelled like Pumpkin Juice.

I was led by Rose, yet again by my wrist, up into the dorm room.  My trunk was settled by a bed right next to hers and a few feet away from a window.  The beds were hung with drapes that could be opened and closed.  They were decorated with red and gold.  The sheets beneath the beds were white.  I pulled out the quilt my mother had made me.  She insisted I pack it, since I wouldn’t be coming home until Christmas.  I had rolled my eyes, but now was happy that I’d done so, seeing the rather ratty blanket that would be otherwise my only warmth on long winter nights.  Rose unpacked some of her things onto the side table, including a flashy alarm clock and a tiny puppy doll.  I didn’t have much to unload, but set a picture of my family on my bedside table.  I was relieved to see that I wasn’t the only one to do so.

After a rather frenzied search, I found that Barnabus was not with my things.  Rose, seeing my panic, explained that he would be at the Owlry, and promised to show me where that was located when I next needed to send a letter.  She then pulled me into her bed, where she had laid a flannel blanket decorated with swirls and spots and soft as flannel could be.

“So, what do you think of my cousin?”  She asked, her blue eyes alight with intrigue.

“Your… Cousin?”  I asked.  “Is that Trillium?”

She laughed.  “No, silly!  Al!  He’s my cousin.  What do you think of him?”  She smiled in anticipation of my answer.

“He’s cute.” I laughed; I’d never had a friend to tell such things to.  “And a really nice guy.” I blushed heavily.  “I’m happy to have met you all.”

“Oh that’s so cute!  I heard him tell you that on the train, see I was only pretending to be asleep.  He’s never really liked a girl before!”  She wrapped me up in a hug.  “How exciting!”  She sat back.  “It’s a shame Trillie couldn’t be here with us.  I’m not technically related to her, but she’s been practically another cousin since I was little.  But I know she would never have been happy in Gryffindor.  She was telling me on the train ride here.”

“Oh.”  I said.  “But we’ll still see her, right?”

“Yes, the Houses interact quite often.”  She smiled.  “So, what do you think, want to be friends?”  She asked.

“I thought we already were.”  I laughed, shyly.

“Best friends, then.”  She wrapped me up in another fierce hug, which I returned, happily.  I’d never had a best friend before.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! If you've read this far, please leave a review for me :) Thanks! Have a wonderful day!!