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Boarding The Hogwarts Express (Catriona)
Author: Fionna
Date: 07-22-07 13:23
"Now, Cat, when you go through the barrier, remember if you don't get it just right, something will happen that's sort of like splinching."
"Fergus, stop filling her head with nonsense."
Fergus looks at his mother Moira as Catriona alternately laughs and looks worried. "Where's the fun in me coming along if I'm not allowed to tell Cat everything she needs to know."
Moira doesn't bother to answer. She stops walking to allow the last of one family passing through the barrier to go then nods at Fergus. "Take the trunk. Catriona, follow Fergus."
Fergus goes straight up to the barrier and vanishes. Cat follows, holding her breath, just sure that what Fergus said really is the truth and Aunt Moira didn't want him saying anything in case Cat gets so nervous she blunders and ends up as part of the barrier. Cat doesn't think she'd be able to get on the Hogwarts Express if she were to have to be magically extricated from the barrier. She'd be too busy dying of embarassment.
Cat finds herself on a platform just as both Fergus and Fionna had described to her. The train's engine is even scarlet in color just like they'd said. Aunt Moira appears at Cat's side. "Where has Fergus gotten off to already?"
"He's there," Cat points.
Fergus is waving them to one of the train cars. They weave around others on the crowded platform, hearing a good many variations of, "Train's leaving soon. Time to board."
Reaching Fergus, Cat asks, "How'd you get over here so fast?"
"I think it's more like you were dawdling and gaping," Fergus grins, chucking Cat under the chin.
Aunt Moira hugs Cat. "Fergus will help you get your trunk on. Write to let us know how the feast and Sorting goes. Make lots of friends. I know you're going to love Hogwarts!"
Cat hugs her aunt back, promising to write tonight if she's not too tired after all the excitement and if she is then definately first thing in the morning. She follows Fergus onto the train car and they walk past a couple of compartments that look packed. The third one they reach, however, is completely empty.
Fergus opens the door to it, "Right. In you go. You won't be alone for long."
He stows Cat's trunk for her then gives her a hug along with some parting advice. "When the professor puts the Sorting Hat on your head, it'll probably be Professor McGonagall, can't see her ever leaving the place, where was I? Sorting Hat on head. Right. When it's put on your head, there's a sort of burning and stabbing. Whatever you do, don't let anyone see that it hurts. It's part of the test. Few people know that there's a fifth house at Hogwarts. It's for those who cry and blubber about the pain of Sorting. Don't be the first person in fifty years to be Sorted into that house, Cat. It's a real disgrace and you would be all alone at every meal, have no house mates, and who from another house would want to be friends with the only current member of House Poltroon?"
Fergus grins, shoves a couple of galleons into Cat's hand, "For snacks off the cart. I know Mum didn't give you anything for the cart."
Another hug and Fergus leaves Catriona sitting all alone in the compartment, one hand going to her honey brown hair, wondering where exactly the burning and the stabbing occurs and if she should practicing looking stoic for when the Sorting Hat is put on her head.
Time to Head to Hogwarts
Author: Oreileah McCoi
Date: 07-22-07 13:50
Since Orei spent the last night in Hogsmeade, as her parents are in Japan, she doesn't need to go to King's Cross to board the train. She actually had a chance to sleep in and enjoy her final day before returning to Hogwarts. She and Brett had a late breakfast at Briar's and Orei was getting a few final things that she needed, extra quills, scrolls, and the like.
As the afternoon wore on, she and Brett packed up the rest of her things and he walked her to the gates of Hogwarts. "I'll see you on the first Hogsmeade trip. Love you." She thought of lingering, spending a bit more time with him, and going to meet the train at the station, but no, she'd might as well go ahead and get her things put away and get back into the Gryffindor Common Room and get ready for the feast tonight.
"Bye Brett. I'll send you an owl with the date of the first trip and the first Quidditch match, if I make the team. Gotta be there to see the Ireland National Team..." She grinned and kissed him once more before she and her trunk were headed up toward the castle. This year, would be the first of the last two most important years of Orei's career at Hogwarts. She turned sixteen this year, and it was the beginnings of her NEWT classes.
Heading into the Castle she would get settled and soon head down to the Great Hall and wait for the others to start pouring in...including the new first years who would no doubt be nervous and terrified their first day at Hogwarts.
Bobble
Author: Kissy Isuki
Date: 07-22-07 19:30
Kissy moves around her new classroom, changing the arrangement yet again. Two days ago, late Thursday, Harriet Snider showed up at the doorway of Kissy's then classroom to inform Kissy that she'll be using a different classroom this term. Kissy wasn't surprised, she just wishes she'd been given more notice. As with everyone else who's been asked to move classrooms, no explanation was given, even when a direct question was put to the new headmistress.
At least she does have the whole weekend, aside from Start of Term feast, to get things arrange how she wants. This classroom is smaller, which is nice in a way. The real plus is that Kissy is on the same stretch of hallway as her DADA obstacle courses. The walk from the old classroom wasn't a long one but when on a time limit during an actual class, every second counts.
There's a small space that connects to this classroom so Kissy has moved her office in there. It's more convenient to the classroom and obstacle course rooms. Flicking her wand to move desks back how she had them ten minutes before, Kissy sighs and says aloud, "I've got to stop this. What still needs to be one? Post my office hours." Kissy walks through the adjoining door and sits down at her desk.
It doesn't take but a few minutes to work out new office hours to go with her new course schedule. Kissy's schedule is very different this term, courtesy of Harriet Snider. As with the orders for some to move classrooms, the changes to the course schedules came with no explanation. As far as Kissy is aware, every professor was given a new schedule.
Kissy uses a charm to stick the copy of her new office hours and course schedule to her door. Kissy starts to go back into her classroom to rearrange yet again. Deciding she should take a break, go get lunch or at least a snack, Kissy walks down the hallway in the direction of the best route to the Great Hall. She's nearly to the staircase when she notices gobs of white stuck to the wall nearest the stairs and going down the banister.
Getting closer, Kissy can see Peeves hovering over the first landing, dropping more gobs of whatever the white stuff is. "Peeves!" Kissy scolds. The poltergeist zooms off over her head going down the corridor where she's just been, laughing uproariously as he drops some of the white goo on Kissy's head.
Kissy has taken a step towards the stairs just as the goo splatters. Momentarily blinded as it gets in her eyes, Kissy missteps, feeling nothing but air under her foot. As she starts to tumble, Kissy grabs for about where she thinks the banister to be. Her hand misses the railing and with her forward momentum combined with her twisting and reaching more for the banister, Kissy ends up banging her elbow. Hard.
Still going head first down the stairs, Kissy twists even more, this time giving her left knee a really good knock. She does, however, manage to get turned enough that she's now more facing the stairs themselves rather than looking at the landing. Bracing herself, Kissy hits the stairs, pain shooting up to her already throbbing elbow and she knocks the same knee again. When Kissy does reach the landing, it is feet first in a slide, which is better than head first and a massive concussion, or worst.
Taking a moment to regain her breath, Kissy slowly turns back over and ooches to the edge of the landing to the next set of stairs. The arm with the throbbing elbow cradled against her, Kissy uses her other hand for leverage on the railing to ease into a half-standing, half-crouching position. Testing the knee that she can tell is already swelling, Kissy finds the foot on that side also can't handle any weight. Odd, she doesn't remember slamming her foot into anything.
Movement on the first floor catches her eye. "Hello?"
AJ Miller comes into view. "Kissy?"
AJ is already bounding up towards her as she asks, "Will you help me, please. I had a bobble."
Mindful of her right elbow and left foot and knee, AJ gets Kissy to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey does a quick assessment. "Elbow is badly bruised. Knee is sprained, strained, and I think also you chipped your patella. You've got some breaks and cracks in your foot. You'll be fixed by tomorrow, though stiff and a little sore."
"I have to miss the feast?"
"Afraid so, dear. I'll go get the potions you need. Won't be but a few minutes."
AJ pats Kissy on the shoulder. "I'll ask one of the House Elves to bring you a mini-feast. I know it's not the same but unless you're prepared to take those potions then Confund Madam Pomfrey long enough for you to sit through the feast, it will have to do."
"Thanks, AJ. A mini-feast will be wonderful. If you see Saffron, or Bambi, or one of the other ladies, would you ask her to bring me some night clothes?"
"Be happy to."
Kissy smiles at her friend, "Thanks again, now go on, get some lunch. No need to sit around here with me."
"I do have some things to do. I will check on you later though and I won't forget about your mini-feast."
AJ leaves and in the short time before Madam Pomfrey is back with the potions, Kissy can't help but laugh at the faces she imagines students will make when they see her chair vacant at the feast. A few of them will probably claim they've won bets on how Kissy, despite her assurences at the end of last term to return, won't be back.
(Kate) First Train Ride to Hogwarts
Author: Bronwyn Dewhurst
Date: 07-22-07 20:29
Kate Dewhurst stared out the window of the Hogwarts Express, watching the trees whip by as the train sped past on its way to Hogsmeade Station in Scotland. Kate had never ever been to Hogsmeade before, though she'd heard from her dad that it was the only all-wizarding village in all of Great Britain. Her dad was Will Dewhurst, younger brother or Wotan the architect. Will worked at the Ministry of Magic at the Printing Office in the Department of Public Relations. Kate's mum was a Muggle who'd divorced Will as soon as Kate showed any sign of having magical talent herself. Kate hadn't minded that Will was a wizard, but had desperately hoped that her daughter would be just like her, non-magical. She'd fled, unable to cope with the facts, and had hardly seen Kate since.
"Anything from the trolley, dears?" asked an elderly woman, who'd just opened the door to the compartment. She had before her a cart filled with sweets.
The boy seated opposite Kate stood up, fished a few coins from his pocket and handed them over to the woman. "I'll take a box of Bertie Botts Every Flavored Beans and two Chocolate Frogs."
There were two other children in the same compartment who ordered their sweets, and then Kate settled on a cauldron cake and ice cold pumpkin juice. She sat back down in her seat and cautiously unwrapped the cauldron cake, careful not to crumble onto the front of her shirt and into her lap.
The girl next to her and the boy across from the girl struck up a conversation. Kate wasn't exactly shy, but she wasn't the type to converse easily with strangers unless they spoke to her first. It then so happened that the boy seated opposite her, the one who was now sorting through his box of Every Flavored Beans addressed her.
"My name's Mark. What's yours?"
"Kate," Kate replied, looking at the boy. He had dark brown hair and eyes, but very fair skin. She guessed him to be a first year like her. He confirmed in moments later when he said, "This is my first time on the Hogwarts Express."
"Mine too," Kate answered. "Do you know much about Hogwarts?"
"My mum and dad have told me about it. I'm hoping I get sorted into Slytherin like them. It will shame my family if I don't."
Kate frowned. "Why would it shame your family if you wind up somewhere other than Slytherin?"
"Well, Slytherin's the best house, isn't it?"
"I don't know," Kate replied honestly. Her father had been in Gryffindor. "Do you know anything about the teachers?" she asked Mark.
"Not really," he answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Professor Dumbledore's not there anymore." At Kate's blank expression he said, "Everyone knows who Professor Dumbledore is, or was. My dad wagers he's dead."
"Why?" Kate asked.
"Because he had a lot of enemies," Mark supplied, all-knowingly.
Kate thought Professor Dumbledore sounded like a bad person, if he had so many enemies that some might have wanted him dead. She hoped that whoever had taken Professor Dumbledore's place, whom she soon learned had been Headmaster at Hogwarts, was quite lovely.
How wrong she'd find out to be!
Prefects
Author: Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen
Date: 07-23-07 09:11
Fritz and Coco share a compartment with some of the other prefects and wonder why the traditional prefect meeting that always occurs during the first hour or so of the long journey to Hogwarts has been mysteriously postponed until sometime later this evening or even tomorrow morning. No satisfying explanation has been given. The new Head Boy and Head Girl, Robert Wooten and Charity Douglas, simply stated to the bewildered prefects that they received a letter from the new Headmistress only a few days ago with the express instructions not to meet on the train. Headmistress Snider wants to lead the meeting herself, as she has several special announcements to make.
"Maybe she just wants to get to know us," Alanna Beck suggests. "She only has our names, but doesn't know our faces. Not like Dumbledore did––does." Alanna shrugs. "Though that doesn't really explain why we can't already hold our meeting like we always do."
"Maybe she is changing the role of the prefects," Fritz offers. "As the new Headmistress, she may have her own idea of what we can and cannot do, what we should and should not do."
"I'm not sure I like change," says Ariella, "especially when it's unexpected. We may not like what she has to tell us."
Coco has the latest copy of the Daily Prophet open before her. From where she sits, most of the prefects in the compartment can see the article on the front page. It's about the new Hogwarts school year starting up, and to accompany it is a new photograph of Professor Harriet Snider sitting in Dumbledore's old chair in his old office.
"She looks ghastly, doesn't she?" Alanna murmurs.
"I wonder if she's ever heard of hair-removing charms?" someone else asks.
The compartment falls into laughter and for a moment, wondering what's to come isn't on the forefront of their minds.
Dreading the Sorting Hat
Author: Cailyn Spicer
Date: 07-23-07 19:53
Cailyn sat alone in a small compartment staring out the window. She watched as the trees and scenery flew by, not really interested in anything at all that she was seeing. She knew she should be jumping and down with excitement like the first years. But she just couldn’t feel excited about going to a new school. It was one thing to enter into a new school as a first year student. It was another to enter into that school as an older student. What were the other kids going to say about her? She wasn’t British either and this was going to make things worst. She was even taught different things then the Hogwarts students had been taught. She touched the small kitten that lay in her lap asleep. Wishing she was a cat that could sleep through life.
Life at school had never been easy for Cailyn and even though she had already made one friend, it didn’t mean things were going to change for her. She frowned and felt tiny frightened tears prick her eyes. She lifted up her head when she heard something near her door. There was no one there and Cailyn pulled up her knees. She hugged them and leaned her head into them.
She had studied up on the school she was going too. There were four houses. However, unlike Waltings were the students were placed in a house; at Hogwarts they were sorted. But they weren’t just sorted by a teacher. No they were sorted by a magical hat in front of the whole school. How humiliating. Cailyn’s stomach twisted in fear and for the second time she wished she was her cat. At least if she was a cat then she wouldn’t have to sit on a chair with a stupid hat on her head in front of the whole of Hogwarts. She sighed and looked down at her new shoes.
“Meow!” Her cat pawed at her trying to get up onto her lap making Cailyn laugh.
“Oh all right.” Cailyn said softly picking her kitten back up and petting it softly. “There you go. I know how much you like my lap.” Cailyn said with a soft giggle. Her father had given her the cat right before they left and the kitten seemed to take to sitting in her lap.
The tiny animal purred loudly and pawed at Cailyn’s lap. It walked around in a circle then lay down in a ball. Curling up to go back to sleep, making Cailyn smile again. Only her father would think about getting her a cat to make her laugh. She wondered if it was this hard for her dad.
Then again, her father was a well liked person. He wouldn’t have gotten a promotion to the Ministry of Magic if he wasn’t. People were always asking his advice on things and he was always having some sort of party. He was a ladies man and had often gone gabling in the Muggle world with Muggle women who never knew he charmed them. Cailyn shook her head and once again looked out the window.
It was going to be a very long and lonely trip to Hogwarts she thought with a little sigh.
Chocolate Frogs, Magic Words, and Sex Gods
Author: Georgia Copperpot
Date: 07-23-07 21:14
"Pass me a chocolate frog, Izzy wizzy."
Isabella raises her eyebrows. "The magic word, Georgie?"
"Confundo? Wingardium leviosa? MobiliIsabella? Imperio?"
Edith sits up with a gasp while at the same time Catherine hisses sharply. Izzy reaches over and slaps a hand against my mouth. She says through gritted teeth, "Don't even say that last one as a joke. There's vair good reason it's an Unforgiveable."
Shoving her hand off my mouth, my eyes rolling in exasperation, I say, "Fine, I won't again. Don't get your knickers in such a twist."
Izzy glares. "You are such a dunce sometimes, Georgia. I often wonder how you got sorted into Ravenclaw."
"Are you saying I'm a dunce all the time?" I huffily ask.
Edith gives a tiny shrug. "Well, your scores aren't ever that great."
Catherine adds, "You've stated yourself that Arithmancy would be too difficult because of the maths."
I glower at them all. Traitors. "I shall inform Professor McGonagall before the feast that I need to be resorted. The hat made a mistake. It put me in a house with a bunch of twits."
"Don't be like that. You did ask for it, you know," Izzy retorts.
"Yes, well, when I am on the arm of a sex god and you're all coming to me to be introduced to his friends, don't be surprised if I introduce each of you as on a pass from the barmy ward at St. Mungo's."
"What sex god have you in mind, Georgia," Catherine asks.
"Sage Porter. Jared Wynbourne. Bailey Gray. Fritz Schnackenpfefferhausen. Phinfilius Hodfuffer-Flefferfore. Ronan Eastwick. Titus Fitzgerald. Jet Obsidian. Jim Raynor."
I open my mouth to say more names but Izzy puts her hand over it again, telling me, "That's all fine and good, but half the ones you've listed so far have girlfriends."
"Your point being?"
Edith sighs, "Too bad we can't date Professor Miller or Professor Hodfuffer."
Catherine, Isabella and I say in unison, "Coach Krum."
With the discussion now firmly on sex gods, I forget all about wanting another chocolate frog.
Translations:
vair = a much better way of saying very
knickers = lacy panties if you are on the lookout for a sex god or if you're my granddad's girlfriend, overly large, cotton tents
twits = traitorous friends such as Izzy, Catherine, and Edith
barmy = mentally around the bend
sex god = prime example of masculinity