Chapter Three
The carriage pulled out of Hogsmeade Station, trundling up the long path which wound towards the ancient castle, sitting above everything else like the king of the landscape. The heavens had opened halfway through the Prefects’ meeting and now the rain hammered against the roof of the carriage, creating hundreds of miniature lakes through which the wheels splashed, throwing up great sprays of water.
“I would not want to be one of the first years heading to the castle in this,” Alice said as they headed through the forest until they turned a corner and saw the enormous gates before them, the giant statues on either side looming over them. Beyond they could see the glinting lights of the castle, shining through the dark night like lighthouses guiding ships home. At the doors to the castle they leapt out and ran for the Great Hall, engulfed in a warm and welcoming embrace by the roaring fires of the hall as they walked through the doors. Lily shook her head slightly as she tried to avoid the raindrops which clung to her cloak; shedding it immediately she sat down at the Gryffindor table in her robes.
She nearly slammed her head onto the table when Potter and his friends sat down opposite her but at that very moment Professor McGonagall entered, a long trail of tiny first years trailing behind her.
Once the Sorting was finished Dumbledore stood up and the hall fell into silence. “Good evening,” he said, his voice magically filling the entire room, though it may just have been because of the complete quiet which filled it. “Another year has begun and I hope that you will welcome the first years. For those of you who have forgotten, or who did not already know, the forest is out of bounds to all pupils. I think that that will be all, though I am sure Mr Filch will be most rigorous in enforcing any rules I may have missed out there. Now, time for our dinner I think,” he said with a smile as hundreds of plates appeared on each house table.
As usual Cassie fell on everything nearby, and many things further away, taking many times more than she could possibly manage and making it appear as if she hadn’t been fed all summer while Lily restrained herself.
“Ooh!” Lily exclaimed. “Chicken pie!” she grinned as she cut herself a slice and spooned peas onto her plate.
The noise in the Great Hall was deafening, each house apparently having a competition to see who could make the most noise and with the Marauders opposite her being particularly boisterous Lily could barely make herself heard.
When the feast was over everyone trailed after their Prefects; Lily, Cassie, Mary and Alice climbed the stairs sluggishly and they muttered that they would die before they reached Gryffindor Tower.
“I hope you know the password Lily or we’re stuffed,” Cassie said as she clung onto the banister and pulled herself up another flight of stairs.
“I think I’m already stuffed,” Alice muttered as she moaned about never eating that much again.
“I need a break,” Mary said as they rounded the corner and entered the corridor where the Fat Lady hung.
“Leo magnificus,” Lily said as the Fat Lady frowned at them.
“Where have you been? The others all arrived ages ago,” she said snobbishly.
“It took us a while to climb the stairs alright?” Cassie grumbled as the Fat Lady swung out of the way.
“I’ll bet,” she muttered snidely as they climbed through the portrait hole.
Lily sighed with happiness as she looked around, taking in the old armchairs by the fire, the faded tapestries which covered each wall, the squishy sofas by the windows, the soft rugs which blanketed the floor and the roaring fire. She remembered every inch of the common room, and she had missed the hub of Gryffindor house in the holidays.
“God I forgot about this hellhole,” Cassie joked as they entered their dorm, diving onto her bed and gazing up at the fabric of the hangings over her bed.
Lily changed as quickly as possible and dived into bed too, fatigue suddenly hitting her and she was asleep almost instantly, comfortable beneath her blankets.
The next morning she practically bounced down to the Great Hall, excitement radiating from her as her uncontainable joy at being back at school spilled out from her. Her wide smile stretched even wider when, as she flicked through her Daily Prophet over breakfast, she looked up to see Cassie sitting opposite her, her curly hair sticking out in various directions as she glared at the table, her lips set in a grimace. “Good morning Cassiopeia!” Lily grinned as Cassie sent a look her way cold enough to freeze the dead.
“I hate you Lily,” Cassie muttered. “I hate everything and I especially cannot stand mornings,” she growled as she lay her head on the table. “Don’t talk to me,” she mumbled, her words nearly lost in the chatter which filled the hall, “I am dead.”
Lily’s laugh was echoed by their friends Mary and Alice as they joined them at the table. “Oh dear,” Alice said, her attempt at a serious face failing at hiding her mirth, “Cassie looks happy to be back at school.”
At that moment Professor McGonagall appeared at their table, eyeing Cassie disapprovingly before saying, “And just what do you think you’re doing Miss Jones?”
“Oh Professor,” Cassie muttered, her head still on the table, “I was just having a nap so that I’m awake for Transfiguration later.”
“Well here is your timetable Cassiopeia,” she said, placing a piece of parchment beside Cassie’s head as Cassie mumbled something incoherent which Lily assumed was ‘Thank you Professor.’
Professor McGonagall handed out the rest of the timetables before moving on; Lily studied hers eagerly as she ate her breakfast, already looking forward to her lessons.
Eventually people began to file out of the hall, heading towards their first lesson, first years almost trampled underfoot as the seventh years chattered amongst themselves, the lower years parting for them as they made their way through the crowd.
“Come on Cassie,” Lily called, poking her with a clean knife, “time to go to Arithmancy.” Cassie raised her head slowly, her eyes bleary as she looked around, confused. “Never has it been more tempting to skip a lesson,” she grumbled as she stood up and followed Lily towards the staircases which led to the rest of the castle.
By the time they reached their Arithmancy classroom Cassie had woken up and they were discussing their holidays, sharing stories that they had forgotten the day before, or hadn’t had time to tell; the streams of students continued on while Lily and Cassie turned off into one of the corridors and joined the class which stood outside the door. Lily was endlessly grateful that Potter and Black valued their image too much to do anything as intellectual as Arithmancy meaning that she was free of them and the reminder of everything that they stood for at least some part of the week.
As the various students gossiped outside the classroom door, the Ravenclaws that they shared this lesson with laughing with old friends, none of the animosity between houses appearing here, Professor Smith arrived. He was so tall that he had to stoop when he walked through the door to his classroom and had curly brown hair which was streaked with grey. He led them into his classroom and waited for them to sit down before waving his wand, a stack of books handing themselves out to each student. “Welcome back class,” he smiled, waiting patiently as everyone sorted themselves out. “I would just like to say a few words before we begin,” he said once everyone was silent again. “I am not worried about this class, you are all bright and work hard, but you must remember that this is an important year for all of you; as you no doubt know and have been told time and time again your O.W.L.s are approaching and I need all of you to work as hard as you can this year. Do not worry though!” he said, holding his wand aloft with a flourish for emphasis. “We have nearly finished everything that you need to learn and will most likely be able to begin revising after Christmas but do not, whatever you do, think that the work I do with you will be enough to get you the grades that you deserve. Now, without any further hesitation, let us begin with the merits of combining Numerology with Tarot cards!”
Hey all, sorry about my absence recently, I've had a crazily busy couple of weeks! Anyway, I'm just chilling in my PR so have got this up for you all, please vote, comment and love as usual because I really enjoy hearing what you think :D
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