𝑈𝑛𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 ☾ 𝐷𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑜 𝑀𝑎𝑙𝑓𝑜𝑦

Sorting It Out ☾ 3-02

-

"I love your accent, are you from France?" Hermione questioned as we traveled across the countryside.

"Oui, er- yes," I said sheepishly. "I'm new."

"Well then, welcome to Hogwarts." She said with a smile. It soon disappeared as the train came to a sudden stop over a bridge. The once sunny sky began to cloud over. I shivered as cold crept its way into our cabin. I brought my arms closer to my chest as my hair faded to a miserable blue. Harry rubbed his hands together.

"I think something's coming aboard," Ron said fearfully. The air felt palpable and sickening. The lights went out and frost began to crawl up the windowsill. The train shook, and we looked around nervously, the sleeping stranger stayed still. Hermione gasped. Our breath clouded the air. The train shook again, more violently. "Bloody hell! What's happening?" Ron practically jumped out of his seat.

Suddenly, the door handle began to turn as a large, ghostly form floated toward us. Its long black robes covered its massive body and blew through the air. It was terrifying. The creature opened the door and drifted into the carriage. It's form slowly turned toward Harry and began to open its ghastly mouth. Hermione's cat, Crookshanks hissed relentlessly. The creature smelled like death, and I couldn't look away as it sucked at Harry's soul. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Fear jumped through my veins and I felt myself being drained of happiness as if I was slowly losing my youth.

Just then, the stranger launched into a standing position and pointed his wand in the creature's face. A bright light burst from the tip and expelled the creature out of the carriage and out of the train. The stranger's light brown hair was messily draped over his face, somewhat covering what looked to be claw scars all over his pale skin. We all stared at the man, shocked at the turn of events. Harry sat still for a moment, then fainted across the seat. The man sat down, and we carefully watched Harry for the remainder of the trip.

He eventually opened his eyes. "Harry, are you alright?" Hermione asked, concerned. The stranger was now sitting next to me, Ron on the other side. Hermione stood next to Harry, trying to calm Crookshanks. "Here, eat this. It'll help." The man said, handing harry something. He reluctantly accepted and took a bite. "Don't worry, it's chocolate." When he reached out I noticed the abundance of scars covering his hands as well. I would ask, but I feel that's terribly rude.

I looked down and saw my hair start to fade back to its normal purple out of the corner of my eye. Hermione turned to me, wide-eyed. "You're a metamorphmagus." She said, more commanding than asking. I nodded, still in shock. "Wow. I've never met one before. I've read about them in books though. Can you really change your face at will?" She asked, ever seeking more and more knowledge about the Wizarding world. I quickly changed my nose into the snout of a dog to prove my point. The savior man flinched backward, and I turned towards him. Changing my nose back to normal, I looked at him worriedly. "Are you alright Sir?"

"Yes, quite fine. Thank you. If you'll excuse me." The man got up and exited the train.

-

I was separated from the group as a lady in a green robe and hat pulled me aside. She led me through the inside of the castle, and into a different room than everyone else seemed to be going. She smiled as she introduced herself.

"Miss Whitethorn. My name is Professor McGonagall. I am the professor of transfiguration here at Hogwarts." I already felt a bit of a bond toward her, as a metamorphmagus, I was quite accustomed to the concept of transfiguration. While it was different, it was still similar.

"The headmaster will join us in a moment to have you sorted. We wanted to make it an easier adjustment and make your sorting separate from the first years. We are very happy to have you." She winked at me and left the room for a few minutes. I sat down at the desk, patiently waiting. McGonagall then returned on the heels of an old man with a very long white beard. He wore pristine grey robes with intricate embroidery and a cap that matched his robes. I stood and brushed the invisible dust off of my school uniform.

"Hello, Miss Whitethorn. I am Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster."

"It's very nice to meet you professor." I curtsied, trying to be polite.

"Oh, no need for formalities when it's just us Miss Whitethorn, I assure you. Please have a seat."

I sat down and he pulled out a ratty old hat. It looked very dirty, and I squinted at it. It slowly wrinkled at the front, into what I realized to be a face.

"A transfer student, huh? Well well. Let's see." Dumbledore placed the talkative hat on my head and I looked up. "Hmm, shows a lot of enthusiasm toward her studies, exceptional Quidditch chaser, and oh, I can feel something else. Ambitious, intelligent, shows a lot of promise." I raised my eyebrows, curious to see if I would join my friends in Gryffindor or not. "This is a difficult one. I think... better be, Ravenclaw!" The hat announced my house and Dumbledore removed it from my head.

"Well then, that is settled. Please, join your house in the great hall. I will assign a student to help introduce you to the school." McGonagall ushered me toward the door after I thanked the headmaster.

☾

That's it for this chapter! It felt really long. Can you guess who her guide will be? I am very excited for more Lupin. I love professor Lupin.

- Z