Green Apples and Parchment

Chapter One

Another year at Hogwarts, I thought as I boarded the Hogwarts Express. I was beyond excited to be going back for my fourth year. I missed everything; my common room, the library, my friends, and even my classes. I couldn't wait to sit down with the rest of the Hufflepuffs in the Great Hall and watch the sorting ceremony.

I was sorted into Hufflepuff when I got to Hogwarts as a first year. I was disappointed, hoping to be put in Ravenclaw like my father. I felt like I wasn't smart or cool enough to be in the house I wanted to be in. After a few months though, I realized that I loved being a Hufflepuff. I was close friends with everyone in my house, and I got along with most of the people at Hogwarts too, which was one of the reasons I excelled as a Hufflepuff. The sorting hat definitely put me in the right house.

As I was sitting down, a boy stopped in front of my compartment. Ugh, Draco. I barely kept myself from rolling my eyes. I was easy to get along with, and I had nothing against Slytherins, but Draco Malfoy drove me absolutely insane. He's always thought he was better than me because he was rich and both of his parents were from old wizarding families. When I first met him, he laughed when I told him that my mother was a muggle.

"Connolly," he said, leaning against the door to the compartment.

"Hello again, Draco." I wasn't able to keep the exasperation out of my voice. For some reason, this made him smirk.

"You don't sound very excited to see me. And here I was, thinking that you were nice to everyone."

"Must we do this every year, Draco?" I couldn't stop my eyes from rolling, which made Draco smirk even more.

"She's right, Malfoy." Ginny Weasley said as she pushed her way into the compartment. "You really need to come up with a new routine. It's getting really boring."

I smiled at the sight of my friend. It was really good to see her again, I hadn't seen her all summer.

Draco scowled. "Whatever, Weasley. No one cares what you think." He pushed himself off the wall, and began to walk down the hallway, mercifully leaving us alone.

Ginny smiled "Thank god he's finally gone. How are you? I haven't seen you since last year."

As Ginny and I caught up, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Hannah Abbott filed into the compartment.

"Hey Cass. Good summer?" Neville said as he dropped into the seat across from me.

"Yeah, what about you guys?"

The train ride progressed quickly as we talked and laughed. I was surprised to see that we were nearly at Hogwarts. Ginny, Luna, Hannah, and I left for the bathrooms to change into our robes. After we came back, you could see the castle out of the train window. It was a view that always left me breathless, no matter how many times I saw it.

The train pulled into Hogwarts. Soon, we were walking into the Great Hall. Hannah and I waved goodbye to our friends and sat down with the other fourth years at the Hufflepuff table. The sorting went by quickly, and I cheered extra loud whenever the sorting hat placed someone in my house.

After a quick speech from Dumbledore and a feast of great food, the Hufflepuff prefect led us to the common room. We stepped inside to see Professor Sprout.

"Welcome back, or in the case of our first years, welcome to Hogwarts! I'm Professor Sprout, the Herbology professor and your head of house."

Sprout's speech was the same every year, so I zoned out, hoping it would go quickly. Finally, she started calling out names to hand out our schedules for the year.

"Cassandra Connolly"

I stepped forward, eagerly grabbing the paper from her hands. My schedule was pretty full this year, but it was nothing I couldn't handle. I'd always been good at school.

After Professor Sprout finally left, I wearily climbed the steps to the girl's dormitory. The day's events had tired me out, and I needed to get some sleep before the first day of classes tomorrow.