Talon

Chapter 1

"All aboard the Hogwarts Express!" Young witches and wizards stream along platform 9 ¾ and onto the train.

"Goodbye Mum, goodbye Dad," comes from all over the platform. One of those voices comes from a slightly taller than average girl with long wavy brown hair and brilliant hazel eyes. This girl's name is Merida.

"Such an ungrateful little turd, she didn't even come over to say goodbye!" another young voice exclaimed from the crowd. Merida's younger sister, Paisley, yelled to her parents over the loud din.

"Oh hush now darling. Have a good year Merida! We'll see you when summer begins!" The children's mother called, grabbing her youngest daughter by the hand. The family of four left the oldest child on the platform, leaving before the train even left the station, and before their daughter boarded it.

Merida attempted to move through the churning masses and enter the train. Finally reaching the door she walked inside and found an empty compartment. Once inside she sat down and prepared for the journey.

More and more students flooded into compartments and they were quickly filling up. That's how James Potter, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black found themselves in the same compartment as Merida Vesper.

Remus stuck his head and asked, "Is there space for four people in here?"

"Of course," Merida quickly replied.

"Sorry to intrude, this was the only compartment we could find with space," Remus apologized as the four boys came in and sat down. So the five of them were off to start their first year at Hogwart School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After a short time on the move, the group heard, "Want anything from the trolley dears?" from outside the compartment door. All the boys jumped up and went to get their favorite treats. However, being from a muggle family Merida was not familiar with the candies. James and Sirius decided to change that by making her try all of their favorites from Chocolate Frogs and Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans to Sugar Quills and Toothflossing Stringmints. They told her about the best and worst flavored beans and explained who the person on her Chocolate Frog Card was, Albus Dumbledore, the current headmaster of Hogwarts, and why he suddenly vanished. Before they knew they were being told to put on their robes because they were about to arrive.

Once they had departed from the train they heard someone calling the first years.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" They stumbled through the crowd to find the source of the voice. The voice came from a very tall man with a very full beard.

"C'mon follow me -- any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!" They headed down the dark and narrow path to a glistening black lake.

"No more'n five to a boat!" Students piled onto boats one after another, not wanting to be left behind. James, Sirius, Remus, Peter, and Merida barely fit into the small canoes.

"Everyone in?" Hagrid called, looking around to make sure no student was forgotten, he didn't want to be yelled at again because of it.

Right then - FORWARD!" Almost in sync, every boat began moving forward. Across the lake and towards the looming castle.

Exhausted after rowing across the lake the student truly just wanted to eat, but there was one thing to do first - sorting.

"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said, leaving the new students in the hands of a witch with auburn hair.

"Thank you Hagrid, I will take them from here," the witch replied. McGonagall led the students through the Entrance Hall and to a small empty side chamber. They crowded in, making small talk amongst themselves as they went, wondering how they would be sorted into houses.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," McGonagall said, the first years going silent. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting ceremony is a significant ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school, I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Once the professor left, all of the first years started talking quite loudly, some guessing what house they would be in and others boasting about the house they knew they would be in.

"My family has been Slytherin's for ages. I'll be disowned if I'm not a Slytherin," Sirius whined.

"What do you want to be in Sirius?" Merida asked curiously.

"Anything but Slytherin," Sirius grinned.

"Well, I want to be in Gryffindor, house of the courageous and brave!" James shouted, pumping his fist into the air.

"Settle down now Potter," a sharp voice said, showing that Professor McGonagall had returned. "The Sorting Ceremony is about to start. Now, form three lines, and follow me."

The eleven-year-olds quickly complied and began their parade into the Great Hall. Every mouth dropped open as they walked inside. Their eyes taking in the long tables with hundreds of students along them, the arching ceilings that were spelled to look like the great expanse of the night sky, what could be thousands of long white candles danced around in the space above them dripping wax that disappeared before it hit the floor. The last thing their eyes landed on was a long table stretching across the back wall of the hall lined with professors and in front of it a stool with a beaten up hat on top.