Book 1 || Chapter 6
Selina
Albus Dumbledore, regardless of his age, is not a frail-looking man and it is easy to see why he is such a highly revered wizard. He stands tall and commands the attention of the room without having so much as said a word.
"Welcome," he says, "to another year at Hogwarts. Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!
"Thank you."
As revered as he may be, he was certainly odd. The students around us clap eagerly as if they had been hooked by every word.
"Mad isn't he," Alice says watching the front table. She sits beside me and Hermione, who'd also become a Gryffindor.
"Mad?" says Percy Weasley airily. "He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"
Harry sits across from me and his mouth falls agape as he seems to notice the food for the first time. There was quite a lot of food, maybe too much. I take my pickings sparingly, reminding myself of my mother's warnings. Last time I dared not heed her words I had gotten myself sick the entire night.
A scream at the far end of the table causes me to jump in surprise.
"Sorry, do excuse me." I turn, fast enough to give me whiplash. In front of me, a translucent head bobs above the table. "My, this does look good," the ghosts says mournfully.
"Good Evening Sir Nicholas," Percy says.
"I know who you are! My brothers told me about you-you're Nearly Headless Nick!" Ronald says, his eyes sparkling with intrigue.
"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas," the ghost says, with a cold glare.
"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?" Hermione inquires.
"Like this," he says irritably. He seizes his left ear and pulls. His whole head swings off his neck and falls onto his shoulder as if it was on a hinge.
My stomach churns violently and suddenly I'm not so hungry. I push my plate away from me with a grimace. Sir Nicholas seems pleased with the stunned stares of the other Gryffindors and flips his head back onto his neck.
"So -- new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the house championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable -- he's the Slytherin ghost."
Sitting beside Draco Malfoy is a serious looking ghost with a blank stare and silver blood stains his robes. I've read about of him, briefly, but somehow he looked far worse in person. It was as though at any moment he would jump back to life with a devilish, evil looking, grin. A picture I'd rather not think about.
"How come he's covered in blood?" Seamus Finnigan, a sandy-haired Gryffindor, asks.
"I've never asked," Sir Nicholas says delicately.
"I take it he's not very close with anyone," I say thoughtfully.
"No, I suppose not. Although our deaths are not events we like to-" Sir Nicholas pauses, thinking. "for lack of a better word- relive."
The ghost floats away to talk to some of the other Gryffindors and dinner continues. I eat slowly, still not having quite recovered from the quite graphic and obscene stunt Sir Nicholas had pulled. Once everyone seems to have finished, the remains of our food disappear and deserts replace them.
I study them, they all seem alien to me. Of course, I've seen food like this before, but never have I been able to have any.
"Well go on, the food isn't going to hurt you," Alice says, laughing.
"I'm not sure..." I trail off hesitantly.
"You look as though you've never had ice cream before," Hermione says, "Have you?"
"Well, Mummy and Daddy don't really let me," I say slowly.
"What's the point of being a princess if you're not allowed sweets?" Ronald quips from beside Harry.
A few of the other Gryffindors laugh and I give a shy smile but let my gaze fall into my lap. After a moment, something obstructs my view and I look up. Across from me, Harry offers out a tart. His cheeks are tinged a light pink but he's smiling.
"It's a treacle tart," he says. "It's good, I've tried one."
I take the treacle tart from him. "Thank you, Harry." He nods and turns back to talk to the other Gryffindor boys. I watch him and smile before looking down to the
Eventually, the deserts disappear as well and again Professor Dumbledore steps forward. The hall falls silent.
"Ahern -- just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.
"First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flash in the direction of the Weasley twins, Fred and George.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch.
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
My skin goes cold at his grim tone although a few laugh at his heeding. Likely, like Harry or Hermione, they are not familiar with the dangers of this world. There are some things about the world around us that even I don't know.
"And now, bedtime. Off you trot!" Dumbledore grins and shoos us dismissively.
The Gryffindor tower lies in the east of the castle. Percy guides us up several marble staircases and cautions us that they do change on their own. We come to a sudden halt. A bundle of walking sticks floats in the air ahead of us, and as Percy takes a step toward them they start to throw themselves at him.
"Peeves," Percy whispers to the first years. "A poltergeist." He raises his voice, "Peeves -- show yourself."
There's a pop, and a little man with wicked, dark eyes appears, floating with crossed legs in the air, clutching the walking sticks. "Oooooooh!" he says, with an evil cackle. "Ickle Firsties! What fun!"
He swoops down at us, earning a few frightened screams as we all dodge his assault.
"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!" Percy barks.
Peeves sticks out his tongue childishly and vanishes, dropping the walking sticks on poor Neville's head.
"You want to watch out for Peeves," says Percy, and begins to walk again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."
We approach the end of the corridor and hung on the wall is a painting depicting a woman in a silk pink dress. She hardly looks at us when she drawls, "Password?"
"Caput Draconis."
The painting swings open, revealing a hole in the wall. Harry helps me through the hole and the rest of the Gryffindors follow through. The Common Room is a large circular room, adorned with a few plush armchairs, pictures, and tables off to the side.
"Ladies, your dormitories will be up the stairs on the right, and gentlemen, the same on your left."
I bid Harry goodnight and hook arms with Alice as we walk up the spiral staircase. I decide to share a room with Hermione and Alice as the other Gryffindor first year girls fill an entire room themselves. In retrospect, it seems as though they may not be very fond of us though.
We all pull on our nightgowns quickly, our eyes drooping with exhaustion. I set my wand on my bed stand beside me and snuggle into my comforter.
What a day.
Author's Note
This is probably the fastest I have ever updated. I just finished two finals today and I bombed them both so I thought updating might make me feel a little better. This chapter is more of a filler chapter but we're just about to get to the good stuff so stay tuned. (Also, I didn't spend too much time editing and fine-tuning the chapter so feel free to comment on any feedback you have. Until next time! ❤️