Ellie's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe that this was where she was going to go to school! She silently cursed her mother for losing the letter, and all thought of using her Gringotts money to stay away from this place was wiped from her mind. Lily squealed, and Ellie felt like doing the same thing. The castle was magnificent, with large pillars and a spectacular dome. Ellie marveled at all of the creatures poking out of a very dark forest. She recognized a hippogriff, unicorn, and adult male blast ended skrewt before turning her eyes back on the splendor that was her school. They came up to a station that she recognized.
"Hogsmeade!" She exclaimed, relief of the familiar washing over her.
"Heard of it, have you?" Lily questioned.
"Heard of it..." Ellie said, a look of disbelief on her face. "I've been homeschooled, not isolated!"
"Let's go get my boyfriend!" Lily said, "I want you to meet him, he's such a gentleman!" Ellie looked at Lily warily. Something about the way she said that, the way her eyes darted to the side ever so slightly, made Ellie say,
"What?" Lily giggled, and so did Alice.
"Well, actually..." Lily said, but Alice cut her off, saying
"I dared Lily to go out with James Potter for a week in the school year. He's always asking her out, and won't leave her alone."
"And I've never turned down a dare." Lily said proudly. Ellie looked between the two and burst out laughing again, saying,
"Let's go!" They moved from compartment to compartment, Ellie growing increasingly excited with every step. They finally reached the compartment, third from the front, and Ellie entered, giddiness filling her stomach. She'd never really been a part of anything before, and these girls were so willing to accept her as she was and be her friend. The grin that had seemingly stuck to her face since the beginning of the train ride slid off her face as easily as water on glass as she looked around and spotted none other than her rescuer, Sirius Black. The sight of him alone would not have bothered her, but he was sitting in the far corner, face slightly obscured by another black-haired girl that was whispering in his ear and giggling girlishly as he kissed her neck.
"James!" Lily squealed, running over to him and kissing him on the cheek. Ellie shook her head, regained focus and snickered. "I haven't seen you in so long!" James looked thoughtful before answering.
"3 months, 13 days, 11 hours, 10 minutes and," He checked his watch, "17 seconds since I saw my favorite girl last!" Lily blushed slightly, and from this Ellie gathered that there was more to this than the dare. She looked around the compartment for other people, and her eyes lay on a familiar set of hazel eyes that had looked up upon the girls' arrival. They were studying hers, and when she locked gaze with him the corners of his mouth titled upwards.
"Remus!" She shouted, and Sirius stopped snogging his girlfriend and looked around to see what the commotion was.
"Ellie!" Remus looked thoughtfully surprised at Ellie's arrival with Lily. Lily looked around, completely bewildered as Remus got up and tackled Ellie in a bear hug. Lily, still completely confused, said,
"You two know each other?" The others in the compartment were watching their interaction too now.
"Blimey Remus, how long has it been, six, seven years!" Ellie said, her voice muffled as she was still pressed up against his chest. He let go of her and ran his fingers through his hair, nodding with shock.
"How do you know each other?" Lily said, still gaping at the pair of them.
Ellie started. She hadn't realized that there had been other people in the room. She had been too focused on Remus.
"Remus and I were best friends for most of my childhood life." Ellie gave him a significant look, and James and Sirius both understood. Remus took her hand gently and rubbed the scar on it. At that moment, the doors of the train opened, and Remus swung his arm comfortably around Ellie's neck. Sirius looked at the pair with an unreadable expression.
"Shorty." He teased, and Ellie was relieved to see that they had picked up right where they left off. That the events that had happened that summer hadn't changed them at all. The eight left the train. Ellie, who already knew the other seven, Remus, Lily, Alice, James, Sirius, Sasha (Remus had told her in a whisper), and herself, now focused her attention on the small, mousy-haired boy.
"Hi," Ellie said to him, and he look around, as if he thought she was talking to someone else. "Hi." She said again, and he smiled at her.
"Hey," He said, "I'm Peter Pettigrew, but I like just Peter."
"Hey just Peter." Ellie replied, and he laughed lightly. Ellie hadn't realized where they had been walking to, but now she saw a ton of carriages, all pulled by thestrals.
"I didn't know that you guys had a group of tame thestrals!" Ellie exclaimed, walking up to them and stroking one on the nose. Peter looked at her in a confused sort of way. Lily gasped, James blinked furiously, and Sirius looked at her calculatingly. Ellie's heart sunk into her feet. Now she'd done it. Why did she advertise that she'd seen someone die again? This was sure to lead to awkward questions. And sure enough, James volunteered as tribute, saying,
"I know this is personal Ellie, but who've you seen die?" Ellie squirmed slightly but opened her mouth to answer. It was a fair question after all. "You don't have to answer!" Lily cut in, giving James a disgusted look.
"No, it's okay," Ellie lied, tears threatening her eyes dangerously. "It was my little sister, Livia. Remus was there. He and I were playing exploding snap, and my sister screamed from her room. I ran in and I screamed her name, but she was on the floor and wasn't responding to me. My mom didn't care, the healers came because I called them. They said she had had a heart attack." Ellie finished sadly, and Remus' arm tightened around her as her head tilted into his. She heard Lily come and sit next to her. She wanted Remus to stay there forever, he had been her best friend. They had been through so much together.
"Ellie." Lily started, walking over to sit next to Ellie on the red velvet cushion, but Ellie looked at her and smiled, a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Don't worry," Ellie said, eager to please her friends, "I'm okay." When Lily gave her a look she kept going, "I promise." Lily nodded and took Ellie's other hand.
A few short minutes later the friends departed from the carriage and walked up to the castle.
Lily looked at Ellie, her face suddenly changing to a smile, and Ellie smiled back, but it quickly disappeared after hearing what Lily had to say. "You have to go to the sorting ceremony!" Lily smiled and chuckled slightly.
"What?" Ellie said. "But- but you have to do it too right?"
"We did it in first year!" Lily said, again sniggering. Ellie threw Lily a scathing look as they walked through the great big double doors, Lily and the others started to walk toward the second set, but they stopped Ellie.
"You have to wait with the first years, over there" Remus pointed to a bunch of short and nervous looking kids. Ellie laughed, and thought they were joking, but when Remus gestured her over there she stopped.
"Are you joking?" She asked.
"Nope." Remus and Lily responded.
"Oh-ok," Ellie said. "I'll catch up with you later." She watched, as a smart woman came up to the first years, and she quickly scrambled over to them.
"And as you enter into the great hall, make sure you remember that." She said. "I'm Professor McGonagall by the way." Ellie turned to a particularly nasty looking first year and said, "What did the Professor say?" To which the first year replied, "Well, if you weren't listening, you'll have to find out by yourself!" Ellie inwardly groaned.
The great double doors opened and Ellie found herself star struck yet again. There was a magnificent ceiling, a mixture of purple and dark blue swirled around. The ceiling was dotted with stars and she took out her copy of Hogwarts, A History and opened it. It said that the ceiling was bewitched, to look like the sky.
She looked around the room which she was in, a great big hall with four long tables resting on the stone floor. At the front of the room was another long table perpendicular to the other ones. This was where the teachers sat, she noticed, and she looked up and down the table before her eyes settled on an old hat. It was very dirty; her Mum wouldn't have let in the house. As soon as she thought this, the rip near the brim opened, and a voice began to sing,
"As long as I can remember, I've sat here every year. And being here today, shows that the time is near. Now each of you will sit with me on your head, and every part of your brain will be read, and I will decide, where you shall reside, for the next seven years of your life. I've done this forever, and I'm happy to report that never, have I lead a student astray. The four houses await you, and I'm here to show you the way. You might belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart. Their daring nerve and chivalry set Gryffindor's apart. Or perhaps you belong in Ravenclaw, where your mind will be put to the test. The wit and smarts of Ravenclaw's are never put to rest. Or maybe Hufflepuff, where lay the just and loyal. Hufflepuff's are true, and unafraid of toil. Maybe Slytherin is where you'll find your real friends, their ambition and cunning aids them to no end. So, put me on, try me out, your destiny awaits.
Ellie gulped. Her destiny awaited? She did not feel brave or clever, or any of the things that the hat had mentioned. She only felt stupid, she wished there was a house for that.
"Green, Ellie," Professor McGonagall called. Ellie felt her feet walking toward the podium, but had no recollection of her brain asking her feet to do so. The hat was placed on her head, and it slipped down to cover her eyes. It smelled musty, and she heard a sly voice.
"Ah, Slytherin blood," the hat muttered, and Ellie frowned. "Hmm," the hat continued, "A spitfire- maybe Ravenclaw? But look at this, a glimmer of loyalty and hope in a world filled with disappointment? A bit of advice my dear, over idealism will get you nowhere. But you have one outstanding quality even you haven't seen in yourself. And that's why, I'm going to put you in GRYFFINDOR!" The hat said the last part out loud, and Ellie's heart swelled with pride.
She went and sat down next to Lily, who clapped her on the back and smiled merrily, cheering along with the rest of the table.
After the nasty first year Ellie had seen, 'Zahid, Kirk' had been sorted, a man with long white hair and a flowing beard arose, and the hall became deadly quiet.
"Welcome back," the man said, "For our new students, my name is Professor Dumbledore. I just have a few start of term announcements. Please remember, the forest is out of bounds for all students. Even our older ones." He looked pointedly at James, Sirius, and Remus, who all looked back with unconvincingly innocent looks. Dumbledore shook his head and continued, "Please do not throw Whirling Dervishes across the halls, and no hexing in the corridors. Thank you, and tuck in."
Food appeared on the table, food so rich looking and delicious that Ellie sat there for a full minute just admiring it. The feast was delicious, and as it concluded, Dumbledore arose again.
"And now, it is time to sing the school song." Curly tendrils flung from his wand and spelled out the lyrics, and everyone bellowed in their own favorite tune,
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hogg-y Wart-y Hogwarts, teach us something please. Whether we be old and grey or young with scabby knees. Our heads could do with filling, with some interesting stuff, for now they're bare and full of air, dead flies and bits of fluff. Teach us things worth knowing, bring back what we've forgot, and teach us till our brains all rot." The last line finished with a boom and the Great Hall exploded with cheers, Ellie clapping along enthusiastically.
The Gryffindor's went upstairs into the common room and Lily and Ellie split up from Sirius and James. They went to a room marked 5th years, and they fell upon their four poster beds. And just like that, the two exhausted girls fell asleep.
***
What would be your favorite class at Hogwarts?