When I opened my eyes again, I was in the hearth of another office. I looked around, stepping off the ashes. My heels clacked against the marble floor as I walked towards the candle light. "Excuse me? Do you happen to know where Professor Dumbledore...oh, hello."
I extended my hand to the white-bearded man with startling blue eyes. He was wearing a blue cap with light blue robes. As he stood, I tried to keep myself from looking over him. My curiosity was notorious and accidental at the same time.
"My name is Valise Rosalind," I said, shaking the Professor's hand. "It's an utter pleasure to meet you."
"Albus Dumbledore, pleasure as well," said the Professor. His voice was breezy, simple. His smile was thin-lipped and friendly enough. We talked a bit before he walked towards a cabinet. He opened the door to it and brought a hat down. It looked like an ordinary witch or wizard's hat, but as I looked closer, I saw the distinct facial features and gasped.
"Is that the Sorting Hat, sir?" I asked, a little afraid. I had heard about the halls of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, the place for the brave, Ravenclaw, the place for the smart, Hufflepuff, the hodge-podge House, and Slytherin, the place for dark witches and wizards. I wanted to be in Gryffindor, and thought that had been entitled to me. But, alas.
"Indeed," said Professor Dumbledore simply with a smile. "May I?"
"Of course," I said, and he placed the hat atop my head. It's chatter started instantly.
"A Beauxbaton? Hm, interesting...A good heart, a good soul...how difficult to place this beauty..." I shuddered at the Hat's voice. "But I must decide...let's see. A smart one, with a lot of brain capacity, but the makings of a great witch. A great witch. Definitely not a Hufflepuff, I'm afraid. Perhaps a Ravenclaw? No, I see her going another way..."
My breathing hitched. There were only two Houses left: Gryffindor and Slytherin. "Please," I muttered. "Not Slytherin."
"Not Slytherin, you say? Hm, how interesting. You could be great, you know. An amazing witch to add to the cause. But, if you say so, I must put you in...Gryffindor!"
A sigh of relief etched through my lips. Professor Dumbledore took the Hat from my head, giving me a look of curiosity. "Perhaps you are a strong witch," he observed. "The Sorting Hat is not usually persuaded. The only person who has done that before was Harry Potter."
"Harry Potter?" I asked, in shock. The Boy who Lived went to Hogwarts? If anything, I thought he attended Durmstrang, not Hogwarts. "What House is he in?" I asked.
"The same as your's, my dear," Dumbledore said breezily. "Now, I shall call someone to aid you to Gryffindor dorm. Please sit." I sat obediently and smoothed out my dress. I wondered what time it was by now, and also wondered who would be here to retrieve me and bring me to Gryffindor. I watched as Dumbledore fussed around. Finally, he turned to me and smiled.
"Ronald Weasley will be your guide for tonight, Madame Rosalind-"
"Please, call me Valise, or Val."
"Very well, Valise. But anyway, Mr. Ronald Weasley will be your guide for tonight. Follow him and he will get you to Gryffindor House safely. Tomorrow morning, you and he shall tour the castle together, and you will be ready to start school by the next day. Have a pleasant stay, my dear, and please, do come back if you need or want to. My door is always open. Figuratively, that is." He winked, smiling, and the door opened.
"'Evening, Professor," said the voice of a lanky red-haired boy. He had a dash of feckless across his long, angular nose. He turned to me and smiled at me through warm brown eyes. "My name is Ron. Nice to meet you."
I smiled stiffly. "Valise Rosalind." We shook hands.
"Thank you for this, Mr. Weasley," Professor Dumbledore said, shaking Ron's hand. Ron smiled, showing two rows of perfect white teeth. "Good evening once more, to both of you." Dumbledore nodded his head to both of us before turning around. What a rude way to dismiss someone! A lady, or a person in general, shall always formally invite and escort a visitor to the door. Rule 13.
Ron and I left the Headmaster's office. We descended through a peculiar-looking set of stairs, and when the stairs started swiveling downward, I jumped, frightened. Ron grinned at me. "It's quite all right," he said in a British accent. "Just magic."
I breathed silently, closing my eyes for just a fraction of a moment before opening them again. "Sorry. It's been quite a long day, believe me."
Ron nodded and we walked through the halls together. We came across various corridors and Ron named each of them for me patiently. "...and that's the corridor leading to Slytherin House." His voice was full with distaste. "You should never go down their unless you've been invited by someone you can trust with your life. But that's hard to come by with their lot."
I nodded seriously, and we continued walking until we were at mahogany-colored double doors with a painting splayed proudly on it. Ron whispered to the painting, "Cheese-covered chicken wings." He said it as if I should've understood what was happening, but I was instead confused.
Ron saw my expression and quickly explained, "Every House has a code. We can't have members of other houses coming in unattended. We are competing against each other, you know." Slowly, I nodded, understanding. "But anyway..." The door to the Gryffindor common room opened, and I stepped inside. "This is Gryffindor."
The common room was thriving with people. Some were playing Wizard Chess while others were talking and reading magazines. I looked around in wonder, and Ron cleared his throat. The noise died almost instantly. "Hey, guys," he said casually. "This is Valise Rosalind, the transfer from Beauxbaton."
A few faces struck me instantly: the girls from the Quidditch team I had beaten not so long ago. I simply smiled politely and willed myself not to rub the fact in their faces. Confidence would be the end of me.
"Please, call me Val," I said, and my voice sounded easy-going. "I'd hate to be so formal."
A few people came up to me, shaking my hand and introducing themselves. A girl with frizzy brown hair came up as well. "Hermione Granger," she said with a smile, shaking my hand vigorously. I smiled back. She seemed nice.
A boy came up to to me thereafter. He had raven black hair and shining green eyes. I knew him even before he introduced himself as: "Harry Potter," with an easy grin seeping across his face. He clapped Ron on he back, and I knew they were good friends from the way they grinned at each other. Hermione also smiled at each of them. The Three Musketeers, then?
"Nice to meet you both," I said, smiling genuinely.
"Hermione," Ron said to the frizzy-haired witch. "Would you mind taking Val to the girl's dormitory? I can't go in, see."
"Well, duh, Ron. Anyone with enough brain cells could figure that out," Hermione teased as she linked her arm with mine. "We should get you the uniform as well," she said to me with a serious nod. "I'm sure Beauxbaton had uniforms as well?"
"Yes," I said, agreeing. "We did."
We walked up a small flight of stairs before Hermione opened the door and invited me inside. The dormitory was quite spacious with a line of windows on the side wall. There were several bunk beds and closets. "You can unpack in this closet," Hermione said. "No one's used it or anything, so you're basically all set. This is your bunk, and you can store your trunk right under it. I'm right above you, so feel free to ask me any questions at anytime." She smiled again. "I'm not sure if this is the glamor you're used to, but...it's your home for now."
I smiled warmly at her. "It's perfect," I said. "Thank you, Hermione."
"Sure," she said with a grin. "When you're done unpacking, you're welcome to join us in the common room. We'll be down until nine, then it's light's out."
She pointed to a stack of neatly folded clothes. "That's your uniform. There's a set for winter and one for summer, along with a scarf and mittens. Please, take care of them. They're enchanted so they never start smelling, but people lose them from time to time and have to pay a fine. I'd hate to see that happen to you."
She sounded genuinely concerned, so I assured her that I'd be fine. To give me privacy, she walked back to the common room, wishing me good luck. I sighed, letting the smile drop from my face, and started unpacking. I used only a little room for my make up supplies, then opened my closet and stored my clothes inside, along with my uniform. I took out my nightgown and put it on the dresser, not wanting to lose my ritual of putting it on when I went to sleep.
When I was done, I took off my clothes and stripped myself of make up before putting on more comfortable clothing: a pair of shorts with a white shirt. I slipped on ballet flats, then combed of my blond hair. It fell just to my shoulders in a wave.
I walked back down the stairs and went straight to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We talked for a while, mostly about me and my studies. Then, we turned the conversation to the three of them, talking about their crazy years leading up to this one, Year 6.
"Yes, the Triwizard Tournament!" I exclaimed. "You took place in that, Harry? But I thought the Ministry..."
Harry shrugged. "Yeah, well, someone put my name is the cup," he said. "I never actually wanted to do it." I didn't notice how said he looked until he stopped talking for a little. I studied his face for a moment before turning to Hermione and Ron, who were arguing about something.
"I honestly don't understand what you're talking about!" Ron said.
"Lavender Brown has been giving you that look for three days now! She's even said hello to you! Don't you think she likes you, perhaps?" She had an annoyed look on her face. She turned to me. "If a girl looks at a boy for three days in counting, don't you think there's a possibility the girl might like the boy?"
I giggled. It was a strange sound, mostly because I'd never done it before. "Yes, she probably likes the boy. But don't ask me much questions about romance." I laughed slightly. "I went to an all girl's school, remember?"
"I know, but I'm just saying!" Hermione said. "I think everyone knows that!" She turned to Ron again, and her annoyance returned. "So just go out with her already!"
"I can't! I like someone else!"
Hermione rolled her eyes. I tried to contain my laugh. Seeing the way Ron looked at Hermione, it was easy to see that "someone else" was her.
After a while, it was finally nine o'clock. Hermione and I went back upstairs after saying goodbye to the boys. As we walked into the girl's dormitory, we said our good nights. I changed into my nightgown before falling asleep.
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The first thing I saw were the blue eyes and the small, mischievous smile. The boy from the match! I thought I had gotten over the faces, but his had always remained. I tried to wake myself up- I was a lucid dreamer -but nothing worked. I tried to anchor myself back to reality, thinking of my bed, of the wool comforter.
The only things I could see were the boy's blue eyes.
Suddenly, I awoke, blinking. Early morning light streamed form the windows and I slowly sat up, blinking away my weariness. I turned to see Hermione putting her hair in a bun. She noticed me staring and turned, smiling. "Hey, Val," she said. "You should get ready. Ronald is going to be by the door in thirty minutes to give you a tour."
I nodded tiredly. "Okay," I said, getting up and stretching. I grabbed my Hogwarts uniform and a few other things before going to the bathroom.
I needed to get my mind off those icy blue eyes.