"Cece!" I heard my friends cry as I disembarked the train.
I looked down the platform to see them all huddled close to the station exit, waiting for me to exit the train and meet them. As I shuffled through the throngs of other students moving this way and that, I studied each of them carefully.
My cousins Dominique and Roxanne - both of whom were in Gryffindor - were waving frantically at me, to make sure that I didn't miss them, along with my other cousin Juliet, who was a Ravenclaw. Our three male friends - Lane Thomas, the son of Dean and a Hufflepuff, Jonah Zabini, a Slytherin with me, and Dom McLaggen, a Ravenclaw - waited with them, but it wasn't the three of them that caused me to catch my breath. No, it was the laugh of the fourth boy stood with them, sharing a joke with Jonah and Dom, his head of golden hair twinkling in the candle light as he threw back his head and laughed heartily. My knees felt weak and I let out a sigh as he looked my way, his green eyes finding me in the crowd and sparkling as he grinned at me and lifted his hand to wave.
Jacob Sinclair was a Gryffindor, whom I'd been hopelessly in love with since the second year. He was smart, athletic and caring, not to mention gorgeous, but I've never been one of those girls who can just waltz up to a boy and flirt, like Roxanne can, or bring them to me with a flip of my hair, like Dominique. I mean, I suppose I'm not shy when I get to know somebody, and if you get me started on the right subject, then I'll never shut up, but talking to boys, particularly boys like Jacob, tends to leave me lost for words.
Still, I managed to make my way over to them without falling flat on my face, and forced a smile for Jacob and my friends. "Cece!" Juliet exclaimed, pulling me towards her and hugging me tightly, even though I'd seen her a week ago for my mum's annual end-of-summer garden party. All of the family - yes, all 7 of my siblings and 16 of my cousins on both sides of the family, and all three of my sets of grandparents - Uncle Cedric, his wife Aunt Cho and their son Marcel, my mother's friend Damon and his husband, Professor Longbottom (although outside of school he let us call him Neville) and his wife, plus 100 others of my parent's closest friends, family members and colleagues had been in attendance, and I'd spent most of the evening sat by the well at the bottom of the garden with Dominique, Roxanne, Juliet, Jonah and Lane, drinking some fire-whiskey that Jonah had managed to swipe from his dad.
Nevertheless, I still embraced all of my friends as if I hadn't seen them all summer, and then I came to Jacob, and my heart flipped as he leaned down to hug me.
"Hello Cecelia," he said in his low voice, and I noted how he was the only person aside my grandparents to call me by my full name. Still, I loved the sound of it when he said it, and I almost told him this too, although I managed to hold my tongue at the last minute and smile slightly. "Hi," I replied quietly, my lips curving into a smile as I stared up at him.
"How was your summer?" he asked, leaning back against the wall and shoving his hands in the pockets of his black, gold and red Gryffindor robes as he spoke. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled half-heartedly. "It was alright, same as usual really. How about you?"
Jacob grinned as he ran a hand through his thick blonde hair. "It was pretty decent, actually. Dad took me out fishing quite a lot; I'm great now, just call me Ernest Hemingway."
I stared at him and blinked a few times. "Who?" I asked in confusion. Jacob nodded and hit his head with his hand. "Right, I forgot, sorry, having a muggle-born mother does have its disadvantages when nobody knows what you're on about most of the time."
I chuckled as he did, and then he progressed to explain that Ernest Hemingway was a famous muggle author, who was also a brilliant fisherman in his spare time. Halfway through his explanation though, Roxanne stepped between Jacob and I and linked arms with us both, tugging us in the direction of the carriages.
"I'm sure you two would love to stand about and chat all evening, but I'm famished, and if I don't get to that feast soon, I'll be holding the pair of you personally responsible."
Jacob and I looked at each other, and, knowing better than to argue with Roxanne, stopped talking and allowed her to pull us after Jonah, Dominique and the others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The entire carriage ride up to the castle, Jacob and I discussed the Turkish victory at the Quidditch World Cup over the summer, and he was amazed to hear that my parents had managed to get us tickets in the Minister of Magic's box at the final in Paris. "They wanted the Headmaster of Hogwarts there anyway, since most of the English team were ex-pupils, but I guess because my mum is best friends with the Minister of Magic and my older brother is best friend's with his son, they invited the whole family."
"Wow, I wish I had famous parents," Jacob commented with a sigh. "My mum runs a tea room on Diagon Alley, and Dad works in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, but he's not high up or anything."
I didn't tell him that I already knew what his parents did, guessing that that might sound a little strange and stalkerish, and instead replied to his previous statement. "It's a good and a bad thing, I suppose. It does have benefits, but it definitely has drawbacks too; I don't get the proper Hogwarts experience like most kids do - you know, no parents, freedom to be myself or whatever - because everybody knows who my parents are. It's almost like people are afraid to be friends with me sometimes I guess, because they worry that if they wind me up, I'll get them expelled or something."
"And would you?" Jacob asked devilishly. I smirked and shrugged my shoulders. "Only if they did something awfully ghastly," I retorted with a wink.
As we reached the castle and pulled up to a stop outside the entrance, Jacob jumped down first and held out his hands to help me. I frowned at him, attempting to feign offence, but my smile gave it away. "Don't you think I can climb out of a carriage myself? I'll have you know, I'm the best Seeker at Hogwarts!"
Jacob rolled his eyes and reached out to take my waist, lifting me up and out of the carriage before I could protest, and then set me down gently next to him. "Second best Seeker at Hogwarts," he corrected me with a wink, "after me of course."
I rolled my eyes and playfully hit him on the arm as he released me. "You don't even play as Seeker!"
Jacob threw back his head and laughed loudly, attracting the glances of various onlookers towards us, but he couldn't care less. "True, true, you got me on that one."
We continued to chat as we climbed up the steps and entered the castle, heading towards the Great Hall as every other student was. Even though he made my heart pump wildly in my chest and my palms sweat whenever I spoke to him, I always felt at ease around Jacob, who had the rare gift of making anybody able to relax. As I listened to him talk about how he'd spent some of his summer waiting tables in his mother's tea room, it dawned upon me that I could listen to him speak forever and I'd never grow tired of hearing his voice. There were over 1 million words in the English language, and I wanted to hear Jacob say each and every one.
However before I got the chance, his name was called by a group of his Gryffindor friends, and he was running off to meet them with only a wave back in my direction. I sighed deeply as I followed him into the Great Hall, which was already bustling with students greeting each other and chatting about their summer holidays, and said farewell to Dominique and Roxanne, who skipped over to the Gryffindor table where most of my other cousins were sorted, Dom and Juliet trudged off to the Ravenclaw table, where my brother Toby was already sat, and then Lane eventually disappear too, taking a seat with the Hufflepuff's and turning his attention away from Jonah and I and towards them.
Jonah grinned at me and held out his arm in a gentlemanly manner for me to take. I rolled my eyes and slipped my own arm through his, and allowed him to pull me towards the long wooden table nearest to the right wall, where all of our Slytherin classmates were sat.
"Hi Cece!" I heard shouts of as we approached. I smiled warmly in the general direction of the voices, making eye contact with a few before Jonah found two empty seats in within the rest of the Slytherin fourth years. We sank down next to each other, looking up to the table at the head of the room where the teachers sat, and I counted two new faces this year. Sat in the centre of the long table and in the grandest seat of all was my father, who was dressed impeccably as usual in a tailored navy suit with a crisp white shirt and black tie, and who was talking about something in a hushed tone to Professor Longbottom, who sat beside him. On his other side sat my mother, wearing an emerald jacquard dress beneath a black teacher's robe and with her dark hair - identical in colouring to my own - tied back in a ponytail. She scanned the hall critically, examining the students with a gentle smile which grew as her eyes fell upon the Slytherin table. She met my gaze and nodded her head softly, flashing me a quick supportive wink. I briefly smiled back, before looking back to the figure who sank down into the space next to me. Instantly I rolled my eyes as I felt the arm draped over my shoulders and saw who was beaming at me.
"Oh, hi Rion," I greeted my cousin boredly, my nose slightly curled in disdain.
It wasn't that I disliked Rion; he treated me like a younger sister and he was always good if you wanted a laugh, but the way he treated other people, and girls in particular, had always been a cause of argument between the two of us. Orion insisted that the girls knew exactly what he was and what he wanted, and yet they still threw themselves at him, and it therefore wasn't his fault when the fun was over and they'd allowed themselves to grow attached to him, but I would argue that there was no excuse for moving from one girl to the next occasionally within the same day, leaving a trail of broken hearts. I'd known my cousin to be sat with one girl at breakfast and another at dinner, and then a third girl the following day, and for all 3 girls to end up with broken hearts and tarnished reputations. Orion didn't need to act the way he did; he was evidently handsome and could have any girl he wanted, and yet why he felt the need to try several dull appetizers when he could have one magnificent main course, I would never understand.
Orion smirked at me and pulled a pear from his pocket, taking a large bite and chewing before he proceeded to speak to me. "Who was that guy you were with, the Gryffindor?"
I blushed as I looked away from him. "Who, Jacob? He's nobody, just a friend..."
Rion rolled his eyes and ruffled my hair. "Oh yeah, then why are you blushing? Why do your eyes light up at the mention of his name, hmm?"
I pushed my cousin gently in the ribs and flipped my hair in his face. "If you're going to be irritating Rion, then you can go away," I hissed at him, crossing my arms stubbornly across my chest. Rion guffawed loudly and prodded me in the ribs before standing up. "Ok, ok, I'm leaving. But I thought you should know that Toby noticed, and he wasn't happy."
I looked up at Rion with a curled nose. "And this is meant to bother me why...?"
Rion smirked smugly and took another bite of his pear. "Overprotective older brothers are a nightmare, or so I'm told. But I'm willing to help keep him away from you and Jacob, for a price of course."
I raised my eyebrows in amusement. "Oh yeah?"
"All I need is your help with potions, sweet cousin; I barely scrapped an Acceptable in my OWLs, and I need to do better if your mum is going to let me stay on the course, which I need to do. So what do you say?"
I scoffed loudly. "Orion Black is worried about his grades? Well I never thought I'd see the day!"
Rion shrugged his shoulders. "Dad'll kill me if I fail, that's all, and I rather enjoy living. So do we have a deal; I keep Toby away from you and your lover-boy in exchange for help with potions."
"He's not my anything..." I objected.
Rion rolled his eyes and began to stride away to where the sixth years were sat. "Yeah, whatever you say, Cece," he called back.
I huffed loudly, and turned my attention back to Jonah and the others, who thankfully hadn't been listening to mine and Rion's exchange. It was then that my father stood up at the top of the hall and made his way out from the teachers table and towards the golden owl lectern at the front of the raised dais. I smiled proudly as he pulled his wand out of his jacket pocket and tapped it gently on the owl's wing, the sound echoing around the hall and instantly bringing everybody to silence.
"Firstly, allow me to take this opportunity to welcome you all back to Hogwarts," my father announced in his headmaster's voice. "Before we commence with the Sorting Ceremony, I wanted to thank you all for your hard work at the end of last year; in response to your effort, Hogwarts was awarded a 'Marvellous' grade by the International Association of Magical Schools - the highest grade possible. This achievement, although assisted by the wonderful teachers and staff and the outstanding facilities we are so lucky to have here, is down to you - the students - who make Hogwarts the fantastic place it is. Therefore I would like to congratulate you on this success, since this award is really for you."
Dad started to clap, and the other teachers instantly followed. The students copied, and the applause lasted for a few moments before Dad stepped forward to speak again, when it instantly died down. Not many people could get a room of nearly 1000 teenagers to be silent immediately, but my father possessed that gift. All of the students respected him, and that had it's advantages.
"Now, we'll proceed with the sorting," he said, smiling towards the door and raising his wand. Without any words, he flicked his wand and the doors swung upon, revealing Professor Sinistra and a gaggle of wide-eyed first years.
Professor Sinistra strode inside, looking completely bored as she performed the same ceremony she had performed for the past however many years since Professor McGonagall had become headmistress and then my father after her. The first-years however looked amazed as always, following Professor Sinistra in pairs and casting admiring glances around the room. Many of them found themselves staring at the ceiling - bewitched to look just like the night sky - and the thousand candles which floated beneath it, each and every one flickering calmly. Some of them looked to the four golden jars on the wall behind the teachers, each of them containing a few small orbs in either red, green, yellow or blue to represent each house's points and the few that had already been awarded. A couple of the bolder students were brave enough to look at us - the older students - and wonder which house they would join. Among them, I caught sight of my brother, Tom, walking at the side of our cousin Albus, and with our other cousin Rose just behind with a pretty blonde girl. As Tom passed and caught my gaze, I winked at him supportively, watching curiously as the group of first years reached the front of the hall and stopped in front of the teachers.
My father grinned at Tom, as did my mother, and I chuckled to myself as Tom looked away from them both, his cheeks turning red with embarrassment. At least it wasn't as bad as when I'd been sorted; Mum had burst into tears as the hat had announced Slytherin, and even Dad looked slightly choked up.
The eyes of each of the first years fell upon the tattered old hat sat upon a rickety three-legged stool - the same hat and stool that had been used to sort students for hundreds of years - and they began to whisper to each other about how they'd expected it to be less old. Professor Sinistra held up her hand for silence, producing a scroll from her robe and clearing her throat.
"When I call your name, you will come forth, take a seat, I will place the Sorting Hat upon your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. There will be no arguing or objections - this hat knows you better than perhaps you know yourself, and it has never been wrong."
I looked to my mother, who's mouth twitched slightly at that suggestion. Whilst the hat hadn't be wrong necessarily with her sorting, she had been placed in Slytherin, and yet during the Battle of Hogwarts the sword of Godric Gryffindor had presented itself to her. She had often told me that bravery was not exclusive to the Gryffindors, the Ravenclaws could be loyal like the Hufflepuffs and the Hufflepuffs cunning like the Slytherins. "Your house is only a guide," she had told me before my own sorting, "you can be whoever you want to be, and I can guarantee that all four houses will accept you."
Professor Sinistra unfastened the scroll and cleared her throat once more, peering through her spectacles at the first name on the list.
"Albus Potter," she announced clearly.
From the Gryffindor table, I heard my cousin James - Albus' older brother - whoop and cheer. There were laughs around the hall as Albus cast a glare over his shoulder at James, and then nervously stepped up onto the platform. Mum smiled softly at him as he took a deep breath and turned his back to the teachers, taking a seat and facing the students. Professor Sinistra slowly lowered the hat onto Albus' head, and it immediately sprung into life, it's voice filling the hall.
"Well I never, another Potter? Hmm, it feels like only yesterday since I sorted your father. You are like him in many ways, I see you are brave and true as he was, but also cunning and quick. I wonder if you would achieve even greater things than he did it I placed you in the house he rejected? Hmm, what to do, what to do..."
Albus looked truly terrified sat at the top of the hall, awaiting the hat's judgment. Although Slytherin didn't have the stereotype attached to it these days as it had in my parents youth (mostly down to my own mother and the Slytherin students who had fought alongside the other houses in the Battle of Hogwarts) I knew that deep down Albus wanted to be a Gryffindor. It's where both of his parents and all four of his grandparents had belonged after all; I'd have been disappointed if I hadn't been sorted into Slytherin.
The hat pondered Albus for a moment later, until it finally made up its mind. "I predict great things for you, Albus Potter.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Albus' face melted with relief into a huge grin, and the Gryffindor table exploded into cheers and applause. I clapped politely for my cousin, happy that he had been sorted where he wanted to be, and then turned my attention back to the Sorting Hat.
"Silvina Scamander!"
A pretty young witch whom I recognised as Rosalie's - Scor's ex-girlfriend - younger sister stepped up onto the dais, took a seat, and was promptly sorted into "RAVENCLAW!"
Silvina headed to the Ravenclaw table, and I began to tune out as the rest of the year were sorted. Occasionally I would clap a little more enthusiastically when a new Slytherin joined us, and when my cousin Rose was sorted into Gryffindor, but until Tom's name was called I paid little attention.
"And finally, Thomas Malfoy!"
Professor Sinistra rolled up the scroll as Tom - the last student left - slowly climbed the steps and smiled slightly at our parents, who beamed back at him. Across the hall at the Ravenclaw table I caught eyes with Toby, who raised his eyebrows at me. We'd tried to predict which house our younger brother would end up in, but with Tom there was really no telling. The odds stated that it was mostly likely he'd be in Slytherin, with me, but Toby wasn't a Slytherin, so it was hardly definite. Still, as we'd all told him, we'd treat him exactly the same no matter where he ended up.
"Thomas Malfoy, hmm?" the hat mused. Tom gulped, looking at me nervously. I nodded my head encouragingly, and he took a deep breath and sat up straighter.
"Hmm, lets see then. You contain copious amounts of bravery - loyalty too for that matter - and a cunning mind. You are very much like your mother; it seems to me as if you could fit into any of the four houses. But where would you prosper the most? Hmm..."
At the teachers table, I watched as my parents held hands beneath the table. The hat deliberated for a few moments longer, before it made it's decision, and screamed out for all the hall to hear.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table erupted into cheers, and I watched as Tom looked over his shoulder at our parents, as if he were asking for permission. Mum nodded proudly - even Dad had a smile for his Gryffindor son - and so I joined in the applause, clapping enthusiastically for my younger brother. Tom grinned from ear to ear as he joined Albus, Rose, James and some of our other cousins at the Gryffindor table, who all shouted their congratulations as he took a seat. A Malfoy in Gryffindor? Good luck to whoever had to break the news to Grandfather Lucius, I thought with a smirk.
The laughter died down, and the stool and Sorting Hat were moved away for another year, and it was only then that my father came forward to the lectern again, smiling warmly at the new students and then at the old.
"To those of you who are new, welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor Draco Malfoy, the headmaster here at Hogwarts. For the first years and those older students who have the memory of a gargoyle, I will briefly introduce you to the heads of houses, who will all be important figures in your life here at Hogwarts; the head of Gryffindor House and teacher of Herbology, Professor Neville Longbottom; the head of Hufflepuff and teacher of Ancient Runes, Professor Bathsheda Babbling; the head of Ravenclaw house and teacher of Charms, Professor Filius Flitwick; and the head of Slytherin house and teacher of Potions, Professor Juliet Malfoy."
In turn, each of the heads of houses stood up and smiled at their house's table and then at the rest of the students, then sat back down again. It was after my mother had been seated that Dad continued with his speech.
"I know you are all desperate to enjoy the Welcoming Feast, so I will not withhold you for much longer. I merely wish to pass on a few messages now whilst I have your attention. As always, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to 1st and 2nd years, and is only open to older students with a teacher in attendance. We don't want another incident of a student being abducted by centaurs for 8 days, do we Umberly?"
Dad looked at a short 6th year Hufflepuff with raised eyebrows, and the boy turned a deep red as the rest of the hall laughed at him.
"Secondly, our new prefects will be presented to you after the feast, and I would like to warn you all that if you choose to disrespect the prefects and their power, the consequences will be dire. However, although our prefects all strive to be fair, if you feel that you have been punished without reason, your heads of houses will be there to listen. The prefects are there to help you, not to discipline you, so don't give them a reason to."
"Finally, this year will be a very different year at Hogwarts, for reasons I am not yet at liberty to reveal to you. But know this; the events that will occur this year will be more exciting - more dangerous - than anything most of you would have seen, and the chance for eternal glory will be reachable for one of you. I will leave you with this departing thought; if you had the chance to risk everything in order to win everything, would you do it?"
Dad gazed out critically across the sea of students, quirking his eyebrows with a smirk. "Just something to think about; you'll learn the truth soon enough. But for now, enjoy the feast!"
Dad raises his wand and flicked it at the tables, and instantly platters upon platters of hot food appeared. Pies, chicken, beef, fish, pasta, pizza, soup. Any type of food you wanted, the chances were it could be found on that table.
People instantly began to chatter as they reached for food and the pitchers of pumpkin juice, filling their plates and glasses and curiously wondering what Dad could have been talking about.
"Do you know what your Dad was talking about, Cece?" Stella, a girl in my year and Slytherin asked me curiously. I shrugged my shoulders as I placed some spaghetti on my plate. "Not a clue, he's not mentioned anything."
I tried to act nonchalant, but secretly I was as curious as the rest of them. Whatever it was, it must be big for Dad to have made such a big deal about it, and for him not to tell Toby and I beforehand clearly meant he wanted it kept a secret, even from us.
I furrowed my eyebrows in determination as I ate; whatever it was, I was going to find out.