Once again thank you to all who have been reviewing. I really appreciate it. I have finally made it to Hogwarts in this chapter and can start getting down to the nitty-gritty.
I hope you all enjoy this one and let me know what you think. I really enjoy getting reader's input and sometimes if you are lucky it can help change the plot that I have in mind. Read and enjoy.
Oh yeah, and since I haven't done one yet - I don't own anything that you recognize, but I will claim all the kids as mine.
Enjoy!!
Chapter 3: Train Rides and Sorting Hats
The Weasleys, Malfoys, and Evan separated themselves into four different but very close compartments. Damon, Arianna, Dave, Brian, Sean, and Mike were all in one compartment. On one side of them were Chris, Alex, Ben, and Daniel, Fred and George's other sets of twins along with Charlie's Andrew and Mark. Beyond them were Bill's four children Aaron, Garret, Jared, and Seth with Percy's three: Philip, Paul, and Peter. On the other side of Damon and Arianna's compartment were Ron's four: James, Chad, Henry, and Luke along with Evan Potter.
A half hour into the train ride, Arianna was in a ball on the floor of her compartment laughing hysterically at her brother and four cousins. If they didn't stop soon she was never going to be able to stand up straight again. She had to get out of there if only for five minutes just to catch her breath. She began to crawl towards the door, hoping not to be seen. When she made it to the hall, she sat against the wall and took deep breaths as she wiped away tears. It was amazing that that group had not been kicked out of school yet for all their crazy antics. Oh well, for now she had some piece and quiet.
Meanwhile, in the compartment next to the one which Arianna had just abandoned, Evan Potter was enjoying hanging out with his friends for the first time in a month. He got along with Chad and Luke the best because Luke was in the same year as him and Chad was one year below them. Henry and James were just two and three years ahead of him but there was still a difference in how they treated one another. Evan, Luke, and Chad were known as The Three Musketeers around school and definitely believed in the motto "one for all and all for one."
Evan was in the middle of a deep conversation about the House Quidditch Team when he saw a flash of blonde in the hall. He chanced a quick look at the door and saw that it was Arianna Malfoy. Evan quickly tried to tune back into the conversation before his friends realized he wasn't paying attention. After about another thirty seconds of trying to pay attention, Evan decided to just give up and go into the hall to see if he could talk to Arianna.
"I'll be back shortly," Evan mumbled to his friends and quickly left the compartment. As he closed the door on the noise he had just left, he heard a hysterical giggling coming from behind him. Evan turned and saw Arianna with her face covered, shaking uncontrollably. "What's so funny?" he blurted out without even thinking.
Arianna's head popped up and her giggling stopped immediately. "What does it matter to you?" she snapped at Evan for interrupting her fun. What was it about this boy that immediately put her on edge?
"Well, you are sitting in the corridor by yourself. I didn't know anyone could find something funny when they were by themselves unless they weren't right in the head."
"Are you implying I am psychotic or something?" Evan stared at her completely dumbfounded. "It's not any of your business but I just left my brother and cousins who were making jokes. It was because of them that I was laughing and I think I will return considering my present company is not funny at all, unless you go by physical appearance - in which case, you're hilarious." With that she stormed back into the compartment with her brother and cousins.
"Well, that went beautifully, Potter. You bloody moron," Evan yelled at himself. "At this rate she will be the one throwing spells at me in the hallway and not her brother. Just bloody wonderful!!"
~*~
As the Hogwarts Express pulled into Hogsmeade Station, Arianna began to feel extremely nervous. Soon she would find out what house she would belong to and then she would begin to learn all she needed to know to be a great witch. As she walked off the train she was left alone for the first time since she left her parents.
"First years this way please." A voice boomed along the platform. Arianna moved in the direction of the voice and was confronted with a massive man. He was much taller than anyone she had ever seen and probably bigger around too. "Right this way Young Malfoy," the giant said to her.
"How do you know who I am?" Arianna asked clearly while trembling greatly on the inside. Her father had taught her well to never show fear.
"Well, you have the Malfoy hair, but yer a spittin image of yer mum, you are. You would have to be Ginny Weasley's daughter or I am not Hagrid," the behemoth smiled down at her.
"Hagrid? Oh, I've heard about you. Mum tells me great stories about you - do you still teach Care of Magical Creatures? I think that class will be so much fun, but Dad says to steer clear of Hippogriffs."
"Oh, yea, Draco would say that," Hagrid replied chuckling slightly. "Yes, I do teach that class still, but don't you worry. I would never hurt Ginny's little girl. Come on, let's get you into a boat and up to the castle." Hagrid picked her up and put her into one of the little boats next to a small dark haired girl.
Arianna turned to look at the little girl. "Hello, I'm Arianna Malfoy, but most people call me Ari or Anna. I prefer Ari."
The girl turned, "Oh, I'm Kayle Longbottom. No nickname sorry. Nice to meet you Ari."
"Nice to meet you too. What house are you hoping to get sorted into?"
"Gryffindor. Both of my parents were Gryffindors, so I wouldn't want to disappoint them. What about you?"
"Oh, umm…" Arianna trailed off and really thought about that question. Her dad was a Slytherin, her mum a Gryffindor, and some of her cousins were Ravenclaw. The more she thought about it the more confused she got. No matter what, she knew she could not be in Hufflepuff - that would disappoint her dad too much. She remembered when Dad found out Damon was in Slytherin - he was so happy and proud. What if - "Ari..?"
"Oh, sorry. I just zoned out for a minute."
"That's ok. So which house?"
"I don't know. I guess we will find out soon."
"Yes we will, because here is the castle. Don't worry Kayle, you don't have to be in Gryffindor. I'm sure Neville and Lavender will be happy no matter which house yer in. Same applies for you Arianna." Hagrid said to try to ease the girls' minds. The boat hit a dock. "Alright ladies out you go, and into the castle," Hagrid said as he lifted them onto the dock.
Kayle and Arianna walked side-by-side into the castle and up a huge marble staircase where a man was standing smiling at them. "Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am Professor Remus Lupin and shortly I will take you in to be sorted. Feel free to talk and get to know each other before you are sorted." Arianna looked around at her fellow first years. Everyone looked so scared. She didn't feel scared, maybe a little nervous because she didn't want to disappoint her parents, but definitely not scared. Almost her entire family was on the other side of those giant wooden doors.
"Alright, let's head in," Lupin yelled from the front of the group.
The big doors opened and Arianna saw the Great Hall for the first time. She saw floating candles against a dark blue, star filled sky. It was beautiful. Then she looked down at the four, long house tables. As she looked at the tables she saw her family and became a little more comfortable. She saw the Ravenclaw table first and at it was Aaron, Garret, Jared, Seth, Philip, Paul, and Peter. Next was the Gryffindor table with Andrew, Mark, Chris, Alex, Ben, Daniel, James, Henry, Luke, and Chad. As she looked at all her cousins she saw Evan Potter looking directly at her form between Luke and Chad. Maybe for that reason alone she didn't want to be in Gryffindor. Her eyes moved to the next table and since she had no family in Hufflepuff, she moved on to the Slytherin table. She saw her cousins first: Sean, Mike, Dave, and Brian. Then her eyes landed on her brother. She smiled at him and he just smiled and nodded back. She now felt completely comfortable. Her brother would never let anything bad happen to her.
"Come on, Ari, we have to keep up," Kayle whispered from beside her.
Arianna stopped scanning the tables and looked ahead at the table full of professors. She saw Hagrid who smiled warmly at her, and she saw Professor Snape who nodded in her direction. By then the first years had reached the front of the hall and Professor Lupin was unrolling a piece of parchment.
"Please come up and sit on the stool when you hear you name called," Professor Lupin told the first years. Arianna couldn't help but ignore the Professor and look around at her fellow classmates. These people would be her friends or enemies for the next seven years of her life. She just couldn't believe it.
"Kayle Longbottom!"
Arianna snapped out of her thoughts as the girl next to her jumped. "Wish me luck," Kayle whispered as she moved through the group.
"Good luck," Arianna whispered as she watched Kayle sit on the stool. The hat was placed on her head and about ten seconds later, "Gryffindor!" the hat yelled. Kayle jumped off the stool with a smile on her face and walked towards the Gryffindor table. She winked as she passes Arianna. Once the cheering had somewhat subsided Professor Lupin said the next name on the list.
"Arianna Malfoy!"
The Great Hall went completely silent. All eyes watched as the little blonde walked up to the stool. Arianna felt like she was in a fish bowl because so many people were staring at her. Professor Lupin put the hat on her head and she heard it talking to her.
"Hmmm, another Malfoy I see, but you aren't like the rest are you? No, I can see you are not. You are sly and cunning like your name implies, but you are also greatly brave and daring. Where should I put you?"
"I don't know," her thoughts replied.
"Ah, I see that now. You don't want to upset anyone, but you want to go where you truly belong. Alright, I have it. I know exactly where to put you."
"Where?"
The hat paused then yelled out, for all to hear, "Gryffindor!"
Silence no longer existed and multiple things happened all at once. The Gryffindors erupted into cheers, the Slytherin table looked shocked, Lupin turned and winked at Snape who scowled at the table, and Arianna took the hat off her head. As she walked towards a seat that was open next to Kayle, Damon and her cousins stood up at the Slytherin table. Sean, Mike, Dave, and Brian looked over to their Gryffindor brothers with meaningful looks and Ben, Daniel, Chris, and Alex nodded back at their Slytherin counterparts. Damon glared at Evan who completely missed the menacing look because he was watching Arianna get enveloped in a hug from Kayle. Headmistress McGonagall sat back and watched the whole exchange with amusement. It was indeed going to be an interesting few years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Much more interesting than anyone could quite anticipate.
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