Chapter Two

"...and then, they put this big, raggedy hat on your head and it sorts you...it sings too!" Astrid finished, popping a yellow Bertie Bott's bean into her mouth. "Mmmm, meringue..."

Jenson swallowed his dark chocolate-covered cherry-flavored bean, relishing its deliciousness before allowing his curiosity to be sated.

"Sorted? Into what?"

Both Teal and Astrid gave him strange looks. Teal spoke first.

"School houses. Didn't the professor who gave you your letter mention the houses?" He popped his bean into his mouth, making a face. "Ugh, ocean-water..."

Jenson thought hard for a moment.

"Well, I had a little man named Flitwick deliver my letter, and he me-"

"You got to meet Professor Flitwick?" squealed Astrid. "Oh, isn't he loads of fun? He teaches Charms."

"Um...yes. Anyway, he mentioned something about a raven's caw or something like that, and how I seemed to be a quick learner."

Astrid laughed.

"Not 'a raven's caw,' he meant Ravenclaw house. He's actually the Head of Ravenclaw house, so of course he would try to recruit you."

"What about the other houses?

"Well," she began, plucking a new bean from the bag, "there's Ravenclaw, which is known for housing the brainy students...Hufflepuff, which is pretty much full of nice people. There's Gryffindor, which is supposedly full of the bravest witches and wizards...and then there's..."

"Slytherin," Teal said distastefully (though it was hard to tell whether it was from the mention of the house name or because he had just eaten a wet-dog flavored bean.)

Astrid nodded. "Yes, Slytherin. It'd supposed to be full of 'pure-bloods.'" At Jenson's expression, she explained, "I mean students who come from two magical parents. Mostly those who can trace their magical roots way, way back. It sounds like bologna to me..."

Teal cocked his head to the side. "I don't think balogna makes a sound."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Move along now,” said a sharp voice. “The Sorting Ceremony’s about to start. Now form a line and follow me.”

Professor McGonagall ushered them into a rough line and proceeded to lead them to an incredibly large set of double doors. As the doors opened, without any apparent intervention by McGonagall's part, Astrid gripped Teal's and Jenson's hands and flashed them both a smile. Jenson attempted to return it, but his nervousness made him queasy, so his expression probably looked more pained than happy.

Incredible.

That's how Jenson would have described the sight before him. Though it was warm and toasty within this Great Hall, the ceiling opened up to the night sky. Tens of thousands of stars dotted overhead while, about twenty feet overhead, enchanted candles provided extra lighting.

"It’s not really the night sky. It’s just bewitched to look that way. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History.”

Jenson turned to his right to find a girl about his own age with an incredible amount of bushy, brown hair and over-sized front teeth.

"So, that's really a ceiling?" Jenson asked, more a statement then a question. Magic is pretty amazing...

In the center of the room they stopped, between two long tables and before a large, elevated table. Sitting at the head table were a number of important looking witches and wizards, including professor Flitwick (who waved to Jenson when he happened to catch his eye) and a very important looking wizard in the center. He had an impressively long white beard and, even from where he stood, Jenson could sense that he was not only looking at the new students, but somehow into them.

"That's professor Dumbledore!" said the same girl from earlier. "He's the Headmaster. He famous for many different things, but mostly for defeating one of the most powerful dark wizards who ever lived. That was before we were even born, though. He's considered the greatest wizard of our time."

"Did you read that in Hogwarts, a History as well?" Jenson asked with a wry smile.

She appeared slightly embarrassed. "Actually, yes..."

"I'm Jenson, Jenson Shirey," Jenson said, extending his hand.

She shook it heartily. "I'm Her-"

"The Sorting will now begin," Professor McGonagall said loudly, her voice echoing throughout the great room.

Before them, professor McGonagall deposited a stool and an old, ratty-looking "wizard's hat" (Jenson knew of no other way to describe it). As he watched, the hat seemed to move and, to his surprise, the hat split wide at the brim, singing:

There once were four great wizards,
whose great deeds together meld,
by the strength of their deep friendship
and by the ideals that they each held.

They decided, each among them,
as was their deepest yearning
to set up a school for young ones
to aid them in their learning.

"The bravest," said Sir Gryffindor,
"shall share my dear namesake.
For those of chivalry and daring
the keenest wizards make."

"Nay, the keenest," said Ravenclaw,
"are those with wit and smarts.
For who better to weave magic
then those who master their arts?"

"But those of cunning and purest blood,
the finest wizards make.
There is no other," Slytherine said,
"to trust with my namesake!"

Sweet Hufflepuff sighed and said to each,
"True wizards are just and loyal.
They aren't afraid of working hard
and bet'ring this mortal coil."

So each decided to compromise
and let me sort them out.
They bewitched me to search deep within
to see what you're all about.

So don't be shy, and do not fear,
for I have not erred yet.
I'll put you where you ought to be,
of that, you sure can bet!

The Hall burst into applause and, at Jenson's expression, Astrid said, "Oh, I forgot to mention. It sings."

"Oh, well that's nice..." Jenson muttered. Great, his future was going to be decided by a dandruff collector.

"First up," McGonagall said, retrieving a list from who-knows-where, "is Abbot, Hannah."

A young girl with blond hair stepped forward and proceeded to the stool. McGonagall placed the hat on her head and
it sat there a moment before shouting, "Hufflepuff!"

A cheer rang up from the table to the right, presumably the Hufflepuff table, and the girl walked over to join them.

"Next up, Granger, Hermione."

The girl next to Jenson nearly tripped stepping forward and walking up to the stool.

Hermione? Jenson thought. Then he turned back to Teal and Astrid. Well I guess that it's no stranger than mine or theirs.

She too sat there for a moment before the hat shouted, "Ravenclaw!"

She appeared relieved as she climbed off of the stool and hurried over to join the table directly to their left. Several other students were sorted before the bespectacled boy who bumped into Jenson on the train went up, kind of strutting (if an eleven year old can strut). Jenson snorted as the showoff, Harry-something, was sorted into Gryffindor amid cheers.

A smirking blond boy was sorted next into Slytherine, again apparently a popular from all of the noise he received.

Finally, "Burkeheart, Astrid," was called and she turned to Teal and Jenson, whispering, "see you two later!"

before running up to the stool and sitting down excitedly.

The hat had barely touched her hed before it shouted, "Slytherin!"

Astrid, beaming brightly, hopped down off of the stool, shook a surprised McGonagall's hand, and ran over to the Slytherin table to the far left.

"Shirey, David."

Jenson stepped forward, almost tripping over his own feet in the process, acutely aware of the number of eyes on him.

I'm not sure I have ever been this terrified before...okay, just focus. Just walk forward and let the hat do all the work...

As Jenson reached McGonagall and the stool, he managed to croak, "MY name is David, but I go by Jenson."

McGonagall made a mark on the list before gesturing for him to hop onto the stool.

As he sat, Jenson had the feeling that his stomach was located somewhere in his shoes. Suddenly, the weight of the hat was on him and the wide brim nearly pushed his glasses right off of his face. He caught them with a start.

"Well, now...you're a tough one, aren't you?"

Only recognizing the hat's voice from its song kept Jenson from losing his cool right then and there.

"Hmmm...you're a brave lad, but witty, cunning...a gentle disposition, but a fiery temper. Loyal too...difficult indeed...what do you think?"

Jenson wasn't sure how to respond without looking like a fool talking to himself.

"Oh don't be shy now, I can feel everything you can. Just think about it..."

Jenson thought about what he had heard on the train. And that new girl, Hermione. Teal and Astrid...and that Harry kid...

Well, I suppose he's no worse than anyone else, just a bit full of himself...

The hat chuckled at that.

I want to do well here...

"Success is very important to you...but you're not willing to step on a few toes, are you?"

Jenson blanched at the thought. I'd rather get by on my own merit. Jenson could almost feel the hat's approval.

"Nor do you enjoy leading unless you have to. You would rather be the 'power behind the throne' sort to speak."

Jenson had to admit, that sounded right.

"You're a good friend...but not to the point of naivety. Loyal, but only in matters of their best interests..."

Jenson would have scratched his head if the hat wasn't in the way.

"So I guess that leaves...RAVENCLAW," it shouted audibly, cheers ringing out from the Ravenclaw table. As Jenson slid the Sorting Hat off, he heard a "good luck, boy" before McGonagall removed it completely. He slid off of the stool, walking in a bit of a haze to his new House table. Hermione, seeing him coming, made room for him. Jenson shot her a grateful look.

"Now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" she said, grinning broadly. Jenson had his back pat by a young man who introduced himself as Roger Davis. Turning back to Hermione, Jenson cracked a smile in return.

"He's a talkative sort, eh?"

Before she could respond, "Andrews, Teal," was called forward.

Jenson wished his friend good luck as well.

Teal couldn't move. His name was only the second one to be called, and he was already very nervous. After a moment, a small hand on his back nudged him forward.

Teal walked hesitantly up to the front of the room, a feeling he’d never had before taking over him. He’d never even been in a place with this many people before, much less with all of them watching him so tentatively. He looked up to the table at the head of the room for the second time. He had just glanced before, but this time he really looked, studied each person briefly. The giant who had lead the first years, Hagrid, was one of them.

Teal gave the huge man a smile, which he returned, and then continued looking down the table as he progressed slowly towards the stool. His eyes finally reached the middle of the table where an old man with long, white hair and a matching beard sat in flowing, purple robes. Purple was the color of royalty, Teal remembered. The man certainly looked important. Teal’s eyes gravitated up to his and everything stopped for a moment: his feet, his memory, and his breath.

The man stared at him with a piercing gaze, not in a cruel manor, but a knowing one. His eyes sparkled with a knowledge that no person should be allowed to have, and something in the way he looked at Teal both frightened and assured him at the same time. The man smiled, a smile that meant more than “welcome”, and Teal blinked, remembering that he was supposed to be walking.

He finally wrenched his eyes away from the enticing old man and looked up at the woman in front of him, Professor McGonagall. She had a slightly irritated look on her face, as if she were tired of waiting, and after a second she nodded her head towards the stool, signaling Teal to hurry. He stopped in front of the chair, turned around, and hopped up onto the stool with ease, thanks to his height.

Teal looked out across the room at everyone, their eyes all lingering on him, and he didn’t like it. He wanted them to look at everyone else. He lowered his head and looked down at his shoes until the weight of the giant hat settled on his head. It fell down over his eyes, but instead of pushing it up, Teal grasped the sides and pulled it down further, covering half of his face in an attempt to hide.

Laughter erupted from the previously quiet room and Teal scrunched his eyes closed. A hand grabbed the top of the hat and began to pull it back up, but didn’t get very far before a barely audible, whisper of a voice told her to let him be. Teal wondered briefly if it was the old man at the table until his thoughts were interrupted by a voice other than his own inside his head. It started as a low laugh, then moved on to words.

“You’re a curious little thing, aren’t you?”

Teal didn’t respond, but opened his eyes. All he could see was black, no light reaching the inside of the hat, but he left his eyes open.

“You know, Ravenclaw takes kindly to little ones like you. Some of the most brilliant minds are also the strangest.”

I don’t know if I’m smart, Teal thought back.

“Well, confidence certainly isn’t your strong-suit, that’s for sure. Definitely not a Slytherin. Perhaps a Gryffindor? I see some bravery in you, especially regarding those you care for.”

Teal remained silent.

“Tell me... what is it that you want most?”

Teal didn’t even hesitate.

To be with my friends.

The hat seemed to tighten a bit and Teal could have sworn it was smiling.

“Well, I don't know if I can give you that, but at least now I know where you belong... HUFFLEPUFF!”

The hat shouted the house name and Teal jumped as it was pulled from his head. He reflexively looked up to Professor McGonagall, who’s eyebrow was raised in a somewhat unappreciative manor. Teal wasn’t sure why, but she seemed not to like him very much. He hopped off of the stool and headed over to the table of people with the yellow and black ties. Those were Hufflepuff’s colors, apparently. Teal liked yellow. It was happy. And black... well, black wasn’t really a color at all.

He walked to the very end of the table, where a seat was open beside Hannah, the girl from their boat, and sat down. She turned and smiled to him and he smiled back. A few more names were called then before "Burkeheart, Astrid" came up. Teal watched with great concentration as Astrid walked up to the stool confidentially. The Sorting Hat had rested on his head for a long time, but it had barely even been placed on top of Astrid's head when it called out "Slytherine!"

Teal swallowed hard. Apparently the Sorting Hat couldn't give him what he wanted most. At least not both of his friends. As Astrid made her way over to the Slytherin table, Teal held tightly to the fabric of his robes and waited for Jenson to be sorted. It was a long time, however, and almost all of the other students had been sorted before it was Jenson's turn. He walked up to the stool at the head of the room, and Teal thought that he looked nervous as well.

Teal eyes grew wide then as Jenson was sorted into the Ravenclaw house. He walked over to the table full of the kids who wore blue and sat down beside a girl with wild hair. She was in their year, Teal remembered. She had just been sorted a few moments ago. Her name was odd though. He couldn’t remember it.

Hermin? Hermif? Hermyon?

He wracked his brain for the right pronunciation for a few short seconds, but couldn’t remember it. He didn't really care, though. He wasn’t with his friends. Either of them. He turned his head to look at Astrid, trying to share his sadness with her through his eyes, and then did the same in turn to Jenson. Until this very moment he had been looking forward to Hogwarts. Now... now he wasn’t so sure.

Teal looked back, one last time, to the old man at the front of the room and was shocked to find that he was still looking at him. Even as the next first year’s name was called, the older man continued looking at him for a few moments. He finally gave Teal a small nod, as if to say that everything would be alright, and then turned his attention to the child who was about to be sorted.

Teal turned and stared at the bare table in front of him.

Jenson winced as Teal yanked the sorting hat down over his face. Even from this distance, Teal's discomfort could be felt. Jenson turned to Astrid to see her reaction, but she was staring intently at Teal, as if she could somehow transmit confidence and good fortune to him through her eyes. Several moments passed as Teal and the Sorting Hat conversed. Hermione noticed Jenson's anxiety.

"Is he your friend?" she asked, managing to sound both genuinely curious and as if she was about to give him a lecture.

"No, I mean, well, yes, but...we just met on the train. I wouldn't call us friends yet. But I do worry about him. He's a little...different," Jenson finished with a sigh.

Hermione looked slightly offended. "Why wouldn't you call him your friend? Didn't you just say you were worried about him? Isn't that what friends do? They care for each other."

"Hufflepuff!" the hat shouted, Teal climbing off of the stool and walking over to the Hufflepuff table. Despite the cheering, he looked positively miserable. His eyes seemd to brighten a little when he raised his eyes to his fellow tablemates, but when he looked up and locked eyes with astrid and then Jenson...he looked heartbroken.

Jenson continued staring at Teal even as he looked away.

"It's not easy," he said to Hermione, not even noticing whether or not she was paying attention, "for me to call someone a friend. Friendship is deeper than a merely positive aquaintanceship. Friends don't just worry about each other...they don't just "watch out" for each other...real friends sacrifice for each other." He finally turned to meet her eyes, which were wide in surprise. "At least, that's how I see it."

She stared at him a moment more before speaking.

"You're a bit odd, aren't you?" He shrugged.

"I've always been a little different."

Before she could respond, the sound of a clearing throat filled the room, magically amplified Jenson assumed.

Dumbledore stood up from his seat and the entire room became as silent as a tomb. Jenson noticed that the sorting had finished and that McGonagall was now in her seat, the stool and Sorting Hat gone.

"Welcome," Dumbledore said softly. Though his voice sounded gentle, he could be heard just as clearly as if he had been sitting right beside Jenson in a library. "Welcome to a new 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!”

He sat down as the Great Hall erupted into applause (though, Jenson noticed, there seemed to be a portion of the slytherine table that did not share the general enthusiasm - Astrid, however, joined in with wild abandon).

"That was unusual," Jenson said with a grin. A tallish girl of asian descent overheard him and leaned around from Hermione's other side.

"Last year, he fired a firecracker from the end of his wand. Gave Mrs. Norris quit the fright."

"Who's Mrs. Norris?"

"Filtch's cat. Filtch is the caretaker of Hogwarts grounds," she said, pointing to a lanky-haired man with possibly the most sullen expression that Jenson had ever seen. He looked as iff he'd been force-fed a bag of warheads candies. She turned back to Jenson. "I am Cho Chang, by the way. The Ravenclaw team's seeker."

"Seeker?" Jenson asked, "As in hide-and-seek?" Conversation around him stopped. Obviously, he had just committed some sort of faux pas. He tried to recover. "Oh, um...is that a wizarding thing? Because I am a muggle...I mean, my parents are muggles. I'm just learning about all of this," he said, pointing to the surroundings, which happened to include mountains of food that had appeared from nowhere. Jenson tried to find some food that he recognized.

"Oh, you're a muggle-born?" Hermione said with the slightest hint of a squeal, "I am too! My parents are dentists in Londond! Where are you from?"

Jenson finally spotted what looked to be some sort of pudding-like dessert as well as what he was fairly certain was mashed potatoes and sausages. Hermione's comment, however, caught his attention and relieved him. At least he was not the only one in his boat.

"The South-Eastern United States. My mother works with the mail service and my father..." he trailed off for a moment, gritting his teeth slightly and gripping his fork too tightly to be comfortable, "...my father is a carpenter of sorts. He builds house frames."

The tallish boy across from him (Roger Davies, Jenson believed) leaned across the table as if to get a better look at him.

"You're from the states then, eh? It must be quite a shock for you then...being tossed headfirst into both the English and the Wizarding worlds. A little advice..." he motioned for Jenson to lean in, "...if anyone looks offended or confused as to why you don't know something, just say, 'I'm a Yank,' and they'll let it go."

Jenson could not tell if he was being serious or not. Possibly, it was a mixture of the two.

"Well, I'd hate to make excuses for myself..." Jenson turned back to Hermione and Cho. "So what is a seeker?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After Cho explained the rudimentary rules and basics of some wizarding sport called "quidditch," Hermione helped him locate several foods that his palatte would find agreeable, at least until he became acclimated to his new environment. All the while, she questioned him about life in the United States, what, if any, books he had read to prepare for coming to Hogwarts, etc.

"So, you have actually read Hogwarts, a History as well?" she said as they followed the older students out of the hall and to their new dorm rooms.

"Well," he began sheepishly, "I wouldn't say that I have read it so much as perused it during the last few days.

My scholarship covered all of my books and most of my supplies (thought I did have to get them second hand), and it included Hogwarts, a History. I've also glanced through the transfiguration book and the potions book."

"Have you tried any spells?"

"Um..."

Actually, Jenson had been too nervous to even think about using his wand without supervision from another witch or wizard. Flitwick had mentioned something about a "ministry" who oversaw the wizarding world's laws, which included restrictions on underage magic. When Jenson explained, Hermione just sighed.

"Well, those rules only apply in Muggle sanctioned areas. Once you entered platform 9 3/4, you were able to perform magic. The same applies to Diagon Alley, the Leaky Cauldron, or any other wizarding territory." At Jenson's look, she said, "I asked professor McGonagall when she gave me my invitation to join the school."

Before he could respond, the leader of the group, a pre-fect (whatever that meant) named Penelope Clearwater called back, "Here we are! The Ravenclaw tower staircase. No more than one abreast, please, and follow me."

The group climbed a tight spiral staircase single file in near silence. Jenson's attention was held by the strangest of sights along the walls. The photographs and paintings on the walls, if that is indeed what they were, were moving. In fact, many of them were attempting to start conversations with several of the first year students.

Some of the older students gave a raucous greeting to what appeared to be a drunken monk and a rather loud-mouthed knight in armor.

Reaching the top of the staircase, they spread out before a large wooden door which had been polished so that it shone like bronze. A large, brass knocker in the shape of an eagle adorned the center of the doorway. Penelope strode forward and knocked once, sending an incredible echo back down the staircase behind them. A rather distinguished and husky female voice resounded around them.

"I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space. I am essential to creation, and I surround every place."

The students murmured amongst themselves before Penelope turned to them.

"In order to enter most common room towers, the common room guardians generally require a password. Ravenclaw is unique in that it requires you to answer a riddle." She turned back to the knocker. "You are the letter 'e'."

"Quite so," the voice said and the door swung open to reveal a large room lit entirely by two roaring fireplaces and several more floating candles. Various, comfortable looking, squashed chairs littered the room along with several desks and a collections of blue and bronze banners strung to and fro. On the far wall were two stair cases, one leading up towards the left and the other, up towards the right. Between them was a large window overlooking the mountains, what Jenson assumed was the quidditch field, and a black, still lake.

"Boys, your rooms are up the stairs to the left. Girls, your rooms are up the stairs to the right," Penelope said, once more turning back to the group as a whole. "Curfew is 10 o'clock, but that only means you have to be in the common room by that time. Your class schedules will be given out tomorrow, so I suggest that you all turn in early for the night."

With that, she turned around and headed up the right staircase, followed by several other girls. Several older boys walked up the left staircase, while those remaining took to exploring the common room. Jenson decided that he could wait and do that later. Right now, he just needed something that he was used to...like unpacking and going to sleep.

"Goodnight Cho, Roger...g'night Hermione." He gave her a tired smile. "See you bright and early in the morning."

"Goodnight Jenson."

Slowly, Jenson climbed the leftward spiral staircase and, too tired to bother unpacking, slumped to the bed by his trunk and collapsed, face-first, into the warm recesses of the comforter and pillows.

Jenson awoke with a start with his glasses cutting into his left temple and what sounded like a herd of elk trampsing down a staircase. He rolled over and called to his brother.
"Hey, Jason. What's that noise?"
"Probably the others on their way to breakfast, I would imagine. You might to get up and join them since breakfast ends at 8 and it's 7:20 now."
Jenson rolled over and promptly fell to the hard-wood floor below. Clutching his left shoulder, he stood up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He turned back to his brother's voice, which seemed to have matured overnight. Instead of Jason, a boy with blondish-red hair about his own age was adjusting his tie, glancing at Jenson while he did so. As Jenson stared at him with wide eyes, the new guy picked up his sweater from his bed and pulled it on over his head, carefully avoiding messing up his hairdo.
"Uh, hi," Jenson squawked, "I'm Jenson. I was raised by muggles."
The sweater seemed to fit to the boy's satisfaction, so he picked up his wand and strode over to Jenson, his hand out.
"Goldstein, Anthony Goldstein. Pleased to meet you Jenson."
Everything from the day before came rushing back to Jenson in a flash. The packing, the train, Teal and Astrid, the feast, the sorting, Hermione...
"Uh, will you wait just a scond for me, Anthony? It won't take me more than a minute to get dressed."
Anthony gave him a once-over. Jenson followed his line of sight and realized that he had fallen asleep literally fully dressed - shoes and all.
"Or right now then? Okay, thanks."
Anthony grinned at him shaking his head as he led the way down the stairs, out through the Ravenclaw doorway and to the Great Hall.
"You are also from the States, right?"
Jenson nodded saying, "This is all so new to me. Forgive me if...when I do something stupid."
Anthony shook his head. "No worries, mate. All of us first years look out for one another. And the upperclassmen aren't bad either...well, there are exceptions."
They stopped in front of what appeared to be an older student lecturing several first years. He was tall with flaming red hair and wore Gryffindor colors.
"That's Percy Weasley. There are several Weasley brothers, all Gryffindors. The oldest have graduated now, but there are four still in Hogwarts. That's the oldest of the four, Percy. He's a right self-righteous git."
As they watched, a bucket of something appeared over Percy's head and upended, unleashing a torrent of foul-looking, slimey somethings all over him. Two other boys, each identical to the other with flaming red hair and sweaters on backwards, appeared on either side of him, laughing and offering what appeared to be very insincere apologizes for the mishap.
As he laughed, Anthony continued. "That is Fred and Gerorge Weasley (don't ask me which one is which) and they are...well, they're swell guys, but do not make them cross with you."
Anthony nodded for Jenson to continue following him and Jenson tore his eyes away from Percy's outraged sputtering and the twins' story about "Pixie Pustules," whatever those were.
They tromped into the Great Hall which, to Jenson's amazement, was filled with swooping owls and the smell of perfectly simmered sausages.
Jenson sat down next to Anthony, between two familiar looking Ravenclaw boys (Davies and...Fredricks?). Across from them, looking both annoyed and amused at the same time was Hermione Granger.
"Well good morning, finally. I was beginning to think you were going to sleep the day away."
Jenson glanced back to the entrance, which still contained students trompsing in for breakfast and mail call.
"Plenty of people are coming in after me. Why am I the lazy one?"
Hermione looked exasperated, as if she was speaking to a child...well, a small child.
"But this is all old hat to them. To us it's a day filled with brand new experiences. I have been up since five o'clock going over notes for today's classes," she said breathlessly, digging into her sausage and eggs with enthusiasm.
Jenson glanced around the Great Hall. By an amazing stroke of luck, he saw both Astrid and Teal walking into the Hall together, Astrid soaking wet and Teal with Nipsy sitting on his head and Edgar on his shoulder.
"Excuse me for a sec," Jenson said, popping up out of his seat and striding the length of the Hall. They had stopped at the edge of the tables, as if dreading the separation. Their expressions brightened as he waved at them and greeted them with a wary smile.
"How are you guys doin'?" Jenson asked, suddenly aware of multiple pairs of eyes on them.
Teal shrugged, his expression still solemn. Astrid, on the other hand, was much more animated in expressing her displeasure.
"The Slytherin's are all uptight and mean and...hmph!" she said, crossing her arms in annoyance before beginning to ring out her still dripping robe.
"What happened?" Jenson asked. He heard snickers from a group of Slytherin girls as they walked past.
"Pansy Parkinson bewitched the water fountains in the hallway to vomit whenver I passed by."
"And they can vomit far," Teal said, his eyes wide.
She took her hat off of her head and rang it out, releasing a very large amount of water all over the hallway floor and causing the third year behind her to skid a good five feet or so.
She waved her wand in a crazy pattern. "Evaporus!" The water steamed and quickly dissipated.
Suddenly, the screeching of owls caught them offguard and, looking up, Jenson saw Ezra and two unfamiliar owls flying towards the three of them. Edgar leaped back into Teal's robe and Nipsy hissed and hopped from Teal's head to the floor as the unfamiliar owls landed on Teal's and Astrid's outstretched forearms. Likewise, Ezra landed on Jenson's with a flourish and seemed almost proud. Clutched in her right talon was a rolled up parchment, identical to Teal's and Astrid's owl's. After relieving her of her burden and stroking her along the beak, she took off towards his place at the table and attacked one of his sausages, carrying it off back to the owl loft (he assumed).
Teal's and Astrid's owls did the same. They each unrolled their parchments to find a class schedule, each according to their houses.
Jenson discovered that he and Teal shared both Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions classes. Likewise, he shared Transfiguration and Herbology with Astrid. They all shared Astronomy and History of Magic.
He checked the clock on the wall. It was twenty minutes until his first class and he had not yet eaten.
"I'll see you both later, I have to eat before my first class!" he shouted, running back to the Ravenclaw table.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I still say that you cut it far too close," Hermione groaned, rolling her eyes as he skidded to a stop in front of the open Defense Against the Dark Arts room door.

"Ah," Jenson said, gasping for breath, "don't be...whew...jealous...of my...ability to...time things...wow...I am so out of shape..."

She looked almost offended and, without waiting for him, stomped into class, leaving him still gasping and clutching his book bag. He glanced into the room to find Teal sitting at back of the class. Hermione, on the other hand, sat in the very front of the class, just left of the middle. There were two empty chairs two her left, one to her right and one behind her. Teal, on the other hand, had only one empty chair next to him.
Jenson made his way back to Teal and, as he approached, Teal actually smiled.
Jenson had trouble smiling back. Back in the States, he always sat at the front of the class, just to make sure he did not miss anything. He could not start off a completely different type of schooling without giving himself every academic advantage he could. At the same time, he did not want to snub his new acquaintances.
"Hey, Teal. Is there any way you could sit closer to the front? I'd like to sit near you, but I can't sit this far back."
Jenson noticed that Hermione had turned to watch him. When she saw him glancing in her direction, she quickly turned her attention back to the blackboard.
Teal's expression soured.

Teal's expression gradualy turned from from looking like he had just taken a shot of lemon extract to an unconvincing smile.

"Okay," he muttered just above a whisper. Jenson tried not to sigh audibly with relief.

"Great, thanks."

Teal grabbed his things and followed Jenson back to the front. Though Jenson could almost feel the discomfort radiating from Teal, he felt that it would be good for Teal to branch outside of his comfort zone. Jenson took the empty seat directly left of Hermione while Teal deposited his things into the seat left of Jenson. Jenson attempted an introduction.

"Teal, this is..." he started before Hermione stood up from her seat and extended her hand.

"Hermione Granger! A pleasure to make your acquaintance!"
Teal stared at her hand for a moment as if frightened that it would bite him. Before her enthusiastic smile had a chance to falter, however, he shook her hand twice before seating himself. Hermione likewise took her seat again.

"Did he say your name was Teal? Like the color? That's a very odd thing to name your child."

Jenson thought that that was a bit rich coming from Hermione but, then again, she was English and they were Americans. Maybe her name was more common here than "Teal" was back home in the states...but he doubted it. Teal appeared to have the same reaction, but instead smiled uncomfortably as if Hermione was a potential lunatic.

"Good morning class," came a voice from the back room, drawing the class's collective attention. A thin man in black robes and a bright purple turban strode through the desks to his desk up front, a large black bag in one hand and a thin willowy wand in his other. As he passed between Jenson and Hermione, there was a distinct, pungent smell that caused Jenson to cough slightly. The man put down his bag and turned to face the class.

"My name is Professor Quirrell, and I will be your instructor for The Defense Against the Dark Arts." He gestured to Jenson. "As several of you might have noticed, including this young man here...what is your name?"

Jenson's heart lept as he realized that Quirrell was talking to him. Nervously, he said, "Uh, Jenson Shirey, professor, sir."

Professor Quirrell smiled at his nervousness. "Just 'professor' will do, Shirey. As Mr. Shirey has noticed, as well as several others of you, I'm sure, I smell quite heavily of garlic. I have just returned from a visit to the Black Forest of Albania. It is, as many of you might know, infested with vampires and other creatures of the Dark Arts. And garlic does, indeed, keep vampires from drinking your blood. They can't stand it. There are, however," he said, brandishing his wand in front of him, "other spells necessary to keep them from simply attacking you instead."

Many of the first years that Jenson could see, including himself, looked shocked at the news of vampires. Except Hermione. She just sat there eagerly, quill in hand, jotting down everything he said on a long piece of parchment. To his left, Teal seemed equally shocked, and quite horrified, to learn that vampires were poking around anywhere. Apparently, his godmother had not mentioned that in their discussions.

"Now, get out your quills, parchments and your Defense Against the Dark Arts for Beginners books. we have some basics to go over. Who knows when the first definition of 'Dark Arts' was recorded in Britain...according to the book, at least."

Hermione's hand shot up instantly.

The rest of the class was fairly ho-hum after the brief shock about Albanian vampires. After Professor Quirrell took roll, he began lecturing on the history of practical, magical defense. When professor Quirrell would ask a question, Hermione's hand would rise like a reflexive reaction and she was, apparently, always right. The sight seemed to amuse Teal to no end, but it simply impressed Jenson. Hermione might not necessarily be competition with him in his studies, but he was going to have to work very hard to keep up with her.

Before dismissing the class, Quirrell assigned the first chapter of their book to be read by the next class period. Hermione seemed disappointed that there was no other reading assignments, but wisely decided not to complain aloud to the other students...just to Jenson and Teal.

"I mean we've already gone over much of the information and, in my opinion, chapter 2 does a far better job of outlining the objectives of the class and Practical Defense Against Dark Arts by Grimore Belcock does a far better job at summarizing the pros and cons of..."
"Hermione," Jenson interrupted, "It's the first day. Give us time to get our magic legs before they start piling on homework. What did you think Teal?"

Teal just shrugged.

Hermione looked at the clock on the wall.

"Jenson, we have to get to Charms class. A third year told me that Professor Flitwick plays practical jokes on students who are late the first day of class."

"Whoa, uh, okay. Bye Teal! See you at lunch!" Jenson called back as Hermione started to stride off without him, making him jog to catch up.

Teal waved at them until he disappeared around the corner from their view. Poor Teal, Jenson thought to himself. But he'll perk up once he gets used to everything.

Hermione was now speedwalking to the stairs and Jenson soley managed to keep up with her due to his longer legs.

"So, what'd you think of Teal?" He said with a smile, parodying her gait before she gave him a withering glance.

"Well...he's a bit odd. He doesn't seem to be very enthusiastic about his first day of classes. And he's very quiet..."

"Well, he hasn't had much company his own age, so we're kind of a new experience for him. Plus, didn't you say I'm odd?" Jenson said defensively.

"Well, yes..." she started, before she let out a scream as her foot fell through the third step of the downward staircase. Jenson, who had a habit of taking stairs two at a time, had, by chance, jumped over it. Thankfully, he was able to catch her before she fell forward and injured herself.

"Are you okay?!" Jenson asked worriedly, eying the step cautiously. Hermione's leg was still halfway through it and, as she pulled it out, he could swear he heard the staircase tittering. Hermione seemed shaken by the experience. Understandable, of course. If the floor had disappeared out from under him while he was walking, he would be more than a little paranoid. Luckily, her bag had landed two steps below and nothing had shattered or broken. One of her ink pots had leaked a little, but not enough to truly damage anything.

"I'm fine...that was quite a scare."

"Yes, you have to watch out for those," said a tall girl with dark hair and a prefect button on her robe. "Some staircases have false steps. You just have to remember to jump them. One of the stair cases on the fourth floor does that as well." glancing at each other nervously, Jenson and Hermione began taking the steps carefully, one at a time back down to the main floor.

Jenson and Hermione managed to make it down the staircase without further incident and, rushing to Professor Flitwick's class, practically skidded into the doorway, narrowly avoiding the Fat Friar chasing Peeves out of the classroom, yelling about 'frog-spawn' and 'elderberries.'

They took a seat near the front of the classroom next to a boy with blondish-red hair that Jenson recognized as Anthony Goldstein.
"Hey, Anthony! It's good to see you again." Jenson said with a smile, clapping him on the back as he took his seat right next to him.

"Jenson! I see you made it to class all right. How did you like Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"Professor Quirrell's something, isn't he? Oh, Anthony, this is..." Jenson started, motioning to Hermione.

"Hermione Granger," she said with a smile, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Hello Hermione. You're the one who answered all of Professor Quirrell's questions, right?"

Hermione blushed.

"Yeah, that's her." Jenson said with a grin. "Even among Ravenclaws, she's a nerd."

Hermione looked offended.

"I am not a nerd! I simply think that it is important to take our studies seriously!"

Anthony and Jenson exchanged glances.

Before either of them could respond, the door opened and a tall, pointed hat sauntered through the doorway. Reaching the center of the room, a voice called out, "Inperspicuo!" and, which a flourish, the diminutive professor Flitwick appeared before them, bowing to applause from the rest of the class. Before he could say anything, however, a boy with a mop of unruly black hair burst through the door, accompanied by a thin, black boy and a pale boy with reddish-brown hair. They all appeared to be first years.

"Sorry professor," the black boy said, huffing with exhaustion, "Peeves started dropping frogspawn and winebottles in the hallway and we barely escaped with our lives!"

"I'm sure it wasn't quite that dramatic," Flitwick said with an air of having heard excuses before. He pulled out a parchment. "Your names, please."

"Dean Thomas," said the black boy, lifting his bag back onto his shoulder and looking around the room for an empty seat.
"Seamus Finnigan," said the pale boy, likewise catching his breath and looking for an empty seat.

Flitwick made marks next to their names and turned to the dark-haired boy, whom Jenson recognized as the Potter boy.

"Harry Potter," he said, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"Well, have a seat you three." Flitwick glanced down the rest of the list, calling off names. As they took their seats, tiny clouds appeared over their heads, released a light, misty rain directly over their heads, unaffecting anyone else around them. At their dismayed looks, Flitwick giggled to himself and said, "maybe you'll try harder to be on time next time, gentlemen."

After a few more names were called, Professor Flitwick reached, "Shirey, David."

Looking up as Jenson called out 'here,' Flitwick smiled and said, "if I remember correctly, you prefer 'Jenson,' correct?"

At Jenson's nod, Professor Flitwick marked the correction and continued his roll call. Anthony looked at Jenson with raised eyebrows.

"You've met Professor Flitwick already?" Anthony asked.

"Well, yeah. He brought me my Hogwarts letter of acceptance."

"And he remembered your name. That's a good sign, Jenson." Hermione said excitedly. "You must have made a rather good impression."

Jenson shrugged as Flitwick called for them to pull out their quills and parchments for a brief lecture on the practical applications of Charms.

Teal had stayed in the study room reading until it was almost time for lunch. He had finished the first chapter of ‘Defense Against the Dark Arts for Beginners’ and started on the first chapter of their book for History of Magic. The first book had been much more interesting so far, though both of them were still rather dull, given the way in which they were written.

Teal had been a few pages into the first chapter of ‘A History of Magic’ by Bathilda Bagshot when the several other Hufflepuff and two Gryffindor students in the room began to gather their things and leave. The sudden movement had inspired him to look up at the enchanted clock above the doorway and he realized it was almost time for lunch.

On his way to the Great Hall he had run into Astrid, Jenson and Hermylie. He had walked with them until they reached their destination, at which point they’d all split up and gone to their respective tables. That was the part that Teal disliked the most: being able to see them, but feeling as though he was not allowed to be with them. Maybe one day they’d all be able to sit together.

They had one hour to eat, just like at breakfast. One hour to sit alone and pretend that things were alright. Except for Jenson. He seemed to be actually enjoying both his house and its students. Teal ate a few diced potatoes. Apparently in England they referred to them as chips. This was just one of the few things he’d have to get used to. He grabbed an egg and began to nibble on that as well. On the bright side, at least the food was good.

Teal pulled out his robe to check on Edgar. The large frog was sleeping soundly in his inside pocket. He seemed to like it in there, as he was constantly jumping back in on his own accord since Teal had first put the robe on. Teal let the robe fall back against his chest and stroked Edgar gently through it. The frog was nestled comfortably against Teal’s heart and the boy smiled at this realization.

Teal finished picking at his food and looked down at the other Hufflepuff students. They were all either talking among themselves, or eating, with the exception of one of the boys from his dorm: Justin Finch-Fletchly. He was staring at Teal. As soon as Teal spotted him, however, he quickly looked back down at his food and continued eating. Teal’s brows furrowed in confusion. People could be so hard to understand...

When the end of lunch came, Teal met up with Astrid, Jenson and Hermello just outside of the Great Hall. As they started walking towards the History of Magic room Teal pulled Edgar out of his pocket and placed him on his shoulder, telling him that too much sleep was a bad thing. They made their way to the grand staircase and carefully began their ascent. Teal liked the moving stairs. They seemed peaceful for some reason.

“What floor do we need to go to?” Jenson asked as they continued to climb.

“The fourth,” Astrid and Herminie answered simultaneously.

The two girls turned and gave each other a weary look, both surprised by and uncomfortable with their likeness in the moment. Teal turned his concentration to Astrid, who sighed and then turned her head sharply back towards the direction they were heading. The stairway they were on suddenly began to shift then, reconnecting to a platform leading in the opposite direction just as they reached the top.

“Poopsickle!” Astrid exclaimed, looking back and forth between the two possible routes before them. “Well... This way should be quicker!”

Astrid started to the right, but stopped abruptly as Hermalice’s voice filled the air.

“Actually, no, I’m fairly certain we should go left,” she said, her lips pursed as she pointed one small finger in said direction.

“No, it’s right,” Astrid replied. “I’m sure of it now.”

“I’m telling you, you’re wrong.”

Astrid looked as if she was having trouble breathing for a moment, her eyes getting larger. Teal headed over to her to help her start breathing again, but before he could even reach her she responded again.

“Fine, I guess we’ll just have to see, won’t we?” she said, forcing a smile and turning on her heel to continue in the direction she had been going.

Teal instinctively followed her, only looking back a few seconds later to see Hermincollie and Jenson walking in the opposite direction. He turned back to watch Astrid again. She was walking very fast, faster than he’d seen any of the students walking so far. He picked up his pace, his long legs making it easy to keep up with her. They climbed several more flights of stairs and then got off on the third floor and began speeding down the corridor.

They rounded the corner, in front of the hospital wing, and scurried up the stairs there, coming up in front of the History of Magic hallway. Astrid smiled as she saw the entrance to the room, and continued forward. Her smile quickly shifted, however, as Astrid and Jenson appeared around the corner from the other direction.

“I told you I was right,” both girls shouted as they came to an identical stop in front of the classroom.

They quickly took a step back and began to look each other over in unison, before finally moving forward into the classroom. Teal smiled at the exchange, almost like watching some sort of play, and caught Jenson’s eye. He was smiling too and it made Teal feel somewhat proud of himself. He seemed to be having the right reaction to the situation. It was good.

Hermummy made a beeline to the closest table and Jenson took the seat to her left. They were big enough for two people to sit at each one, but no more. Astrid moved to the table behind them and sat down directly behind Jenson. Teal sat beside her. Edgar croaked.

A few minutes later, after the class had filled up, Professor Binns floated in. Teal smiled. He didn’t know if he would like having a ghost as a teacher or not, but it was a neat change from the normal human at least.

“Please turn to page fifteen in your books, and pull out your parchment and quills,” the professor drawled. “Today we will be taking notes on Emeric the Oddball and Uric the Evil.”

“That’s not right. He’s got them mixed up,” Hermelephant whispered to Jenson.

“I’m sorry,” Binns apologized dryly. “I mean Emeric the Evil and Uric the Oddball.”

Teal pulled out his book and turned to the instructed page. He hadn’t gotten quite this far in the study room, and was soon glad as the class turned out to be very boring. He very well may have fallen asleep if he had been learning about this for the second time. It wasn’t long before he found himself staring out of the window on the other side of the room, his mind far, far away.