Chapter Nine: Unexpected

When Harry returned to the compartment, he found Ron alone and already in his school robes. When he shut the door behind him, the redhead looked up with angry eyes. "Hermione went off to find the Transylvanian. Something or other about if we weren't going to be civil then she wasn't going to stick around and blah, blah, blah..." And then he went back to glaring at Hermione's vacated seat. Harry just shook his head and sat down, leaving Ron with his angry silence. He looked out the window and could just see the faint lights of Hogsmeade in the distance.

He had decided that he wasn't going to worry about Aurelia Ludvaros until he saw her again (and hopefully that would not be for a very long time), and to concentrate on the wonderful feeling of being home again. He watched for the next half hour as the lights grew colser and closer, and then when the train began to slow, he and Ron left the comparrtment to join the crowded hallway ready to exit the train. When the two stepped off, they could hear Hagrid's familiar voice calling to the frightened first years. "Firs' years over 'ear! Firs' years wi' me! Ah, 'Ermione, how was yer summer? Where're 'Arry and Ron, and who've ye got wi' ya now? I see, I was told t' expect you Miss Ludvaros, yer t' come with me, too. You go on ahead, 'Ermione, I'll take good care of 'er."

Then, looking cautiously at each other, Harry and Ron skirted around the far edge of the crowd to avoid the Transylvanian. Harry felt a slight pang of guilt that he wasn't going to be able to greet Hagrid until later in the year, but he wasn't keen on the idea of seeing Aurelia again so soon. The two made it to the thestral-drawn carriages with no problems and managed to snag an empty one. They were there only a moment, however, when a small group of third years joined them, sitting opposite.

"Who d'you suppose that girl was with Hermione Granger?" One of the boys, a Scot, asked his companions.

"No idea." Said one of the girls. "She was very pretty wasn't she?" Ron scoffed softly, but the group didn't seem to notice.

"I couldn't really see her face." The other boy commented. "I mean, who actually wears the hat's besides first years, anyway? Although, I will have to admit that it looked very fetching on those curls." The group continued to prattle on about who Aurelia was and why she had been with Hermione, and Harry soon got very annoyed with them. The point of staying away from the girl was to not have to think about her, and this conversation was not exactly condusive. Then again, at least the topic had kept the third years from noticing just who, exactly, they were sharing the carriage with, so he was not getting his customary stares, which was, he admitted, a nice reprieve.

When the carriage finally stopped, Harry and Ron very nearly lept from it in their haste to get away from the chatty group, and entered the castle along with the throngs of other students. Upon entering the Great Hall, the two sat down across from Hermione, who was looking both angry with the two of them, and very nervous - probably about Aurelia Ludvaros.

"Calm down, Hermione." Harry whispered to her, but she did not turn to look at him, in fact she pointedly looked anywhere but at him. "If she's as good an Auror as the papers all say she is, then she can probably take care fo herself."

Hermione stabbed at him with her eyes. "Be quiet, Harry!" SHe whispered ferociously. "No one is supposed to know that, so don't you go blabbing it around and ruining everything!" And then she turned her head away from him again. Harry sighed and sat back, waiting for the Sorting to begin, and wishing fervently that a) Aurelia was not placed in Slytherin (because even if that was where she would normally deserve to be, he didn't really wish her dead) and b) that she was not placed in Gryffindor. Ravenclaw would be nice. She was probably clever enough for Ravendlaw, knowing all those languages and everything. Hufflepuff, too, but that one didn't seem very probable, as she wasn't personable enough to be placed in the most likeable house. Plus, she was far too abraisive for the house of tolerant, fair-play beilieving people. Thinking this, Harry repeated 'Ravenclaw' over and over and over in his head.

A short while later, the large doors opened, and in walked Prfessor McGonagall, carrying the Sorting Hat and it's stool, and trailed by a long line of nervous-looking first years. At the end of the line, several steps behind the first year in front of her, walked Aurelia. Harry had to admit that she did indeed look rather fetching. The unifrom looked very nice on her, and the hat did look nice on her sinuous curls, which she had let down more than likely for just that reason.

The entire hall erupted into whispered conversaitions when the students saw her. All probably asking the same questions that Harry and Ron had listened to in the carriage. When the line halted in front of the steps leading to the Faculty table, Professor McGonagall place the stool and the Sorting Hat in their customary places and withdrew a scroll from her sleeve. Then, the hall grew still as the hat shook itself slightly and then opened, beginning it's song:

Another year is about to start

A year full of surprises

But first of all I must impart

Facts of the Houses guises

First, or Gryffindor, the brave and true

Lions in their right

Full of daring, nerve and chivalry

And all are ready for a fight

Then Ravenclaw, with wit and talent

With great treasures in their brains

But not a lot of common sense

When nothing else remains

And Hufflepuff, those loyal creatures

Who have tolerance and fair play

Are thought by many to be losers

Who could never have their way

Finally, Slytherin, who all want fame

And are willing to do anything

With cunning and resourcefulness

None are ready to take wing

So here you are, with Houses four

Which one would you pick?

I'll let you do the choosing now

For this poor hat is sick

Tired of lions and tired of snakes

Tired of eagles and badgers

If you happen to find one that takes

I hope that one discovers

That four apart are not as strong

As they are altogether

And apart you'll be if I'm not wrong

If there is more bad weather

Now put me down upon your heads

And tell me where you'd like to go

And if I can, I'll send you there

And maybe then you'll grow

At the end of the Sorting Hat's song, the hall was still utterly silent, but now the silence was different. For everyone was trying to understand what the hat meant this year. That the hat had basically insulted the four houses was quite obvious, as was the hint at unity. But what none of the students could figure out was why. Why had it said those things, and why was it not going to choose for anyone this year? Harry looked to Hermione and saw, to his amazement, that she looked almost as stumped as everyone else. He then looked up at the faculty table, and as he did so, his eyes glanced on Aurelia, who simply looked amused.

Professor McGonagall, who looked slightly scandalized, cleared her throat and unrolled the scroll. "Augusta-Stephens, Kay" The little girl cautiously approached the hat, and sat down when Professor McGonagall guestured for her to. She was promply delivered to Hufflepuff only a moment after the hat touched her head.

Then followed "Bridges, Giovanni", Ravenclaw, "Burke, Carson" , another Hufflepuff, "Cantu, Gayle", the first Gryffindor, "Cleveland, Dionne" and "Conley, Regina", both Ravenclaws.

Then "Duran, Lori" became the first Slytherin, followed by "Gomez, Harry", still another Ravenclaw, then "Goodman, Nell", Hufflepuff, and "Lamb, Nora" became a second Slytherin, followed by the second Gryffindor "Mayer, Jaqueline".

Then came two more for Gryffindor, twin brothers Jarod and Jerry McIntosh, and another Hufflepuff, "Mueller, Fran" while her twin brother Leonard became still another Gryffindor.

Then came two more Slytherins in "Peck, Catherine" and "Pugh, Hayward", and then "Rasmussen, Agustin" became another Ravenclaw, then Slytherin "Richardson, Hollis", Ravenclaw "Vaugn, autumn", and finally "Winters, Percy" became a Hufflepuff.

Now it was Aurelia's turn. Again, the hall errupted in whispers when Professor McGonagall announced her name. Much like it had when Harry had been sorted. Everyone knew of the Ludvaros couple, but no one had probably realized that they had a daughter, espeically not one that was coming here. Aurelia yawned widely as she climbed the stairs to take a seat on the stool, and Harry saw Professor McGonagall exchange a worried look with Dumbledore before replacing Aurelia's gleaming pointed hat with the tattered one. And then the hall waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Harry watched Aurelia's motionless form avidly, still praying for Ravenclaw, and dreading, along with Hermione, that it might be Slytherin. After all, Slytherin had gotten the least ammount of first years this year. The hat waited so long, that the students began to get restless, shifting in their seats and clearing their throats, some even beginning to whisper avidly.

"She's taking even longer than you did, Harry." Hermione whispered, her voice quivering. Harry nodded, his attention entirely on the girl sitting on the stool.

Finally, the hat opened it's mouth and shouted, very loudly, "Gryiffindor!"

Harry's jaw dropped, and he and Ron did not stand with the rest of their house to greet their newest member. He could hear Ron cursing viciously next to him, but he could only watch dumbly as Aurelia stood and took her hat back from a relieved-looking Professor McGonagall, setting it neatly back atop her perfect curls before descending the stairs to the roaring table with an air of bored satisfaction. And, although Hermione gestured for the girl to sit next to her, she merely took the empty seat at the end of the table and faced Dumbledore. Hermione, looking a bit hurt, sat back down with a sigh and only glanced at Harry and Ron before she, too, faced Dumbledore.

Harry could not believe his bad luck. How could the Sorting Hat do this to him? Aurelia Ludvaros was not Gryffindor material. She was Draco Malfoy in a female form for Merlin's sake! Just because she was technically on Harry's side didn't make her any better than Ferret-boy. Harry had understood why she couldn't go to Slytherin, had understood it even more on the train this afternoon when Draco had threatened her, but that didn't mean that she had to come to Harry's house. It didn't mean that she should be given full leave to watch his every movement. It didn't mean that he wasn't allowed t ofind some type of santuary from that infuriating vampire hunter.

Harry glared at Aurelia's shining hat, hoping that it would burst into flames, not even looking up when Dumbledore stood and simply told the hall to "Tuck in", as was his usual custom, and food appeared immediately. Harry's appetite, however had vanished along with his somewhat-good mood, and he continued to glare at Aurelia even though she took no notice of him. He watched as she selected her food carefully and then as she ate it. He did not even realize how long he had been glaring at her when then entree dishes vanished in favor of the deserts, he then faced forward again, still with a scowl on his face to match Ron's. Hermione was still pointedly ignoring the both of them, which was probably why she hadn't reprimanded Harry for glaring at Aurelia.

Ron was tearing into a pastry with a fury. "Why in the bloody hell did it have to be Gryffindor?" He ranted, sounding as if this had not been the first time he had said it. "Why couldn't she have just gone to Slytherin and we'd have been done with her. Nothing else to worry about. But then, of course, I'd have to accept the fact the Malfoy would have actually done something useful." Harry tried his hardest to agree with Ron, he really did. But he just couldn't. Aurelia Ludvaros might someday prove to be a valuable ally, and Harry knew he could never seriously want her death. Humilation, yes. Pain, maybe. But never death. So he merely nodded to Ron, who more than likely didn't notice him anyway, and ate a bit of something without looking at it.

Soon after, the desserts disappeared, leaving the golden plates and goblets pristine again, and the Hall turned their full attentions on Dumbledore as he stood and moved to his podium for his start-of-term speech. "Welcome to another exciting year at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardy." He began. "I have quite a few things to say to you this year, and I will try to do so before everyone collapses from good food and sleep deprevity. First of all, I would like to welcome a new professor to our ranks. Taking over Defense Against The Dark Arts lessons for Professor Umbrage will be Professor Dimitri Dirvandishlov. I'm sure that you will all treat him with the same, if not more, respect than you showed his predecessor." Professor Dirvandishlov stood and bowed slightly to the students before sitting back down and staring at the table in front of him.

Dumbledore continued. "Second, I would like reiterate that the Forbidden Forest is, just as it sounds, completely forbidden. And this year, there will be absolutely no exceptions. Also, due to circumstances in the wizarding world now, I have decided that a few stricter rules should be enforced this year. Curfews have now been moved forward an hour, and anyone caught out in the halls, and especially the grounds will face severe reprimands. Especially since all entrances to Hogwarts will be sealed an hour after your new curfews begin." Dumbledore's voice was no longer congenial as he said this, and his eyes silenced the protests as soon as they began.

Then, his eyes shone again with their usual light, and a smile was back on his face. "Third," He said. "As we have a guest under our roof from a foreign land, I have decided to welcome her properly throughout this year with celebrations to which she is accustomed. So, be sure to note that there will be both a Halloween Masquerade ball and a Christmas ball before you all leave on your holiday break. Also, for a bit more fun in order to help keep our spirits up in these trying times, I have decided to hold a Valentine's Ball in February and an end-of-the-year send off ball for the sixth and seventh years. Please also be sure to note that the Halloween Masque is costume and mask required and it is, unfortunately, for fifth years and up only. Similarly, the Christmas ball is fourth years and older, though if you should choose to invite a younger classman, then you are free to do so unlike the masque. The Valentine's ball is third years and up but - again - should you choose to take an underclassman, you are most welcome to do so. There will, of course, be Hogsmeade visits for those years and anyone else who is invited to go so that you may order costumes and formal robes. Now, with that wonderful news out of the way, I would like to entice you all to go on up to your comfortable beds so that you may rest up for you first day of classes tomorrow. Good night."

That last enticing news was met with several different levels of excitement. Squeels and giggles could be heard from many girls who immediately began eyeing potential dates, and groans from many of the boys who all ducked their heads down in defiance of those eager eyes. Harry sighed, though, glad that this time he would have the choice of whether he wanted to go or not. (And it would more than likely be not) He then got up along with Ron and the two made their way out of the Great Hall, leaving Hermione behind to wait for Aurelia.