***

Author’s Notes – This is a seven-part story, just like the actual Harry Potter stories! Except this story doesn’t have Harry as the main character. In fact he’s only—and just barely—in one chapter/year. Note: I did not invent Hogwarts and all the crap that went with it, but I invented the main characters (except one, eh heh heh…^.^; She’s from SSX.) Also, I was missing my copy of HP #1, so sorry if I got the letter wrong.

Main Characters (this’ll give a lot of stuff away…):

Dia—main character

Zoe/Zoey

Calvin

Kaori

Tanner

Steven

Dia: Dia is shy at her new school after growing up with Muggles. She is Muggle-born. Half tomboy, half prep, she is the main character. She’s pretty kickback relaxed, hates violence, and once you get to know her she’s pretty fun to be with. (American, black hair, emerald green eyes, likes the colors green and black)

Hobbies: Sparring, doodling, and playing the harmonica.

Zoe/Zoey: Her real name’s Zoe, but everybody calls her Zoey. (Yes, Zoe is pronounced ZOH.) She is also Dia’s best friend. An all around tomboy with a groove, Zoey sets the school on fire causing trouble and just being herself. She’s loud and outgoing, but can be either mean or nice when she feels like it. She is surprising and loud, and deep inside is quite lonely, since most people don’t dare to be her friend. Zoey was abandoned when she was three, and was first raised by Muggles, but later ran away from home and was then adopted by a witch and a wizard who could actually stand her, who moved to England with Zoey when Zoey turned ten. (American, Half-and-half, long brown hair always kept in pigtails on the top of her head, hazel eyes) Hobbies: Snowboarding and karaokee

You’ll learn about the rest of the characters as you read!

YEAR ONE

*

Chapter One

**

Dia yawned when she was aroused by the cat leaping onto her stomach, again. She rubbed her eyes and gazed around her room as the sunlight filtered into her room.

Dia stretched and went downstairs in time to see her parents leave for work.

“What time will you be home?” she asked as they were heading through the door.

“Late again, honey,” her mother told her. “Do what Michael and Sarah say.” She kissed her on her forehead. “Bye now.” Her parents left.

Dia stood still. Then she heard two voices laughing.

“Yeah, Dia, do what we say,” said one of them.

Dia turned around and saw her brother and sister coming down the stairs. They picked on her for awhile, and then made Dia do all the chores they had to do every day of the summer. Then they picked on her some more, and then she had to do the gardening, make breakfast, and then she had some quiet time.

Dia went up to her room, laid back down on her bed, and sighed. Her cat, Xena, curled up on her stomach.

Dia gazed out the window, wishing that she could sell her brother and sister into slavery.

After awhile she walked over to her desk, pulled out a paper and a pen, and drew a circle. Then she drew a stick attached to the circle, and then two small sticks attached on the sides, and two at the bottom of the stick. She drew long black hair on the stick person’s head, and narrowed eyebrows, and then a very evil grin. She drew a sword in the right hand with blood dripping on the end, and then drew two stick people lying on the floor, one with short hair and the other with long hair. The stick people on the ground had X’s for eyes. They were dead.

She labeled the two on the ground Sarah and Michael, and the one with the sword Dia. When she was done she taped it on the wall, next to all her other doodles and drawings.

Fortunately Sarah and Michael never went inside Dia’s room by daylight.

Then Dia sat down on the bed and played a tune on her harmonica. She couldn’t use the phone; her sister was using it; she couldn’t watch TV; her brother was using it.

Dia gazed out at the sky, wishing that she was back in America, where she belonged. It wasn’t RIGHT here in England.

Dia was just about to go downstairs to start lunch when she thought she saw something flutter past her window. She closed her window, and, frowning, went downstairs and made lunch.

The mail arrived during lunch, so Dia went to get it after her brothers and sisters taunted her about making such horrible food. Dia didn’t speak much to them during the day.

Ooooh, if I wouldn’t get caught, I’d poison you good, Dia thought as she walked sulkily into the hall.

She picked up the mail off the ground. Bills, bills, bills, a couple of postcards, a postcard for herself—and then she saw a heavy envelope with her name addressed in green ink.

Dia frowned. She put the envelope upstairs in her room. She knew better than to let her brother and sister read something to her, from some unknown people.

She went downstairs and finished her lunch. She showed her siblings the mail, then rain upstairs to read her letter.

Dia lifted the two papers out from the heavy envelope, curious, since there was no return address.

Dia was about to read the letter when she heard a strange sound from downstairs. Then she heard her sister scream, “DIA!! HELP!!”

Dia bolted downstairs as fast as she could. She saw her brother wriggling on the floor, and Sarah going in hysterics, dancing around screaming.

“HELP HIM!” she screamed at Dia. “I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S WRONG WITH HIM!!”

Dia, panic-stricken, rushed over to her brother. His eyes were closed and, even though he was wriggling like a fish out of water, she could tell he wasn’t breathing.

All Dia wanted was for Michael to get better. Nearly going hysterical herself, Dia grabbed Michael’s arm, and then put her hand on his forehead.

All at once Michael stopped wriggling. After a few moments, his chest heaved up and down, breathing.

Dia sighed with relief. Sarah slumped to the floor and a relieved faint.

What could’ve caused that? Dia thought to herself. I don’t think he was choking, but if he couldn’t breathe, what else was it? Dia saw that Michael was unconscious, so she wet a paper towel, put it on his forehead, and left his brother and sister on the floor.

She went back upstairs to her room to read her letter. Hoping that nothing else weird would happen today, Dia was in for a big shock as she lifted the two papers up to her eyes.

The paper said:

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Dear Ms. Dia Knighten,

You have been invited to join Hogwarts, the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry for gifted youngsters. You will learn witchcraft and learn about the world of magic. Please be at King’s Cross Station by 9:00 A.M. on Platform 9 and Three Quarters on September 1st. Term begins September 1st. We await your owl no later than July 31st.

Sincerely,

Professor Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Dia’s eyes widened in shock. She looked over the second paper, which told her some other information about the school and all her school items that were needed.

Dia couldn’t believe it. This had to be a prank; it just HAD to be. Then she thought this was some lousy trick played by her siblings, so she ran downstairs.

They were just waking up from their unconsciousness.

Dia lied, “Finally you guys came about, I was so worried about you.”

Sarah glared at her, then said, “So how did Michael get better?”

“I don’t know, quite honestly,” Dia replied. “I touched him and he was fine.”

Then Michael groaned and sat up, shaking his head. “Man, I thought I was going to die. I think I was choking, but I didn’t have any food in my mouth.”

That’s because it was in your throat, dumbass, Dia thought, then grinned, knowing he had meant that he hadn’t swallowed food. “Well, you’re okay now. Now tell me which one of you sent me this.” She held up the Hogwarts letter.”

They both blinked at the letter. “I’ve never seen it in my life,” they said.

They didn’t read it. Dia glared at both of them, then ran back upstairs to her room.

If they didn’t send it, then maybe it was…her best friend’s joke. Or maybe it was real.

Of course it wasn’t real, though, because magic wasn’t real.

Dia couldn’t help wondering, though…

The rest of the day sped by for Dia. When her parents arrived at home, Dia showed them the letter.

“Well, it’s most likely fake, but we may as well humor her,” her father whispered to her mother.

“Alright,” she whispered back, then she said to Dia, “We’ll go and buy these things, from Diagon Alley, right? It’s in London? Does it say where?”

Dia looked through the letter. “Yeah, you get through the Leaky Cauldron.”

“Oh,” said her mother.

“Well, why don’t we go buy that stuff tomorrow? We can take the day off.”

Dia still couldn’t believe it. She was actually going to see if this letter was true!

The next day, Dia and her parents got into the car, and drove to London. No matter how hard they looked, though, they couldn’t find the Leaky Cauldron.

Dia sighed depressedly. For a moment there she had thought that it might have been true.

They were about to leave when a person walked up to them. She was a middle- aged woman with wild red hair. She was also looking at Dia’s letter.

“Um, excuse me,” Dia said, staring at the lady.

“You must be new to Hogwarts,” the woman whispered.

Dia, eyes wide, nodded. Her parents looked in shock.

“I’ll show you the way to Diagon Alley,” she said, smiling. “After all, with You-Know-Who gone, we can all trust each other again!”

“…Who?” asked Dia, as the woman led them farther down the streets of London.

“He was a very evil person—we’ll have to discuss this matter at the Leaky Cauldron. I can tell you don’t know a thing about magic. By the way, my name is Molly Weasley.” She shook Dia’s and her parents’ hands. “My children that are old enough attend Hogwarts.”

“But—I don’t understand—“ spluttered Dia’s mom.

“We’ll explain it all at the pub,” Mrs. Weasley replied cheerfully. “My children are waiting there.”

They reached a grubby looking pub. People around them did not seem to notice the Leaky Cauldron.

Inside, they found strange people. Very strange. Dia parents were extremely baffled, and Mrs. Weasley met with three boys, each varying in age.

“These are three of my sons,” Mrs. Weasley told Dia and her parents. “Bill, Charlie, and Percy. Percy isn’t going to Hogwarts yet, but he will be in a couple of years. Now…I can see you’re all quite confused about all this magic stuff. So let’s sit down and talk.”

Dia agreed, but her parents looked doubtful.

Then Molly explained all about the magical world to them. She explained about Muggles, and Voldemort, and the downfall of Voldemort, and about basically the wizarding world.

When she was finished, Dia and her parents were stunned.

“I—I—” stammered her father.

“Cool!” exclaimed Dia. “So I’m a witch?”

“Yes,” Mrs. Weasley said, smiling. “You are Muggle-born but have magical powers. Occasionally that happens.”

Dia looked at her parents, and grin spreading across her face.

“Mom…? Can I go?”

“I…” Mrs. Knighten looked at Mr. Knighten. They spoke quietly together, then Dia’s mother smiled and said, “Yes, you can go to Hogwarts.”

“YES!” Dia cheered, jumping up and hugging her parents.

A long time later, Dia and her parents left Gringotts. They had made exchanges in money and now they had enough money to buy all Dia’s school supplies.

They walked down Diagon Alley, after leaving the Weasleys to do their stuff. They bought all the Potion Ingredients, they bought all the supplies and books they needed, and then Dia and her parents got her fitted for robes.

Dia’s parents, still in shock at the entire thing, waited outside while Dia was fitted.

Inside, she was told to stand on a stool. Dia was measured right next to a girl.

“Hi. Hogwarts, too?” asked the girl. She was Japanese, but not quite like other Japanese girls Dia had known. This one seemed different.

“Yeah,” Dia replied.

“Are you Muggle-born?”

Dia glanced at her in surprise. “Yes. You?”

“My family is all-wizard,” she girl replied, somewhat snottily. She seemed slightly colder to Dia suddenly. “I’ll most likely be in Gryffindor, even though my parents went to a Japanese wizarding school.”

“Why do you think you’ll be in Gryffindor, then?” Dia asked.

“Because it’s the best,” the girl replied.

Dia knew she didn’t like her.

“You’re done,” the lady told Dia, and Dia left.

“See you at Hogwarts,” the girl called after Dia.

Then Dia passed by a group of kids a little older than her, who were all looking at broomsticks. Then Dia and her parents went into Ollivanders, the place for magic wands.

It was pretty eerie inside. Dia saw that someone was trying wands, by taking a wand and swishing it.

How…weird, Dia thought. Then the boy swished a new wand, and a sparkle of yellow and purple sparkles blasted out the end of the wand. The boy, by himself, bought the wand and left.

Dia spoke with Mr. Ollivander. He told her what to do, and Dia stuck out her right arm while Mr. Ollivander picked through boxes.

“Try this: Holly, unicorn hair, 11 inches,” Mr. Ollivanders said. Nothing happened when Dia swished it.

He handed her another wand. And another. Pretty soon they had been through many wands, and Dia began to think that there would NEVER be a right wand for her.

“Ugh…let’s try…Willow, phoenix tail feather, 13 inches, nice and flexible…Here.”

Dia swished it, and out blossomed green and silver sparkles.

“Ah…interesting…The boy who just left bought a wand exactly like his one, except just an inch longer…” Dia paid the man and then left.

“Can I get a broomstick, Mom?” Dia asked.

“Alright,” her mother replied.

They bought the latest model, a Comet Two Sixty. (In case you haven’t noticed by now, this story takes place after Voldemort but before Harry. Things are different; for one, you’re allowed to play Quidditch as a first year, even though they said Harry was the youngest house player in a century. I’m kinda changing that :D.)

Then they went to the place for animals. (Whatever its called.) Dia couldn’t decide between a cat or an owl.

Finally Dia got an owl. It was black (O.o) with golden eyes.

“Can I take Xena, Mom?” Dia asked.

“No.”

“Please?”

“NO.”

“Okay.”

They wandered around aimlessly, for Dia to get used to the wizarding atmosphere. The Joke Shop looked really cool, and the sweets place looked interesting. Everyone here was dressed oddly.

Finally, they went home. Unfortunately for Dia they had to tell her siblings about Dia’s powers.

“Oh my God,” Sarah said, while Michael said, “That’s not fair! I WANNA BE A WIZARD!”

“Too bad,” Dia said smugly.

The rest of the summer sped by. (I can tell you’re all bored like hell out there.) Finally, on September 1st, Dia packed up her trunk and got her owl, Midnight, all set. She kissed her cat good-bye and then loaded up the car with her parents. Dia’s brother and sister did not start school until September 8th.

Dia’s stomach twisted with nerves. She wasn’t sure if this would work out. What if something went wrong? What if she couldn’t get on the platform? What if she HATED the school?

They arrived at King’s Cross Station. They wandered to Platform Nine, and Platform Ten.

There was nothing between them.

“Where’s the platform?” asked Mrs. Knighten.

Just then Dia saw the Weasleys. There was Molly, Charlie, Bill, Percy, and two other small children. There was a baby too.

Dia and her parents walked up to them. They exchanged greetings, then Mrs. Weasley told them how to get on the platform.

“I know it seems kinda crazy at first,” Bill, who was going into his fourth year, told Dia, “but once you get used to it it’s pretty easy getting through the barrier.”

Dia said her good-byes, then ran through the barrier, squeezing her eyes shut.

She thought she was going to crash, but when the crash didn’t come, she opened her eyes and saw the Hogwarts Express.

Lots of kids and adults were milling about. People were saying goodbyes and boarding the train.

Dia passed a big group of kids, who were all crowded around a girl with what looked like dreadlocks up in two pigtails on the top of her head. She wore very baggy pants and a tight long-sleeved shirt that was red and black.

“Yeah, it’s called a SNOWBOARD,” she was saying loudly. Dia noticed she had an American accent, instead of British like most of the people. “You surf over snow on it. Now leave me alone.” The board was white, and the bottom said ZOE, with the O as a black-and-white target, and green, purple, and yellow butterfly wings behind the letters, the center being the O. “And yeah, my name’s Zoe, but call me Zoey!”

Dia boarded the train, feeling extremely shy around such big groups of people, who already knew each other. Dia looked for an empty compartment, and then finally found one at the back of the train.

Dia say down and sighed. She was on her way to Hogwarts.

***

CHAPTER 2

*

Dia was feeding a small piece of bread to Midnight when she heard the compartment door slide open. A boy with brown messy hair looked in.

“Thank God, a nearly empty compartment,” he said, grinning. “Do you mind if I sit here?”

“No.”

The boy put his trunk on the seat opposite himself, and sighed, relaxing. Dia noticed that his eyes were hazel. “I can’t wait we’re finally going to Hogwarts. I’ve been waiting so long for this day…”

“Are you all wizard?” Dia asked him.

“Yeah. My family’s been all-wizard for as long as I can remember—err, I mean, they’re all wizards that I know of, whatever. I can’t think of the right words…My name’s Calvin.” He stuck out his hand.

Dia grinned at him and shook it. “I’m Dia.” Something about Calvin was familiar, though. “Have I seen you somewhere before?”

Calvin frowned, thoughtful. Then he said, “Weren’t you the girl that was after me to buy a wand?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s where. Yeah I was. Mr. Ollivanders said that you bought a wand exactly like mine, except yours is an inch longer.”

“Really?” Calvin frowned. “Willow, phonix tail feather?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s weird. Anyway, do you know what house you’re going to be in?”

“No. I don’t even know what houses there are.”

“There’s four of them—Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Slytherin is—umm—let’s just say that I hope you aren’t one of them. Everyone says Gryffindor’s the best, but I’d prefer Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw.”

“What are your family members in?”

“Most of them were in Hufflepuff, but some of them were in Ravenclaw and Slytherin,” Calvin replied. “How about your family?”

“Oh…I’m Muggle-born.”

“Oh. Hey, what’s it like living with Muggles?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well in the wizarding world we don’t have, whaddya call it, ekelektricity or whatever and we don’t know what a…TV, is that it, is…”

“I’m surprised you know so much,” Dia said, blinking. “Umm…well, basically, we don’t have magic.”

“Do your photos move?”

“Uh…What?”

Calvin pulled out a photograph oh himself and an older looking woman. They were walking around in a kitchen, and one of them walked away.

“Whoa!” Dia exclaimed, looking at the photo. “No, our photos don’t move.”

“Gawd…” Calvin put his photo away and couldn’t help gawking at Dia.

Dia pulled out an American dollar bill. “This is money from America,” she said, showing it to Calvin. “You probably don’t even know what English money is, let alone other countries’ money.”

“I was wondering about your accent,” replied Calvin, looking at the dollar. “Whoa! They use PAPER for money?”

Dia grinned. “Keep it. I’m probably never going back to America anyway.”

“Thanks,” Calvin said, tucking the money into his pocket.

Then they were both quiet, staring glumly out the window.

“Sooo…”

“Umm…”

“Are you shy at making friends?”

Dia blinked at the question, then grinned sheepishly. “Actually, yeah.”

“Me too, even though I may not seem like it. Most of my friends introduced me to my other friends…Except they’re Muggles…”

“If you don’t know how a Muggle lives then why do you have Muggle friends?”

“I was home schooled. Muggles live all over my street, so I learned to be their friends, after growing up with them and all.”

“Do you have any siblings?”

“Yeah, two sisters, but they’re both Squibs.”

“Whats?”

“Squibs. It’s when a person is born into a family of wizards and witches, but they don’t have magical powers, or if they do then they’re very weak powers.”

“Oh. I’ve got a brother and a sister…They’re HORRIBLE…”

“My sisters can be okay. Even though they’re Squibs, they can still ride broomsticks, so we can play Quidditch in the backyard.”

“What’s Quidditch?”

Calvin almost gasped. “Let me explain…It’s a really cool game…” And he began to explain all the rules of Quidditch.

When he finished, Dia grinned. “I wanna join the team!”

“First years are allowed to,” Calvin said. “I’m going to join also.”

“Cool.”

“I wanna be a Chaser.”

“I’d rather be a Beater…”

Just then the compartment door slid open, and the girl with the snowboard ran in and closed it behind her.

“Oh, hi,” she said, surprised to see them there. “I thought it was empty.”

Dia and Calvin just stared at her.

She stared back at them. “Why’re you staring? By the way, can I sit in here?”

“Sure,” Dia replied.

“My name’s Zoe, call me Zoey,” the girl said. “I, umm, well I need to sit here for a little while…to get away from all those people wanting to touch my snowboard…”

“What’s a snowboard?” asked Calvin, as Dia asked, “Are you good at snowboarding?”

“Oooh, an American and fellow Muggle-raised…Nice to see an American at this weird school…You ride on the snow on this,” Zoey added to Calvin.

“By the way, my name’s Dia,” Dia said.

“I’m Calvin,” Calvin told Zoey.

“Nice to meetcha both.” Zoey glanced around the compartment, almost nervously. “Any idea what houses you guys’ll be in?”

“Probably Hufflepuff,” Calvin said.

“Oh, come on, man, don’t put yourself down,” Zoey said to Calvin.

“I’m serious, probably Hufflepuff.”

“Dude! You’re not that bad, man!”

“Zoey, I MEAN it.”

“What’s the difference between the houses?” Dia asked quickly, frowning. “I mean, besides the names.”

“Everyone says Gryffindor’s the best,” Zoey said. “Lots of people think Hufflepuff is kind of the ‘loser’ house, but I don’t think so.”

“Ravenclaw is kind of like Gryffindor, but also like Slytherin. People in Slytherin are very…selective about certain matters,” Calvin finished.

“You guys kinda lost me.”

“You’ll find out when we get there,” Zoey said, grinning. Then her smile disappeared. “I had BETTER not be in Slytherin,” she said, snarling fiercly.

Calvin obviously looked surprised. I guess Calvin must have thought Zoey was a Slytherin-type of person, Dia thought.

Just then the cart with sweets on it knocked on their compartment door. All three of them went to look at the snacks on it.

Instead of Twix, Reeses, and Snickers, Dia found that they had very strange candies, such as Chocolate Frogs, Bertie Bott’s Every Flavor Beans, and a bunch of other oddly named candies.

Dia bought a bag of the jelly beans and a bunch of Chocolate Frogs, while the other two each bought one thing. Then they sat down and started to eat their candy.

Calvin told Dia and Zoey about the cards that came with the Chocolate Frogs. Just as they were about to close the compartment door again, a girl stumbled right in the doorway and banged her head against it.

Zoey couldn’t help laughing loudly. Even Calvin was half-laughing.

The girl straightened herself and glared coldy at them all. Dia noticed that she was the japanese girl that had stood next to her in the Robes shop.

“Feel like laughing? Go ahead. Mark my words I’ll hold it against you.” The girl glared at them all, and then recognized Dia. “Oh, it’s you. My dear little Muggle-born friend.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm.

“Nice to see you again,” Dia said coldly.

“I don’t think we ever introduced ourselves. My name is Kaori Chang.”

“Dia.”

“Say, Kaori,” said Zoey, grinning, “we didn’t mean any wrong when we laughed at ya.”

“Well that’s what was inflicted,” she snarled, and left.

“Jesus, what’s up HER ass?” Zoey asked, closing the door.

“PMS,” Dia muttered. Zoey laughed. Calvin looked pretty non-chalant—and kind of disgusted.

“I hope she won’t be a problem,” Calvin said worriedly.

“I hope she’s not in my house,” Dia and Zoey muttered at the same time.

Just then a person looked in the compartment. “You had better get your robes on,” he said, “we’ll be arriving soon.” Then he left.

They put their robes on over their clothes and then they talked randomly about what they’d expect at Hogwarts.

After a few minutes, they felt the train eventually slow down. Looking out the window they saw that the country was wild and untidy now.

The train stopped. Everyone gathered their stuff together, Dia feeling extremely nervous and apprehensive.

They stepped off the train. Most of the students were going one direction, but a large man—too large for normal—was calling all the first years over to where he was.

The man was the caretaker, Hagrid. Dia gazed at him in astonishment. He’s like a giant!

Hagrid directed the first years to a small fleet of boats that were docked on the shore of a giant lake.

“Four people to a boat, everyone get in!” Hagrid called over the first years.

Dia, Calvin, and Zoey got in one boat, and were joined by a Black boy taller than all three of them.

Hagrid got into his own boat, and shouted, “FORWARD!”

The little boats began moving across the lake. Zoey kept saying, “Man, I can’t WAIT!”

A giant castle loomed into view. Most of the kinds went “Ooooooh” at the sight. They went into a cave beneath the castle and beached on gravel.

Hagrid led the group of first-years up to a door and knocked three times.

Dia gulped, twisting her hair nervously and rearranging her robes. She could tell Calvin and the Black boy were both nervous, but Zoey looked completely excited.

Author’s Notes – Yes, it sucks. It’s not even interesting yet. I’ll add more stuff to this story when I have the time, okay!! I’ll edit soon…

CHAPTER 3

*

A tall witch answered Hagrid’s knock immediately. She looked stern, and made Dia think that she was a badass bitch—actually, that was what Zoey thought. She made Dia think that she was not a teacher to be taken lightly.

“These are the firs’ years, Professor McGonagall,” Hagrid said.

“Thank you, Hagrid.” McGonagall took the students and led them to a hall.

“You will remain here for a short while,” the Professor told them. “I will return and give you a little information on Hogwarts, and then we will sort you into your Houses.”

Professor McGonagall left. The first years all looked about them nervously.

“I still can’t wait,” said Zoey, although she wasn’t acting as cool as she was earlier, glancing around the stone tunnel uneasily.

“I wonder what this school year’ll be like,” Dia murmured.

“It’s going to be fun, if anything,” Calvin said, grinning, though he looked nervous too, like everybody else around them.

Just then a wicked, short man poked his head through the door of the Hall.

“Firsties!” he cackled. It was obviously Peeves. “Hee hee…what fun…”

Peeves swooped at them. They all ducked, except for Zoey.

Peeves frowned at Zoey, and said, “What’s wrong with this ickle firstie? Why is the dreadlocked freak not moving?”

“Why should I?” Zoey retorted back.

“Because you’re a wee student,” Peeves replied, “and only a first year, naturally giving you very jumpy nerves.”

“Right,” Zoey said, arching an eyebrow.

Just then Professor McGonagall came in. Peeves darted out the door.

“That was Peeves the Poltergeist,” she told the first years. “He causes trouble around school.

“Before we sort you, we will tell you a little something about Hogwarts. You do not mess up at Hogwarts. This place of witchcraft and wizardry is supposed to be a learning place, not a place to have fun with your magic. It is still a school, magical or not. Hogwarts will not allow any mistakes.

“At the end of the school year we will add up the House Points…” McGonagall told the first years about the House Championship, and about Quidditch and how to join. You had to see if there were any available spots on the team and contact your House’s team captain.

“So, please follow me,” McGonagall said, leading the First years into the Great Hall.

All the students gazed around the Hall. They lined up in front of the four long tables with the students sitting at them. Dia glanced nervously up and down the line. Calvin was on her left, next to the Black boy, and Zoey was on her right.

Dia looked nervously at the four long tables. The one on the far left had scarlet-and-gold sashes or whatever hanging over the table. The one on the far right have silver and green, the one on the middle right had yellow, and the one on the middle left had blue. (Or whatever colors Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff are.)

Dia glanced up at the teacher’s tables. There was Dumbledore, McGonagall, a hook-nosed teacher, a tiny little teacher, a ghost teacher, Hagrid, a lady teacher with wild dark hair and lots of earth beneath her fingernails, another girl teacher with straight, smooth dark hair, a bug-eyed creep, and a couple of other teachers. Dia had a nasty feeling in her stomach when she looked at the hook-nosed teacher.

“Well, Calvin,” said a snooty voice, “I guess I’ll be seeing you around. From a higher, better point of view.”

Dia looked at the speaker—it was a boy on Calvin’s other side. He had his nose in the air like a stupid buffoon and seemed extremely snooty. He had slick blonde hair.

Calvin scowled. “Well, at least I won’t end up as a Dark Wizard, Tanner,” he snarled menacingly.

Tanner was about to reply something when there was a hush. McGonagall brought out a battered hat and placed it on the stool in front of the first years. Dia chanced a glance at everyone else—since everyone was staring at it, she did too.

After a moment of silence, the hat twitched, opened a brim like a mouth, and began to sing:

“Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,

But don't judge on what you see,

I'll eat myself if you can find

A smarter hat than me.

You can keep your bowlers black,

Your top hats sleek and tall,

For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I can cap them all.

There's nothing hidden in your head

The Sorting Hat can't see,

So try me on and I will tell you

Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,

Where dwell the brave at heart,

Their daring, nerve, and chivalry

Set Gryffindors apart;

You might belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal,

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil;

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

If you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

Or perhaps in Slytherin

You'll make your real friends,

Those cunning folk use any means

To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!

And don't get in a flap!

You're in safe hands (though I have none)

For I'm a Thinking Cap!"

The hall burst into applause as the hat finished. Dia grinned as Zoey said, “Well, I guess that’s all that we have to do, put on the hat…”

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and said, “When I call your name, please step forward and place the hat on your head, thus sitting at the stool. When it calls a House name, go sit at that table. Let me remind you that your House is important; it is like your family while you are here at Hogwarts. You will eat with these people, sleep with them—”

Here Zoey couldn’t help snorting aloud.

“—and have classes with them,” McGonagall said, sternly glaring at Zoey. ”Now, please step forward…Alma, Natasha!”

A girl walked forward and put the hat on. After a few moments of silence, the hat screamed, “SLYTHERIN!”

“Andersen, Jack!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

Dia sighed and glanced up and down the long line of people. She noticed that the group was large for a school like Hogwarts. (Basically these first years outnumber Harry’s year of students times two—twice as many first years, I mean.) It’d be awhile before her name was called, maybe.

“Bernard, Alex!”

A boy stepped forward and put on the hat.

“RAVENCLAW!”

The Ravenclaw table cheered for Alex as he sat down at the table.

“Bernard, Cassandra!”

A girl, a little like the boy, sat down and—

“RAVENCLAW!”

You could see Alex groan as Cassandra sat down next to him.

“Black, Karen!” Another girl stepped forward and put on the hat.

“RAVENCLAW!” Karen went to sit next to Cassandra.

“Lotta Ravenclaws today,” Dia muttered to Zoey.

“Jesus, I hope I’m not in that house,” she whispered back, as “Celeste, Anjou,” was the first Gryffindor.

“Chang, Kaori!”

Kaori sauntered up to the stool and put the hat, seemingly boredly, on her head. It took a few moments, but then the hat screamed, “GRYFFINDOR!”

“Well, I guess the best house has been shot down the drain,” Zoey snarled under her breath to Dia.

Three more people, “Duong, Jackie,” “Edwards, Blake,” and “Eduardo, Jim,” went into Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin.

“Eubanks, Tanner!” The boy next to Calvin snootily walked—quickly, too—to the hat. The hat barely touched his “special, perfect hair,” as Calvin put it, before it screamed, “SLYTHERIN!”

A few more people went…”Filosa, Sydney” became a Ravenclaw, “Grater, George,” became a Hufflepuff, “Hudson, Patricia,” also became a Ravenclaw, and then Dia was just about to wander into another daydream when, “Knighten, Dia!” jolted her awake.

Zoey winked at Dia as she glanced nervously around. Dia hissed, “See you guys around,” to Calvin and Zoey as Dia shakily walked forward.

She sat down on the stool and placed the hat over her head. She could’ve sworn that she heard someone hiss, “Another Slytherin” before the hat dropped over her eyes.

Dia could hear the hat talking in her head.

“Let’s see, another Muggle-born…definitely not Slytherin, even though that would help the skill…Gryffindor? No, no, you’ve got nerve and bravery but you lack the chivalry…Hufflepuff’s all wrong for you, though, hell, you’d make a great couple with one of them, you’d better be RAVENCLAW!” The hat shouted the last word.

Dia got up and shakily walked over to the Ravenclaw table, who were all clapping for her. Dia sat next to one of the new first year Ravenclaws, and an open seat.

“Landers, Lily,” became a Gryffindor, “Llu, Tim,” became a Ravenclaw, and “Lynch, Ashley,” became yet another Ravenclaw. They took seats across from Dia.

“Manuel, Calvin!”

Calvin walked up to the hat, looking nervous. Dia caught his eye and smiled. He grinned back nervously, and put the hat on.

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

Dia waved bye-bye to Calvin as he went to sit at the Hufflepuff table.

“McCormick, Zoe!”

“Call me Zoey,” Zoey said loudly as she walked up to the stool. The hat very nearly couldn’t fit over her hair, but it did eventually.

Then there was an extremely long silence. The Professors were even looked uncomfortable, and even Zoey was looking angry when the hat finally shouted, “RAVENCLAW!”

Dia cheered with the other Ravenclaws as Zoey took the seat next to her.

“The hat couldn’t make up its mind,” Zoey said, grinning. “It wanted to put me in Gryffindor, but also Ravenclaw. It finally picked Ravenclaw…I think it did Eeinie-Meinie-Miney-Mo to decide.”

Dia and Zoey clapped for “Mellings, Victor,” as he joined their table, and watched the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs cheer for “Mergers, Diana,” and “O’Brian, Katie.”

“Peterson, Andrew!”

“RAVENCLAW!”

“Quill, Benjamin!”

“SLYTHERIN!”

“Sanders, Ryan!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Sanders, Keith!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

“Thomas, Stephen!”

The Black boy that had gotten in the boat with Dia and the others stepped up. He put the hat on.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” Dia saw Calvin cheer as Stephen sat down next to him.

A few more kids went…At least the flow of Ravenclaw kids had slowed. After “Wellington, Brandon,” who became a Ravenclaw, was called, Dumbledore stood up. The Hall gradually fell silent from a babble of talk as everyone looked at Dumbledore.

“Welcome, students, to another year of Hogwarts,” Dumbledore announced, smiling around at the crowd. “The start-of-term banquet shall begin in just a moment. First here, are the rules, as Filch has added some new ones…

“Of course, magic is not allowed in the corridors. Also, Filibuster’s Wet- Start Fireworks are not allowed in the school at all. See Filch’s office for the full set of disallowed items of amusement. The Forbidden Forest is of course out of bounds, as is the top floor, which is two floors up from Professor Trelawney’s classroom. Please do not enter that area unless you would like to be scared out of your minds, not to mention become grossly and excruciatingly hurt, which I know some of you would like to do.” Dumbledore’s eyes flicked at a few students around the Hall, and onto Zoey too. “And now, let use eat.” He sat down.

“How’re we supposed to eat when—” Zoey now looked down at the tables that were suddenly crowded with dishes of food. “…Nevermind, I’ll manage…”

Dia was sitting near mostly first years, but there were two Prefects near her too. There was also a ghost.

Altogether, there were 13 Ravenclaw first years, which was more than any of the other houses. The Prefect near Dia mentioned that he couldn’t remember when there were so many new first years.

The ghost said, “Hello, new Ravenclaws. I hope you’ll help us win the Inter-House Championship for the second time in a row this year. We don’t want to break our winning streak, now do we?”

The first years, while eating, began to talk a little bit, and the talk turned to their families.

“I used to live in America,” said Karen Black. “My family’s half-and-half. It was kinda funny when my dad told my mom that he was a wizard, because he never told her until I was born.”

“I’m from America too,” said Dia, Zoey, and the boy Jack at the same time. They all grinned.

“We recently moved here,” said Dia. “My family’s all-Muggle. My parents thought the entire thing was a joke until we met the Weasleys and they showed us Diagon Alley and everything…”

“I used to live in Ireland,” said Ashley Lynch. She did, indeed, have an Irish accent. “Me parents went to wizarding schools up there. What they told me, it’s a lot different from Hogwarts.”

Alex and Cassandra Bernard were talking to each other. Dia could tell that they were brother-sister.

“How about you, Zoey?” asked Jack.

Zoey glanced around nervously. “Well, I don’t know whether I’m Muggle-born or all wizard. I was fo—”

Just then, as most of the people finished their dinner and dessert, Dumbledore stood up to announce something.

“I forgot to mention that our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher,” Dumbledore said, “is a woman named Diana Wilson. She will be teaching your D.A.D.A classes this year. Now, goodnight all, you’ll need your sleep, for tomorrow we start the classes!”

Dia and Zoey stood up, after taking a schedule from the prefect near them. (The first years were all getting them from him.) Then that prefect, who was named Jonathan Stringer, led the first years out to the Entrance Hall and up the stairs into the corridors. Dia turned around and caught Calvin’s eye, who waved at her. She waved back, grinning, and followed the rest of the Ravenclaws as the Hufflepuffs went a different way.

“You first years will learn to love it here at Hogwarts,” Jonathan said to the 13 first years. “The classes are interesting, there’s lots of people to learn, and magic too. Eventually you’ll get used to this place.”

They went through tapestries and secret passageways. Once they saw the end of a line of Gryffindor students. Finally they reached a large painting of a black cat with silver eyes. In the background was a large silver moon and black rolling hills, with a dark blue sky over them.

“Password?” hissed the cat. Dia jumped. Cassandra sniggered.

“Full moon,” said Jonathan, and the painting swung forward to reveal a hole. Inside all the kids went, and inside they found the Ravenclaw common room. It was a nicely furnished, snug little room with a blue fuzzy rug over gray stones. A small first burned in the hearth, and there were soft blue armchairs all over the room. Kids were talking and sitting in the chairs.

Jonathan pointed to the girl’s first-year dorms, and the boy’s dorms. The seven girls all went upstairs and found seven beds—blue, rich tapestries hung around the bed like a canopy.

Everyone grabbed a bed that they wanted. Dia got one next to a small window.

Everyone flopped down onto their beds. They were too tired to talk much.

“Great food, huh?” murmured Zoey.

“Yeah,” sighed Dia. She fell asleep quickly and calmly, awaiting her first day of school.

(**First Year Ravenclaws: (in case I forget, heehee)

Girls: Dia Knighten, Zoe/Zoey McCormick, Ashley Lynch, Cassandra Bernard, Karen Black, Patricia(aka Patti and Tish) Hudson, and Sydney Filosa.

Boys: Tim Llu, Andrew Peterson, Jack Andersen, Victor Mellings, Brandon Wellington, and Alex Bernard. **)