selenophile || remus lupin

chapter three

Ophelia stood up and grabbed her trunk from the rack above the blue seats. She couldn't help smiling, and it seemed as if her friends couldn't either. They all gathered their belongings and headed out into the corridor, slowly moving their way out of the train.

The corridor was packed with students of all ages, small ones with scared looks, and older-looking ones with grins just like Ophelias. They finally managed to step out into the warm air, and soft ground.

Just as they had started walking, they heard a familiar voice shouting, "Firs' years this way".

Ophelia smiled, remembering her first time coming to Hogwarts, hearing that same voice saying that same phrase. She wasn't close with Hagrid, but she always felt a sense of security and calmness when she was around him.

The four Gryffindors walked side by side along a path and into a clearing, where there were several carriages pulled by great skeletal horses. All of her friends claimed that they were moving by magic, not animals, but Ophelia knew better. She told them once, and when they didn't believe her, she didn't press further into the matter.

The four girls climbed into one of the carriages and started moving further along the trail. The girls talked about everything they were looking forward to that night, from the sorting and the feast, to finally being able to sleep in the dormitories again.

A few more minutes passed and soon they came out of the forest and got a view of the castle.

Ophelia had to admit, it was magnificent. All of the towers and turrets beaming down at her, the large front doors open, admitting a pathway of golden light onto the cobblestone entrance.

The girls hopped out of the carriage, Ophelia giving the thestral a pet of gratitude - ignoring the looks from her friends - and started heading towards the entrance.

They walked through the large oak doors into the entrance hall and admired the beauty of the castle, which they had almost forgotten over the summer. Straight in front of them stood a grand marble staircase, white and polished to perfection. To the right, Ophelia saw another set of stairs, leading down into the dungeons, where her potions class and the Slytherin dormitories were.

They started walking towards the left side of the entrance hall, where there stood yet another set of large oak doors. The four friends walked through and into the great hall.

There were four extremely long tables, each belonging to a different house, and more tables near the front of the hall, which sat underneath large glass-paned windows. She noticed a few of her favorite professors sitting up there, along with the headmaster, and a new teacher who she assumed was their new defense against the dark arts professor.

Ophelia looked up, mesmerized by the hundreds of floating candles that hung in midair. She looked beyond the candles to see the ceiling, which was enchanted to look like the sky, whatever weather and time of day. She admired the stars and small moon that looked like a slit in the black night.

The girls turned to the left and sat down at the Gryffindor table, smiling and happy to see the rest of their Gryffindor friends. After a few minutes of saying hi and greeting the friends that she hadn't seen all summer, she noticed the table, which was quite full, but to Ophelia, it looked emptier than usual.

As soon as she noticed this, Professor McGonagall entered the great hall with a large group of tiny students, all with faces that she could only describe as having true terror filling their eyes.

She laughed silently to herself and watched as they all clumped up in the front of the hall, waiting for Professor McGonagall to come back with a small brown stool and a hat that looked like it should've been thrown away twenty years ago.

She smiled warmly at the new students and started, "Now when I call your name, you will come up and sit on the stool, and the sorting hat will decide your house, then you will proceed to sit with the rest of your house. Now, let's start. Claude Alderton."

A very short boy moved his way up to the front of the group and walked up to the stool. He looked like he was about to pass out, sharing the same look of terror as his classmates.

McGonagall placed the sorting hat on his dark blonde hair, which was combed neatly to one side. The sorting hat sat upon his head for just a few seconds until it shouted out, "Ravenclaw!"

A table on the other side of the hall erupted in applause, all standing up to see their newest member. Claude got up from the stool and happily walked over to the Ravenclaw table. He looked much more relaxed, even immediately after the sorting hat shouted out.

The sorting ceremony lasted for a while, Gryffindor gaining 16 new members, which were welcomed warmly by the entire house. After all first years were sorted, Dumbledore stood up and everyone fell silent.

"I would like to welcome all first-years to Hogwarts and welcome back all other students. I have just a few start of the year announcements. I would like to remind everyone that the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds. No one is to go in there at any time, or you will face serious injury or punishment. Mr. Filch would also like me to remind you that no students are allowed out of bed after curfew. Now, let's eat!"

Everyone clapped as Professor Dumbledore sat back down. Soon, golden plates appeared on the tables, each filled with a large variety of foods. Ophelia was always able to find something that she liked. She filled up her plate with a large slice of ham, a baked potato, and a warm fluffy biscuit.

During the feast, she ate all of her favorite foods, talked with all of her friends, and met some of the first-year students who had just recently joined their house. Ophelia was already starting to feel full when the golden plates disappeared, only to reappear after a few moments, filled with all types of desserts.

Alice squealed as she immediately reached for the pudding.

Ophelia scanned her eyes over the table, trying to decide which one to eat. She grabbed a piece of angel food cake, scattered with strawberries and whipped cream, and a small bowl of vanilla ice cream.

Almost every Hogwarts student walked out of the great hall feeling as if they were about to pop, but no one was complaining. As Ophelia and her friends got up from their seats, Professor McGonagall rushed over to them. A few students faced her, with confused looks on their faces.

"Mr. Potter," she said. "I need to talk to you in my office if you'll just follow me."

James furrowed his eyebrows in confusion but nonetheless followed her out the door. The three remaining marauders all burst into laughter.

"What the hell could she need him for? I don't think he's done anything bad yet," asked Remus, still laughing. 

"I don't know, but if he gets detention this early on in the year, I'll piss myself. That's gotta be a record or something right?" asked Sirius, who was hunched over on the table, holding his stomach from laughing so hard.

Still laughing, the group of Gryffindors headed their way out of the great hall and up the staircase, excited to be able to go to their common room.