Fireplaces, Hot Chocolate, and Marshmallows

Chapter 1

Hermione was so excited. Her best friend, Britney, was coming to Hogwarts. Hermione had already filled Britney in on the basics, so she'd be prepared for her classes.

The door to the Hogwarts dining hall opened, and all of the first years came into the room, and were led by Hagrid. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione spotted Britney. She waved to her. Britney flashed back a nervous smile. She was the only new student who wasn't a first year, so she'd be sorted first. 'I'm going to be a Hufflepuff or a Ravenclaw, I just know it,' she thought negatively.

Professor McGonagall pulled out a scroll to begin calling out the names to be sorted. (After the Sorting Hat sang his little song, of course.)

"Handley, Britney," she called.

'Oh great, here goes,' she thought as she made her way down the aisle, conscience that who knows how many pairs of eyes were on her.

Professor McGonagall grabbed the Sorting Hat and had placed it on her head before she could say "quidditch".

"Oh my!" he said immediately. "This shall be a hard decision indeed. What great potential. Oh, not a Slytherin, ay? You'd do just fine in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. Are you sure about that? All right then, GRYFFINDOR!"

The Gryffindor table exploded into cheers, especially Hermione, as she made her way to the empty seat next to Hermione, which she had, without a doubt, reserved.

"Hey," she said as she gave Britney a hug. "I can't believe you're in Gryffindor! I guess you just got lucky, huh? Oh, I want to introduce you to my friends you've heard so much about. This is Ron Weasley," she said as she pointed to Ron. Ron flashed Britney a smile. "And this here is Harry Potter."

Britney leaned over slightly to get a better look. "Hi, nice to meet you," she said politely.

Harry noticed that she hadn't gaped or stared, which was odd, because he knew that she knew exactly who he was, and people acted funny around him. It's not that he expected them to do it, he was just becoming oddly accustomed to it. He really liked being treated as a normal person. "Hi," he replied warmly.

About 10 minutes later, after all the names had been called, Professor Dumbledore rose to his feet, and the hall immediately filled with silence. "Welcome," he began, "to a new year at Hogwarts! I'm proud to say that this is the best group of students I've seen in years." (There were a few cheers for saying that.) "So, before we begin the feast, I'd like to say a few words to you all: Nitwit! Flubber! Oddment! Squeak! Thank you," and he sat back down.

Britney began to laugh, as she caught the joke. Harry, Ron, and everyone else clapped instead. She thought Dumbledore was quite witty. 'I'll have to remember that one,' she thought to herself.

Just then, piles of food appeared on the table, and she gasped. Hermione looked at her with amusement in her eyes. "Cool, isn't it?" she asked as she piled food onto her plate. Poor Britney didn't know where to begin.

"So," said Hermione as Britney stared down the table looking for suitable food, "What do you think so far?"

"I love it!" replied Britney weakly. As much as she was enjoying herself, she found it hard to soak it all in. "I guess it's just different from our world, huh?"

"Yeah, but you'll get used to it," said Hermione. "Guess what? Since we're in the same year, we get to sleep in the same quarters! And there's an empty bed next to mine."

"Sounds nice," said Britney as she piled roast beef and mashed potatoes onto her plate.

"Oh, one more thing," added Hermione as she watched Britney add a sweet potato and some corn too. "There's a resident ghost in the tower, okay? His name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, but you can call him Nearly Headless Nick. Don't worry, he's nice."

Britney's face went a few shades pale. "Okay," she said.

"Oh, and I'd save room for dessert if I were you," said Hermione.

Of course, about 10 minutes later, dessert appeared. Britney gaped at all the different ice creams and pastries. "I'll be exercising for weeks to get all this off," she said as she dished out chocolate chip cookie dough and mint chocolate chip ice cream into her bowl, along with a few chocolate éclairs.

Hermione chuckled lightly as she did the same. "Goodness, Brit," she said. "You'd think that they starved you.rdquo;

After another 20 minutes or so, the dessert disappeared, and Dumbledore stood up again. "Now, think of you're favorite tune. It's time for the school song." He waved his wand, and the lyrics appeared in the air above the tables, and everyone began to sing. Britney soon caught on, and she sang it to the tune of what sounded like a pirate song. (Hey, it was stuck in her head all day.) After everyone finished, the students slowly made their way to their quarters, going especially slow since all of them had probably overeaten.

Hermione and Britney arrived at the painting of the fat lady, and Hermione said the password, "Banana splits", and it swung open. She led Britney up the staircase to a room close to the top, and they walked in. Their luggage had been brought up for them, including Britney's cat.

"Hey Gracie," she whispered to her cat as she opened the cage. She was replied by a loud "meow".

"This here is your bed," said Hermione as she pointed to a four-poster.

Britney said a quick, "Thanks", and unloaded her things.

5 minutes later, she was in bed with the covers rolled up, and was writing in her diary about her wonderful day. She scribbled things down quickly. "Goodnight Gracie," she said as she sat it on the floor and turned out the book-light. "Goodnight Hermione."

"Goodnight," replied a groggy Hermione.