Endless Waltz

Chapter Three

You Are But Once a Stranger

"Harry, those are the students Mum told us about!" Ron exclaimed, gesturing to the crowd of students assembled at the entrance to the Great Hall. The trio was seated at their table, awaiting the Sorting Ceremony to begin. "Don't you remember?"

"Course I do," he lied.

"Honestly, Harry, don't lie." Hermione said huffily, turning from the crowd to face him. "You've been at Ron's, so why haven't you been reading the paper? It's been all over the place! He-Who-Must-Not-be-Named attacked their schools and the wizarding world is in a panic! They're here because they have no place left to go." Harry nodded. It was all coming back to him. Mrs. Weasley had mentioned something about it in the car, on the way to the Burrow. It was odd that he hadn't remembered it until just now. Actually, the more he thought about it, the less he began to remember about his summer. That probably wasn't a very good thing.

Just then, a woman with a tall black hat, including a long green feather for good measure, came into the hall. She carried an old crumpled hat under her right arm, along with a three-legged stool and placed them in the front of the room. She cleared her throat and everyone in the hall grew silent with anticipation.

"Would our newest students please approach the sorting hat when your name is called so that the Ceremony can begin? We'll begin with our third years and move onto the fourth, and finally the fifth. Then, the feast shall begin."

Harry nudged Hermione after considering what The Hat Lady had said. "Shouldn't the first years be sorted as well?__ Harry wasn't the only one who noticed. Hermione was frowning so much, it threatened to collapse her face.

"Maybe McGonagall made a mistake." Hermione answered. "But that's highly unlikely..." she continued softly to herself.

Professor McGonagall set the stool onto the floor and placed the hat atop it. A large tear at the bottom of the hat opened and the hat began to sing.

"More than a thousand years

Too many things I've seen,

Four wizards come upon this land

And try quite desperately,

To found a school,

Both brave and strong,

To teach the youth of old,

I prithee now to wait and see for I am never wrong.

Of these four the others seek,

Of cleverness and power

To range within these walls,

And produce one not a coward

The final years of the four,

Were spent in happy glee,

For known to them and now to you,

They had created me.

But not all who've lived within these walls,

Have kept these virtues true,

For one sought not what others have,

And thus those great he slew.

So to this day,

Here stand before us fifty who have lost,

For now his games range far and wide,

Lines he cannot, should not cross.

But powers lie in those know naught,

Old legends do reveal,

That hidden secrets rule ones life, and usually conceal,

Those desires of the heart, that often fall from grace.

It's sad to say my stories true,

And I wish it wasn't so,

That in those who we hold so dear,

We see gifts we couldn't bestow.

You are but once a stranger

In a house of many names

Figures change from dawn till dusk,

But a heart may stay the same.

Put me on and you will see,

I know all you've ever known,

But because I sing in riddles,

Your life's not set in stone."

The hall fell dead silent as the hat finished. Everyone knew what it was talking about; Voldemort, then known as Tom Riddle. Most however, were also curious about its final words. No one had ever told most of them their lives were 'set in stone' but two figures caught each other's eyes and an unsaid agreement was foraged between two greater powers. From that moment on, the scheme of things changed.

A scroll appeared in Professor McGonagall's hands and the whole room waited for her to utter the first name. "Andrews, Dorine!" The little girl shyly walked up to and sat on the small, crooked stool amid the silence.

"RAVENCLAW!" the silence erupted in cheers as she went to sit with her new table. Professor McGonagall continued once everyone had settled.

"Dickerson, Edwin!"

"RAVENCLAW!" This is going to take forever, Fay muttered to herself. She daydreamed as Frank, Edith became a Gryffindor and Giblin, Alexandra became the newest third year Hufflepuff. She was jolted back into reality when the next name was loudly called and the person next to her stepped on her toe. She glared at the boy who walked up.

"Nelson, Thomas!"

"SLYTHERIN!" Beth could see Nikki in the thinning crowd. She was sniggering. She sighed and listened intently to the woman once again as Scott Peters became a Hufflepuff. After all, there were at least thirty more students, give or take a few and she would have just enough time to repaint her fingernails before she was called.

"Summers, Joan!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Lucy tried to get as comfortable as she could, but it was no use. She'd just have to spend the next thirty some odd names standing adding blisters to her feet. She scolded herself for not wearing the Dock Martins as White, Ryan became the newest Hufflepuff.

"Wright, Patrick!" The final third year walked to his seat at the Slytherin table and again, the hall broke out in cheers. "Now that all of our new third years have been sorted, we'll begin with the new fourth-years." The crowd of students split as all the fourth-years stepped forward, following their classmates.

"Bianco, Jean!" He approached the stool very, very slowly.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Fairbanks, Elizabeth!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Kendall, Laney and Lana!" Two girls walked down the center aisle, arm in arm, to the stool. "Lana, you may go first." The girl Fay assumed was Lana nodded and tried to look brave as she sat on the stool, but never let go of her sister's hand. As the hat descended upon her head, she grinned and winked at her sister who looked very nervous.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the girl smiled and handed the hat to her sister. She put it on and sat down also. "HUFFLEPUFF!" the girls hugged and hand in hand walked to the Hufflepuff table.

"How sweet!" One of the girls behind Fay said genuinely. She smiled inside, not everyone in England was as cold-hearted as she had come to believe. Then again, it not like she was ever shown any better, growing up the way she did. But those things were in the past and she had to get on with her life. Take this very seriously, was what she had been repeating to herself since she first stepped into King's Cross, but it was beginning to get old. She drew her attentions outward as Joshua Lawrence became the newest Slytherin.

Nikki yawned. This ceremony was taking forever. When was the food coming out? She knew she should have had something from the trolley. Oh well, too late now. Her stomach grumbled in complaint as Reid, John settled into his new seat at the Gryffindor table.

"Thompson, Nicholas and Richard!"

"Geez!" muttered a girl now next to Fay. "This must've been the year to have twins," she mused as they approached the woman, stool and hat.

"Would you be quiet, Lucy? I don't want to make a bad impression," whispered Fay as she stifled her giggles. Lucy grinned and put her hand on Fay's shoulder.

"You shoulda thought of that before, you decided to meet me," she whispered. Fay glared at her but had trouble keeping her face straight as she turned away from Lucy and focused on the Sorting once more.

"Nick, you first," McGonagall said as she directed him toward the stool. He sat and the hat went down over his eyes.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Nick got up and handed the hat to his twin who put it on and sat down. "HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat after a moment's pause. Together, they walked to their table. Nick and Rick sat down near the Kendall twins and smiled softly.

"Wilde, Cynthia!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" She sat at her table, next to Fred and George, and McGonagall cleared her throat.

"Before we continue with our new 5^th year students, the Headmaster would like to say a few words." The woman gestured to a tall elderly man with a white beard nearly to his knees.

"Thank you, Professor McGonagall. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Albus Dumbledore, but you're to address me as Professor Dumbledore, or my personal favorite, Headmaster. I have a few start of term announcements to make before the sorting continues. The dark forest, as always if off limits to those of you who do not wish to-"

"Suffer a most horrible death," mimicked a snotty blonde over at the Slytherin table as Dumbledore finished his sentence. The two thugs seated on either side of him tried to laugh, but couldn't manage it. Areina Fenton, yet another 5^th year blow-in, figured it was probably because they were so fat. But then again, who was she to judge. It looked as though their 'friend' was doing enough of that for a few people, much less one scrawny little ferret-faced white boy.

"You may have notice that we have a surplus of senior students..." began Dumbledore. His eyes glanced at these curiously labeled 'senior students.' He gave them a warm smile before continuing, "And I welcome them. But their surplus can not overcome the lack of first-years, for which there will be none." The sentence struck like a hammer. No first years?

"No first years, he must be joking," said Rick, the tallest of the Thompson twins.

"No, it's true," whispered Lana beside him. "Our little sister Tara was supposed to be a first-year but Mum was too afraid to let her enroll.

Laney squeezed closer to Lana before uttering under her breath ominously, "It's not just Tara; nearly all her little friends are getting home schooling as well."

Nick only glared at them, and placed one finger warning against his mouth. "Quiet," he whispered fiercely. Rick stuck out his tongue in response. He turned to the girls and winced, as if saying 'sorry, my brother's a big git.'

"Such measures won't need to be taken, however," Dumbledore continued, as the conversation dwindled, "if our problems are solved." Suddenly, the Gryffindor table felt the eyes of a hundred students bearing down on them... "On a lighter note, I received a letter this morning informing me of a student that is to attend Hogwarts this term." Ron groaned at Dumbledore's humor; the man sent the letters himself for Merlin's sake!

"It read, and I quote 'My second niece twice removed shall be attending your institution until after the Christmas holidays due to her previous school's inability to accommodate students at this time. She has a cousin, my son, who is a 5^th year, and though she is a 4^th year, I'm quite sure they'll be in the same house and therefore, she must attend classes with him' end quote. Would Miss Nora Malfoy please approach the Sorting Hat?" A snobby looking girl stepped out of the crowd and those seated at the tables, gasped audibly.

"Do they know something we don't?" Fay nudged the guy on her right. The girl seemed ordinary enough to her, but everyone else was either fascinated by her, or glaring at her. She was pretty, but about as agreeable looking as a hungry grisly bear.

"She's a Malfoy, need I say more?" he answered, not turning to look at her.

"Yeah, if you don't mind. Not to sound like an imbecile, but what's wrong with Malfoys?" Fay questioned. The name was familiar. She could swear she'd heard it before, accompanied by a large spit.

"Wow. Never heard of the Malfoys." The boy turned and looked at Fay quizzically. "You're a Muggle born if I've ever met one. The name's Matt, nice to meet you, stranger." He put out his hand.

"Fay," she answered, not taking his hand. He placed it down at his side awkwardly before he continued.

"Yeah, anyway, think of them as a southern family hating blacks. In this case it's a Wizarding family hating Muggles, or to be more specific, Muggle born or related wizards. They have a thing against my family." Fay nodded.

"Well, that says a lot about a person. I wonder, think she's like that too?"

"Not sure, but we'll soon find out, now, won't we?" By this time, Nora had already reached the stool. She took it in her hands and was about to place the hat on her head when...

"SLYTHERIN!" the house cheered as she gracefully handed the hat to McGonagall and turned toward her new table. A young man with the same color hair as Nora and a matching sneer, motioned for her to sit beside him as she approached. Areina sighed, yet another one. What was this world coming to?

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat and Dumbledore continued. "Once the feast has ended, you'll return to your dormitories. Please take notice, as we have two more years than usual. Therefore, our newest third years shall take over the first year dormitories. The house have all expanded to accommodate our other two years, so if you look, you'll be sure to find the dormitory extensions. Lights will be out by ten." The Hall groaned. "Now, now, classes do begin tomorrow. Also, before I forget, your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher arrives tomorrow evening, and another feast shall be held. You're to wear your dress robes." This statement was also accompanied by a loud groan from the students. "That is all, Professor, please continue." With that, the Headmaster sat.

The Hat Lady smiled at the headmaster then turned her attention back to the students assembled in the hall that were not yet seated. "Ah, yes. Now, where was I? Oh, the 5^th years. Corrion, Rebecca!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" Becca relaxed noticeably as she took the sorting hat off; at least it wasn't Slytherin. She went over to her table and sat down next to Scott. Almost immediately, they started up a conversation. Fay smiled and sighed, ah, young love. So young, so stupid. Natalie nudged Fay.

"You know her?"

"Well, not really. We met on the train," she said with some distaste.

"Seems nice. Doesn't waste any time though does she?" Natalie pushed her fringe out of her eyes.

"NATALIE!"

"What? I mean, look at her! She's already chatn' it up with that cute little third year!" she pointed to Scott. "All I have to say is watch out! That's a girl on a mission." Fay rolled her eyes.

"The Hat Lady is glaring at you," Matt whispered from behind the girls. Natalie turned around and winked at him before she looked at the woman and smiled innocently.

"If the remainder of our new students could quiet down, we can continue." A few sniggers were heard from the Slytherin table. Nora was laughing and so was her cousin. Lucy stuck her tongue out at them.

"Yes, ma'am!" Natalie shouted and saluted. The woman tried to control a smile as she called the next name.

"Crawford, Natalie!" Natalie winked at Fay as she approached the stool. She settled the hat on her head, firmly and waited.

"SYLTHERIN!" Smiling, she went over to her new table and sat down in the only empty seat; next to Nora. Natalie tried to keep her distance, so as to avoid Malfoy cooties as the next student was called.

"Durgan, William!"

"SLYTHERIN!" Lucy, who stood on Fay's side, whispered in her ear.

"That's Natalie's boyfriend! I'm glad they're in the same house!" Fay almost burst out laughing.

"A boyfriend? Doesn't he get a bit, um, jealous? I mean, Natalie seems kinda, umm...is umm, loose the right word?"

"Yeah, but she always goes back to him after a while. She can't stay away. He's gotten used to it by now." Fay raised her eyebrows in response.

"Sorry I asked."

"Most people are." Lucy admitted, trying unsuccessfully to hide her grin.

"Fenton, Areina!" A girl with startlingly attractive features approached the sorting hat. Two or three hoots were sounded from the boys that weren't drooling. Professor McGonagall shot them a venomous glare and they quieted. Areina smiled to herself; this would be fun...

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Hoyt, Lucile!" Lucy clenched her fists as they called her. Wasn't enough to be named Lucile? Why did they have to rub it in? She wearily gave Fay a thumbs up as she approached the stool.

"RAVENCLAW!" Lucy went to sit near Areina and smiled over her shoulder at Fay.

"Jenkins, Sam!" Lucy beamed as he walked up to the stool. Areina however, was making eyes at him too though. Fay sensed a major issue in the near future, but for now, things were fine. No one would be dead within the hour.

"RAVENCLAW!" Lucy nearly jumped out of her seat and yanked him down next to her when he came over to the table. She then proceeded to run her fingers through his hair for the rest of the ceremony. Nora made it a point to gag and made faces the whole time.

"Jones, Mystie!" Natalie waved frantically at the girl as she approached the stool. She smiled and returned the wave weakly.

"SLYTHERIN!" She went over to her new table and sat down on the opposite side of Natalie, shielding her from further encounters with Malfoy cooties.

"Keenan, Marie!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Lawrence, Joey!" A young man stepped from the few remaining students. Beth watched him with some interest as he approached Professor McGonagall.

"Umm, a-a-actually, it's j-j-j-just J-j-Joe," he softly stuttered.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry," she answered briskly and handed him the hat.

"Thank y-y-you. It's f-f-fine," he whispered as he sat on the stool and the hat went down over his eyes.

"SLYTHERIN!" He went to his table. One girl next to Fay sighed audibly.

"They make those Lawrence's NICE! I hope I'm in his house!" Fay rolled her eyes. If she heard one more, Ohmigod, she would have to puke or hex the person who said it. Then again, putting worms or snakes in someone's bed often worked just as well if not better. Spaghetti was also a good substitute she'd learned from the girl in the cot next to hers. The memory sent a shudder down her back and she repressed the ones that followed it.

"Marfil, Ivy!" suddenly, a hush fell on the Hall. Fay turned to see the girl who'd had such an impact on the hungry, noisy crowd of students. She was the one who'd collided with Ginny's brother earlier. She walked gracefully to the stool and sat down. The hat sat and sat on her head. Professor McGonagall's face burrowed into a frown; she bent down and whispered to the hat. "What's wrong?" In reply, the hat shouted...

"GRYFFINDOR!" Professor sighed in relief as Ivy made her way to the table. As she passed Fay, she smiled and winked.

"Parker, Matthew!" The boy she'd had the Malfoy discussion with smiled at Fay and walked to the front of the room.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Redford, Michael!" Ivy turned and scowled as he approached the stool.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Sheldon, Nicole!"

"GRYFFINDOR!" Nikki sat down next to Matt and they started to chat as McGonagall finished by calling Alan Summer who also became a Gryffindor.

"That's the last of our students." She rolled up the scroll and bent to pick up the hat but stopped short as she noticed a girl standing at the back in the corner of her eye. She stood and looked at Fay curiously. "Dear, were you not called?"

"No, ma'am, I wasn't." Fay answered automatically. Time to put this plan into action.

"Oh dear. Professor, I think we have a problem." She turned to Dumbledore. He sat up straighter.

"Let the girl finish, Minerva."

"I have my letter, Professor, if you'd like to see it." Fay held up a small roll of parchment. McGonagall motioned for her to come forward. As she did, the tables buzzed.

"Who is she?"

"Why wasn't her name on the list?"

"Did you see her hair?"

Professor Dumbledore stood and cleared his throat. The chattering, however, did not cease. "QUIET!" he shouted finally. Everyone stopped and turned to stare at him. The blue jewels on his hat were quivering and sending gleams around the room. "Thank you." He turned to Fay. "Please, may I see the letter?" She handed the letter to him and he silently reviewed it.

"Well, Minerva," he started when finished reading. "I believe that I made an error when making that list. One more student shall be added. Miss Carina Fay Whitaker. Please, Carina, place the Sorting Hat on your head."

"Actually, Professor, everyone calls me Fay."

"Very well then, Fay."

Fay sat on the stool and put the hat on. It came down over her eyes so she couldn't have seen the hundreds of curious faces peering at her. The hat settled itself comfortably on her head before it began its interrogation.

"You seem familiar." A voice whispered in her ear. "Have I had a relative of yours?"

"Yes, you have," she retorted coldly. Already, it had started.

"It can't be, could it? That's not your name, but it's all here!"

"Yes."

"Oh my. Well, this comes as a surprise, you know. No one told me you'd be here. Then again, you know what they all think." Fay nodded. "Now, where to put you? You know, your father did quite well here. Pity to see that happen to him. Such promise. Pity."

"Honestly?" she asked, already knowing what the hat wanted to hear, but dreading letting herself be intimidated by a piece of sewn felt over a thousand years old.

"I already know what you honestly think of your father, and though it pains me that you feel so because I believe your assumptions are incorrect." There was a moment of silence before the hat continued. "Well, if genes mean anything, you'll make quite a wizard. However, I will have to make a different choice. Genes, thought important, don't alone make the wizard. Don't you agree?"

"Yes, I do," Fay answered honestly.

"Good. Well then, against your father's probable wishes, it'll have to be..."