Quinque Valens

Chapter 2 Trial And Error

"No, not you! It can't be you!"

"It is, my dear. Your Protector."

A woman screamed.

A short, derisive laugh followed. Then, a sigh.

"This is for your own good, you know."

Disa woke with a start. She felt chilled, even though faint sunlight was streaming through the rather grimy windows of her room at the Leaky Cauldron. Wisps of her nightmare floated stealthily out of her mind as she tried to grab onto them. A woman, frightened, perhaps for her life, had screamed. A man, her attacker? Disa wondered, had laughed. A sense of something ancient, something that had not been touched upon for hundreds of years, filled Disa to the core. Something about her dream made her nervous, even sick to her stomach, but she could not quite put her finger on it...

A loud thump at her door caused Disa to jump.

"Disa! Let's get some breakfast before we have to leave!" came Harry's slightly muffled voice. "It's a long train ride to Hogwarts!"

"Coming!" Disa called, pulling on her slacks and a sweater. A quick comb through her hair, a glance in the mirror (who whistled appreciatively) and she was next to Harry on the landing.

"Ready?" she asked, turning towards the stairs.

"Whoa," Harry said. Curious, Disa turned to look at him. His green eyes were wide. "I think you got ready faster than I did this morning!" he said, a tone of awe in his voice.

Putting an expression of mock surprise on her face, Disa looked down and said, "Well I'll be! How could it be that little old me got dressed in under five minutes! This will perplex me for the rest of the day! Oh, no, I'm all a flutter." She then placed her hand to her forehead and pretended to faint.

Laughing, Harry helped her up off the floor and said, "Ok, ok, I see your point. How about we go downstairs and I'll let you in on my greatest culinary invention yet? I call it 'The'...er, the...I don't know what I call it, but it contains pancakes, eggs and lots of strawberries. It's actually quite good! Only Tom knows about this and you could be one of the three people on earth who has ever tasted it!"

Screwing her mouth into what she thought was a pensive expression, Disa paused for a few moments, and finally pronounced, "I would love to, my dear Mr. Potter." She extended her arm for Harry to take.

Grinning widely, Harry took her arm and they walked elegantly down the shabby staircase to a breakfast that was as good as he had promised.

*

Two hours, two packed trunks and three plates of Harry's Surprise, as it had become to be known, later, Disa and Harry were in the back of a Muggle taxi that Disa had called for with Hedwig safely in a cage between them, heading towards Kings Cross Station. Harry was telling Disa about his cousin Dudley, and Disa was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes after Harry snorted like a pig, the conclusion to his story about Dudley's encounter with Hagrid, the Hogwarts groundskeeper and teacher.

"And...and then," Harry choked, gulping for air, as he was laughing so hard. "Last summer, he ate some candy Fred and George had dropped, and his tongue grew about four feet long!"

After another round of laughter, Disa said, "Wait, who are Fred and George?"

Harry looked surprised for a moment and then said, "Of course! You haven't met them! They're my best friend, Ron Weasley's, twin brothers. They are seventh years and hilarious. You have to meet them, of course, along with Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, can't miss him....literally, and I think you'd like Lee Jordan, too. Neville Longbottom is very nice..."

By the time they had reached the station, the list of people that Disa "had" to meet was over thirty strong, ranging from fourth years to ghosts to pictures. After the two had found trolleys for their trunks, Harry began leading the way.

"Platform 9¾ is right over here, hidden so Muggles don't accidentally see us all together, you know," Harry said, gesturing somewhere between platforms nine and ten.

"9¾,? Of course. Why would it be anything different?" Disa muttered, trying to figure out how to get on the platform.

"Maybe we should go together, seeing as it's your first time," Harry said, making sure Hedwig and his trunks were secure. "Just walk quickly at that barrier, and we'll be through."

Heart beating a little quicker than usual, Disa nodded.

"All set. Start walking!" Harry said, focusing on the wall.

Determined to act as if she knew what she was doing, Disa began walking briskly towards theall. Common sense was screaming, "You're going to crash, you dolt!" in her mind, but she walked even faster. Ten feet from the wall, Harry shot her a reassuring smile and said, "Almost there!" Disa turned to return his smile, but as she did, she realized that the wall she was supposed to hit was not there. Facing forward, she saw the platforms on either side of her had vanished and one had appeared that had not been there before. A scarlet steam engine was now in her view, smoke billowing in all directions. She turned back to Harry, her mouth slightly open.

He smiled broadly and said, "Cool, huh?"

A little dazed, Disa did not answer but instead began looking at all of the students milling around. She had not really noticed them before, but now they seemed even more interesting than the circumstances under which she traveled through the barrier.

A group of girls was giggling around one particular student, a tall girl with straight blonde hair...no, curly auburn hair. Disa shook her head. Now the girl had close-cropped black hair with purple streaks in it. Concentrating on the group, Disa heard the tall girl say, "It's the newest thing: The Changaroo-Do! It switches hairstyles on your tiniest whim..." The group oohed appreciatively as the girl's hair became flowing strands of mahogany.

Disa felt something slimy land on her foot. Surprised, she looked down and found a toad croaking merrily on her shoe. Looking up to see where it came from, she noticed a round boy come racing towards her.

"Trevor! There you are," the boy said, scraping the toad up. Sheepishly, he glanced at Disa and said, "Sorry 'bout that. He always gets away from me."

"No problem," Disa smiled as Harry turned to them.

"Neville! How was your summer?" he said, patting the boy on the back.

"All right. Are you ready for the Quidditch season this year, Harry?" Neville asked.

"Think so. We are in need of a new Keeper though. Interested, Neville?" Harry smiled rather mischievously.

Blushing and shaking his head furiously, Neville said, "No! I never want to go near a broom again!"

Harry laughed. "Oh well, it was worth a try. By the way," he said, glancing at Disa, "This is my friend Disa Volyn. She's new, but she'll be in our year."

Neville shook Disa's outstretched hand and said, "Nice to meet you," before Trevor the toad jumped out of his pocket. "Not again!" he cried, and called goodbye to Harry and Disa as he chased after his pet.

Harry looked after Neville for a moment and turned to Disa. "Good guy, Neville Longbottom," he said.

"He seems very nice," Disa agreed.

Harry nodded. "He is...He is...Well, I see an empty compartment. Want to nab it before someone else does?"

"Sure," Disa said, grabbing her trolley.

After about ten minutes' worth of struggling with their trunks, Disa and Harry sat down on the seats, breathing rather hard.

"Never gets easier, that part," Harry said, wiping perspiration off his brow with his sleeve. "You would think..."

"Oy! George! Do you reckon we should try to sell the new, er, line of products on the train?" called a voice near the open window of the compartment.

"Shh! Not so loud; Mum's right over there," a second voice hissed. "No, Mum! Nothing, we're not doing anything, just checking to make sure our Potions papers are all right!" the second voice said louder. Then it hissed, "See what you've done, you stupid prat! Why can't you keep your mouth shut?"

"Because then the lasses can't see my winning smile..." the first voice whined.

The voices trailed away, covered up by the conversation of the students, meowing from cats and the occasional owl hoot.

"That's Fred and George Weasley!" Harry said, jumping up. "I'm going to say hello to them. Want to come?"

"I'll meet them later," Disa said, putting her feet on Harry's seat. "I'll just save our seats."

"Good idea. Be right back," he said, running out of the train.

Getting comfortable in her seat, Disa followed Harry with her eyes across the platform. She saw him meet up with a family, all with flaming red hair, consisting of a mother, a father, three boys and a girl. Harry was bombarded with slaps on the back from the boys, two of whom were twins (Fred and George, Disa thought), a hearty handshake from the father, a warm smile from the girl and a big hug from the mother. Smiling slightly to herself, Disa felt a twinge in her chest.

Too bad Nana isn't here to see me off, she thought. She would have been so excited...

"Are these seats taken?" a voice interrupted Disa's thoughts.

She turned towards the doorway and her gaze met a pale boy with blond hair and grey eyes, who was already in his school robes, a green and silver striped tie at his neck. Beside him were two other boys, both roughly the size of small elephants, wearing the same thing.

"Actually, yes, I was saving them for my friend..." she began.

"I don't believe we've met," the boy said, stepping into the compartment and extending his hand. "Draco Malfoy."

Disa stood up and shook his hand. It was surprisingly warm, so different from his cold eyes and voice. "Disa Volyn."

"Volyn," Draco murmured. "I'm not familiar with the name. Where is your family from?"

"Ukraine," Disa said. "But I've been living with my grandmother in Barrow-In-Furness since I was two."

"Hmm...I see," he said, glancing at his companions. "Oh yes, this is Crabbe and Goyle," he said, gesturing to either side of him. "You look too old to be a first year. Did you go to Durmstrang or something?"

"I'm a fifth year and no, I didn't go there," Disa said, uncomfortable because she had no idea what Durmstrang was. "I was, er, taught at home."

"Taught at home?" Draco repeated, looking at Disa from head to toe. "Well, I'm sure you'll find Hogwarts much different than what you're used to. Have you been Sorted yet?" he said.

"N-no, not yet," Disa stumbled, thrown off by Draco's abrupt questions and unsure of what he meant by 'Sorted'.

"You will probably be Sorted with the first years tonight. I wonder which House you'll be in. I don't know what qualities you posses, but you're most likely quite clever, especially with all of that individual attention you received at home. You're probably much more clever than anyone could ever guess just by looking at you," Draco drawled. Disa did not know whether this comment was a compliment or not. Draco paused and took a step closer to Disa. His face was a little flushed, different from when he first came into the compartment. He was taller than Disa so that she had to tilt her face slightly upwards to see his eyes and he smelled faintly of a scent that Disa found very familiar but could not quite put her finger on. "You should hope to be in Slytherin. I myself am in it," Draco said with a content look on his face. He leaned forward, his face now only inches from Disa's own, and looked down into her blue eyes. "Only the best are Sorted there."

An odd feeling began in Disa's stomach. She felt as though she was spiraling downward and she thought she heard a woman's voice in her head.

"You are supposed to be my Protector! The best, the most honored..."

"I am the best!" a voice hissed. "The best!"

"So," Draco said, stepping back and breaking Disa out of her reverie. He had his arms folded across his chest and was leaning on the doorpost. "You play Quidditch?"

Perplexed, Disa stammered for a moment, utterly confused at what the word 'Quidditch' meant, but was relieved to see Harry coming down the corridor with one of the red-haired boys and a girl with bushy brown hair. Draco, too, noticed them.

"Ahh, Potter. How...nice to see you," he drawled. "Please, be on your merry way. I think I saw a fan club being formed in the last car by the Creevy brothers. Why don't you grace them with your presence?"

"Out of my way, Malfoy," Harry growled, an expression of hate on his face that Disa was surprised to see. "This is our compartment."

"Your compartment?" Draco repeated, raising his eyebrows at Disa. "So these are your friends you were saving seats for?"

Disa nodded.

A grimace appeared on Draco's face. "You're friends with...these?" he said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. "The pauper, the Mudblood and the freak? Hah!" Draco spat, glaring at Harry. "I had thought, perhaps..." He shook his head, and then looked at Disa. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to him so that his mouth was practically tickling her left ear. "Pity," he hissed maliciously, "that the misfits got to you first." Then, whispering softly, "You could have been great with me." He pushed her back, locked grey eyes with blue, and with one last glare at Harry, Draco and his sidekicks stalked out of the compartment.

Disa stared after him as Harry and his two friends came into the compartment. Harry slammed his body into his seat, as the red-haired boy sat grumpily down and the brunette girl looked frazzled.

"Aargh! I was hoping he would fall off a cliff this summer!" the girl said.

"Nah, he wouldn't have the time. His father probably sent him off to Junior Deatheaters camp," the boy grumbled, swatting at a minute owl that was hooting incessantly around his head.

"He and his father probably had tea with Voldemort every afternoon, discussing the weather, Quidditch and global domination. You know, the usual," Harry muttered.

The red-haired boy winced. "You-Know-Who, if you please."

"Oh, Ron, come off it," the girl scolded. "You can call him whatever you want, Harry, but please try to stray from the subject of global domination..."

Disa cleared her throat.

The group jumped slightly. They seemed to have forgotten about her due to the strange encounter with Draco.

Harry grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Disa, this is Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Ron, Hermione, this is Disa Volyn. She's in our year."

Ron extended his hand and Hermione smiled warmly.

"Harry mentioned you in his last letter," Hermione said, taking a large ginger cat out of a wicker basket. "He said you learned magic from your grandmother and her friend. I think that's very interesting. I'm sure they had old family tricks and secrets to share with you...probably more along the lines in potion making, even though I have read that some old wizarding families have their own signature curses and hexes, but that was when dueling was more popular. I hope you like it here. You're going to learn so many wonderful things!" She said this rather hurriedly, as if she was trying to cover up whatever she, Ron and Harry were discussing before.

Not wanting to pry, seeing as though she only knew these people a few minutes, and Harry for only a week, Disa let the uncomfortable conversation slip her mind. "Yes, my grandmother did teach me a lot, although I am afraid that I am a little behind in wand techniques. My grandmother worked more along the lines of medicinal magic and potions. I'm looking forward to that class especially," Disa admitted.

Ron and Harry each made a face. "Ew, no you won't," Ron said. "Snape teaches that one and he's horrible!"

"Yeah, he's not my favorite guy, that's for sure," Harry agreed. "And, I have a feeling he won't be yours, either, Disa. He's Head of Slytherin House, and he favors only Slytherins. Even if you're the top of your year, like Hermione is." Hermione blushed. "It won't matter unless you are in Slytherin."

Confused, Disa said, "I'm sure this is going to sound stupid, but what is Slytherin?"

"Oh, that's not stupid, of course you wouldn't know," Hermione said reassuringly. "Slytherin is one of the four Houses at Hogwarts. The dormitories and common rooms are in each of the Houses. The other three are Gryffindor, which we all are part of, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. They were named after the four founders of Hogwarts, and you are placed in a House depending on your abilities and your talents. It's all quite interesting, and it's all in Hogwarts, A History. I can let you borrow it, if you'd like," Hermione said eagerly.

"No!" Harry and Ron said suddenly.

"No one ever really reads that book, besides Hermione over here," Ron said, gesturing to her. "It's about a million pages full of useless information, but Hermione insists on dragging it everywhere she goes."

Harry laughed and said, "He's right. I sincerely believe that Hermione is the only person who has read it cover to cover, including the author."

Indignant, Hermione crossed her arms across her chest and shot looks at her companions. The ginger cat sitting on her lap did the same. Noticing this, Disa said, "I would love to borrow it from you sometime, Hermione."

A bright smile came across her face, and any hard feelings she had for the boys now disappeared. The cat gazed at Disa and began to purr. "I think your addition to this school and to our group of friends is definitely an improvement," Hermione said.

"Oh, am I officially part of your select group of friends now?" Disa said jokingly.

Harry was about to answer when two identical red- haired boys appeared in the doorway with a platter of delicious looking candy on it. Disa heard her stomach rumble despite the large breakfast she had that morning.

"Hello, all!" one of the boys said cheerfully. "We've got some scrumptious delectables here. Anyone like to try one?"

No one moved to reach for a piece of what looked like pink marshmallows, so Disa felt as though it would be odd if she took a piece from two boys she didn't know. The twins each had a strange smile on their faces as they glanced around the compartment. Their eyes soon fell upon Disa and they stepped inside out of the hallway.

"Ah, I do not believe we have been introduced," said one of the boys. "My name is Fred Weasley, and this is George," he said, pointing to the boy with the platter in his hands.

"I see you've met our brother, Ron, already," George said, glancing at his sibling, who scowled at him. Turning back, he put a serious expression on his face and said, "I'm sorry."

Ron's scowl deepened.

Extending her hand, Disa introduced herself and shook Fred's hand. However, when she went to shake George's, she was met with the tray of goodies.

"Care for one?" he asked cheerfully.

Disa smiled and took one. As she put it in her mouth, she vaguely noticed Ron and Harry gesturing to her to spit it out. But before she could really comprehend what they were saying, she swallowed.

Bright and expectant smiles appeared on the twin's faces, and Hermione buried her head in her hands. Puzzled, Disa wondered what was going on when suddenly an odd, itching sensation began on her scalp. Even more puzzled, Disa looked wonderingly at the twins, who were trying in vain to conceal their laughter. However, her view of the twins was suddenly obstructed by a sheet of a black, silky something.

Disa could not see anything, but she could hear muffled laughter coming from in front of her. Moving the something away from her eyes, she saw the twins slapping each other high fives as Harry and Ron were wiping tears from their eyes. Hermione looked agitated.

Looking at what was in front of her face, Disa realized it was hair. In fact, upon closer inspection, she realized it was her hair. And it reached the floor. Tugging gently on a section of it, Disa knew it was most definitely attached to her head. Glancing up, Disa saw the twins looking at her expectantly.

Disa smiled and said, "Well, even though I did like my old hair cut, I'll admit, long hair has its advantages. With this style, I don't think I'll ever have to wear clothes again. Everything's covered up quite well, I'll say."

Smiling, George walked up to her and said, "Then you're not mad that we fed you jinxed marshmallows?"

Laughing, Disa said, "Not at all!"

"Excellent!" he said, and firmly shook her hand. "Welcome to Hogwarts, Disa!"

Fred and George were about to troop out of the compartment when Disa called, "Is this going to stay like this forever?"

"No!" Fred said. "It should go away in a few minutes. We're not exactly sure. We invented it ourselves, but we still aren't sure how long the effects stay with people. That's why we're trying them out now!"

"Hey, let's find Malfoy and watch his face when his perfect hair touches the floor!" George said as the twins walked down the corridor.

Pushing her hair behind her shoulders, Disa looked at her new friends and said, "This year is going to be fun!"

Harry laughed and said, "It should be. And, Disa, you are most definitely part of our group now. Anyone who could survive a Weasley twin attack and laugh about it is our friend for sure."

The rest of the train ride was spent playing Gobstones in the compartment, explaining to Disa the finer points of Quidditch, and watching her hair shrink back to its original length. Disa was also introduced to Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, and Ron's tiny owl, Pig. Disa soon found out that the latter was consistently annoying, but Ron seemed to put up with his pet reasonably well. When an older witch came with a cart full of sweets, Disa was a bit wary to buy any, but was assured that the treats were perfectly harmless, and delicious, to say the least. About a half an hour after the last Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean (honey flavored) disappeared, the Hogwarts Express began to slow down. Disa could feel her pulse quicken as she realized her new home was just around the corner.

"Better change into your robes, Disa," Hermione said, extracting a black bundle from her trunk.

Nodding, Disa also opened her trunk and got out her robes. After she pulled them over her head, she saw that everyone walking by in the corridors had theirs on, too. Turning back to Hermione, she noticed that the tie at her neck was striped scarlet and gold, unlike the black one Disa had on. Ron and Harry also had similar ones.

"Are those the Gryffindor colors?" Disa asked, gesturing to her friends' necks.

"Yup. Hopefully you'll be wearing these colors soon, too," Ron said, smiling.

Disa smiled back and was about to answer when the train slowed down dramatically. Her smile widened as she ran to the window and saw a train station that was marked 'Hogsmeade' loom before her.

"We're here!" Disa practically squealed and she clapped her hands excitedly. Her companions looked at each other knowingly, as they had felt the same excitement four years ago. By now, the novelty had worn off. But only a little.

Soon, every student was off the train and milling around, leaving their luggage on the steam engine. Disa saw a large man looming over everyone else, saying "Firs' years, firs' years this way!"

Harry pointed at him and said, "That's Hagrid. He looks intimidating, but you'll learn that he has the biggest heart out of anyone I have ever met. You should probably go with him this time. You'll be able to get a great first view of Hogwarts if you do. We'll meet up with you in the Great Hall soon. Hopefully you'll be sitting next to us!" Harry patted Disa on the shoulder.

"All right, thanks, Harry," Disa said. "I'll see you soon!" she called as she made her way through the crowd towards Hagrid. Halfway there, she bumped into someone by accident.

"Sorry," she said and smiled at the person she had hit. He turned around and Disa's smile faded. Draco Malfoy gave her a disdainful look and turned back to the group he was with. Disa walked quickly with her eyes lowered to Hagrid and the little first years, all of whom looked as nervous as Disa felt.

"This way!" Hagrid called, lifting his lantern high above his head. Disa trooped after him, the head of the group of about fifty students. She could hear whispers come from the young children, probably speculating why an older girl was with them. Hagrid turned around to make sure everybody was following him. As he did so, he saw Disa, walking ahead of the group.

"Ah, yeh mus' be Disa Volyn, aren' yeh?" he said cheerfully. "Dumbledore tol' me yeh'd be comin'. He said I wouldn' miss yeh, since yeh were the oldest firs' year, by far." Disa smiled kindly at him. He smiled back and said, "I heard that yeh were pretty smart too. Are yeh takin' classes with rest of the fifth years?"

Disa nodded and said, "I hope I can do everything I need to." She had not realized until that moment how nervous she really was about doing magic in front of other people, excluding Harry.

Hagrid looked thoughtful and said, "I'm sure yeh will do just fine. If Dumbledore didn' think that yeh could do it, he wouln' of accepted yeh. He's a good man. He'll make sure yeh do all right."

Disa sighed in relief and said, "That sure is good to know."

Hagrid smiled at her again and then said in a large, booming voice, "All right! Get in a boat and don' fall in. I don' like going in and fishin' yeh out, yeh hear?" He turned to Disa and said, "Enjoy the ride."

Disa stepped into a boat and three incessantly chattering girls followed her. Disa shook her head and settled into her seat. The ride was uneventful until the troupe of boats went around a bend and Hogwarts finally came into view. The group drew a collective breath at the majesty of the sight. The huge castle, complete with turrets and towers, loomed in front of a large moon, stars sparkling behind it. For the third time that day, a falling feeling awakened in Disa's stomach.

Soon, the boats were docked and everyone had gotten out. Hagrid led the way up a long series of stone steps to the front doors of the castle. He knocked on the oak doors, and as they were opened, the students saw a stern looking witch staring back at them.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress, Head of Gryffindor House and Transfiguration teacher. Follow me, if you please."

Disa turned her head and saw Hagrid wave to her as she walked though the doorway. She waved back and followed Professor McGonagall into a small room on the side of the Entrance Hall. When everyone had entered, McGonagall shut the doors and gave them all a stern look. All chatting stopped immediately.

Looking satisfied, McGonagall said, "In a few moments you will enter the Great Hall and you will be Sorted. The Sorting Ceremony will place you in a specific House where you will reside for the rest of the school year. Your Housemates will be like family to you, as you will be spending the majority of your time with them, both inside and outside of class. Each of the four houses, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin, has its own rich history and accomplishments. Tonight you will see which Houses you are to be parts of."

No one spoke. McGonagall looked at them all, and her gaze fell upon Disa. She said, "The Sorting will begin in a few minutes, so you may chat quietly as I attend to some business. Ms. Volyn, I'd like a word with you."

Blushing slightly and avoiding eye contact with any of the younger students, Disa walked to McGonagall's side. When she reached her, McGonagall said, "Is everything in order, Ms. Volyn?"

Disa nodded. "Good," McGonagall said. "You do know that even though you are being sorted with first years, you will take your place with the fifth years, correct? And that you will need to be prepared to demonstrate you magical abilities tomorrow afternoon?"

Disa nodded again. She regarded McGonagall as quite intimidating. The professor looked at her for a moment and said, "Very well." She turned her gaze to the other students and said, "The Sorting commences!"

Everyone lined up behind McGonagall, and Disa brought up the rear. They crossed the Entrance Hall and entered the Great Hall, which was now full with the rest of the school population. Disa noticed the boys and girls in front of her pointing at the ceiling, so she looked up. To her surprise, there was no ceiling! Stars winked at her from a navy blue night sky. A look of awe on her face, Disa searched the Hall and almost immediately came upon Harry, Hermione and Ron, sitting at one of the four long tables that lined the room. They waved furiously at her, Ron giving her the thumbs up sign. Disa also saw Fred and George next to them. George held a pink marshmallow above his head and pointed to it. Disa smiled and shook her head.

McGonagall had left the front of the line and now reappeared with a stool and an old, decrepit hat. Disa was not sure what the hat was for, but soon her questions were answered. A tear in the lower part of the hat opened wide and the hat began to sing:

The Founders of Hogwarts

Were the best of their kind.

And into me they kindly put

A bit of each of their own minds.

In order to do their work

Long after they were gone

I was put in their place

To Sort you all with a song.

Where shall I put you?

Where shall you be?

You may only be in one House

And not the other three!

Are you a loyal Hufflepuff

With qualities that Helga liked?

Are you a hard worker

Who never puts up a fight?

Or perhaps you are a wise Ravenclaw

A modern-day Rowena you may be

Content to think all day

And read beneath a tree.

A bold Gryffindor may be your style,

Hardy, steadfast and true.

Bravery shines in you, like Godric,

And in your actions, the things you do.

Cunning Slytherin may call to you

A student Salazaar liked to know.

Ambition pushes you along,

Making me pity your every foe.

So try me on, give it a whirl,

You may like what you find.

I'll see your thoughts, your hopes, your dreams,

In short, I'll read your mind!

Disa smiled widely and clapped as the Hat finished its song. She was so amused that she forgot to be nervous until Professor McGonagall unrolled a piece of parchment and said, "Anderson, Delilah."

A rather mousy, slight girl walked up to the stool and sat down. McGonagall plunked the Hat on her head. After a few moments, the tear opened again and said, "RAVENCLAW!"

One of the middle tables burst into applause. Delilah smiled and Disa could see her black tie turn magically into a blue and bronze striped one. "Carthridge, Owen" performed the same actions as Delilah, but this time the hat shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" The far table broke into applause. Disa saw Harry and Ron slapping Owen high fives as he sat down at their table.

The process carried on for some time. "Hennessey, Abigail" became a Hufflepuff, a yellow and black tie at her neck, and "O'Hare, Stuart" became a Slytherin. Disa glimpsed Draco Malfoy applauding as Stuart walked to his table. Resolved not to look at him, she returned her attention to Professor McGonagall. With a sudden stab of anxiety, Disa saw that she was the only student left who had not been Sorted.

McGonagall turned her steely gaze onto Disa and said firmly, "Volyn, Disa." Disa could hear whisperings begin all around her. She looked at Harry one last time with a worried expression on her face. He nodded at her reassuringly.

Disa inhaled deeply and walked up to the stool that had the tattered hat upon it in such a way that she hoped passed as confident. The last scene she saw before she was enveloped in soft cloth was hundreds of faces looking at her anxiously. The darkness inside of the hat was somewhat relaxing, but Disa almost jumped when she heard a small voice in her right ear say, "Hmmm. Now this may be difficult."

Disa was not certain what was supposed to take place under the hat, but she knew for sure she did not want it to be difficult. However, she listened attentively as the voice went on.

"You certainly have enough brains in your head to be in Ravenclaw," the voice mumbled, "But I see your backbone is made up of a lot of hard work, so there's a point for Hufflepuff." The voice muttered some more. "Now, here it becomes much more interesting. Ambition runs so thickly through your veins that it is one with your blood, an excellent virtue of a Slytherin. But...." More mumbling ensued. "Oh dear, your heart! Such bravery it holds! Why, it nearly seems to beat Gryffindor! Oh, what to do, what to do!" The voice continued to mumble and mutter.

Disa began to become slightly uncomfortable, since she knew that she had been up on the stool longer than anyone else had and she could hear muffled whispers of her classmates begin again outside of the confines of the hat. That, and the way the voice was muttering indecisively was not helping much to calm her nerves.

"Well," the voice in her right ear said in a resigned manner, "I was always told to follow your heart, so I best put you in GRY-"

"Not so fast," a second voice hissed in Disa's left ear, much to her surprise. "She has the blood of a worthy Slytherin; you said so yourself." This second voice, to Disa's utter confusion, sounded the same as the first in pitch and cadence, but the tone in which it delivered its comments could not have been more different. "I happen to think that she belongs in SLY-"

"No!" cried the first voice. "It has been foretold! She shall fight! She should fight valiantly and courageously in the Great Battle! And the best way to do that, I say, is if her heart beats as a Gryffindor!"

"Aha," called the second voice cunningly. "But hasn't it also been foretold that she will bleed? There will be much blood on the ground on the day of the Battle, and the blood of a Slytherin would be an honor to fight for. I say she bleed as a Slytherin!"

"I think not!" yelled the first voice in Disa's right hear quite loudly. "I shall put her in-"

"And I," interrupted the second voice in Disa's left ear, equally as loud, "Shall put her in...."

There was a pause. Disa waited nervously for the verdict on which House she was to be in, but all she heard was a huge explosion of sound that echoed throughout the Great Hall. Any individual word that may have been in the cacophony of sounds was indistinguishable, much to Disa's dismay. However, a new, clear sound had just fallen on Disa's ears. A giant ripping noise was heard by all of the occupants of the Great Hall as Disa felt the Sorting Hat fall off her head. Bewildered, she looked around and saw one tattered half of the hat on her right and the other on her left. She then nervously looked around the Great Hall and saw everyone looking at her strangely and whispering to his or her neighbor. She turned slightly to the side and saw Professor McGonagall and a man, whom Disa assumed to be a teacher, in tow, walking quickly towards her. Both of the professors had a pinched look to their faces and seemed nervous for some unknown reason.

Horrified and speechless, Disa watched as Professor McGonagall picked up the half of the torn Sorting Hat on her right side as the other teacher went behind Disa and picked up the half on her left. This professor kept shooting strange looks at her through his curtain of greasy black hair and Disa could see a grimace begin to form beneath his hooked nose.

"Not to worry, Ms. Volyn," McGonagall said rather unconvincingly. "I'm sure Professor Flitwick, our Charms instructor, can find something to make this as good as new." This comment sounded, again, unconvincing.

"What just happened?" Disa said quietly. "I couldn't hear under that hat. Where do I belong?"

Professor McGonagall and the hook-nosed teacher exchanged looks and McGonagall said, "Er, well, yes. How about you step into the corridor with Professor Snape and myself for a moment?"

Disa agreed with her suggestion, and walked away from the prying eyes of the students in the Great Hall and their talking, which had increased from whispers to a murmur to full-out chattering. Before Disa stepped into the corridor, she looked over her shoulder and saw an old wizard with a long silver beard, whom she recognized as Dumbledore, address the students about the traditional start of the term reminders. She also saw Harry and Ron look at her curiously and she saw Hermione watching her with an odd expression on her face.

Disa's heart (of Gryffindor, her brain said) was beating a little quicker than usual and she felt her blood (Slytherin, her mind hissed) rush to her face as she walked down the hall behind Professors McGonagall and Snape. Disa was hoping that this special excursion was due to the fact that she was the eldest new student and not about the unfortunate and mysterious circumstances under which the ancient Sorting Hat fell apart. However, Disa had a sinking feeling they were to discuss the latter in McGonagall's office.

The little group had reached the door, which McGonagall opened with a wave of her wand and she ushered Disa and Professor Snape into her office.

"Sit down, Ms. Volyn," said Snape, motioning to a chair in front of McGonagall's desk, as McGonagall waved her wand again and a blazing fire roared in the grate.

Disa sat, but the two professors remained standing, looking at Disa with a manner of attempted, but not successful, composure on their faces. There was an uncomfortable silence.

Disa cleared her throat and said, "I apologize about the hat..."

"No need to apologize," said McGonagall. "We all know you didn't rip it...purposely. Professor Snape and I," she said, glancing at the greasy-haired teacher who was looking intently at Disa, "brought you here because, well, frankly, nothing like this has ever happened in the history Hogwarts, as far as I know. Have you heard anything of the sort, Professor Snape?" McGonagall asked.

"Never," Snape said, still boring his black eyes into Disa's own blue ones. "Tell me, Ms. Volyn, exactly what happened after you put the Sorting Hat on your head?" he asked in a cool, silky voice.

Disa started to answer, but McGonagall interrupted. "Now Severus, what happened during the Sorting is the student's business and we shouldn't pry-"

"I think," Snape said, turning his penetrating gaze to the professor, "that this time we can make an exception. Now," he said, returning his eyes to Disa, "Ms. Volyn, you don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all," Disa answered, unable to form a clear opinion of Professor Snape. She was not sure if she liked him, but she felt as though she could not dislike him, despite Harry and Ron's unfavorable comments. Disa looked squarely into his cold eyes and tried to remember as many details as possible.

"I put the Hat on like everyone else," Disa began, "and a little voice started speaking into my right ear. It said that I was good for any House, but it narrowed me down to two Houses, Slytherin and Gryffindor. This voice seemed to lean towards putting me in Gryffindor, and was about to when a second voice in my left ear interrupted."

"A s-second voice?" asked McGonagall, shooting looks at Snape, who seemed quite bewildered.

"Yes," Disa said, confused. Apparently, two separate, arguing voices are not supposed to reside inside the Sorting Hat, she thought. "This one didn't want me in Gryffindor," she continued, "but rather Slytherin. Then they paused their bickering for a moment, and I heard a loud noise echoing in the Hall. Then the hat ripped in two." She stopped, and then said, "I assumed the noise was what House I'm in, but I couldn't understand what the announcement was. Do you know which House I'm in?" Disa inquired of the professors.

McGonagall and Snape exchanged another one of their looks that was beginning to annoy Disa. McGonagall finally said, "Right now, that is undecided. Did the, er, voices say anything else about your...situation?"

Disa thought, then said, "Well, yes, but it was all very strange. One voice said that it was foretold that I would fight and that my heart should beat as a Gryffindor during, what it called, the Great Battle. Then the other voice said that I would bleed and I should bleed as a Slytherin." Disa shuddered at the thought and asked, "Are the voices able to predict the future? Can this all be serious?"

McGonagall smiled reassuringly and said, "I have not known the Sorting Hat to be a fortune teller," but Snape blanched at Disa's words.

"Did you say that you were told, by the Sorting Hat, that you would fight in the Great Battle and bleed? And the voices were resolved to put you in Slytherin and Gryffindor? Are you quite sure that is what happened?" he asked Disa shakily, with a glimmer of what looked suspiciously like fear in his cold black eyes.

Disa looked at him quizzically and simply said, "Yes."

Snape looked unblinking at her for a second, then croaked, "Could I see your wand for a moment?"

McGonagall looked at Snape, confused, as Disa felt, but Disa reached into her robes nonetheless and pulled out her wand. She quickly glanced at the funny markings carved into the ivory, which Disa realized resembled pictures more than she had remembered before. Sensing it would be better to examine the change later, she placed the wand into Snape's outstretched hand.

Snape brought the wand closer to his face, examined the markings, and Disa saw his eyes widen. He swallowed hastily, gave back the wand, and said just above a dry whisper, "All is in order."

He then turned to McGonagall and said, "I think the headmaster would like to speak with Ms. Volyn."

McGonagall looked surprised, but she heard Snape's intensity about the statement and replied, "Very well. I shall show Ms. Volyn to Professor Dumbledore's office while you fetch him."

Snape nodded curtly, and swept out of the office, his black robes billowing out behind him.

McGonagall gazed after him, with a pensive but confused look on her face, and soon turned back to Disa.

"Are you hungry, Ms. Volyn?" she asked kindly.

If she had asked Disa that a quarter of an hour earlier, the answer would have been a resounding "Yes!" Disa realized now that her stomach felt strangely queasy.

"No," she replied truthfully.

McGonagall looked at her knowingly and said, "I suppose it's best if we made our way to Dumbledore's office then."

The two left the room and walked quickly and silently down many long corridors. Disa's head was full of questions, but she thought it was useless to ask them since McGonagall did not seem to know any more than she did.

McGonagall suddenly stopped in front of a large marble gargoyle and said firmly, "Canary Creams."

The gargoyle sprang to life and revealed a moving staircase that Disa guessed led to Dumbledore's office. McGonagall and Disa traveled up it and McGonagall opened the door that was at the end of the passage.

Disa stepped inside a beautiful circular room that was full of interesting objects. Old wizards and witches dozed peacefully inside picture frames; silver contraptions made amusing noises; a large scarlet and gold bird in the corner looked curiously at the two visitors that had appeared.

"If you are all right," McGonagall said to Disa, "Then I should join Professors Snape and Dumbledore for a moment."

Disa nodded and called before McGonagall left, "I still feel sorry about the Hat. I never thought something this unusual would happen. This is somewhat a mystery, isn't it?" Disa wondered aloud.

McGonagall looked at Disa with an unreadable expression on her face and replied, "Yes, it certainly is," and shut the door, leaving Disa alone with her thoughts.

*

Harry was just finishing his second helping of treacle tart when Ron turned to him and said, "I wonder what's taking Disa so long? What did Snape and McGonagall want with her?"

Harry shrugged and said, "Snape probably wants to give her a detention just because that old hat happened to finally fall apart when Disa tried it on. I'm glad I'm not her right now."

Ron shuddered and agreed. "It's not a good idea to get on Snape's bad side on the first night. That should take at least a couple of days. But since she's in Gryffindor, that is a mark against her in Snape's book."

Hermione turned and looked at Ron at his comment. "Gryffindor?" she asked. "How do you know?"

"Well, I know the Sorting Hat's announcement was a little muddled, probably due to its untimely, er, demise," Ron began, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. "But once I thought about it, it sounded like it said 'Gryffindor'."

Harry realized this was true, but he could not quite place the other sound he heard the hat emit before it ripped in two.

Hermione gave Ron a withering look and said, "If you were listening, the hat said something else, too. I thought it said 'Gryffindor' and 'Slytherin' at the same time."

Both Harry and Ron stared at Hermione with surprised looks on their faces.

"Slytherin? She doesn't seem like one of Malfoy's cronies!" Ron exclaimed to Hermione.

"Right," agreed Harry. "Anyway, how can that be possible? A person who belongs in Slytherin and Gryffindor?" His voice trailed off a little as his phrase reminded him of his own Sorting, where the Hat was about to put him in Slytherin, but, at Harry's request, placed him in Gryffindor. Could a similar situation have happened to Disa? Sensing Hermione and Ron's curious eyes on him, Harry quickly regained composure and joked, forcing a strained laugh, "I mean, its more likely Snape would call me his favorite student and give me a hundred points than have a person be a Gryffindor and a Slytherin!"

"I know, but..." Hermione started. Her gaze turned to the entrance doors. "And speaking of Snape..." she whispered, pointing to the doors.

Sure enough, the greasy, hook-nosed Potions master had appeared in the Great Hall and was walking quickly toward the Head Table. Harry, Hermione, and Ron watched as Snape went to Dumbledore's side and, since they were sitting near the teachers, they could hear Snape say, "She's here."

The group could see Dumbledore's bushy eyebrows rise in surprise and they heard him ask, "Are you sure?"

Snape nodded grimly. Dumbledore excused himself and followed Snape out of the Hall quickly.

Harry, Hermione, and Ron turned back to each other.

Ron spoke what was on everyone's mind. "Who is here?"

Even Hermione did not have an answer to that question.