Can't Stop the Rain

I woke up with a lot of pain in my back looking, once again, into Fred's eyes.
"Morning, sunshine," he said with a small smile.
I looked around for everyone else until I saw Hermione and Ginny fighting with Pansy and George, Harry, Ron and Neville egging them on.
"Shut up, Pansy, get away from me, you stupid girl!" Draco said, sounding quite annoyed.
I laughed a little and there was a sudden pain.
"But, Drakie!" Pansy said in a really whiny voice that was smothered due to the fact that Hermione and Ginny were beating the organs out of her, "Drakie, honey! She was trying to steal you from me!"
"Pansy, you stupid girl! You're not my girlfriend! No one can steal me away from you because I'm not yours, when will you get that through your thick head?! Hey are you okay? I'm really sorry about her; she's a bit thick in the head,"
"Oh, were you talking to me?" I asked, he nodded. "I'm fine I guess, just my back hurts really bad, I don't think I can get up."
"Don't worry, Alexandra, I'll carry you," Fred said, scooping me up into his arms.
I was in a lot of pain but I didn't want to worry him anymore than he already was. I could see from where I was that Pansy was limping away with a lot of bruises, her robes torn. George, Harry, Ron and Neville came back with Hermione and Ginny.
"Wow, Hermione, nice left hook, you too, Ginny! You guys did a good job on her!"
"Thanks, you really didn't have to do that for me," I said weakly.
"Shh, quiet," said Fred. "I'll take you up to Madame Pomfrey in the hospital wing."
"No!" I yelled. "I want to go to the dinner and I want to get sorted!"
Fred looked at me questioningly and I looked back, indicating with my eyes 'I'm not going anywhere until I get sorted'.
He seemed to understand and laughed.
"Alright, you lot! Let's go get this girl sorted!"

On the way up to the castle I drifted in and out of consciousness until I felt Fred put me down on the floor. I looked around confused and then looked at him.
"Sorry, Alexandra, but I have to leave you here until you're sorted. I have to go sit at my table. Hopefully you'll join us soon?"
He was looking at me, I smiled.
"You can count on it!"
He smiled. Blushing, I looked down at the floor. He ran back to his table and left me standing amongst a bunch of first-years.

Oh, isn't this just dandy. I get to be sorted with all the little boys and girls.

I waited for about five minutes until I heard a voice.
"Welcome, all! Welcome back to Hogwarts! I hope that your brains are full of fluff from doing nothing over the summer and are nice and empty and ready for us to fill them up again with knowledge!"
I looked around to see who was talking and spotted an older wizard with purple robes with moons and stars. He had a long white beard and long white beard and he had a very crooked nose and half-moon spectacles on.
"Wow, I've heard about him, that's Albus Dumbledore! He's the headmaster of Hogwarts and he's the greatest wizard of all time!" said a smaller first year next to me.
"Brilliant!" said his friend.
"To all first-years, after being bored by my speech," Albus Dumbledore chuckled, "you will be sorted by Professor McGonagall into your houses. Please everyone; give a warm welcome to Professor McGonagall!"
A round of applause scattered around the room for an older female professor with glasses.
Professor McGonagall put a stool on the floor and placed and ugly, old hat on it and began speaking,
"Welcome all first-years to Hogwarts. As I call your name you will kindly come to the front, sit on the stool and put on the Sorting Hat. After you are sorted, you will join the rest of your house at the designated table."
Professor McGonagall backed away from the stool as if waiting for something, the whole school waited with bated breath. Then the rip near the hat's brim opened wide like a mouth and the Sorting Hat burst into song:

In times of old when I was new
And Hogwarts barely started
The founders of our noble school
Thought never to be parted:
United by a common goal,
They had the selfsame yearning,
To make the world's best magic school
And pass along their learning.
'Together we will build and teach!'
The four good friends decided
And never did they dream that they
Might some day be divided,
For were there such friends anywhere
As Slytherin and Gryffindor?
Unless it was the second pair
Of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?
So how could it have gone so wrong?
How could such friendships fail?
Why, I was there and so can tell
The whole sad, sorry tale.
Said Slytherin,
'We'll teach just those
Whose ancestry is purest.'
Said Ravenclaw,
'We'll teach those whose
Intelligence is surest.'
Said Gryffindor,
'We'll teach all those
With brave deeds to their name,'
Said Hufflepuff,
'I'll teach the lot,
And treat them just the same.'
These differences caused little strife
When first they came to light,
For each of the four founders had
A house in which they might
Take only those they wanted, so,
For instance,
Slytherin Took only pure-blood wizards
Of great cunning, just like him,
And only those of sharpest mind
Were taught by Ravenclaw
While the bravest and the boldest
Went to daring Gryffindor.
Good Hufflepuff, she took the rest,
And taught them all she knew,
Thus the houses and their founders
Retained friendships firm and true.
So Hogwarts worked in harmony
For several happy years,
But then discord crept among us
Feeding on our faults and fears.
The houses that, like pillars four,
Had once held up our school,
Now turned upon each other and,
Divided, sought to rule.
And for a while it seemed the school
Must meet an early end,
What with duelling and with fighting
And the clash of friend on friend
And at last there came a morning
When old Slytherin departed
And though the fighting then died out
He left us quite downhearted.
And never since the founders four
Were whittled down to three
Have the houses been united
As they once were meant to be.
And now the Sorting Hat is here
And you all know the score:
I sort you into houses
Because that is what I'm for,
But this year I'll go further,
Listen closely to my song:
Though condemned I am to split you
Still I worry that it's wrong,
Though I must fulfill my duty
And must quarter every year
Still I wonder whether Sorting
May not bring the end I fear.
Oh, know the perils, read the signs,
The warning history shows,
For our Hogwarts is in danger
From external, deadly foes A
nd we must unite inside her
Or we'll crumble from within
I have told you,
I have warned you . . .
Let the Sorting now begin.

"I wonder if it's ever given warnings before?" said Hermione, sounding slightly anxious.
"Yes, indeed," said Nearly Headless Nick knowledgeably, leaning across Neville towards her (Neville winced; it was very uncomfortable to have a ghost lean through you). "The Hat feels itself honor-bound to give the school due warning whenever it feels-"
But Professor McGonagall, who was waiting to read out the list of first-years' names, was giving the whispering students the sort of look that scorches. Nearly Headless Nick placed a see-through finger to his lips and sat primly upright again as the muttering came to an abrupt end. With a last frowning look that swept the four house tables, Professor McGonagall lowered her eyes to her long piece of parchment and called out the first name,

"Abercrombie, Euan."

The terrified-looking boy stumbled forwards and put the Hat on his head; it was only prevented from falling right down to his shoulders by his very prominent ears. The Hat considered for a moment, then the rip near the brim opened again and shouted:
"Gryffindor!"

The entire Gryffindor house applauded loudly as Euan Abercrombie staggered to their table and sat down, looking as though he would like very much to sink through the floor and never be looked at again. Slowly, the long line of first-years thinned. In the pauses between the names and the Sorting Hat's decisions, I could feel myself growing steadily more and more nervous.
Finally,

"Zeller, Rose" was Sorted into Hufflepuff, and Professor McGonagall called my name,

"Evans, Alexandra."

Oh, well isn't that lovely, dead last.

I went and sat down on the chair and put on the hat. All of a sudden I heard a voice talking inside my head. A musty old voice.
"Ugly old hat am I? We'll see about that, maybe I should put you in Slytherin, Alexandra!"
I froze as my thoughts raced back to the train station when my grandmother had said that it would be strange for me to be in any other house.
"No! No! Please not Slytherin! Please Gryffindor! Everyone in my family has been in Gryffindor, please!"
The Hat chuckled in my thoughts.
"Ah, yes I know now. Your grandmother is also Alexandra Evans? Good woman. Named after her are you? I haven't seen anyone from your family in almost...why three generations! You're the third to be exact."
"Well that's because in my family there's a prophecy-"
The Hat cut me off, chuckling.
"Dear girl, of course I know about the prophecy in your family, I was just jesting! Not to worry, Alexandra, I know exactly where to put you! GRYFFINDOR!"
The Hat had shouted this last word aloud which received an amazing amount of applause.
I took off the hat thought and walked back to the Gryffindor table.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Alexandra!" someone said from my left.
"Thanks!" I returned with a grin.
"SEE YOU, GUYS? I TOLD YOU I WOULD MAKE GRYFFINDOR NO PROBLEM!"
Everyone hugged me and patted me on the back and congratulated me. Professor Dumbledore broke the noise.
"Yes, Miss Evans, welcome to Hogwarts! I can only hope that you have such a wonderful time always as you are having right now. And now everyone, tuck in!"
Suddenly my plate, not just mine, everyone's was loaded with food. I was so hungry that I dived into my meal right away. Then I remembered that Fred had on the train gone to get me food but he had never given it to me.

Oh well.

After everyone had finished, we all got up and headed toward the doors. I had lost sight of Fred, George, Neville and Ginny but was quickly rejoined by Harry, Ron and Hermione.
"This is good, Alexandra," said Hermione. "Now you're in our dorm and our classes and everything."
"This will be brilliant," said Ron.
I looked at him and smiled as we approached a painting with a fat woman in it.
"Lickety splickety," said Harry.
"Of course, dears. Oh but just a moment, who is this lovely young addition to our house? She is much too old to be a first-year!"
I blinked a bit, startled by a talking portrait but clumsily spoke.
"Oh hello, well I'm not first-year; I'm fifth, Alexandra Evans."
"Well welcome to Hogwarts, dear! And welcome to Gryffindor!" she said warmly as her portrait swung open to reveal a tunnel.

Harry, Ron and Hermione climbed in and I followed. We all came out on the end of the tunnel into a large warm room decorated all in red and gold.
"This," Hermione said grandly, "is the Gryffindor common room. We spend most of our time in here."
"Great!" I said with a huge grin.
"Well, I'm going to bed," said Ron with a yawn.
"We all should be going, it's already nine o'clock and we'll get our schedules first thing tomorrow at breakfast so we need to be rested," said Hermione with a nod.
Everyone seemed to agree and headed up to the bedrooms. I followed Hermione up to the girl's bedrooms.

When I entered, I saw that my entire luggage had already been brought up and each bed had a gold-plated label with each of our names on it. Two more girls were in their beds, asleep. My bed was by the window. I went over to it and bounced onto it, and then I just couldn't calm down. I got up and started jumping up and down and shrieking.
"OH MY GOD, LADIES!"
Hermione jumped out of her bed, wand raised.
"What is it, Alexandra?! Where's the danger?"
I laughed.
"Sorry, Hermione there's no danger; I'm just excited and happy."
"Well, Alexandra, if there is no danger, I suggest you get to bed for you will be extremely tired tomorrow and you need your rest for I have a nasty feeling that we will be having double Potions with the Slytherins and trust me, you need a lot of energy for that," she said.
I got dressed for bed and finally laid down. But I just couldn't fall asleep. I looked over at the clock. Half past eleven. I decided that I might as well go downstairs and sit by the fire; at least it would be warmer.
I went slowly down the stairs to the common room and was delighted to see that the fire was still burning.

Oh good, someone forgot to put it out.

I saw a large red couch in front of the couch with a table before it and curled up on the couch and saw a bunch of parchment on the table. Someone had probably been writing a letter and had forgotten to take it up when they went to bed. I started tidying up the scrolls, rolling them up and putting the lids back on the ink pots. I then felt a presence behind me and all of a sudden two hands came over my eyes, I froze and got a hunch.
"Fred?"
"Good guess, Alexandra!" said Fred as he circled around the couch and stood facing me.
"Oh you can call me Alex by the way," I said with a smile. "Who are you writing to?"
"Oh, no one," he said with a small frown. "Just a lady friend."
"Oh," I said. "I see, lady troubles?"
He nodded.
"Well," I said, "I can help you out if you want."
"No," he said sadly, "that's alright."
"Erm," I said awkwardly after a long pause, "I like coat hangers."
Fred looked at me, confused.
"What, the bloody hell are you talking about, Alexandra?"
"I don't know," I sighed. "I felt that I needed to lighten the mood. Oh! By the way, you can call me Alex."
He folded his hands over his heart and sighed.
"Wow, I feel so special now, do you let everyone call you Alex or just your future husbands?"
"Fred!" I gawked, throwing a pillow at him. "Here," I patted the couch next to me, "sit down."
"Ooh!" he swooned, "When's the wedding?"
I threw a pillow at him and he promptly sat down.
"Fine," he pouted.
I couldn’t help but laugh. While I laughed, I made a point to poke him, repeatedly.
"Ow," he said, "what are you doing?"
"Oh, my God," I said, wide-eyed, "does that really hurt?"
"Noooooo," he said, looking elsewhere.
"Oh," I said, "in that case, I'm poking you."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Have I mentioned that you're very strange?"
"Why, yes, Fred, yes you have."
I looked at him and saw him gazing back at me.
"What?" I asked in a panic.
"Nothing," he said moving a strand of hair from my face.

And just then Ron tumbled in knocking over a pile of books. We both looked over at him and I called to him.
"Hi, Ron!"
He didn't answer back but just continued up the stairs, completely oblivious. I looked at Fred for answers.
"He sleepwalks," said Fred.
He laughed and he launched into a reel of questions.
"So tell me, Alex, about yourself. Where are you from? When's your birthday? What's your favorite color? Why have you come to Hogwarts now, why didn’t you come in first year? Do you like Quidditch? Do you like Hogwarts so far? What do you reckon of Malfoy? What about Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, Ginny and George and me? What's your favorite thing here so far? Are you staying here over Christmas break?"
"Slow down," I said with a laugh, "Erm...okay. I'm from London. My birthday is September the eleventh. My favorite color is blue; I loathe pink with a passion-"
"Blue?" he asked, eyebrows raised, "shouldn’t you be in Ravenclaw then?"
"Well," I said, smiling, "from what I've gathered, Ravenclaw is where all the smart little boys and girls belong."
"And you aren't a smart little girl?"
"Erm," I sighed, "not exactly."
"Well," he said mischievously, "that would make you stu-"
"Hey!" I said, "I'm the one answering the questions." He laughed. "Alright, erm...oh yeah. I've come to Hogwarts now," I paused, unsure of whether I should tell him about my little 'family tradition'.

*Go ahead Alexandra, its fine.*

Oh...I don't know.

*You can trust him.*

Who are you?!

*I'm your conscience.*

Where were you when I was blowing up that toilet?

*Right here, in your head, telling you not to.*

Well, I don’t recall you being so mouthy when I got grounded.

*...*

Oh, that's helpful.

"Alex?" Fred asked tentatively. "Are you quite alright? You've been quiet."

*Ooh, who's that?*

Fred. What do you care?

*You like him don't you?*

Yes...I mean no! I mean, oh I don't know. Enough! I'll tell him.

*I thought you would.*

"Okay, Fred. Well, erm, the thing is, in my family," I paused, "there is some sort of strange tradition or umm, prophecy, I guess you could call it that, anyways, there's that, thing, that every third generation will be magical. The two intervening ones are non-magical. And um, yes, I am a third generation. And erm, I came here this year because my grandmother found fifteen the right age to tell me about this little, erm, thing. Yes."
Dear Fred looked like his eyes were going to pop out of his head.
"I don't, believe you," he said slowly. "That's rubbish."
"Fine," I huffed, I had shared my secret and it had blown up in my face.

*Oh my, well that didn’t go very well now did it?*

Oh shut up, fat lot of help you are, never around when I need you.

I got up and turned to leave, to go back up to my dormitory when Fred grabbed my arm and said in a pleading voice,
"No, Alex, I was just kidding. Please don't go."

*I knew it would-*

Don't even say a word.

"Now I don't believe you," I said coldly.
"Please?" he whined.
"Weeeeeeell, I don't know, Fred."
The next thing I knew, his arms were around me and he had lifted me up off the ground to carry me. I squirmed and laughed.
"Ack, Fred Weasley, you put me down right now!"
He came to the couch and I was still squirming so much that in the process of putting me down he lost control and fell on top of me, his face inches above mine, his hand over my mouth.

Oh my.

"Its no surprise that you have lady troubles," I breathed.
Then came a huge crash from above and I heard a cackle and a WHOOSH over our heads and a voice.
"Ahh Peevesy has seen what naughty Weasley and new girl have been doing, you were going to do kisses you was! I am going to go tell McGonagall that you are out of bed!"
I looked at Fred, embarrassed.
"Shit, I usually make it through the first day without getting into trouble."
He looked at me and laughed as he got up.
"Don't worry, we're in the common room but all the same we should get to bed before he wakes the whole castle-" I heard a cackle from afar and a clanging of metal, "but all the same, we should hurry up and get to bed."
I nodded and headed towards my dorm and he headed towards his and I was about to go up the stairs when someone whipped me around, I thought it was McGonagall but to my relief it was Fred.
"God, Fred!" I said slapping his arm. "You scared me!"
He grinned and bowed down low and kissed me on the hand.
"Sorry." And with that he ran to his door. "Good night, Alex!" he shout-whispered.
"Good night, Fred!" I shout-whispered back and ran up to my room.
I entered the room and jumped into bed when I realized that I had jumped on Hermione's
bed with her in it.
"OUCH, ALEXANDRA! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!"
I jumped up in horror.
"BLOODY HELL, HERMIONE! You scared me. Sorry, I didn't see you there."
Hermione straightened up, looked at me, looked at the clock and looked back at me.
"Do you know what time it is? Where have you been? Have you been breaking rules?"
I remained silent.
"Alexandra?" Hermione said sternly, "Have you been breaking rules? Where have you been?"
I looked at the clock. Five in the morning.
"Shit. Nowhere. I was down in the common room, sitting on the couch."
She looked at me as if she didn't believe me.
"I don't believe you," she said.
"It's true! I couldn't sleep!" I tried to redeem myself.
Well, that was true. I just left out the part about sitting and talking for hours, sharing my little tradition and I had also left out the part where we had been lying on top of each other...
"Alexandra!" Hermione broke my thoughts, "Go to bed!"
"Right. Good night, Hermione."
She groaned and rolled back over onto bed and within a matter of minutes she was asleep. I lay in the dark, a smile on my face until I felt myself slowly drift into sleep.