Movers & Shakers

Kathrin stepped onto the Hogwarts train. She clenched onto her beige messenger bag hoping it somehow save her from the chaos. Children were running down the hallways bumping into her left and right. Each compartment she looked in was full of students already. She wished she could go back in time to five minutes ago when she was saying goodbye to her parents. Maybe she could have asked something that would have helped this situation. Just when Kathrin was giving up hope on finding a compartment alive she felt someone poke her in the back.

“You look scared need some help?” Sirius laughed at her. Sirius was James’ best friend, and since James was her brother she saw Sirius a lot. Whenever he could he’d bug her and push her buttons. James always found Sirius’ antic’s hilarious which made Kat hate Sirius more.

Kat glared at him and gave him a stern look. “I don’t need any help thank you very much.”

“Well you might want to go into your cabin, considering this is the 2nd years.”

“I was just heading there.” She replied. He chuckled and smirked. Kathrin didn’t want to deal with him at the moment so she turned towards the right cabin.

Kathrin walked down the corridor peeking in the rooms. Most of them were full, or the people in there didn’t look very friendly. After what seemed like forever Kathrin finally found a friendly compartment with a spot left. She opened the door and looked at the people inside.

She first noticed a bright smiley girl staring at her. Her thick blonde hair flowed down her slim body all the way down to her hips. Happy green eyes examined Kathrin from behind a pair of glasses as she went to speak.

“Do you mind if I join you?”

“No, not at all.” The boy across from the blonde stated. “I’m Rengine and this is my brother Bready.”

Rengine was quite tall for his age. As Kat sat down next to him she almost felt intimidated. His hair was quite dark and made his face see pale. Bready was the opposite. Bready’s hair was a light shade of brown and he wasn’t quite as pale. He was a little shorter than his brother, a more average height. The only thing they really shared was their blue eyes.

“I’m Sydney Skarn. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m Kathrin Potter. Thanks for letting me join you. I got lost on the train.”

Rengine laughed. “How do you get lost on a train? You either up or down, left or right.”

“Ren, it’s rude to laugh at people like that when you first meet them.” Bready finally said something. “Sorry about him.”

“Oh, no it is silly. I feel stupid thinking about it. My brother’s stupid friend had to tell me I was in the wrong cabin.”

Rengine started to laugh even harder. The other three just looked at him. His laughing was getting a bit overdramatic, but then everyone joined him in his laughter.

Soon everyone was having a great time. Bready slowly started to get more comfortable with Kathrin and Sydney and acted less shy as time went by. Sydney kept telling the group facts about Hogwarts and things she heard. Rengine kept bragging about his broomstick at home and how he could out fly anyone, Bready didn’t look like he agreed. Kathrin told them a few stories James had told her over the summer, questioning which ones were true.

When they finally reached the castle it felt like the four of them were best friends. They were so excited to go on the boats together. The four little 1st years found one and hopped in it. They watched the lanterns glow against the waves and looked at the castle bright against the night sky. Rengine was about to splash Bready but stopped when Sydney stated that Hagrid had already told them they weren’t allowed to put their hands out of the boat. Rengine just looked up at her and said, “you’re not going to nag me for the rest of my life are you?”

Once they got to the castle they went over to the great hall. Professor McGonagall told them they were about to be sorted into their houses. She told them that your house was like your family and how if you did something bad you were punished and you family would get hurt too by losing points. When she was done explaining things to them, she opened the doors and led them down the hallway.

Colorful banners of every house hung from the walls. Candles lit up the room from all over. The clear night sky was projected on the ceiling and there were eyes everywhere. Students from all tables stared at the first years. They examined them wondering who was going to have the best grades, who was going to be the coolest, or who was going to be the best flyers.

After the hat sang the new students a wonderful song, it was time for them to be sorted. One after another children placed the hat on their heads. Some of them were thrilled; others had curious looks on their faces. Kathrin noticed Sirius’ brother, Regulus, had been placed in Slytherin which wasn’t much of a surprise.

When it was Kathrin’s turn she took a deep breath. She walked up to the stool and sat down. She could see her brother, Sirius, and some other of his friends watching. Professor McGonagall put the hat atop Kathrin’s head. Kat closed her eyes and held her breath. Gryffindor she thought.

“You know you can breathe right child?”

“Err… yes. I just…”

“Are you ready?”

“Yes.”

The hat roared the word she’d wanted to hear. She could see her brother smile. There was only a few new Gryffindor’s at the table, and since he was a second year she went and sat beside him. She sat down with a big grin on her face and James rustled her hair.

“Good job Kitty Kat.” He said. “You know you’re in same house as Sirius now.”

Kathrin stopped smiling and looked at Sirius.

“I’ll try not to bug you too much.”

“I think I’m going to go sit somewhere else.”

The boy’s laughed at her; James’ put his hand on Kat’s shoulder as she tried to get up. She sighed and sat back down to continue watching the sorting. Unfortunately Sydney Skarn was sent to Ravenclaw, and Bready Walker was sent to Hufflepuff. After Bready it was his brother, Rengine’s turn. Kathrin was filled with joy as the hat said Gryffindor and Rengine went to join their table. She couldn’t wait for the year to begin.