Everything's Overrated

Priscilla was on a boat with a weird boy who kept singing to his toad, "You do know it doesn't understand you, right?"

"His name is Trevor!" The weird boy said happily, and went back to singing the ABC's.

Just then Vicky's voice rang out, "Those are mine!"

Priscilla could hardly see anything from the soft glow of lanterns, but she figured someone had probably taken her books.

After getting off the boat, she turned and saw Vicky smacking one of the large boys from earlier on the shoulder as he ate chocolate.

"THAT'S MINE!" she cried, trying to tug the chocolate out of his hand.

"Oh my goodness, this is so embarrassing," Priscilla whispered to no one in particular, and decided to save her friend, "Vicky..."

"PRISCILLA! HE HAS MY CHOCOLATE! STILL!"

The boy gave a weird gurgled laugh and Vicky backed away slowly, afraid he would throw up on her.

"Where's Lydia?" Priscilla asked.

"I don't know, with that Oliver boy. Even though she denies it, he looks much older than twelve, I think!”

Before they could discuss Oliver a bit more, a prissy grandma appeared in front of them, "STUDENTS!” She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall, and explained to them the sorting process.

"I heard, the hat shoots laser into your brain," A boy was saying in front of them.

"Obviously it doesn't. You're idea is stupid," Priscilla said matter-of-factly, "It asks you what you're favourite colour is."

A girl with bushy brown hair interrupted, "Actually, no. It examines your mind, laser free, and puts you into the house with the qualities that best match your personality."

Priscilla leaned forward, as if to retort, but instead gave the girl a quizzical look, "You look very interesting... I think it's your hair. But don't worry, Vicky here has bushy eyebrows."

Vicky looked ready to cry and looked away. The girl looked flabbergasted and the boy with the laser idea laughed, "I'm Ron," he said, holding out his hand to Priscilla, then Vicky.

"Oh, hi."

"This is Harry," he said, gesturing to the boy beside him.

Just then, the doors to the Great Hall opened, and the long line of first years began to file in.

"There's Lydia!" Vicky hissed in Priscilla's ear as they began walking slowly.

"Where?" said Priscilla rather loudly, "LYDIA!!"

"SHUSH!" Professor McGonagall spat.

"Cow," muttered Priscilla.

"Abbot, Hannah!" McGonagall was yelling out.

"This is so boring, can I sit down?" Priscilla whined.

"That was the first name!"

"They shouldn't make us stand like this. We could get arthritis and die."

"Do you even know what arthritis is?"

"No, but-"

"Belmont, Lydia!"

Vicky and Priscilla abruptly stopped their bickering to watch their friend. Lydia walked into the center of the hall and sat down on the little wooden stool that had been placed there.

"SLYTHERIN!"

Vicky and Priscilla clapped cheerfully for their friend. Harry and Ron both turned around and gave them glares as Lydia joined the Slytherin table.

"What?" asked Vicky, confused.

"You're clapping for the enemy,” Ron said angrily.

"What? They can't be your enemies! You aren't even sorted yet!” Priscilla retorted.

"All Slytherin’s are dark wizards," Ron muttered hatefully.

"Oh...”

"Beauvais, Priscilla!"

Priscilla stood up straight, fixed her hair, put on her best smile and walked forward. Before the hat barely touched her head, it screamed "RAVENCLAW!"

Vicky gaped, and noticed Lydia doing the same across the hall. "Aren't Ravenclaw's supposed to be smart?” Vicky blurted out.

"They are..."

"Priscilla failed Grade One math!" Vicky insisted, "There's something wrong here!"

"Magic isn't comparable to Muggle school," The bushy haired girl explained.

Vicky was about to retort when she noticed Harry's mean look, "What?"

"You could be happy for your friend"

"But I—"

Vicky was interrupted as her name was called out, "Braxton, Victoria."

Vicky walked slowly up to the stool, still unsure of what was wrong with Harry.

The hat was placed on Vicky's head, but nothing happened.

"Hello?" Vicky said out loud.

Still nothing.

"Umm, Mr. Hat?"

"Err..." she heard a voice inside her head, "I don’t really know where to put you..."

Vicky sat, waiting.

"You're not quite nice enough to be in Hufflepuff, but do not display the qualities of a Slytherin..."

"I don’t want to be in either, can I be in Ravenclaw?"

"No, not Ravenclaw... you need to be exceptionally bright to be there."

"What? Priscilla was put there..." Vicky said, flabbergasted.

"Gryffindor is what's left. I see a touch of pride and bravery in you, will you be able to find it?”

"Well, I—”

"I guess I'll put you in... GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled loudly.

Vicky stood and walked uncomfortably to the Gryffindor table. She looked up and saw the girl with the bushy hair looking at her strangely, so Vicky crossed her arms and looked down. Harry Potter and his red-haired friend soon joined the Gryffindor table and threw glares once again in her direction. Vicky scooted over near them, "What?" she hissed.

"You're friends with a Slytherin..." Ron said.

"So? How should I have known she'd be put there!"

"You can usually tell," He snapped.

"Plus, you aren't a nice person. Couldn't you be happier for your friend?" Harry Potter said, leaning over to stare meanly at her.

"Oh dear,” Vicky breathed, her eyes widening. She looked across the hall where Priscilla was talking to a girl excitedly. She looked towards the Slytherin table, and saw Lydia reading her Quidditch magazine. Beside her sat Draco, who was talking loudly with his ugly monkey friends.

Vicky looked towards the bushy haired girl and smiled, "Hi." She should at least try to make one friend.

"Hi, I'm Hermione," she said.

"I'm Vicky," Vicky answered.

"Are you—"

“Let’s move away, Harry, we shouldn’t be friend with a spy!” Ron suddenly said, sliding away from where Hermione and Vicky sat.

--

After the feast, Lydia got up from her table and walked slowly out of the Great Hall, still engrossed in her magazine.

"Lydia!" A voice called out.

She looked around, and saw masses of students, all trying to get out of the hall at once, "Oliver?"

"Lydia!" Oliver said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"What are you doing," she snapped, shrugging his hands off of her.

Oliver smiled and did it again, waiting for Lydia to shrug him off once more, but she just sighed.

Priscilla was talking hurriedly to the same girl, as Vicky walked up to her.

"And then he said, my dad is better than yours, and I said, no he isn't, and then he said, what, yes he is –"

"Priscilla?"

"And I said, -- Oh hello, Vicmeister."

Vicky stared at her incredulously, as the girl snickered, "Oh what a pretty name."

Vicky rolled her eyes, "You're stupid, and that is not my name, obviously."

Priscilla looked back and forth between them, "Vicky, this is Cha Chong."

The girl looked at Priscilla and glared, "No, it's Cho Chang, thank you.”

“I need to talk to you, Priscilla.”

“Fine, I see how it is,” Cho stormed off to a large group of girls and claimed her best friend whom she stalked away with.

Priscilla huffed and turned to Vicky, "What is your problem, Vicky?"

"Why are you even befriending people like her?"

"Because! I want to!”

"Fine, let's find Lydia."

"Okay! Found her!" Priscilla said, pointing past Vicky.

Vicky turned and saw Lydia in a close embrace with Oliver.

"Disgusting, he is not Second year. I'm guessing at least 3rd if not 4th year."

"Who cares?"

"You don't?"

"Not really."

"Well, I am a very concerned friend,” Vicky said dutifully.

Harry walked by at the instant and threw a dirty look at Vicky, "No you're not, stop pretending."

Vicky gaped and turned to look at Priscilla who also looked shocked. "Why does he hate you so much? Weren't you eating ice cream with him? What did you do?”

"Nothing! And yes I was, I don't know what's wrong with him. He thinks I'm a fake."

"A fake what?"

"Never mind, go get Lydia!"

"Okay," Priscilla said, grabbing Vicky's arm, "You're coming too."

Vicky and Priscilla turned to where Lydia was standing 5 minutes ago, but she was no where to be found.

"Where did she go?" Vicky asked.

"Where did everyone go?" Priscilla said loudly, spinning frantically, looking at the empty hall.

A passing ghost looked at the two girls, "What are two little first years still doing here?"

"AH!" Vicky and Priscilla both screamed, Priscilla jumping two feet in the air and slamming Vicky to the ground, "Ow, you SUMO!"

"Hey SHUT IT!" Priscilla yelled, brushing herself off, "Um Mr. Ghost, which way is the Ravenclaw Common Room?" But the ghost had already drifted through a wall.

"Jerk."

Vicky then walked over to the end of the hall. "There's a staircase down here. Let's go."

"Vicky... where are we going?" Priscilla whispered ten minutes later as they were still walking down a dark hall, "Ouch, what did I just bump in to?"

The person Priscilla walked into whispered, "Lumos."

"A HIDEOUS MONSTER!"

"I'm sorry," Vicky apologized for Priscilla as she pulled her away.

The boy grunted and stalked away.

"What was that?" Priscilla asked, looking back.

"It's a person. A human being, who has a heart that pumps blood through his veins, allowing him to feel, and love, and hurt!"

Priscilla and Vicky suddenly realized that they were back where they started, but before either could comment, Harry Potter walked by, "Stop lying, I know what you're really like."

"Impossible!"

"Why is he everywhere you are?" Priscilla laughed, giving him a sketchy once over.

Vicky's eyes followed Harry. She looked back at Priscilla, uneasy.

"Um, Priscilla, bye," she said as she skedaddled off to follow Harry.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING!"

"He's in Gryffindor! Good luck..!"

"Thanks, a lot," Priscilla mumbled as she walked down the dark staircase again. "I hope Ravenclaw is this way."

"HELLO?" She yelled, twenty minutes later.

"Lost again?" the voice came from just inches away from her.

"I think so. Can you help?" Priscilla sighed, too desperate to even care who she was talking to. For all she knew, it could have been IT- that ugly, hideous, zombie-like monster of a boy.

"Where are you headed?" The person mumbled a spell and the dark hallway instantly became light.

Priscilla recognized the bright blonde hair and pale face, "No! It's you!"

"Give it up already, Priscilla!”

"No! You make it sound like it was NOTHING! My dad is more prestigious than your dad."

"OKAY, THAT IS IT! LET'S DUEL!" Draco snarled in her face.

Priscilla wrinkled her nose, “Your breath smells like dog.”

Draco glared at Priscilla, “Good luck finding your way,” he said evily, walking away and extinguishing the light.

“No! Please, please tell me!” Priscilla panicked.

Draco stood still for a moment, “Go back the way you came, head outside. I think the tall tower you’ll see will be where the Ravenclaw Common Room is.”

“Thank-you,” Priscilla said stiffly.

Draco continued walking without a word or a glance back.

--

Harry was walking briskly, glancing behind his back every minute or so to see a wide-eyed Vicky following him, always leaving a 10 foot space inbetween. This girl he met at the ice cream parlour didn’t turn out to be a girl he wanted to become friends with, and he wasn’t sure why she was following him.

“Why is he so anti-social?” Vicky muttered, breathless. They were making their way up the 3rd set of stairs when all of a sudden, the staircase began to move. “What the—“ Vicky started to panic. She quickly ran up 10 steps to catch up to Harry- for comfort.

“Why are you so jumpy?” Harry questioned her, giving her a disapproving look.

“WHY ARE THE STAIRS MOVING?” She asked, her eyes assessing above and below.

“Because, these are moving stairs,” Harry rolled his eyes.

“So this is normal?” Vicky gripped on to the railing as the staircase halted into place. They began making their way up again, but this time with Vicky trying to grab onto Harry’s arm every time the stairs moved.

Harry shrugged her arm off every time, ultimately annoying Vicky beyond belief.

“Why are you so anti-me?” She asked as they got off the last set of stairs onto the 7th floor.

“Well, first of all, you are not so nice. Second, I think you bruised my arms,” Harry explained angrily, stalking away.

All Vicky did was throw mean air-punches behind Harry’s back and stick her tongue out at him a few times.

--

Lydia rolled around in her bed over and over before realizing there was no way she was going to fall asleep anytime soon.

An hour earlier she met her dorm mates. In her dorm was Milicent Bulstroad, a girl who looked like she was a cross between a wart hog and a buffalo; Arca Mayor, a girl who spat every time she used a word with a ‘p’ in it; Bridget Salmon was a girl who seemed really nice at first but turned out to be really keen on collecting people’s hair; and Pansy Parkinson, the awful pug.

Lydia got out of her bed and crept slowly past Milicent who was snoring rather loudly, and slipped downstairs.

“Why is it so cold down here?” She mumbled to herself, as she warmed her hands over one of the many fires.

“I think it’s a reflection of the way we are,” someone said. Lydia turned around and came face to face with one of the ugliest boys she had ever encountered.

“Sorry?”

“You know, we’re such cold people, thus the Slytherin common room is likewise,” said the ugly boy.

“Don’t categorize me in the same class as you!” She exclaimed.

“We’re both Slytherin aren’t we?” He raised his eyebrows, making him even more revolting.

“Oh,” Lydia said. A few minutes passed and Lydia soon realized that the boy was staring at her without blinking. Just as Lydia was going to cry for help, the boy stepped closer to her and said quietly, “My name is Marcus Flint.”

“Okay, that’s nice,” said Lydia, as she scooted away from him and ran upstairs to her dorm to the welcome sounds of Milicent’s manly snoring.