the 5th marauder

2- Welcome to Hogwarts

Reaching the top of the steps, I pushed open the door, giving way to a room with a tall ceiling. A phoenix sat on a perch, turning its head to me. A tall man with a beard stepped towards me. "Ms. Adilet, welcome to Hogwarts!" Smiling at him, I nodded. "Thank you." He walked towards a shelf, pulling something off the top. He turned back, bringing with him a large dusty hat. "This is the sorting hat. Please sit." He said, gesturing to a wooden chair. Sitting down, he placed the hat on my head and stepped away, walking back to his desk. "I'll leave you be." Confused, I looked down and waited for something to happen. "Hmm.." I jolted up, wondering where the sound was coming from. It sounded so close. "Ms. Adilet, A bit late for your sorting, don't you think?" Looking up slightly, I realized it was in fact the hat, talking to me. "uhm... yeah- It took a bit for me to, you know. Show my powers. I guess." I glanced at Dumbledore, worried what he might think if he saw me talking to myself. He seemed unbothered, writing something. "You care about what others think.. Maybe a Hufflepuff. But you have a need to learn.. you want approval.. Maybe a Ravenclaw. But then again, You have Bravery. Loyalty.. willing to do anything for those you love. Am I wrong?" Shaking my head, I stared at the ground. "Yes.. I know where you belong. Gryffindor!!" The booming voice startled me, and in my sudden movement, the hat fell off my head. Picking the hat off the ground, I brought it to Dumbledore, placing it on the desk. "A Gryffindor, I was one myself, you know. Professor McGonagall will show you the way." He said, nodding to the door. "Yes, thank you." I smiled, and turned. "Ah, wait. Before I forget. Your first extra class, to catch up, I mean- will be on September third, at four." "Oh. Right, yeah." I replied,  nodding before I turned back around, walking out the door.

Professor McGonagall stood waiting. "So?" I looked up to her. "Gryffindor." She smiled. "So I am your head of house. I will help you with your schedule tomorrow. Right now, change into these." she handed me a pair of robes and gestured to a nearby bathroom. "You will go eat with the rest of the students now. Walking into the bathroom, I entered a stall and changed into the robes, folding them in my hands. I came out and looked into the mirror, fiddling with the lion logo on it and smiling. "You can leave your clothes in there dear, the house elves will bring them back to you in the morning. they will be washed." McGonagall said from outside the bathroom. Placing my clothes on the side of the sink, I left and followed her down to the large doors, right by the entrance to the castle. "In there dear. Food will be served shortly." She opened the doors for me, and the loud chatter seemed to stop. I walked past, feeling the hundreds of eyes on me until I reached the third table, where they were all wearing the same robes as me. I saw the boys I sat with on the train, and James slid over and patted the seat next to him. Smiling and walking over, I sat down, and the chatter resumed. "Gryffindor, eh? Just like us!" I nodded. "The best house, if you ask me, said Sirius, grinning. Rolling my eyes at him, I then gestured to the empty table. "I thought there was supposed to be food? I'm starving." Nodding to the podium at the front of the hall, James said "Not yet. The first years have to be sorted first, then Dumbledore's gonna give his speech. Then we eat."

After talking for a bit, The first year students were all sorted, and Dumbledore was seen walking up to the podium to give his speech. He stood, raised his wand to his neck, and the great hall went silent.

"My dear students. Welcome back to Hogwarts! I hope you are as excited as I to indulge in another year of learning. I'd like to welcome our first years, and I have no doubt that you will be a wonderful addition to our school. I'd also like to welcome one more student, who has joined our school at a somewhat unusual time. I'm sure some of you have noticed Ms. Catherine Adilet, who will be part of our fifth years."

I felt eyes on me at this moment, so I looked down, picking at my fingernails.

"I hope everyone will treat these new students with respect, and make them feel comfortable here. Now, Mr. Filch would like me to remind all students that magic of any kind is not allowed outside of class, particularly in the hallways. "

I noticed Dumbledore glance to James and the other boys when he said this, and watched them stifling their laughter.

"With all of that said, I hope you all will abide to the rules of Hogwarts, lest us have a joyful year. Now, I'm sure many of you are hungry, and as am I. Please, eat up."

He gestured to the tables, and when I turned back, I saw they were covered in all types of food. I grabbed what I could and put them on my plate. I ate till I couldn't anymore, then turned to the side, where I saw everyone else finishing up as well. The first years were escorted out, following their house leaders and who I assumed were prefects. "C'mon new girl." Sirius nudged me. Getting up, I followed the rest of the fifth years out and into the hall, up the moving stairs, and up to a large tower. We reached a large painting with a woman in it. "Oy, fat lady, what's the password?" I heard someone say. Remus stepped up to the painting. "Bubotuber". The fat lady raised her eyebrows and nodded. The painting then swung forwards, revealing a large common room with red walls and a large fireplace. It looked very comfy. Following the other students, I walked through. They all went separate ways, going to the dorms, I assumed. The four boys slumped down into some armchairs, and I went to sit with them. "Damn, have I missed these chairs." Sirius said, and Remus nodded in agreement. Peter then looked to me. "Aren't you gonna be behind in all your classes? Joining in 5th year is a bit crazy." Groaning in frustration, I nodded. "Yep. Well, I've learned all of the basic classes already. The things you'd learn in years 1-3. I'm going to get independant classes though, to make up for everything I don't know." Peter nodded and closed his eyes, relaxing further into his chair. "Hey wait, how'd you know the password?" I asked, gesturing to Remus. "I'm a prefect this year. I know the house password, and I'm kind of supposed to keep you guys in check." He said, pointing to the other three. "What's that password mean, anyway?" James asked. "I dunno. Some sort of plant, I think. Kinda looks like a slug." They continued talking, when I suddenly got a tap on my shoulder.

I turned around to see a tall blonde girl with black eyes and pale skin. "You're Catherine Adilet?" I nodded. "I'm Marlene McKinnon. Professor McGonagall told me to show you our dorm." Smiling, I got up and nodded. "Follow me." She said. She walked up a stone spiral staircase to the left of the fireplace, leading up to an open door. There was a large dorm room with 5 curtained beds in it, as well as an attached bathroom and large chests at the end of each bed. I looked around to see my empty bed by the window. "Thanks." I told her, and walked over to see my things already put away in my chest, and my pajamas laid out on my bed. "The house elves did that. They do our laundry, packing, unpacking. The works." The voice was coming from the bed across from me, where a ginger girl with green eyes was looking over. "I'm Lily Evans." Picking up my pajamas, I grinned. "I'm Catherine." I walked to the bathroom, getting ready for bed. When I got out, almost everyone was asleep. Lily was reading a book. I walked over to my bed, closed the curtains, and climbed under the covers. I fell asleep rather quickly that night.