The Ghost Marauder

Part 6

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          "Firs' years! Firs' years, over 'ere!" a shout rolled over the crowd of students.

          Emma waved goodbye to us, and Bertha grabbed my hand so we wouldn't get separated as we got off the train and waded through a crowd of taller students. I wanted to take Mark's hand too, but hesitated, because he was a boy. Bertha clearly had no qualms, and grabbed his hand right away, yanking him over to us. "Can't be getting separated now, can we?" she asked cheerfully.

          "Firs' years!"

          I started dragging us to the sound of the voice, stopping short when I saw the source.

          It was a giant!

          "Stupid, that's not a giant," Mark frowned. Apparently, I had voiced my thoughts aloud. "That's Hagrid. He's the Gamekeeper - of sorts. Em said that he just recently got the job."

          "I'm not stupid," I muttered.

          "If I had to guess, I'd say he's half giant," Bertha said thoughtfully.

          "Come along, firs' years over 'ere!" the giant man - Hagrid - bellowed again. A short blonde boy elbowed me, and I elbowed him back twice as hard.

          Shuffling along amidst the group of first years, Mark, Bertha and I went with the flow, following Hagrid. I was being pushed from all sides by other excited first years that were eager to get to Hogwarts.

          SHOVE!

          I stumbled and almost fell as someone shoved me from behind. Bertha wrenched my arm back so I wouldn't fall.

          "Watch it!" a voice sneered. I recognized it, and whipped around to be faced by a smirking Sirius.

          "Sam, why are we stopping?" Bertha asked, turning around as she let go of my hand. I was sure that she was going to try to avoid the conflict, but instead, she glared at Sirius and balled her fist. Mark, who was still holding onto Bertha's other hand, looked bored.

          "Looks like you don't have your slimy Slytherin friend anymore," the boy with glasses taunted.

          "Shut up, John," Mark drawled.

          "My name is Jame- "

          "I don't care."

          Sirius leaned toward me threateningly. "Now that you're not hiding behind that stupid Slytherin, I'll hex you into oblivion, you spineless git!"

          "It looks like you've found your confidence along with your hair," I said cooly. "How did it feel to be bald? I'm curious."

          "You little - !"

          "Alrigh', hurry up, no dawdling!" Hagrid shouted. Sirius and his gang pushed past us, and we jogged to catch up to where the rest of the first years were standing at the edge of a dark lake.

          "Those guys are rude," Mark noted. "I hope they're not in my house."

          "They just - ugh!" Bertha stamped her foot and folded her arms. "I'd like to give them a piece of my mind!"

          We boarded one of the several small boats, and the mini fleet started to cross the lake, heading towards Hogwarts. "Hey guys, what boat are those jerks in?" Mark asked in an undertone.

          Bertha and I pointed to our right. "Two boats over," I told him.

          He furrowed his brow and tapped something on his leg, muttering something. Bertha and I faced forward again, staring at the approaching Hogwarts.

          SPLASH!

          We whipped our heads to the side, looking at one of the boats that had tipped over. The first years in the boat were now shouting and floundering in the water, although two of them had latched onto the upside-down boat.

          I peered closely. "I don't believe it! That was Sirius' boat! Hah, take that you jerk!"

          Hagrid's boat came alongside theirs, and he flipped it back over, helping the soaked boys clamber back into their boat. Bertha giggled, and I shook with silent laughter. Mark, lounging in the back of the boat, just grinned.

          Soon, all the boats reached the shore, and everyone climbed out of the boats, following Hagrid up to the castle. Once we reached the entrance, Hagrid waved goodbye, and his place was taken by a stern looking witch with black hair pulled back in a strict bun.

          "Honestly," she said in a huffy voice, waving her wand at the four soaked boys and instantly drying them. "We don't need more troublemakers this year."

          "Darn," Bertha said softly. "I had wanted them to have to get Sorted while still wet."

          "I am Professor McGonagall," the stern witch said. "And welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. You will have classes with the rest your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. While you are at Hogwarts, you can earn house points, but any rule-breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup. The Sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school." She looked over us. "I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while waiting."

          Everyone started brushing down their fronts and fixing their hair. Bertha grabbed Mark and I, bringing us into a huddle. "Okay guys, no matter what houses we get into, we're going to stay friends, right?"

          "I don't know how acceptable that will be," Mark monotoned.

          I poked his ribs, and he gave me a deadpan expression. "Quit being so pessimistic. We'll be friends forever!"

          "Yayy!" Bertha squealed, pulling us into a hug.

          "Yay," Mark sighed.

          I shoved them away, and gave each a fierce expression. "We have to pinky promise," I commanded, sticking out my pinky.

          Bertha stuck out hers too with a serious nod.

          Mark rolled his eyes in a resigned way, and extended his. We had a three-way pinky shake, swearing to stay friends.

          "Aw, now isn't this sweet," two voices sang. We looked over to see John and Sirius chortling together. Two other boys, one the kid from earlier and the other, a short round one, were standing off to the side awkwardly.

          "Shut up, John," I snapped.

          The boy with glasses looked like he was about to burst a fuse. "My name isn't John! It's Ja- "

          "Yeah, whatever," Bertha waved him off.

          Sirius had taken a step forward, but Professor McGonagall cleared her throat, and motioned all the first years forward. Then, she swung open a door, and we followed her into what I assumed was the Great Hall.

          I stuck close to Bertha as all the students sitting turned to stare at us.

Christmas is right around the corner... and so is finals week -_-

12/15/17