Gordon Owen and the Eastern Warrior - Book Two of the Evil Kneazle Series by AurorKeefy
Chapter Notes: A final thanks to Snape's Talon, for all her work and support on the series. Again, apologies for my delayed uploading. I am still working on uploading this and writing book three!
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The last weeks of summer seemed to go on forever for Gordon. The three days spent playing Quidditch with Oliver only made the remaining time spent at home seem worse, and he hadn’t had chance to fly his new Nimbus Curvehorn since he had played Quidditch with Oliver and Charlie. On several occasions he considered going for a quick fly over to Luke’s in the middle of the night, but Oliver’s mother had been quick to explain that to do so in a Muggle area would be a serious breach of wizarding law, and Gordon had been forced to leave his broomstick in his trunk.
On the last evening of the holidays, Gordon and Luke found themselves staying once more in a Muggle hotel in London, counting the hours until they would be back at Hogwarts. By eleven o’clock the pair of them had long since turned off the lights and got tucked into bed, but it seemed like it was far later than that when Gordon finally got to sleep. When he did nod off, he dreamt he had forgotten his Nimbus, and Charlie and Oliver had both tried to have him expelled, and Luke had granted their wishes because Gordon wasn’t interested in Potions, which was unfair, because he wasn’t even a teacher anyway.
Gordon could hear the distant ringing of an alarm clock, when someone suddenly flooded the room with light.
‘Wake up!’ said the voice, but Gordon ignored it. He couldn’t wake up now, he had to talk to Luke about his expulsion, and that was far more important than anything else right now. Yet all the while the voice was getting louder, and Gordon was losing track of what he was meant to be doing…
Gordon bolted up in bed as something soft smacked him around the skull. He tried to grab whatever it was and found himself holding onto a pillow. Luke stood by his bed, holding the other end of it.
‘Are you awake?’ said Luke. ‘We’ve got to go.’
Gordon groaned as he came to his senses, and pulled his legs out of bed.
‘You all right? You look awful,’ said Luke, peering rather closely at Gordon’s face.
‘I’m fine,’ muttered Gordon, wiping the sleep from his eyes. ‘I dreamt you and Oliver had me expelled, or something.’
‘Well, I suggest you get a move on or you might find yourself expelled for real,’ replied Luke, who was now pulling on his trainers.
Gordon rubbed his head, and wondered when he had last felt as exhausted as this. It didn’t feel like he had been to sleep at all. He spent several minutes trying to put on his tracksuit bottoms before realising he had his feet in his t-shirt.
‘I’ll see you downstairs,’ said Luke, slinging his rucksack over his shoulder.
About fifteen minutes later Gordon found himself staring at a large plate of fried breakfast while Luke was wolfing down sausages opposite him. Beside them, their parents were talking excitedly about seeing Mr and Mrs Weasley again, and Mrs Oakshot was once more talking excitedly about Oliver’s house.
‘Do you want your black pudding?’ said Luke, staring over at Gordon’s plate.
‘What? Oh. No, you have it.’
Without another word Luke reached over and skewered the entire piece on his fork, before greedily shoving it in his mouth. Gordon began to nibble on some toast.
‘Was’up wi’choo?’ said Luke, his mouth still full of black pudding. ‘I fort u wanni to g’back.’
‘I do,’ replied Gordon. ‘But what if I don’t make it on the team? I mean, I’ve spent all this money on a broom, but I’ll be one of the youngest there.’
Luke swallowed and shrugged.
‘Well, I’m not going to get on the team,’ he replied simply, ‘and it isn’t ruining my morning.’
‘It’s not ruining my morning,’ said Gordon, miserably prodding a fried egg with his fork. ‘Anyway, it’s not like you even want to get on the team.’
‘No,’ said Luke thoughtfully. ‘I don’t. I want Professor Snape to get me a copy of Moste Potente Potions.’
‘Well, I hate to disappoint you “’ began Gordon.
‘Then don’t,’ snapped Luke, prodding a piece of bacon rather sharply with his fork. ‘I’ll find a way around it, and if I can do that I’m sure you can make it onto the Quidditch team.’
*
As they pushed their trolleys around Kings Cross station, Gordon wondered how he had managed to miss so many of the wizards there last time. This year it seemed there were people with owls and broomsticks (Gordon’s heart gave a leap) everywhere, and all of them were headed for the barrier between platforms nine and ten.
When Gordon, Luke and their parents found themselves by the barrier, they had to wait for a few minutes for a dotty group of pensioners to stop commenting on Gordon’s “wonderful ginger hair” before they could pass through unnoticed. As Gordon pushed his trolley through, he found himself once more on platform nine-and-three-quarters, surrounded by witches and wizards seeing their children onto the train.
It was not long after they had come through, that Mr Weasley had indeed struggled through the crowds of people to greet Gordon and Luke’s parents, followed by a Charlie, Bill and a beaming Percy.
‘Hello, Arthur!’ said Mrs Oakshot, before anyone else could get a word in. ‘How are you?’
‘Oh, can’t complain.’ said Mr Weasley, in his usual genial fashion. ‘Not when we have a prefect and a head boy in the family!’
It became immediately apparent to Gordon why Percy was so happy. He had spent a great deal of last year lavishing praise upon Bill for being a prefect, and now it seemed Bill had become Hogwarts’ head boy, whatever that meant. It seemed Charlie had also been made a prefect. Gordon was sure he would’ve found the idea of both his older brothers making prefects quite daunting for his own future, but then he reminded himself that he wasn’t Percy.
Charlie gave Gordon a quick nod, which Gordon supposed was Charlie’s way of showing him that he hadn’t forgotten their game of Quidditch over summer. Now Gordon thought about it, Charlie hadn’t mentioned anything about becoming a prefect then. Presumably being a Quidditch captain and spending your summer chasing dragons made such things rather uninteresting.
‘You know, we should probably start loading our stuff onto the train,’ said Luke, as Percy made a beeline for them. Gordon caught on and they hauled their stuff on board, leaving a slightly disappointed-looking Percy behind them.
Once aboard the Hogwarts Express, the pair of them began searching for a compartment. Eventually, Gordon found them an empty one near the end of the train, and they loaded their luggage into it before going back outside to say goodbye to their parents.
Gordon was pleased to see that in spite of both his and Luke’s parents’ somewhat hysterical reaction last year, they both seemed a little more at ease this time around. Admittedly, Mrs Oakshot had still taken to kissing and hugging Luke for a little longer than was necessary, but after summer the whole experience seemed a lot less final.
There was a whistle from the guard, which Gordon took as a signal to get aboard the train. Luke managed to detach himself from his mother, and followed him back to the compartment, where they both waved goodbye to their parents as the train pulled away.
‘Feeling any better?’ said Luke with a smile, as he began digging around inside his rucksack.
Gordon stared out of the window for a second. Charlie had given him a nod before they got on the train, did that mean that he was going to put Gordon into the team? Maybe the dream was just a dream.
‘I guess,’ he replied eventually, as Luke pulled out Magical Drafts and Potions and began flicking through the index. ‘Did you see Oliver on the platform?’
‘He’ll be about,’ said Luke, without looking up from his book, ‘and I doubt we’ll have given Percy the slip for long. He and Kyle will be round here any second.’
As Luke had predicted, it wasn’t long before Oliver appeared at the compartment door, with Percy and Kyle in tow.
‘There you guys are! We’ve been looking for you in every compartment on the train!’ said Oliver, as he stepped inside. ‘Still reading up on your potions? I thought you’d have been aching to do some magic by now!’
‘It’ll come in,’ replied Luke, smiling and setting his book down on his knees. ‘Alright, Kyle. How was summer?’
‘Oh. It was okay,’ said Kyle, taking a seat next to Luke. ‘I didn’t really see anyone to be honest. It’s good to be back. What have you guys been up to?’
‘Practicing for the Quidditch team,’ said Oliver, positively beaming. ‘Me and Gordon are going to be leading the team out in our next match!’
Gordon’s stomach did another little jump at the thought.
‘That’s great!’ said Kyle, who seemed far more enthusiastic about the news than Gordon did. ‘You guys were always really good in flying last year.’
‘I dunno,’ began Gordon, ‘we’re going to try out for the team, whether or not we’ll get in…’
‘Well, we’ll come and cheer you on in trials,’ said Luke, before turning resignedly over to Percy. ‘What about you Perce? How was your summer?’
‘Well,’ began Percy, clasping his hands together, ‘I assume you know that my brother Bill has been made head boy?’
Luke nodded, apparently no more impressed than Gordon.
‘“ And of course Charlie has also been made a prefect “’
‘Of course,’ said Gordon, who was beginning to feel that it might have been good manners to open Percy’s last four letters to him.
‘ “ Well, I think really good things are coming for the both of them! I was delighted for Bill when he made prefect, but to be head boy? We Weasleys are carving a real name out for ourselves here, I do hope I can carry on in my brother’s footsteps “’
‘Uh-huh,’ said Oliver, retrieving a Quidditch magazine from his bag.
‘Mum and Dad were so pleased! As was I, of course! I read an article in one of my mother’s magazines about the history of head boys and, stop me if this gets boring, almost all of them went into high income “’
‘Stop,’ said Luke dully, sending Gordon and Kyle into fits of laughter. Percy looked rather affronted by this, but did not pursue the conversation, instead deciding to pull out a tattered spellbook from his bag. Gordon, who was still trying to hide his amusement from Percy, stared out of the window as London’s inner city gave way to the suburbs.
By the time the sweet trolley arrived, the houses had long since given way to fields. Gordon watched rather enviously as Luke and Oliver each helped themselves to a large box of Bertie Bott’s Every-Flavour Beans. He wouldn’t have said no to pumpkin pasty, but unfortunately he had cleared out his Gringotts account to pay for his new Nimbus. He tried to remind himself of the feast that would greet them when they arrived, but it would be hours till then, and his stomach grumbled rather loudly.
‘You know,’ said Luke, thoughtfully chewing on a magenta coloured bean, ‘I’m sure the train is quieter this year. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone go past the compartment except you three and the trolley lady.’
‘You’re not wrong,’ said Oliver, looking up from his Quidditch magazine. ‘Filch has been threatening everyone who walks past his compartment with expulsion. He went ballistic when Kyle asked him if we could sit with him.’
‘Filch is on the train?’ exclaimed Luke, nearly dropping his box of beans in surprise.
‘Yeah,’ said Oliver. ‘I don’t know why, he wasn’t here last year. Maybe his broom broke or something.’
‘Filch on a broomstick?’ laughed Gordon. ‘The way he hobbles around he’d be lucky to get off the ground!’
Kyle laughed along with Gordon while Oliver, for whom flying and broomsticks were no laughing matter, looked on disapprovingly.
‘It’s a bit odd, though,’ said Luke. ‘What compartment is he in?’
‘He’s got one to himself a little further down that way,’ said Oliver, pointing towards the direction they had come from a few hours earlier, ‘why?’
‘Who was with him?’ asked Luke, ignoring Oliver’s question.
‘He was on his own,’ replied Kyle, ‘that was why I asked if we could sit with him; everywhere else was full.’
‘But he didn’t want you to?’
‘He seemed really on edge come to think of it,’ said Oliver, ‘the guy nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw us. Charlie said he’s been sitting there muttering to himself since we left platform nine-and-three-quarters. Well, when he hasn’t been threatening everyone who passes.’
‘Hmm,’ said Luke.
‘Well, go on then,’ Percy sighed.
‘Hmm?’
‘I don’t doubt for a second,’ began Percy, lowering his book for the first time since the conversation started, ‘that you are considering doing something that is going to get yourself, and most likely us all, into trouble.’
‘Percy!’ said Luke, grinning. ‘I can’t believe you’d say such a thing! When have I ever done anything that got us into trouble?’
Privately, as Percy responded to Luke with an icy stare, Gordon found himself compiling the amount of things Luke had so far done that had got them into trouble. Admittedly, some of the blame for much of these things could be apportioned to Kyle, whose decisions to poison himself had sparked Luke on a rather worrisome crusade to discover the culprit. All in all, however, Gordon felt Percy had a point.
‘All right, all right,’ said Luke, apparently spotting the concerned looks on their faces. ‘I was just wondering.’
Gordon noticed Luke give him a rather curious look before turning back to his Potions book, which Gordon did not return. The pair of them had encountered Filch the previous year, and Gordon hadn’t liked him one bit. It was a well-known fact that Filch hated the students, and Gordon felt that investigating an even more irritable Filch than usual was playing with fire.
The rest of the journey passed without event, and it didn’t seem like long before the sky began to grow dark. Gordon gave his grumbling stomach a rub as he thought of the feast that awaited their arrival. Last year they had arrived not long after dark, so it couldn’t be too long now before they reached Hogwarts. Gordon felt his stomach leap at the thought of the school, although it might just have been rumbling.
‘We should probably get changed into our robes,’ said Percy, looking up from his book for the first time in two hours. ‘It looks like we’re nearly there.’
There was a murmur of consensus, and the five of them began pulling on their uniforms. Gordon noticed that his trousers seemed to have several holes left in them from their time in the forest, while Luke had grown a little too much for his, and was showing a healthy amount of sock.
By the time the train ground to a halt by the platform, Gordon’s stomach grumbling was now loud enough for the whole compartment to hear, and he was aching to get up to the castle to get stuck into the feast. With the same mad rush as last year, almost everyone tried to get off the train as fast as they could, and Gordon found himself in the familiar tidal wave of people spilling out of the train and onto the platform. Gordon saw Hagrid’s familiar face appear on the far side of the platform, calling the first-years over to him.
‘What happens to us now?’ said Luke, as Hagrid began amassing first-years to their right.
‘What do you mean?’ asked Gordon, whose mind was still on the feast.
‘Well, if we don’t get to the castle with Hagrid, how do we get there?’
Gordon shrugged. In truth he hadn’t thought about how the rest of the school got up to Hogwarts, but some of the older students had begun heading up a rough mud track.
‘We follow them, I guess,’ said Oliver.
The five of them did not have long to go before they saw what looked like over a hundred stagecoaches. Each of them had the Hogwarts crest carved ornately into their sides, illuminated by the soft blue flame from the lanterns hanging from the front. The stagecoaches were apparently drawn, like the boats the first-years would now be getting into on the lake, by magic, since they didn’t seem to have any steeds to pull them along.
‘They’re weird things, aren’t they?’ said Luke, staring at the nearest carriage.
‘Since when has Hogwarts ever struck you as normal?’ replied Gordon with a shrug, before pulling himself aboard.
The coach had a rather musty smell about it, and its seats seemed a great deal tattier than those on the Hogwarts express. Gordon found himself budging up as Luke, Oliver, Kyle and eventually Percy climbed aboard, until they were all crammed rather tightly inside. Then, when Percy had shut the door, the carriage began to move forward.
Gordon felt that the first-years probably had the better deal. The magic that propelled the boats meant they were a perfectly smooth ride even when the lake was choppy. Yet the magic on these carriages seemed to have been designed to make it seem like they really were drawn by horses, and their carriage swayed along rather bumpily, squeaking ominously every few seconds.
The journey in the carriage was thankfully quite brief, and it wasn’t long before the huge wrought iron gates came into view, the winged boars on each side of them looking magnificent in the moonlight. Before long the carriage had come to a stop in front of the castle, and they all got out and began following the other students through the giant oak doors into the Entrance Hall, and then into the Great Hall.
Gordon nearly broke into a run as he saw the goblets and plates lined up on the tables, and eagerly took a seat on the Gryffindor table. Tonight the enchanted ceiling was clear and starry, and Gordon found himself trying to remember the constellations he had learned in Astronomy last year. Soon the tables had begun to fill up, until the only places left were for the first-years.
‘Where are the bloody first-years?’ said Gordon, rapping his fingers on the table and staring at the empty bowls in front of him, ‘I’m starving!’
‘They be here soon,’ said Luke, staring up towards the staff table. ‘Looks like they found another guy in the Hollowhorn-mould for Defence Against the Dark Arts.’
Gordon, more out of a desire to take his mind off his rumbling stomach than anything else, looked up at the staff table. In the place next to Professor Snape where Professor Hollowhorn had sat last year, there was now an old oriental gentleman, who appeared to have the same taste for wispy beards as his predecessor. Amusingly, the man also had his hair tied up in a strange sort of bun, and eyebrows with ends that draped down almost as far as his beard.
‘Yeah,’ replied Gordon. ‘You know when we got those books in Flourish and Blotts, I kind of thought the teacher would be a little more…’
‘“ Young?’ interrupted Luke.
Gordon shrugged. Privately he didn’t know what he had expected, but it hadn’t been the teacher he was looking at now. The Defence Against the Dark Arts books they had bought were immensely heavy, and yet they once again had a teacher who looked like the strain of picking one up would kill him.
‘Strong,’ said Gordon eventually, ‘someone with a bit of muscle to him.’
Luke nodded thoughtfully to this as the final students traipsed in through the main doors. They were eventually followed in by Bill, much to Percy’s delight, who pulled the doors shut behind him, and took a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table. At the other end of the Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat, his presence alone casting a wave of silence over the chattering crowds of students in front of him. He gave a faint nod to Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor house, who left through a small door by the staff table.
‘Are we expecting anyone?’ said Gordon, spotting the Sorting Hat sitting on the edge of the staff table.
‘No one I know,’ said Percy, who somehow seemed to be sitting up even straighter than normal. ‘Fred and George come to Hogwarts next year, if Professor Dumbledore accepts them. I must say the idea of the pair of them learning magic rather frightens me.’
Oliver looked over to Percy with quite a puzzled expression as Gordon stifled a laugh with his sleeve. Evidently Oliver had not read the parts in Percy’s letters about his younger twin brothers.
‘Yes, well,’ replied Percy, obviously spotting Gordon’s amusement. ‘They don’t seem to place quite as much importance on the rules as the rest of the family. I’d like to think it’s just their age, but I would never have done half the things they do. Ah! Here we are!’
Percy pointed up to the door by the staff table, where Professor McGonagall was silently leading out a line of apparently terrified first-years.
‘Look at the state of them!’ whispered Luke, pointing to a small brown haired boy who looked like he was in a state of shock. ‘I’m sure I we weren’t that small when we came here!’
Gordon thought back to the previous year, when he had stood at the front of the school waiting to be sorted. As Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on the stool, he was reminded of what the hat had said to him before it had placed him in Gryffindor. His stomach seemed to tighten at the memory, before growling loudly to remind him how hungry he was. His mind was closer to the roast potatoes he would soon be eating when the tear near the brim of the hat opened, and it burst into song.
‘A wizard’s hat, it has been said,
holds strength beyond its threads.
A clever hat, it is remarked,
Does more than sit on heads.
No stronger crown, no smarter cap,
Will you find here than me,
For I do more than judge you all,
I tell you what you’ll be.
This Sorting Hat has seen some days,
And read many a mind.
Some became great, some remained meek,
But all I did define.
I take no pride in this, I say,
For choices you have still.
And rest assured I never have,
Forced men against their will.
Brave folks I’ve placed without a doubt,
In boldest Gryffindor.
To make wizards so fierce of heart,
To fight what lies in store.
In Ravenclaw I placed the few,
Those wise beyond the rest.
Where sharpened wit befits the wand,
And fit minds function best.
So many went to Hufflepuff,
Where hard work is so praised.
The kinder hearts, the humbler souls,
Sought far more peaceful days.
And those who went to Slytherin,
A house misunderstood.
For cunning praised, and less valour,
But still not without good.
Yet no house denies you strength,
No founder was a fool.
No student passed beneath my brim,
Has died thinking me cruel.
I cannot offer glory to,
All those who try me on.
But your desires I can show,
And the house where you belong!’
The entire hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song, although Gordon noticed many of the Gryffindors further up the table were still running over what it had said about Slytherin. Once again, Gordon found himself thinking of what the Hat had said to him last year.
‘I’m sure the song wasn’t as long last year,’ said Oliver, as Professor McGonagall began addressing the first-years, ‘that one seemed to go on forever.’
‘It probably just seems shorter when you’re up there,’ said Luke, once more examining the awaiting first-years with great interest. ‘Ready to boo those who get put in Slytherin?’
Percy was just about to utter a horrified reply, when Professor McGonagall called out the first name.
‘Aekwith, Melanie!’
Gordon watched a scared and rather pink-faced blonde-haired girl walk intrepidly over to the stool where the Hat was sat, before placing it upon her head. A few seconds passed before the tear in the Hat opened…
‘RAVENCLAW!’ belted out the Hat.
The girl ran off to join the Ravenclaw table, where she was greeted by several people in a rather Percy-like manner. Gordon, who hadn’t really spoken to the Ravenclaws much in his own first-year, wondered what the Hat had said to Percy to put him in Gryffindor.
‘Allbreck, Robert!’
A scrawny looking boy walked over to the Hat and put it on. A moment passed before…
‘HUFFLEPUFF!’ shouted the Hat, and the boy ran off to join the rest of the Hufflepuffs.
‘Brickerstaff, Boswell!’
This time a rather tubby-looking boy walked over to the Hat, seemingly uncomforted by the progress of the two first-years before him. As he nervously pulled the Hat onto his head, some of his blond curls poked through the tear, making the Sorting Hat look like it had a strange sort of beard.
‘GRYFFINDOR!’ shouted the Hat, although the boy’s hair slightly muffled the cry, much to the amusement of the Slytherins. Gordon applauded with the rest of the Gryffindors as he watched the boy tear up towards the table beside them. The boy took a seat next to Percy, who seized his hand and began shaking it vigorously.
‘Welcome to Gryffindor!’ began Percy, who still hadn’t let go of the boy’s hand. ‘I’m Percy Weasley! Jolly good to meet you!’
Gordon, exchanging a quick look with Luke, decided that it was probably his duty not to let the task of greeting the new Gryffindors rest solely with Percy, and leaned over.
‘My name’s Gordon, and don’t worry, we’re not all as polite as Percy here.’
Gordon gave the boy a wink as he said this, though the boy looked as nervous as ever. Oliver and Kyle had begun introducing themselves as Gordon heard the Hat yell out “SLYTHERIN!”. The boy then looked over towards Luke, who was staring vacantly in the direction of the Hat, apparently having taken very little notice that he had arrived.
‘Hey,’ said Gordon, reaching over and tugging Luke’s sleeve, ‘earth to Luke, earth to Luke, we’ve a new Gryffindor here.’
Luke’s features briefly twisted through a particularly stupid-looking expression as his eyes drifted over towards Gordon.
‘Huh? Oh. Yeah, yeah that’s great,’ he replied, as another girl was put into Slytherin.
‘Aren’t you going to say hello?’ said Kyle, who seemed to be finding Luke’s ignorance far more amusing than the rest of them.
‘What?’ said Luke, turning round and apparently seeing the first-year for the first time. ‘Oh! Hi. Welcome to Gryffindor, and all that.’
Luke turned back towards the sorting and Gordon shook his head before applauding another first-year who came rushing towards the Gryffindor table.
Before long all of the first-years had been sorted into their various houses, and Gordon was twiddling his fork between his fingers, wondering how much longer he would have to wait before the food arrived.
‘Good evening!’ said Professor Dumbledore, beaming down at them all with arms wide open. ‘And so we find ourselves at the beginning of another year. I trust our newcomers will enjoy their stay…’
‘Come on…’ muttered Gordon under his breath, twirling his fork faster than ever.
‘…and I trust our old hands will do their very best to welcome them!’ beamed Dumbledore. ‘Let the feast begin!’
Almost immediately as the golden plates and bowls in front of him filled with food, Gordon launched himself fork first into the potatoes, spearing several in one go and shoving them all into his mouth. Without pausing to chew, he immediately began spooning carrots onto his plate, then several sausages, followed by some more potatoes and then a large spoonful of cabbage.
‘You got enough there, Giz?’ laughed Luke, helping himself to some chicken.
‘’m bw’d’sh ‘t’rv’n,’ said Gordon, through a mouthful of potato.
‘You know,’ began Percy. ‘We are meant to be setting a good example to the first-years, and in my books that would include good table manners.’
‘S’rry,’ said Gordon, before swallowing his mouthful. ‘Sorry. But I haven’t eaten since breakfast.’
‘Need I remind you “’
‘No, we’re okay thanks, Perce,’ said Luke, without looking up. Gordon laughed out loud, covering Percy in a mouthful of chewed carrot.
‘Scourgify!’ said Luke, removing most of the carrot from Percy with an idle flick of his wand and turning back to his own meal.
Gordon had managed to eat third helpings of just about everything by the time everybody else had finished. He was busy wrapping up several large pieces of cake in napkin, when the food vanished from the bowls and Professor Dumbledore stood up again.
‘Now that we’ve taken care of that,’ said Dumbledore with a smile, as Gordon hastily pocketed the cake, ‘I have a few start of term notices to give you all.
‘Firstly, I would like you all to welcome your new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Shuan-Qu!’
The old oriental gentlemen next to Professor Snape stood up and gave a small bow, while most of the hall clapped rather unenthusiastically. Given their previous teacher, Gordon supposed most of them were reserving their judgement on him.
‘He has graciously offered his services to us this year,’ said Dumbledore jovially, his eyes twinkling quite as much as ever, ‘I trust you will all treat him with the respect you give all us.’
Luke snorted rather loudly at this, while Percy shot him a don’t-you-dare sort of look.
‘Quidditch trials are to take place in the second week of term, as I’m sure you’re all well accustomed to by now…’
Gordon’s stomach jolted as Professor Dumbledore said the word Quidditch. Opposite him Oliver gave him a sly wink.
‘…first-years should note that the Forest in the grounds is forbidden to all students…’
‘…and not without good reason,’ said Luke, as Gordon nodded. Their excursions into the forbidden forest last year had led them to run into a furious Hagrid, been choked by some Devil’s Snare, and nearly being eaten alive by a wyvern. From the stern talking to they had received from Professor McGonagall afterwards, Gordon guessed that was a relatively uneventful visit.
‘…but I think now we are all a little too full for any more notices, and I shall bid you all a very good night!’ said Dumbledore, with one last smile.
‘How long do you reckon they’ve had that Sorting Hat?’ said Gordon, as the near silence was broken by the sound of a hundred benches being scraped out from under their tables. ‘You’d have thought they could just ask people where they wanted to go.’
‘Oh, it’s a Hogwarts tradition,’ replied Percy, getting up. ‘I was talking to my father about it over summer. Apparently it’s been there since at least my great grandfather’s time. Probably a great deal longer than that.’
‘It does seem a little unnecessary though,’ said Luke, ‘half of the first-years looked absolutely petrified.’
‘Well, it’s their first day. You’d be surprised if they weren’t a little nervous,’ said Oliver, as the five of them walked through the Great Halls huge doors.
‘It’s not just that though. The whole thing with it talking in your ear, is it really fair to do that in front of the whole school?’ replied Luke.
Gordon found the memory of what the hat had said to him last year once again swimming to the front of his mind. For a moment he thought about telling them what it had said to him, but somehow the words got lost in his throat.
‘Well, it’s character building,’ said Percy, now leading them up the marble staircase. ‘I’m sure they wouldn’t use it if they thought it did any harm.’
‘And since when have they given any thought to avoiding harm to students?’ said Luke. ‘Have you ever seen the hospital wing empty?’
‘So now you’re complaining about being allowed to get into dangerous situations are you?’ replied Percy, a smile twitching around the corners of his mouth.
‘No,’ said Luke. ‘I don’t know, it’s just “’
‘What it is,’ interrupted Percy, ‘is that once again you’re looking for faults where there aren’t any, because you want to be seen as more intelligent. Only once again, the very point you’re making is totally against what you seem to want. Why not accept for a change that you don’t have all the answers and that you’re actually wrong about some things?’
Gordon didn’t know what to say. In all the time he had known Percy he had never reacted to anything Luke had said, and to respond like that was most unlike him.
‘Get lost, Percy,’ muttered Luke, his face growing increasingly red.
‘What have you got against the Hat then?’ replied Percy, ignoring Luke’s last statement and carrying on the conversation.
‘Nothing!’ snapped Luke, his whole face now glowing red.
‘What did the Sorting Hat say to you?’ said Percy with a smile, reminding Gordon of Luke’s own way of pursuing such conversations.
‘That’s none of your business,’ said Luke coldly, who didn’t say another word on their way to the Gryffindor tower.
By the time they reached the common room, Gordon had been up for far longer than he would have liked and was ready for bed. Unfortunately, Luke was still fuming, and when Percy had decided to head off to the dormitories Luke had sat resolutely down at one of the common room tables. Feeling that it was rather his duty to stay with his friend, Gordon had reluctantly sat down too, rather wishing that the conversation could have taken place when he was a little more awake.
‘I can’t believe him!’ spat Luke, who was still quite red in the face, ‘like he’s Mr Bloody Perfect.’
‘Yeah,’ said Gordon, feeling it was probably best to just let Luke do the talking.
‘He’s just bitter that the Hat didn’t put him in Ravenclaw, I reckon. He must have been devastated when he ended up in Gryffindor.’
Gordon nodded, although he couldn’t agree completely with Luke. Percy had never seemed anything other than pleased that he ended up in Gryffindor, and all his brothers were there. Yet he wasn’t exactly the model Gryffindor student, and there was more than a hint of Ravenclaw about him.
‘I’ll get him back for this, mark my words!’ snapped Luke, bringing his fist forcefully down on the table. ‘He’ll be sorry!’
‘I don’t know what you’re planning,’ said Gordon with a sigh, ‘but it probably isn’t a good idea. If anyone was going to tell a teacher about you then it was Percy. Besides which, it’s not like he was completely wrong “’
Luke fixed Gordon with an icy stare that suggested any hint that Percy was right would be considered high treachery, and Gordon quickly changed tack.
‘“ though I have to agree with you about the Hat. It’s unfair to have the whole school looking at you when it sorts you.’
Luke did not reply, but continued to stare rather fixedly at Gordon, who was desperately trying to find a way to bring the conversation to a conclusion so he could get to bed.
‘What did the Sorting Hat say to you?’ said Gordon eventually, thinking about what the hat had said to him, and how it had made him feel.
‘As I said,’ replied Luke coldly, ‘that is none of your business.’
‘You said that to Percy, not to me,’ said Gordon, who was beginning to wonder why he was having this conversation if Luke was going to be so insulting. ‘You can tell me, surely.’
Luke seemed to bite his lip for a second, as if weighing up his own response. Gordon waited for him to say something, but he didn’t seem to want to speak.
‘Only, well, don’t judge me on this,’ said Gordon nervously, ‘but I think it wanted to put me in Slytherin.’
‘What?’ asked Luke, dropping his icy tone immediately.
‘I know,’ sighed Gordon. ‘I didn’t want to tell anyone, but it said I was cunning rather than brave, and…and it said I had a path littered with darkness, or something.’
Gordon found himself staring at his shoes. Now he had started he felt he had to get the whole thing out of his system, but a lump was rising in his throat, and it didn’t feel nearly as good talking about it as he at thought it would. In fact, considering he had only stayed in the common room to calm down Luke, he felt doubly aggrieved at the situation. He looked up to see how Luke was reacting to this, but to Gordon’s fury his face was a picture of joy.
‘Really?’ said Luke brightly, with an irritating lack of empathy.
‘How can you smile at that?’ snapped Gordon, feeling the lump grow in his throat, ‘you think I belong in Slytherin?’
‘And you think I do?’ chuckled Luke back.
‘Yeah! Sometimes I do!’ snapped Gordon. ‘Percy was right! It is all about you! You couldn’t give a damn what happens to anyone else…’
Gordon felt the last of the words die in his throat, though he was desperate to throw as many more at Luke as he could. At least Luke had stopped smiling now, but as far as Gordon was concerned it was too little too late…
‘It said the same thing to me,’ said Luke simply.
‘It…it did?’ said Gordon, who hadn’t expected this at all.
‘It said I was more cunning than brave, and that I’d see it again. And…’ Luke gritted his teeth as he spoke, ‘…Percy was right. That’s what bothered me about the Hat, or it did until now.’
Gordon felt his anger subside, but wasn’t entirely relieved at this.
‘So at least we’ll end up in Slytherin together,’ he said, despondently. Luke shook his head at this.
‘I think you’re rather missing the point,’ replied Luke. ‘I don’t think we’re the only ones that hat said that to. In fact I doubt there’s been too many Gryffindors it hasn’t said that to.’
‘What?’ said Gordon, who couldn’t see how Luke had arrived at this point.
‘Come on, Giz, think about it! The two houses don’t get on, and no Gryffindor would ever like to end up in Slytherin. It’s only saying that to make us proud to be here!’
Gordon stared at Luke for a second. His conclusion was all very well and good, but Gordon hadn’t managed to explain just how personal the hat had been. He was sure the reasons it had given for him to be put in Slytherin were more than just a practiced routine.
‘Look, I’ll prove it to you,’ said Luke, spotting Gordon’s scepticism and now looking around the common room. ‘Right, here we are. Bill! BILL!’
On the other side of the common room Bill Weasley looked up from his conversation. He was sat at a table with Emily Sturrock, a prefect and Gryffindor chaser. Bill looked rather irritated by the interruption, but said something to Emily and got up and walked over to them.
‘Can I help you with something?’ said Bill, with a note of impatience in his voice.
‘It’s just one quick thing,’ said Luke, ‘do people ever move houses at Hogwarts?’ Luke apparently tried to make the question quite normal, but Bill seemed to spot something was up, and raised an eyebrow.
‘What’s wrong? I thought you liked it in Gryffindor?’
‘Oh, we don’t want to move, we’re just wondering if anybody could, or if they ever make changes, you know.’
‘Ah,’ said Bill, ‘is this something to do with the Sorting Hat?’
‘How did you guess?’ said Luke.
‘I managed to catch half of your conversation before. You know, when you were shouting?’
Luke went rather red at this. Gordon thought he was rather overreacting, before realising that as well as being head boy, Bill was also Percy’s brother. Given the amount Percy had gone on about making him head boy, Gordon wondered how he and Luke could’ve forgotten.
‘Well, you’re not the first to get riled up by Percy,’ said Bill, smiling, ‘and I don’t suppose for a second you’ll be the last either. He’s a good kid at heart.’
Gordon, who rather felt being a “good kid” was Percy’s problem, exchanged a look with Luke. Bill shrugged and continued.
‘Anyway, the Sorting Hat said something you didn’t like?’
‘Yeah,’ replied Luke, ‘it said we could be in Slytherin.’
Gordon felt that considering he had been so secretive of this information before, it was rather reckless of him to go telling the head boy about it, but Bill did not seem in the least bit surprised.
‘You two, me and half of Gryffindor I guess,’ he replied, and shrugged his shoulders.
‘You nearly ended up in Slytherin?’ blurted out Gordon, in spite of himself.
‘It mentioned it, though I wouldn’t call that nearly. It seems to say that to a great deal of people. It’s just the way it works I guess.’
‘And no one moves houses?’ said Luke with a smile.
‘Well no one has in my time,’ replied Bill, ‘of course, the school is nearly over a thousand years old, so I guess someone might have transferred at some point, but it’s not something I’d worry about.’
‘Told you,’ said a grinning Luke to Gordon, who was now feeling considerably better about the situation.
‘Is that all?’ said Bill, ‘only I was talking to Emily and “’
‘Yeah that’s it,’ said Luke, turning away from Bill to Gordon. ‘So it looks like we’re going to be in Gryffindor for a long time yet.’
Gordon felt a wave of relief spread through him as he watched Bill turn and walk back to his table, muttering something about being head boy as his red ponytail bounced on his back behind him. Had he been stupid to worry about it? It seemed so obvious now, but all through the sorting it had felt like a shadow standing over him.
‘Well, I’m shattered,’ said Luke, failing to stifle a huge yawn. ‘We should probably get to bed.’
‘And do you think you’re going to forgive Percy?’ replied Gordon.
Luke turned to Gordon and responded with a grin that seemed to go from ear to ear.
‘Well, let’s not be too hasty…’