Conflicts

Almost at 9:45 Sirius came in a black car.

"Brought this few days ago. Isn't beautiful?" Sirius said showing the car.

"It is." Chris said grinning.

"I always loved muggle things. Have I told you I had a motorbike?"

"Oh! I know, you gave it to Hagrid, right?" Harry said.

Sirius nodded as his smile started to disappear from his face.

"But how are we going to fit in Sirius? I mean is this like Mr Weasley's old car?" Harry asked.

"Go and check it." Sirius said pulling the door.

Chris also peaked inside with Harry, Ron and Ginny. It really was beautiful. It was clear that it was a very luxurious car, Sirius had made big space in it with magic, 'course.

Bill and Charlie decided to come and see everyone off at King's Cross station, but Percy, apologizing most profusely, said that he really needed to get to work.

"I just can't justify taking more time off at the moment," he told them. "Mr. Crouch is really starting to rely on me."

"Yeah, you know what, Percy?" said George seriously. "I reckon he'll know your name soon."

And as Percy Disapparated, Everyone burst into laughs, except Mrs Weasley.

Then they all gathered their trunks and pets; and climbed into the car. Sirius asked Harry to sit beside him, which he did. It was really delightful to watch Harry and Sirius, as it was difficult to guess who was looking more happy. Sirius who was seeing off his godson to his school for the first time or Harry who was grinning sitting beside Sirius.

Finally they arrived at King's Cross, even though the rain was coming down harder than ever, and they got soaked carrying their trunks across the busy road and into the station.; almost everyone looked happy and cheerful.

To get to the platform nine and three quarter, the students had to cross a solid barrier between platform nine and ten. They always had been careful so they don't attract any unnecessary muggle attention. Chris and Ginny crossed the barrier after Ron and Hermione, and as they did so, platform nine and three-quarters materialized in front of them.

The Hogwarts Express, a gleaming scarlet steam engine, was al­ready there, clouds of steam billowing from it, through which the many Hogwarts students and parents on the platform appeared like dark ghosts.

Sirius, Bill and Charlie helped them with their trunks.

"Have fun Harry." Sirius said grinning.

Harry hugged him grinning as well.

"All of you have a great year." Sirius said turning to others. "Have lots of fun."

Fred and George grinned.

"Oh they're already having enough of that." Mrs Weasley said looking at the twins sternly. "Don't you dare encourage them more Sirius."

"Oh C'mon Molly. It's their time to have a little fun." Sirius said smiling mischievously.

"You said the same thing when you four came to see them first time and you Transfigure both of them into tiger cubs." Mrs Weasley said raising her eyebrows.

"Really?" Said Fred and George together.

"... er... sorry about that... I got carried away a little that time." Sirius said looking away.

"That's wicked, Mr Black." George said grinning.

"Oh what do expect from Padfoot, George?" Chris said laughing with others.

"Padfoot?" Fred said shocked. "Did you said Padfoot? He's not The Padfoot, is he?"

"Actually he IS." Harry replied.

"Oh My God." Fred and George shouted together. "We've so much to talk about with you."

But at that moment, the whistle blew, and Mrs. Weasley chivvied them toward the train doors.

"Later boys." Sirius said with a mischievous grin.

Mrs Weasley shook her head in disapproval.

"I might be seeing you all sooner than you think," said Charlie, grinning, as he hugged Ginny good-bye.

"Again with your mystery. Isn't it?" Chris said rolling her eyes. "Go away Charlie."

"Bye." Charlie said laughing.

"You'll find out this evening, Chris dear," said Mrs. Weasley, smil­ing. "It's going to be very exciting — mind you, I'm very glad they've changed the rules —"

"What rules?" said Harry, Ron, Fred, and George together.

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will tell you. … Now, behave, won't you?" Mrs Weasley said smiling.

"Thanks for having us to stay, Mrs. Weasley," said Hermione as she leaned out of the win­dow to talk to her.

"Yeah, thanks for everything, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry.

"Oh it was my pleasure, dears," said Mrs. Weasley.

"Thanks for everything this summer Mrs Weasley." Chris said smiling.

"Oh I'm really going you miss you dear. You're a lovely girl. Have a great term." Mrs Weasley said smiling more broadly.

As the train started to move, Bill, Charlie, Mrs Weasley and Sirius waved and smiled to them. All of them waved back as the train rounded the corner.

"So who's Prongs, Moony and Wormtail?" Fred asked to Harry as they started to get into their compartments.

"Prongs is my Dad..." Harry grinned.

"Moony is Professors Lupin." Hermione said next.

"And Wormtail?" George asked.

"Do you really need to ask that?" Chris said pointing at Ron.

"Scabbers! Peter Pettigrew!" Fred and George exclaimed together.

"That's really cool Harry." Fred said.

Fred and George went to meet their friends and Harry, Ron and Hermione went to sit in an empty compartment. Chris and Ginny went to search Luna and Colin.

As they were walking, while looking into the different compartments, Chris noticed few familiar faeces in a compartment. Jason Fawley, Astoria Greengrass, Theodore Nott were sitting with an another blonde haired girl. Astoria noticed her.

"Hey." She said smiling.

"Hi Astoria. How's your leg?" Chris asked looking as casual as possible.

She saw through the corner of her eye that Jason was staring at her.

"My leg is fine." Astoria said and turned towards the blonde haired girl. "Daphne, it's Chris. I told you about her."

Daphne raised an eyebrow on Chris, "So you're the muggle-born who saved my sister?"

Jason and Theodore both coughed. Astoria looked startled.

"Yes." Chris replied simply ignoring her tone.

"I think we should go Chris." Ginny said curty looking at Daphne and it was very clear that she didn't like Daphne at all.

"You're the Weasley girl, aren't you?" Daphne asked Ginny.

"Yes I'm and what's up with that tone?" Ginny asked directly.

"Oh ignore her tone. She talked like this with everyone." Theodore said suddenly.

"Yeah. She didn't mean anything bad. Really." Astoria said to Chris.

"It's fine. Honestly I don't mind this kind of things anymore. Relax." Chris said calmly. "See you later."

She looked at Jason, who just looked away. Chris smiled and walked away with Ginny.

Few minitues later they found, Luna and Colin sitting with a new tiny boy.

"Hey Colin, how was your summer?" Chris asked sitting beside Luna.

"Great. Dad took us for picnic this summer." Colin said excitedly. "Oh and yes, meet my younger brother Dennis."

The tiny little boy smiled at them.

"Hello Dennis." Chris said smiling.

"Dennis, this is Chris and she is Ginny." Colin said pointing at them.

"Chris what about the article? Have you decided yet?" Luna asked suddenly.

"Oh yes. I've talked to Harry. He'll give an answer soon and if he says yes then I'm writing." Chris said grinning. "I'm really excited to try something new."

"Me too." Suddenly squealed Dennis. "I've heard about Hogwarts and I'm really excited to see it. It's a new thing for me so it's counts right?"

"Yes it does." Ginny said smiling.

And the rest of the ride went by laughing and talking. Dennis was really hilarious, more than his brother.

The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved farther north. The sky was so dark and the windows so steamy that the lanterns were lit by midday. The lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor, Dennis get so excited to see the trolley that he wanted to taste everything. Colin brought few Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans for him. Seeing his curious face while looking at the chocolate frogs and Cauldron Cakes, Chris laughed and brought few of them. Colin protested but Chris ignored him. She gave the cauldron cakes to everyone and the Chocolate frogs to Dennis. Chris brought few Drooble's Best Blowing Gums for herself.

Then she sat beside the window, chewing her blowing gums. The thick rain splattering the windows made it very difficult to see out. Chris just watched the rain, silently, for the rest of the journey, as her friends talked about different Hogwarts houses, Quidditch and tell stories about their last two years to Dennis. Chris felt happy, calm and peaceful; she realized she was finally getting used to this life and no matter what any creepy voices say, she is not going back. She have started to accept things the way they're.

Finally the Hogwarts Express slowed down at last and stopped in the pitch-darkness of Hogsmeade station.

As the train doors opened, there was a rumble of thunder over­head. Chris, Ginny, Luna, Colin and Dennis came out from the train and narrowed their eyes to see in against the downpour. The rain was now coming down so thick and fast that it was as though buckets of ice-cold water were being emptied repeatedly over their heads.

"Oh this is ridiculous." Chris said angrily as she tried to look around but the rain was too much. "Impervius" she hold her wand up like an umbrella and it stopped the raindrops from falling on her. The water went sideways.

"Cool." Dennis said happily. "Can I do it?"

"No. Look over at that giant man." Colin pointed at Hagrid who was talking to Harry, Ron and Hermione. "He's Hagrid. You'll go with him. I'll meet you at the Great Hall."

Dennis grinned looking at Hagrid, then nodded and went towards Hagrid. Luna and Ginny already followed Chris and use their wands like an umbrella as they inched slowly along the dark platform with the rest of the crowd. A hundred horseless carriages stood waiting for them outside the station. Actually they were pulled by Thestrals, creatures only seen by people who have witnessed death. Chris, Ginny, Luna and Colin climbed into one of them, the door shut with a snap, and a few moments later, with a great lurch, the long procession of carriages was rumbling and splashing its way up the track toward Hogwarts Castle.

Soon the Hogwarts castle drew near and lightning flashed across the sky as their carriage came to a halt before the great oak front doors, which stood at the top of a flight of stone steps. People who had occupied the carriages in front were already hurrying up the stone steps into the castle. Chris, Ginny, Luna and Colin get down from their carriage and dashed up the steps too, looking up only when they were safely inside the cavernous, torch-lit entrance hall, with its magnificent marble staircase.

"That spell was really cool Chris. Will you teach me?" Asked Colin, who was more drenched comparing to three girls.

"Sure." Chris replied.

"And also teach that disarming and paralyzing spell...." Colin continued.

"Are you trying to look cool in front your brother, Colin?" Ginny asked chuckling.

"Yeah. No. Why?" Colin was clearly embarrassed.

"It's alright Colin. You don't have to worry. You know more than him." Luna said.

"No. It's just... I was worried if he wants my help with something and if I don't know how to do it, then?" Colin said seriously.

"Then we all will help him. He's really cute." Luna said smiling.

Colin sighed with relif. "Thank you... I..."

But before he can finish a large, red, water-filled balloon had dropped from out of the ceiling onto Luna's head and exploded. Drenched and sputtering, Luna staggered sideways into Colin, just as a second water bomb dropped — narrowly missing Ginny, it burst at Chris's feet, sending a wave of cold water over her knees and into her socks. Peo­ple all around them shrieked and started pushing one another in their efforts to get out of the line of fire. Chris looked up and saw, floating twenty feet above them, Peeves the Poltergeist, a little man in a bell-covered hat and orange bow tie, his wide, malicious face contorted with concentration as he took aim again.

"Oh Peeves!" Ginny said angrily.

"PEEVES!" yelled an another angry voice. "Peeves, come down here at ONCE!"

Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and head of Gryf­findor House, had come dashing out of the Great Hall; she skidded on the wet floor and grabbed Chris around the neck to stop herself from falling.

"Ouch .... sorry, Miss Norton ...."

"... er... that's fine... Professor! I guess..." Chris gasped, massaging her throat.

"Peeves, get down here NOW!" barked Professor McGonagall, straightening her pointed hat and glaring upward through her square-rimmed spectacles.

"Not doing nothing!" cackled Peeves, lobbing a water bomb at Ron, who muttered something angrily. "Already wet, aren't they? Little squirts! Wheeeeeeeeee!" And he aimed another bomb at a group of second years who had just arrived.

"I shall call the headmaster!" shouted Professor McGonagall. "I'm warning you, Peeves ..."

Peeves stuck out his tongue, threw the last of his water bombs into Hermione or Harry, and zoomed off up the marble staircase, cackling insanely.

"Well, move along, then!" said Professor McGonagall sharply to the bedraggled crowd. "Into the Great Hall, come on!"

The effort, Luna and Ginny had made by using that water repelling spell in the rain was now wasted because of Peeves. They walked fully drenched like Colin, through the double doors into the Great Hall.

They walked past the Slytherins, and as the Ravenclaws table came, Luna went to sit with her fellow Ravenclaws. Then Chris, Ginny and Colin walked past Hufflepuffs, and sat down with the rest of the Gryffindors at the far side of the Hall, next to Angelina Johnson, a sixth year student, and the Gryffindor Chaser along with Ginny and Chris. She was talking with Alicia Spinet and Katie Bell, who were also Chasers for Gryffindor before Chris and Ginny.

"Hey Chris! Hey Ginny!" Angelina Johnson said smiling as she noticed them.

"Hi Angelina." Chris replied.

"How are you?" Ginny asked.

"I'm good. Did you two went to the World Cup?" Angelina asked.

"Yeah. Ireland's Chasers were incredible. Aren't they?" Ginny said happily.

"They're. Really good." Said Katie Bell, who was in Fifth year.

"I liked the way they played. They had an excellent understanding between them." Alicia Spinet said, a sixth year.

As they talked about Quidditch a little more, the big oak double door opened and Professor McGonagall was leading a long line of first years up to the top of the Hall. If Chris, Ginny and Colin were wet, it was nothing to how these first years looked. They appeared to have swum across the lake rather than sailed. All of them were shivering with a combination of cold and nerves as they filed along the staff table and came to a halt in a line facing the rest of the school — all of them except the smallest of the lot, a boy with mousy hair, who was wrapped in a moleskin overcoat.

Chris, Ginny and Colin who were looking for Colin's brother Dennis, soon realized the boy in that big coat was Dennis. The coat was so big for him that it looked as though he were draped in a furry black circus tent. His small face protruded from over the collar, looking almost painfully excited.

".... er... Colin, why is Dennis wrapped in Hagrid's coat?" Chris asked controlling her laugh.

"I don't know." Colin replied when Dennis had lined up with his terrified-looking peers, he caught Colin's eye, gave a double thumbs-up, and mouthed, "I fell in the lake!" He looked positively delighted about it.

And that's it, Chris couldn't control it anymore, she and Ginny burst into laughs. Colin joined them as well.

"Your brother is extraordinary as much as you Colin." Ginny said laughing.

"I just hope he is in Gryffindor." Colin said still grinning.

Soon the Sorting Hat finished its weirdest song, which Chris never bothered to listen from her own sorting. Then Professor McGonagall started to call the names of the students. Crossing his fingers Colin waited for his brothers name. After four or five names Professor McGonagall called, "Creevey, Dennis!"

Tiny Dennis staggered forward, tripping over Hagrid's moleskin, just as Hagrid himself sidled into the Hall through a door behind the teachers' table. About twice as tall as a normal man, and at least three times as broad, Hagrid, with his long, wild, tangled black hair and beard, He sat down at the end of the staff table and watched Dennis Creevey putting on the Sorting Hat. The rip at the brim opened wide —

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.

Colin almost jumped from his seat, Chris and Ginny clapped with the other Gryffindors. Hagrid also clapped as Dennis, beaming widely, took off the hat, placed it back on the stool, and hurried over to join his brother.

"Colin, I fell in!" he said shrilly, throwing himself into an empty seat beside Colin. "It was brilliant! And something in the water grabbed me and pushed me back in the boat!"

"Cool!" said Colin, just as excitedly.

"It was probably the giant squid, Dennis!" Chris said smiling. "And congratulations on making into Gryffindor."

"Wow!" said Dennis, as though nobody in their wildest dreams could hope for more than being thrown into a storm-tossed, fath­oms-deep lake, and pushed out of it again by a giant sea monster. "And thanks. Will you teach me some cool spells like that you did at the station?"

"The Professors know more than me Dennis. They'll teach you, don't worry." Chris replied.

"Ok." He said as he looked at the empty plates on the table.

"They're going to fill after the Sorting ceremony." Ginny said understanding his curious gaze.

He looked at Colin, who nodded.

"You're about to have your best dinner ever, Dennis." He said grinning.

Few more students made their way to Gryffindor table and finally Professor McGonagall rolled the parchment and walked away carrying the stool.

Dennis looked expectantly at the plates, Chris saw Professor Dumbledore had gotten to his feet. He was smiling around at the students, his arms opened wide in welcome.

"I have only two words to say to you," he told them, his deep voice echoing around the Hall. "Tuck in."

"Hear, hear!" Chris heard Harry and Ron saying loudly as the empty dishes filled magically before their eyes.

"Do you know who is that Dennis?" Colin said pointing at Harry who was not very far from them.

Dennis who busy filling his plate looked up.

"It's Harry Potter. I showed you his pictures, remember?" Colin said smiling.

Dennis nodded and started eating.

"Leave a little place for desert Dennis. You wouldn't want to miss it either." Chris said eating her favorite roasted chicken.

Colin laughed seeing his brother.

Clang.

Just then Hermione had knocked over her golden goblet. Pumpkin juice spread steadily over the tablecloth, staining several feet of white linen orange, along with few other Gryffindors, Chris, Ginny, Colin and Dennis looked at them but Hermione paid no attention. She started to talk to Headlesd Nick, the Gryffindor tower ghost.

"What do you think have happened?" Ginny asked.

"No idea." Chris shrugged and started to eat again.

But soon Hermione's voice came, "Chris!"

Chris startled looked at her.

"Chris! Slave labor," said Hermione, breathing hard through her nose. "That's what made this dinner. Slave labor."

"What?" Chris almost choked.

"There are House-elves in Hogwarts. They made the food." Hermione said breathlessly. "Just like Winky, they don't get paid. They... they...."

"Calm down Hermione. I understood what're you trying to say." Chris said with a sigh. "But look at the bright side. They're in Hogwarts, I'm sure, Dumbledore doesn't treat them badly."

"Badly? They're here with same conditions, Chris. This is still Slavery." Hermione said angrily.

"But what can we do about thisHermione. It's the house-elves choice, they wanted to serve." Chris said still calmly.

"I thought you'll understand my point but no... It's pointless. You also have no problem in enjoying Slave labour like them." Hermione pointed at Ron and Harry then continued, "You're not as intelligent and sympathetic, I thought you, Chris. First that stupid Divination then this...."

"That's enough Hermione." Ginny snapped shocking everyone. "Just because Chris doesn't agree with you, you can't behave like this."

"But it's wrong Ginny. It's wrong. The elves shouldn't be treated like that." Hermione said slamming her hand on the table.

"Like what Hermione? They wanted to serve. They're happy with it." Chris said coldly, the anger in her tone was clearly visible. "And I can't believe you're still hung on that Divination matter."

"I...." Hermione tried to protest.

"Don't Hermione. I've tried to explain things to you before but this time, do what you like. You'll understand your mistake on your own." Saying this Chris got up from the table and walked towards the Ravenclaw table.