another long-ass survey
Yes it's late. Yes I'm tired. Yes I intend to go to bed as soon as 'Video Hits Uncut' is finished.
Stolen from reet
[name] Erin
[nicknames] Ezza, Eeyore, Bella, Angie
[home] Albion Park, NSW, Australia
[birthday] June 5
[sign] Gemini
[eye color] Grey-blue
[hair] Dark blonde (naturally: dark brown)
[bf/gf] Nope
[school colors] They WERE red, grey and white
[mascot] Don't have them in Australia
[clothing style] Smart casual - loosely translated as 'if it's clean, wear it'
[pets] 2 dogs, 1 cat
[label] *shrugs*
[movie] HPCOS
[color crayon] Blue
[kind of pens] Black felt-tip
[flowers] Sunflowers and daisies
[cereal] Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes (normal Corn Flakes if I can't get them), Coco Pops and Froot Loops
[candies] Snickers bars, Jaffas, Maltesers, M&M's, jellybeans, jelly snakes
[ice cream flavor] Blueberry swirl, mango swirl, double choc chip
[skittle flavor] Strawberry
[color m & m] Blue
[pizza topping] Cheese
[salad dressing] Yuck!
[hangout] Shellharbour Square
[saying] 'FUCK YOU!'
[quote] 'Hell, give me a night with him and I would so screw his brains out!' - orlijah on how gorgeous she thinks Taylor Hanson is (despite the fact that he is married with an almost-ten-month-old son)
[teacher] Julie Simpson
[day] Friday
[month] June or December
[season] Spring
[number] 13
[holidays] Christmas and Easter
[shoes] My black sneakers with pink glitter laces, my boots and my heels
[makeup] Strawberry lip balm (Red Earth)
[store] Red Earth, Target, Prototype, Supre, Sanity, Priceline, Angus & Robertson
[fast food place] KFC (Maccas if I am DESPERATE)
[restuarants] The one at the bowling club
[cars] Holden Monaro
[rugrats character] Lil
[daria character] Daria
[simpsons character] Bart
[teletubby] Teletubbies suck
[radio station] 94.9 Power FM (Triple J and I98 are good too)
[font] Gill Sans MT and Neverwinter
[person to talk to online] Libby, orlijah, runningscared
[band] Hanson
[t.v. show] Charmed
[subject] Maths (even though I had a real bitch for a teacher)
[food] Italian
[color] Blue, red and purple
[boxers or briefs?] I don't care *shrugs*
[plaid or striped?] Striped
[scream or scream2 or scream3?] Scream
[urban legend or the faculty?] Urban Legend
[salt or pepper?] Neither
[rare, medium, or welldone?] Well done
[m & m's-regular, peanut, peanut-butter, or almond?] Regular, peanut
[hershey's-hugs or kisses] Kisses
[chocolate or vanilla?] Chocolate
[bleh or blah?] bleh
[okay, ok, or o.k.?] Okay
[shake or stir?] Shake
[bright colors or dark colors?] Bright
[beavis and butthead, king of the hill, or daria?] Daria
[big red, juicy fruit, or doublemint?] Juicy Fruit (but I prefer Extra)
[sunshine or rain?] Sunshine - I don't really like getting wet
[rain or snow?] Rain
[silver or gold?] Silver
[skaters or jocks?] Skaters
[preps or freaks?] Freaks
[cds or cassettes?] CDs
[shampoo+conditioner in one or separate?] In one
[Leonardo Dicaprio] Ugh, pass me a bucket...
[hanson] FUCK YEAH!
[calvin klein] Eh...
[pamela anderson lee] *pukes*
[winnie the Pooh] *nods*
[the whole clinton-lewinsky thing] Who really gives a shit?
[supermodels] Long in the leg but thick in the head
[clowns] Freaks
[are you left handed or right handed?] Right
[are you smart?] Not really
[whats your middle name?] Eliza
[how many personalities do you have?] *counts* Two at the very least
[how many piercings do you have?] One per ear
[are you superstitious?] No
[do you read your horoscope?] Yep
[what languages do you know?] English, some German, a little French
[do you like cotton candy?] Ew, gross...too sugary!
[what instruments can you play?] Piano, harmonica and recorder
[what words do you overuse?] Um...I dunno *shrugs*
[how many pillows do you have?] 2
[do you like to dance?] No
[do you like to sing?] Yeah
[how many cds do you have?] 110 I think, could be more
[do you like to talk on the phone?] Heck no
[how many times have you moved houses?] 5
[what do you think of chain letters?] Pointless
[do you like where you live?] No
[is your room messy?] Slightly
[do you like your writing?] Yeah
[do you like to fingerpaint?] Yep
[do you sleep with a stuffed animal?] Not anymore
[do you sleep with socks on?] Only in winter
[are you ticklish?] Yeah
[are you shy?] Yeah
[do you talk to yourself?] No
[is your house 1, 2, or 3 stories?] 1
[do you have a basement or an attic?] Attic
[did you go to preschool?] Yeah
[are you a morning person?] No fucking way
[who has the sexiest voice in the world?] Mmm...Taylor Hanson, Blair McDonough...
[who has the most annoying voice in the world?] Liam Lynch
[do you believe in God?] Heck no...you're kidding, right? Do you REALLY think that someone who is as messed up as I am would be a Christian?
[do you believe in aliens?] No
[do you believe in ghosts?] No
[do you believe in bigfoot?] No
[do you believe in the loch ness monster?] No
[whats your favorite feature (on yourself)?] Eyes and hands
[what do you do when you're nervous?] Shake uncontrollably
[whos your role model?] Don't have one
[what celebrities do you look like?] None
[what celebrities do you act like?] None
[son?] Not yet
[daughter?] Not yet
[have you ever thought you were gonna die?] No
[wheres the farthest place you ever traveled?] Bundaberg, in Queensland
[where do you wanna go?] USA and Ireland
[would you rather burn to death or freeze to death?] Freeze
[can money buy happiness?] No
[do you think guys or girls have it easier?] Neither
[would you eat a bowl of live crickets for $40,000?] No way!
[if you had a band what would you name it?] Serendipity
[what do you wanna be when you grow up?] Writer
[gonna go to college?] I go to TAFE, it's damn well close enough
[where do you want to live?] NY, or Tulsa...failing that, Sydney
[who do you love?] My friends
[who do you hate?] A few select people
[if you had to dye your hair right now, what color would you make it?] Blue!
[if you had to get a tattoo right now, what would it be?] A dolphin
----
I got a little more done on my tangent fic...
Ebony had liberated her jellybean stash from her room and was sitting on the lounge with the Tupperware container on the coffee table; she was busy digging through it, searching for her favourite flavours. Her boyfriend of three years, Jake, sat beside her on the lounge; he was intermittently sneaking his favourites and popping them into his mouth before she could stop him. I stuck my hand in as I passed on my way to the kitchen and grabbed myself a handful, earning myself a slap on the hand.
“Get your own!” Ebony told me indignantly; I stuck my tongue out at her and went to join Taylor and Natalie in the kitchen.
Natalie had a chocolate Mudslide in hand and was trying to get Taylor to drink a mouthful of it. “It’s just chocolate milk that has a bit of a kick to it,” she told him.
“A ‘kick’?” Taylor asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Vodka,” she explained, rolling her eyes. “C’mon, it’s not even that much; you won’t get drunk.”
“You’re fighting a losing battle there, Nat,” I said as I snatched a lime Archers from the drinks cooler and uncapped the bottle. “You’ll have to hold him down. Either that or pinch his nose; he’s gotta breathe sometime, right?” I grinned evilly. “Tay, c’mon, you’re the only triplet who’s never had a drink. Live a little.”
Taylor rolled his eyes. “If I don’t want to drink, I don’t have to,” he told me.
I shrugged. “Fine, it’s your loss. You honestly have no idea what you’re missing.”
“Oh, yes I do,” Taylor retorted. “Didn’t you see Ebony on New Year’s Day last year? She woke up with a monster hangover; Zac wasn’t doing much better. If you ask me, me not drinking is a good thing.”
“You’re nuts,” was all I had to say. I jerked my head towards the living room. “Ebony’s got her stash out in plain view; I dare you to grab a handful.”
“Dare not accepted,” Taylor replied. “I don’t want to risk losing a hand.” Natalie giggled. “I almost did the last time I tried; she smacked me with that steel ruler of hers.”
Mum came into the kitchen just then. “Go easy on the alcohol,” she warned us. “Hello, Natalie.”
“Hi Mrs. Hanson,” Natalie replied, smiling.
“Tay, honey, how’s the knee?” Mum asked my brother as he accepted a hug from her. They looked so much alike it wasn’t funny, even though Taylor tended to keep his hair reasonably short.
----
And a fair bit done on my crossover...
Chapter 1: A Different World
September 1995
He sat alone in the compartment, feet up on the opposite seat, playing slow, mournful tunes on his harmonica. His hair formed a curtain around his face, affording protection from prying eyes. In this world, and most definitely this point in time, he was practically a nobody, his identity known only to himself and to those who had brought him here. But still he exercised caution.
Three raised voices drew ever nearer, accompanied by three sets of footsteps.
“Ron, that was my foot!”
“Sorry, Hermione. But if you and Harry wouldn’t walk so far apart from each other-”
“Oh shut up, Ron…hey, who’s that?”
The footsteps had stopped by this time. With a great deal of reluctance, he sighed, pocketed his harmonica and pulled his hair back into a low ponytail; this he secured with an elastic band he’d found in his pocket. Finally, after waiting a few moments, he answered the question.
“My name’s Taylor.”
The red-haired boy snorted at the answer given; this reaction earned him a well-placed elbow to the ribs. Having quietened him, the girl (Hermione?) spoke.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “Are you new this year?”
“You could say that.”
“You look a little old to be a first-year.”
“Maybe because I’m not a first-year? I’m a transfer student from the United States.”
Three raised eyebrows. “What school?” the red-haired boy questioned, a suspicious look on his face, and Taylor stiffened. He hadn’t expected this…
“Ron, leave him be.” It was the kid with glasses that stepped in. “We’ll find out later.” He stepped forward and offered a hand. “I’m Harry Potter, that’s Ron Weasley” he gestured to the red-haired boy “and that’s Hermione Granger.”
Taylor shook the offered hand, managing a small, nervous smile. Then Ron spoke up a little apologetically.
“Well, ‘Mione and I-”
“My name is Hermione, Ron!”
“Hermione and I got made prefects, so…”
“We’ll be back a little later,” Hermione supplied.
The moment that Ron and Hermione had disappeared down the corridor, Harry spoke up. “You aren’t really a wizard, are you?”
“Well…no, I’m not. How’d you figure that out?”
Harry pushed his fringe aside to reveal a scar shaped like a bolt of lightning. “Most people notice this first…then of course you weren’t surprised by my name. It made sense.”
“Oh, I see.” He looked around furtively, then spoke in a low voice. “I’m not exactly supposed to tell anyone this…but I’m a time traveller. From the year 1998. I got sent back in time to help stop Voldemort…whoever he is.” He shrugged. “Sirius didn’t tell me squat about who that guy is, though.”
“Voldemort is the reason I have this,” Harry explained, referring to his scar. A touch of bitterness entered his voice. “He’s also the reason that I have no parents.”
“I’m sorry,” Taylor said automatically, mentally thanking whatever higher power there was that his family was still intact.
“Don’t be,” Harry replied. After a pause, he said, “You mentioned Sirius.”
“Uh…yeah…”
“He’s my godfather.”
“Oh!”
Harry laughed.
Over the course of the train journey, Taylor received a thorough grounding in what to expect at Hogwarts. He learned about the four school houses - Harry and his friends were Gryffindors, and he was warned about Malfoy and his crew (‘Slytherin gits, the lot of them’ Ron had grumbled) in the process - the teachers, Quidditch, anything and everything they were able to tell him, he took in and memorised.
“What house do you think they’ll stick me in?” Taylor asked as the train slowed; Hogsmeade station was in sight.
“Well, as this has never happened before - a new student entering the school in fifth year - I really don’t know,” Hermione replied. “But…maybe Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Like I said, I’m not exactly sure. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
The train came to a complete halt and emptied relatively quickly. Taylor kept close to his new friends as they exited the station and hopped into the carriages that would take them to the school; he kept his fingers crossed inside his robes, hoping that he wouldn’t be separated from them. From what he’d been told, Professor Snape and Slytherin House combined would make for a disastrous year indeed. Anything would be better than Slytherin, but Gryffindor sounded by far the best house.
As the flood of students entered into the Entrance Hall of the school castle, a commanding voice cut through the chatter.
“Potter! Granger! Weasley! Hanson!”
“That’s McGonagall,” Ron explained. “Wonder what she wants this time?”
Wordlessly, Taylor followed Harry, Ron and Hermione through the crowd of laughing students to where the stern-faced professor stood. “Yes, Professor?” Hermione asked.
“Professor Dumbledore wishes to see the four of you right away,” Professor McGonagall replied.
“But the Sorting-” Ron started.
“-has been delayed this year, Mr. Weasley,” Professor McGonagall finished. “This way, please.”
The four students followed McGonagall up several flights of stairs, stopping before an imposing stone gargoyle. The professor spoke the password, and the gargoyle moved aside, revealing an upwards-moving spiral stone staircase.
Stolen from reet
[name] Erin
[nicknames] Ezza, Eeyore, Bella, Angie
[home] Albion Park, NSW, Australia
[birthday] June 5
[sign] Gemini
[eye color] Grey-blue
[hair] Dark blonde (naturally: dark brown)
[bf/gf] Nope
[school colors] They WERE red, grey and white
[mascot] Don't have them in Australia
[clothing style] Smart casual - loosely translated as 'if it's clean, wear it'
[pets] 2 dogs, 1 cat
[label] *shrugs*
[movie] HPCOS
[color crayon] Blue
[kind of pens] Black felt-tip
[flowers] Sunflowers and daisies
[cereal] Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes (normal Corn Flakes if I can't get them), Coco Pops and Froot Loops
[candies] Snickers bars, Jaffas, Maltesers, M&M's, jellybeans, jelly snakes
[ice cream flavor] Blueberry swirl, mango swirl, double choc chip
[skittle flavor] Strawberry
[color m & m] Blue
[pizza topping] Cheese
[salad dressing] Yuck!
[hangout] Shellharbour Square
[saying] 'FUCK YOU!'
[quote] 'Hell, give me a night with him and I would so screw his brains out!' - orlijah on how gorgeous she thinks Taylor Hanson is (despite the fact that he is married with an almost-ten-month-old son)
[teacher] Julie Simpson
[day] Friday
[month] June or December
[season] Spring
[number] 13
[holidays] Christmas and Easter
[shoes] My black sneakers with pink glitter laces, my boots and my heels
[makeup] Strawberry lip balm (Red Earth)
[store] Red Earth, Target, Prototype, Supre, Sanity, Priceline, Angus & Robertson
[fast food place] KFC (Maccas if I am DESPERATE)
[restuarants] The one at the bowling club
[cars] Holden Monaro
[rugrats character] Lil
[daria character] Daria
[simpsons character] Bart
[teletubby] Teletubbies suck
[radio station] 94.9 Power FM (Triple J and I98 are good too)
[font] Gill Sans MT and Neverwinter
[person to talk to online] Libby, orlijah, runningscared
[band] Hanson
[t.v. show] Charmed
[subject] Maths (even though I had a real bitch for a teacher)
[food] Italian
[color] Blue, red and purple
[boxers or briefs?] I don't care *shrugs*
[plaid or striped?] Striped
[scream or scream2 or scream3?] Scream
[urban legend or the faculty?] Urban Legend
[salt or pepper?] Neither
[rare, medium, or welldone?] Well done
[m & m's-regular, peanut, peanut-butter, or almond?] Regular, peanut
[hershey's-hugs or kisses] Kisses
[chocolate or vanilla?] Chocolate
[bleh or blah?] bleh
[okay, ok, or o.k.?] Okay
[shake or stir?] Shake
[bright colors or dark colors?] Bright
[beavis and butthead, king of the hill, or daria?] Daria
[big red, juicy fruit, or doublemint?] Juicy Fruit (but I prefer Extra)
[sunshine or rain?] Sunshine - I don't really like getting wet
[rain or snow?] Rain
[silver or gold?] Silver
[skaters or jocks?] Skaters
[preps or freaks?] Freaks
[cds or cassettes?] CDs
[shampoo+conditioner in one or separate?] In one
[Leonardo Dicaprio] Ugh, pass me a bucket...
[hanson] FUCK YEAH!
[calvin klein] Eh...
[pamela anderson lee] *pukes*
[winnie the Pooh] *nods*
[the whole clinton-lewinsky thing] Who really gives a shit?
[supermodels] Long in the leg but thick in the head
[clowns] Freaks
[are you left handed or right handed?] Right
[are you smart?] Not really
[whats your middle name?] Eliza
[how many personalities do you have?] *counts* Two at the very least
[how many piercings do you have?] One per ear
[are you superstitious?] No
[do you read your horoscope?] Yep
[what languages do you know?] English, some German, a little French
[do you like cotton candy?] Ew, gross...too sugary!
[what instruments can you play?] Piano, harmonica and recorder
[what words do you overuse?] Um...I dunno *shrugs*
[how many pillows do you have?] 2
[do you like to dance?] No
[do you like to sing?] Yeah
[how many cds do you have?] 110 I think, could be more
[do you like to talk on the phone?] Heck no
[how many times have you moved houses?] 5
[what do you think of chain letters?] Pointless
[do you like where you live?] No
[is your room messy?] Slightly
[do you like your writing?] Yeah
[do you like to fingerpaint?] Yep
[do you sleep with a stuffed animal?] Not anymore
[do you sleep with socks on?] Only in winter
[are you ticklish?] Yeah
[are you shy?] Yeah
[do you talk to yourself?] No
[is your house 1, 2, or 3 stories?] 1
[do you have a basement or an attic?] Attic
[did you go to preschool?] Yeah
[are you a morning person?] No fucking way
[who has the sexiest voice in the world?] Mmm...Taylor Hanson, Blair McDonough...
[who has the most annoying voice in the world?] Liam Lynch
[do you believe in God?] Heck no...you're kidding, right? Do you REALLY think that someone who is as messed up as I am would be a Christian?
[do you believe in aliens?] No
[do you believe in ghosts?] No
[do you believe in bigfoot?] No
[do you believe in the loch ness monster?] No
[whats your favorite feature (on yourself)?] Eyes and hands
[what do you do when you're nervous?] Shake uncontrollably
[whos your role model?] Don't have one
[what celebrities do you look like?] None
[what celebrities do you act like?] None
[son?] Not yet
[daughter?] Not yet
[have you ever thought you were gonna die?] No
[wheres the farthest place you ever traveled?] Bundaberg, in Queensland
[where do you wanna go?] USA and Ireland
[would you rather burn to death or freeze to death?] Freeze
[can money buy happiness?] No
[do you think guys or girls have it easier?] Neither
[would you eat a bowl of live crickets for $40,000?] No way!
[if you had a band what would you name it?] Serendipity
[what do you wanna be when you grow up?] Writer
[gonna go to college?] I go to TAFE, it's damn well close enough
[where do you want to live?] NY, or Tulsa...failing that, Sydney
[who do you love?] My friends
[who do you hate?] A few select people
[if you had to dye your hair right now, what color would you make it?] Blue!
[if you had to get a tattoo right now, what would it be?] A dolphin
----
I got a little more done on my tangent fic...
Ebony had liberated her jellybean stash from her room and was sitting on the lounge with the Tupperware container on the coffee table; she was busy digging through it, searching for her favourite flavours. Her boyfriend of three years, Jake, sat beside her on the lounge; he was intermittently sneaking his favourites and popping them into his mouth before she could stop him. I stuck my hand in as I passed on my way to the kitchen and grabbed myself a handful, earning myself a slap on the hand.
“Get your own!” Ebony told me indignantly; I stuck my tongue out at her and went to join Taylor and Natalie in the kitchen.
Natalie had a chocolate Mudslide in hand and was trying to get Taylor to drink a mouthful of it. “It’s just chocolate milk that has a bit of a kick to it,” she told him.
“A ‘kick’?” Taylor asked, cocking an eyebrow.
“Vodka,” she explained, rolling her eyes. “C’mon, it’s not even that much; you won’t get drunk.”
“You’re fighting a losing battle there, Nat,” I said as I snatched a lime Archers from the drinks cooler and uncapped the bottle. “You’ll have to hold him down. Either that or pinch his nose; he’s gotta breathe sometime, right?” I grinned evilly. “Tay, c’mon, you’re the only triplet who’s never had a drink. Live a little.”
Taylor rolled his eyes. “If I don’t want to drink, I don’t have to,” he told me.
I shrugged. “Fine, it’s your loss. You honestly have no idea what you’re missing.”
“Oh, yes I do,” Taylor retorted. “Didn’t you see Ebony on New Year’s Day last year? She woke up with a monster hangover; Zac wasn’t doing much better. If you ask me, me not drinking is a good thing.”
“You’re nuts,” was all I had to say. I jerked my head towards the living room. “Ebony’s got her stash out in plain view; I dare you to grab a handful.”
“Dare not accepted,” Taylor replied. “I don’t want to risk losing a hand.” Natalie giggled. “I almost did the last time I tried; she smacked me with that steel ruler of hers.”
Mum came into the kitchen just then. “Go easy on the alcohol,” she warned us. “Hello, Natalie.”
“Hi Mrs. Hanson,” Natalie replied, smiling.
“Tay, honey, how’s the knee?” Mum asked my brother as he accepted a hug from her. They looked so much alike it wasn’t funny, even though Taylor tended to keep his hair reasonably short.
----
And a fair bit done on my crossover...
Chapter 1: A Different World
September 1995
He sat alone in the compartment, feet up on the opposite seat, playing slow, mournful tunes on his harmonica. His hair formed a curtain around his face, affording protection from prying eyes. In this world, and most definitely this point in time, he was practically a nobody, his identity known only to himself and to those who had brought him here. But still he exercised caution.
Three raised voices drew ever nearer, accompanied by three sets of footsteps.
“Ron, that was my foot!”
“Sorry, Hermione. But if you and Harry wouldn’t walk so far apart from each other-”
“Oh shut up, Ron…hey, who’s that?”
The footsteps had stopped by this time. With a great deal of reluctance, he sighed, pocketed his harmonica and pulled his hair back into a low ponytail; this he secured with an elastic band he’d found in his pocket. Finally, after waiting a few moments, he answered the question.
“My name’s Taylor.”
The red-haired boy snorted at the answer given; this reaction earned him a well-placed elbow to the ribs. Having quietened him, the girl (Hermione?) spoke.
“Sorry about that,” she said. “Are you new this year?”
“You could say that.”
“You look a little old to be a first-year.”
“Maybe because I’m not a first-year? I’m a transfer student from the United States.”
Three raised eyebrows. “What school?” the red-haired boy questioned, a suspicious look on his face, and Taylor stiffened. He hadn’t expected this…
“Ron, leave him be.” It was the kid with glasses that stepped in. “We’ll find out later.” He stepped forward and offered a hand. “I’m Harry Potter, that’s Ron Weasley” he gestured to the red-haired boy “and that’s Hermione Granger.”
Taylor shook the offered hand, managing a small, nervous smile. Then Ron spoke up a little apologetically.
“Well, ‘Mione and I-”
“My name is Hermione, Ron!”
“Hermione and I got made prefects, so…”
“We’ll be back a little later,” Hermione supplied.
The moment that Ron and Hermione had disappeared down the corridor, Harry spoke up. “You aren’t really a wizard, are you?”
“Well…no, I’m not. How’d you figure that out?”
Harry pushed his fringe aside to reveal a scar shaped like a bolt of lightning. “Most people notice this first…then of course you weren’t surprised by my name. It made sense.”
“Oh, I see.” He looked around furtively, then spoke in a low voice. “I’m not exactly supposed to tell anyone this…but I’m a time traveller. From the year 1998. I got sent back in time to help stop Voldemort…whoever he is.” He shrugged. “Sirius didn’t tell me squat about who that guy is, though.”
“Voldemort is the reason I have this,” Harry explained, referring to his scar. A touch of bitterness entered his voice. “He’s also the reason that I have no parents.”
“I’m sorry,” Taylor said automatically, mentally thanking whatever higher power there was that his family was still intact.
“Don’t be,” Harry replied. After a pause, he said, “You mentioned Sirius.”
“Uh…yeah…”
“He’s my godfather.”
“Oh!”
Harry laughed.
Over the course of the train journey, Taylor received a thorough grounding in what to expect at Hogwarts. He learned about the four school houses - Harry and his friends were Gryffindors, and he was warned about Malfoy and his crew (‘Slytherin gits, the lot of them’ Ron had grumbled) in the process - the teachers, Quidditch, anything and everything they were able to tell him, he took in and memorised.
“What house do you think they’ll stick me in?” Taylor asked as the train slowed; Hogsmeade station was in sight.
“Well, as this has never happened before - a new student entering the school in fifth year - I really don’t know,” Hermione replied. “But…maybe Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. Like I said, I’m not exactly sure. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”
The train came to a complete halt and emptied relatively quickly. Taylor kept close to his new friends as they exited the station and hopped into the carriages that would take them to the school; he kept his fingers crossed inside his robes, hoping that he wouldn’t be separated from them. From what he’d been told, Professor Snape and Slytherin House combined would make for a disastrous year indeed. Anything would be better than Slytherin, but Gryffindor sounded by far the best house.
As the flood of students entered into the Entrance Hall of the school castle, a commanding voice cut through the chatter.
“Potter! Granger! Weasley! Hanson!”
“That’s McGonagall,” Ron explained. “Wonder what she wants this time?”
Wordlessly, Taylor followed Harry, Ron and Hermione through the crowd of laughing students to where the stern-faced professor stood. “Yes, Professor?” Hermione asked.
“Professor Dumbledore wishes to see the four of you right away,” Professor McGonagall replied.
“But the Sorting-” Ron started.
“-has been delayed this year, Mr. Weasley,” Professor McGonagall finished. “This way, please.”
The four students followed McGonagall up several flights of stairs, stopping before an imposing stone gargoyle. The professor spoke the password, and the gargoyle moved aside, revealing an upwards-moving spiral stone staircase.