The Sorting began. Professor McGonagall unfurled the long roll of parchment, cleared her throat, and her voice echoed through the silent Great Hall:
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted."
...
"Ginny Weasley!"
The little redhead girl hurried forward. The Sorting Hat had barely touched her hair before it shrieked: "GRYFFINDOR!"
The Gryffindor table erupted into thunderous cheers, led by the Weasley brothers. Percy puffed out his chest and announced to anyone who would listen, "That's my youngest sister," acting as if Ginny's placement in Gryffindor was entirely due to his diligent daily tutelage.
The twins let out piercing whistles so loud they nearly shook the floating candles loose from the ceiling, earning them a stern glare from Professor McGonagall.
Ginny ran toward the table, her face flushed, but her eyes couldn't help but drift toward Harry. He and Ron were clapping and smiling at her, and Harry even gave her an encouraging thumbs-up.
Ginny sat down excitedly, quickly pulling out a pen and a black notebook. She began to write furiously, as if desperate to record this beautiful moment.
Sitting next to her, Hermione smiled and leaned over to take a peek, but Ginny quickly covered the notebook with her arms.
"I sure hope she knows what she's playing with," Julien muttered to himself.
"What?" Edgar hadn't heard him clearly.
"Nothing. Just saying I hope Ginny enjoys her time in Gryffindor."
"Colin Creevey!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The boy clutching the camera was so excited he nearly dropped it. He sprinted over to the Gryffindor table, and the very first thing he did was point his camera right at Harry. "Mind if I take another picture, Mr. Potter? I'm your biggest fan!"
"Oh, no..." Harry buried his face in his goblet of pumpkin juice.
Beside him, Ron guffawed so hard at Harry's misery that he nearly choked on a piece of roast beef.
"Luna Lovegood!"
A blonde girl drifted forward, her steps so light she seemed to be walking on clouds rather than a marble floor.
The Sorting Hat sat on her head for a very long time, so long that Professor McGonagall began to frown, her fingers tapping impatiently against the parchment.
"Hmm... interesting... very interesting..." the Sorting Hat muttered, its voice thick with confusion.
"Your mind wanders like a floating bubble, and your wisdom is... quite unconventional."
"I see many things... many things that others cannot see. You possess a unique dedication to the truth, yet this dedication is quite different from the traditional wisdom of Ravenclaw..."
Luna sat perfectly still, her large eyes staring unblinkingly at the ceiling, as if counting how many unknown creatures were hiding up there.
"Very well, very well," the Sorting Hat finally sighed. "Although the way your mind works gives me a bit of a headache, your thirst for knowledge is undeniable. It must be—RAVENCLAW!"
Applause rang out from the table draped in bronze and blue.
Luna took off the heavy hat and cast a glance in Julien's direction. Her gaze was so startlingly clear, as if she could see straight through everything, that Julien subconsciously sat up straighter, nearly knocking over his pumpkin juice.
"Why is she looking at you?" Edgar asked, confused. "Do you two know each other?"
"Maybe she thinks I have Wrackspurts in my hair," Julien said, running a hand through his hair and pretending to check for strange bugs.
"What did you say? What kind of spurts?"
The Sorting continued.
When the final new student had been sorted into Hufflepuff, Dumbledore stood up and opened his arms wide.
"Welcome to Hogwarts! Before we begin our feast, please allow me to introduce a new professor—Gilderoy Lockhart! Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher!"
Lockhart stood up gracefully, his aquamarine robes glittering in the candlelight.
With his right hand, he executed a flourish of etiquette so overly elaborate that even Julien was left speechless—the movement was so complex it looked like an ancient dance, or perhaps a peacock warming up before spreading its tail feathers. Lockhart then flashed his signature blindingly white smile:
"Thank you, everyone! I assure you, this year's Defense Against the Dark Arts classes will be incredibly... stimulating!"
As he said the word "stimulating," he directed a wink toward a specific section of the hall. Julien followed his gaze and realized he was looking right at the Ravenclaw table.
More specifically, he was looking right at their new female Prefect, Penelope Clearwater.
"He's making eyes at Prefect Clearwater," Casen muttered. "Merlin's beard, does he think he's a peacock?"
"You can drop the 'thinks he's'," Julien said, eagerly cutting into a steak. "He is a peacock. And he's got his tail feathers on full display."
"I bet his office is crammed full of mirrors, and he spends two hours doing his hair every time he leaves."
"How do you know?" Edgar asked curiously.
"Because I've seen narcissists before, but I've never seen anyone this narcissistic."
"Exactly. Just look at that smile. That is a professionally trained smile," Casen chimed in. "I guarantee you he practices that 'charming smile' in the mirror at least a hundred times every morning."
The feast officially began, and the food was as magnificent as ever.
The gold-rimmed white porcelain plates were piled high: roast beef, Yorkshire puddings, honey-glazed ham, and mountains of magical french fries.
While stuffing his face, Colin Creevey was constantly snapping photos in every direction. The subject of every single photo was Harry, and the camera flash was so bright Harry could barely keep his eyes open.
"Harry..." Colin started to say something, but Harry cut him off.
"Please, Colin, I'd really like to finish my peas first..." Harry pleaded helplessly.
Julien was highly entertained by the scene, when he suddenly felt someone sit down next to him. He turned his head and saw Luna Lovegood.
She was staring at him with those slightly-too-large eyes, pinching something that looked like a carrot—similar to the ones dangling from her ears.
But Julien suspected it was actually some sort of magical plant he couldn't identify. Perhaps the legendary Dirigible Plum?
"You are Caelum Julien Black," Luna said. It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.
"I am," Julien said, wiping the corner of his mouth.
"I can see the magnetic field around you," Luna took a bite of her "carrot" with a crisp crunch.
"It's very bright, like stars. But there are also some black things wrapping around you. They came from deep underground."
Julien's fork stopped in mid-air. A drop of gravy fell from his steak onto the plate with a soft splat.
"Black things?"
"Yes. They are waiting, guarding, and... searching." Luna blinked. Her oversized eyes held an ethereal calmness, as if she were merely reading the dinner menu out loud.
"Do you know what they are?" Julien asked, his voice subconsciously dropping to a whisper.
Luna tilted her head, as if trying hard to describe something that didn't exist. "I don't know. Maybe they're some sort of Crumple-Horned Snorkack? They like to hide underground too. But..."
She leaned in closer, her voice dropping to a whisper. "You need to be careful..."
"Careful of what?"
Luna's eyes seemed to lose their focus, as if looking right through Julien to some distant place. Her voice became hollow and eerie, like she was chanting an ancient prophecy:
"It comes, quieter than the wind sweeping through the grass.
It watches you, with eyes that never blink or pass.
It touches you, like freezing raindrops falling on your neck.
When you see its slitted pupils, your reflection will be the last."
The words sent a violent chill down Julien's spine.
"Thank you for the warning," he said sincerely, even though Luna seemed to have already forgotten what she just said.
Luna gave Julien a strange look, as if saying What are you thanking me for? She then stood up gracefully and drifted over to the other end of the table.
Several older Ravenclaw students were gathered there, discussing the latest article in the Daily Prophet.
"If you're interested, you should read The Quibbler. The views in that paper are completely different from the Daily Prophet."
"That girl is a bit weird," Casen remarked.
Julien watched Luna walk away. "Maybe she just sees things that we can't."