9 Chapter 8: Password!

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I listen to the Prefect drone on for a bit, but it isn't long before I tune him out and resume gawking at everything in sight.

Every time I see a large portrait I have to wonder if there isn't a room hidden behind it. I really wonder how people get used to this.

I don't really recognize anything from the movies until we hit some moving staircases with portraits packed up and down the walls.

I realize we must be getting near Gryffindor Tower, and I start to listen in again just in time.

"—password is Balderdash. Once we're in the common room, First Years, you'll wait around to be taken to your dorms when you're called by a prefect." His eyes catch mine. "Lerner, you're with me."

I nod and follow him into the common room once the First Years file in.

"The girl's staircase is enchanted," he says, gesturing to the one across the common room. "I don't recommend attempting to climb it...the girls tend to know when it happens; they all come out and see."

"I'll keep that in mind," I say. I can't remember if that's actually been proven in canon; one piece of fanfiction I read recently said that the enchantment wore off ages ago but no male is stupid enough to test it.

Although, this guy sounds like he knows from experience.

We climb the stairs to the boys dorms and immediately open the door to one surprisingly near the common room.

"Excellent, so you're with us then?" Harry's voice brought me up short as I entered the dorm.

Well, that certainly works out. But...I glance around and then look back in surprise. "Was there always a sixth bed here?"

Harry furrowed his brow, as if he didn't remember either.

Ron looked just as perplexed. "Maybe the room expanded?"

"I'll leave you to it then, Lerner; I've got to get back to the First Years. Let me or one of the other Prefects know if you need anything."

"Well, he was certainly a ray of sunshine," I say a few moments after the Prefect leaves.

"I guess you know which one's yours?" Harry asks, gesturing to the beds.

Sure enough, my tiny backpack lay neatly on the foot of the bed. I feel a tug in my chest at the sight of just about everything I own, looking so tiny even on the single bed. Not even the robes I'm wearing are mine.

"Yep," I say, failing to keep the emotion out of my voice as I flop on the bed with my arms behind my head. "All set."

My two roommates are silent, but I don't want to look them in the face. Harry knows how I feel the most, though he's got money by now. Ron knows a little as well, though at least he's got family.

I'm thankful that my sudden bout of loneliness and self-pity is interrupted by our other three roommates.

"Hey, Harry, Ron, how was your—" Neville begins trailing off when he spots me.

"Neville, right?" I say, putting on my jovial face. "I'm Lerner, Bud Lerner. Thanks for the robes, man," my smile falters when my eyes flicker to my backpack. "I'll, um, get them back to you soon as I can."

Neville catches the flicker and he frowns for a moment before nodding in understanding. "Keep them, I've still got my backup set."

Ron coughs to break the awkward silence. "Right then, Bud, these other two are Seamus and Dean," he says, then turns to the two newcomers that I also recognize from the movie.

"This is Bud, decent bloke for a Yank; conjured some gum into Malfoy's hair on the train, after all."

Neville joins Dean and Seamus in looking surprised, as he hadn't heard about that either.

Harry winces a bit at Ron's continued use of Yank, but joins in the chuckling, too.

"Did you?" Seamus says, his heavy Irish accent mangling even a pair of words. I decided to avoid speaking to him as much as possible to reduce the incidence of headaches.

"Had it coming, I bet," Dean adds.

"It was an accident, I swear," I say, holding up my hands. "I didn't see any divots in his hair so I assume he got it out fine, or it disappeared eventually."

"Still bloody brilliant," Ron says, "you should have heard Malfoy scream like a girl!"

Ron's impression of Draco's girlish scream spurs a round of laughter, but I don't join in quite so heartily.

After all, that was my first bit of magic, and I can't recall if I was actually touching my wand.

My hand brushes against my e-reader-turned-wand, wondering if it even works. After all, Dumbledore said something about not sensing one of the three cores?

I know Ollivander only uses dragon heartstring, unicorn hair, and phoenix feather, so either it's something else, or nothing at all.

After all, it was simply an electronic device a few days ago, wasn't it?

The five long-time roommates exchange further pleasantries and I answer a couple vague questions about the United States.

Thankfully they're male and therefore don't press on any of them, instead turning to describing their own summers.

"Well, I'm going to let you guys catch up," I say, "I need to talk to Hermione."

Harry and Ron look like they want to come, but I wave them off. Harry gives me a nod and Ron frowns a bit, but they return to their roommates.

Unfortunately for me, Hermione's not in the common room, so I plant myself in one of the comfy chairs in the large, circular common room and lean back to wait and think.

I was going to ask Hermione to help me, but now that I'm sitting here, I figure I should probably try to hide myself away and figure out exactly what I can do with magic, first.

She'd almost certainly get suspicious if I ask her to go over First Year spells. Obviously I wouldn't be here if I couldn't do it, not to mention the possibly wandless, non-verbal conjuration incident on the train.

And didn't the Hat say I have a bit of Occlumency, as well?

I want to try out some stuff now, but the common room is still full of upper year students chatting with members of the opposite sex.

I suppose this would be the best place to do that. Chat with girls, I mean, not experiment with magic.

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