Inside Sparky Braginski's Head.: November 2012

Okay, okay, it's here. Um, I would like someone to note that I have indeed become forty times dorkier.

This fan fiction is a Victorious Harry Potter cross-over. I started writing it early yesterday, and it's just over seven pages long.

But, at least I'm writing again...?

So, without further ado....

Cat Valentine skipped onto Platform 9¾ followed closely by her best friend, Jade West. They were 11-years-old, and heading to their first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Cat was babbling non-stop to Jade, who was pushing a trolley that had both of their supplies stacked precariously on top of it.

‘Jade!’ Cat yelled across the platform, trying to get the attention of the dark-haired girl. Jade didn’t look around, which made Cat pout, but Cat shrugged it off and weaved through the crowd over to her friend.

‘Jadey, did you miss me?’ Cat said, tapping Jade’s shoulder. Jade turned around and Cat grinned at her. ‘I love your hair! Blue highlights! That’s so cool! It looks great! How were your holidays?’ Cat said, the words spilling out of her mouth.

‘What are you doing?’ Jade scowled. Cat frowned.

‘Just trying to catch up with my best friend, that’s all.’ Cat said, confused. Jade arched an eyebrow.

‘We aren’t friends.’ Jade said. She turned around and walked away, and Cat soon lost sight of her on the busy train station. Cat blinked several times, reviewing the exchange. Jade couldn’t mean that, they’d been best friends longer than they’d been going to Hogwarts. And as they were headed into their fifth year, that wasn’t a lightly made comment. Cat was about to look for her again when Andre, one of her closer friends, bumped into her.

‘Hey Little Red!’ he smiled, clapping his hands. He was in Gryffindor along with Cat, while Jade was in Ravenclaw.

‘Hi Andre! Did you ever notice that Gryffindor sounds like Griffen, Ravenclaw sounds like Raven, Slytherin sounds like snake, but Hufflepuff doesn’t sound like Honey Badger?’ Cat wondered. Andre laughed, grimaced and then smiled again.

‘Ah, no Cat, that never occurred to me before. Where’s your stuff? We should be heading onto the train soon.’

‘Oh yeah! Will you get me candy?’

‘Depends if we get on the train at all, but sure.’

‘Yay! I love candy!’

Cat virtually dragged Jade onto the train and bounced around in the narrow corridor that spanned the train car. Jade sighed and pulled one of the sliding doors open into a booth and scowled when she saw that people were already inside. Cat sat down and introduced herself and Jade, and the other students, who were all also in their first year, introduced themselves in return. Jade begrudgingly sat down with the people who she assumed would be the closest thing to her friends for the next nine months, Tori Vega, Robbie Shapiro, Andre Harris and Beck Oliver.

'Are you alright, Cat? You haven't said anything in ages!' Tori said. After Andre and Cat had met up, they had found Robbie trying to break away from his overbearing mother. Robbie used them as an excuse to get on the train, which they did, and found Tori and Beck already in one of the compartments.

'Huh? What?' Cat said, snapping out of her daydream.

'Cat, what's wrong?' Tori asked again.

'Nothing!' Cat chimed. 'Can I have a pumpkin pasty?'

'Sure thing.' Robbie said, handing her one. Cat smiled and resumed looking out the window of the Hogwarts Express, watching the English countryside whip by. She was still contemplating her encounter with Jade. Not friends? When did that happen? Beck's voice disrupted her thoughts.

'Hey, has anyone seen Jade?'

'I saw her, but I couldn't catch her.' Andre replied.

'What was she doing?' Beck asked.

'Talkin' to Cat.' Andre said. 'Ain't that right?' He said, ruffling Cat's hair. Cat giggled and nodded.

'Did she say where she was going?'

'Nope.' Cat said, not wanting to reveal what had been said during the short exchange.

'Well... I'm going to look for her. Come with?' He said, looking at Robbie. He stood up.

'We'll be back soon.' Beck said, and they left the compartment. Just as they stepped out into the hallway Trina, Tori's older sister, crashed into them.

'Hey! Watch where you’re going!' Trina yelled. She kept running. Robbie sighed and started walking in the other direction. Cat heard the end of his sentence.

'As far away from her as possible.' Cat didn't blame Robbie for saying this. Everyone thought that Trina was horrible. Andre cleared his throat, leaning forward.

'I think it's about time we got into our robes, don't you?' He said.

'Good idea!' Cat said, perking up.

Let's do it.' Tori stood.

As it grew darker, the group of first years decided that they should probably get changed into their school robes. Because none of them knew what houses they were in yet, all of the trim on their uniform was black, but there was an enchantment over then so they would change colour as soon as they were sorted into their school house. It had been a relatively new idea in the magical world at the time. They all wore the uniform immaculately, except for Jade, who didn’t tuck her shirt in and left its top button undone.

Andre, Cat and Tori re-entered their compartment and saw Robbie and Beck, in their robes chatting.

‘Find Jade?’ Tori asked, sitting down next to Beck. He shook his head. Cat sat down next to Robbie and Andre sat next to her. They were about ten minutes out of Hogsmeade, and all talking about the feast. Robbie was going on about the soup they had when the train stopped.

‘Let’s go!’ Andre said, more than eager for an excuse to get Robbie to be quiet. They tumbled out of the train and took a moment to observe the first years get lead away, bewildered.

‘Is it just me or do they get smaller every year?’ Cat asked to no one. The others laughed and they walked over to the carriages that would take them to the castle. They walked in and split off to their house tables, Robbie and Tori moved off to the Hufflepuff table, Beck went looking for Jade again at the Ravenclaw table and Andre and Cat sat at the Gryffindor one. They looked up at the professor’s table and became silent when Minerva McGonagall stood at the lectern. Only two years after siege upon Hogwarts Cat remembered being evacuated from the castle very clearly.

‘We shall now commence the sorting.’ She put the Sorting Hat onto a tall stool and the first years were lead into the Great Hall. The Sorting Hat sang its song, but Cat wasn’t paying attention, instead she was watching the cloud roll across the fake sky in the chamber. When the song was finished, McGonagall pulled out a scroll and held the Sorting Hat up once more. She announced the first name on the list.

‘Harris, Andre.’ The stony-faced woman, Professor Minerva McGonagall, read out. Andre looked around at his new companions, shrugged and walked up the stone steps and sat on the stool. He was the first of the circle to be called up. McGonagall placed the hat on his head and after a few seconds, it screamed out, ‘GRYFFINDOR!’, which was followed by a cry from the Gryffindor house table. His tie changed from plain black to red and gold, and the trim of his robes and jumper turned red. Andre smiled and hopped off the stool and grinned as he sat down next to one of the other first years.

They had just reached the Bs, and Cat gaze had already started to wander. She glanced over at the Ravenclaw table and searched for Beck and Jade. They were sitting next to each other, Jade scowling, as usual, and Beck looking uneasy. Cat thought to the previous year’s Sorting Ceremony, where Beck’s arm would’ve been around Jade’s waist, he would’ve been smiling, and Jade would’ve been less tense. A frown crept onto her face, but her train of thought was disrupted when the Sorting Hat yelled ‘GRYFFINDOR!’ in its usual fashion, and everyone around her cheered. She had to join in.

‘Oliver, Beckett.’

‘Beckett?’ Jade questioned dryly. Cat nudged her.

‘Be nice.’ She hissed. Beck stepped forward, rubbing the back of his neck. He sat on the stool and the hat yelled, ‘RAVENCLAW!’ almost immediately. He smiled as his tie turned blue and bronze and stepped off the stool. He sat at the Ravenclaw table with a small space beside him in case another first year would come.

Now onto the Gs, Andre was not paying attention either. Andre was making small signals to Beck, and the two boys were communicating across the hall very carefully. From what Andre could gather, something was wrong with Jade, but she refused to say what it was. Either that or what she had said was far to complicated for Beck to convey at that distance. Beck was frowning. Frowning at Jade, frowning at Cat and frowning at Andre. Jade was fully aware of the conversation the boys were trying to have, and when the next house was announced, amidst the cheering of the Hufflepuff table, Jade elbowed Beck.

‘What?’ he said quietly.

‘Stop talking to Andre.’

‘But, he’s all the way over-‘

‘You know what I mean. Stop it.’

‘Shapiro, Robert.’ Robbie flinched and looked up at the stool. Jade sighed and pushed him forward, making him stumble slightly. Tori frowned at her, but she only rolled her eyes. ‘HUFFLEPUFF!’ Robbie scampered over to the table.

‘Figures.’ Jade smirked.

‘Jade, be nice!’ Cat hissed again.

Robbie was sitting all the way over at the Hufflepuff table, watching Beck and Andre signal to each other, Jade and Beck scowl at each other, and Cat scanning at the ceiling like it was the most fascinating thing the world. He sighed and glanced at Tori, who was next to him. She was possibly the only person in the gang that was actually paying attention to the ceremony, but if you were bothered to carefully trace where her eyes were looking, you would notice that she was, in fact, gazing at Jason Sikowitz, another fifth year student in Gryffindor.

‘Valentine, Caterina.’ McGonagall read. Cat squeaked and groaned at the same time. Jade noticed she wasn’t mobbing and lent down slightly so she could speak into Cat’s ear.

‘Calm down. It’ll be fine. Go.’ Jade whispered. Cat stepped forward and climbed onto the stool. The hat fell down below her eyes and she squeaked nervously again as her vision was obscured.

‘Oh, a dreamer, are you? I could easily put you in Hufflepuff…’ she heard the Sorting hat say. Cat gripped her robes slightly tighter, recalling Jade’s harsh reaction to Robbie being put in Gryffindor. ‘You don’t want to be in Hufflepuff? Are you sure?’

‘YES!’ Cat thought with all her might.

‘Well in that case… GRYFFINDOR!’ The hat was lifted from Cat’s head and she bounced down the steps and sat next to Andre.

‘Why are there so many kids starting with ‘p’?’ Cat thought to herself. This had to be at least the twentieth student whose last name began with p, Cat reckoned. She looked around the Great Hall and she found herself looking at Jade, who was looking at her. Jade looked away quickly, scowling darkly. Cat tilted her head to the side and looked at the table sullenly.

‘Vega, Victoria.’ Tori stepped forward and sat down on the stool. The Sorting Hat was placed on her head and about a minute later it yelled, ‘HUFFLEPUFF!’ She grinned and jumped down, sitting with Robbie. Jade rolled her eyes.

After silencing Beck, Jade returned to watching the Sorting Ceremony. Her face was settled into its normal scowl. When a child was sorted into Ravenclaw, she never cheered as the rest of her house did, but she did smile. Which was why, two tables away, every time the sorting hat yelled Ravenclaw, Cat would sneak a glance at Jade, to see her smile. Jade was not completely oblivious to this, but she saw no harm in the innocent red-head watching her smile. Jade thought of what she had told Cat that morning and nearly grimaced, but not quite. Jade hadn't really meant what she had said, but she had deliberated over her friendship with Cat for a long time. Jade knew she could've handled that morning better, but what's done is done, and Jade can't change that. She smiled as the hat yelled Ravenclaw again.

'West, Jadelyn.' Jade gritted her teeth and growled under her breath at the use of her full name. She walked up the steps and sat on the stool, trying her best not to scowl at the school. She felt the hat sink onto her head and was glad it stopped just above her eyes.

'Jade, Jade, you're a hard read. Where do I put you? You might want to get comfy, this'll take a while.' Jade groaned inwardly and crossed one leg over the other and folded her arms. This caused a small ripple of discomfort to float through the hall. Jade's eyes found Cat's, which were wide with worry. Jade smiled reassuringly, the looked right ahead and scowled.

'You're very tough, very mean. No one crosses Jade West, interesting...'

'You couldn't speed this up a bit, could you?' Jade thought back.

'I wouldn't want to put you weren't you didn't belong, would I? Now, you certainly have it in you for Slytherin, no doubt about- Oh, you don't WANT to be in Slytherin? Why ever not?' The hat asked. Jade's eyes flicked to Cat and then straight ahead again.

'Ohhhh. Your best friend? Or something more?' Jade's jaw set and the hat sighed. 'If you say so... But this undying loyalty. Maybe you belong in Hufflepuff... Oh, no need for the language Jadelyn.'

'I swear, call me that again and they'll be using you for arts and crafts.' Jade thought, growling.

'Oh Jade, you mustn’t be so feisty with those scissors. So, not Hufflepuff, and not Slytherin. Gryffindor? I think not. You're too grizzly. No, no, I know where you fit... RAVENCLAW!'

The sorting was finally over, and now it was time for McGonagall's speech. Jade, for the most part, ignored it. They only thing that she payed attention to was the announcement of the new Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher.

'Professor Erwin Sikowitz.' Jade sat up slightly. Wasn't there a Gryff named Sikowitz? Cat, on the other hand, could barely contain her excitement. Jason was across and two people down from her.

'Jason, you never mentioned that your uncle teaches!' She exclaimed quietly.

'I didn't find out until this morning, when my parents told me Erwin would be taking me to the train station. This year is going to be horrible...'

'Don't think that, Jason! How will anyone be able to tell you're related?'

'Cat, Sikowitz is not a common name.'

'Sure it is! I know of, like, two people with it!'

'Let me guess, me and my uncle...' Jason groaned.

'Oh my Merlin, how did you know!?'

Cat and Andre watched as the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, gave his speech. He finished and the tables were suddenly covered with food. Cat squealed with delight and started to eat, occasionally sharing a glance with Jade. Both girls were disappointed that they had been sorted into different houses, but they wouldn’t let that halt their friendship. Not even magic could do that.

The feast commenced and was over soon. Andre and Cat made their way up to the Gryffindor common room and sat in front of the fire. Andre could see that Cat was sad, so he dashed to his dorm room and got his guitar out. He ran back down and sat in front of Cat on the carpet.

‘Alright Little Red, what do you want me to play?’ Cat shrugged. Andre nodded.

‘C’mon red, you must want to hear something.’ Cat shook her head. Andre frowned and thought. He was going through his personal playlist in his head, looking for an appropriate song.

‘I know.’ He said, and started playing his guitar. He had picked ‘Home’ by Phillip Phillips. He began to sing, and eventually Cat joined in. Some of the students around them watched and tapped their feet to the music. Some of the first years watched in awe as Andre and Cat sang. Their voices worked perfectly together and when Andre played the final chord there were a cheer. Cat smiled at Andre and forgot her troubles of the morning.

‘Let’s sing Song 2 You now!’ Cat exclaimed. Andre grinned and he started to play. He had succeeded to make Cat happy, which was good.

The next morning Cat and Andre walked down to the Great Hall together and Beck pulled Andre over. Cat sat down and started to eat, while chatting to Jason.

‘What’s the deal with Jade?’ Andre asked.

‘She says she’s fine, but I know better. I think it’s to do with Cat. But-‘ Beck stopped as Jade walked past, scowling.

‘What do you have first?’ Beck asked.

‘Defense Against The Dark Arts.’ Andre replied.

‘Me too, see you there.’

Jade was walking down on of the many staircases to her first class, Transfiguration, when a sea of first year Hufflepuffs came up the stairs. She snarled when she realized that none of them knew who she was, not even able to match her face with 'stay away.' She struggled to the intersection and an especially boisterous boy crashed into her, sending her books flying. Before gathering her stuff she reached out and grabbed the back of the foolish boy's robes, managing to get a solid grip on the back of his shirt. She dragged him out of the current of students and placed him on a staircase that was joined up to the platform they were standing on. She pushed him a few steps up.

'3... 2... 1.' The staircase the lone boy was standing on swung around and joined him to a platform that was two floors down from where the rest of his class was. She smirked and turned around. The first years were staring at her. She bent down and picked her books up and when she straightened she found them still staring. She sighed.

'And that, kids, is why you stay out of my way in the halls.' She said, 'Tell your friends.' She added, continuing down the steps.