CHAPTER TWO LISSY 
They exited the train car and followed the crowd headed for Hogwarts,  chatting happily. Ron's owl, Eros, and Hedwig had already departed to the school's owlery.  Hermione was carrying  Crookshanks and was petting him the entire way into Hogwarts.       As the First Years were steered off into a separate hallway, the rest of  the school, including Harry, Hermione, and Ron continued into the Great Hall.    "Hurry, let's grab good seats," said Hermione. "I want to watch my cousin be  sorted."  "Your cousin is starting at Hogwarts this year, Hermione?" asked  Harry.  "Yup," she answered.  "I hope she gets sorted into Gryffindor, too.   She should have gone to Hogwarts four years ago, when we started, but her Mum  wanted to home school her first.  Ron, where'd Ginny go?  Is she off with  Colin again?" "Probably," he replied, sounding bored, as they sat down in a trio of chairs  facing the long line of students to be sorted and the Hogwarts Sorting Hat.   Looking at the hat, Harry remembered a time about three years ago when he had  tried the Sorting Hat on for a second time.   Even Ron and Hermione didn't know about it.  When the Chamber of Secrets was  open in his second year, he had been called to Dumbledore's office.  While  waiting for him, Harry had spied the Hogwarts Sorting Hat as he was looking  around.  He then glanced quickly at the door, to make sure that no one was  coming, and he grabbed the hat and slowly lowered it onto his head.  It then  talked to him:     "Bee in your bonnet, Harry Potter?" "Er, yes," Harry muttered.  "Er-sorry to bother you-I wanted to ask-" "You've been wondering whether I put you in the right House," said the hat  smartly.  "Yes . . . you were particularly difficult  to place.  But I stand  by what I said before" -Harry's heart leapt- "you would have done well in  Slytherin-"     Harry shook his head, sending the memory to the back of his head.  "Who  is your cousin?" he asked Hermione, who was telling Ron something about how  to make a sleeping potion.  "Her name is Lissy, and Ron, I still don't know  why you wanted that recipe for the sleeping potion," she responded.  Ron  muttered one word in Harry's ear, "Snape."  Harry just grinned.     There was then a sudden hush as the Sorting Hat began to sing its song.   Then, Professor McGongall announced the first student's name to be sorted.   Finally, it was Hermione's cousin's turn.     "Granger, Elizabeth."  Lissy quickly shuffled up to the stool on which  the Sorting Hat sat.  She set the hat gently on her head.  The hat took at  least a minute before it called softly, "Gryffindor."     "Yes!" exclaimed Hermione.  "I knew that she'd be a Gryffindor!"  Lissy  quickly walked to the cheering Gryffindor table.  "She's awfully pretty,"  commented Ron before she reached the empty seat next to Hermione.  Lissy  smiled at Hermione and said, "Our mums will be happy that I'm in the same  House as you.  Especially since it's the House that Professor Dumbledore was  in."   She then took the time to smile and say hi to Harry and Ron.  "Hello," said  Harry back.  "Where are you from?" asked Ron.  "I'm from London," she  replied.  "Your eyes are such a bright green.  Did you get them from your mum  or dad?" Ron asked.  "My mum," she answered, blushing slightly.   "Well, if your mum looks anything like you, then she must be awfully pretty,"  said Ron.  Lissy blushed an even darker red.  Harry and Hermione looked at  each other in surprise at Ron's blunt flirting. Just then, Dumbledore said, just the same as he had in Harry's first year,  "And now, bedtime.  Off you trot!"  They jumbled out into the hall.   Ron looked thoughtful for a second, and then said, "Harry, Hermione, you know  what, I'll bet that Lissy could use someone to show her around the school."   He turned to Lissy and asked, "Would you like me to show you around the  school?"  She grinned shyly and replied, "You bet I would!"  They headed  toward the Gryffindor Tower.  Hermione and Harry watched them go. Harry turned to say something to Hermione, and he ran into something huge and  solid.  Harry looked up.  There stood Hagrid, the Keeper of Keys and Grounds  and teacher of Care of Magical Creatures.  "Hullo, Harry," said Hagrid. Hagrid appeared to be very excited.  They could even see his grin under the  gigantic mass of his bushy beard.   "I've summat I'd luv ter show yer, Harry,"  he babbled excitedly.  "And yer  gonna have ter bring yer friends, too.  Fang's real happy, ter be sure," he  continued talking quickly, almost so quickly that they couldn't understand  him. "Yeh've got Care of Magical Creatures termorrow mornin, ' don' ya?  Yeh can  come jus' a bit early ter see 'er then!" Harry and Hermione just looked at each other in confusion.  Hagrid started to  leave.  "Wait, Hagrid!" Harry called after him.  "What're we to come early to  see?" "Snowball,"  Hagrid called back. Harry and Hermione glanced back at each other and shrugged.  "Okay. We'll be  there about an hour early tomorrow morning!"  Hermione yelled at Hagrid's  back.   "We should probably head to the Tower now," said Harry. "Let's go,"  Hermione responded.                                        Back in Gryffindor Tower, Hermione and Lissy were talking after everyone else  had gone to bed, even Ron and Harry.  Hermione glanced at the clock; it was   almost midnight. "So, Lissy, how do you like Ron?"  Hermione asked Lissy.  Lissy blushed and  answered, "He's really nice, 'Ne."  "Do you know that you're the only person  who calls me ' 'Ne ' anymore?"  Hermione asked Lissy.  "Really, your parents  don't call you that anymore?"  she asked back.  "Nope," Hermione answered.   "Anyway, we're getting off the subject.  You really like Ron, don't you, Lis?" "Ya, I do," she admitted, not very reluctantly.  "I just can't help it; I  think his red hair's so cute!"  She was now blushing profoundly.  "And don't  you dare breathe a word of this to Ron, or Harry.  Ever!"   "Okay, my mouth is sealed," she promised, making a gesture of locking her  mouth and throwing away the key.   "Anyway 'Ne, I think there's someone that you might be fond of too.  Am I  right?"   "I've got loads of homework, and if I don't get that three ft. essay done for  Snape on sleeping potions, then he'll probably take fifty points from  Gryffindor, just because he hates me. "I really should get that done, Lis.  See ya in the morning!" "But 'Ne," she called back,  "we don't have any homework; it's the first day  of school!" Her yell fell on deaf ears; Hermione ignored her and jogged up the spiral  staircase into the fifth year girls' dormitory.   Oh well, she thought, and followed Hermione.