"I'm nervous,"
"There's nothing to be nervous about Annie,"
"How do you know?"
"Mike told me,"
"And, what exactly did he tell you?"
"That all we have to do to get sorted is place a talking hat on our head,"
Annie looked at her friend. Annie had shoulder length black hair. She was only eleven years old and starting school. As nobody really knew, she was a witch and going to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She was wearing long black robes and underneath the robes was a white dress shirt and a black skirt. She also wore black socks and shoes. She had bright green eyes. She also wore glasses, but at the time, she was wearing contacts. Her friend, Kate Ramsey, stood next to her. Kate was wearing the same thing as Annie. But she had shoulder length light brown hair and brown eyes.
The two girls were sitting in a compartment on a train called the Hogwarts Express, which took them to the Hogwarts Castle. Annie looked out the window, thinking about what was going to happen this whole next year, when Kate's older brother Mike walked in. Mike was thirteen and in his third year at Hogwarts. He was also wearing robes, but he had a pendent sowed on the right side of the robes. It was blue with an eagle on it. He, like Kate, had light brown hair, but his was short and spikey. He sat down next to his little sister.
"Are you two okay?" he asked
"I'm fine," Kate told him, "But she's not,"
"What's wrong, Annie?" Mike asked, looking at her.
Annie looked back at him.
"Nothing," she lied, "I'm fine,"
Mike and Kate looked at each other then back at Annie, who was staring out the window again. She was watching as farm land passed by.
"Okay then. I'm going to go find Carly and Jake," Mike said standing up, "See you in Ravenclaw, Kate,"
He then left their compartment, closing the door behind him. Carly Munsen and Jake Fredericks were his friends and they also wore robes with the blue pendent. Ravenclaw was one of the houses at Hogwarts where students lived for the year. There were three other houses. Gryffindor, which was a red pendent with a lion. Hufflepuff, which was a yellow pendent with a badger. Then, there was the worst of all four houses. Slytherin, which was a green pendent with a snake.
"Yeah," Kate said, looking at Annie again, "I better be in Ravenclaw,"
"I don't care where I'm placed as long as it isn't Slytherin," Annie replied
Both girls shivered at the thought.
"You know," Kate said, "I'd probably leave school if I was placed in Slytherin,"
Annie laughed
"Yeah," Annie said, "Grace would be mad,"
"Well. I'd have a good reason for leaving," Kate replied
Grace was Annie's cousin, but Kate's mother. Annie has been living with them, ever since she was a baby. She never knew her parents. She doesn't, to this day, even know if they are still alive. They never talk about them. Annie had one picture of them with her, a few days after she was born, but that was all.
Night was falling fast. Annie was getting tired, but kept herself awake, by thinking of what they would be learning at Hogwarts. She placed her hand into her pocket and wrapped it around her new wand that she had just gotten about a week ago. Suddenly, a girl walked into the compartment. Annie and Kate both looked at her. She had brown bushy hair that was a little past her shoulders. She was wearing robes with the red pendent, which meant she was in Gryffindor.
"Have either of you seen a girl with red hair?" she asked them, "Her name is Ginny Weasley,"
"No," Kate shook her head
The girl looked at Annie, who was also shaking her head. She just stared at her like she knew her. She was about to say something when a boy walked up to her.
"I found her, Hermione," the boy said, "She's in Parvati Patil's compartment,"
"Thanks Neville," the girl known as Hermione said
Both Hermione and Neville left them.
"That was odd," Kate said, looking at Annie.
"What do you mean?"
"She was looking at you like she knew who your were,"
"Maybe she saw us in Diagon Alley,"
Diagon Alley was the marketplace for all witches and wizards. That was were they got their things for school.
"Yeah. Maybe," Kate said, looking out the window this time.
Finally, about another hour later, they had reached the station at Hogwarts. Annie and Kate walked out of their compartment and followed three other first years off the train. One was a boy they knew as Evan Baxter. He had dark brown hair that covered his ears and he wore glasses. Then there was another boy with short red hair. He was a little taller then Evan. The third was a girl with long strawberry blond hair. Annie only knew her first name, Sara. She had heard someone yelling for her at the train station before they got on to head for Hogwarts.
"All first years over here!" a booming voice yelled over all the yelling as all the students got off the train.
Annie and Kate followed Evan Baxter up to a gaint of a man. They all looked up at him. Annie, on the other hand, looked around at all the first years. She didn't really know anymore of them. That was probably because they all lived in the wizarding world and she and Kate lived in the muggle world. Muggles, as only witches and wizards called them, were non-magic people. All the first years followed the giant, who had introduced himself as Rubeus Hagrid, the keeper of keys and grounds at Hogwarts. Hagrid, as he told them to call him, took them down a dark and damp path. The path was slippery and they had to watch were they were walking or they'd slip and fall.
"I wonder how everyone else is getting to the school," Kate said, as she grabbed Annie's arm to stop herself from slipping on a sharp rock.
"Not sure," Annie replied, as they turned another corner.
Suddenly everyone stopped walking and looked across a giant lake. A top what looked like a mountain, was Hogwarts. All the lights were on, shinning into the lake below. There were a few "oh's" and "ah's" and "Wow's". They then followed Hagrid down to the bank where about a dozen small boats sat, tied up.
"No more then four to a boat," Hagrid called to them, as he sat in his own boat.
Annie and Kate sat in a boat. Following them into the boat was Evan Baxter and a girl with red hair, who Annie thought was the girl that Hermione was looking for. She had bright red shoulder length hair and lots of freckles all over her face. Once everyone was in a boat, the boats started moving across the lake by themselves. Annie looked over the edge of the boat to look at the water. She could see creatures swimming around. About ten minutes later, they were all climbing out of the boats. Evan was the first one out of their boat, and he helped all three girls out. They all then followed Hagrid up to large oak doors and into the school. They then climbed what felt like hundreds of stairs, but was only about thirty.
They were all stopped by a tall woman in an all green robe. She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall. She was wearing a green pointed hat as well. She also wore square glasses. Hagrid walked past them all and disappeared through a pair of doors, which inside the room, was very noisy.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," McGonagall said to them, "The start-of-term banquet will begin shorty, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room. The four houses are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever house becomes yours. The sorting ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting,"
And then she turned at went through the same doors as Higrid had just gone through. Annie then left out the breath she was holding, and it seemed, so did everyone else around her.
"So what," a girl said from Annie's left, "Do we just wait here until they are ready?"
"I guess so," another girl said
"They better hurry up," a boy next to the first girl said, "I'm starving,"
A few people laughed
"Annie, are you okay?" Kate asked, from her right.
"Yeah," Annie replied, smiling, "I'm fine,"
Finally after five minutes, McGonagall came back. They followed her into the Great Hall. All eyes followed them up to the high tables where all the teachers were seated, also watching. Annie quickly spotted Mike standing up to see them better. He waved. She and Kate waved back. They all stopped just infront of the high tables. A few of the students stood on a step that lead up to them. McGonagall walked up the steps and stood next to a stool that held an old looking pointed hat. Annie looked around the hall and noticed everyone was staring at the hat, so she stared as well. Suddenly, it started singing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty, but don't judge on what you see, I'll eat meself if you can find a smarter hat then me. You can keep your bowlers black, your top hats sleek and tall, for I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat and I can cap them all. There's nothing hidden in your head the Sorting Hat can't see, so try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be. You might belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart, their daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindor apart; you might belong in Hufflepuff, where they are just and loyal, those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil; or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind, where those of wit and learning, will always find their king; or perhaps in Slytherin you'll make your real friends, those cunning folk use any means to achieve their ends. So put me on! Don't be afraid! And don't get in a flap! You're in safe hands (though I have none) for I'm the Thinking Cap!"
"I told you," Kate whispered in Annie's ear.
McGonagall then cleared her throat and everyone looked at her. She had a roll of parchment in her hands.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said, "Tracy Ambers!"
A girl with black pigtails slowly walked up. She picked up and hat, sat on the stool, then placed the hat on her head. She sat there for about a minute when the hat shouted "Hufflepuff!"
Tracy took the hat off smiling. She ran to the table that was cheering the most. She sat down next to an older girl, that looked just like her, which Annie figured was her sister. Then Evan was called. He was the first sorted into Gryffindor. Then after a girl was sorted into Slytherin, the next four were all Ravenclaw. Three more were sorted; Leah Fischer and Paige Foster into Hufflepuff and Peter Gaines into Slytherin. They were at the end of the J's five minutes later.
"Tyler Jordan!" McGonagall called
A short and chubby blond boy put that hat on. A moment later he was sorted into Ravenclaw. Another six people sorted. Annie and Kate were still standing, waiting to be sorted. Annie's feet were sore and hurting. She was half leaning on Kate, who was also doing the same, and leaning half on Annie.
"Christopher Perry!" McGonagall yelled
A tall boy with spikey red hair walked up. He was sorted into Hufflepuff. Then, McGonagall called the next person.
"Andrea Potter!"
