Chapter 1: Welcome to Hogwarts
Words: 4,873
Hermione Granger was still in disbelief of where she was headed. It was just past 11 o'clock on September 1, and she was on a train to a school for magic! She must be one of the luckiest people on earth. The scarlet steam engine was already on its way, hills and countryside whipping by the windows of the compartment she was sitting in. She had been joined by a boy named Neville Longbotom; he didn't know anyone either and asked Hermione if he could sit with her. She was happy to oblige, as he was the only one who seemed to want to sit with her. She was glad he hadn't come to her compartment right away, as she had changed into her robes immediately.
Around noon, a plump lady pushing a trolley came to their compartment and asked if they wanted any sweets or snacks. Both Hermione and Neville politely declined and spent a few minutes chatting about Hogwarts before Neville's face fell.
"Oh, no... I've lost Trevor," he lamented. Seeing Hermione's puzzled face, he added, "Trevor is the toad I brought."
"Well, he can't have gotten far. Let's go ask the different compartments." Hermione tried to sound positive; she felt bad about how dejected the boy sitting across from her looked. They each went separate ways, asking the different cars whether they had seen the toad. When they met up again, Hermione decided to go with Neville to the compartments she thought he missed to make absolutely sure Trevor wasn't there. They opened one of the compartment doors, revealing two boys; one with bright red hair, the other's jet black.
"Has anyone seen a toad?" I asked. "Neville's lost one."
"We've already told him we haven't seen it," the redheaded boy retorted, but Hermione wasn't listening. Her eyes were on the wand he held in his hand.
"Oh, are you doing magic? Let's see it, then." Hermione said as she sat down.
"Er - all right," the redheaded boy said, clearing his throat.
"Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow,
Turn this stupid, fat rat yellow."
But nothing happened.
"Are you sure that's a real spell? Well, it's not very good, is it? I've tried a few simple spells just for practice and it's all worked for me," Hermione said. "Nobody in my family's magic at all, it was ever such a surprise when I got my letter, but I was ever so pleased, of course, I mean, it's the very best school of witchcraft there is, I've heard - I've learned all our course books by heart, of course, I just hope it will be enough - I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, who are you?" Hermione heard herself speaking very fast but couldn't stop herself. She saw the black-haired boy look at the redhead with a rather shocked look on his face.
"I'm Ron Weasley," the redhead muttered.
"Harry Potter," said the black-haired boy. The name sparked a memory in Hermione's brain - she had read about him in one of the books she had picked up for some background reading.
"Are you really?" She asked. "I know all about you, of course - I got a few extra books for background reading, and you're in Modern Magical History and The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts and Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century."
"Am I?" Harry said in a rather faint voice.
"Goodness, didn't you know, I'd have found out everything I could if it was me," Hermione said, a little surprised that he didn't know how famous he was. "Do either of you know what House you'll be in? I've been asking around, and I hope I'm in Gryffindor; it sounds by far the best; I hear Dumbledore himself was in it, but I suppose Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad... anyway, we'd better go and look for Neville's toad. You two had better change, I expect we'll be there soon." Without waiting for a reply, Hermione left the compartment, taking Neville with her to continue the search.
Even after the second sweep of the train, they went back to their compartment empty-handed. Hermione told Neville she was going to check with the conductor to see how close they were to Hogwarts, and returned with the news that they were almost there and should get ready to get off the train. Hermione left Neville to change into his robes and decided to walk around, irritated by all the students running up and down the corridors recklessly. When she neared the compartment where they had met Ron Weasley and Harry Potter, she heard a yell coming from it, followed by two large boys and a rather pale and skinny one leaving.
"What has been going on?" The compartment was in disarray with sweets everywhere. Ron Weasley picked up a rat by the tail.
"I think he's been knocked out," he said to Harry, both of them looking at the animal. "No - I don't believe it - he's gone back to sleep." Ron shook his head. "You've met Malfoy before?"
"Yeah... I met him in Madam Malkin's in Diagon Alley." Harry went on to explain their not-so-friendly interaction.
"I've heard of his family," Ron said with a low voice. "They were some of the first to come back to our side after You-Know-Who disappeared. Said they'd been bewitched. My dad doesn't believe it. He says Malfoy's father didn't need an excuse to go over to the Dark Side. Can we help you with something?" He added, turning towards Hermione.
"You'd better hurry up and put your robes on, I've just been up to the front to ask the conductor, and he says we're nearly there. You haven't been fighting, have you? You'll be in trouble before we even get there!"
"Scabbers has been fighting, not us," Ron said defiantly. Hermione assumed that Scabbers was the rat he had in his lap. "Would you mind leaving while we change?"
"All right - I only came in here because people outside are behaving very childishly, racing up and down the corridors. And you've got dirt on your nose, by the way, did you know?" She had just noticed the dark spot on Ron's face as she spoke.
As Hermione went back to her compartment for the last time, she heard the conductor over the train speakers: "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately." Hermione's heart skipped a beat - they were almost there! She had been dreaming about this ever since the woman called Professor McGonagall had arrived at her parents' house to deliver her letter and explain what Hogwarts was.
As the train finally came to a stop, all the students crammed themselves into the corridors, making it nearly impossible to move around, let alone get off. Hermione struggled her way through with Neville and managed to get onto a small, dark platform, shivering slightly in the cool air. When she looked up, there was a lamp bobbing towards the squashed students, held in an enormous hand.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here! All right there, Harry?" There was a giant man beckoning the first years towards him; Hermione raised her eyebrows at the mention of Harry's name - somehow they must know each other - and followed him, Neville right next to her. He seemed scared to leave her side and sniffled from the cold as the giant man led them down a very dark and narrow pathway. "Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," the man called, "just' round this bend here."
There was a collective "Oooooh!" from the group as the path opened to the edge of a monstrous lake. There were small, sparkling windows on tall turrets and towers belonging to a castle that was perched on the side of the mountain. Hermione had never seen anything so beautiful in her entire life; she was breathless with anticipation now.
"No more'n four to a boat!" The man called, gesturing to a small fleet of boats that Hermione guessed were there to take the first years across the lake and to the castle. She found herself in one with Neville, following Ron and Harry in their boat. She heard others clamoring to get into the ones behind them, and after a few moments, it was quiet. "Everyone in?" Came the giant man's voice. "Right then - FORWARD!"
Suddenly, all the boats all took off at once, gliding across the glassy surface of the giant lake; the castle became even larger as they neared the cliff on which it stood.
"Heads down!" The giant called as they finally reached the cliff; they all lowered their heads as they passed through an ivy curtain that hid the wide opening of the cliff face, leading them through a dark tunnel. Hermione assumed they were passing underneath the castle; the other way didn't seem to have an entrance. Once they reached the small harbor, the students got out of the boats and scrambled up out onto rocks and pebbles.
"Oy, you there! Is this your toad?" The giant called, still helping students out of their boats.
"Trevor!" Neville cried, happily holding out his hands. Once the boats were empty, they climbed a passageway, following the giant's lantern and finally coming out onto the wet grass in front of the castle. They walked up a huge set of stone steps and came to a giant oak front door.
"Everyone here? You there, still got yer toad?" The man asked Neville before turning and knocking on the door three times. It opened at once, revealing a tall, black-haired witch with very green robes. It was McGonagall! She was even wearing the same robes that she had when she'd come to tell her and her parents about Hogwarts. Hermione was rather glad to see her. "The firs' years, Professor McGonagall."
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." So the giant man's name was Hagrid. Hermione would have to remember that. McGonagall pulled the door open and revealed the entrance hall, the stone walls lit with torches that flickered off the marble staircase but not the ceiling, which was too high to make out. Although Hermione could hear voices, the Professor steered them into a small chamber instead.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, 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." She paused. "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 and 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."
Some of the students shuffled around, clearly nervous.
McGonagall continued, "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." At this, some students began to shuffle around, tucking shirts in and straightening robes.
"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." With that, she left the chamber. Hermione began to run through all the spells she had already learned in her head, wondering which one she would need. She felt glad she was prepared already. She couldn't help but overhear some of the students fretting.
"How exactly do they sort us into Houses?" She heard Harry ask.
"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Ron didn't sound too certain to Hermione, however. She didn't even realize she was muttering under her breath about all the spells she thought she might need.
All of a sudden, several people screamed.
"What the - ?"
Twenty or so ghosts had just drifted through the walls, floating up above their heads. Hermione stopped muttering; though she knew Hogwarts had ghosts, it was still quite a shock to see them in person for the first time. It kind of sounded like they were arguing. A small, fat monk was saying: "Forgive and forget, I say, we ought to give him a second chance -"
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost - I say what are you all doing here?"
The ghost speaking had a ruff and tights and had also just noticed the first-years. Nobody seemed to know how to answer.
"New students!" The monk cried, smiling at them. "About to be Sorted, I suppose?" Some of them nodded silently in response. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old House, you know."
Hermione caught a swirl of green out of the corner of her eye; it was McGonagall, coming back for them. The ceremony must be about to start!
"Move along now," she said sharply, "the Sorting Ceremony is about to start." The ghosts disappeared back through the wall. "Now, form a line and follow me." She led the first years through the hall and a pair of huge double doors into the Great Hall.
Hermione was awestruck. The hall was lit by thousands of candles floating in midair over four long tables holding glittering goblets and plates. In front of them, facing the rest of the students, was a long table full of teachers, in front of which McGonagall stopped the new students. When they stopped, Hermione looked up at the ceiling - but it didn't look like a ceiling. It was littered with stars and looked like the hall simply opened up into the night sky.
"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside," Hermione whispered excitedly to Neville. "I read about it in Hogwarts, A History."
Hermione's attention focused back on Professor McGonagall when she brought out a four-legged stool and placed an old, frayed hat on top of it. Hermione was just wondering if it was going to do anything when it opened at the brim and began to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than 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 Gryffindors 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 kind;
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 a Thinking Cap!"
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song; Hermione joined in, smiling. This was going to be much easier than performing a spell!
"So we've just got to try on the hat! I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll," she heard Ron whisper to Harry. She rolled her eyes. There was no way the staff would let first-years take on a troll!
Professor McGonagall stepped forward with a roll of parchment in her hand. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted." She looked at the list. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A small blonde girl with pigtails stumbled up to the stool and put the hat on her head. Hermione was only able to glimpse her pink face for a second before the hat fell over her eyes.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shouted after a moment's pause. The table on the right erupted in applause as she went to join them.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!" The hat called; now it was the table on the left that applauded as Terry joined them; some even rose to shake his hand.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Brown, Lavender!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The other table on the left sounded like it exploded; there was clapping and whistling and Hermione even saw two boys that looked sort of like Ron catcalling. She tutted; didn't they have any common decency?
"Bullstrode, Millicent!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
The table of green-and-silver-clad students clapped politely, but there wasn't the over-enthusiastic greeting that the other first-years had gotten. Hermione wondered for a second what it would be like in that house, but shook her head. She didn't belong there, and she knew it.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Granger, Hermione!"
Hermione's heart skipped a beat as she ran up to the stool and jammed the hat on her head. It was finally her turn! The hat didn't call out a House right away though...
"Where to put you... I think you would do well in Ravenclaw, with brains like yours... but then there's courage too, and what a streak of loyalty..." Hermione bit her lip, hoping that it would choose -
"GRYFFINDOR!"
She bounced happily off towards the Gryffindor table, feeling herself blush as they applauded and whistled at her.
"Longbottom, Neville!"
The hat took a while to decide where to put Neville. Hermione wondered if it was talking to him like it did to her, and where he would end up.
"GRYFFINDOR!" It finally shouted and Neville ran to join the table, still wearing the hat on his head. He had to run back up to hand it off to "Malfoy, Draco."
The second the hat touched Malfoy's head it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!" The pale blond boy swaggered off to join the table, looking quite pleased with himself. Hermione tuned out for a moment, taking some time to look around the hall and appreciate the place where she would now be spending quite a bit of time eating, drinking, and hopefully making friends. There was one name that caught her attention, however.
"Potter, Harry!"
The hall went deadly quiet, students from every table craning their necks to get a better look at the famous Harry Potter. Slowly, whispers began to come from each of the tables; it sounded almost like the hall was full of hissing.
"Potter, did she say?"
"The Harry Potter?"
Hermione felt a little bad for him as she watched him make his way to the four-legged stool. It took the hat quite a while after he put it on; she wondered what it was telling him, whispering in his ear like it did to her. After what seemed like years, the hat finally opened its brim wide and said: "GRYFFINDOR!"
The table Hermione was sitting at absolutely exploded. Every single student was clapping and howling as Harry made his way to join them. Hermione thought he looked very pale. One of the prefects stood up and shook his hand and the two redheads that whistled at Lavender Brown were chanting, "We got Potter! We got Potter!"
Once the tumultuous noise had subsided, Hermione noticed that there were only four people left to be sorted.
"Thomas, Dean!"
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Turpin, Lisa!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Weasley, Ronald!"
It was the other boy that Hermione had met on the Hogwarts Express's turn to be sorted. She noticed that he was a rather delicate shade of green as he made his way to the stool and tried the hat on. It didn't take long for it to decide.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
The redheaded twins and the prefect that had shaken Harry's hand all applauded loudly; Hermione guessed that they were all related. It would make sense that family members were sorted into the same house. She watched as he came over and sat down next to Harry, looking relieved.
"Well done, Ron, excellent," the prefect said as "Zabini, Blaise!" was called by McGonagall.
"SLYTHERIN!"
With the final student sorted, McGonagall picked up the stool and hat and left the hall. A silver-bearded wizard stood up at the teachers' table; Hermione knew this to be Albus Dumbledore - she had read all about him in her books over the summer.
"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" He smiled out at the students. "Thank you!"
And he sat down. Everyone applauded and cheered, but Hermione was unsure of what he meant. She heard Harry ask the prefect if the headmaster was mad, and she listened for the older boy's answer.
"Mad? He's a genius! Best wizard in the world! But he is a bit mad, yes. Potatoes, Harry?"
Hermione looked down at the table, which was now full of roast beef and chicken, pork and lamb chops, bacon, sausages, all kinds of potatoes, vegetables, Yorkshire pudding, and peppermint humbugs. Her stomach growled; she hadn't realized just how hungry she was, and piled food onto her plate. Everything was delicious!
"That does look good," the ghost with the ruff that they had heard speaking earlier said, a rather sad look on his face.
Hermione noticed the guilty look on Harry's face. "Can't you - ?"
"I haven't eaten for nearly four hundred years. I don't need to, of course," the ghost said, puffing his chest out slightly, "but one does miss it. I don't think I've introduced myself? Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."
"I know who you are!" Ron burst out. "My brothers told me about you - you're Nearly Headless Nick!"
Hermione didn't say anything but thought Ron was being quite rude. It didn't seem to be a nickname that Sir Nicholas liked either.
"I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas de Mimsy -" he began, but was interrupted by a student whose name Hermione had temporarily forgotten.
"Nearly headless?" he asked bluntly. "How can you be nearly headless?"
"Like this," Sir Nicholas said, clearly not happy with the direction their conversation had gone. He grabbed his left ear and gave it a tug; his head swung off of his shoulders but didn't come cleanly away - someone had obviously tried to cut it off properly but not done a good job of it. He did look pleased at all the shocked faces of the first-years and bumped his head back on before speaking again. "So - new Gryffindors! I hope you're going to help us win the House Championship this year? Gryffindors have never gone so long without winning. Slytherins have got the cup six years in a row! The Bloody Baron's becoming almost unbearable - he's the Slytherin ghost."
Hermione turned back to her food, polishing off her plate and then awkwardly looking around before getting into a conversation about classes with the prefect, whose name was Percy. He was one of Ron's older brothers and seemed to think along the same lines as Hermione.
"I do hope they start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Transfiguration, you know, turning something into something else, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult - "
"You'll be starting small, just matches into needles and that sort of thing," Percy the Prefect said. "It is one of the more interesting subjects, however... what is it?" Percy turned to Harry, who had just exclaimed in pain.
"N-nothing." He rubbed his forehead and then asked, "Who's that teacher talking to Professor Quirrell?"
"Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to - everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape."
Hermione felt a little uncomfortable learning that information. Why give a subject to a teacher that didn't want to teach it? And why was he not allowed the Defense Against the Dark Arts position anyway? There must have been a good reason for Dumbledore to have put him where he was...
"Ahem -" Dumbledore said, getting to his feet. "Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the Forbidden Forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well."
Hermione noticed the redheaded twins - Fred and George, Percy had said their names were - exchanged grins. Dumbledore continued.
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their House teams should contact Madam Hooch. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."
Some students laughed; Hermione didn't think that the headmaster would joke about such a serious thing. She snorted in disbelief of their childish actions and just managed to catch Percy whispering something to Harry.
"Must be. It's odd ,because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere - the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore seemed quite happy about this, but the rest of the teachers seemed to stiffen in their seats. The headmaster flicked his wand and a long, golden ribbon flew out of it and formed into words above the tables. "Everyone pick their favorite tune, and off we go!"
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot."
Hermione thought it sounded rather horrible with the mix of different tunes... she noticed Fred and George had finished last, singing a very slow funeral march. Dumbledore was one of the few who applauded once the school had finished.
"Ah, music... a magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"
Percy the Prefect lead the first-years up the marble staircase, through corridors hidden behind moving panels and tapestries, and up more staircases to find the Gryffindor common room. Hermione was quite exhausted at this point and wasn't paying too much attention and nearly walked into someone as they came to a sudden halt.
"Peeves," Percy the Prefect said to a floating bundle of walking sticks above them. They began to throw themselves at him. "A poltergeist," he offered as an explanation. "Peeves, show yourself."
There was a sound like the air being let out of a balloon, but nothing else happened.
"Do you want me to go to the Bloody Baron?"
With a pop!, a little man with dark eyes glittering with mischief and a wide mouth appeared; he was sitting cross-legged and clutching the walking sticks in his lap.
"Oooooooh, Ickle Firsties! What fun!" He cackled and swooped suddenly at them, forcing the students to duck.
"Go away, Peeves, or the Baron'll hear about this, I mean it!"
Peeves blew a raspberry and vanished, letting the walking sticks hit Neville on the head. As he zoomed away, he rattled the coats of armor lining the corridor.
"You want to watch out for Peeves," Percy warned as he began to walk again. "The Bloody Baron's the only one who can control him, he won't even listen to us prefects. Here we are."
They had come to a portrait of a large woman in a pink silk dress. Hermione guessed that she guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor common room and dormitories.
"Password?"
"Caput Draconis," Percy the Prefect said confidently and the portrait swung forward, revealing a warm, round room full of squashy armchairs. Percy showed the boys and girls their respective dormitories and Hermione was only too glad to sink onto her four-poster bed and fall asleep after grabbing Hogwarts, A History for her bedside table, just in case.