Ariana fidgeted with the hem of the skirt her mother had insisted she wear on the train. She had nothing against skirts but she was forced to protest, otherwise her mom would make her wear one every day. She was extremely nervous about her first year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where her mother had gone to school (her father had attended The California Academy of Magic). She'd just boarded the train at King's Cross station and hadn't met anybody yet.
Suddenly with a loud BAM!, a bunch of fireworks went off and filled the cabin with green and blue stars. A burst of laughter from the front of the cabin brought her attention to two tall redheaded boys.
She shook her head and coughed to clear the smoke from her throat. With a quick glance around the cabin she decided she desperately needed to make a friend. Her eyes fell on a short brunette girl and standing up she moved and plopped down next to her.
Hi! I'm Ariana. What's your name?"
The girl looked shyly at her and quietly responded, "Amy."
"Nice to meet you Amy. We'll be at the school soon and I am soooo nervous! I need to go change into my robe but I really wanted to meet someone before I got to school. I'll see ya in a bit!" Ariana stood up and ignored the slightly stunned look on that her rushed monologue had left on Amy's face. She had that effect on people. She sighed and headed to change. Ten minutes later the train ground to a halt and she moved with the crush of people heading into the school.
A tall, wild-looking man who called himself Hagrid showed all the first years to the Great Hall where the Sorting Ceremony would take place. She somehow found herself sitting next to Amy in the audience. A hat was placed on a stool where it sang a song (a hat. Singing! Ariana thought incredulously, still in a daze) Then people started walking up to the front. The third person called was Amy. She slowly walked up to the front and sat on the stool where the hat loudly placed her in Ravenclaw. Ten people later Ariana heard her name called. She walked in a daze to the front of the room thinking in a total panic, How will I know where my house is sitting? She sat on the stool, placed the hat on her head and listened as it talked to her.
"Hmmm. Interesting. This doesn't take much debating. You belong in GRYFFINDOR," the hat shouted the last word to the hall. She took off the hat and saw a whole table of people standing and cheering to her great relief. She went over to sit there noticing as she did that the two redheaded tricksters from the trip were in that house too. The rest of the ceremony passed by in a haze of cheering and excitement. A man with a long silver beard who could only be Albus Dumbledore stood up and gave a speech that Ariana couldn't have remembered for the world and then they were all going to their houses for the first night in Hogwarts. All the first years met in the common room to get to know each other. Ariana went over to introduce herself to some girls by the fireplace.
"Hi. I'm Ariana," she said. She'd decided not to say too much when she first met her new housemates. People tended to think she was weird and stupid statements came out her mouth rather easily. The girls introduced themselves. She heard the names Lara, April, and Marcia and the other names she lost in the confused babble of introductions. Nodding politely she yawned and decided introducing herself to the guys could wait until tomorrow. She slowly made her way up the stairs to the first year dorm and claimed a good bed by the window. She stared blankly at the pile of luggage on her bed and deciding she was too tired to unpack simply pulled out the things she would need the next day. She lay down without bothering to draw the curtains around her bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Suddenly with a loud BAM!, a bunch of fireworks went off and filled the cabin with green and blue stars. A burst of laughter from the front of the cabin brought her attention to two tall redheaded boys.
She shook her head and coughed to clear the smoke from her throat. With a quick glance around the cabin she decided she desperately needed to make a friend. Her eyes fell on a short brunette girl and standing up she moved and plopped down next to her.
Hi! I'm Ariana. What's your name?"
The girl looked shyly at her and quietly responded, "Amy."
"Nice to meet you Amy. We'll be at the school soon and I am soooo nervous! I need to go change into my robe but I really wanted to meet someone before I got to school. I'll see ya in a bit!" Ariana stood up and ignored the slightly stunned look on that her rushed monologue had left on Amy's face. She had that effect on people. She sighed and headed to change. Ten minutes later the train ground to a halt and she moved with the crush of people heading into the school.
A tall, wild-looking man who called himself Hagrid showed all the first years to the Great Hall where the Sorting Ceremony would take place. She somehow found herself sitting next to Amy in the audience. A hat was placed on a stool where it sang a song (a hat. Singing! Ariana thought incredulously, still in a daze) Then people started walking up to the front. The third person called was Amy. She slowly walked up to the front and sat on the stool where the hat loudly placed her in Ravenclaw. Ten people later Ariana heard her name called. She walked in a daze to the front of the room thinking in a total panic, How will I know where my house is sitting? She sat on the stool, placed the hat on her head and listened as it talked to her.
"Hmmm. Interesting. This doesn't take much debating. You belong in GRYFFINDOR," the hat shouted the last word to the hall. She took off the hat and saw a whole table of people standing and cheering to her great relief. She went over to sit there noticing as she did that the two redheaded tricksters from the trip were in that house too. The rest of the ceremony passed by in a haze of cheering and excitement. A man with a long silver beard who could only be Albus Dumbledore stood up and gave a speech that Ariana couldn't have remembered for the world and then they were all going to their houses for the first night in Hogwarts. All the first years met in the common room to get to know each other. Ariana went over to introduce herself to some girls by the fireplace.
"Hi. I'm Ariana," she said. She'd decided not to say too much when she first met her new housemates. People tended to think she was weird and stupid statements came out her mouth rather easily. The girls introduced themselves. She heard the names Lara, April, and Marcia and the other names she lost in the confused babble of introductions. Nodding politely she yawned and decided introducing herself to the guys could wait until tomorrow. She slowly made her way up the stairs to the first year dorm and claimed a good bed by the window. She stared blankly at the pile of luggage on her bed and deciding she was too tired to unpack simply pulled out the things she would need the next day. She lay down without bothering to draw the curtains around her bed and was asleep before her head hit the pillow.