The Hogwarts Express pulled into platform 9 ¾ in Hogsmead at exactly 8 'o'
clock. I climbed out of the train, along with a small crowd which quickly
turned into a large crowd as the train emptied. I saw a huge man with
shaggy black hair and a beard to match holding a lamp and calling,
"First years! This way!"
Technically that meant me, but I was 15 and nobody could make me ride with
11 year olds in boats! I stroked the pearly white snake that was draped
over my shoulders, only as thick as a pencil and 1½ feet long.
Then I saw a boy with black hair, glasses, and a lightning shaped scar on
his forehead. It was Harry Potter! He was with two more people, a boy and a
girl. Maybe they could direct me. I walked up to them and tapped the girl
on the shoulder. She turned and I said, "Excuse me, but could you tell me
where I need to go to get sorted? I'm a transfer from Beaxbatons.
The girl smiled and said, "Of course! Get in a carriage and it'll take you
to the castle. When you get there, just follow the crowd. A lady with a
Scottish accent will be just inside the hall, waiting for Hagrid to bring
the first years. She's Professor McGonagall and she's in charge of the
sorting." Then the girl stuck out her hand and introduced herself,
"I'm Hermione Granger, by the way, this is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley."
She said, indicating the two boys. I shook her hand and said in reply,
"Nice to meet you, I'm Narcissa."
"What's your last name?" asked Ron.
I gulped. I'd been hoping nobody would ask me that. I felt embarrassed, as
I always did when someone asked me that question.
I answered, feeling my face burn, "Veela don't have last names."
"So you're a veela?" said Ron. I nodded, and then I turned slowly and
walked to find a carriage.
It was a bumpy ride, and it smelled faintly of hay and rotten cabbage. I was sitting by the door, with two girls across from me (Who I found out later were Lavender Brown and Pavati Patile) and a boy next to me (Neville Longbottom). When the carriage stopped, I pushed the door open and got out quickly. I wasn't use to being suffocated in smelly carriages. I followed the crowd into the castle as instructed, and found a lady with a Scottish accent, Professor McGonagall, and I was told to stand next to her. She gathered a stool, tattered wizards hat, and a creamy colored scroll. Soon the gigantic man appeared, leading a line of scared looking 11 year olds. Professor McGonagall. Thanked him and he walked into the great hall. "Follow me, please." Said Professor McGonagall to the first years. Then she walked toward the double doors, and they magically opened for her. She walked through with me behind her and the rest behind me. Everyone was politely quiet when Professor McGonagall walked through the doors, but whispers broke out when the first years appeared. People gave younger siblings thumbs up and smiled reassuringly. We made our way to the teacher's table that lined the back of the great hall. When we reached it, Professor McGonagall told me to wait off to the side and for the first years to line up in front of the table, and then she set down the stool in the middle of the front of the teacher's table. She unrolled the scroll and held it in one hand, while holding the sorting hat in the other. Then she spoke in a clear, loud voice. "When I call out your name from the scroll, you will come forward, sit on the stool, I will place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. The 4 houses are Hufflepuff, Gryffondor, Ravenclaw, and Slytharin. Alamine, Jenny!" A ginger haired girl came forward, nervousness all over her face. She sat on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. After about 7 seconds it shouted, "Ravenclaw!" The Ravenclaw table burst into applause, as did the teachers. Jenny happily joined the Ravenclaws. "Bambini, Samantha!" "Slytharin!" "Balico, Catharine!" "Gryffondor!" And so on. I was getting bored. The sorting was uninteresting, except to the first years, I suppose. I stool still, trying not to draw attention to myself. I hate it when people look at me because of my kind. Veela are the most beautiful beings on earth. We can control our 'powers' and I usually have mine 'off'. When our powers are 'on' we never walk, we glide. My grandmother, who is about Dumbledors age, is still dazzling, so we never lose our beauty. Only woman/girls can be veela and a veela cannot have a son. Finally I heard Professor McGonagall call my name, "-Narcissa!" She paused before she said my name because she usually said the last name first, and I didn't have one. I walked out and sat down on the stool, keeping every tiny bit of power locked in. I felt the hat being lowered on my head and I held my breath. I looked around and spotted the 3 who had helped me earlier, Hermione, Harry and Ron, I think it was. The hat startled me by shouting, "Gryffondor!" The Gryffondor table applauded and I stood. I was slightly confused at where to sit, but then my common sense returned from its, ehem, long vacation. I decided to sit at the table applauding, aren't I cleaver? I sat down across from the same 2 girls I had ridden the carriage with. They welcomed me and introduced themselves, "Hi, I'm Lavender Brown." Said the light browned girl. "And I'm Pavati Patile." Said the other, with dark brown hair. I told them I was Narcissa. When the sorting ceremony was finished, Professor Dumbledor stood and the hall quieted. "Welcome to Hogwarts! There are a few rules I would like to bring to your attention. To all the first years: The dark forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden, as is the north tower except for classes. For all students: Mr.Filch has added some 24 items to the forbidden items list. If you wish to view the complete list, it is in Mr.Filch's office. The class schedules will be handed out tomorrow morning at breakfast. Now, let the feast begin!" As Dumbledor sat the plates, pots and serving dishes filled with delicious foods. I watched Lavender spoon vegetables onto her plate and I soon got the jest of how things worked. Directly in front of me was pot of steaming soup. I was used to soup, that was what we had for supper at Beaxbatons every night, thought each night it was a different kind. We had porridge, cream and fruit for breakfast, fish, potatoes and vegetables for dinner, and soup and bread for supper. We never had any kind of desert and everyone at Beaxbatons was pleasantly thin. Right at that moment I knew I was going to gain weight, a lot of weight. Everything looked so good! I ladled a small portion into my bowl and saw that it was fish soup, yum! I discreetly unscrewed a tiny bottle, no bigger than my thumbnail, from the necklace that it hung from. I carefully dropped a drop as big as a grain of sand and into the soup. It rippled for a second then went smooth and still. It looked like a pebble being dropped into a puddle.
It was a bumpy ride, and it smelled faintly of hay and rotten cabbage. I was sitting by the door, with two girls across from me (Who I found out later were Lavender Brown and Pavati Patile) and a boy next to me (Neville Longbottom). When the carriage stopped, I pushed the door open and got out quickly. I wasn't use to being suffocated in smelly carriages. I followed the crowd into the castle as instructed, and found a lady with a Scottish accent, Professor McGonagall, and I was told to stand next to her. She gathered a stool, tattered wizards hat, and a creamy colored scroll. Soon the gigantic man appeared, leading a line of scared looking 11 year olds. Professor McGonagall. Thanked him and he walked into the great hall. "Follow me, please." Said Professor McGonagall to the first years. Then she walked toward the double doors, and they magically opened for her. She walked through with me behind her and the rest behind me. Everyone was politely quiet when Professor McGonagall walked through the doors, but whispers broke out when the first years appeared. People gave younger siblings thumbs up and smiled reassuringly. We made our way to the teacher's table that lined the back of the great hall. When we reached it, Professor McGonagall told me to wait off to the side and for the first years to line up in front of the table, and then she set down the stool in the middle of the front of the teacher's table. She unrolled the scroll and held it in one hand, while holding the sorting hat in the other. Then she spoke in a clear, loud voice. "When I call out your name from the scroll, you will come forward, sit on the stool, I will place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. The 4 houses are Hufflepuff, Gryffondor, Ravenclaw, and Slytharin. Alamine, Jenny!" A ginger haired girl came forward, nervousness all over her face. She sat on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. After about 7 seconds it shouted, "Ravenclaw!" The Ravenclaw table burst into applause, as did the teachers. Jenny happily joined the Ravenclaws. "Bambini, Samantha!" "Slytharin!" "Balico, Catharine!" "Gryffondor!" And so on. I was getting bored. The sorting was uninteresting, except to the first years, I suppose. I stool still, trying not to draw attention to myself. I hate it when people look at me because of my kind. Veela are the most beautiful beings on earth. We can control our 'powers' and I usually have mine 'off'. When our powers are 'on' we never walk, we glide. My grandmother, who is about Dumbledors age, is still dazzling, so we never lose our beauty. Only woman/girls can be veela and a veela cannot have a son. Finally I heard Professor McGonagall call my name, "-Narcissa!" She paused before she said my name because she usually said the last name first, and I didn't have one. I walked out and sat down on the stool, keeping every tiny bit of power locked in. I felt the hat being lowered on my head and I held my breath. I looked around and spotted the 3 who had helped me earlier, Hermione, Harry and Ron, I think it was. The hat startled me by shouting, "Gryffondor!" The Gryffondor table applauded and I stood. I was slightly confused at where to sit, but then my common sense returned from its, ehem, long vacation. I decided to sit at the table applauding, aren't I cleaver? I sat down across from the same 2 girls I had ridden the carriage with. They welcomed me and introduced themselves, "Hi, I'm Lavender Brown." Said the light browned girl. "And I'm Pavati Patile." Said the other, with dark brown hair. I told them I was Narcissa. When the sorting ceremony was finished, Professor Dumbledor stood and the hall quieted. "Welcome to Hogwarts! There are a few rules I would like to bring to your attention. To all the first years: The dark forest on the grounds is strictly forbidden, as is the north tower except for classes. For all students: Mr.Filch has added some 24 items to the forbidden items list. If you wish to view the complete list, it is in Mr.Filch's office. The class schedules will be handed out tomorrow morning at breakfast. Now, let the feast begin!" As Dumbledor sat the plates, pots and serving dishes filled with delicious foods. I watched Lavender spoon vegetables onto her plate and I soon got the jest of how things worked. Directly in front of me was pot of steaming soup. I was used to soup, that was what we had for supper at Beaxbatons every night, thought each night it was a different kind. We had porridge, cream and fruit for breakfast, fish, potatoes and vegetables for dinner, and soup and bread for supper. We never had any kind of desert and everyone at Beaxbatons was pleasantly thin. Right at that moment I knew I was going to gain weight, a lot of weight. Everything looked so good! I ladled a small portion into my bowl and saw that it was fish soup, yum! I discreetly unscrewed a tiny bottle, no bigger than my thumbnail, from the necklace that it hung from. I carefully dropped a drop as big as a grain of sand and into the soup. It rippled for a second then went smooth and still. It looked like a pebble being dropped into a puddle.