Stood at the entrance to the great hall, books and wand in hand, Thea's heart thumped hard against the cage that confined it. The large, oak door towered over her, a physical reminder that at Hogwarts, she was miniature compared to other students. Hogwarts had created many famous witches and wizards, including Harry Potter. Thea had gushed over him and his friends from afar, particularly Hermione, whom she felt she identified with most. Having grown up in a family who travelled, never settling in any one place for long, Thea was envious of the connection and friendship that Harry, Ron and Hermione had formed. But now, as she gathered her courage to enter the great hall and find out which house she would be sorted into, she couldn't help but feel that this school would change her forever.
As she took a step forward, a tall boy with platinum blond hair shoved past her and flung the doors to the hall open. A gust of wind from the large hall blew Thea's short blond hair in all directions. The boy marched through the hall and towards the Slytherin table where he sat down with a stern look on his face. Thea took a deep breath and walked quietly down the aisle of the hall. At the other end of the long there was a crowd of first years standing anxiously awaiting their turn to be sorted into their houses. As if joining as a sixth year wasn't hard enough, Thea had to be sorted with the first years, a true embarrassment for someone who hated attention.
She scanned the hall for the familiar faces of Harry, Ron and Hermione, but had no luck. Instead, she was met with the judgemental faces of the other students. Looking down at her newly polished heeled shoes, she continued forward until she blended in with the other students awaiting their fates. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were stood on the podium, reeling off names and sorting students quickly and efficiently.
'Goodman, Thea,' McGonagall called.
Thea anxiously took her seat upon the podium as the sorting hat was placed upon her head heavily. She tried her best not to think about anything out of fear that she would be sorted into the wrong house, but as she glanced around the room she locked eyes with the boy from earlier. His icy blue eyes were like looking into the ocean in Bali, or the sky on a winters day. Instantly calming, Thea had almost forgotten that she was being sorted. That was until the hat bellowed,
'SLYTHERIN. You'll enjoy yourself, I'm sure,'
The Slytherin table were giving her a round of applause as she stepped down from the podium. But Thea wasn't sure if she wanted Slytherin. She hadn't really thought about it. She had worried about being put in to the wrong house, but never about which was the wrong one. As she joined the others at her table, she caught a glimpse of a familiar brown-haired boy sat at the Gryffindor table. Harry was sitting next to two other people, not Ron and Hermione, but a surreal feeling swept through Thea's body like she was in a dream. Harry Potter in the flesh, sitting in the same room as her. A smile creeped up on her face that couldn't be contained as she admired from afar someone who she had only read about.
Perhaps she would feel at home here after all.