The sound of owls, cats and even toads could be heard distinctly amongst the laughter and chattering of old and new friends. The candy lady could also be heard, asking kids if they wanted sweets.
This was the moment Rose has been waiting for her whole life, to finally be able to go to Hogwarts, and learn spells, potions, and maybe even make new friends. But what Rose was looking forward to most, was being able to fly, because her parents never allowed her to play at home for very long.
Rose was already dressed in her Hogwarts robes, and was looking out the window, anxious to get to Hogwarts. Rose was a relatively plain girl, on the tall side, with vivid red hair. She had one brother, Hugo, who was 2 years younger than Rose, and was not in Hogwarts yet. As Rose looked up, she saw her friend Albus Potter, her cousin, James Potter, and a few of James friends. James was in his second year, while Albus was in his first year, like Rose. Even though they'd only been on the train for 10 minutes, but it felt like forever to Rose.
"You know, it does no good to worry, come on, it's going to be fine Rose, loosen up!" James exclaimed, noticing Roses anxiousness.
"But what if nobody likes me? Or if I make a fool of myself during the sorting?"
"Come on Rose, everyone will like you, and you'll make friends in no time, and you won't make a fool of yourself while being sorted, it'll be fine!"
Before Rose could respond, the compartment door opened, showing the candy lady. James and his friends got up to buy some sweets. Rose was feeling too queasy to eat, so she stayed seated with Albus, watching the fields pass by outside the window. James came back a few minutes later, laden with sweets, like Bertie Botts Every Flavored Bean, Drubles Best Chewing Gum, Pumpkin Pastries, Chocolate Frogs and a lot more. As James and his friends ate there sweets, more thoughts plagued Roses mind. What if I fail all my classes? What if the teacher's give out to much homework? What if I get in trouble at school, and have to be expelled? Rose tried to push these thoughts away, but found it very challenging. She looked at James eating his chocolate frogs, wondering how he could be so calm. Then she looked at Albus, who looked about as scared as nervous as she felt. This did not help her much.
The minutes inched by, so slow, that Rose wondered if her watch had stopped working. Just then, the compartment door opened, this time with a group of girls.
"Hey James," one of the girls said sweetly, want to come sit in our Compartment?"
"Sure! Hey Rose, Albus, relax! It's going to be fine! And if it's not I'm sure mom and dad won't mind you coming home early. I'm just kidding! Here, have a chocolate frog." James said as he left, tossing a chocolate frog to Rose. Rose was not that hungry, so she pocketed it for later.
The compartment door closed, leaving Rose and Albus in silence, both to engrossed in their own thoughts.
After about an hour passed, Rose was feeling so nervous that she brought out her already familiar spell books, and surfed through them, like she did so many times at home. This strangely calmed her down. After she started reading, the time flew, and before she knew it, it was getting dark. She knew they'd be at Hogwarts soon, so she put her books away, and listened to the sound of the train as it rushed across the tracks. After a few minutes, Roses stomach began to growl, and seeing as how she had had no food since lunch time, it made sense. Suddenly, Rose remembered the chocolate frog James had tossed her, as she opened it up, she first ate the frog, then looked at the card. All chocolate frogs had famous witches or wizards in them, and a little about the person. Rose had over 400 cards so far. A few of Roses favorite cards were the ones of her parents, and her uncle. It talked about their bravery in the 'Battle of Hogwarts'. Rose's card was Merlin, and since she had about 10 of him, she threw it away, and began eating her frog when a voice rang out over the speakers.
"We will be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes, please change into your robes if you haven't already, and please leave your stuff on the train."
As Rose heard this, her heart pounded, and all of her fears came back, and brought along some friends. As the train slowed to a halt, Rose got up, and followed the flow of students out the train doors. Once they left the train, Rose heard a familiar voice come over the all the chatter.
"Firs' years this way, firs' years, over her'!"
"Hagrid!" Rose heard Albus say before he ran over to the giant.
When all the first years where over by Hagrid, they made their way to the lake, and as they turned the corner, they saw their first view of Hogwarts. A lot of students gasped, and so did Rose. Rose had heard a lot about Hogwarts, and that it was the best school in all of Brittan, but after seeing the castle in person, she concluded that Hogwarts was amazing. The castle itself was extravagant, but the mountains surrounding it made it look like a picture. Rose walked memorized to the lake, and she and Albus got into a boat like Hagrid instructed.
"Alright, were goin' ter row across the lake ter the castle, an' no more than four ter a boat, alright?"
Rose didn't even realize who was in her boat, until she heard a voice.
"My father says Hogwarts was a good school, but it's gone downhill since the old headmaster was murdered." The voice sounded cold, and unfriendly. Rose looked up, and saw a boy she met on the platform. He had platinum blond hair, cold grey eyes, and pale skin, like he'd never seen the sun. Rose was sure she'd heard her parents say his name, but she couldn't remember. For the rest of the trip across the lake, no one talked. As they reached shore, everyone got together, before they began to climb the stairs to Hogwarts.
When they got to the door, Hagrid knocked three times, then waited. A few moments passed in silence, before the door opened. In the doorway stood a tall, brunet witch with her hair pulled back in a tight ponytail. The witch looked young, and had an impassive expression, but her eyes looked kind.
"Alright first years, follow me." The witch said, leading the first years in the castle. They were still in silence, except for the sound of footsteps. A few quiet murmurs broke out here and there, mainly people wondering aloud about where they were going.
They walked past a door which obviously was the entrance to the dining hall since they could hear chattering from behind it, but they walked right past the door, into a little room across the hall.
As they waited, it was silent again, with people shuffling nervously. This gave Rose nothing to focus on to take her attention away from her extreme nervousness.
As the seconds ticked by, Rose grew more and more nervous. Finally, the witch came back, and led them to the Great Hall. When all the first years were in the aisle between the tables, there was a few seconds of silence, as the people around the first years, looking at an old hat sitting on a stool in the front of the room. Suddenly, a rip on the hat formed, and it started to sing.
Many years I've sorted kids,
Where they belong to go,
Into houses that stand tall and proud
With the people who are friend or foe,
I might sort you in Gryffindor,
Where lay the true of heart,
Noble souls, and brave deeds,
Are Gryffindors true art.
Or maybe in wise Ravenclaw,
Is where you belong,
If intelligence and wit,
Is where you prolong.
Or possibly sweet Hufflepuff,
Where the loyal lie,
Loyalty and friendship,
Is where Hufflepuffs arise.
Or in sly Slytherin,
Where the cunning and ambitious lay,
Whether for themselves or for another,
They always find a way.
Now you've heard my song,
You've heard my tale,
Of our houses strong and true,
So put me on, and I'll do my best,
To sort you where you're meant to go.
The hat finished its song, and everyone started to clap and cheer. When the applause died down, the brunette witch started the sorting.
"Acer, Sarah" A nervous looking girl walked up to the stool, sat down, and after a moment or two, the hat shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!"
More names got called, "Booth, Alex" Got sorted into Ravenclaw, and "Clade, Alison" Was put into Slytherin. As more names got called, the more nervous Rose got. She barely heard the sorting. But one name caught her interest. "Malfoy, Scorpius" Rose looked up, and saw the boy from the boat. So his name is Scorpius. She thought. Right as the hat was about to go over his eyes, their eyes met, and Rose felt a strong emotion flood through her heart. Before she could figure out what the emotion was, or what it meant, the hat went over Scorpius' eyes, breaking their eye contact. A few second later, "SLYTHERIN" was shouted out, and he hopped off the stool, and walked to the Slytherin table, leaving Rose confused.
The sorting continued, and she zoned out again, until she heard Albus' name be called. Her cousin walked up to the stool, and sat down. Rose crossed her fingers, hoping he would get Gryffindor. The hat barely touched his head, when it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!" Rose cheered loudly for Albus, as she could see the huge smile on his face, as he nearly ran to the Gryffindor table to sit next to James.
The applause died down, and Rose's fear peaked. There were only five more people left to be sorted, "Previl, Adams"(HUFFLEPUFF!) "Roberts, Rebecca" (RAVENCLAW!) "Travis, Edward," (GRYFFINDOR!) And finally...
"Weasley, Rose" She walked shakily up to the stool, and sat down, her heart racing a mile a minute. She saw the Brunette witch lift the hat up, and a second later, she was engulfed in darkness. Suddenly, a voice rang out in her ears.
"Hmmm, a Weasley. An excellent mind you have, very bright. Lots of courage… Where to put you… Very smart, but also very brave… Better be, GRYFFINDOR!"
The hat got lifted off of her head, and she felt so relieved. She stood up, and strode over to sit next to her cousins. The sorting ended, and a stern looking women, who Rose knew to be Professor McGonagall, stood up, and walked over to the podium.
"Welcome all of you to Hogwarts. There is a time for speeches, but that time is not now. Enjoy the feast."
As she sat down, the gold colored plates filled with foods of every kind. Still famished, Rose ate as much as she could of everything. She and Albus chatted happily about anything they could think of. James entered their conversation a few times, but otherwise kept to his group.
After everyone had had their fill, the food cleared away, only to fill again with different types of desserts. Rose was stuffed to burst, but still managed to put away a treacle tart, and some pudding before she was content.
After everyone ate all they could, the plates cleared again, leaving the plates as bare as they were before dinner started. As the food vanished, McGonagall stood up again, and said,
"Not that you've all been fed, let me introduce myself. I am Professor McGonagall, Headmistress of Hogwarts. I have a few rules for the new students, and also for a few of the older students who may have forgotten them. The forest on the grounds is forbidden. If one of the staff find you in there, you will be punished severely. Also, no magic is to be used between classes in the corridors.
"Quidditch tryouts will be held the third week of term. Anyone who is interested should talked to their head of house for the specific dates.
"Now it is time for bed. Prefects, lead the first years to their dormitories."
Rose was glad it was time for bed, because she was extremely tired after this exhausting day. She followed the prefects up several staircases, and through a few doors pretending to be walls, before they stopped in front of a portrait of a fat woman.
"Password?" The fat lady asked.
"Pigfarts." One prefect responded.
The portrait nodded, and opened up to reveal a gold and red colored room.
"Girls dormitories are up the stairs to the right, boys are up the stairs to the left."
Rose followed the other girls up the stairs, and found her room. She was so tired, that as soon as she found her bed, she was out like a light, not even bothering to learn her dorm mates names.