With one last wave goodbye to her parents as they became specks in the distance, Rose Weasley followed her cousins Albus and James up the train corridor. Her trunk was heavy and full of brand new school books and Elmo (her new kitten who was christened by Hugo) was yowling and hissing in his cage. James slid open a compartment door, and entered, Albus and Rose hot on his heels. Inside were Louis, Fred and Molly Weasley.
"Al, Rosie," cried Molly, jumping up to hug the pair, her horn-rimmed glasses tilting lopsided slightly. She pushed them further up her nose. "Looking forward to your first year at Hogwarts?"
"Yes! It's going to be so much fun getting sorted, learning magic, playing Quidditch, spells everything will be amazing!" Rose beamed and sounded like her mother through her ecstatic words. "I've waited my whole life for this!" All Albus did was shrug half-heartedly which Rose couldn't understand. Why wasn't he looking forward to it?
"It's not everything you dream it is, Rosie! What about you, Al?" asked James, poking his brother in the arm. "No need to be so upbeat about it!"
"Oh nothing! I can't wait to go!" Albus' words were convincing and he smiled, but Rose could tell it was fake.
Albus and Rose took a seat. The others all had a huge stash of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. James jumped at the opportunity to have the sweets, and joined in with the messing around, followed by his brother, but Rose decided to be sensible and read Hogwarts, a History which her mother had practically begged her to read before she arrived. She pulled it out from the top of her trunk, smiling slightly as her mother's orders rang in her ears. 'Honestly, there are so many answers to questions you might have about Hogwarts. For example, Ron and Uncle Harry always had thoughts about people apparating and disapparating in Hogwarts grounds, even though it is clearly stated in Hogwarts, a History that you can't! You don't want to go to Hogwarts without reading it, Rosie.' Rose opened the book and began to read the first chapter.
"No, wait, Fred, try this one!" James yelled, chuckling.
A crackle of a wrapper and the sound of Fred chewing was all that could be heard. It was soon followed by roars of laughter from the rest of the group. Rose lifted her eyes from her book, distracted. Fred was suddenly as flexible as if he had no bones and he was bending his body in impossible ways. She glared at James' back as if he would see her angry looks, which he was very unlikely to notice. They were being so loud. Wasn't it obvious that she was trying to read? She sighed and her eyes flickered back to the beginning of the book.
Over 1,000 years ago Hogwarts was founded by Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helega Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin. Its precise founding date is unknown. The four friends all got along perfectly well until they began to have disagreements about which students should be allowed in the school. Godric Gryffindor only wanted witches and wizards with courage and -
"This one makes your feet swell up to twice their normal size!" an excited Louis exclaimed, causing Rose to jump at the sudden outburst.
"Guys, keep it down a little bit, would you?" she called, gaining their attention. She gestured to Hogwarts, a History. "Trying to read here!"
"Aw, OK. Sorry little Rosie!" Fred cooed, ruffling her fiery red hair.
Rose irritably flattened her hair back down and resumed her reading as her relatives quietened down.
Godric Gryffindor only wanted witches and wizards with courage and bravery, as he believed the most courageous wizards became the best. Rowena Ravenclaw had other ideas. She thought that students with brains would get the furthest in life. And Salazar Slytherin cared neither about courage or cleverness. In his opinion, the most talented witches and wizards were the ones who were born to purely wizarding families who had not married muggles. Helega Hufflepuff felt that everyone should be accepted into the school, no matter what their talents were as they could be taught to have all those talents.
And so, to solve the arguments, it was then that Godric Gryffindor removed the hat from his head-
There were shrieks of laughter so loud that Rose dropped her book and clapped her hands to her ears.
"Ugh, I'm going to go and find a separate carriage." Rose said loudly. She was determined to read Hogwarts, a History. She bent down, grabbed her book and carefully placed it back inside her trunk.
"We weren't that bad were we?" James asked innocently. Rose just stared at him. "Alright, but don't forget Elmo."
James gestured to Rose's tabby kitten, who was sprawled on his back, attacking Albus' laces playfully. She scooped him up in his arms and, having lost the laces, he began to paw Rose's hair whenever it moved. Rose had to find her way to the very end of the train for an empty carriage, where, with a relieved sigh, she plonked down onto the bench and let Elmo scurry out of her arms. The silence was comforting for Rose as she could only get about five minutes of calm back at home. She was already halfway through her book when the carriage door was tentatively opened.
"Everywhere else is full." A boy's voice came.
Rose glanced up and, for a few seconds, her mismatched eyes (one tropical blue and one ocean blue) lingered on the boy who had just entered her carriage. He had a pointed, pale face, sleek white-blonde hair and light grey eyes. After taking in his appearance, unfazed, Rose went back to her book. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the boy watch her in shock for a minute before taking the seat opposite her.
"Uh, my name's-"
"Scorpius Malfoy. I know," Rose cut him off without even shifting her gaze from the page. She sniggered slightly at the sound of his name.
"Do you think my name is stupid?"
"Only a little bit," Rose continued to read her book as she spoke in an almost bored voice. "But then again, your father is called Draco."
"How do you know that?" Scorpius looked intrigued.
"My father knew your dad. He warned me about you."
"I bet you're a Weasley."
Rose shut her book and placed it down next to her. "And what makes you say that?" she said, sweetly.
"Well at first I thought you were a Potter, but... Your hair," Scorpius smirked. His voice was slightly drawling, with a hint of amusement colouring the tones. "You're Rose Weasley. I know it. What's it like having your head on fire all the time?"
"Not all Weasleys have red hair! My mum has brown hair and my aunts, uncles and cousins aren't all ginger either," when all Scorpius did was laugh quietly to himself, Rose angrily folded her arms and scowled at him. "Fine. What's it like having your head constantly covered in ice?"
Scorpius Malfoy grinned at her, clearly delighted by what she had just said. "Was that supposed to be an insult?" slightly embarrassed, Rose avoided his eye, realising her insult had sounded far better in her head than it had out loud. Scorpius suddenly drew out his wand. "What spells do you know already?"
"Er..." Rose trailed off. She didn't know any spells at all, she had read about them and seen her parents perform them, but never actually tried. "A couple." She lied.
"Show me," Scorpius grinned, sinking further into his seat and placing his hands behind his head comfortably. "I would like to be amused."
"I don't want to. You're not allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts." Inside, she beamed at her excuse.
"On the Hogwarts express you're allowed to."
"I don't want to risk it. Expulsion before we've even arrived at Hogwarts?" Rose shivered slightly at the thought.
Scorpius sighed, but didn't press on the subject. "Anyway, don't you have a huge family? Why aren't you hanging out with them?"
"Having a huge family means noise," Rose said her voice changing back to a bored one and for the umpteenth time that day, she took hold of her book and flicked through the pages to find the correct one. "And noise isn't good when you want to read."
"I guess you want me to shut up then?"
"It would be preferable."
Rose expected him to start ranting about something just to irritate her, but instead he remained quiet. She secretly appreciated it, but wouldn't admit it.
When the trolley lady came, Rose had just finished her book. Scorpius stood up quickly and bought a whole load of food. He took his seat again with his arms full.
"That's a bit much, don't you think?" Rose said, raising an eyebrow at the sweets he was now piling into his trunk.
"Hey, a boy's gotta eat!" Scorpius still appeared to be slightly overwhelmed by the amount he had bought as if he didn't realise what he had just done. "Besides, it's not too much if I give these to you."
Rose caught the liquorice wand and packet of fudge flies single-handedly. She stuffed them into her overflowing trunk. "Thanks I guess, but I'm not eating anything until after the sorting."
"I take it that you're super nervous that you won't be sorted into Gryffindor," Rose said nothing and her ears turned red. When she thought about it, she was slightly nervous. "Aren't Gryffindors supposed to be brave?"
"I am brave!" she retorted. "And you want to be in Slytherin?"
"Family tradition. I have to work hard to keep it up."
Rose considered for a moment the possibility of being sorted into Slytherin. She quickly shook it from her mind. If she was, she'd let down her whole family. Just then, Elmo leapt up onto her lap and made himself comfortable. Scorpius glanced at the kitten, an odd expression on his face.
"What?" asked Rose, noticing his watchful eyes.
"Cats are just so... Boring."
Rose was offended. She was very fond of Elmo. "Oh and I suppose you have a more interesting pet?"
"As a matter of fact," he reached down under his seat and remerged clutching a cage. "I do."
He swung open the cage door and the hawk majestically swooped out. It perched on Scorpius' shoulder and he winced and prised its talons off. "This is Spike." He explained, running two fingers through the hawk's feathers. It had to be said, Spike was the complete opposite of boring. His outside feathers were a muddy brown colour, covering his gleaming white body. His tail feathers were crimson red.
"He is lovely," Rose admitted and he ruffled his feathers as if to say 'yes I am'. "But in my mind, you'd have a pet ferret."
Scorpius looked flabbergasted. "What...? You don't know about...?"
"It's a story my dad enjoys telling me a lot," Rose's eyes drifted from Spike to Elmo. He was watching Spike very intently. "Uh, Elmo seems a little too interested in Spike for my liking. You ought to put him away."
"No, you're just jealous that your cat is simple compared to a hawk. Spike is bigger than Elmo. If anything, he'd get your cat."
"Elmo has tackled rabbits twice his size and he has taken them to me. He's super clever and interesting. Just put Spike back into his cage." Rose insisted.
"He needs to stretch his wings."
"Fine. I'm leaving anyway. It's dark outside," she glanced out the window where the neat sheep-filled pastures had been swallowed up by the night. "And that means we're getting closer to Hogwarts. I'm finding my cousins."
She was angry at Scorpius for saying Elmo was boring and had already been thinking about her family and hoping they'd wish her luck for the sorting. Really, she just needed some sort of friendly company and Scorpius wasn't quite it. She grasped her trunk and forced Elmo back into his cage.
"See you, Weasel." Scorpius called after her.
She swivelled round, a terrifying glint in her eye. "Bye bye, ferret."
Pleased with herself by her dramatic exit, she struggled through the crowds of restless people who were standing the corridors, waiting for the train to stop. At first, she missed the carriage with her cousins in because it was being blocked off by some fourth years who were leaning against the door chatting. As she paced back the other way though, they shifted slightly and she caught a glimpse of Albus. Rose pushed past the fourth years and settled down on a seat.
"Hi!" she exclaimed loudly and breathlessly.
"Shh! Keep it down!" Molly hissed back and then with a giggle she added, "James is sleeping!"
Rose had a closer look at James and suppressed a laugh. He was slumped in his seat with his mouth wide open and drool trickling from the corner. He was snoring loudly. "He sleeps?" she whispered.
"Weird isn't it?" Albus said with a satisfied expression on his face as he watched his sleeping brother.
"Anyway, what did you get up to without us?" asked Louis brightly.
"Found a carriage, finished my book." Rose replied vaguely.
Just then, the train came to an abrupt halt. James' lolling head was quickly sent forwards and backwards and hit the wall of the carriage with a loud thunk. His eyes shot open and his hand flew to the back of his head. "Ow." He muttered, rubbing it.
"Wakey-wakey!" Louis cooed, clapping his hand to James' shoulder.
"Well come on guys, we want to get an empty carriage to get us to Hogwarts don't we?" Fred announced, jumping up with his trunk in one hand and a squirming rat in the other. "Or do we want to share one with a bunch of Slytherins?"
They all took their belongings from the floor of the carriage and bustled out of the train. On the platform there was a looming figure in front of them. It boomed, "Firs' years this way!"
"Oh, I forgot! You two are going with Hagrid, you're first years!" cried Molly. Then she noticed their expressions of horror at the mention of the word 'sorting'. "I'm sure you'll be fine. I was nervous before my sorting, but I got into Gryffindor! Good luck!"
Molly left with James, Fred and Louis and Rose and Albus were alone. Rose had not been feeling afraid of the sorting. She was positive she'd get into Gryffindor, but after noticing how petrified Albus was about being sorted and hearing Scorpius jeer about her being nervous, made her terrified. Molly doesn't understand how I feel right now. This is beyond the point of nerves, thought Rose. She turned to Albus for some kind of smile of reassurance, but even in the darkness she could see his sickly pale face. They moved slightly closer to the figure they assumed was Hagrid as there were plenty of other nervous-looking first years nearby. Rose's mother had always spoken very highly about Hagrid and she knew he was a half-giant with a big bushy beard and beetle black eyes. The description seemed to match the man.
"All righ' Rose and Albus?" the man asked. Rose jumped and was shocked that he seemed to know her name.
She turned to look at Hagrid. In the lantern light she realised how huge professor Hagrid actually was. "Yes, I'm fine." She answered shyly.
"Me too," Albus added, putting on a casual act, which Rose saw through instantly. "It's a little bit cold though."
"Easily fixed, tha'." He removed his moleskin coat and wrapped it around Albus. It was big enough to fit several Albus' in, but he appeared to be quite content with the large size of it.
"Thanks." Albus breathed.
"Yeh welcome," Hagrid held the lantern slightly lower and studied Rose's face. "Yeh look like yeh mother with yeh father's hair colour, Rose."
Rose glowed inside with pride. She was often told that she looked like her mother and always found it a lovely thing for someone to say. Hagrid grinned back at her. Eventually, he must have decided all the first years had arrived and they set off towards the black lake. The first years remained tightly packed together, too afraid to move out of the group and only speaking in barely audible whispers. They had to move fast to keep up with the half-giant.
When they reached the lake and clambered into the little boats tethered to the side by magic, Albus took Rose's hand and gave it a squeeze which she returned gratefully.
"Now, no more than three teh a boa'," Hagrid warned. "They can' hold much weigh'."
Albus and Rose scrambled into one. They were followed by a girl with pretty brown curls snaking their way to her waist. Rose saw Hagrid climb into a boat himself which shook dangerously under his weight. When all of the first-years were in a boat each, they set off, bobbing close together on the water. Rose had been told stories by her cousins about merpeople and grindylows and the giant squid and how dangerous they were. With those thoughts in her mind, she was convinced that every time the water rippled slightly more than it had originally been doing, a large tentacle would shoot out from beneath the waves and drag her down to the icy depths or the mer-people would climb up onto the boat and hurl her into the lake. To keep herself from watching the water so cautiously, she turned to look at the other first years. In the boat closest to hers, there were two boys whispering to each other. They were completely identical from their dirty blonde scraggly hair to their mismatched shoes. Rose wasn't conscious of her staring until one of the boys noticed her.
"Yes, we are twins," he said, as if reading her mind.
Colour rose to her cheeks and her ears turned red like they always did when she was embarrassed. "Sorry..." she mumbled to her feet.
"It's fine," the boy replied kindly. "I'm Lysander Scamander and this is my brother Lorcan Scamander."
"I'm Rose Weasley, and that's Albus Potter," she said as Lorcan raised a hand in greeting. Rose suddenly had an odd sense of déjà vu. She had heard the two names Lorcan and Lysander Scamander before. Her mind flew back to her home where there was a picture of her parents at a wedding and she squinted as she thought, trying to remember what the photo had written on the frame. Luna and Rolf's wedding. That was it. "Hold on what is your mother's name?"
"Luna Lovegood. She kept her maiden name."
"Our parents know each other!" exclaimed Albus as Rose opened her mouth to speak, cutting her off. "My sister's middle name is Luna after your mum!"
"Yeah she speaks pretty highly of your dad, Albus." Lorcan smiled, nodding wisely.
A loud barking welcomed them on the other side of the lake as their boats reached it. The noise was coming from a tiny puppy covered in gleaming white fur. Many of the first-years 'ahhed' at the excited yapping puppy, but Rose was not one of them. She had always hated dogs. The thought of them biting her made her shudder. It didn't make sense as cats bit too, but she just found cats far more cuddly and friendly. The boats stopped when they gently nudged the edge of the other side and Rose, like many of the other first years, hurried to get out. When Hagrid finally got out of his boat (the boat once again tipping a dangerous amount) he motioned for the first years to follow him to the front doors. Then he knocked on the doors three times.
Rose breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Neville Longbottom was behind those doors. A familiar friendly face was exactly what she needed. Professor Longbottom waved at Rose and Albus as they walked through the door that was held open for them. Hagrid did not follow them inside.
"Hello, I'm Professor Longbottom," he said. Rose half expected some giggles at the name, but they either didn't find it that funny or were just too nervous to laugh. "Stick together and, if you'd please follow me, I'll escort you to the Hall where you'll be sorted. Oh, and watch out for Peeves the poltergeist. He likes to taunt first years."
At the words poltergeist, a chain of whispering was set off by anyone who didn't know about ghosts. Rose didn't pay attention to her surroundings as Professor Longbottom lead them to the Hall. She was telling herself to stay calm, over and over again and she was beginning to get hysterical. The whispers going down the line did not help.
"I heard they make you perform three really difficult spells."
"My brother told me that if you don't get sorted you get sent home!"
"You know, they make McGonagall cast a jinx at you and you are sorted by the way you defend yourself."
Rose had read Hogwarts, a History and she knew perfectly well that these rumours weren't true, but at the time, she couldn't help but believe them.
"Now, I know you're all nervous, but you'll be fine," Professor Longbottom told them as they stood in the entrance hall. "I'll call you up in alphabetical order and you will be sorted. Are you ready? Let's go."
"Oh no, Rose," hissed Albus' voice in her ear. "I'm going to be sorted before you. Oh no. What if I'm in Slytherin?"
Rose did not answer him. She was thinking the same thing. A bubble of dread was welling up inside of her, threatening to explode. As they shuffled in, the first years' footsteps echoed loudly in the Great Hall as all else was silent. Rose stared on ahead at the three legged stool with a hat sat proudly on top of it and wondered how the hat was going to sort them as it didn't explain properly in her book. With her peripheral vision, she saw Albus desperately trying to catch James' eye, but he wasn't paying much attention to them. In fact he was so deep in quiet conversation with a girl next to him that it was as if he hadn't even noticed the first years had entered. How Rose envied his spot, just to be waiting for the sorting to be over and done with and to eat. To know that you would definitely be in Gryffindor.
"Adams, Sacha!" Professor Longbottom announced.
A large girl with a square jaw bounded up onto the three legged stool and Professor Longbottom told her to simply place the hat on her head. Moments later, a seam from the hat seemed to open. "Hufflepuff!" it shouted. There was a round of applause as Sacha Adams took her seat at the Hufflepuff table. If the process was that easy, why was Rose so scared? The line of first years slowly decreased as the sorting progressed. Rose squeezed her eyes shut and kept them held like that so tight that it began to sting. She didn't pay attention until the surnames reached M.
"Malfoy, Scorpius!"
Scorpius confidently strutted up and sat down on the stool. As he placed the hat on his head his eyes locked with Rose's. She distinctly saw him mouth Good luck, Weasel in the brief moment they had caught each other's eye. Then Rose turned away. The hat stayed on Scorpius' head for a while before eventually deciding, "Slytherin!" Just as she had thought. Two more boys were sorted before Albus (one in Ravenclaw and one in Hufflepuff). When it was his turn, his eyes widened and he hastily walked up to the stool, not glancing up at all from the ground. The hat didn't stay on long.
"Gryffindor!"
Rose almost wailed. As happy as she was that Albus had made it into Gryffindor, she wanted to be in his place at that moment in time, heading to the Gryffindor table with the worry of being in Slytherin clear from his mind.
Lorcan Scamander was sorted into Ravenclaw and Lysander was sorted into Gryffindor. Rose felt terrible that they had to split up. Finally, there were just four people left including her. She was next. The girl in front of her was sorted into Ravenclaw the moment the hat was placed on her head.
"Weasley, Rose."
Breathe, Rose, breath, you'll be fine. She told herself, not caring that she looked like an idiot, talking to herself. The walk from the line to the stool seemed to take hours and when she finally reached it, she desperately wanted to bolt out of the double doors and hide. But no. She couldn't do it. Taking a deep breath, she sat down on the stool and fitted the hat on her head.