Disclaimer: I, in no way, shape or form, in this world or any other, own any part of Harry Potter or any of the other characters entailed within or associated with the series written oh-so well by one wonderful lady, J.K. Rowling.
Oh yes, and a small note on the side: this is my first Harry Potter fanfic. In all honesty, up to this point I've only written novella-like prose about bands. Which bands? Well, the band really depends on what the flavor of the month was for me. If you want to read those, just as comparison, or even to laugh at in their awfulness, feel free to ask me and I'll let you know where you can find them…
Nervous brown eyes darted every which way as anxious legs took turns shaking. Stop freaking out, Jae. Pull yourself together. A young girl, just 11-years-old closed her eyes tightly and yet it didn't seem to help. The words of her favorite song flowed through her head, but even that wasn't calming her down. She started to mouth the words.
This world's not the same
Well that's what they say
It keeps getting worse
With each passing day
When I look around
I don't know what they see
Because every day's perfect
When I can be me
She found herself whispering them ever so lightly, so she could only barely hear them. It seemed that everything went away when she sang. All that was there were the words and the melody and a simple peace that made her feel like she could breathe again. Sure, she knew she wasn't going to sing professionally someday, but it was something for her to enjoy. Not something she had to do for anyone else.
However, her eyes opened as the train slowed and eventually stopped. She looked around and felt very lucky that she'd managed a compartment to herself so she could have her mental conniption without interruption or questioning from a stranger. She felt as though she would get enough of that later.
The train stopping made it real. She was really going to this new school. Her brother had been going there for two years already, this would be his third. He had been in her compartment, trying to comfort her without much actual progress. She was actually relieved that he'd gone. His stories of what had happened at this school didn't do much to calm her nerves at all.
But now? Now she actually had to will her legs to carry her off the train. And somehow, to her astonishment, she managed to stand up with only the slightest sign of nausea. With her breath slightly labored from all the anxiety building up, she managed to quietly step out into the hall of the train. A sea of black greeted her: her new classmates mixed among those of much higher knowledge. She wondered if all of the first years felt as awkward as she did.
Some students gently pushed and shoved as the line disembarked into the semi-darkness that was the station. As she waited for her turn to step down onto solid ground again, she could feel gentle breezes lap at her face and she smiled, hoping that for once when she tried to assure herself it would turn out alright, that she wouldn't be mistaken.
Tucking her long, brown hair behind her ears and feeling the signs of sickness slowly engulf her stomach again, she stepped down and tried to take everything in. There was a great range of students. Some were short and some were tall; some were fat and some were skinny; and they all seemed to be talking and walking and finding friends who had gotten lost in the bustle. There were benches that seemed to shiver from the cold, and sad leaves that inhabited them for a short while before being whisked off by the wind to find a new home.
The one thing that really caught her eye was a man. Not just any man. A man with a wild mane of dark hair who was at least two and a half times her height and four times her width. She ignored her initial sign of fright because she saw how his smile stretched from his lips all the way to his eyes, and decided this was a potential friend. He was holding a lantern and she could only barely make out what he was saying. "Firs' years, this way. Come now, don' be shy. Firs' years, come with me."
This caused a pang of an emotion she couldn't yet define to shoot through her. Many of the younger students gaped openly at the man's appearance as they crowded around him, none getting too close. She slowly made her way over to the man and joined the pack. He repeated again and again his same invitation for the first years, until all of the students had come off the train.
"Tha' will be all of yeh then, this way," the man said, walking backward for a moment but turning around to lead the way. A few of the first years talked amongst themselves, but most were silent. However, she could tell that there seemed to be groupings of friends that were walking together. She sighed deeply and simply followed the man without speaking.
Her brother had told her of what the first years normally did. They were pulled aside after the train and, instead of taking carriages to the castle, they rode in boats across the lake. She was never sure exactly why they did this, but sure enough the man lead them to the edge of a lake much larger than Jaedyn had thought it would be.
Standing there, looking out, she felt small and so different and out of place in the otherwise beautiful scene. Beyond the deep blue (and with the falling sun, nearly black) lake, there was a castle that was so vast and beautiful it took a moment for her eyes to drink it all in.
As her boat seemingly slid across the lake, she seemed to notice some new tower with each look. So many stretched toward the sky; each one proudly proclaiming its own excellence and showing off how it was different from the rest. Hundreds of tiny lights dotted each of the towers, like tiny eyes that peered kindly at all the first years, drawing closer. She felt comforted at the feeling she got from its magnificence.
She tried to concentrate on that warm feeling even as they climbed stone steps up to where they would be divided. Where all of the pairs of eyes would be gazing upon them as each one was judged and sorted. She gulped, but soon enough felt signs of sickness slowly ebbing away. This was definitely a good sign.
The man had told them to walk up some steps and that they would meet a professor at the top of them. Sure enough there was a rather stern looking woman who eyed them as they made their final assent to the floor at which she stood. Jaedyn's hands shook as the students all stopped on the steps and watched the woman expectantly.
By the way she looked, she seemed none too happy; but perhaps she always looked like that. "I am Professor McGonagall. Soon enough, you will all be allowed into the Great Hall, just through those doors. Before you sit, however, you will be sorted into your houses. There are four: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. The house you are sorted into will be your home whilst you are here. Accomplishments will result in points being awarded to your house. The opposite is true as well; if you break any rules, your house will lose points. At the end of the school year, the house who has done the best and accumulates the most points gets the House Cup."
She paused, seemingly to see if any of the group had questions. Apparently, no one did. Everyone sort of looked around expectantly.
A small, gray-haired wizard poked his head through the large doors and nodded. Professor McGonagall said, "Come on, now," and walked in a way that commanded respect and demanded to be followed.
As those in front started to follow her, Jaedyn felt as though she was having a heart attack. Calm down. Calm down.
She didn't know what she would do if she wasn't in the same house as her brother. She would have no friends. She tried to shake those thoughts out of her head as she stepped through the doors and into a much larger, and grander room. The first thing she noticed as she walked in was the ceiling. It mirrored the sky outside and she suddenly remembered reading about it in Hogwarts, A History.
She noticed next, the four long tables that were arranged in front of a longer table perpendicular to them. She assumed the four were the house tables, and saw an old wizard, who she immediately knew was Professor Dumbledore, staring at her from the professors' table. Her eyes scanned the students for her brother, but her feet and her stomach were plotting against her. Both made her feel sick and wobbly.
The group stopped and congregated around a three-legged wooden stool that seemed battered and old. Upon it, Professor McGonagall set an even older-looking hat. This she remembered from her brother's explanations as well.
Professor McGonagall pulled out a long piece of parchment and stared at the students before explaining, "When I read your name off this list, you will come sit on this stool and I will put the Sorting Hat on your head, and it will shout out the house it has decided you belong in." She paused, letting it sink in. She started with "Abbott, Henry" and as the list went on and she saw each person descend the steps, welcomed with cheers and clapping. Her cheeks flushed and her insides curled as the Ks zipped by. Soon enough she heard her name echo through the hall.
"Longbottom, Jaedyn."