This has got to be the biggest building the Morgan sisters have ever stepped foot into... and it's just the entrance! They see countless staircases and corridors that will no doubt prove to be the cause of many tardies the first few days. All of the first years stay in the huddle as they follow an elderly woman wearing a pointy witches hat.
'I guess some Witch cliches are actually true...' Katrina thinks to herself, scanning over her peers. No one in particular stands out. Except for the people in the paintings who are greeting us, of course. Wait... talking paintings? This is all too much. 'What in the world did we sign in for...?'
"Everyone, your attention please," the witch guiding us, says. "In just a few moments, you will walk through these doors and be sorted into your houses. There are four in all, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin". She paused for a moment before she said the last one, with a bit of distaste. "While you're here, you house is like family. Your triumphs will earn you points, and your falters will make you lose points".
'Of course, houses. That makes sense.' Katherine thinks.
"Now, I will be back in a moment when I confirm that everyone is ready. Behave yourselves". She walks to the side and vanishes into the darkness. All the first years are pretty much silent, except for some whispering to aquaintences that they made on the train.
"I heard people talking about classes on the train, I wanna get into Gryffindor!"
"I'd rather be with hufflepuff, I heard they're the most pleasant house".
"Really, anything but Slytherin sounds ideal to me".
"What, why?"
"I heard they're all nasty... backstabbers..."
"Well, that's a bit presumptuous, don't you think?" Katherine chimes in.
"I heard that Harry Potter got his ass kicked on the train by a slytherin!"
'Potter? Could that have been...' Katherine remembers the students in green from earlier.
"Harry Potter, no way, you're lying!"
"It was probably just a rumor, Ricky, calm down".
"No, it has to be true. No one saw Potter come off the train, probably unconscious."
"Who's Harry Potter, is he a teacher here?" Katrina asks.
"You haven't heard of Harry Potter? Really?! The winner of the Tri-wizard tournament, "The boy who lived"?
"Hmmph. Figures. You mudbloods are becoming more and more common, ruining our school."
"What was that?!" Katherine says. If there's one thing that pisses her off like nothing else, it's someone talking about Katrina. She doesn't know what a 'mudblood' is, but it sounds like an insult, which is enough for her. The boy who said it was ust a bit taller than her, dark hair, tan skin, rare for London. He had a look in his eye, like it's a game to him. "Listen, asshole-"
"That's enough!" The witch bellows, stopping her mid-insult. "... We're ready for you" Now, line up behind me, it two columns, side by side, doesn't matter who. And follow behind me, silently." She makes sure to look at Katherine when she says that. 'That's not fair, she didn't hear the other side of the conversation...'.
The doors open and they enter, in their lines. There are hundreds of students seated at four long tables, all wearing black hats. Katherine looks up to see what appears to be no ceiling, just a night sky and floating candles. It's... unbelievable, amazing. Through the isle way between the middle tables they went, until they reached the front and crowded around a stool with a hat sitting on it. Beyond that, there was one more long table which seated some adults, teachers, they assume.
The older witch turns around and pulls out a paper. "Now before we begin, the headmaster would like to say a few words. Sir?"
A feeble old man with glasses stands up from the center of the long table. 'His skin is wrinkled, he has beard hair that's probably longer than me, and looks like the poster face of a hospice center. No way he's the headmaster...'
"Welcome back, all of our students, for another year of schooling here at Hogwarts. I have a few starting words for our first year students to consider... First off, please note that the Dark forest is... strictly forbidden... Also, the third floor corridor on the right-hand side is out-of-bounds, for everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death... Thank you."
'What the fuck...?' Katherine thinks. 'What kind of school is this...?'
"When I call your name-" She begins, but suddenly stops.
"Sorry i'm late," a man says from behind. They look back, and all the first years' jaws hit the floor. There was a man who was at least 8 feet tall and just... huge. He had dark curly hair and a beard to go with it, and seemed a bit under-dressed for the occasion.
"So nice of you to join us, Hagrid." The headmaster says, gesturing toward an empty chair at his table.
'HE'S a teacher?! Wow...'
"Now when I call your name," she continues where she left off, unrolling her scroll, "you will come forward, I shall place the sorting hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses..."
Katherine can feel her sisters hand take hers and squeeze. They hadn't really considered the fact that the school even had houses, let alone contemplate the possibility of getting put into different ones. They do almost everything together, so what would they do if they were separated now?
One by one, students get called up, and after a few moments of near silence, the sorting hat calls out a house name and they scurry to the respective table. One after the other... Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, Slytherin...
"Katrina Morgan", she calls out. Katherine loosens her grip and sends her sister a mental "good luck". She steps forward from the thinned out crowd and sits on the stool. Her eyes are closed, like she's listening to somethings, and after a few moments...
"...GRYFFINDOR!" Again, cheering and she walks down, beaming. 'I guess that's where she wanted to be'.
"I'll save you a seat," she whispers happily as she walks by.
"Katherine Morgan".
Now it's her turn. She walks up and sits, facing the students now. She sees her sister, smiling, a few people she recognizes off the train, and... the guy. From the carriage, the one who was talking about this 'Harry Potter'. I guess he's a slytherin.
"Ah... right then," she can hear a voice in her head that's not her own. It's... the hat. "hmm... very similar to the last one, yes, but... there's something different as well".
'Like what?' She thinks back.
"That. You're cunning, witty. Something she lacks."
'Say that again, you dumb hat, I dare you.'
"Hmm... A loyalty, and desire to protect what you care about, but you lack... something. I can see it, all in your head. You put up a bold front but don't have the actual confidence to back it up." For the one time as long as she can remember, she can't think of anything to say back. No one's ever said that before... never seen it... "And I know who can put you on the path to your greatness, to give you the skills to reach your full potential..."
"SLYTHERIN!" The cheering gets drowned out, time slows down. Katherine is watching her sister, whose face went from happy to shocked in the span of a second. Her body moves on its own, off the chair, down the steps, even toward the Gryffindor table before she has to mentally tell herself that's not where she belongs. She sits, and locks eyes with Katrina once more. She knows that look, like she wants to cry. She says something to a fellow gryffindor who pats her on the back and directs her attention back to the next student getting called up.
"Well, maybe I misjudged you after all," She hears a familiar voice say. She looks and sees the boy from earlier, on the stairs. "Maybe you are really just dumb..."
'For the love of god, just kill me now...'
