A/N Hey you! :D I appreciate you being here! This chapter is SO different from what it used to be! It now has no Sirius (I know, I am awful! See if you can see where he was before?). I made the changes because the story was making no sense, and that cannot be allowed. Please enjoy! I appreciate you reading this!
Renaming
As Charlotte climbed into the boat, knees shaking as she attempted not to fall, all she could think was that she needed to make friends fast! The people she sat with on the train were ok but they were kinda mean and they gave her the feeling they did not like 'muggle-borns' which was a tiny problem for Charlotte because she is a 'muggle-born', Charlotte did not tell them that she was a 'muggle-born' mostly because of her sense of self-preservation and not because she was embarrassed of her parents. She did not see this as lying because once they started to talk about that she pulled out the goodbye letter her parents had wrote for her to read on the train ride.
Her parents were kind people who were all too excited for their daughter to be a witch. They were supportive of the world they knew nothing about and were eager to learn about the world Charlie was being inserted into, just reading the letter from them relaxed Charlie and made some of her fears fade away.
When she had successfully clambered into the boat the girls that occupied it immediately started to talk to her.
"Good thing you did not fall! You are all shaky, I was afraid I would have to catch you!" The girl had long dark hair high cheekbones and very long eyelashes. She did not seem to have said this with ill will towards Charlotte.
"Ya… good thing." Charlotte muttered looking at her feet.
"Aw! Waverly you've embarrassed her! Its ok we knew you weren't going to fall! Don't pay any attention to my cousin she is insensitive." The second girl spoke, first harshly to Waverly then softer words Charlotte.
"Shut it Anna! No one asked your opinion!"
"It's fine, I don't mind. My name is Charlotte Reynolds."
"I'm Waverly Clarkson, and this is Anneliese McKinnon."
But before she could say something back to Waverly and Anneliese the boat turned around a bend and the sight was amazing. There was a towering castle, standing high in the air. It looked like something from a fairytale Charlotte's mom had read to her when she was a little girl. This was the first sight of Hogwarts Charlotte had ever had and it was more then she could have ever imagined and it was an image she knew she would remember for the rest of her life. How could she not?
All of the first years stared at the castle in aw, it boggled their minds. Soon they reached the castle and they were lead in by the giant man called Hagrid. Hagrid lead them to a pair of huge doors, where a tall strict looking woman was standing. Charlotte could tell that this woman was not someone to mess around with.
"I am Professor McGonagall, head of Gryffindor and Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts." She was definitely not someone to mess with, "In a moment I will lead you through these doors where you will all be sorted in to one of the four houses," At this there was a bit of muttering about how we would be sorted and who knew they would be where. "The houses are of course Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin," There was some muttering at this house, "And Gryffindor." More muttering that Charlotte was too nervous to try and decipher, McGonagall was now finished and she pushed the doors open and lead us into a dining hall.
It was huge! Along with its size was a grandeur that Charlotte had never experienced before! She could hardly move because her eyes were darting everywhere trying to take it all in. There were hundreds of older students all staring intently at the younger students, translucent ghosts floating casually, and a long table filled with teachers, at the center of which was an old man with a silver beard and half-moon shaped glasses. Most notably was the ceiling, it was like looking at the sky, stars twinkling against the smooth black velvet of the dark night.
"Hurry up Charlie!" Waverly whispered pulling her arm to hurry her. "You'll be here for 7 years! Walk now, look later."
Charlotte had never been called Charlie before, and was not sure she liked it. "I'm hurrying!"
When they finally reached the front Professor McGonagall stood in the middle of the front of the great hall next to a stool with a dirty old hat, the whole room was looking at said dirty old hat, Charlotte on the other hand was looking at McGonagall, wondering if she was going to offer explanation.
A rip on the hat opened like a mouth and the hat began to sing! Charlotte was so shocked her gasp almost made her not here the beginning of the song!
(A/N I used the sorting hats song from Sorceress Stone, I don't have the talent to write a song that would fit in with J.K. Rowling's 3 wonderful songs the hat has sung! I do not own the song you will read in a moment)
"Oh you may not think me pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find
A smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black,
Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat
And I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor,
Where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry
Set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true
And unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,
if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means
To achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid!
And don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none)
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"
Charlotte could practically hear her erratic heart beating like mad. In her head she carefully ticked off the qualities and tried to figure out where she would belong. 'I'm most definitely not brave… that rules out Gryffindor.' Her mind continued to whizz around and she soon concluded that she wanted a house for the confused.
Anneliese sensing my discomfort whispered in my ear, "We will be together I know it." The she stood on her tiptoes and pointed to a girl at the far table who was waving madly. "That is my cousin Marlene! She is a Gryffindor second year." Marlene's friends seemed to have gotten her waving under control because she had stopped and now seemed to be chatting animatedly with a ginger girl.
Professor McGonagall walked up closer to the hat and started calling names starting with "Abram, Julia!"
The girl who must be Julia walked with confidence and ease plopped the hat on her head sat for one quite moment then the hat opened its mouth and declared in a booming voice "GRYFFINDOR!"
The table that held Marlene all cheered happily because they received the first new member! Charlotte was both more and less nervous. Less because she now knew how sorting worked and more because what house she would end up in was still unknown.
One by one all the first years were sorted, until only a few were remaining. Anneliese was a Ravenclaw, and Charlotte was desperately hoping to be able to join her. Waverly had been made a Gryffindor and had, upon sitting down, received a high-five from Marlene.
"Reynolds, Charlotte." She walked up to the stool and did the same thing many others had just done. As the hat touched Charlottes head she heard the deep crackly voice or the hat speak to her, she jumped. "Hum, Well where do I put you?"
'That's your job not mine.' Charlotte thought nervously, she had not known the hat would ask her questions! What if she answered wrong?
"Your quite right, well then let me look! You're very intelligent so Ravenclaw maybe… But there is also fierce loyalty, so Hufflepuff." The hat took about a minute in total before it shouted "Ravenclaw!"
Charlotte was so relieved as she scurried off to sit down next to Anneliese.
"Told, ya Charlie." Anna whispered.
Charlie whispered back "I didn't doubt it."
A/N Hey you! I was wondering if you like chapters longer or shorter than this? I am working on making longer chapters and I was wondering if that is appreciated or not! Thank you!
