Hi, it's me! Well, obviously. Anyway, on with the disclaimer:
If I'm J K Rowling, why am I writing under my Pottermore username? (Hint; add me!)
By the end of the train ride, I had truly gotten to know my new friends.
Rose Weasley was the shy daughter of Ron and Hermione Weasley, who, she explained, had helped defeat the most evil wizard of all time. She loved reading, like me, but she hoped to be in Gryffindor like her parents.
Albus Potter was the son of the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, who had finished off the evil Lord Voldemort. Al was clever, but he was fiercely protective, and wanted with all his heart to be a Gryffindor.
At first I was slightly upset that we would probably be in different houses, but Rose, seeing my eyes, reassured me that even though they would sleep elsewhere, I could go see them anytime at dinner and we would share many lessons. We might, she explained, even be in the same house!
My spirits were further lifted when we stepped onto the platform in Hogsmeade and were met by a giant man. Al and Rose shouted, "Hagrid!" and ran to hug the man, but I remained further behind. I held my hand out to him. "Hello Professor, I'm Ella House." The man chuckled and shook my hand. "Rubeus Hagrid, but you can call me Hagrid, everyone does. I smiled and nodded, and Rose chimed in, "She hexed James and Freddy! With silencio as well!"
Hagrid looked impressed. "Tha' would be a third year charm!" I grinned.
"He was teasing Al about Slytherin," I explained and he chuckled.
"You're a righ' Hufflepuff, you," he told me, and I flushed with pride.
We got in the boats and before we knew it, we were in the great hall. I noticed James and Fred at the Gryffindor table, and I winked at them. Freddy grinned broadly, and James flushed but did the same. Rose whispered in my ear, "Did Jamie just blush?" I shrugged, pointing to the sorting hat. It opened its brim to sing, then fell silent as Professor Longbottom lead out names from a list.
"Acres, Margaret!" a small girl with short, dark curly hair stumbled up the steps and put on the hat. It thought for a moment, then, "Hufflepuff!" the table on our immediate right erupted in cheers.
"Bones, Enid!" went to Ravenclaw, and so on until,
"House, Ella!" I walked up the steps, my eyes brown with worry.
"No need to worry dear, I'll help you find where you belong." A small amused voice told me. "Now, exceedingly clever, incredible bravery, astounding loyalty, but where to put you?"
"Excuse me, Mr sorting hat? Could I offer my opinion?" I asked.
The hat chuckled. "Of course my dear. What is it you have to say?"
There was murmuring in the great hall, but I ignored it. "Well Ravenclaw sounds wonderful, and I love Gryffindor, but I'd like to be a Hufflepuff and help do the house justice. It has such a boring reputation, and I'd like to change that. If that's OK with you, sir." I finished in a small voice.
"OK, I can tell you are destined to change the wizarding world for the better, Miss House. HUFFLEPUFF!" it shouted the last bit, and as I took it off with a murmured thanks, I could have sworn it winked at me.
I sat down next to Margaret Acres, and listened as Professor Longbottom called out, "Longbottom, Alicia!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the sorting hat yelled, and as Alicia came to sit down I gave her a big hug, which she returned, surprised.
A few more people were sorted, then, "Potter, Albus!" whispered comments flew about the room, and Albus stepped up to the sorting hat. Minutes passed, then, "GRYFFINDOR!" I whooped loudly and Al gave me a thumbs up.
More eleven year olds, with Diana Roadworthy and Elizabeth Terry joining Margaret, Alicia and I at the Hufflepuff table.
"Weasley, Rose!" the hat deliberated, then yelled out, "GRYFFINDOR!" again I cheered, and Rose mouthed 'see you at breakfast' at me from across the room. I nodded, just as the sorting ended.
Headmistress McGonagall stood, before giving us warnings about the forbidden forest and magic in the corridors before allowing us to talk to our friends and start the feast.
Our food disappeared from our plates and McGonagall dismissed us. A prefect stood up and all first years followed him down the steps. As we neared a group of barrels, I brushed past a portrait of a bowl of fruit and heard the pear giggle. Before I could investigate, the prefect began to speak.
"Congratulations! I'm Prefect Gabriel Truman, and I'm delighted to welcome you to HUFFLEPUFF HOUSE. Our emblem is the badger, an animal that is often underestimated, because it lives quietly until attacked, but which, when provoked, can fight off animals much larger than itself, including wolves. Our house colours are yellow and black, and our common room lies one floor below the ground, on the same corridor as the kitchens.
Now, there are a few things you should know about Hufflepuff house. First of all, let's deal with a perennial myth about the place, which is that we're the least clever house. WRONG. Hufflepuff is certainly the least boastful house, but we've produced just as many brilliant witches and wizards as any other. Want proof? Look up Grogan Stump, one of the most popular Ministers for Magic of all time. He was a Hufflepuff – as were the successful Ministers Artemesia Lufkin and Dugald McPhail. Then there's the world authority on magical creatures, Newt Scamander; Bridget Wenlock, the famous thirteenth-century Arithmancer who first discovered the magical properties of the number seven, and Hengist of Woodcroft, who founded the all-wizarding village of Hogsmeade, which lies very near Hogwarts School. Hufflepuffs all.
So, as you can see, we've produced more than our fair share of powerful, brilliant and daring witches and wizards, but, just because we don't shout about it, we don't get the credit we deserve. Ravenclaws, in particular, assume that any outstanding achiever must have come from their house. I got into big trouble during my third year for duelling a Ravenclaw prefect who insisted that Bridget Wenlock had come from his house, not mine. I should have got a week of detentions, but Professor Sprout let me off with a warning and a box of coconut ice.
Hufflepuffs are trustworthy and loyal. We don't shoot our mouths off, but cross us at your peril; like our emblem, the badger, we will protect ourselves, our friends and our families against all-comers. Nobody intimidates us.
However, it's true that Hufflepuff is a bit lacking in one area. We've produced the fewest Dark wizards of any house in this school. Of course, you'd expect Slytherin to churn out evil-doers, seeing as they've never heard of fair play and prefer cheating over hard work any day, but even Gryffindor (the house we get on best with) has produced a few dodgy characters.
What else do you need to know? Oh yes, the entrance to the common room is concealed in a stack of large barrels in a nook on the right hand side of the kitchen corridor. Tap the barrel two from the bottom, middle of the second row, in the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff', and the lid will swing open. We are the only house at Hogwarts that also has a repelling device for would-be intruders. If the wrong lid is tapped, or if the rhythm of the tapping is wrong, the illegal entrant is doused in vinegar.
You will hear other houses boast of their security arrangements, but it so happens that in more than a thousand years, the Hufflepuff common room and dormitories have never been seen by outsiders. Like badgers, we know exactly how to lie low – and how to defend ourselves.
Once you've opened the barrel, crawl inside and along the passageway behind it, and you will emerge into the cosiest common room of them all. It is round and earthy and low-ceilinged; it always feels sunny, and its circular windows have a view of rippling grass and dandelions.
There is a lot of burnished copper about the place, and many plants, which either hang from the ceiling or sit on the windowsills. Our Head of house, Professor Pomona Sprout, is Head of Herbology, and she brings the most interesting specimens (some of which dance and talk) to decorate our room – one reason why Hufflepuffs are often very good at Herbology. Our overstuffed sofas and chairs are upholstered in yellow and black, and our dormitories are reached through round doors in the walls of the common room. Copper lamps cast a warm light over our four-posters, all of which are covered in patchwork quilts, and copper bed warmers hang on the walls, should you have cold feet.
Our house ghost is the friendliest of them all: the Fat Friar. You'll recognise him easily enough; he's plump and wears monk's robes, and he's very helpful if you get lost or are in any kind of trouble.
I think that's nearly everything. I must say, I hope some of you are good Quidditch players. Hufflepuff hasn't done as well as I'd like in the Quidditch tournament lately.
You should sleep comfortably. We're protected from storms and wind down in our dormitories; we never have the disturbed nights those in the towers sometimes experience.
And once again: congratulations on becoming a member of the friendliest, most decent and most tenacious house of them all."
The first years grinned as Truman tapped the barrel and we crawled into our common room.
Our dorm was warm and cosy, and I snagged a bed right in between Alicia and Margie. Soon I was falling asleep, ready for a new start tomorrow.
James pov.
"What about the House girl, can we prank her?" Freddy whined. I shook my head, not knowing why.
"No. not her." Freddy snickered.
"Has the famous Potter lost his sense of adventure? Is he scared?"
"No, I-" he cut me off again.
"Has ickle Jamie got a crush?" I was silent. Freddy howled with laughter. "Don't worry James. I'm your wingman, I won't tell. She might hex me!" he shuddered theatrically. "I'm actually scared of her, James!"
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