Ch 2: Trains and hats
(AN: I'm back. Sorry, I had a hard time with the train scene and the hat song, I had to look up custom made songs and placed a few phrases in there. The ones I had found were from . This is why I'm not normally a writer. But anyway, enjoy.)
A month later, Jewel and her mum made it to King's Cross— and she couldn't be more excited. The great school was going let her go there even after everything that happened with Jacob, but she still had some hope. She set her goals, has a friend, even a cat, and got a supporting family.
Her cat was a small white Turkish Angora, with blue eyes and a very long tail. Jewel had named her Mew because of the way her meows sounds like.
She stared at the ticket for her train was for platform nice and three-quarters, before looking onto the train station which was filled with muggles and maybe wizards.
Now... where's platform nine and three-quarters?
Jewel looked up at her mum and try to ask, "Mum... where is, um, the train-thingy? Platform?" A hundred percent embarrassed to be asking this question.
"It's right between platform nice and ten, sweetie." Her mum told her as she help pull her cart. "This brick wall in fact."
Jewel stared at the supposedly solid brick wall, worried if there might be a pacific way to get there without smacking into a real wall. "Um— that. Wall?" She asked in a polite manner.
Her mummy sighed and said softly, "Yes, it will be alright my gemstone. Just straight on through. I'll be right beside you."
Jewel took a deep breath and pull her cart with all her body strength, and head towards that wall, getting closer and closer...
Jewel opened her eyes and saw a completely new area of the train station, with people that she 100% know are witches and wizards. A big red train with golden words that said Hogwarts Express on the side was on the tracks.
Jewel could feel her little heart exploding with excitement as she soon was going to the worlds best school. Her mummy had shown up after she went through the barrier, smiling at her little girl as they stand together.
"I always hope that this day will come." Mrs Ghostheart said they walk towards the trains door. "You will make us so proud. Have fun."
"Thanks Mum." Jewel said as she faced her for the final time before the holidays. "I'll try and owl you and father when I get there. Bye!"
"Bye sweetheart!"
But as Jewel got inside the train, her courage deflated and was replaced with nervousness. Will she do well even with the pressure of her older brother's foolishness and think she's just like him?
Jewel had the rest of the ride to think about it, but as she found a compartment, the girl saw someone familiar walking to her.
"Jewel!" Rowan cheered as she wrapped her arms around Jewel. "It good to see you again after so long."
"Same." Jewel said as she opened the door and took her seat. "I have been waiting for a long time since my brother talks so much about Hogwarts."
Rowan smile back, "That must've been nice. My older relatives rarely talk about Hogwarts, that and I was never in the same room as them when they do talk."
Jewel smiled as she looked briefly at the scenery, tall trees and Great Plains. They both started to talk about what happened during their time apart as well as taking a bit of candy from the trally.
"My mum didn't went to Hogwarts." Jewel told as she took a chocolate frog box before taking a bite of the candy.
"Whoa. Really?" Rowan asked in interest while grabbing a box of fudge flies.
"She went to Ilvermorny." She answered, "Her house was the Horned Serpent, she told me it represents a mind of a witch or wizard and they favor scholars."
Rowan's eyes widened before saying, "Wow, that wicked! So the snakes in America are like the Ravenclaw."
"Guess so."
"What house will you be hoping to be in, Jewel?" Rowan said.
"Don't know." She said honestly. "My brother keep-on changing his house banner while he was at home during the summer. But after he was expelled, my parents didn't tell me what his house was.
"I think they're doing this so that I don't avoid one house just because of my brother. I can understand why."
"Well, I hope you go into a great house and be a great student there." Her friend encourage, "I'm thinking maybe Ravenclaw, but I wouldn't mind being in the same house as you Jewel."
Jewel smile at her before mumbles, "That's nice of you, Rowan."
XXXXXXXX
A few hours passed, and they have their school robes on. An adult had said to ready as the train was almost at Hogwarts. As the train stops, all the students walk out from their compartment and straight out onto the platform. Jewel then had noticed a very tall man with bushy hair and beard, a large coat with probably a million pockets. He was holding a lantern as he wave his arm and said, " Firs' years! Firs' years over here! C'mon, follow me- anymore Firs' years? Mind yer step now, Firs' years follow me!"
Nearly slipping, Jewel along with other first years followed the man. She noticed quickly that he had a lightly thick different accent, maybe Irish.
The path narrowed as they continue but then they reach to some sort of dock with wooden boats. The man told them four people per boat, Jewel and Rowan took one together and the two other people were a boy with orange hair and freckles and a girl with light hair, almost white, with a nervous and excited expression.
As the boats stroll along the water they all finally got a good view of the school. It was a flipping castle. 'That's a huge castle!' Jewel thought as her mouth widened in awe. 'There must be about a thousand classrooms! It looks so cool!'
"Heads down!" the man called out as the rode towards a curtain of vines that was hanging off a cliff. As they pass, it was revealed to be a hidden tunnel which could lead them to be sorted.
As they got off of the boats, the man knocked on the large door three time before it open.
A woman appeared as the doors open; she wore an emerald-green robes and in Jewel opinion looked a bit stein.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." The man told her.
"Thank you, Hagrid." Said Professor McGonagall, "I will take them from here."
She pulled the door wide open as it showed the entrance hall, and it was massive. The stone wall were lit with flaming torches and the ceiling was too high to make out, And a magnificent marble staircase facing them which led to the upper floor. They follow Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. The woman then showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing close to each other like penguins, looking nervous around the room.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," said Professor McGonagall. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you're here, your House will be something like your family within Hogwarts. You will have classes with the rest of your House, sleep in your House dormitory, and spend free time in your house common room.
"The four Houses are called Gryffindor, the brave and chivalrous. Hufflepuff, the kind and diligent. Ravenclaw, the witty and wise. And Slytherin, the cunning and ambitious. Each House has its own noble history, and each has produce outstanding witches and wizards. I hope you all will be fine additions to their ranks. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn you House points, while any rule-breaking will lose House points. At the end of the year, the House with the most points is awarded the House Cup, a great honor. I hope each of you will be a credit to whichever House becomes yours.
"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you are smart and yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."
As Professor McGonagall left, Jewel could feel her glance at her before leaving for a brief moment. Jewel hardly paid attention to anything as she was lost in her own world. Will it be hard, will it be painful, what will the sorting be like?
Her thoughts were interrupted by the Professor as she was back, she must have been in her thoughts for minutes without noticing it. McGonagall had told them to form a straight line before leading them to the Great Hall.
It was massive with a thousand candles floating around the sky... or the ceiling. These four tables were laid with golden plates and goblets. Ahead of them was hill with another table where Jewel can guess that where the other Professors sit. And by the table was a stool with a battered old hat sitting on top.
Jewel then noticed that everyone else was staring at this old piece of fabric, before it stitches begin to open like a mouth and began to sing.
Be you short or tall,
Large or small;
I am the hat
That is here to sort you all.
I am here to choose the table
Where are you will be sat,
I am the Hogwarts sorting hat!
Where are your house colors with pride,
And now let's see where you'll abide;
If you be the wise and scholarly type,
Rational and sound;
Never backing down where a problem can be found:
Ravenclaw is the place for one of such hype.
If you be the amicable and sociable kind,
Industrious and true;
Loyalty is something that means a lot to you:
Hufflepuff is the place for one of such a mind.
If you be brave and noble classification,
Heroic and courageous;
Always feeling bold and adventurous:
Gryffindor is the place for one of such narration.
If you be of the sly and contentious division,
Cunning and calculating;
Power and ambition are your main craving:
Slytherin is the place for one of such passion.
So put me on! Look to your heart!
And don't get lost in mind!
For we have houses to be,
So let's see what fits your kind.
The whole hall burst into applause as the hat finished its song. It bowed to each of the four tables and then became quite still again. Jewel was slightly amazing as the talking hat just sang before being still like the piece of cloth that it was. The houses sounded more intimidating as she could literally be in any of them or hardly any of them.
Professor McGonagall now stepped forward holding a long roll of parchment. "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Ali, Badeea!"
A girl with black tuck-back hair walk forward from the line, put on the scruffy hat, which fell right down over her eyes, and sat down. A pause happen before-
"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat.
The table to the left cheered and clapped as Badeea went to sit down at the Ravenclaw table. Jewel had spotted a lady ghost lightly looked pleased.
"Bellus, Mery!"
"RAVENCLAW!" shouted the hat again, and Mery scuttled off to sit at the house table.
"Caplan, Diego!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
The table from the right clapped this time; a few Hufflepuffs stood up to shake hands with Diego as he joined them.
"Copper, Ben" took a while to be sorted as he shake on the stool before the hat made the boy the first Gryffindor, and the table on the far left exploded with cheers.
"Egwu, Andre" became the next Ravenclaw as he looked pleased with his house as he took his seat by Badeea, and then, here it is—
"Ghostheart, Jewel!"
As Jewel steadily stepped forward, small whispers suddenly broke out like hissing cockroaches all over the hall.
The last thing Jewel saw before the hat dropped over her eyes was the hall in anticipated silence as they stared at her. Next second she was looking at the darkness inside the hat. She just has to wait.
"Hmm," said a small voice in her ear that made her body tense up. "Very interesting. I haven't seen one like this in a longtime. But difficult all the same. Plenty of courage and knowledge, I see. A strive of just and loyalty — but also a thirst to prove yourself in ambition. Now that's very interesting...
'What does that mean?' She question in her mind but the hat ignore her, "So what house are hoping for, hm?"
Jewel was puzzled by this request, 'W-what I'm hoping for? I— I don't know, maybe someplace where I can help my friends and maybe my brother...'
"Ah, yes." said the small voice, "I understand now. Best make it..."
(That was year 1 chapter 2. What house will Jewel be in? Will it be a house Jacob was also in? Who knows? See you later, bye :3 )