"What's your name?" Malfoy asked me. Harry and Ron had gone onto another boat with Hermione and Neville. I had to share one with Malfoy and his minions. It had gotten dark by the time we got to Hogwarts. I sigh.
"Nia." I said not turning around to look at him.
"My father will hear of what you did to me." Malfoy said. I shake my head.
"Good for you." I said. Once we got off the boat, the giant man whose name was Hagrid had found Neville's toad Trevor. Hagrid was taking us towards the castle.
The door swung open at once. A tall, brown-haired woman in emerald-green robes stood in front of us. She had a very stern face and which kind of scared me.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall." Hagrid said.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here." She said pulling the door wide. The entrance hall was so big, you could scream and there would be echos throughout it. The stone walls were lit with flaming torches, the ceiling was too high to make out and a magnificent marble staircase facing them led to the upper floors. We followed Professor McGonagall across the flagged stone floor. Professor McGonagall showed us into a small, empty chamber off the hall. We crowded in, standing rather close to each other.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. 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 very important ceremony because, while you are 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, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches and wizards. While you are at Hogwarts, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule-breaking will lose house 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 all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting." She said looking at Neville's cloak. Everyone started fixing themselves up. I look at my uniform and see nothing wrong with it.
"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly." Professor McGonagall.
"How exactly do they sort us into houses?" Harry asked Ron.
"Some sort of test, I think. Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking." Ron said. I really hope it doesn't hurt. Suddenly, people started screaming from behind me which made me jump. I turn around and see ghosts going through the back wall. The were arguing about someone.
"Forgive and forget, I say. We ought to give him second chance-"
"My dear Friar, haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost-" The ghost looks at us.
"I say, what are you all doing here?" He asked us. Nobody answered.
"We're waiting here to be sorting into our houses." I spoke up. Everyone looked at me.
"Oh, I hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" Friar said to everyone.
"My old house, you know." He said.
"Move along now," A sharp voice said.
"The Sorting Ceremony's about to start." Professor McGonagall said. One by one, the ghost floated away through the opposite wall.
"Now, form a line and follow me." Professor McGonagall said to us. I got in between Harry and a boy with sandy hair and we started walking out of the chamber, back across the hall and through a pair of double doors into the Great Hall which Professor McGonagall said it was called. As we walked inside the Great Hall, I was amazed about how amazing everything looked. Candles were floating in the air over four long tables, where the rest of the students were sitting. The table had golden plates and cups. At the very end of the hall was another long table where the teachers were sitting. Professor McGonagall led us up there, so that we came to a halt in a line facing other students, with teachers behind them. I looked up at the dark ceiling with stars.
"It's bewitched to look like the sky outside. I read about it in Hogwarts, A History." I hear Hermione say from behind me. I look at Professor McGonagall who was silently placing a stool in front of us. She then put a pointed wizard's hat on the stool. The hat was patched and frayed and it looked extremely dirty. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the hat twitched. A rip near the brim opened wide like a mouth and the hat began to sing about the houses and what they represent. Gryffindor was the brave and daring house. Hufflepuff was the loyal and kind house. Ravenclaw was the intelligent and witty house. Finally, Slytherin was the cunning and cleverness house. After the hat had finished singing everyone started clapping. It bowed to each of the four table then became still again.
"So we've just got to try on the hat!" Ron whispered to Harry and I.
"I'll kill Fred, he was going on about wrestling a troll." Ron said. I chuckle. Professor McGonagall 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.
"Abbott, Hannah!" She called out. A pink-faced girl with blonde pigtails stumbled out of line putting the hat on, which fell right over her eyes and sat down.
"Hufflepuff!" The hat suddenly shouted. The right table cheered and clapped as Hannah want to sit down at the Hufflepuff table. After a while of names getting called out. I was getting nervous. I want to be in the same house as Harry and Ron. Hopefully I am. Professor McGonagall had called Hermione's name and she was sorted into Gryffindor. Ron wasn't to happy about that. They also called Neville up and he was also sorted into Gryffindor.
"Backenter, Nia." Professor McGonagall called my name. I tense up and start walking towards to the hat and stool. I put the hat on sitting down. Even though the hat was covering my eyes, I could see Ron giving me two thumbs up. I looked at Harry, he's nodding and smiling at me. I take a deep breath and quickly let it out.
"Muggle-born, huh?" I hear a small voice say in my ear. It surprised me.
"Mmm- You're a difficult one, I must say. You're daring and courageous, yet smart and witty, also loyal and kind but cunning, resourceful and clever. Mm- yes I know the perfect house for you, my dear." The hat said.
"Slytherin!" The hat shouted. The table at the far right cheered and clapped. I look at Harry and Ron they both had a sad look on their faces. I got up and sit down next to a boy with long front teeth. The ones closest to me patted me on the back. I didn't like that I had to be in this house. I regret saying Slytherin was okay. I rather be in Gryffindor or Ravenclaw or even Hufflepuff.
"Malfoy, Draco." Professor McGonagall called him up. Malfoy went up the the hat.
"Slytherin!" The hat yelled. The hat had barely even touched his head. Malfoy came over to the table and sat down in front of me. He smirked at me. I roll my eyes and look away from him.
"Potter, Harry." Professor McGonagall called out for Harry. People started whispering and asking if that really was him. Harry goes up to the stool sits down and puts the hat on.
"Gryffindor!" The hat shouted after a couple of seconds of silence. The Gryffindor table was cheering loudly as Harry walked over to the table. Some of the Slytherins were mad that Harry didn't get sorted into our house. Harry looks at me. I smile at him and give him a thumbs up. He smiles back at me and sits down. Finally Ron got called up and was sorted into Gryffindor as well. The man that I saw on the card got to his feet. He was beaming at us, his arms opened wide as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see us all here.
"Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" Dumbledore said as he sat back down. Everyone clapped and cheered. That was weird. I chuckled. I face forward and seeing food on the plates. All kinds of food. I grin. Food. I grab toast potatoes and put gravy on it and start eating. I look up at Malfoy and see a horrible looking ghost with blank staring eyes, a gaunt face and robes stained with something silver. Malfoy didn't look very pleased that it was sitting next to him. I started laughing at him. He looks at me.
"What?" Malfoy asked sounding annoyed. I smile.
"Nothing." I said chuckling. I continue to eat my food.
The Slytherin first years follow Gemma Farley, our prefect, to the Slytherin common room, it was down at the dungeons. It was cold down here. Gemma took us girls to others room while the boy prefect took the boys to theirs. I had put my pajamas on.
"I'm Pansy Parkinson." I hear a girl say from behind me. I turn around and see a girl with a pug like face. She was smirking at me.
"I'm Nia Backenter." I said.
"Are you a pureblood?" She asked me. What's is a pureblood? I look at her confused.
"You don't know what a pureblood is? You must be mudblood." She said. I looked at her even more confused.
"Mudblood? What is that?" I asked her.
"You, a person who has dirty muggle parents." She said sounding arrogant. I glare at her. Girls started gathering around us.
"I'm sorry, pugface, what was that?" I pretend I didn't her by putting cupping my ear.
"I couldn't her over your big nose." I said. She gasps and held her nose.
"Whatever, you stupid mudblood." She said going to her bed. I glare at everyone and they go to their beds. I get in my bed.
If she or someone ever calls me a mudblood, they be very hurt.
Please comment it means alot to me. Thanks! ~ Poppy