Welcome readers! How's your day going? Not great? I'm sorry *gives big hug*. Great? Awesome *high fives*!
For you Birdies that have waited so patiently for this chapter, I'm so sorry it took me so long to update this, the muse shied away from this story for a little, but it's back now! Yes!
Hogwarts Train Station: September 1st, 1991
"Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere!" A giant, no he's shorter than a giant, a giant of a man looms out of the foggy darkness that surrounds the train station. "All right there, Harry?" He calls to the boy who I met on the train on the train, also known as the boy-who-lived, Hermione has read about him in almost every book on "recent" battles and wars. Ron, his rude compartment buddy, gapped at the colossal figure, obviously not minding his manners.
"C'mon, follow me! Any more firs' years? Mind yer step now!"
We all followed the giant man down a steep, rocky path.
"Hey, Dean, where do you think we're going?" The same Irish boy from before asked.
"I'm pretty sure we're going down to the lake." Dean, the dark-skinned boy answered. "Seamus?" He added after a pause.
"Yeh?"
"Do you believe in Mermaids?" He asked quietly. "I heard there's a group of them living in the Black Lake, but nobody's seen them for over 30 years!"
"You shouldn't believe all the words you hear," Hermione cut in, "Just last year a girl was dragged under and drowned by one of the Mermaids, I read about in her brother's newly published book, 'A Glance at the Mystical Creatures.' Though they are a 'fantasy animal,' as Gran says, I wouldn't wish to meet one of their kind."
"And your Gran is muggle, correct?" Seamus asked, not commenting on her sudden enter on their conversation.
"Yes, every relative I know of on my Mom's side is a muggle." Dean, who had been aweing at the beautiful Black Lake, turned his head to look at Hermione.
"And your Dad's?" He asked.
"I never knew my parents, Gran says they both died soon after I was born. That's all I ever knew of them, she never says anything more." Hermione said, reciting what she had told almost every kid in grade school when the snobby dolts asked where her parents are, and why they never picked her up.
"Oh, sorry." He said awkwardly, leaning away from her subconsciously.
"Don't be, I never knew them, I have no reason to be sad, I was raised with the best Grandma I could ask for, and I wouldn't change a thing." Said Hermione.
"Oh, ok."
An awkward silence ensued.
"Well," Seamus began, "I'm half-and-half, me dad's a muggle, and me mum's a witch, he didn't know until she was pregnant with my sister, bit of a shock for him."
"I'm muggle-born, we thought I was muggle, because we didn't know of real magical creatures. That is, until I blew mom's daffodils halfway across the room, and then proceeded to float my father in the air. Then I got my Hogwarts acceptance letter, and then everything became clear."
"You lift your father into the air?" Seamus repeated, his eyebrows raised comically. "That's one strong baby."
Dean laughed cheerily at the joke, forgetting in an instance the awkwardness that had been extremely relevant moments before. Hermione even started to laugh a little, mostly at the exaggerated way Dean laugh, not afraid of anyone judging him for finding it extremely funny. Hermione rarely laughed, she had no reason to at the muggle school she had gone to before, the kids had disliked her, leaving her with multiple bullies. Her days there were not happy ones.
She couldn't help but wonder if here, at the magical school of Hogwarts, she'd be able to laugh as easily as Dean did, and have the confidence he obviously had.
"Yeh'll get yer first sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," Hagrid called over his shoulder, "Jus' round this bend!"
Ooh's and aw's echoed throughout the group at the magnificent sight of Hogwarts. "Hogwarts; A History failed to show you," Hermione thought, "no words could even begin to describe you."
"No more'n four to a boat! Hagrid called, pointing to a fleet of little boats sitting in the water by the shore. Seamus and Dean walked over to one boat closets to them, Hermione went to follow them into it, but a beautiful girl that looked of Indian heritage shoved her to the side. She was dragging her identical, more bashful-looking sister behind her into the boat with the two boys.
"Sorry." Blushing, she apologized for her twin. "She thinks the red-head is cute."
Hermione looked on as the sisters got into the boat she wanted to go into. Dean shot her a glance, looking as though he would've wanted her to be in the boat as well. Seamus looked freaked out at the forwardness the twin that had blocked Hermione was showing. If she hadn't been upset, she might've snorted at the shocked face the red-head was making.
"Well, I'm not going to be able to get into that boat." She thought, remembering she did need to find a boat to get into, not be upset about something simple like where she sat in a boat. Hermione turned to see Trevor, Neville's, the boy who lost his toad on the train's, toad. "What are you doing here?" She asked it's goggling eyes. She bent down and heard Neville's high pitch voice call out.
"Trevor!" He gleefully grabbed the toad from her hand hugging it close. "Thank you, Hermione, you found him!" They both made their way to the boat both Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were getting into.
Ron made a face when he saw that they were boarding the same boat as them, but he didn't comment. She guessed he hadn't liked them when they met on the train.
"Everyone in?" Shouted Hagrid, seated in a boat all by himself, taking all the space provided. "Right then – FORWARD!"
The first years squeezed together in the Great Hall, in awe of the gigantic room, the sky-imitating ceiling. They shuffled nervously, they were under the scrutiny of the entire school. In front of them, Professor McGonagall stood with a small, wooden stool to her left. Sitting atop of the rickety stool, an ancient hat. It was a tattered brown, and it looked as though it had been aged for centuries.
Hermione racked her memory for any sort of notion of the name of the hat, but none came to mind. She'd read three out of the four extensive books on Hogwarts, and she could think of nothing that explained why that old hat was seated there. In the books, they skimped around the sorting ceremony, just referring to it and immediately moving on to a different subject. She figured it would be part of the sorting in some way, but she couldn't think of anything.
"What do you think the hats about?" Seamus wondered aloud. Hermione would've answered, but the hat itself started to speak before she could. A little rip opened up and out came its song;
"Oh you may not think I'm 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!"
People clapped and laughed when the Sorting Hat ended its song. Hermione got the reason for the hat now, it was going to choose which house they'd be in. The insides of her hands started to sweat. What if she didn't get picked, what if it was just a fluke that she got brought her here, what if they bring her back into the world of everyone thinking her weird, of people not listening to her? To the world of endless laughter, at her? She shook off the feeling, she was clearly a witch, and they wouldn't invite her to Hogwarts unless they knew, and whatever house she was put in, would be the right one for her.
McGonagall coughed to get everyone's attention as the chatter in the Great Hall had picked up after the Sorting Hat's song. She held a long scroll in her hand, "When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," she said. "Abbott, Hannah!"
A young, blond girl with pigtails came up to the stool, she looked so nervous. As soon as she sat Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head, it covered half of her tiny face, and immediately the hat shouted out, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The Hufflepuff table, and a few others as well, cheered and clapped.
Hannah smiled shyly and walked quickly away from the stool to the Hufflepuff table.
One after another, timid, short first years came up to the stool had the hat placed on their head, and sent off to their house. Sometimes the hat barely even scraped their head, and they were off, like "Cornfoot, Stephen." Who sat down and the hat just touched his red hair and the hat instantly shouted "HUFFLEPUFF!" But when "Davis, Tracey." came up to the stool, the hat was on her head for a good 30 seconds before she was put in Slytherin, Tracey had left the stool with a look of relief on her face.
Hermione paid close attention to all the people going up, she wanted to learn every one of their names, and where they went.
When "Finch-Fletchley, Justin." went up, Seamus looked at Hermione and Dean, "Alrighty guys, I don't know where I will end up, although I reckon I'll be in Gryffindor, like me mum. But I want to say, if we don't go to the same house, I still want to get to know you."
In the background, Justin was sorted into Hufflepuff.
Hermione was flattered, she made a mental note, underlining the one she already had, to be friends with Seamus, she'd known him for – what – two hours and he'd already declared he wanted to be friends with her and Dean. She smiled and nodded, too nervous to answer.
"Yeah man," Dean said, "even if we get Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, I want to get to know you two."
"Finnegan, Seamus." Seamus smiled excitedly and headed towards the stool, Dean clapped him on the back and Hermione whispered good-luck.
"To being in the same house." Dean whispered, lifting his fist for a fist bump as Seamus sat down on the stool.
"To being in the same house." Hermione agreed, punching his fist.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The Gryffindor practically roared at the newest addition to their house, making their animal namesake proud. The clapping was deafening. Hermione and Dean cheered along, but inside, Hermione was going crazy. If her assumption on the names was right, she'd be the next one called up.
"Granger, Hermione!" She giggled quietly at the way Dean cheered when she was called, even though nobody else did. All of her fears from before returned, but worse. What if they send her away? This was the best thing that had ever happened to Hermione, what if they tell her she has to leave, and she can't come back.
"Deep breaths Granger." She consoled herself. "They won't turn you away, and you'll have the best friends in the world here, they won't care about your problems, and besides, those are probably normal here. You will be fine." She walked up to the stool, tripping slightly on her robes as she walked up to the hat, earning her a snicker from behind. She blushed red, but she kept walking. Her thumbs rubbed circles on the inside of her hands, a way to calm herself and keep her "problem" from rearing its head.
She sat on the stool, breathing in, and readied herself for the sorting. "It's going to be simple, the hat's going to come onto my head and then it'll shout out the house you're going to be in for the next seven years." That didn't help. But it was too late to calm herself again, for the hat was coming down on her head.
Plop! Hermione's head disappeared from sight to everyone in the audience.
Ackk, I'm so nervous/excited to see your reactions of this chapter! Please leave a review, as they help me write faster and keep me motivated. Done talking for today, time for breakfast (pancakes on a Thursday!). See you later Jelly Beans!