Hermione triple checked that she had everything from the train, and slowly disembarked. As she was stepping off she half-tripped and stumbled into another girl. After righting each other and apologising profusely, she agreed to help the other girl find her lost pygmy puff. The girls searched frantically about the train, both worried it would start to move off with them still aboard. During this time, introductions were held and Hermione met Ginny. Gannymede, the pygmy, was finally discovered half suffocated between the cushion chairs. After roughly dusting him off, Ginny unceremoniously dumped him into her jacket pocket.
"Great, let's get out of here!"
Giggling, the new friends jumped off the train and headed up towards the carriages. The inquiries began.
"So."
"So?"
"So. Dish, spill! Where are you from? What school did you go to? At least I'm sure I've never seen you here before and I'm one of the most popular girls in school, so I should know."
Hermione smiled inwardly, but gave satisfactory answers – her muggle parents had holidayed over here, and, loving the area so much had decided to emigrate. Hermione had requested a transfer to Hogwarts which had been granted admittance almost immediately, after Professor McGonagall had seen her exemplary scholarly record. And so here she was.
Hermione and Ginny grabbed the next available carriage, having to share with a couple of disinterested-looking second years. This was agreeable, however, as Hermione took in her first look at Hogwarts.
Majestic, she reflected, would be cliché. But majestic the castle remained regardless. There seemed countless towers ascending up in the darkness and in the windows glittered candles. Their combined light reflected out towards the glimpse of what she could see of the lake. Surrounding the castle like a scarf was a dense forest. Even this far away Hermione got the distinct feeling of eyes watching her from beyond the black depths.
Pulling her eyes away from the distant view, she looked instead towards where they were headed directly. She could see massive doors of twin oak, stronger than steel. The carriages were slowing now, stopping outside long enough for students to depart. Night was really settling in, and the trickle of students heading in looked like a long insectoid creature. Meanwhile, Ginny was conversing easily with Hermione, with the latter learning the formers hopes of leaving the school during the year to pursue her dreams of being a Beautician-Magician. Inwardly, Prim Hermione of Large Brain couldn't consider even for a second leaving school without qualifications, but she could certainly see that academia was not for everyone. Ginny was vivacious, full of life, but insecure to a large fault. Hermione looked past all that, very grateful to have made a friend so easily.
She stepped out of the coach last, and closed her eyes briefly, feeling the magic of this new place. It beat like a low, long pulse. It was quiet, ancient and smelled like parchment to the young witch. She breathed in deep to gather her courage, and then followed Ginny's pulling hand through the huge doors and into the Great Hall.
Hermione could see why it was called the Great Hall. The ceiling stretched high into the heavens, and was enchanted so it looked exactly like the sky outside. Currently in the isolated area of Scotland, the sky boasted thousands of pinprick stars. Internally Hermione felt the wonder of a small child. Her eyes were pulled back down tracking the movement of the chaos in the room. It was approximately half full, but the noise of the collected students sounded much greater. Hermione withdrew into herself, she was shy enough that crowds could easily overwhelm. The students were slowly seating themselves between four huge tables that ran almost the entire length of the hall, stopping short of another table at the end of the hall where the teachers and staff were seated. Hermione was able to spot an enormous long white beard which must be the hallmark of the principal, but her current dilemma caught her attention more.
"Ugh, Ginny? Before I left Platform 9 ¾ Professor McGonagall took me aside for my 'sorting'...would you, know where a Gryffindor might sit?"
Ginny beamed.
"Oh I knew you'd be a Gryffindor too! I'll show you where we sit, you can meet my friends - we're the Pink Witches, you know?"
There were two other Pink Witches at the table Hermione was led to, but she quickly learnt that another of their member resided in a different house, Ravenclaw. She sat and was introduced by Ginny to the two other Gryffindors. The first, Lavender, spoke quickly and loudly. It was obvious to Hermione that this was the leader of the Witches. The other, Parvati, was softly spoken but had a quick wit that surprised Hermione. The missing witch was named Padme, sister to Parvati and whom waved enthusiastically from the Ravenclaw table when pointed out by Lavender. Students filed into seats around them as the girls introductions commenced.
The girls hadn't had long to talk before a large door on the side of the hall opened. A bunch of small, quivering children walked out led by Professor McGonagall. Hermione recognised the stern-looking witch instantly, having met her earlier that day. Hermione was immensely glad to have done her sorting in private, standing up in front of the entire school would have been horrifying. She watched the sorting with avid attention, only half listening to the whispering of the gossips next to her.
"Crogerton, Chadwick!" McGonagall's voice echoed slightly down the long hall.
One of the small dark bundles gave a terrified squeak and ran towards a rickety old chair. Once seated, McGonagall placed the tattered hat that Hermione had encountered earlier. She cringed as she remembered the nice but creepy voice that sounded only in her head from that Sorting Hat.
'Hmmmm, quite a lot going on inside this noggin'. Quiet, shy, studious and so prriiiimmmm.' It had started. Hermione couldn't hide her surprise. 'If you were an outfit, you'd be a beige cardigan with an ankle length pastel pink skirt and white sandals.'
'Yes, and quite a lot of brain indeed. Certainly a Ravenclaw, but what's this? Fighting off Grindelows? Maybe there's a little more substance to you, yet.'
Hermione blushed, remembering the events of this summer. It had felt like she had woken up from a long dream, and that her body had dreams and desires she had never before believed she might have. The fight with the Grindelows had been the first time she'd used her magic to defend herself. Sadly that day she had known the meaning of sheltered. But she also realised how much a pair of fine green eyes could make her heart beat and her insides seem to flutter.
'Ravenclaw would be good, would nurture your brains, but I fear you would be lost there. Fire would help you instead I think...yes… better be-'
"Gryffindorrrrrrr" the hat roared in a broom closet in central London station. The other two occupants rubbed their ears from the noise. But it was settled. McGonagall had a twinkle of pride in her eyes and she looked at her new lion cub.
Chadwick, however, was a Hufflepuff and thereby of no more importance in this story. Hermione observed the rest of the sorting. It seemed to have a more-or-less even distribution, and she joined in the applauding whenever her house received a new member. Soon the tables were near full, and the new students all sorted. McGonagall briskly gathered up the chair and hat, and disappeared once more through the side door. Meanwhile, the old man with the exceptional white beard had stood. At this gesture, the entire hall fell silent of all whispers, and every head was turned in his direction.
As he opened his mouth, a screechy, rasping sound came out of it. Collectively the students began to look at each other in confusion. The headmaster continued to make the harsh noises seemingly unaware of the effect of his speech on the students, and staff, who had taken to covering their ears with whatever was closest - Hagrid the groundskeeper was shoving tufts of his beard into his ears with varying degrees of success.
Finally the headmaster paused, and it seemed his speech was over when dinner appeared magically before everyone. It was later guessed that he had compiled his entire welcoming speech in mermish.
The food was exceptional, though hermione was careful not to overeat. She delicately cut her roast potatoes into tiny pieces, before bringing it neatly to her mouth. Ginny quickly noticed and couldn't stop her giggles. The red headed witch had no worries on the etiquettes of eating. Hermione realised that the entire table was simply shovelling down mouthfuls of food. She blanched slightly, then began to try and fit in. She was scared of being alienated at this new school. Ginny nudged Lavender, who simply raised her eyebrows.
Dinner slowly came to an end and the sounds of conversation gradually increased. Hermione's earlier oopsie seemed to have been forgotten as Ginny and Lavender offered to show hermione Gryffindor tower and where she would be sleeping.
The girls finished up and headed up towards the Gryffindor common room. It was like a maze, moving through the castle but the Pink Witches moved with certainty, timing the moving staircases and vanishing doors to arrive at a painting of a rather rotund lady. A red haired wizard was standing there already, and gave Lavender quite a look of appreciation. Hermione deduced that he must be related to Ginny, as their were several similarities in their facial features, not counting the flaming red hair.
"Do any of you know the password? Oi, who's the new chick?" He began.
Lavender rolled her eyes and ignored the wizard, instead leaning in towards the portraiture and whispering.
"Grease is the word" Hermione heard, as she was standing very close, but the wizard apparently did not, instead deciding to scramble through the cubby hole after the girls. He put on an aloof expression and headed up a staircase towards the left-hand-side in the common room.
The common room. It was cosy and beautiful. The center of the room boasted a large fireplace, dotted around it by many cosy chairs and couches. Towards the sides of the circular room where small tables, presumably to complete work on and bookshelves crammed full. Hermione sighed happily, what a comfortable space! Cuddling up on the couch with one of the many books would be heavenly after class. Ginny grabbed her hand once more and lead her up another staircase which ran off of the common room.
"These are the girls dorm rooms, you'll be in with Lavender and Parvati. I'm one level below but I'm coming up with you! There's so much to talk about!"
The dorm rooms were just as comfortable looking as downstairs. The beds sat next to their own window, in another circular room. Thankfully, each bed had its own pull curtains, so privacy could be had to each girl. Next to the beds were strong but worn in drawers, with plenty of space to accommodate all of her clothes. Hermione spotted her luggage from the train had already been placed next to the drawers, and began to organise her belongings into their own spaces. The Pink Witches had meanwhile piled onto Lavenders' bed to discuss their happenings during the holidays. Hermione couldn't help but overhear Lavenders gossip about a tumultuous relationship she was currently enjoying. She refused to give a name, even when pressed by the other two witches. But instead gave gravy-rich and salacious details which turned Hermione's cheeks pink, then crimson as she continued. Parvati's summer had been dull in comparison, their family had travelled to France but had been so plagued with rain not much sightseeing was had, this combined direly with a drought of boys that had left her almost on the point of depression. Any teenage girl's nightmare.
Ginny's had been a series of complaints about being crammed in the house with all her brothers, and spending hours on end trying to de-gnome the garden on her mother's orders. Slowly, Hermione could feel the other girls eyes turn to her.
"Hermione, tell us about your summer?" Normally, she would have glanced over any details about boys. She wasn't sure quite what came over here. Whether it was trying to outdo the raucous Lavender, or to try to fit in with these flirty witches. But she spilled all.
She told them about their chance meeting at the beach, how the adrenaline kick of fighting the Grindelows hadn't compared one bit to how her heart had raced when she'd looked into his eyes. She talked about their seemingly endless nights spent holding hands and talking in the evening cooling sand. About walking under the dock where they'd had their first kiss. About buying ice cream and chasing each other along the breezy lanes. And finally about the weather turning colder, silently signalling their summer together coming to an end, and the heartache she felt about possibly never looking into his emerald green eyes again, or running her hands through his dark hair. Several times throughout Lavenders eyes had caught Ginnys, with an unspoken question hanging in the air between them. Hermiones' description of the boy sounded precisely like someone they knew. Someone who attending this very school. Someone who even resided in the same house.
Harry; emerald eyes, dark hair. He was a local to the beach described by Hermione, and was very likely the subject of her summertime romance. She'd known all of the Pink Witches to have taken a pass at him over the years, but was surprised that here, this prim and boring little witch in front of them had managed to attract his gaze. Lavender walked Ginny out to her dorm, as it was now very late and classes were to begin early in the morning. En route, the girls discussed this potentiality, and how to best prove it. It was quickly decided they should introduce one to the other, and as quickly as possible.