Chapter 2
The Great Hall
"You each be sorted into one of our houses. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. You will stay in the same house for all seven years. Now when I call your name please step forward so the Sorting Hat can put you in your house. First though..." Professor McGonagall said. She placed a four legged stool in front of us and placed a very old and very dirty hat on it. I could hear Draco sneer behind me but I was to busy watching this hat. It twitched for a second and a rip from the brim opened like a mouth and the hat began to sing:
"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty
But don't judge 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 Gryffindor apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff,
Where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuff 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 folk 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!"
The whole great hall burst into applause. It bowed to each of the four long tables and stood straight. Professor McGonagall came forward with a long piece of parchment.
"Like i said before when I call your name please come forward. Sit on the stool and let the hat place you in one of the houses. Abbott, Hannah!"
Hannah bumped into Hermione and walked up to the hat. She placed the hat which fell over her eyes.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" The hat shouted. The whole Hufflepuff house clapped for her and allowed her to take a seat with them.
"Bones, Susan!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted again. Susan skipped over to where Hannah was sitting and sat next to her.
"Boot, Terry!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
Terry walked over to a clapping Ravenclaw table while many of them shook his hand and patted him on the back.
"Brocklehurst, Mandy!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Brown, Lavender!"
"Wish me luck!" Lavender said stepping out of line and sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. It was a long moment before the hat decided.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Lavender walked over a huge smile on her face to the far left side where the Weasley Twins were giving her high fives and she sat next to them.
"Bulstrode, Millicent!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
The whole Slytherin table clapped for Millicent as he took a seat next to the two thugs as Draco called his friends Crabbe and Goyle.
"Evans, Aeris!"
"You'll be fine!" Hermione said. I walked up to the stool while I heard whispers in the hall.
"Is that really Aeris?"
"The one with the triangle scar?"
"Her hair is long!"
I saw Dumbledore smile at me and noticed on his shoulder was Lynn. She looked at me with her bright green eyes and I thought I heard Lavender sighed cause she thought Lynn was beautiful. I took a seat on the stool and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on my head.
"So your Aeris. The girl The Dark Lord didn't kill but merely took you in and raised for 3 years. Let's see I see you can fit in Ravenclaw for your wit or Slytherin for your past. You'll make tons of friends in Hufflepuff but your bravery stands out most. Better be... GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted. Professor McGonagall took the hat off and I jumped off the stool. The whole Gryffindor stood up and clapped for me while Fred hugged me and I sat next to him.
"Oh Aeris were in the same house! Now I know were going to be awesome friends." Lavender said trying to braid my hair. Fred, George, and Lee grinned at me.
"So guess our group of three became our group of four!" George said. I smiled and turned to watch the rest of the sorting. Lavender moaned a little cause she wasn't done braiding my hair but turned around as well to watch.
"Finch-Fletchley, Justin!"
"HUFFLEPUFF!"
"Finnigan, Seamus"
The hat took longer to decide then he did for me.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
"Granger, Hermione!"
Hermione ran up to the stool and placed the hat on her head.
"Let's hope she gets in Gryffindor." Lavender said.
"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat shouted and Hermione ran over to us and hugged Lavender and took a empty seat next to her.
"Quite scary up there but worth it." Hermione said.
"Longbottom, Neville!"
The pudgy toad boy stumbled on his way up and knocked over the stool. When the hat was placed on his head it took awhile to decide.
"GRYFFINDOR!" And Neville ran off the stool still wearing the hat and ran back to give it to some guy named Morag. Neville joined Lee and placed Trevor in his pocket.
"Malfoy, Draco!"
He walked up like he was a king and sat down.
"SLYTHERIN!" And Draco walked over to his thug friends and sat down.
"Did you see the hat even touch his head?" Fred asked.
"Must know Malfoy is a git." George said and all of us laughed.
After Moon, Nott, Parkinson, twin girls named Patil and finally Perks McGonagall cleared her throat.
"Potter, Harry!"
The whole hall buzzed. Harry walked up and sat down. The hat fell and went over his eyes. Fred stood up to get a good look.
"The hat is moving his uhh should we call it lips but I think only Harry could hear him." Fred said.
"Put him in Gryffindor. Please put him in Gryffindor." I thought.
"GRYFFINDOR!" and the whole table burst into cheer. Harry walked over and shook Fred and George's older brother Percy's hand.
"We got Potter! We got Potter! We also got Aeris! Take that Malfoy!" Fred and George shouted to Malfoy. Draco gave them a nasty look and turned to chat with Crabbe. Harry took his seat across from us and sat next to a ghost wearing a ruffled shirt who patted Harry on the back. Harry shivered a little.
"Thomas, Dean!"
A tall black boy proudly walked up to the hat.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Dean took his seat next to Harry and shook Lavender's hand.
"Turpin, Lisa!"
"RAVENCLAW!"
"Weasley, Ronald!"
The small red hair boy walked over and placed the hat on his head.
"GRYFFINDOR!"
Hermione sighed as she watched Ron take a spot next to Harry.
"Zabini, Blaise!"
"SLYTHERIN!"
Blaise walked over to Draco and sat next to a girl named Pansy. McGonagall rolled up the scroll and took the hat and stool away as the whole hall clapped for the hat. Dumbledore stood raised his arms. Lynn flew off them and onto mine. Lavender patted Lynn and let her nip her finger.
"Welcome to a new year of Hogwarts! I would like to say a few words. Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!" Dumbledore said. All of a sudden plates and plates of foods appeared on the table. Fred and George took forkfuls of chicken and potatoes and ate it. Hermione took some cranberry and roast beef and picked at it. Lavander took some chicken and cut it up into tiny bits and started giving some to Lynn who hooted happily. I grabbed something from every plate around me.
"So Nick why don't you tell the first years about your death?" Lee asked the ghost sitting next to Harry.
"Well I'm Nearly Headless Nick because I uhh was killed with a ax but they didn't bother chopping off my whole head. See?" The ghost said and pulled his head which only fell sideways but didn't fall off. It was connected to a small sliver of skin. Neville coughed up some food and Hermione ("Yuck") Nick put his head back on again. After a good dinner and cakes for desert Dumbledore stood up and made a speech about some new rules and when Quidditch will start. All of a sudden Harry moaned in pain.
"Something wrong Harry?" Percy asked.
"No-Nothing." Harry replied. Lynn looked at him and nipped on my ear. She turned towards where Professor Snape was. He was talking to a nervous man who was wearing a Turban. Snape looked at our table and our eyes met. He nodded and looked back at the Turban teacher. Dumbledore finished his speech and the students started to exit.
"First Years! Follow me! First Years!" Percy yelled. Lynn hooted and flew over to Snape who he started to whisper to.
"Uh you guys go ahead. I'm going to have a word with a Professor. See you." I said to Lavender and Hermione. I pushed some Hufflepuffs and finally came up to the teachers side of the hall.
"Ah Aeris. Did you enjoy the feast? It seems you made friends with the Weasly twins." Dumbledore said. He smiled at me and went back to talking to Professor McGonagall. I walked over to Snape and the Turban teacher saw me and said a few words before leaving.
"Aeris, it seems Lynn has started to take a liking towards Lavender. Pity you weren't put in my house." Snape said and fed Lynn some leftover chicken he had.
"Sorry Snape but the hat put me in Gryffindor not Slytherin." I told him. He gave a small grin.
"Yes well the hat knows all. Also keep in mind you have a admire in my house."
"Draco? I know. I met him on the train."
"Malfoy is hoping you'll be in every single class he has with you. Sadly you have only some with him. Also don't hang with Potter much. He looks like he'll cause trouble with Weasly."
"His scar must have hurt him because he moaned in pain at dinner tonight." I told him. Snape's color drained a little.
"Hmm well that's un normal. Thank you for telling me. Here take Lynn back. I'll take you to Gryffindor tower."
He handed Lynn back who jumped onto my shoulder. We walked out of the Great Hall up the main staircase. The moving stairs as quiet and one or two students were running up the staircases.
"Remember they move Aeris." Snape said.
We reached the Gryffindor tower and came face to face with a painting of a fat lady with curly brown hair.
"Password?" She asked.
"Uhhh Snape I didn't ask Percy for the password." I told him. He looked at me then back at the fat lady.
"Pardon but she's a first year. Name is Aeris Evans. I had to speak with her and she didn't have a change to get the password from a Prefect." Snape told her. The fat lady's eyes went wide.
"Ae-Aeris Evans? I knew we had Harry Potter but Aeris too? Ha! This made my day! Oh what a beautiful owl as well Aeris. Well the password is Caput Draconis and please come chat with me on your free time." The fat lady said and her portrit swung foward to reville a small room.
"Well Aeris goodnight and see you tomorrow." Snape said and walked away. I stepped inside to find Lavander and Hermione sitting by the fire.
"Everything went alright?" Hermione asked. I nodded and gave Lynn to Lavander who started to fix Lynn's feathers.
We sat by the fire for over a half hour talking about the Sorting.
"We should probably get to bed now. Don't want to be crabby for our first lessons." Hermione said and yawned. Lavander placed Lynn on her soulder and went up the stairs that lead to the Girl's room. We stopped at door with a gold sign that read 1st years and stepped inside. The only person was the one twin girl. Lavander opened the window and let Lynn out into the night and sat down on her bed. After putting on my nightdress I too fell on my bed and fell asleep within 5 minutes of hitting the pillow.