Chapter Two
The train shudders to a stop. John looks out his window, but can see nothing but the black night. He looks over at the boy, who is now standing at the door of the compartment. People start exiting the train onto the platform. John joins the throng, quickly losing sight of the strange boy. A massive man stands on the platform holding a lantern. He is the size of two men, put together, and has a huge gray beard and lots of long shaggy gray hair.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" the man calls. "Hullo Lily," he smiles down at a girl John's age with thick red hair and green eyes. She smiles at him too. The huge man leads the first years down to a huge glittering lake, with little boats tied to the shore.
"Three to a boat!" The man calls. John climbs into one of the boats, and is accompanied by a girl with long curly white-blond hair to her waist and a boy with black hair and a permanent sneer.
"Anderson," the boy says, sticking out his hand, "My family is entirely pureblood. I think only pure bloods should be allowed in Hogwarts, don't you?"
"Erm…" John says. He decides Anderson is someone he doesn't want in his house.
"I think that everyone should be let it. It's only fair," the girl says dreamily. "I'm Magnolia." She looks expectantly at John.
"John, John Watson," He tells them.
"Pleasure," Anderson sneers. Magnolia just smiles dreamily.
"Hogwarts!" The large man says. Everyone gasps. John looks up and sees a magnificent castle sitting atop a hill, overlooking the lake. It looks old, but is alive and glittering with thousands of little lights. It is beautiful.
The boats glide through an archway to an underground cavern below the school. The large man ushers everyone out of their boats and up a set of stairs. At the top, the man fiddles with the lock of a large door and opens it. The kids are brought into a massive entry hall. John looks around in awe. Harriet wasn't kidding when he said Hogwarts was huge, his entire house could fit into this entry hall.
"Please come with me students," A pretty Asian woman said, "I am professor Chang." She brings them into a small room. On the other side of one of the walls, John can hear the buzz of thousands of students settling down and talking. After a few minutes, Professor Chang leads the first years though the door and into a massive dining hall. Four long tables filled most of the room, one for each house. Gryffindor was on John's far right, and Hufflepuff next to it. Ravenclaw was on his left, and Slytherin was next to it. At the end of the room sits a table perpendicular to the others, with the staff sitting at it.
Professor Chang leads them to the end of the room and has them stand facing the staff table. She sets down a stool in front of the kids and places an incredibly old hat on it.
"When I call your name you will come up and put the hat on. When you have been sorted you will go an sit with your table," Professor Chang tells them. "Anderson, Moira."
Anderson walks smugly up to the stool, sits down, and puts the hat on is head. It barely touches his head before it shouts "SLYTHERIN!" The Slytherin table erupts in cheers and Anderson walks smugly to the table.
"Donovan, Sally." An African-American girl walks up, puts the hat on her head, and is made a Slytherin too.
"Holmes, Sherlock." The weird boy from the train walks up and takes the hat. John watches him, and just before Sherlock puts the hat on, he makes eye contact with John.
"RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouts. John decides that Ravenclaw makes sense for Sherlock. The boy seemed to be very smart, and could tell a lot about John, seemingly only from looking. It scared John the way Sherlock did that.
Hooper, Molly is called up next and made the first Hufflepuff. She is a little girl, small for her age with a brown ponytail. She looks very nervous, but gives a small tentative smile as the Hufflepuff table cheers for her.
John looks around and studies the people in the hall. There is a wide array of people, and he recognizes very few of them, which makes him nervous. He glances over at Harriet and she gives him an encouraging smile. That makes him feel a little better. He pulls his attention back to Professor Chang and the hat to see a mousey boy with big ears named Henry Knight being sorted into Hufflepuff.
"Lovegood-Longbottom, Magnolia," is called next. She is the girl from John's boat. He is surprised by her last name. Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom were to prominent wizards in the Battle of the Death Eaters. John assumes she is their daughter.
"Malfoy, Scorpio," is a pale boy with white blond hair, who looks downright mean. He is sorted into Slytherin. Another person to avoid, John decides. Moriarty, James is called next. He is very short with wide staring eyes. John isn't sure what to think of him. John tries not to be the judging type, so he decides he should get to know James before passing a judgment. James is placed in Slytherin.
"Potter, Lily," Professor Chang calls next. John stares at her, surprised. He knows the older Potter boys go to Hogwarts because James, the oldest, is a third year like Harriet. John just hadn't realized that the youngest is his age. Lily is pretty, and John realizes she is the one the huge man with the boats was talking to. Then he realizes that the huge man must be Hagrid, the groundskeeper of Hogwarts. According to stories Hagrid was close to Harry Potter, so he probably knows the Potter kids as well.
John's train of thought is interrupted by the hat shouting Gryffindor, and the incredible amount of cheers that fill the hall. The Potter's name still holds lots of power and respect. Next up is Powers, Carl. John decides Carl looks like the kind of boy he wants as a friend. He is glad when Carl is put in Gryffindor, hoping he will be there too.
John glances up, and is transfixed by the ceiling, which looks like the sky, but he knows it can't actually be. He can see the full moon overhead, and thousands of glittering stars. He watches as a few clouds roll by, momentarily obscuring the perfect white orb.
"Oops! Sorry," the boy next to John whispers as he loses his balance. John only nods at him. The boy has curly red hair, is quite short, and slightly chubby, but looks very friendly.
John is surprised to hear when the next name called is Sawer, Sarah. Already onto the S's? John thinks in surprise. His name is not far off now, and he is worried. What if he is put in Slytherin? What if that hat never chooses a house? What would happen to him? John is distracted from his thoughts when Sarah walks up to the hat. She is very pretty, and she looks much older then John, even though they are the same year. John might even go so far as to call her beautiful. He has never seen a girl like her before. He is incredibly relieved when she is put in Gryffindor; he hopes he will get to know her.
"Stumford, Mike," is a stout boy with little round glasses, who is placed in Hufflepuff. Edward Vancoon is next, and is placed in Ravenclaw.
"Watson, John." John stares. It can't be his turn already. Shaking, he slowly walks up to the stool, and picks up the hat. He sits down, and right before the hat covers his eyes, John can see thousands of upturned, expectant faces. Then everything is dark.
"Hmm… I can see you aspire to be a hero, so Gryffindor is a good choice," the hat mutters in John's ear, "But you could also be good in Hufflepuff… You have a kind heart, and are very loyal…" John wishes for Gryffindor, he wants to be with his sister, and the pretty girl, Sarah, but mostly to be like his father. "Alright then," The hat says, "I guess it must be… GRYFFINDOR!" The last word is shouted for the whole hall to hear.
John stands up and smiles. He is so relieved to be in Gryffindor, he almost cries. He walks down to the table cheering for him on wobbly knees. Harriet jumps up and envelops him in a big hug.
"Good job Johnny!" she says with a smile. She leads him over to where she and her friends are sitting. "This is my brother Johnny," she tells them proudly. They smile at him and he smiles back as he sits down with Harriet.
When John looks up at the sorting again, Hugo Weasley has just been called up. He is the little boy who had fallen over next to John, before they had been sorted.
"That is Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger's youngest," Harriet whispers. "His older sister Rosie is a 2nd year in Gryffindor." Ron and Hermione were Harry Potter's best friends, and helped him conquer Lord Voldemort.
There is only one girl left waiting to be sorted. "Yao, Soo Lin." Professor Chang says. Soo Lin hurries forward and places the hat on her head.
"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouts, and Soo Lin hurries over and takes a seat. Professor Chang picks up the stool and the hat and carries them out of the hall.
A sudden hush fills the hall as Headmistress McGonagall stands up. "I have a few notices, but before that, let us feast." John looks down surprised as the tables groan under the weight of thousands of platters of food. He eagerly begins filling his plate with all his favorite foods.
"John, some kid at the Ravenclaw table is staring at you," Harriet whispers. John and all of Harriet's friends turn to look. The kid turns out to be Sherlock Holmes, the strange boy from the train. Sherlock smirks at John, before looking back down at his dinner.
"He was in my compartment on the train," John informs the group. "He is weird but very perceptive."
"He is a Holmes right?" One of the girls asks. John nods. "His brother Mycroft is a 4th year in Slytherin. Mycroft always acts superior to everyone. I guess weirdness runs in the family."
Everyone laughs at this. John feels content sitting with Harriet and her friends. He feels like he fits in. He is glad he has people to sit with and talk to. People who can help him out if he needs it. A home away from home. Everything would be perfect if only his father were still alive.
Hello everyone, this is my first fanfic and I appreciate all the views. You guys are awesome. Feedback is very welcome, as is ideas for the story line. I have some, but am always open to more. Please let me know what you think! It helps a lot. Thank you so much! :)