I never found Percy. Fortunately for the conductor, the twins did find their elder brother and when I saw him get of the train, his hair was a lovely green, his voice disturbingly low as he directed students which way to go.
Soon, a large, burly man with bushy hair appeared in the darkness, holding a lantern to help light the way for first years to get to some boats. My jaw dropped when I saw the castle. Standing proudly on top of a haggard cliff was a castle that almost blended in with the night sky. Even with the lights in its many windows, the castle could barely be seen over the black lake.
"Wicked," the twins chimed as they boarded the boat I was in.
I had seen castles before but never something so massive or one that someone was living in it. The closer it got, the more magical the situation seemed. How could something so incredible be hidden away? Did Muggles not know what they were missing?
When the boats docked, the large group of children I was mixed with scrambled up some stone stairs until we were at two large doors. For most of this experience, I had been excited. Now that I was actually there at the castle, I took a step back, moving closer to Fred and George.
"It is kind of scary," Fred said calmly, helping me slightly.
"Yeah, I didn't know it would be so big," George mumbled.
I pulled out the vial of dragon blood from my robe pocket and lifted it to my lips before someone snatched it from my hands and sniffed it. Fred, George, and I froze when we saw the boy gag and glare at the bottle. "This isn't firewhiskey," he announced. "Pointless."
I reached to grab the vial from him just as the doors opened, distracting me and letting the vial fall to the ground. Everyone around me gagged while I frowned at the blood on the ground.
The stern faced woman was already looking at me while I looked back at her. Pulling her wand, she gave it a wave, the glass vial put itself back together and the dragon blood refilled the bottle allowing me to drink it.
Despite her strict, almost cold, demeanor, she gave us a warm welcome to Hogwarts and a brief explanation of what was about to happen. "I will show you to the Great Hall where you will be sorted. Once you have been placed in your house, you will join your housemates there. While you are here, they will be like your family. I expect you to treat them as such."
The large doors opened and we followed the woman in. Staying close to Fred and George, I could only see the people to my immediate left, dressed in black and red. I wondered which house that was. My eyes left the surrounding people and moved to the ceiling that Fred and George were pointing at. It was as though they had captured the night sky and placed it over the ceiling. Candles floated around, almost blending in with the stars.
Everything soon fell silent. No one said a word, or breathed, while a stool was placed in front of us. A pointed hat as old as time slouched on the chair. Was that the Sorting Hat? I thought it would be grander, not dusty and worn.
To my surprise, the Hat began to sing a strange song, mentioning all the traits of the houses. Gryffindor for the brave. Hufflepuff for the loyal. Ravenclaw for the witty. Slytherin for the cunning.
As I mulled over the hat's words, I tried to figure out where it would put me. I was far from brave. I had selective loyalty. I had plenty of wit. I had my moments of cunning. From that, I figured I would be placed in Ravenclaw. That wasn't where I needed to be. I needed to be in Slytherin. I needed access to potions.
The old woman began calling out names, making my blood go cold. They sat there on the stool with that Hat on their heads talking to them, all eyes watching and waiting. By the time my name came, there had been six Ravenclaws, seven Gryffindors, two Hufflepuffs, and no Slytherins.
Hoping to break the trend, I stepped to the stool and struggled to sit on the tall wooden object while the Hat was placed on my head.
"My, what dark thoughts you have," the Hat murmured. "Unnatural for a girl your age to simply want to kill and drink the blood from innocent victims." It chuckled at my confusion. Not once had I wanted to harm anyone. "Such are the thoughts of any vampire. But, you want to be placed in Slytherin. Being near the potions master would give you an advantage on your endeavors, however, you do not belong there. I see you've made friend's with some Weasleys, a good bunch they are, all getting placed in Gryffindor, but you know you don't belong there either. A kind heart and a shining soul. You belong with those that understand your pain. HUFFLEPUFF!"
The table to my right gave a loud cheer. Hopping down, I half sulked over, though the twins were cheering as well, happy I wasn't in Slytherin. Many greeted me, shaking my hand as I sat down with other first years.
I watched as the woman called Fred's name, but George took his place. It was interesting to hear the Hat laugh so loudly before announcing "GRYFFINDOR!" Fred was also placed in Gryffindor after taking George's spot. By the end of it, Ravenclaw had received the most first years, somewhere around thirty and Hufflepuff the least with only ten.
After an old man with a long white beard gave a strange brief speech, food appeared on the table. Rather than an empty plate, my plate came with food already on it, and a note telling me what everything was. All were various items of some kind with blood in them. Iguana blood rolls, chicken blood black pudding, a strange sort of blood haggis, and turkey meat that had been soaked in blood. My goblet was enchanted to have blood in it unless I specified otherwise, which was helpful information. It seemed with the amount of blood available to me, I would be able to enjoy the other things in life once again.
"Avaeda Carrow, was it?" A young boy smiled. "I'm Cedric Diggory. I'm s first year, too. You look...different."
"I am different," I replied. "Did you expect to be placed in Hufflepuff?"
He blushed slightly, "Not really. I really thought I would get put in Ravenclaw of Gryffindor. What about you?"
"Slytherin," I grumbled, glaring at the garlic bread that had been placed by me. I pushed the bread away before taking a bite of my bread.
"What are you eating?" He asked as he looked around to see where I had grabbed my food.
"Iguana blood roll, I think," I replied as I took another bite and swallowed dragon blood after it. "I'm a vampire."
"Seriously?" He gasped. "You're going to kill us all while we sleep!"
I frowned, "I haven't killed anyone. Someone's been supplying me with blood for the past few weeks." I lifted up my goblet, "Dragon blood."
A look of skepticism crossed his features, "Monsters belong in Slytherin."
The brown haired boy abruptly stood, moving to sit with someone else. Soon the word had covered the Hufflepuff table before someone decided to approach me.
"Vampire, huh?" The older teen glared, his dark eyes glittering in the floating candle light. "You're not a real Hufflepuff. Muggle-born monsters belong in Slytherin like the rest of the snakes."
"I hardly think I'm a monster," I grumbled into my goblet. "I thought this was supposed to be the nice house, but I guess not."
Before I knew it, there was a tall Weasley hovering over the teen's shoulder. "Paul, you should learn to respect Avaeda. She's a good girl. Keep it up, and you'll have to deal with me and Charlie." Bill smiled at me, "Fred and George want to talk to you, Ava."
I moved to get up, but froze under Paul's gaze. "As Head Boy of Hufflepuff, you will not be visiting the Gryffindors inside this Hall."
Bill laughed, "Still mad you broke your arm last year? Instead of taking it out on a first year, take it up with Charlie at the Quidditch match. She shouldn't be kept from her friends, especially since they're the only ones that don't care what she is."
"You have no say in this house," Paul growled.
My eyes left the arguing seventh years, moving to the beckoning twins. Slowly, I slipped away, meeting up with the twins in the corridor.
The stone halls seemed endless, the lit columns sparkling either way.
"What were they arguing about?" Fred asked.
"Me being in Hufflepuff," I sighed. "I don't understand. I can't help it."
"Did you ask the Sorting Hat to put you in Slytherin?" They asked.
"Yeah," I frowned. "It obviously disagreed."
"Yeah," they agreed.
"Fred! George!" All three of us looked at Percy who was glaring at all of us. "What are you doing out here?"
"Plotting," the twins replied with identical smiles.
"We're going to explore the castle tomorrow," I answered.
"No pranks," Percy warned. "It will only cause Gryffindor to lose the house cup again."
"House cup?" The three of us asked.
"The Head of the House will explain in your common room," Percy said. "Back to the feast, all of you."
The three of us grumbled under our breath and parted ways, me heading to almost the other side of the Grand Hall while the twins headed down the middle to their table.
