"So much for my fresh start," I muttered to myself. I walked down the corridor trying to find an empty compartment. I finally found one and slumped down into the seat. I wanted to cry. I had arrived triumphantly onto the Hogwarts Express and stared out at the vivid English cityscape as the train slowly pulled out of the station. The hallways were full of compartments, filled with laughter from various cliques. All I had to do was pick a group and introduce myself, and everything would be perfect. I'd be instantly popular. Of course, the reality wasn't as perfect as my dream. I managed to steps toward a compartment before my confidence crumbled. Maybe I was doomed to forever remain shy old Janet. I stayed there in silence staring out the window until I heard a squabble in the hallways.
"Come on, Kath! We haven't got all day!" the voice of a girl rang through the halls.
"But, Jen, I want to see him!" a second girl, decidedly younger, complained loudly.
"I told you, Kath, he won't want you bothering him!" A girl, maybe twelve or thirteen with a long dark brown braid walked into my compartment, dragging the yelling girl, who looked like she might be the first girl's younger sister, behind her. "Do you mind if we stay here? Kath here has to get her mind off of James Potter. I'm Jenna, by the way." I blinked, unsure of what to say.
"I don't see why I'd even want to get my mind off him!" her sister, Kath, retorted, completely ignoring me, "James Potter is so dreamy. Plus, his dad's famous, so he's like a celebrity!"
"Who's dad? How is he famous?" I asked, confused.
"Are you daft? How do you not know?" Kath was astounded. "Have you been in England at all before? You accent is kind of different."
I shook my head. "I'm from America. My name's Lianne. How is his, um, James', dad famous?"
Jenna was the one who answered me. "Over nineteen years ago, there was this dark wizard, called He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-"
"Why was he called that?" That name was downright ridiculous.
"He was so feared no one wanted to say his name. Nobody likes to anymore, anyways. It brings back bad memories. So, anyways, You-Know-Who, which was another name for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, he was a cold-blooded killer. No one survived an attack from him, until he tried to kill Harry Potter. It didn't work, and You-Know-Who was almost destroyed. Harry became famous, and came to Hogwarts to learn magic. He and his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, faced You-Know-Who many times, finally killing him when they were seventeen. James is Harry's oldest son. His brother Albus is a first-year this term. I believe that Rose Weasley is a first-year, too."
"They'll probably be in Gryffindor," Kath added Harry, Ron, and Hermione all were. That's why everybody wants to be in Gryffindor. I hope I am. Do you, Lianne?"
I shrugged. Professor McGonagall mentioned the students being sorted into four Houses, but I really didn't care what house I was in.
"I'm in Ravenclaw," Jenna put in, "I hope Kath follows in the family footsteps and gets sorted there, but there's really no chance of that. After all, Ravenclaw is for the wise." She glared at her sister.
Kath rolled her eyes. "Like I'd even want to be in Ravenclaw. I'm going to be in Gryffindor. Or Hufflepuff. Really, I'm fine as long as I'm not in Slytherin."
"What's wrong with Slytherin?" I asked.
"That's the house that all of You-Know-Who's followers were in." Kath shrugged. "You'd have to be evil to be in Slytherin."
Jenna interrupted. "That's not true, Kath. Remember, Severus Snape came from Slytherin, and he was one of Dumbledore's most trusted allies. They aren't really all that evil in Slytherin," she explained to me, "but they are snobs. If you're a half-blood, like us, they see you as inferior. If you're Muggle-born, meaning your parents didn't have any magic, they'll despise you."
"Oh," I said, "Guess I'm in trouble then."
"Oh, guess I'm in trouble then," a voice mocked from the hall. A tall, blond girl wearing a green designer outfit and followed by a clique of giggling girls was standing in the doorway. She seemed so much like Stacey, the pretty, fashionable girl who was worshiped by all. I realized that, maybe if I made friends with her, I'd have a chance at being popular.
"Oh my god, who let the Mudblood on the train?" she asked, wrinkling her nose and pointing at me. My spirits fell. I would be as popular here as I was in my old school. Which was to say, completely and utterly friendless. "Hello, Jenna," she sneered, "Heard your father lost his job. I guess they realized just what an embarrassment he is." Jenna looked down, ashamed. Even Kath, who was so full of energy and spirit a minute ago, seemed cowed by that comment. "So, Mudblood, how did you get into Hogwarts? I guess you can get into a school by being completely pathetic."
"That explains how you got in," I muttered, louder than I meant to. I only meant it to console myself, like I did when Stacey first began to bully me, but everyone heard anyways. Jenna and Kath stared at me, shocked. The girl looked flustered, then angry.
"Wait till we get to Hogwarts, Mudblood. Then we'll see who really belongs." She turned and strutted away, her clique following behind. One of the girls, with long, white-blond hair, paused for a moment. "Get over, here, Maura!" the leader of the clique cried, and the blonde girl ran after her.
As soon as they left, Kath and Jenna burst into laughter. "Lianne, you are so cool!" Kath shrieked. I blinked, surprised. I hadn't expected this
Jenna also gushed with admiration, "I've never seen anyone stand up to Lorna Zabini before! She's one of those Slytherin snobs. Everyone's terrified of her. She's in my year, so I have to put up with her in Double Herbology class. You should her the way she prattles" She adopted a prissy manner. "My family is of the purest blood, leading back to the days of Salazar Slytherin himself. I am so much better than all of you filth, so you must treat me with respect." She resumed her normal voice. "She's very rich, on account of her grandmother. She was married to nine different wealthy husbands, who all died in mysterious circumstances. You should steer clear of her."
"Lia, you've got to promise to stay my friend, even if we get sorted into different houses, okay?" Kath giggled, "You are so amazing."
"Sure," I said, flattered. These girls weren't popular, or rich, or anything I ever fantasized myself as being. But their praise gave me a wonderful feeling inside. It made me feel strong. It made me feel like I really was Lianne, confident and self-assured. "I promise," I told her with a smile.
-----
After many hours, hours which I spent trying to catch up on my sleep, the train slowed to a halt. "Oh!" Kath cried, "This is it! We're going to be sorted now! Oh, Jenna, please! I'm dying to know! How do they sort us first years? Please!"
Jenna only smiled and said, in a deep and sinister voice, "It is a fearsome challenge indeed." She stood up and strode off of the train to where most of the students were, over by some horseless carriages. She waved good-bye to Kath and me. "Firs' years! Firs' years over here!" an impossibly large man called out, standing by the lake.
"That's Rubeus Hagrid," Kath whispered in my ear, "He's part giant, but I hear he's really nice. He worked here when Harry Potter went to school."
"Four to a boat, now, firs' years!" Hagrid shouted. Kath and I climbed into a boat quickly, trying not to tip it over. I turned around to see an argument between some of the girls in Lorna's clique.
"There's no more room, Maura!" one girl laughed, "go find somewhere else to sit!" The blonde girl, Maura, I assumed, stood on the shore dejectedly. The only boat with any room left was ours, but she refused to get in.
"What's the hold-up?" Hagrid bellowed, "You there, get to yer boat!" Maura looked at him in fear, then slowly climbed in our boat.
"Mudblood," she muttered with sheer loathing, trying not to look at me.
Dorky old Janet would have collapsed into tears at that comment, but the new Lianne wasn't going to stand for that. "Snob," I replied coolly, reveling in my bravado. Kath giggled softly. Maura gave me a look of pure hate, then turned away, trying to ignore the laughter of her friends.
-----
When we disembarked, Hagrid led us to the Great Hall. I looked around to hear murmurs of nervousness from my classmates. "This is where yer to be sorted inter one o' the four Houses," Hagrid told us, "Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin. Good luck to yer!" He departed, leaving us with pale faces and heavy hearts.
"Jenna said it was a frightening task," Kath said nervously, "But it's not like we have to fight a troll, right?"
Overhearing this comment, one girl murmured to her friends, looking nervous, "I hear we have to fight a troll now!"
"Do we really?" one of her friends squealed, "Oh, god! I can't fight a troll!"
"Don't be an idiot, Candace," a boy close by drawled, "We're going to have to fight a giant spider. Don't you just love spiders, Candace?" Candace let out a frightened yelp. As the rumor circulated, I could hear many different sorts of fearsome foes: the giant squid, boggarts, dementors, and more. I didn't know what most of them were, but they sounded gruesome indeed.
I fingered my wand out of fear, grateful for its comforting touch. "We don't really have to fight a troll," Kath said, more to herself than me, "It was just a joke."
"Good luck," I whispered to Kath, frightened out of my wits.
"You too," she answered, looking very nervous and trembling.
We entered the Great Hall and sat on a long bench, waiting for the Sorting to begin. The first thing I noticed was that everyone in the Hall was staring intently at a hat. It was tattered, beaten, and had a tear across the brim. I looked around, wondering if the monster was hiding somewhere, but there was nothing else. I was expecting something a bit more grand and macabre, so I was disappointed when the tear opened like a mouth and the hat began to sing.
"You've got to be kidding me," I said to myself, "That's our fearsome challenge?" I rested my head on my hand, trying to listen. However, I was tired. Due to the whole time zone difference, I had been awake for about the past twenty hours, and I had gotten no sleep at all the night before, so all I wanted right now was a nap. I tried to stay awake, but it wasn't easy
The hat sang loudly, with a practiced voice. "It was many hundred years ago/When Hogwarts was first founded/To sort the students was a need/Bold Gryffindor expounded…" It was at this point that I slipped into a light sleep. It seemed a split second later that I was jarred awake by the closing verse, "Although I do my duty well/My job is to divide!/Before I sort you into four/In you I must confide!/Before you go your separate ways/And never speak in all your days!/I ask you this, and please comply/Join as one and unify!" It was a cryptic way to end a song, but the entire audience erupted into cheers nonetheless.
A man near the large table read names from a list, holding up the hat. "Anderson!" A boy with curly brown hair stepped forward. I wondered whether the hat was just there for the opening song, or whether it was supposed to help with the Sorting somehow. The boy sat down anxiously on the stool that was placed there. The man placed the hat on his head.
Nothing happened for a second, then the hat cried out, "RAVENCLAW!" The boy climbed down from the stool and walked over to the Ravenclaw table, which was cheering loudly.
I watched as two of Lorna's entourage got assigned to Slytherin, and then it was my turn. I suddenly realized how this was frightening. Knees threatening to give out, I sat down in the stool. Whether I was sitting there for moments, or minutes, I didn't know, but it felt like years. I had the sensation of my innermost thoughts and feelings being probed. I just wanted it over as soon as possible. Finally, the hat announced, "GRYFFINDOR!" Kath gave me a thumbs-up as I walked to the Gryffindor table. My part in the sorting over, I stared all around me at the grandness of Hogwarts.
Soon, though, my attention was attracted when "Greengrass!" was called out, and the girl from the boat, Maura, walked up to the hat. She sat down and was instantly sorted into Slytherin.
"Figures," I muttered, then slipped into another daze.
I was awoken soon after by tremendous cheering right in my ear. Albus Potter had just been sorted into Gryffindor. The noise was deafening. However, I wanted to be fully awake to see where Kath got sorted. I knew it couldn't be much longer before Kath's turn. Rose Weasley, whom Jenna had told me about on the train, was sorted into Gryffindor to more applause, and then "Wright!" was called out.
Kath practically ran to the stool, a huge smile. "HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat yelled. Hufflepuff house cheered as Kath sat down. She smiled, though she seemed a little disappointed. She cast a fleeting glance at someone at the Gryffindor table, probably her darling James, then turned to me.
"Sorry," I mouthed, knowing how much she had wanted to be in Gryffindor.