Chapter 3 - Devilswort
I had been at the Hogsmead station before in the darkness - occasionally I had accompanied father or Aunty - Proffessor McGonagall - to see the students off or welcome the first years. But tonight it seemed twice as magical as usual, the platform was shrouded in shadows cast by the warmly glowing gas lights, and the throng of student seemed to crackle with a magic of it's own. In the distance I hear hagrid calling for the first yerar students and gestured to ron and harry to follow me.
"Firs' years! Firs' years over 'ere! All righ' there, 'arry, 'ow y' doin' Ruby?"
"Hi Hagrid!" I grinned, and he patted me on the shoulder.
"C'mon, follow me - any more firs' years. Mind yer step, now! Firs' years follow me!"
We made our way from the platform down a dark and slippery path, tripping over treeroots and occasionally knocking in to one another. I was mostly okay as I knew the path pretty well - I'd walked this way many times in the light with my father, and even in the dark I remembered when the trickiest parts are. Next to me I heard a boy sniffling. I put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. He smiled nervously back at me.
"It's alright," I whispered. "The sortings really easy. It's meant to be a surprise, but you just put on a hat. Don't tell anyone I told you."
"My Gran will be really angry if I don't end up in Gryffindore though!"
I suddenly realised this was Neville Longbottom. I had read about his parents when I was looking into the first war. I felt really bad for him. Part of me knew how he felt - although I was sure Father would not be disappointed no matter what house I ended up in, I knew that everyone wanted me to be in Gryffindor too - including myself. I began to feel the first trickle of nerves about the sorting, but hid it so I wouldn't scare Neville.
"Well your Gran should keep it to herself. all the houses are equal!"
Behind me someone laughed. When I looked round I saw blond Draco Malfoy sneering. He shut up when I glared at him through.
"They are!" I said. "Except the slimy slytherins. And there's no way you're going there, right!" I said, clapping Neville on the shoulder. He smiled weakly, and we continued on our way, concentrating on not falling over or tripping on the roots.
"Ye' all get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec," I heard hagrid shout. "jus' round this bend here."
I turned the corner and Gasped - around me other cries of surprise and delight arose. I could hardly believe it, that I had been at hogwarts all these years, and never truly seen it. Hogwarts had been my home, and I loved it, but as I looked out across the black glassy lake which mirrored the sky in perfection, and gazed up at where the castle stood - a gleaming cynosure of golden light, flaming windows and delicately architectured parapices, I felt something in me change, as if I had never truly seen beauty before and now I gazed upon it for the first time. My throat choked and blocked. I finally realised everyone else was moving towards a set of boats on the shore. I hurried after them. Harry, ron Hermione and Neville had already taken one boat, so I quickly climbed in after a blond girl and two twins.
"Right then - FORWARD!" Said hagrid, and right away our boars set off across the lake, speeding towards the warmth and light of the castle.
"Heads down!" Hagrid called, and we glided under a trailing carpet ivy. As it brushed gently over the tops of our heads I reached up and plucked one of the leaves off a hanging vine. It felt warm and soothing against my palm. No matter what happened, I reminded myself, Hogwarts was my home, and I would be safe here. I put the leaf in my pocket.
As we climbed from the boats and assembled on the pebbled shore, I spotted something in the bottom of our boat, hiding under the seat. I reached in and plucked out a toad. "Hey hermione!" I called. She turned to look at me.
"Is this the toad you were looking for?"
"Trevor!" neville called, and scooped him from my hands joyfully. "Look after him," I teased. "He's clearly a wayward toad!" Neville smiled, and we followed hagrid up to a great front door, which hagrid knocked on three times.
Aunty - Proffessor - McGonagall opened it, looking stern. I grinned at her, and she didn't even twitch. I was impressed!
She led us into the entrance hall where we all stood together nervously. She explained about the different houses for anyone who hadn't found out yet and explained about the housepoints. I couldn't help smirking - I couldn't wait to start earning points for my house!
She left us, and everyone around us burst into nervous conversation - I heard harry and ron talking about wrestling a troll, and Hermione going on about all the spells she knew already. I caught neville's eye and we smiled.
Suddenly everyone jumped - the house ghosts glided through the wall. This was a classic trick of theirs that I had laughed with them about in the past - scaring the first years was the only chance they really got, because after that everyone knew them and wasn't afraid of them anymore.
They talked cryptically for while about peeves, and the friar caught my eye and we grinned at each other. Nick made a show of noticing the students and the proffessor McGonagall appeared and hurried us into the great hall.
Smiling to myself, I watched Harry and the other first years admire the hall. I couldn't wait to wit down at my own house table for the first time ever. I looked towards Father, and he caught my eye with a fond look, and then professor McGonagall brought out the sorting hat and the sorting hat and it began. The hat sang about the houses and their qualities, and as I watched I remembered listening from the door of the hall - I had never sat in on one of the feasts before. I usually ate in the kitchens, because I didn't like to intrude on the school - plus it felt uncomfortable to sit at the staff table with all the students watching, and there wasn't a specific house table I could go to.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," Called Proffessor McGonagall. "Abbott, Hannah!"
"HUFFLEPUFF." The hufflepuff table cheered and applauded.
Susan Bones followed hannah into hufflepuff, while Terry boot became the first Ravenclaw, followed by Mandy Brocklehurst. Lavender Brown went to Gryffindor and Millicent bullstrode went to slytherin and then finally -
"Dumbledore, Darkruby"
Swallowing, I made my way nervously to the hat. Many of the students already knew about me, but a crowd of whispers still followed me to the seat.
I put the hat on and it fell over my eyes.
for a few moments everything was silent, and then I heard
"Darkruby. I have been waiting".
I swallowed.
"There's Courage here, oh yes, and kindness too. Deep loyalty to your friends... a temper you find hard to control. You'd do well in Gryffindor, though Hufflepuff would help you calm that temper."
I smiled, feeling relief. When the hat put it that way, and when I thought of a house helping me grow into a better person, it made me feel better about it.
"You're smart too - with your thirst for books. But I don't think you could ever love knowledge for knowledge's sake. You need a use for what you learn. Ahh... so much potential. There is a darkness within you though; you are becoming more aware of it. An ambition not yet realised, a thirst - for something. Ah."
The hat went quiet, and I sat, confident, waiting for it to make it's decision, hoping for Gryffindor.
"I am sorry, Ruby. your house has already been set. I cannot change that."
"What?" I said, knowing I was speaking aloud and that everyone would be looking at me. I must have been under the hat for at least two minutes now.
"I cannot put it off any longer, Ruby. Your house was set long before you put me on your head. Your path has been chosen for you already. all I can say to you - as he once said to me - 'Ruby - seek me, find me, save me, I wait for you.' " I began to panic, unable to understand what was going on. Before I could do anything at all, the hat called out -
"SLYTHERIN!"
My heart plumeted. I took the hat off, and placed it on the stool, making my way numbly to the green clad table amidst a smattering of polite applause and the raucous whispers of the student body.
Dazed and gasping, I took my seat amidst the staring and hostile Slytherins. I stared at my plate, unable to look up and see the disappointed faces of my friends, of my father. Aunty McGonagall coughed, and continued with the sorting.
I sat there, wishing with all my might that someone would join me at the slytherin table who was decent - someone, anyone, who could keep me company and help lessen my shame. But I was followed by Malfoy's hulking bodyguards, Smirking Malfoy himself, theodore nott and then pug nosed pansy parkinson who sneered at me with a crule delight and sat giggling and snickering next Bullstrode.
I glanced up when Proffessor McGonagall called out Harry's name.
He made his way nervously towards the stool. Instead of whispers, outright conversations started up, everyone whispering "Is that The Harry Potter?"
"No guess where he'll end up," said Malfoy snidely.
Pansy sniggered. "House of the idiots of course"
I was too shocked by all that had happened to say anything. The hat was quiet for a long time, and I wondered what was happening under there. I crossed my fingers - could it be that harry wasn't destined for gryffindore? If I could end up here in slytherin, perhaps he could too? If harry was here, it wouldn't be half so bad.
"Gryffindore!" called the hat, and the table of the loins expoloded into cheers, banging their goblets on the table and appplauding so hard I thought their hands would drop off.
I swallowed my dissappointment with shame. Harry, at least, was where he belonged.
The sorting ended when Blaise Zabini joined our table. Fahter stood up. I finaly found the courage to meet his eyes. He glanced at me for only a moment, and he looked worried, but not angry. feeling a bit braver I looked around the hall. Harry caught my eye from over on the gryffindore table. He looked comiserating and I tried to communicate to him in just a look that this was the last place I wanted to be. Ron looked more guarded then harry, and whispered something in his ear when he saw where harry was looking.
"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" Began Father "Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!" I smiled. It was an old joke he had shared with me a long time ago, and I was sure he had said it just to make me feel better.
He sat down, and the tables filled with food. I was hungry, but I felt too sick to eat. Something about eating next to the slytherins, most of whose father's were murderes and muggle haters set my teeth on edge. I pulled a bit of chicken and some vegetable on to my plate an picked at them halfheartedly, glad that up until now those around me had decided to mostly ignore me.
Parkinson was still whispering to Bullstrode and I was pretty sure they were talking about me, but I resolutely concentrated on demolishing my chicken. ten minutes into the feast and I wanted nothing more than to get away. Time seemed to drag on and on, and all I could think about was my room in the Headmaster's tower, the lavender rugs and the tapestry in my room of Sylphs dancing in a cherry tree, where I didn't have to worry about what house I was in.
My thoughts turned to the mysterious message the hat had given me - "'seek me, find me, save me, I wait for you.' the words brought to mind the mysterious stranger who had pulled me on to the train this morning, and the odd dreams I had been falling in to. Whenever I thought about his face, he seemed odd, like a black and white photograph or a blured vision. When I tried to think about his face, I couldn't picture it - I just remembered him as handsome.
I wondered if I would have any more dreams, and if I would meet him there. It seemed to be the one thing I could look forward to,
Eventually, the plates cleared and the table filled with sweet puddings. Normally I would eat some icecream but I just didn't have the stomach. I picked up a humbug and unwrapped it. Draco Malfoy was boasting about his eagle owl he'd got when he went to hogwarts, and about how he'd met harry in a madam malkins and made him look silly by talking about things he didn't know about.
Finally, father gave the announcements and we were free. A stern looking prefect I didn't know lead us down into the dungeons. I dreaded what the common room must look like, down here in the dark, and I wondered how ever I would make it through seven years of being a slytherin.
"Devilswort" said the prefect, and we all climbed into the common room.
I fell in love in an instant. The green light, instead of feeling cold, was comforting. There were shadowed corners and windows that opened out under the lake, where I could see sholes of silver fish shimmer in the light from the windows. The carved dragons and serpents seemed elegant rather than morbid. No matter who she held, I realised, hogwarts could never be ugly. My gpps mood was ruined, however, when proffessor snape emerged from the shadows. He glared down on us all, and glanced at me with an odd didn't say anything for a while and when he spoke his voice was low and velvety so that we had to listen hard to catch what he was saying.
"Welcome... to the noble house of Slytherin. I am your house master. If you have problems and troubles you cannot resolve yourseves it is to me you come. Likewise, if I note any misbehaviour within the house I will be responsible for your... reducation. Slytherin prides itself on it's subtlety, cunning and class which you should uphold in your day to day lives. Do not let me catch any one of you failing to do so"
I swallowed, and then I realised what he meant - he'd basically said that he we were free to do whatever we liked so long as we weren't caight and that he expected us to sort our own problems out!
I wished more than ever that I was in Gryffindor. I hoped Aunty McGonagall wouldn't be angry.
The prefects lead us to a wide archway, from where a curving corridore extended. The prefect explained that it curled around the common room like a snake around it's nest. In the dorm thelighting was dim and cool and resful. I went to my bed immeadiatly, ignoring Bulstrode and Parkinson, and tugged the curtains closed. I lay awake for a while listening to them talk. Pansy seemed enraptured with draco, and his "good breeding" and elegance. Then they started whispering again. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to pretend I couldn't hear them.
"Who does she think she is?"
"Snobby stuck up-"
"Did you see her hair?"
"Aren't her eyes freaky!"
They didn't seem to want to stop, getting louder and louder. I began to feel the heat in my eyes again, and the cold in my spine.
I clenched down on my anger until tears of hurt and frustration rolled down my cheeks into the pillow. Finnaly I managed to fall asleep.