Aero got off the train, wearing her new school robes. The twins were beside her, talking excitedly about some pranks they wanted to pull here. Aero, so busy looking at the scenery and listening to Fred and George; jumped nearly ten feet when a booming voice shouted into the night for the first years to follow him. Fred smiled at her and she felt the corners of her mouth turn up a little and she looked away. The three of them followed the rest of the crowd and looked to see a rather large, in all senses of the word, man standing there with a lantern.
He showed them to the boats they'd be taking to the castle. The twins and Aero got a boat and floated easily along with everyone else. The sky was dark and unless you had night vision it was rather hard to see much but the Castle was easy. Hogwarts stood out in the darkness with its shining windows casting light over the lake. Aero didn't think she'd see anything more beautiful and magical than that sight.
She lived at the Malfoy Manor, with her uptight, pure-blood relatives with their perfect lawn and antique chandeliers and extremely large fountain but that was nothing compared to Hogwarts, and this was just the outside! Aero had always been a very private person, very self-contained and such and she never really felt any true emotion. She had learned along time ago not to get excited or raise her hopes and expectations too high…but sitting there, awed at Hogwarts… For the first time in years, Aero let her hope soar. She hoped for friends. She hoped to feel happy. She hoped for a place to belong. And perhaps Hogwarts was just the place to do all that for her.
"Wow, this place looks wicked!" George exclaimed.
"Oh yeah! Bloody hell, imagine the fun we'll make in this place!" Fred said.
Aero allowed herself a small smile. The twins weren't so bad really. They seemed like the people you would want to hang around for fun. They'd probably make friends really easy.
"Aero, you gotta help us with this place." Fred stated.
"Help?" Aero asked.
"Yeah, it'll be wicked. Pulling pranks here. This place is so large and look at all those Slytherin wanna-bes. Please, we'll have them knocked off their feet!" George explained excitedly.
Aero shrugged and the twins grinned wickedly. They finally were taken into the Great Hall for their sorting. Aero stared at the tables of older students and the ceiling was simply amazing. The banners of the different houses were hanging and the staff table held the one member she had heard so much about.
Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster and a student from Gryffindor. Her family may bad mouth him but Aero found the Dumbledore tales simply fascinating.
Aero watched the old man rise from his seat and greet the room, and everyone immediately quieted for the sorting. A few students were before her and then Aero was called up.
She swallowed quickly and took a steady breath. It was the moment of truth. Being placed in Slytherin meant being like her arrogant family of death eaters which she hated. Being in Gryffindor had the possibility of being compared to her second cousin, the mass murder Sirius Black, though he was far better than her insane parents. Perhaps the other two houses would be better, though that meant the great possibility of being separated from the twins which she detested greatly.
She sat quietly on the stool and waited while the hat sat perched on her head. When it started talking she nearly jumped.
"A Black? I haven't had one in awhile, though relatives of different name have been sorted by me. Ah, so many secrets. Are you sure you desire a house different from Slytherin? You have such an intelligent mind…ah but you've the bravery and loyalty of a true Gryffindor. Well, if you insist on being the black Hippogriff of the Black family, who am I to deny you that right?" he murmured.
"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat shouted.
The Gryffindor table roared in applause and made room for their new member. Aero sat happily and waited. A boy named Lee Jordan joined. Angelina Johnson. Katherine Bell. Alicia Spinnett. Of course, the Weasley twins who were thumped on the back by their brother Percy.
The feast began and Aero couldn't remember a time she felt happier. She truly felt she belonged there while she made quick friends with Alicia, Katie and Angelina.