Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Anything you recognize is not mine, including dialogue, characters, etc.
Ernie looked at Hermione and Justin. "You two had better change into your robes. We'll probably arrive soon."
Justin pulled his robes from his trunk, and Hermione followed suit. The two looked at one another, and Hermione said quietly, "I'll just..." She left the compartment with her robes, clearly headed for the loo. Justin changed quickly into his robes and, after about five minutes, Hermione returned.
Neville Longbottom suddenly started looking around the compartment. "Does anyone see a toad anywhere?"
The others scanned the room, and Rolf peered under the seats. No one found him.
"I can't have lost him already." Neville looked miserable.
They all decided to look around the train, as the toad had most likely escaped when the door had been opened.
Ernie stayed in the compartment to make sure no one else tried to claim it. The others started going door to door, asking anyone if they had seen Neville's toad. The boys all came back empty handed, but Hermione was nowhere to be found.
"Gran's gonna kill me," Neville said sadly.
"We'll find him, Neville," Rolf said kindly. If you know you had him when you got on the train, then you know he's here somewhere. Most likely, he's hiding. Amphibians tend to like darker, wetter places. Did anyone check in the loo?"
Hermione entered the compartment, a smile on her face. "I just met Harry Potter!"
Ernie looked up at her immediately. "Really? Potter's here?"
"He's a first-year like us," she said. "He's a few compartments down."
Justin frowned. "Who's Harry Potter?"
"The boy who lived," Neville answered in awe. Justin still looked confused.
"The one who defeated You-Know-Who!" Ernie said, excitement in his voice.
"I don't know who you're talking about," Justin said. "Muggleborn, remember?"
"You-Know-Who was a dark wizard who was active around the time we were born. Everyone only calls him 'You-Know-Who, because there was a curse on his name," Hermione answered. "Harry Potter defeated him as a baby. No one knows how."
"Some dark wizard, if he was defeated by a baby," Justin said smirking.
"He was," Neville said in a quiet voice. "He was very powerful. And he had powerful followers. He killed a lot of people."
"But he was defeated by a baby!" Justin said.
"That's all people know, though. No one knows how he was defeated. He tried to kill Potter and was destroyed in the process. He took out Potter's parents, but couldn't kill him," Rolf told the story in the simplest terms possible.
They sat quietly for a few minutes, and a voice came over the loudspeaker. "We will be reaching Hogwarts in five minutes' time. Please leave your luggage on the train, it will be taken to the school separately. "
"We're going to attend classes with Harry Potter!" Neville said excitedly.
"Bet he's a Gryffindor, though," Ernie said.
"Never know. Maybe you will be, too," Rolf said, winking at his friend.
The train slowed and stopped, and the five were some of the last off of the train.
"Any more firs' years? Mind yer step, now!" The man greeting them was definitely not all human. He was about at least the height of two fully grown men, and probably the width of about five. Rolf followed the man, though he could see Justin and Hermione pulling back slightly. "Firs' years follow me!"
The first years followed the man down a steep, narrow path. It was dark, and Neville kept tripping slightly and sniffing.
"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec, jus' round this bend here," the man said.
Just as they turned the corner, everyone got a sight of the castle. Rolf's mouth dropped slightly, and a loud "Oooh!" was heard. They were standing on the edge of a barge lake, and on the other side, a huge castle was built on a mountain top, standing against a backdrop of stars. Rolf felt as if his smile would never fade.
There was a fleet of boats, and by the time it was their turn, they discovered they would have to split up. Rolf, Justin, and Ernie joined another boy whose name, they later discovered, was Terry Boot. Neville and Hermione joined Harry Potter and a red-haired boy that Rolf was fairly sure was a Weasley, as he had seen him with his family on the platform.
"No more'n four to a boat!" The man called out; he had a boat to himself. "Everyone in? Right then. Forward!" he shouted, and the fleet moved off at once. "Heads down!" he called, as they passed under a curtain of ivy, which apparently led to an underground tunnel beneath the castle.
The group climbed out of the boats and ascended a set of stone steps. The man brought Neville's toad to him and knocked three times on the huge oak door, which swung open almost immediately, showing a tall witch in emerald robes. Rolf swallowed hard, wondering if this was the teacher that his father had warned him about; she was fair, but very strict.
"The firs' years, Professor McGonagall," the man said. Rolf knew that name; it was the one his father had spoken of.
"Thank you, Hagrid. I will take them from here."
The first-years followed Professor McGonagall into a side room, and she told them that the Sorting Ceremony would take place soon. "I suggest you smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting," she added, looking at Weasley and Neville.
"Anyone know how we're sorted?" Justin whispered to Ernie and Rolf, both of whom shook their heads.
Suddenly, the room was filled with ghosts, who seemed to be arguing before noticing the students.
"New students!" one of them said happily. "About to be sorted, I suppose?" Rolf and a few others nodded. "Hope to see you in Hufflepuff!" the ghost said. "My old home, you know."
"Move along now," Professor McGonagall had returned. "Now form a line and follow me," she added, and they rushed to do so. Rolf was in front of Justin and behind the Weasley boy. The hall they entered was enormous, bigger than anything Rolf had seen before. And the roof was made of the stars. He recognized the charm as one similar to the way his grandpa's suitcase worked, as it showed the same sky that was outdoors at that exact moment. He heard Hermione whispering about it.
Professor McGonagall placed a short tool in the front of them, and on it, she placed an old hat. And the hat... began to sing.
"Oh you may not think I'm pretty, But don't judge on what you see,
I'll eat myself if you can find a smarter hat than me.
You can keep your bowlers black, Your top hats sleek and tall,
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat and I can cap them all.
There's nothing hidden in your head the Sorting Hat can't see,
So try me on and I will tell you where you ought to be.
You might belong in Gryffindor, where dwell the brave at heart,
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry set Gryffindors apart;
You might belong in Hufflepuff, where they are just and loyal,
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true and unafraid of toil;
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning, will always find their kind;
Or perhaps in Slytherin you'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folks use any means to achieve their ends.
So put me on! Don't be afraid! and don't get in a flap!
You're in safe hands (though I have none) for I'm a Thinking Cap!"
The whole hall broke out in applause as it bowed to each table and fell silent. Rolf overheard Weasley say something about battling a troll and fought the urge to roll his eyes. First-years fighting a troll? Insanity.
"When I call your name, you will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be sorted," Professor McGonagall said.
"Abbott, Hannah." The girl sat down, and Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head. After a moment, the hat shouted "Hufflepuff," and she was sent to the table on the far right. "Bones, Susan" was sent to Hufflepuff as well, followed by "Boot, Terry" into Ravenclaw. The sorting continued, making "Entwhistle, Kevin" into Hufflepuff and "Granger, Hermione" into Gryffindor, followed soon after by "Jones, Megan" into Hufflepuff and "Longbottom, Neville" into Gryffindor.
Rolf was getting jittery at this point, so started looking around at the other first years that he hadn't really had the chance to see. He knew he would be toward the end anyway since his name started with an S. He found Potter in the crowd, as well as a few others who he had met once or twice, including Blaise Zabini who he had met at Flourish and Blotts two weeks previously.
"Malfoy, Draco" was sent instantly to Slytherin, while "MacMillan, Ernest" and "Moon, Lily" were both sent to Hufflepuff, "Nott, Theodore" to Slytherin, "Patil, Padma" to Ravenclaw, and "Patil, Parvati to Gryffindor. "Perks, Sally-Anne" was sent to Ravenclaw and then...
"Potter, Harry."
The whole hall went silent as Potter stepped up to the stool. He sat for a full minute, and appeared to be talking to the hat, before finally, "Gryffindor!"
It took a while for the Gryffindor table to quiet down, and Professor McGonagall said, "Scamander, Rolf."
Rolf swallowed hard, and stepped forward, sitting on the stool and placing the hat on his head.
"Scamander, huh?" the hat said. "I've sorted your family for generations. Yes, you're as loyal and hardworking as the rest. And yet just as brave. I'll give you the same choice I gave your father and his. Gryffindor or Hufflepuff?"
Rolf was stunned. His father and grandfather could have been Gryffindors? But he already knew what he would choose.
"So be it," the hat said in his head. "HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted for all to hear.
Rolf grinned as he stood and placed the hat back on the stool. He went over and sat between Ernie and Hannah Abbott.
The rest of the sorting flew by, and before long, Rolf found himself descending a set of stairs with the rest of his housemates, headed for their dormitory.