Chapter Four

Back To School

Mia met Lily, Hugo and Louis on Platform 9¾ on the morning of the 31st of August. As much as she'd enjoyed her summer holidays, Mia was now ready to go back to Hogwarts; back to the castle and Gryffindor tower and Quidditch and all her lessons. The four of them said goodbye to their parents and then found an empty compartment on the train.

"So..." Louis said, once they were all settled. "Hogsmede weekends this year."
"Yeah, they're gonna be awesome," Hugo grinned. "Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks, stocking up on sweets in Honeydukes, visiting Uncle George in Wheezes..."

"I vote we should get Mac to show us around first weekend," Lily said. "He can give us like the grand tour."

"Yeah, Mac'll love that," Louis grinned.

"What will I love?" Mac stuck his head round the door at the sound of his name.

"Showing us all around Hogsmede, on the first Hogsmede weekend," Mia said.

"You will, won't you?" Lily asked.

"Sure," Mac shrugged. "Sounds fun. And my services are free... providing I don't have to buy my own butterbeer."
"I'm sure someone will take pity on you and buy you a butterbeer," Hugo grinned.

Mac came into the compartment. "Mind if I join you?" he asked, and then, not waiting for an answer, squashed in next to Lily and Mia. "Look what I got for my birthday," he said, putting a muggle-looking contraption down on the table between them.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"It's a badge maker," Mac grinned. "It makes badges."

"Well duh..." Louis said, and then yelped as Mac kicked him under the table.

"Chlo helped me figure out how to make it run on magic rather than batteries," Mac continued, as if they'd been no interruption. "So I can make heaps of badges. Look, I already made this one." He pointed at a Hufflepuff badge on his chest. "Oh yeah, and I made you and me matching badges, Louis."

Mac reached into his pocket and pulled out two badges. He handed one of them to Louis, who looked at it and then grinned.

"What is it?" Lily asked. Mac showed her and Mia his badge, which bore the words 'I dated Dove Ackerley'. They both laughed. Louis and Mac had both dated the Ravenclaw girl last year, and Mac had often joked about making them badges.

"You should make something like 'I am inseparable from Frankie' and 'I am inseparable from Kieran' for Kieran and Frankie," Hugo said, looking thoroughly disgusted. "Did you see them on the platform? They had their tongues down each other's throats! Gross!"

"Why were you watching them if you think it's gross?" Mac grinned.

"I wasn't – they were just there," Hugo protested. "It was hard not to look! I think it's all gross."

"So, no girls you like, then?" Lily asked.

"No," Hugo said firmly.

The door to the compartment opened, and Zoe and Cassie came in. Mia fully expected things to be awkward between Louis and Zoe in light of their recent break-up, so she quickly asked the Hufflepuff girls if they'd had good summers.

"Pretty good," Zoe nodded, as Cassie shrugged,

"Alright."

The two of them sat down at the next table, and, after a few minutes Mac went over to show them his new badge maker, leaving Lily and Mia with much more room. As the train sped further northwards, they were joined by a handful of fellow third years, who all belonged to what Mac called 'the gang'. Someone started a game of exploding snap, and talk turned to Hogsmede weekends. Half a dozen more people decided to join Mac's 'tour', and he declared that he'd have to start charging if it grew any bigger.

Around the time they crossed the border into Scotland, it started raining, and although it had stopped by the time they reached Hogsemde station, the wind had picked up and it was blowing a positive gale. Mia and her friends jumped out of the train and dashed to the fleet of horseless carridges which was waiting to take them up to the school, all having great difficulty staying on their feet.

"I wouldn't like to be crossing the lake in this!" Mac shouted as the wind slammed the carriage door shut behind him. "Think about the waves!"

First years traditionally arrived at Hogwarts by sailing across the lake, which would probably resemble an angry ocean in this weather. Mia wondered if any weather had ever made it too dangerous to cross. Even the carriages felt less safe than usual this year – they were rocking about far more than usual as they headed up to the castle.

Once they were seated at the Gryffindor table, which was laden with dozens of empty dishes and serving platters, Mia realised she was extremely hungry. To her left, Hugo had his wand out, and was tapping one of the silver platters surreptitiously.

"You know your mother would tell you food's one of the five exemptions to Gamps law of Transfiguration?" James said, as he walked past them, Chlo on his arm, on his way to the other end of the table.

"I didn't want to conjure it, just summon it from the kitchens," Hugo called after his cousin's retreating back, as Alice, Frankie and Kieran sat down opposite them. "If you two are going to snog the whole way through dinner, then I'm moving," Hugo warned.

"We won't snog the whole way though dinner," Kieran grinned.

"Yeah, but dinner hasn't even started yet," Frankie said, turning to Kieran.

"No, I second Hugo's proposal," Alice said, clearly disgusted by Kieran and Frankie's public display of affection. "And anyway, Dad'll go ape at you if you snog all the way through the sorting."

The doors into the Great Hall opened, and Hagrid, who was the gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures Professor, came in, followed by forty or so extremely windswept looking first years. Professor Longbottom followed, with a three-legged stool and the patched, faded, Sorting Hat. He placed the Hat on the stool in front of the first years, and the whole Hall waited expectantly, until a mouth-like rip near the brim of the hat opened, and it began to sing:

Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor

These are the houses four

And it's up to me to Sort you now

Though you may not understand how

There have long been rumours going round

Sometimes, in practice, it has been found

That some houses turn out more dark than light

That your life's path could be determined tonight

But all houses have some bad, some good

Just as in all people I'm sure we could

Find traits we like, and some we don't

So determine you? – you know it won't!

Each house is comprised of individuals

And if the prejudices remain residual

It is for you to set the stage

For what defines your house in this modern age

Gryffindors are brave; yes, that's true

But they also can be reckless too

It is said they've nerve and always dare

But can you not see the foolhardy there?

It is said a Hufflepuff's your truest friend

They'll stick with you til the very end

But what if their loyalty is misplaced?

Will they stand by their choice or be disgraced?

In Ravenclaw there are those keen of mind

But will their intellect leave some behind?

When knowledge is valued, for knowledge's sake

What of those who can't reach the stake?

Slytherins are defined by great ambition

A desire to see themselves in first position

But what if this impedes other's rights?

Let it always be said: Slytherins fight fair fights

Don't think I only highlight the bad

I just want to ensure fair warning you've had

Each house contains both bad and good

And whenever you are, you always should

Have the chance to be the best you can

That, after all, was the Founder's plan

As the rip closed, the hall broke into applause and Hugo grinned, "So, we're reckless, are we?"

"You know what they say," Kieran shrugged across the table. "'Only Gryffindors rush in where angels fear to tread'."

They all laughed as Professer Longbottom unrolled a scroll and told the first years that when he called their name, they should sit on the stool and place the Sorting Hat on their head.

"Ash, Amelia."

Amelia Ash, a red-haired girl who had arms which looked disproportionally long for her body, stepped forward and placed the hat on her head. After a brief hesitation, the hat shouted, 'RAVENCLAW', and Amelia went to sit at the Ravenclaw table, which had broken out into applause.

"Blake, Michael."

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"Blane, Megan."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"C'mon, we need a Gryffindor," Lily muttered, as Professor Longbottom called,

"Boone, Ivy."

Ivy Boone, a tiny girl with long dark plaits, sat down on the stool and placed the Sorting Hat on her head. The hat spent a full minute deliberation with itself, before declaring her a Gryffindor.

As the sorting drew on, most of the older students started to get bored. Mia could hear Hugo's stomach rumbling loudly next to her, and on her other side, Lily and Alice were engaged in a game of 'guess the house'; Alice was winning, three points to two.

"Jarvis, Rachel."

"SLYTHERIN!"

"Jordan, Jordan."

A ripple of laughter went around the Great Hall as a dark-skinned boy with an afro approached the Hat, blushing furiously. "Is his name really Jordan Jordan?" Lily giggled.

The boy sat down on the stool and put the Hat on his head, forcing it over his hair with great difficulty. Mia could see his lips forming the angry words: "My name's JJ."

"GRYFFINDOR!" the Hat shouted, after a moment's deliberation, and JJ came and joined the Gryffindor table.

"Knight, Matilda."

A black girl with her hair in dozens of tiny braids walked forward. The Sorting Hat had barely touched her head when it screamed, "GRYFFINDOR!" and Matilda came and sat opposite JJ at the Gryffindor table.

"Laiken, Simon."

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"That's a lot of Gryffindors in a row," Lily observed.

"Statistical cluster," Kieran shrugged, as 'Leopold, Deanna' became a Slytherin, thus breaking the run of Gryffindors.

"Lyle, Gabriella."

"RAVENCLAW!"

"MacMillan, Archibald."

"Archibald?" Lily spluttered, as a blonde boy walked over to the stool and put the Sorting Hat on his head. "What kind of a name is Archibald?"

"RAVENCLAW!"
"Mitchell, Seth."

"Oh, come on!" Hugo sighed, his stomach giving another very loud rumble, as Seth became a Hufflepuff.

"Payne, Emma."

A pale, blonde girl, who looked completely terrified, walked up to the Sorting Hat, and sat down. Everyone waited as one minute passed, and then two, before the hat declared, "GRYFFINDOR!" Looking very relieved, Emma hurried over to the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Matilda.

"Powers, Harriet."

"SLYTHERIN!"

The line of waiting first years was dwindling now, and the chatter in the Great Hall was growing as the older students grew more hungry and bored. Finally, with, 'Webb, Michael' being sorted into Hufflepuff, the sorting concluded. Professor McGonnagal stood up.

"Welcome back to another year at Hogwarts," she said. "Let the feast begin."

She clapped her hands, and the platters and serving dishes in front of them filled with food. As one, the whole school tucked in.